cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Enzyme-induced Formation of Spheres from Cells and Envelopes of Escherichia coli

Abstract Normal and filamentous whole cells and isolated envelopes of Escherichia coli B were exposed to various enzymatic treatments to remove surface layers and to characterize the component(s) conferring rigidity in this organism. Modification of cell rigidity was determined by sphere formation in both whole cells and isolated envelopes. Enzymes capable of converting trypsinized normal or untreated filamentous whole cells and untreated envelopes to spheres included: lysozyme plus ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, clostridial phospholipase C, and phospholipase D from cabbage. These data suggest that there are at least two components essential for maintenance of cell rigidity in E. coli B. The first is the peptidoglycan (mucopeptide), which is susceptible to lysozyme. The second is a phospholipid which is either covalently linked to the mucopeptide or in close association with it. This phospholipase C-sensitive component is protected more completely in normal than in filamentous whole cells by a protein layer which is easily modified by trypsin treatment to allow enzymatically induced sphere formation to occur.
30 ns 2K×9 (10) MTL RAM's with TTL and ECL Interface

This paper describes a set of three static MTL RAM products of up to 18K bits with various organisations and interfaces. Manufactured in a standard bipolar process with 2.5 ?m design rules, the chip sizes are within 25 mm2 and the typical access times are 30 ns.
Digital signal processing: a laboratory approach using PC-DSP

From the Publisher: This innovative text/disk package enables users to explore a variety of digital signal processing concepts through hands-on, interactive computer exercises. Paralleling the coverage of most undergraduate-level DSP texts, Digital Signal Processing begins the discussion of each topic with a brief introduction to its theory. This is followed by multi-part exercises - over 140 in all - that can be solved using the accompanying software. Each exercise was designed to explore a fundamental concept in digital signal processing. The accompanying software helps you generate, analyze, and process signals, compute transforms, as well as design and analyze filters. Features the student edition of PC-DSP version 2 (for MSDOS); emphasizes the use of computer graphics to illustrate signal processing concepts that may otherwise be difficult to grasp; uses an easy-to-learn interactive user interface, complete with context-sensitive on-line help features.
Philosophy of Science : A Contemporary Introduction

Preface 1. WHY PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE? The relationship between science and philosophy. Scientific questions and questions about science. Modern science as philosophy. Understanding science and understanding Western civilization 2. THE NATURE OF SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATION AND THE PHILOSOPHICAL PROBLEMS IT RAISES Defining scientific explanation. Why do laws explain? Counter-examples and the pragmatics of explanation. Causation and explanation. Explaining why and explaining how. Conclusion 3. SCIENTIFIC THEORIES, EPISTEMOLOGY AND METAPHYSICS Hypothetico-deductivism. The problem of theoretical terms and the things they name. Theories and models. The epistemology of scientific testing. Underdetermination 4. THE CHALLENGE OF HISTORY AND SOCIOLOGY OF SCIENCE A place for history? No place for first philosophy? From philosophy to history to relativism. Could the earth really be flat? Bibliography Index
An Estimate of the Minimum Amount of Unsaturated Fatty Acid Required for Growth of Escherichia coli

Abstract A temperature-sensitive unsaturated fatty acid auxotroph was used to demonstrate that the fabA gene of Escherichia coli is the structual gene for the β-hydroxydecanoyl thioester dehydrase studied by Bloch and co-workers. This mutant, which requires an exogenous source of unsaturated fatty acid for growth at temperatures above 36°, possesses a dehydrase activity of greatly increased thermolability. Analysis of fab+ and fab- transductants and of fab+ revertants indicate that the temperature-sensitive dehydrase activity is responsible for the growth phenotype of this strain. This mutant was then used for an estimation of the minimum amount of unsaturated fatty acid needed for growth. Due to its temperature-sensitive phenotype, at semipermissive temperatures the strain grows at a subnormal rate due to a reduced rate of unsaturated fatty acid synthesis. Under such conditions, a minimum amount of unsaturated fatty acid is reached which is 15 to 20% of the total phospholipid fatty acid. No marked accumulation of short chain saturated fatty acids is seen during growth at semipermissive temperatures. A similar study with another strain showed that the minimum content of unsaturated fatty acid needed for growth is largely independent of the ratio of palmitoleate to cis-vaccenate in the phospholipids. These results are discussed in terms of the role of unsaturated fatty acids in membrane structure and function and also in terms of the control of fatty acid synthesis.
Group composition, home range size, and diet of three sympatric bamboo lemur species (Genus hapalemur) in Ranomafana national Park, Madagascar

This is the first long-term, simultaneous, comparative study of three bamboo lemur species (Hapalemur griseus, H. aureus, and H. simus) at a site in southeastern-central Madagascar where they occur in sympatry. At Talatakely, Ranomafana National Park, the three Hapalemur spp. share overlapping home ranges. Hapalemur griseus has flexible group sizes, varying from three to nine individuals (n = 6). The home range of Hapalemur griseus averages 15 ha (n = 2). Hapalemur aureus forms family groups of ≤4 individuals (n = 3); they have a home range on average of 26 ha (n = 2). The single group of Hapalemur simus is composed of one or three adult males, two adult females, and their offspring; they occupy a home range of 62 ha. The three species of Hapalemur are year-round bamboo specialists: >88% of their diets consist of bamboo and grass in the Family Poaceae. Contrary to earlier findings, all three Hapalemur spp. consume the cynogenic parts—young leaf bases, young pseudopetioles, and young shoots—of the giant bamboo, Cathariostachys madagascariensis. They rely heavily on this plant, which comprises 72–95% of their diets. Hapalemur griseus and H. aureus consume similar proportions of bamboo vs. nonbamboo plants, though they differ in the species of bamboo they prefer. Hapalemur simus has the most distinct diet of the three bamboo lemurs. They exploit the young shoots of Cathariostachys madagascariensis during the austral summer rainy season, between November and April. From June to November, Hapalemur simus shifts its diet to eating the mature culm pith of Cathariostachys madagascariensis; the proportion of pith represented in their diet reaches a maximum of 89% in October. Seasonal availability of food resources, feeding competition, and factors related to body size may provide clues to the understanding of diet selection among the three sympatric Hapalemur spp.
A cultural perspective on organizations: the need for and consequences of viewing organizations as culture-bearing milieux

Meryl Reis Louis is an Assistant Professor of Organizational Sciences in the Department of Administrative Sciences at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. She received her M.S. and Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Management at UCLA. Before returning to the University for her doctorate, she was a management consultant on the staff of Arthur Andersen and Co. for 5 years and for several years served as a counselor working with individuals and groups in a community mental health center. Previously, Professor Louis was on the faculty at the University of illinois, Urbana-Champaign, in the Department of Business Administration. Her research interests center on cognitive and cultural processes in organizational settings, career transition management, early career decisions of MBA graduates, and epistemological issues in organiZational research. She has published articles in Adminstrative Science Quarterly, the Academy of Management Review, and the Proceedings of the Society for General Systems Research. She has contributed to several edited volumes, including Organizational Symbolism (edited by Louis R. Pondy et aI., Scott Foresman, in press) . Professor Louis is on the Board of Directors of the Organizational Behavior Teaching Society and is an active member of the Academy of Management.
Extending the versatility of the Bullard heat probe

A versatile probe for simultaneous studies of heat flow and near-bottom water parameters has evolved through modifications of the Bullard heat probe frame. Suitable sensor arrays have been used with this instrument to study (1) heat flow through the ocean floor, (2) water column temperature structure, (3) near-bottom current speeds, and (4) the differential cooling of water-column temperature sensors placed in a current speed gradient. Some of the advantages of such a modified Bullard probe are: (1) several parameters, including heat flow, can be measured across the sediment-water interface simultaneously, (2) the instrument frame is rigidly pinned to the ocean floor during measurement, permitting true Eulerian measurement in the water column with no effects of ship movement, swaying moorings or cable oscillation, and (3) the device is inexpensive and simple.
Tracking student use of selected control and hypertext features in a multimedia training system as a design aid

In this paper, we discuss a multimedia computer-based training program under development in our laboratory and our efforts to obtain noninvasive user data during the development process. Drawing on the work of Kozma (1991) and his concept of virtual medium, we present the structure of the software, the context of its use, the features selected for tracking the data obtained, and the advantages/disadvantages of obtaining data in a noncontrolled environment. >
Searching for Better Randomized Response Schemes for Privacy-Preserving Data Mining

To preserve user privacy in Privacy-Preserving Data Mining (PPDM), the randomized response (RR) technique is widely used for categorical data. Although various RR schemes have been proposed, there is no study to systematically compare them in order to find optimal RR schemes. In the paper, we choose the R-U (Risk-Utility) confidentiality map to compare different randomization schemes. Using the R-U map as our metric, we present an optimal RR scheme for binary data, which helps us find an optimal class of RR matrices. From this optimal scheme, we have discovered several heuristic rules among the elements in the optimal class. We generalize these rules to find optimal class of RR matrices for categorical data. Based on these rules, we propose an RR scheme to find a class of RR matrices for categorical data. Our experimental results have shown that our scheme has much better performance than the existing RR schemes.
Automated detection and location of microseismicity at Mount St. Helens with a large‐N geophone array

In the summer of 2014 a dense array of 904 geophones was deployed at Mount St. Helens along the road and trail system within 15 km distance of the summit crater. The array recorded continuous data for approximately 2 weeks and presents an unprecedented seismic observation of an active volcano. A reverse-time imaging method is applied to short-term-average over long-term-average time series data to automatically detect and locate microseismicity. These efforts resulted in an order of magnitude increase in earthquake detections over the normal monitoring operations of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network. Earthquake locations resolve a narrow, ≤1 km wide, vertical lineament of seismicity which extends from the surface to 4 km depth directly beneath the summit crater. This feature is interpreted as a fracture network that acts as a conduit connecting an underlying magma chamber to the surface.
Biphasic stimulation of amino acid uptake by glucagon in hepatocytes.

Abstract Glucagon, 1.4 μM, increased the steady-state distribution ratios of alanine and α-aminoisobutyric acid in rat hepatocytes. As a function of time, glucagon stimulated the one-min rates of uptake of alanine and α-aminoisobutyric acid in two distinct phases. In the first phase both valinomycin and glucagon rapidly increased the rate of alanine uptake in a medium containing 6 mEq/l K+ but not in one containing 12 mEq/l K+. Cycloheximide did not alter the first but completely abolished the second phase of stimulation. These results indicate that the biphasic stimulation of alanine uptake in liver produced by glucagon depends upon cell membrane hyperpolarization in the first phase and on protein synthesis in the second.
Microwave, infrared, and Raman spectra, structural parameters, vibrational assignments and theoretical calculations of 1,3-disilacyclopentane

Abstract The FT-microwave spectrum of 1,3-disilacyclopentane (c-C3H6Si2H4) has been recorded and 99 transitions for five isotopologues have been assigned for the twist form. The ground state rotational constants were determined from these assignments with following values for A = 4417.6710(7), B = 2887.0548(6), C = 1938.2171(6). From the experimentally reported microwave rotational constants and ab initio MP2(full)/6-311+G(d,p) predicted structural values, adjusted r0 parameters are reported for the most stable twist form distances (A) rCα Si = 1.886(2), rSi Cβ,Cβ′ = 1.888(2), rCβ Cβ′ = 1.552(2), and angles (°) ∠ SiCαSi = 103.9(3), ∠ CαSiCβ = 102.2(3), ∠ SiCβCβ′ = 106.4(3), and τCβSiCαSi = 11.5(3), τSiCβCβ′Si = 45.6(3). The conformational stabilities have been predicted from theoretical calculations with basis sets up to aug-cc-pVTZ from both MP2(full) and density functional theory calculations by the B3LYP method. Vibrational assignments have been made for the observed bands for the twist conformer and the interpretation is utilized by ab initio calculations to predict harmonic force constants, vibrational wavenumbers, infrared intensities, Raman activities and depolarization ratios. The results are discussed and compared to the corresponding properties of some related molecules.
Forgetting and (Not) forgotten in the digital future

Why does information force us to remember and to be remembered in certain ways? If we do have an information (particularly, digital information) future, and this is a future of being always present as, and to, information, then what are the political, social, and psychological risks involved? When, today, do we want-and have the right--to be forgotten? And when is remembering a form of forgetting, according to the times of our particular information day and age? This panel addresses the issue of forgetting and the right to be forgotten in the midst of information presents and futures, which remember us and make us remember at times and in ways that we don't always desire. Information presents and futures that sometimes force us to be remembered when we don't want to be remembered and sometimes construct the future, informationally, that is, as presents already said to be. The panel examines laws of forgetfulness, cultural technologies and techniques of remembering/forgetfulness, and the rights of readers and speakers to remain anonymous. It is important to sketch out the laws of forgetting, the technologies and techniques of forgetting, and the places or zones of forgetting, in order to see where information, as a form of presence and recall, has not yet been or is being barred from, sometimes by the strategic use of information itself. Sometimes such places or zones occur by legislation, sometimes by tradition and in practices (such as reading) and sometimes they ironically occur by the very overload of information itself, forming a type of forgetting that is not a relief, but rather, numbing. The occurrence of digital information has intensified these questions, as digital information increasingly occurs in multimedia, mobile, manners. Indeed, a history of modernity could be sketched out by examining not the founding, protection, and loss of private space--that is, as a history of being remembered--, but rather as a history of trying to be forgotten and of forgetting amidst an overabundance of information, and with this, the rights, spaces, difficulties and impossibilities today of being a person that is forgotten, solitary, or even inattentive and bored. Why, for example, can we no longer read today, but rather, are we more inclined to skim documents--and everything else for that matter--for information? What is the relation between the forgetting of reading, the overabundance of traditional and digital information, and our inability, today, to simply be bored; while instead of boredom today we are filled with anxiety for attention? Is this anxiety fueled by laws, technologies, and social practices which demand and engage our constant attention as information sources and as information “seeking” beings? In sum, what is the relation between information and forgetting today, and what does it mean if we cannot stop remembering and being remembered in a certain way (i.e., informationally), now and into our particular, digital, “information future”?
Electroanatomic Relationships in Patients With Primum Atrioventricular Septal Defect

Objectives The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that patients with primum atrioventricular septal defect (AVSD) have an imbalance in the positions of the left ventricular papillary muscles compared with healthy subjects, and that this anatomic imbalance correlates with left deviation of the QRS axis. Background The function and contraction pattern of the heart is best predicted when cardiac anatomy is considered together with its electrical activation sequence. Understanding the electroanatomic relationships is essential for discovering the developmental relationships between the conduction system and heart structures. Left deviation of the QRS axis is typically present in patients with primum AVSD. However, the pathophysiology of this phenomenon is not understood. Methods Thirty-five patients with primum AVSD and 35 healthy subjects were included in the study. Echocardiographic images were used to determine the papillary muscle positions. A 12-lead electrocardiogram was used to determine the QRS axis in the frontal plane in both patients and healthy subjects. Results An imbalance between papillary muscle positions in primum AVSD patients was defined as the position of the anterior papillary muscle closer to the septum and/or the position of the posterior papillary muscle further from the septum compared with the position of the papillary muscles in healthy subjects. In primum AVSD patients compared with control subjects, there was significant imbalance in the positions of the papillary muscles (p = 0.0007). The imbalance of papillary muscles correlated with deviation of the QRS (r = 0.5, p = 0.0019). Conclusions Abnormality in the position of the papillary muscles changes continuously with the abnormality of the QRS axis. Understanding the electroanatomic relationships provides important insight into developmental relationships between the conduction system and the trabecular structures in primum AVSD patients. These results may provide insights in understanding the continuity of primum AVSD abnormality, in estimating the best surgical approach, and predicting the prognosis of primum AVSD patients.
Production of oxalates In Vitro by Microbes Isolated from Rock Surfaces with prehistoric paints in the Lower Pecos Region, Texas

Calcium oxalate-rich rock coatings are ubiquitous on limestone inside dry rock shelters and under bluff overhangs along canyon walls in southwestern Texas. Prehistoric pictographs occur in more than 250 such sites, and the ancient paints are encapsulated within the natural rock coating. Previous studies suggest lichens were the source of the oxalate; however, we report here that microbes cultured and isolated from samples of the coating produce oxalate in vitro. Twenty different bacteria species have been identified in samples from eight different sites, with Bacillus the most common genus, represented by five species. HPLC analyses of inoculated R2B medium after eight months of bacterial growth revealed the presence of oxalate ions in the solid phase of the growth medium. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Early forms of terminal degeneration in the spinal trigeminal nucleus following rhizotomy.

Pars interpolaris of the spinal trigeminal nucleus in adult cats has been studied with the electron microscope at several early and consecutive postoperative survival times following retrogasserian rhizotomy. The results show that several different forms of degenerative changes occur in the axon terminals and some of these forms may be interpreted as stages in certain sequences of terminal degeneration.
Differential splicing of Pneumocystis carinii f. sp. carinii inosine 5'-monophosphate dehydrogenase pre-mRNA.

Abstract Inosine 5′-monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) is a rate-limiting enzyme in guanine nucleotide metabolism that has drawn attention as a drug target in several organisms. Pneumocystis carinii f. sp. carinii IMPDH mRNA (GeneBank Accession No: U42442) previously identified from cultured organisms yielded a predicted amino acid sequence about 70 amino acids shorter at the amino terminus than IMPDH from other species. Recent research has shown that the amino terminal region is important for enzyme activity, suggesting that the previous putative P. carinii IMPDH might not represent full length, functional enzyme. To test this hypothesis, RT-PCR was performed with total RNA isolated from P. carinii f. sp. carinii. Three IMPDH splicing variants were found and splicing preference was observed: P. carinii isolated from infected rat lung contained primarily splicing variant one (introns two and four deleted), but organisms from spinner flask culture contained primarily splicing variant three (all four introns deleted). Importantly, splicing variant one (GeneBank Accession No: AF196975) contained an open reading frame for 529 amino acids, a size comparable to that of other eukaryotic IMPDH forms. The other variants contained the same open reading frame (454 amino acids) previously reported. Sequence analysis and complementation studies suggest variant one represents the full length, catalytically active form of P. carinii IMPDH. The differential splicing of the enzyme may reflect a mechanism by which the organism regulates the expression of IMPDH in response to environmental stresses.
Religiosity and Moral Identity: The Mediating Role of Self-Control

The ethics literature has identified moral motivation as a factor in ethical decision-making. Furthermore, moral identity has been identified as a source of moral motivation. In the current study, we examine religiosity as an antecedent to moral identity and examine the mediating role of self-control in this relationship. We find that intrinsic and extrinsic dimensions of religiosity have different direct and indirect effects on the internalization and symbolization dimensions of moral identity. Specifically, intrinsic religiosity plays a role in counterbalancing the negative impact of extrinsic religiosity on the internalization of moral identity. Further, intrinsic religiosity also counterbalances the negative and indirect impact of extrinsic religiosity on symbolization of moral identity via self-control. Lastly, self-control does not play a mediating role in the impact of religiosity on the internalization dimension of moral identity. We conclude that this study presents important findings that advance our understanding of the antecedents of moral identity, and that these results may have implications for the understanding of ethical decision-making.
Reforming Juvenile Sentencing

The tragedy of Littleton, Colorado, where two high school students killed a number of their classmates and a teacher, before killing themselves, is the most deadly of a string of recent school shootings. Unlike any similar event, it has sparked a national dialogue on violent youth crime. How can it be prevented? Who is responsible for youth crime ? families, schools, the entertainment industry, the juvenile justice system? Once juveniles commit criminal offenses, what should society do to rehabilitate and reintegrate them while protecting the lives and property of those around them? Congress is currently considering a juvenile justice bill, introduced by Senator Orrin Hatch, that promises states funding in exchange for enacting harsher juvenile sentencing laws, requires the creation of a national database for juvenile offenders, and mandates the U.S. Sentencing Commission to develop juvenile sentencing guidelines. The national focus on juvenile crime caused FSR to turn its attention to juvenile sentencing. This Issue show cases a number of approaches ? state and international?to the sentencing of juveniles. It also presents several thought-provoking pieces on how to structure juvenile guidelines, should they become part of the new Commission's agenda.
Molecular mechanism of high strength and stretch of spider dragline

A molecular model is proposed for describing the unusual mechanical properties of spider dragline. We find that the high stretch and strength of the semi-crystalline fiber are due to the small size of the crystallites which create inside the amorphous region a thin interphase with modulus higher than in the bulk.
Albert Einstein on Writing

While a great scientist such as Albert Einstein may seem to work in another dimension of thought, Einstein struggled with converting that thought into words. He found a “model for scientific historical writing” in the work of Ernst Mach, an Austrian physicist. Mach's model, as modified by Einstein, takes the reader through the writer's thought processes—discovery of an anomaly, free variation of mental images, finding the invariant in those images, and the communication in words of the new concept. Einstein followed this model in his famous 1905 relativity paper, On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies [1].
Primary standards in activation analysis

The availability of natural matrix reference materials evaluated for trace element content has resulted in their widespread use as standards (i.e., calibration materials; comparators) for instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). Due to the uncertainties associated with their certified values, the limited number available, and the relative matrix independence of INAA, these reference materials are more properly utilized as quality assessment materials, after calibration of the INAA analytical system with true primary standards. Terminology is defined, the use of matrix reference materials to evaluate the analytical system is discussed, techniques for the accurate preparation of primary standards for trace element analyses are reviewed, and necessary precautions in the accurate comparison of samples to standards are presented.
Functions of writing and signs of organization in young children's written stories, inventories and personal correspondence

In order to better understand the multiple facets of young children's writing development, this study examines young children's emerging abilities to organize their written language performances under different writing conditions, before they are able to read and write conventionally. Sixteen, four‐ and five‐year‐old children, enrolled in a preschool program, responded to four writing tasks #opa story drawing‐writing task, a story writing task for a wordless picture book, a letter writing task and an emergent writing vocabulary inventory#cp. Specific information about the features of writing that children used to organize their written productions under different task conditions is provided. Relationships were found between level of organization in written language responses for a wordless picture book, a personal letter and an emergent writing vocabulary inventory. Results are discussed in light of previous research, theories of early writing development, implications for preschool programs and the need ...
Excessive running induces cartilage degeneration in knee joints and alters gait of rats

The goal of this study was to develop an aggressive running regimen for modeling osteoarthritis (OA) in rats. Twelve Wistar rats were randomly placed into either a running group or a non-running group to serve as the control. The running rats used a motorized treadmill to run either 30 km in 3 weeks or 55 km in 6 weeks. Each week, the prints of hind paws were obtained when rats were made to walk through a tunnel. The resulting prints were digitalized for analyses of stride length and step angle. The histology of the knees was examined at 3 and 6 weeks and the OA pathology in the knees was quantified by Mankin's score. Osteoarthritic pathology developed in the knees of the running rats, including decreased proteoglycan content, uneven type II collagen distribution in the cartilage matrix, increased MMP-13 expression, expanded calcified cartilage zone, and clefts and defects in articular cartilage. The pathology worsened from running for 3 to 6 weeks. Gait analysis revealed an inverse correlation between paw angle and the grades of OA pathology. In conclusion, excessive running induces joint degeneration and a unique gait pattern in rats.
Cell Type Dependent Regulation of Multidrug resistance-1 Gene Expression by AML1-ETO

The AML1-ETO fusion protein is generated from the 8;21 chromosome translocation that is commonly identified in acute myeloid leukemia. AML1-ETO is a DNA binding transcription factor and has been demonstrated to play a critical role in promoting leukemogenesis. Therefore, it is important to define the molecular mechanism of AML1-ETO in the regulation of gene expression. Here, we report that the effect of AML1-ETO on the promoter of multidrug resistance-1 (MDR1) gene, a known AML1-ETO target, is highly cell type specific. Besides observing repression of the MDR1 promoter in C33A and CV-1 cells as reported previously, AML1-ETO strongly activated the promoter in K562 and B210 cells. More importantly, this activation required both the AML1 and ETO portions of the fusion protein, but did not depend on the AML1 binding site in MDR1 promoter. Furthermore, results from promoter deletion analysis and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays suggested that this activation effect was likely through the influence of the general transcription machinery rather than promoter-specific factors. Based on these data, we propose that AML1-ETO may have opposing effects on gene expression depending on the various conditions of the cellular environment.
Creative approaches for reducing burnout in medical personnel

Abstract In today's healthcare environment, there is an urgent need to address job burnout because of its negative impact on medical personnel and consequently, service delivery to patients ( Gray-Toft & Anderson, 1981 ). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of music-imagery on self-reported burnout, sense of coherence and job satisfaction in nursing personnel, and to examine the self-reported perceptions of nursing personnel with regards to the music-imagery experiences. Sixty-five medical personnel who had direct patient contact participated in a two-arm randomized controlled mixed-methods trial. Results revealed that there were no statistically significant differences in change scores between the control and experimental groups for self-reported burnout, sense of coherence, and job satisfaction. Qualitative results on the subjects’ self-report of the interventions indicated that the music-imagery experience helped them to relax, rejuvenate, and re-focus, enabling them to complete their shifts with renewed energy. Various reasons for the differences between the qualitative and quantitative results were discussed, as well as implications for future research.
Effectiveness of fast recovery MOSFETs to reliability of switching power supplies

Several topologies for distributed power systems have been introduced to reduce power losses and device stress on the power devices while achieving high power density. Among them, resonant converters are very suitable for these applications since its performance delivers increased power efficiency, minimized components count and reduced EMI over previous power supply topologies. Furthermore, a synchronous rectification becomes essential building block in output stage of converters. Both LLC resonant converters and synchronous rectifiers utilize body diode of MOSFET during dead time. However, use of body diode of MOSFET in these applications can lead to system failures. An enhanced FRFET®, power MOSFET with fast recovery body diode, provides higher reliability at the same performance.
Trantas Dots and Limbal Inflammation Associated with Soft Contact Lens Wear

A 30-year-old man developed vernal-like limbal changes associated with soft contact lens wear including Trantas dots, limbal nodules, and diffuse limbitis. These findings add to the contention that the conjunctival changes found in giant papillary conjunctivitis and vernal conjunctivitis share a common immunopathogenesis.
Tetherin inhibits retrovirus release and is antagonized by HIV-1 Vpu

Human cells possess an antiviral activity that inhibits the release of retrovirus particles, and other enveloped virus particles, and is antagonized by the HIV-1 accessory protein, Vpu. This antiviral activity can be constitutively expressed or induced by interferon-α, and it consists of protein-based tethers, which we term ‘tetherins’, that cause retention of fully formed virions on infected cell surfaces. Using deductive constraints and gene expression analyses, we identify CD317 (also called BST2 or HM1.24), a membrane protein of previously unknown function, as a tetherin. Specifically, CD317 expression correlated with, and induced, a requirement for Vpu during HIV-1 and murine leukaemia virus particle release. Furthermore, in cells where HIV-1 virion release requires Vpu expression, depletion of CD317 abolished this requirement. CD317 caused retention of virions on cell surfaces and, after endocytosis, in CD317-positive compartments. Vpu co-localized with CD317 and inhibited these effects. Inhibition of Vpu function and consequent mobilization of tetherin’s antiviral activity is a potential therapeutic strategy in HIV/AIDS. Studies of Vpu, an HIV-1 accessory protein required for efficient HIV-1 particle release in some human cells, pointed to the existence of a tether based in a cell surface protein inducible by interferon-α. That tether has now been identified as the host cell molecule CD317— renamed tetherin — a membrane protein with no previously known function. Tetherin is shown to be involved in the retention of HIV-1 virions at the cell surface. Vpu neutralizes its effect, allowing the release and propagation of virus particles. Inhibition of Vpu function is therefore a possible therapeutic strategy in HIV/AIDS. The HIV protein Vpu is required for the release of viral particles. This paper shows that it counteracts the host cell protein CD317, renamed as tetherin. Tetherin is involved in the retention of newly budded HIV-1 virions at the cell surface.
2008 Peck Lecture: The Observational Method: Case History and Models

The observational method was used to design and construct an embankment over a deposit of soft sludge. The first part of the paper describes the case history of the project. The second part describes the use of analytical models as part of the observational method. The finite-element method and one-dimensional consolidation solution were used as prediction models. Bayesian updating was used to revise the material properties with observed performance. Advantages and limitations of updating are presented.
Myosin IIB and F-actin control apical vacuolar morphology and histamine-induced trafficking of H-K-ATPase-containing tubulovesicles in gastric parietal cells

Selective inhibitors of myosin or actin function and confocal microscopy were used to test the role of an actomyosin complex in controlling morphology, trafficking, and fusion of tubulovesicles (TV) containing H-K-ATPase with the apical secretory canaliculus (ASC) of primary-cultured rabbit gastric parietal cells. In resting cells, myosin IIB and IIC, ezrin, and F-actin were associated with ASC, whereas H-K-ATPase localized to intracellular TV. Histamine caused fusion of TV with ASC and subsequent expansion resulting from HCl and water secretion; F-actin and ezrin remained associated with ASC whereas myosin IIB and IIC appeared to dissociate from ASC and relocalize to the cytoplasm. ML-7 (inhibits myosin light chain kinase) caused ASC of resting cells to collapse and most myosin IIB, F-actin, and ezrin to dissociate from ASC. TV were unaffected by ML-7. Jasplakinolide (stabilizes F-actin) caused ASC to develop large blebs to which actin, myosin II, and ezrin, as well as tubulin, were prominently localized. When added prior to stimulation, ML-7 and jasplakinolide prevented normal histamine-stimulated transformations of ASC/TV and the cytoskeleton, but they did not affect cells that had been previously stimulated with histamine. These results indicate that dynamic pools of actomyosin are required for maintenance of ASC structure in resting cells and for trafficking of TV to ASC during histamine stimulation. However, the dynamic pools of actomyosin are not required once the histamine-stimulated transformation of TV/ASC and cytoskeleton has occurred. These results also show that vesicle trafficking in parietal cells shares mechanisms with similar processes in renal collecting duct cells, neuronal synapses, and skeletal muscle.
Usefulness of electrocardiographic abnormalities for the detection of atrial septal defect in adults.

investigated formally, we are unaware of any specific predisposing factors for the development of SANRT in these patients. All 5 patients had placement of atrial cannulas in standard fashion in the right atrial appendage, whereas the 4 patients undergoing Norwood I had concomitant standard atrial septectomy. However, given the association with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, one must wonder if there is an inherent abnormality of the sinus node that predisposes these patients to SANRT.
CLASSIC INVARIANTISM, RELEVANCE AND WARRANTED ASSERTABILITY MANŒVRES

Jessica Brown contends that Keith DeRose's latest argument for contextualism fails to rule out contextualism's chief rival, namely, classic invariantism. Still, even if their position has not been ruled out, classic invariantists must offer considerations in favour of their position if they are to show that it is superior to contextualism. Brown defends classic invariantism with a warranted assertability manœuvre that utilizes a linguistic pragmatic principle of relevance. I argue, however, that this manœuvre is not as effective as it might be. I propose a different warranted assertability manœuvre, which utilizes a pragmatic principle of strength, affords a more successful defence of classic invariantism, and helps to establish that classic invariantism is superior to contextualism.
Surgical Management of the Complications of Sepsis Involving the Aortic Valve, Aortic Root, and Ascending Aorta

Abstract Fifteen patients have undergone eighteen surgical procedures to correct defects related to active infection of the aortic valve or aortic root. Successful management can be obtained if the patients have reasonable myocardial reserve, excisable infection, and an infecting agent that is responsive to antibiotic therapy. The initial hospital mortality in this group was 3 deaths, and 9 patients are late survivors.
Medicine in research [Perspectives on Graduate Life]

The author gives his personal views on his transition from medical school to graduate school. He notes that it has been relatively smooth and, overall, extremely positive. One major problem during his undergraduate research experience was that he never fully understood why he was doing what he was doing, i.e., the big picture was missing. This made him substantially less excited about his research and about research in general. Though initially intending to apply to M.D.-Ph.D. programs right out of college, this problem eventually led him to apply to M.D.-only programs because he could not answer the question of whether he was disinterested in his current research due to lack of understanding or disinterested in research in general. It is difficult to commit to an eight-year (or longer) program without fully knowing the answer to that question. Two and a half years later he feels the two preclinical years of medical school inadvertently provided that big picture view. Now when he picks up a random journal article, he has a much better sense of the importance of study and why the particular study was conducted, which has allowed him to focus on the scientific merit of an article rather than getting stuck on trying to figure out the introduction and background information.
A top-down survival mechanism during early marine residency explains coho salmon year-class strength in southeast Alaska

Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) are a vital component in the southeast Alaska marine ecosystem and are an important regional fishery resource; consequently, understanding mechanisms affecting their year-class strength is necessary from both scientific and management perspectives. We examined correlations among juvenile coho salmon indices, associated biophysical variables, and adult coho salmon harvest data from southeast Alaska over the years 1997–2006. We found no relationship between summer indices of juvenile coho salmon growth, condition, or abundance with subsequent harvest of adult coho salmon in the region. However, using stepwise regression, we found that variation in adult coho salmon harvest was largely explained by indices of juvenile pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) abundance (67%) and zooplankton abundance (24%). To determine if high juvenile pink salmon abundance indicates favorable ‘‘bottom-up’’ lower trophic level environmental conditions for juvenile coho salmon, we plotted abundance of juvenile pink salmon against growth and condition of juvenile coho salmon. No change in growth or condition of juvenile coho salmon was observed in relation to the abundance index for juvenile pink salmon. Therefore, we hypothesize that coho salmon year-class strength in southeast Alaska is influenced by a ‘‘top-down’’ predator control mechanism that results from more abundant juvenile pink salmon, which serve as a predator buffer during early marine residency. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Visual sensitivity to the rate of electrically produced intermittence.

Temporal resolution of the neural and cortical components of vision was studied with periodic electric stimuli as a means of by-passing the photochemical retina. Difference-limens for discriminating the frequency of the faint flashes of light due to the passage of current through the eye were obtained at 13 frequencies between 5 and 45 cps. The wave form of the periodic current was square with no dc component, and the current level was set by a method developed to produce electrical phosphenes of the same intensity at each frequency. Data from two observers give average deviations (ΔF) from the standard frequency (F) of 0.11 to 0.62 cps. The relative difference-limens, ΔF/F, lie between 0.009 and 0.03. Graphic integration of 1/ΔF gives 127 just noticeable differences in the range studied. The graph relating ΔF and F shows ΔF to be a complex function of F. Recent data on the discrimination of photic intermittence also show ΔF to be a complex function of F, although of a quite different form in the frequency range between 15 and 40 cps. These results with square waves of current are compared with earlier work on the differential sensitivity of the eye to the frequency of sine waves.
Molecular electronics by the numbers

Abstract The paper gives an overview of recent work by the authors on first-principles, parameter-free calculations of electronic transport in molecules in the context of experimental measurements of current–voltage ( I – V ) characteristics of several molecules by Reed et al. The results show that the shape of I – V characteristics is determined by the electronic structure of the molecule in the presence of the external voltage whereas the absolute magnitude of the current is determined by the chemistry of individual atoms at the contacts. A three-terminal device has been modeled, showing gain. Finally, recent data that show large negative differential resistance and a peak that shifts substantially as a function of temperature have been accounted for.
Financial Market Integration and Exchange Rate Policy

This paper examines how a country`s exchange rate policy should be adjusted when the degree of integration between domestic and external financial markets increases as a result of both domestic financial liberalization and the relaxation of capital controls. As the financial structure is opened and liberalized, the optimal scale of exchange market intervention changes as the relative importance of different domestic and foreign shocks for output and price stability is altered. Nonetheless, the response of the optimal degree of intervention to increases in the variances of the various domestic and foreign shocks is similar across all financial structures.
Impact of positive and negative aspects of marital relationships and friendships on well-being of older adults.

This study examined associations between well-being and positive and negative aspects of social relationships among 128 married older adults with a best friend. Women were more depressed than men if they did not have a friend in whom to confide, but women who did have a friend in whom to confide reported lower levels of depressive symptomatology, closer to levels reported by men. Men's depressive symptomatology was not related to having a friend confidant. Similarly, women who did not have a same-sex best friend in whom to confide were less satisfied with life than women who did have a friend confidant and men in general. Having a best friend who gets on their nerves was negatively related to men's life satisfaction and positively related to women's. Thus, positive and negative aspects of friendships were related to women's and men's well-being in different ways and were more important for women. Positive and negative aspects of marital relationships, on the other hand, related to depressive symptomatolog...
Some age related changes of adult rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri Rich., peripheral erythrocytes separated by velocity sedimentation at unit gravity

Velocity sedimentation at unit gravity separated peripheral erythrocytes of adult rainbow trout according to age and size. The cells located at the top of the gradient contained numerous polyribosomes, few mitochondria and an essentially electronlucent nucleus. The cells at the bottom of the gradient no longer contained these cytoplasmic organelles and had an essentially electron-dense nucleus. The middle of the gradient contained cells with either very few polyribosomes or cells devoid of this organelle. The length, width and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) of the average cell increased and the width to length ratio decreased progressively from the top of the gradient to the bottom. No Statistical significance could be determined in the changes of the mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) although they appeared to follow theoretical projections. The use of haematocrit, red cell count, haemoglobin concentration, MCV, MCH and MCHC in assessing erythropoietic activity and the size and haemoglobin content of the maturing cell is discussed.
Research on the Liquid Level in Tin Bath Based on Application of Capacitance Sensor

Based on the analysis of the production technology and present status of online glass coating production, a non-contact measurement capacitance sensor, which is adaptive to the high temperature condition and enjoys a novel structure, is proposed in the paper. The online measurement of molten tin surface position in the CVD coating production process under the condition of 700°C can be realized with the sensor. The reliability and feasibility of the dynamic measuring system have been proved by the experiment. The dynamic accuracy is better than 0.1mm within the effective range of 25mm.