cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The HLB Turnaround

Ford Pearson has recently taken over as CEO of HLB, a Chicago-based product design and development firm (and once one of the largest in the business), to help turn it around after a series of crises that had seriously threatened its survival. Pearson has personally invested in the firm, re-organized many aspects of its operations and has hired a younger executive and turnaround expert, Andrew Macey, as COO to help him in the effort. Pearson and Macey have several options to consider: Should HLB raise $1 million in debt financing and focus on a turnaround or should it approach a private equity investor and raise an additional $4 million and pursue a more aggressive productivity improvement plus growth strategy? While they consider these options in September 2008, the credit markets are about to clamp shut as a global financial crisis is around the corner.
Breakdown experiments in gas contaminated vacuum regions

The possibility of using the space vacuum for electrical insulation is under investigation. To predict the gas flow and pressure throughout a given geometry of interconnected regions (i.e. a spacecraft payload), a computer model which includes source terms such as outgassing, leaks, and effluents was developed. For vacuum regions dominated by outgassing the electrical breakdown process is most likely to be low-pressure gas breakdown governed by Paschen's law. Thus the gas distribution model is coupled to a gas breakdown model to predict potential breakdown locations. Preliminary experimental results are presented. Two applications to actual space experiments are described. >
Military westernization and state repression in the post-Cold War era

The waves of unrest that have shaken the Arab world since December 2010 have highlighted significant differences in the readiness of the military to intervene in political unrest by forcefully suppressing dissent. We suggest that in the post-Cold War period, this readiness is inversely associated with the level of military westernization, which is a product of the acquisition of arms from western countries. We identify two mechanisms linking the acquisition of arms from western countries to less repressive responses: dependence and conditionality; and a longer-term diffusion of ideologies regarding the proper form of civil-military relations. Empirical support for our hypothesis is found in an analysis of 2523 cases of government response to political unrest in 138 countries in the 1996-2005 period. We find that military westernization mitigates state repression in general, with more pronounced effects in the poorest countries. However, we also identify substantial differences between the pre- and post-9/11 periods.
Out of Field

While every discipline in the humanities worries about its future, film studies is caught in the thrall of a particular anxiety, namely the possibility that it lacks a consistent object and a compelling reason. Behind the question of film studies looms the question of cinema itself, an aging technē that seems to have hung around in the midst of new(er) media that lay claim to the image as their province. Why cinema? Against so many digital incursions, more traditionally minded critics have defended film on the basis of its indexical powers, but this article envisions an entirely different reason to return to the cinema. Where both the return to the index and the recourse to the digital effect tend to regard the cinema as a matter of visibility, I suggest that we might reclaim our faith in the cinema by virtue of what remains unseen and off-screen. Hence, this essay undertakes a brief history of the out of frame in order to induce a conceptualization of the cinema (pace Deleuze) as the art of the “Outside....
A Reply to Besteman and Gusterson: Swinging the Pendulum

In this rejoinder to Catherine Besteman and Hugh Gusterson, I clarify that my essay “The Quest for Anthropological Relevance: Borgesian Maps and Epistemological Pitfalls” is not primarily a critique of their volume Why America's Top Pundits Are Wrong (2005). Instead, I maintain that it takes issue with the current state of sociocultural anthropology and its inability to communicate with a larger public sphere. In conclusion, I reflect on the historical location of my argument, likening my position to advocacy for a swing in the discipline's epistemological pendulum and finding additional cause for such action in the realities of the current political moment.
Fitness effects of EMS-induced mutations on the X chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster. I. Viability effects and heterozygous fitness effects.

Drosophila melanogaster X chromosomes were mutagenized by feeding males sucrose solutions containing ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS); the concentrations of EMS in the food were 2.5 mm, 5.0 mm , and 10.0 mm. Chromosomes were exposed to the mutagen up to three times by treating males in succeeding generations. After treatment, the effective exposures were 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, 10.0, 15.0, and 30.0 mm EMS. X chromosomes treated in this manner were tested for effects on fitness in both hemizygous and heterozygous conditions, and for effects on viability in hemizygous and homozygous conditions. In addition, untreated X chromosomes were available for study. The viability and heterozygous fitness effects are presented in this paper, and the hemizygous fitness effects are discussed in the accompanying one (Mitchell and Simmons 1977). Hemizygous and homozygous viability effects were measured by segregation tests in vial cultures. For hemizygous males, viability was reduced 0.5 percent per mm EMS treatment; for homozygous females, it was reduced 0.7 percent per mm treatment. The decline in viability appeared to be a linear function of EMS dose. The viabilities of males and females were strongly correlated. Heterozygous fitness effects were measured by monitoring changes in the frequencies of treated and untreated X chromosomes in discrete generation populations which, through the use of an X-Y translocation, maintained them only in heterozygous condition. Flies that were heterozygous for a treated chromosome were found to be 0.4 percent less fit per m m EMS than flies heterozygous for an untreated one.
Adult attachment and symptom distress: a dyadic analysis of couples in therapy

This study used Kenny and Cook’s actor-partner interdependence model to examine both actor and partner effects of attachment anxiety and avoidance for male and female partners on symptom distress over four sessions of therapy. Using the couple as the unit of analysis offers a unique method for studying the role of adult attachment in the treatment of mental health symptoms. The findings provided some new perspectives on the role of attachment in treatment outcomes and provided support for previous research. The results showed that women’s anxiety and avoidance has an impact on their male partners’ symptom distress following four sessions of couple therapy. Additionally, men’s avoidance was a significant influence on their female partners’ symptom distress after four sessions of therapy. Practitioner points  Male partners participating in therapy are influenced by their female partners’ attachment on their own symptom distress, therefore men would greatly benefit from couple-related interventions to reduce individual symptom distress.  Female partners’ attachment anxiety and avoidance influenced their symptom distress, therefore individual attachment-informed interventions would support women’s reduction of symptom distress in therapy.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF A FLIGHT TERMINATION PARACHUTE SYSTEM FOR A 1900 LB PAYLOAD

A 30-ft-diameter ringslot/solid parachute was designed, developed, and tested at Sandia National Laboratories as the major component of a flight termination system required for a 1900-lb gliding delivery platform. Four full-scale sled tests were performed to validate the design models of the parachute, determine reefing line length, demonstrate structural adequacy of the parachute materials, and demonstrate that performance met the design requirements.
Enhanced Cardiac Preservation with Oxygenated University of Wisconsin Solution

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine if oxygen delivery to rabbit cardiac allografts arrested and stored in University of Wisconsin solution (UWS) at 4°C would affect preservation. Nineteen isolated rabbit hearts were rapidly excised and perfused at 80 mm Hg on an isovolumic modified Langendorff apparatus. A micromanometer was placed within a balloon and inserted into the left ventricle through the mitral valve orifice. Digitized pressure waveforms were collected at 11 known balloon volumes froth 0.8 to 1.2 ml. Baseline data were obtained for all hearts while perfused with Krebs-Henseleit solution equilibrated with 95% O2:5% CO2 at 37°C. All hearts were arrested with 30 ml of UWS (290 mOsm). The control group (N = 10) was stored in UWS at 4°C for 8 hr, and the experimental group (N = 9) was perfused with oxygenated UWS (O2 content = 5.6 ml O2) at 4°C for 8 hr at a pressure of 60 mm Hg (5-10 ml/min). Both groups were then reperfused with Krebs-Henseleit buffer at 80 mm Hg for 15 min at for postpreservation data acquisition. Left ventricular developed pressures over a physiologic range (pressure-volume area) and maximum positive and negative dP/dt were calculated. Recovery of left ventricular parameters as a percentage of the baseline values was determined. Mean pressure-volume area recovery in the nonperfused group was 40 ± 7.9% versus the perfused group (71 ± 7.0%, P = 0.01). Mean maximum negative dP/dt recovery in the nonperfused group was 44 ± 8.5% versus the perfused group (69 ± 7.3%, P = 0.046). Mean maximum positive dP/dt recovery in the nonperfused group was 40 ± 7.6% versus the perfused group (76 ± 8.7%, P = 0.005). The analysis of these parameters demonstrates between 25 and 36% improvement in recovery of left ventricular performance after infusing rabbit hearts with oxygenated UWS during 8 hr of storage versus storage alone. Perfusion of rabbit myocardium with oxygensted UWS provides better cardiac protection over 8 hr versus storage alone in UWS at 4°C.
Lipid A Is More than Acyl Chains

The acyl chain length, number, and distribution have been considered the major factors contributing to this biological activity of lipid A. The charged head groups on the dihexosamine backbone have also been implicated in contributing to this biology. In Neisseria, it has now been shown that loss of the 4′ phosphoethanolamine has an impact on virulence in an animal model and on the organism's susceptibility to cationic antimicrobial peptides. Such studies offer potential insight into targets for novel antimicrobial agents.
How to bridge the gap between meaning and reference

There is a temptation, during a revolution, to minimize the significant differences among the revolutionary parties. The activists themselves, due to their deep and unanimous opposition to the old regime and their exhilaration at recent successes, often find it difficult to overcome the illusion of general agreement on fundamentals. The past two decades has been a period of revolutionary activity in the philosophy of language. The members of the old regime are, as it were, the pro ponents of the Fregean picture of how words hook up with the world, the idea that singular terms express descriptive concepts and refer to those items that satisfy the concepts. Frege's perspective has been vigorously attacked by those recently called by one anthologist "the new theorists of reference", originally Donnellan, Kaplan, Kripke, and Putnam. Singular terms refer, according to the latter theorists, not by expressing concepts but in some much more immediate and direct way. The definite description, Frege's paradigm, has been replaced by a new paradigm or two, the demonstrative expression and/or the Millian proper name that merely tags but does describe its bearer. I plead guilty, as one of the advocates of the newer approach, to the charge of laboring under the illusion of agreement on fundamentals. I became suspicious, however, when I was accused of advocating the causal theory of reference, a view that seemed foreign to my thinking but was supposedly central to or even definitive of the new approach.1 The question I shall address, the question mentioned in the title, will highlight profound disagreements among the new theorists and will provide an opportunity to further develop the direct reference ap proach. I shall restrict my discussion to indexical reference, specifically to reference by means of pronouns and demonstratives. That there is a gap between meaning and reference in the case of indexical expressions has been a cornerstone of the new approach. Consider the first person pronoun. Each of us can use it to refer to ourselves, yet it is not ambiguous. Its lexical meaning remains constant
Hepatitis C virus infection and incident type 2 diabetes

Although hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is more common among adults with type 2 diabetes, it is uncertain whether HCV precedes the development of diabetes. Thus, we performed a prospective (case-cohort) analysis to examine if persons who acquired type 2 diabetes were more likely to have had antecedent HCV infection when enrolled in a community-based cohort of men and women between the ages of 44 and 65 in the United States (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study [ARIC]). Among 1,084 adults free of diabetes at baseline, 548 developed diabetes over 9 years of follow-up evaluation. Incident cases of diabetes were identified by using fasting glucose and medical history and HCV antibodies were assessed at baseline. A priori, persons were categorized as low-risk or high-risk for diabetes based on their age and body mass index, factors that appeared to modify the type 2 diabetes-HCV infection incidence estimates. The overall prevalence of HCV in this population was 0.8%. Among those at high risk for diabetes, persons with HCV infection were more than 11 times as likely as those without HCV infection to develop diabetes (relative hazard, 11.58; 95% confidence interval, 1.39-96.6). Among those at low risk, no increased incidence of diabetes was detected among HCV-infected persons (relative hazard, 0.48; 95% confidence interval, 0.05-4.40). In conclusion, pre-existing HCV infection may increase the risk for type 2 diabetes in persons with recognized diabetes risk factors. Additional larger prospective evaluations are needed to confirm these preliminary findings.
Healthy & Ready to Learn: Examining the Efficacy of an Early Approach to Obesity Prevention and School Readiness.

The collision of the childhood obesity epidemic with pressure to achieve high academic standards is of serious concern in the United States. Growing numbers of low-income, minority children face double jeopardy as alarming obesity rates further widen existing achievement gaps. Health and education disparities persist when children enter kindergarten lacking fundamental school readiness skills and are also at risk of obesity. The goal of this study was to address serious gaps in research by examining the efficacy of an innovative program, Healthy & Ready to Learn, an early approach to obesity prevention and promotion of school readiness. The study targeted low-income, predominantly Latino preschoolers who are particularly at risk of health and educational disparities. The pretest–posttest, quasi-experimental study involved 405 children, ages 3 to 5 years, enrolled in four matched Head Start centers. To ensure rigorous assessment, the study used a battery of objective and validated instruments as direct mea...
Direct and indirect in vitro regeneration of Miscanthus × giganteus cultivar Freedom: effects of explant type and medium on regeneration efficiency

Miscanthus × giganteus (giant miscanthus; Mxg) is a seed-sterile, perennial bioenergy crop with the potential to produce liquid fuel from lignocellulosic biomass. A new cultivar, Freedom, is being commercially grown in the USA on increasing acreage. To determine this genotype’s regeneration responses in tissue culture, three explant sources were screened on media proven successful for other genotypes. Four callus induction media contained 13.6–22.6 μM 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) alone or with 0.44–4.4 μM 6-benzyladenine (BA). Callus induction percentages for all explants ranged from 93 to 97%. Media yielding the greatest percentages of explants producing regenerable calli for shoot apices (from in vitro and greenhouse plant sources) were media containing either 13.6 μM 2,4-D plus 0.44 μM BA or 22.6 μM 2,4-D plus 0.44 μM BA. After culture on a regeneration medium containing 22 μM BA plus 1.3 μM naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), 3.59–3.74 regenerants were obtained per explant. Immature inflorescence explants (from field-maintained plants) gave up to 77% regenerable calli and 6.99 regenerants per explant. Direct regenerants (shoots) arose from immature inflorescence explants on a medium containing 9.0 μM 2,4-D. Intact plants could be generated within 16–18 wk after culture initiation. Extensive visual assessments, and molecular assessments via inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) PCR analysis using 21 different primers, did not reveal distinguishable somaclonal variation among regenerants or when compared to rhizome-propagated transplants under field conditions. We believe that this is the first extensive in vitro and ex vitro analysis on a commercially grown Mxg genotype.
Expression of Fos in rat brain in relation to sodium appetite: furosemide and cerebroventricular renin.

Abstract Two experiments were performed to investigate the relationship between the expression of sodium appetite and the appearance of Fos-like immunoreactivity (Fos-IR) in the brain of rats. In the first experiment, rats were depleted of sodium by treatment with furosemide 24 h prior to sacrifice and without access to either food or sodium solution. Some rats had access to distilled water, and others had no fluids available during the 24 h. All of the furosemide-treated rats showed Fos-IR in both the subfornical organ (SFO) and around the organum vasculosum laminae terminalis (OVLT). Rats with access to distilled water during the depletion period showed no Fos-IR in the supraoptic (SON) or paraventricular hypothalamic nuclei (PVN) and, in parallel behavioral studies, comparably-treated rats consumed only 0.3 M NaCl solution at the end of the 24 h. In rats that had no fluids during the deprivation period, only about one half showed Fos-IR in SON and PVN and, in parallel behavioral studies, comparably treated rats consumed both water and 0.3 M NaCI solution at the end of 24 h. In a second experiment, cerebroventricular administration of renin stimulated short latency intake of 0.3 M NaCI and water. The relative intakes of water and NaCl were comparable at a low dose of renin, but intake of water exceeded that of NaCl after higher doses. Renin induced Fos-IR in SFO, MnPO, peri-OVLT region, SON and PVN. Both Fos-IR and fluid intake were antagonized by administration of losartan, an angiotensin 11 type 1 receptor antagonist. Thus, only the circumventricular organs of the lamina terminalis showed Fos-IR during each natriorexigenic regimen in these studies. These data support the view that Ang 11 of both central and peripheral origin activates the SFO and/or peri-OVLT region and contributes to sodium appetite.
Calibration of LaD Model in the Northeast United States Using Observed Annual Streamflow

Abstract Calibration of land surface models improves simulations of surface water and energy fluxes and provides important information for water resources management. However, most calibration studies focus on local sites and/or small catchments because of computational limitations, lack of atmospheric forcing data, and lack of observed water and energy fluxes. Even though a well-established streamflow gauge network exists, its data are not well suited to the calibration of land surface models in cold regions because of large systematic precipitation biases. This study provides a newly developed method to adjust systematic precipitation biases arising from gauge undercatch (e.g., wind blowing, wetting loss, and evaporation loss). The new method estimates model parameter and precipitation errors simultaneously through the use of observed annual streamflow in the northeastern United States. The results show that this method improves streamflow simulations and gives a reasonable estimate for systematic preci...
The microscopic structure of lemongrass leaves

Abstract The volatile oil of lemongrass was found in the blade to occur in rows of cells located immediately below the bands of bulliform cells. In the sheath the rows of oil cells are embedded in the central part of the fundamental parenchyma. Such cells also occur in the joint triangles. No oil cells occur in the ligule, the auricles, or the culm. The oil cells, when freed of oil, are similar in appearance to some adjacent parenchyma but can easily be distinguished by the effect of phloroglucin‐hydrochloric acid on the walls. The detailed structure of the parts of the leaf is illustrated and described.
Enhancement factors for gas absorption with chemical reaction: Approximate analytical solutions

Abstract In this paper we examine the problem of absorption of two gases in an inert liquid with simultaneous chemical reaction. In the slow reaction regime, a regular perturbation solution is derived for the enhancement factors of the solute gases. Using the methods of Pade approximants and Shanks transformations, the regular perturbation solution (which is strictly valid in the slow reaction regime) is extended so that the results are applicable in the intermediate reaction regime and, in many cases, in the fast reaction regime. The results obtained by Pade approximants and Shanks transformations are found to be in excellent agreement with the direct numerical solutions of the enhancement factors. By virtue of their analytical nature and high accuracy, the present results may be used as a valuable tool in setting forth design criteria for many mass transfer operations in gas-liquid systems.
Cryosim: A User-Friendly Program for Simulating Cryopreservation Protocols

Abstract Models of cryopreservation are valuable research tools, but development of models for widespread use has been hindered by the difficulty of writing reliable and user-friendly computer code and interpreting computer output when the fundamental equations are based on complex modeling assumptions. These obstacles have been surmounted in Cryosim, a program for simulating water and cryoprotectant additive (CPA) flux during cryopreservation using the two-compartment model for chemical transport, the Kedem-Katchalsky model for membrane permeability, the Arrhenius function for changes in permeability with respect to temperature, and functions for phase diagrams of water, sodium chloride, and either glycerol or dimethyl sulfoxide published by Pegg. Cryosim assumes an isothermal system with well-mixed, ideal solutions that follow equilibrium phase diagrams. The only permeable species are water and CPA, and passive diffusion is the only transport process. The program is best suited for simulating cryopreservation of single cells or microscopic tissues such as embryos and pancreas islets at slow or moderate cooling and warming rates. Cryosim calculates supercooling and solute concentrations for both interior and exterior solutions, system temperature, and volume relative to isotonic. Cryosim can be obtained from the author at no charge starting in January, 1994. It runs on any IBM-compatible PC with 640K of RAM and uses less than 0.5 MB of hard disk space. Requests should be sent by E-mail to dwalcerz@wpi.wpi.edu or by post.
Abstract IA4: Defining the mechanisms of tumorigenesis by mutant EGFR using mouse models

Mutations in exons encoding the epidermal growth factor receptor ( EGFR ) are found in 10–15% of lung adenocarcinomas. The two most common mutations: a point mutation in exon 21 that leads to substitution of an arginine for a leucine at position 858 and small in-frame deletions in exon 19 are associated with sensitivity to the specific tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) gefitinib and erlotinib. Approximately 70% of tumors harboring EGFR mutations respond to treatment with these drugs, however 30% of these tumors exhibit primary resistance to treatment with these agents. Moreover, responses are transient and, on average, within a year of initiating treatment patients who initially respond eventually develop TKI-inhibitor-resistant disease. Drug resistance, in most cases, is due to a secondary mutation in EGFR (EGFR T790M). Other less frequent mechanisms of resistance include MET amplification, PIK3CA mutations and transformation to small cell lung cancer. However, the mechanism of resistance is still unknown in approximately 30% of cases. More effective treatment of patients with EGFR mutant lung cancer requires a better understanding of the mechanisms of primary and acquired resistance to EGFR TKIs and the development of strategies to overcome this resistance. To study these problems in vivo, we developed tetracycline-inducible transgenic mouse models of EGFR mutant lung cancer. Expression of lung cancer associated EGFR mutants gives rise to lung adenocarcinomas with bronchioloalveolar carcinoma features that are dependent upon the continuous activity of mutant EGFR for survival. Thus, treatment of the mice with erlotinib leads to tumor regression and long-term treatment with the drug gives rise to drug-resistant tumors that harbor some of the alterations observed in human TKI-resistant tumors such as the T790M mutation. Current efforts to use these mouse models to: 1) study mechanisms of primary and acquired resistance to EGFR TKIs and 2) evaluate new therapies to overcome resistance to first generation TKIs will be discussed.
What Makes an Evaluation Useful? Reflections from Experience in Large Organizations

Evaluation units found in large organizations confront a number of impediments to the use of their findings and recommendations. These derive from both the formal roles they play and their own operating styles and processes. Drawing on experience at the U.S. General Accounting Office and the World Bank, this paper suggests that to improve the usefulness—and use—of their work, such units need to pay careful attention to the multiplicity of audiences they necessarily address, the divergent information needs of those audiences, and the timeliness of their work.
Measuring and Improving the Quality of Care for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Surgery

Because of widespread recognition of variations in surgical performance, patients and payers are placing renewed focus on holding providers accountable for the quality of care they provide. Patients are becoming more cautious informed consumers. Payers are stepping up efforts to align reimbursement to physicians and hospitals with the quality of care they provide. Providers can count on quality measurement and improvement being part of the health policy landscape for the foreseeable future. As stakeholders in this movement, we need to continually refine and update our understanding of the best approach to answer this call for accountability, and each of us needs to fulfill our obligation to contribute to the improvement of our clinical specialty. The purpose of this article is to update our knowledge on the best methods to approach quality measurement and improvement in aortic surgery. Whereas many agree that improving the quality of care is important, few agree on the best way to go about it. The available approaches to measure the quality of care for high-risk abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery will be reviewed. In addition, the promise and pitfalls of existing improvement efforts will be considered. Abdominal aortic aneurysm repair is both a relatively common and high-risk procedure. Many patients die each year after elective repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms.1 Improving the quality of care provided to these patients could potentially avert many of these deaths. For this reason, operations for aortic aneurysm disease are often the focus of quality measurement and improvement. Although most existing quality measurement initiatives focus on a narrow group of operations, they invariably include surgery for abdominal aortic aneurysms. Before improving the quality of care in patients with aortic disease, it must first be decided on how to best measure it. Unfortunately, no consensus on how to go about measuring quality …
HYPERTHYROIDISM AFTER SECTION OF THE PITUITARY STALK FOR MALIGNANT EXOPHTHALMOS: REPORT OF A CASE

ABSTRACT In the patient discussed in this report, hyperthyroidism developed after section of the pituitary stalk and after anterior pituitary deficiency was evident from clinical examination and laboratory tests. Assays for thyrotropin in the blood at a time when signs of pituitary deficiency existed, showed the presence of a thyroid-activating substance similar to that found in other patients with hyperthyroidism.
A Sure Bet on Symmetry

This paper argues that assertions appearing in the literature about alleged failure of duality to recover all the desired information about the case of multiple outputs with fixed allocatable inputs are incorrect. The paper shows that through the use of shadow prices of fixed inputs, it is possible to apply the familiar Euler-Legendre transformation and recover all the desired information. The principal avenue for achieving these results is the process of decoupling the primal from the dual problem.
Nonlinear transient phenomena in saturated porous media

Abstract In this report the transient ‘static’ and ‘dynamic’ response of saturated porous medium is analyzed. The saturated porous medium viewed as a two-phase system whose state is described by the stresses, displacements, velocities and accelerations within each phase. The coupled field and constitutive equations based on mixture's theories are presented, and solved numerically by the use of the finite element method. Time integration is achieved by using an implicit/explicit predictor/multicorrector scheme developed by Hughes and co-workers. The procedure allows for a convenient selection of implicit and explicit elements, and for an implicit/explicit split of the various operators appearing in the differential equations. Accuracy and versatility of the proposed procedure are demonstrated by applying it to obtain solution to various dynamic and pseudo-static, one- and two-dimensional initial value problems.
Impact of soil-chemical interactions on the bioavailability of naphthalene and 1-naphthol

Abstract The bioavailability of sorbed naphthalene and 1-naphthol was determined for two sandy soils differing primarily in organic matter content. Different sorption conditions were maintained over a 2 d equilibration period to estimate the extent that oxidative coupling contributed to the strong binding of these compounds to the soils. Weakly sorbed test compounds were removed through 50 successive water extractions and the bioavailability of the remaining sorbed fraction was determined by the addition of aerobic, test compound-degrading bacteria to soil slurry reactors. Soils were then incubated under aerobic conditions for 90 d. Biodegradation rates were determined by monitoring 14 CO 2 evolution and the soil-associated non-mineralized residue was measured by combustion of the soil after the 90 d period. Successive water extractions removed 38.7–64.3% of 1-naphthol and 62.4% of naphthalene from the high NOM soil and 67.2–82.9% of 1-naphthol and 72.3% of naphthalene from the low NOM soil. Of the remaining material, 5.7–16.9% of 1-naphthol and 73.3% of naphthalene in the high NOM soil and 3.7–6.0% of 1-naphthol and 34.2% of naphthalene in the low NOM soil was mineralized after 90 d. In contrast, >85% of both test compounds were mineralized in the absence of soil. Experimental evidence suggests that oxidative coupling reactions limited the bioavailability of 1-naphthol in both soils. Naphthalene bioavailability was not greatly limited because it can not directly participate in strong binding reactions.
On the relative electrophilicities of the atoms in the NO group

Abstract The relative electrophilicities of the atoms in the NO group were investigated by high resolution proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Protonation studies of nitrosylbis(ethylenediamine)cobalt(III) perchlorate and N -nitrosodiethylamine were conducted in non-aqueous super acid, SbF 5 ·HSO 3 F·SO 2 , media. Super-nucleophiles in the form of cobaloximes(I) were used to study nucleophilic attack at the NO group of N -nitrosamines. Analogous systems supporting the experimental results were reviewed. In the absence of any electron rich substituents trans to the NO group, electrophilic attack was found to occur at the oxygen atom. These findings are in contrast to those previously reported contending that electrophilic attack should “generally” occur at the nitrogen atom.
Perfecting One's Fast: Almsgiving and the Penitential Seasons in the Anglo-Saxon Homilies

This article explores the references to almsgiving in the Anglo-Saxon homilies for Lent, Advent and Rogationtide, arguing that the homilists promoted almsgiving as an essential means of completing and perfecting one's penitential fast during these seasons. It demonstrates that these authors diverged from their patristic and continental sources on topics of sin and redemption, creating a distinctly Anglo-Saxon discourse on almsgiving and redemption of sin. These conclusions open the way for a fresh look at the fundamental role of almsgiving in Anglo-Saxon Christianity and enrich our understanding of early medieval devotional practice.
Cohort study of the pathogenesis and molecular epidemiology of catheter-related bloodstream infection in neonates with peripherally inserted central venous catheters.

Objective.To better define the pathogenesis of catheter-related bloodstream infection (BSI) in neonates with peripherally inserted central venous catheters (PICCs) to guide the development of more effective strategies for prevention.Design.Prospective nested cohort study.Setting.Level III neonatal intensive care unit in a community hospital.Methods.During a randomized trial to assess the safety and efficacy of a prophylactic vancomycin-heparin catheter-lock solution for the prevention of catheter-related BSI in neonates with PICCs, we performed cultures of peripheral and catheter-drawn blood samples, and quantitative cultures of catheter hub samples if BSI was suspected clinically. We performed semiquantitative cultures of the catheter tip and the catheter hub and the skin at the insertion site when the catheter was removed. Molecular subtyping by pulsed-field electrophoresis was used to determine the probable pathogenesis of all BSIs due to coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS); for BSIs caused by other microorganisms, epidemiologic concordance was based on speciation and antibiograms. Catheter-related BSI was considered extraluminally acquired if concordance was demonstrable solely between isolates recovered from the catheter tip and the blood, independent of concordance with isolates recovered from the insertion site. Catheter-related BSI was considered intraluminally acquired if concordance was demonstrated only between isolates recovered from the catheter hub and the blood. The source of the infection was considered indeterminate if both concordance patterns were present.Results.Nosocomial BSI was identified in 23 of the 82 neonates in the cohort. Fifteen of these infections, 14 of which were caused by CoNS, were considered definite or probable catheter-related BSIs. Catheter-related BSI was intraluminally acquired in 10 (67%) of 15 patients, extraluminally acquired in 3 (20%), and indeterminate in 2 (13%).Conclusions.Most catheter-related BSIs in neonates with PICCs are caused by CoNS and derive from intraluminal contamination. Strategies for prevention of catheter-related BSI directed at this predominant mechanism of infection are most likely to be effective.
Fullerene formation and annealing

The symmetric carbon molecule C 60 , also known as buckminsterfullerene, can be synthesized in macroscopic quantities, yet no satisfactory theoretical model of its creation exists. In his Perspective, Mintmire discusses calculations by Eggen et al. in the same issue (p. 87) suggesting that atomic carbon may act as a catalyst during fullerene formation in a carbon arc, thus enabling open graphitic sheets to anneal into closed structures.
Preferential involvement of 11q23-24 and 11p15 in breast cancer.

Abstract Thirty cases of breast cancer were cytogenetically studied by G-banding using direct tumor preparations. Among them 20 cases exhibited abnormalities of the long and/or short arm of chromosome 11. Thus, 11q was involved in 16 cases and 11p in ten cases. There was consistent involvement of bands 11q23–24 (15 cases) and 11p15 (9 cases), where the cellular oncogenes ets and H- ras 1, respectively, are located. These findings suggest that involvement of bands 11q23–24 and 11p15 may be specific in a group of breast cancers, leading to the activation of cellular oncogenes or loss of cancer suppressor genes.
Local and global processes in surface lightness perception

Various demonstrations show that a target of constant luminance can be made to appear darker in perceived lightness merely by introducing an adjacent region of higher luminance. This has often been interpreted as a manifestation of contrast effects produced by lateral inhibition, a relatively local process. An alternative interpretation holds that the highest luminance in such a display serves as an anchor that defines the white level. This interpretation is global in the sense that the anchor need not be located near any particular target in order to serve as its standard. Edge integration processes have been postulated that would enable such remote comparisons, but there is controversy about the strength of these processes. We report a series of experiments in which local and global processes were assessed. Specifically, we tested whether the introduction of a higher luminance has a greater darkening effect on an adjacent target than on a remote target. We found no difference, suggesting that the darkening effect is a matter of anchoring, not contrast, and that edge integration processes required by anchoring are relatively strong.
A transplantable salivary gland tumour model in the rat.

Abstract Research on salivary gland neoplasms has dealt principally with experimentally induced primary tumours. Transplanted tumours can be used to control the variations that may exist among independently induced primaries, and, simultaneously, provide a way to obtain reproducible observations on any given tumour. Twenty Kx strain adult male rats were implanted with 9,10-dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene in the left submandibular gland. Individual primary tumours began to appear between 11–32 weeks. Ten permanent subcutaneous lines out of 14 attempts were initiated by transplanting pieces from each primary into 30-day old Kx rats. Growth rates and histological characteristics were observed both in the primaries and transplanted lines. In general, there was increase in anaplasia on transplantation but after about 2 generations each line remained stable over subsequent generations. From these data two epidermoid carcinomas and two sarcomas were selected to be carried as permanent reproducible models.
A method to measure hearing aid directivity index and polar pattern in small and reverberant enclosures

AbstractObjective: The directivity index (DI) and polar pattern of directional hearing aids are typically measured in an anechoic chamber, which is expensive and not commonly found. This article proposes a quasi-anechoic technique to measure hearing aid directivity in small and reverberant enclosures using the root-mean-square amplitude of the first 3 ms of the hearing aid's response to the input signal. Design: The hearing aid's planar DI and polar pattern were measured using the proposed method in an audiologic booth with low reverberation, a room with moderate reverberation, and an anechoic chamber. The measurement was repeated four times for each aid in each environment. The results were compared to the directivity obtained in the anechoic chamber using two benchmark measurements. Study Sample: Eight hearing aids with a fixed directional mode were tested. Results and Conclusions: The results revealed that the error of the proposed method in DI was smaller than 0.3 dB in 94% of the measurement conditio...
Conformational Complexity of Succinic Acid and Its Monoanion in the Gas Phase and in Solution: Ab Initio Calculations and Monte Carlo Simulations

Optimized structures and relative energies for conformers of succinic acid and its monoanion in the gas phase were obtained using ab initio molecular orbital calculations at the MP2/6-311+G^(**)//HF/6-31G^* and MP2/6-311+G^(**)//HF/6-31+G^* levels, respectively. The lowest energy conformer for succinic acid, designated ZsgsZ, has a gauche conformation about the central C2−C3 bond; the lowest energy conformer with an E-acid group and an internal hydrogen bond is ca. 3 kcal/mol higher in energy. The lowest energy structure for the monoanion, Ecgs, does have the expected internal hydrogen bond and is 15 kcal/mol more stable than any alternative. The ab initio results were used to determine corresponding torsional-energy parameters in the OPLS all-atom force field. This allowed application of statistical perturbation theory in Monte Carlo simulations to explore the effect of hydration on the conformational equilibria. The diacid and monoanion were both computed to be ca. 80% gauche in water at 25 °C. These results are in excellent agreement with NMR data. Though the conformational results are consistent with the gauche effect, their true origin requires a detailed understanding of the potential internal hydrogen bonding and solvation. Thus, in contrast to the monoanion's striking gas-phase preference, neither the diacid nor monoanion are computed to populate E conformers in aqueous solution.
GENETIC VARIABILITY IN NATURAL POPULATIONS OF SOFTCHESS (BROMUS MOLLIS L.).

In a series of papers on the population biology of Avena fatua L. (common wild oat) and A. barbata Brot. (slender wild oat) the patterns of genetic variation in natural populations of these species were discussed in relation to their ecology and evolution (Jain and Marshall, 1967; Marshall and Jain, 1968; Jain, 1969 et seq.). Studies based on morphological and isoenzymatic markers revealed marked differences in population structure both between the two species and among populations within each species. Further, our results suggest that the differences in the population structure of the two species are a reflection of their different adaptive strategies; A. barbata is phenotypically more flexible than A. fatua and seems to rely more heavily on this mechanism in adapting to the variety of habitats it occupies. In addition, it would appear that differences among populations within a species reflect, in part, differences in the heterogeneity of the habitats they occupy although other factors such as variation in outcrossing rates, species composition and diversity of the community are undoubtedly involved. However, further studies on a wider range of species are necessary to establish the generality of these observations and to further elucidate the relationships between the ecology and genetics of grassland species. We have therefore undertaken a series of studies on the ecogenetics of Bromus species in central California. As with our Avena studies, emphasis will be given to the description of genetic variation, population regulation, species interactions and their place in the comrnunity. Several Bromus species, including B. mollis, B. rubens, B. sterilis, and B. rigidus, occur in the California annual type vegetation and between them they account for more than 20% of the herbaceous cover (Talbot et al., 1939). Of these, B. mollis is the most abundant in central California, and is often a dominant species, particularly under moderate grazing and favorable soil conditions. McNaughton (1969) recently discussed the importance of B. mollis in the functional and floristic diversity of the grassland vegetation while Love (1961), among others, has emphasized its desir1 This work was supported in part by grants from the National Science Foundation (GB-8627 and GB-3246) and the National Institutes of Health (GM-10476). 2 Present address: Division of Plant Industry, CSIRO, Canberra, Australia.
Characterization of a Rab11-like GTPase, EhRab11, of Entamoeba histolytica

The Entamoeba histolytica Rab11 family of small molecular weight GTPases consists of three members, EhRab11, EhRab11B, and EhRab11C. The functions of these Rabs in Entamoeba have not been determined. Therefore, as an approach to elucidate the role of the Rab11 family of GTPases in Entamoeba, immunofluorescence microscopy was undertaken to define the subcellular localization of one member of this family, EhRab11. Under conditions of growth, EhRab11 displayed a punctate pattern in the cytoplasm of trophozoites. EhRab11 did not colocalize with markers for the Golgi apparatus, endoplasmic reticulum, pinosomes, phagosomes, or compartments formed by receptor-mediated endocytosis, suggesting that this Rab may not play a role in vesicle trafficking between these organelles. Under conditions of iron and serum starvation, EhRab11 was translocated to the periphery of the cell. The altered cellular localization was accompanied by multinucleation of the cells as well as the acquisition of detergent resistance by the cells, features that are characteristic of Entamoeba cysts. The translocation of EhRab11 to the periphery of the cell during iron and serum starvation was specific as the subcellular localizations of two other Rab GTPases, EhRab7 and EhRabA, were not altered under the same conditions. In addition, the formation of multinucleated cells by inhibition of cytokinesis was not sufficient to induce the translocation of EhRab11 to the cell periphery. Taken together, the data suggest that iron and serum starvation may induce encystation in E. histolytica and that EhRab11 may play a role in this process. Moreover, these studies are the first to describe a putative role for a Rab GTPase in encystation in Entamoeba sp.