cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Vasopressin and oxytocin neurones of hypothalamic supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei co-express mRNA for Type-1 and Type-2 corticotropin-releasing hormone receptors.

The presence of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) receptors type-1 (CRHR-1) and type-2 (CRHR-2alpha) in the hypothalamic supraoptic (SON) and paraventricular (PVN) nuclei, and the effects of i.c.v. injection of CRH and urocortin on arginine vasopressin (AVP) and oxytocin release, have suggested that CRH ligands have a role in osmoregulation. In this study, double labelling in situ hybridization using 35S-labelled CRHR-1 or CRHR-2alpha and digoxigenin-labelled AVP, oxytocin or CRH riboprobes was employed to examine the localization of CRHR-1 or CRHR-2alpha mRNA in the SON and PVN of control and osmotically stimulated rats. Rats received an i.p. hypertonic saline (1.5 M) injection or isotonic saline injection (controls), or 2% NaCl intake (salt loading) or tap water (controls) for 12 days. While CRHR-1 mRNA was undetectable in the SON and PVN in control rats, its expression was increased markedly at 4 h after i.p. hypertonic saline injection or after 12 days salt loading. Of the cells labelled with digoxigenin-AVP, 53% in the SON and 90% in the PVN coexpressed CRHR-1 mRNA after i.p. hypertonic saline injection. In oxytocinergic neurones, 73% in the SON and 91% in the PVN showed CRHR-1 autoradiographic grains higher than background levels after i.p. hypertonic saline injection. In addition, i.p. hypertonic saline induced CRHR-1 mRNA expression in digoxigenin-CRH stained cells in the parvocellular PVN. CRHR-2alpha transcripts were present in both the SON and PVN under basal conditions, and salt loading, but not acute i.p. hypertonic saline injection, further stimulated this expression. Double labelling in situ hybridization showed colocalization of CRHR-2alpha mRNA with AVP and oxytocin mRNA in the SON. These studies support a role for CRH and urocortin regulating the hypothalamo-neurohypophyseal system, and suggest a direct action of the peptides in the magnocellular neurones.
A geometric invariant for visual recognition and 3D reconstruction from two perspective/orthographic views

The author addresses the problem of reconstructing 3D space in a projective framework from two views, and the problem of artificially generating novel views of the scene from two given views. He shows that with the correspondences coming from four non-coplanar points in the scene and the corresponding epipoles, one can define and reconstruct (using simple linear methods) a projective invariant, referred to as projective depth, that can be used later to reconstruct the projective or affine structure of the scene, or directly to generate novel views of the scene. The derivation has the advantage that the viewing transformation matrix need not be recovered in the course of computations (i.e., he computes structure without motion). >
Highest Pluvial-Lake Shorelines and Pleistocene Climate of the Western Great Basin

Shoreline altitudes of several pluvial lakes in the western Great Basin of North America record successively smaller lakes from the early to the late Pleistocene. This decrease in lake size indicates a long-term drying trend in the regional climate that is not seen in global marine oxygen-isotope records. At +70 m above its late Pleistocene shoreline, Lake Lahontan in the early middle Pleistocene submerged some basins previously thought to have been isolated. Other basins known to contain records of older pluvial lakes that exceeded late Pleistocene levels include Columbus-Fish Lake (Lake Columbus-Rennie), Kobeh-Diamond (Lakes Jonathan and Diamond), Newark, Long (Lake Hubbs), and Clover. Very high stands of some of these lakes probably triggered overflows of previously internally drained basins, adding to the size of Lake Lahontan. Simple calculations based on differences in lake area suggest that the highest levels of these pluvial lakes required a regional increase in effective moisture by a factor of 1.2 to 3 relative to late Pleistocene pluvial amounts (assuming that effective moisture is directly proportional to the hydrologic index, or lake area/tributary basin area). These previously unknown lake levels reflect significant changes in climate, tectonics, and (or) drainage-basin configurations, and could have facilitated migration of aquatic species in the Great Basin.
Cerebellar capillary hemangioblastoma: its histogenesis studied by organ culture and electron microscopy.

A capillary hemangioblastoma from the vermis of a 21-year-old man with von Hippel-Lindau's disease was successfully maintained in organ culture systems on Millipore filter platforms and gelatin sponge foam matrices up to 48 days. Three cell types--endothelial cells, pericytes, and stromal cells--identified by their fine structural features and their architectural relationships to vascular lumens and to the extracellular space were recognized in the original tumor. By light microscopy the explants showed, in the late stages, increased lipid droplets in the stromal cells and perivascular hyaline thickening. By electron microscopy, endothelial cells, pericytes, and stromal cells remained distinguishable as cell types. However, the stromal cells demonstrated, in addition to an increase of their normal complement of microfilaments and lipid droplets, features that were more characteristic of the two other cell types, i.e. micropinocytotic vesicles and the formation of zonula occludens junctions and hemidesmosomes. Basement membranes also became more apparent around the stromal cells. With increasing time in vitro, there was a striking increase in mature collagen fibers in the extracellular space. The roles of the different cell types in capillary hemangioblastoma and the histogenesis of the stromal cells are discussed in light of these observations. It is concluded that the capillary hemangioblastoma consists of multiple cell lines--endothelial cells, pericytes, stromal cells and, occasionally, hematopoietic cells--all of which are neoplastic and replicate in parallel with one another. Stromal cells may be regarded as an aberrant monopotential cell type which shares with the endothelial cell and pericyte a common mesenchymal, presumably angiogenic, ancestry, and may, on occasion, display morphological features, such as increased basement membrane formation and the formation of zonula occludens junctions, which recall its angiogenic lineage. However, interconvertibility between endothelial cells and stromal cells does not appear to occur in vivo or in vitro.
Multimodal Endovascular Palliation for Femoral Arterial Blowout in the Setting of Metastatic Vulvar Carcinoma

Background Vascular blowout syndrome is a well-known, life-threatening condition complicating advanced-stage head and neck malignancies but has rarely been reported in the gynecologic oncology realm in association with the femoral circulation. A 50-year-old woman with metastatic vulvar squamous cell carcinoma presented with left threatened femoral arterial blowout, secondary to an exophytic neoplastic mass originating from the left inguinal lymph nodes. Methods Bland embolization of the tumor as well as 3 vessel covered stent revascularization was successfully performed with excellent tumor devascularization and reinstitution of arterial integrity. Results Successful devascularization of the tumor, with no non-target embolization was achieved, with excellent apposition and deployment of 3 covered stents in the femoral artery bifurcation. Conclusion We present a unique case of threatened femoral artery blowout syndrome in the setting of metastatic vulvar carcinoma requiring various endovascular techniques for palliation. These endovascular techniques can be invaluable in minimally invasive palliation of advanced stage neoplasms abutting the iliofemoral circulation.
Derivation of a rotator circuit with homogeneous interconnect

Abstract We formally construct a rotator circuit with more homogeneous interconnect than the standard logarithmic rotator. The circuit has improved data-in to data-out delay and similar control to data-out delay. The circuit is easily modified to support (SIMD) subfield rotate instructions.
Combined Fetal Alcohol and Hydantoin Syndromes

Two infants, born with extensive abnormalities probably resulting from maternal use of alcohol and hydantoin during pregnancy, are described. The findings suggest the speculation that con current exposure to these teratogens, in utero, may have synergistic or additive effects upon a fetus, producing serious malformations. The purpose of this report is to alert physicians to this combined syndrome. Its occurrence may be more common than anticipated.
Construct Validity of an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) in Psychiatry: Associations with the Clinical Skills Examination and Other Indicators.

Objective: The construct validity of checklist and global process scores for an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) in psychiatry was assessed. Multiple regression analysis was used to predict psychiatry OSCE scores from the clinical skills examination, an obstetrics/gynecology (OB/GYN) OSCE, and the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) psychiatry subject examination. Methods: Archival data from two successive classes of third-year medical students (1999–2000, N=142; 2000–2001, N= 144) were aggregated and analyzed. Results: The pattern and magnitude of convergence and discrimination were indicative of adequate construct validity for both the psychiatry checklist scores and the global process score. Clinical skills examination scores for history taking, interpersonal skills, and physical examination were related to psychiatry OSCE scores that reflected the same skill set. Construct validity was fairly higher for the global process rating. Conclusion: Evidence of construct validity of a psychiatry OSCE was obtained from multiple measures of performance, including the clinical skills examination. Findings lend support to the continued use of checklist and global process evaluations as part of OSCEs in psychiatry.
Russell L. Ackoff, iconoclastic management authority, advocates a “systemic” approach to innovation

Think tank dynamo Russell L. Ackoff advocates that managers scrap the way they normally approach problem solving in general and innovation in particular. He champions a process called “synthetic” thinking, a way of thinking about and designing a system that derives the properties and behavior of its parts from the functions required of the whole. His suggestions to managers for promoting creativity, innovation and better strategy are: (1) By understanding what’s happening inside and outside the organization, then by developing a vision of what the organization could be within the emerging culture and environment. Next by preparing a strategy for reaching or moving closer to that vision. (2) Through designs that lead require creativity. Creativity involves a three‐step process. The first step is to identify assumptions that you make which prevent you from seeing the alternatives to the ones that you currently see. These are self‐imposed constraints. The second step is to deny these constraining assumptions. The third is to explore the consequences of the denials. Creativity of individuals can be enhanced by practice, particularly under the guidance of one who is creative. (3) By becoming aware of the nature of the fundamental intellectual transformations now taking place and what their implications are for the future of business and management generally. And by attaching themselves to people who show creative thinking and engage with them in the process of redesigning, from scratch and with no constraints, the systems they manage.
Experimental Observations of the Transition to Detonation in an Explosive Gas

The experimental study of transition to detonation has been enhanced recently by two novel techniques. One exploits simply the fact that a self-sustained detonation front, unlike any other wave associated with the transition process, is capable of leaving imprints on the wall along which it travels. The other is based on the adaptation of an amplitude modulated, giant pulse, laser system as a light source for stroboscopic schlieren photography. The insight gained by the utilization of these techniques into the wave processes accompanying the onset of detonation is unparalleled in the long history of the study of these phenomena. The results demonstrate that the transition can take place in various modes depending on the wave interaction processes which occur ahead of the accelerating flame.
The Law, Agency, and Policy in Medieval Islamic Society: Development of the Institutions of Learning from the Tenth to the Fifteenth Century

In his magisterial studies on the Islamic educational system, George Makdisi (1961, 1981, 1990) traces three stages in the development of the madrasa (Islamic school) into colleges for the study of the Koran, the Traditions of the Prophet, and jurisprudence. These three stages, first suggested by Pedersen (1986), are the following: first, the development of teaching circles (halgas) for various subjects in mosques from the earliest times to the tenth century; second, the emergence of the “mosque-inn colleges” toward the end of the tenth century; and, finally, third, the development of the “madrasa colleges of law,” in which the functions of the mosque and the inn (or hostel, khān) were combined in an institution based on a single deed of endowment (Pedersen 1986: 1123). Makdisi includes the official establishment of the madrasas by the great Seljuq vizier, Nizam al-Murk, in the second half of the eleventh century in this stage. In the twelfth century, the college as developed in the Islamic world was, according to Makdisi, first imported into Europe by the Knights Templar of the Levant who founded the Inns of Court in London. The Inns of Court were attached to churches, as khāns had been attached to mosques. Somewhat later, one John of London who must have seen madrasas in or on the way to Jerusalem, endowed the College des Dix-Huit in Paris for 18 poor students in 1180. In the mid-thirteenth century, the first 3 colleges of Oxford were founded as charitable trusts. (Makdisi 1981:224–30; 1990:311–7). Whatever the merits of this argument for the world-historical importance of the madrasa as the prototype of the European university, the significance of its development in medieval Islam cannot be doubted. The subject is of particular theoretical interest because of the intricate connection between the evolution of the institutions of higher learning and the character of law and government. This connection can illuminate the dynamics of social agency in pre-modern Islamic society.
Analysis of CFA-BF: Novel combined fixed/adaptive beamforming for robust speech recognition in real car environments

Among a number of studies which have investigated various speech enhancement and processing schemes for in-vehicle speech systems, the delay-and-sum beamforming (DASB) and adaptive beamforming are two typical methods that both have their advantages and disadvantages. In this paper, we propose a novel combined fixed/adaptive beamforming solution (CFA-BF) based on previous work for speech enhancement and recognition in real moving car environments, which seeks to take advantage of both methods. The working scheme of CFA-BF consists of two steps: source location calibration and target signal enhancement. The first step is to pre-record the transfer functions between the speaker and microphone array from different potential source positions using adaptive beamforming under quiet environments; and the second step is to use this pre-recorded information to enhance the desired speech when the car is running on the road. An evaluation using extensive actual car speech data from the CU-Move Corpus shows that the method can decrease WER for speech recognition by up to 30% over a single channel scenario and improve speech quality via the SEGSNR measure by up to 1dB on the average.
Atorvastatin does not exhibit antiviral activity against HCV at conventional doses: a pilot clinical trial.

Cholesterol biosynthesis is an integral part of HCV RNA replication. Not only does HCV RNA replicate on lipid rafts, but it also requires cholesterol intermediates to replicate. In addition, it has been shown in vitro that several HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors can decrease HCV RNA replication by ≥ 1 log. Therefore, we designed a clinical trial to evaluate the effect of atorvastatin on HCV RNA levels. In this prospective clinical trial, where patients served as their own control, 10 HCV-infected patients who required treatment for high cholesterol were given 20 mg atorvastatin per day. Although serum cholesterol and LDL predictably decreased significantly, there was no statistically significant change in week 4 and week 12 HCV RNA levels compared to pretreatment HCV RNA levels by the paired Student t test. It is unclear whether the addition of an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor to interferon or a more potent inhibitor of cholesterol biosynthesis may be required to inhibit HCV RNA replication in vivo. In conclusion, atorvastatin, and likely all HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, does not inhibit HCV RNA replication in vivo at conventional doses. (HEPATOLOGY 2007;45:895–898.)
Etiology and effect on outcomes of hyperglycemia in hospitalized patients.

Purpose. The prevalence of diabetes in U.S. hospitals, etiology and pathophysiology of hyperglycemia in hospitalized patients, impact of hyperglycemia on patient outcomes, and benefits of hyperglycemia correction are described. Summary. Diabetes mellitus is a common and costly condition with an increasing prevalence in the U.S. Hyperglycemia is common among hospital patients with and without diabetes. Possible causes of hyperglycemia include illness-related metabolic stress, parenteral nutrition, and pharmacotherapy. The deposition of advanced glycosylation end products, capillary basement membrane thickening, impaired immune function, oxidative stress, impaired lipid metabolism, prothrombotic changes, activation of protein kinase C-β, vascular leakage, capillary non perfusion, and induction of vascular endothelial growth factor are among the harmful effects of hyperglycemia. In various types of patients and hospital settings, hyperglycemia increases the mortality rate, risk of postoperative nosocomial infection, need for intensive care unit admission, length of hospital stay, and hospital charges. The benefits of using intensive therapy to correct hyperglycemia in hospitalized patients in reducing mortality and the risk of infections and other adverse outcomes are well documented. Conclusion. Efforts are needed to manage hyperglycemia in hospitalized patients with and without diabetes to minimize the morbidity, mortality, and costs associated with hyperglycemia.
High hydrostatic pressure effects on bacterial bioluminescence

Abstract The mechanism that leads to microbial inactivation by high hydrostatic pressure remains elusive. In this study, a high-pressure system interfaced with a photomultiplier tube (PMT) was developed to monitor cellular metabolism in situ using bioluminescent bacterial strains. Preliminary characterization of the system was performed using Pseudomonas fluorescens 5RL expressing lux proteins from Vibrio fischeri . Stepwise increases in pressure at 34 MPa and above resulted in decreased bioluminescence. Square wave exposure to pressures of 69, 103 and 138 MPa showed bioluminescence reductions greater than 95%, but when cells were returned to ambient pressure bioluminescence returned to 51, 38, and 4% of initial bioluminescence values, respectively. An Escherichia coli strain expressing lux proteins from V. fischeri was constructed to determine whether this reversible effect could be observed in another bacterial genus. Square wave perturbations of 69, 103 and 138 MPa resulted in bioluminescence reductions of about 94% at the highest pressure treatment. Upon decompression, bioluminescence returned to 74, 58 and 30% of the initial bioluminescence values for cells treated at 69, 103 and 138 MPa, respectively. These results suggest that square wave exposure to pressure up to 138 MPa induces reversible cell damage in P. fluorescens 5RL and E. coli VF lux.
Is procedural sedation with propofol acceptable for complex imaging? A comparison of short vs. prolonged sedations in children

Concerns exist in the community of non-anesthesiologist sedation providers regarding the appropriateness of prolonged sedations using propofol for outpatient procedures. To investigate interventions required, completion rate and resource use in prolonged vs. short sedations using propofol in outpatients. We reviewed retrospectively 213 children sedated with propofol by a non-anesthesiologist sedation service. Cohorts were composed a priori of children sedated for ≥1 h and <1 h. Comparisons were made regarding need for interventions, sedation duration, sedation completion to discharge time, and procedural completion rate. Most sedations were for MRI (87.5% short vs. 94.5% prolonged) with no statistically significant difference in overall need for interventions (75.2% prolonged vs. 65.4% short) nor completion to discharge times (30.7 ± 11.5 min [prolonged] vs. 30.3 ± 11.7 min [short]) between both groups. One child failed to complete the intended scan. No one required endotracheal intubation or unplanned admission. Prolonged outpatient sedations with propofol conducted by appropriately trained non-anesthesiology sedation providers appears effective for imaging procedures with no increase in interventions or increased resource burden compared to short sedations. This information can assist all stakeholders in determining scope of practice and guidelines for moderately longer pediatric sedations with propofol.
The stratocumulus nature of fog

Landsat MSS and TM digital data on fog cell size distribution, cell aspect ratio, and cell orientation angle were analyzed for three high inversion radiation fogs in central California and on advection fog in eastern South Dakota. The results indicate that (1) fogs, being composed of individual cellular structures, are stratocumulus in nature; (2) the reflectance properties vary strongly across the cells, suggesting considerable variation in liquid water content; and (3) many fogs are patchy, often revealing surface features between the fog cells. The ratio of the wavelength between the fog cells and the height of the boundary layer was found to be between 2 and 3, and the typical horizontal aspect ratio of fog cells was about a factor of two. The observed quasi-periodic oscillations of measured fog variables may be caused by advection of the cellular structures across the observational site.
Effect of β-naphthoflavone on the metabolism of aflatoxin B1 in hamsters

Abstract The effect of β-naphthoflavone (BNF) pretreatment of hamsters on the hepatic metabolism of aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1 ) has been examined in studies in vitro and in vivo. Pretreatment with BNF not only increased microsomal cytochrome P-450 by 50–80% but also increased microsome-mediated AFB 1 epoxidation as measured by AFB 1 -DNA binding 2.6 fold without significantly affecting other hydroxylations. Neither cytosolic GSH S-transferases' activities nor AFB 1 -GSH (AFB 1 -SG) conjugation were affected. In vivo, hepatic AFB 1 -DNA binding was also increased about 3–4-fold. These results in contrast to those observed in the rat indicate that induced species of cytochrome P-450 are primarily responsible for higher epoxidation of AFB 1 in the hamster.
QUANTITATIVE STUDIES ON THE TOTAL PLASMIN AND THE TRYPSIN INHIBITOR OF HUMAN BLOOD SERUM II. VARIATIONS IN THE BLOOD CONCENTRATION OF TOTAL PLASMIN AND OF TRYPSIN INHIBITOR IN STREPTOCOCCAL DISEASES WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO RHEUMATIC FEVER

The total plasmin and the trypsin inhibitor were titrated separately in samples of serum taken at weekly intervals from three different groups of scarlet fever patients: (a) those who did not develop any complications, (b) those who developed purulent complications, and (c) those who developed rheumatic fever. When these determinations were plotted, it was found that the resulting curves showed characteristic patterns for each of the diseases investigated. The uncomplicated cases had plasmin curves which were considerably higher on the charts than the inhibitor curves. The septic cases had plasmin and inhibitor curves which were closer together on the charts. The rheumatic cases had plasmin and inhibitor curves which were close together and which crossed at the time of rheumatic activity so that the inhibitor curve reached a higher level than the plasmin curve.
Superconducting Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O films prepared from metal trifluoroacetate precursors

Abstract Superconducting thin films of Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O have been prepared on (100) magnesium oxide substrates using metal trifluoroacetate spin-on precursors. The superconducting phase was formed by a three step process: (a) decomposition of the spun-on trifluoroacetate film to the fluorides, (b) conversion of the fluorides to oxides by reacting with water vapor, and (c) annealing in oxygen at 865–890°C. The film properties were found to be sensitive to the final annealing conditions. Films annealed at temperatures around 865°C in O2 formed almost exclusively the low temperature Bi2Sr2Ca1Cu2Ox phase, with strong c-axis normal preferred orientation and showed zero resistance around 77 K. When the films were annealed close to the melting point (∼885 K), a significant drop in resistivity was observed around 110 K, with zero resistance achieved at 77–80 K. X-ray diffraction results showed primarily the formation of the low temperature phase and only a small fraction of the high temperature Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3Oy phase. Attempts to stabilize the high temperature phase by partial substitution of lead for bismuth were also not successful under these annealing conditions.
Anatomical pathways from the optic tectum to the spinal cord subserving orienting movements in the barn owl

Electrical stimulation of the optic tectum in many vertebrate species elicits eye, head or body orienting movements in the direction of the receptive field location recorded at the site of stimulation; in the barn owl, tectal stimulation produces short latency saccadic head movements (du Lac and Knudsen 1990). However, the barn owl, like other avians, lacks a direct projection from the tectum to the spinal cord, implying that less direct connections underlie tectally mediated head movements. In order to determine the pathways by which the tectum gains access to spinal cord circuitry, we searched for overlap regions between tectal efferent projections and the locations of cells afferent to the spinal cord. Tectal efferent pathways and terminal fields were revealed by anterograde labeling using horseradish peroxidase (HRP) or tritiated amino acids injected into the optic tectum. Cells afferent to the spinal cord were identified by means of retrograde labeling using HRP, rhodamine, or rhodamine-coupled latex beads injected into the cervical spinal cord. A comparison of results from the anterograde and retrograde labeling experiments demonstrated several areas of overlap. All of the cell groups that both received heavy tectal input and contained a high proportion of cells projecting to the spinal cord were located in the medial half of the midbrain and rhombencephalic tegmentum, and included the red nucleus, the interstitial nucleus of Cajal, the medial reticular formation, the nucleus reticularis pontis giganto-cellularis, and the nucleus reticularis pontis oralis. All of these cell groups receive their tectal input from the medial efferent pathway, one of three major output pathways from the tectum. The other two output pathways (the rostral and the caudal) project to regions containing no more than a few scattered cells that are afferent to the spinal cord. Based on these data and on the functions of homologous cell groups in other vertebrates, we hypothesize that the medial efferent pathway and its brainstem target nuclei are primarily responsible for tectally mediated orienting head movements in the barn owl.
Community colleges and the politics of sociospatial scale

In an analysis of 421 community college mission statements, I demonstrate how community colleges recontextualize a dominant discourse in which economic activity at the global scale transcends regulation, the nation-state lacks the moral authority to influence markets, and local communities have no choice but to adapt. Findings suggest that the community college has appropriated economic development as a mission priority and tacitly accommodated scalar relations typical of post-Fordism. On the other hand, a rival hypothesis suggests a competing trend in which colleges prepare and empower students to engage in sociopolitical processes at a global scale.
Job-Interview Smart

The most important marketing event for careerbased individuals is the job interview. To help identify what it takes to have a successful interview, I emailed a friend of mine who's a senior executive (a division president). This person gets a job offer after practically every interview. He told me that his success stems from his eagerness to get the job, educational background and professional experience, and preparedness. I interpret this recipe for success as follows. If you're eager to get the job (or at least eager to get a job offer to expand your options), you're motivated to put a conscientious effort into marketing yourself for the position. To enhance your marketing effort, you put a positive spin on your education and professional experience and do a good job preparing for the interview. In short, a successful job interview is a fully prepared and well-executed marketing task.
Critical thickness in strained-layer GaInAs/GaAs quantum well lasers

The critical thickness in strained-layer GalnAs/GaAs quantum well lasers was studied by measuring the dependence of the threshold current on the number of quantum wells. The critical thickness for 20% In composition was found to be around 30 nm, which is twice as large as predicted by the Matthews-Blakeslee model.
A Matrix Model of the Small Group: Part 2

This article constitutes the second part of a report on the matrix model for the study of small groups. It considers implications of the model and its translation into operational terms, and provides theoretical foundations for empirical categorization of group process manifest in personalty, social, subsystems, and cultural subsystems. Primary group tasks addressed are identity formation, modes of relating, and reality adaptation. The works of Erik son, Bion, Jung, and Piaget provide theoretical starting points
Buyer–seller relationships for promotional support in the apparel sector

Promotional supports provided by manufacturers are important to many retailers. With the intense competition for customers and heightened concern for profit margins, retailers’ cooperation is critical in the promotional process so that promotional services mutually benefit both manufacturers and retailers. The purpose of this study was to define promotional support categories offered to apparel retailers from manufacturers, to identify the retailer's perceptions of the offering frequency and importance of the promotional support, and to investigate the relationship between offering frequency and perceptions of importance. A descriptive research design was developed to survey 100 large retail organizations in the USA. Results indicated that monetary support was regarded as the promotional support offered the most and perceived by retailers to be the most important. Findings reveal an overall consistency between apparel retail buyers’ importance perception and manufacturers’ offering frequency of promotional support. A positive and significant correlation was found between items the buyers perceived as important and the frequency of offerings of these items. Indications were that manufacturers recognize their customers’ needs by matching the frequency of support offerings with which they offer the promotional support with the importance perception of buyers toward the promotional support. Future studies should identify and examine additional promotional support items. Also, examining the interrelationships among organizational variables, as well as combined effects on apparel retail buyers’ buying decision-making using a global model, needs to be investigated.
Real Time Circular Tomography System For Cardiac Imaging

We have been developing a focal plane x-ray tomography system that will be capable of creating limited angle tomograms in real-time at rates as high as 60 per second. The intended application of the device would be in coronary angiography, where conventional tomographic systems are too slow to capture sharp images of the beating heart. We first reported on this system development three years ago. Since that time, we have been constructing and testing sub-system components while awaiting the completion of the design, construction and testing of the "Tomotron" x-ray tube, which is being manufactured by the Eimac Division of Varian Corporation. We anticipate that the x-ray tube will be ready for integration into the tomography system this spring. In this report, we would like to describe the overall system design and present some of the performance characteristics of three of the sub-system components: image deflection mechanism, x-ray collimator and anti-scatter grid.
Sunki Mandarin vs Poncirus trifoliata Hybrids as Rootstocks for Pera Sweet Orange

Obtaining new rootstocks that have resistance to biotic and abiotic factors is one of the main goals of breeding programs for citrus. This study evaluated the performance of 42 hybrids of Sunki mandarin (Citrus sunki Hort. ex Tanaka) vs. Poncirus trifoliata cv. Rubidoux, as rootstock for Pera sweet orange. The experiment was conducted in Colombia, Sao Paulo, Brazil, in randomized blocks with three replications in a spacing of 6.0 m x 3.5 m. The trees were seven years old and the experiment was conducted without irrigation. We quantified the variables height, diameter and canopy volume, and production of plants, besides the physico-chemical analysis of fruits. After the natural period of drought in the region, the trees were evaluated for resistance to drought, with scale ranging from 1 to 3. Plants were also evaluated for symptoms of citrus sudden death and compatibility canopy/rootstock. Differences were observed in height, diameter and canopy volume of Pera sweet orange grafted on 42 hybrids of Sunki mandarin x Poncirus trifoliata (TSxPT). Differences were observed in the physico-chemical characteristics of fruits of Pera sweet orange grafted on different hybrids TSxPT. Different degrees of drought tolerance were observed and six hybrids were resistant. The hybrids TSxPT 245 and 254 showed incompatibility with variety of Pera sweet orange.
Ag clusters on ultra-thin, ordered SiO2 films

Abstract Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and low energy electron diffraction have been used to optimize the key synthetic parameters for the preparation of oriented, SiO 2 films on Mo(1 1 2). Extremely flat, ultra-thin, single-crystalline SiO 2 films have been prepared via deposition of silicon, its subsequent oxidation, followed by an anneal. Highly resolved STM images have been obtained for the first time on these films. At room temperature, Ag clusters grow two-dimensionally on these oriented films with a preferred orientation and sinter with a bimodal size distribution upon exposure to elevated pressures (160 mb and 60 min) of oxygen. Annealing the as-deposited Ag clusters at elevated temperatures (>600 K) in ultra-high vacuum also leads to sintering.
MIXTURE DISTRIBUTION DIAGNOSTIC MODELS

This paper introduces the mixture general diagnostic model (MGDM), an extension of the general diagnostic model (GDM). The MGDM extension allows one to estimate diagnostic models for multiple known populations as well as discrete unknown, or not directly observed mixtures of populations. The GDM is based on developments that integrate located latent class models; multiple classification latent class models; and discrete, multidimensional item response models into a common framework. Models of this type express the probability of a response vector as a function of parameters that describe the individual item response variables in terms of required skills and of indirectly observed (latent) skill profiles of respondents. The skills required for solving the items are, as in most diagnostic models, represented as a design matrix that is often referred to as a Q-matrix. This Q-matrix consists of rows describing, for each item response, what combination of skills is needed to succeed or to obtain partial or full credit. The hypothesized Q-matrix is either the result of experts rating items of an existing assessment (retrofitting) or comes directly out of the design of the assessment instrument, in which it served as a tool to design the items. The MGDM takes the GDM and integrates it into the framework of discrete mixture distribution models for item response data (see von Davier & Rost, 2006). This increases the utility of the GDM by allowing the estimation and testing of models for multiple populations. The MGDM allows for complex scale linkages that make assessments comparable across populations and makes it possible to test whether items function the same in different subpopulations. This can be done with known subpopulations (defined by grade levels, cohorts, etc.), as well as with unknown subpopulations that need to be identified by the model. In both cases, MGDMs make it possible to determine whether different sets of item-by-skill parameters and/or different skill distributions have to be assumed for different subpopulations. This amounts to a generalized procedure that can be used to test for differential item functioning (DIF) on one item or on multiple-response variables using multiple-group or mixture models. This procedure enables testing DIF models against models that allow additional skills for certain items in order to account for differences between subpopulations.
Energy norms and the stability of the Einstein evolution equations

The Einstein evolution equations may be written in a variety of equivalent analytical forms, but numerical solutions of these different formulations display a wide range of growth rates for constraint violations. For symmetric hyperbolic formulations of the equations, an exact expression for the growth rate is derived using an energy norm. This expression agrees with the growth rate determined by numerical solution of the equations. An approximate method for estimating the growth rate is also derived. This estimate can be evaluated algebraically from the initial data, and is shown to exhibit qualitatively the same dependence as the numerically determined rate on the parameters that specify the formulation of the equations. This simple rate estimate therefore provides a useful tool for finding the most well-behaved forms of the evolution equations.
Intrinsic toroidal velocity near the edge of DIII-D H-mode plasmas

The intrinsic toroidal velocity, V, in DIII-D (Luxon 2002 Nucl. Fusion 42 614) H-modes is measured to be nonzero in the pedestal region, in the direction of the plasma current, co-Ip. Intrinsic, or spontaneous, velocity is that which arises with no known external momentum injection. This intrinsic velocity is measured to scale roughly linearly with the local ion temperature, Ti, V ~ Ti, in the pedestal and in the edge region just inside the pedestal. With either co-Ip, or counter-Ip neutral beam injected torque, the pedestal velocity is accelerated in the direction of the torque; it is not a fixed boundary condition. A simple model of thermal ion orbit loss predicts the sign of V, a relevant magnitude for V, and the approximate scaling V ~ Ti. This model for a boundary condition on the intrinsic toroidal velocity gives a result of approximate diamagnetic form, V ~ epTi/LBθ, where L is a scale length, Bθ the poloidal magnetic field and ep a small numerical parameter. This model is a local calculation of velocity, an approximation to the inherently nonlocal region of the pedestal where the thermal ion banana width is comparable to the pedestal width. In this model we also assume that the loss cone in velocity space is empty; no collisions are considered. A recent particle simulation of the pedestal region of a DIII-D NBI-driven H-mode discharge that includes collisions indicates that thermal ion orbit loss results in a co-Ip velocity just inside the last closed flux surface (Chang and Ku 2008 Phys. Plasmas 15 062510-1). Thus, we do not expect that nonlocality nor finite collisionality wash out the effect. Inside the pedestal our model shows that thermal ion orbit loss is negligible. In this region of the edge we also measure a similar scaling for the intrinsic velocity several pedestal widths inside the pedestal location, V ~ Ti. One mechanism that could maintain the Ti scaling inwards from the pedestal is the model of an inward momentum pinch velocity proportional to the gradient of Ti.
Evaluation of venous injury caused by a percutaneous mechanical thrombolytic device.

To study venous injury caused by a prototype percutaneous mechanical thrombolytic device. Simulated thrombolysis was performed using the device, or the Fogarty balloon catheter (FBC) as control, in the infrarenal inferior vena cava (IVC) of 40 New Zealand white rabbits. Venous injury was evaluated by cavography, Evans blue dye staining, and histology at 0, 1, and 6 weeks postprocedure. Both devices resulted in near complete endothelial denudation acutely. No differences in reendothelialization were noted at any time in the proximal and mid-IVC, but there was significantly greater reendothelialization in the distal IVC in the rabbits treated 6 weeks earlier with the device (p ≤ 0.04). Additionally, the inner luminal diameter at necropsy for the 1-week rabbits treated with the FBC was significantly narrower in the distal and middle sections of the IVC when compared with the device (p ≤ 0.02 for both segments). There was no luminal diameter difference at 0 or 6 weeks. Based on a rabbit model, venous injury from the device was found to be similar to, and in the distal IVC less than, the routinely used FBC.
Lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase: effects of mutagenesis at N-linked oligosaccharide attachment sites on acyl acceptor specificity

Site-directed mutagenesis was used to generate lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) species in which individual attachment sites for N-linked oligosaccharide residues were replaced with residues that prevent the attachment of carbohydrate. Mutants at three of four sites retained significant acyltransferase activity, and phospholipase activity in the absence of cholesterol. Mutation at one site (asn272) converted LCAT to a phospholipase generating fatty acids not cholesteryl esters.
Attenuation of DNA damage checkpoint by PBK, a novel mitotic kinase, involves protein–protein interaction with tumor suppressor p53

Pathways adopted by developing cancer cells for evasion of cellular surveillance mechanism deserve attention for therapeutic exploitation as well as for better prognosis. A novel mitotic kinase, PDZ-binding kinase or PBK, which is upregulated in a variety of neoplasms including hematological malignancies, has been the focus of our attention with a goal to understand its role in malignant conversion and to examine as a possible new therapeutic target in disparate types of cancer. Earlier, we reported that PBK expression was downregulated during macrophage differentiation of HL60 promyelocytic leukemia cells, during doxorubicin-induced growth arrest in G2/M phase and that PBK was regulated by cell cycle-specific transcription factors E2F and CREB/ATF. Here, we demonstrate that HT1080 fibrosarcoma cells become adapted to doxorubicin-induced DNA damage checkpoint upon ectopic expression of a phosphomimetic mutant of PBK as indicated by the accumulation of polyploid cells. Aberrant entry into the mitotic phase by these cells is suggested by the appearance of a mitotic phase-specific marker, MPM-2. We propose that the effect is due to downregulation of p53 caused by direct physical interaction with PBK as detected by both a biochemical means as well as by yeast two-hybrid analysis. Together, our studies provide a plausible explanation for the role of PBK augmenting tumor cell growth following transient appearance in different types of progenitor cells in vivo as reported.
Using Lanthanum, Neodymium, and Thorium as Conservative Indexing Elements to Indicate Soil Lead Deposition

A critical need exists for data evaluation protocols to determine if heavy metal deposition has impacted soil or sediment. For routine reconnaissance these protocols need to be analytically precise and affordable, two issues lacking in many regions. We employed a low-cost, commercially available aqua regia digestion procedure and developed a simple protocol for isolating pristine soil horizons and conservative indexing elements to compare to more Pb impacted soil horizons. Strongly Pb impacted soil horizons are easy to ascertain; however, moderately to slightly Pb impacted soils are more problematic to identify because of the natural Pb variation in soils. Using the harmonic mean of the soil concentrations of Lanthanum (La) and Neodymium (Nd) and also the soil concentrations of Thorium (Th) as conservative indexing elements, we were able to discriminate pristine soils from slightly to moderately Pb impacted soils. Ro values are estimators of elemental gain and loss, with Ro values greater than unity imply...
The effect of temperature on growth and ammonia excretion of the Manila clam Tapes japonica

Abstract The effect of sustained temperatures of 12, 14, 16 and 18 °C on the growth and ammonia excretion of the Manila clam, Tapes japonica (Deshayes, 1853) were measured over a 77-day period. Meat growth was highest at 12 °C, less at 14 and 16 °C, and the lowest at 18 °C. No significant differences were noted in shell growth at the four temperatures. Ammonia excretion decreased from 12 to 14 °C but increased markedly at 16 and 18 °C. It is suggested that increased ammonia excretion is related to a change in predominant respiratory substrate concurrent with gonad production.
Correlating quartz dissolution kinetics in pure water from 25 to 625°C

Abstract Results for quartz dissolution kinetics in pure water from five different experimental apparatuses in this study were correlated with measurements from ten previous investigations. A simple global equation with an Arrhenius rate constant formulation satisfactorily represented experimental data spanning temperatures from 25 to 625°C obtained from crushed quartz crystals, quartz sand, and quartz slab samples. Geometric and BET-derived surface areas were successfully used to normalize dissolution rates. An Arrhenius expression describing a kinetic dissolution rate constant with an average activation energy of 89 ± 5 kJ/mol was regressed from the set of dissolution rate data covering eleven orders of magnitude in variation from about 4 × lO −14 mol/m 2 s at 25°C to 1 × 10 −3 mol/m 2 s at 625°C on a geometric area basis.