cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Two-parameter atmospheric model for ACQUIRE

An unofficial modification to the U.S. Army's ACQUIRE v.0 range performance model is presented. This modification allows a two-parameter atmospheric transmission model to be invoked at the user's discretion that more accurately represents broad-band atmospheric transmission. Calibration of the two-parameter model to MODTRAN7 predictions for several standard atmospheres in different LWIR and MWIR wavebands is performed. Evaluation of differences in range prediction between Beer's Law and the two-parameter model is done.© (1995) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
In the name of Shakespeare: Cross-cultural adaptation in Taiwan’s Beijing Opera

, also known as classical Chinese opera or sung drama, had been the major entertainment in the traditional Chinese society. In Taiwan, Beijing opera as ‘National Drama’ had long enjoyed resources far more than other xiqu genres. However, with the rapid transformation of socioeconomic structure, xiqu experienced drastic decline in audience in the face of Western culture. The call for a “modernized” xiqu became imperative. Under such circumstances, the Contemporary Legend Theater company (CLT) came to the fore. It was founded by a Beijing opera practitioner Wu and his wife Lin, a modern dancer. The debut Kingdom of Desire in 1986, adapted from Macbeth, stirred great excitement in Taipei, and later the play toured around the world. While displaying the legacy of xiqu performance, the couple aimed to go beyond the boundary of Beijing opera and search for a new genre that can reach a wider audience. Their subsequent productions are also adaptations of Western canonical plays, such as Medea, the Oresteia and King Lear. While the marketing strategy of the CLT often stresses jingles such as “When the East meets the West,” intercultural performance as such reveals a double consciousness of the performers, who see themselves through the eyes of the (Western) others. The paper attempts to discuss the meaning of Shakespeare in the CLT’s intercultural adaptations and further examine the politics hidden behind this phenomenon of intercultural adaptation in Taiwan. I explore if such seemingly self-orientalizing adaptation contains resistance to globalization.
A model of cardiac nociception in chronically instrumented rats: behavioral and electrophysiological effects of pericardial administration of algogenic substances

Abstract This report presents evidence that pericardial administration of a mixture of algogenic substances is a potentially useful model of cardiac nociception. In awake rats in which a looped silicone catheter had been placed in the pericardial sac at least 5 days previous, administration of a mixture containing equal concentrations of bradykinin (BK), acetylcholine (ACh), adenosine (ADEN), histamine (HIST), serotonin (5-HT) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) (total 25 nmol in 25 μl) led to rapid acquisition of a passive avoidance behavior. In contrast, neither BK alone (5–25 nmol) nor the same mixture of ACh, ADEN, HIST, 5-HT and PGE2without BK led to acquisition of the behavior or produced effects significantly different than produced by saline given into the pericardial sac in the same volume (25 μl). Both BK and the mixture containing BK produced dose-dependent cardiovascular responses (pressor response and tachycardia) of similar magnitude. Neither saline nor the mixture without BK produced significant changes in mean arterial blood pressure or heart rate.In electrophysiological experiments in the same rats, thoracic spinal cord neurons responded dose-dependently to the mixture and, except for one neuron, responded also to BK in a dose-dependent manner. However, responses to BK, when compared to a similar dosage of BK contained in the mixture, were significantly less in magnitude and duration. All units received convergent somatic input from the thorax and all neurons also received convergent input from the esophagus. Balloon distension of the esophagus excited all units.Results of the behavioral characterization of algogenic substances administered into the pericardial sac of awake rats gave evidence of differences between the effects of BK and a mixture of six substances, including BK. BK in either of two dosages tested produced effects not different than saline while the mixture containing BK was aversive. In complementary electrophysiological studies, both BK and the mixture containing BK excited thoracic spinal cord neurons, suggesting that neuron responses to putative algogenic substances are not necessarily reliable measures of cardiac nociception.
EROSION MECHANISM IN DUCTILE METALS

Abstract The removal of material from the surface of a ductile metal by small impacting particles is a design consideration to the builders of synthetic fuels plants that utilize pulverized coal to produce gaseous forms of fuel. A series of room temperature experiments was conducted to determine the mechanism of material removal when an erosive particle stream impacted on a ductile metal surface. Al 1100-0 metal and Al 7075-T6 alloy were used for the target and 600 μm SiC particles moving at a velocity of 100 ft s−1 in air were used for the eroding stream. It was found that a combined forgingextrusion mechanism which produces small highly distressed platelets of target material that are knocked off the surface by succeeding particle impacts is responsible for erosion at both low and high impingement angles. The large strains that produce the platelets occur in a thin surface region which is heated near to or to the annealing temperature of the metal as a result of adiabatic shear deformation. Beneath the soft surface layer there is a region that has been cold worked by impact-particle-induced plastic deformation. This hard subsurface layer, once formed, increases the efficiency of platelet formation at the surface and the erosion rate increases to a constant level. This proposed mechanism is a significant departure from the previously accepted micromachining mechanism of ductile metal erosion.
Use of highly active antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected women: Impact of HIV specialist care

OBJECTIVES To evaluate factors associated with use of HIV specialist care by women, and to determine whether medical indications for therapy validate lower rates of antiretroviral use in women not using HIV specialty care. DESIGN Cross-sectional analysis of the 1998 interview from the HIV Epidemiology Research Study (HERS) cohort. METHODS Data from 273 HIV-infected women in the HERS were analyzed by multiple logistic regression to calculate predictors of the use of HIV specialist care providers. Variables included study site, age, education, insurance status, income, substance abuse, depression, AIDS diagnosis, CD4 + lymphocyte count, and HIV-1 viral load. In addition, medical indications for therapy and medical advice to begin antiretroviral therapy were assessed. RESULTS Of 273 women, 222 (81%) used HIV specialists and 51 (19%) did not. Having health insurance, not being an injection drug user, and being depressed were predictive of using HIV specialist care (all p < or = .05). Although medical indications for therapy in the two groups were comparable, the rate of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) use was significantly higher in women using HIV specialist care (27%) compared with those not using HIV specialists (7.8%). Women using HIV specialists received significantly more advice to begin antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the 6 months prior to the interview compared with those not using specialists (relative risk, 2.4; 95% CI = 1.3-4.6). CONCLUSIONS Having insurance, not being an injection drug user, and being depressed all increased the likelihood of women receiving HIV specialty care, which, in turn, increased the likelihood of receiving recommended therapies. The level of HAART use (23%) and any ART use (47%) in these HIV-infected women was disturbingly low. Despite comparable medical indications, fewer women obtaining care from other than HIV specialists received HAART. These data indicate substantial gaps in access to HIV specialist care and thereby to currently recommended antiretroviral treatment.
Private Information, Public Sources: How to Work the FDIC

This article examines the bank rating system known as CAMELS. Although the information about these ratings can be difficult to locate, the author discusses finding it through the FDIC and suggests there may be ways to obtain profits utilizing this information in certain investment strategies.
Urban School Reform, Family Support, and Student Achievement.

Teachers and other education professionals find themselves in schools and districts bombarded by reforms—each one purporting to improve student achievement, particularly in reading and mathematics. This article lays the political economic groundwork of student achievement in urban areas in an attempt to contextualize the studies of literacy in this issue of Reading & Writing Quarterly: Overcoming Learning Difficulties. As long as school reforms do not address the economic obstacles facing students from low-income families, significant, sustainable improvements in academic achievement in urban public schools and districts will remain beyond reach. However, financial and other social supports to low-income urban families can and do significantly increase the achievement of the children in those families. It is hoped that literacy reforms and other education reforms will take to heart the economic and social realities of schooling and act on them.
A Categorization Model of Requirements Based on Max-Neef's Model of Human Needs

Requirements categorization is an inherent part of the requirements engineering activity. Conventional approaches use a designer perspective requirements organized according to design needs or attributes, a contractual perspective requirements organized according to procurement or acquisition needs, or a combination of both. Such models present several inconveniences that result in limitation of system affordability: facilitate the generation of overlapping requirements, of design-dependent requirements, and of a mix of requirements applicable to different levels of the architecture decomposition or to different products. The present research proposes a Need-based Categorization NbC model that is system-centric: Requirements are organized around the system. Inspired by Max-Neef's model of human needs, the proposed model supports requirement elicitation by defining only what the system does, how well, where, and what it uses to accomplish it. The model facilitates the identification of constraints that limit the solution tradespace without supporting the satisfaction of new needs, of overlapping requirements, and of requirements that are not applicable to the system. Finally, the proposed model defines requirements in subsets that are associated with value to stakeholders, thus reflecting the actual dependency nature of requirements at a given level of an architecture decomposition, which promotes holistic decisions instead of local optimizations.
Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing of Mycobacterium fortuitum Complex

A total of 24 strains of the Mycobacterium fortuitum complex were tested for susceptibility to antimicrobial agents by the disk diffusion and agar dilution techniques. By comparing zones of inhibition obtained with the disk diffusion technique with results of minimal inhibitory concentration determinations, it was shown that disk diffusion results could predict in vitro susceptibility to selected antimicrobial agents. All of 17 strains of M. fortuitum were susceptible to ≤1 μg of amikacin per ml. The corresponding average zone of inhibition around a 10-μg amikacin disk was 37 mm. Seven M. chelonei strains were more resistant to amikacin, with minimal inhibitory concentrations ranging from 1 to 32 μg/ml, and the corresponding average zone size was 21 mm. Susceptibility of both M. fortuitum and M. chelonei to tetracycline was variable and none of the M. chelonei strains was inhibited by polymyxin B, whereas M. fortuitum strains consistently had zones of inhibition around the polymyxin disk. It appears that identification to species of the M. fortuitum complex may be of importance with regard to antibiotic susceptibility. Separation of M. fortuitum and M. chelonei was readily accomplished in the present study by the nitrate reduction and 3-day arylsulfatase tests.
Integrating Responses across Surveys Using Item Response Theory

This short note proposes and demonstrates the application of an Item Response Theory model to integrate responses across surveys. A preliminary illustration of the model is provided using three union attitude surveys with a total sample of 3,148. Advantages of applying Item Response Theory to survey data are discussed and directions for further use of the model are indicated.
The application of a fractal model to the scattering of ultrasound in biological media

The implications of a fractal model of medium structure for the angular dependence of the ultrasonic differential scattering cross section and for the frequency dependence of the total ultrasonic scattering cross section are explored. The results for the differential scattering cross section agree well with published experimental values for liver and those for the total scattering cross section are not inconsistent with the literature data.
Retinoids and carotenoids in bovine pineal gland.

Abstract The retinoids and carotenoids in bovine pineal gland were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatographic methods. The major retinoid observed was all-trans retinol, with an average level of 579 pmol/g wet tissue. In agreement with a previous report, retinal was not detected; however, we could not detect any retinyl ester in bovine pineal gland. Methods similar to those used in studying metabolism of vitamin A in the bovine eye were used to study the esterification and isomerization reactions of retinoids in the pineal gland. Neither esterification nor isomerization reactions occurred. These results suggest that the key retinoids and enzymes involved in visual function are absent in the bovine pineal gland. The major carotenoid, which has not previously been reported in pineal gland, was β-carotene at an average level of 1830 pmol/g wet tissue.
Looking Back Ahead

Last year, I had to take my second 10-year recertification examination. Being an emergency physician has always been one of the things I’m most proud of. Recertification made me fearful. Because of professional choices I had made, I had not provided direct patient care for more than 6 years. I work with emergency physicians and practice issues around the country. But more than just study for the certification examination, I wanted to regain the passion and camaraderie of practicing emergency medicine at the bedside. A few years ago, I rejoined the emergency medicine faculty at Emory University and Grady Memorial Hospital and settled down into clinical practice. Preparing for American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) examination was a chance to fully reengage in my specialty and to observe changes throughout the past decade. Reentering the clinical practice world was like stepping through time. Each shift continues to provide insights, but within hours of entering today’s emergency departments (EDs), one quickly notices significant changes from just 10 to 15 years ago. As we celebrate ACEP’s 40th anniversary, it is worthwhile to share these observations. Some are changes in the health care landscape, some are specific to emergency medicine practice, and some involve changes to emergency physicians themselves. When I entered government service in the 1990s, overseeing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), emergency medicine was not well defined in the public eye. During the vetting process for my confirmation hearing, congressmen would ask me whether I was a surgeon or an internist just working in the ED. Others asked when I would complete my training and become a rightful member of the health care system. Now, people better understand and appreciate the specialty. Emergency care is clearly more stressful than before, and this is not simply a product of years away. Time pressures have always been present, but today’s demands are now excessive. The ED has been transformed from a place that admitted patients to the hospital so that they could be evaluated to a place to evaluate patients to see whether they can be admitted. The expansion of diagnostic and therapeutic options requires diagnoses to be specific. As an example, myocardial infarction must be quickly divided into types (ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction [STEMI] versus non-STEMI), location,
Transnational Immigration and Education: A Case Study of an Ethiopian Immigrant High School Student

There is a need to develop greater understanding of the transnational nature of immigrant students’ experiences. This article explores the complex factors, both individual and social, that contribute to the resiliency and academic achievement of an Ethiopian student enrolled in a small high school in the United States. The study examines the student’s pre-and post-immigration experiences with a particular focus on family and school context. The goal was to understand the factors that contributed to his resiliency and to identify practical strategies for supporting the academic and social success of immigrant students.
Pentobarbital sodium inhibits calcium uptake in vascular smooth muscle

This report demonstrates that the commonly used anesthetic agent, pentobarbital sodium, in concentrations of 1 . 10(-4) to 2 . 10(-3) M inhibits calcium (Ca2+) uptake in both rat aortic and portal venous smooth muscle. The data indicate that total exchangeable Ca2+ in portal vein is reduced by about 15% in 1 . 10(-4) M pentobarbital sodium, while the intracellular exchangeable Ca2+ is reduced by 24%. On the other hand, in aortic smooth muscle, while 5--20 . 10(-4) M pentobarbital sodium reduces total exchangeable Ca2+ by about 15%, intracellular Ca2+ is reduced by 22% in 5 . 10(-4) M pentobarbital sodium and by 38% in 2 . 10(-3) M pentobarbital sodium. The present studies thus reveal that concentrations of pentobarbital sodium known to be present during induction of surgical anesthesia can exert significant inhibitory effects on exchangeability and transmembrane movement of Ca2+ in at least two different types of blood vessels.
The distribution of estrogen receptor β mRNA in male and female green anole lizards

Abstract Estrogens are critical for a variety of aspects of brain development and adult processes. These steroids act via receptors within specific tissues. Several estrogen receptors (ER) are thought to exist, including ERα and ERβ, which function via classical, genomic mechanisms. These two ERs are found in a variety of species and are critical to diverse functions, including reproductive behaviors. ERβ was discovered more recently than ERα, and very little work has been done on this receptor in reptiles. Currently no data are available on its distribution in the brain in this vertebrate group. Here, we have cloned ERβ in the green anole lizard, mapped its distribution using in situ hybridization, and quantified expression in three brain areas controlling reproductive behaviors—the preoptic area, ventromedial amygdala (AMY), and ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH). ERβ was detected in discrete areas throughout the anole brain, with high levels in limbic regions and motor nuclei in the brainstem. Females had a greater density of ERβ positive cells in the AMY and VMH than males. While the functional consequences of these differences are not clear, they may result in an increased ability to respond to local levels of estradiol. The present work documents that neural ERβ is distributed similarly in reptilian, rodent and avian species, suggesting that it may perform similar roles. However, more work is necessary to elucidate the function of ERβ in this group.
Orientalist Knowledge and Social Theories: China and the European Conceptions of East‐West Differences from 1600 to 1900

This paper examines the long-term development of Orientalism as an intellectual field, with the European learning of China between ca.1600 and ca.1900 as an exemplary case. My analysis will be aided by a theoretical framework based on a synthesis of the world-system and network perspectives on long-run intellectual change. Analyzing recurrent debates on China within European intellectual circles, I demonstrate that the Western conception of the East has been oscillating between universalism and particularism, and between naive idealization and racist bias. This oscillation is a function as much of the changing political economy of the capitalist world-system as of the endogenous politics of the intellectual field. Despite their contrasting views, both admirers and despisers of the East viewed non-Western civilizations as uniform wholes that had never changed. I argue that the fundamental fallacy of Orientalism lay, not in its presumptions about the ontological differences between East and West and the for...
Evidence for mitochondrial and cytoplasmic N-acetylaspartate synthesis in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells.

Abstract N-acetylaspartate (NAA) is synthesized predominantly in neurons, and brain homogenate subfractionation studies suggest that biosynthesis occurs at both microsomal (cytoplasmic) and mitochondrial sites. We investigated NAA synthesis in SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells using distinct metabolic precursors that are preferentially metabolized in mitochondria and cytoplasm. Incorporation of 14C-aspartate and 14C-malate into NAA was examined in the presence and absence of an inhibitor (aminooxyacetic acid, AOAA) of aspartate aminotransferase (AAT), a central enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of aspartate in mitochondria, and degradation of aspartate in the cytoplasm. AOAA increased the incorporation of 14C-aspartate into NAA, reflecting direct aspartate → NAA synthesis in an extramitochondrial location. As expected, AOAA decreased incorporation of 14C-malate into NAA, reflecting NAA synthesis in mitochondria via the malate → oxaloacetate → aspartate → NAA pathway. When 14C-malate was used as substrate, the 14C-NAA/14C-aspartate ratio was over 20-fold higher than the ratio obtained with 14C-aspartate. Because NAA can only be synthesized from aspartate, the higher 14C-NAA/14C-aspartate (product/substrate) ratio obtained with 14C-malate suggests greater NAA biosynthetic activity. We conclude that NAA biosynthesis occurs in both the cytoplasm and mitochondria of SH-SY5Y cells, and that the contribution from the mitochondrial compartment is quantitatively larger than that in the extramitochondrial compartment.
Lack of prenatal testosterone surge in fetal rats exposed to alcohol: alterations in testicular morphology and physiology

Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were administered a liquid alcohol diet (35% ethanol-derived calories), a pair-fed isocaloric diet, or dry food pellets beginning on Day 14 of gestation and continuing until parturition. Testosterone levels in male fetuses were measured on Days 17 through 20 of gestation. The normal surge of testosterone on Days 18 and 19 was present in controls, but notably absent in male fetuses exposed to alcohol. Light microscopic examination of the testes at birth revealed a reduction in the number of leydig cells in the alcohol exposed group and the presence of a large number of vacuoles in the seminiferous tubules. In vitro studies of fetal testes at 18 and 22 days of gestation revealed that this in utero alcohol exposure regimen produced a marked insensitivity to rat LH (10 ng/ml) stimulation of testosterone secretion compared to controls. The response to ethanol (160 mg/dl) in alcohol exposed testes was characterized by a long-lasting suppression of testosterone compared to a large increase observed in control testes. No differences in anogenital distance were observed among the groups. Together, these data may explain some of the long-term feminizing and demasculinizing effects on reproductive and nonreproductive sexually dimorphic behaviors observed in adult males prenatally exposed to alcohol.
Dynamic IR properties of Fe(CO)3(η4-2,5-norbornadiene) and its radical anion

Abstract A variable temperature specular reflectance cell for thin layer spectroelectrochemistry (SEC) in the infrared and UV–Vis regions was employed to study the reduction of neutral Fe(CO)3(η4-NBD) (1) (NBD=2,5-norbornadiene) to its radical-anion Fe(CO)3(η4-NBD) (1 −). Together 1 and 1 − comprise an unusual case where a dynamic contribution to IR spectral features can be observed in one redox state (1), but not the other (1 −).
Distributional results for special cases of the jolly-seber model

The multinomial-binomial approach to the Jolly-Seber capture- recapture model is used as a basis to derive explicit probability distributions for special cases of the Jolly-Seber model:no recruitment, or no mortality. Also given are the residual distributions that allow tests of these restricted models compared to the general Jolly-Seber model. Losses on capture are allowed. The special case distribution is also derived for no recruitment and no mortality, but allowing losses on capture; this is a generalized version of Darroch's closed capture-recapture model. Here, however, it was not possible to obtain a closed form residual distribution.
The ABCs of Mutual Funds: On the Introduction of Multiple Share Classes

We study a significant innovation with widespread consequences for the mutual fund industry: The introduction of multiple-class funds that give investors a choice among alternative load and fee structures. The transition to a multiple-class structure represents an important step in the evolution of the mutual fund industry. It also provides a well-controlled setting for research on the structure of funds, on investor clienteles and their impact on fund performance and, more generally, about the manner in which financial innovations tend to be adopted. We develop a simple model of a fund’s decision on whether and when to introduce new classes and empirically investigate the model’s predictions that: (a) Funds with more skilled management, less sensitivity of flows to performance, smaller size, higher existing loads and membership in larger families are better positioned to benefit and, therefore, more likely to switch to a multiple-class structure earlier; (b) The new classes increase the level and volatility of fund inflow by attracting investors with short and uncertain investment horizons - which, in turn, can negatively impact fund performance. Our empirical results are generally supportive of the model’s predictions.
Electrokinetic effects: carbonic anhydrase and CO2 electrode dynamics

It is well known that the dynamic response rate of the Severinghaus-type CO2 electrode is improved significantly in some cases by addition of the enzyme carbonic anhydrase to the electrode assembly. Hysteresis in the response rate also is reduced. Experimental data and modelling results indicate that catalysis of the CO2 hydration reaction in the bulk of the bicarbonate layer (the Nernst film) is not responsible for the improved response behavior, Evidence is presented to show that catalysis in the electrostatic double layer region at the glass electrode surface is a possible explanation. This proposed phenomenon may have widespread implications for the optimal design of analytical devices, commercial processes involving electrochemical phenomena, and may also provide insight into electrobiologi-cal processes.
Physical compaction of vertic palaeosols: implications for burial diagenesis and palaeo-precipitation estimates

Burial compaction is one of several major obstacles to estimating palaeoprecipitation from depth to pedogenic carbonate in favourably preserved palaeosols. Palaeosols must be decompacted and the preburial depth to the pedogenic carbonate obtained. Vertic palaeosols may be particularly good candidates for palaeoprecipitation estimates, because of their increased likelihood of preserving clastic dykes, one of the best features for estimating burial compaction. Compaction estimates from clastic dykes and literature-based depth of burial estimates suggest vertic palaeosols undergo significantly less burial compaction than may be commonly assumed. Late Carboniferous vertic palaeosols, buried to 2·5‐3·0 km, compacted to 93% of their original thickness. In contrast, clastic dykes in a nonpedogenic shale directly underlying one of the Late Carboniferous palaeosols records compaction to 70% of original thickness. Similarly obtained burial compaction and burial depth estimates for Early Carboniferous, Ordovician, and Proterozoic vertic palaeosols were used to test a burial compaction curve and equation specific to vertic palaeosols. Results suggest this ‘vertic-calibrated’ curve and equation can be used to estimate burial compaction for vertic palaeosols lacking clastic dykes, but additional testing is needed. Naturally high bulk densities may have limited the compactibility of vertic palaeosols. Likewise, high initial bulk density and an abundance of swelling clays may have severely limited the transmissivity of some vertic palaeosols as they passed from pedogenic to burial environments. Upon burial these vertic palaeosols may have behaved as closed systems, which has implications for understanding their diagenetic modification. Additional efforts to understand burial compaction of vertic palaeosols also promises to improve our understanding of aquifer/aquiclude and hydrocarbon reservoir/seal relationships in sedimentary basins containing intercalated palaeosols.
Partial joint denervation II: knee and ankle.

Background:Partial joint denervation is the concept of preservation of joint function and relief of joint pain by interrupting neural pathways that transmit the pain message from the joint to the brain. Partial denervation of painful wrist, elbow, and shoulder joints was described in part I. Applica
Broadcast Space-Time Coding

In this paper, we study transmission techniques for broadcast channels with a single transmitter and multiple receivers. The transmitter is assumed to be equipped with multiple antennas. Further, each receiver is interested only in part of the transmitted information. Using Gaussian code based information theoretic bounds, we analyze two transmit beamforming techniques. The first technique, zero-forcing beamformer, uses the channel information for all users to send spatially orthogonal signals to different users, i.e., no user receives interference from the other user signals. The second method uses the single-user optimal beamformer with no effort to reduce interference at the receivers. It is shown that the above transmit beamforming techniques are similar to multiuser receivers used in non-orthogonal CDMA systems. In particular, the zero-forcing beamformer is similar to a decorrelating detector and the single-user beamformer is identical to a matched filter. The comparison with CDMA multiuser receivers is strengthened by results on spectral efficiency of proposed beamformers, which follow the behavior of decorrelating and matched-filter receiver.
Paramecium bursaria chlorella virus 1 encodes a polyamine acetyltransferase.

Paramecium bursaria chlorella virus 1 (PBCV-1), a large DNA virus that infects green algae, encodes a histone H3 lysine 27-specific methyltransferase that functions in global transcriptional silencing of the host. PBCV-1 has another gene a654l that encodes a protein with sequence similarity to the GCN5 family histone acetyltransferases. In this study, we report a 1.5 A crystal structure of PBCV-1 A654L in a complex with coenzyme A. The structure reveals a unique feature of A654L that precludes its acetylation of histone peptide substrates. We demonstrate that A654L, hence named viral polyamine acetyltransferase (vPAT), acetylates polyamines such as putrescine, spermidine, cadaverine, and homospermidine present in both PBCV-1 and its host through a reaction dependent upon a conserved glutamate 27. Our study suggests that as the first virally encoded polyamine acetyltransferase, vPAT plays a possible key role in the regulation of polyamine catabolism in the host during viral replication.
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF BIODEGRADABLE SOY-PROTEIN PLASTICS

Experiments were performed to evaluate the room-temperature mechanical properties of soy-protein plastics that were compression-molded with varying concentrations of glycerin plasticizer. Specimens exhibited stiff and brittle behavior with good tensile strength reliability based on Weibull statistics analysis. Raising the glycerin concentration from 0 to 20% progressively increased the tensile strain-to-failure from 1.1 to 1.8% and reduced the tensile strength from 42.1 to 23.6 MPa, the tangent modulus from 4.56 to 1.79 GPa, and the Rockwell hardness from R118.4 to R75.7. Ultrasonic measurements indicated that raising the glycerin concentration from 0 to 20% increased Poisson`s ratio from 0.348 to 0.409 and reduced Young`s Modulus from 7.01 to 5.4 GPa and the shear modulus from 2.5 to 1.8 GPa. Significant increases in the tensile strength and the strength reliability resulted from eliminating Griffith`s flaws by sieving the press powder before compression molding. Rockwell hardness rapidly decreased upon immersing these plastics in water at 25 {degree}C, an effect which was pronounced for the glycerin-containing specimens.
A taxonomy of window manager user interfaces

A taxonomy for the user-visible parts of window managers is presented. It is noted that there are actually very few significant differences, and the differences can be classified in a taxonomy with fairly limited branching. This taxonomy should be useful in evaluating various window managers, and it will also serve as a guide for the issues that need to be addressed by designers if future window-manager user interfaces. The advantages and disadvantages of the various options are presented. >
Purified native and recombinant human alpha lymphotoxin [tumor necrosis factor(TNF)-beta] induces inflammatory reactions in normal skin

These studies report findings that demonstrate that human alpha lymphotoxin (LT) induces local, visible, and microscopic inflammatory reactions in normal skin. Skin sites in rabbits, when inoculated with a single injection of native or recombinant human alpha lymphotoxin, demonstrated erythema, swelling, and warmth within 5 hr. Erythema peaked between 24 and 48 hr and resolved by 72 hr. Histologic studies of skin sites injected with native LT revealed polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN) infiltration and edema beginning as early as 3 hr posttreatment. Individual skin sites that received three daily injections of native LT exhibited persistent erythema and swelling. Palpable induration was evident 24 hr after the second injection in the series. Histologic examination revealed the presence of many PMNs with associated focal dermal destruction, in the form of microabscesses, and scattered mononuclear cells. In contrast, control materials and recombinant human tumor necrosis factor (TNF-alpha) did not induce visible skin reactions in the rabbit. Several additional controls excluded endotoxin as being the agent responsible for the inflammatory skin reactions observed. The ability of LT to induce inflammation may have a role in its antitumor activity and it may be an important endogenous mediator in other immunologic reactions.
Evaluation of the Light/Dark 14C Assay of Photorespiration: Tobacco Leaf Disk Studies with Glycidate and Glyoxylate

Preincubation of illuminated tobacco ( Nicotiana tabacum L.) leaf disks in glycidate (2,3-epoxypropionate) or glyoxylate inhibited photorespiration by about 40% as determined by the ratio of 14 CO 2 evolved into CO 2 -free air in light and in darkness. However, under identical preincubation conditions used for the light/dark 14 C assays, the compounds failed to reduce photorespiration or stimulate net photosynthesis in tobacco leaf disks based on other CO 2 exchange parameters, including the CO 2 compensation concentration in 21% O 2 , the inhibitory effect of 21% O 2 on net photosynthesis in 360 microliters per liter of CO 2 and the rate of net photosynthetic 14 CO 2 uptake in air. The effects of both glycidate and glyoxylate on the 14 C assay are inconsistent with other measures of photorespiratory CO 2 exchange in tobacco leaf disks, and thus these data question the validity of the light to dark ratio of 14 CO 2 efflux as an assay for relative rates of photorespiration (Zelitch 1968, Plant Physiol 43: 1829-1837). The results of this study specifically indicate that neither glycidate nor glyoxylate reduces photorespiration or stimulates net photosynthesis by tobacco leaf disks under physiological conditions of pO 2 and pCO 2 , contrary to previous reports.
Increased risk of CMV infection in heart transplant patients on mycophenolate mofetil

plantation (grp II, n58). Methods: Patients receiving HCV positive allografts between July 1994 to Dec. 1999 were reviewed. The HCV RNA level, seroconversion of anti-HCV antibody, hepatic enzymes, correlation of liver dysfunction and cause of death were examined. Survival and transplant coronary artery disease (TCAD) free rate were compared with age matched patients transplanted in the same period (n5 392). Results: The recipients consisted of 17 males and 1 female, with median age 54 yrs for grp I and 66 for grp II; 2 pts in grp II who were pretransplant HCV positive were also retransplants. Hospital mortality rate was 1/10 in grp I and 2/8 in grp II(total517 %), all from multiple organ failure. All survivors were HCV negative prior to transplant. At a median follow up of 26.5 months, 6/15 survivors (40 %) were infected with detectable viremia. Three(20 %) seroconverted after 1-13 months and two, one per grp, developed HCV related liver dysfunction. One from grp I developed fibrosing cholestatic hepatitis and expired. Actuarial 3 yr survival in those discharged is 56% and 84% for grp I and II. Freedom from rejection (.grade 3) was 40% for grp I and 100% for grp II. TCAD accounted for 2 late deaths in persistently seronegative but viremic pts in grp I and none in grp II. Overall 3-year TCAD free rate was 87% for the 15 patients discharged. Conclusions: (1) Under TDI, hepatitis C transmission using donor heart as the reservoir is moderate with seroconversion lower. (2) Limited use of such donors is justified in selected patients. (3) Seroconversion and risk for hepatic disease may be reduced by tailoring immunosuppression particularly if they are at low risk of rejection.
Detection of stable diagnostic antigen from bile and feces of Fasciola hepatica infected cattle

Abstract Diagnostic antigens in bile and feces from Fasciola hepatica infected cattle were detected and characterized by enzyme-linked immunotransfer blot (EITB) techniques. As sources of antigen, samples of bile, intestinal contents and feces were collected from five uninfected calves and from 10 calves with known Fasciola hepatica burdens. A band detected by EITB using a densitometer in the area corresponding to 26 kDa reacted with rabbit anti-fresh fluke antigen and infected cattle sera but not with fluke-negative rabbit sera, rabbit anti-Fasciola hepatica egg sera, Fascioloides magna positive or negative cattle sera. This band was not detected by Coomassie blue in sodium dodecylsulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) gels or by Ponceau-S stained nitrocellulose strips. Band groups located at 104-66, 66-42, 42-26 and 25-16 kDa reacted inconsistently with the above sera. Sera from mice hyperimmunized with Fasciola hepatica excretory-secretory (ES) products detected only the 26 kDa band by EITB, without cross-reactivity with bands in the other molecular weight (MW) ranges. The results suggest that the 26 kDa antigen may consist of a stable component of ES products and/ or tegument-related worm antigen. Diagnosis of Fasciola hepatica through detection of specific, stable antigens in feces of infected animals offers potential advantages over serum-based tests of better sample accessibility, discrimination between previous and current infections, and possible semi-quantitation of fluke burdens.
Climatic and human controls on Holocene floodplain vegetation changes in eastern Pennsylvania based on the isotopic composition of soil organic matter

A paleoenvironmental time-series spanning the Holocene was constructed using 29 radiocarbon ages and 149 standardized δ13Csom values from alluvial terrace profiles along the middle Delaware River valley. There is good agreement between increasing δ13Csom and Panicoideae phytolith concentrations, suggesting that variations in C4 biomass are a major contributor to changes in the soil δ13C. A measurement error deconvolution curve over time reveals two isotope stages (II–I), with nine sub-stages exhibiting variations in average δ13Csom (average %C4). Stage II, ~ 10.7–4.3 ka, shows above-average δ13Csom (increase %C4) values with evidence of an early Holocene warming and dry interval (sub-stage IIb, 9.8–8.3 ka) that coincides with rapid warming and cool-dry abrupt climate-change events. Sub-stage IId, 7.0–4.3 ka, is an above average δ13Csom (increase %C4) interval associated with the mid-Holocene warm-dry hypsithermal. The Stage II–I shift at 4.3 ka documents a transition toward below average δ13Csom (decrease %C4) values and coincides with decreasing insolation and hydroclimatic change. Sub-stages Ib and Id (above average %C4) coincide with the first documented occurrence of maize in the northeastern USA and a substantial increase in human population during the Late Woodland. These associations suggest that people influenced δ13Csom during the late Holocene.
The impact of water on photopolymerization kinetics of methacrylate/vinyl ether hybrid systems

Real-time FT-near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy was used to monitor individual monomer photopolymerization kinetics within the hybrid methacrylate/vinyl ether system composed of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate and tri(ethylene glycol) methyl vinyl ether. Photoinitiation conditions have been manipulated to provide staged polymer formation of the selected hybrid systems. Significant differences were observed in the effect of water on hybrid systems with different polymerization sequence. The radical/cationic dual initiator system drastically decreased the effect of water on the vinyl ether polymerization. Even with significant water present, both the methacrylate and vinyl ether monomers can be effectively polymerized under certain initiation conditions. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Wg/Wnt Signal Can Be Transmitted through Arrow/LRP5,6 and Axin Independently of Zw3/Gsk3β Activity

Abstract Activation of the Wnt signaling cascade provides key signals during development and in disease. Here we provide evidence, by designing a Wnt receptor with ligand-independent signaling activity, that physical proximity of Arrow (LRP) to the Wnt receptor Frizzled-2 triggers the intracellular signaling cascade. We have uncovered a branch of the Wnt pathway in which Armadillo activity is regulated concomitantly with the levels of Axin protein. The intracellular pathway bypasses Gsk3β/Zw3, the kinase normally required for controlling β-catenin/Armadillo levels, suggesting that modulated degradation of Armadillo is not required for Wnt signaling. We propose that Arrow (LRP) recruits Axin to the membrane, and that this interaction leads to Axin degradation. As a consequence, Armadillo is no longer bound by Axin, resulting in nuclear signaling by Armadillo.
FBXL10 protects Polycomb-bound genes from hypermethylation

Nearly all CpG-dense promoters are occupied by the multidomain chromosomal protein FBXL10. We show here that complete inactivation of the Fbxl10 gene leads to dense de novo methylation only of promoters that are co-occupied by both FBXL10 and Polycomb repressive complexes; this methylation results in pervasive defects in embryonic development and the death of homozygous Fbxl10-mutant embryos at midgestation. Deletion of key components of Polycomb repressive complexes 1 and 2 did not lead to ectopic genomic methylation. These results indicate that FBXL10 protects Polycomb-occupied promoters against ectopic de novo methylation. To our knowledge, FBXL10 is the first reported factor whose loss leads to a gain in genomic DNA methylation.
An infrared study of the effect of liquid ammonia on wood surfaces

Abstract The reaction between liquid ammonia and samples of two wood species (Douglas Fir and Quaking Aspen) has been studied using infrared spectroscopy. Changes observed in the spectral features of the wood surfaces have been correlated with probable chemical reactions between ammonia and the lignin and polysaccharide components of wood. Evidence is presented that suggests some break down of the lignin matrix by the ammonia.
Use of Iridium-192 wires in treating peri-ocular sarcoids in horses

ABSTRACT:Iridium-192 (192Ir) implants can be used to treat peri-ocular sarcoids when more conventional therapies are not possible or previously have been unsuccessful. Although an effective treatment, it does have health and safety implications for veterinary personnel, owing to potential radiation exposure.
Two-photon spectroscopy of molecular oxygen

Abstract Two-photon transitions are examined in molecular oxygen in the region of 8 to 9 eV. Two-photon spectra are presented and absolute two-photon absorption constants are tabulated.
Influence of mixing on evaluation of the aerosol first indirect effect

[1] The aerosol first indirect effect is known to cool the Earth radiatively. However, its magnitude is very uncertain. One of the difficulties in deriving this effect is caused by the coherent variation between aerosol abundance and meteorological conditions. In this study, we demonstrate that evaluation of the aerosol first indirect effect based on comparisons of clouds with different aerosol concentrations suffers an influence of the different degrees of mixing between clean and polluted clouds. By introducing a new method capable to remove this influence, we show that the strength of the aerosol first indirect effect is about half of that estimated by many previous investigators.
Mice reared with rats: elimination of odors, vision, and audition as significant stimulus sources.

Prior research has found that mice reared and nursed by a lactating rat mother, or reared in the presence of a nonlactating adult female rat, give a significantly smaller adrenocortical response to a novel stimulus than do control mice. The purpose of this paper was to determine whether this phenomenon could be mediated through stimuli that do not require physical contact between the adult rat and the young mouse. Experimental mice were born and reared in a cage that separated them from an adult nonlactating female rat by means of a double mesh wall. Thus, they could see, hear, and smell the rat, but no physical contact was possible. Control mice were reared similarly in the presence of an adult nonlactating female mouse. At the time of weaning the corticosterone response of both groups to a novel stimulus was virtually identical. The data support the hypothesis that direct physical contact between the mouse and rat is necessary to cause physiological and behavioral changes in the mouse.