cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Postgraze assessment of toxicosis symptoms for steers grazed on toxic endophyte-infected tall fescue pasture.

A 2-yr pen experiment was conducted using 12 different crossbred Angus steers each year to determine if short-term changes in prolactin concentrations, body temperature, and vasoconstriction reflect recovery from fescue toxicosis after steers that previously grazed toxic endophyte (Neotyphodium coenophialum)-infected Kentucky 31 tall fescue [Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) Darbysh] are placed on nontoxic feed. Groups of 6 steers from toxic endophyte-infected and endophyte-free tall fescue grazing treatments were blocked by BW for assignment to pens as a randomized complete block design with 2 replications. Two environments were implemented by initiating the experiment on 18 August in yr 1 and on 8 September in yr 2 for durations of 30 and 21 d, respectively. Rectal temperatures were recorded, jugular blood was collected for assaying serum prolactin, and cross sections of the caudal artery were ultrasonically imaged at selected time points to evaluate temporal changes in the response variables. Rectal temperatures in steers on the toxic endophyte pasture treatment declined (P 0.10) to those on endophyte-free treatment on d 30 in yr 1 and by d 15 in yr 2. Prolactin concentrations in steers on the toxic endophyte pasture treatment showed curvilinear increases (P 0.10) to steers on the endophyte-free treatment by d 15 in yr 1 and by d 10 in yr 2. Luminal areas of the caudal artery in toxic endophyte steers were less (P < 0.05) than those in endophyte-free steers across all dates in both years. Results indicated that rectal temperatures in steers after they are removed from toxic fescue may decrease over time, but temporal changes in rectal temperatures could be affected more by prevailing ambient temperatures than by actual mitigation of fescue toxicosis. Prolactin concentrations in steers after they are removed from toxic endophyte tall fescue can increase and stabilize in less than 2 wk, but alkaloid-induced vasoconstriction that causes a vulnerability to severe heat stress is not alleviated within 30 d.
LXVIII.—Some Bees of the Genus Melissodes from the Rocky Mountain Region

(1905). LXVIII.—Some Bees of the Genus Melissodes from the Rocky Mountain Region. Annals and Magazine of Natural History: Vol. 15, No. 90, pp. 521-529.
Bipolar disorder-relevant abstracts of posters from the 2008 CINP congress

The author has reviewed bipolar disorder-relevant abstracts from the July 2008 Munich CINP (Collegium Internationale Neuro-Psychopharmacologicum) meeting. Seven abstracts are summarized, focusing on the psychopharmacologic treatment of bipolar depression, the neuropsychological effects of psychotropic drugs used to treat bipolar disorder, and the relationship of mood stabilizers and antidepressants to emotional instability over time.
Optimal maintenance scheduling of generators using multiple swarms-MDPSO framework

In this paper, a challenging power system problem of effectively scheduling generating units for maintenance is presented and solved. The problem of generator maintenance scheduling (GMS) is solved in order to generate optimal preventive maintenance schedules of generators that guarantee improved economic benefits and reliable operation of a power system, subject to satisfying system load demand, allowable maintenance window, and crew and resource constraints. A multiple swarm concept is introduced for the modified discrete particle swarm optimization (MDPSO) algorithm to form a robust algorithm for solving the GMS problem. This algorithm is referred to by the authors as multiple swarms-modified particle swarm optimization (MS-MDPSO). The performance and effectiveness of the MS-MDPSO algorithm in solving the GMS problem is illustrated and compared with the MDPSO algorithm on two power systems, the 21-unit test system and 49-unit Nigerian hydrothermal power system. The GMS of the two power systems are considered and the results presented shows great potential for utility application in their area control centers for effective energy management, short and long term generation scheduling, system planning and operation.
Protein crystal growth rates determined by time lapse microphotography

Abstract Time lapse video microscopy has been used to make qualitative observations of the events that transpire during normal and abnormal protein crystal growth. It has also been used to make quantitative assessments of growth rates for a variety of different protein crystals. From analyses of the growth rates, we have estimated that in the most rapidly growing crystals we have recorded, as many as 20 layers of protein molecules add to a single crystal face per second. In the slowest cases of growth, such as virus crystals, a minute or more may be required for addition of a single layer. In almost all cases, growth was linear over nearly the entire period of growth before leveling near growth termination. We present here a small but typical sample of the results obtained using the time lapse video microscopy technique.
Metabolism of 3-hydroxytyramine (dopamine) in human subjects.

Abstract Six male subjects were infused with 104·6 μc 3-hydroxytyramine-2-C 14 (dopamine). The hydroxytyramine was dissolved in 1000 ml physiological saline and infused at a constant rate for 4 hr. Urine was collected at the end of the infusion period and at 2-hr intervals for the first 4 hr post infusion, and then at 8 hr, 24 hr and daily for the next 4 days. The urinary hydroxytyramine and its direct metabolites as well as its products, i.e. noradrenaline and its metabolites, were separated by column fractionation and identified. A new method, herein described, was used which simultaneously monitored the optical density and measured the radioactivity of each compound as it was eluted from the column. During the infusion, 38·9 per cent of the infused dose was recovered in urine as hydroxytyramine, noradrenaline, adrenaline (trace amounts) and their respective metabolites; recovery of hydroxytyramine accounted for 9·1 per cent while 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid accounted for 53·1 per cent of the radioactivity recovered during the infusion period; noradrenaline represented 4·7 per cent during the same period. The total amount of radioactivity recovered after 5 days was 97·2 ± 3·5 per cent. Approximately 75 per cent of the infused hydroxytyramine 2-C 14 was directly metabolized into hydroxytyramine-related metabolic products. They are 3-methoxytyramine, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid; 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylethanol, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethanol and their respective conjugates, as well as the conjugates of hydroxytyramine and several unknowns. Of these, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid is by far the largest, since it represents 18·6 per cent of the infused dose recovered during the infusion period. The remaining 25 per cent of the infused hydroxytyramine was synthesized into noradrenaline and appeared in the urine as noradrenaline or metabolic products of noradrenaline, principally the latter. These experiments avoid many of the pitfalls and errors imposed by infusing exogenous labeled noradrenaline where one measures the metabolic products of circulating exogenous noradrenaline rather than the natural occurring noradrenaline. Furthermore, they provide more accurate and detailed information with regard to the rate of appearance and excretion of endogenous noradrenaline metabolites in the human.
Determination Of Wafer And Process Induced Resonant Frequency Variation In Silicon Microdisk-Resonators

By comparing the frequency deviations of the TE and TM modes of identically designed silicon microdisk-resonators across a wafer, we demonstrate that layer thickness non-uniformity is the dominant cause of fabrication-induced microdisk-resonator frequency deviation.
IDENTIFICATION OF DIMETHYL TRISULFIDE AS A MAJOR AROMA COMPONENT OF COOKED BRASSICACEOUS VEGETABLES

SUMMARY Aroma, retention time and infra-red spectra of volatile components from four vegetable varieties of Cruciferae Brassica oleracea were examined. Components were separated by gas-liquid chromatography and characterized by differential chromatograms from a dual-detector system. Dimethyl trisulfide was identified as a major aroma component in cooked Brassicaceous vegetables. A mechanism for dimethyl trisulfide formation from precursors known to be present in cabbage is proposed. No evidence was found to indicate that new sulfur compounds develop as cooking time increases. It is proposed that the strong unpleasant aroma which is characteristic of overcooked Brassicaceous vegetables is due to the gradual loss of pleasant volatile components and resultant “unmasking” of the unpleasant sulfur components.
On formal versus commonsense semantics

There is semantics and, on the other hand, there is seraan~ics. And then there is the theory of meaning or content. I shall speak of pure mathematical semantics and real semantics. I have very little idea what "formal" means in "formal semant ics"--unless it simply means semantics done rigorously and systematically. 1 I have even less idea what is meant by "commonsense semantics". I shall not speak much of the theory of meaning. The distinction between these two modes of semantics, the mathematical and the real, is not meant to be a hard and fast dist inct ion--nor, most assuredly, is it intended to be rigorous or systematic. As I see it, the distinction has primarily to do with purposes or goals, derivatively, with constraints on the tools or conceptual resources considered available to realize those goals. In particular, real semantics is simply pure mathemat ical semantics with certain goals in mind and thus operating under certain additional constraints. Ano the r way to put the point: some work in pure mathematical semantics is in fact a contribution to real semantics; however, it does not have to be such to make a genuine contribution to pure mathematical semantics. 2 Hence, since real semantics can be executed with the same degree of rigor and systematicity as must all of pure mathemat ical semantics, it should be. Have I made myself clear? Not entirely, perhaps. Let 's t ry a more systematic approach. Pure mathematical semantics is either a part of or an application of mathemat ical logic. Real semantics, even though an application of mathematical logic, is a part of the theory of meaning or content. Contributions to real semantics had better cast some light on natural ly occurring phenomena within the purview of a theory of meaning-on such properties and relations as t ruth analyticity, necessity, implication. Traditionally (indeed, until Montague, almost undeviatingly) the techniques of pure mathematical semantics were deployed for formal or artificial languages. But this by itself is of no importance. These languages were invented, and are of interest only because, or insofar as, they are plausible and il luminating models, in the intuitive sense, of real phenomena in thought and in informal language. Consequently, the nature of the languages studied need not make an essential difference. 3 What does make a difference is the purpose
Treating malaria in pregnant women: a pressing problem.

This article focuses on report findings from a non-inferiority trial that compared artemether-lumefantrine with oral quinine for the treatment of pregnant women with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Africa. In concludes that the findings show the standard adult dose of artemether-lumefantrine was highly efficacious and well tolerated in pregnant women in Uganda but wonders with the high percent of women with low drug concentrations seven days after dosing if an increase in dose should be considered in pregnant women.
The Invisible Link: Using State Space Representations to Investigate the Connection Between Variables and Their Referents

The ability to represent numerical quantities in symbolic form is a necessary foundation for mathematical competence. Variables are particularly important symbolic representations for learning algebra and succeeding in higher mathematics, but the mechanisms of how students link a variable to what it represents are not well understood. Research using cognitive neuroscience methods may be able to shed light on this process by building on related work involving number symbols. Utilizing state space representations, this article presents a first effort to consider what might constitute educationally relevant stimuli for future research on student understanding of the concept of variable. Might algebra problems elicit a symbolization process that can be captured using cognitive neuroscience methods? Results suggest it depends on the role of the variable in a given problem and the structure of that problem. Suggestions for potential research avenues are also discussed.
Basic Biological Sciences Saliva Secretion from the Rat Submandibular Gland after Retrograde Infusion of Radiographic Contrast Media

Rat submandibular saliva was collected at various times after retrograde infusion of water-soluble (Renografin 60%) or lipid-soluble (Lipiodol UF) radiographic contrast medium. Significant alterations in flow rate occurred following heavy parenchymal filling with both types of contrast media. Occasional changes in protein concentration, lactoperoxidase activity, and K+ levels were also noted. These changes were relatively mild and transient, and gland function had generally returned to normal by one wk after infusion. No alterations in glandular function were detected after infusion of contrast medium to a degree (ductal filling) comparable to that usually employed in clinical sialography.
INTERACTION BETWEEN THE PHOSPHODIESTERASE 5 INHIBITOR, TADALAFIL AND 2 α-BLOCKERS, DOXAZOSIN AND TAMSULOSIN IN HEALTHY NORMOTENSIVE MEN

ABSTRACT Purpose: Tadalafil, a phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor, is effective therapy for erectile dysfunction (ED). Men with ED have a high incidence of comorbid conditions including cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus and benign prostatic hyperplasia. Although phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors are safe when administered with most medications, sildenafil given with doxazosin and vardenafil given with terazosin evoke orthostatic hypotension in some patients. We examined the hemodynamic interactions of tadalafil with the α-blockers doxazosin and tamsulosin. Materials and Methods: In separate double-blind, placebo controlled, randomized crossover studies (18 patients in each study) we evaluated the hemodynamic effects of doxazosin 8 mg with tadalafil 20 mg, and tamsulosin 0.4 mg with tadalafil 10 and 20 mg. Blood pressure (BP) and heart rate were recorded before dosing and for 24 hours after dosing. Results: Tadalafil 20 mg augmented the hypotensive effect of doxazosin by producing a mean maximal decrease in standing systolic BP (SBP) that was significantly greater than placebo (a mean difference of 9.8 mm Hg). Analysis of BP outliers showed that the number of subjects with a standing SBP of less than 85 mm Hg was greater after doxazosin plus tadalafil (28%) versus doxazosin plus placebo (6%). In subjects on tamsulosin, tadalafil 10 and 20 mg produced mean maximal decreases in standing SBP that were similar to placebo (mean difference of 1.7 and 2.3 mm Hg, respectively). No subject taking tamsulosin had a decrease in standing SBP less than 85 mm Hg. Conclusions: Tadalafil augmented the hypotensive effects of doxazosin but had little hemodynamic interaction with tamsulosin. In patients taking tadalafil for ED, tamsulosin 0.4 mg may be given for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia.
Formation of an icosahedral phase by solid-state reaction.

Icosahedral quasicrystals of Al-Cu-Li are formed by solid-state reaction at the grain boundaries of host alloy. Convergent-beam electron-diffraction measurements confirm that the symmetries of the quasicrystals belong to the $m\overline{3}\overline{5}$ point group. The icosahedral grains are formed by a nucleation and growth process and are strongly oriented at the grain-matrix interface. The stability of the icosahedral phase is compared with that of metallic glasses produced by a similar technique.
Hormonal control of hyaluronic acid production in fibroblasts and its relation to nucleic acid and protein synthesis.

Whole serum and elevated pH previously had been found to stimulate both cell multiplication and hyaluronic acid production by chick embryo fibroblasts in culture. In a study to determine whether cell multiplication and hyaluronic acid production both respond to a single well-defined substance, insulin was found to stimulate, and cortisol to inhibit both processes coordinately. It appears, therefore, that multiplication and differentiated function in fibroblasts respond to a common underlying regulatory signal. Inhibition of ribosomal RNA synthesis by actinomycin D does not prevent serum stimulation of hyaluronic acid production, but inhibition of total RNA synthesis does. If total RNA synthesis is inhibited only after the hyaluronic acid production has reached a new high level, it continues at that level for the next five hours. The stimulatory treatment causes an increase in the activity of the enzyme hyaluronate synthetase. Inhibition of protein synthesis prevents any increase in hyaluronic acid production, and reduces the basal level of production. Reduction of the availability of Mg2+ in the medium coordinately inhibits DNA synthesis and hyaluronic acid production. The results are discussed in the light of a model for coordinate control of growth and metabolism based on the availability of Mg2+.
Mushroom bodies of vespid wasps.

Mushroom bodies are higher centers in the brains of insects. Studies on honey bees and species of ants suggest that these centers are particularly prominent in social insects. The present study confirms the presence of large mushroom bodies in five subfamilies of vespid wasps, while at the same time showing significant departures from the mushroom body organization that typifies bees and ants. Although the basic organizational plan of the insect mushroom body into calyces, peduncle, and lobes is maintained, as is the arrangement of axons of intrinsic neurons, the size and arrangements of the vespid mushroom body lobes differ markedly from those known from other Hymenoptera. Furthermore, considerable variation is found both between and within vespid subfamilies. The present results are discussed with respect to current hypotheses about functional attributes of mushroom bodies and the phylogeny of the Vespidae. J. Comp. Neurol. 416:93–100, 2000. © 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Depletion layer effects in the open-circuit- voltage-decay lifetime measurement

Abstract There is a renewal of interest in open circuit voltage decay as a technique for determining the base region minority carrier lifetime in semiconductor diodes. Although the existing theory of open circuit voltage decay provides a substantial foundation for interpreting the experimental data, major features of the decay curves of real silicon diodes cannot be satisfactorily explained unless depletion layer effects are taken into account. Theoretical decay curves are calculated to show the effects of depletion layer capacitance and recombination current on the otherwise ideal open circuit voltage decay. From these and from experimental decay curves, it is shown that each of these depletion layer effects is significant only below a threshold junction voltage that depends upon material parameters of the device.
Genetic Improvement ofHelicoverpa zeaNuclear Polyhedrosis Virus as a Biopesticide

Abstract Helicoverpa zea nuclear polyhedrosis virus, which was previously registered and commercially produced as a pesticide (Elcar), was genetically improved to control the cotton bollworm, H. zea. A significant reduction in the time required for this virus to kill H. zea larvae was achieved by inserting a mite gene encoding a potent insect-selective neurotoxin gene, tox34, into the viral gene encoding ecdysteroid UDP-glucosyltransferase. Under the control of an early viral promoter, expression of tox34 during infection resulted in 50% mortality or paralysis within 40 h after virus treatment. The ability to genetically improve the properties of this virus as a pesticide provides the opportunity to develop a commercially viable product to control this pest species.
Higgs bosons in supersymmetric models, 1

We describe the properties of Higgs bosons in a class of supersymmetric theories. We consider models in which the low-energy sector contains two weak complex doublets and perhaps one complex gauge-singlet Higgs field. Supersymmetry is assumed to be either softly or spontaneously broken, thereby imposing a number of restrictions on the Higgs boson parameters. We elucidate the Higgs boson masses and present Feynman rules for their couplings to the gauge bosons, fermions and scalars of the theory. We also present Feynman rules for vertices which are related by supersymmetry to the above couplings. Exact analytic expressions are given in two useful limits — one corresponding to the absence of the gauge-singlet Higgs field and the other corresponding to the absence of a supersymmetric Higgs mass term.
Hot wire radicals and reactions

Abstract Threshold ionization mass spectroscopy is used to measure radical (and stable gas) densities at the substrate of a tungsten hot wire (HW) reactor. We report measurements of the silane reaction probability on the HW and the probability of Si and H release from the HW. We describe a model for the atomic H release, based on the H 2 dissociation model. We note major variations in silicon-release, with dependence on prior silane exposure. Measured radical densities versus silane pressure yield silicon-silane and H-silane reaction rate coefficients, and the dominant radical fluxes to the substrate.
Output feedback control of distributed parameter systems using adaptive proper orthogonal decomposition

We address the problem of tracking and stabilization of dissipative distributed parameter systems, by designing static output feedback controllers using adaptive proper orthogonal decomposition methodology (APOD). Initially, an ensemble of eigenfunctions is constructed based on a relatively small data ensemble which is then recursively updated as additional process data becomes available periodically. The proposed APOD methodology relaxes the need for a representative ensemble of snapshots (in the sense that it contains the global dynamics of the process). An accurate reduced-order model (ROM) is constructed and periodically refined based on these updated eigenfunctions. Using the ROM and continuous measurements available from the restricted number of sensors, a static output feedback controller is subsequently designed. This controller is successfully used to achieve the desired control objective of stabilization and tracking in the Kuramoto—Sivashinksy and FitzHugh-Nagumo equations.
ISOLATION OF NUCLEI FROM THE UNICELLULAR ALGA OLISTHODISCUS LUTEUS (CHLOROMONADOPHYCEAE)1

Methods are described for the isolation of nuclei from the marine chloromonad Olisthodiscus luteus. For each of the three alternative methods, the ratios to DNA of RNA, acid-soluble and acid-insoluble protein are 0. 17, 1.1 and 2.0, respectively. The nuclear preparations are free of whole cell and organelle contamination, although some membranes are present. The yield is 65–80% based on the recovery of DNA in the nuclear pellet. The nuclei are in DNA-dependent RNA synthesis.
Excision and the original low dip of the Miocene-Pliocene Bannock detachment system, SE Idaho: Northern cousin of the Sevier Desert detachment?

Geologic mapping and structural analysis in the Bannock Range, SE Idaho, indicate that the bulk of Cenozoic extension in southeast Idaho was accommodated by slip on the low-angle Bannock detachment system. The Bannock detachment system consists of low-angle normal faults with a likely N–S extent of >130 km. It was active from ca. 10.3 Ma to ca. 3–4 Ma and accommodated >15 km of top-to-the-WSW extension. The master low-angle detachment fault cuts steeper, older normal faults and extensional folds in its hanging wall. Crosscutting relationships and prior work show that the hanging wall to the detachment system began as a cohesive block that later broke up along normal faults that either sole into or are cut by the master detachment fault. After breakup began, the master detachment fault was folded isostatically by a NNW-trending extensional anticline, the Oxford Ridge anticline. The folding produced a new listric low-angle normal fault east of the Oxford Ridge anticline to replace the back-tilted portion of the detachment fault. This new low-angle normal fault excised part of the hanging wall, cut hanging-wall structures, and served as a secondary breakaway for the detachment. West of the Oxford Ridge anticline, the master detachment fault initiated and slipped at a low angle, is the youngest low-angle normal fault of the system, and has not been rotated to a low-dip angle through time. The exhumed Bannock detachment system, although somewhat smaller, shorter lived, and more disrupted by younger Basin and Range normal faults, is similar to the buried Sevier Desert detachment system beneath central Utah. Both top-to-the-west systems formed near the transition between the Sevier thrust belt and its hinterland, collapsed broad thrust-related culminations eroded to Cambrian rocks, are paired with partly coeval top-to-east metamorphic core complexes ∼100–160 km to the west, lie east of major thrust ramps, formed and slipped at low angles in the most extended part of the system, and exhibit a translation and breakup phase of deformation. Both are late Cenozoic in age and have voluminous lacustrine synrift deposits that record saline and alkaline conditions during early extension. Similar processes likely produced both detachment systems.
Human Cytomegalovirus Stimulates Monocyte-to-Macrophage Differentiation via the Temporal Regulation of Caspase 3

Monocytes are primary targets for human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection and are proposed to be responsible for hematogenous dissemination of the virus. Biologically, monocytes have a short life span of 48 h in the circulation, a period of time during which monocytes must make a cell fate decision on whether to undergo apoptosis or differentiate into a macrophage. We have previously shown that HCMV infection stimulates monocyte-to-macrophage differentiation; however, the mechanism(s) by which HCMV-infected monocytes simultaneously navigate the 48-h “viability gate” and undergo macrophagic differentiation has remained elusive. Studies have demonstrated that the level of caspase 3 and 8 activities in monocytes may mediate the delicate balance between apoptosis and macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF)-induced myeloid differentiation. Here, we show that HCMV infection, unlike M-CSF treatment, does not induce caspase 8 activity to promote myeloid differentiation. However, HCMV infection does induce a temporal activation of caspase 3, with only a low level of active caspase 3 being observed after the 48-h viability checkpoint. Consistent with the role of a time-dependent activation of caspase 3 in promoting myeloid differentiation, the inhibition of caspase 3 blocked HCMV-induced monocyte-to-macrophage differentiation. Temporal transcriptome and functional analyses identified heat shock protein 27 (HSP27) and Mcl-1, two known regulators of caspase 3 activation, as being upregulated prior to the 48-h viability gate following HCMV infection. Using small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), we demonstrate that HCMV targets the rapid induction of HSP27 and Mcl-1, which cooperatively function to precisely control caspase 3 activity in order to allow for HCMV-infected monocytes to successfully traverse the 48-h cell fate decision checkpoint and commence macrophage maturation. Overall, this study highlights a unique regulatory mechanism employed by HCMV to tightly modulate the caspase 3 activity needed to promote myeloid differentiation, a key process in the viral dissemination and persistence strategy.
Evolution of the cluster size distribution during slow colloid aggregation

Abstract We have made in situ dynamic light-scattering measurements to observe the real-time evolution to scaling of the light-scattering moments of a gold colloid cluster size distribution during aggregation in a slow aggregation regime. Quasi-monodisperse sols with significantly different aggregation rates evolved quickly to the same polydispersity in approximately equivalent reduced time units. This behavior and the experimental values of the asymptotic polydispersity agreed with numerical solutions to the coagulation equation and theoretical forms for the large-size part of the distribution. Numerical solutions showed, however, that the small-size part of the distribution does not reach its asymptotic scaling form in the time scales of our experiments.
Miralax With Gatorade for Bowel Preparation: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Miralax With Gatorade for Bowel Preparation: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Thermal diffusivity, thermal conductivity, and specific heat capacity measurements of molten tellurium

Abstract Temperature transient curves of molten tellurium have been measured by a laser flash method in the temperature range from 773 to 1173 K. The thermal diffusivity was calculated from the temperature transient caused by the laser pulse. Numerical fittings of the data were used to obtain both the thermal conductivity and specific heat as functions of temperature. The temperature-dependent specific heat results agree well with the previous published data. The thermal diffusivity and conductivity indicate a structure change in the liquid phase.
A model for the effect of grain size on the yield stress of metals

Abstract It is proposed that the grain-size dependence of the yield stress of metals is due to the elastic incompatibility stresses at the grain boundaries. For clarity, the process of yielding is divided into three stages. In the first stage (prior to microyielding), the differences in elastic properties arising from the elastic anisotropy of adjacent grains establish localized stress concentrations at the grain boundaries. In the second stage, the stress concentrations at the grain boundaries result in localized plastic flow; this is the microyield region. The generation and motion of these 'geometrically necessary' dislocations attenuates the stress concentrations; a work-hardened grain-boundary layer is formed. As the stress is increased, the polycrystalline metal acts as a composite material consisting of a continuous network of a work-hardened grain-boundary material and discontinuous bulk material. The bulk is prevented from flowing plastically because the continuous network of work-hardened grain-...
On Estimating the Asymptotic Variance of a Function of U Statistics

Abstract The asymptotic variance of a function of several U statistics was given by Hoeffding (1948). Another approach, shown to give identical results, is the infinitesimal jackknife technique (Jaeckel 1972). In this article I illustrate the different types of calculations involved in the two methods via two examples. I show that although the infinitesimal jackknife is not often used in practice, the tools can be used to help obtain the variance of a function of several U statistics. This approach illustrates another application of influence functions.
Effect of ritonavir-induced cytochrome P450 3A4 inhibition on plasma fentanyl concentrations during patient-controlled epidural labor analgesia: a pharmacokinetic simulation.

Abstract Background Ritonavir inhibition of cytochrome P450 3A4 decreases the elimination clearance of fentanyl by 67%. We used a pharmacokinetic model developed from published data to simulate the effect of sample patient-controlled epidural labor analgesic regimens on plasma fentanyl concentrations in the absence and presence of ritonavir-induced cytochrome P450 3A4 inhibition. Methods Fentanyl absorption from the epidural space was modeled using tanks-in-series delay elements. Systemic fentanyl disposition was described using a three-compartment pharmacokinetic model. Parameters for epidural drug absorption were estimated by fitting the model to reported plasma fentanyl concentrations measured after epidural administration. The validity of the model was assessed by comparing predicted plasma concentrations after epidural administration to published data. The effect of ritonavir was modeled as a 67% decrease in fentanyl elimination clearance. Plasma fentanyl concentrations were simulated for six sample patient-controlled epidural labor analgesic regimens over 24h using ritonavir and control models. Simulated data were analyzed to determine if plasma fentanyl concentrations producing a 50% decrease in minute ventilation (6.1ng/mL) were achieved. Results Simulated plasma fentanyl concentrations in the ritonavir group were higher than those in the control group for all sample labor analgesic regimens. Maximum plasma fentanyl concentrations were 1.8ng/mL and 3.4ng/mL for the normal and ritonavir simulations, respectively, and did not reach concentrations associated with 50% decrease in minute ventilation. Conclusion Our model predicts that even with maximal clinical dosing regimens of epidural fentanyl over 24h, ritonavir-induced cytochrome P450 3A4 inhibition is unlikely to produce plasma fentanyl concentrations associated with a decrease in minute ventilation.
Expansion of Mie-theory phase functions in series of Legendre polynomials

The method of discrete ordinates in the theory of radiative transfer assumes that the scattering phase functions may be expressed as series of Legendre polynomials. Previous efforts to calculate the expansion coefficients of these series have been limited to the phase functions for Rayleigh scattering and the unpolarized Mie-scattering phase function. In this paper, a methodology for calculating the expansion coefficients of the polarized Mie phase functions is developed as a two-step process. The first step is to develop the computation of the expansion coefficients of the Mie angular amplitudes. These angular-amplitude expansion coefficients are then used in the second step to compute the expansion coefficients of the polarized Mie phase functions. Following this, an algorithm suitable for implementing this methodology on a digital computer is developed, and sample calculations are quoted.
Effects of Combined Phosphorylation at Ser-617 and Ser-1179 in Endothelial Nitric-oxide Synthase on EC50(Ca2+) Values for Calmodulin Binding and Enzyme Activation

We have investigated the possible biochemical basis for enhancements in NO production in endothelial cells that have been correlated with agonist- or shear stress-evoked phosphorylation at Ser-1179. We have found that a phosphomimetic substitution at Ser-1179 doubles maximal synthase activity, partially disinhibits cytochrome c reductase activity, and lowers the EC50(Ca2+) values for calmodulin binding and enzyme activation from the control values of 182 ± 2 and 422 ± 22 nm to 116 ± 2 and 300 ± 10 nm. These are similar to the effects of a phosphomimetic substitution at Ser-617 (Tran, Q. K., Leonard, J., Black, D. J., and Persechini, A. (2008) Biochemistry 47, 7557–7566). Although combining substitutions at Ser-617 and Ser-1179 has no additional effect on maximal synthase activity, cooperativity between the two substitutions completely disinhibits reductase activity and further reduces the EC50(Ca2+) values for calmodulin binding and enzyme activation to 77 ± 2 and 130 ± 5 nm. We have confirmed that specific Akt-catalyzed phosphorylation of Ser-617 and Ser-1179 and phosphomimetic substitutions at these positions have similar functional effects. Changes in the biochemical properties of eNOS produced by combined phosphorylation at Ser-617 and Ser-1179 are predicted to substantially increase synthase activity in cells at a typical basal free Ca2+ concentration of 50–100 nm.
Iron-Based Nanoparticles for Toxic Organic Degradation: Silica Platform and Green Synthesis.

Iron and iron oxide nanoparticles (NPs) are finding wide applications for the remediation of various toxic chloro-organic compounds (such as trichloroethylene, TCE) via reductive and oxidative processes. In this study, Fe NPs (30–50 nm) were synthesized by reduction from ferric ions immobilized (by ion exchange) on a platform (two types of sulfonated silica particles) in order to prevent NP agglomeration. The Fe NPs were then oxidized and their effectiveness for the oxidative dechlorination of TCE via the heterogeneous decomposition of hydrogen peroxide to OH· on the surface of the iron oxide NPs was demonstrated. For the reductive approach, the use of ascorbic acid as a “green” reducing agent in conjunction with a secondary metal (Pd) inhibits NP oxidation and agglomeration through surface adsorbed species. The Fe/Pd NPs have been successfully applied for the dechlorination of TCE (kSA, surface-area normalized reaction rate, = 8.1 × 10–4 L/m2 h).
Spatial variations between certain cranial and cerebral structures and the anterior and posterior commissures of the living human.

Recorded are the quantitated empirical findings and statistical variations of spatial configurations prevalent among certain cranial and cerebral structures related to the intercommissural line as encountered in 50 stereotactically-performed, radio-opaque lateral ventriculograms of the living human. A physicomathematical technique of mensuration was devised to overcome the difficulties that regularly arise when fixed postmortem specimens are employed to study the same relationships. Clearly, the reliability of human stereotactic atlases is a function of the technique of mensuration employed. Mean length of the intercommissural line was 24.50, and Range 20.90 to 30.90 mm. Mean distance from inferiormost aspect of sella turcica to posteriormost aspect of anterior commissure was 28.30, Range 23.80 to 36.60 mm. Mean length of line from “center” of external auditory meatus to anteriormost aspect of posterior commissure was 43.36, Range from 35.2 to 49.3 mm. Mean angle formed by “line” of orbital roof and intercommissural line was 19.78° and Range, 8.50° to 29.50°. Mean angle between Reid's base line and intercommissural line was +0.04°, Range, from −9.90° to +10.20°. Mean angle between line from “center” of external auditory meatus to anteriormost aspect of posterior commissure and Reid's base line was 97.93°, Range 85.40° to 120.45°. The least variable relationships of the six studied were the distances (a) from the external auditory meatus to the posterior commissure and (b) from the floor of the sella turcica to the anterior commissure.
The Particle Swarm: Individual and Collective Intelligence

Western psychology has traditionally focused on processes considered to be internal or private to the individual, with the social world generally regarded as an aspect of "the environment." Recent cross-cultural psychological research reveals fundamental differences in the way cognition operates in people from different cultures, demonstrating that the social environment not only affects thought, but helps create it. These discoveries are mirrored in the field of computational intelligence; researchers identifying methods for eliciting intelligent behavior from machines are looking more and more into models that consider the individual inextricably integrated with the social milieu. These new models are radically different from traditional AI, which treats cognition as a set of processes taking place inside an isolated brain. In this lecture I will discuss these dichotomies in terms of the particle swarm algorithm, which is a model of collectively integrated intelligences; developments in the particle swarm paradigm will be framed in terms of the interplay of culture and cognition.
SHORT-PULSE LASER DAMAGE IN TRANSPARENT MATERIALS AS A FUNCTION OF PULSE DURATION

We present a single-shot damage threshold measurement and modeling for fused silica at 800 nm as a function of pulse duration down to 20 fs. We examine the respective roles of multiphoton ionization, tunnel ionization, and impact ionization in laser damage. We find that avalanche predominates even in the case of sub-100-fs pulses.
Combined anterior-to-posterior and posterior-to-anterior approach to paranasal sinus surgery: an update.

Objectives: To develop an anatomically and functionally based approach to endoscopic intranasal ethmoidectomy; to develop such an approach using the salient features of the anterior-to-posterior (AP) and posterior-to-anterior (PA) intranasal sinus operations; to assess the safety of this form of ethmoidectomy in a patient population. Study Design: Retrospective chart review of patients undergoing ethmoidectomy by the authors or by residents under their direct supervision. Setting: University teaching hospital. Results: Two thousand three hundred and forty-four patients underwent either unilateral or bilateral ethmoidectomies between April 1992 and August 2005. A complication rate of 0.34% was observed. Conclusions: Combining an AP approach to conserve sinus anatomy with a PA approach to avoid surgery directed toward the skull base provides a functional and safe procedure, as demonstrated by the reported results.
Sequential Investment Decisions with Bayesian Learning

This paper analyzes investment decisions that can be made in a modular form. It is motivated by the empirical observation that managements are particularly worried about “downside” risk. With a sequential approach this risk is minimized. An investment in a module produces information as well as profits or losses. In our model a larger investment produces more information in addition to larger profits or losses. Costs for changing the level of the investment from period to period are introduced. The optimal sequential investment policy is studied for a two-period problem. Conditions are presented under which no investment, a partial investment, or a full investment in the first period is optimal.
Phase transitions of the flux-line lattice in high-temperature superconductors with weak columnar and point disorder

We study the effects of weak point and columnar disorder on the vortex-lattice phase transitions in high-temperature superconductors. The combined effect of thermal fluctuations and of quenched disorder is investigated using a simplified cage model. For point disorder we use the mapping to a directed polymer in a disordered medium in 2+1 dimensions. For columnar disorder the problem is mapped into a quantum particle in a harmonic and a random potential. We use the variational approximation to show that point and columnar disorder have opposite effect on the position of the melting line as is observed experimentally. For point disorder, replica symmetry breaking plays a role at the transition into a vortex glass at low temperatures. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}
THE ILLUSORY TAX BASE: WHY TAXES ON CAPITAL ARE COUNTERPRODUCTIVE

Taxes on capital are economically and socially counterproductive. The economy and society would benefit from their abolition. The obstacle to their abolition is not financial or economic but a failure of political will. This article looks at taxes on capital from an economic perspective: how do they differ from other taxes, what costs do they impose on the economy, and what are the consequences of their abolition? And, even if they are a failure economically, can they be justified socially or politically?
Mineral physics: Atomic to global

Mineral physics is rapidly emerging as a coherent discipline of the earth sciences. It is dedicated to the understanding of how the physical and chemical properties of minerals control their geological behavior, especially at high pressure and temperature. Objectives of mineral physics include understanding properties of minerals on an atomic scale and using them to constrain the interpretation of global processes. Mineral physics provides the essential link between what we observe (e.g., seismic profiles) and what we would like to know (e.g., composition and temperature).
Sea surface temperature pattern reconstructions in the Arabian Sea

from throughout the Arabian Sea for four distinct time intervals (0 ka, 8 ka, 15 ka, and 20 ka) with the aim of understanding the history of the Indian Monsoon and the climate of the Arabian Sea region. This was accomplished through the use of paired Mg/Ca and d 18 O measurements of the planktonic foraminifer Globigerinoides ruber. By analyzing basin-wide changes and changes in cross-basinal gradients, we assess both monsoonal and regional-scale climate changes. SST was colder than present for the majority of sites within all three paleotime slices. Furthermore, both the Indian Monsoon and the regional Arabian Sea mean climate have varied substantially over the past 20 kyr. The 20 ka and 15 ka time slices exhibit average negative temperature anomalies of 2.5� –3.5� C attributable, in part, to the influences of glacial atmospheric CO2 concentrations and large continental ice sheets. The elimination of the cross-basinal SST gradient during these two time slices likely reflects a decrease in summer monsoon and an increase in winter monsoon strength. Changes in d 18 Ow that are smaller than the d 18 O signal due to global ice volume reflect decreased evaporation and increased winter monsoon mixing. SSTs throughout the Arabian Sea were still cooler than present by an average of 1.4� Ci n the 8 ka time slice. These cool SSTs, along with lower d 18 Ow throughout the basin, are attributed to stronger than modern summer and winter monsoons and increased runoff and precipitation. The results of this study underscore the importance of taking a spatial approach to the reconstruction of processes such as monsoon upwelling.
Resistive Play Sports and the Emergence of Jewish Visibility in Contemporary Vienna

In this article, the author argues that the current Jewish sports movement exemplifies and symbolizes a “new Jewish visibility” in Vienna’s sociocultural field. It is thus part and parcel of a larger recent transformation that has brought Jewish individuals, collectivities, and institutions into Austria’s public sphere. Drawing on his ethnographic research on postwar Austrian-Jewish culture, the author argues that sport represents a privileged site in this development through its construction of an affirmative public Jewish subjectivity, negotiated, in turn, in light of the social reality of a recently expanding Jewish community.
Mapping Homologous Sequences for Determinacy and Photoperiod Sensitivity in Common Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris)

Determinacy and photoperiod insensitivity are agronomically important traits, selected during or after domestication in common bean. Determinacy reduces aboveground plant biomass and accelerates and synchronizes flowering. Photoperiod insensitivity allows common bean to be grown at higher latitudes under long days. In this study, we attempted to identify Phaseolus vulgaris homologues of 12 Arabidopsis genes that are involved in meristem identity determination and the photoperiod-dependent and autonomous flowering pathways. Amplification products with homology to the original Arabidopsis gene were obtained for 8 genes, 7 of which could be mapped onto the common bean-linkage map using the
Using baseline data to design a group randomized trial

Group randomized trials (GRT) are often designed with relatively little preliminary data available to estimate key parameters. In this paper, however, the opposite situation is considered-very good baseline data are available on the primary outcome of interest. These data can then be used to inform key design and analysis decisions such as (i) should the trial be designed as an unmatched or pair-matched study, or stratified in some other fashion; (ii) is analysis of "change from baseline" preferable to using end-of-study data alone; and (iii) what power might be expected by pursuing these various strategies. The results are applied to a GRT for sexually transmitted diseases prevention in Peru.