cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Biodegradable and Cross-Linkable Multiblock Copolymer Consisting of Poly(propylene fumarate) and Poly(ε-caprolactone): Synthesis, Characterization, and Physical Properties

In an effort to develop various controllable biomaterials, a series of novel cross-linkable and biodegradable multiblock poly(propylene fumarate-co-caprolactone) [P(PF-co-CL)] copolymers have been synthesized via a three-step polycondensation of oligomeric polypropylene fumarate (PPF) with polycaprolactone (PCL) diols. The chemical structures of 15 copolymers with various PCL compositions and segment lengths were further characterized by FTIR, 1H NMR, and 13C NMR spectra. Their physical and rheological properties have been determined extensively. The composition dependences of various characteristic temperatures such as glass transition temperature Tg, melting temperature Tm, and thermal degradation temperature Td were demonstrated using a phase diagram. Together with DSC results, polarized optical microscopical graphs of several copolymers with high PCL compositions show spherulite crystalline structure. Particularly a banded spherulite has been found for a copolymer with a PCL composition of 87% when it...
Waste not, want not: resource-based garbage collection in a shared environment

To achieve optimal performance, garbage-collected applications must balance the sizes of their heaps dynamically. Sizing the heap too small can reduce throughput by increasing the number of garbage collections that must be performed. Too large a heap, however, can cause the system to page and drag down the overall throughput. In today's multicore, multiprocessor machines, multiple garbage-collected applications may run simultaneously. As a result, each virtual machine (VM) must adjust its memory demands to reflect not only the behavior of the application it is running, but also the behavior of the peer applications running on the system.We present a memory management system that enables VMs to react to memory demands dynamically. Our approach allows the applications' heaps to remain small enough to avoid the negative impacts of paging, while still taking advantage of any memory that is available within the system. This memory manager, which we call Poor Richard's Memory Manager, focuses on optimizing overall system performance by allowing applications to share data and make system-wide decisions. We describe the design of our memory management system, show how it can be added to existing VMs with little effort, and document that it has almost no impact on performance when memory is plentiful. Using both homogenous and heterogenous Java workloads, we then show that Poor Richard's memory manager improves average performance by up to a factor 5.5 when the system is paging. We further show that this result is not specific to any garbage collection algorithm, but that this improvement is observed for every garbage collector on which we test it. We finally demonstrate the versatility of our memory manager by using it to improve the performance of a conservative whole-heap garbage collector used in executing .Net applications.
Some anomalies of numerical simulation of shock waves. Part II: effect of artificial and real viscosity

Abstract This part deals with shock structure and its limit for conservative and nonconservative formulations. In particular, the entropy jumps across inviscid shocks using different artificial viscosity forms are calculated. The effects of real viscosity for the two-dimensional airfoil problem are also studied. Nonunique solutions of Navier–Stokes equations for transonic flows are presented for simple symmetric configurations.
Calculations of the electronic spin and orbital magnetic moments and g ′ in ferromagnetic nickel

The magnitudes of the electronic spin and orbital magnetic moments and the magnetomechanical ratio (${g}^{\ensuremath{'}}$) for forromagnetic nickel were calculated using the model-Hamiltonian approach of Ehrenreich and Hodges. Comparison of the calculated ${g}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ with the experimental value demonstrates the validity of the method. The good quantitative results for both the orbital moment and ${g}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ show that it is possible to take account of spin-orbit coupling and incomplete quenching of orbital angular momentum in a simple way. It is suggested that the neglect of the orbital contribution can lead to errors of as much as 10% in related band calculations and theoretical work.
Relationships between genomic, cell cycle, and mutagenic responses of TK6 cells exposed to DNA damaging chemicals.

Abstract Genotoxic stress causes a variety of cellular and molecular responses in mammalian cells, including cell cycle arrest, DNA repair, and apoptosis. These responses result from the interplay between the genotoxic events themselves, and the biological context in which they occur. To better understand this interplay, we investigated cytotoxicty, mutagenesis, cell cycle profile, and global gene expression in the human TK6 lymphoblastoid cell line exposed to six genotoxicants. The six compounds have broad structural diversity and cause genotoxic stress by many different mechanisms, including covalent modification (methyl methanesulfonate, mitomycin C), reactive oxygen species (hydrogen peroxide, bleomycin), and topoisomerase II inhibition (etoposide and doxorubicin). Cell cycle analysis was performed 4 and 20 h following a 4 h chemical exposure. Cells exposed to all compounds experienced S-phase arrest at the 8 h time point, but by 24 h had markedly different cell cycle responses. Cells exposed to compounds that cause covalent modification had a strong G 2 /M arrest at 24 h. These cells also had a robust (>25-fold) increase in mutant frequency, and had a moderate but sustained p53 response at 4, 8, and 24 h, detectable as ∼2–5-fold increases in transcript levels for p21 WAF1/CIP1 , GADD45α, BTG2, and cyclin G1. In contrast, cells exposed to the reactive oxygen compounds had little or no G 2 /M arrest at 24 h and no increase in mutant frequency. In addition, these compounds caused a strong but transient induction of the p53 pathway, detectable as 15–25-fold increases in p21 WAF1/CIP1 transcription at 4 h that decreased dramatically by 8 h and was near control levels at 24 h. Thus, the mutagenic effect of compounds was consistent with G 2 /M arrest and sustained kinetics of p53 pathway activation. Global gene expression data were also consistent with the mutagenesis data. Activation of genes associated with cell cycle arrest, the p53 and TNF-related pathways, and chemokines and chemokine receptors, were particularly evident for the reactive oxygen compounds. In contrast, the most mutagenic compounds caused fewer and less robust changes in global gene expression. There was therefore an inverse relationship between global gene expression and mutagenic potency.
Reliability of a modified motor unit number index (MUNIX) technique

Abstract Introduction The purpose of this study was to examine the relative and absolute between-day reliability of the motor unit number index (MUNIX). Methods Young, healthy adults ( n =19) attended two testing sessions separated by 4-weeks where their maximal pinch-grip strength, MUNIX, and motor unit size index (MUSIX) were assessed in the abductor pollicis brevis muscle. Reliability was assessed by intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), coefficient of variation (CV) and limits of agreement (LOA). Results No mean differences were observed for MUNIX or MUSIX. The CV for the MUNIX and MUSIX measures were between 13.5% and 17.5%. The ICC for both measures were moderate to moderately-high (0.73–0.76), The LOA for both indicated a homoscedastic relationship. Discussion Our findings indicate moderate to moderately-high reliability for both MUNIX and MUSIX. Future work is needed to ensure both measures are reliable in other muscles and cohorts, and further investigations are required to examine the validity of MUNIX.
Processing of DNA damage clusters in human cells: current status of knowledge

Eukaryotic cells exposed to DNA damaging agents activate important defensive pathways by inducing multiple proteins involved in DNA repair, cell cycle checkpoint control and potentially apoptosis. After the acceptance of the hypothesis that oxidatively generated clustered DNA lesions (OCDL: closely spaced DNA lesions) can be induced even by low doses of ionizing radiation or even endogenously, and significant advances have been made in the understanding of the biochemistry underlying the repair of closely spaced DNA lesions, many questions still remain unanswered. The major questions that have to be answered in the near future are: 1) how human cells process these types of DNA damage if they repair them at all, 2) under what conditions a double strand break (DSB) may be created during the processing of two closely spaced DNA lesions and 3) what type of repair protein interactions govern the processing of complex DNA damage? The data existing so far on human cells and tissues are very limited and in some cases contradicting. All of them though agree however on the major importance of gaining mechanistic insights on the pathways used by the cell to confront and process complex DNA damage located in a small DNA volume and the need of more in depth analytical studies. We selectively review recently-obtained data on the processing of non-DSB DNA damage clusters in human cells and tissues and discuss the current status of knowledge in the field.
Formation of the blood-testis barrier in the rabbit.

The time of establishment of the blood-testis barrier in the rabbit was studied by electron microscopy using lanthanum nitrate. This electron-dense tracer was present in the intercellular spaces in all regions of the seminiferous cords in 7 to 9-week-old animals. In 10 and 11-week-old rabbits, the penetration of lanthanum nitrate was restricted to the basal region of the seminiferous cords. Closer examination revealed the presence of numerous tight junctions between adjacent Sertoli cells. The morphological appearance of these junctions was similar to those described previously in other mammals. Entry of the tracer substance was restricted at these junctions. Pachytene germ cells, which reside beyond the junctions, were never surrounded by the tracer. Based on our observations it was concluded that the blood-testis barrier in the rabbit is formed between the 9th and 10th postnatal week, and that it is functionally effective by the 10th week.
Small weak acids stimulate proton transfer events in site-directed mutants of the two ionizable residues, GluL212 and AspL213, in the QB-binding site of Rhodobacter sphaeroides reaction center.

Abstract Mutations of the two ionizable residues. GluL212 and AspL213, in the secondary quinone (Q#) binding site of reaction centers (RCs) from Rhodobacter sphaeroides cause major dysfunctions in the proton transfer processes leading to the formation of quinol. Mutant RCs with AspL213→ Asn are especially severely blocked, and the rate of the proton-limited transfer of the second electron is at least IO4 times slower than in the wild-type. Small, weak acids, such as azide/hydrazoic acid (N3−/HN3; pϰ ∼ 4.7) accelerated the electron transfer rate in mutant RCs in a pH and concentration-dependent manner, consistent with their functioning as protein-penetrating protonophores, delivering protons to the Q# site in a non-specific, diffusive process. Other small weak acids similarly with efficacies dependent on their size and pϰ values. In terms of the concentration of protonated species, the relative effectiveness was: nitrite > cyanate & sim; formate > azide > > acetate. The behavior of bacterial RCs containing the AspL213→ Asn mutation resembles that of bicarbonate-depleted photosystem II, and the mutational block is partially alleviated by bicarbonate. The possibility is discussed that bicarbonate acts in PS II as an analogue to the carboxylic acid residues of the bacterial proton conduction pathway.
Asymptotic eigenfunctions of covariance kernels with rational spectral densities (Corresp.)

A refinement of Capon's asymptotic approximation of the eigenfunctions of covariance kernels with rational spectral densities is given. It is shown that this refinement is necessary if the approximation is to be useful in calculating the Karhunen-Loeve coefficients of a large class of functions.
Field-induced nonequilibrium carrier distributions in GaAs probed by electronic Raman scattering

Inelastic light scattering is used to probe nonequilibrium carrier distributions in active GaAs devices. Unlike many photoexcited nonequilibrium studies, this work examines carrier distributions in electrically biased ${\mathit{n}}^{+}$-${\mathit{n}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}}$-${\mathit{n}}^{+}$ GaAs devices. Using a laser with photon energy lower than, but within 100 meV of, the direct band gap, single-particle and collective scattering events were observed in an effort to determine the hot-electron distribution function. Results are presented for various bias conditions. Due to the number and complexity of scattering mechanisms that contribute to the observed spectra, the effects of the applied field were more accurately analyzed by examining the differences between the equilibrium and nonequilibrium spectra. The carrier temperature and average drift velocity as a function of field strength were determined by fitting a theoretical model of the scattering cross section to the observed spectra.
Shear and turbulence in thermohaline staircases

Abstract Prominent thermohaline staircases, extending vertically for hundred of meters, have been found in only fewew locations in teh oceanic thermocline. Their unique structure and their resemblance to staircases formed in laboratory salt fingerinn lead to an immediate identification with double diffusion. Nevertheless, little has een known about the intensity and structure of mixing in the staircases. Recent observations with the Multi-Scale Profiler (MSP) reveal the layers to be in slow, steady relative motion and to have very low leverls of e, the rate of viscous dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy. Because of the strong shear, the fingers appear to be strongly inclined o the horizontal and to produce low buoyancy fluxes into the layers.
Neutron and X-ray diffraction of plasma-sprayed zirconia-yttria thermal barrier coatings

ZrO2-7.8mol. pct. YO1.5, a fused powder, and ZrO2-8.7mol. pct. YO1.5, a prereacted powder, were plasma-sprayed onto steel substrates. Neutron diffraction and X-ray diffraction of the as-received powder, the powder plasma sprayed into water, as-sprayed coatings, and coatings heat-treated for 10 and 100 h were carried out to study phase transformations and ordering of the oxygen ions on the oxygen sublattice. The as-received fused powder has a much lower monoclinic percentage than does the pre-reacted powder, this resulting in a much lower monoclinic percentage in the coating. Heat treatment increases the percentages of the cubic and monoclinic phases, while decreasing the tetragonal content. An ordered tetragonal phase is detected by the presence of extra neutron diffraction peaks. These phase transformations and ordering will result in volume changes. The implications of these transformations on the performance of partially stabilized zirconia thermal barrier coatings is discussed.
Actions of BAX on Mitochondrial Channel Activity and on Synaptic Transmission

Changes in mitochondrial architecture and permeability facilitate programmed cell death. The BCL-2 family protein BAX is implicated in the formation of large "death channels" in outer mitochondrial...
New game for hunger neurons

Hypothalamic neurons that express agouti-related protein have been thought to regulate appetite by counteracting the melanocortin signaling pathway. Evidence now indicates that these neurons can also modulate dopamine signaling.
Distal movement of the maxillary molars

Molars can be moved distally approximately 1 mm/month with little to no patient cooperation by using intraarch compressed 100 gm NiTi coils or 100 gm looped NiTi wires against the molars supported by a removable modified Nance appliance. When the molars are moved posteriorly by these intraarch mechanisms, anchorage loss occurs and produces an increase in overjet that is generally within acceptable limits. Although molars can be moved posteriorly at any age, an advantageous treatment time is the late mixed dentition.
Putting old tensions to rest: Integrating multicultural education and global learning to advance student development

AbstractMulticultural education and global learning have long been acknowledged by higher education professionals to be necessary in advancing student development. Both of these agendas overlap in significant ways and can be characterized as two sides of the same coin. Notwithstanding, there has been a historical divide, even a tension between these two elements, that has resulted in their moving on separate tracks towards the same goal of student development. This article discusses a successful approach that uses learning outcomes as the mechanism to integrate these two elements in order to achieve meaningful student development.
A Bellows-type Spirometer for Measuring the Forced Expirogram

A bellows-type spirometer, the Pulmonor, has been evaluated as a tool for measuring the forced expirogram. Its accuracy compares favorably to that of a 13.5 liter modified water-displacement type spirometer with a drum speed of 32 mm. per second. The attributes of accuracy, rapidity of measurement, and low cost make the Pulmonor a useful instrument for routine clinical spirometry.
Vasectomy and prostate cancer. Chance, bias, or a causal relationship?

This issue ofThe Journalincludes two reports of cohort studies by Giovannucci et al that find an association between vasectomy and subsequent risk of prostate cancer. 1,2 Both vasectomy and prostate cancer are common and any causal relationship between the two would be important both for individual and public health. Although the studies by Giovannucci et al are of high quality, whether the relationship they report on is causal remains unclear. The age-adjusted relative risks for prostate cancer among men with vasectomy in the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study were 1.56 (95% confidence interval, 1.03 to 2.37) and 1.66 (95% confidence interval, 1.25 to 2.21), respectively. When risk estimates of this magnitude are derived from observational studies, they are considered to be weak associations that may be due to chance, bias, or a causal relationship. 3 It is our See also pp 873 and 878.
Chelatable metal ions are not required for aryl hydrocarbon receptor transformation to a DNA binding form: Phenanthrolines are possible competitive antagonists of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin☆

Abstract The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) mediates the toxicity of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) and related compounds by binding DNA and altering gene transcription. We determined whether AhR transformation to a DNA binding form requires chelatable metal ions. The chelator 1,10-phenanthroline and its nonchelating isomers 1,7- and 4,7-phenanthroline blocked, in a concentration-dependent manner, TCDD-elicited transformation of the AhR in rat hepatic cytosol to a form which bound a dioxin-response element (DRE; upstream of the structural gene for cytochrome P4501A1). This was found to be due to the ability of these compounds to competitively inhibit [3H]TCDD specific binding to the AhR under conditions in vitro. EDTA (20 m m ) failed to inhibit DRE binding of the transformed AhR, but pretreatment of cytosol with EDTA prior to transformation inhibited DRE binding up to 60%. However, removal of EDTA from the cytosol by gel filtration prior to incubation with TCDD resulted in the same DRE binding as filtered control cytosol without the added divalent metal ions. Both chelators, oxalic acid and iminodiacetic acid, failed to inhibit DRE binding when added prior to AhR transformation. Together these data indicate that chelatable metal ions are not required for AhR transformation to the DNA binding form.
Selective hydrolysis of oxazoline block copolymers

Block copolymers, composed of a hydrophobic block [poly(N-t-butylbenzoyl ethylenimine) or poly(N-lauroyl ethylenimine)] and a hydrophilic block [poly(N-propionyl ethylenimine)], synthesized by cationic ring-opening polymerization of 2-substituted Δ2-oxazolines, were selectively deacylated by acid hydrolysis. The hydrolysis process was monitored by using 1H-NMR. The results show that the propionyl groups could be removed from the hydrophilic block of the polymer chain without touching the hydrophobic block, if appropriate reaction conditions were used.
Nanometer-sized dynamic entities in an aqueous system

Using neutron spin-echo and backscattering spectroscopy, we have found that at low temperatures water molecules in an aqueous solution engage in center-of-mass dynamics that are different from both the main structural relaxations and the well-known localized motions in the transient cages of the nearest neighbor molecules. While the latter localized motions are known to take place on the picosecond time scale and Angstrom length scale, the slower motions that we have observed are found on the nanosecond time scale and nanometer length scale. They are associated with the slow secondary relaxations, or excess wing dynamics, in glass-forming liquids. Our approach, therefore, can be applied to probe the characteristic length scale of the dynamic entities associated with slow dynamics in glass-forming liquids, which presently cannot be studied by other experimental techniques.
Evaluation of the sizes of the process zone for quasibrittle notched specimens

We propose a method for the evaluation of the characteristic sizes of the process zone in the case of quasibrittle fracture of notched beam steel specimens under transverse bending.
A high sensitive strain sensor using a multi-walled carbon nanotube sheet

A multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) sheet-based strain sensor is presented in this paper, which possesses a novel fabrication technique that employs a simpler process than that of dispersing CNTs into a liquid or polymer. The sheets were spun from a MWCNT forest grown on a silicon substrate. The electrical resistance of the MWCNT sheets increased linearly with an increased tensile strain. The sheet did not require any chemical grafting or charging in order to work as a sensor, making it an ideal strain sensor. The proposed sensor exhibited excellent piezoresistive behavior under repetitive strain and relaxation, as well as a relatively high sensitivity compared to other methods, highlighting its potential application to high sensitivity pressure and force sensors.
A realistic grand unified theory without fine tuning

Abstract We present a realistic grand unified model whose observable properties are stable against small changes of its bare parameters. It is an O(10) supersymmetric theory with supersymmetry softly broken explicitly through terms of dimensionality ⩽2. It is consistent with all the low-energy phenomenology.
Higher Education Out of Control: Regaining Strategic Focus in an Age of Diminishing Resources

Our purpose here is to explore avenues of possible relief for colleges of business administration that confront the demands of a changing educational environment and shifting organizational control...
Diffusion-limited photopolymerization in scanning micro-stereolithography

The trade-off between process speed and resolution in microstereolithography (μSL) roots on the diffusion-limited kinetics of photopolymerization. Using a numerical model, we have investigated the influence of diffusion dominant effect under high photon flux. Radical depletion turned out to limit the smallest feature achievable to the order of 10 μm under high process speed. A solution of pulsed laser curing is proposed in order to realize sub-micron resolution in high speed μSL process.
Measurement Of The Instrumental Polarization Of A High Resolution Ultraviolet Spectrometer

Diffraction grating spectrometers exhibit a complex dependance on the polarization state of incident light. We have characterized the polarization properties of a high resolution echelle grating spectrometer. Large variations of instrument response with incident polarization state at ultraviolet wavelengths were found. The Imaging Stratospheric Ultraviolet Spectrometer (ISUS) is a high resolution spectrometer for remote sensing of atmospheric trace constituents. Weak line emissions are observed against the bright, partially polarized Rayleigh scattered sky background. To determine the air density from the Rayleigh scattering intensity the effects of polarization on the spectrometer response must be known. It was anticipated that such polarization effects could be significant in the ISUS instrument, which includes a fold mirror, a cross dispersing plane diffraction grating and an echelle grating. Measurements of the sensitivity of ISUS to linearly polarized light at 312.6 nm showed a peak-to-peak variation of 72% as the plane of polarization is rotated. The results of these measurements are presented and nine elements of the sixteen element system Mueller matrix which describes the behavior of ISUS in partially linearly polarized light are measured. The implications of the observed instrumental polarization for remote sensing observations and its impact on a technique for discriminating against the polarized Rayleigh scattered background to improve the measurement sensitivity are discussed. Subject terms: polarization; spectrometers, polarimetry, polarization aberration; instrumental polarization, Mueller calculus.
Acute leukemia and infections: perspectives from a general hospital.

The incidence and etiology of infections in 210 acute leukemics at the University of Mississippi Medical Center between 1962 and 1978 were reviewed. Infectious episodes occurred 269 times in 148 patients. In 193 infections, potential pathogens were cultured. Infection was a contributing cause of death in 89 patients. E. Coli, S. aureus, K. pneumoniae, and P. aeruginosa accounted for 58% of the isolates. No unusual pattern of antimicrobial resistance were observed. The outcome of the infections was related to the absence or resolution of neutropenia. Among 48 patients febrile on first admission, four cases of gram-negative pneumonia, two cases of fungal pneumonia, and two cases of pseudomonas cellulitis were diagnosed. We conclude that the etiology of infections was similar to that of cancer centers; multidrug-resistant gram-negative organisms were not prevalent; absence or resolution of neutropenia indicates a good prognosis for outcome of infection; and untreated acute leukemics may acquire opportunistic infections.
TU-C-BRE-02: A Novel, Highly Efficient and Automated Quality Assurance Tool for Modern Linear Accelerators

Purpose: Quality assurance (QA) of complex linear accelerators is critical and highly time consuming. Varian’s Machine Performance Check (MPC) uses IsoCal phantom to test geometric and dosimetric aspects of the TrueBeam systems in <5min. In this study we independently tested the accuracy and robustness of the MPC tools. Methods: MPC is automated for simultaneous image-acquisition, using kV-and-MV onboard-imagers (EPIDs), while delivering kV-and-MV beams in a set routine of varying gantry, collimator and couch angles. MPC software-tools analyze the images to test: i) beam-output and uniformity, ii) positional accuracy of isocenter, EPIDs, collimating jaws (CJs), MLC leaves and couch and iii) rotational accuracy of gantry, collimator and couch. 6MV-beam dose-output and uniformity were tested using ionization-chamber (IC) and ICarray. Winston-Lutz-Tests (WLT) were performed to measure isocenter-offsets caused by gantry, collimator and couch rotations. Positional accuracy of EPIDs was evaluated using radio-opaque markers of the IsoCal phantom. Furthermore, to test the robustness of the MPC tools we purposefully miscalibrated a non-clinical TrueBeam by introducing errors in beam-output, energy, symmetry, gantry angle, couch translations, CJs and MLC leaves positions. Results: 6MV-output and uniformity were within ±0.6% for most measurements with a maximum deviation of ±1.0%. Average isocenter-offset caused by gantry and collimator rotationsmore » was 0.316±0.011mm agreeing with IsoLock (0.274mm) and WLT (0.41mm). Average rotation-induced couch-shift from MPC was 0.378±0.032mm agreeing with WLT (0.35mm). MV-and-kV imager-offsets measured by MPC were within ±0.15mm. MPC predicted all machine miscalibrations within acceptable clinical tolerance. MPC detected the output miscalibrations within ±0.61% while the MLC and couch positions were within ±0.06mm and ±0.14mm, respectively. Gantry angle miscalibrations were detected within ±0.1°. Conclusions: MPC is a useful tool for QA of TrueBeam systems and its automation makes it highly efficient for testing both geometric and dosimetric aspects of the machine. This is very important for hypo-fractionated SBRT treatments. Received support from Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA 94304-1038.« less
Influence of consumer attitude toward online brand community on revisit intention and brand trust

Abstract This study proposes to illustrate the relationships between perceived benefits in using online brand communities, attitudes, revisit intention, and brand trust, and it also assesses the moderating role of two types of online brand communities: marketer- and consumer-created communities. The research model is tested by regression analysis using a random sample of 242 respondents. The study finds that social and informational benefits have positive impacts on attitude, which, in turn, significantly influence revisit intention and brand trust. The moderating effect of the type of online community was significant in predicting the relationship between attitude and brand trust but not between attitude and revisit intention. The study concludes the importance of managing online brand communities through managerial implications.
The emerging era of genomic data integration for analyzing splice isoform function

The vast majority of multi-exon genes in humans undergo alternative splicing, which greatly increases the functional diversity of protein species. Predicting functions at the isoform level is essential to further our understanding of developmental abnormalities and cancers, which frequently exhibit aberrant splicing and dysregulation of isoform expression. However, determination of isoform function is very difficult, and efforts to predict isoform function have been limited in the functional genomics field. Deep sequencing of RNA now provides an unprecedented amount of expression data at the transcript level. We describe here emerging computational approaches that integrate such large-scale whole-transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) data for predicting the functions of alternatively spliced isoforms, and we discuss their applications in developmental and cancer biology. We outline future directions for isoform function prediction, emphasizing the need for heterogeneous genomic data integration and tissue-specific, dynamic isoform-level network modeling, which will allow the field to realize its full potential.
Geometry-driven photorealistic facial expression synthesis

Expression mapping (also called performance driven animation) has been a popular method to generate facial animations. One shortcoming of this method is that it does not generate expression details such as the wrinkles due to the skin deformation. In this paper, we provide a solution to this problem. We have developed a geometry-driven facial expression synthesis system. Given the feature point positions (geometry) of a facial expression, our system automatically synthesizes the corresponding expression image which has photorealistic and natural looking expression details. Since the number of feature points required by the synthesis system is in general more than what is available from the performer due to the difficulty of tracking, we have developed a technique to infer the feature point motions from a subset by using an example-based approach. Another application of our system is on expression editing where the user drags the feature points while the system interactively generates facial expressions with skin deformation details.
The Presynaptic Active Zone

Neurotransmitters are released by synaptic vesicle exocytosis at the active zone of a presynaptic nerve terminal. In this review, I discuss the molecular composition and function of the active zone. Active zones are composed of an evolutionarily conserved protein complex containing as core constituents RIM, Munc13, RIM-BP, α-liprin, and ELKS proteins. This complex docks and primes synaptic vesicles for exocytosis, recruits Ca 2+ channels to the site of exocytosis, and positions the active zone exactly opposite to postsynaptic specializations via transsynaptic cell-adhesion molecules. Moreover, this complex mediates short- and long-term plasticity in response to bursts of action potentials, thus critically contributing to the computational power of a synapse.
Trends in Out-of-Home and At-Home Activities: Evidence from Repeat Cross-Sectional Surveys

Expectations remain high that information communications technology (ICT) might reduce travel. The rapid evolution of technology, combined with a dearth of longitudinal data, has made it extremely difficult to assess the affects of ICT on travel. Results are compared from two independent but similar household surveys in 1995 and 2003 to examine changes in home ICT use and store travel. Multiple analysis of covariance is used to control for differences in sample characteristics, attitudes, and city type and to examine changes in the frequency of out-of-home and at-home shopping and banking between 1995 and 2003. Results indicate that the year of the survey has a main effect in explaining shopping, but not banking frequencies. Respondents in 2003 shop out of home and at home with greater frequency and bank out of home and at home with less frequency, though the latter finding is not statistically significant. Despite reported increases in at-home activities substituting out-of-home shopping trips, the most ...
αB-crystallin exists as an independent protein in the heart and in the lens

Alpha B-crystallin, a polypeptide of molecular mass 22 kDa, is considered to be one of two subunits (alpha A and alpha B) of the multimeric lens-specific protein, alpha-crystallin. Recent demonstrations of the extra-lenticular presence of alpha B-crystallin have suggested that outside of the lens, this polypeptide may have functions independent of alpha A. Within the lens however, as part of the protein alpha-crystallin, its function is assumed to be structural. In an effort to investigate the functional status of alpha B-crystallin in the lens, we have characterized this polypeptide in the rat heart and the human lens. Unequivocal identity of alpha B-crystallin in the rat heart and the rat lens was established by the sequence analyses of the respective cDNA clones. Size exclusion chromatography (FPLC) and immunoblotting showed that in the rat heart, alpha B-crystallin exists as an aggregate of 300-400 kDa average molecular mass, similar to that of purified alpha B-crystallin isolated from bovine lens. Interestingly, analysis of the human lens proteins by immunoblotting showed that, with age, unlike alpha A-crystallin, the alpha B subunit remains detectable in the soluble fractions derived from normal lenses as old as 82 years. Importantly, the average molecular mass of the alpha B subunit in the soluble fractions prepared from 60-80-year-old human lens nuclei was also found to be 300-400 kDa. These data lead to the conclusion that alpha B-crystallin may exist as an independent protein not only in non-lens tissues (e.g. heart) but in the lens as well.
An in vitro study of programmed death in rat placental giant cells.

Placental giant cells were removed from rats at day 13 of pregnancy and maintained in vitro. The giant cells demonstrated a fixed age limit or programmed cell death in culture that corresponded to their life span in vivo. They began to decrease in number by the equivalent of day 17 of pregnancy and completely disappeared from the cultures by the equivalent of day 23 of pregnancy. Radioactive tracers were used to determine the synthesis of DNA, RNA and protein throughout the life span in vitro of giant cells. The cells were not observed to divide on or after the equivalent of day 13 of pregnancy but DNA synthesis was continuous up to the equivalent of day 16 of pregnancy. The DNA synthesis on or after the equivalent of day 13 was thought to be a result of endoreplication of DNA. RNA synthesis was observed to occur throughout the life span in vitro of the giant cell with a possible reduction after the equivalent of day 19 of pregnancy. In cell cultures RNA synthesis was observed first in the non-nucleolar portion of the nucleus and then in the nucleoli. The labeled RNA (both nucleolar and non-nucleolar) then appeared to migrate to the cytoplasm. Time lapse cinematography studies also demonstrated the apparent movement of nucleolar material from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. Protein synthesis was observed to occur throughout the life span in vitro of the giant cells.
High Rate Ka-band Downlink Digital Receiver for MUOS

The Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) will provide global SATCOM for the DOD using WCDMA technology. A key to achieving this is the "virtual" location of the radio base station (RBS) antennas on 4 geosynchronous satellites. The transport of the user-to-base (U2B) and base-to-user (B2U) signals between these antennas and the RBSs located on the ground is provided by Ka-band uplink/downlinks. Each Ka-band downlink transports samples for 32 WCDMA beam-carriers via three 8-PSK signals at a rate of 2457 Mbits/sec. This downlink is processed on the ground by an FPGA-based digital receiver to recover the samples and reconstruct the WCDMA uplink signals. The high data rate of this demodulator coupled with the constraints of cost, BER, availability and power consumption drives a challenging design solution. This paper discusses a number of features of this design including high speed processing architecture, hybrid analog/digital timing recovery loop, carrier recovery loop (CRL), equalizer, adaptive cross-pol interference canceller (AXPIC), frame synchronizer and turbo decoder.
Doping of poly(acetylene) to the metallic state using thionyl chloride

Abstract SOCl 2 has been found to be an effective oxidant for poly(acetylene), increasing the electrical conductivity by several orders of magnitude. The oxidized (CH) x sites are thought to be compensated with chloride ion liberated by reduction of SOCl 2 . The use of poly(acetylene) as a current collector in lithium/oxyhalide cells is reported elsewhere [14].
Characteristics of preferential flow and groundwater discharge to Shingobee Lake, Minnesota, USA

Small-scale heterogeneities and large changes in hydraulic gradient over short distances can create preferential groundwater flow paths that discharge to lakes. A 170 m2 grid within an area of springs and seeps along the shore of Shingobee Lake, Minnesota, was intensively instrumented to characterize groundwater-lake interaction within underlying organic-rich soil and sandy glacial sediments. Seepage meters in the lake and piezometer nests, installed at depths of 0·5 and 1·0 m below the ground surface and lakebed, were used to estimate groundwater flow. Statistical analysis of hydraulic conductivity estimated from slug tests indicated a range from 21 to 4·8 × 10−3 m day−1 and small spatial correlation. Although hydraulic gradients are overall upward and toward the lake, surface water that flows onto an area about 2 m onshore results in downward flow and localized recharge. Most flow occurred within 3 m of the shore through more permeable pathways. Seepage meter and Darcy law estimates of groundwater discharge agreed well within error limits. In the small area examined, discharge decreases irregularly with distance into the lake, indicating that sediment heterogeneity plays an important role in the distribution of groundwater discharge. Temperature gradients showed some relationship to discharge, but neither temperature profiles nor specific electrical conductance could provide a more convenient method to map groundwater–lake interaction. These results suggest that site-specific data may be needed to evaluate local water budget and to protect the water quality and quantity of discharge-dominated lakes. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Liquid water transport in polylactide homo and graft copolymers.

The successful design of new biodegradable, renewable resource plastics as replacements to commodity barrier plastics would benefit from an accurate measurement of sorption and diffusion of liquids. In this study, the diffusion of liquid water in amorphous polylactide [PLA] and a PLA graft copolymer, poly(1,5-cyclooctadiene-co-5-norbornene-2-methanol-graft-dl-lactide) [PCNL], was examined with time-resolved Fourier transform infrared attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) spectroscopy. Non-Fickian behavior was observed for all experiments, indicated by a slow approach to steady state due to diffusion and polymer relaxation occurring on similar time scales. This non-Fickian behavior highlights the variability of the sorption isotherms reported in the literature, where others have collected nonequilibrium sorption behavior (instead of true steady-state equilibrium sorption) at different time points and film thicknesses. The dynamic infrared data provided direct evidence for both water diffusion and water-i...
Life insurance and overweight.

Two items were selected for this month's Classics in Obesity. The first is an extract from the Report of the Joint Committee on the Medico Actuarial Mortality Investigation published in 1913 (1). The second is an extract from DeLamar Lectures by Louis Dublin from 1927 (3). It is selected because Dublin and the insurance industry played a major role in the focus on the increased risk of death among the overweight. In his lecture in 1926 Dublin says, “The conviction that body build affects longevity has been general for a long time.” But when was this concept first identified and how long did it take to impact research in obesity? The idea was clearly enunciated in the material published by the Association of Life Insurance Medical Directors and the Actuarial Society of America in 1913 that increased mortality was associated with increased deviations in body weight. I have plotted the 1913 data below (Figure 1). The increase in mortality with increasing upward deviation is readily apparent. But there is little evident impact of deviations below average.
Latest advancements in DIII-D Plasma Control software and hardware

A number of important software and hardware changes have recently been made to the DIII-D Plasma Control System (PCS) to further its capabilities in support of fusion research. The PCS is a highly customizable real-time control application developed at General Atomics used to manage the many parameters that affect plasmas produced on the DIII-D tokamak. Included in the most recent updates to the PCS are refinements to the real-time Electron Cyclotron Heating (ECH) capabilities which have improved overall performance and reliability for fast and precise aiming of the mirrors used to control direct ECH power into the plasma. The introduction of new real-time streaming data acquisition hardware has provided a means for acquiring plasma electron temperatures and densities from the Thomson scattering System along with data from the Electron Cyclotron Emission (ECE) diagnostic for use in PCS feedback control algorithms. The new fiber optically connected streaming digitizers allow PCS computers located in one part of the tokamak facility to easily communicate with remotely located diagnostic systems in other parts of the lab, in addition to being able to transfer high frequency data (sampled at 500 Hz) for a large number of channels in real-time. Details of the most recent PCS enhancements will be provided along with a more thorough description of the latest software and hardware architecture.
The autoamputated ovary: A rare cause of abdominal calcification

Abstract Two case reports of the autoamputated ovary are presented. Sixteen previous cases noted in the literature define this entity as a small, calcified, free-floating mass associated with an absent adnexus. A kidney, ureter and bladder (KUB) film usually demonstrates the calcification in an asymptomatic child. Ultrasound confirms the absence of one or both adnexa. This finding probably represents antenatal or subclinical ovarian torsion which leads to necrosis, calcification, and separation from its blood supply.
A touch-enabled system for multi-resolution modeling and 3D painting‡

We present an intuitive system, inTouch, for interactively editing and painting a polygonal mesh using a force-feedback device. An artist or a designer can use this system to create and refine a three-dimensional multi-resolution polygonal mesh. The appearance can be further enhanced by directly painting onto its surface. The system allows users to naturally create complex forms and patterns aided not only by visual feedback but also by their sense of touch. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A computational study of the piezoelectric response due to the material effect in periodic, single island thin films and the geometric effect in periodic, bi-island thin films

Abstract The electromechanical response of a square-periodic array of circular piezoelectric (PE) thin films alternating with non-piezoelectric (NPE) films is studied in this paper. The material effects are studied for four film/substrate combinations in absence of NPE films for which it is found that if dzxx ≪ dzzz (z-axis being normal to the interfacial plane between the film and the substrate), it results in reduced substrate bending leading to reduced degradation in the electromechanical response of the thin film. The bi-island structure is studied for zinc oxide on strontium titanate, and, in general, it is seen that the NPE films not only reduce degradation of the electromechanical response of the PE films but also increase their internal stresses; the effect on the former is less than the latter. These effects are most prominent when the circular NPE thin films fill the space between the PE thin films and are elastically very stiff compared to the substrate.
Blastoderm Location in the Avian Egg

Abstract INTRODUCTION IT IS well known among those who examine egg contents that the blastoderm is found on the upper surface of the yolk—and more-or-less independently of the position of the egg’s major axis with respect to gravity. This characteristic location results from density gradients in the yolk and a general association of the blastoderm and the pole of minimum density. However, in a series of experiments on the effect of mechanical forces on embryo development (Besch, 1964; Besch et al., 1965), it was observed that the pole of minimum density did not coincide with the blastoderm position on the surface of the yolk. The present study was undertaken to determine these positional differences of the yolk and the influence of various factors on them. METHOD The egg used in these experiments were from Single Comb White Leghorns (Gallus domesticus), usually abbreviated S.C.W.L., and from Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica). After …