cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Presentation Effect and the Family Counseling Literature

This article addresses the "presentation effect" that occurs when text-books offer minimal or no coverage of a topic and thus leave studentsmarginally informed or unaware of potentially important information. A recent four-article exchange from the family counseling literature regarding textbook coverage of abortion and adoption is reviewedto highlight this issue.
THE RECURVATURE OF TROPICAL STORMS

Abstract The relations between major alterations of the paths of tropical storms and the upper windfield, especially changes in the height of the base of the polar westerlies, are examined in detail. If the base lowers greatly west of a storm in connection with an eastward moving middle-latitude trough, and remains low, northward recurvature will take place. If the upper westerlies cannot maintain themselves in low latitudes; however, the storm will bypass the northern trough and continue to travel westward. Similar riles are stated for several types of abnormal hurricane tracks, and some observations are made on the formation of tropical storms.
Acoustic sensor array extracts physiology during movement

An acoustic sensor attached to a person's neck can extract heart and breath sounds, as well as voice and other physiology related to their health and performance. Soldiers, firefighters, law enforcement, and rescue personnel, as well as people at home or in health care facilities, can benefit form being remotely monitored. ARLs acoustic sensor, when worn around a person's neck, picks up the carotid artery and breath sounds very well by matching the sensor's acoustic impedance to that of the body via a gel pad, while airborne noise is minimized by an impedance mismatch. Although the physiological sounds have high SNR, the acoustic sensor also responds to motion-induced artifacts that obscure the meaningful physiology. To exacerbate signal extraction, these interfering signals are usually covariant with the heart sounds, in that as a person walks faster the heart tends to beat faster, and motion noises tend to contain low frequency component similar to the heart sounds. A noise-canceling configuration developed by ARL uses two acoustic sensor on the front sides of the neck as physiology sensors, and two additional acoustic sensor on the back sides of the neck as noise references. Breath and heart sounds, which occur with near symmetry and simultaneously at the two front sensor, will correlate well. The motion noise present on all four sensor will be used to cancel the noise on the two physiology sensors. This report will compare heart rate variability derived from both the acoustic array and from ECG data taken simultaneously on a treadmill test. Acoustically derived breath rate and volume approximations will be introduced as well. A miniature 3- axis accelerometer on the same neckband provides additional noise references to validate footfall and motion activity.© (2001) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Soldiers in Mufti: The Impact of Military Rule Upon Economic and Social Change in the Non-Western States

When military officers are either sitting in the governmental saddle or have one foot securely in the stirrup, is it likely that such military controlled governments will pursue policies of socio-economic change and reform? What are the officer-politicians' motivations in reacting to the possibilities of such modernizing changes? Under what conditions are their motivations likely to vary? This essay attempts to answer these questions with regard to the contemporary non-western states. And in making the attempt, I believe that the analysis falls squarely within the purview of certain recent changes that are taking place in the study of comparative politics. These changes may be most broadly depicted as a movement away from that aspect of behavioralism that has focused exclusively upon “inputs,” and away from that dimension of “scientism” that has focused upon abstract concepts at the expense of empirical analysis. The change can also be described (in an overly facile manner) as a movement toward the politics in political science and the government in comparative politics. As is evidenced in LaPalombara's call for “parsimony” in the selection of problems, we should choose problems for analysis that are blatantly political and of obvious contemporary relevance. In approximately half of the contemporary non-western states military officers either occupy the topmost seats of government themselves or they have a marked influence upon the civilian incumbents. And when this fact is placed alongside the potential of most contemporary governments to influence the pace and direction of social and economic change, this essay's central concern fulfills LaPalombara's criterion.
Deep‐focus earthquakes and their implications

No one any longer doubts that earthquakes occur at depths of several hundred kilometers. There is not the same unanimity in regard to the absolute depth of focus of these earthquakes, the relative merits of methods for measuring the depth, the character, and distribution of plutonic earthquakes; and especially is there disagreement as to their causes and mechanism and as to their geological implications. Several methods have been suggested for the measurement of depth of focus. Most of these are relative methods. Turner based his estimate of the relative depth of focus on the degree of earliness in the arrival time of longitudinal waves at the antipodes in the case of deep shocks as compared with normal earthquakes. Stechschulte took as his criterion the interval between the arrival of the direct longitudinal wave and that of the Walker reflection at the distance at which this interval reached its maximum. Scrase used Knott's calculations to determine the depth of focus from the departure of the travel-time curves for deep earthquakes from those of normal earthquakes. Wadati has suggested a number of methods: First, the spacing of the isochrones or lines of simultaneous arrival; second, the time-Intercept of the graph of the interval between the arrival of the longitudinal and that of the transverse waves against the absolute arrival time of the longitudinal waves; third, he used tables of calculated travel-times from deep foci based on those of shallow earthquakes, each set of tables corresponding to a given depth of focus. Miyamoto determined the depth of focus by comparing the travel-times of longitudinal and transverse waves reflected from the core of the Earth with those for normal earthquakes. Serlage uses the interval between the arrival of the direct longitudinal wave and that of the Walker reflection for direct calculation of the depth.
THE IMPACT OF INTERNAL MARKETING EFFORTS IN DISTRIBUTION SERVICE OPERATIONS

Frontline employees can have an important impact on the quality of products and services delivered by a firm since they are often in direct contact with external customers or are the last people to handle the customer's product and information before delivery. Marketing efforts can offer firms a greater competitive advantage by overtly stimulating the impact of frontline logistics employees on customer value creation. In such a situation, internal marketing is a good strategy in both service and product support contexts. This paper introduces a broad marketing mix framework that shifts the application from marketing products to marketing the workplace to logistics distribution employees. Research findings support a multidimensional operationalization of internal marketing. Holistic tests indicate that internal marketing on an interpersonal level is associated with satisfied and higher performing distribution center employees and increased interdepartmental customer orientation. Theoretical and managerial implications and directions for future research are discussed.
Repair of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers or dimethylsulfate damage in DNA is identical in normal or telomerase-immortalized human skin fibroblasts

The progression of a normal cell to senescence in vivo and in vitro is accompanied by a reduction in the length of the telomeres, the chromosome capping segments at the end of each linkage group. However, overexpression of the reverse transcriptase subunit (HTERT) of the ribonucleoprotein telomerase restores telomere length and delays cellular senescence. Although some data exist in the literature with respect to survival, no molecular data have shown that DNA repair in telomerase-immortalized cells is normal. Several telomerase-immortalized human skin fibroblast cell lines were constructed from a primary human fibroblast cell line. The primary line and the telomerase-immortalized cell lines were treated with either ultraviolet (UV) radiation or dimethylsulfate (DMS). UV radiation principally produces cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers that are repaired by nucleotide excision repair, whereas DMS introduces mainly N-methylpurines repaired by base excision repair. Here, we show that repair of both types of damage in the telomerase-immortalized human skin fibroblast cell lines is identical to repair observed in normal skin fibroblasts. Thus, telomerase expression and consequent immortalization of skin fibroblasts do not alter nucleotide or base excision repair in human cells.
Factors associated with condom use in Kenya: a test of the health belief model.

Abstract This study examined specific cultural beliefs and knowledge about HIV as well as tested components of the Health Belief Model in relation to condom use in Kisumu, Kenya. Interviews were conducted with 223 participants at six governmental and private clinics. Although 75% had engaged in intercourse during the preceding month, fewer than 20% had used a condom. For both men and women, perceived barriers was the only component of the Health Belief Model significantly associated with condom use, with greater perceived barriers being associated with lower frequency of condom use (p < .05). Additionally, individuals with more education and HIV/AIDS knowledge were less likely to endorse stigmatizing beliefs toward HIV/AIDS (p < .001), whereas people who believe that HIV originated in the United States were more likely to endorse these stigmatizing beliefs (p < .002). Nearly everyone (97%) reported that AIDS is the disease that scares them most, suggesting that educational efforts have successfully commun...
Activity Restrictions after Gynecologic Surgery: Is There Evidence?

Many surgeons recommend rest and restricting activities to their patients after surgery. The aim of this review is to summarize the literature regarding types of activities gynecologic surgeons restrict and intra-abdominal pressure during specific activities and to provide an overview of negative effects of sedentary behavior (rest). We searched PubMed and Scopus for years 1970 until present and excluded studies that described recovery of activities of daily living after surgery as well as those that assessed intra-abdominal pressure for other reasons such as abdominal compartment syndrome and hypertension. For our review of intra-abdominal pressure, we excluded studies that did not include a generally healthy population, or did not report maximal intra-abdominal pressures. We identified no randomized trial or prospective cohort study that studied the association between postoperative activity and surgical success after pelvic floor repair. The ranges of intra-abdominal pressures during specific activities are large and such pressures during activities commonly restricted and not restricted after surgery overlap considerably. There is little concordance in mean peak intra-abdominal pressures across studies. Intra-abdominal pressure depends on many factors, but not least the manner in which it is measured and reported. Given trends towards shorter hospital stays and off work intervals, which both predispose women to higher levels of physical activity, we urge research efforts towards understanding the role of physical activity on recurrence of pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence after surgery.
Absorbing ice model of interstellar grains

Extinction curves have been calculated for Mie scattering by grains with a refractive index m equals to n - ik, where n was between 1.3 and 2.0 and k varied from 0 to 0.5. A good fit for the observed interstellar extinction in the wavelength region of 0.1 to 2.0 microns was obtained for particles with a radius of 0.1 micron and m equal to 1.3 - 0.2i. Inclusion of the changes in the refractive index in the vacuum ultraviolet region due to the strong absorptions of methane, ammonia and water does not appreciably alter these results. Theoretical extinction curves for the composite medium of H2O, NH3, CH4, and graphite show a general agreement with the observed interstellar reddening curve over the whole spectral range, in addition to producing kinks in the far-ultraviolet region.
Stretched isovector excitations and spin-isospin strength distribution effects in finite nuclei☆

Abstract We study spin-isospin strength distribution effects in the context of stretched isovector, pion-like excitations. We explore the effects of the special characterstics of the stretched excitations on the renormalization of spin-isospin operators in a finite nucleus. The longitudinal and transverse channels are both considered, over a wide range of momentum transfers. The results are very different from hitherto studied effects in low-spin states, and are compared with available experimental data. It is pointed out that it would be interesting to see new data at high momentum tranfers and a separated spin-longitudinal response. The results are sensitive to the value of g ′ not only quantitatively, but also qualitatively (enhancement versus quenching), and may also have implications on the understanding of inclusive (p,p′) data.
Hypoxemia and auditory reaction time in congenital heart disease.

The purpose of this study was to determine if previously documented perfomances deficits of patients with cyanotic congenital heart disease are peculiar to centrallly mediated visual tasks or are also manifested on tests of other centrally mediated sensory functions such as hearing. A simple auditory reaction time test was, therefore, performed on 239 patients with congenital heart disease, 43 of whom were cyanotic. Results indicated that (a) there is no significant relationship between level of arterial oxygen saturation and auditory RT. (b) Auditory RT for the group as a whole declines until the mid-teens and then rises, a pattern at variance with that of normal subjects. (c) The audiroty RT of females was significantly higher, i.e., slower, than that of males.
Squealer Tip Heat Transfer With Film Cooling

Heat transfer coefficients and film cooling effectiveness values were obtained numerically on a film cooled 2-D gas turbine blade tip model featuring a cutback squealer. In addition, pressure distributions were obtained at 50% and 98% spans. The calculations were performed for a single blade with periodic boundary conditions imposed along the two mid-passage boundaries formed by the adjacent blades. The calculations were performed with the realizable k-e turbulence model and non-equilibrium wall function using 1.1 million elements. The numerical results are obtained for 4 blowing ratios and for Reynolds number based on axial chord and inlet velocity of 75,000. Limited experimental measurements of the blade pressure distributions and the uncooled tip heat transfer coefficients were performed for validation of the numerical results. The experiments were conducted in a six-blade low-speed wind tunnel cascade at a Reynolds number of 75,000. The heat transfer experiment involved a transient infrared thermography technique. Experimental heat transfer coefficients were extracted using a transient technique. The predicted pressure distributions agree very well with the measurements while the heat transfer coefficient predictions show qualitative agreement. From the numerical results, it can be seen that as the blowing ratio is increased, larger regions of film cooling effectiveness were seen with higher effectiveness values between the camber line and suction side. Heat transfer coefficients were largest near the leading edge for all cases.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Phosphorylation of RelA/p65 on Serine 536 Defines an IκBα-independent NF-κB Pathway

The association of the NF-κB p65/p50 dimer with IκBα plays a pivotal role in regulating its nuclear translocation and gene transcription. In addition, serine phosphorylation at various sites of the p65 subunit has been shown to be important in initiating transcription. Here we demonstrate that the regulation of nuclear translocation of p65 phosphorylated at serine 536 is not dependent on IκBα. Stimulation of either Jurkat or normal human T cells resulted in the nuclear translocation of phospho-p65 (Ser536). In addition, the phospho-p65 (Ser536) was not associated with either IκBα or p50, and the nuclear translocation of phospho-p65 (Ser536), but not total p65, was unaffected by the proteosome inhibitor MG-132, which blocks IκB protein degradation and prevents p65/p50 dimer nuclear translocation. Accordingly, the co-expression of a dominant negative mutant of IκBα blocked the transcriptional activity mediated by wild type but not the dominant positive p65 mutant (S536D). Furthermore, the transfection of the S536D form of p65 led to the induction of interleukin-8 transcription following stimulation, whereas the S536A form, which cannot be phosphorylated at this site, did not. Together, the findings suggest that p65 phosphorylated on serine 536 is not associated with or regulated by IκBα, that it has a distinct set of target genes, and that it may represent a noncanonical NF-κB pathway that is independent of IκBα regulation.
A comparison of local hazard mitigation plan quality in six states, USA

Abstract Local hazards mitigation plans can be valuable tools in national policy frameworks for reducing risks from natural hazards. The United States’ Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 requires local governments to adopt plans to remain eligible for certain federal disaster funds. We use seven principles of plan quality to content analyze mitigation plans for 175 jurisdictions in six coastal states. We analyze variation of plan quality based on the seven principles of plan quality and the state contexts of local mitigation planning. Findings indicate that plan quality is low to moderate overall. In addition, state mandates for local comprehensive planning are associated with higher scores on just two plan quality principles, suggesting limited, specific influences of comprehensive planning mandates on hazard mitigation planning. Recommendations are offered for how national, state and local officials can target strategic adjustments to local mitigation planning efforts.
Conformational states of cytochrome P450cam revealed by trapping of synthetic molecular wires.

Members of the ubiquitous cytochrome P450 family catalyze a vast range of biologically significant reactions in mammals, plants, fungi, and bacteria. Some P450s display a remarkable promiscuity in substrate recognition, while others are very specific with respect to substrate binding or regio and stereo-selective catalysis. Recent results have suggested that conformational flexibility in the substrate access channel of many P450s may play an important role in controlling these effects. Here, we report the X-ray crystal structures at 1.8 A and 1.5 A of cytochrome P450cam complexed with two synthetic molecular wires, D-4-Ad and D-8-Ad, consisting of a dansyl fluorophore linked to an adamantyl substrate analog via an α,ω-diaminoalkane chain of varying length. Both wires bind with the adamantyl moiety in similar positions at the camphor-binding site. However, each wire induces a distinct conformational response in the protein that differs from the camphor-bound structure. The changes involve significant movements of the F, G, and I helices, allowing the substrate access channel to adapt to the variable length of the probe. Wire-induced opening of the substrate channel also alters the I helix bulge and Thr252 at the active site with binding of water that has been proposed to assist in peroxy bond cleavage. The structures suggest that the coupling of substrate-induced conformational changes to active-site residues may be different in P450cam and recently described mammalian P450 structures. The wire-induced changes may be representative of the conformational intermediates that must exist transiently during substrate entry and product egress, providing a view of how substrates enter the deeply buried active site. They also support observed examples of conformational plasticity that are believed be responsible for the promiscuity of drug metabolizing P450s. Observation of such large changes in P450cam suggests that substrate channel plasticity is a general property inherent to all P450 structures.
Phosphatase and tensin homolog, deleted on chromosome 10 deficiency in brain causes defects in synaptic structure, transmission and plasticity, and myelination abnormalities

The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) signaling pathway modulates growth, proliferation and cell survival in diverse tissue types and plays specialized roles in the nervous system including influences on neuronal polarity, dendritic branching and synaptic plasticity. The tumor-suppressor phosphatase with tensin homology (PTEN) is the central negative regulator of the PI3K pathway. Germline PTEN mutations result in cancer predisposition, macrocephaly and benign hamartomas in many tissues, including Lhermitte-Duclos disease, a cerebellar growth disorder. Neurological abnormalities including autism, seizures and ataxia have been observed in association with inherited PTEN mutation with variable penetrance. It remains unclear how loss of PTEN activity contributes to neurological dysfunction. To explore the effects of Pten deficiency on neuronal structure and function, we analyzed several ultra-structural features of Pten-deficient neurons in Pten conditional knockout mice. Using Golgi stain to visualize full neuronal morphology, we observed that increased size of nuclei and somata in Pten-deficient neurons was accompanied by enlarged caliber of neuronal projections and increased dendritic spine density. Electron microscopic evaluation revealed enlarged abnormal synaptic structures in the cerebral cortex and cerebellum. Severe myelination defects included thickening and unraveling of the myelin sheath surrounding hypertrophic axons in the corpus callosum. Defects in myelination of axons of normal caliber were observed in the cerebellum, suggesting intrinsic abnormalities in Pten-deficient oligodendrocytes. We did not observe these abnormalities in wild-type or conditional Pten heterozygous mice. Moreover, conditional deletion of Pten drastically weakened synaptic transmission and synaptic plasticity at excitatory synapses between CA3 and CA1 pyramidal neurons in the hippocampus. These data suggest that Pten is involved in mechanisms that control development of neuronal and synaptic structures and subsequently synaptic function.
Hydrogen-deuterium Exchange as a Probe of Folding and Assembly in Viral Capsids

The dynamics of proteins within large cellular assemblies are important in the molecular transformations that are required for macromolecular synthesis, transport, and metabolism. The capsid expansion (maturation) accompanying DNA packaging in the dsDNA bacteriophage P22 represents an experimentally accessible case of such a transformation. A novel method, based on hydrogen-deuterium exchange was devised to investigate the dynamics of capsid expansion. Mass spectrometric detection of deuterium incorporation allows for a sensitive and quantitative determination of hydrogen-deuterium exchange dynamics irrespective of the size of the assembly. Partial digestion of the exchanged protein with pepsin allows for region-specific assignment of the exchange. Procapsids and mature capsids were probed under native and slightly denaturing conditions. These experiments revealed regions that exhibit different degrees of flexibility in the procapsid and in the mature capsid. In addition, exchange and deuterium trapping during the process of expansion itself was observed and allowed for the identification of segments of the protein subunit that become buried or stabilized as a result of expansion. This approach may help to identify residues participating in macromolecular transformations and uncover novel patterns and hierarchies of interactions that determine functional movements within molecular machines.
Matching in modular lattices

Abstract Let L be a finite lattice. A map f of the join irreducible elements of L to the meet irreducible elements of L is called a matching of L if f is one-to-one and x ⩽ f ( x ) for each join irreducible x . We investigate this conjecture: every finite modular lattice has a matching. The conjecture is verified for certain classes of modular lattices.
Amplification and adaptation in regulatory and sensory systems

Biological systems respond to sensory inputs and changing metabolic conditions both by amplifying signals and by adapting to them. The mechanisms by which these apparently opposing goals are achiev...
Effects of ammonia fiber explosion treatment on activity of endoglucanase from Acidothermus cellulolyticus in transgenic plant

A critical parameter affecting the economic feasibility of lignocellulosic bioconversion is the production of inexpensive and highly active cellulase enzymes in bulk quantity. A promising approach to reduce enzyme costs is to genetically transform plants with the genes of these enzymes, thereby producing the desired cellulases in the plants themselves. Extraction and recovery of active proteins or release of active cellulase from the plants during bioconversion could have a significant positive impact on overall lignocellulose conversion economics. The effects of ammonia fiber explosion (AFEX) pretreatment variables (treatment temperature, moisture content, and ammonia loading) on the activity of plant-produced heterologous cellulase enzyme were individually investigated via heat treatmett or ammonia treatment. Finally, we studied the effects of all these variables in concert through the AFEX process. The plant materials included transgenic tobacco plants expressing E1 (endoglucanase from Acidothermus cellulolyticus). The E1 activity was measured in untreated and AFEX-treated tobacco leaves to investigate the effects of the treatment on the activity of this enzyme. The maximum observed activity retention in AFEX-treated transgenic tobacco samples compared with untreated samples was approx 35% (at 60°C, 0.5∶1 ammonia loading, and 40% moisture). Based on these findings, it is our opinion that AFEX pretreatment is not a suitable option for releasing cellulase enzyme from transgenic plants.
Electromagnetic fields and DNA damage.

A major concern of the adverse effects of exposure to non-ionizing electromagnetic field (EMF) is cancer induction. Since the majority of cancers are initiated by damage to a cell’s genome, studies have been carried out to investigate the effects of electromagnetic fields on DNA and chromosomal structure. Additionally, DNA damage can lead to changes in cellular functions and cell death. Single cell gel electrophoresis, also known as the ‘comet assay’, has been widely used in EMF research to determine DNA damage, reflected as single-strand breaks, double-strand breaks, and crosslinks. Studies have also been carried out to investigate chromosomal conformational changes and micronucleus formation in cells after exposure to EMF. This review describes the comet assay and its utility to qualitatively and quantitatively assess DNA damage, reviews studies that have investigated DNA strand breaks and other changes in DNA structure, and then discusses important lessons learned from our work in this area. © 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
A standardized method for CMOS unit process development

The multipurpose mask set described, which consists of three stepper reticles, contains 95% of all test structures required for CMOS process development and random defect detection, thereby dramatically reducing the stepper reticle inventory and the frequency of reticle changes. Realizing the mask set by two dozen standard unit processes minimizes the feedback loop for defect density data, parametric data and unit process data. >
Philosophy and Psychiatry

Residents in psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry often seem to their preceptors to have difficulty with critical thinking. The author designed a curriculum for first-year (PGY-4) child and adolescent psychiatry residents with this perceived deficit in mind. The curriculum consisted of a blend of traditional first-year child and adolescent psychiatry didactic curriculum with a curriculum in philosophy. On the Cornell Critical Thinking Test, residents who took this course outscored residents who did not at a statistically significant level. The advantages of such a course are discussed.
Episode-based payment for cancer care: a proposed pilot for Medicare.

The steady introduction of more and more expensive cancer treatments has prompted policy makers to explore alternative payment approaches that might rein in costs. We propose a framework for “episode-based” payment during chemotherapy treatment, which would cover the costs of drugs and their administration for a predefined period of treatment and would have the potential to reduce costs and improve patient outcomes. Using the example of metastatic lung cancer treatment, we describe an approach that Medicare could pursue in order to test our proposal as a pilot program. If successful, the concept could be expanded to encompass longer time periods, other cancer diagnoses, and additional care components.
Morphological study of InN films and nanorods grown by H-MOVPE

Hydride-Metalorganic Vapor Phase Epitaxy (H-MOVPE) was used to grow a series of films on c-Al2O3 substrates. Depending on the growth temperature and HCl/TMIn molar ratio, InN deposited as a continuous film or a collection of micro or nanorods, or no InN growth was observed. A chemical equilibrium analysis of the In-N-H-Cl system predicts both InN growth and etching regimes with the nanorod growth observed near the growth-etching transition. All InN rod structures demonstrated well faceted hexagonal structure with a near random orientation of the rods, while the films were polycrystalline.
Volterra filtering with spectral constraints

One of the major drawbacks of Volterra filters is the large number of parameters associated with such structures. In this paper, it is shown how the Volterra filter can be constrained to yield parsimonious filter structures that are adequately flexible for a large class of filtering problems. Frequency domain constraints on the Volterra kernel are one example. Constrained Volterra filters are also developed for filtering inputs with low rank covariance matrices. The performance of the constrained Volterra filter is studied theoretically and with simulation. >
A Myxococcus xanthus cell density-sensing system required for multicellular development

Progression through early Myxococcus xanthus multicellular fruiting body development requires the generation of and response to extracellular A signal. Extracellular A signal is a specific set of amino acids at an extracellular concentration greater than 10 μM. It functions as a cell density signal during starvation that allows the cells to sense that a minimal cell density has been reached and development can proceed. The generation of extracellular A signal requires the products of three asg genes. They have recently been identified as AsgA, a fused two-component histidine protein kinase and response regulator; AsgB, a putative DNA-binding protein; and AsgC, the M. xanthus major sigma factor. Other elements of the A signaling pathway map to the sasB locus and appear to be A signal transducers. These elements are regulators of the earliest A signal-dependent gene, whose promoter is a member of the sigma-54 family. Continued study of the A signaling pathway is expected to identify additional components of this network required for the complex behavioural response of fruiting body formation.
Design and validation of the transparent oxygen sensor array

A new oxygen monitoring system has been developed that consists of an array of transparent independently connected oxygen sensors mounted on a glass plate. This system is intended for continuous monitoring of oxygen at multiple locations on the surface of exteriorized tissues, while simultaneously visualizing microvascular activity. The sensor array is fabricated by techniques similar to those employed for semiconductors, which facilitate customization of sensor size and pattern to best monitor oxygen in a given physiologic preparation. Methods are described for characterizing the performance of the sensor array in vitro, including studies on the oxygen sensitivity stability of the signal, and detection of oxygen gradients. An example of in vivo application of the sensor array is also presented. >
Artificial neural networks, where do we go next?

Summary form only given. The possibilities of going to the next level after neural networks by creating new intelligent complex systems are discussed in This work. To create such complex systems, there are a number of important problems that must be solved. The problems presented are as follows: (a) scaling; (b) the degree of biological accuracy; (c) how to do system integration; and (d) hardware acceleration. Some examples of research in each area were also given in This work.
Empirical comparison of various reinforcement learning strategies for sequential targeted marketing

We empirically evaluate the performance of various reinforcement learning methods in applications to sequential targeted marketing. In particular we propose and evaluate a progression of reinforcement learning methods, ranging from the "direct" or "batch" methods to "indirect" or "simulation based" methods, and those that we call "semidirect" methods that fall between them. We conduct a number of controlled experiments to evaluate the performance of these competing methods. Our results indicate that while the indirect methods can perform better in a situation in which nearly perfect modeling is possible, under the more realistic situations in which the system's modeling parameters have restricted attention, the indirect methods' performance tend to degrade. We also show that semi-direct methods are effective in reducing the amount of computation necessary to attain a given level of performance, and often result in more profitable policies.
BRCA1 Inhibition of Telomerase Activity in Cultured Cells

Telomerase, an enzyme that maintains telomere length, plays major roles in cellular immortalization and cancer progression. We found that an exogenous BRCA1 gene strongly inhibited telomerase enzymatic activity in human prostate and breast cancer cell lines and caused telomere shortening in cell lines expressing wild-type BRCA1 (wtBRCA1) but not a tumor-associated mutant BRCA1 (T300G). wtBRCA1 inhibited the expression of the catalytic subunit (telomerase reverse transcriptase [TERT]) but had no effect on the expression of a subset of other components of the telomerase holoenzyme or on the expression of c-Myc, a transcriptional activator of TERT. However, endogenous BRCA1 associated and partially colocalized with c-Myc; exogenous wtBRCA1 strongly suppressed TERT promoter activity in various cell lines. The TERT inhibition was due, in part, to suppression of c-Myc E-box-mediated transcriptional activity. Suppression of TERT promoter and c-Myc activity required the amino terminus of BRCA1 but not the carboxyl terminus. Finally, endogenous BRCA1 and c-Myc were detected on transfected mouse and human TERT promoter segments in vivo. We postulate that inhibition of telomerase may contribute to the BRCA1 tumor suppressor activity.
Solving the hidden node problem in networks with ellipsoidal units and related issues

A feedforward network with a single hidden layer of ellipsoidal units is considered. A fuzzy-clustering algorithm based on a modified version of Kohonen's self-organizing feature maps is used to determine the initial number of hidden nodes and the initial estimates for the hidden layer weights. The algorithm is demonstrated to determine a minimal number of hidden nodes. Supervised learning is used to fine-tune the ellipsoids initialized by the cluster information. Generalization of the network can suffer when ellipsoidal units grow unnecessarily large during the network training. Unnecessary large ellipsoids can result in an arbitrary classification of regions in the input space far from the training patterns. The ellipsoidal fan-in function is modified so that the size of the ellipsoid generated can be controlled. An example is shown to demonstrate the utility of the cluster algorithm and the classification by networks with ellipsoidal fan-in functions. >
Paralinear Oxidation of Silicon Nitride in a Water Vapor/Oxygen Environment

Three silicon nitride materials were exposed to dry oxygen flowing at 0.44 cm/s at temperatures between 1200 and 1400 C. Reaction kinetics were measured with a continuously recording microbalance. Parabolic kinetics were observed. When the same materials were exposed to a 50% H2O - 50% O2 gas mixture flowing at 4.4 cm/s, all three types exhibited paralinear kinetics. The material is oxidized by water vapor to form solid silica. The protective silica is in turn volatilized by water vapor to form primarily gaseous Si(OH)4. Nonlinear least squares analysis and a paralinear kinetic model were used to determine both parabolic and linear rate constants from the kinetic data. Volatilization of the protective silica scale can result in accelerated consumption of Si3N4. Recession rates under conditions more representative of actual combustors are compared to the furnace data.
Integration of surface science, nanoscience, and catalysis*

This article briefly reviews the development of surface science and its close rele- vance to nanoscience and heterogeneous catalysis. The focus of this article is to highlight the importance of nanoscale surface science for understanding heterogeneous catalysis perform- ing at solid-gas and solid-liquid interfaces. Surface science has built a foundation for the understanding of catalysis based on the studies of well-defined single-crystal catalysts in the past several decades. Studies of catalysis on well-defined nanoparticles (NPs) significantly promoted the understanding of catalytic mechanisms to an unprecedented level in the last decade. To understand reactions performed on catalytic active sites at nano or atomic scales and thus reach the goal of catalysis by design, studies of the surface of nanocatalysts are cru- cial. The challenges in such studies are discussed.
Link prediction approach to collaborative filtering

Recommender systems can provide valuable services in a digital library environment, as demonstrated by its commercial success in book, movie, and music industries. One of the most commonly-used and successful recommendation algorithms is collaborative filtering, which explores the correlations within user-item interactions to infer user interests and preferences. However, the recommendation quality of collaborative filtering approaches is greatly limited by the data sparsity problem. To alleviate this problem we have previously proposed graph-based algorithms to explore transitive user-item associations. In this paper, we extend the idea of analyzing user-item interactions as graphs and employ link prediction approaches proposed in the recent network modeling literature for making collaborative filtering recommendations. We have adapted a wide range of linkage measures for making recommendations. Our preliminary experimental results based on a book recommendation dataset show that some of these measures achieved significantly better performance than standard collaborative filtering algorithms.
Some New Ideas About Undulators

There are still no helical undulators that satisfy all major requirements. A new helical undulator is described that has at least some of the properties that were not obtainable until now. It can be used in a synchrotron storage ring, is completely accessible from both sides, light with both helicities can be produced, the helical field can be made quite strong, and the period length can be adjusted over a small range. Similarly, there have been some efforts lately to develop undulators with very short periods. It is shown how a hybrid undulator with a period of the order 1 mm can be constructed.
Microstrip Inductor Design and Implementation

Design, simulation, and implementation of microstrip spiral inductors for RF applications at the high frequency (HF) range are given. The simplified lumped element equivalent model parameters for spiral inductor are used to obtain the initial physical dimensions for the design. The spiral inductor is then simulated with planar electromagnetic simulator, Sonnet, using the geometry constructed with the physical dimensions obtained for the desired inductance value. The parametric study of the spiral inductor is conducted to investigate the variation on its quality factor, self resonance frequency and inductance value. The spiral inductor is then implemented on a 100mil Alumina substrate and measured in the laboratory. The measurement and simulation results are found to be close.
Phenotypic Variations in Camptotheca Decaisne

Variations in shape, size, color, and texture of fruits, shape and size of cotyledons, shape, venation pattern, sur- face and margin characters of mature leaves of 40 populations (either living plants or herbarium specimens) representing all known taxa of Camptotheca have been analyzed within and between populations. A majority of the observed pheno- typic variations for most morphometric measures was among populations. This is probably due largely to selfing and re- lated matings common to both natural and cultivated populations, resulting in the current population structure that now displays a highly fragmented distribution pattern. Trees of different generations from the same seed source but growing in different locations demonstrated minimal variations in both means and frequency distributions of leaf vein number, fruit length, fruit colors, and cotyledon vein number. The trees of different taxa even growing in the same location have sig- nificant difference in main characters particularly fruit color and texture. The key diagnostic characters for the identifica- tion of taxa of Camptotheca are leaf shape, venation type, vein number, stoma size and frequency, outer stomatal rim, subsidiary cell number, and gland size; cotyledon shape, venation type, and vein number; and the fruit surface texture, disc, length, and color.
Adolescent Girls and Health in India

Adolescence is a vulnerable period in one’s life. It is essential to understand the factors that influence adolescent social, psychological, and psychosocial development for planning effective social service delivery systems to help adolescents survive the many risks that threaten their well-being. Of the 1.2 billion adolescents aged 10–19 years worldwide, 243 million, roughly 20 % live in India. Yet, in India, there is very little research on adolescent social, psychological, and psychosocial development. Research on Indian adolescents remains limited to fertility. Despite the Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1978, which sets the legal age at marriage for women at 18, almost one in three adolescents aged 15–19 was married in 1998–1999. Available data on adolescent reproductive health presented in this chapter suggest that Indian adolescent girls lack adequate control over making reproductive decisions. When poverty is combined with discrimination, outcomes can be harsh on the lives of adolescent girls in particular. One of the horrific outcomes of this disadvantage is the trafficking in adolescent girls. Girls living in slums are particularly vulnerable to trafficking. In the metropolitan area of Calcutta alone, more than one million children and adolescents live in slums. Nearly 60 % of sex workers in Delhi brothels were found to be adolescent girls. The proportion of trafficked adolescent girls is highest in West Bengal. Moreover, almost all parents of the trafficked girls were illiterate and about 90 % of these girls were sexually abused during childhood. Almost all the factors, such as the number of children, likelihood of contraceptive use, and prenatal visit, vary widely across states. Policies and programs for promoting adolescent health in India will demand more research on adolescents while taking into consideration the existing state-wide variations in several aspects of adolescent well-being will be examined in this chapter.
Mechanisms of Liver Fibrosis

Liver fibrosis is characterized by excessive deposition of extracellular matrix, such as collagen. This condition has many causes including those of known etiology, such as chronic alcohol consumption, hepatitis virus, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, and genetic disorders, and those of unknown etiology, such as primary biliary cirrhosis, sclerosing cholangitis, and others. Currently, treatment of fibrosis is limited to removal of the causative agent, such as cessation of alcohol consumption, or liver transplantation. Liver fibrosis is initiated when chronic liver injury stimulates production of mediators by numerous cells types, including hepatocytes, bile duct epithelial cells, platelets, Kupffer cells, and other inflammatory cells that cause cells in the liver to differentiate into myofibroblasts. The cellular sources of these myofibroblasts include hepatic stellate cells, peribiliary fibroblasts, hepatocytes, bile duct epithelial cells, and bone marrow-derived cells. Growth factors are produced during the genesis of this disease that stimulate myofibroblast proliferation, and chemokines are produced that stimulate these cells to migrate to injured regions of the liver. Once the myofibroblasts accumulate in these regions, they are stimulated to produce collagen and other components of extracellular matrix causing fibrosis. Although our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of this disease has increased substantially, there are no therapies currently available that directly prevent or reverse fibrosis. Therefore, further studies are needed to identify new and effective therapeutic targets to treat this disease.
Cancer care looks ROSEy

Patients with lung cancer may undergo endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA)—a technique used to diagnose and stage cancer, in which an imaging scope is inserted into the lungs, allowing clinicians to visualize the airways and sample tissues. EBUS-TBNA can
Darfur, the Authority of Law, and Unilateral Humanitarian Intervention

Despite the massive atrocities observed, first in Rwanda and now in Darfur, a wide number of observers oppose the idea of unilateral humanitarian intervention. Contemporary posture typifies the idea that legal recognition of unilateral humanitarian intervention would destabilize world order because some member states would instigate ill-motivated hostilities under the guise of humanitarianism, thereby reducing the efficacy and primacy of the UN Charter. This article offers a new challenge to the pretext claim. By clarifying various ideas about the meaning and limits of law and examining how law emerges as a practical authority, this article illustrates basic distinctions about the relationship between law and morality. It ascribes validity to the integrative, condition based approach to unilateral humanitarian intervention and renders doubtful the pretextualist claim that the noninterventionist framework of the United Nations Charter (Charter) functions as an effective juridical construct. In so doing, this article accepts the possibility of altruistic unilateral humanitarian intervention.