cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Lateral inhibition: Two modes of non-autonomous negative autoregulation by neuralized.

Developmental patterning involves the progressive subdivision of tissue into different cell types by invoking different genetic programs. In particular, cell-cell signaling is a universally deployed means of specifying distinct cell fates in adjacent cells. For this mechanism to be effective, it is essential that an asymmetry be established in the signaling and responding capacities of the participating cells. Here we focus on the regulatory mechanisms underlying the role of the neuralized gene and its protein product in establishing and maintaining asymmetry of signaling through the Notch pathway. The context is the classical process of “lateral inhibition” within Drosophila proneural clusters, which is responsible for distinguishing the sensory organ precursor (SOP) and non-SOP fates among adjacent cells. We find that neur is directly regulated in proneural clusters by both proneural transcriptional activators and Enhancer of split basic helix-loop-helix repressors (bHLH-Rs), via two separate cis-regulatory modules within the neur locus. We show that this bHLH-R regulation is required to prevent the early, pre-SOP expression of neur from being maintained in a subset of non-SOPs following SOP specification. Lastly, we demonstrate that Neur activity in the SOP is required to inhibit, in a cell non-autonomous manner, both neur expression and Neur function in non-SOPs, thus helping to secure the robust establishment of distinct cell identities within the developing proneural cluster.
Hybrid Model Predictive Control

This article collects several model predictive control (MPC) strategies in the literature that have a hybrid flavor, which, due to the diverse use of the term hybrid, span a wide range of control settings. These include discrete-time systems with discontinuous right-hand sides, with states that include both continuous-valued and discrete-valued variables. It also includes systems controlled by MPC strategies using memory variables and logic states, continuous-time systems controlled by MPC strategies that update the feedback law periodically as well as those controlled by MPC strategies that employ more than one feedback controller. This article provides a unified presentation of these strategies with the purpose of serving as a self-contained summary of the state of the art in hybrid MPC, as a handbook with precise pointers to the literature to the interested control practitioner, and as a motivator for future research directions on the subject.
Measured vulnerability: teaching for social justice in unsettling times

This essay explores the implications of new managerialist policies entwined with right-wing ideological challenges for social justice teaching in higher education. We engage with reflexive memos of...
Acoustic sampling volume revisited

At the OCEANS 2010 Conference in Seattle, J. E. Ehrenberg co-authored a paper [Steig et al; doi: 10.1109/OCEANS.2010.5664422] that addressed a fundamental problem in fisheries acoustics: that of quantitative sampling. A definition was formulated for the “effective sampling volume of the hydroacoustic system.” As noted in the paper, the effective beam width of the acoustic system is a function of the backscattering cross section, or its logarithmic measure, the target strength, of the fish being observed. However, the effective beam width is also fundamentally stochastic. Given the impetus of the cited paper, an earlier work on the acoustic sampling volume [K. G. Foote, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 90, 959 (1991); doi: 10.1121/1.401963] is reexamined, with further reference to a recent bistatic generalization of the acoustic sampling volume [K. G. Foote; IEEE J. Oceanic Eng., 43, 749 (2018); doi: 10.1109/JOE.2017.2713538].
Online programs improve relationship functioning for distressed low-income couples: Results from a nationwide randomized controlled trial.

Objective Although low-income couples experience greater relationship challenges, they have limited access to effective relationship interventions. Furthermore, most previous efforts to improve low-income couples' relationships have yielded very small effects (Hawkins & Erickson, 2015). In an effort to overcome these limitations, this study investigated the effectiveness of 2 web-based interventions for low-income couples. Method In total, 742 low-income couples (N = 1,484 individuals; mean [M] age = 33; 55% White, non-Hispanic; 52% married; median [Mdn] annual household income = $27,000) were recruited nationally and randomized to the OurRelationship program, the ePREP program, or a waitlist control group. Couples were repeatedly assessed for 6 months using self-report measures of relationship satisfaction, communication conflict, intimate partner violence, emotional support, and breakup potential. Relationship status was assessed at 6-month follow-up. Results Compared to the control group, intervention couples experienced significantly greater improvements in all 5 domains of relationship functioning (Mdn |d| = 0.46) by the end of the program; these effects were maintained in the 4 months after treatment. However, neither program significantly reduced the frequency of breakups by the 6-month follow-up. Differences between couples in the two interventions were minimal (Mdn Cohen's |d| = 0.11); however, couples in the OurRelationship program experienced significantly greater decreases in conflict (d = 0.24). Conclusions The results indicate that brief, web-based interventions can serve a central role in delivering effective services to low-income couples. Additionally, the general equivalence of the two interventions indicates that both communication-focused and problem-focused interventions can be successful in improving the relationship functioning of low-income couples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
Optimal Policies for Recovery of Multiple Systems After Disruptions

We consider a scenario where a system experiences a disruption, and the states (representing health values) of its components continue to reduce over time, unless they are acted upon by a controller. Given this dynamical setting, we consider the problem of finding an optimal control (or switching) sequence to maximize the sum of the weights of the components whose states are brought back to the maximum value. We first provide several characteristics of the optimal policy for the general (fully heterogeneous) version of this problem. We then show that under certain conditions on the rates of repair and deterioration, we can explicitly characterize the optimal control policy as a function of the states. When the deterioration rate (when not being repaired) is larger than or equal to the repair rate, and the deterioration and repair rates as well as the weights are homogeneous across all the components, the optimal control policy is to target the component that has the largest state value at each time step. On the other hand, if the repair rates are sufficiently larger than the deterioration rates, the optimal control policy is to target the component whose state minus the deterioration rate is least in a particular subset of components at each time step.
Predicting the Presence of Invasive Earthworms in Sugar Maple-Basswood Forests of the Chippewa National Forest

Over the last century, nonnative earthworms have invaded forests of the Great Lakes region of North America. Although a growing body of scientific research has documented short-term changes associated with invasive earthworms, there is little research describing the effects of invasive earthworms over multiple decades. To investigate the long-term effects of invasive earthworms on forests, sites sampled in the past need to be classified as wormed or unwormed when originally sampled. However, this is often difficult to accomplish because field methods for sampling earthworms have only recently been developed, and the few historical permanent sites available for resampling largely do not have past information about earthworm presence or absence. Although historic sites lack data on invasive earthworm presence, many of these sites do have information about soil horizon thickness. Therefore, soil horizons can potentially be used as an indicator of the presence or absence of invasive earthworms. In this paper we developed a logistic regression generalized linear model to classify 40 sugar maple-basswood sites in the Chippewa National Forest of Northern Minnesota as wormed or unwormed (i.e., presence or relative absence of earthworms, respectively). A model using the thickness of the O horizon as a predictor variable correctly classified 93% of sites resampled in 2017 as wormed or unwormed. This result suggests we can predict which sugar maple-basswood stands in the Chippewa National Forest were wormed in the past. By comparing historic conditions to those present today, we can then analyze the long-term effects of invasive earthworms.
Polysilicon thin film developed on ultra-thin flexible glass for temperature sensor

A polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) thin film has been developed on an ultra-thin flexible glass (uTFG) substrate using the aluminum-induced crystallization (AIC) method, and then fully characterized as a semiconductor material for the application of high-sensitive thermal sensors. The developed poly-Si thin film has a sheet resistance of ~ 3.7 KΩ/□ with a temperate coefficient of resistance (TCR) of 2,800 ppm/°C. In comparison to poly-Si thin-film material grown on polyimide substrate via similar processing parameters, this poly-Si on uTFG shows an improvement in thermal sensitivity of 12 % compared to poly-Si thin-film developed on polyimide. Thus, the poly-Si thin film produced on the uTGF can allow a higher sensitivity for temperature, which can be used for high precision temperature sensing while offering some level of material flexibility for biomedical applications.
Sets, Venn Diagrams, Probability, and Bayes’ Rule

This chapter begins with the elementary aspects of probability by starting with sets and Venn diagrams. The concepts of probability follow with appropriate descriptions of marginal, joint, conditional, and total probabilities, Bayes’ rule, Bernoulli trials, etc. Examples include those that examine the notion of continuous probability as a prelude to the presentation of random variables in the next chapter. Keeping with the theme of application-oriented content, the chapter contains topics in data analytics such as the estimation of a priori, conditional, and a posteriori probabilities associated with a given set of data collected from measurements. The presentation of the subject matter is organized to offer the reader the importance and relevance of the topics to present-day engineering problems. The association between transition matrix and confusion matrix is introduced to illustrate the connection of the probability concepts to data science. Examples and exercises include conceptual and data analytics-based ones.
Melanated minds and diasporic bodies: Womanist curricular praxis as radical intervention in study abroad

While university-based study abroad programs have become a core component of multicultural education, I argue that in many ways the dominant model of study abroad is rooted in a white masculinist e...
Selective memory disrupted in intra-modal dual-task encoding conditions.

Given natural memory limitations, people can generally attend to and remember high-value over low-value information even when cognitive resources are depleted in older age and under divided attention during encoding, representing an important form of cognitive control. In the current study, we examined whether tasks requiring overlapping processing resources may impair the ability to selectively encode information in dual-task conditions. Participants in the divided-attention conditions of Experiment 1 completed auditory tone-distractor tasks that required them to discriminate between tones of different pitches (audio-nonspatial) or auditory channels (audio-spatial), while studying items in different locations in a grid (visual-spatial) differing in reward value. Results indicated that, while reducing overall memory accuracy, neither cross-modal auditory distractor task influenced participants’ ability to selectively encode high-value items relative to a full attention condition, suggesting maintained cognitive control. Participants in Experiment 2 studied the same important visual-spatial information while completing demanding color (visual-nonspatial) or pattern (visual-spatial) discrimination tasks during study. While the cross-modal visual-nonspatial task did not influence memory selectivity, the intra-modal visual-spatial secondary task eliminated participants’ sensitivity to item value. These results add novel evidence of conditions of impaired cognitive control, suggesting that the effectiveness of top-down, selective encoding processes is attenuated when concurrent tasks rely on overlapping processing resources.
Quantifying the psychopathic stare: Automated assessment of head motion is related to antisocial traits in forensic interviews

Abstract Clinicians have long noted that individuals with high psychopathic traits exhibit unique interpersonal style often observable during forensic interviews. Here we develop an automated approach for quantifying head dynamics during video-recorded naturalistic clinical interviews. We expected head dynamics would be related to psychopathic traits. As predicted, dwell times indicate that those with higher levels of psychopathic traits are characterized by more stationary head positions, focused directly towards the camera/interviewer, than were individuals low in psychopathic traits. These associations were primarily driven by developmental/antisocial features of psychopathy, indicating that those with severe and life-course persistent antisocial behavior exhibit more rigid and focused orienting of their head during interpersonal communication. These results encourage more research into the automated quantification of behavioral manifestations of personality to support clinical observations that psychopaths exhibit unique qualities in non-verbal interpersonal communication.
Reuse-centric k-means configuration

Abstract K -means configuration is to find a configuration of k -means (e.g., the number of clusters, feature sets) that maximize some objectives. It is a time-consuming process due to the iterative nature of k -means. This paper proposes reuse-centric k -means configuration to accelerate k -means configuration. It is based on the observation that the explorations of different configurations share lots of common or similar computations. Effectively reusing the computations from prior trials of different configurations could largely shorten the configuration time. To materialize the idea, the paper presents a set of novel techniques, including reuse-based filtering, center reuse, and a two-phase design to capitalize on the reuse opportunities on three levels: validation, number of clusters, and feature sets. Experiments on k -means–based data classification tasks show that reuse-centric k -means configuration can speed up a heuristic search-based configuration process by a factor of 5.8, and a uniform search-based attainment of classification error surfaces by a factor of 9.1. The paper meanwhile provides some important insights on how to effectively apply the acceleration techniques to tap into a full potential.
Worth Its Salt: Margherita Costa’s Ridiculous Defence of Buffoonery

The first comedy published by a woman in Italy was singer-writer Margherita Costa’s Li buffoni (1641). Intertwining elements of erudite comedy, commedia dell’arte, and especially ‘ridiculous comedy...
Dysregulation of the Adaptive Immune System in Patients With Early-Stage Parkinson Disease.

Objective To determine the activation status and cytokine profiles of CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, and CD19+ B cells from patients with early-stage Parkinson disease (PD) compared with healthy controls (HCs). Methods Peripheral blood samples from 41 patients with early-stage PD and 40 HCs were evaluated. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were analyzed by flow cytometry for surface markers and intracellular cytokine production. Correlations of immunologic changes and clinical parameters were analyzed. Results Adaptive immunity plays a role in the pathogenesis of PD, yet the contribution of T cells and B cells, especially cytokine production by these cells, is poorly understood. We demonstrate that naive CD4+ and naive CD8+ T cells are significantly decreased in patients with PD, whereas central memory CD4+ T cells are significantly increased in patients with PD. Furthermore, IL-17–producing CD4+ Th17 cells, IL-4–producing CD4+ Th2 cells, and IFN-γ–producing CD8+ T cells are significantly increased in patients with PD. Regarding B cells, we observed a decrease in naive B cells and an increase in nonswitched memory and double-negative B cells. As well, TNF-α–producing CD19+ B cells were significantly increased in patients with PD. Notably, some of the changes observed in CD4+ T cells and B cells were associated with clinical motor disease severity. Conclusions These findings suggest that alterations in the adaptive immune system may promote clinical disease in PD by skewing to a more proinflammatory state in the early-stage PD patient cohort. Our study may shed light on potential immunotherapies targeting dysregulated CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, and CD19+ B cells in patients with PD.
Use of a Short-term Psychiatric Inpatient Model to Address Problem Behavior Exhibited by Youth with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities

Children with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD) are more likely to have co-occurring mental health diagnoses and require hospitalization than their typically developing peers. Inpati...
Strega Nona: The Spell on Identities

Strega Nona is the main character of many picture books published by renowned Italian-American author Tomie dePaola. This chapter uses Strega Nona as the vehicle to explore the ebbs and flows of the identity formation of two generations in comparison (children of immigrants of the early twentieth and twenty-first centuries). That is, it examines the ramifications of stories of mobility and migrations in different eras and analyzes similarities and differences in processes of identity building and ethnic belonging in the U.S. The chapter concludes that language, as a highly distinctive identity marker, is the crucial difference between the two generations under analysis. In the early twentieth century, social, political, and economic constraints forced children of immigrants to neglect the language of their families, contributing to the creation of hyphenated identities.
Auditory dysfunction in schizophrenia: integrating clinical and basic features

Schizophrenia is a complex neuropsychiatric disorder that is associated with persistent psychosocial disability in affected individuals. Although studies of schizophrenia have traditionally focused on deficits in higher-order processes such as working memory and executive function, there is an increasing realization that, in this disorder, deficits can be found throughout the cortex and are manifest even at the level of early sensory processing. These deficits are highly amenable to translational investigation and represent potential novel targets for clinical intervention. Deficits, moreover, have been linked to specific structural abnormalities in post-mortem auditory cortex tissue from individuals with schizophrenia, providing unique insights into underlying pathophysiological mechanisms.
Euro Conversion and the Competition for Order Flow Among European Exchanges

We examine how euro conversion affected trading costs and volume in European equity markets. Euro conversion immediately changed tick sizes and price transparency, both of which could affect trading costs and relative trading volume. Longer-run, conversion could boost competition among exchanges. Using data from twelve European exchanges during 1998 and 1999 and the NYSE over the same period as a benchmark, we show that average trading costs decreased by 20% in Europe, and overall trading activity increased by 20%. Trading costs decreased or remained unchanged in all markets, but volume deteriorated in some markets and improved in others. These effects occurred on both euro and non-euro European exchanges. Our results are strongly consistent with the hypothesis that euro conversion boosted competition for order flow among the exchanges.
Existe uma distinção relevante entre valores cognitivos e sociais

E util trabalhar com um modelo das praticas de pesquisa cientifica segundo o qual existem tres momentos-chave nos quais e preciso fazer escolhas, a saber, os momentos de: (i) adotar uma estrategia (ou regras metodologicas), (ii) aceitar teorias e (iii) aplicar o conhecimento cientifico. Os valores sociais podem ter papeis legitimos e importantes no primeiro e no terceiro momentos, porem nao no segundo, quando apenas os valores cognitivos e os dados empiricos disponiveis tem papeis essenciais. A distincao entre valores cognitivos e valores sociais e necessaria para sustentar este modelo e, portanto, para apoiar a visao de que o conhecimento cientifico imparcial pode ser o resultado de um processo influenciado por valores sociais, e tambem para indicar como a pesquisa deve ser conduzida de modo que o ideal de neutralidade seja sustentado mais plenamente. A maior parte deste artigo se dedica a explicar em detalhe como a distincao deve ser tracada.
Photogrammetry of the Viking Lander imagery

The problem of photogrammetric mapping which uses Viking Lander photography as its basis is solved in two ways: (1) by converting the azimuth and elevation scanning imagery to the equivalent of a frame picture, using computerized rectification; and (2) by interfacing a high-speed, general-purpose computer to the analytical plotter employed, so that all correction computations can be performed in real time during the model-orientation and map-compilation process. Both the efficiency of the Viking Lander cameras and the validity of the rectification method have been established by a series of pre-mission tests which compared the accuracy of terrestrial maps compiled by this method with maps made from aerial photographs. In addition, 1:10-scale topographic maps of Viking Lander sites 1 and 2 having a contour interval of 1.0 cm have been made to test the rectification method.
Manufactured Textile Fibers

The first conversion of naturally occurring fibers into threads strong enough to be looped into snares, knitted to form nets, or woven into fabrics is lost in prehistory. Unlike stone weapons, such threads, cords, and fabrics—being organic in nature—have in most part disappeared, although in some dry caves traces remain. There is ample evidence to indicate that spindles used to assist in the twisting of fibers together had been developed long before the dawn of recorded history. In that spinning process, fibers such as wool were drawn out of a loose mass, perhaps held in a distaff, and made parallel by human fingers. (A maidservant so spins in Giotto’s The Annunciation to Anne, ca. A.D. 1306, Arena Chapel, Padua, Italy.1 A rod (spindle), hooked to the lengthening thread, was rotated so that the fibers while so held were twisted together to form additional thread. The finished length then was wound by hand around the spindle, which, in becoming the core on which the finished product was accumulated, served the dual role of twisting and storing, and, in so doing, established a principle still in use today. (Even now, a “spindle” is 14,400 yards of coarse linen thread.) Thus, the formation of any threadlike structure became known as spinning, and it followed that a spider spins a web, a silkworm spins a cocoon, and manufactured fibers are spun by extrusion, although no rotation is involved.
A Third Model of Triangulation: Continuing the Dialogue with Rhineberger, Hartmann and Van Valey

In an article in this journal, Rhineberger, Hartmann, and Van Valey (2005), discussed the mixed methods approach known as triangulation, arguing that the meaning and uses of triangulation need to b...
Regulation of the Cell Cycle in Normal and Pathological Glia

Precise regulation of the glial cell cycle is essential during nervous system development and in response to injury, whereas disruption of cell cycle control is associated with malignant glial tumors and other nervous system diseases. The Ras signaling pathway plays a central role in regulating the mammalian cell cycle, and uncontrolled Ras signaling has been implicated in a wide range of human cancers, including malignant gliomas. Recent studies in glia have demonstrated that activation of Ras can either induce or inhibit proliferation through complex interactions among downstream signaling pathways impinging on cell cycle regulatory proteins. Studies in Schwann cells have begun to delineate the pathways by which Ras regulates the cell cycle in normal and pathological glia, and have identified promising targets for therapeutic intervention in the treatment of PNS and CNS malignant glial tumors.
Reconsidering Conditioned Inhibition

Abstract Conditioned inhibition is a fundamental component of contemporary learning theory. Our selective review of the literature defines the term conditioned inhibition on three levels—operational, behavioral, and theoretical—in order to evaluate the utility of the construct. Although consensus definitions are found at the operational and behavioral levels, the principal disagreement exists, not surprisingly, at the theoretical level. The comparator hypothesis suggests that the concept of inhibition is superfluous because behavior that is indicative of inhibition can be explained more parsimoniously by noninhibitory theoretical mechanisms. Furthermore, the findings that inhibition is less pervasive than and not always mutually exclusive with excitation suggest that the original view of inhibition as the opposite of conditioned excitation is no longer viable. However, rejection of the original conception of inhibition does not invalidate the theoretical utility of inhibition as a construct in other paradigms (e.g., occasion setting).
Thyrotropin Secretory Response to Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone in the Hypothyroid Perinatal Rat: Further Evidence of Thyrotroph Independence of the Hypothalamus during Early Ontogenesis

Propylthiouracil fed to pregnant rats for the last week of gestation to induce maternal and fetal hypothyroidism induced a 3-fold rise in plasma TSH concentration in the newborn pups compared to a 4-fold rise in their mothers. Subcutaneous administration of 1 ng/g BW TRH caused a greater rise in plasma TSH in the hypothyroid pups than in their mothers. These results, in combination with published data, indicate that the apparent independence of pituitary-thyroid function from TRH control during early ontogenesis in the rat is primarily due to delayed maturation of the hypothalamic TRH system.
Simultaneous structure and dynamics of a membrane protein using REDCRAFT: Membrane-bound form of Pf1 coat protein

A strategy for simultaneous study of the structure and internal dynamics of a membrane protein is described using the REDCRAFT algorithm. The membrane-bound form of the Pf1 major coat protein (mbPf1) was used as an example. First, synthetic data is utilized to validate the simultaneous study of structure and dynamics with REDCRAFT using dihedral restraints and backbone N-H RDCs from two different alignments. Subsequently, the validated analysis is applied to experimental data and confirms that REDCRAFT produces meaningful structures from sparse RDC data. Furthermore, simulated data from a two-state jump motion is used to illustrate the necessity for simultaneous consideration of structure and dynamics. Disregarding internal dynamics during the course of structure determination is shown to produce an average-state that is not related to the two intermediate states. During the analysis of RDC data from the dynamic model, REDCRAFT appropriately identifies the region separating the static and dynamic domains of the protein. Finally, analysis of experimental data strongly suggests the existence of internal motion between the amphipathic and the transmembrane helices of the membrane-bound form of the protein. The ability to perform fragmented structure determination of each domain without a priori assumption of the order tensors allows an independent determination of the order tensors, which yields a more comprehensive description of protein structure and dynamics and is particularly relevant to the study of membrane proteins.
The Ethics of Sex: A Call to the Gay Community

Addresses the gay community and suggests three principles to govern contemporary sexual behavior: first, the presumed goodness of homosexual relationships; second, an updated version of natural law, that one do what is healthy and wholesome, as determined by “the best available opinion of the day,” which scientific research provides; third, a developmental principle, that all are not capable of the same level of interpersonal and sexual relationships. Discussion proposes both negative and positive guidelines for sexual practice.
Determination of the Optical Properties of Absorbing Uniaxial Crystals from Reflectance at Oblique Incidence

Equations are presented for determining the optical properties of an absorbing uniaxial crystal by measuring the reflectance from a basal plane as a function of the angle of incidence and the angle of polarization. The technique is applied to a pyrolytic graphite crystal to determine the optical properties at 632.8 nm. The results are calculated numerically by use of a combination of the Taylor-series and gradient methods. The best-fit values found for the optical constants of pyrolytic graphite at 632.8 nm are n0 = 2.55, ne = 1.78, κ0 = 0.66, and κe = 0.00.
A time saving approach to peak spectra analysis

In X-ray fluorescence, as well as other quantitative methods for determining trace metal concentrations, computer methods for extracting characteristic peaks from background are very important. Cases where background is large and nonlinear, or there are overlapping peaks, present difficulties in the development of simple computer programs which give an accurate analysis of the peak. The method of analysis that will be described here was developed to meet these demands. The basic concept is simple, and good accuracy and reproducibility are achieved in samples with large nonlinear background, as well as overlapping peaks. The analysis is essentially independent of background.
Surface modification of monel K-500 by the plasma source ion implantation process

Summary The monel series of nickel base alloys (Ni-Cu type) are attractive for components like bearings and shafts operating in high magnetizing environments because of their non-magnetic characteristic coupled with superior corrosion and oxidation resistance at extreme service temperatures. Unfortunately, the current bearing technology is based on the use of two classes of materials, 5000 series alloy steels and 400 series stainless steels, both of which are magnetic. Thus, the successful operation of a magnetic device requires a new class of bearing materials. Some of the non-ferrous materials such as monels have not demonstrated superior wear characteristics as bearing materials. Plasma source ion implantation (PSII), a non-line-of-sight technology for implanting preferably gaseous species, is a new and innovative approach to surface modification of materials. The principal objective of the present investigation was to apply PSII technology to improve the wear characteristics of monels for developing a new class of bearing materials operating in highly magnetic environments. Monel K-500 alloy samples were nitrogen implanted by the PSII process and the modified layers were characterized by profilometry and optical metallography, low load microhardness testing, scanning Auger microscopy (SAM), pin-on-disk wear testing and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results of nitrogen implantation show a significant improvement in wear resistance of this alloy without any perceptible increase in surface hardness.
Conclusion: Principles for integrating psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy

Certain thematic principles emerge when attempting to integrate psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy in the treatment of anxiety disorders, depression, borderline personality disorder, eating disorders, and schizophrenia. Indications for collaborative treatment, issues involved in making a referral, and the nature of the actual collaboration are described. Indications and guidelines for integrating psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy by the same clinician are also considered. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Testing of Asynchronous NULL Conventional Logic (NCL) Circuits

Due to the absence of a global clock and presence of more state holding elements that synchronize the control and data paths, conventional automatic test pattern generation (ATPG) algorithms would fail when applied to asynchronous circuits, leading to poor fault coverage. This paper focuses on design for test (DFT) techniques aimed at making asynchronous NCL designs testable using existing DFT CAD tools with reasonable gate overhead, by enhancing controllability of feedback nets and observability for fault sites that are flagged unobservable. The proposed approach performs scan and test points insertion on NCL designs using custom ATPG library. The approach has been automated, which is essential for large systems; and are fully compatible with industry standard tools.
Criteria of chaos in non-linear mechanics

Analytical criteria are derived for the geometrical interpretation (Zak, 1985) of the transition to chaos in nonlinear mechanical systems. The concept of orbital instability in configuration space is employed in the analysis, and the differences between chaotic instability and classical Liapunov instability are explored. The case of a symmetric rigid body rotating about its center of gravity is considered as an example, and the applicability of the present approach to noninertial motion or to continua is discussed.
Renin-dependent hypertension in children with reflux nephropathy

Abstract In children with reflux nephropathy renin-dependent hypertension may develop. Two girls with reflux nephropathy, hypertension, elevated plasma renin activity, but normal (Case 1) and near normal (Case 2) serum creatinines are described. These cases suggest that reflux nephropathy can activate the renin-angiotensin system and that the renin inhibitors, methyldopa and propranolol, are useful in managing this type of hypertension.
Using Decision Trees for State Evaluation in General Game Playing

A general game playing agent understands the formal descriptions of an arbitrary game in the multi-agent environment and learns to play the given games without human intervention. In this paper, we present an agent that automatically extracts common features shared by the game winners and uses such learned features to build decision trees to guide the heuristic search. We present data to show the significant performance improvements contributed by the decision tree evaluation. We also show by using hash tables in knowledge reasoning, our agent uses 80% less time when compared to a widely available GGP agent written in the same language.
The Place of Reason in the Quest for Moksha – Problems in Vivekananda's Conceptualization of Jñānaroga

Most contemporary general studies on Hinduism affirm the view that this tradition proposes several distinct and independent ways ( mārgas ) for the attainment of ultimate spiritual freedom ( moksha ). The methods most often mentioned are karmayoga (the way of detached selfless work), bhaktiyoga (the way of love and worship towards a personal God), and jnānayoga (the way of reason). These studies, however, make little or no attempt to critically assess the assumptions of this thesis or to demonstrate in any convincing detail the relationship between the particularities of a specific method and the attainment of moksha . In spite of the way in which this claim has entered into modern writings on Hinduism, discussion still tends, on the whole, to be vague and generalized.
Selenium Decreases Thyroid Cancer Cell Growth by Increasing Expression of GADD153 and GADD34

Selenium (Se) supplementation is reported to decrease the incidence and total mortality of cancer. Whereas in vitro and in vivo studies have shown a decrease in prostate, lung, and liver cancers, this has not been shown in thyroid cancer. ARO (anaplastic), NPA (BRAF positive papillary), WRO (BRAF negative papillary), and FRO (follicular) cells treated with 150 microM seleno-l-methionine (SM) were assessed for viability at 24, 48, and 72 h. Treated FRO cells were examined for cell cycle using flow cytometry, for apoptosis using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay, and for gene expression using microarray. Genes identified as upregulated were confirmed by real-time PCR (RT-PCR) and proteins by Western blot analysis. SM treatment significantly decreased the proliferation of all cell lines. TUNEL assay showed no evidence of apoptosis, and flow cytometry showed a significant cell-cycle arrest in S (271% increase, P = 0.006) and G2/M (61% increase, P = 0.002) compared to control. Microarray revealed 21 differentially expressed genes with greater than twofold change. A relative overexpression of growth arrest and DNA damage inducible (GADD)34 and GADD153 in treated cells was confirmed with RT-PCR and Western blot. SM inhibits thyroid cancer cell proliferation through a time dependent upregulation of the GADD family of genes and arrest in S and G2/M phases of the cell cycle. This is the first report of selenium induced inhibition of thyroid cancer cell growth.
884 CALCIUM-INDUCED ECHINOCYTOSIS(E)IN HUMAN RED BLOOD CELLS FROM NEONATES(N) AND ADULTS(A)

884 CALCIUM-INDUCED ECHINOCYTOSIS(E)IN HUMAN RED BLOOD CELLS FROM NEONATES(N) AND ADULTS(A)
Fine control of citrate synthase activity in blue-green algae.

The citrate synthases of four blue-green algae, two unicellular (Aphanocapsa spp.) and two filamentous (Nostoc sp., Phormidium sp.) were inhibited by α-ketoglutarate but not by NADH. This control of citrate synthase activity reflects the lack of α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase in blue-green algae and the strictly biosynthetic role played by the glutamate branch of the tricarboxylic acid cycle. The citrate synthases were also inhibited by ATP and the enzyme of one of the unicellular organisms was also sensitive to inhibition by NADPH. These effectors may function in regulating the flow of fixed carbon into lipids rather than the glutamate family of amino acids.
Comparative pH values within the stomach, pylorus and duodenum in Antacid therapy

1. The pH of the gastric and duodenal content of man can readily be determined in situ. 2. There are rapid and marked fluctuations in the pH of gastric and duodenal content in the fasting state as well as when antacids are given. 3. Antacids in general raise the pH of the gastric and pyloric content.
Raman spectra of bird and reptile lens proteins

Abstract Lenses of birds and several reptiles have been examined by Raman spectroscopy of intact lenses and some chick lens protein fractions to elucidate the relationship between chemical structure and various unusual properties of these lenses. The δ-crystallin, which is the major protein by far of young bird and reptile lenses, and which is unique to these classes, exists in situ and after chromatography chiefly in the α-helical conformation, in contrast to the lens proteins of all other species examined. This determination by Raman spectroscopy for several species of these two classes has been confirmed by circular dichroism studies of chick lens δ-crystallin. Raman spectroscopy also reveals the glycogen in pigeon lens nucleus and its absence in chicken lens and in pigeon annular pad. A comparison of the spectrum of heat-coagulated δ-crystallin as a powder with the spectrum of native δ-crystallin reveals a considerable conversion of the α-helical form to the β-pleated sheet. This is the first case in which a major conformational change has been shown to be associated with the formation of lens opacification.
Pigmentation Genes: the Tyrosinase Gene Family and the pmel 17 Gene Family

We propose that at least two families of genes regulate the melanin biosynthesis. The first is the tyrosinase gene family, which is comprised of tyrosinase ( c locus), gp75 ( b locus) and DOPAchrome tautomerase ( slt locus). The second is the pmel 17 gene family, which is composed of pmel 17 (putative si locus) and chicken melanosomal matrix protein (MMP) 115. It appears that the tyrosinase gene family regulates melanin synthesis in the proximal steps of the melanin biosynthetic pathway and the pmel 17 gene family might be important at distal steps of the pathway.
The Influence of Attachment Security on Preschool Children's Empathic Concern.

The current study examined the direction of the association between children’s attachment security and empathic responding. At 42 and 48 months of age, 69 children’s empathic concern was observed, ...
Ab initio Raman spectra of oxirane

Abstract Raman spectra of oxirane computed with different basis sets are compared with the corresponding experimental spectra. The polarized nature of the experimental Raman bands permits unambiguous symmetry assignments for some of the observed bands. The frequency ordering determined in this manner is somewhat different from that obtained in different calculations. The calculations performed at the experimental geometry with 6-31G(E) basis set appeared to reproduce the experimental Raman spectrum satisfactorily.
Tailoring Conducting Polymer Chemistry for the Chemical Deposition of Metal Particles and Clusters

We report chemical deposition of metal particles and clusters with various sizes and morphologies on top of the polyaniline (PANI) thin films and porous asymmetry membranes. Immersing the PANI membrane into the PtCl42- gives rise to 3−5 nm Pt nanoparticles spread evenly on the membrane surface, while immersing undoped PANI membrane into AgNO3 aqueous solution leads to the formation of micrometer size Ag sheets with strong anisotropy. In contrast to the Ag deposited on the undoped PANI membrane, Ag metal deposited on the doped PANI membrane has a random morphology and shows no preferential growth along a specific crystallographic direction. The Au metal deposited on the undoped and doped PANI membranes exhibit morphological differences from a sheetlike structure to larger particles comprised of smaller Au particulates (rice-grain shape). Furthermore, by varying the nature of the dopant, we can achieve deposition of metal structures with fiber, sheet, cube, yarn-ball, and leaf-like morphologies. Our studies...
The effect of intensity and frequency of intermittent punishment in acquisition on resistance to extinction of an approach response in the rat

Rats trained to make an approach response with either nonreward or 150- or 175-V shock occurring on 2, 3, or 4 of 6 daily trials showed greater resistance to extinction than continuously reinforced-unpunished controls. Persistence during extinction was a function of both the type and the frequency of response-contingent event in acquisition. The significant interaction of these two factors was best interpreted as a result of the counterconditioning of the approach response (Amsel, 1972) to anticipatory conditions which varied in similarity to the frustrative nonreward of extinction.
Analysis of genetic and pathogenic variation of Alternaria solani from a potato production region

A two-year survey was conducted to investigate the level of genetic variability occurring across growing seasons within natural populations of Alternaria solani, the cause of early blight in potato. Genetic diversity among 151 isolates, taken from a disease resistance breeding trial, was assessed using seven random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers and sequence analyses of portions of the internal transcriber spacer (ITS) region and Alt a1 gene. A. solani isolates were grouped into 19 RAPD profiles to examine the distribution patterns of genetically distinct isolates within and between years. Seven RAPD profiles were found spanning both years with profiles 6 and 13 being the most prevalent. Five unique profiles were found only in 2008 and seven were found only in 2009. No variation was observed among isolates of A. solani based on ITS and Alt a1 sequence analyses, but a distinction between A. solani and A. dauci, a close relative outgroup was identified. Pathogenicity was also assessed using a tissue culture plantlet assay on four isolates and two reference cultures. Differences in virulence were observed among the isolates examined.
Optical coherence tomography phase measurement of transient changes in squid giant axons during activity

Noncontact optical measurements reveal that transient changes in squid giant axons are associated with action potential propagation and altered under different environmental (i.e., temperature) and physiological (i.e., ionic concentrations) conditions. Using a spectral-domain optical coherence tomography system, which produces real-time cross-sectional images of the axon in a nerve chamber, axonal surfaces along a depth profile are monitored. Differential phase analyses show transient changes around the membrane on a millisecond timescale, and the response is coincident with the arrival of the action potential at the optical measurement area. Cooling the axon slows the electrical and optical responses and increases the magnitude of the transient signals. Increasing the NaCl concentration bathing the axon, whose diameter is decreased in the hypertonic solution, results in significantly larger transient signals during action potential propagation. While monophasic and biphasic behaviors are observed, biphasic behavior dominates the results. The initial phase detected was constant for a single location but alternated for different locations; therefore, these transient signals acquired around the membrane appear to have local characteristics.
Regularization of ill-posed problems: optimal parameter choice in finite dimensions

Abstract We investigate a general class of regularization methods for ill-posed linear operator equations. An optimal a posteriori parameter choice strategy is developed for finite-dimensional approximations. The strategy is illustrated for a number of specific methods.
Exercise distributed across day and night does not alter circadian period in humans.

In rodents, increased activity due to running-wheel access is associated with a change in observed circadian period. In humans, exposure to exercise has failed to demonstrate similar effects on period. Methodological issues with prior studies such as light exposure during exercise, length of study, and method of measuring period confounded those evaluations of the effect of exercise on period in humans. In the present experiment, the authors examined the effect of exercise on period in 8 subjects using a 44-day within-subjects inpatient study. They used a 20-h forced desynchrony protocol, in which subjects were exposed to exercise across circadian phases under dim light conditions. Exercise consisted of three 45-min sessions per wake period on an ergometer. Target exercise intensity was ~65% of maximal heart rate. Intrinsic circadian period was measured using both core body temperature and hourly plasma melatonin samples. Consistent with previous reports, the authors find no effect of exercise on endogeno...