cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Virtual Mentoring of Preservice Teachers: Mentors’ Perceptions

The purpose of the study was to describe music teachers’ perceptions of the benefits and challenges they experienced as virtual mentors of preservice music teachers. Each mentor was assigned a coho...
Solution of transitional wake flows at Mach 10

Modeling enhancements are investigated for transition and turbulence in hypersonic blunt-body flows. The current approach combines the k-C, (Enstrophy) compressible turbulence model with a new transition mechanism appropriate for free shear layers, such as those encountered in blunt-body wakes. Prediction of transition onset is provided by a minimum shear-stress criterion applied along the sting. This method is applied to several perfect-gas Mach 10 flows over 70-deg blunted cones. Improved prediction of the peak sting heating rates is indicated when compared to results obtained using streamwise instability modes. Grid refinement is also investigated, and is found to provide additional improvement in the agreement between the present approach and experimental data. The favorable comparisons are a further indication that transition to turbulence is indeed present in the blunt-body wake flows examined.
Exploring the Utility of Tandem Thermal–Photochemical CO Delivery with CORM-2

Among the most popular and widely studied CO-releasing molecules (CO-RMs) for biological research is Ru2Cl4(CO)6 (CORM-2). When dissolved in DMSO (the solubilizing agent used in preclinical trials), the dimer cleaves into monomeric DMSO-ligated Ru subunits; the rate of this reaction and behavior of the products formed are thus highly relevant to the efficacy of CORM-2 in vivo. FT-IR spectroscopy was used to monitor this reaction in DMSO and also to monitor the reactivity of CORM-2 and of the monomeric DMSO-ligated derivatives in mouse serum. While the CORM-2 dimer readily liberates CO in mouse serum under ambient conditions, the monomeric Ru subunits formed in DMSO solution do not. This demonstrates that a substantial fraction of the CO-delivery agent being introduced via DMSO solutions would appear to be, in fact, inactive. Photochemical irradiation readily liberates CO from the inactive species, and thus a combined thermal–photochemical approach can greatly improve the yield of CO delivery. Ultrafast ex...
Pseudo-Inverses in Associative Rings and Semigroups

(1958). Pseudo-Inverses in Associative Rings and Semigroups. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 65, No. 7, pp. 506-514.
Diagonal recurrent neural network as an on-line identifier of a nonlinear energy system

System identification for nonlinear systems is difficult. Complex systems do not always have good theoretical models. The circulating fluidized bed is an example of complex nonlinear energy systems. One method for modeling system identification is using neural networks. Feedback networks have good accuracy offline, but are generally too complex to implement for online system identification. Feedforward networks are quick enough to work as online model, but generally lack the necessary accuracy. In the paper we develop an online system identification model based on the diagonal recurrent neural network method using Matlab®. The model was tested with a cold flow circulating fluidized bed in both and offline and online capacity. The results show that the DRNI works well for modeling the nonlinear system of the circulating fluidized bed
The Effect of Being Suspended on Receiving a High School Diploma: Evidence from the High School Longitudinal Study

Scholars argue that school suspension causes students to drop out of school, but few have provided evidence of such relationship. Using data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09), this study estimates the effect of being suspended during or prior to ninth grade on earning a high school diploma. Results suggest that being suspended during or prior to ninth grade lowers one’s likelihood of graduating from high school, anywhere from 1.1 to 2.4 percent. Interactions between student race and suspension suggest that the impact of discipline does not differ by race.
Independent Validation of Effect of HSD3B1 Genotype on Response to Androgen-Deprivation Therapy in Prostate Cancer.

Using data from a prostate cancer registry, this study correlated HSD3B1 genotype with response to androgen-deprivation therapy in patients with prostate cancer.
Technique for rerouting a bridging vein that hinders the anterior interhemispheric approach: a technical note

The frontal bridging vein, which is the venous drainage route of the frontal cortex into the superior sagittal sinus (SSS), sometimes poses an obstacle in the anterior interhemispheric approach during surgery for anterior cerebral artery aneurysms. Although severe complications including venous infarction or edema due to damage to the bridging vein are well known, only a few reports have discussed how to avoid venous injury when we must sacrifice the bridging vein to obtain an appropriate surgical field. This report describes a microvascular technique performed in two patients who underwent rerouting of the bridging vein to obtain an appropriate anterior interhemispheric surgical corridor to treat a ruptured anterior cerebral artery aneurysm. The hindering bridging vein was resected from the entrance to the SSS and anastomosed toward the adjacent cortical vein. A 65-year-old male and a 43-year-old male were admitted to our hospital for sudden headache. Computed tomography, magnetic resonance angiogram, or digital subtraction angiography demonstrated a subarachnoid hemorrhage and an anterior cerebral artery aneurysm in both patients. In both cases, a relatively robust bridging vein, which appeared problematic to sacrifice, was draining into the SSS, resulting in a limited surgical corridor. Thus, we performed cortical vein reconstruction, and the aneurysms were successfully clipped under a wider surgical view. We confirmed completed clipping without postoperative venous complications. One patient demonstrated patency of reconstructed venous flow by digital subtraction angiography. No apparent cognitive impairment was seen in either patient. This technique may be useful for obtaining an appropriate surgical corridor when the frontal bridging vein may be damaged.
The therapeutic value of cranioplasty in individuals with brain injury.

Primary objective: To examine the effect of cranioplasty on recovery.Research design: Retrospective cohort study.Method and procedures: Retrospective chart review conducted in 2011 and 2012 on adul...
Study of Sn removal by surface wave plasma for source cleaning (Conference Presentation)

A hydrogen plasma cleaning technique to clean Sn (tin) off EUV collector optics is studied in detail. The cleaning process uses hydrogen radicals and ions (formed in the hydrogen plasma) to interact with Sn-coated surfaces, forming SnH4 and being pumped away. This technique has been used to clean a 300mm-diameter stainless steel dummy collector optic, and EUV reflectivity of multilayer mirror samples was restored after cleaning Sn from them, validating the potential of this technology. This method has the potential to significantly reduce downtime and increase source availability. Thus, an investigation into the fundamental processes governing Sn removal has been performed. These experiments have shown that the Sn etch rates scale with hydrogen ion energy at the surface. Incident ions upon the surface impart energy that weakens the Sn-Sn bond allowing the chemical etch by hydrogen to proceed at a faster rate. Due to this the plasma is able to be in a reactive ion etch (RIE) regime. A concern for plasma based methods is the implantation of high energy hydrogen ions into the MLM, reducing reflectivity and possibly blistering. With a surface wave plasma (SWP) this concern is alleviated somewhat because of lower ion energies. Surface wave plasmas have lower electron temperatures than conventional sources in the range of 1 to 3 eV. In addition, SWP sources result in plasma densities on the order of 1011-12 cm-3, allowing for greater utilization of ion etch enhancement. Etch rates over 50 nm/min have been seen in the past. Preliminary results from experiments performed on the Illinois NXE:3100 chamber will be discussed.
Paroxysmal complete atrioventricular block in pediatric heart transplant recipients following cardiac catheterization: A case series.

Late-onset paroxysmal AVB has been described as a rare complication after HT and has been associated with AR or CAV. We describe 4 pediatric HT recipients who developed paroxysmal AVB hours after routine cardiac catheterization in the absence of AR, CAV, or underlying conduction system disease. Four pediatric HT recipients who were >1 year post-transplant had episodes of paroxysmal AVB hours after surveillance cardiac catheterization with EMB. Telemetry demonstrated high-grade block, ranging from 2:1 AVB to complete AVB without ventricular escape for several seconds. None of the patients had significant AR or rapidly progressive CAV. Supplemental testing did not reveal underlying conduction system disease. Three of the 4 patients received permanent pacemakers, although subsequent interrogations showed minimal ventricular pacing. These pediatric HT recipients had paroxysmal AVB hours after cardiac catheterization in the absence of significant AR, CAV, or underlying conduction system disease. Subsequent pacemaker interrogations showed minimal ventricular pacing, suggesting these were isolated episodes. These cases suggest that mechanisms in addition to AR and CAV may cause paroxysmal AVB in pediatric HT recipients, warranting further investigation.
Computational Modeling of Coronary Stents

Realistic computational modeling can be a very useful tool for medical device design optimization as well as pre-operative simulation of cardiovascular surgery. The fluid and solid stress analysis can provide valuable insights into tissue interaction and response mechanisms This chapter focuses on simulations of coronary stents Methods for fluid and solid modeling associated with stents are discussed in detail. The hemodynamic and mechanical data obtained from the simulations are considered in the context of their implications on vascular health and mechanotransduction. The effects of fluid wall shear stresses and solid wall stresses associated with stent implants on tissue remodeling and thrombosis are discussed.
Chronic pain in litigation. What is the relationship

The legal system is often as random and capricious as the very accident itself. The present tort system is fault-based and is vulnerable to the pressures of lawyers and patients who exploit subjective symptomatology for primary and secondary gain. Jury awards for noneconomic damages have little consistency and have produced astronomic awards for subjective pain and suffering. The surge in fraudulent claims exposes the weaknesses of the current system. This article is not intended to convey the notion that all cases of CPS in litigation are fraudulent, but rather suggests that unraveling this association is a formidable task that must be done owing to the huge economic burden to society. Prospective studies are urgently needed to more accurately define the natural history of individuals with CPS in litigation.
Lightning Detection by Radar

On July 20, 1949 what are thought to be the first photographs of the radar indication of lightning strokes were obtained by the Weather Radar Research Project of the Massachusetts Institute of Tech...
Factors Associated With the Cost of Care for the Most Common Atraumatic Painful Upper Extremity Conditions.

Purpose To help strategize efforts to optimize value (relative improvement in health for resources invested), we analyzed the factors associated with the cost of care and use of resources for painful, nontraumatic conditions of the upper extremity. Methods The following were the most common upper extremity diagnoses in the Truven Health MarketScan database: shoulder pain and rotator cuff tendinopathy, shoulder stiffness, shoulder arthritis, lateral epicondylitis, hand arthritis, trigger finger, wrist pain, and hand pain. Multivariable generalized linear regression models were constructed accounting for sex, age, employment status, enrollment year, payer type, emergency room visit, joint injection, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), physical or occupational therapy, outpatient and inpatient surgery, and insurance type. In addition, we assessed the use of the following 4 diagnostic and treatment interventions: joint injection, surgery, MRI, and physical or occupational therapy. Results Inpatient and outpatient surgery are the largest contributors to the total amount paid for most diagnoses. Older patients had more injections for the majority of conditions. Conclusions Efforts to improve the value of care for nontraumatic upper extremity pain can focus on the relative benefits of surgery compared with other treatments and interventions to lower the costs of surgery (eg, office surgery and limited draping for minor hand surgery). Type of study/level of evidence Economic II.
Relationship between Inflow Malposition and Clinical Outcomes in HVAD Recipients

Purpose We evaluated the effect of different inflow cannula malposition morphologies on readmission and selected complication rates in Heartware HVAD recipients. Methods Inflow malposition was defined as the angular deviation from a line intersecting the apex and mitral orifice center in two CT imaging planes. Anterior plane deviation is toward the superior or inferior free wall. Lateral plane deviation is toward the septum or lateral wall. Total deviation is the sum of the two. Cutoffs for malposition were deviation ≥ 20 deg in any direction and total deviation ≥ 40 deg. Clinical outcomes were: 30-day and total cardiovascular-related readmissions (CVR; excludes bleeding, infections, noncardiac procedures, transplants); persistent VT/VF (pVT; ≥ 2 episodes); combined pump thrombosis (PT) or embolic stroke (PT-eCVA); and 90-day mortality. Results 99 HVAD patients implanted since 2011 with postoperative CT scans were included. All were followed for complications. 87 were discharged and were assessed for CVR. Prevalence of each morphology of malposition is shown in Table. Deviation toward the inferior free wall occurred most frequently. Eighteen of 87 patients (21%) had 30-day CVR. Total deviation ≥ 40 deg was significantly associated with 30-day CVR (p=0.01). Median total CVR rate was 0.21/100 pt-days (IQR 0-0.68). Inferior wall deviation ≥ 20 deg was significantly associated with total CVR rate (p = 0.03). Eight of 99 patients (8.1%) had PT-eCVA (5 eCVA, 3 PT), 27% had pVT, and 90-day mortality occurred in 7%. No malposition measurement predicted any of these complications. Conclusion PT-eCVA, pVT, and early mortality were not associated with malposition. However, worse overall malposition was associated with 30-day CVR. Inferior wall malposition occurred in half of patients and was associated with overall CVR rate. Improved surgical planning techniques to mitigate malposition are warranted.
Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth Is Common in Chronic Pancreatitis and Associates With Diabetes, Chronic Pancreatitis Severity, Low Zinc Levels, and Opiate Use.

OBJECTIVES:Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) is often present in patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP) with persistent steatorrhea, despite pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy. Overall prevalence of SIBO, diagnosed by glucose breath test (GBT), varies between 0% and 40% but 0%–21% in
Neural User Factor Adaptation for Text Classification: Learning to Generalize Across Author Demographics.

Language use varies across different demographic factors, such as gender, age, and geographic location. However, most existing document classification methods ignore demographic variability. In this study, we examine empirically how text data can vary across four demographic factors: gender, age, country, and region. We propose a multitask neural model to account for demographic variations via adversarial training. In experiments on four English-language social media datasets, we find that classification performance improves when adapting for user factors.
Compositional Analysis of Non-Polar and Polar Metabolites in 14 Soybeans Using Spectroscopy and Chromatography Tools.

There has been significant interest in soybean oil, fatty acid, and sugar composition to develop new value-added soybean products. Thus, compositional analysis is critical for developing value-added soybeans. In the present study, we showed simple screening tools (near infrared spectroscopy (NIR) and high-performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC)) coupled with multivariate analysis for the sample classification of 14 soybeans as a proof-of-concept. We further determined major non-polar and polar metabolites responsible for differences between different soybeans using gas and ion chromatography. These differences in soybean profiles were attributed to lower levels of total oil content in wild soybeans (~9%) versus cultivated soybeans (16%–22%). In addition, higher levels of linolenic acid (~17%) and stachyose (~53%) were determined in wild type, whereas higher levels of oleic acid (~19%) and sucrose (~59%) were detected in cultivated soybeans. Interestingly, one cultivated soybean had a desirable sugar profile with a high amount of sucrose (86%) and a low abundance of stachyose (9%). The correlation studies showed a positive correlation between oil and soluble sugars (R2 = 0.80) and negative correlations between methyl linolenate and soluble sugars (R2 = −0.79), oil (R2 = −0.94), and methyl oleate (R2 = −0.94) content. Both polar and non-polar metabolites showed significant differences in wild and cultivated soybeans.
Climate Impacts of Hydropower: Enormous Differences among Facilities and over Time.

To stabilize the climate, we must rapidly displace fossil fuels with clean energy technologies. Currently hydropower dominates renewable electricity generation, accounting for two-thirds globally, ...
ReRAM-Based Intrinsically Secure Memory: A Feasibility Analysis

This paper studies the use of resistive RAM (ReRAM) devices in crossbar arrays for intrinsically secure self-encrypted memory. A security analysis is used to demonstrate the feasibility of realizing intrinsically secure memory using experimentally available ReRAM devices. It is shown that ReRAM is a good candidate for this application due to its nature, which allows forward and reverse operations for securely storing and retrieving data.
Chapter 5 – Under the Hood

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the relationship between the programming constructs and the underlying protocol implementations. Knowing that these socket data structures exist and how they are affected by the underlying protocols is useful because they control various aspects of the behavior of the various Socket objects. Data passed in a single invocation of the output stream's write() method at the sender can be spread across multiple invocations of the input stream's read() method at the other end; and a single read() may return data passed in multiple write()s. When a program attempts to create a socket with a particular local port number, the existing sockets are checked to make sure that no socket is already using that local port. A Socket () constructor will throw an exception if any socket matches the local port and local IP address (if any) specified in the constructor. For a ServerSocket, all constructors require the local port. The local address may be specified to the constructor; otherwise, the local address is the wildcard (*) address. The foreign address and port for a ServerSocket are always wildcards. For a Socket, all constructors require specification of the foreign address and port. For a Socket instance returned by accept(), the local address is the destination address from the initial handshake message from the client, the local port is the local port of the ServerSocket, and the foreign address/port is the local address/port of the client.
Mechanistic insight of KBiQ2 (Q = S, Se) using panoramic synthesis towards synthesis-by-design

Solid-state synthesis has historically focused on reactants and end products; however, knowledge of reaction pathways, intermediate phases and their formation may provide mechanistic insight of solid-state reactions. With an increased understanding of reaction progressions, design principles can be deduced, affording more predictive power in materials synthesis. In pursuit of this goal, in situ powder X-ray diffraction is employed to observe crystalline phase evolution over the course of the reaction, thereby constructing a “panoramic” view of the reaction from beginning to end. We conducted in situ diffraction studies in the K–Bi–Q (Q = S, Se) system to understand the formation of phases occurring in this system in the course of their reactions. Powder mixtures of K2Q to Bi2Q3 in 1 : 1 and 1.5 : 1 ratios were heated to 800 °C or 650 °C, while simultaneously collecting diffraction data. Three new phases, K3BiS3, β-KBiS2, and β-KBiSe2, were discovered. Panoramic synthesis showed that K3BiQ3 serves an important mechanistic role as a structural intermediate in both chalcogen systems (Q = S, Se) in the path to form the KBiQ2 structure. Thermal analysis and calculations at the density functional theory (DFT) level show that the cation-ordered β-KBiQ2 polymorphs are the thermodynamically stable phase in this compositional space, while Pair Distribution Function (PDF) analysis shows that all α-KBiQ2 structures have local disorder due to stereochemically active lone pair expression of the bismuth atoms. The formation of the β-KBiQ2 structures, both of which crystallize in the α-NaFeO2 structure type, show a boundary where the structure can be disordered or ordered with regards to the alkali metal and bismuth. A cation radius tolerance for six-coordinate cation site sharing of ∼ 1.3 is proposed. The mechanistic insight the panoramic synthesis technique provides in the K–Bi–Q system is progress towards the overarching goal of synthesis-by-design.
Correlation of placental MR imaging signs and pathologic diagnosis of placenta accreta spectrum: Retrospective single center case series

Abstract Introduction Alongside initial screening obstetric US, use of placental MRI has been increasing in the last few decades to aid with antenatal diagnosis and delivery planning in Placenta Accreta Spectrum (PAS). The aim of this study was to determine if the MRI pathophysiological sign subcategories described in the current literature can predict the severity of pathologic diagnosis. Methods Institutional imaging records were reviewed for placental MRIs performed for suspicion of PAS in the last decade. Electronic health records were searched for patient history and pathology. The 59 MRI studies were reviewed using the 11 MRI signs described by the SAR and ESUR joint consensus statement. Further breakdown of the signs was divided by underlying pathophysiologic subcategories including gross morphologic, interface and tissue architecture signs. Results Pathologic diagnosis yielded 34 cases: accreta 4/34, incerta 14/34, percreta 10/34 and normal 6/34. Of the accreta cases all of them demonstrated at least two interface and half of the cases had tissue architecture signs, 13/14 increta cases demonstrated interface signs and 12/14 demonstrated tissue architecture signs, 9/10 percreta cases had two interface and at least six demonstrated three tissue architecture signs. Statistical analysis showed significant difference between pathologic diagnosis and the number of positive interface signs with p = 0.02. Discussion Interface signs were the most objective and sensitive MRI subcategory. Statistical analysis determined there was a significant difference between PAS diagnosis and number of interface signs present. This subcategory has the most overlap with classic US signs which are traditionally used before MRI referral.
How generations differ in coping with a pandemic: The case of restaurant industry

The COVID-19 outbreak has had a negative impact on the restaurant industry and led to major sales and job losses. As it continues to threaten customers' health, it is expected to greatly influence their attitudes and behavior. Therefore, the current study aims to investigate the effects of threat and coping appraisals on consumers' co-creation behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Grounded in protection motivation theory and co-creation theory, the moderating effect of generational cohorts is also investigated vis-a-vis the relationships between protection motivation appraisals and co-creation behaviors in the restaurant industry. Individuals between 18 and 55 years of age completed survey regarding their dine-in experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study indicates that customers' perceived severity, self-efficacy, and response efficacy are significant predictors of customers’ co-creation behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study provides important theoretical and practical implications for the field.
Mothers of Invention: Hubble Engineers Push Robotic 'Evolution' to Save Telescope, Enable New Exploration

Robotic technology being developed out of necessity to keep the Hubble Space Telescope operating could also lead to new levels of man-machine team-work in deep-space exploration down the road-if it survives the near-term scramble for funding. Engineers here who have devoted their NASA careers to the concept of humans servicing the telescope in orbit are planning modifications to International Space Station (ISS) robots that would leave the humans on the ground. The work. forced by post-Columbia flight rules that killed a planned shuttle-servicing mission to Hubble, marks another step in the evolution of robot-partners for human space explorers. "Hubble has always been a pathfider for this agency," says Mike Weiss. Hubble deputy program manager technical. "When the space station was flown and assembled, Hubble was the pathfinder. not just for modularity, but for operations, for assembly techniques. Exploration is the next step. Things we're going to do on Hubble are going to be applied to exploration. It's not just putting a robot in space. It's operating a robot in space. It's adapting that robot to what needs to be done the next time you're up there."
Secure networked control systems against replay attacks without injecting authentication noise

This paper studies detection of replay attacks on networked control systems, assuming that the actuation and sensing signals are transmitted over an additive white Gaussian noise channel. It explores the use of the spectral estimation technique to detect the presence of a replay attack without injecting authentication noise to the control signal at the plant input. Our proposed detection method is applicable to networked feedback systems equipped with stable controllers and designed with classical and modern control system techniques. A numerical example from the literature is used to illustrate the detection results for replay attacks on networked control systems.
Damage Coupled Viscoplastic Modeling of Particulate Composites With Imperfect Interphase

A micromechanical damage model is proposed to predict the overall viscoplastic behavior and damage evolution in particulate polymer composites with imperfect interfacial bonds. The constituents are treated as three distinct phases, consisting of agglomerate of particles, bulk matrix, and interfacial transition zone around the agglomerate. The influence of the interfacial transition zone on the overall mechanical behavior of composites is studied analytically and experimentally. Test data on particle-filled acrylic composites with three different interfacial properties are presented. The coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatch between the matrix and the filler particles is also introduced into the model. A damage evolution function based on irreversible thermodynamics is also introduced into the constitutive model to describe the degradation of the composite. The efficient general return-mapping algorithm is exploited to implement the proposed unified damage-coupled viscoplastic model into finite element formulation. Furthermore, the model predictions for uniaxial loading conditions are compared with the experimental data. Both the experimental results and analytical prediction show that interfacial conditions have great influence on the elastic properties of particle-filled acrylic composites. Keywords: micromechanics; particulate composite; interfaces; interfacial bond; damage
Peer-to-Peer Caching Schemes to Address Flash Crowds

Flash crowds can cripple a web site's performance. Since they are infrequent and unpredictable, these floods do not justify the cost of traditional commercial solutions. We describe Backslash, a collaborative web mirroring system run by a collective of web sites that wish to protect themselves from flash crowds. Backslash is built on a distributed hash table overlay and uses the structure of the overlay to cache aggressively a resource that experiences an uncharacteristically high request load. By redirecting requests for that resource uniformly to the created caches, Backslash helps alleviate the effects of flash crowds. We explore cache diffusion techniques for use in such a system and find that probabilistic forwarding improves load distribution albeit not dramatically.
Mechanisms of corticosteroid action on lymphocyte subpopulations. VI. Lack of correlation between glucocorticosteroid receptors and the differential effects of glucocorticosteroids on T-cell subpopulations

Abstract Glucocorticosteroid receptors were measured in subpopulations of human peripheral blood T cells identified by the presence of an Fc receptor for IgG (T G ) or an Fc receptor for IgM (T M ). T M cells are selectively depleted from the circulation by in vivo administration of glucocorticosteroids as opposed to T G cells which are relatively resistant to the lymphodepletive effects of these hormones. However, this selective lymphodepletive effect of glucocorticosteroids on T M cells could not be explained on the basis of detectable differences in intracytoplasmic glucocorticosteroid receptors in these T-cell subpopulations since T G and T M cells had quantitatively similar glucocorticosteroid receptors as well as remarkably similar dexamethasone binding affinities and dissociation constants. Hence, the strikingly different effects of glucocorticosteroids on the circulatory kinetics of T G and T M cells must be explained by mechanisms other than those at the level of the glucocorticosteroid receptor.
Examining the Role of Corporate Sponsorship in the Public School System: Appropriate Pathways

5 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 6 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM 7 PURPOSE STATEMENT 7 RESEARCH QUESTION 8 THEORETICAL RATIONALE 8 ASSUMPTIONS 9 BACKGROUND AND NEED 9 CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 10 INTRODUCTION 10 HISTORICAL CONTEXT 11 REVIEW OF THE PREVIOUS RESEARCH 11 Pros 11 Cons 15 Types of Partnerships 18 CHAPTER 3 METHOD 21 INTRODUCTION 21 ETHICAL STANDARDS 21 Appropriate Pathways for Corporate Sponsorship in Schools 4 ACCESS AND PERMISSIONS 21 DATA GATHERING STRATEGIES 21 Questions for Computer Software Business Executive 22 Questions for Superintendent 23 DATA ANALYSIS APPROACH 25 CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS 26 DESCRIPTION OF DATA 26 OVERALL FINDINGS, THEMES 26 CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSION /ANALYSIS 27 SUMMARY OF MAJOR FINDINGS 27 COMPARISON OF FINDINGS TO PREVIOUS RESEARCH 27 LIMITATIONS/GAPS IN THE STUDY 27 IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH 27 OVERALL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 28 REFERENCES 30 APPENDIX 34 Appropriate Pathways for Corporate Sponsorship in Schools 5
Importance of gastric acid in gastric ulcer formation in rabbits with antibody-induced prostaglandin deficiency.

The role of gastric acid in the development of gastroduodenal ulcers in prostaglandin-deficient conditions is unclear. In the current study, the effect of the proton pump inhibitor omeprazole on the formation of gastric ulcers was examined in a previously validated rabbit model of antibody-induced prostaglandin deficiency. Intragastric administration of 20 mg/kg omeprazole every 12 hours caused a profound suppression of gastric acidity (i.e., pH above 5 continuously). This same dose of omeprazole significantly reduced gastric ulcer formation induced by passive immunization with 6-keto-prostaglandin F1 alpha antibodies. It is concluded from these observations that gastric acid plays a critical role in the formation of gastric ulcers in rabbits with antibody-induced prostaglandin deficiency.
Protein family comparison using statistical models and predicted structural information

This paper presents a simple method to increase the sensitivity of protein family comparisons by incorporating secondary structure (SS) information. We build upon the effective information theory approach towards profile-profile comparison described in [Yona & Levitt 2002]. Our method augments profile columns using PSIPRED secondary structure predictions and assesses statistical similarity using information theoretical principles. Our tests show that this tool detects more similarities between protein families of distant homology than the previous primary sequence-based method. A very significant improvement in performance is observed when the real secondary structure is used. Integration of primary and secondary structure information can substantially improve detection of relationships between remotely related protein families.
Mechanism of Interaction of Protein Kinase C with Phorbol Esters REVERSIBILITY AND NATURE OF MEMBRANE ASSOCIATION

A variety of approaches have been employed to demonstrate that the interaction of protein kinase C βII with phorbol ester-containing membranes is reversible, is not accompanied by significant insertion of the protein into the hydrophobic core of the membrane, and is qualitatively similar to the interaction with diacylglycerol (DG). First, we show that under conditions when protein kinase C is bound with equal affinity to membranes containing either DG or phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), increasing ionic strength causes a similar reduction in membrane binding. The similar sensitivity to ionic strength indicates that the forces mediating the binding of protein kinase C to PMA are not significantly different from those mediating the binding to DG. At sufficiently high concentrations of PMA and relatively low concentrations of phosphatidylserine, the binding of protein kinase C to membranes became markedly less sensitive to ionic strength, suggesting that under these conditions direct non-electrostatic interactions with PMA dominate over electrostatic interactions with the lipid headgroups. Importantly, regardless of the strength of the interaction with PMA, protein kinase C exchanges between vesicle surfaces: protein kinase C bound first to phorbol ester-containing multilamellar vesicles exchanged to large unilamellar vesicles upon addition of an excess surface area of the latter. Lastly, the enzyme's intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence was not quenched by bromines located at various positions in the hydrophobic core of the membrane. In contrast, the enzyme's tryptophan fluorescence was significantly quenched by probes positioned at the membrane surface. In summary, our results are consistent with protein kinase C binding reversibly to PMA- or DG-containing membranes primarily via interactions at the membrane interface.
Detection Limits and Resolution for Quantitative Phase Retrieval through Transport-of-Intensity

Phase retrieval based on the transport-of-intensity formalism developed for light optics has been extended to electron optics, and seems especially suitable for studying magnetic structures [1]. The heart of the technique is based on the transport-of-intensity equation (TIE) that relates transverse derivatives (normal to direction of electron beam propagation) of the electron phase to the longitudinal derivative (along the beam direction) of the electron wave intensity [2]. The TIE arises from the image-wave spreading due to Fresnel propagation, and essentially requires two images recorded with different focus in order to estimate the longitudinal derivative of the electron intensity. Solving the TIE (a second-order differential equation) allows the electron phase to be recovered. The TIE technique does not require special instrumentation and, ostensibly, may be applied to an arbitrarily large (or small) field of view. The technique is not overly demanding in terms of sample preparation or data acquisition. While the TIE approach suffers certain limitations, either fundamentally (e.g., specifying proper boundary conditions in solving the equation), or technically (e.g., image alignment and defocus calibration), an important obstacle to the approach lies in proper interpretation of details in the recovered (projected) phase map. In order to quantitatively relate the results obtained with the TIE technique to meaningful materials properties, electromagnetic calculations must be performed, and, in this context, a good understanding of the limits and resolution of the technique is needed.
Nordihydroguaiaretic acid inhibits transforming growth factor β type 1 receptor activity and downstream signaling

Abstract It has been well documented that nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA), a phenolic lignan isolated from the creosote bush, Larrea tridentate, has anti-cancer activity in vitro and in vivo. Several mechanisms have been identified that could contribute to these actions, as NDGA directly inhibits metabolic enzymes and receptor tyrosine kinases that are established anti-cancer targets. In the present study, we show that NDGA inhibits the transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) type I receptor, a serine threonine kinase receptor. In cultured cells, NDGA treatment repressed Smad2 phosphorylation induced by TGF-β treatment and by a constitutively active mutant of TGF-β type I receptor (T202D). NDGA also inhibited downstream transcriptional activation mediated by both TGF-β treatment and the constitutively active mutant receptor. In vitro, NDGA inhibited TGF-β type I receptor mediated Smad2 phosphorylation in crude cell lysates and in a purified preparation. Importantly, screening select analogs demonstrated that modification of NDGA's structure resulted in altered potency against the receptor. These results indicated that the structure of NDGA can be modified to achieve increased potency. Together our data provide a novel mechanism for NDGA activity which could help explain its anti-cancer activity, and suggest that NDGA could serve as a structural motif for developing serine/threonine kinase inhibitors with selectivity for TGF-β type I receptor.
Brownian motion and affine Lie algebras

Abstract Affine Lie algebras are a family of infinite-dimensional Lie algebras that are an important subclass of Kac-Moody algebras. In this paper affine Lie algebras are used to describe a theta function and Brownian motion in the framework of affine Lie algebras is used to verify some equivalent descriptions of a theta function such as those given by Macdonald and Kostant. A function space integral description of a theta function is also given that has been obtained by Frenkel.
Accelerated disturbance damping of an unknown distributed system by nonlinear feedback

We propose a new control design methodology for distributed systems with unknown nonlinear dynamics. The approach is appropriate for systems whose linearized differential operator possesses an eigenspectrum that can be partitioned into a low-dimensional slow spectrum and an infinite-dimensional fast complement. This separation of time scales allows us to utilize center manifold and normal form techniques of modern geometric theories for dynamical systems. It is shown that the convergence to an asymptotically stable equilibrium point after a small-amplitude transient disturbance quickly (exponentially fast) approaches an invariant manifold W which is locally tangent to the eigenspace of the slow modes and is hence of the same dimension. The nonlinear dynamics on this invariant manifold is much slower than the fast approach and is dominated by the slow modes with the fast modes coupled “adiabatically” to them. The convergence can hence be best accelerated using a slow control with smooth nonlinear feedback involving only the slow modes. Nonlinear feedback is shown to drastically improve the performance of linear feedback. The only required information about the system in our approach is the slow adjoint eigenfunctions which can be easily estimated with a Karhunen-Loeve scheme for distributed systems. This identification scheme is quite robust to changes in process dynamics and can hence be carried out on-line in parallel with feedback control. The overall approach is verified by numerical experiments.
Mating behavior and development of least weasels (Mustela nivalis) in captivity.

Three successful matings of a pair of wild-caught least weasels ( Mustela nivalis ) from southern Michigan produced litters of six, four, and six individuals. Observations of the mating behavior were recorded, noting frequency, approaches, and vocalizations. The first litter, which died at an age of one day, was measured and the skeletal anatomy of one young was examined using the alizarin-KOH clearing and staining technique. Subsequent litters survived, and growth and development of young from the second litter was recorded for 15 weeks.
A Review of Grass Shrimp, Palaemonetes spp., as a Bioindicator of Anthropogenic Impacts

Coastal systems are ecologically important environments due to their diversity and productivity, but they can also serve as sinks for pollutants transported via runoff and atmospheric deposition. Grass shrimp, of the genus Palaemonetes, are a common inhabitant of East and Gulf coast estuaries of the United States and are proposed in this paper as a bioindicator of human impacts on estuarine systems. Using grass shrimp as such would involve their entire life cycle and consist of biomonitoring studies, in situ and laboratory toxicity tests, and development of biomarkers of exposure. The current interest in developing ecological indicators has put a renewed relevance on grass shrimp research. This paper reviews ecologically based studies, toxicity testing, and sublethal assessments in grass shrimp and shows how they have laid the groundwork for this genus to be an indicator species. It is concluded that correlating traditional grass shrimp assays with ecological monitoring and biomarkers of exposure is a goa...
Stable large variant of 5S RNA in Clostridium thermosaccharolyticum.

THE precursor forms of prokaryote 16S and 23S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) are larger than their mature counterparts by some 10% (refs 1–5). An analogous large precursor form of the bacterial 5S RNA exists (in at least some cases)1,3,6,7. The reason for the existence of these rRNA precursor forms is not known. They could merely reflect an aspect of the transcription process, or they could have evolved specifically to facilitate ribosome assembly. A more intriguing possibility is that they represent vestiges of ancestral rRNAs, retained because they are essential to ribosome assembly—which process must reasonably recapitulate, to some extent, ribosomal evolution. This last alternative gains some support from our discovery of a stable form of the 5S RNA some 30–40% larger than normal, in Clostridium thermosaccharolyticum.
Cadmium sorption in estuarine mud-type sediment and the accumulation of cadmium in the soft-shell clam,Mya arenaria

YoungMya arenaria were exposed to cadmium-109 sorbed to humic acid, bentonite, protein (albumin), mud-type sediment and filtered estuarine water in a 24-hour static assay. After 31/2 hours, shells had sorbed twice as much as cadmium as tissues. Cadmium-109 was linearly accumulated over 24 hours byMya exposed to cadmium in estuarine water and bentonite-sorbed cadmium. Protein (albumin)-sorbed cadmium was not accumulated byMya. Final 24-hour average accumulation levels of sorbed cadmium compared to cadmium in estuarine water were: bentonite-cadmium, 100%; humic acidcadmium, 60%; mud sediment-cadmium, 33%; albumin-cadmium, 12%.
Newborn human skin fibroblasts senesce in vitro without acquiring adult growth factor requirements.

Cultures of human fibroblasts were prepared from chest skin obtained either from newborns (less than 3 months old) or adults (more than 35 years old) and maintained in vitro until they senesced. Adult cells grew logarithmically in medium supplemented with whole blood serum but not with platelet-poor plasma. Early passage cells obtained from newborns grew equally well in either plasma- or serum-supplemented medium. The difference in growth factor requirements between adult and newborn cells persisted through the lifespan of the cells; i.e., newborn cells did not develop adult hormonal requirements when maintained in culture. Thus, in vitro cellular aging can be distinguished from some types of differentiation.
Fluorescent Chemosensors for Divalent Zinc Based on Zinc Finger Domains. Enhanced Oxidative Stability, Metal Binding Affinity, and Structural and Functional Characterization

The design, synthesis, and characterization of a family of peptides modeled after the zinc finger domains, which has led to the production of a fluorescent peptidyl sensor for divalent zinc with enhanced oxidative stability, are reported. The chemosensor design comprises a synthetic peptidyl template and a covalently attached fluorescent reporter which is sensitive to metal-induced conformational changes in the polypeptide construct. The modular synthetic approach employed for the construction of these chemosensors allows independent modification of the metal coordination sphere and the fluorescent reporter group. The structural, fluorescence, and zinc binding properties of these peptides and the effects of integrating various environment sensitive fluorophores, 4-(dimethylamino)benzamide, 5-(dimethylamino)naphthalenesulfonamide, and 3-carboxamidocoumarin, are described. Manipulation of the ligand sphere, by removal of one of the pair of thiolate ligands, was undertaken to enhance the oxidative stability ...
The Cellular Basis of Cs-Us Pairing Efficacy for Classical Conditioning of Aplysia's Withdrawal Reflex: Potential Contribution of a Hebbian Mechanism

The marine snail Aplysia californica exhibits a simple form of associative learning-classical conditioning of its defensive withdrawal reflex. Previous cellular analyses of this form of learning have suggested that it is due to a presynaptic neuronal mechanism-activity-dependent presynaptic facilitation of the monosynaptic connections between the sensory and motor neurons which mediate the reflex. Classical conditioning of Aplysia's withdrawal reflex shares with many vertebrate conditioning preparations the property of temporal contiguity: conditioning is best when the conditioned stimulus (CS) precedes the unconditioned stimulus (US) by a small temporal interval. The temporal contiguity of conditioning in Aplysia has been accounted for by a molecular model. Specifically, it has been proposed that Aplysia sensory neurons possess an adenylyl cyclase that is dually regulated by Ca2+ which is elevated in the sensory neuron by the occurrence of the CS-and the facilitatory transmitter serotonin (5-HT)-whose release is stimulated by the occurrence of the US. It has been further suggested that the activation of the adenylyl cyclase exhibits a temporal requirement: the elevation of Ca2+ within the sensory neuron must precede the 5-HT stimulation for optimal activation of the cyclase. Recent data from our laboratory suggest that a postsynaptic mechanism-Hebbian potentiation of sensorimotor synapses-may mediate classical conditioning of Aplysia's withdrawal reflex. Here we summarize these data and suggest how Hebbian potentiation of sensorimotor synapses may play a role in the temporal contiguity of conditioning in Aplysia.
Design of switched-capacitor filters using non-ideal op amps

Abstract A general synthesis procedure is given for the realization of switched-capacitor filters in the z-domain. The method uses biphased switches, capacitors and non-ideal op amps with finite gain-bandwidth product. The design includes at the outset the effects of the op amp gain-bandwidth product. Two examples are given which have been verified by a computer program.