cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Event-based Composition of Concurrent Programs

This paper presents a model for concurrent programming, where programs (concurrent program structures) are represented as composition expressions over component programs with suitably defined operators. In this model of programming, called Composition bY Event Specification (C-YES), a composition of programs specifies that all events (individual occurrences of named operations, called actions) of component programs can execute in parallel, except for a set of events that interact with each other. Interactions among such events can be specified by establishing execution orderings among them. This paper presents a mechanism, where such interactions are specified by constructing algebraic expressions from a set of primitive interaction expressions and interaction operators. The primitive expressions model interactions at the fundamental level of computations, namely, events. The interaction operators model nondeterministic interactions and interaction over sets of events.
Toward a Social Psychology of Race and Race Relations for the Twenty-First Century

The United States, like many nations, continues to experience rapid growth in its racial minority population and is projected to attain so-called majority-minority status by 2050. Along with these demographic changes, staggering racial disparities persist in health, wealth, and overall well-being. In this article, we review the social psychological literature on race and race relations, beginning with the seemingly simple question: What is race? Drawing on research from different fields, we forward a model of race as dynamic, malleable, and socially constructed, shifting across time, place, perceiver, and target. We then use classic theoretical perspectives on intergroup relations to frame and then consider new questions regarding contemporary racial dynamics. We next consider research on racial diversity, focusing on its effects during interpersonal encounters and for groups. We close by highlighting emerging topics that should top the research agenda for the social psychology of race and race relations ...
Achievements and challenges in recognizing and reconstructing civil infrastructure

The US National Academy of Engineering recently identified restoring and improving urban infrastructure as one of the grand challenges of engineering. Part of this challenge stems from the lack of viable methods to map/label existing infrastructure. For computer vision, this challenge becomes "How can we automate the process of extracting geometric, object oriented models of infrastructure from visual data?" Object recognition and reconstruction methods have been successfully devised and/or adapted to answer this question for small or linear objects (e.g. columns). However, many infrastructure objects are large and/or planar without significant and distinctive features, such as walls, floor slabs, and bridge decks. How can we recognize and reconstruct them in a 3D model? In this paper, strategies for infrastructure object recognition and reconstruction are presented, to set the stage for posing the question above and discuss future research in featureless, large/planar object recognition and modeling.
Power supply transient signal integration circuit

We discuss a circuit which measures and analyses power supply transients as defined in the test technique, Transient Signal Analysis (TSA). This circuit can replace the benchtop instrumentation and offline signal processing software used in previous work. The circuit accepts voltage transients as analog inputs from the Device-Under-Test (DUT), performs integration and outputs an analog value to the tester. The tester compares the output value to a predetermined threshold as a means of determining the pass/fail status of the DUT. This circuit is designed to simplify the hardware requirements of TSA.
Cryptography and Machine Learning

This paper gives a survey of the relationship between the fields of cryptography and machine learning, with an emphasis on how each field has contributed ideas and techniques to the other. Some suggested directions for future cross-fertilization are also proposed.
Interleukin-1β converting enzyme : synthesis of hydroxyethyl dipeptide surrogate-containing compounds as potential ICE inhibitors

A series of compounds containing a hydroxyethyl-based dipeptide surrogate have been prepared as probes to evaluate the possibility of ICE being an aspartic protease. The aldehyde t-BocAsp(beta-t-butyl)H reacted with the organochromium species derived from phenethyl bromide and CrCl2 to give the expected addition product. Lactonization, reprotection of the amine and oxidation with RuCl3 gave the two protected dipeptide surrogates 7a and 7b. These were incorporated into tetra-, penta- and hexapeptide-like molecules and evaluated as inhibitors of the enzyme. The failure of these compounds to inhibit ICE indicated that this enzyme was very unlikely to be an aspartic protease.
Resource Allocation with a Budget Constraint for Computing Independent Tasks in the Cloud

We consider the problem of running a large amount of independent equal-sized tasks in the cloud with a budget constraint. We model the cloud infrastructure by a node-weighted edge-weighted star-shaped graph which captures the different computing power and communication capacity of the computing resources in the cloud. Instead of trying to minimize the make span or the total-completion-time of the system, our study focuses on the maximization of the steady-state throughput of the system. We show that the specific budget-constrained steady-state throughput maximization problem can be formulated and solved as a linear programming problem. We identify two modes of the system, i.e., the budget-bound mode and the communication-bound mode where the closed-form solutions exist for the formulated problem. The best allocation scheme is benefit-first when the system is budget-bound, where the preference should be given to the nodes in the order of increasing cost, and is bandwidth-first when the system is communication-bound, where the preference should be given to compute nodes in the order of decreasing bandwidth.
Sampling and recruitment in studies of cultural influences on adjustment: A case study with Mexican Americans.

Research examining how cultural factors affect adjustment of ethnic minority individuals would be strengthened if study samples better represented the diversity within these populations. To recruit a representative sample of Mexican American families, the authors implemented a multiple-step process that included sampling communities to represent diversity in cultural and economic conditions, recruiting participants through schools, using culturally attractive recruitment processes, conducting interviews in participants' homes, and providing a financial incentive. The result was a sample of 750 families that were diverse in cultural orientation, social class, and type of residential communities and were similar to the census description of this population. Thus, using culturally appropriate adaptations to common recruitment strategies makes it possible to recruit representative samples of Mexican Americans.
Fictitious-particle vertex in quantum gravity

We derive an exact expression for the fictitious-particle contribution to the pure graviton triangle diagram which is needed to verify, through the appropriate Slavnov-Taylor identities, the gauge invariance of the scattering matrix to third order in the gravitational coupling constant $\ensuremath{\kappa}$. The calculation is performed by working in the framework of covariant quantization and exploiting the technique of dimensional regularization which is known to preserve the local gauge symmetry of the underlying Einstein-Hilbert Lagrangian. The derivation is simplified by setting the energy-momentum of one of the external graviton lines equal to zero. It is shown that the final expression for the fictitious vertex is characterized by 14 invariant amplitudes and that the original divergences of the triangle graph reassert themselves as poles of Weierstrass's gamma function.
A 26plex autosomal STR assay to aid human identity testing

A short tandem repeat multiplex assay has been successfully developed with 25 autosomal loci plus the sex-typing locus amelogenin for a total of 26 amplified products in a single reaction. Primers for the loci were designed so that all of the amplicons present were distributed from 65 base pairs (bp) to less than 400 bp within a five-dye chemistry design with the fifth dye reserved for the sizing standard. A multiplex design strategy was developed to overcome challenges encountered in creating this assay. The limits of the multiplex were tested, resulting in the successful amplification of a wide range of genomic DNA sample concentrations from 2 ng to as low as 100 pg with 30 cycles of PCR. The 26plex has the potential to benefit the forensic community for reference sample testing and complex relationship evaluation.
The Development of Multi-Functional Multi-Level Variable Voltage Variable Frequency Power Supply

In order to adapt the grid test study of distributed generation system, a multifunctional variable voltage and variable frequency power supply is proposed. The power supply could work in four quadrant operations, so that energy generated by distributed systems could flow into grid. The fundamental voltage and harmonic voltage are controlled respectively: multiple feedback loop control scheme is applied in fundamental mode and effective value feedback control scheme is applied in harmonic mode. The DSP and FPGA platform are used for implementing the system control and the experimental results show that the performance of the simulator is good and has high stability.
Nucleosome dynamics as studied by single-pair fluorescence resonance energy transfer: a reevaluation.

Accessibility of nucleosomal DNA to protein factor binding is ensured by at least three mechanisms: post-synthetic modifications to the histones, chromatin remodeling, and spontaneous unwrapping of the DNA from the histone core. We have previously used single-pair fluorescence resonance energy transfer (spFRET) experiments to investigate long-range conformational fluctuations in nucleosomal DNA (Tomschik M, Zheng H, van Holde K, Zlatanova J, Leuba SH in Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 102(9):3278–3283, 2005). Recent work has drawn attention to a major artifact in such studies due to photoblinking of the acceptor fluorophore. We have now used formaldehyde-crosslinked nucleosomes and imaging in the presence of Trolox, an efficient triplet-state quencher that suppresses photoblinking, to reevaluate our previous conclusions. Careful analysis of the data indicates that most of the events previously characterized as nucleosome ‘opening’ must have corresponded to photoblinking. There is, nevertheless, evidence for the existence of infrequent, rapid opening events.
Surface treatment for mitigation of hydrogen absorption and penetration into AISI 4340 steel and Inconel 718 alloy

It is shown that the underpotential deposition of zinc on AISI 4340 steel and Inconel 718 alloys inhibits the hydrogen evolution reaction and the degree of hydrogen ingress. In the presence of monolayer coverage of zinc on the substrate surfaces, the hydrogen evolution current densities are reduced 46% and 68% compared with the values obtained on bare AISI 4340 steel and Inconel 718 alloy, respectively. As a consequence, the underpotential deposition of zinc on AISI 4340 steel and Inconel 718 alloy membrane reduces the steady state hydrogen permeation current density by 51% and 40%, respectively.
Single-molecule Observations of Replisome Structure and Function

DNA replication requires the coordinated activity of a large number of enzymes at the replication fork. Understanding the mechanisms controlling this organization requires a direct probing of the dynamics of fully functional replisomes during replication. Observations at the single-molecule level provide the most direct way to visualize the complex biochemistry of the replisome and to quantify the many transient intermediates essential to replication. We present a novel assay that combines the observation of individual fluorescently labeled proteins with the mechanical manipulation of DNA. Surface-tethered DNAs labeled with quantum dots are hydrodynamically stretched and imaged with a TIRF microscope. Activity of the replisome is observed as a change in the DNA length due to the differing force-dependent extension of single- and double-stranded DNA at low pico-Newton forces. We employ a two-color imaging scheme to monitor DNA length in real-time and to stroboscopically image fluorescently labeled single proteins interacting with DNA. Observation of labeled proteins in an ongoing replication reaction allows us to pose structural questions about the stoichiometry and exchange of proteins at the prokaryotic replication fork. We will discuss preliminary results on primer extension by the T7 DNA polymerase and strand-displacement synthesis by the coupled activity of the T7 helicase and polymerase.
Structure and function of rectal pads in Blattella and Blaberus with respect to the mechanism of water uptake.

The morphology of the rectal pads of two cockroaches, Blattella germanica and Blaberus giganteus is described and contrasted with that of Periplaneta americana, studied previously. The columnar absorptive cells of the three species are similar in structure. However, Blattella and Blaberus rectal pads have a second type of cell, termed the secondary cell, that is not present in Periplaneta. The secondary cells are embedded in the pad epithelium and have crypts of cavities opening into the subepithelial sinus. In addition, a multilayered sheath is present between the pad cells and the sinus. The sheath acts as a barrier, perhaps of low permeability, between the subepithelial sinus and the pads. It is interrupted only at the borders of the secondary cells. A mechanism for fluid absorption is presented and the possible role of secondary cells is discussed. It is proposed that the secondary cells reabsorb solute from the sinus and that this solute can then be recycled through the pad cells. Structures resembling neurosecretory terminals within the cavities of the secondary cells may be involved in regulation of recycling. The arrangement of the rectal pads in these insects has structural and perhaps functional similarities with other transporting systems, particularly the cryptonephric system.
Comparison of ROCs for various sensor fusion schemes

We consider the problem of target discrimination based on measurements taken by two sensors, with each sensor measuring a single continuous quantity. We analyze several fusion schemes. These differ in how much data compression the individual sensors make before sending their information to the fusion center where the final decision is made, and in how that fmal decision is made. A comparison of the performance of the various fusion schemes is done by comparing their ROCs (Receiver Operating Characteristics).© (1990) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Multivariate multipoint linkage analysis of quantitative trait loci

Resolution of the genetic components of complex disorders may require simultaneous analysis of the contribution of individual quantitative trait loci (QTLs) to multiple variables. A likelihood approach is used to illustrate how the complexities of multivariate data may be resolved with multipoint linkage analysis. Sibling pair data were simulated from a model in which two QTLs and trait-specific polygenic effects explained all the sibling resemblance within and between five variables. Multipoint linkage analysis was used to obtain individual pair probabilities of having zero, one, or two alleles identical by descent, and these probabilities were applied in a weighted maximum-likelihood fit function. The results were compared with those obtained using conventional linear structural equation modeling to estimate the contribution of latent genetic factors to the genetic covariance in the multiple measures. Both analyses were conducted using the Mx package. Relatively poor agreement was found between genetic factors defined in purely statistical terms by varimax rotation of the first two factors of the genetic covariance matrix and the structure obtained by fitting a model jointly to the phenotypic and the multipoint linkage data.
Modulation of the colonic epithelial cell responses and amelioration of inflammation by CD80 blockade in TNBS colitis

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) result from dysregulated immune responses to the luminal antigens initiated by the colonic epithelial cells (CEC) and propagated by activated CD4+ T cells. Biological therapies are being developed that suppress inflammation and promote epithelial homeostasis. Treatment with the CD80-competitive antagonist peptide (CD80-CAP) has been shown to suppress T cell responses in multiple disease models. Here we investigated the effect of the CD80-CAP on the CEC responses in experimental colitis. Balb/c mice induced with trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) colitis were administered CD80-CAP/control peptide/vehicle. Administration of the CD80-CAP decreased microscopic inflammation and restored the expression of TLR-2, 3, 4 and 5 mRNA in the CEC of colitis mice to physiological levels. Furthermore, the CD80-CAP treatment suppressed Th1cytokines and enhanced Th2 responses by the CEC in colitis mice. In conclusion, CD80-CAP administration ameliorated TNBS colitis by reducing the inflammatory cell infiltration and modulating the CEC response potentially restoring mucosal tolerance.
A family of wheat embryo U2 snRNAs.

Evidence is presented for the existence of small nuclear RNAs in a higher plant species. Based on subcellular fractionation experiments, wheat embryos contain at least four putative snRNAs, one of which co-migrates on SDS-polyacrylamide gels with a relatively abundant cytoplasmic RNA, W1. We purified W1 from ribosome-free high speed supernatant fractions for characterization studies. Electrophoresis under partially denaturing conditions resolves this RNA into several components which bear m 3 2, 2, 7 G-5′ caps and strongly resemble vertebrate U2 snRNA on the basis of modified nucleotide content. Preliminary sequence analyses indicate that wheat embryos contain at least three U2-like RNAs which possess slightly different sequences near their 3′ ends.
Crack Coalescence in Molded Gypsum and Carrara Marble: Part 1. Macroscopic Observations and Interpretation

Cracking and coalescence behavior has been studied experimentally with prismatic laboratory-molded gypsum and Carrara marble specimens containing two parallel pre-existing open flaws. This was done at both the macroscopic and the microscopic scales, and the results are presented in two separate papers. This paper (the first of two) summarizes the macroscopic experimental results and investigates the influence of the different flaw geometries and material, on the cracking processes. In the companion paper (also in this issue), most of the macroscopic deformation and cracking processes shown in this present paper will be related to the underlying microscopic changes. In the present study, a high speed video system was used, which allowed us to precisely observe the cracking mechanisms. Nine crack coalescence categories with different crack types and trajectories were identified. The flaw inclination angle (β), the ligament length (L), that is, intact rock length between the flaws, and the bridging angle (α), that is, the inclination of a line linking up the inner flaw tips, between two flaws, had different effects on the coalescence patterns. One of the pronounced differences observed between marble and gypsum during the compression loading test was the development of macroscopic white patches prior to the initiation of macroscopic cracks in marble, but not in gypsum. Comparing the cracking and coalescence behaviors in the two tested materials, tensile cracking generally occurred more often in marble than in gypsum for the same flaw pair geometries.
Effects of dietary fatty acid composition on glycerophosphate acyltransferase activity in rat adipose tissue and liver.

Abstract 1. 1. How source of dietary fat influences glycerophosphate acyltransferase (GPAT) activity in homogenates of adipose tissue and liver was determined using 5 rats per diet that contained 12% fat from either corn- (CO), high-oleate-safflower (HOSO), palm- or high-stearate-oils. 2. 2. Activity was greatest in adipose tissue homogenates of rats fed HOSO and CO whereas no treatment effects were observed in liver homogenates. 3. 3. No differences in fat pad weights were observed; thus HOSO- and CO-diets likely depressed other lipid synthetic rates. 4. 4. Data indicate that mono- and diunsaturated fatty acid diets supported greater adipose tissue GPAT activity than did saturated fat diets when fed to rats.
Effects of a structured lipid, Captex, and a protein-based fat replacer, Simplesse, on energy metabolism, body weight, and serum lipids in lean and obese Zucker rats

Abstract The effects of a structured lipid, Captex 810D, and a protein based fat replacer, Simplesse®, on the energy metabolism of 8-week-old female lean and obese Zucker rats were measured for 14 days. Body weight gain and serum lipids and glucose were also measured after 4 weeks on the experimental diets. Zucker rats were divided into six groups (n = 9) as follows: lean control (LC), obese control (OC), lean Captex (LX), obese Captex (OX), lean Simplesse (LS), and obese Simplesse (OS). Heat production was measured using open circuit respiration chambers (Oxymax animal calorimeters). Average dry matter (DM) intake (g/kg0.75/d) during the respiration trials (two 24-hour periods) was significantly less (P A phenotypic effect was observed in serum glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol, and high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol concentrations between lean and obese rats. Obese rats consuming the Simplesse diet had significantly lower glucose concentrations than the Captex and the corn oil control groups (16.3 ± 3.8 vs. 20.1 ± 4.8 and 20.7 ± 2.1 mmol/L, respectively). Serum triglycerides (5.61 ± 0.55 mmol/L vs. 4.27 ± 0.81 and 4.21 ± 0.91 mmol/L) and total cholesterol concentrations (3.96 ± 1.09 mmol/L vs. 3.18 ± 0.49 and 3.33 ± 0.51 mmol/L) in the obese rats on the Simplesse diet were greater than the Captex and the control groups. Obese rats had higher HDL cholesterol concentrations than the lean rats but no difference due to diet was observed in either rats.
Inflammatory Manifestations of Experimental Lymphatic Insufficiency

Background Sustained lymph stagnation engenders a pathological response that is complex and not well characterized. Tissue inflammation in lymphedema may reflect either an active or passive consequence of impaired immune traffic. Methods and Findings We studied an experimental model of acute post-surgical lymphedema in the tails of female hairless, immunocompetent SKH-1 mice. We performed in vivo imaging of impaired immune traffic in experimental, murine acquired lymphatic insufficiency. We demonstrated impaired mobilization of immunocompetent cells from the lymphedematous region. These findings correlated with histopathological alterations and large-scale transcriptional profiling results. We found intense inflammatory changes in the dermis and the subdermis. The molecular pattern in the RNA extracted from the whole tissue was dominated by the upregulation of genes related to acute inflammation, immune response, complement activation, wound healing, fibrosis, and oxidative stress response. Conclusions We have characterized a mouse model of acute, acquired lymphedema using in vivo functional imaging and histopathological correlation. The model closely simulates the volume response, histopathology, and lymphoscintigraphic characteristics of human acquired lymphedema, and the response is accompanied by an increase in the number and size of microlymphatic structures in the lymphedematous cutaneous tissues. Molecular characterization through clustering of genes with known functions provides insights into processes and signaling pathways that compose the acute tissue response to lymph stagnation. Further study of genes identified through this effort will continue to elucidate the molecular mechanisms and lead to potential therapeutic strategies for lymphatic vascular insufficiency.
The Hoover® in the Garden: Middle-Class Women and Suburbanization, 1850–1920:

Between 1850 and 1920 the roles of women were dramatically transformed. As participation in public activities became more socially, politically, and economically feasible, changes in domestic life limited the ability of many middle-class women to take advantage of these opportunities. The three processes of suburbanization, growth of social mobility, and an industrial economy increasingly based on domestic consumption, including innovations in household technology, all had the potential to unburden and enrich women's lives. Interrelationships among the three processes, however, worked to the detriment of some middle-class women with limited financial resources. A structurationist perspective is used to examine the interrelationships between social processes that affected women and the responses of individual women to these processes. The role of ideology, which made it acceptable for some middle-class women to do domestic work in 1920, whereas the opposite was true in 1850, is singled out for special atte...
Ammonia as a cell proliferant and its spontaneous production from urea by the enzyme urease

Abstract A recent report by the writer that ammonium carbonate and bicarbonate stimulate growth of granulation tissue in wounds is correlated with other reports that ammonia is synthesized by animal tissues into several amino acids essential in cell proliferation. In normal utilization of ammonia in growth processes, ammonia produced during digestion and protein metabolism is not necessarily accessible to the cells. Ammonia-reception and ammonia-rejection by the cells are discussed. Ammonia arising from the action of the enzyme urease upon metabolic urea appears to be available to the tissues. All the essentials for its formation have been recorded for plant and animal tissues. The ease with which the enzyme can be activated and inhibited in vitro raises the possibility of its spontaneous control. Numerous reports of the occurrence of urease in living tissues are cited, and investigations by the writer and others on the activity of urease at the time of cellular multiplication are discussed. The peculiar specificity of urease for urea, the presence of urea in all tissues and cells, and the breakdown product ammonia are correlated. The general conception that the function of urea is to remove ammonia from the body is contrasted with the possibility that urea is also a reservoir or source of ammonia. A postulation of this type for plants is cited. The question of automatic control of urease activity, through the inhibiting effect of its own end product ammonia and the reutilization of ammonia by the protoplasm, is mentioned as a possibility. The conception of the reaction of urease upon area in living tissues thus producing the nitrogenous product ammonia essential in tissue growth, is not new. Such a system has been described twice.
Supersolid in thermal phase diagram of symmetric electron-hole semiconductor bilayer

One of the most fascinating phases of matter is the supersolid phase. The supersolid phase of matter juxtaposes two a priori conflicting physical properties: a long range ordered structure phase and non vanishing superfluid transport properties [1]. Recently, it has been the focus of intense research as there have been experimental reports which claim to observe a supersolid phase in 4He[2] through the observation of enhancements in the resonant period of their torsional oscillator as the system is cooled. However, the large superfluid mass fraction[2] observed appears to favor a solid amorphous structure, a superglass phase, rather than the desired supersolid phase[3], [4].
Self assembly of rectangular shapes on concentration programming and probabilistic tile assembly models

Efficient tile sets for self assembling rectilinear shapes is of critical importance in algorithmic self assembly. A lower bound on the tile complexity of any deterministic self assembly system for an n × n square is $$\Upomega(\frac{\log(n)}{\log(\log(n))})$$ (inferred from the Kolmogrov complexity). Deterministic self assembly systems with an optimal tile complexity have been designed for squares and related shapes in the past. However designing $$\Uptheta(\frac{\log(n)}{\log(\log(n))})$$ unique tiles specific to a shape is still an intensive task in the laboratory. On the other hand copies of a tile can be made rapidly using PCR (polymerase chain reaction) experiments. This led to the study of self assembly on tile concentration programming models. We present two major results in this paper on the concentration programming model. First we show how to self assemble rectangles with a fixed aspect ratio (?:β), with high probability, using $$\Uptheta(\alpha+\beta)$$ tiles. This result is much stronger than the existing results by Kao et al. (Randomized self-assembly for approximate shapes, LNCS, vol 5125. Springer, Heidelberg, 2008) and Doty (Randomized self-assembly for exact shapes. In: proceedings of the 50th annual IEEE symposium on foundations of computer science (FOCS), IEEE, Atlanta. pp 85---94, 2009)--which can only self assembly squares and rely on tiles which perform binary arithmetic. On the other hand, our result is based on a technique called staircase sampling. This technique eliminates the need for sub-tiles which perform binary arithmetic, reduces the constant in the asymptotic bound, and eliminates the need for approximate frames (Kao et al. Randomized self-assembly for approximate shapes, LNCS, vol 5125. Springer, Heidelberg, 2008) . Our second result applies staircase sampling on the equimolar concentration programming model (The tile complexity of linear assemblies. In: proceedings of the 36th international colloquium automata, languages and programming: Part I on ICALP '09, Springer-Verlag, pp 235---253, 2009), to self assemble rectangles (of fixed aspect ratio) with high probability. The tile complexity of our algorithm is $$\Uptheta(\log(n))$$ and is optimal on the probabilistic tile assembly model (PTAM)--n being an upper bound on the dimensions of a rectangle.
Automated remote temperature measurement in small animals using a telemetry/microcomputer interface

Temperatures can be obtained from small animals by implanting commercially available radio-telemetry probes (Mini-Mitters), thereby avoiding handling-induced artifacts. We have developed an inexpensive microcomputer interface to automatically collect data from Mini-Mitters. The interface hardware detects the signal and converts it to a TTL pulse train compatible with the Commodore PET microcomputer. The software converts the frequency to temperature, controls the sampling schedule, and can selectively measure any one of eight cages. Temperature measurements can thus be made around the clock with no technician present.
Applications of laser microprobe mass spectrometry in organic analysis

Abstract The ability to focus the laser accurately onto the sample with a small beam diameter (2.0–3.0 μm) enables laser mass spectrometry to be used as a microprobe. Results from a fully automated ion-mapping system for laser mass spectrometry are described. These results show that the spatial resolution of the laser microprobe is primarily limited by the diameter of the laser beam. Factors such as laser power density, laser focus, sample preparation, and chemical environment influence the reproducibility of laser mass spectra significantly. Calibration curves obtained in the analysis of mixtures of phenanthrolines demonstrate that laser mass spectrometry can be used to quantify organic components. Preliminary results on the detection of neutral molecules resulting from metastable decomposition in the flight tube are also presented.
Junctions between genes in the haptoglobin gene cluster of primates

To investigate the nature of the recombination that generated the haptoglobin three-gene cluster in Old World primates, we sequenced the region between the second gene ( HPR ) and the third gene ( HPP ) in chimpanzees (15 kb), as well as the region 3′ to the cluster in humans (14 kb). Comparison to the previously sequenced human haptoglobin ( HP ) and HPR genes showed that the junction point between HP and HPR in humans (junction 1) was not identical to the junction point between the HPR and HPP genes of the chimpanzee (junction 2). An Alu sequence was found at each junction, but both Alu sequences lacked short direct repeats of the flanking genomic DNA. The lack of direct repeats implies that both junction Alu sequences are the products of recombination between different Alu elements. In addition, other insertion and deletion events are clustered in the regions near the junction Alu sequences. The observation that Alu sequences define the junctions between genes in the haptoglobin gene cluster emphasizes the importance of Alu sequences in the evolution of multigene families.
Rater beliefs about others: Their effects on rating errors and rater accuracy

This study investigated the relationship between rater characteristics, rating errors and rater accuracy. Several types of rater characteristics were studied: personality, cognitive and job-related variables, and rater beliefs about human nature. It was hypothesized that rater beliefs would correlate significantly with both rating errors and rater accuracy and that there would be a significant relationship between accuracy and rating errors. The results supported the first hypothesis. However, rating errors and rating accuracy were not significantly correlated. Practical implications of these results are discussed.
PERSISTENCE OF ANTIGEN IN NUCLEOPROTEIN FRACTIONS OF MOUSE SPLEEN CELLS DURING ANTIBODY FORMATION.

THE fate and distribution of antigenic determinants in immunized animals is largely unknown1. There has been much speculation and experimentation concerning persistence of antigen during the period of antibody formation, as well as possible relationship of persisting antigen to specific immunological tolerance2,3. Recent work has indicated that neonatal injections of soluble antigens derived from Shigella micro-organisms may result in specific immune unresponsiveness in young mice4,5. It was postulated that ‘excess’ antigen, analogous to pneu-mococcal polysaccharide, may persist for extended periods of time in the mouse tissues, and thus induce an unresponsiveness similar to ‘immunological paralysis’6.
Microfluidic Devices for Energy Conversion: Planar Integration and Performance of a Passive, Fully Immersed H2−O2 Fuel Cell

We describe the fabrication and performance of a passive, microfluidics-based H2-O2 microfluidic fuel cell using thin film Pt electrodes embedded in a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) device. The electrode array is fully immersed in a liquid electrolyte confined inside the microchannel network, which serves also as a thin gas-permeable membrane through which the reactants are fed to the electrodes. The cell operates at room temperature with a maximum power density of around 700 microW/cm(2), while its performance, as recorded by monitoring the corresponding polarization curves and the power density plots, is affected by the pH of the electrolyte, its concentration, the surface area of the Pt electrodes, and the thickness of the PDMS membrane. The best results were obtained in basic solutions using electrochemically roughened Pt electrodes, the roughness factor, R(f), of which was around 90 relative to a smooth Pt film. In addition, the operating lifetime of the fuel cell was found to be longer for the one using higher surface area electrodes.
the spoken house: text, act, and object in eastern Indonesia

Sumbanese descriptions of the “traditional house” as a microcosm and emblem of local identity are neither unproblematic expressions of a cultural totality nor simply objectifications imposed by ethnography or modernity. One way the house is able to serve as a discursive object reflects, in part, specifically Sumbanese models of action and beliefs about language as refracted in changing historical circumstances. In ritual, speakers seek to engage and elicit responses from powerful others, whereas current religious and political developments reframe ritual words as means of describing a cultural world. Both sets of practices draw on the authority of “entextualized” language but interpret it in different ways. Emerging representations of cultural meaning are shaped by long-standing speech genres and by recent social and cultural transformations, mediated by shifting language ideologies. [culture theory, representation, discourse, ritual speech, language ideology, house, Indonesia]
An in silico first semester freshman laboratory as an introduction to bioinformatics

♦ Introduce network ♦ Focus on central dogma and protein primary structure ♦ Teach amino acid properties and open reading frame ♦ Review manuscript template and requirements ♦Template has been downloaded from the Journal of Virology, students are provided with “instructions for authors”. ♦ Students put together figures, figure legends, write results and discussion, and abstract. ♦ Students must turn in rough draft of paper before leaving the lab. (for us this is usually a Thursday or Friday) ♦ Faculty member reviews and makes extensive comments on manuscript and returns by Monday.
Psychodynamics in a Chronic Debilitating Hereditary Disease: Myotonia Dystrophica

AFFECTED AS WELL as nonaffected members of families with hereditary diseases may manifest deep-seated emotions of guilt, hostility, anxiety, denial, and paranoia. 1-4 These reactions seem to be tempered, in part, by misconceptions which arise pertinent to the contributory role of "genetic factors." 5 Additional factors seem to be related to the form of the handicap, albeit physical, as in facially disfiguring anomalies such as mandibulofacial-dysostosis, 6 or mental as in Huntington's chorea and Hurler's syndrome. Finally, social pressures, ie, the negative way in which society views illness and grotesque phenotypes, contributes to the psychological aberrations in such families. The purpose of this paper is to present information on the attitudes and feelings in members of two kindreds afflicted with myotonia dystrophica. Emphasis will be placed upon the genesis of psychologic distress in these families. The role of dynamic genetic counseling in such
The community ecology of barley/cereal yellow dwarf viruses in Western US grasslands.

Abstract Research on plant viruses in natural ecosystems has been increasing rapidly over the past decade. This paper reviews recent research on the barley and cereal yellow dwarf viruses (B/CYDVs) in grasslands of the western US, beginning with the evidence that the disease caused by these viruses facilitated the invasion of western US grasslands by European annual grasses. Observational and experimental studies of B/CYDVs were carried out along a latitudinal gradient (33.8–48.8°N) from southern California to southern Canada. The prevalence and community composition of B/CYDVs were assessed over a variety of scales and under a range of biotic and abiotic conditions. The findings indicate that both biotic and abiotic factors are important influences on virus ecology and epidemiology. Introduced annual grasses are high-quality hosts that amplify both virus and vector populations in this system, but our research suggests that endemic perennial grasses are critically important for sustaining virus populations in contemporary grasslands largely composed of introduced species. Experiments indicated that increased phosphorus supply to hosts resulted in greater host biomass and higher virus prevalence. Using experimental exclosures, it was found that the presence of grazing vertebrate herbivores increased the abundance of annual grasses, resulting in increased virus prevalence. The results of these studies suggest that patterns of B/CYDV prevalence and coinfection in western US grasslands are strongly shaped by the interactions of host plants, vectors, vertebrate herbivores, and abiotic drivers including nutrients.
Thermal stability of nanoscale helium bubbles in a 14YWT nanostructured ferritic alloy

Abstract A 14YWT nanostructured ferritic alloy has been irradiated with 335 keV He+ to a total fluence of 6.75 × 1020 He m−2 at a temperature of 400 °C and subsequently thermally treated at 750 °C for up to 100 h. Transmission electron microscopy has been used to characterize the size and distribution of the resultant helium bubbles. The results indicate that the bubbles generally increase in size and the distribution becomes more inhomogeneous during the thermal treatment. The results are discussed in terms of the helium supply and vacancy supersaturation, Brownian motion and coalescence, and Ostwald ripening mechanisms.
Degradation of phytoplankton-derived organic matter: Implications for carbon and nitrogen biogeochemistry in coastal ecosystems

Experiments were conducted using seawater from the Oregon continental shelf to determine: (1) rates of phytoplankton-derived particulate organic matter (POM) and dissolved organic matter (DOM) degradation by natural microbial communities, and (2) whether inorganic nutrients or flagellate grazing limit the bacterial response to, and subsequent degradation of, the DOM. In the initial seawater samples, nutrients were depleted and organic matter concentrations were elevated above concentrations found in upwelled water, indicative of recent bloom conditions. In whole water treatments incubated for 3 d, an average of 24% of the total organic C and 33% of the POC was degraded, with some portion of the POC being converted to DOC. In treatments incubated after POM was removed by filtration, DOC degradation was initially rapid and then proceeded at a slower rate. After 3 d, an average of 41% of the DOC was degraded. Selective degradation of the C-component of both the POM and DOM relative to the N-component was observed. Reductions in flagellate grazing resulted in increases in bacterial abundance and enhanced DOC degradation, while inorganic nutrient amendments had little effect. Overall, these results suggest that a fraction of the phytoplankton-derived POM and DOM can be rapidly degraded, contributing to oxygen consumption on the continental shelf. The long degradation time of a less labile DOC fraction relative to potential offshelf transport mechanisms suggests that Oregon's coastal waters may be a source of DOC to adjacent offshore waters of the North Pacific.
The reluctant seafarers: fishing, self-acculturation and the stumbling Zionist colonisation of the Palestine Coast in the interbellum period

This paper offers a historical anthropology of fishing in Palestine in the decade preceding the 1948 war. It focuses on the polarisation, engendered by the Zionist Fisheries Project, between ‘modern’ fishing – designated for Jews within the project – and ‘primitive’ fishing, limited in scale and seasonal, which was gradually imagined by both British officers and Jewish bureaucrats as the destiny of Palestinian fishermen, in sharp contradiction to the reality on the waterfront in Jaffa. To understand the encounter between Zionist and Palestinian projects, the changes affecting the two communities are presented as parts of an intertwined history. By reconstructing the two projects, their respective development and struggle, the article analyses their different accessibilities to transnational networks – within the eastern Mediterranean and outside it – and the implications the projects’ different possibilities for action had on the shaping the social reality along the coast of Palestine.
Effect of phosphate, calcium and magnesium on bone resorption and hormonal responses in tissue culture.

The effects of changing the concentration of phosphate, calcium and magnesium on the resorption of fetal rat bone, and the responses to parathyroid hormone and calcitonin were tested in organ cultures using a chemically defined medium. Resorption was measured by the release of previously incorporated 46Ca into the medium and by changes in total bone calcium content. To differentiate effects on active resorption and passive dissolution, calcium losses from living and heat-killed bones were compared. Increasing the phosphate concentration of the medium over the range of 0.25 to 4M produced a decreased release of calcium from bone, particularly in response to parathyroid hormone. The effect was greater in living than in dead bone, demonstrating that active resorption was inhibited. Inhibition by phosphate could be observed even when the Ca×PO4 product was kept constant. The effects of calcitonin and phosphate appeared to be additive. Increasing concentrations of calcium also decreased mineral loss. This was ...
The Effects of Pre-Oxidation and Alloy Chemistry of Austenitic Stainless Steels on Glass/Metal Sealing

An oxidation treatment is often performed on austenitic stainless steel prior to joining to alkali barium silicate glass to produce hermetic seals. The thin oxide formed during this pre-oxidation step acts as a transitional layer and a source of Cr and other elements that diffuse into the glass during the subsequent bonding process. Pre-oxidation is performed in a low pO2 atmosphere to avoid iron oxide formation; the final oxide is composed of Cr2O3, MnCr2O4 spinel, and SiO2. Significant heat-to-heat variations in the oxidation behavior of austenitic stainless steel were observed in this work, resulting in inconsistent glass/metal seal behavior. Twenty-five (25) stainless steel heats were examined including 304L, 316L, and experimental high sulfur alloys similar to 303SS. The objectives were to characterize the oxidation kinetics, the oxide morphologies, and compositions that affect glass/metal adhesion. It was found that poor glass sealing is associated with a more continuous layer of SiO2 at the metal/oxide interface. The effects of alloy chemistry, in particular Mn and Si concentrations, on glass/metal sealing behavior were empirically determined. A criterion based on the Mn/Si ratio was developed for use in selecting heats with good glass/metal bonding characteristics. To test this criterion, four other austenitic stainless steels were evaluated: 21-6-9 (also known by original Armco Steel Co. trade name Nitronic® 40), 22-13-5 (Nitronic® 50), Nitronic® 60, and Gall-Tough® (Carpenter Technology Corp.). These alloys have compositions significantly different from 300-series alloys, but they were still found to comply with the compositional guidelines developed for predicting glass/metal adhesion.
Mothers' experience of methamphetamine addiction: A case-based analysis of rural, midwestern women

Abstract Engaging mothers who are abusing methamphetamine in services is an important goal for rural child welfare. Four rural, white, mothers in recovery from methamphetamine addiction described their life experiences through in-depth interviews. Three of the women grew up with parents who abused drugs, and all had experienced trauma as children and used other illegal drugs before methamphetamine. Mothers vividly portrayed the rapid loss of control that can occur with methamphetamine use, as well as the power of the addiction. They became “obsessed” with the drug and nothing was more important to them, not even the children whom they loved. They lost the ability to think “rationally,” experienced serious lapses in judgment, lost motivation, and lived in a “fog.” They described their illness as impacting their children's physical and psychological well-being including through exposure to domestic violence, adult substance abuse and other anti-social behavior, and loss of important relationships. They expressed concern that their children would abuse drugs. Women described recovery as possible only with significant external support, and they reported lasting physical, psychological and social side effects of their illness. Understanding mothers' experience of methamphetamine addiction can increase our awareness of this illness thereby reducing stigma and suggesting strategies for engaging them in intervention.