cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Comparison of primary and metastatic malignant melanoma of the esophagus: clinicopathologic review of 10 cases.

Abstract Context.—Primary esophageal melanoma (PEM) is a rare disease and is difficult to distinguish from other esophageal malignancies and from metastatic melanoma. Objective.—To develop diagnostic criteria for PEM, we compared the clinicopathologic features of 5 PEMs and 5 metastatic melanomas to esophagus. Design.—Ten cases of esophageal melanoma, including 4 surgically resected specimens, 2 autopsy cases, and 4 cases reported on mucosal biopsies, were reviewed. The histologic parameters used in this study were well-characterized features for cutaneous melanoma, including junctional component (in situ melanoma), radial growth phase, modified Breslow thickness, depth of invasion, lymphovascular invasion, satellitosis, predominant type of cytology, and regional lymph node metastasis. Clinical and follow-up information was obtained by reviewing patients' medical records. Results.—Previous history of cutaneous melanoma was present in all 5 cases of metastatic esophageal melanoma but was not present in the...
A Social Network Approach Reveals Associations between Mouse Social Dominance and Brain Gene Expression.

Modelling complex social behavior in the laboratory is challenging and requires analyses of dyadic interactions occurring over time in a physically and socially complex environment. In the current study, we approached the analyses of complex social interactions in group-housed male CD1 mice living in a large vivarium. Intensive observations of social interactions during a 3-week period indicated that male mice form a highly linear and steep dominance hierarchy that is maintained by fighting and chasing behaviors. Individual animals were classified as dominant, sub-dominant or subordinate according to their David’s Scores and I& SI ranking. Using a novel dynamic temporal Glicko rating method, we ascertained that the dominance hierarchy was stable across time. Using social network analyses, we characterized the behavior of individuals within 66 unique relationships in the social group. We identified two individual network metrics, Kleinberg’s Hub Centrality and Bonacich’s Power Centrality, as accurate predictors of individual dominance and power. Comparing across behaviors, we establish that agonistic, grooming and sniffing social networks possess their own distinctive characteristics in terms of density, average path length, reciprocity out-degree centralization and out-closeness centralization. Though grooming ties between individuals were largely independent of other social networks, sniffing relationships were highly predictive of the directionality of agonistic relationships. Individual variation in dominance status was associated with brain gene expression, with more dominant individuals having higher levels of corticotropin releasing factor mRNA in the medial and central nuclei of the amygdala and the medial preoptic area of the hypothalamus, as well as higher levels of hippocampal glucocorticoid receptor and brain-derived neurotrophic factor mRNA. This study demonstrates the potential and significance of combining complex social housing and intensive behavioral characterization of group-living animals with the utilization of novel statistical methods to further our understanding of the neurobiological basis of social behavior at the individual, relationship and group levels.
Perfluorinated Polymers, Tetrafluoroethylene–Perfluorovinyl Ether Copolymers

Perfluoroalkoxy (PFA) fluorocarbon resins are designed to meet industry's needs in chemical, electrical, and mechanical applications. These melt-processible copolymers contain a fluorocarbon backbone in the main chain and randomly distributed perfluorinated ether side chains. A combination of excellent chemical and mechanical properties at elevated temperatures results in reliable, high performance service to the chemical processing and related industries. Chemical inertness, heat resistance, toughness and flexibility, stress-crack resistance, excellent flex life, antistick characteristics, little moisture absorption, nonflammability, and exceptional dielectric properties are among the characteristics of these resins. These resins are produced by copolymerizing tetrafluoroethylene and perfluorovinyl ether in aqueous or nonaqueous media. The polymer is separated and converted into various forms, such as extruded cubes, powders, beads, or dispersions. PFA resins are fabricated by the conventional melt-processing techniques used for thermoplastics. A general-purpose grade is designed for a variety of molding and extrusion applications such as tubing, shapes, molded parts, and insulation for electrical wire and cables. Valves and fitting liners are made by a transfer-molding process. Some grades of this polymer are suitable in semiconductor manufacturing, fluid handling systems for industry or life sciences, and instrumentation for precise measurements of fluid systems. Keywords: perfluorinated polymers; tetrafluoroethylene–perfluorovinyl ether copolymers; PFA; perfluoropropyl vinyl ether; semiconductors
Home Front, Battle Field, and Sport During the Civil War.

(1971). Home Front, Battle Field, and Sport during the Civil War. Research Quarterly. American Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation: Vol. 42, No. 2, pp. 113-132.
Spinal dermal sinus tract

neurological abnormalities were a common finding. The most common radiological finding was tethered cord, and most patients had abnormal findings in urological evaluation. The authors concluded that timely intervention and complete resection is of paramount importance for patient’s outcome. We have recently studied the DSTs that were treated in our institute over the last decade. We encountered one case of DST in the thoracic area and two cases in the lumbar area. All patients presented with meningitis. On radiological evaluation no addition abnormalities were revealed. In two cases, there was an extradural and intradural dermoid tumor along the sinus track (Figs. 1 and 2). Using a microsurgical technique, the DST was removed in all cases. Postoperative all patients were neurologically intact. Timely diagnosis and surgical intervention with intradural exploration is crucial in order to prevent DST’s complications.
Determination of grain boundary charging in Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 thin films

Surface potential mapping of Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 (CIGS) thin films using scanning Kelvin probe force microscopy (SKPFM) aims to understand the minority-carrier recombination at the grain boundaries (GBs) of this polycrystalline material by examining GB charging, which has resulted in a number of publications. However, the reported results are highly inconsistent. In this paper, we report on the potential mapping by measuring wide-bandgap or high-Ga-content films and by using a complementary atomic force microscopy-based electrical technique of scanning capacitance microscopy (SCM). The results demonstrate consistent, positively charged GBs on our high-quality films with minimal surface defects/charges. The potential image taken on a low-quality film with a 1.2-eV bandgap shows significantly degraded potential contrast on the GBs and degraded potential uniformity on grain surfaces, resulting from the surface defects/charges of the low-quality film. In contrast, the potential image on an improved high-quality film with the same wide bandgap shows significantly improved GB potential contrast and surface potential uniformity, indicating that the effect of surface defects is critical when examining GB charging using surface potential data. In addition, we discuss the effect of the SKPFM setup on the validity of potential measurement, to exclude possible artifacts due to improper SKPFM setups. The SKPFM results were corroborated by using SCM measurements on the films with a CdS buffer layer. The SCM image shows clear GB contrast, indicating different electrical impedance on the GB from the grain surface. Further, we found that the GB contrast disappeared when the CdS window layer was deposited after the CIGS film was exposed extensively to ambient, which was caused by the creation of CIGS surface defects by the ambient exposure.
MRI-based Noninvasive Measurement of Intracranial Compliance Derived from the Relationship between Transcranial Blood and Cerebrospinal Fluid Flows : Modeling vs. Direct Approach

Intracranial compliance (ICC) determines the ability of the intracranial space to accommodate increase in volume (e.g., brain swelling) without a large increase in intracranial pressure (ICP). Therefore, measurement of ICC is potentially important for diagnosis and guiding treatment of related neurological problems. Modeling based approach uses an assumed lumped-parameter model of the craniospinal system (CSS) (e.g., RCL circuit), with either the arterial or the net transcranial blood flow (arterial inflow minus venous outflow) as input and the cranio-spinal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow as output. The phase difference between the output and input is then often used as a measure of ICC However, it is not clear whether there is a predetermined relationship between ICC and the phase difference between these waveforms. A different approach for estimation of ICC has been recently proposed. This approach estimates ICC from the ratio of the intracranial volume and pressure changes that occur naturally with each heartbeat. The current study evaluates the sensitivity of the phase-based and the direct approach to changes in ICC. An RLC circuit model of the cranio-spinal system is used to simulate the cranio-spinal CSF flow for 3 different ICC states using the transcranial blood flows measured by MRI phase contrast from healthy human subjects. The effect of the increase in the ICC on the magnitude and phase response is calculated from the system's transfer function. We observed that within the heart rate frequency range, changes in ICC predominantly affected the amplitude of CSF pulsation and less so the phases. The compliance is then obtained for the different ICC states using the direct approach. The measures of compliance calculated using the direct approach demonstrated the highest sensitivity for changes in ICC. This work explains why phase shift based measure of ICC is less sensitive than amplitude based measures such as the direct approach method.
Genetic analysis of crawling and swimming locomotory patterns in C. elegans

Alternative patterns of neural activity drive different rhythmic locomotory patterns in both invertebrates and mammals. The neuro-molecular mechanisms responsible for the expression of rhythmic behavioral patterns are poorly understood. Here we show that Caenorhabditis elegans switches between distinct forms of locomotion, or crawling versus swimming, when transitioning between solid and liquid environments. These forms of locomotion are distinguished by distinct kinematics and different underlying patterns of neuromuscular activity, as determined by in vivo calcium imaging. The expression of swimming versus crawling rhythms is regulated by sensory input. In a screen for mutants that are defective in transitioning between crawl and swim behavior, we identified unc-79 and unc-80, two mutants known to be defective in NCA ion channel stabilization. Genetic and behavioral analyses suggest that the NCA channels enable the transition to rapid rhythmic behaviors in C. elegans. unc-79, unc-80, and the NCA channels represent a conserved set of genes critical for behavioral pattern generation.
Synthesis of polyphosphazenes bearing alkoxyethoxy and trifluoroethoxy groups

The synthesis of various phosphoranimines including (CH3OCH2CH2O) (CF3CH2O)2PNSi(CH3)3, (CH3OCH2CH2OCH2CH2O) (CF3CH2O)2PNSi (CH3)3, (CH3OCH2CH2O)2(CF3CH2O) PNSi(CH3)3, and (CH3OCH2CH2OCH2CH2O)(CF3CH2O) PNSi(CH3)3 via the Staudinger reaction of (CH3)3SiN3 with the suitably substituted phosphite is reported. These monomers were polymerized using tetra-n-butylammonium fluoride and N-methylimidazole in various solvents at several temperatures. In situ31P-NMR kinetic studies and Mn versus time studies were also performed for the monomers to understand the propagation mechanism. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Benefits of care coordination for children with complex disease: a pilot medical home project in a resident teaching clinic.

Objective To study the integration of comprehensive care coordination for children with complex disease in our resident education clinic at University of California Los Angeles by analyzing alterations in medical resource use. Study design The Pediatric Medical Home Project at University of California Los Angeles was designed to include 4 basic elements: 1) 60-minute intake appointment; 2) follow-up appointments twice the length of a standard visit; 3) access to a "family liaison"; and 4) a family notebook ("All about Me" binder). From the initial cohort of 43 patients, encounter data on 30 were analyzed to determine use of outpatient, urgent, emergency department (ED), and inpatient services. Encounters for each patient were compared for a period of 1 year before and 1 year after enrollment. Results The average number of ED visits per patient decreased from 1.1 ± 1.7 before enrollment to 0.5 ± 0.9 after medical home enrollment ( P = .02). However, no significant change was found in use of any of the other health care resources studied. Conclusions Incorporating a program of care coordination according to the principles of the medical home into an outpatient pediatric residency teaching clinic may not only serve as a training vehicle for pediatric residents, but also create favorable alterations in medical resource use.
Plastic individuals and evolving populations

The authors of The Plausibility of Life perceive a major failing in the Modern Synthesis: its inability to explain the generation of heritable phenotypic variation. Like their earlier arguments [1], they suggest this failing can be addressed by the integration of development and evolutionary genetic theory. The authors see evolution ‘…divided into epochs of invention of cellular behaviors, interspersed with long periods without invention’. These cellular behaviors or ‘core processes’ are then deployed in novel combinations, continually giving rise to new phenotypes.
Effects of aeration in earthen ponds on water quality and production of white catfish

Abstract Comparing effects of air volumes of zero, 6.9, and 10.4 m 3 /min per ha (0, 100, and 150 ft 3 /min per acre) indicated that greater volumes of air resulted in increased fish production. Increased volumes of air resulted in proportionate increases in dissolved oxygen content, allowing greater weights of food to be offered to fish without depleting the oxygen content of the pond water. Chemical oxygen demand was inversely related to the volume of air delivered.
Liquidus phase relations in the system MgO–MgSiO3 at pressures up to 25 GPa—constraints on crystallization of a molten Hadean mantle

Abstract An understanding of the details of the crystallization history of a Hadean magma ocean requires a knowledge of liquidus phase relations of the mantle at very high pressures. The system MgO–MgSiO 3 is a good simplified chemical model of the mantle and provides a foundation for study of more complex systems that approximate the composition of the mantle more closely. We present a determination of the pressure–temperature univariant curve for the reaction Mg 2 SiO 4 +MgSiO 3 =Liquid at pressures up to 16.5 GPa, new data on the change in composition of the eutectic liquid with pressure, and a pressure–temperature projection of univariant and invariant equilibria in the system MgO–MgSiO 3 at pressures up to 25 GPa. With increasing pressure, the eutectic curve between Mg 2 SiO 4 and MgSiO 3 encounters five invariant points as follows: orthoenstatite+clinoenstatite+forsterite+liquid, 11.6 GPa, 2150°C; clinoenstatite+majorite+forsterite+liquid, 16.5 GPa, 2240°C; majorite+forsterite+modified spinel+liquid, 16.6 GPa, 2245°C; majorite+perovskite+modified spinel+liquid, 22.4 GPa, 2430°C; and perovskite+modified spinel+periclase+liquid, 22.6 GPa, 2440°C (last two points from data of [Gasparik, T., 1990a. Phase relations in the transition zone. J. Geophys. Res. 95, 15751–15769]). Above 22.6 GPa, no form of Mg 2 SiO 4 is stable at liquidus temperatures, and the melting reaction changes to periclase+perovskite=liquid. The composition of the eutectic liquid, in wt.%, varies with pressure in a nearly linear fashion from 21% Mg 2 SiO 4 , 79% MgSiO 3 at 2 GPa to 32% Mg 2 SiO 4 , 68% MgSiO 3 at 16.5 GPa, and reaches its maximum enrichment in Mg (45% Mg 2 SiO 4 , 55% MgSiO 3 ) at 22.6 GPa. These data are consistent with experimental data on natural peridotite compositions indicating that perovskite and magnesiowustite would be the main phases to crystallize in the deeper parts of a mantle magma ocean. Published partition coefficient data show that fractional crystallization of these two phases in the lower mantle would produce an upper mantle with C1 chondrite normalized Ca/Al and Ca/Ti weight ratios of 2.0–2.3, far higher than primitive upper mantle estimates of 1.1–1.25 and 0.86–1.06, respectively. However, Ca-perovskite, which would crystallize in small amounts in the lower mantle, is such a powerful sink for Ca that Ca/Al and Ca/Ti enrichment of the upper mantle could be suppressed. We conclude that extensive fractional crystallization of a deep magma ocean is not at present proscribed by element partitioning arguments.
Mitotic trigger waves and the spatial coordination of the Xenopus cell cycle

In an in vitro Xenopus extract system that can undergo cell cycles, mitosis spreads through the cytoplasm in ‘trigger waves’ of Cdk1 activation, which may reflect a more general biological mechanism related to action potentials and calcium waves. The Xenopus laevis egg is large in size yet mitosis is rapid and spatially coordinated, a feat that cannot be accounted for by spatial diffusion of the activating kinase Cdk1. Here, using an in vitro Xenopus extract system that can undergo cell cycles, Jeremy Chang and James Ferrell demonstrate that mitosis spreads through the cytoplasm through the propagation of 'trigger waves' of Cdk1 activation. These mitotic waves may reflect a more general biological concept also related to action potentials and calcium waves. Despite the large size of the Xenopus laevis egg (approximately 1.2 mm diameter), a fertilized egg rapidly proceeds through mitosis in a spatially coordinated fashion. Mitosis is initiated by a bistable system of regulatory proteins centred on Cdk1 (refs 1, 2), raising the possibility that this spatial coordination could be achieved through trigger waves of Cdk1 activity3. Using an extract system that performs cell cycles in vitro, here we show that mitosis does spread through Xenopus cytoplasm via trigger waves, propagating at a linear speed of approximately 60 µm min−1. Perturbing the feedback loops that give rise to the bistability of Cdk1 changes the speed and dynamics of the waves. Time-lapse imaging of intact eggs argues that trigger waves of Cdk1 activation are responsible for surface contraction waves, ripples in the cell cortex that precede cytokinesis4,5. These findings indicate that Cdk1 trigger waves help ensure the spatiotemporal coordination of mitosis in large eggs. Trigger waves may be an important general mechanism for coordinating biochemical events over large distances.
Using Second-Order Factor Analysis in Examining Multiple Problems of Clients:

Data from veterans of the Persian Gulf engagement were studied to assess the potential of second-order factor analysis in examining, interpreting, and directing person-environment interventions wit...
Quantitative visualization in the computational biological sciences

Discoveries in computational molecular - cell biology and bioinformatics promise to provide new therapeutic interventions to disease. With the rapid growth of sequence and structural information for thousands of proteins and hundreds of cell types, computational processing are a restricting factor in obtaining quantitative understanding of molecular-cellular function. Processing and analysis is necessary both for input data (often from imaging) and simulation results. To make biological conclusions, this data must be input to and combined with results from computational analysis and simulations. Furthermore, as parallelism is increasingly prevalent, utilizing the available processing power is essential to development of scalable solutions needed for realistic scientific inquiry. However, complex image processing and even simulations performed on large clusters, multi-core CPU, GPU-type parallelization means that naive cache unaware algorithms may not efficiently utilize available hardware. Future gains thus require improvements to a core suite of algorithms underpinning the data processing, simulation, optimization and visualization needed for scientific discovery. In this talk, I shall highlight current progress on these algorithms as well as provide several challenges for the visualization community.
Human α1,3/4-Fucosyltransferases I. IDENTIFICATION OF AMINO ACIDS INVOLVED IN ACCEPTOR SUBSTRATE BINDING BY SITE-DIRECTED MUTAGENESIS

In a previous study (Xu, Z., Vo, L., and Macher, B. A. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 8818-8823), a domain swapping approach demonstrated that a region of amino acids found in human alpha1, 3/4-fucosyltransferase III (FucT III) conferred a significant increase in alpha1,4-FucT acceptor substrate specificity into alpha1, 3-fucosyltransferase V (FucT V), which, under the same assay conditions, has extremely low alpha1,4-FucT acceptor substrate specificity. In the current study, site-directed mutagenesis was utilized to identify which of the eight amino acids, associated with alpha1,4-FucT acceptor substrate specificity, is/are responsible for conferring this new property. The results demonstrate that increased alpha1,4-FucT activity with both disaccharide and glycolipid acceptors can be conferred on FucT V by modifying as few as two (Asn86 to His and Thr87 to Ile) of the eight amino acids originally swapped from FucT III into the FucT V sequence. Neither single amino acid mutant had increased alpha1,4-FucT activity relative to that of FucT V. Kinetic analyses of FucT V mutants demonstrated a reduced Km for Galbeta1,3GlcNAc (type 1) acceptor substrates compared with native FucT V. However, this was about 20-fold higher than that found for native FucT III, suggesting that other amino acids in FucT III must contribute to its overall binding site for type 1 substrates. These results demonstrate that amino acid residues near the amino terminus of the catalytic domain of FucT III contribute to its acceptor substrate specificity.
Thermolytic molecular precursor routes to Cr/Si/Al/O and Cr/Si/Zr/O catalysts for the oxidative dehydrogenation and dehydrogenation of propane

Abstract Cothermolyses of ( t BuO)3CrOSi(O t Bu)3 (1) and either [Al(O t Bu)3]2 (2) or Zr[OCMe2Et]4 (3) as solutions in n-octane resulted in formation of gels that yielded Cr/Si/Al/O or Cr/Si/Zr/O xerogels upon drying. These materials have high surface areas after calcination at 773 K (ranging from 150 to 450 m 2 g −1 ) and do not exhibit phase separation of Cr2O3 domains after calcination at 1473 K (by PXRD). The as-synthesized Cr/Si/M materials contain mostly octahedral Cr3+ species with small amounts of tetrahedral Cr6+ chromates (by DRUV–vis and XANES spectroscopies). Only Cr6+ monochromate centers, with smaller amounts of di- and polychromate species, were detected after calcination at 773 K under O2. These catalysts are active for the oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of propane; however, they exhibit poor selectivities for propylene production. In contrast, these catalysts exhibit high selectivities for propylene (>95%) in the nonoxidative dehydrogenation (DH) of propane with conversions for the best catalyst above 35% at 723 K.
Characterization of the latent membrane protein 1 signaling complex of Epstein-Barr virus in the membrane of mammalian cells with bimolecular fluorescence complementation

Bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) is a novel technique to examine protein-protein interaction through the assembly of fluorescent proteins. In the present study, BiFC was used to study the assembly of the Epstein-Barr virus latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1) signaling complex within the membrane of mammalian cells. LMP1 signaling requires oligomerization, localization to lipid rafts, and association of the cytoplasmic domain to adaptor proteins, such as the tumor necrosis factor receptor associated factors (TRAFs). LMP1-TRAF and LMP1-LMP1 interactions were assayed by BiFC using fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. Function of LMP1 BiFC contructs were confirmed by transformation assays and nuclear factor- κB (NF-κB) reporter assays. BiFC was observed between LMP1 and TRAF2 or TRAF3 and mutation of the LMP1 signaling domains reduced complementation. Fluorescence was observed in previously described LMP1 signaling locations. Oligomerization of LMP1 with itself induced complementation and BiFC. LMP1-BiFC constructs were fully functional in rodent fibroblast transformation assays and activation of NF-κB reporter activity. The BiFC domain partially suppressed some LMP1 mutant phenotypes. Together these data suggest that BiFC is a unique and novel platform to identify and characterize proteins recruited to the LMP1-signaling complex.
Genetic transformation and phylogeny of bacterial symbionts from tsetse

Two isolates of bacterial endosymbionts, GP01 and GM02, were established in cell free medium from haemolymph of the tsetse, Glossina pallidipes and G. morsitans. These microorganisms appear similar to rickettsia-like organisms reported previously from various tsetse species. The 16S rRNA sequence analysis, however, placed them within the gamma subdivision of the Proteobacteria, phylogenetically distinct from most members of the Rickettsiaceae which align with the alpha subdivision. Distinct multiple endogenous plasmids are harboured by GP01 and GM02, suggesting that the two isolates are different. Restriction mapping analysis showed that one of the conserved plasmids is present in high copy number and is at least 80 kb in size. A heterologous plasmid pSUP204, which contains the broad host range oriV replication origin, was used to transfect bacterial cultures. The symbiont GM02 was transformed, and it expressed plasmid encoded resistance to the antibiotics ampicillin, tetracycline and chloramphenicol. Transformation of these symbionts may provide a novel means for expressing anti-parasitic genes within tsetse populations.
The double bind of personal striving: Ethnic working class women in psychotherapy

Ethnic working class women's special responsibility for transmitting their heritage ties them, often painfully, to that heritage and to their traditional gender role. Psychologically, they experience a unique set of exodus stresses. When they seek psychotherapy the process can place them in a double bind in that their personal striving deeply threatens their ethnic and class ties. These women may leave treatment prematurely unless clinicians are willing to recognize the unique configuration of symptoms that derive in large part from their subcultures of origin. By challenging their own ethnic, racial and class identities, clinicians can open up new treatment possibilities to help strengthen positive group identity, enhance self-esteem and support personal striving in their patients and in themselves.
Linguistic resource creation for research and technology development: A recent experiment

Advances in statistical machine learning encourage language-independent approaches to linguistic technology development. Experiments in "porting" technologies to handle new natural languages have revealed a great potential for multilingual computing, but also a frustrating lack of linguistic resources for most languages. Recent efforts to address the lack of available resources have focused either on intensive resource development for a small number of languages or development of technologies for rapid porting. The Linguistic Data Consortium recently participated in an experiment falling primarily under the first approach, the surprise language exercise. This article describes linguistic resource creation within this context, including the overall methodology for surveying and collecting language resources, as well as details of the resources developed during the exercise. The article concludes with discussion of a new approach to solving the problem of limited linguistic resources, one that has recently proven effective in identifying core linguistic resources for less common studied languages.
Dynamical fluctuations in biochemical reactions and cycles

We develop theory for the dynamics and fluctuations in some cyclic and linear biochemical reactions. We use the approach of maximum caliber, which computes the ensemble of paths taken by the system, given a few experimental observables. This approach may be useful for interpreting single-molecule or few-particle experiments on molecular motors, enzyme reactions, ion-channels, and phosphorylation-driven biological clocks. We consider cycles where all biochemical states are observable. Our method shows how: (1) the noise in cycles increases with cycle size and decreases with the driving force that spins the cycle and (2) provides a recipe for estimating small-number features, such as probability of backward spin in small cycles, from experimental data. The back-spin probability diminishes exponentially with the deviation from equilibrium. We believe this method may also be useful for other few-particle nonequilibrium biochemical reaction systems.
Electronic structure of C60 and C70 molecules : generating function approach

Abstract We study the electronic structure of C 60 and C 70 molecules within the tight-binding approximation. Our approach is based on recursive evaluations of the generating function, which provide the density of states of the system. Our results for C 60 are consistent with previous calculations using very different methods, and we have also obtained results for the much-less-studied C 70 case.
Modeling the influence of temperature, water activity and water mobility on the persistence of Salmonella in low-moisture foods

Abstract Salmonella can survive in low-moisture foods for long periods of time. Reduced microbial inactivation during heating is believed to be due to the interaction of cells and water, and is thought to be related to water activity (aw). Little is known about the role of water mobility in influencing the survival of Salmonella in low-moisture foods. The aim of this study was to determine how the physical state of water in low-moisture foods influences the survival of Salmonella and to use this information to develop mathematical models that predict the behavior of Salmonella in these foods. Whey protein powder of differing water mobilities was produced by pH adjustment and heat denaturation, and then equilibrated to aw levels between 0.19 ± 0.03 and 0.54 ± 0.02. Water mobility was determined by wide-line proton-NMR. Powders were inoculated with a four-strain cocktail of Salmonella, vacuum-sealed and stored at 21, 36, 50, 60, 70 and 80 °C. Survival data was fitted to the log-linear, the Geeraerd-tail, the Weibull, the biphasic-linear and the Baranyi models. The model with the best ability to describe the data over all temperatures, water activities and water mobilities (ftest
Effect of deoxyribonuclease I on the number and length of chains of poly(ADP-ribose) synthesized, in vitro

Summary The effect of DNAase I on the synthesis of poly(ADP-ribose) by HeLa nuclei was studied. Experiments with the isolated products showed that the addition of DNAase I to the complete reaction mixture increased the chain length of the isolated product, poly(ADP-ribose), by only 10–20%. This small increase cannot account for the 400–600% increase in poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity that is seen when DNAase I is added to the assay media. So these results indicate that the main effect of DNAase I on the synthesis of poly(ADP-ribose) is through the initiation of new chains of poly(ADP-ribose). This evidence supports the idea that poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase may have a role in DNA repair.
FROM PATTERNS TO PROSPERITY: A REVIEW OF RACHLIN'S THE SCIENCE OF SELF-CONTROL

The Science of Self-Control (Rachlin, 2000) presents a clear overview of research and theory on self-control, emphasizing important recent research by Rachlin and his students on temporally extended behavioral patterning as an aid to curbing impulsive decisions. We found the book well suited as a textbook in a graduate seminar on self-control, particularly because it lucidly presents several provocative ideas about self-control, decision making, addiction, and general theories of behavior. Of particular interest are his discussion of the “primrose path” to addiction and his behavioral research on the “prisoner's dilemma” as it relates to self-control. Although we take some issue with teleological behaviorism, the theory of behavior advocated by Rachlin, we recommend this book to anyone interested in self-control.
Practice characteristics of thedual certificant—CPAN/CAPA

Little information is available regarding the practice of nurses who hold twoperianesthesia certification credentials (CPAN/CAPA) and their motivation in achieving a dual certification distinction. Achievement of certification in both areas of perianesthesia nursing is a significant accomplishment. Nurses with dual certification are a valuable asset to the profession, their employer, and the perianesthesia patient. The characteristics of this unique group were surveyed by the American Board of Perianesthesia Nursing Certification, Inc. The findings have implications for nurse managers, educators, and perianesthesia colleagues.
Biological Control of Tropical Soda Apple (Solanaceae) in Florida: Post-Release Evaluation

Foreign exploration to search for natural enemies of the invasive plant tropical soda apple, Solarium viarum Dunal (Solanaceae) were conducted initially in 1994 by University of Florida researchers in collaboration with Universidade Estadual Paulista, Jaboticabal campus, Brazil. Sixteen species of insects were found associated with tropical soda apple in Brazil and Paraguay (Medal et al. 1996). A biological control program was initiated by the University of Florida in 1997 with funds provided by the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services. Explorations in the place of origin (southern Brazil, northeast Argentina, south Paraguay, and Uruguay) of the target weed were conducted in collaboration with Brazilian university researchers, and the USDAAgriculture Research Service Biological Control Laboratory in Hurlingham, Argentina. During exploratory surveys, the leaf beetle Gratiana boliviana Spaeth (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) was found on tropical soda apple plants in southern Brazil. A high level of specificity and significant defoliation of tropical soda apple were demonstrated in host-specificity tests conducted at the Florida Biological Control Laboratory quarantine facilities in Gainesville, the USDA-ARS (Agriculture Research Service) South American Biological Control Laboratory in Argentina, and the USDAARS quarantine facilities in Stoneville, Mississippi, as well as in extensive field surveys and open-field tests conducted in South America. After five years of intensive plant feeding and oviposition tests, the South-American leaf beetle G.boliviana was the first biological control agent approved for field release (7 May 2003) by the USDA-APHIS-PPQ in the southeastern United States to join the battle against tropical soda apple also known by the nickname the 'plant from heir (Coile 1993). This exotic weed has invaded over half a million hectares of grasslands and natural areas in at least 6 states (Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas). Intensive host-specificity tests including 126 plant species in 35 families were conducted with G. boliviana from 1998 to 2001 (Medal et al. 2002, 2003, 2004). Initial releases of G boliviana in Florida began in summer 2003, and currently approximately 200,000 G. boliviana immature and adults have been released in 37 Florida counties, 14,000 in 2 counties in Georgia, 18,000 in 3 counties in Alabama, and 825 in 1 county in Texas. In th s article we report the establishment, post-release monitoring, and initial impacts of G. boliviana on tropical soda apple plants in Sumter County, Florida. A field release of G. boliviana was made in a
Key factors influencing transport of white shrimp (Litopenaeus setiferus) post‐larvae into the Ossabaw Sound system, Georgia, USA

We examined conditions under which white shrimp (Litopenaeus setiferus) post-larvae enter an estuarine channel receiving high freshwater discharge and one receiving negligible discharge in the Ossabaw Sound system of Georgia, USA, during 1997 and 1998. We used surface nets to collect plankton over several 14-day periods, during which consecutive tows were made at night against the flooding current at stations in the inlet channels. During these sampling periods, additional intensive periods of around-the-clock surface and near-bottom (using a bottom sled) plankton tows were made. Data on oceanographic conditions were obtained from moored instrument arrays and shipboard sampling. We identified three key factors that influenced the densities of post-larval white shrimp in time and space within the Ossabaw inlet system. The first factor was a critical minimum temperature of coastal waters of 27–28°C. Once the threshold temperature was reached, lunar tidal stage became a key factor when the full duration of the flood tide coincided with darkness during peak ingress. This peak also coincided with an increase in water level within the system by more than 0.2 m, which induced an additional influx of water that reinforces the flood current over the ingress period. Our results suggest that the direction of subtidal currents (into or out of the system) becomes a significant factor in post-larval ingress when influx of water coincides with the time of favorable temperature conditions and nighttime flood tides.
Student ratings of college teaching: a comparison of faculty and their students

Based on the review of student ratings myths by Aleamoni (1987, 1999), a survey research design was used to analyse differences between college students' (n = 968) and faculty's (n = 34) perceptions. Generally, students held stronger beliefs in these myths, in that they believed faculty with excellent publication records were better qualified to evaluate teaching and that student ratings on single general items are accurate measures of teaching effectiveness. On the other hand, faculty believed that student ratings were invalid and unreliable. Further examination of student characteristics revealed that male students held stronger beliefs in these myths. Finally, students' beliefs in these myths were correlated with their actual ratings of nine dimensions of the Student Evaluation of Educational Quality. A discussion as well as suggestions for using student ratings is provided.
Microfibrous metallic cloth for acoustic isolation of a MEMS gyroscope

The response of a MEMS device that is exposed to a harsh environment may range from an increased noise floor to a completely erroneous output to temporary or even permanent device failure. One such harsh environment is high power acoustic energy possessing high frequency components. This type of environment sometimes occurs in small aerospace vehicles. In this type of operating environment, high frequency acoustic energy can be transferred to a MEMS gyroscope die through the device packaging. If the acoustic noise possesses a sufficiently strong component at the resonant frequency of the gyroscope, it will overexcite the motion of the proof mass, resulting in the deleterious effect of corrupted angular rate measurement. Therefore if the device or system packaging can be improved to sufficiently isolate the gyroscope die from environmental acoustic energy, the sensor may find new applications in this type of harsh environment. This research effort explored the use of microfibrous metallic cloth for isolating the gyroscope die from environmental acoustic excitation. Microfibrous cloth is a composite of fused, intermingled metal fibers and has a variety of typical uses involving chemical processing applications and filtering. Specifically, this research consisted of experimental evaluations of multiple layers of packed microfibrous cloth composed of sintered nickel material. The packed cloth was used to provide acoustic isolation for a test MEMS gyroscope, the Analog Devices ADXRS300. The results of this investigation revealed that the intermingling of the various fibers of the metallic cloth provided a significant contact area between the fiber strands and voids, which enhanced the acoustic damping of the material. As a result, the nickel cloth was discovered to be an effective acoustic isolation material for this particular MEMS gyroscope.
Antigenic studies on human plasminogen.

Les auteurs ont prepare, chez le lapin, les anticorps specifiques inhibiteurs des activites fibrinolytiques et proteolytiques du plasminogene humain active par la streptokinase. Le plasminogene humain purifie est un antigene heterogene.
An accelerometric measure as a physical correlate of perceived hypernasality in speech.

This study investigated the correlation between a physical measure of oral-nasal coupling and perceived hypernasality in speech. A modified accelerometric method was utilized to extract distributio...
Ion-transfer current-scan polarographic studies of metal extractants with ascending water electrode : manganese(II)-1,10-phenanthroline and related ligand systems

The mechanism of transfer of Mn2+ ion from an aqueous to a dichloroethane (DCE) solution of a phenanthroline derivative (Phen); 1, 10-phenanthroline (phen), 4, 7-dimethyl-1, 10-phenanthroline (4, 7-DMP), 4, 7-diphenyl-1, 10-phenanthroline (4, 7-DPP) and 2, 9-dimethyl-1, 10-phenanthroline (2, 9-DMP), was investigated by current scan polarography with the ascending water electrode. The transfer process involves (a) diffusion of Phen to the aqueous/DCE interface, (b) formation of 1:1 Mn2+-Phen complex, whose kinetics are sufficiently slow to influence but not entirely control the polarographic process, (c) transfer of the 1:1 complex from the aqueous into the DCE phase and (d) further reaction of this complex with two additional Phen molecules at the interfacial area in DCE phase. The apparent reaction rates of step (b) were determined in the dimension of the ordinary electrode reaction rate; 8.2×10-2, 5.5×10-2 and 9.3×10-3dm M-1 s-1 for phen, 4, 7-DMP and 4, 7-DPP, respectively. The rate for Mn2+-2, 9-DMP complex was too slow to be determined.
The impact of bank failures on local bank pricing decisions

Abstract This paper empirically tests for the existence of bank contagion at the local level. More specifically, bank-specific data for thirteen counties in Colorado and Kansas is used to perform regression analysis to test the hypothesis that the uninsured CD pricing behavior of a failing bank affects the prefailure uninsured CD pricing behavior of solvent banks within the same county as the failing institution. Quarterly data from the second quarter of 1987 through the first quarter of 1994 produce regression results that support the hypothesis. Thus, this study finds evidence of firm-specific bank contagion at a local level and extends existing contagion literature beyond an investigation of large failures during periods of crisis.
Securing Collaborative Intrusion Detection Systems

Statistic-poisoning attacks inject incorrect security sensor reports into the repository of collaborative intrusion detection systems to corrupt the published attack statistics. A robust approach to computing attack statistics can help counter this threat.
Individual differences in syntactic processing: The role of working memory

The results of two experiments indicate that individual differences in syntactic processing are governed in part by the amount of working memory capacity available for language comprehension processes. Reading the verbs of an object relative sentence, such as The reporter that the senator attacked admitted the error, takes more time for readers with less working memory capacity for language, and their resulting comprehension is less accurate. Experiment 1 investigated the effects of a concurrent working memory load and found that with no load or a small memory load many Low Span readers comprehended object relative sentences very poorly although their reading times in the critical area of these sentences were greater than those of High Span subjects. Experiment 2 replicated the reading time effects of Experiment 1 for object relative sentences and showed that pragmatic information improved the comprehension of the lower capacity readers, although their use of this information was limited to the clause in which it was presented.
Kinetics of nitrification and denitrification reactions

Nitrification and denitrification are important microbiological reactions of nitrogen. In this work, the kinetics of these reactions have been investigated based on a Monod-type expression involving two growth limiting substrates: ammonium nitrogen and dissolved oxygen for nitrification and nitrate nitrogen and dissolved organic carbon for denitrification. The kinetic constants and yield coefficients were evaluated for both these reactions. Past experimental work was used to determine the constants for the nitrification reaction. For the denitrification reaction, experiments were performed in a stirred tank reactor under conditions such that only one substrate was growth limiting. Steady-state values of the substrate concentrations in the reactor were determined at various dilution rates. These data were analyzed to obtain the kinetic and stoichiometric constants. From these constants it was concluded that in the range of nitrate nitrogen concentrations encountered in waste water, the denitrification reaction can be considered a first-order reaction. It was also found that three times as much organic carbon is required as nitrate nitrogen for complete nitrogen removal.
Generalized discrete object tracking algorithms and implementations

This paper presents a general-purpose definition for discrete curves, surfaces, and manifolds. We also focus on their tracking algorithms and implementations. This definition only refers to a simple graph, G equals (V,E), which is a generalized discrete space. The idea presented in this paper is to recursively define discrete curves, surfaces, solid objects and so forth. Obviously, a vertex is a point- unit-cell, and an edge is a line-unit-cell. A surface-unit- cell is a simple; closed path C if there is no pure subset of C can be a cycle. Based on this intuitive idea, n-D unit- cells can be defined in G for n > 2. For a graph G, i-D unit-cells, i equals 0,..., n + 1, provide a topological structure to the discrete space G. A n-D discrete manifold M is defined as (1) M consists of n-D unit-cells and any two n-D unit-cells are (n - 1)-D connected, (2) each (n - 1)-D unit-cell in M is contained by one or two n-D unit- cells, and (3) there is no (n + 1)-D unit-cell in M. This definition extends a definition extends a definition of digital manifolds. We have developed an linear time algorithm to decide if a subset is a discrete n-D manifold, a linear time algorithm to obtain the k-D boundary for n-D manifold. Such algorithms have been implemented in (Sigma) 3, a space containing all integer points. This paper also discusses the non-orientable surface, quadtree surface-unit- cell representation, and an octree solid-unit-cell representation.© (1997) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.