cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Identification of Grf1 on mouse chromosome 9 as an imprinted gene by RLGS-M

Normal mammalian development requires a diploid combination of both haploid parental genomes. Uniparental disomy for certain segments of specific chromosomes results in aberrant development or prenatal lethality, indicating that the parental genomes have undergone modifications during gametogenesis. These modifications result in parent-of-origin specific expression for some genes, a phenomenon called genomic imprinting. Recent work with DNA methyltransferase deficient mice showed that differential methylation is the probable basis of the imprinted character of several genes. Screening for endogenous imprinted loci using restriction landmark genomic scanning with methylation sensitive enzymes (RLGS-M) identified eight imprinted RLGS (Irigs) candidate loci. Molecular analysis of the genomic region of one of the loci (Irigs2) resulted in the discovery of the paternally imprinted U2afbp-rs gene within a previously identified imprinted region on mouse chromosome 11 (refs 5, 7). This paper describes the characterisation of a novel imprinted RLGS-M locus, Irigs3, on mouse chromosome 9 (ref. 6). Within this locus we identified the Grf1 (also called Cdc25Mm) gene, which is homologous to the RAS-specific guanine nucleotide exchange factor gene, CDC25, in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Grf1 is located about 30 kb downstream of the methylation imprinted site, identified by RLGS-M, and shows paternal allele specific expression in mouse brain, stomach and heart. Our results indicate that imprinting may have a role in regulating mitogenic signal transduction pathways during growth and development.
The Managerial Opportunity of Enrollment Decline

"What makes the difference between a school system that withers under the crisis of enrollment decline, and one that responds by taking advantage of this opportunity?" In his keynote address to the Managing Enrollment Decline conference, Willis D. Hawley, Dean of the George Peabody College for Teachers, set forth that question. The answer is, I think, quite simple. The answer is management. The school systems that are able to seize the opportunity created by declining enrollments are ones in which the superintendent, school board members, principals, teachers, union leaders, and parents possess some of the important skills of management. The school systems that wither simply lack those managerial resources. This, of course, is a tautology: School systems that respond well have, by definition, good management. School systems that wither have, again by definition, poor management. The hypothesis is untestable. You cannot create a research design to determine whether a lack of management is correlated with withering. For management is not accounting, or auditing, or personnel systems, or management information systems, or any of a variety of other (easily countable, if not easily measurable) things associated with management systems. Rather, management is getting a group of people to work together toward a common set of goals more effectively than they would if they all went about their tasks individually. Management is getting results. School systems that use the opportunity of enrollment decline to produce better results are thus, by definition, better managed, although admittedly it's easier to manage in some settings than in others (see Boyd, 1982).
On the optimal control of stochastic systems with an exponential-of-integral performance index

Abstract In this paper a theory of optimal control is developed for stochastic systems whose performance is measured by the exponential of an integral form. Such a formulation of the cost function is shown to be not only general and useful but also analytically tractable. Starting with very general classes of stochastic systems, optimality conditions are obtained which exploit the multiplicative decomposability of the exponential-of-integral form. Specializing to partially observed systems of stochastic differential equations with Brownian Motion disturbances, optimality conditions are obtained which parallel those for systems with integral costs. Also treated are the special cases of linear systems with exponential of quadratic costs for which explicit optimal controls are obtainable. In addition, several general results of independent interest are obtained, which concern optimality of stochastic systems.
Comparative Toxicity of Eugenol and Its Quinone Methide Metabolite in Cultured Liver Cells Using Kinetic Fluorescence Bioassays

Comparative kinetic analyses of the mechanisms of toxicity of the alkylphenol eugenol and its putative toxic metabolite (quinone methide, EQM) were carried out in cultured rat liver cells (Clone 9, ATCC) using a variety of vital fluorescence bioassays with a Meridian Ultima laser cytometer. Parameters monitored included intracellular GSH and calcium levels ([Ca2+]i), mitochondrial and plasma membrane potentials (MMP and PMP), intracellular pH, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and gap junction-mediated intercellular communication (GJIC). Cells were exposed to various concentrations of test compounds (1 to 1000 μM) and all parameters monitored directly after addition at 15 s intervals for at least 10 min. Eugenol depleted intracellular GSH, inhibited GJIC and generation of ROS, and had a modest effect on MMP at concentrations of 10 to 100 μM. At high concentrations (1000 μM), eugenol also affected [Ca2+]i, PMP, and pH. Effects of EQM were seen at lower concentrations (1 to 10 μM). The earliest and most potent effects of either eugenol or EQM were seen on GSH levels and GJIC. Coadministration of glutathione ethyl ester enhanced intracellular GSH levels by almost 100% and completely protected cells from cell death caused by eugenol and EQM. These results suggest that eugenol mediates its hepatotoxic effects primarily through depletion of cytoprotective thiols and interference in thiol-dependent processes such as GJIC. Furthermore, our results support the hypothesis that the toxic effects of eugenol are mediated through its quinone methide metabolite.
The fin de siècle thesis.

This paper examines the relations between John Heilbron's argument that fin de siecle physicists adjusted the image and substance of their discipline to cultural concerns, and Paul Forman's approach to acau-sality in the Weimar period. In addition to their focus on representation rather than truth, adherents of the "descriptionist" epistemologies that Heilbron identified also promoted an emphasis on method, statistical rather than causal explanations, historical understandings of epistemology, and stressed the relations between physics and other disciplines. Their views provide an intellectual context--within the physics discipline--for at least some part of what Forman had described as a capitulation to the hostile social environment expressed in Oswald Spengler's Der Untergang des Abendlandes.
An experimental study of blind proficiency tests in forensic science

We conducted a series of sender–receiver experiments to study the consequences of implementing a regime of blind proficiency tests in forensic science to reduce error rates and improve the criminal justice system. Senders are our surrogate for forensic laboratories and receivers, for the judge or jury. Our experimental surrogate (random audits with a penalty) for blind proficiency tests reduced sender error rates by as much as 46% depending on the level of experimentally induced bias. When penalties improve information quality, receiver error rates fell by as much as 26% depending on the level of the sender bias. We also find that the penalty must be large relative to the payoff to induce the reduction in errors. Our results suggest that a regime of blind proficiency testing has the potential to reduce forensic science errors.
Electroproduction of inclusive pions at high Q 2

This paper reports measurements of the inclusive pion electroproduction reaction $e+N\ensuremath{\rightarrow}e+{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}}+$ anything with both proton and neutron targets for pions produced along and near the direction of the virtual photon. Two independent purposes of these measurements were to provide data at low $\ensuremath{\epsilon}$ and at high ${Q}^{2}$. Data are reported for the ($W$,${Q}^{2}$,$\ensuremath{\epsilon}$) points (2.2 GeV, 1.2 ${\mathrm{GeV}}^{2}$, 0.45), (2.7, 2.0, 0.35), (2.7, 3.3, 0.40), (2.7, 6.2, 0.40), and (2.7, 9.5, 0.40). The data are used to test Feynman scaling and to compare the ratio of the cross sections for charged-pion production to the quark-model predictions. The data are also used in conjunction with the data from earlier experiments to separate the scalar and transverse components of the cross section.
Effects of Ring Substitution on the Binding and Oxidation of Cyanophenols on Au(111) Electrodes

The behavior of 2-, 3-, and 4-cyanophenol adsorbed on Au(111) has been studied using electrochemistry, potential difference FTIR, and in situ scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Cyclic voltammetry displays a decreased oxidation current for cyanophenols substituted at the 2 or 4 positions on the ring. Surface FTIR bands are observed for 4-cyanophenol, while the 2- and 3-substituted molecules display no bands in the ring-stretching region. STM shows that 4-cyanophenol forms an ordered structure similar to that seen for phenol, while 3-cyanophenol does not appear to adopt an ordered structure on the Au(111) surface. These different behaviors relate to the different packing abilities of the differently substituted cyanophenols.
Synthetic hydroxy apatite crystals. II. Aging and strontium incorporation

The process of crystal aging in synthetic apatites, described in an earlier publication, has been studied in more detail. It has been shown that aging involves two different processes: ( a ) a successive transport of calcium to fill out vacancies in the crystal interior, and ( b ) a decrease in specific surface area probably due to recrystallization. As a consequence of these processes, the Ca/P ratio rises from 1 to 1.66 over a period of about 2 days. The hydration shell decreases 20% also in the first 2 days and continues to decrease somewhat further. It has also been shown that the uptake of strontium may be preferentially limited to column positions and that calcium discriminates against strontium in this process. Crystal aging can then be expected to decrease the amount of exchangeable strontium and to increase the Ca/Sr discrimination. Both these effects have been demonstrated. There is reason to believe that the property of internal crystal rearrangement occurs in bone mineral. Since Ca/Sr discrimination in vivo is observed to be less than expected, the present findings tentatively support the idea of a living membrane separating the bone mineral from the circulating fluids, this membrane performing an active transportation function that distinguishes between calcium and strontium.
Monkeypox virus (MPV). I. Propagation, purification, and further characterization.

Monkeypox virus (MPV) replicated efficiently in CV-1 monolayer cells to reach maximal titer in 12 hours. Particles were initially purified in sucrose cushion and then ultimately purified in either sucrose, potassium tartrate or cesium chloride density gradient. Viral cores were also analyzed. The buoyant densities of virion and the cores were 1.28 and 1.32, respectively.
A superconducting micronet current amplifier

A mesoscopic, three-terminal device, the Superconducting Micronet Current Amplifier, is proposed and analyzed in the context of the nonlinear Ginzburg-Landau theory. The basic structure of the amplifier consists of a micronet loop ported by bulk superconducting leads. Constrained by fluxoid quantization, with a free energy dominated by a larger superconducting than magnetic energy, this nonlinear system is provided with a fundamental mechanism for current-controlled amplification. The current gain is a function of the current-flux operating point, and the relative lengths of internal micronetwork branches.
Biodegradability and toxicity of polyalphaolefin base stocks

Low viscosity polyalphaolefin fluids (2 and 4 cSt ® 100°C) are significantly biodegraded under the conditions of the CEC-L-33-T-82 test procedure. This is contrary to the widespread, but inaccurate, perception that polyalphaolefin (PAO)fluids are generally not biodegradable. In a time-extended CEC-L-33-T-82 test, the 2, 4, and 8 cSt fluids were shown to continue biodegrading well past the 21 -day span prescribed in the standard method. PAO fluids are considered non-toxic and non-irritating to mammals. Moreover, they are not expected to be toxic to aquatic organisms: in the Microtox® test with bioluminescent bacteria, no observable effects were detected for concentrations of 49,500 ppm of the water-soluble fraction.
Microscopic approaches to dynamics and structure of biological motors

Abstract It has become increasingly clear that the interior of biological cells, the cytoplasm, is intricately organized and ordered by complex networks of protein polymers and membranes. Transport processes, as well as large-scale mechanical processes, are driven within cells by a multitude of motor proteins interacting with these networks. New experimental techniques are now making it possible to directly observe the molecular dynamic processes at the basis of this machinery, and a detailed understanding of the parts of the machinery is emerging. Elementary displacements and forces produced by single molecules have been observed for several motor proteins.
Effect of human chorionic gonadotropin on the secretion of testosterone and 4-androstene-3,17-dione by the canine testis.

THE isolation of testosterone and 4-androstene-3,17-dione from spermatic venous blood of the dog has been reported by West et al. (1), but the effect of gonadotropins on the secretion of these steroids has not been studied. Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) causes hypertrophy of interstitial cells of the testis (2). Brady (3) found that HCG increased the incorporation of acetate-C14 into testosterone by testes slices from various species. In this investigation the influence of HCG on the secretion of testosterone and 4-androstene-3,17-dione by the testis of intact anesthetized dogs was measured by the change in rate of output of these androgens into the spermatic venous blood. The prompt increase in secretion would seem to rule out stimulation of enzyme synthesis as the primary mechanism of tropic action. methods Male mongrel dogs, 18-28 kg. bocty weight, were anesthetized with 35 mg. sodium pentobarbital per kg. intravenously. A longitudinal incision was made in the left abdomen, and the spermatic arter...
Lorenzo's oil, adrenoleukodystrophy, and the blood– brain barrier

Adrenoleukodystrophy is a rapid, progressive demyelinating disease affecting the CNS that is characterized by large increases in plasma and tissue very long saturated fatty acids (VLCFA). Lorenzo's oil (LO), consisting of erucic (22:1 n-9) and oleic (18:1 n-9) acid in a triglyceride form, is a dietary therapy effective in reducing plasma and tissue VLCFA. Despite the decreased VLCFA, clinical studies indicated that LO failed to stop the progressive demyelination, suggesting that erucic acid, the active component of LO, did not cross the BBB. We addressed this question by infusing [14-14C] 22:1 n-9 (170 μCi/kg) into male rats using two different infusion paradigms. The radiotracer was infused (i.v.) into awake, adult male rats over a 10-min period or infused (i.c.v.) into the fourth ventricle over a 7-day period using an osmotic mini-pump. Brains were removed from the cranium, frozen in liquid nitrogen, lipids extracted, and separated using standard techniques. [1-14C] 20:4 n-6 was infused (i.v.) and used as a positive control. Following i.v. infusion, 0.011% of the erucic acid was extracted by the brain, compared to 0.055% of the arachidonic acid. About 60% of the brain erucic acid was found in the aqueous fraction compared to 30% for arachidonic acid. Further, erucic acid was targeted to cholesteryl ester and triacylglyceride pools, whereas arachidonic acid was targeted to phospholipid pools. In animals infused i.c.v., 0.078% of the dose was taken up and about 60% of the erucic acid was targeted to phospholipid pools. These results clearly demonstrate that erucic acid crosses the BBB, similar to arachidonic acid, and is incorporated into specific lipid pools. Acknowledgements: This work was supported by The Myelin Project.
Detection of lung lobar fissures using fuzzy logic

The human lungs are divided into five distinct anatomic compartments called lobes. The physical boundaries between the lung lobes are called the lobar fissures. Detection of the lobar fissures in an image data set can be used to help identify the major components of the pulmonary anatomy, guide image registration with a standard lung atlas, drive additional image segmentation processing to find airways and vessels, and to provide an anatomic framework within which image-based measurements can be reported. Little work has been done to develop methods for detecting the lobar fissures. We have developed a semi-automatic method to identify the left and right oblique fissures in 3-D X-ray CT data sets. Our method is based on using fuzzy sets to describe the anatomic and image-based characteristics of likely fissure pixels, and we then use a graph search to select the most probable fissure location on 2-D slices of the data set. The user initializes the search once by defining starting pixels, initial direction and ending pixels on one slice. Once the fissure has identified on a singe slice, it can be used to guide automatic fissure detection on neighboring slices. Thus, the entire 3-D surface defined by a fissure can be identified with a little intervention. The method has been tested by processing two CT data sets from a normal subject. We present results comparing our method against results obtained by manual analysis. The average RMS error between the manual analysis and our approach is approximately 1.9 pixels (corresponding to about 1.3 mm), while the fissures themselves typically appear 3 to 6 pixels wide on a CT slice.
Benthic Foraminiferal Trends in Pacific-Antarctic Basin: ABSTRACT

Trawl samples collected in depths from 3,000 to more than 5,000 m allow the following conclusions. 1. The fauna consists mainly of large, widely distributed bathyal and abyssal Foraminifera. Most assemblages are more than 85% arenaceous, but between 3,000 and 4,000 m some assemblages are predominantly calcareous. 2. Species diversity, although variable, reaches a maximum of 37 at nearly 4,300 m. This maximum coincides with a peak in a diversity factor based on information theory; species equitability is highest at a slightly shallower level. Areal diversity trends are absent. 3. Eleven species are dominant both in abundance and consistency of appearance. Of these, only Uvigerina peregrina disrupta Todd is calcareous. Hormosina robusta (Pearcy) is the most characteristic species in the area. Other important forms are Haplophragmoides umbilicatus Pearcy, Cyclammina pusilla Brady, and Recurvoides contortus Earland. Cyclammina orbicularis Brady dominates the shallowest station (3,043 m), and Reophax nodulosus Brady is dominant at the deepest station (5,124 m). 4. Latitudinal and longitudinal transects indicate that Cyclammina pusilla and Haplophragmoides umbilicatus increase in relative abundance toward the south, Reophax spp. and H. umbilicatus increase toward the east, and Psammosphaera fusca Schulze increases toward the west. 5. On the basis of quantitative data available from the western Southern Ocean, a generalized benthic Antarctic foraminiferal zonation seems possible. Bathymetric plots of cumulative percentages of selected index species help in achieving such a zonation. End_of_Article - Last_Page 558------------
Risk-based recall intervals recommended

This summary of clinical guideline 19 from NICE includes recommendations for patients of all ages (both dentate and edentulous patients) and covers primary care received from NHS dental staff (dentists, independent contractors contracting within the NHS, dental hygienists and therapists) practising in England and Wales. The guideline takes into account the potential of the patient and the dental team to improve or maintain the quality of life and to reduce morbidity associated with oral and dental disease. The guideline does not cover intervals between dental examinations that are not routine dental recalls; that is, intervals between examinations related to ongoing courses of treatment, or part of current dental interventions, nor does it cover emergency dental interventions, or intervals between episodes of specialist care.
α2-Adrenergic receptor signalling in hypertension

Cardiovascular regulation by the sympathetic nervous system is mediated by activation of one or more of the nine known subtypes of the adrenergic receptor family; α 1A -, α 1B -, α 1D -, α 2A -, α 2B -, α 2C -, β 1 -, β 2 - and β 3 -ARs (adrenoceptors). The role of the α 2 -AR family has long been known to include presynaptic inhibition of neurotransmitter release, diminished sympathetic efferent traffic, vasodilation and vasoconstriction. This complex response is mediated by one of three subtypes which all uniquely affect blood pressure and blood flow. All three subtypes are present in the brain, kidney, heart and vasculature. However, each differentially influences blood pressure and sympathetic transmission. Activation of α 2A -ARs in cardiovascular control centres of the brain lowers blood pressure and decreases plasma noradrenaline (norepinephrine), activation of peripheral α 2B -ARs causes sodium retention and vasoconstriction, whereas activation of peripheral α 2C -ARs causes cold-induced vasoconstriction. In addition, non-selective agonists elicit endothelium-dependent vasodilation and presynaptic inhibition of noradrenaline release. The evidence that each of these receptor subtypes uniquely participates in cardiovascular control is discussed in this review.
Androgenic-anabolic steroids modify β-endorphin immunoreactivity in the rat brain

Immunocytochemical localization of beta-endorphin in the brains of intact and castrated male rats was conducted after the administration of high levels of androgenic-anabolic steroids (AAS; 14 daily injections of sesame oil or a cocktail of 2 mg/kg testosterone cypionate, 2 mg/kg nandrolone decanoate, and 1 mg/kg boldenone undecylenate) at doses commonly self-administered by athletes who are considered 'heavy abusers'. In normal intact oil-treated males, cytoplasmic immunoreactivity was prevalent throughout the arcuate nucleus while intense fiber tract immunoreactivity was most prevalent in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus. Administration of AAS significantly decreased the number of neurons exhibiting cytoplasmic immunoreactivity only in the rostral region of the arcuate nucleus. AAS treatment had no effect on beta-endorphin immunoreactivity in the middle or caudal aspects of the arcuate nucleus.
Recent Arctic marine diatom assemblages from bottom sediments in Baffin Bay and Davis Strait

Abstract This study investigates the present geographical boundaries and environmental limits of the diatom flora in the Baffin Bay and Davis Strait area. Seventy-four sea floor surface samples were examined. The raw data were analyzed with the CABFAC factor analysis program. Five factor assemblages, explaining 87% of the observed variance, emerged from this test. The statistically most important assemblage is the “Baffin Current assemblage”, composed ofThalassiosira gravida spores. The second assemblage is the “summer pack ice assemblage”, consisting ofActinocyclus curvatulus, with a lesser contribution ofThalassiosira trifulta. A third assemblage, dominated byThalassiosira hyalina, is located along the southwest coast of Greenland, indicating low ice concentration. The fourth assemblage consists ofPorosira sp. spores and indicates fast ice conditions. The fifth assemblage is dominated byThalassionema nitzschioides andPorosira glacialis (vegetative cells), and indicates the coastal environment. Diatoms found in the sediment belong to discrete assemblages which reflect differences in water masses, such as salinity and ice conditions. These findings should assist in the interpretation of paleoceanographic conditions in the region when diatom assemblages are studied in piston core sediments.
Children of HIV-positive drug-using parents.

ABSTRACT Objective Associations between human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status of injection drug users (IDUs) and their children's psychopathology and social functioning were examined. Method Parents ( N = 61) were drawn from an ongoing longitudinal study of inner city, primarily African-American IDUs. Children ( N = 79) were 6 to 11 years of age, currently living with the IDU parent. Parental variables included HIV status, apparent and inapparent HIV infection (with HIV-related medical symptoms and/or disclosure of parental HIV status to children; with neither medical symptoms nor disclosure, respectively), presence of HIV-related medical symptoms, HIV disclosure status to each child, and depression as ascertained by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies–Depression. Children's outcomes (competencies, psychiatric symptoms, and disorders) were assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist and the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children. Results Children of IDU parents exhibited high rates of psychopathology. Parental HIV infection per se had no discernible impact on children's outcomes. The apparent HIV infection of a parent was associated with an eightfold increase (odds ratio 7.80; 95% confidence interval 1.56–39.09) in the prevalence of disruptive behavior disorders (compared with children of HIV-negative parents). Parental depression was associated with a threefold increase in the prevalence of children's disruptive behavior disorders (odds ratio 3.49, 95% confidence interval 1.11–11.04). Conclusions Parental HIV status per se does not seem to have a differential impact on the affected children. The apparent HIV infection of a parent may be associated with children's externalizing symptoms and disorders.
Sorting signals can direct receptor-mediated export of soluble proteins into COPII vesicles.

Soluble secretory proteins are first translocated across endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membranes and folded in a specialized ER luminal environment. Fully folded and assembled secretory cargo are then segregated from ER-resident proteins into COPII-derived vesicles or tubular elements for anterograde transport. Mechanisms of bulk-flow, ER-retention and receptor-mediated export have been suggested to operate during this transport step, although these mechanisms are poorly understood1,2,3,4,5,6,7. In yeast, there is evidence to suggest that Erv29p functions as a transmembrane receptor for the export of certain soluble cargo proteins including glycopro-α-factor (gpαf), the precursor of α-factor mating pheromone8. Here we identify a hydrophobic signal within the pro-region of gpαf that is necessary for efficient packaging into COPII vesicles and for binding to Erv29p. When fused to Kar2p, an ER-resident protein, the pro-region sorting signal was sufficient to direct Erv29p-dependent export of the fusion protein into COPII vesicles. These findings indicate that specific motifs within soluble secretory proteins function in receptor-mediated export from the ER. Moreover, positive sorting signals seem to predominate over potential ER-retention mechanisms that may operate in localizing ER-resident proteins such as Kar2p.
Purification and properties of bacteriophage T4-induced RNA ligase

Abstract RNA ligase has been extensively purified by a new procedure in high yield from T4-infected Escherichia coli . The enzyme consists of a single polypeptide chain of molecular weight 47,000. It catalyzes the formation of a phosphodiester bond between a 5′-PO 4 -terminated oligonucleotide and a 3′-OH terminated oligonucleotide. The purified enzyme catalyzes both the intramolecular formation of single-stranded circles with longer oligonucleotides of the type pAp(Ap) n A −OH , where n is about 15 or greater and the intermolecular joining of pAp(Ap) 3 A OH (where the 5′-PO 4 -terminated oligonucleotide is short enough to prevent apposition of its 3′ and 5′ ends) to UpUpU OH when high concentrations of the 3′-OH-terminated acceptor oligonucleotide are present. Preparations of RNA ligase at all stages of purification show an unusual dependence of specific activity of the enzyme on the concentration of enzyme present in the assay. However, when care is taken to determine meaningful specific activities at each step, the ligase is found to be very stable during chromatography on various ion-exchange columns and may be purified by conventional techniques.
Two 10Gb/s/pin Low-Power Interconnect Methods for 3D ICs

Two RF techniques are combined with capacitive coupling interconnect to form ultra-wide-bandwidth impulse interconnect and RF interconnect in 3D IC technology. They achieve 10Gb/s/pin and 11Gb/s/pin transmission with 2.7mW/pin and 4.35mW/pin power consumption, respectively, using the MIT Lincoln Lab 3D 0.18mum CMOS, an 8times improvement over previous work
Northridge, California, earthquake of 1994: density of pipe breaks and surface strains

Abstract Empirical scaling equations are presented which relate the average number of water pipe breaks per km2, n , with the peak strain in the soil or intensity of shaking at the site. These equations are based on contour maps of peak surface strain evaluated from strong motion recordings, and observations of intensity of ground shaking and damage following the Northridge, California, earthquake of 17 January 1994. Histograms for the number of pipe breaks per km2, n, are presented for several ranges of values of the horizontal peak strain and for several values of the site intensity. The observed distribution of pipe breaks is also used to speculate on possible more detailed geographical distribution of near surface strains in the San Fernando Valley and in central Los Angeles. The results can be used to predict number of pipe breaks in the San Fernando Valley and in Los Angeles, for a scenario earthquake or in probabilistic seismic hazard calculations, considering all possible scenarios that contribute to the hazard and the likelihood of their occurrence during specified exposure. Such predictions will be useful for emergency response planning (as the functioning of the water supply is critical for sanitation and in fighting fires caused by earthquakes), to estimate strains during future and past earthquakes in areas where no strong motion was recorded and in defining design guidelines for pipelines and other structures and structural systems sensitive to strains in the ground.
Side-mode suppression for long DBR lasers

We present the results of a traveling-wave analysis of the excitation of side longitudinal modes for a nearly-single mode DBR laser with long passive waveguide. The theory accounts for the intraband and interband mode mixing and predicts their joint multiplicative broadband effect on the side mode intensities. The sign of the effect depends on the location of the lasing mode on the net gain curve, yielding strong symmetrical side-mode suppression for negative frequency detuning. The spectrum thus features a symmetrical shape with asymmetrical tuning characteristics. The effect enables almost single-mode operation of cm-long DBR lasers. >
Effects of surface active agents on crystalline rabbit muscle phosphorylase.

Abstract 1. 1. Activity of rabbit muscle phosphorylase a and phosphorylase b could be increased as much as two-fold by the addition of certain nonionic surface active agents. The concentrations of these agents required for activation of rabbit muscle phosphorylase coincide with the concentrations required for aggregation of these agents into micelles. 2. 2. Cationic and anionic surface active agents inhibit rabbit muscle phosphorylase. This inhibition also seems to be connected with the formation of micelles by these agents.
Metal-Containing Dicarboxylic Acids as Building Blocks for Lamellar Inorganic−Organic Hybrid Networks

The synthesis of two transition-metal-containing dicarboxylic acids, and their use as starting materials in the supramolecular synthesis of eight different lamellar solids is reported. Ni(II) and Co(II) salts are reacted with 2,4-pyridinedicarboxylic acid (2,4-H2PDCA), in water solution to create the dicarboxylic acid starting materials, which are then allowed to react with a variety of primary amines. A comparison of four resulting crystal structures indicates that the compounds are architecturally consistent; in each case virtually identical layers are separated by a hydrophobic interlayer the nature of which depends on the nature of the organic amine used in the reaction. An analogy is made between lamellar solids created by organic supramolecular reactions (in which dicarboxylic acids and amines are the starting materials) and the reported inorganic−organic hybrid materials (where the dicarboxylic acid is a coordination compound).
Mapping Strategic Engagements: WOMEN'S MOVEMENTS AND THE STATE

Abstract Given that all women's movements share a unique relationship to the State – their exclusion from political power, often legally and occasionally constitutionally underpinned, has this exclusion shaped women's movements' strategies, which have had as their general goal women's political inclusion? Some similarities are evident across types of women's movements and across nations. In this article, I discuss the ‘strategic dilemmas’ that women's movements are likely to face, and I attempt to identify the range of strategic responses employed by feminist movements. I begin with a definitional distinction between women's movements and feminist movements, followed by a discussion of women's relationship to the State. I identify similarities across feminist movements in four strategic dimensions: (1) movement autonomy vs state involvement; (2) insider vs outsider positioning; (3) separatist vs coalitional stances; and (4) discursive and influence-seeking politics. These strategic dimensions shape differ...
Sex Differences in the Heritability of Alcohol Problems

Genetic factors may have a role in defining more coherent clinical phenotypes and subtypes in the DSM-V. Research has demonstrated that there are gender differences in the patterns of alcohol consumption, specific symptom endorsement, withdrawal effects, and rates of alcohol use disorders (AUD). We examined the sex-specific heritability of diagnostic symptoms for alcohol-related problems in a community-based sample of twin pairs (males: n = 519; females: n = 613) using a biometrical analytic strategy to estimate the genetic and environmental components of AUD symptoms. Five of the seven symptoms of alcohol problems demonstrated sex-differences in heritability. Three of the seven symptoms examined had significant heritability in female twins only: “increased risk of injury or harm,” “emotional problems related to drinking,” and “the desire to drink.” In males, a different pattern was observed, with four of the seven examined symptoms demonstrating heritability: “Increased chance of injury or harm,” “spendi...
David Williams, Reformer

The "age of reason"-so often an unfounded characterization of the eighteenth century-had no more aggressive exponent than David Williams (1738-1816).' Born in Glamorganshire, he fulfilled a promise exacted by his dying father to enter the dissenting ministry and was ordained to a Somerset congregation in 1758. His theological views proving unsatisfactory to this group he removed to an Exeter congregation in 1761. For its use he prepared a "Liturgy on the Principles of the Christian Religion," but the older members objected to his ideas and he to their morals, and in 1769 he took a congregation in Middlesex where he remained four years. Thereafter he turned to writing of which he did a great deal in the next two decades, mainly controversial in nature.2 Vitally concerned with toleration and political reform he plunged readily into debates on subjects of current interest. As might be expected the French Revolution aroused his keenest enthusiasm. He became the intimate of Brissot,3 who lauded
Intelligent robot trends and predictions for the .net future

An intelligent robot is a remarkably useful combination of a manipulator, sensors and controls. The use of these machines in factory automation can improve productivity, increase product quality and improve competitiveness. This paper presents a discussion of recent and future technical and economic trends. During the past twenty years the use of industrial robots that are equipped not only with precise motion control systems but also with sensors such as cameras, laser scanners, or tactile sensors that permit adaptation to a changing environment has increased dramatically. Intelligent robot products have been developed in many cases for factory automation and for some hospital and home applications. To reach an even higher degree of applications, the addition of learning may be required. Recently, learning theories such as the adaptive critic have been proposed. In this type of learning, a critic provides a grade to the controller of an action module such as a robot. The adaptive critic is a good model for human learning. In general, the critic may be considered to be the human with the teach pendant, plant manager, line supervisor, quality inspector or the consumer. If the ultimate critic is the consumer, then the quality inspector must model the consumer's decision-making process and use this model in the design and manufacturing operations. Can the adaptive critic be used to advance intelligent robots? Intelligent robots have historically taken decades to be developed and reduced to practice. Methods for speeding this development include technology such as rapid prototyping and product development and government, industry and university cooperation.
Telomerase activity concentrates in the mitotically active segments of human hair follicles.

Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein enzyme capable of adding hexanucleotide repeats onto the ends of linear chromosomal DNA. Whereas normal somatic cells with a limited replicative capacity fail to express telomerase activity, most immortal eukaryotic cells do. Cells of renewal tissues (e.g., skin, intestine, blood) require an extensive proliferative capacity. Some cells in such renewal tissues also express telomerase activity, most likely to prevent rapid erosion of their telomeres during cell proliferation. In this study, we measured the levels of telomerase activity in dissected compartments of the human hair follicle: hair shaft, gland-containing fragment, upper intermediate fragment (where it is thought undifferentiated stem cells reside), lower intermediate fragment and in the bulb-containing fragment (an area with high mitotic activity containing a more differentiated pool of keratinocytes). In anagen follicles, high levels of telomerase activity were found almost exclusively in the bulb-containing fragment of the follicles, with low levels of telomerase in the bulge area (intermediate fragments) and gland-containing fragment. In comparison, catagen follicles had low levels of telomerase activity in the bulb-containing fragments as well as in other compartments. Such observations indicate that, in anagen hair follicles, the fragments containing cells actively dividing (e.g., transient amplifying cells) express telomerase activity, whereas fragments containing cells with low mitotic activity, for example, quiescent stem cells, express low levels of telomerase activity.
Institutional Logics, Moral Frames, and Advocacy: Explaining the Purpose of Advocacy Among Nonprofit Human-Service Organizations

Studies of advocacy by nonprofit human-service organizations generally fail to distinguish between two major types of advocacy—advocacy for social benefits versus organizational benefits. We show that different organizational factors explain the emphasis on each type of advocacy. We use an institutional logics perspective, with its emphasis on the moral frames organizations adopt, as our theoretical framework. We propose that two organizational mechanisms express these moral frames—selection of a practice frame and location decision—and shape the substance of advocacy. Analyzing a probability sample of these organizations, we find that a practice frame that places the clients’ problems on the environment rather than the individual is positively associated with advocacy for social benefits. Similarly, organizations that express their moral commitment to locate in high-poverty areas are more likely to advocate for social benefits. We conclude with some implications on the role of advocacy in a neoliberal re...
Book Review: Neck Rejuvenation

Richard Gentile, editor. Neck Rejuvenation. New York, NY: Thieme, 2011. ISBN-10: 1604060565 Neck Rejuvenation , edited by Richard Gentile, is a comprehensive review of aesthetic surgery treatments for the neck. The text includes 173 pages and 12 chapters written by 13 authors. Although two coauthors are plastic surgeons, the writers are primarily facial plastic surgery specialists, perhaps making it particularly important reading for our specialty. The book clearly bears the footprint of its editor, Dr. Gentile, since he authored or coauthored five of the 12 book chapters. Strengths of the publication include its comprehensiveness. Individual chapters are devoted to anatomy, patient consultation, and preoperative evaluation as well as to discussions on a wide variety of procedures addressing the lower face and neck. This includes liposculpture, SMAS imbrication and plication procedures, direct excision of neck skin, and submental platysmaplasty techniques performed either as isolated procedures or concurrent with facelift surgery. There is very little that this book does not cover in aesthetic surgery of the lower face and neck. Drilling down into the content of each chapter, the quality is sometimes mixed. As is so frequent in textbooks authored by multiple surgeons, topics are occasionally redundant. On the positive side, the majority of authors do a fine job in reviewing …
India's middlemen: connecting by corrupting?

Much of India’s corruption involves middlemen: go-betweens who bring citizens’ cases to the attention of state officials, producing results – for a price. Citizens pay bribes, often for benefits for which they already qualify, and much (but not all) of that money is passed on to officials by the middleman. On its face such arrangements would seem to benefit no one but the middleman himself, but closer examination shows that middleman corruption involves much more than a discrete material transaction. There are important intangible dimensions: officials’ status is reaffirmed, while for citizens government takes on a comprehensible human face. These dimensions of corruption become all the more important over time, for both reputational capital and expectations are built up that shape future transactions. Most important, middlemen reduce transaction costs for citizens and officials alike. Thus, while middleman corruption falls far short of the ideal sorts of market, government and personal systems of “micro-coordination” assumed in many accounts of the effects of corruption, it may well be a better way of getting things done than most of the alternatives actually available. The analysis yields a more subtle but precise view of how cultural factors – especially mediating social institutions – figure into the study of corruption, and may suggest reasons why extensive corruption and solid economic growth have coexisted in India for decades.
Grouping game players using parallelized k-means on supercomputers

Grouping game players based on their online behaviors has attracted a lot of attention recently. However, due to the huge volume and extreme complexity in online game data collections, grouping players is a challenging task. This study has applied parallelized K-Means on Gordon, a supercomputer hosted at San Diego Supercomputer Center, to meet the computational challenge on this task. By using the parallelization functions supported by R, this study was able to cluster 120,000 game players into eight non-overlapping groups and speed up the clustering process by one to four times under the two- to eight-degree of parallelization. This study has systematically examined a number of factors which may affect the quality of the clusters and/or the performance of the clustering processes; those factors include degree of parallelism, number of clusters, data dimensions, and variable combinations. This study invented a method to identify the optimal clustering schema, which can choose the most discriminative features and create an appropriate number of clusters in K-Means clustering. Besides demonstrating the effectiveness of parallelized K-Means in grouping game players, this study also highlights some lessons learned for using K-Means on very large datasets and some experience on applying parallel processing techniques in intensive data analysis.
Single insect NMR: A new tool to probe chemical biodiversity.

Because of analytical limitations, multiple animals or plants are typically required to identify natural products. Using a unique 1-mm high-temperature superconducting NMR probe, we directly examined the chemical composition of defensive secretions from walking stick insects. Individual milkings were dissolved in D2O without purification and examined by NMR within 10 min of secretion. We found that Anisomorpha buprestoides secretes similar quantities of glucose and mixtures of monoterpene dialdehydes that are stereoisomers of dolichodial. Different individual animals produce different stereoisomeric mixtures, the ratio of which varies between individual animals raised in the same container and fed the same food. Another walking stick, Peruphasma schultei, also secretes glucose and a single, unique stereoisomer that we are naming “peruphasmal”. These observations suggest a previously unrecognized significance of aqueous components in walking stick defensive sprays. Single-insect variability of venom demons...
Type IV pilus gene homologs pilABCD are required for natural transformation in Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans.

Abstract Some clinical isolates of the gram-negative periodontal pathogen Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans are naturally competent for DNA uptake. In this study, we examined the sequence and the function of a type IV pilus-like pilABCD gene cluster and its downstream region in a naturally transformable A. actinomycetemcomitans strain D7S. Specific knockout mutants of pilABCD of strain D7S were constructed by replacing individual genes with an antibiotic resistance cassette. The transformation frequency of chromosome markers in the wildtype strain D7S was ∼10−3 per CFU. In contrast, the ΔpilA, ΔpilB, ΔpilC, ΔpilBC or ΔpilD mutants were non-transformable (transformation frequency
Synandrogenic and Antiandrogenic Effect of Progestins: Comparison with Nonprogestational Antiandrogens

Preliminary studies indicated that low doses of cyproterone acetate (Cyp Ac) potentiated the action of testosterone on mouse kidney. This unexpected observation prompted a more extensive evaluation of several progestins (progesterone, progesterone caproate, Cyp Ac, medroxyprogesterone acetate and megestrol acetate) as well as nonprogestational antiandrogens (flutamide, BOMT, cyproterone). The effects of these agents, both alone and in combination with testosterone, on the kidney arid male reproductive tract of the mouse were determined. Testosterone (0.1 mg/day) resulted in a 2- to 5-fold increase in kidney β3-glucuronidase activity after 6 days of treatment. Of the progestins tested, only medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) and megestrol acetate stimulated β-glucuronidase in the kidney. Androgen-insensitive (tfm/y) mice with defective androgen receptors did not respond to high doses of MPA, suggesting that androgens and progestins share a common mechanism of action on kidney. With the exception of progeste...