cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Changes in body anthropometry and composition in obese adolescents in a lifestyle intervention program

Impact of lifestyle modification on obesity control during adolescence, a period of significant physical growth and development, is less quantitatively evaluated. Therefore, we investigated the impact of changes in reported energy intake and physical activity on anthropometrics and body composition in adolescents. Participants were obese adolescents aged 11–18 years. All of them have a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 95th percentile specific for age and gender according to the 2000 CDC Growth Charts. The intervention consists of supervised physical activity, structured nutrition education and dietary modification, and behavioral support in 6 months. Hundred and forty-five obese adolescents completed the study. Compared to baseline, significant reductions in body weight (−1.4 kg, p < 0.001) and BMI (−0.1 kg/m2, p < 0.001) were observed at 6 months. When compared to expected growth trajectories on the 2000 CDC Growth Charts, body weight and BMI were reduced by 3.6 kg and 1.5 kg/m2, respectively, in boys and 5.6 kg and 1.9 kg/m2 in girls. Age was inversely associated with changes in weight (β = −1.48 kg, p < 0.01) and BMI (β = −0.32 kg/m2, p = 0.03). There was a dose–response relationship between reduction in energy intake and weight loss. A decrease of 100 kcal/day was significantly associated with reductions in body weight 0.30 kg, BMI 0.09 kg/m2, and BMI Z score 0.01 (all p < 0.01). Physical activity was not significantly associated with changes in anthropometrics or body composition. Reduction in energy intake was a significant predictor of obesity reduction in these adolescents. A quantitative evaluation of adolescent weight loss programs should account for natural growth and development.
Gradients, Property Templates, and Land Use Change

The scarcity of historical individual-level data makes understanding historic land use decisions and the influence of physiochemical gradients on these decisions difficult. Here, we present several measures of early property agricultural quality based on commonly available data, including elevation and soil type. These analyses demonstrate the influence of physiochemical gradients on initial land division patterns in the Gywnns Falls watershed (Baltimore, Maryland). Moreover, we examine the influence of the template created by early property decisions on continuing human-driven landscape dynamics. This influence is illustrated by 1900-era forest cover patterns, park locations, and modern transportation networks.
Allelic, genotypic and phenotypic distributions of S-mephenytoin 4′-hydroxylase (cyp2c19) in healthy Caucasian populations of European descent throughout the world

Impaired S-mephenytoin 4'-hydroxylation is a well-described genetic polymorphism affecting drug metabolism in humans. The reported population prevalence of the CYP2C19 poor metabolizer phenotype in Caucasians of European descent has been described as ranging from 0.9% to 7.7%. To address the question of whether the difference in the frequency of poor metabolizers represents an ethnic genetic microheterogeneity in the structure and expression of the CYP2C19 gene in Caucasian individuals, we performed a pooled analysis of available studies. Combined data from the 22 homogeneous studies showed that the frequency of poor metabolizers in healthy unrelated Caucasians determined by phenotyping was 2.8% (110 of 3990; 95% confidence interval 2.3-3.3). Data obtained from eight homogeneous studies that determined the frequency of poor metabolizers by genotyping showed that the genotypic frequency of poor metabolizers was 2.1% (28 of 1356; 95% confidence interval 1.3-2.8), consistent with the poor metabolizer frequency determined by phenotyping. In the extensive metabolizers, 26% (471 of 1786; 95% confidence interval 24.4-28.4) were heterozygotes. The observed frequencies of the three Mendelian genotypes were 73% for wt/wt, 26% for wt/m, and 2.1% for m/m. Based on the overall phenotypic poor metabolizer frequency of 2.8%, the expected genotypic frequencies were 69% for wt/wt, 28% for wt/m and 2.8% for m/m, which are in good agreement to the observed values. However, in the 84 Caucasian phenotyped and genotyped poor metabolizers, approximately 10% of the putative poor metabolizer alleles (17 of 168) were unknown. This study provides a systematic overview of the population distribution of the CYP2C19 poor metabolizer phenotype and CYP2C19 alleles and genotypes in healthy Caucasians living in different geographical areas, and shows a similar polymorphic pattern in the structure and expression of the CYP2C19 gene in the worldwide Caucasian populations.
Suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) potentiates paclitaxel-induced apoptosis in ovarian cancer cell lines.

Abstract Objectives To determine if SAHA, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, decreases ovarian cancer cell viability when combined with paclitaxel in vitro , and to explore molecular alterations of combined paclitaxel+SAHA treatment. Methods SKOV3 and Hey ovarian cancer cell lines were treated for 24 h with paclitaxel, then re-treated with SAHA or paclitaxel for an additional 48 h. Protein extracts were prepared at 48 h for western blot analysis. Cell viability was assessed at 72 h using the ApoAlert Annexin V Apoptosis Kit. Results SAHA causes G1 and G2 cell cycle arrest in ovarian cancer cell lines. Cell viability was significantly reduced by combined paclitaxel+SAHA treatment. In Hey cells, viability was reduced to 67% with paclitaxel, and to 48% with paclitaxel+SAHA ( p p Conclusions Paclitaxel+SAHA reduces cell viability in excess of either agent alone in ovarian cancer cell lines. Cell death is mediated via several mechanisms including G1/G2 arrest from CDK1 downregulation, inhibition of paclitaxel-induced survivin accumulation, and from increased Bad expression.
High-performance submicron inversion-type enhancement-mode InGaAs MOSFET with maximum drain current of 360 mA/mm and transconductance of 130 mS/mm

In this paper, we report, for the first time, submicron inversion-type E-mode n-channel MOSFETs on In0.53Ga0.47As using ALD AI2O3 as high-k gate dielectric with more than 360 mA/mm maximum drain current and 130 mS/mm transconductance. The device performance has a significant leap with 3000 times increase of the maximum drain current, compared to our previous results on In0.2Ga0.8As MOSFET.
Target Firm Returns: Does the Form of Payment Affect Abnormal Returns?

Research indicates that at the time of a takeover announcement, target firm shareholders receiving cash earn larger abnormal returns than those receiving stock. Our work confirms that cash targets receive larger direct payments from bidders and that the size of target firm abnormal returns is related to the relative size of this direct payment. Once we control for the size of the payment, however, we find the target firm abnormal returns to be unrelated to the payment method. Thus the relationship between payment method and target firm abnormal returns is indirect. This finding is important because it casts doubt on the signaling (asymmetric information) hypothesis. That is, cash offers do not seem to be valued by the market as a means of reducing this uncertainty. Something else, such as the tax implication differences between cash and stock offers, drives cash target firms to demand larger payments from bidding firms.
Serum and liver zinc, copper, and iron in chicks infected with Eimeria acervulina or Eimeria tenella.

Two-wk-old broiler chicks were inoculated via crop intubation withEimeria acervulina at two doses: 105 or 106 sporulated oocysts/bird or withEimeria tenella at a dose of 105 sporulated oocysts/bird. Serum and liver samples were collected on days 3 and 6 post-inoculation (PI). There were no significant changes in serum or liver zinc, copper, and iron concentrations in any of the infected groups by 3 d PI. However, on d 6, PI serum protein was significantly reduced in all of the infected groups compared to their pair-fed controls. The chicks infected withE. tennella had significantly reduced serum zinc (1.20 vs 1.77 μg/mL) and iron (0.44 vs 1.28 μg/mL) concentrations and significantly elevated serum copper (0.28 vs 0.17 μg/mL) and ceruloplasmin levels (20.33 vs 11.11 μg/mL) compared to their pair-fed counterparts. Those chicks infected withE. acervulina (106 oocysts/bird) exhibited significantly reduced serum iron concentration by 6 days PI (0.90 vs 1.14 μg/mL). Liver zinc was significantly increased in the chicks infected withE. tenella (349 vs 113 μg/g dry liver wt), as was copper (24 vs 19 μg/g), whereas liver iron concentration was significantly reduced (172 vs 243 μg/g) compared to pair-fed controls. At both dose levels, the chicks infected withE. acervulina exhibited a significant reduction in liver iron by 6 d PI. Hepatic cytosol metals generally reflected whole tissue levels. Metallothionein (MT)-bound zinc was significantly elevated in the chicks infected withE. tenella. Iron bound to a high molecular weight, heat-stable protein fraction (presumably cytoplasmic ferritin) was significantly reduced in chicks infected withE. acervulina, as well as those infected withE. tenella. Collectively, the changes in serum zinc, copper, and iron concentrations, as well as the changes in hepatic zinc and MT-zinc concentrations in the chicks infected withE. tenella were similar to changes evoked during an acute phase response to infection. It is possible that a secondary bacterial infection or inflammation stemming from erosion of the lining of the cecum may play a role in the response of trace element metabolism to theE. tenella infection.
Liquid-solid transition and the fractional quantum-Hall effect

The critical Landau-level filling factor ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{c}$ for the transition from Laughlin's liquid state to a Wigner crystal is determined by comparing the energies of these states. The Wigner-crystal energy is substantially improved over the Hartree-Fock result by using a variational wave function which includes particle correlations. The liquid-state energy is obtained from the Monte Carlo calculation of Levesque, Weis, and Mac-Donald. We find ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{c}$ to be slightly larger than ? which is consistent with the experimental observation by Mendez and co-workers that the fractional quantum-Hall effect does not occur for $\ensuremath{\nu}l~\frac{1}{7}$. The improvement in the crystal energy by correlation is essential to this agreement since without correlations, ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{c}\ensuremath{\sim}\frac{1}{10}$. In addition the crystal correlation energy explains the very low temperatures required to see the $\ensuremath{\nu}=\frac{1}{5}$ liquid state.
Segmentation of textured images using fractal transformations

This paper presents an approach to textured image segmentation based on a combination of fractal features. The traditionally fractal dimension obtained from the original and pre-processed images and is combined with fractal transformation coefficients. The latter are extracted using methodologies from image compression using Iterated Function Systems (IFS). Experiments have shown that coefficients used in IFS for image reconstruction can also be used as segmentation and classification features. Experimental results with various natural texture measures will be presented.© (2000) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Morphological Correlates of Dietary Resource Partitioning in the African Bovidae

Members of the African Bovidae exhibit dietary resource partitioning, which presumably allows coexistence of many species with herbivorous diets. Levels of resource partitioning based on diet include primary food preference, habitat preference, and feeding-height preference. Morphological correlates of these levels of resource partitioning were sought in the skull and vertebral column of 33 bovid species. A quantitative morphometric study of the mandible, skull, and thoracic vertebrae in a large sample of bovids ( n > 700) explores these correlates using video-image analysis. Results of this study indicate that many significant morphological differences exist among bovids that have a diet of either grass, dicots, or some combination of these two primary resources. In addition, some variables significantly distinguished bovids with different habitat and feeding-height preferences. These morphological correlates crossed taxonomic boundaries and, in many cases, were related to the structural properties of the herbivorous diet.
Interactive Effects of Elevated CO2 and Growth Temperature on the Tolerance of Photosynthesis to Acute Heat Stress in C3 and C4 Species

Determining effects of elevated CO2 on the tolerance of photosynthesis to acute heat-stress (heat wave) is necessary for predicting plant responses to global warming, as photosynthesis is thermolabile and acute heat-stress and atmospheric CO2 will increase in the future. Few studies have examined this, and past results are variable, which may be due to methodological variation. To address this, we grew two C3 and two C4 species at current or elevated CO2 and three different growth temperatures (GT). We assessed photosynthetic thermotolerance in both unacclimated (basal tolerance) and pre-heat-stressed (preHS = acclimated) plants. In C3 species, basal thermotolerance of net photosynthesis (P(n)) was increased in high CO2, but in C4 species, P(n) thermotlerance was decreased by high CO2 (except Zea mays at low GT); CO2 effects in preHS plants were mostly small or absent, though high CO2 was detrimental in one C3 and one C4 species at warmer GT. Though high CO2 generally decreased stomatal conductance, decreases in P(n) during heat stress were mostly due to non-stomatal effects. Photosystem II (PSII) efficiency was often decreased by high CO2 during heat stress, especially at high GT; CO2 effects on post-PSII electron transport were variable. Thus, high CO2 often affected photosynthetic theromotolerance, and the effects varied with photosynthetic pathway, growth temperature, and acclimation state. Most importantly, in heat-stressed plants at normal or warmer growth temperatures, high CO2 may often decrease, or not benefit as expected, tolerance of photosynthesis to acute heat stress. Therefore, interactive effects of elevated CO2 and warmer growth temperatures on acute heat tolerance may contribute to future changes in plant productivity, distribution, and diversity.
The Jet-Flap in Centrifugal Turbo Machines

Increased flow and pressure rise at constant speed have been achieved for a centrifugal impeller by application of the jet-flap and of mechanical tip flaps to backward-curved airfoil blades. Flow increments up to 16 percent and pressure increments up to 36 percent have been obtained with a control efficiency of 85 percent. Peak total-to-total efficiencies of the basic impeller have been found to be over 88 percent. An experimental correlation has been found for radial jet-flap cascades between lift increment and jet thrust, cascade solidity, jet angle, and effective blade aspect ratio.Copyright © 1968 by ASME
Measurement of tendon velocities using vector Tissue Doppler Imaging: A feasibility study

We have developed a vector Doppler ultrasound imaging method to directly quantify the magnitude and direction of muscle and tendon velocities during movement. The goal of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of using vector Tissue Doppler Imaging (vTDI) for estimating the tibialis anterior tendon velocities during dorsiflexion in children with cerebral palsy who have foot drop. Our preliminary results from this study show that tendon velocities estimated using vTDI have a strong linear correlation with the joint angular velocity estimated using a conventional 3D motion capture system. We observed a peak tendon velocity of 5.66±1.45 cm/s during dorsiflexion and a peak velocity of 8.83±2.13 cm/s during the passive relaxation phase of movement. We also obtained repeatable results from the same subject 3 weeks apart. Direct measurements of muscle and tendon velocities may be used as clinical outcome measures and for studying efficiency of movement control.
Lipid-functionalized Dextran Nanosystems to Overcome Multidrug Resistance in Cancer: A Pilot Study

Background The toxicity of anticancer agents and the difficulty in delivering drugs selectively to tumor cells pose a challenge in overcoming multidrug resistance (MDR). Recently, nanotechnology has emerged as a powerful tool in addressing some of the barriers to drug delivery, including MDR in cancer, by utilizing alternate routes of cellular entry and targeted delivery of drugs and genes. However, it is unclear whether doxorubicin (Dox) can be delivered by nanotechnologic approaches.
Electron tunneling and transport in the high-Tc superconductor Y1-xPrxBa2Cu3O7- delta.

We have performed tunneling measurements on single crystals of the superconducting cuprate Y[sub 1[minus][ital x]]Pr[sub [ital x]]Ba[sub 2]Cu[sub 3]O[sub 7[minus][delta]]. With increasing concentration of Pr, the structure seen in YBa[sub 2]Cu[sub 3]O[sub 7[minus][delta]] in the energy region where a gap is expected, becomes even less pronounced (more gapless'') as the [ital T][sub [ital c]] is reduced. In the vicinity of the superconductor-insulator transition, in tunnel junctions of demonstrably high quality, this structure becomes very weak. We draw upon a strong analogy between this system and ion beam damaged YBa[sub 2]Cu[sub 3]O[sub 7[minus][delta]] to discuss the results.
Accessibility of Web‐based information resources for people with disabilities

To a large extent, disability is a social construct. Whether individuals with “disabilities” can pursue independent and fulfilling lives is not so much a matter of their particular internal conditions as a question of enabling or disabling external factors put in place by society. This special theme issue aims to bridge the current information gap concerning the accessibility of the various electronic resources that make up today’s online library environment.
Attention-induced frontal brain activation measured by near-infrared spectroscopy.

Abstract In eight right-handed healthy males aged 9.6-12.9 years, changes in the frontal cerebral concentrations of oxygenated, deoxygenated, and total hemoglobin, as well as in tissue oxygenation index and cytochrome oxidase aa 3 were measured by near-infrared spectroscopy. The males were evaluated using a trail-making test with four test cycles interrupted by relax breaks. During the first cycle of this task, a significant increase in deoxygenated hemoglobin was documented in the left frontal region. In the extended course of the test, a significant increase in oxygenated and total hemoglobin was observed on both sides, indicating an increase in cerebral blood volume. However, only on the left side was an increase in deoxygenated hemoglobin documented. In children, changes in cerebral oxygenation induced by a cognitive task could be measured by near-infrared spectroscopy. In a short and extended attention task, a lateralized increase in oxygen consumption was documented by an increase in deoxygenated hemoglobin. In an extended attention task, an increase in oxygenated and total hemoglobin was recorded additionally in both frontal brain regions, indicating a compensatory increase in cerebral perfusion. Further studies are required to examine the significance of this technique in testing differences in children with neurobehavioral disabilities.
A Fond Farewell

Jane Wilhelms, a well known researcher in computer graphics died of cancer on 26 March 2005. Brian Barsky discusses Janes unusual educational background and her career in graphics.
The action of specific inhibitors of auxin transport on uptake of auxin and binding of N-1-naphthylphthalamic acid to a membrane site in maize coleoptiles.

Using both 1-mm segments of corn (Zea mays L.) coleoptiles and a preparation of membranes isolated from the same source, we have compared the effectiveness of several inhibitors of geotropism and polar transport in stimulating uptake of auxin (indole-3-acetic acid, IAA) into the tissue and in competing with N-1-naphthylphthalamic acid (NPA) for a membrane-bound site. Low concentrations of 2,3,5-triiodobenzoic acid (TIBA), NPA, 2-chloro-9-hydroxyfluorene-9-carboxylic acid (morphactin), and fluorescein, eosin, and mercurochrome all stimulated net uptake of [3H]IAA by corn coleoptile tissues while higher concentrations reduced the uptake of both [3H]IAA and another lipophilic weak acid, [14C]benzoic acid. Since low concentrations of fluorescein and its derivatives competed for the same membrane-bound site in vitro as did morphactin and NPA, the basis for both the specific stimulation of auxin accumulation and the inhibition of polar auxin transport by all these compounds may be their ability to interfere with the carrier-mediated efflux of auxin anions from cells. At higher concentrations, the decrease in accumulation of weak acids was nonspecific and thus may be the result of acidification of the cytoplasm and a general decrease in the driving force for uptake of the weak acids. Triiodobenzoic acid was an exception. Low concentration of TIBA (0.1–1 μM) were much less effective than NPA in competing for the NPA receptor in vitro, but little different from NPA in ability to stimulate auxin uptake. One possibility is that TIBA, a substance which is polarly transported, may compete with auxin for the polar transport site while NPA, morphactin, and the fluorescein derivatives may render this site inactive.
Electronic states and potential energy curves of PI2 and PI2

Abstract Spectroscopic constants and bending potential energy curves of nine electronic states of PI 2 and three states of PI 2 + have been determined by applying the complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) followed by multi-reference singles and doubles configuration interaction (MRSDCI) methods that included up to 1.2 million configurations. Our computations predict spectroscopic data of yet to be observed electronic states of PI 2 and PI 2 + . The IP-I dissociation energy and the D e of the diatomic PI have been calculated.
Dynamical Sensitivity Analysis of Tropical Cyclone Steering Using an Adjoint Model

AbstractThrough the use of an adjoint model, the sensitivity of the steering of a simulated tropical cyclone (TC) to various aspects of a model forecast trajectory can be calculated. This calculation, providing a priori information about how small perturbations to the model state will impact the steering of the TC at some future time, provides a wealth of dynamical information about the importance of synoptic-scale features and associated processes to the steering of a modeled TC that is difficult or impossible to obtain by other means. Regions of strong sensitivity to cyclone steering are regions where, if errors in the model state exist, those errors would have the largest effect on TC steering at a specified time in the future. However, without a dynamical understanding of why the steering of a simulated TC is sensitive to changes in these regions, errors in the methodology of implementing an adjoint model for calculating these sensitivities may result in sensitivity gradients that do not represent sen...
Further interpretation of the spectra of Pr3+-LaF3 and Tm3+-LaF3☆

Abstract The results of model crystal field calculations in C 2 v symmetry for Pr 3+ -LaF 3 and Tm 3+ -LaF 3 are compared with experimental data for the nearly complete f 2 (f 12 ) configurations. It is shown that the method used results in computed levels that generally correlate closely with level energies deduced from experiment. However, a number of important new insights are gained and some previous assignments are questioned.
Intrahepatic expression of HBcAg in chronic HBV hepatitis: Lessons from molecular biology

The precore and core proteins of hepatitis B virus have identical deduced amino acid sequences other than a 29-residue amino-terminal extension (precore region) on the precore protein. The first 19 of these residues serve as a signal sequence to direct the precore protein to the endoplasmic reticulum, where they are cleaved off with formation of precore protein derivative P22 for secretion. In this report, we show that P22 can alternatively be transported into the nucleus following signal peptide cleavage. Experiments with deletion mutants indicated that this nuclear transport proceeds via the cytosol and is dependent on the amino-terminal portion of P22. Thus, the hepatitis B virus precore protein is a secreted, cytosolic, and nuclear protein.
Sesquiterpene lactones of Vernonia - influence of glaucolide-A on the growth rate and survival of Lepidopterous larvae

Sesquiterpene lactone glaucolide-A from Vernonia, incorporated in the rearing diets of five species of Lepidoptera, significantly reduced the rate of growth of larvae of the southern armyworm, Spodoptera eridania; fall armyworm, S. frugiperda; and yellowstriped armyworm, S. ornithogalli. Quantitative feeding tests demonstrated that decreased feeding levels and reduced growth resulted from ingestion of a sesquiterpene lactone. Ingestion of glaucolide-A increased the number of days to pupation in four of the species. In the southern armyworm, it significantly reduced pupal weight. Glaucolide-A decidedly reduced percentage of survival of southern and fall armyworms. Yellow woollybear, Diacrisia virginica, and cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni, larvae were essentially uneffected by the ingestion of the sesquiterpene lactone. Sesquiterpene lactones adversely affect growth rate and survival of certain insects that feed upon plants containing them. They apparently function as defensive products, screening out a portion of the potential herbivores.
The rule of four

Guanine-rich quadruplex-forming sequences within DNA and RNA are prevalent and are suspected of regulating telomere replication, transcription and pre-mRNA splicing. The recent discovery of quadruplex-forming sequences in the 5′ untranslated regions of various proto-oncogenes suggests an important role for such sequences in inhibition of mRNA translation.
The relative importance of climate change and the physiological effects of CO2 on freezing tolerance for the future distribution of Yucca brevifolia

Abstract We modeled potential changes in geographic distribution due to increased atmospheric CO2 via climate change as well as direct physiological effects. Numerous studies have quantitatively predicted how the geographic distribution of plant species will shift in response to climate change, but few have also included the direct effects of atmospheric CO2 concentrations on plant physiology. We modeled the role that increased seedling freezing tolerance caused by exposure to elevated CO2 would play in determining the future range of the Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia). Results from greenhouse experiments were used to define how a doubling of present-day atmospheric CO2 concentrations changes the low-temperature tolerance. We used discriminant analysis to predict Y. brevifolia distribution as a function of climate based on correlations between observational climate data and the current range of this species. We generate a scenario of future climate under doubled CO2 conditions with a general circulation model (GCM) and used this as input for the predictive distribution model. The model predicts that under future climate, the distribution of this species will change dramatically, and that the total area it occupies will decrease slightly. When the direct effects of CO2 on seedling freezing tolerance are included, the model predicts a different and slightly larger future distribution, indicating that the direct effects of CO2 on this aspect of plant physiology will likely play a significant but secondary role in determining the future distribution of Y. brevifolia.
Impurity effects in UPt3

Abstract We have correlated superconducting transition temperature, resistivity ratio and heat capacity in nominally-pure UPt 3 polycrystalline samples. The T c 's and resistivity ratio are not simply related. The two anomalies in the heat capacity, which are believed to represent two superconducting phases, remain about 0.060 K apart as the samples become dirtier.
Thermal Properties of t-Butyl Nitrite (TBN) on Cu(111)

Reactions of coadsorbed t-butoxy and NO, generated by thermal dissociation of t-butyl nitrite dosed onto Cu(111), were investigated using time-of-flight mass spectrometry, temperature-programmed desorption, and Auger electron spectroscopy. In the high-temperature regime above 500 K, t-butyl alcohol, isobutene, carbon oxides, and molecular nitrogen desorb. In the more complex regime below 500 K, nitrous oxide, molecular nitrogen, hydrazine, water, carbon oxides, and acetylene desorb. The proposed low-temperature reaction pathways involve rearrangement of adsorbed nitric oxide to form N2O and N2, reaction between adsorbed (CH3)3CO(a) and O(a) or N(a) to form a metallocyclic intermediate (1) and either adsorbed O(a)H or N(a)H. The intermediate (1) undergoes multiple C−C bond cleavages in a series of steps to form carbon oxides and adsorbed methylenes. The latter couple to form di-σ-bonded ethylene, which can either dehydrogenate to acetylene or be partially oxidized to acetate that dissociates in the high-te...
Glycolytic metabolites and intracellular signaling in the pancreatic beta cell.

Abstract In the pathways modulating the secretion of insulin and other physiologically important molecules, the critical role played by calcium in the moment-to-moment regulation of secretory processes may be modulated by additional factors, and these factors may include the glycolytic metabolites. We studied these early glucose breakdown products for effects on calcium release and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP 3 ) binding to the IP 3 receptor in a pancreatic beta cell preparation. The physiological significance of the response was also examined in terms of the insulinotropic effects of these metabolites. In studies of calcium release from the pancreatic beta cell, the metabolite 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate (DPG) exerted a statistically significant stimulatory effect on calcium release. A lesser but nonetheless significant effect also occurred in the presence of 3-phosphoglycerate and glucose-6-phosphate. The DPG-induced effect was concentration dependent. It is likely that the effects of DPG and other glycolytic metabolites on pancreatic beta cell signaling are physiologically significant inasmuch as we were also able to demonstrate that DPG and other glycolytic metabolites promoted the release of insulin from the pancreatic beta cell.
Taking Sin Seriously

Contemporary Roman Catholic ethics endeavors to take sin seriously by offering theologies of sin that emphasize it as a force and as a basic, personal orientation. Such efforts rightly counter the Catholic tradition's earlier reduction of sin to sins, and sins to external acts and moral culpability. But perhaps they go too far in this regard. By engaging Charles Curran, this study argues that inattention to sins undermines the theological referent of sin as a discourse that concerns more than moral culpability, obscures God as the source of freedom and value, and neglects the way in which acts express and sustain sin and fashion a personal orientation. Drawing on the work of Jean Porter, the essay shows that attention to sins highlights the historicity, particularity, and provisionality of human acts because of the theological referent and analogical character of sin and sins.
Monolithic phased arrays: recent advances

GaAs monolithic microwave integrated circuits are reviewed focusing on analytical and experimental work to improve array performance and reliability while reducing the cost. Monolithic array technology is equally applicable to communications and radar systems. In radar applications both transmit and receive functions at the elemental level require a transmit/receive module's physical size to be compatible with 1/2 wave length element spacing. For communication applications, separate aperture are used for transmit and receive to ensure sufficient isolation for full duplex operation. Radar transmitter chains are capable of operating with a saturated power output stage which helps to increase efficiency and minimize DC power. Communication systems place severe linearity constraints on the transmitters and receivers which requires the power amplifier to operate in an ultra-linear fashion.© (1991) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Total Quality Management at Virginia Commonwealth University: An urban university struggles with the realities of TQM

The chief administrators at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) began formally to explore Total Quality Management (TQM) during the summer of 1991. What they found initially was both surprising and revealing. A major affiliated division of the university, which operates autonomously, had already undertaken a large-scale TQM effort. Early discussions also revealed a core of faculty who were already teaching, conducting research, and providing services to the business community, as well as state and local government agencies, in the TQM arena. These discoveries gave additional impetus for the administrators to pursue a study of TQM. The unfolding of the study and related activities undertaken to date provide insights into theprocess of implementing TQM at a major university.
Black Studies in Historical Perspective

This paper presents an overview of the major intellectual forces affecting black scholars in the past and an outline of what will occur in the future. The role of the white researcher is discussed in relationship to the concept of scientific objectivity, with an illustration of how the very concepts employed by researchers (“integration” versus “liberation”) channel their energies in one direction as opposed to another. Discussion of black behavior is grounded in a consideration of African behavior. Black Americans are viewed as fundamentally African, not European; the difference between these two provides the legitimate epistemological foundation for a distinctive Black Studies.
Microstructural evolution of the BSCCO-2223 during powder-in-tube processing

This paper reports a study of the microstructural changes that occur when BSCCO powder is processed by the powder-in-tube method. In this study the initial powder consisted of the 2212 phase plus second phases containing Ca, Cu, Sr, and Pb. When the material was drawn, there was no alignment of the 2212 phase and the second phase particles remained large and blocky. Rolling induced a small amount of alignment into the 2212 phase so that its c-axis was perpendicular to the rolling direction. Rolling also caused the second phase particles to become flatter. When these rolled samples were annealed at 828 °C, the core sintered into a platelet structure, and there was an increase in the amount of aligned material, particularly after annealing treatments of 16 and 32 h. After 8 h at 828 °C, the 2212 variant of the superconducting phase began to transform to the 2223 variant. Pressing this structure improved the alignment, and annealing after pressing allowed further conversion of the 2212 phase to the 2223 phase and apparently removed the strains produced by the pressing. Repeated pressing improved the alignment and repeated annealing allowed more conversion of 2212 to 2223. Both the improved alignment, produced by pressing, and the transformation of 2212 to 2223, produced by the anneals, caused the superconducting properties of the material to improve.
Nutrition, unemployment and international trade

Abstract This paper adopts the Leibenstein hypothesis that there are increasing returns to nutrition (over a range) for an individual's ability to work. This assumption generates unemployment in the models analyzed and allows a study of the effects of trade policy on employment and income distribution. The effects of world price changes, tariffs, production subsidies cum employment taxes, and production taxes cum employment subsidies are analyzed.
Surface Properties of Silver Iodide

IT is a rather curious fact that both low-energy and high-energy surfaces abound, but intermediate energy surfaces of high area are infrequently found and have been little studied. In a search of such intermediates, we recently examined the surface chemistry of silver iodide. One method is to compare the apparent water specific surface area to the nitrogen area. Another result which reflects the surface energy is the measurement of the heat of immersion in water and other liquids of particles of the solid sufficiently high in surface area to give meaningful results.
Constructing submodule specifications and network protocols

Applications of an automated tool for module specification (ATMS) that finds the specification for a submodule of a system are presented. Given the specification of a system, together with the specification for n-1 submodules, the ATMS constructs the specification for the nth addition submodule such that the interaction among the n submodules is equivalent to the specification of the system. The implementation of the technique is based on an approach proposed by P. Merlin and G.B. Bochmann (1983). The specification of a system and its submodules consists of all possible execution sequences of their individual operations. The ATMS uses finite-state machine concepts to represent the specifications and interactions of the system and its submodules. The specification found by the ATMS for a missing module of a system is the most general one, if one exists. Application of the ATMS in the area of communication protocols is discussed. A manual process to find the specification for a missing module using the Merlin-Bochmann technique is time-consuming and prone to errors. The automated tool presented proves a reliable method for constructing such a module. >
Pulsars and the Mass Spectrum of Cosmic Rays

Now that it seems probable that pulsars are fast spinning neutron stars and that they generate relativistic gas including perhaps all or most of the cosmic rays1,2, there is a new interest in the mass spectrum of cosmic ray primaries.
Global solution curves for boundary value problems, with linear part at resonance

Abstract We study existence and multiplicity of solutions for both Dirichlet and Neumann two-point boundary value problems at resonance. We obtain a detailed picture of the solution set, which, in particular, provides an effective way to compute all of the solutions. Our multiplicity results range from uniqueness to infinite multiplicity. Our approach can be seen as a dynamical version of the classical Liapunov–Schmidt procedure. After decomposing the space, we perform continuation in the subspace orthogonal to the kernel.
Photolytic degradation of methylmercury enhanced by binding to natural organic ligands

Methylmercury is a neurotoxin that accumulates in food webs and poses a significant risk to human health. Laboratory experiments suggest that complexation of methylmercury with sulphur-containing ligands can stimulate its degradation. Methylmercury is a neurotoxin that accumulates in food webs and poses a significant risk to human health1. In natural water bodies, methylmercury concentrations remain low due to the degradation of methylmercury into inorganic mercury by sunlight, a process known as photodecomposition. Rates of photodecomposition are relatively rapid in freshwater lakes2,3,4, and slow in marine waters5, but the cause of this difference is not clear. Here, we carry out incubation experiments with artificial freshwater and seawater samples to examine the mechanisms regulating methylmercury photodecomposition. We show that singlet oxygen—a highly reactive form of dissolved oxygen generated by sunlight falling on dissolved organic matter—drives photodecomposition. However, in our experiments the rate of methylmercury degradation depends on the type of methylmercury-binding ligand present in the water. Relatively fast degradation rates (similar to observations in freshwater lakes) were detected when methylmercury species were bound to sulphur-containing ligands such as glutathione and mercaptoacetate. In contrast, methylmercury–chloride complexes, which are the dominant form of methylmercury in marine systems, did not degrade as easily. Our results could help to explain why methylmercury photodecomposition rates are relatively rapid in freshwater lakes and slow in marine waters.
The Intracellular Juxtamembrane Domain of the Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) Receptor Is Responsible for the Allosteric Regulation of EGF Binding

We have previously shown that the binding of epidermal growth factor (EGF) to its receptor can best be described by a model that involves negative cooperativity in an aggregating system (Macdonald, J. L., and Pike, L. J. (2008) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 105, 112–117). However, despite the fact that biochemical analyses indicate that EGF induces dimerization of its receptor, the binding data provided no evidence for positive linkage between EGF binding and dimer assembly. By analyzing the binding of EGF to a number of receptor mutants, we now report that in naive, unphosphorylated EGF receptors, ligand binding is positively linked to receptor dimerization but the linkage is abolished upon autophosphorylation of the receptor. Both phosphorylated and unphosphorylated EGF receptors exhibit negative cooperativity, indicating that mechanistically, cooperativity is distinct from the phenomenon of linkage. Nonetheless, both the positive linkage and the negative cooperativity observed in EGF binding require the presence of the intracellular juxtamembrane domain. This indicates the existence of inside-out signaling in the EGF receptor system. The intracellular juxtamembrane domain has previously been shown to be required for the activation of the EGF receptor tyrosine kinase (Thiel, K. W., and Carpenter, G. (2007) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 104, 19238–19243). Our experiments expand the role of this domain to include the allosteric control of ligand binding by the extracellular domain.
The process of language comprehension; an approach to examining issues in cognition and language.

The fundamental concerns of the field of cognitive psychology-understanding the nature of the mental representation of information and the processes which operate on those representations-have received their most extensive examination in the past decade in the field of psycholinguistics. The reasons for this are obvious: language is a relatively accessible domain for study, and the systematic classification and observation brought by linguistics and philosophy to language provided a major initial stepping stone for the investigation of the psychological functions underlying human language production and comprehension. And, while there has been much growth in a number of other fields in the area of cognition, the now-expanded domain of psycholinguistics still represents one of the most promising and profitable areas for examining cognitive function. It appears likely that major breakthroughs in understanding the extent of (and constraints on) our ability to perceive, process, store, recall and comprehend information will come from gaining a detailed empirical understanding of the nature of language processing. It is particularly important in this regard to underscore the point that language, like other cognitive functions, is a (dynamic) process. It is, in fact, precisely because it is a process that gaining an understanding of its nature has proved so intractable o4er the years; such an enterprise requires that we rely on more than just an examination of the end-state characteristics of the process (such as memory representations) or static models of its putative underlying structure. Rather, if we are to achieve any substantive understanding of language performance it is necessary that we examine the microstructure of the entire process as it occurs in real time. It is only through the careful examination of the temporal course of mental operations involved in the various levels of analysis underlying speech that we can hope to discover its nature. There are a number of critical questions underlying the examination of language as a process which must be answered in the coming years. The first, and in one sense most fundamental, concerns the basic nature of the integra-
The use of solid‐phase microextraction/gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry for the determination of degradation products of volatile and semivolatile compounds

One of the more important applications in the pharmaceutical and personal care industries is the determination of degradation products in volatile and semivolatile compounds. The conventional approaches to these studies often utilize time-consuming and labor-intensive techniques in conjunction with potentially hazardous solvents. A new approach developed in our laboratory using solid-phase microextraction (SPME) in conjunction with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) to determine degradation products for volatile and semivolatile organic compounds is described. The approach was evaluated by the measurement of diphenhydramine hydrochloride, a known over-the-counter (active) pharmaceutical product. Aqueous solutions of diphenhydramine HCl were subjected to stress and subsequently examined using SPME-GC/MS. The hydrolysis degradation products benzhydrol, benzophenone, and dimethylaminoethanol were detected. Solid diphenhydramine was thermally stressed and subsequently examined by headspace SPME/GC-MS. The thermal degradation products detected were dimethylaminoethanol, diphenylmethane, diphenylchloromethane, benzhydrol, and benzophenone. These results were in agreement with degradation studies in the literature performed on diphenhydramine HCl using conventional approaches. SPME-GC/MS was then used to determine the acid hydrolysis degradation product for a cosmetic preservative iodopropynyl butyl carbamate (3-iodo-2-propynyl-n-butyl carbamate) also known as IPBC. SPME/GC-MS analysis of an acid-stressed IPBC solution yielded evidence of the compound 3-iodo-2-chloro-2-propenyl-n-butyl carbamate, indicative of addition of HCl across the triple bond of IPBC. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Micro Sep 13: 1–7, 2001
Myocardial Perfusion Imaging Based on the Blood Oxygen Level–Dependent Effect Using T2-Prepared Steady-State Free-Precession Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Background— The decision to perform coronary revascularization procedures may hinge on assessment of myocardial perfusion reserve. Blood oxygen level–dependent (BOLD) MRI is a potential method to detect the effects of regional variations in myocardial blood flow during vasodilation. Methods and Results— We imaged dogs (n=13) on a 1.5-T whole-body MRI scanner using a new T2-prepared steady-state free-precession (SSFP) MRI pulse sequence sensitive to BOLD contrast. Images (in-plane resolution ≈1 mm2) of 5 short-axis and 2 long-axis slices of the heart were acquired during graded levels of adenosine infusion via a surgically placed left circumflex (LCx) catheter (n=11) or via a right atrial catheter in animals with an LCx occluder (n=2). Relative myocardial perfusion was measured with the use of fluorescent microspheres. Signal intensity changes in myocardium subtended by the left anterior descending coronary artery were compared with those in the LCx region. Unprocessed T2-weighted images revealed changes i...
The temporality of intimacy: Promise, world, and death

Abstract This paper explores the temporal character of intimacy. I begin by examining the significance of “promise” and “habit” in intimate relationships. These themes are developed through the work of M. Merleau-Ponty and J.H. van den Berg to reveal the embedded or en-worlded character of intimacy. These analyses help to articulate and to problematize the sense we often have of “established” relationships as possessing a fixed, already determined character. The final section discusses the issues of intimacy that surround the situation of dying. Specifically, it analyses (1) ways in which the issue in death is the stripping away of one's world, but also ways in which the meaning of one's death is still something futural, and thus “to be shaped”; and, (2) ways in which the shaping of this meaning with intimate others is significant both for the one manifestly dying and for those whose death seems distant.