cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
LARGE DEFLECTIONS OF FLAT ARBITRARY MEMBRANES

Abstract Displacement equations in Cartesian coordinates are solved to determine the large deflection response of flat membranes. Cases included are circular, rectangular and polygonal membranes. For the last two cases an added complication is also treated consisting of a rigid central core region. The nonlinear relaxation method in conjunction with finite difference approximation is utilized to solve the governing differential equations. Comparisons, where possible, with other solutions are quite favorable. For rectangular membranes, the results are presented in a form convenient for direct engineering use.
Vacuum-tight sample transfer stage for a scanning electron microscopic study of stabilized lithium metal particles

A vacuum-tight transfer stage is described, that enables air or moisture sensitive specimens to be safely transferred from a protective environment, like that in a dry box, to a scanning electron microscope without exposing the sample to ambient conditions. The transfer stage concept described here is, in fact, applicable to the protected transfer of hygroscopic or air-sensitive samples to any vacuum-based analysis equipment where the transfer device opens automatically under vacuum to reveal the sample. This device concept is also applicable to the transfer of samples under vacuum from one glove box to another where the transfer chamber can be easily opened manually to reveal the sample. An example of one application of the device is provided by a controlled exposure study of stabilized lithium metal particles (SLMP) at various stages of shelf life. We found that a reaction coating formed on “fresh” SLMP after it was exposed to 100 Pa air for as short as 15 m. Such a reaction to air exposure was not observed on “aged” SLMP with a thickened carbonate surface coating after 4 and 6 months of shelf life. The case study of the surface coating on SLMP clearly demonstrated the excellent vacuum performance of the novel transfer stage.
Abortion Attitudes and Vote Choice in the 1984 and 1988 Presidential Elections

Existing research has failed to discover a significant impact of abortion attitudes on voting behavior in national elections, despite evidence that abortion is an issue with great potential for political mobilization and partisan realignment. This article reexamines this issue and finds that pro-choice attitudes do influence voting behavior at the individual level in national elections. No evidence is found for a similar effect among those with intense antiabortion attitudes.
An M/M/1 queue with a general bulk service rule

A model of an M/M/1, bulk queue with service rates dependent on the batch size is developed. The operational policy is to commence service when at least L customers are available with a maximum batch size of K. Arriving customers are not allowed to join in-process service. The solution procedure utilizes the matrix geometric methodology and reduces to obtaining the inverse of a square matrix of dimension K + 1 - L. For the case where the service rates are not batch size dependent, the limiting probabilities can be written in closed form. A numerical example illustrates the variability of the system cost as a function of the minimum batch service size L.
The Epidemiology of Substance Use and Disorders Among Middle Aged and Elderly Community Adults: National Survey on Drug Use and Health

Objective To estimate the prevalence, distribution, and correlates of drug use among middle aged and elderly persons in the United States and to compare with alcohol use in this age group. Setting The 2005 and 2006 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health. Participants A total of 10,953 subjects, age 50 years and older (6,717 subjects age 50–64 years and 4,236 subjects age 65+ years). Measurements Social and demographic variables detailed assessment of alcohol and drug use and disorders (marijuana, cocaine, inhalants, hallucinogens, methamphetamine, and heroin), major depression, and self-rated health. Results Nearly 60% of subjects used alcohol during the past year, 2.6% marijuana, and 0.41% cocaine. Both alcohol and drug use were far more frequent in subjects age 50–64 years and among men. Drug use, in contrast to alcohol use, was not associated with education but was more common among those not married and those with major depression. The prevalence of drug abuse or dependence in the 50+ age group was very low (only 0.33% for any abuse or dependence, 0.12% for marijuana abuse or dependence, and 0.18% for cocaine abuse or dependence). Nevertheless, the use of marijuana approached 4% in the 50–64 age group in comparison with 0.7% in the 65+ age group. Conclusions Drug use is not prevalent, although use is much more common in the middle aged, suggesting that prevalence may rise substantially in the 65+ age group as the younger cohort ages.
Seprafilm slurry does not increase complication rates after laparoscopic colectomy.

Background The ability of the Seprafilm adhesion barrier to prevent adhesion formation after abdominal and pelvic operations has been proved. With laparoscopy, a major technical roadblock with these sheets is their delivery into the peritoneal cavity. This study aimed to evaluate the incidence of postoperative complications and death after laparoscopic placement of Seprafilm slurry in patients who underwent laparoscopic colectomy.
Cooperative learning from two different perspectives

The strong movement toward major educational restructuring and reform in the United States has been noted by many observers. Cooperative learning is one instructional strategy many supporters see as central to the goals of the reform movement. This article discusses the impact of cooperative learning on one segment of special education‐ the education of gifted children.
Behavioral Norms, Moral Norms, and Attachment: Problems of Deviance and Conformity

The relationship among moral norms, perception of peer behavioral norms, and behavioral attachment of institutionalized delinquents is examined using hypothetical problem situations. The study finds that delinquent behavioral attachment is doubly deviant. It is deviant from their own private moral norms, which are generally socially acceptable, and from their perception of their peers' norms, which they believe to be more deviant than their own behavior. This supports the formulation of Sykes and Matza that delinquents hold private norms which are consistent with the dominant social norms but transmit miscues to their peers suggestive of a delinquent commitment. Indeed, our data suggest that the delinquent is often less deviant from his moral norms than his comparative reference group. The data are discussed in relationship to the contributions of such others as Cohen and Short, Baum and Wheeler, Empey, Kemper, Reckless, the Schwendingers, and Yinger.
Serine Proteinases of Mast Cell and Leukocyte Granules: A League of Their Own

Serine proteinases are hydrolases that use serine's side chain hydroxyl group to attack and cleave internal peptide bonds in peptides and proteins. They reside in all mammalian tissues, including the lung and airway. As a group, they vary tremendously in form and target specificity and have a vast repertoire of functions, many of which are critical for life. A subset of these proteinases is expressed primarily in the cytosolic granules of leukocytes from bone marrow, including mast cells. Examples are elastase-related proteinases and cathepsin G of monocytes and neutrophils, the many "granzymes" of cytotoxic T lymphocytes and natural killer (NK) cells, and the tryptases and chymases of mast cells. The pace of discovery and characterization of these granule-associated serine proteinases, fueled by technical advances in molecular biology, has accelerated rapidly in the past few years. Progress has been made in assigning possible functions to individual proteinases. However, the burgeoning numbers of these enzymes; their cell, tissue and species-dependent differences in expression; and their variety of action in vitro (despite, in many cases, shared modes of activation and recent divergence in protein evolution) have vexed and challenged those of us who are anxious to establish their roles in mammalian biology. Certainly, much remains to be discovered and clarified. The purpose of this overview is to capture the state of the art in this field, stressing the similarities as well as the differences among individual granule-associated proteinases and focusing particularly on those enzymes likely to be important in the human lung and airways.
Preparation of standards and determination of sizes of long-chain polyphosphates by gel electrophoresis

Procedures are presented for isolating fractions of long-chain polyphosphates which have a narrow range of sizes and for determining their chain lengths. The polyphosphates are isolated by elution from preparative polyacrylamide gels. Then, the lengths of these polymers are determined by a method of successive approximations of length from data obtained by electrophoresis on several different gels of varying polyacrylamide concentrations. Once sized, these isolated polyphosphates may be used as electrophoresis standards, making it possible to rapidly and accurately ascertain the size of other samples having unknown chain lengths. By comparison with two other procedures for sizing polyphosphates, it is shown that the method is definitely valid to a length of 450 and most likely to a length of at least 900. This electrophoresis procedure allows, for the first time, the determination of the range of sizes present and the average chain length with only 2-20 micrograms of polyphosphate.
Individual differences in perception of appropriate pay differentials in the U.S.A. and Sweden

The present research investigates the relationships between demographic characteristics and employees' perceptions of appropriate pay-differentials (APD's). In order to investigate this relationship, we examined organizations in two different countries with different social philosophies. The dependent variable (APD's) is defined as what is felt and/or perceived by the individual to be the appropriate pay-differentials among positions with different responsibilities and at different organizational levels. Two different subject groups were used: 137 salaried employees from an automotive engineering company in the U.S.A., and 107 salaried employees from an engineering company in Sweden. Questionnaires constructed in English and Swedish included: (1) questions about individual demographics; (2) job factors; and (3) perception of appropriate pay-differentials using eight organizational charts. Results indicated that the influence of social philosophy, as expressed by organizational socialization processes, was limited in scope. Individual differences associated with employees' perceptions of appropriate pay-differentials should be taken into account when determining pay and compensation policies. These considerations may encourage employee participation in decision making and lead to better organizational outcomes.
The poisson and chi-squared approximations as compared with the true upper-tail probability of Pearson's X2 for equiprobable multinomials

Abstract The exact tail probability P of Pearson's X2, for equiprobable t-category multinomial samples of size N, was computed to within ±0.00002 for over 250 combinations of N and t, mostly in the region 10≤N≤80, 2≤t≤160. The results are used to assess the quality of the Poisson approximation, and of three chi-squared approximations: the usual uncorrected one, the one with the continuity correction of Cochran (1942), and the one with the adjustment of Nass (1959, pp. 368–369). A concise table of chi-squared ‘correction factors’ is presented also. Given a realization of X2, a pair of correction factors can be used in conjunction with the standard tabular chi-squared approximation to produce accurate lower and upper bounds to the exact tail probability.
Gene Recombination in Escherichia coli

ANALYSIS of mixed cultures of nutritional mutants has revealed the presence of new types which strongly suggest the occurrence of a sexual process in the bacterium, Escherichia coli.
The practice of clinical behaviorism: an overview.

Abstract A great proportion of present day “behavior therapy” literature concerns the diagnosis and treatment of cognitions. The working premise is that cognitions must be included if behavior therapy is to become a generally viable clinical approach. Many clinicians have viewed and continue to view behavioral procedures as a series of specific, but ancillary, treatment techniques to be used when the occasaion arises. The present discussion reveals how systematic desensitization and principles of operant conditioning form a primary, cohesive and general basis for guiding clinical practice.
The Force Workspace: A Tool for the Design and Motion Planning of Multi-Limb Robotic Systems

The Force Workspace (FW) is a tool for designing mobile robotic systems which apply large forces over large ranges of motion. It can also be used to plan motions that do not violate actuator saturation limits, system-environment force and moment contact constraints such as those due to friction, and kinematic joint limits. The FW is applied to the design analysis and motion planning of a simple robotic climbing machine.
Transforming growth factor-β2 both stimulates and inhibits neurogenesis of rat cerebellar granule cells in culture

Abstract Transforming growth factor-β2 (TGFβ2) is expressed in the developing cerebellar cortex during the period of granule cell proliferation and maturation. However, the role of TGFβ2 in granule cell development is confused by conflicting observations regarding TGFβ2 control of neurogenesis. To resolve these conflicts and determine the effect of TGFβ2 on neurogenesis, rat cerebellar granule cell cultures were treated with TGFβ2 (0.1–100 ng/ml, 24 h) in the presence or absence of exogenous serum. Neuroblast proliferation was quantified by bromodeoxyuridine and [3H]thymidine incorporation. TGFβ2 stimulated proliferation to 220% of controls in the presence of serum (ED50 = 0.4 ng/ml) based on bromodeoxyuridine labeled granule cell counts. In contrast, in serum free medium, TGFδ2 inhibited proliferation 75% (ED50 = 0.7 ng/ml). DNA synthesis measured by [3H]thymidine incorporation was increased to 122% in the presence of serum factors, but inhibited 70% in serum free medium, as a result of TGFβ2 activity. Thus, TGFβ2 differentially regulates neurogenesis of cerebellar granule cells depending on the presence of exogenous, undefined regulatory factors derived from serum. This suggests that TGFβ2 activity in cerebellar neurogenesis is complex as it may be modulated by the repertoire of other endogenous regulatory factors in the developing cerebellar cortex.
Supramolekulare Nanostrukturen durch Selbstorganisation eines C60‐Derivats: Nanostäbe und Vesikel

Eine einfache Modifizierung der Losungsmittelbedingungen ermoglicht einen leichten Zugang zu supramolekularen Fulleren-Nanostrukturen. Das hier gezeigte Fullerenderivat liefert bei der Selbstorganisation entweder Nanostabe oder Vesikel. Die Nanostabe sind langer als 70 μm und haben je nach Gegenion Durchmesser von 10–250 nm. Durch Ultraschallbehandlung erhalt man dagegen Vesikel mit einem Durchmesser von 10–70 nm und einer Wandstarke von 3–6 nm, aber keine Nanostabe.
Oncogenic osteomalacia, raised FGF-23, and renal Fanconi syndrome.

A 78-year-old female presented in 1996 with bone pain, generalized muscular weakness and immobility. She had marked hypophosphataemia and osteomalacic fractures and a clinical diagnosis of oncogernic osteomalacia was made.1 No tumour could be identified at that time. Subsequent management, including partial parathyroidectomy, oral phosphate and 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol (1,25-D3), produced good symptomatic improvement. In 2008, elevated levels of fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-23 were found, 18F-Deoxyglucose PET scanning became available and showed a focus of emission in the right chest (Figure 1a). MRI disclosed a paraspinal tumour at the level of T9 vertebral body (Figure 1b). Further investigations showed that she had a renal Fanconi syndrome, comprising low molecular weight proteinuria, (preoperative results in Figure 2), glycosuria of 2.6–25 mmol/mmol creatinine (reference range <0.1) and aminoaciduria characterized by hyperglycinuria and borderline hyperlysinuria. Preoperative low molecular weight proteinuria was shown by very elevated urinary excretion of both retinol-binding protein (RBP) (Figure 2) and Beta-2-microglobulin (data not shown) relative to albumin.2 The ratio of the renal Transport Maximum of Phosphate/Glomerular Filtration rate, TmP/GFR, a measure of the threshold for urine phosphate reabsorption, was markedly reduced …
Comparison of [corrected] actin- and glass-supported phospholipid bilayer diffusion coefficients.

The formation of biomimetic lipid membranes has the potential to provide insights into cellular lipid membrane dynamics. The construction of such membranes necessitates not only the utilization of appropriate lipids, but also physiologically relevant substrate/support materials. The substrate materials employed have been shown to have demonstrable effects on the behavior of the overlying lipid membrane, and thus must be studied before use as a model cushion support. To our knowledge, we report the formation and investigation of a novel actin protein-supported lipid membrane. Specifically, inner leaflet lateral mobility of globular actin-supported DMPC (1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine) bilayers, deposited via the Langmuir-Blodgett/Langmuir Schaefer methodology, was investigated by z-scan fluorescence correlation spectroscopy across a temperature range of 20–44°C. The actin substrate was found to decrease the diffusion coefficient when compared to an identical membrane supported on glass. The depression of the diffusion coefficient occurred across all measured temperatures. These results indicated that the actin substrate exerted a direct effect on the fluidity of the lipid membrane and highlighted the fact that the choice of substrate/support is critical in studies of model lipid membranes.
PROGENY PRODUCTION BY TRICHOGRAMMA MINUTUM (HYMENOPTERA: TRICHOGRAMMATIDAE) UTILIZING EGGS OF CHORISTONEURA FUMIFERANA (LEPIDOPTERA: TORTRICIDAE) AND SITOTROGA CEREALELLA (LEPIDOPTERA: GELECHIIDAE)

Can. Ent. 115: 1245-1252 (1983) Mean daily progeny production by Trichogramma minutum ("Maine strain") was 15.2 in Choristoneura fumiferana and 10.9 in Sitotroga cerealella eggs. Total progeny production was higher in 5. cerealella, but not significantly different from that of C. fumiferana eggs. Significantly more eggs were deposited by T. minutum the first day than in subsequent days regardless of host. We found no significant relationship between progeny produced by females and the day of male death as previously reported. Ratio of femalesimales decreased significantly with increasing age and oviposition activity of the mother. The oviposition period spanned 68% of the female's life span when S. cerealella eggs were available; whereas females spent significantly less time (60%) ovipositing in C. fumiferana eggs. Resume
Most Important" Drug Programs in Small Cities and Towns: Orientations, Funding, and Criteria of Success:

This paper uses data from a national survey of small cities and towns in the United States to examine anti-drug initiatives. The paper presents a typology of "most important" drug programs in these...
Acquired methaemoglobinaemia related to phenazopyridine ingestion

Methaemoglobin is an altered state of haemoglobin in which the ferrous ions of haeme are oxidised to the ferric state. This results in increased affinity to the bound oxygen and decreasing its availability to tissues. Most cases of methaemoglobinaemia are acquired, resulting from an increased methaemoglobin formation by various exogenous agents. The authors report an elderly patient presenting to the emergency department with a 1-month history of shortness of breath. Around the same time she had started using over-the-counter (OTC) phenazopyridine tablets for urinary symptoms. The patient was hypoxic and cyanotic; however, lacked evidence of hypoxaemia on the arterial blood gas. The presence of abnormal haemoglobin was suspected and confirmed by elevated levels of methaemoglobin. Phenazopyridine was proposed to be the likely aetiology of the methaemoglobinaemia, which the patient was not aware of. This case highlights the importance of always inquiring the OTC drug use especially in geriatric population.
Nurturing Thoughtful Revision Using the Focused Question Card Strategy.

Because revising can feel overwhelming even for competent writers, the author designed the Focused Question Card (FQC) strategy to ease students through a critically important aspect of the writing process—revision. The strategy is ideal for writing intended as thoughtful reflection of thinking over time and can be used with students from fourth grade through graduation school. Once students have brainstormed ideas and begun drafting, they are encouraged to formulate a “revising” question to clarify the content of their writing. Next, students read aloud their question to a partner; the listener responds, both verbally and in writing, and roles are reversed. Initial challenges of using this strategy are that students often write editing questions instead of revising ones, that they are reluctant to read their papers aloud to their partners, and that teachers frequently allocate insufficient classroom time to implement the strategy fully. However, once students have “lived” this strategy, they understand how powerful it can be for them as writers.
Vascular Functions and Brain Integrity in Midlife: Effects of Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome

Intact cognitive function is the best predictor of quality of life and functional ability in older age. Thus, preventing cognitive decline is central to any effort to guarantee successful aging for our growing population of elderly. The purpose of the work discussed in this outlook paper is to bridge knowledge from basic and clinical neuroscience with the aim of improving how we understand, predict, and treat age- and disease-related cognitive impairment. Over the past six years, our research team has focused on intermediate neuroimaging phenotypes of brain vulnerability in midlife and isolating the underlying physiological mechanisms. The ultimate goal of this work was to pave the road for the development of early interventions to enhance cognitive function and preserve brain integrity throughout the lifespan.
A comparison of integration and interpolation Eulerian‐Lagrangian methods

Selected finite element Eulerian-Lagrangian methods for the solution of the transport equation are compared systematically in the relatively simple context of 1D, constant coefficient, conservative problems. A combination of formal analysis and numerical experimentation is used to characterize the stability and accuracy that results from alternative treatments of the concentrations at the feet of the characteristic lines. Within the methods analyzed, those that approach such treatment with the perspective of ‘integration’ rather than ‘interpolation’ tend to have superior accuracy. Exact integration leads to unconditional stability and excellent accuracy. Quadrature integration leads only to conditional stability, but newly derived criteria show that stability restrictions are relatively mild and should not preclude the usefulness of quadrature integration methods in a range of practical applications. While conclusions cannot be extended directly to multiple dimensions and complex flows and geometries, results should provide useful insight to the development and behaviour of specific Eulerian-Lagrangian transport models.
The Development of L2X2RuCHR Olefin Metathesis Catalysts: An Organometallic Success Story

In recent years, the olefin metathesis reaction has attracted widespread attention as a versatile carbon−carbon bond-forming method. Many new applications have become possible because of major advances in catalyst design. State-of-the-art ruthenium catalysts are not only highly active but also compatible with most functional groups and easy to use. This Account traces the ideas and discoveries that were instrumental in the development of these catalysts, with particular emphasis on (PCy3)2Cl2RuCHPh and its derivatives. The discussion includes an analysis of trends in catalyst activity, a description of catalysts coordinated with N-heterocyclic carbene ligands, and an overview of ongoing work to improve the activity, stability, and selectivity of this family of L2X2RuCHR complexes.
Predictive Keyboard Design Study: Effects of Word Populations, Number of Displayed Letters, and Number of Transitional Probability Tables:

Predictive keyboards are software keyboards that, to conserve screen real estate, display a subset of the full set of alphabetic keys at any one time, predicting the letters to display on the basis of tables of letters' transitional probabilities. Using different types of test texts (names, words, random strings), we evaluated the influence of various manipulations on the efficiency of letter selection with a predictive keyboard. The results of this study indicated that, across tested text types (names, words, random strings), (1) there was little benefit gained from adding a fourth transitional table modeling the likelihood of a letter's use as a function of a space and two preceding letters, (2) there was a potential benefit from increasing the number of displayed letters from six to eight, and (3) for a personal communicator device, an adaptive strategy would probably be less effective than using multiple sets of letter probability tables.
The optimal projection equations for finite-dimensional fixed-order dynamic compensation of infinite-dimensional systems

One of the major difficulties in designing implementable finite-dimensional controllers for distributed parameter systems is that such systems are inherently infinite dimensional while controller dimension is severely constrained by on-line computing capability. While some approaches to this problem initially seek a correspondingly infinite-dimensional control law whose finite-dimensional approximation may be of impractically high order, the usual engineering approach involves first approximating the distributed parameter system with a high-order discretized model followed by design ofa relatively low-order dynamic controller. Among the numerous approaches suggested for the latter step are model/controller reduction techniques used in conjunction with the standard LQG result. An alternative approach, developed in (36), relies upon the discovery in (31) that the necessary conditions for optimal fixed-order dynamic compensation can be transformed into a set of equations possessing remarkable structural coherence. The present paper generalizes this result to apply directly to the distributed parameter system itself. In contrast to the pair of operator Riccati equations for the "full-order" LQG case, the optimal finite-dimensional fixed-orderdynamic compensator is characterized byfour operator equations (two modified Riccati equations and two modified Lyapunov equations) coupled by an oblique projection whose rank is precisely equal to the order ofthe compensatorand which determines the optimal compensator gains. This "optimal projection" is obtained by a full-rank factorization of the product of the finite-rank nonnegative-definite Hilbert-space operators which satisfy the pair ofmodified Lyapunov equations. The coupling represents a graphic portrayal of the demise of the classical separation principle for the finite-dimensional reduced-order controller case. The results obtained apply to a semigroup formulation in Hilbert space and thus are applicable to control problems involving a broad range of specific partial and functional differential equations.
Vitamin D and Sunlight: Strategies for Cancer Prevention and Other Health Benefits

Vitamin D deficiency is a worldwide health problem. The major source of vitamin D for most humans is sensible sun exposure. Factors that influence cutaneous vitamin D production include sunscreen use, skin pigmentation, time of day, season of the year, latitude, and aging. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] is the measure for vitamin D status. A total of 100 IU of vitamin D raises blood level of 25(OH)D by 1 ng/ml. Thus, children and adults who do not receive adequate vitamin D from sun exposure need at least 1000 IU/d vitamin D. Lack of sun exposure and vitamin D deficiency have been linked to many serious chronic diseases, including autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases, cardiovascular disease, and deadly cancers. It is estimated that there is a 30 to 50% reduction in risk for developing colorectal, breast, and prostate cancer by either increasing vitamin D intake to least 1000 IU/d vitamin D or increasing sun exposure to raise blood levels of 25(OH)D >30 ng/ml. Most tissues in the body have a vitamin D receptor. The active form of vitamin D, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, is made in many different tissues, including colon, prostate, and breast. It is believed that the local production of 1,25(OH)2D may be responsible for the anticancer benefit of vitamin D. Recent studies suggested that women who are vitamin D deficient have a 253% increased risk for developing colorectal cancer, and women who ingested 1500 mg/d calcium and 1100 IU/d vitamin D3 for 4 yr reduced risk for developing cancer by >60%.
Molecular Biology of Myelodysplastic Syndromes

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a group of clonal hematopoetic disorders marked by ineffective hematopoiesis, peripheral cytopenias, and an increased risk of transformation to acute myeloid leukemia. Multiple processes govern hematopoietic progenitor proliferation and natural differentiation into mature myeloid elements. Molecular events that disrupt any of these processes have the potential to lead to ineffective hematopoiesis and an MDS phenotype. Recent advances in genomic analysis have identified a number of new genes that may be involved. The molecular description of MDS will lead to better understanding, classification, and treatment of this disease.
Altair’s Oblateness and Rotation Velocity from Long-Baseline Interferometry

We present infrared interferometric angular size measurements for the A7IV-V star Altair that indicate a noncircular projected disk brightness distribution. Given the known rapid rotation of this star, we model the data as arising from an elongated rigid atmosphere. To first order, an ellipse may be fitted to our interferometric diameter measurements, with major and minor axes of 2a = 3.461 ± 0.038 mas and 2b = 3.037 ± 0.069 mas, respectively, for a difference of 424 ± 79 μas between 2a and 2b, and with an axial ratio of a/b = 1.140 ± 0.029. Assuming that the apparent oblateness of the photosphere is due to the star's rapid rotation, a more rigorous evaluation of the observation data in the context of a rigidly rotating Roche model shows that an estimate of v sin i = 210 ± 13 km s-1 can be derived that is independent of spectroscopic techniques. Also derived are values for the mean effective temperature and the mean linear radius, and an observational constraint upon the relationship between rotation velocity and stellar inclination is established. Altair is the first main-sequence star for which direct observations of an oblate photosphere have been reported and the first star for which v sin i has been established from observations of the star's photospheric geometry.
Regulation of the mid-blastula transition in amphibians.

Development from a fertilized egg to an adult organism requires expression of the genetic program, which is coordinated both spatially and temporally. The genome must provide the information for the orderly control of the cell cycle and of morphogenic events such as cleavage and gastrulation, as well as of molecular processes such as protein synthesis, DNA replication, and transcription. Cleavage may result in the asymmetric distribution of cytoplasmic components into daughter cells establishing specific cell lineages (see Chapter 1). Cellular interactions that occur during early development add another dimension to the functional regionalization of the embryo (see Chapter 3). During gastrulation, the germ layers become juxtaposed in patterns necessary for such inductive cellular interactions.
Decrease in Mitochondrial Function in Rat Cardiac Permeabilized Fibers Correlates With the Aging Phenotype

We measured the loss of cardiac mitochondrial function related to aging in males of three rat strains presenting with different longevity and aging phenotypes: the Fischer 344 (F344), the Brown Norway (BN), and the hybrid F344×BN. The F344 rat has a short life span and a ∼45% decrease in coupled mitochondrial oxidation in the cardiac permeabilized fibers from the old rats compared with the young rats. Citrate synthase activity in the permeabilized fibers (mitochondrial content) did not change significantly with aging. The BN live longer compared with the F344 and have a 15%-18% loss of mitochondrial respiration in the aged rats compared with the young rats. The differences are not significant. In hybrids, more resistant to aging than are the BN and the F344, mitochondrial function is preserved during aging. The difference in longevity of the different strains is correlated with mitochondrial dysfunction in the heart, suggesting the importance of mitochondria in cardiac aging.
The Effect of Chemically Defined Medium on Spontaneous Calcium Signaling of In Situ Chondrocytes during Long-term Culture

Chemically defined serum-free medium has been shown to better maintain the mechanical integrity of articular cartilage explants than serum-supplemented medium during long-term in vitro culture, but little is known about its effect on cellular mechanisms. We hypothesized that the chemically defined culture medium could regulate the spontaneous calcium signaling of in situ chondrocytes, which may modulate the cellular metabolic activities. Bovine cartilage explants were cultured in chemically defined serum-free or serum-supplemented medium for four weeks. The spontaneous intracellular calcium ([Ca(2+)]i) signaling of in situ chondrocytes was longitudinally measured together along with the biomechanical properties of the explants. The spontaneous [Ca(2+)]i oscillations in chondrocytes were enhanced at the initial exposure of serum-supplemented medium, but were significantly dampened afterwards. In contrast, cartilage explants in chemically defined medium preserved the level of calcium signaling, and showed more responsive cells with higher and more frequent [Ca(2+)]i peaks throughout the four week culture in comparison to those in serum medium. Regardless of the culture medium that the explants were exposed, a positive correlation was detected between the [Ca(2+)]i responsive rate and the stiffness of cartilage (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient=0.762). A stable pattern of [Ca(2+)]i peaks was revealed for each chondrocyte, i.e., the spatiotemporal features of [Ca(2+)]i peaks from a cell were highly consistent during the observation period (15 min). This study showed that the beneficial effect of chemically defined culture of cartilage explants is associated with the spontaneous [Ca(2+)]i signaling of chondrocytes in cartilage.
High Frequency Response Of Fiber Current Sensors With Noncircular And Nonconcentrated Coils

The frequency response of the Faraday rotation in fiber current sensors is computed and measured for sensor coils of noncircular cross section and with displaced coil and conductor axes. Resonances are observed at higher frequencies with magnitudes approaching that of the low frequency response. Narrowband current sensors at frequencies above 100 MHz are reported.
An experimental test of well-described vegetation patterns across slope aspects using woodland herb transplants and manipulated abiotic drivers.

Summary • The ubiquitous transition of plant communities across slope aspects is a welldescribed, but rarely tested, ecological dynamic. Aspect position is often used as a proxy for microclimate changes in moisture, light and temperature, but these abiotic drivers are seldom decoupled and very rarely manipulated across slope aspects. • To investigate the mechanisms and demographic stages driving the observed distribution patterns of two woodland herbs in the southeastern USA, seeds and adults were transplanted across north- and south-facing slopes, and moisture and light were experimentally manipulated. • Stage- and species-specific abiotic responses resulted in similar landscape-level patterning for Hexastylis arifolia and Hepatica nobilis, but the underlying abiotic drivers were unique. Adult rather than seed survival best explained the natural distributions across slope aspects, and Hexastylis arifolia was limited by higher temperature, whereas Hepatica nobilis was limited by lower soil moisture. • The stage- and species-specific responses indicated that the use of slope aspect to explain plant distributions not only obfuscates explanatory mechanisms, but probably undermines the portability of results. As abiotic drivers, not topographical proxies, are projected to shift with global climate change, distribution research requires direct abiotic data in association with key demographic stages rather than topographical proxies.
Probing nucleosome core secondary structure before and after α‐chymotrypsin treatment by raman spectroscopy and thermal denaturation

Nucleosome cores were digested with alpha-chymotrypsin until histone H3 was degraded to a partial histone, CP1. As we reported previously, cleavage occurred at leucine 20 to H3 and resulted in an increase in circular dichroism between 265 to 285 nm. Some modest core unfolding was also observed as determined by a small decrease in the sedimentation coefficient. Studies reported here deal with the analysis of core secondary structure and subsequent perturbation caused by treatment with alpha-chymotrypsin. Raman spectroscopy indicated that chymotryptic treatment promoted a change in the conformational environment of a population of core histone tyrosines. In addition, a shift from B-form to an intermediate B- or A-form was observed for core DNA. High-resolution thermal denaturation was used to determine alterations in the stabilization of core DNA related to perturbation of the core histones. Brief chymotryptic treatment indicated changes in both pre-melt and irreversible transitions.
Markov Chain Monte Carlo Data Association for Merge and Split Detection in Tracking Protein Clusters

Tagging and tracking protein molecules with the help of laser scanning confocal microscope (LSCM) are a key to better understanding of proteomics in diverse aspects. One challenge of tracking multiple green fluorescent protein (GFP) clusters is how to deal with the interaction between multiple objects, namely splitting and merging. In this paper, we propose a framework to track multiple GFP clusters merge and split by using Markov chain Monte Carlo data association (MCMCDA) method combined with asymmetric region matching strategy. The experimental results show that the method is promising.
Evidence-based approach to use of MR imaging in acute spinal trauma

MR imaging directly shows integrity of spinal cord, and provides sensitive assessments of structurally important soft tissue investments of the vertebral column. High-resolution images should be acquired in at least two planes, with T1 and fluid sensitive sequences. In the acute and subacute settings, MR may be used to assess integrity of intervertebral discs prior to closed reduction of inter-facetal dislocations, to discriminate between neurological deficits due to intra-substance hemorrhage or edema, and to determine the status of spinal ligaments as an adjunct to 'clearing' the spine.
Efficient Hash Probes on Modern Processors

Bucketized versions of Cuckoo hashing can achieve 95-99% occupancy, without any space overhead for pointers or other structures. However, such methods typically need to consult multiple hash buckets per probe, and have therefore been seen as having worse probe performance than conventional techniques for large tables. We consider workloads typical of database and stream processing, in which keys and payloads are small, and in which a large number of probes are processed in bulk. We show how to improve probe performance by (a) eliminating branch instructions from the probe code, enabling better scheduling and latency-hiding by modern processors, and (b) using SIMD instructions to process multiple keys/payloads in parallel. We show that on modern architectures, probes to a bucketized Cuckoo hash table can be processed much faster than conventional hash table probes, for both small and large memory-resident tables. On a Pentium 4, a probe is two to four times faster, while on the Cell SPE processor a probe is ten times faster.
Prediction and Comparison of High-Performance On-Chip Global Interconnection

As process technology scales, numerous interconnect schemes have been proposed to mitigate the performance degradation caused by the scaling of on-chip global wires. In this paper, we review current on-chip global interconnect structures and develop simple models to analyze their architecture-level performance. We propose a general framework to design and optimize a new category of global interconnect based on on-chip transmission line (T-line) technology. We perform a group of experiments using six different global interconnection structures to discover their differences in terms of latency, energy per bit, throughput, area, and signal integrity over several technology nodes. Our results show that T-line structures have the potential to outperform conventional repeated RC wires at future technology nodes to achieve higher performance while using less power and improving the reliability of wire communication. Our results also show that on-chip equalization is helpful to improve throughput, signal integrity, and power efficiency.
Task‐Induced Variability in FL Composition: Language‐Specific Perspectives

ABSTRACT This study investigated the ways in which different writing tasks influence the quality and quantity of FL composition, as well as the writing strategies used by American college students when composing in Japanese as a foreign language. The purposes of the study were three-fold: (a) to compare qualitative and quantitative differences between descriptive and narrative writing tasks; (b) to describe linguistic and rhetorical requirements in each task; and (c) to identify the discourse strategies utilized in the tasks. Three types of text analyses demonstrated that the two tasks posed varying linguistic and cognitive requirements. This finding suggests that different linguistic competencies are required to perform varying writing tasks. The data also indicated that narrative discourse involves more demanding linguistic processing, at varying levels, than descriptive discourse. In addition, the analyses demonstrated that the ability to expand and elaborate preceding subtopics in discourse accounts, at least in part, for individual differences in FL composition aptitude. This ability, moreover, is related to knowledge of content-word meanings. These findings are consistent with those from reading comprehension research, both in L1 and L2, and thus support the view that reading and writing involve essentially similar processes of constructing meaning.
Characterizing nitrogen outflow from pre-harvest rice field drain events

Abstract Tailwater recovery systems (TWR) provide an excellent testbed for examining nutrient loading from agriculture non-point sources, such as pre-harvest rice ( Oryza sativa L.) field drains, on receiving waters. In this study, the focus was to use continuous sampling of nitrate-nitrogen (NO 3 − -N) concentration, paired with discrete grab samples of water which were analyzed for total nitrogen and inorganic nitrogen species to (1) assess if rice paddies are a source of nitrogen loading to downstream systems; (2) monitor the diel cycles in NO 3 − -N of rice paddies and TWR; and (3) describe the nitrogen capture capacity of TWR during these events. Five rice paddies within the Mississippi Delta with adjoining TWR were selected as case study locations. Both paddy and TWR were instrumented to continuously monitor nitrate, pH, dissolved oxygen, specific conductivity, and water temperature; discrete grab samples of water were also taken at deployment and collection. During the study, most TWR had total nitrogen concentrations −1 ; the majority of nitrogen present at drain was organic (>51% for paddies, and >88% for TWR). The percent change in total nitrogen concentrations between draining paddies and post-drain TWR ranged from −14 to +178%; the percent of organic nitrogen increased between 5 and 24% in TWR following rice drains. Both nitrogen accumulation and dilution in TWR were observed during drain events. Diel cycles were apparent and were in phase with dissolved oxygen (average values between 3.7 and 13.2 mg L −1 ). The average peak-to-peak amplitude in TWR was 0.101 mg NO 3 − -N L −1 . Total nitrogen captured by TWR ranged from 0.009 to 0.610 kg ha −1 . Increases in NO 3 − -N concentrations were observed in several TWR during drain events, but concentrations remained low and loads were determined to be of little consequence; this suggests limited detrimental impact of rice drains downstream.
Accuracy of Self-Report of Sexual Activity among Adolescent Girls: Implications for Interpretation of Vaginal Flora Patterns

We read with interest the article by Hickey et al. (1), which enrolled 31 healthy, asymptomatic premenarcheal girls (primarily Tanner stages 2 or 3) aged 10 to 12 years (of whom 67% were African American) with no history of sexual contact whose vulvar and vaginal microbiota were monitored quarterly for up to 3 years. Lactobacillus species were dominant in the vaginal microbiota of most girls before the onset of menarche in the early-middle stages of puberty (as the production of estrogen during puberty causes a change in the vaginal flora to lactobacillus predominance) (2). However, Gardnerella vaginalis was detected in appreciable levels in approximately 1/3 of women. This is of significant interest given that G. vaginalis has been the bacterium most extensively studied in relationship to the pathogenesis of …
Dysphagia Associated With Neurological Disorders

Neurogenic dysphagia results from sensorimotor impairment of the oral and pharyngeal phases of swallowing due to a neurologic disorder. The symptoms of neurogenic dysphagia include drooling, difficulty initiating swallowing, nasal regurgitation, difficulty managing secretions, choke/cough episodes while feeding, and food sticking in the throat. If unrecognized and untreated, neurogenic dysphagia can lead to dehydration, malnutrition, and respiratory complications. The symptoms of neurogenic dysphagia may be relatively inapparent on account of both compensation for swallowing impairment and diminution of the laryngeal cough reflex due to a variety of factors. Patients with symptoms of oropharyngeal dysphagia should undergo videofluoroscopy of swallowing, which in the case of neurogenic dysphagia typically reveals impairment of oropharyngeal motor performance and/or laryngeal protection. The many causes of neurogenic dysphagia include stroke, head trauma, Parkinson's disease, motor neuron disease and myopathy. Evaluation of the cause of unexplained neurogenic dysphagia should include consultation by a neurologist, magnetic resonance imaging of the brain, blood tests (routine studies plus muscle enzymes, thyroid screening, vitamin B12 and anti-acetylcholine receptor antibodies), electromyography/nerve conduction studies, and, in certain cases, muscle biopsy or cerebrospinal fluid examination. Treatment of neurogenic dysphagia involves treatment of the underlying neurologic disorder (if possible), swallowing therapy (if oral feeding is reasonably safe to attempt) and gastrostomy (if oral feeding is unsafe or inadequate).