cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Vortices in Motionless Media

Three-dimensional continua capable of recurrent local activation are observed-both in the laboratory and in mathematical models - to support persistent self-organizing patterns of activity most conveniently described in terms of vortex lines. These lines generally close in rings, which may be linked and knotted. In some cases they adopt stable configurations resembling tiny dynamos of millimeter dimensions. The dynamics of these organizing centers has been investigated in certain chemical reactions, in heart muscle, and numerically in digital computers. The pertinent mathematical principles appear to entail consequences of local reaction and neighborhood diffusion, in the form of a dependency of the vortex filament's lateral motion upon its local geometry and, when too closely approached by another segment of vortex filament, upon the distance and orientation involved.
Constraining the Distribution of L and T Dwarfs in the Galaxy

We estimate the thin-disk scale height of the Galactic population of L and T dwarfs based on star counts from 15 deep parallel fields from the Hubble Space Telescope. From these observations, we have identified 28 candidate L and T dwarfs based on their i'-z' color and morphology. By comparing these star counts with a simple Galactic model, we estimate the scale height to be 350 ± 50 pc, which is consistent with the increase in vertical scale with decreasing stellar mass and is independent of reddening, color-magnitude limits, and other Galactic parameters. With this refined measure, we predict that less than 109 M☉ of the Milky Way can be in the form of L and T dwarfs and confirm that high-latitude, z 6 galaxy surveys that use the i'-band dropout technique are 97%-100% free of L and T dwarf interlopers.
Public review for the internet AS-level topology: three data sources and one definitive metric

The paper provides an overview of the current available data sets for AS level topology and examines the usefulness and intuition of many and most widely used metrics used for graph analysis, and highlight some less known metrics. The paper makes two practical contributions.First, the paper highlights an important issue: all source of AS information are not the same. The paper utilizes three sources of information BGP tables, traceroute-based and archived information (WHOIS/IRR). The observed topo-logical properties are fairly different. A potential explanation could be that none of the sources captures the whole AS graph. Thus, the measurement community has more work to do to obtain a complete topology.Second, the paper critically analyzes the importance of the different topology metrics. The last six years have seen a proliferation of new metrics that are used in a selective fashion from researchers. This is one of the first thorough studies of most known metrics and on top of that many metrics that are used in related fields that also study networks (e.g. physics).In conclusion, this paper could become a reference point for making the analysis of the AS topology more systematic both in terms of making researchers: (a) aware of the differences among the datasets, and (b) careful in selecting metrics.
On-Column Separation of Wax and Asphaltenes in Petroleum Fluids†

The utility of a novel method based on the new on-column precipitation and redissolution technique is explored. This method, called waxphaltene determinator (WAD), is strictly solubility-based and allows for the detection of waxes and asphaltenes in minutes. The principle of the method is to first precipitate waxes and asphaltenes together on a ground polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-packed column using methyl ethyl ketone at −20 °C and then redissolve the precipitate with solvents of increasing polarity at different temperatures. Waxes precipitated under these conditions are composed mainly of n-alkanes, with carbon numbers greater than C20, and heptane-soluble alkanes that are slightly to moderately branched. The method is first verified with model compounds, including n-alkanes and commercial waxes, and then applied to waxy crude oils and deposits. The method is compared to differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and a linear correlation is found between the wax content by WAD and DSC. Asphaltene amount...
Eilenberger equations for moderately dirty superconductors

Weak dependence of the Eilenberger Green's functions f(v\ensuremath{\rightarrow}) upon the direction v\ensuremath{\rightarrow} at the Fermi surface is explored to obtain equations for the averages 〈f(v\ensuremath{\rightarrow})〉=F over the Fermi surface. The derivation is similar to that of Usadel for the dirty limit. The proposed equations, however, are valid not only in the extreme dirty limit, but for ``moderately dirty'' samples too, i.e., in the case most often encountered in experiment. The formalism also describes superconductivity in a weak field for any impurity concentration and at any temperature.
Divergent Selection for Growth in Japanese Quail Under Split and Complete Nutritional Environments.4. Genetic and Correlated Responses from Generations 12 to 20

Abstract Divergent selection during Generations 12 to 20 for high (H) and low (L) 4-wk BW under split-(SD) and complete-(CD) diet environments resulted in continued progress in both upward and downward directions. Following 20 generations of selection, there were 4.8- and 3.6-fold differences between BW of H and L lines in the SD and CD environments, respectively. Regression coefficients of mean 4-wk BW on generation of 1.88 and 158 g in the H lines and −1.50 and −1.37 g in the L lines indicated symmetrical selection responses. Realized heritabilities for 4-wk BW ranged from .2 to .4; selection differentials were significantly (P Directional changes in 2-wk and adult BW and in egg weight across generations were similar to that of the selection trait (4-wk BW). Selection resulted in decreased hatchability and egg production and an increase in the age of sexual maturity. However, these changes were smaller than corresponding changes observed in earlier generations (0 to 11). Egg size of lines selected in the SD environment continued to be larger than egg size of corresponding lines in the CD environment. Considerable genetic variation for BW remains under both SD and CD environments following 20 generations of divergent selection. Smaller gains resulting from lower heritabilities agree with theoretical expectations of decreasing responses accompanying continuous selection.
Climatic inferences from the ventilated thermocline

Several computed cases of a model of the subtropical gyre with a partially ventilated thermocline (Luyten et al., 1982) are presented to illustrate the sensitivity of the field of density stratification, mean flow and location of unventilated regions to slight changes in surface boundary conditions. The structure of the low latitude thermocline is less sensitive to climatic change in amount of water forced down by convergence of wind-driven surface layers at higher latitudes than might be expected, even allowing for the well-known localness of vertically integrated meridional transport. On the other hand changes in structure at low latitudes do arise from changes in boundary conditions on the surface density at higher latitudes. The main climatic inference for transient tracers injected into a thermocline in steady state is that there are two time-scales in the subtropical thermocline: an advective time scale associated with distance from regions of direct ventilation of a density layer at the surface, and a subsurface diffusive time scale from ventilated to unventilated region.
Rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm following nonaccidental blunt abdominal trauma.

A 78-year-old woman presented to our trauma center with an initial, erroneous history of a ground-level fall. Further investigation revealed that the patient had been assaulted by her husband immed...
Upregulation of hypoxia inducible factor is associated with attenuation of neuronal injury in neonatal piglets undergoing deep hypothermic circulatory arrest.

Background Prolonged deep hypothermic circulatory arrest is known to cause neurological injury. Hypoxia inducible factor, a transcription factor that mediates adaptive changes during hypoxia, is neuroprotective in models of ischemic brain injury, in part by upregulating erythropoietin. This study tested the hypothesis that upregulation of hypoxia inducible factor and erythropoietin by preconditioning with hypoxia or the hypoxia-mimetic agents deferoxamine and cobalt chloride would be neuroprotective in a piglet model of deep hypothermic circulatory arrest. Methods Anesthetized neonatal piglets were randomized to 4 preconditioning groups (15 per group): hypoxia, deferoxamine, cobalt chloride, or control (NaCl vehicle). Brain hypoxia inducible factor and erythropoietin contents were assessed by means of Western blotting at 3, 8, and 24 hours after treatment (n = 3 per time point). Twenty-four hours after treatment, 6 to 7 animals per group underwent cardiopulmonary bypass and 110 minutes of deep hypothermic circulatory arrest. After recovery, serial neurobehavioral examinations were conducted for 6 days, after which histopathologic brain injury and neuronal apoptosis (cleaved caspase 3) were assessed. Results Erythropoietin expression was not significantly increased by any of the pretreatment strategies. In contrast, there was a significant upregulation of hypoxia inducible factor by pretreatment with deferoxamine and cobalt chloride (P = .002). Neurobehavioral measures revealed no significant differences in time to recovery or extent of injury. Examination of histopathologic brain injury in the hippocampus revealed that pretreatment with deferoxamine (0.4 ± 0.3) and cobalt chloride (0.5 ± 0.3) were associated with significantly less neuronal loss than pretreatment with hypoxia or control (2.8 ± 0.5, P = .004). Finally, cleaved caspase 3 (a marker of apoptotic cell death) was also shown to be diminished in the cobalt and deferoxamine groups, but the difference was not significantly different from the value in the control group. Conclusions In contrast to hypoxia, deferoxamine and cobalt chloride preconditioning upregulated hypoxia inducible factor and were associated with histopathologic neuroprotection after exposure to cardiopulmonary bypass and prolonged deep hypothermic circulatory arrest.
Remarks on Linear Equations in Banach Space

exists for each xeX. In a somewhat different connection equation (1) was considered previously [2], under the assumption that the limit (2) is 0. Our objective here is to combine the methods of [1] and [2] in such a way that the resulting theory is more general than that of either of these references, and at the same time show connections between the theorems of LYAPUNOV-TAUSSKY-STEIN that form the subject of [2], [3] and the theorems of BROWOER-PErRYSnVN in [1]. For brevity we do not duplicate the earlier statements but the relation of our results to others is pointed out at appropriate points of the sequel. The starting point of the analysis is suggested by [1], viz., we introduce an operator Q defined by Q x= lim T" x
Roughening of low-angle grain boundaries.

The possibility of roughening in low-angle grain boundaries is investigated. By exhibiting an analogy between grain-boundary steps which do not have long-range strain and steps on solid surfaces, I argue that a grain-boundary roughening transition, of the same type as for solid surfaces, is possible. It is found that, as the grain-grain misorientation $\ensuremath{\theta}$ goes to zero, the energy of such a grain-boundary step diverges as ln ($\frac{1}{\ensuremath{\theta}}$). From this divergence I argue that, for sufficiently small $\ensuremath{\theta}$, the solid will melt before the grain boundary has a chance to roughen as the temperature increases.
Monoclonal antibody to glial fibrillary acidic protein reveals a parcellation of individual barrels in the early postnatal mouse somatosensory cortex.

Abstract The relative dispositions of cells in immature and mature barrel field cortices that bind antibody to glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) were examined and photographed under the light microscope. Light micrographs demonstrate that radially oriented glial cells are present in the barrel field of postnatal day 6 cortices and that they are located predominantly within the presumptive barrel sides and/or septae, thus sharply delineating individual barrels from each other. The relative dispositions of radial glial fibers observed at this time implicate glia in development of topographic order during early postnatal development of the somatosensory cortex. In contrast, no such delineation could be detected in the cortices of more mature mice, because GFAP-positive astrocytes are present throughout the barrel field and are not confined to barrel sides. This ephemeral nature of the GFAP-delineated barrel field is of interest with respect to the recently reported ephemeral lectin-delineated barrel field.
No Service to Learning: “Service-Learning” Reappraised

Mixing community service with college students’ learning is a bad idea. When service-learning was promoted in a newspaper op-ed by Dr. Robert L. Caret, the president of Towson University (where I have taught for over two decades), I responded skeptically. Dr. Caret’s follow-up letter suggested that I misunderstood service-learning. I argued that wrapping a veneer of learning over community service conceals the promotion of a particular social agenda, that it wastes students’ valuable time and other resources, and that its learning goal actually weakens students’ respect for the processes of social interaction that is conveyed by a good liberal education. Like many op-eds, mine was written quickly, but I think a closer look reveals no substantive problem: service-learning attempts to promote a communitarian, anti-individualistic social agenda, and the attempt and agenda are educationally harmful. Acad. Quest. (2008) 21:183–194 DOI 10.1007/s12129-008-9057-7
Heart rate variability at rest and during mental stress in patients with coronary artery disease: Differences in patients with high and low depression scores

This study tested the hypothesis that coronary artery disease (CAD) patients with high depressed mood scores differ in sympatho-vagal balance during mental stress compared to patients with low depressed mood scores. Using electrocardiographic monitoring, heart variability data from spectral analysis and hemodynamic parameters were obtained prior to and during mental stress from 34 men and 7 women. A public speaking task was used as the mental stressor. Patients were grouped by a median split of their Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Depression score. During mental stress, patients with higher depression scores had greater changes in peak heart rate (p > .05) and low frequency to high frequency power ratio (p > 0.05) than patients with lower scores suggesting a shift toward more sympathetic activity during mental stress. These findings may be related to the reported relation between depression and survival risk in patients with CAD.
Frequency Variation of a Pattern-Flash Visual Stimulus during PET Differentially Activates Brain from Striate through Frontal Cortex

We evaluate regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in 19 healthy elderly subjects, mean age 64 +/- 11 (SD, years), during a passive visual stimulus in which pattern-flash frequency was parametrically manipulated. Using goggles with a grid of red lights imbedded into each lens, we performed five positron emission tomography (PET) H2(15)O water scans on each subject at alternating (left to right eye) flash frequencies of 0, 1, 4, 7, and 14 Hz. We found a biphasic rising and falling rCBF response in the striate cortex (7 Hz peak) and left anterior cingulate (4 Hz peak), 1 Hz activation in left middle temporal gyrus (V5), monotonically increasing rCBF in posterior areas (lateral and inferior visual association areas, Brodmann 18 and 19), and monotonically decreasing rCBF in anterior areas (frontal, cingulate, and superior temporal) predominantly in right hemisphere. We suggest the striate rCBF changes at all frequencies primarily reflect lateral geniculate input, the middle temporal activation at 1 Hz reflects perception of apparent motion, and the posterior extrastriate rCBF monotonic increase represents a neural response to increasing luminance intensity and form and color complexity that occur as pattern-flash frequency increases. The anterior monotonic rCBF decrease may represent active cross-modal functional suppression of brain areas irrelevant for processing the passive visual stimulus. Pattern-flash rCBF responses were highly reproducible (no series effect), more so in posterior than in anterior brain regions. The reproducibility and systematically changing rCBF responses to this passive stimulus suggest that it could be successfully used as a disease probe to evaluate neural function and drug effects in cognitively impaired patients.
The World Summit on the Information Society and Civil Society Participation

This article offers a descriptive analysis of the United Nations World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and the involvement of civil society organizations in it. Theoretical and empirical literature on global civil society, a “third sector” distinct from government and business, makes it clear that its changing role in international governance processes raises important political issues. This article examines what WSIS tells us about how this dynamic is playing out in communication and information policy.
A Database of Physically Demanding Tasks Performed by U.S. Army Soldiers.

The Department of Defense spends approximately one million dollars annually on research to enhance soldier physical performance (LTC K.E. Friedl, personal communication, Jan 1996). To most effectiv...
Distribution of photorespiratory enzymes between bundle-sheath and mesophyll cells in leaves of the C3−C4 intermediate species Moricandia arvensis (L.) DC

In order to study the location of enzymes of photorespiration in leaves of the C3−C4 intermediate species Moricandia arvensis (L.). DC, protoplast fractions enriched in mesophyll or bundlesheath cells have been prepared by a combination of mechanical and enzymic techniques. The activities of the mitochondrial enzymes fumarase (EC 4.2.1.2) and glycine decarboxylase (EC 2.1.2.10) were enriched by 3.0- and 7.5-fold, respectively, in the bundle-sheath relative to the mesophyll fraction. Enrichment of fumarase is consistent with the larger number of mitochondria in bundle-sheath cells relative to mesophyll cells. The greater enrichment of glycine decarboxylase indicates that the activity is considerably higher on a mitochondrial basis in bundle-sheath than in mesophyll cells. Serine hydroxymethyltransferase (EC 2.1.2.1) activity was enriched by 5.3-fold and glutamate-dependent glyoxylate-aminotransferase (EC 2.6.1.4) activity by 2.6-fold in the bundle-sheath relative to the mesophyll fraction. Activities of serine- and alanine-dependent glyoxylate aminotransferase (EC 2.6.1.45 and EC 2.6.1.4), glycollate oxidase (EC 1.1.3.1), hydroxypyruvate reductase (EC 1.1.1.81), glutamine synthetase (EC 6.3.1.2) and phosphoribulokinase (EC 2.7.1.19) were not significantly different in the two fractions. These data provide further independent evidence to complement earlier immunocytochemical studies of the distribution of photorespiratory enzymes in the leaves of this species, and indicate that while mesophyll cells of M. arvensis have the capacity to synthesize glycine during photorespiration, they have only a low capacity to metabolize it. We suggest that glycine produced by photorespiratory metabolism in the mesophyll is decarboxylated predominantly by the mitochondria in the bundle sheath.
Religious Education and Community Involvement among Jewish Adolescents

Abstract Religious Education is one way to increase and maintain community involvement among teenagers. In many Jewish communities across the United States, participation in religious activities and religious youth movements have decreased. As research in this area is limited, this study sets out to identify the curricula that are more effective in building a Jewish identity for adolescents. The results suggest that: (1) The community would like teenagers to feel more connected to their Jewish identity; (2) A training program that combines content of leadership, Judaism, and Israel-related issues is desired; and (3) Women are ambivalent with regard to their children practicing Judaism or the extent of their religious practice.
New Solution for Frequency and Pixel Domain Coding Using Convex Sets

This paper describes a new algorithm for combining spatial and frequency domain information about an image in order to improve coding. The algorithm utilizes successive projections onto two non-intersecting sets in order to determine the optimal frequency domain coefficients to transmit given some known spatial information. This technique is best suited to fixed block size transform coders and builds on the techniques used in previous work2,4.
Invasive cervical cancer and screening: what are the rates of unscreened and underscreened women in the modern era?

Objective It has been reported that approximately 50% of invasive cervical malignancies are diagnosed in patients that have never been screened and 10% of the remaining cervical cancer patients have not had a Pap smear in the five years prior to diagnosis. We sought to determine if this holds true amongst a university based gynecologic oncology patient population.
Chemical mapping of hot-embossed and UV-laser-ablated microchannels in poly(methyl methacrylate) using carboxylate specific fluorescent probes

Abstract The physical morphology and chemical functionality of fluid microchannels formed in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) substrates were studied to increase the fundamental understanding of polymer microchannel surface properties for ‘lab-on-a-chip’ devices. Microchannels were formed by a hot-imprint method using a silicon template or by a laser ablation process (248 nm KrF laser) operating at low to moderate fluence levels (up to 1180 mJ/cm2). The carboxylate groups, which are responsible for the surface charges, were fluorescently labeled by reaction with an ethyl-dimethylaminopropyl-carbodiimide hydrochloride/amino-fluorescein solution. Fluorescence microscopy was then used to locate and measure qualitatively the charge present on the microchannel walls. Results suggest that surface charges are localized on the corners of trapezoidal channels formed by the hot-imprint method and that the amount of charge present is significantly less compared to laser-ablated microchannels where charges appear to be distributed uniformly. For substrates irradiated at fluences above the laser ablation threshold, it was found that one pass of the laser produced a surface with greater charge than channels made with multiple passes, that ablation under nitrogen resulted in more charge than ablation under oxygen, and that non-sonicated substrates had more charge than samples that were sonicated after ablation. Trends in the data for sonicated samples are explained through scanning electron microscopy images showing etch depth and UV-laser penetration to depths below the surface of the formed microchannel. Finally, we have determined that the surface charge on the substrate can be modified by using the laser at fluence levels lower than those required to ablate the substrate.
An In Vivo Cardiac Assay to Determine the Functional Consequences of Putative Long QT Syndrome Mutations

Rationale: Genetic testing for Long QT Syndrome is now a standard and integral component of clinical cardiology. A major obstacle to the interpretation of genetic findings is the lack of robust functional assays to determine the pathogenicity of identified gene variants in a high-throughput manner. Objective: The goal of this study was to design and test a high-throughput in vivo cardiac assay to distinguish between disease-causing and benign KCNH2 ( hERG1) variants, using the zebrafish as a model organism. Methods and Results: We tested the ability of previously characterized Long QT Syndrome hERG1 mutations and polymorphisms to restore normal repolarization in the kcnh2 -knockdown embryonic zebrafish. The cardiac assay correctly identified a benign variant in 9 of 10 cases (negative predictive value 90%), whereas correctly identifying a disease-causing variant in 39/39 cases (positive predictive value 100%). Conclusions: The in vivo zebrafish cardiac assay approaches the accuracy of the current benchmark in vitro assay for the detection of disease-causing mutations, and is far superior in terms of throughput rate. Together with emerging algorithms for interpreting a positive long QT syndrome genetic test, the zebrafish cardiac assay provides an additional tool for the final determination of pathogenicity of gene variants identified in long QT syndrome genetic screening.
Performance assessment of tuned liquid column dampers under random seismic loading

The performance of tuned liquid column dampers (TLCDs) for the passive control of flexible structures under random seismic loading is investigated using random vibration analysis. A non-stationary stochastic process with frequency and amplitude modulation is used to represent the earthquake strong motion, and an equivalent linearization technique is used to account for the non-linear damping force in the TLCD. The TLCD performance is evaluated on the basis of the structural response statistics, namely, the expected maximum and root-mean-square displacements, and root-mean-square absolute accelerations and interstory shears. Illustrative examples are presented using SDOF and MDOF shear-beam structural models, and two stochastic input ground motions representing short-duration and long-duration ground motions with low frequency content. A parametric study is conducted to investigate the effects of the mass ratio, coefficient of head loss for the damper, and loading intensity on the TLCD performance.
Evidence of color vision in a diurnal prosimian, Lemur catta

TwoLemur catta were tested in a WGTA on three two-choice color discrimination problems involving paired comparisons of red, green, and blue. Four illumination combinations between the two discriminanda served to make brightness irrelevant, hue being the only salient cue. All color problems were learned within criterion limits of 21 out of 25 correct choices during 16 consecutive test sessions, indicating good color vision for this diurnal prosimian.
The effect of devascularization on the regeneration of lacerated peripheral nerves: An experimental study

The functional, biochemical, and histological changes in a severed median nerve, 9 months after epineurial repair, were studied in 14 monkeys. In seven the mesoneurium had been stripped 5 cm proximal and 5 cm distal to the site of repair, and in seven the nerve had been stripped only over a 0.5 cm area, just enough to allow repair. In the first group the mean muscular strength in the abductor pollicis brevis was 197 gm, as compared to 257 gm in the second group. The amount of collagen in the perineurium was 57 µg/mg, as compared to 43 µg/mg, and the incidence of the h-l-h-nl cross-link was 16% to 21%, as compared to 9% to 11%. If the regeneration of the lacerated nerve was compromised by the deposition of collagen resulting from mobilization of the distal segment, as suggested by the decrease in the strength of the abductor pollicis brevis muscle, then any mobilization of a nerve necessary to obtain a sutured junction with minimum tension should be limited to the proximal segment.
Simultaneous Acute Cerebral and Pulmonary Edema Complicating Diabetic Ketoacidosis

OBJECTIVE To report on a child with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) who developed simultaneous acute cerebral edema (CE) and pulmonary edema (PE), required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), and yet survived without significant neurological or pulmonary handicap. CASE SUMMARY A 3-year-old girl with DKA as the first manifestation of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) sustained coincident acute CE and PE 9 h into therapy. The former responded to mannitol, but the latter matured into adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) resistant to conventional management and requiring ECMO. CONCLUSIONS CE, PE, and ARDS can complicate DKA. Survival without sequelae is possible with aggressive treatment.
Innovative IT climates : CIO perspectives

In many organizations the CIO is a key driver of business innovation. This research investigates innovative CIOs in the context of their organizational climate theory. We explore the concept of innovative IT climates through qualitative analyses of interviews with 36 innovative CIO's. We identify and characterize four dimensions of innovative IT climates using a theoretical model based on the climate literature. Inductive grounded-theoretic methods are then utilized to develop two additional dimensions of innovative IT climates - reality-checking and promoting credibility. Findings expand our theoretical and empirical understanding of innovative IT climates and provide practitioners with specific examples of how CIO's are actively working to create innovative IT climates.
Deadlock properties of queueing networks with finite capacities and multiple routing chains

Blocking in queueing network models with finite capacities can lead to deadlock situations. In this paper, deadlock properties are investigated in queueing networks with multiple routing chains. The necessary and sufficient conditions for deadlockfree queueing networks with blocking are provided. An optimization algorithm is presented for finding deadlock-free capacity assignments with the least total capacity. The optimization algorithm maps the queueing network into a directed graph and obtains the deadlock freedom conditions from a specified subset of cycles in the directed graph. In certain network topologies, the number of deadlock freedom conditions can be large, thus, making any optimization computationally expensive. For a special class of topologies, so-calledtandem networks, it is shown that a minimal capacity assignment can be directly obtained without running an optimization algorithm. Here, the solution to the minimal capacity assignment takes advantage of the regular topology of tandem networks.
Studies of supported metal catalysts

Abstract The influence of nickel crystallites on the temperature-programmed exchange between deuterium and silica hydroxyl groups has been studied. Cab-O-Sil hydroxyl groups exhibited exchange with gaseous deuterium at 540 °C. In the presence of nickel crystallites (2% nickel-Cab-O-Sil) two types of hydrogen participated in the exchange reaction at 280 and 525 °C, respectively.
On the evolutionary origin of mitochondrial DNA

Abstract Current theories of mitochondrial evolution assume that this organelle evolved either from endosymbiotic bacterial-like organisms which invaded other cells or by a gradual sequestering of functional cytoplasmic units within membranes. In either case there has been relatively little discussion of the origin of mitochondrial DNA. Because of the marked similarity in the size, physical properties, replication and sensitivity to acridine dyes and ethidium bromide of both bacterial plasmid and mitochondrial DNA, it is proposed that the plasmid of an ancestral bacterial-like organism evolved into the mitochondrial DNA of eukaryotes. This hypothesis is consistent with either theory of the whole organelle but is easier to explain if mitochondria evolved within a prokaryote by invagination of the plasma membrane.
Fiber-optic distributed sensing by a two-loop Sagnac interferometer

A two-loop Sagnac interferometer is proposed for fiber-optic distributed sensing. The location of a disturbance can be determined from the two output phase signals of the two Sagnac loops, and the amplitude of the disturbance can be obtained by integration of the phase signal. A prototype distributed impact sensing system has been tested based on the two-loop Sagnac interferometer.
Solving the undirected multicommodity flow problem using a shortest path-based pricing algorithm

The undirected multicommodity flow problem is encountered in the solution to traffic-scheduling problems related to computer, communication, railroad, and other networks. We show how to formulate this problem as a piecewise linear optimization problem (with piecewise linear convex functions in both the objective and the constraints). We discuss how EMNET, a primal basis partitioning simplex algorithm, was modified so as to efficiently solve these problems using a pricing procedure that we call “shortest path pricing.” Extremely good solution times for some very large problems are presented. The solutions are not only obtained quickly, but also with a fraction of the number of pivots that are needed for the standard simplex method. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Nodular suppurative cutaneous cellulitis in a Galapagos sea lion.

Necropsy was performed on a sea lion (Zalophus californianus wollebaeki), sacrificed in an advanced (pre-terminal) stage of disease, possibly representative of the Galapagos epizootic of 1970-71. Predominant features of the disease were non-umbilicated multiple suppurative cutaneous nodules, debilitation and loss of motor power. Histopathological studies of the skin lesions disclosed suppurative cellulitis, with leucocytic invasion extending, in some instances, to all layers of the epidermis. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was recovered from cultures of blood and pus.
The intertwined history of polarimetry and ellipsometry

Ellipsometry and reflection polarimetry are almost synonymous. Therefore it is not surprising that ellipsometry and polarimetry share a common history which is that of optical polarization. The discoveries in the late 1600s by Bartholinus and Huyghens of double refraction by Iceland spar and the unusual properties of the twin beams thus generated presented insurmountable difficulties for the entrenched corpuscular-ray theory of Newton and caused research on polarization to remain stagnant in the 1700s. Major breakthroughs came in the early 1800s when Malus discovered polarization of light by reflection and his cosine-squared law and Fresnel and Arago enunciated their laws of interference of polarized light that helped establish the transverse vector nature of luminous vibrations. Important further research immediately followed on optical rotatory power by Arago, Biot, and Pasteur that ushered fundamental and practical applications of polarimetry in chemistry and biology. Fresnel deserves to be recognized as a founder of ellipsometry by virtue of his laws of reflection of polarized light at interfaces between dissimilar media and his identification and production of circular and elliptical polarization. The later part of the 19th century witnessed significant discoveries of magneto-optic and electro-optic effects by Faraday, Kerr, and Pockels that greatly enriched polarization optics and physics. The 1896 discovery of the Zeeman effect launched the exciting field of solar polarimetry. The 1864 crown achievement of Maxwell's electromagnetic (EM) theory provided a unified framework for the analysis of polarization phenomena across the entire EM spectrum.
Construction of Gold Microbead Ultramicroelectrodes

A new way to construct small electrodes by the use of metal microbeads is described. Gold beads of 1.5−3.0 μm diameter were used to construct inexpensive and disposable microelectrodes with overall structural diameters of ≤6 μm and electrode diameters of ≤5 μm. The voltammetric response of these electrodes is consistent with existing theory, and the electrodes exhibited the sigmoidal waves expected at ultramicroelectrodes.
Isolation of a Mycoplasma-specific binding peptide from an unbiased phage-displayed peptide library

An important goal in medicine is the development of methods for cell-specific targeting of therapeutic molecules to pathogens or pathogen-infected cells. However, little progress has been made in cell-specific targeting of bacterially infected cells. Using a phage display approach, we have isolated a 20-mer peptide that binds to Mycoplasma arginini infected pancreatic β-cells in tissue culture. This peptide binds to M. arginini infected β-cells 200 times better than a control phage and is specific for the infected cells. Furthermore, transferring the M. arginini contamination to another cell line renders the newly infected cell line susceptible to peptide binding. Immunolocalization experiments suggest that the peptide is binding to M. arginini adhered to the cell surface. The free synthetic peptide retains its binding in the absence of the phage vehicle and tetramerization of the peptide increases its affinity for the infected cells. Efforts have been made to use this peptide to eliminate Mycoplasma from infected cell lines using ferromagnetic beads coated with the selected peptide. A ten-fold reduction of infection was accomplished with one fractionation via this approach. Our results suggest that this peptide, isolated from an unbiased selection, may be of utility for the detection and reduction of Mycoplasma infection in cultured cells. Furthermore, a general implication of our findings is that phage display methods may be useful for identifying peptides that target a broad array of other biological pathogens in a specific fashion.
Elastic effects on solubility in semicrystalline polymers

Capillary column inverse gas chromatography experiments at infinite solvent dilution were conducted for 15 polyethylene/solvent systems. Thermodynamic data were collected for various types of penetrant molecules (normal alkanes, 1-alkenes, isomers of hexane, and ring compounds). Theoretical predictions of the solubility data were made with an activity coefficient model (Universal Functional Group Activity-van der Waals-Free-Volume) (UNIFAC-vdw-FV) and an equation-of-state model (Group-Contribution, Lattice-Fluid, Equation of State) (GCLF-EoS). Although good agreement between the experimental data and theoretical predictions was obtained above the melting point of the polymer, at temperatures below the melting point, significant differences were found. This occurred because at those temperatures, the polymer had a semicrystalline structure and the solubility of the solvent was reduced on account of the constraints on some of the chains in the amorphous phase by the polymer crystallites. The theory developed by Michaels and Hausslein to account for such elastic effects on solubility was incorporated into the two predictive models. After these modifications, the new estimations of the solubility showed significantly improved agreement with the experimental results. Moreover, the elasticity effect resulted in elevated estimates of the crystallinity when inverse gas chromatography retention volumes were used. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008
Cystic lung disease is not uncommon in men with tuberous sclerosis complex

Summary Objective To assess the frequency of cystic lung disease suggestive of pulmonary lymphangiomyomatosis in men with tuberous sclerosis complex. Patients and methods Retrospective review of CT scans of the chest and abdomen on 29 men with tuberous sclerosis complex encountered during a 13-year period, 1998 to 2010. Results Cystic lung disease (defined as ≥4 cysts) was seen in 11 of 29 men (38%) with tuberous sclerosis complex. The mean age of those with cystic lung disease was 46.3 ± 19.1 years. None of the patients had experienced pneumothorax or chylothorax and none had undergone a lung biopsy for evaluation of cystic lung disease. Lymphangiomyomatosis had been diagnosed in two of 11 patients with cystic lung disease. Renal angiomyolipomas were demonstrated in 14 of 25 patients (56%) with renal imaging available; all 14 had multiple bilateral renal involvement. In this limited cohort of patients, the presence of cystic lung disease did not correlate with age, smoking exposure or the presence of renal AMLs. Conclusion We conclude that tuberous sclerosis complex -related lymphangiomyomatosis may not be rare in men but is milder in severity.
Developments in medical oncology and their implications for interventional radiology

Although surgery and radiation therapy have always been spatially targeted, chemotherapy as administered by oncologists has remained steadfastly committed to non-targeted systemic delivery. Decades of pharmaceutical research have yielded agents appropriate for intravenous use, but countless potentially efficacious agents have been discarded because of pharmacokinetic and toxicity profiles unsuitable for systemic delivery. With the emerging technology of biological agents comes a new series of challenges. These agents tend to be larger, less long-lived, and antigenic when compared with the agents of the past. Meanwhile, interventional radiologists have shown that targeted methods of delivery can have substantial impact on the efficacy and toxicity of agents. Laboratory scientists have developed new bullets; we interventional radiologists have developed new guns. It is time we take advantage of potential synergies.
The critical role of locomotion mechanics in decoding sensory systems.

How do neural systems process sensory information to control locomotion? The weakly electric knifefish Eigenmannia , an ideal model for studying sensorimotor control, swims to stabilize the sensory image of a sinusoidally moving refuge. Tracking performance is best at stimulus frequencies less than ∼1 Hz. Kinematic analysis, which is widely used in the study of neural control of movement, predicts commensurately low-pass sensory processing for control. The inclusion of Newtonian mechanics in the analysis of the behavior, however, categorically shifts the prediction: this analysis predicts that sensory processing is high pass. The counterintuitive prediction that a low-pass behavior is controlled by a high-pass neural filter nevertheless matches previously reported but poorly understood high-pass filtering seen in electrosensory afferents and downstream neurons. Furthermore, a model incorporating the high-pass controller matches animal behavior, whereas the model with the low-pass controller does not and is unstable. Because locomotor mechanics are similar in a wide array of animals, these data suggest that such high-pass sensory filters may be a general mechanism used for task-level locomotion control. Furthermore, these data highlight the critical role of mechanical analyses in addition to widely used kinematic analyses in the study of neural control systems.
Induction of mucosal and systemic neutralizing antibodies against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) by oral immunization with bovine papillomavirus-HIV-1 gp41 chimeric virus-like particles

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) envelope-specific neutralizing antibodies are generated late after initial infection, and the neutralizing antibody response is weak in the infected individuals. Administration of neutralizing antibodies such as 2F5 to HIV-1-infected individuals resulted in reductions in viral loads. Because HIV-1 is transmitted mainly via mucosa and because HIV-specific neutralizing antibodies reduce HIV-1 in infected individuals, a vaccine that can induce both mucosal and systemic HIV-1-specific neutralizing antibodies may be used to prevent and to treat HIV-1 infection. In this study, we made a bovine papillomavirus (BPV) L1-HIV-1 gp41 fusion protein in which ELDKWA of gp41 was inserted into the N terminus of BPV L1 (amino acids 130 to 136). Expression of the fusion protein in insect cells led to the assembly of chimeric virus-like particles (CVLPs). The CVLPs had sizes similar to those of BPV particles and were able to bind to the cell surface and penetrate the cell membrane. Oral immunization of mice with CVLPs induced gp41-specific serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) and intestinal secretory IgA. However, intramuscular immunization with the CVLPs resulted in similar amounts of gp41-specific IgG but low levels of secretory IgA. The antibodies specifically recognized the fixed HIV-1 gp41 on the cell surface. Importantly, the sera and fecal extracts from mice orally immunized with the CVLPs neutralized HIV-1 MN in vitro. Thus, BPV-HIV-1 gp41 CVLPs may be used to prevent and to treat HIV-1 infection.
Gravitational dressing of the renormalization group.

We study the gravitational dressing of renormalizable two-dimensional field theories. Our main result is that the one-loop [beta] function is finitely renormalized by the factor ([ital k]+2)/([ital k]+1), where [ital k] is the central charge of the gravitational SL(2,[ital R]) current algebra.
Role of Immunophilins in Recovery of Erectile Function after Cavernous Nerve Injury

ABSTRACT Introduction Immunophilin ligands provide potentially new alternatives for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED), which occurs after injury of the cavernous nerves (CNs). Aim To review and update current knowledge of the neurotrophic effects and likely mechanism of action of immunophilin proteins with emphasis on the FK506‐binding protein (FKBP) subfamily and the role of immunophilin ligands for the treatment of CN injury‐induced ED. Methods Review of available reports of studies investigating the effects and neurotrophic mechanisms of immunophilin ligands involved in erectile function recovery in rodent models of CN injury. Main Outcome Measures Erection parameters and molecular correlations associated with CN injury and functional recovery. Results Treatment with prototype immunosuppressive immunophilin ligands FK506 (FK) and rapamycin (Rapa) improve erectile function in animal models of CN injury. Similarly, non‐immunosuppressive analogs such as GPI‐1046 and FK1706 are effective in recovery of erections after CN injury. Neuronal nitric oxide may influence the erection recovery effects of immunophilin ligands after CN injury. FKBPs 38 and 65 expression changes in the penis and its innervation coincide with the neurotrophic effects of immunophilin ligands. Antioxidative actions of immunophilin ligands contribute to their neurotrophic effects. Immunophilins are localized to nerves coursing in human prostate and penile tissue. Conclusions The findings support the hypothesis that immunophilin ligands, working through specific receptor mechanisms that are specific to injured CN, are potentially useful to sustain erectile function in men following radical prostatectomy. Sezen SF, Lagoda G, and Burnett AL. Role of immunophilins in recovery of erectile function after cavernous nerve injury.
Attrition of Foreign Language Teachers: Workplace Realities

Little has been published about the attrition rates of foreign language teachers. Most extant research quantifies demographic information, such as gender or age, but not the reasons teachers leave. This study reveals that foreign language teachers leave the classroom if they are unable to cope with unexpected workplace realities, often as a result of having spent little time in the field prior to full-time teaching.