cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Neutrinoless double beta decay and lepton flavor violation

Abstract Extensions of the Standard Model with low scale (∼TeV) lepton number violation generally lead to a pattern of lepton flavor violation experimentally distinguishable from the one implied by models with GUT scale lepton number violation. Therefore, muon lepton flavor violation processes provide a diagnostic tool to determine whether or not the effective neutrino mass can be deduced from the rate of neutrinoless double beta decay.
Deficit of luminous and normal red galaxies in cosmic voids

We construct a sample of 10,680 wall galaxies and 3,064 void galaxies with $M_R \lesssim -20$ by cross referencing a void catalog from literature with Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) CMASS and WiggleZ galaxies, where the CMASS survey targets redder galaxies and the WiggleZ survey targets bluer galaxies. Comparing the density profiles of the red and blue galaxies as a function of the void radius, we find that the number ratio of red-to-blue galaxies increases with distances from the void centers, suggesting a deficit of luminous and normal red galaxies in voids. We find a mean (g -- r) magnitude color of 1.298 and 1.210 for the wall and void galaxies, respectively, when considering the combined red and blue sample, which is found to be a significant difference. However, when considering the blue and red samples separately, we find no significant color difference. We conclude that the constituents galaxies of each population, rather than intrinsic color difference, is the main driver in the apparent average color difference of galaxies in voids and walls, indicating a deficit of luminous and normal red galaxies in voids. Our analysis suggests that the primary environmental-dependence effect on galaxy evolution for normal and luminous galaxies between void and wall regions is manifested in the number of red galaxies, which depends on the environmental-dependent merger history. Using a semi-analytic simulation model, we can successfully reproduce the apparent color difference between the void and wall galaxies.
Revisiting Electroweak Phase Transition with Varying Yukawa Coupling Constants

We revisited the scenario of electroweak baryogenesis in the presence of large Yukawa couplings, in which it was found previously that a strongly first order electroweak phase transition can occur with the Higgs mass at its observed value of 125 GeV. Given the sensitivity of the running of the Higgs quartic coupling on the Yukawa coupling constants, we find that the addition of order one Yukawa couplings beyond the top quark drastically lowers the scale at which the Higgs potential becomes unstable. Specifically, even with only one additional order one Yukawa coupling, the scalar potential becomes unstable already at the TeV scale, assuming the Standard Model values for the Higgs sector parameters at the electroweak scale. Furthermore, by assuming the Standard Model values for the Higgs sector parameters at the TeV scale, the quartic coupling constant is driven to be larger than its Standard Model value at the electroweak scale. This in turn predicts a much lighter Higgs mass than the measured value of 125 GeV. In this scenario, the strength of the electroweak phase transition is also significantly weakened.
Initial Experience of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Fusion Biopsy in the Community Setting

AbstractIntroduction:Magnetic resonance imaging fusion biopsy is diagnostically superior to transrectal ultrasound guided biopsy for detecting clinically significant prostate cancer. Fusion biopsy ...
Forecasting Peak Wind Gusts Using Meteorologically Stratified Gust Factors and MOS Guidance

AbstractGust prediction is an important element of weather forecasting services, yet reliable methods remain elusive. Peak wind gusts estimated by the meteorologically stratified gust factor (MSGF)...
Impact of Cultural Individualism and Collectivism on Protean and Boundaryless Career Attitudes and Job Satisfaction

Over the past several decades, new career theories have been developed in an attempt to explain the changing nature of work. Careers are now commonly considered to be self-driven and contingent on ...
The Incremental Trail in Developing False Doctrine and its Consequences in the American Drug Scene

The trail of what has turned out to be the criminalization of drug taking behavior illustrates a major criticism of incrementalism in developing policy-the acceptance and maintenance of specific values and attitudes. The effects of false doctrine accepted more than fifty years ago are with us today and will continue in their effect umtil a radical change is seen in our society. The purpose of this paper is to map the old trail, identify those times where false doctrine was accepted, and to present a radical alternative for the future. The non-medical use of drugs has attracted attention from many disciplines during the last few years. Many descriptions of the drug user have been presented along with large numbers of reasons explaining the motivations for drug taking behavior. The thrust of what can be termed a social movement is credited to two former psychologists at Harvard, Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert. Their directive of 'Tune-In, Turn-On and Drop-Out" was the catalyst to a ground-swell of drug experimentation on the part of young people that stimulated panic, thought and writing about using drugs. For a student in Social Policy, the history of drug legislation in the United States illustrates a prime example of incrementalism. The trail of what has turned out to be the criminalization of drug taking behavior illustrates a major criticism of incrementalism in developing policy--the acceptance and maintenance of specific values and attitudes. The effects of false doctrine accepted more than fifty years ago are with us today and will continue in their effect until a radical change is seen in our society. The purpose of this paper is to map the old trail, a radical alternative for the future.
Dehydrogenase Activity Involved in the Uptake of Glucose 6-Phosphate by a Bacterial Membrane System

Abstract Membranes prepared from Escherichia coli induced or constitutive for glucose 6-phosphate transport accumulate this compound from the medium. The transport is independent of the phosphotransferase system, insofar as a mutant deficient in Enzyme I of this system yields membranes fully active in glucose 6-phosphate uptake; and the addition of phosphoenolpyruvate to induced wild type membranes did not stimulate glucose 6-phosphate uptake. Both the rate and extent of uptake are, however, stimulated several-fold in the presence of either d(-)-lactate or succinate. In the case of the d(-)-lactic dehydrogenase activity there is far more pyruvate produced than glucose 6-phosphate transported. Evidence presented indicates that it is the free glucose 6-phosphate which is accumulated, and that this material is freely exchangeable with external compound.
Microwave sensing of sand production from petroleum wells

Sand production in petroleum wells is a major concern for the petroleum industry. Sand production results in erosion of pipelines and damage to equipment which may lead to production shutdown and large economic losses. Detection of produced sand is important for optimizing flow rates and measuring the success of sand mitigation techniques. Recently, microwave nondestructive testing was considered as a potential new sensing solution for the detection of sand production. This paper presents preliminary simulations and measurements for such a sensing approach using open-ended waveguides. Different production scenarios are considered for a stratified flow regime. The results indicate that this sensing method can detect the presence of sand. Preliminary measurements are also presented for varying amounts of sand that further support the potential of this technique.
Documentation, Documentary, and the Law: What Should Be Made of Victim Impact Videos?

Since the Supreme Court sanctioned the introduction of victim impact evidence in the sentencing phase of capital cases in Payne v. Tennessee, 501 U.S. 808 (1991), there have been a number of reported decisions in which that evidence has taken the form of videos composed of home-produced still photographs and moving images of the victim. Most of these videos were first shown at funerals or memorial services and contain music appropriate for such occasions. This article considers the probative value of victim impact videos and responds to the call of Justice John Paul Stevens, made in a statement regarding the rejection of certiorari in People v. Kelly, 129 S.Ct. 564 (2008), for the articulation of reasonable limits on the admission of victim impact evidence. The first part of the article offers an analysis of victim impact videos drawing on the lessons of cinema studies and cultural studies. The common reception of home photographs and moving images affects the interpretation of victim impact videos. As a result, impact videos are typically too idealistic and idyllic to be really probative evidence of the victims’ individuality and the impact of their loss on their families and friends. However, impact videos may be particularly important evidence for the members of devalued or denigrated groups who fall outside of generally accepted images of ideal victims. The second part of the article deals with an actual case in which the subject of the video was a young Latina mother, felled by domestic violence, whose character was attacked as part of the effort to mitigate her husband’s sentence. He wound up with a judgment of life without the possibility of parole. Here the article considers how the victim impact video might have been more probative and the response of the defense to it, more likely to produce a less harsh punishment. Part three finds greater relevance in a video streamed on YouTube that was based on the written impact statement presented by the young adult son of a homicide victim at the perpetrator’s first parole hearing which was held some 15 years after the murder. Finally, the conclusion offers recommendations for the admission of victim impact videos.
19F nuclear magnetic resonance in CdF2–ErF3

The 19F NMR of a single crystal of CdF2:≃ 10% ErF3 has been investigated at 8 and 16 MHz. Weak NMR lines were observed whose shifts relative to the main CdF2 peak were found to be field dependent. These shifts showed axial symmetry about the [111] crystallographic directions with (Δ H/H)∥=−8.73 ± 0.01) × 10−3 and (Δ H/H)⊥=+(5.83 ± 0.10) × 10−3. The small NMR lines are attributed to those lattice fluorides which have one nearest neighbor Er3+ occupying a normal Cd2+ site. The anisotropic portion of the shift is shown to be due to the dipolar contribution of spin on the erbium ion with no unpaired spin in the fluorine p orbitals. Analysis of intensity ratios supports a random distribution of Er3+ among Cd2+ sites with no preferential formation of clusters.
Kapteyn, Shapley, and their universes

For American college students studying introductory astronomy, the chances are about even that they will encounter the name of Kapteyn. The distinguished astronomer of Groningen is mentioned in seven of ten recent textbooks that I examined, always associated with the Kapteyn Universe, and invariably as a foil for Shapley’s larger and more modern conception of the Milky Way Galaxy.
3D Graph Description of the Intracerebral Vasculature from Segmented MRA and Tests of Accuracy by Comparison with X-ray Angiograms

This paper describes largely automated methods of creating connected, 3D vascular trees from individual vessels segmented from magnetic resonance angiograms. Vessel segmentation is initiated by user-supplied seed points, with automatic calculation of vessel skeletons as image intensity ridges and automatic estimation of vessel widths via medialness calculations. The tree-creation process employs a variant of the minimum spanning tree algorithm and evaluates image intensities at each proposed connection point. We evaluate the accuracy of nodal connections by registering a 3D vascular tree with 4 digital subtraction angiograms (DSAs) obtained from the same patient, and by asking two neuroradiologists to evaluate each nodal connection on each DSA view. No connection was judged incorrect. The approach permits new, clinically useful visualizations of the intracerebral vasculature.
Testing a model of women's personal sense of justice, control, well-being, and distress in the context of sexist discrimination.

Popular media convey notions that the United States is a postfeminist culture, where sexism is a thing of the past and gender equality prevails. Empirical data suggest otherwise. Further, links between group-based discrimination and psychological distress have been well documented (e.g., in bisexual and gay Latino men, African Americans, Asian Americans). Less understood are mediating factors explaining these links. We hypothesized a theory-based, integrated path model of women's distress and well-being as predicted by sexist events, highlighting intermediate effects of women's beliefs about justice and control in their lives. Specifically, we hypothesized that the more a woman experiences sexist events, the less fair and just her life seems; in turn, she feels less control of her life and reports heightened mental health concerns (depression, anxiety, less well-being). Cross-sectional data from 264 women indicated that sexist events had indirect effects on all three mental health variables, as mediated b...
Phylogenomic analysis of the genus Ralstonia based on 686 single-copy genes

The genus Ralstonia contains species that are devastating plant pathogens, opportunistic human pathogens, and/or important degraders of xenobiotic and recalcitrant compounds. However, significant nomenclature problems exist, especially for the Ralstonia solanacearum species complex which consists of four phylotypes. Phylogenomics of the Ralstonia genus was investigated via a comprehensive analysis of 39 Ralstonia genomes as well as four genomes of Cupriavidus necator (more commonly known by its previous name Ralstonia eutropha). These data revealed 686 single-copy orthologs that could be extracted from the Ralstonia core-genome and used to reconstruct the phylogeny of the genus Ralstonia. The generated tree has strong bootstrap support for almost all branches. We also estimated the in silico DNA-DNA hybridization (isDDH) and the average nucleotide identity (ANI) values between each genome. Our data confirmed that whole genome sequence data provides a powerful tool to resolve the complex taxonomic questions of the genus Ralstonia, e.g. strains of Ralstonia solanacearum phylotype IIA and IIB may represent two subspecies of R. solanacearum, and strains of R. solanacearum phylotype I and III may be classified into two subspecies of Ralstonia pseudosolanacearum. Recently, strains of R. solanacearum phylotype IV were proposed to be reclassified into different subspecies of Ralstonia syzygii; our study, however, showed that phylotype IV strains had high isDDH values (83.8-96.1 %), indicating it may be not appropriate to classify these closely related strains into different subspecies. We also evaluated the performance of six chromosomal housekeeping genes (gdhA, mutS, adk, leuS, rplB and gyrB) used in Ralstonia phylogenetic inference. The multilocus sequence analysis of these six marker genes was able to reliably infer the phylogenetic relationships of the genus Ralstonia.
Development of an organotypic peritoneal 3D culture to study peritoneal attachment of ovarian cancer cells.

5152 Objectives: The principal mechanism of ovarian cancer metastasis is peritoneal dissemination, but there is a paucity of models to study this vital step in the metastatic process. The goal of this study was to develop and validate a 3-dimensional model of the peritoneum to investigate the contribution of peritoneal stromal cells and stromal components (e.g. collagen) on ovarian cancer cell attachment. Methods: Short term cultures of primary human peritoneal mesothelial and fibroblast cell lines were established from patients undergoing benign gynecologic surgery, and characterized using cell type specific markers. For the 3D peritoneal model, collagen and primary peritoneal fibroblasts were mixed and after solidification, a confluent layer of mesothelial cells was added. The ovarian cancer cell lines, SKOV3ip.1 and Hey A8, and a normal surface epithelial cell line (IOSE 29), were fluorescently-labeled and attachment measured using a fluorescent plate reader. The numbers of cells attaching to the various components of the 3D model were compared and visualized by microscopy. This approach was validated by comparing the results to attachment of cells to full thickness human peritoneum. Gelatin zymography was used to assess matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-2 and MMP-9) secretion. Results: SKOV3ip.1, Hey A8 and IOSE 29 cells attached to the 3D peritoneal model in a biphasic pattern with initial attachment occurring within 2h (23±3%, 19±4%, 12±3%) and a second wave of attachment occurring within 18h (77±9%, 71±7%, 67±8%). SKOV3ip.1 and Hey A8 cells attached to vitronectin, fibronectin, collagen I, matrigel, and poly-lysine (44±11%, 81±8%) 3-fold greater than laminin (9±2%, 7±1%, p
The Continuing Economic Potential of Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology is an emerging technology that already has had commercial impact and potentially could revolutionize manufacturing and industry ecosystems. Drawing on interviews with company representatives, and discussions with nanotechnology scientists and engineers as well as secondary data, this article reviews the history of scientific developments, patents, products, company activities,nanotech business models, government resources, nanotechnology infrastructure and ethical, legal, social and educational dimensions of the nanotechnology platform to illustrate opportunities and challenges of nanotechnology commercialization. The continuing growth of nanotechnology enabled businesses and products and pace of technological development make observers increasingly convinced that nanotechnology will have a significant impact on society, business, and economic growth. Keywords: nanotechnology; commercialization of emerging technologies; nanotechnology companies; nanotechnology business models and value chains; ethical; legal and social issues
Patient-Specific Finite Element–Based Analysis of Ventricular Myofiber Stress After Coapsys: Importance of Residual Stress

Background We sought to determine regional myofiber stress after Coapsys device (Myocor, Inc, Maple Grove, MN) implantation using a finite element model of the left ventricle (LV). Chronic ischemic mitral regurgitation is caused by LV remodeling after posterolateral myocardial infarction. The Coapsys device consists of a single trans-LV chord placed below the mitral valve such that when tensioned it alters LV shape and decreases chronic ischemic mitral regurgitation. Methods Finite element models of the LV were based on magnetic resonance images obtained before (preoperatively) and after (postoperatively) coronary artery bypass grafting with Coapsys implantation in a single patient. To determine the effect of Coapsys and LV before stress, virtual Coapsys was performed on the preoperative model. Diastolic and systolic material variables in the preoperative, postoperative, and virtual Coapsys models were adjusted so that model LV volume agreed with magnetic resonance imaging data. Chronic ischemic mitral regurgitation was abolished in the postoperative models. In each case, myofiber stress and pump function were calculated. Results Both postoperative and virtual Coapsys models shifted end-systolic and end-diastolic pressure–volume relationships to the left. As a consequence and because chronic ischemic mitral regurgitation was reduced after Coapsys, pump function was unchanged. Coapsys decreased myofiber stress at end-diastole and end-systole in both the remote and infarct regions of the myocardium. However, knowledge of Coapsys and LV prestress was necessary for accurate calculation of LV myofiber stress, especially in the remote zone. Conclusions Coapsys decreases myofiber stress at end-diastole and end-systole. The improvement in myofiber stress may contribute to the long-term effect of Coapsys on LV remodeling.
Effect of surface charge on laser-induced neutral atom desorption

When an ionic metal oxide crystal is cleaved, inhomogeneous electrical charging of the surface can be a result. Such an effect has been well documented in magnesium oxide (100). For example, recent rigorous AFM studies indicate that nanoscale charged clusters of MgO are created during cleavage, with high concentrations often located at terrace step edges (Barth and Henry in J. Phys. Chem. C 113:247, 2009). In addition, ablation processes of freshly cleaved magnesium oxide crystals may be effected by remnant surface charging and microstructures (Stoneham et al. in Appl. Phys. A 69:S81, 1999). We report here that such surface charging strongly impacts neutral atom desorption, even under conditions of extremely mild excitation of surface terrace features. In our experiments, single-crystal MgO (100) is cleaved in air and placed in an ultra-high vacuum chamber (UHV). We irradiate the crystal at 6.4 eV, photon energy resonant with five-coordinated (5-C) terrace sites and probe desorbing neutral oxygen atoms. It is found that a significant fraction of desorbed neutral oxygen atoms from the charged surface possess kinetic energies in excess of 0.7 eV. This is in contrast to uncharged samples (discharged in vacuo over 24 hours) that display a near-thermal oxygen atom distribution.
Measures of Association for Cross Classifications. II: Further Discussion and References

Abstract Our earlier discussion of measures of association for cross classifications [66] is extended in two ways. First, a number of supplementary remarks to [66] are made, including the presentation of some new measures. Second, historical and bibliographical material beyond that in [66] is critically surveyed; this includes discussion of early work in America by Doolittle and Peirce, early work in Europe by Korosy, Benini, Lipps, Deuchler and Gini, more recent work based on Shannon-Wiener information, association measures based on latent structure, and relevant material in the literatures of meteorology, ecology, sociology, and anthropology. New expressions are given for some of the earlier measures of association. * This research was supported in part by the Army, Navy, and Air Force through the Joint Services Advisory Committee for Research Groups in Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Contract No. N6ori-02035; and in part by the Office of Naval Research. This paper, in whole or in part, may be repro...
Evaluating the physical removal of ruffe (Gymnocephalus cernuus) with bottom trawling

The ability to reduce a population of ruffe (Gymnocephalus cernuus) with intense repeated bottom trawling was examined at two locations in Chequamegon Bay of Lake Superior. Trawling significantly depleted the population at the Kakagon River site but not at the Second Landing site. At least 93% of the estimated population of ruffe was removed from the Kakagon River site, but ruffe re-established in the area within 1 year. The relative success of short-term reduction at the Kakagon River site was likely due to habitat and biological characteristics that led ruffe to congregate in large numbers. Physical removal does not appear to be an effective way to effect long-term removal of ruffe.
Ventricular fibrillation threshold of rapid short pulses

The risk of VF (ventricular fibrillation) from continuous AC utility (50/60 Hz) power has been well quantified and is reflected in accepted standards. Similarly, the required charge for a single pulse delivered during the T-wave of the ECG is also quantified. However, there are no studies that deal with the VF risk of a train of multiple short pulses such as those used in electric fences and conducted electrical weapons (CEWs). We studied 5 swine with an electrode placed through the anterior chest such that the tip was 10 mm from the epicardium. A return electrode was attached remotely to the lower abdomen. Five-second trains of 100 μs pulses at rates of 10–70 PPS (pulses per second) were delivered with gradually increasing charges until VF was induced. The VF threshold was also determined for 60 Hz AC current. As expected, the VF charge threshold decreased with increasing rates. For pulse rates between 10–30 PPS, the aggregate current (= charge • pulse rate) was constant at the VF threshold. The VF threshold in terms of AC RMS current was 7.4 ± 1.9 times the aggregate current VF threshold for the rapid short pulses. These results may have utility for setting safety standards for electric fences and for CEWs such as TASER® CEWs. This also allows for the risk assessment of CEWs by comparison to international electrical safety standards. The output of these weapons appears to be well below the VF risk limits as set by these standards.
Determination of Interphase Line Tension in Langmuir Films

A Langmuir film is a molecularly thin film on the surface of a fluid; we study the evolution of a Langmuir film with two coexisting fluid phases driven by an interphase line tension and damped by the viscous drag of the underlying subfluid. Experimentally, we study a ${4}^{\ensuremath{'}}$-8-alkyl[1,${1}^{\ensuremath{'}}$-biphenyl]-4-carbonitrile (8CB) Langmuir film via digitally imaged Brewster angle microscopy in a four-roll mill setup which applies a transient strain and images the response. When a compact domain is stretched by the imposed strain, it first assumes a bola shape with two tear-drop shaped reservoirs connected by a thin tether which then slowly relaxes to a circular domain which minimizes the interfacial energy of the system. We process the digital images of the experiment to extract the domain shapes. We then use one of these shapes as an initial condition for the numerical solution of a boundary-integral model of the underlying hydrodynamics and compare the subsequent images of the experiment to the numerical simulation. The numerical evolutions first verify that our hydrodynamical model can reproduce the observed dynamics. They also allow us to deduce the magnitude of the line tension in the system, often to within 1%. We find line tensions in the range of $200\char21{}600\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{pN}$; we hypothesize that this variation is due to differences in the layer depths of the 8CB fluid phases.
Quasi-randomness and the distribution of copies of a fixed graph

We show that if a graph G has the property that all subsets of vertices of size n/4 contain the “correct” number of triangles one would expect to find in a random graph G(n, 1/2), then G behaves like a random graph, that is, it is quasi-random in the sense of Chung, Graham, and Wilson [6]. This answers positively an open problem of Simonovits and Sos [10], who showed that in order to deduce that G is quasi-random one needs to assume that all sets of vertices have the correct number of triangles. A similar improvement of [10] is also obtained for any fixed graph other than the triangle, and for any edge density other than 1/2. The proof relies on a theorem of Gottlieb [7] in algebraic combinatorics, concerning the rank of set inclusion matrices.
A Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Protein That Forms Inhibitory Complexes with Type I Interferon Receptor Subunits, Jak and STAT Proteins, and Blocks Interferon-Mediated Signal Transduction

Type I interferons (IFNs) are important mediators of innate antiviral defense and function by activating a signaling pathway through their cognate type I receptor (IFNAR). Here we report that lytic replication of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) efficiently blocks type I IFN signaling and that an important effector of this blockade is the viral protein RIF, the product of open reading frame 10. RIF blocks IFN signaling by formation of inhibitory complexes that contain IFNAR subunits, the Janus kinases Jak1 and Tyk2, and the STAT2 transcription factor. Activation of both Tyk2 and Jak1 is inhibited, and abnormal recruitment of STAT2 to IFNAR1 occurs despite the decrement in Tyk2 activity. As a result of these actions, phosphorylation of both STAT2 and STAT1 is impaired, with subsequent failure of ISGF3 accumulation in the nucleus. The presence in the viral genome of potent inhibitors of type I IFN signaling, along with several viral genes that block IFN induction, highlights the importance of the IFN pathway in the control of this human tumor virus infection.
The effects of flutamide on total DHT and nuclear DHT levels in the human prostate.

The effects of flutamide, an antiandrogen, on prostate tissue concentrations of total DHT, DHT present in both crude and purified nuclear fractions, prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP) and plasma testosterone were studied and compared to similar parameters in untreated benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH). Flutamide was given to patients with BPH in a dosage of 750 mg per day by mouth for 10–14 days prior to transurethral resection of the prostate. Total prostate DHT was significantly decreased to 3.95 ng/g in 12 flutamide-treated patients compared to values of 6.61 ng/g in 12 patients with untreated BPH. However, no significant difference was noted in the concentration of DHT present in the crude nuclear fraction of flutamide-treated patients (646 pg/mg DNA, N = 5) and untreated BPH (882 pg/mg DNA, N = 10); nor was DHT in the purified nuclear fraction significantly different in drug versus untreated patients (251 pg/mg DNA for flutamide versus 353 pg/mg DNA for untreated controls). PAP concentration in BPH prostates was 7.11 S.U./mg wet weight and was significantly higher than 2.98 S.U. per mg wet weight noted in flutamide-treated patients. Plasma testosterone tended to rise in the flutamide-treated patients compared to the untreated BPH but this was not statistically significant. The decrease in total prostate DHT without changes in nuclear DHT was unexpected and difficult to explain in terms of current tenets regarding the mechanism of androgen action. The following hypotheses are offered: (a) Flutamide may decrease transport of testosterone into cells, thereby decreasing total prostate DHT. (b) Inhibitory effects of flutamide on receptor-bound DHT translocation to nuclei may be difficult to detect since 95% or more of nuclear DHT may not be bound to a salt extractable receptor. (c) The binding of DHT directly to putative nuclear matrix receptor sites may dilute the effects of flutamide on blocking translocation of receptor bound DHT, resulting in very small differences in DHT present in purified nuclei difficult to detect with current methodology.
Presence of a Critical Coronary Artery Stenosis Does Not Abolish the Protective Effect of Ischemic Preconditioning

Background Episodic, severe coronary artery flow restriction preconditions the myocardium much like brief occlusions. The necessity for full reperfusion after a preconditioning intervention to elicit the preconditioning response is unclear. This study investigated in closed-chest swine the effect of a persistent critical coronary stenosis with moderate flow reduction on ischemic preconditioning. Methods and Results Farm pigs (n=23) assigned to one of four groups—(1) control, (2) stenosis, (3) preconditioned (PC), or (4) preconditioned plus stenosis (PC/S)—underwent percutaneous instrumentation with a percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty catheter advanced to the mid–left anterior descending coronary artery. An artificial coronary stenosis (82% diameter reduction) was mounted on the catheter just proximal to the balloon in the two stenosis groups. Preconditioning stimulus consisted of two 10-minute balloon occlusions followed by 15 minutes of reperfusion. All groups subsequently underwent 45 minut...
Do opposites attract? Understanding opposition in promotion

article i nfo Opposition, a promotion execution style that uses contrasting/contradictory images and/or verbal cues, is recognizable across numerous media. In spite of its popularity and perceived effectiveness, empirical evidence regarding opposition as an effective execution mechanism is limited. A series of three experiments demonstrates that the underlying mechanism for opposition is reduction of visual complexity and the simplification of processing that leads to increased recall of product claims. In addition, the moderating impact of cognitive load is examined, showing that under high cognitive load, recall is significantly higher for oppositional appeals than for non-oppositional ones. Theoretical and managerial implications are offered.
One-stage repair of hypospadias with a bipaddled preputial island flap

Abstract A one-stage repair of hypospadias with a bipaddled preputial island flap is described. Although the bilaminar island flap has been described before, the technique reported contains some variations. Sixteen cases are reported with good functional and aesthetic results. The complications were two stenoses (one with a simultaneous fistula) at the proximal anastomosis of the urethroplasty. All flaps survived and no meatal strictures were encountered with this technique.
Psychological Interventions in the Age of Managed Care: A Commentary on Medical Cost Offsets

This article provides a commentary on the Chiles, Lambert, and Hatch (this issue) meta-analytic review of the medical cost-offset literature. Emphasis is placed on the impact of managed care on their findings and on the field. Under conditions of closely monitored and/ or restricted care, cost offsets may be more difficult to achieve. Moreover, recent research indicates that specialty care for mental health may be more costly than management by primary care physicians. However, specialty care is associated with more optimal outcomes and greater cost-effectiveness. Attention to the value of care (cost-effectiveness) will help ensure that psychological interventions compete well in current fiscal environments.
Distinguishing allozymes and isozymes of phosphoglucoisomerases by electrophoretic comparisons of pollen and somatic tissues

The different electrophoretic patterns of dimeric phosphoglucoisomerases extracted from haploid pollen and diploid somatic tissues of plants may be used to distinguish allozymes and isozymes. The analysis depends on the presence of two alleles at each locus in somatic tissues but only one or the other allele in pollen grains. Consequently, in heterozygotes, heterodimeric allozymes can be identified because they are formed in stems and leaves but not in pollen. The procedure is described in enzymes extracted from the diploid annual plant Clarkia dudleyana, which possesses three gene loci for PGI subunits. Comparison of the electrophoretic patterns of stem and pollen extracts makes it possible in many cases to identify allelic state without breeding tests. The technique also is likely to be useful in the interpretation of zymograms of other multimeric enzymes coded by more than one gene locus.
Intake, digestion and daily gain by cattle consuming bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) and supplemented with different combinations of ground corn, vegetable oil, urea, and corn gluten and blood meals

Abstract Intake, digestion and daily gain by cattle consuming bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon; BER) and receiving different concentrate supplements were determined. In one study, 6 tethered Holstein steers (204.5 kg) were fed BER hay ad libitum and in another trial 72 beef cattle (261 kg) grazed BER for 84 days. Animals were not supplemented (control) or received 0.25% body weight of ground corn (LC), 0.75% body weight of corn (HC), 0.25% body weight of corn plus 0.50% body weight of corn mixed with 0.056% body weight of vegetable oil (blend of soybean and coconut oils) and 0.011% body weight of calcium carbonate (HCF), the HCF supplement plus 0.017% body weight of urea (HCFU) or the HCFU supplement plus 0.051% body weight of corn gluten meal and 0.017% body weight of blood meal (HCFUGB; dry matter basis). The low amount of corn appeared to correct a ruminal insufficiency of readily fermentable substrate, presumably increasing nitrogen capture and flow of microbial protein to the small intestine to increase daily gain when nitrogen in BER was not extremely low. In the second 42-day period of the performance trial (Period 2) when forage nitrogen was low, little excess nitrogen from ruminal forage degradation escaping microbial capture probably prevented the low amount of corn from improving gain. The high level of supplemental grain increased performance in Period 2 with low-nitrogen forage but not in Period 1 with forage of higher nitrogen content. Thus, in Period 1 protein status of control and LC calves seemed first-limiting to gain, whereas additional energy was needed for faster gain of control and LC animals in Period 2. Fat mixed with grain may have lessened the deleterious effects of grain on fiber digestion by protecting concentrate from ruminal degradation, but did not greatly affect performance. Supplementation with urea improved gain with low-nitrogen BER but did not affect digestion or daily gain with BER higher in nitrogen. Supplementation with ruminal escape protein sources improved daily gain in both periods, suggesting that with prior inclusion of other supplement ingredients, intestinal amino acid supply limited performance.
Field evaluation of an engineering control for respirable crystalline silica exposures during mortar removal.

During mortar removal with a right angle grinder, a building renovation process known as “tuck pointing,” worker exposures to respirable crystalline silica can be as high as 5 mg/m3, 100 times the recommended exposure limit developed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. To reduce the risk of silicosis among these workers, a vacuum cleaner can be used to exhaust 80 ft3/min (2.26 m3/min) from a hood mounted on the grinder. Field trials examined the ability of vacuum cleaners to maintain adequate exhaust ventilation rates and measure exposure outcomes when using this engineering control. These field trials involved task-based exposure measurement of respirable dust and crystalline silica exposures during mortar removal. These measurements were compared with published exposure data. Vacuum cleaner airflows were obtained by measuring and digitally logging vacuum cleaner static pressure at the inlet to the vacuum cleaner motor. Static pressures were converted to airflows based on experi...
Agile - A software development approach for quality software

This paper describes Agile development, a colloborative, incremental and iterative approach to software development and how it can produce high quality cost effective software. It describes the various agile methodologies used in today's software industry, agile process and how they contribute to the Win-Win situation, where the customer's expectations converge with the product developed.
Characteristics of diffractive optical element for multispot beam homogenizing

Laser materials processing has been used increasingly over the wide area of electronic industries, especially for drilling microvias in printed circuit boards, and poly-silicon annealing for thin film transistor of liquid crystal display. To increase a processing speed, it has been developed a beam splitting element of a diffractive optical element (DOE). And the other hand, to obtain higher uniformity, because the intensity distribution of laser beam is usually a non-uniform gaussian profile, beam homogenizer of a DOE has recently been developed and introduced to some promising applications. Through the improvement of optical design algorithms, micro-fabrication techniques of a phase pattern of DOE and new method of optical system, it enables to combine its beam splitting function and homogenizing function. It can produce the simultaneous multi-spot homogenized beam. In this investigation, we introduce a concrete design and fabrication result of multi-spot beam homogenizing system for SHG-YAG laser that can convert a gaussian distribution into the plural number of uniformity intensity distribution, and present the possibility of new laser material processing by using such optics.
Improving aging and creep resistance in a dilute Al-Sc alloy by microalloying with Si, Zr and Er

Abstract Nanosized precipitates in an Al–0.06Sc at.% alloy containing various microalloying additions were studied, with the goal of developing cost-effective aluminum alloys for high-temperature applications, using micro-hardness, electrical conductivity and atom-probe tomography measurements. Substituting 0.005 at.% Er for the more expensive Sc maintains high ambient-temperature strength, and dramatically improves the high-temperature creep resistance, as anticipated from the increase in lattice parameter mismatch between the α-Al(fcc) matrix and the coherent L1 2 -ordered Al 3 (Sc,Zr,Er) precipitates. A concentration of the slow-diffuser Zr as low as 0.02 at.% is sufficient to provide coarsening resistance at 400 °C (an homologous temperature of 0.72) for up to 66 days by forming a Zr-enriched outer shell encapsulating the precipitates. Finally, adding 0.05 at.% Si enhances ambient-temperature strength by increasing the number density of precipitates, while decreasing the homogenization and peak-aging heat-treatment times, which is caused by the Si atoms accelerating the Er and Sc diffusion kinetics. Si-containing alloys are also cost effective, owing to the existence of Si in commercial purity Al. But addition of Si reduces the precipitate coarsening resistance: the magnitude of this effect is, however, determined by the Si concentration.
Electrophoretic key for distinguishing South Carolina species of the genus Phidippus (Araneae: Salticidae) as spiderlings and adults

An electrophoretic key for distinguishing seven South Carolina species of immature and adult jumping spiders of the genus Phidippus is described. The key is based on relative mobility of electromorphs from five enzyme systems separated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.
Dietary Restriction and Aging

The diet-restricted rodent model has been and is a major tool in experimental biogerontology. A spectrum of findings indicates that dietary restriction retards the aging processes of mice and rats, the most salient of which is the increase in mortality rate doubling time. It also maintains many physiological processes in a youthful state and, most strikingly, retards or prevents almost all age-associated disease processes. Current emphasis is on the mechanisms underlying the anti-aging actions of dietary restriction. The major effort for determining mechanism has focused on putative primary aging processes. A clue has emerged from the findings that it is the restriction of energy intake that is the dietary factor responsible for the anti-aging actions. However, reducing the metabolic rate is not involved. The challenge is to learn how the reduction of energy intake per animal (not per unit of body mass) is coupled to the retardation of aging processes. One of our working hypotheses is that dietary restriction alters nervous and/or endocrine functions that influence the characteristics (not the rate) of fuel use; this modulation in fuel-use characteristics is proposed to retard the aging processes. Our findings on carbohydrate metabolism are in accord with this view. Diet-restricted rats can use carbohydrate fuel as effectively as ad libitum fed rats while maintaining lower plasma glucose and insulin level. Maintenance of these low levels may protect against long-term damaging actions of these substances. Dietary restriction also protects against oxidative damage and, of course, oxidative damage is probably an inevitable component of fuel use.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The Carbohydrate Moiety of Bovine Thyrotropin Is Essential for Full Bioactivity but Not for Receptor Recognition

TSH is a glycoprotein hormone whose carbohydrate content varies among different species. Although recent studies suggest that variants of TSH deficient in carbohydrate occur naturally, the significance of the carbohydrate moiety of TSH in respect to its thyrotropic function is unclear. The present studies were undertaken, therefore, to examine this question. A highly purified preparation of bovine TSH (bTSH) was deglycosylated by treatment with anhydrous hydrogen fluoride. Amino acid and carbohydrate analyses of the original and deglycosylated preparations indicated that approximately 85% of the carbohydrate originally present had been removed and that the protein moiety was unaltered. As judged from TSH radioreceptor assays, bTSH and deglycosylated bTSH (dg-bTSH) bound to human thyroid membranes with equal affinity, since both caused a half-maximal inhibition of [125I]bTSH binding at approximately equal concentrations. Nonetheless, dg-bTSH at optimal concentration displayed only about one third the activ...
Stressors and Family Supports: Families with Children Using Augmentative & Alternative Communication Technology

A statewide survey was conducted in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Assistive Technology Center of Harrisburg to identify the stressors and family supports of 59 families with young children between the ages of 3 and 12 years who use AAC technology and technology services. Descriptive statistics and correlations were used to analyze the data. Parenting Stress Index results revealed both fathers and mothers perceived the child-related variables of acceptance and demandingness as stressful. Results revealed differences for parent-related variables for mothers and fathers. Data derived from the Family Support Scale revealed significant differences for mothers and fathers with regard to the helpfulness of social supports. Implications for family-centered intervention and future research are discussed.
Partial Deacidification and Demineralization of Cottage Cheese Whey by Nanofiltration

Nanofiltration (NF) membrane processing was investigated as a method for deacidifying and demineralizing cottage cheese whey (CCW) as a function of pH 3.0 to 6.5 so that it could be used in ice cream and other frozen dairy desserts. Membrane flux values after 30 min processing ranged from 7.5 to 9.0 Lm -2 hr -1 . Total processing time to produce volume concentration ratio 3 (VCR3) retentate and diafiltration against 3 volumes of water to produce DNF3 retentate ranged from 87 to 93 min at pH 3-4.35 to 180 to 210 min at pH 5.5-6.5. DNF3 retentate contained 0.33% lactic acid, 0.65% ash, 11.55% lactose and 14.47% total solids. Membrane rejection of lactic acid ranged from 31% for VCR3 retentate to 67.2% for DNF3 retentate. Membrane rejection of minerals for VCR3 and DNF3 retentates was 30% and 71%, respectively.
Post‐incident crisis intervention: a risk management strategy for preventing workplace violence

Violence in the workplace is a serious public health issue. Facilities frequently address this matter through risk management strategies that include monitoring access, surveillance, target hardening, and campus security. Post-incident crisis response intervention is often offered in the aftermath of violence events. However, recent replicated findings of one post-incident crisis response intervention, The Assaulted Staff Action Program (ASAP), document an association between fielding an ASAP team and subsequent sharp declines in levels of violence. The implications of this post-incident crisis response approach as an additional and important risk management strategy are considered. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.