cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
On Marginal Subgradients of Convex Functions

For a lower semi continuous and proper convex function $f$ with nonempty minimizer set and a point $x$ in its domain, a marginal subgradient of $f$ at $x$ is a vector in $\partial f(x)$ with the smallest norm. We denote the norm of the marginal subgradient of $f$ at $x$ by $g(x)$. In this paper we study the monotonicity of the infimum of $g(x)$ over an equidistance contour from the minimizer set. The results are applied to the study of some growth properties of the marginal subgradients.
Architecting next-generation user interfaces

Emerging technologies provide platforms for new devices, applications, and user interfaces. These technologies have shown potential in early research, but their true utility and measures of success lie in their ability to reflect and enhance the capabilities of the people who use them.My research seeks to address this problem by thoroughly examining and understanding humans, hardware, and software to create tools that enable users in new ways and meet real needs. In this talk, I will discuss both sides of the coin: the potential, and the limitations of emerging input technologies that require fundamentally different user interface designs to realize their full utility. With particular focus on the area of multi-touch and surface computing, I will describe how leveraging and mirroring human motor, cognitive, and social abilities and needs can produce interfaces that are both learnable and enabling of high-bandwidth communication between the user and the computer. Further, such leverage and reflection also ensures that the resulting tools solve real problems and enable their users in ways that a traditional mouse-based user interface do not.
An outline of the approach being used in developing the OECD Dictionary/Thesaurus of `risk assessment' terminology

A system was developed to capture and make available the definitions of terms and the approaches and methodologies in the risk assessment process of the member-countries of the OECD. The system uses the principles of artificial intelligence. The system is running on the Internet.
Thermokarst lakes expand and drain laterally as permafrost degrades

In Arctic regions, thermokarst lakes form and expand from thawing permafrost or melting of ice. However, as lakes expand they have a tendency to drain laterally. Jones et al. surveyed the extent of thermokarst lakes in the continuous permafrost zone in the Cape Espenberg lowland of northwestern Alaska's Seward Peninsula using high-resolution remote sensing imagery during 1950–1951, 1978, and 2006–2007. They found that most thermokarst lakes have been expanding at an average rate of 0.3 meter per year as permafrost degrades, with rates relatively stable over the 56-year observation period. When viewed from above, a ring of expansion along most lake margins was visible; however, several ver y large lakes drained laterally during this observation period as the expanding lakes encountered a topographic drainage gradient. The authors report that this pattern of particularly large lakes being more prone to drainage resulted in more land area gain than land area loss since 1950 and may represent a carbon sink as these drained basins begin to accumulate peat.
Self-Concept and Metacognition in Ethnic Minorities Predictions from the BACEIS Model

This study explores the relationship between measures of academic self-concept and metacognition in three different ethnic groups-Black, Hispanic, and Asian American. The BACEIS model of intellectu...
Simultaneously stabilizing controllers for a class of linear plants

Abstract It is shown that a class of linear, time-invariant, multi-input–multi-output plants that all have poles at zero but do not have other unstable poles can be simultaneously stabilized. A procedure is proposed to design a stable and strictly proper simultaneously stabilizing controller. All simultaneously stabilizing controllers for this class are also characterized in terms of a parameter matrix that has to satisfy a unimodularity condition.
A Non Traditional Solution for High Vibration Connection Systems

As automotive and commercial vehicle OEM's continue their quest to reduce cost, product selection, quality, and reliability must be maintained. On-engine and wheel located connection systems create the greatest challenges due to the extreme levels of vibration. In the past, devices were fewer, and there where less direct connects in high vibration locations (Engine/ wheel sensors, electronic controllers, fuel injectors). Instead, small wire harnesses (“pigtails”) were commonly used. These pigtails can dampen the effect of the environment which includes mild to severe vibration by keeping the environmental effect away from the electrical connection contact point. Electrically connecting directly to the device creates new challenges in the connection system with the increased threat of fretting corrosion. Suppliers supporting OEM's are attempting to meet these direct connect requirements with lubrication, precious metal plating, and high contact force contacts. Some are more effective than others, and all have their drawbacks. Non traditional methods are being introduced in an attempt to meet OEM requirements, while attempting to keep cost, packaging, and reliability in check. Some connection systems dampen the vibration effect at the interface, or increase the amount of contact points with special terminal designs. Most solutions are after the fact, adding to or modifying an existing connection system. These solutions tend to drive cost, complexity, and sometimes sacrifice other performance criteria. An additional solution can be to minimize movement between the contacts without these sacrifices. This solution is illustrated in the Performance Pack Connection System.
The changing hopes, worries, and community supports of individuals moving from a closing long-term care facility

This study examines client's hopes, worries, and social networks before, one year, and two years following release from a long-term care facility. More clients expressed hopes than worries before closure but, over time, hopes decreased and worries increased significantly. Before closing, independence was cited most often as a hope, followed by work and finances. Criminal opportunities headed up concerns, followed by mental health treatment, finances, living arrangements and independence. Over time, respondents were less excited about independence and living arrangements but more hopeful about social opportunities and everyday practicalities. Worries relating to family increased while concerns about deviance decreased. Respondents reported an average increase in network ties but the proportion of family members decreased while professional supports and ties with former CSH patients increased. The trends highlight particular vulnerability at the one-year point, the necessity of viewing movement into the community as a nonlinear process, and the importance of marking outcomes periodically.
Caenorhabditis elegans: plague bacteria biofilm blocks food intake.

Bubonic plague is transmitted to mammals, including humans, by the bites of fleas whose digestive tracts are blocked by a mass of the bacterium Yersinia pestis1. In these fleas, the plague-causing bacteria are surrounded by an extracellular matrix of unknown composition2, and the blockage depends on a group of bacterial genes known as the hmsHFRS operon3. Here we show that Y. pestis creates an hmsHFRS-dependent extracellular biofilm to inhibit feeding by the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Our results suggest that feeding obstruction in fleas is a biofilm-mediated process and that biofilms may be a bacterial defence against predation by invertebrates.
Identification of resistance to multiple fungicides in field populations of Venturia inaequalis.

Venturia inaequalis, the causal agent of apple scab, is controlled primarily by fungicides. Long-term, extensive fungicide use has led to the development of resistance to multiple fungicides. To assess fungicide resistance, isolates of V. inaequalis were collected from Indiana and Michigan orchards. Single-spore derived isolates were evaluated by mycelium growth assays with previously determined discriminatory doses on media containing dodine, kresoxim-methyl, myclobutanil, or thiophanate-methyl. Of 195 isolates tested, 5.2, 0.7, 57.0, and 92.6% of isolates were found to be resistant to dodine, kresoxim-methyl, myclobutanil, and thiophanate-methyl, respectively. This is the first report of kresoxim-methyl field resistance in these states. Isolates resistant or shifted to a single fungicide were often found to have multiple fungicide resistance. Of all isolates tested, 38% were identified as resistant or shifted to two fungicides, and 12% were resistant or shifted to all four fungicides tested. No fitness penalty was found for isolates resistant to multiple fungicides based on a statistical analysis of mycelial growth and conidial production.
Estradiol With or Without Progesterone and Ambulatory Blood Pressure in Postmenopausal Women

The purpose of this study was to determine whether transdermal estradiol and intravaginal progesterone given in doses to mimic the premenopausal state would lower blood pressure (BP) in postmenopausal women. Fifteen healthy postmenopausal women were studied in each of 3 conditions: on placebo, after 8 weeks of transdermal estradiol 0.2 mg twice per week, and again 2 weeks after addition of intravaginal progesterone 300 mg/d. Women were studied at each point after 2 days of 100 mmol/d sodium intake. Twenty-four-hour ambulatory BP monitoring was performed, and blood was assayed for estradiol, progesterone, and hormones of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS). ANOVA with pairwise comparisons was used for analysis. Urinary sodium excretion was similar at each time point. Levels of estrogen and progesterone similar to those in premenopausal women were achieved. On estradiol, nocturnal systolic BP (110+/-3 mm Hg), diastolic BP (63+/-2 mm Hg), and mean BP (77+/-2 mm Hg) fell significantly (P<0.02) compared with placebo systolic BP (116+/-2 mm Hg), diastolic BP (68+/-2 mm Hg), and mean BP (82+/-2 mm Hg). Daytime BP followed the same trend but was significantly lower only for mean BP. There was no activation of the RAAS. The addition of progesterone resulted in no further fall in BP but a significant activation of the RAAS. Thus, contrary to what is often assumed, administration of estradiol with or without progesterone not only did not raise BP but rather substantially lowered BP. This BP-lowering effect may be responsible for the lower incidence of hypertension in premenopausal than in postmenopausal women.
Stimulating and Enhancing Student Learning Through Positive Emotions

Research has demonstrated that the frequent experience of positive emotions can help in fostering subjective well-being. This research investigates how the experience of positive emotions by students in the classroom environment can stimulate and enhance learning behaviors. Findings indicate that the experience of positive emotions in the classroom is positively related to student motivation as well as behaviors that are likely to lead to academic success, such as studying, attending class, participating in classroom discussions, and performing additional activities outside of class to enhance understanding. Individuals who expressed these higher motivational levels also had more optimistic academic achievement outlooks. Additionally, results suggest that the experience of positive emotions is negatively related to emotional exhaustion. Implications for hospitality and business educators are discussed.
Quality control of semi-continuous mobility size-fractionated particle number concentration data

Abstract Fine and ultrafine particles have been postulated to play an important role in the association between ambient particulate matters and adverse health effects. As part of the EPA Supersite Program, the Southern California Particle Center & Supersite has conducted a series of monitoring campaigns that contribute to a better understanding of the sources, chemical composition and physical state of ambient aerosols. The Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS) was deployed to semi-continuously measure mobility size-fractioned particle number concentrations. As part of the quality control efforts, we developed a two-stage graphic and statistical procedure to label and identify potentially discordant observations. The first stage considered the entire size-fractionated data by date-time as a whole to plot total concentration (TC) vs. coefficient of variation (CV), both in log scale. TC represents the magnitude of overall concentration for a size distribution; while CV represents the relative variability. This plot was used to partition all size distributions into four to five distinct regions. In each region, a generalized extreme studentized deviate (ESD) and a modified Z -score procedure were applied to identify potential discordant outliers. We have found that the majority of particle size distributions are concentrated within a ‘normal’ region, with TC ranging from 10 2 to 10 5 cm −3 and CV varying between 20% and 200%. Size distributions that are contaminated with discordant outliers are displayed distinctly from the ‘normal’ region and form four to five clusters in the Log TC–Log CV plot. The pattern of clusters in the plot is consistent among the four sampling sites in this study, suggesting the robustness of this technique. The generalized ESD and modified Z -score effectively identify discordant outliers and reveal that the pattern of clustering outliers are consistent within each distinct region. It has, thus, been concluded that the new approach is a useful quality control tool to identify potential discordant outliers in SMPS data.
Laser-Initiated Vacuum ARC for Heavy Ion Sources

Laser-triggered discharges have been considered for some time both for electron[1] and ion[2] sources. It has been recently shown that conventionally triggered metal-vapor vacuum arcs[3] can sustain even higher ion currents. In this paper, we point out that laser initiation permits arc operation in a high-current regime, and with geometry attractive for heavy ion sources. We present preliminary data on laser-initiated vacuum arcs [4] using carbon, copper, and tungsten cathode electrodes. Discharge current pulses of over 104 amperes with durations of up to 1 msec were employed to yield fully ionized source plasmas of liters volume with ion densities greater than 1013 cm-3. Electrode erosion rates were in the range of 10-4gm/C (the same order as in vacuum arcs) corresponding to ion injection currents in the range of 103 amperes.
Narrative analysis of a marketing relationship: The consumer's perspective

This article uses narrative analysis to study a marketing relationship elicited hy means of a phenomenological interview. The focal point is the consumer's perspective, and the single incident of a marketing encounter is treated as a core event in relationship marketing. The narrative is derived hy means of a phenomenological interview, which provides an in-depth account of a relationship that ends in brand switching. The consumer's role is studied by means of narrative analysis, which exposes the consumer's script for the relationship. Marketing implications are discussed in terms of the importance of the single encounter, consumer role enactment in a relationship, and the consumer's desire for relationships based on emotional satisfaction. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
A mouse model of the cornea pocket assay for angiogenesis study.

A normal cornea is clear of vascular tissues. However, blood vessels can be induced to grow and survive in the cornea when potent angiogenic factors are administered 1. This uniqueness has made the cornea pocket assay one of the most used models for angiogenesis studies. The cornea composes multiple layers of cells. It is therefore possible to embed a pellet containing the angiogenic factor of interest in the cornea to investigate its angiogenic effect 2,3. Here, we provide a step by step demonstration of how to (I) produce the angiogenic factor-containing pellet (II) embed the pellet into the cornea (III) analyze the angiogenesis induced by the angiogenic factor of interest. Since the basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is known as one of the most potent angiogenic factors 4, it is used here to induce angiogenesis in the cornea.
Equality of Status, Inequality of Result: State Power and High-Level Radioactive Waste

American intergovernmental relationships are continually redefined through political processes by which the state and federal governments seek to achieve their respective policy goals. Following a summary of the development offederal policy for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste (HLW), federal court cases that have resulted from the selection of Nevada as the nation's host for a HLW repository are discussed. The cases raise, in a unique way, questions regarding the equality of states' power in the context of constitutional principles such as the equal footing doctrine, the privileges and immunity clause, and the Tenth Amendment. Questions are also raised regarding the ability of states to safeguard their interests in the political arena as described in Garcia.
Alice in the Middle East (Alice ME)

We will present an overview and in-progress report of a QNRF-sponsored project for research in the effects of using program visualization in teaching and learning computational thinking. Computers and computing have made possible incredible leaps of innovation and imagination in solving critical problems such as finding a cure for diseases, predicting a hurricane's path, or landing a spaceship on the moon. The modern economic conditions of countries around the world are increasingly related to their ability to adapt to the digital revolution. This, in turn, drives the need for educated individuals who can bring the power of computing-supported problem solving to an increasingly expanded field of career paths. It is no longer sufficient to wait until students are in college to introduce computational thinking. All of today's students will go on to live in a world that is heavily influenced by computing, and many of these students will work in fields that involve or are influenced by computing. They must begin to work with algorithmic problem solving and computational methods and tools in K-12. Many courses taught in K-12 (for example, math and science) teach problem solving and logical thinking skills. Computational thinking embodies these skills and brings them to bear on problems in other fields and on problems that lie at the intersection of these fields. In the same way that learning to read opens a gateway to learning a multitude of knowledge, learning to program opens a gateway to learning all things computational. Alice is a programming environment designed to enable novice programmers in creating 3-D virtual worlds, including animations and games. In Alice, 3-D models of objects (e.g., people, animals and vehicles) populate a virtual world and students use a drag and drop editor to manipulate the movement and activities of these objects. Alice for the Middle East - "Alice ME" is a research project funded by Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) under their National Priorities Research Program (NPRP) that aims to modify the well-known Alice introductory programming software to be internationally and culturally relevant for the Middle East. In this project, we are working on developing new 3D models that provide animation objects encountered in daily lives (animals, buildings, clothing, vehicles, etc.) as well as artifacts that reflect and respect the heritage of Qatari culture. The new models will provide characters and images that enable students to create animations that tell the stories of local culture, thereby supporting the QNV 2030 aspiration for maintaining a balance between modernizations and preserving traditions. We are also working with local schools to develop an ICT curriculum centered on using Alice to help students learn computational thinking. We are also designing workshops to train teachers in using Alice and delivering this curriculum.
How Limiting Linguistic Freedoms Influences the Cultural Adaptation Process: An Analysis of the French Muslim Population

This study asserts that when ethnic or minority groups perceive themselves to be under linguistic pressures to conform to the dominant culture and language, they will be less motivated to acculturate to the dominant culture and will have increased resentment toward the dominant culture. A total of 567 first-, second-, and third-generation French Muslims were surveyed to ascertain the Muslim community's perception of French language policies. Aside from revealing a decreased motivation to acculturate and increased resentment toward the dominant culture, the study's results demonstrate the importance of ethnolinguistic vitality in understanding the community's overall refusal to completely adapt to the dominant French culture.
Examining the role of cranial CT in the evaluation of patients with minor head injury: a systematic review

This systematic review demonstrates that, in patients sustaining minor head injury with a history of loss of consciousness or amnesia, the proportion who subsequently have positive CT scans is not negligible. Published clinical prediction rules for selecting patients for subsequent CT examination are associated with a trade-off between sensitivity and specificity; therefore, a prediction rule with high sensitivity is expected to have relatively low specificity. Separate evaluation of the literature is required to determine the significance of positive and negative CT scans with respect to patient outcome.
Crosslinked Collagen Films Affect Cell State

Cells respond to the stiffness of their microenvironment by altering their morphology and even their gene expression profile [Engler et al, Cell 126, 677]. We study the behavior of human mensechymal stem cells (hMSC) cultured on thin highly ordered collagen films, and we show that hMSC are sensitive to nano-mechanical properties of collagen coated substrates. Cell morphology, cytoskeleton organization, and differentiation are evaluated in response to different collagen crosslinking agents. Cells pull on the collagen films, and their ability to deform the collagen fibrils is greatly influenced by the films’mechanical properties. Mechanically anisotropic native collagen films promote strong polarization and orientation along the highly aligned fibrils. Transglutaminase cross-linked films lose their distinct anisotropic mechanical properties and give a very different cell response. In comparison to crosslinked polyacrylamide gels coated with collagen-ligand, the morphology of the cells on the native and pure collagen films resembles that of cells on soft gels (myogenic phenotype) while cells on cross-linked collagen films appear more like cells cultured on stiff gels which can promote osteogenic differentiation. Cells cultured for two weeks on transglutaminase crosslinked collagen fibrils indeed express the osteogenic marker CBFa1 in contrast to cells cultured on noncrosslinked collagen films. Atomic Force Microscopy techniques are used to evaluate local topography as well as the mechanical properties of the cells and their surroundings at high spatial resolution. The AFM stylus is also used to deform the fibrils, mimicking cellular processes of collagen remodeling. Crosslinked collagen films require forces which are at least twice as high for similar plastic deformations of native collagen films. We also measure the elasticity or effective tension of live cells in response to the different collagen films and conclude that cells stiffen considerably after two weeks on the stiff crosslinked collagen films.
A neural timing factor in the mechanism by which progesterone advances ovulation in the cyclic rat.

INTRODUCTION Under certain conditions progesterone will advance ovulation in cyclic rats about 24 hours (Everett, 1944a, 1948). This result occurs, not in 4-day cycles, but very regularly in 5-day cycles when progesterone is administered about noon on the third day of diestrus. Various reasons were presented (1948) for concluding that this effect is brought about indirectly through the hypophysis by inducing the release of luteinizing hormone (or total gonadotrophin).1 Independent observations have been made by Fraps and Dury (1943) that in the domestic hen progesterone administration will advance ovulation several hours. More recent evidence (Rothchild and Fraps, 1949) shows that this process, like that in rats, requires the presence of the hypophysis. Their findings indicate, furthermore, that a direct time relationship exists between the hour of progesterone injection and the hour of response, release of the “ovulating hormone” occurring about 4 hours after the injection of progesterone.
Positive Reinforcement, H2S, and the Permo-Triassic Extinction: Comment and Reply: COMMENT

[Kump et al. (2005)][1] have suggested that the emission of H2S to the atmosphere from a Late Permian to Early Triassic euxinic (anoxic deep waters) ocean helped to bring about the massive extinction of organisms. [Berner (1989][2]; [2005)][3] has suggested that the rate of burial of terrestrially
Historical biogeography of Eusattus muricatus (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) within the Great Basin, western North America

Genetics of Eusattus muricatus LeConte (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) populations within the Lahontan Basin and the Lahontan Trough of the Great Basin, western North America were assayed using protein electrophoresis. Two similar population phenograms were developed using neighbour-joining and maximum likelihood algorithms. An area cladogram was developed using geological data. Maximum likelihood phenogram and area cladogram were compared to test for congruence between geology and phylogeny. Pairwise regressions of estimated gene flow measures (Nm) yielded a significant relationship for populations within the Lahontan Basin but not for the Lahontan Trough. Protein molecular clock calculations showed that populations within the Lahontan Basin were primarily differentiating according to the dune/subbasin isolation events predicted by the area cladogram.
Selective phonotaxis to advertisement calls in the gray treefrog Hyla versicolor : behavioral experiments and neurophysiological correlates

1. The significance of particular acoustic properties of advertisement calls for selective phonotaxis by the gray treefrog, Hyla versicolor (= HV), was studied behaviorally and neurophysiologically. Most stimuli were played back at 85 dB SPL, a level typically measured at 1–2 m from a calling male. 2. Females preferred stimuli with conspecific pulse shapes at 20° and 24°C, but not at 16°C. Tests with normal and time-reversed pulses indicated the preferences were not influenced by the minor differences in the long-term spectra of pulses of different shape. 3. Pulse shape and rate had synergistic or antagonistic effects on female preferences depending on whether the values of one or both of these properties in alternative stimuli were typical of those in HV or heterospecific (H. chrysoscelis = HC) calls. 4. More auditory neurons in the torus semicircularis were temporally selective to synthetic calls (90%) than to sinusoidally AM tones and noise (< 70%). 5. Band-pass neurons were tuned to AM rates of 15–60 Hz. Neurons were more likely to be tuned to HV AM rates ( < 40 Hz) when stimuli had pulses with HV rather than HC shapes. 6. Sharp temporal tuning was uncommon and found only in neurons with band-pass or low-pass characteristics. 7. Many neurons differed significantly in response to HV and HC stimulus sets. Maximum spike rate was more often elicited by an HV stimulus (74%) than by an HC stimulus (24%). 8. Differences in spike rates elicited by HV and HC stimuli were attributable to combinations of differences in the rise times and shapes of the pulses.
HEAT AND MOMENTUM TRANSFER CHARACTERISTICS OF ADJACENT FIELDS OF SOYBEANS AND MAIZE

Measurements made as part of studies of the evolution of the planetary boundary layer (the “Sangamon” experiments of 1975 and 1976) are used to compare the surface eddy fluxes of heat and momentum over adjacent fields of soybeans and maize. Although the maize canopy was much taller and rougher than that of the soybeans, daytime eddy fluxes of momentum over the maize exceeded those over the soybeans by only about 35%, in good agreement with predictions based on PBL similarity theory. Heat flux was about 10% greater over the maize, probably as a consequence of greater evaporation over the soybeans. Infrared surface temperatures generally differed by less than 0.4 °C and net radiation by less than 10%. For the soybean canopy, the momentum displacement height was found to be located at approximately 90% of the crop height, and the roughness length was about 5%. The roughness length for sensible heat transfer was found to be 2–3% of the soybean canopy height. For the maize canopy, the momentum displacement height was about 60% of the crop height, and the roughness length about 7%.
Catheter ablation should not be first-line therapy for atrial fibrillation.

Catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation is a relatively novel procedure that has rapidly become widely practiced. In this Viewpoint, Hugh Calkins highlights the potential dangers of this intervention, and cautions that it is premature to adopt catheter ablation as first-line therapy for patients with atrial fibrillation until data from large, prospective multicenter clinical trials are available.
The image intensifier as an operating table

appropriate structures tagged (Fig . I) . Postoperatively, it was necessary to reexplore the stump of the right arm for bleeding , and an exten sive secondary debridement was necessary. After this the patient did well. Physical therapy of the digit s and wrist of the attached extremity was done for 2 weeks , and distal edema was well controlled . The attached extremity was then successfully transferred to the right arm stump. Nerve reconstruction and latissimus dorsi transfer were planned for a second-stage operation . It became necessary to remove the extremity at 14 days because of persistent sepsis . Pathologic examination showed the limb (muscle, bone, etc.) to be 100% viable. We report this case to further substantiate the posThe Journal of HAND SURGERY
Re-expression of differentiated properties in SV40-lnfected human epidermal keratinocytes induced by 5-azacytidine

Abstract Infection of human epidermal keratinocytes by the oncogenic virus SV40 leads to progressive inhibition of the normal differentiation process in vitro. Treatment of infected cells with 5-azacytidine (5-aza-CR) over a 24-h period produced a striking enlargement and pronounced flattening of cells within 5–7 days following removal of the agent. This morphological change was accompanied by a several-fold increase in the number of cells staining positively for the cell envelope precursor protein, involucrin, and in the exfoliation of cornified envelope bearing cells from the monolayer. The drug-treated cultures at high passage levels were stained by immunofluorescence using monoclonal antibodies to keratin classes associated with different epidermal layers. These experiments revealed that 5-aza-CR caused the re-expression of two keratin classes (suprabasal and stratum corneum-associated), whose synthesis had been suppressed during the transformation process. 5-Aza-CR also brought about re-expression of 58 and 56 kD keratin markers of epithelial keratinization and stratification, as well as of 40 and 49–52 kD keratin markers of viral transformation. However, the responsiveness to the drug was gradually lost over time following infection.
Strategies for minimising tourism leakages in Indo‐Chinese development countries

For developing countries in Indo‐China embarking on tourism for economic growth, their success hinges on minimizing three types of tourism leakages, namely financial, structural, and operational leakages. This paper proposes financing and market strategies for those countries to reduce tourism leakages. The strategies suggest that Indo‐Chinese developing countries should target fairly‐developed countries in Asia as their main capital markets and tourist feeders at the early stage of tourism development. In later phases of tourism growth and expansion, they may seek tourism capital and tourists from both fairly‐developed and well‐developed countries. The recent Asian financial crisis has presented new challenges to Asia Pacific tourism. It may, however, create opportunities for developing countries in Indo‐China to attract more regional tourists and investors and reduce tourism leakages.
Progress toward implantable fluorescence-based sensors for monitoring glucose levels in interstitial fluid

ABSTRACT A painless monitoring procedure for diabetics has proven to be an elusive goal. While completely noninvasive measurements are the desired technique, minimally invasive procedures using implanted fluorescence sensor chemistry offer significant advantages in specificity over current nonmvasive approaches. The goal was to evaluate the potential fortransdermal glucose sensing using intensity measurements from implanted microspheres. A fiber-optic probe andspectrometer were custom-built for collection of in vivo data. Comparisons with commercial fluorometers show theconstructed device is adequate for this project. Data collected with sensor solutions showed a nonlinear response of fluorescence with glucose concentration. Reasonable prediction results were obtained over the clinically important regionwith polynomial regression using peak intensity ratios. The determinations meet the requirements for clinical use and showpromise for further improvement in the future. While the details for manufacturing the actual sensor spheres for implantationare being considered, in vivo experiments have been conducted using "simulated" sensors. The constructed system workswell for the collection of signals from implanted fluorescent particles, but difficulty in achieving repeatable injection depthsand color ratios confounded attempts to make true quantitative measurements. It is expected that the developed probe anddata processing methods will be used with glucose-responsive hydrogel beads once the manufacturing issues are addressed.Keywords: Diabetes, glucose monitoring, fluorescence spectroscopy, poly(ethylene glycol)
Assessing market-based environmental policy using a case study of North Pacific fisheries

Abstract This paper uses a case study to provide a critical assessment of arguments underlying market-based environmental policy. Market approaches, which rely on economic incentives and property rights to achieve environmental goals, have become increasingly popular in the past two decades. Proponents argue that market approaches should replace “command and control” regulation, which works by penalizing environmentally harmful behavior. Synthesizing results of previous research on political economy of the North Pacific pollock fishery, this paper provides evidence that contradicts hypotheses derived from the logic of market approaches. First, a lack of property rights is not the underlying cause of problems in this fishery, but instead problems were created by the institutional context of fishery development. Second, market and regulatory approaches to this fishery are not necessarily contradictory and inherently incompatible. Both markets and regulation create both economic opportunities and constraints, markets alone are not enough to protect the environment, and markets require regulation to function. Because the market approach is based on a general logic that is supposed to be universally applicable, results from this case reveal potential flaws in the market approach more generally.
An automated gas chromatographic analysis of phenylalanine in serum.

Summary 1. The automation of a gas chromatographic analysis of phenylalanine in serum is described. 2. The system will quantitatively and automatically convert the amino and fatty acids in a sample to volatile derivatives which are separated and detected by gas chromatography.
Limit theorems and Markov approximations for chaotic dynamical systems

We prove the central limit theorem and weak invariance principle for abstract dynamical systems based on bounds on their mixing coefficients. We also develop techniques of Markov approximations for dynamical systems. We apply our results to expanding interval maps, Axiom A diffeomorphisms, chaotic billiards and hyperbolic attractors.
Oxysterol and diabetes activate STAT3 and control endothelial expression of profilin-1 via OSBP1.

Endothelial dysfunction plays a central role in diabetic vascular disease, but its molecular bases are not completely defined. We showed previously that the actin-binding protein proflin-1 was increased in the diabetic endothelium and that attenuated expression of profilin-1 protected against atherosclerosis. Also 7-ketocholesterol up-regulated profilin-1 in endothelial cells via transcriptional mechanisms. The present study addressed the pathways responsible for profilin-1 gene expression in 7-ketocholesterol-stimulated endothelial cells and in the diabetic aorta. In luciferase reporter assays, the response to 7-ketocholesterol within the 5′-flanking region of profilin-1 was dependent on a single STAT response element. In aortic endothelial cells, 7-ketocholesterol enhanced STAT3 activation, which required JAK2 and tyrosine 394 phosphorylation of oxysterol-binding protein-1. These changes were recapitulated in the aorta of diabetic rats. Also 7-ketocholesterol in cultured endothelial cells and diabetes in the aorta elicited the recruitment of STAT3 and relevant coregulatory factors to the oxysterol-responsive region of the profilin-1 promoter. These events were required for profilin-1 up-regulation. These studies identify a previously unrecognized oxysterol-binding protein-mediated mode of activation of STAT3 that controls the expression of the proatherogenic protein profilin-1 in response to 7-ketocholesterol and the diabetic milieu.
Adaptation of Lung Antioxidants to Cigarette Smoking in Humans

We investigated the effect of free radical scavengers, micronutrient antioxidants, on antioxidant enzyme activities in cigarette smokers. We measured the intracellular superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities and vitamin E and β-carotene levels in the bronchoalveolar cells of 14 smokers before and after 6 weeks of supplementation with vitamins E and C and β-carotene. Eight nonsmokers served as control subjects. CAT and GPx activities were higher in BAL cells from smokers compared with nonsmokers (20.5±2.3 vs 9.6±1.3 U/10 6 cells; p=0.027; 0.90±0.10 vs 0.46±0.12 U/10 6 cells; p=0.049, respectively), while there was no difference in SOD activity between the two groups. Likewise, vitamin E and β-carotene concentrations were markedly higher in smokers' lung lavage cells (403.3±81.0 in smokers vs 16.6±5.3 ng/10 6 cells in nonsmokers, and 1.23±0.21 in smokers vs 0.15±0.04 ng/10 6 cells in nonsmokers, respectively). The serum levels of vitamin E and C and β-carotene increased by 2.0-, 1.6-, and 8.9-fold in smokers after supplementation, which were similar to nonsmokers. Similarly, BAL cell vitamin E increased from 403.3±81.0 to 477.4±97.7 ng/10 6 cells and β-carotene increased from 1.23±0.21 to 4.32±0.45 ng/10 6 cells (p
Comparative Genomics of " Dehalococcoides ethenogenes " 195 and an Enrichment Culture Containing Unsequenced " Dehalococcoides " Strains

Tetrachloroethene (PCE) and trichloroethene (TCE) are prevalent groundwater contaminants that can be completely reductively dehalogenated by some “Dehalococcoides” organisms. A Dehalococcoides-organism-containing microbial consortium (referred to as ANAS) with the ability to degrade TCE to ethene, an innocuous end product, was previously enriched from contaminated soil. A whole-genome photolithographic microarray was developed based on the genome of “Dehalococcoides ethenogenes” 195. This microarray contains probes designed to hybridize to >99% of the predicted protein-coding sequences in the strain 195 genome. DNA from ANAS was hybridized to the microarray to characterize the genomic content of the ANAS enrichment. The microarray results revealed that the genes associated with central metabolism, including an apparently incomplete carbon fixation pathway, cobalamin-salvaging system, nitrogen fixation pathway, and five hydrogenase complexes, are present in both strain 195 and ANAS. Although the gene encoding the TCE reductase, tceA, was detected, 13 of the 19 reductive dehalogenase genes present in strain 195 were not detected in ANAS. Additionally, 88% of the genes in predicted integrated genetic elements in strain 195 were not detected in ANAS, consistent with these elements being genetically mobile. Sections of the tryptophan operon and an operon encoding an ABC transporter in strain 195 were also not detected in ANAS. These insights into the diversity of Dehalococcoides genomes will improve our understanding of the physiology and evolution of these bacteria, which is essential in developing effective strategies for the bioremediation of PCE and TCE in the environment.
The Effects of Copper in Heated Nebulizers

The antibacterial potential of copper mesh in heated nebulizers was evaluated by simulating clinical usage in the laboratory and comparing the relationship between the copper levels achieved in nebulizer water and the growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa organisms. Mesh size, length of immersion, temperature, water replacement, and nebulization all affected copper concentration. Antibacterial activity was demonstrated over a wide range of copper levels for as long as three weeks. Nebulizers driven for one hour by 10 L/min of gas flow and containing 8 gm of copper mesh were inoculated with more than 31,000 organisms and became sterile within 00 minutes of inoculation. Units without copper showed a much slower decline in colony counts. Solutions of copper salts also proved to be effective antibacterial substances but only in much higher concentrations than those achieved with copper mesh. It is concluded that metallic copper mesh is an effective antibacterial substance when used in water-containing heated nebulizers. Attempts to quantitate aerosolization of copper were not successful, and potential upper-airway deposition and human toxicity with this technique remain to be defined.
Peri-infarction block (1950)—Late potentials (1980): Their relationship, significance and diagnostic implications

In 1950, First, Bayley and Bedford1 described the electrocardiographic pattern that was termed “periinfarction block.” The diagnostic criteria included evidence of myocardial infarction, either nontransmural or transmural, surrounded by a region of damage; in.the limb leads, QRS complexes at least 0.11 second in duration; and in the precordial leads, notched, broadened or slurred R, S or QS waves. In later years, peri-infarction block was usually mentioned in the context of intraventricular block due to conduction delay in left bundle branch or its arborizations.2-6 As cited by Rosenbaum et a1,7 the term peri-infarction block was often confused with intraventricular conduction disturbance, now known as left anterior hemiblock. The term “arborization” block, used by Wilson et al,8 was not appropriate because it suggested Purkinje network involvement. The direct unipolar recordings from the epicardial surface overlying and adjacent to the infarct in a dog heart clearly established the focal myocardial basis of the “block” pattern (Fig. 1). These unipolar recordings from the epicardium in the peri-infarction region also provided evidence that there is “late activation” of this region as seen in relation to the electrocardiogram. For the most part, other than its being a misconstrued forerunner of the hemiblock concept, the idea of peri-infarction block, per se, has lain fallow since its inception,
A framework for modeling health behavior protocols and their linkage to behavioral theory

With the rise in chronic, behavior-related disease, computerized behavioral protocols (CBPs) that help individuals improve behaviors have the potential to play an increasing role in the future health of society. To be effective and widely used CBPs should be based on accepted behavioral theory. However, designing CBPs while at the same time specifying their linkages to behavioral theory and developing reusable CBP components (interventions) are challenges to developers of CBPs. Having an ontology with which to describe CBPs could help with these issues. As a first step towards creating such an ontology, we modeled PACE-Adolescent, a theory-based behavioral protocol that uses the Stages of Change Model and Social Cognitive Theory, using PROTEGE-2000, an ontology editor and knowledge acquisition system. We created a three-part knowledge model. Two sub-ontologies described behavioral interventions and psychological theories. The third component, implemented using Guideline Interchange Format (GLIF3), provided a way to describe the structure of a protocol and to link intervention resources and groups of actions to elements of psychological theory. Using this framework, we formally described the PACE-Adolescent protocol. Creating knowledge models such as this may lead to improvements in the design and evaluation of computerized health behavior protocols.
Spatial and temporal distribution of secondary cosmic-ray nucleon intensities and applications to in situ cosmogenic dating

Cosmogenic nuclide production rates depend critically on the spatio-temporal distribution of cosmic-ray nucleon fluxes. Since the 1950s, measurements of the altitude, latitude and solar modulation dependencies of secondary cosmic-ray fluxes have been obtained by numerous investigators. However, until recently there has been no attempt to thoroughly evaluate the large body of modern cosmic-ray literature, to explain systematic discrepancies between measurements or to put these data into a rigorous theoretical framework appropriate for cosmogenic dating. The most important parameter to be constrained is the dependence of neutron intensity on atmospheric depth. Our analysis shows that effective nucleon attenuation lengths measured with neutron monitors over altitudes 0^5000 m range from 128 to 142 g cm 32 at effective vertical cutoff rigidities of 0.5 and 14.9 GV, respectively. Effective attenuation lengths derived from thermal neutron data are somewhat higher, ranging from 134 to 155 g cm 32 at the same cutoff rigidities and over the same altitudes. We attribute the difference to a combination of two factors: the neutron monitor is more sensitive to the higher end of the nucleon energy spectrum, and the shape of the nucleon energy spectrum shifts towards lower energies with increasing atmospheric depth. We have derived separate scaling models for thermal neutron reactions and spallation reactions based on a comprehensive analysis of cosmic-ray survey data. By assuming that cosmic-ray intensity depends only on atmospheric depth and effective vertical cutoff rigidity, these models can be used to correct production rates for temporal changes in geomagnetic intensity using paleomagnetic records. 6 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Dielectrophoretic Particle Manipulation in Ridged Microchannels

This work presents continuous-flow particle sorting at low applied fields (30 V/cm) using electrodeless dielectrophoresis [2–7] in ridged polymeric microstructures. Particle manipulation and sorting is critical in analysis of cellular systems and subpopulations, water monitoring, soil analysis, and colloidal synthesis. This technique is developed with a view toward sorting of cellular systems, and offers advantages over other particle processing techniques in its ability to sort particles over small (~100 μm) spatial scales and rapid (<1s) time scales while operating under the low electric fields required when using solutions of physiological salinity.Copyright © 2006 by ASME