cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Regime transition of ion Bernstein instability driven by ion shell velocity distributions

Linear kinetic dispersion theory is used to investigate a regime transition of the ion Bernstein instability driven by a proton velocity distribution with positive slopes with respect to the perpendicular velocity, ∂fp(v∥∼0,v⊥)/∂v⊥>0. The unstable waves arising from this instability are ion Bernstein waves with proton cyclotron harmonic dispersion. However, in the inner magnetosphere, particularly inside of the plasmapause where plasmas are dominated by a cold background, the instability leads to ion Bernstein waves which approximately follow the cold plasma dispersion relation for fast magnetosonic waves and are, therefore, fast magnetosonic-like. Subsequently, the relevant waves have been termed fast magnetosonic waves and many studies have assumed the cold plasma dispersion relation to describe them. On the other hand, how the dispersion properties of ion Bernstein waves become fast magnetosonic-like has not yet been well understood. To examine this regime transition of the instability, we perform linear dispersion analyses using a two-component proton model of fp(v) = fM(v) + fs(v), where fM is a Maxwellian velocity distribution and fs is an isotropic shell velocity distribution. The results show that the unstable waves are essentially ion Bernstein waves; however, when the shell proton concentration becomes sufficiently small (less than 10), the unstable waves approach the cold plasma dispersion relation for fast magnetosonic waves and become fast magnetosonic-like. Although a reduced proton-to-electron mass ratio of 100 has been used for convenience, which reduces the number of unstable modes involved by lowering the lower hybrid frequency, this does not change the overall regime transition picture revealed in this study.
Forced Founders: Indians, Debtors, Slaves, and the Making of the American Revolution in Virginia . By Woody Holton. Chapel Hill and London: University of North Carolina Press, 1999. Pp. xxi, 231. $39.95, cloth; $14.95, paper.

Professor Woody Holton makes two important points in this fine study of rebellion: the elite gentlemen of Virginia did not always lead the Revolution, but were sometimes pushed from below, and the Chesapeake is not New England. Those of us who live and teach below the Mason-Dixon Line are often painfully aware that the general outlines of U.S. history are not the history of our region. As this detailed study of Virginia's path to Revolution makes clear, many of the generalizations about the origins of the American Revolution only hold for the northern colonies. But this work's greatest contribution is its carefully researched and documented argument that race and class mattered in creating a Revolution.
A review of Latin American corporate governance literature: 2000‐2009

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to promote research about corporate governance in Latin America. A set of studies published in English since 2000 is identified and classified. Also, organizations and journals are identified that support research about corporate governance.Design/methodology/approach – One question guides this literature review. What pattern of research development, if any, is reflected in the literature reviewed?Findings – Analysis shows research has moved from an initial literature descriptive primarily of national practices, to an intermediate literature with questions largely implied from inquiry about the context of change, to a current literature designed explicitly to assess change.Practical implications – The overarching implication of recent literature is that good governance has social benefit as studied. The dominant type of recent study is grounded in finance and designed to address a specific question by adopting a market perspective and by applying methods of empirical...
The politics of transcription

Abstract Despite its centrality to the methods of discourse analysis, transcription has received disproportionately little attention in its own right. In particular need of discussion is the issue of transcription as a practice inherently embedded in relations of power. Examples from a transcript of a police interrogation, from a newspaper transcript of a radio program, and from a variety of linguistic transcripts demonstrate that transcription involves both interpretive decisions (What is transcribed?) and representational decisions (How is it transcribed?). These decisions ultimately respond to the contextual conditions of the transcription process itself, including the transcriber's own expectations and beliefs about the speakers and the interaction being transcribed; the intended audience of the transcript; and its purpose. The two basic transcription styles, naturalized transcription, in which the text conforms to written discourse conventions, and denaturalized transcription, in which the text retains links to oral discourse forms, have equal potential to serve as politicized tools of linguistic representation. A reflexive transcription practice, as part of a reflexive discourse analysis, requires awareness and acknowledgment of the limitations of one's own transcriptional choices.
Computing polynomials orthogonal with respect to densely oscillating and exponentially decaying weight functions and related integrals

Software (in Matlab) is developed for computing variable-precision recurrence coefficients for orthogonal polynomials with respect to the weight functions 1 + sin(1/t), 1 + cos(1/t), e-1/t on [0, 1], as well as e-1/t-ton [0, ∞] and e-1/t2-t2 on [-∞, ∞]. Numerical examples are given involving Gauss quadrature relative to these weight functions.
Top-down public health curricular change: the experience of physical education teachers in the United States

Schools are frequently seen as the solution to social problems, and recent public health issues such as the near epidemic rates of obesity and diabetes are some of the newest pressures facing schools. This investigation is an exploration of physical education teachers’ reactions to one school district’s attempts to mandate a public health driven curricular change. Forty‐six elementary physical education teachers reported via interviews their perceptions of the change process. Data were analysed via a constant comparison process. Two key areas of implementation challenges were identified; including teachers’ need for new knowledge and the mismatch between the curriculum and teachers’ understanding of physical education and their context.
Editorial: Report on Statistical Quality of Endocrine Society Journals

The purpose of this report is to identify statistical errors and inadequacies which occur frequently in Endocrine Society journals, especially those which result in compromises in conclusions of the manuscripts or which lead to inefficient use of data. The project team members were six faculty members and two graduate students from the University of Iowa Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science. During the Spring 1989 semester the team met once a week to discuss the statistical content of papers randomly selected from an Endocrine Society journal. Over the course of the semester, a total of 15 published papers were examined. This report summarizes the findings of the review team. The rest of the report is organized into four sections. Section II comments on typical inadequacies in statistical reporting. Sections III and IV point out shortcomings found in experiments with routine statistical designs and analyses. Section V describes several types of experiments we encountered for which appropriate an...
New Composite Metal Foams under Compressive Cyclic Loadings

New composite metal foams are processed using powder metallurgy (PM) and gravity casting techniques. The foam is comprised of steel hollow spheres, with the interstitial spaces occupied by a solid metal matrix (Al or steel alloys). The cyclic compression loading of the products of both techniques has shown that the composite metal foams have high cyclic stability at very high maximum stress levels up to 68 MPa. Under cyclic loading, unlike other metal foams, the composite metal foams do not experience rapid strain accumulation within collapse bands and instead, a uniform distribution of deformation happen through the entire sample until the densification strain is reached. This is a result of more uniform cell structure in composite metal foams compared to other metal foams. As a result, the features controlling the fatigue life of the composite metal foams have been considered as sphere wall thickness and diameter, sphere and matrix materials, and processing techniques as well as bonding strength between the spheres and matrix.
Radio science with Voyager 1 at Jupiter - Preliminary profiles of the atmosphere and ionosphere

A preliminary profile of the atmosphere of Jupiter in the South Equatorial Belt shows (1) the tropopause occurring at a pressure level of 100 millibars and temperature of about 113 K, (2) a higher warm inversion layer at about the 35-millibar level, and (3) a lower-altitude constant lapse rate matching the adiabatic value of about 2 K/km, with the temperature reaching 150 K at the 600-millibar level. Preliminary afternoon and predawn ionospheric profiles at 12 deg and near the equator, respectively, have topside plasma scale heights of 590 km changing to 960 km above an altitude of 3500 km for the dayside, and about 960 km at all measured heights above the peak for the nightside. The higher value of scale height corresponds to a plasma temperature of 1100 K under the assumption of a plasma of protons and electrons in ambipolar diffusive equilibrium. The peak electron concentration in the upper ionosphere is approximately 200,000/cu cm for the dayside and about a factor of 10 less for the nightside. These peaks occur at altitudes of 1600 and 2300 km, respectively. Continuing analyses are expected to extend and refine these results, and to be used to investigate other regions and phenomena.
Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in Alzheimer's disease.

Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is a powerful new magnetic resonance imaging technique for evaluating tissue pathophysiology in vivo. We performed DWI in three orthogonal spatial directions in 10 pat
Early plume expansion in atmospheric pressure midinfrared laser ablation of water-rich targets

We have developed a one-dimensional fluid dynamics model for the ablation of water-rich targets by nanosecond infrared laser pulses at atmospheric pressure. To describe the laser-target interaction and the plume expansion dynamics, in light of recent experimental results the model incorporates phase explosion due to superheating and the nonlinear light absorption properties of water. In the model, the phase explosion is treated as a prolonged process that lasts for a finite time. Once a thin layer beneath the target surface exceeds the phase explosion temperature, this layer is transformed from target material into a mixture of water vapor and droplets and become part of the plume. This process is sustained for some time until the laser energy cannot maintain it. The simulation results show that as a result of two different phase transition mechanisms, i.e., surface evaporation and phase explosion, a first, slower plume expansion phase is followed by a more vigorous accelerated expansion phase. The calculated time evolution of the shock front at various fluence levels agrees well with the experimental observations of Apitz and Vogel [I. Apitz and A. Vogel, Appl. Phys. A. 81, 329 (2005)]. This model sheds light on the effect of phase explosion in laser ablation dynamics and its results are relevant for material synthesis, surface analysis, and medical (surgery) applications.
The Effects of local Fair Housing Ordinances on Housing Segregation: Their Impact Is Small, But It's an Important Positive Change Toward Integration

. State and local fair housing ordinances, patterned after federal legislation, are promoted by federal policy. This study investigates whether these local laws have had any effect on levels of residential segregation between Whites and Blacks, 1970-1980, by comparing changes in segregation for 111 cities characterized by different types of fair housing coverage. Results show average declines of 9 points in the index of dissimilarity, with cities covered by both state and local laws declining slightly more than cities with no fair housing coverage. Declines are not greater in cities with laws that are “substantially equivalent” to Title VIII vs. cities with non-equivalent laws. When changes in segregation were examined by a variety of population, economic and housing variables that may affect segregation change, it was found that local ordinances continue to have a small, but statistically significant effect. This effect varies according to the pattern of segregation change under study; deconcentration of ghetto areas and integration of White areas are not affected by type of local fair housing coverage.
Hydrogen Peroxide Photolysis in Acidic Aqueous Solutions Containing Chloride Ions. I. Chemical Mechanism

Equilibrium constants and rate constants involving Cl•(aq), Cl2•-(aq), H2O, and H2O2(aq) are measured at 297 ± 2 K by analyzing the kinetics of formation and decay of Cl2•-. The new results are in good agreement with previous studies, when available. The reaction between solvated chlorine atoms and hydrogen peroxide is reported for the first time: Cl•(aq) + H2O2(aq) → H+(aq) + Cl-(aq) + HO2•(aq), k10 = (2.0 ± 0.3) × 109 M-1 s-1 (±σ). The new results are used along with evaluations of literature data to arrive at recommendations for several key rate constants and equilibrium constants. Of particular interest, the recommended equilibrium constant for the reaction Cl•(aq) + Cl-(aq) ↔ Cl2•-(aq) is K5 = (1.4 ± 0.2) × 105 M-1(±σ).
Optimization-based planning for the stochastic lot-scheduling problem

We describe a finite-horizon stochastic optimization model for the stochastic lot-scheduling problem and procedures for finding near-optimal solutions. Several different products are produced by a single-stage process with significant changeover times and costs, and the demand for these products is random. The deterministic version of this problem, the economic lot-scheduling problem, is the subject of a great deal of research. However, the problem with random demand for the products is commonly found in practice but is not as well researched. The models developed in this paper address the problem of dynamically planning the timing and size of production runs in this kind of production environment. We also report some computational results that indicate the quality of the resulting production schedules.
The Reaction of Spin–Orbit State-Selected Ca(PJ03) With CH3I, CH2I2, and SF6

Chemiluminescence cross sections for reaction of the individual spin&#8211;orbit states of metastable Ca(PJ03) with CH3I, CH2I2, and SF6 have been determined by the use of optical pumping state selection. This technique was also used to separate the chemiluminescence arising from the two excited metastable Ca 3P0 and 1D states. The spin&#8211;orbit dependence of the chemiluminescence pathway was found to be substantial for the CH3I and CH2I2 reactions and similar to that previously observed for halogen diatom and alkyl bromide reagents. By contrast, no spin&#8211;orbit effect was observed for Ca(3P0)
Barotropic instability with divergence: theory and applications to Venus.

IR images of Venus reveal a curious double-lobed hot spot in the polar region. Elson (1982) has suggested that this dipole represents a barotropic instability associated with a high-latitude jet. Unfortunately, the classical theory of barotropic instability cannot predict temperature variations. This paper generalizes the theory to include horizontal divergence, vertical motions, and temperature variations, and applies it to the stratosphere of Venus. The fastest-growing barotropic instability in the nominal model matches the observed dipole in period and horizontal temperature pattern. The accompanying wind variations are comparable to the speed of the mean jet, indicating strong nonlinear effects. It is concluded that the Venus dipole may represent the self-limited stage of a barotropic instability with divergence.
Dynamic Force Adaptation of Lipid Droplets in Sub-Cellular Transport

Most organelle movements in cells is due to enzymatic activity of a combination of kinesin variants and dynein molecular motors along the microtubules. In essentially all studies to date, it has been implicitly assumed that vesicular transport is unbiased throughout the cell. That is, while there can be global signaling events that change overall motion, molecular motors on individual cargos are not shown to respond to local changes in opposition to motion. The accepted models in the field predict that the groups of molecular motors function in a stochastic way. Here, we discover that this is not the case. Remarkably, our data shows that in cells, sub-cellular cargos (such as lipid droplets) can ‘sense’ when they are stuck, and respond by dynamically increasing efficacy of force production. This is quite surprising, and was entirely unexpected.
Human type 3 iodothyronine selenodeiodinase is located in the plasma membrane and undergoes rapid internalization to endosomes.

The type 3 iodothyronine selenodeiodinase (D3) is an integral membrane protein that inactivates thyroid hormones. By using immunofluorescence cytochemistry confocal microscopy of live or fixed cells transiently expressing FLAG-tagged human D3 or monkey hepatocarcinoma cells expressing endogenous D3, we identified D3 in the plasma membrane. It co-localizes with Na,K-ATPase α, with the early endosomal marker EEA-1 and clathrin, but not with two endoplasmic reticulum resident proteins. Most of the D3 molecule is extracellular and can be biotinylated with a cell-impermeant probe. There is constant internalization of D3 that is blocked by sucrose or methyl-β-cyclodextrin-containing medium. Exposing cells to a weak base such as primaquine increases the pool of internalized D3, suggesting that D3 is recycled between plasma membrane and early endosomes. Such recycling could account for the much longer half-life of D3 (12 h) than the thyroxine activating members of the selenodeiodinase family, type 1 (D1; 8 h) or type 2 (D2; 2 h) deiodinase. The extracellular location of D3 gives ready access to circulating thyroid hormones, explaining its capacity for rapid inactivation of circulating thyroxine and triiodothyronine in patients with hemangiomas and its blockade of the access of maternal thyroid hormones to the human fetus.
What happened on the way to postmodern

Purpose – This paper seeks to address the question: what happened to postmodern?Design/methodology/approach – Three trends are reviewed: postmodern fragmentation, late modern appropriations of postmodern moves; and emergent awareness of the dark‐side of postmodern.Findings – On the way to postmodern theory the revolution to reform modern capitalism fragmented into rhetoric‐strands, while practice became ineffective.Research limitations/implications – The paper concludes with possibilities for participatory research in ways that enact more postmodern forms of capitalist praxis.Practical implications – It is suggested that qualitative studies of postmodern praxis can be conducted; such as postmodern organizations that enact the dark‐side of biotechnology; consumer organizations, such as Blackspot and No Sweat that contract to non‐sweatshop factories; and autoethnographic examples of how building a Harley‐Davidson chopper is post‐production and post‐consumption.Originality/value – The paper shows that in the...
Spatial Use and Group Dynamics of Sympatric Collared Peccaries and Feral Hogs in Southern Texas

Range and group dynamics of collared peccaries ( Tayassu tajacu ) and feral hogs ( Sus scrofa ) on the Welder Wildlife Refuge near Sinton, Texas, were studied during June 1991– November 1992. Eleven females (six peccaries, five hogs) representing distinct herds were outfitted with radiotransmitters. Crude densities of peccaries and hogs were estimated at 2.0 and 9.5 animals/km2, respectively. Peccary herds were highly cohesive units, in contrast to hogs, which exhibited a flexible grouping pattern. Ecological density of peccaries appeared to be negatively related to the density of observations of hogs within individual territories of peccaries. The distribution of group sizes also differed for peccaries in areas of low abundance of hogs (two herds) and in areas of high abundance of hogs (four herds). Size of home ranges did not differ between species. Home ranges of both species were larger during summer than spring. Overlap occurred between ranges of peccaries and hogs, but was diminished at the level of 75 and 50% core areas. Peccaries have declined on the study area for nearly 30 years, and feral hogs may have been involved in reducing herd and group size of peccaries.
Individual Susceptibility to Cadmium Toxicity and Metallothionein Gene Polymorphisms: with References to Current Status of Occupational Cadmium Exposure

The incidence of serious poisoning caused by occupational cadmium exposure has declined over the past four decades due to improvements in the work environment. However, long-term low-level exposure to cadmium needs to be addressed. For workers in industries that handle cadmium, it is necessary to consider the daily cadmium intake from contaminated foods such as cereals and rice in addition to the occupational exposure, since workers might be exposed to higher levels of cadmium from a combination of these sources. Cadmium accumulates in the renal cortex by the long-term exposure along with increased concentrations of metallothionein, an important protein for protection from cadmium toxicity. However, some individuals have lower metallothionein levels despite increased cadmium accumulation in the kidneys. This article describes the strategy method for analyzing individual susceptibility to cadmium toxicity and genetic polymorphisms of metallothionein, with reference to the current status of occupational cadmium exposure.
On the denaturation of deoxyribonucleic acid: II. Effects of concentration

Abstract In continuation of previous studies the denaturation of DNA and the reversal of this process have been studied in 6 preparations of purified DNA from calf thymus, Escherichia coli , and Bacillus subtilis . The denaturation was produced by the dialysis of DNA solutions in the cold against distilled water and reversed by the subsequent addition of salt. The loss and the restoration of secondary structure were followed by means of thermal denaturation in water and in saline. The maximum hyperchromicity attained by the denaturation of DNA through dialysis, heating, or a combination of these procedures amounts to an increase of 38 % of the initial e(P). Both deand renaturation are dependent upon concentration. Concentrated DNA solutions are denatured by dialysis more rapidly than dilute solutions. The dilution of concentrated dialysed solutions with water produces a rise in e(P) and diminishes the amount of DNA restorable by the addition of salt. The dialysis of very dilute DNA solutions (around 20 μg/ml) produced no spectral evidence of denaturation.
Effects of the CRF receptor antagonist d-Phe CRF(12–41) and the α2-adrenergic receptor agonist clonidine on stress-induced reinstatement of nicotine-seeking behavior in rats

Tobacco dependence is a chronic disorder that is characterized by relapse after periods of abstinence. It has been hypothesized that the activation of brain stress systems mediates stress-induced relapse to smoking. The aim of these experiments was to investigate the role of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and norepinephrine in stress-induced reinstatement of extinguished nicotine-seeking behavior. Rats were allowed to self-administer nicotine under a fixed-ratio 5 schedule for 14 days and then nicotine-seeking behavior was extinguished by substituting saline for nicotine. In experiment 1, footshocks reinstated extinguished nicotine-seeking behavior. In experiment 2, there was a trend for the CRF(1/2) receptor antagonist D-Phe CRF((12-41)) (5, 25microg, icv) to decrease stress-induced reinstatement of nicotine-seeking behavior. Footshock-induced reinstatement of nicotine-seeking behavior was observed only in a subset of stress-responsive rats (71%). D-Phe CRF((12-41)) significantly attenuated stress-induced reinstatement of nicotine-seeking behavior in this subset of rats. In experiment 3, the alpha2-adrenergic receptor agonist clonidine (20, 40microg/kg, sc) attenuated footshock-induced reinstatement of nicotine-seeking behavior. In experiment 4, the effects of D-Phe CRF((12-41)) and clonidine on responding for chocolate-flavored food pellets was investigated in order to determine if these compounds have sedative effects. D-Phe CRF((12-41)) did not affect responding for food pellets. Clonidine slightly, but significantly, decreased responding for food pellets. Clonidine decreased responding for food to a lesser degree than it decreased stress-induced reinstatement of nicotine-seeking behavior. These data provide support for the hypothesis that an increased activity of brain CRF and norepinephrine systems mediates stress-induced relapse to nicotine-seeking behavior.
The cultural significance of Rembrandt's “Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaas Tulp”

The past several generations of scholarship on Rembrandt's “Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaas Tulp” have suffered from the anxiety of influence exercised by the influential interpretations of William Heckscher and William Schupbach. Schupbach's interpretation in particular has guided interpretation of the painting in the past generation and has given rise to a fundamental misunderstanding of the painting and its cultural significance. Schupbach and those whom he has influenced have failed to recognize that, from the standpoint of Baroque consciousness, there is an inner compatibility rather than a paradox or tension between the optimistic endorsement of earthly science and the putatively pessimistic resignation to the inevitability of death. Where the figure of Tulp represents the optimism of science and technology, that of the topmost surgeon Van Loenen represents the recognition that the technological project functions within the larger context of a Christian worldview. A reflection on the original form of...
Death in Embryonic Systems

The principal conclusion to be drawn from the foregoing discussion is that the death of cells and the destruction of tissues, organs, and organ systems are programmed as normal morphogenetic events in the development of multicellular organisms. Death in embryonic systems may thus be explored within the same conceptual framework as growth and differentiation. The present exploration has revealed that death during embryogenesis serves utilitarian goals in some instances, at least, that its occurrence is subject to control by factors of the immediate cellular and humoral environment, and that aberrations in its normal pattern of expression provide the mechanism for realization of many mutant phenotypes. Hopefully, it has also pointed toward the appropriate formulation of some of the problems that confront us in understanding the control of death at the level of genetic transcription, the biochemical events which determine and accompany its occurrence, and the pathways of disposition and the developmental significance of disassembled cellular building blocks.
Post-freeze recovery of peripheral nerve function in the freeze-tolerant wood frog, Rana sylvatica.

We investigated the restoration of peripheral nerve function and simple neurobehavioral reflexes in the freeze-tolerant wood frog (Rana sylvatica). Thirty-two specimens, allowed to freeze for 39 h and ultimately cooled to-2.2°C, were sampled at various time intervals up to 60 h after thawing at 5°C was initiated. The sciatic nerves of treated frogs were initially unresponsive to stimulation, but usually regained excitability within 5 h. Except for a slight reduction in nerve excitability characteristics of the compound action potentials of treated frogs were indistinguishable from those of control frogs. Recovery times for the hindlimb retraction and righting reflexes were 8 h and 14 h, respectively. Concentrations of the cryoprotectant glucose increased 8.2-fold in the sciatic nerve and 10.5-fold in the underlying semimembranosis muscle of treated frogs, and remained elevated for at least 60 h after thawing was initiated. These organs lost 47.2% and 15.9%, respectively, of their water during freezing, but were rehydrated within 2 h of the onset of thawing. The accumulation of glucose and the withdrawal of tissue water apparently are cryoprotective responses which enable this species to survive freezing.
Aharonov-Bohm effect in normal metal quantum coherence and transport

Abstract We review some of the recent surprising theoretical and experimental results obtained on the transport properties of small disordered metal samples. Even in the presence of disorder, the quantum mechanical interference of electron wavefunctions can still be observed. The Aharonov-Bohm effect is a particularly clear demonstration of this. In doubly connected structures (such as loops of wire) threaded by a magnetic flux, the electrical conductance oscillates because of the Aharonov-Bohm effect. In fact, because the electron trajectories are diffusive (i.e. random walks), even a lone wire (a singly connected structure) will exhibit a random pattern of conductance fluctuations as a function of the magnetic field because of the same interference effects. All that is required for the observation of these interferences is that the electrons retain ‘phase memory’ duing the period of transit through the sample. The length over which memory is maintained (the phase coherence length) can be much larger tha...
Minimax invariant estimator of a continuous distribution function

Consider the problems of the continuous invariant estimation of a distribution function with a wide class of loss functions. It has been conjectured for long that the best invariant estimator is minimax for all sample sizes n≥1. This conjecture is proved in this short note.
Properties of low-redshift QSO absorption systems - QSO-galaxy pairs

The chance proximity of QSOs and galaxies provides unique opportunities to probe the extent and content of gas in the foreground galaxies through evaluation of the incidence and strength of absorption lines in the spectra of the background QSOs. Recent results on the observed properties of these low-redshift, heavy-element absorption systems are summarized. These results are discussed in the context of the galaxy morphologies and environments and are briefly compared with Galactic absorption and with the inferred properties of higher-redshift QSO absorption systems.
Random Projections of Residuals for Digital Image Steganalysis

The traditional way to represent digital images for feature based steganalysis is to compute a noise residual from the image using a pixel predictor and then form the feature as a sample joint probability distribution of neighboring quantized residual samples-the so - called co-occurrence matrix. In this paper, we propose an alternative statistical representation - instead of forming the co-occurrence matrix, we project neighboring residual samples onto a set of random vectors and take the first-order statistic (histogram) of the projections as the feature. When multiple residuals are used, this representation is called the projection spatial rich model (PSRM). On selected modern steganographic algorithms embedding in the spatial, JPEG, and side-informed JPEG domains, we demonstrate that the PSRM can achieve a more accurate detection as well as a substantially improved performance versus dimensionality trade-off than state-of-the-art feature sets.
cAMP-dependent protein kinase isozymes in porcine follicles and corpora lutea

Abstract Our purpose was to identify regulatory (R) subunits and their associations with catalytic (C) subunits to form cAMP-dependent protein kinase (A-kinase) holoenzymes in select porcine ovarian tissues during follicular differentiation. Soluble extracts of small and preovulatory follicles and corpora lutea (CL) were separated on DEAE-cellulose chromatography. R subunits were labeled with 8-N 3 [ 32 P]cAMP or with [α- 32 P]ATP under RII autophosphorylation conditions and were identified by molecular weight ( M r ) determination on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) as well as cross-reactivity of unlabeled subunits with anti-R antibodies. A-kinase holoenzymes and C subunit-free R (free R) subunits were distinguished on the basis of DEAE elution position and sedimentation position on sucrose density gradient centrifugation of phosphotransferase and [ 3 H]cAMP binding activities. In small and preovulatory follicles and CL we identified a minor peak of type I A-kinase containing RIα ( M r = 47,000) and a major peak of type II A-kinase holoenzyme containing two RII isoforms ( M r = 52,000 and 56,000). Notable amounts of free RIα eluted between the type I and II holoenzymes in all three tissues. Neither of the holoenzymes nor free RIα was regulated as a function of follicular differentiation or CL formation. In contrast, free RII subunits were moderately increased in preovulatory follicles relative to levels in small follicles and CL. We conclude that only the RII subunits are hormonally regulated in developing follicles, and in tissues which express both RI and RII subunits, the RII subunits preferentially associate with C subunits to form the dominant holoenzyme despite the presence of significant amounts of RI.
Antenatal diagnosis of coarctation of the aorta: A multicenter experience

Abstract Objectives. The purpose of this study was to test observations that might aid prenatal prediction of the presence of coarctation of the aorta in newborn infants with and without other forms of heart disease. Background. Previous reports have suggested that abnormal growth of the aortic arch in utero may be identifiable as a marker for the diagnosis of coarctation. Methods. We reviewed the prenatal echocardiograms and postnatal outcome of 20 infants (gestational age at initial study 18 to 36 weeks) with coarctation of the aorta established postnatally, to identify echocardiographic findings that would most facilitate the prenatal diagnosis of coarctation. Associated cardiac lesions included double-inlet left ventricle anatomy (n = 5), double-outlet right ventricle (n = 4), abnormal aortic valve (n = 5), unbalanced atrioventricular canal (n = 3), and membranous ventricular septal defect (n = 1). Chromosomal abnormalities included XO karyotype (n = 1), trisomy 18 (n = 1), and trisomy 21 (n = 1). Results. Hypoplasia determined by measurement of the distal aortic arch was the most frequently observed finding among the fetuses with coarctation. In 12 of 15 fetuses with a well visualized transverse arch at initial prenatal study, the diameter of the transverse arch was ≤3rd percentile for gestational age as compared with that in a normal group of fetuses. Ten of 10 fetuses with adequate images of the isthmus had isthmus hypoplasia at prenatal study with a diameter ≤3rd percentile for gestational age. On serial study in six of seven, including three fetuses with normal distal arch measurements at initial study, the distal arch became progressively more hypoplastic for gestational age. In three there was no growth of the transverse arch or isthmus on serial study, and in three there was reversal of flow from antegrade to retrograde through the distal arch. Conclusions. In our study, quantitative hypoplasia of the isthmus and transverse arch was the most consistent observation and therefore the most definitive antenatal sign of postnatal coarctation. The potential for progression of distal arch hypoplasia necessitates serial study in fetuses with associated cardiac and noncardiac lesions.
Estimation of Nitrogen Pools in Irrigated Potato Production on Sandy Soil Using the Model SUBSTOR

Recent increases in nitrate concentrations in the Suwannee River and associated springs in northern Florida have raised concerns over the contributions of non-point sources. The Middle Suwannee River Basin (MSRB) is of special concern because of prevalent karst topography, unconfined aquifers and sandy soils which increase vulnerability of the ground water contamination from agricultural operations- a billion dollar industry in this region. Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) production poses a challenge in the area due to the shallow root system of potato plants, and low water and nutrient holding capacity of the sandy soils. A four-year monitoring study for potato production on sandy soil was conducted on a commercial farm located in the MSRB to identify major nitrogen (N) loss pathways and determine their contribution to the total environmental N load, using a partial N budget approach and the potato model SUBSTOR. Model simulated environmental N loading rates were found to lie within one standard deviation of the observed values and identified leaching loss of N as the major sink representing 25 to 38% (or 85 to 138 kg ha-1 N) of the total input N (310 to 349 kg ha-1 N). The crop residues left in the field after tuber harvest represented a significant amount of N (64 to 110 kg ha-1N) and posed potential for indirect leaching loss of N upon their mineralization and the absence of subsequent cover crops. Typically, two months of fallow period exits between harvest of tubers and planting of the fall row crop (silage corn). The fallow period is characterized by summer rains which pose a threat to N released from rapidly mineralizing potato vines. Strategies to reduce N loading into the groundwater from potato production must focus on development and adoption of best management practices aimed on reducing direct as well as indirect N leaching losses.
GDI Engine Exhaust Aftertreatment System Analysis and Oxygen Sensor Based Identification, Modeling and Control of Lean NOx Trap

This paper presents a thorough analysis of the exhaust gas aftertreatment systems of Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) engines. The mechanism of the exhaust gas aftertreatment systems is investigated using chemical thermodynamics. The physical models of three-way-catalyst (TWC) and lean NOx trap (LNT) are presented. The objective is to propose an alternative approach for the identification of A/F ratio and oxygen concentration in the exhaust systems to substitute the costly oxygen sensors. A simple control scheme is included within the model identification and prediction results are compared with the testing data from the universal exhaust gas oxygen (UEGO) sensor and from the heated exhaust gas oxygen (HEGO) sensor. The oxygen storage effect has an essential impact on the LNT storage and purge operations, which will also affect the overall fuel economy of GDI engine systems. Its influence on the fuel economy has been estimated by numerical simulations, which is correspondent to the extra percentage of fuel consumption.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Segmentation of microspheres in ultrahigh density multiplexed microsphere-based assays

We have developed a method to identify and localize luminescent microspheres in dense images of microsphere-based assays. Application of this algorithm to the images of densely packed microspheres would aid in increasing the number of assays per unit target sample volume by several orders of magnitude. We immobilize or sediment microspheres on microscope slides and read luminescence from these randomly arrayed microspheres with a digital imaging microscope equipped with a cooled CCD camera. Our segmentation algorithm, which is based on marker-controlled watershed transformation, is then implemented to segment the microsphere clusters in the luminescent images acquired at different wavelengths. This segmentation algorithm is fully automated and require no manual intervention or training sets for optimizing the parameters and is much more accurate than previously proposed algorithms. Using this algorithm, we have accurately segmented more than 97% of the microspheres in dense images.
Isolation of Membrane Attack Complex of Complement from Myelin Membranes Treated with Serum Complement

: The interaction between complement and myelin membranes and its possible role in myelin damage and in the disposal of damaged myelin in vivo is of interest because activation of complement generates both opsonin(s) and membrane attack complex of complement. In our studies on the role of complement in demyelin-ation, we have shown that isolated myelin activates serum complement in the absence of myelin-specific antibody and that membrane attack complex of complement is the required factor in antibody-mediated demyelination of mouse cerebellar expiant cultures. In the present study, we examined whether activation of serum complement by myelin is associated with the formation of membrane attack complex of complement in myelin membranes. Extracts of myelin-associated proteins following incubation of myelin with fresh serum were studied by ultracentrifugation on a sucrose density gradient for detection of C5b-9 neoantigen. The subunit structure of C5b-9 was determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-poly-acrylamide gel electrophoresis, electroblotting, and immunostaining. Results indicate that the macromolecular complex consisting of late-acting complement components, C5-C9, was assembled in the target myelin membranes.
Ethanol and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate mobilize calcium from rat brain microsomes.

Abstract The effects of ethanol on ATP-dependent Ca2+ uptake and inositol 1,4,5 trisphosphate (Ins-P3)-induced Ca2+ release were assessed in rat cerebellar and cortical microsomes. Ins-P3, 0.2–10 μM, released 7–14% of ATP loaded microsomal Ca2+ stores after a 15-sec exposure. Ethanol, 250–750 mM, added after ATP-dependent loading, significantly released microsomal Ca2+ stores, and the amount released was additive to that seen with Ins-P3 alone. The presence of ethanol, 250–750 mM, during the ATP-dependent loading period, resulted in decreased Ca2+ uptake that correlated with decreases in Ins-P3-induced Ca2+ release. Chronic ethanol treatment failed to produce any alterations in ethanol's ability to promote Ca2+ release or to inhibit ATP-dependent Ca2+ uptake. Furthermore, Ins.-P3-induced Ca2+ release was not altered by chronic ethanol treatment. These results suggest that Ins-P3 sensitive Ca2+ stores are resistant to pharmacologically relevant concentrations of ethanol, and do not appear to be involved in the chronic cellular effects of ethanol.
Calling among the unemployed: Examining prevalence and links to coping with job loss

In the current manuscript, we examined how calling functions among samples of involuntarily unemployed adults. In Study 1, with a large Internet-based sample, involuntarily unemployed adults were just as likely as employed adults to perceive a calling, but were significantly less likely to feel they were living a calling. In Study 2, with a sample of 144 involuntarily unemployed adults, the link between calling and coping with job loss was explored. Specifically, a structural model was tested whereby the link of calling to four coping styles was hypothesized to be mediated by motivation to pursue a calling. The model was found to be a good fit to the data. Calling motivation was a significant mediator in the link of calling to positive assessment, proactive search, and non-work organization and none of the direct paths of calling to each coping style was significant after including calling motivation in the model.
Intrinsic localized modes and related stability properties in nonlinear periodic lattices

Abstract Some basic aspects of intrinsic localized modes and their stability properties in non-linear periodic lattices are sketched.
Micron-Scale Molecular Organic Microcavity Arrays Patterned With Thin-Film Contact-Patterning

We demonstrate arrays of molecular organic thin film microcavities with 5 μm lateral features fabricated by thin-film contact-patterning using polydimethylsiloxane stamps. The contact-patterning method enables engineering of shifts in the microcavity resonance energy across the microcavity array. Small resonance shifts are imparted by patterning thickness of organic films in multilayer structures, and large resonance shifts are formed by patterning thick films. The contact-patterning method is scalable, extendable to patterning sub-micronmeter organic photonic device features.
The Trail Making Test A and B: A Technical Note on Structural Nonequivalence

The major structural aspect of the Trail Making Test, length of drawn lines needed to complete the tests, was measured and compared for the adult and school-aged child versions. Trail Making B is a markedly longer test than Trail Making A, 32% for adults and 27% for school-aged children. The interpretive assumptions that Trail Making B differs from Trail Making A only in terms of the cognitive skills needed to complete the test and the implicit interpretive bias toward minimizing the motor component of the tests were challenged in this technical note.
Demonstration of community pharmacy and managed care organization collaboration on cardiovascular disease risk factor identification using health risk appraisal

Objective To integrate the resources from a local statewide managed care organization (MCO) and a supermarket pharmacy chain to conduct a comprehensive health risk appraisal (HRA). Collected data were used to assess cardiovascular risk factors and identify disease management opportunities. Methods An analysis to determine the prevalence of risk factors was conducted on a cross-sectional HRA survey. The HRA involved point-of-care cholesterol screening (with a follow-up risk factor questionnaire) conducted by pharmacist employees of the employer group (a regional supermarket chain). Those eligible for the screening were employees of the supermarket chain and their dependents covered by the participating MCO. Results A total of 12,915 completed HRA questionnaires were received. The mean age of the employees participating was approximately 44 years. Of note, 14%, 24%, 21%, and 69% of questionnaires had abnormal values for total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, blood pressure, and body mass index (BMI), respectively. Compared with national benchmarks, low HDL cholesterol and BMI more than 30 kg/m 2 were more common in this cohort. More than one-fourth of the employees in this analysis were identified as being at high risk for a coronary heart disease event. Conclusion The unique collaboration presented here allowed for an expanded role of pharmacists to implement a quality improvement program. In response, the employer decided to continue the HRA screening and offer a employee contribution reduction–based health incentive to covered members. The employer also is considering offering cardiovascular disease management interventions that will be performed by the supermarket chain's pharmacists and targeted toward the identified risk factor trends.
Confined Crystallization of PEO in Nanolayered Films Impacting Structure and Oxygen Permeability

Layer-multiplying coextrusion or “forced assembly” of thousands of alternating polystyrene (PS) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) nanolayers was used to study crystallization in a confined, two-dimens...
The Colossus of Ubiquitylation: Decrypting a Cellular Code

Ubiquitylation is an essential posttranslational modification that can regulate the stability, activity, and localization of thousands of proteins. The reversible attachment of ubiquitin as well as interpretation of the ubiquitin signal depends on dynamic protein networks that are challenging to analyze. In this perspective, we discuss tools of the trade that have recently been developed to dissect mechanisms of ubiquitin-dependent signaling, thereby revealing the critical features of an important cellular code.