cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Changes in the acoustic nerve after hair cell regeneration

Hair cells of the avian inner ear have been shown to regenerate following acoustic or ototoxic insult. The consequences of this regeneration on the acoustic nerve have yet to be defined. The purpose of the present study was to use TEM analysis following cochlear damage and hair cell regeneration to describe afferent and efferent neural terminals on hair cells in the newly repopulated sensory epithelium. Following acoustic overstimulation (12 h, 115 dB SPL, 1500 Hz) adult quail were sacrificed immediately (0 day), or at 2, 12, or 24 weeks. Serial thin sections were taken from the embedded papilla in a plane tangential to the basilar membrane in the area consistent with regenerative activity. Immediately following noise exposure very few hair cells could be seen within the epithelia; afferent terminals on remaining cells appeared normal. Two weeks later afferent terminals showed signs of degeneration; efferent terminals were rarely seen on tall hair cells but remained relatively normal on short hair cells. Three to six months later afferent terminals had regained a more normal appearance but were less numerous on tall hair cells; some return of efferent-like terminals was seen often contacting two tall hair cells. Large normal appearing, efferent terminals remained on short hair cells. These results suggest that regenerated hair cells are likely to receive neural innervation. It would appear that some degeneration of afferent terminals takes place prior to final innervation of new hair cells.
A New School-based Program to Provide Eyeglasses-. ChildSight

Abstract Objective: To address the unmet need for glasses encountered in an urban school setting by developing and implementing a school-based, cost-effective program that provides appropriate spectacle correction to needy children. Methods: A total of 5851 students 9 to 15 years of age in 4 middle schools in northern Manhattan were screened for vision. Those with vision worse than 20/40 were examined, given glasses if appropriate, or referred for additional evaluation. Results: Of the 5851 children screened, 1614 (28%) had a failing result, with visual acuity less than 20/40 in the worse eye. Of this group, 1082 were given glasses that were assembled at the school within 1 hour of testing. Ten percent of the group that required glasses already had them, and the remaining were referred for a complete ophthalmic examination that was completed in 58 cases. Only 14 of these had vision loss unrelated to refractive error. Conclusions: The program successfully treated 88.3% of the children within the school who needed glasses. Given that only 10% of children who needed glasses had them, it indicates a huge need to provide glasses to at least a million children in this age group in the United States.
Analysis of bonded elastic blocks

We investigate the compression of rubber blocks bonded to rigid metal plates for several different geometries, namely, for rectangular and V-shaped blocks. We obtain reasonably simple solutions in series form relating the force and the displacement using the ''pressure method'' developed by Gent [1-3]. Our initial assumption concerning the incompressibility of the rubber is subsequently relaxed to ''near incompressibility'' to yield more accurate solutions. We demonstrate a very good agreement between the theoretical solutions and the results of linear finite element simulations.
Degradation mechanism study of perfluorinated proton exchange membrane under fuel cell operating conditions

Perfluorinated sulfonic acid proton exchange membranes are in the forefront as solid electrolytes for fuel cell applications. Although expensive, its potential utilization in commercial fuel cells can be validated provided it can be established that it is highly durable. In this context, peroxide radical-initiated attack of the membrane electrode interface is one of the key issues requiring further systematic investigation under fuel cell operating conditions, to better determine the fundamental degradation mechanism. In this study, we attempt to analyze the durability of the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) made with different commercial electrodes from the perspective of peroxide radical-initiated chemical attack on the electrode/electrolyte interface and find the pathway of membrane degradation as well. A novel segmented fuel cell is employed for durability characterization, and use of this cell and pre and post analysis of the membrane are presented. Correlation of membrane degradation data with the peroxide yield determined by RRDE experiments is obtained. This method is able to separate the membrane evaluation process into cathode and anode aspects. Fenton type mechanism of peroxide radical generation from H2O2 formed due to two-electron pathway of ORR is found to be the dominant membrane degrading factor.
SHRINKING HOUSEHOLD SIZE AND ITS EFFECT ON URBAN POPULATION DENSITY PATTERNS: A CASE STUDY OF PHOENIX, ARIZONA

Increased divorce, declining fertility and mortality, and changing lifestyles have resulted in a consistent decline in average household size in U.S. urban areas. The purpose of this paper is to show that decreases in household size between 1970 and 1975 were spatially variable in metropolitan Phoenix and that this affected the overall pattern of residential density. This is demonstrated by a series of maps depicting average household size in 1970, changes therein between 1970 and 1975, and the relationships between changes in population, numbers of dwelling units, and household size in the study area.
Accumulation of ABA in maize roots in response to root severing

SUMMARY When isolated maize (Zea mays L.) routs were incubated tW 3 h in o fully hydrated state in air, ABA content was found to increase by around 100% in nil the different root tissues examined - i.e. mature primary root sections. young and growing primary root sections, secondary roots and primary root tips - from both well watered plants and previously droughted plants. This ABA increase was not turgor-related, as usually is the case in draughted plants, and was not quantitatively related to the injury in the cutting surface. A time- sequence of ABA accumulation showed a peak accumulation at about 2–3 h after initial incubation. Oxygen was essential for this increase in ABA accumulation because- when roots were incubated in pure nitrogen, no such increase was found. Evidence suggests that this increase was derived from xanthophylls. the common precursors for stress-induced ABA. Maize leaves did not show such an accumulation when incubated under the same conditions. When halt the root system was severed, ABA content in the remaining half root system increased by Kill 100–200% in 3 h. We suggest that there is a systemic effect on the ABA biosynthesis in the root system following the shock of root severing, and that roots may supply substantial amounts of ABA to the shoots even at time when there is not apparent dehydration.
A protein kinase A–dependent molecular switch in synapsins regulates neurite outgrowth

Cyclic AMP (cAMP) promotes neurite outgrowth in a variety of neuronal cell lines through the activation of protein kinase A (PKA). We show here, using both Xenopus laevis embryonic neuronal culture and intact X. laevis embryos, that the nerve growth–promoting action of cAMP/PKA is mediated in part by the phosphorylation of synapsins at a single amino acid residue. Expression of a mutated form of synapsin that prevents phosphorylation at this site, or introduction of phospho-specific antibodies directed against this site, decreased basal and dibutyryl cAMP–stimulated neurite outgrowth. Expression of a mutation mimicking constitutive phosphorylation at this site increased neurite outgrowth, both under basal conditions and in the presence of a PKA inhibitor. These results provide a potential molecular approach for stimulating neuron regeneration, after injury and in neurodegenerative diseases.
Heterotopic Mucosal Engrafting Procedure for Direct Drug Delivery to the Brain in Mice

Delivery of therapeutics into the brain is impeded by the presence of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) which restricts the passage of polar and high molecular weight compounds from the bloodstream and into brain tissue. Some direct delivery success in humans has been achieved via implantation of transcranial catheters; however this method is highly invasive and associated with numerous complications. A less invasive alternative would be to dose the brain through a surgically implanted, semipermeable membrane such as the nasal mucosa that is used to repair skull base defects following endoscopic transnasal tumor removal surgery in humans. Drug transfer though this membrane would effectively bypass the BBB and diffuse directly into the brain and cerebrospinal fluid. Inspired by this approach, a surgical approach in mice was developed that uses a donor septal mucosal membrane engrafted over an extracranial surgical BBB defect. This model has been shown to effectively allow the passage of high molecular weight compounds into the brain. Since numerous drug candidates are incapable of crossing the BBB, this model is valuable for performing preclinical testing of novel therapies for neurological and psychiatric diseases.
GHz-Wide Sensing and Decoding Using the Sparse Fourier Transform

We present BigBand, a technology that can capture GHz of spectrum in realtime without sampling the signal at GS/s -i.e., without high speed ADCs. Further, it is simple and can be implemented on commodity low-power radios. Our approach builds on recent advances in the area of sparse Fourier transforms, which show that it is possible to reconstruct a sparse signal without sampling it at the Nyquist rate. To demonstrate our design, we implement it using 3 software radios, each sampling the spectrum at 50 MS/s, producing a device that captures 0.9 GHz — i.e., 6× larger digital bandwidth than the three software radios combined. Finally, an extension of BigBand can perform GHz spectrum sensing even in scenarios where the spectrum is not sparse.
Cardiac function in sickle cell anemia

Abstract Although ventricular dysfunction is suspected to underlie congestive heart failure in sickle cell anemia (SCA), ejection indexes of left ventricular (LV) pump performance have been found to be normal. The increased preload and decreased afterload of SCA increases the ejection phase indexes and might obscure true LV dysfunction. Therefore, the preload and afterload independent end-systolic stress-volume index was compared in 11 patients with SCA and in 11 normal volunteers. End-systolic pressure and echocardiographic LV dimensions were determined during rest, leg raise, hand-grip and amyl nitrite inhalation. Systemic vascular resistance (afterload) was decreased to 1,033 ± 314 dynes s cm−5 (mean ± standard deviation) in SCA from 1,701 ± 314 dynes s cm−5 in normal subjects. End-diastolic volume index (preload) was increased to 102 ± 24 ml/m2 in SCA from 66 ± 10 ml/m2 in normal subjects. Cardiac index was increased to 4.7 ± 1.1 liters/min/m2 in SCA from 2.8 ± 0.8 liters/ min/m2 in normal subjects. Ejection fractions were similar: 0.59 ± 0.09 in SCA versus 0.62 ± 0.07 in normal subjects. However, in patients with SCA, the ratio of resting end-systolic stress-volume index was decreased (1.5 ± 0.5 in SCA versus 2.8 ± 0.6 in normal subjects) and the slope of the end-systolic stress versus end-systolic volume index relation was decreased (2.7 ± 1.3 in SCA versus 4.4 ± 1.8 in normal subjects), suggesting LV dysfunction in those patients. Thus, LV muscle contractile performance is depressed in SCA. Increased preload and decreased afterload compensate for the LV dysfunction and maintain a normal ejection fraction and high cardiac output.
GSK3β-cyclin D3-CUGBP1-eIF2 pathway in aging and in Myotonic Dystrophy

Epigenetic silencing of the cell cycle proteins is one of the major pathways of the inhibition of liver proliferation in old mice. We recently identified glycogen synthase 3beta, GSK3beta, as an enzyme which controls the epigenetic regulation of the liver proliferation via reduction of cyclin D3-cdk4. The elevation of cyclin D3 in livers of old mice leads to the accumulation of a transcriptional C/EBPalpha-HDAC1-Brm complex and translational CUGBP1-eIF2 complex. The accumulation of the CUGBP1-eIF2 increases translation of HDAC1 and C/EBPbeta in livers of old mice leading to formation of C/EBPbeta-HDAC1 complex which represses C/EBPbeta-dependent genes by interacting with their promoters. The translational CUGBP1-eIF2 complex also plays critical role in the regulation of biological processes in young livers and needs to be tightly regulated. Our recent paper showed that this complex is un-appropriately upregulated in skeletal muscle precursors of patients affected with multisystemic disease, Myotonic Dystrophy 2 (DM2) leading to translational elevation of several proteins. These data suggest that the age-specific translational dysfunctions might be involved in DM2 pathogenesis. Our data also suggest that the regulation of translation is conserved in liver and skeletal muscle. In this review, we discuss biological consequences of the age-associated alterations of translation in the liver and a possible role of the elevation of the CUGBP1-eIF2 complex in development of DM2 pathology.
The Ninole Basalt — Implications for the structural evolution of Mauna Loa volcano, Hawaii

Lava flows of the Ninole Basalt, the oldest rocks exposed on the south side of the island of Hawaii, provide age and compositional constraints on the evolution of Mauna Loa volcano and the southeastward age progression of Hawaiian volcanism. Although the tholeiitic Ninole Basalt differs from historic lavas of Mauna Loa volcano in most major-element contents (e.g., variably lower K, Na, Si; higher Al, Fe, Ti, Ca), REE and other relatively immobile minor elements are similar to historic and prehistoric Mauna Loa lavas, and the present major-element differences are mainly due to incipient weathering in the tropical environment. New K-Ar whole-rock ages, from relatively fresh roadcut samples, suggest that the age of the Ninole Basalt is approximately 0.1–0.2 Ma, although resolution is poor because of low contents of K and radiogenic Ar. Originally considered the remnants of a separate volcano, the Ninole Hills are here interpreted as faulted remnants of the old south flank of Mauna Loa. Deep canyons in the Ninole Hills, eroded after massive landslide failure of flanks of the southwest rift zone, have been preserved from burial by younger lava due to westward migration of the rift zone. Landslide-induced depressurization of the southwest rift zone may also have induced phreatomagmatic eruptions that could have deposited widespread Basaltic ash that overlies the Ninole Basalt. Subaerial presence of the Ninole Basalt documents that the southern part of Hawaii Island had grown to much of its present size above sea level by 0.1–0.2 Ma, and places significant limits on subsequent enlargement of the south flank of Mauna Loa.
Early Intervention Is Certification Necessary

An analysis of the amount and type of training of primary intervention agents in early intervention programs was conducted as part of a review of literature on the efficacy of early intervention wi...
Effect of nanostructures on evaporation and explosive boiling of thin liquid films: a molecular dynamics study

Molecular dynamics simulations have been employed to investigate the boiling phenomena of thin liquid films adsorbed on a nanostructured solid surface. The molecular system was comprised of the following: solid platinum wall, liquid argon, and argon vapor. A few layers of the liquid argon were placed on the nanoposts decorated solid surface. The nanoposts height was varied keeping the liquid film thickness constant to capture three scenarios: (i) liquid-film thickness is higher than the height of the nanoposts, (ii) liquid-film and nanoposts are of same height, and (iii) liquid-film thickness is less than the height of the nanoposts. The rest of the simulation box was filled with argon vapor. The simulation was started from its initial configuration, and once the equilibrium of the three phase system was established, the wall was suddenly heated to a higher temperature which resembles an ultrafast laser heating. Two different jump temperatures were selected: a few degrees above the boiling point to initiate normal evaporation and far above the critical point to initiate explosive boiling. Simulation results indicate nanostructures play a significant role in both cases: Argon responds very quickly for the nanostructured surface, the transition from liquid to vapor becomes more gradual, and the evaporation rate increases with the nanoposts height.
Service Learning as Justice Advocacy: Can Political Scientists Do Politics?.

In a 1997 APSA plenary address, Ralph Nader questioned the value of political science. "You all study power," he noted. "And yet, how strange it is that I don't know anyone in power who is the least bit afraid of a political scientist! With the way you conduct your research, the material that is published, and the way you teach, you political scientists have managed to make yourselves irrelevant to the world of
Clients' Rehabilitation Goals and Outcome

Summ7y.-This study assessed ( 1 ) the relationship between clients' individual goals and outcome of a rehabilitation treatment program, and (2) improvement in particular areas of functioning irrespective of clients' intentions to work on a goal. Subjects were 49 psychiatric inpatients. Clients identified their goals and assessed their own functioning in 11 areas before beginning the treatment program and again upon termination. Rehabilitation counselors provided parallel assessments of clients at both times. From both clients' and counselors' perspectives, there was statistically significant improvement in the client-identified goal areas, but no significant change in the areas on which clients did not plan to work. Methodological and clinical implications of the findings are discussed. The roles of motivation and expectancy in relation to psychotherapeutic outcome have long been of interest to clinicians and researchers alike. Common sense dictates that patienrs who are motivated for treatment or who expect to improve will, in fact, do so. However, the research evidence for this proposition is not at all consistent (Cartwright & Lerner, 1963; Siegal & Fink, 1962; Wilkins, 1973). Keithly, Samples, and Strupp (1980) suggest that varying definitions of motivation or outcome, use of different populations, and simplistic measures of motivation may be responsible for the contradictory findings. Martin, Sterne, Moore, and Lindsey (1977) add "methodological weaknesses" to the list of problems plaguing this area of investigation. Evidence suggests that the question may be more complicated than has previously been thought. The present study attempts to refine further our thinking about motivational effects on outcome by looking at patients' motivations and outcomes with respect to particular treatment goals. Earlier work often used general measures of motivation (Sifneos, 1968; Keithly, et al., 1980). Martin, et al. (1977) assessed expectancies for improvement in a variety of areas but did not correlate the specific expectancies with corresponding areas of outcome. However, patients may be motivated toward some treatment goals but not toward others. In the present study, an attempt was made to relate motivations to work on particular goals with outcomes on those goals. It was predicted that patients would improve in the areas they were motivated to work on but not in others.
Penetration of a series of dialkoxy analogs of dimethoate through the isolated gut of insects and mammals

Abstract A study of the penetration of a series of dialkoxy analogs of dimethoate from the inside of the isolated gut of two insects [ Manduca sexta (L.) and Blaberus cranifer (Burm.)] and a mammal [ Mus musculus (L.)] is reported. Total penetration was highest in the hornworm and lowest in the roach. Lower partition coefficients (oil/water) generally favored penetration into the serosal fluid among all three species while a higher partition coefficient favored association with the gut. The rate constant of penetration, k , and half-time penetration, t 0.5 , generally showed a good correlation with the partition coefficient. Partial substitution of mouse blood plasma in the bathing medium favored penetration of the methyl and ethyl analogs in M. musculus but was of doubtful physiological importance. Breakdown of the lower analogs was relatively low during penetration but degradation of the butyl analog was nearly 20% in all species, reaching 30% in the roach.
Use of Context-Sensitive Methods to Influence Operating Speeds: Case Study of Rural Highway by Casewise Visual Evaluation

Excessive speed is one of the primary safety hazards facing highway users. Too often, operating speeds exceed design speeds, and speed limit postings are generally ignored by drivers. There is renewed interest in designing roadways that encourage drivers to operate at or below design speeds. There is not, however, a reliable body of concomitant knowledge regarding what combinations of design properties should be used to accomplish this goal. To date, only limited interrelationships have been explored, but these explorations have not begun to approach evaluations of the complexity of the design environment, which encompasses combinations of design properties such as lane width, shoulder width, clear zone, horizontal and vertical curvatures, and even the type and intensity of vegetation along the corridor. This research integrates the use of virtual reality simulations of various highway sample designs. These sessions can simultaneously accommodate significant numbers of subjects and gather their feedback t...
The World Bank and Poverty: The Plight of the World's Impoverished Is Still a Major Concern of the International Agency.

. Since the early 1980s, the World Bank has taken on new tasks in addition to its regular development finance function: preventing economic collapse in borrower countries, helping heavily indebted countries cope with their international payments difficulties, and encouraging basic economic policy reform and structural adjustment in developing countries. Many critics worry that, as the World Bank has taken on these new responsibilities, it has lessened its concern about poverty. The Bank and its friends argue that poverty alleviation remains a central element of the Bank's agenda, but the world situation is different than it was during the 1970s and new kinds of action are needed today. The Bank believes that economic reform and structural adjustments are crucial elements of a modern anti-poverty program. Many critics believe that structural adjustment programs may seriously hurt the poor. Exploring the arguments and reporting the ways the World Bank has sought to respond to this controversy, the author concludes that the issue is a fundamental disagreement about whether the new modes of Bank lending and the Bank's new policy emphasis will have a positive or negative effect on the poor.
AIM2 Joins the Gang of Microbial Sensors

AIM2 was recently implicated in the assembly and activation of the inflammasome in response to eukaryotic and viral dsDNA. Sauer and colleagues (2010) demonstrate that AIM2 is also involved in the activation of the inflammasome in response to the intracellular bacterium Listeria monocytogenes.
Evidence of oxidative stress following the viral infection of two lepidopteran insect cell lines.

The infection of Spodoptera frugiperda Sf-9 (Sf-9) and Trichoplusia ni BTI-Tn-5B1-4 (Tn-5B1-4) insect cell lines with Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) resulted in increased levels of lipid hydroperoxides and protein carbonyls. In addition, the viral infection resulted in a significant decrease in the reduced glutathione to oxidized glutathione (2GSH/GSSG) ratio. These results are all consistent with an increased level of oxidative stress as a result of the viral infection. It was also observed that the oxidative damage corresponded to reduced cell viability, i.e., the results are consistent with the premise that oxidative damage contributes to cell death. Finally, the measured intracellular activities of most of the antioxidant enzymes, specifically manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APOX), and catalase (CAT, not present in Sf-9 cells), did not significantly decrease following viral infection. In contrast, the measured activity of copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD) decreased in the Sf-9 and Tn-5B1-4 cells following AcMNPV infection.
Book Review: Geology of the American Southwest W. Scott Baldridge Cambridge University Press, 2004. 296 pages. Hardcover: ISBN 0521816394, $70. Softcover: ISBN 0521016665, $24

In 1846, at the insistence of President James K. Polk, First Lieutenant William H. Emory led a military reconnaissance across the southwestern USA. The journey started in Missouri and ended in San Diego, California. Emory described the dramatic Basin and Range topography thus: “The mountains run from northwest to southeast, and rise abruptly from the plains in long narrow ridges, resembling trap dykes on a grand scale” (cited in A. M. C. Sengor, 2003, Geological Society of America Memoir 196, Boulder, CO, p. 170). Emory's detailed report to the U.S. Congress was published in 1848 and was followed by many additional studies, notably those led by W. P. Blake, J. S. Newberry, J. W. Powell, and G. K. Gilbert. Some 156 years, and …
Endogenous hormone response and fertility in dairy heifers after treatment with Lutalyse and GnRH.

Fifty-five dairy heifers were given two injections of Lutalyse 11 days apart. Twenty-one of the heifers were also given an injection of GnRH 48 hr after the second Lutalyse injection (Group G). Of the remaining 34 animals, 19 were randomly allotted to be inseminated 12 hr after observed estrus following Lutalyse (Group E), while 15 were inseminated 80 hr after the second Lutalyse injection (Group P). The intervals from second Lutalyse injection to occurrence of both estrus and peak gonadotropin concentrations were variable among animals receiving only Lutalyse. GnRH injections reduced variation (P .05) among treatment groups. The failure of GnRH administration following Lutalyse to improve pregnancy rates indicates that GnRH administration followed by insemination 12 hr later is not effective in increasing pregnancy rates above those attained in animals inseminated at either 12 hr post estrus or 80 hr after second Lutalyse injection.
Upwind method for simulation of viscous flow on adaptively refined meshes

A new node-based upwind scheme for the solution of the three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations on adaptively refined meshes is presented. The method uses a second-order upwind total variation diminishing scheme to integrate the convective terms and discretizes the viscous terms with a new compact central difference technique. Grid adaptation is achieved through directional division of hexahedral cells in response to evolving features as the solution converges. The method is advanced in time with a multistage Runge-Kutta time stepping scheme. Two- and three-dimensional examples establish the accuracy of the inviscid and viscous discretization. These investigations highlight the ability of the method to produce crisp shocks, while accurately and economically resolving viscous layers.. The representation of these and other structures is shown to be comparable to that obtained by structured methods. Further three-dimensional examples demonstrate the ability of the adaptive algorithm to effectively locate and resolve multiple scale features in complex three-dimensional flows with many interacting, viscous, and inviscid structures.
Formation of interfacial voids in composites with a weakly bonded viscoplastic matrix

Abstract The formation and evolution of interfacial voids are investigated in the case of metal matrix composites (MMCs) reinforced by ceramic fibres and subjected to high compressive loads. The resulting compression flows of a viscoplastic aluminum matrix around rigid fibres are described by a nonlinear free-boundary problem. A new finite element model with boundary-fitted mesh motion is introduced to simulate the formation of interfacial voids. The fibre–matrix interface is weak and allows yielding and sliding with separation at a dynamic contact line connecting three phases. The fibre–matrix interaction is simulated via a modified O'Donovan–Tanner constitutive model and a phenomenologically defined interface potential. The shape of the interfacial surface undergoing large deformation is not known a priori and found as a part of the solution. The influence of hydrostatic stress and constitutive characteristics of the matrix on the evolution of interfacial voids and their growth rates are examined. As the transverse strain increases, the evolution of interfacial voids occurs through a sequence of convex profiles. Numerical simulations are carried out for a special case involving small values of the yield stress and the viscosity of yielded matrix in order to compare them with similar results for linear viscous solids. The numerical results are also compared with the experiments involving similar compression flows of viscoplastic model materials.
Control of Chromated Copper Arsenate Wood Incineration Air Emissions and Ash Leaching Using Sorbent Technology

Chromated copper arsenate (CCA) has been the predominant wood preservative used in North America in recent years. The emission of volatile metals and leaching from the combustion ash of CCA-treated wood pose serious concerns. In this work, mineral sorbents were evaluated for their capabilities to control both problems. Results of thermodynamic analyses suggested that alkali and alkaline earth metal-based sorbents can potentially react with the metals during combustion. Experiments were conducted by mixing and burning mineral sorbents including lime and soda ash with CCA-treated wood in a fixed bed. Calcium-based sorbents showed great increase in the retention of arsenic (from 60 to 85%) and chromium (from 55 to 80%) and reduction in the leaching of arsenic (from 200 down to 0.1 mg/L) and copper (from 100 down to 1 mg/L). Sodium-based sorbents successfully retained metals in the ash below 750°C, but the products were highly leachable (over 1000 mg/L). The speciation of the products plays a critical role in...
Hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin-mediated iron-activated persulfate oxidation of trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene

Trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE) are commonly found contaminants in soil and groundwater. However, the persulfate anion (S2O82-) is an oxidant; when activated with ferrous cati...
Photon echo spectroscopy as a probe of dynamics in the immune system

Photon echo spectroscopy has been used to resolve the amplitudes and time scales of reorganization resulting from electronic excitation of the chromophore in three fluorescein-binding antibodies. The spectral density of nuclear motions derived by fitting the data serves as a characterization of protein flexibility. The three antibodies show motions that range in time scale from tens of femtoseconds to nanoseconds. Relative to the others, one antibody, 4-4-20, possesses a rigid binding site, that likely results from a short and inflexible HCDR3 loop and residue TyrL32 acting as a 'molecular splint,' to rigidify the Ag across its most flexible degree of freedom. The remaining two antibodies possess binding sites that are considerably more flexible, possibly due to the increased length of the HCDR3 loops. These variations in binding site flexibility may result in differing mechanisms of antigen recognition, including lock-and-key, induced-fit, and conformational selection.
Preparation of lipid-free tissue extracts for chromatographic determination of thyroid hormones and metabolites

Abstract We have developed a new method of preparing tissues for analysis of thyroid hormones and metabolites which eliminates troublesome lipids and proteins. Frozen tissue is homogenized by grinding with dry ice in a Waring blender, and the moist powder obtained is extracted with chloroform:methanol (2:1). In a modification of the Folch procedure for the total separation of lipids, the filtered extracts then are partitioned into polar and nonpolar layers by the addition of 0.05% aqueous calcium chloride. The upper phase contains the iodocompounds of interest as well as all salts and small polar molecules. The lipids remain dissolved in the lower phase after it is back-extracted with pure upper phase. The combined upper or aqueous methanol layers are lyophilized and the residue is taken up in methanol to yield a concentrated solution ready for analysis of iodocompounds. The greater clarity of the extract permits application of larger samples for two-dimensional paper chromatography than has been customary. For gradient analysis by reverse-phase ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), the nitrogen-evaporated methanol extract is dissolved in the initial mobile phase, 0.1% H 3 PO 4 , for injection onto the column. Using these methods we have achieved the first reported separation of 125 I-labeled tissue iodothyronine metabolites by HPLC. The new method of extraction is of general applicability to any biological sample which might be analyzed in thyroid hormone metabolism research.
Novel Lavendamycin Analogues as Antitumor Agents: Synthesis, in Vitro Cytotoxicity, Structure−Metabolism, and Computational Molecular Modeling Studies with NAD(P)H:Quinone Oxidoreductase 1

Novel lavendamycin analogues with various substituents were synthesized and evaluated as potential NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase (NQO1)-directed antitumor agents. Pictet−Spengler condensation of quinoline- or quninoline-5,8-dione aldehydes with tryptamine or tryptophans yielded the lavendamycins. Metabolism studies with recombinant human NQO1 revealed that addition of NH2 and CH2OH groups at the quinolinedione-7-position and indolopyridine-2‘-position had the greatest positive impact on substrate specificity. The best and poorest substrates were 37 (2‘-CH2OH-7-NH2 derivative) and 31 (2‘-CONH2-7-NHCOC3H7-n derivative) with reduction rates of 263 ± 30 and 0.1 ± 0.1 μmol/min/mg NQO1, respectively. Cytotoxicity toward human colon adenocarcinoma cells was determined for the lavendamycins. The best substrates for NQO1 were also the most selectively toxic to the NQO1-rich BE-NQ cells compared to NQO1-deficient BE-WT cells with 37 as the most selective. Molecular docking supported a model in which the best subst...
Retinal neurons regulate proliferation of postnatal progenitors and Müller glia in the rat retina via TGFβ signaling

The number of proliferating cells in the rodent retina declines dramatically after birth. To determine if extrinsic factors in the retinal micro-environment are responsible for this decline in proliferation, we established cultures of retinal progenitors or Muller glia, and added dissociated retinal neurons from older retinas. The older cells inhibited proliferation of progenitor cells and Muller glia. When these experiments were performed in the presence of TGFβRII-Fc fusion protein, an inhibitor of TGFβ signaling, proliferation was restored. This suggests a retina-derived TGFβ signal is responsible for the developmental decline in retinal proliferation. TGFβ receptors I and II are expressed in the retina and are located in nestin-positive progenitors early in development and glast-positive Muller glia later in development. RT-PCR and immunofluorescence data show TGFβ2 is the most highly expressed TGFβ ligand in the postnatal retina, and it is expressed by inner retinal neurons. Addition of either TGFβ1 or TGFβ2 to postnatal day 4 retinas significantly inhibited progenitor proliferation, while treatment of explanted postnatal day 6 retinas with TGFβ signaling inhibitors resulted in increased proliferation. Last, we tested the effects of TGFβ in vivo by injections of TGFβ signaling inhibitors: when TGFβ signaling is inhibited at postnatal day 5.5, proliferation is increased in the central retina; and when co-injected with EGF at postnatal day 10, TGFβ inhibitors stimulate Muller glial proliferation. In sum, these results show that retinal neurons produce a cytostatic TGFβ signal that maintains mitotic quiescence in the postnatal rat retina.
Mucin stain on frozen sections: a rapid 3-minute method.

Abstract Context.—The importance of frozen-section diagnoses in the practice of pathology cannot be overemphasized. In some cases, the use of a mucin stain can greatly aid in the diagnosis. Since few methods for mucin staining have been described that can be used in the frozen-section setting, we developed one such staining procedure for mucin. Objective.—To develop a rapid mucicarmine staining technique to be used on frozen sections that does not significantly delay overall turnaround time. Design.—A standard mucicarmine staining technique was modified by using a concentrated mucicarmine stain and a microwave oven, to reduce the total staining time to 3 minutes or less. Frozen tissue from normal colonic mucosa was used as a control, and skin from extramammary Paget disease for evaluation of margins was used as a case. Results.—The rapid mucicarmine stain successfully demonstrated the presence of mucin on frozen-tissue sections. Mucin stained deep rose, and the connective tissue stained green. Conclusion....
Control of intraocular pressure fluctuation: Are combination drugs more effective?

Evaluation of: Spaeth GL, Bernstein P, Caprioli J, Schiffman RM. Control of intraocular pressure and fluctuation with fixed-combination brimonidine–timolol versus brimonidine or timolol monotherapy. Am. J. Ophthalmol. 151(1), 93–99.e4 (2011).Lowering intraocular pressure (IOP) is fundamental in the treatment of glaucoma, as it is the only therapy demonstrated to slow progression of disease. IOP fluctuation, however, may be more complex and its role in glaucoma is not clear. Recent advances have resulted in fixed-combination drugs, which improve compliance with better efficacy than monotherapy of the components separately. This study compares the effect of fixed-combination brimonidine–timolol to timolol alone and brimonidine alone on IOP lowering and IOP fluctuation. This article demonstrates that the fixed combination lowers IOP and reduces intraday (daytime) and interday fluctuation more than either component alone. The combination may be useful as a step therapy from either of the individual components.
PSO-tuned Adaptive Backstepping Control of Power Systems

In this paper, an adaptive backstepping excitation control, tuned using particle swarm optimization (PSO), is designed for stability enhancement of multi-machine power systems. The interconnection terms are considered as uncertain functions of electric power and its derivative whose parameters are adapted using PSO. The proposed technique is illustrated on a 50-machine-145-bus system, which shows that the designed controllers are effective in stabilizing the system under severe contingencies and perform better when compared with conventional power system stabilizers
A Test of Central Place Theory Using Shuttle Imaging Radar (SIR-A) of China's North Central Plain

Abstract This study utilizes radar imagery to test the application of Walter Christaller's central‐place theory on China's North Central Plain. Examination of the spatial order and layout of settlements reveal that central place theory's transportation principle, k=4 exists. The study distinguishes four hierarchical settlement sizes and shows how effective rural societies are in evolving settlement structures whose spatial order and regularity avoids spatial inefficiencies. The advent of space based imaging systems such as SIR‐A radar imagery has permitted tests of new sites where the restrictive conditions of central place theory exist. These studies allow parallels to be drawn between the postulates of this theory of settlement structure and whether the theory is matched in reality. This work is needed because of such scarcities. It allows the theory to undergo further subjections, a scrutiny needed for the validation, or otherwise of its postulates. The work adds to a large body of literature on this t...
High-Strength, Metalized Fibers for Conformal Load Bearing Antenna Applications

We propose the use of high strength, metal-coated Kevlar yarns to weave flexible, conformal, and load-bearing antennas for an emerging class of applications emphasizing multiple functionality. In particular, here we present a unified, quantitative analysis of multiple properties of conductors as load-bearing materials in stress-, weight-, and shape-critical applications (e.g., in aerial vehicles), suggesting advantageous electrical conductor configurations to be metal-coated, multi-filament, high strength fibers. We then describe the fabrication of highly conductive metal coated Kevlar yarns, their mechanical and electrical properties, and the weaving of a flexible, stretchable, volumetric spiral antenna. The high frequency response of the antenna is found to match that of a traditionally made antenna comprised of electroplated copper on a rigid ceramic (Rogers TMM4) substrate. At low frequencies, the relatively lower conductivity of the metal-coated kevlar yarn leads to higher resistive losses compared to the traditional electroplated copper. We discuss strategies for mitigating such losses, and other means of improvement. More broadly, the results described here suggest a novel direction for multi-functional antenna design and applications, enabled by the superior mechanical characteristics of the composite conducting fibers, and the flexible, conformable, woven antenna architectures they help achieve.
Response to Richard Burridge, Imitating Jesus

I am pleased to have the opportunity to participate in this debate on a book that I have watched in the making, from a distance, over the past ten years or more. Richard Burridge was a faithful participant in the New Testament Ethics Seminar at the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas, a seminar that I had the privilege of co-chairing, along with Wolfgang Schrage and Andreas Lindemann. During the years of that working group Richard presented early drafts of material that adumbrated the basic themes of Imitating Jesus. Consequently, he and I have been discussing our common interests in these matters for quite a while. Anyone who reads Richard's substantial new work alongside my earlier book, The Moral Vision of the New Testament, will see that we don't always agree, but there are actually a fair number of commonalities – perhaps more commonalities than would be conveyed by a casual survey of Richard's explicit references to my work.
From Embargo to Ostpolitik: The Political Economy of West German-Soviet Relations, 1955-1980

List of tables Preface Acknowledgments 1. The German problem and linkage politics 2. The long road to moscow: the origins of linkage, 1955 3. From diplomacy to trade: 1955-1958 4. Trade and the Berlin crisis: 1958-1961 5. The pipe embargo: 1962-1963 6. The failure of linkage: 1964-1968 7. Brandt's Ostpolitik and the Soviet response: 1969-1970 8. From Moscow to Bonn: the consolidation of Ostpolitik and Westpolitik, 1970-1980 9. Beyond Ostpolitik and Westpolitik: the economics of detente 10. Normalization and the future of Soviet-West German relations Notes Bibliography Index.
Discourse-constrained Temporal Annotation

We describe an experiment on a temporal ordering task in this paper. We show that by selecting event pairs based on discourse structure and by modifying the pre-existent temporal classification scheme to fit the data better, we significantly improve inter-annotator agreement, as well as broaden the coverage of the task. We also present analysis of the current temporal classification scheme and propose ways to improve it in future work.
Urban Air Pollution

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the fact that air pollution enters every phase of our daily lives. The average citizen may find that his eyes hurt. Farmers' crops are damaged, and sometimes ruined. In our laboratories even carefully designed experiments are affected by air pollution. The astronomer is annoyed by light scattering by dust and dirt from the ever-expanding cities. Even on our way to a meeting the buildings we pass afford abundant evidence of the destructive power of air pollution. This chapter briefly sketches the fundamental nature of the air pollution problem and discusses some of the problems where a mathematical treatment can be beneficial. Air pollution studies concern themselves primarily with the nature and variability of the chemical composition of the lower atmosphere. It also discusses that a common operation, such as burning of wood or sawdust in an incinerator is not as straightforward as one would think. The oxidation is seldom complete and combines the features of different types of distillations carried out in the presence and absence of oxygen. In laboratory experiments more than a hundred different compounds have been identified in the dry distillation of wood.
Synthesis of maximally-permissive liveness-enforcing control policies for Gadara petri nets

This paper studies the synthesis of maximally-permissive liveness-enforcing control policies for Gadara nets. Gadara nets are a special class of Petri nets that model allocation of locks in multithreaded computer programs for the purpose of deadlock avoidance. We propose a new control synthesis algorithm that can be used for liveness enforcement of Gadara nets. The algorithm employs structural analysis of the net and synthesizes monitor places to control a special class of siphons, termed resource-induced deadly-marked siphons. We present an iterative control methodology based on this algorithm that converges in a finite number of iterations. The methodology exploits a covering of the unsafe states that is updated at each iteration. Both the proposed algorithm and the associated iterative control methodology are shown to be correct and maximally permissive with respect to the goal of liveness enforcement.
The Sociology of Property Rights

Property rights matter for their effects on economic inequality and economic performance, and they unfold at the intersection of law, the state, politics, and the economy. Five dimensions of property are discussed: the objects of property (what can be owned), the subjects of property (who can own), the uses of property (what can be done with it), the enforcement of rights (how property rules are maintained), and the transfer of property (how property moves between different owners). We offer examples of how property rights systems vary along these dimensions and how they change over time. We illustrate the arguments with two contemporary empirical cases: the transition economies of Eastern and Central Europe, Russia, and China, and the transformation of intellectual property rights.