cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Healing-on-demand composites based on polymer artificial muscle

Abstract In this study, a new polymer artificial muscle based healing-on-demand composite was prepared and characterized. The composite consists of polymer artificial muscle made of commercial fishing line, thermoset host, and thermoplastic particle. Three-point bending damage to the beam sample can be healed even at a constrained boundary condition upon local heating, undergoing a close-then-heal procedure. The fractured beams were heated locally by a heat gun for 10 min. The healing efficiency was investigated at both free boundary condition and fixed boundary condition. The fast contraction of artificial muscle brings the fractured surfaces in spatial proximity; simultaneously, the melting thermoplastic agent fills the crack via capillary action and bonds the two fracture surfaces. With 60% prestrain of the reinforcing polymer artificial muscles (8% volume fraction), over 60% of healing efficiency was achieved at free boundary condition and 54% at fixed boundary condition after repeated damage-healing events. Due to its low cost, high healing efficiency, good compatibility, and excellent flexibility, we envision that the polymer artificial muscle will be a new device in designing next generation healing-on-demand polymer composite.
Collecting new targets in MODY.

Transcriptional regulation is crucial in the function of the pancreatic β cell and diabetes, as evidenced by the human MODY families. Work from Fukui and colleagues (Fukui et al., 2005) and Akpinar and colleagues (Akpinar et al., 2005) in this issue of Cell Metabolism identifies a target of the MODY3 transcription factor HNF-1α that appears to function both in insulin secretion and β cell proliferation.
Children's Prediction of Parental Rewards and Actual Parental Behavior:

Summary.-20 boys and girls, ages 7 to 9 yr., predicted size of mother's and father's rewards for their performance on WISC Block Design (two success and two failure items). Mother and father both predicted success or failure for each design prior to the child's performance and rewarded their child's performance on each design. Predictions based on previous studies concerning (a) children's perceptions of mother as more nurrurant and father as more punishing and (b) boys as having a less favorable perception of parents than girls were not supported. While children did underestimate parents' rewards (p < .05), they correctly perceived parents as equally rewarding and appropriately decreased their expectancies in light of failure (p < .001). Past theoretical and research efforts in the area of family interactions and the socialization process have tended to concentrate on parental behavior and attitudes toward the child's behavior. Relatively little work has been done on the potential significance of the child's expectations and perceptions of his parents' behaviors. Goldin's (1969) review indicates that most research agrees that children perceive mothers as more loving and fathers as more punitive. Psychologists seem to accept children's perceptions as veridical since there is no concern in the literature with the possibility of misperception, bias, stereotyping, etc. Furthermore, it is suggested that girls perceive both parents more positively than do boys (Meltzer, 1943) and boys are more negative toward fathers than are girls (Gatdner, 1947). These conclusions are based on global measures of children's attitudes (e.g., interviews, questionnaires, free-rssociation tests, sentence completions, missing-person pictures) ; one might question their validity without additional empirical support from observed parent/child interactions. The major purpose of the present study was to investigate the extent to which young children can predict the evaluation (reward) they will receive from their mothers and fathers on a highly specific behavioral task in the naturalistic setting of their homes. Parental rewarding or evaluating behavior was chosen for study since it serves as a significant and frequently applied cue for the acquired mastery of social and non-social environments. Also, it is a form of behavior which is equally appropriate for mothers and fathers and can be applied to both boys and girls. Three predictions derived partly from past research were made: (1) both boys and girls predict mother to be more rewarding than father; (2) both boys
Enhancing learning: a study of how mobile devices can facilitate sensemaking

Mobile technologies are increasingly being promoted as tools to enhance learning. They can be used to augment ongoing activities, such as exploring outdoors, by enabling users to move back and forth between the physical environment and a variety of digital resources and representations. In so doing, they have the potential to facilitate sensemaking activities, where people seek to find structure in an uncertain situation through using a combination of information, communication and computation. However, continuous switching of attention between different representations and activities can be distracting. Our research is concerned with how mobile devices can be used to engender collaborative sensemaking activities during scientific tasks. We present two studies showing how different versions of a mobile learning application, LillyPad, were used by teams to make sense of their ongoing observations, when measuring the effects of different planting methods for an environmental restoration site. The findings show marked differences in the amount and type of sensemaking. We discuss reasons for this in terms of task demands and workload, information type and distribution of devices.
Prolactin regulates adenylyl cyclase and insulin secretion in rat pancreatic islets.

Abstract A role for prolactin (PRL) in the regulation of adenylyl cyclase (AC), cyclic AMP (cAMP) formation and insulin secretion was studied in isolated rat pancreatic islets cultured for 4 days at 5.5 mM glucose in the absence (control) or presence of PRL (500 ng/ml). In PRL-treated islets, stimulation by glucose (8 mM), carbamylcholine chloride (CCh) and phorbol dibutyrate increased cAMP levels 40, 89, and 151%, respectively, above similarly stimulated control islets without PRL. Moreover, insulin secretion in PRL-treated islets was more than doubled in response to 8 mM glucose plus glucagon-like peptide 1 compared with control islets. PRL also increased protein kinase C (PKC) activity in cultured islets. When islets were cultured at an insulin secretion desensitizing concentration of glucose (11 mM) for 4 days, there was a decrease in forskolin-stimulated cAMP production. However, the presence of PRL with 11 mM glucose prevented the glucose-induced decrease in cAMP production. Insulin secretion in response to 17 mM glucose was also higher (P
Process gain and process loss: Comparing interpersonal processes and performance of culturally diverse and non-diverse teams across time

Abstract Members of 82 student groups involved in a Team Learning instructional format were surveyed with the Group Style Instrument (GSI) to examine the possible dimensions of team oriented behaviors and individualistically oriented behaviors. Exploratory factor models and confirmatory factor models were compared to find the best factor structure fit. The GSI was found to have dimensions that were team and individualistically oriented. From a second sample data was collected across four months on the group process and group performance of culturally non-diverse and culturally diverse groups. Data were evaluated in two significant ways. First, the team orientation and individual orientation dimensions were used to define interpersonal processing. Second, the team process dimensions were used to define interpersonal processing. Second, the team process dimensions were examined further to evaluate their relation to group performance. Early on the diverse teams showed less team orientation and more individual orientation than non-diverse teams, but through frequent feedback on task and interpersonal processing, the diverse teams caught up by the third time period. By the end, diverse teams maintained high team orientation but also allowed a reasonable extent of individual orientation. The diverse teams were beginning to utilize diversity to their advantage. Team and Individualistic orientations showed significant relations to team performance across time. Suggestions are given for future research.
Role of string excitation in the last stages of black-hole evaporation.

We argue that the massive modes of the superstring can play an important role in the last stages of black-hole evaporation. If the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy is the true statistical entropy of an evaporating black hole, it becomes probable for a black hole to disappear by making a transition to an excited string state. This excited string state can then decay to massless radiation, avoiding the naked singularity of the semiclassical picture. We also construct the energy-volume phase diagram separating the three phases: pure radiation, black hole and radiation, and massive string modes and radiation.
Forced Response Prediction of Constrained and Unconstrained Structures Coupled Through Frictional Contacts

In this paper, a forced response prediction method for the analysis of constrained and unconstrained structures coupled through frictional contacts is presented. This type of frictional contact problem arises in vibration damping of turbine blades, in which dampers and blades constitute the unconstrained and constrained structures, respectively. The model of the unconstrained/free structure includes six rigid body modes and several elastic modes, the number of which depends on the excitation frequency. In other words, the motion of the free structure is not artificially constrained. When modeling the contact surfaces between the constrained and free structure, discrete contact points along with contact stiffnesses are distributed on the friction interfaces. At each contact point, contact stiffness is determined and employed in order to take into account the effects of higher frequency modes that are omitted in the dynamic analysis. Depending on the normal force acting on the contact interfaces, quasistatic contact analysis is initially employed to determine the contact area as well as the initial preload or gap at each contact point due to the normal load. A friction model is employed to determine the three-dimensional nonlinear contact forces, and the relationship between the contact forces and the relative motion is utilized by the harmonic balance method. As the relative motion is expressed as a modal superposition, the unknown variables, and thus the resulting nonlinear algebraic equations in the harmonic balance method, are in proportion to the number of modes employed. Therefore the number of contact points used is irrelevant. The developed method is applied to a bladed-disk system with wedge dampers where the dampers constitute the unconstrained structure, and the effects of normal load on the rigid body motion of the damper are investigated. It is shown that the effect of rotational motion is significant, particularly for the in-phase vibration modes. Moreover, the effect of partial slip in the forced response analysis and the effect of the number of harmonics employed by the harmonic balance method are examined. Finally, the prediction for a test case is compared with the test data to verify the developed method. DOI: 10.1115/1.2940356
Structured arithmetic tiling of integrated circuits

Robertson's Theory of Decomposition and Structured Tiling (an IC design technique) are combined in a structured arithmetic circuit design method. This method, extended by a set of inverse operators and a set of multiply operators, is used with computer-aided design tools to automate the design of arithmetic circuits.
Instability Growth Rate Calculations for High Energy Storage Rings

Tolerances in the manufacture of rf cavities for high energy electron-positron storage rings lead to a statistical distribution of higher mode resonant frequencies. This distribution and its associated fluctuations are considered in calculations of the growth rate of instabilities. It is found that in some cases the fluctuations can lead to large growth rates and must be accounted for when designing higher mode damping probes. Calculations for the Cornell 50 GeV electron-positron storage ring are used as illustrations.
High resolution cat imaging of fractures in consolidated materials

Abstract High resolution measurements of fracture aperture of granite and sandstone rocks were performed using CAT scanner. The aperture distribution was statistically characterized for future experimental and numerical studies on single and multiphase flow and transport. The fracture aperture can be measured in-situ and non-destructively with CAT-scanning. The minimum pixel size is 0.27×0.27 mm, but fractures as small as 35 μm can be accurately measured, using a calibration standard for the variation in CT number due to the “missing rock mass” in a given pixel. A calibration standard for each rock type yields distinctly different calibration slopes, about 17% greater for granite compared to sandstone, indicating that each rock type should be analyzed against its own calibration standard. The aperture distribution is rather heterogeneous and is best described by a lognormal function, corroborated by comparing the theoretical to actual ratio of hydraulic to mechanical apertures. Mechanical roughness of the fractures ranged from 0.17 to 1.5. The variability in fracture aperture displayed only short range structure, with correlation lengths of 0.8 mm to 7 mm, which is at most one-tenth of the minimum dimension (width) of the fracture plane. Potential flow channels can be deduced from the fracture aperture distribution.
Knowledge and Practices Among Korean Americans

purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine knowledge and practices of colorectal cancer screening among Korean Americans. description of study: The sample consisted of 104 Korean American men and 159 women, 40 to 69 years of age, living in the Chicago area. The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) Cancer Control Supplement Questionnaire, prepared by the National Center for Health Statistics, was used to collect data regarding colorectal cancer screening knowledge and practices. The NHIS questionnaire was translated into Korean with minor modification. results: The percentages of male respondents ever having had a digital rectal exam (DRE) and fecal occult blood test (FOBT) were 13.5% and 10.6%, respectively. Only 11.3% of women reported DRE and 8. 8% FOBT. Multiple logistic regression analysis results indicate that gender, education, knowledge of the seven cancer warning signals, and length of residence in the United States were significantly related to having heard of DRE. For those having had DRE, knowledge of the seven cancer warning signals, and length of residence in the United States were the only significant variables. Gender and education were significantly related to having heard of FOBT. None of the variables were found to be significantly related to having had FOBT. The findings indicate that a majority of respondents were unaware of these cancer screening examinations and forego these tests due to an underestimation of their importance. clinical implications: The findings of this study underscore the importance of cancer education and further research addressing the cancer screening needs of Korean Americans. Currently, Korean Americans do not see healthcare providers or health brochures as valuable sources of health information. Therefore, healthcare professionals need to target this population by 1) co-ordinating their efforts with church and other community leaders and 2) developing health brochures that are in the Korean language and sensitive to the Korean culture.
Crossing functions above the cross-functional project team: The value of lateral coordination among functional department heads

Lateral coordination among department heads is an overlooked aspect of project management research. Our research addresses this issue by examining the effects of the amount and quality of coordination among department heads on 60 cross-functional project teams. The results of this study reveal some interesting findings. First, better quality of coordination among department heads is associated with lower boundary conflict between the cross-functional project team and department heads and also improved project efficiency. Our results also suggest that early definition of project goals is positively associated with better quality of coordination among department heads. Implications and future research are discussed.
Strain localization in cyclic deformation of copper single crystals

Abstract The localization of plastic strain into macroscopic groups of persistent slip bands has been determined on copper single crystals strain-cycled into saturation. The macroscopic bands traverse the whole cross section and undergo complete reversibility of plastic strain with load reversibility. Although overall, surface slip steps form in proportion to the applied plastic strain, individual steps are not always completely reversed, leading to the rapid formation of a notch-peak topography within the bands. The dislocation structure of the persistent slip bands was determined, permitting a critical assessment of the various mechanisms proposed for saturation in low-strain cyclic deformation. Using existing ideas, an adequate model of saturation is based upon the cooperative movement of primary links between the persistent slip-band walls, but impeded in their motion by point-defect clusters and small dislocation debris.
Using learning management systems to support students' collaborative learning in higher education

Learning Management Systems (LMS) are web-based systems for the distribution, management and retrieval of course materials, and to support communication between students and instructors. A LMS can also support peer collaboration by providing students with the capacity to create their own project sites. In this paper we present data from system logs, surveys, and interviews to investigate how one such system, CTools, is used by students at a large public university to facilitate peer learning.
A Rapid Turnaround Cryogenic Detector Characterization System

Upcoming major NASA missions such as the Einstein Inflation Probe and the Single Aperture Far-Infrared Observatory require arrays of detectors with thousands of elements, operating at temperatures near l00 mK and sensitive to wavelengths from approx. 100 microns to approx. 3 mm. Such detectors represent a substantial enabling technology for these missions, and must be demonstrated soon in order for them to proceed. In order to make rapid progress on detector development, the cryogenic testing cycle must be made convenient and quick. We have developed a cryogenic detector characterization system capable of testing superconducting detector arrays in formats up to 8 x 32, read out by SQUID multiplexers. The system relies on the cooling of a two-stage adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator immersed in a liquid helium bath. This approach permits a detector to be cooled from 300K to 50 mK in about 4 hours, so that a test cycle begun in the morning will be over by the end of the day. Tine system is modular, with two identical immersible units, so that while one unit is cooling, the second can be reconfigured for the next battery of tests. We describe the design, construction, and performance of this cryogenic detector testing facility.
The Positive Illusory Bias: Does It Explain Self-Evaluations in College Students with ADHD?.

Objective: To evaluate whether the positive illusory bias explains the self-evaluations of driving and work behaviors in college students with ADHD. Method: A total of 103 students with ADHD were compared to a sample of 94 students without ADHD. Both groups completed self-reports of their specific driving and work behaviors and then rated their overall, global performance in each area. Three specific-to-global change scores were obtained (one measuring work and two measuring driving) that were thought to be measures of the positive illusory bias. These specific-to-global change scores were analyzed using chi-square to evaluate differences between participants with and without ADHD. Results: The participants with ADHD were significantly more likely than the participants without ADHD to engage in the positive illusory bias on two of the three work and driving ratings. Conclusion: College students with ADHD demonstrate self-evaluations that appear to reflect the positive illusory bias and that may be related...
Access to Mental Health Treatment by English Language Proficiency and Race/Ethnicity

Background Limited English proficiency (LEP) may contribute to mental health care disparities, yet empirical data are limited.
Testing for CYP2C9 Before Anticoagulant Therapy

Authors Reply: We share Dr. Jolobe’s sentiment that appropriate tools must be developed to better characterize the risk of bleeding, particularly intracerebral hemorrhage, for patients with indications for oral anticoagulant therapy. Indeed, the increased use of warfarin anticoagulation for prevention of thromboembolic stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) has produced significant benefits, but has also resulted in an estimated quintupling of the incidence of warfarin-associated intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH).1 Warfarin-associated ICH now comprises roughly 20% of all ICH. Furthermore, among patients with ICH, warfarin is associated with a doubling in the case fatality rate at 3 months and an increase in poor neurological outcomes.2 There is suggestive evidence that the risk-adjusted incidence of cardioembolic ischemic stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation has declined over the past 2 decades, perhaps in response to more aggressive treatment of underlying risk factors such as hypertension and hyperlipidemia.3–5 As a result, the balance between the risk and benefit of anticoagulation therapy in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation may be shifting. These two trends, the increasing incidence of warfarin-associated ICH and the decreasing risk of cardioembolic ischemic stroke in patients with AF, underscore the imperative to develop better tools to predict the risk of warfarin-associated ICH to improve “personalized” decision-making about anticoagulant therapy for patients with AF. Dr. Jolobe mentioned several possible risk markers for warfarin-associated ICH, including genetic risk factors such as apolipoprotein E and imaging studies such as MRI and CT scanning. Indeed, in a previous publication we explored whether screening strategies that include genetic profiling and neuroimaging might improve the safety of chronic anticoagulation for atrial fibrillation by identifying individuals from whom warfarin should be withheld or for whom aspirin might be a better treatment.6 Unfortunately, we found that currently identified genetic markers of bleeding risk, such as Apo є 2 or 4 do not confer a risk of ICH sufficiently high to warrant routine genetic testing for patients at average risk of thromboembolism. We did find that for patients at lower risk for cardioembolic stroke, screening with gradient echo MRI would be beneficial if the risk conferred by neuroimaging evidence of cerebral microhemorrhage were greater than 3.2-fold, a number somewhat higher than current estimates.7 Although studies will require large numbers of patients, given the infrequency of ICH, it is imperative that trials be performed to better characterize the risk of future ICH associated with findings such as cerebral microhemorrhage or possibly novel genetic markers we have yet to identify.
White House Climate Action Plan Hotly Debated in Senate Hearing

Emotions ran high among senators at a 16 January U.S. Senate hearing on the White House's Climate Action Plan; the hearing included administration officials and other supporters of the plan as well as opponents. The plan, which President Barack Obama presented in June 2013 (see Eos, 94(27), 239, doi:10.1002/2013EO270003), calls for cutting carbon pollution, preparing the nation for the impacts of climate change, and leading international efforts to address climate change.
Efficient multinomial selection in simulation

Abstract : This report considers a simulation experiment consisting of v independent vector observations or replications across k systems, where in any given replication one and only one system is selected as the best performer (i.e., it wins) based on some performance measure. Each system has an unknown constant probability of winning in any replication and the numbers of wins for the individual systems follow a multinomial distribution. The classical multinomial selection procedure of Bechhofer, Elmaghraby, and Morse (Procedure BEM), prescribes a minimum number of replications, denoted as V*, 50 that the probability of correctly selecting the true best system meets or exceeds a prespecified probability. Assuming that larger is better, Procedure BEM selects as best the system having the largest value of the performance measure in more replications than any other system.
Interface heat transfer and thermal accommodation coefficients: Heated tungsten wire in nitrogen environment

Abstract An experimental facility of the general hot-wire type is described for the study of interface heat transfer from heated metal surfaces to the surrounding gas environment with a view to probe into the different molecular mechanisms of energy transport which are established by the successive reduction of the test gas pressure. In particular, this initial effort reports the measured heat transfer rates from tungsten, heated up to a maximum temperature of 1450°K, in nitrogen at different pressure levels in the range 0.8 to about 30 cm of mercury. The heat transfer data taken in the temperature-jump region are interpreted in three alternative ways. The temperature-jump theory is successfully checked by computing and comparing the thermal conductivity values obtained as a function of temperature from data taken within as well as outside the temperature-jump region. The thermal accommodation coefficients are thus obtained for nitrogen on a tungsten surface with an adsorbed film of mostly nitrogen in the temperature range 450°–1450°K, and these exhibit a weak minimum or dip at about 850°K. These data will thus serve an important engineering design need because the experimental conditions correspond to the configuration most often encountered in practice.
PURIFICATION OF A HUMAN PROSTATE SPECIFIC ANTIGEN

Rabbit antiserum raised against the crude extract of normal human prostatic tissue contained antibodies to a prostatic tissue-specific antigen as shown by immunoprecipitation techniques. Using this antiserum a prostate antigen was detected in normal, benign hypertrophic, and malignant prostatic tissues, but not in other human tissues. The prostate antigen was purified to homogeneity from prostatic tissues and showed a single protein band on analytical polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing. This report thus presents the first demonstration of the purification of a prostate-specific antigen that does not represent prostatic acid phosphatase.
Demonstration of a common artifact in immunosorbent assays of brain extracts: Development of a solid-phase extraction protocol to enable measurement of amyloid-β from wild-type rodent brain

In the process of developing species-specific, immunosorbent assays for brain amyloid-β (Aβ) in non-transgenic animals, we have demonstrated an artifact that impedes accurate quantitation of Aβ in this assay format. Using synthetic peptides, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), or plasma samples, no nonspecific binding or cross-species immunoreactivity was detected in human or rodent Aβ assays. However, extracts of guinea pig brain (human Aβ sequence) or rat brain (rodent Aβ sequence) demonstrated immunoreactivity regardless of which capture antibody, detection antibody, or reporter method (colorimetric or fluorescent) was used. This immunoreactivity remained even in the absence of a capture antibody. Various blocking conditions failed to resolve the nonspecific binding of detection antibodies in the presence of brain extracts. Fractionation of DEA-extracted guinea pig brain over Sephadex G-50 demonstrated the feasibility of separating specific from nonspecific binding components in the brain extracts. Thus, a solid phase extraction method, compatible with multiple extraction buffers, has been developed to isolate and concentrate Aβ from brain extracts. This isolation method eliminates non-specific binding components from brain extracts and allows for accurate quantitation and robust detection of multiple Aβ peptides in extracts from wild-type animals.
An examination of enrollment of children in public health insurance in New York City through facilitated enrollment.

A cohort of families was followed through the enrollment process for Medicaid and Child Health Plus in New York City to determine success in enrollment and the time it takes to enroll. Families were recruited into the study by enrollers in community-based organizations and managed-care organizations. In our sample, three of four families were successful in enrolling. On average, it took 60 days to attain insurance. Most applicants (76%) received some sort of assistance from enrollers, most frequently in determining which documents were needed (74%). In a multivariable analysis, some of the factors associated with success in enrollment included being assisted by a community-based facilitated enroller, knowledge of required documents, and baving lost a child’s other bealth insurance.
Remote sensing: With special reference to urban and regional transportation

Rapidly growing technology and experimentation in remote sensing occasion inquiries into the role of this tool in urban and regional information systems and decision making processes. Its primary efficacy lies in the substitution for current capabilities as contrasted to the rendering of entirely new services. Implementation of large scale urban and regional remote sensing systems must be preceded by careful analysis of the costs and benefits involved. Lack of good parametric data at this time precludes clear statements on benefit/ cost relationships. Nevertheless, access to a new technical capability should not divert attention from the major goal, i. e. the establishment of effective urban and regional management and decision making based on appropriate information and criteria. The largest roadblocks in comprehensive remote sensing relate to the interfacing of data collection and data reduction systems and the quality of data itself. Study of remote sensing in urban transportation supports the previous points. In the foreseeable future, it appears that monitoring and surveillance of the relatively static features of transportation and traffic promise more substantial pay-offs than analysis and real-time control in dynamic areas including travel behavior.
Cation-dependent fusogenicity of an N-acyl phosphatidylethanolamine

N-acyl phosphatidylethanolamines (NAPEs) are natural lipid components of many organisms. N-acylation of unsaturated phosphatidylethanolamines with a saturated fatty acid converts them from non-lamellar organizing lipids into lamellar organizing, acidic lipids which can interact with cations and potentially return to non-lamellar structures. These special properties make NAPEs candidates for fusogens. We tested the fusogenicity of one of the NAPEs, N-dodecanoyl-di-oleoylphosphatidylethanolamine (N-C12-DOPE) mixed with dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) in liposomes. Binding and fusion to erythrocyte ghosts in the presence of 3 mM Ca2+ required at least 60 mol% of N-C12-DOPE. Fusion was not observed when phosphatidylglycerol or phosphatidylserine was substituted for N-C12-DOPE, indicating specificity for properties of this lipid. Binding of N-C12-DOPE/DOPC (70:30) liposomes required 1 mM Ca2+ while 1.25 mM Ca2+ and Mg2+ were sufficient for lipid mixing and delivery of encapsulated dextrans to erythrocyte ghosts. These liposomes also bound and possibly mixed lipid with nucleated U-937 cells in a Ca2+ -and endocytosis-dependent manner. Low pH-dependent fusion with ghosts was observed in the absence of any divalent cation, indicating that fusion with U-937 cells could result after endocytosis into the acidic endosomes. The possible mechanisms for N-C12-DOPE mediated binding and fusion and the potential application of these liposomes as delivery vehicles for therapeutic agents are discussed.
Foot-dipping in coma: a physical sign indicative of evolving herniation.

Objective: Intermittent spontaneous recurrent foot movement characterized by sudden ankle dorsiflexion followed by slower relaxation, termed foot-dipping (FD), may occur in coma. Th
Multipole Lines in the Spectra of Bi ii and Pb ii

Spectra of Bi ii and Pb ii were excited by high-frequency oscillations in a quartz discharge tube conaining the vapor of the metal in an atmosphere of helium. The following five lines, corresponding to transitions among the five lowest levels of Bi ii belonging to the 6s2 6p2 electron configuration and forbidden by the Laporte selection rule, were observed: λ3240.7 (1S0→3P1), a pure magnetic dipole line;λ3683.2 (1S0→3P2), a pure electric quadrupole line; two lines of mixed character, λ4850.2 (1D2 → 3P1) and λ5913.5 (1D2 →3P2); and λ7503.2 (3P1 → 3P0), a pure magnetic dipole line observed for the first time as a nonintercombination transition. In addition, a line was found in the spectrum of Pb ii at λ7099.8 (²P120→²P120). It corresponds to the transition between the two lowest levels of Pb ii belonging to the 6s26p electron configuration. This is a line of mixed character representing the first definite identification of a spin reversal line. By use of Fabry– Perot etalons, the hyperfine structure of each of these lines was photographed, establishing the identity of the lines and, at thesame time, giving the hitherto unknown splittings of the corresponding levelsThe hyperfine structure splitting factors “A” and the quadrupole coupling constants “B” for the levels were calculated from these results and compared with theory. For this purpose, the procedure for the calculation of quadrupole coupling constants as originally given by Casimir was extended to include the case of two equivalent p electrons.
Conceptual design of high power advanced low mass (HPALM) solar thermionic power system

The conceptual design of an innovative solar space power system based on thermionic conversion of heat to electricity is in progress. The system is particularly attractive for large power requirements (>20 kW). Solar energy is collected with an inflatable structure, which can be a parabolic reflector or a Fresnel lens or reflector. The solar flux is further concentrated with a secondary concentrator before entering the thermal receiver. The heat is converted to electricity directly by cylindrical inverted multicell (CIM) thermionic converters. Initial estimates of volume and mass yield a preliminary specific mass of /spl sim/80 W/kg and a preliminary specific stowed volume of /spl sim/40 kW/m/sup 3/.
Effect of airline travel on performance: a review of the literature

The need for athletes to travel long distances has spurred investigation into the effect of air travel across multiple time zones on athletic performance. Rapid eastward or westward travel may negatively affect the body in many ways; therefore, strategies should be employed to minimise these effects which may hamper athletic performance. In this review, the fundamentals of circadian rhythm disruption are examined along with additional effects of airline travel including jet lag, sleep deprivation, travel at altitude and nutritional considerations that negatively affect performance. Evidence-based recommendations are provided at the end of the manuscript to minimise the effects of airline travel on performance.
Enhancing determination of organophosphate species in high inorganic phosphate matrices: application to nerve agent degradation products

Developing a reliable and robust trace level method for organophosphates in the presence of relatively high inorganic phosphate is an area of interest for further method development. Since the advent of collision/reaction cell technology, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS) has been used with a variety of sample types for elemental phosphorus detection at m/z = 31. However, with many samples inorganic phosphate may be orders of magnitude higher than organophosphates, presenting a major interference to quantification. Therefore, removal of inorganic phosphate to levels low enough to minimize the interference would prove beneficial for more effective organophosphate analyses. In this study, applicable to most organophosphate containing samples, the illustration is to nerve agent degradation products as they might contaminate food and environmental systems after their initial formation. Calcium chloride was chosen as a coagulant mix and ammonium hydroxide was chosen to adjust the pH in order to remove inorganic phosphate at the sample preparation step. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with ICPMS was utilized for analysis. The results show that inorganic phosphate, at concentrations as high as 10 000 µg mL−1, can be sufficiently removed by precipitation with calcium at pH > 9 while the organophosphorus chemical warfare agent degradation products, CWADPs, remain intact. Applications to apple juice and cola drink indicate that this method is suitable for more complex matrices containing relatively high levels of inorganic phosphate.
1H, 15N, and 13C chemical shift assignments of neuronal calcium sensor-1 homolog from fission yeast

The neuronal calcium sensor (NCS) proteins regulate signal transduction processes and are highly conserved from yeast to humans. We report complete NMR chemical shift assignments of the NCS homolog from fission yeast (Schizosaccharomyces pombe), referred to in this study as Ncs1p. (BMRB no. 16446).
Research on the Oral Proficiency Interview: Analysis, Synthesis, and Future Directions

Abstract: Since their initial publication in 1982, the ACTFL Guidelines and oral proficiency interview (OPI) have enjoyed widespread use by foreign language educators. They have also been the target of much criticism by researchers of second language acquisition and testing. Much of this criticism has focused on validity claims for the OPI. Other research (e.g., Thompson, 1995) has investigated the interrater reliability of the test. This article provides an overview of research (both critical analyses and empirical studies) conducted on the ACTFL OPI and Guidelines from 1990 to present. The author identifies trends in this research, discusses lessons learned from research in other proficiency test areas, and provides recommendations for areas of future study.
The forager oral tradition and the evolution of prolonged juvenility.

The foraging niche is characterized by the exploitation of nutrient-rich resources using complex extraction techniques that take a long time to acquire. This costly period of development is supported by intensive parental investment. Although human life history theory tends to characterize this investment in terms of food and care, ethnographic research on foraging skill transmission suggests that the flow of resources from old to young also includes knowledge. Given the adaptive value of information, parents may have been under selection pressure to invest knowledge—e.g., warnings, advice--in children: proactive provisioning of reliable information would have increased offspring survival rates and, hence, parental fitness. One way that foragers acquire subsistence knowledge is through symbolic communication, including narrative. Tellingly, oral traditions are characterized by an old-to-young transmission pattern, which suggests that, in forager groups, storytelling might be an important means by which adults transfer knowledge to juveniles. In particular, by providing juveniles with vicarious experience, storytelling may expand episodic memory, which is believed to be integral to the generation of possible future scenarios (i.e., planning). In support of this hypothesis, this essay reviews evidence that: mastery of foraging knowledge and skill sets takes a long time to acquire; foraging knowledge is transmitted from parent to child; the human mind contains adaptations specific to social learning; full assembly of learning mechanisms is not complete in early childhood; and forager oral traditions contain a wide range of information integral to occupation of the foraging niche. It concludes with suggestions for tests of the proposed hypothesis.
Parallel studies of cocaine-related neural and cognitive impairment in humans and monkeys

Cocaine users display profound impairments in executive function. Of all the components of executive function, inhibition, or the ability to withhold responding, has been studied the most extensively and may be most impaired. Consistent with these deficits, evidence from imaging studies points to dysregulation in medial and ventromedial prefrontal cortices, areas activated during performance of inhibition tasks. Other aspects of executive function including updating, shifting and decision making are also deficient in cocaine users, and these deficits are paralleled by abnormalities in patterns of prefrontal cortical activation. The extent to which cocaine plays a role in these effects, however, is not certain, and cannot be determined solely on the basis of human studies. Investigations using a non-human primate model of increasing durations of cocaine exposure revealed that initially the effects of cocaine were restricted to ventromedial and orbital prefrontal cortices, but as exposure was extended the intensity and spatial extent of the effects on functional activity also expanded rostrally and laterally. Given the spatial overlap in prefrontal pathology between human and monkey studies, these longitudinal mapping studies in non-human primates provide a unique window of understanding into the dynamic neural changes that are occurring early in human cocaine abuse.
The efficacy of abdominal and pelvic ultrasound in the emergency department

To assess the diagnostic value of abdominal and pelvic ultrasound to the emergency physician, we followed 43 patients who required ultrasound out of 1,010 patients who presented to the emergency department with abdominal pain and/or vaginal bleeding during the 33-week study period. Ultrasound confirmed the preliminary diagnosis in 12 patients, was supportive in eight patients, and ruled out the preliminary diagnosis in 23 patients. Ultrasound often shortened the evaluation process by narrowing the differential diagnosis or by excluding potentially serious conditions, thus eliminating the need for additional testing and frequently allowing for safe discharge of the patient. We found ultrasound to be helpful, as well as cost-effective, in certain patients with abdominal pain and/or vaginal bleeding in whom an emergency department evaluation without ultrasound could not exclude a condition necessitating admission or urgent surgery.
Reading George Spindler

George Spindler is often acknowledged as a founder of the anthropology of education, but ties between Spindler, the new field, and their roots in the culture and personality school of U.S. anthropology are rarely explored. This article and the one that follows (“Using Visual Stimuli in Ethnography,” Spindler 2008) highlight theoretical concerns shaping the goals and methods of Spindler's work. McDermott offers background and then Spindler summarizes his 60 years of fieldwork and findings on the relations among culture, personality, and education. [origins of the field, culture and personality, field techniques]
Out of Balance

Rachel Carson’s landmark book Silent Spring (1962) critically helped spark modern environmentalism. Even now, its fluid prose remains evocative. The vivid imagery coupled with scientific information was both persuasive and emotionally potent. Carson’s presentation drew on several themes. One was the balance of nature (1962/1987, pp. 6, 57, 66, 114, 246–248, 251). Through “eons” of history, she wrote, Earth’s “developing and evolving and diversifying life reached a state of adjustment and balance with its surroundings” (p. 6). However, Carson urged, the indiscriminate use of chemical pesticides threatened that vital balance: > Man, too, is a part of this balance. Sometimes the balance is in his favor; sometimes – and all too often through his own activities – it is shifted to his disadvantage. (p. 246) If organisms could not adapt to the “barrage of poisons” hurled recklessly “against the fabric of life,” the balance would be lost and, tragically, humans and other species would suffer a world made “unfit for all life” (pp. 8, 156, 279, 297). Decades later, in 1992, Al Gore, too, appealed to balance in another important book for environmentalism, as its title, Earth in the Balance , prominently announced. Indeed, the concept of balance in nature has a long history, and belief in it remains common in American culture (Egerton, 1973; Hull et al., 2002; Jelinski, 2005; Zimmerman & Cuddington, 2007; Clifford, 2009; Ladle & Gillson, 2009). I would like to challenge the widespread view (this essay’s sacred bovine) that the “balance of nature” concept justifies environmental values. Indeed, quite to the contrary, I contend that it fosters scientifically ill-informed perspectives that ultimately work against both science and the prudential aim of environmental sustainability. Among professional ecologists, at least, consensus has fallen squarely against any inherent balance in nature (Egerton, 1973 …
Why do we ReachOut?: functions of a semi-persistent peer support tool

Collaboration plays a vital role in today's new business environment. Knowledge that resides within people's heads has become an invaluable resource. Many formal tools, such as e-mail or teamrooms, have been introduced to support formal collaboration and have been studied extensively. However, support for informal communication is still in its infancy. Much work has been done to analyze the functions that informal communication plays in the workplace. Recently, several studies have evaluated the roles that instant messaging (IM) plays in similar settings. Research shows that in the workplace, IM is used primarily for work-related purposes and accelerates the completion of important business tasks. Clearly, new tools that combine both formal and informal interaction can bring organizations tremendous rewards. ReachOut is a tool for semi-persistent collaboration and peer support developed by the Collaboration Technologies Group at the IBM Haifa Research Lab. This paper studies the role ReachOut plays in the workplace. We analyzed the collaboration activity of the community of IBM Haifa Labs employees who used ReachOut for a period of two months. As a result, we summarize the important functions played by tools that bridge between formal and informal communication in a workplace-based community.