cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
“Salting” the contractors’ labor force: Construction unions organizing with NLRB assistance

The sharp decline in construction union membership during the last twenty years has led to a number of programs by these unions and unionized contractors to reverse their losses of members and business. The union activities have included several novel approaches designed both to narrow the cost gap between unionized and “open-shop” (largely nonunion) construction as well as to regain members. This article deals with one such program, “salting,” that is, the placing of union organizers or members in a nonunion facility to disrupt, to increase the costs of, or to organize the open-shop contractor. Union salting programs are examined, using actual cases to demonstrate how they work in practice, and policies of the National Labor Relations Board, on which the success of salting is heavily predicated, are analyzed.
Race and Racism in Modern Philosophy

Race and Racism in Modern Philosophy. Edited by Andrew Valls. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2005. 294p. 21.95 paper.This is an important work, which I highly recommend. Andrew Valls has gathered an impressive collection of essays, primarily from philosophers, each of which examines the place of race in the work of a writer of the modern Western canon. The writers under examination here are Descartes, Hobbes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, John Stuart Mill, Marx, and Nietzsche. They are all strong, thoughtful essays, and the text as a whole will prove valuable for upper-level undergraduate and graduate philosophy and political theory classes.
An efficient procedure for cascade aeroelastic stability determination using nonlinear, time-marching aerodynamic solvers

A numerical eigenvalue problem formulation and a practical calculation procedure for exact eigenvalues and corresponding eigenvectors are developed and applied to a nonlinear, two-dimensional, time-marching full potential solver for cascade aeroelastic stability analysis. This procedure is based on the Lanczos recursive method and it directly calculates stability information about a nonlinear steady state. It is compared to conventional approaches in the frequency and time domains developed earlier and is found to be 100-10.000 times more computationally efficient. Eigenvalue constellations and the flutter results for flow through a cascade SR5 propfan airfoil are presented.
Free radical studies of lignin, lignin degradation products and soil humic acids

Abstract Native lignin, various lignin preparations and a variety of humic acids isolated from soil and lignite have been shown to contain stable organic free radicals by means of electron paramagnetic resonance spectrometry. The radical species are not contaminants, but an integral part of the natural polymers. Chemical and EPR spectral evidence suggests that the radical species is an ortho- or para-semiquinone, which is coexistent with quinhydrone and quinone moieties. Although the nature of the stable free radical appears to be the same in lignins and humic acids, the concentration of these species varies considerably. Thus, the unpaired electron spin concentration increases from low values in native lignin to intermediate values in lignin preparations and finally to relatively high values in soil humic acids and leonardite. These results are significant because 1. (1) they lend experimental support to present theories regarding the free radical mechanism of the biological degradation of lignin; 2. (2) they illustrate a technique (EPR spectrometry) which may provide valuable information on the structures of humic acids; and 3. (3) they provide a basis for future studies of subtle structural changes in lignin and humic acids.
Selecting the Best Reperfusion Strategy in ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction It’s All a Matter of Time

The primary goal of treatment of acute coronary occlusion is the achievement of early, complete, and sustained epicardial and myocardial reperfusion. Fibrinolytic therapy was first attempted in 1958,1 and, until recently, constituted the dominant approach for reperfusion. Primary coronary intervention (PCI) is now being used as an alternative to fibrinolysis with increasing frequency. This approach is supported by a recent comprehensive meta-analysis of 23 trials that demonstrated reductions in death, recurrent myocardial infarction, and stroke of 2, 4, and 1 per 100 patients treated through 30 days, respectively.2 Attempts to improve the efficacy of the standard pharmacological reperfusion regimen consisting of aspirin, unfractionated heparin, and front-loaded tissue plasminogen activator using more fibrin specific fibrinolytic agents, bolus preparations, more potent antithrombotic drugs, and platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors have not reduced mortality.3 In contrast, a meta-analysis of clinical trials that compared prehospital fibrinolysis to hospital administration demonstrated a 17% relative reduction in mortality when time to treatment was reduced by an average of 1 hour.4 See p 2851 Thus, it became logical to compare these 2 improvements in reperfusion therapy in the Comparison of Angioplasty and Prehospital Thrombolysis In acute Myocardial infarction (CAPTIM) trial,5 in which the median time from symptom onset to therapy for patients receiving prehospital fibrinolysis was 130 minutes, and was 60 minutes longer in the primary PCI group. There was no difference at 30 days in the primary composite of death, non-fatal reinfarction, and non-fatal stroke (8.2% for fibrinolysis versus 6.2% for PCI, P =0.29) or in mortality alone (3.8% versus 4.8%, P =0.61). Furthermore, as described in a provocative analysis by Steg et al6 in the current issue of Circulation , there was a strong trend toward lower mortality (2.2% versus 5.7%, P =0.058) and a reduction of cardiogenic shock (1.3% …
Indigenous knowledge systems – a rich appropriate technology resource

Indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) comprise knowledge systems that have developed within various societies’ independent of, and prior to, the advent of the modern scientific knowledge system. IKS from various cultures evolved into broad and comprehensive knowledge systems, such as those from ancient India, China and Africa, that addressed societal and traditional knowledge issues in various fields important to human survival and the quality of life, including agriculture, health and water, amongst others. In this paper, the IKS of India and China, with particular focus on agriculture and health, are examined for methodologies and received understanding, within the context of identifying and evaluating appropriate technologies for development. Although much work on the cataloguing and documenting of IKS has been completed in these two countries, there is a paucity of attention that has been paid to the scientific rationale and technological content and methodologies of these indigenous knowledge systems. I...
Correction of iron deficiency in trees by injection with ferric ammonium citrate solution

Abstract Ferric ammonium citrate is more soluble than iron sulfate, and a very few ml. is all that is needed to supply Fe to trees when injected into trunks of the trees. Ten ml. of a solution with 8% Fe contains enough Fe to increase leaf concentration in 16 kg of leaves by 50 mg kg‐1 expressed on a dry weight basis; this would be a moderately large tree. The technique used is to slant drill holes on two or more sides of a tree and at different elevations, and then add Fe with a syringe corresponding with size of tree. The tree is left to absorb the solution. Control is achieved in days for most species. A few species do not respond. Overtreatment is easy because of the high concentration of Fe. This ferric ammonium citrate method has been used on numerous trees with no injury. Regreening starts to take place within a week. A commercial product is available which has a balance of manganese with some nitrogen. The cost per very large tree for this product is about $0.25 USA. The method is rapid enough for...
Advances in accounting and communication – a historical review

A short discussion of the history and importance of communications and its technological means in the development and evolution of accountancy.
Empirical evidence of political influence on the size distribution of income in the United States (1959–1991)

Abstract Political influence on the size distribution of income is tested in a statistical model using annual U.S. data for 1959–1991. We present empirical evidence that both Democratic administration and reelected president appear to have significant downward redistributive effects.
Amino acids derived from Titan tholins

An organic heteropolymer (Titan tholin) was produced by continuous dc discharge through a 0.9 N2/0.1 CH4 gas mixture at 0.2 mbar pressure, roughly simulating the cloudtop atmosphere of Titan. Treatment of this tholin with 6N HCl yielded 16 amino acids by gas chromatography after derivatization of N-trifluroacetyl isopropyl esters on two different capillary columns. Identifications were confirmed by GC/MS. Glycine, aspartic acid, and alpha- and beta-alanine were produced in greatest abundance; the total yield of amino acids was approximately 10(-2), approximately equal to the yield of urea. The presence of "nonbiological" amino acids, the absence of serine, and the fact that the amino acids are racemic within experimental error together indicate that these molecules are not due to microbial or other contamination, but are derived from the tholin. In addition to the HCN, HC2CN, and (CN)2 found by Voyager, nitriles and aminonitriles should be sought in the Titanian atmosphere and, eventually, amino acids on the surface. These results suggest that episodes of liquid water in the past or future of Titan might lead to major further steps in prebiological organic chemistry on that body.
Job Satisfaction in Higher Education: Examining Gender in Professional Work Settings

The concept of job satisfaction has been central to the study of occupations. However, the impact of gender on job satisfaction in professional settings is still under-represented as an area of inquiry. We use the notion of job satisfaction to introduce our organizational heterogenesis approach to understanding workplace satisfaction. Central to this approach is a concern with constructs of organizational interaction which combine the individualistic and structuralist approaches to understanding organizational life. Our analysis of 180 faculty at a large, urban university shows that gender affects the features of the workplace that affect job satisfaction. Our organizational heterogenesis approach frames these findings as an example of how dispositions are “made” important in the organization rather than locating dispositions as individual characteristics alone. We conclude by discussing the organizational heterogenesis approach as a viable theory that combines individualistic and structuralist approaches to organizational life.
Coronary vasodilator responses to bradykinin in euglycemic and diabetic rats

Diabetes mellitus is associated with endothelial dysfunction that is believed to result in impaired release of vasoconstrictor and vasodilator substances from the endothelium and thereby diminished reactivity of many vascular beds. This study was designed to characterize bradykinin (BK)-induced coronary vasodilation in normal and diabetic rats. Bradykinin-stimulated vasodilation of the rat coronary vasculature is mediated by a cytochrome P450-1A (CYP-1A)- inhibitable metabolite that activates KCa, but not KATP, channels on the coronary vascular smooth muscle. Although BK stimulates the release of nitric oxide from the vascular endothelium, the released nitric oxide and its ability to stimulate guanylate cyclase only modulates the duration of, rather than the magnitude of, BK-induced coronary vasodilation. Twelve weeks of streptozotocin-induced diabetes did not affect the coronary vascular responses to BK or the components that mediate BK-induced vasodilation (ie, K-channel activation, nitric oxide-guanylate cyclase). The data support the conclusions that the coronary vasodilator response of the rat to BK is CYP-1A and KCa-channel mediated, that coreleased nitric oxide only modulates the duration of BK-induced vasodilation, and that these mechanisms are unaffected by moderate diabetes.
Catalyst effectiveness in sulfur dioxide oxidation

The sensitivity of the relationship between catalyst effectiveness in SO2 oxidation and the Thiele parameter to: (1) the kinetic expression with respect to the presence or absence of strong SO3 inhibition, (2) the activation energy in the range of 16–32 kcal/g mol, (3) the conversion of SO2 up to 90%, (4) the temperature at the exterior surface of the pellet in the range of 450–600°C, and (5) the feed composition ranging from 6–10% SO2 in air, was investigated. A nonisothermal model was used and the calculations were carried close to equilibrium. Far from equilibrium, the relationship is essentially unaffected except by conversion at the pellet surface for the case of strong product inhibition. Close to equilibrium, the relationship is significantly influenced by conversion, temperature, and the inlet composition but the form of the kinetics is not important. The activation energy is not a significant variable. Catalyst size, surface area, and density were not specified while it was necessary to fix the ratios of the transport properties for the calculations. The properties of the American Cyanamid V2O 5 catalyst were used for this purpose.
Some Effects of Light on the Growth, Molting, Reproduction and Survival of the Cladoceran, Daphnia pulex* **

Daphnia pulex were raised under nine light intensities, 0, 1.7, 3.5, 7, 14, 28, 55 and 110 ft-c, polarized light, 6.6 ft-c, and four wavelength ranges, violet, blue, green and red. Of the nine light intensities studied, only 28 ft-c significantly depressed growth. Light generally may retard growth between molts. There was no intensity effect on molting rate although there was a significant affect on the number of preadult molts. Light may affect the amount of time prior to the release of the first brood. Light intensity did not affect the average number of broods per adult but significantly affected the number of young per brood and young per adult and the effects varied. High light intensity significantly affected the number of undeveloped young and nonviable eggs and abortion rate. Reproduction curves under darkness, 3.5, 7, 14, 28 and 55 ft-c do not drop rapidly after an initial peak and apparent plateaus exist with a decline in reproduction during later instars. Light did not significantly affect survival. All effects of polarized light (6.6 ft-c) were indistinguishable from the effects of light intensity. Red wavelengths significantly retard total growth and green wavelengths significantly stimulate molting and retard growth between molts. There was no effect of wavelength on the number of preadult molts but red populations took significantly longer to release the first brood. Wavelengths did not affect the number of broods per adult but blue wavelength significantly increased the number of young per brood and per adult. Wavelength did not affect the number of undeveloped young, nonviable eggs or abortion rate. Reproduction curves under vioilet and green wavelength do not decline after an initial peak. Animals raised under only a portion of the visible spectrum, and specifically green wavelenghts, had an increased mortality. The effects of wavelengths are probably independent of light intensity.
Thermal Radiative Transport in Dense Absorbing and Scattering Nano and Micro Particulate Media

Dispersion relation (relation between frequency and wave vector) for electromagnetic wave is obtained in dense (high volume fraction of particulates) nano/micro particulate media using effective field approximation (EFA) and quasi crystalline approximation (QCA) with Percus-Yevick distribution function. This work is the extension of the previous work by the author where absorption was assumed to be negligible (Prasher, R.S., 2005, J. Heat Transfer, Vol. 127, pp. 903-910). The particulates are both scattering and absorbing. Nano/micro particles are considered due to their promise for future applications such as nanofluids and also for current technologies such as fluidized and packed beds combustors. Only Rayleigh regime is investigated which is a good approximation for nano and micro particles assuming that the photon wavelength is much larger than the size of nano and micro particles. Comparison of photon velocity and effective attenuation based on EFA and QCA are made. Results show that heat flux and temperature predictions made by models in the literature for multiple and dependent scattering and absorption are not very accurate as these models do not take the modification of equilibrium emissive power due to the modification of photon velocity into account.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
COLLOID OSMOTIC PRESSURE IN PRETERM INFANTS <28 WEEKS GESTATION AND THE EFFECT OF EXOGENOUS SURFACTANT. † 1169

COLLOID OSMOTIC PRESSURE IN PRETERM INFANTS <28 WEEKS GESTATION AND THE EFFECT OF EXOGENOUS SURFACTANT. † 1169
Multi-view calibration from planar motion trajectories

Abstract We present a technique for the registration of a network of surveillance cameras through the automatic alignment of observed planar motion trajectories. The algorithm addresses the problem of recovering the relative pose of several stationary, networked cameras whose intrinsic parameters are known. Each camera tracks several objects to produce a set of image trajectories. Using temporal and geometric constraints derived from the trajectory and a network synchronization signal, overlapping viewing frustums are determined and corresponding cameras are calibrated. Full calibration is a two stage process. Initially, the relative orientation of each camera to the local ground plane, is computed in order to recover the projective mapping of image points to world trajectories embedded on a nominal plane of correct orientation. Given the relative camera-to-plane orientation, projectively unwarped trajectory curves can then be robustly matched by solving for the similarity transform that brings them into absolute alignment. Registration aligns n-cameras with respect to each other in a single camera frame (that of the reference camera).The approach recovers both the epipolar geometry between all cameras and the camera-to-ground rotation for each camera independently. After calibration, points that are known to lie on a world ground plane can be directly back projected into each of the camera frames. These tracked points are known to be in spatial and temporal correspondence, supporting multi-view surveillance and motion understanding tasks. The algorithm is demonstrated for two, three, and five camera scenarios by tracking pedestrians as they move through a surveillance area and matching the resulting trajectories.
Proteolysis and Curd Tension in Milk Associated with Accelerated Starter Culture Growth

Summary Growth rate of mixed strain streptococcus starter cultures in milk were comparable, although the cultures showed a twofold difference in proteolytic activities. The strength of the curd formed in milk varied as much as 60g between cultures at the same titratable acidity and also was not related directly to proteolytic activity of cultures. The addition of up to 1.2mg pancreas extract per milliliter of milk caused a twofold reduction in proteolysis by the cultures, and a concomitant increase in the curd strength at least twice that of the control culture. The proteinase system of the streptococci appeared to be adaptive, since cells grown in a medium containing only casein as a nitrogeneous source possessed greater proteolytic activity than when grown in the medium fortified with simpler nitrogenous compounds contained in pancreas extract. The natural or induced variations in proteolysis and curd tension of starter cultures may be important in determining characteristics and yield of cheese curd.
Antecedents and Outcomes of Retaliation Against Whistleblowers: Gender Differences and Power Relationships

Whistle-blowing represents an influence attempt in which organization member(s) try to persuade other members to cease wrongdoing; sometimes they fail; sometimes they succeed; sometimes they suffer reprisal. We investigated whether women experienced more retaliation than men, testing propositions derived from theories about gender differences and power variables, and using data from military and civilian employees of a large U.S. base. Being female was correlated with perceived retaliation. Results of structural equation modeling showed significant gender differences in antecedents and outcomes of retaliation. For men, lack of support from others and low whistleblower's power were significantly related to retaliation; for women, lack of support from others, serious wrongdoing, and the wrongdoing's direct effect on the whistleblower were significantly associated with retaliation. Retaliation in turn was negatively related to relationships with the supervisor for both men and women, and positively related to women's---but not men's---decisions to blow the whistle again, using external channels. We finish by discussing implications for theory and practice.
Personal asset tracking

We aim to design and provide a compact security system for keeping track of personal belongings or assets. If a registered asset is out of a range of 5 feet, the monitoring system will alert the user. The tracking system is mainly composed of a mobile transmitting module and a receiving module carried by a person. Personal objects (such as passport, mobile phones, laptops and portable devices) are attached with the transmitting module and a receiving module is used to track and secure different objects. The transmitting module consists of encoding circuit and wireless transmitting circuit. And the receiving module is composed of receiving, decoding and alert circuits. In addition, the personal asset tracking system can identify the item and the time when it was lost.
Actualism and iterated modalities

Examinant les positions antithetiques du possibilisme et de l'actualisme, fondees sur une conception existentielle ou mondaine du terme actuel, l'A. montre qu'il existe une approche propriete-theorique de l'actualisme qui, influencee par l'essentialisme mereologique d'A. Plantinga, n'est pas affectee par le probleme des modalites reiterees et echappe aux criticisme non-actuel d'A. McMichael
Apolipoprotein E genotype, dementia, and mortality in the oldest old: The 90+ Study

Abstract Background Although the apolipoprotein E ( APOE ) ɛ4 allele is a major genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD), it is not clear whether this relationship persists among the oldest old. Several European studies suggest that the effect of the APOE ɛ4 allele on dementia and mortality disappears in very old age. We describe the APOE allele and genotype frequencies and examine whether the presence of the APOE ɛ4 or APOE ɛ2 alleles is related to prevalent dementia, incident dementia, and mortality in a population-based cohort of oldest-old participants in the United States. Methods We studied 904 participants aged 90 years and older from The 90+ Study. Eight hundred two (89%) participants were genotyped and included in the prevalent dementia and mortality analyses. The 520 initially nondemented participants were included in the incident dementia analyses and were evaluated for dementia every 6 months. Results The APOE ɛ4 allele was significantly associated with prevalent dementia (odds ratio=2.06) and AD (odds ratio=2.37) in women but not in men. The APOE ɛ2 allele was not related to prevalent dementia in either sex. After an average follow-up of 2.4 years, 188 incident dementia cases were identified. Neither the APOE ɛ4 nor the APOE ɛ2 allele was related to incident dementia or AD. Five hundred ten (64%) participants died after an average follow-up of 2.3 years, and their mortality was not related to the presence of either the APOE ɛ2 or APOE ɛ4 allele. Conclusions Our findings suggest that the associations between APOE ɛ4, dementia, and mortality are age dependent, and that APOE ɛ4 no longer plays a role in dementia and mortality at very old ages.
Analysis of shock compression of strong single crystals with logarithmic thermoelastic-plastic theory

Abstract A finite strain theory is developed for anisotropic single crystals undergoing shock loading. Inelastic deformation may arise from dislocation slip, twinning, or fracture and crack sliding. Internal energy can generally depend on a logarithmic measure of finite elastic strain, entropy, and an internal variable associated with defect accumulation. A closed form analytical solution is derived for the planar shock response in the thermoelastic regime, at axial stresses up to the Hugoniot elastic limit. In the plastic regime, for highly symmetric orientations and rate independent shear strength, the Rankine–Hugoniot conditions and constitutive relations can be reduced to a set of algebraic equations that can be solved for the material response. The theory is applied towards planar shock loading of single crystals of sapphire, diamond, and quartz. Logarithmic elasticity is demonstrated to be more accurate (i.e., require fewer higher-order elastic constants) than Lagrangian or Eulerian theories for sapphire, diamond, and Z-cut quartz. Results provide new insight into criteria for initiation of twinning, slip, and/or fracture in these materials as well as their strength degradation when shocked at increasingly higher pressures above the Hugoniot elastic limit.
Observation of a 4-Day Temperature Wave in the Polar Winter Stratosphere.

Abstract Evidence is presented for a wavenumber one temperature disturbance propagating eastward in the polar winter upper stratosphere with period near 4 days.
Dihedral angle based dimensionality reduction for protein structural comparison

Structural comparison of proteins is considered as one of the highly focused research areas in the field of bioinformatics. Structural similarity estimation techniques using singular geometric parameters derived from spatial coordinates of protein structural atoms have been reported previously, but it is also ascertained that a single geometric parameter based structural estimation can result in misconstrued classification and functional interpretation. In this paper we propose a novel geometric parameters based comparison protocol that uses previously unexplored pair of dihedral angles NC/sub a/NC/sub a/ and NCNC for similarity search. An orthonormal transformation is employed on the two-dimensional distribution for feature extraction and selective feature-space is represented in an indexing schema later used for similarity calibration. The results demonstrate the success of this dimensionality reduction based similarity measure in performing a rapid and length-independent similarity analysis of the protein structures.
Attenuation by artificial fogs in the visible, near infrared, and far infrared.

The attenuation coefficient ratio (αλ/α0.546) for artificial fogs has been measured at 345 μ. The attenuation coefficient ratios at 0.436 μ, 1.01 μ, 3.5 μ, 10 μ, and 13.5 μ were also measured so that a comparison between artificial fogs and natural fogs could be made. By comparing our results with others on natural fogs and with the theoretical work of others in the visible and near ir, we have concluded that our artificial fogs closely resemble natural fogs. We conclude, therefore, that α345/α0.546 is representative of real fogs. Artificial fogs are generated and allowed to dissipate during which time attenuation of light at several wavelengths is recorded. The green line of the mercury arc at 0.546 μ was used as the standard of comparison. For radiation at 345 μ, α345/α0.546 = 0.014 ± 0.009 during the generation time of the fog and 0.021 ± 0.006 during the time the fog is allowed to dissipate.
ATP-dependent proteases of bacteria: recognition logic and operating principles.

ATP-powered AAA+ proteases degrade specific proteins in intracellular environments occupied by thousands of different proteins. These proteases operate as powerful molecular machines that unfold stable native proteins before degradation. Understanding how these enzymes choose the ‘right’ protein substrates at the ‘right’ time is key to understanding their biological function. Recently, proteomic approaches have identified numerous substrates for some bacterial enzymes and the sequence motifs responsible for recognition. Advances have also been made in elucidating the mechanism and impact of adaptor proteins in regulating substrate choice. Finally, recent biochemical dissection of the ATPase cycle and its coupling to protein unfolding has revealed fundamental operating principles of this important, ubiquitous family of molecular machines.
Water Vapor Enhancement of Rates of Peroxy Radical Reactions

Peroxy radicals can complex with water vapor. These complexes affect tropospheric chemistry. In this study, β-HEP (hydroxyethyl peroxy radical) serves as a model system for investigating the effect of water vapor on the kinetics and product branching ratio of the self-reaction of peroxy radicals. The self-reaction rate coefficient was determined at 274–296 K with water vapor between 1.0 × 1015 and 2.5 × 1017 molecules cm−3 at 200 Torr total pressure by slow-flow laser flash photolysis coupled with UV time-resolved spectroscopy and long-path, wavelength modulated, diode-laser spectroscopy. The overall self-reaction rate constant expressed as the product of both a temperature-dependent and water vapor–dependent term is , suggesting formation of a β-HEP-H2O complex is responsible for the increase in the self-reaction rate coefficient with increasing water concentration. Complex formation is supported by computational results identifying three local energy minima for the β-HEP-H2O complex. As the troposphere continues to get warmer and wetter, more of the peroxy radicals present will be complexed with water. Investigating the effect of water vapor on kinetics of atmospherically relevant radicals and determining the effects of these altered kinetics on tropospheric ozone concentrations is thus important.
Opiate withdrawal and the rat locus coeruleus: behavioral, electrophysiological, and biochemical correlates

We have compared the time course of the behavioral manifestations of opiate withdrawal to the in vivo activity of locus coeruleus (LC) neurons and to increases in the levels of G-proteins, adenylate cyclase, and cAMP-dependent protein kinase known to occur in the LC in opiate-dependent animals. Rats were given morphine by daily subcutaneous implantation of morphine pellets for 5 d. On the sixth day, morphine withdrawal was induced by subcutaneous administration of naltrexone, an opiate receptor antagonist, with additional doses given 6 and 24 hr later, conditions that resulted in sustained, maximal levels of withdrawal over the duration of the experiment. We found a striking parallel between the time courses of the behavioral signs and the increased activity of LC neurons during withdrawal, both of which appeared to follow 2 phases. There was an early, rapid phase, during which withdrawal signs and increased LC activity became most pronounced within 15-30 min after naltrexone administration, and then recovered rapidly by over 50% within 4 hr of withdrawal. Subsequently, there was a slower phase, during which the persisting withdrawal signs and elevated LC activity remained roughly constant from 4 to 24 hr and did not recover completely until after 72 hr of continuous withdrawal. Adenylate cyclase and cAMP-dependent protein kinase activities in isolated LC subcellular fractions, both elevated in dependent animals, recovered to control levels after 6 hr of withdrawal, in parallel with the rapid phase of withdrawal. Levels of G1 and Go, also elevated in dependent animals, remained only slightly elevated at 6 hr and returned to normal by 24 hr. Taken together, these data suggest that increased neuronal activity in the LC is associated temporally with the behavioral morphine withdrawal syndrome and that increased levels of G-proteins and an up-regulated cAMP system may contribute to the early withdrawal activation of these neurons.
Psychophysiology of Adolescent Peer Relations I: Theory and Research Findings

Developmental psychologists have become increasingly interested in how psychophysiological processes relate to adolescent peer functioning. This review discusses advances in the study of the psychophysiology of adolescent peer relations, with a focus on how the autonomic and neuroendocrine systems relate to antisocial behavior, victimization, and peer social status (i.e., dominance, likeability, and popularity). The theoretical and psychological significance assigned to psychophysiological measures is discussed to provide a framework for adolescent peer researchers interested in incorporating these measures into their programs of research. Next, evidence that physiological arousal predicts peer-based behaviors and that experiences with peers may alter the functioning of physiological systems is reviewed. Throughout, the motivational, regulatory, and emotional processes thought to underlie these associations are highlighted. Language: en
LVD: lean virtual disks

In this work, we present Lean Virtual Disks (LVD), a new virtual disk format for virtualized servers. LVD transparently consolidates duplicate blocks across virtual machines to create a lean disk image, leading to a merged datapath for all virtual machines. This merged datapath allows efficient storage usage, reduction in disk I/O (read/write) by eliminating I/O for same content across VMs and efficient host cache utilization. LVD is motivated by clouds, where VMs are created from golden masters and use standardized middleware and management tools leading to high content similarity. We implement LVD as an extension of QCow2 and study its ability to improve common data center system management activities as well as improving application performance of popular I/O benchmark workloads. We observed that LVD reduced disk space and disk I/O by 70%, making applications run faster by 25% on an average.
Vehicle stabilization in response to exogenous impulsive disturbances to the vehicle body

Road traffic statistics have shown that multi-event crashes typically result in a higher death toll than single-event crashes. One type of those multi-event crashes could be a crash where the initial harmful event leads to a loss of directional control of the vehicle. In this work, we study countermeasures during such crashes, namely, vehicle stabilization in response to exogenous impulsive disturbances. A vehicle collision model is developed to characterize vehicle motions due to a light impact, and a sensing scheme is proposed to detect crash events associated with loss of control afterwards. The stabilization controller, which is developed from the sliding surface control approach, is then activated and attenuates undesired vehicle motions via differential braking/active steering. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified through CarSim simulations. This vehicle stabilization can be thought as a function extension to existing electronic stability control systems.
Employee-management Techniques: Transient Fads or Trending Fashions?

In this theory development case study, we focus on the relations across recurrent waves in the amount and kind of language promoting and diffusing, and then demoting and rejecting, management techniques—techniques for transforming the input of organizational labor into organizational outputs. We suggest that rather than manifesting themselves as independent, transitory, and un-cumulative fads, the language of repeated waves cumulates into what we call management fashion trends. These trends are protracted and major transformations in what managers read, think, express, and enact that result from the accumulation of the language of these consecutive waves. For the language of five waves in employee-management techniques—management by objectives, job enrichment, quality circles, total quality management, and business process reengineering—we measure rational and normative language suggesting, respectively, that managers can induce labor financially or psychologically. The results reveal a gradual intensific...
Complex associative memory neural network model for invariant pattern recognition

A complex associative memory neural network (CAMN/sup 2/) model is proposed for the recognition of handwritten characters. The input and the stored patterns are derived from the complex valued representation of the boundary of the characters. The stored vector representation is formulated based on 1-D representation of an optical pattern recognition filter. Retrieval of stored patterns from a noisy and shifted input is accomplished by using the correlation in the inverse Fourier domain. An adaptive thresholding scheme is then applied to obtain a 1-step convergence. The number of convergence of patterns, usually measured as the storage capacity of the associative memory is found to increase significantly. But the major advantage obtained from the complex representation is that the recognition of patterns is invariant to translation, rotation and scaling of the input patterns. >
Micromechanical structures in amorphous silicon

The dependence of the residual stress of amorphous silicon on deposition parameters and annealing was examined in order to develop an all low temperature, micromechanical structure fabrication process. The amorphous silicon was deposited from silane in a parallel plate, plasma enhanced CVD system. The as-deposited films are 1 mu m thick and have compressive residual stress. Thermal annealing dramatically reduced the stress and produced tensile films at temperatures as low as 400 degrees C. The stress in amorphous silicon is believed to depend upon the hydrogen content, which is dramatically changed during annealing at temperatures greater than 350 degrees C. Cantilever beams and bridges were fabricated using surface micromachining techniques, with amorphous silicon as the structural material and aluminum as the spacer layer. This process, with maximum temperature of 400 degrees C, enables one to fabricate silicon micromechanical components directly on top of completed integrated circuits. >
TEM analysis of Co–Gd and Co–Gd multilayer structures

Sputter-deposited Co–Gd and Cr–Gd multilayer films were studied by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). These two systems are expected to give rise to quite different structures. In good agreement with predictions, the individual Cr and Gd layers were found to be 100% crystalline with sharp interfaces and no noticeable intermixing. Conversely, the Co–Gd multilayer system underwent a solid state amorphization reaction during the deposition itself. This reaction has been found elsewhere to show an asymmetric character with the order of deposition, strong evidence for which is observed in this work.
DC maturation and function are not altered by melanoma-derived immunosuppressive soluble factors.

Background Although melanoma can elicit robust tumor antigen-specific immune responses, advanced melanoma is associated with immune tolerance. We have previously described several mechanisms of melanoma-induced immunosuppression, including the skewing of the immune response towards a Th2 cytokine profile and the induction of regulatory T cells. Since dendritic cells (DCs) are potentially important players that can direct other cells of the immune system towards a cytotoxic, humoral, or regulatory phenotype, we hypothesized that melanoma-produced factors directly affect the maturation and function of DCs, influencing the nature and magnitude of the resulting immune response. Materials and Methods To test this hypothesis, immature myeloid-derived DCs (mdDCs) were derived with cytokines from CD14+ peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and exposed to 20% melanoma-conditioned media (MCM). After 2 d, the expression of maturation markers and the function of these mdDCs, measured by cytokine production, the amount of endocytosis, expression of the inhibitory molecule indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), and the ability to stimulate T cells were determined. Results We found that incubation with MCM did not inhibit the expression of maturation markers or IDO, the production of cytokines, the amount of antigen uptake, or the ability to induce T cell proliferation in mixed-lymphocyte reactions by mdDC. Conclusions These results suggest that the immunosuppressive effects of melanoma-produced factors are independent of directly measurable changes in mdDC function or maturation in vitro .
Systemic alternation of depolarization sites in the postsynaptic membrane: a biomathematical model

We propose a preliminary mathematical model and simulation of temporally and spatially patterned alternation of postsynaptic depolarization sites as a hypothetical function of structural changes in the target neuron biomembrane. Our model demonstrates that observed state changes in a target neuron are not only a function of phase relationships among excitatory and inhibitory inputs but of where within the cell the last action potential was initiated. Neurobiological evidence indicates that the observed changes may be a function of altered molecular positions and orientation within the target membrane lattice. We conclude with a brief discussion of the possible role of the system in the regulation of electrical signals.
Scheduling in Wireless Networks under Uncertainties

We consider a general scheduling problem in wireless networks under uncertain arrival and channel state statistics. The objective is to minimize a linear cost function, which can be used to model wireless communication constraints, such as power consumption. We assume that the arrival processes and the network states are random, and with unknown distributions. In each time slot, the schedule can only be computed based on past history. We propose a conditional-gradient type scheduling algorithm and a priority queuing mechanism with auxiliary dummy queues. We show that these can achieve an objective function value which is arbitrarily close to the optimal, while guaranteeing network stability. The performance of the algorithm is further confirmed by simulation results.
User-defined visual query languages

Previous research in visual query languages has focused on pre-defined visual representations of data and queries, which are suitable for specific applications, but difficult to extend and generalize. We propose a meta-language to query an object-oriented database with user-defined pictures. By manipulating these pictures, the user can extract information about the data in a purely visual fashion. The proposed meta-language is rule-based and uses a constraint visual language that allows for complex displays such as graphs, bar charts, pie charts, and plot charts to be specified. Our approach extends object-oriented concepts, such as inheritance and genericity to visual query languages. We provide examples that illustrate the expressiveness of the user-defined visual languages to display and query data. >
Mechanisms of hf laser performance

The roles that rotational nonequilibrium, mixing and the optical resonator play in determining the power speciral perfonnance ofthe cw HF laser are reviewed. Experiments and analyses that led to an understanding of these elements ate summarized. The factors that influence the overtone perfomiance of the HF laser are reviewed. The line selected pthbrmance is related to multiline perfmnance.
Movements near the Gate of a Hyperpolarization-activated Cation Channel

Hyperpolarization-activated cation (HCN) channels regulate pacemaking activity in cardiac cells and neurons. Like the related depolarization-activated K+ channels (Kv channels), HCN channels use an intracellular activation gate to regulate access to an inner cavity, lined by the S6 transmembrane regions, which leads to the selectivity filter near the extracellular surface. Here we describe two types of metal interactions with substituted cysteines in the S6, which alter the voltage-controlled movements of the gate. At one position (L466), substitution of cysteine in all four subunits allows Cd2+ ions at nanomolar concentration to stabilize the open state (a “lock-open” effect). This effect depends on native histidines at a nearby position (H462); the lock-open effect can be abolished by changing the histidines to tyrosines, or enhanced by changing them to cysteines. Unlike a similar effect in Kv channels, this effect depends on a Cd2+ bridge between 462 and 466 in the same subunit. Cysteine substitution at another position (Q468) produces two effects of Cd2+: both a lock-open effect and a dramatic slowing of channel activation—a “lock-closed” effect. The two effects can be separated, because the lock-open effect depends on the histidine at position 462. The novel lock-closed effect results from stabilization of the closed state by the binding of up to four Cd2+ ions. During the opening conformational change, the S6 apparently moves from one position in which the 468C cysteines can bind four Cd2+ ions, possibly as a cluster of cysteines and cadmium ions near the central axis of the pore, to another position (or flexible range of positions) where either 466C or 468C can bind Cd2+ in association with the histidine at 462.
A FPGA ASIC communication channel systems emulator

The authors describe the FPGA implementation of a Communication Channel Systems (CCS) emulator designed for conducting hardware experiments in convolutional forward error correction. This flexible, new test platform provides verification and benchmarking for a wide range of ASIC convolutional decoder designs as well as decoding coprocessors. The system generates test patterns, inserts noise, enables extensive control of signal quantization, and can convolutionally encode with 4 bit soft decisions in any code type from rate 1/2 to 1/6 and any constraint length from 3 through 15. >
A general approach to mixed effects modeling of residual variances in generalized linear mixed models.

We propose a general Bayesian approach to heteroskedastic error modeling for generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) in which linked functions of conditional means and residual variances are specified as separate linear combinations of fixed and random effects. We focus on the linear mixed model (LMM) analysis of birth weight (BW) and the cumulative probit mixed model (CPMM) analysis of calving ease (CE). The deviance information criterion (DIC) was demonstrated to be useful in correctly choosing between homoskedastic and heteroskedastic error GLMM for both traits when data was generated according to a mixed model specification for both location parameters and residual variances. Heteroskedastic error LMM and CPMM were fitted, respectively, to BW and CE data on 8847 Italian Piemontese first parity dams in which residual variances were modeled as functions of fixed calf sex and random herd effects. The posterior mean residual variance for male calves was over 40% greater than that for female calves for both traits. Also, the posterior means of the standard deviation of the herd-specific variance ratios (relative to a unitary baseline) were estimated to be 0.60 ± 0.09 for BW and 0.74 ± 0.14 for CE. For both traits, the heteroskedastic error LMM and CPMM were chosen over their homoskedastic error counterparts based on DIC values.