cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Enabling technology for space transportation

Although rockets have been in use for a thousand years, it was only 60 years ago when concrete plans were made to transport a package of scientific instruments to high altitudes with a rocket. In 1942, Professor Erich Regener in Stuttgart, Germany, a specialist in atmospheric research, ozone physics, ultraviolet spectroscopy, and cosmic rays, and Wernher von Braun, director of the Peenemunde Rocket Research and Development Center, jointly began to design a large scientific payload for the empty warhead of an A-4 test rocket to be launched into a near-vertical trajectory from the “Greifswalder Oie,” a small island near Peenemunde. Regener and von Braun had worked together before on a project to try out radio communication between the ground and a transponder carried aloft with a high-altitude balloon.Instruments for the capsule were built and installed in a large aluminum container, called a “Regener Tonne” (Regener barrel). It contained pressure and density gauges, a UV spectrograph with quartz optics to determine the ozone content of the atmosphere, thermal sensors, Containers for atmospheric samples to be taken during the parachute descent of the capsule at various altitudes, instruments to measure ion densities in the atmosphere, drum recorders, radio receivers and transmitters, and a parachute that unfolded undcr the stiffening force of pressurized tubes.
Hart’s Critical Positivism

At the end of chapter 1 we found ourselves on the eve of Hart’s inaugural lecture in 1952. In mid-century, British jurisprudence was in a very different state from its counterpart across the Atlantic. For several decades American jurisprudence had struggled with vigorous challenges posed by realist rebels, conceding or domesticating some of them, making adjustments in response to others, and rejecting yet others outright. Always pragmatic and skeptical of grand theory, American jurisprudence made up for its lack of philosophical sophistication with a rough-edged vitality and a determination to locate all theorizing in the rough-and-tumble of ordinary legal practice. In contrast, British jurisprudence at mid-century had settled into a comfortable orthodoxy. Bentham’s rich, radical speculations about the nature and logic of law, and his meticulous articulation of systematic principles of legislation, procedure, and constitutional design, lay buried in a pile of unpublished manuscripts and Bowring’s (1838–43) inferior and unreadable nineteenth century edition of his works, surviving only in the simpler and more rigid creed taught by latter-day Austinians.
"Autoridad, intervención y los límites externos de la Teoría de las Relaciones Internacionales" en CALLAGHY,Thomas; KASSMIR, Ronald y LATHAM, Robert, Intervention & Transnationalism in Africa, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2001.

The social sciences and the humanities are presently littered with various concepts, phrases, vocabularies, idioms, and slogans that are intended to resituate how scholars think about the “global” and its relationship to a reconceptualized “local”. The utility of these concepts and frameworks is to be found not in their ability to be all things to all scholars, but rather in their capacity to highlight newly emergent structures in global politics, how those structures are created by and are responsible for new networks of actors, and the development of new discourses and practices that collapse and telescope the local and the global. This text explores the tendency of International Relations to collapse state, authority and territory. As far as that bundling makes it more difficult to understand complex global relationships and processes, it is necessary to pay attention to the recent contributions that unbundle these concepts generating new insights into the organization and practice of global politics, and specially to analyze the authority concept.
Prosthetic usage in major upper extremity amputations

Patterns of use of contemporary prostheses by 135 patients with major upper extremity amputations were evaluated by questionnaire. Eighty-four percent of the patients were male and 16% were female. Amputation levels represented were below elbow, 44%; above elbow, 40%; and shoulder disarticulations or forequarter amputations, 16%. The follow-up interval averaged 12 years (range, 1–67 years). One hundred and thirteen patients were fitted with either a myoelectric or body-powered prosthesis. The overall rejection rate was 38%. Thirty-nine of 42 in the below-elbow amputation group used the prosthesis and appeared to benefit the most. Eight of 141 in the wrist disarticulation group used the prosthesis: as did 9 of 21 in the above-elbow amputation group. In contrast, all bilateral amputees used their prostheses. Stiff shoulders and brachial plexus injury were both predictors for poor prosthetic usage.
Regulation of Cold Hardiness in Acer negundo

The application of gibberellin to Acer negundo either during or after a short photoperiod strikingly lowered the amount of hardiness obtained after 4 weeks in darkness at 5 degrees . Two growth retardants, B9 and Amo 1618, the latter of which interferes with gibberellin synthesis, brought about hardiness increases under long photoperiods. The naturally occurring inhibitor, dormin, also increased hardiness under the usual inhibiting influence of long photo-periods. Extracts from plants given long or short days had gibberellin-like compounds in largest quantities during LD and lowest quantities under SD, while the inverse was true for the inhibitor.
The challenge of many logics: a new approach to evaluating the role of ideology in Quinean commitment

Can Quine’s criterion for ontological commitment be comparatively applied across different logics? If so, how? Cross-logical evaluations of discourses are central to contemporary philosophy of mathematics and metaphysics. The focus here is on the influential and important arguments of George Boolos and David Lewis that second-order logic and plural quantification don’t incur additional ontological commitments over and above those incurred by first-order quantifiers. These arguments are challenged by the exhibition of a technical tool—the truncation-model construction of notational equivalents—that compares the ontological role and increased expressive strength of non-first-order ideology to first-order ideology.
All triptans are not the same

The current review providesa brief summary of the key pre–clinical and clinical characteristics of the triptans that might influence the choice of drug. Data from extensive clinical trials tentatively suggest that eletriptan and rizatriptanmay offer an advantage over other triptans on the basis of two clinically important efficacy parameters: eletriptan has the highest likelihood of sustained headache response, while rizatriptan has the highest likelihood of achieving and sustaining apain–free response. In terms of tolerability, best–in–class goes to naratriptan, almotriptan, and frovatriptan, though the tolerability profile of triptansis very good overall, and patient preference appears to be more closely correlated with efficacy than tolerability. A need is noted for more double–blind studies that directly compare triptans.
Avalanche photodiode array sensor with high-speed CCD delay line readout

A prototype solid-state multi-chip-module (MCM) optical sensor circuit is described. The MCM is designed to sample the optical signals from a fiber-optic array at rates up to 200 MHz. The fiber-optic inputs interface to the MCM avalanche-photodiode (APD) sensor array. The prototype 40 pixel MCM stores approximately 1000 samples from each fiber before readout. This is done on the MCM using high-speed charge-injection input CCD delay line ICs. The MCM is designed to be cooled to 0 degrees C. This stabilizes the APD gain and minimizes dark current generation in the APD and the CCD delay line.
A Technique for Stable His‐Bundle Recording and Pacing: Electrophysiological and Hemodynamic Correlates

His-bundle electrograms recorded from intracardiac electrode catheters have been a mainstay of basic and clinical electrophysiology. However, consistent His-bundle pacing has not been as readily achieved. In 13 dogs anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital (30 mg/kg), we recorded leads II and aVR as well as the His-bundle electrogram from the aortic root. A deflectable tip multipolar catheter (4 rings, 5 mm apart) was introduced via the right jugular vein into the right ventricle (RV). In 7 dogs, using fluoroscopy, the tip was placed under the tricuspid septal leaflet. In the other 6, after thoracotomy, the same placement was made by palpation through the right atrial wall. Stable His-bundle and right bundle (Rb) branch recordings were made from distal and proximal electrode pairs, respectively. H-V intervals measured 35 ± 6 ms from the aortic root and 33 ± 5 ms from under the tricuspid leaflet (P = NS). Rb-V measured 25 ± 4 ms. Consistent His-bundle pacing was accomplished from the aortic root with an average stimulus intensity of 6 ± 10 mA and from the tricuspid leaflet at 16 ± 8 mA (P < 0.05). In 7 anesthetized dogs we compared the hemodynamic effects of A-V sequential pacing at the same heart rates using the His-bundle recording site under the septal leaflet of the tricuspid valve (A-H pacing) or pacing from the RV apex (A-RV pacing). Under normal conditions there was a significant depression of mean blood pressure when A-RV pacing was compared with atrial pacing (AOO); but no difference was found between AOO and A-H pacing. These same differences were found after hemodynamic depression with propranolol (1 mg/kg; 4 dogs) or combining the beta blocker and verapamil (0.5 mg/kg; 1 dog). Thus, this catheter positioning provides both stable recordings of the His-bundle electrogram and consistent pacing from the common bundle.
Chemoselective derivatization of a bionanoparticle by click reaction and ATRP reaction

Horse spleen apoferritin, the hollow protein shell derived from ferritin, a special biological nanoparticle, can be chemoselectively modified at the lysine residues, which affords a robust scaffold for further chemical reactions including Cu(I)-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition reaction and atom transfer radical polymerization reaction.
Determination of Lifting Abilities: A Comparative Study of Four Techniques

The main objective of this study was to test the differences among four techniques for the determination of lifting abilities. This study introduced a new submaximal isometric strength testing technique. The proposed test was based on the concept of acceptable maximum effort (AME) which is the level of static exertion the individual is willing to perform voluntarily and comfortably without over-exertion (as opposed to the maximum ability of performance). Twelve male and five female subjects underwent the protocol of the four strength testing techniques investigated: isometric maximum voluntary contraction (MVC); maximum acceptable weight (MAW); maximum dynamic lifting (MDL); and acceptable maximum effort (AME). The results showed that MAW recorded the lowest values followed by AME, then MDL, then MVC. The correlation between AME and MAW was higher than that found between MVC and MAW. Also, it was found that AME is a reproducible measure of muscular functional abilities. On the average, the coefficient of ...
Adhesive recognition between developing retinal cells and the optic tecta of the chick embryo.

Abstract An assay is described that can measure the rates of adhesion of isotopically labeled cell bodies from either the dorsal or ventral regions of the chick embryo retina to dorsal and ventral tectal halves. Immediately after dissociation of the retina, both ventral and dorsal retinal cells adhere preferentially to ventral tectal halves. With increasing time after dissociation, however, the preference of the ventral retinal cells shifts to dorsal tectal halves. The dorsal retinal cells continue to show a specificity for ventral tectal halves regardless of the length of time after their dissociation. When the developmental age of the tectal halves is varied from 8–14 days, there is no change in the specificities shown by retinal cells toward these tecta. When retinal age is varied, ventral retinal cells do not adhere preferentially to dorsal tecta until day 6 and older. Dorsal retinas show their specificity toward ventral tecta as early as day three. Control experiments include the use of nonretinal tissues, noninnervated tectal halves and pigmented retinal cells.
Anesthetics as teratogens: nitrous oxide is fetotoxic, xenon is not

Exposure of pregnant rats to the anesthetic nitrous oxide on the ninth day of gestation causes fetal resorption, skeletal anomalies, and macroscopic lesions including encephalocele, anophthalmia, microphthalmia, and gastroschisis. The inert gas xenon, which has anesthetic properties similar to those of nitrous oxide, does not cause teratogenic effects under the same experimental conditions.
Limitations of Aneuploidy and Anomaly Detection in the Obese Patient

Obesity is a worldwide epidemic and can have a profound effect on pregnancy risks. Obese patients tend to be older and are at increased risk for structural fetal anomalies and aneuploidy, making screening options critically important for these women. Failure rates for first-trimester nuchal translucency (NT) screening increase with obesity, while the ability to detect soft-markers declines, limiting ultrasound-based screening options. Obesity also decreases the chances of completing the anatomy survey and increases the residual risk of undetected anomalies. Additionally, non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) is less likely to provide an informative result in obese patients. Understanding the limitations and diagnostic accuracy of aneuploidy and anomaly screening in obese patients can help guide clinicians in counseling patients on the screening options.
Hazards of inference: the active control investigation.

Summary: A finding of no significant difference in seizure incidence and/or severity among groups of epileptic patients prospectively randomized to treatment with either a standard or experimental antiepileptic drug is often advanced as compelling proof of the latter's anticonvulsant efficacy. Regrettably, the finding of no difference does not, on its own at least, support such a conclusion. A finding of no difference between treatments has numerous explanations that have nothing whatsoever to do with the pharmacological actions of the experimental drug. To be clear, it is possible to argue that a pharmacological effect is the most plausible explanation for a finding of no difference in an active control study, but this argument is only supportable if it is based on additional information gathered from sources external to the study. In most circumstances, the essential external evidence is not available, and the interpretation of the null difference as a positive result turns entirely upon the truth or falsity of the sanguine assumptions made. There is a risk in inferring efficacy from the seemingly consistent results of a series of active control studies that fail to find differences. Despite the long-recognized deficiencies in the active control study design, it remains popular.
Calmodulin-dependent phosphatase, kinases, and transcriptional corepressors involved in T-cell activation

The second messenger calcium plays an essential role in mediating the T-cell receptor (TCR) signaling pathway leading to cytokine production and T-cell clonal expansion. The immunosuppressive drugs cyclosporine A and FK506 have served both as therapeutic agents and as molecular probes for unraveling the protein phosphatase calcineurin as a rate-limiting enzyme involved in the transmission of calcium signal from the cytosol into the nucleus to reprogram gene expression. The use of mouse knockout models has helped to verify and further elucidate the functions of different isoforms of calcineurin in both helper T-cell activation and thymocyte development. In addition to calcineurin, three other classes of calmodulin-binding proteins have also been shown to play important roles in calcium signaling in T cells. Thus, Cabin1 and class II histone deacetylases have been found to constitute a novel calcium-signaling module in conjunction with the transcription factor myocyte enhance factor family and the transcriptional coactivator p300 to suppress and activate cytokine gene transcription in a calcium-dependent manner. The calmodulin-dependent protein kinases II and IV were also shown to play negative and positive regulatory functions, respectively, in TCR-mediated cytokine production. The crosstalks among these and other signal transducers in T cells form an extensive nonlinear signaling network that dictates the final outcome of the TCR signaling pathway.
Quark statistics and octonions

It is suggested that quark fields could be regarded as transverse octonionic fields. The resulting scheme unifies the existing three-triplet quark models within an "exceptional" paraquark scheme. We give a new reason for the observability of singlet states of the exact SU(3) group of three-triplet quark models and the nonobservability of quarks and diquarks.
Uptake and release effects of diethylpropion and its metabolites with biogenic amine transporters.

Abstract Three metabolites of diethylpropion (1) , (±)-2-ethylamino-1-phenyl-propan-1-one (2) , (1 R ,2 S )-(−)- N,N -diethylnorephedrine (3a) and (1 S ,2 R )-(−)- N,N -diethylnorephedrine (3b) were synthesized. Their uptake and release effects with biogenic amine transporters were evaluated. A major finding of this study is that the in vivo activity of diethylpropion on biogenic amine transporters is most likely due to metabolite 2 as diethylpropion (1) and the metabolites 3a and 3b showed little or no effect in the assays studied. These studies also revealed that 2 acted as a substrate at the norepinephrine (IC 50 =99 nM) and serotonin transporters (IC 50 =2118 nM) and an uptake inhibitor at the dopamine transporter (IC 50 =1014 nM). The potent action of 2 at the NE transporter supports the hypothesis that amphetamine-type subjective effects may be mediated in part by brain norepinephrine.
Imagery chain assessment for feature extraction

It is shown that the image chain has important effects upon the quality of feature extraction. Exact analytic ROC results are given for the case where arbitrary multivariate normal imagery is passed to a Bayesian feature detector designed for multivariate normal imagery with a diagonal covariance matrix. Plots are provided to allow direct visual inspection of many of the more readly apparent effects. Also shown is an analytic tradeoff that says doubling background contrast is equal to halving sensor to scene distance or sensor noise. It is also shown that the results provide a lower bound to the ROC of a Bayesian feature detector designed for arbitrary multivariate normal distributions.
Decay of a Near-Inertial Wave

Abstract The decay of a downward propagating near-inertial wave was observed over four days. During this short period, the energy of the near-inertial wave decreased by 70%. The shear layers produced by the wave were regions of enhanced turbulent dissipation rates. The authors estimate that 44% of the observed change in the near-inertial energy was lost to turbulence. Estimates of the wave energy lost at the survey site due to the wave propagating out of the region were smaller. Energy lost by horizontal advection of the wave out of the survey region was more difficult to estimate; the horizontal extent of the near-inertial energy was unknown. Advection could account for more than half of the observed energy lost. However, the authors did not detect the near-inertial wave during a 40 km×40 km ADCP survey after completing the six-day station.
Detection of 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide and sulfonium ion degradation products on environmental surfaces using static SIMS

2-Chloroethyl ethyl sulfide (CEES) is a simultant for the chemical warfare agent bis(2-chloroethyl)sulfide (also known as HD or mustard), and both molecules undergo hydrolysis and subsequent condensation in aqueous solution to form stable sulfonium ions. The sulfonium ions derived from CEES are directly detected on quartzic surfaces using static SIMS instrumentation, which employs a molecular ReO 4 - (250 D) primary ion and pulsed secondary ion extraction. Pulsed extraction mitigates surface charging, and the ReO 4 - primary particle is efficient at sputtering molecular surface species into the gas phase. CEES eliminates Cl - to form an ethyl thiiranium intermediate, which is susceptible to nucleophilic attack by water and methanol to form 2-hydroxyethyl ethyl sulfide and 2-methoxyethyl ethyl sulfide. These two products and unhydrolyzed CEES also function as nucleophiles that condense with the ethyl thiiranium intermediate, resulting in the formation of sulfonium ion aggregates that are observable using SIMS. The previously unreported methoxy-substituted sulfonium ion suggests that a variety of derivatives are possible if different nucleophiles are present in the vicinity of the ethyl thiiranium intermediate. This work demonstrates that the sulfonium ion aggregates are stable on mineral surfaces and also demonstrates the potential value of SIMS for the detection of unanticipated ionic species in monitoring applications where mustard and its degradation products are suspected.
Automated teniae coli detection and identification on computed tomographic colonography

Purpose : Computed tomographic colonography (CTC) is a minimally invasive technique for colonic polyps and cancer screening. Teniae coli are three bands of longitudinal smooth muscle on the colon surface. Teniae coli are important anatomically meaningful landmarks on human colon. In this paper, the authors propose an automatic teniae coli detection method for CT colonography. Methods : The original CTC slices are first segmented and reconstructed to a 3D colon surface. Then, the 3D colon surface is unfolded using a reversible projection technique. After that the unfolded colon is projected to a 2D height map. The teniae coli are detected using the height map and then reversely projected back to the 3D colon. Since teniae are located at the junctions where the haustral folds meet, the authors apply 2D Gabor filter banks to extract features of haustral folds. The maximum response of the filter banks is then selected as the feature image. The fold centers are then identified based on local maxima and thresholding on the feature image. Connecting the fold centers yields a path of the folds. Teniae coli are extracted as lines running between the fold paths. The authors used the spatial relationship between ileocecal valve (ICV) and teniae mesocolica (TM) to identify the TM, then the teniae omentalis (TO) and the teniae libera (TL) can be identified subsequently. Results : The authors tested the proposed method on 47 cases of 37 patients, 10 of the patients with both supine and prone CT scans. The proposed method yielded performance with an average normalized root mean square error (RMSE) ( ± standard deviation [95% confidence interval]) of 4.87% ( ± 2.93%, [4.05% 5.69%]). Conclusions : The proposed fully-automated teniae coli detection and identification method is accurate and promising for future clinical applications.
Electron paramagnetic resonance investigation of molecular bond rupture due to ozone in deformed rubber

Abstract Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) provides a sensitive tool by which microscopic bond rupture can be monitored simultaneously with observations of macroscopic deformation and failure. Past techniques for studying fracture in semicrystalline polymers have been extended to investigate degradation of unfilled ruber in the presence of ozone. It was found that the rate of free radical production was linearly proportional to stretch ratio and ozone concentration and that stress relaxation and creep were not directly proportional to this production rate. The latter behavior was attributed to the particular dependence of crack density and growth on stress. It was concluded that at low strains, comparatively few surface cracks form; however, at higher strains, many more crack centers become active. Although many more surface cracks are present, they do not progress into the material as rapidly. Therefore, although more bonds were broken at higher strains and stresses, the stress relaxation rate and cr...
The proteins synaptotagmin and syntaxin are not general targets of Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome autoantibody

Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS) is an autoimmune neuromuscular disease in which impairment of Ca 2+ entry into the nerve ending and consequent impaired release of acetylcholine (ACh) results in muscle weakness. The identity of the primary antigenic target molecule(s) of the autoantibodies is uncertain. Electrophysiological studies and 45 Ca 2+ uptake studies implicate a direct effect on the Ca 2+ channel complex at the motor nerve terminal. Some recent studies, however, suggest a more indirect interference caused by binding of autoantibodies to synaptotagmin or syntaxin, molecules presumed to be involved in docking and/or coupling the synaptic vesicles to the Ca 2+ channels in the active zone for vesicle exocytosis and transmitter release. Western blot analyses of rat and human brain membrane proteins and pure recombinant synaptotagmin and syntaxin were used to examine directly the targets of LEMS autoantibodies and determine specifically whether or not synaptotagmin and/or syntaxin were general targets in LEMS. IgG from 14 patients with LEMS was used to probe western blots of gels containing synaptotagmin, syntaxin, rat synaptosomal proteins, and human brain membrane proteins. Several similar immunoreactive bands were observed using both rat and human brain membranes. These include high-molecular-weight protein bands whose size would be consistent with being components of Ca 2+ channels. No reactive component was observed against either syntaxin or synaptotagmin in IgG of the 14 LEMS patients. However, both human and rat brain membranes contain proteins recognized by antibodies directed against synaptotagmin or syntaxin, indicating their immunologic relatedness and evolutionary conservation. These results suggest that large-molecular-weight proteins consistent with being Ca 2+ channel subunits rather than syntaxin and synaptotagmin are general targets of LEMS autoantibodies
Systematic considerations in the area of multiple chemical sensitivity.

Many workers who speculate about multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) have devised a large number of hypothetical constructs designed to explain the phenomena. Too often these are not logically conn...
Atrial fibrillation during adenosine pharmacologic stress testing.

o d in th S g p in h n Adenosine is a naturally occurring nucleoside found roughout the human body. It has both antiarrhythmic nd vasodilatory properties, making it a useful diagnostic nd therapeutic agent in clinical cardiology. Adenosine as been used in the United States since 1989 for the anagement of reentrant supraventricular tachycardia VT) and is considered to be the initial drug of choice r the acute treatment of this frequently encountered rrhythmia. It is also commonly used off label to ifferentiate wide-complex tachycardias and is widely sed as a pharmacologic stress agent in conjunction with yocardial perfusion imaging (MPI). Adenosine has been reported to have an excellent fety profile, and serious adverse effects have been frequently reported. The most commonly encountered dverse effects are flushing, chest pain, and shortness of reath. Far less common, more serious adverse effects clude atrioventricular block, bronchospasm, bradycaria, and hemodynamically significant hypotension. ecause of adenosine’s short half-life, these effects are sually rapidly reversed with the termination of its dministration. Though not generally recognized, atrial fibrillation a potentially serious adverse effect of adenosine that as been reported, particularly when used to treat VT. Silverman et al reported reproducible adenosineduced atrial fibrillation in 5 patients undergoing elecophysiology testing for SVT. Garratt et al reported a ngle case of nonsustained atrial fibrillation in a patient sinus rhythm who received adenosine. Cases of susined atrial fibrillation after adenosine administration ave also been reported by McIntosh-Yellin et al and riffith et al. Atrial fibrillation occurring during adenosine pharacologic stress testing has been far less frequently ported. In fact, atrial fibrillation is not listed as a side
Increased hole trapping in gate oxides as latent damage from plasma charging

With aggressive device scaling and the wide use of plasma-assisted processes, the device damage caused by process-induced charging is receiving growing attention, from both basic understanding and technological points of view. The paper presents results of hole-trapping studies in the thin gate oxide of plasma-damaged NMOS and PMOS transistors. In addition to neutral electron traps and passivated interface damage, which are commonly observed in plasma charging latent damage, we observed and identified hole traps, generated by plasma stress. Enhanced hole trapping in the gate oxide of plasma-damaged devices was studied using Fowler - Nordheim stress and substrate hot-hole injection applied to antenna test structures sensitive to process-induced charging. The number of hole traps increases with increasing antenna ratio, indicating that the mechanism of hole-trap generation is based on electrical stress and current flow, forced through the oxide due to charging under plasma etching or ion implantation conditions.
Processor arrays with asynchronous TDM optical buses

We propose a pipelined asynchronous time division multiplexing optical bus. Such a bus can use one of the two hardwared priority schemes, the linear priority scheme and the round-robin priority scheme. Our simulation results show that the performances of our proposed buses are significantly better than the performances of known pipelined synchronous time division multiplexing optical buses. We also propose a class of processor arrays connected by pipelined asynchronous time division multiplexing optical buses. We claim that our proposed processor array not only have better performance, but also have better scalabilities than the existing processor arrays connected by pipelined synchronous time division multiplexing optical buses.
Computational Geometry on a Systolic Chip

This paper describes systolic algorithms for a number of geometric problems. For the sake of realism we restrict our investigation to one-dimensional arrays whose communication links with the outside are located at the end cells. Implementations yielding maximal throughput are given for solving dynamic versions of convex hull, inclusion, range and intersection search, planar point location, intersection, triangulation, and closest-point problems.
Dopant distribution in isothermal frontal polymerization

We develop and study a mathematical model which describes how an inert species contained in the initial monomer/initiator mixture is redistributed by a propagating polymerization front. This study is relevant to the production of polymers for optical applications.
Autoregulation of the Drosophila Noncoding roX1 RNA Gene

Most genes along the male single X chromosome in Drosophila are hypertranscribed about two-fold relative to each of the two female X chromosomes. This is accomplished by the MSL (male-specific lethal) complex that acetylates histone H4 at lysine 16. The MSL complex contains two large noncoding RNAs, roX1 (RNA on X) and roX2, that help target chromatin modifying enzymes to the X. The roX RNAs are functionally redundant but differ in size, sequence, and transcriptional control. We wanted to find out how roX1 production is regulated. Ectopic DC can be induced in wild-type (roX1+ roX2+) females if we provide a heterologous source of MSL2. However, in the absence of roX2, we found that roX1 expression failed to come on reliably. Using an in situ hybridization probe that is specific only to endogenous roX1, we found that expression was restored if we introduced either roX2 or a truncated but functional version of roX1. This shows that pre-existing roX RNA is required to positively autoregulate roX1 expression. We also observed massive cis spreading of the MSL complex from the site of roX1 transcription at its endogenous location on the X chromosome. We propose that retention of newly assembled MSL complex around the roX gene is needed to drive sustained transcription and that spreading into flanking chromatin contributes to the X chromosome targeting specificity. Finally, we found that the gene encoding the key male-limited protein subunit, msl2, is transcribed predominantly during DNA replication. This suggests that new MSL complex is made as the chromatin template doubles. We offer a model describing how the production of roX1 and msl2, two key components of the MSL complex, are coordinated to meet the dosage compensation demands of the male cell.
Unresponsiveness of forearm hemodynamics to omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and asprin

Prostaglandin synthesis has been reported to change with aspirin ingestion via cyclooxygenase enzyme inhibition and with marine oil supplementation via an increase in the metabolism of 3-series eicosanoids. This study investigated the effects of pharmacological manipulations of prostaglandin metabolism on forearm hemodynamics and blood pressure. The agents studied were omega-3 fatty acids and aspirin. In the omega-3 fatty acid study, two groups of normal volunteers (N = 10/group) supplemented their diets with either marine oil capsules or placebo. Hemodynamic variables (Mercury-in-Silastic forearm plethysmography) were measured initially and weekly for 4 weeks. There were no significant differences between the two groups in blood pressure, forearm blood flow, venous capacitance, or forearm vascular resistance. Parallel changes occurred for forearm blood flow and venous capacitance. Six normal volunteers took daily dosages of aspirin, increasing from 162 to 2600 mg. Hemodynamic measurements, ADP-induced platelet aggregation, and serum salicylate levels were obtained daily. Maximum inhibition of platelet aggregation occurred after 162 mg. (serum salicylate = 17.7 +/- 6.4 mg/l). Though serum salicylate levels rose to 165.0 +/- 20.0 mg/l, no significant changes occurred in blood pressure or forearm blood flow. Even at aspirin levels 16-fold greater than those required to impair platelet aggregation, the changes in forearm vascular resistance were not found to be significant. These results suggest that under resting conditions in normotensive males, neither pharmacological inhibition nor stimulation of vascular prostaglandin metabolism alters forearm vascular resistance or arterial blood pressure.
The effect of N-heteroatoms and CH3 substituents on dissociative electron–ion recombination of protonated single six membered ring compounds at room temperature

Abstract Electron–ion dissociative recombination rate constants have been determined for protonated single six-membered hydrocarbon rings with varying N-atom substitution in the rings and varying degrees of methyl substitutions to the rings. The species studied have been protonated forms of the xylenes (C8H10; with configurations o, m, and p), the picolines (C6H7N; with methyl substitutions located at 2, 3, and 4), mesitylene (C9H12) and 2, 5-lutidine (C7H9N). By operating at high reactant vapor pressures, ternary association has been made to dominate over recombination to create proton bound dimers and the rate constants of these species have been determined. The studies were made at room temperature in a flowing afterglow with a Langmuir probe to determine the reduction in electron density as a function of distance along the flow tube. All of the data except for mesitylene showed a consistent trend with the numbers of N-atom substitutions and CH3 attached to the rings. For the protonated species, the rate constants increase with the number of nitrogens and decreased with number of CH3 substituents attached to the ring. For proton bound dimers, the rate constants increase with both, the number of N-atoms and number of CH3 substituents. For the xylene and picoline isomer's the measurements showed that the rate constants were independent of isomeric form, and thus, it is not necessary to study all isomeric forms. The relevance of these studies to the ionosphere of Titan is discussed.
Parallel nonlinear optimization techniques for chemical process design problems

Abstract Parallel processing methods with constrained nonlinear optimization were developed to show the potential to efficiently perform chemical process design calculations. A sequential optimization subroutine was developed that used a SQP algorithm and the BFGS inverse Hessian update. This subroutine had parallelism introduced at various points. Most of these methods examined ways to perform and use the parallel simultaneous function and gradient evaluations. Function evaluations are generally expensive calculations in chemical process optimization. Algorithms using a parallel finite difference Hessian (PH), Stracter's parallel variable metric (PVM) update, and Freeman's projected parallel variable metric (PPVM) update were investigated. Other algorithms investigated included Schnabel's parallel partial speculative gradient evaluation and parallel line searching. The success of a global optimization algorithm using simultaneous minimization shows potential for robust and reliable global minimization of complex multiextremal problems. The results of this work show the potential of decreasing large scale problem optimization time with parallel processing.
Critical periods for the role of oxidative stress in the developmental neurotoxicity of chlorpyrifos and terbutaline, alone or in combination

The developmental neurotoxicity of chlorpyrifos (CPF) involves mechanisms other than inhibition of cholinesterase. In the current study, we examined the ability of CPF to evoke lipid peroxidation in the developing brain of fetal and neonatal rats. CPF given to pregnant rats on gestational days 17-20 or to neonatal rats on postnatal days 1-4, failed to elicit increases in thiobarbituric acid-reactive species (TBARS) in brain regions even when the dose was raised above the threshold for systemic toxicity and hepatic damage. In contrast, CPF administration during the second postnatal week, the peak period of neuronal cell differentiation and synaptogenesis, did evoke significant increases in TBARS even at a dose devoid of systemic toxicity. Terbutaline, which is chemically unrelated to CPF and which stimulates neuronal cell metabolism through direct actions on beta-adrenoceptors, also elicited oxidative damage in the developing brain with greater sensitivity in the second postnatal week. These results indicate that diverse compounds can exert convergent effects on brain development through their shared potential to elicit oxidative stress, and that the net outcome is dependent upon specific developmental stages in which metabolic demand is especially high. Furthermore, given the common use of terbutaline in the therapy of preterm labor, and the nearly ubiquitous exposure of the human population to organophosphorus pesticides, the combined oxidative burden of exposure to both agents may contribute to the worsened neurodevelopmental outcomes noted in animal models of such dual exposures.
State-dependent regulation of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gating by a high affinity Fe3+ bridge between the regulatory domain and cytoplasmic loop 3.

The unique regulatory (R) domain differentiates the human CFTR channel from other ATP-binding cassette transporters and exerts multiple effects on channel function. However, the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Here, an intracellular high affinity (2.3 × 10−19 m) Fe3+ bridge is reported as a novel approach to regulating channel gating. It inhibited CFTR activity by primarily reducing an open probability and an opening rate, and inhibition was reversed by EDTA and phenanthroline. His-950, His-954, Cys-832, His-775, and Asp-836 were found essential for inhibition and phosphorylated Ser-768 may enhance Fe3+ binding. More importantly, inhibition by Fe3+ was state-dependent. Sensitivity to Fe3+ was reduced when the channel was locked in an open state by AMP-PNP. Similarly, a K978C mutation from cytoplasmic loop 3 (CL3), which promotes ATP-independent channel opening, greatly weakened inhibition by Fe3+ no matter whether NBD2 was present or not. Therefore, although ATP binding-induced dimerization of NBD1-NBD2 is required for channel gating, regulation of CFTR activity by Fe3+ may involve an interaction between the R domain and CL3. These findings may support proximity of the R domain to the cytoplasmic loops. They also suggest that Fe3+ homeostasis may play a critical role in regulating pathophysiological CFTR activity because dysregulation of this protein causes cystic fibrosis, secretary diarrhea, and infertility.
SIL: a model for analyzing scalable peer-to-peer search networks

The popularity of peer-to-peer search networks continues to grow, even as limitations to the scalability of existing systems become apparent. We propose a simple model for search networks, called the Search/Index Links (SIL) model, which can be used to analyze the scalability, search latency and fault tolerance of search networks. The model describes two kinds of links: search links, over which content searches are routed, and index links, over which content indexes are replicated. The combination of routing and indexing in the same network is extremely useful for building scalable, efficient search networks. While the SIL model can be used to examine existing networks, it can also be used to discover new organizations by defining desirable (or undesirable) properties of SIL graphs and then examining the topologies that exhibit (or lack) those properties. We define one such undesirable property, which we call redundancy, and show how it can be prevented by avoiding specific topological features. Using analytical and simulation results, we argue that one new organization discovered via our analysis, parallel search clusters, is superior to existing supemode networks in many cases: for example, in a network with 10,000 nodes, our analysis shows that the average node in a supernode network is up to 16 times more loaded than the average node in a cluster network. At the same time, a cluster network has better fault tolerance than, and similar search latency to, a supernode network.
Quick-freezing evidence in favour of the vesicular hypothesis

Abstract Transmitters are to be found in high concentration at the presynaptic terminal, where they have been localized both inside and outside the membranous vesicles which can be seen under the electron microscope. The pictures provided by John Heuser's very elegant quick-freezing technique provides evidence, he feels, that the transmittters are released principally from these vesicles, rather than from the surrounding cytoplasm.
Development of the O 2 induced contractions in the ductus arteriosus of the guinea-pig.

Die Wirkung von Sauerstoff und Norepinephrin auf die Kontraktionen des isolierten Ductus arteriosus des Meerschweinchens nimmt mit zunehmendem Alter des Feten bis zur Geburt zu und verschwindet kurze Zeit hernach wieder.
Evaluation of combined fibroblast growth factor-2 and moderate hypothermia therapy in traumatically brain injured rats

Both the exogenous administration of fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) or the induction of moderate hypothermia have been shown to attenuate histopathology and improve functional outcome after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Since combined therapeutic strategies may be more beneficial than single therapies, we examined the potential synergistic effect of FGF-2 combined with moderate hypothermia treatment induced 10 min after TBI on functional and histological outcome following controlled cortical impact (CCI) injury. Fifty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized to one sham and four CCI treatment groups: Sham+vehicle (VEH); FGF-2 (45 microg/kg/h for 3 h i.v.)+Normothermia (37+/-0.5 degrees C); FGF-2+Hypothermia (32+/-0.5 degrees C for 3 h); VEH+Norm; VEH+Hypo. Vestibulomotor performance on the beam balance and beam-walk (BW) tasks on post-operative days 1-5 and spatial memory acquisition in the Morris water maze (MWM) on days 14-18 were assessed. After 4 weeks survival, histological evaluations (CA(1) and CA(3) cell counts and lesion volume) were performed. MWM performance improved in all treatment groups, but combined treatment was not more efficacious than either alone. The FGF-2+Hypo group performed significantly better than the other injured treatment groups in the BW task. Lastly, no significant group differences in beam balance or histological outcome were observed. These data suggest a suboptimal and incomplete synergy of combined FGF-2 and hypothermia treatment. These data may indicate that either our dose of FGF-2 or combination therapy was not optimized in our model.
The Alaskan Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment Program

The Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment Program (OCSEAP) is a multidisciplinary environmental study that is designed to provide timely inputs which are needed for decisions on off-shore oil and gas development. Approximately 100 projects in the Program address six tasks that are universal to environmental prediction and assessment. These include determination of predevelopment contamination, anticipation of future contaminants, transport of contaminants through the environment to receptors, location and character of biological populations, and the effects on organisms of exposure to a contaminant. The sixth task identifies and characterizes the various physical hazards which the environment poses to human safety, installations, and oil and gas operations.
Some ultrastructural and biochemical aspects of heart mitochondria associated with development: Fetal and cardiomyopathic tissue

Abstract Mitochondria isolated from fetal rabbit hearts exhibit increasing respiratory activity (State 3 respiration) during development with no significant changes inr respiratory control or ADP: O ratios. Qualitative differences in the spectra of mitochondrial cytochromes between fetal and adult were observed. Density gradient analysis revealed differences in mitochondrial populations isolated from the various tissue types. Electron micrographs showed markedly smaller mitochondria from fetal hearts with fewer cristae and less dense matrices than mitochondria isolated from adult hearts. Unlike adult preparations, isolated fetal heart mitochondria underwent significant though limited changes in inner membrane configuration associated with changes in respiratory state. Similarities between fetal heart mitochondria and those isolated from cardiomyopathic human and animals hearts were observed.
A Researcher’s Guide to Worker Participation, Labor and Economic and Industrial Democracy

This article gives a profile of the development in the field of worker participation and economic and industrial democracy within an international framework. Shifts in governmental and private policies and strategic approaches are discussed. This includes union approaches and worker training efforts.
Automated Intravenous Preparation: Robots for the Pharmacy:

This month we address an emerging technology that we believe will one day be as common as automated dispensing cabinets. Automated, robotic intravenous preparation is not as new to the area of pharmacy as many may think. Recently, United States Pharmacopeia regulations prompted serious consideration and evaluation of this technology by many pharmacy departments. This article provides an overview of the vendors, their products, and other considerations for your due diligence.