cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Teaching criminal investigation: A critical thinking approach

The purpose of this paper is to explore the “critical thinking” approach to teaching and develop those concepts into meaningful instructional activities in the classroom. The authors offer practical suggestions based on the critical thinking philosophy for implementing an active learning approach. The case study method serves as the foundation for an investigative process course and lead-up activity to the simulated preliminary and follow-up investigation. The instructor presents the critical thinking process and content information that enables students to perform five basic progressions: (1) case studies; (2) the preliminary investigation; (3) follow-up; (4) suppression hearing; and (5) moot court criminal justice simulations.
Conditionally Stable Multidimensional Schemes for Advective Equations

It is shown that the isotropic wave-like multidimensional spatial stencils combined with linear multistep and Runge-Kutta time marching schemes provide more favorable stability restrictions for advective initial-value problems. Under certain conditions the maximum allowable time step can be doubled compared to using conventional spatial stencils. Consequently, this paper shows that the multidimensional optimizations of spatial schemes, involving more grid points, are not inherently less efficient in terms of the processing time. Three numerical tests solving the two and three dimensional advection equations are carried out to experiment the stability restrictions found in the previous sections.
Long-baseline interferometer for the mid-infrared

The Infrared Spatial Interferometer (ISI) is a high-resolution aperture synthesis imaging system for the 10-micron region. As in many radio interferometers, heterodyne signal detection and lobe rotation for fringe tracking are employed. A Helium-Neon laser metrology system is used for monitoring critical distances within the telescope optics. Although designed for baselines up to 1000 m, initially the interferometer will have baselines ranging from 4 to 34 m, yielding angular resolutions as fine as 0.030 arcsec. First fringes were detected in June 1988. Since then the system has been successfully operated on 4 m and 13 m baselines.
Eliciting collective behaviors through automatically generated environments

Many groups of agents exhibit emergent collective behaviors. The environment in which the agents operate is one determinant of the resulting behaviors. This work shows how automatic enumeration of environments enables exploration of various collective behaviors that perform useful group functions (e.g. segregation, corralling, shape formation). Although groups of agents, such as mobile robots, can be manipulated through explicit control, this study shows that these systems can be usefully manipulated without resorting to such imperative means. This method has obvious uses for heterogeneous robot systems, especially those which include large numbers of simple agents. The method introduced is general, in that it takes as input: (1) algorithmic specifications of the environment generation, (2) a black-box model of the individual agent's control laws, and (3) a mathematical description of the task objective. To show the validity of the proposed method this investigation studies two behaviors (splitting and corralling) for three commonly studied motion models, including the well known Reynold's model. Simulations and physical multi-robot trials show that automatically generated environments can elicit pre-specified behaviors from a group of individual agents. Additionally, this work investigates the effects of a group's emergent properties on the ability to elicit the specified behavior via the environment. The findings suggest that automatically exploring environments can lead to better exploration and understanding of collective behaviors, including the identification of previously unknown emergent behaviors.
Recent Developments in Brief Psychotherapy

The clinical effectiveness and many of the therapeutic mechanisms of brief psychotherapy have been validated through research studies in recent years, as indicated in this review of developments in the psychodynamic and interpersonal brief therapies. However, the literature shows considerable variation in methods for establishing time limits and in exclusion criteria. In a major shift in therapeutic practice, interpersonal rather than intrapsychic concepts are used to identify the focus of therapy, and systematic techniques for defining the therapeutic focus have been developed. The therapeutic alliance and its relation to outcome also have received substantial attention. Trends in service delivery clearly indicate increasing emphasis on brief psychotherapy, which must be conceptualized as a specific modality, not just as long-term therapy compressed.
Case study of an improved Cascading Outage Analysis model using outage checkers

Electric power grids throughout the world continue to suffer from massive blackouts with multibillion dollar cost to society. Most large blackouts involve a sequence of cascading outages. Once a critical component of a power system failed, the outages including generator and load trips can sequentially spread and frequently lead to large blackouts. Some of our previous work has proposed a sequential outage checker based cascading outage analysis model. In this paper, an improved cascading outage analysis model is proposed. Four outage checkers, namely the transient stability checker, the frequency outage checker, the line outage checker and the voltage outage checker are implemented. The outage checkers are operated according to a newly proposed algorithm to determine the status of the resulting operating state or equilibrium. Detailed modeling of the protection schemes, including rotor angle deviation relays, under frequency load shedding schemes, under/over voltage relays and over current relays are implemented. A case study of the improved cascading outage model using the IEEE 118-bus system and the IEEE 300-bus system is also presented.
Incidence of hypertrophic scarring in burn-injured children

Abstract The occurrence of hypertrophic scarring in burn-injured children under the age of 5 years was studied by examining the records of patients admitted to the Wessex Regional Burns Unit in the years 1968 and 1984. In both years the pattern and nature of injury to the children was the same. The incidence of scar hypertrophy was at least 50 per cent in both years. The occurrence of hypertrophy scarring in these 2 years did not appear to have been influenced by changes in clinical practice.
Murine leukemia viruses (MuLV) and Xenotropic MuLV-related viruses exhibit inter-tropic complex recombination patterns

Background Murine leukemia viruses (MuLV) are classified into three groups by host tropism correlating with viral receptor sequences present in the surface protein of env. Ecotropic MuLV are found only in mice, xenotropic replicate in non-mouse cells, and polytropic in mouse and non-mouse hosts. Xenotropic MuLV-related viruses (XMRV) and polytropic MuLV have been found in humans and reported in different diseases, including prostate cancer and chronic fatigue syndrome. Classification of MuLV tropism is typically done using small portions of gag/pol, however, this may be complicated by viral recombination. Methods and results Eight eco/poly/xenotropic MulV complete genomes were selected from GenBank, plus an XMRV sequence. The dataset showed strong phylogenetic signal. By tropismgroup analysis using SimPlot software, XMRV was detected as a mosaic recombinant form of all three groups. Using more sensitive analyses, we found evidence of intertropic recombination, especially outside of env. Different procedures for recombination analysis (SimPlot/ TOPALi2), applied to the whole dataset independently from the tropism, inferred discordant break-points.
CHILDHOOD INFECTIOUS MONONUCLEOSIS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH EPSTEIN-BARR VIRUS

Non-Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) induced infectious mononucleosis (IM) has not been adequately studied in children. In a prospective evaluation of 171 children with an illness characterized by clinical and hematologic findings for IM, 19 (11%) children had their episode unassociated with an acute EBV infection. The majority of children with non-EBV IM were <4 years old, 11 (58%), and males, 11 (58%). The spectrum of clinical manifestations in general were similar to that reported for EBV-IM in children except for a decreased rate of exudative tonsillitis in the non-EBV group, 5 (26%). Transient respiratory or hematologic complications developed in 2 children. Liver transaminases were elevated acutely and transiently in 6/10 children tested. Typical heterophil antibody responses were not detected. EBV testing indicated that 6 children had experienced this infection in the distant past; the infection in two others was of inconclusive onset. A suspected etiology was identified in 5 children: 3 had significant IgG antibody titer rises to cytomegalovirus (2 of these had the virus isolated from the urine) and 2 others had significant titer rises to Toxoplasma gondii. Children with non-EBV IM tended to be younger than that reported with EBV-IM. The non-EBV IM subgroup with suspected etiology appeared to be a major contributor to the low frequency of exudative tonsillitis. Reactivation of an EBV-carrier state provoked by the intervening etiologic agent was not documented as has been reported in adults. The majority of non-EBV IM episodes in children remains of unknown etiology.
Alkyl exchange effects between triethylindium and trimethylgallium

Abstract A study of the room temperature gas-phase interactions between gallium and indium alkyls was undertaken using a specially designed mass spectrometer sampling system, mounted on a conventional, low pressure organometallic vapor phase epitaxial reactor. Mixtures of triethylindium with triethylgallium were investigates. Both combinations formed addition compounds; moreover, the triethylindium-trimethygallium mizture also underwent alkyl exchange. The effect of these admixtures on the reaction between triethylindium and arsine was also investigated, and both admixtures showed reduced reactivity towards arsine. A structure for the addition compound, consistent with our observations, was proposed.
Primary Myelofibrosis and the Myeloproliferative Neoplasms The Role of Individual Variation

The classic myeloproliferative neoplasms—essential thrombocytosis, polycythemia vera, and primary myelofibrosis—are acquired, clonal hematopoietic stem cell disorders characterized by an overproduction of mature blood cells, bone marrow hypercellularity, extramedullary hematopoiesis, a tendency for thrombosis, and, rarely, leukemic transformation. Despite being classified as neoplastic diseases, the myeloproliferative neoplasms are often characterized by longevity, with survival measured in decades, even in the absence of treatment. Primary myelofibrosis is the rarest of the myeloproliferative neoplasms, is the most obscure with regard to its pathophysiology, and carries the least favorable although highly variable natural history. The identification of molecular lesions specific to the myeloproliferative neoplasms, in particular JAK2 V617F, has broadened understanding of the common features within these disorders and has advanced diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic tools. This article highlights the challenges inherent in the management of primary myelofibrosis and presents an opportunity to address the basis of individual variation within a rare and complex disorder.
Kinetics of the Hydrolysis of 8-Bromo-Cyclic GMP by the Light-Activated Phosphodiesterase of Toad Rods

The hypothesis that cyclic GMP is the internal transmitter of retinal rod phototransduction, when combined with the observations that 8-bromo-cyclic GMP opens the cyclic GMP-dependent outer segment conductance and that rods into which 8-bromo-cyclic GMP has been injected still respond to light, predicts that the light-activated phosphodiesterase (EC 3.1.4.17) must catalyze the hydrolysis of 8-bromo-cyclic GMP. This hypothesis was tested by measuring light-activated toad rod disk membrane phosphodiesterase with a pH assay technique. Phos-phodiesterase-catalyzed hydrolysis of 8-bromo-cyclic GMP was confirmed: at pH 8.0, total proton production after flash activation was identical to total amount of 8-bromo-cyclic GMP added as substrate. Photoactivated phosphodiesterase was remarkably less efficient in catalyzing the hydrolysis of 8-bromo-cyclic GMP than of cyclic GMP: Vmax for 8-bromo-cyclic GMP was 0.063 M/M rhodopsin/s, whereas that for cyclic GMP was 11 M/M rhodopsin/s—170 times greater. The Km for 8-bromo-cyclic GMP was 160 nM, and for cyclic GMP, 590 μM. 8-Bromo-cyclic GMP competitively inhibited phosphodiesterase-catalyzed hydrolysis of cyclic GMP with a Ki of 1.2 mM. Complete reaction progress curves were analyzed for obedience to Michaelis-Menten kinetics: cyclic GMP hydrolysis, 8-bromo-cyclic GMP hydrolysis, and cyclic GMP hydrolysis in the presence of 8-bromo-cyclic GMP as competitive inhibitor were found to follow the integrated form of the Michaelis-Menten equation over the time course of the reactions, assuming phosphodiesterase was activated as a step. The kinetic parameters extracted from reaction progress curves were consistent with those derived from analysis of the initial velocity. Our results lead to quantitative predictions about the photocurrents of rods into which 8-bromo-cyclic GMP and cyclic GMP are infused: these predictions are discussed.
A Wireless Strain Sensor Using Frequency Modulation Technique

A compact wireless strain sensor using a Frequency Modulation (FM) technique is proposed. The sensor employs a conventional resistive strain gauge such that the resistance changes as the measured structure is mechanically strained. When the strain gauge is connected to a frequency modulation circuit, the change in the resistance appears as a frequency shift in the output signal that is transmitted wirelessly to a remote station. The received signal is then demodulated and the buried strain measurement data can be retrieved. Using this technique, a dynamic strain measurement is possible without any wire connection between the sensing point and the measurement equipment. This type of sensors have numerous applications in the strain or vibration measurement of moving or rotating structures such as fans on a turbine engine. The proposed concept of the wireless strain sensor is experimentally demonstrated by measuring vibration of a cantilevered beam with a wired transmission of the measurement data from the transmitter to the receiver.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
Inhibition of mechanosensitive cation channels inhibits myogenic differentiation by suppressing the expression of myogenic regulatory factors and caspase-3 activity

Mechanosensitive cation channels (MSC) are ubiquitous in eukaryotic cell types. However, the physiological functions of MSC in several tissues remain in question. In this study we have investigated...
The Interactive Effects of Anxiety Sensitivity and Emotion Dysregulation in Predicting Anxiety-related Cognitive and Affective Symptoms

The present investigation examined the main and interactive effects of anxiety sensitivity (AS) and emotion dysregulation in predicting anxiety-relevant cognitive and affective symptoms among a community-based sample of young adults (n = 242, 135 women; Mage = 23.0 years, SD = 8.71). Consistent with hypotheses, the interaction between AS and emotion dysregulation significantly predicted worry, catastrophic cognitions about bodily events, and anxious arousal symptoms above and beyond the respective main effects and negative affectivity; though this interactive effect contributed only 1% of unique variance to each of these criterion variables. Specifically, although the overall effect size for this interaction was small, the highest levels of each criterion variable were (marginally) evidenced by individuals reporting co-occurring high levels of AS and high levels of emotion dysregulation. Also as expected, explanatory specificity for cognitive and emotional symptoms of anxiety was evident, as no interactive effect was apparent for anhedonic depressive symptoms. Furthermore, the main effects of AS and emotion dysregulation, entered concurrently, were significantly incrementally predictive of each of the anxiety-relevant criterion variables; and only emotion dysregulation was significantly predictive of depressive symptoms. Findings are discussed in relation to advancing scientific understanding of anxiety vulnerability from an emotional dysregulation framework.
Growth in the Untreated Class III Subject

The present study was designed to provide an estimate of growth in white subjects with Class III malocclusion by means of the analysis of lateral cephalograms in two samples: (1) 22 untreated Class III individuals followed longitudinally from a prepubertal observation through a postpubertal observation; and (2) a large cross-sectional population (n = 1091) of male and female untreated subjects at six consecutive developmental periods (CS1 through CS6 according to the cervical vertebral maturation method). Class III disharmony shows a significant tendency to worsen with growth, as assessed by means of the longitudinal portion of the study. The persistence of typical Class III growth characteristics well beyond the adolescent growth spurt into early adulthood was confirmed by the results of the large cross-sectional study. A long period of active mandibular growth, the absence of any catch-up growth in the maxilla, and the significantly more vertical direction of facial growth during late adolescence appear to be unfavorable aspects of Class III malocclusion in both genders during the postpubertal stages. Treatment planning by means of orthodontic/orthopedic appliances should take into account this pattern of prolonged mandibular growth in terms of duration of retention and timing for the evaluation of stability of treatment protocols and eventually for orthognathic surgery.
Effect of 3-aminobenzamide on DNA strand-break rejoining and cytotoxicity in CHO cells treated with hydrogen peroxide.

Abstract The influence of the nuclear ADP-ribosyltransferase inhibitor 3-aminobenzamide on the DNA strand-break rejoining kinetics and cytotoxicity in Chinese hamster ovary cells following H2O2 treatment was investigated. For the DNA damage studies, cells were treated on ice with H2O2 (0–20 μM) for 1 h in serum-free medium, after which the H2O2 was removed and the cells were allowed to repair their damage in complete medium at 37°C in the presence or absence of 3-aminobenzamide (5 mM) for periods up to 2 h. The DNA strand breaks remaining as a function of time were then estimated by alkaline elution. A linear relationship between the H2O2 concentration and the initial level of DNA single-strand breaks (zero time allowed for repair) was observed. No double-strand breaks or DNA-protein cross-links were detected at these doses. The rejoining of single-strand breaks after H2O2 (20 μM) alone was characterized by a single exponential process with a t 1 2 of approx. 5 min. However, in the presence of 3-aminobenzamide, rejoining was much slower and biphasic, with t 1 2 of approx. 10 and 36 min. The inhibitory action of 3-aminobenzamide was concentration-dependent and completely reversible in that, when the 3-aminobenzamide was removed from the treated cultures, the strand-break rejoining kinetics rapidly returned to the t 1 2 of 5 min typical of H2O2 alone. Considerably higher concentrations of H2O2 (up to 600 μM) were required for cell killing compared to the DNA damage studies. Cell killing by H2O2 alone was characterized by a shoulderless, exponential survival curve (D0 = 880 μM). The cytotoxicity was potentiated when the cells were treated with 3-aminobenzamide (5 mM) for 1 h after the H2O2 treatment; the survival curve with 3-aminobenzamide also assumed a biphasic character (D0 of 212 μM and 520 μM). These results are consistent with the theory that OH-induced single-strand breaks do not normally represent lethal lesions to the cell because of their rapid, efficient repair. However, interference with these repair processes (in this case by 3-aminobenzamide) can alter this relationship, possibly allowing lesion fixation.
Synthesis and hydriding properties of Li2Mg(NH)2

Abstract The phase pure Li2Mg(NH)2 has been synthesized via a dehydriding treatment of a ball milled 2LiNH2 + MgH2 mixture. This phase pure Li2Mg(NH)2 has been utilized to investigate its hydriding kinetics at the temperature range 180–220 °C. It is found that the hydriding process of Li2Mg(NH)2 is very sluggish even though it has favorable thermodynamic properties for near the ambient temperature operation. Holding at 200 °C for 10 h only results in 3.75 wt.% H2 uptake. The detailed kinetic analysis reveals that the hydriding process of Li2Mg(NH)2 is diffusion-controlled. Thus, this study unambiguously indicates that the future direction to enhance the hydriding kinetics of this promising hydrogen storage material system should be to minimize the diffusion distance and increase the diffusion rate.
Cell-free desensitization of opioid inhibition of adenylate cyclase in neuroblastoma×glioma NG108-15 hybrid cell membranes

: When membranes from neuroblastoma |MX glioma NG108–15 hybrid cells were incubated in a cell-free system with opioid agonists, a time-, temperature-, and dose-dependent desensitization to opioid inhibition of adenylate cyclase activity was observed. The composition of the system during the incubation was manipulated to elucidate the biochemical mechanisms of desensitization. Receptor coupling appeared to be a prerequisite for desensitization, because both magnesium and sodium, which are necessary for coupling, were required for desensitization. Removal of ATP and addition of cyclic AMP or cyclic GMP had no effect on desensitization.
Tephras in abyssal sediments east of the North Island, New Zealand: Chronology, paleowind velocity, and paleoexplosivity

Abstract In an earlier study, Ninkovich used paleomagnetic methods to date five mega-scopically distinguishable tephras in Pleistocene abyssal sediments east of the North Island, New Zealand. This has been extended by extraction and counting of the atmospherically transported volcanic glass fraction between 88 and 11 /ira in five cores, four of which have been paleomagnetically dated. Sedimentation rates are between 2 and 8 mm per thousand years. Two of the four cores feature discon-formities at the core surfaces, with the youngest sediments in excess of 1•5 m.y. age. A total of 17 separate tephras, only 8 of which are visible, are identified; the oldest was deposited 4 m.y. ago. An apparent volcanic glass accumulation rate of at least 100 mg per thousand years per cm2 is required in the 88—11 µm particle size range before any ash horizon is readily visible in any of the cores. The finely dispersed volcanic glass constitutes a much greater portion of the total glass content in the cores than do the visibl...
Organizational Crime, Auditors and Liberal Government

L'A. porte son attention sur la criminalite economique. Il considere ce phenomene marque la faillite du mode de gestion liberal. Il estime que les strategies de prevention doivent isoler les structures de regulation economiques defaillantes en ce domaine. Il insiste sur la responsabilite et sur le role des experts-comptables. Il evoque l'affaire de fraude impliquant la firme Goodman International, implantee en Irlande du Nord, revelee par un expert-comptable de cette societe. Face a cette fraude averee le legislateur s'est efforce de clarifier la relation unissant les experts-comptables, leurs clients et les services fiscaux. Il a impose aux experts-comptables l'obligation de denoncer toutes les fraudes qu'ils peuvent observer
Contractile Properties of Glycerol-Extracted Muscle Bundles from the Chronically Failing Canine Heart

Chronic congestive heart failure was induced in dogs by the surgical production of tricuspid insufficiency and pulmonary stenosis. Glycerol-extracted trabecular bundles from the right and left ventricles of these dogs developed significantly less tension than did similar preparations from the hearts of normal dogs. The maximum working capacity of the bundles from failing hearts was lower than that of bundles from normal hearts, hut the rate of hydrolysis of adenosinetriphosphate was the same as that of normal heart preparations. Since glycerol-extracted muscle bundles retain the basic contractile properties of fresh, surviving whole muscle but are free from membrane, neurohormonal, ionic and pH effects and are isolated from energy-supplying systems of muscle, defective contractility and decreased working capacity of muscle bundles from failing hearts may be appropriately ascribed to physiochemical changes in the contractile protein, actomyosin. Such alterations are undoubtedly of structural significance, and are related to the conformation changes in actomyosin which characterize the contractile cycle of muscle.
MK-801 (Dizocilpine) Protects the Brain from Repeated Normothermic Global Ischemic Insults in the Rat

Summary: We investigated the neuroprotective potential of MK-801 (dizocilpine), a noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonist, in the setting of three 5-min periods of global cerebral ischemia separated by 1-h intervals in halothane-anesthetized rats. Each ischemic insult was produced by bilateral carotid artery occlusions plus hypotension (50 mm Hg). Brain temperature was maintained at normothermic levels (36.5-37.0°C) throughout the experiment. MK-801 (3 mg/kg) (n = 6) or saline (n = 6) was injected intraperitoneally 45 min following the end of the first ischemic insult. Following 7-day survival, quantitative neuronal counts of perfusion-fixed brains revealed severe ischemic damage in hippo-campal CA1 area, neocortex, ventrolateral thalamus, and striatum of untreated rats. By contrast, significant protection was observed in MK-801-treated rats. In area CA1 of the hippocampus, numbers of normal neurons were increased 11- to 14-fold by MK-801 treatment (p < 0.01). The ventrolateral thalamus of MK-801-treated rats showed almost complete histologic protection, and neo-cortical damage was reduced by 71% (p < 0.01). The degree of MK-801 protection of striatal neurons was less complete than that seen in other vulnerable structures, amounting to 63% for central striatum (p = 0.02, Mann-Whitney U test) and 48% in the dorsolateral striatum (NS). A repeated-measures analysis of variance demonstrated a highly significant overall protective effect of MK-801 treatment (F1,10 = 37.2, p = 0.0001). These findings indicate that excitotoxic mechanisms play a major role in neuronal damage produced by repeated ischemic insults and that striking cerebroprotection is conferred by MK-801 administered following the first insult in animals with cerebral normothermia. NMDA antagonists may prove useful in patients at risk of repeated episodes of cerebral ischemia.
Role of Protein Kinase C-mediated Protein Phosphorylation in Mitochondrial Translocation of Mouse CYP1A1, Which Contains a Non-canonical Targeting Signal

A large number of mitochondrial proteins lack canonical mitochondrial-targeting signals. The bimodal transport of cytochromes P450 (CYPs) to endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria (MT), reported previously by us, likely represents one mode of non-canonical protein targeting to MT. Herein, we have studied the mechanism of mouse MT-CYP1A1 targeting to gain insight into the regulatory features and evolutionary conservation of bimodal targeting mechanism. Mouse MT-CYP1A1 consists of two NH2-terminal-truncated molecular species, +91A1 and +331A1. Mutations Pro-2 --> Leu and Tyr-5 --> Leu, which increase the signal recognition particle (SRP) binding, diminished MT targeting of the protein in intact cells. By contrast, mutations Leu-7 --> Asn and Leu-17 --> Asn, which decreased SRP-binding affinity, enhanced MT targeting, thus suggesting that SRP binding is an important regulatory step that modulates bimodal targeting. Protein kinase C (PKC)-mediated phosphorylation of nascent chains at Thr-35 vastly decreased affinity for SRP binding suggesting an important regulatory step. In support of these results, COS cell transfection experiments show that phosphomimetic mutation Thr-35 --> Asp or induced cellular PKC caused increased CYP1A1 targeting to MT and correspondingly lower levels to the endoplasmic reticulum. Results suggest evolutionary conservation of chimeric signals and bimodal targeting of CYP1A1 in different species. The mouse MT-CYP1A1 is an extrinsic membrane protein, which exhibited high FDX1 plus FDXR-mediated N-demethylation of a number of tricyclic antidepressants, pain killers, anti-psychotics, and narcotics that are poor substrates for microsomal CYP1A1.
Inline coherent optical amplifier with noise figure lower than 3 dB quantum limit

The first demonstration of an inline coherent optical amplifier with a noise figure which is lower than the 3 dB quantum limit is presented. The amplifier is based on optical phase-sensitive amplification using a nonlinear fibre Sagnac interferometer pumped by an injection-locked semiconductor laser with a compensation phase-locked loop. A noise figure of 2.0 dB with a high signal gain of 16 dB has been successfully obtained.
An advection-condensation model for subtropical water vapor isotopic ratios

[1] The processes controlling the joint distribution of water vapor specific humidity (q) and isotopic ratios (6) at the subtropical relative humidity (RH) minimum are investigated through the development of an advection-condensation model that is applied to an idealized GCM and a GCM nudged by reanalysis data. The first-order characteristics of the joint distribution of δ and q values from the subtropical RH minimum can be satisfactorily explained by the model. In an idealized GCM with physics that closely approximates the assumptions in the advection-condensation model, the reconstructed 6 and q distribution are quite close to that in the model. When compared to an isotopic simulation from a full-physics GCM nudged by reanalysis data, the advection-condensation model reproduces the first-order aspects of the δ and q distribution but underestimates the variability. In both cases, the errors can potentially be attributed to insufficient variability in the representation of domains contributing water vapor to the subtropical RH minimum and, in the case of the isotopic reanalysis, to the omission of cloud microphysics. This study suggests that long-term monitoring of water vapor isotopic ratios may provide a way to distinguish between different mechanisms for the projected moistening of the subtropics.
Temporal responses to estrogen in the uterus

The estrogen receptor acts primarily as an estrogen-inducible transcription factor in target organs, however, until recently the identification of individual responsive transcripts has been cumbersome. In the present study, oligonucleotide GeneChip microarrays were used to describe and analyze the levels of approximately 6500 transcripts in the uteri of im- mature, ovariectomized mice at various times following oral exposure to 100 µg/kg of ethynyl estradiol. The most reproducible responses were identified and subjected to K-means clustering, and functional annotations were obtained for the transcripts within each cluster. Connections were made between the observed transcriptional responses and the known phys- iological responses to estrogen exposure, focusing here on effects on uterine cell cycle pro- gression leading to estrogen-stimulated uterine growth.
Stille Couplings Catalytic in Tin: The "Sn -O" Approach

A one-pot tandem Pd-catalyzed hydrostannylation/Stille coupling protocol for the stereoselective generation of vinyltins and their subsequent union, employing only catalytic amounts of tin, is described. By recycling the organotin halide Stille byproduct back to organotin hydride, a hydrostannylation/cross-coupling sequence can be carried out with catalytic amounts of tin. Such a process is most effective with Me3SnCl serving as the tin source. This protocol allows a 94% reduction of the tin requirement, while maintaining good yields (up to 90%) for a variety of Stille products. Furthermore, since one cycle requires the tin to undergo at least four transformations, each moiety of trialkyltin is experiencing a minimum of 60 reactions over the course of the hydrostannylation/Stille sequence.
Preventive ethics for cesarean delivery: the time has come.

rs Salmeen and Brincat make a valuable contribution D to descriptive obstetric ethics by documenting the importance of time constraints for informed consent for cesarean delivery. In their very well-executed retrospective study of the range of consent time for cesarean delivery during labor, they show that the median time from consent to incision was 48 minutes. For women who underwent cesarean delivery for fetal heart rate indications, the odds of delivering in <30 minutes after consent were 4.7 higher. Drs Salmeen and Brincat reasonably conclude that the consent time for cesarean delivery during labor is brief. Given the distractions of labor and the momentum for surgical intervention that can build as maternal or fetal indications justifiably come to dominate clinical judgment, obtaining informed consent during labor for cesarean delivery is, by its very nature, ethically challenging. The best way to address this ethical challenge is with preventive ethics, which is a concept that we introduced in the Journal in 1990. Preventive ethics uses the informed consent process to anticipate, prevent, and responsibly manage the potential for ethical conflict between the pregnant woman and her obstetrician. The absence of a preventive ethics approach to decision-making with patients about cesarean delivery unwittingly fosters the misperception of the “perfect baby” and misses important opportunities to prepare the pregnant woman for the rush of decision-making about cesarean delivery so that it does not overwhelm her autonomy or birth experience. The goal of a preventive ethics approach to informed consent for cesarean delivery is to empower the pregnant woman with information about cesarean delivery that she may need later. Given time and adequate support, pregnant women demonstrate the capacity to make informed, scientifically sophisticated decisions about their medical care (eg, the use of invasive prenatal diagnosis on the basis of the results of noninvasive risk assessment to make decisions
Single-crystalline GaP cavity-waveguide structures on diamond

We present coupled GaP resonator-waveguide structures on diamond fabricated from single-crystalline, epitaxially grown material. This progress is critical for the integration of nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond into optical networks with active, linear electro-optic devices.
Institutional Affiliation of Authors of Contributions to the American Journal of Agricultural Economics—1953–1972

Contributions to the American Journal of Agricultural Economics were tabulated for the periods 1953–1962, 1963–1967, and 1968–1972. Institutional juxtaposition through time for both invited and noninvited articles was observed. Rankings by subject category were provided for the most recent five‐year period.
Modeling Unsteady Flow Characteristics of Hydropeaking Operations and Their Implications on Fish Habitat

Reservoir releases associated with energy production and flood mitigation need to be reconciled with efforts to maintain healthy ecosystems in regulated rivers. Unsteady flow phenomena caused by hydropeaking operations typically affect riverbed erosion and fish displacement. A three-dimensional hydrodynamic model is used to simulate the flow characteristics during the passage of the rising limb of an observed hydropeaking event in a gravel-bed reach of Smith River, Virginia. The calculated time-dependent water surface elevations, velocities, and shear stresses are compared with field measurements. Further, comparison based on numerical simulations of this historical and a hypothetical "staggering" hydropeaking event reveals that the latter has the capability of reducing the area subject to erosion and prolonging refugia availability for juvenile brown trout. Issues related to the adoption of either a truly dynamic modeling approach or a quasi-steady methodology for simulating unsteady flows are examined through a proposed unsteadiness flow parameter. The insights obtained from this study can assist in properly accounting for the impact of hydropeaking operations on fish habitat and instream flow management.
Mutations in the E. coli Rep helicase increase the amount of DNA per cell

The mbrA4 mutation confers camphor resistance, severe growth defects and up to a two-fold increase in the amount of chromosomal DNA per cell. The extra DNA is replicated from oriC in a synchronous fashion. Cells containing mbrA4 are more resistant to X-rays, indicating that the extra DNA represents complete or nearly complete chromosomes. I report here that mbrA4 is an unusual allele of the leading strand DNA helicase, Rep. Eight independently isolated alleles of rep(mbrA) contain the same three changes in the rep gene: a G to A at position −44 from the start of the mRNA (+1); an opal stop at codon 142; and a glycine to serine at codon 414 (G414S). My data indicate that rep(mbrA4) is not a null mutation and that the third mutation, G414S, is necessary for camphor resistance, the phenotype associated with increased DNA content per cell. I also show that increase in DNA content does not lead to independently segregating chromosomes.
YEAR-LONG CLENBUTEROL TREATMENT OF MICE INCREASES MASS, BUT NOT SPECIFIC FORCE OR NORMALIZED POWER, OF SKELETAL MUSCLES

1. Clenbuterol has been proposed for the treatment of muscle wasting disorders, but its long-term effects on skeletal muscle function have not been tested rigorously. We tested the hypothesis that year-long treatment of young (6 months) mice with clenbuterol would increase skeletal muscle mass and in vitro measurements of specific force (Po) and power output. 2. Male mice (C57BL/10ScSn) were divided into treated (n = 6) or untreated (n = 8) groups. Treated mice received clenbuterol (1.5-2 mg/kg per day) in their drinking water for 52 weeks, following a staggered 3 day on/3 day off schedule to attenuate the response to clenbuterol. 3. Clenbuterol treatment increased the absolute mass of each muscle tested: the heart by 28%, extensor digitorum longus (EDL) by 16%, soleus by 22% and tibialis anterior by 17%. For treated compared with untreated mice, absolute Po (mN) was greater in soleus muscles but not different in EDL muscles. Absolute power output (mW) of the EDL and soleus muscles was not different and no differences were observed for the specific Po (kN/m2) or normalized power output (W/kg) of EDL muscles, soleus muscles or diaphragm muscle strips. 4. We conclude that, following year-long treatment of mice with clenbuterol, the mass of the heart and both fast and slow skeletal muscles is increased, but the lack of any change in normalized Po or power output indicates that clenbuterol has little therapeutic effect on the functional properties of skeletal muscle.
Blind digital signal separation using successive interference cancellation iterative least squares

Blind separation of instantaneous linear mixtures of digital signals is a basic problem in communications. When little or nothing can be assumed about the mixing matrix, signal separation may be achieved by exploiting structural properties of the transmitted signals, e.g., finite alphabet or coding constraints. We propose a monotonically convergent and computationally efficient iterative least squares (ILS) blind separation algorithm based on an optimal scaling lemma. The signal estimation step of the proposed algorithm is reminiscent of successive interference cancellation (SIC) ideas. For well-conditioned data and moderate SNR, the proposed SIC-ILS algorithm provides a better performance/complexity tradeoff than competing ILS algorithms. Coupled with blind algebraic digital signal separation methods, SIC-ILS offers a computationally inexpensive true least squares refinement option. We also point out that a widely used ILS finite alphabet blind separation algorithm can exhibit limit cycle behavior.
"Sensory" interference in a word-color matching task

Two experiments measured RTs for matching sequentially displayed color names to color patches. Experiment I demonstrated that printing the name in an incongruent color produced longer RTs than when the name was printed in black ink or a congruent colored ink, provided the time interval between the name display and the color patch display was brief (less than 100 msec). This interference was attenuated with longer delays. In Experiment II, a wider range of irrelevant colors was combined with the name display, and RT was found to be correlated with the colorimetric dissimilarity between the name and the irrelevant color. These findings suggest competition between irrelevant sensory input and pictorial encoding of relevant linguistic input.
Developmental and sex differences in cadmium distribution and metallothionein induction and localization.

Age- and sex-related differences in hepatic and renal distribution of cadmium (Cd) and the effect of Cd injection (10 μmol/kg) on tissue zinc (Zn), copper (Cu) and metallothionein (MT) levels were investigated in 2- to 84-day old rats. Renal Cd accumulation increased with age of the animal. Sex differences in renal Cd accumulation were noted in young animals where the 2- and 8-day old males had significantly greater concentration than the females. There were no clear effects of Cd on renal Zn. Renal Cu levels, however, were elevated in the adults. The adult females contained about twice as much MT as the adult males. Cd treatment had no effect on renal MT levels of 8- to 84-day old animals but depressed the levels in 2-day old. Age-related increase in hepatic Cd accumulation was also found; the pattern was more clear cut in females than in males. In addition, in the females the hepatic Cd concentration was significantly higher than in the males. Cd-injection significantly increased hepatic Zn and MT concentrations only in weaned animals. While there were no sex differences in MT levels in the young animals, the weaned females had significantly more MT than the corresponding males. Immunohistochemical staining for MT showed positive staining in both cytoplasm and nuclei of the parenchymal cells. The number of MT-positive nuclei was dependent on the relative MT concentration of the liver. In spite of the intense nuclear staining in 2-day old controls and 84-day old Cd-injected rats, less than 1% of the hepatic MT was present in the nuclear fraction. The above data on the tissue distribution of Cd point to the possible effects of sex hormones on Cd metabolism. The results of the intracellular distribution of MT suggest that nuclear MT represents only a minute fraction of the total cellular MT, even in the neonatal rat.
Conservation of space in noninstitutionalized old people.

Summary Forty-eight noninstitutionalized elderly were administered Piaget's Conservation of Surfaces Test. Only 13 subjects were designated as conservers in this content domain. A strong relationship existed between conservation ability and educational attainment, but not between sex and performance, and age and performance. Results indicated that cognitive abilities may be subject to qualitative disorganization in the latter portions of the life-span.
Autoaktivierung und Autofibrinolyse. Eine einfache Schnellmethode zur Gewinnung hochaktiven menschlichen fibrinolytischen Materials

Es wird eine Methode beschrieben, welche es erlaubt, aus Plasma mittels Behandlung mit Urin auf einfache schonende Weise fibrinolytische Praparate zu gewinnen. Alle Komponenten des fibrinolytischen Systems konnen von derselben Versuchsperson stammen.
AN ANALYSIS OF THE TURNAROUND STRATEGY IN COMMERCIAL BANKING

An analysis of the content of turnaround strategies in the commercial banking industry is presented. Most prior work on turnaround strategies examined durable product industries rather than service industries. Theory developed in this past work is used to predict the content of turnaround strategies in this service industry. Discriminant analysis is used to test the predictions. The turnaround prescriptions developed in the durable goods industries are found to be valid predictors in the commercial banking industry. Suggestions are made to encourage further study of applications of the strategic paradigm in service industries.
Model and algorithm for linkage disequilibrium analysis in a non-equilibrium population.

The multilocus analysis of polymorphisms has emerged as a vital ingredient of population genetics and evolutionary biology. A fundamental assumption used for existing multilocus analysis approaches is Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) at which maternally- and paternally-derived gametes combine randomly during fertilization. Given the fact that natural populations are rarely panmictic, these approaches will have a significant limitation for practical use. We present a robust model for multilocus linkage disequilibrium analysis which does not rely on the assumption of random mating. This new disequilibrium model capitalizes on Weir’s definition of zygotic disequilibria and is based on an open-pollinated design in which multiple maternal individuals and their half-sib families are sampled from a natural population. This design captures two levels of associations: one is at the upper level that describes the pattern of co-segregation between different loci in the parental population and the other is at the lower level that specifies the extent of co-transmission of non-alleles at different loci from parents to their offspring. An MCMC method was implemented to estimate genetic parameters that define these associations. Simulation studies were used to validate the statistical behavior of the new model.
The Acquisition of Mental Orthographic Representations for Reading and Spelling Development

Word-level reading and spelling skills support reading comprehension and writing composition. Accurate and fluent word-level reading and spelling are facilitated when individuals have clear mental orthographic representations (MOR) that permit them to quickly recognize and recall the visual representation of a word, freeing up memory and attentional resources for comprehending or composing text. It is interesting that the role MOR development plays in early literacy development has received minimal attention. This article, based on a presentation at the 2007 Katharine G. Butler Symposium on Child Language, first reviews the literature that supports a sequential view of MOR acquisition followed by recent findings that support MOR development as a unique and independently developing skill. A general overview of three investigations designed to determine the independence and contribution of MOR development to children’s acquisition of word-level literacy skills is provided. Suggestions for further research a...