cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Humans and Automation: System Design and Research Issues

From the Publisher: Human factors, also known as human engineering or human factors engineering, is the application of behavioral and biological sciences to the design of machines and human-machine systems. Automation refers to the mechanization and integration of the sensing of environmental variables, data processing and decision making and mechanical action. This book deals with all the issues involved in human-automation systems from design to control and performance of both humans and machines.
NewsWeeder: learning to filter netnews

Abstract A significant problem in many information filtering systems is the dependence on the user for the creation and maintenance of a user profile, which describes the user's interests. NewsWeeder is a netnews-filtering system that addresses this problem by letting the user rate his or her interest level for each article being read (1-5), and then learning a user profile based on these ratings. This paper describes how NewsWeeder accomplishes this task, and examines the alternative learning methods used. The results show that a learning algorithm based on the Minimum Description Length (MDL) principle was able to raise the percentage of interesting articles to be shown to users from 14% to 52% on average. Further, this performance significantly outperformed (by 21%) one of the most successful techniques in Information Retrieval (IR), term-frequency/inverse-document-frequency (tf-idf) weighting.
Subtype-specific differences in the intracellular sorting of G protein-coupled receptors

We have examined the subcellular distribution of three subtypes of adrenergic receptor by immunocytochemical localization of wild-type and epitope-tagged proteins expressed in Cos-7 and K293 cells. Two subtypes (beta 2 and M alpha 2-10H) are localized in the plasma membrane at steady state in untreated cells, while another subtype (M alpha 2-4H) is found both in the plasma membrane and in a population of intracellular vesicles. Within 15 min following the addition of adrenergic agonists, beta 2 and M alpha 2-10H receptors are differentially sorted; beta 2 receptors are selectively internalized to intracellular vesicles, which are distinct from those containing M alpha 2-4H receptors, while M alpha 2-10H receptors remain in the plasma membrane. Subtype-specific sorting suggests a new class of functional properties that may differentiate the signaling and regulation of homologous G protein-coupled receptors.
The Global Stability of the Minkowski Spacetime Solution to the Einstein-Nonlinear Electromagnetic System in Wave Coordinates

In this article, we study the coupling of the Einstein field equations of general relativity to a family of models of nonlinear electromagnetic fields. The family comprises all covariant electromagnetic models that satisfy the following criteria: they are derivable from a sufficiently regular Lagrangian, they reduce to the linear Maxwell model in the weak-field limit, and their corresponding energy-momentum tensors satisfy the dominant energy condition. Our main result is a proof of the global nonlinear stability of the 1 + 3-dimensional Minkowski spacetime solution to the coupled system for any member of the family, which includes the linear Maxwell model. This stability result is a consequence of a small-data global existence result for a reduced system of equations that is equivalent to the original system in our wave coordinate gauge. Our analysis of the spacetime metric components is based on a framework recently developed by Lindblad and Rodnianski, which allows us to derive suitable estimates for tensorial systems of quasilinear wave equations with nonlinearities that satisfy the weak null condition. Our analysis of the electromagnetic fields, which satisfy quasilinear first-order equations, is based on an extension of a geometric energy-method framework developed by Christodoulou, together with a collection of pointwise decay estimates for the Faraday tensor developed in the article. We work directly with the electromagnetic fields, and thus avoid the use of electromagnetic potentials.
Special topics on linear mixed models

This chapter concerns several special topics in the application of linear mixed models. First, statistical models with adjustment of baseline response are described and discussed, in which the outcome variable is specified as a relative score rather than a score itself. The historical debate on the adjustment of baseline score is summarized for a two-point trend analysis. The Lord’s paradox, a classical example of the adjustment, is reviewed and discussed. The approach of adjusting the baseline response in longitudinal data analysis is then examined. Second, I present the statistical models adjusting misspecification of the normality hypothesis for the random effects, with an empirical illustration. Lastly, pattern-mixture modeling is delineated, both theoretically and with an empirical illustration. A variety of approaches are displayed to classify subjects into distinctive population groups representing profiled or heterogeneous patterns, and then followed by the specification of pattern-mixture modeling. Lastly, an empirical example is provided to display the application of pattern-mixture models in longitudinal data analysis.
Rawlsian Ethics of Climate Change

This paper develops principles for responding to climate change from the perspective of John Rawls' writings on justice. Rawls (1971) argues that principles of justice, in particular those for assigning basic rights and duties of social cooperation, should be selected from an ''original position'' as though by (imaginary) agents who do not know their position in society. This paper adapts Rawls' notion of original position and applies it to the international context required to address climate change. From this per- spective it is argued the agents would endorse the current consensus not to allow global warming to exceed 2 � C. They would also find that rich industrial countries, having contributed disproportionately to the causes of climate change, should reduce their emis- sions faster than developing countries and they should help developing countries to adopt non-carbon energy sources, to adapt to climate change, and to recover from its harms. The paper proposes new institutions needed to carry out these obligations efficiently and effectively.
A Reconfigurable, Linux-based, Flight Control System for Small UAVs

*† † This paper presents an autopilot system for small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) that is based on programmable logic devices and the standard Linux operating system. Its basis on programmable logic devices (Field Programmable Gate Arrays – FPGAs) allows custom hardware to perform dedicated functions to be easily added to the system. The use of the standard Linux operating system greatly eases the programming burden and promotes portability to new hardware platforms when they become available. The flexibility and power of the system is illustrated by its application to several different classes of UAVs and also an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV).
Neural networks and organizational systems: Modeling non-linear relationships

For decades, organizational researchers have employed standard statistical methods to uncover relationships among variables and constructs. However, in complex organization systems, the prevalence of non-linearity and outliers is to be expected. Under such circumstances, the use of standard statistical methods becomes unreliable and, correspondingly, results in degraded predictions of the relationships within the organizational systems. We describe the use of neural network analyses to model team effectiveness so as to provide more accurate predictions for managers.
Heavy drinking, Alcohol-dependent vs. nondependent methadone-maintenance clients: A follow-up study

This study of methadone-maintenance clients interviewed approximately 1 year after discharge from treatment revealed that outcomes differed between heavy-drinking clients who are alcohol dependent and those who are not. Alcohol-dependent clients seem to benefit more from treatment but continue to have severe cocaine-use problems, suggesting they also may be cocaine dependent. The results emphasized the value in differentiating between these types of drinking clients, and they suggest that failure to do so may account for earlier contradictory results about the role alcohol consumption has in treatment outcomes for methadone-maintenance clients.
Oxytocin Induces a Conditioned Social Preference in Female Mice

Friendships and other rewarding affilliative bonds are associated with the actions of the nonapeptide hormone oxytocin (OT) in humans and many social mammals. We investigated whether OT itself is rewarding, and if that reward is dependent upon the presence of conspecifics. We evaluated the reinforcing effects of OT infusion in female mice on social (conditioned social preference; CSP) and nonsocial tests (conditioned place preference; CPP). Ovariectomised females received oestradiol implants and i.c.v. cannulas. During a pre-test, they were introduced to a three-chamber apparatus for 10 min. Social and place apparatus were identical, except that each end-chamber contained a novel stimulus female for CSP, whereas they were distinguished by visual and tactile cues for CPP. For CSP, test females received OT (0, 100, 200 or 100 ng) and were paired for 30 min with one stimulus female. On alternating days, they received saline vehicle and were paired with the opposite female, for a total of four pairings each. The final conditioned preference test was identical to the pre-test. OT induced CSP. Test mice that received 100 ng of OT increased their preference score from -67.4 ± 22.1 s in pre-test to +55.7 ± 35.1 s during the conditioned preference test (P < 0.05). It was observed that 200 ng OT induced an increase in preference score from -162.7 ± 47.3 to +74.3 ± 23.7 s (P < 0.001). There was no effect of 0 or 1000 ng of OT on CSP. An additional group of mice was tested for CPP at 200 ng of OT. Testing and pairings were identical to CSP. OT induced a small but significant CPP. Mice increased their preference score from -222.4 ± 38.0 to -126.0 ± 58.7 s (P < 0.05). OT had no effect on anxiety or odour recognition, as assessed by elevated plus maze and olfactory habituation/dishabituation tests, respectively. In conclusion, OT, similar to other motivating stimuli (drugs, food), not only is rewarding when tested under solitary conditions, but also is reinforcing in a social setting.
Increased expression of the chemokine CCL23 in eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps.

Background Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a heterogeneous chronic disease characterized by local inflammation of the sinonasal tissues. The pathogenesis of CRS remains controversial, but it has been associated with the accumulation of various immune and inflammatory cells in sinus tissue. Objectives The objective of this study was to investigate the expression of the chemokine CCL23, which is known to bind to CCR1 and recruit monocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells, in patients with CRS. Methods We collected nasal tissue from patients with CRS and control subjects. We assayed mRNA for CCL23 by using real-time PCR and measured CCL23 protein by means of ELISA, immunohistochemistry, and immunofluorescence. Results CCL23 mRNA levels were significantly increased in nasal polyps (NPs) from patients with CRS with nasal polyps (CRSwNP; P + inflammatory cells occurred only in NPs. Immunofluorescence data showed CCL23 colocalization with eosinophil cationic protein–positive eosinophils. The concentration of CCL23 in NPs positively correlated with the concentration of eosinophil cationic protein, suggesting that eosinophils are major CCL23-producing cells in NPs. Finally, we found that CCL23 protein levels were significantly increased in NPs from patients with CRSwNP with aspirin sensitivity. Conclusion Overproduction of CCL23 in NPs might contribute to the pathogenesis of eosinophilic CRSwNP through the recruitment of CCR1 + inflammatory cells, including monocytes and macrophages, and the amplification of local inflammation.
Cardiac autotransplant for surgical treatment of a malignant neoplasm

Because of their anatomic location, cardiac sarcomas often interfere with cardiac function. Excision is considered to palliate the cardiac defect, but complete excision is often difficult owing to access, particularly in left atrial tumors. Incomplete resection results in tumor recurrence. To achieve complete resection of a large left atrial sarcoma, we used the technique of cardiac explantation, extracorporeal resection of the tumor with cardiac reconstruction, and cardiac autotransplantation.
Identification of ovule transcripts from the Apospory-Specific Genomic Region (ASGR)-carrier chromosome

Apomixis, asexual seed production in plants, holds great potential for agriculture as a means to fix hybrid vigor. Apospory is a form of apomixis where the embryo develops from an unreduced egg that is derived from a somatic nucellar cell, the aposporous initial, via mitosis. Understanding the molecular mechanism regulating aposporous initial specification will be a critical step toward elucidation of apomixis and also provide insight into developmental regulation and downstream signaling that results in apomixis. To discover candidate transcripts for regulating aposporous initial specification in P. squamulatum, we compared two transcriptomes derived from microdissected ovules at the stage of aposporous initial formation between the apomictic donor parent, P. squamulatum (accession PS26), and an apomictic derived backcross 8 (BC8) line containing only the Apospory-Specific Genomic Region (ASGR)-carrier chromosome from P. squamulatum. Toward this end, two transcriptomes derived from ovules of an apomictic donor parent and its apomictic backcross derivative at the stage of apospory initiation, were sequenced using 454-FLX technology. Using 454-FLX technology, we generated 332,567 reads with an average read length of 147 base pairs (bp) for the PS26 ovule transcriptome library and 363,637 reads with an average read length of 142 bp for the BC8 ovule transcriptome library. A total of 33,977 contigs from the PS26 ovule transcriptome library and 26,576 contigs from the BC8 ovule transcriptome library were assembled using the Multifunctional Inertial Reference Assembly program. Using stringent in silico parameters, 61 transcripts were predicted to map to the ASGR-carrier chromosome, of which 49 transcripts were verified as ASGR-carrier chromosome specific. One of the alien expressed genes could be assigned as tightly linked to the ASGR by screening of apomictic and sexual F1s. Only one transcript, which did not map to the ASGR, showed expression primarily in reproductive tissue. Our results suggest that a strategy of comparative sequencing of transcriptomes between donor parent and backcross lines containing an alien chromosome of interest can be an efficient method of identifying transcripts derived from an alien chromosome in a chromosome addition line.
Comparative analysis of the in vivo and in vitro expression of bacteriophage T7 messenger RNAs during infection of Escherichia coli.

Abstract At least 20 major polypeptides encoded by the bacteriophage T7 genome have been synthesized in vitro in a protein synthesis system derived from uninfected Escherichia coli cells. Identification of these polypeptides as gene-specific products has been made by using appropriate amber and deletion mutants. The pattern of polypeptide synthesis obtained in vitro with extracted RNA has been compared to the pattern observed in vivo throughout the time-course of infection. Nearly all the identified polypeptides display a similar time-course of synthesis in vitro and in vivo. The fidelity of the in vitro pattern extends even to the relative differences in levels of synthesis among most of the various polypeptides. When the data are interpreted in terms of relative messenger RNA activities, the results indicate (1) that each of approximately two-thirds of the T7-specified mRNAs shows essentially the same time-course of translational expression in vitro as in vivo, and (2) any differences or similarities in activities among the various mRNA species, as determined late in infection, are similar in vitro and in vivo. Only a few notable exceptions to these generalities have been observed. The level of synthesis of two early proteins (products of genes 0.3 and 1) late in infection compared to early in infection is higher in vitro than in vivo. Second, the level of synthesis of one of the two gene 10-affected polypeptides (late proteins) is consistently higher in vitro compared to in vivo. These results make it unlikely that alterations in ribosomes or initiation factors play a major role in the regulation of T7 gene expression.
Youth access to tobacco

To start smoking, young people need a supply of tobacco products. Reducing youth access to tobacco is a new approach to preventing tobacco use that has been a focus of federal, state, and local tobacco control efforts over the past decade. All 50 states ban tobacco sales to minors, but compliance is poor because laws are not enforced. Consequently, young people have little trouble obtaining tobacco products. Commercial sources of tobacco (stores and vending machines) are important for underage smokers, who often purchase their own cigarettes. Underage youths also obtain tobacco from noncommercial sources such as friends, relatives, older adolescents, and adults. Educating retailers about tobacco sales laws has not produced long-term improvement in their compliance. Active enforcement of tobacco sales laws changes retailer behavior, but whether this reduces young people's access to tobacco or their tobacco use is not clear. The effectiveness of new local, state, and federal actions that aim to reduce youth access to tobacco remains to be determined. Can enforcing tobacco sales laws reduce young people's access to tobacco? If so, will this prevent or delay the onset of their tobacco use? How will youths' sources of tobacco change as commercial sources are restricted? What are the social (noncommercial) sources of tobacco for minors and how can youths' access to tobacco from these sources be reduced? What is the impact of the new federal policies aimed at reducing youth access to tobacco? Do new state and local laws that ban youth possession or use of tobacco have a net positive or negative impact on youth attitudes, access to tobacco, or tobacco use? What is the relative effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of efforts to reduce the supply of tobacco compared to those that aim to reduce demand for tobacco? Will either work alone or are both necessary to achieve reductions in youth smoking?
Partial sums of orthonormal bases preserving positivity—And martingales

We characterize, for finite measure spaces, those orthonormal bases with the following positivity property: if f is a non-negative function, then the partial sums in the expansion of f are non-negative. The bases are necessarily generalized Haar functions and the partial sums are a martingale closed on the right by f.
Best Practices for Presentation of E-journal Titles on Provider Web Sites and in Other E-content Products

As a result of inaccurate displays of journal metadata in e-content access tools and on Web sites, researchers and readers do not find the content they are seeking, and the full value of e-content services is not realized. A group will be formed later this year to develop a set of NISO best practices for presentation of e-journal titles, provision of correct ISSN information, and other basic bibliographic data on provider Web sites and in other e-content products.
Semi‐continuous culture and monitoring system for temperature‐synchronized Euglena

A temperature-synchronized, semi-continuous culture and monitoring system is described, with results from use of the system for autotrophically growing Euglena. Outflow from the culture vessel consists of measured samples taken automatically at 2-hour intervals and fixed for later counting. Inflow is by siphon feed, which restores the culture level after each sampling. The interpretation of growth curves obtained from such cultures is discussed from the viewpoint, of division synchrony and cell cycle studies, and some general comparisons are made between batch and continuous cultures for such studies.
How to measure and analyze tryptophan fluorescence in membranes properly, and why bother?

Tryptophan fluorescence is a powerful tool for studying protein structure and function, especially membrane-active proteins and peptides. It is arguably the most frequently used tool for examining the interactions of proteins and peptides with vesicular unilamellar model membranes. However, high light scattering associated with vesicular membrane systems presents special challenges. Because of their reduced light scattering compared to large unilamellar vesicles (LUV), small unilamellar vesicles (SUV) produced by sonication are widely used membrane models. Unfortunately, SUV, unlike LUV, are metastable and consequently unsuitable for equilibrium thermodynamic measurements. We present simple and easily implemented experimental procedures for the accurate determination of tryptophan (Trp) fluorescence in either LUV or SUV. Specifically, we show that Trp spectra can be obtained in the presence of up to 6 mM LUV that are virtually identical to spectra obtained in buffer alone, which obviates the use of SUV. We show how the widths and peak positions of such spectra can be used to evaluate the heterogeneity of the membrane conformation and penetration of peptides. Finally, we show how to use a reference fluorophore for the correction of intensity measurements so that the energetics of peptide partitioning into membranes can be accurately determined.
Stereological analysis of galanin and CGRP synapses in the dorsal horn of neuropathic primates

The present study investigates the nature of the galanin (GAL) increase and the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) decrease in the dorsal horn following peripheral nerve injury. These two peptides are known to colocalize in primary afferent terminals. Primates which had a tight ligation of the L7 spinal nerve demonstrated a variety of neuropathic symptoms 2 weeks postsurgery, including mechanical and cold allodynia, and heat hyperalgesia. Computer-enhanced image analyses of L7 spinal cord sections demonstrated an increase in GAL immunostaining and a decrease in CGRP immunostaining in the experimental compared to the control dorsal horn. Stereological analyses demonstrated that neither the numbers of GAL-labeled synapses nor the numbers or diameters of the dense-core vesicles in each GAL terminal changed after the lesion. However, there was a significant increase in the number of GAL-labeled glial cell bodies and processes on the experimental side, which accounted for the increased staining density observed at the light microscopic level. In contrast, the number of CGRP-labeled terminals was decreased on the experimental side, accounting for the decreased staining density seen at the light level. Thus, the decrease in number of CGRP synapses combined with the stable number of GAL synapses suggests that many GAL terminals no longer colocalize with CGRP after peripheral nerve lesion. This may indicate increased antinociceptive activity after nerve lesions. If so, there is less of a morphologic and more of a functional and chemical plasticity for GAL than may be presently envisioned. The possible role of GAL in neuropathic pain is discussed.
Consumer Acceptance of Interactive Media in Service Marketing Encounters

This study considers a number of factors that could influence consumer acceptance of interactive information systems in complex service marketing situations. Further, it investigates the potential relevance of various theoretical perspectives to research involving new communication media such as videotex and teletext. Technical characteristics of the medium, which determine its degree of interactivity, are found to affect user perceptions of the medium's ‘personalness' or ‘social presence’. Characteristics of both the medium and the user are found to affect consumer acceptance of an interactive medium in a financial services setting.
Semantic structure from motion with points, regions, and objects

Structure from motion (SFM) aims at jointly recovering the structure of a scene as a collection of 3D points and estimating the camera poses from a number of input images. In this paper we generalize this concept: not only do we want to recover 3D points, but also recognize and estimate the location of high level semantic scene components such as regions and objects in 3D. As a key ingredient for this joint inference problem, we seek to model various types of interactions between scene components. Such interactions help regularize our solution and obtain more accurate results than solving these problems in isolation. Experiments on public datasets demonstrate that: 1) our framework estimates camera poses more robustly than SFM algorithms that use points only; 2) our framework is capable of accurately estimating pose and location of objects, regions, and points in the 3D scene; 3) our framework recognizes objects and regions more accurately than state-of-the-art single image recognition methods.
Charge coupled device X-ray detectors for macromolecular crystallography

We gratefully acknowledge CHESS and the MacCHESS staff for beam time and experimental support. We thank Daniel J Thiel and Richard L Walter for help with many aspects of the data collection, and Shelly R Armstrong, Andrew Karplus, Chen Mao, Wladek Minor, Michael G Rossmann, and Corey Strickland for providing crystals and/or data. We also thank our detector development team at Princeton University (Martin Novak, Fred Osterberg, John Shepherd, Mike Wall, Mark Tate), the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (Eric Eikenberry) and Princeton Scientific Instruments (John Lowrance). Work at Cornell is supported by NIH grants RR01646 and GM48874 and the Keck Laboratory for Molecular Structure. The detector was developed primarily via support from DoE grant DE-FG02-87ER60522 to SMG.
Axisymmetric stress distribution in anisotropic cylinders of finite length.

where I takes on, in turn, each and every possible value of k. As in the preceding problem, consideration of a finite number of coefficients AM would lead to a determinate set of equations for the evaluation of these coefficients. Before proceeding with the aforementioned variations, however, examination of the function <p given by Eq. (4.2) shows that for the Galerkin integral [Eq. (5.5) ] to remain finite
Citation relationships among international mass communication journals

A citation analysis of selected mass communication jour nals using clustering and multidimensional scaling tech niques was performed to determine relationships among international journals in this developing field. Results of the analysis confirm that US journals are currently at the center of the field. The field seems to be heavily described by two dimensions: geography and theory/research. The geograph ical dimension was defined by US journals, European jour nals and others. The theory/research dimension follows a basic critical-empirical dichotomy evident in the literature. The study findings also corroborate current theories of scholarly community development.
Electrophysiological Alterations during Hypnosis for Ego-Enhancement: A Preliminary Investigation

Abstract EEG activity at the midfrontal (Fz) region was recorded during pre- and postbaselines, live hypnotic induction, arm levitation and progressive relaxation (PNR) deepening, and therapeutic ego-enhancing suggestions among 60 college student volunteers, previously screened with the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C. Comparisons across conditions for delta, theta, alpha, and beta activity were made between low, moderate, high, and very high hypnotizable groups. Results indicated (a) significant increases in theta EEGs across the hypnosis process with a peak at PNR and a drop in theta thereafter to termination, with highs showing significantly more dramatic effects than moderates; (b) a similar inverted U-shaped pattern for beta EEGs across hypnosis conditions, with very highs significantly higher in beta power than moderates and lows, and with highs significantly higher than moderates; (c) general profile differences between the highs for theta and the highs and very highs for beta in com...
Low-energy hydrogen implantation for silicon Schottky barrier modification

Abstract Low-energy (≲0.4 keV) atomic hydrogen has been found to passivate defects created in Si by ion bombardment as under dopant ion implantation or ion-assisted dry etching. The interaction of atomic hydrogen with crystalline Si is, however, more intricate involving also further surface damage and formation of complexes with dopant atoms. The application of hydrogen implant following dopant and inert gas implants for Schottky barrier modification is discussed.
7.4: Dose control circuits for digitally addressable VACNF based maskless lithography

This paper presents dose control electronics and a digital addressing method for the vertically aligned carbon nanofiber (VACNF) based massively parallel maskless e-beam lithography system. The Digital Electrostatically focused e-beam Array direct-write Lithography (DEAL) developed by our research group in Oak Ridge National Laboratory [1] incorporates digitally addressable field emission arrays (DAFEAs) of the VACNFs which function as the lithography heads during the exposure of the resist. A logic and memory control circuit (LMC) and a dose control circuit (DCC) have been designed to write a desired pattern and control the dose of electrons, respectively. This paper summarizes our previous works on different versions of the DCCs [2–4] designed and optimized in the effort of obtaining a fixed and optimum dosage with the smaller circuit area.
Numerical stability of implicit integration schemes in nonassociated viscoplasticity

Abstract The analytical numerical stability of existing implicit integration schemes in nonassociated viscoplasticity when the finite element method is used as the discretization method is presented. This is done first by generalization of existing implicit numerical techniques to integrate the nonsymmetric system of equations obtained if nonassociated flow rules are used. Then the stability of the numerical process is analyzed for any smooth yield function and for both associated and nonassociated flow rules. The conclusions of the analytical stability study are verified using one numerical example and both associated and nonassociated flow rules. The Drucker-Prager yield function is used to study the stability behavior of the steady-state solution of a uniform strip footing on a weightless soil. Here both flow rules are used with varying degrees of nonassociativity. Both explicit and implicit numerical integration schemes are used. Two cases of implicit methods are specifically examined, which include the fully implicit and the trapezoidal methods.
Cellular antitumor immune response to a branched lysine multiple antigenic peptide containing epitopes of a common tumor-specific antigen in a rat glioma model

Human malignant gliomas contain epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene mutations that encode tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) that can be targeted using immunological techniques. One EGFR mutant gene (EGFRvIII) encodes a protein with an epitope that is not found in normal tissues. A number of studies have focused on this unique epitope as a potential target for tumor vaccines. In the present study, we examined the cellular immune effects of a peptide containing multiple copies of the unique EGFRvIII epitope linked together by way of a lysine bridge. Fischer rats were vaccinated with an EGFRvIII multiple antigenic peptide (MAP). While vaccination produced a humoral immune response, anti-MAP antibody production was not accompanied by expression of the Th2 response cytokine IL-4. In MAP/GM-CSF vaccinated animals, a cellular immune response was detected in association with the appearance of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells at the tumor site. Splenocytes and CD8+ T cells from vaccinated rats produced the Th1 cytokine IFN-γ in vitro in response to stimulation by rat glioma cells expressing EGFRvIII, but not by those expressing wild-type EGFR. MAP vaccine also induced a specific lytic antitumor CTL immune response against F98 glioma cells expressing EGFRvIII, but not against F98 cells expressing either wild-type EGFR or no receptor. The in vivo growth of F98EGFRvIII cells was attenuated in vaccinated rats; whereas, growth of F98EGFR cells was not. The median survival of vaccinated rats was increased 72% over that of unvaccinated controls challenged with intracerebral F98EGFRvIII tumor implants. Therefore, MAP vaccination produced a predominantly cellular antitumor immune response directed against F98 gliomas expressing the EGFRvIII target antigen. The potent immunosuppressive effects of F98 glioma cells mimic the human disease and make this particular tumor model useful for studying immunotherapeutic approaches to malignant gliomas.
INDUCTION OF SLOWLY DEVELOPING ALKALI‐LABILE SITES IN HUMAN P3 CELL DNA BY UVA AND BLUE‐ AND GREEN‐LIGHT PHOTONS: ACTION SPECTRUM

Action spectra (365-520 nm) for the formation of DNA single-strand breaks (SSB) and slowly developing alkali-labile sites (SDALS) in human teratocarcinoma P3 cells in culture were determined. Induction of SDALS results from the absorption of blue- and green-light photons. The spectrum has a broad peak that is maximal between 400 nm to 500 nm and declines sharply above and below these wavelength regions. Negligible yields of SDALS were produced by photons at wavelengths of 365 nm or shorter and at 520 nm or longer, whereas for SSB, the action ioffeases with shorter wavelength throughout the whole spectral range studied. The configuration of the SDALS action spectrum suggests that the primary chromophore, and therefore possibly the photosensitizer, is a mixture of porphyrin and flavin residues.
Tritiated Chiral Alkanes as Substrates for Soluble Methane Monooxygenase from Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath): Probes for the Mechanism of Hydroxylation

The tritiated chiral alkanes (S)-[1-2H1,1-3H]ethane, (R)-[1-2H1,1-3H]ethane, (S)-[1-2H1,1-3H]butane, (R)-[1-2H1,1-3H]butane, (S)-[2-3H]butane, (R)-[2-3H]butane, and racemic [2-3H]butane were oxidized by soluble methane monooxygenase (sMMO) from Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath), and the absolute stereochemistry of the resulting product alcohols was determined in order to probe the mechanism of substrate hydroxylation. When purified hydroxylase, coupling protein, and reductase components were used, the product alcohol displayed 72% retention of stereochemistry at the labeled carbon for the ethane substrates and 77% retention for the butanes labeled at the primary carbon. A putative alkyl radical which would yield these product distributions would have a lifetime of 100 fs, a value too short to correspond to a discrete intermediate. Intramolecular kH/kD ratios of 3.4 and 2.2 were determined for ethane and butane, respectively. When the hydroxylations were performed with purified hydroxylase but only a partial...
Electron impact excitation-cavity ringdown absorption spectrometry of elemental mercury at 405 nm

We report a new method of measuring elemental mercury (Hg) at the 405 nm transition line, which corresponds to the optical transition from the metastable state 5d106s6p 3P0 to the upper state 5d106s7s 3S1. Observation of the absorption spectra and measurements of the absolute number density of Hg in the metastable state are achieved by a stepwise electron impact excitation-cavity ringdown absorption technique, in which the population of Hg atoms in the metastable state is realized through electron impact excitation by the energetic electrons (< 10 eV) generated in an atmospheric argon microwave plasma torch and the detection of Hg is achieved via cavity ringdown spectroscopy (CRDS). The major difference between this method and the previously reported detection of Hg at 254 nm using the plasma-CRDS technique is that the plasma in this method not only serves as an atomization source to generate Hg atoms from the Hg-contained compounds injected in the plasma, but also functions as an electron impact excitation source. The merit in terms of analytical instrumentation is that this new method introduces an alternative way to measure Hg using a palm-size 405 nm laser source. This can potentially lead to a portable mercury ringdown spectrometer without constraints of importability of 254 nm laser sources. Compared with the 254 nm line, the 405 nm line has no plasma-associated spectroscopic interferences, such as absorption of the OH rovibrational lines. One analytical limitation of the detection of Hg at 405 nm is the low detection sensitivity achieved in this exploratory study, 50 μg ml−1 in aqueous sample solutions, compared with the previously reported detection sensitivity of 9.1 ng ml−1 using the plasma-CRDS technique at 254 nm. Given an improved plasma excitation source-CRDS system, theoretical detection limits at 405 nm are estimated to be 50 ng ml−1 and 1.2 ppbv in aqueous samples and in gaseous samples, respectively. These sensitivities are still desirable in many applications when real-time, portable, and in-line analysis all become a major concern.
Gas-assisted displacement of a Newtonian fluid confined in a Hele-Shaw cell

Abstract The two-dimensional flow in a rectangular channel containing a Newtonian fluid was solved analytically in terms of eigenfunctions as θ→π/2, where θ is the angle between the normal to the interface and the axial direction. From this analysis, the relationship between the parameters Ca, λ, and kd were obtained. These parameters are related to the amount of liquid deposited on the walls of the rectangular channel. This analysis provides a satisfactory relationship between m and Ca for values of kd between 1.8 and 2.0. It is expected that the coating thickness obtained from this analysis for a rectangular channel is close to the experimental data for a value of kd taken to be 1.95 since the perturbation solution at low capillary number is close to this value of kd. The solution is valid for an interface is almost parallel to the walls of the Hele-Shaw cell.
Difficulties in Taking Care of Business: Women Addicts as Mothers

This paper is devoted to a discussion of women addicts as mothers. Women who are addicted while pregnant begin their careers as mothers with extreme guilt and a sense of initial failure. Heroin becomes a mechanism for coping with the routine difficulties of childraising. Children can also act as a controlling force on their mother's addiction if she has the option to perform her mothering duties in an otherwise “normal” fashion. If the woman is being supported adequately and can be available for her children, it is possible to combine addiction and mothering. Often, however, the woman has to work outside the home (usually in criminal pursuits) and the general chaos of her life greatly impinges on her ability to fulfill her mothering duties. Children are occasionally mistreated, sometimes neglected physically, and often neglected psychologically by a mother who is frequently absent. Addicted mothers feel extreme guilt and remorse over this neglect, and often take stock of their situation when their role as...
Laboratory Methods for Rearing Spotted Tentiform Leafminer (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) and Two of Its Parasitoids

Methods are described for rearing spotted tentiform leafminer, Phyllonorycter Blancardella (F.) (Lepidoptera; Gracillariidae), and two of its parasitoids, Pholetesor ornigis (Weed) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and Sympiesis marylandensis Girault (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) in the laboratory. One-year-old Malus domestica Borkh. ‘Mailing 7’ clonal rootstocks were grown in a greenhouse and then infested with leafminers. Trees were held at 23°C in a controlled-temperature chamber until larvae reached the desired stages for parasitoid oviposition. Time from leafminer oviposition to first, second, third, fourth, and fifth instar larva was 7, 10, 13, 15, and 18 d, respectively. Development time from oviposition to adult emergence was 28.3, 20.5, and 9.6 d for males of Phyllonorycter blancardella, Pholetesor ornigis , and S. marylandensis . Development time for females was 29.1,21.3, and 10.9 d, respectively.
Dynamics of Wetland Development and Resource Management in Las Vegas Wash, Nevada

This paper examines the co-evolution of the Las Vegas, Nevada metropolitan area, Las Vegas Wash ecosystem - a downstream riparian wetland - and Wash management as a case of urban-environment dynamics. Since Las Vegas Wash provides the primary drainage for Las Vegas, changes in the urban system lead to changes in the Wash and its ecosystem. The population of the drainage area has grown from approximately 1,000 people in 1900 to more than 1.3 million in 2000. This phenomenal population growth led to increased Wash flow, from less than.03 m 3 /sec (1 ft 3 /sec) to over 7.4 m 3 /sec (260 ft 3 /sec), and consequent ecological changes from a nearly dry wash to a rich wetland, and now to an eroded system. As the Wash ecosystem changed, valuation of Wash characteristics by residents and resource managers also changed, shifting the focus of management and use, which ultimately led to further ecosystem changes. Reciprocal relationships among human activity, environmental change, and management in this urban area highlight the need for a comprehensive and dynamic systems perspective and adaptive approaches in urban environmental management and make this a particularly compelling case study. This paper describes a conceptual systems framework for adaptive urban-environment management derived from this case.
The Suspended Rootogram and other Visual Displays: An Empirical Validation

(1974). The Suspended Rootogram and other Visual Displays: An Empirical Validation. The American Statistician: Vol. 28, No. 4, pp. 143-145.
Universality of non-ohmic shunt leakage in thin-film solar cells

We compare the dark current-voltage (IV) characteristics of three different thin-film solar cell types: hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) p-i-n cells, organic bulk heterojunction (BHJ) cells, and Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) cells. All three device types exhibit a significant shunt leakage current at low forward bias (V<∼0.4) and reverse bias, which cannot be explained by the classical solar cell diode model. This parasitic shunt current exhibits non-Ohmic behavior, as opposed to the traditional constant shunt resistance model for photovoltaics. We show here that this shunt leakage (Ish), across all three solar cell types considered, is characterized by the following common phenomenological features: (a) voltage symmetry about V=0, (b) nonlinear (power law) voltage dependence, and (c) extremely weak temperature dependence. Based on this analysis, we provide a simple method of subtracting this shunt current component from the measured data and discuss its implications on dark IV parameter extraction. We propo...
Enhanced Optical Manipulation through Plasmonics

The radiation field from the resonant oscillating dipoles constituting the localized surface plasmon in an Au nanoparticle array is utilized for optical manipulation. Such field has large gradient and results in large dielectrophoretic force especially for small particles close to the array surface.
Salivary gland lymphoma: review of 11 cases

Malignant lymphomas of the salivary glands are uncommon. Historically, they comprise 1.7% to 3.1% of all salivary neoplasms. The parotid glands are the most common site of occurrence, but submandibular, sublingual, and minor salivary gland involvement is well documented. A mass in the salivary gland, especially the parotid, may represent the initial manifestation of malignant lymphoma, or it may be part of a more generalized disease. Additionally, the vast majority of major salivary gland lymphomas are non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of B-cell lineage. In our review of 11 cases of salivary gland lymphoma at our institution, 8 patients were women and 3 were men. All were Caucasian with the exception of 1 African American. Age ranged from the third to the eighth decade with the average being 66 years. Nine out of 11 cases involved the parotid glands and all, with the exception of 1 case, represented primary disease. The other 2 cases involved the submandibular glands. A total of 4 patients had an underlying Sjogren's syndrome and went on to develop lymphoma (3 in the parotid and 1 in the submandibular gland). One patient was diagnosed with T-cell–rich B-cell lymphoma, 1 with small lymphocytic lymphoma/chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and 1 with lymphoplasmacytoid lymphoma. Two patients were diagnosed with low-grade follicular lymphoma, 1 of which represented metastatic disease to the parotid and which underwent subsequent transformation to an intermediate grade. Another patient was diagnosed with Mantle zone lymphoma, and the remaining 5 patients were diagnosed with mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma, in 1 of which transformation into large B-cell lymphoma was documented. The clinicopathologic features, utilizing special and ancillary studies, treatment, and follow-up are presented.
Spin coating of colloidal suspensions

The coupled, unsteady Navier-Stokes, convective diffusion, and thermal energy equations that describe spin coating of colloidal suspensions are solved numerically. The theoretical model, absent of any adjustable parameters, is used to explore the effects of angular velocity, initial solvent weight fraction, solvent properties and spin coating protocol on the evolution of temperature and concentration profiles in the liquid film during spin coating. The predicted coated film thickness is found to be in excellent quantitative agreement with spin coating experiments performed with both hard-sphere and nonhard-sphere suspensions of monodisperse latex particles in water. The coated film thickness, determined by ellipsometry, is shown to depend on the inverse square root of the angular velocity except at high ionic strength when the dependence on angular velocity is weaker. Timescales that characterize spin coating of colloidal suspensions are shown to be quite different from those that characterize spin coating of polymer solutions, and consequently simple models for predicting the coated film thickness of polymer solutions (Bornside et al., 1991; Lawrence, 1989) are shown to be inadequate for colloidal suspensions. Rapid substrate acceleration, high rotation rates, partial saturation of the overlying gas phase, and high initial solids concentration are identified as spin coating protocols that suppress a convective instability that produces radial striations in the coated film.
Influence of Indigenous Microflora on Some Chemical Properties of Cowpea Paste

Cowpea (vigna unguiculuta) paste, the principal ingredient in akara, was evaluated to determine the influence of indigenous microflora on chemical characteristics associated with akara quality. Six formulas (with and without onion, salt and pepper), consisting of inoculated (indigenous microflora) and uninoculated pastes, were incubated for 24 hr at 30°C. A strong relationship between time of incubation and increase in titratable acidity was evident for all treatments. Nitrogen solubility and protein degradation increased during incubation. Monosaccharide content increased with incubation for all pastes, while diand oligosaccharides decreased. No significant changes in thiamin content were observed; however, riboflavin increased for all formulations as incubation progressed.
Unwrapping HDAC1 and HDAC2 functions in Schwann cell myelination

Two studies now show that epigenetic regulation of gene transcription by histone deacetylases (HDACs) 1 and 2 regulates Schwann cell myelination through activation of a cascade of myelin gene expression. Deletion of HDAC1 and HDAC2 in Schwann cells disrupts interactions with axons, blocks myelination and leads to Schwann cell death.