cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Delayed Late Component of Visual Global Field Power in Probable Alzheimer's Disease

A substantial literature shows that late components of visual evoked potentials (VEPs) are delayed in at least some forms of dementia in the elderly. The late-component delay is selective in that earlier components are not affected. More recent work with better defined clinical groups suggests that the selective late-component delay may be characteristic of Alzheimer's disease (AD) rather than an inevitable feature of dementia in general. To overcome problems in traditional VEP component latency measurement the present study uses reference-free Global Field Power (GFP) analysis to more objectively define VEP components and finds that the GFP peak corresponding to the late P2 component of the flash VEP is delayed in a probable AD group but not in a demented unlikely AD group, relative to age-equivalent healthy controls. The late-component delay is again found to be selective in that the GFP peak corresponding to the earlier PI component of the flash VEP does not differ between groups. These findings furthe...
Thermal-hydraulic modeling for the analysis of LMFBR disrupted core behavior

Abstract This paper presents the analytical models of thermal-hydraulic phenomena of major interest in the analysis of LMFBR hypothetical core disruptive accidents. These models have been incorporated in LEVITATE [1], a code for the analysis of fuel and cladding dynamics under loss of Flow (LOF) conditions. LEVITATE has recently become part of the SAS4A [2] code system, replacing the older, less sophisticated SLUMPY [3] model. The influence of different thermal-hydraulic models on fuel motion is illustrated by a comparison between the results calculated by LEVITATE, the data from the L7 and L6 TREAT experiments [4] and the results calculated by SLUMPY. The results calculated by LEVITATE are in good agreement with the experimentally observed early fuel dispersal.
Genetic Epidemiology and Nonsyndromic Structural Birth Defects: From Candidate Genes to Epigenetics

Birth defects are a leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality worldwide. The vast majority of birth defects are nonsyndromic, and although their etiologies remain mostly unknown, evidence supports the hypothesis that they result from the complex interaction of genetic, epigenetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. Since our last review published in 2002 describing the basic tools of genetic epidemiology used to study nonsyndromic structural birth defects, many new approaches have become available and have been used with varying success. Through rapid advances in genomic technologies, investigators are now able to investigate large portions of the genome at a fraction of previous costs. With next-generation sequencing, research has progressed from assessing a small percentage of single-nucleotide polymorphisms to assessing the entire human protein-coding repertoire (exome)—an approach that is starting to uncover rare but informative mutations associated with nonsyndromic birth defects. Herein, we report on the current state of the genetic epidemiology of birth defects and comment on future challenges and opportunities. We consider issues of study design, and we discuss common variant approaches, including candidate gene studies and genome-wide association studies. We also discuss the complexities embedded in exploring interactions between genes and the environment. We complete our review by describing new and promising next-generation sequencing technologies and examining how the study of epigenetic mechanisms could become the key to unraveling the complex etiologies of nonsyndromic structural birth defects.
Going with the Flow: Trafficking-Dependent and -Independent Regulation of Serotonin Transport

Antidepressant-, cocaine- and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine-sensitive serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) transporters (SERTs) are expressed on presynaptic membranes of 5-HT-secreting neurons to provide efficient uptake of the biogenic amine after release. SERTs also support 5-HT transport across platelet, placental, gastrointestinal and pulmonary membranes and thus play a critical role in central nervous system and peripheral nervous system 5-HT signaling. SERTs are subject to multiple levels of posttranslational regulation that can rapidly alter 5-HT uptake and clearance rates. Specific cell surface receptors are now known to regulate SERT trafficking and/or catalytic function, with pathways activating protein kinase C, protein kinase G and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase receiving the greatest attention. Remarkably, disease-associated mutations in SERT not only impact basal SERT activity but also selectively impact one or more SERT regulatory pathway(s). In this review, we describe both trafficking-dependent and trafficking-independent modes of SERT regulation and also the suspected roles played in regulation by SERT-associated proteins. Elucidation of the SERT ‘regulome’ provides important depth to our understanding of the likely origins of 5-HT-associated disorders and may help orient research to develop novel therapeutics.
Soluble proteins of liver nuclei of rats fed 3'-methyl-4-dimethylaminoazobenzene.

Abstract Nuclei from livers of rats fed semisynthetic diets with and without 3'-methyl-4-dimethylaminoazobenzene were prepared in 2.1 M sucrose supplemented with magnesium. Approximately 50 per cent of the nuclear nitrogen and 84 per cent of bound azo dyes were soluble in hypotonic Tris-chloride buffer containing magnesium. Magnesiumstabilized nuclear extracts differed in column zonal electrophoresis from the unstabilized saline-phosphate extracts studied previously. The stabilized extracts had substantially more of highly acidic and basic and less of weakly acidic and near-neutral proteins. Furthermore, in the magnesium-stabilized extracts bound azo dyes were predominantly in the highly acidic classes of components and not in near-neutral classes as in the unstabilized saline-phosphate extracts. These and previous studies indicate that in the liver nuclei of rats fed carcinogenic azo dye some protein-azo dye conjugates are free in solution, but some are in magnesium-dependent association with nuclear ribosomes and some are integral parts of nuclear ribosomes.
Righting the wrongs of woman: Mary Wollstonecraft's Maria

(1996). Righting the wrongs of woman: Mary Wollstonecraft's Maria. Nineteenth-Century Contexts: Vol. 19, Writing women/writing power, pp. 413-424.
Polymerase chain reaction in the staging of solid tumors.

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a molecular biology technique that holds great promise as a way to perform molecular staging of cancer by detecting very early metastatic disease. Significant data suggest that PCR analysis may play an important role in the management of colorectal cancer in the future. However, for PCR staging of breast cancer, progress awaits identification of gene markers that have sufficient sensitivity and specificity. Within the next few years, the results of the Sunbelt Melanoma Trial and other ongoing studies will determine whether PCR evaluation of sentinel lymph nodes and peripheral blood cells has prognostic relevance in melanoma. The future of cancer management will likely revolve around the molecular staging of tumors, and PCR is but one method that may better define subgroups of patients that are appropriate candidates for various anticancer therapies.
Emergency department visits for injury in school-aged children in the United States: a comparison of nonfatal injuries occurring within and outside of the school environment.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the demographic and injury characteristics of children visiting the emergency department (ED) for nonfatal injuries occurring at school with those of same-aged children who were injured outside of school. METHODS: Data from a stratified probability sample of U.S. hospitals providing emergency services in the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) were analyzed for 2001 and 2002. School and nonschool injury-related ED visits were analyzed for patients who were 5 through 19 years of age. RESULTS: There were an estimated 58,147,518 injury visits in all ages to the ED in 2001 and 2002. Injuries to school-aged children (ages 5-19) accounted for an estimated 15,405,392 (26%) visits overall, of which 1,859,215 occurred at school (16.5% of visits by school-aged children when location of injury was known). Males accounted for 63% of injuries at school; middle-school children (ages 10-14 yr) accounted for a significantly greater proportion of injuries (46%) than did primary- (5-9 yr, 24%) or secondary-school (15-19 yr, 30%) children (p < 0.001). In contrast, for injuries outside of school, secondary-school children were injured most (40%), followed by middle- (32%) and primary-aged children (27%). Nearly 11% of school injuries were classified as violent, whereas only 6.4% of the nonschool injuries in school-aged children were violent (p < 0.001). Similarly, sports injuries were significantly more common at school (53% of injuries) than outside of school (32.9%; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A significant proportion of injuries to school-aged children occur at school. Notable differences exist between the epidemiology of in- and out-of-school injuries. The nature of these injuries differs by age group. Efforts to reduce school injuries will require that these differences be examined further and incorporated into prevention initiatives.
Classification and mechanisms of cerebrovascular disease

Infarction remains the cause of stroke in 75 to 80% of patients. The leading cause is embolism from one of several sources, although the source of the particles is often not discovered despite prolonged search. Brain infarction associated with high-grade stenosis or occlusion of major arteries may also be caused by local embolism but in one-third of patients, the process of infarction seems attributable to perfusion failure, with a more leisurely evolution of the syndrome than that typical of embolism. Lacunar disease accounts for roughly 20% of strokes.
The lipolytic stimulation of 3T3-L1 adipocytes promotes the translocation of hormone-sensitive lipase to the surfaces of lipid storage droplets

Hormone-sensitive lipase catalyzes the rate-limiting step in the release of fatty acids from triacylglycerol-rich lipid storage droplets of adipocytes, which contain the body's major energy reserves. Hormonal stimulation of cAMP formation and the activation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase leads to the phosphorylation of hormone-sensitive lipase and a large increase in lipolysis in adipocytes. By contrast, phosphorylation of hormone-sensitive lipase by the kinase in vitro results in a comparatively minor increase in catalytic activity. In this study, we investigate the basis for this discrepancy by using immunofluorescence microscopy to locate hormone-sensitive lipase in lipolytically stimulated and unstimulated 3T3-L1 adipocytes. In unstimulated cells, hormone-sensitive lipase is diffusely distributed throughout the cytosol. Upon stimulation of cells with the beta-adrenergic receptor agonist, isoproterenol, hormone-sensitive lipase translocates from the cytosol to the surfaces of intracellular lipid droplets concomitant with the onset of lipolysis, as measured by the release of glycerol to the culture medium. Both hormone-sensitive lipase translocation and lipolysis are reversed by the incubation of cells with the beta-adrenergic receptor antagonist, propranolol. The treatment of cells with cycloheximide fails to inhibit lipase translocation or lipolysis, indicating that the synthesis of nascent proteins is not required. Cytochalasin D and nocodazole used singly and in combination also failed to have a major effect, thus suggesting that the polymerization of microfilaments and microtubules and the formation of intermediate filament networks is unnecessary. Hormone-sensitive lipase translocation and lipolysis were inhibited by N-ethylmaleimide and a combination of deoxyglucose and sodium azide. We propose that the major consequence of the phosphorylation of hormone-sensitive lipase following the lipolytic stimulation of adipocytes is the translocation of the lipase from the cytosol to the surfaces of lipid storage droplets.
Inferring social network structure from bacterial sequence data.

Using DNA sequence data from pathogens to infer transmission networks has traditionally been done in the context of epidemics and outbreaks. Sequence data could analogously be applied to cases of ubiquitous commensal bacteria; however, instead of inferring chains of transmission to track the spread of a pathogen, sequence data for bacteria circulating in an endemic equilibrium could be used to infer information about host contact networks. Here, we show—using simulated data—that multilocus DNA sequence data, based on multilocus sequence typing schemes (MLST), from isolates of commensal bacteria can be used to infer both local and global properties of the contact networks of the populations being sampled. Specifically, for MLST data simulated from small-world networks, the small world parameter controlling the degree of structure in the contact network can robustly be estimated. Moreover, we show that pairwise distances in the network—degrees of separation—correlate with genetic distances between isolates, so that how far apart two individuals in the network are can be inferred from MLST analysis of their commensal bacteria. This result has important consequences, and we show an example from epidemiology: how this result could be used to test for infectious origins of diseases of unknown etiology.
‘Gays who cannot properly be gay’: Queer Muslims in the neoliberal European city

The article traces the framing of Muslim Europeans as the continent’s Other by focusing on the silencing of queer Muslims within public debates around ‘Islam and homosexuality’. Ignoring class as a factor in the violence produced by the gentrification of urban spaces, the pitting of the (implicitly white) gay community against the (implicitly straight) Muslim community posits the latter as a threat to the continent’s foundations that needs to be contained through forms of spatial governance in line with the neoliberal restructuring of the city. Maintaining that this is a Europe-wide phenomenon, the article looks at Amsterdam as exemplifying the European metropole as a site of pseudo-homophile Islamophobia. Simultaneously, with activist groups like the queer of color collective Strange Fruit, it is also representative of the strategies of resistance developed by groups whose presence is virtually erased through culture clash discourses, namely queer Muslims. The article argues that an intersectional queer ...
HAPTEN-SPECIFIC TOLERANCE PREFERENTIAL DEPRESSION OF THE HIGH AFFINITY ANTIBODY RESPONSE

The induction of tolerance in guinea pigs with a 2,4-dinitrophenyl (DNP) derivative of a copolymer of copolymer of D-glutamic acid and D-lysine (D-GL) leads to a preferential depression of the capacity to produce high affinity anti-DNP antibody in response to immunization with DNP-guinea pig albumin. Thus, immunization 2 wk after tolerance induction with 3 mg of DNP-D-GL results in an immune response in which individual plaque-forming cells (PFC) secreting high affinity anti-DNP antibody are absent and in which the affinity of circulating anti-DNP antibody is reduced. A similar, but less marked, suppression is seen when 0.3 mg of DNP-D-GL is used for tolerance induction. If immunization is delayed until 2 months after tolerance induction, then suppression is restricted to the highest avidity PFC group. Our data is consistent with a state of tolerance in the pool of precursors of anti-DNP antibody-secreting cells induced as a result of their interaction with DNP-D-GL in the absence of specific "helper" cells, which appear to be lacking for DNP-D-GL. In such a situation, the affinity of receptors on precursor cells for tolerogen and the concentration of tolerogen appear to be crucial determinants of whether an individual cell will become tolerant.
SENSORY ATTRIBUTES AND RETAIL DISPLAY CHARACTERISTICS OF PASTURE‐ AND/OR GRAIN‐FED BEEF AGED 7,14 OR 21 DAYS

Strip loin steaks were removed from steer carcasses fed on; (1) wheat-rye-grass pasture only, (2) wheat-ryegrass pasture followed by grain feeding, or (3) grain feeding. The steaks were analyzed for sensory panel attributes, Warner-Bratzler shear force and storage and display life. Steaks from pasture-fed steers were similar (P>.05) to steaks from grain-fed steers in sensory tenderness and connective tissue amount. Steaks from pasture-fed steers had similar (P>.05) shear force values to steaks from grain-fed steers. Off flavor incidence was greater (P<.05) in steaks from steers on pasture only than from steers on grain and pasture/grain. No differences (P<.05) due to treatment were found in visual color and discolor scores. The C.I.E. a* values showed steaks from steers fed pasture only an pasture/grain retained higher (P<.05) redness values than steaks from steers grain-fed during the 10 day display period. The results indicate pasture finishing systems could be as effective in maintaining beef tenderness and color shelf-life characteristics as grain finishing systems.
Pathology of the Gallbladder in a Child with Metachromatic Leukodystrophy

Metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) is an autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disease caused by deficient activity of arylsulfatase A, leading to an accumulation of sulfatide in myelinating cells and progressive central and peripheral demyelination. Sulfatide also accumulates in various organs, most notably the gallbladder. Gallbladder mucosal hyperplasia with papillomatosis, in the setting of abdominal pain and hemobilia, is often demonstrated by sonography. We present a histologic and ultrastructural description of these alterations in a 5-year-old girl with MLD who presented with abdominal pain and feeding intolerance. Gross and light microscopic analysis demonstrated diffuse villous hyperplasia of the gallbladder mucosa with intraepithelial and intravillous macrophage accumulations of metachromatic material. Electron microscopic analysis demonstrated this material to comprise numerous membrane-bound inclusions composed of concentrically lamellated, dense material. The rarity of descriptions of this finding prompted this case report.
Unusual bands in the infrared spectra of some oxidized coals and coal chars

Abstract Nearly fifty years have passed since Sutherland et al. [1] found that coal had a discrete infrared (IR) spectrum and pointed out that the group frequency approach would be useful in obtaining structural information from the absorptions in various regions of the IR spectrum. Great progress has been made since then (Gates cited over 200 papers in his review of the IR spectroscopy of coal over the period 1980–1986 [2]) in studying the 4000–2600 cm−1 region (O-H and C-H stretchings) and also below 2000 cm−1, a region rich in various stretching and deformation modes. The 2600–2000 cm−1 inbetween region has been ignored (and frequently not even shown in many coal spectra) because it is “empty,” i.e., species likely to be found in coals have no fundamentals in that region and overtones and combinations are usually very weak. However, we have observed some new bands in the otherwise empty regions of the spectra of some oxidized coals and coal chars.
New Advances In Further Miniaturization Of The Hopkins "Rod-Lens" System And Its Characteristics

Last year at your convention in Anaheim we reported our first experience with a new optical system, the so-called "rod-lens" system, designed by Professor Hopkins (England) for medical purposes and is produced by Karl Storz Company (W. Germany). In every disease of hollow deeply situated organs which have some sort of outlet to the surface, for instance the gullet, windpipe, the urinary bladder or back passage, etc. a rigid tube can be introduced. It was already discovered in the last century that there are many diseases which cannot be assessed by other means than with direct visual inspection and this is called "endoscopy", which means looking inside. For the examination of the lung, for example, a tube is introduced through the mouth into the trachea to keep it apart. A small little light carrier is placed on the working end. The Wattage of this globe is approximately 3. The examination of the inside of the organ is performed by naked eye. The length of these instruments are 400 mm. (16") which is not optimal, by any means, for the human vision. In addition, the dim light interferes with the accurate vision of our receptor system.© (1971) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Red blood cell calcium and magnesium: Effects upon sodium and potassium transport and cellular morphology

Abstract Previous studies have established that intracellular divalent cations, especially Ca 2+ , have important effects on erythrocyte membrane function. We set out to increase intracellular Ca 2+ , and to increase or decrease intracellular Mg 2+ in fresh, ATP-rich, human erythrocytes. Since these cells, unlike those of many previous studies, were not ATP depleted, conclusions could be drawn concerning the effects of divalent cations upon energy-dependent transport processes. Intracellular Ca 2+ (Ca 2+ i 2+ ) had more dramatic influence on the cells than did Mg 2+ . When Ca i 2+ was increased progressively from normal (0.015 mM) to 2 mM there was a reciprocal fall in ouabain-inhibited Na + efflux. Na + influx, a measure of Na + permeability, increased. The net effect of these changes was to increase intracellular Na + . Intracellular K + decreased more rapidly than Na + increased. These alterations of transport were accompanied by echinocytic and spherocytic deterioration of cellular shape and a 20% decrement of cellular size as assessed by scanning electron microscopy. When these high-Ca i 2+ cells were incubated in substrate-rich medium for 24 h, Ca 2+ was eliminated from the cells. Pari passu, the membrane transport of Na + and K + returned towards normal with substantial reductions of intracellular Na + and increments of K + . Improvement of the morphologic alterations was also observed. Increasing intracellular Mg 2+ stimulated active Na + efflux whereas lowering intracellular Mg 2+ had no apparent influence on Na + efflux. No evidence of active Mg 2+ efflux could be found. We conclude that intracellular Ca 2+ , in human erythrocytes, is a critical determinant of cellular size, shape and transport of cations. The influence of Ca 2+ is easily noted without energy depletion. The observed changes are partially reversible.
Influence of Bisphosphonates on Alveolar Bone Loss Around Osseointegrated Implants

Abstract The relationship between bisphosphonates (BP) and dental implant failure has not been fully elucidated. The purpose of this retrospective radiographic study was to examine whether patients who take BP are at greater risk of implant failure than patients not using those agents. Treatment records of 362 consecutively treated patients receiving endosseous dental implants were reviewed. The patient population consisted of 227 women and 135 men with a mean age of 56 years (range: 17–87 years), treated in the University at Buffalo Postgraduate Clinic from 1997–2008. Demographic information collected included age, gender, smoking status, as well as systemic conditions and medication use. Implant characteristics reviewed included system, date of placement, date of follow-up radiographs, surgical complications, number of exposed threads, and implant failure. The relationship between BP and implant failure was analyzed using generalized estimating equation (GEE) analysis. Twenty-six patients using BP recei...
The Regulation of Synthesis and Storage of Chymotrypsin Inhibitor I in Leaves of Potato and Tomato Plants

The synthesis and accumulation of chymotrypsin inhibitor I in tomato leaflets is induced by detachment, or by destruction of petiole phloem by steam when followed by incubation of the leaflets in light. The induction process with detached tomato leaflets is similar to that found with detached potato leaflets. The large amount of inhibitor I synthesized per leaflet cell per unit time suggests either that the structural gene is redundant or that an unusually stable messenger RNA is present. In both tomato and potato leaflets the accumulation of inhibitor I is potently inhibited by actinomycin D, puromycin, and cycloheximide, but not by chloramphenicol. Indoleacetic acid is moderately inhibitory, as is 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea. Glutamine and asparagine are both markedly stimulating. The cumulative data suggest that inhibitor I is a major depot or interim storage protein and that its existence in any particular tissue is under complex controls by both the internal and external environments of the plants.
Action of Ions on Choline Esterase

THE physiological significance of choline esterase suggested by its high concentration at muscle end plates and at synapses of the central nervous system1 makes it desirable to investigate the properties of the enzyme. The electric organ of Torpedo, which is considered as an accumulation of muscle end plates, has by far the highest content of choline esterase ever found in a tissue of fluid. An organ of 100–200 gm. weight splits about 200–400 gm. acetyl-choline in 60 min., which is a hydrolytic power of the same order of magnitude as calculated for end plates. The organ has therefore been used as material for the preparation of active enzyme solutions2.
Research Findings from the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) Database: Implications for Educational Evaluation and Research.

The Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System determines the effectiveness of school systems, schools, and teachers based on student academic growth over time. An integral part of TVAAS is a massive, longitudinally merged database linking students and student outcomes to the schools and systems in which they are enrolled and to the teachers to whom they are assigned as they transition from grade to grade. Research conducted utilizing data from the TVAAS database has shown that race, socioeconomic level, class size, and classroom heterogeneity are poor predictors of student academic growth. Rather, the effectiveness of the teacher is the major determinant of student academic progress. Teacher effects on student achievement have been found to be both additive and cumulative with little evidence that subsequent effective teachers can offset the effects of ineffective ones. For these reasons, a component linking teacher effectiveness to student outcomes is a necessary part of any effective educational evaluation system.
Effects of NADPH and Other Cofactors on the in Vitro Metabolism of Steroids by Guinea Pig Adrenal Glands

The effects of NADPH and other cofactors on the metabolism of various steroid substrates by subcellular fractions of guinea pig adrenal tissue were investigated. With 17- hydroxyprogesterone or 11-deoxycortisol serving as substrates, exogenous NADPH appreciably stimulated C-21 hydroxylation and side-chain cleavage in mitochondrial preparations. However, only weak enhancement of C-llβ hydroxylation was observed, even when relatively large concentrations of NADPH were employed. Adrenal 700 Xg supernatant fractions readily converted 11-deoxycortisol to cortisol in the absence of any exogenous cofactor. The addition of NADPH to such preparations resulted in reduced yields of cortisol, because the cofactor apparently stimulated further metabolism of the cortisol formed. Under our experimental conditions, we could not demonstrate any enhancement of steroid C-llβ hydroxylation by NADPH. Mitochondrial C-llβ hydroxylase activity was stimulated by dialysates of 5000 Xg supernatant fractions of liver or adrenal tiss...
Thin-Skinned Extension of Vienna Basin: ABSTRACT

The Vienna basin is an area of middle Miocene (Karpatian-Badenian, 17.5-13.0 Ma) extension and contains up to 6 km (20,000 ft) of Miocene to Quaternary sedimentary rocks. This basin is partly superimposed on the north-vergent flysch belt of the outer West Carpathians and partly on more internal Carpathian nappes. The obvious rhombohedral shape of the Vienna basin, the left-stepping pattern of en echelon faults within the basin, and the southward migration of basin extension through time strongly suggest that this basin is a pull-apart feature formed during middle Miocene sinistral strike-slip faulting along a northeast-trending fault (or fault system). This interpretation is supported by geologic mapping in the Carpathians indicating several tens of kilometers of Tertiary sinistral displacement along a fault that trends northeast from the Vienna basin. This fault appears to have functioned mainly as a middle Miocene tear fault within the Carpathian nappes, separating the areas of active north-vergent thrusting east of the Vienna basin from areas west of the basin where thrusting had already been completed. Reflection seismic lines show that the autochthonous European plate basement continues beneath the allochthonous Carpathian nappes and beneath the Vienna basin, and that the European plate is not significantly disrupted by the normal faults that bound the basin. Thus both the normal faults that bound the basin and the associated strike-slip faults appear to merge into a gently southeast-dipping detachment horizon at depth. In this way extension of the Vienna basin appears to have been restricted mainly to shallow crustal levels ab ve that detachment horizon (i.e., restricted mainly to the allochthonous nappes of the Carpathians). Detailed analyses of subsidence and heat-flow data indicate that little or no heating of the lithosphere occurred during extension of the Vienna basin, and support the interpretation that extension was confined to shallow crustal levels. End_of_Article - Last_Page 523------------
An algorithm for the empirical optimization of antenna arrays

A numerical technique is presented to optimize the performance of arbitrary antenna arrays under realistic conditions. An experimental-computational algorithm is formulated in which n -dimensional minimization methods are applied to measured data obtained from the antenna array. A numerical update formula is used to induce partial derivative information without requiring special perturbations of the array parameters. The algorithm provides a new design for the antenna array, and the method proceeds in an iterative fashion. Test case results are presented showing the effectiveness of the algorithm.
Dimethyl ether (DME) as an alternative fuel

Abstract With ever growing concerns on environmental pollution, energy security, and future oil supplies, the global community is seeking non-petroleum based alternative fuels, along with more advanced energy technologies (e.g., fuel cells) to increase the efficiency of energy use. The most promising alternative fuel will be the fuel that has the greatest impact on society. The major impact areas include well-to-wheel greenhouse gas emissions, non-petroleum feed stocks, well-to-wheel efficiencies, fuel versatility, infrastructure, availability, economics, and safety. Compared to some of the other leading alternative fuel candidates (i.e., methane, methanol, ethanol, and Fischer–Tropsch fuels), dimethyl ether appears to have the largest potential impact on society, and should be considered as the fuel of choice for eliminating the dependency on petroleum. DME can be used as a clean high-efficiency compression ignition fuel with reduced NOx, SOx, and particulate matter, it can be efficiently reformed to hydrogen at low temperatures, and does not have large issues with toxicity, production, infrastructure, and transportation as do various other fuels. The literature relevant to DME use is reviewed and summarized to demonstrate the viability of DME as an alternative fuel.
In vivo and freeze-trapped assays of the energy state of brain and skeletal tissues

Non-invasive, non-destructive assay of energy-related metabolic activity of body tissues is the goal of several biophysical approaches, surface fluorometry of mitochondrial flavoprotein, positron emission tomography and 31 P n.m.r. Each has an appropriate specificity, time range, resolution and tissue damage potential. 31 P n.m.r. is the least invasive and at 72 MHz, with a 20 min averaging time and a 20 mm bore magnet, it affords in vivo assay of energy related compounds of tissues in small animals, such as fish skeletal muscle (loach) and heads of adult mouse and of newborn gerbils. In the transition from normoxia and nitrogen anoxia, decreases of the creatine phosphate : inorganic phosphate ratios from 3.9, 5.0, 2.7 in normoxia to 1.2, 0.04, 0.06 in anoxia occur in fish, mouse and gerbil respectively. The remarkable retention of significant ATP levels (80% of normoxic) in the new-born gerbil through 20 min of N 2 anoxia is clearly demonstrated. Evidence for the origin of much of the in vivo signal from the mouse brain is afforded by the fast freeze-trapping, excision of brain and assay by cryo-n.m.r. (Chance, B. et al . 1978 Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 75, 4925-4929) at —12 °C, the lowest temperature at which tissue signals are observed.
Adaptive Notch Filtering

Computer programs were written to simulate the performance of an adaptive optical filtering system that is implemented in the frequency domain. Since this system uses Bragg cells as both the delay line and the accumulator, the primary interest is on the effects of finite integration times within the accumulator. By tapering the contributions to the accumulator so that the values that leave the accumulator do not cause as much misadjustment to the weights, the performance of the system is significantly improved while maintaining the ability to respond to changing signal statistics. Several examples of the performance of the system in the presence of multiple jammers as a function of the number of taps, the length of the accumulator, the degree of accumulator tapering and the feedback gain are given.
System level leakage reduction considering the interdependence of temperature and leakage

The high leakage devices in nanometer technologies as well as the low activity rates in system-on-a-chip (SOC) contribute to the growing significance of leakage power at the system level. We first present system-level leakage-power modeling and characteristics and discuss ways to reduce leakage for caches. Considering the interdependence between leakage power and temperature, we then discuss thermal runaway and dynamic power and thermal management (DPTM) to reduce power and prevent thermal violations. We show that a thermal-independent leakage model may hide actual failures of DPTM. Finally, we present voltage scaling considering DPTM for different packaging options. We show that the optimal Vdd for the best throughput may be smaller than the largest Vdd allowed by the given packaging platform, and that advanced cooling techniques can improve throughput significantly.
Information of Binding Sites Improves Prediction of Protein-Protein Interaction

Protein-Protein interaction is essential to cellular functions. In this work, we describe a simple, novel approach to improve the accuracy of predicting protein-protein interaction by incorporating the binding site information. First, we assess the importance of the seven attributes that are used by Bradford et. al (2005) for predicting protein binding sites. The leave-one-out cross validation experiments and principal component analysis indicate that some attributes such as residue propensity and hydrophobicity are more important than other attributes such as curvedness and shape index in differentiating a binding patch from nonbinding patch. Second, we incorporate those attributes to predict protein-protein interaction by simple concatenation of the attribute vectors of candidate interacting partners. A support vector machine is trained to predict the interacting partners. This is combined with using the attributes directly derived from the primary sequence at the binding sites. The results from the leave-one-out cross validation experiments show significant improvement in prediction accuracy by incorporating the structural information at the binding sites.
Knowledge and the Scholarly Medical Traditions

Knowledge and the Scholarly Medical Traditions. DON BATES, ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. xiv + 369 pp., Illustrations, notes, index.
Architectural effects mimic floral sexual dimorphism in Solanum (Solanaceae)

Factors underlying apparent floral sexual dimorphism were examined in six species of andromonoecious Solanum section Lasiocarpa (Solanaceae). Both multivariate and univariate analyses show that hermaphroditic flowers are significantly larger than staminate flowers for all features measured. Thus, flowers could be characterized as sexually size dimorphic. However, when size variation due to flower position (architecture) is controlled experimentally, differences between the floral genders for the nongynoecial characters disappear; there is no difference in corolla or androecium size. Staminate flowers appear to be generally smaller than hermaphroditic flowers, not because of any difference related to primary sexual function, but because they tend to occur in the distal regions of each inflorescence. In contrast, significant differences between hermaphroditic and staminate flowers for primary female traits (ovary, style, and stigma) remain after controlling for position: the two floral types are truly dimorphic for these characters. We show that consideration of architectural effects can direct and refine hypotheses concerning the evolution of andromonoecy. More generally, if architectural effects on flower size are common among taxa with unisexual flowers, then these effects may contribute to the common perception of size dimorphism in taxa with unisexual flowers.
The ontogeny of inhibition and excitation in the gerbil lateral superior olive

While the development of excitatory responses has been the focus of considerable research, the ontogeny of inhibitory connections has received relatively little attention. The lateral superior olive (LSO), an auditory nucleus in the ventral brain stem, is a favorable system in which to compare the maturation of an inhibitory and an excitatory input. Neurons in the LSO are excited by stimuli delivered to the ipsilateral ear and inhibited by similar stimuli to the contralateral ear. Single-neuron recordings were made to characterize tone-evoked responses at the onset of hearing and in adult Mongolian gerbils. The results indicated that frequency selectivity was significantly poorer in young than adult animals. In several cases, neurons within the same animal were found to have disparate tuning properties, such that one of the units had “adult-like” tuning, while the other was much more broadly tuned. No difference existed between excitatory and inhibitory tuning within any age group. The degree to which the excitatory and inhibitory characteristic frequencies of an LSO neuron were correlated was used as a measure of tonotopic map alignment. A significant improvement of matching was seen with increasing age. A comparison of excitatory and inhibitory thresholds indicated that the inhibitory system was relatively more efficacious in young than adult animals. The ability of LSO neurons to respond to interaural intensity differences, the binaural parameter to which they are sensitive, indicated 3 differences between adult and young animals: the dynamic range was smaller, the slope was shallower, and the sample of neurons encoded a constrained range of interaural intensity difference values. We conclude that the maturation of the inhibitory and excitatory systems are nearly identical.
Reducing the computational domain for FDTD scattering simulation using the sawtooth anechoic chamber ABC

A novel absorbing boundary condition (ABC), to be used with finite difference electromagnetic scattering simulation is described. This new ABC is based on modeling lossy anechoic chamber foam pyramids as a lattice terminating layer. The advantage of this absorbing boundary is that it prevents reflections from much wider incident angles than most currently used techniques, yet is conceptually straightforward, simple to implement, and particularly well-suited to parallel computer platforms. Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) simulations presented herein show that this sawtooth ABC reduces reflection artifacts compared to commonly-used pseudo-annihilation ABCs, such as Engquist-Majda, second order Mur, and Bayliss-Turkell. >
Analysis of a scanning model of worm propagation

The traditional approach to modeling of internet worm propagation is to adopt a mathematical model, usually inspired by modeling of the spread of infectious diseases, describing the expected number of hosts infected as a function of the time since the start of infection. The predictions of such a model are then used to evaluate, improve, or develop defense and containment strategies against worms. However, a proper and complete understanding of worm propagation goes well beyond the mathematical formula given by the chosen model for the expected number of hosts infected at a given time. Thus, questions such as fitting the model, assessing the extent to which a specific realization of a worm spread may differ from the model’s predictions, behavior of the time points at which infections occur, and the estimation and effects of misspecification of model’s parameters must also be considered. In this paper, we address such questions for the well-known random constant spread (RCS) model of worm propagation. We first generalize the RCS model to our nonhomogeneous random scanning (NHRS) model. The NHRS model allows the worm’s contact rate to vary during worm propagation and it thus captures far more situations of interest than the RCS model which assumes a scanning rate constant in time. We consider the problem of fitting these models to empirical data and give a simulation procedure for a RCS epidemic. We also show how to obtain a confidence interval for the unknown contact rate in the RCS model. In addition, the use of prior information about the contact rate is discussed. The results and methodologies of this paper illuminate the structure and application of NHRS and RCS models of worm propagation.
Financial Market Stability and Monetary Policy: Remarks On Stiglitz’s Speech

Let me begin by saying how pleased I am to be here at the First Biennial Conference of the Hong Kong Economics Association (HKEA). The organisers are to be congratulated for bringing together an impressive array of conference participants and for inviting Professors Robert Mundell and Joseph Stiglitz to speak at this opening session. The conference promises to be a very fruitful and productive one with many interesting presentations scheduled over the next couple of days. The organisers have asked me to respond to the many issues Professor Stiglitz has raised regarding the appropriate role of monetary policy during financial crises. Given my background, it should come as no surprise that I will disagree with some of the more provocative criticisms of IMF policies made by Professor Stiglitz. What may be surprising, however, is that there are many points with which I agree. Indeed, in seeking to make his case against the Fund’s (so-called) high-interest-rate policies, Professor Stiglitz has tended to exaggerate the dierences between himself and the Fund and has masked a number of areas of common ground. Let me begin by briefly summarising my position on the major issues in the interest rate debate before addressing some specific areas of contention. In line with Professor Stiglitz, I have concerns about the costs of allowing interest rates to rise to high levels during financial crises and believe it would be desirable if high interest rates could be avoided. Where we dier, however, is that I do not believe that there any magic bullets to deal with kinds of simultaneous external and internal financial pressures seen in Asia in 1997‐1998. Countries in such situations are in an unfortunate predicament for which there do not seem to be simple low-cost solutions. Short of resorting to across-the-board controls on capital outflows, a period of high interest rates seems necessary to help stabilise the external situation, although there are some measures ‐ such as external debt restructuring ‐ that may help alleviate the extent to which interest rates need to rise. Professor’s Stiglitz’s low-interest-rate policy, in my view, carries major risks. With this as introduction, let me briefly outline the three major questions addressed in Professor Stiglitz’s paper. Those of you who have followed the Address for correspondence: International Monetary Fund, Regional OAce for Asia and the Pacific 21F, Fukokuseimei Bldg., 2-2-2 Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0011 Japan. The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the oAcial views of either the Asian Development Bank or the International Monetary Fund. The author is currently on a two-year assignment at the Asian Development Bank while on leave from the International Monetary Fund.
Plumbdads and Quarkles: Discussing Modeling Trends with Students Using Fictional Parameters

Helping students develop an understanding of how to interpret experimental data trends is an important part of the introductory physics laboratory. Unfortunately, many of my colleagues have lamented that too many of their students do this poorly. This is a common refrain, and past research has already revealed student difficulties with measurement, uncertainty, and the overall meaning of data.1–3 Like many instructors, I prefer discovery-style labs and in many laboratory investigations students are asked to use curve-fitting tools to discover a relationship.4 But one day in lab, I began to wonder if students were looking at data and curve fitting in a way profoundly different than scientists. Research already indicates significant differences,5,6 but to get a clearer understanding of how students would treat general data, a hypothetical set of data using fictional parameters (plumbdads and quarkles) was given to first day students.
Inhibitor of glutamate transport alters synaptic transmission at sensorimotor synapses in Aplysia.

Aplysia sensory neurons possess high-affinity glutamate uptake activity that is regulated by serotonin. To gain insight into the physiological role of glutamate uptake in sensory neurons, we examin...