cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
EPITOPE-TAGGED GONADOTROPIN-RELEASING HORMONE RECEPTORS HETEROLOGOUSLY-EXPRESSED IN MAMMALIAN (COS-1) AND INSECT (SF9) CELLS

Abstract The molecular cloning and nucleotide sequencing of the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) receptor represented an enhanced step in the experimental effort to understand this key molecule in the reproductive process at a cell and molecular level. A subsequent step in this broad effort is heterologous expression of the receptor in model cell systems for studies of signal transduction and desensitization, processes that may require immunologic detection of the receptor. Therefore, the GnRH receptor was tagged at its N-terminus using recombinant DNA procedures with the HA-1 epitope that is bound by a monoclonal antibody (12CA5). COS-1 cells expressing this receptor bound [125I] d -Ala6-desGly10-GnRH ethylamide (GnRH-A) with the expected high affinity (IC50=0.47 nM), and were immunocytochemically stained by the 12CA5 antibody. Signal transduction was demonstrated by GnRH-induced [3H]inositol phosphate accumulation in receptor-expressing COS-1 cells. Western blotting of COS-1 cell membranes expressing the receptor revealed protein bands at 67, 57, and 32 kDa. Immunoprecipitation occurred when the solubilized receptor from COS-1 cell membranes was reacted with 12CA5 antibody and anti-mouse IgG Sepharose, and the presence of the receptor demonstrated either by its binding of [125I]GnRH-A or by its detection on Western blots. Desensitization of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) production by N-epitope-tagged GnRH receptor expressing COS-1 cells was evoked by a five min GnRH pretreatment; [32P]i labeling of such cells during desensitization followed by immunoprecipitation of the N-epitope-tagged receptor was not associated with receptor phosphorylation. Finally, the epitope tagged receptor was expressed in the high-yield baculovirus/insect Sf9 cell system: the membrane receptor bound [125I]GnRH-A with slightly lowered affinity (IC50=1.4 nM), and in Western blots yielded protein bands of 32, 56/57, 69, and 120/140 kDa. The development and validation of these heterologous systems will permit the study of several GnRH receptor-mediated processes that are poorly understood.
Preparation of cilia and subciliary fractions from Paramecium.

Publisher Summary The study of cilia motility in Paramecium requires quantities of pure cilia, uncontaminated by other subcellular fractions of similar size or by bacteria from the culture medium. An ideal preparation would include the entire cilium including the basal body and associated components, all axonemal proteins in their normal state of association, the soluble components of the ciliary matrix, and the ciliary membrane, all unaltered by proteolysis during the fractionation, and in good yield. In practice, pure preparations of the distal portion of the cilium can be obtained, lacking only the basal structures, still containing functional axonemes and at least some of the soluble proteins of the matrix, and still surrounded by the ciliary membrane. When stored frozen, these ciliary preparations retain enzymatic activities for weeks or months. With purified cilia as the starting material, it is also possible to obtain three distinct subciliary fractions: the axoneme including its dynein components, the ciliary membrane, and the soluble proteins of the matrix. This chapter describes, in detail, a commonly used deciliation procedure (Ca 2+ or Ba 2+ shock deciliation), a protocol for subciliary fractionation on sucrose gradients, and alternate deciliation procedures employing Mn 2+ or dibucaine as deciliating agents. For electrophysiological studies, removing cilia (and their membrane) from cells without compromising the electrical integrity of the plasma membrane is useful. This can be accomplished by deciliation with ethanol or chloral hydrate; the protocol has been provided in the chapter. Isolated cilia lack the axosome and associated structures, as well as the necklace. The stub of the broken cilium apparently seals over quickly and completely, allowing very little protein leakage out of the cell body and leaving the plasma membrane of carefully deciliated cells electrically intact. There are details on the various solutions and preparation of subciliary fractions.
Compressing POMDPs using locality preserving non-negative matrix factorization

Partially Observable Markov Decision Processes (POMDPs) are a well-established and rigorous framework for sequential decision-making under uncertainty. POMDPs are well-known to be intractable to solve exactly, and there has been significant work on finding tractable approximation methods. One well-studied approach is to find a compression of the original POMDP by projecting the belief states to a lower-dimensional space. We present a novel dimensionality reduction method for POMDPs based on locality preserving non-negative matrix factorization. Unlike previous approaches, such as Krylov compression and regular non-negative matrix factorization, our approach preserves the local geometry of the belief space manifold. We present results on standard benchmark POMDPs showing improved performance over previously explored compression algorithms for POMDPs.
Chapter 1: New York City adaptation in context

New York City has a long history of undertaking ambitious planning projects to meet critical needs. Historical examples include the creation of Central Park and the development of the New York City upstate watershed system in the 1800s, and more recently, the sustainability plan known as PlaNYC, which is charting the city’s future for the coming decades. The newest challenge for the city that requires longterm strategic planning is climate change, which is projected to have wide impacts on its critical infrastructure through higher temperatures, more intense flooding events, and sea level rise. Because of its early recognition of the risks posed by climate change and its current commitment to mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as well as to adaptation, New York City has become a national and international leader in responding to climate change.
The Hispanic health paradox across generations: the relationship of child generational status and citizenship with health outcomes.

Objectives In examining the Hispanic health paradox, researchers rarely determine if the paradox persists across immigrant generations. This study examines immigrant respiratory health disparities among Hispanic children in terms of current asthma, bronchitis, and allergies using an expanded six-group immigrant cohort framework that includes citizenship and the fourth-plus generation.
Intermittency growth in 3D turbulence

Recently increasing attention has been paid to the non-Gaussian properties of small scales in turbulent flows as a manifestation of intermittency.1 Past numerical studies were, however, almost always restricted to simulations with external forces or to results after several eddy-turn-over times. This is because the equilibrium shapes of the Probability Density Functions (PDFs) of velocity and velocity gradients were the main concern (Kerr, 1985; Yamamoto and Hosokawa, 1988; She, Jackson and Orszag, 1988; Kida and Murakami, 1989; Metais and Herring, 1989; Vincent and Meneguzzi, 1991).
Treatment of cancer patients in their last month of life: aimless chemotherapy

The use of chemotherapy in the last month of life (CLML) of cancer patients is considered an aggressive approach to be avoided. We examined the practice of CLML in Lebanese cancer patients, and we investigated patient and tumor characteristics that justify this practice. To our knowledge, this is the first study describing CLML of Middle Eastern patients with advanced cancer. We conducted this study at Hotel-Dieu de France University Hospital (HDF), Lebanon. Cases eligible for this study were all individuals diagnosed with cancer who died at HDF between the 1st of January and the 31st of December 2014. Demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients were obtained from the hospital registration records. Data concerning the management plan, primary malignancy and stage, chemo-sensitivity, line, type, and timing of chemotherapy in the last month of life were also obtained. Among the 130 cancer patients who were enrolled, CLML was administered to a total of 55 patients (42.3 %), of whom 26 patients (50 %) received more than one cytotoxic drug. Oral drug was only given to 9 patients (16.4 %). Interestingly, CLML increased the risk of death in the last month of life (p = 0.02), yet progression of disease constituted the major cause of death in this subgroup (54.6 %). The only variable to have statistical significant correlation with CLML was performance status (p = 0.03). The type of tumor and recent diagnosis of less than 2 months were also correlated to CLML (p = 0.03 and 0.024, respectively). The high percentage of patients receiving CLML underlines the difficulty of end-of-life discussions in patients from Middle Eastern societies. This is true in the context of a country with little availability of palliative care resources, where health policies should be more focused on incorporating palliative medicine in all medical strategies.
Late Preterm Birth: Preventable Prematurity?

Prematurity is one of the leading causes of infant morbidity and mortality globally. Over the years, however, advances in medicine and technology have enhanced the ability to care for babies at very early gestations. There has also been a shift in the distribution of births away from term/post-term gestations and toward earlier gestational ages. These changes have added to the burden of premature births. The focus of this article is to present both sides of the story, one that highlights the many problems and morbidities faced by this subgroup of premature infants and the other that justifies their early delivery.
Exponential Tracking and Approximation of Inertial Manifolds for Dissipative Nonlinear Equations

In this paper, we study the long-time behavior of a class of nonlinear dissipative partial differential equations. By means of the Lyapunov-Perron method, we show that the equation has an inertial manifold, provided that certain gap condition in the spectrum of the linear part of the equation is satisfied. We verify that the constructed inertial manifold has the property of exponential tracking (i.e., stability with asymptotic phase, or asymptotic completeness), which makes it a faithful representative to the relevant long-time dynamics of the equation. The second feature of this paper is the introduction of a modified Galerkin approximation for analyzing the original PDE. In an illustrative example (which we believe to be typical), we show that this modified Galerkin approximation yields a smaller error than the standard Galerkin approximation.
A mechanics-of-materials model for predicting Young's modulus of damaged woven fabric composites involving three damage modes

Abstract An analytical model for damaged woven fabric composites is developed using the theory of advanced mechanics of materials. The analysis is based on Castigliano’s second theorem and utilizes a damaged mosaic model laminate. Three damage modes (i.e., transverse yarn cracking, interface debonding, and sliding with friction at the interface) are considered. Only one independent interfacial parameter, the friction coefficient between warp and fill yarns, is introduced in the analysis. A closed-form formula is provided for estimating effective Young’s modulus of damaged woven laminates. A parametric study of some 192 sample cases of two different composite systems (i.e., glass fiber/epoxy and ceramic fiber/ceramic) is conducted to illustrate the application and significance of the newly derived analytical model. The numerical values of the effective Young’s modulus for the special case involving only transverse yarn cracking (the first damage mode) estimated by the present mechanics-of-materials model agree fairly well with those predicted by an elasticity-based model [Int. J. Solids Struct. 38 (2001) 855]. For the general case involving all three damage modes simultaneously, the present model reveals the complex nature of Young’s modulus reduction in a quantitative manner, which differs from existing models.
Corrosion of chemically and vacuum deposited Ag films on glass by wet HCl vapor

Abstract The corrosion of chemically and vacuum deposited Ag films on an aluminoborosilicate and a commercial soda lime glass by wet HCl vapor was studied. A strong correlation was found between the chemical durability of Ag films and microstructure. A higher concentration of defects in Ag films accelerated corrosion. Chemically deposited Ag films were more corrosion resistant than vacuum deposited films due to their lower microvoid density. Ag films on the aluminoborosilicate glass were corroded less rapidly than those on the soda lime glass.
The Relative Performance of Poisson and Negative Binomial Regression Estimators

Negative binomial estimators are commonly used in estimating models with count-data dependent variables. In this paper, sampling experiments are used to evaluate the performance of these estimators relative to the simpler Poisson estimator in finite-sample situations. The results do not suggest a clear preference for negative binomial estimators in situations in which the underlying dependent variables are overdispersed, unless the researcher is comfortable in assumptions about the precise form of the overdispersion.
Contaminated sediments as a potential source of Zn, Pb, and Cd for a river system in the historical metalliferous ore mining and smelting industry area of South Poland

Background, aim, and scope Elevated levels of heavy metals in the aquatic and soil systems can be caused by the weathering of mineralized rocks. This enrichment is often considerably enlarged by historical and current mining and smelting activities. In Poland, the most contaminated river systems are those in the Silesia region. The metalliferous ore mining and smelting industries have been the main sources of heavy metal pollutions over the last 100–170 years. The previous and present studies have shown very high concentrations of heavy metals in the bottom sediments of the Mala Panew River, the most polluted tributary of the Oder River. The main objective of this work was to study temporary changes of selected metal (Zn, Pb, and Cd) concentrations in upper layer of bottom sediments at the measuring point near the outlet of the Mala Panew River into the Oder River, and to determine the vertical distribution of the metals in the sediment cores from the most polluted middle part of this river. The mobility of the metals and their potential bioavailability were assessed based on metal partitioning in the sediments and metal concentrations in pore waters. The presented data were compared with metal concentrations in aquatic sediments from similar historical mining and smelting sites in Poland and other countries.
Shock-stress, gastric secretion and habituation in the chronic gastric fistula rat

Abstract Unrestrained rats exposed to shock-stress showed an abrupt reduction in both the volume and acidity of gastric secretions, followed by a rapid poststress recovery. The gastric response pattern did not distinguish between rats receiving avoidable or unavoidable shock. Marked habituation of the acid inhibition response occurred within 4 stress sessions.
ANTIPROLIFERATIVE EFFECT OF ELEVATED GLUCOSE IN HUMAN MICROVASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL CELLS

Diabetic microangiopathy has been implicated as a fundamental feature of the pathological complications of diabetes including retinopathy, neuropathy, and diabetic foot ulceration. However, previous studies devoted to examining the deleterious effects of elevated glucose on the endothelium have been performed largely in primary cultured cells of macrovessel origin. Difficulty in the harvesting and maintenance of microvascular endothelial cells in culture have hindered the study of this relevant population. Therefore, the objective of this study was to characterize the effect of elevated glucose on the proliferation and involved signaling pathways of an immortalized human dermal microvascular endothelial cell line (HMEC-1) that possess similar characteristics to their in vivo counterparts. Human dermal microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC-1) were grown in the presence of normal (5 mM) or high D-glucose (20 mM) for 14 days. The proliferative response of HMEC-1 was compared under these conditions as well as the cAMP and PKC pathways by in vitro assays. Elevated glucose significantly inhibited (P < 0.05) HMEC-1 proliferation after 7, 10, and 14 days. This effect was not mimicked by 20 mM mannitol. The antiproliferative effect was more pronounced with longer exposure (1-14 days) to elevated glucose and was irreversible 4 days after a 10-day exposure. The antiproliferative effect was partially reversed in the presence of a PKA inhibitor, Rp-cAMP (10-50 microM), and/or a PKC inhibitor, Calphostin C (10 nM). HMEC-1 exposed to elevated glucose (20 mM) for 14 days caused an increase in cyclic AMP accumulation, PKA, and PKC activity but was not associated with the activation of downstream events such as CRE and AP-1 binding activity. These data support the hypothesis that HMEC-1 is a suitable model to study the deleterious effects of elevated glucose on microvascular endothelial cells. Continued studies with HMEC-1 may prove advantageous in delineation of the molecular pathophysiology associated with diabetic microangiopathy.
The gambler's ruin problem with n players and asymmetric play

The expected ruin time and the probabilities of ruin are found for the n-player gambler's ruin problem with asymmetric play for certain cases of equal initial fortunes. Independence of the ruin time with which player is ruined is also shown.
High-resolution computed tomography of the chest in children with cystic fibrosis: support for use as an outcome surrogate.

Background. Outcome surrogates are indicators that reflect, rather than directly measure, patient benefit. In order to provide useful results, however, outcome surrogates must be carefully chosen and must meet specific criteria. Objective. To support development of high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) as an outcome surrogate in cystic fibrosis (CF) by demonstrating the ability of HRCT to show short-term improvement in the appearance of the lungs in children with CF. Materials and methods. HRCT was performed at admission and after discharge on 8 children during 15 admissions for acute pulmonary exacerbation of CF. Three radiologists scored each study separately, then compared admission and discharge pairs. Results. HRCT scores improved in 13/15 admissions. Mean score decreased from 25 to 22. The decrease was significant (P = 0.014). Comparison of admission and discharge scans showed improvement in peribronchial thickening (P = 0.007), mucous plugging (P = 0.002), and overall appearance (P = 0.025). Conclusion. HRCT has the potential to be a useful outcome surrogate in CF. A necessary attribute of an outcome surrogate is that it improves rapidly with effective therapy. Despite widespread belief among radiologists and pulmonologists that HRCT meets this criterion, no previous report has demonstrated this ability in children. These findings support further development of HRCT as an outcome surrogate in children with CF.
Signal detection using group transforms

It is shown that transforms arising from square integrable group representations can be used for the detection of signals in noise. This class of group transforms includes the Gabor transform and the wavelet transform. These transforms are used to map the reproducing kernel Hilbert space (RKHS) associated with noise covariance into another RKHS; the RKHS formulation of the detection problem is then applied to this new space. Using the discrete form of the Gabor transform or the wavelet transform results in a discrete-parameter correlator structure. It is shown that the use of the wavelet transform for the detection of signals in the presence of 1/f noise results in a structurally simple form for the correlation receiver. >
A Friend of Yours Is No Friend of Mine Jealousy Toward a Romantic Partner’s Friends

The current research examined the novel hypothesis that a romantic partner’s same-sex friends can elicit jealousy by threatening people’s central role in their partner’s life. Thus, we expected that people whose partners were highly central to their lives would be particularly likely to experience jealousy toward their partner’s same-sex friends and that jealousy would be exacerbated when they had reason to doubt their partner’s commitment. Two studies supported our hypotheses. This research highlights how people alter perceptions of their partner’s broader social context to minimize perceived threats to their romantic relationships.
Activation of rat lung particulate guanylate cyclase due to filipin induced fluidity change

Abstract Involvement of cholesterol in the regulation of rat lung particulate guanylate cyclase was studied with filipin. The enzyme was not activated to a great extent by sodium nitroprusside alone; however, in presence of filipin nitroprusside activated the enzyme about 12–16 fold over the basal. Filipin did not affect the soluble enzyme significantly. The changes induced by filipin did not cause solubilization of proteins or enzyme. The Arrhenius plot of filipin-treated particulate enzyme did not have a “break” which was evident with untreated enzyme. The results suggest that the sequestering of cholesterol by filipin can modulate the activity of membrane-associated guanylate cyclase probably by changing the membrane fluidity.
The dynamics of intention in collaborative activity

An adequate formulation of collective intentionality is crucial for understanding group activity and for modeling the mental state of participants in such activities. Although work on collective intentionality in philosophy, artificial intelligence, and cognitive science has many points of agreement, several key issues remain under debate. This paper argues that the dynamics of intention - in particular, the inter-related processes of plan-related group decision making and intention updating - play crucial roles in an explanation of collective intentionality. Furthermore, it is in these dynamic aspects that coordinated group activity differs most from individual activity. The paper specifies a model of the dynamics of agent intentions in the context of collaborative activity. Its integrated treatment of group decision making and coordinated updating of group-related intentions fills an important gap in prior accounts of collective intentionality, thus helping to resolve a long-standing debate about the nature of intentions in group activity. The paper also defines an architecture for collaboration-capable computer agents that satisfies the constraints of the model and is a natural extension of the standard architecture for resource-bounded agents operating as individuals. The new architecture is both more principled and more complete than prior architectures for collaborative multi-agent systems.
Spin-Wave Instability and Premature Saturation in Antiferromagnetic Resonance

A semiclassical theory of spin-wave instability in antiferromagnetic resonance is developed. The calculation is valid both for simple antiferromagnets and for canted systems when the canting is due either to single ion magnetocrystalline anisotropy or anisotropic exchange. The nonlinear terms leading to the instability are found to originate in the anisotropy and exchange energies. The critical radio frequency field for the onset of instability is calculated and in general is given by ${h}_{c}=4\ensuremath{\Delta}{H}_{0}{(\frac{\ensuremath{\gamma}\ensuremath{\Delta}{H}_{k}}{{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{0}})}^{\frac{1}{2}}$, where $\ensuremath{\Delta}{H}_{0}$ and $\ensuremath{\Delta}{H}_{k}$ are, respectively, the uniform mode and spin-wave linewidths; and ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{0}$ is the zero-field antiferromagnetic resonance frequency. Experimental evidence for the existence of spin-wave instability in the canted antiferromagnet, KMn${\mathrm{F}}_{3}$, is presented and discussed. An anomalous low-level saturation of the rf susceptibility is attributed to the onset of spin-wave instability. A new technique for the measurement of spin-wave linewidths is described. This technique, which is based on the response of the resonant system to amplitude modulated microwave power, yields results in agreement with the instability theory. The spin-wave linewidth as determined by these experiments is approximately three orders of magnitude narrower than the linewidth of the uniform mode, indicating that the broadening mechanisms are grossly different in the two cases.
Challenges applying alcohol brief intervention in diverse practice settings: Populations, outcomes, and costs

This article summarizes the proceedings of a symposium at the 2005 Research Society on Alcoholism, Santa Barbara, California. The purpose of the symposium was to address challenges that arise in translating evidence for efficacy of alcohol brief intervention (BI) into diverse clinical settings and populations by reviewing the literature and describing 4 research studies. Dr. Saitz reviewed the limitations in evidence for efficacy of BIs and then described results of a randomized clinical trial of brief motivational intervention for medical inpatients drinking risky amounts. Dr. Svikis presented alternative methods for identifying pregnant women in prenatal care at risk for alcohol and drug problems (including nicotine and caffeine) and BIs to reduce or eliminate use. Dr. D'Onofrio discussed results of a randomized trial of the brief negotiated interview in emergency department patients. Dr. Kraemer presented results of a decision analytic and computer-simulation model regarding the cost-effectiveness of alcohol screening and intervention in primary care settings. Finally, Dr. Perl discussed the salient issues and suggested future directions for work in the area of alcohol BI.
Magnetoresistance of PdAg and PdAu alloys

Abstract The magnetoresistance of Pd 1− x Ag x and Pd 1− x Au x alloys has been measured at 4.2°K in fields up to 100 kg. In the PdAg system the reduced coefficient of magnetoresistance shows a sharp maximum at x = 0.43 because of spatially localized fluctuations of the effective mass and relaxation time of the conduction electrons at the Fermi surface. In the PdAu alloys the effect is much smaller.
A CCD programmable signal processor

A generic large-coupled device (CCD) signal processor that performs 2.8-billion computations per second with a 10-MHz clock rate is described. The device's concept, design, operation, performance, and applications are reviewed. A dynamic range greater than 42 dB has been demonstrated by the device. This processor can be used as a one-dimensional correlator, a two-dimensional matched filter or a two-layer neural net device. The device demonstrates the flexibility and computational power that is possible using CCD technology. >
Acetylation of histones during spermatogenesis in the rat.

Abstract Acetate was actively incorporated into rat testis histones when testis cells were prepared by the trypsinization technique in the presence of [ 3 H]acetate. The acetylation was enhanced by 10 m m sodium butyrate. Although histones H3 and H4 were the only histones which incorporated high levels of acetate, the testis-specific histones TH2B and TH3 also appeared to incorporate acetate. This was shown by electrophoresis of the histones on polyacrylamide gels containing Triton X-100. Results, obtained from analysis of histones by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, confirmed a recent report (P. K. Trostle-Weige, M. L. Meistrich, W. A. Brock, K. Nishioka, and J. W. Bremer, (1982) J. Biol. Chem. 257 , 5560–5567) that TH2A was a testis-specific histone. The results also confirmed the H2A nature of a testis-enriched histone band, previously designated X2. When histones from populations of cells enriched in specific testis cell types, representing various stages of spermatogenesis, were examined, the patterns of acetylation varied dramatically. Very high levels of acetate were incorporated into multiacetylated species of histone H4 from a population of cells enriched in transition stage spermatids (steps 9–12) compared to the levels of acetate incorporated into H4 from round spermatids (steps 1–8) and earlier stages of spermatogenesis, where acetate was incorporated primarily into the monoacetylated species of H4. Thus, a striking correlation exists between the time of hyperacetylation of histone H4 and the time of removal of histones for their replacement by the basic spermatidal transition proteins designated TP, TP2, and TP4. Hyperacetylation of histone H4 may facilitate the removal of the entire histone complement during the protein transition. In any case, it must be an obligatory step in the dramatic process.
Retinol binding protein expression is induced in HepG2 cells by zinc deficiency

Zinc (Zn) deficiency is often associated with low plasma vitamin A (retinol) concentrations. It has been suggested that the reduction in plasma retinol is secondary to reduced liver retinol binding protein (RBP) synthesis. In the present study, RBP expression was determined in HepG2 cells cultured in either Zn adequate media or chelated media containing varying concentrations of Zn. Levels of RBP mRNA increased in a time- and Zn concentration-dependent manner such that 0.5 μM Zn-treated cells exhibited a >7.5-fold increase while cells treated with 15 μM Zn were increased 2.9-fold at 72 h compared to controls. RBP protein also progressively increased by 72 h to levels >8-fold and 3-fold higher than controls, in 0.5 μM and 15 μM Zn-treated cells, respectively. The increase in RBP occurred without any change in DNA concentration between groups through 72 h. The Zn deficiency-induced elevations in RBP transcript levels could be reversed within 24–48 h of repletion in Zn adequate media. Thus, the reductions in plasma retinol observed in Zn deficiency are in part a direct consequence of the deficiency.
The impact of automation on NBS noise temperature measurements

The accuracy of calibrating a thermal noise source using the National Bureau of Standards' automated radiometer and cryogenic primary noise standards is typically ±2 percent, compared with ±3 percent for corresponding services that used manual radiometers and hot primary standards. Using the automated radiometer, a noise source can typically be calibrated at three frequencies in the time a manual radiometer requires to calibrate one. The automated radiometer contains a six-port reflectometer, and noise sources with reflection coefficients as great as 0.3 can be tolerated without significantly affecting the calibration accuracy. This makes it practical to use a single broad-band, coaxial noise standard from 0.03 to 14 GHz. The six-port reflectometer also makes it possible to calibrate sources with connectors different from those of the primary standard's with almost no additional accuracy degradation.
Biodegradable microspheres as depot system for patenteral delivery of peptide drugs

Abstract Synthetic biodegradable polymers of lactic and glycolic acid have been extensively investigated for sustained drug delivery. Drug release from lactide/glycolide polymers can be either diffusion controlled or matrix erosion controlled. Polymer degradation was dependent on the molecular weight of the polymer and matrix structure of the delivery system. High surface area, lower particle size and lower bulk density increased the rate of degradation. Gamma irradiation of the delivery system also increased the rate of matrix erosion by reduction of molecular weight. Microspheres containing peptide, salmon calcitonin (sCT), were prepared by solvent extraction techniques using temperature or dilution. sCT was also incorporated into pre-formed microspheres by adsorption. sCT has a strong hydrophobic region and hence can bind to the polymer by a combination of hydrophobic and ionic forces, resulting in high incorporation from an aqueous medium. Adsorption appeared to result in multiple layers of adsorbed peptide on the polymer surface. The microspheres with entrapped sCT exhibited in vivo release of sCT between days 5 and 9, whereas microspheres with adsorbed sCT showed low but detectable in vivo release for 3–4 days. Combination of microspheres with different release properties can be used to achieve various in vivo serum profiles.
Phase diagram for avalanche stratification of granular media

When a binary mixture of granular materials is poured into a quasi-two-dimensional Hele-Shaw cell, alternating stratified layers of large and small particles are formed along the top surface. This effect is studied as the plate separation of the cell and the flow rate at which the granular mixture is poured are systematically varied. A nontrivial ``phase diagram'' is found, with pairing of the stratification layers occurring for a finite range of plate separation and flow rate values. Numerical simulations based upon a model involving periodic avalanching of a metastable wedge of granular material above the critical angle of repose reproduce both the observed stratification pattern and the flow rate dependence.
Practical and Accurate Low-Level Pointer Analysis

Pointer analysis is traditionally performed once, early in the compilation process, upon an intermediate representation (IR) with source-code semantics. However, performing pointer analysis only once at this level imposes a phase-ordering constraint, causing alias information to become stale after subsequent code transformations. Moreover, high-level pointer analysis cannot be used at link time or run time, where the source code is unavailable. This paper advocates performing pointer analysis on a low-level intermediate representation. We present the first context-sensitive and partially flow-sensitive points-to analysis designed to operate at the assembly level. As we will demonstrate, low-level pointer analysis can be as accurate as high-level analysis. Additionally, our low-level pointer analysis also enables a quantitative comparison of propagating high-level pointer analysis results through subsequent code transformations, versus recomputing them at the low level. We show that, for C programs, the former practice is considerably less accurate than the latter.
Effects of P.E.T. on Authoritarian Attitudes toward Child-Rearing in Parents and Non-Parents

Changes in authoritarian attitude toward child-rearing were examined in 13 women who received standard Parent Effectiveness Training (P.E.T.), 13 who only read the P.E.T. book, or 15 who did neither. Both parents and non-parents receiving P.E.T. expressed significantly less authoritarian attitudes on the posttest, while in the book-reading group only parents showed a comparable significant change. Parents receiving P.E.T. showed significantly greater changes than non-parents receiving P.E.T.; and, non-parents receiving P.E.T. did not change significantly more than parents who only read the P.E.T. book.
Primdone, phenobarbital, and PEMA I. Seizure protection, neurotoxicity, and therapeutic index of individual compounds in mice

Neurotoxicity and protection against maximal electroshock and Metrazol seizures from primidone (PRM), phenobarbital (PB), and phenylethylmalonamide (PEMA) were determined in mice for each drug separately and expressed in terms of brain concentrations. Compared with PB, PEMA was 16 times less potent against electroshock and Metrazol seizures but only 8 times less toxic. Primidone was markedly less neurotoxic than PB and equally potent against electroshock, but PRM had no effect against Metrazol or bicuculline. PRM is a relatively nontoxic anticonvulsant with a different action than PB, and PEMA is both a weak and a relatively toxic anticonvulsant.
Tunable fiber ring laser absorption spectroscopic sensors for gas detection

Fiber-optic gas sensing techniques are commonly based on the recognition of a wide range of chemical species from characteristic absorption, fluorescence or Raman-scattering spectra signatures. By tuning over the vibrational lines of species in the path of laser beam, tunable diode laser gas sensors measure signal spectroscopic intensity, gas concentration, and other properties. However, they have limitations of bulk architecture, small change of signal on top of large background, and low sensitivity of direct absorption. Here we report the fabrication and optical measurements of tunable Er-doped fiber ring laser absorption spectroscopic sensor featuring a gas cell that is a segment of photonic crystal fiber (PCF) with a long-period grating (LPG) inscribed. The tunable laser beam is coupled into the cladding of the PCF by the LPG where the gas in air holes absorbs light. The light travels along the PCF cladding and reflects at the end of the fiber where a silver film is coated as a mirror at one end facet. The light propagates back within cladding and passes through the gas one more time thus increasing the interaction length. This light is finally recoupled into the fiber core for intensity measurement. The proposed fiber gas sensors have been experimentally used for ammonia (NH 3 ) concentration detection. They show excellent sensitivity and selectivity, and are minimally affected by temperature and/or humidity changes. The sensors using PCF-LPG gas cell are simple to fabricate, cost-effective, and are deployed for a variety of applications not possible using conventional optical fibers.
Precise serialization for optimistic concurrency control

Abstract Despite the fact that transaction implementation in most commercial database management systems uses locking for concurrency control, optimistic concurrency control has recently gained attention for its efficiency in new types of data-intensive applications such as computer-aided design, computer-aided software engineering, and computer integrated manufacturing applications. This paper describes and analyzes a new concurrency control algorithm referred to as precise serialization, a variation of an optimistic concurrency control algorithm using forward validation that is known to outperform other optimistic algorithms proposed so far. We show that the forward validation-based algorithm incurs transaction restarts which are not absolutely necessary to ensure data consistency, and that the precise serialization algorithm solves this problem with a reasonably limited amount of effort by dynamically adjusting transaction execution history. We illustrate, through simulation, that by removing such unnecessary restarts, the precise serialization algorithm improves the performance of the forward validation-based algorithm under certain conditions.
A note on the thermocapillary migration of a bubble normal to a plane surface

Etude theorique de la migration d'une bulle, dans un milieu liquide, sous l'effet d'un gradient thermique
Wafer-scale self-assembled plasmonic thin films

Plasmonic films have become important for many applications including photonics, energy conversion, and chemical sensing, but the fabrication of these films often requires special equipment, great care, and skill. Colloidal metal nanoparticles offer an alternative as they have been shown to self-assemble into highly-ordered monolayer films by the simple and inexpensive technique of drop casting. Using this technique, we fabricated wafer-scale films of highly-ordered 6 nm Au nanoparticles and evaluated them as candidates for plasmonic applications. These colloidal films were found to support uniform and high-quality plasmon modes over the entire area of the wafer. A combination of microscopy and spectroscopy was used to evaluate and correlate the structural and optical qualities of the films. Electron and atomic force microscopy showed that the nanoscale structure of the films was compact and highly ordered, with few defects or bilayers. Spectroscopic ellipsometry showed that the majority of the film was optically quite uniform with some bilayer patches and voids. These were subsequently confirmed by microscopy. Optical analysis of the thin film showed a prominent plasmon resonance band across the entire wafer. The plasmon frequency was quite insensitive to the presence of voids or bilayers. The width of the plasmon band was more sensitive to bilayers, however, and was found to be as much as 15% wider than in monolayer regions. These results indicate that self-assembled colloidal thin films should be suitable for large-scale plasmonic applications.
Dispersion compensation for acousto-optic scanning two-photon microscopy

In laser scanning microscopy, acousto-optic (AO) deflection provides a means to quickly position a laser beam to random locations. Compared to conventional scanning using galvanometer-driven mirrors, this approach increases the frame rate and signal-to-noise ratio, and reduces time spent illuminating sites of no interest. However, AO scanning has not yet been applied to multi-photon microscopy, primarily, because the femtosecond laser pulses employed are subject to significant amounts of both temporal and spatial dispersion upon propagation through common AO materials. Temporal dispersion of ultrashort pulses - also known as group velocity dispersion (GVD) - is commonly compensated by the inclusion of a pre-chirper. However, because of the large GVD of AO materials, commonly used pre-chirper designs entail a rather large footprint (> 2 meters). Spatial dispersion of the scanned beam - arising from AO deflection being a wavelength-dependent diffraction process - limits the achievable spatial resolution. To address these problems, we developed: 1) a novel four-pass double-decker pre-chirper geometry that reduces the assembly's footprint by another factor of two relative to current designs, and 2) a single diffraction grating scheme for significantly reducing spatial dispersion. The presented findings enable the construction of an acousto-optic two-photon microscope (AO-TPM).© (2002) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
The faces of desirable mates and dates contain mixed social status cues

Digitized images of adult faces were manipulated to test the effects of facial status cues on social perceptions and the desire to form relationships. Large, immature-looking eyes and mouths signaled submissiveness, whereas small, mature-looking eyes and mouths signaled dominance. As predicted, dominance cues made faces look less warm and submissiveness cues made faces look less powerful, relative to unchanged faces. Although feature manipulations successfully reduced the warmth and power of faces, they did not amplify them. Moreover, changed faces were judged as having less potential than unchanged faces as dates and mates, even when perceptions of normalcy, masculinity/femininity, and health were controlled. Further analyses suggested that normal faces optimize status cues thereby conveying a charismatic mix of warmth and power.
The Response of Stationary Planetary Waves to Tropospheric Forcing

The lower boundary forcing of airflow over topography, and the internal forcing that results from the geographical distribution of diabatic heating, are studied in light of a steady state, linear, quasi-geostrophic model of stationary waves on a sphere. The lower boundary vertical motions forced by airflow over topography depend on whether the horizontal deflection of airflow around topographic features is taken into account, the level of the wind profile at which flow over topography is assumed to take place, and the topographic data set that was used in the forcing formulation. The lower boundary forcing is taken to be given by the observed stationary planetary wave in lower boundary geopotential height, and the internal forcing is computed using the planetary wave propagation equation on the observed wave structure.
Argon laser application to endodontics

The application of laser technology to endodontics has been studied for some time. At the present time several major problems are being investigated: (1) removal of infected tissues, (2) sterilization of canals, (3) obturation of canals, and (4) preservation of the vitality of supporting tissues. This list is not intended to imply other problems do not exist or have been solved, but it is a starting point. This paper reviews some of the literature that relates to laser applications to endodontics and concludes with some of the findings from our investigation.
Outcome Research in Environmental Education: A Critical Review

Abstract This review includes an analysis of the 34 environmental education studies published since 1974 that attempted to demonstrate changes in environmentally relevant knowledge, attitudes, or behaviors. The authors divide the studies into two major categories—in-class and out-of-class programs—and critique the studies' findings and methodologies. Although many of the investigations contained methodological difficulties, some of the findings indicate that future research can refine environmental education strategies and curricula.
Hybrid Dynamic Principal Conponent Analysis Approach for Fault Detection in Steel Rolling Process

In traditional dynamic principal component analysis (DPCA) for fault detection, there are some drawbacks such as an excess of the number of principal components (PCs), low computational efficiency, etc. For dealing with the problem, this paper develops a hybrid dynamic principal component analysis (HDPCA) technique, this method can remove spacial and serial correlation by divide-and-conquer algorithm instead of parallel processing strategy, which can detect individual fault accurately and efficiently. The strip breaking fault in steel rolling process is used to demonstrate the improved performance of developed technique in comparison with traditional DPCA fault detection methods. It can be perceived that HDPCA algorithm has the better performance of fault detection and computational efficiency.
The fissioning universe: Topological inflation and Kaluza-Klein cosmologies☆

We propose a Kaluza-Klein cosmology by reversing the usual scenario: instead of starting with a flat 4 + N dimensional universe in which N of the dimensions curl up into a compact manifold, we start with a compact 3 + N dimensional manifold in which 3 of the dimensions are allowed to peel off and expand into the known universe. We reverse the usual “spontaneous compactification” scenario and begin with a closed manifold M3+N which undergoes “spontaneous fissioning” into a product manifold M3 × MN. Remarkably, the 3-dimensional universe M3 can undergo a rapid de Sitter expansion large enough to solve the horizon and flatness problem. We call this “topological inflation”, which we propose as an alternative to the usual GUT inflation. The inflationary phase automatically terminates into a big bang phase.
Effects of graphite porosity and anisotropy on measurements of elastic modulus using laser ultrasonics

Laser ultrasonic techniques can be used to study the ultrasonic properties of nuclear graphites and can serve as tools in establishing relationships between materials microstructure and the macroscopic stiffnesses of graphite. Establishing structure-property relationships permits improved ultrasonic sensing of graphite microstructural changes related to service-induced degradation. Laser ultrasonic measurements were made using a pulsed Nd:YAG laser source and detection was performed using a Michelson-type interferometer. This source-receiver combination provides for non-contacting, highly linear transduction of broadbanded, ultrasonic pulses permitting simultaneous determination of longitudinal and shear stiffnesses. Measurements show that among the graphites examined, a change in density of 0.21 g/cm3 (average 1.8 g/cm3) results in a change in the longitudinal elastic stiffness of 7.1 GPa (average 12.2 GPa) and 3.2 GPa (average 4.3 GPa) for the shear stiffness. Larger variations in density were produced by controlled oxidation of IG-110 and NBG-18. Shear wave birefringence measurements using laser line sources in IG-110 and PCEA indicate that IG-110 behaves isotropically while PCEA displays texture characteristic of transversely isotropic materials.