cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
DnaB Helicase Activity Is Modulated by DNA Geometry and Force

The replicative helicase for Escherichia coli is DnaB, a hexameric, ring-shaped motor protein that encircles and translocates along ssDNA, unwinding dsDNA in advance of its motion. The microscopic mechanisms of DnaB are unknown; further, prior work has found that DnaB's activity is modified by other replication proteins, indicating some mechanistic flexibility. To investigate these issues, we quantified translocation and unwinding by single DnaB molecules in three tethered DNA geometries held under tension. Our data support the following conclusions: 1), Unwinding by DnaB is enhanced by force-induced destabilization of dsDNA. 2), The magnitude of this stimulation varies with the geometry of the tension applied to the DNA substrate, possibly due to interactions between the helicase and the occluded ssDNA strand. 3), DnaB unwinding and (to a lesser extent) translocation are interrupted by pauses, which are also dependent on force and DNA geometry. 4), DnaB moves slower when a large tension is applied to the helicase-bound strand, indicating that it must perform mechanical work to compact the strand against the applied force. Our results have implications for the molecular mechanisms of translocation and unwinding by DnaB and for the means of modulating DnaB activity.
Electron microscopy of cytoplasmic structures in frozen-dried mouse pancreas.

Mouse pancreas was prepared by a freeze-dry method and embedded in methacrylate in vacuo without the use of aqueous solutions, postfixation or staining. Ergastoplasm, mitochondria and zymogen granules were readily recognized. The ergastoplasmic sacs were oriented in an orderly, parallel array similar to that seen after osmium tetroxide fixation. The membranes of the sacs were of high density, but the ergastoplasmic granules characteristic of osmium tetroxide-fixed tissue were not visible. The narrow space outside the ergastoplasmic sacs contained a homogeneous material of high density, while the broader space inside the sacs contained discontinuous aggregates of lower density.
Grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park

The problem we solved is based on the population of grizzly bears at Yellowstone National Park. Since this population is currently declining, our specific problem centered around a seed group of 52 grizzlies, transported from Yellowstone to another area in the Northwestern United States, similar in climate and availability of proper food. The total land area available for the bears is 1.5 million acres, enough land for 100 bears to thrive. Our problem was to find a harvesting policy to sustain the maximum number of grizzlies on this land. Using the matrix equation Lxi=xi+1 we determined tha this seed population would exceed the level the land area can maintain after 14 years. At this point we began to implement our harvesting procedures. Assuming the bears would be harvested at random, producing a uniform harvesting rate for each age group, we used the matrix equation Lx−HLx=x to solve for a total of 3 percent harvesting yearly after the fourteenth year. Test results confirmed the accuracy of our matrix values.
Physical Limitations on Detecting Tunnels Using Underground-Focusing Spotlight Synthetic Aperture Radar

This paper examines the feasibility of underground-focusing spotlight synthetic aperture radar (UF-SL-SAR) systems for tunnel detection applications. A general formulation is reviewed for generating UF-SL-SAR imaging by using multiple frequencies across a wide band and by focusing in space to subsurface points using well-known ray refraction at the nominal ground surface. A full-wave finite-difference frequency-domain model is used to consider wave propagation in realistic soil with loss- and frequency-dependent dielectric constant and a randomly rough ground surface, both of which serve to obscure and distort the returned tunnel target signal. Imaging results are presented for two representative soil scenarios: dry sand and moist clay loam. Considering the ground surface ray refraction for focusing greatly improves the SAR image relative to conventional SAR focusing at the ground surface. Using UF-SL-SAR, a small shallow tunnel is reasonably imaged for the sand case, despite the roughness of the ground interface. However, for higher conductivity moist clay loam, the clutter from the rough surface overwhelms the significantly attenuated target signal, which must propagate through the lossy intervening soil. It is demonstrated that, despite ideal focusing, the tunnel is successfully imaged only for the sand case.
An Awl Nematode, Dolichodorus Silvestris N. Sp., From West Virginia1)

A species of Dolichodorus collected from around the roots of small Eastern White Pine trees (Pinus strobus L.) in a native stand in West Virginia is described as D. silvestris n. sp. It is readily distinguished from the other species in the genus by its long stylet (132-162 microns), by its greater body length, and by the head armature. The type locality is a dry, shallow, shaley soil.
Coaching a Kingdom of Ends

(2000). Coaching a Kingdom of Ends. Journal of the Philosophy of Sport: Vol. 27, No. 1, pp. 51-62.
Damage in a tungsten composite due to debonding at W-W grain-boundaries

Abstract A theoretical study is carried out of a tungsten—based composite sustaining debonding at tungsten-tungsten grain boundaries. The tungsten composite is comprised of a continuous network of pure tungsten grains embedded in a relatively soft tungsten—nickel—iron matrix. A damage evolution model is proposed based on the Weibull statistics relating the fraction of debonded W-W grain boundaries to the tungsten volume fraction and the applied strains. The deformation of the alloy with debonded grain boundaries perpendicular to the tensile loading direction is simulated using a three-phase finite element cell model; both constant damage and progressive damage are considered. Systematic predictions are made for the effect of debonding on the tensile flow behavior of the tungsten composite. It is shown that the stress—strain behavior of the alloy under quasistatic tensile loading is controlled by two competing trends—strain hardening and debonding softening—both evolve with the tungsten volume fraction and the applied strains.
In vivo and in vitro testing of microelectronically fabricated planar sensors designed for applications in cardiology

Ion-sensitive, planar micro-electrode arrays were fabricated by photolithographic microelectronics technology on a flexible polyimide substrate. The steps of the microelectronics processing are summarized. The electrodes were tested in blood serum, whole blood and in the hamstring muscle of anesthetized rabbits. The performance characteristics of planar pH-sensors are compared with commercial glass electrodes. The close correlation of the data are encouraging for further acute and later chronic applications.
Chasing Lava: A Geologist's Adventures at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory

Many popular volcano books have appeared over the last few years; for example, Vulcan's Fury by A. Scarth, Melting the Earth by H. Sigurdsson, and Volcanoes in Human History by J.Z. deBoer and D.T.Sanders. All of these books have their own qualities. Duffield's Chasing Lava: A Geologist's Adventures at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory stands apart from that crowded field and is comparable to Out of the Crater by R.V Fisher. The book presents a very personal view of volcanology, erupting volcanoes, and what it means to be part of a team that investigates them. The author mixes scientific observations with accounts of the grandeur of Hawaii, musings about his own personal life 30 years ago, and the pleasure that one derives from working in an organization like the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) on a gorgeous tropical island.
The Use of Polynomials to Shift Coefficients in Linear Regression Models

Polynomials are commonly used in linear regression models to capture nonlinearities in explanatory variables. It is less common, however, that polynomials are used to shift the regression coefficients, an exception being the use of polynomially distributed lag coefficients. This note recommends the technique for a wider range of applications and suggests the Lagrangian interpolation representation as the most convenient for practitioners.
Electromagnetically Induced Transparency in Semiconductors via Biexciton Coherence

We report an experimental demonstration and theoretical analysis of electromagnetically induced transparency in a GaAs quantum well, in which the absorption of an exciton resonance is reduced by more than twentyfold. The destructive quantum interference in this scheme is set up by a control pulse that couples to a resonance of biexcitons. These studies illustrate that many-particle interactions, which are inherent in semiconductors and are often detrimental to quantum coherences, can also be harnessed to manipulate these coherences.
Availability of Cu, Zn and Mn in soils: I.—Influence of soil pH, organic matter, and extractable phosphorus

Samples from Ap horizons of 36 cultivated Wisconsin fields were tested for concurrent availability of Cu, Zn and Mn. The effects of soil pH, organic matter, and available P were evaluated by using four chemical extract ants. Oats were used as the test crop and were grown using a self-watering pot-culture technique in a plant-growth room. The divergent soils had the following averages: pH, 6–4; organic matter, 2–6%; available P, 37 ppm; total Cu, 20 ppm; total Zn, 35 ppm; and total Mn, 631 ppm. Concentrations of the micronutrient elements in plants and soils were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometer. NPK fertilisation resulted in greater plant uptake of Cu, Zn and Mn. Significant interactions between the soil properties and the different chemical fractions influenced the plant uptake of each micro-element; interactions between Cu, Zn and Mn in the same chemical fraction also influenced their individual uptake. Copper uptake was best predicted by inclusion particularly of soil pH, or the same chemical fractions of Zn and Mn in the regression equation; Zn uptake by inclusion of soil organic matter and available P, Mn uptake, or the chemical fractions of Cu and Mn; and Mn uptake by inclusion of available P, Cu chemical fraction, or Zn uptake in the equation. The extractants N ammonium acetate (pH 7) 10 · 01 M EDTA and 0·1 N-HCI show promise in soil tests for the simultaneous availability of Cu, Zn and Mn.
A model of energy budgets over water, snow, and ice surfaces

The recently formulated maximum entropy production (MEP) model over land surfaces has been generalized to water-snow-ice surfaces. Analytical solutions of energy budget in terms of the partition of surface radiative fluxes into (turbulent and/or conductive) heat fluxes at the earth-atmosphere interface are derived as functions of surface temperature (e.g., sea surface temperature). The MEP model does not require data of wind speed, air temperature-humidity, and surface roughness. Test of the MEP model using observations from several field experiments is encouraging. Potential applications of the proposed model for understanding long-term trends in surface heat fluxes and for closing global surface energy budget at the Earth's atmosphere are suggested.
Detecting Opinionated Claims in Online Discussions

This paper explores the automatic detection of sentences that are opinionated claims, in which the author expresses a belief. We use a machine learning based approach, investigating the impact of features such as sentiment and the output of a system that determines committed belief. We train and test our approach on social media, where people often try to convince others of the validity of their opinions. We experiment with two different types of data, drawn from Live Journal web logs and Wikipedia discussion forums. Our experiments show that sentiment analysis is more important in Live Journal, while committed belief is more helpful for Wikipedia. In both corpora, n-grams and part-of-speech features also account for significantly better accuracy. We discuss the ramifications behind these differences.
The incidence of some occlusal habits and headaches/neckaches in an initial survey population.

Abstract Some initial data obtained from a routine occlusal and temporomandibular joint examination in a limited study population have been evaluated to determine the incidence of headaches and neckaches, various habits of occlusal dysfunction, and their interrelationships. A further in-depth study of these and other parameters is indicated and anticipated.
Naturally occurring food toxicants: toxic lipids.

Lipids in the form of vegetable oils or animal fats have been important constituents of the human diet for many centuries. Although some oils and fats might have manifested acute or high toxicity to man during the early part of this extensive test period, these were either eliminated by selective diet adaptations or they were diluted to such an extent that they no longer pose any serious acute health hazards. But new sources of oils and fats had to be generated on a large commercial scale to support the needs of the growing world populations. Some of these sources of oils, both plant and animal, in the last 2-3 decades have been implicated in long-term toxic effects. In some cases, the toxic factors have been identified, isolated and characterized. 73 For obvious reasons, much of this new knowledge was obtained from animal experiments and the results were extrapolated to human nutrition. There is a lively debate going on as to whether results of animal experiments performed under restricted conditions, involving sometimes very high doses, have any bearing on human nutrition. However, animal experiments indicate early danger signals which should not be overlooked or contemptuously discarded without a thorough examination. Since immediate or acute toxic effects from dietary lipids are rather rare, in this review, more emphasis will be placed on pathological effects observed after continued dietary intake of certain oils and fats. A reference Will also be made to the effects of consuming perfectly safe lipids that may become altered during prolonged heating either in home cooking methods or industrial processing, and these alterations may produce harmful patho-physiological effects. Naturally occurring fats may be consumed unseparated and still associated with foods such as meat, fish, poultry, dairy products, cereals, nuts or seeds. Other naturally occurring lipids may be first separated from the source by extraction, purified and processed to produce shortenings, margarines, salad oil, butter, etc. The toxic effects of the latter, separated lipids, would be easier to evaluate and identify the toxin, whereas in the former category the toxic effect may or may not be due to a single factor and would need extensive research before any conclusion could be drawn. Sometimes the bulk material in
Application of Acoustoelasticity: Identifying Tendon Damage

Damage to connective tissue such as tendons can occur via stretch injuries. During stretch injury, a tendon experiences permanent subfailure damage. Provenzano et al. showed that irreversible damage to the cellular structure of tendon or ligament occurs before noticeable changes can be measured in the mechanical behavior of the tissue [1]. The same paper also showed that during loading a portion of the curve can be classified as a sub-damage region where repeated loading in that range will have no effect on mechanical properties. There is also a damage region where plastic deformation and fiber tearing occurs. In this region, the severity of damage increases as the amount of strain increases. For the same level of functional loading after damage, tissue stiffness decreases while tissue strain increases. In-vivo measurements of damage indicators, such as strain and stiffness of a tendon, prove difficult using current techniques, since many of those methods are invasive (implanted strain gages) or large and non-portable (MRI)[2]. Recent studies have shown that ultrasound can be employed to assess ligaments and tendons by measuring ultrasound wave velocity and echo reflection [3,4].Copyright © 2008 by ASME
The Influence of Subsurface Energy Storage on Seasonal Temperature Variations

Abstract A heat balance model is used to investigate the modification of the annual temperature cycle by seasonal energy storage in the ocean and land. The neglect of horizontal heat transport in the model precludes realistic predictions but permits analytic methods to be used to clarify the interaction between the atmosphere and the surface boundary layer. We find that at several latitudes both the magnitude of the annual variation and, to a lesser degree, the time lag between the solar heating and temperature response are significantly influenced by the subsurface heat storage. The results are compared to previous models in which either subsurface energy storage or the thermal transient time dependence was neglected. We conclude that such simplified modeling should be avoided, if possible, since the results can differ substantially from those of the more complete model presented here.
Effect of enteral feeding bag composition and freezing and thawing upon vitamin stability in an enteral feeding solution

The effect of enteral feeding bag composition and freezing and thawing upon the stability of riboflavin and vitamins A and E in an enteral feeding solution was tested. Feeding bags composed of either polyvinyl chloride or polyethylene were filled with an enteral feeding solution. The samples were frozen for 3 months, thawed in warm water, and allowed to stand in room temperature for 12 hr. Samples for vitamin analysis were obtained prior to freezing, upon thawing, and at 12 hr after thawing. No significant differences in vitamin stability due to bag composition or time were seen. These results support the viability of the concept of mixing large batches of enteral feeding solution, and freezing aliquots in individual feeding bags for later use.
Isolation and characterization of human B lymphocyte enriched populations. I. Purification of B cells by immune rosette depletion

In the present study we describe a technique for the preparation of a highly purified B cell population from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) by immune rosette depletion of non-B cells utilizing monoclonal antibodies directed at T cells, monocytes and null cells. The non-rosetted population contains greater than 90% B cells after a single rosetting step. The technique is simple, rapid and reproducible and results in minimal cell loss. In contrast, the E rosette negative (E-) fraction contains approximately 20% B cells whereas the surface immunoglobulin positive (sIg+ population obtained by Sephadex-anti-F(ab')2 column chromatography is comprised of approximately 60-80% B cells.
Role of Backbone−Solvent Interactions in Determining Conformational Equilibria of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are functional proteins that do not fold into well-defined three-dimensional structures under physiological conditions. IDP sequences have low hydrophobicity, and hence, recent experiments have focused on quantitative studies of conformational ensembles of archetypal IDP sequences such as polyglutamine and glycine-serine block copolypeptides. Results from these experiments show that, despite the absence of hydrophobic residues, polar IDPs prefer ensembles of collapsed structures in aqueous milieus. Do these preferences originate in interactions that are unique to polar sidechains? The current study addresses this issue by analyzing conformational equilibria for polyglycine and a glycine-serine block copolypeptide in two environments, namely, water and 8 M urea. Polyglycine, a poly secondary-amide, has no sidechains and is a useful model system for generic polypeptide backbones. Results based on large-scale molecular dynamics simulations show that polyglycine forms compact, albeit disordered, globules in water and swollen, disordered coils in 8 M urea. There is minimal overlap between conformational ensembles in the two environments. Analysis of order parameters derived from theories for flexible polymers show that water at ambient temperatures is a poor solvent for generic polypeptide backbones. Therefore, the experimentally observed preferences for polyglutamine and glycine-serine block copolypeptides must originate, at least partially, in polypeptide backbones. A preliminary analysis of the driving forces that lead to distinct conformational preferences for polyglycine in two different environments is presented. Implications for describing conformational ensembles of generic IDP sequences are also discussed.
Applying Empowerment Evaluation as a Tool for Self-Improvement and Community Development with Culturally Diverse Populations

Empowerment evaluation emphasizes the need to restructure evaluation to focus on community members as leaders and facilitators in organizing, planning, and developing processes of self-study. For culturally diverse populations it is necessary to foster a social and political environment that empowers diverse community identity and the participatory perspective. In this article the authors discuss the application of empowerment evaluation as a tool for self-improvement and community development with culturally diverse populations.
Stability of the Top Quark Mass in Supersymmetric Top Condensate Models

The top quark mass prediction in supersymmetric top condensate models is found to be insensitive to the inclusion of the effects of higher dimensional operators. For associated coefficients of characteristically moderate strength, the supersymmetric renormalization group trajectories are strongly focused to the infrared quasi-fixed point of the top Yukawa coupling constant.
Comparison of the effects of various transmucosal absorption promoters on buccal insulin delivery

Abstract We have evaluated the effects of various classes of transmucosal and transdermal absorption promoters on buccal insulin absorption in rats. Insulin absorption was estimated from the cumulative response of plasma glucose concentrations and by comparison to an i.m. dose/response curve. In the absence of an absorption promoter, buccal insulin was less than 4% as effective as i.m. insulin. All steroidal detergents examined as absorption promoters markedly improved buccal insulin absorption, using aqueous vehicles containing 5% adjuvant. Concentrations greater than 1% were required. The non-ionic surfactant, laureth-9, was also an effective absorption promoter and was effective at lower concentrations. Ester non-ionic surfactants had no effects. The effect of pH was evaluated for sodium fusidate and laureth-9 vehicles, and with both adjuvants buccal insulin absorption was lower at pH 5.4 than at pH 3.4 or pH 7.4. Other effective absorption promoters included sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laurate (at pH 8.9), palmitoyl carnitine, and a lauric acid/propylene glycol vehicle. With the most effective absorption-promoting vehicles, buccal insulin was one-fourth to one-third as effective as i.m. insulin.
Decay of naturally occurring 138La

Abstract The decay of naturally occurring 138La was investigated using a Ge(Li) detector system. In addition to the 33 keV X-ray, the energies of the two γ-radiations emitted were measured to be 1.436 ± 0.001 MeV and 0.788 ± 0.001 MeV. The partial half-lives of the EC branch to 138Ba and of the β-decay branch to 138Ce were calculated from intensity measurements to be (2.34 ±0.37) × 1011 and (4.7 ± 1.5) × 1011 y respectively.
Synchrotron Radiation Sources And Instrumentation: Present And Future

The use of electron accelerators as sources of synchrotron radiation for researches in a wide range of disciplines has grown enormously during the past ten years. Concurrent with this growth, the development of instrumentation capable of exploiting the unique properties of the synchrotron radiation from these sources has proceeded apace. It is therefore, useful to review the present "state-of-the-art" and to preview several very likely future developments in synchrotron radiation sources and instrumentation. Included in this presentation are descriptions of the sources and the radiation, examples of presently operating experimental systems and a discussion Wigglers, Undulators and Free Electron Lasers.
ON THE IRRELEVANCE OF TRANSFORMATIONAL GRAMMAR TO SECOND LANGUAGE PEDAGOGY

Many scholars view transformational grammar as an attempt to represent the structure of linguistic knowledge in the mind and seek to apply transformational descriptions of languages to the development of second language teaching materials. It will be claimed in this paper that it is a mistake to look to transformational grammar or any other theory of linguistic description to provide the theoretical basis for either second language pedagogy or a theory of language acquisition. One may well wish to describe the abstract or logical structure of a language by constructing a transformational grammar which generates the set of sentences identified with that language. However, this attempt should not be confused with an attempt to understand the cognitive structures and processes involved in knowing or using a language. It is a cognitive theory of language within the field of psycholinguistics rather than a theory of linguistic description which should underlie language teaching materials.
The effect of urea on the lens intracellular matrix and soluble lens protein.

Abstract Studies of the effect of urea on chick lens protein indicate that urea produces a coiling of the 12 nm filaments which assume their native state upon removal of the urea. Chains of particles known to be present in the matrix are not reconstituted. The filaments are insoluble (filamentous) in standard salt solution, soluble in urea and recoverable as filaments after removal of urea by dialysis. Following urea treatment approximately 11% of the soluble lens proteins from large globular aggregates which precipitate upon removal of the urea.
HepaRG cells: a human model to study mechanisms of acetaminophen hepatotoxicity.

Acetaminophen (APAP) overdose is the leading cause of acute liver failure in Western countries. In the last four decades, much progress has been made in our understanding of APAP-induced liver injury through rodent studies. However, some differences exist in the time course of injury between rodents and human. To study the mechanism of APAP hepatotoxicity in humans, a human-relevant in vitro system is needed. Here we present evidence that the cell line HepaRG is a useful human model for the study of APAP-induced liver injury. Exposure of HepaRG cells to APAP at several concentrations resulted in glutathione depletion, APAP-protein adduct formation, mitochondrial oxidant stress and peroxynitrite formation, mitochondrial dysfunction (assessed by JC-1 fluorescence), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release. Importantly, the time course of LDH release resembled the increase in plasma aminotransferase activity seen in humans following APAP overdose. Based on propidium iodide uptake and cell morphology, the majority of the injury occurred within clusters of hepatocyte-like cells. The progression of injury in these cells involved mitochondrial reactive oxygen and reactive nitrogen formation. APAP did not increase caspase activity above untreated control values and a pancaspase inhibitor did not protect against APAP-induced cell injury. These data suggest that key mechanistic features of APAP-induced cell death are the same in human HepaRG cells, rodent in vivo models and primary cultured mouse hepatocytes. Thus, HepaRG cells are a useful model to study mechanisms of APAP hepatotoxicity in humans.
Numerical simulations of droplet train and free surface jet impingement

Abstract The cooling behavior of the impingement of a droplet train, and free surface jets over a heated and pre-wetted surface is explored employing an Algebraic Volume-of-Fluid methodology. The code is based on a modified version of the two-phase numerical solver interFoam (OpenFOAM) ( Trujillo and Lewis, 2012 ). Two versions of the free surface jet are studied. The first consists of a fully-developed profile exiting the nozzle, and the second is characterized by a uniform velocity distribution. Results show that both jet configurations have higher cooling performance than the droplet train locally and globally, with the fully-developed case being the most effective of the two jet arrangements. Locally, the performance is measured by radial profiles of the boundary-layer-displacement thickness and heat transfer coefficient. Globally, the cooling effectiveness is directly proportional to the surface area that resides within the high-convection region, i.e. before the boundary layer separation point. On a temporal basis, the liquid film within the impingement region of the droplet train exhibits pronounced variations in velocity magnitude and film thickness. This is directly attributed to the nature of continuous droplet impacts affecting the impingement region, and gives rise to an unsteady cooling and heating of the fluid near the wall. In contrast for the jets, the film and the corresponding free surface are nearly steady with only minor perturbations.
Phenotypic clines, energy balances and ecological responses to climate change

Summary The Metabolic Theory of Ecology has renewed interest in using energetics to scale across levels of ecological organization. Can scaling from individual phenotypes to population dynamics provides insight into why species have shifted their phenologies, abundances and distributions idiosyncratically in response to recent climate change? We consider how the energetic implications of phenotypes may scale to understand population and species level responses to climate change using four focal grasshopper species along an elevation gradient in Colorado. We use a biophysical model to translate phenotypes and environmental conditions into estimates of body temperatures. We measure thermal tolerances and preferences and metabolic rates to assess rates of energy use and acquisition. Body mass declines along the elevation gradient for all species, but mass-specific metabolic rates increases only modestly. We find interspecific differences in both overall thermal tolerances and preferences and in the variation of these metrics along the elevation gradient. The more dispersive species exhibit significantly higher thermal tolerance and preference consistent with much of their range spanning hot, low elevation areas. When integrating these metrics to consider metabolic constraints, we find that energetic costs decrease along the elevation gradient due to decreasing body size and temperature. Opportunities for energy acquisition, as reflected by the proportion of time that falls within a grasshopper's thermal tolerance range, peak at mid elevations. We discuss methods for translating these energetic metrics into population dynamics. Quantifying energy balances and allocation offers a viable approach for predicting how populations will respond to climate change and the consequences for species composed of populations that may be locally adapted.
Shock-tube thermal conductivity

Thermal conductivity of argon from shock tube, measuring shock temperature as function of shock speed
Connecticut Legislative History

Connecticut's rules of statutory construction and treatment of legislative history were inconsistent until 2003, when the Connecticut Supreme Court, in State v. Courchesne, explicitly rejected the “plain meaning” rule. The legislature subsequently overruled Courchesne and codified the rule in Connecticut General Statute § 1–2z. In determining legislative intent, the courts will generally recognize floor debate, testimony at committee hearings, the title of an act, the statement of purpose, and the purpose the law was intended to serve.
Primary Palatoplasty: Double-Opposing Z-Plasty (Furlow Technique)

The Furlow double-opposing palatoplasty (FDOP) was first introduced by Leonard Furlow in 1978 and published formally in 1986 by the Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania cleft unit [1]. It has gained acceptance by many surgeons as the preferred technique for cleft palate repair. Although conceptually and procedurally a challenge, the FDOP has the distinct advantage of lengthening the soft palate and restoring normal velar anatomy and function. Since its introduction, the FDOP has undergone several modifications, much like other named cleft lip and palate techniques. The essential components of the FDOP include oraland nasal-based mucosal and muscle flaps that are designed as Z-plasty flaps on one side and then reversed in configuration on the underlying side. As is commonly understood in reconstruction, a Z-plasty allows lengthening of a tissue limb and resists tension when interdigitated with a corresponding Z-plasty flap. Two Z-plasties allow transposition of the flaps in such a manner that an incision line does not lie on another during closure, resulting in a reconstructed soft palate that is resistant to dehiscence and breakdown of flaps, a particular problem in wider clefts.
Beyond the officially sacred: religion, secularism, and the body in the production of subjectivity

Recent calls for new geographies of religion draw attention to how religion shapes the formation of subjectivity. Focusing on pious Muslim women's new veiling practices in Istanbul, I chart possible geographical analyses not only of religion but also of secularism as the two phenomena intersect and compete with one another in complex and often contradictory ways. I approach veiling as a gendered embodied spatial practice that reveals the intertwined production of bodies and subjectivities. Social meanings, the wider political context and spatial regimes that govern everyday life, as well as individual experiences, shape the production of corporeal piety. For the case I analyze, the hegemonic ideology of secularism, the highly politicized issue of veiling, and the informal and formal restrictions on the headscarf all come into play. This analysis offers new insights about the geographies of the body, subjectivity, and the city by highlighting the significant role religion and secularism play in their produ...
Skin allograft survival following intrathymic injection of donor bone marrow.

Abstract Background. Success has been reported using intrathymic injection in the preconditioning regimen to induce allograft tolerance. Although long-term stable tolerance has been achieved in numerous rodent vascularized solid organ allograft models, tolerance to skin transplants has only been achieved across minor antigenic or concordant species disparities. This study sought to induce tolerance across an allogeneic barrier in a rat model with a major genetic disparity. Materials and methods. Lewis rats were injected intrathymically with 1 × 10 8 Brown-Norway (BN) bone marrow cells and intraperitoneally with 1.0 cc of rabbit anti-rat anti-lymphocyte serum (ALS). Twenty-one days later, BN skin grafts were placed on the injected animals. Control groups were included to isolate the effect of technique, thymic manipulation, strain specificity, and ALS. Results. Animals receiving both intrathymic bone marrow cells and ALS had a skin graft median survival time of 24 days versus 8 days for the control group ( P = 0.003). Groups receiving anti-lymphocyte serum alone or intrathymic bone marrow cell injection alone exhibited no skin graft survival prolongation. Mixed lymphocyte reactions revealed normal responsiveness of tolerant animal lymphocytes to donor strain lymphocytes. Conclusion. This protocol utilizing the intrathymic injection of donor bone marrow cells along with short-term immunosuppression with anti-lymphocyte serum produced markedly prolonged survival of skin allografts transplanted across a major histocompatibility barrier. Although tolerance was incomplete, significant prolongation has not previously been reported in genetic disparities of this degree. These results suggest that the application of this technique for central immune modulation may be beneficial for allograft tolerance induction and deserves further study in large animals models.
Absorbed fractions for alpha-particles in tissues of cortical bone

Bone-seeking alpha-particle emitting radionuclides are common health physics hazards. Additionally, they are under consideration as an option for therapeutic molecular radiotherapy applications. Current dose models do not account for energy or bone-site dependence as shown by alpha-particle absorbed fractions given in ICRP Publication 30. Energy-dependent, yet bone-site independent, alpha-particle absorbed fractions have been presented by the models of Stabin and Siegel (2003 Health Phys. 85 294-310). In this work, a chord-based computational model of alpha-particle transport in cortical bone has been developed that explicitly accounts for both the bone-site and particle-energy dependence of alpha-particle absorbed fractions in this region of the skeleton. The model accounts for energy deposition to three targets: cortical endosteum, haversian space tissues and cortical bone. Path length distributions for cortical bone given in Beddoe (1977 Phys. Med. Biol. 22 298-308) provided additional transport regions in the absorbed fraction calculation. Significant variations in absorbed fractions between different skeletal sites were observed. Differences were observed between this model and the absorbed fractions given in ICRP Publication 30, which varied by as much as a factor of 2.1 for a cortical bone surface source irradiating cortical endosteum.
Ectopic gland induction by lens-specific expression of keratinocyte growth factor (FGF-7) in transgenic mice

During mammalian embryogenesis, epithelial-mesenchymal interactions play a determining role in normal tissue patterning and development. Keratinocyte growth factor (KGF), a member of the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family, is a mesenchymally-derived mitogen for epithelial cells. As the KGF receptor is expressed by epithelial cells of numerous tissues and KGF is produced in adjacent stromal cells, KGF is thought to play a role in mediating epithelial cell behaviour. To further investigate the role of this molecule in the development of ocular epithelia we employed transgenic mice engineered to overexpress human KGF in the eye. The most striking phenotypic development was the hyperproliferation of embryonic corneal epithelial cells and their subsequent differentiation into functional lacrimal gland-like tissues. This indicates that stimulation of the KGF receptor early in development, in surface ectoderm normally destined to form corneal epithelium, is sufficient to alter the fate of these cells. Furthermore, this suggests that the correct spatial and temporal expression of FGFs plays a critical role in normal lacrimal gland induction. These transgenic mice provide a valuable model system to study the mechanisms underlying cell fate decisions during ocular morphogenesis.
Top 20 violence and injury practice innovations since 1992

This article presents what the authors consider to be among the top 20 practice innovations since the inception of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control in 1992. The innovations embody various characteristics of successful public health programs and have contributed to declines in violence, motor vehicle, residential fire, and other injury rates over the past 20 years. Taken together, these innovations have reduced the burden of violence and injury and have influenced current practice and practitioners in the United States and worldwide.
Localized states at InGaN/GaN quantum well interfaces

Low-energy electron-excited nanoscale-luminescence (LEEN) spectroscopy of GaN/InGaN/GaN double-heterojunction structures reveal the formation of electronic states localized near the quantum well interfaces under relatively In-rich conditions. These states are due to formation in a cubic GaN region comparable to the quantum well layer in thickness rather than the bulk native defects typically associated with growth quality. The nanoscale depth dependence of the noncontact, nondestructive LEEN technique enables detection of this competitive recombination channel within a few nanometers of the “buried” heterojunction interfaces.
Thomas Mann's Contributions to Current Library Debates on Cataloging and Bibliographic Control

This article examines the writing of Thomas Mann, Reference Librarian at the Library of Congress, regarding the enduring value of traditional methods and tools of research libraries, particularly online public catalogs, professional cataloging, and Library of Congress Subject Headings and pre-coordinated subject strings. One major contention asserted by Mann is that keyword searching on the Internet, while very valuable when used judiciously, should not be used as a substitute for traditional catalogs and cataloging. Also examined are the deprofessionalization of cataloging, inadequate ideas about library users, dangers to serious research, digitization, and the enduring value of books.
Performance Evaluation of a Thermal Desorption/Gas Chromatographic/ Mass Spectrometric Method for the Characterization of Waste Tank Headspace Samples

A thermal desorption/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (TD/GC/MS) method was validated for the determination of volatile organic compounds collected on carbonaceous triple sorbent traps and applied to characterize samples of headspace gases collected from underground nuclear waste storage tanks at the U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford site, in Richland, WA. Method validation used vapor-phase standards generated from 25 target analytes, including alkanes, alkyl alcohols, alkyl ketones, alkylated aromatics, and alkyl nitriles. The target analytes represent a group of compounds identified in one of the most problematic tanks. TD/GC/MS was carried out with Hewlett-Packard 5972A or 5995 GC/MS systems with modified injectors. Performance was characterized based on desorption efficiency, reproducibility, stability, and linearity of the calibration, method detection limits, pre-analytical holding time, and quality control limits for sur rogate standard recoveries. Desorption efficiencies were all greater tha...
Precision of RNA separation by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.

Abstract This study indicates that the precision of the RNA separation on the polyacrylamide gels is high, and separation of two species of RNA differing by 1 S unit is quite easily obtained. The relationships developed in this study were for only gel concentration and condition of electrophoresis. Further studies relating the Svedberg units and the migration distance with other variables such as gel concentration and conditions of electrophoresis could bring about a general equation which would greatly facilitate the identification of resolved species of RNA.
Phase separation and the ‘coffee-ring’ effect in polymer–nanocrystal mixtures

The coupling between the ‘coffee-ring’ effect and liquid–liquid phase separation is examined for ternary mixtures of solvent, polymer and semiconductor nanocrystal. Specifically, we study mixtures of toluene, polystyrene (PS) and colloidal silicon nanocrystals (SiNCs) using real-space imaging and spectroscopic techniques to resolve the kinetic morphology of the drying front for varied molecular weight of the PS. Our results demonstrate that the size of the polymer has a significant impact on both phase-separation and drying, and we relate these observations to simulations, measured and predicted binodal curves, and the observed shape of the flow field at the contact line. The results inform a deposition process that reduces the influence of drying instabilities for low-molecular-weight polymers while paving the way for more detailed and generic computational descriptions of drying instabilities in complex fluids.
Course Entry Affect and Its Relationship to Course Grade in Music Education and Music Therapy Classes

The relationship of affective entry characteristics to final course grade and the effects on these of professional or preprofessional courses, student grade point average, and the students' major were studied. Analyses of 563 data sets of students enrolled in 35 music education and music therapy courses suggest that final course grade has little relationship to students' initial course-affective perceptions. Overall, professional courses and students simultaneously pursuing both music education and music therapy degrees produced higher affect scores and the greatest amount of perceived career relevance in the courses. The music education majors indicated less positive affect and career relevance toward their courses than other majors. In all majors, students desired lecture-presentation formats less in professional courses.
The Cation-Responsive Protein NhaR of Escherichia coli Activates pgaABCD Transcription, Required for Production of the Biofilm Adhesin Poly-β-1,6-N-Acetyl-d-Glucosamine

The pgaABCD operon of Escherichia coli is required for production of the biofilm adhesin poly-β-1,6-N-acetyl-d-glucosamine (PGA). We establish here that NhaR, a DNA-binding protein of the LysR family of transcriptional regulators, activates transcription of this operon. Disruption of the nhaR gene decreased biofilm formation without affecting planktonic growth. PGA production was undetectable in an nhaR mutant strain. Expression of a pgaA′-′lacZ translational fusion was induced by NaCl and alkaline pH, but not by CaCl2 or sucrose, in an nhaR-dependent fashion. Primer extension and quantitative real-time reverse transcription-PCR analyses further revealed that NhaR affects the steady-state level of pga mRNA. A purified recombinant NhaR protein bound specifically and with high affinity within the pgaABCD promoter region; one apparent binding site overlaps the −35 element, and a second site lies immediately upstream of the first. This protein was necessary and sufficient for activation of in vitro transcription from the pgaA promoter. These results define a novel mechanism for regulation of biofilm formation in response to environmental conditions and suggest an expanded role for NhaR in promoting bacterial survival.
Spatial memory in aged rats is related to PKCγ-dependent G-protein coupling of the M1 receptor

In the present study, individual differences in spatial memory in aged Fischer 344 (F344) rats were associated with the extent of G-protein coupling of the M1 muscarinic receptor and the dendritic-to-somal ratio of hippocampal PKCγ (d/sPKCγ) immunogenicity. Following testing in the eight-arm radial maze task, 7 young and 13 aged rat brains were sectioned through the dorsal hippocampal formation (HF). G-protein coupling of the M1 receptor was assessed autoradiographically using competition binding studies in the presence and absence of a G-protein uncoupler to determine high (KH) and low (KL) affinity states for agonist in the HF, neocortex, and amygdala. In aged animals, a relationship between choice accuracy in the maze and KH, a measure of M1 receptor–G-protein coupling was seen in the dentate gyrus, CA3, CA1, and neocortex. Furthermore, choice accuracy and d/sPKCγ immunogenicity showed a significant relationship in CA1. Lastly, a correlation was seen in the CA1 of aged animals between KH and d/sPKCγ. These relationships did not hold for the amygdala. Thus, individual differences in a naturally occurring age-dependent disruption of cholinergic-PKCγ signal transduction is associated with spatial memory dysfunction.
Customized Hough transform for robust segmentation of cervical vertebrae from X-ray images

This paper addresses the issues involved in developing a robust segmentation technique capable of finding the location and orientation of the cervical vertebrae in X-ray images. This technique should be invariant to rotation, scale, noise, occlusions and shape variability. A customized approach, based on the generalized Hough transform (GHT), that captures shape variability and exploits shape information embedded in the accumulator structure to overcome noise and occlusions is proposed. This approach effectively finds estimates of the location and orientation of the cervical vertebrae boundaries in digitized X-ray images.