cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Vasodilation of the normal and ischemic canine mesenteric circulation.

Abstract This study was designed to assess the vasodilatory effects of intraarterial infusions of prostacyclin, prostaglandin D 2 , and an adenosine analog, 2-chloroadenosine, on the mesenteric circulation of the anesthetized dog during resting conditions and during digoxin-induced ischemia. Blood flow to a segment of intestine, arteriovenous oxygen content difference, and intramural blood flow distribution were measured, and calculations were made for oxygen consumption and fractional blood flow to the mucosal-submucosal and muscular compartments of the gut wall. In the normal circulation, prostacyclin increased blood flow, oxygen consumption, and fractional mucosal-submucosal flow. Before administration of digoxin, prostaglandin D 2 also produced an increase of blood flow and oxygen consumption but caused a redistribution of blood flow from the mucosal-submucosal to the muscle layer, whereas 2-chloroadenosine produced effects similar to prostacyclin, i.e., an increase in blood flow and oxygen consumption, with an increase in the fraction of total blood flow perfusing the mucosa-submucosa. Digoxin administration produced a decrease in blood flow, oxygen consumption, and fractional flow to all layers of tissue. All three vasodilators reversed ischemia and hypoxia produced by digoxin. Prostacyclin and 2-chloroadenosine caused an increase in mucosal-submucosal blood flow during ischemia while prostaglandin D 2 did not affect mucosal-submucosal flow and actually redistributed flow to the muscle layer. These data indicate that all three agents are potent vasodilators of the canine mesenteric circulation and all three reverse digoxininduced ischemia and hypoxia in this vascular bed. Prostacyclin and 2-chloroadenosine are selective mucosal dilators which would more probably induce hemodynamic and metabolic reversal of intestinal ischemie necrosis.
Clustering acoustic prototypes with self organizing distortion measures

Selection of acoustic prototypes is an important aspect of speech recognition systems. In this paper a new algorithm for obtaining a set of acoustic prototypes is described. Associated with each prototype is a distortion measure whose full quadratic distance form is optimized to achieve a local minimum for the average distortion. Using a K-means clustering strategy, it is shown that in each iteration the minimum is achieved when the eigenvectors of the weighting matrices of the qudratic distances are identical to those of the sample covariance matrices of their corresponding clusters. Under certain eigenvalue constraints, closed form solutions for finding the eigenvalues are provided. Furtheremore, it is shown that clustering schemes that assume a multivariate Gaussian mixture density for the data can be solved using the new technique. Thereby, a new derivation for the maximum likelihood estimate of their associated covariance matrices is presented. Finally, recognition results obtained by incorporating the new algorithm in the IBM Speech Recognition system are presented.
Loss of traditional mucous glands and presence of a novel mucus‐producing granular gland in the plethodontid salamander Ensatina eschscholtzii

All amphibians are thought to possess two distinct types of dermal gland: mucous and granular. Mucous glands typically produce an acidic, flocculent and carbohydrate positive secretion that keeps skin moist and helps maintain homeostasis. In this study, we use a battery of histochemical tests to identify these traditional mucous glands in the dermis of the plethodontid salamander Ensatina eschscholtzii. The periodic acid-Schiff, alcian blue, toluidine blue and carmine reactions reveal the absence of both acidic glycosaminoglycans and traditional mucous glands. Instead, E. eschscholtzii produces neutral mucus in specialized granular glands, which we name mucus-producing granular glands (MPGGs). The loss of traditional mucous glands is a derived trait for Ensatina. © 2006 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2006, 87, 469–477.
Collaborating with Faculty to Assess Research Consultations for Graduate Students

Due to the time commitment on the part of the librarian to schedule, prepare, and execute effective research consultations, it is important to continue to evaluate how these consultations impact student learning. The purpose of this investigation was to assess graduate students' perceptions of their learning as a result of working individually with a librarian in a research consultation. A librarian and a member of the teaching faculty collaborated to embed required research consultations with the librarian in two graduate classes. Research journals and a focus group were used to assess the impact the consultations had on student learning.
How Military Innovation Works and the Role of Industry

Many pundits and leaders in the U.S. government hope to use the model of successful military innovation to stimulate innovation for green technologies – notwithstanding criticisms that defense technologies are often expensive and esoteric and sometimes fail to meet optimistic performance projections. Advocates also hope that DoD will use its substantial procurement budget to pull the development of new energy technologies, and in their vision DoD will serve as an “early adopter” to help new energy technologies achieve economies of scale. This paper builds on the baseline of knowledge about military innovation – what we know about why some military innovation has worked while some has not – to explain which parts of the new push for defense-led energy innovation are likely to be more successful than others. The results suggest that DoD will more effectively pull development efforts related to operational energy (e.g., fuel supplies to operating bases in Afghanistan) than efforts related to energy at military bases in the U.S.
The Mechanisms of Neural Tube Formation

Publisher Summary The formation of the neural tube is significant for several reasons. First, it represents the formation of the first organ of the embryo. In addition, however, this organogenetic process represents the culmination of the earliest inductive process of the developing embryo. Thus neurulation is also interesting from the point of view of the control mechanisms of induction. Finally, neurulation represents a situation in which a sheet of cells changes its morphology, in this case to form a hollow cylinder of cells. There are two distinctive features of neurulation in anurans, as compared to that in urodeles and chicks. The first is that the anuran neural anlage is stratified even prior to neurulation, whereas the neural primordia of these other embryos may be pseudostratified. The second unique characteristic is that cell elongation of the medial superficial cells and medial movement of the neural folds occur at the same time in anurans; cell elongation precedes medial migration of the neural folds in urodeles and in the chick.
Preparation for treatment of the disadvantaged patient: effects on disposition and outcome.

Effects of a brief orientation of lower-class patients to the initial psychiatric interview, and a similar preparation of psychiatric residents, were compared to control patients and residents not differentially prepared. Findings relating to disposition and outcome support the authors' contention that reduction of social distance has salutary effects in making psychotherapy more accessible to disadvantaged patients. Significance of these findings for operation of a walk-in clinic serving a lower-class population are discussed.
Feature-Guided Acquisition and Reconstruction of MR Images

We describe a new theory of MR imaging which utilizes prior information in the form of a set of “training” images thought to be similar to the “unknown” objects to be scanned. First, the training images are processed to find an orthonormal series representation of these images which is more convergent than the usual Fourier series. The coefficients in this new series can be calculated from a subset of the phase-encoded signals needed to construct the Fourier image representation. The characteristics of the training images also determine exactly which phase-encoded signals should be measured in order to minimize error in the image reconstruction. Good results were obtained when this theory was applied to imaging data from simulated objects and to experimental data from phantom scans. This theory provides the basis for developing efficient scanning and image reconstruction techniques which are “tailored” to each body part or to particular disease states.
Scleroderma and L-tryptophan: A possible explanation of the eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome

Scleroderma developed in six women who were taking L-tryptophan. Fasciitis and morphea were most common, but one patient had pleural effusion, hypertension, and signs of cardiac and kidney failure. In five patients the biopsy findings were characteristic of scleroderma; the sixth patient had Crohn's disease and developed fasciitis; her biopsy specimen showed inflammatory arteritis. All patients' conditions improved after cessation of their l-tryptophan intake, initiation of corticosteroid therapy, or both. These findings confirm previous data that show altered tryptophan-kynurenine metabolism in some patients with scleroderma and fasciitis, particularly with tryptophan loading.
Gender, masculinity and migration: Mexican men and reproductive health in the Californian context

An appreciation of the social, cultural and economic dimensions of gender and sexuality is important in increasing reproductive health service utilisation. This analysis of recent Mexican male immigrants in Southern California focuses on changing views of gender roles, masculinity and relationship dynamics in the context of migration in order to explain low levels of reproductive healthcare utilisation. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with 23 men who had migrated from Mexico. Some men saw their migratory experience as empowering, both individually and within the couple context. Migration reinforced positive male qualities, such as being a good provider. However, for others, the levelling of economic power between immigrant couples challenged traditional male gender roles and threatened men's identities. Maintaining control and decision-making power, especially in reproduction, remained tenacious, especially among older men. In response to immigration, however, men's views of ideal family size and contraceptive method preferences had evolved. The migration process caused some divisions in family networks and aspirations of fatherhood as an expression of masculinity contributed to varying levels of contraceptive use. Recommendations are made on factors that may empower male clients more actively to seek reproductive healthcare in the context of more equitable couple decision-making.
Opsin localization and rhodopsin photochemistry in a transgenic mouse model of retinitis pigmentosa

Abstract The VPP mouse is a transgenic strain carrying three mutations (P23H, V20G, P27L) near the N-terminus of opsin, the apoprotein of rhodopsin, the rod photopigment. These animals exhibit a slowly progressive degeneration of the rod photoreceptors, and concomitant changes in retinal function that mimic those seen in humans with autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa resulting from a point mutation (P23H) in opsin. In the present study we attempted to determine whether the disease process prevents the translocation of mutant opsin to the rod outer segments of transgenic mice, and whether it affects the photochemical properties of the rhodopsin present within their rod outer segments. Immunocytochemistry with a monoclonal antibody against a region of the C-terminus that recognizes epitopes common to both normal and mutant opsin (monoclonal antibody-1D4), and a polyclonal antibody that reacts preferentially with the mutant opsin (anti-VPP), were used to identify the opsin present in the rods of three-week-old VPP mice and normal littermates. Absorbance spectra, photosensitivity, and regeneration kinetics of rhodopsin in rod outer segment disc membranes were analysed by spectrophotometry. Western blot analysis with anti-VPP antibody indicated the specific binding of this antibody to the mutant opsin. Immunolocalization with monoclonal antibody-1D4 and anti-VPP antibodies suggested a normal translocation of the mutant protein to the outer segments. Aside from a small disparity in the absorbance spectra of rhodopsin obtained from normal and VPP retinas, there were no significant differences in either the ability of opsin to bind 11- cis retinal chromophore, or in the photic sensitivity of rhodopsin. The results indicate that mutant opsin is translated and incorporated into the rod outer segment disc membranes of VPP mice, and that the photochemical properties of rhodopsin in the rods of VPP retinas are similar to those of rhodopsin in normal retinas.
Transglutaminases and the clotting of mammalian seminal fluids.

Rapid coagulation of seminal fluid in rats, guinea pigs, and several other mammalian species including certain non-human primates is responsible for the post-coital formation of copulatory plugs in the vagina. The clotting of rodent seminal plasma results from coagulation of certain proteins derived from the seminal vesicles by enzymes secreted mainly by the coagulating (anterior prostate) gland. Several lines of evidence indicate that the clotting enzymes of coagulating gland secretions are trans glutaminases, and that the extreme insolubility of the seminal clot in rodents is due to transglutaminase-catalyzed formation of e(γ-glutamyl)ly-sine cross-links between polypeptide chains. Various features of the apparently unique forms of transglutaminases produced by rat coagulating gland and the actions of these enzymes on vesicular secretory and other proteins are discussed. The aliphatic polyamines spermidine and spermine are incorporated covalently into the proteins of the clot as the corresponding N-mono-e-(γ-glutamyl)- and N,N-bis(γ-glutamyl)-adducts during the enzymatic coagulation process. At the greater than millimolar concentrations at which cross-spermidine and spermine are present in normal rat seminal plasma, these polyamines attenuate the formation of hard clots in reconstituted rat semen coagulation systems, seemingly by competing with lysyl residues in vesicular secretion proteins as transglutaminase amine donor substrates, and thus preventing formation of e-(γ-glutamyl)lysine cross-bridges. It is proposed that in those species such as the rat and man in which seminal plasma contains large amounts of spermidine and(or) spermine of prostatic origin, the seminal polyamines may serve to stop blockage of the urethra by preventing too explosive a rate of seminal clot formation during the ejaculatory process.
Labeled LDA: A supervised topic model for credit attribution in multi-labeled corpora

A significant portion of the world's text is tagged by readers on social bookmarking websites. Credit attribution is an inherent problem in these corpora because most pages have multiple tags, but the tags do not always apply with equal specificity across the whole document. Solving the credit attribution problem requires associating each word in a document with the most appropriate tags and vice versa. This paper introduces Labeled LDA, a topic model that constrains Latent Dirichlet Allocation by defining a one-to-one correspondence between LDA's latent topics and user tags. This allows Labeled LDA to directly learn word-tag correspondences. We demonstrate Labeled LDA's improved expressiveness over traditional LDA with visualizations of a corpus of tagged web pages from del.icio.us. Labeled LDA outperforms SVMs by more than 3 to 1 when extracting tag-specific document snippets. As a multi-label text classifier, our model is competitive with a discriminative baseline on a variety of datasets.
Developing a pre- and post-course concept inventory to gauge operating systems learning

Operating systems courses often present students with multiple approaches to solve a problem, often with differing trade-offs. While students are more than capable of memorizing the details of these competing approaches, they often struggle to recommend a specific approach and analyze its implications. In particular, we find that students exhibit difficultly in interpreting text-based scenario descriptions in a way that allows them to correctly choose between potential solutions when presented with a high-level, conceptual scenario. In this paper, we describe the development of a pre- and post-course concept inventory, which we utilize to explore students' misconceptions of operating systems and their associated trade-offs. We compare the results of our assessment with in-class peer instruction questions and exam questions to characterize the areas in which students most commonly struggle with operating systems material.
Differences in qualitative brain morphology findings in schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorder and normal volunteers

Abstract This study examined the frequency and type of qualitative brain morphologic anomaly as a function of sex and diagnosis. Magnetic resonance imaging brain scans were evaluated by an experienced neuroradiologist blind to diagnosis. The scans of 325 individuals (108 schizophrenic, 20 schizoaffective, 27 major depressive, 20 bipolar and 150 healthy volunteers) were categorized into one of five groups: normal, hyperintensity signals, volume loss, ventricular anomaly or ″other″ abnormality. Schizophrenic men had significantly more morphologic anomalies, especially of the lateral ventricles than healthy male volunteers. Schizophrenic women did not differ from healthy women. Schizoaffective patients of both sexes, male depressive patients and female bipolar patients were also characterized by higher rates of brain anomalies. Independent of diagnosis, women were more likely than men to have hyperintensity signals among individuals with positive scan findings. The overall rate of brain morphologic anomalies is significantly higher among male schizophrenic patients than healthy volunteers; this is not specific to male schizophrenics, however, suggesting a global sex effect. Type of anomaly may differ by sex and give us clues about sex differences in the pathophysiology of psychopathology.
The moduli space of twisted holomorphic maps with Lagrangian boundary condition: Compactness

Abstract Let ( X , ω ) be a compact symplectic manifold and L be a compact Lagrangian submanifold. Suppose that ( X , L ) has a Hamiltonian S 1 action with moment map μ . Take an S 1 -invariant, ω -compatible almost complex structure, and we consider tuples ( C , P , A , φ ) where C is a smooth bordered Riemann surface of fixed topological type, P → C is an S 1 -principal bundle, A is a connection on P and φ is a section of P × S 1 X satisfying ∂ ¯ A φ = 0 , ι ν F A + μ ( φ ) = c with boundary condition φ ( ∂ C ) ⊂ P × S 1 L . Here F A is the curvature of A and ν is a volume form on C and c ∈ i R is a constant. We compactify the moduli space of isomorphism classes of such objects with energy ≤ K , where the energy is defined to be the Yang–Mills–Higgs functional ‖ F A ‖ L 2 2 + ‖ d A φ ‖ L 2 2 + ‖ μ ( φ ) − c ‖ L 2 2 . This generalizes the compactness theorem of Mundet–Tian (2009) [17] in the case of closed Riemann surfaces.
Successful whole-exome sequencing from a prostate cancer bone metastasis biopsy.

Comprehensive molecular characterization of cancer that has metastasized to bone has proved challenging, which may limit the diagnostic and potential therapeutic opportunities for patients with bone-only metastatic disease. We describe successful tissue acquisition, DNA extraction, and whole-exome sequencing from a bone metastasis of a patient with metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer (PCa). The resulting high-quality tumor sequencing identified plausibly actionable somatic genomic alterations that dysregulate the phosphoinostide 3-kinase pathway, as well as a theoretically actionable germline variant in the BRCA2 gene. We demonstrate the feasibility of diagnostic bone metastases profiling and analysis that will be required for the widespread application of prospective ‘precision medicine’ to men with advanced PCa.
INTERNET MARKETING BUDGET ALLOCATION: FROM PRACTITIONER'S PERSPECTIVE

Consider a firm promotes its products through several Internet media with a fixed Internet marketing budget and models the budget allocation decisions as a competitive game, in which each firm formulates its own optimization model that is influenced by the competitors' moves as well. One challenge to the application of such model in practice is how to deal with asymmetric information. In this paper, we discuss several issues that are often asked by the practitioners that are related to dealing with asymmetric information. Among them are (1) how accurate of the estimated model used by the firm is good enough in the absence of other firms' strategy information; and (2) what the indicators are that currently used model becomes outdated.
CMAQ predictions of tropospheric ozone in the U.S. southwest: influence of lateral boundary and synoptic conditions.

Abstract Phoenix, Arizona, has been an ozone nonattainment area for the past several years and it remains so. Mitigation strategies call for improved modeling methodologies as well as understanding of ozone formation and destruction mechanisms during seasons of high ozone events. To this end, the efficacy of lateral boundary conditions (LBCs) based on satellite measurements (adjusted-LBCs) was investigated, vis-a-vis the default-LBCs, for improving the predictions of Models-3/CMAQ photochemical air quality modeling system. The model evaluations were conducted using hourly ground-level ozone and NO 2 concentrations as well as tropospheric NO 2 columns and ozone concentrations in the middle to upper troposphere, with the ‘design’ periods being June and July of 2006. Both included high ozone episodes, but the June (pre-monsoon) period was characterized by local thermal circulation whereas the July (monsoon) period by synoptic influence. Overall, improved simulations were noted for adjusted-LBC runs for ozone concentrations both at the ground-level and in the middle to upper troposphere, based on EPA-recommended model performance metrics. The probability of detection (POD) of ozone exceedances (> 75 ppb, 8-h averages) for the entire domain increased from 20.8% for the default-LBC run to 33.7% for the adjusted-LBC run. A process analysis of modeling results revealed that ozone within PBL during bulk of the pre-monsoon season is contributed by local photochemistry and vertical advection, while the contributions of horizontal and vertical advections are comparable in the monsoon season. The process analysis with adjusted-LBC runs confirms the contributions of vertical advection to episodic high ozone days, and hence elucidates the importance of improving predictability of upper levels with improved LBCs.
A COMMON ITEM CREATIVITY SCALE FOR THE ADJECTIVE CHECK LIST

The Adjective Check List (ACL; Gough & Heilbrun, 1965) has proven useful for the development of scales to measure creativity (Domino, 1970; Smith & Schaefer, 1969; Welsh, 1967). Domino (1970) developed a 59-item scale that was cross-validated using creative and noncreative students. Smith and Schaefer (1969) developed a 27-item scale that could distinguish creative from noncreauve high school stduents. Welsh (1967) developed two independent scales which identify creative Ss with high intelligence and creative Ss with low intelligence. For present purposes, these scales were combined as one measure of creativity for high and low intellectual levels. A review of these scales indicated that there were 28 ACL adiectives which were common to at least two of the three scales and when selected, were indicative of creativity. These adjectives are: adventurous, aloof, artistic, assertive, clever, complicated, cynical, disorderly, dissatisfied, egotistical, idealistic, imaginative, impulsive, individualistic, ingenious, insightful, intelligent, inventive, original, outspoken, quick, rebellious, reflective, resourceful, restless, sharpwitted, spontaneous, and unconventional. Seven of these adjectives were common to all three scales. They were: clever, complicated, cynical, imaginative, original, reflective, and unconventional. This list of 28 ACL adjectives represents a common core for ACL measures of creativity and may provide a new measure of creativity superior to any of the other scales. The usefulness of this new scale will, however, depend on future validicy srudies. Research is presently being conducted on the validity of this scale and it is hoped that with the publication of the items, others will also explore its usefulness as a measure of creativity.
Session 24 overview: Integrated biomedical systems: IMMD subcommittee

This session presents state-of-the-art integrated biomedical systems for high-density neural recording, efficient neuromodulation, ultra-low-power cardiac monitoring, artificial noses, cell type detection, and 3D ultrasound imaging. The first paper focuses on a miniaturized, wirelessly powered, neural interface for acquisition of ECoG signals. The second paper presents a switched-capacitor-based wireless deep-brain stimulator that also supports optogenetic stimulation. The next two papers focus on ECG monitoring using ultra-low-power circuit-design techniques. The fifth paper describes an artificial nose-on-a-chip that can detect early-stage pneumonia. The next paper is about a flow cytometer-on-a-chip using magnetic bead labels. The seventh paper describes an interface chip for EEG recording with active dry electrodes. Finally, a 64-channel interface chip is presented for beamforming in 2D capacitive micromachined ultrasound transducers (CMUT).
Characteristic Lengths and Distances: Fast and Robust Features for Nonlinear Time Series

Estimation of most of the metrics used to characterize dynamical systems’ output require fairly long time series (e.g., Lyapunov Exponents, Fractal Dimensions), or substantial computational resources (e.g., phase space warping metrics, sensitivity vector fields). In many practical applications, when there is abundance of data (e.g., in Atomic Force Microscopy) fast and simple features are needed, and when there is sparsity of data (e.g., in many Structural Health Monitoring situations) robust features are needed. Here, we propose a new class of features based on Birkhoff Ergodic Theorem, which are fast to calculate and do not require large data or computational resources. Applications of these metrics, in conjunction with the smooth orthogonal decomposition, to identifying underlying processes causing nonstationarity both in simulations and actual experiments are demonstrated.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Impact of IMF-related news on capital markets: Further evidence from bond spreads in Indonesia and Korea

Abstract The IMF's effects on private capital markets have attracted increasing attention in the literature. This paper examines whether IMF-related news during the Asian crisis contains information regarding the changes in sovereign bond spreads of Indonesia and Korea. Our results indicate that other countries’ IMF-related news increases these countries’ bond spreads. Both in Indonesia and Korea, the countries’ own news associated with program negotiations and approval decreases bond spreads. With respect to the interpretations of the impact of IMF news on private capital markets, we show that the current interpretations vary and identify this issue as an important future research agenda.
Chapter 3: Anthropology, the Meaning of Community, and Prevention

Summary Successful health promotion and disease prevention efforts must be designed with a thorough knowledge of the community in which they are to be used. Unfortunately, our understanding of the term “community” is currently in a muddle. In this paper we clarify the nature of communities by examining how the concept has been treated in four classic community studies. Three important points emerge: (1) that community is a multifaceted concept, (2) that communities are best viewed as assortments of social processes, and (3) that each community has within it many different communities. We then illustrate these findings with a commentary on Kelly's often cited longitudinal community psychology study of adolescent boys attending two high schools.
Functionalized distributed feedback lasers for hydrogen sensing applications

Distributed feedback lasers with an integrated thin-film of palladium have been fabricated and measured. Palladium's refractive index changes when exposed to hydrogen gas, producing a wavelength redshift and power increase proportional to hydrogen concentration.
On the global architecture of initiation factor IF3: a comparative study of the linker regions from the Escherichia coli protein and the Bacillus stearothermophilus protein.

Abstract Initiation factor IF3 is a protein involved in the initiation stage of protein synthesis. It consists of two global domains linked by a 20 residue long, solvent-exposed linker. Recently, the structure of the N and C-terminal domains of the Bacillus stearothermophilus protein have been solved by X-ray crystallography and the structure of the intact Escherichia coli protein has been studied by NMR. These two studies have led to apparently contradictory models for the domain organization of IF3. The NMR study of the E. coli protein indicates that the linker region is flexible, while the studies of the isolated N and C-terminal domains of the B. stearothermophilus protein suggest that the linker forms a rigid helical rod. In order to resolve this discrepancy, a set of peptides corresponding to the linker regions of the B. stearothermophilus and the E. coli protein were synthesized. Circular dichroism and NMR spectroscopy were used to study the helical content as a function of pH, temperature, peptide concentration and ionic strength. Both peptides are monomeric. The estimated helical content of the linker fragment from B. stearothermophilus is 68% at high pH and 1°C. The measured helicity decreases to 53% at pH 7.0 and 1°C. In contrast, the peptide corresponding to the E. coli IF3 linker region is largely unstructured with a maximum helical content of 15% at high pH and only 8% at pH 7.0, 1°C. These results suggest that the different structures observed for the two intact proteins may be due to the different intrinsic stability of the two linker peptides. The helical content of the two linker peptides is, however, much closer when the peptides are compared at the respective temperatures of optimum growth for E. coli and B. stearothermophilus (3% versus 17%). The pH and ionic strength dependence of the helical content of the B. stearothermophilus peptide demonstrates that side-chain/side-chain interactions play an important role in stabilizing the helical structure. In addition, studies with mutant peptides show that the first Asp residue in the linker sequence helps to stabilize the helix via an N-capping interaction.
Standardized assay for the sodium reabsorption inhibitory effect and studies of its salivary gland distribution in patients with cystic fibrosis.

Extract: The retrograde perfusion assay of Mangos for the sodium reabsorption inhibitory effect in sweat and mixed saliva from patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) was modified by (1) using the second parotid gland of the rat as a control, (2) carefully controlling the quantity of saliva perfused into the rat parotid gland so that the ratio of milliliters perfused to gram dry gland weight fell between 1.8 and 2.8, and (3) reporting the inhibitory effect as percentage of inhibition of the rate of sodium reabsorption (RNa) in tne perfused gland calculated from the difference between the RNA'S in the two glands. Using this modified assay we were able to confirm that significant differences exist in the percentage of inhibition of RNa caused by CF and normal mixed saliva (47.0 ± 24.8 and 18.0 ± 8.3, mean ± SD). In addition, similar significant differences in the percentage of inhibition of RNa by submandibular gland secretions (39.7 ± 13.5 and 16.0 ± 11.8), sublingual gland secretions (39.5 ± 6.0 and 19.7 ± 14.3), and submucosal gland secretions (34.0 ± 11.7 and 21.7 ± 12.7) between CF and normal subjects were observed. However, parotid gland secretions from CF subjects showed no increased inhibitory effect (12.5 ± 7.9 and 12.5 ± 6.6). These findings demonstrate that the sodium reabsorption inhibitory effect is produced by the secretions from some but not all salivary glands of patients with CF.
Investigation of the performance of a coring bit in frozen mud under Martian conditions of low temperature and pressure

[1] A diamond-impregnated bit will be the most probable choice for Mars drilling applications. This is because it can be used to drill or cut the hardest rocks, including the most common rocks on Mars, i.e., basalt and andesite (Bandfield et al., 2000). Recent results suggest a possibility of the Martian regolith containing clay minerals (Webster and Savage, 2004; Ruff, 2003), products of chemical weathering of certain minerals such as, for example, olivine (Hoefen et al., 2003) in the presence of water. Thus, in addition to volcanic rocks, the bit might also have to drill through other geological formations, including, for example, clay-rich soils commonly known as mud. This argument supposes that the Martian drill will have no option for changing bits. Thus the question exists, whether a bit of the diamond-impregnated type can also be used successfully in frozen mud. It was found that mud exhibits three different physical conditions, depending on its temperature. The bit can effectively drill and the entire core can be successfully recovered provided that the mud is kept in the temperature region between approximately −8°C and 0°C. Above 0°C the mud becomes sticky. Below −8°C the mud is hard frozen and the bit cannot penetrate it successfully. Measurement of the electrical resistance of the mud directly below the bit while drilling was used together with the bit temperature to assess the physical state of the mud below the bit.
Preferential Resource Allocation in Stream Processing Systems

Overloaded data stream management systems (DSMS) cannot process all tuples within their response time. For some DSMS it is crucial to allocate the precious resources to process the most significant tuples. Prior work has applied shedding and spilling to permanently drop or temporarily place to disk insignificant tuples. However neither approach considers that tuple significance can be multi-tiered nor that significance determination can be costly. These approaches consider all tuples not dropped to be equally significant. Unlike these prior works, we take a fresh stance by pulling the most significant tuples forward throughout the query pipeline. Proactive Promotion (PP), a new DSMS methodology for preferential CPU resource allocation, selectively pulls the most significant tuples ahead of less significant tuples. Our optimizer produces an optimal PP plan that minimizes the processing latency of tuples in the most significant tiers in this multi-tiered precedence scheme by strategically placing significance determination operators throughout the query pipeline at compile-time and by agilely activating them at run-time. Our results substantiate that PP lowers the latency and increases the throughput for significant results when compared to the state-of-the-art shedding and traditional DSMS approaches (between 2 and 18 fold for a rich diversity of datasets) with negligible overhead.
Dehydrophenylalanyl analogs of bradykinin: synthesis and biological activities.

Abstract We have synthesized three analogs of the potent vasodilator peptide bradykinin, ArgProProGlyPhe SerProPheArg (BK), containing dehydrophenylalanine (Δ z Phe) in place of the phenylalanyl residues at positions 5 and/or 8. The analogs, [Δ z Phe 5 ]BK, [Δ z Phe 8 ]BK, and [Δ z Phe 5,8 ]BK, were assayed for their effects on isolated smooth muscle tissues and on the systemic arterial blood pressure of rats. In these assays [Δ z Phe 5 ]BK showed considerably high biological activities, particularly in terms of its blood pressure-lowering effects, being over 23 times more potent than BK when given intravenously. [Δ z Phe 8 ]BK was less potent than BK and [Δ z Phe 5,8 ]BK had effects comparable to those of BK. All three synthetic analogs appear to be more resistant than BK to enzymic degradation during passage through the pulmonary vascular bed.
Religious Orientation and Ethnic Identity as Predictors of Religious Coping Among Bereaved Individuals

Religious orientation and ethnic identity inform the religious coping process, but research on this topic is scarce. The authors collected data on these constructs from a sample (N = 319) of bereaved adults. A canonical correlation analysis showed that individuals who engage in traditional spiritual practices and strive to achieve ordinary and transcendental spiritual goals are more likely to engage in positive religious coping (Wilks's Λ = .36, Rc2 = .62, p < .001). Also, a multiple regression analysis revealed that individuals with higher levels of ethnic identity development are more likely to engage in positive religious coping (β = .12, t < .05). Finally, a discriminant analysis indicated that ethnic identity and a conservative religious orientation discriminated between Whites and ethnic minority individuals, Wilks's Λ = .71, χ2(4, N = 204) = 70.10, p < .001, Rc2 = .26. The authors encourage counselors to strengthen their multicultural and spiritual competencies to provide effective services to a culturally and religiously diverse clientele.
Do different light regimes affect the foraging behaviour, growth and survival of larval cod (Gadus morhua L.)?

Abstract One of the problems encountered with intensive production of Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua L.) is inconsistent growth and survival from hatch through metamorphosis. This could be attributed in part to a poor understanding of the optimal culture conditions required for large-scale commercial production. Studies to date have indicated that cod larvae reared under high light intensities perform better than larvae reared under low light intensities. However, an earlier study from our laboratory suggested that Atlantic cod may not require high light during the later larval stages. Therefore, this study examined the foraging behavior, growth and survival of Atlantic cod larvae reared under varying light conditions during the late larval stage. In this experiment, larvae were subjected to three different light intensity regimes: treatment 1–2200 lux from 3–58 days post-hatch (dph), treatment 2–2200 lux from 3–27 dph and 600 lux from 28–58 dph and treatment 3–2200 lux from 3–39 dph and 600 lux from 40–58 dph. All tanks were kept under 24 h light. Weekly length and weight measurements were taken, and foraging behaviour was recorded twice a week. The results show that larvae reared in treatment 2 showed better growth in terms of standard lengths and dry weights than the larvae reared in treatments 1 and 3. Larvae reared in treatment 2 were also more efficient foragers than the other two treatments. However, there were no differences in the survival among the three treatments. These results indicate that a reduction in light intensity in cod larval tanks during the late larval stages would enhance the growth performances.
H-2 haplotype specificity of molecular requirements for trinitrophenyl recognition by anti-hapten cytotoxic T lymphocytes.

Abstract The requirement of direct covalent association of trinitrophenyl (Tnp) groups with cell surface components for functional interactions with anti-Tnp cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) was analyzed. The question was approached by comparing three different methods of modifying target cells with Tnp groups and analyzing the ability of three anti-Tnp effector populations with different H-2 haplotypes (H-2 k , H-2 d , and H-2 b ) to lyse the syngeneic Tnp-modified cells. All effector cell populations were able to lyse in an H-2 restricted manner the appropriate target cell modified with 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid. As previously shown, H-2 k anti-Tnp CTLs exhibited true H-2 restriction while H-2 d anti-Tnp and H-2 b anti-Tnp CTLs lysed the haptenated syngeneic target cell preferentially but not exclusively. Cells modified by either trintrophenylated bovine serum albumin (Tnp 35 -BSA) or trinitrophenylated Sendai virus (Tnp-SV) were rendered susceptible to lysis depending upon the H-2 haplotypes of the target cells and the anti-Tnp effector cells. H-2 k anti-Tnp CTLs were able to lyse H-2 k target cells modified with either Tnp 35 -BSA or Tnp-SV; however, H-2 d anti-Tnp or H-2 b anti-Tnp CTLS did not significantly lyse the H-2 d or H-2 b target cells modified by either Tnp 35 -BSA or Tnp-SV. The results suggest that Tnp groups not covalently linked with cell surface specific components can be recognized by H-2 k anti-Tnp CTLs, but not by H-2 d or H-2 b anti-Tnp CTLs.
Logistic disease incidence models and case-control studies

SUMMARY The probability of disease development in a defined time period is described by a logistic regression model. A model for the regression variable, given disease status, is induced and is applied to case-control data. It is shown that the odds ratio estimators and their asymptotic variance matrices may be obtained by applying the original logistic regression model to the case-control study as if the data had been obtained in a prospective study. This result gives a flexible and convenient method of analysis for a range of case-control studies in which stratum sizes are reasonably large. The work extends Anderson's (1972) results on logistic discrimination and generalizes the findings of Breslow & Powers (1978) on the equivalence of odds ratio estimators when both prospective and retrospective logistic models are applied to case-control data.
Regional planning acceptance by residents of Northern New York, USA

This study compares the effectiveness of two regional planning agencies in terms of public support for various planning activities. The Adirondack Park Agency and the Temporary State Commission on Tug Hill have fundamentally different approaches to planning. The Adirondack Park Agency has implemented a restrictive regulatory program with little citizen participation by Adirondack residents. The Tug Hill Commission has implemented an advisory and coordinating program with an emphasis on public input. Residents of two towns in each region were surveyed to determine environmental concern and support for regional planning activities. Respondents from both regions favored a planning agency that incorporates citizen input; controls air, water, and toxic waste pollution; and develops recreation areas. They strongly opposed an agency that regulates private land-use. Basic demographic characteristics and levels of environmental concern were similar in all four towns, but receptivity to various planning activities was consistently greater among residents of the Tug Hill Region. Paired comparisons of the four towns demonstrated no differences between towns of the same region and significant differences between towns of different regions. Public support for regional planning is greater in the Tug Hill Region than in the Adirondack Park.
On sources in comparability graphs, with applications

Abstract We characterize sources in comparability graphs and show that our result provides a unifying look at two recent results about interval graphs.
Low-level smoking among Spanish-speaking Latino smokers: relationships with demographics, tobacco dependence, withdrawal, and cessation.

Introduction: Although recent research indicates that many La- tino smokers are nondaily smokers or daily smokers who smoke at a low level ( ≤ 5 cigarettes/day), almost no research has investi- gated the characteristics of low-level smokers because such indi- viduals are typically excluded from clinical trial research. Methods: The present study examined the associations of daily smoking level and demographics, tobacco dependence, with- drawal, and abstinence during a specifi c quit attempt among 280 Spanish-speaking Latino smokers (54% male) who partici- pated in a clinical trial of a telephone counseling intervention. Daily smokers were classifi ed as low-level (1 - 5 cigarettes/day; n = 81), light (6 - 10 cigarettes/day; n = 99), or moderate/heavy smokers ( ≥ 11 cigarettes/day; n = 100). Data were collected prior to the quit attempt and at 5 and 12 weeks postquit. Results: Results yielded three key fi ndings. First, smoking level was positively associated with the total score and 12 of 13 subscale scores on a comprehensive, multidimensional measure of tobacco dependence. Low-level smokers consistently report- ed the least dependence, and moderate/heavy smokers reported the most dependence on tobacco. Second, low-level smokers
Stability of inner planetary systems

The model of the planar restricted problem of three bodies is used to evaluate the stability of the inner planets of planetary systems with arbitrary mass ratios. A quantitative measure of stability is introduced by finding the difference between the critical value of the Jacobian constant (at which bifurcation may occur) and the value of the Jacobian constant that corresponds to planetary type orbits. Hill's definition of stability is used according to which inner planetary orbits are stable if they are bounded in a region enclosing only the larger primary. For small values of the massparameter (μ<10−3) the maximum value of the dimensionless radius of the orbit for Hill-stability is given by 1−2.4 µ1/3.
Intelligent Meeting Management Applications

ABSTRACT Smart card based meeting management applications have the potential to increase attendee satisfaction, increase communications, and strengthen coordination with improved operational efficiency. The value of embedded chip card technology lies in its ability to store data locally with a high degree of security and portability. Recent developments that incorporate biometric extensions to smart card configurations support higher levels of security and access control. This article describes the potential for applying smart card and related technology to the meeting planning industry. It also identifies challenges that need to be addressed prior to the proliferation of smart card and/or biometric implementation within the meeting planning industry.
Promiscuous antigen presentation by the nonclassical MHC Ib Qa-2 is enabled by a shallow, hydrophobic groove and self-stabilized peptide conformation.

Abstract Background: Qa-2 is a nonclassical MHC Ib antigen, which has been implicated in both innate and adaptive immune responses, as well as embryonic development. Qa-2 has an unusual peptide binding specificity in that it requires two dominant C-terminal anchor residues and is capable of associating with a substantially more diverse array of peptide sequences than other nonclassical MHC. Results: We have determined the crystal structure, to 2.3 A, of the Q9 gene of murine Qa-2 complexed with a self-peptide derived from the L19 ribosomal protein, which is abundant in the pool of peptides eluted from the Q9 groove. The 9 amino acid peptide is bound high in a shallow, hydrophobic binding groove of Q9, which is missing a C pocket. The peptide makes few specific contacts and exhibits extremely poor shape complementarity to the MHC groove, which facilitates the presentation of a degenerate array of sequences. The L19 peptide is in a centrally bulged conformation that is stabilized by intramolecular interactions from the invariant P7 histidine anchor residue and by a hydrophobic core of preferred secondary anchor residues that have minimal interaction with the MHC. Conclusions: Unexpectedly, the preferred secondary peptide residues that exhibit tenuous contact with Q9 contribute significantly to the overall stability of the peptide-MHC complex. The structure of this complex implies a "conformational" selection by Q9 for peptide residues that optimally stabilize the large bulge rather than making intimate contact with the MHC pockets.
New synthesis of octahydro-2-methyl-2H-pyrazino[1,2-a]pyrazine

A new method has been developed for the synthesis of octahydro-2-methyl-2H-pyrazino-[1,2-a]pyrazine. 2-Benzylaminoethanol was the starting material.