cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Extractability and Bioavailability of Mercury from a Mercury Sulfide Contaminated Soil in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA

Historically as part of its national security mission, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Y-12 National Security Facility in Oak Ridge, TN acquired a significant fraction of the world’s supply of elemental mercury. During the 1950s and 1960s, a large amount of elemental mercury escaped confinement and is still present in the watershed surrounding the Y-12 facility. A series of remediation efforts have been deployed in the watersheds around the Oak Ridge site. However, most recently, concentration of total mercury in fish and water of the lower East Fork Poplar Creek (EFPC) of Oak Ridge has increased although majority of the mercury contamination in the local soils is present in the form of mercury sulfide. We have studied the extractability, solubility, and bioavailability of mercury sulfide in Oak Ridge soils. Dynamics of the dissolution of mercury sulfide by various extractants, including acids and a chelating agent, have been investigated. After three seasons of planting, soil mercury sulfide is more easily dissolved by both 4 M and 12 M nitric acid than is pure mercury sulfide reagent as indicated by their dissolution kinetics. Mercury release by EDTA from HgS-contaminated soil increased with time of reaction and soil mercury level. This chelating chemical increases the solubility of mercury in HgS-contaminated Oak Ridge soil. The results also show that mercury sulfide in contaminated Oak Ridge soils was still to some extent bioavailable to plants. The increase of bioavailability of soil mercury sulfide after three seasons of planting may contribute to the recent increase of mercury levels in water of the Lower East Fork Popular Creek (LEFPC) of Oak Ridge.
Specific depletion of immunoreactive growth hormone-releasing factor by monosodium glutamate in rat median eminence

A potent and specific growth hormone-releasing factor (GRF) was recently isolated and characterized from a human islet cell tumour of the pancreas that caused acromegaly1–3. Antibodies raised against the synthetic replicate of this peptide have allowed the immunohistochemical identification of GRF-producing neurones within the primate central nervous system4. Such neurones are found mainly in the arcuate nucleus4–6 in human and monkey hypothalamus, suggesting that this nucleus is a primary source of GRF. We have further investigated this hypothesis by studying the anatomical organization of GRF neurones in rat hypothalamus, using an antibody raised against the recently characterized rat hypothalamic GRF7 in normal animals and in animals neonatally treated with monosodium glutamate (MSG), a treatment which results in the selective destruction of arcuate nucleus neurones8–10. We present here the results which show that GRF-producing neurones are located mainly in the arcuate nucleus of rats. MSG treatment results in the complete loss of GRF- immunoreactive cell bodies within this nucleus and provokes a selective disappearance of GRF-immunoreactive fibres in the median eminence. These results show that the arcuate nucleus is the origin of the GRF-containing fibres that project to the median eminence and establish the MSG-treated rat as an in vivo model for studying growth hormone secretion in the absence of neurohumoral GRF.
TIR-domain-containing adapter-inducing interferon-β (TRIF) regulates Th17-mediated intestinal immunopathology in colitis

Gastrointestinal mucosa reserves abundant Th17 cells where host response to commensal bacteria maintains Th17-cell generation. Although functional heterogeneity and dynamic plasticity of Th17 cells appear to be involved in chronic inflammatory disorders, how their plasticity is regulated in intestinal mucosa is unknown. Here we show that innate TRIF signaling regulates intestinal Th17-cell generation and plasticity during colitis. Absence of TRIF in mice resulted in increased severity of experimental colitis, which was associated with aberrant generation of Th17 cells especially of interferon (IFN)-γ-expressing Th17 cells in the lamina propria. The abnormal generation and plasticity of Th17 cells involved impaired expression of interleukin (IL)-27p28 by lamina propria macrophages but not dendritic cells. Treatment of TRIF-deficient mice with IL-27p28 during colitis reduced the number and IFN-γ expression of Th17 cells in the intestine. In vitro, TRIF-deficient macrophages induced more Th17 cells than wild-type (WT) macrophages during co-culture with WT naive T cells in response to cecal bacterial antigen. Many of Th17 cells induced by TRIF-deficient macrophages expressed IFN-γ due to impaired expression of IL-27p28 by macrophages and defective activation of STAT1 in T cells. These results outline TRIF-dependent regulatory mechanism by which host response to intestinal bacteria maintains Th17-cell-mediated pathology during colitis.
The Simplex Method for Beginners

Although there are many excellent discussions of linear programming and the simplex method, a beginning student or a person whose high school algebra has grown somewhat rusty finds that the tableau presentation and associated notation are difficult to understand, let alone utilize. Related problems of presentation arise if one is a lecturer allotted only a couple of hours to 'explain linear programming'. I have had some success in overcoming such problems of exposition with the artificial example given below, which---as will be evident to experienced practitioners of the art---is merely the original simplex method without detached coefficients. Perhaps other beginners or lecturers might also find the presentation of help. I have deliberately taken 'author's liberty' in selecting an example that avoids certain troublesome details in the application of the simplex method, some of these details are discussed at the end of the paper.
Putting Up With Fellow Russians: An Analysis of Political Tolerance in the Fledgling Russian Democracy:

Research from the early days of Russian democratization has suggested that political tolerance among the mass public was in terribly short sup ply Several questions remain, however. Has intolerance persisted since the late 1980s and early 1990s? Further, how intolerant are the Russians when compared with the mass publics of other Central and Eastern Eu ropean democratizing countries; how intolerant are the Russians when compared with Western Europeans and Americans? Most importantly, is Russian intolerance likely to become pernicious? That is, does it have the attributes that make it likely to result in political repression? I answer these questions by theoretically specifying and investigating empirically four attributes of Russian public opinion that presage whether political consequences are likely to flow from political intolerance. My overriding conclusion is that Russian intolerance has several traits that may indeed make it pernicious, especially for unpopular political minorities.
Photolysis of uranium hexafluoride and some reaction variables affecting the apparent quantum yield

Abstract Photolysis of UF6 in the spectral range 275.0 – 404.7 nm leads to the production of β-UF5 and fluorine atoms with an apparent quantum yield which varies greatly with light intensity, UF6 pressure and the nature of the inner absorption cell surface. No correlation of the apparent quantum yield with wavelength of the light source is observed. Reduction of the apparent quantum yield from unity is attributed to the recombination reaction UF5 + F → UF6. Competitive processes which reduce the fluorine atom concentration or the UF5 monomer concentration prevent the yield from approaching zero. These are formation of molecular F2, direct reaction of fluorine atoms with the wall material, flow of fluorine atoms out of the cell and polymerization of UF5 monomer. The addition of the fluorine atom scavenger H2 increases the yield to 1.75.
Measuring Library Space Use and Preferences: Charting a Path Toward Increased Engagement

The University of Dayton (UD) used a multi-method research approach to evaluate current space use in the library. A general campus survey on study spaces, online library surveys, a week-long video study, and data from the National Survey of Student Engagement ( NSSE ) were examined to understand student choices in library usage. Results suggest that although UD students prefer to study at times alone and at times with or near others, students used the UD library primarily to study alone. We determined that the following characteristics are important in considering student selection of group study spaces: spaces that are comfortable, spaces that facilitate interpersonal communication, spaces that they can control, and areas that promote the integration of basic human needs and desires (such as eating, drinking, and enjoyment) with learning activities. Library spaces have been reconfigured and redesigned to increase student selection of the library for group study.
The corpus callosum and lateral ventricles in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: A brain magnetic resonance imaging study

There has been an increasing interest in alterations of corpus callosum (CC) morphology in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), since abnormalities in specific areas of the CC may reflect differences in corresponding regions of the brain from which interhemispheric fibers originate (Giedd et al 1994; Hynd et al 1991; Semrud-Clikeman et al 1994). Results reported to date have been inconsistent (Giedd et al 1994; Hynd et al 1991; Semrud-Clikeman et al 1994), and these divergent findings may arise from several sources, including different diagnostic inclusion criteria for a disorder with extensive comorbidity, different comparison populations, and different age or gender composition of the study populations. We now report on the area of the CC and its seven subdivisions in a large number of children with ADHD (n = 51). In addition, we have measured the volume of the anterior and posterior lateral ventricles (LV) in this population, as we hypoth-
Configurational assignments in some dihydrobenzo[c]thiophenes by NMR solvent effects. Correlation of the relative chemical shifts of α‐methyl groups with sulphoxide stereochemistry

The configuration of isomeric 3,3-dimethyl-1-phenyl-1,3-dihydrobenzo[c]thiophene 2-oxides was assigned on the basis of selective benzene- and TFA-induced NMR shifts. The same method was employed for assigning the α-methyl resonances of these sulphoxides. Examination of NMR data for a variety of cyclic sulphoxides revealed that in CCl4 or CDCl3 solution, α-hydrogen cis to SO often resonates at higher magnetic field, while α-methyl group cis to SO characteristically resonates at lower field, than the same hydrogen or methyl group trans to SO, respectively.
Hume and the phenomenology of agency

Some philosophers argue that Hume, given his theory of causation, is committed to an implausibly thin account of what it is like to act voluntarily. Others suggest, on the basis of his argument against free will, that Hume takes no more than an illusory feature of action to distinguish the experience of performing an act from the experience of merely observing an act. In this paper, I argue that Hume is committed to neither an unduly parsimonious nor a sceptical account of the phenomenology of agency.
DC motor speed regulation using repetitive control

Repetitive control was applied to DC motor speed regulation in a scan device to reject the motor cogging torque. A discrete time prototype repetitive controller was designed and integrated into an existing feedback loop using the plug-in concept to reject the approximately periodic cogging torque under a constant reference speed. System identification was conducted to obtain the linear plant model. With the implemented repetitive controller, the periodic speed error was attenuated by near 75%. Also, a robustness criterion was developed to guarantee successful implementation on real systems.
Implementation and evaluation of active storage in modern parallel file systems

Active Storage is a technology aimed at reducing the bandwidth requirements of current supercomputing systems, and leveraging the processing power of the storage nodes used by some modern file systems. To achieve both objectives, Active Storage moves certain processing tasks to the storage nodes, near the data they manage. Our proposal for Active Storage has several key features: user-space implementation which facilitates the port to different file systems, analytical model to anticipate the performance of Active Storage with respect to a traditional system, support for striped files and complex-format files such as netCDF, and scientific-friendly programming and run-time environment.
iCanDraw: using sketch recognition and corrective feedback to assist a user in drawing human faces

When asked to draw, many people are hesitant because they consider themselves unable to draw well. This paper describes the first system for a computer to provide direction and feedback for assisting a user to draw a human face as accurately as possible from an image. Face recognition is first used to model the features of a human face in an image, which the user wishes to replicate. Novel sketch recognition algorithms were developed to use the information provided by the face recognition to evaluate the hand-drawn face. Two design iterations and user studies led to nine design principles for providing such instruction, presenting reference media, giving corrective feedback, and receiving actions from the user. The result is a proof-of-concept application that can guide a person through step-by-step instruction and generated feedback toward producing his/her own sketch of a human face in a reference image.
SysML profiling for handling army base camp planning

Abstract Army base camp planning is a complicated process involving many variables and optional facilities. The facilities can also vary in size and resource utilization depending on permanency of the base, local resources, and population on the base. Each level of facility is modeled and placed into a library database. All of these facilities must be distinguishable for planners to come in and export the correct facility based on the mission. The first method involves separating the different levels into packages so just the package could be exported. The issue is not all facilities will fit correctly. The second method is creating a stereotype with relevant tag definitions in the SysML tool to apply to the facility blocks. It allows minimum and maximum requirements for the facility to be displayed. This method is the start to creating a custom profile for base camp planning in SysML.
Liquid crystalline polymers by cationic polymerization

Revue des methodes de preparation de polymeres et d'oligomeres contenant des mesogenes calamitiques ou en disque: preparation de polyethers LC par polymerisation-ouverture de cycle d'ethers bicycliques, de poly(dinaphtyl-1,1 ethers) par la reaction de Scholl, de polyethers a chaine laterale oligo (oxyde d'ethylene) ou a chaine laterale methyl stilbenoxy, de poly(N-acyl ethyleneimines) a chaine laterale biphenyloxy, de triphenylenes prepares par cyclotrimerisation de dialkoxy-1,2 benzenes
p53 Immunostaining as a Significant Adjunct Diagnostic Method for Uterine Surface Carcinoma: Precursor of Uterine Papillary Serous Carcinoma

Uterine papillary serous carcinoma (UPSC) is a biologically aggressive carcinoma that causes a disproportionate number of endometrial cancer deaths because of its dismal clinical outcome. Although the precursor lesion of UPSC has been suggested both morphologically and molecularly, diagnosis continu
Residential mobility and resource use in the Chiribaya polity of southern Peru: strontium isotope analysis of archaeological tooth enamel and bone

The Chiribaya were a complex polity during the Andean Late Intermediate Period (c. AD 1000–1300) in the Ilo and Moquegua Valleys of southern Peru. Recent research has demonstrated that the Chiribaya polity was a senorio, a confederacy of economically specialised parcialidades. Here we test hypotheses regarding the movement of individuals and resources among the Chiribaya-affiliated sites of Chiribaya Alta, Chiribaya Baja, San Geronimo and El Yaral, as well as from outside of the Ilo and Moquegua Valleys. Although archaeological human enamel and bone strontium isotope ratios from Chiribaya Baja and San Geronimo cluster closely, there is a wider variety of strontium isotope ratios observed at Chiribaya Alta and El Yaral. This indicates that individuals buried in cemeteries at these sites had access to a wider variety of resources, and probably moved between different geological zones throughout their lifetimes. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Soil-profile distribution of inorganic N during 6 years of integrated crop-livestock management

Abstract Excessive accumulation of soil nitrate-N can threaten water and air quality. How integrated crop-livestock systems might influence soil-profile nitrate-N accumulation has not been investigated. Therefore, we determined soil nitrate-N accumulation during 6 years of evaluation of diverse cropping systems on a Typic Kanhapludult in Georgia, USA. Of the total change in soil nitrate-N content that occurred during 6 years (i.e. increase of 14 kg N ha−1 year−1), an average of 60% occurred in the primary rooting zone (0–90-cm depth) and 40% occurred in the zone below typical rooting (90–150-cm depth). Soil nitrate-N accumulation was greater in cropping systems with greater N fertilizer input, while it was surprisingly insensitive to differences in harvested N output. Soil nitrate-N accumulation was greater under conventional tillage than under no tillage at all soil depths (e.g. 5.1 ± 4.2 kg N ha−1 year−1 greater at a depth of 90–150 cm), suggesting soil disturbance was a key factor in mobilizing N and keeping it more disassociated from the organic–inorganic cycling system. Grazing of cover crops had variable effects on soil nitrate-N content: greater soil nitrate-N content in the rooting zone at the end of 1 year (63 vs. 47 kg N ha−1), greater soil nitrate-N content in the zone below typical rooting at the end of 3 and 4 years (91 vs. 70 kg N ha−1), and lower soil nitrate-N content in the rooting zone at the end of 6 years (89 vs. 120 kg N ha−1). These results confirm the beneficial effect of no-tillage management on moderating nitrate-N accumulation in the soil profile and indicate a variable, but mostly neutral effect of cover crop grazing on soil nitrate-N accumulation.
Cyclic 3',5'-nucleotide phosphodiesterase: localization and latent activity in rat brain.

THE pioneering investigations of Sutherland and his co-workers have focused considerable attention on adenosine 3′,5′-phosphate (cyclic AMP) and its relation to cellular metabolism. Cyclic AMP is synthesized by adenyl cyclase1 and destroyed by cyclic 3′,5′-nucleotide phosphodiesterase2. Brain cortex is of special interest in that it exhibits the highest activity in both cyclase3 and phosphodiesterase activities4, with phosphodiesterase present in overwhelming excess. We have evidence suggesting that phosphodiesterase in vivo might exist in a greatly inhibited state.5 Using the subcellular fractionation technique of De Robertis et al.6,7, we find that the enzyme is partly soluble and partly particulate, with a considerable portion concentrated inside nerve endings, and that ‘Triton X–100’ revealed substantial latent activity in a microsomal fraction.
Augmentation of anti-cytokine immunotherapy by combining neutralizing monoclonal antibodies to interferon-γ and the interferon-γ receptor: protection in endotoxin shock

We have employed neutralizing monoclonal antibodies to mouse interferon-γ (IFNγ) and to the receptor for mouse IFNy in studies designed to assess the protective efficacy of each of these monoclonals, administered either separately or in combination, in endotoxin-induced lethality. While pretreatment with either antibody alone, at doses of 200 μg per mouse, provided limited protection (70-50% lethality) in comparison to non-neutralizing antibody controls (100% lethality), the two monoclonal antibodies administered together provided a substantially greater level of protection (17% lethality). Although administration of 100 μg per mouse of either monoclonal alone was not protective (more than 65% lethality), a combination of both antibodies at this dose provided significant protection (19% lethality). In addition, administration of both antibodies 30 min post-endotoxin challenge also demonstrated significant protection in comparison to single antibody immunotherapy. In vitro studies using mouse peritoneal ma...
Advantage of short over long annealing to activate As implanted in metastable pseudomorphic Ge0.08Si0.92 layers on Si(100)

Metastable pseudomorphic Ge0.08Si0.92 layers grown by chemical‐vapor deposition on Si(100) substrate were implanted at room temperature with 90 keV As ions to a dose of 1×1013 cm−2. The samples were subsequently annealed for short 40 s durations in a lamp furnace with a nitrogen ambient, or for long 30 min periods in a vacuum tube furnace. For samples annealed for a 30‐min‐long duration at 700 °C, the dopant activation can only reach 50% without introducing significant strain relaxation, whereas samples annealed for short 40 s periods (at 850 °C) can achieve more than 90% activation without a loss of strain. We conclude that it is advantageous to anneal a low‐dose As‐implanted pseudomorphic and metastable GeSi epilayers briefly at an elevated temperature, rather than to anneal it for a 30‐min‐long period at a lesser temperature, when high activation without a strain loss is desired.Metastable pseudomorphic Ge0.08Si0.92 layers grown by chemical‐vapor deposition on Si(100) substrate were implanted at room temperature with 90 keV As ions to a dose of 1×1013 cm−2. The samples were subsequently annealed for short 40 s durations in a lamp furnace with a nitrogen ambient, or for long 30 min periods in a vacuum tube furnace. For samples annealed for a 30‐min‐long duration at 700 °C, the dopant activation can only reach 50% without introducing significant strain relaxation, whereas samples annealed for short 40 s periods (at 850 °C) can achieve more than 90% activation without a loss of strain. We conclude that it is advantageous to anneal a low‐dose As‐implanted pseudomorphic and metastable GeSi epilayers briefly at an elevated temperature, rather than to anneal it for a 30‐min‐long period at a lesser temperature, when high activation without a strain loss is desired.
Nutrient leaching losses from a sandy soil in lysimeters

Abstract Two lysimeter experiments were conducted on annual leaching losses of calcium (Ca), potassium (K), sodium (Na), chloride (Cl), sulphate‐sulphur (SO4‐S), and magnesium (Mg) (one experiment only) from a sandy soil in central England during 1988–1995 to provide information on typical nutrient losses under arable agriculture below 1.2 m (Experiment 1) or 1.5 m (Experiment 2). Total annual losses, in the absence of manure additions, were highly dependent on the amount of drainage; flow‐weighted average concentrations were similar between years within experiments. Concentrations, averaged over the duration of the experiments were 74 and 78 mg L‐1 Ca, 17 and 27 mg L‐1 Na, 11 and 8 mg L‐1 K, 74 and 77 mg L‐1 Cl, and 57 and 38 mg L‐1 SO4‐S for the two experiments respectively; Mg concentration was 17 mg L‐1. Applications of chicken litter were made to some of the lysimeters in the last three years, and all nutrients showed increased leaching as a result. Application rates akin to disposal (rather than for...
New Affordances for Language: Distributed, Dynamical, and Dialogical Resources

In introducing the articles of this special issue on language, which grew out of the conference “Grounding Language in Perception and (Inter) Action,” we take the opportunity to reflect on fundamental aspects of speaking and listening to others that are often overlooked. The act of conversing is marked by context sensitivity, interdependency, impredicativity, irreversibility, and responsibility, among other things. Language entails real work: it involves real movements in physical, social, and moral orders that are distributed across a wide array of spatial-temporal scales (e.g., evolutionary, historical); yet there is a dimension of play “at work” as well. These workings of language are embedded and embodied in distributed ways that reveal the fundamentally social, public nature of the activity. It is a form of coaction that is dialogical and dynamic in ways that may point to deeper understandings of what it means for perception to be direct and for action to be specific. Language locates us.
Investigating the role of middle managers in strategy-making process: An Australian mixed method study

Several influential writers including Henry Mintzberg and Gary Hamel have highlighted the need for organizations to value the contribution to strategy work of middle managers in an uncertain world. In this study quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews are used to mix methods and investigate the role of middle managers in strategy-making process in Australia. The results indicate that middle managers are the ‘doers’ of strategy, with important ‘analyst’, ‘coordinator’, ‘information source’ and ‘communicator’ roles. Middle managers reported some frustration in interviews that at times they feel their input to strategic conversations is not translated effectively into organization strategy.
Observations on the combustion behavior of coal water fuels and coal water fuels impregnated with calcium magnesium acetate

Abstract Combustion studies of single free-falling coal-water fuel (CWF) droplets were conducted in a drop-tube laminar-flow furnace at high heating rates. Most experiments were conducted with predried CWF agglomerates consisting of micronized (3.5 μm mean size) and beneficiated bituminous coal. Agglomerates of known initial size, in the range of 100–600 μm, were burned in air or pure oxygen at furnace temperatures between 1300 and 1500 K. Combustion of CWF agglomerates impregnated with calcium magnesium acetate (CMA), which is being considered as a sulfur capture agent, was also examined under the same conditions. Observations on the devolatilization and char combustion behavior of CWF agglomerates, formed after the evaporation of water, were conducted using pyrometric and cinematographic techniques. Complete time-temperature histories of burning agglomerates were obtained with a three-color near-infrared optical pyrometer, where distinct phases of volatile and char combustion were observed and analyzed. The volatile flame temperatures and the char combustion temperatures in air exceeded the furnace gas temperature by as much as 1000 and 600 K, respectively. The char combustion phase is the most prominent since it accounts for 75%–85% of the burnout time. The volatile combustion phase is also important because of the resulting high-temperature radiant flames. Overall burnout times were between 150 and 600 ms, for the range of agglomerate sizes tested. Char combustion for most agglomerates was controlled by boundary layer diffusion of oxygen. While most experiments involved predried agglomerates, a limited number of experiments were performed with CWF droplets to monitor the time required for water evaporation and subsequent heatup of the resulting agglomerates. Under the oxygen partial pressure and temperature conditions of this study water evaporation took approximately 25% of the total CWF furnace residence time. The swelling behavior of the agglomerates was studied and swelling factors in the neighborhood of 1.12 were determined. Although the bituminous CWF, studied herein, was found to swell and form cenospheric structures during heatup and devolatilization, the addition of CMA catalyst inhibited swelling of the agglomerates. However, the chars containing CMA exhibited occasional splitting or fragmentation during the volatile combustion stage.
Age-related hearing loss in the Fischer 344/NHsd rat substrain

Studies of the F344 rat have shown a variety of age-related auditory anatomy and physiology changes. The current study was undertaken to clarify the ARHL in the F344 rat, by examining the auditory pathway of the F344/NHsd substrain that is distributed by Harlan Laboratories for research in the United States. The F344/NHsd rat begins to lose its hearing at about 12 months, and by 24 months, there are 50-60 dB auditory brainstem response threshold shifts at 20 and 40 kHz and 20 dB losses at 5-10 kHz. Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) amplitudes at 1.8-12 kHz stimuli were depressed in the older (18-24 months) rats. Amplitude input-output functions of the compound action potential (CAP) were also depressed across frequency. The endocochlear potential (EP) was 90-100 mV in the 3 month old rats. All but one of the 24 month old rats' EPs were in the +75-85 mV range. Tympanometry revealed no differences in middle ear function between the young and older rats. Collectively, these findings suggest damage to the outer hair cells, but anatomical examination of the outer hair cells revealed a relative lack of cell loss compared to the magnitude of the hearing and DPOAE loss.
Epoxy nanodielectrics fabricated with in situ and ex situ techniques

In this study, we report fabrication and characterisation of a nanocomposite system composed of a commercial resin and extremely small (several nanometres in diameter) titanium dioxide particles. Nanoparticles were synthesised in situ with particle nucleation occurring inside the resin matrix. In this nanodielectric fabrication method, the nanoparticle precursor was mixed to the resin solution, and the nanoparticles were in situ precipitated. Note that no high shear mixing equipment was needed to improve particle dispersion – nanoparticles were distributed in the polymer matrix uniformly since particle nucleation occurs uniformly throughout the matrix. The properties of in situ nanodielectrics are compared to the unfilled resin and an ex situ nanocomposite. We anticipate that the presented in situ nanocomposite would be employed in high-temperature superconductivity applications. In additions, the improvement shown in the dielectric breakdown indicates that conventional high-voltage components and systems...
Detection of Halogenated Compounds by Capillary Gas Chromatography with Helium Plasma Mass Spectrometry Detection

A gas chromatograph was coupled to a helium microwave-induced plasma mass spectrometer for the detection of halogenated hydrocarbons. The absolute detection limits for the chlorinated compounds investigated ranged from 9.2 to 21 picograms, while the detection limits for brominated and iodinated compounds ranged from 0.92 to 1.05 picograms. The linear dynamic ranges were found to be 2.5-3 orders of magnitude. The results obtained are compared with optical emission from this and other laboratories.
Identification and roles of non-pathogenic microflora associated with honey bees

Abstract Microorganisms associated with honey bees, Apis mellifera , and their food include bacteria (Gram-variable pleomorphic bacteria, Bacillus spp., and Enterobacteriaceae), molds (primarily aspergilli and penicillia), and yeasts (mainly Torulopsis spp. ). Eggs, prepupae, pupae, and worker bees emerging from cells as adults are usually free of internal microbes. Microorganisms acquired by larvae through ingestion of contaminated food are usually eliminated through the single defecation that occurs at the end of the feeding period prior to pupation. Emerging adult bees acquire intestinal microflora by food exchange with other bees in the colony and through consumption of pollen. Biochemical contributions of microorganisms to honey bees; the role of microorganisms in the conversion, enhancement, and preservation of pollen stored as bee bread in comb cells; and the production of antimycotic substances by molds and Bacillus spp. from honey bee colonies that are resistant to the fungal disease, chalkbrood, are discussed. An association of Bacillus spp. with bees including honey bees, stingless bees, and solitary bees from tropical and temperate zones appears to have evolved in which female bees inoculate food sources with these bacteria whose chemical products contribute to the elaboration and/or protection from spoilage of food that is stored in the nest. This association is ancient based on results from stingless bees preserved in amber for 25–40 million years. It is concluded that bees, their products, and their associated microorganisms are potential sources of bioactive products including antimicrobial compounds.
Nitrate-Induced Iron Deficiency in Soybean Varieties with Varying Iron-Stress Responses

Planting soybean [(Glycine max (L.) Merr.] into Fe chlorosis-prone soils where soybean has seldom, if ever, been grown may require special precautions to establish eff ective Bradyrhizonium japonicum populations, while simultaneously providing adequate levels of N for the current crop. However, adding fertilizer N likely will increase rhizosphere pH and [ OH − ] and, thus, promote Fe defi ciency. Our objective was to determine whether varieties (Vs) that diff ered in Fe effi ciency also diff ered in their response to added N fertilizer when grown on chlorosis-prone soils. Six varieties (2 Fe effi cient, 2 moderately Fe effi cient, and 2 Fe ineffi cient) and six rates of fertilizer N (0, 34, 68, 102, 136, and 170 kg N ha −1 ) were evaluated during 2003, 2004, and 2005 using soils belonging to the soil subgroup, Aeric Calciaquolls. Growing conditions in 2004 were colder and wetter than either 2003 or 2005, whereas DTPA-extractable Fe was twofold greater in 2004. Extractable Fe did not necessarily refl ect available Fe as relative chlorophyll concentrations (SPAD readings), seed number and weight, and grain yield were all signifi cantly (P < 0.05) less in 2004. Nodulation decreased linearly in response to added N for all varieties, regardless of their Fe effi ciency characterization or yearly growing conditions. SPAD readings diff ered markedly among Vs (22.1–33.8), but showed little response to increasing nitrogen rates (NR) (27.8–30.7). Plant height, seed number, and grain yield all decreased linearly in response to increasing NRs for Fe-ineffi cient Vs, whereas these responses in Fe-effi cient and moderately effi cient Vs changed little as NR increased. Our results strongly suggest that N should not be applied when Fe-ineffi cient Vs are grown on Fe chlorosis-prone soils.
Oxidative enzyme content of kidneys from normal and aminonucleoside-nephrotic rats.

SummaryCytochrome c contents of amino-nucleoside-nephrotic rat kidneys and cytochrome c oxidase activities of aminonucleo-side-nephrotic rat kidney mitochondria are significantly reduced in comparison with normal control values.
A client-based privacy manager for cloud computing

A significant barrier to the adoption of cloud services is that users fear data leakage and loss of privacy if their sensitive data is processed in the cloud. In this paper, we describe a client-based privacy manager that helps reduce this risk, and that provides additional privacy-related benefits. We assess its usage within a variety of cloud computing scenarios. We have built a proof-of-concept demo that shows how privacy may be protected via reducing the amount of sensitive information sent to the cloud.
Autogenic Training in a Drug Abuse Program

The development of a program utilizing autogenic training with opiate-and polydrug-dependent individuals is described. A small cadre of staff were first trained in the procedure, and it was then used in the treatment of 23 patients with stress-related problems. Eleven patients completed the nine training sessions and rated their symptoms as being on the average 52% improved. Several case histories with varying outcome are described. The authors think that although autogenic training is no panacea, it is a useful modality in the drug abuse treatment armamentarium. Implications for further research and treatment are suggested.
Phase I Study of Weekly Cisplatin, Bolus Fluorouracil and Escalating Doses of Irinotecan in Advanced Solid Tumors

Purpose: We performed a phase I study of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), cisplatin and irinotecan. Methods: Twenty-nine patients received cisplatin 25 mg/m2 and bolus 5-FU 425 mg/m2, along with irinotecan at 40, 50, and 65 mg/m2 weekly for 4 out of 6 weeks. Results: The maximum tolerated dose (MTD) for untreated patients was irinotecan 65 mg/m2 while the MTD for previously treated patients was irinotecan 40 mg/m2. Neutropenia and diarrhea were the major dose-limiting toxicities. Antitumor activity was noted in gastric, esophageal and pancreatic cancers. Conclusion: Because of the toxicity profile, combinations with continuous infusion 5-FU or capecitabine should be explored.
N-acetylaspartate normalization in bipolar depression after lamotrigine treatment

© 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Objectives: The aim of the present study was to examine N-acetylaspartate (NAA), a general marker of neuronal viability, and total NAA (tNAA), the combined signal of NAA and N-acetylaspartylglutamate, in bipolar depression before and after lamotrigine treatment. Given that NAA is synthesized through direct acetylation of aspartate by acetyl-coenzyme A-l-aspartate-N-acetyltransferase, we hypothesized that treatment with lamotrigine would be associated with an increase in NAA level. Methods: Patients with bipolar depression underwent two-dimensional proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the anterior cingulate at baseline (n = 15) and after 12 weeks of lamotrigine treatment (n = 10). A group of age-matched healthy controls (n = 9) underwent scanning at baseline for comparison. Results: At baseline, patients with bipolar depression had significantly lower NAA [mean standard deviation (SD) = 1.13 (0.21); p = 0.02] than controls [mean (SD) = 1.37 (0.27)]. Significant increases in NAA [mean (SD) = 1.39 (0.21); p = 0.01] and tNAA [mean (SD) = 1.61 (0.25); p = 0.02] levels were found after 12 weeks of lamotrigine treatment. Conclusions: These data suggest an NAA deficit in bipolar depression that is normalized after lamotrigine treatment. Future research is warranted to evaluate whether baseline NAA level is a potential biomarker for identifying lamotrigine response patterns and whether this functional brain change has an associated clinical response.
Infiltrate of chronic lymphocytic leukemia appearing as a periapical radiolucent lesion

This report presents a case of a mandibular premolar with a vital pulp and a periapical radiolucent lesion in a patient with a history of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Biopsy of the lesion revealed an infiltrate of chronic lymphocytic leukemia in the mandible, which is quite rare. This lesion may have portended a worsening of the patient's condition and downgrading of her prognosis.
Bortezomib Added to R-CVP Is Safe and Effective for Previously Untreated Advanced-Stage Follicular Lymphoma: A Phase II Study by the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group

Purpose Bortezomib has demonstrated promising activity in patients with follicular lymphoma (FL). This is the first study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of bortezomib added to rituximab, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CVP) in previously untreated advanced-stage FL. Patients and Methods This is a phase II multicenter trial adding bortezomib (1.3 mg/m2 days 1 and 8) to standard-dose R-CVP (BR-CVP) for up to eight cycles in patients with newly diagnosed stage III/IV FL requiring therapy. Two co-primary end points, complete response rate (complete response [CR]/CR unconfirmed [CRu]) and incidence of grade 3 or 4 neurotoxicity, were assessed. Results Between December 2006 and March 2009, 94 patients were treated with BR-CVP. Median patient age was 57 years (range, 29 to 84 years), and the majority had a high (47%) or intermediate (43%) Follicular Lymphoma International Prognostic Index score. BR-CVP was extremely well tolerated, with 90% of patients completing the intended eight cycles. ...
Eco-cultural frameworks and childhood disability: A case study from Puerto Rico

Social and physical environments are powerful influences on disability status. The purpose of this case report is to consider the usefulness of scores on the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI) of a child living in Puerto Rico for developing an intervention plan within the context of the child's eco-cultural niche. A 5 year-old boy with cerebral palsy, his family, therapists, and teacher are described by using ethnographic interviews and participant observation of the family, speech, occupational, and physical therapists, and teachers over a 9-month period. A physical therapy evaluation of the child, including administration of the PEDI and use of the eco-cultural niche concept to develop an intervention plans are described... The child's abilities and inabilities as measured by the PEDI were influenced by several aspects of the environment; family beliefs, values and resources; community resources; and personal characteristics of the child. An eco-cultural framework was useful for interpreting the scores of this standardized measure of disability.
Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide, growth hormone (GH)-releasing peptide and GH-releasing hormone stimulate GH release through distinct pituitary receptors.

GH secretion has been thought traditionally to be regulated by the two hypothalamic hormones, GH-releasing hormone (GHRH) and somatostatin (SRIF). Recent evidence has suggested that other factors may be involved. These factors include the natural ligand for the synthetic hexapeptide GH-releasing peptide (GHRP) and the putative hypophysiotropic factor pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PA-CAP). Accordingly, we examined the effects of GHRP and PACAP on GH secretion at the single cell level using the reverse hemolytic plaque assay which allows distinction of effects on the number of secreting cells and the amount of hormone each cell secretes. Both factors stimulated GH secretion in a dose-dependent fashion, with PACAP being more effective. PACAP increased both the number of cells secreting and the mean amount of hormone secreted per cell. In contrast, GHRP increased the number of secreting cells, although it had no effect on the amount of secretion per cell. GH secretion induced by GHRH, GH...
The Emergence of Dynamic Contract Law

Contract law doctrines can be ranged along various spectra. One of these spectra runs from the static to the dynamic. A contract law doctrine lies at the static pole of this spectrum if its application turns entirely on what occurred at the moment in time when a contract was formed. A contract law doctrine lies at the dynamic pole if its application turns in significant part on a moving stream of events that precede, follow, or constitute the formation of a contract. Another spectrum runs from the binary to the multifaceted. Contract law doctrines are binary if they organize the experience within their scope into only two categories. Contract law doctrines are multifaceted if they organize the experience within their scope into several categories, including one or more intermediate categories. Classical contract law was a rigid, rather than a supple, instrument. Its rules were often responsive to neither the actual objectives of the parties, the actual facts and circumstances of the partiesâ transaction, nor the dynamic character of contracts. Instead, the rules of classical contract law were centered on a single moment in time, the moment of contract formation. accordingly, classical contract law doctrines were almost wholly static and also tended to be binary. The twentieth century witnessed the development of a modern contract law that has largely overthrown classical contract law. This overthrow has occurred in two ways. To begin with, in many cases modern contract law has reversed or fundamentally modified the rules of classical contract law. More important than the overthrow of specific rules of classical contract law, however, has been the overthrow of the deep structure of classical contract law. Where classical contract law had an overriding preference for rules that were objective and standardized, modern contract law has been highly flexible in adopting rules that are individualized and even subjective. Where classical contract law rules were typically binary, modern contract law rules are often multifaceted. Finally, where classical contract law was largely static, modern contact law is, in large part, dynamic. So, for example, static rules of interpretation have been replaced by dynamic rules that take into account events before and after the moment of contract formation; the static legal-duty rule has withered almost completely away, to be largely replaced by a dynamic modification regime that takes into account the value of ongoing reciprocity; a static judicial review of liquidated damages provisions is giving way to a dynamic review that takes account of the actual loss; and static offer-and-acceptance rules have been replaced by dynamic rules, such as the duty to negotiate in good faith.
Uracil interference, a rapid and general method for defining protein-DNA interactions involving the 5-methyl group of thymines: The GCN4-DNA complex

We describe a novel uracil interference method for examining protein contacts with the 5-methyl group of thymines. The protein of interest is incubated with target DNA containing randomly distributed deoxyuracil substitutions that is generated by carrying out the polymerase chain reaction in the presence of a mixture of TTP and dUTP. After separating DNA-protein complexes away from unbound DNA, the locations of deoxyuracil residues that either do or do not interfere with DNA-binding are determined by cleavage with uracil-N-glycosylase followed by piperidine. Using this uracil interference assay, we show that the methyl groups of the four core thymines, but not the two peripheral thymines, of the optimal binding site (ATG-ACTCAT) are important for high affinity binding of GCN4. Similar, but not identical, results are obtained using KMnO4 interference, another method used for studying protein-DNA interactions involving thymine residues. These observations strongly suggest that GCN4 directly contacts the 5-methyl groups of the four core thymines that lie in the major groove of the target DNA. Besides providing specific structural information about protein-DNA complexes, uracil interference should also be useful for identifying DNA-binding proteins and their target sites in eukaryotic promoter regions.
Device models and simulation of high-low doping transition regions and their effects on N-MOSFET circuits

Parametric models for high-low doping transition algorithms and their DC, AC and transient responses in solid state integrated circuit devices are developed. The model performance characteristics are compared with device-level simulations using MINIMOS 5.2 software. These results show significant discrepancy in equivalent circuit parameters, as compared to that of the intrinsic part of MOSFETs. The discrepancy is more significant for thin film depletion type n-MOSFETs operating in the subthreshold region. The transient and dynamic performance of a depletion type n-channel MOSFET, a device with two high-low doing transition regions, is studied. The analysis predicts a diffusion capacitance of 3.4 pF/ mu m/sup 2/, and a depletion capacitance of 0.2 pF/ mu m/sup 2/ across the high-low transition. The current contribution of the stored charge to the switching response is investigated. >
Pareto Improvements To Free Trade In An Infinitely Repeated Dynamic Game

In an infinitely repeated intraindustry trade game governments improve on the static prisoners dilemma outcome of the Brander and Spencer (1985) trade policy. When firms collude as joint monopolist governments’ reach the Pareto frontier of their feasible and individually rational set (FIRS) using a policy of free trade. Free trade and collusion will place firms on the Pareto frontier of their effective feasible and individually rational set (EFIRS). Without collusion free trade forces governments and firms inside their respective FIRS and EFIRS. We demonstrate that without collusion governments return to the Pareto frontier of their FIRS only when taxing exports.