cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Maintenance and achievement of national interests and security policy of the European Union

The objective of the research of connection between national interests and the security policy of the European Union is to perceive the possibilities of the Balkan states to preserve their identity and achieve their vital and permanent national interests by their membership in the European Union. According to the author, the implementation of the security policy of European Union is often opposite to one’s own national interests. However, a pragmatic question for political leaders is how to resolve the following dilemma: „is the created european security identity more important at the moment than the preservation of immediate or some permanent national interests“? The author points to the fact that the notion of national interests is a variable both historically and theoretically. Political, economic, security and other objectives determine vital national interests in some historical periods. At the same time, not rarely, some states alter their strategies and objectives for their own interests assessing whether the conditions prevailing in the internal and external surroundings have changed. The author devotes special attention to a comparative analysis of defining, determining and conceptual determination of national interests from the aspect of national security policies of some important states and the European Union. The second part of the article contains an analysis of the response of a group of Macedonian experts to the questions pertaining to the possibility of preserving and achieving of national interests of the Republic of Macedonia through its membership in the European Union.
A comparative content analytical study of negative news in western and third world newspapers

Since the advent of the NWIO debate, the Western media have been under attack over the perceived emphasis on negative news when dealing with Third World countries. This paper seeks to determine the degree of bias between Western and Third World media in their reporting of each other, and examines the role of culture in perceiving/selecting news of one kind over another. The study covers four elite English‐language daily newspapers from the US, UK, India and Nigeria.
Exploring Electrochromics: A Series of Eye-Catching Experiments To Introduce Students to Multidisciplinary Research

Introducing students to a multidisciplinary research laboratory presents challenges in terms of learning specific technical skills and concepts but also with respect to integrating different technical elements to form a coherent picture of the research. Here we present a multidisciplinary series of experiments we have developed in the Electronic, Optical, and Nano Materials group at Sandia National Laboratories to introduce students to essential experimental methods and concepts spanning thin film synthesis, crystallography, electrochemistry, and optical spectroscopy. With minimal assistance from a qualified instructor, students apply a sol–gel method to synthesize electrochromic tungsten oxide (WO3) thin films and evaluate their performance with electrochemistry, UV–vis spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. We find that the color changing WO3 films capture the students’ attention, are technologically relevant, and make excellent materials platforms for multidisciplinary research as they invite investigati...
Own-Ethnicity Bias in the Recognition of Black, East Asian, Hispanic, and White Faces

Black, East Asian, Hispanic, and White young adult Americans were asked to view and later recognize ethnic faces (Black, East Asian, Hispanic, and White) of children and young adults in a study of own-ethnicity and own-age bias. Own-ethnicity and own-age biases were found. Hispanics recognized Hispanic and White faces better than Asian and Black faces, Blacks recognized Black and White faces better than Asian and Hispanic faces, Asians recognized Asian faces better than Black faces and marginally better than White and Hispanic faces, and Whites recognized White faces better than those of other ethnicities. Results are discussed with respect to contact and facial encoding hypotheses.
The 2011 Tornadoes and the Future of Tornado Research

The 2011 tornadoes are highlighted and the future of tornado research is discussed. The tornadoes of 2011 highlight a unique and the toughest problem in protecting the public from severe weather, the long-track, violent tornado. The 27 April 2011 tornado outbreak across the southern United States set a record for the most tornadoes in a 24-h period and was the second deadliest in U.S. history. To address this threat, engineers have developed safe rooms and underground shelters capable of protecting residents from even the strongest tornadoes. Permanent homes provide substantial protection for residents against most tornadic winds. Emerging technologies like mobile Doppler radars, short-wavelength radars, and phased-array radars may allow the observation of the lower levels of thunderstorms to identify the winds in a tornado. Relocation to low-probability areas would substantially reduce mobile-home fatalities and could be accomplished at relatively low cost due to the nature of mobile-home facilities.
Differential Susceptibility of Human Peripheral Blood T Cells to Suppression by Environmental Levels of Sodium Arsenite and Monomethylarsonous Acid

Human exposure to arsenic in drinking water is known to contribute to many different health outcomes such as cancer, diabetes, and cardiopulmonary disease. Several epidemiological studies suggest that T cell function is also altered by drinking water arsenic exposure. However, it is unclear how individual responses differ to various levels of exposure to arsenic. Our laboratory has recently identified differential responses of human peripheral blood mononuclear cell (HPMBC) T cells as measured by polyclonal T cell activation by mitogens during sodium arsenite exposure. T cells from certain healthy individuals exposed to various concentrations (1–100 nM) of arsenite in vitro showed a dose-dependent suppression at these extremely low concentrations (∼0.1–10 ppb) of arsenite, whereas other individuals were not suppressed at low concentrations. In a series of more than 30 normal donors, two individuals were found to be sensitive to low concentration (10 nM equivalent ∼1 ppb drinking water exposure) to sodium arsenite-induced inhibition of T cell proliferation produced by phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and anti-CD3/anti-CD28. In an arsenite-susceptible individual, arsenite suppressed the activation of Th1 (Tbet) cells, and decreased the percentage of cells in the double positive Th17 (RORγt) and Treg (FoxP3) population. While the majority of normal blood donors tested were not susceptible to inhibition of proliferation at the 1–100 nM concentrations of As+3, it was found that all donors were sensitive to suppression by 100 nM monomethylarsonous acid (MMA+3), a key metabolite of arsenite. Thus, our studies demonstrate for the first time that low ppb-equivalent concentrations of As+3 are immunosuppressive to HPBMC T cells in some individuals, but that most donor HPBMC are sensitive to suppression by MMA+3 at environmentally relevant exposure levels.
Survey of experimental tests of the IBA model

Abstract A survey of experimental tests of the Interacting Boson Approximation (IBA) Model Is presented covering even and odd mass nuclei in the region from A ∼ 80 to A ∼ 230. Both positive and negative parity states with both high and low spin are discussed. Topics Included concern energy levels, electromagnetic transition rates, two nucleon transfer and Inelastic scattering. Special attention Is given to nuclear symmetries and transitional regions. Comparison with other models Is made where appropriate. The distinction between IBA-1 and IBA-2 is discussed Including their respective areas of applicability.
Influence of solvent polarity on light-induced thermal cycles in plasmonic nanofluids

Pattern formation often reveals constituent nonlinear mechanisms of a complex system. Here, we study self-synchronizing, light-induced thermal cycles in plasmonically absorbing nanofluids, whose anomalous thermal, optomechanical, electrochemical, and hydrodynamic responses are not yet well understood. We show that the oscillatory behavior—caused by light grazing the nanofluid meniscus—exhibits a strong dependence on hydrogen bonding in the solvent environment and that there are low-intensity optical thresholds in alcohol–water binary-solvent nanofluids. Moreover, these thermal cycles occur with a periodic, vertically discharging heat-dissipation mechanism, which could be facilitated by nanobubbles or thermophoresis. We show that an incoherent white-light source, such as sunlight, will also induce self-synchronizing thermal cycles; in this demonstration, we illustrate new methods of energy storage, transfer, and harvesting that will not alter the natural carbon cycle of life.
The life-cycle impacts of aluminum body-in-white automotive material

In this study, life-cycle comparisons of energy usage and CO2 emission of aluminum vs. conventional steel and the ultralight steel auto body were made for body-in-white applications at both the vehicle and fleet levels. The analysis considered three major stages of the life cycle: manufacturing, use, and recycling. The analysis also studied how life-cycle energy and emission benefits are affected by changes in input parameter values, such as manufacturing energy, vehicle-sales growth rate, secondary weight savings, fuel efficiency, and a lower aluminum replacement rate.
Crassabwa : a new genus of small minnow mayflies (Ephemeroptera : Baetidae) from Africa

Crassabwa Lugo-Ortiz & McCafferty (Ephemeroptera : Baetidae), n. gen., is erected for a small monophyletic group of distinctive Afrotropical species previously assigned to Afroptilum Gillies and Centroptilum Eaton, including C. badia (Kopelke), n. comb., C. flava (Crass), n. comb. (type species), C. loweae (Kimmins), n. comb., and C. vitrea (Navas), n. comb. Larvae of Crassabwa are distinguished by possessing a thumb-like distomedial process on labial palp segment 2, a proximal arc of setae on the tibiae, two enlarged subapical denticles in the tarsal claws, and seven gill pairs with posteriorly oriented tracheae and anterodistal marginal serration. Adults are distinguished by possessing hindwings with two longitudinal veins and an elongate, acute costal process, and a robust segment 3 of the male genital forceps. The larval stage of C. flava is redescribed, and new figures are provided to illustrate previously overlooked characters.
17β-estradiol stimulates MAPK signaling pathway in human lens epithelial cell cultures preventing collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential during acute oxidative stress

17beta-estradiol (17beta-E2) protects against H2O2-mediated depletion of intracellular ATP and lessens the degree of depolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential (DeltaPsi(m)) in cultured lens epithelial cells consequential to oxidative insult. We now report that 17beta-E2 acts as a positive regulator of the survival signal transduction pathway, MAPK which, in turn, acts to stabilize DeltaPsi(m) in effect, attenuating the extent of depolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential in the face of acute oxidative stress. The SV-40 viral transformed human cell line, HLE-B3 was treated with 17beta-E2 over a time course of 60 min and phosphorylation of ERK1/2 was analyzed by Western blot. ERK1/2 was phosphorylated within 5-15 min in the presence of 17beta-E2. Cell cultures were exposed to the MEK1/2 inhibitor, UO126, subsequent to H2O2+/-17beta-E2 treatment and the DeltaPsi(m) examined using JC-1, a potentiometric dye which serves as an indicator for the state of mitochondrial membrane potential. UO126 treatment attenuated ERK1/2 phosphorylation irrespective of whether estradiol was administered. Mitochondrial membrane depolarization resulting from H2O2 stress was substantially greater in the presence of UO126. The greater the extent of depolarization, the less effective 17beta-E2 treatment was in checking mitochondrial membrane depolarization, indicating that the relative degree of ERK phosphorylation influences mitochondrial stability with oxidative insult. The data support a positive correlation between 17beta-E2 stimulation of ERK1/2 phosphorylation and mitochondrial stabilization that would otherwise cause a complete collapse of DeltaPsi(m).
Evaluation of short-term cue recollection following entorhinal cortical lesions in rats.

To evaluate the performance of rats with entorhinal cortical (EC) lesions in a task which requires the short-term recollection of a cue, we designed a T maze with a start arm appended to the stem of the T which could be adjusted to require either a right or left turn into the stem. This forced turn was then used as the cue to guide performance at the choice point of the T. Two groups were trained with different contingencies. In the first (same turn), rats were trained to turn right at the choice if their forced “cue” turn had been to the right, and left if the cue turn had been left. In the second, the opposite contingencies applied (opposite turn). Normal animals found the former of these tasks considerably more difficult than the latter, requiring an average of 30 days (at 10 trials/day) to learn the “same turn” contingency and 15 days to learn the “opposite turn.” In addition, the version of the task which was easier for normal animals (opposite turn) was essentially unaffected by bilateral EC lesions, while the “same turn” contingency was profoundly disrupted. In addition to exhibiting no ability to perform according to the contingencies of the “same turn” task, the animals with bilateral EC lesions exhibited a high degree of perseveration of position preference, choosing one goal arm exclusively regardless of the cue turn. These results are considered in the light of the “cognitive map” and the “working memory” hypotheses which have been advanced to account for the behavioral deficits resulting from damage to the hippocampus and its circuitry.
AFS Men and Women Differ Most in Their Lifestyle Choices

Abstract The American Fisheries Society sponsored a survey to examine the career development choices of men and women and how they might differ by gender. A random sample of 700 men and 700 women was selected from the AFS membership database. The survey was mailed out in October 2004 and 991 questionnaires were returned for an adjusted response rate of 71%. Some differences exist between men and women in the areas of interest development, education, and employment, but the substantive differences occur in lifestyle choices. Women with a fisheries career are less likely to be married than men, even when age is controlled for, and women who are married are more likely to have dual-career considerations than their male counterparts. Among respondents without dependents in their home during their professional career, twice as many women as men think having children will adversely affect their career. For those with dependents, more than twice as many women as men said they had to put their career “on hold” be...
Ethical contexts of healing: Ecclesia and praxis

We have suggested that the church is called to reflect the Reign of God. To do so it must engage in a process of careful reflection on its confession that Jesus is Lord. This calls for a relativization of all other communities, the recognition of the church as a community in its own right and the rejection of ethical individualism. To be a healing community it will need to discern a response to the mental health needs around us. In the third article in this series, I will focus on the character of healers that might emerge if we were to take more seriously the Reign of God as an ethical culture and the church as a discerning community.
Review article: Role of the enteric microflora in the pathogenesis of intestinal inflammation and arthritis

Strong associations exist between intestinal inflammation and arthritis, ranging from infections with enteric pathogens to idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease. Increased exposure of the lamina propia and systemic circulation to enteric microflora and their products are a result of increased proliferation of the luminal bacteria, pathogenic invasion or enhanced mucosal permeability. Data suggest that anaerobic bacteria and other constituents of the normal luminal microbial flora induce and sustain chronic intestinal inflammation and arthritis. However, the normal host develops a tolerance to such bacteria and maintains homeostasis through a controlled inflammatory response and an almost impermeable mucosal barrier.
Rethinking Algorithms for Games: Towards High-Fidelity Effects in Interactive Environments

Summary form only given. We argue that real-time domain of interactive games requires completely new approach to algorithms for most problems in computer graphics. To illustrate this point, we describe our recent work on two very different phenomena, human locomotion and fluid simulations, and show how the requirements of high-fidelity, realtime performance and unconditional stability resulted in some very unusual algorithms to these well studied problems.
Comparing the Effects of Unknown-Known Ratios on Word Reading Learning Versus Learning Rates

An extension of G. L. Cates et al. (2003) investigation was conducted to determine if students’ cumulative learning rates would be superior for words read under a traditional drill and practice condition (as they were for spelling in the previous study) than under interspersal conditions of varying ratios of unknown to known words. Participants consisted of three intermediate grade students who were delayed readers. They received a less challenging ratio of unknown to known word (High-P sequencing) interspersal procedure, a more challenging ratio of unknown to known word interspersal training procedure, and a traditional drill and practice procedure in an alternating fashion across several tutoring sessions. Cumulative words read with mastery and cumulative rates of words read with mastery were measured across sessions for each participant under each instructional condition. Findings were consistent with the Cates et al., study revealing that children learn more words per minute of instructional time under the traditional drill and practice condition. These results further support examining instructional efficiency as well as effectiveness when making decisions about selecting and implementing interventions.
Group-testing, halving procedures, and binary search

Group-testing procedures for minimizing the expected number of tests needed to classify N units as either good or bad are described, The units are assumed to have come independently from a binomial population with common probability p of being defective and q = 1-p of being good, Special consideration is given to comparing certain halving procedures with the correspending optimal procedures for the problem of finding one defective if it exists, and the problem of finding all the defectives.
The GMDH Algorithm of Ivakhnenko

Abstract In 1966, the Russian cyberneticist, A.G. Ivakhnenko, introduced a technique for constructing an extremely high-order regression-type polynomial. The algorithm, the Group Method of Data Handling (GMDH), builds a multinomial of degree in the hundreds, whereas standard multiple regression becomes bogged down in computation and linear dependence. The GMDH method is ideal for complex, unstructured systems where the investigator is only interested in obtaining a high-order input-output relationship. Also, the Ivakhnenko algorithm is heuristic in nature and is not based on a solid foundation as is regression analysis.
Returning (to) the gift of death: violence and history in Derrida and Levinas

The purpose of this paper is to establish a proper context for reading Jacques Derrida’s The Gift of Death, which, I contend, can only be understood fully against the backdrop of “Violence and Metaphysics.” The later work cannot be fully understood unless the reader appreciates the fact that Derrida returns to “a certain Abraham” not only in the name of Kierkegaard but also in the name of Levinas himself. The hypothesis of the reading that follows therefore would be that Derrida writes The Gift of Death not as an attempt to re-present Kierkegaard’s Abraham either rightly or wrongly but as an effort to do with Kierkegaard’s Abraham what is possible with his thought in a broadly Levinasian/Derridean framework. That the reading he provides of the Abraham story would not be recognizable to Kierkegaard is not the principal point of Derrida’s effort; his aim is to demonstrate that Levinas should not have been so hasty to dismiss Kierkegaard but could have recovered his interpretation of Abraham for purposes that Derrida and Levinas both share.
Coherence of atomic matter-wave fields

In analogy to Glauber's analysis of optical coherence, we adopt an operational approach to introduce different classes of atomic coherence associated with different types of measurements. For the sake of concreteness we consider specifically fluorescence, nonresonant imaging, and ionization. We introduce definitions of coherence appropriate to them, which we call electronic, density, and field coherence, respectively. We illustrate these concepts in various descriptions of Bose-Einstein condensation, showing that each of these descriptions makes different implicit assumptions on the coherence of the system. We also study the impact of elastic collision on the field and density coherence properties of atom lasers.
How many solutions does x 2 + 1 = 0 have?: an abstract algebra project

ABSTRACT This paper describes both the implementation and the mathematics of an Abstract Algebra project. The project begins with a seemingly simple question about a polynomial equation. It provides a concrete setting for exploring the relationships between polynomials, matrices, modular arithmetic, unique factorization, roots of unity, and order of group elements to help students understand the underlying abstract ring, field, and group theory.
Monotremes as Pretribosphenic Mammals

An abundance of evidence points to the conclusion that monotremes are phyletically allied with pretribosphenic, rather than with tribosphenic, mammals. Monotremes do not have a tribosphenic dentition. Character analyses that apply tribosphenic cusp terminology to monotreme dentitions are implicitly limited thereby. A review of the molar dentition of living and fossil monotremes suggests that upper molars are composed of a strongly developed pretribosphenic paracone and metacone and a series of stylar cusps attached to them in a bicrescentic, or dilambdodont, fashion. The lower molars are composed of a trigonid, with a pretribosphenic protoconid, paraconid, and metaconid, and distal metacristid. The paraconid of m1 is reduced or lost. The talonid is composed of the pretribosphenic hypoconid, hypoconulid, and cristid obliqua. There is no evidence for a tribosphenic entoconid, nor for a talonid basin. There was no tribosphenic protocone. Monotremes are not related to other taxa included in Australosphenida. The dentition of Cretaceous taxa, such as Teinolophos and Steropodon, apparently still functioned by orthal mechanisms, whereas by the “medial” Paleocene (Monotrematum) and later (Obdurodon), monotremes appear to have accommodated a diet of soft-bodied organisms that left little trace of a mastication regime that had changed to apical wear via propalinal motion. Monotremes appear to be modern representatives of a Mesozoic radiation of pretribosphenic mammals centered largely in Gondwana, where they still reside today.
Synthesis and characterization of hypoelectronic rhenaboranes. Analysis of the geometric and electronic structures of species following neither borane nor metal cluster electron-counting paradigms.

The reaction of (Cp*ReH2)2B4H4 with monoborane leads to the sequential formation of (Cp*Re)2BnHn (n ) 7-10, 1-4). These species adopt closed deltahedra with the same total connectivities as the closo-borane anions (BnHn) 2- , n ) 9-12, but with flattened geometries rather than spherical shapes. These rhenaborane clusters are characterized by high metal coordination numbers, Re-Re cross-cluster distances within the Re-Re single bond range, and formal cluster electron counts three skeletal electron pairs short of that required for a canonical closo-structure of the same nuclearity. An open cluster, (Cp*ReH)2B7H9 (5), is isolated that bears the same structural relationship to arachno-B9H15 as 1-4 bear to the closo-borane anions. Chloroborane permits the isolation of (Cp*ReH)2B5Cl5 (6), an isoelectronic chloro- analogue of known open (Cp*WH2)2B5H5 and (Cp*Re)2B6H4Cl2 (7), a triple-decker complex containing a planar, six-membered 1,2-B6H4Cl2 ring. Both are putative five- and six-boron intermediates in the formation of 1. Electronic structure calculations (extended Huckel and density functional theory) yield geometries in agreement with the structure determinations, large HOMO-LUMO gaps in accord with the high stabilities, and 11B chemical shifts accurately reflecting the observed shifts. Analyses of the bonding in 1-4 reveal that the Cp*Re‚‚‚Cp*Re interaction generates fragment orbitals that are able to contribute the "missing" three skeletal electron pairs required for skeletal bonding. The necessity of a Re‚‚‚Re interaction for strong cluster bonding requires a borane fragment shape change to accommodate it, thereby explaining the noncanonical geometries. Application of the debor principle of borane chemistry to the shapes of 1-4 readily rationalizes the observed geometries of 5 and 6. This evidence of the scope of transition metal fragment control of borane geometry suggests the existence of a large class of metallaboranes with structures not found in known borane or metal clusters.
Rotational Dynamics of HCN−M (M = Na, K, Rb, Cs) van der Waals Complexes Formed on the Surface of Helium Nanodroplets†

Infrared laser spectroscopy was used to probe the unique rotational dynamics of the HCN-M (M = Na, K, Rb, Cs) complexes formed on the surface of helium droplets. The nu1 CH stretch ro-vibrational spectra were measured revealing what appears to be the P and R contours of a nearly rigid linear rotor. To simulate the linear molecule spectra, given a rotational temperature of 0.37 K, effective moments of inertia, IB, were required to be 10(4)-10(5) amu.A2 larger than the ab initio predicted values. The large moments of inertia were found to be strongly dependent on both the mass of the complex and the size of the helium droplet, consistent with a model where the dopant is located in a dimple site on the surface of the droplet. In this model, the moment of inertia is representative of the rotational motion of the dopant on the surface about an inertial axis through the center of the droplet.
Sequence stratigraphy and hydrocarbon potential of Cenomanian-Eocene interval, Jeanne d'Arc Basin, offshore Newfoundland

Exploration for petroleum started in the Jeanne d’Arc basin in 1964. Since then 155 000 km of seismic have been shot and 61 wells (40 exploration and 21 delineation) have been drilled. The exploration effort has resulted in 12 discoveries, the largest of which, Hibernia with an estimated 666 million bbl recoverable oil, is in the development phase.
BLINDFOLDED JUSTICE LED BY AN INVISIBLE HAND: Criminal Justice as a Variable of Exchange Transactions

The article argues that instead of viewing the criminal justice process as determined by judicial or prosecutorial discretion, it should be seen as the outcome of exchange transactions that are designed to adjust resource constraints between case inflows and outflows. These exchanges, over which judges and prosecutors have only little control in the aggregate, generate changes in the criminal justice system in an unplanned or “invisible hand” fashion. They alter the sentence level, affect the standard of proof and the rules of evidence, and transform the function of trials. Several of the analytical conclusions are confirmed by an empirical investigation.
ATP hydrolysis kinetics by Na,K-ATPase in cataract

Abstract The steady-state kinetics of hydrolysis of Mg 2+ ATP by the epithelial Na,K-ATPase of individual human lenses were determined. Among the cataract lens population, four distinct kinetic types were observed: negative kinetic co-operativity, Michaelis-Menten kinetics, positive kinetic co-operativity, and substrate inhibition kinetics. Negative kinetic co-operativity and Michaelis-Menten kinetics were also observed in a group of presumably clear lenses from non-diabetic individuals ages 16–42 years. Substrate inhibition kinetics were found to be prevalent in individuals with mature onset diabetes. Substrate inhibition kinetics were also observed for Na,K-ATPase isolated from lenses which had been incubated in high glucose. It would appear that this modification leads to an inhibition of Na,K-ATPase-dependent K + influx into these cultured lenses.
Single droplet ignition: Theoretical analyses and experimental findings

This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Progress in Energy and Combustion Science. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, . 2014. 45: 79-107. DOI: 10.1016/j.pecs.2014.05.002.
A simple method to improve probe set estimates from oligonucleotide arrays

A popular commercially available oligonucleotide microarray technology employs sets of 25 base pair oligonucleotide probes for measurement of gene expression levels. A mathematical algorithm is required to compute an estimate of gene expression from the multiple probes. Previously proposed methods for summarizing gene expression data have either been substantially ad hoc or have relied on model assumptions that may be easily violated. Here we present a new algorithm for calculating gene expression from probe sets. Our approach is functionally related to leave-one-out cross-validation, a non-parametric statistical technique that is often applied in limited data situations. We illustrate this approach using data from our study seeking a molecular fingerprint of STAT3 regulated genes for early detection of human cancer.
Bacterial chemoreception: an important ecological phenomenon inhibited by hydrocarbons

Abstract Motile marine bacteria have been shown to display chemoreception. They are attracted to a wide range of organic compounds. The response is highly specific for each micro-organism. Chemoreception is also involved in the biodegradation of phytoplankton and enteric bacteria by bacterial predators. This ability of bacteria to detect living and non-living substrates is totally inhibited by hydrocarbons. The ecological implications of this type of sublethal effect on the self-purifying capacity of the sea and on the behavior of marine animals is discussed.
A practical method to routinely monitor resolution in digital images

A quality assurance (QA) test has been developed as a practical means to routinely monitor digital image resolution. The method is based upon a parameter termed the image modulation M. When noise is present M cannot be directly measured. Instead, a biased estimate of M, designated M', is measured. This report describes the application of the parameter M' to QA monitoring of digital image resolution. A measurement of M' is generally simpler than alternative measurements, and is shown to outperform visual evaluation in the clinical QA environment.
Daytime rapid detection of minerals and organics from 50 and 100 m distances using a remote Raman system

We have developed a remote Raman system, using an 8-in telescope and a 532-nm pulse laser (20 Hz and 20 mJ/pulse), which is capable of operating in daylight. From distances of 50 and 100 m and with an integration time of just 1 second (equivalent to 20 laser pulses at 20 Hz), good quality Raman spectra with high signal-to-noise ratios were readily obtained. The Raman system was also tested using only single-laser-pulse excitation (8 ns pulse width) with an integration time of 2 μs. The spectra obtained from single-laser-pulse excitation also show clear Raman features and can be used for rapid, unambiguous identification of various chemical substances. We successfully identified a number of substances, including organic chemicals (acetone, naphthalene, nitro-methane, nitro-benzene and cyclohexane); inorganic chemicals and minerals (nitric acids, sulfuric acid, potassium perchlorate, gypsum, ammonium nitrate, epsomite, melanterite, calcite and sulfur); and amino acids. The remote Raman system has a range of applications, such as environmental monitoring (e.g., detection of hazardous chemicals and chemical spills from a safe distance in real time) or homeland security (e.g., rapid identification of chemicals on a conveyor belt or from a fast-moving object).
Multistage carcinogenesis in mouse skin

The mouse skin model of multistage carcinogenesis has for many years provided a conceptual framework for studying carcinogenesis mechanisms and potential means for inhibiting specific stages of carcinogenesis. The process of skin carcinogenesis involves the stepwise accumulation of genetic change ultimately leading to malignancy. Initiation, the first step in multistage skin carcinogenesis involves carcinogen-induced genetic changes. A target gene identified for some skin tumor initiators is c-Ha-ras. The second step, the promotion stage, involves processes whereby initiated cells undergo selective clonal expansion to form visible premalignant lesions termed papillomas. The process of tumor promotion involves the production and maintenance of a specific and chronic hyperplasia characterized by a sustained cellular proliferation of epidermal cells. These changes are believed to result from epigenetic mechanisms such as activation of the cellular receptor, protein kinase C, by some classes of tumor promoters. The progression stage involves the conversion of papillomas to malignant tumors, squamous cell carcinomas. The accumulation of additional genetic changes in cells comprising papillomas has been correlated with tumor progression, including trisomies of chromosomes 6 and 7 and loss of heterozygosity. The current review focuses on the mechanisms involved in multistage skin carcinogenesis, a summary of known inhibitors of specific stages and their proposed mechanisms of action, and the relevance of this model system to human cancer.
“It's Your Most Precious Thing”: Worst‐Case Thinking, Trust, and Parental Decision Making about Vaccinations*

Vaccines are often heralded as one of the greatest success stories of modem medicine. Yet public concerns have surfaced recently, in part because of the declining incidence of many target diseases, but also in response to increasing questions about safety. Public health messages designed to encourage vaccination often assume that parents are unaware of the risks and consequences of the diseases; that those who harbor doubts or reservations about vaccine safety are irrational, emotional, or laboring under misconceptions; or that skeptics are being manipulated by a well-orchestrated campaign by antivaccination groups. This project explores how parents assess probabilistic information on vaccine risks and benefits and what may drive them to consider some possible outcomes as worst cases, leading them to deviate from official recommendations. Semistructured interviews with 20 parents indicate that parents employ both probabilistic and possibilistic thinking, but that the contextual factors that influence their interpretation of that information vary. Trust is an especially important contextual factor; parents struggling with vaccination decisions describe the importance of trust at multiple levels-in the vaccine, in their doctor, and in the broader public health policy network.
Alkaline hydrolysis and multiple site autophosphorylation differ for two forms of the epidermal growth factor receptor.

Summary Different tyrosines are autophosphorylated on the native and on the protease-generated 150 kDa forms of the epidermal growth factor receptor. High ATP concentrations increase the apparent molecular weight of already phosphorylated native receptors but not of the 150kDa form, indicating that only the native receptor has multiple autophosphorylation sites available. The non-identity of the tyrosine-phosphates on the native and 150kDa receptor forms is seen in their response to alkaline hydrolysis (10% and 40% resistant, respectively). Since the liberated phosphate is peptide bound, the native receptor fails to be alkali-resistant because of which peptide bonds are hydrolyzed.
Sex differences in assessments of the quality of medicare managed care

Women rate their care slightly more positively than men on the Medicare managed care Consumer Assessments of Health Plans Study (CAHPS®) survey. On four of five composites, women have comparable or slightly more positive composite scores than men. Responses to individual questions in 1997 indicate that women may have slightly more problems getting referrals, equipment, and assistance. In 1998, there were no differences in difficulty getting a referral or assistance, but women were less likely to say their plan provided help, services, and equipment. Women were less likely to get a flu shot in both years. Further monitoring of CAHPS® data on sex differences in difficulty getting needed medical equipment are warranted.
Functional organization and hemispheric comparison of primary auditory cortex in the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus)

Hemispheric fine-grain maps of primary auditory cortex (AI) were derived from microelectrode penetrations in the temporal gyrus of the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus )t o 1) compare the functional organization of AI in the marmoset with other mammalian species and 2) compare the right and left AI maps in individual monkeys. Frequency receptive fields (FRFs) were recorded with pure tones. Five FRF parameters were analyzed: characteristic frequency, threshold, sharpness of tuning 10 dB and 40 dB above threshold, and minimum response latency. The present study confirms that the functional organization of AI is characterized by a robust tonotopic frequency gradient overlaid with spatially clustered distributions of other FRF parameters. Globally, this functional organization of AI in the common marmoset is similar to that in other mammalian species. With respect to withinsubject hemispheric comparisons of the five FRF parameters, a coherent pattern of asymmetry is not evident in marmoset AI. The overall results indicate that the basic functional organization between hemispheres is similar but not identical. J. Comp. Neurol. 487: 391– 406, 2005. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. Indexing terms: pure tone; frequency receptive field; topography; asymmetry; monkey
PERFORMANCE OF TWO-WAY ANOVA PROCEDURES WHEN CELL FREQUENCIES AND VARIANCES ARE UNEQUAL

A fixed effect two-way ANOVA model with unequal cell frequencies and unequal error variances is considered. Under the Neyman-Pearson theory, exact tests for testing the interaction effect and main effect do not exist for this problem. When variances are unequal, classical F-tests which are calculated under the equal error variance assumption will provide only approximate solutions. For testing the interaction effect, we compare the performance of the generalized F-test and the classical F-test. Generalized F-test (generalized p-value) is a recently developed exact test which is based on an extended definition of the p-values. Using simulation, size, power and robustness comparisons are made. According to the simulation study, when heteroscedasticity is present under the normality, the size of the generalized F-test does not exceed the intended level allthough the size of the classical F-test exceeds the intended level. When the size is adjusted at the same level, for all the studied cases, the power of th...
COCOMO as a schedule prognosis and validation tool: a case study

This paper describes a case study in the use of the COCOMO cost estimation model as a tool to provide an independent prognosis and validation of the schedule of a software project at IBM UK Laboratories Ltd, Hursley. Clearly case studies have the danger of being anecdotal however software engineers often work in situations where sufficient historical data is not available to calibrate models to the local environment. It is often necessary for the software engineer to attempt to use such tools on individual projects to justify their further use. This case study describes how we began to use COCOMO and concentrates on some of the problems and benefits which were encountered when trying to use COCOMO in a ‘live’ development environment.
Off-mass-shell dual amplitudes. III

Abstract The study of off-mass-shell amplitudes in the α (0) = 1 Veneziano model is continued. A formula for the scalar analog of virtual Compton scattering is derived and the deep-inelastic and Regge limits are investigated. For suitable choice of a parameter, it is demonstrated that a scaling law (of the Bjorken type) holds, even though the hadrons of the model contain no point-like structures. Regge poles and fixed poles of the appropriate type are also found. All these desirable results emerge despite the fact that they have not been built into the construction in any obvious way. The few remaining problems - logarithmic divergences and conflicting constraints on the dimension of space-time — are quite plausibly attributable to deficiencies of the particular dual model rather than the approach to constructing currents.
Comparison of morphology and physiology of synapses formed at ectopic and original endplate sites in frog muscle.

Abstract The properties of junctions formed de novo in ectopic regions of muscle were studied and compared to those of endplates reinnervated after nerve crush and to normals. The nerve to the frog cutaneous pectoris muscle was transposed and implanted onto an endplate-free (ectopic) region of that muscle, while the endplate-containing portion was excised. New synapses, which subsequently formed in the remaining muscle segment, were studied morphologically and physiologically at postoperative times from approximately 3 weeks to a year. Junctions formed de novo consisted of numerous small contacts, and were only 15% as long as those in control groups. Yet, quantal contents were 2.5–4.7 times larger at de novo junctions.
The structural dependence of amino acid hydrophobicity parameters.

Abstract Amino acid hydrophobicity parameters, G hp log P (partition coefficient) values, free energies of solution, G sol and hydration numbers, are well correlated by equations derived from the relationship O X = Aα X + Lσ IX + Sν X + I iX + H 1 n HX + H 2 n nX + b 0 where O is the quantity correlated; X denotes the amino acid side chain; α is a polarizability parameter; σ I , a localized electrical effect parameter; ν, a steric parameter; i , an indicator variable which accounts for an ionic X ; n H and n n the number of OH or NH bonds and of full nonbonding orbitals in X , respectively, and b 0 is the intercept. The equation is based on the assumption that Δ hp log P and ΔG sol are all functions of the difference in intermolecular forces between the amino acid and some medium, and the amino acid and water. The parameters were chosen to model the intermolecular forces of interest. Generally the most important factor is α x . This is followed by ν, i , and n H . Least important is σ I . ΔG sol depends on α, n H and n n . Hydration numbers depend on i , n H and n n . The hydrophobicity of amino acid side chains is the result of a preference for a nonpolar medium as a increases and for a polar medium as i , n H and σ I increase. It is quantitatively accounted for by the model, and no special “hydrophobic bond” need be involved. The results show that log P values for amino acids are composite quantities whose composition is variable.
Uniaxial type-II superconductors near the upper critical field

The problem of a uniaxial type-II superconductor near the upper critical field is considered in the framework of the Ginzburg-Landau equations with a phenomenological mass tensor. The currents are shown to flow in planes which are in general no longer orthogonal to the direction of the vortex axes as in the isotropic case; the inclination angle is obtained in terms of anisotropic masses. The magnetic field has a component normal to the vortex axes; equations are derived which relate the transverse and axial fields. The average value of the transverse field (the transverse induction) vanishes. The constitutive relation between the induction and the magnetization is obtained. The components of the magnetization normal and parallel to the vortex direction are simply related in terms of the effective masses.
Steady transonic shocks and free boundary problems in infinite cylinders for the Euler equations

We establish the existence and stability of multidimensional transonic shocks (hyperbolic-elliptic shocks) for the Euler equations for steady compressible potential fluids in infinite cylinders. The Euler equations, consisting of the conservation law of mass and the Bernoulli law for velocity, can be written as a second order nonlinear equation of mixed elliptic-hyperbolic type for the velocity potential. The transonic shock problem in an infinite cylinder can be formulated into the following free boundary problem: The free boundary is the location of the multidimensional transonic shock which divides two regions of C1,α flow in the infinite cylinder, and the equation is hyperbolic in the upstream region where the C1,α perturbed flow is supersonic. We develop a nonlinear approach to deal with such a free boundary problem in order to solve the transonic shock problem in unbounded domains. Our results indicate that there exists a solution of the free boundary problem such that the equation is always elliptic in the unbounded downstream region, the uniform velocity state at infinity in the downstream direction is uniquely determined by the given hyperbolic phase, and the free boundary is C1,α, provided that the hyperbolic phase is close in C1,α to a uniform flow. We further prove that, if the steady perturbation of the hyperbolic phase is C2,α, the free boundary is C2,α and stable under the steady perturbation. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals Inc.