cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Raman and modulated-reflectivity spectra of a strained pseudomorphic ZnTe epilayer on InAs under pressure.

The piezomodulated-, electromodulated-, and photomodulated-reflectivity spectra of a pseudomorphic ZnTe epilayer, grown on an InAs epilayer by molecular-beam epitaxy, exhibit heavy- and light-hole excitonic signatures split by the lattice mismatch induced biaxial compressive strain. This splitting in the pseudomorphic epilayer is studied as a function of applied hydrostatic pressure using photomodulated reflectance spectroscopy at 80 K. With increasing hydrostatic compression, the compressive strain is progressively compensated by the pressure-induced tensile strain. At [similar to]55 kbars the epilayer becomes strain-free, and is under a biaxial tension at higher pressures. The separation between the heavy- and light-hole signatures is superlinear in pressure, suggestive of a strain or volume deformation-dependent shear deformation-potential constant. We also compare the pressure dependence of the Raman LO phonon of the ZnTe epilayer on InAs with that of a bulk ZnTe sample at 13 K. The pressure-dependent strain is found to be linear. Accurate values of the first-order strain derivatives of the LO phonons and mode Grueneisen constants are obtained.
Assessment of mercury concentrations in mouse brain using different routes of administration and different tissue preparations.

ABSTRACTThe objective of this study was to determine the best method for preparing brain tissue for mercury analysis from mice exposed to methylmercury either through subcutaneous (SC) injection or through ingestion. C57BL/6 J mice at postnatal day 29 were exposed to 0.0 or 5.0 mg/kg methylmercuric chloride (MMC) given SC or through food containing MMC. Eighteen mice received vehicle (sodium bicarbonate; SC) and 18 additional mice received 5.0 mg/kg MMC (SC). Whole brain tissue was prepared using one of four tissue preparation methods: rapid freezing, saline perfusion, 4% paraformaldehyde perfusion fixation, or 4% paraformaldehyde immersion fixation. Brains from vehicle-treated mice exhibited minimal levels of mercury (0.0007 to 0.0018 ppm) in all preparation methods. Mercury content in rapidly frozen control brains differed statistically from immersion-fixed control brain tissue. There was no significant difference in mercury content from mice given 5.0 mg/kg MMC (SC) in all preparation methods (0.2660 t...
Numerical predictions of local entropy generation in an impinging jet

Local entropy generation rates related to viscous dissipation and heat transfer across finite temperature differences can be calculated for isotropic and Newtonian fluids from the temperature and velocity fields in a thermal process. This study consisted of the development of a numerical procedure for the prediction of local entropy generation rates and the application of that procedure to convective heat transfer associated with a fluid jet impinging on a heated wall. The procedure involved expanding an existing computation fluid dynamics computer code to include the numerical calculation of local entropy generation. The modified code was benchmarked against analytical solutions and was then used to simulate a cold fluid jet impinging on a hot wall. The results show that the calculation of local entropy generation is feasible and can provide useful information.
A real-time polymerase chain reaction assay of the bacterium Edwardsiella ictaluri in channel catfish

Abstract A rapid (4.5-h) and sensitive assay based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was developed to facilitate the early detection of Edwardsiella ictaluri in channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus. A 129-base-pair fragment of a sequence specific to E. ictaluri was amplified with both standard and real-time (quantitative) PCR. The sensitivity of detection was determined to be as low as the equivalent of 2.5 cells in DNA samples from both E. ictaluri cells and mixtures of blood from noninfected catfish and E. ictaluri cells. Infection levels (as determined by real-time PCR) in blood from experimentally challenged fish were compared with brain–heart-infusion-cultured bacterial colony counts to assess the accuracy of the PCR assay. The PCR-based detection level (the equivalent of 105–108 cells/mL) was comparable to that of traditional culturing techniques (106–107 cells/mL). In future applications, this assay will be applied in a comprehensive breeding program to select channel catfish that are resistant to ...
Sequential appearance of monoiodotyrosine, diiodotyrosine, and thyroxine in the developing frog embryo☆

Abstract The incorporation of NaI 131 into intact frog embryos, parts taken from the intact embryos, cultured regions of the embryos, and cell-free systems derived from parts of the embryos, has been followed by chromatography in a collidine-H 2 O-NH 3 system and counting with a windowless autoscanner. The synthesis of monoiodotyrosine is first detected at the tail-bud stage in both the head and lower jaw regions of the embryos. Monoiodotyrosine and diiodotyrosine are found in the thyroids of feeding larvae of 11 mm length; these two compounds and thyroxine are present in the thyroids of 16-mm larvae. Several explanations for the sequential appearance of these compounds are discussed.
Learning Marriage and Family Therapy in the Time of Competencies

The author asks MFT educators to consider falling passionately in love with student learning focusing on competencies to help students achieve their learning outcomes. To this end the author demonstrates how to create a seamless, transparent system organized around a competencies-informed learning approach. A case study is shared to illustrate how a triadic communication model between students, faculty, and learning outcomes can be utilized to create unique programs supporting the learning aspirations of students.
The Search for Persistent Cyclobutylmethyl Cations in Superacidic Media and Observation of the Cyclobutyldicyclopropylmethyl Cation

Primary and secondary cyclobutylmethyl cations were found to be elusive in superacidic media even at low temperatures. They give thermodynamically more stable rearrangement products, i.e., the dimeric bicyclo[4.4.0]dec-1-yl cation and substituted cyclopentyl cations, respectively. In the search for a persistent cyclobutylmethyl cation, the more stabilized cyclobutyldicyclopropylmethyl cation was prepared from its corresponding alcohol in FSO3H/SO2ClF at −90 °C. Using variable-temperature 13C NMR studies and theoretical calculations, the ion was shown to exist preferentially in its bisected conformation at −80 °C. The ion is predominantly classical, with expected significant delocalization into the neighboring cycloalkyl rings.
Précis of Perception and Knowledge: A Phenomenological Account

Apart from a few notable exceptions, philosophers, and just about anyone else who reflects on the matter, rightly agree that perceptual experiences can and do provide justification for many of our beliefs about the physical world. Perceiving that things are a certain way typically provides one with an excellent reason for believing that they are that way. There is, however, very little consensus concerning how or why experiences are capable of doing that. Many epistemologists maintain that reasongiving or warrant-conferring relations can hold only among mental states whose intentional contents are conceptual or propositional, since only contents of that sort can bear logical relations to one another. If these epistemologists are right, then the contents of perceptual states must be conceptual. There are, however, several good reasons for thinking that perceptual experiences have a fundamentally different sort of content from beliefs—nonconceptual content. If that is right, then reason-giving relations do not hold solely among mental states with conceptual content. The challenge for any such view is to provide an account of how perceptual states can stand in reason-giving relations with beliefs. Meeting that challenge is the ultimate aim of Perception and Knowledge (henceforth PK). On the view I defend, the relation between perceptual states and beliefs is, to borrow Husserl’s terminology, one of fulfillment. An act of fulfillment occurs when the very same object or state of affairs is both intuited or perceived and ‘‘meant’’ or conceptualized; it is an experience in which we perceptually find the world to be as we think it to be. Furthermore, although the objects of perception and belief are often, and in the case of fulfillment must be, identical, they have fundamentally different sorts of contents. Accordingly, the relation between perceptual experiences and beliefs is fundamentally different from the relation between beliefs and other beliefs. Fulfillment, in particular, is nothing like
The mantle sources of ocean ridges, islands and arcs: the Hf-isotope connection

This paper presents Nd- and Hf-isotope data for oceanic volcanics and island arc basalts in order to (1) further examine the correlation between the two isotopic systems, (2) determine 176Hf/177Hf of the mantle components as described by Zindler and Hart (1986) [1], and (3) assess the origin of HFSE depletions in calc-alkaline volcanics. Ocean island basalts (OIB) form an array on a 143Nd/144Nd versus 176Hf/177Hf diagram, whereby the mantle endmembers as defined in SrNdPb isotopic space can be extended to the Hf system. For MORB, however, the decoupling of Hf and Nd isotopes requires a variable MORB endmember. Melting models in which Lu/Hf and Sm/Nd are fractionated during the formation of the MORB reservoir can explain the complete range in Nd and Hf isotopes in MORB as long as variable amounts of both diopside and garnet are present during melting. A model in which a MORB-type mantle is contaminated with high 176Hf/177Hf, high 143Nd/144Nd material is also consistent with the isotope data. This high 176Hf/177Hf component may be generated by high Lu/Hf caused by metasomatism with a melt/fluid which was in equilibrium with phases with a high D for Hf like perovskite. The existence of high-field-strength-element (HFSE) depletions has often been thought to be a widespread characteristic of subduction-related volcanism (Gill, 1981) [2]. However, a literature survey shows that Ti, Zr and Hf depletions are not a ubiquitous a feature in calc-alkaline volcanics (see also White and Patchett, 1984 [3] and Woodhead, 1989 [4]), and that, except for Zr and Hf, the HFSE (Nb, Ta, Ti, Zr, and Hf) behave independently from each other. 176Hf/177Hf ratios in island arc lavas are not related to the degree of Hf/REE variation, strongly suggesting that the HfZr depletion is less than 250 m.y. old. The HFSE variations are not compatible with generation during melting nor are the HFSE variations solely due to the addition of a slab-derived component. However, the available data are compatible with the variations being a reflection of a HFSE-depleted mantle source of calc-alkaline volcanics. The HFSE depletions in this sub-arc mantle have to be less than 250 m.y. old.
Influence of multi-dimensional oscillating combustion fronts on thermal profiles

A multi-dimensional numerical model for micropyretic/combustion synthesis was developed and then applied to a special configuration. The configuration was chosen to illustrate the differences between one-dimensional and two-dimensional combustion. The features of the model include the melting of each constituent of the reactants and the products, and considerations of porosity for both the reactants and the products. Application of this model to the oscillatory combustion synthesis of TiB2 has been carried out, for the first time, to study two-dimensional-combustion-front movement. The model predicts higher hot-spot temperatures in a two-dimensional situation than those obtained in a one-dimensional experiment. Additionally, hot spots are noted to traverse along orthogonal directions. Some processing implications of such results are examined.
Magnetic ordering in Nd2-xCexCuO4-y

The n-type cuprate superconductor and closely related samples of the general form Nd2−xCe x CuO4−y have been studied with the muon spin relaxation technique. Non-super-conducting samples display antiferromagnetism (AFM) withTN below 150 K, the value being dependent upon both Ce concentration and oxygen depletion. The results are interpreted in terms of carrier concentration.
Design and evaluation of an imaging informatics system for analytics-based decision support in radiation therapy

We have developed a comprehensive DICOM RT specific database of retrospective treatment planning data for radiation therapy of head and neck cancer. Further, we have designed and built an imaging informatics module that utilizes this database to perform data mining. The end-goal of this data mining system is to provide radiation therapy decision support for incoming head and neck cancer patients, by identifying best practices from previous patients who had the most similar tumor geometries. Since the performance of such systems often depends on the size and quality of the retrospective database, we have also placed an emphasis on developing infrastructure and strategies to encourage data sharing and participation from multiple institutions. The infrastructure and decision support algorithm have both been tested and evaluated with 51 sets of retrospective treatment planning data of head and neck cancer patients. We will present the overall design and architecture of our system, an overview of our decision support mechanism as well as the results of our evaluation.
Multidimensional scaling modelling approach to latent profile analysis in psychological research

Because profile analysis is widely used in studying types of people, we propose an alternative technique for such analysis in this article. As an application of the multidimensional scaling (MDS) model, MDS profile analysis is proposed as an approach for studying both group and/or individual profile patterns. This approach requires one to think of MDS solutions as profiles. The MDS profile analysis approach re‐parameterizes the linear latent variable model in such a way that the latent variables can be interpreted in terms of profile patterns rather than factors. It is an exploratory profile analysis method to identify major patterns among psychological variables and can serve as the basis for further study of correlates and/or predictors of profiles and other background and external variables. In the article, we have outlined the procedure of MDS profile analysis and discussed the issues that are related to parameter estimation and interpretation of the results. Such a discussion is presented in the cont...
International Replication Note The Dimensionality of Job Satisfaction in India

Cette etude porte sur la structure de la satisfaction professionnelle dans un etablissement industriel indien. Elle fait appel a une demarche analytique factorielle de confirmation. On a utilise le ‘Job Satisfaction Survey’ (JSS; Spector, 1985) pour mesurer la satisfaction au travail de 206 employes d'une societe indienne de taille moyenne. Six modeles differents pouvaient eventuellement representer la structure factorielle du JSS indien. Quatre de ces modeles avaient ete developpes et valides empiriquement aux EU. Deux nouveaux modeles etaient specifiques a l'Inde. Une analyse factorielle de confirmation fut utilisee pour eprouver la pertinence de ces modeles. C'est, apres modification, le modele en huit facteurs obliques propose par Spector (1985) qui s'est montre le plus approprie. Les huit facteurs correles (remuneration, promotion, controle, procedures operatoires, nature du travail, collegues, communication, et benefices) fournissent une structure statistiquement plausible de la satisfaction professionnelle dans l'etablissement indien. Les resultats sont en faveur de la transferabilitea l'Inde des dimensions de la satisfaction professionnelle developpees aux EU. Les travaux a venir devraient tenter d'identifier les variables reliees aux facettes de la satisfaction au travail en Inde. This study investigated the dimensionality of job satisfaction in an Indian industrial setting using a confirmatory factor analytic approach. The Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS; Spector 1985) was used to measure job satisfaction of 206 white collar employees in a mid-size Indian corporation. Six alternative models were proposed as representing the factor structure of the JSS in India. Four of the models had been developed and empirically validated in the USA. Two new models were proposed specifically for India. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to estimate the fit of these alternative models. The structure exhibiting the best fit was a modification of an eight oblique factor model proposed by Spector (1985). The eight correlated factors-pay, promotion, supervision, operating procedures, nature of work, co-workers, communication, and benefits-present a statistically plausible structure of job satisfaction in the Indian setting. Results support the generalisability to India of the job satisfaction dimensions developed in the USA. Future research should be directed at identifying the correlates of job satisfaction facets in India.
Optical dispersion technique for time-delay beam steering

A simple technique for steering the microwave radiation beam of a phased-array antenna is proposed and analyzed. Chromatic dispersion in equal-length fibers is used.
Accreditation: What it means to you: ABET's evaluations of engineering programs guarantee your educational investment by ensuring minimum levels of competence

Accreditation often seems to be a murky and confusing procedure, shrouded in mystery. In fact, it is a fairly straightforward process with formal and well-defined guidelines to ensure minimum acceptable levels of education.
Evaluation of Visible Implant Tags Applied to Wild Coastal Cutthroat Trout and Dolly Varden in Margaret Lake, Southeast Alaska

Abstract Visible implant tags were injected into nonanadromous coastal cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarki clarki and Dolly Varden Salvelinus malma during field sampling in 1990 and 1991. We report the rate of tag retention for a population of wild cutthroat trout and Dolly Varden. Estimates of tag retention can be used to adjust potential bias in estimates of survival, mortality, and abundance resulting from unaccounted tag loss. We consider the effects of size and some of the causes for tag loss. Cutthroat trout retained 95% of the tags after 17 months; Dolly Varden retained 89% of the tags after 17 months (as determined by Robson–Reiger model estimates). Difference in tag loss between the two species was significant (P < 0.05) when tested with binary logistic regression methods. When tested separately in the model, the effect of fish length on tag loss was significant for Dolly Varden but not for cutthroat trout. The experience of the individual applying the tags appeared to affect retention; however, ...
Reflective Practice Interventions: Raising Levels of Reflective Judgment

Abstract Reflective practice is a major focus of teacher preparation programs (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1992; Putnam & Borko, 2000; Zeichner, 1986; Zeichner & Listen, 1987), yet Zeichner (1986) asserts that developing reflective practice in preservice teachers has focused primarily on short-term, less systematic interventions and that interventions must be successful with all prospective teachers, not just those who are reflective by nature. The following research explores the use of the reflective judgment model (King & Kitchener, 1994) to explain how preservice teachers reason about ill-structured dilemmas of practice and the potential impact of a multifaceted intervention to raise levels of reflective judgment during field experiences.
The molecular detection of micrometastatic breast cancer.

Abstract Background The rapid evolution of molecular technology and novel markers provides the opportunity to establish a more effective means to detect micrometastatic breast cancer. Given the controversies concerning application and clinical relevance, this review critically evaluates the current status of these molecular staging technologies. Data sources Breast cancer literature addressing (1) molecular detection methodologies (immunohistochemistry, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, and microarray analysis); (2) specific tissue applications such as lymph nodes, bone marrow aspirate, and peripheral blood; (3) expert commentary concerning the clinical applications and pitfalls of these technologies; and (4) recent data from our molecular diagnostics laboratory. Conclusions Molecular detection technologies such as reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and microarray analyses are being developed that will likely have future application as cancer diagnostics. Further work is needed to establish assays that are validated by prospective clinical studies. Early identification of clinically relevant disease could lead to new treatment or staging approaches for breast cancer.
A portable sampling-based profiler for Java virtual machines

This paper describes a portable and efficient sampling-based online measurement system for production-level Java virtual machines. This system is designed to provide continuous real time system performance measurements to a dynamic compiler, which can use these measurements to target frequently executed and time-consuming code for optimization and to make more informed optimization decisions. Because the system has very low overhead, it can be run continuously, providing a feedback mechanism to the dynamic compiler. This system utilizes a novel data structure, the partial calling context tree (PCCT), which allows the efficient encoding of approximate context-sensitive profile information. The PCCT is organized such that both incremental updates and extracting the important information are efficient operations. This online measurement system has been implemented in a cross-platform industry-leading Java Just-In-Time compiler. We present detailed performance results on a variety of platforms that show that the system is not only efficient enough to be used continuously in a production environment (2-4% slowdown for most applications) but is also surprisingly accurate in the data that it collects (typically ≥90% accurate).
Composite modeling of nonstationary signals

Abstract Most temporal signals of practical interest are nonstationary and need to be modeled using time-varying systems. In this paper a composite model for these signals is proposed which accounts for nonstationarities in the mean and the autocorrelation functions. Unbiased and consistent time-varying estimators for the mean and the variance functions are studied and used to produce zero-mean, constant-variance signals that can be modeled using autoregressive systems with time-varying coefficients. The identification of the coefficients is implemented recursively using the parameterization of the coefficients by a set of basis functions. We illustrate the application of the composite model in the analysis and synthesis of speech and in the estimation of instantaneous frequencies in radar return signals.
BDNF released during neuropathic pain potentiates NMDA receptors in primary afferent terminals

NMDA receptors in primary afferent terminals can contribute to hyperalgesia by increasing neurotransmitter release. In rats and mice, we found that the ability of intrathecal NMDA to induce neurokinin 1 receptor (NK1R) internalization (a measure of substance P release) required a previous injection of BDNF. Selective knock-down of NMDA receptors in primary afferents decreased NMDA-induced NK1R internalization, confirming the presynaptic location of these receptors. The effect of BDNF was mediated by tropomyosin-related kinase B (trkB) receptors and not p75 neurotrophin receptors (p75(NTR) ), because it was not produced by proBDNF and was inhibited by the trkB antagonist ANA-12 but not by the p75(NTR) inhibitor TAT-Pep5. These effects are probably mediated through the truncated form of the trkB receptor as there is little expression of full-length trkB in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons. Src family kinase inhibitors blocked the effect of BDNF, suggesting that trkB receptors promote the activation of these NMDA receptors by Src family kinase phosphorylation. Western blots of cultured DRG neurons revealed that BDNF increased Tyr(1472) phosphorylation of the NR2B subunit of the NMDA receptor, known to have a potentiating effect. Patch-clamp recordings showed that BDNF, but not proBDNF, increased NMDA receptor currents in cultured DRG neurons. NMDA-induced NK1R internalization was also enabled in a neuropathic pain model or by activating dorsal horn microglia with lipopolysaccharide. These effects were decreased by a BDNF scavenger, a trkB receptor antagonist and a Src family kinase inhibitor, indicating that BDNF released by microglia potentiates NMDA receptors in primary afferents during neuropathic pain.
The decay of 1.2 min 113mAg and 5.3 h 113gAg

Abstract The decay schemes of 1.2 min and 5.3 h 113Ag have been studied using Ge(Li) and NaI(Tl) detectors and a 4096-channel multiparameter pulse-height analyser system. The decay of 5.3 h 113Ag was found to involve 15 γ-rays and to produce 10 excited states in 113Cd at energies of 264.7, 298.0, 315.6, 583.9, 604.6, 681.1, 883.6, 936.9, 989.0 and 1195.2 keV. The italicized energies refer to negative parity states, through which 1.3% of the decays go to yield the 14y 111 m Cd ( 11 2 − ) isomer at 264.7 keV. The 604.6 keV level is thought to be a case|9/2− level similar for those found in several odd-mass Te and Xe isotopes. The 1.2 min 113mAg decay was found to populate several of the same levels in Cd and two additional levels at 452 and 689 keV. The 1.2 min 113Ag is the upper isomer with high spin, probably 7 2 + .
QT interval-heart rate relation during exercise in normal men and women: Definition by linear regression analysis

Abstract Objectives. This study sought to develop a regression-based method for characterization of QT interval behavior during exercise and to define the noral range of the resulting “dynamic” measures of repolarization during submaximal treadmill testing in men and women. Background. The Bazett-corrected QT (QTc) interval during exercise has been used as a market for ischemic disease, arrhythmogenic substrate and the long QT syndrome. However, recent studies indicate that the QTc interval is nonlinear with respect to heart rate during exercise, making the end-exercise QTc interval dependent on peak work load achieved. In contrast, the unadjusted QT interval measured from QkS onset to T wave offset (QTo) and from QRS onset to T wave peak (QTm) appears to vary linearly with heart rate during gently graded effort. Methods. The QT interval relation to heart rate and cycle length was examined by linear regression in 50 normal men (mean age 48 years) and 30 normal women (mean age 51 years), all of whom had normal rest electrocardiograms. The QTo and QTm measurements were made from digitized lead V5 complexes averaged by computer over 20-s periods, at upright control and after seven 2-min stages of the Cornell modification of the Bruce treadmill protocol (work load equivalent to Bruce stage 3). Results. For each subject, regression of QTo (ms) versus heart rate (beats/min) resulted in a slope (reflecting the “dynamic” change in QTo during effort), an adjusted intercept (reflecting QTo extrapolated to a heart rate 60 beats/min) and a significant correlation coefficient (r) value. Under these conditions, mean ± SD (5th to 95th percentile) values for men were −1.45 ± 0.34 ms/beat per min (−0.90, “less dynamic” to −1.96, “more dynamic”) for the slope; 403 ± 21 ms (365 to 431) for the adjusted intercept; and −0.93 ± 0.06 (−0.81 to −0.99) for r. Values for women were more dynamic, with a mean slope of −1.74 ± 0.32 ms/beat per min (−1.23 to −2.18, p Conclusions. These data provide a “dynamic” definition of normal and abnormal repolarization and describe normal limits for the linear relations of the QTo and QTm intervals with respect to heart rate and cycle length during submaximal exercise in normal men and women.
Plastic deformation of ultrafine-grained 2.5Y-TZP exposed to a dc electric field with an air gap

Abstract The influence on the tensile flow stress of ultrafine-grained 2.5Y-TZP at 1450 °C by a dc electric field with an air gap between the negative electrodes and the positive specimen was determined in two test procedures: Type a, in which the field is applied continuously from the very beginning up to a fixed strain ɛ ≈ 0.2 and Type b, in which the field is alternately applied and removed following the prestrain ɛ ≈ 0.2 without and with the field. A larger reduction in the flow stress by the field occurred in the Type a test compared to the Type b. Moreover, a larger reduction occurred in the Type b test when the prestrain was with a field applied compared to without. Both of these behaviors are attributed to a retardation of dynamic grain growth by the field. The reduction in the flow stress by the field in the Type b test was in accord with a decrease in the electrochemical potential for the formation of vacancies corresponding to the lattice diffusion of the rate-controlling Zr ions. The results in the present tests were in general accord with those obtained previously in which both the positive and negative electrodes made direct contact with the specimen. This indicates that neither the orientation of the field nor the presence of an air gap has significant influence on the electric field dependence of the flow stress.
Effects of indomethacin, luteinizing hormone (LH), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), trilostane, mifepristone, ethamoxytriphetol (MER-25) on secretion of prostaglandin E (PGE), prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α) and progesterone by ovine corpora lutea of pregnancy or the estrous cycle

Two experiments were conducted to determine the luteotropin of pregnancy in sheep and to examine autocrine and paracrine roles of progesterone and estradiol-17 beta on progesterone secretion by the ovine corpus luteum (CL). Secretion of progesterone per unit mass by day-8 or day-11 CL of the estrous cycle was similar to day-90 CL of pregnancy (P > or = 0.05). In experiment 1, secretion of progesterone in vitro by slices of CL from ewes on day-8 of the estrous cycle was increased (P or = 0.05) while PGE2 increased (P or = 0.05) detectable quantities of PGF2alpha or PGE while day-90 ovine CL of pregnancy secreted PGE (P or = 0.05). Trilostane, mifepristone, or MER-25 did not affect secretion of progesterone, PGE, or PGF2alpha by day- 11 CL of the estrous cycle or day-90 CL of pregnancy (P > or = 0.05). It is concluded that PGE2, not LH, is the luteotropin at day-90 of pregnancy in sheep and that progesterone does not modify the response to luteotropins. Thus, we found no evidence for an autocrine or paracrine role for progesterone or estradiol-17 36 on luteal secretion of progesterone, PGE or PGF2alpha.
Design and fabrication of an RF GRIN lens using 3D printing technology

Electromagnetic media and metamaterials have been explored in frequency regimes ranging from the acoustic to the visible domain over the past decade. A large part of the design, fabrication and prototyping of such materials has focused on planar structures and devices have been demonstrated primarily for certain propagation directions and/or defined polarization. Here, we present the design of a focusing GRadient INdex (GRIN) lens that operates at RF frequencies and is not polarization constrained. We compare the theoretical and experimental results from this lens designed to operate at X-band and fabricated using 3D printing technology to implement the effective medium. The lens with radially varying refractive index gradient was designed, optimized and analyzed by conducting full-wave simulations finite-element method based software. The permittivity was estimated by effective medium theory and calculated using HFSS®. The optimized design was used to fabricate the GRIN lens with isotropic, inhomogenous dielectric material. The refractive index was designed to match the theoretical results using mixing ratio of air/voids and a polymer. Further, we used the refractive index profile to predict the rays’ trajectories and focus length to compare them to those predicted by the FEM simulations. The field distributions were also analyzed to compare performance of the theoretical design to the fabricated lens and were found to be in good agreement with each other.
765 AMINO ACID EFFLUX FROM NORMAL AND CYSTINOTIC LEUKOCYTE LYSOSOMES

Decreased cystine (C) efflux from lysosomes could explain C storage in cystinosis. We studied efflux of C and leucine, methionine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, and cysteine from isolated normal (NL) and cystinotic (CY) lysosome-rich leukocyte fractions loaded by incubation with amino acid-methyl esters. The T-1/2 (min) for efflux of the radioactive amino acid produced by esterase activity was determined as described by Reeves (J. Biol. Chem. 254: 8914, 1979). For leu and trypt, efflux was compatible with a diffusion model: strongly temperature dependent and unaltered by exogenous cations, ATP, or amino acid. T-1/2 was comparable for leucine in NL and CY (9.33 ± .60[SEM] vs 9.18 ± .92). NL T-1/2 was 13.7 ± 1.03 for meth, 9.35 ± 1.19 for phe, 22.6 ± 3.97 for tryp. In contrast, T-1/2 for C was much longer (NL 92.0 ± 15.9, CY 101 ± 27.1). Apparent similarities between NL and CY efflux of C at these low rates require cautious interpretation. C efflux from NL and CY increased upon exposure of lysosomes to 1mM cysteamine during efflux (20.6 ± 1.58 vs 26.1 ± 2.74); in contrast, 1mM reduced glutathione (GSH), a presumably less penetrant thiol, did not cause a change in C efflux. Efflux of other AA was unaltered by 1mM cysteamine or GSH. We conclude: there is normal leu efflux and thus no general defect in lysosomal amino acid efflux in CY; the efflux of C is exceptionally slow in both NL and CY; cysteamine enhances C efflux selectively in isolated lysosomes, probably by penetration and subsequent reduction of C to cysteine.
Spectral sensitivity of the system controlling visual pigment composition in tadpole eyes

Abstract Rana clamitans tadpoles were kept in incubators in complete darkness or illuminated with different intensities of light of dominant wavelengths 482, 564 and 690 nm. At various times batches of tadpoles were taken from each incubator, dark-adapted and their visual pigments analyzed. While in the dark there was a steady drift of porphyropsin proportion down to about 30 per cent; in the light the visual pigment composition stabilized at various porphyropsin percentages above this value, increasing with increasing intensity of illumination of a given color. Hence a series of curves relating porphyropsin percentage to intensity could be plotted, and selection of several “criterion levels” (between 65 and 77 per cent) permitted direct comparison of the sensitivity of the system to each of the three wavelengths. Blue light was most effective in maintaining high levels of porphyropsin, the sensitivity lying about 3.4 log units above the red. The yellow-green was about 2.7 log units above the red. Tadpoles were transferred from two intensities of red light to two intensities of blue light approx 3 log units lower. No change of visual pigment composition occurred over a 6-day period, confirming the “matching values” deduced from the intensity-response curves. Since the red sensitivity is approx 2.5 log units below the published photopic luminosity curve for tadpoles containing 70 % porphyropsin, the participation of cones is unlikely. There is tolerable agreement with the scotopic sensitivity curve, which is fitted within ±0.2 log units, and it is concluded that the maintenance of porphyropsin in the tadpole eye is most probably mediated by light absorbed in the rods.
Oral Streptococci Utilize a Siglec-Like Domain of Serine-Rich Repeat Adhesins to Preferentially Target Platelet Sialoglycans in Human Blood

Damaged cardiac valves attract blood-borne bacteria, and infective endocarditis is often caused by viridans group streptococci. While such bacteria use multiple adhesins to maintain their normal oral commensal state, recognition of platelet sialoglycans provides an intermediary for binding to damaged valvular endocardium. We use a customized sialoglycan microarray to explore the varied binding properties of phylogenetically related serine-rich repeat adhesins, the GspB, Hsa, and SrpA homologs from Streptococcus gordonii and Streptococcus sanguinis species, which belong to a highly conserved family of glycoproteins that contribute to virulence for a broad range of Gram-positive pathogens. Binding profiles of recombinant soluble homologs containing novel sialic acid-recognizing Siglec-like domains correlate well with binding of corresponding whole bacteria to arrays. These bacteria show multiple modes of glycan, protein, or divalent cation-dependent binding to synthetic glycoconjugates and isolated glycoproteins in vitro. However, endogenous asialoglycan-recognizing clearance receptors are known to ensure that only fully sialylated glycans dominate in the endovascular system, wherein we find these particular streptococci become primarily dependent on their Siglec-like adhesins for glycan-mediated recognition events. Remarkably, despite an excess of alternate sialoglycan ligands in cellular and soluble blood components, these adhesins selectively target intact bacteria to sialylated ligands on platelets, within human whole blood. These preferred interactions are inhibited by corresponding recombinant soluble adhesins, which also preferentially recognize platelets. Our data indicate that circulating platelets may act as inadvertent Trojan horse carriers of oral streptococci to the site of damaged endocardium, and provide an explanation why it is that among innumerable microbes that gain occasional access to the bloodstream, certain viridans group streptococci have a selective advantage in colonizing damaged cardiac valves and cause infective endocarditis.
Streaming measurements in compressive sensing: ℓ 1 filtering

The central framework for signal recovery in compressive sensing is lscr1 norm minimization. In recent years, tremendous progress has been made on algorithms, typically based on some kind of gradient descent or Newton iterations, for performing lscr1 norm minimization. These algorithms, however, are for the most part ldquostaticrdquo: they focus on finding the solution for a fixed set of measurements. In this paper, we will present a method for quickly updating the solution to some lscr1 norm minimization problems as new measurements are added. The result is an ldquolscr1 filterrdquo and can be implemented using standard techniques from numerical linear algebra. Our proposed scheme is homotopy based where we add new measurements in the system and instead of solving updated problem directly, we solve a series of simple (easy to solve) intermediate problems which lead to the desired solution.
Strategic Internal Communication: Transformational Leadership, Communication Channels, and Employee Satisfaction

The current study investigates how leadership influences internal public relations by building the linkage between transformational leadership, the use of communication channels, symmetrical communication, and employee satisfaction. Furthermore, it examines the effectiveness of various internal communication channels. Through a web survey of 400 employees working in medium-sized and large corporations in the United States, the study showed that transformational leadership positively influences the organization’s symmetrical internal communication and employee relational satisfaction. Transformational leaders most often use information-rich face-to-face channels to communicate with followers. Leaders’ use of face-to-face channels is positively associated with employee satisfaction. Employees mostly prefer emails to receive information from the organization regarding new decisions, policies, events, or changes, followed by general employee meetings and interpersonal communication with managers. Theoretical ...
Chemical composition and toxicological activity of liquefaction materials derived from different feed coal ranks

Abstract Samples of recycle solvent from the bottoms recycle mode of the EDS direct coal liquefaction process using bituminous, sub-bituminous, and lignite coal feeds were chemically characterized and tested for toxicological response. The H-Coal heavy fuel oils derived from bituminous and sub-bituminous coals were also analyzed. Chemical methods of analysis included adsorption column chromatography, high-resolution gas chromatography, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, and low-voltage probe-inlet mass spectrometry. The toxicological activity of selected samples was evaluated using the standard histidine reversion microbial mutagenicity assay, an initiation/promotion assay for mouse-skin tumorigenicity, and a static bioassay with Daphnia magna for aquatic toxicity of the water-soluble fractions. Both materials derived from the bituminous coals had the following chemical characteristics as compared to their sub-bituminous coal and/or lignite-derived counterparts: higher concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), nitrogen-containing polycyclic aromatic compounds, and hydroxy-substituted PAH; lower concentrations of aliphatic hydrocarbons; and a generally increased molecular weight distribution of approximately ten atomic mass units. Toxicological testing indicated a general trend of increased biological activity of the coal liquefaction products with increasing feed coal rank.
Comparison of endovascular and surgical treatments for intracranial aneurysms: an evidence-based review

Summary Intracranial aneurysms can be treated with endovascular or surgical techniques. We provide an objective comparison of these treatments, using data from single-centre studies, multicentre studies with and without independent outcome ascertainment, and randomised clinical trials. We compared the outcomes of patients who were candidates for endovascular treatment, surgical treatment, or both. In patients with ruptured intracranial aneurysms, rates of aneurysm obliteration were higher, and need for second treatment was lower, after surgery than after endovascular treatment. However, in observational studies and randomised trials, outcome at discharge, at 2–6 months, and at 1 year, and later survival, were all better after endovascular treatment than after surgery. The results suggest that the higher rates of incomplete obliteration and retreatment after endovascular treatment do not affect patients' clinical outcome. In observational studies of patients with unruptured intracranial aneurysms, discharge outcomes were better and hospital costs were lower after endovascular treatment than after surgery. These patients showed no difference between the two treatments in 1-year outcomes and later rebleeding, although few data were available for this comparison.
Junction phosphate is derived from the precursor in the tRNA spliced by the archaeon Haloferax volcanii cell extract.

RNA splicing in archaea requires at least an endonuclease and a ligase, as is the case for the splicing of eukaryal nuclear tRNAs. Splicing endonucleases from archaea and eukarya are homologous, although they differ in subunit composition and substrate recognition properties. However, they all produce 29,39cyclic phosphate and 59-hydroxyl termini. An in vitro-transcribed, partial intron-deleted Haloferax volcanii elongator tRNA Met has been used to study splicing by H. volcanii cell extracts. Substrates and products were analyzed by nearest neighbor analyses using nuclease P1 and RNase T2, and fingerprinting analyses using acid-urea gels in the first dimension and gradient thin layer chromatography in the second dimension. The results suggest that 29,39 cyclic phosphate at the 39 end of the 59 exon is converted into the splice junction phosphate forming a 39,59-phosphodiester linkage. This resembles the animal cell type systems where the junction phosphate preexists in the transcript, and differs from yeast type systems, where GTP is the source of junction phosphate.
Contributions of androgen and estrogen to fetal programming of ovarian dysfunction

In female mammals, including humans, deviations from normal androgenic or estrogenic exposure during fetal development are detrimental to subsequent adult ovarian function. Androgen deficiency, without accompanying estrogen deficit, has little apparent impact on ovarian development. Fetal estrogen deficiency, on the other hand, results in impaired oocyte and follicle development, immature and abnormal adult ovaries, and excessive ovarian stimulation from endogenous gonadotropins ultimately generating hemorrhagic follicles. Complete estrogen deficiency lasting into adulthood results in partial ovarian masculinization. Fetal androgen excess, on the other hand, mediated either by direct androgen action or following androgen aromatization to estrogen, reprograms ovarian development and reproductive neuroendocrinology to mimic that found in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: enlarged, polyfollicular, hyperandrogenic, anovulatory ovaries with accompanying LH hypersecretion. Oocyte developmental competence is also compromised. Insulin is implicated in the mechanism of both anovulation and deficient oocyte development. Fetal estrogen excess induces somewhat similar disruption of adult ovarian function to fetal androgen excess. Understanding the quality of the fetal female sex steroid hormone environment is thus becoming increasingly important in improving our knowledge of mechanisms underlying a variety of female reproductive pathologies.
Poliovirus RNA Is Released from the Capsid near a Twofold Symmetry Axis

After recognizing and binding to its host cell, poliovirus (like other nonenveloped viruses) faces the challenge of translocating its genome across a cellular membrane and into the cytoplasm. To avoid entanglement with the capsid, the RNA must exit via a single site on the virion surface. However, the mechanism by which a single site is selected (from among 60 equivalents) is unknown; and until now, even its location on the virion surface has been controversial. To help to elucidate the mechanism of infection, we have used single-particle cryo-electron microscopy and tomography to reconstruct conformationally altered intermediates that are formed by the poliovirion at various stages of the poliovirus infection process. Recently, we reported icosahedrally symmetric structures for two forms of the end-state 80S empty capsid particle. Surprisingly, RNA was frequently visible near the capsid; and in a subset of the virions, RNA was seen on both the inside and outside of the capsid, caught in the act of exiting. To visualize RNA exiting, we have now determined asymmetric reconstructions from that subset, using both single-particle cryo-electron microscopy and cryo-electron tomographic methods, producing independent reconstructions at ∼50-A resolution. Contrary to predictions in the literature, the footprint of RNA on the capsid surface is located close to a viral 2-fold axis, covering a slot-shaped area of reduced density that is present in both of the symmetrized 80S reconstructions and which extends by about 20 A away from the 2-fold axis toward each neighboring 5-fold axis.