cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nuclear transport of tobacco etch potyviral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase is highly sensitive to sequence alterations

Abstract The putative RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (Nlb protein) of tobacco etch potyvirus accumulates primarily in the nucleus of infected cells, although viral RNA replication is suggested to occur in the cytoplasm. To understand the possible relationship between Nlb nuclear localization and its function, we have studied translocation of Nlb using gene fusion and plant transformation techniques. When expressed as a fusion with a cytoplasmic reporter protein,β-glucuronidase (GUS), Nlb efficiently directed transport to the nucleus in transgenic tobacco plants, confirming that Nlb contains an independent nuclear translocation signal. The effects of site-directed substitutions and deletions in Nlb were analyzed. Substitutions were targeted to three small clusters of basic amino acids that bear some resemblance to well-characterized nuclear localization signals (NLSs) of other karyophilic proteins. Amino acid changes affecting two clusters, between residues 3-5 and residues 303-306, abolished transport activity. However, the assignment of NLS function to these regions was complicated by the fact that substitutions at four additional sites throughout the Nlb sequence also rendered the fusion protein primarily cytoplasmic. Each of six deletions in Nlb debilitated nuclear localization, regardless of whether the basic clusters were deleted. Insertions of Pro-Pro dipeptides, which were predicted to induce protein folding aberrations, at three out of four positions in Nlb reduced translocation. Taken together, these results suggest that nuclear localization activity of Nlb may require a stringent tertiary structure in addition to one or more NLSs.
DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING IN NEURO-ONCOLOGY

Brain tumors are the most common solid tumors in children and account for a high proportion of pediatric cancer death. Histologic diversity, the tendency of malignant tumors to disseminate early, the varied site of origin, and the detrimental effects of treatment on the developing nervous system complicate the treatment of childhood brain tumors. 22 Imaging techniques to diagnose, stage, and follow children with brain tumors are central to their clinical management. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging has advantages over computed tomography (CT) in lesion detection, definition of extent, detection of spread, and evaluation of either residual or recurrent disease. This is especially true in the posterior fossa, where 50% of pediatric tumors arise. Until recently, MR imaging was used to characterize cerebral neoplasms by demonstrating anatomy in various planes, displaying differences in relaxation times (T1 and T2) between normal and abnormal tissues, and detecting breakdown in the blood–brain barrier on T1-weighted images with use of intravenous paramagnetic contrast enhancement. T1 relaxation reflects the time needed for protons to regain their magnetization in the longitudinal plane; T2 relaxation reflects the time interval during which protons retain their phase coherence in the transverse plane. In the past few years, technological advances (rapid imaging techniques, novel pulse sequences, improved hardware configuration) have opened new windows in MR imaging techniques: functional and metabolic imaging. Functional MR imaging consists of various techniques that examine the changes in cerebral hemodynamics that accompany brain function or characterize microscopic tissue perfusion and vascularity. Metabolic imaging techniques aim to identify molecular biologic factors that potentially are able to guide clinical management decisions. Long the sole domain of positron emission tomography (PET) scanning, novel metabolic imaging techniques include MR spectroscopy, cerebral blood volume mapping, and, in nuclear medicine, single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). This article reviews recent advances in imaging of pediatric brain tumors. The increasing role of functional and metabolic imaging is discussed. Brain tumors are reviewed by location. Specific tumor types that have recently been characterized will be emphasized.
Synthesis and reactions of 4,6‐dimethoxyindole, an unusual indole system

A synthesis of 4,6-dimethoxyindole is described. Formylation or oxalylation reactions gave substitution at position 7 rather than the usual 3-substitution characteristic of other indoles. A synthesis of N,N-dimethyl-4,6-dimethoxytryptamine is presented along with NMR data for 3 and 7-substituted compounds in this series.
Concurrent choice for social interaction and amphetamine using conditioned place preference in rats: effects of age and housing condition.

Background Social interaction can serve as a natural reward that attenuates drug reward in rats; however, it is unknown if age or housing conditions alter the choice between social interaction and drug.
Increased collagen synthesis in myeloblastosis-associated virus-infected chicken embryo fibroblasts.

Abstract Chicken embryo fibroblasts infected with a non-transforming derivative of avian myeloblastosis virus [MAV-2(0)] showed a threefold increase in the biosynthesis of collagen compared to values in normal counterparts. In contrast, non-collagen protein synthesis was unchanged.
Intraoperative ultrasound during a laparoscopic myomectomy

Abstract Objective To report a gynecologic use of a laparoscopic ultrasound transducer to isolate a myoma for surgical removal. Design Case report. Setting University-based infertility practice. Patient(s) A 44-year-old woman gravida 1 para 1 with history of a first trimester miscarriage who desired pregnancy as a participant in the donor egg program. Intervention(s) Before she entered the assisted reproduction program, a patient was found to have a myoma that was greater than 2 cm with both intramural and submucosal components. During the laparoscopic evaluation, a laparoscopic ultrasound transducer helped identify and properly locate the myoma in what otherwise appeared to be a normal uterus. Appropriate laparoscopic hysterotomy incision was then made, thereby minimizing uterine trauma. Main outcome measure(s) Appropriately placed hysterotomy incision and successful reconstruction of uterus. Result(s) After the successful laparoscopic myomectomy, the patient achieved a pregnancy in our donor oocyte program. Conclusion(s) Laparoscopic intraoperative ultrasound can help gynecologic surgeons complete a laparoscopic myomectomy.
Resolution and sidelobe structure analysis for RF tomography

Radio frequency (RF) tomography utilizes a network of spatially diverse sensors to trade geometric diversity for bandwidth, permitting images to be formed with narrowband waveforms. Such a constellation of sensors produces a sparsely and irregularly spaced set of Fourier space samples, complicating the definition and analysis of resolution for these systems. We present an analysis of resolution for RF tomography based on the Cramer Rao Bound (CRB) for estimation of target position and velocity. This approach allows the resolution for a given sensor configuration to be determined with minimal computational cost, thus providing a useful design tool for sensor placement and frequency selection for RF tomography. We also explore the impact of Fourier space “filling” with bistatic geometries on sidelobe structure of the ambiguity function. Several simulation results are presented to validate the resolution calculations from the CRB and to illustrate the importance of sensor placement for RF tomographic imaging.
Observations of Transient Linear Organization and Nonlinear Scale Interactions in Lake-Effect Clouds. Part II: Nonlinear Scale Interactions

Abstract Linearly organized convection and associated horizontal roll vortices occasionally occur in atmospheric conditions in which theory predicts only cellular organization. One possible contributor to the occurrence of rolls in such conditions is nonlinear interactions between different scales of motion. In the winter of 1997/98, the Lake-Induced Convection Experiment (Lake-ICE) was conducted in part to investigate scale interactions in linearly organized convection. As discussed in Part I of this series, transient linear organization was observed during a wintertime lake-effect event during Lake-ICE. In Part II two-part nonlinear scale interactions and their possible role in the occurrence of linear organization in an unfavorable environment are investigated. Turbulence-scale vertical velocity variance peaks were consistently observed during roll strengthening and decay, suggesting a link between the scales. Composites of the nonlinear interaction terms in the roll-scale vertical turbulent kinetic en...
Speech and channel coding for digital land-mobile radio

The joint development of a medium bit-rate speech coder along with an effective channel coding technique to provide a robust, spectrally efficient, high-quality mobile communication system is described. A subband coder operating at 12 kb/s is used; in the absence of channel errors, it provides speech quality comparable to current analog land-mobile radio systems. The coder design incorporates a unique coding of the side information to facilitate the use of forward-error-correction coding without the need to code the entire bit stream. The use of excessive overhead for redundancy is avoided while the harsh effects of frequent channels are mitigated. These techniques have been used in an experimental FDMA (frequency-division multiple access) digital land-mobile radio system. The combined speech and channel coder operates at 15 kb/s and provides intelligible speech at fading channel error rates up to 8%. >
An energy-aware genetic algorithm for managing self-organized wireless sensor networks

While the majority of the current Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) research has prioritized either the coverage of the monitored area or the energy efficiency of the network, it is clear that their relationship must be further studied in order to find optimal solutions that balance the two factors. Higher degrees of redundancy can be attained by increasing the number of active sensors monitoring a given area which results in better performance. However, this in turn increases the energy being consumed. In this paper, we focus on attaining a solution that considers several optimization parameters such as the percentage of coverage, quality of coverage and energy consumption. The problem is modeled using a bipartite graph and employs an evolutionary algorithm to handle the activation and deactivation of the sensors. An accelerated version of the algorithm is also presented; this algorithm attempts to cleverly mutate the string being considered after analyzing the desired output conditions and performs a calculated crossover depending on the fitness of the parent strings. This results in a quicker convergence and a considerable reduction in the search time for attaining the desired solutions.
Ultra-low-noise instrumentation and computer-based data acquisition and processing system for obtaining a noninvasive and intrauterine catheter fetal electrocardiogram.

A fetal electrocardiogram (FECG) from the abdominal surface will be from 20 μV pp to unmeasurable. The intrauterine catheter signal will be from 50 μV pp to unmeasureable and will be corrupted with a significant direct current component of 10 to 200 μV. For electrophysiological information to be obtained from the abdominal and intrauterine catheter signals, the signals must be in a 0.05 to 100.0 Hz bandwidth. Because typical adult electrocardiogram systems have a noise specification of 5 to 10 μV pp from instrumentation, these systems are unacceptable for obtaining a FECG via the intrauterine catheter or noninvasively. Therefore, custom instrumentation has been developed with a noise specification of approximately 1.5 μV pp in a 0.05 to 100.0 Hz bandwidth. Design details of the custom instrumentation will be presented along with a laptop computer based data acquisition and signal processing system using LabVIEW. In addition, clinical data from the intrauterine catheter and noninvasive abdominal wall are presented to determine the feasibility of obtaining a FECG via the custom instrumentation. Clinical data obtained and documented indicates that after maternal electrocardiogram cancellation, a FECG with a good signal-to-noise ratio can be obtained in a diagnostic bandwidth of 0.05 to 100.0 Hz. Because the diagnostic bandwidth is preserved, electrophysiological information can be determined along with heart rate.
Tissue distribution and elimination of radiolabelled methyltestosterone fed to sexually undifferentiated blue tilapia

Abstract Populations of monosex male Oreochromis aureus can result when the synthetic androgen 17α-methyltestosterone (MT) is fed to sexually undifferentiated fish; however, concerns exist over residues of the androgen remaining in fish destined for human consumption. Radioactivity in the carcass and viscera was evaluated in juvenile fish fed steroid-incorporated diet (tritium and carbon-14 labelled MT and 30 μg unlabelled MT/g feed) for 21 days, and depletion was monitored for 21 days after return to an untreated diet. Radioactivity was detected in the carcass within 1 h after initial feeding and reached highest levels by 6 h. Most of the radioactivity (> 90%) was in the viscera during the 21 days the radio-labelled diet was being fed. Radioactivity was eliminated exponentially, decreasing by 90% within 24 h after the last feeding. After 21 days of feeding untreated diet,
Effect of enantiomeric ratio and preparation method on proline crystal form

Proline enantiomers were crystallized in a range of enantiomeric ratios and characterized by thermal methods, X-ray diffraction, and solid-state NMR spectroscopy to qualitatively and quantitatively characterize the resulting crystal forms. When crystallized by solvent evaporation or in the absence of enantiomeric excess, the observed racemic cocrystal consisted of only the previously published form, DL-proline (form I). However, lyophilization of solutions containing enantiomeric excess resulted in the presence of a new, thermodynamically stable polymorph of the racemic cocrystal, DL-proline form II. Both the enantiomeric ratio and crystallization method influenced the polymorphism of the racemic cocrystal. Due to the prevalence of chiral molecules and cocrystals among pharmaceuticals, this work has implications for current polymorphic screening methods.
Bayesian analysis for an exponential surveillance model

Bayesian estimation and design are considered for a dichoto-mous response surveillance model for defectives. The probability of a defective item after storage time t is assumed to be given by F(t) = l-exp(-At), 0 < t, λ < ∞. Surveillance is carried out by removing k lots from storage and observing the size (ni), storage time (ti) and number of defectives (ri) for each lot. The ri are assumed to be independently and binomially distributed with respective expectations (ni).F(ti) A prior gamma distribution is assumed to be available for x. the posterior distribution of x is Hayes estimate assuming quadratic loss. A formula for the corresponding Bayes risk is derived as are some recursive relationships to aid in computation. A design procedure is given for selecting surveillance times and sample sizes successively one lot at a time. Tables of optimum surveillance times and Bayes risks at these times as functions of the prior parameters and sample size are provided to help with this selection procedure.
Renal Neurogenic Mediation of Intracerebroventricular Angiotensin II Hypertension in Rats Raised on High Sodium Chloride Diet

Abstract Chronic elevation of sodium intake may affect the sensitivity of the central nervous system to intracerebroventricular (ICV) angiotensin II (Ang II) infusion. Experiments were conducted to determine the influence of raising Sprague-Dawley rats from 2 to 3 weeks of age on low (5.0 mmol/L per kg food), normal (50 mmol/L per kg food), or high (250 mmol/L per kg food) NaCl diets on renal and cardiovascular responses to low-dose ICV Ang II infusion. At 12 weeks of age, Sprague-Dawley rats were instrumented for chronic study, including brain lateral ventricular cannulation. Artificial cerebrospinal fluid was infused (0.25 μL/min ICV) during control and recovery, whereas Ang II (20 ng/min) was infused for 5 days. During the experiment, respective sodium intakes were infused intravenously over 24 hours. In rats fed high sodium, control mean arterial pressure was 115±2 mm Hg and increased to 132±4 mm Hg by day 5 of ICV Ang II infusion. This increase in arterial pressure was associated with significant ( P <.05) decreases in sodium excretion, leading to the retention of 5.4±0.6 mmol/L total sodium over the 5 days of Ang II infusion. In rats raised on low and normal sodium intakes from weaning and in 10-week-old rats exposed to a high sodium diet for only 2 weeks, arterial pressure was not increased and sodium was not retained during ICV Ang II infusion at 20 ng/min. In rats raised on the high sodium diet, bilateral renal denervation abolished the arterial hypertension and reduced the sodium retention over 5 days of ICV Ang II infusion. Thus, chronic elevation of sodium intake increases the hypertensive response to low-dose ICV Ang II infusion, which is dependent on intact renal nerves. We conclude that elevated postnatal NaCl intake enhances the pressor sensitivity of the brain to Ang II.
The monosaccharide transporter from human erythrocytes is heterogeneously glycosylated.

Labeling of intact erythrocytes with galactose oxidaseNaB[3H]4 resulted in the incorporation of radioactivity into the monosaccharide transporter. When the purified labeled protein was subjected to SDS gel electrophoresis, the peak of radioactivity migrated more slowly than the peak of Coomassie Blue-staining material. Endo-β-galactosidase treatment of the purified labeled transporter led to partial loss of the label, sharpening of the stain profile, and a change in the apparent molecular mass of the polypeptide from 55,000 to 46,000 daltons. Approximately 50% of the transporter bound to a column of Ricinus communis agglutinin I-agarose. These findings demonstrate that the transporter is heterogeneously glycosylated and, in conjunction with other data, show that it is a transmembrane protein and probably a source of erythroglycan.
In vitro specification of CNS stem cells into either oligodendrocytes or neurons: their fate in vivo

Cell loss within the central nervous system due to disease, trauma, or aging results in severe disability. Recent research indicates that proliferating populations of neural precursors are a promising source of cells for neural grafting and CNS repair. In our study, neural stem cells (NSCs) isolated from embryonic day (ED) 16 Sprague–Dawley rats were cultured in a novel serum-free stem cell medium that allowed their propagation for extended periods of time, retaining immunoreactivity for both nestin and PSA-NCAM, two markers characteristic of the stem cell phenotype. Alternatively, oligospheres were obtained from NSCs neurospheres by using a combination of an oligodendrocyte (OL) specification medium and the NSC medium. When neurospheres or oligospheres were plated as single spheres on poly-d-lysine and fed with OL specification medium their progenies gave rise to only OL progenitors that matured into MBP+ cells. Preliminary data from transplantation studies showed that when either neurospheres or oligospheres were grafted into the md rat brain cells survived and migrated extensively. Some of the neurosphere derived cells differentiated into NeuN+ cells. In contrast, oligosphere grafted into the md brain gave rise to transferrin, but not to GFAP or NeuN expressing cells. These results indicate that oligosphere derived cells only gave rise to OL progenitors, but not to neurons or astrocytes. Acknowledgements: NICHD #06576 and AT Foundation.
SCATTERING BY INTERSTELLAR DUST GRAINS. I. OPTICAL AND ULTRAVIOLET

Scattering and absorption properties at optical and ultraviolet wavelengths are calculated for an interstellar dust model consisting of carbonaceous grains and amorphous silicate grains. Polarization as a function of scattering angle is calculated for selected wavelengths from the infrared to the vacuum ultraviolet. The widely used Henyey-Greenstein phase function provides a good approximation for the scattering phase function at wavelengths between ~0.4 and 1 μm but fails to fit the calculated phase functions at shorter and longer wavelengths. A new analytic phase function is presented. It is exact at long wavelengths and provides a good fit to the numerically calculated phase function for λ > 0.27 μm. Observational determinations of the scattering albedo and cos θ show considerable disagreement, especially in the ultraviolet. Possible reasons for this are discussed.
The mutagenic and lethal effects of monofunctional methylating agents in strains of Haemophilus influenzae defective in repair processes.

Abstract 4 mutant strains of Haemophilus influenzae were tested for their response to the monofunctional methylating agents N-methyl-N′-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) and methyls methanesulfonate (MMS). 2 of these strains are unable to excise pyrimidine dimers, 1 is slow in rejoining breaks produced by excision, and 1 is unable to support recombination or rejoin the single-strand breaks produced in DNA by X-rays. The 3 strains with defects in the excision repair process are like wild-type in their sensitivity to killing by the 2 agents; the recombinationless strain is more sensitive to both agents by a factor of 3–4. MMS does not induced a detectable number of mutations to cathomycin resistance at doses that give equal survival from mutagenic doses of MNNG and approximately equal numbers of induced single-strand breaks in the DNA. It is suggested that the mutation induced by MNNG is due to specific alteration—perhaps alkylation of guanine on the oxygen at the 6 position—produced by this agent but not by MMS. 3 of the strains, including the recombinationless one, give approximately the same mutation yield as wild-type with MNNG. 1 of the 2 excisionless strains gives a distinctly lower yield. This mutant has been shown earlier to lack the endonuclease that makes the initial incision for the excision repair process in DNA containing pyrimidine dimers. It is suggested that this endonuclease can also act on the MNNG-specific mutagenic alteration to enhance the probability that it will cause mutation. It seems improbable that the complete excision repair process is involved in this enhancement, or indeed that excision repair of biologically significant alterations produced by monofunctional alkylating agents occurs.
Projective modules for Frobenius kernels and finite Chevalley groups

AbstractLet G be a connected reductive algebraic group with a Frobenius morphism F: G → G defined over a finite field □ pr . The main result of the paper is to prove that any rational G-module M which is projective when restricted to the Frobenius kernel G r = Ker(F) is also projective over the split and twisted finite Chevalley groups. In 1987, Parshall conjectured this statement for r = 1 in the split case. The authors verified this in 1999 with the possible exclusion of primes 2 and 3 in non-simply laced cases. The converse of the main result is also discussed for split groups in this paper.
Phase composition depth profiles using spatially resolved energy dispersive X‐ray diffraction

Spatially resolved energy dispersive X-ray diffraction, using high-energy synchrotron radiation (∼35-80 keV), was used nondestructively to obtain phase composition profiles along the radii of cylindrical cement paste samples to characterize the progress of the chemical changes associated with sulfate attack on the cement. Phase distributions were acquired to depths of ∼4 mm below the specimen surface with sufficient spatial resolution to discern features less than 200 μm thick. The experimental and data analysis methods employed to obtain quantitative composition profiles are described. The spatial resolution that could be achieved is illustrated using data obtained from copper cylinders with a thin zinc coating. The measurements demonstrate that this approach is useful for nondestructively visualizing the sometimes complex transformations that take place during sulfate attack on cement-based materials. These transformations can be spatially related to microstructure as seen by computed microtomography.
Analysis technique for determining the levels of organic additives in an ethylene-propylene diene monomer rubber for use in underwater acoustic applications

Abstract A liquid—solid chromatographic procedure for reproducibly measuring the levels of organic additives in compounded, uncured ethylene-propylene diene monomer rubber is described. The procedure, which uses a deactivated μPorasil column with a tetrahydrofuran—cyclohexane mobile phase and UV detection at 254 nm, proved to be effective as a quality-analysis program for transducer elastomers. Recommendations for avoiding potential problems with the system are also discussed.
Surface-tension-driven bénard convection in small containers

The onset and the form of surface-tension-driven convection in three different small circular and one small square container has been studied experimentally. In the smallest circular container, with increasing aspect ratio, the pattern consisted of first a circular roll and then segments of a circle outlined by different numbers of azimuthal nodal lines, with up to six segments. Simple solutions in the square container were the one-cellular pattern and a pattern consisting of four square cells. Unexpected solutions formed when the number of the cells in the square container was not a square number. When the aspect ratio permitted two cells, two triangular cells were observed. With space for three cells, one square cell and two wedge-shaped cells formed. The onset of convection in all fluid layers was characterized by a steep increase of the critical Marangoni number with decreasing aspect ratio.
INTEGRATED STRATEGIES AND METHODOLOGIES FOR THE GENETIC IMPROVEMENT OF ANIMALS

Abstract The current emphasis of biotechnology in animal agriculture stresses the need for identification of major genes affecting growth and development, reproductive performance, lactation, and disease resistance characteristics. Identification of allelic variants of genes that affect quantitative traits, either positively or negatively, may be used to increase genetic potential for production of livestock products. The long-term objectives of our integrated quantitative and molecular approach are to develop precise genomic maps of livestock species and to understand how allelic genes affect quantitative phenotypes. Work is underway to identify new polymorphic genetic markers and to perform linkage analysis of such markers with important economic traits. The relevance of this research is specifically to permit an accelerated rate of genetic improvement via marker-assisted selection, selecting animals based upon their genotype in addition to using phenotypic data. Other important ramifications of this endeavor include the identification of genes that may have commercial application through construction of transgenic animals and the development of methods and reagents to further gene mapping in livestock species. This paper outlines the nature of the collaborative approach to animal breeding research developed by animal scientists at the University of Illinois and discusses strategies for integrating traditional molecular and quantitative genetics disciplines.
Government Subsidies and Crop Insurance Effects on the Economics of Conservation Cropping Systems in Eastern Washington

Government subsidies and crop insurance indemnities provide important support for many U.S. farmers. Economists often justify omitting government subsidies when comparing cropping systems because subsidies were decoupled from production in the 1996 Farm Bill. However, coupled loan deficiency payments (LDPs) were continued in the 1996 and 2002 Farm Bills for grains and were extended to several pulses and oilseeds in the 2002 Farm Bill. Furthermore, crop insurance premiums and indemnity payments have always been coupled to production. This paper calculates the impacts of including government subsidies and crop insurance on the results of two long-term cropping systems experiments in eastern Washington. Both studies compared the agronomic and economic feasibility of annual cropping no-till systems with traditional tillage-based winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)–summer fallow (WW–SF). Net returns for WW–SF exceeded those for most annual no-till systems in both experiments. No government subsidies or insurance impacts were included in previous analyses of these cropping systems. The present analysis shows that including government subsidies and crop insurance effects does not alter the profitability rankings of the annual no-till vs. WW–SF cropping systems in these experiments. However, including crop insurance indemnities did slightly alter the rankings of the three most profitable no-till systems in one experiment. The exclusion of government subsidies and crop insurance from previous research on conservation cropping systems in eastern Washington produced relatively sound economic rankings. To test the generality of this conclusion, similar comparisons would be required with other crops and in other regions.
The Role of Perpetrator Motivation in Two Crime Scenarios

Undergraduate volunteers (n = 134) were randomly assigned in a 2 × 2 design that manipulated type of crime (rape vs. robbery) and perpetrator motivation (anger vs. desire). After reading one of the crime scenarios, participants responded to a series of attitude items regarding responsibility for the crime, assigned blame to agents mentioned in the scenario, and assigned a prison sentence to the perpetrator. A two-way ANOVA showed a significant interaction of motivation and crime (p = .026), with the victim rated least responsible in the anger-motivated rape scenario. Likewise, the assignment of blame produced a significant interaction of motivation and crime (p = .034); the victim was blamed the least in the anger-motivated rape scenario. Although the perpetrator was viewed as more responsible for the crime of rape than robbery (p = .022) and received a significantly longer sentence for rape (p < .001), perpetrator motivation did not affect perceptions of the perpetrator’s responsibility for either crime....
The effect of accelerated weathering on the degradation of polymeric films

The influence of artificial weathering on three general properties of films of high-impact polystyrene (HIP), poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), and poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) was investigated, Degradation resulting from weathering was investigated in terms of changes in the water vapor permeation, mechanical properties, and optical transmission. The diffusivities and permeabilities of these three materials were significantly altered by weathering at two levels of exposure. Films of HIP were embrittled at both levels of exposure, whereas the PET films were embrittled only at the high level of exposure. Films of PVC showed embrittlement at the highest level of exposure and the lowest test temperature. Changes in the optical properties were less significant, amounting to a relatively small decrease in the transmission of the films in the visible range.
Vascular Functions of the Plasminogen Activation System

The plasminogen activator (PA) system, which controls the formation and activity of plasmin, plays a key role in modulating hemostasis, thrombosis, and several other biological processes. While a great deal is known about the function of the PA system, it remains a focus of intensive investigation, and the list of biological pathways and human diseases that are modulated by normal and pathologic function of its components continues to lengthen. Because of remarkable advances in molecular genetics, the laboratory mouse has become the most useful animal system to study the normal and pathologic functions of the PA system. The purpose of this review is to summarize studies that have used genetically modified mice to examine the functions of the PA system in hemostasis and thrombosis, intimal hyperplasia after vascular injury, and atherosclerosis. Particular emphasis is placed on the vascular functions of PA inhibitor-1, a key regulator of the PA system, and the multiple variables that appear to account for the complex role of PA inhibitor-1 in regulating vascular remodeling. Lastly, the strengths and limitations of using mice to model human vascular disease processes are discussed.
Information management issues of the late 1980s

The results are reported of a survey designed to determine the relative importance of some of the most important information management issues. The survey technique is described, and the issues that emerged are discussed. >
Proline Accumulation in Maize (Zea mays L.) Primary Roots at Low Water Potentials (I. Requirement for Increased Levels of Abscisic Acid)

Previous work showed that the concentration of proline (Pro) increases greatly in the primary root tip of maize (Zea mays L.) at low water potentials ([psi]w). It was also shown that the maintenance of root elongation at low [psi]w depends on increased levels of abscisic acid (ABA). In this study we have assessed whether ABA is required for the increase in Pro concentration. Seedlings were grown in vermiculite of various [psi]w, and endogenous ABA levels were decreased using either fluridone (FLU) or the vp5 mutant to inhibit carotenoid (and ABA) synthesis. In both treatments, Pro concentrations at low [psi]w were substantially decreased throughout the apical centimeter, which encompassed the elongation zone. Pro concentrations in FLU-treated roots were restored by addition of 7 [mu]M ABA to the vermiculite, which raised the internal ABA content to the level in untreated roots at the same [psi]w. Pro and water content profiles were combined with published growth-velocity distributions to calculate the distribution of net Pro and water deposition rates using the continuity equation. At a [psi]w of -1.6 MPa, the rate of Pro deposition in the root tip was decreased by 75% in FLU-treated compared to untreated roots. FLU treatment increased root diameter and, therefore, water content per unit length, but water deposition rates decreased due to the dominant influence of reduced longitudinal expansion. Thus, the decrease in Pro concentration was attributable entirely to the decrease in Pro deposition. The results demonstrate that increased ABA is required for high rates of Pro deposition and, thereby, high Pro concentrations in the growing region of maize primary roots at low [psi]w.
Comorbidity issues in the pharmacological treatment of Pathological Gambling: a critical review.

Background Pathological Gambling (PG) is an impulse control disorder often comorbid with other psychopathology, particularly bipolar spectrum disorders, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and substance abuse. This paper reviews the published literature on the pharmacological management of PG, highlighting how clinical and subclinical comorbid psychopathology influences the choice of pharmacological treatment.
Morphological signatures and genomic correlates in glioblastoma

Large multimodal datasets such as The Cancer Genome Atlas present an opportunity to perform correlative studies of tissue morphology and genomics to explore the morphological phenotypes associated with gene expression and genetic alterations. In this paper we present an investigation of Cancer Genome Atlas data that correlates morphology with recently discovered molecular subtypes of glioblastoma. Using image analysis to segment and extract features from millions of cells, we calculate high-dimensional morphological signatures to describe trends of nuclear morphology and cytoplasmic staining in whole-slide images. We illustrate the similarities between the analysis of these signatures and predictive studies of gene expression, both in terms of limited sample size and high-dimensionality. Our top-down analysis demonstrates the power of morphological signatures to predict clinically-relevant molecular tumor subtypes, with 85.4% recognition of the proneural subtype. A complementary bottom-up analysis shows that self-aggregating clusters have statistically significant associations with tumor subtype and reveals the existence of remarkable structure in the morphological signature space of glioblastomas.
Fixed-outline floorplanning: enabling hierarchical design

Classical floorplanning minimizes a linear combination of area and wirelength. When simulated annealing is used, e.g., with the sequence pair representation, the typical choice of moves is fairly straightforward. In this paper, we study the fixed-outline floorplan formulation that is more relevant to hierarchical design style and is justified for very large ASICs and SoCs. We empirically show that instances of the fixed-outline floorplan problem are significantly harder than related instances of classical floorplan problems. We suggest new objective functions to drive simulated annealing and new types of moves that better guide local search in the new context. Wirelength improvements and optimization of aspect ratios of soft blocks are explicitly addressed by these techniques. Our proposed moves are based on the notion of floorplan slack. The proposed slack computation can be implemented with all existing algorithms to evaluate sequence pairs, of which we use the simplest, yet semantically indistinguishable from the fastest reported . A similar slack computation is possible with many other floorplan representations. In all cases the computation time approximately doubles. Our empirical evaluation is based on a new floorplanner implementation Parquet-1 that can operate in both outline-free and fixed-outline modes. We use Parquet-1 to floorplan a design, with approximately 32000 cells, in 37 min using a top-down, hierarchical paradigm.
New Drugs of Abuse and Withdrawal Syndromes

New drugs of abuse continue to emerge, including synthetic cannabinoids, synthetic cathinones, and hallucinogens. It is important to recognize their individual psychopharmacologic properties, symptoms of intoxication, and symptoms of withdrawal. Providers must be vigilant of acute medical or psychiatric complications that may arise from use of these substances. Treatment of the patient also includes recognition of any substance use disorders as well as comorbid psychiatric disorders. Although pharmacologic treatments for substance use disorder (of the drugs included in this article) are limited, there are a variety of psychotherapeutic modalities that may be of some benefit.
Model misspecification sensitivity analysis in estimating causal effects of interventions with non‐compliance

Randomized trials often face complications in assessing the effect of treatment because of study participants' non-compliance. If compliance type is observed in both the treatment and control conditions, the causal effect of treatment can be estimated for a targeted subpopulation of interest based on compliance type. However, in practice, compliance type is not observed completely. Given this missing compliance information, the complier average causal effect (CACE) estimation approach provides a way to estimate differential effects of treatments by imposing the exclusion restriction for non-compliers. Under the exclusion restriction, the CACE approach estimates the effect of treatment assignment for compliers, but disallows the effect of treatment assignment for non-compliers. The exclusion restriction plays a key role in separating outcome distributions based on compliance type. However, the CACE estimate can be substantially biased if the assumption is violated. This study examines the bias mechanism in the estimation of CACE when the assumption of the exclusion restriction is violated. How covariate information affects the sensitivity of the CACE estimate to violation of the exclusion restriction assumption is also examined.
The Molasses Act and the Market Strategy of the British Sugar Planters

In The past few decades several approaches have been adopted with respect to the Molasses Act controversy of 1730–1733. It has been considered from the standpoint of Anglo-French commercial rivalry; as a conflict between two British colonial regions; as a measure designed to aid one group of British colonies at the expense of another; and as a source of precedents for parliamentary taxation of the colonies on the one hand and the colonists’ refusal to comply with such taxation on the other. While the trade between North America and the French West Indies was the chief target of attack, it is not always realized that proponents of the Molasses Act had other objectives in mind. British sugar planters were not only at odds with North American merchants who traded with the foreign sugar islands, but also with Irish merchants who pursued a similar course of trade and with the buyers of sugar in England. Failure to achieve results by means of restrictive legislation in one area did not necessarily preclude success in others. The controversy needs to be understood in terms of the international sugar economy, the changing nature of the British market for sugar and rum, and the planters’ attempt to adapt the Navigation Acts to these changes. From the planters’ standpoint, the Molasses Act was only one of several measures that were needed to adapt the Navigation Acts to the realities of the market, so it may be unrealistic to consider any one act in isolation.
Binding of immunoglobulin and activation of complement by asbestos fibers.

Abstract Asbestos fibers adsorbed IgG from whole human serum in amounts comparable to that taken up by crystals of calcium pyrophosphate or hydroxyapatite, but less than that adsorbed by crystals of monosodium urate monohydrate. Chrysolite asbestos was much more active in binding IgG than was amphibole asbestos. The electrophoretic mobility of adsorbed IgG was a function of the surface charge of the crystal studied. Negatively charged fibers adsorbed cationic IgG, and positively charged fibers adsorbed anionic IgG. Complement activation by asbestos, as judged by electrophoretic conversion of C3, was similar for all fiber types tested. Properdin factor B was also activated in the presence of asbestos. Activation of both properdin factor B and C3 was only partially inhibited by ethylene glycol tetraacetic acid, demonstrating that activation was occurring through both the classical and alternative pathways.
Using isovist views to study placement of large displays in natural settings

In this paper we present the concept of an isovist, derived from the architectural literature, and describe how isovists can help HCI researchers understand visibility in a physical environment. An isovist is defined as the set of all points visible in all directions from a given vantage point in space. The overlap in isovists from two or more locations can be used to assess reciprocal visibility and thereby assist in the placement of large displays for public or shared use. We illustrate the value of isovists for HCI research using field data from two OR suites in two major urban hospitals. First, we show how patterns of interaction between anesthesiologists and nurses in each of two OR suites are associated with quantity of isovist overlap. Then, we show how an isovist analysis can be used to determine a better placement for the shared display in one of the OR suites to enhance coordination between groups.
Hierarchical matching using relaxation

Abstract In this paper we outline the application of a general relaxation-based matching procedure to the problem of matching pairs of images and discuss the extension of the basic technique to matching hierarchical descriptions of scenes.
Cognitive load in multimedia learning: the role of learner preferences and abilities

Two experiments are presented that examined the role of individual differences on cognitive load in multimedia learning. In Experiment 1, 103 students using a German multimedia software were allowed to look up visual and verbal annotations for unknown words. In Experiment 2, 152 students were assigned to one of four treatments in which they could use either verbal or visual annotations, both, or none. Providing a choice of annotation type resulted in increased learning, while assigning an annotation type led to higher cognitive load, resulting in reduced learning for low-ability learners. Results are in line with a Generative Theory of Multimedia Learning and Cognitive Load Theory, and have implications for the design of Web-based and multimedia learning environments.
Solution of underdetermined electromagnetic and seismic problems by the maximum entropy method

Many inversion problems require solution of a Fredholm integral equation of the form T(\bar{r}) = \int D(\bar{r},\bar{r}')\sigma (\bar{r}') dV' , where T is the observable, D is an operator, and \sigma is the unknown parameter distribution. Examples occur in the areas of radiation and scattering, tomography, and geotomography. We reduce the equation to matrix form and apply a maximum entropy technique based on the first principle of data reduction to obtain a most probable \sigma distribution. We illustrate the technique by synthetic data examples of geotomography assuming straight rays, with and without noise. The examples show how sharp anomalies may be identified in grossly underdetermined situations. We outline the algorithm used and describe some computational properties. Our method suggests a way of overcoming the ill-conditioned nature of Fredholm integral equation inversion.
A Web Service Composition Framework Using Integer Programming with Non-functional Objectives and Constraints

In this paper, we propose a Web service composition framework that uses Integer Linear Programming with non-functional objectives and constraints, in addition to the syntactic matching of Web services features. We envision that when Web services are fully deployed and commercialized in the near future, the criteria of Web service composition to achieve objectives will vary depending on users' needs or preferences from the number of Web services to non-functional objectives, such as costs, time, and/or reputation. Such non-functional attributes cannot be readily considered in planning-graph, constraint satisfaction, or propositional satisfiability techniques, which are predominantly logic-based. This paper shows how the proposed Integer Linear Programming framework can be utilized to compose Web services with non-functional attributes. This framework enables our composition software agent to identify the best composition result that satisfies both non-functional requirements as well as functional ones, namely, parameter matching. A preliminary implementation of the proposed idea and further research directions are also discussed.
Maintaining dynamic channel profiles on the web

This work addresses a novel problem of maintaining channel proflies on the Web. Such channel maintenance is essential for next generation of Web 2.0 applications that provide sophisticated search and discovery services over Web information channels. Maintaining a fresh channel profile is extremely difficult due to the the dynamic nature of the channel, especially under the constraint of a limited monitoring budget.We propose a novel monitoring scheme that learns the channels' monitoring rates. The monitoring scheme is further extended to consider the content that is published on the channels. We describe a novelty detection filter that refines the monitoring rate according to the expected rate of novel content published on the channels. We further show how inter-channel profile similarities can be utilized to refine the channel monitoring rates.Using real-world data of Web feeds we study the performance of the monitoring scheme. We experiment with several monitoring policies over a large set of Web feeds and show that a policy based on learning the monitoring rate of the channels, combined with novelty detection, outperforms alternative channel monitoring policies. Our results show that the suggested content-based policy is able to maintain high quality channel profiles under limited monitoring resources.