cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Male sterility in Heliothis virescens x H. subflexa backcross hybrids

Interspecific matings between Heliothis virescens males and H. subflexa females result in the production of progeny normal in all respects except that the males are sterile. Recurrent backcrossing of fertile females to H. virescens males perpetuates testis dysfunction in these lines. Although the basis of this phenomenon is unknown, characteristic degenerative abnormalities in sperm mitochondria from backcross males suggest that the normal function of this organelle is disrupted. In order to test this notion, mitochondrial gene sequences have been isolated from a cDNA library constructed from H. virescens testis poly (A)+ RNA, aligned on the mitochondrial DNA physical map, and assigned genetic designations based upon their homology with sequenced mouse mitochondrial DNA restriction fragments. Hybridizations of these DNA sequences to RNA molecules from H. virescens and backcross testes revealed two major differences between the two lines: (1) the steadystate levels of mitochondrial transcripts from backcross testes were reduced approximately 3-fold relative to H. virescens; and (2) transcripts encoding mitochondrial proteins were not polyadenylated in backcross testes. Neither of these abnormalities appeared in mitochondrial transcripts from other tissues in backcross moths. These findings suggest that abnormal mitochondrial RNA metabolism is either a direct cause, or a manifestation of, the mechanism of sterility in backcross males.
VARIABLE ITEROPARITY AS A LIFE-HISTORY TACTIC IN THE PITCHER-PLANT MOSQUITO WYEOMYIA SMITHII.

Larval density, but not geographic origin (Florida to Ontario), affected female fecundity among 12 populations of W. smithii, regardless of whether or not they had opportunity to take blood meals. Neither the degree of iteroparity nor male longevity varied with density or geographic region of origin, but longevity was greater among southern, potentially blood-feeding females, than among northern, nonbiting females. Among the southern females, iteroparity, but not fecundity, increased with opportunity to take blood meals. Specifically, there was no increase in fecundity among females whose larvae were nutritionally deprived relative to females whose larvae were well fed. I interpret the retention of hematophagy and facultatively augmented iteroparity in W. smithii as a means for females developing under predictably impoverished but irregularly opportunistic conditions to reallocate and temporally diversify their reproductive effort.
Canonical Relationships among Perceptual-Motor, Perceptual, and Cognitive Behaviors in Children

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the nature and extent of relationships among perceptual-motor, perceptual, and cognitive behaviors in 189 young, normal children. An extensive battery of tests was administered to 61 prekindergarteners, 63 kindergarteners, and 65 first graders. Canonical correlation analysis revealed that significant and high relationships exist between perceptual-motor and perceptual behaviors at the two younger age levels, between perceptual-motor and cognitive behaviors at kindergarten only, and between perceptual and cognitive behaviors at all levels tested. In agreement with the literature, the magnitude of the relationships and amount of shared variance diminished with age from kindergarten to first grade, except for the cognitive and perceptual behaviors relationship. Visual behaviors were more important contributors to the perceptual-motor relationships than were auditory behaviors, while the reverse was found for contributors to the cognitive relationships. Fi...
Listeriosis in Pregnancy: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention

Listeriosis is a rare disease that causes mild maternal illness, but can be devastating to the fetus. Listeria's rare microbiologic features make it a difficult infection to diagnose and treat: it is an intracellular organism that hides within host cells. Because of the potentially severe consequences, it is important that obstetricians are familiar with the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of listerial infection.
A Linear-Time Algorithm for Minimum Cost Flow on Undirected One-Trees

We give an O(n)-time algorithm for the minimum cost flow problem over an undirected one-tree with n vertices. A one-tree is a spanning tree with one additional edge.
Regulation of Gonad Morphogenesis in Drosophila melanogaster by BTB Family Transcription Factors.

During embryogenesis, primordial germ cells (PGCs) and somatic gonadal precursor cells (SGPs) migrate and coalesce to form the early gonad. A failure of the PGCs and SGPs to form a gonad with the proper architecture not only affects germ cell development, but can also lead to infertility. Therefore, it is critical to identify the molecular mechanisms that function within both the PGCs and SGPs to promote gonad morphogenesis. We have characterized the phenotypes of two genes, longitudinals lacking (lola) and ribbon (rib), that are required for the coalescence and compaction of the embryonic gonad in Drosophila melanogaster. rib and lola are expressed in the SGPs of the developing gonad, and genetic interaction analysis suggests these proteins cooperate to regulate gonad development. Both genes encode proteins with DNA binding motifs and a conserved protein-protein interaction domain, known as the Broad complex, Tramtrack, Bric-a-brac (BTB) domain. Through molecular modeling and yeast-two hybrid studies, we demonstrate that Rib and Lola homo- and heterodimerize via their BTB domains. In addition, analysis of the colocalization of Rib and Lola with marks of transcriptional activation and repression on polytene chromosomes reveals that Rib and Lola colocalize with both repressive and activating marks and with each other. While previous studies have identified Rib and Lola targets in other tissues, we find that Rib and Lola are likely to function via different downstream targets in the gonad. These results suggest that Rib and Lola act as dual-function transcription factors to cooperatively regulate embryonic gonad morphogenesis.
Membranes, energetics, and evolution across the prokaryote-eukaryote divide

Over time, life on Earth has evolved into three large groups: archaea, bacteria, and eukaryotes. The most familiar forms of life – such as fungi, plants and animals – all belong to the eukaryotes. Bacteria and archaea are simpler, single-celled organisms and are collectively referred to as prokaryotes. The hallmark feature that distinguishes eukaryotes from prokaryotes is that eukaryotic cells contain compartments called organelles that are surrounded by membranes. Each organelle supports different activities in the cell. Mitochondria, for example, are organelles that provide eukaryotes with most of their energy by producing energy-rich molecules called ATP. Prokaryotes lack mitochondria and instead produce their ATP on their cell surface membrane. Some researchers have suggested that mitochondria might actually be one of the reasons that eukaryotic cells are typically larger than prokaryotes and more varied in their shape and structure. The thinking is that producing ATP on dedicated membranes inside the cell, rather than on the cell surface, boosted the amount of energy available to eukaryotic cells and allowed them to diversify more. However, other researchers are not convinced by this view. Moreover, some recent evidence suggested that eukaryotes are no more efficient in producing energy than prokaryotes. Lynch and Marinov have now used computational and comparative analysis to compare the energy efficiency of different organisms including prokaryotes and eukaryotes grown under defined conditions. To do the comparison, the results were scaled based on cell volume and the total surface area deployed in energy production. From their findings, Lynch and Marinov concluded that mitochondria did not enhance how much energy eukaryotes could produce per unit of cell volume in any substantial way. Although the origin of mitochondria was certainly a key event in evolutionary history, it is unlikely to have been responsible for the diversity and complexity of today’s life forms.
Threats to Experimental Hygiene

Abstract Randomized-Controlled Trials are the gold standard of experimental sciences. However, randomized trials are not innately perfect—they require careful stewardship to ensure that they produce valid and meaningful conclusions. Therefore, it is essential for scientists and scientific editors alike to be well versed in threats to experimental hygiene , which can cause randomized experiment to nonetheless produce biased or incorrect conclusions. These threats can arise at a variety of stages, from experiment conception and design to data analysis. While this chapter is not exhaustive, it highlights six major and common threats that journal editors may face: unbalanced groups, duration bias, imperfect compliance, attrition, spillover effects, and behavioral responses. This information can help editors protect their journals and readers from errors, scientific misconduct, and fraud.
Case 62: A Case of Recent Hip Replacement Coming for a Cystoscopy

A 75-year-old frail lady (ASA 3, weight 50 kg, and height 5′7″) is scheduled for cystoscopy and hydro-dilation of the bladder. Her medical history includes severe osteoarthritis, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension. Three weeks before this scheduled surgery, she had undergone a successful right hip replacement. Her left hip is also very painful and stiff and has a lack of mobility. She also complains about painful and stiff shoulders. She takes various pain medications but cannot remember what they are.
Nonlinear convergence acceleration for orthogonal series

Nonlinear convergence acceleration methods are useful tools for the evaluation of slowly convergent sequences and series. Many of these algorithms can also be applied to extrapolation and summation problems. Slowly convergent Fourier and other orthogonal series pose special problems for usual convergence accelerators. These problems are due to the complicated sign pattern of the terms of the series. In the present contribution, a new iterative convergence accelerator for orthogonal series is introduced. It is based on the three-term recurrence relations which are characteristic for orthogonal polynomials. Numerical tests are presented.
Prevention of arrhythmic death with the automatic implantable cardioverter-defibrillator

Because the treatment of ventricular fibrillation and many hemodynamically unstable ventricular tachycardias with electrical countershock is critically dependent on rapid availability of medical personnel and equipment, its implementation outside the hospital is rarely successful. This situation has prompted the development of a fully implantable automatic device designed for continuous monitoring of the heart rhythm and prompt recognition and treatment of life-threatening ventricular tachyarrhythmias [1]. Since the first implantation of such a device in a human being at The Johns Hopkins Hospital [1], the automatic implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (AICD*) is being used with increased frequency to prevent sudden cardiac death in high-risk patients [2–8]. The growing clinical experience has demonstrated that this therapeutic intervention dramatically lowers the prohibitive arrhythmic mortality of this population [3, 8, 9].
The Initial Consultation for Male Infertility

A thorough history and physical exam is a critical stepping stone towards the diagnosis and treatment of male infertility. This review focuses on obtaining a sexual, developmental, infection, medical, surgical and social history, providing an overview of medications that may impair a man’s fertility potential and performing a careful physical exam (see Table 1). The interpretation of hormonal, seminal and genetic testing is discussed in later chapters in association with specific disease entities.
A Word Between Us

There is nothing obvious about the nature and function of language. The discovery of its nature is as difficult as an attempt to see our own retina or to sense the motion of the planet under our feet. Linguists have been accused by students of animal behavior that they are complicating the picture unduly by the introduction of formalization and by creating an aura of philosophy about language that is—they claim—unnecessary and merely serves to becloud the straightforward and “simple” facts. R. A. and B. T. Gardner, for instance, state (1969): The theories [on language] that can be constructed are never as interesting as the natural phenomena themselves, and the gathering of data is a self-justifying activity.
Investigation of Kirk-Effect Induced Hot-Carrier-Injection in High-Voltage Power Devices

Hot-carrier-injection (HCI) effect is expected to well correlate with substrate current $(\mathrm{I}_{\mathrm{SUB}})$ . However, in high-voltage (HV) device which features extended lightly-doped drain region (Ndrift), two $\mathrm{I}_{\mathrm{S}\mathrm{U}\mathrm{B}}$ peaks are frequently observed and found to have different HCI degradation. Our data showed that the worst-case HCI after long term stress doesn't necessarily occur at largest $\mathrm{I}_{\mathrm{S}\mathrm{U}\mathrm{B}}$ which is usually found at full V G operation due to Kirk-effect. The HCI dependence on $\mathrm{I}_{\mathrm{S}\mathrm{U}\mathrm{B}}$ peak location in HV device is further investigated through TCAD simulation. Our study proved the changes in impact ionization location under 2nd $\mathrm{I}_{\mathrm{S}\mathrm{U}\mathrm{B}}$ peak by Kirk-effect, thus leads to less $\mathrm{Id}_{\mathrm{lin}}$ degradation in long term stress. Nit generation at pinch-off point is found to alter IIG (impact-ionization generation) location at HV high resistance drift region and could be explained through IIG simulation by TCAD.
Detecting Microplastics in Soil and Sediment in an Undergraduate Environmental Chemistry Laboratory Experiment That Promotes Skill Building and Encourages Environmental Awareness.

Environmental pollution is both a worldwide and a local issue, and microplastic pollution in particular is receiving increased attention due to its prevalence and bioaccumulation potential affectin...
Spillovers of Domestic Shocks: Will They Counteract the

Even prior to the extreme volatility just observed, output growth volatility-following protracted decline-was flattening or mildly rising in some countries. More widespread was an increasing tendency from the mid-1990s for shocks in one country to transmit rapidly to other countries, creating the potential for heightened global volatility. The higher sensitivity to foreign shocks, in turn, appears related to stepped-up vertical specialization associated with the integration of emerging markets in international trade. Increased international spillovers call for stronger ex post coordination mechanisms when shocks are large but the best ex ante prevention strategy probably is sensible national policies.
Social Media Communications and Marketing Strategy: A Taxonomical Review of Potential Explanatory Approaches

The growth of social media has captured the attention of companies, which have responded by increasing their advertising efforts toward social media users. Previous studies have devoted considerabl...
Social networks and geography: a review of the literature and its implications

The spatial metaphor of the network along with its accompanying abstractions, such as flow, movement, and connectivity, have been central themes throughout the relational turn in human geography. However, to date networks in geography have been primarily explored either through actor-network theory or assemblage thinking, both of which embrace the network metaphor without specifically and formally interrogating networks themselves. We seek to problematize the treatment of networks in geography by exploring the largely underutilized literature on social networks as an alternative to the now dominant actor-network and assemblage frameworks. Our paper discusses the conceptual connections between key concepts in geography, such as place, distance, scale, and power, and those in network theory, such as centrality, density, and homophily. Voluntarily written from the periphery of human geography, our paper opens new directions for geographers that are interested in more than the metaphor of the network.
Nerve Compression: Ulnar Nerve of the Elbow

Ulnar nerve compression neuropathy was first described by Panas in 1878 [1]. Feindel and Stratford initially described the significance of the ‘cubital tunnel’ and coined the term in 1958 [2]. Entrapment of the ulnar nerve is regarded as one of the most common compression neuropathies of the upper extremity, second only to carpal tunnel syndrome [2–4]. Although the nerve can be compressed at any location along its course, the most common location is at the elbow; and the most common site is at the cubital tunnel [5]. Diagnosis is made from a combination of history, examination findings, and provocative tests. Some authors still advocate the use of electrodiagnostic studies to confirm findings and localize the compression. Still, no standard exists for the surgical treatment of cubital tunnel that is refractory to conservative measures [6]. The available evidence at this point is insufficient to identify the best treatment technique [7]. Understanding the anatomy and pathology are critical steps towards successfully diagnosing and managing ulnar nerve compression regardless of the technique used.
Changes in center of pressure velocities during obstacle crossing one year after bariatric surgery.

Abstract Adults with obesity have atypical gait with poor balance leading to an increase in fall risk. After massive weight loss, their gait improves. However, we know little about changes in postural stability after massive weight loss. The present study aimed to examine how massive weight loss after Roux-en-Y bariatric surgery affected adjustments in center of pressure (COP) velocities during flat ground walking and obstacle crossing. Before and one-year post-bariatric surgery, nineteen female adults walked under four conditions: baseline walking on flat ground and obstacle crossing with three different obstacle heights for a total of 20 trials. COP data were obtained from raw pressure time series data extracted from a gait carpet. Massive weight loss increased anteroposterior COP velocities under the midfoot of both trailing and leading legs (ps
Autism-linked gene FoxP1 selectively regulates the cultural transmission of learned vocalizations

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterized by impaired learning of culturally transmitted behaviors like social skills, speech, and language. These are learned by copying parents and other social models during development, a two-stage process that involves forming memories of appropriate behaviors during social experiences and then using those memories to guide imitation. How ASD-linked genes impair these often-intertwined aspects of learning is not known, thereby limiting our understanding of the developmental progression of ASD and the targeting of therapeutic interventions. Here we show that these aspects of learning are dissociable and that the ASD-linked gene FoxP1 selectively impairs learning from social experience, but not behavioral imitation. Haploinsufficiency of FOXP1 in humans causes FOXP1 syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder typified by severe disruptions in speech and language development, and other ASD-associated symptoms. We tested how knockdown of FoxP1 (FP1-KD) affects the cultural transmission of vocal behaviors in zebra finches, a songbird that learns by memorizing and vocally copying the song of an adult song-tutor. We find that FP1-KD blocks song learning in juvenile birds by selectively impairing their ability to encode a memory during social experiences with a song-tutor. These learning deficits are linked to disruptions in experience-driven structural and functional plasticity. However, if birds are exposed to tutor-song prior to FP1-KD, their ability to imitate that song during development is unaffected. Thus, FP1-KD impairs cultural transmission of vocalizations by disrupting the ability to form appropriate vocal memories, yet spares the ability to use previously acquired memories to guide vocal learning. This indicates that learning from social experience may be particularly vulnerable in FOXP1 syndrome.
Trends and Complications of Arthroscopic-Assisted Tibial Plateau Fracture Fixation: A Matched Cohort Analysis.

Purpose To determine trends in arthroscopic-assisted tibial plateau fracture fixation (AATPFF), to evaluate trends in the overall rate of tibial plateau fracture fixation, and to compare postoperative complications between AATPFF and traditional tibial plateau fixation. Methods A retrospective review of patients undergoing AATPFF and traditional tibial plateau fixation was conducted using the Humana Inc. administrative database from 2007 to 2016. A 1:1 propensity match was utilized to match patients in the 2 study groups based on age, sex, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, depression or anxiety, and smoking history. Postoperative complications were grouped as minor medical complications, major medical complications, surgical complications, emergency department visits, and reoperation. Linear regression analysis was used to assess trends and Pearson's χ2 test was used to compare postoperative complications with statistical significance defined as P < .05. Results In total, 522 patients underwent AATPFF and 3920 patients underwent traditional tibial plateau fracture fixation. There was a 4-fold increase in the use of AATPFF over the study period (P = .0173). Similarly, there was an increase in the utilization of traditional tibial plateau fracture fixation, although to a lesser extent (1.33-fold). After propensity matching, the traditional fixation group demonstrated significantly higher rates of minor medical complications (8.2% vs 2.7%, P = .0002), major medical complications (9.9% vs 4.6%, P = .0018), surgical complications (13.2% vs 2.7%, P < .0001), and emergency department visits (21.4% vs 13.5%, P < .0001) within 90 days of surgery compared with the AATPFF group. There was no difference in reoperation rates within 90 days between the 2 groups (2.9% vs 3.6%, P = .85). Conclusions The incidence of tibial plateau fracture fixation is increasing, however, use of AATPFF is increasing at a faster rate compared to traditional techniques. Furthermore, the addition of knee arthroscopy to fracture fixation does not increase the risk of complication, reoperation, or emergency department visit within 90 days. Level of Evidence III, retrospective matched cohort.
Improved Sequential Convex Programming Algorithms for Entry Trajectory Optimization

Entry trajectory optimization for hypersonic vehicles has been formulated as constrained optimal control problems, which are difficult to solve because of the existing high nonlinearity and nonconv...
The (in)congruency effects of message framing and image valence on consumers’ responses to green advertising: Focus on issue involvement as a moderator

This study examined the effects of message framing, image valence, and issue involvement on consumers’ advertising attitudes, brand attitudes and purchase intention in the context of green advertis...
The Stance of Monetary Policy: The NGDP Gap

One of the most important questions facing the Federal Reserve (Fed) is also one of the hardest for it to answer: What is the current stance of monetary policy? The answer to this question is straightforward in theory, but is quite challenging to apply in practice. Despite many valiant efforts by central bankers, academics, and market participants, there is still a lot of uncertainty in real time about whether monetary policy is too tight, too loose, or just about right. This policy brief attempts to add some clarity to this question by providing a new measure of the stance of monetary policy. This policy brief specifically shows how to construct a benchmark growth path for nominal GDP (NGDP) where monetary policy is neither expansionary nor contractionary. Deviations of actual NGDP from this neutral level of NGDP provide a way to assess the stance of monetary policy. These deviations, called the NGDP gap, can be used by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) as a cross-check on existing indicators of the stance of monetary policy. This new measure will be available online and regularly updated by the monetary policy research program at the Mercatus Center. The website will provide both real-time vintage data and the latest current quarterly data. The calculations behind the new measures will also be made available.
Hush Up About Sexual Misconduct

National attention has been directed recently to hush up pacts involving alleged sexual misconduct (including harassment, assault, and discrimination). The spotlight has been shined brightly on pacts involving misconduct occurring both in and outside of government. As alleged victims of sexual misconduct will increasingly be likely to seek redress, the time is ripe to explore how Illinois laws do and should regulate sexual misconduct settlements. Recent events suggest explorations are needed into settlement guidelines operating in and out of courts; formal and informal discovery laws applicable in civil actions; and lawyer responsibility laws. As to settlement guidelines, Illinois lawmakers should consider extensions of existing laws (as in Texas and Florida) dealing with hush ups about public hazards or official governmental conduct. As to discovery, Illinois lawmakers should consider limits on comparable hush up pacts (as in Texas and Florida) via expanded visions of “court records”. And as to lawyer responsibility, Illinois lawmakers should consider when legal representation facilitates, aids, or abets further criminal sexual misconduct, as well how “associated” nonlawyers may be better overseen by lawyers, as when these associates undertake background checks (including sexual histories) of alleged sexual misconduct claimants.
Evictions: Shedding Light on the Hidden Housing Problem

When we released the call for articles for a special issue on eviction in November 2019, we had no idea that eviction—and policy responses to address it—would become a central concern of policy acr...
Business Ethics as Moral Imagination

This chapter is from the first article that I wrote on moral imagination in the late 1980s. I originally wrote it as a commentary on a Ruffin Lecture at the Darden School of the University of Virginia. It is probably one of the earliest articles on the subject in business ethics, because it was published prior to Mark Johnson’s book, Moral Imagination: Implications of Cognitive Science for Ethics (1994) and Patricia Werhane’s Moral Imagination and Management Decision Making (1999). To write it, I mostly drew mostly from literature in philosophy. After teaching business ethics in business schools, I became interested in ways to stimulate my students’ imaginations that went beyond the usual use of case studies. I stumbled on to psychologist Bruno Bettelheim’s book on fairy tales, The Uses of Enchantment, which was really about the development of ethics in children. His discussion of fairy tales offered an enjoyable way to examine role of imagination in ethics. I later wrote several other articles that developed my views on moral imagination, including the one in the next chapter.
Breaking instance-independent symmetries in exact graph coloring

Code optimization and high level synthesis can be posed as constraint satisfaction and optimization problems, such as graph coloring used in register allocation. Graph coloring is also used to model more traditional CSPs relevant to AI, such as planning, time-tabling and scheduling. Provably optimal solutions may be desirable for commercial and defense applications. Additionally, for applications such as register allocation and code optimization, naturally-occurring instances of graph coloring are often small and can be solved optimally. A recent wave of improvements in algorithms for Boolean satisfiability (SAT) and 0-1 Integer Linear Programming (ILP) suggests generic problem-reduction methods, rather than problem-specific heuristics, because (1) heuristics may be upset by new constraints, (2) heuristics tend to ignore structure, and (3) many relevant problems are provably inapproximable. Problem reductions often lead to highly symmetric SAT instances, and symmetries are known to slow down SAT solvers. In this work, we compare several avenues for symmetry breaking, in particular when certain kinds of symmetry are present in all generated instances. Our focus on reducing CSPs to SAT allows us to leverage recent dramatic improvement in SAT solvers and automatically benefit from future progress. We can use a variety of black-box SAT solvers without modifying their source code because our symmetry-breaking techniques are static, i.e., we detect symmetries and add symmetry breaking predicates (SBPs) during pre-processing. An important result of our work is that among the types of instance-independent SBPs we studied and their combinations, the simplest and least complete constructions are the most effective. Our experiments also clearly indicate that instance-independent symmetries should mostly be processed together with instance-specific symmetries rather than at the specification level, contrary to what has been suggested in the literature.
Wide vs. narrow paragraphs: an eye tracking analysis

How wide should paragraphs be formatted for optimal reader retention and ease of reading? While everyone is familiar with the narrow, multi-column formatting in newspapers and magazines, research on the issue is not consistent. Early work using printed media favored narrow formatting, while more recent work using computer monitors has favored wider formatting. In this paper, we approach this issue by using eye tracking analysis of users reading material on instructional web pages. In our experimental system, subjects read the material using an instrumented browser that records all HTML content and browser actions, and their eye gaze is recorded using a nonobtrusive, “remote” eye tracker. Comparing the wide and narrow formatting conditions, our analysis shows that for narrow formatting, subjects (a) read slightly faster, (b) have fewer regressions, (c) retain more information in a post-test of the material, but (d) tend to abandon the ends of longer paragraphs.
Synaptische und Neuromuskuläre Erregungsübertragung

Der „Alles-oder-Nichts“-Charakter der Erregungsleitung in Axonen und Muskeln wurde in Kap. 2 und 3 besprochen. Die Uberleitung von Erregungsimpulsen von einer Nervenzelle auf eine andere erfolgt an Synapsen; diese verbinden das axonale Ende eines Neurons (prasynaptische Zelle) mit dem Zellkorper und/oder den Dendriten einer anderen Nervenzelle (postsynaptische Zelle). An den meisten dieser Synapsen erfolgt die Erregungsubertragung chemisch, wobei der Impuls im praesynaptischen Axon an dessen Ende eine chemische Ubertragersubstanz freisetzt, welche die Permeabilitat der Membran des postsynaptischen Neurons verandert. An einigen Synapsen erfolgt die Erregungsubertragung jedoch elektrisch bzw. an den in sehr geringer Zahl vorkommenden ‚conjoint‘ Synapsen elektrisch und chemisch. Impulse in einer excitatorischen prasynaptischen Zelle regen in jedem Fall in der postsynaptischen Zelle die Bildung fortgeleiteter Impulse an; diese Erregungsubertragung ist nicht als einfaches Uberspringen des Aktionspotentials von einem auf das andere Neuron zu verstehen. Es handelt sich um einen komplexen Vorgang, der Abstufung und Modulation der neuralen Aktivitat gestattet, ohne die eine normale Funktion des Nervensystems unmoglich ware. Bei den elektrischen Synapsen verschmelzen die Membranen der prae- und postsynaptischen Neurone zu „tight junctions“. Diese Verbindungen bilden—ahnlich den intercellularen Verbindungen anderer Gewebe — Stellen niedrigen Widerstandes, an denen Ionen relativ leicht durchtreten konnen.
Accounting for Dry Deposition in Incinerator Risk Assessments

The incineration of municipal solid waste (MSW) results in the release of small amounts of hazardous pollutants. Determining the health and environmental risks associated with MSW incineration requires knowledge of the rate at which facility-emitted pollutants will disperse. The deposition of airborne pollutants onto plant, soil, and water surfaces can contribute substantially to human exposure. For example, the deposition of facility-emitted pollutants onto plants and soil surfaces, ingestion of contaminated plants and soil by cattle, and the ingestion of contaminated beef and daily products can be a significant pathway of human exposure. Travis and Hattemer-Frey (1987) showed that this particular pathway is the major source of human exposure to background levels of dioxin.
The Most Powerful Mouse in the World: The Globalization of the Disney Brand

A company’s brand may be one of the most important marketing tools in order to have a successful product. Research and academic interest in branding has greatly increased due to the impact branding can have on a product (Hudson & Hudson, 2006). As defined by Wood (2000), brand equity is the “measure of the strength of consumers’ attachment to a brand and the description of the association and beliefs the consumer has about the brand”. A brand can elicit emotions, memories, and a connection between the product and the consumer (Hudson & Hudson, 2006). Brands should be regarded as valuable, long-term corporate assets due to their importance in promoting one’s product (Wood, 2000). Global brands have an even larger impact worldwide. Globalization and branding are both a growing and expanding part of business ventures. As globalization has accelerated, the importance of positive branding has become crucial to having a competitive product globally (Hsieh, 2002). The Disney Company is at the forefront of globalized entertainment branding. In order to understand the process and importance behind globalization and branding, this study will explore the development of the Disney Company and its brand. The purpose of this study is to examine the history behind the Disney Company to better understand what has enabled them to create such positive brand equity on a global scale. To accomplish this purpose, this paper will investigate important research as it relates to branding, marketing, and globalization. Historical, descriptive, and narrative facets were employed in conjunction with discussion of the literature reviews. Also, this project will explore important facets of the Disney Company in order to better elucidate and understand what has enabled their corporation to develop such a strong positive global brand. Most of the information in this paper will come from refereed journal articles and the Disney website. Through an interesting study on the Disney Company,
Plasma damage during dielectric etch in high density plasma etcher

Plasma process induced damage from a high density plasma dielectric etcher was studied comprehensively. PMOS devices are damaged more readily than NMOS devices. Low field gate current is the most sensitive parameter to reflect damage. Latent defects in the form of oxide-traps were observed after back-end-of-line processing. These latent defects result in poor gate oxide integrity under Fowler-Nordheim stress or hot carrier stress. Plasma damage during contact or via hole etch must therefore be considered carefully.
Computer animation: algorithms and techniques-a historical review

Computer animation has a history as long as computer graphics. It's old enough to have interesting divisions, blind alleys, and new trends. It's young enough for the new entrants to have the opportunity to meet most of the people who started the field. This paper reviews the historical development of computer animation noting the trends and suggesting the future.
Stochastic learning theory applied to choice experiments with rats, dogs, and men

The usual dilemma faced in selecting mathematical models for use in describing and predicting dynamic behavioral choice experiments is that a stochastic model that seems complex enough to prove valid will very likely turn out to require solution of impossibly difficult statistical estimation problems. Here, this dilemma has been resolved by taking advantage of the capability of modern electronic computers to solve very complex numerical problems by trial and error, so that just one computational technique becomes adequate for all numerical estimation problems. A variety of stochastic behavioral models—old and new, simple and complex—are used successfully to analyze data from a variety of choice experiments—old and new, simple and complex—confirming or revising earlier work of some other authors and here also extending both the experimental and the analytical findings.
In situ monitoring of MOVPE growth by combined spectroscopic ellipsometry and reflectance-difference spectroscopy

Comprehensive characterization of epitaxial growth by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) requires a combination of thin-film, near-surface-, and surface-sensitive techniques to determine layer thicknesses and compositions, composition of the most recently deposited material, and surface chemistry, respectively. These data can be obtained non-destructively by spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) and reflectance-difference (-anisotropy) spectroscopy (RDS/RAS). Here we describe the first unified optical system, basically a rotating-polarizer ellipsometer (RPE) integrated into a modified commercial rotating-sample MOVPE reactor, that performs both SE and RDS simultaneously with a single optical path. Data are obtained in parallel from 240 to 840 nm with a high-speed 16-bit photodiode array (PDA) at a repetition rate greater than 2 Hz and a precision of ±0.0001. We provide examples of its use, and show in particular that GaP intermixes with Si during the initial stages of heteroepitaxy. Capabilities of the presented configuration and its potential for future investigations are discussed.
Impacts of reforestation upon sediment load and water outflow in the Lower Yazoo River Watershed, Mississippi

Abstract Among the world's largest coastal and river basins, the Lower Mississippi River Alluvial Valley (LMRAV) is one of the most disturbed by human activities. This study ascertained the impacts of reforestation on water outflow attenuation (i.e., water flow out of the watershed outlet) and sediment load reduction in the Lower Yazoo River Watershed (LYRW) within the LMRAV using the US-EPA's BASINS-HSPF model. The model was calibrated and validated with available experimental data prior to its application. Two simulation scenarios were then performed: one was chosen to predict the water outflow and sediment load without reforestation and the other was selected to project the potential impacts of reforestation upon water outflow attenuation and sediment load reduction following the conversion of 25, 50, 75, and 100% of the agricultural lands with most lands near or in the batture of the streams. Comparison of the two simulation scenarios (i.e., with and without reforestation) showed that a conversion of agricultural land into forests attenuated water outflow and reduced sediment load. In general, a two-fold increase in forest land area resulted in approximately a two-fold reduction in annual water outflow volume and sediment load mass, which occurred because forests absorb water and reduce surface water runoff and prevent soil erosion. On average, over a 10-year simulation, the specific water outflow attenuation and sediment load reduction were, respectively, 250 m3/ha/y and 4.02 metric ton/ha/y. Seasonal variations of water outflow attenuation and sediment load reduction occurred with the maximum attenuation/reduction in winter and the minimum attenuation/reduction in summer. Our load duration curve analysis further confirmed that an increase in forest land area reduced the likelihood of a given sediment load out of the watershed outlet. This study suggests that reforestation in or around the batture of streams is a useful practice for water outflow attenuation and sediment load reduction.
Sucked into the Herceptin maelstrom

I was diagnosed with HER2 positive breast cancer in August 2005. Before my diagnosis, I had little knowledge of the modern management of breast cancer and, like many patients, used online resources for information. The Breast Cancer Care website was running a campaign to make Herceptin (trastuzumab) available to all HER2+ women and I signed up. I simply could not understand from the data presented on the website and in the media why such an effective agent should be denied to women who, if they relapsed, would receive it anyway. The logic seemed flawed. I wrote letters to everyone—both primary care trusts (PCTs) in the area, the chair of policy at the Cancer Network, my member of parliament, the prime minister, the chief executives of the strategic health authority and the hospital trust—asking when and if the drug would be made available to me and other HER2+ women. In the meantime, I was contacted by the Sun newspaper, whose health editor was championing the Herceptin campaign. She was interested in my story—I was both a doctor and a “cancer victim”—and …
Evaluation of the Dynamic Response of a New Heat Flux Calorimeter for Kinetic Purposes

A new reaction calorimeter has been developed for measuring the kinetics of reactions accompanied by small thermal effects. For kinetic purposes, the calorimeter was calibrated by simulating the heat flow in accord with a certain kinetic equation. This was accomplished by applying a software-controlled voltage to a resistor placed inside the calorimeter. The obtained isothermal data were deconvoluted and treated using two different kinetic methods to explore the effect of deconvolution on the values of the kinetic parameters.
Librarian in the Boardroom: Outreach Strategies for an Executive MBA Program

The executive MBA (EMBA) is a high-profile, fast-track program that allows executives and managers to earn a master's of business administration degree while remaining employed. The unique needs of EMBA students provide business librarians with an opportunity to design a specialized outreach program, which can strengthen students’ ties across campus. This article examines the characteristics of EMBA students as well as the library outreach services provided to the Wichita State University EMBA program. Based on experiences with this program and a thorough needs analysis of typical EMBA students, the author suggests best practices for collaborations between business librarians and EMBA programs.
The pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of propofol in a modified cyclodextrin formulation (Captisol) versus propofol in a lipid formulation (Diprivan): an electroencephalographic and hemodynamic study in a porcine model.

The currently marketed propofol formulation has a number of undesirable properties that are in part a function of the lipid emulsion formulation, including pain on injection, serious allergic reactions, and the support of microbial growth. A modified cyclodextrin-based formulation of propofol (sulfo
MOLECULAR WEIGHT OF B. SUBTILIS ALPHA‐AMYLASE DERIVED FROM CHEMICAL STUDIES

Bacillus subtilis alpha-amylase was cleaved with cyanogen bromide and the amino terminal sequences of the purified products were determined. The molecular weights of the cyanogen bromide fragments were ascertained on an agarose column equilibrated with 6 M guanidine hydrochloride. The molecular wieghts of these fragments were also calculated from their amino acid compositions. The data obtained bzyme monomer as 48,000.
The Grammatical Influence of English on Arabic in the Passive Voice in Translation

This short paper addresses the idea that translation as a case of language contact can prompt convergence between Arabic and English. I hypothesize that using the by-phrase along with the agent in the Arabic passive structure has been modeled, via a grammaticalization process, on its English counterpart in translation. This process has led to pattern replication, i.e. borrowing the abstract features of the source language (English). The findings reveal that not only foreign language learners initiate a language change alongside bilinguals, but also that the former are much more involved in this process than the latter.
Low cost management of replicated data in fault-tolerant distributed systems

Many distributed systems replicate data for fault tolerance or availability. In such systems, a logical update on a data item results in a physical update on a number of copies. The synchronization and communication required to keep the copies of replicated data consistent introduce a delay when operations are performed. In this paper, we describe a technique that relaxes the usual degree of synchronization, permitting replicated data items to be updated concurrently with other operations, while at the same time ensuring that correctness is not violated. The additional concurrency thus obtained results in better response time when performing operations on replicated data. We also discuss how this technique performs in conjunction with a roll-back and a roll-forward failure recovery mechanism.
Mesa Verdean Manifestations South of the San Juan River

Abstract The greater San Juan Basin in northwestern New Mexico is often seen as an empty corridor through which people from the Mesa Verde area migrated, en route to the northern Rio Grande. Instead, it is argued here on the basis of settlement patterns, architecture, and stylistic ceramic data that during the 13th century there were a number of discrete communities in the San Juan Basin which participated in a sharply bounded, geographically based ceramic tradition which included the core Mesa Verde area. The culture histories and population histories of these communities closely parallel those of the Mesa Verde core area, implying systemic linkages among the communities which comprise the ceramic tradition. The greater San Juan Basin was abandoned at about the same time as the Mesa Verde area. Similarities in ceramic style and complementary population histories suggest migration to the northern Rio Grande. The paper closes with a consideration of the social units by which emigration may have proceeded and the kinds of archeological evidence which might be expected.
Dynamic chemical vapor sensing with nanofibrous film based surface acoustic wave sensors

Abstract We report on the use of electrospun nanofibrous film for surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensors to enhance its chemical detection capability. Ultrafine (100–300 nm) polyethylene oxide (PEO) fibers with controlled thickness and porosity were electrospun-coated on the surface of a ST-cut quartz SAW sensor. The nanofibrous film provides a high surface area to volume ratio, which can not only offer more adsorption sites for vapor molecules, but also shortens the diffusion length of vapor molecules into polymer material. Compared to conventional thin film coating techniques, the nanofiber-coated SAW sensor shows a higher sensitivity and faster response (shorter adsorption/desorption times). In addition, a theoretical analysis was performed to understand SAW sensor response with nanofibrous film coating. It is concluded that the nanofiber film holds a great potential in enhancing SAW sensor performance for trace level detection of chemical analytes.