cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Impedance boundary conditions for statistically rough surfaces

It is shown that for an electromagnetic field incident on a perfectly conducting surface having small geometrical irregularities which are distributed at random but in a statistically uniform and isotropic manner, the boundary condition can be replaced by a generalized impedance condition applied at a neighbouring mean surface. The surface impedance is a tensor function of the direction at which the field is incident as well as of the statistical properties of the irregularities, but simplifies in certain particular cases. Although the detailed analysis is carried out for a mean surface which is flat, the boundarycondition is applicable to a curved surface providing the radii of curvature are large in comparison with the wavelength. It is believed that this approach is of value in studying the effect of minor surface roughnesses on the scattering of electromagnetic waves.
Comparison of Easterly Waves in the Tropical Pacific during Two Contrasting Periods of Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies

Abstract The structure and properties of tropical easterly waves have been found to vary considerably between different regimes and time periods. This study investigates the possible roles played by the temporal and spatial sea surface temperature (SST) variations on the waves. Time series of tropical western Pacific radiosonde data during two contrasting 8-month periods of SST anomalies, May–December 1972, which had abnormally high SST in the central and eastern Pacific, and May-December 1973 which had below normal SST in the same region, are analyzed. In both periods, the waves have the same periodicity of 4–5 days and a lower tropospheric zonal wavelength on the order of 3300 km, but their vertical phase and amplitude distributions as well as the thermal structures are different. The results are discussed in terms of two possible influences the SST variations may have on the waves: 1) a direct effect in which the warmer SST represents stronger thermal control through cumulus heating and 2) an indirect ...
Maintenance of the pectoralis muscle during hibernation in the big brown bat, Eptesicus fuscus

The relationship between pectoralis muscle mass and body mass is examined throughout the annual body mass cycle inEptesicus fuscus in order to evaluate muscle maintenance during hibernation.E. fuscus undergoes large fluctuations in body mass during the year due to pregnancy, parturition, prehibernation fattening, and hibernation (Table 1). Parallel changes occur in pectoralis muscle mass and total pectoralis protein mass (Table 2). The strong correlation between log pectoralis mass and log body mass (Fig. 3) and the lack of correlation between pectoralis mass and forearm length (Fig. 1, 2) suggest that the seasonal variation in pectoralis muscle mass represents a compensatory response to changing body mass. In active bats this relationship closely resembles the compensatory response predicted by flight theory.
Thermocycling of Pit and Fissure Sealants

Both sealants experience early thermocyclic failure, which is manifested as marginal breakdown or separation. From the 20 to 70% failure range (Fig 5) Nuva Seal was three times as resistant to thermocyclic stressing as was Epoxylite 9075. That is, the Nuva Seal-sealed teeth had to be cycled three times more than the Epoxylite 9075-sealed teeth to effect the same failure rates. Both Epoxylite and Nuva Seal reach the same failure rate at 7,000 cycles (75% failure rate). Extremely careful visual examination is required to detect marginal separation failures of pit and fissure sealants.
Impressions of Unsupported Movable Tissues

Edentulous arches with unsupported movable tissues pose problems when impressions for dentures are made by routine techniques. A new, quicker technique that causes minimum distortion is presented.
Stomatal development: from neighborly to global communication.

Stomata are epidermal structures that are responsible for modulating the exchange of gases between the plant and the environment. Stomata are formed and patterned by asymmetric cell divisions. The number and orientation of these asymmetric divisions is informed by plant intrinsic signals acting locally (among epidermal cells) or at a distance (from mature to young leaves) and by plant extrinsic factors such as the quantity of light, water and CO 2 in the atmosphere. Recent studies have implicated a set of conserved cell surface receptors and intracellular signaling molecules in the perception and response to developmental cues. Complementary studies have probed the nature of environmental signals and how these signals are transduced from the site of perception to the cells in the stomatal lineage.
The properties of mast cell proteases.

Abstract One (in some animals) or two (in others) esteratic proteases have been identified in mast cells. The single enzyme in rat mast cells closely resembles α-chymotrypsin; a similar enzyme is present in dog, cat, and human mast cells, and in addition there is in these species a trypsin-like enzyme. The enzymes are apparently present intracellularly in an active form. One approach to the extracellular functions of the mast cell protease(s) is in terms of alternatives to known esteratic proteases derived from plasma. The chymotrypsin-like enzyme of rat cells does have kininase activity. Extracts of dog mastocytoma have fibrinolytic activity and probably a significant plasminogen activator effect. The binding of the enzyme to heparin forms the mast cell granule matrix and provides a means of keeping the enzyme in a local injured site, thus permitting a prolonged period of action. Available evidence on the role of mast cell proteases in the granule secretion mechanism is equivocal. The elucidation of the critical functions of mast cell proteases in vivo should be facilitated through the use of specific irreversible enzyme inhibitors devoid of toxic anti-cholinesterase activity.
Feedback strategies with finite memory in differential games

It is shown that, in differential games, strategies can be defined for the players in such a way that their controls depend, for each timet, on a finite section of the past of the trajectoryx(t). In particular,s-delay,r-memory strategies can be defined as in the Varaiya-Lin approach. It is shown that, for deterministic differential games with terminal payoff, the upper and lower values of the game so defined, are independent of the lengthr of the memory. Lettingr → 0, a feedback strategy is obtained which depends only on the present (and infinitesimal past) of the trajectoryx(t).
Protective Effect of N-acetylcysteine on Liver Damage During Chronic Intrauterine Hypoxia in Fetal Guinea Pig

Chronic exposure to hypoxia during pregnancy generates a stressed intrauterine environment that may lead to fetal organ damage. The objectives of the study are (1) to quantify the effect of chronic hypoxia in the generation of oxidative stress in fetal guinea pig liver and (2) to test the protective effect of antioxidant treatment in hypoxic fetal liver injury. Pregnant guinea pigs were exposed to either normoxia (NMX) or 10.5% O2 (HPX, 14 days) prior to term (65 days) and orally administered N-acetylcysteine ([NAC] 10 days). Near-term anesthetized fetuses were excised and livers examined by histology and assayed for malondialdehyde (MDA) and DNA fragmentation. Chronic HPX increased erythroid precursors, MDA (NMX vs HPX; 1.26 ± 0.07 vs 1.78 ± 0.07 nmol/mg protein; P < .001, mean ± standard error of the mean [SEM]) and DNA fragmentation levels in fetal livers (0.069 ± 0.01 vs 0.11 ± 0.005 OD/mg protein; P < .01). N-acetylcysteine inhibited erythroid aggregation and reduced (P < .05) both MDA and DNA fragmentation of fetal HPX livers. Thus, chronic intrauterine hypoxia generates cell and nuclear damage in the fetal guinea pig liver. Maternal NAC inhibited the adverse effects of fetal liver damage suggestive of oxidative stress. The suppressive effect of maternal NAC may implicate the protective role of antioxidants in the prevention of liver injury in the hypoxic fetus.
Longitudinal-bending mode micromotor using multilayer piezoelectric actuator

Longitudinal-bending mode ultrasonic motors with a diameter of 3 mm were fabricated using stacked multilayer piezoelectric actuators, which were self-developed from hard lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramic. A bending vibration was converted from a longitudinal vibration with a longitudinal-bending coupler. The motors could be bidirectionally operated by changing driving frequency. Their starting and braking torque were analyzed based on the transient velocity response. With a load of moment of inertia 2.5/spl times/10/sup -7/ kgm/sup 2/, the motor showed a maximum starting torque of 127.5 /spl mu/Nm. The braking torque proved to be a constant independent on the motor's driving conditions and was roughly equivalent to the maximum starting torque achievable with our micromotors.
Body size patterns in arctic and temperate zooplankton1

Do zooplankton species occur in discrete associations of large and small species? In 36 arctic tundra ponds near Barrow, Alaska, there were 21 examples of a large species association, 9 of a small association, and 6 intermediate associations. Statistically, the species do show evidence of nonrandom association. The literature of comparative examples is used to investigate the significance of intermediate species associations in the arctic ponds and elsewhere. Intermediates are found to occur, and in some cases make up a high proportion of the observed cases. Distinct associations are the result of a constellation of the proper chemical, physical, and biological factors and, for that reason, distinct associations are expected to be uncommon.
Negative magnetoresistance in small superconducting loops and wires.

We report an experimental attempt to measure resistively the predicted periodic reentrant behavior of small superconducting loops in external magnetic fields. The superconductivity in the contact probes was deliberately weakened in order to minimize their influence on the loops. As expected, the loops exhibit Little-Parks oscillations near the top of the resistive transition. At lower temperatures, instead of the reentrant behavior, the samples show an unexpected negative magnetoresistance. We interpret this result as being due to a nonequilibrium situation existing between normal and superconducting regions in the sample.
Mesenchymal stem cells transmigrate between and directly through tumor necrosis factor-α-activated endothelial cells via both leukocyte-like and novel mechanisms.

Systemically administered adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which are being explored in clinical trials to treat inflammatory disease, exhibit the critical ability to extravasate at sites of inflammation. We aimed to characterize the basic cellular processes mediating this extravasation and compare them to those involved in leukocyte transmigration. Using high-resolution confocal and dynamic microscopy, we show that, like leukocytes, human bone marrow-derived MSC preferentially adhere to and migrate across tumor necrosis factor-α-activated endothelium in a vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and G-protein-coupled receptor signaling-dependent manner. As several studies have suggested, we observed that a fraction of MSC was integrated into endothelium. In addition, we observed two modes of transmigration not previously observed for MSC: Paracellular (between endothelial cells) and transcellular (directly through individual endothelial cells) diapedesis through discrete gaps and pores in the endothelial monolayer, in association with VCAM-1-enriched “transmigratory cups”. Contrasting leukocytes, MSC transmigration was not preceded by significant lateral migration and occurred on the time scale of hours rather than minutes. Interestingly, rather than lamellipodia and invadosomes, MSC exhibited nonapoptotic membrane blebbing activity that was similar to activities previously described for metastatic tumor and embryonic germ cells. Our studies suggest that low avidity binding between endothelium and MSC may grant a permissive environment for MSC blebbing. MSC blebbing was associated with early stages of transmigration, in which blebs could exert forces on underlying endothelial cells indicating potential functioning in breaching the endothelium. Collectively, our data suggest that MSC transmigrate actively into inflamed tissues via both leukocyte-like and novel mechanisms. STEM CELLS2012;30:2472–2486
Computer approaches to protein structure III. Transformation of atomic coordinates

Abstract The study of polypeptide and protein structure with computer-generated molecular models provides numerous advantages over conventional framework molecular models. One notable advantage is the dynamic nature of the computer model. Computer programs, discussed in this report, transform the coordinates of atoms of a peptide or protein, resulting in the rotation of the molecule about a fixed reference point in the x - y or y - z planes. The angle of rotation is increased by 5° after each structure is drawn on the cathode ray tube. As a result, for one complete revolution of the molecule, the computer draws 72 different images and the cathode ray tube is photographed to provide a permanent record of each structure.
Representation: Extracting Mate Complexity From Assembly Models to Automatically Predict Assembly Times

The work in this paper uses neural networks to develop a relationship model between assembly times and complexity metrics applied to defined mate connections within SolidWorks assembly models. This model is then used to develop a Design for Assembly (DFA) automation tool that can predict a product’s assembly time using defined mate connections within SolidWorks assembly models. The development of this new method consists of: creating a SolidWorks (SW) Add-in to automatically extract the mate connections from SW assembly models, parsing the mate connections into graphs, implementing a new complexity training algorithm to predict assembly times based on mate graphs, and evaluating the effectiveness of the new method. The motivation, development, and evaluation of the new automated DFA method are presented in this paper. Ultimately, the method that is trained on both fully defined and partially defined assembly models is shown to provide assembly time prediction results that are typically within 25% of target time, but with one outlier at 95% error, suggesting that a more robust training set is needed.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Is greater self-neglect severity associated with lower levels of physical function?

Objective: This study examined the association between severity of self-neglect and physical function in a population of community-dwelling older adults. Method: Participants were older adults (N =...
Atomic site correspondence and surface relief in the formation of plate-shaped transformation products

The concept of an atomic site correspondence between two phases is developed for simple diffusional and martensitic transformations involving precipitate plates. It is shown that a surface relief can be produced in both diffusional and martensitic phase transformations as a result of atomic site correspondence. Extension of this concept to more complicated transformations is discussed.
Brief Report: Face Configuration Accuracy and Processing Speed Among Adults with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders

The present study investigates the accuracy and speed of face processing employed by high-functioning adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Two behavioral experiments measured sensitivity to distances between features and face recognition when performance depended on holistic versus featural information. Results suggest adults with ASD were less accurate, but responded as quickly as controls for both tasks. In contrast to previous findings with children, adults with ASD demonstrated a holistic advantage only when the eye region was tested. Both groups recognized large manipulations to second-order relations more accurately than no change or small changes, but controls responded more quickly than participants with ASD when recognizing these large manipulations to configural information.
Rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) categorize unknown conspecifics according to their dominance relations.

The authors trained 3 adult male rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) to categorize pairs of unknown conspecifics presented in a video according to the dominance status of the videotaped monkeys. The subjects were trained to choose the dominant monkey for a category of films (e.g., films showing 1 monkey chasing another); then, new films were presented involving different conspecifics, and the monkeys' first responses to this new category of behavior (e.g., monkeys fighting) were taken as evidence of transfer. Two subjects were able to generalize categorical judgments of dominance to new films involving new behaviors. These findings seem to indicate that monkeys can use abstract social concepts and are aware of the social relationships within their group.
A new breed of computer professional the information specialist

Organizational concern with providing information for effective decision making has brought about new systems concepts, i.e., decision support systems, and information centers. This paper describes a new breed of computer professional, the information specialists (ISP). The role of the ISP is developing in response to the requirements of the new concepts, in particular those of the decision support system. The roles performed by an ISP along with the skills and knowledge required are also discussed.
σ + –σ − Optical molasses in a longitudinal magnetic field

We investigate the effect of a longitudinal magnetic field on the orientational cooling mechanism that operates both in σ+–σ− optical molasses and in a magneto-optical trap. For an atom with different Lande g factors in its ground and excited states, single-photon scattering and stimulated Raman scattering are resonant at different field-dependent velocities. The sharp polarization-gradient feature in the force-versus-velocity curve may therefore be translated to a velocity at which the Doppler force is dominant. In addition to this, we find that the momentum diffusion coefficient can grow as the field is increased. By numerically solving a semiclassical Fokker–Planck equation, we show that these effects lead to a field-induced inhibition of efficient sub-Doppler cooling for atoms with unequal g factors. Our treatment also enables us to discuss other phenomena that are accessible only if both Doppler and polarization-gradient effects are included in the calculation.
Impact of Disturbances on Modeling of Thermostatically Controlled Loads for Demand Response

Aggregations of thermostatically controlled loads (TCLs) have been shown to hold promise as demand response resources. However, the evaluation of these promises has relied on simulations of individual TCLs that make important assumptions about the thermal dynamics and properties of the loads, the end-user’s interactions with individual TCLs and the disturbances to their operation. In this paper, we first propose a data-driven modeling strategy to simulate individual TCLs—specifically, household refrigeration units (HRUs)—that allows us to relax some of these assumptions and evaluate the validity of the approaches proposed to date. Specifically, we fit probability distributions to a year-long dataset of power measurements for HRUs and use these models to create more realistic simulations. We then derive the aggregate system equations using a bottom-up approach that results in a more flexible [linear time invariant (LTI)] system. Finally, we quantify the plant-model mismatch and evaluate the proposed strategy with the more realistic simulation. Our results show that the effects of invalid assumptions about the disturbances and time-invariant properties of individual HRUs may be mitigated by a faster sampling of the state variables and that, when this is not possible, the proposed LTI system reduces the plant-model mismatch.
Attenuated total internal reflection infrared mapping microspectroscopy of soft materials

Attenuated total internal reflection (ATR) infrared mapping microspectroscopy of soft samples is reviewed and investigated by using cartridge-based germanium hemispheres. The study demonstrates the use of these devices for obtaining line scans or maps of soft pliable surfaces over an area of approximately 100 X 100 micrometers. An experimental determination of the spatial resolution by using a cross-sectioned polymer film showed a twofold improvement over transmission infrared microspectroscopy for sample sizes at the diffraction limit. Optical details of the devices are discussed in the context of ATR measurements in addition to their application for the study of polymer laminates often encountered in industry and forensics.
Inhibition of cholinesterases of rat diaphragm muscle by organophosphates and spontaneous recovery of enzyme activity in vitro

Abstract Pretreatment of the isolated rat diaphragm with organophosphorus compounds, diisopropyl phosphorofluoridate (DFP), paraoxon or phospholine, resulted in inhibition of cholinesterase activity. Spontaneous recovery occured after washing in Locke's solution for various periods of time (15–180 min). The rate of reactivation was fastest after inhibition with paraoxon and slowest after DFP and was significantly faster for butyrylcholinesterase than for acetylcholinesterase. Similar experiments when performed with the peripheral nerve of lobster, a tissue high in cholinesterase, showed no spontaneous recovery of enzyme activity, even after much longer periods of washing.
The relationships among communication apprehension, immediacy and motivation to study

The relationships among students' communication apprehension, perceived teacher immediacy, and motivation were examined. Based on the known relationships between communication apprehension and academic performance, and on Brophy's work with students' motivation, it was hypothesized that communication apprehension would have a negative relationship with students' motivation to study. Support was found for this hypothesis. It was also hypothesized that teacher immediacy would have a negative impact on highly apprehensive students' motivation to study. The opposite relationship was found. Highly apprehensive students' appeared to have a small increase in motivation when exposed to highly verbal immediate teachers, rather than the predicted decrease.
Gender effects of social security reform in Chile

Gender effects of social security reform in Chile, by Alejandra Cox Edwards. Low schooling for girls, slower growth for all? Cross-country evidence on the effect of gender inequality in education on economic development, by Stephan Klasen. Gender, time use, and change : the impact of the cut flower industry in Ecuador, by Constance Newman. The distributional impacts of Indonesia's financial crisis on household welfare : a rapid response methodology, by Jed Friedman and James Levinsohn. Density versus quality in health care provision : using household data to make budgetary choices in Ethipia, by Paul Collier, Stefan Dercon, and John Mackinnon. A firm's-eye view of commercial policy and fiscal reforms in Cameroon, by Bernard Gauthier, Isidro Soloaga, and James Tybout.
The Serpin SQN-5 Is a Dual Mechanistic-Class Inhibitor of Serine and Cysteine Proteinases†

SQN-5 is a mouse serpin that is highly similar to the human serpins SCCA1 (SERPINB3) and SCCA2 (SERPINB4). Previous studies characterizing the biochemical activity of SQN-5 showed that this serpin, like SCCA2, inhibited the chymotrypsin-like enzymes mast cell chymase and cathepsin G. Using an expanded panel of papain-like cysteine proteinases, we now show that SQN-5, like SCCA1, inhibited cathepsins K, L, S, and V but not cathepsin B or H. These interactions were characterized by stoichiometries of inhibition that were nearly 1:1 and second-order rate constants of >104 M-1 s-1. Reactive site loop (RSL) cleavage analysis showed that SQN-5 employed different reactive centers to neutralize the serine and cysteine proteinases. To our knowledge, this is the first serpin that serves as a dual inhibitor of both chymotrypsin-like serine and the papain-like cysteine proteinases by employing an RSL-dependent inhibitory mechanism. The ability of serpins to inhibit both serine and/or papain-like cysteine proteinases ...
Proactively Addressing the Shortage of Blacks in Psychology: Highlighting the School Psychology Subfield

To circumvent the disproportionately low number of persons of African descent in psychology, this study offers strategies for recruiting and retaining Black students and professionals. Data for this study were collected from 44 Black students and 3 Black faculty. Participants responded to questions that inquired about their perspectives regarding (a) effective recruitment and retention strategies, (b) being the vast minority in school/work settings, and (c) counselor race-ethnicity. Data were analyzed using the grounded theory constant comparative analysis approach. This study contributes to all psychology fields in at least two ways: first in its presentation of innovative strategies that have the potential to enhance racial-ethnic diversity in psychology and second in its presentation of insights that may improve the mental and behavioral health services provided to diverse people. While the need for greater diversity is highlighted for the school psychology subfield, it is noted that psychology in gene...
Characterization of Smooth CdTe(111) Films by the Conventional Close-Spaced Sublimation Technique

Thin epitaxial CdTe films were grown on CdTe(111)B substrates by the close-spaced sublimation (CSS) technique and were characterized over a range of experimental parameters. The source temperature was varied between 480°C and 540°C, maintaining an average constant source–substrate temperature difference ΔT of ∼130°C. Helium was used as a carrier gas at pressures between 2 Torr and 10 Torr. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to analyze the film morphology and structure. Growth rates ranging from 1 μm/h to 4 μm/h were observed, based on profilometer thickness measurements. The addition of a pre-growth heat treatment step and post-growth annealing treatment resulted in smooth CdTe(111) films. An evolution in growth morphology was demonstrated with SEM images and film quality was confirmed with XRD.
Rumpling induced by thermal cycling of an overlay coating: the effect of coating thickness

Abstract Initially flat NiAl-based overlay coatings on a Ni-base superalloy substrate develop surface undulations when cyclically oxidized at high-temperatures. The effect of the coating thickness on the amplitude and wavelength of the undulations is described. The amplitude, after 100 one-hour cycles to 1150 °C in air, appears to have a maximum at intermediate thicknesses between 100 and 150 μm whereas the effective wavelength increases with the coating thickness.
A SIMPLE MODEL OF K+ CHANNEL ACTIVATION IN NERVE MEMBRANE

Abstract A model is proposed for activation of potassium ion channel current,IKin squid giant axons, which consists of two closed states and one open state. The rate parameter in the forward direction between the two closed states depends upon previous history. That is, it relaxes exponentially to its steady-state value appropriate to the membrane potential of a voltage clamp step rather than change instantaneously as in traditional models of channel gating. The model successfully describes both the enhancement of the delay in activation ofIKwith relatively negative prepulse potentials, i.e. the Cole-Moore effect, and the time-dependent rising phase of “on” gating current, which has been reported recently for several types of potassium channels.
Performance of a fiber-optic temperature sensor from −200 to 1050°C

A reflectively monitored Fabry-Perot temperature sensor is characterized over a 1250 degrees C temperature range. Dielectric mirrors for the interferometer are incorporated into a continuous length of single-mode fiber by a fusionsplicing technique. The change in optical phase per unit temperature is nearly constant above room temperature but decreases at lower temperatures. Phase-shift data for the germania-doped silica fiber used in these experiments are compared with calculations based on previously reported information on the temperature dependence of refractive index and length in bulk fused silica.
Congenital absence of the ramus of the mandible

Abstract Unilateral absence of the ramus of the mandible is a rare deformity. It represents a clear-cut defect, which has been described under a variety of titles, thus making it difficult to discover in the literature. It is very often associated with microtia (in four out of the five cases here presented) and at times with unilateral fissure of the mouth (in two of the present group of cases). Embryologically, this defect is thought to be caused by improper development of the various elements of the first branchial arch and cleft. Other facial and cranial bone anomalies, however, are present rather often, especially in the temporal bone. The question may be raised whether these anomalies are not secondary to the absence of the mandibular segment, which thus deprives the surrounding tissues of a normal growth stimulus. The five cases reported here have been collected over a period of the last eight years. Their treatment in general has been conservative, except in the case of the soft tissue defects. The repair of mouth fissures and the building up of the ear when absent has not been delayed. The treatment of the mandibular defect is best postponed until the permanent teeth have erupted to permit the use of proper splinting and for other considerations outlined in the last case. Orthodontic measures, however, should be instituted early.
Arachidonic acid metabolism in guinea pig skin

Abstract Studies were conducted to examine the metabolism of radioactively labelled arachidonic acid via the lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase pathways and the metabolic conversions of radioactively labelled prostaglandin H2; in the epidermal and dermal layers of the guinea-pig skin. Arachidonic acid was metabolized preferentially via lipoxygenase to hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (HETE). The major product of the cyclooxygenase pathway was prostaglandin D2; prostaglandin E2, was formed in lesser amounts. Epidermis exhibited much higher activities of these enzymes on a milligram protein basis than the dermis. In contrast, both skin layers showed the same very high activity of GSH-dependent prostaglandin H 2/prostaglandin D2, isomerase; Prostaglandin D2was virtually the only product formed by skin homogenates from prostaglandin H2. Guinea-pig skin is a highly active site of arachidonic acid metabolism. These findings will provide the basis for pathobiochemical studies in inflammatory and hyperproliferative dermatoses.
An Empirical Inquiry into New Subscriber Services under Interdependent Adoption Processes

This article estimates dynamic diffusion systems developed earlier by Mesak and Darrat (2002) for newsubscriber consumer services. Each system consists of two equations, one for the retailer adoption process and another for the consumer adoption process. Using diffusion annual data related to the cable TV industry in the United States, three alternative interactive systems based on the Bass (1969) model are estimated and contrasted in terms of their predictive power. The empirical results support a two-way diffusion system that includes price. The incorporation of price proves critical for the system’s predictive power. In addition, a noninteractive, two-simultaneous-equations model as well as a single-equation model fail to provide adequate representation of the data.
Phoenix surface mission operations processes

[1] We present an overview of Phoenix Mars Scout Mission (Phoenix) surface operations process design with an emphasis on the science portion of the process. We describe the drivers and constraints on Phoenix operations and the resulting choices that the development team made to accommodate these constraints. The two most important drivers on Phoenix operations are the choice of orbiter relay only for data and the limited amount of data storage on the lander. These two combine to regulate the amount of data the spacecraft can collect, save, and transmit on any given sol. We discuss the interplay between the daily (tactical) and long-term/multiday (strategic) processes and finish with lessons learned for future mission operations design. Integration of mostly complete engineering requirements toward the front end of the tactical process, as well as the multiday nature of science acquisition, results in particular design decisions that have not been incorporated in previous ground operations planning.
Linewidth narrowing caused by optical feedback in a multi-mode vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser

We have studied experimentally spectral characteristics of a multi-mode vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser that is subject to optical feedback. Appropriate alignment of the feedback mirror can suppress higher-order modes and significantly decrease the spectral linewidth of the laser.
New needle for two needle hemodialysis.

A new venous needle (VN) that also can be used as an arterial needle (AN) has been designed to diminish the undesirable hemodynamic effects of dialysis with high blood flow rate (300-600 ml/min) in arteriovenous polytetrafluoroethylene grafts, and in accesses of short length (U.S. Patent No. 5,662,619). The preferred embodiment has one distal opening, two lateral openings, and two diverters located in the interior surface of the shaft adjacent to each lateral opening. The diverters facilitate the flow of blood to the outside of the needle through the lateral openings. The new VN ejects three jets of blood, contrary to the currently used VN, which ejects one jet of high velocity. This decreases the velocity of the VN flow and the velocity; turbulence; wall shear stress; and positive pressure of the flow, past the VN, during dialysis. These may decrease the endothelial damage, intimal hyperplasia, stenoses, thromboses, and recirculation of dialysis blood (RODB). When used as an AN, the new needle lowers the negative pressure surrounding the AN and the RODB. In summary, the new needle may decrease the complications and prolong the life span of the accesses and improve the performance of dialysis.
Debunking the Myth of Officer Friendly: How African American Males Experience Community Policing

The results of a survey of 125 high school African American males regarding attitudes toward and contacts with the police are presented. Findings suggest that personal interaction with the police is not the sole or primary determinate of juvenile attitudes. Attitude formation is a complex process involving both direct and indirect police contact. A majority of the males report experiencing the police as a repressive rather than facilitative agent in their own lives and in the lives of their friends and relatives. Although positive encounters with the police are not sufficient to overcome negative attitudes, improved attitudes and respect for the police can be engendered by increased opportunities for the two groups to encounter each other in service rather than enforcement situations.
How Drugs Interact with Transporters: SGLT1 as a Model

Drugs are transported by cotransporters with widely different turnover rates. We have examined the underlying mechanism using, as a model system, glucose and indican (indoxyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside) transport by human Na+/glucose cotransporter (hSGLT1). Indican is transported by hSGLT1 at 10% of the rate for glucose but with a fivefold higher apparent affinity. We expressed wild-type hSGLT1 and mutant G507C in Xenopus oocytes and used electrical and optical methods to measure the kinetics of glucose (using nonmetabolized glucose analogue alpha-methyl-D-glucopyranoside, alphaMDG) and indican transport, alone and together. Indican behaved as a competitive inhibitor of alphaMDG transport. To examine protein conformations, we recorded SGLT1 capacitive currents (charge movements) and fluorescence changes in response to step jumps in membrane voltage, in the presence and absence of indican and/or alphaMDG. In the absence of sugar, voltage jumps elicited capacitive SGLT currents that decayed to steady state with time constants (tau) of 3-20 ms. These transient currents were abolished in saturating alphaMDG but only slightly reduced (10%) in saturating indican. SGLT1 G507C rhodamine fluorescence intensity increased with depolarizing and decreased with hyperpolarizing voltages. Maximal fluorescence increased approximately 150% in saturating indican but decreased approximately 50% in saturating alphaMDG. Modeling indicated that the rate-limiting step for indican transport is sugar translocation, whereas for alphaMDG it is dissociation of Na+ from the internal binding sites. The inhibitory effects of indican on alphaMDG transport are due to its higher affinity and a 100-fold lower translocation rate. Our results indicate that competition between substrates and drugs should be taken into consideration when targeting transporters as drug delivery systems.
Body and Soul: The Record of Mormon Religious Philanthropy

Some years ago, as part of his Rotary International commitments, Mormon General Authority Marion D. Hanks spent several holiday afternoons ringing the bell over a Salvation Army charity kettle on Main Street in Salt Lake City. Though he never was approached directly on the matter, rumors spread that other high church officials were not happy with his participating so publicly in the activities of another religious organization. The incident suggests that there are ambiguities in the principles and practice of philanthropy by the Latter-day Saint church which may not be fully understood. It is the purpose of this paper in an exploratory and suggestive way to unravel these ambiguities.
Mind incarnate: from Dewey to Damasio

Daedalus Summer 2006 To be a human being requires a functioning human brain, in a living human body, interacting with complex physical, social, and cultural environments, in an ongoing flow of experience. What could be more self-evident than the fact that the human mind is intrinsically incarnate? And yet, most people do not believe this. Traditional Western philosophical and religious traditions routinely assume the transcendence of mind over body. They assume that our inmost essence is mental and spiritual, which they regard as distinct from the bodily. To live in our culture is to unwittingly soak up the metaphysical mind-body dualism that pervades our commonsense views of cognition, knowledge, language, and values. Until quite recently, only a handful of intellectually courageous philosophers have outspokenly embraced a nondualistic view of mind and pursued the radical implications of such a view. Baruch Spinoza stands out in this regard, followed much later by Friederich Nietzsche and then the pragmatic naturalists Charles Sanders Peirce, William James, and John Dewey in America, and also the phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty in France. Over the past twenty years, the situation in philosophy has begun to change. The terms ‘embodied mind’ and ‘embodied cognition’ have become buzzwords in psychology and the other cognitive sciences–and also, increasingly, in philosophy itself. Taking this change seriously is no small matter. If we give up the notion of a transcendent soul and a disembodied mind, then we must give up as well some of our most commonly cherished assumptions about what it means to be human.
8 Culture, Evil, and Horror

This chapter develops a concept of aesthetic and existential horror and suggests its importance for understanding modern and postmodern culture. It makes three distinct claims. First, the experience of horror signifies a breakdown in the symbolic categories and valuations of a culture. Second, this experience has ontological significance because in horror the human is exposed to the naked fact of being. This latter point is derived from Heidegger's comments on anxiety and Emmanuel Levinas's notion of the "il y a" or "there is." A third claim follows from these two, namely, that horror is distinct from evil. Evil is defined within a cultural matrix; horror is the undefined other of a culture. Evil represents the negation of being; horror shows the sickening presence of being as being. The essay concludes with a reflection on the possibility of a postmodern ethics that takes responsibility for the "horrors of being" generated by globalization.
Modulation of barrier function during Fas-mediated apoptosis in human intestinal epithelial cells

Abstract Background & Aims: Intestinal epithelial cell apoptosis occurs continually without apparent permeability defects and is increased in response to intestinal inflammation. We hypothesized that increased, immune-mediated apoptosis during inflammation might result in barrier dysfunction of the epithelium. Methods: T84 cells were cultured as a polarized monolayer and exposed to agonist antibody to Fas. Barrier function was assessed by transepithelial resistance and permeability measurements. Immunofluorescent staining was used to examine junctional protein expression. Results: Fas expression is predominantly basolateral in polarized T84 monolayers. Basolateral cross-linking of the Fas receptor resulted in T84 cell apoptosis and a loss of 50% of the cells within 24 hours. Apoptosis was coincident with a decrease in transepithelial electrical resistance and increased flux of small but not large molecules. Preservation of barrier function was associated with dramatic rearrangement of tight junctions and desmosomal junctions in apoptotic monolayers. E-cadherin–mediated cell contact was maintained between intact cells in the monolayer, thus sealing gaps created by apoptotic cells. Apoptosis and barrier dysfunction could be prevented by caspase inhibition. Conclusions: Immune-mediated apoptosis of intestinal epithelial cells may contribute to the permeability defects associated with inflammatory conditions of the bowel, but the intestinal epithelium is remarkably resilient in the face of apoptosis. GASTROENTEROLOGY 2000;119:1524-1536
Inclusive coherent interference phenomena between pions in an S-matrix model

Bubble-chamber data from Fermilab reveal structure at low dipion mass in the two-pion correlation distribution. We explore the possibility that some of this structure may be due to a second-order interference effect generated because of coherent superposition of resonances (for example, due to Bose-Einstein statistics). We consider models for amplitudes in which ..pi.. and rho mesons are independently produced. A general technique is given for analytically summing the square of these amplitudes to give inclusive distributions. In a specific calculation, the size and range of coherent interference effects are found relative to the amount of inclusive rho production. The effect so generated could account for 10--20 % of the observed low-dipion-mass enhancement.
Serotonergic Responsivity in Male Young Adults With Autistic Disorder: Results of a Pilot Study

Altered serotonergic function has been postulated to exist in autistic disorder. Central serotonergic responsivity was assessed with a neuroendocrine challenge test in seven male young adults with autistic disorder and in seven age- and gender-matched healthy controls. Binding indexes and physiologic responsivity of the platelet serotonin-2 (5-HT2) receptor complex were also measured, as was whole-blood serotonin content. Compared with controls, autistic subjects had substantially blunted prolactin release in response to a 60-mg oral dose of fenfluramine hydrochloride, an indirect serotonin agonist [corrected]. Furthermore, the magnitude of serotonin-amplified platelet aggregation, mediated by the platelet 5-HT2 receptor complex, was reduced in the autistic group, as was the mean number of platelet 5-HT2 receptor sites. Among autistic subjects, fenfluramine-induced prolactin release correlated positively with the serotonin-amplified platelet aggregation response and negatively with whole-blood serotonin content. The results of the present study are compatible with the hypothesis that central serotonergic responsivity is decreased in male autistic young adults. Correlations between central and peripheral serotonergic measures in autistic subjects suggest that systemic alterations in serotonergic function may occur in autism.
Klotho and Na+,K+-ATPase activity: solving the calcium metabolism dilemma?

Despite the widely known fact that low concentrations of extracellular free calcium can induce parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion, the molecular mechanisms of such regulation and eventual calcium metabolism are not yet completely understood. The traditional view of calcium homeostasis is believed to be maintained by sensing changes in extracellular calcium in several distinct cell types, to stimulate the secretion of PTH, vitamin D and calcitonin, depending on the requirement of the body. These calciotropic hormones then act on the calcium-translocating cells of the kidney, bone and intestine to restore calcium balance [1]. New insights into calcium homeostasis were gained from a recent study by Imura et al.; the investigators proposed that low extracellular free calcium can induce PTH secretion through the klothoand Na+,K+-adenosine triphosphatase (Na+,K+-ATPase)-dependent process [2]. Na+,K+-ATPase is a highly conserved integral membrane protein and is composed of two subunits, the alpha subunit (∼113 kDa) and a smaller beta subunit (∼35 kDa). The alpha subunit is mostly responsible for ion transport and catalytic activity, while the beta subunit regulates the catalytic activity of the alpha subunit [3,4]. The Na+,K+ATPase is a crucial regulator that helps in maintaining intracellular Na+ and K+ concentrations. It is also involved in creating the transmembrane concentration gradient for substrates that require the Na+ gradient for transport across the membrane. The higher Na+ gradient created by the Na+,K+-ATPase activity has been proposed to drive the transepithelial calcium transport in the choroid plexus and the kidney [2].
VZV T Cell-Mediated Immunity

Primary varicella-zoster virus (VZV) infection (varicella) induces VZV-specific antibody and VZV-specific T cell-mediated immunity. T cell-mediated immunity, which is detected within 1–2 weeks after appearance of rash, and consists of both CD4 and CD8 effector and memory T cells, is essential for recovery from varicella. Administration of a varicella vaccine also generates VZV-specific humoral and cellular immune responses. The memory cell responses that develop during varicella or after vaccination contribute to protection following re-exposure to VZV. These responses are subsequently boosted either by endogenous re-exposure (silent reactivation of latent virus) or exogenous re-exposure (environmental). VZV-specific T cell-mediated immunity is also necessary to maintain latent VZV in a subclinical state in sensory ganglia. When these responses decline, as occurs with aging or iatrogenic immune suppression, reactivation of VZV leads to herpes zoster. Similarly, the magnitude of these responses early after the onset of herpes zoster correlates with the extent of zoster-associated pain. These essential immune responses are boosted by the VZV vaccine developed to prevent herpes zoster.
Ultrabright fluorescein-labeled antibodies near silver metallic surfaces

Fluorescein-labeled antibodies are widely used in clinical assays and fluorescence microscopy. The fluorescent signal per labeled antibody is limited by fluorescein self-quenching, which occurs when the antibody is heavily labeled with multiple fluoresceins. We examined immunoglobulin G (IgG) when labeled with 0.7 to about 30 fluoresceins per antibody molecule. The extent of self-quenching was decreased, and the signal increased, when the labeled antibody was in close proximity to metallic silver particles. Time-resolved measurements showed that the intensity increase was due in part to a silver-induced increase in the radiative decay rate. These results suggest the use of labeled antibodies conjugated to silver particles as ultrabright probes for imaging or analytical applications.