cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Advances in 1–100GHz Microwave Photonics: All-Band Optical Wireless Access Networks Using Radio Over Fiber Technologies

Radio-over-fiber (RoF) link technology has been developed to support multiple wireless signals over optical fiber applications such as mobile backhaul networks and WLANs. Given that conventional wireless networks use packet-switch links between the central office and remote base stations, the cost and complexity of the high-speed wireless networks for data and video transmission increase exponentially while the area of effective coverage decreases. These wireless systems become more inefficient as the data rates and the carrier frequencies required for delivering multi-gigabit wireless services climb higher. However, radio-over-fiber link systems utilizing lightwave to carry multiple analog RF signals through optical fibers can greatly extend the cellular sizes while transparent to the bit rates, modulation formats, and protocols. As a result, the complexity of wireless system to deliver multi-band, multi-gigabit wireless services can be simplified by taking advantages of microwave photonics in optical wireless network design and system integration. The end-to-end RoF systems, from the generation schemes of 1–100 GHz optical wireless signals in the central office to the design of transceivers for base stations and radio access units, are reviewed and investigated in this chapter. Various radio-over-fiber link technologies and the optical wireless interface specifications required to build a converged multi-service, gigabit wireless access network are introduced. The system impairment and its mitigation of radio-over-fiber link transmission will be investigated and analyzed.
Role of marijuana components on the regenerative ability of stem cells.

Stem cell therapy promotes tissue regeneration and wound healing. Efforts have been made to prime stem cells to enhance their regenerative abilities. Certain marijuana components, namely the non-psychoactive cannabidiol (CBD) and psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), are defined as immunomodulators.9 We test whether two sources of stem cells, primed with CBD or THC, would demonstrate improved regenerative abilities. Human adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) and bone marrow-derived stem cells (BMDSCs), not obtained from the same individual, were treated with low (300 nM) or high (3 μM) concentration CBD. Porcine ASCs and BMDSCs were isolated from a single pig, and treated with either low or high concentrations of CBD or THC. Transwell migration and MTT proliferation assays were performed on the human ASCs and BMDSCs. Also, transwell migration assay was performed on the porcine ASCs and BMDSCs. Finally, a wound healing scratch assay in porcine primary fibroblasts (PFs) was performed, co-cultured with the cannabinoid-treated ASCs. CBD priming at low concentration induces migration by 180% (P < .01) in porcine ASCs, and by only 93% (P < .02) in porcine BMDSCs. In porcine stem cells, THC priming at low concentration induces migration by 91.6% (P < .01) in ASCs but by only 44.3% (P < .03) in BMDSCs. Compared to PFs co-cultured with untreated ASCs, PFs co-cultured with low CBD-primed ASCs had 75% faster wound closure at 18 hours (P < .01). CBD and THC priming of ASCs and BMDSCs, particularly at lower doses, enhances a number of regenerative parameters, suggesting that these major marijuana components may improve stem cell-based therapies. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY: Our study demonstrates that cannabinoids can enhance the regenerative capacity of two major sources of stem cells, adipose- and bone marrow-derived, from human and porcine donors. Stem cell isolation and expansion is invasive, costly and time consuming. Stem cells with improved regenerative properties may be effective in the treatment of acute or chronic wounds. This is the first study to compare the priming potential of two sources of stem cells from the same animal, with the same genetic and epigenetic profile, as well as the first to prime with THC.
Medical therapy for cardiovascular and limb-related risk reduction in critical limb ischemia.

Critical limb ischemia (CLI) constitutes the most advanced form of peripheral artery disease (PAD) and is characterized by ischemic rest pain, tissue loss and/or gangrene. Optimized medical care an...
Using social media Reddit data to examine foster families' concerns and needs during COVID-19.

Abstract Background COVID-19 is likely to have negatively impacted foster families but few data sources are available to confirm this. Objective The current study used Reddit social media data to examine how foster families are faring in the pandemic. Discussion topics were identified and examined for changes before and after COVID-19. Participants and setting Comments were collected from three Reddit online discussion boards dedicated to foster families (N = 11,830). Methods We used machine learning techniques, including Latent Dirichlet Allocation, for topic modeling and textual analysis for qualitative coding of the Reddit comments. Results Results showed that three main topics had both significant quantitative and meaningful qualitative changes before and after COVID-19. There were significant increases in conversation about becoming a foster parent (F = 5.75, p = 0.02) and activities for foster children (F = 10.61, p = 0.001), whereas there was a significant decrease in discussing permanency (F = 9.46, p = 0.003) before and after the onset of COVID-19. Qualitative coding showed that regarding the topic of becoming a parent, excitement over approval of foster care license before COVID-19 shifted to foster families' increased anxieties about delays in their licensing cases after COVID-19. For permanency, content changed from the best interest of the child and reunifications before COVID-19 to concerns over family separations and permanency challenges after COVID-19. Regarding activities for foster children, content related to everyday activities before COVID-19 changed to specific activities foster children and families could do during lockdowns. Results suggest areas child welfare workers may focus on to better support foster families during and after the pandemic.
Bifurcation of nanoscale thermolubric friction behavior for sliding on Mo S 2

We present atomic force microscopy experiments of wearless sliding between nanoscale tips and both bulk and monolayer $\mathrm{Mo}{\mathrm{S}}_{2}$ in ultrahigh vacuum across a wide range of temperatures (150--450 K) and scanning speeds (5 nm/s to 500 $\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{m}/\mathrm{s}$). Atomic lattice stick-slip behavior is consistently resolved. However, a bifurcation of behavior is seen, with some measurements showing a strong decrease in friction with increasing temperature and others showing athermal and low friction under nominally identical conditions. The difference between thermal and athermal behavior is attributed to a change in the corrugation of the potential energy surface, possibly due to trace amounts of adsorbed contaminants. While the speed dependence at a given temperature is consistent with the thermal Prandtl-Tomlinson model for atomic-scale friction, that is not the case for the temperature dependence (when it is present), nor can the temperature dependence be described by other existing models. We discuss the limitations of these models considering the measured results.
Oleamide, a Sleep-Inducing Supplement, Upregulates Doublecortin in Hippocampal Progenitor Cells via PPARα.

BACKGROUND Doublecortin (DCX), a microtubule associated protein, has emerged as a central biomarker of hippocampal neurogenesis. However, molecular mechanisms by which DCX is regulated are poorly understood. OBJECTIVE Since sleep is involved with the acquisition of memory and oleamide or 9-Octadecenamide (OCT) is a sleep-inducing supplement in human, we examined whether OCT could upregulate DCX in hippocampal progenitor cells (HPCs). METHODS We employed real-time PCR, western blot, immunostaining, chromatin immunoprecipitation, lentiviral transduction in HPCs, and the calcium influx assay. RESULTS OCT directly upregulated the transcription of Dcx in HPCs via activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα), a lipid-lowering transcription factor. We observed that, HPCs of Ppara-null mice displayed significant impairment in DCX expression and neuronal differentiation as compared to that of wild-type mice. Interestingly, treatment with OCT stimulated the differentiation process of HPCs in wild-type, but not Ppara-null mice. Reconstruction of PPARα in mouse Ppara-null HPCs restored the expression of DCX, which was further stimulated with OCT treatment. In contrast, a dominant-negative mutant of PPARα significantly attenuated the stimulatory effect of OCT on DCX expression and suppressed neuronal differentiation of human neural progenitor cells. Furthermore, RNA microarray, STRING, chromatin immunoprecipitation, site-directed mutagenesis, and promoter reporter assay have identified DCX as a new target of PPARα. CONCLUSION These results indicate that OCT, a sleep supplement, directly controls the expression of DCX and suggest that OCT may be repurposed for stimulating the hippocampal neurogenesis.
No Longer Silent: An Autobiographical/Biographical Exploration of a School Desegregation Experience

The following article explores the experiences of one of the authors who desegregated a junior high school during the early 1960s. The article is written as an auto/biographical study and resulted from the collaboration between two university professors. We believe this dualistic approach, grounded in ecological theory and referencing culturally responsive pedagogy, allowed us to explore the experiences of desegregation from a unique perspective. Two primary themes emerged from this study: silenced and giving voice. These themes will be defined and explored and implications will be offered.
Using random subsets to build scalable network services

In this paper, we argue that a broad range of large-scale network services would benefit from a scalable mechanism for delivering state about a random subset of global participants. Key to this approach is ensuring that membership in the subset changes periodically and with uniform representation over all participants. Random subsets could help overcome inherent scaling limitations to services that maintain global state and perform global network probing. It could further improve the routing performance of peer-to-peer distributed hash tables by locating topologically-close nodes. This paper presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of RanSub, a scalable protocol for delivering such state. As a first demonstration of the RanSub utility, we construct SARO, a scalable and adaptive application-layer overlay tree. SARO uses RanSub state information to locate appropriate peers for meeting application-specific delay and bandwidth targets and to dynamically adapt to changing network conditions. A large-scale evaluation of 1000 overlay nodes participating in an emulated 20,000- node wide-area network topology demonstrate both the adaptivity and scalability (in terms of per-node state and network overhead) of both RanSub and SARO. Finally, we use an existing streaming media server to distribute content through SARO running on top of the PlanetLab Internet testbed.
Production of CCL2 by Central Nervous System Cells Regulates Development of Murine Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis through the Recruitment of TNF- and iNOS-Expressing Macrophages and Myeloid Dendritic Cells

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis is a T cell-mediated demyelinating disease of the CNS that serves as a model for the human disease multiple sclerosis. Increased expression of the chemokine CCL2 in the CNS has been demonstrated to be important in the development of demyelinating disease presumably by attracting inflammatory cells. However, the mechanism of how CCL2 regulates disease pathogenesis has not been fully elucidated. Using radiation bone marrow chimeric mice we demonstrated that optimum disease was achieved when CCL2 was glia derived. Furthermore, CNS production of CCL2 resulted in the accumulation of iNOS-producing CD11b(+)CD11c(+) dendritic cells and TNF-producing macrophages important for demyelination. Lack of glial-derived CCL2 production did not influence experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis by altering either Th1 or Th17 cells, as there were no differences in these populations in the CNS or periphery between groups. These results demonstrate that the glial-derived CCL2 is important for the attraction of TNF- and iNOS-producing dendritic cells and effector macrophages to the CNS for development of subsequent autoimmune disease.
A sensitive liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry bioanalytical assay for a novel anticancer candidate--ZMC1.

ZMC1 {azetidinecarbothioic acid, [1-(2-pyridinyl) ethylidene] hydrazide} is a lead compound being developed as one of the first mutant p53 targeted anti-cancer drugs. Establishing a precise quantitative method is an integral component of this development. The aim of this study was to develop a sensitive LC/MS/MS assay suitable for assessing purity, stability and preclinical pharmacokinetic studies of ZMC1. Acetonitrile protein precipitation extraction was chosen for plasma sample preparation with satisfactory recovery (84.2–92.8%) for ZMC1. Chromatographic separation was achieved on an Xterra C18 column (50 × 4.6 mm, 3.5 µm) using a gradient elution with mobile phase of 0.1% formic acid in water and acetonitrile. ZMC1 and internal standard 2-amino-6-bromobenzothiazole were identified using selected-ion monitoring mode at m/z 235.2/178.2 and m/z 231.0/150.0 at retention times of 5.2 and 6.3 min, respectively. The method was validated with a linearity range of 3.9–500.0 ng/mL in human plasma and showed acceptable reproducibility with intra- and interday precisions <5.9 and 10.5%, and accuracy within ±5.4% of nominal values. This analytical method together with basic stability data in plasma and plasma binding experiments provides a reliable protocol for the study of ZMC1 pharmacokinetics. This will greatly facilitate the pre-clinical development of this novel anti-cancer drug. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Primary Scales of Measurement

Knowing scales and their capabilities is important in marketing research since they dictate the measures of centrality (e.g., mode vs. median vs. mean) or subsequent analyses that can be used. The simplest scale is a nominal scale and it indicates a name or a label. The next level of scale is ordinal and some form of rank order is generally associated with this type of scale. At the high end, interval and ratio scales are such that the differences in value apply no matter where they are on the overall scale. Clearly, some scales contain more data – for example, interval scales contain more data than nominal scales – but some scales are naturally suited to measure certain attributes. When the researcher chooses a scale to employ, he/she is not only choosing a scale that best reflects what he/she is measuring but also preselecting the possible analyses that can be used later at the time of data analysis. Keywords: scales; nominal; interval; ordinal; ratio; measurement; values
Solving the Nuisance-Value Settlement Problem: Mandatory Summary Judgment

The nuisance-value settlement problem arises whenever a litigant can profitably initiate a meritless claim or defense and offer to settle it for less than it would cost the opposing litigant to have a court dismiss the claim or defense on a standard motion for merits review like summary judgment. The opposing litigant confronted with such a nuisance-value claim or defense rationally would agree to settle for any amount up to the cost of litigating to have it dismissed. These settlement payoffs skew litigation outcomes away from socially appropriate levels, undermining the deterrence and compensation objectives of civil liability. Yet current procedural rules are inadequate to foreclose nuisance-value strategies. Class action is commonly thought to exacerbate the nuisance-value settlement problem to the systematic disadvantage of defendants. This concern has contributed to the growing support among courts and commentators for subjecting class actions to precertification merits review (PCMR), generally understood as conditioning class certification on prior screening of class claims for some threshold level of merit. This article proposes mandatory summary judgment (MSJ) as a solution to the problem of nuisance-value settlement in class actions and in civil litigation generally. Essentially, MSJ denies judicial enforceability to any settlement agreement entered into before the nuisance-value claim or defense has been submitted for merits review on a motion for summary judgment or other standard dispositive motion. Assessing the potential costs of the MSJ solution, we conclude that neither the opportunity for evading MSJ strictures nor the possibility of adding expenses to the settlement of non-nuisance-value litigation outweighs the benefits of MSJ. MSJ will be most cost-effective in the class action context, given the already existing general requirements of judicial review and approval of class action settlements, but MSJ should also prove beneficial in preempting nuisance-value strategies outside of class actions in the standard separate action context. With the MSJ solution set out, the article moves finally to offering a more exhaustive analysis of the theoretical soundness and practical efficacy of MSJ in the class action context, where its marginal benefits are arguable the greatest. First, the article challenges the commonly held belief that class action certification exacerbates the nuisance-value settlement problem, attempting to displace the conventional understanding of complex litigation with a new conceptual framework based on the recharacterization of the class action as part of a continuum of litigation processes rather than an isolated litigation mechanism. Second, the article provides a comparative analysis of MSJ and PCMR as solutions to the nuisance-value problems that do exist in the class action context, concluding that MSJ presents the superior and more cost-effective option.
Microwave Thermography as a Diagnostic Tool for the Detection of Cancer (Abstract)

Microwave thermography is the noninvasive detection of subcutaneous temperatures. Measurements at 1.3 and 3.3 GHz on several thousand patients in a breast cancer detection clinic show a true-positive detection rate of seventy percent and when combined with infrared thermography a rate of ninety percent is obtained.
Design of non-pharmaceutical intervention strategies for pandemic influenza outbreaks

As seen during past pandemic influenza outbreaks, pharmaceutical interventions (PHIs) with vaccines and antivirals are the most effective methods of mitigation. However, availability of PHIs is unlikely to be adequate during the early stages of a pandemic. Hence, for early mitigation and possible containment, non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) offer a viable alternative. Also, NPIs may be the only available interventions for most underdeveloped countries. In this paper we present a comprehensive methodology for design of effective NPI strategies. We develop a statistical ANOVA-based design approach that uses a detailed agent-based simulation as an underlying model. The design approach obtains the marginal effect of the characteristic parameters of NPIs, social behavior, and their interactions on various pandemic outcome measures including total number of contacts, infections, and deaths. We use the marginal effects to establish regression equations for the outcome measures, which are optimized to obtain NPI strategies. Efficacy of the NPI strategies designed using our methodology is demonstrated using simulated pandemic influenza outbreaks with different levels of virus transmissibility. Our methodology was able to design effective NPI strategies, which were able to contain outbreaks by reducing infection attack rates (IAR) to below 10% in low and medium virus transmissibility scenarios with 33% and 50% IAR, respectively. The level of reduction in the high transmissibility scenario (with 65% IAR) was also significant. As noted in the published literature, we also found school closure to be the single most effective intervention among all NPIs. If harnessed effectively, NPIs offer a significant potential for mitigation of pandemic influenza outbreaks. The methodology presented here fills a gap in the literature, which, though replete with models on NPI strategy evaluation, lacks a treatise on optimal strategy design.
Evaluating the relevance of eBooks to corporate communication

Once one realizes that eBook formats (and particularly the EPUB3.0 format) are portable websites that can be carried on virtually any digital reading device, it should be self-evident that in the future eBooks may play an important role in corporate communications. This is especially true if one considers that eBooks solve important problems such as website passivity (websites are only useful when readers actually come to the site). Rather than wait for readers to come to them, corporations can send the websites to their readers (e.g., marketing, training updates, contact information, documentation). This may become especially true of the new IPUB3 format. Because e-reader devices have become so ubiquitous and because most new devices can read most formats, corporations can count on their audiences being able to access the content.This paper examines many of the positives and negatives that eBooks in general and the EPUB format in particular might bring to corporate communication. In the end, corporations will almost certainly adopt some eBook technologies. The questions become which ones, for what uses, and how? This paper addresses these questions.
Ronald Reagan's Indian Policy in Retrospect

This article examines presidential politics during the Reagan era with regard to the formulation, implementation, and aftermath of Reagan's Indian policy. Indian affairs proved to be a formidable testing ground for the drastic administrative budget cuts that transpired in the 1980s. Although the ill-effects of this policy were felt immediately in Indian Country, economic crisis inspired some tribes to seize control of their own political and economic destinies, ultimately influencing federal policy in their favor.
Race and reactions to crime

(1982). Race and reactions to crime. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies: Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 233-242.
Selective Binding of Crown Ethers to Protonated Peptides Can Be Used To Probe Mechanisms of H/D Exchange and Collision-Induced Dissociation Reactions in the Gas Phase

Selective binding of crown ethers to model protonated peptides is utilized to study the site selectivity and mechanisms of gas-phase hydrogen/deuterium exchange reactions with ND3 in an external ion source FT-ICR mass spectrometer. Mechanisms for H/D exchange reactions in the gas phase can be classified into two different types: Type I involving direct participation of the labile protons at the charge site and Type II in which the charge site at most plays only an ancillary role in the process (e.g., salt bridge formation). Localization of the labile proton at the charge site by crown ether attachment inhibits Type I processes, as evidenced by a dramatic reduction in the rates of H/D exchange. For example, crown ether attachment to protonated ethylenediamine and 1,4-diaminobutane inhibits H/D exchange reactions, while the free protonated species undergo rapid exchange of all five labile hydrogens. Type II processes are still observed with the crown ether adducts. Both the amide and the carboxyl hydrogens...
SV40 recombinants carrying rabbit β-globin gene coding sequences

We have constructed and propagated two SV40 recombinants in which different portions of the viral late gene region are replaced by a rabbit beta-globin coding sequence derived from a cloned cDNA (Maniatis et al., 1976). One of these recombinants, which retains the promoter, leader and intervening sequences for a viral late mRNA, directs the synthesis of a stable SV40-globin hybrid transcript. Using a sensitive radioimmunoassay, we have shown that this globin RNA is translated in infected monkey cells. A second recombinant, which retains the late region promoter but lacks the RNA splicing region, produces neither a stable globin transcript nor any detectable beta-globin. These experiments indicate that some sequence within a 500 bp SV40 segment, presumably the splicing region, is required for the accumulation of stable mRNA. They also demonstrate how hybrid transducing viruses can be used both to characterize viral regulatory sequences and to produce new gene products in cultured cells.
Androgyny and pedagogy: An analysis of interpersonal communication textbooks, 1975–79

Twenty‐two interpersonal textbooks, published since 1975, were analyzed in an effort to determine if and how gender identity is being presented in the area of interpersonal communication. An overview of “traditional” and “androgynous” approaches to sex‐role development and an examination of symbols used to describe the roles were provided to document the validity of the word and theme content analysis measures employed. The analysis showed interpersonal texts favoring androgyny, with preference given to the masculine, mediated by femininity, in terms of power, problem‐solving, and self‐esteem. In terms of emotions and relationships, femininity is prescribed, mediated by masculinity.
Uptake of Zn65 and Mn54 into body tissues and renal concretions by the Southern Quahog, Mercenaria campechiensis (Gmelin): Effects of elevated phosphate and metal concentrations

The reliable use of marine molluscs as indicator organisms for metal contamination requires an understanding of how environmental parameters effect metal accumulation.1,2 In Tampa Bay, Florida, phosphate concentrations are periodically extremely high due to local deposits and mining activity.3 Since an important metal detoxification sink for marine bivalves (inorganic renal granules) requires phosphate,4,5 its availability may influence metal metabolism. The effects of dissolved phosphate on metal accumulation in marine molluscs are presently undescribed. In this study a subtropical bivalve, Mercenaria campechiensis, is examined for uptake and tissue distribution of Zn65 and Mn54 accumulated from seawater containing varied concentrations of inorganic phosphate, total zinc and manganese. Highest 10 day tissue concentrations for both metals were found in the kidney with results showing different uptake patterns for zinc and manganese. Total metal and inorganic phosphate concentrations showed marginal effects on manganese distribution while producing significant variation in the zinc distribution between kidneys and gills.
Temperature measurements of Beulah lignite char in a novel laminar-flow reactor

Abstract A novel laminar-flow flameless reactor has been designed and constructed for investigating the combustion behaviour of individual coal particles, incorporating a three-colour optical pyrometer for measuring single-particle temperatures. Results for the combustion of Beulah (North Dakota) lignite char at sizes below 200 μm and at gas temperatures between 760 and 1270 K are presented. It was found that the particle temperature in all cases studied exceeded the local gas temperature by several hundred degrees. The burning rates were controlled by the mass diffusion of oxygen, and the mean particle temperature was linearly dependent on oxygen mole fraction in the gas phase over the range 0.05 to 0.16. The particle temperature also showed an inverse relationship with particle size.
Teaching spatial autocorrelation by simulation

Abstract A computer simulation game to help teach spatial autocorrelation is presented. Its use assumes that students have a minimal background in introductory statistics and its focus is on efficiently and effectively searching through a sampling distribution, seeking map patterns with particular levels of spatial autocorrelation. The sampling distribution is constructed using randomisation, and the search process is guided by calculations of Geary's contiguity ratio. Experiences with this simulation exercise at SUNY/Buffalo are briefly summarised.
Conversion of cellulose to hydrocarbons

Abstract The transformation of cellulose into hydrocarbon products is affected by the action of elemental iodine and hydrogen at a reaction pressure of approximately 20.7 MPa and temperature of 325 °C. The more volatile components were characterized by g.c.-m.s., elemental analysis and i.r. Of the 86 major components observed, 53 were identified. These compounds were found to be very similar to the ring systems observed in solvent-refined coal, with the exception that nitrogen was not present.
Target configuration and visibility

Short, wide lights are more visible than long, narrow lights of the same total area to observers in the water without a face mask.
Realization of the National Institute of Standards and Technology detector-based spectral irradiance scale.

A detector-based spectral irradiance scale has been realized at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Unlike the previous NIST spectral irradiance scales, the new scale is generated with filter radiometers calibrated for absolute spectral power responsivity traceable to the NIST high-accuracy cryogenic radiometer instead of with the gold freezing-point blackbody. The calibrated filter radiometers are then used to establish the radiance temperature of a high-temperature blackbody (HTBB) operating near 3000 K. The spectral irradiance of the HTBB is then determined with knowledge of the geometric factors and is used to assign the spectral irradiances of a group of 1000-W free-electron laser lamps. The detector-based spectral irradiance scale results in the reduction of the uncertainties from the previous source-based spectral irradiance scale by at least a factor of 2 in the ultraviolet and visible wavelength regions. The new detector-based spectral irradiance scale also leads to a reduction in the uncertainties in the shortwave infrared wavelength region by at least a factor of 2–10, depending on the wavelength. Following the establishment of the spectral irradiance scale in the early 1960s, the detector-based spectral irradiance scale represents a fundamental change in the way that the NIST spectral irradiance scale is realized.
a Systems Resources Approach to Citizen Participation: the Case of the Corps of Engineers

: The thesis of this paper is that the citizen participation process provides necessary, but not sufficient conditions to affect substantive change in federal water resource management agencies' planning and decisionmaking. That is, in its present form, the citizen participation process has been observed to occur outside of the normal decision arenas of federal resource management agencies. The paper reviews concepts of citizen participation and defines some theoretical problems inherent with them. Then, a strategy for the structuring of a citizen participation process is proposed. This strategy is based upon the notion that citizen support for federally sponsored programs are essential if such projects are to be implemented. Therefore, an approach which integrates citizen valves with those held by other institutions and the agency is suggested. In conclusion, the relevancy of actively developing and including citizen input to the water resource planning process is illustrated by a discussion of three cases of the Corps of Engineers and Urban Studies planning process, in different metropolitan regions.
Normal theory based test statistics in structural equation modelling

Even though data sets in psychology are seldom normal, the statistics used to evaluate covariance structure models are typically based on the assumption of multivariate normality. Consequently, many conclusions based on normal theory methods are suspect. In this paper, we develop test statistics that can be correctly applied to the normal theory maximum likelihood estimator. We propose three new asymptotically distribution-free (ADF) test statistics that technically must yield improved behaviour in samples of realistic size, and use Monte Carlo methods to study their actual finite sample behaviour. Results indicate that there exists an ADF test statistic that also performs quite well in finite sample situations. Our analysis shows that various forms of ADF test statistics are sensitive to model degrees of freedom rather than to model complexity. A new index is proposed for evaluating whether a rescaled statistic will be robust. Recommendations are given regarding the application of each test statistic.
Natural Variations in Comet-Aggregate Meteoroid Compositions

Bulk compositions of aggregate meteoroids made of the originally accreted dust with its highly varied in mineral content and chemistry and considerable grain size variations do not have a chondritic bulk composition. Deviations from CI element abundances reflect indigenous variations within and among comet nuclei. These unmodified meteoroids that are heterogeneous in all their properties are fundamentally different from meteoroids with a CI bulk composition that are fine-grained, equigranular materials and chemically and mineralogically homogeneous. Collection and data reduction bias exists but the compositions of individual fast meteors are entirely constrained by the measured main component meteor abundances.
Model studies on protein side chain modification by 4-oxo-2-nonenal.

trans-4-Oxo-2-nonenal (ONE) has recently been demonstrated to be a direct product of lipid peroxidation. In earlier studies to elucidate the structure of the trans-4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE)-derived fluorescent Lys−Lys cross-link, we showed that ONE was capable of both oxidative and nonoxidative cross-linking of amines. A more comprehensive study on nonoxidative modification of protein nucleophiles by ONE is described here, focusing on the initial Michael addition of imidazole, thiol, and amine groups to C2 or C3 to give 4-keto aldehydes that can then condense with amines to form nucleophile-substituted pyrroles. 2,3-Substituted pyrroles (major) and 2,4-substituted pyrroles (minor) were distinguished by 2D NMR techniques, and Nτ-substitution is preferred over Nπ-substitution in the Michael addition of histidine. Mechanisms of both nonoxidative and oxidative side chain reactions of ONE are discussed, as is the relative propensity (ONE > HNE) to induce cross-linking of the model proteins ribonuclease A and β...
Response to Nighttime Activity Influences the Evaluation of Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring

Nagy and Nagy1 point out that antidepressants or hypnotics may influence sleep-time activity, especially in the hospital, and, therefore, influence dipping. Dipping can also be influenced by other factors, such as sleep-disordered breathing, age, sex, and ethnicity. We agree that sleep-disordered breathing may cause nocturia and, therefore, confound the relationship of nocturia with nondipping. Although we did not examine …
Negative energy states in quantum gravity

The phenomena of 'quantum tunnelling through classical constraints' is analysed. The author shows by example that such tunnelling may lead to physical inconsistencies: systems for which the extended phase quantisation does not have a well defined classical limit and is widely incompatible with the reduced phase space quantisation. These pathologies are shown to originate in an inappropriate choice of polarisation, and a quantisation ansatz is proposed which eliminates them. Such results indicate that initial value constraints should form absolute barriers quantum mechanically as well as classically, and consequently that tunnelling does not provide a physically viable means of transcending the positive energy theorems in quantum gravity.
Diagnosis of manganese deficiency in sugar beet and response to manganese applications

Thirty field experiments during 1969 to 1975 on Fenland farms in East Anglia tested response by sugar beet to manganese. The percentage of plants showing manganese-deficiency symptoms or the concentration of manganese in the foliage during spring predicted response more reliably than soil analysis. The percentage of plants with symptoms was closely related to the concentration of manganese in sugar-beet leaves and to the increased yield of roots from treatment, but correlations between plant and soil variables were poor. Analyses of exchangeable manganese extracted with normal ammonium acetate buffered to pH 7.0, the most reliable of several soil tests, predicted the occurrence of manganese deficiency. This test differentiated between fields of healthy and manganese-deficient sugar beet but did not predict the magnitude of response to manganese treatment. A classification of fields where sugar beet are likely to respond to manganese is presented.
Technological Citizenship: A Normative Framework for Risk Studies:

This article introduces the concept of technological citizenship (TC) as a status for individuals consisting of rights and obligations within bounded technological polities enforced by statist structures. The model reconciles freedom to innovate with the affirmation of the autonomy and dignity of laypersons and the assimilation of laypersons with their world. It seeks lay control over the introduction and ongoing management of environmental hazards and self-verification of safety. The rights and obligations of TC compose a "new social contract of complexity." Even with different values stressed, the name, concept, and terms of TC would streamline studies of peril.
The placebo concept

Abstract Throughout the medical, psychological, and psychiatric literature, the terminology used to characterize placebos is misleading, imprecise, and conducive to conceptual confusion in research on their effects. To remedy this situation, the present paper does the following: (1) It fills the conceptual lacunae left by the defective traditional locutions; (2) It proposes a lucid and precise new vocabulary to supplant the traditional obscure language in which the results of placebo research are couched; and (3) It illustrates the important conceptual refinement accruing from using the new expressions by thoroughly recasting A.K. Shapiro's influential definition of ‘placebo.’
Molecular Organization in SAMs Used for Neuronal Cell Growth

The attachment of cells onto solid supports is fundamental in the development of advanced biosensors or biochips. In this work, we characterize cortical neuron adhesion, growth, and distribution of...
The effect of friction and topography on coastal internal Kelvin waves at low latitudes

The effects of bottom Ekman layer friction and slope topography on freely propagating coastal internal Kelvin waves in a stratified ocean are examined. Frictional effects are assumed weak and specific slope topographies are chosen so that perturbation methods may be used to obtain solutions. Two models for slope topography are utilized: a steep slope model, which corresponds to the low latitude case where the Rossby radius scale δ R is assumed large compared to the slope width L s , and a weak slope model, which corresponds to the case δ R ≪ L s . For both cases, internal Kelvin waves are damped by bottom friction, and offshore and vertical phase lags are induced, as well as an onshore flow. However, there are substantial differences between the results obtained with the two different models. For example, vertical phase shifts due to friction for the steep slope case imply that alongshore velocity v at the surface leads v below, while motions at the bottom lead for the weak slope case. For the weak slope, frictional effects are proportional to bottom velocity, implying that, for mid-latitudes, bottom stress effects on barocline modes are minimal. However, results from the steep slope model imply that baroclinic modes are significantly affected by bottom stress at low latitudes. In both cases, the topography changes the frequency and alongshore phase speed of the wave, the modal structure is altered, and an onshore flow is induced. For the weak slope case, the wave speed is proportional to the mean bottom depth averaged over the Rossby radius scale. For the steep slope, changes in wave speed depend on the details of the slope geometry: a slope that is concave downward increases the speed while a slope that is concave upward decreases the speed. Both models are compared with observations from the Peru coast. DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0870.1984.tb00256.x
Kickers and Power Supplies for the Fermilab Tevafron I Antiproton Source

The Fermilab Antiproton Source Accumulator and Debuncher rings require 5 kickers in total. These range in design from conventional ferrite delay line type magnets, with ceramic beam tubes to mechanically complex shuttered kickers situated entirely in the Accumulator Ring's 10-10 torr vacuum. Power supplies are thyratron switched pulse forming networks that produce microsecond width pulses of several kiloamps with less than 30 nanoseconds rise and fall times. Kicker and power supply design requirements for field strength, vacuum, rise and fall time, timing and magnetic shielding of the stacked beam in the accumulator by the eddy current shutter will be discussed.
The neurobiology of preovulatory and estradiol-induced gonadotropin-releasing hormone surges.

Ovarian steroids normally exert homeostatic negative feedback on GnRH release. During sustained exposure to elevated estradiol in the late follicular phase of the reproductive cycle, however, the feedback action of estradiol switches to positive, inducing a surge of GnRH release from the brain, which signals the pituitary LH surge that triggers ovulation. In rodents, this switch appears dependent on a circadian signal that times the surge to a specific time of day (e.g., late afternoon in nocturnal species). Although the precise nature of this daily signal and the mechanism of the switch from negative to positive feedback have remained elusive, work in the past decade has provided much insight into the role of circadian/diurnal and estradiol-dependent signals in GnRH/LH surge regulation and timing. Here we review the current knowledge of the neurobiology of the GnRH surge, in particular the actions of estradiol on GnRH neurons and their synaptic afferents, the regulation of GnRH neurons by fast synaptic transmission mediated by the neurotransmitters γ-aminobutyric acid and glutamate, and the host of excitatory and inhibitory neuromodulators including kisspeptin, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, catecholamines, neurokinin B, and RFamide-related peptides, that appear essential for GnRH surge regulation, and ultimately ovulation and fertility.
Differential effects of S100 proteins A2 and A6 on cardiac Ca2 + cycling and contractile performance

Abstract Defective intracellular calcium (Ca2 +) handling is implicated in the pathogenesis of heart failure. Novel approaches targeting both cardiac Ca2 + release and reuptake processes, such as S100A1, have the potential to rescue the function of failing cardiac myocytes. Here, we show that two members of the S100 Ca2 + binding protein family, S100A2 and S100A6 that share high sequence homology, differentially influence cardiac Ca2 + handling and contractility. Cardiac gene expression of S100A2 significantly enhanced both contractile and relaxation performance of rodent and canine cardiac myocytes, mimicking the functional effects of its cardiac homologue, S100A1. To interrogate mechanism, Ca2 + spark frequency, a measure of the gating of the ryanodine receptor Ca2 + release channel, was found to be significantly increased by S100A2. Therapeutic testing showed that S100A2 rescued the contractile defects of failing cardiac myocytes. In contrast, cardiac expression of S100A6 had no significant effects on contractility or Ca2 + handling. These data reveal novel differential effects of S100 proteins on cardiac myocyte performance that may be useful in application to diseased cardiac muscle.
Approximate normalized wave functions for the finite-size Coulomb problem

Using perturbation methods developed previously for the finite-size energy shift, thes-state wave functions for a bound lepton in the Coulomb field of a nucleus with an arbitrary charge distribution are developed through order (Zα)2. This technique allows a determination of the finite-size contribution to the normalization of the wave function up to order (Zα)2, both for small separations of the lepton and nucleus and for the lepton outside the nucleus. General features of the wave function are discussea, including the transition of the Dirac problem to the (singular) point charge limit. A practical application is developed using these results.
On getting close to but not beyond a boundary.

Optimal rule for decision to stop or continue observation of random variables after observing sequence of variables with continuous distribution function
PathFinder: mining signal transduction pathway segments from protein-protein interaction networks

A Signal transduction pathway is the chain of processes by which a cell converts an extracellular signal into a response. In most unicellular organisms, the number of signal transduction pathways influences the number of ways the cell can react and respond to the environment. Discovering signal transduction pathways is an arduous problem, even with the use of systematic genomic, proteomic and metabolomic technologies. These techniques lead to an enormous amount of data and how to interpret and process this data becomes a challenging computational problem. In this study we present a new framework for identifying signaling pathways in protein-protein interaction networks. Our goal is to find biologically significant pathway segments in a given interaction network. Currently, protein-protein interaction data has excessive amount of noise, e.g., false positive and false negative interactions. First, we eliminate false positives in the protein-protein interaction network by integrating the network with microarray expression profiles, protein subcellular localization and sequence information. In addition, protein families are used to repair false negative interactions. Then the characteristics of known signal transduction pathways and their functional annotations are extracted in the form of association rules. Given a pair of starting and ending proteins, our methodology returns candidate pathway segments between these two proteins with possible missing links (recovered false negatives). In our study, S. cerevisiae (yeast) data is used to demonstrate the effectiveness of our method.
Fluorescence determination of sulphobutylether-β-cyclodextrin in human plasma by size exclusion chromatography with inclusion complex formation

Abstract A selective method for the determination of sulphobutylether-β-cyclodextrin (SBECD) in human plasma has been developed and validated over the range 4–200 μg ml−1. SBECD is extracted from plasma using end-capped cyclohexyl solid phase extraction cartridges. This is followed by high performance size exclusion chromatography with a mobile phase consisting of 1-naphthol (0.1 mM) in methanol-potassium nitrate (0.2 M) (1:9 v/v), 1 ml min−1. The high aqueous content of the mobile phase quenches the fluorescence of 1-naphthol. However, the naphthol forms an inclusion complex with SBECD. The non-polar ‘bucket’ environment of the inclusion region restores the fluorescence, which is measured at excitation and emission wavelengths of 290 and 360 nm, respectively, when SBECD elutes from the column.
Intel Labs Mexico - Leading Industrial Research in Latin America

Intel Labs is a research arm at Intel focused on delivering innovations to fuel Intel's growth and technology leadership. Intel Labs Mexico, one of the research groups of Intel Labs globally, has been leading research and technology development in Mexico and Latin America since its creation in 2005. This paper provides an overview of the main research areas at Intel Labs Mexico as well as the corresponding published contributions.