cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Myth-free space advocacy part I-The myth of innate exploratory and migratory urges

Abstract This paper discusses the “myth” that we have an innate drive to explore or to migrate into space. Three interpretations of the claim are considered. According to the “mystical interpretation,” it is part of our “destiny” as humans to explore and migrate into space. Such a claim has no rational basis and should play no role in rationally- or evidence-based space advocacy. According to the “cultural interpretation,” exploration and migration are essential features of human culture and society. These are not universal features because there are cultures and societies that have not encouraged exploration and migration. Moreover, the cultures that have explored have seldom conducted exploration for its own sake. According to the “biological interpretation” there is a psychological or genetic basis for exploration or migration. While there is limited genetic evidence for such a claim, that evidence suggests that genes associated with exploratory behavior were selected for subsequent to migration, making it unlikely that these genes played a role in causing migration. In none of these senses is it clearly true that we have an innate drive to explore or migrate into space; and even if we did it would be fallacious to argue that the existence of such a drive justified spaceflight activities.
A configurable synchronous intersection protocol for self-driving vehicles

Road intersections represent a leading cause of traffic congestion and accidents. In fact, more than 44% of all reported crashes in the U.S. occur within intersection areas, which, in turn, lead to 8,500 fatalities and approximately 1 million injuries every year. The expected advent of self-driving vehicles raises the question of how automated and connected vehicles can be used to improve throughput at intersections while keeping them safe. A spatio-temporal intersection protocol named the Ballroom Intersection Protocol (BRIP) [5] was recently proposed in the literature to address this situation. Under this protocol, automated vehicles arrive at and go through an intersection in a cooperative fashion with no vehicle needing to stop, while maximizing the intersection throughput. Though no vehicles run into one another under ideal environments with BRIP, vehicle accidents can occur when the self-driving vehicles have location errors. In this paper, we present a safe and practical intersection protocol named the Configurable Synchronous Intersection Protocol (CSIP) that is a more general and resilient version of BRIP. CSIP utilizes a certain inter-vehicle distance to meet safety requirements against GPS inaccuracy and control failure. In addition, the inter-vehicle distances under CSIP are much more acceptable to human passengers due to longer inter-vehicle distances that do not cause fear. With CSIP, the inter-vehicle distances can also be changed at each intersection to account for different traffic volumes and GPS inaccuracies. Our simulation results show that CSIP never leads to traffic accidents even when the system has typical location errors, and that CSIP increases the traffic throughput of the intersections compared to common signalized intersections.
Time Resolved Spectra and Small Signal Gain in HF: An Experimental and Theoretical Investigation

Evaluation of the performance of chemical lasers requires an understanding of the chemical, radiative and relaxation kinetic mechanisms that pump and deactivate the energy levels associated with lasing. The detailed representation of the mechanisms necessary for accurate prediction of laser performance requires a mix of experimental and computer modeling investigations. Several researchers have conducted diagnostic studies of small signal gain1–2, others have reported experimental studies of P-branch time resolved spectra,2–7 and still others have compared observed time resolved spectra with computer simulations8–13.
Radio Emission from High Redshift Galaxies: VLA Observations of the Hubble Deep Field

To study galaxy populations and their evolution at the highest possible redshifts, a small area of the sky, the Hubble Deep Field (HDF) was imaged to an unprecedented sensitivity of R = 29.5 (Williams et al. 1996). As a complement to the HST observations, we have used the VLA at 8 GHz to image an area 5′4 in diameter (FWHM) centered on the HDF to an rms sensitivity of 2 μJy. With a radio resolution of about 3″, we have 33 sources above 9.5 μJy, seven in the 4arcmin2 HDF field of which six have clear optical IDs. There are an additional 12 IDs in the HST flanking fields. The optical counterparts of the radio sources are a mixture of ellipticals, spirals, and irregulars, consistent with earlier surveys of comparable depth (Windhorst et al. 1995). With a median redshift ~ 1, the radio galaxies we are sampling are somewhat more distant than the classical starbursting galaxies which dominate less sensitive radio surveys. Our HDF identifications are predominately with post-starburst galaxies, moderate power AGN, and blue irregulars (Fomalont et al. 1996).
Multi-band Match for High-Q Radio Transceivers

Multi-band matching solutions for integrated radio transceivers can significantly reduce logistics and manufacturing cost of Worldwide IoT solutions. Short-range low-energy radio solutions usually apply high impedance TX and RX front-ends to achieve high TX efficiency and exceptional RX sensitivity, and thus the matching network design is one of the major bottlenecks of designing, especially multi-band, modules. This paper introduces a novel use of a 3-element resonator structure that behaves as a frequency-dependent inductance or capacitance, and thus can be the basic building blocks of multi-band matching circuits. The design methodology including analytical formulas, challenges and tuning process of dual- and multi-band matching balun networks applicable for any radios with high impedance differential ports is shown in this paper.
Quantifying Group Navigation Experience in Collaborative Augmented Virtuality Tours

Unnatural, or "magic" navigation technique often exhibit more desirable characteristics than the natural navigation technique" [1]. In this paper, we evaluate the effectiveness of Natural (based on real-world gesture) and Unnatural (based on an event generated from an external device) navigation techniques in offering group navigation experience in a collaborative Augmented Virtuality (AV) tour. AV is a subcategory of Mixed Reality (MR); it merges real-world objects and their actions to a virtual world. This feature of AV facilitates visual recognition of participants and their actions during a tour. In addition, by monitoring participants' actions and virtually accommodating them, a virtual group can stay spatially closer to each other during a tour; we term this as navigating-as-a-group". As user participation can be from several sites, network impairments among the participating sites can introduce intermittent navigation. As a result, a virtual group might appear virtually spread-out and not close-knit. Therefore, selection of a simple navigation technique that offers a better navigating-as-a-group experience in the midst of network impairments is essential. In this context, (i) with the help of the Hierarchical Position Discrepancy Model (HPDM) proposed in [2], we quantify the impacts of network delay on Natural and Unnatural navigation techniques, and (ii) evaluate the user experience scores with the results of HPDM to suggest the most preferred navigation technique for a group AV tour. Results on a 3-site, 3-user group AV tour shows that "unnatural navigation" technique is better in providing navigating-as-a-group experience.
Aid after enrollment: Impacts of a statewide grant program at public two-year colleges

Abstract Most students who begin at community colleges do not finish with a degree. The net price of college commonly shifts after enrollment, and there is little evidence on how these shifts affect two-year degree completion. This study provides evidence on the impacts of a private program that offered supplemental grant aid to students with demonstrated financial need, who were already enrolled at public two-year colleges in Wisconsin. An evaluation using a randomized control group and data from over 4,000 students in multiple cohorts, fails to confirm substantial increases in persistence or degree completion caused by the grant program. We highlight some features of implementation that added complexity and may have reduced the effectiveness of the grant program.
Podoplanin + tumor lymphatics are rate limiting for breast cancer metastasis

Metastatic dissemination employs both the blood and lymphatic vascular systems. Solid tumors dynamically remodel and generate both vessel types during cancer progression. Lymphatic vessel invasion and cancer cells in the tumor-draining lymph nodes (LNs) are prognostic markers for breast cancer metastasis and patient outcome, and tumor-induced lymphangiogenesis likely influences metastasis. Deregulated tumor tissue fluid homeostasis and immune trafficking associated with tumor lymphangiogenesis may contribute to metastatic spreading; however, the precise functional characterization of lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) in tumors is challenged by the lack of specific reagents to decipher their rate-limiting role in metastasis. Therefore, we generated novel transgenic mice (PDPN promoter-driven Cre recombinase transgene [PDPN-Cre] and PDPN promoter-driven thymidine kinase transgene [PDPN-tk]) that allow for the identification and genetically controlled depletion of proliferating podoplanin (Pdpn)-expressing LECs. We demonstrate that suppression of lymphangiogenesis is successfully achieved in lymphangioma lesions induced in the PDPN-tk mice. In multiple metastatic breast cancer mouse models, we identified distinct roles for LECs in primary and metastatic tumors. Our findings support the functional contribution of primary tumor lymphangiogenesis in controlling metastasis to axillary LNs and lung parenchyma. Reduced lymphatic vessel density enhanced primary tumor lymphedema and increased the frequency of intratumoral macrophages but was not associated with a significant impact on primary tumor growth despite a marked reduction in metastatic dissemination. Our findings identify the rate-limiting contribution of the breast tumor lymphatic vessels for lung metastasis.
Tax increment financing: Capturing or creating growth?

This research examines tax increment financing (TIF), a widely used economic development tool, and property values to determine whether TIFs capture activity that would have occurred anyway. Using 2003–2012 data from Indiana counties, we test a two‐stage model focusing on TIF adoption (stage 1) and impact on assessed value within the TIF district and outside the TIF district (stage 2). Model results show that TIF adoption is positively related to TIF use in surrounding counties, median household income and employment growth, which suggests that TIF is used to capture existing growth. The results of the impact model show that as the share of county assessed value in TIF increases, assessed value in non‐TIF areas decreases and assessed value within TIF districts does not increase, which raises concerns about the efficacy of TIF.
Domesticating the Difficult Past: Polish Students Narrate the Second World War

A narrative analysis of 53 high school student essays demonstrated that Polish youth still hold deeply ethno-national narratives of World War II. This group wrote about ruin, resistance, and victimization, impervious to the influence of a decade of media and international attention to Polish-Jewish relations and the Holocaust. In general, they tamed and domesticated the World War II past. A subset of responses demonstrated that knowledge of the Holocaust and the Jewish-Polish experience during World War II is present in the form of a budding counter-narrative, or an interpretation that goes against what is commonly believed in Polish society. The implications from this chapter are that school may be one of the most important sources for children to receive new and critical information about a nation’s past.
Evaluation of nearby young moving groups based on unsupervised machine learning

Nearby young stellar moving groups have been identified by many research groups with different methods and criteria giving rise to cautions on the reality of some groups. We aim to utilise moving groups in an unbiased way to create a list of unambiguously recognisable moving groups and their members. For the analysis, two unsupervised machine learning algorithms (K-means and Agglomerative Clustering) are applied to previously known bona fide members of nine moving groups from our previous study. As a result of this study, we recovered six previously known groups (AB Doradus, Argus, $\beta$-Pic, Carina, TWA, and Volans-Carina). Three the other known groups are recognised as well; however, they are combined into two new separate groups (ThOr+Columba and TucHor+Columba).
Differentially Marked IncP-1β R751 Plasmids for Cloning via Recombineering and Conjugation.

We demonstrate here for the first time the use of an IncP-1β plasmid, R751, as a gene capture vehicle for recombineering/conjugation strategies to clone large segments of bacterial genomes (20 - 100 + Kb). We designed R751 derivatives containing alternative markers for greater flexibility when using the R751 vehicle across different bacteria. These markers are removable if desired as part of the cloning procedure (with no extra steps needed). We demonstrated utility via cloning of 38 and 22 kb genomic segments from Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium and Escherichia coli, respectively. The plasmids expand the options available for use in recombineering/conjugation-based cloning applications. We demonstrate here for the first time the use of an IncP-1β plasmid, R751, as a gene capture vehicle for recombineering/conjugation strategies to clone large segments of bacterial genomes (20 – 100 + Kb). We designed R751 derivatives containing alternative markers for greater flexibility when using the R751 vehicle across different bacteria. These markers are removable if desired as part of the cloning procedure (with no extra steps needed). We demonstrated utility via cloning of 38 and 22 kb genomic segments from Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium and Escherichia coli, respectively. The plasmids expand the options available for use in recombineering/conjugation-based cloning applications.
Some Problems of Food Safety in Georgia

The problem of production, export, import, and consumption of food was always topical for the long history of Georgia. At all stages of the society development, people need to take food and meet other of their elementary needs. Issues of food supply assurance of the Georgian population differ according to time periods. For example, in Shota Rustaveli’s poem The Knight in the Panther’s Skin it is described that the living standard in the 11th–13th centuries was quite high. At that period of time, Georgia was fed with its own grain. Along with wealth, Shota Rustaveli also characterizes poverty. Most of the state's income was spent on the poor people, so there was a large gap between the rich and poor population. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the problem of poverty and wealth of the population was highlighted by prominent public figures: Sulkhan – Saba Orbeliani and Vakhushti Bagrationi. Ilia Chavchavadze describes the problem of poverty in the country by the end of the 19th century. Poor living conditions of the population were noted during the initial phase of Georgia in Soviet Union and during World War II. Better conditions existed at the last stage of socialism.Meeting the population’s demand for principal foodstuffs and providing near-rational norms of such foodstuffs has always been a major objective of the governments of all times.The prolonged transformation process of the economy of Georgia with its social characteristics was particularly painful. A sharp decline in the standard of life started from the 1990s. Before the economic collapse, a monthly rated wage in Georgia with its foodstuff purchasing power parity almost equaled that of developed countries.
Introduction to the Online Nursing Education Best Practices Guide

IntroductionAs online nursing education programs continue to increase to meet the demands of the growing market, nursing faculty are challenged to develop and deliver courses based on best practice...
Awareness of genetic testing for children with autism spectrum disorder among caregivers in an autism support group

Recent discoveries have improved our understanding of the complex genetic mechanisms underlying autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Despite current guidelines, genetic testing for children with ASD is largely underutilized. This has been attributed to a lack of public awareness regarding genetic testing. The role that autism support groups play in this awareness has not been previously described. A web-based survey was developed and distributed through a community support group to assess the awareness and utilization of genetic testing among caregivers for children with ASD. A total of 138 caregivers responded in total. Only 53.6% were aware that genetic testing exists for ASD. Genetic testing was completed in 17.4% of respondents. Rates of awareness were similar across demographic factors including race, family income, education level, and urban, suburban, or rural residence. This supports low awareness as a key factor in the underutilization of genetic testing for ASD, even among members in an organized autism support group. Targeting public awareness through these organizations may be a promising approach for improving the utilization of genetic testing in ASD.
Trends in Primary Treatment and Median Survival Among Women With Advanced-Stage Epithelial Ovarian Cancer in the US From 2004 to 2016.

Three published clinical trials1-3 that randomized women with advanced-stage ovarian cancer to primary cytoreductive surgery before adjuvant chemotherapy or neoadjuvant chemotherapy before interval cytoreductive surgery found no evidence of a progression-free or overall survival advantage for either approach. However, those studies did demonstrate a reduction in surgical morbidity in women assigned to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Nonetheless, most gynecologic oncologists believe that primary surgical treatment is the preferred approach for advanced ovarian cancer.4 Since the publication of the first of those 3 randomized trials in 2010,1 the use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for ovarian cancer has increased in the US.5 The objective of this study was to examine and compare time trends in the use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and the median survival among women with advanced-stage epithelial ovarian cancer in the United States.
How to Model Forward Guidance and Address a Larger Puzzle

Forward guidance during the zero lower bound period is typically modeled as news that alters the expected liftoff date of the policy rate, assuming that agents do not expect a policy rate hike in near future. Using U.S. high-frequency data, I empirically reject this assumption and show that forward guidance affects the entire term structure of expected rates. Introducing this estimated forward guidance shock in a standard New Keynesian model substantially magnifies the "forward guidance puzzle", i.e. the excessive model-implied response to forward guidance. I show that allowing agents to update their macroeconomic expectations in the pessimistic direction following a forward guidance easing explains this larger puzzle per se, unlike the common approach of introducing a discount parameter due to a deviation from a baseline assumption. In addition, I find that the puzzle can also be explained by sticky information general equilibrium models.
Development of an in vitro Microtuberization and Temporary Immersion Bioreactor System to Evaluate Heat Stress Tolerance in Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.).

High temperature (heat) stress reduces tuber yield and quality of potatoes. Screening potatoes for heat tolerance is increasingly important, considering the climate change scenario and expansion of potatoes to countries where heat stress is an issue. In vitro screening for tolerance to abiotic stresses offers several advantages, including quick evaluation of numerous genotypes (clones) in reduced space, controlled environmental conditions (temperature and photoperiod), and free from confounding variables inherent to greenhouse and field conditions. In this study, we explored the feasibility of using a temporary immersion bioreactor system for heat tolerance screening of potatoes. We determined the best hormone-free microtuberizing media for this system (MSG with 8% sucrose) to enhance microtuber number and size. Comparisons of microtubers produced at 30 °C as heat treatment, with 16 °C as normal condition, allowed to identify heat tolerant and susceptible potato clones. The use of bioreactors allowed distinguishing well-formed (non-deformed) from deformed microtubers. Heat stress increased the total biomass of plant tissues in all the clones. However, the effect of heat stress on microtuber number and weight varied among the clones. Incubation at 30 °C decreased the weight and number of non-deformed microtubers in all the clones except for Reveille Russet in which the weight of non-deformed microtubers was significantly increased and the count of non-deformed microtubers was not affected. The potato variety Reveille Russet, which was selected under high-temperature field conditions in Texas, had many non-deformed microtubers per explant and the highest microtuber weight among four clones evaluated under heat stress. We described a faster and reliable in vitro microtuberization system for abiotic stress tolerance screening, identified Reveille Russet as a promising heat-tolerant potato variety, and confirmed Russet Burbank and Atlantic as susceptible heat-tolerant checks.
Emergency Department Processes for the Evaluation and Management of Persons Under Investigation for Ebola Virus Disease.

Introduction Due to the recent Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa, patients with epidemiologic risk for Ebola virus disease and symptoms consistent with Ebola virus disease are presenting to emergency departments (EDs) and clinics in the United States. These individuals, identified as a person under investigation for Ebola virus disease, are initially screened using a molecular assay for Ebola virus. If this initial test is negative and the person under investigation has been symptomatic for Materials and Methods ED administrators, physicians, and nurses proposed processes to provide care that is consistent with other ED patients. Biocontainment unit administrators, industrial hygienists, laboratory directors, physicians, and other medical personnel examined the ED processes and offered biocontainment unit personal protective equipment and process strategies designed to ensure safety for providers and patients. Conclusion ED processes for the safe and timely evaluation and management of the person under investigation for Ebola virus disease are presented with the ultimate goals of protecting providers and ensuring a consistent level of care while confirmatory testing is pending.
Navigational Tools for Central African Roadblocks

This article explores the politics of roadblocks in the northeastern reaches of the Central African Republic. Over the past 30 years, roadblocks have become widespread in this area of extremely minimal state institutional presence; they are one symptom of broader processes of militarization. Building on work that sees the state as a set of practices with “magical” effects, I foreground the unpredictability and negotiation that characterize roadblock encounters to show how they challenge the dominant theories of governance in “stateless” spaces. Though roadblock workers invoke the idea of the all-powerful state in order to qualify themselves with authorities to dispossess travelers, their practices end up strengthening noncentralized modes of rule, and particularly quests for personal profit.
Rapid mobility via type indirection

Economies of scale and advancements in wide-area wireless networking are leading to the availability of more small, networked mobile devices, placing higher stress on existing mobility infrastructures. This problem is exacerbated by the formation of mobile crowds that generate storms of location update traffic as they cross boundaries between base stations. In this paper, we present a novel aggregation technique we call type indirection that allows mobile crowds to roam as single mobile entities. We discuss our design in the context of Warp, a mobility infrastructure based on a peer-to-peer overlay, and show that its performance approaches that of Mobile IP with optimizations while significantly reducing the effect of handoff storms.
Cytomorphologic features of the plasmacytoid variant of urothelial carcinoma: A case report

The plasmacytoid variant of urothelial carcinoma is an uncommon form of urothelial carcinoma with a distinctive histologic appearance. Descriptions of the cytologic features of this particular type of urothelial carcinoma in urinary specimens are limited. The present report details the urinary cytomorphologic findings of a plasmacytoid urothelial carcinoma occurring in the urinary bladder of a 66-year-old male. Bladder washings showed the presence of scattered dyscohesive cells with a plasmacytoid appearance characterized by abundant amounts of cytoplasm, eccentrically located nuclei, and inconspicuous nucleoli. The diagnosis of plasmacytoid urothelial carcinoma was confirmed upon histologic examination of a concurrently performed transurethral resection specimen, with immunohistochemical studies supporting this interpretation. Although rare, the plasmacytoid variant of urothelial carcinoma should be a diagnostic consideration when atypical cells with plasmacytoid features are encountered in a urinary specimen.
Axonal neuregulin signals cells of the oligodendrocyte lineage through activation of HER4 and Schwann cells through HER2 and HER3.

We are interested in the signaling between axons and glia that leads to myelination and maintenance of the myelin internode, and we have focused on the role of neuregulins and their receptors. Neuregulins are a family of ligands that includes heregulin, neu differentiation factor, glial growth factor, and the acetylcholine receptor–inducing activity. Three signal transducing transmembrane receptors for neuregulins, which bear significant homology to the EGF receptor, are currently known: HER2 (erbB2), HER3 (erbB3), and HER4 (erbB4). We have found that oligodendrocite–type II astrocyte (O2A) progenitor cells and mature oligodendrocytes express HER2 and HER4 but no HER3. Schwann cells express HER2 and HER3 but little HER4. In O2A progenitor cells and oligodendrocytes, recombinant neuregulin induces the rapid tyrosine phosphorylation of only HER4. HER2 is not phosphorylated in cells of the oligodendrocyte lineage, but a physical interaction between HER2 and HER4 was detected in coimmunoprecipitation experiments. In Schwann cells, neuregulin induces the phosphorylation of both HER2 and HER3. Coimmunoprecipitation experiments indicate that receptor activation in Schwann cells results in the formation of HER2:HER3 heterodimers. Neuregulin localized immunocytochemically was present on neurites of cultured dorsal root ganglion neurons, and it was released into the medium in a form that promoted receptor tyrosine phosphorylation. Neuregulins therefore meet important criteria expected of molecules involved in axonal-glial signaling. The use of unique neuregulin receptor combinations in oligodendrocytes and Schwann cells likely results in recruitment of different signaling pathways and thus provides a basis for different biological responses.
Proteasome inhibitors and antigen presentation.

Protein degradation plays an important role in the control and regulation of many crucial biological functions, ranging from cell cycle progression to presentation of viral antigens for scrutiny by cells of the immune system. At the heart of many of these catabolic events is the multicatalytic proteinase complex known as the proteasome. This large barrel-shaped protein complex executes a remarkable set of functions ranging from the complete destruction of abnormal and misfolded proteins to the specific proteolytic activation of crucial signaling molecules. Inhibitors of this proteolytic complex have thus been extremely useful for perturbing its function and deciphering its role in these diverse biological processes. Inhibitors of the proteasome consist mainly of peptides that are modified at the predicted site of hydrolysis with a reactive functional group capable of modifying the attacking nucleophile, either reversibly or irreversibly. Many of these inhibitors can be used in living cells and have proved to be invaluable tools for the study of proteasome function. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biopoly 43: 269–280, 1997
Failure-Resilient Computations in the EcliPSe System

Local or wide-area connected workstation cluster-based computation systems are inherently failure-prone, particularly for long running computations. In this work we introduce a variety of features for failure resilience in the EcliPSe system for replicative applications. Key characteristics of fault-tolerant EcliPSe are ease of use, low statesaving costs, system scalability and good performance.
The structure and mechanical behavior of ice

Since icebergs were first proposed as potential aircraft carriers in World War II, research has led to a better understanding of the mechanical behavior of ice. While work remains, especially in relating fracture on the small scale to that on the larger scale and to the appropriate structural features, the groundwork in materials science has been laid. This paper presents an overview of the structure and mechanical behavior of polycrystalline terrestrial ice.
Microcomputer-based data acquisition system for clinical research.

We have described a computerized data acquisition system for clinical investigation that can record over fifty physiologic variables from up to twenty-four electronic monitors. The information is acquired by a personal computer using RS-232C serial communications and analog-to-digital conversion. In its present configuration the system records information from a Spacelabs 500 series physiologic monitor, Hewlett-Packard physiologic monitor with the Careport computer interface, SARA mass spectrometer, Nellcor pulse oximeter, Neurotrac processed EEG, Lawrence cardiac output monitor, Hewlett-Packard capnometcr, and Bourns spirometer. The software can be easily modified to accommodate other physiologic monitors. The system records parameter or waveform information and writes the data into a file that can be accessed by commercially available graphical and statistical packages. The data acquisition system is easy to use, transportable, and inexpensive.
PDE Models for Pricing Stocks and Options With Memory Feedback

This paper describes partial differential equation (PDE) models for pricing stocks and options in the presence of memory feedback. Of interest are economic situations in which the stock (option) value at time T depends on some type of average of its past values. Derived PDEs resemble viscous Burgers' equations.
Determination of the double-layer capacity of porous nickel in KOH in the presence of faradaic current

Experimental and analytical techniques to determine the double-layer capacity of porous electrodes in the presence of faradaic effects are discussed. A triangular voltage sweep method was used with commercially available porous nickel plaque electrodes in KOH. No elaborate purification pretreatments were needed. A minimum double-layer capacity of about 28μF cm2 was determined at −0.40 V versus Hg/HgO which is close to the pzc reported for nickel. Overall the results agreed well with literature values for solid nickel.
>Mary Parker Follett—Prophet of Management/A Celebration of Writings from the 1920's

The article reviews the book “Mary Parker Follett-Prophet of Management: A Celebration of Writings from the 1920's,” edited by Pauline Graham.
Magnet Levitation and Trajectory Following Motion Control Using a Planar Array of Cylindrical Coils

We have formulated and implemented a control system for levitation and motion control of a disk magnet using a planar array of electromagnetic coils and an optical localizer to provide real time position feedback. The significance of this work is that this is the first magnetic levitation system which controls the orientation and position of a levitated body throughout a workspace volume whose dimensions are multiples of those of the levitated body in all directions. Furthermore, the horizontal range of motion can be extended indefinitely by adding more coils to the planar array. The potential applications of this levitation system include any robotic manipulation and positioning tasks such as camera and antenna pointing, materials handling and processing, and haptic interaction. Analysis methods, implementation details, and experimental results are given for our current system with a 37.5 mm diameter and 12.5 mm height magnet and 10 actuator coils, providing an 80×60×30 mm range of motion.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
SOL: A Verifiable Synchronous Language for Reactive Systems

Abstract SOL (Secure Operations Language) is a synchronous programming language for implementing reactive systems. The utility of SOL hinges upon the fact that it is a secure language, i.e., most programs in SOL are amenable to fully automated static analysis techniques, such as automatic theorem proving using decision procedures or model checking. Among the unique features of SOL is the ability to express a wide class of enforceable safety and security policies (including the temporal aspects of software component interfaces) in the language itself, thereby opening up the possibility of eliminating runaway computations and malicious code, such as worms and viruses.
Control of chondrogenic expression in mesodermal cells of embryonic chick limb.

Abstract Chick-limb mesodermal cells have been maintained in tissue culture under conditions that permit development of muscle and cartilage. 3-Acetylpyridine, a nicotinamide-antagonized muscle teratogen, potentiates chondrogenic expression in cell cultures, as evidenced by histological and biochemical criteria, including the production of chondromucoprotein. Xylosyltransferase and N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase are two enzymes required for chondromucoprotein synthesis; the specific activities of these enzymes were measured in differentiating mesodermal cells cultured for various periods of time in the presence and absence of 3-acetylpyridine and in intact limb tissue. The ratios of specific enzyme activities were nearly the same in both cultured cells and limb tissue, although the levels of both transferases increased severalfold during chondrogenic expression by mesodermal cells in culture. 3-Acetylpyridine causes the specific activities of xylosyl- and N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferases to increase 10- and 2-fold, respectively, above those of untreated cultures. Compared to the ratio of transferase activities in limb tissue and differentiating cell cultures, 3-acetylpyridine appears to increase the activity of xylosyltransferase, the initiator of chondroitin sulfate chain synthesis, more than does N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase; this finding implies that the synthesis of these two enzymes may be separately regulated.
Increase of delayed rectifier potassium currents in large aspiny neurons in the neostriatum following transient forebrain ischemia

Large aspiny (LA) neurons in the neostriatum are resistant to cerebral ischemia whereas spiny neurons are highly vulnerable to the same insult. Excitotoxicity has been implicated as the major cause of neuronal damage after ischemia. Voltage-dependent potassium currents play important roles in controlling neuronal excitability and therefore influence the ischemic outcome. To reveal the ionic mechanisms underlying the ischemia-resistance, the delayed rectifier potassium currents (Ik) in LA neurons were studied before and at different intervals after transient forebrain ischemia using brain slices and acute dissociation preparations. The current density of Ik increased significantly 24 h after ischemia and returned to control levels 72 h following reperfusion. Among currents contributing to Ik, the margatoxin-sensitive currents increased 24 h after ischemia while the KCNQ/M current remained unchanged after ischemia. Activation of protein kinase A (PKA) down-regulated Ik in both control and ischemic LA neurons, whereas inhibition of PKA only up-regulated Ik and margatoxin-sensitive currents 72 h after ischemia, indicating an active PKA regulation on Ik at this time. Protein tyrosine kinases had a tonic inhibition on Ik to a similar extent before and after ischemia. Compared with that of control neurons, the spike width was significantly shortened 24 h after ischemia due to facilitated repolarization, which could be reversed by blocking margatoxin-sensitive currents. The increase of Ik in LA neurons might be one of the protective mechanisms against ischemic insult.
A new method for characterization of shape

A method is presented that uses a diffusion-like process to describe the shape of a region. Convexity is not required, the descriptor is invariant under several common transformations, is applicable in the n-dimensional case, and is easy to compute.
Remelting of recently depleted mantle within the Hawaiian plume inferred from the 226Ra–230Th–238U disequilibria of Puʻu ʻŌʻō eruption lavas

Lavas from the Puʻu ʻŌʻō eruption of Kīlauea Volcano are thought to partially bypass the shallow magma reservoir beneath the volcano's summit, and thus, provide a relatively direct “window” to the mantle. Here we use high-precision U-series isotope measurements of Puʻu ʻŌʻō lavas (1985–2001) to investigate the timing and mechanism of melt transport within the Hawaiian mantle plume. The lavas display small, but significant, temporal decreases in their 230Th–238U (∼2.5% to 1.4% excess 230Th) and 226Ra–230Th (∼14% to 12% excess 226Ra) disequilibria. These trends correlate systematically with larger decreases in abundance ratios of trace elements that are highly versus moderately incompatible during partial melting of the mantle. These ratios vary from a maximum of ∼23% for Ba / Yb to a minimum of ∼4% for Nd / Sm. Modeling of these geochemical signatures suggests that Puʻu ʻŌʻō lavas are increasingly derived from a mantle source that was recently depleted by prior melt extraction within the Hawaiian plume. The timing of this depletion must be longer than the ∼20-year duration of the eruption but less than several half-lives of 226Ra (< 8 kyr ago). A single magmatic process – the transfer of melt from pores in steady-state equilibrium with the residual mantle into chemically isolated channels – ultimately seems to control the rapid fluctuation in lava chemistry at Puʻu ʻŌʻō. Specifically, this mode of melt extraction (if it occurs frequently) would create numerous patches of recently depleted mantle within Kīlauea's source region that may subsequently remelt. When melt is extracted into channels to supply a given eruption, such as Puʻu ʻŌʻō, it must be drained from an ever increasing volume in order to sustain the flow of melt to the surface. As the eruption continues, the volcano might tap melt from more distal areas and tend to encounter a greater number of patches of melt from recently depleted mantle. The source region of Puʻu ʻŌʻō lavas within the Hawaiian plume is also thought to contain long-lived, small-scale compositional heterogeneities based on temporal variations of ratios of highly incompatible trace elements (Ba / Th or Th / U) and 87Sr / 86Sr. This melt-transport mechanism would allow Kīlauea to sample chemically and isotopically heterogeneous pockets of melt from “fresh” mantle that was never melted beneath Hawaiʻi (in addition to melt from recently depleted mantle), and thus, efficiently transmit the geochemical signatures of these compositional heterogeneities from the volcano's source region to the surface.
High-Repetition-Rate Excimer-Based UV Laser Excitation Source Avoids Saturation in Resonance Raman Measurements of Tyrosinate and Pyrene

UV resonance Raman excitation using low-duty-cycle pulsed lasers such as the Nd:YAG can result in photophysical processes that interfere with Raman spectral studies of ground-state species due to the high incident laser energy fluxes. Depletion of the ground state occurs due to optical absorption and due to the population of intermediate levels which have lifetimes comparable to or longer than the excitation pulse width. In addition, formation of photochemical intermediates can occur. For example, excitation in resonance with the tyrosinate La electronic transition (∼240 nm) results in formation of tyrosyl radicals which deplete the concentration of ground-state tyrosinate molecules; as a result, decreased resonance Raman intensities are observed for vibrational modes of ground-state tyrosinate. For pyrene, excitation in resonance with the S4 electronic transition results in population of the long-lived S1 state via rapid internal conversion. This long-lived state bottlenecks relaxation back to the ground state, thus causing saturation of the ground-state pyrene Raman intensities. Given similar incident average laser powers and focusing conditions, higher-duty-cycle lasers result in decreased saturation. A comparison between a 20-Hz Nd:YAG and a 200-Hz excimer laser-based UV Raman excitation source demonstrates superiority of the excimer in avoiding both Raman saturation and interferences from photochemical transients. For the identical energy flux per pulse, the accompanying tenfold increase in average energy flux for the excimer, over the YAG, results in a dramatic improvement in the spectral signal-to-noise ratios. We report the first measurement of the absolute resonance Raman cross section of pyrene within the S4 transition. The Raman cross section of 48 barns/str measured for the 1632-cm−1 vibration with 240-nm excitation is the largest observed to date.
Chronic haloperidol-induced changes in regional dopamine release and metabolism and neurotensin content in rats

Chronic neuroleptic administration has previously been shown to alter in vivo measures of dopaminergic function and lead to regionally selective increases in neurotensin levels. In the current study, female rats were administered chronic haloperidol for 6 months via subcutaneous silastic implants. After 24 weeks of administration, microdialysis probes were inserted into the lateral caudate putamen and the medial prefrontal cortex. Basal samples were collected prior to infusion of a high K+ concentration (100 mM KCI). Extracellular concentrations of dopamine, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, homovanillic acid, and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid were assessed using HPLC. Chronic haloperidol-treated rats showed increased basal dopamine metabolite levels in the caudate putamen and an altered response to the effects of high K+ on 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid; no significant differences were seen with other analytes in the caudate putamen. Although basal concentrations were not different between groups in the prefrontal cortex, haloperidol-treated rats showed a significant attenuation of response to the effects of high K+ infusion on dopamine metabolite concentrations. Radioimmunoassay measurement of tissue neurotensin content showed highly significant elevations of neurotensin concentrations in the caudate putamen and nucleus accumbens, but not in other brain regions analyzed. These results suggest a confluence of altered dopamine and neurotensin function in the caudate putamen which may be related to motor side effects of haloperidol, whereas changes in prefrontal dopamine function are not associated with altered neurotensin levels.
Environmental enrichment affects the fear and exploratory responses to novelty of young Amazon parrots

The development of techniques to reduce fear responses of captive animals is important because fear is generally considered an undesirable emotional state that is related to increased risk of injury and decreased biological functioning. We tested the effects of environmental enrichments designed to increase the physical complexity of the cage and to provide opportunities for foraging behaviors on responses to novelty of young Orange-winged Amazon parrots (Amazona amazonica). Parrots (n ¼ 16) were housed in either barren or enriched conditions for 1 year and responses to novel objects and human handlers were tested periodically. Parrots in the enriched condition had significantly shorter latencies to approach novel objects placed in their home cages than parrots from the control group (repeated measures GLM: F1;13 ¼ 8:00; P ¼ 0:014). In addition, parrots from the enriched condition had shorter bouts of interaction (F1;14 ¼ 27:93; P < 0:0005) and spent significantly less time interacting with novel objects overall (F1;14 ¼ 27:93; P < 0:0005). Taken together, these results suggest that enrichment reduced both the fear response to novel objects and the motivation to explore and interact with those objects. When tested with a familiar handler, the control parrots had significantly higher response scores (i.e. they were less aggressive and more interactive) than the parrots from the enriched group (t-test; P < 0:005). This suggests that parrots housed in barren conditions may be more motivated to interact with familiar humans as a source of environmental stimulation. All parrots showed higher response scores to familiar than unfamiliar handlers, but in the control group there was a significant drop in score from the familiar to the unfamiliar handler (t-test; P < 0:0005) while in the enriched group the scores with familiar and unfamiliar handlers were similar. Thus, environmental enrichment reduced fear responses to both novel objects and unfamiliar human handlers. Factor analysis revealed that the responses to the novel object and novel human tests were independent, which implies that they did not measure the same underlying factor. Similarly, the
Nonranom association of parental genes in influenza A virus recombinants

Abstract Analysis of gene pairs in 40 recombinants derived from influenza A/PR/8/34 and A/HK/8/68 viruses demonstrates that reassortment of gens in recombinant viruses is not completely random with respect to all gene pairs. In particular, recombinants in which P1 and P2 and P2 and P3 genes were derived from the same strain were observed at frequencies much higher than expected. Conversely, recombinants in which P1 and P2 or P2 and P3 were derived from different strains were observed much less frequently than expected. The results suggest that these pairs of genes might be “linked”. Less significant “linkage” was observed within the P1 and NP, P1 and P3, and P3 and NS gene pairs. Examination of all other gene pairs revealed random derivation from the two parental viruses. These observations can be explained either by differential interaction of RNA segments or by a requirement for effective protein-protein interactions for gene products involved in RNA transcription and/or replication.