cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Social network intervention to increase pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) awareness, interest, and use among African American men who have sex with men

In the U.S., HIV incidence is highest among Black men who have sex with men (MSM) but PrEP uptake is low, in part due to lack of normative support for using PrEP. This research pilot tested a socia...
Risk-based decision-making on corrosion delay for ship hull tankers

Abstract Corrosion addition, as defined by the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS), is a proactive design measure against corrosion-induced structural deterioration. In conjunction with regular dry-docking maintenance (e.g., coating and steel renewal), corrosion addition is aimed to sustain the intended functionality of a corroding ship toward the end of its service life. It is expected that corrosion addition can improve hull strength and save the lifetime maintenance cost. However, the benefit of upfront steel investment in corrosion addition on the ship’s life-cycle cost, including construction, dry-docking maintenance, and failure consequence, remains unclear. Obtaining such knowledge is very helpful in ship design and lifetime dry-docking planning. This paper presents a risk-based approach to study the most economically optimal corrosion addition. The method is illustrated on a very large crude carrier (VLCC) and the benefit analysis takes into account different magnitudes of the construction, dry-docking, steel renewal, and failure costs. The results show that corrosion addition by IACS may not be economically optimal; the reduction in the life-cycle cost through corrosion addition and the optimal corrosion addition achieving the maximum benefit varies with the item costs specified.
4 – COMPILER LANGUAGE

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses compiler languages. It also discusses the assembler-language representation of some simple compiler statements. The most commonly used character set is the Fortranset, which is available on the IBM 026 card punch. The general principles of expressing an algorithm in compiler language are similar in Fortran, Algol, and PL/1. Fortran uses the 48 character set. An identifier is one letter or one letter followed by more letters and/or digits. Fortran IV has limits of six characters in an identifier but some other Fortran compilers are less restrictive. PL/1 uses either the 48 character Fortran set or an extended set of 60 characters. An identifier is one letter or one letter followed by more letters and/or digits. There is a limit of 31 characters. Algol was designed with no particular machine in mind and does not insist on a particular character set. The reference language uses a set of 91 characters and most published algorithms use this set. An actual compiler can use any character set as long as it preserves the distinctions among different symbols.
Economic impact of faith‐based residential addiction recovery for the homeless

Objective To examine the economic and fiscal impact of a faith-based long-term residential addiction recovery program for homeless men on the state and local economy. Design This descriptive study used entry, within-program, and exit data to determine the program's fiscal and economic impact. Sample The population consisted of 5,122 homeless men at an inner-city mission in Baltimore City from 2006 to 2019. Measurements To compare costs and savings at different program intervals, economists examined program data before, during, and following completion of the program. Data were analyzed using the IMPLAN input-output model. Results The study revealed that each man who participates in the residential recovery program for 1 year produces a total savings of $14,263 to state and county governments. Each man who successfully completes the program saves state and county governments over $5,000 per year post graduation. Each man who works for 1 year following graduation and reallocates his spending from illicit drugs to goods and services in the economy supports 1.5 jobs and generates over $240,000 in additional revenue and economic output. Conclusion The findings from this study support the value of this faith-based residential program in promoting economic productivity in the surrounding state and region.
Experience-related remapping of temporal encoding by striatal ensembles.

Abstract Temporal control of action is key for a broad range of behaviors and is disrupted in human diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and schizophrenia. A brain structure that is critical for temporal control is the dorsal striatum. Experience and learning can influence dorsal striatal neuronal activity, but it is unknown how these neurons change with experience in contexts which require precise temporal control of movement. We investigated this question by recording from medium-spiny neurons (MSNs) in the dorsal striatum of mice as they gained experience controlling their actions in time. We leveraged an interval timing task optimized for mice which required them to “switch” response ports after enough time had passed without receiving a reward. We report three main results. First, we found that time-related ramping activity and response-related activity increased with more experience. Second, temporal decoding by MSN ensembles improved with experience and was predominantly driven by time-related ramping activity. Finally, we found that some MSNs had differential modulation on error trials. These findings enhance our understanding of dorsal striatal temporal processing by demonstrating how MSN ensembles can evolve with experience. Our results can be linked to temporal habituation and illuminate striatal flexibility during interval timing, which may be relevant for human disease.
Running Naked and Unmasked in Goa: Pleasure in the Pandemic

In November 2020, Indian celebrity Milind Soman posted a picture of himself on social media, which showed him running naked on a beach. He was charged with obscenity. This article considers the time and place of Soman’s act over the alleged impropriety. The photograph was taken on a beach in Goa, the tropical setting serving as a pleasure periphery to India which annexed the region in 1961. Accordingly, a longer history of states of undress in Indian advertising, filmmaking, and tourism are considered here to apprehend how Goa has been posited in the Indian imagination as a destination for wanton self-gratification while local realities are undermined. The article thus interrogates what it means for Goa, whose economy is overly dependent on tourism, to serve as a vacation spot during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially when, in 2020, it had among the highest number of virus-related deaths in the country (Dias, 2020, par. 4). Using the metaphor of the celebrity who has no qualms about running naked and unmasked in Goa, this article enquires into what such events leave unrevealed in the economic requirement that some locales function as holiday destinations, even in the midst of a pandemic.
Stop the Bleed®: Medical Students as Instructors of the Bleeding Control Basics Course:

BackgroundThe Bleeding Control Basics (B-Con) Course was developed to teach lifesaving hemorrhage control techniques to the public. Currently, medical students (MS) without prior clinical experienc...
Pediatric End of Life Care: Impact of Islamic Faith.

Studies investigating children and families’ experiences at end of life in Saudi Arabia are limited. However, one factor found to have an impact on patient and primary caregiver end of life care is...
Asymmetric Fraunhofer spectra in a topological insulator-based Josephson junction.

Josephson junctions with topological insulators as their weak link (S-TI-S junctions) are predicted to host Majorana fermions, which are key to creating qubits for topologically protected quantum computing. But the details of the S-TI-S current-phase relation and its interplay with magnetic fields are not well understood. We fabricate a Bi2Se3 junction with NbTi leads and measure the Fraunhofer patterns of the junction with applied in-plane fields. We observe that asymmetric Fraunhofer patterns appear in the resistance maps of Bz vs. Bx,y, with aperiodic node spacings. These asymmetric patterns appear even at zero parallel field and for temperatures up to 1 K. The anomalous features are compared to asymmetric Fraunhofer patterns expected for finite Cooper pair momentum shifts as well as geometric effects. We show that the geometric effects can dominate, independent of in-plane field magnitude. These results are important for differentiating geometrical phase shifts from those caused by Cooper pair momentum shifting, Majorana mode signatures, or other unconventional superconducting behavior.
Determining Ocean Circulation and Sea Level from Satellite Altimetry: Progress and Challenges

Satellite altimetry has revolutionized oceanography since the early 1990s after the launch of the TOPEX/Poseidon and ERS-1 missions. The progress made in the past 20 years is reviewed in the paper with a focus on the most recent advances. Precision altimetry measurements from TOPEX/Poseidon and its follow-ons have provided continuous global view of the large-scale ocean circulation and its changes over a time span approaching two decades. New discoveries range from El Nino to global sea level rise, from ocean general circulation to model-based estimation of the state of the ocean for a variety of scientific and societal applications. The combined data from precision missions with other missions have led to a wealth of new information on the details of ocean circulation, including the pathways of eddies and their interaction with the mean flow and bottom topography. It is now even possible to perform high-order computation of the flow field for studying the vorticity balance of ocean currents and the energy cascade in spectral space. Calculations of the flux of tidal energy have confirmed that half of the required mixing in the ocean to maintain its thermohaline circulation is provided by tidal dissipation in the deep ocean. The surprising finding of internal tidal signatures in altimetry data has revitalized the study of the subject of great importance to the understanding of ocean mixing and energy cycle. A new challenge for altimetry is to resolve ocean motions at scales shorter than 100 km that play a key role in the vertical exchange processes of the ocean and the cycle of ocean kinetic energy. These are important missing links in improving the understanding of the ocean’s roles in climate change. The technology of radar interferometry for making high-resolution wide-swath altimetry measurement is a way to meet the challenge. A new mission called Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) is introduced as a next-generation altimetry mission for both oceanographic and land hydrological applications.
Borderline and Long QT Syndrome in Adolescent Athletes Taking Medications

Abstract Purpose Adolescent athletes undergo preparticipation screening for long QT syndrome. Medications that are associated with QT interval prolongation are increasingly being prescribed to precollege students. The side effect profile of these medications during exercise is unknown. The aims of this study were to (1) measure the prevalence of medications known to be associated with QT interval prolongation taken by adolescents participating in athletics and (2) to determine the association between the use of these medications and QT interval prolongation in adolescents participating in athletics. Methods Sports preparticipation exams were performed on 484 students at an urban high school. This consisted of a physical examination, 12-Lead electrocardiogram, and health history including current prescription and over-the-counter medications. Electrocardiograms were interpreted by a pediatric cardiologist using Bazett's correction formula. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the cohort. The participants' parents consented to the preparticipation examination before history and physicals. Results No athletes exhibited a corrected QT interval >500 ms. Borderline long QT was identified in 6.65% of the subjects. In this study, 7.64% of the subjects reported that they were taking medications associated with QT prolongation. After controlling for age and gender, medication usage was not significantly related to the presence a borderline long QT interval. Conclusions Although adolescent athletes are taking medications associated with QT interval prolongation, their side effect profile during exercise is unknown. Although there was no significant association between medications and borderline long QT, these data were taken from adolescent athletes at rest. The prevalence of adolescents participating in athletics and taking medications associated with QT interval prolongation was significant. There appears to be a very low risk of QT prolongation >500 ms at rest in this cohort.
EFFECTS OF CHLORPROMAZINE ON BIOLOGICAL MEMBRANES--3. SWELLING AND SHRINKAGE OF RAT LIVER MITOCHONDRIA SUSPENDED IN ISO- OR HYPOTONIC SUCROSE MEDIA IN THE PRESENCE OF CYANIDE OR CYANIDE PLUS CHLORPROMAZINE.

Abstract Sucrose entry, but not the entry of water, into rat liver mitochondria suspended in 0·15 M sucrose-0·02 M Tris buffer, pH 7·4, could be prevented by 3 × 10 −4 M cyanide. Water entry under such conditions consists of two phases. The first is a rapid phase which cannot be affected by chlorpromazine (CPZ). It is evidenced by a rise in the 0-min value of mitochondrial water to 72% from the 67–68% determined for mitochondria suspended in 0·30 M sucrose-Tris solution. The second phase is the swelling occurring in the second 10-min period after the onset of the experiment as evidenced by a drop in optical density and a further increase in per cent water content of the mitochondria to 78%. The second phase can be inhibited by 10 −5 M CPZ The mitrochondrial swelling at the end of the 20-min experimental period could be reversed by centrifuging the mitochondria at 20,000 g for 20 min, removing the supernatant fluid and replacing it by the same volume of 0·30 M sucrose-0·02 M Tris (pH 7·4)−3 × 10 −4 M cyanide. This shrinkage could not be prevented by the addition of 10 −5 M CPZ to the replacement medium.
Automatic bipolar ASIC wafer testing up to 5 GHz

A test system for manufacturing that addresses the need for high-speed automatic wafer testing of medium-pin-count, bipolar, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) is described. A test system bandwidth of 4.5 GHz and other capabilities are exhibited using a typical mixed-signal wide-bandwidth trigger circuit as the device under test. The test setup, test plan, and results are discussed, and test limitations are examined. The significance of this test system is that AC tests can be performed simultaneously with DC tests at frequencies covering the bandwidth of most current bipolar production technologies. >
Magnetism without Magnetic Ions: Percolation, Exchange, and Formation Energies of Magnetism-Promoting Intrinsic Defects in CaO

We investigate theoretically the prospects of ferromagnetism being induced by cation vacancies in nonmagnetic oxides. A single Ca vacancy ${V}_{\mathrm{Ca}}^{0}$ has a magnetic moment due to its open-shell structure but the ferromagnetic interaction between two vacancies extends only to four neighbors or less. To achieve magnetic percolation on a fcc lattice with such an interaction range one needs a minimum of 4.9% vacancies, or a concentration $1.8\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{21}\text{ }\text{ }{\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$. Total-energy calculations for CaO show, however, that due to the high vacancy formation energy even under the most favorable growth conditions one can not obtain more than 0.003% or ${10}^{18}\text{ }\text{ }{\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$ vacancies at equilibrium, showing that a nonequilibrium vacancy-enhancement factor of ${10}^{3}$ is needed to achieve magnetism in such systems.
Privacy and Antitrust: Underpants Gnomes, the First Amendment, and Subjectivity

Privacy has begun to creep into antitrust discussions. In some ways, this should not be surprising. Some of the largest and most ubiquitous companies, like Google and Facebook, give away their services in return for consumer data. If information about ourselves really is the price we pay for content, why shouldn’t antitrust limit companies’ ability to collect and analyze consumer data? Although this logic has some facial appeal, this paper identifies three major concerns with the inclusion of privacy in antitrust analysis. The first concern is conceptual. The analogy between privacy and quality begins to break down once we recognize that unlike selecting lower quality levels to enjoy lower costs, firms invest in collecting and analyzing data to improve content and to enhance matching between sellers and consumers, who have heterogeneous tastes for privacy. Second, an antitrust rule that limits firms’ ability to collect and analyze consumer data is likely to raise some First Amendment concerns. Third, allowing antitrust enforcers to consider privacy would inject an undesirable level of subjectivity into antitrust enforcement decisions, which is likely to attract socially wasteful rent seeking expenditures and to deter beneficial data collection efforts.
A Method of Estimating Electric Fields above Electrified Clouds from Passive Microwave Observations

AbstractA unique dataset of coincident high-altitude passive microwave and electric field observations taken by the NASA ER-2 aircraft is used to assess the feasibility of estimating electric fields above electrified clouds using ubiquitous global and multidecadal satellite products. Once applied to a global dataset, such a product would provide a unique approach for diagnosing and monitoring the current sources of the global electric circuit (GEC).In this study an algorithm has been developed that employs ice scattering signals from 37- and 85-GHz passive microwave observations to characterize the electric fields above clouds overflown by the ER-2 aircraft at nearly 20-km altitude. Electric field estimates produced by this passive microwave algorithm are then compared to electric field observations also taken by the aircraft to assess its potential future utility with satellite datasets. The algorithm is shown to estimate observed electric field strengths over intense convective clouds at least 71% (58%)...
Tidal excitations of oscillation modes in compact white dwarf binaries – I. Linear theory

We study the tidal excitation of gravity modes (g-modes) in compact white dwarf binary systems with periods ranging from minutes to hours. As the orbit of the system decays via gravitational radiation, the orbital frequency increases and sweeps through a series of resonances with the g-modes of the white dwarf. At each resonance, the tidal force excites the g-mode to a relatively large amplitude, transferring the orbital energy to the stellar oscillation. We calculate the eigenfrequencies of g-modes and their coupling coefficients with the tidal field for realistic non-rotating white dwarf models. Using these mode properties, we numerically compute the excited mode amplitude in the linear approximation as the orbit passes though the resonance, including the back reaction of the mode on the orbit. We also derive analytical estimates for the mode amplitude and the duration of the resonance, which accurately reproduce our numerical results for most binary parameters. We find that the g-modes can be excited to a dimensionless (mass-weighted) amplitude up to 0.1, with the mode energy approaching 10 -3 of the gravitational binding energy of the star. Therefore the low-frequency (≲ 10- 2 Hz) gravitational waveforms produced by the binaries, detectable by LISA, are strongly affected by the tidal resonances. Our results also suggest that thousands of years prior to the binary merger, the white dwarf may be heated up significantly by tidal interactions. However, more study is needed since the physical amplitudes of the excited oscillation modes become highly non-linear in the outer layer of the star, which can reduce the mode amplitude attained by tidal excitation.
Gomphothere proboscidean (Gomphotherium) from the late Neogene of Panama

The proboscidean Gomphotherium is reported here from the Alajuela Formation of Panama. Gomphotherium was widespread throughout Holarctica during the Miocene, and the Panama fossil represents the extreme southernmost occurrence of this genus in the New World. Allocation of the Panama Gomphotherium to a valid species is impossible given both the fragmentary material represented and the taxonomic complexity of species assigned to this genus. In North America, Gomphotherium has a relatively long biochronological range from the middle Miocene (~15 Ma) to early Pliocene (~5 Ma). Based on morphological comparisons, the Panama Gomphotherium is either middle Miocene, thus representing the earliest-known entry of this genus into Central America, or late Miocene/early Pliocene, which challenges the currently accepted middle Miocene age of the Alajuela Formation as it has been previously reported from Panama.
Binding of native κ-neurotoxins and site-directed mutants to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors

The κ-neurotoxins are useful ligands for the pharmacological characterization of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors because they are potent antagonists at only a subgroup of these receptors containing either α3- or α4-subunits (IC50 ≤ 100 nM). Four of these highly homologous, 66 amino acid peptides have been purified from the venom of Bungarus multicinctus [κ-bungarotoxin (κ-Bgt), κ2-Bgt, κ3-Bgt] and Bungarus flaviceps [κ-flavitoxin (κ-Fvt)]. Two approaches were taken to examine the binding of these toxins to nicotinic receptors. First, venom-derived κ-Fvt and κ-Bgt were radioiodinated and the specific binding was measured of these toxins to overlapping synthetic peptides (16–20 amino acids in length) prepared based on the known sequence of the nicotinic receptor α3-subunit. At least two main regions of interaction between the toxins and the receptor subunit were identified, both lying in the N-terminal region of the subunit that is exposed to the extracellular space. The second approach examined the importance of several sequence positions in κ-Bgt for binding to α3-containing receptors in autonomic ganglia and α1-containing muscle receptors. This was done using site-directed mutants of κ-Bgt produced by an Escherichia coli expression system. Arg-34 and position 36 were important for binding to both receptor subtypes, while replacing Gln-26 with Trp-26 (an invariant in α-neurotoxins) increased affinity for the muscle receptor by 8-fold. The results confirm that κ-neurotoxins bind potently to the α3-subunit and bind with considerably reduced affinity (Kd ≈ 10 μM) to muscle receptors. Site-directed mutagenesis of recombinant κ-Bgt is thus an important approach for the study of structure-function relationships between κ-Bgt and nicotinic receptors.
MDCT of renal trauma: correlation to AAST organ injury scale

Renal injuries affect 8-10% of patients presenting with blunt abdominal trauma. Imaging with multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) is the preferred modality at most trauma centers. Renal injuries have been categorized by several grading schemes in the literature. The classification proposed by the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) predicts clinical outcome with reasonable accuracy. Although the AAST classification for renal injury is primarily based on findings during surgery, it has a strong correlation with MDCT findings.
Complexation of Pu(IV) with the natural siderophore desferrioxamine B and the redox properties of Pu(IV)(siderophore) complexes

The bioavailability and mobility of Pu species can be profoundly affected by siderophores and other oxygen-rich organic ligands. Pu(IV)(siderophore) complexes are generally soluble and may constitute with other soluble organo-Pu(IV) complexes the main fraction of soluble Pu(IV) in the environment. In order to understand the impact of siderophores on the behavior of Pu species, it is important to characterize the formation and redox behavior of Pu(siderophore) complexes. In this work, desferrioxamine B (DFO-B) was investigated for its capacity to bind Pu(IV) as a model siderophore and the properties of the complexes formed were characterized by optical spectroscopy measurements. In a 1:1 Pu(IV)/DFO-B ratio, the complexes Pu(IV)(H2DFO-B)4+, Pu(IV)(H1DFO-B)3+, Pu(IV)(DFO-B)2+, and Pu(IV)(DFO-B)(OH)+ form with corresponding thermodynamic stability constants log beta1,1,2 = 35.48, log beta1,1,1 = 34.87, log beta1,1,0 = 33.98, and log beta1,1,-1 = 27.33, respectively. In the presence of excess DFO-B, the complex Pu(IV)H2(DFO-B)22+ forms with the formation constant log beta2,1,2 = 62.30. The redox potential of the complex Pu(IV)H2(DFO-B)22+ was determined by cyclic voltammetry to be E1/2 = -0.509 V, and the redox potential of the complex Pu(IV)(DFO-B)2+ was estimated to be E1/2 = -0.269 V. The redox properties of Pu(IV)(DFO-B)2+ complexes indicate that Pu(III)(siderophore) complexes are more than 20 orders of magnitude less stable than their Pu(IV) analogues. This indicates that under reducing conditions, stable Pu(siderophore) complexes are unlikely to persist.
Structural aspects of some mixed metal ferrocyanides

Abstract A number of mixed metal ferrocyanides of formula A 2 BFe(CN) 6 (A = alkali metal, B = alkaline earth metal) have been prepared and studied by X-ray powder diffraction. Unit cell dimensions, as well as the degree of distortion of the usual face centered cubic cell of the ferrocyanides were determined. These are discussed in terms of relative ionic sizes and the results contrasted with analogous compounds in which B is a transition metal ion.
Ceramide Directly Activates Protein Kinase C ζ to Regulate a Stress-activated Protein Kinase Signaling Complex

We have previously shown that interleukin 1 (IL-1)-receptor-generated ceramide induces growth arrest in smooth muscle pericytes by activating an upstream kinase in the stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK) cascade. We now report the mechanism by which ceramide activates the SAPK signaling pathway in human embryonic kidney cells (HEK-293). We demonstrate that ceramide activation of protein kinase C zeta (PKCzeta) mediates SAPK signal complex formation and subsequent growth suppression. Ceramide directly activates both immunoprecipitated and recombinant human PKCzeta in vitro. Additionally, ceramide activates SAPK activity, which is blocked with a dominant-negative mutant of PKCzeta. Co-immunoprecipitation studies reveal that ceramide induces the association of SAPK with PKCzeta, but not with PKCepsilon. In addition, ceramide treatment induces PKCzeta association with phosphorylated SEK and MEKK1, elements of the SAPK signaling complex. The biological role of ceramide to induce cell cycle arrest is mimicked by overexpression of a constitutively active PKCzeta. Together, these studies demonstrate that ceramide induces cell cycle arrest by enhancing the ability of PKCzeta to form a signaling complex with MEKK1, SEK, and SAPK.
INDUCTION OF MAMMARY SECRETION IN PREGNANT RATS AND RABBITS BY HYDROCORTISONE ACETATE1

A dose of 2 mg. of hydrocortisone acetate (HCA) per day, injected during the 5–9th or 9–13th days of gestation in rats initiated mammary secretion on the 10th or 14th days, respectively. This treatment had no effect on duration of pregnancy or number of viable young at birth. The same dose of HCA also initiated mammary secretion in rats when administered during the 9–13th days of pseudopregnancy. All other hormones including prolactin, oxytocin, ACTH, and combinations of prolactin and ACTH or prolactin and oxytocin were ineffective at the dose levels used. A dose of 15 mg. HCA per day initiated copious milk secretion in rabbits on the 20th or 21st day of pregnancy when administered during the 16–19th days of pregnancy. A dose of 1 i.u. oxytocin given 3 times daily was ineffective in initiating lactation in the rabbits. It is suggested that the levels of biologically active adrenal glucocorticoids may not be sufficiently high during pregnancy and therefore may be partially responsible for the absence of ma...
Nonlinear and snap-through responses of curved panels to intense acoustic excitation

Assuming a single-mode transverse displacement, a simple formula is derived for the transverse load-displacement relationship of a plate under in-plane compression. The formula is used to derive a simple analytical expression for the nonlinear dynamic response of postbuckled plates under sinusoidal or random excitation. The highly nonlinear motion of snap-through can be easily interpreted using the single-mode formula. Experimental results are obtained with buckled and cylindrical aluminum panels using discrete frequency and broadband excitation of mechanical and acoustic forces. Some important effects of the snap-through motion on the dynamic response of the postbuckled plates are described. Static tests were used to identify the deformation shape during snap-through.
Magnetic energy conversion in the solar transition zone

Newly emerging magnetic flux can be the energy source for the solar corona and the solar wind. Plasma bulk motions and oscillations are observed by means of UV spectroscopy at transition zone (t.z.) temperatures (∼ 20.000 K < T < 250,000 K). The particular conditions in the transition zone plasma facilitate the conversion of magnetic into kinetic energy: (1) The β-value in the transition zone can change rapidly from β⪡1 to β⪢1. (2) Radiation losses change rapidly with temperature to create instabilities. (3) The small spatial filling factor (<0.01) indicates a highly filamented plasma. Large fluctuations in density, magnetic field strength and currents may facilitate fast reconnection. The areas of strong plasma oscillations in the transition zone may be the origin of coronal heating and particle acceleration.
Nanoscale effects on the ionic conductivity in highly textured YSZ thin films

Abstract The electrical conductivity of highly textured Yttria Stabilized Zirconia (YSZ) thin films deposited onto a MgO substrate can be enhanced significantly at thickness
Effects of gestational age on prostaglandin EP receptor expression and functional involvement during in vitro contraction of the guinea pig uterus

Abstract Prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2 ) exerts diverse biological effects through four G-protein-coupled cell surface receptor subtypes, EP1–4. This study's objective was to characterize EP1–4 receptor mRNA expression within pregnant guinea pig myometrium during early implantation stage (gestation day [GD] 6) and late stage gestation (GD 50) and evaluate in vitro contractile activity of receptor subtype selective agonists. Using RT-PCR, qualitative gene expression patterns of EP2, EP3, and EP4 mRNA were detected in the myometrium and remained unchanged between the gestational ages. EP1 mRNA remained undetected in pregnant tissue. In vitro contractile activity was evaluated in GD 6 and GD 50 myometrium using vehicle and EP agonists PGE 2 , 17-phenyl trinor PGE 2 , sulprostone, misoprostol, and CP-533,536. All spasmogens in pregnant myometrium were EP1/EP3 selective agonists, though likely acting via EP3 receptors in this test model. CP-533,536—a highly selective EP2 receptor agonist—and the vehicle failed to induce myometrial contraction at both gestational ages.
Specific secondary structures in the capsid-coding region of giardiavirus transcript are required for its translation in Giardia lamblia.

Abstract Enhanced translation of giardiavirus (GLV)-luciferase chimeric mRNA in Giardia lambliarequires the presence of the initial 264 nucleotides of the viral capsid-coding region. A 13nt downstream box (DB) sequence within this region, complementary to a 15nt sequence near the 3′ end of G. lamblia 16 S-like ribosomal RNA (rRNA), was found to be essential for the enhanced translation. However, DB is located 64–78nt downstream of the initiation codon, whereas an exponential increase of translation efficiency depends on a further increment of the coding region from nucleotides 111 to 264. Thus, there could be additional structural requirements for translation enhancement in the region downstream from DB. Four major stem-loop structures, designated I to IV, were identified in the MFOLD-predicted secondary structure of the 264nt capsid-coding region with an estimated minimum free energy (Δ G°) of −77.16 kcal mol−1. Our chemical probing analysis of the free 264nt RNA molecule in solution supports the predicted presence of stem-loops I, II and III, but casts doubts on stem-loop IV. It suggests, instead, the presence of a stem-loop IVA at a nearby location in the molecule. Site-directed mutagenesis designed to disrupt stem-loop structures I, II, III or IVA resulted in drastic reduction of translation efficiency, which was restored by compensatory sequence changes to regenerate individual stem-loop structures. Mutations disrupting the originally designated stem-loop IV did not exert any detectable effect on translation. However, alterations of the sequence UCUCC between nucleotides 216 and 220 in the flexible loop region of the revised secondary structure led to a precipitous drop in translation. Another stem-loop predicted by MFOLD that consists of a major portion of the DB sequence was examined by chemical probing but found little experimental support. Changes of the DB sequence without affecting the postulated stem structure led to drastic losses of translation efficiency. Thus, a simple structural basis for the enhanced translation could be that stem-loops I, II, III and IVA and the UCUCC sequence may facilitate the interaction between DB and the anti-DB in 16 S-like rRNA in initiating translation of GLV mRNA in G. lamblia.
Business Strategy and Design: Can this Marriage Be Saved?

Business and design: They need each other. For example, if the tests of value creation, execution, and scalability are met, competitors can't easily imitate you. Designers have no problem assessing the first test; but they need business partners to answer the other two.
Fictions and Reality

A literary text or fiction, while making use of the referential or descriptive resources of our ordinary language, nevertheless does not make use of them in a referential or a descriptive manner. Reference may indeed seem to be made to persons or circumstances or events, in the sense that such things are mentioned in the literary text and may even be linked together by it into some kind of a story. Reference is not made to them, in the sense that these persons or circumstances or events have no existence in the actual world in which the text is written or read, or else that it is irrelevant to the nature of the text as a piece of literature if they do have such an existence.
The characterization by gas-liquid chromatography of ethyl β-D-glucosiduronic acid as a metabolite of ethanol in rat and man

Abstract Ethyl β-D-glucosiduronic acid was isolated from the urine of male and female rats, and from the urine of an adult male human alcoholic. The isolation and structural studies were carried out by apparently general gas phase procedures for the study of glucosiduronic acids. The methods involve isolation from urine by extraction and ion exchange chromatography, and identification by gas liquid chromatography and by the combined technique of GLC-mass spectrometry.
Sorghum genotype differences to leaf “red‐speckling”; induced by phosphorus 1

Abstract Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] plants grown in nutrient solutions, sand, and soil under greenhouse or growth chamber conditions developed a lower leaf “red‐speckling”; which was induced by phosphorus (P). As P in solution increased, the intensity of the “red‐speckling”; increased. Although the severity of “red‐speckling”; was not directly related to leaf P concentration, leaves with more severe symptoms had higher P concentrations. KS35, ‘Martin’, and ‘Plainsman’ developed severe symptoms, CK60‐Korgi, SC369–3‐1JB, and TX415 developed intermediate symptoms, and NB9040 developed no symptoms when grown at relatively low levels of P (10 to 20 umol per plant). Organic sources of P induced more severe “red‐speckling”; than inorganic sources. The severity of “red‐speckling”; induced by P compounds followed the sequence of gyceryl > ethyl ammonium = phenyl > potassium dihydrogen > calcium meta > calcium dibasic > calcium tribasic > ferric > calcium pyro = ferrous = aluminum phosphates. “Red‐speckl...
International joint venture with double-sided moral hazard: payment arrangements and credit constraints

We analyse the formation of an international joint venture (IJV) between a multinational corporation (MNC) and a domestic firm with double-sided moral hazard. The MNC can imperfectly adapt a superior production technology, and the domestic firm can reduce set-up costs, for the IJV. We examine how set-up costs interact with borrowing constraints and different payment arrangements. Our findings include: (i) a better access to credits can make the domestic firm worse off, (ii) under credit constraints, a reduction in set-up costs has a smaller positive effect on both partners' profits, (iii) under moderate credit constraints, whereas either a better access to credits or a higher set-up costs increases the domestic firm's share of profits with ex ante payments, the effect can be the opposite with ex post payments, and (iv) profit-sharing always occurs with ex ante payments, with or without credit constraints, but not so with ex post payments. Copyright 2012 Oxford University Press 2011 All rights reserved, Oxford University Press.
Access to multimedia PACS information from a MAC-based workstation

In a PACS environment, multimedia information is archived and stored. Although PACS has been successfully providing clinical services to radiologists through diagnostic-quality viewing workstations, the expanse of this information has rarely been readily and easily accessible to radiologists after clinical diagnosis and review. It undermines undoubtedly the power and capability of the PACS system, and also creates significant inconveniences and impacts in the teaching and research activities which are often a very vital part in an academic institution. To accommodate these drawbacks, we, at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), have developed a pilot project to allow PACS imagery and textual data to be easily transferred and accessed by radiologists in their office. The process of retrieving PACS data should require minimum effort from radiologists and should be cost effective. With these objectives in mind, this paper describes the design and mechanism for a low-cost and easy access system to PACS.© (1995) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
The relationship of sex role identity and social and political attitudes1

Summary A study is reported of the relationship between conscious social role preferences, unconscious sexual identifications, and attitudes toward five categories of social and political issues. Based on factor scores of inventory items, the categories include political liberalism, birth control, sex role morality, racial discrimination, and the achievement ethic The population studied consisted of men and women from communities designated working class, middle class, and upper class Controlling for the effects of age, sex, marital status, occupation, education, and political party preference, results indicate statistically significant associations between conscious and unconscious masculinity and femininity and attitudes toward all five categories of issues The patterns of associations, however, are not always consistent Discussion includes a consideration of sex role identity as a value and the implication of sex role differentiation for the integration of personality as well as social institutions
Genes required for pathogenicity and hypersensitivity are conserved and interchangeable among pathovars of Pseudomonas syringae

A group of pathogenicity genes was previously identified in Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola which controls the ability of the pathogen to cause disease on bean and to elicit the hypersensitive response on non-host plants. These genes, designated hrp, are located in a ca. 20 kb region which was referred to as the hrp cluster. Homologous sequences to DNA segments derived from this region were detected in several pathovars of P. syringae but not in symbiotic, saprophytic or other phytopathogenic bacteria. A Tn5-induced Hrp- mutation was transferred from P. syringae pv. phaseolicola to P. syringae pv. tabaci and to three races of P. syringae pv. glycinea by marker exchange mutagenesis. The resulting progeny were phenotypically Hrp-, i.e. no longer pathogenic on their respective hosts and unable to elicit the hypersensitive response on non-host plants. These mutants were restored to wild-type phenotype upon introduction of a recombinant plasmid carrying the corresponding wild-type locus from P. syringae pv. phaseolicola. The marker exchange mutants of P. syringae pv. glycinea psg0 and Psg5 which carry different avr genes for race specific avirulence did not elicit a hypersensitive response on incompatible soybean cultivars. It appears, therefore, that P. syringae pathovars possess common genes for pathogenicity which also control their interaction with non-host plants. Furthermore, the expression of race/cultivar specific incompatibility of P. syringae pv. glycinea requires a fully functional hrp region in addition to the avr genes which determine avirulence on single-gene differential cultivars of soybean.
Offset Coupling, Feedback, and Spatial Multiplexing in 4 $\,\times\,$ 4 Incoherent-MIMO Multimode Fiber Links

We experimentally evaluate the performance of incoherent multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) multimode fiber (MMF) links with different fiber media, link lengths, and modulation techniques. The performance of conventional 62.5 μm diameter silica as well as perfluorinated plastic, graded-index MMF sections of various lengths were evaluated using 1 × 1, 2 × 2, 3 × 3 and 4 × 4 MIMO setups over a range of lengths, with both open-loop equalization and feedback-based spatial multiplexing techniques. The data rate was evaluated over silica fiber sections with lengths ranging between 100 m-3 km using distributed feedback lasers and VCSELs at the transmitters. In addition, plastic optical fiber sections with lengths ranging from 1 m - 100 m were evaluated with Fabry Perot lasers. Axial offsets were introduced while launching into, and detecting from the MMF to enhance modal diversity, and the impact of these offsets on the data rates was measured to obtain optimal launch and detection conditions. With optimized launch conditions and modulation parameters, the silica based systems realized data rates of 16 to 26 Gb/s, representing a bandwidth-length product improvement of 28× over MMF standards such as 10 GBASE-SR. The plastic fiber system reached data rates of 24 to 43 Gb/s, with bandwidth-length product increases of up to 12× of rated parameters. The use of off-axis launch and detection with flexible offsets on all four MIMO streams of the 4 × 4 system would enable further performance improvement.
Receptor for AGE (RAGE) and its ligands—cast into leading roles in diabetes and the inflammatory response

The actors in the pathogenesis of diabetes and its complications are many and multifaceted. The effects of elevated levels of glucose are myriad; among these is the generation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), the products of nonenzymatic glycoxidation of proteins and lipids. The finding that AGEs stimulate signal transduction cascades through the multiligand receptor RAGE unveiled novel insights into diabetes and its complications. Inextricably woven into AGE-RAGE interactions in diabetes is the engagement of the innate and adaptive immune responses. Although glucose may be the triggering stimulus to draw RAGE into diabetes pathology, consequent cellular stress results in release of proinflammatory RAGE ligands S100/calgranulins and HMGB1. We predict that once RAGE is engaged in the diabetic tissue, a vicious cycle of ligand-RAGE perturbation ensues, leading to chronic tissue injury and suppression of repair mechanisms. Targeting RAGE may be a beneficial strategy in diabetes, its complications, and untoward inflammatory responses.
Predictors of Progression in High-Grade Appendiceal or Colorectal Peritoneal Carcinomatosis After Cytoreductive Surgery and Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy

Long-term survival of patients with appendiceal or colorectal peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) may be achieved by combining cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (CRS/HIPEC). Unfortunately, such favorable outcomes are realized in a minority of patients. Given the morbidity of the CRS/HIPEC and the uncertain role of postresection systemic therapy, it is important that prognostic factors in high-grade PC be clearly defined. This single center, retrospective, cohort study examined the outcomes of CRS/HIPEC performed on patients with high-grade PC secondary to appendiceal or colorectal adenocarcinoma between 2007 and 2013. Cox regression analysis was utilized to evaluate the association between potential prognostic factors [age, sex, primary site, lymph node (LN) status, peritoneal cancer index (PCI) score, completeness of cytoreduction score (CC score), number of visceral resections, and systemic chemotherapy] and progression-free survival (PFS). A total of 70 patients with high-grade appendiceal or colorectal PC underwent CRS/HIPEC during the study period; 82.9 % underwent complete (CC-0) cytoreduction with a median PFS of 9.7 months. Positive LNs at the time of CRS/HIPEC were predictors of worse PFS on univariate and multivariate analysis. No association was demonstrated between pre- or post-HIPEC systemic chemotherapy and PFS. High-grade PC secondary to appendiceal or colorectal adenocarcinoma can be managed with CRS/HIPEC. The number of LN metastases at the time of CRS/HIPEC is the strongest predictor of progression and must be considered when determining patient eligibility for this aggressive treatment.
Distributing synchronous systems with modular structure

Synchronous programs were introduced to simplify the development of reactive systems hiding the complexity and indeterminism of the interleaving while taking full advantage of possible concurrency. The introduction of communication networks enabled the creation of distributed systems presenting the programmer with a new burden of interleaving and nondeterminism due to the asynchronous communication medium. Again this complexity should be hidden from the user while taking full advantage of the possible concurrency to improve performance. Many algorithms for the automatic distributions of synchronous programs have been proposed so far, but they are not suitable for large scale system because they do not preserve the compositionality of the original code: the modularity of the synchronous program is lost. As a result the subsystems are not re-usable and a small local change results in the recompilation and re-distribution of the overall system. This solution is cumbersome and unpractical in many real-world applications. In this paper we introduce an algorithm for the distribution of synchronous programs that preserves the modularity and allows separate compilation and subsystem re-use.