cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
ZEUS (ZIF-based electrochemical ultrasensitive screening) device for isopentane analytics with focus on lung cancer diagnosis

Breath analytics is currently being explored for the development of point-of-care devices in non-invasive disease detection. It is based on the measurement of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and gases that are produced by the body because of the metabolic pathways. The levels of these metabolites vary due to alteration in the endogenous oxidative stress-related metabolic pathways and can be correlated to understand the underlying disease condition. The levels of exhaled hydrocarbons in human breath can be used to design a rapid, easy to use method for lung cancer detection. This work outlines the development of an electrochemical sensing platform that can be used for the non-invasive diagnosis of lung cancer by monitoring isopentane levels in breath. This electrochemical sensor platform involves the use of [BMIM]BF4@ZIF-8 for sensing the target analyte. This synthesized nanocomposite offers advantages for gas sensing applications as it possesses unique properties such as an electrochemically active Room Temperature Ionic Liquid (RTIL) and a crosslinking Metal Organic Framework (MOF) that provides increased surface area for gas absorption. This is the first report of a hydrocarbon-based sensor platform developed for lung cancer diagnosis. The developed sensor platform displays sensitivity and specificity for the detection of isopentane up to 600 parts-per-billion. We performed structural and morphological characterization of the synthesized nanocomposite using various analytical techniques such as PXRD, FESEM, FTIR, and DLS. We further analyzed the electrochemical activity of the synthesized nanocomposite using a standard glassy carbon electrode. The application of the nanocomposite for isopentane sensing was done using a commercially available carbon screen printed electrode. The results so obtained helped in strengthening our hypothesis and serve as a proof-of-concept for the development of a breathomics-enabled electrochemical strategy. We illustrated the specificity of the developed nanocomposite by cross-reactivity studies. We envision that the detection platform will allow sensitive and specific sensing of isopentane levels such that it can used for point of care applications in noninvasive and early diagnosis of lung cancer, thereby leading to its early treatment and decrease in mortality rate.
Regeneration, Rejuvenation, and Replacement: Turning Back the Clock on Tissue Aging

While some animals, such as planaria and hydra, appear to be capable of seemingly endless cycles of regeneration, most animals experience a gradual decline in fitness and ultimately die. The progressive loss of cell and tissue function, leading to senescence and death, is generally referred to as aging. Adult ("tissue") stem cells maintain tissue homeostasis and facilitate repair; however, age-related changes in stem cell function over time are major contributors to loss of organ function or disease in older individuals. Therefore, considerable effort is being invested in restoring stem cell function to counter degenerative diseases and age-related tissue dysfunction. Here, we will review strategies that could be used to restore stem cell function, including the use of environmental interventions, such as diet and exercise, heterochronic approaches, and cellular reprogramming. Maintaining optimal stem cell function and tissue homeostasis into late life will likely extend the amount of time older adults are able to be independent and lead healthy lives.
Consumer Protection Settlements: Theory and Policy

Lawsuits have a deterrent effect, but this is mitigated if settlements are routine. Regulators and judges should consider that a firm contemplating predatory activity directed at financially unsophisticated individuals might have built an estimate of settlement costs into their analysis of the net present value of the “project.” This suggests that choosing not to settle to establish a precedent would be an appropriate regulatory policy, especially in cases involving egregious behavior. Hence, while private settlements may be Pareto optimal, this notion does not apply to public consumer protection class action settlements. Asymmetric information is a major factor in consumer protection litigation, but the consumer protection regulator has an information advantage; this can allow regulators to represent the class effectively. We develop these issues by considering theories of the settlement process in the context of a pivotal case. We provide suggestions for theoretical research on consumer protection class actions, an underdeveloped area of the literature.
Fathers in the 1990s

As the 1990s indefatigably continued toward the 21st century, a crisp dilemma has occurred on the American scene: What to do with U.S. fathers? Two very separate images were being generated (see Furstenberg’s 1988, pp. 193–218) Good Dads-Bad Dads: Two Faces of Fatherhood and Coolsen’s (1993) Half Full or Half Empty? for complementary discussions). One image was pleasant and congenial: the modern, caring, in touch-with-their-feelings men, many of whom, along the way, had somehow managed to view themselves as morally superior to their own fathers. The second image was anything but congenial: the Deadbeat dad. These were tacky, tawdry men who absconded from their wives and children with the family’s treasure. The good news will be examined first.
Dealing with Difficult Teachers

This book provides tips and strategies to help school leaders improve, neutralize, or eliminate resistant and negative teachers. Learn how to handle staff members who gossip in the teacher's lounge, consistently say "it won't work" when any new idea is suggested, send an excessive number of student to your office for disciplinary reasons, undermine your efforts toward school improvement, or negatively influence other staff members. Don’t miss the revised and expanded third edition of this best-seller!
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for cardiac arrest during moyamoya cerebral revascularization surgery: case report.

The authors describe the case of a 51-year-old man with bilateral moyamoya disease and prior strokes who developed an asystolic cardiac arrest while undergoing revascularization surgery under mild hypothermia. The patient was successfully treated with venoarterial (VA) extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) after manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was unsuccessful for 45 minutes. ECMO is a cardiopulmonary support system that is indicated for respiratory failure in pediatric and adult patients. It is increasingly being used as an extension to mechanical CPR for patients who have suffered cardiac arrest if the underlying cause of cardiac arrest is thought to be reversible. Identifying which patients should be placed on emergency ECMO after cardiac arrest is controversial given its high morbidity and mortality. ECMO in neurosurgical settings has associated risks of intracranial hemorrhage and neurological compromise, while resource utilization is paramount given the high costs of this treatment. ...
International capital flows : do short-term investment and direct investment differ?

Empirical support for the conventional notion that short-term investment is hot money and direct investment is not: short-term investment appears to respond more dramatically to disturbances in other capital flows and in other countries than does direct investment. Chuhan, Perez-Quiros, and Popper examine the behavior of four major components of international capital flows in 15 developing and industrial countries. Striking differences in the behavior of the component flows arise in general specifications that allow the flows to interact. For example, in each country, the behavior of international short-term investment appears to be sensitive to changes in all the other types of international capital flows, including direct investment, but direct investment appears to be insensitive to such changes. Among the links across countries, there is further evidence that short-term investment is more sensitive than direct investment. A particularly telling example is found in the response to sudden changes in capital flows to Mexico. A disturbance in Mexican short-term investment appears to be transmitted quickly to the other Latin American countries studied. But there appears to be little response by those countries to a similar change in direct investment. This implies that only short-term investment suffers much from the tequila hangover. In finding that short-term investment appears to respond more dramatically to disturbances in other capital flows and in other countries than does direct investment, the authors provide empirical support for the conventional notion that short-term investment is hot money and direct investment is not. This paper - a product of the Development Data Group and the International Finance Division, International Economics Department - is part of a larger effort in the department to study the determinants of capital flows to developing countries.
Free Speech in the Age of McCarthy: A Cautionary Tale

I am delighted to have the privilege of giving this lecture in honor of Justice Brennan. The year I spent as his law clerk-October Term 1972was one of the most challenging and rewarding of my life. Justice Brennan was a man of extraordinary courage, insight, and vision. The idea of remembering him each year with a lecture dedicated to his spirit is both fitting and inspiring. Why, then, a lecture on the Age of McCarthy? This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of Senator Joseph McCarthy's condemnation, and fifty years is always a good time to take stock. Moreover, the Age of McCarthy bears some relation to the present. Though history never repeats itself precisely, it does repeat its general themes, and it is helpful to know our past if we are to cope well with our present. Finally, there has been a disturbing movement recently to rehabilitate Joseph McCarthy. In her new book, Slander, for example, Ann Coulter refers to McCarthyism as a "paranoid liberal fantas[y],"' and in a more serious work, Arthur Herman argues that Joseph McCarthy was "more right than wrong in terms of the larger picture."2 His mistake, Herman says, was to make "a good point badly."3 I
A Study of STS Themes in State Science Curriculum Frameworks in the United States.

This paper reports the procedure and results of a study analyzing Science-Technology-Society (STS) themes in state science curriculum frameworks in the United States. The criteria for the analysis consisted of 15 categories of standards derived from the K–12 content standards of the National Science Education Standards. Out of the 25 state science curriculum frameworks analyzed, 88% emphasized the standard Science and technology in society. Three standards (Environmental quality, Science as a human endeavor, and Nature of science and scientific knowledge) were represented in nearly 50% of the state science curriculum frameworks. The remaining 11 content standards were scarcely represented in the state science curriculum frameworks analyzed. The recommendations of this study include an examination of educational policy links to state science frameworks, and case studies of curriculum policy-to-practice transition in STS education.
Toward automated abstraction for protocols on branching networks

We have used various manual abstraction techniques to formally verify a transaction ordering property for an IO protocol over bus/bridge networks. In the context of network protocol verification, an abstraction is needed to reduce the unbounded number of network configurations to a small number of representative networks that can be checked using algorithmic methods. The manually derived abstraction was both brittle and difficult to validate. In this report, we discuss the need for abstraction techniques in the formal verification of protocols over networks and present our recent efforts to create an automatic abstraction technique for network protocols using predicate abstraction as a starting point.
The role of parathyroid hormone in the gastro-intestinal absorption of calcium.

1. Gastrointestinal calcium absorption was studied in six normal subjects and in one patient with idiopathic hypoparathyroidism during a control period and during treatment with parathyroid extract. 2. In all subjects there was a small increase in the gastro-intestinal absorption of calcium during the administration of parathyroid extract.
For the sake of our children: Hispanic immigrant and migrant families' use of folk healing and biomedicine.

This article documents beliefs among Hispanic immigrant and migrant families in central Washington State about the etiology, symptomology, and appropriate treatments for illnesses experienced by their young children. Similar information was gathered from health care staff at several area biomedical facilities. We integrate data from the childhood health project and the authors’ previous research to refine the ethnomedical knowledge base and assumptions about the impact of migration histories and acculturative forces on Hispanic health belief systems and therapeutic decision-making. The analysis is situated in the region's political economic context, dominated by agribusiness, which reveals the enmeshed structural forces that influence the children's health care. We conclude that only when cultural and structural factors are considered in concert can these approaches most effectively contribute to understanding family responses to childhood illness at local community levels as well as at broader analytic scales, and to the development of culturally relevant and effective health care.
An enzymatic and histochemical analysis of eggshells of anoline lizards

Abstract 1. 1. Total digestion of anoline lizard eggshell occurs only in the presence of peracetic acid, a chemical treatment which breaks disulfide bonds. 2. 2. A positive staining reaction is shown in anoline lizard eggshell fibers with silver methenamine stain, a stain which specifically binds to disulfide bonds. 3. 3. When both peracetic acid treatment and silver staining is performed on the anoline eggshell we observe a drastic decrease in the amount of staining by the silver methenamine stain. 4. 4. These results suggest that the fibers of the anoline eggshell are rich in disulfide bond containing proteins.
Attention-generated apparent motion

MOTION perception mechanisms have recently been divided into three categories1. First-order mechanisms2-4 primarily extract motion from moving objects or features that differ from the back-ground in luminance. Second-order mechanism5,6 extract motion from moving properties, such as a moving area of flicker in which there is no difference in mean luminance between target and back-ground. These first- and second-order motion mechanisms are primarily monocular. The existence of purely binocular, interocular and various other unusual kinds of apparent motion7-13has promoted conjectures of a third-order mechanism1,14,15, but there has been no clear suggestion as to the actual computations that such a mechanism might perform. Here we demonstrate 'alternating feature' stimuli that produce apparent motion only when the observer selectively attends to one of the embedded features in the display. The latent motion in the alternating feature stimuli is invisible to first- or second-order motion mechanisms, and the direction of apparent motion depends on the particular feature attended. These findings suggest the mechanism of third-order motion: the locations of the most significant features are registered in a salience map, and motion is computed directly from this map.
Hydration of freestanding Nafion membrane in proton and sodium ion exchanged forms probed by infrared spectroscopy

Abstract Transmission infrared spectroscopy was used to follow the uptake of water into Nafion 112 (∼50 μm thick) membrane under conditions that enabled detection of vibrational bands for water in different environments inside membrane pores and channels. The evolution of infrared features for interfacial and weakly hydrogen bonded water were followed upon exposure of initially vacuum dried membranes, exchanged by either Na + or H + , to low humidity atmospheres. The rapid uptake of water into H + exchanged Nafion 112 precluded time resolved spectral measurements. However, the considerably slower timeframe for water incorporation into Na + exchanged membrane enabled the evolution of different environments for water to be observed. Under approximately 10% relative humidity, the time dependent increases in absorbance for a mode of interfacial water near 3674 cm −1 and a mode of more bulk-like, weakly hydrogen bonded water at 3525 cm −1 in Na + exchanged Nafion 112 could be fit by a pore diffusion model. The results provide a foundation for the application of multivariate analysis techniques to identify different structures that develop in metal cation exchanged Nafion during changes in hydration state.
Phase-resolved polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography imaging of tendon and muscle

We describe a phase-resolved polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography system that can obtain the Stokes vectors, polarization diversity intensity, and birefringence images of rat-tail tendon and muscle. The Stokes vectors were obtained by processing the analytical interference fringe signals from two perpendicular polarization-detection channels for the same reference polarization state. From the four Stokes vectors, the birefringence image, which is insensitive to orientation of the optical axis in the sample, and the polarization diversity intensity image, in which speckle noise is greatly reduced, were obtained. The birefringence changes in the rat muscle caused by freezing were investigated using phase-resolved polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography. It was found that freezing degrades birefringence in rat muscle.
Applying international space station (ISS) and solar-sail technology to the exploration and diversion of small, dark near earth objects (NEO's)

Abstract Space-Station technology, micron-thick 100-m solar sails, and a near-Earth propulsion system allow exploration of small, dark Near-Earth-Objects (NEO's) of cometary origin. Early crewed missions to NEO's could analyze the objects' properties and evaluate resource-mining possibilities. Later missions to Earth-threatening 100-m radius NEO's could deploy NEO-centered, high-area, low-mass reflective structures. The solar gravitational parameter (GMsun) on a NEO is slightly reduced by increased radiation pressure. The central-force-field equations reveal that NEO eccentricity and average solar distance are thereby slightly increased. Given decades of warning and long-lived reflective canopies, such structures can convert Earth-impacts into near-misses. Although not suitable for NEO mining, such structures are superior to nuclear detonations because (as revealed by the 1994 Jupiter-comet interaction) NEO calving may be a consequence of explosions. NEO despinning is not required.
Sleep analysis and a simple technique for selective deprivation of low-voltage fast-wave sleep in a species of deermouse P. m. bairdi.

In Study I electrocorticographic (ECoG) and electromyographic (EMG) records were time-sampled from each of 3 P. m. bairdi when motionless with eyes closed. Sixty intervals of 5 seconds each were categorized, by standard qualitative criteria, into three arousal states: Low-voltage, fast-wave sleep (LVF); High-voltage, slowwave sleep (HVS); or Waking (W). Independently, each electrophysiological index was scored quantitatively either by counting large changes in ECoG potential or by rating intensity of EMG activity. Analyses indicated in general that the count and rating patterns were strongly associated with the initial qualitative judgments of arousal state, and in particular that low EMG activity was concomitant with LVF. It was hypothesized from these results and from the literature that LVF could be reduced by curtailing low levels of muscle tonus. Study II tested such an hypothesis with 3 more P. m. bairdi. Sixty 5-second ECoG and EMG records were similarly sampled (when S's eyes were closed), categorized, and independently quantified. Each S was perched over a shock-grid on a pedestal too small to permit total loss of muscle tonus. These records showed only HVS and W but in ratios slightly altered from those observed for the first 3 animals. Comparing both studies suggested that, by preventing low muscle tonus, the pedestal-over-shock-grid can radically reduce the proportion of LVF in the sleep of P. m. bairdi.
Minibuses in urban transportation

Abstract Bus-route simulations suggest that minibuses could not survive in North America or Europe if driver wages equal those currently paid mass-transit bus drivers. If minibuses pay taxi-driver wages and standard buses pay current wages, however, minibuses would yield slightly and appreciably lower urban travel costs than standard buses given respectively marginal-cost and current prices for road services. Scale economies justify markedly smaller subsidies for minibuses than for standard buses. Underpriced road services justify substantial subsidies and preferential access to road capacity for both minibuses and standard buses.
Large deflections of rectangular membranes under uniform pressure

Abstract The Foppl large deflection equations for laterally loaded membranes are solved for uniform load and for edges which are fixed normal to the edge but are free to move parallel to the edge. Both the deflection function and the Airy stress function are expanded in Fourier series. The resulting coupled non-linear cubic equations for the deflection function coefficients are truncated and solved by means of an iterative procedure. Results for the center normal deflection and the stress resultants at selected points are calculated with the use of 100 or more equations and are found to differ significantly from the previously accepted approximate results.
Atomic-scale structure and chemistry of ceramic/metal interfaces—I. Atomic structure of {222} MgO/Cu (Ag) interfaces

Abstract Ceramic/metal (C/M) {222} MgO/Cu (Ag) heterophase interfaces, prepared by internal oxidation, are studied by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). The observed spacing between misfit dislocations (1.45 nm) in a 〈110〉 projection is in agreement with the prediction of Bollmann's geometric O-lattice theory and experimental values in the literature for {222} MgO/Cu interfaces. It is concluded that the {222} MgO/Cu (Ag) interfaces are semicoherent and contain a trigonal network of pure edge misfit dislocations parallel to 〈110〉-type directions, with an ( a /6)〈211〉-type Burgers vector. Misfit dislocations are also found in a standoff position at a distance of a single (111) spacing of the Cu (Ag) matrix. Extra intensity at the interface, in some angular dark-field images indicates silver segregation, in agreement with our atom-probe field-ion microscope results. On the metal side of the interface, extra intensity is observed in five atomic layers, which corresponds to a total silver enrichment of approximately 0.7 effective monolayers.
Tables of thermonuclear reaction rates for low-mass nuclei (1 ⩽ Z ⩽ 14)

Numerical values of the thermonuclear reaction rates astrophysically important reactions involving low-mass nuclei (1< or =Z< or =14) are tabulated for the temperature range 10/sup 6/< or =T< or =10/sup 10/ degrees Kelvin. Analytical expressions for the reaction rates are given for those reactions for which new measurements since the closing date of our previous update, October 1982, have led to revisions.
Performance Results of a Low Current, High Gradient Superconducting Quadrupole Magnet

A large bore, high gradient superconducting quadrupole magnet has been fabricated and tested which generates a gradient of 60 T/m in a cold bore 12.7 cm in diameter and 2.8 m long. The magnet operates safely without active quench protection and the unwanted multipole fields of the magnet sum to four parts per thousand at a bore radius of 5.0 cm. The magnet has been exposed to a neutral secondary beam at Fermilab produced by targeting a 400 GeV/c primary proton beam on a 30 cm Be target. When operated at a gradient of 52.5 T/m (86% of short sample) the magnet is quenched at a primary beam intensity of 6 x 1011 protons per one second spill. The corresponding energy deposition in the magnet coils has been calculated to be 2 mJ/cm3.
A non-invasive technique for quantifying and isolating fused cells.

Cell–cell fusion is an important biological and pathological event. There are limited techniques for studying both the process of cell–cell fusion and the fate of fused cells. We have developed a non-invasive assay for the temporal analysis of cell–cell fusion, quantification of fused cells, and isolation of fused cells. Briefly, cells are transfected with either the T7 bacteriophage RNA polymerase, or yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) driven by a T7 specific promoter. Cells are mixed and induced to fuse. When cells expressing T7 RNA polymerase and T7 promoter driven YFP (T7-YFP) fuse and the cellular contents mix, the YFP is expressed. These YFP-positive cells can be detected with a fluorescent microscope, quantified by flow cytometry, or collected using fluorescence associated cell sorting. Isolated YFP-positive cells can be monitored to determine the fate of fused cells, specifically for the rates of growth, transformation, and changes in chromosome number.
Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva in two half-sisters : evidence for maternal mosaicism

Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) is a rare autosomal dominant disorder of connective tissue characterized by congenital malformation of the great toes and by progressive heterotopic ossification of the soft tissues in specific anatomic and temporal patterns. We observed classic findings of FOP in 2 Native American half-sisters with the same unaffected mother and different unaffected fathers. This is the first report of FOP in sibs from different pregnancies with unaffected parents. The findings in this family indicate the possibility of maternal gonadal mosaicism in FOP and provide important new data for genetic counseling in this disease.
The pitfalls of urine surveillance: the role of research in evaluation and remedy.

Abstract Millions of dollars and a great deal of staff time in methadone programs are spent on urine screening, but the difficulties inherent in such testing are rarely documented. An evaluation of the accuracy of the urine screening procedure used for a methadone maintenance clinic revealed the unusually high danger of inaccuracy in laboratory results. Feedback of this information to the laboratory resulted in significant decrease in the frequency of erroneous reports. Two subsequent evaluations were carried out, each leading to improved precision and accuracy in the reports received subsequently. The importance of this improvement in the level of accuracy of the reports to the operation of the clinic are discussed.
Topology of the Fermi Surface of Gallium

High-field magnetoresistance, Hall effect, planar Hall effect, and transverse even effect have been measured on gallium single crystals at 4.2\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K with the current along the crystallographic axes and the magnetic field in the major crystallographic planes. The results are interpreted in terms of the Lifshitz, Azbel', and Kaganov theory. The magnetoresistance is quadratic in the magnetic field except when both the current and the field are in the $\mathrm{ab}$ plane, where it saturates. These results are attributed to a surface which permits open orbits along the ${k}_{c}$ axis and to compensation between the number of holes and electrons. In addition, subsidiary minima are observed in the magnetoresistance rotation curves, but the field dependence remains quadratic at these points. The Hall and planar Hall data are highly dependent upon the magnetic field direction and show some features similar to the magnetoresistance. The nearly-free-electron (single-orthogonalized-plane wave) Fermi surface has been constructed for gallium and it is found that, after certain modifications, the sixth band predicted by this model has the basic topological features required by these data. The origin of the transverse even voltage is discussed in terms of the Lifshitz theory.
Temperature vibrations in urea crystals

The results obtained in four recent diffraction studies of urea have been compared. Although the data were collected by markedly different methods in each investigation, the results are in satisfactory agreement, and it is concluded that the average values represent the best values for the parameters at the present time.
Startle responses of blue jays to visual stimuli presented during feeding

Abstract Feeding responses of blue jays (Cyanocitta cristata) were studied experimentally to determine whether unfamiliar colours would cause hesitation when presented during a feeding act. The blue jays were trained to push flaps aside and pick out discs under these flaps in order to obtain mealworms in a specially designed feeding apparatus. If the interval between the time when a bird pushed a flap aside and took out the underlying disc was significantly longer in experimental trials than the mean established over a control series of trials, the hesitation was considered a startle response. Novel colours (colours that birds had never seen before in this context) caused a startle response, as did rare colours that the birds had experienced before in this context but that they had not been trained on). Experimental latency times were also affected by avoidance training. Birds trained to avoid dark grey discs subsequently took longer to pick up black discs, while birds trained to avoid light grey discs subsequently took longer to pick up both white and black discs. These findings suggest that dark colours would cause more hesitation by predators than would light colours.
Collective oblate rotation at high spins in neutron-rich 180Hf.

We report on experimental evidence for collective oblate rotation becoming favored at high spins in a rigid, well-deformed, axially symmetric nucleus. Excited states established up to spin $20\ensuremath{\hbar}$ in $^{180}\mathrm{Hf}$ are consistent with predictions that nucleon alignments would favor oblate over prolate shapes at high spins in neutron-rich Hf isotopes. The results highlight the influence of valence orbitals on the interplay between nucleon alignments and nuclear shapes and provide a rare example of independent particle dynamics in competing potential wells.
Bone Graft Harvesting from Regional Sites

Bone grafts are widely used in the reconstruction of osseous defects in the oral and maxillofacial region. Successful osseointegration of dental implants requires sufficient bone surrounding the implant. Although bone substitutes and augmentation techniques offer viable prognoses for achieving the required amount of hard tissue augmentation, autologous bone is the gold standard with regard to quantity, quality, and an uneventful healing. Autogenous bone grafts are generally obtained from the ilium, the rib, and the calvarium. Alternative sources for local harvesting in the mandible can be evaluated by careful clinical and radiographic examinations of the patient. This article discusses the various sources of grafts and the techniques used to harvest bone.
Defects in the nutrient-dependent methylation of a membrane-associated protein in spo mutants of Bacillus subtilis.

Methylation of a membrane-associated protein with an apparent molecular mass of 40000 daltons has been observed in Bacillus subtilis. The methylation was nutrient dependent and occurred with a doubling time of 4 ± 1 min. In wild-type strains, the half-life of turnover of the methyl group(s) was 17 ± 6 min. Several isogenic strains of B. subtilis containing spo0 mutations (spo0A and spo0H) were found to be normal in glutamate-dependent methylation of the protein and turnover of the methyl group(s). In strains containing spo0B and spo0E mutations, the methyl group(s) were incorporated in response to glutamate addition but turnover was not at a normal rate. The half-life of methyl group turnover was extended to 45 ± 3 min in these strains. In a spo0K mutant and in spoILI and spoIIF mutants, the protein was not significantly methylated. The methylation of a 40000 dalton protein was also found to be dependent on phosphate. This methylation was observed in wild-type and spo0A and spo0H strains with a doubling time of 4 ± 1 min and a half-life of turnover of the methyl group(s) of 11 + 3 min. In strains containing spo0B, spo0E, and spo0F mutations, the phosphate-dependent incorporation of the methyl group(s) was normal (5 ± 1 min) but the turnover half-life was extended to 46 ± 8 min. It is not known whether the nitrogen-dependent and phosphate-dependent systems methylated the same protein. The spo0 mutants are defective in the initial stages of sporulation, and it has been proposed that the spo0 gene products may play a role in nutrient sensing. The discovery of defects in the methylation of the 40 kDa protein in some of these spo0 mutants supports the proposal that the protein methylation may be part of a nutrient sensing system for the control of growth and sporulation in Bacillus species.
Recent progress in Terabit-LAN challenges in Japan

Technical challenges towards Terabit-class LAN interfaces in the Lambda access project funded by NICT are reviewed in comparison with the challenges in on-going 40 Gb/s and 100 Gb/s Ethernet Standardization activities.
Temperature amplification during laser heating of polycrystalline silicon microcantilevers due to temperature-dependent optical properties

Abstract The absorption of optical energy and subsequent thermal transport are investigated experimentally and numerically for 500 μm long, 250 μm wide, and 2.25 μm thick polycrystalline silicon microcantilevers irradiated by an 808 nm continuous-wave laser. Temperature profiles were measured using Raman thermometry at 314 and 532 mW of laser power, and the microcantilever peak temperature was measured for laser powers up to 719 mW. A modular technique for multilayered structures is used to calculate the optical absorption in polysilicon microcantilevers, and the thermal response is then calculated with a two-dimensional, finite difference model. Very good agreement is obtained between the measured and calculated temperature profiles and peak temperatures versus laser power. The abrupt increase or amplification of peak temperature for laser powers between 415 and 440 mW is shown to be a result of peaks in the temperature-dependent optical absorptance.
Maladjustment in Statistical Minorities Within Ethnically Unbalanced Classrooms

Ascertained if being a member of a statistical minority influences children's adjustment in school, as measured by the AML, a teacher-administered adjustment rating scale. Teachers from a southwest school district evaluated elementary students on aggressive, acting-out behaviors, moody-internalized behaviors, and learning difficulties. Analyses conducted on 376 students revealed significant effects of statistical minority status on certain dimensions of adjustment ratings for both Hispanic and Anglo students. Hispanic students in the statistical minority received poorer ratings on the moodiness dimension of the AML than nonminority Hispanic students. Anglo students in the statistical minority received poorer ratings on the aggression dimension of the AML than nonminority Anglo students. These results were interpreted in terms of cultural differences in coping with statistical minority status. Traits commonly exhibited within a culture may intensify and be perceived as maladaptive when stress resulting from being a minority occurs. Implications of the finding that statistical minority status within the school environment influences adjustment are discussed. Language: en
Glass transition temperature in polymer blends

The Couchman equation for miscible blends has been extended. The new semiempirical equation, w1ln(Tg/Tg1) + kw2ln(Tg/Tg2) = 0, is simple to use and flexible enough to provide an adequate description of Tg variation with composition for miscible, semimiscible, and immiscible blends. The equation parameter k indicates the blend miscibility.
Anti-Judaism in Intra-Christian Conflict: Catholics and Liberals in Baden in the 1840s

This essay examines the paradoxical relationship between Jewish emancipation and the revival of Catholic neoorthodoxy in the years preceding the revolutions of 1848/49. My focus is on the Grand Duchy of Baden, renowned as the most liberal of all the nineteenth-century German states. The rise of neoorthodoxy in Baden provoked political liberals to rethink the relationship between church and state and, consequently, through a conjunction of circumstance, to make Jewish emancipation a central plank in their political platfrom. The Jewish emancipation implemented by the liberals in the revolutionary years, however, would be heavily burdened from its inception by the manner in which the new Catholic “religious right” deployed anti-Jewish rhetoric in its struggle for religious and political influence.
Release from masking as a means of studying hair cell function.

If mutual inhibition exists among the neural elements of the auditory pathway, then tonal contours should be enchanced by analogy with the mechanisms of Mach bands in vision. Experimental evidence ...
Management of osteogenesis imperfecta

Abstract Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is in most cases a congenital disease of collagen type I with a remarkable variation in phenotype, ranging from severe forms that result in perinatal death to very mild forms. In general, the genotype is an unreliable predictor of phenotype and severity and no classification based on the different mutations has yet been devised. Symptoms are common in the ligaments, sclerae and teeth. Hearing can be affected, sometimes leading to deafness. There is also an increased disposition for bruises and haematoma and insufficiency of the valves of the heart. Over 800 mutations have been reported. Since each person/family with OI has their own unique mutation the management of these children must be individualized. These children benefit from the competence of a multidisciplinary team. Amino-bisphosphonates have proven effective in treating children and adolescents with OI of severe form and milder forms with vertebral compressions. These accumulate in bone and reduce remodelling rate, and residual levels are measurable after many years. Until long-term safety data are available, treatment should be reserved for those for whom the benefits clearly outweigh the risks.
AN EMPIRICAL EXAMINATION OF THE INTERACTIVE EFFECTS OF GOAL ORIENTATION, PARTICIPATIVE LEADERSHIP AND TASK CONFLICT ON INNOVATION IN SMALL BUSINESS

This study investigates the relationship between task conflict and innovation in small business. It also investigates the interactive effects of an entrepreneur's goal orientation and participative leadership style on the relationship between task conflict and innovation in small business. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis of data collected from 201 small businesses found a significant and positive relationship between task conflict and innovation. Analysis also revealed significant two-way interactive effect of an entrepreneur's participative leadership style and task conflict on innovation and significant three-way interactive effect between entrepreneur's goal orientation, participative leadership style and task conflict on innovation in small business. Results showed the relationship between task conflict and innovation is strongest in a small business of which the entrepreneur adopts a participative leadership style and the primary goal is growth and profit. Both the theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.
The Climate Casino: Risk, Uncertainty and Economics for a Warming World

The new book on climate change from Yale economist William Nordhaus begins with a series of questions: Is global warming real? Does it matter? What does it mean for human society? Yes, he says, it ...
Associations between user training and information systems success

What type and amount of computer-related training are available to information system (IS) users? And, how do these relate to their (users) perceptions of the success of the systems used? This paper reports on a study designed to answer such questions. Data were collected from 98 IS users in 16 different departments of 12 organizations. The results indicate that there exist positive associations between various types of computer-related training/educational programmes an organization provides to IS users and the perceived success of IS. Specifically, the availability of a computer resident expert in the organizational functional area of users has the most significant positive relationship with success.
Co-designing patient-centered health communication tools for cancer care

When oncologists meet their newly diagnosed cancer patients for the first time, they discuss five key topics: diagnosis, prognosis, metastasis, and treatment options and their associated side effects. Studies have shown, however, that while oncologists may feel they have met the informational needs of patients, patients sometimes have different interpretations of what was actually covered. This leads to complications in patient understanding, which are shown to have an impact on patient self-efficacy, confidence, and treatment selection. Due to these major communication issues, particularly during such a sensitive time for patients, we are working in concert with patients and oncologists to design patient-centered health communication tools to help mitigate such problems in clinical communication. Through our discussions with both oncologists and current patients undergoing treatment, we were able to determine key design considerations to help address these issues in clinical communication and shared decision making. In addition, we investigate ways to create personalized health information take-aways for patients, so that they may be better able to process this information after their diagnosis shock has worn off.
A heat-induced depolarization of Paramecium and its relationship to thermal avoidance behavior

We have recorded fromParamecium a membrane depolarization in response to heat. This heat-induced depolarization is graded with the magnitude of the temperature change and can trigger action potentials. The mechanism for the Ca-action potential, localized in the cilia, is not needed in generating the heat-induced depolarization, since a ciliary Ca-channel mutant (pwB) and a deciliated wild type both show the same magnitude of depolarization as an intact wild type.
368 Oocyte aspiration from transitional and cycling mares treated with eFSH.

A major obstacle in studying equine oocyte maturation is a source of oocytes. The aim of this study was to determine if oocyte recovery following transvaginal ultrasound-guided aspirations could be improved by using eFSH. Fourteen mares ranging from 3 to 16 years of age were used as oocyte donors during the transitional (March to April) and cycling (May to June) seasons. Each follicle was aspirated with a 12-gauge double-lumen needle using a pressure of 150 mmHg and then flushed eight times using PBS supplemented with 10 U/mL heparin and 0.05% BSA. Large follicles (>20 mm) were aspirated first, followed by small follicles (10–20 mm). The first aspiration in each season was used to deplete the follicular pool of all follicles >10 mm; these data were not considered. Following this initial aspiration, mares were subjected to four rounds of aspirations every 10 to 11 days. In each round during the transitional season, half the mares received 12.5 mg eFSH (Bioniche Animal Health, Belleville, Ontario, Canada) once daily for four days prior to aspiration. For each round during the cycling season, half the mares received 12.5 mg eFSH twice daily for three days prior to aspiration. In each replicate, mares were alternated from treated to control groups during both seasons. Oocyte recovery and superstimulatory responses were analyzed using the GLM procedure of SAS (SAS Institute, Inc., Cary, NC, USA). During both the transitional and the cycling season, treatment with eFSH did not have a significant effect (P > 0.1) on the number of small or large follicles present at the time of aspiration (Table 1). For both seasons and size classes, the number of follicles varied by mare (P 0.1), it did increase the number of oocytes recovered from large follicles during the cycling season. Table 1. Oocyte recovery and superstimulatory response of mares treated with eFSH
Identification by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of vinyl chloride oligomers and other low-molecular-weight components in poly(vinyl chloride) resins for food packaging applications

Abstract Material of molecular weight less than approximately 400–500 was isolated from food grade poly(vinyl chloride) resins by initial soxhlet diethyl ether extraction and subsequent size-exclusion fractionation. Analysis by packed-column gas chromatography using Hall electrolytic conductivity detection showed the presence of a series of chlorinated components which by subsequent gas chromatography-mass spectrometry were tentatively identified as vinyl chloride oligomers. The chlorinated constituents in the extracts were selectively isolated from other low-molecular-weight components by silica gel chromatography. From low-resolution capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry data (together with evidence from hydrogenated extracts) the structures of these oligomers were postulated as being a complete series ranging from trimer to hexamer (and probably to the octamer), each oligomer being represented by species containing a ring or a double bond and each occurring as a number of structural isomers. Other non-chlorinated compounds identified in the resins included mixed phthalates, alkanes, nonylphenol, and undecyl dodecanoate, the latter being derived from the polymerisation initiator lauryl peroxide.
Concentration and Size Dependence of Dielectric Strength and Dielectric Relaxation of Polymers in Solutions of a ϑ Solvent via Molecular Dynamics Simulations

We consider the dielectric strength and dielectric relaxation of dilute and semidilute solutions of polymers in a £ solvent. A molecular dynamics technique is employed and the simulation results are contrasted with dielectric spectroscopy measurements, providing an insight into the molecular factors that affect the experimental behavior. The relation between the dielectric strength and the end-to-end distance of the chains, used in experiments to determine polymer dimensions, is established via equilibrium and nonequilibrium simulations. The dielectric loss spectra are computed from the end-to-end vector autocorrelation function of the simulated systems. At infinite dilution the simulation spectra conform well with the Rouse model prediction. The spectra broaden with increasing concentration, and a normal- mode analysis suggests that the overlapping of the chains leads to a broader distribution of relaxation times. Finally, normal mode relaxation times are found to be exponential in density.
Modal gain in a semiconductor nanowire laser with anisotropic bandstructure

We investigate optical gain for the modes guided by semiconductor nanowires. We focus on optically anisotropic wurtzite-type semiconductors (such as GaN) and the situation when the optical axis of the crystal coincides with the geometrical axis of the nanowire. For GaN nanowire lasers, the calculation of the modal gain requires the knowledge of two confinement factors for a given mode and two gain coefficients for the bulk crystal. We show that the confinement factors for nanowire lasers are very large in comparison to those for heterostructure lasers, and can even exceed unity. To estimate the bulk gain in GaN we use the free-carrier model and emphasize the importance of accounting for anisotropy of gain. Using the calculated confinement factors and bulk gain, we predict that free-standing nanowires with small radius (R /spl lsim/ 70 nm) lase into the HE/sub 11/ mode, thicker nanowires (70 nm /spl lsim/ R /spl lsim/ 90 nm) lase into the TE/sub 01/ mode.