cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Time-Division Beamforming for MIMO Radar Waveform Design

A colocated multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar transmit scheme is introduced which trades off waveform diversity with beampattern directivity through the use of a linear precoder. Time-division beamforming defines a transmit signal where beamforming vectors are temporally multiplexed throughout a single pulse. The beamforming vectors provide direct control of the transmit beampattern, able to form multiple transmit beams in a single pulse. The MIMO receive ambiguity function, which incorporates the receiver structure, reveals a space and delay-Doppler separability that emphasizes the importance of the transmit-receive beampattern and single-input single-output (SISO) ambiguity function. We introduce a max-min signal-to-interference plus noise ratio (SINR) optimization to design the time-division beamforming signal in a multiple target scenario given target location estimates. Results are compared with existing MIMO radar transmit schemes, under the assumption of both perfect and imperfect target location estimates.
Semantic parameterization: A process for modeling domain descriptions

Software engineers must systematically account for the broad scope of environmental behavior, including nonfunctional requirements, intended to coordinate the actions of stakeholders and software systems. The Inquiry Cycle Model (ICM) provides engineers with a strategy to acquire and refine these requirements by having domain experts answer six questions: who, what, where, when, how, and why. Goal-based requirements engineering has led to the formalization of requirements to answer the ICM questions about when, how, and why goals are achieved, maintained, or avoided. In this article, we present a systematic process called Semantic Parameterization for expressing natural language domain descriptions of goals as specifications in description logic. The formalization of goals in description logic allows engineers to automate inquiries using who, what, and where questions, completing the formalization of the ICM questions. The contributions of this approach include new theory to conceptually compare and disambiguate goal specifications that enables querying goals and organizing goals into specialization hierarchies. The artifacts in the process include a dictionary that aligns the domain lexicon with unique concepts, distinguishing between synonyms and polysemes, and several natural language patterns that aid engineers in mapping common domain descriptions to formal specifications. Semantic Parameterization has been empirically validated in three case studies on policy and regulatory descriptions that govern information systems in the finance and health-care domains.
A simplified approach to computing flow and bedload along gravel dune-like bedforms

River dunes are important bedforms. Problems associated with the development and evolution of dune bedforms include increased flood risks, channel erosion, and damage to fish habitats. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the near-bed flow structure and bedload transport along gavel dune-like bedforms. The velocity field is computed using a relatively simple multi-layer hydrodynamic model, with a parameterization of flow separation in the leeside of dunes. The computation is of high efficiency and avoids uncertainties caused by flow separation. Fractional transport rates for a sediment mixture of sands and gravel are calculated using surface-based techniques. The computed flow velocities and bed shear stresses are in good comparison with acoustic Doppler velocimeter measurements. Bedload transport is shown to increase non-linearly with distance toward the dune crest and reach the maximum at the crest. This implies that dune-length averaged bed shear stress is not suitable for bedload calculations. ...
DO U.S. STOCK MARKET INDEXES OVER- OR UNDERREACT?

Our objective is to investigate the short-term over- or underreaction of six U.S. stock market indexes. We find evidence of a one-day underreaction for winners (days on which an index experiences abnormally high returns) and losers (days on which an index experiences abnormally poor performance). We also find strong evidence of a sixty-day underreaction for winners. For losers, abnormal returns turn from negative to positive as the period is extended, resulting in significant reversals over the sixty-day period. Results are generally consistent for each of the six indexes. Overall, these results provide strong support for the uncertain information hypothesis. JEL classification: G14
HOST‐PLANT UTILIZATION BY HYALOPHORA CECROPIA AS AFFECTED BY PRIOR FEEDING EXPERIENCE

Hyalophora cecropia larvae were switched at the beginning of the penultimate stadium from one host-plant species to another to test whether prior feeding on one host-species alters the ability of larvae to utilize a new host-species. Larvae accepted the new hosts, survived and grew normally. Although there were no dramatic effects on larvae from being switched from one host-species to another, several subtle effects on subsequent food consumption and food utilization efficiencies were noted. RESUME Influence de l'alimentation anterieure sur l'utilisation des plantes-hotes par Hyalophora cecropia Les performances alimentaires de chenilles de Hya lophora cecropia dont l'aliment a ete change au debut de l'avant dernier stade — feuilles de Prunus serotina au lieu de feuilles de Betula papyrifera — ont ete comparees a celles de chenilles alimentees en permanence avec P. serotina. Pendant ce stade, les chenilles transferees de B. papyrifera ont presente un taux de croissance plus faible par suite d'un taux de consommation plus faible. L'efficacite de la conversion de l'aliment ingere en biomasse larvaire etait la měme dans les deux groupes. Les chenilles de l'avant dernier stade, transferees de P. serotina sur B. papyrifera, avaient un taux de croissance plus faible que celles alimentees continuellement sur B. papyrifera; mais dans ce cas, le transfert n'a pas reduit l'intensite de l'alimentation, au contraire c'est l'efficacite de conversion de l'aliment en biomasse larvaire qui etait abaissee. Ainsi, les performances des chenilles transferees d'une plante a une autre peuvent presenter de legeres differences, soit dans leur consommation, soit dans l'utilisation de l'aliment ingere, par rapport aux chenilles qui n'ont pas ete transferees.
Glucose induces apoptosis of cardiomyocytes via microRNA-1 and IGF-1

Glucose toxicity is an important initiator of cardiovascular disease, contributing to the development of cardiomyocyte death and diabetic complications. The present study investigated whether high glucose state could induce apoptosis of rat cardiomyocyte cell line H9C2 through microRNA regulated insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) signaling pathway. Our data showed that H9C2 cells exposed to high glucose have increased miR-1 expression level, decreased mitochondrial membrane potential, increased cytochrome-c release, and increased apoptosis. Glucose induced mitochondrial dysfunction, cytochrome-c release and apoptosis was blocked by IGF-1. Using prediction algorithms, we identified 3'-untranslated regions of IGF-1 gene are the target of miR-1. miR-1 mimics, but not mutant miR-1, blocked the capacity of IGF-1 to prevent glucose-induced mitochondrial dysfunction, cytochrome-c release and apoptosis. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that IGF-1 inhibits glucose-induced mitochondrial dysfunction, cytochrome-c release and apoptosis and IGF-1's effect is regulated by miR-1.
Spinosad selection of a laboratory strain of the tobacco budworm, Heliothis virescens (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), and characterization of resistance

Abstract The potential for insect resistance to the spinosyns, a novel class of insecticide chemistry, was examined using a laboratory strain of the tobacco budworm, Heliothis virescens (F.), originally collected from tobacco at sites in North Carolina. Technical grade spinosad (spinosyns A and D), was topically applied to third instars. Initially 533 third instars were used but one to two thousand larvae were treated per generation thereafter. Initially mortality ranged from 75% to 85% with doses of 0.044–0.088 μg per larva, until the fifth generation (G5) when mortality decreased. The selection dose was subsequently increased every generation from G5 to G11 in an attempt to restore mortality to >70%. After six generations of selection, the LD 50 of the selected budworms was 1.68-times that of the parental generation (G1) as estimated 15 d after treatment. By G14, the topical LD 50 of the selected insects was 1068-fold greater than the parental generation. Four additional populations of the budworm from the southeastern US demonstrated similar LD 50 s to spinosad as our parental strain, suggesting that the parental budworms from North Carolina were representative of field populations elsewhere. The resistance ratio determined with spinosad (formulated as Tracer ® ) in heliothine diet was 314-fold at 15 d after the start of exposure. Injection of spinosad into the larval hemocoel resulted in a >163-fold resistance ratio 15 d after injection, indicating that resistance could not be explained simply by altered penetration alone. Mortality was delayed in the resistant relative to the parental generation regardless of whether third instars were topically treated or exposed to treated diet. Spinosad resistance was also expressed in G14 adults, indicating that an adult vial test would be feasible for monitoring resistance. A feeding disruption assay was developed to monitor larval resistance in the field.
An Adaptive Dynamic Scheduling Scheme for H.264/AVC Decoding on Multicore Architecture

Parallelizing H.264/AVC decoding on multicore architectures is challenged by its inherent structural and functional dependencies at both frame and macro-block levels, as macro-blocks and certain frame types must be decoded in a sequential order. So far, dynamic scheduling scheme with recursive tail submit [1], as one of the best existing algorithms, provides a good throughput performance by exploiting macro-block level parallelism and mitigating global queue contention. Nevertheless, it fails to achieve an optimal performance due to 1) the use of global queue, which incurs substantial synchronization overhead when the number of cores increases and 2) the unawareness of cache locality with respect to the underlying hierarchical core/cache topology that results in unnecessary latency, communication cost and load imbalance. In this paper, we propose an adaptive dynamic scheduling scheme that employs multiple local queues to reduce lock contention, and assigns tasks in a cache locality aware and load-balancing fashion so that neighboring macro-blocks are preferably dispatched to nearby cores. We design, implement and evaluate our scheme on a 32-core cc-NUMA SGI server. Compared to existing alternatives by running real benchmark applications, we observe that our scheme produces higher throughput and lower latency with more balanced workload and less communication cost.
Defining a Family Heritage and a New Relationship Identity: Two Central Tasks in the Making of a Marriage†

The roles of origin family environmental characteristics and couple consensus-building process within the development of marital relationships were examined prospectively in 16 premarital couples. Three important findings emerged. First, significant correlations were found between dimensions of origin family environment and the reported level of satisfaction within the couple's current relationship. Second, measures of the couple's ability to reach consensus concerning important interpersonal relationships appeared to be important mediators of the association between origin family environment and current relationship satisfaction. Third, important gender differences emerged that replicate and extend prior findings that portray women in the role of “relationship specialist” within their marriages. As a group, these findings were best explained by a developmental model of early marriage that envisions the young couple as facing two entwined tasks: to define both their family heritage and their new relationship identity. Overall, the importance of examining family-of-origin characteristics and consensus-building process as critical determinants of the fate of intimate relationships received strong support. The gender differences found in the literature reviewed, as well as the results of this study, have largely been overlooked by the theory and practice of family therapy. Efforts on both the research and theory construction fronts are needed to increase our understanding of the mechanisms whereby prior family experience is brought forward into current intimate relationships.
Rendering in computer graphics

In this paper, some basics and advanced rendering methods in computer graphics are introduced. It takes a serious course to understand the principle and details of computergraphics. Here, I try to explain some basics and methods so that engineers and scientists not in the graphics specialty field will be able to understand graphics rendering methods and conceive applications with available means. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.
What do electromagnetic induction responses measure

It is common knowledge to applied geophysicists that, for determining spatially variable electromagnetic properties of the ground, the magnetic method is sensitive to magnetic permeability μ, the ground-penetrating radar method responds to dielectric permittivity e, and the dc resistivity method provides a good indication of ρ, the electrical resistivity. It is also commonly acknowledged that the electromagnetic induction (EMI) technique responds to electrical conductivity σ. The choice of which variable to report, ρ or its reciprocal σ, is largely a matter of convention decided upon by vocal adherents of the respective methods.
Outcome of elective endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair in nonagenarians

Objective Compared with open repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA), endovascular repair (EVAR) is associated with decreased perioperative morbidity and mortality in a standard patient population. This study sought to determine if the advantage of EVAR extends to patients aged ≥90 years. Methods This was a retrospective review from a prospectively maintained computerized database. Of the 322 patients aged ≥80 treated with EVAR from January 1997 to November 2007, 24 (1.9%) were aged ≥90. Mean age was 91.5 ± 1.5 years (range, 90-95 years), and 83.3% were men. Mean aneurysm size was 6.8 cm (range, 5.2-8.7 cm). Results Mean procedural blood loss was 490 mL (range, 100-4150 mL), and 20.8% required an intraoperative transfusion. Mean postoperative length of stay was 6.0 days, (median, 4 days; mode, 1 day; range, 1-42 days), with 33.3% of patients discharged on the first postoperative day. Amongst the 24 patients, there were 6 (25.0%) perioperative major adverse events, and 2 patients died, for a perioperative mortality rate of 8.3%. Mean follow-up was 20.5 months (range, 1-49 months). Overall, three patients (12.5%) required a secondary intervention, comprising thrombectomy, angioplasty, and proximal cuff extension. No patients required conversion to open repair. Two patients (8.3%) died of AAA rupture at 507 and 1254 days. Freedom from all-cause mortality was 83.3% at 1 year and 19.3% at 5 years. Freedom from aneurysm-related mortality was 87.5% at 1 year and 73.2% at 5 years. Endoleak occurred in five patients (20.8%), with three type I and two of indeterminate type; of these, two patients with type I endoleak underwent secondary intervention at 153 and 489 days after EVAR, of which one case was successful. Conclusion Our study supports that EVAR in nonagenarians is associated with acceptable procedural success and perioperative morbidity and mortality. The medium-term results suggest that EVAR may be of limited benefit in very carefully selected patients who are aged ≥90 years.
Diffusion of nitric oxide in the aorta wall monitored in situ by porphyrinic microsensors.

Abstract Porphyrinic sensors were used for the in situ monitoring of nitric oxide release and diffusion in the endothelial cell, as well as its subsequent diffusion from the endothelial cell through the muscle cells found in the rabbit aorta. The experimental data was compared with that predicted based on Fick′s equation for linear diffusion. A time delay of 1.5 s between prediction and experimental concentration of NO due to its chemical reactions was observed at the distance of 100 μm from endothelial cell. About 37% of the NO produced is consumed in chemical reactions in the aorta.
Effects of algal and larval densities on development and survival of asteroid larvae

Effects of larval and algal culture density and diet composition on development and survival of temperate asteroid larvae were studied in the laboratory at Santa Cruz, California, USA, during summer and fall of 1990. Larvae of Asterina miniata were reared at two densities, 0.5 or 1.0 ml-1, and fed one or two species of cultured phytoflagellates — Dunaliella tertiolecta alone or mixed with Rhodomonas sp. — at three concentrations of 5x102, 5x103, and 5x104 total cells ml-1. Algal concentration strongly influenced larval development; however, larval density also had a marked effect. Development progressed further with increasing algal concentration. Larval growth and differentiation were sometimes uncoupled; i.e., growth measures were directly related to food level, while differentiation indicators were less so. At the lowest food level, growth was negative and differentiation was arrested at early precompetent stages; these larvae never formed juvenile rudiments or brachiolar attachment structures. Development times of larvae given more food ranged from 26 to 50 d and depended directly on food availability. Development time to metamorphosis at the highest food concentration was similar for siblings fed D. tertiolecta alone or mixed with Rhodomonas sp. In contrast, when food level was an order of magnitude lower, larvae fed the algal mixture metamorphosed significantly earlier than larvae fed the unialgal diet. This suggests interactive effects of food quantity and food quality. Survival was little affected by larval or food density, except at the lowest ration. Feeding experiments in well-controlled laboratory conditions are useful to predict and compare the physiological or developmental scope of response of larvae to defined environmental factors; however, results from such studies should not be extrapolated to predict rates and processes of larval development in nature.
Structures of the Escherichia coli PutA proline dehydrogenase domain in complex with competitive inhibitors.

Proline dehydrogenase (PRODH) catalyzes the first step of proline catabolism, the flavin-dependent oxidation of proline to Δ1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate. Here we present a structure-based study of the PRODH active site of the multifunctional Escherichia coli proline utilization A (PutA) protein using X-ray crystallography, enzyme kinetic measurements, and site-directed mutagenesis. Structures of the PutA PRODH domain complexed with competitive inhibitors acetate (Ki = 30 mM), l-lactate (Ki = 1 mM), and l-tetrahydro-2-furoic acid (l-THFA, Ki = 0.2 mM) have been determined to high-resolution limits of 2.1−2.0 A. The discovery of acetate as a competitive inhibitor suggests that the carboxyl is the minimum functional group recognized by the active site, and the structures show how the enzyme exploits hydrogen-bonding and nonpolar interactions to optimize affinity for the substrate. The PRODH/l-THFA complex is the first structure of PRODH with a five-membered ring proline analogue bound in the active site and thu...
Sphere‐to‐cylinder transition in dilute solutions of diblock copolymers

AB diblock copolymers dissolved in a selective solvent for block B spontaneously self-assemble into spherical or cylindrical micelles with an A core surrounded by a corona of the B block. Using a Monte Carlo lattice model, we find that the sphere-to-cylinder transition can be fully described in terms of a packing parameter that depends on the relative cross sections of the two blocks. The latter can be varied either by a block length being changed or by the B block being allowed to adopt an ordered conformation (e.g., helical). The model results are in good agreement with experimental observation. They also shed some light onto the molecular origins of the ease of processing and exceptional mechanical properties of spider dragline. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 40: 890–895, 2002
Effectiveness of Trichostatin A as a Potential Candidate for Anticancer Therapy in Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer

Background A well-known histone deacetylase inhibitor, trichostatin A, was applied to non–small-cell lung cancer cells to determine whether inhibition of histone deacetylase leads to the production of proteins that either arrest tumor cell growth or lead to tumor cell death. Methods Trichostatin A (0.01 to 1.0 μmol/L) was applied to one normal lung fibroblast and four non–small-cell lung cancer lines, and its effect was determined by flow cytometry, annexin-V staining, immunoprecipitation, and Western blot analysis. Results Trichostatin A demonstrated tenfold greater growth inhibition in all four non–small-cell lung cancer lines compared with normal controls, with a concentration producing 50% inhibition ranging from 0.01 to 0.04 μmol/L for the tumor cell lines and 0.7 μmol/L for the normal lung fibroblast line. Trichostatin A treatment reduced the percentage of cells in S phase (10% to 23%) and increased G 1 populations (10% to 40%) as determined by flow cytometry. Both annexin-V binding assay and upregulation of the protein, gelsolin (threefold to tenfold), demonstrated that the tumor cells were apoptotic, whereas normal cells were predominantly in cell cycle arrest. Trichostatin A increased histone H4 acetylation and expression of p21 twofold to 15-fold without significant effect on p16, p27, CDK2, and cyclin D1. Conclusions Collectively, these data suggest that inhibition of histone deacetylation may provide a valuable approach for lung cancer treatment. We evaluated trichostatin A as a potential candidate for anticancer therapy in non–small-cell lung cancer.
A community based approach to clinical services for children of substance abusers

This paper presents children of substance abusing parents as incurring risk factors that place many in need of social work intervention. The strength of this approach lies in integrating community resources as sources of corrective emotional experiences in clinical intervention.
Inhomogeneous nucleosynthesis with neutron diffusion.

It was recently proposed that a critical, i.e., closure, baryon density could be compatible with helium and deuterium observations, if this baryon density were suitably inhomogeneous during cosmic nucleosynthesis. In this scenario, neutrons would diffuse out of the high-density regions, which would lead to a nonstandard nucleosynthesis, with reduced helium production and improved deuterium survival, and could restore the agreement with observations, which is lost in homogeneous closure models. We have used a numerical model which shows that this proposal is not viable. Our model combines inhomogeneous nucleosynthesis and neutron diffusion self-consistently to study element formation in inhomogeneous situations in which diffusion is important. We find that the proposal fails: it is very difficult to lower the helium production significantly or to raise the final deuterium abundance, because the neutrons diffuse back to the high-density region once nucleosynthesis begins there.
Neurobiology of schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a common chronic and disabling brain disease of unknown etiology, pathogenesis, and mechanism. Whether schizophrenia represents a single disorder of markedly variable expression or a family of clinically related disorders is unclear. Genetic factors, most likely multiple genes of modest effect, play a major role in its etiology, but an environmental "second hit" may be necessary for clinical expression. The inherited biological susceptibility to schizophrenia is probably expressed clinically as nonpsychotic abnormal personality traits, plus numerous biological markers (cognitive, anatomical, and psychophysiological) that are all found significantly more commonly in the population than is schizophrenia. Neuropathological studies suggest that schizophrenia may be a neurodevelopmental disorder, characterized by reduced neuropil, with no evidence for ongoing cell death. A hypothesized mechanism for these changes involves cell migrational abnormalities occurring in the fetal brain. Schizophrenia is also distinguished by biochemical abnormalities involving the dopamine, GABA, and glutamate systems, and NMDA and nicotinic receptors. Structural and functional brain imaging studies suggest both global and regional abnormalities as well as "disconnections" of specific cerebral circuits. Despite the lack of knowledge regarding pathophysiology, there are reasonably effective treatments for schizophrenia. As the neurobiology of the disorder is unraveled, more effective, targeted treatments will become available.
Progress in low-cost interferometric fiber optic gyros

Low cost interferometric fiber optic gyros (both polarization maintaining and depolarized types) having bias drift less than one degree/hr over wide temperature ranges are reported. The depolarized fiber gyros exhibit significantly lower sensitivity to temperature transients than the polarization maintaining fiber gyros.© (1992) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Comparison of biodegradation kinetic parameters for naphthalene in batch and sand column systems by pseudomonas putida

Kinetic parameters for the degradation of naphthalene by Pseudomonas putida (ATCC 17484) were estimated in both batch and column assays, in order to evaluate the role of flow and cell attachment on biodegradation rates. Suspended cells and cells attached to Ottawa sand were used under a variety of biomass levels, column flow-rates, and substrate concentrations. In batch systems, degradation followed zero-order kinetics across the entire concentration range, while the columns exhibited decreased rates at concentrations less than 100 (μg/L), describable by Michaelis-Menten kinetics. This is reflected in elevated values of the half-saturation constant, K, in columns. We offer the explanation that this may have resulted from reactive heterogeneity within the porous media, imposing a distribution of length-scales for transfer of substrate to the cell surfaces. Well-mixed batch systems are expected to have both shorter and more uniform transfer distances. When kinetic parameters obtained in batch system are used for prediction of degradation in columns, at least two factors - exposed reduction of exposed cell surface area and heterogeneity of cell distribution - will likely reduce overall column degradation rates.
Simulation-based local train mobility model

Mobility models are essential part of wireless network design. Simulation of user mobility scenarios is a tricky business due to the boundary behavior of simulated objects (people, vehicles, trains, etc.). In this paper we present the initial results of a user mobility simulation scenario for applications to broadband Internet access. We simulated a local train in a square area with straight tracks of random length. The train accelerates uniformly to a maximum velocity and decelerating uniformly to a stop at the end of the track. The track lengths, stop times and speeds are all uniformly distributed. The mobility at the boundaries is simulated simply by discarding a track that falls outside of the simulated area. By comparing this simple model to a mean-values model, we see that this method yields pretty accurate results. More complex models with real-life track shapes and acceleration/deceleration ramps can thus be derived from simple boundary models like proposed here. We used 3D OpenGL for visual simulation and uniform random sampling for model derivation.
The college self-expression scale: A measure of assertiveness

The College Self-Expression Scale is a 50 item self-report inventory which is designed to measure assertiveness in college students. The scale taps three dimensions of assertivenss (positive assertiveness, negative assertiveness, and self denial) in a variety of interpersonal contexts: family, strangers, business relations, authority figures, and like and opposite sex peers. Normative, reliability, and validity data are presented. The value of the scale to both clinicians and researchers is discussed.
Influence of adrenal cortical steroids and related compounds on sodium metabolism.

SummaryEleven steroid compounds have been studied as to their influence on sodium excretion in adrenalectomized rats. Desoxycorticosterone caused significant retention at one microgram, and the acetate was effective at 25 micrograms, the lowest concentration studied. Δ4-pregnenol-21-trione-3,12,20-21-acetate gave a significant retention at 1340 micrograms. 17-Hydroxycorticosterone caused a significant excretion of sodium.The following steroids were found to be negative: 11-dehydrocorticosterone acetate (100 μg), pregnanetrione-3,11,20 (200 μg), corticosterone (400 μg), allopregnanepentol-3 (β), 11(β), 17(α), 20, 21-3(β), 20, 21-tri-acetate (800 μg), allopregiianetriol-3(β), 17 (α), 21-one-20 (800 μg), testosterone (2000 μg), estradiol (2000 μg), and pregnanetrione-3,12,20 (2000 μg).
Exploring the intention-behavior relationship in the prediction of sexual risk behaviors: can it be strengthened?

Many theoretical models examining health risk behaviors, such as sexual risk taking, assume intentions directly predict behavior, and intentions are sometimes measured as a proxy for behavior. Given that there is often a discrepancy between intentions and behaviors (e.g., Sheeran, 2002), this study addressed factors that predict intention–behavior congruence. Specifically, utilizing a prospective design, the goal of the study was to determine if characteristics of university students' last sexual encounter predicted whether those students who intended to use condoms, contraception, or dual methods did so in their last sexual encounter with both relationship and casual partners. The seven tested variables were condom planning and preparatory behaviors, mood, sexual arousal, substance use, perceived partner attractiveness, intention certainty, and intention stability. Data were collected from 520 American undergraduate students at a medium-sized university. The six discriminant function analyses examining t...
Molecular motion of tethered molecules in bulk and surface-functionalized materials: a comparative study of confinement.

Achieving high degrees of molecular confinement in materials is a difficult synthetic challenge that is critical for understanding supramolecular chemistry on solid surfaces and control of host−guest complexation for selective adsorption and heterogeneous catalysis. In this Article, using 2H MAS NMR spectroscopy of tethered carbamates as a molecular probe, we systematically investigate the degree of steric confinement within three types of materials: two-dimensional silica surface, bulk amorphous microporous silica, and bulk amorphous mesoporous silica. The resulting NMR spectra are described with a simple two-site hopping model for motion and prove that the bulk silica network severely limits the molecular mobility of the immobilized carbamate at room temperature to the same degree as surface-functionalized materials at low-temperatures (∼210 K). Raising the temperature of the bulk materials to 413 K still demonstrates the effect of confinement, as manifested in significantly longer characteristic times...
Cooperativities in two-level systems

Abstract Cooperativity, the competition between macroscopic cooperative behavior and single atom behavior, is discussed in relation to near-dipole–dipole (NDD) interactions that depend upon a single cooperativity parameter CNDD. In particular, cooperativity is analyzed in relation to NDD processes in multicomponent systems that generate intrinsic superradiant-like behavior, as well as intrinsic optical bistability (IOB). Interpretation and comparison with the historical cooperativity parameterization stemming from superfluorescence (SF) and absorptive optical bistability (AOB) manifests the similarities, but also the essential differences, arising from local versus nonlocal effects and intrinsic versus extrinsic effects. The fundamental basis for these distinctions is discussed. These concepts are linked to single atom cooperativity in cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED).
PRODUCING GENERATIVE SENTENCE USAGE BY IMITATION AND REINFORCEMENT PROCEDURES1

Three retarded subjects and two developmentally normal toddlers were trained using imitation and reinforcement procedures to use correct sentences. The experimental task was to use sentences with correct subject-verb agreement to describe pictures that were presented to the subjects. Two classes of sentences were taught: those involving a plural subject that required the use of the verb “are” (for example, “the boys are running”) and those involving a singular subject that required the use of the verb “is” (for example, “the boy is running”). The basic design of the study involved multiple baselines for each class of sentences. Four of the subjects began to produce novel, untrained sentences of a particular type to generalization probe pictures when that particular class of sentence was currently being trained. Thus, the imitation and reinforcement procedures appeared to be functional in producing generative sentence usage for both types of sentences. One subject produced correct sentences to both singular and plural probe pictures when only “is” sentences had been taught. A reversal procedure and retraining phase indicated that for this subject, imitation and reinforcement procedures for training one class of sentence behavior seemed functional in producing generative responses of the other class of sentences.
Comparative effects of adenosine and adenine and guanine nucleotides on drug biotransformation in rats.

The effect of various nucleotides and adenosine on the hepatic biotransformation of hexobarbital sodium (HB) and p-chloro-N-methylaniline (PCMA) was determined in male rats. Intraperitoneal administration of dibutyryl cyclic adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate (DBcAMP), alone and in combination with theophylline, and the cyclic adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate (cAMP)-theophylline combination prolonged HB sleeping time by more than 70%. cAMP or dibutyryl cyclic guanosine 3′,5′-monophosphate (DBcGMP), alone or in combination with theophylline, failed to significantly alter the duration of HB-induced hypnosis. Plasma levels of HB upon awakening suggested that the increase in sleeping time was apparently not due to an altered sensitivity of the brain to the barbiturate. The effect appears to be related to an impairment of HB metabolism since only those compounds that inhibited HB oxidation when added to liver slices prolonged hypnosis. In addition, 5′-AMP, adenosine, and cyclic guanosine 3′,5′-monophosphate (cGMP) failed to alter HB biotransformation by liver slices. A similar pattern of impairment of metabolism by liver slices was observed when PCMA was used as the substrate. The inhibitory effect of DBcAMP was not altered by concurrent addition of either cGMP or DBcGMP. No impairment in the rate of microsomal PCMA biotransformation resulted from addition of adenosine or any of the nucleotides used in this study.
Symptomatic Atherosclerotic Stenotic Disease of an Aberrant Right Subclavian Artery

Symptomatic atherosclerotic stenosis of an aberrant subclavian artery is exceedingly rare. Herein we describe a patient with this diagnosis who presented with arm claudication, and was treated with carotid-subclavian bypass.
7-Azabicycloheptane carboxylic acid: a proline replacement in a boroarginine thrombin inhibitor.

The synthesis of thrombin inhibitor 3, which incorporates conformationally constrained 7-azabicycloheptane carboxylic acid (1) as a proline replacement, is described. The inhibition constant (Ki(thrombin) = 2.9 nM) indicates that 1 is a reasonable replacement of proline in the formation of a β-turn tripeptide mimetic.
An Electronic Control Circuit for Resistance Welders

FLEXIBLE electronic control circuits for the precise timing of resistance welders have been utilized thus far primarily on large welders. This paper describes a new circuit using recently developed types of cold-cathode electronic tubes which makes the application of such control economically practicable to small as well as large welders. The advantages of precise timing of welds by electronic means are well recognized, particularly for exact duplication of welds and for fabrication of materials difficult to weld or subject to physical or chemical changes if over-heated. Utilization of the method on small laboratory or industrial welders may render expedient processes that heretofore were considered unavailable except for large-scale production.
An investigation of life satisfaction following a vacation: A domain‐specific approach

The relationship of a vacation to global and domain-specific life satisfaction was examined. Comparison of pre-and postvacation measures indicated an increase in global life satisfaction and a slight increase in satisfaction within the domain of money, but no significant change in the domains of marriagel/family, work, leisure, community, or outdoors/nature. Retrospective measures of domain and global vacation satisfactions increased the predictability of postvacation satisfaction significantly for four of the six specific domains and for overall satisfaction. The domain specificity of satisfactions was supported only for the domains of marriage/family and work. The results are discussed in terms of their support for a domain-specific approach to life satisfaction.
Spectral feature probabilistic coding for hyperspectral signatures

Spectral signature coding has been used to characterize spectral features where a binary code book is designed to encode an individual spectral signature and the Hamming distance is then used to perform signature discrimination. The effectiveness of such a binary signature coding largely relies on how well the Hamming distance can capture spectral variations that characterize a signature. Unfortunately, in most cases, such coding does not provide sufficient information for signature analysis, thus it has received little interest in the past. This paper reinvents the wheel by introducing a new concept, referred to as spectral feature probabilistic coding (SFPC) into signature coding. Since the Hamming distance does not take into account the band-to-band variation, it can be considered as a memoryless distance. Therefore, one approach is to extend the Hamming distance to a distance with memory. One such coding technique is the well-known arithmetic coding (AC) which encodes a signature in a probabilistic manner. The values resulting from the AC is then used to measure the distance between two signatures. This paper investigates AC-based signature coding for signature analysis and conducts a comparative analysis with spectral binary coding.
A SITUATION SEMANTICS APPROACH TO THE ANALYSIS OF SPEECH ACTS

During thc past two decades, much work in linguistics has focused on sentences as minimal units of communication, and the project of rigorously characterizing the structure of sentences in natural language has met with some succcss. Not surprisingly, however, sentcnce grammars have contributed little to the analysis of discourse, Human discourse consists not just of words in sequences, hut of words in sequences directed by a speaker to an addressee, used to represent situations and to reveal intentions. Only when the addressee has apprehcndcd both these aspects of the message communicated can the message be interpretecL
Student Effort, Media Preference, and Writing Quality When Using Print and Electronic Resources in Expository Writing

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of the Internet as a research tool on elementary students' quality of writing, their perceptions of effort expended, and their resource media pr...
Relationship between ornithine decarboxylase levels in anaplastic gliomas and progression-free survival in patients treated with DFMO-PCV chemotherapy

The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between progression-free survival (PFS) in patients treated with DFMO + PCV (procarbazine, CCNU, vincristine) chemotherapy for malignant gliomas with tumor cell ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity. Formalin-fixed slides were obtained for study patients with anaplastic gliomas (AGs) and glioblastoma treated on protocol DM92-035. ODC levels were measured using an antibody to ODC coupled to Alexa 647 dye (Ab-ODC-Alexa 647). Ab-ODC-Alexa 647 intensity in transgenic murine hearts of differing ODC activity was used to calculate ODC activity in tumor cell nucleoplasm. In total, tumor specimens for 31 of 114 (27%) patients treated on the AG strata and 10 patients from the GBM strata were obtained. We found that tumor ODC level heterogeneity increased with increasing tumor malignancy. In a Cox proportional hazards model, PFS was found to be inversely related to median tumor ODC activity, with an unadjusted hazard ratio for median ODC group (>3.3 vs. 3.3 nmol/30 min/mug protein. Of AG tumors in which ODC activity was evaluated, 26% had ODC levels > 3.3 nmol/30 min/mug protein. This study shows that Ab-ODC-Alexa 647 fluorescence intensity can be used as a surrogate marker of ODC biochemical activity in AGs and can predict PFS to DFMO-based chemotherapy.
Biosynthesis of porphyrin precursors: Kinetic studies on mammalian l-alanine: γ,δ-Dioxovaleric acid aminotransferase

The enzyme l-alanine: γ,δ-dioxovaleric acid aminotransferase (DOVA transaminase) from mammalian liver mitochondria has been studied. The capacity of DOVA transaminase to synthesize δ-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) exceeds by more than a factor of ten the capacity of ALA synthase from the same mitochondrial source. DOVA transaminase has been purified to apparent homogeneity from bovine liver. It has an apparent molecular weight of 240,000. The enzyme is remarkably heat stable. l-Alanine is the most efficient amino donor having a Km of 4 mM. DOVA is the most effective amino acceptor demonstrating a Km of 0.2 mM. Methyl glyoxal, the only dicarbonyl compound tested as an alternate amino acceptor had only a fraction of the activity of DOVA. Other carbonyl compounds were inhibitory, but did not appear to be effective amino acceptors. In spite of the evidence that DOVA transaminase appears to be a typical transaminase, all attempts to demonstrate the conversion of ALA and pyruvic acid to DOVA and alanine were negative. An enzyme mechanism is proposed that is compatible with the apparent irreversibility and the kinetic studies on the forward reaction.
The missing population at the 2006 World Urban Forum

This comment discusses the lack of attention given to children at the June 2006 World Urban Forum in Vancouver. Although progress was made in terms of the recognition given to youth at this Forum, only two out of 162 events focused on the concerns of children under the age of 15 - a group that constitutes almost one-third of the world’s population. This failure is not unique to this Forum, but reflects a broader failure to integrate attention to the priorities and involvement of children within development practice. The paper explains why this failure is significant, not only for children themselves but also for the successful implementation of the Forum’s more general concern with “urban sustainability”.
An analysis of the cellular requirements for the production of soluble interleukin-2 receptors in vitro

Following activationin vitro, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) express cell-associated interleukin-2 receptors (IL-2R) and also release soluble IL-2R into culture supernatants. The present studies were undertaken to define which normal cells were responsible for the release of soluble IL-2Rin vitro. Both cell-associated and soluble IL-2R were quantitatively measured with a “sandwich” enzyme-linked immunoassay employing two monoclonal antibodies. PBMC were separated into populations of surface immunoglobulin-negative cells (T cells and monocytes) and surface immunoglobulin-positive cells (B cells and monocytes), and the T-cell population was further separated into OKT4-positive (OKT4+) cells and OKT4-negative (OKT4−) cells. Following activation with phytohemagglutinin, pokeweed mitogen, and the monoclonal antibody OKT3, large amounts of soluble IL-2R were released by PBMC, unseparated T cells, OKT4+ T cells, and OKT4− T cells. The population containing B cells and monocytes made small but readily detectable amounts of soluble IL-2R when stimulated with these T-cell mitogens; likely the result of contaminating T cells in the population. However, when highly purified B cells were stimulated withStaphylococcus aureus Cowan and recombinant IL-2, they also released small amounts of soluble IL-2R. The release of soluble IL-2R by T cells appeared monocyte dependent when OKT3, but not phytohemagglutinin, was employed for activation, and monocytes themselves released no detectable IL-2R under the conditions employed. These studies define the cellular requirements for the release of soluble IL-2Rin vitro and demonstrate that such receptors are released by B cells, T cells, and both OKT4+ and OKT4− T-cell subsets.
State Policies Regarding Local Resource Acquisition Disorder, Compensatory Adjustment, or Coherent Restraint?

The ability of local governments to acquire financial resources is heavily influenced by state governments. States determine whether particular taxes can be used, at what levels they might be used, and the levels of state aid given to local governments. The question of concern in this analysis is the relationship among state policies in this area. There are two questions to be explored. The first is the question of whether tax limits, often established years ago, bear any systematic relationship to other state policies on local resource acquisition. The second question is what kind of relationship exists among state policies on local resource acquisition. States might pursue a pattern of compensatory policy, or "making up" for restrictions in one area by providing more aid or leniency in tax limits in another area. As an alternative, resource acquisition policies might fit into an overall pattern of supporting or limiting local resource acquisition. The analysis explores these relationships and finds supp...
Influence on online bibliographic services on student behavior

A class of graduate students who were assigned the task of compiling bibliographies on research topics was divided into two groups. The first received help in the form of online bibliographic searches conducted by one of the authors. The second group received help for an equivalent amount of time with conventional use of standard bibliographic tools. The online group spent less time on searching, but few felt that the search techniques helped to facilitate knowledge. We raise the question of who will benefit most from online bibliographic searches, under what conditions, and what important difference it will make to them. It seems that it may not greatly affect the scholarship or productivity of most students.