cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Perspective Taking and Communication Satisfaction in Coworker Dyads

This study addressed whether or not self-rated and other-rated perspective taking would converge and questioned the relationship between perspective taking and communication satisfaction among coworkers. A sample of 114 participants, all coworkers at 27 kindergartens in Korea, provided data to form 350 dyads. The participants rated their own perspective-taking tendency, their coworkers’ perspective-taking tendency, and how satisfied they were when communicating with each coworker. No significant correlation between self-rated and other-rated perspective-taking tendencies was observed, and self-rated perspective taking was not significantly correlated with other-rated communication satisfaction. In contrast, other-rated perspective taking positively correlated with other-rated communication satisfaction. The extent to which self-rated perspective taking exceeded other-rated perspective taking was negatively related to other-rated communication satisfaction. An individual tends to report higher communication satisfaction when she/he feels that her/his coworker takes her/his perspective and understands her/him. Conversely, self-ratings of perspective taking ability can have little relevance to coworker evaluations of perspective taking behavior; thus, individuals might not be the best judges of their ability to take the perspective of others. Self-ratings also appear to have little impact on the communication satisfaction that others report with their communication with an individual. This study tested the utility of self-rated perspective taking by taking a sample of coworkers who had worked closely in small group settings for substantial time. The close working relationships helped us to make more accurate comparisons of one’s own viewpoint versus the viewpoint of others.
Measurements of electrical breakdown in the vicinity of a sounding rocket differentially charged to 10 kV

Abstract During the initial period of high voltage biasing of the SPEAR-3 sounding rocket payload, it was observed that electrical breakdown occurred in the gas surrounding the rocket. The breakdown occurred almost all the way to apogee of 289 km on the upleg, but did not recur on the downleg until the payload reached an altitude of ∼ 100 km. It is suggested that this behavior can be attributed to payload outgassing on the upleg leading to abnormally high gas pressure near the payload skin. Consideration of a modified Paschen discharge process with varying pressure along the discharge path was found to be consistent with the results.
Polyfluorinated Compounds: Past, Present, and Future

Interest and concern about polyfluorinated compounds (PFCs), such as perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and an increasing number of other related compounds is growing as more is learned about these ubiquitous anthropogenic substances. Many of these compounds can be toxic, and they are regularly found in the blood of animals and humans worldwide. A great deal of research has been conducted in this area, but a surprising amount remains unknown about their distribution in the environment and how people ultimately become exposed. The utility of these compounds seems to ensure theircontinueduseinoneformoranotherfortheforeseeablefuture,presentingalong-termchallengetoscientists,industryleaders, and public health officials worldwide.
Flight team management of in-place endotracheal tubes.

Introduction: Unintended misplacement or removal of the endotracheal tube (ETT) complicates the care of up to 18% of intubated patients. This project analyzed the incidence of such complications in patients transported by a flight program. Methods: 9-month analysis of all intubated patients transported by the flight team. Results: 340/926 patients transported were intubated. One extubation was unplanned and no patients were delivered to the receiving hospital with an esophageal or endobronchial ETT placement. After initial examination, 19/241 ETTs placed before flight team arrival were repositioned. Rates of misplacement on arrival at the receiving hospital and of unplanned extubation were significantly lower than those reported in the EMS or critical care literature. Conclusion: Flight teams have very low rates of unplanned extubation or undetected ETT misplacement when transporting intubated patients.
A rapid method for determining tRNA charging levels in vivo; analysis of yeast mutants defective in the general control of amino acid biosynthesis

We describe a simple method to quantitate the intracellular levels of charged tRNA species representing all 20 amino acids. Small RNA species are isolated from yeast cells under conditions where amino acids remain bound to their cognate tRNAs. After chromatographic removal of free amino acids, the tRNAs are discharged, and the amounts of the released amino acids are then quantitated. This method was applied to yeast cells from a wild type strain and from three mutant strains that are defective both in the general control of amino acid biosynthesis and in protein synthesis. Two of these mutant strains, previously shown to be defective in the methionine or isoleucine tRNA synthetases, respectively contain undetectable amounts of charged methionine or isoleucine although their levels of the remaining 19 amino acids are similar to a wild type strain. In contrast, a gcd1 mutant strain has normal levels of all 20 amino-acyl tRNA species. Thus, gcd1 strains are defective in general control of amino acid biosynthesis for reasons other than artifactual starvation of an amino acid due to a failure in tRNA changing.
Sources of nitrate yields in the Mississippi River Basin.

Riverine nitrate N in the Mississippi River leads to hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. Several recent modeling studies estimated major N inputs and suggested source areas that could be targeted for conservation programs. We conducted a similar analysis with more recent and extensive data that demonstrates the importance of hydrology in controlling the percentage of net N inputs (NNI) exported by rivers. The average fraction of annual riverine nitrate N export/NNI ranged from 0.05 for the lower Mississippi subbasin to 0.3 for the upper Mississippi River basin and as high as 1.4 (4.2 in a wet year) for the Embarras River watershed, a mostly tile-drained basin. Intensive corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] watersheds on Mollisols had low NNI values and when combined with riverine N losses suggest a net depletion of soil organic N. We used county-level data to develop a nonlinear model of N inputs and landscape factors that were related to winter-spring riverine nitrate yields for 153 watersheds within the basin. We found that river runoff times fertilizer N input was the major predictive term, explaining 76% of the variation in the model. Fertilizer inputs were highly correlated with fraction of land area in row crops. Tile drainage explained 17% of the spatial variation in winter-spring nitrate yield, whereas human consumption of N (i.e., sewage effluent) accounted for 7%. Net N inputs were not a good predictor of riverine nitrate N yields, nor were other N balances. We used this model to predict the expected nitrate N yield from each county in the Mississippi River basin; the greatest nitrate N yields corresponded to the highly productive, tile-drained cornbelt from southwest Minnesota across Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. This analysis can be used to guide decisions about where efforts to reduce nitrate N losses can be most effectively targeted to improve local water quality and reduce export to the Gulf of Mexico.
Co-Generation of Acetylene and Hydrogen for a Carbide-Based Fuel System

The co-generation of acetylene and hydrogen from the hydrolysis of calcium carbide and calcium hydride was investigated as part of a unique carbide-based fuel system intended for high-temperature fuel cells. To gain better control of this highly energetic reaction, glycerin was used to coat the reactant particles to form slurry prior to their reaction with water. This process was shown to moderate the rate of gas production, as well as to provide a means for preparing slurry that could be pumped into the reactor vessel. It was also observed that the presence of calcium hydroxide, a by-product of hydrolysis, lowered the solubility of acetylene resulting in a higher initial flow rate due to less acetylene being dissolved in solution. However, the buildup of calcium hydroxide with time inhibited the hydrolysis of both calcium carbide and calcium hydride causing the acetylene and hydrogen flow rates to decrease.
Osteonecrosis of the femoral head. A study of 101 hips treated with vascularized fibular grafting.

Background: The present study evaluates the minimum five-year results of vascularized fibular grafting for the treatment of osteonecrosis of the femoral head. The purposes of the present study were to review the results of fibular grafting in a large series of patients and to determine the indications for this procedure. Methods: Eighty-six patients (101 hips) were followed clinically for a minimum of five years (or until the time of death). The study group included fourteen Marcus-Enneking stage-2 hips, twenty-three stage-3 hips, and sixty-four stage-4 hips. Three patients (three hips) died from unrelated causes before the five-year evaluation, and two patients (two hips) died after the five-year evaluation. Radiographic assessment was performed with use of the Marcus-Enneking grading system, and clinical assessment was performed with use of the Harris hip-scoring system. The end point was conversion to total hip arthroplasty. Patient satisfaction was also assessed. Results: Sixty-two hips (61%) survived until the time of the five-year follow-up, and forty-two hips (42%) survived until the time of the interview (at a median of eight years postoperatively). The average Harris hip score was 58 ± 13 at the time of presentation and 80 ± 15 at five years. Eight (57%) of the Marcus-Enneking stage-2 hips, sixteen (70%) of the stage-3 hips, and thirty-eight (59%) of the stage-4 hips survived for at least five years. Of the eighty-one living patients (including forty-one who had a successful outcome and forty who had had a failure), forty-six patients (including twenty-one who had a successful outcome and twenty-five who had had a failure) stated that they would undergo the procedure again. Conclusions: Vascularized fibular grafting may provide a chance for normal hip function in the intermediate or long term in carefully selected patients with osteonecrosis of the femoral head. Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level IV. See Instructions to Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Spectroscopic Properties of [Pt2(μ-P2O5H2)4]:4- A Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory and Conductor-like Polarizable Continuum Model Investigation

The calculation of the singlet ground-state (SGS) and the lowest-lying triplet-state (LLTS) geometries of [Pt2(μ-P2O5H2)4]4- in the gas phase using density functional theory (DFT) produces 7% Pt−Pt bond shortening in the LLTS as compared to SGS. The transition from the Pt−Pt antibonding HOMO to the bonding LUMO+1 in the gas phase and to the bonding LUMO in water creates a metal−metal σ bond in both excited states. According to the molecular orbital population analysis in water performed using the conductor-like polarizable continuum model (CPCM) and the SGS geometry, the Pt−Pt bond arises from the overlap of the metal p orbitals. The singlet excited-state energy of 27 240 cm-1 in the gas phase is only 40 cm-1 higher than the experimental absorption energy. The first triplet excited-state energy of 22 730 cm-1 in the gas phase and 22 810 cm-1 in water correlates with the experimental phosphorescence excitation energy of 22 100 cm-1. The energy of the LLTS correlates with the experimental phosphorescence em...
Quasicontinuous functions, domains, and extended calculus

One of the aims of domain theory is the construction of an embedding of a given structure or data type as the maximal or “ideal” elements of an enveloping domain of “approximations,” sometimes called a domain environment. Typically the goal is to provide a computational model or framework for recursive and algorithmic reasoning about the original structure. In this paper we consider the function space of (natural equivalence classes of) quasicontinuous functions from a locally compact space X into L, an n-fold product of the extended reals [−1,1] (more generally, into a bicontinuous lattice). We show that the domain of all “approximate maps” that assign to each point of X an order interval of L is a domain environment for the quasicontinuous function space. We rely upon the theory of domain environments to introduce an interesting and useful function space topology on the quasicontinuous function space. We then apply this machinery to define an extended differential calculus in the quasicontinuous function space, and draw connections with viscosity solutions of Hamiltonian equations. The theory depends heavily on topological properties of quasicontinuous functions that have been recently uncovered that involve dense sets of points of continuity and sections of closed relations and USCO maps. These and other basic results about quasicontinuous functions are surveyed and presented in the early sections.
Vibration Analysis of Large High-Speed Rotating Equipment

This paper discusses the application of mobility methods to the lateral vibration analysis of coupled machinery. Some effects of bearing and/or casing structural mobility on the rotational system behavior are shown. In particular, the various types of system behavior and their interrelations are shown to be closely tied to the response of the rotor-support structure. The effect of hydrodynamic oil films are also shown. Lateral vibrational problems have been encountered when connecting drive and driven equipment produced by different manufacturers. Generally, these are caused by natural frequencies in the operating-speed range which result directly from the method of coupling. Methods of solving this problem are presented with emphasis on flexible couplings and their proper inclusion in system response calculations.
Production-Distribution Planning with Fuzzy Costs

In a competitive market environment agility (flexibility and responsiveness) is a crucial strategic issue for manufacturing systems in order to broaden their market share. Adopting a BTO strategy would allow firms to effectively customize their products to a greater degree towards meeting specific customer requirements, and also it entails large cost savings by reducing raw material, WIP and finished good inventories while improving production flexibility. In this paper, we propose an integrated production-distribution planning model for a build-to-order supply chain (BOSC) with uncertain cost parameters. The BOSC scheduling model is constructed as a mixed integer fuzzy programming (MIFP) problem with a goal of reducing the overall operating costs related with component fabrication, procurement, assembling, inspection, logistics and inventory while improving customers satisfaction by allowing product customization and meeting delivery promise dates at each market outlet. An efficient compromise solution approach by transforming the problem to an auxiliary multi-objective linear programming model is also suggested.
Histone H2A.Z subunit exchange controls consolidation of recent and remote memory

Memory formation is a multi-stage process that initially requires cellular consolidation in the hippocampus, after which memories are downloaded to the cortex for maintenance, in a process termed systems consolidation. Epigenetic mechanisms regulate both types of consolidation, but histone variant exchange, in which canonical histones are replaced with their variant counterparts, is an entire branch of epigenetics that has received limited attention in the brain and has never, to our knowledge, been studied in relation to cognitive function. Here we show that histone H2A.Z, a variant of histone H2A, is actively exchanged in response to fear conditioning in the hippocampus and the cortex, where it mediates gene expression and restrains the formation of recent and remote memory. Our data provide evidence for H2A.Z involvement in cognitive function and specifically implicate H2A.Z as a negative regulator of hippocampal consolidation and systems consolidation, probably through downstream effects on gene expression. Moreover, alterations in H2A.Z binding at later stages of systems consolidation suggest that this histone has the capacity to mediate stable molecular modifications required for memory retention. Overall, our data introduce histone variant exchange as a novel mechanism contributing to the molecular basis of cognitive function and implicate H2A.Z as a potential therapeutic target for memory disorders.
No Magic Bullets: Privatization's Threat to Urban Public Administration

The privatization movement poses a serious crisis for American urban public administration. It seeks to over-turn the century-old Progressive expansive vision of urban government and to revert many goods and services, now produced publicly, to the private sector. For its precepts and normative policy proposals, privatization relies on Public Choice Theory, a formal, deductive enterprise, itself founded in Adam Smith's 18th century economics. It is this deductive method, not the substance of privatization's proposals, which is so troubling. Public policy and institutional reform must rest on a firm empirical foundation, not on deduction from abstract first principles. In this, the privatizers ought to turn to the pragmatic method of the Progressives that treats public policies and institutional forms as hypotheses to be validated by empirical experminentation and to abandon deductive approaches.
Guidelines for the surgical management of pancreatic adenocarcinoma

Pancreaticoduodenectomy remains the most formidable operative procedure for the surgical treatment of gastrointestinal malignancy. Improved outcomes after the Whipple procedure have been attributed to better preoperative patient selection, advances in three-dimensional radiographic imaging, and regionalization of referrals to high-volume, tertiary care centers. Despite these advances, morbidity and mortality after pancreaticoduodenectomy are not insignificant and the overall prognosis following resection for adenocarcinoma of the pancreas remains poor. Improvements in endoscopic decompression of malignant biliary obstruction have decreased the need for palliative bypass operations and have focused current surgical issues on ways to improve clinical outcomes following potentially curative resections. Controversies such as whether or not to perform extended lymph node dissections, and standard versus pylorus-preserving resections have been addressed by randomized, prospective clinical trials. Major venous resections secondary to local tumor extension are now performed without an increase in morbidity or mortality and with survival rates comparable to standard resections. This has led to even more aggressive resections following neoadjuvant therapy for lesions previously considered unresectable and now perhaps better categorized as borderline resectable. The impact of surgical specialization and regionalization of referrals to tertiary care centers is evident in markedly improved perioperative mortality rates. This article will attempt to describe current guidelines for the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative management of patients with localized pancreatic adenocarcinoma.
Scale dependency in the functional form of the distance decay relationship

We examine a novel mathematical approach which posits that the decay of similarity in community composition with increasing distance (aka distance decay) can be modeled as the sum of individual species joint-probability vs distance relationships. Our model, supported by analyses of these curves from three datasets (North American breeding birds, North American taiga plants, and tropical forest trees), suggest that when sampling grain is large enough to avoid absences due to stochastic sampling effects, and/or sampling extent is large enough to generate species turnover through the deterministic crossing of environmental and/or geographical range limits, species joint-probability over increasing distance will generally exhibit exponential decay. However, at small scales where occurrence is driven more by stochastic sampling effects, species joint-probability curves exhibit a power-law decay form. Lacking a theoretical prediction of how individual species joint-probability relationships combine to generate community distance decay, we also performed a meta-analysis of 26 ecological and 4 human-system datasets, using non-linear regression to mean and quantile non-linear regression at tau = 0.95 for linear, exponential, and power-law decay forms. These analyses demonstrate that the functional form of community distance decay – as shown by comparison of AIC ranks – is largely determined by observational scale, with power law decay prevailing within domains where the species pool remains constant, while exponential decay prevails at larger scales over which the species pool varies, paralleling the patterns predicted in our mathematical approach.
Intraoperative OCT for Vitreoretinal Surgery

We report on the design and initial clinical trials of a surgical microscope-integrated OCT system for image-guided vitreoretinal microsurgery, including real-time OCT imaging and surgical instrument tracking. Article not available.
Echoes from Dharamsala: Music in the Life of a Tibetan Refugee Community

Echoes from Dharamsala: Music in the Life of. Tibetan Refugee Community. Keila Diehl. University of California Press, 2002. ix. 312 pp., illustrations, notes, bibliography, index.
Melatonin and the Circadian Timing of Human Parturition

Although the onset of spontaneous human parturition has long been known to occur preferentially during the nighttime and early morning hours, no convincing physiological explanation for this pattern has yet been proposed. This review focuses on the circadian timing of mammalian parturition, particularly in the human. It is proposed that differences in the phasing of parturition among different species are likely a function of opposite uterine responses to humoral cues, in particular those coding for time of day. The brain hormone melatonin fulfills many of the prerequisites to serve as a circadian signal for initiating uterine contractions that lead to human parturition. These encompass direct actions of melatonin on myometrial smooth muscle cells that are synergistic with oxytocin in facilitating greater uterine contractions at night. This may not only help to explain the nocturnal phasing of human parturition but also open new avenues for the management of term and preterm labor.
CYCLIZATION OF RHODIUM CARBENOIDS USING ESTER AND AMIDO CARBONYL GROUPS

Abstract Carbonyl ylide dipoles derived from diazoacetyl esters underwent 4π-electrocyclization to furnish bicyclic epoxides. Reaction of related α-diazoketo amides with rhodium(II) carboxylate catalysts resulted in cyclization on both the oxygen and nitrogen atoms of the amido group to give carbonyl and ammonium ylides.
The effect of hyperoxygenation on T1 relaxation time in vitro1

Abstract Rationale and Objectives. Ventilation with high oxygen (O 2 ) concentrations has been shown to decrease T1 in blood and tissues of patients. This study aims to assess the effect of hyperoxygenation on the T1 relaxation time of blood and other physiologic solutions. Materials and Methods. Varied gaseous mixtures of O 2 and air between 21% and 100% O 2 were created using an experimental circuit at room temperature, and used to saturate human blood, plasma, or normal saline. The samples were studied using an 8.45-Tesla magnetic resonance (MR) system and a 1.5-Tesla clinical MR scanner. Results. MR spectroscopy at 8.45 Tesla showed that the percentage of O 2 chosen for saturation correlated negatively with T1 ( R 2 = 1.00 for blood, 0.99 for plasma, and 1.00 for normal saline). The reduction in T1 between solutions saturated with 21% and 100% O 2 was 487 milliseconds (22% of the baseline T1 value) for blood, 391 milliseconds (15%) for plasma and 622 milliseconds (19%) for saline. Similarly, MR measurements at 1.5 Tesla showed T1 reduction with increasing O 2 concentration. Conclusion. The decreasing T1 in blood depends strongly on the fraction of dissolved O 2 in solution and is largely independent of the hemoglobin content.
Effect of Teat Stimulation on Sympathetic Tone in Bovine Mammary Gland

Abstract Rate of contraction of teat sphincter muscle in cows is partially under sympathetic control. To investigate the effect of teat stimulation on sympathetic tone in the mammary gland, rates of spontaneous rhythmic contractions of teat sphincter muscle were measured prior to and during eight machine milkings by pressure transponding devices. Transponding devices were inserted into right front and right rear teat ducts. After a 5-min control, the udder was prepped for 1.5-min, the right front transponder was removed, and then the left front, left rear, and right front quarters were milked while contractile frequency of the right rear sphincter muscle continued to be monitored. During the control period, teat sphincter muscles contracted with a nominal frequency of from two to four per min. Rhythmic contraction of the teat sphincter muscle decreased by about one per min during manual stimulation of the udder. Toward the end of milking, rates reached a low, and in half of the trials there were no contractions. After milking, with teats no longer stimulated, contractile frequency rose towards baseline in the unmilked right rear quarters. This decrease in rate of contraction is likely from a decrease in sympathetic tone in the mammary gland resulting from an autonomic reflex to teat stimulation.
EWSR1-CREB1 is the predominant gene fusion in angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma

The molecular hallmark of angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma (AFH) is not well defined, with only six cases with specific gene fusions reported to date, consisting of either FUS-ATF1 or EWSR1-ATF1. To address this, we investigated the presence of FUS-ATF1, EWSR1-ATF1, and the highly related EWSR1-CREB1 fusion in a group of nine AFHs. All cases were subjected to RT-PCR for EWSR1-ATF1 and EWSR1-CREB1. FISH for EWSR1 and FUS rearrangements was performed in most cases. Transcriptional profiling was performed in three tumors and their gene expression was compared to five clear cell sarcomas expressing either the EWSR1-ATF1 or EWSR1-CREB1 fusion. By RT-PCR, eight out of nine tumors showed the presence of the EWSR1-CREB1 fusion, while one had an EWSR1-ATF1 transcript. FISH showed evidence of EWSR1 rearrangement in seven out of eight cases. Karyotypic analysis performed in one tumor showed a t(2;22)(q33;q12). High transcript levels were noted for TFE3 in AFH tumors, while overexpression of genes involved in melanogenesis, such as MITF, GP100, and MET was noted in somatic clear cell sarcomas. We report for the first time the presence of EWSR1-CREB1 in AFH, which now appears to be the most frequent gene fusion in this tumor. EWSR1-CREB1 is a novel translocation recently described in clear cell sarcoma of the GI tract. EWSR1-ATF1, identified in some AFH cases, is the most common genetic abnormality in soft tissue clear cell sarcoma. Thus, identical fusions involving ATF1 and CREB1 are found in two distinct sarcomas, which may be able to transform two different types of mesenchymal precursor cells, unlike most other sarcoma gene fusions.
Experimental investigation of atmospheric pressure nonequilibrium plasma chemistry

Atmospheric pressure plasmas are frequently considered to be in local thermodynamic equilibrium due to the high frequency of collisional processes which drive the plasma state toward a Maxwell-Boltzmann equilibrium. However, various forms of thermodynamic, ionizational, and chemical nonequilibrium have been demonstrated and investigated in atmospheric pressure plasma environments over the last several years, and the nonequilibrium behaviour of such systems can be quite significant. The investigation, understanding, and exploitation of atmospheric pressure nonequilibrium plasma chemistry is necessary to the further expansion of plasma-based systems into mainstream manufacturing and processing applications. Several experimental programs to investigate the fundamental processes of atmospheric pressure nonequilibrium plasma chemistry and the application of this nonequilibrium to various chemical systems have been undertaken in our laboratories, The results of these investigations have shed light on the kinetics behind various forms of atmospheric pressure nonequilibrium chemistry, and have provided insights into the beneficial control of nonequilibrium plasma chemistry for processing applications.
Signal validation based on PCSVR and EULM

In a nuclear power plant (NPP), periodic sensor calibrations are required to assure sensors are operating correctly. However, only a few faulty sensors are found to be calibrated. For the safe operation of an NPP and the reduction of unnecessary calibration, on-line calibration monitoring is needed. In the previous study, principal component-based Auto-Associative support vector regression (PCSVR) was proposed for the sensor signal validation of the NPP. In this paper the error uncertainty limit monitoring (EULM) is integrated with PCSVR for the failure detection. This paper describes the design of an AASVR-based sensor validation system for a power generation system. Response surface methodology (RSM) is employed to efficiently determine the optimal values of SVR hyperparameters. The residuals between the estimated signals and the measured signals are inputted to the EULM to detect whether the sensors are failed or not. The proposed sensor monitoring algorithm was verified through applications to the turbine 1st chamber pressure in pressurized water reactor (PWR).
Analysis of volumetric changes through melting using a dilatometer

A conventional push-rod dilatometer is modified in order to accurately correlate the measured density to the predicted sample temperature of alloys in the phase-change regime. This new configuration makes use of a standard furnace assembly; however, the specimen is now symmetrically encased in a well-instrumented, graphite cylindrical shell. The combination of system geometry and high-conductivity sample holder material promotes the development of a simplified heat transfer model. The solution of this model properly correlates the measured density to that of the actual sample temperature based on using remote, sample-holder temperature measurements. Preliminary results using aluminum A356 provide insight into the proposed configuration.
Urothelial carcinoma involving vaginal specimens from patients with neobladder: a potential pitfall in diagnostic cytopathology.

Most vaginal neoplasms represent metastasis from the cervix, endometrium, colon and ovary and distinction from a primary lesion does not pose a diagnostic problem. Recently, it has been recognized that women with urothelial carcinoma (UC) who have undergone radical cystectomy with orthotopic neobladder reconstruction are at risk for recurrence in the lower gynecologic tract. Our objective is to describe the cytologic features of cases with confirmed UC in the vagina in this clinical setting. Four vaginal specimens from patients with prior radical cystectomy and orthotopic neobladder reconstruction with histologically confirmed UC were evaluated. The vaginal specimens consisted of Thinprep® and Papanicolaou-stained slides. Cytomorphologic parameters including cellular arrangement, cell size and shape, cytoplasm, and nuclear features were evaluated and compared with a corresponding surgical biopsy. All four cases were highly cellular with abundant neoplastic cells arranged singly and in loose three-dimensional clusters with overlapping nuclei. The neoplastic cells were large and polygonal with well-defined cell borders, high nuclear to cytoplasmic ratio, and granular basophilic cytoplasm. The chromatin was coarse with small nucleoli. Scattered keratinized single cells with atypical hyperchromatic nuclei were observed in each case. In summary, UC involving the vagina can share many morphologic features with primary squamous cell carcinomas at this site, including focal keratinization. Abundant three dimensional clusters of neoplastic cells and a previous history of orthotopic neobladder reconstruction are helpful cytomorphologic and clinical features supporting a diagnosis of UC involving the vagina and may prevent unnecessary work-up for a new primary lesion. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2011. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Effect of Pubescence Tip on Soybean Resistance to Lepidopteran Insects

DNA marker analysis has mapped a quantitative trait locus for soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr., resistance to the corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), on the USDA soybean genetic linkage map near the classical gene Pb, which conditions pubescence tip. This study was initiated to determine the effect of pubescence tip on resistance to H. zea larvae and to examine the effect on beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua (Hubner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), and soybean looper, Pseudoplusia includens (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), larvae. The effect of blunt (pb) and sharp (Pb) pubescence tip was tested in antixenosis and antibiosis bioassays on H. zea, S. exigua, and P. includens larvae with near-isolines and insect-resistant and -susceptible genotypes differing in pubescence tip morphology. Sharp pubescence tip significantly reduced defoliation (antixenosis) from H. zea, S. exigua, and P. includens and weight gain (antibiosis) of H. zea. The weight gain of P. includens was unaffected, and S. exigua weight gain was significant for one pair of near-isolines differing in pubescence tip but not the other. The results indicate that sharp pubescence tip would be beneficial to introgress into elite soybean germplasm due to its association with resistance to H. zea, S. exigua, and P. includens.
Tubulin nucleotide status controls Sas-4-dependent pericentriolar material recruitment

Avidor-Reiss and colleagues show that the nucleotide status of tubulin regulates recruitment of pericentriolar material. Binding of GTP-bound tubulin to the Sas-4 centrosomal protein prevents the Sas-4-dependent formation of centrosomal protein complexes, whereas the Sas-4-stimulated hydrolysis of tubulin–GTP into tubulin–GDP has the opposite effect.
Effects of attention on visual experience during monocular rivalry

There is a long-running debate over the extent to which volitional attention can modulate the appearance of visual stimuli. Here we use monocular rivalry between afterimages to explore the effects of attention on the contents of visual experience. In three experiments, we demonstrate that attended afterimages are seen for longer periods, on average, than unattended afterimages. This occurs both when a feature of the afterimage is attended directly and when a frame surrounding the afterimage is attended. The results of these experiments show that volitional attention can dramatically influence the contents of visual experience.
Effect of stored product mite extracts on human dermal microvascular endothelial cells.

Stored product mites commonly occur in agricultural work environments and sometimes in homes in significant numbers. They are a source of allergens that sensitize and induce allergic reactions. This may include atopic dermatitis. The purpose of this investigation was to determine if the common species of storage mites are the sources of molecules that influence the function of human dermal microvascular endothelial cells that regulate the trafficking of inflammatory and immune cells into the dermis during allergic reactions and other skin diseases. Human dermal microvascular endothelial cells were challenged with varying doses of extracts of the storage mites Acarus siro L., Chortoglyphus arcuatus (Troupeau), Lepidoglyphus destructor (Schrank), or Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank) and the secretion of cytokines and expression of adhesion molecules were measured. The role of endotoxin and protein in inducing these responses was evaluated. These stored product mite extracts induced secretion of interleukin-6, interleukin-8, monocyte chemotactic protein-1, and granulocyte/monocyte colony stimulating factor. Some of these effects were induced by protein present in the extracts, some were induced by endotoxin, and some were induced by other substances. C. arcuatus and T. putrescentiae extracts also down-regulated tumor necrosis factor α-induced vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 expression. Stored product mite extracts contain an assortment of molecules, including endotoxins and proteins, which modulate the expression of cell adhesion molecules and the secretion of cytokines by microvascular endothelial cells. These modulating properties varied among mite species indicating that each mite species has a unique set of molecules that is responsible for its activity.
Studies on bioremediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-contaminated sediments: bioavailability, biodegradability, and toxicity issues.

The widespread contamination by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has created a need for cost-effective bioremediation processes. This research studied a chronically PAH-contaminated estuarine sediment from the East River (ER; NY, USA) characterized by high concentrations of PAHs (∼4–190 ppm), sulfide, and metals and a marine sediment from New York/New Jersey Harbor (NY/NJH; USA) with only trace quantities of PAHs (0.1–0.6 ppm). The focus was to examine the relationship between bioavailability of PAHs and their biological removal in a slurry system. Freshwater and marine sediment toxicity tests were conducted to measure baseline toxicity of both sediments to amphipods, aquatic worms, fathead and sheepshead minnow larvae, and a vascular plant; to determine the cause of toxicity; and to evaluate the effectiveness of the biotreatment strategies in reducing toxicity. Results showed the ER sediment was acutely toxic to all freshwater and marine organisms tested and that the toxicity was mainly caused by sulfide, PAHs, and metals present in the sediment. In spite of the high toxicity, most of the PAH compounds showed significant degradation in the aerobic sediment/water slurry system if the initial high oxygen demand due to the high sulfide content of the sediment was overcome. The removal of PAHs by biodegradation was closely related to their desorbed amount in 90% isopropanol solution during 24 h of contact, while the desorption of model PAH compounds from freshly spiked NY/NJH sediment did not describe the bioavailability of PAHs in the East River sediment well. The research improves our understanding of bioavailability as a controlling factor in bioremediation of PAHs and the potential of aerobic biodegradation for PAH removal and ecotoxicity reduction.
Feasibility of Implementing the Strong for Life Program in Community Settings

Purpose: We describe the results of the dissemination of an efficacious, home-based exercise program called Strong for Life as it was implemented in a nationwide, volunteer caregiving program called Faith in Action, including training of volunteers who implemented the program, recruitment of older adult participants, exercise adherence, and attitudes and perceptions of program staff and participants. Design and Methods: Frail, homebound older adults (N= 105) were recruited from 10 Faith in Action sites to participate in the Strong for Life exercise program. Volunteer trainers (n = 103) were trained by physical therapists to assist the older adults with the program. Surveys were conducted with older adults, volunteer trainers, and Faith in Action sites at baseline and after the older adults had been engaged in the program for 4 months. Results: Satisfaction with program components was very high: At follow-up, 100% of volunteers and 98.6% of older adults rated the program positively. Participants reported engaging in exercise on average 2.2 times per week, with 53% of the participants exercising at least 2 to 4 times per week. Participants also had significant improvements in the Short Form-20 social functioning scale. There were no serious adverse events reported. Implications: Dissemination of the Strong for Life program in a community setting using trained lay volunteers was feasible, acceptable, and safe. Existing volunteer caregiving organizations such as Faith in Action offer a feasible and safe means of disseminating late-life exercise programs to the frail older population.
Part-based motion descriptor image for human action recognition

This paper presents a novel and efficient framework for human action recognition based on modeling the motion of human body-parts. Intuitively, a collective understanding of human body-part movements can lead to better understanding and representation of any human action. In this paper, we propose a generative representation of the motion of human body-parts to learn and classify human actions. The proposed representation combines the advantages of both local and global representations, encoding the relevant motion information as well as being robust to local appearance changes. Our work is motivated by the pictorial structures model and the framework of sparse representations for recognition. Human body-part movements are represented efficiently through quantization in the polar space. The key discrimination within each action is efficiently encoded by sparse representation for classification. The proposed framework is evaluated on both the KTH and the UCF Sport action datasets and results compared against several state-of-the-art methods.
Identification of atrial natriuretic factor receptor of neuroblastoma N4TG1 cells: binding characteristics and photoaffinity labeling

We have found specific receptors for atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) in cultured neuroblastoma cells (N4TG1) of peripheral ganglionic origin. Scatchard analysis of the displacement binding revealed noninteracting, single-class binding sites with a KD of 1 X 10(-10) M and a density (Bmax) of 110,000-150,000 sites/cell. The cell-bound 125I-ANF was displaced by unlabeled ANF in a dose-dependent manner. Hormones unrelated to ANF such as angiotensins, adrenocorticotropic hormone, or arginine vasopressin were ineffective in displacing the cell-bound radioactivity. Using azidobenzoyl-125I-ANF as a photoaffinity ligand, an ANF receptor with an apparent Mr of 138,000 was identified by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and autoradiography. The addition of unlabeled ANF (1 microM) to the incubation medium completely abolished the labeling of this protein band, but atriopeptin I (1 microM) or angiotensins I, II, and III (each 1 microM) were not effective in inhibiting the affinity labeling. The treatment of the neuroblastoma cells with ANF stimulated intracellular cyclic GMP levels in a dose-dependent manner with an EC50 of 5 nM. ANF (1 X 10(-7) M) stimulated cyclic GMP accumulation in less than 5 min by 30-fold as compared to the controls.
Characterization of Semi-Insulating 4H Silicon Carbide for Radiation Detectors

Radiation detectors have been fabricated on 8 mm × 8 mm substrates, ~390 μm in thickness, diced from a (0001) 4H-SiC semi-insulating (SI) wafer (≥ 1012 Ohm-cm). The crystals used for detector fabrication have been characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), electron beam induced current (EBIC), chemical etching, cross-polarized imaging, and Raman spectroscopy. Current-voltage (I-V) characteristics showed very low leakage current (≤ 50 pA at -800 V) and the capability of detector's operation ≥ 470 K. EBIC investigations revealed that the screw dislocations produce dark EBIC contrast indicating high leakage current in the defective regions. Thermally stimulated current (TSC) measurements and high temperature resistivity measurements revealed deep level centers with activation energies 1.1-1.2 eV, and 1.56 eV. The TSC peak at ~460 K associated with the ~1.2 eV center was much stronger than the other high temperature peaks (e.g., 370 K due to vanadium impurity, 0.95 eV below of conduction band edge), indicating that this level along with the 1.56 eV level should dominate in controlling the resistivity and carrier lifetime in the studied 4H-SiC. Based on the literature data, we associate these centers with intrinsic defects and/or V-related complex. Nuclear detection measurements on the single-element SiC detectors with 241Am X-γ ray source clearly detected 59.6 keV and other low energy x-rays.
Use of high-concentration contrast media in multiple-detector-row CT: principles and rationale

Contrast-medium-enhanced multiple-detector-row CT (MDCT) is a powerful technique for vascular and hepatic imaging. With increasingly faster acquisition speeds, which have become possible with latest 8- and 16-channel scanner systems, contrast medium delivery is becoming increasingly difficult. This article reviews the pharmacokinetic and physiologic principles of vascular and hepatic enhancement following the intravenous injection of iodinated contrast medium. The effects of user-selectable injection parameters, such as the injection rate, the injection duration, and the contrast medium concentration on arterial and parenchymal enhancement are elucidated. Equipped with this knowledge, rational injection strategies for CT angiographic protocols for scanners with different acquisition speeds are derived. Furthermore, injection and timing protocols, optimized for hepatic MDCT during the early arterial, late arterial, and parenchymal phases, are developed.
Confronting assumptions about spontaneous autogamy in populations of Eulophia alta (Orchidaceae) in south Florida: assessing the effect of pollination treatments on seed formation, seed germination and seedling development

The breeding system of the terrestrial orchid Eulophia alta was investigated in south Florida where it has previously been reported as an auto-pollinated species. The effect of breeding system on seed viability and germinability and seedling development was also investigated. Incidences of spontaneous autogamy in E. alta were rare at the study site, resulting in only 7.1% of observed flowers forming capsules. In addition, hand pollination resulted in significantly greater capsule formation when flowers were subjected to induced autogamy (46.4%), artificial geitonogamy (64.3%) and xenogamy at both short (pollen source 10-100 m away; 42.9%) and long (pollen source > 10 km away; 67.9%) distances. Pollen source had little effect on seed viability and germinability or seedling growth rates. However, seed resulting from spontaneous autogamy developed more slowly than seed originating from the other treatments. These data indicate that spontaneous autogamy is rare in E. alta and that naturally forming capsules may be the result of unobserved pollination events. © 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 161, 78-88.
Universal stability results for greedy contention-resolution protocols

In this paper we analyze the behavior of communication networks in which packets are generated dynamically at the nodes and routed in discrete time steps across the edges. We focus on a basic adversarial model of packet generation and path determination for which the time-averaged injection rate of packets requiring the use of any edge is limited to be less than 1. A crucial issue that arises in such a setting is that of stability-will the number of packets in the system remain bounded, as the system runs for an arbitrarily long period of time? Among other things, we show: (i) There exist simple greedy protocols that are stable for all networks. (ii) There exist other commonly-used protocols (such as FIFO) and networks (such as arrays and hypercubes) that are not stable. (iii) The n-node ring is stable for all greedy routing protocols (with maximum queue-size and packet delay that is linear in n). (iv) There exists a simple distributed randomized greedy protocol that is stable for all networks and requires only polynomial queue size. Our results resolve several questions posed by Borodin et al. and provide the first examples of (i) a protocol that is stable for all networks, and (ii) a protocol that is not stable for all networks.