cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Implications of Configurable Displays for Universal Driver-Vehicle Interfaces

This study investigated the use of user-configurable displays for integrating multiple channels of information for drivers of future driving automation systems. The study measured the performance of drivers completing visual-manual secondary tasks on an in-vehicle display while driving a sedan during emulated traffic scenarios. Participants from two distinct age groups (20–35 and 50–65) experienced an expert-determined configuration in addition to their own participant-determined configuration across counterbalanced trials. Objective measures included task times and total eye-glance times. Subjective measures included preference configuration types. User configurability resulted in lower levels of visual distraction, thereby offering a potential safety benefit relative to a preconfigured system. However, though this study demonstrates a performance improvement, configurability may also encourage users to frequently interact with displays despite concurrently being responsible for performing the dynamic driving task.
Morphology of Small Diameter Barium Titanate Nanoparticle and Polyvinylidene Diflouride-Trifluoroethylene Composites

Ceramic and polymer piezoelectric materials have been widely applied to fields like energy harvesting, biomedical devices, and flexible electronics. Previous work has demonstrated that nanocomposite materials of ceramic and polymer piezo-electrics, such as barium titanate and polyvinylidene difluoride-trifluoroethylene, can be engineered to enhance the dielectric, piezoelectric, or ferroelectric properties of the resulting film. This work uses the smallest diameter nanoparticles in recent literature (less than 20 nanometers) to prevent disruption of the crystallinity of PVDF-TrFE. The material properties of the resulting composite are then observed.
THz-TDS and TRTS of Metal Organic Frameworks and 2D Materials

Commercial success of solar cells clearly demonstrates that an environmental-friendly future is achievable. The next generation of solar cells will depend on novel materials, including 2D materials and metal-organic frameworks (MOF). We will present THz-TDS measurements of MOFs and TRTS measurements of 2D materials, showcasing THz spectroscopy as an outstanding technique to characterize emerging materials and providing insight into their photophysics and, in turn, their potential for future solar applications.
Gender and Programming: A Comparison of Program Availability and Participation in U.S. Prisons

The current study examines U.S. prison programming availability and participation by gender on a national level. The authors build upon previous literature by using national-level data, something that has been done in very limited cases previously. The main concern of this study is gender and its effects on programming availability and participation. The U.S. corrections field has undergone major changes in regard to population trends, fiscal constraints, policies, and research over the last few decades without a large-scale examination of the effects of these changes on programming across the United States. In this study, multiple types of programming areas were examined and results indicated that often female prisons (i.e., prisons housing only females) were more likely to offer programs (e.g., mental health options) and women were more likely to participate in many programming options compared with male prisons and men, respectively. We discuss the possible reasons for this and implications for future ...
The LSU Community Playground Project: Reflections on 16 Years of an Engineering Service-Learning Program

This article presents a first-year, biological engineering design course in which a placement-project combination service-learning model is used to enable students to meet practice-based and civic-based learning objectives. In this course, college students (1) work individually with elementary school students to practice reading and math skills and to learn about play and the school community, and (2) work in teams to co-create playground designs with the child play experts. Lessons learned and best practices of engineering service-learning are discussed, including the shift in instructional role, the variability and “partially controlled” nature of community-university partnerships, and the importance of language. Outcomes of the program are briefly discussed, with more detail given to five years of alumni survey data regarding the service activities of participants in the service-learning course before and after graduation. Results showed that 68% of respondents participated in service before graduation and 45% participate after graduation. Most service activities performed by graduates are not engineering related. Ideas for encouraging service in the engineering profession are discussed.
Detection of Cholesterol in Cell Membranes by Use of Bacterial Toxins

A method is described for the detection of cholesterol in membranes from erythrocytes, mycoplasmas, and bacterial cells by a ferritin-labeling technique. Membranes treated with cereolysin, a bacterial hemolysin which specifically binds to cholesterol, and then treated with ferritin-antitetanolysin, were specifically ferritin-labeled for cholesterol. A similar antigen-antibody system, streptolysin O-ferritin-antistreptolysin, was also used successfully with erythrocyte membranes. There was an uneven distribution of ferritin in erythrocyte membranes suggesting that the distribution of cholesterol may not be entirely random. Mycoplasma gallisepticum was intensely labeled, but Acholeplasma laidlawii with or without cholesterol in the membranes was not labeled, suggesting an unusual location for cholesterol in A. laidlawii membranes. As controls, two of three species of bacterial membranes lacking cholesterol were not ferritin-labeled. Images
Theories of Judgment: Psychology, Logic, Phenomenology

The exercise of judgement is an aspect of human endeavour from our most mundane acts to our most momentous decisions. In this book Wayne Martin develops a historical survey of theoretical approaches to judgement, focusing on treatments of judgement in psychology, logic, phenomenology and painting. He traces attempts to develop theories of judgement in British Empiricism, the logical tradition stemming from Kant, nineteenth-century psychologism, experimental neuropsychology and the phenomenological tradition associated with Brentano, Husserl and Heidegger. His reconstruction of vibrant but largely forgotten nineteenth-century debates links Kantian approaches to judgement with twentieth-century phenomenological accounts. He also shows that the psychological, logical and phenomenological dimensions of judgement are not only equally important but fundamentally interlinked in any complete understanding of judgement. His book will interest a wide range of readers in history of philosophy, philosophy of the mind and psychology.
Tool Demonstration: Finding Duplicated Code Using Program Dependences

The results of several studies [1,7,8] indicate that 7-23% of the source code for large programs is duplicated code. Duplication makes programs harder to maintain because when enhancements or bug fixes are made in one instance of the duplicated code, it is necessary to search for the other instances in order to perform the corresponding modification.
Recognition and Delivery of ERAD Substrates to the Proteasome and Alternative Paths for Cell Survival

Endoplasmic reticulum-associated protein degradation (ERAD) is a protein quality control mechanism that minimizes the detrimental effects of protein misfolding in the secretory pathway. Molecular chaperones and ER lumenal lectins are essential components of this process because they maintain the solubility of unfolded proteins and can target ERAD substrates to the cytoplasmic proteasome. Other factors are likely required to aid in the selection of ERAD substrates, and distinct proteinaceous machineries are required for substrate retrotranslocation/dislocation from the ER and proteasome targeting. When the capacity of the ERAD machinery is exceeded or compromised, multiple degradative routes can be enlisted to prevent the detrimental consequences of ERAD substrate accumulation, which include cell death and disease.
Multipath time-delay estimation for long data records

We address the problem of multipath time-delay estimation. When the received data is very long compared to the transmitted signal, the data is expected to consist of a large number of paths. Modeling the entire data becomes computationally expensive. We propose a technique to break the data into short segments and model each segment individually without misfitting or truncating any paths at the ends of any segment. By effectively using overlapping segments, the estimates of time-delays are combined to model the entire data record. The method is extended to the case where only basebanded data are available. The proposed technique is demonstrated on an experimental sea-test data.
Mise en place d'un contrôle de gestion de l'informatique chez Hoffmann-La Roche, principes directeurs

In many large companies, the growth of end-user computing has led to a progressive loss of control of ressources involved in the IT function. Only increased transparency and the development of appropriate management tools will enable companies to manage the complexity of this function.
Stability of dissipative systems with applications to fluids and magnetofluids

An energy principle is presented which gives necessary and sufficient conditions for exponential stability for a useful class of continuous linear dissipative systems. The maximal growth rate Ω of an unstable system is shown to be the least upper bound of a certain functional, providing a variational expression for Ω. Applications to the problems of the stability of a stratified viscous incompressible fluid in a gravitational field and the resistive, viscous, incompressible magnetohydrodynamic sheet pinch are discussed.
COMPARISON OF TECHNICS FOR ESTIMATION OF ALBUMIN BY DETERMINATION OF ITS DYE-BINDING CAPACITY AND BY PAPER ELECTROPHORESIS.

Values for serum albumin obtained by the methyl orange and 2-(4’-hydroxyazobenzene) benzoic acid (HABA) dye-absorption methods have been compared with values obtained by Spinco Procedure B paper-electrophoresis system. A good correlation of albumin values has been found by the three methods in serums with albumin/globulin ratios ranging from 0.19 to 3.00. Modifications of the dye-absorption procedures are presented which permit use of reagents ordinarily employed for automatic analyses on small numbers of specimens. A decrease in ionic strength of the methyl orange buffer tends to increase the sensitivity of this procedure. Temperature affects the HABA dye/albumin reaction. Bilirubin, free hemoglobin, and lipid interfere with both dye procedures. Means for eliminating most of these interferences have been presented. The methyl orange procedure appears to be superior to the 2-(4 -hydroxyazobenzene) benzoic acid method for estimating albumin in icteric serum and serum containing macroglobulins. Albumin values of serum containing abnormal proteins were compared with values obtained by paper electrophoresis and both dye procedures. Estimation of albumin by the two dye procedures appears to be simple, precise, and fairly specific.
Serine Arginine-Rich Splicing Factor 1 (SRSF1) Contributes to the Transcriptional Activation of CD3ζ in Human T Cells.

T lymphocytes from many patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) express decreased levels of the T cell receptor (TCR)-associated CD3 zeta (ζ) signaling chain, a feature directly linked to their abnormal phenotype and function. Reduced mRNA expression partly due to defective alternative splicing, contributes to the reduced expression of CD3ζ chain. We previously identified by oligonucleotide pulldown and mass spectrometry approaches, the serine arginine-rich splicing factor 1 (SRSF1) binding to the 3’ untranslated region (UTR) of CD3ζ mRNA. We showed that SRSF1 regulates alternative splicing of the 3’UTR of CD3ζ to promote expression of the normal full length 3`UTR over an unstable splice variant in human T cells. In this study we show that SRSF1 regulates transcriptional activation of CD3ζ. Specifically, overexpression and silencing of SRSF1 respectively increases and decreases CD3ζ total mRNA and protein expression in Jurkat and primary T cells. Using promoter-luciferase assays, we show that SRSF1 enhances transcriptional activity of the CD3ζ promoter in a dose dependent manner. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays show that SRSF1 is recruited to the CD3ζ promoter. These results indicate that SRSF1 contributes to transcriptional activation of CD3ζ. Thus our study identifies a novel mechanism whereby SRSF1 regulates CD3ζ expression in human T cells and may contribute to the T cell defect in SLE.
Identification and characterization of the RAD51 gene from the ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila

The RAD51 gene is a eukaryotic homolog of rec A, a critical component in homologous recombination and DNA repair pathways in Escherichia coli . We have cloned the RAD51 homolog from Tetrahymena thermophila , a ciliated protozoan. Tetrahymena thermophila RAD51 encodes a 36.3 kDa protein whose amino acid sequence is highly similar to representative Rad51 homologs from other eukaryotic taxa. Recombinant Rad51 protein was purified to near homogeneity following overproduction in a bacterial expression system. The purified protein binds to both single- and double-stranded DNA, possesses a DNA-dependent ATPase activity and promotes intermolecular ligation of linearized plasmid DNA. While steady-state levels of Rad51 mRNA are low in normally growing cells, treatment with UV light resulted in a >100-fold increase in mRNA levels. This increase in mRNA was time dependent, but relatively independent of UV dose over a range of 1400-5200 J/m2. Western blot analysis confirmed that Rad51 protein levels increase upon UV irradiation. Exposure to the alkylating agent methyl methane sulfonate also resulted in substantially elevated Rad51 protein levels in treated cells, with pronounced localization in the macronucleus. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that ciliates such as T.thermophila utilize a Rad51-dependent pathway to repair damaged DNA.
Expanding the scale of forest management: allocating timber harvests in time and space

This study examined the effect of clustering timber harvest zones and of changing the land use categories of zones (dynamic zoning) over varying temporal and spatial scales. Focusing on the Hoosier National Forest (HNF) in Indiana, USA as a study area, I used a timber harvest allocation model to simulate four management alternatives. In the static zoning alternative, harvests were dispersed throughout the timber harvest land base (65% of HNF) for 15 decades. The three dynamic zoning alternatives varied in the degree to which harvests were clustered in time and space. Two levels of harvest intensity were simulated, and at each level of harvest intensity, the area harvested was held constant among all four zoning alternatives. The dynamic zoning strategies resulted in substantial increases in the amount of forest interior and reductions in the amount of forest edge across the landscape, as well as an increase in the average age of stands when harvested. The greatest reduction in fragmentation was produced by the alternative that most tightly clustered harvests in time and space (i.e. intensive harvesting of small blocks in a relatively short time). When harvest intensity was high, this alternative produced amounts of forest interior and edge comparable to those of the dispersed alternative with half the rate of harvest. The results suggest that the injection of dynamics in specifying disturbance regimes, and the clustering of disturbance in time and space, can be used to sustain larger blocks of mature forest than can static zoning. Dynamic zoning encourages explicit specification of the disturbance regimes that will be imposed across the land base over long periods of time.
Adjunctive topiramate in the maintenance treatment of bipolar disorders: an open-label study.

SUMMARYObjective: A considerable number of patients with bipolar disorder fail to respond completely to mood stabilizers. The anti-epileptic topiramate shares some pharmacological actions with carbamazepine and valproate. We therefore explored the efficacy and tolerability of topiramate in the prophylaxis of bipolar disorder.Methods: Fifty-six patients receiving outpatient treatment for bipolar affective disorder who had been on mood stabilizers, and had relapsed at least once in the past 12 months, were treated with topiramate in an add-on design and were evaluated for 1 year. Patients were assessed biweekly for the first 3 months and every month thereafter.Results: Fifty out of 56 patients completed the 1-year study, which indicated that adjunctive topiramate was associated with a significant reduction of new manic and depressive episodes compared to the past 12 months. The most common adverse effects were reduced appetite, fatigue and somnolence.Conclusions: This was an open-label, uncontrolled study i...
Calculation of coulombic lattice potentials: II. Spherical harmonic expansion of the Green function

The modified Green function appropriate for calculation of coulombic lattice potentials is developed in a spherical harmonic expansion. This is derived from the corresponding Ewald sum in Cartesian coordinates, by applying Gegenbauer's addition theorem for modified spherical Bessel functions to the screened Coulomb potentials resulting from Laplace transformation with respect to the scalar convergence parameter, and Bauer's expansion to the plane waves. It is useful where the charge-density distribution about each nucleus is represented by a spherical harmonic expansion. Radial coefficients of the spherical harmonics are attenuated exponentially, and orthogonality reduces determination of electrostatic lattice potentials to one-dimensional quadratures. This use of the Green function is contrasted with conventional approaches based on point-multipole representations, in which important information on the diffuseness of electronic charge density around the nuclei may be lost in the calculation of multipole coefficients. Possible applications of this result in electronic structure calculations are briefly discussed.
Short-Term Sensory Reduction Used as a Therapeutic Aid in Enhancement of Self-Concept

ventory one day .prior to and immediately following the experimental treatment. The duration .of the stimulus reduction experience was 40 mia and the taped message was designed to enhance self-concept. Results indicated that the sensorg reduction inhibited the enhancement of self-concept, whereas subjects who were presented the taped message in a normal sensory environment showed a significant enhancement of self-concept. It was hypothesized that the sensory reduction created a high level of anxiety which served to interfere with the effectiveness of the stimulus tape. One of the more interesting phenomena associated with exposure to a reduced sensory environment is the subsequent increase in "stimulus hunger" and persuasibility. Often referred to as sensory deprivation, among other terms, reduced stimulation has been shown to increase the effectiveness of taped messages in enhancing self-concept (Gibby & Adams, 1961) and in reducing alcohol intake (H. B. Adams & G. D. Cooper, personal communications, Jan. 31, 1978) and cigarette smoking (Suedfeld & Ikard, 1974). Suedfeld and Buchanan (1974) found exposure to a reduced sensory environment to be of therapeutic value in a desensitization procedure using visual slides. Also, Cooper, Adams, Dickinson, and York (1975) combined sensory reduction with the interviewer role-playing to produce positive changes in the behavior of hypochondriacal patients. Those investigations which have demonstrated the beneficial use of reduced stimulation in therapeutic settings have utilized exposure to a reduced sensory environment of two or more hours durntion. Demonstrating similar benefits in less than 1 hr. duration would augment the applied uses of sensory reduction. The present research investigated the effects of sensory reduction of 40 min. duration on the persuadability of subjects presented a taped message designed to enhance their self-concepts. It was hypothesized that subjects exposed to the reduced stimulation would experience a greater degree of "stimulus hunger" and be more persuadable than subjects in a normal sensory environment. Subjects presented the stimulus tape following exposure to the reduced sensory environ'The research presented in this paper was conducted as a Master's thesis under the direction of Dr. Thomas E. Long. The author is currently working on his doctorate in clinical psychology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061.
Solution structure of an 11-mer duplex containing the 3, N(4)-ethenocytosine adduct opposite 2'-deoxycytidine: implications for the recognition of exocyclic lesions by DNA glycosylases.

Lipid peroxidation products, as well as the metabolic products of vinyl chloride, react with cellular DNA producing the mutagenic adduct 3,N(4)-etheno-2'-deoxycytidine (epsilondC), along with several other exocyclic derivatives. High-resolution NMR spectroscopy and restrained molecular dynamics simulations were used to establish the solution structure of an 11-mer duplex containing an epsilondC.dC base-pair at its center. The NMR data suggested a regular right-handed helical structure having all residues in the anti orientation around the glycosydic torsion angle and Watson-Crick alignments for all canonical base-pairs of the duplex. Restrained molecular dynamics generated a three-dimensional model in excellent agreement with the spectroscopic data. The (epsilondC. dC)-duplex structure is a regular right-handed helix with a slight bend at the lesion site and no severe distortions of the sugar-phosphate backbone. The epsilondC adduct and its partner dC were displaced towards opposite grooves of the helix, resulting in a lesion-containing base-pair that was highly sheared but stabilized to some degree by the formation of a single hydrogen bond. Such a sheared base-pair alignment at the lesion site was previously observed for epsilondC.dG and epsilondC.T duplexes, and was also present in the crystal structures of duplexes containing dG.T and dG. U mismatches. These observations suggest the existence of a substrate structural motif that may be recognized by specific DNA glycosylases during the process of base excision repair.
Maternal investment in sons and daughters: problems of methodology

The prediction that mothers should invest more in sons than daughters was briefly examined in American bison (Bison bison) by Wolff (1988). He concluded that (a) male calves suckle more than females, (b) cows that had previously produced sons were more likely to be barren, and (c) cows that had male calves became estrous later in the year than other cows. In this paper we present data from two long term studies at different sites to show that Wolff's conclusions are equivocal at best and difficult to reconcile with predictions of the hypothesis because of questionable methods and assumptions.
Toxicity Study of Cytosine Arabinoside and Methotrexate in the Maintenance Therapy of Childhood Leukemia. A Southwest Oncology Group Study

In a toxicity study to determine the feasibility of treating patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) using an intravenous combination of cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C) and methotrexate (MTX), the drugs were given either simultaneously or sequentially every two weeks. Twenty-nine patients were studied, 17 treated simultaneously, 12 treated sequentially. The tolerated doses of Ara-C and MTX were 60 mg/m2 and 90 mg/m2, respectively, for the simultaneous treatment schedule and 90 mg/m2 and 150 mg/m2, respectively, for the sequential treatment schedule. The dose-limiting factor of the drug combination was gastrointestinal toxicity. The observed recurrent vomiting on both schedules rendered the treatment unsuitable for maintenance therapy.
Multiprocessing compactifying garbage collection

Algorithms for a multiprocessing compactifying garbage collector are presented and discussed. The simple case of two processors, one performing LISP-like list operations and the other performing garbage collection continuously, is thoroughly examined. The necessary capabilities of each processor are defined, as well as interprocessor communication and interlocks. Complete procedures for garbage collection and for standard list processing primitives are presented and thoroughly explained. Particular attention is given to the problems of marking and relocating list cells while another processor may be operating on them. The primary aim throughout is to allow the list processor to run unimpeded while the other processor reclaims list storage The more complex case involving several list processors and one or more garbage collection processors are also briefly discussed.
Atomistic computation of liquid diffusivity, solid-liquid interfacial free energy, and kinetic coefficient in Au and Ag

Molecular-dynamics simulations using interatomic potentials of the embedded atom method have been performed on pure Ag and Au to compute materials parameters which are necessary for continuum modeling of dendritic solidification. The liquid state diffusion coefficient has been determined for temperatures in the vicinity of the melting points and good agreement with experimental data available for Ag is found. The kinetic coefficients for Au and Ag have been determined by monitoring the velocity of the solid-liquid interface as a function of undercooling. Rates of crystallization for the 100 and 110 directions agree well with a model proposed by Broughton, Gilmer and Jackson [Phys. Rev. Lett. 49, 1496 (1982)] whereas the 111 direction exhibits a slower growth rate consistent with the presence of stacking fault clusters on the solid-liquid boundary, which anneal out during solidification. The solid-liquid interfacial free energy and its anisotropy have been obtained for Ag and Au by monitoring equilibrium fluctuations in the interface position. The fluctuation spectrum technique allows for an accurate determination of very small anisotropies in the interfacial energy and we find an anisotropy factor $1.0\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.3%$ for Ag and $1.6\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.3%$ for Au.
Multipolar Bubbles and Jets in Low-Excitation Planetary Nebulae: Toward a New Understanding of the Formation and Shaping of Planetary Nebulae*

First results from a Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 Hα imaging survey of young planetary nebulae (PNs) are reported. The PNs have been selected on the basis of their low excitation characteristics. All objects imaged so far show highly aspherical morphology, with a majority characterized by multipolar bubbles distributed roughly point-symmetrically around the central star. In some objects, bipolar ansae or collimated radial structures are seen, indicating the presence of jets, whereas in others bright structures near the minor axes indicate the presence of disks or torii. The complexity, organization, and symmetry of the above structures lead us to propose that the primary agent for shaping PNs is high-speed collimated outflows or jets that operate during the late asymptotic galactic branch (AGB) and/or early post-AGB evolutionary phase, and not a preexisting equatorial density enhancement as envisioned in the currently popular model. These outflows carve out a complex imprint within an intrinsically spherical AGB circumstellar envelope (CSE). Subsequent expansion of a hot, tenuous stellar wind from the post-AGB star inside the imprinted AGB CSE then produces the observed PN, whose shape and structure depend in detail on how the characteristics of the jets change with time.
Bafilomycin A1 Inhibits IL-1-Stimulated Proteoglycan Degradation by Chondrocytes Without Affecting Stromelysin Synthesis

Abstract Interleukin-1α (IL-1) stimulated the release of degraded proteoglycan from primary cultures of chondrocyte monolayers in a time- and dose-dependent fashion. Bafilomycin A 1 , a specific inhibitor of the vacuolar H + -ATPase, efficiently blocked acidification of the chondrocyte vacuolar system, Under these conditions, IL-1-stimulated proteoglycan degradation was inhibited by bafilomycin A 1 with an IC 50 of 1 could be added several hours after IL-1 and complete inhibition was still observed. Tumor necrosis factor-α and retinoic acid also stimulated proteoglycan degradation in chondrocyte monolayers, and in both cases the response was inhibited by bafilomycin A 1 . These results suggest that maintenance of vacuolar acidity is required for cytokine stimulated proteoglycan degradation and that this requirement is at a point distal to receptor binding and early signal transduction events. IL-1 also stimulated the synthesis and secretion of prostromelysin by chondrocyte monolayers, however, under conditions in which IL-1 stimulated proteoglycan release was totally blocked by bafilomycin A 1 , there was no effect on IL-1-stimulated stromelysin secretion or stromelysin enzyme activity, These results, in which stromelysin synthesis and proteoglycan degradation were dissociated, suggest that an additional enzyme is responsible for proteoglycan degradation in this chondrocyte monolayer system.
Potential applications of hierarchical branching nanowires in solar energy conversion

Nanoscience and nanotechnology can provide many benefits to photovoltaic and photoelectrochemical applications by combining novel nanoscale properties with processability and low cost. Taking advantage of high quality, high efficiency, yet low cost nanomaterials could potentially provide the new and transformative approaches to enable the proposed generation-III solar technologies. Nanowires are interesting because they have a long axis to absorb incident sunlight yet with a short radial distance to separate the photogenerated carriers. In this perspective, we further suggest that more “complex” nanostructures, both in the form of hierarchically branching/hyperbranching nanowire structures and in the form of multi-component nanowire heterostructures of diverse materials, are potentially even more interesting for solar energy harvesting and conversion. The common bottom-up synthetic techniques to induce branching in nanowires to form hierarchical nanowire structures are reviewed. Several potential strategies for their incorporation into solar conversion devices are discussed and some fundamental issues and future directions are identified.
NAO influence on sub-decadal moisture variability over central North America

[1] A strong statistically significant spectral peak with a frequency of 7-8 years is computed for tree-ring reconstructed summer PDSI averaged at continental and regional scales over North America for the period 1645-1990. A similar, though non-significant spectral peak is computed for instrumental summer PDSI averaged over North America for the shorter period from 1900-1990. The winter NAO index (1781-2002) has a very strong spectral signature at this same 7-8 year sub-decadal frequency and is coherent with summer PDSI across a broad sector of the central U.S. Composite analyses confirm a PDSI response to extremes of the NAO over the central U.S., with drought prevalent during negative extremes, and wetness during positive extremes. The winter NAO index leads summer PDSI and a contingency table analysis indicates that extrema in the winter NAO index may have modest forecast value for the following spring-summer moisture regimes over the central U.S.
Brief paper: Extraction of 3D stability switching hypersurfaces of a time delay system with multiple fixed delays

Stability switching hypersurfaces (SSH) of a general class of linear time invariant (LTI) multiple time delay systems (MTDS) are extracted. The number of delays @? and system order n"0 in this problem are given but they are arbitrarily large. Hence, the extraction of SSH becomes non-trivial. A novel and efficient procedure reveals the 3D projections of @?-dimensional SSH, without the need for finding the SSH. In achieving this, computation times required remain in the same order of magnitude independently of @? and n"0. Case studies demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach.
Natural death and Christian fasting

The Christian has a unique resource for responding to the problem of how competent adults can exercise responsibly the right to control the last stages of their living/dying. Recent natural death legislation offers only a partial solution, because it does not specify what counts as life-sustaining procedures which may be discontinued if the individual fills out a directive to the physician. One of the most troublesome questions continues to be whether the withholding or withdrawal of artificial feeding, or indeed natural feeding, is ever justifiable. An adaptation of principles included in the Christian idea of fasting seems to provide adequate criteria for determining when forgoing nourishment by the terminally ill adult is morally justifiable.
Social and political trust in Istanbul and Moscow: a comparative analysis of individual and neighbourhood effects

Aiming to bring local context into studies of social capital, our study uses samples of 4006 individuals in Istanbul and 3476 in Moscow using a comparable questionnaire. The stratification of each city's neighbourhoods on the basis of socio-economic characteristics provided the basis for the sampling. Using a multilevel modelling procedure, we show both that locality matters (neighbourhood effect proved significant) and that social capital may indeed be constituted in very particular ways in illiberal democracies such as Russia and Turkey. Social and political trust are frequently thought to contribute to social capital – that is, to provide social resources upon which individuals or groups may draw for their political efficacy. Trust in fellow citizens in Istanbul exhibits a positive relationship to associational activities (joining clubs etc.), while in Moscow social trust can be explained predominantly in terms of (lower) socio-economic status. At the same time, important similarities emerged between the two cases. For social trust, in both cities the ‘cosmopolitanization thesis’, which holds that those who associate more widely are also more trusting of fellow citizens, generally applied. Further, in both cities, residents with lower socio-economic status (though in Moscow this is complicated by education) and lower likelihoods of engagement in direct political action were more trustful of parliament. While this is the opposite of what we have been led to expect based on Western democratic polities, it is a reasonable outcome of illiberal democratic governance operating in these two cities.
Immunobiology of Transplantation: Impact on Targets for Large and Small Molecules

Organ transplantation is the preferred method of treatment for many forms of end-stage organ failure. However, immunosuppressive drugs that are used to avoid rejection can result in numerous undesirable effects (infection, malignancy, hypertension, diabetes, and accelerated arteriosclerosis). Moreover, they are not effective at preventing chronic rejection resulting in late graft loss. This review summarizes the fundamental concepts underlying the rejection of solid-organ allografts with the aim of highlighting potential new targets for therapeutics. Future improvement will depend on new therapeutic moieties, including biologics, to target various pathways of both the innate and adaptive arms of immunity. Results from some of the most recent clinical trials in transplantation and emerging new therapies are also discussed. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (2011) 90 2, 229–242. doi:10.1038/clpt.2011.106
Utility of the Omentum in the Reconstruction of Complex Extraperitoneal Wounds and Defects: Donor-Site Complications in 135 Patients from 1975 to 2000

The greater omentum, with its immunologic and angiogenic properties, 1–3 can be used to reconstruct a diverse range of extraperitoneal wounds and defects. Infected, irradiated, and ischemic wounds are particularly amenable to reconstruction with the omentum due to its large surface area, pliability, malleable volume, generous pedicle length, and extremely rich blood supply. 4 In addition to such esoteric uses as a soft tissue filler for hemifacial atrophy (Fig. 1), 5,6 cerebral revascularization for moyamoya disease (Fig. 2), 7 and resurfacing soft tissue avulsions of the hand (Fig. 3), the omentum has emerged as a reliable “salvage” flap for failed reconstructions. The omentum may be used as a primary flap for massive sternotomy wounds and for complex head and neck defects after trauma or oncologic resection. Figure 1. Hemifacial atrophy. Pre- and postoperative views (A) after left hemifacial reconstruction, with 20-year follow-up (B) depicting excellent long-term symmetry, with preservation of facial nerve function. Figure 2. Moyamoya disease. Preoperative computed tomography scan (A) showing advanced cerebral atrophy (due to an obliterative endarteritis) in a 4-year-old boy with poorly controlled seizures (B). The cortex was indirectly revascularized with a free ... Figure 3. Hand soft tissue avulsion. Complete soft tissue avulsion of the hand (A), from an industrial sorting machine, resurfaced via free omental transfer and split-thickness skin graft (B). After successful wound closure (C), the patient underwent ... Despite this versatility and relative ease of harvest, the rate of donor-site complications remains potentially considerable and has not been fully determined. This possibility for intraabdominal complications, combined with the need for laparotomy or laparoscopy, has been cited as a relative contraindication to the use of the omentum as a reconstructive flap. Further, few large series with long-term results have been reported. 8–16 Finally, indications for the use of the omentum have varied and remain incompletely defined. 17–25 The purpose of this retrospective analysis was to review a single-institution, 25-year experience with the omentum in extraperitoneal reconstruction. We focused on donor-site complications, general complications, and recipient site outcomes to determine whether the omentum can be safely harvested and reliably used to reconstruct a broad range of challenging wounds and defects. Based on these long-term results and donor-site complications, we identify and provide specific indications for the use of the omentum as a reconstructive flap.
Early protein malnutrition in the rat: behavioral changes during rehabilitation.

Behavioral development was studied in 2 groups of rats during the postweaning period. Pups were selected from litters nursed by dams fed either a standard protein (25% casein by weight) or a low protein diet (12% casein) during lactation. Two pups from each litter were housed together and fed the control diet throughout rehabilitation Behavioral observations were made by repeated time-lapse photography at 5-day intervals. Differences in h ome cage behavior were observed at the onset of rehabilitation in the postnatally malnourished rats. Increased feeding behavior was observed during the 1st week of rehabilitation. Locomotor behavior was depressed during the rehabilitation period in the experimental animals. Climbing activity, however, was significantly greater. Self-grooming activity was elevated throughout rehabilitation in post-natally malnourished animals. During the course of rehabilitation, the behavioral differences between the 2 groups gradually disappeared.
Core compression in sandwich beams under contact loading

Failure of the core in sandwich structures under concentrated loading is of potential concern, and it is difficult to compute the core compressive stress by simple means. Contact loading adds additional complexity, as surface displacements are imposed and the contact zone size and pressure distribution is initially unknown. However contact loading is important as it is widely used in three or four point bend tests to determine failure properties, and is also typically involved in impact loading. The calculation of core compressive stress was addressed in the present work by utilizing an elasticity solution due to Pagano and Srinivas and Rao for transverse loading of layered orthotropic materials. Contact pressure distributions were obtained by systematically varying pressures and comparing the computed surface displacements with the indentor profile. The results show that the pressure distribution for an orthotropic half-space is applicable to sandwich beams over a wide range of variables. A beam-on-elastic-foundation model was found to be useful in correlating the analysis results for core compressive stress.
Farnesyltransferase inhibitors: antineoplastic properties, mechanisms of action, and clinical prospects

Farnesyltransferase (FTase) inhibitors are among the current wave of molecularly targeted anti-cancer agents being used to attack malignancy in a rational manner. A large body of preclinical data indicates that FTase inhibitors block cancer cell proliferation through both cytostatic and cytotoxic effects. Interestingly, FTase inhibitors have rather limited effects on normal cell function, suggesting that they may target unique aspects of cancer cell pathophysiology. The development of FTase inhibitors was predicated on the discovery that the Ras oncoproteins must be post-translationally modified to transform cells. However, recent work indicates that the anti-neoplastic effects of FTase inhibitors depend on altering the post-translational modifications of non-Ras proteins as well. In particular, a critical target protein that responds to FTase inhibition by blocking tumor cell growth is RhoB, an endosomal Rho protein that functions in receptor trafficking. In this review, we survey the biological foundations for the clinical development of FTase inhibitors, and consider some of the latest mechanistic studies that reveal how these agents affect cellular physiology.
Power harvesting from transverse galloping of square cylinder

The concept of exploiting galloping of square cylinders to harvest energy is investigated. The energy is harvested by attaching a piezoelectric transducer to the transverse degree of freedom. A representative model that accounts for the coupled cylinder displacement and harvested voltage is used to determine the levels of the harvested power. The focus is on the effect of the Reynolds number on the aerodynamic force, the onset of galloping, and the level of the harvested power. The quasi steady approximation is used to model the aerodynamic loads. A linear analysis is performed to determine the effects of the electrical load resistance and the Reynolds number on the onset of galloping, which is due to a Hopf bifurcation. We derive the normal form of the dynamic system near the onset of galloping to characterize the type of the instability and to determine the effects of the system parameters on its outputs near the bifurcation. The results show that the electrical load resistance and the Reynolds number play an important role in determining the level of the harvested power and the onset of galloping. The results also show that the maximum levels of harvested power are accompanied with minimum transverse displacements for both low- and high-Reynolds number configurations.
Role of Glutamatergic Projections from Ventral Tegmental Area to Lateral Habenula in Aversive Conditioning

The ventral tegmental area (VTA) plays roles in both reward and aversion. The participation of VTA in diverse behaviors likely reflects its heterogeneous neuronal phenotypes and circuits. Recent findings indicate that VTA GABAergic neurons that coexpress tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) projecting to lateral habenula (LHb) play a role in reward. In addition to these mesohabenular TH-GABAergic neurons, the VTA has many neurons expressing vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (VGluT2) that also project to LHb. To determine the behavioral role of mesohabenular VGluT2 neurons, we targeted channelrhodopsin2 to VTA VGluT2 neurons of VGluT2::Cre mice. These mice were tested in an apparatus where moving into one chamber stimulated VTA VGluT2 projections within the LHb, and exiting the chamber inactivated the stimulation. We found that mice spent significantly less time in the chamber where VGluT2 mesohabenular fiber stimulation occurred. Mice that received injections of mixed AMPA and NMDA glutamate receptor antagonists in LHb were unresponsive to VGluT2-mesohabenular fiber stimulation, demonstrating the participation of LHb glutamate receptors in mesohabenular stimulation-elicited aversion. In the absence of light stimulation, mice showed a conditioned place aversion to the chamber that was previously associated with VGluT2-mesohabenular fiber stimulation. We conclude that there is a glutamatergic signal from VTA VGluT2-mesohabenular neurons that plays a role in aversion by activating LHb glutamatergic receptors.
Abstract A99: Evaluation of the effects of naproxen in human colon polyp cells using gene expression and pathway analysis

Cultures of human colon polyp cells were treated with naproxen to determine its potential efficacy as a chemopreventive agent for colon cancer. The exposures and naproxen concentration used were selected to be similar to the anticipated exposures that would be used in a clinical trial. We treated the human precancerous colon polyp cell line, VACO-235, with naproxen at a clinically achievable concentration of 1 µg/mL. The exposure was continuous over 96 hr with treatment media replenishment every 24 hr. This treatment allowed the naproxen induced changes in the cultures to reach a steady state prior to the assessing gene expression levels. For the gene expression analysis, five separate cultures were used to generate five arrays for the control and treated cultures. Gene expression was assessed using Human gene 1.0 ST arrays from Affymetrix (Santa Clara, CA). The quality of the data from each array was assessed using the manufacturer9s software and no outliers were found. Gene expression was assessed using JMP Genomics 4.1 (Cary, NC). The relative gene expression in naproxen treated cultures was compared to the matched controls. Pathway analysis was done using Ariadne Genomics, Pathway Studio 7.1 (Rockville, MD). The data were evaluated using pathway analysis to identify pathway specific changes that were relevant to regulation of growth, metabolism, cell cycle regulation, and cancer. Of the forty-one functional classes and cellular processes associated with the notch pathway, thirty-two showed reduced gene expression or function. In the growth factor receptor pathway associated with AP-1, CREB/CREBBP/ELK-SRF/Myc signaling, thirty-eight of forty-five genes, transcription factors, or functional classes were reduced in expression. Naproxen showed inhibition of genes related to transcription of oncogenes including Ras, Fos, Myc, Jun, Vav1, ELK1, ELK4, multiple map kinases, and TGFBR1 signaling. The data suggest that 96 hr continuous exposure to naproxen at a relevant human serum level was sufficient to reduce the expression of genes in pathways that relate to cancer and growth in the Human colon polyp cells. Supported by NCI contract #N01-CN-43300. Citation Information: Cancer Prev Res 2010;3(12 Suppl):A99.
Application of nuclear particle tracks: a scanning X-ray microscope

The scanning x-ray microscope (SXM) is a short-wavelength analog of a near-field optical-scanning microscope, promising spatial resolution of {approximately}100{angstrom} up to {approximately}5 keV x-ray energy. A portion of a synchrotron x-ray beam streams through an etched nuclear particle track in an opaque membrane and impinges on an object within the narrow stream. Scattered or transmitted x-rays are detected with a photon counter. The SXM is feasible because a useful number of synchrotron x-rays, even from a bend magnet, will stream through a small diameter pore. The properties and limitations of the SXM are discussed together with other submicroscopic applications of nuclear particle tracks. 14 refs., 8 figs., 1 tab.