cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Division Cycle of Myxococcus xanthus II. Kinetics of Stable and Unstable Ribonucleic Acid Synthesis

Abstract The kinetics of stable and unstable ribonucleic acid (RNA) synthesis during the division cycle of Myxococcus xanthus growing in a defined medium was determined. Under these conditions, M. xanthus contains one chromosome which is replicated during 80% of the cell cycle. Stable RNA synthesis was measured by pulselabeling an exponential-phase culture with radioactive uridine and then preparing the cells for quantitative autoradiography. By measuring the size of individual cells as well as the number of grains, the rate of stable RNA synthesis as a function of cell size was determined. Unstable RNA synthesis during the division cycle was determined by correlating the data for stable RNA synthesis with the relative amounts of stable and unstable RNA labeled during the short pulse. The data reported here demonstrate that: (i) cells synthesize both stable and unstable RNA throughout the division cycle; (ii) the rate of stable RNA synthesis increases in two discrete steps, corresponding to average ages of 0.15 and 0.75 generations; (iii) the rate of unstable RNA synthesis exhibits an initial rise, followed by a relatively constant rate of synthesis, and finally, a burst of unstable RNA synthesis prior to septum formation. The half-life of unstable RNA of M. xanthus, generation time of 390 min at 30 C, was 4 min. Comparison of the rates of stable and unstable RNA synthesis indicates noncoordinate RNA synthesis within the normal division cycle.
Investigation of Halliburton Co./TSKJ’s Nigerian Business Practices: Model for Analysis of the Current Anti-Corruption Environment on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Enforcement

The U.S. stood alone in its anti-bribery legislation from 1977 when the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) was initially passed until the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (the “OECD”) adopted the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions (“OECD Convention”) in 1997 resulting in OECD signatory nations adopting implementing legislation. France’s adoption of implementing legislation in 2002 provided the basis for the investigation by one of its magistrates into the allegations that a Halliburton subsidiary, TSKJ, had engaged in bribery activities in Nigeria. The French investigation into allegations of improper payments by a TSKJ agent to Nigerian government officials in exchange for favorable treatment in contracts connected with the construction of a multibillion dollar natural gas liquefaction complex at Bonny Island, Nigeria has widened into an investigation by the Nigerian government and FCPA investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission. An excellent model for examination of the influence of the current anti-corruption environment on FCPA enforcement are the issues raised by the French inquiry into Halliburton/TSKJ’s alleged payments to Nigerian government officials of about $180 million in exchange for securing contractual advantages. The French are examining allegations of illicit payments to Nigerian government officials by the TSKJ joint venture in which Halliburton Company’s subsidiary, Kellogg Brown & Root (“KBR”), is a partner. With an American corporation involved, the French regulators related the information they had obtained to their U.S. compliance counterparts. This paper will 1) discuss the factual background of the alleged Halliburton/TSKJ misconduct and the pending investigations by various government agencies in several countries, 2) identify the relevant FCPA provisions, case law and policy, and 3) examine the anti-corruption environment which has influenced increased enforcement of the FCPA and its potential implications for the pending Halliburton/TSKJ investigation.
The architecture of the HP Superdome shared-memory multiprocessor

This paper offers an overview of the HP Superdome shared memory multiprocessor, along with a detailed description of the cache coherence implementation. (An early and limited description was provided in [9].) We focus in particular on the sx1000 chipset, codenamed Pinnacles, which is used in HP's Integrity line of servers (Superdome Integrity, rx8620, rx7620) and in HP's 9000 series of PA-RISC based products (Superdome. rp8620, rp7420). The design goals for this architecture were to provide a platform that supported both PA-RISC and Itanium family processors, support multiple operating systems including HP-UX, Windows, and Linux, provide cache coherent scalability to large ways of MP. and support multiple product generations while preserving customer investments in memory and I/O infrastructure. This paper covers the system organization and network topology (Section 2), details on how processor instructions appear as coherence transactions (Section 3), the cache coherence protocol (Section 4). and microarchitectural details on the chipset (Section 5). It concludes with examples of application benchmarks that demonstrate the scalability achieved (Section 6).
Characters, fields, Schur indices and divisibility

Let G be a finite nilpotent group. Suppose that G0 is a subgroup of G and that \({\psi}\) is an irreducible character of G0. Consider the set S whose elements are the natural numbers $${\rm m}_{\bf Q}(\chi)[{\bf Q}(\chi) : {\bf Q}]$$ as \({\chi}\) runs through the irreducible characters of G which contain \({\psi}\) as a summand when restricted to G0. Here mQ(χ) is, as usual, the rational Schur index of \({\chi}\) , and \({[{\bf Q}(\chi) : {\bf Q}]}\) is the degree of the extension of the field of values of the character as an extension of the rationals. We prove that then the minimum element of S divides all the other elements of S. The result is not true when G is an arbitrary finite group. We also consider some variations of this result.
Modulation of error-prone double-strand break repair in mammalian chromosomes by DNA mismatch repair protein Mlh1.

Abstract We assayed error-prone double-strand break (DSB) repair in wild-type and isogenic Mlh1-null mouse embryonic fibroblasts containing a stably integrated DSB repair substrate. The substrate contained a thymidine kinase (tk) gene fused to a neomycin-resistance (neo) gene; the tk-neo fusion gene was disrupted in the tk portion by a 22 bp oligonucleotide containing the 18 bp recognition site for endonuclease I-SceI. Following DSB-induction by transient expression of I-SceI endonuclease, cells that repaired the DSB by error-prone nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) and restored the correct reading frame to the tk-neo fusion gene were recovered by selecting for G418-resistant clones. The number of G418-resistant clones induced by I-SceI expression did not differ significantly between wild-type and Mlh1-deficient cells. While most DSB repair events were consistent with simple NHEJ in both wild-type and Mlh1-deficient cells, complex repair events were more common in wild-type cells. Furthermore, genomic deletions associated with NHEJ events were strikingly larger in wild-type versus Mlh1-deficient cells. Additional experiments revealed that the stable transfection efficiency of Mlh1-null cells is higher than that of wild-type cells. Collectively, our results suggest that Mlh1 modulates error-prone NHEJ by inhibiting the annealing of DNA ends containing noncomplementary base pairs or by promoting the annealing of microhomologies.
Predicting viral infection by selecting informative biomarkers from temporal high-dimensional gene expression data

In order to more accurately predict an individual's health status, in clinical applications it is often important to perform analysis of high-dimensional gene expression data that varies with time. A major challenge in predicting from such temporal microarray data is that the number of biomarkers used as features is typically much larger than the number of labeled subjects. One way to address this challenge is to perform feature selection as a preprocessing step and then apply a classification method on selected features. However, traditional feature selection methods cannot handle multivariate temporal data without applying techniques that flatten temporal data into a single matrix in advance. In this study, a feature selection filter that can directly select informative features from temporal gene expression data is proposed. In our approach we measure the distance between multivariate temporal data from two subjects. Based on this distance, we define the objective function of temporal margin based feature selection to maximize each subject's temporal margin in its own relevant subspace. The experimental results on two real flu data sets provide evidence that our method outperforms the alternatives, which flatten the temporal data in advance.
A new method for cellulose membrane fabrication and the determination of its characteristics

A novel method to fabricate semipermeable cellulose membranes based on cellulose regeneration of a dry membrane cast by the neutralization reaction is presented in this paper. In this method, an environmentally acceptable cellulose dissolution procedure is employed to prepare the membrane casting solution comprised of microcrystalline cellulose dissolved in aqueous NaOH. Moreover, a new cast drying/cellulose regeneration technique is proposed and successfully applied to prepare membranes after the exploitation of the conventional immersion precipitation method, which results in the formation of granular cellulose particles rather than membranes due to the low cellulose concentration (<5 wt%) in the cast. In the present technique, the cellulose concentration in the membrane cast is dramatically increased through water evaporation, and glycerin is utilized in the cellulose regeneration process to achieve a gentle neutralization reaction. As a result, defect-free membranes with a uniform structure are developed. A detailed investigation is also presented concerning the effects of membrane forming parameters, i.e., the concentrations of cellulose, solvent, and acid, and the membrane thickness, on membrane properties. In addition, by coordinating the molecular separation experiments via the ultrafiltration process against a number of macromolecules with various molecular weights, the fabricated membranes are demonstrated to be capable of sieving molecules with a MW above 50,000.
DNA of noninfectious and infectious integrated spleen necrosis virus (SNV) is colinear with unintegrated SNV DNA and not grossly abnormal

The cleavage sites of eight restriction endonucleases in linear spleen necrosis virus (SNV) DNA were mapped, and the map was oriented with respect to viral RNA. With the aid of this map, several structural features of the viral DNA were elucidated: unintegrated linear SNV DNA is terminally redundant; the majority of SNV DNA molecules integrated in chicken DNA, which were previously shown to be present in many sites in cellular DNA, are colinear with unintegrated viral DNA; no tandem integration of proviral molecules is detectable; and the majority of integrated SNV DNA molecules, including integrated SNV DNA molecules previously shown to be noninfectious, do not have an altered restriction enzyme digestion pattern.
Piezoelectric Energy Conversion Using Locomotion

Piezoelectric materials can be used to convert oscillatory mechanical energy into electrical energy. This technology, together with innovative mechanical coupling designs, can form the basis for an energy harvesting solution for military and commercial systems. The US Army-CERDEC at Ft. Belvoir, VA and Continuum Photonics, Inc. in Billerica, MA completed a three year Science & Technology Objective (STO) research effort that focused on harvesting energy from physical exertion. The effort was aimed at investigating the concept of Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting for supplying supplemental power for dismounted soldiers. This STO effort resulted in the development of four proof-of-concept Heel Strike Units where each unit is essentially a small electric generator that utilizes piezoelectric elements to convert mechanical motion into electrical power in the form factor of the heel of a soldier’s combat boot. The Power Technology Branch has tested and evaluated the Heel Strike units. The results of the testing and evaluation and the performance of this small electric generator are presented. The generator’s piezoelectric conversion of mechanical motion into electrical power, its efficiency, the processes it goes through to produce useable power and commercial applications of the Heel Strike electric generator are discussed.
Critical initial void growth for electromigration: Stress modeling and multi-link statistics for Cu/low-k interconnects

This paper investigated the initial void growth that determines the electromigration failure time for Cu/low-k interconnects. A method to derive the initial void growth rate prior to line failure by analyzing the resistance traces was developed. The statistical data from multi-linked structures show a linear relationship between the void growth rates before and after failure. An extended the Korhonen model was developed taking into account the stress effect on void growth for Cu interconnects. The model was able to account for the observed EM statistics, thus suggesting that the effect of stress should be included for EM lifetime extrapolation.
Immunological response to tumor ischemia in a murine renal cell carcinoma model.

The effects of renal infarct on the immunological response of mice with renal cell carcinoma were studied by a series of adoptive transfer experiments. It appears that in this animal model renal infar
A dynamic Bayesian approach to computational Laban shape quality analysis

Laban movement analysis (LMA) is a systematic framework for describing all forms of human movement and has been widely applied across animation, biomedicine, dance, and kinesiology. LMA (especially Effort/Shape) emphasizes how internal feelings and intentions govern the patterning of movement throughout the whole body. As we argue, a complex understanding of intention via LMA is necessary for human-computer interaction to become embodied in ways that resemble interaction in the physical world. We thus introduce a novel, flexible Bayesian fusion approach for identifying LMA Shape qualities from raw motion capture data in real time. The method uses a dynamic Bayesian network (DBN) to fuse movement features across the body and across time and as we discuss can be readily adapted for low-cost video. It has delivered excellent performance in preliminary studies comprising improvisatory movements. Our approach has been incorporated in Response, a mixed-reality environment where users interact via natural, full-body human movement and enhance their bodily-kinesthetic awareness through immersive sound and light feedback, with applications to kinesiology training, Parkinson's patient rehabilitation, interactive dance, and many other areas.
Financing Agriculture Under Changing Environmental Regulation: Discussion

served and probable responses of financial intermediaries. Turvey focused on impacts of soil erosion constraints on the choice of crop activities. Given the nature of these three papers, I will attempt to propose an agenda for agricultural finance as it relates to changing environmental regulation. The easiest recommendation, and in some sense the most useless, is to indicate that our teaching programs both on and off campus must be expanded to keep pace with the rapid evolution of environmental awareness. The immediate reaction of additional course work has lim-
Francophone Theater of Western Canada: Dramatic Tales of Disappearing Francophones

One recent innovation in the Francophone theater of western Canada is the use of narrativized dramatic monologues. The monologue form has a long history in Quebec, so it should come as no surprise that western Canadian playwrights have also been drawn to it. What I argue in this article is that the monologue form may signify differently in minority Francophone theater, which has previously been a site for collective expressions of memory and identity. I focus on two works written by playwrights with Saskatchewan roots, but first performed in Alberta – Il etait une fois Delmas, Sask … mais pas deux fois! by Andre Roy and Claude Binet (2006) and Elephant Wake by Jonathan Christenson and Joey Tremblay (1999). I chose these two because they both recount stories of Francophone villages founded, built, and then gradually abandoned or overwhelmed by Anglophones. They are both tales of the missionary zeal of settlement, community cohesion based on church and French heritage, and the slow disintegration of once vi...
Stress Concentration in Laminated Composites With a Central Circular Hole Under Biaxial Load

The anisotropic nature of the laminate composites creates a unique opportunity and also a great challenge for tailoring its properties according to the design requirements. In this work investigating the strength of laminate composite, a nonlinear finite element analysis was used to simulate the stress concentration in a two dimensional element caused by a central circular hole subjected to the biaxial loading. The effects of elastic and plastic deformation of a metallic material, fiber orientation and stacking order of a laminated composite on stress concentration were investigated. This evaluation provides a clear indication and a key step in understanding failures initiated by stress concentration which may lead to the growth of a crack. Comparison between the effects of the hole both on a metallic material and on a fiber-reinforced laminate exposes a totally different situation. In general, the stress concentration depends largely on the material properties, the layer stacking order, and the orientation.Copyright © 2005 by ASME
Lactone Precursor in Fresh Milk Fat: Isolation and Characterization of the Precursor

Abstract Fresh, raw milk fat was separated into polar and nonpolar glyceride fractions by silicic acid chromatography. The polar fraction contained the lactone precursor. Hydrolysis of this fraction at 140 C for 30 min resulted in the production of a series of saturated delta lactones of even-numbered chain lengths of from 8 to 18 carbon atoms. Gamma undecalactone was also identified. Presumptive evidence was obtained that the lactone precursor consists of hydroxy triglycerides.
Colonic Motility: From Bench Side to Bedside

Three distinct types of contractions perform colonic motility functions. Rhythmic phasic contractions (RPCs) cause slow net distal propulsion with extensive mixing/turning over. Infrequently occurring giant migrating contractions (GMCs) produce mass movements. Tonic contractions aid RPCs in their motor function. The spatiotemporal patterns of these contractions differ markedly. The amplitude and distance of propagation of a GMC are several-fold larger than those of an RPC. The enteric neurons and smooth muscle cells are the core regulators of all three types of contractions. The regulation of contractions by these mechanisms is modifiable by extrinsic factors: CNS, autonomic neurons, hormones, inflammatory mediators, and stress mediators. Only the GMCs produce descending inhibition, which accommodates the large bolus being propelled without increasing muscle tone. The strong compression of the colon wall generates afferent signals that are below nociceptive threshold in healthy subjects. However, these signals become nociceptive; if the amplitudes of GMCs increase, afferent nerves become hypersensitive, or descending inhibition is impaired. The GMCs also provide the force for rapid propulsion of feces and descending inhibition to relax the internal anal sphincter during defecation. The dysregulation of GMCs is a major factor in colonic motility disorders: irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and diverticular disease (DD). Frequent mass movements by GMCs cause diarrhea in diarrhea predominant IBS, IBD, and DD, while a decrease in the frequency of GMCs causes constipation. The GMCs generate the afferent signals for intermittent short-lived episodes of abdominal cramping in these disorders. Epigenetic dysregulation due to adverse events in early life is one of the major factors in generating the symptoms of IBS in adulthood.
Extended sleep and performance.

MOST studies of the psychological consequences of sleep have been concerned with the way in which sleep deprivation decreases performance1,2. Little has been done to discover the relationship between extended sleep and performance. It may therefore be of interest to describe a study in which unnaturally extended sleep has been found to be followed by decreased performance in certain tasks.
Optimization of the growth of epitaxial SrBi2Ta2O9 thin films by pulsed laser deposition

Abstract The growth of epitaxial (001)-oriented SrBi 2 Ta 2 O 9 thin films by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) has been investigated. The effects of target composition, substrate temperature, oxidant pressure, laser pulse rate, laser fluence, and sample cooling have been studied. Variation of deposition parameters significantly affects the phase purity and epitaxial perfection of these ferroelectrics, and individual and combinatorial effects of the aforementioned growth variables as related to the adsorption-controlled growth regime are discussed. X-Ray diffraction and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (χ min =12%) analyses indicate that the (001)-oriented epitaxial films grown under the optimized conditions identified in this study have the highest structural perfection reported to date.
Determination of Ephedrine Alkaloids and Synephrine in Dietary Supplements by Column-Switching Cation Exchange High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Scanning-Wavelength Ultraviolet and Fluorescence Detection

An HPLC method with on-line cleanup coupled to the separation column is described for determination of (-)-norephedrine, (+)-norpseudoephedrine, (-)-ephedrine, (+)-pseudoephedrine, (-)-N-methylephedrine, (+)-N-methylpseudoephedrine, and (+/-)-synephrine in finished dietary supplement products. Test portions were extracted in acidified aqueous acetone. A filtered aliquot was cleaned up on a strong cation exchange (SCX) precolumn that later was automatically coupled to the SCX analytical column. Measurement was by full-scan UV spectra for confirmation of identity by spectral matching and real-time integration of three wavelength signals for multiple quantitation. (+/-)-Synephrine was also quantitated by native fluorescence. Recovery averaged 95-100%. Determination of the major ingredients (-)-ephedrine, (+)-pseudoephedrine, and (+/-)-synephrine compared favorably to findings by an independent LC-MS analysis for a set of 25 samples. The results of a survey were reported for total ephedrine alkaloid and synephrine content and were compared to content declaration, for approximately 48 finished products.
Adiabatic Deuteron Model and the O 16 ( p , d ) Reaction

Distorted-wave calculations using the Johnson and Soper adiabatic deuteron potential have been carried out for the reaction $^{16}\mathrm{O}(p,d)^{15}\mathrm{O}$ at 31.82, 38.63, and 45.34 MeV. The calculated angular distributions describe the data well with no need for a lower radial cutoff. The resultant spectroscopic factors are plausible and relatively independent of energy. Various modifications of the distorted-wave calculations and the sensitivity to different proton and deuteron potentials are investigated.
Preparation of 4-[p-[Bis(2-chloroethyl)amino]phenyl]Butyramides as Potential Antitumor Agents I

Six of the title compounds were synthesized and submitted for antitumor evaluation. Three of them exhibited significant activity in initial screening tests by the National Cancer Institute.
The formation of human resources for farming and household work as vocations: Lessons for less developed countries

Abstract Urban-biased perspectives have distorted debates concerning agriculture in the rural schools of less developed countries (LDCs). A confounding of notions of the “vocational” with the generally “practical” has undermined general pedagogy. And pervasive measurement biases have rendered the long hours of labor among women in LDCs virtually invisible, thereby treating their vocational preparation as inconsequential. The serious import of these errors and biases is evident again and again. More positive lessons for LDCs may be found in some aspects of early American land-grant college history, which can apply to poor countries as to rich ones, to women as to men. Its essence was in a creative and adaptive dynamic of linked research, education and extension that served not only farmers but also home-makers and the health and welfare of their families.
A Customizable Human/Vehicle Interface for Enhanced Operator Performance

The emergence of cost effective electronics and actuators within the transportation industry allows the presentation of increased driver feedback for greater situational awareness. The operator feedback channels can be broadly divided into visual, audio, and haptic. To date, the automotive community has primarily relied on instrument panel lamps and buzzer/chime sounds to notify the driver of important information while the vehicle’s interaction with the road is mechanically communicated through the steering wheel “feel” and the driver seat motion. However, an opportunity exists to integrate the visual, audio, and haptic feedback channels in a more effective manner to increase driver safety. For instance, the driver may receive haptic driving information through high frequency and low amplitude steering wheel vibrations. Visual feedback may be presented in the form of LED lights on the dashboard and instrument cluster. Similarly, audio messages that are recognized through a different cognitive process than visual and haptic signals may be integrated into the cockpit. In this paper, a comprehensive approach is proposed for driver communication through visual, audio, and haptic feedback. Laboratory tests have been conducted with human subjects using a custom driving simulator to evaluate driver notification strategies. The effectiveness of each feedback channel is evaluated and the results demonstrate that the coordinated presentation of vehicle operational data through targeted feedback channels increase the operator’s overall safety.Copyright © 2007 by ASME
Spatiotemporal maturation of the central and lateral N1 components to tones

Abstract This paper examines maturational changes in the spatiotemporal features of central and lateral N1 components of the auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) to tone stimuli presented with a long stimulus onset asyncrony (SOA; 4200 ms) using the scalp current density (SCD) technique. A group of typically developing children ranging from 6 to 12 years of age and a group of adults were studied. Recently studies have begun to explore the topography of these components in children. These studies, however, often used rapidly presented stimuli and did not elicit observable central N1s in the younger children. Our stimuli elicited both central and lateral N1s. Peak latencies of both components decreased with age. Peak amplitude also decreased with age for the lateral N1 but not for the central N1. Consequently, the difference between the lateral N1 and the central N1 amplitudes (or the ratio of lateral N1 amplitude to central N1 amplitude) also decreased with age, dramatically altering the morphology of the elicited AEP waveforms. Topography of the lateral N1 did not change with age. The location of maximal activation for the central N1 appeared to move more medially with age but this ‘apparent’ movement is probably due to the decreasing impact of the partially overlapping lateral N1 component whose amplitude is significantly smaller in adults than in children.
Susceptibility of yellow starthistle to Puccinia jaceae var. solstitialis and greenhouse production of inoculum for classical biological control programs

In anticipation of large-scale distribution of a Turkish isolate of Puccinia jaceae var. solstitialis in California for biological control of yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis, YST), susceptibility of YST within the state was determined and a protocol for bulk inoculum production was developed. Inoculation was made of 62 field accessions of YST representative of the range of habitats in California. These were determined to be equally susceptible to infection by the isolate approved for release in the United States in 2003. To support a program to speed establishment by release at many locations statewide, protocols for artificial increase of inoculum were developed. Over 64 g of urediniospores were produced with a mass-production system under greenhouse conditions from 2003 to 2006. Yield of inoculum varied by season, with peak production occurring from early spring through early summer. A large-scale urediniospore harvest also was made from a field plot at Davis, California. Our results show that susceptibility of YST in California is not likely to limit establishment of P. jaceae for biological control, and that production of this or other obligate pathogenic fungi (biological control agent) is possible for support of statewide release and research programs.
Analysis of 3D elemental mapping artefacts in biological specimens using Monte Carlo simulation

Summary In this paper, we present Monte Carlo simulation results demonstrating the feasibility of using the focused ion beam based X-ray microanalysis technique (FIB-EDS) for the 3D elemental analysis of biological samples. In this study, we used a marine diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana as our model organism and NISTMonte for the Monte Carlo simulations. We explored several beam energies commonly used for the X-ray microanalysis to examine their effects on the resulting 3D elemental volume of the model organism. We also performed a preliminary study on the sensitivity of X-ray analysis for detecting nanoparticles in the model. For the conditions considered in this work, we show that the X-ray mapping performed using the 5 keV beam energy results in 3D elemental distributions that closely reflect the elemental distributions in the original model. At 5 keV, the depth resolution of the X-ray maps is about 250 nm for the model organism. We also show that the nanoparticles that are 50 nm in diameter or greater are easily located. Although much work is still needed in generating more accurate biological models and simulating experimental conditions relevant to these samples, our results indicate that FIB-EDS is a promising technique for the 3D elemental analysis of some biological specimens.
Task management in a multi-robot environment

Abstract Contemporary computer technology allows robotic cells to communicate and cooperate. However, this expanded functionality requires more intelligence and better management of the cooperating robots. This paper presents a software methodology to accommodate real time constraints imposed by cooperating robots, or any other task related constraint. This methodology is general and is capable of handling a large variety of exceptions such as task failures, sensor interruptions, and equipment failures. The methodology presented treats exceptions as tasks with special features; hence, the methodology expands into task management in a general robotic cell. The methodology can accommodate failures independent of any hardware. In addition to the obvious functional benefits, this approach also allows easier development of robotic tasks, and improved portability of tasks among systems. The methodology is demonstrated using an example with two cooperating robots.
Measurement of the Radiative Lifetimes of the First Excited States of Na, K, Rb, and Cs by Means of the Phase-Shift Method*

The lifetimes of the first excited states of the elements Na, K, Rb, and Cs were measured using the phase-shift method described by Brewer et al. [ Rev. Sci. Instr.33, 1450 ( 1962)]. The data were taken over a wide range of vapor densities to allow the effects of radiation entrapment and of scattered exciting light to be taken into account. The following values were obtained: Na 3p2P 16.1±0.3 nsec, K 4p2P 27.8±0.5 nsec, Rb 5p2P3/2 27.0±0.5 nsec, and Cs 6p2P3/2 30.5±0.7 nsec.
Pulsing Technique for Improved Performance of Oxygen Sensors

The results of tests on a new method for improving the performance of membrane covered polargraphic oxygen sensors will be presented. The technique known as chronoamperometry or, more commonly, "pulsed", can be applied to the usage of polargraphic oxygen sensors. The technique offers the advantage of greatly reducing the amount of oxygen consumed from the sample during the process of making a measurement. This is turn greatly reduced the sensor's sensitivity to fouling and variations in sample flow rate. Secondary benefits Include long-term stability and extended service because of the very short duty cycle. The effect of fouling was simulated by doubling the membrane thickness; the steady state current was halved, but the current measured at 1. second was unaffected. The effect of a transition from high flow rate to no flow produced a 28-43% decrease in steady current, depending upon whether membrane thickness was 1.0 or 0.5 mil respectively, but the current measured a 1. second declined by only .3-1.2%. The significance of these Improvements to the use of dissolved oxygen sensors for monitoring dissolved oxygen in the ocean will be discussed.
Subclinical manifestations of psychosis-proneness, ego strength, and creativity

Abstract A study was conducted to examine the joint influence of psychosis-proneness and ego strength on creativity in college students. Psychosis-proneness and ego strength were defined psychometrically by means of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and California Psychological Inventory profile, a procedure that resulted in creation of four categories of research subjects: (1) psychosis-prone/high ego strength, (2) psychosis-prone/low ego strength, (3) not psychosis-prone/high ego strength, and (4) not psychosis-prone/low ego strength. As predicted, psychosis-prone persons who were high in ego strength exhibited the highest level of evaluated creativity in their proposed solutions to an engineering problem and also the highest scores on the Remote Associates Test.
Sensitivity Analysis and Tolerance Allocation for Microplanar Drill Point Grinders

A sensitivity analysis and toierance analysis/allocation of the grinding parameters is presented to guide the design of pianar micro-drill point grinders. The mapping from the desired micro-planar drill point geometry parameter space to the grinding parameter space of the drill grinder has been established to determine a unique grinding parameter set for the desired planar micro-drill point geometry. By means of the sensitivity analysis (variations of the drill point geometry parameters with respect to the grinding parameters), it is indicated which parameters are the most important and most profoundly affect drill point geometry. To specify the upper and/or lower limits of grinding parameter tolerances, and to assure that the total tolerance of the drill point geometry is maintained throughout the desired range, two methods are presented. Tolerance analysis shows the maximal tolerances of the drill point geometry parameters in terms of the maximal tolerances of the grinding parameters. This method requires the tuning of the tolerances ot the grinding parameters until the tolerance ot point geometry are satisfied. As an inverse problem to tolerance analysis, a rational tolerance allocation algorithm is investigated to assigr. the unknown grinding parameter tolerances from the known maximal allowable tolerances of the drill point geometry.
Rigid extensions of ℓ-groups of continuous functions

Let C(X, ℤ), C(X, ℂ) and C(X) denote the l-groups of integer-valued, rational-valued and real-valued continuous functions on a topological space X, respectively. Characterizations are given for the extensions C(X, ℤ) ⩽ C(X, ℚ) ⩽ C(X) to be rigid, major, and dense.
The Interrelationships between Ratings of Speech and Facial Acceptability in Persons with Cleft Palate

This study was conducted to determine (a) if untrained observers could reliably rate the speech and facial acceptability of young adults with clefts of the lip and/or palate; and (b) if there were differences between the ratings of speech acceptability and facial acceptability according to sex of observer, presentation mode, or speaker effect. Thirty untrained young adult observers rated the speech and facial acceptability of 20 speakers with cleft palate using a 7-point bipolar adjective scale. Judgments of speech acceptability were made from an auditory-only stimulus and then from a combined audio-visual stimulus. Judgments of facial acceptability were made from a visual-only stimulus and then from a combined audio-visual stimulus. Multivariate analysis of variance, Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients, and a posteriori multiple range tests were used for data analyses. Results indicated that untrained observers were reliable in rating both speech and facial acceptability (r .65-.97). The effects of speaker and interaction between speaker and presentation mode were significant at .01 levels of confidence. Judgments made of facial acceptability were generally more positive, leading to the conclusion that speech is generally judged more negatively in speakers with cleft palate, at least by untrained observers. The interaction between speech and facial acceptability was not significant.
Fast axonal transport by neurons from the jellyfish Cyanea capillata.

Neurons of the motor nerve net of Cyanea capillata were examined using video-enhanced DIC optics. A variety of organelles were visible within the axons and many were mobile. To quantify the movement organelles were divided into three classes (large, medium, and small) and the rates, direction, and types of movement displayed by the different particle types examined. The overall behavior and rates of movement of transported particles were camparable with those in axons from other species. The largest particles, mainly mitochondria were the slowest moving but were the only particles to reverse their direction of movement or to undergo interactions with other particles. The fastest movement was by the small particles, but both they and medium sized particles were transported continuously. In addition, the linear elements in these axons underwent considerable lateral movement.
Further experience with radiation therapy and concomitant intravenous chemotherapy in advanced carcinoma of the lower female genital tract

Abstract Sixty-seven patients with advanced carcinoma of the lower female genital tract (cervix, vagina, and vulva) were treated with radiation and concomitant intravenous cisplatin and/or 5-fluorouracil. Fifty-seven patients (85%) responded completely clinically. Thirty-five (61%) complete responders recurred with a median time to recurrence of 6 months. Twenty-six of the thirtyfive patients who recurred had some component of local failure. The 22 complete responders who have not recurred have been followed a median of 13 months. Acute toxicity was minimal, with only 6 patients requiring interruption of therapy. Nine (13%) patients developed severe late complications and eight required surgery. The actuarial 5-year survival is 22%. This treatment regimen is disappointing in terms of both survival and local control.
Time Response Dynamics of Linear Model of Microcantilever-MEMS

This paper presents analytic derivation of dynamic behavior of a liniearized micro-electro-mechanical resonator. The parametric oscillation results from a displacement-dependent electrostatic force generated by oscillation of a microbeam. The utilized device is a MEMS with a time-varying capacitor. The stability and steady state dynamic behavior of the MEMS has been analyzed without polarization voltage. The main characteristic of the no-polarization model is effects of parameters in stability of the system. A set of stability charts is provided for prediction of the boundary between the stable and unstable domains for the principal resonance. Applying perturbation method, analytical equations are derived to describe both the steady state and time response of the system.Copyright © 2005 by ASME
Reflectionless sponge layers for the numerical solution of Maxwell's equations in cylindrical and spherical coordinates

Abstract We review the scaling argument used to derive reflectionless wave absorbing layers for use as Absorbing Boundary Conditions (ABC) in numerical solutions of the elliptic and hyperbolic Maxwell equations in cylindrical and spherical coordinates, and show that thus obtained absorbing layers are described in the time-domain by causal, strongly well-posed hyperbolic systems. Representative results are given for scattering by cylinders. Also, we study the reflection of local ABC's in discrete space.
Low temperature expansions for the Gibbs states of weakly interacting quantum Ising lattice systems

Low temperature expansions for the Gibbs states of weakly interacting transverse Ising-like models are developed, by conditioning the states on a sub-algebra of observables. The conditioned states have effective classical Hamiltonians which are estimated by the solution to a simple implicit equation. Provided the interaction is sufficiently weak but fixed independent of temperature, and the temperature is sufficiently low, exponential clustering of the correlation functions holds.
High-performance bidding agents for the continuous double auction

We develop two bidding algorithms for real-time Continuous Double Auctions (CDAs) using a variety of market rules that offer what we believe to be the strongest known performance of any published bidding strategy. Our algorithms are based on extensions of the "ZIP" (Cliff, 1997) and "GD" (Gjerstad and Dickhaut, 1998) strategies: we have made essential modifications to these strategies which enable trading multiple units in real-time markets. We test these strategies against each other and against the sniping strategy of (Rust et al., 1992) and the baseline "Zero Intelligence" strategy of (Gode and Sunder, 1992), using both a discrete-time simulator and a genuine real-time multi-agent environment called MAGENTA (Das et al., 2001). Under various market rules and limit price distributions, our modified Gjerstad-Dickhaut ("MGD") strategy outperforms the original GD, and generally ominates the other strategies.
Atomistic viewpoint of the applicability of microcontinuum theories

Abstract Microcontinuum field theories, including Micromorphic theory, Microstructure theory, Micropolar theory, Cosserat theory, nonlocal theory and couple stress theory, are the extensions of the classical field theories for the applications in microscopic space and time scales. They have been expected to overlap atomic model at microscale and encompass classical continuum mechanics at macroscale. This work provides an atomic viewpoint to examine the physical foundations of those well-established microcontinuum theories, and to justify their applicability through lattice dynamics and molecular dynamics.
Acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of methyl 4-O-alkyl-D-glucopyranosides

Abstract Methyl 4-O-alkyl-α- and β- D -glucopyranosides having both primary and secondary alkyl groups have been hydrolyzed in water-p-dioxane solutions. In general, the larger the substituent group, the larger the rate constant for acid-catalyzed hydrolysis; but, regardless of whether etherification at O-4 was with a primary or a secondary alkyl group, hydrolysis was slowed and the free energy of hydrolysis was increased over that obtained under similar conditions with glycosides unsubstituted at O-4. The values of the free energy of hydrolysis of the methyl 4-O-alkyl-β- D -glucopyranosides were consistently lower than those for the hydrolysis of the α- D anomers. These differences have been explained on the basis of a complete, free energy-reaction coordinate diagram.
Shifts in US Federal Reserve Goals and Tactics for Monetary Policy: A Role for Penitence?

During the fi rst period, starting in the mid-1920s, the Federal Reserve offi cial During the fi rst period, starting in the mid-1920s, the Federal Reserve offi cial policy was to support high-quality bank lending, but not speculative lending. This policy was to support high-quality bank lending, but not speculative lending. This goal was set aside once in 1927, in an episode that many observers then blamed for goal was set aside once in 1927, in an episode that many observers then blamed for the economic collapse that followed the fi nancial crash of 1929. The Fed was then the economic collapse that followed the fi nancial crash of 1929. The Fed was then reluctant to increase the funds available to banks through the early 1930s, even as reluctant to increase the funds available to banks through the early 1930s, even as the Great Depression ravaged the economy. The Fed's concern with the volume and the Great Depression ravaged the economy. The Fed's concern with the volume and quality of lending in the setting of monetary policy did eventually wither. However, quality of lending in the setting of monetary policy did eventually wither. However, this only seems to have happened after the publication of Friedman and Schwartz this only seems to have happened after the publication of Friedman and Schwartz (1963), a revisionist history of the Great Depression that blamed its depth on the (1963), a revisionist history of the Great Depression that blamed its depth on the Fed's inappropriate focus on "productive lending." Fed's inappropriate focus on "productive lending." In the second period, after the experience of post-World War II infl ation, the In the second period, after the experience of post-World War II infl ation, the Federal Reserve in the 1950s was highly concerned with infl ation and was willing to Federal Reserve in the 1950s was highly concerned with infl ation and was willing to raise interest rates and bring on recessions to nip even modest infl ation rates in the raise interest rates and bring on recessions to nip even modest infl ation rates in the bud. This brought withering criticism for the Federal Reserve on the grounds that bud. This brought withering criticism for the Federal Reserve on the grounds that the recessions of 1957 and 1960 had been unnecessary. By the mid-1960s, some Fed the recessions of 1957 and 1960 had been unnecessary. By the mid-1960s, some Fed offi cials seem to have developed an aversion to creating recessions as a method of offi cials seem to have developed an aversion to creating recessions as a method of
A review of Florida citrus blight and its association with soil edaphic factors, nutrition and Fusarium solani

Abstract Blight is an important disease of citrus and is the most serious disease of this crop in Florida, a major citrus producer. The disease affects the xylem of the tree and symptoms are those associated with water stress. Interveinal zinc‐deficiency occurs in young leaves on a branch and eventually spreads until the whole tree is affected. Wilt occurs in areas on the tree. Fruits are usually normal in appearance but reduced in size, and sometimes irregular in shape. Blighted trees also have fibrous dry root rot symptoms and Fusarium solani appears to be associated with those symptoms. In Florida there appears to be a relationship between blight occurrence and shallow soils. Studies indicate that soil moisture stress, unfavourable drainage and poor rooting volume unfavourably affect root growth and development in shallow soils. It is thought that the cause of blight is a complex of factors involving soils and their management and Fusarium solani. Ammonium nitrate predisposes roots to infection by F. s...