cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An Assortment Of Image Quality Indexes For Radiographic Film-Screen Combinations ---Can They Be Resolved?

The following briefly summarizes the background on how the Bureau of Radiological Health became involved in the image analysis area. In October 1968 the Radiation Control for Health and Safety Act, Public Law 90-602, gave the Secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare and by delega-tion to the Food and Drug Administration new functions involving the radiation safety responsibility to control ionizing and nonionizing radiation emitted from electronic products. A majority of the responsibilities under the law have been redelegated to the Bureau of Radiological Health.
Organochlorine contaminants in blubber of four seal species: Integrating biomonitoring and specimen banking

Abstract Blubber samples from four Alaska seal species (bearded seal, Erignathus barbatus; harbor seal, Phoca vitulina; northern fur seal, Callorhinus ursinus; ringed seal, P. hispida) were collected for inclusion in the US National Biomonitoring Specimen Bank, as well as for immediate analysis as part of the contaminant monitoring component of the US National Marine Fisheries Service's Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program. The blubber samples were analyzed for organochlorine (OC) contaminants (e.g., PCB congeners, pesticides, DDTs). Results for bearded and ringed seals from the Alaska Arctic revealed low blubber concentrations of OC contaminants. Harbor seals from Prince William Sound, Gulf of Alaska, had somewhat higher blubber concentrations of OC contaminants. In contrast, northern fur seals sampled from the Pribilof Islands had blubber concentrations of certain OC contaminants that were about an order of magnitude higher than those found in the other seal species. Differences in contaminant concentrations among the Alaska seals may be explained by differences in feeding habits and migratory patterns; age or gender did not appear to account for the differences observed. The highest concentrations of OCs were found in harbor seals stranded along the northwestern US mainland, which is consistent with higher concentrations of anthropogenic contaminants being found in urban coastal areas than in more remote Arctic environments. The integration of real-time contaminant monitoring with specimen banking provides important baseline data that can be used to plan and manage banking activities. This includes identifying appropriate specimens that are useful in assessing temporal trends and increasing the utility of the banked samples in assessing chemical contaminant accumulation and relationships to biological effects.
Low Loss Polarization-Based Optical Logic Gates

The gate design reported here is an outgrowth of a study of the use of optical computing for artificial intelligence 1,2 . The particular area chosen for study was mathematical resolution, 3,4 a method of reasoning using boolean algebra. In common with other non-arithmetic uses of optical computing, the operations involved in the process of mathematical resolution require the cascading of multiple levels of logic. For example, the basic operation in resolution, resolvent formation, requires on the order of log 2 (n) levels of logic to validate the resolvent of two clauses each containing n terms. Since in a real system, n might easily be 1024, and each level of logic might require two levels of optical gates, on the order of 20 gates might have to be cascaded in order to generate an output.
Diethylstilbestrol-diphosphate induces chromosomal aberrations but not sister chromatid exchanges in murine bone marrow cells in vivo.

Diethylstilbestrol diphosphate (DES-dp) clastogenesis was examined in the bone marrow of C57B1/6 male and female mice. Significant and sex-related dose effects were observed for the induction of chromatid-type chromosomal aberrations and for the inhibition of cellular proliferation. Females were more sensitive to the effects of DES-dp than males when assessed for either induced chromosomal aberrations or proliferative inhibition. Contrary to other published results, we did not observe either an increase in sister chromatid exchanges or an increased incidence of aneuploidy. Ovariectomy reduced the ability of DES-dp to inhibit cellular proliferation and decreased the high degree of variability between animals at high doses of DES-dp. The results of our studies show that DES is a clastogenic agent in vivo which may relate to its carcinogenicity.
Nitric oxide. An important signaling mechanism between vascular endothelium and parenchymal cells in the regulation of oxygen consumption.

BACKGROUND Nitric oxide (NO) is known to be an inhibitor of mitochondrial function. However, the physiological significance of endothelium-derived NO in the control of tissue respiration is not established. METHODS AND RESULTS Tissue O2 consumption by skeletal muscle slices of the triceps brachii of normal dogs was measured with a Clark-type O2 electrode/tissue bath system at 37 degrees C. S-Nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP), carbachol (CCh), or bradykinin (BK) decreased tissue O2 consumption by 12 +/- 3% to 55 +/- 8%, 15 +/- 6% to 36 +/- 11%, or 21 +/- 5% to 42 +/- 4% at doses of 10(-7) to 10(-4) mol/L, respectively. The effects of both CCh and BK but not SNAP were eliminated by nitro-L-arginine (NLA, 10(-4) mol/L), consistent with SNAP decomposing to release NO and both CCh and BK stimulating endogenous NO production from L-arginine. Oxygen consumption was also decreased by 8-bromo-cGMP. The mitochondrial uncoupler dinitrophenol blocked the effects of 8-bromo-cGMP but only slightly altered those of SNAP, indicating that the major site of action of NO is the mitochondria. In normal, chronically instrumented, resting conscious dogs, blockade of NO synthase by NLA increased mean arterial pressure by 28 +/- 2.5 mm Hg and hind limb vascular resistance by 114 +/- 12% and decreased blood flow by 39 +/- 3%. Most important, NLA also increased O2 uptake by 55 +/- 9% in hind limb skeletal muscle (P < .05), associated with decreases in PO2 and O2 saturation and an increase in reduced hemoglobin in hind limb venous blood. CONCLUSIONS Our results indicate that NO release from vascular endothelial cells appears to play an important physiological role in the regulation of tissue mitochondrial respiration in skeletal muscle and perhaps other organ systems.
Ectoparasites from Some Species of Bats from Western North America

The ectoparasitic fauna of many species of bats has only begun to be known. A summary catalogue for the Chiroptera prepared by Stiles and Noland (Bul. Nat. Inst. of Health, 155: 603–742, 1931) presents a list of bats and their known parasites complete to the year 1930. G. M. Allen (bats, Harvard Univ. Press, 1939) reviewed much of the literature concerning parasites of bats and presented an excellent synthesis of this data. More recent data are to be found in monographs on various groups of arthropods (such as ticks, mites, fleas and flies) and in descriptions of new bat-inhabiting species. Accounts of a faunistic nature are poorly represented in the literature; therefore it is thought that the following notes, although admittedly incomplete, will indicate something of the ectoparasitic fauna for the 12 kinds of western North American bats considered. I wish to acknowledge the assistance of Dr. Furman of the Department of Entomology, University of California, Berkeley, who most kindly identified the parasites. The specimens reported upon were obtained at various localities in San Diego County, California in the months June, July, August, and September, 1946. The author was aided in their collection by Dr. Keith L. Dixon of Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College. It seems likely that most, and perhaps all, species of bats have ectoparasites of one sort or another. Certainly some individuals of all species that we collected were infested. Observations indicate that …
A new routing scheme for Jellyfish and its performance with HPC workloads

The jellyfish topology where switches are connected using a random graph has recently been proposed for large scale data-center networks. It has been shown to offer higher bisection bandwidth and better permutation throughput than the corresponding fat-tree topology with a similar cost. In this work, we propose a new routing scheme for jellyfish that out-performs existing schemes by more effectively exploiting the path diversity, and comprehensively compare the performance of jellyfish and fat-tree topologies with HPC workloads. The results indicate that both jellyfish and fat-tree topologies offer comparable high performance for HPC workloads on systems that can be realized by 3-level fat-trees using the current technology and the corresponding jellyfish topologies with similar costs. Fat-trees are more effective for smaller systems while jellyfish is more scalable.
Some Metabolic Changes Induced by Acute Administration of Native and Reduced-Tetra-S-Carbamidomethylated Human Growth Hormone in Man

Reduction and carbamidomthylation of the disulfide bridges of HGH was followed by a 50% decrease of the immunological activity of the hormone. This indicates that the immunological activity of the HGH molecule is dependent upon the disulfide bridges. The effects of HGH in man on glucose in blood and glycerol, alamine and insulin in plasma, as well as on glucose tolerance and insulin response to glucose, were not altered by the reduction of the molecule. Thus, there seems to exist a dissociation of the sites of the molecule which are responsible for the biological and immunological properties of the hormone. Both native HGH and its reduced derivative, when infused for 1 hr, inhibited partially the insulin response to glucose administration. On prolonged administration, both preparations had an enhancing effect on glucose-induced insulin release. It is suggested that HGH initially suppresses insulin-release, thereby acting as a stress hormone in a similar fashion as the catecholamines. The later enhancement...
The Meaning of Living With Spinal Cord Injury 5 to 10 Years After the Injury

A phenomenological study was conducted with 20 spinal cord injured persons and their family members to examine the meaning of living with spinal cord injury 5 to 10 years after the initial injury. Seven themes emerged from the data. The themes are looking for understanding to a life that is unknown, stumbling along an unlit path, viewing self through a stained glass window, challenging the bonds of love, being chained to the injury, moving forward in a new way of life, and reaching normalcy. The uncovered meanings enhance our understanding and appreciation that living with spinal cord injury is a continuous learning experience. The study findings may be useful in the development of self-care strategies and ongoing interventions that focus on maintaining physical and psychological health for both spinal cord injured persons and their family members throughout the course of living with the disability.
The role of surgery in treatment of arthritis of the hip.

: Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis of the hip are each discussed with regard to clinical considerations, radiographic findings, and available operative procedures. While search continues for an entirely satisfactory hip arthroplasty operation, the careful selection of the appropriate available procedure can be of great benefit to the arthritic patient. Osteotomy, arthroplasty and arthrodesis have fully proved their worth. For patients with rheumatoid arthritis, selection is the more important and difficulties arise from a lack of the same extensive background of clinical experience against which to review a particular patient's clinical state. Increasing interest in this field is manifest, however, and more patients are being helped by surgery than heretofore. It is worth emphasizing again, the importance of a team approach to the arthritic patient, with participation in the team by a rheumatologist or internist, orthopedic surgeon, physical therapist, occupational therapist, social service worker and vocational rehabilitation counsellor. That there is a pressing need for specialized teams of this sort in modern American medicine is obvious to any who have become involved in the field to anything more than a superficial degree.
Temperature manipulation improves postharvest quality of a mid-season peach

Mid-season peach (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch cv Majestic) fruit of five maturity stages, from red suture to red, full soft, were subjected to warming treatments before and during storage at 5C. Intermittent warming and delayed storage accelerated softening in red suture, half and full red hard fruit. The treatment effect was greater with less mature fruit. Treatment had no effect on soluble solids concentration, total phenolics, or titratable acidity. 'Majestic' peaches could be held at 5C up to four weeks if harvested at the half red or full red hard stage and held at room temperature for 24 h before storage.
Longitudinal progression of frontal and temporal lobe changes in schizophrenia

Cortical abnormalities are considered a neurobiological characteristic of schizophrenia. However, the pattern of such deficits as they progress over the illness remains poorly understood. The goal of this project was to assess the progression of cortical thinning in frontal and temporal cortical regions in schizophrenia, and determine whether relationships exist between them and neuropsychological and clinical symptom profiles. As part of a larger longitudinal 2-year follow-up study, schizophrenia (n=20) and healthy participants (n=20) group-matched for age, gender, and recent-alcohol use, were selected. Using MRI, estimates of gray matter thickness were derived from primary anatomical gyri of the frontal and temporal lobes using surface-based algorithms. These values were entered into repeated-measures analysis of variance models to determine group status and time effects. Change values in cortical regions were correlated with changes in neuropsychological functioning and clinical symptomatology. Results revealed exaggerated cortical thinning of the middle frontal, superior temporal, and middle temporal gyri in schizophrenia participants. These thickness changes strongly influenced volumetric reductions, but were not related to shrinking surface area. Neuropsychological and clinical symptom profiles were stable in the schizophrenia participants despite these neuroanatomic changes. Overall it appears that ongoing abnormalities in the cerebral cortex continue after initial onset of schizophrenia, particularly the lateral aspects of frontal and temporal regions, and do not relate to neuropsychological or clinical measures over time. Maintenance of neuropsychological performance and clinical stability in the face of changing neuroanatomical structure suggests the involvement of alternative compensatory mechanisms.
A pattern language for screencasting

Many activities --- especially software related ones --- are more easily learned by observing a mentor as he performs the activity. However, such opportunities for observations are hard to come by and are usually infeasible when there are many participants who are interested. Fortunately, the ubiquity of video sharing sites has spawned numerous screencasts that address this teaching-learning problem. Our pattern language for screencasting proposed here assists the mentor in preparing high-quality screencasts in as little time and effort as possible.
Problem-solving training for family caregivers of persons with traumatic brain injuries: a randomized controlled trial.

Rivera PA, Elliott TR, Berry JW, Grant JS. Problem-solving training for family caregivers of persons with traumatic brain injuries: a randomized controlled trial. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2008;89:931-41. Objective: To test the hypothesis that a problem-solving training program would lower depression, health complaints, and burden, and increase well-being reported by community- residing family caregivers of persons with traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). Design: Randomized controlled trial. Setting: General community. Participants: Of the 180 people who expressed interest in the study, 113 did not meet eligibility criteria. A consenting sample of family caregivers were randomized into a problem- solving training group (4 men, 29 women; average age, 51.3y) or an education-only control group (34 women; average age, 50.8y). Care recipients included 26 men and 7 women in the intervention group (average age, 36.5y) and 24 men and 10 women in the control group (average age, 37.2y). Intervention: Problem-solving training based on the D'Zurilla and Nezu social problem-solving model was pro- vided to caregivers in the intervention group in 4 in-home sessions and 8 telephone follow-up calls over the course of their year-long participation. Control group participants re- ceived written educational materials and telephone calls at set intervals throughout their 12 months of participation. Main Outcome Measures: Caregiver depression, health complaints, well-being, and social problem-solving abilities. Results: Hierarchical linear models revealed caregivers re- ceiving problem-solving training reported significant decreases in depression, health complaints, and in dysfunctional problem- solving styles over time. No effects were observed on caregiver well-being, burden, or constructive problem-solving styles. Conclusions: Problem-solving training provided in the home appears to be effective in alleviating distress and in decreasing dysfunctional problem-solving styles among family caregivers of persons with TBI. Methodologic limitations and the implications for interventions and future research are discussed.
Evaluating the WHO Assessment Instrument for Mental Health Systems by comparing mental health policies in four countries

Mental health is a low priority in most countries around the world. Minimal research and resources have been invested in mental health at the national level. As a result, WHO has developed the Assessment Instrument for Mental Health Systems (WHO-AIMS) to encourage countries to gather data and to re-evaluate their national mental health policy. This paper demonstrates the utility and limitations of WHO-AIMS by applying the model to four countries with different cultures, political histories and public health policies: Iraq, Japan, the Philippines and The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. WHO-AIMS provides a useful model for analysing six domains: policy and legislative framework; mental health services; mental health in primary care; human resources; education of the public at large; and monitoring and research. This is especially important since most countries do not have experts in mental health policy or resources to design their own evaluation tools for mental health systems. Furthermore, WHO-AIMS provides a standardized database for cross-country comparisons. However, limitations of the instrument include the neglect of the politics of mental health policy development, underestimation of the role of culture in mental health care utilization, and questionable measurement validity.
Modeling PIN diodes for high power RF and microwave applications

A detailed numerical model that integrates DC forward current, emitter recombination and I-region width and radius for simulation of PIN diodes used at high power levels is presented. Details on the model are provided so that easy implementation by the reader may be performed. It is shown that for certain PIN diode geometries, the analytic methods can underestimate the surface recombination current and overestimate the overall I-region charge density. The model is verified with experimental data showing the deviations from ideal 1/I DC at high current injection.
Architectural Support for the Stream Execution Model on General-Purpose Processors

There has recently been much interest in stream processing, both in industry (e.g., Cell, NVIDIA G80, ATI R580) and academia (e.g., Stanford Merrimac, MIT RAW), with stream programs becoming increasingly popular for both media and more general-purpose computing. Although a special style of programming called stream programming is needed to target these stream architectures, huge performance benefits can be achieved. In this paper, we minimally add architectural features to commodity general-purpose processors (e.g., Intel/AMD) to efficiently support the stream execution model. We design the extensions to reuse existing components of the general-purpose processor hardware as much as possible by investigating low-cost modifications to the CPU caches, hardware prefetcher, and the execution core. With a less than 1% increase in die area along with judicious use of a software runtime system, we can efficiently support stream programming on traditional processor cores. We evaluate our techniques by running scientific applications on a cycle-level simulation system. The results show that our system executes stream programs as efficiently as possible, limited only by the ALU performance and the memory bandwidth needed to feed the ALUs.
Warranty Inventory Optimization for Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, Inc.

Warranty inventory management is a challenge that many companies must confront. Customers return allegedly defective units to a company for replacement or credit. The company can then economically recover the unit through either a testing or remanufacturing process; it can use recovered units to fulfill future warranty requests. The company also has the option of purchasing a new product from the production line. In high-volume situations, warranty inventory management involves many complexities such as stochastic demand rates, probabilistic requests for credit instead of replacement, probabilistic repairs, multiple sources of supply, and tight customer-service constraints. Companies may also have to consider the complexities that a batch remanufacturing process causes. In this paper, we formulate several related models of such warranty inventory systems. In these models, we study a periodic, single-location, inventory system that is dedicated to warranty returns. We find near-optimal policies for each system using well-developed heuristics. The models include the following complexities: random warranty claims, random requests for replacement or credit, three sources of supply (testing, remanufacturing, and new product), random flows of returned products into testing and remanufacturing, random yields from testing and remanufacturing, different lead times for each resupply process, remanufacturing lead time variability, and random batching of remanufacturing. The results of the models provide near-optimal inventory-control policies in this complex environment and demonstrate the payoffs that result from reducing production lead times and batching in remanufacturing. Hitachi GST has gained a great deal from this modeling process. In addition to the direct benefit from the model's calculations, additional sensitivity analyses have shed light on the quantitative importance of various factors, including demand volatility, the percentage of credit requests, the percentage of units successfully remanufactured, and batching effects in remanufacturing.
Cerebral circulatory responses to arterial hypoxia in normal and chemodenervated dogs.

SUMMARY Cerebral hemodynamic responses to arterial hypoxia were studied in 13 normal and 9 chemodenervated anesthetized, paralyzed dogs. Arterial O2 content was lowered from control (18.0 vol%) to 14.0, 8.0, and 4.0 vol%, respectively, by either decreasing arterial Po2 (hypoxic hypoxia) or increasing carboxyhemoglobin saturation (CO hypoxia) at normal Po2. Both hypoxic hypoxia and CO hypoxia at each value of the lowered arterial O2 content resulted in progressive significant increases in cerebral blood flow (134, 169, 276, and 146, 206, 244% of control, respectively). Before chemoreceptor denervation, arterial blood pressure increased with hypoxic hypoxia but decreased with CO hypoxia. After chemodenervation, hypoxic hypoxia and CO hypoxia at each value of lowered arterial O2 content resulted in similar significant increases in cerebral blood flow. These increases were not significantly different from those observed prior to chemodenervation. After chemodenervation, hypoxic hypoxia and CO hypoxia both resulted in similar decreases in arterial blood pressure and cerebral vascular resistance, whereas, before chemodenervation, cerebral vascular resistance decreased more with CO hypoxia than with hypoxic hypoxia. These data show that cerebral vasodilation induced by both forms of hypoxia in chemodenervated dogs resembles that in animals with CO hypoxia and intact chemoreceptors in which Pao2 is high and the carotid chemoreceptors may not be activated. We also have shown that the transient responses to both types of hypoxia are not altered by carotid chemodenervation, and conclude that the carotid chemoreceptors do not play a role in the mechanism by which cerebral blood flow increases during decreased blood O2 content. IN THE PAST several years, there has been renewed interest in the possible role of the autonomic nervous system in the regulation of cerebral blood flow. Despite much evidence supporting an autonomic nerve supply to parts of the cerebral vasculature, the functional significance of these nerves remains uncertain. Neural regulatory mechanisms for the cerebral circulation have been assumed to be negligible or nonexistent' because of the failure of autonomic stimulation and denervation to affect cerebral blood flow significantly. The effect of the sympathetic nervous system on cerebral blood flow remains especially controversial. Many investigators have failed to show any significant effects of sympathetic stimulation on cerebral blood flow, 2 " 4 whereas others using similar tech
Factors Affecting the Job Satisfaction of Latino/a Immigrants in the Midwest

This study examined the job satisfaction of 253 Latino/a newcomers in three rural communities in the Midwest. Specifically, the authors explored the effects of ethnic identity, Anglo acculturation, Latino/a acculturation, perceptions of the community (social relations, discrimination/racism, and language pressures), job tenure, work hours, and salary on participants’ job satisfaction. Results of a hierarchical regression analysis indicated that ethnic identity and Anglo acculturation had a positive effect, while perceptions of the community related to discrimination/racism had a negative effect on job satisfaction. Latino/a acculturation, perceived social relations in the community, perceived language pressures in the community, job tenure, hours worked, and wages were not significantly related to job satisfaction. The regression model accounted for 16% of the variance in job satisfaction. The implications of the findings for career counseling practice are discussed, and suggestions for future research on...
ATF4-dependent oxidative induction of the DNA repair enzyme Ape1 counteracts arsenite cytotoxicity and suppresses arsenite-mediated mutagenesis.

Arsenite is a human carcinogen causing skin, bladder, and lung tumors, but the cellular mechanisms underlying these effects remain unclear. We investigated expression of the essential base excision DNA repair enzyme apurinic endonuclease 1 (Ape1) in response to sodium arsenite. In mouse 10T½ fibroblasts, Ape1 induction in response to arsenite occurred about equally at the mRNA, protein, and enzyme activity levels. Analysis of the APE1 promoter region revealed an AP-1/CREB binding site essential for arsenite-induced transcriptional activation in both mouse and human cells. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays indicated that an ATF4/c-Jun heterodimer was the responsible transcription factor. RNA interference targeting c-Jun or ATF4 eliminated arsenite-induced APE1 transcription. Suppression of Ape1 or ATF4 sensitized both mouse fibroblasts (10T½) and human lymphoblastoid cells (TK6) to arsenite cytotoxicity. Expression of Ape1 from a transgene did not efficiently restore arsenite resistance in ATF4-depleted cells but did offset initial accumulation of abasic DNA damage following arsenite treatment. Mutagenesis by arsenite (at the TK and HPRT loci in TK6 cells) was observed only for ATF4-depleted cells, which was strongly offset by Ape1 expression from a transgene. Therefore, the ATF4-mediated up-regulation of Ape1 and other genes plays a key role against arsenite-mediated toxicity and mutagenesis.
Three-dimensional structure and orientation of rat islet amyloid polypeptide protein in a membrane environment by solution NMR spectroscopy.

Islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP or amylin) is a 37-residue peptide hormone associated with glucose metabolism that is cosecreted with insulin by β-cells in the pancreas. Since human IAPP is a highly amyloidogenic peptide, it has been suggested that the formation of IAPP amyloid fibers is responsible for the death of β-cells during the early stages of type II diabetes. It has been hypothesized that transient membrane-bound α-helical structures of human IAPP are precursors to the formation of these amyloid deposits. On the other hand, rat IAPP forms transient α-helical structures but does not progress further to form amyloid fibrils. To understand the nature of this intermediate state and the difference in toxicity between the rat and human versions of IAPP, we have solved the high-resolution structure of rat IAPP in the membrane-mimicking detergent micelles composed of dodecylphosphocholine. The structure is characterized by a helical region spanning the residues A5 to S23 and a disordered C-terminus. A di...
Studies of epoxy resin systems: Part D: Fracture toughness of an epoxy resin: A study of the effect of crosslinking and sub‐Tg aging

The fracture toughness of an epoxy resin system, diglycidyl ether of butanediol, DGEB, cured with 4-4′ diaminodiphenyl sulphone, DDS, has been studied by varying the crosslinking density and state of aging. A stable, but rough, crack propagation was observed with specimens that were 99 percent cured and quenched. When the extent of curing was less than 99 percent or the material was aged for more than 20 min at 62°C, crack propagation was of the unstable stick-slip nature. Aging was found to decrease the initiation fracture toughness dramatically, but the arrest fracture toughness was almost unchanged. This result was associated with a change of relaxation strength of the primary, a, transition with aging. An increase of crosslinking density was found initially to reduce the fracture toughness of this epoxy resin, but the fracture toughness increased after 87 percent of curing. The initial decrease of the fracture toughness was attributed to a decrease of relaxation strength of the primary transition (i.e., the area under the α-relaxation peak), while the increase of the fracture toughness after 87 percent curing was explained by the onset of the stablerough crack propagation, Micrographs taken by scanning electron microscopy-showed possible existence of blunting during crack propagation and a decrease of blunting with the extent of aging.
Design and Construction of a Prototype Rotation Modulation Collimator for Near-Field High-Energy Spectroscopic Gamma Imaging

Neutron Stimulated Emission Computed Tomography (NSECT) is being developed for in vivo measurement of the concentration and location of biologically relevant elements. NSECT is a spectroscopic imaging technique whereby the body is illuminated via high-energy neutrons that excite elemental nuclei that then relax through characteristic gamma radiation. This imaging technique requires high-resolution spectroscopy, thereby eliminating the use conventional scintillation gamma cameras. Consequently, high-purity germanium (HPGe) semi-conductor detectors are utilized, providing no spatial information. To obtain 2D elemental concentration images, we are adapting high-energy solar spectroscopy technology. A rotating modulation collimator (RMC) consisting of two parallel-slat collimators is placed in front of the detector to modulate the incoming signal in a manner predicted by its geometry. Reconstruction of 2D images is feasible by counting the number of incident gammas at each rotation angle. The challenge is to identify a RMC geometry that allows this method to work in the near-field environment, which has far fewer assumptions and simplifications than the infinite focus of solar imaging. Herein we describe construction of a prototype RMC and experiments conducted with a radioactive 22Na point source. These experiments verified that the RMC modulates the signal in manner consistent with its geometric and physical properties.
Democracy, Dictatorship and Development: Economic Development in Selected Regimen in the Third World . By Georg Sørensen. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1990.

Part 1 Analytical focus: regimes and development - the arguments in detail the basic concepts of the analysis the framework of the analysis values and ethnocentrism hypotheses and questions for the case-studies introduction of the case-studies. Part 2 India: legacy of the past economic development - plans, polices and achievements democracy and development - a preliminary valuation democracy and development - three crucial questions democracy and development in India. Part 3 China: legacy of the past economic development - plans, policies and achievements socialist authoritarianism and development - a preliminary valuation socialist authoritarianism and development - three issues authoritarianism and development in China. Part 4 Taiwan: legacy of the past economic development - plans, polices and achievements authoritarianism and development - a preliminary valuation authoritarianism and development in Taiwan - three issues the Taiwan case of authoritarianism and development. Part 5 Costa Rica: legacy of the past economic development - plans, policies and achievements democracy and development - a preliminary valuation internal and external forces in Costa Rican development democracy and development in Costa Rica. Part 6 Theoretical implications: democracy and development authoritarianism and development democracy versus authoritarianism - comparing across systems the relevance of the analysed for other Third World countries democracy, dictatorship and development the results of the analysis - a summary.
The Role of Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone in the Dorsal Raphe Nucleus in Mediating the Behavioral Consequences of Uncontrollable Stress

Inescapable shock (IS) produces subsequent interference with escape behavior and increased fear conditioning that has been linked to increased activity and release of serotonin (5-HT) from neurons within the caudal dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) both at the time of IS and later behavioral testing. Extrahypothalamic corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) has been implicated in many stress-related phenomena and has recently been shown to increase DRN 5-HT activity in the same caudal DRN area at which IS increases 5-HT activity. The current set of studies therefore examined the role of CRH in mediating the behavioral sequelae of IS. Intra-DRN microinjection of the nonselective CRH receptor antagonist d-Phe CRH (12-41) blocked the IS-induced behavioral changes when administered before IS but not when administered before later behavioral testing. Furthermore, intra-DRN administration of CRH in the absence of IS dose-dependently mimicked the effects of IS and interfered with escape behavior and increased fear conditioning 24 hr later. This effect was specific to injection of CRH into the caudal DRN and was not produced by microinjection into the rostral DRN. Intracerebroventricular CRH produced escape deficits and potentiated fear conditioning 24 hr later at only much higher doses, further confirming the site specificity of the effects. The potential role of the caudal DRN in states of anxiety is discussed.
Changes in Genetic Variance during Advanced Cycle Breeding in Maize

Advanced cycle breeding in crops aims to develop newer, improved versions of inbreds from crosses among current, elite inbreds. Although genetic gains in many crops have been achieved through advanced cycle breeding, this breeding process systematically leads to a narrow germplasm base. Our objectives were to estimate the loss, if any, in genetic variance during advanced cycle breeding in maize (Zea mays L.), and to compare these genetic variance estimates with those expected under a testcross additive model. We evaluated the Iowa Stiff Stalk Synthetic (BSSS), B73 x B37, and Lo904 x Lo916 populations, which have a common genetic background but have different levels of genetic variance expected from the testcross additive model; that is, 100% in BSSS, 82% in B73 x B37, and 45% in Lo904 x Lo916. Contrary to expectations, testcross additive variances (V TA ) for grain yield did not significantly differ among the three populations. As expected, V TA for grain moisture, stalk lodging, plant height, and ear height were significantly lower in B73 × B37 than in BSSS. The decreases in V TA for these traits were not significant from B73 × B37 to Lo904 × Lo916. Fitting a testcross epistatic model did not result in positive estimates of both V TA and testcross additive-by-additive variance (V TAA ) for any trait. In summary, genetic variance, except for grain yield, was lost during advanced cycle breeding and the amount of loss was greater than expected.
The cytology of leaf homogenates

For the cell physiologist interested in the structure of the mesophyll cell and the functions of its various parts the immediate problems may be listed as follows: First, pure suspensions of chloroplasts, nuclei, mitochondria and hyaloplasm must be obtained. Prerequisite to the obtaining of such pure suspensions are adequate means of identifying structures occurring in both leaf cell and in leaf homogenate. Such a study may well lead a revolution of the cytologists conception of the mesophyll cell. Secondly, it is not sufficient to obtain pure fractions of chloroplasts, nuclei, mitochondria and hyaloplasm. These materials must be obtained with as little change from their living state as possible and such changes as occur must be carefully evaluated and interpolated in the final conclusions.
The Moral Threat of Personal Medicine

When we use the word “medicine” we usually mean personal medicine, medicine aimed at alleviating the problems of the individual. Personal medicine seldom considers the needs of society as a whole (which are sometimes not congruent with merely personal needs), and almost never consider the interests of posterity. Unfortunately, practicing personal medicine to relieve the effects of hereditary defects works against the interests of posterity. The justification of this assertion is quite simple.
Development of design a drop-in hydrogen fueling station to support the early market buildout of hydrogen infrastructure

This chapter provides a design of a drop-in hydrogen fueling station. Drop-in stations are expected to be an important factor in the introduction of hydrogen fueling infrastructure. The stations not only allow a streamlined introduction of hydrogen in the vehicle fueling infrastructure but also act as mini pilot plants that can allow for detailed control studies. The effect of the location and availability of utilities, the closeness of stations to residential areas, safety concerns, general attitudes toward hydrogen, and others are some of the issues that arise with such drop-in stations. The proposed design of a drop-in station mainly considers off-the-shelf items and is conceptualized to be implemented at the Missouri University of Science and Technology. The modular design approach, with the off-the-shelf items, allows for a design with the capacity for mass production and an ease in transport and integration.
Synthesis of ZIF-68 Membrane on a ZnO Modified α-Alumina Support by a Modified Reactive Seeding Method

Large-pore ZIF-68 membranes offer adsorption-based selectivity for separation of gas mixtures or molecular sieving characteristics for the separation of large liquid molecules. ZIF-68 membranes can be grown on ZnO modified α-alumina supports by a modified reactive seeding method. The resultant membranes were around 40 μm in thickness and were determined to have limited nonselective defects given their adherence to Knudsen diffusion during single gas permeation measurements. Further pervaporation experiments showed that the ZIF-68 membranes synthesized via the modified reactive seeding method had a p-xylene pervaporation flux approximately 5.4 times as large as that reported for similar pore-sized MOF-5 membranes; however, pervaporation flux of larger molecule, ditert-butylbenzene, through the same two MOF membranes showed the flux of the ZIF-68 membrane was 3.4 times smaller than that reported for MOF-5. This reversal in pervaporation flux indicates the ZIF-68 structure is more readily accessible to molec...
Redox signals that regulate the vascular response to injury.

Multiple enzymes may stimulate ROS production in VSMC and endothelial cells. These include NADH/NADPH oxidase, xanthine oxidase, lipoxygenases, cyclooxygenase, P-450 monooxygenases, and the enzymes of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. In addition to generation of intracellular O2- by these enzymes, extracellular stimuli including lipophilic substrates, membrane permeant oxidants (e.g., H2O2), cytokines, and growth factors may modulate cellular redox state. Both intracellular and extracellular ROS act as second-messengers to activate tyrosine and serine-threonine kinases, such as the MAP kinase family. As discussed in the previous sections, regulation of the MAP kinases is one example of the complexity of ROS-dependent signal transduction. Although the complexity of ROS-mediated signal transduction is daunting, the diversity offers multiple therapeutic targets for pharmacologic intervention.
Discourses of minority francophone space: The emergent role of an Acadian cultural center

Recent studies documenting minority linguistic space in urban settings have focused on cities' linguistic landscapes, and external signage is often taken to index linguistic practices within businesses, government offices, and other establishments. To shed light on linguistic practices in culturally significant spaces of this sort, it is helpful to consider social actors' discursive construction of the spaces themselves. This article describes discourses of minority francophone space elicited from members and associates of Moncton, New Brunswick's Centre culturel Aberdeen . The data are analyzed according to Lefebvre's (1974/1991) conceived, perceived, and lived spaces and Heller & Labrie's (2004) modernizing and globalizing discourses. The present findings demonstrate that, while Aberdeen's conceived space is francophone, other languages are spoken in Aberdeen's perceived space. Participants also describe Aberdeen's lived space as bilingual, mediating between anglophones and francophones. These discourses, coupled with changes in the Centre's charter, suggest an emergent, plural conception of minority francophone space. (Francophone, minority, Canada, Acadian, discourse, social space) *
Numerical algebraic geometry

Numerical algebraic geometry uses numerical data to describe algebraic varieties. It is based on numerical polynomial homotopy continuation, which is an alternative to the classical symbolic approaches of computational algebraic geometry. We present a package, whose primary purpose is to interlink the existing symbolic methods of Macaulay2 and the powerful engine of numerical approximate computations. The core procedures of the package exhibit performance competitive with the other homotopy continuation software. INTRODUCTION. Numerical algebraic geometry [SVW, SW] is a relatively young subarea of computational algebraic geometry that originated as a blend of the well-understood apparatus of classical algebraic geometry over the field of complex numbers and numerical polynomial homotopy continuation methods. Recently steps have been made to extend the reach of numerical algorithms making it possible not only for complex algebraic varieties, but also for schemes, to be represented numerically. What we present here is a description of “stage one” of a comprehensive project that will make the machinery of numerical algebraic geometry available to the wide community of users of Macaulay2 [M2], a dominantly symbolic computer algebra system. Our open-source package [L1, M2] was first released in Macaulay2 distribution version 1.3.1. Stage one has been limited to implementation of algorithms that solve the most basic problem: Given polynomials f1, . . . , fn ∈ C[x1, . . . ,xn] that generate a 0-dimensional ideal I = ( f1, . . . , fn), find numerical approximations of all points of the underlying variety V (I) = {x ∈ Cn | f(x) = 0}. This task is accomplished by using homotopy continuation. To solve a target polynomial system f =( f1, . . . , fn)= 0, one constructs a start polynomial system g=(g1, . . . ,gn) with a similar structure, but readily available solutions. One option for a start system is g = (x f1) 1 − 1, . . . ,x deg( fn) n − 1). Given such an auxiliary system, we consider the homotopy (♠) h= (1− t)g+ γ tf ∈ C[x, t], γ ∈ C∗ . By specializing the values of t to the real interval [0,1], we obtain a collection of paths leading from the known solutions of the start system g = h|t=0 to the unknown solutions of the target system f = h|t=1. The following statement provides the key to making effective numerical computations. Theorem. For all but finitely many values of γ in the homotopy (♠), the homotopy continuation paths have no singularities with a possible exception of the endpoints corresponding to t = 1. Moreover, every solution of the target system, provided there are finitely many, is an endpoint (at t = 1) of some continuation path. 2010 Mathematics Subject Classification. 14Q99; 68N01. NumericalAlgebraicGeometry version 1.3.1. 5 Leykin :::: NumericalAlgebraicGeometry 6
Hybrid Sterility in Heliothis subflexa × H. virescens (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Crosses: Expression after Injection with Antiviral Agents, Heat Shocks, and Rearing at Extreme Temperatures

When female Heliothis subflexa (Guenee) and H. virescens (F.) males are crossed, the female hybrids are fertile and the male hybrids are sterile. Continuous backcrossing of the hybrid females to H. virescens males produces fertile female (BC) and sterile male (BC) progeny indefinitely. We attempted to alter the sterility of the BC males by: (1) injecting the fourth- to fifth-stage larvae with the antiviral agents rifampin, 5-iodo-2′-deoxyuridine (IUdR) and alcide; rearing the egg, larval, and pupal stages at temperatures of 16.7, 20, 29, and 32°C; or by administering 30-min or 24-h heat shocks (36 to 43°C) to either the egg, larval, or pupal stages. The results indicate that the sterility of the BC males is extremely stable and is unaffected by the treatments described. These findings indicate that a cytoplasmic microorganism is probably not involved in the sterility found in these interspecific crosses.