cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Biologically Active Radiation in the Vicinity of a Single Tree

The horizontal photon flux density of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and flux density of ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation were measured in the vicinity of isolated single trees during the summer of 1996. Measurements were made under shade and sunlit conditions along a transect aligned with the solar disk and the tree trunk. Flux density measurements were normalized by the flux density at a reference location away from the tree. Results showed (1) a more rapid decline in the flux density of UVA and UVB radiation than PAR with decreasing distance to the tree trunk on both the sunlit and shaded side of a tree and (2) more rapid changes in the flux density of UVB radiation UVA radiation, and PAR with distance from the tree on the sunlit side of the tree than the shaded side of the tree. The UVB/PAR ratio was found to increase in the shadow of a tree with increasing distance from the tree to between 4 and 6 for the conditions of the study. The potential for detrimental effects by UVB flux density under conditions of the high ratio may be mitigated by sunflecks at a given location over the course of a day.
Extension of a Microstructure-Based Fatigue Crack Growth Model for Predicting Fatigue Life Variability

Most of the existing crack growth models rely on empirical constants derived from curve fits of data at specific test conditions. Although statistical information can be obtained for many of these constants, multiple experimental tests typically must be performed to represent the wide range of the response. In this paper, an alternative approach is presented that links fatigue crack growth parameters to material and microstructural size parameters via a microstructure-based fatigue crack growth (FCG) model. In addition, variation of initial crack size due to microstructural variation is modeled in terms of a crack-size-based fatigue crack initiation model. Variations of microstructural parameters are described in terms of a probabilistic framework. The probabilistic, microstructure-based, FCG approach is illustrated for a Ni-based superalloy in which the influence of changes in the main descriptors of the individual microstructural parameters on initial crack size, crack growth rate, and fatigue life is shown. Stochastic model results are compared with existing experimental data to illustrate the feasibility of the approach for predicting da/dN variability due to microstructure variations.
Inappropriate pacing in a patient with managed ventricular pacing: What is the cause?

A case of inappropriate atrial pacing in a patient with a pacemaker programmed with Managed Ventricular Pacing (MVP) mode, a proprietary algorithm in Medtronic devices, is presented. The patient was an 84-year-old woman who presented in sinus rhythm with complete atrioventricular block. A dual-chamber pacemaker was implanted and programmed to an MVP pacing mode. After the implant, the patient developed a relatively slow atrial tachyarrhythmia with 2:1 atrioventricular block and inappropriate atrial pacing, followed by a delay in tracking of the atrial tachyarrhythmia. The mechanisms for these behaviors are described.
Effect of self-induced magnetic force in a coronal loop transient

The distribution of the self-induced magnetic force in a section of a model coronal loop is examined and it is found that an axial current produces a pointwise magnetic force in the direction toward the axis of the loop. The direction of the pointwise magnetic force indicates that the effect of this force, acting alone, is to cause a contraction of the cross section of the magnetic loop toward the axis, but not the translation motion of the loop as a whole. It is concluded that forces other than the self-induced magnetic force, such as thermal force of pressure gradient or extra-induced magnetic force of magnetic buoyancy, must be involved in the acceleration mechanisms for the heliocentrifugal motion of coronal transients.
RADIATIVE AND COMBINED-MODE HEAT TRANSFER WITHIN L-SHAPED NONHOMOGENEOUS AND NONGRAY PARTICIPATING MEDIA

The solutions of pure radiative and combined radiative and conductive heat transfer within an L-shaped enclosure are presented. The enclosure contains a mixture of scattering, nongray pulverized carbon particles, C02, and N2. Three different types of problems are solved: homogeneous radiative properties, nonhomogeneous radiative properties, and combined conduction-radiation problems with nonhomogeneous radiative properties. The YIX method is used to solve the radiative transfer equation. A single-point, implicit, quasi-Newton scheme is used to solve the energy equation when both heat transfer modes are present. The scheme works well for a wide range of conduction-radiation parameters except when the parameter is less than 0.2.
An Alternative Test of the Rational Expectations-Perfect Substitutability Hypothesis: Deutsche Mark and Pound Sterling

This note tests the joint hypothesis of rational expectations and perfect substitutability between assets denominated in US dollars, deutsche marks and pound sterling. The hypothesis implies that the forecast errors from the uncovered interest rate parity condition follow a white noise process. Using a test based on the frequency domain properties of white noise processes, the hypothesis is not rejected on a sample of monthly observations from January 1974 to December 1981.
IgA nephropathy in a child with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection

Infection with the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) can cause a spectrum of renal disease, termed acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) nephropathy. The most common clinical manifestations of kidney involvement in HIV-1-infected patients are proteinuria and/or nephrotic syndrome, and the histopathological pattern usually reveals focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. We describe an 8-year-old child with AIDS who presented with recurrent gross hematuria. A kidney biopsy demonstrated IgA nephropathy. This unique case indicates that the range of kidney disease in HIV-infected children may be broader than originally thought, and that these patients warrant a complete evaluation of any renal abnormality.
BIOCHEMICAL HETEROGENEITY IN TYPE 1 CARBOHYDRATE-DEFICIENT GLYCOPROTEIN SYNDROME (CDGS). † 864

BIOCHEMICAL HETEROGENEITY IN TYPE 1 CARBOHYDRATE-DEFICIENT GLYCOPROTEIN SYNDROME (CDGS). † 864
Captive Breeding of Endangered Yaqui Topminnow and Yaqui Chub for Recovery Purposes

Abstract Yaqui topminnow Poeciliopsis occidentalis sonoriensis and Yaqui chub Gila purpurea, two federally endangered fishes from the Rio Yaqui basin (Arizona, USA, and Sonora, Mexico), were propagated by various methods. Propagation of Yaqui topminnow was attempted in aquaria and wading pools; the greatest number of offspring was produced in 556-L, plastic wading pools. We added substrate, artificial plants, and a vertical mesh barrier to create refuge for offspring. Fish were stocked when water was 19°C; after 1 month, when water temperatures exceeded 21°C, Yaqui topminnow started to produce young continuously. On average, 7.4 offspring/d were captured from four pools collectively. Yaqui chub were propagated in 189-L, glass aquaria. We manipulated photoperiod, diet, and substrate to induce spawning of Yaqui chub, but success was only achieved after the water was chilled to 17°C for 30 d and then adjusted to 21°C over 14 d. After the water was maintained at 21°C for 3 d, we covered the bottom of each aqu...
Conspiracy versus Regge Cuts in π − p Charge Exchange

A phenomenological study of ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{-}}p$ charge-exchange differential cross section and polarization is made using the $\ensuremath{\rho}$ plus a conspiring ${\ensuremath{\rho}}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ and using the $\ensuremath{\rho}$ plus an absorptive cut. In both cases the Regge residues are taken to have the Veneziano form $\frac{\mathrm{const}}{\ensuremath{\Gamma}(\ensuremath{\alpha})}$. The conspiracy model is found to agree with the data considerably better than the cut model.
A new in vivo model for luteolysis using systemic pulsatile infusions of PGF2α

Abstract A new in vivo model for studying luteolysis was developed in sheep to provide a convenient method for collecting corpora lutea for molecular, biochemical, and histological analysis during a procedure that mimics natural luteolysis. It was found that the infusion of prostaglandin F 2α (PGF 2α ) at 20 μg/min/h into the systemic circulation during the mid luteal phase of the cycle allowed sufficient PGF 2α to escape across the lungs and thus mimic the transient 40% decline in the concentration of progesterone in peripheral plasma seen at the onset of natural luteolysis in sheep. Additional 1 h-long systemic infusions of PGF 2α , given at physiological intervals, indicated that two infusions were not sufficient to induce luteolysis. However, an early onset of luteolysis and estrus was induced in one out of three sheep with three infusions, two out of three sheep with four infusions, and three out of three sheep with five infusions. Reducing the duration of each systemic infusion of PGF 2α from 1 h to 30 min failed to induce luteolysis and estrus even after six systemic infusions indicating that, not only are the amplitude and frequency of PGF 2α pulses essential for luteolysis, but the actual duration of each pulse is also critical. We conclude that a minimum of five systemic pulses of PGF 2α , given in an appropriate amount and at a physiological frequency and duration, are required to mimic luteolysis consistently in all sheep. The five pulse regimen thus provides a new accurate in vivo model for studying molecular mechanisms of luteolysis.
Two projection streams from macaque V1 to the pale cytochrome oxidase stripes of V2.

In the primate visual cortex, areas V1 and V2 distribute information they receive from the retina to virtually all extrastriate cortex, parsing this information into dorsal and ventral streams. Therefore, understanding the connectivity between V1 and V2 is crucial to understand visual cortical processing. Cytochrome oxidase staining in V2 reveals a repeating pattern of pale–thick–pale–thin stripes. V1 sends parallel output pathways to distinct V2 stripes. Previous models proposed either three or two parallel V1-to-V2 pathways in macaque, but both models viewed the two pale stripes within a single stripe cycle as a single compartment. However, recent studies have suggested that the two pale stripes may be functionally distinct, and in marmosets they also differ anatomically in the laminar origin of projections they receive from V1. Here we have asked whether the two pale stripes are also anatomically distinct in macaque. We made small retrograde tracer injections in different pale stripe types. We found that while both pale stripes receive a predominant V1 input from layers 2/3, only one set of pale stripes (pale lateral) receives significant projections from layer 4B, while the other set (pale medial) receives few or no layer 4B projections. Moreover, different tracer injections in nearby pale stripe types revealed that 97–99% of layer 2/3 cells only project to a single pale stripe type. These results demonstrate that in macaque, the two pale stripes are anatomically distinct compartments, and support the notion of two distinct projection streams from V1 to the two pale stripes of V2.
How to win a career achievement award in five easy lessons.

This professional autobiography is based on a talk given as the recipient of the 2009 Bruno Klopfer Distinguished Contribution Award. It includes a discussion of 5 of my habits that might be useful as a guide for future awardees including 1. send everything that you write to everyone you know (and ask for their help); 2. don't be afraid to pick up what's been dropped by others; 3. don't be afraid to go away and then to stay away a long time; and 4. remember good ideas—they can be useful in the future. For the fifth and most important lesson, one must read the article.
Tax rate uncertainty and the sensitivity of consumption to income in an overlapping generations model

Abstract A well-documented feature of U.S. data is that the aggregate consumption is a smoother process than income. An overlapping generations model with a time-nonseparable utility function is developed to characterize the effect of income tax uncertainty on the degree of consumption smoothness. The model predicts that an increased tax uncertainty combined with tax-financed production externality makes the aggregate consumption smoother for a plausible range of intertemporal substitution in consumption. A calibration experiment indicates that the observed long-term smoothness of aggregate consumption is consistent with the model's predicted consumption process.
Properties of relationships and their representation

Data models can provide powerful abstractions to aid in the design of data structures that are relevant to database systems. A large amount of effort has been expended in the development of suitable data models. Several of these models distinguish between classes of entities and relationships among classes of entities in the abstractions they use for modelling the data. Among these models are the network model, Schmid and Swenson's model, the entity-relationship model, Navathe and Schkolnick's model, the semantic data model, and the structural model.
Body checking and avoidance in ethnically diverse female college students.

Although body checking and avoidance behaviors are common in women with eating disorders, minimal research has examined the nature or correlates of these behaviors in ethnically diverse female college students without eating disorders. Self-identified European American (n = 268), Asian American (n = 163), Latina (n = 146), and African American (n = 73) women completed self-report measures of body checking and avoidance, thin-ideal internalization, eating pathology, and clinical impairment. Results indicated that European and Asian American women reported significantly more body checking and avoidance than African American and Latina women. Generally, correlates of body checking and avoidance were consistent across ethnic groups: Regression analyses indicated that type of ethnicity predicted body checking and avoidance; and ethnicity, body checking, and body avoidance predicted eating pathology and clinical impairment. These associations suggest that body checking and avoidance are not benign behaviors in diverse nonclinical women.
Nonlinear Power Sharing Controller for a Double-Input H-Bridge-Based Buckboost–Buckboost Converter

This paper describes the design of a nonlinear controller with power sharing control capabilities of a double input buckboost-buckboost converter. First, this converter is introduced, and its principles of operation and the equations describing the converter circuit are reviewed. Next, the nonlinear model of the buckboost-buckboost converter is found by averaging the state equations. Then, a Lyapunov-based nonlinear controller, which is adaptive against input voltage and load disturbances (to provide line regulation and load regulation) is proposed. Finally, several simulation and experimental results from a prototype buckboost-buckboost converter operating under the proposed controller are reported to verify the operation of the designed controller.
Child mortality 30 years after the Alma-Ata Declaration.

The 30th anniversary of Alma-Ata provides a tremendous opportunity to galvanise the increasing political commitment and global momentum behind meeting the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDG). MDG 4 calls for a two-thirds reduction in mortality of children aged less than 5 years between 1990 and 2015. Accurate and timely estimates of childhood mortality are needed to help countries set priorities to design programmes and to monitor progress. Such estimates are challenging to make because data are scarce in many developing countries. In response in 2004 experts at UNICEF WHO the World Bank the UN Population Division (UNPD) and members of the academic community formed the Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation. The IGME aims to produce best estimates on levels and trends in child mortality worldwide to improve and harmonise methods across partners and to source and share new data on child mortality. Each year UNICEF on the basis of work of the IGME publishes the latest summary data on global mortality in children under 5 years of age as they become available. Detailed national estimates of mortality trend analysis and other indicators are then published in the annual The State of the Worlds Children report. Further analysis along with other policy and programme data are also presented every 2-3 years as the Countdown to 2015 involving UNICEF WHO UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and a range of civil society academic and donor partners. (excerpt)
Positive solutions of even order system periodic boundary value problems

We study a class of even order system boundary value problems with periodic boundary conditions. A series of criteria are obtained for the existence of one, two, any arbitrary number, and even a countably infinite number of positive solutions. Criteria for the nonexistence of positive solutions are also derived. As for the second order case, our results extend, improve, and supplement those in the literature for scalar and system boundary value problems. Several examples are given to demonstrate the applications. Moreover, we obtain conditions for system periodic boundary value problems of a different form to have nontrivial solutions by transforming our main results to such problems.
The effect of soil drought on water‐use efficiency in a contrasting Great Basin desert and Sierran montane species

Abstract. The effect of soil drought on water-use efficiency (WUE) and water relations was examined for potted Artemisia tridentata Nutt. and Pinus ponderosa Laws., a dominant Great Basin desert shrub and a Sierran montane tree, respectively. Before the onset of drought, A. tridentata had slightly higher photosynthetic rates than P. ponderosa and A. tridentata maintained positive photosynthetic rates at substantially lower water potentials (Ψ). Complete stomatal closure and cessation of photosynthesis occurred at a Ψ of ca. −2.5 MPa for P. ponderosa and less than −5.0 MPa for A. tridentata. Repeated drought cycles caused a small increase in bulk modulus of elasticity for A. tridentata and neither species exhibited significant osmotic adjustment. WUE was similar at Ψ≥−1.0 MPa but as Ψ decreased P. ponderosa consistently maintained higher WUE than A. tridentata. The primary factor contributing to higher WUE for P. ponderosa was the rapid decrease in stomatal conductance with decreasing Ψ. Comparatively low WUE for A. tridentata, a drought tolerant species, suggests that efficient use of water is a conservative ecophysiological ‘strategy’ that can be detrimental in a competitive water-limited environment. The combination of profligate use of water and a high degree of drought tolerance may be a more successful combination of physiological characteristics in certain dry habitats.
Cost-effectiveness of routine mediastinoscopy in computed tomography- and positron emission tomography-screened patients with stage I lung cancer

Objective Accurate preoperative staging is essential for the optimal management of patients with lung cancer. An important goal of preoperative staging is to identify mediastinal lymph node metastasis. Computed tomography and positron emission tomography may identify mediastinal lymph node metastasis with sufficient sensitivity to allow omission of mediastinoscopy. This study utilizes our experience with patients with clinical stage I lung cancer to perform a decision analysis addressing whether mediastinoscopy should be performed in clinical stage I lung cancer patients staged by computed tomography and positron emission tomography. Methods We retrospectively reviewed our thoracic surgery database for cases between May 1999 and May 2004. Patients deemed clinical stage I by computed tomography and positron emission tomography were chosen for further study. Individual computed tomography, positron emission tomography, and operative and pathology reports were reviewed. The postresection pathologic staging and long-term survival were recorded. A decision model was created using TreeAgePro software and our observed data for the prevalence of mediastinal lymph node metastases and for the rate of benign nodules. Data reported in the literature were also utilized to complete the decision analysis model. A sensitivity analysis of key variables was performed. Results A total of 248 patients with clinical stage I lung tumors were identified. One hundred seventy-eight patients (72%) underwent mediastinoscopy before resection, and 5/178 (3%) showed N2 disease. An additional 9 patients were found to have N2 metastasis in the final resected specimen, resulting in a total of 14/248 patients (5.6%) with occult mediastinal lymph node metastases. Benign nodules were found in 19/248 (8%) of patients. Decision analysis determined that mediastinoscopy added 0.008 years of life expectancy at a cost of $250,989 per life-year gained. The outcome was sensitive to the prevalence of N2 disease in the population and the benefit of induction versus adjuvant therapy for N2 lung cancer. If the prevalence of N2 disease exceeds 10%, the sensitivity analysis predicts that mediastinoscopy would lengthen life at a cost of less than $100,000 per life-year gained. Conclusion Patients with clinical stage I lung cancer staged by computed tomography and positron emission tomography benefit little from mediastinoscopy. The survival advantage it confers is very small and is dependent on the prevalence of N2 metastasis and the unproven superiority of induction therapy over adjuvant therapy.
Off-pump Coronary Bypass Surgery in Patients With Low Ejection Fraction: Is There a Long-Term Survival Advantage?

ObjectiveLong-term survival after off-pump surgery in patients with low ejection fraction was investigated.MethodsThree hundred forty-six patients with ejection fraction 30% or less with isolated o...
Low Temperature Direct Reactions Between Elemental Silicon and Liquid Ammonia or Amines for Ceramics and Chemical Intermediates

Direct processes that may be used to manufacture high purity silicon nitride or silicon carbide are described. Elemental silicon has been found to react directly with liquid ammonia and amines at low temperature to yield compounds for both the ceramic and chemical industries. Silicon-amine direct reactions, previously thought not to occur, were investigated by using 29Si NMR, IR, UV, Raman, XRD, ICP, EDS and TGA methods to detect and characterize product formation. The [Si,N,H] and [Si,C,N,H] products transform to silicon nitride or silicon carbide respectively when heated above 1300°C.
5'-terminal structures of poly(A)+ cytoplasmic messenger RNA and of poly(A)+ and poly(A)- heterogeneous nuclear RNA of cells of the dipteran Drosophila melanogaster.

Structures at the 5′ terminus of poly (A)-containing cytoplasmic RNA and heterogeneous nuclear RNA containing and lacking poly(A) have been examined in RNA extracted from both normal and heat-shocked Drosophila cells. 32P-labeled RNA was digested with ribonucleases T2, T1 and A and the products fractionated by a fingerprinting procedure which separates both unblocked 5′ phosphorylated termini and the blocked, methylated, “capped” termini, known to be present in the messenger RNA of most eukaryotes. Approximately 80% of the 5′-terminal structures recovered from digests of poly(A)-containing Drosophila mRNA are cap structures of the general form m7G5′ppp5′X(m)pY(m)pZp. With respect to the extent of ribose methylation and the base distribution, the 5′-terminal sequences of Drosophila capped mRNA appear to be intermediate between those of unicellular eukaryotes and those of mammals. Drosophila is the first organism known in which type 0 (no ribose methylations), type 1 (one ribose methylation), and type 2 (two ribose methylations) caps are all present. In contrast to mammalian cells, the caps of Drosophila never contain the doubly methylated nucleoside N6,2′-O-dimethyladenosine. Both purines and pyrimidines can be found as the penultimate nucleoside of Drosophila caps and there is a wide variety of X-Y base combinations. The relative frequencies of these different base combinations, and the extent of ribose methylation, vary with the duration of labeling. The large majority of poly(A)-containing cytoplasmic RNA molecules from heat-shocked Drosophila cells are also capped, but these caps are unusual in having almost exclusively purines as the penultimate X base. Greater than 75% of the 5′ termini of heterogeneous nuclear RNA (hnRNA) containing poly(A) and greater than 50% of the termini of hnRNA lacking poly (A) are also capped. Triphosphorylated nucleotides, common as the 5′ nucleotides of mammalian hnRNA, are rare in the poly(A)-containing hnRNA of Drosophila. The frequency of the various type 0 and type 1 cap sequences of cytoplasmic and nuclear poly (A)-containing RNA are almost identical. The caps of hnRNA lacking poly(A) are also quite similar to those of poly-adenylated hnRNA, but are somewhat lower in their content of penultimate pyrimidine nucleosides, suggesting that these two populations of molecules are not identical.
Solid-state NMR reveals the hydrophobic-core location of poly(amidoamine) dendrimers in biomembranes.

Poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimer nanobiotechnology shows great promise in targeted drug delivery and gene therapy. Because of the involvement of cell membrane lipids with the pharmacological activity of dendrimer nanomedicines, the interactions between dendrimers and lipids are of particular relevance to the pharmaceutical applications of dendrimers. In this study, solid-state NMR was used to obtain a molecular image of the complex of generation-5 (G5) PAMAM dendrimer with the lipid bilayer. Using 1H radio frequency driven dipolar recoupling (RFDR) and 1H magic angle spinning (MAS) nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy (NOESY) techniques, we show that dendrimers are thermodynamically stable when inserted into zwitterionic lipid bilayers. 14N and 31P NMR experiments on static samples and measurements of the mobility of C−H bonds using a 2D proton detected local field protocol under MAS corroborate these results. The localization of dendrimers in the hydrophobic core of lipid bilayers restricts the motio...
A quantitative microstructural study of intergranular liquation and its relationship to hot cracking

Les superalliages a base de nickel sont predisposes a la fissuration a chaud dans la zone thermiquement affectee. Cette fissuration est attribuee a la segregation du carbure de niobium dans les alliages forges et du carbure de niobium et des phases de Laves dans les alliages moules. Simulation de la distribution de la phase liquide dans la zone thermiquement affectee. Correlation entre la microstructure et la susceptibilite a la fissuration a chaud
A Process Theory of Enzyme Catalytic Power – the Interplay of Science and Metaphysics

Enzymes are protein catalysts of extraordinary efficiency, capable of bringing about rate enhancements of their biochemical reactions that can approach factors of 1020. Theories of enzyme catalysis, which seek to explain the means by which enzymes effect catalytic transformation of the substrate molecules on which they work, have evolved over the past century from the “lock-and-key” model proposed by Emil Fischer in 1894 to models that explicitly rely on transition state theory to the most recent theories that strive to provide accounts that stress the essential role of protein dynamics. In this paper, I attempt to construct a metaphysical framework within which these new models of enzyme catalysis can be developed. This framework is constructed from key doctrines of process thought, which gives ontologic priority to becoming over being, as well as tenets of a process philosophy of chemistry, which stresses environmentally responsive molecular transformation. Enzyme catalysis can now be seen not as enzyme acting on its substrate, but rather as enzyme and substrate entering into a relation which allows them to traverse the reaction coordinate as an ontologic unity.
Supplement to multiplier theorems

Abstract A multiplier theorem in (J. Combinatorial Theory Ser. A, in press) is extended to cyclic group divisible difference sets (GDDSs) of small size. A multiplier theorem for abelian difference sets in (Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 68 (1978), 375–379) is extended to abelian GDDSs. A remark on the existence of cyclic affine planes is made based on a previously proved multiplier theorem.
Clitoral stimulation and the effect of age, breed, technician, and postpartum interval on pregnancy rate to artificial insemination in beef cattle.

Abstract An experiment was conducted to assess the effect of clitoral stimulation on pregnancy rate to artificial insemination in 1,856 beef females. For unadjusted data, pregnancy rate to first service in nonstimulated females was 61% for cows and 59% for heifers, and that of females receiving clitoral stimulation was 69% for cows and 58% for heifers. After adjusting the data for the influences of age, breed, technician, and postpartum interval, clitoral stimulation increased first service pregnancy rate in cows (74 ± 3% vs 59 ± 3%, P vs 57 ± 5%, P>0.10). Postpartum interval significantly influenced pregnancy rate, regardless of treatment, and clitoral stimulation was beneficial when applied to cows with relatively short postpartum intervals. Variation in the effect of clitoral stimulation on pregnancy rate was observed among technicians. Clitoral stimulation improved pregnancy rate more effectively in 3 to 4 year old cows than in cows 2 years old and cows 5 years of age or older. We concluded that clitoral stimulation at the time of artificial insemination was an effective means of increasing pregnancy rate in cows, but not in heifers.
A Computationally Convenient Diversity Measure: Theory and Application

This paper introduces a computationally convenient measure of structural diversity based on absolute deviations between relative shares of individual groups forming a community. A conceptual framework is developed, some theoretical properties of the measure are derived, and its close relation to the Shannon index, a widely used diversity measure, is explored. The paper also presents an empirical application involving this measure where optimum harvesting strategies are determined under diversity constraints, and investigates the trade off between economic and environmental objectives for a mixed forest in Indonesia.
Stress Relaxation of Mono and Polydisperse Polystyrene.

Abstract : CONTINUING WORK EFFORTS IN STUDIES OF THE STRESS RELAXATION MODULUS ER(T) FOR POLYSTYRENE IN THE RUBBERY FLOW REGION ARE REPORTED. IN THIS REPORT PERIOD SPECIAL ATTENTION WAS GIVEN TO THE RELATION OF ER(T) TO MOLECULAR WEIGHT AND MOLECULAR WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION OF MONODISPERSE POLYSTYRENE SAMPLES FROM BOTH THE DOW AND MONSANTO CHEMICAL COMPANIES. (AUTHOR, MODIFIED-PL).
A General Reduced Representation of One-Dimensional Frictional Interfaces

A physically-motivated, reduced representation of a general one-dimensional frictional interface is developed. Friction is introduced into the system as a state variable and is modeled by nonlinear springs of large but finite stiffness. The set of equations for the interface is reduced in a procedure similar to Guyan reduction by assuming that the system must deform in its quasistatic displacement shapes. The result of this reduction is that the degrees of freedom internal to the interface are removed from the analysis and only the boundary degrees of freedom are retained. The reduced system is then specialized to the case of a bar on a frictional surface. For this problem, a second reduction is made by noting that the time derivative of the friction force on the stuck block nearest the slip zone is much greater than the time derivatives of the friction forces elsewhere. Therefore only the friction force on the stuck block nearest the slip zone needs to be updated at each time step. The reduced representation developed in this paper is compared with a formulation from the literature and it is seen that the two match very closely and that the reduced representation is far less computationally intensive.
Use of hooked-wire electrodes for electromyography of the intrinsic laryngeal muscles.

A new technique for electromyography of the intrinsic laryngeal muscles with bipolar hooked-wire electrodes is described in detail. This technique has the following important advantages for investi...
Piezoelectric Skin-Friction-Force Transducer

A two component piezoelectric skin-friction force transducer has been developed for a hypersonic flow tunnel which has a run time of approximately 70 milliseconds. Skin-friction forces acting on a sensing diaphragm are transferred to a transducer element which is constructed of lead zirconate titanate composition ceramic beams. The transducer converts a force into two charge signals which correspond to orthogonal components of the force parallel to the skin-friction force sensing diaphragm. The diameter of the sensing element is 0.940 inch and the overall transducer dimensions are 1 inch diameter and 0.625 inch high.
Some Results on Reliability for the Longitudinal Measurement of Change: Implications for the Design of Studies of Individual Growth

When changes in educational or psychological status are being measured, every subject in the sample must be observed on several chronologically successive occasions. In the pursuit of such longitud...
Serological identification of hamster oncornaviruses.

CATS, mice and chickens have indigenous oncornaviruses (oncogenic RNA viruses) which induce leukaemias and sarcomas1,2. Mouse sarcoma virus (MuSV), like avian sarcoma virus, can induce sarcomas in the hamster3,4 but some of these MuSV hamster sarcomas release virus that differs both antigenically and with regard to its host range from the original5—it can be neutralized by antisera prepared against isolates of virus released from MuSV-transformed cells but not by antisera against murine leukaemia virus (MuLV) and it is sarcomagenic in hamsters but not in mice. Such a virus could be: (a) an indigenous hamster sarcoma virus “activated” by the inoculation of MuSV; (b) an MuSV genome that has acquired a new viral envelope from an indigenous hamster leukaemia virus (HaLV) during its sojourn in hamsters; or (c) a recombinant between HaLV and the sarcomagenic portion of the MuSV genome. In fact, it is known that the hamster possesses a virus (HaLV) which is morphologically similar to MuLV6,7. This virus lacks8 the group-specific (gs) internal MuLV-gs1 antigen characteristic of MuLV9,10 although it does have the gs antigen (MuLV-gs3) which is common to all mammalian leukaemia viruses investigated so far8.
KRN/I-Ag7 mouse arthritis is independent of complement C3.

Background KRN/I-Ag7 (KxB/N) is a mouse model of inflammatory arthritis, which resembles human rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis in these animals is caused by autoreactivity to a ubiquitously expressed autoantigen, glucose-6 phosphate isomerase. Tolerance is broken at both the T cell and B cell level. The sera from KRN/I-Ag7 mice can induce mouse arthritis in healthy mice. Complement components of the alternative complement pathway, including C3, have been shown to be required in induction of mouse arthritis by serum transfer.
The influence of biofilm structure and total interaction energy on Escherichia coli retention by Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm

The retention of a surrogate pathogenic bacterium, Escherichia coliT , in Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms (with various EPS excreting capacities) was investigated using a laboratory flow cell system. The structural characteristics of the biofilm, as well as the quantity of E. coliT retained in the biofilm, were assessed using confocal laser scanning microscopy coupled with image analysis. In addition, the total interaction energy between E. coliT and the P. aeruginosa biofilm was computed with the Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) theory, which provided an additional context to explain the pathogen interaction in aquatic biofilms. The correlations between the quantity of detained E. coliT cells and the structural characteristics of the biofilm were analysed and the results indicated that the heterogeneity of the biofilm could create a quiescent zone leading to temporary retention of E. coliT within the biofilm. Overall, this study provided insights toward understanding the retention of pathogenic ba...
Effect of reaction conditions on synthesis and properties of multiarm star‐branched polyisobutylenes

A series of multiarm star-branched polyisobutylenes was synthesized from narrow polydispersity arms with molecular weights ranging from 12,000 to 60,000 g/mol, via living carbocationic polymerization using the cumyl chloride/TiCl4/pyridine initiating system and divinylbenzene (DVB) as core-forming comonomer. The effect on star development of arm molecular weight, temperature, solvent composition, and DVB concentration was studied. The rate of star formation and the weight-average number of arms per star polymer, Nw, were found to scale inversely with arm molecular weight; Nw = 60 was attained for 13,100 g/mol arms, but Nw = 2.5 for 60,000 g/mol arms. It was established that star formation was much faster at −80°C compared to 23°C, regardless of solvent composition. For hexane : methyl chloride (MeCl) solvent compositions containing from 40 to 60 vol % MeCl, star–star coupling was observed at −80°C, but not at 23°C, even after 312 h; for the most polar 40 : 60 hexane : MeCl composition, star–star coupling was so extensive at −80°C that gelation was observed after only 44 h. The rate of star formation was found to be substantially higher in 60 : 40 hexane : MeCl compared to 60 : 40 hexane : methylene chloride (MeCl2). Some reactions containing MeCl were immediately warmed to 23°C after DVB addition, and the MeCl thus volatilized was replaced with either MeCl2 or hexane for the duration of the star-forming reaction. Slightly higher rates were consistently observed when MeCl2 was the replacement solvent. The strong influence of initial MeCl content on rate of star formation was found to persist throughout the star-forming reaction, even when the solvent was immediately converted to 100% hexane. The fraction of arms that remained unlinked into stars was found to be higher at the higher temperature and at lower solvent polarity. Regardless of solvent or temperature, the residual arm fraction was approximately the same at a given stage of star development as measured by the average number of arms per star. One star sample was produced with the UV-transparent 2-chloro-2,4,4-trimethylpentane initiator; analysis showed that the residual arm fraction had approximately the same UV absorbance as the star fraction, indicating efficient crossover to DVB and the potential for approximately quantitative arm incorporation given sufficient time. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 471–483, 1998
Groundwater: from mystery to management

Groundwater has been used for domestic and irrigation needs from time immemorial. Yet its nature and occurrence have always possessed a certain mystery because water below the land surface is invisible and relatively inaccessible. The influence of this mystery lingers in some tenets that govern groundwater law. With the birth of modern geology during the late nineteenth century, groundwater science became recognized in its own right. Over the past two centuries, groundwater has lost its shroud of mystery, and its scientific understanding has gradually grown hand-in-hand with its development for human use. Groundwater is a component of the hydrological cycle, vital for human sustenance. Its annual renewability from precipitation is limited, and its chemical quality is vulnerable to degradation by human action. In many parts of the world, groundwater extraction is known to greatly exceed its renewability. Consequently, its rational management to benefit present and future generations is a matter of deep concern for many nations. Groundwater management is a challenging venture, requiring an integration of scientific knowledge with communal will to adapt to constraints of a finite common resource. As scientists and policy makers grapple with the tasks of groundwater management, it is instructive to reflect on the evolution of groundwater knowledge from its initial phase of demystification at the beginning of the nineteenth century, through successive phases of technological conquest, scientific integration, discovery of unintended consequences and the present recognition of an imperative for judicious management. The following retrospective provides a broad context for unifying the technical contributions that make up this focus issue on groundwater resources, climate and vulnerability.
Comparison of low oxygen avoidance in a bimodal breather, Erpetoichthys calabaricus and an obligate water breather, Percina caprodes

Behavioral responses of the African reedfish, Erpetoichthys calabaricus, (Polypteridae), a bimodal breather, and the logperch, Percina caprodes, (Percidae), an obligate water breather, to low concentrations of dissolved oxygen were examined in a two-choice experimental design. In contrast to logperch, which consistently avoided dissolved oxygen concentrations of about 2.0 mg 1−1, reedfish did not exhibit strong avoidance to dissolve oxygen concentrations of 0.5 mg 1−1 and less.
Guiding Spatial Arrangements of Silver Nanoparticles by Optical Binding Interactions in Shaped Light Fields

We demonstrate assembly of spheroidal Ag nanoparticle clusters, chains and arrays induced by optical binding. Particles with diameters of 40 nm formed ordered clusters and chains in aqueous solution when illuminated by shaped optical fields with a wavelength of 800 nm; specifically, close-packed clusters were formed in cylindrically symmetric optical traps, and linear chains were formed in line traps. We developed a coupled-dipole model to calculate the optical forces between an arbitrary number of particles and successfully predicted the experimentally observed particle separations and arrangements as well as their dependence on the polarization of the incident light. This demonstrates that the interaction between these small Ag particles and light is well described by approximating the particles as point dipoles, showing that these experiments extend optical binding into the Rayleigh regime. For larger Ag nanoparticles, with diameters of approximately 100 nm, the optical-binding forces become comparable...
Examining Cultural Intelligence and Cross-Cultural Negotiation Effectiveness

International negotiation failures are often linked to deficiencies in negotiator cross-cultural capabilities, including limited understanding of the cultures engaged in the transaction, an inabili...
Deformation analysis of the local field in the vicinity of a stably growing crack-tip

Abstract In this paper, the concept of the crack opening deformation rate at a small distance r m behind a growing crack-tip under plane-strain condition has been generalized, so as to derive a simplified theoretical formula of CTOA at an advancing tip under the conditions of plane-stress and large-scale yielding for power-hardening materials. The results obtained by this formula are in agreement with calculation results by finite-element method as well as experimental data. The characterizing energy dissipation rate within the fracture process zone at the growing crack tip G FPZ has been defined and calculated, and found to vary in the same trend as that of CTOA, thus suggesting that G FPZ is a physical parameter pertinent to crack propagation and independent of specimen geometry. A general theoretical relationship between G FPZ and the crack-tip opening parameters ( δ t and CTOA) has been obtained.
A Reusable Electrochemical Proximity Assay for Highly Selective, Real-Time Protein Quantitation in Biological Matrices

Rapid and specific quantitation of a variety of proteins over a wide concentration range is highly desirable for biosensing at the point-of-care, in clinical laboratories, and in research settings. Our recently developed electrochemical proximity assay (ECPA) is a target-flexible, DNA-directed, direct-readout protein quantitation method with detection limits in the low femtomolar range, making it particularly amenable to point-of-care detection. However, consistent quantitation in more complex matrices is required at the point-of-care, and improvements in measurement speed are needed for clinical and research settings. Here, we address these concerns with a reusable ECPA, where a gentle regeneration of the surface DNA monolayer (used to capture the proximity complex) is achieved enzymatically through a novel combination of molecular biology and electrochemistry. Strategically placed uracils in the DNA sequence trigger selective cleavage of the backbone, releasing the assembled proximity complex. This allo...
Immunohistochemical localization of beta 1-integrins in anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments of human and rabbit.

The integrins are a family of adhesion-mediating cell surface receptors that play critical roles in cell-extracellular matrix interactions and have been shown to be important in the healing response in several tissues. We have studied integrin expression in normal human and rabbit anterior cruciate (ACL) and medial collateral (MCL) ligaments of the knee as a preamble to studies of β1-integrin expression in healing ligaments. Histologic sections of human and rabbit ACL and MCL were probed for integrin expression utilizing integrin-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) followed by immunoperoxidase detection. Staining of human specimens with mAbs revealed the presence of β1-, α1-, and α5-integrin chains on the tissue fibroblasts of both ACL and MCL, while staining of rabbit specimens with rabbit integrin-reactive monoclonals revealed the presence of β1- and α5-integrin on these ligaments. Equivalent amounts of the integrins studied were present on normal ACL and MCL. We conclude that the rabbit is an appropriate model for analyzing the expression and functional role of integrins in ligament wound healing.