cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
COCOM Is Dead, Long Live COCOM: Persistence and Change in Multilateral Security Institutions

Members of the Co-ordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (COCOM) agreed to disband this ‘economic arm of NATO’ as of March 1994. Despite the demise of COCOM, member states agreed to continue applying their existing export control policies and, in December 1995, replaced COCOM with the Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies. Such actions are in contrast to conventional views about a likely decline in co-operation among COCOM members with the end of the Soviet threat. After providing a brief history of COCOM operations, we derive six categories of multilateral co-operative behaviours and assess evidence for COCOM in each category for two five-year periods, 1985–89 and 1990–94. We find that multilateral co-operation in this security institution not only increased in most categories in the last years of the Cold War, but increased in every category after 1989. We then review the possible explanations for the increase in co-operation, and find that the emergence of a liberal community identity among COCOM members explains this outcome better than more conventional theoretical approaches.
Expanding Haptic Workspace for Coupled-Object Manipulation

Haptic force-feedback offers a valuable cue in exploration and manipulation of virtual environments. However, grounding of many commercial kinesthetic haptic devices limits the workspace accessible using a purely position-control scheme. The bubble technique has been recently presented as a method for expanding the user’s haptic workspace. The bubble technique is a hybrid position-rate control system in which a volume, or “bubble,” is defined entirely within the physical workspace of the haptic device. When the device’s end effector is within this bubble, interaction is through position control. When exiting this volume, an elastic restoring force is rendered, and a rate is applied that moves the virtual accessible workspace. Existing work on the bubble technique focuses on point-based touching tasks. When the bubble technique is applied to simulations where the user is grasping virtual objects with part-part collision detection, unforeseen interaction problems surface. This paper discusses three details of the user experience of coupled-object manipulation with the bubble technique. A few preliminary methods of addressing these interaction challenges are introduced.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
In vivo voltammetric studies on release mechanisms for cocaine with γ-butyrolactone

The effect of cocaine (20 mg/kg SC) on presynaptic mechanisms of release for dopamine (DA) and for serotonin (5-HT) was studied in nucleus accumbens of unrestrained rats (Rattus norvegicus). The studies were done by assaying synaptic concentrations of DA and 5-HT in the presence of the neuronal impulse flow inhibitor, γ-butyrolactone (γ-BL). The results were compared with cocaine effects on accumbens DA and 5-HT in the freely moving rat, without γ-BL treatment. A neurochemical time course profile showed that the cocaine-induced increase in accumbens synaptic concentrations of DA was significantly blocked (p<0.0001) after DA impulse flow was significantly inhibited (p<0.0038) by γ-BL (35.8%). The neurochemical time course profile concurrently showed that the cocaine-induced decrease in accumbens synaptic concentrations of 5-HT was significantly blocked (p<0.0004) after impulse flow was significantly inhibited (p<0.025) by γ-BL (50.6%). The findings show that cocaine's effects on synaptic concentrations for DA and for HT in accumbens are dependent on neuronal impulse flow. The findings indicate that presynaptic releasing mechanisms, which may be different for DA vis-a-vis 5-HT, play a role in the mechanism of action of cocaine.
Functional MRI of apomorphine activation of the basal ganglia in awake rhesus monkeys.

Abstract Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to analyze blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) responses in the nigrostriatal system (caudate nucleus, putamen and substantia nigra) of awake rhesus monkeys to systemic apomorphine administration. The study (1) measured BOLD responses as an index of neuronal activity in the three structures following injections of the mixed D1/D2 agonist, and (2) assessed the effects of isoflurane anesthesia on the fMRI responses. Compared to control saline injections, 0.1 mg/kg apomorphine significantly activated the caudate nucleus (P≤0.005), putamen (P≤0.001) and substantia nigra (P≤0.005). The responses were consistent with activation of GABAergic neurons in these three structures seen in other animal models. Isoflurane gas measurably blunted the response to apomorphine, so that a significant apomorphine activation was only seen in the substantia nigra of anesthetized animals. Even there, the mean MR signal change was reduced from 9.8% in awake monkeys to 2.3% in anesthetized animals. The data support the hypothesis that fMRI can be used to study the effects of drugs that alter basal ganglia activity in awake rhesus monkeys.
On the contact angle in heterogeneous nucleation upon a substrate

Abstract The dependence of the nucleation rate equation on the contact angle parameter θ is analyzed for heterogeneous nucleation from vapor or from liquid. It is shown that externally imposed constraints lead to three types of solution for θ: a) no real solution, b) one real solution, and c) two real solutions, the last of which has not been considered heretofore. The physical significance of each case is considered. A comparison is made with available experimental data.
Quartz Extinction in Siltstone

The distribution of extinction types in silt-stone from the Red Peak Formation (Early Triassic) of Wyoming and the Spearfish Formation (Permian-Triassic) of South Dakota are summarized in this paper. Results indicate that the amount of nonundulatory extinction, monocrystallinity, and inclusion-free grains in quartz of these rocks is extremely variable. Variability of these characteristics decreases, and the minimum observed values increase, however, with decreasing grain size.
Global competition and technological transition in electrical, electronic, information and communication engineering: quantitative analysis of periodicals and conference proceedings of the IEEE

This study analysed the technical and publication activities of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IEEE), the most influential academic publisher in engineering. We first constructed an original comprehensive database of periodicals (journal and magazine) and conference proceedings published by the IEEE between 1980 and 2008, which comprised approximately 0.36 million periodical articles and 1.14 million conference articles. We analysed the transitions in technical innovations from two perspectives: trends within (1) individual countries and (2) specialized fields represented in IEEE societies. The number of published periodical articles increased fourfold between 1980 and 2008, while that of published conference articles increased nearly 20-fold in the same period. In particular, the number of conference articles published by China increased dramatically from 2002, exceeding even the number published by the US in 2008. The IEEE has increasingly shifted away from its US-centred origins to literally becoming the `electrical and electronics association of the world'. The proportion of articles published by authors in North America, Europe and East Asia has increasingly balanced, thus leading to the formation of a tri-polar structure of IEEE technological activities. This comprehensive analysis of IEEE publications over a period of almost 30 years revealed that with the emergence of more active international competition, `glocalisation' is occurring among publications and research activities of the IEEE. Consequently, quantitative analysis revealed structural changes in global competition and technological transition characterized by five phases.
Group decision processes: MOLP procedures facilitating group and individual decision orientations

Abstract Three group decision facilitating procedures based on the SIMOLP methodology for solving multiple objective linear programming problems are presented. The procedures are evaluated with a set of test problems. The procedures are tested with a set of ten test problems and a set of simulated group decision makers, including simulated single-issue and inconsistent group members. Results of the computational evaluation show that all three procedures perform well with rational decision makers, and can be chosen according to the group orientation desired. In the case of inconsistent decision makers, however, the individually oriented third procedure may be less desirable.
Mast Cells and the Adaptive Immune Response

The idea that the innate and adaptive immune systems are not separate entities is no longer new. In fact, it is surprising that this paradigm was accepted without question for so long. Many innate cells express cell surface molecules and soluble mediators that are essential for the development and activation of T cells and B cells. Yet among the innate cell populations, mast cells may play the major role in regulating adaptive immune cell function. This role first came to light in studies of mast cells and their involvement in the autoimmune disease experimental allergic encephalomyelitis, the major rodent model of multiple sclerosis and has subsequently been verified in many in vitro and in vivo model systems.
A randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a distance asthma learning program for pediatricians

Objectives. To assess provider acceptability of a distance learning program for pediatric asthma and pilot test its effects on physician knowledge, attitudes and treatment practices. Design. Randomized controlled trial. Setting. Louisville and the surrounding central Kentucky region. Participants. Twenty-four pediatricians in clinical practice. Interventions. A distance learning program for pediatric asthma consisting of Web- or CD-ROM–based multimedia learning modules and two teleconference calls. Outcome Measures. Learner satisfaction and change in physician asthma knowledge, attitudes, and treatment behavior at 1 to 4 months (short term) and 6 to 8 months (long term). Results. Pediatricians had graduated from medical school a mean of 11.6 years before baseline (SD ±8.9); 56% were female. On all learner satisfaction items, the average score was a 4.0 or greater on a 5-point scale, indicating a favorable response from the participants. Participants in the education group reported increased familiarity wi...
Effect of EMG biofeedback and progressive muscle relaxation training on awareness of frontalis muscle tension.

Awareness of muscle tension, as estimated by a modification of the Kinsman et al. (1975) procedure for determining probability of correct estimation (P(c)) of absolute differences in muscle tension between adjacent trials, was examined before and after volunteer subjects underwent 4 sessions of either: 1) EMG biofeedback (BF) training, 2) progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) training, or 3) a placebo-control (MC) procedure which involved listening to music as an alleged guide for relaxation. The subjects were 30 females (mean age = 28.3 yrs) responding to an offering of experimental treatment for anxiety and tension. Measurements of frontalis muscle tension (EMG) and P(c) were made before and after training. The results showed that EMG was significantly reduced by BF and PMR training but not by the MC procedure. Increases in P(c) after training were significantly greater for BF than for PMR or MC training. There were no group differences for subjective report of tension. Correlations between pre- to post-training EMG and P(c) change scores were significant only for the BF group and the combined group of BF and PMR subjects. These results suggest that: 1) both BF and PMR training were effective in producing frontalis EMG reductions, 2) the following relationship may exist among training groups in terms of relative influence upon awareness of tension—BF training > PMR training > MC training, and 3) awareness of tension appears to be related to the ability to reduce EMG although the exact nature of this relationship remains unclear.
Estimation of sedimentation coefficients of globular proteins: An application of small-angle X-ray scattering

A new semiempirical procedure is presented which relates solution small-angle X-ray scattering parameters to sedimentation coefficients. With this method, sedimentation coefficients were calculated for a set of 20 globular macromolecules with molecular weights ranging from 1.3 × 104 to 7.0 × 106; all were in excellent agreement with experimental values. Best results were arrived at by obtaining: (1) the Stokes radius in Svedberg's equation by way of the scattering volume V of the macromolecule instead of the commonly used partial specific volume v; and (2) the structural frictional ratio (ff0)s from an axial ratio derived from RGSV instead of the usual 3V(4πRG3 relationship, where RG is the radius of gyration and S is the external surface area of the molecule. This indicates that the frictional ratio is a function of the surface roughness of the macromolecule, in agreement with similar conclusions in the literature. In addition, structural parameters from the X-ray crystallographic structure are compared with those from small-angle X-ray scattering for a better insight into the contribution of hydration to the frictional coefficient.
Better Now Than Later: The Paradox of 1914 as Everyone's Favored Year for War

One reason why Europe went to war in 1914 is that all of the continental great powers judged it a favorable moment for them to fight, and all were more pessimistic about postponing the fight until later. Not only is this historical paradox an interesting puzzle in its own right, but it sheds light on what is arguably the reigning theory of the causes of wars in general: James Fearon's rational bargaining theory. None of Fearon's three main mechanisms—private information, commitment problems, or indivisibility of stakes—can explain the paradox of the universal, simultaneous view of 1914 as a favorable year for war. Two mechanisms that play a marginal role in his analysis, however—bounded rationality in multidimensional power assessments and attempts to mitigate power shifts through coercive diplomacy—help to explain how Europe's powers became trapped in a choice between war now and war later. These mechanisms were set in motion by background strategic assumptions rooted in the culture of militarism and nat...
Mobile social networking as information ground: A case study

Abstract Mobile messaging systems, particularly those that incorporate social networking capabilities, affect how individuals socially interact and how they exchange information. This paper reports the impact of a mobile-device-based social networking service that enables users to form groups and send both text and photos to co-members. Survey and system usage data from 19 participants over 16 months were analyzed using information ground theory, which focuses on how people share everyday information in informal social settings. This study was novel in applying the theory to an online environment. In addition to how the mobile system functions as an information ground, the results highlight the types and usefulness of information shared, the role of information shared in everyday life, and how the system fits into participants' communication and social “ecosystem.” Usage analyses describe message sending frequency and system participation levels in relation to other factors, such as length of time in the system. Findings are discussed in the context of the information ground framework's seven propositions, to which we propose adding an emergent concept: “information capital,” i.e., an individual's capacity to access information based on his/her information grounds extent, and degrees of social capital and information literacy.
Dysgammaglobulinemia associated with nodular lymphoid hyperplasia of the small intestine.

Abstract A syndrome, noted in eight patients, is described. It is characterized by (1) dysgammaglobulinemia, consisting of virtual absence of the IgA and IgM immunoglobulins and a moderately decreased level of IgG immunoglobulin in the serum; (2) an unusual susceptibility to infections; (3) diarrhea, sometimes with steatorrheal features; (4) the presence of Giardia lamblia in the stools; and (5) nodular lymphoid hyperplasia of the small intestine. This combination of features allowed differentiation from gluten-sensitive idiopathic sprue and from acquired idiopathic hypogammaglobulinemia. The screening of patients with sprue-like syndromes also resulted in the detection of two patients with isolated IgA immunoglobulin deficiency. The nodular lymphocytic hyperplasia which may occur in association with dysgammaglobulinemia may be related to functional abnormalities of the so-called central lymphoid tissues. Of practical clinical importance are (1) the possibility of a presumptive diagnosis by roentgenographic studies which may show the nodules in the small intestine in most cases and (2) the suggestion that, in at least some of the patients, remission of the diarrhea may be achieved by the use of tetracycline. Also of clinical significance and of theoretical interest is an increased incidence of carcinoma of the gastrointestinal tract in patients with dysgammaglobulinemia and nodular lymphoid hyperplasia of the small intestine.
Selective scattering of light by pigments in vivo.

Abstract Pigmented plant cells scatter light with strong spectral selectivity. The scattering maxima and minima can be attributed to anomalous dispersion within the colored phases in the cells. Selective scattering may cause errors in the measurement of absorption spectra, reveal the presence of unnoticed pigments, and provide information about the arrangement of pigment molecules.
An internal GAP domain negatively regulates presynaptic dynamin in vivo: a two-step model for dynamin function.

The mechanism by which the self-assembling GTPase dynamin functions in vesicle formation remains controversial. Point mutations in shibire, the Drosophila dynamin, cause temperature-sensitive (ts) defects in endocytosis. We show that the ts2 mutation, which occurs in the switch 2 region of dynamin's GTPase domain, compromises GTP binding affinity. Three second-site suppressor mutations, one in the switch 1 region of the GTPase domain and two in the GTPase effector domain (GED), dynamin's putative GAP, fully rescue the shits2 defects in synaptic vesicle recycling. The functional rescue in vivo correlates with a reduction in both the basal and assembly-stimulated GTPase activity in vitro. These findings demonstrate that GED is indeed an internal dynamin GAP and establish that, as for other GTPase superfamily members, dynamin's function in vivo is negatively regulated by its GAP activity. Based on these and other observations, we propose a two-step model for dynamin during vesicle formation in which an early regulatory GTPase-like function precedes late, assembly-dependent steps during which GTP hydrolysis is required for vesicle release.
The symmetry of ground states under perturbation

We consider a two-body potential which has only periodic ground states and prove that it can be perturbed, by an arbitrarily small perturbation, so as to have only aperiodic ground states.
Histologic response to intraligament injections using a computerized local anesthetic delivery system. A pilot study in mini-swine.

Background: Intraligamentary (periodontal ligament) injection has been used to locally control pain with minimal anesthetic dose. The purpose of the present study was to determine the histologic effect of using a computer-controlled local anesthesia delivery system (CCLADS) for the administration of a periodontal ligament injection in the mini-swine model system. Methods: Thirty-two sites in 3 mini-swine pigs with healthy periodontium were selected. Each site was notched on the mesial-lingual line angle of the tooth to allow a reference for needle placement and provide a histologic marker. An anesthetic cartridge was used with a 30-gauge needle attached to the handpiece of the CCLADS. This provided a controlled flow rate for 2 minutes. The control sites were treated with the same needle in place for 20 seconds. The animals were sacrificed and provided observation periods of 1 hour, 1, 4, 7, 21, and 49 days. Specimens were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and trichrome. Results: Twenty-four hours after i...
The binomial failure rate mixture model for common cause failure data from the nuclear industry

A model for the lifetime of a system is considered in which the system is susceptible to simultaneous failures of two or more components, the failures having a common external cause. Three sets of discrete failure data from the US nuclear industry are examined to motivate and illustrate the model derivation: they are for motor-operated valves, cooling fans and emergency diesel generators. To achieve target reliabilities, these components must be placed in systems that have built-in redundancy. Consequently, multiple failures due to a common cause are critical in the risk of core meltdown. Vesely has offered a simple methodology for inference, called the binomial failure rate model: external events are assumed to be govemed by a Poisson shock model in which resulting shocks kill X out of m system components, X having a binomial distribution with parameters (m, p), 0 < p < 1. In many applications the binomial failure rate model fits failure data poorly, and the model has not typically been applied to probabilistic risk assessments in the nuclear industry. We introduce a realistic generalization of the binomial failure rate model by assigning a mixing distribution to the unknown parameter p. The distribution is generally identifiable, and its unique nonparametric maximum likelihood estimator can be obtained by using a simple iterative scheme.
The role of attitude in learning economics: Race and gender differences

This study identifies and analyzes factors that affect a learner's knowledge, comprehension, and application of economics by racial and gender grouping. A decomposition model is used to evaluate the impact of attitudinal effects and other exogenous variables on economic cognition. Preliminary findings suggest that the attitude of black students towards economics instruction differs from their white cohorts while no gender differences are found.
The Correspondence Between Religious Orientation and Socio-Political Liberalism and Conservatism

Evidence of correspondence in the general population between religious and sociopolitical liberalism and conservatism is as yet inconclusive. This may in part stem from failure to appropriately ass...
Palladium Carbide Formation in Pd/C Catalysts and its Effect on Adsorption, Absorption and Catalytic Behavior

The presence of PdCx, a metastable palladium carbide phase, was detected in Pd dispersed on high surface area carbon blacks using a Pd acetylacetonate precursor. TEM and XRD measurements indicated well dispersed Pd after reduction at 573 K; however, hydride formation and chemisorption of gases was suppressed on these catalysts and this was accompanied by lattice expansion of Pd as seen from XRD. Cleaning pretreatments with O2 slightly contracted the Pd lattice and enhanced hydride formation and chemisorption, while a 673 K reduction gave normal hydride ratios and Pd lattice parameters although chemisorption was still suppressed. Pd lattice expansion and suppression of hydride formation and chemisorption are attributed to carbon atoms present both in the bulk and on the Pd surface. The performance of these catalysts in probe reactions was consistent with this model of C contamination of the Pd surface and bulk.
Flash pyrolysis and in situ methylation of humic acids from soil

Conventional flash pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry has tradiditionally been used for the characterization of complex geological substances such as humic materials, but the technique appears to provide a biased representation of the structural components of very polar materials such as humic substances, probably because the polar compounds have insufficient volatility to be analyzed efficiently by gas chromatography. A new technique of in situ methylation (ISM) with tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide, introduced for oxygenated polymers, is applied to humic substances and shown to yield methylated products believed to be more characteristics of the structural components of these polar macromolecules from soils than are data from conventional pyrolysis without methylation. The discovery of benzenecarboxylic acids and long-chain aliphatic acids as the predominant constituents of three humic acids in ISM pyrolysis indicates that a reevaluation of recent structural models of humic acids which are based on conventional pyrolysis studies is in order.
Synthesis, structure and magnetism of a {Mn[NNO]}(10) wheel.

The tridentate [NNO]− Schiff-base ligand supports the carbonate-templated synthesis of a cluster with ten manganese(II) ions arranged in two parallel [MnO]5 rings.
Isolated 3-Methylcrotonyl-CoA Carboxylase Deficiency: Evidence for an Allele-Specific Dominant Negative Effect and Responsiveness to Biotin Therapy

Deficiency of 3-methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase (MCC) results in elevated excretion of 3-methylcrotonylglycine (3-MCG) and 3-hydroxyisovaleric acid (3-HIVA). MCC is a heteromeric mitochondrial enzyme comprising biotin-containing α subunits and smaller β subunits, encoded by MCCA and MCCB, respectively. Mutations in these genes cause isolated MCC deficiency, an autosomal recessive disorder with a variable phenotype that ranges from severe neonatal to asymptomatic adult forms. No reported patients have responded to biotin therapy. Here, we describe two patients with a biochemical and, in one case, clinical phenotype of MCC deficiency, both of whom were responsive to biotin. The first patient presented at 3 months with seizures and progressive psychomotor retardation. Metabolic investigation at 2 years revealed elevated excretion of 3-MCG and 3-HIVA, suggesting MCC deficiency. High-dose biotin therapy was associated with a dramatic reduction in seizures, normalization of the electroencephalogram, and correction of the organic aciduria, within 4 weeks. MCC activity in fibroblasts was 25% of normal levels. The second patient, a newborn detected by tandem-mass-spectrometry newborn screening, displayed the same biochemical phenotype and remained asymptomatic with biotin up to the age of 18 months. In both patients, sequence analysis of the complete open reading frames of MCCA and MCCB revealed heterozygosity for MCCA-R385S and for the known polymorphic variant MCCA-P464H but revealed no other coding alterations. MCCA-R385S is unusual, in that it has a normal amount of MCCα protein but confers no MCC activity. We show that MCCA-R385S, but not other MCCA missense alleles, reduces the MCC activity of cotransfected MCCA–wild-type allele. Our results suggest that MCCA-R385S is a dominant negative allele and is biotin responsive in vivo.
Regulation of the Phosphorelay and the Initiation of Sporulation in Bacillus Subtilis

The initiation of sporulation of bacteria is a complex cellular event controlled by an extensive network of regulatory proteins that serve to ensure that a cell embarks on this differentiation process only when appropriate conditions are met. The major signal-transduction pathway for the initiation of sporulation is the phosphorelay, which responds to environmental, cell cycle, and metabolic signals, and phosphorylates the Spo0A transcription factor activating its function. Signal input into the phosphorelay occurs through activation of kinases to phosphorylate a secondary-messenger protein, Spo0F. Spo0F-P serves as a substrate for phosphoprotein phosphotransferase, Spo0B, which phosphorylates Spo0A. The pathway is regulated by transcriptional control of its component proteins and by regulating phosphate flux through the pathway. This is accomplished by several regulatory proteins, and by activated Spo0A, which regulates transcription of genes for its own synthesis. Spo0A-P indirectly controls the transcription of numerous genes by regulating the level of other transcription regulators and directly activates the transcription of several regulatory proteins and sigma factors required for progression to the second stage of sporulation. Although the pathway and regulatory proteins have been identified, the signals and effectors for these regulators remain a mystery.
Security upgrades at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Major upgrades to the physical security systems of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are in the form of two integrated multiyear projects: SSE-1 (Safeguards and Security Enhancements-Phase I) is a five-year effort that started in late 1984; the second five-year phase, SSE-2, began in 1986. SSE-1 upgrades obsolete operating systems and constructs the facilities needed to house the equipment. Its subprojects replace the existing alarm system, automate access-control functions, restructure security command and control, upgrade the security radio network, modernize nuclear materials accountability, construct two communications centers, and add perimeter-security features. SSE-2 consolidates and protects operations involving special nuclear materials in an area called the Superblock, as well as improving the lab-wide physical security system. SSE-2 subprojects add perimeter protection to the Superblock, construct processing facilities for special nuclear materials, construct an office complex with a secondary command and control center, build security training and housing facilities, and improve roads, fencing, and lighting. >
Local Food, Organics, and Sustainability

There are a diverse set of factors driving new markets, programs, and brands for organic, local, and other sustainable foods. Certain groups of agricultural producers and the food industry are increasingly sharing information about production practices and the source of foods to differentiate products, segment consumer demand, and gain a competitive advantage. Marketing efforts are increasingly focused on the promotion of food attributes so that producer–consumer interaction in direct markets and food labels in more conventional food retail venues are increasingly important to market performance. By exploring the potential efficiency trade-offs of food systems that constrain production and distribution choices against models that may provide environmental, social, or other community benefits, this chapter provides an important synopsis of key criteria for policy discussions. An overview of the marketing programs that may play a role in shaping sustainable food system supply chain approaches concludes the chapter.
Social environment modulates photoperiodic immune and reproductive responses in adult male white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus).

Social cues may interact with photoperiod to regulate seasonal adaptations in photoperiod-responsive rodents. Specifically, photoperiod-induced adjustments (e.g., reproduction and immune function) ...
Microfabricated thermal absolute-pressure sensor with on-chip digital front-end processor

A thermal absolute pressure sensor of the heated microbridge type has been integrated with an active bias circuit and an 8-b successive approximation register analog/digital (A/D) converter. The chip, which contains about 1000 devices, is sensitive to variations in absolute gas pressure between 10 and 10/sup 4/ Pa, and it is implemented in a 4-Um NMOS technology merged with the microsensor process. The output of the chip is a robust digital signal adequate for transmission in high noise environments. >
Dose-Dependent Effects of Neonatal SSRI Exposure on Adult Behavior in the Rat

Abstract Neonatal exposure to antidepressants produces lasting impairments in male sexual behavior. Although perturbation of the serotonin system during neonatal life has been implicated in the long-term behavioral effects of neonatal antidepressant exposure, dose–response studies were necessary to confirm that inhibition of the serotonin transporter during the neonatal period is sufficient to produce impairments in sexual behavior. Therefore, the present study examined the dose–response effects of neonatal citalopram exposure on sexual behavior. In addition, the effects of exposure on anxiety-related behavior were examined since alterations in this behavioral measure could affect sexual behavior. Male Long–Evans rats were injected subcutaneously with citalopram (CTM) in one of three doses (5, 10 or 20 mg/kg/d), or saline (SAL) in a volume of 0.1 ml twice daily (07:00 and 14:00 h) from PD8 to PD21. The rats were tested as adults (> PD90) for anxiety-like behavior and exploration in the elevated plus maze test and sexual behavior. Neonatal citalopram exposure produced persistent reductions in male sexual behavior characterized by significant dose-dependent reductions in the percentage of male rats displaying mounting as well as dose-dependent reductions in the number of mounts and mount latency. Neonatal citalopram exposure also produced significant dose-dependent linear trends for reductions in intromission and ejaculation behavior. However, neonatal SSRI exposure was not found to produce any effects on exploration or anxiety-like behavior in the elevated plus maze test. The present findings support the hypothesis that inhibition of the serotonin transporter during neonatal life by an SSRI is directly responsible for the long-term effects on male sexual behavior.
Does a Live Instructor Matter

ABSTRACT: This pedagogical study examines accounting undergraduate students' performance, satisfaction, and perceived course effectiveness under two distinct modes of course delivery: traditional live-instructed classes and teacher-less pre-recorded online lectured classes. Hypotheses testing on the differences and possible factors influencing the two settings are based upon data collected from two sections of each introductory accounting course: Financial Accounting and Managerial Accounting. The findings on students' performance indicate no significant differences in students' grades in each mode of course delivery. Live lectures given in traditional classrooms do not affect students' overall learning when compared to a teacher-less course environment. The results of testing indicate that a student's prior GPA and interest in the course material are the most important factors that determine his or her final course grade. This study also provides some evidence that students' satisfaction and perceived e...
Magic's Incremental Design-Rule Checker

The Magic VLSI layout editor contains an incremental design-rule checker. When the circuit is changed, only the modified areas are rechecked. The checker runs continuously in background to keep information about design-rule violations up-to-date. This paper describes the basic rule checker, which operates on edges in the layout, and the techniques used to perform incremental checking on hierarchical designs.
The ALPBench benchmark suite for complex multimedia applications

Multimedia applications are becoming increasingly important for a large class of general-purpose processors. Contemporary media applications are highly complex and demand high performance. A distinctive feature of these applications is that they have significant parallelism, including thread- , data-, and instruction-level parallelism, that is potentially well-aligned with the increasing parallelism supported by emerging multi-core architectures. Designing systems to meet the demands of these applications therefore requires a benchmark suite comprising these complex applications and that exposes the parallelism present in them. This paper makes two contributions. First, it presents ALPBench, a publicly available benchmark suite that pulls together five complex media applications from various sources: speech recognition (CMU Sphinx 3), face recognition (CSU), ray tracing (Tachyon), MPEG-2 encode (MSSG), and MPEG-2 decode (MSSG). We have modified the original applications to expose thread-level and data-level parallelism using POSIX threads and sub-word SIMD (Inters SSE2) instructions respectively. Second, the paper provides a performance characterization of the ALPBench benchmarks, with a focus on parallelism. Such a characterization is useful for architects and compiler writers for designing systems and compiler optimizations for these applications.
Relative Toxicity and Residual Activity of Insecticides Used in Blueberry Pest Management: Mortality of Natural Enemies

A series of bioassays were conducted to determine the relative toxicities and residual activities of insecticides labeled for use in blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) on natural enemies, to identify products with low toxicity or short duration effects on biological control agents. In total, 14 insecticides were evaluated using treated petri dishes and four commercially available natural enemies (Aphidius colemani Viereck, Orius insidiosus [Say], Chrysoperla rufilabris [Burmeister], and Hippodamia convergens [Guerin-Meneville]). Dishes were aged under greenhouse conditions for 0, 3, 7, or 14 d before introducing insects to test residual activity. Acute effects (combined mortality and knockdown) varied by insecticide, residue age, and natural enemy species. Broad-spectrum insecticides caused high mortality to all biocontrol agents, whereas products approved for use in organic agriculture had little effect. The reduced-risk insecticide acetamiprid consistently caused significant acute effects, even after aging for 14 d. Methoxyfenozide, novaluron, and chlorantraniliprole, which also are classified as reduced-risk insecticides, had low toxicity, and along with the organic products could be compatible with biological control. This study provides information to guide blueberry growers in their selection of insecticides. Further research will be needed to determine whether adoption of a pest management program based on the use of more selective insecticides will result in higher levels of biological control in blueberry.
Interventions at Windy Pines: Is RTI the Answer or the Problem?

This case was written for educators who are involved in organizational change such as school turnaround, new instructional programs, intervention programs, and implementation of new programs. It explores how a new administrator navigates the implementation of a response to intervention (RTI) pilot program and how instructional leaders create meaning and structure regarding the program. In processing this case study, readers should assume the role of the administrator responsible for implementing the RTI program.
An Asymptotic Model of Seismic Reflection from a Permeable Layer

Analysis of compression wave propagation in a poroelastic medium predicts a peak of reflection from a high-permeability layer in the low-frequency end of the spectrum. An explicit formula expresses the resonant frequency through the elastic moduli of the solid skeleton, the permeability of the reservoir rock, the fluid viscosity and compressibility, and the reservoir thickness. This result is obtained through a low-frequency asymptotic analysis of Biot’s model of poroelasticity. A review of the derivation of the main equations from the Hooke’s law, momentum and mass balance equations, and Darcy’s law suggests an alternative new physical interpretation of some coefficients of the classical poroelasticity. The velocity of wave propagation, the attenuation factor, and the wave number are expressed in the form of power series with respect to a small dimensionless parameter. The absolute value of this parameter is equal to the product of the kinematic reservoir fluid mobility and the wave frequency. Retaining only the leading terms of the series leads to explicit and relatively simple expressions for the reflection and transmission coefficients for a planar wave crossing an interface between two permeable media, as well as wave reflection from a thin highly permeable layer (a lens). Practical applications of the obtained asymptotic formulae are seismic modeling, inversion, and attribute analysis.
Evaluating the quality and readability of thyroplasty information on the Internet.

Summary Objectives/Hypothesis To assess the quality and readability of thyroplasty information available on the Internet. Study Design Cross-sectional study. Methods We conducted a Google search for "thyroplasty treatment" and analyzed the first 50 Web sites using the DISCERN instrument, the Flesch Reading Ease Score (FRES), and the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) score. DISCERN is a 16-item validated questionnaire used to assess the quality of written health information for patients. FRES and FKGL are commonly used instruments to assess readability of written information. We also further analyzed major versus minor and patient-targeted versus professional Web sites. Results Overall DISCERN score was 2.20 ± 0.60. Overall FRES score was 29.68 ± 16.64. Overall FKGL score was 13.07 ± 3.95. We found significant differences between patient-targeted and professional Web sites on FRES (43.80 ± 2.78 and 18.58 ± 9.04, respectively) and FKGL (11.46 ± 3.36 and 14.33 ± 4.30, respectively) ( P P = 0.01, respectively). We also found significant differences between major and minor Web sites on DISCERN (2.35 ± 2.35 and 1.95 ± 0.61, respectively), FRES (24.75 ± 14.61 and 37.71 ± 16.97, respectively), and FKGL (14.19 ± 3.68 and 11.24 ± 3.77, respectively) ( P = 0.03, 0.01, and 0.01, respectively). Conclusions Thyroplasty information available online is of suboptimal quality and written at a level too difficult for the average American adult to read comfortably. Major Web sites have higher quality information but are more difficult to read. Professional Web sites are also more difficult to read than patient-targeted Web sites.
Rat Claustrum Coordinates But Does Not Integrate Somatosensory and Motor Cortical Information

The function of the claustrum is a fundamental issue in neuroscience. Anatomical data indicate that the rat claustrum is part of an interhemispheric circuit that could be involved in the bilateral coordination of whisker movements. Given that whisking is a somesthetic-guided motor behavior, the goal of the current study was to elucidate the connections of the claustrum with respect to the whisker representations in the primary somatosensory (wSI) and motor (wMI) cortical areas. Anterograde tracer injections showed that wMI projects most densely to the claustrum in the contralateral hemisphere, whereas wSI does not project to the claustrum in either hemisphere. Injections of different retrograde tracers into wMI and wSI of the same animal revealed intermingled populations of labeled neurons in the claustrum, as well as many double-labeled neurons. This indicates that the same part of the claustrum projects to the whisker representations in both SI and MI. Finally, injections of different anterograde tracers in the wMI regions of both hemispheres were combined with a retrograde tracer injection in wSI, and this produced dense terminal labeling around retrogradely labeled neurons in the claustrum of both hemispheres. Although the rodent claustrum is probably involved in the interhemispheric coordination of the MI and SI whisker representations, it does not receive inputs from both of these cortical regions. Hence, the claustrum should not be universally regarded as an integrator of somesthetic and motor information.
On the Track of Efficiency: Scientific Management Comes to Railroad Shops, 1900–1930

In 1910, Louis Brandeis claimed that scientific management could save the railroads a million dollars a day and avoid a rate increase. While Brandeis's claims are well known, historians have neglected the influence of scientific management on the railroads. In 1904, Harrington Emerson introduced repair scheduling techniques in the locomotive shops of the Santa Fe. Scheduling revolutionized repair, and–esponding in part to the regulatory pressures Brandeis helped create–by 1925 most major railroads employed it. In the 1920s, the carriers imported a second new management technique–the “progressive” system that focused on material flows, and introduced batch production techniques to car and locomotive repair. Collectively these methods prevented transportation bottlenecks, raised labor productivity, and reduced capital requirements.
Thermal Stability of Oxide-Based Solar Selective Coatings for CSP Central Receivers

Efforts at Sandia National Laboratories are addressing more efficient solar selective coatings for tower applications, based on oxide materials deposited by a variety of methods. Over the course of this investigation, several compositions with optical properties competitive to Pyromark have been identified. These promising coatings were deposited on Inconel 625 and Haynes 230 Ni alloys and isothermally aged in air at temperatures between 600–800 °C for up to 480 hours, concurrently with Pyromark®, which was used as a reference standard. At various heating times, the samples were removed from the furnace and their optical properties (solar-weighted absorptance and emittance) were measured. In addition, x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were utilized to investigate any structural or morphological changes that occurred over time with heating, in an attempt to correlate with changes in optical properties. At 600 and 700 °C, several of the coatings maintained an absorptivity > 90%. While the chemical makeup of the coating material greatly influences its optical properties, the morphology of the surface also plays in important part. A thermal sprayed coating modified using a novel laser treatment showed improved properties versus the untreated coating, on par with Pyromark™ at 600 °C, with little degradation after 480 hours. The results of aging on the optical, structural, and morphological properties of these novel coatings will be discussed.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Effect of some commonly used pesticides on seed germination, biomass production and photosynthetic pigments in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum)

Pesticides are highly toxic substances. Their toxicity may not be absolutely specific to the target organisms but can adversely affect different processes in the non-target host plants. In the present study, the effect of over application of four commonly used pesticides (emamectin benzoate, alpha-cypermethrin, lambda-cyhalothrin and imidacloprid) was evaluated on the germination, seedling vigor and photosynthetic pigments in tomato. The obtained results revealed that seed germination was decreased by the pesticides and this effect was more prominent at early stages of exposure. All the tested pesticides reduced the growth of tomato when applied in higher concentration than the recommended dose, but at lower doses the pesticides had some stimulatory effects on growth as compared to the control. A similar effect of pesticides was observed on the photosynthetic pigments, i.e. a decrease in pigments concentrations was caused at higher doses but an increase was observed at lower doses of pesticides. The calculation of EC50 values for different parameters revealed the lowest EC50 values for emamectin (ranged as 51-181 mg/L) followed by alpha-cypermethrin (191.74-374.39), lambda-cyhalothrin (102.43-354.28) and imidacloprid (430.29-1979.66 mg/L). A comparison of the obtained EC50 values for different parameters of tomato with the recommended doses revealed that over application of these pesticides can be harmful to tomato crop. In a few cases these pesticides were found toxic even at the recommended doses. However, a field based study in this regard should be conducted to further verify these results.