cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mathematical Analysis of Coupled Parallel Simulations

A set of parallel replicas of a single simulation can be statistically coupled to closely approximate long trajectories. In many cases, this produces nearly linear speedup over a single simulation ( M times faster with M simulations), rendering previously intractable problems within reach of large computer clusters. Interestingly, by varying the coupling of the parallel simulations, it is possible in some systems to obtain greater than linear speedup. The methods are generalizable to any search algorithm with long residence times in intermediate states.
Expression and characterization of a rac family protein kinase of Entamoeba histolytica.

Abstract We previously reported the isolation from Entamoeba histolytica of a novel rac family protein kinase gene, termed Ehrac1 , for “related to cAMP-dependent protein kinases and protein kinase Cs”. To study the function and properties of this kinase gene further, we fused the full-length coding region and the truncated catalytic domain of the Ehrac1 gene in frame with the gene encoding glutathione S -transferase in the pGEX-KG vector and expressed the fusion in Escherichia coli . The thrombin-cleaved and uncleaved fusion proteins, GST-Ehrac1 and GST-Ehrac1-c (catalytic domain), were purified and found to exhibit similar protein kinase activities. The Ehrac1 fusion kinase was found to phosphorylate serine/threonine residues exclusively in vitro. The preferred substrate for the enzyme was histone H1 with a K m of approx. 14 μM. Histone H3 and kemptide were phosphorylated at about half the rate of histone H1. Protamine, enolase, bovine serum albumin, and poly (Glu : Tyr) were not substrates for the enzyme. The protein kinase activity was higher in the presence of Mn 2+ than Mg 2− . Neither cAMP, Ca 2+ , nor Ca 2+ /calmodulin stimulated enzyme activity. The pH optimum of the enzyme was 7.5. The Ehrac1 kinase can utilize GTP as well as ATP as a phosphate donor with an apparent K m of 80 μM. Enzyme activity was inhibited 30–40% by a crude cAMP-dependent protein kinase inhibitor from rabbit and by thiol reagents. The expression and purification of enzymatically active Ehrac1 protein kinase should allow further analysis of the regulation and signal transduction pathways of E. histolytica .
STUDIES OF THE LYMPHATIC TISSUE : IV. EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES OF THE EFFECT OF THE INTRAVENOUS INJECTION OF KILLED STAPHYLOCOCCI ON THE BEHAVIOR OF LYMPHATIC TISSUE, THYMUS, AND THE VASCULAR CONNECTIVE TISSUE.

In 87 rabbits, some of which received intravenously at various intervals small, and some large, doses of killed staphylococci, the following findings were obtained. 1. There occurred a hyperplasia of lymph nodes, spleen and thymus, that is to say, a status thymicolymphaticus. This phenomenon is explained as due to immediate local irritation caused by bacteria and their products and by certain "toxins" partly of exogenous, partly of endogenous, origin. 2. The lymphocytosis which appeared was parallel in time and degree with the hyperplasia of the peripheral lymph nodes (axillary, popliteal and cervical lymph nodes) and probably originated in the pseudo-secondary nodules of these nodes. 3. There occurred intense mesenchymal reaction in the vascular connective tissue of the lungs, liver and spleen and after large doses slighter ones in adrenals, kidneys and heart. These reactions correspond with Oeller's adventitial reactions and Siegmund's intima proliferations. In the interstitial tissue of these organs as well as in the walls of the minor vessels proliferations of cells, partly of the type of lymphocytes and plasma cells, partly of that of histiocytes and reticulo-endothelial cells, appeared, which, after large doses, were mixed with many giant cells of Langerhans' type. After small doses lymphocytes and plasma cells predominated, after large doses histiocytes and reticulo-endothelial cells. Because these reactions occurred immediately after the first injection, they can be regarded as primary reactions of the organism to bacteria and their products.
The Marketing Battle Over Genetically Modified Foods False Assumptions About Consumer Behavior

Although proponents assume that good science sells and that the biotechnology issue will soon become a nonissue, opponents of biotechnology assume that consumers want to be informed and that the risks of the unknown are more important than benefits. Using current models of consumer behavior, this article examines eight incorrect assumptions about consumers. Understanding the processing style of consumers and how it influences their attitudes suggests changes that both opponents and proponents can make to educate consumers more effectively.
Theory of resonant tunneling through quantum dots in the presence of electron-phonon interaction

Abstract Structures where the electrons of a two-dimensional electron gas are confined to disconnected regions can be fabricated by the use of appropriate gate geometries. The transport between these electrostatically defined quantum dots takes place by tunneling. Using the tunneling Hamiltonian approach we present a theoretical model of the system including electron-phonon interaction. The relevant coupling constants are determined from realistic wave functions for the expected confinement potentials. The phonon part of the Hamiltonian is diagonalized using a canonical transformation. Starting from the determination of the transmission matrix for the interacting system we calculate the current-voltage characteristics for different temperatures and phonon coupling strengths.
The rank of a quiver representation

Abstract We define a functor which gives the “global rank of a quiver representation” and prove that it has nice properties which make it a generalization of the rank of a linear map. We demonstrate how to construct other “rank functors” for a quiver Q, which induce ring homomorphisms (called “rank functions”) from the representation ring of Q to Z . These rank functions give discrete numerical invariants of quiver representations, useful for computing tensor product multiplicities of representations and determining some structure of the representation ring. We also show that in characteristic 0, rank functors commute with the Schur operations on quiver representations, and the homomorphisms induced by rank functors are λ-ring homomorphisms.
Assessment of Carbon-Phenolic-in-Air Chemistry Models for Atmospheric Reentry

Recent and future re-entry vehicle designs use ablative material as the main component of the heat shield of their thermal protection system. In order to properly predict the behavior of the vehicle, it is imperative to take into account the gases produced by the ablation process when modeling the reacting flow environment. In the case of charring ablators, where an inner resin is pyrolyzed at a relatively low temperature, the composition of the gas expelled in the boundary layer is complex and might lead to thermal chemical reactions that cannot be captured with simple flow chemistry models. In order to obtain better predictions, a proper gas flow chemistry model needs to be included in the CFD calculations. The present paper proposes to compare three published reaction sets that are relevant to carbon-phenolic ablators, such as PICA, the ablative material that was used on the Stardust return capsule and that will be used on the entry vehicle of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL). Because extensive differences are found in boundary layer composition and heat fluxes, both convective and radiative, a new model is proposed.
Neuroglian is expressed on cells destined to form the prothoracic glands of Manduca embryos as they segregate from surrounding cells and rearrange during morphogenesis

Abstract A cell surface protein (3B11) is differentially expressed in the embryonic labial segment ofManducaas two circular monolayers of epithelial cells invaginate and segregate from surrounding epithelial cells. The cells that invaginate and preferentially express 3B11 represent the presumptive prothoracic glands. These cells continue to express protein 3B11 as they rearrange to form first a three-dimensional aggregate and later anastomosing filaments of cells. In the differentiated prothoracic gland, expression of 3B11 is restricted to sites of cell–cell contact. Cloning and sequencing of the cDNA for protein 3B11 revealed that this protein is theManducacounterpart ofDrosophilaneuroglian and mouse L1. These surface proteins are known to function as adhesion/recognition molecules during development.Manducaneuroglian shares 58 and 31% identity respectively with theDrosophilaand mouse proteins and has a cytoplasmic domain of over 100 amino acids.
Snack Quality Evaluation Method Based on Image Features and Neural Network Prediction

Quality maintenance of food products like snacks and chips is a challenging problem in the food processing industry. At present, it is typical for food companies to determine “quality’’ standards using a sensory panel of trained experts. Process operators sample and observe the product to ensure it is similar to target flavor and quality. This process is subjective and prone to differences. A neural network approach via image texture and shape features is investigated in this study for the evaluation of the quality of typical snack products. Although quality of food, especially snacks and chips, is very difficult to quantify, some external attributes of the product are indicators of the snack eating quality. External texture features (which can reflect internal structure), together with the size and shape features of snacks are used to describe the quality from a texture (mouthfeel) standpoint. A backpropagation neural network was trained with a large number of samples having texture and morphological features as input and sensory attributes as output. The network is shown to predict the sensory attributes of the snack quality with a reasonable degree of accuracy. The analysis is validated through a comparison of the predicted sensory attributes obtained by the network to those from a taste panel on untrained samples. The developed methodology can be used in the food industry to evaluate the snack quality in a nondestructive sense.
Stepwise Mechanisms in Cyclopropylcarbene Reactions

Decomposition of a naphtho-fused cyclopropyldiazomethane leads to benzocyclooctatetraene, 1-vinylnaphthalene, 2-vinylnaphthalene, and small amounts of benzobarrelene. Diradical intermediates are postulated.
Development and validation of a HPTLC method for simultaneous estimation of lornoxicam and thiocolchicoside in combined dosage form.

Aim: To develop a simple, precise, rapid and accurate HPTLC method for the simultaneous estimation of Lornoxicam (LOR) and Thiocolchicoside (THIO) in bulk and pharmaceutical dosage forms. Materials and Methods: The separation of the active compounds from pharmaceutical dosage form was carried out using methanol:chloroform:water (9.6:0.2:0.2 v/v/v) as the mobile phase and no immiscibility issues were found. The densitometric scanning was carried out at 377 nm. The method was validated for linearity, accuracy, precision, LOD (Limit of Detection), LOQ (Limit of Quantification), robustness and specificity. Results: The Rf values (±SD) were found to be 0.84 ± 0.05 for LOR and 0.58 ± 0.05 for THIO. Linearity was obtained in the range of 60–360 ng/band for LOR and 30–180 ng/band for THIO with correlation coefficients r2 = 0.998 and 0.999, respectively. The percentage recovery for both the analytes was in the range of 98.7–101.2 %. Conclusion: The proposed method was optimized and validated as per the ICH guidelines. Key words: Densiotometry, HPTLC, lornoxicam, method validation, thiocolchicoside.
Effects of intelligibility on working memory demand for speech perception

Understanding low-intelligibility speech is effortful. In three experiments, we examined the effects of intelligibility on working memory (WM) demands imposed by perception of synthetic speech. In all three experiments, a primary speeded word recognition task was paired with a secondary WM-load task designed to vary the availability of WM capacity during speech perception. Speech intelligibility was varied either by training listeners to use available acoustic cues in a more diagnostic manner (as in Experiment 1) or by providing listeners with more informative acoustic cues (i.e., better speech quality, as in Experiments 2 and 3). In the first experiment, training significantly improved intelligibility and recognition speed; increasing WM load significantly slowed recognition. A significant interaction between training and load indicated that the benefit of training on recognition speed was observed only under low memory load. In subsequent experiments, listeners received no training; intelligibility was manipulated by changing synthesizers. Improving intelligibility without training improved recognition accuracy, and increasing memory load still decreased it, but more intelligible speech did not produce more efficient use of available WM capacity. This suggests that perceptual learning modifies the way available capacity is used, perhaps by increasing the use of more phonetically informative features and/or by decreasing use of less informative ones.
Altered histofluorescent pattern of noradrenergic innervation of the cerebellum of the mutant mouse purkinje cell degeneration

Abstract The Purkinje target cells for noradrenergic fibers originating in the locus coeruleus are considered to be of importance in the regulation of noradrenergic input to the cerebellum. The availability of a mouse mutant, Purkinje cell degeneration provides a non-surgical means for studying cellular regulation of innervation. Using a glyoxylic acid histofluorescent method for visualizing noradrenergic fibers, the observations have been made that the density of green histofluorescent neuntes is markedly increased in both the granule and molecular layers of the cerebellum of Purkinje cell degeneration mice, following spontaneous degeneration of the Purkinje cells. However, because of tissue shrinkage, tissue concentration of norepinephrine also increases, but total tissue content of norepinephrine is unchanged in whole cerebellum and outer cerebellar cortex. These findings indicate that the relative number of noradrenergic afferents to the molecular layer of the cerebellum is not reduced following spontaneous degeneration of Purkinje cells. Therefore, Purkinje target cells do not appear to be essential for maintenance of afferent inputs in mature cerebellum.
Use of a simple visual display to reduce eye movement artifacts in CNV recordings

Abstract Involuntary ocular rotation has been previously reported as being a significant source of artifact in recordings of the contingent negative variation (CNV). Attempts at reducing eye movement by having the subject fixate his gaze have been only partially successful. A technique is described which employs a simple cathode-ray tube display for presentation of both S1 and S2 in the stimulus-response paradigm. By making both stimuli difficult to detect and thus requiring constant attention to the visual display, it was found that involuntary ocular rotations (though not eyeblinks) were virtually eliminated. In CNV studies were stimulus modality is not an independent variable, the stimulus-presentation technique described here should prove superior to others, particularly those involving auditory cues.
Impact of Prenatal Exposure to Cocaine and Tobacco on Diffusion Tensor Imaging and Sensation Seeking in Adolescents

Objective To study white matter integrity with diffusion tensor imaging in adolescents with prenatal cocaine exposure, tobacco exposure, or both. Study design Subjects included 20 adolescents with prenatal cocaine exposure (15 with tobacco exposure) and 20 non-cocaine-exposed subjects (8 with tobacco exposure). Diffusion tensor imaging measures were assessed in 5 subregions of the corpus callosum. The Sensation Seeking Scale for Children was administered to evaluate behavioral inhibition. Results No significant differences were found between the cocaine-exposed and non-cocaine-exposed groups in each subregion of the corpus callosum on measures of fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity, although the cocaine-exposed group showed a trend (P = .06) toward higher FA in projections to the supplementary motor area and premotor cortex. Prenatal tobacco exposure was associated with decreased FA in the supplementary motor area and premotor cortex projections after adjustment for relevant co-variates (P = .03). Decreased FA was related to more sensation seeking in the adolescents who were prenatally exposed to tobacco. Conclusion Prenatal tobacco exposure could affect white matter integrity, which is related to sensation seeking in adolescents. Developmental neurotoxins might have differential influences on white matter maturation in adolescence.
a Scenario for the Absence of Localisation in 1-DIMENSION

We review here the random dimer model of a binary alloy which we have recently demonstrated exhibits an absence of localisation. Specifically we show that if one (or both) of the site energies is assigned at random to pairs of lattice sites (that is, two sites in succession), an initially localised particle can become delocalised. We show explicitly that transport obtains in this model because of the electronic states are extended over the whole sample. The relevance of this model to the insulator-metal transition in polyaniline is discussed. The dual of the random dimer model is also shown to exhibit an absence of localisation and is shown to be relevant to transmission resonances in Fibonacci lattices.
A fluorescent diastereoselective molecular sensor for 1,2-aminoalcohols based on the rhodamine B lactone–zwitterion equilibrium

A simple yet highly sensitive diastereoselective fluorescent assay was developed, which can differentiate diastereomeric 1,2-aminoalcohols such as ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and methylephedrine using commercially available xanthene dyes. The assay is based on the rhodamine B lactone–zwitterion equilibrium, which is highly sensitive to the presence and structure of 1,2-aminoalcohols. This is in contrast to the majority of rhodamine sensors, which are based on the pH sensitive carboxylate–lactone equilibrium. A model is proposed in which the diastereoselectivity arises from the differences in the strength of an intermolecular lone pair-π interaction within the analyte–rhodamine zwitterion complex. An assay was developed based on this sensing mechanism in which the structure and concentration of a 1,2-aminoalcohol solution can be determined using a mixture of rhodamine B and fluorescein. The selectivity and accuracy of this two-dye system was then demonstrated by the ability to measure the diastereomeric excess of samples of methylephedrine with 98% accuracy.
A common cause of alcoholism

A common cause of alcoholism is the nonalcoholic. At least half of the nonalcoholics have a family member who is not alcoholic. The classic "enabler" is the caretaker of the alcoholic. Without the enabler, alcoholism would dwindle. The so-called innocent bystanders are not consciously intending to harm the alcoholic. Most of the time there is no conscious intention to help the alcoholic continue drinking and inflicting self-destruction. The innocent bystander must become guilty. The guilty must confront the alcoholic with the consequences of alcoholism. The concerned must refuse to make excuses for the alcoholic's failure and resentment. The innocent bystander may lack willpower more than the alcoholic by refusing to look alcoholism in the eye.
Outdoor monitoring and high voltage bias testing of PV modules as necessary test for assuring long term reliability

At present the failure modes and mechanism of PV modules are not well understood. The current accelerated tests cannot duplicate the various field failures. It is very important to continue to carry out accelerated testing of PV modules in order to reduce the infant mortality of new technology PV modules as well as to improve the production techniques of the PV modules. However, the accelerate tests need to be complemented with actual field deployment of PV modules and specifically designed tests in real world conditions or preferably in harsh climates. In this work the inclusion of outdoor monitoring of PV modules and high voltage bias testing of PV modules in real world climatic conditions in the current best practices for PV module reliability testing is being proposed. One of the objectives of this paper is to show the importance of carrying out continuous monitoring of field deployed PV modules as well as high voltage bias testing of PV modules over an extended period of time.
Effects of aging on T cell function

Immunosenescence influences many components of the immune system. Most importantly, profound changes in T cell function are evident in older individuals. The impact of aging on specific T cell subsets has been difficult to examine, but recent advances in murine model systems and new insights into T cell function have allowed for the more precise examination of how T cell responses change with aging. Importantly, recent studies have shown that age-related enhancement of both Th17 generation and regulatory T cell function may contribute to significant changes in immune function. In this review, we summarize the current views on how aging influences the factors that impact T cell function and how this can affect the immune response to infections, vaccinations, and tumors.
Particle Velocity Measurements Of Laser-Induced Shock Waves Using ORVIS

This paper discusses experiments in which 2 to 200-pm-thick aluminum foils were irradiated with Nd/YAG laser pulses at 3-4 GW/cm2 for 10 nsec. An optically recording velocity interferometer system (ORVIS) was used to record the resulting particle-velocity histories with nanosecond resolution. Results show that foils suspended in air are accelerated, over a period about three times the length of the laser pulse, to a final velocity inversely proportional to foil thickness. A 12-pm-thick foil attains a peak velocity of 0.2 km/sec. Foils confined by water undergo most of their acceleration during the laser pulse and attain surface velocities three times greater than do air-suspended foils of the same thickness.
Punitive damages and the recklessness requirement with uninformed injurers

Juries/courts sometimes award large punitive damages when the probability of detecting harm is high and take the recklessness of actions into account. However, economic theory suggests punitive damages should generally be low in such contexts. We argue that juries may be acting wisely. In particular, we show that: (a) even if the probability of conviction is one, punitive damages can raise welfare by aligning an injurer's perceived and actual benefit of care; and (b) a recklessness requirement for awarding punitive damages can be welfare-enhancing when there is uncertainty about the court's view of appropriate care.
“What are all these Dogs Doing at School?”: Using Therapy Dogs to Promote Children's Reading Practice

(2005). “What are all these Dogs Doing at School?”: Using Therapy Dogs to Promote Children's Reading Practice. Childhood Education: Vol. 81, No. 3, pp. 152-158.
Managing the assessment of neonatal jaundice: importance of timing.

In view of the limitations in the accurate visual assessment of jaundice and its potential role as a predictive vector for serious neurologic sequelae, we propose that a universal screening of bilirubin be considered concurrent to the routine pre-disharge metabolic screening. Universal bilirubin screening in the term and near-term newborns when plotted on “Hour-specific Bilirubin Nomogram” in lieu of the usual “day-specific” value will predict the high-risk and the low-risk groups and facilitate cost-effective and individualized follow-up of those babies at risk. A percentile based bilirubin nomogram for the first week of age was constructed from hour-specific pre-and post-discharge bilirubin values of 2840 healthy term and near-term babies. The accuracy of the pre-discharge bilirubin values was determined as a predictive vector. Pre-discharge (18–72 hours age), 6.1% of the study population had bilirubin values in the high-risk zone (>95th percentile). Of these, 39.5% remained in that zone (likelihood ratio {LR}=14.08). Pre-discharge, 32.1% of the study population had bilirubin values in the intermediate risk zone (40–75th percentiles). In a clinically significant minority of these babies (6.4%), the post-discharge values moved to the high-risk zone (L−R=3.2 for the move from the upper-intermediate zone and 0.48 from the lower-intermediate zone). In the remainder 61.8% of the population who were identified to be at low risk, there was no measurable risk for significant hyperbilirubinemia (L–R =0). The bilirubin nomogram can predict which infant is at high, intermediate, and low risk for subsequent excessive hyperbilirubinemia and allows for the individualized follow-up of these high-risk babies with particular attention to those who may need evaluation and intervention. Whereas, identification of the low risk group allows for a less intense bilirubin follow-up and in whom a visual check by an experienced care-provider may suffice.
Digital image correlation using Newton-Raphson method of partial differential correction

Digital image correlation is finding wider use in the field of mechanics. One area of weakness in the current technique is the lack of available displacement gradient terms. This technique, based on a coarse-fine search method, is capable of calculating the gradients. However the speed at which it does so has prevented widespread use. Presented in this paper is the development and limited experimental verification of a method which can determine displacements and gradients using the Newton-Raphson method of partial corrections. It will be shown that this method is accurate in determining displacements and certain gradients, while using significantly less CPU time than the current coarse-fine search method.
Control decisions and personal beliefs: their effect on solving mathematical problems

Abstract The main purpose of this paper is to discuss how college students enrolled in a college level elementary algebra course exercised control decisions while working on routine and non-routine problems, and how their personal belief systems shaped those control decisions. In order to prepare students for success in mathematics we as educators need to understand the process steps they use to solve homework or examination questions, in other words, understand how they “do” mathematics. The findings in this study suggest that an individual’s belief system impacts how they approach a problem. Lack of confidence and previous lack of success combined to prompt swift decisions to stop working. Further findings indicate that students continue with unsuccessful strategies when working on unfamiliar problems due to a perceived dependence of solution strategies to specific problem types. In this situation, the students persisted in an inappropriate solution strategy, never reaching a correct solution. Control decisions concerning the pursuit of alternative strategies are not an issue if the students are unaware that they might need to make different choices during their solutions. More successful control decisions were made when working with familiar problems.
A distributed continuous-time algorithm for network localization using angle-of-arrival information

This paper studies the angle-of-arrival (AOA) localization problem, namely, localizing networks based on the angle-of-arrival measurements between certain neighboring network nodes together with the absolute locations of some anchor nodes. We propose the concepts of stiffness matrix and fixability for the anchored formation graphs modeling the networks, and show that they provide a complete characterization of the AOA localizability as well as an explicit formula for the localization result. Moreover, a distributed continuous-time algorithm is proposed that converges globally to the correct localization result on fixable formation graphs. Performances of the proposed algorithm, e.g.,?convergence rate and robustness to communication delay, are characterized and optimized. Sensitivities of the localization results with respect to errors in AOA measurements and anchor node positions are also analyzed.
Aggregation and disaggregation kinetics of human blood platelets: Part III. The disaggregation under shear stress of platelet aggregates

In the preceding two papers (1, 2), a population balance equation (PBE) mathematical model was developed, validated, and applied to the analysis of platelet aggregation kinetics under the influence of hydrodynamic shear stress. The present work involves the application of the model to the analysis of platelet reactions under shear stress in circumstances where disaggregation processes are of dominant importance: the disaggregation of aggregates formed in response to added agonists. Aggregation-disaggregation experiments were performed in the constant shear field of a rotational viscometer, and the evolution of the particle size distribution was determined by use of an electronic particle counter. The PBE model was used to simulate the experimental results. Exploratory calculations made it possible to reduce a rather complete, complex model to a more tractable form which retains the capability of simulating the experimental observations. For the experimental conditions studied, disaggregation by a splitting mechanism was found to be of dominant importance. The surface erosion mechanism can be neglected without significant impact on results. Physical reasoning confirmed by exploratory calculations showed that a discontinuous form of the breakage rate expression which incorporates a minimum friable particle size, gives significantly better results than a continuous expression. A simple step function void fraction parameter was found to be at least as successful as a more complicated, continuous function. The resulting simplified model has the potential of increasing our understanding of kinetics and mechanisms of platelet reactions, and of characterizing the state of platelet activity. Hence, it may be useful in efforts to understand thrombotic and hemostatic processes.
Uracil incorporation into genomic DNA does not predict toxicity caused by chemotherapeutic inhibition of thymidylate synthase

Thymidylate synthase (TS) is an important target of several chemotherapeutic agents, including 5-FU and raltitrexed (Tomudex). During TS inhibition, TTP levels decrease with a subsequent increase in dUTP. Uracil incorporated into the genome is removed by base excision repair (BER). Thus, BER initiated by uracil DNA glycosylase (UDG) activity has been hypothesized to influence the toxicity induced by TS inhibitors. In this study we created a human cell line expressing the Ugi protein inhibitor of UNG family of UDGs, which reduces cellular UDG activity by at least 45-fold. Genomic uracil incorporation was directly measured by mass spectrometry following treatment with TS inhibitors. Genomic uracil levels were increased over 4-fold following TS inhibition in the Ugi-expressing cells, but did not detectably increase in UNG proficient cells. Despite the difference in genomic uracil levels, there was no difference in toxicity between the UNG proficient and UNG-inhibited cells to folate or nucleotide-based inhibitors of TS. Cell cycle analysis showed that UNG proficient and UNG-inhibited cells arrested in early S-phase and resumed replication progression during recovery from RTX treatment almost identically. The induction of γ-H2AX was measured following TS inhibition as a measure of whether uracil excision promoted DNA double strand break formation during S-phase arrest. Although γ-H2AX was detectable following TS inhibition, there was no difference between UNG proficient and UNG-inhibited cells. We therefore conclude that uracil excision initiated by UNG does not adequately explain the toxicity caused by TS inhibition in this model.
Polarized infrared spectra of azobenzene

Abstract Polarized infrared spectra of solid azobenzene are presented for the frequency interval, 670 to 5000 cm −1 . Data are given for oriented specimens in which the (001) and (010) planes are perpendicular to the incident energy. The observed directions of the transition moments for the class A 1 and B 1 vibrations of the phenyl ring are 6 to 24 degrees removed from the directions predicted on the basis of isolated phenyl ring vibrations. Factor group analysis of the polarization data was not as successful as was the group frequency analysis.
The surgical anatomy of the porta hepatis.

Abstract The anatomy of the porta hepatis, with particular emphasis on the hilar relationships of the bile ducts to the portal vein, has been investigated in 30 fresh cadaver specimens. Meticulous dissertion delineated three major types of anatomic variations. Type A, the most common, revealed a left hepatic duct which, when it branched, sent its largest and major tributary beneath the portal vein to the lateral segment of the left lobe. Type B was characterized by the major division of the left hepatic duct running parallel to the portal vein into the hepatic sulcus. In Type C the divisions were of equal caliber. These observations should assist the surgeon in dissections of the hepatic ducts above their confluence.
A Survey of Nebulae around Galactic Wolf-Rayet Stars in the Southern Sky. III. Survey Completion and Conclusions

We present the conclusion of a narrow-band optical CCD survey of Wolf-Rayet stars in the southern portion of the Milky Way. In this part of the survey we complete our survey of the southern Galaxy and report the detection of 10 new optical nebulae associated with Wolf-Rayet stars. This brings the final survey total to 40 Wolf-Rayet stars with associated nebulae in 114 southern Galactic fields for a 35% detection rate. Our results suggest that the Galactic environment has little apparent effect on the detection rate of nebulae associated with Wolf-Rayet stars. Indeed, a more important role in the production of nebulae is likely to be played by the evolution of the central star. The survey results also suggest a slightly higher incidence of nebula detection around WN stars over WC stars, although nebulae associated with WC stars are noted as being generally larger and some may have been missed through being larger than the CCD array used. Indeed, the increased rate of nebula detection compared to that of a northern Galactic survey can be accounted for solely through the fact that a larger region of sky around the Wolf-Rayet stars was imaged in our southern survey as compared to the northern survey. Larger nebulae existing around WC as opposed to WN stars are also consistent with the current theory of the evolution of Wolf-Rayet stars from WN to WC.
Identification of a retinal protein in Drosophila with antibody to the α subunit of bovine brain Go protein

An antibody directed against the alpha(o) subunit of bovine brain G(o) (R4) was used to identify a Drosophila retinal protein which may be the analogue of vertebrate transducin. The immunoreactivity appears predominantly in the retinal and occellar rhabdomeres. On a Western blot, the antibody recognizes a 41 kDa protein that is present in the heads of yellow white flies, but not in the heads of eyeless mutant flies, eyes absent. This protein is not recognized by an antibody raised against Drosophila alpha(o). Antibody R4 intensely stains rhabdomeres and, to a lesser extent, the neuropil of the central nervous system in tissue sections of adult flies. Antibody to Drosophila alpha(o) stains the neuropil of the central nervous system, but does not stain rhabdomeres. In developing flies, faint immunoreactivity appears in the retinal rhabdomeres at about 70% of the time through pupal development and increases to its apparent adult maximal level about 1 day after eclosion. Tissue sections from a phototransduction mutant, norp A, have retinal immunoreactivity at normal levels up to about 1 week after eclosion, but by 2 weeks, immunoreactivity has largely disappeared. This disappearance parallels the degeneration of the retina in norp A mutants. In Drosophila and other invertebrates, light activates a phospholipase C in the retina. The identification of a protein in Drosophila rhabdomeres with an antibody raised against a mammalian G protein alpha subunit thought to be involved in phospholipase C activation suggests that there may be common structural features between the putative Drosophila transducin and alpha(o). The identification of regions common to mammalian alpha(o) and Drosophila transducin may then provide clues to the structural requirements for PLC activation.
Monitor preprocessor for Pthreads

A monitor construct is an abstract data type, which encapsulates private data with public methods to operate on that data. Mutual exclusion is provided implicitly by ensuring that procedures in the same monitor are not executed concurrently. Condition synchronization in monitors is provided explicitly by means of condition variables. This makes a concurrent program easier to develop and easier to understand. Although the Pthread library contains dozens of functions for threading and synchronization, it does not provide direct support for the monitor. Students must explicitly provide mutual exclusion around "monitor procedures" using mutex locks. However, monitor procedures by definition execute with implicit mutual exclusion. This makes it hard to teach the monitor concept in class and explain the semantic differences between monitors and semaphores. To solve this problem, we have designed and implemented a monitor preprocessor for Pthreads that provides explicit support for monitors in Pthreads.
Towards a next generation data center architecture: scalability and commoditization

Applications hosted in today's data centers suffer from internal fragmentation of resources, rigidity, and bandwidth constraints imposed by the architecture of the network connecting the data center's servers. Conventional architectures statically map web services to Ethernet VLANs, each constrained in size to a few hundred servers owing to control plane overheads. The IP routers used to span traffic across VLANs and the load balancers used to spray requests within a VLAN across servers are realized via expensive customized hardware and proprietary software. Bisection bandwidth is low, severly constraining distributed computation Further, the conventional architecture concentrates traffic in a few pieces of hardware that must be frequently upgraded and replaced to keep pace with demand - an approach that directly contradicts the prevailing philosophy in the rest of the data center, which is to scale out (adding more cheap components) rather than scale up (adding more power and complexity to a small number of expensive components).Commodity switching hardware is now becoming available with programmable control interfaces and with very high port speeds at very low port cost, making this the right time to redesign the data center networking infrastructure. In this paper, we describe monsoon, a new network architecture, which scales and commoditizes data center networking monsoon realizes a simple mesh-like architecture using programmable commodity layer-2 switches and servers. In order to scale to 100,000 servers or more,monsoon makes modifications to the control plane (e.g., source routing) and to the data plane (e.g., hot-spot free multipath routing via Valiant Load Balancing). It disaggregates the function of load balancing into a group of regular servers, with the result that load balancing server hardware can be distributed amongst racks in the data center leading to greater agility and less fragmentation. The architecture creates a huge, flexible switching domain, supporting any server/any service and unfragmented server capacity at low cost.
Education Finance Reform, Education Spending, and Student Performance Evidence From Maryland’s Bridge to Excellence in Public Schools Act

The disparities in achievement among income and racial-ethnic groups of students have long been a major concern of educational policies. Among several identified factors that help explain the stude...
DISCOVERING DETERMINANTS OF PROJECT PARTICIPATION IN AN OPEN SOURCE SOCIAL NETWORK

Successful open source software projects often require a steady supply of self motivated software developers. However, little work has been done from a relational/network perspective to study the factors that drive the developers to participate in OSS projects. In this paper, we investigate the participation dynamics in a social network, particularly in an online open source community called Ohloh. Through a REST-based API, we collected information about 11,530 open source software projects involving 94,330 developers. Using social network analysis and statistical analysis methods, we examine a set of social and technical factors in the Ohloh dataset, which we define as the determinants that significantly influence the developers’ participation choices. We found that the determinants include (1)homophily in programming language, (2)project mutual acquaintance, and (3)project age. In addition, our research findings provide the possibility of predicting developers’ participation choices based on the discovered determinants, and therefore can have important implications for OSS project management and in designing social network enabled recommendation systems.
Politicizing Precarity, Producing Visual Dialogues on Migration: Transnational Public Spaces in Social Movements

En un periodo caracterizado por la debil aceptacion publica sobre la integracion europea, el proposito de este articulo es analizar imagenes creadas por los activistas transnacionales que buscan politizar la cuestion social y la subjetividad de los migrantes en la Union Europea (UE) Explorare el contenido de los carteles e imagenes producidos por los activistas de los movimientos sociales para sus acciones europeas de protesta locales y conjuntas, y compartidas en blogs y paginas web. Sospecho que la poco explorada dimension visual de los espacios publicos transnacionales emergentes creada por los activistas ofrece un prometedor campo de analisis. Mi intencion es dar un ejemplo empirico de como podemos estudiar el potencial de los "dialogos visuales" en los espacios publicos transnacionales creados dentro de los movimientos sociales. Un caso interesante para el analisis visual es la red popular de los grupos activistas locales que crearon un comun "Dia euro en mayo" contra la precariedad y que movilizaron marchas de protesta por todo Europa. Primero discutire la importancia de los "dialogos visuales" en tales protestas desde la perspectiva de teorias discursivas de democracia y de estudios de movimientos sociales. Luego discuto el compartir las imagenes visuales de los activistas transnacionales como una practica cultural potencialmente innovadora que tuvo como objetivo politizar y reinterpretar los imaginarios oficiales de ciudadania, la flexibilidad del trabajo y la libre movilidad en Europa. Tambien discuto los limites de los "dialogos visuales" transnacionales emergentes planteados por las culturas visuales de lugares especificos. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs1002308
CHOICE BETWEEN FOOD AND HEROIN: EFFECTS OF MORPHINE, NALOXONE, AND SECOBARBITAL

Abstract Baboons responded on a choice task on which discrete trials involved choosing between an intravenous injection of heroin (.32 or 1.0 mg/kg) or the availability of food pellets. An intertrial interval of three hours followed the completion of each trial. Under baseline conditions baboons consistently completed the eight available trials each day. Typically, animals chose heroin on three or four trials a day and food on the remaining trials. Animals tended to space the selection of heroin rather than choosing heroin on consecutive trials. A series of single-day experimental manipulations was undertaken to characterize performance further. Manipulation of the heroin dose produced shifts in the relative frequency of choosing the drug option which were inversely related to dose. Manipulation of number of pellets per food trial produced little change in distribution of choices. Noncontingent administration of morphine produced dose-related decreases in relative frequency of heroin choices, and a higher dose decreased the number of trials completed. Noncontingent naloxone produced dose-related increases in the relative frequency of heroin choices. Noncontingent secobarbital had no effect on distribution of choices, and high doses reduced the number of trials completed per day. The results suggest that morphine and naloxone produce shifts in this choice behavior by selectively interacting with the reinforcing properties of the option involving heroin.
TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR-α GENE MUTATIONS AND GENOTYPE CHANGES IN RENAL CELL CARCINOMA

Purpose: We tested the hypothesis that genotype changes in the promoter region of tumor necrosis factor-α and exon 1 are associated with renal cell carcinoma.Materials and Methods: We analyzed genotypic changes at the 3 polymorphic loci of tumor necrosis factor-α −238, −308 and 488 using tumor and normal tissues from 81 Japanese patients with renal cell carcinoma.Results: Of the 81 patients 14 (17%) had point mutations from G to A, including 8 (57%) with point mutations at multiple loci. Six of the 8 patients (75%) with point mutations at multiple loci were classified with stage 4 renal cell carcinoma. Of the 81 patients 14 were classified with stage 4 carcinoma, including 9 (64%) with point mutation from G to A. Normal tissue from cancer patients showed an increased frequency of the GA genotype at loci −238 and 488 compared to healthy controls (37% versus 9% and 30% versus 12%, respectively). The relative risk of renal cell carcinoma was 6.5-fold higher in patients with the GA genotype at locus −238 (p <...
Improved long-term survival with combined modality therapy for pediatric nasopharynx cancer

Abstract Purpose: Nasopharynx cancer is a rare malignancy in childhood. This study aims to determine the role of chemotherapy, the optimal dose of radiation, and the long-term outcome for children with locoregional disease. Methods and Materials: Thirty-three patients [median age 14 (range: 12–20) years] were treated for Stage I–IVB nasopharynx cancer. Thirteen patients (39%) received radiotherapy alone and 20 patients (61%) had chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The median radiation dose to the primary tumor was 66 Gy (range: 54–72 Gy). The median follow-up time for surviving patients was 8.4 years (range: 0.5–23.6 years). Results: The actuarial 10-year locoregional relapse–free survival, distant metastases–free survival, and overall survival rates were 77%, 68%, and 58%, respectively. Locoregional control was improved for patients treated with radiation doses >60 Gy compared to those receiving ≤60 Gy (93% vs. 60%, p p = 0.01). Combined modality therapy improved 10-year disease-free survival (84% vs. 35%, p p Conclusions: Excellent locoregional control is achieved with radiotherapy to the nasopharynx and neck when doses >60 Gy are used for gross disease. The addition of chemotherapy decreases the risk of distant metastases and increases survival.
Excimer laser surface processing of materials

Many bulk properties of materials such as fracture strength and toughness are limited by their surface properties, and many surface properties of interest such as tribology and corrosion resistance are dependent on the microstructure and local chemistry of the surface. Virtually any metal, including refractories, can be melted by single excimer laser pulses enabling the formation of novel alloys. The ability to tailor the surface using excimer laser processing, microstructurally by controlled rapid solidification and chemically by alloying, has broad application. In this paper we will discuss the use of excimer laser light to drive thermally activated processes in surfaces of both metals and ceramics in order to alter the surface properties of the materials. >