cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Scheduling for data center interactive services

To service requests with high quality, web search servers keep average server utilization low. As servers become busy, queuing delays increase, and requests miss their deadlines, resulting in degraded quality of service with poor user experience and potential revenue loss. In this paper, we propose a group of scheduling algorithms that can produce partial answers during overload. One of their key features is assigning processing time to each request based on system load with the objective of maximizing overall quality of responses. We propose three scheduling algorithms — offline, online clairvoyant and online nonclairvoyant. For applications with concave quality profile, we prove that the offline algorithm is optimal. We show the effectiveness of the online algorithms by conducting a simulation study modeling a web search engine. Simulation results show a significant improvement compared to traditional scheduling models with respect to average response quality.
Evidence for ascent of differentiated liquids in a silicic magma chamber found in a granitic pluton

Fluid dynamic modelling of crystallising calc-alkalic magma bodies has predicted that differentiated liquids will ascend as boundary layers and that accumulation of these buoyant liquids near chamber roofs will result in compositionally stratified magma chambers. This paper reports physical features in La Gloria Pluton that can be interpreted as trapped ascending differentiated liquids. Leucogranitic layers decimetres thick, which are locally stratified, are trapped beneath overhanging wall contacts. The same felsic magmas were also preserved where they were injected into the wall rocks as dykes and as large sill complexes
o-Quinone/quinone methide isomerase: A novel enzyme preventing the destruction of self-matter by phenoloxidase-generated quinones during immune response in insects

Melanization and encapsulation of invading foreign organisms observed during the immune response in insects is known to be due to the action of activated phenoloxidase. Phenoloxidase-generated quinones are deposited either directly or after self-polymerization on foreign objects accounting for the observed reactions. Since the reactions of quinones are nonenzymatic, they do not discriminate self from nonself and hence will also destroy self-matter. In this report we present evidence for the presence of a novel quinone/quinone methide isomerase in the hemolymph of Sarcophaga bullata which destroys long-lived quinones and hence acts to protect the self-matter. Quinone methides, formed by the action of this enzyme on physiologically important quinones, being unstable undergo rapid hydration to form nontoxic metabolites.
Cooperative Carbon Capture Capabilities in Multivariate MOFs Decorated with Amino Acid Side Chains: A Computational Study

This article discusses cooperative carbon capture capabilities in metal organic frameworks decorated with amino acid side chains.
Co-curricular experiences link to nontechnical skill development for African-American engineers: Communication, teamwork, professionalism, lifelong learning, and reflective behavior skills

We present an analysis of the influence of co-curricular experiences on the development of communication, professionalism, lifelong learning, teamwork, and reflective behavior skills for African-American engineering students. Astin's Inputs-Environments-Outputs, or I-E-O, model and the modifications made by Terezini and Reason provide the conceptual framework for this study. This framework supports out-of-class experiences as environments that develop student outcomes. While many studies have shown that co-curricular experiences are linked to student outcomes, this research offers specific insight into outcomes on African-American engineering students. With pervasive calls for diversity, investigating student outcomes for specific ethnic groups is imperative for educators to ensure that all students are properly prepared to enter the workforce. Driven by the National Academy of Engineers' Engineer of 2020 recommendations, our research utilizes two distinct data sets to investigate students' perceptions regarding five learning outcomes. This research offers nuanced insight into co-curricular experiences given broad categories of involvement (e.g. university-level organizations) and specific experiences (e.g. National Society of Black Engineers, NSBE). Results show that students who only participate in one type of experience may miss opportunities to develop additional skills. Additionally, results suggest that skill development enhances as the level of involvement increases.
Free volume estimates of thermodynamic and transport properties of heavy oils with CO2

Abstract Carbon dioxide is to be used to displace crude oil in reservoirs by effecting miscibility. Even where no miscibility is reached, as in heavy oils, there are still some advantages. When CO 2 dissolves in oil, it increases the volume of oil and squeezes it out of narrow capillaries. Further, the viscosity of oil also decreases at times by an order of magnitude. To quantify the process it is necessary to know the CO 2 solubility, the swelling produced, and the changes in viscosity and diffusivity with the CO 2 content. There is no available theory that unifies both thermodynamic and transport data in a single model with the exception of the free volume theory which applies when the free volume is low. In addition, most models require a molecular weight of oil, where only a weighted average is available and it is questionable if this weighting will work for oils from different sources, or to different physical properties. We start with the density–pressure–temperature data without CO 2 for heavy oil available in the literature to establish the correlations using the free volume theory and thereby predict the remaining viscosity data. We then interpret the data on swelling by CO 2 which leads us to the volume fraction of CO 2 . The viscosity data leads us to the free volumes of CO 2 in oil and allows us to calculate the diffusivities of CO 2 . In all, the energy of solubilization from Henry's law constants, theory of interfacial tension and the diffusivity at infinite dilution using Stokes–Einstein theory are the only instances where we had to go outside the free volume theory. It is also suggested that the predictions are independent of oil type as long as the oil is sufficiently heavy and the properties are correctly scaled.
Influence of Supplemental Ascorbic Acid on Broiler Performance Following Exposure to High Environmental Temperature

Abstract The present study was conducted to determine if dietary ascorbic acid (AA) would improve growth, feed efficiency, and livability of broilers following an acute heating episode. Supplemental AA was provided in the diets at calculated levels of 0, 250, 500, and 1000 ppm, continuously. Females that received 1000 ppm exhibited significantly greater body weights at 2 and 4 weeks of age. No significant effects due to AA supplementation were observed in body weights of males. At 4 weeks of age, chicks were heated on two consecutive days by increasing the ambient temperature (38.3 C at bird level) in the production facility. Heating significantly reduced body weights in males, but not females, at 5 and 7 weeks of age. Feed conversions were increased after heating, but significant effects due to AA were not found. Ascorbic acid did not improve overall livability significantly in either sex, but heat-associated mortality was reduced in supplemented females.
Real Time Transthoracic Three-Dimensional Echocardiography: How Should it be Applied in the Clinical Setting?

Three dimensional (3D) echocardiography has the potential to provide better anatomic and functional details of cardiac structure and function compared with two-dimensional (2D) echocardiography. Prior 3D techniques used a series of 2D images to reconstruct a 3D dataset. However, this method was greatly limited for widespread clinical application due to long acquisition times, spatial and temporal alignment issues and significant postprocessing times. Real-time three dimensional (RT3D) echocardiography initially developed in the 1990s overcame some of these limitations and achieved a technical breakthrough by using a fully sampled matrix phased array probe. This new generation of RT3D echocar-diography provides excellent image quality, makes the real-time volumetric imaging possible and can measure the heart in arbitrary orientations without geometric assumption and image plane positioning. Presently, RT3D echocardiography appears to evolve from a time-consuming research tool to a clinically applicable diagnostic technique, providing rapid, accurate and supplementary information to conventional 2D echocardiography. The following is a review of the current clinical applications for RT3D echocardiography and where it may be optimally applied in the clinical setting.
A general equilibrium analysis of regulation and income distribution

Abstract In this paper we have utilized a two-sector, two-factor general equilibrium model of production to analyze the implications of the fair-rate of return regulation for resource allocation as well as real factor rewards. Our main conclusion is that regulation in one sector has an effect on factor rewards and resource allocation in the entire economy.
Suitability of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model to Predict the June 2005 Fire Weather for Interior Alaska

Abstract Standard indices used in the National Fire Danger Rating System (NFDRS) and Fosberg fire-weather indices are calculated from Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model simulations and observations in interior Alaska for June 2005. Evaluation shows that WRF is well suited for fire-weather prediction in a boreal forest environment at all forecast leads and on an ensemble average. Errors in meteorological quantities and fire indices marginally depend on forecast lead. WRF’s precipitation performance for interior Alaska is comparable to that of other mesoscale models applied to midlatitudes. WRF underestimates precipitation on average, but satisfactorily predicts precipitation ≥7.5 mm day−1, the threshold considered to reduce interior Alaska’s fire risk for several days. WRF slightly overestimates wind speed, but captures the temporal mean behavior accurately. WRF predicts the temporal evolution of daily temperature extremes, mean relative humidity, air and dewpoint temperature, and daily accumulat...
Energy efficiency technologies for sustainable food processing

Energy conservation is vital for the sustainable development of food industry. Energy efficiency improvement and waste heat recovery in the food industry have been a focus to increase the sustainability of food processing in the past decades. Replacement of conventional energy-intensive food processes with novel technologies such as novel thermodynamic cycles and non-thermal and novel heating processes provides another potential to reduce energy consumption, reduce production costs, and improve the sustainability of food production. Some novel food processing technologies have been developed to replace traditional energy-intensive unit operations for pasteurization and sterilization, evaporation and dehydration, and chilling and freezing in the food industry. Most of the energy conservation technologies can readily be transferred from other manufacturing sectors to the food processing sector.
Detergent-Resistant Membrane Association of NS2 and E2 during Hepatitis C Virus Replication

Previously, we demonstrated that the efficiency of hepatitis C virus (HCV) E2-p7 processing regulates p7-dependent NS2 localization to putative virus assembly sites near lipid droplets (LD). In this study, we have employed subcellular fractionations and membrane flotation assays to demonstrate that NS2 associates with detergent-resistant membranes (DRM) in a p7-dependent manner. However, p7 likely plays an indirect role in this process, since only the background level of p7 was detectable in the DRM fractions. Our data also suggest that the p7-NS2 precursor is not involved in NS2 recruitment to the DRM, despite its apparent targeting to this location. Deletion of NS2 specifically inhibited E2 localization to the DRM, indicating that NS2 regulates this process. Treatment of cells with methyl-β-cyclodextrin (MβCD) significantly reduced the DRM association of Core, NS2, and E2 and reduced infectious HCV production. Since disruption of the DRM localization of NS2 and E2, either due to p7 and NS2 defects, respectively, or by MβCD treatment, inhibited infectious HCV production, these proteins' associations with the DRM likely play an important role during HCV assembly. Interestingly, we detected the HCV replication-dependent accumulation of ApoE in the DRM fractions. Taking into consideration the facts that ApoE was shown to be a major determinant for infectious HCV particle production at the postenvelopment step and that the HCV Core protein strongly associates with the DRM, recruitment of E2 and ApoE to the DRM may allow the efficient coordination of Core particle envelopment and postenvelopment events at the DRM to generate infectious HCV production. IMPORTANCE The biochemical nature of HCV assembly sites is currently unknown. In this study, we investigated the correlation between NS2 and E2 localization to the detergent-resistant membranes (DRM) and HCV particle assembly. We determined that although NS2's DRM localization is dependent on p7, p7 was not targeted to these membranes. We then showed that NS2 regulates E2 localization to the DRM, consistent with its role in recruiting E2 to the virus assembly sites. We also showed that short-term treatment with the cholesterol-extracting agent methyl-β-cyclodextrin (MβCD) not only disrupted the DRM localization of Core, NS2, and E2 but also specifically inhibited intracellular virus assembly without affecting HCV RNA replication. Thus, our data support the role of the DRM as a platform for particle assembly process.
Photoreactions of human lens monomeric crystallins.

Human lens β s - and γ A -crystallins exhibitvery similar tryptophan fluorescence emission maxima (329 nm). γ A isolated from infant human lenses is photo-oxidized by 300 nm irradiation and forms water-insoluble aggregates; β s or γ A from young human lenses form a small amount of water-soluble crosslinked species. At least part of the mechanism of photodamage by 300 nm irradiation is photogeneration of the oxidant H 2 O 2 via the generation of O 2 − radical, this reaction occurs via photosensitization by the tryptophan photo-oxidation product N -formylkynurenine (N-FK) or related species. These results indicate that even though the tryptophan residues of β s - and γ A -crystallins are in hydrophobic (buried) microenvironments as compared to those of the α- and β-crystallins, the photogeneration of N-FK is sufficient to produce O 2 − and H 2 O 2 .
Gate Effectiveness in Controlling Resin Advance in Liquid Composite Molding Processes

In Liquid Composite Molding (LCM) processes, the flow pattern of the resin in the mold cavity during mold filling dictates the quality of the composite part. Disturbances such as uncertainty in the fiber preform permeability, variations in the resin viscosity, and racing of the resin along the mold walls may create unexpected and unanticipated flow patterns that could result in dry spots in the preform. Process control with sensor feedback can potentially provide the ability to make fully impregnated parts despite various disturbances by manipulating the flow front movement during resin impregnation through modification of the injection conditions at the gates. Studies have shown that under certain conditions, the flow front shape is not influenced by even large changes in the flow rate or the pressure at the injection gates. This study investigates gate effectiveness in modifying the flow front shape by analyzing the flow dynamics and conducting a parametric study in a simulation environment.
The Effect of Tree Cover on Air-Ground, VHF Propagation Path Loss

A theory accounting for attenuation caused by tree cover for line-of-sight propagation paths at VHF using vertical polarization is presented. An approach to implementing this theory using a terrainsensitive GTD propagation model is also given. Comparisons of model predictions and airborne measurements show that the approach is valid.
The deoxyribonucleoside transport systems of cultured Novikoff rat hepatoma cells

The transport of various deoxyribonucleosides by cultured Novikoff rat hepatoma cells (subline N1S1-67) follows normal Michaelis-Menten kinetics. The transport reactions are competitively inhibited by most heterologous deoxy- and ribonucleosides and by Persantin and Cytochalasin B. Comparisons of the transport kinetics of the various deoxyribonucleosides (Km and Vmax ) and of the Km/Ki ratios for the inhibitions indicate that deoxythymidine, deoxyuridine and 5-fluordeoxyuridine are transported by a single system, whereas deoxycytidine and the purine deoxyribonucleosides are transported by other systems. The data suggest that deoxyadenosine, deoxyguanosine and deoxyinosine, are not transported by a single system, but the number of transport systems involved could not be established unequivocally. Similar comparisons also suggest that the deoxyribonucleosides are transported by different systems than the ribonucleosides. All deoxyribonucleoside transport systems are inhibited to about the same extent by Persantin (Ki = 1–2 μM) and Cytochalasin B (Ki = 4–12 μM). The inhibitions of deoxynucleoside transport resulted in corresponding apparent competitive inhibitions of their incorporation into nucleic acids.
Wheelchair Tilt-in-Space and Recline Does Not Reduce Sacral Skin Perfusion as Changing From the Upright to the Tilted and Reclined Position in People With Spinal Cord Injury

Abstract Objective To investigate the effect of various wheelchair tilt-in-space and recline angles on sacral skin perfusion in wheelchair users with spinal cord injury. Design Repeated-measures, intervention and outcomes measure design. Setting University research laboratory. Participants Power wheelchair users with spinal cord injury (N=11). Interventions Six protocols of various wheelchair tilt-in-space and recline angles were randomly assigned to the participants: (1) 15° tilt-in-space and 100° recline, (2) 25° tilt-in-space and 100° recline, (3) 35° tilt-in-space and 100° recline, (4) 15° tilt-in-space and 120° recline, (5) 25° tilt-in-space and 120° recline, and (6) 35° tilt-in-space and 120° recline. Each protocol consisted of a 5-minute upright sitting and a 5-minute tilted and reclined period. Main Outcome Measures Skin perfusion over the sacrum (midpoint between the right posterior superior iliac spine and the adjacent spinous process) and right ischial tuberosity was measured using laser Doppler flowmetry. Results Sacral skin perfusion did not show a significant difference in all 6 protocols of various tilt-in-space and recline angles when changing from an upright to a tilted and reclined position (not significant). However, as previously reported, skin perfusion over the ischial tuberosity showed a significant increase at 15°, 25°, and 35° tilt-in-space when combined with 120° recline and at 35° tilt-in-space when combined with 100° recline ( P Conclusions Our results indicate that wheelchair tilt-in-space and recline enhances skin perfusion over the ischial tuberosities without reducing sacral skin perfusion when changing from an upright to a tilted and reclined position.
Prevention of type 1 diabetes: the time has come

Improved understanding of the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes mellitus has completely changed our view of this disease in the past 25 years-from an acute, fulminant disease, to a chronic, autoimmune process. Information on genetic and serologic markers has increased our ability to identify individuals at risk. Prospectively gathered data indicate that, with a combination of immunologic and metabolic studies, children with a 6-year risk of disease higher than 90% can be identified due to an ongoing immune process. They differ from children with overt disease only in the time it will take for glucose levels to rise above a diagnostic threshold. Therapies to change the progression of beta-cell loss have been tested in patients with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes. With improved predictive capabilities and agents that can have longer-lasting effects than those tested more than 10 years ago, new prevention studies are underway. These studies are large and costly but the risks posed by such interventions compare favorably with those of developing hyperglycemia and of future complications portended by the diagnosis of diabetes. In this Review we discuss risk-stratification techniques and how they are applied, other diagnostic criteria, and outcomes from diabetes-prevention trials.
Contemporary immigration: theoretical perspectives on its determinants and modes of incorporation.

This article reviews conventional theories about different aspects of labor migration: its origins stability over time and patterns of migrant settlement. For each of these aspects the authors provide alternative explanatory hypotheses derived from the notions of increasing articulation of the international system and the social embeddedness of its various subprocesses including labor flows. A typology of sources and outcomes of contemporary immigration is presented as a heuristic device to organize the diversity of such movements as described in the empirical literature. (authors)
Modeling the Nitriding of Steel by Compound Layer Growth Model

The effort to simulate the nitriding process has been ongoing for the last 20 years. Most of the work has been done to simulate the nitriding process of pure iron. In the present work, the compound layer growth model has been developed to simulate the nitriding process of AISI 4140 steel. In this paper, the fundamentals of the model are presented and discussed including the kinetics of compound layer growth and the determination of the boundary conditions. The experimental verification of the model is also presented. It proves the concept of utilizing the compound layer growth model in other steels. The nitriding process of various steels can thus be modeled and predicted in the future.
Reduced PTEN expression in breast cancer cells confers susceptibility to inhibitors of the PI3 kinase/Akt pathway

The PTEN protein is a lipid phosphatase with putative tumor suppressing abilities, including inhibition of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Inactivating mutations or deletions of the PTEN gene, which result in hyper-activation of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, are increasingly being reported in human malignancies, including breast cancer, and have been related to features of poor prognosis and resistance to chemotherapy and hormone therapy. Prior studies in different tumor models have shown that, under conditions of PTEN deficiency, the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway becomes a fundamental proliferative and survival pathway, and that pharmacological inhibition of this pathway results in tumor growth inhibition. This study aimed to explore further this hypothesis in breast cancer cells. To this end, we have determined the growth response to inhibition of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway in a series of breast cancer cell lines with different PTEN levels. The PTEN-negative cell line displayed greater sensitivity to the growth inhibitory effects of the PI3K inhibitor, LY294002 and rapamycin, an inhibitor of the PI3K/Akt downstream mediator mTOR, compared with the PTEN-positive cell lines. To determine whether or not these differences in response are specifically due to effects of PTEN, we developed a series of cell lines with reduced PTEN protein expression compared with the parental cell line. These reduced PTEN cells demonstrated an increased sensitivity to the anti-proliferative effects induced by LY294002 and rapamycin compared with the parental cells, which corresponded to alterations in cell cycle response. These findings indicate that inhibitors of mTOR, some of which are already in clinical development (CCI-779, an ester of rapamycin), have the potential to be effective in the treatment of breast cancer patients with PTEN-negative tumors and should be evaluated in this setting.
RHODES to intelligent transportation systems

To help fulfill the promises of ITS (intelligent transportation system), the ATLAS (Advanced Traffic and Logistics Algorithms and Systems) research center is developing and testing the RHODES (real-time hierarchical optimized distributed effective system) traffic control system. We believe that RHODES play a major role in the realization of future Advanced Traffic Management Systems, a major component of ITS.
Are devaluations contractionary in MENA countries

Currency depreciation reduces aggregate supply by raising cost of imported inputs and increases aggregate demand by increasing its net export component. Depending on the relative strength of the two effects, depreciation could be expansionary or contractionary. We employ the bounds testing approach to cointegration and error-correction modelling to evaluate the effects of exchange rate depreciation on output growth, both in the short and in the long-run, across a sample of MENA countries. Exchange rate fluctuations are found to be important to fluctuations in real output growth in the short-run. Anticipated exchange rate depreciation may induce long-run expansionary or contractionary effects on output supply. Consistent with theory's predictions, the expansionary effect of unanticipated depreciation is only transitory on output growth. Nonetheless, unanticipated depreciation is found to have a contractionary effect on output growth in the long-run via an increase in the cost of imported inputs.
Rolls Royce/Allison 501-K Gas Turbine: Anti-Fouling Compressor Coatings Shipboard — Phase I

Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division (NSWCCD) Gas Turbine Emerging Technologies Code 9334 conducted a land-based evaluation of fouling-resistant compressor coatings for the 501-K17 Ship Service Gas Turbine Generator (SSGTG) [1]. The purpose of this evaluation was to determine whether such coatings could be used to decrease the rate of compressor fouling and associated fuel consumption. Based upon favorable results from the land-based evaluation, a similar coated compressor gas turbine engine was installed onboard a United States Navy vessel. Two data acquisition computer (DAC) systems and additional sensors necessary to monitor and compare both the coated test engine and an uncoated control engine were added. The goal of this shipboard evaluation was to verify land-based results in a shipboard environment. Upon completion of the DAC installation, the two gas turbine engines were operated and initial data was stored. Shipboard data was compared to land-based data to verify validity and initial compressor performance. The shipboard evaluation is scheduled for completion in June 2003, at which time data will be analyzed and results published.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Speckle characteristics of laser diodes for SWIR and NIR active imaging

Laser illumination makes it possible to perform high resolution imaging when ambient light level is insufficient to overcome camera noise. The relatively long coherence length of most lasers, however, causes coherent speckle in the camera image plane, which can result in a significant decrease of the image quality and the maximum achievable target identification range. We characterized several types of NIR and SWIR laser diode illumination sources, with emphasis placed on measuring the properties of coherent speckle observed in the camera image plane. Image plane speckle contrast was measured by illuminating the imaged Lambertian surface with single-mode laser, multi-mode laser, wide-stripe laser with two active junctions and broad-band emission, and NIR and SWIR vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) arrays. The impact of various imaging system parameters, including pixel size, imaging lens focal length, F-number, and IFOV on the contrast and characteristic size of the speckle intensity distribution were determined. Speckle contrast dependence on the polarization properties of various reflecting surfaces was measured. The reduction of speckle contrast with increasing source spectral width, and increasing size of spatially incoherent VCSEL emitter arrays will be described. We show that a speckle contrast of 5-10% is achievable for a typical long range SWIR imaging system.
Use of Barley in High-Efficiency Broiler Rations 7. Pancreatic Enlargement in Chicks Fed Barley Containing Diets

Abstract CHERNICK et al. (1948) have reported on the pancreatic enlargement in chicks fed raw soybean meal. Reviews on various aspects of this problem have since been made by Liener (1958), Cravens and Sipos (1958) and more recently Anonymous (1964). In a previous report from this laboratory (Arscott, 1963) the adverse effects on growth from feeding barley to chicks and the beneficial effects from the use of low levels of corn and/or amylolytic enzymes have been noted. This paper reports on the pancreatic enlargement observed concurrently with the feeding of high barley containing rations to chicks. PROCEDURE Duplicate lots of 12 day-old broiler-type chicks equalized for sex were raised to 4 weeks of age in batteries equipped with raised wire floors, continuous flow waterers and sub-floor electric heaters. In the first 3 experiments broiler chicks which were the result of mating White Vantress males with Nichols 108 females were used. In…
RXTE observations of the starburst galaxy M82

Abstract The two nearby starburst galaxies M82 and NGC 253 were recently observed with the PCA and HEXTE experiments aboard RXTE. Here we present first results from a preliminary analysis of ∼75% of the M82 data. A power-law, photon index 2.0±0.1, and thermal emission at kT = 7.4 ± 0.7 keV, are both acceptable spectral fits to the data. For the first time, we find evidence for iron lines; there is no evidence for temporal variability.
Circadian rhythm of gastric acid secretion in active duodenal ulcer: chronobiological statistical characteristics and comparison of acid secretory and plasma gastrin patterns with healthy subjects and postvagotomy and pyloroplasty patients

Twenty-one male patients with active duodenal ulcer underwent hourly 24-hr gastric acid collections under controlled, calorically deprived conditions. The 24-hr hourly acid secretory output for the group displayed a statistically significant (p less than 0.001) rhythm, with peak rates occurring during the evening hours and low rates during the early morning hours, by population-mean cosinor statistical analysis. Population-mean cosinor analysis also verified the occurrence of a significant (p = 0.034) circadian rhythm in unstimulated acid secretion in a group (N = 14) of healthy male subjects similarly studied and reported previously. In contrast, population-mean cosinor analysis confirmed the absence of any detectable circadian rhythm in unstimulated acid secretion in a group (N = 17) of postvagotomy and pyloroplasty patients studied 2-11 years after surgery. Population-mean cosinor analysis of 4-hr plasma gastrin determinations, obtained in all groups during the 24-hr gastric acid collection, revealed an absence of any detectable circadian rhythm in plasma gastrin. This latter finding is compatible with the interpretation that the circadian rhythm of unstimulated gastric acid secretion, observed in the clinically healthy and active ulcer groups, is unrelated to changes in plasma gastrin levels. The employment of quantitative chronobiological inferential statistical techniques is important to the analysis of any time-dependent measurement in gastrointestinal function, of which gastric acidity is one example.
A Report of the Third Montreal Meeting

The Association9s 131st meeting officially ended with the adjournment of the last session, one on contributed papers in astronomy, 5 P.M., 31 December, but in other ways its termination is delayed for weeks. Even the auditing of accounts and the payment of the last bill, the writing of the last letter connected with it, the appearance of the reports about it—none of these entirely ends the meeting. Scattered inquiries about specific papers will come in from all parts of the world for years to come. (To all such requests, we must say please write the author directly, because the press-room files are exhausted.)
Occurrence of pesticides in the Yamaska River, Québec

Concentrations of pesticides in water near the mouths of the Yamaska River in Quebec, Canada, and five of its tributaries are reported for the summers of 1986 and 1987. The most frequently occurring pesticides, and those at the highest concentrations, were atrazine and metolachlor. Peak atrazine concentrations frequently exceeded the recommended Canadian water quality guideline of 2 μg/L for the protection of aquatic life. These peak concentrations were similar to those that had been observed a decade before. In addition, in 1986 and 1987 significant concentrations of metolachlor were detected in the waters. In some locations, the peak metolachlor concentration was greater than half its recommended Canadian water quality guideline of 8 μg/L for the protection of aquatic life, and in one location the guideline was exceeded. Also found at much lower concentrations were some other triazine herbicides, some degradation products of triazine herbicides, and some organophosphorus and organochlorine insecticides. No carbamate pesticides were found.
Women of Color in a Bilingual/Dialectal Dilemma: Critical Race Feminism against a Curriculum of Oppression in Teacher Education.

Teacher education programs have established gatekeepers, especially for women of color. For these women, finding an ally in their endeavor to become educators is paramount. This paper will discuss the work of a teacher educator who espouses critical race feminism (CRF) as a means of fighting against a curriculum of oppression in teacher education. The paper will begin with a description of CRF and its connections to currere. This will be followed with background information regarding the pre‐service teacher and her relationship with the teacher educator. A brief description of the student's field experience will follow. The paper will conclude with an analysis of the power of language and dialect, a form of curriculum oppression, in teacher education with the need to fight against such oppression in the development of new teachers from a critical race feminist perspective.
Reproduction in mice: the fate of spermatozoa not involved in fertilization.

Mechanisms were sought through which the control of preimplantation mouse embryo development by spermatozoa might be effected. A potential route for the transmission of sperm-dependent stimuli to C3HeB/FeJ females was uncovered. It was found that within 24–48 hr after artificial insemination with spermatozoa, in which the DNA had been labeled with tritiated thymidine, a minimum of 9% of the radioactivity was transported across the uterine walls. It was deposited among the maternal tissues in a pattern that differed from the patterns of isotope distribution obtained when either free tritiated thymidine or Escherichia coli cells containing DNA labeled with tritiated thymidine were used instead of labeled sper-matozoa. In sperm-treated animals the ovaries, the adrenals, and a mesenteric lymph node exhibited strikingly large accumulations of radioactivity. The heart, spleen, and uterus manifested lesser accumulations of label, but were higher than liver, kidney, lung, brain, muscle, and intestine. The specific activity of the lymph node was found to decrease during the 12–72-hr period following insemination. This result led to the hypothesis that the lymphatic system could serve as a route for the dissemination, to maternal tissues, of radioactivity originally associated with spermatozoa deposited in the uterus. Heat-inactivated spermatozoa, which have the potential for facilitating the first cleavage of fertilized embryos, exhibited a distribution pattern indistinguishable from untreated spermatozoa. Sperm protein kinase was found to survive the heat inactivation of spermatozoa. This stability was interpreted as being compatible with the kinase functioning as an intermediary in the transmission of sperm-dependent stimuli that control preimplantation embryo development in mice.
Spectral radiance of the carbon arc from 1900 to 2500 angstroms

The relative spectral radiance of the low-current carbon arc, which includes contributions from both the incandescent anode and the arc stream through which it is viewed, was measured from 1900 A to 2500 A and placed on an absolute scale by comparison with measurements made at longer wavelengths. The curve bears no resemblance to a blackbody curve in this spectral region, but has a minimum near 2400 A, increasing slowly to shorter wavelengths. The values near 2000 A are a little higher than those near 2500 A. The spectral radiance of the arc stream alone was also measured. A grating monochromator was used in the work, and the speed of the diffraction grating was measured separately by placing it in the exit beam of another grating monochromator. The receiver was a 1P21 photomultiplier sensitized for the ultraviolet by placing on its envelope a thick coating of sodium salicylate, a fluorescent material which possesses constant quantum efficiency for exciting wavelengths throughout this region.
Global Business Transitions: An Overview

Globalization causes major shifts in the business environment and in business practices. Forecasting such changes is crucial for the preparation of responses to them. This article reports on a Delphi study conducted with a global set of experts drawn from the policy, business and academic communities. Over three rounds of interchange, these experts analyzed and debated the likelihood of changes in the international business environment over the next decade and the impact of these changes on policy and on corporate practices. The findings identify major sectoral transformations, shifts in the trade framework and its institution, and strategies for corporate adjustment.
Prescribing versus describing: testing image restoration strategies in a crisis situation

Purpose – Image restoration theory has become a dominant paradigm for examining corporate communication in times of crises. However, much insight gleaned from scholarly research in this area remains descriptive – simply recounting how certain corporations or companies communicated during times of crisis – rather than prescriptive. Therefore, to provide more direct guidance to corporations and organizations, this paper offers the first empirical test of Benoit's five image restoration strategies vis‐a‐vis each other simultaneously within the context of a single crisis situation.Design/methodology/approach – An experimental investigation that measures consumers' reactions to differentially manipulated crisis‐communication messages. Methods of data analysis include ANOVA and post hoc comparisons of means.Findings – Results indicate that the strategy of reducing the offensiveness of the event consistently led to higher reputation‐related perceptions of a company than did the other four strategies – denial, ev...
Circular dichroic studies of protein kinase C and its interactions with calcium and lipid vesicles

Circular dichroism was used to study the secondary structure of protein kinase C (PKC) in aqueous solution and the conformational changes resulting due to the presence of its regulatory cofactors (e.g. Ca2+, phosphatidylserine (PS) and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA).. Computer analysis of the CD data for the estimates of secondary structure showed that PKC maintains a highly ordered structure containing 36% α-helix, 57% β-sheet and 7% β-turn. PKC displays a minor conformational change upon addition of Ca2+. However, a larger change is observed on adding phosphatidylserine vesicles in the presence of Ca2+. In this case, the α-helix content is decreased by approx. 35% and β-sheet increased by approx. 16%. The protein does not experience further significant changes in conformation on adding PMA.
Stochastic Gradient Descent Inspired Training Technique for a CMOS/Nano Memristive Trainable Threshold Gate Array

Neuromorphic computing is an attractive avenue of research for processing and learning complex real-world data. With technology migration into nano and molecular scales several area and power efficient approaches to the design and implementation of artificial neural networks have been proposed. The discovery of the memristor has further enabled the realization of denser nanoscale logic and memory systems by facilitating the implementation of multilevel logic. Specifically, the innate reconfigurability of memristors can be exploited to realize synapses in artificial neural networks. This work focuses on the development of a variation-tolerant training methodology to efficiently reconfigure memristive synapses in a Trainable Threshold Gate Array (TTGA) system. The training process is inspired from the gradient descent machine learning algorithm commonly used to train artificial threshold neural networks, perceptrons. The design and CMOS/Nano implementation of the TTGA system from trainable perceptron based threshold gates is detailed and results are provided to showcase the training process and performance characteristics of the proposed system. Also shown are the results for training a 1T1M (1 Transistor and 1 Memristor) multilevel memristive memory and its performance characteristics.
A New Model for the Mechanism of Operation of Scandate and Refractory Oxide Cathodes

Refractory oxide thermionic cathodes are modeled as a top layer of high-band-gap semiconducting cubic nanocrystals with surface donor sites activated by a monolayer of barium dispensed from a substrate. An interpretation of the common experimental observation of an apparent deviation from Child's law for the space-charge-limited region for scandate cathodes in simple diodes as a temperature-dependent resistance of the top layer of the cathode supports this model. Using a previously developed phenomenological theory based on the uncertainty principle, it is shown that the work function depends on the number of donor sites per unit area of the nanocrystals that comprise the top layer and the diameter of the metal atomic component of the oxide. The model is applied to provide quantitative values for the basic semiconductor properties of a top-layer scandate cathode from published experimental data.
Comparison of ultrasensitive methods for the measurement of IgE.

Abstract Because the study of human IgE synthesis and regulation requires exquisitely sensitive and rapidly performed methods for assay of in vitro IgE production, we compared 4 methods for radiometric immunoassay (RIA) of human IgE: double antibody RIA (DARIA), ultrasensitive enzymatic RIA (USERIA), sensitive paper radioimmunosorbent test (SPRIST) and microtiter solid-phase RIA (MSPRIA). IgE protein was measured in serum samples and cord bloods. The USERIA and the MSPRIA consistently detected levels of IgE as low as 27–35 pg/ml. The DARIA and SPRIST were less sensitive. Comparison of the USERIA and the MSPRIA favored the latter because: (1) it is a more rapidly performed assay, (2) it involves fewer manipulations, and (3) it has less variability. We conclude that the MSPRIA for IgE is superior to the other methods both as a research tool for measuring minute quantities of IgE protein (as in tissue culture supernatants) and for measuring IgE in serum samples where concentrations fall below 1 ng/ml (0.42 IU/ml; 1 IU = 2.4 ng).
Mining the optical bandwidth for a terabit per second

A significant part of optical-fiber capacity can be tapped now that optical amplifiers can boost many high-speed channels simultaneously. The erbium-doped optical fiber amplifier opened the floodgates to wide-bandwidth, all-optical schemes for multiplexing many wavelengths. Until the advent of the erbium-doped fiber amplifier, no practical all-optical amplifier existed. Optical signals were instead regenerated electronically to overcome the attenuation inherent in the silica fiber as well as other losses due to optical components along the line.
Risky debt, jump processes and safety covenants

Abstract The usual assumptions in the continuous-time contingent claims pricing of risky debt are (1) the firm is in default only when the value of its remaining assets falls short of the currently due promised payment and (2) the firm value follows continuous diffusion-process dynamics. It is the joint relaxation of these two simplifying assumptions that motivate this paper in its study of the valuation of risky debt and safety covenants when the firm value follows (possibly) discontinuous sample paths. Explicit solutions are derived and compared to the work of Black and Cox (1976).
Polymerase chain reaction-based genotyping for allotypic markers of immunoglobulin kappa shows allelic association of Km with kappa variable segment.

Abstract Allotypic markers of immunoglobulin kappa (Km) may be determined using a novel method of amplification of the constant segment (C K ) (IGKC) by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by restriction enzyme digestion. Restriction sites in the C K PCR product correlate with allotypic differences among Km(1), Km(1,2), and Km(3) alleles. An Acc I site in the PCR product correlates with Km(3); and presence or absence of a Mae II site correlates with the Km(1) or Km(1,2) allele, respectively. Km allelic frequencies were determined in a Caucasian population and compared to genotypic frequencies of nearby polymorphic markers. Among unrelated individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and controls, there is no evidence of allelic association between CD8A and polymorphic markers of the immunoglobulin kappa region [a V K (IGKV) Bgl II polymorphism about 24 kb centromeric to C K , Km allotype, and a Sac I polymorphism 3.5 kb telomeric to the C K segment]. Similarly, there is no allelic association of the Sac I C K polymorphism with Km or with the Bgl II V K polymorphism. However, there is evidence of allelic association of V K B3 and Km, specifically between the V K Bgl II 2.2-kb allele and Km(3) and also between the V K 3.5-kb allele and Km(1,2). Therefore, Km typing by PCR-based methods suggests the presence of allelic association between polymorphisms within the coding region of the C K segment and the nearest V K segment.
Update in colorectal, hepatobiliary and pancreatic cancers

Abstract Advances in colorectal cancer therapy, especially, advantages in combination of biologic and cytotoxic chemotherapy, have made the diagnoses and management of the disease to a complete different level. Encouraging development has been developed in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. However, treatment of pancreatic and biliary cancer is still a major challenging for oncologists.
A comparison of the quality of life of patients with metastatic prostate cancer who received or did not receive hormonal therapy

Background and Methods. The quality of life in patients who elected to receive hormonal therapy for newly diagnosed asymptomatic metastatic prostate cancer was compared with a comparable group of patients who chose to defer immediate intervention. Results and Conclusions. The premise that active therapy, despite its side effects, would improve or maintain the psychosocial quality of life was not substantiated, and the no-therapy group had better physical and sexual functioning
Suggestions for the maintenance of accuracy of calculations implemented on digital computers

An approach that selectively uses double precision in calculating statistical quantities is described. Emphasis is placed upon the multiplication and accumulation rather than on the data themselves. In this way, core storage requirements are minimized and good relative error is also achieved.