cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Hydroxypyridinethione Inhibitors of Human Insulin-Degrading Enzyme.

Insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE) is a human mononuclear Zn2+-dependent metalloenzyme that is widely regarded as the primary peptidase responsible for insulin degradation. Despite its name, IDE is also critically involved in the hydrolysis of several other disparate peptide hormones, including glucagon, amylin, and the amyloid β-protein. As such, the study of IDE inhibition is highly relevant to deciphering the role of IDE in conditions such as type 2 diabetes mellitus and Alzheimer disease. There have been few reported IDE inhibitors, and of these, inhibitors that directly target the active-site metal ion have yet to be fully explored. In an effort to discover new, metal-binding inhibitors of IDE, a library of ~350 metal-binding pharmacophores was screened against IDE, resulting in the identification of 1-hydroxypyridine-2-thione (1,2-HOPTO) as an effective metal-binding scaffold. Screening of a focused library of HOPTO compounds identified 3-sulfonamide derivatives of 1,2-HOPTO to have good activity against IDE (Ki values of ~50 µM). Further structure-activity relationship studies yielded several thiophene-sulfonamide HOPTO derivatives with good, broad-spectrum activity against IDE that have the potential to be useful pharmacological tools for future studies of IDE.
The Effect of Formal Control Justification on Dysfunctional Behavior

Prior studies in management control find that formal controls can engender employees’ negative responses toward the organization because they not only restrict employees’ autonomy, but they also signal distrust. The present study examines whether control justification (deterrence justification versus just deserts justification) can mitigate employees’ feelings of distrust and the adverse consequences of control. Using an experiment, we find that employees are more likely to feel distrusted when an organization imposes a formal control with a deterrence justification than with a just deserts justification. We further find that employees who feel more distrusted decrease the amount of misreporting more when they have high loss aversion than when they have low loss aversion. This difference is not significant among employees who feel less distrusted. Results of our study contribute to the literature on the effect of formal controls, and have implications for organizations as they consider ways to mitigate employees’ negative reactions to formal controls.
Byzantine Energy Politics: The Complex Tale of Low Carbon Energy in Turkey

The Turkish energy story is an enigma: Despite a bourgeoning energy demand, an abundant renewable energy potential and some initial progress in setting ambitious targets and designing a rudimentary legal and regulatory framework for renewables, Turkey is still not close to realizing its vast potential in wind, solar and geothermal; the share of non-hydro renewables in the overall energy mix has not reached any meaningful levels. There are significant delays and hurdles in project development, uncertainties about the sustainability of support mechanisms, and aggressive campaigns to accelerate fossil fuel production. This chapter analyzes Turkey’s mixed clean energy performance by mapping out the different political, economic, and geostrategic interests of domestic and external stakeholders, the changing coalitions over time as well as the institutional structure in which energy politics plays out. I argue that the limited policy reforms to increase the share of renewables in Turkey have been crisis-induced, externally conditioned, and politically expedient in an increasingly centralized institutional structure. The Turkish case is an example of a contradictory and somewhat reluctant state-led energy transition where the pace and nature of renewable energy reforms are driven less by societal and business pressures but more by the distributive, populist, and geostrategic calculations of the governing elite to stay in power.
Breast cancer among former college athletes compared to non-athletes: a 15-year follow-up.

A growing body of evidence indicates that physical activity is protective against breast cancer. In 1996–97, we conducted a 15-year follow-up of 5398 college alumnae comprised of former college athletes with their non-athletic classmates. Participants completed a detailed mailed questionnaire on their health history from 1981–82 to the present. Excluding women who had died and non-deliverable questionnaires, 84.7% (n = 3940) of the participants in our earlier study responded to the questionnaire; the response rate for former athletes was 86.6% (n = 1945), for non-athletes, 83.0% (n = 1995). Results confirmed our earlier findings. Based on self-reports, former college athletes had a significantly lower risk of breast cancer than the non-athletes. The OR for the 15-year incidence of breast cancer is 0.605 with 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.438–0.835); the 15-year incident breast cancers were 64 among the athletes and 111 among the non-athletes. Among women under 45 the protective effect of physical activity on the risk of breast cancer is considerably greater; odds ratio (OR) = 0.164, 95% CI (0.042–0.636). Athletic activity during the college and pre-college years is protective against breast cancer throughout the life span, and more markedly among women under 45. These results confirm our earlier findings and the findings of other investigators. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaign
A new look at blockade of T-cell costimulation: A therapeutic strategy for long-term maintenance immunosuppression

Activated T cells orchestrate the immune response that results in graft rejection; therefore, a common goal among current immunosuppressive therapies is to block T-cell activation, proliferation and function. Current immunosuppressive regimens that inhibit T cells and immune cells have greatly reduced the incidence of acute rejection following solid-organ transplant. However, the expected improvements in long-term outcomes have not been realized. This may be related to the non-immune side effects of current maintenance immunosuppressants, which target ubiquitously expressed molecules. The focus in transplantation research is shifting in search of maintenance immunosuppressive regimens that might offer improved long-term outcomes by providing efficacy in prevention of acute rejection combined with reduced toxicities. An emerging therapeutic strategy involves an immunoselective maintenance immunosuppressant that inhibits full T-cell activation by blocking the interaction between costimulatory receptor-ligand pairs. This review describes costimulatory pathways and the development of molecules, which inhibit them in the context of transplantation research. Recent clinical data using the selective costimulation blocker, belatacept (LEA29Y), as a part of a CNI-free maintenance immunosuppressive regimen in renal transplantation is highlighted.
Development of a collision model for mine clearing darts

This paper describes the development of a collision model for mine clearing darts and its implementation in a six-degree-of-freedom (6-DOF) code for predicting dart trajectories from dispense to ground impact. Previous 6-DOF simulations did not include dart collisions but only mimicked its effects by initializing the darts with random tipoff angles. These simulations provided good predictions of dart impact pattern size and density distribution when compared with flight test data. However, the impact velocity distribution was poorly predicted. To improve results for impact velocities, a collision model is implemented and presented here. The collision detection is based on the algorithm of [1] for collisions between finite circular cylinders. By treating the darts as cylinders, geometric features can be exploited for quicker detection, which is very important for keeping the simulation time to a reasonable level. Additional efficiency is achieved by dividing the darts into overlapping rectangular bins. The collision search is performed for dart pairs in individual bins instead of searching the entire dart cloud. With collision modeling implemented, the 6-DOF now provides excellent agreement with flight test data for impact pattern size, density and velocity distribution.
Construction of left ventricle 3D shape atlas from cardiac MRI

In this paper, we present an effective algorithmto construct a 3D shape atlas for the left ventricle of heart from cardiac Magnetic Resonance Image data. We derive a framework that creates a 3D object mesh from a 2D stack of contours, based on geometry processing algorithms and a semi-constrained deformation method. The geometry processing methods include decimation, detail preserved smoothing and isotropic remeshing, and they ensure high-quality meshes. The deformation method generates subject-specific 3D models, but with global point correspondences. Once we extract 3D meshes from the sample data, generalized Procrustes analysis and Principal Component Analysis are then applied to align them together and model the shape variations. We demonstrate the algorithm via a set of experiments on a population of cardiac MRI scans. We also present modes of variation from the computed atlas for the control population, to show the shape and motion variability.
When Institutions Induce Trust: Insights from EEG and Timed-Response Experiments

While much is known about citizens' decisions to trust others, much less is known about the cognitive mechanisms underlying these decisions. Thus, we analyze both the behavior and brain activity associated with these decisions by replicating well known experiments on trust with electroencephalograph (EEG) and timed-response technology. Although our behavioral results are consistent with previous research, our EEG results reveal something about trust that we do not learn from observing subjects' decisions and reaction times. Specifically, they demonstrate that subjects process information differently when it comes from someone who is trustworthy by virtue of sharing common interests versus someone who is made trustworthy by an external institution. This processing difference exists even though subjects are equally likely to base their decisions upon the statements of these two trustworthy individuals, and even though they take the same amount of time to make their decisions. Given these differences between subjects' behavior and brain activity, it appears that recording EEGs adds a new dimension to our understanding of subjects' decisions to trust the statements of others.
The role of the social worker in the adult critical care unit: a systematic review of the literature

Social workers provide care to patients and families in the adult critical care unit. We conducted a systematic review of the literature to more clearly identify the role of the social worker practicing in the intensive care unit. We conducted a comprehensive search of the literature using the Pubmed, Embase, ISI, Scopus, and Social Work Abstracts databases using the terms "intensive care," "critical care," and "social work." Articles were selected for review if they met the following criteria: formal studies or opinion papers whose primary focus was the role or scope of practice of the social worker in the adult critical care unit. Articles were selected and reviewed independently by two social work investigators. Our search retrieved 550 potentially relevant articles. Twelve full-text articles were deemed eligible for abstracting. Three of the articles were studies that examined different aspects of social work practice including implementation of a family assistance program, social work response to anxiety levels of families in critical care and common activities of critical care social workers. Nine articles were primarily opinion pieces. All of the opinion articles described psychosocial support and counseling as a primary role of critical care social work. Other frequently identified roles were crisis intervention, psychosocial assessment, facilitating communication, end-of-life care, and practical assistance. There is little empiric data describing the role of the critical care social worker. Consistent themes from the articles identified include the role of social workers as counseling professionals, facilitators of communication, and resource agents. Further research to identify formal assessment tools and outcome studies of specific counseling techniques will provide important information for best practice guidelines in this area.
On the use of trusted objects to enforce isolation between processes and data

This paper highlights the problem of run-time execution correctness of high-consequence applications in conventional Von Neumann computer architectures. It proposes an approach, trusted objects, in which the application program and data are cryptographically encapsulated in their own environment. The remainder of the paper is organized as follows: after presenting a description of trusted objects, their creation, and their execution, their potential applications are described. Finally, issues and problems requiring further research are discussed.
A Study of the Tornadic Region within a Supercell Thunderstorm

Abstract The transition of a supercell thunderstorm into its tornadic phase is investigated through high-resolution numerical cloud model simulations initiated within the interior portion of a previously simulated mature supercell storm. With the enhanced grid resolution, the low-level cyclonic vorticity increases dramatically, and the gust front rapidly occludes as small-scale downdrafts develop in the vicinity of the low-level center of circulation. As the occlusion progresses, a ring of high-vorticity air surrounds the circulation center and could be conducive to multiple vortex tornado formation. Numerous features of the simulated transition bear resemblance to those observed in tornadic storms. In the model simulation, the large low-level vorticity is generated through the tilting and intense stretching of air from the inflow side of the storm. This vertical vorticity is derived from the horizontal vorticity of the environmental shear and also from horizontal vorticity generated solenoidally as low-l...
Grooming behaviour and the morphology of grooming appendages in the endemic South American crab genus Aegla (Decapoda, Anomura, Aeglidae)

Grooming behaviour in South American freshwater aeglid crabs (Aegla platensis and A. uruguayana) involves primarily the third maxillipeds and fifth pereiopods. The third maxilliped grooms the eyes, antennules and occasionally the antennae with fields of sword and serrate setae. The crista dentata located on the ischium of the third maxilliped cleans the dactyli of the second, third and fourth pereiopods. The fifth pereiopod is chelate but opens only slightly. This appendage grooms the gills, carapace, abdomen and pleopods with the denticulate margins of the chela and specialized composite setae of the propodus and dactylus. Grooming behaviour and general morphology of grooming appendages in aeglids resemble those of their marine relatives in the Anomura rather than those of other freshwater decapods. This observation supports Bauer's (1981) contention that grooming may serve as an indicator of phyletic affinity.
The Net Impact of Wind Energy Generation on Emissions of Carbon Dioxide in Texas

This analysis will examine the relationship between increased levels of wind energy generation and emissions per unit of electricity produced using historical data for electricity output and CO2, SO2 and NOx emissions in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) are generally seen in part as a policy tool for reducing overall system CO2 emissions, although renewable energy goals do not directly regulate such emissions. Limiting this analysis to ERCOT provides two important advantages: transmission of wind energy output is constrained by the physical boundaries of the ERCOT grid, simplifying the analysis and avoiding associated ‘leakage issues’; and ERCOT has the highest level of wind generation as a percentage of total system demand of any grid in the continental U.S.The intermittent nature of wind generation has resulted in the need to ramp conventional thermal generation up and down to compensate for variability in wind output. Such ramping leads to inefficiencies in many fossil-fueled power plants that increase emissions of CO2, SO2, and NOx relative to a respective unit’s peak efficiency emissions rate.Using EPA’s Clean Air Markets hourly emissions data, we calculate the total combustion emissions of CO2, SO2 and NOx per MWh of electricity output for the ERCOT system from 2003–2011. The EPA database includes CO2, SO2 and NOx emissions reported by facility owner and operators on an hourly basis in a manner that incorporates facility inefficiencies during ramping periods, allowing us to fully evaluate the CO2 emissions reductions achieved in ERCOT as a result of increased wind generation. The study is ongoing as we wait for emissions statistics from the final quarter of 2011 to be released by the EPA in early 2012.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
The Use of Flow Straightening Baskets in Submerged Pump Remediation

This paper presents guidelines for the applicability and development of a flow-straightening basket, which can be used to alleviate hydraulic problems in existing pump stations as well as in new pump stations. In addition, limitations and applications where the use of this device is not recommended are also discussed. This paper also compares model study results to actual field performance for a variety of different basket configurations and applications.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Why do pictures produce priming on the word-fragment completion test? A study of encoding and retrieval factors

Three experiments examined why pictures produce priming on the word-fragment completion test, despite the fact that there is no match between the physical features of the picture and the word fragment. Pictures and words were presented as primes, and performance on the word-fragment completion test was measured; encoding and retrieval conditions were varied. Experi-ments 1 and 2 examined the role of picture labeling by increasing the presentation rate and by introducing a shadowing task during encoding; labeling appears to play a role in priming. In Experiment 3, the word fragments were presented for 500 msec, and subjects were required to provide a solution immediately. Word priming was unaffected, but picture priming was elimi-nated, suggesting that word fragments enable efficient recovery of perceptually similar primes (i.e., words), but slower and less direct recovery of conceptually similar but physically dissimilar
NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY AS A FIELD FOR ECONOMICS RESEARCH

Problems of national security are in no sense novel for the application of economic analysis. Adam Smith, in a well-known passage in The Wealth of Nations, was concerned with the allocation of resources between "defense" and "opulence"-what we would call the problem of the size of the national security budget. There has been great interest among economists, especially during and following the First and Second World Wars, in problems of industrial mobilization during war, including the associated problems of economic stablization. In fact, to many economists during the past generation this set of mobilization problems constituted the economics of defense. Books were published with titles like Economics of Defense that dealt with little else. My principal theme in this research note is that changes in the technology of war have so degraded the significance of wartime mobilization problems that these are no longer very interesting or important for economic policy research; but that these same changes in technology have brought to the fore a new set of problems that constitute an opportunity for and a challenge to economists. I am referring, of course, to the development of nuclear weapons and advanced systems for delivering them at great distances-long-range bombers, nuclear-powered submarines, and intercontinental missiles. I will here simply state, without attempting to marshal the evidence,' * This article was written at the request of the Committee on National Security Pol
Estrogen and thrombosis: Controversies and common sense

Soon after the introduction of hormonal oral contraceptive agents reports of thrombotic complications appeared. In the past several decades, large epidemiological studies helped defined these risks for both arterial and venous complications. Clinicians can assess a patient’s risk of thrombosis by both composition of the agent and patients’ personal risk factors. For women with bleeding disorders these prothrombotic changes can help decrease bleeding complications. There is now also abundant data on future management of patients with estrogen related thrombosis.
An enzyme-immunoassay of antibody specific for adenosine using beta-galactosidase.

Abstract An enzyme-immunoassay was developed to measure anti-adenosine antibody. Adenosine was coupled to β-galactosidase and the binding of the latter to antibody was monitored by using o-nitrophenyl-β- D -galactoside as substrate. In a hapten inhibition procedure the reaction of antibody with the modified enzyme was shown to be highly specific for the adenosine determinant group. Reaction occurred also with polyadenosine, RNA and denatured DNA.
Calculation of the local density of states for a discrete pyramidal model of a diamond tip surmounted by a single atom

Abstract In a series of recent experiments, diamond cold cathodes have yielded high current at low power (μA to mA at about 10 V). These results, coupled with the extraordinary physical and electronic properties of this wide bandgap material ( E g ≈5.5 eV) make diamond cold cathodes promising candidates for use in flat panel displays, high frequency devices, sensors and other vacuum microelectronics applications. The experimental work on these cathodes has concentrated on thin film composites and needle geometries. It has been proposed that the emission originates from localized asperities (or crystallites) on the film (which can be of nanometer, or even atomic, size) or from very sharp tips approaching atomic size in the case of needle geometry. A quantity important in determining the origin of the tunneling electron states is the local density of states function. In the present work we have calculated the local density of states (LDOS) at an atomically sharp diamond asperity (or tip) using a tight binding model. A pyramidal shaped cluster of 159 atoms is constructed to model the tip. The forces are calculated and used to optimize the atomic geometry of the top six layers of atoms. The bottom layers are fixed to simulate the bulk diamond. The broken symmetry of the pyramidal tip gives rise to unique features in the LDOS compared to the slab or flat-surface geometry. In the tip geometry, there are unoccupied states just above the topmost occupied energy states which gives rise to a more ‘metallic’ like behavior in the presence of an applied electric field. Since the tunneling characteristics depend strongly on the local density of states at the ‘surface’, it is expected (without even considering field enhancement effects) that the field electron energy distribution from these tips will be significantly different from so called flat or ‘blunt’ field emitters.
Stochastic learning models with distributions of parameters

Abstract This paper investigates the effect on properties of stochastic learning models due to a distribution assumption over their parameters. The parameters of the linear model and the long-short model are assumed to be independent random variables, each with beta density. Expectations of some conditional learning statistics are taken with respect to these densities. It is concluded that the descriptive and predictive power of the models increases measurably.
Visual loop-closing with image profiles

This paper investigates the ability of image profiles, pixel-intensity sums across subsets of a video stream, to support the crucial robotic skill of place recognition through visual information alone. Building from work in which image profiles are the fundamental image representation for a model of biological neural processing [3, 4, 5], this paper offers a conceptually simpler approach to simultaneous localization and mapping via a single camera (monocular SLAM). In contrast to feature-based approaches in which extraction and statistical post-processing dominate the computation, this work uses a representation suitable even for very simple autonomous platforms. Experiments demonstrate the ability of our profile-based path segments to compensate for the inevitable inaccuracies in odometry when creating consistent world maps.
Heat capacities, third-law entropies and thermodynamic functions of the geometrically frustrated antiferromagnetic spinels GeCo2O4 and GeNi2O4 from T= (0 to 400) K

Abstract The molar heat capacities of GeCo2O4 and GeNi2O4, two geometrically frustrated spinels, have been measured in the temperature range from T=(0.5 to 400) K. Anomalies associated with magnetic ordering occur in the heat capacities of both compounds. The transition in GeCo2O4 occurs at T=20.6 K while two peaks are found in the heat capacity of GeNi2O4, both within the narrow temperature range between 11.4
The Maude LTL Model Checker

Abstract The Maude LTL model checker supports on-the-fly explicit-state model checking of concurrent systems expressed as rewrite theories with performance comparable to that of current tools of that kind, such as SPIN. This greatly expands the range of applications amenable to model checking analysis. Besides traditional areas well supported by current tools, such as hardware and communication protocols, many new applications in areas such as rewriting logic models of cell biology, or next-generation reflective distributed systems can be easily specified and model checked with our tool.
HF radio measurements of surface currents

Abstract HF radio waves backscattered from the ocean surface can be used to measure ocean surface currents. Measurements of the range-Doppler spectrum of these signals yield the wavenumber k and the frequency ω of an ocean surface wave and its phase velocityν = ω/κ relative to the radar. Subtraction of the phase velocity of the wave in still water, c = √(g/k), yields a measure of the average current from the surface to a depth of the order of (2k)−1. A measure of the current shear is obtained by observing at more than one radio frequency. To test these ideas, surface currents were measured using both a conventional and the HF technique, and reasonable agreement was found.
Intestinal Inflammatory Biomarkers and Outcome in Pediatric Clostridium difficile Infections

Objectives To identify specific fecal biomarkers for symptomatic Clostridium difficile infection and predictors of poor outcomes. Study design We enrolled 65 children with positive C difficile testing (cases) and 37 symptomatic controls. We also analyzed stool samples from colonized and non-colonized asymptomatic children. We performed enzyme immunoassays to determine fecal interleukin (IL)-8, lactoferrin, and phosphorylated-p38 protein concentrations, and quantitative polymerase chain reaction to determine IL-8 and chemokine ligand (CXCL)-5 RNA relative transcript abundances, and C difficile bacterial burden. Results Of 68 asymptomatic controls, 16 were colonized with C difficile . Phosphorylated-p38 was specific for C difficile infection but lacked sensitivity. Fecal cytokines were elevated in samples from symptomatic children, whether cases or controls. In children with C difficile infection, fecal CXCL-5 and IL-8 messenger RNA abundances at diagnosis correlated with persistent diarrhea after 5 days of C difficile infection therapy and with treatment with vancomycin. When children with concomitant viral gastroenteritis were excluded, these correlations persisted. Time-to-diarrhea resolution was significantly longer in patients with elevated fecal cytokines at diagnosis. A logistic regression model identified high CXCL-5 messenger RNA abundance as the only predictor of persistent diarrhea. Conversely, fecal C difficile bacterial burden was not different in symptomatic and asymptomatic children and did not correlate with any clinical outcome measure. Conclusions Fecal inflammatory cytokines may be useful in distinguishing C difficile colonization from disease and identifying children with C difficile infection likely to have prolonged diarrhea.
Mechanisms and Future Directions for Angiogenesis-Based Cancer Therapies

Targeting angiogenesis represents a new strategy for the development of anticancer therapies. New targets derived from proliferating endothelial cells may be useful in developing anticancer drugs that prolong or stabilize the progression of tumors with minimal systemic toxicities. These drugs may also be used as novel imaging and radiommunotherapeutic agents in cancer therapy. In this review, the mechanisms and control of angiogenesis are discussed. Genetic and proteomic approaches to defining new potential targets on tumor vasculature are then summarized, followed by discussion of possible antiangiogenic treatments that may be derived from these targets and current clinical trials. Such strategies involve the use of endogenous antiangiogenic agents, chemotherapy, gene therapy, antiangiogenic radioligands, immunotherapy, and endothelial cell-based therapies. The potential biologic end points, toxicities, and resistance mechanisms to antiangiogenic agents must be considered as these therapies enter clinical trials.
Graphite oxide as a precursor for the synthesis of disordered graphenes using the aerosol-through-plasma method

Abstract The synthesis and characterization of graphene-like materials, prepared by plasma processing of graphite oxide is described. The thermal exfoliation and reduction of graphite oxide was obtained by passing an aerosol of coarsely ground graphite oxide with no solvent through a low-power (900 W) microwave generated plasma, with argon as the carrier and plasma gas. The reduced material obtained by this aerosol-through-plasma method was characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, Raman, X-ray photoelectron and solid state 13C NMR spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, thermo-gravimetric and elemental analysis and surface area analysis methods. These materials consist of single to few-layers of graphene and displays high disorder, large surface areas (∼640 m2/g) and low (
The challenge of incorporating research on play into the practice of preschool education

Abstract Research and theory on play is discussed to draw out implications for practice and policy in early childhood education (ECE.). Illustrations of advancements in outlooks on play are given to suggest progress in the field of ECE. The importance of play in defining developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) is then raised relative to the educational philosophy of constructivism and the concept of choice. Structural and attitudinal factors impeding the translation of research on children's play into practice can be removed through improved dissemination, collaborative research, and teacher preparation.
Nanostructure and Electrical Properties of Anodized Al Gate Insulators for Thin-Film Transistors

A novel anodic oxidation method for aluminum thin-film on the glass substrate is proposed for the fabrication of a gate insulator in thin-film transistor (TFT). A proposed rear-positioned cathode makes for much more smooth surface with an average surface roughness of under 4 nm in comparison with conventional cathode positions. The anodic oxidation conditions were comprehensively investigated. The current density, ethylene glycol concentration, and cathode position were chosen as the elements of anodic oxidation condition matrix, and all these conditions affected the film formation. The surface morphology and nanostructure of the anodized films were characterized with an atomic force microscopy (AFM) and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Films formed at higher ethylene glycol concentrations of over 50% and higher current densities of over 0.9 mA/cm2 exhibited higher breakdown electric fields of over 7 MV/cm, and lower leakage currents. These films had relatively smooth surfaces and took on the shapes of the underlying aluminum. In contrast, films formed at lower ethylene glycol concentrations of under 50% and lower current densities of under 0.9 mA/cm2 had rough surfaces and microvoids. A high concentration of ethylene glycol increases the cost of mass production, however, the proposed rear-positioned cathode method can be achieved even when the concentration of ethylene glycol is under 50%.
Macrodiversity technique for improvement in BER in wireless systems

The authors analyse a novel macrodiversity scheme, the multiply-detected macrodiversity (MDM) scheme, which relies on post-detection combining, as opposed to the traditional macrodiversity techniques, which are selection-based. The average fraction of the cell area is evaluated with an improved bit error rate (BER) performance, average BER improvement, and improvement in the average outage probability, relative to three other selection-based macrodiversity schemes. As a point of reference, the average improvement in BER is always at least one order of magnitude throughout at least 25%, of the cell area, when the probability of the co-channel interferer's presence is not >70%.
Cyclotron resonance of the 2D electron crystal

Abstract 2 GHz cyclotron reasonance measurements are reported for electrons on liquid helium. Temperatures range from 50 to 400 mK, spanning the crystallization transition for several electron densities. The density produces an additive correction to the linewidth of the resonance.
Osmoregulation in Rhizobium meliloti: inhibition of growth by salts

A defined medium of low osmolarity was developed permitting growth of Rhizobium meliloti with generation times of approximately 2.8 h doubling-1. The effects of sodium, potassium, magnesium, ammonium, chloride, sulfate, phosphate, bicarbonate and acetate ions on the growth rate of R. meliloti were determined. Sodium, potassium and ammonium ions had little effect on growth at concentrations of 100 mEq or less; magnesium ion inhibited growth severely at concentrations of 50 mEq (25 mM). Of the anions, chloride and sulfate appeared to have little effect while phosphate, bicarbonate, and acetate inhibited growth at concentrations of as little as 25 mEq. The addition of proline, glutamate, or betaine to cells growing in inhibitory concentrations of NaCl did not relieve the inhibition. When grown in the presence of inhibitory levels of NaCl, the intracellular concentration of glutamate but not of proline or gamma amino butyric acid increased 5-fold.
An Efficient Mixed-Mode Brittle Fracture Experiment Using Paper

Mixed-mode fracture is a common failure phenomenon of materials, while its experiment requires at least a material test machine, test materials and special machining procedures. In this paper, a simple but effective mixed-mode fracture experiment using office paper is proposed, so one can easily conduct the mixed-mode fracture experiment and understand its fracture criteria such as the maximum tensile stress (MTS) criterion.
Human Evolution: Neandertal gene speaks out.

Summary An analysis of Neandertal DNA indicates that they shared with living humans a form of the FOXP2 gene, the absence of which impairs speech and cognitive processing related to human language.
Metropolitan Influence and Land Use Competition in Potential Biomass Crop Production: A Spatial Demographic Analysis

Biomass is one alternative energy source that is currently being investigated to combat the growing U.S. dependence on foreign oil. In this study, we explore where traditional farming practices and metropolitan influence will compete for land use against farmland located in optimal biomass crop production zones. To date, no consideration of the impact of urbanization and human development has been taken into account. Here we make a take a seminal approach to examining this relationship given previous analyses. We use overlapping LISA statistics to identify significant clusters of counties facing competition for land use. To measure competition for land use in counties located within biomass zones circa 2000, we use population growth and housing data from Census Bureau estimates, farmland data from the Census of Agriculture, and remotely sensed land use/cover data from the United States Geological Survey. The implications of these factors and how they will potentially affect biomass crop production are discussed.
Biological Control of Grape Powdery Mildew Using Mycophagous Mites.

English-Loeb, G., Norton, A. P., Gadoury, D., Seem, R., and Wilcox, W. 2007. Biological control of grape powdery mildew using mycophagous mites. Plant Dis. 91:421-429. We evaluated the efficacy of a mycophagous tydeid mite, Orthotydeus lambi, in controlling grape powdery mildew on mature vines of nine different grape cultivars and one unnamed hybrid grown in an experimental vineyard over a 3-year period. O. lambi became well established on all vines where they were released. However, some cultivars supported higher densities than others, depending on, among other factors, the presence and abundance of leaf trichomes in vein axils (domatia). The establishment of O. lambi substantially reduced powdery mildew on foliage and fruit, although the magnitude of disease suppression was greater on some grape genotypes than others, depending on mite density and innate susceptibility to grape powdery mildew. Treatments where O. lambi was used alone were as effective as fungicide. Significantly better disease control was found in treatments with both mites and fungicides. The mass of pruning material and leaf photosynthetic rates were significantly greater for vines with O. lambi, fungicide, or a combination of mites and fungicide compared with untreated vines. The combination of mites and fungicide resulted in significantly greater yield than mites or fungicide alone. Our results illustrate the potential of O. lambi for biological control of grape powdery mildew but also highlight limitations related to differences among grape genotypes in innate susceptibility to mildew and suitability for mites.
Frequency and maintenance of genetic variability in natural populations of Macaca fascicularis

Abstract This study is concerned with analyzing the genetic variability in three populations of Macaca fascicularis . By the use of starch gel electrophoresis and immunoelectrophoresis, blood samples from Malaysian, Thai and Philippine populations were screened for seven proteins in an effort to gain an unbiased estimate of the frequency of polymorphic loci. In the course of the screening, polymorphisms were found for prealbumin, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, carbonic anhydrase I and esterase AI. Differences in the degree of heterozygosity are noted between populations and ecological explanations for the results are offered. A comparison is also drawn with the results of a similar study utilizing the more variable Drosophila pseudoobscura . While the concept of genetic load might indicate that the high variability must be due to neutral mutations, the load concept is shown to be of limited validity. Thus it is theoretically possible that the polymorphisms observed are due to selection.
Economics of Integrated Pest Management: Discussion

Pest managment offers numerous opportunities for challenging economics research. Investigation of the economic aspects of agricultural pest control is in high demand. This area of research, however, is fraught with potential problems. I will use the three papers presented in this session to illustrate some common problem areas. Good interdisciplinary communication is essential to the success of empirical investigations of pest management and other agricultural issues. Economists and plant protection scientists are dependent upon one another for data, methodology, and research results. As Swanson has aptly pointed out, economists must take care to be sure that they understand the biological system with which they are working and also must transmit a good understanding of economic systems to the biological science community. Taylor's paper is an attempt to avoid some of the problems that can arise from a lack of such mutual understand-
In Vivo and in Vitro Aging of Orthopedic Aluminas

The flexural strength, microstructure and relative Ca and Si concentration at the surface of two commercial orthopedic aluminas were studied before and after aging up to 52 weeks in simulated body fluids or in subcutaneous implantation in rodents. There was no significant reduction in flexural strength after aging, but there was evidence of Ca and Si dissolution from the external grain boundary surfaces, particularly for specimens aged in demineralized water. No change occurred in the Ca and Si concentrations within the specimen's bulk during either in vivo or in vitro aging.
Psychosocial correlates of hemoglobin A1c in young adults with type I diabetes

To determine whether psychosocial variables are related to long-term glycemic control; trait anxiety, depression, loneliness and life stress were assessed in 48 Type I diabetic patients. Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), an indicator of long-term glycemic utilization, was assayed from blood samples drawn shortly before the self-report instruments were administered. Of the psychosocial variables, anxiety was significantly related to current values of HbA1c. The association between anxiety and current HbA1c remained after statistically controlling for potentially confounding variables, including the previous value of HbA1c. Despite the stability of HbA1c values over time, anxiety scores were not significantly correlated with follow-up HbA1c. The implications of the significant relationships between psychological constructs and glycemic control are discussed.
A standards-based approach to gray-scale health assessment using fuzzy fault trees

As part of a project to examine how current standards focused on test and diagnosis might be extended to address requirements for prognostics and health management, we have been exploring alternatives for incorporating facilities to represent gray-scale health information in the IEEE Std 1232 Standard for Artificial Intelligence Exchange and Service Tie to All Test Environments (AI-ESTATE). In this work, we extend the AI-ESTATE Common Element Model to provide “soft outcomes” on tests and diagnoses. We then demonstrate how to use these soft outcomes with the AI-ESTATE Fault Tree Model to implement a “fuzzy” fault tree. The resulting model then enables isolating faults within a system such that levels of degradation can also be tracked. In this paper, we describe the proposed extensions to AI-ESTATE as well as how those extensions work to implement a fuzzy fault tree using the demonstration circuit from previous Automatic Test Markup Language (ATML) demonstrations.
Under the microscope: Single molecule symposium at the University of Michigan, 2006

In recent years, a revolution has occurred in the basic sciences, which exploits novel single molecule detection and manipulation tools to track and analyze biopolymers in unprecedented detail. A recent Gordon Research Conference style meeting, hosted by the University of Michigan, highlighted current status and future perspectives of this rising field as researchers begin to integrate it with mainstream biology and nanotechnology. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 85:106–114, 2007
Review questions in orthopaedics

Abstract Arthroscopy: The Journal of Arthroscopic and Related surgery, Vol 19, No 4 (April), 2003: pp 446–450
The Isolation and Characterization of a Novel Telomerase Immortalized First Trimester Trophoblast Cell Line, Swan 71

Studies using first trimester trophoblast cells may be limited by the inability to obtain patient samples and/or adequate cell numbers. First trimester trophoblast cell lines have been generated by SV40 transformation or similar methods, however, this approach is known to induce phenotypic and karyotypic abnormalities. The introduction of telomerase has been proposed to be a viable alternative for the immortalization of primary human cells. To investigate whether telomerase-induced immortalization might be a more feasible approach for the generation of first trimester trophoblast cell lines, we isolated primary trophoblast cells from a 7-week normal placenta and infected the cells with human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), the catalytic subunit of telomerase. Although this hTERT-infected first trimester trophoblast cell line, which we have named Swan 71, has been propagated for more than 100 passages, it still has attributes that are characteristic of primary first trimester trophoblast cells. The Swan 71 cells are positive for the expression of cytokeratin 7, vimentin and HLA-G, but do not express CD45, CD68 or the Fibroblast Specific Antigen (FSA), CD90/Thy-1. In addition, we also demonstrated that the Swan 71 cells secrete fetal fibronectin (FFN) as well as low levels of human Chorionic Gonadotrophin (hCG). Moreover, the Swan 71 cells exhibit a cytokine and growth factor profile that is similar to primary trophoblast cells and are resistant to Fas, but not TNF-alpha-induced apoptosis. This suggests that the Swan 71 cells may represent a valuable model for future in vitro trophoblast studies.
On the calculation of scattering cross sections from absorption cross sections

Abstract A dispersion-type relation between photon scattering and absorption cross sections is derived. It is shown that the relation gives the correct scattering cross section in the low and high frequency limits, and is consistent with the Kramers-Heisenberg formula in the vicinity of a resonance. The practical application of the relation is illustrated by calculations of the scattering cross section and refractive index of He and Ne at STP and dry air at 1200°K from known absorption cross section data. The method is useful for obtaining scattering cross sections, polarizabilities, and refractive indices at elevated temperatures.
Visual discrimination of orientation by pigeons.

Abstract 1. 1. Pigeons were trained to discriminate between various combinations of horizontal, vertical and oblique rectangles. 2. 2. The results indicate that the pigeon, like the cat but unlike several other species, readily discriminates between rectangles oriented in different directions, has no difficulty with discriminations involving obliques and shows immediate transfer from simultaneous to successive discrimination situations.
Platelet mitochondrial respiratory chain function in Parkinson's disease

Reports on mitochondrial respiratory chain (MRC) complex I (CI) dysfunction in the substantia nigra in Parkinson's disease (PD) support the oxidative stress hypothesis in the neuropathogenesis of PD. Studies in peripheral tissue have found variable decreased CI and occasionally other complex activity suggestive of systemic impairment of MRC function in PD; however, MRC activity may be influenced by numerous variables. We conducted spectrophotometric measurements of MRC function in platelet mitochondrial preparations in 13 individuals with PD and 9 age-matched controls (CON) and have identified additional variables that may affect MRC activity. Mean CI, CIII, CIV, and citrate synthase (CS) activities were similar between PD and CON. CIII and CIV, specific and CS-corrected, activities were significantly positively correlated with CI in combined and individual group data, with the exception of CIII CS-corrected and CIV specific activities in CON and PD, respectively. CIII and CS specific activities were negatively correlated with age in CON, but varied randomly in PD. In PD, CIII specific activity was 1.4-fold higher in those with a history of environmental risk factors for PD and CIV specific activity was lower in those with a positive family history of PD [8.34 +/- 0.74 (n = 4) vs. 12.4 +/- 1.1 (SEM) min-1 mg-1; p = 0.046]. Group heterogeneity, variables affecting enzyme activity, and intrinsic properties of cells may thus contribute to conflicting data in studies of MRC function in platelets and other tissues.