cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Photoluminescence and excimer emission of functional groups in light‐emitting polymers

Near-UV and blue-light-emitting polymers were synthesized with luminescent functional groups in the side chains or in the polymer main chain. The unsubstituted fluorophores, 2,5-diphenylfuran, 2-phenylbenzoxazole, and triphenylamine, do not form excimers in solution; however, in the case of polymers, excimer emission was negligible only with 2-phenylbenzoxazole derivatives. The monomers as well as the polymers, poly(2-(4-vinylphenyl)-benzoxazole), poly{N-(4-benzoxazol-2-yl-phenyl)-N′-[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]urea}, and the polyurea of 2-(4-aminophenyl)-5-aminobenzoxazole with 1,5-diisocyanato-2-methylpentane, were strong blue emitters; photoluminescence shifted to longer wavelengths than that of 2-phenylbenzoxazole. Light-emitting polymers containing 2,5-diphenylfuran derivatives, including poly[2-(4-vinylphenyl)-5-phenylfuran], poly[2-(4-vinylphenyl)-5-(4-tert-butylphenyl)furan], and poly(N-[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]-N′-{4-[5-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-2-furyl]phenyl}urea), particularly in solid films, exhibited a strong blue excimer emission. The emission characteristics of polymers with triphenylamine side chains were influenced by the mode of attachment of the luminescent group. A longer spacer group between the lumophore and the polymer main chain successfully minimized excimer emission in poly{N-[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]-N′-[4-(N,N-diphenylamino)phenyl]urea}, showing near UV/violet photoluminescence. Polymers with a shorter connecting group, such as poly[4-(N,N-diphenylamino)benzyl acrylate], displayed blue excimer emission. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 87: 1634–1645, 2003
Ablating a cardiac protein: causality at last.

The article describes, for the first time, the targeted ablation of a cardiac protein that biochemical and physiological approaches had indicated as being important for the heart’s response to β-adrenergic stimulation. The article brought the technology of gene targeting to the heart and helped establish the mouse as a useful and relevant model for studying normal and abnormal cardiovascular function. During much of the 20th century, cardiovascular research was firmly based on the 2 pillars of biochemistry and physiology. Biochemistry used reductionist approaches, dissecting a system into its component parts and studying them in isolated or reconstituted systems. Physiology, on the contrary, centered on intact animals, organs, and tissues in an attempt to understand how those systems functioned within the whole body context. These 2 disciplines brought many advances to cardiovascular research, but the ambiguous demonstrations needed to establish necessity, sufficiency, and causality remained elusive for many important cardiac proteins and functions. What is sufficient to mediate important short-term and long-term effects on cardiovascular function and adaptation? What is necessary? How might one establish direct causation in a whole animal context, in terms of a particular cardiac protein leading to disease or affecting muscle function? To address these types of questions, investigators had long used the tools of genetics in lower organisms to target a particular gene, either enhancing or ablating its function. Using these precise genetic tools, the subsequent effects on protein function could be measured in isolated cell types, tissues, organs, and the whole animal. Unfortunately, these earlier studies were largely restricted to genetically accessible systems such as worms, bacteriophages and virus, bacteria, yeasts, molds, and flies, whose cardiovascular systems were either absent or far removed from the 4-chambered, mammalian heart. Much of the seminal biochemical work establishing the importance of phospholamban (PLN) and its interactions with the …
Insulin-dependent diabetes control, personality and life stress in adolescents

Abstract Thirty adolescents with insulin-dependent diabetes, half of whom were in good diabetes control and half in poor control, and 15 matched non-diabetic adolescents were contrasted on neuroticism, life stress, and physiological measures. Heart rate and skin conductance data were collected prior to and while subjects underwent venipuncture and gave two speeches. The good-control diabetes group scored lower on neuroticism (measured by Eysenck Personality Questionnaires) than the other two groups. No relationship was found between level of diabetes control and amount of reported life stress. These findings are discussed in terms of mechanisms that may mediate the relationships.
Pyrogenic Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Oil Burn Residues

Recent field trials and tanker accidents have shown that burning crude oil at sea can be an effective response for marine oil spills. Nevertheless, there is concern that the residue may have elevat...
Coarse-grained free energy functions for studying protein conformational changes: a double-well network model.

In this work, a double-well network model (DWNM) is presented for generating a coarse-grained free energy function that can be used to study the transition between reference conformational states of a protein molecule. Compared to earlier work that uses a single, multidimensional double-well potential to connect two conformational states, the DWNM uses a set of interconnected double-well potentials for this purpose. The DWNM free energy function has multiple intermediate states and saddle points, and is hence a “rough” free energy landscape. In this implementation of the DWNM, the free energy function is reduced to an elastic-network model representation near the two reference states. The effects of free energy function roughness on the reaction pathways of protein conformational change is demonstrated by applying the DWNM to the conformational changes of two protein systems: the coil-to-helix transition of the DB-loop in G-actin and the open-to-closed transition of adenylate kinase. In both systems, the rough free energy function of the DWNM leads to the identification of distinct minimum free energy paths connecting two conformational states. These results indicate that while the elastic-network model captures the low-frequency vibrational motions of a protein, the roughness in the free energy function introduced by the DWNM can be used to characterize the transition mechanism between protein conformations.
Competitive Adsorption of Poly(ethylene oxide) Chains with and without Charged End Groups

Competitive adsorption between species of the same backbone chemistry and chain length, but differing in their end groups, has been studied employing the model system of fluorescein dianion terminated PEO (F-PEO) and the corresponding native PEO [poly(ethylene oxide)] onto negatively charged silica glass. Here, one end of each F-PEO chain is electrostatically repelled from the surface. Kinetic and equilibrium measurements in gentle shearing flow were accomplished with a combination of total internal reflectance fluorescence and optical reflectivity. Pure samples of F-PEO and native PEO exhibited identical transport-limited adsorption kinetics and high-affinity isotherms, but remarkable differences became apparent during competitive adsorption from mixtures of the two. The surface selectivity, which favored adsorption of native PEO, was screened as the ionic strength was increased. The selectivity was also reduced for chains of high molecular weight, though the molecular weight effect was not as intense as...
Effect of loading doses of L-valine on relative contributions of valine derived from protein degradation and plasma to the precursor pool for protein synthesis in rat brain.

: “Flooding” amino acid pools with high doses of labeled amino acids of low specific activity has been proposed to minimize the effects of recycling of amino acids derived from protein degradation on the specific activity of the amino acid precursor pool for protein synthesis. We have examined the influence of recycling on the precursor pool for protein synthesis under conditions in which plasma valine concentrations were normal (0.19 mM) and “flooded” (10-28 mM) by comparing the steady-state specific activity of the tRNA-bound valine with that of the plasma valine. Under normal and “flooding” conditions, the relative contributions of valine from protein degradation to the precursor pool were 63 and 26%, respectively; “flooding” with a plasma level of 28 mM raised the brain acid-soluble pool level to 3.1 mM but was no more effective in decreasing the relative contribution of valine from protein degradation to the precursor pool than “flooding” with a plasma level of 17 mM valine, which raised the brain acid-soluble level only to 2.3 mM. The results of these studies show that “flooding” amino acid pools does indeed reduce the effect of recycling on the precursor amino acid pool for protein synthesis, but it does not totally eliminate it.
Hedonic Homeostatic Dysregulation as a Driver of Drug-Seeking Behavior

Drug addiction can be defined by a compulsion to seek and take drug and loss of control in limiting intake, and the excessive drug taking derives from multiple motivational mechanisms. One such mechanism is the emergence of a negative emotional state when access to the drug is prevented, reflecting hedonic homeostatic dysregulation. Excessive drug taking then results in part via the construct of negative reinforcement. The negative emotional state that drives such negative reinforcement is hypothesized to derive from dysregulation of key neurochemical elements involved in reward and stress within basal forebrain structures, including the ventral striatum and extended amygdala. Specific neurochemical elements in these structures include not only decreases in reward neurotransmission, such as decreases in dopamine and opioid peptide function in the ventral striatum, but also recruitment of brain stress systems, such as corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), in the extended amygdala. Chronic exposure or extended access to self-administration of all major drugs of abuse produces during abstinence increases in reward thresholds, increases in aversive anxiety-like responses, increases in extracellular levels of CRF in the central nucleus of the amygdala, and increases in drug self-administration. CRF receptor antagonists block excessive drug intake produced by dependence. A combination of decreased reward system function and increased brain stress response system function is hypothesized to be responsible for hedonic homeostatic dysregulation that drives drug seeking behavior in dependence. Such hedonic dysregulation is hypothesized to extend into protracted abstinence to provide a residual negative emotional state that enhances the salience of cues eliciting drug seeking and relapse.
Self-switching of optical pulses in dispersion-imbalanced nonlinear loop mirrors

We report a novel nonlinear filter that transmits and shortens incident pulses while rejecting cw background as well as resonant continuum. A relative extinction of 22 dB is reported for the cw background.
Modulation of endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ store filling by cyclic ADP-ribose promotes inositol trisphosphate (IP3)-evoked Ca2+ signals.

In addition to its well established function in activating Ca2+ release from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) through ryanodine receptors (RyR), the second messenger cyclic ADP-ribose (cADPR) also accelerates the activity of SERCA pumps, which sequester Ca2+ into the ER. Here, we demonstrate a potential physiological role for cADPR in modulating cellular Ca2+ signals via changes in ER Ca2+ store content, by imaging Ca2+ liberation through inositol trisphosphate receptors (IP3R) in Xenopus oocytes, which lack RyR. Oocytes were injected with the non-metabolizable analog 3-deaza-cADPR, and cytosolic [Ca2+] was transiently elevated by applying voltage-clamp pulses to induce Ca2+ influx through expressed plasmalemmal nicotinic channels. We observed a subsequent potentiation of global Ca2+ signals evoked by strong photorelease of IP3, and increased numbers of local Ca2+ puffs evoked by weaker photorelease. These effects were not evident with cADPR alone or following cytosolic Ca2+ elevation alone, indicating that they did not arise through direct actions of cADPR or Ca2+ on the IP3R, but likely resulted from enhanced ER store filling. Moreover, the appearance of a new population of puffs with longer latencies, prolonged durations, and attenuated amplitudes suggests that luminal ER Ca2+ may modulate IP3R function, in addition to simply determining the size of the available store and the electrochemical driving force for release.
Potential productivity and surface circulation in the northern Indian Ocean during the last glacial-to-interglacial transition: Application of a new paleoceanographic model

Abstract A new paleoceanographic model is presented which approximates concentrations of total PO 4 for the upper water column for the recent geologic past using the isotopes of carbon and oxygen from the tests of monospecific assemblages of planktic foraminifera. These calculated concentrations of total PO 4 are, in turn, used to estimate relative changes in potential productivity as well as changes in the position and intensity of surface currents for the recent geologic past. This new model is based uponthe statistical constancy of the Redfield Δ O 2 : Δ PO 4 ratio in the modern oceans and has been shown to be an accurate and reliable predictor of total PO 4 . The down core application of this model, thus far limited to five core sites in the northern Indian Ocean, has yielded results which are consistent with a number of other studies in characterizing the last glacial maximum in the northern Indian Ocean, as a time of reduced potential productivity and weak surface currents. In contrast, by 9 ky B.P., the potential productivity and the surface circulation had increased dramatically in the northern Indian Ocean. Conditions in the Holocene appear to be very similar to conditions which were in existence during the last glacial maximum. The observed general trends in surface circulation and potential productivity during the last 18,000 years in the northern Indian Ocean suggest a Milankovitch-type (astronomically induced changes in solar insolation) orbital forcing.
On the existence and uniqueness of value functions in models of labor market dynamics

Abstract This note provides Blackwell-like sufficient conditions which can be used to prove the existence and uniqueness of value functions in recently developed models of labor market dynamics.
Learning from students at Lindau

Each year since 1951, young researchers and Nobel Laureates have gathered on the shores of Lake Constance for a unique scientific conference. In 2009 the meeting was dedicated to chemistry, and Laureates and students all came away enriched by their experiences.
Swedish physicians' perspectives on work and the medical care system—II: The cases of child and maternal health physicians

This paper reports the results of focused interviews with child health and maternal health physicians in the public ambulatory care sector of a large Swedish city to describe (1) the organization of their work activities, (2) their perspectives on their work, and (3) their perspectives on the medical care system. Child health physicians (who were attached to a major teaching hospital) practiced in child health clinics for preschoolers and school health clinics. Each physician covered several such settings. Maternal health physicians were attached to local hospitals and practiced full time in maternal health centers. Child health physicians described their work in terms of preventive care, patient care, integration of ambulatory and hospital services, and technological sophistication; they described the system in terms of quality of care, quality of diagnosis and treatment, adequacy of resources, and distribution of services. Maternal health physicians described work in terms of a biophysical orientation, practice independence, relations with hospitals and other specialists, and dependence on nurses; they described the system in terms of technological sophistication, ambulatory and hospital care, and problems of other specialties. Both were more positive about both work and the system than were district general practitioners, and some interpretation is offered.
Attitudes toward AIDS, herpes II, and toxic shock syndrome: two years later.

Within the past two years there has been a significant increase in the number of reported cases of AIDS. There has also been a corresponding increase in attention in the media specifically to AIDS ...
A Taxonomy of R&D Control Models and Variables Affecting Their Use

This paper provides a discussion of dimensions and variables along these dimensions which are believed to be relevant to the control of R&D. Control models gleaned from the literature are compared and classified into a threedimensional taxonomy of control models. The proposed dimensions and the variables associated with them are: Focus (i.e. project, related projects, programs); Technical Effort Measurement (Le. project milestones, program goals, organizational agenda); Financial Orientation (i.e. expense, capital). Of the eighteen potential control models yielded by the taxonomy, nine were found to be reported in use in the literature. In addition, the authors hypothesize that organizational history, profitability, structure, task environment, type of research conducted, and hierarchical level of control are important determinants of the type of control employed in organizations. How these factors influence the control variables employed in organizations is hypothesized and discussed.
The Bäcklund transform for the Liouville field in a curved background

Abstract We discuss the Backlund transformation which maps the Liouville field on a curved 2D manifold to a noninteracting pseudoscalar field on the same curved manifold. For the classical theory, we show that the transformations imply the respective field equations as well as the equality of energy-momentum tensors. In addition we extend the treatment to canonical hamiltonian dynamics, with a view to the quantum theory. In particular, we show how the canonical phase space action transforms under the Backlund transformation. This will be useful in understanding how the Backlund transformation works in path integral quantization. Finally, we consider how these results can be used to describe subcritical string theory.
Bridging the gap between microstructure and macroscopic behavior of monodisperse and bimodal colloidal suspensions

Colloidal suspensions exhibit a transition from shear-thinning to shear-thickening behavior as the shear rate increases. Despite all the experimental and computational studies, an understanding of the structure of suspensions in different flow regimes remains controversial. In this work, a dissipative particle dynamics model was employed to perform a comprehensive study of the rheological and morphological behaviors of monodisperse and bimodal suspensions over a wide range of shear rates. The interplay between rheology and structure indicates that hydroclusters are formed in the shear-thickening regime, whereas interparticle interaction is responsible for the shear-thinning response at low stresses. The effect of particle size, ratio, and combination in bimodal systems have also been investigated and quantitative agreement with existing experimental data was found. Thus, it was possible for the first time to perform a comprehensive study on different aspects of the bimodal dispersions and correlate the macroscopic behavior with the microstructure in different flow regimes.
The Effects of Stimulant Medication on Working Memory Functional Connectivity in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Background Working memory impairments are commonly found in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and often improve with psychostimulant treatment. Little is known about how these medications affect the function of frontoparietal brain regions engaged for working memory. This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine medication-related changes in brain activation and functional connectivity in ADHD. Methods Eighteen ADHD-combined subtype youths (ages 11–17) twice completed a Sternberg working memory fMRI task in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled design. Medications were individualized as patients' standard, clinically effective psychostimulant (e.g., methylphenidate or dextroamphetamine/amphetamine combination) dose. Brain activity and functional connectivity were characterized using group independent component analysis. SPM5 repeated-measures t tests compared ADHD patients' network engagement and regional functional connectivity on and off medication. Results Independent component analysis identified six frontoparietal networks/components with hemodynamic responses to encoding/maintenance or retrieval phases of the Sternberg fMRI task. On medication, three of these networks significantly increased activation. Functional connectivity analyses found medication led to recruitment of additional brain regions that were not engaged into the networks when participants were on placebo. Also, medication strengthened connectivity of some frontoparietal regions. Many connectivity changes were directly related to improved working memory reaction time. Overall, there was strong evidence for regional functional connectivity changes following medication in structures previously implicated as abnormal in ADHD, such as anterior cingulate, ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, and precuneus. Conclusions Stimulant medication has widespread effects on the functional connectivity of frontoparietal brain networks, which might be a mechanism that underlies their beneficial effects on working memory performance.
Probing molecular recognition by mass spectrometry

Abstract The use of mass spectrometry for the study of host–guest complexation and molecular recognition involving either synthetic hosts or biological hosts has been a growing area of research over the past decade. Mass spectrometry has allowed the first studies of host–guest chemistry in a solvent-free environment in which both size-selectivity and electronic effects influence the formation, reactions and stabilities of gas-phase host–guest complexes. Aspects of solution equilibria, such as the determination of binding selectivities of hosts and binding constants, may be examined by using electrospray ionization to transfer noncovalent complexes from solution to the gas phase for analysis. This article will review some of the highlights involving the application of mass spectrometry for solving problems in the area of molecular recognition.
Proteoglycans in cultures of skin fibroblasts in recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa

The proteoglycans of cultured fibroblasts from the skin of three patients with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa and three normals were compared after labeling with [35S]sulfate and [3H]leucine. The behavior in gel chromatography of the intact proteoglycans and several properties of their component glycosaminoglycans (size, content of iduronic acid, and content of 4- and 6-sulfate) showed no statistical differences. In addition, the binding of intact proteoglycans and of their constituent proteins and glycosaminoglycans to type I collagen were measured by affinity chromatography. No differences were found that could account for the skin lesions in recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa.
Photoelectric Fabry-Perot interferometer for assay of lead and uranium isotopes

Abstract The Fabry-Perot interferometer was used with photoelectric detection for precise intensity measurements of the complex pattern of Pb-4057.82 A. The central fringe was scanned by a change of pressure in the interferometer housing. Optical and electronic arrangements for employing the internal-standard principle with the interferometer are described. The concentration of Pb208, Pb206, Pb204, and Pb207 determined by the method are essentially in agreement with mass spectroscopic results. Small isotope shifts in the uranium spectrum were examined because of similarities with other heavy-element spectra, particularly plutonium for which it was hoped a method might be developed. Partially resolved U235 hyperfine structure necessitated a search for U235 lines with negligible structure. Low intensity of the hollow cathode source limited the usefulness of the interferometer method for uranium.
Neuronal changes in the aging mouse. Spinal cord and lower brain stem.

Abstract In view of the marked changes which we have recently described in the Golgi-stained nerve cell bodies and dendrites of cerebral neocortex in senescent human subjects, we have attempted a similar study of the very old (26 to 30 months) mouse for comparative purposes. Although neocortical changes in this species seemed unimpressive, marked and apparently progressive agerelated changes were found in most neurons of spinal cord and lower brain stem. Early changes included irregular swelling and “lumpiness” of cell bodies and initial portions of the dendrites, followed by increasing nodularization of the dendrite tree and loss of whatever spines or postsynaptic specializations may have been present in the young adult. Zones of constriction along dendrite shafts seemed to result in complete breaks with loss of the distal segment and shrivelling of the proximal segment. Irregularly swollen neurons with “amputation stumps” replacing principle dendrites appeared the penultimate phase before eventual cell loss. The remarkably widespread occurrence of such changes throughout sensory and motor systems is considered in relation to the consequent loss of functional neuropil and the possible embarrassment of coping behavior in the senile mouse.
CJ's revenge: Media, folklore, and the cultural construction of AIDS

On October 10, 1991, ABC's news magazine Prime Time live, retold a story that had been causing a sensation in Dallas since early September, when Ebony magazine published a letter from a writer signing herself CJ, Dallas, Texas. The writer claimed to be deliberately infecting up to four men a week with the AIDS virus. The letter led to a flood of calls to a local talk show host, and a major scare began in Dallas, fed by local, and then national news coverage. It was later exposed as a “hoax.” This paper examines in the CJ story as a product of oral folk tradition that had become transformed into “news.” News, like folklore, is a cultural construction, a narrative that telb a story about things of importance or interest, and reflecting and reinforcing cultural anxieties and concerns. Study of folkloric narrative construction adds an extra dimension to our understanding of news. The CJ incident was not really a hoax, in the sense of a deliberate misinformation campaign, or a case where the media were simply ...
Finding dominators revisited: extended abstract

The problem of finding dominators in a flowgraph arises in many kinds of global code optimization and other settings. In 1979 Lengauer and Tarjan gave an almost-linear-time algorithm to find dominators. In 1985 Harel claimed a linear-time algorithm, but this algorithm was incomplete; Alstrup et al. [1999] gave a complete and "simpler" linear-time algorithm on a random-access machine. In 1998, Buchsbaum et al. claimed a "new, simpler" linear-time algorithm with implementations both on a random access machine and on a pointer machine. In this paper, we begin by noting that the key lemma of Buchsbaum et al. does not in fact apply to their algorithm, and their algorithm does not run in linear time. Then we provide a complete, correct, simpler linear-time dominators algorithm. One key result is a linear-time reduction of the dominators problem to a nearest common ancestors problem, implementable on either a random-access machine or a pointer machine.
Band Structure of PbPo and Trends in the Pb Chalcogenides

Energy-band calculations on the Pb chalcogenides show that PbPo is a semimetal rather than a direct-gap semiconductor as predicted before. However, the results confirm the suggestion that PbTe is the irregular member of the family. This irregularity is directly related to an anomaly in the size of the Te atom and the lattice.
Distraction and originality in word associations

Two types of auditory distraction were employed during a word-association task: A distractor to be ignored (inhibition distractor) and a distractor to be attended to (vigilance distractor). A control group received no distraction. Houston and Jones (1967) presented evidence that the presence of an inhibition distractor improved performance on a task postulated to involve inhibition. If originality in word associations involves the inhibition of more probable common responses, any manipulation (inhibition distractor) which increases inhibition facility should increase originality and/or decrease the latency of original responses. This study found no such effect with respect to the originality of responses. Latency of response yielded a marginal effect in the predicted direction. The results are discussed in terms of the similarity of experimental tasks and measures between this study and the one by Houston and Jones.
Using “Active Learning” Methods to Teach Physiology

The teaching faculty of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the University of Louisville School of Medicine have designed and implemented various “active learning” approaches within three different courses that teach physiology to medical and graduate students. The courses are: 1) medical physiology, 2) advanced physiology, and 3) integrated physiology. The unique aspect incorporated within these courses is that students prepare answers to pre-assigned questions or topics and then “teach” that topic to their peers. This pedagogical exercise encourages students to learn the material at a more comprehensive level and to speak the language of physiology. This paper presents the rationale and design for this type of approach within each course and provides feedback comments from both student and faculty participants. We also provide a list of some of the questions and topics used in two of these courses as a practical guide to readers who may want to implement similar approaches.
Virtues and character strengths for sustainable faculty development

For this special issue about teaching Positive Psychology, I show how the virtues and character strengths are at the heart of an interdisciplinary faculty development program. They can be pragmatic responses to the critical incidents encountered during a semester, and serve as stimuli for continuing reflection and sustained renewal. First, I synthesize research on faculty development, teacher behaviors, and re-define the virtues and character strengths to apply directly to learning and teaching. Second, I describe a four-module program with reflective exercises that can be delivered in face-to-face workshops, via guided self-instruction, and in online formats.
Further studies concerning the breaking of tobacco mosaic virus.

Abstract Electron micrographs of tobacco mosaic virus prepared by freeze-drying under progressively poorer sublimation conditions show corresponding differences in the appearance of the 3-dimensional networks of TMV and in the number of broken rods found lying in a linear arrangement. Possible explanations for the breaking are discussed. Since neither bacterial flagella nor insulin fibrils break under the same conditions, it is concluded that breaking is not a gross artifact of freeze-drying. Isolated broken pieces of tobacco mosaic virus in milligram quantities were prepared and studied. The short pieces do not appear to be infective. The results of ultraviolet absorption measurements on supernatants of differentially centrifuged solutions of the broken pieces suggest that nucleic acid may be liberated during the breaking process.
A new approach to infer surface emissivity parameters from longwave infrared hyperspectral measurements

A new approach to perform temperature/emissivity separation (TES) has been developed and is described in this paper. The Planck-Modeled Temperature Emissivity Separation (PM-TES) technique provides a unique approach to the derivation of surface emissivity parameters from longwave infrared (LWIR) hyperspectral imagery (HSI) without incorporating the direct assumptions required in most current TES techniques. Accurate calculation of emissivity from at-sensor radiance values is complicated by the impact of temperature on the detected signal. Known are the ground leaving radiance (GLR) values observed by the sensor (after atmospheric compensation), while unknown are the emissivity values and the temperature of the surface material. Emissivity is difficult to determine at this juncture because there are N+1 unknown terms (N being the number of spectral bands contained in the HSI dataset) and N known terms, resulting in an indeterminate problem. Prior methods have incorporated assumptions associated with one of the unknown terms, which allows for the calculation of all additional unknown terms (e.g., Kahle and Alley, 1992) [1] . While these techniques have shown success in a variety of circumstances, the accuracy of their results is most often dependant upon a singular assumption. Minor miscalculations in these assumptions are thus propagated through the resultant HSI dataset for the extent of spectral processing. The PM-TES technique proposed in this paper does not make specific assumptions about either the temperature or emissivity characteristics of the in-scene materials to calculate emissivity parameters which are comparable in accuracy to current standard industry techniques. The proposed technique requires the input of temperature and emissivity ranges over which the Planck function is modeled to solve for the relationship between GLR and emissivity terms.
When Nightingales Break the Law: Silence and the Construction of Reality

Strikingly, theorizing about digital technologies has led us to recognize many habitual subjects of research as figures against fields that are also worthy of study. Communication, for example, becomes visible only against the field of silence. Silence is critically important for the construction of reality --- and the social construction of reality has a complement, the also necessary contemplative construction of reality. Silence is so sensitive and fragile that an inability to achieve it, or to get rid of it, or to correct the wrong kind of silence often provides early indicators of individual, group, communal, and society-wide stresses from information technologies. Indeed, we might treat difficulties with silence as miners treated canaries in coal mines, as early warning signals. The story has already been told that nightingales in London now have to sing so loudly in order to be heard above the ambient noise that the birds are in danger of breaking the noise ordinance law. Surely something has gone awry if nightingales break the law when they sing. Finding ways to protect silence as an arena of personal and social choice is a particularly poignant, evocative, and instructive ethical and policy horizon at this frontier moment for the human species. This article introduces the theory of the contemplative construction of reality, explores what the study of silence tells us about reality construction processes, and outlines a research agenda.
A Practical Approach to Achieving Bloodless Surgery

The term bloodless surgery refers to the practice of performing surgical procedures without the use of allogenic blood and avoiding the use of stored blood, including autologous blood, entirely. This article reviews the scientific and clinical literature regarding bloodless surgery and describes the application of a full-service, bloodless program within a community hospital.
Streptomycin toxicity in primary cultures of flounder renal proximal tubule cells

The aminoglycoside antibiotic streptomycin is a known nephrotoxin in vivo and a common component of cell culture media. The effects of streptomycin (100 micrograms/ml) on transepithelial electrical properties, glucose transport, glycolytic metabolism, and morphology were examined in primary proximal tubule cell cultures from winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) kidney. Streptomycin treatment on either Days 2 to 12 or Days 8 to 13 abolished the transepithelial potential difference and short-circuit current across the monolayer but had no effect on transepithelial resistance in confluent 12 to 13-d cultures, suggesting the loss of active transepithelial transport. Consistent with these findings, mucosal-to-serosal glucose fluxes were greatly reduced in streptomycin-treated cultures and insensitive to the transport inhibitor phlorizin, indicating the absence of the apical Na-dependent glucose transport system associated with net glucose reabsorption. In addition to transport processes, antibiotic treatment also interfered with cellular energy metabolism as judged by the rapid reduction in glycolytic lactate production observed in the presence of streptomycin. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy revealed that streptomycin-treated cultures were composed of cuboidal-to-columnar shaped cells which maintained intact tight junctions similar to control cultures. However, apical microvilli, the presumed sites of mucosal transport systems, were severely reduced in number in streptomycin-treated cultures. We concluded that streptomycin, at a dose commonly used in cell culture, inhibited the expression of differentiated function by flounder proximal tubule cell cultures. These cell cultures may provide a suitable model system for examination of the mechanisms of aminoglycoside nephrotoxicity.
Quantum search by measurement

We propose a quantum algorithm for solving combinatorial search problems that uses only a sequence of measurements. The algorithm is similar to quantum computation by adiabatic evolution, in that the goal is to remain in the ground state of a time-varying Hamiltonian. Indeed, we show that the running times of the two algorithms are closely related. We also show how to achieve the quadratic speedup for Grover's unstructured search problem with only two measurements. Finally, we discuss some similarities and differences between the adiabatic and measurement algorithms.
A Locally Weighted Learning Method for Nonaffine-in-Control Systems

This article is concerned with tracking control problems for nonlinear systems that are not affine in the control signal and that contain unknown nonlinearities in the system dynamic equations. This paper develops a piecewise linear approximation to the unknown functions during system operation. New control and parameter adaptation algorithms are designed and analyzed using Lyapunov-like methods. The objectives are to achieve global stability of the state, accurate tracking of bounded reference signals contained within a known domain Dx, and at least boundedness of the function approximation parameter estimates.
Brains, maturation times, and parenting☆

Finch and Sapolsky propose that the slow development of human infants and their consequent long period of dependency on their parents have favored the evolution of genes that retard brain senescence, specifically recently evolved variants of the apolipoprotein E gene. We examine here the probable reasons why human maturation is so slow, and the influence of this slow development on parental dependence and patterns of survival. Large brains are expensive in terms of energy, anatomic complexity, and the time required to reach particular stages of postnatal maturation. We hypothesize that the maturational time costs arise from the fact that the brain is unique among the organs of the body in requiring a great deal of interaction with the environment (learning experience) to achieve adult competence, and thus that the brain serves as a rate-limiting factor governing the maturation of the entire body. Although the brain achieves its adult size at an earlier age than the other organs of the body, it does not become structurally and functionally mature until some point after sexual maturity [30]. The classical studies of developmental myelination by Flechsig [14,15] indicate that the brain matures slowly in stepwise hierarchies proceeding, for example, from the thalamus to the primary cortical sensory areas to the higher cortical areas of the temporal, parietal, and frontal lobes. Quartz and Sejnowski [33] have proposed that the brain builds sequentially from one level to the next on the basis of experience, and thus larger brains may require more time to mature, in part because they have more levels. We have examined the time costs associated with enlarged brains by analyzing the relationships between average brain size and the average times required to reach various stages of postnatal maturation, such as the eruption of various classes of teeth and reproductive maturity, in different primate species. Because both brain and developmental timing variables are related to body mass, we have first extracted the statistical effect of mass for each variable and then compared the residual values related to brain
Multipath-abating antenna system for line-of-sight communications above an air-sea water interface

This paper describes a multipath-abating antenna system consisting of a linear array of four quadrifilar helical antenna (QHA) elements and an associated beamformer that are installed on a buoy that floats along the sea surface for the purpose of supporting both transmit and receive communications along line-of-sight paths. The circuit and radiation characteristics of a QHA enable an array of these antennas to provide hemispherical coverage overhead with sufficient gain and low sensitivity to multipath interference. In the receive mode, the beamformer takes advantage of the spatial diversity of the array by appropriately weighting the elements in order to optimize the array signal-to-noise ratio.
A mechanical correlation chopper for thermal neutron spectroscopy

Abstract An experimental test of a mechanical correlation chopper is described. It is concluded that the correlation chopper is superior to conventional choppers in cases for which the signal to background ratio is low. The diffraction pattern for Cd obtained by the present chopper clearly demonstrates the power of the correlation method in such cases.
Population divergence in the sinistral whelks of North America, with special reference to the east Florida ecotone

This study evaluated models of species relationships among sinistral whelks in the genus Busycon in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. Gene frequencies at eight polymorphic allozyme loci, shell morphology, anatomy, and partial DNA sequences for the cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) mitochondrial gene were examined in eight populations, ranging from New Jersey to the Yucatan peninsula, and from the dextrally coiled sister taxon Busycon carica (Gmelin, 1791). Whelks were collected in 1997 and 1998. The maximum COI sequence divergence recorded among 32 sinistral individuals was 1.96%, which together with the absence of any gross or qualitative morphological differences, suggested all eight populations should be considered conspecific. High levels of divergence between the allopatric western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico populations, as revealed by fixed or nearly fixed differences at several allozyme-encoding loci were interpreted as evidence that the east Florida ecotone constitutes a significant barrier to gene flow. Size trimming also revealed several significant quantitative differences in shell and radular morphology between the three pooled Atlantic populations and five pooled Gulf populations. The Yucatan sample was the most distinctive conchologically, with heavy spines and tumid ridges, possibly related to stone crab predation. Based on the evidence all left-handed whelks of North America should be referred to the oldest available nomen, Busycon perversum (Linne, 1758), with three subspecies, B. perversum perversum along the Yucatan peninsula, B. perversum sinistrum (Hollister, 1958) in the northern and eastern Gulf of Mexico, and B. perversum laeostomum (Kent, 1982) in the Atlantic.
HealthViEWS: Mortality Study of Female US Vietnam Era Veterans, 1965–2010

We conducted a retrospective study among 4,734 women who served in the US military in Vietnam (Vietnam cohort), 2,062 women who served in countries near Vietnam (near-Vietnam cohort), and 5,313 nondeployed US military women (US cohort) to evaluate the associations of mortality outcomes with Vietnam War service. Veterans were identified from military records and followed for 40 years through December 31, 2010. Information on underlying causes of death was obtained from death certificates and the National Death Index. Based on 2,743 deaths, all 3 veteran cohorts had lower mortality risk from all causes combined and from several major causes, such as diabetes mellitus, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and nervous system disease relative to comparable US women. However, excess deaths from motor vehicle accidents were observed in the Vietnam cohort (standardized mortality ratio = 3.67, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.30, 5.56) and in the US cohort (standardized mortality ratio = 1.91, 95% CI: 1.02, 3.27). More than two-thirds of women in the study were military nurses. Nurses in the Vietnam cohort had a 2-fold higher risk of pancreatic cancer death (adjusted relative risk = 2.07, 95% CI: 1.00, 4.25) and an almost 5-fold higher risk of brain cancer death compared with nurses in the US cohort (adjusted relative risk = 4.61, 95% CI: 1.27, 16.83). Findings of all-cause and motor vehicle accident deaths among female Vietnam veterans were consistent with patterns of postwar mortality risk among other war veterans.
Structured self-anchoring scale for study of perceptions of teaching effectiveness.

Swnmary.-A structuced self-anchoring scale for measuring perceptions of teaching effectiveness was constructed by providing Ss with checklists consisting of effective or ineffective teacher behaviors. The scale was administered twice to 170 elementary and secondary teachers. The scale as a whole was relatively reliable and practical. With minor modifications, the scale may be used in research to assess perceptions of teaching effectiveness. Since the concept and methodology of self-anchoring scaling were developed by Kilpatrick and O'Donnell (Kilpatrick & Cantril 1960), the technique has been applied, in the form of questionnaire, to research in perceptions of teaching effectiveness and religious maturity (Strunk, 1967; Chiu, 1972). The key point for the rationale of self-anchoring scaling is that "each of us lives and operates in the world and through self, both as perceived (Kilpatrick & Cantril, 1960). The procedure includes two major steps. (a) Each S is asked to describe in terms of his own perceptions, goals, and values, the top and bottom anchoring points of the dimension on which measurement is desired. (b) Each S is then asked to indicate where on the self-defined continuum he stands at the present time, and/or stood in the past, and/or will stand in the future (time specified). The fact that the procedure requires Ss to define the anchoring points may generate several difficulties. (a) It is extremely time-consuming and hard to classify Ss' descriptions into comprehensible categories. (b) The classification is subjective and hence unreliable. (c) It takes too much time for Ss to define the anchoring points. (d) Ss' response tendency may be greatly restrained because few cues are provided. In addition, when the technique is used in research in which teachers are involved, the problem may be intensified due to the fact that teachers are generally overloaded with work and hence unwilling to complete the questionnaire if it is too time-consuming or if it requires relatively great amount of writing. The purpose of the present study was to develop a structured self-anchoring scale for studying perceptions of teaching effectiveness that reduces these difficulties but maintains the unique features of self-anchoring scaling.