cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Responses of young black skimmers to high-intensity distress notes

Abstract The semi-precocial young of the black skimmer ( Rynchops niger ) rely on cryptic behaviour to avoid detection by predators. After capture most individuals emit loud distress calls, and chicks crouched nearby often run just seconds after these calls begin. Experimental distress calls significantly increase the likelihood of running, regardless of whether a sibling or non-sibling call is used. Since chicks in close proximity are usually siblings, such distress notes could evolve through kin selection, even if disadvantageous to the caller. On the other hand, such calls may startle and distract a predator, providing the captive with an opportunity to escape.
Hydration and strength development in ternary portland cement blends containing limestone and fly ash or metakaolin

Abstract This paper reports the influence of limestone particle size and the type of (partial) cement replacement material on hydration and the mechanical properties of cement pastes. Limestone powders having median particle sizes of 0.7, 3, and 15 μm, at OPC replacement levels between 0% and 20% (volume basis), and two other replacement materials of differing reactivity (i.e., Class F fly ash or metakaolin) at replacement levels between 0% and 10% (volume basis), are used to proportion ternary binder formulations. Fine limestone accelerates early-age hydration, resulting in comparable or better 1-day compressive strengths, and increased calcium hydroxide (CH) contents as compared to pure cement pastes. The incorporation of metakaolin in conjunction with limestone powder alters the heat release (i.e., kinetic) response significantly. A ternary blend of this nature, with 20% total cement replacement demonstrates the highest 1-day strength and lowest CH content. Thermal analysis reveals distinct peaks corresponding to the formation of the carboaluminate phases after 28 days in the limestone–metakaolin modified pastes, whereas the incorporation of similar levels of fly ash does not change the response markedly. It is shown that the synergistic effects of limestone and metakaolin incorporation results in improved properties at early ages, while maintaining later age properties similar to that of traditional OPC systems.
Factors affecting recruitment into child and adolescent psychiatry training.

Objective The authors studied the factors affecting the recruitment into child and adolescent psychiatry training in the United States.
Errata: "Constitutive Equations for Bimodulus Elastic Materials"

Conclusions In summary, it has been shown that for axisymmetric radiative transfer with isotropic scattering, the eigenvalues corresponding to the coefficient matrix are all real and occur in plus and minus pairs. For the matrix, Eq. (3), of any even order p, the eigenvalues have individual bounds which reduces the work required in determining them. Also, closed form expressions for the eigenvectors have been found in terms of the eigenvalues. Thus, once the eigenvalues are obtained from Eq. (14), the solution to the homogeneous system of equations is given directly by Eq. (22) or Eq. (23) (W = 1.0) without requiring separate calculation of the eigenvectors. Hence, the task of finding the eigenvalues and a solution of Eq. (2) has been accomplished. The method presented is simple and should significantly reduce the difficulties in obtaining solutions of the homogeneous system of equations given in Eq. (2).
Determination of orientational order in submonolayer butane films adsorbed on graphite by elastic neutron diffraction

Abstract Elastic neutron diffraction has been used to determine the molecular orientation and unit cell of a butane submonolayer adsorbed on exfoliated graphite. The molecular orientation provides a sensitive test of empirical potentials being applied to the calculation of the structure and dynamics of hydrocarbons adsorbed on graphite.
A possible neuronal basis for representation of acoustic scenes in auditory cortex of the big brown bat

Behavioural studies and field observations demonstrate that echolocating bats simultaneously perceive range, direction and shape of multiple objects in the environment as acoustic images derived from echoes. Cortical echo delay-tuned neurons contribute to the perception of object range, because focal inactivation of these neurons disrupts behavioural discrimination of range. We report here that response properties of delay-tuned neurons in the cortical tonotopic area of the bat, Eptesicus, transform the sequential arrival times of echoes with different delays into a concurrent, accumulating neural representation of multiple objects at different ranges. The sharpness of delay tuning systematically increases at each best delay in a subpopulation of these neurons while responses to echoes at different delays are accumulated. The resulting concurrent, multiresolution representation of echo delay corresponds to neural implementation of a common representation of images used in computational vision and may provide the basis for representing acoustic images of multiple objects as acoustic 'scenes'.
The storage of exogenous sucrose by corn scutellum slices

Abstract Corn scutellum slices stored sucrose when incubated in either sucrose or fructose, and similar maximum rates of net storage were obtained with 0·4 M sucrose or 0·2 M fructose. It is concluded that exogenous sucrose is stored without prior inversion. This conclusion is based on the following: (1) The amount of extracellular inversion (as measured by the appearance of glucose and fructose in a 0·3 M sucrose bathing solution) was too low to support a net sucrose synthesis and storage, and (2) sucrose storage in slices bathed in optimal concentrations of fructose or glucose was increased by the addition of sucrose to the bathing medium. Further evidence for the existence of a transport system for exogenous sucrose was obtained in the demonstration of an exchange of sucrose between the bathing solution and the storage compartment. The rate of exchange was increased as the concentration of exogenous sucrose was increased, was doubled in the presence of citrate-phosphate buffer, was little affected by pH in the range 5·0–7·3 and showed no dependence on the net amount of sucrose stored.
Mate choice in Darwin's Finches

Female Geospiza conirostris on Isla Genovesa, Galapagos, pair preferentially with males who have had previous breeding experience. They choose mates on the basis of courtship behaviour and black adult plumage. By mating with experienced black males, they gain a fitness advantage in terms of fledgling production and recruitment of young into the breeding population. Behavioural signs of past breeding experience and black plumage are reliable age- and condition-dependent traits. We suggest that females use conspicuous black plumage to identify old males at a distance, then interactions through courtship to modify initial assessments. Females paired with inferior males may increase the genetic quality of their offspring by extra-pair copulations; results of heritability analysis of morphology are consistent with this suggestion. Females change mates at a frequency of 12–27% per breeding season. They re-pair with males who are generally old, experienced, and hold territories adjacent to the deserted male. Females that re-pair gain a benefit, whereas males who are deserted within a breeding season incur a cost of more than 50% of their future potential production for that season. We conclude that females in choosing males seek reliable indicators of potential parental care, and in addition they may seek indicators of genetic quality.
Photoionization mass spectrometry of trans-azomethane

Abstract Photoionization efficiency curves for ions derived from trans-azomethane have been recorded from 8.0 to 13.0 eV. The ionization potential of the molecule is determined to be 8.45±0.05 eV. Fragmentation thresholds are determined for processes producing CH3N2+ (9.20±0.03 eV) and CH3+ (11.32±0.05 eV). Refined measurements of the gas-phase basicity (proton affinity) of trans-azomethane are reported. These data are analyzed in conjunction with the adiabatic ionization potential of the molecule to demonstrate some interesting chemical consequences of the nitrogen lone-pair interaction in azomethane.
Transgenic animals as a tool for studying the effect of the c-myc proto-oncogene on cardiac development

Transgenic animals provide a model system to elucidate the role of specific proteins in development. This model is now being used increasingly in the cardiovascular system to study cardiac growth and differentiation. During cardiac myocyte development a transition occurs from hyperplastic to hypertrophic growth. In the heart the switch from myocyte proliferation to terminal differentiation is synchronous with a decrease in c-myc mRNA abundance. To determine whether c-myc functions to regulate myocyte proliferation and/or differentiation, we examined the in vivo effect of increasing c-myc expression during fetal development and of preventing the decrease in c-myc mRNA expression that normally occurs during myocyte development. The model system used was a strain of transgenic mice exhibiting constitutive expression of c-myc mRNA in cardiac myocytes throughout development. Increased c-myc mRNA expression is associated with both atrial and ventricular enlargement in the transgenic mice. This increase in cardiac mass is secondary to myocyte hyperplasia, with the transgenic hearts containing greater than twice as many myocytes as nontransgenic hearts. The results of this study indicate that constitutive expression of c-myc mRNA in the heart during development results in enhanced hyperplastic growth, and suggest a regulatory role for the c-myc protooncogene in cardiac myogenesis
Effect of 2(3)-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole administration on the activities of several hepatic microsomal and cytoplasmic enzymes in mice☆

Abstract Administration of 2(3)-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole (BHA) (0.75%) caused a marked increase in the activities of several hepatic enzymes in CD-1 mice. This was associated with increased liver weights and total protein contents, especially of the microsomal and cytosol fractions. While the specific content of cytochrome P-450 was decreased slightly in microsomes, the specific content of cytochrome b5 and the specific activities of cytochrome c reductases (NADPH- or NADH-dependent) were increased (2-fold). In spite of a slight decrease in the specific activities of aminopyrine demethylase and of benzo(a)pyrene hydroxylase, both aniline hydroxylase and UDP-glucronyltransferase activities were increased (2.7- and 4.6-fold respectively). The specific activity of a microsomal membrane marker enzyme, glucose-6-phosphatase, was decreased slightly (−25 per cent). In the cytosol fraction, the specific activities of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and of UDP-glucose dehydrogenase were increased (3.8- and 6.1-fold respectively). Differences were noted in the time cources of increase and decrease in these enzyme activities after initiation and discontinuation of BHA treatment.
The effects of aging and oxidative stress on psychomotor and cognitive behavior

Decrements in motor and cognitive function occur in aging, possibly due to oxidative stress-induced damage to the brain. Declines in antioxidant defense mechanisms have been postulated as a causative factor in these age-related decrements, however a clear link between oxidative stress (OS) and behavioral changes in aging has yet to be established. This review shows that age-validated psychomotor and cognitive tests are sensitive to behavioral deficits under different models of OS, including: 1) decreasing OS protection by depleting glutathione and then increasing the OS with dopamine; 2) 100% oxygen exposure; and 3) radiation. Furthermore, interventions that reduce OS result in concurrent improvements in age-associated behavioral deficits. Therefore, age-related changes in behavior may result from an inability to cope with OS that occurs throughout the life-span.
The Development of Empathy in Chinese and American Children Between Three and Six Years of Age: A Cross-Cultural Study.

A series of social interaction situations representing the four emotions of happy, afraid, sad, and angry were administered to 288 American children and 288 Chinese children. Twenty-four girls and 24 boys, half from middleclass families and half from disadvantaged families, were tested at 6-month intervals between 3 and 6 years of age. Children from both cultural groups exhibited similar overall trends in their ability to recognize other people's emotional responses. By 3 years of age, the majority of American and Chinese children could differentiate between happy and unhappy reactions in other people. Perception of afraid, sad, and angry feelings developed somewhat later and appeared to be influenced by social learning. This cross-cultural study confirms the results of a previous investigation that very young children are capable of empathic responses. The awareness of other people's feelings by young children from very different cultural backgrounds suggests that empathy may be a basic human characteristic related to social adaptation.
Use of routine videocystourethrography in the evaluation of female lower urinary tract dysfunction

Controversy remains over which tests are necessary in the routine evaluation of women with lower urinary tract dysfunction. Is cystometry alone sufficient, or is a more detailed investigation such as videocystourethrography justified? Two hundred consecutive new patients attending for urodynamic assessment were reviewed. In fifteen (7.5%) patients the correct diagnosis was made only on videocystourethrography. We therefore suggest that videocystourethrography should continue to be used as the routine investigation of female lower urinary tract dysfunction.
Meiotic recombination and segregation of human-derived artificial chromosomes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Abstract We have developed a system that utilizes human DNA-derived yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs) as marker chromosomes to study factors that contribute to the fidelity of meiotic chromosome transmission. Since aneuploidy for the YACs does not affect spore viability, different classes of meiotic missegregation can be scored accurately in four-viable-spore tetrads including precocious sister separation, meiosis I nondisjunction, meiotic chromatid loss, and meiosis II nondisjunction. Segregation of the homologous pair of 360-kilobase marker YACs was shown to occur with high fidelity in the first meiotic division and was associated with a high frequency of recombination within the human DNA segment. By using this experimental system, a series of YAC deletion derivatives ranging in size from 50 to 225 kilobases was analyzed to directly assess the relationship between meiotic recombination and meiosis I disjunction in a genotypically wild-type background. The relationship between physical distance and recombination frequency within the human DNA segment was measured to be comparable to that of endogenous yeast chromosomal DNA--ranging from less than 2.0 to 7.7 kilobases/centimorgan. Physical analysis of recombinant chromosomes detected no unequal crossing-over at dispersed repetitive elements distributed along the YACs. Recombination between YACs containing unrelated DNA segments was not observed. Furthermore, the segregational data indicated that meioses in which YAC pairs failed to recombine exhibited dramatically increased levels of meiosis I missegregation, including both precocious sister chromatid separation and nondisjunction.
Specificity of cholecystokinin antibody may influence choice of tracer for radioimmunoassay

Abstract When CCK 33 was iodinated at His 20 with lactoperoxidase, the labelled hormone was less immunoreactive under radioimmunoassay conditions than CCK 39 which is readily iodinated at Tyr 1. Since the difference in immunoreactivities could not be due to different degrees of oxidative damage, the regional specificity of the assay antibody (UT122, from the laboratory of J.C. Thompson, University of Texas) was re-examined. A synthetic partial sequence, CCK 33 6–16, which had similar conformation to the same sequence in the intact peptide, as shown by CD analysis, was devoid of immunoreactivity. Results with sulphated and non-sulphated C-terminal octapeptides of the hormone, CCK 8 (CCK 33 27–33), indicate limited dependence of the C-terminal region for binding to antibody. Thus, the lower binding with 125 I-CCK 33 than with 125 I-CCK 39 indicates that His 20 is an important feature of the immunogenic site and that the iodine atom is large enough to cause steric hindrance. This explains why the method of iodination might have to be varied depending on the regional specificity of antibodies.
Stochastic analysis of biodegradation fronts in one-dimensional heterogeneous porous media

We consider a one-dimensional model biodegradation system consisting of two reaction‐advection equations for nutrient and pollutant concentrations and a rate equation for biomass. The hydrodynamic dispersion is ignored. Under an explicit condition on the decay and growth rates of biomass, the system can be approximated by two component models by setting biomass kinetics to equilibrium. We derive closed form solutions for constant speed traveling fronts for the reduced two component models and compare their profiles in homogeneous media. For a spatially random velocity field, we introduce travel time and study statistics of degradation fronts via representations in terms of the travel time probability density function ( pdf) and the traveling front profiles. The travel time pdf does not vary with the nutrient and pollutant concentrations and only depends on the random water velocity. The traveling front profiles are expressed analytically or semi-analytically as functions of the travel time. The problem of nonlinear transport by a random velocity reduces to two subproblems: one being nonlinear transport by a known (unit) velocity, and the other being linear (advective) transport by a random velocity. The approach is illustrated through some examples where the randomness in velocity stems from the spatial variability of porosity. q 1998 Elsevier Science Limited. All rights reserved
Blends of poly(epsilon-caprolactone) and intermediate molar mass polystyrene as Langmuir films at the air/water interface.

Poly(e-caprolactone)/polystyrene (PCL/PS) blends, where nonamphiphilic PS is glassy in the bulk state at the experimental temperature of 22.5 °C, are immiscible as Langmuir films at the air/water (A/W) interface. Surface pressure−area per monomer isotherm analyses indicate that the surface concentration of amphiphilic PCL is the only factor influencing the surface pressure below the collapse transition. For PS-rich blends, Brewster angle microscopy (BAM) studies at the A/W interface and atomic force microscopy studies on Langmuir−Schaefer films reveal that PS nanoparticle aggregates formed at very low surface pressures can form networks upon further compression. The morphologies seen in PS-rich blends (networklike rings) are consistent with a recent study of a nonamphiphilic polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS), octaisobutyl-POSS, blended with amphiphilic poly(dimethylsiloxane), suggesting that the nonamphiphilic PS aggregates at the A/W interface produce domains with dipole densities that differ f...
Blurring of vision. A previously undescribed complication of cyclophosphamide therapy

Five children with cancer treated with high dose cyclophosphamide experienced blurring of vision. In three patients, the blurring lasted less than one hour and disappeared, abruptly, but in the other two, it was prolonged, lasting three and 14 days with gradual improvement. In all five complete restoration of normal vision occurred. We have not found other reports of this association in the literature.
Induction of fas ligand expression by an acutely lethal simian immunodeficiency virus, SIVsmmPBj14.

Abstract Simian immunodeficiency virus strain PBj14, SIV smmPBj14 , is unique among primate lentiviruses in its ability to trigger the proliferation of resting simian lymphocytes and to cause the rapid death of experimentally inoculated pigtailed macaques. Severe enteropathy, immune activation, and extensive apoptosis, particularly within gut-associated lymphoid tissue, characterize the acute disease syndrome associated with SIV smmPBj14 infection. In the present study, we examined whether the ability of this virus to cause widespread apoptosis might be linked to the up-regulation of Fas ligand (CD95L) expression in virally infected cells. In vitro studies revealed that expression of the viral Nef protein, in the absence of any other viral gene product, was sufficient to up-regulate the transcriptional activity of the CD95L promoter and to cause cell surface expression of Fas ligand. This up-regulation was NFAT dependent (inhibited by cyclosporin A) and did not occur in cells that expressed a mutated derivative of the viral Nef protein, lacking a previously defined immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif. These findings were corroborated by analysis of tissue sections from virally infected macaques. Immunohistochemical staining revealed that Fas ligand expression was efficiently up-regulated in the GALT of animals that had been experimentally infected with wild-type SIV smmPBj14 but not in animals that were infected with a nonacutely pathogenic viral mutant lacking the Nef ITAM. Taken together, these results suggest that the ability of SIV smmPBj14 to cause acutely lethal disease and to up-regulate FasL expression may be linked. Additional studies will be required to determine whether the induction of FasL expression is in itself important for acute disease pathogenesis.
Towards understanding Regge trajectories in holographic QCD

We reassess a work done by Migdal on the spectrum of low-energy vector mesons in QCD in the light of the anti-de Sitter (AdS)-QCD correspondence. Recently, a tantalizing parallelism was suggested between Migdal's work and a family of holographic duals of QCD. Despite the intriguing similarities, both approaches face a major drawback: the spectrum is in conflict with well-tested Regge scaling. However, it has recently been shown that holographic duals can be modified to accommodate Regge behavior. Therefore, it is interesting to understand whether Regge behavior can also be achieved in Migdal's approach. In this paper we investigate this issue. We find that Migdal's approach, which is based on a modified Pad\'e approximant, is closely related to the issue of quark-hadron duality breakdown in QCD.
THE VIRUS OF INFECTIOUS FELINE AGRANULOCYTOSIS I. CHARACTERS OF THE VIRUS: PATHOGENICITY

Thirty-two strains of an infectious filterable agent, with properties that establish it as a virus, have been isolated from a malady of cats. This disease can be readily recognized and differentiated from other feline diseases by blood studies, which make apparent the characteristic profound leucopenia and marked relative lymphocytosis in the absence of thrombopenia and appreciable anemia. (Because the cytological pictures of the bone marrow and blood are essentially similar to those which characterize human agranulocytosis, we have named the disease under study "infectious feline agranulocytosis.") The cytological reaction to the presence of the virus is further characterized by proliferation of the reticuloendothelial cells of the lymph nodes and spleen, and by the formation of intranuclear inclusion bodies in the cells of the gastro-intestinal mucosa, lymph nodes, and bronchial mucosa. The etiological agent, the virus of infectious feline agranulocytosis, is pathogenic for cats when given by the oral, intragastric, cutaneous, subcutaneous, intraperitoneal, intravenous, and intranasal routes; it can be recovered at the height of the disease from the blood, spleen, liver, lung, intestinal mucosa, nasal secretions, nasal mucosa and turbinates, feces, and urine. The virus appears to be limited in its pathogenicity to the feline species. We found that a variety of animals, as represented by albino Swiss mice, guinea pigs, domestic rabbits, and ground squirrels (Citellus richardsonii Sabine), failed entirely to react to the injection of massive doses of virus. Repeated attempts at infection of these animals regularly failed when the intranasal, intraperitoneal, subcutaneous, and intramuscular routes of inoculation were employed for single doses. The same was true when from four to six transfers in "blind" serial tissue passages were made. Moreover, attempts to propagate the virus on the chorio-allantoic membrane of the developing chick were unsuccessful. The significance of the facts is discussed in the paper that follows.
Computations of violent surface motions: comparisons with theory and experiment

A numerical implementation of a generalized hydrodynamics has been used to compute a number of violent surface motions (characterized by the collision of different portions of the free surface). For some of these motions, singular aspects of the surface evolution may be analysed theoretically. Comparisons of the output of the calculations with theoretical predictions are made for these cases. In a second test of the predictions of the generalized hydrodynamics, the evolution of a plume generated by underwater explosions is compared with a computed plume history. An important diagnostic tool for studying violent surface motions has been analysis of the sum of the kinetic and internal energies of the flow. Accordingly, we include some results of an investigation into mechanisms for energy dissipation, as well as a description of some relations between energy loss and modes of cavity collapse.
Acetato-bridged acetoxy- and methoxy-palladium adducts of 1,5-cyclooctadiene

Abstract The preparation of properties of two acetato-bridged binuclear acetoxy- and methoxypalladium(II) olefin adducts are described. The addition of the olefin double bond is found to be trans by an NMR spectral analysis. The oxypalladium adduct is found to exchange the oxy group rapidly indicating a facile equilibrium with what is presumed to be the dienepalladium(II) π-complex.
Microsphere Fabrication and Applications: an Overview

The diversity of applications for spherical materials, often referred to as hollow or solid microspheres, microballoons, shells and microcapsules, span a wide range of technologies and attracts the talents of individuals from a broad set of disciplines. Consequently, this knowledge and capability is widely dispersed. A prime objective of this symposium was to bring that diverse community together to share, for mutual benefit, that knowledge and capability. This article highlights some of these diverse technologies and applications and identifies some of the many important literature sources encountered.
Histochemical Studies in Experimental Portal-Systemic Encephalopathy: I. Glutamic Dehydrogenase

• Results of a histochemical study of glutamic dehydrogenase in experimental portal-systemic encephalopathy with hyperammonemia indicate that the enzyme's activity in brain was increased in all stages of the encephalopathy, and this increase appeared to be localized exclusively in astrocytes. The results are consistent with the view that the astrocyte has a critical role in ammonia metabolism in brain, probably in ammonia detoxification. The findings, moreover, indicate that one pool of glutamate, possibly the small pool, is located in the astrocyte.
Effect of testing speed on the crack growth resistance properties of nylon 6/ABS polymer blends

Crack growth resistance values are measured at three loading rates for blends of Nylon 6 and ABS with varying levels of compatibilizer using the generalized locus method [14]. Load against load point deflection curves are obtained at loading rates of 5 mm min−1 and 500 mm min−1 using a tensile testing machine. An instrumented drop weight impact testing machine is used to obtain data at a loading rate of 1.2×105 mm min−1. Dynamic effects can be considered negligible for the three testing speeds used and the effects of these speeds on crack growth resistance values can be observed. The results of these tests help determine the optimum compatibilizer level for high rate loading applications.
Function of Purkinje axon collaterals in isolated cerebellar folia.

Abstract Cerebellar folia, when neurologically isolated from other cerebellar tissue, show considerable spontaneous activity and electrical responsiveness. Such chronically isolated folia have Purkinje cell axon collaterals (PAC) which form extensive connections with other cerebellar folia and appear to be the only such folium-to-folium connections which exist. Conduction velocity within the PAC system ranges between 0.5 and 2.5 m/sec and connections are made with Purkinje cell dendrites, Golgi-II cells, granule cells, and basket cells. The PAC system appears to act by inducing short-term inhibition (under 50 msec) upon cells which are contacted. A possible functional role is that this system may exert a fine or “vernier” control while the basket and Golgi-II cells exert a coarse or “block” control on cortical (cerebellar) neurons.
Access to French government publications

Abstract The improvement in the bibliographic control of French government documents, which began with the establishment of two bibliographies of official publications in the 1950s, has recently been greatly enhanced by the publication of lists of official serials by the Commission for the Coordination of Government Documentation. The Commission also played a leading role in the campaign to improve legal access to French government documents which resulted in the passage of a Freedom of Information Act in 1978. The production and distribution of documents remains decentralized, with publishing activities divided among three government printing houses and several individual agencies. The catalogs produced by these publishers are listed, together with information on how they may be obtained. Later sections of the article present the main guides and directories for the government as a whole, and for each branch, and discuss the most important documents currently being published, giving particular attention to the Journal officiel and publications on budgeting, economic planning, and statistics.
Ultrafast and selective reduction of sidewall roughness in silicon waveguides using self-perfection by liquefaction

We use a novel technique, self-perfection by liquefaction (SPEL), to smooth the rough sidewalls of Si waveguides. An XeCl excimer laser with 308 nm wavelength and 20 ns pulse duration is used to selectively melt the surface layer of the waveguide. This molten layer flows under surface tension and this results in smooth sidewalls upon resolidification. Our experimental results show that this technique reduces the average sidewall roughness (1σ) from 13 to 3 nm. Our calculations show that the waveguide transmission loss due to sidewall roughness in these waveguides would be reduced from 53 to 3 dB cm−1, an improvement with light transmission five orders of magnitude greater. Due to a low viscosity of molten Si (below water), SPEL can be achieved on a Si surface within ~100 ns. This short time, together with SPEL's material selectivity, makes it possible to repair defective components on a chip without damaging surrounding components and materials, making SPEL a promising candidate for defect repair in integrated optics and nanophotonics.
Position and attitude control of a spacecraft using the state-dependent Riccati equation technique

Spacecraft which are required to remove space debris or collect disabled satellites must be able to achieve the attitude of the target while being positioned at a desired distance from the target. The six degree of freedom motion of a spacecraft performing rotational and translational maneuvers has nonlinear equations of motion. The state-dependent Riccati equation method of nonlinear regulation is used to control the position and attitude of a spacecraft in the proximity of a tumbling target. A six degree of freedom simulation of the spacecraft and target are utilized to demonstrate the effectiveness of the controller.
Rhes: A GTP–Binding Protein Integral to Striatal Physiology and Pathology

Rhes, the Ras Homolog Enriched in Striatum, is a GTP-binding protein whose gene was discovered during a screen for mRNAs preferentially expressed in rodent striatum. This 266 amino acid protein is intermediate in size between small Ras-like GTP-binding proteins and α-subunits of heterotrimeric G proteins. It is most closely related to another Ras-like GTP-binding protein termed Dexras1 or AGS1. Although subsequent studies have shown that the rhes gene is expressed in other brain areas in addition to striatum, the striatal expression level is relatively high, and Rhes protein is likely to play a vital role in striatal physiology and pathology. Indeed, it has recently been shown to interact with the Huntingtin protein and play a pivotal role in the selective vulnerability of striatum in Huntington’s disease (HD). Not surprisingly, Rhes can interact with multiple proteins to affect striatal physiology at multiple levels. Functional studies have indicated that Rhes plays a role in signaling by striatal G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR), although the details of the mechanism remain to be determined. Rhes has been shown to bind to both α- and β-subunits of heterotrimeric G proteins and to affect signaling by both Gi/o- and Gs/olf-coupled receptors. In this context, Rhes can be classified as a member of the family of accessory proteins to GPCR signaling. With documented effects in dopamine- and opioid-mediated behaviors, an interaction with thyroid hormone systems and a role in HD pathology, Rhes is emerging as an important protein in striatal physiology and pathology.
Characterization of fragments produced by clostripain digestion of proteoglycans from the swarm rat chondrosarcoma

Abstract Rat chondrosarcoma proteoglycan aggregate samples were digested with the protease clostripain (from Clostridium histolyticum ) for various times. The progress of digestion was studied by Sepharose 2B chromatography and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. After complete digestion, the complex of hyaluronic acid-binding region, link protein, and hyaluronic acid was separated from the chondroitin sulfate-peptide clusters released by the enzyme. In this limit complex, the M r of the link protein was 42,000, slightly smaller than the M r of 45,000 observed for intact link protein. The chondroitin sulfate-peptides contained an average of about seven to eight polysaccharide chains per peptide and, after chondroitinase ABC digestion, were found to consist of two size classes of peptides. By comparison, chondroitin sulfate-peptides isolated from trypsin digests contained four to five chains per peptide and contained primarily the smaller size class of peptides. At early digestion times with clostripain, several distinct molecular weight intermediates containing hyaluronic acid-binding sites were identified on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels. These intermediates, with M r , values of about 125,000, 100,000, and 85,000, decreased with increasing digestion time to yield a limit polypeptide ( M r = 67,000). Procedures are described for purifying this limit polypeptide and the link protein for further characterization. The results indicate that clostripain can be used to fragment proteoglycan molecules selectively to define different functional regions for study.
War and Peace: A Methodology to Formulate a Contemporary Jewish Approach

The only times before 1948 when Jews ruled themselves andmade their own decisions as a nation as to when to go to war and how to wage it were between c. 1250B.C.E. and 586 B.C.E. (the conquest of Canaan and the First Temple period) and between 165 B.C.E. and 63 B.C.E. (the Maccabean period). Jewish sources on war are therefore either very old or only theoretical, without a base in the actual experience of deciding to go to war and the strategies to use. Jews, of course, participated in the armed forces of the nations in which they were living, and, in countries founded on Enlightenment principles, they did so as full citizens. It was not the Jewish tradition, however, that governed those wars, either in the grounds for going to war or the rules of conduct during the war. Now, however, with the establishment of the modern State of Israel and its unfortunate surfeit of experience with war, Jews are very much occupied with those decisions. To what extent, and in what way, can the Jewish tradition apply to those decisions, if at all? This is parallel to the problem that Jews have in gaining guidance from their tradition on any issue where the science, technology, or social or political conditions have changed radically. There are only four sources in the Jewish tradition, for example, that contemplate that people can have any effect on sustaining life when a person is dying, and none of those sources parallels the conditions in modern hospitals or hospices. Any reasonable Jewish treatment of whether and, if so, when to remove life support must therefore take those sources into account but also go beyond them to locate the underlying Jewish concepts of life and death and the role of medicine in our lives. In several places I have Philosophia (2012) 40:643–661 DOI 10.1007/s11406-012-9391-4
Service scripts: a tool for teaching pharmacy students how to handle common practice situations.

Objectives. This paper describes the use of service scripts to teach pharmacy students how to manage specific practice situations by learning and following scripted behaviors. Design. Based upon role theory, service scripts require specific behaviors for a broad range of practice problems and communicate consistent messages about the responsibilities of all people involved. Service scripts are developed by (1) identifying scenarios for the script, (2) eliciting the script's structure and content, and (3) documenting the reasoning behind the steps in the script. Assessment. Students in a nontraditional doctor of pharmacy program developed scripts for their practice settings. They concluded that scripts were useful for quickly learning new, routine tasks, but expressed concern that scripts could be misused by pharmacists and managers. The process of script development itself was useful in gaining feedback about common practice problems. Conclusion. By mastering managerial, clinical, and communication script...
Generating consistent updates for software-defined network configurations

This paper addresses the problem of consistently updating network configurations in a software-defined network. We are interested in generating an update sequence ordering that guarantees per-packet consistency. We present a procedure that computes a safe update sequence by generating an add-before rule dependency graph. Nodes in the graph correspond to rules to be installed and edges capture dependency relations among them.
Application of Titanium Dioxide to Whiten Mozzarella Cheese

Abstract Titanium dioxide, in a range of approximately 0.02 to 0.05% by weight of milk, introduced into milk for Mozzarella cheese to improve color qualities showed uniform whitening without adverse effects on texture or flavor. The larger amount of pigment may be required only with highfat Jersey or Guernsey milk, obtained in late spring and early summer when carotene levels are at a maximum; for most blended cheese milk, levels as low as 0.025% appear satisfactoy in giving Mozzarella cheese a uniform, white, satiny appearance. Concentrations of titanium dioxide of 0.1%, or higher, by weight of cheese milk, result in white sediment or dust on walls of vats and on utensils and in an irregular deposition of powder in the cheese, often culminating in flaking. Effective uniform distribution of titanium dioxide in cheese depends upon adding the powdered pigment to cheese milk as a water suspension accompanied by vigorous, continuing agitation of milk until rennet addition and distribution.
Investigation of Accolate and Singulair for Treatment of Capsular Contracture Yields Safety Concerns

At The Aesthetic Meeting 2002 of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, the Aesthetic Surgery Education and Research Foundation/Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation (ASERF/PSEF) Emerging Trends Task Force and Innovative Procedures Committee requested an update on zafirlukast (Accolate; AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, Wilmington, DE) and montelukast (Singulair; Merck & Co, West Point, PA) - what they are and how they work. These two asthma medications were reported to possibly treat and prevent capsular contracture after breast augmentation. On further analysis of postmarketing complications associated with zafirlukast based on information obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, it was discovered that between November 1, 1997, and October 31, 2002, 66 cases of hepatitis or liver failure in asthma patients occurred after a normal dose (13 of these 66 patients were taking no other medication). Two patients required liver transplants. Twenty-three deaths were reported (8 of these 23 patients were taking no other medication); 12 of these deaths followed liver failure. It should be noted that the Adverse Event Reporting System contains a disclaimer saying, "The reports have not been scientifically or otherwise verified as to a cause-and-effect relationship and cannot be used to estimate the incidence of adverse drug reactions." Many physicians entered the specific code to indicate zafirlukast as the "primary suspect" in the adverse event. Merck & Co reported no postmarketing cases of hepatitis or liver failure associated with montelukast. This article summarizes the proposed logic behind using these two asthma medications for the prevention and treatment of breast implant capsular contracture. (Aesthetic Surg J 2003;23:98-102.).
A New Algorithm for CTD Oxygen Calibration

Abstract An algorithm for converting the Beckman dissolved-oxygen probe variables with other data from a WHOI/Brown CTD/O2 system to oxygen concentration is presented. Improvements over earlier oxygen algorithms are inclusion of an oxygen current bias and time-lag correction using a nonlinear, least-squares calibration to the titrated oxygen bottle samples. The calibration technique uses a quasi-Newtonian minimization scheme available in scientific subroutine libraries such as the “IMSL” library. Oxygen probe parameters are found to be stable over several (as many as 25) stations and give typical rms errors in the deep water of 0.005 ml l−1 which is roughly the expected error for the bottle samples. Oxygen current biases can be equivalent to concentrations as large as 0.8 ml l−1. Typical oxygen lag correction values, associated with diffusion times through the probe membrane are in the range of 4–10 seconds. Examples from the North Pacific where the shallow oxygen minimum severely tests the algorithm and ...
Analysis of factors affecting lactic dehydrogenase subunit composition determinations.

Abstract The ratios of the activities exhibited at low and high pyruvate levels, here designated as R values, for prepared mixtures of parental LDH tetramers will not fall on a straight line in a plot of R versus per cent A or B subunits (by activity) unless either the R value for the A4B0 tetramer (RA) or the R value for the A0B4 tetramer (RB) is equal to one. Intratetrameric catalytic independence is not necessary for such linearity. R values for the five electrophoretically resolved LDH tetramers will not fall on a straight line in a plot of R versus per cent A or B subunits (denoting per cent concentration of the subunits) unless the turnover number of the A subunits at the high substrate level (TAH) is equal to the turnover number of the B subunits at the high substrate level (TBH) for R, or the turnover number of the A subunits at the low substrate level (TAL) is equal to the turnover number of the B subunits at the low substrate level (TBL) for 1/R, and there is intratetrameric catalytic independence. Per cent A or B subunits by activity (f) is not equatable with per cent A or B subunits by subunit concentration (F) unless TAH is equal to TBL, and there is intratetrameric catalytic independence, i.e. the two standard curves will not be the same. The study of one set of data on chicken LDH isozymes indicates that conditions are not met under which f and F will be equivalent, or under which plots for their equations will be linear. This observation leads to the interesting conclusion that concomitant with the formation of hybrid tetramers there may be an alteration of the catalytic properties of at least the A-type subunits. The determination of turnover numbers of all the isozymes of a given series at both conditions of the differential assay is, therefore, necessary to the establishment of an assay procedure for determining the mole fraction of a given subunit present in an isozyme mixture. This conclusion infers the approximate nature of previous differential assay procedures, and removes the need for linearity of R values in such methods. Intratetrameric catalytic dependence is interesting both in terms of enzyme subunit interaction and its metabolic consequences.
The Utility of Urodynamic Testing

The utility of urodynamic testing has been questioned for decades. However, this diagnostic tool has been widely adopted in the evaluation of patients who suffer from urinary incontinence despite the associated costs to society. A review of the literature and the consensus of the authors with regard to the indications of urodynamic testing, its application as a diagnostic and prognostic tool, and its effect on surgical management and outcome are presented here.
Market analysis using regulatory reports

Abstract The reports that common carriers must file before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) provide information that allows the FCC to regulate the carriers and create regulatory policy. In an era where increasing competition among telecommunications providers is viewed as desirable, these same regulatory reports can provide strategic information (eg an assessment of market size for specific telecommunication services) to potential competitors. This use of these reports is demonstrated for the Pittsburgh, PA, metropolitan area. The policy implications of this are discussed.
Measurement and analysis of carbon formation during diesel reforming for solid oxide fuel cells

Abstract Experiments and equilibrium analysis were conducted to study carbon formation during diesel reforming for a solid oxide fuel cell-based auxiliary power unit (APU) application. A photo-acoustic instrument provided direct measurements of solid carbon concentration in the reformer effluent stream, which could be correlated to reformate gas composition (as determined via mass spectrometer) and reformer temperature. These measurements were complimented by equilibrium calculations based upon minimization of total Gibbs free energy. It was determined that oxygen-to-carbon ratio (O/C), fuel utilization fraction and anode recycle fraction all influence the degree of carbon formation, and that once significant carbon concentration is measured, the reformer performance begins to show marked degradation. At a fixed operating point, lowering the reformer temperature produced by far the largest change in effluent carbon concentration. Systematic variation in O/C, fuel utilization and anode recycle revealed the interdependence among reformer temperature, effluent gas composition and carbon concentration, with a strong correlation between carbon and ethylene concentrations observed for [C 2 H 4 ] > 0.8%. After each experiment, baseline reformer performance could be recovered by operation under methane partial oxidation (POx) conditions, indicating that reformer degradation results at least in part from carbon deposition on the reformer catalyst.