cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Identification of a Contractile-responsive Element in the Cardiac α-Myosin Heavy Chain Gene

The mechanisms by which the cardiac-specific α-myosin heavy chain (α-MHC) gene responds to contractile activity was studied in cultured cardiomyocytes and in vivo. Deletion analysis of the α-MHC promoter transiently transfected into neonatal rat cardiomyocytes localized the contractile-responsive element within −80 to −40 base pairs of the transcriptional start site. Mutational analysis of an E-box motif at position −47 showed that it was necessary for the contractile response both in cultured cardiomyocytes and in the intact heart. Competition gel mobility shift experiments indicated that the protein-DNA complex formed within the −39 to −59 base pair region could be competed by the E-box element at −309 of the α-MHC gene and that base substitutions within an E-box motif at −47 eliminated the protein-DNA complex. To identify the contractile-responsive nuclear protein, antibodies specific for E12/E47, an E-box binding basic-helix-loop-helix (bHLH) protein, and antibodies recognizing upstream stimulatory factor (USF), a widely expressed bHLH-leucine zipper transcription factor, were studied for their ability to inhibit cardiomyocyte nuclear protein binding to the E-box motif at −47. Anti-USF antibody abolished formation of the protein-DNA complex, thus identifying the protein as antigenically related to USF and demonstrating that bHLH-leucine zipper proteins are involved in the contractile-induced expression of the cardiac α-MHC gene.
The best beloved of all things

The Baha’i Faith presents a concept of justice closely linked to its core belief in the oneness and interconnectedness of all humanity. Baha’is are urged to think about all people as members of one human family. In the same way that the cells of a body work together to keep the body healthy and functioning, our responsibility is to work together to establish a just society. Oppression and violence against any one part causes damage to the whole. Justice, therefore, requires striving to safeguard the right of all to develop their capacities and contributions toward the advancement of civilization. The role of education is vital to this process. Through reflection on my personal history – from fleeing religious persecution in the land of my birth to becoming a social psychologist researching discrimination – I explore Baha’i perspectives on justice, unity, and the concept of collective trusteeship, with a particular emphasis on education.
Regional variation in the sensitivity of longitudinal smooth muscle to histamine at H1-receptors in guinea-pig ileum and colon

The sensitivity of the distal ileum, proximal colon, medial colon, and distal colon of the guinea-pig to histamine has been evaluated. The rank order of sensitivity was ileum greater than medial colon greater than proximal colon approximately equal to distal colon. The mean -logEC50 values at receptors in the ileum, medial, proximal, and distal colon were 6.74, 6.18, 5.79, and 5.72, respectively. The apparent dissociation constant for the interaction of histamine with receptors in the various regions was determined. The -log Kd values at receptors in the ileum, proximal colon, medial colon, and distal colon were 4.68, 4.65, 4.62, and 4.44, respectively. The mean apparent -log Kd values for the antagonism of histamine by mepyramine were 9.0, 9.0, 9.1, and 8.9 for receptors on the ileum, proximal, medial, and distal colon, respectively. The results of these experiments provide no evidence that histamine receptors in the colon are distinguishable from H1-receptors as characterized on the ileum. The differences in sensitivity to histamine in the various regions of the intestine may be due to differences in the density of H1-receptors.
Optical pressure sensor utilizing a silica-based GRIN rod lens

An optical pressure sensor utilizing a silica-based GRIN rod lens is proposed and demonstrated. The major advantage of the sensor is inexpensive system configuration whose main part consists of low-cost components such as the rod lens, an LED light-source and photodiodes. The sensor also has two other superior characteristics. One is stability because the silica-based rod lens can be attached to the optical fiber directly by fusion splicing without adhesive or other materials. The other is flexibility because the sensitivity of the sensor can be varied by changing the rod lens length. In proposed method, optical power variations correspond to a displacement of a bellows is measured to detect the pressure. We have made two optical pressure sensors with different length rod lenses. Each lens is designed to measure up to 200 kPa and 10 kPa pressure. The displacement amounts of the bellows due to these pressure levels are 600 μm and 30 μm, respectively. The +/-0.2% accuracy of full scale is achieved for both sensors and +/-60nm displacement can be measured by this simple method.
Reflection and Transmission of Electromagnetic Waves by a Moving Dielectric Slab

The reflection and transmission of electromagnetic waves by a moving dielectric slab are investigated theoretically and the reflection and transmission coefficients are determined. Two cases of the movement are considered: (a) the dielectric slab moves parallel to the interface: (b) the dielectric slab moves perpendicular to the interface. Various interesting features concerning the variation of the reflection and transmission coefficients, angles of reflection and transmission, and the frequencies of the reflected and transmitted wave, as a function of the velocity of the moving medium, are discussed.
The addition of ondansetron to the combination of metoclopramide, dexamethasone, and lorazepam did not improve vomiting prevention in patients receiving high-dose cisplatin

Background. Serotonin has been shown to be an important mediator of chemotherapy-induced vomiting. Ondansetron is a potent and highly specific antagonist of the 5-HT3 serotonin receptor. The objective of the current trial was to determine if the addition of ondansetron to the combination of metoclopramide, dexamethasone, and lorazepam (MDL) could improve the control of vomiting in patients receiving high-dose cisplatin. The three-drug MDL antiemetic regimen has been shown to prevent vomiting in 67% of patients receiving high-dose cisplatin. Methods. Thirty-two patients receiving initial cisplatin (greater than or equal to 100 mg/m2) were given intravenous lorazepam, 1.5 mg/m2 (maximum dose, 3 mg), one dose 45 minutes before cisplatin; metoclopramide, 3 mg/kg 40 minutes before and 90 minutes after cisplatin; ondansetron, 0.3 mg/kg 25 minutes before and 3.5 hours after cisplatin; and dexamethasone, 20 mg, one dose 10 minutes before cisplatin. Patients were followed for 24 hours after cisplatin administration. Results. Vomiting was prevented in 67% of patients (95% confidence interval, 47–83%). Adverse effects were mild and transient and included sedation, headache, serum aspartate transaminase, and alanine transaminase elevations, akathisia, and hiccups. Conclusions. Vomiting was prevented in two thirds of patients treated with MDL plus ondansetron, a result similar to that observed in earlier trials of MDL alone. The lack of improvement in emetic control by the addition of ondansetron suggests that vomiting mediated through 5-HT3 receptors is already effectively blocked. Emesis that occurs despite pretreatment with MDL is likely mediated by other mechanisms.
Isolation and characterization of PAGE-1 and GAGE-7. New genes expressed in the LNCaP prostate cancer progression model that share homology with melanoma-associated antigens.

Abstract The LNCaP progression model of human prostate cancer consists of lineage-related sublines that differ in their androgen sensitivity and metastatic potential. A differential display polymerase chain reaction was employed to evaluate mRNA expression differences between the LNCaP sublines in order to define the differences in gene expression between the androgen-sensitive, nontumorigenic LNCaP cell line and the androgen-insensitive, metastatic LNCaP sublines, C4-2 and C4-2B. An amplicon, BG16.21, was isolated that showed increased expression in the androgen-independent and metastatic LNCaP sublines, C4-2 and C4-2B. Hybridization screening of a λ gt11 expression library with BG16.21 revealed two transcripts, both homologous to BG16.21 at the 3′ end. A GenBankTM data base search using the GCG Wisconsin software package revealed the shorter ∼600-bp transcript (designated GAGE-7) to be a new member of the GAGE family. The second ∼700-bp transcript was a novel gene (designated PAGE-1, “prostate associated gene”) with only 45% homology to GAGE gene family members. RNA blot analysis demonstrated that GAGE-7mRNA was expressed at equal levels in all lineage related prostate cancer cell sublines, while PAGE-1 mRNA levels were elevated 5-fold in C4-2 and C4-2B as compared with LNCaP cells. NeitherGAGE-7 nor PAGE-1 demonstrated any regulation by androgens in the prostate cancer cell lines used in this study.PAGE-1 and GAGE-7 expression was found to be restricted to testes (high) and placenta (low) on human multiple tissue Northern blots. As GAGE/MAGE antigens were reported previously to be targets for tumor-specific cytotoxic lymphocytes in melanoma, these results suggest that PAGE-1 and GAGE-7 may be related to prostate cancer progression and may serve as potential targets for novel therapies.
A characterization of subgroup containment in direct products

Using Goursat’s characterization of subgroups in a direct product, a characterization of subgroup containment in such a direct product is given. Applying this along with facts about p-groups we describe a process for obtaining the subgroup lattice of a direct product of p-groups. This process is implemented to portray the subgroup lattice of Q × Q, where Q is the quaternion group of order 8.
From Boolean to sign pattern matrices

Abstract A nonnegative sign pattern matrix is a matrix whose entries are from the set {+, 0}. A nonnegative sign pattern matrix can also be viewed as a Boolean matrix, by replacing each + entry with 1. In this paper, some interesting connections between nonnegative sign pattern matrices and Boolean matrices are investigated. In particular, the relations between the minimum rank and the Boolean row (or column) rank are explored; the idempotent Boolean matrices that allow idempotence are identified; and the nonnegative sign patterns that allow various types of nonnegative (or positive) generalized inverses are characterized.
AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF THE BEREZHKOVSKII-POLLAK-ZITSERMAN THEORY OF RATE PROCESSES IN THE MEMORY-SUPPRESSION REGION

Abstract We study analytically the improved canonical variational transition state theory of rate processes recently introduced by Berezhkovskii, Pollak and Zitserman for a quartic potential added to a parabolic barrier and for a memory friction kernel having an infinite relaxation time. A hallmark of this theory is the use of the most general planar surface dividing the reactants and the products in order to optimize the rate. The optimized rate thus obtained is generally less than that given by the Grote-Hynes theory. The biggest decrease occurs in the so-called memory suppression region, where the memory relaxation time is very long. The behavior of the rate is conveniently analyzed in terms of a “nonlinearity parameter” χ. We find that the most interesting effects take place when χ gets “stuck” at zero. This is exactly analogous to an ideal Bose gas, in which the chemical potential gets “stuck” at zero below its critical temperature. This analogy turns out to be very useful in studying the model. We calculate the rate in different regimes and show that it obeys a scaling relation. We then study the scaling function to reveal interesting effects associated with the finiteness of the barrier height.
Relations between children's metamemory and strategic performance: time-varying covariates in early elementary school.

Although much is known about the development of memory strategies and metamemory during childhood, evidence for linkages between these memory skills, either concurrently or over time, has been limited. Drawing from a longitudinal investigation of the development of memory, repeated assessments of children’s (N = 107) strategy use and declarative metamemory were made to examine the development of these skills and the relations between them over time. Latent curve models were used first to estimate the trajectories of children’s strategy use and metamemory and then to examine predictors of children’s performance in each of these domains. Children’s metamemory at the beginning of Grade 1 was linked to child- and home-level factors, whereas the development of both skills was related to maternal education level. Additional modeling of the longitudinal relations between strategic sorting and metacognitive knowledge indicated that metamemory at earlier time points was predictive of subsequent strategy use.
Structural insights into the mechanical regulation of molecular recognition sites

Intriguing experimental and computational data are emerging to suggest that mechanical forces regulate the functional states of some proteins by stretching them into nonequilibrium states. Using the extracellular matrix protein fibronectin as an example, we discuss molecular design principles that might control the exposure of a protein's recognition sites, and/or their relative distances, in a force-dependent manner. Fibronectin regulates many cellular functions by binding directly to integrins. Although integrins have a key role in the transduction of force across the cell membrane by coupling the extracellular matrix to the cytoskeleton, the studies reviewed here suggest that fibronectin might be one of the molecules responsible for the initial transformation of mechanical force into a biochemical signal.
Plasma testosterone levels in the chick embryo.

Abstract The time when testosterone is first present in the blood of the chick embryo, as well as its plasma concentration throughout the embryonic period, was determined by means of immunofluorescence and radioimmunoassay. Testosterone is first present, in approximately equal amounts, in the blood of embryos of both sexes on day 5.5 of incubation. However, beginning on day 7.5, and continuing through day 17.5, there is a statistically significant difference between males and females in plasma testosterone concentrations. In both sexes a correlation was noted between the embryonic intervals of increasing plasma testosterone concentrations and that of Mullerian duct regression. Thus, the findings of this investigation are consonant with the view that androgens are the hormonal agents responsible for the regression of both Mullerian ducts in male and the right Mullerian duct in female embryos.
Individual differences in behaviorally evoked cardiovascular response: temporal stability and hemodynamic patterning.

This study evaluates the reproducibility of individual differences in behaviorally evoked cardiovascular reactivity among 39 young adult males. Presented also are initial data describing idiosyncratic patterns of hemodynamic adjustment that may underlie pressor responses to laboratory stressors. Subjects were administered three experimental stressors (mental arithmetic, mirror tracing, and bicycle exercise) on two occasions, four weeks apart. Heart rate, blood pressure, and impedance-derived measurements of cardiac pre-ejection period, stroke index, cardiac index, and total peripheral resistance were obtained during baseline and task periods at each session. To index task-induced "reactivity," residualized (baseline-adjusted) change scores were calculated for all variables; percentage change from baseline was also calculated for impedance-derived hemodynamic measurements. Test-retest (inter-session) correlations were significant for nearly all baseline, task, and change-score measurements. The few exceptions included diastolic blood pressure changes during mirror tracing and bicycle exercise and changes in stroke index and peripheral resistance during mental arithmetic. Although virtually all baseline and task correlations exceeded .60, reactivity indices yielded consistently lower retest correlations (significant r's = .35-.78; median r = .49). In subsequent analyses, subsets of individuals were identified whose reactions to mental arithmetic at the first laboratory session reflected changes in either cardiac output (CI reactors, n = 9) or total peripheral resistance (TPR reactors, n = 6), or a combination of cardiac and vascular influences (Mixed reactors, n = 8). This typology of hemodynamic response: (a) was corroborated by corresponding group differences in heart rate, pre-ejection period, and stroke index; (b) was reproducible on retesting; and (c) showed some generalization to the mirror tracing task, though not to bicycle exercise.
Effects of heavy metals on fin regeneration in the killifish,Fundulus heteroclitus

The experiments were designed to study the effects of mercury, lead and cadmium on fin regeneration in Fundulus. One mg/l mercury was lethal to the fish and all died before the first measurement. Fish in lead regenerated at slightly faster rates than the control fish. Cadmium strikingly retarded the rate of regeneration, although the effect was not correlated with the dose. This may be attributed to a limit in the amount of cadmium that the fish can accumulate. (MU)
The Effects of Manipulation of Puberty on Growth

Short stature in adulthood can be considered as a disability because it can be associated with many difficulties including those of a psychological and social nature. Many factors can influence final adult height such as genetics, the magnitude of growth hormone (GH) secretion, height before puberty, and the onset and duration of puberty. A crucial factor affecting final adult height, however, is the total height achieved during puberty. The combination of GH and gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues greatly enhances growth and their separate and combined use for the treatment of GH deficiency, central precocious puberty and other diagnoses in children and adolescents is discussed in this article.
An investigation on the light uniformers based on liquid guide

In this paper, an experimental study is conducted to investigate three light uniformers based on liquid guide for their possible usages as color mixing elements. In this study, three types of light uniformers are systematically analyzed, which include a straight light guide, a tapered light guide, and a U-shaped light guide. This study consists of two parts: a computer-aided optical modeling using a commercial ray tracing software package; and an experimental study verifying the results obtained from the computer simulations. Beam uniformity, in terms of illuminance and color, is compared among different light uniformers. The experimentally observed results agree well with the simulated results. Light transmission efficiency is also calculated for each light uniformer based on the simulation results. It is found in this study that the U-shaped light uniformer has high light transmission efficiency and the best color mixing effect among the three investigated light guides and offers a compact, practical, and inexpensive solution for color mixing in many industries.
The nutrient distribution and primary production in the central North Pacific

Abstract The relation between horizontal and vertical nutrient distributions and biological pattern in the North Pacific central gyre suggests that new primary is strongly nutrient limited and that the nutrient supply rate is a major determinant of biological pattern. However, no consistent relation between the nutrient distribution and biological pattern is evident on any spatial or temporal scale. Along- and cross-isopycnal nutrient fluxes to the euphotic zone, estimated from nutrient gradients and eddy diffusivities predicted from microstructure and tracer distributions, are roughly equivalent, but both are a small fraction of the nutrient requirement. This suggests that mixing does not follow Fickian diffusion and that variation in the nature of mixing, rather thann in the nutrient distribution itself, regulate the nutrient input to the euphotic zone and biological pattern. It is difficult to account for the maintenanceof the observed staady-state vertical structure in nutrients and biological properties, and, at the same time, to reconcile the great depth of the nutricline with evidence of considerable new production at much shallower depths. The latter appears to require a significant nutrient flux across a 30–50 m depth zone with a near-zero concentration gradient. An understanding of the processes regulating primary production in the open ocean will await a better understanding of mixing, and a complete model must be able to account for the maintenance of steady-state vertical structure and reconcile the discrepancy between estimates of the nutrient supply and uptake rates.
1172 EFFECTS OF CHRONIC HYPERGLYCEMIA IN THE FETAL LAMB

Prolonged fetal hyperglycemia has previously been shown to cause metabolic acidosis but the mechanism involved is unclear. Chronic fetal glucose (G) infusions (mean: 8.3±2.6 d, range 3-17d) were performed in 5 fetal lambs. Infusions were varied to achieve plasma G of 2-3x basal concentration. In 4 of 5 preparations twins were used with the noninfused twin serving as internal control. Plasma G increased from 18.5±1.9 to 58.1±4.7 mg/dl during infusion. Plasma insulin (I) increased from 12±3 to 27±4 μu/ml (p 5) was not observed until O2 15 mg/kg/min. Discontinuance of infusion in 3 preparations was associated with a rise in O2 and fall in base deficit. Amniotic (Am) fluid sampling revealed a correlation (p<.01) between plasma and Am G but not I. Chronic fetal hyperglycemia induces a relative arterial hypoxemia and hyperinsulinemia. The mechanism behind this relationship is unclear.
Autonomy, Respect, and Genetic Information Policy: A Reply to Tuija Takala and Matti Häyry

Cet article est une reponse a une contribution anterieure ayant pour theme l'ignorance genetique, les obligations morales et les devoirs sociaux. L'auteur effectue une mise au point sur les notions qu'il avait precedemment implicitees concernant l'autonomie et les informations genetiques et qui ont ete reprises et critiquees.
Robotic-surgical instrument wrist pose estimation

The Compact Lightweight Surgery Robot from the University of Hawaii includes two teleoperated instruments and one endoscope manipulator which act in accord to perform assisted interventional medicine. The relative positions and orientations of the robotic instruments and endoscope must be known to the teleoperation system so that the directions of the instrument motions can be controlled to correspond closely to the directions of the motions of the master manipulators, as seen by the the endoscope and displayed to the surgeon. If the manipulator bases are mounted in known locations and all manipulator joint variables are known, then the necessary coordinate transformations between the master and slave manipulators can be easily computed. The versatility and ease of use of the system can be increased, however, by allowing the endoscope or instrument manipulator bases to be moved to arbitrary positions and orientations without reinitializing each manipulator or remeasuring their relative positions. The aim of this work is to find the pose of the instrument end effectors using the video image from the endoscope camera. The P3P pose estimation algorithm is used with a Levenberg-Marquardt optimization to ensure convergence. The correct transformations between the master and slave coordinate frames can then be calculated and updated when the bases of the endoscope or instrument manipulators are moved to new, unknown, positions at any time before or during surgical procedures.
Babesia bovis: continuous cultivation in a microaerophilous stationary phase culture

The protozoan parasite Babesia bovis, a causative agent of bovine babesiosis, has been continuously cultivated in a settled layer of bovine erythrocytes. Lowered oxygen tension within the layer of host erythrocytes results in a darkening of infected cultures and provides a rapid means of evaluating parasite growth. Deprivation of carbon dioxide causes the merozoites to accumulate in the medium rather than involving new erythrocytes. When separated from the culture, these extraerythrocytic parasites retain their infectivity. Parasites produced in vitro are morphologically identical to parasites from the blood of infected cattle and are susceptible to antibabesial drugs.
Attentional focus and causal attributions in social phobia: Implications from social psychology

Abstract This article reviews the social psychological literature on attentional focus and causal attributions as they apply to social phobia. Excessive self-focused attention is increased by physiological arousal, interferes with task performance under some conditions, increases the probability of internal attributions, and intensifies emotional reactions. Social anxiety is also associated with a reversal of the self-serving bias for causal attributions. Implications of these findings for the maintenance and treatment of social phobia are discussed.
Abstract A8: Fibulin-5 (FBLN5) initiates EMT and induces MMPs expression via β1 integrin/EGFR/ERK pathway

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a normal physiological process that regulates tissue development, remodeling and repair; however, aberrant EMT also elicits disease development in humans, including lung fibrosis, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer cell metastasis. Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) is a master regulator of EMT in normal mammary epithelial cells (MECs), wherein this pleiotropic cytokine also functions as a potent suppressor of mammary tumorigenesis. In contrast, malignant MECs typically become resistance to TGF-β-mediated cytostasis and develop the ability to proliferate, invade and metastasize when stimulated by TGF-beta. Therefore, the understanding of how TGF-β promotes EMT may offer new insights into targeting the oncogenic activities of TGF-β in human breast cancers. Previously, we showed that the TGF-β gene target, FBLN5, initiates EMT and enhances that induced by TGF-β. FBLN5 stimulated matrix metalloproteinase (MMP 2,3, and 9) expression and activity, leading to MEC invasion and EMT. While WT FBLN5 induces EMT and MMP expression, RGE mutant (loss of integrin binding activity) of FBLN5 fails to induce EMT and MMP expression. We show here that FBLN5 induces EGFR expression, and the inhibition of EGFR and ERK1/2 MAPK with AG 1478 β3 integrin suppresses FBLN5 induced MMP expression, the expression of D119A mutant β3 integrin fails to suppress FBLN5-induced MMP expression. In addition, knock-down of β1 integrin reverses FBLN5-induced EMT and suppress FBLN5-induced MMPs expression. These results suggest FBLN5 induces EMT and MMP expression in β1 integrin-dependent β1 integrin/EGFR/ERK signaling pathway in MECs. These findings identify a novel EMT and tumor-promoting function for FBLN5 in developing and progressing breast cancers. Citation Format: Yonghun Lee, William P. Schiemann. Fibulin-5 (FBLN5) initiates EMT and induces MMPs expression via β1 integrin/EGFR/ERK pathway. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Tumor Invasion and Metastasis; Jan 20-23, 2013; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(3 Suppl):Abstract nr A8.
Speciation and colloid transport of arsenic from mine tailings

Abstract In addition to affecting biogeochemical transformations, the speciation of As also influences its transport from tailings at inoperative mines. The speciation of As in tailings from the Sulfur Bank Mercury Mine site in Clear Lake, California (USA) (a hot-spring Hg deposit) and particles mobilized from these tailings have been examined during laboratory-column experiments. Solutions containing two common, plant-derived organic acids (oxalic and citric acid) were pumped at 13 pore volumes d−1 through 25 by 500 mm columns of calcined Hg ore, analogous to the pedogenesis of tailings. Chemical analysis of column effluent indicated that all of the As mobilized was particulate (1.5 mg, or 6% of the total As in the column through 255 pore volumes of leaching). Arsenic speciation was evaluated using X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), indicating the dominance of arsenate [As(V)] sorbed to poorly crystalline Fe(III)-(hydr)oxides and coprecipitated with jarosite [KFe3(SO4, AsO4)2(OH)6] with no detectable primary or secondary minerals in the tailings and mobilized particles. Sequential chemical extractions (SCE) of
Large-time continuum asymptotics of dark solitons

The Riemann-Hilbert (RH) factorization approach for Lax-pair isospectral deformations is used to derive, in the soliton-less sector, the leading-order asymptotics as t→±∞ (such that x/t~(1)) of solutions to the Cauchy problem for the defocusing nonlinear Schrodinger equation, i∂tu + ∂x2u-2(|u|2-1)u = 0, with finite-density initial data u(x,0) = x→±∞ei?∞±(1 + o(1)), where ?∞+ = 0 and ?∞-: = ?[0,2p). A limiting case of these asymptotics related to the RH problem for the Painleve II equation or one of its special reductions is also identified.
A linguistic model of art history

Abstract Chomky's theory of generative grammar largely guides modern linguistics. The theory, of course, posits that the principles of language are not learned, but are part of our bio-endowment. Prior to the emergence of generative grammar in the 1950s, however, linguistics focused primarily upon structural description of already produced linguistic output. The goal, in a very general sense, was to categorize and taxonomically order the structural patterns of the world's languages. The systematic study of art today, as represented by the discipline of Art History, has almost identical methods and goals as those of historical linguistics—sorting and taxonomically ordering the extant output of world artistic behavior in terms of structural similarities and differences or styles of art. The question I want to pose here is this: Is the shift from inductive categorizing of the external structure of linguistic output to the deductive modeling of the mind's competence to produce such output also applicable to the study of art? The answer I think is yes, and hinges in part on the similarity of art and language. While art and language probably don't operate under the same set of principles, there may be enough similarity between the two that the analogy is worth pursuing as a preliminary approximation of how the mind creates art. Toward that end, this paper re-conceptualizes the notion of artistic style, exploring the potential for a ‘generative art grammar’.
The effect of hydrogen bonding on the physical and mechanical properties of rigid-rod polymers

The idea of competing effects between intramolecular and intermolecular hydrogen bonding was investigated. Results indicate that the formation of one type of hydrogen bond does not preclude the formation of the other. The strength of the intermolecular association was measured by abinitio calculations for several polymer systems, including methyl pendant poly(p-phenylene benzobisimidazole) and poly-{2,6-diimidazo[4,5-b:4′5′-e]pyridinylene-1,4(2,5-dihydroxy)phenylene} (PIPD). Fibers with strong intermolecular association have high compressive strength and torsional modulus. The influence of intermolecular hydrogen bonding on torsional modulus is discussed in light of the transverse texture present in poly(p-phenylene terephthalamide) and some other high-performance fibers. Enhanced intermolecular interaction not only influences the aforementioned properties but also results in higher fiber density. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 38: 3053–3061, 2000
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation of the superior frontal gyrus modulates craving for cigarettes.

Background Previous functional magnetic resonance imaging studies have shown strong correlations between cue-elicited craving for cigarettes and activation of the superior frontal gyrus (SFG). Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) offers a noninvasive means to reversibly affect brain cortical activity, which can be applied to testing hypotheses about the causal role of SFG in modulating craving. Methods Fifteen volunteer smokers were recruited to investigate the effects of rTMS on subjective responses to smoking versus neutral cues and to controlled presentations of cigarette smoke. On different days, participants were exposed to three conditions: 1) high-frequency (10 Hz) rTMS directed at the SFG; 2) low-frequency (1 Hz) rTMS directed at the SFG; and 3) low-frequency (1 Hz) rTMS directed at the motor cortex (control condition). Results Craving ratings in response to smoking versus neutral cues were differentially affected by the 10-Hz versus 1-Hz SFG condition. Craving after smoking cue presentations was elevated in the 10-Hz SFG condition, whereas craving after neutral cue presentations was reduced. Upon smoking in the 10-Hz SFG condition, ratings of immediate craving reduction as well as the intensity of interoceptive airway sensations were also attenuated. Conclusions These results support the view that the SFG plays a role in modulating craving reactivity; moreover, the results suggest that the SFG plays a role in both excitatory and inhibitory influences on craving, consistent with prior research demonstrating the role of the prefrontal cortex in the elicitation as well as inhibition of drug-seeking behaviors.
The Effect of Small but Sustained Elevations in Circulating Growth Hormone on Fuel Metabolism in Growth Hormone Deficiency

Summary: Although growth hormone (GH) concentrations are not always pathologically elevated in patients with acromegaly, it has been suggested that the metabolic and somatic consequences of this condition may be due to a loss of the normal episodic secretion of GH. To examine the effects of maintaining modest but constant levels of circulating GH, we administered continuous subcutaneous infusions of growth hormone (CSIGH) to eight previously untreated GH-deficient children (6-19 yr). CSIGH given for 90 h in doses equivalent to the standard dose for replacement therapy, raised mean serum GH levels from less than 3.0 to 5.9 ± 1 .0 ng/ml. In comparison, 24-h mean GH levels in five normal adolescents averaged 10.1 ± 1.5 ng/ml. As expected, however, normals showed much more variability in GH concentration. The constant elevations in serum GH levels achieved with CSIGH produced significant impairment of oral glucose tolerance. During CSIGH, plasma glucose concentrations 60-120 min after oral glucose loading were 30-40 mg/dl higher than corresponding pre-infusion values (P < 0.01). This impairment of oral glucose tolerance during CSIGH occurred despite a doubling of the area under the insulin/time curve after oral glucose (P < 0.02 versus pre-infusion area). Indeed, plasma insulin levels after oral glucose in patients on CSIGH exceeded those observed in normal controls, suggesting that CSIGH,had induced a degree of insulin resistance. There was a transient increase in plasma free fatty acid levels on the first day of CSIGH. Somatomedin-C concentration remained unchanged in four of six patients. We conclude that small but sustained increases in growth hormone concentrations in GH deficiency can, when infused continuously, have effects on fuel metabolism similar to those observed during pathologic GH hypersecretion.
Crew station for ground combat vehicles

Force XXI is the vision to synthesize the technology, doctrine, and organization of the U.S. Army so that it can fight and win the wars of the 21st Century. Digitization--taking advantage of the microprocessor revolution--is a key enabler of the Force XXI plan. In the Crewman's Associate Advanced Technology Demonstration, crew stations for ground combat vehicles are being developed that allow the soldier to use digitization to maximum weapon system performance.© (1996) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
On the design of hybrid routing mechanism for mesh-based network-on-chip

Efficient on-chip communication is necessary for exploiting enormous computing power available on a many-core chip. Routing algorithms play a major role for the communication quality and performance of the on-chip interconnection networks. This paper proposes TagNoC, as an on-chip network router architecture with novel hybrid routing approach which reduces latency and power consumption at a fixed cost based on information redundancy. TagNoC is a hybrid routing approach which combines the source and distributed routing methods together. While eliminating packet routing in each router, TagNoC determines the forwarding output port in parallel with input buffering. For a marginal cost increase in header size, as compared to distributed routing techniques, routing latency can be hidden while eliminating power consuming portion of the routing, increasing router throughput and decreasing latency. The proposed TagNoC router is compared to baseline router with distributed routing implementation on a 16-node CMP mesh. Physical implementation of all routers is modeled using synthesized RTL, detailed area analysis, and accurate channel models. Performance evaluation is also carried out utilizing RTL simulation and detailed power analysis on both synthetic and application traffic is performed using post-synthesis gate-level simulation. The simulation results illustrate that TagNoC outperforms as compared to baseline distributed architecture and other source routing methods in terms of power, latency, and throughput.
Optimization Techniques for System Reliability with RedundancyߞA Review

This paper is a state-of-art review of the literature related to optimal system reliability with redundancy. The literature is classified as follows. Optimal system reliability models with redundancy Series Parallel Series-parallel Parallel-series Standby Complex (nonseries, nonparallel) Optimization techniques for obtaining optimal system configuration Integer programming Dynamic programming Maximum principle Linear programming Geometric programming Sequential unconstrained minimization technique (SUMT) Modified sequential simplex pattern search Lagrange multipliers and Kuhn-Tucker conditions Generalized Lagrangian function Generalized reduced gradient (GRG) Heuristic approaches Parametric approaches Pseudo-Boolean programming Miscellaneous
Coronary heart disease. III. Chronic arrhythmias as influenced by the Beck operation.

M ORE TIXAN 350 patients with coronary heart disease were operated on by Dr. Claude S. Beck in Cleveland in the six years covered by this study. The diagnosis of coronary heart disease had been established prior to operation on the basis of existing criteria.‘s2 (Another 200 patients referred for operation were rejected because the diagnosis could not he established, or because other organic disease simulating coronary heart disease was found.) Of profound importance is a unique experience not heretofore available, in patients with coronary heart disease, for direct observations on such hearts. These observations included direct electrocardiographic recording from various epicardial, intramyocardial, and endocardial areas, and extensive hemodynamic studies, including measurements of coronary blood flow and myocardial utilization of oxygen and various substrates. Thus, we have availed ourselves of a remarkable opportunity for a direct correlation of clinical, experimental, surgical, and pathologic observations. Its very nature is such that clinical observation is the sine qun non in evaluating the treatment of coronary heart disease. But this disease continues to defy ‘Lobjective” evaluation. Consequently, its treatment has suffered from a great reluctance to make the necessary correlations between clinical and experimental observations. The historical development of present-daycomprehension of coronary heart disease is characterized by a disposition to marvel at, and then reject, reproducible and significant clinical observations, rather than to suffer the inconvenience of adapting “well-established” concepts to apparently mutually exclusive observations. As a matter of fact, there exists a general resistance toward positive action under any circumstances. The natural reluctance of the physician to transfer laboratoryresults to the patient has reached its greatest peak of development in the field of coronary heart disease. Obvious clinical benefit associated with procedures which have adequate laboratory substantiation should not be categorically rejected merely because human coronary heart disease cannot be reproduced exactly in the laboratory, or because its unpredictability defies simple statistical evaluation. Indeed, if need be, it is possible to achieve “progress without statistics.“R Even nova, during the observation of the tcrcentenary of William Harvey’s death, many of the significant contributions made since his time are still engulfed in controversy. Furthcrmorc, unless there is adequate reappraisal of certain outmoded concepts, such controversy will always be encouraged by seemingly paradoxical but impressive clinical benefits associated with such dissimilar agents as nitroglycerin and surgical operation for coronary heart discasc. Kcither of these presumes to produce tremendous alterations in total coronary inflow, but their admittedly limited contributions are critically decisive in the precariously compensated circulation of a potentially ischemic area.
The human serum albumin gene: structure of a unique locus.

Abstract The entire gene for human serum albumin (HSA) has been isolated from a genomic DNA library, carried in the λ Charon 4A vector. Six independent isolates have been found to hybridize to a cloned HSA cDNA probe, and all six clones share restriction site sequence homology in the overlapping portion of their DNA. These results seem to indicate that the albumin gene is single-copy, or unique, within the human haploid genome. Measuring from the “CAP” site to the “poly(A)” addition site, the albumin gene comprises 16.5 kb of DNA.
Music for Spellbound (1945): A Contested Collaboration

Production files detailing the construction of the musical score for the film Spellbound reveal an intense and complicated collaboration involving music editor Audray Granville, director Alfred Hitchcock, composer Miklos Rozsa, and producer David O. Selznick. Tracing the formation of the score from initial outlines through composition and editing shows how these four individuals contributed to the score’s development. Conflicting instructions from Hitchcock and Selznick as well as Granville’s preview score influenced Rozsa’s compositional decisions, and Granville’s revisions of Rozsa’s recorded music affected the content of the score. The music of Spellbound does not represent a single or even shared vision, but rather an intricate conglomeration of ideas, revisions, and interpolations. Illuminating these layers of discourse enriches musico-cinematic analysis by challenging conventional notions of authorship and artistic control in the Hollywood film score.
Toward a course conversion model for distance learning: a review of best practices

Purpose – The current literature examining the design of effective online learning opportunities recommends an array of best practices but no agreed upon and unifying model. The purpose of this paper is to survey the existing research of effective design models for online learning in an attempt to identify best practices and present a new model.Design/methodology/approach – Through a comprehensive review of the literature, the paper identifies obstacles to developing an effective course design model for asynchronous distance education. Based upon this review, best practices are identified and a design model is recommended.Findings – The research identifies the key components of successful course design methods and ultimately recommends a process that has eight steps which occur in three phases. The first phase, the identification phase, encourages the instructor and/or course design team to identify strategies, objectives, assessments and resources. In the second phase, design, instructors select, organiz...
Increased Immunogenicity of a DNA-Launched Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus-Based Replicon DNA Vaccine

A novel genetic vaccine that is based on a Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEE) replicon launched from plasmid DNA is described. The plasmid encodes a VEE replicon under the transcriptional control of the cytomegalovirus immediate-early promoter (VEE DNA). The VEE DNA consistently expressed 3- to 15-fold more green fluorescent protein in vitro than did a conventional DNA vaccine. Furthermore, transfection with the DNA-launched VEE replicon induced apoptosis and type I interferon production. Inoculation of mice with VEE DNA encoding human immunodeficiency virus type 1 gp160 significantly increased humoral responses by several orders of magnitude compared to an equal dose of a conventional DNA vaccine. These increases were also observed at 10- and 100-fold-lower doses of the VEE DNA. Cellular immune responses measured by gamma interferon and interleukin 2 enzyme-linked immunospot assay were significantly higher in mice immunized with the VEE DNA at decreased doses. The immune responses induced by the VEE DNA-encoded antigen, however, were independent of an intact type I interferon signaling pathway. Moreover, the DNA-launched VEE replicon induced an efficient prime to a VEE replicon particle (VRP) boost, increasing humoral and cellular immunity by at least 1 order of magnitude compared to VEE DNA only. Importantly, immunization with VEE DNA, as opposed to VRP, did not induce any anti-VRP neutralizing antibodies. Increased potency of DNA vaccines and reduced vector immunity may ultimately have an impact on the design of vaccination strategies in humans.
Bright and dark ocean whitecaps observed in the infrared

[1] Airborne infrared imagery of breaking ocean waves shows that whitecaps on actively breaking wave crests appear relatively bright while residual whitecaps appear dark compared to the ambient water surface. These differences in relative brightness, which appear to arise from changes in both emissivity and physical temperature, provide a means to investigate the evolution of a breaking wave and may be of some relevance to infrared and microwave remote sensing.
Near-surface seismic reflection profiling of the Matanuska Glacier, Alaska

Several common‐midpoint seismic reflection profiles collected on the Matanuska Glacier, Alaska, clearly demonstrate the feasibility of collecting high‐quality, high‐resolution near‐surface reflection data on a temperate glacier. The results indicate that high‐resolution seismic reflection can be used to accurately determine the thickness and horizontal distribution of debris‐rich ice at the base of the glacier. The basal ice thickens about 30% over a 300‐m distance as the glacier flows out of an overdeepening. The reflection events ranged from 80‐ to 140‐m depth along the longitudinal axis of the glacier. The dominant reflection is from the contact between clean, englacial ice and the underlying debris‐rich basal ice, but a strong characteristic reflection is also observed from the base of the debris‐rich ice (bottom of the glacier). The P‐wave propagation velocity at the surface and throughout the englacial ice is 3600 m/s, and the frequency content of the reflections is in excess of 800 Hz. Supporting d...