cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The influence of salesperson skill, motivation, and training on the practice of customer-oriented selling

Why is customer-oriented selling not practiced widely? The purpose of this research was to identify the relationships between factors that may be related to the practice of customer-oriented selling: Salesperson job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and skills. A survey of 109 retail salespeople provided insights into the relationships between these variables. The findings focused on the importance of the relationships existing between salesperson skills, training, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and salesperson customer orientation. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Abstract C2: Aspartic acid residues drive the membrane translocation of pHLIP, a therapeutic and imaging agent for solid tumors

The pHLIP peptide is a new therapeutic and imaging agent for cancer treatment. The pHLIP (pH-Low-Insertion Peptide) is soluble in solution but interestingly, it is able to interact with the plasma membrane and insert as a monomeric transmembrane helix (pKa=6.0). The insertion requires an acidic extracellular environment, such as that found in most solid tumors and inflammation sites. The pHLIP, which is nontoxic in mice, is specifically distributed to tumors (with minor labeling of kidney), as imaged by PET and near-infrared fluorescence. The insertion of pHLIP is unidirectional, as the C-terminus is translocated across the membrane, while the N-terminus remains exposed to the extracellular medium. The insertion energy can be employed to translocate into the cytoplasm membrane-impermeable molecules. As a proof of principle, we showed that the polar toxin phalloidin (which binds to F-actin, inhibiting its depolymerization) is translocated in a pH-dependent fashion into HeLa, JC, and M4A4 cancer cells, inhibiting cell growth and causing cytoeskeletal immobilization and multinucleation. Here we study the molecular determinants of pHLIP membrane insertion. The pH-mediated translocation is thought to be triggered by the protonation (loss of negative charge) of carboxyl groups present in pHLIP. Accordingly, the four aspartic acid (Asp) residues of pHLIP were sequentially mutated, and the efficacy of the membrane insertion and exit was studied in a liposome system. We found a correlation between the number and location of Asp with the peptides ability in insert into and exit from the membrane in a pH-dependent manner. We also observed that the number of Asp in the peptide determines the insertion properties (pKa and the cooperativity), suggesting that the tumor labeling properties of pHLIP can be specifically tuned to better match the physiological acidity of solid tumors. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Second AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Basic Cancer Research; 2011 Sep 14-18; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(18 Suppl):Abstract nr C2.
Databases in Virtual Organizations: a collective interview and call for researchers

When the Databases in Virtual Organizations (DIVO) workshop convened after SIGMOD 2004 in Paris, many of us attending weren't sure what a virtual organization was, much less what relevance it could have to database research. Five hours later, as the lights snapped off in the rest of the building and the maintenance crew hovered patiently outside our meeting room, we had become a group with a mission: to let the database research community know what an incredible idea generator and testbed virtual organizations could be for research on information integration and data security.
Sexually-dimorphic expression of tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity in the brain of a vocal teleost fish (Porichthys notatus)

Vocal communication has emerged as a powerful model for the study of neural mechanisms of social behavior. Modulatory neurochemicals postulated to play a central role in social behavior, related to motivation, arousal, incentive and reward, include the catecholamines, particularly dopamine and noradrenaline. Many questions remain regarding the functional mechanisms by which these modulators interact with sensory and motor systems. Here, we begin to address these questions in a model system for vocal and social behavior, the plainfin midshipman fish (Porichthys notatus). We mapped the distribution of immunoreactivity for the catecholamine-synthesizing enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) in the midshipman brain. The general pattern of TH(+) cell groups in midshipman appears to be highly conserved with other teleost fish, with a few exceptions, including the apparent absence of pretectal catecholamine cells. Many components of the midshipman vocal and auditory systems were innervated by TH(+) fibers and terminals, including portions of the subpallial area ventralis, the preoptic complex, and the anterior hypothalamus, the midbrain periaqueductal gray and torus semicircularis, several hindbrain auditory nuclei, and parts of the hindbrain vocal pattern generator. These areas thus represent potential sites for catecholamine modulation of vocal and/or auditory behavior. To begin to test functionally whether catecholamines modulate vocal social behaviors, we hypothesized that male and female midshipman, which are sexually dimorphic in both their vocal-motor repertoires and in their responses to hearing conspecific vocalizations, should exhibit sexually dimorphic expression of TH immunoreactivity in their vocal and/or auditory systems. We used quantitative immunohistochemical techniques to test this hypothesis across a number of brain areas. We found significantly higher levels of TH expression in male midshipman relative to females in the TH cell population in the paraventricular organ of the diencephalon and in the TH-innervated torus semicircularis, the main teleost midbrain auditory structure. The torus semicircularis has been implicated in sexually dimorphic behavioral responses to conspecific vocalizations. Our data thus support the general idea that catecholamines modulate vocal and auditory processing in midshipman, and the specific hypothesis that they shape sexually dimorphic auditory responses in the auditory midbrain.
Effect of Resin Components on the Reversion Process of Sulfur-Vulcanized Guayule Rubber

Abstract An effort to characterize the reversion process of guayule rubber when naturally-occurring guayule resin components are present has shown that these components act as a reversion-retarding material. The amount of reversion resistance varies as a function of temperature, concentration, and type of fatty acid. Of the three fatty acids used, linoleic acid, stearic acid, and oleic acid, linoleic acid performed the best for reversion resistance, followed by stearic acid, then oleic acid. When the temperature was increased 10°C, an increase of 15% reversion was observed. This held true for the three temperatures studied. In addition, the amount of reversion improvement upon addition was 20% reversion. In the case of curing at 150°C, this resulted in 0% reversion. The 20% resistance improvment was consistent for the 3 temperatures studied.
Changes in motility that accompany the acrosome reaction in hyperactivated hamster spermatozoa

High-speed videomicrography was used to compare the movement characteristics of hamster epididymal sperm which completed the acrosome reaction in vitro with those of unreacted sperm in the same sample. More than 90% of the motile sperm incubated for 4.25 hr in a modified Tyrode's medium containing bovine serum albumin, taurine, and epinephrine were hyperactivated and about half were acrosome reacted. The flagella of reacted sperm beat with significantly lower frequency and bent into more acute curves than those of unreacted sperm. Lowered beat frequencies were not attributable to aging, because sperm induced to react synchronously at 3.5 hr using lysophosphatidyl choline beat with similar lowered frequencies. Both acrosome-reacted and unreacted hyperactivated sperm swam in circular trajectories resulting from asymmetrical flagellar beating. The flagellar beating of unreacted sperm was more symmetrical; consequently, they swam in larger circles and had the potential to cover space more rapidly. Some unreacted sperm, perhaps in transition towards hyperactivation, swam in helical trajectories. When preincubated sperm were added to slides containing oocytes in cumulus, some unreacted sperm initiated cumulus penetration. All reacted sperm failed to do so, adhering instead to the cumulus at its boundary. Reacted sperm attached to the zonae pellucidae of cumulus-free oocytes via the region of the inner acrosomal membrane. Unreacted sperm attached via the equatorial region, but pivoted about the point of attachment, thus failing to generate sustained thrust against the zona. In conclusion, unreacted hyperactivated sperm have a different potential than reacted sperm for movement and interaction with egg vestments.
Effects of phase aberration on acoustic radiation force-based shear wave generation

Tissue elasticity is measured by shear wave elasticity imaging methods using acoustic radiation force to create the shear waves. Reliable tissue elasticity measurements are achieved with strong shear waves. Phase aberration and tissue attenuation can hamper the generation of shear waves for in vivo applications. In this study we explored how phase aberration and tissue attenuation affects ultrasound focusing for creating shear waves, the resulting phase screen, acoustic field, shear wave amplitude and the shear wave velocity were measured. A Verasonics ultrasound system equipped with a linear array transducer (L7-4), an excised piece of swine belly tissue consisted of the skin, subcutaneous fat, and muscle and an elastic phantom were used. The ultrasound frequency used to generate shear waves was varied. The acoustic pressure and shear wave amplitude decreased with the introduction of the tissue layers. Decreasing the ultrasound frequency was important for maintaining a focused beam for creation of shear waves in the presence of phase aberration and attenuation. Analysis of shear wave production with a tissue layer (aberration and attenuation case) and measured phase screen (only aberration case) showed that tissue attenuation affects the shear wave generation more than tissue aberration.
Euler class construction

Suppose A is a commutative noetherian ring of dimension n, and L is a line bundle on Spec(A). Suppose J is a local complete intersection ideal of height n and J=(f1,…,fn-1,fn)+J2. Write I=(f1,…,fn-1)+J(n-1)!. Let (I,ω) be any L-cycle in the Euler class group E(A,L). We construct an oriented projective A-module (P,χ) such that (1) [P]-[L⊕An-1]=-[A/J]∈K0(A), (2) P maps onto I and (3) the Euler class e(P,χ)=(I,ω)∈E(A,L), if A contains the field of rationals.
Imperfection sensitivity of axially compressed stringer reinforced cylindrical panels under internal pressure

Longitudinal edge stiffness and internal pressure effects on buckling and initial postbuckling behavior of axially compressed stringer reinforced cylindrical panels, discussing imperfection sensitivity
Noise assessment for passive FT-IR spectrometer measurements

The spectroradiometric performance characteristics of a FT- IR spectrometer are evaluated as a function of temperature, optical mirror velocity, and spectral resolution. The noise equivalent radiance per root Hertz is used in these noise evaluations and is shown to be an important Michelson interferometer figure of merit.© (1998) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
A Structured Query Model for the Deep Relational Web

The deep web is very large and diverse and queries evaluated against the deep web can provide great value. While there have been attempts at accessing the data in the deep web, these are clever "one-of'' systems and techniques. In this paper, we describe an ongoing research of a generic structured query model that can be used against the deep web. Using this query model, the contributions of a community of researchers can be combined freely, leading to a system that can be improved incrementally each time someone develops a specific novel technique to improve a particular operator.
Inverted minimality and topic-island effects

Abstract Minimality can be considered to be a theoretical device to disambiguate government relations in cases where there is more than one possible governor for one governee. The other way to bar ambiguous government is to disambiguate government relations in cases where there is more than one possible governee for one governor. Since this type of Minimality is opposite in effect to the other existing types of Minimality, Chomsky's (1986b) ‘rigid’ Minimality and Rizzi's (1990) Relativized Minimality, we will call the present version Inverted Minimality . The purpose of this paper is to illustrate and elucidate the significance of this type of Minimality in the theory of government. It will be demonstrated with the aid of the framework of Rizzi (1990) and Cinque (1990) that we cannot account for the following phenomena without introducing Inverted Minimality: (i) accusative Case-marking of multiple subject NPs in the small clause construction in Japanese; and (ii) ‘strong’ topic-island effects in English and Japanese. The effects of Inverted Minimality on head-government and on antecedent-government concern (i) and (ii), respectively.
IN PRAISE OF FOLLY? THEOLOGY AND THE UNIVERSITY

. To suppose the possibility of dialogue between theology and science is to suppose that theology is an intellectually worthy partner to engage in dialogue with science. The status of theology as a discipline, however, remains contested, one sign of which is the absence of theology from the university. I argue that a healthy theology-science dialogue would benefit from the presence of theology as an academic discipline in the university. Theology and theologians would benefit from the much closer contact with university disciplines, including the sciences. The university and the sciences would benefit from the presence of theology, providing a department of ultimate concern, where big questions may be asked and ideologies critiqued. A university theology would need to meet standards of academic integrity.
Confessionalization: Reformation, Religion, Absolutism, and Modernity

This article describes the theoretical aspects of forty years of research on confessionalization, the dominant idea for interpreting the later German Reformation (1555–1649). It describes programmatic statements, important debates, and research that supports and challenges the paradigm in the area of political and social history. It suggests cultural and intellectual history as strong possibilities for further research on the late Reformation.
Acute suppurative salpingitis with concomitant intrauterine pregnancy

A 20-year-old woman presented to the emergency department with a history of lower abdominal pain and recent loss of consciousness. She was admitted with a primary diagnosis of abdominal pain; ectopic pregnancy was ruled out. The culture of the endocervix was positive for Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Surgical exploration of the pelvis was performed, and histological analysis of the specimen showed an acute suppurative salpingitis and an intrauterine pregnancy. The patient was placed on intravenous antibiotics. Postoperative course was unremarkable, and the patient was discharged on oral antibiotics. Although a rare entity acute suppurative salpingitis with concomitant intrauterine pregnancy are not mutually exclusive. Ectopic pregnancy should be the presumptive diagnosis when clinical presentation is consistent with pelvic inflammatory disease and pregnancy especially in the first trimester. Patients who are pregnant and exhibit clinical signs and symptoms that are consistent with salpingitis should be admitted for aggressive management of their high-risk pregnancy. Fetal wastage seems to be significant in spite of aggressive management. Endocervical culture for N gonorrhoeae should be obtained from all pregnant patients with follow-up treatment pending culture results. The following is a case presentation along with a review of the existing cases in the English literature and discussion of the possible pathogenesis and clinical outcome of this entity.
Three Absolute Perturbation Bounds for Matrix Eigenvalues Imply Relative Bounds

We show that three well-known perturbation bounds for matrix eigenvalues imply relative bounds: the Bauer--Fike and Hoffman--Wielandt theorems for diagonalizable matrices, and Weyl's theorem for Hermitian matrices. As a consequence, relative perturbation bounds are not necessarily stronger than absolute bounds, and the conditioning of an eigenvalue in the relative sense is the same as in the absolute sense. We also show that eigenvalues of normal matrices are no more sensitive to perturbations than eigenvalues of Hermitian positive-definite matrices. The relative error bounds are invariant under congruence transformations, such as grading and scaling.
Clinical Utility of Endothelial Function Testing: Ready for Prime Time?

“…Arteriosclerosis…is the expression of the natural wear and tear to which the tubes are subjected…the onset of arteriosclerosis depends on the quality of arterial tissue (vital rubber)…in the make up of the machine, bad material was used for the tubing…”1 — William Osler, The Principles and Practice of Medicine, 1892 The arterial endothelium comprises cells resting on a basement membrane that exert autocrine, paracrine, and endocrine functions. This monolayer of endothelial cells plays a crucial role in the regulation of vascular tone in part by the release of vasoactive substances, notably NO, endothelin, prostacyclin, and angiotensinogen.2–4 In addition, endothelial cells are involved in the modulation of platelet activation, leukocyte adhesion, and thrombosis. The endothelium, therefore, delicately balances the counterregulatory pathways that control vasomotion, cell proliferation, thrombosis, inflammation, and oxidation. Endothelial function becomes impaired early in the atherogenic process, and this diminishes the normal vasodilator response. Impaired endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation can be detected by measuring the response to pharmacological and physiological stressors before the development of angiographically significant atherosclerotic plaque in the coronary5,6 and peripheral vasculature.7 Well-known cardiac risk factors, including age, gender, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, and smoking, as well as novel risk factors, such as inflammation and hyperhomocystinemia, have been associated with abnormal vasorelaxation. Pharmacological therapies and lifestyle changes aimed at improving cardiovascular risk, in many instances, may also improve vasomotor function.8 Because atherosclerosis is a diffuse disease process, endothelial function can be assessed in either the coronary or the peripheral circulation. Coronary artery endothelial function is most commonly assessed by intracoronary infusion of acetylcholine, which, acting via muscarinic receptors on endothelial cells, causes release of NO and coronary artery dilation. In patients with risk factors for atherosclerosis and in those with overt coronary artery disease, infusion of acetylcholine results in a diminished vasodilatory response …
Synthesis and oxidation of CpIrIII compounds: functionalization of a Cp methyl group.

[Cp*IrCl2]2 (1) and new Cp*IrIII(L–L)X complexes (L–L = N–O or C–N chelating ligands; X = Cl, I, Me) have been prepared and their reactivity with two-electron chemical oxidants explored. Reaction of 1 with PhI(OAc)2 in wet solvents yields a new chloro-bridged dimer in which each of the Cp* ligands has been singly acetoxylated to form [CpOAcIrIIICl2]2 (2) (CpOAc = η5-C5Me4CH2OAc). Complex 2 and related carboxy- and alkoxy-functionalized CpOR complexes can also be prepared from 1 plus (PhIO)n and ROH. [CpOAcIrIIICl2]2 (2) and the methoxy analogue [CpOMeIrIIICl2]2 (3) have been structurally characterized. Treatment of [Cp*IrCl2]2 (1) with 2-phenylpyridine yields Cp*IrIII(ppy)Cl (4Cl) (ppy = cyclometallated 2-phenylpyridyl) which is readily converted to its iodide and methyl analogues Cp*IrIII(ppy)I (4I) and Cp*IrIII(ppy)Me (4Me). Cp*IrIII complexes were also prepared with N–O chelating ligands derived from anthranilic acid (2-aminobenzoic acid) and α-aminoisobutyric acid (H2NCMe2COOH), ligands chosen to be relatively oxidation resistant. These complexes and 1 were reacted with potential two-electron oxidants including PhI(OAc)2, hexachlorocyclohexadienone (C6Cl6O), N-fluoro-2,4,6-trimethylpyridinium (Me3pyF+), [Me3O]BF4 and MeOTf (OTf = triflate, CF3SO3). Iridium(V) complexes were not observed or implicated in these reactions, despite the similarity of the potential products to known Cp*IrV species. The carbon electrophiles [Me3O]BF4 and MeOTf appear to react preferentially at the N–O ligands, to give methyl esters in some cases. Overall, the results indicate that Cp* is not inert under oxidizing conditions and is therefore not a good supporting ligand for oxidizing organometallic complexes.
Digital image restoration using quadratic programming.

The problem of digital image restoration is considered by obtaining an approximate solution to the Fredholm integral equation of the first kind in two variables. The system of linear equations resulting from the discretization of the integral equation is converted to a consistent system of linear equations. The problem is then solved as a quadratic programming problem with bounded variables where the unknown solution is minimized in the L2 norm. In this method minimum computer storage is needed, and the repeated solutions are obtained in an efficient way. Also the rank of the consistent system which gives a best or near best solution is estimated. Computer simulated examples using spatially separable pointspread functions are presented. Comments and conclusion are given.
Integrated cantilever development for ultrasonic and acoustic scanning probe microscopy

Although conventional optical lever technology typically used for scanning probe microscope applications has proven high sensitivity, accuracy, and is cost effective for most applications involving micromachined cantilever deflection measurements, the frequency limitations and space needs limit its applicability to emerging ultrasonic-based scanning probe microscopy (SPM) applications. Recently, the fabrication of cantilevers integrated with actuation and sensing components has opened avenues for feedback-based driving of micromachined cantilevers at higher order resonance frequencies, while sensing average deflection without the need of an optical deflection pathway for average deflection sensing. The work presented here reviews recent efforts by our group in fabricating micromachined cantilevers with integrated ZnO actuation layers to induce cantilever deflection. These cantilevers are being fabricated for use in a heterodyne force microscopy system (HFM) to enable SPM imaging contrast based on viscoelastic response of a surface in contact with a micromachined tip, wherein active-feedback technology is being applied to maintain ultrasonic tip excitation at higher order cantilever resonances. The first- and second-pass fabrication results are presented and reviewed regarding cantilever release and ZnO actuator (and electrode) fabrication. Dynamic response data from these structures, measured via laser Doppler vibrometry, reveal the expected resonance structure for a cantilever of these dimensions.
Feeling Good and Doing Good for the Environment: The Use of Emotional Appeals in Pro-Environmental Public Service Announcements

Research in political psychology suggests that politicians successfully manipulate emotions through campaign advertisements. While work in environmental psychology emphasizes emotional connection to the environment, scholars have yet to examine the potential of emotional appeals in non-campaign messages. I am interested in the use of emotional appeals in pro-environmental public service announcements. I set out to test the effect of emotional appeals in an environmental public service announcement script. Using a survey experiment I demonstrate that emotions significantly influence the environmental attitudes of participants. My findings offer support for the application of affective intelligence theory to environmental communication.
The impact of observation and action errors on informational cascades

In models of observational learning among Bayesian agents, informational cascades can result, in which agents ignore their private information and blindly follow the actions of other agents. This paper considers the impacts of two types of errors in such models: action errors, where agents occasionally choose sub-optimal actions and observation errors, where agents observe the action of another agent incorrectly. We investigate and compare the impact of these two types of errors on the agents' welfare and the probability of incorrect cascade. Using a Markov chain model, we derive the net payoff of each agent as a function of his private signal quality and the error rates. A main result of this analysis is that in certain cases, increasing the observation error rate can lead to higher welfare for all but a finite number of agents.
Silent Listenings: Deconstructive Practices in Discourse-Based Research

In this article, I respond to Wanda Pillow’s (2000)challenge to Educational Researcher and other educational journals to provide more working examples of postmodern research not in an effort to contain such research, but in an effort to irrupt or break apart efforts at containment. Specifically, I present a methodological approach for listening to the “silences” revealed in my conversations with White teachers regarding their racial identity. Those silences, present both in the absence of speech and in speech acts, were “heard” through the use of a deconstructive practice for listening to the conversations. This deconstructive practice allowed the silences to disrupt the tranquil assurance of the spoken word.
DTT: A Distributed Trust Toolkit for pervasive systems

Effective security mechanisms are essential to the widespread deployment of pervasive systems. Much of the research focus on security in pervasive computing has revolved around distributed trust management. While such mechanisms are effective in specific environments, there is no generic framework for deploying and extending these mechanisms over a variety of pervasive systems. We present the design and implementation of a novel framework called Distributed Trust Toolkit (DTT), for implementing and evaluating trust mechanisms in pervasive systems. The DTT facilitates the extension and adaptation of trust mechanisms by abstracting trust mechanisms into interchangeable components. Furthermore, the DTT provides a set of tools and interfaces to ease implementation of trust mechanisms and facilitate their execution on a variety of platforms and networks. In addition to the adaptability and extensibility provided by this design, we demonstrate through simulation that use of DTT improves utilization of resources and enhances performance of existing trust mechanisms in pervasive systems. We are currently developing an implementation of the DTT that can be easily deployed in pervasive environments.
Nut-like oil seeds: food for monkeys, chimpanzees, humans, and probably ape-men.

The hypothetical hyperrobust australopithecine gnathic nutcracker adaptation is reexamined in light of ecobotanical information on edible wild nuts provided by the flora of tropical and subtropical Africa. The nut producing species are tree-forms. Those of the forest region do not as a rule produce fruits with edible mesocarps. In contrast, the woodland savanna species (particularly in the Zambezian region) characteristically provide an important whole fruit, i.e., a nutritious mesocarp in addition to edible oil-rich nut seeds. These fruits drop from the tree before they are fully mature and go through the final ripening phase on the ground. They are important seasonal foods for a variety of vertebrates, including primates, elephants, and antelope. Altogether the nuts exhibit a broad range of toughness values, measured here as strength under compression. The woodland nuts are not as tough (177–934 kg force, breaking load) as those of the tropical forest (192–1,673 kg force). The seed-predators of the woodland species include squirrels, baboons, warthogs, and parrots. Paleoecological analyses indicate that it was the woodland nuts that were probably available to Australopithecus boisei and A. robustus. Preliminary estimates of adult male gnathic nut-cracking capabilities suggest that A. boisei could have orally cracked a significant portion of the woodland nuts. In spite of this, ecobotanical data indicate that we can probably reject the hypothesis that these hominids were year-round gnathic nut-cracking specialists. Both the indirect and direct evidence support this conclusion.
Large-eddy simulations of the diurnal cycle of shallow convection and cloudiness over the tropical Indian Ocean

A 3-D non-hydrostatic model (EULAG) with warm-rain bulk microphysics was used to study the diurnal cycle of shallow convection and cloudiness in the trade wind boundary layer over the Indian Ocean. Simulations were initialized with soundings obtained during the Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX). In the absence of diurnally varying large-scale forcing, the simulated diurnal cycles of vertical velocities, turbulent fluxes, condensation rate and cloudiness were characterized by distinct daytime reductions. Solar heating in the boundary layer stabilized the air, decreased the relative humidity and, therefore, suppressed cloud-layer turbulence and shallow cumulus convection. As a result, the condensation rate and cloud amount were reduced. Stronger thermal updraughts and turbulent fluxes caused by solar heating in the mixed layer triggered the recovery of cloudiness in the afternoon when the instability in the cloud layer increased. Sensitivity experiments showed that the principal cause of the daytime heating of the atmosphere and reductions in convection and cloudiness was not the diurnally varying surface fluxes nor the cloud radiative effects, but rather the gaseous absorption of solar radiation due mainly to water vapour in the spectral band of 2500–14 500 cm−1 and ozone in the ultraviolet and visible bands. Compared to the average short-wave heating of 0.1 K day−1 due to cloud droplets, gases enhanced solar heating by about 2.0 K day−1 in the cloud layer. However, depending on its direction and magnitude, large-scale vertical motion can highly modulate the diurnal cycles driven by solar heating, representing a big uncertainty in observing the diurnal cycle of shallow cumuli. Copyright © 2008 Royal Meteorological Society
Requirements for CD4(+) T cell levels in acute Mycobacterium bovis strain bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG)-induced granulomas differ for optimal mycobacterial control versus granuloma formation.

Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG)-induced granulomas contain T cells that express a broad TCR repertoire even at the level of the individual lesion. We have developed a BCG infection model in mice having only one T cell specific for a recombinant BCG epitope expressed in a lipoprotein fusion protein. Here we report that the single T cell model induces well-formed granulomas, but has weaker protection than that conferred by wild-type granulomas. This finding correlates with lower CD4+ T cell recruitment into acute granulomas (3 weeks post infection). Chronic granulomas (6 weeks post infection) contain similar proportions of CD4+ T cells in both models, but in the single T cell model the proportion of leukocyte function-associated antigen-1 low, non-IFNγ-producing CD4+ T cells is lower. In fact, even though it is likely that there are very few, if any, IFNγ+ CD4+ T cells present in the single T cell model, granuloma integrity is not influenced, indicating that high levels of IFNγ are not required for granuloma maintenance. These data underline the importance of early CD4+ T cell recruitment into the granuloma to anti-mycobacterial protection and show that CD4+ T cell levels required for granuloma formation and optimal protection are different. These data also show that T cell repertoire complexity contributes to protection against mycobacteria.
A New Method of Bandaging Orthotopic Murine Skin Grafts.

SummaryA simplified chamber technique for bandaging orthotopic murine skin grafts was demonstrated to offer accessibility to the graft and rapid application of the bandages. There were no significant differences between the behavior of orthotopic grafts bandaged with this chamber technique or with the conventional Plaster of Paris method.
Prevalence and risk indicators for destructive periodontal diseases in 3 urban American minority populations.

Background, aims: Destructive periodontal diseases have been reported disproportionately more prevalent and severe in African-Americans relative to other American populations. Differences in subgingival microbiota and host immune response have also been reported for African-Americans, implying that risk factors for disease progression may also differ for these populations. Since it is not clear whether these differences are truly genetic or due to confounding variables such as social economic status, we examined a series of clinical, environmental, demographic, and microbiologic features associated with periodontal disease status in a group of 185 urban minority subjects resident within the greater New York metropolitan area. Methods: The study population consisted of 56 Asian-American, 71 African-American and 58 Hispanic subjects. Clinical data recorded included pocket depth, attachment level, gingival erythema, bleeding upon probing, suppuration, and the presence of supragingival plaque. Environmental and demographic data recorded included smoking history, years resident in the United States, whether the subject reported a private dentist and occupational status. Subgingival plaque was sampled from the mesial aspect of all teeth exclusive of third molars and the levels of 40 subgingival species enumerated using checkerboard DNA-DNA hybridization. Results: The African-American group had more missing teeth, deeper periodontal pocket depth and more attachment loss than the Asian-American or Hispanic groups. However, the African-American group were less likely to report having a private dentist, had a greater proportion of smokers and a greater proportion of unskilled individuals. The profile of subgingival species differed among the three ethnic/racial groups with A. actinomycetemcomitans, N. mucosa, S. noxia and T. socranskii significantly elevated in the Asian-American group and P. micros significantly elevated in the African-American group. When subset by occupational status, numbers of missing teeth, pocket depth, attachment level and prior disease activity were all found increased in the unskilled relative to the professional group. Local factors including the mean % of sites with plaque, marginal gingival erythema, bleeding upon probing and suppuration were also elevated in the unskilled group. The microbial profile differed among the 3 occupational groups with the unskilled group having elevated numbers of species associated with destructive periodontal diseases. Conclusions: Although greater destructive periodontal disease prevalence and severity were found in the African-American group, these results suggest that environmental and demographic variables, such as occupational status, may have a greater influence on risk indicators associated with disease prevalence and progression in these populations.
In vivo effects of antibodies to immune response gene products. II. Suppression of humoral immune responses with monoclonal anti-I-A is due to suppressor cells.

The I region of the murine major histocompatibility complex (H-2) encodes two cell surface glycoprotein complexes (Aα:Aβ and Eα:Eβ) which exert profound control over many immunologic reactions including humoral and cellular responses to a variety of antigens, i.e., Ir gene effects, stimulation in mixed lymphocyte reaction, graft versus host disease, antigen presentation to T cells by macrophages, collaboration between T and B cells and determination of T cell help or suppression [1-13]. In the past few years, several laboratories have reported that antibodies directed against I region gene products (anti-la) are effective in modulating immune responses both in vitro and in vivo [14-32, 48-51]. The ability of anti-la antibodies to alter immune responsiveness was attributed to their interaction with macrophage la antigens, thus masking or sterically hindering la epitopes involved in antigen presentation [16,17, 33-35]. However, other reports have suggested that additional mechanisms may be involved [28, 36-...
A VLSI architecture for a single-chip 5-Mbaud QAM receiver

The architecture design and VLSI implementation of 5-MBd quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) receiver chip are discussed. The chip contains all of the signal processing blocks required to implement a complete all-digital QAM receiver including a quadrature demodulator, an adaptive feedforward equalizer (FFE), an adaptive decision-feedback equalizer (DFE), a sampling phase error detector, and a numerically controlled oscillator (NCO). The FFE and DFE are both 20-tap filters and use an LMS coefficient updating algorithm. The FFE can be used in either a T-spaced or T/2-spaced mode. The projected maximum clock frequency of the receiver chip is 100 MHz for a symbol rate of 5 MBd. The receiver accommodates modulation formats as complex as 256-QAM, which corresponds to a peak throughput rate of 40 Mb/s. The chip will be fabricated in 1.0- mu m CMOS, and will require an estimated 10-mm*7-mm die area. >
Mad2 and BubR1 Function in a Single Checkpoint Pathway that Responds to a Loss of Tension

The spindle checkpoint monitors microtubule attachment and tension at kinetochores to ensure proper chromosome segregation. Previously, PtK1 cells in hypothermic conditions (23 degrees C) were shown to have a pronounced mitotic delay, despite having normal numbers of kinetochore microtubules. At 23 degrees C, we found that PtK1 cells remained in metaphase for an average of 101 min, compared with 21 min for cells at 37 degrees C. The metaphase delay at 23 degrees C was abrogated by injection of Mad2 inhibitors, showing that Mad2 and the spindle checkpoint were responsible for the prolonged metaphase. Live cell imaging showed that kinetochore Mad2 became undetectable soon after chromosome congression. Measurements of the stretch between sister kinetochores at metaphase found a 24% decrease in tension at 23 degrees C, and metaphase kinetochores at 23 degrees C exhibited higher levels of 3F3/2, Bub1, and BubR1 compared with 37 degrees C. Microinjection of anti-BubR1 antibody abolished the metaphase delay at 23 degrees C, indicating that the higher kinetochore levels of BubR1 may contribute to the delay. Disrupting both Mad2 and BubR1 function induced anaphase with the same timing as single inhibitions, suggesting that these checkpoint genes function in the same pathway. We conclude that reduced tension at kinetochores with a full complement of kinetochore microtubules induces a checkpoint dependent metaphase delay associated with elevated amounts of kinetochore 3F3/2, Bub1, and BubR1 labeling.
Averaged energy conditions and quantum inequalities.

In this paper, connections are uncovered between the averaged weak (AWEC) and averaged null (ANEC) energy condtions, and quantum inequality restrictions (uncertainty-principle-type inequalities) on negative energy. In two- and four-dimensional Minkowski spacetime, we examine quantized, free massless, minimally coupled scalar fields. In a two-dimensional spatially compactified Minkowski universe, we derive a covariant quantum inequality-type bound on the difference of the expectation values of ${\mathit{T}}_{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\mu}}\ensuremath{\nu}}$${\mathit{u}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\mu}}}$${\mathit{u}}^{\ensuremath{\nu}}$ in an arbitrary quantum state and in the Casimir vacuum state. From this bound, it is shown that the difference of expectation values also obeys AWEC- and ANEC-type integral conditions. This is surprising, since it is well known that the expectation value of ${\mathit{T}}_{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\mu}}\ensuremath{\nu}}$${\mathit{u}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\mu}}}$${\mathit{u}}^{\ensuremath{\nu}}$ in the renormalized Casimir vacuum state alone satisfies neither quantum inequalities nor averaged energy conditions. Such ``difference inequalities,'' if suggestive of the general case, might represent limits on the degree of energy condition violation that is allowed over and above any violation due to negative energy densities in a background vacuum state. In our simple two-dimensional model, they provide physically interesting examples of new constraints on negative energy which hold even when the usual AWEC, ANEC, and quantum inequality restrictions fail. In the limit when the size of the space is allowed to go to infinity, we derive quantum inequalities for timelike and null geodesics which, in appropriate limits, reduce to AWEC and ANEC in ordinary two-dimensional Minskowski spacetime. Lastly, we also derive a covariant quantum inequality bound on the energy density seen by an arbitrary inertial observer in four-dimensional Minskowski spacetime. The bound implies that any inertial observer in flat spacetime cannot see an arbitrarily large negative energy density which lasts for an arbitrarily long period of time. From this latter bound, we derive AWEC and ANEC.
Analgesic Effect of Fendosal, Ibuprofen and Aspirin in Postoperative Oral Surgery Pain

The analgesic efficacy of a single 200-mg dose of fendosal, a nonnarcotic, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory analgesic, was compared, in a double-blind study, with aspirin 650 mg, ibuprofen 400 mg and placebo in outpatients who had moderate or severe pain after the surgical removal of impacted third molars. Using a self-rating record, patients rated their pain and its relief hourly for up to 12 hours after medicating. Each active medication was significantly superior to placebo. The peak analgesic effect of fendosal 200 mg was similar to that of the aspirin 650-mg standard. Although fendosal's onset of action was slow (3 hours), its effect persisted for 8 hours, substantially longer than that of aspirin. Ibuprofen 400 mg was statistically significantly superior to aspirin 650 mg and fendosal 200 mg for most measures of peak and total analgesia, and its effect persisted for 8 hours. The results of this study raise some questions concerning the comparability of data from studies that employ different criteria for remedication and/or different criteria for the inclusion of data in the analyses of efficacy.
Use of the Ligasure vessel-sealing device for thoracoscopic peripheral lung biopsy in healthy dogs.

Objective To evaluate the use of a bipolar vessel-sealing device for peripheral lung lobe biopsy in healthy dogs. Study Design Experimental study. Animals Mature female hound dogs (n = 6). Methods Thoracoscopic access was obtained by placement of a subxiphoid telescope portal with instrument portals at the right 4–6th intercostal spaces and the left 10th intercostal space. The 10-mm Ligasure Atlas device was used to collect a biopsy specimen from the periphery of the left cranial lung lobe. Dogs were recovered from anesthesia. Histologic evaluation was used to characterize the effect of biopsy technique on pulmonary tissue. Thoracic radiography was performed at 1, 2, 4, and ∼180 days to evaluate for air leakage or other postoperative complications. Results Lung specimens were collected without complications. Postoperatively, 1 dog had some residual pneumothorax thought to be secondary to incomplete thoracic evacuation of air postoperatively. No evidence of air leakage was detected at any time point. Histologically, specimens had 3 distinct zones: a crush zone representing the tissue within the jaws of the device, a transition zone of thermally damaged parenchyma, and beyond that a viable zone of normal parenchyma. Conclusion From these limited data, it appears that the Ligasure Atlas vessel-sealing device can be used for peripheral lung biopsy in healthy dogs. Further studies are required to evaluate the efficacy of the device in dogs with parenchymal disease.
The New FDA Pregnancy Labeling Requirements for Drugs

The new US Food and Drug Administration Proposed Rules for pharmaceutical products for the special population of pregnant women were published in May 2008. With these new rules in place, clinicians caring for women who are pregnant may begin to have clearer and more relevant information in the product label to guide clinical decisions regarding drug use during pregnancy.
Unbalanced Currents in Integrated Circuits and Their Effect on TEM Cell Emissions

Transverse ElectroMagnetic (TEM) cell measurements are often used to evaluate the potential of ICs to cause radiated emissions in printed circuit boards. These measurements are a function of the unbalanced current on package power pins, for example, where more current enters one side of an IC than another, and the displacement current caused by capacitive coupling from the power grid mesh to the septum of the TEM cell. The relationship between unbalanced currents and TEM cell measurements is derived in this paper. A distributed model of the on-die power delivery network is developed to show that unbalanced currents may be caused by an asymmetric power pin arrangement, by an imbalance in package impedance, or by an imbalance in the impedance of the on-die power delivery network. To validate results, the magnitude and phase of high-frequency power-pin currents were measured on a test chip. Experiments showed that results could be used to guide modifications to the chip's connection to the printed circuit board power structure to minimize unbalanced currents and, thus, to minimize TEM cell measurements.
Smart Transmission Grid Applications and Their Supporting Infrastructure

In this paper we assume that time synchronized measurements will be ubiquitously available at all high-voltage substations at very high rates. We examine how this information can be utilized more effectively for real-time operation as well as for subsequent decision making. This new information available in real time is different, both in quality and in quantity, than the real-time measurements available today. The promise of new and improved applications to operate the power system more reliably and efficiently has been recognized but is still in conceptual stages. Also, the present system to handle this real-time data has been recognized to be inadequate but even conceptual designs of such infrastructure needed to store and communicate the data are in their infancy. In this paper, we first suggest the requirements for an information infrastructure to handle ubiquitous phasor measurements recognizing that the quantity and rate of data would make it impossible to store all the data centrally as done today. Then we discuss the new and improved applications, classified into two categories: one is the set of automatic wide-area controls and the other is the set of control center (EMS) functions with special attention to the state estimator. Finally, given that the availability of phasor measurements will grow over time, the path for smooth transition from present-day systems and applications to those discussed here is delineated.
A survey of the co-op writing experiences of recent engineering graduates

This article reports on a survey of 162 recent engineering graduates about their writing experiences during co-op. Specifically, the survey obtained data about how much time they spent writing, to what extent they engaged in collaborative writing, what kinds of documents they wrote, and the purposes and audiences for those documents, whether they believed their employers valued writing ability, and what strategies they perceived as most helpful in learning to write like engineers. Data were analyzed in terms of engineering specialty and gender. The findings are presented, along with implications for teaching and future research.