cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The utility of blood oxygenation as an indicator of postnatal condition.

Summary In the present study we have attempted to relate level of blood oxygen to the state of the infant at or near the time of birth. Oxygen levels were correlated to clinical ratings of anoxia and to performance on the Behavior-Tests for the Newborn. A low but significant relationship between cord oxygen and clinically observed anoxia was found. There was, however, no relationship between immediate postnatal anoxia and oxygen level at one hour. There was essentially no relationship between oxygen and performance on behavioral tests made when the infants were from 24 to 48 hours of age, although we have found previously that there is a relationship between these tests and the seriousness of the clinical condition. Also, there was no difference in performance on Behavior Tests between extreme groups selected on the basis of oxygen levels. Groups selected because of low cord oxygen or low oxygen throughout the first hour of life did not perform in a manner that was significantly different from groups whose oxygen readings were exceptionally high. The one exception to this was in the reverse direction from what would have been predicted; i.e., the low oxygen group performed better than the high oxygen group. The patterning of early and late oxygen readings was examined. No correlation was found between the cord sample and the 60-minute sample, and the correlation between the 10-and 60-minute samples was low, although statistically significant. In the total group of both uncomplicated and complicated deliveries, infants having cord oxygen above the 50 per cent level showed no greater tendency to be above 90 per cent at one hour than did infants with cord readings below 50 per cent. In complicated deliveries only, those infants with cord readings below 50 per cent were significantly less well oxygenated at one hour than were those whose cord readings were above 50 per cent. It was concluded that the measure of oxygen saturation, while having high face validity and objectivity, does not provide an entirely satisfactory measure of what is clinically regarded as anoxia. The cord sample, which should be the most revealing of the oxygen economy of the infant at the moment of birth, appears likely to be influenced by events of the moment and is unreliable as a predictor of later oxygen status. It was suggested that one of the difficulties with the oxygen measure is the fact that it is too sensitive to transitory states to be serviceable in predicting long-term effects upon the organism.
Backscattering of ground terrain and building materials at submillimeter-wave and terahertz frequencies

As terrestrial remote sensing and communication systems continue to evolve in the 0.1 – 0.3 THz band, the need to understand the scattering behavior of common materials and ground terrain at these frequencies becomes important. Terrain features and surface roughness that would otherwise appear smooth at longer wavelengths begin to significantly impact the radar cross section of the surfaces at these higher frequencies. The HH and VV polarized backscattering coefficient of several types of ground terrain and building materials were measured in indoor compact radar ranges operating at 100 GHz and 240 GHz. Measurements of the various materials were collected at elevation angles ranging from 5 to 35 degrees. The goal of the effort was to develop a better understanding of the polarimetric scattering behavior of materials in the 0.1–0.3 THz region.
Soluble suppressor factor produced by pokeweed mitogen-stimulated human peripheral blood leukocytes☆

Abstract Human peripheral blood leukocytes were exposed to either PWM or Con A mitogens. Cells activated by both these mitogens were able to depress proliferation in an MLC, and to inhibit the generation of spontaneous killer cell (SK) and induced T-cell cytotoxic activity. PWM-activated cells incubated in media for 48 hr were able to elaborate a soluble factor in vitro . This factor suppressed cytotoxicity, and was active only when present at the initiation of MLC cultures. In contrast, cells exposed to Con A were able to suppress immune responsiveness, but this population did not release a soluble factor which could inhibit cytotoxicity. PWM induction appears to be dependent on phagocytic cells, while Con A activation is less dependent on this adherent population. An enriched adherent cell population, stimulated with PWM, was able to suppress cytotoxicity. Thus, the PWM-stimulated system of suppression is mediated through a soluble factor and is dependent on adherent cells.
X-ray microscopy

Recent years have seen significant advances in both low and high energy X-ray microscopy. The image in X-ray microscopy is usually formed by differences in absorption of X-ray photons. Soft X-ray microscopy (energies below a few thousand eV) uses wavelengths under 10 nm. Since light wavelengths are approximately 500 nm, resolution is much better with X-rays. One can obtain nanoscale resolution with focused soft X-ray imaging of thin biological objects. To achieve high spatial resolution in high energy X-ray microscopy one can use focused parallel monochromatic beams produced by synchrotron radiation or one can use a microfocal X-ray source with high geometrical magnification of the image. For weakly absorbing objects the image contrast can be enhanced by X-ray refraction on inhomogeneities and phase contrast formation. The physical principles of the phase contrast technique are similar to those in optics and are based on X-ray interference. Modeling and experimental aspects of the phase contrast technique with a microfocal X-ray source and the effects of geometrical and material parameters are reviewed in some detail. Examples of phase contrast of porosity in a polymer layer and an aluminum weld are shown. The computer-simulated images are compared with images from experiment with a 5 μm microfocal X-ray source. Phase retrieval methods and phase map reconstruction from measured X-ray images are also discussed. Applications of the phase-contrast X-ray imaging include medical radiology, material science, and industrial radiography and tomography.
Interaction of Exogenous Corticotropin and Environment on Protein Bound Iodine and Other Plasma Biochemical Parameters

Abstract In a crossover design replicated over three environments, cold (5C, 30% relative humidity), thermoneutral (18C, 50% relative humidity), and hot (35C, 80% relative humidity), responses of six pregnant Holstein heifers to exogenous adrenocorticotropin (200 IU) or placebo (.9% saline) treatments were measured in plasma for protein bound iodine, glucose, inorganic phosphorus, cholesterol, total protein, albumin, globulin, and blood urea nitrogen. Various timed intervals of blood collection at pre- and postintravenous injection of a treatment solution provided a means to determine differences from treatment and interactions of environment by treatment and environment by treatment by interval. Protein bound iodine increased from 8.26 to 12.48 μ g/100ml in response to adrenocorticotropin administered under the cold environment. Injection of adrenocorticotropin during the hot environment depressed protein bound iodine from 6.68 to 3.98 μ g/100ml. Responses of protein bound iodine to placebo and adrenocorticotropin injected under the thermoneutral environment were 5.14 and 5.92 μ g/100ml. Glucose was elevated by exogenous adrenocorticotropin to 75.15 mg/100ml from 70.03 mg/100ml for animals receiving the placebo. Interaction of treatment by interval illustrated a rise in circulating glucose with time to 24h postinjection with adrenocorticotropin. Inorganic phosphorus decreased with time but returned to base within 24h postinjection with adrenocorticotropin.
Townsend Ionization Coefficients and Uniform Field Breakdown in Hydrogen and Nitrogen at High Pressures

Values of $\frac{\ensuremath{\alpha}}{p}$, the first Townsend coefficient divided by the pressure, reproducible to a few percent were measured in hydrogen and nitrogen by the standard Townsend procedure for the range of pressure $p$ times electrode separation $d$ of 100 to 800 mm Hg\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}cm. Values of $\frac{\ensuremath{\alpha}}{p}$ were obtained for the range of field strength to pressure ratio $\frac{E}{p}$ of 14 to 22 and 30 to 45 volt ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ ${(\mathrm{mm}\mathrm{Hg})}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ in hydrogen and nitrogen, respectively. Current-voltage measurements at constant values of $p$ and $d$ taken to within 0.05% of the breakdown potential check the consistency of the $\frac{\ensuremath{\alpha}}{p}$ measurements and demonstrate the existence of the second Townsend coefficient $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ for $\mathrm{pd}$ values as high as 750 in nitrogen and 800 in hydrogen. The primary multiplication at breakdown is only about ${10}^{3}$ for both gases, and the existence of $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ is necessary to account for total multiplications of ${10}^{5}$ measured just below breakdown. The values of $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ are reproducible to within about 20% for fixed values of $p$, $d$, and $\frac{E}{p}$, provided the nickel cathode used is not unduly abused by heavy currents. The values of $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ are about ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$ for values of $\frac{E}{p}$ of about 20 in hydrogen and 40 in nitrogen, and were found to be unfalsified by space charge. Measured values of the breakdown potential in both gases are given within experimental error by the Townsend condition $\ensuremath{\gamma}({e}^{\ensuremath{\alpha}d}\ensuremath{-}1)=1$. Variations of the state of the nickel cathode for both gases at constant $p$ and $d$ give rise to changes in both $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ and the breakdown potential in accord with the Townsend condition. Alternately, values of the breakdown potential may be used with accurate values of $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ to obtain precise values of $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ from the Townsend condition.
Mapping duplicated sequences.

Duplicated genomic regions are accurately resolved using an optimized algorithm for mapping reads from next-generation sequencers.
Redaction based RDF access control language

We propose an access control language for securing RDF graphs which essentially leverages an underlying query language based redaction mechanism to provide fine grained RDF access control. The access control language presented is equipped with critical features such as policy resolution and cascading policies that are essential for fine grained RDF access control. We present the architecture of our system which primarily features a flexible, scalable and general purpose RDF access control mechanism.
Control of interfaces on electrical properties of SiO2–Parylene-C laminar composite dielectrics

Article history: The interfacial interactions and their effects on electrical properties are reported for thermally grown SiO2-Parylene-C laminar composites. The segmental chain mobility of the interfacial Parylene-C was found to be enhanced in the composites. TSDC (thermally stimulated depolarization current) measure- ments showed the presence of dipolar interfacial energy states in these laminar composites. Function- alization of the oxide surface with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) created dipolar energy states with larger activation energy at the interface between Parylene-C and SiO2. In addition to the modifica- tion of interfacial states, incorporation of APTES interfacial layer also increased polarizability (real part of permittivity) and reduced the quasi-DC conductivity of laminar composites. The systematic changes in interfacial characteristics with thickness of APTES layer were explained based on structural orientation and cross linking of silane molecules.
A new method for nitric acid and nitrate aerosol measurement using the dichotomous sampler

Abstract A new sampling method suitable for the routine monitoring of nitric acid and particulate nitrate was tested at the Nitrogen Species Methods Comparison Study in Claremont, CA during September 1985. The method is based on prior observations that the internal surfaces of the Dichotomous sampler can efficiently denude nitric acid. A Dichotomous sampler was operated with both fine and coarse filter holders modified to accommodate a Teflon membrane prefilter and nylon membrane after filter. A Teflon-lined AIHL cyclone followed by Teflon and nylon filters in series sampled total fine nitrate. Particulate nitrate was determined with the Dichotomous sampler and nitric acid from the cyclone-Dichotomous sampler difference. Over 16 sampling periods, the fine nitrate and nitric acid showed excellent agreement with that obtained with two conventional MgO denuder difference sampling trains. Airborne concentrations of the major ionic species were determined with the Dichotomous sampler and good ion balances were obtained. Coarse nitrate was associated with marine air, consistent with formation by the reaction of nitric acid with sea salt. The resulting hydrochloric acid was measured by applying the cyclone-Dichotomous sampler difference method to chloride. Thus, the new sampling method is useful for the monitoring of the chemical species important for acid deposition.
Some computational capabilities for nonlinear finite element analysis

Abstract The computational capabilities available in the current version of the computer program ADINA for stress analysis of structures and continua are described. The program can be employed effectively for various linear and nonlinear static and dynamic finite element analyses. The solutions of some problems using ADINA are presented to indicate the solution capabilities of the program.
TRICK: tracking and reusing compiler's knowledge

Compilers, during compilation, analyze the application being compiled and build up extensive knowledge about the program. This knowledge is essential for the compiler to produce correct object code. Though some part of this knowledge is retained in the generated object files as symbol table information to be used by the linker and/or debugger, most of it is discarded after the compilation is done. In this paper, we introduce the TRICK framework, which is an attempt to retain and reuse this internal information generated by the compiler as part of its program analysis, in building new tools or enhancing existing tools as well for reuse by the compiler for continuous program optimization. We present examples of how development and maintenance of various program analysis tools can be simplified by using the TRICK framework describing tools developed by our group as well as how TRICK framework can be employed in continuous program optimization by the compiler. TRICK framework can be part of both static and dynamic compilation system, though our current usage model is in the context of a static compilation system,
Linkage tree genetic algorithms: variants and analysis

Discovering and exploiting the linkage between genes during evolutionary search allows the Linkage Tree Genetic Algorithm (LTGA) to maximize crossover effectiveness, greatly reducing both population size and total number of evaluations required to reach success on decomposable problems. This paper presents a comparative analysis of the most prominent LTGA variants and a newly introduced variant. While the deceptive trap problem (Trap-k) is one of the canonical benchmarks for testing LTGA, when LTGA is combined with applying steepest ascent hill climbing to the initial population, as is done in all significant LTGA variations, trap-k is trivially solved. This paper introduces the deceptive step trap problem (StepTrap-k,s), which shows the novel combination of smallest first subtree ordering with global mixing (LTS-GOMEA) is effective for black box optimization, while least linked first subtree ordering (LT-GOMEA) is effective on problems where partial reevaluation is possible. Finally, nearest neighbor NK landscapes show that global mixing is not effective on problems with complex overlapping linkage structure that cannot be modeled correctly by a linkage tree, emphasizing the need to extend how LTGA stores linkage to allow the power of global mixing to be applied to these types of problems.
Historical Perspectives on the Epidemiology of Human Chagas Disease in Texas and Recommendations for Enhanced Understanding of Clinical Chagas Disease in the Southern United States.

Chagas disease (Trypanosoma cruzi infection) has recently been identified as an important neglected tropical disease in the United States. Anecdotally referred to as a “silent killer,” it leads to the development of potentially fatal cardiac disease in approximately 30% of those infected. In an attempt to better understand the potential of Chagas disease as a significant underlying cause of morbidity in Texas, we performed a historical literature review to assess disease burden. Human reports of triatomine bites and disease exposure were found to be prevalent in Texas. Despite current beliefs that Chagas disease is a recently emerging disease, we report historical references dating as far back as 1935. Both imported cases and autochthonous transmission contribute to the historical disease burden in Texas. We end by discussing the current knowledge gaps, and recommend priorities for advancing further epidemiologic studies and their policy implications.
Turning Datamining into a Management Science Tool: New Algorithms and Empirical Results

This article develops and illustrates a new knowledge discovery algorithm tailored to the action requirements of management science applications. The challenge is to develop tactical planning forecasts at the SKU level. We use a traditional market-response model to extract information from continuous variables and use datamining techniques on the residuals to extract information from the many-valued nominal variables, such as the manufacturer or merchandise category. This combination means that a more complete array of information can be used to develop tactical planning forecasts. The method is illustrated using records of the aggregate sales during promotion events conducted by a 95-store retail chain in a single trading area. In a longitudinal cross validation, the statistical forecast PromoCastTM predicted the exact number of cases of merchandise needed in 49% of the promotion events and was within ± one case in 82% of the events. The dataminer developed rules from an independent sample of 1.6 million observations and applied these rules to almost 460,000 promotion events in the validation process. The dataminer had sufficient confidence to make recommendations on 46% of these forecasts. In 66% of those recommendations, the dataminer indicated that the forecast should not be changed. In 96% of those promotion events where "no change" was recommended, this was the correct "action" to take. Even including these "no change" recommendations, the dataminer decreased the case error by 9% across all promotion events in which rules applied.
Hide the Republicans, the Christians, and the women: a response to "Politics and Professional Advancement Among College Faculty"

Do conservatives suﬀer discrimination in academe? In “Politics and Professional Advancement Among College Faculty,” Rothman, Lichter, and Nevitte argue that “conservatives and Republicans teach at lower quality schools than do liberals and Democrats.” Using a survey of 1643 faculty members from 183 four-year colleges and universities, they conclude that their results are “consistent with the hypothesis that political conservatism confers a disadvantage in the competition for political advancement.” In this response, we show that Rothman, Lichter, and Nevitte’s work is plagued by theoretical and methodological problems that render their conclusions unsustainable by the available evidence. Furthermore, we oﬀer an alternative hypothesis theoretically consistent with their ﬁndings. Unfortunately, we were unable to subject our alternative hypothesis to empirical assessment (or even to replicate the initial results of Rothman, Lichter and Nevitte) since they have refused to make their data available to the scientiﬁc community.
Istanbul Judeo-Spanish

The Judeo-Spanish speaking population of Istanbul is the result of migrations that were due to the edict of expulsion of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in 1492. The Ottoman ruler Bayezid II provided a haven to the exiles in his realm, and many came as immigrants to the capital Istanbul and other major port cities in that year. A continuous trickle of immigration of Jews originating in Spain continued after that date, as some of those who had gone to exile in other Mediterranean and Western European countries eventually also decided to resettle in Ottoman cities. Some Spanish-speaking families continued to migrate from the cities of the Italian peninsula to Istanbul and other centers of the Ottoman empire up until the eighteenth century. Another stream included Hispano-Portuguese families, Jews who had resettled in Portugal after the expulsion but were forced to undergo conversion there in 1497, and after a period of clandestine Jewish existence started emigrating to other countries in the sixteenth century. First Bayonne in France, then Amsterdam and other Hanseatic cities became important centers for Hispano-Portuguese families that returned to Judaism, and these maintained relations with, and occasionally sent immigrants to, the Jewish communities of the Ottoman cities.
End-of-life Care in the NICU: A Family-centered Approach

Providing compassionate, family-centered end-of-life care to infants and their families in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is challenging for caregivers. Quality end-of-life care is a process that requires clear and consistent communication delivered by a compassionate multidisciplinary team within a framework of shared decision-making. The knowledge and communication skills of the interdisciplinary team can greatly influence the ability of the parents to cope effectively with their loss around the time of death and after they return home. Structured bereavement follow-up and staff support programs provide ongoing support for families and caregivers.
QuickRoute: a fast routing algorithm for pipelined architectures

As interconnect delays begin to dominate logic delays in large circuits, pipelined interconnects will be needed to achieve the highest performance. In FPGAs, this pipelining will be provided by the configurable interconnect architecture itself. This changes the routing problem substantially since the shortest path problem, which is at the core of any router, becomes NP-hard when latency constraints are added. That is, if signals must be routed through a given number of registers between source and destination, an efficient shortest path algorithm like Djikstra's algorithm is no longer an option. We propose here an approximate algorithm that uses simple heuristics to solve the pipelined shortest path problem efficiently. We have incorporated QuickRoute in the PathFinder router to route pipelined interconnects. We present the results achieved with QuickRoute for several circuits with heavily pipelined interconnect which show an improvement over a previously described algorithm.
Inactivation of the DnaB Helicase Leads to the Collapse and Degradation of the Replication Fork: a Comparison to UV-Induced Arrest

Replication forks face a variety of structurally diverse impediments that can prevent them from completing their task. The mechanism by which cells overcome these hurdles is likely to vary depending on the nature of the obstacle and the strand in which the impediment is encountered. Both UV-induced DNA damage and thermosensitive replication proteins have been used in model systems to inhibit DNA replication and characterize the mechanism by which it recovers. In this study, we examined the molecular events that occur at replication forks following inactivation of a thermosensitive DnaB helicase and found that they are distinct from those that occur following arrest at UV-induced DNA damage. Following UV-induced DNA damage, the integrity of replication forks is maintained and protected from extensive degradation by RecA, RecF, RecO, and RecR until replication can resume. By contrast, inactivation of DnaB results in extensive degradation of the nascent and leading-strand template DNA and a loss of replication fork integrity as monitored by two-dimensional agarose gel analysis. The degradation that occurs following DnaB inactivation partially depends on several genes, including recF, recO, recR, recJ, recG, and xonA. Furthermore, the thermosensitive DnaB allele prevents UV-induced DNA degradation from occurring following arrest even at the permissive temperature, suggesting a role for DnaB prior to loading of the RecFOR proteins. We discuss these observations in relation to potential models for both UV-induced and DnaB(Ts)-mediated replication inhibition.
Evaluating the Long-Term Performance of Geosynthetic Clay Liners Exposed to Freeze-Thaw

An important consideration for landfill liners and covers constructed in the frost zone of cold climates is the possible deterioration in performance due to freeze-thaw cycling over the design life of the liner or cover system. Several examples in the literature show that geosynthetic clay liners can withstand a limited number of freeze-thaw events, but data on long-term freeze-thaw performance are lacking. The objective of this study was to examine the long-term performance of geosynthetic clay liners exposed to repeated freeze-thaw cycles, encompassing their application as a final cover as well as a bottom liner. Measurements of hydraulic conductivity were performed after as many as 150 freeze-thaw cycles, with no appreciable increases observed.
A general-purpose parallel raster processing programming library test application using a geographic cellular automata model

A general-purpose parallel raster processing programming library (pRPL) was developed and applied to speed up a commonly used cellular automaton model with known tractability limitations. The library is suitable for use by geographic information scientists with basic programming skills, but who lack knowledge and experience of parallel computing and programming. pRPL is a general-purpose programming library that provides generic support for raster processing, including local-scope, neighborhood-scope, regional-scope, and global-scope algorithms as long as they are parallelizable. The library also supports multilayer algorithms. Besides the standard data domain decomposition methods, pRPL provides a spatially adaptive quad-tree-based decomposition to produce more evenly distributed workloads among processors. Data parallelism and task parallelism are supported, with both static and dynamic load-balancing. By grouping processors, pRPL also supports data-task hybrid parallelism, i.e., data parallelism within a processor group and task parallelism among processor groups. pSLEUTH, a parallel version of a well-known cellular automata model for simulating urban land-use change (SLEUTH), was developed to demonstrate full utilization of the advanced features of pRPL. Experiments with real-world data sets were conducted and the performance of pSLEUTH measured. We conclude not only that pRPL greatly reduces the development complexity of implementing a parallel raster-processing algorithm, it also greatly reduces the computing time of computationally intensive raster-processing algorithms, as demonstrated with pSLEUTH.
Direct measurement of aerodynamic pressure above a simple progressive gravity wave

Measurements of the aerodynamic pressure distribution at the interface between air and simple progressive water waves are obtained with the use of a pressure sensor that follows the water surface. The theory of Miles (1957, 1959) and Benjamin (1959) on shear flows past a wavy boundary predicts a phase shift between the pressure distribution along the boundary and the boundary itself. An experimental verification of this theory is sought especially. A wind–wave facility 115 ft. long, 6 ft. high and 3 ft. wide was used. The facility is equipped with an oscil-lating-plate wave-generator which is capable of generating sinusoidal or arbitrary wave-forms, and a suction fan which can produce wind velocities up to 80 ft./sec when the water is at a nominal depth of 3 ft. The pressure sensor used for the measurements of pressure, was mounted on an oscillating device such that the sensor could be maintained at a fixed small distance (within 1/4 in.) above a propagating wavy surface at all times. The perturbation pressure over progressive waves is extracted from recorded data sensed by the moving sensor. The results compare favourably with the theoretical predictions of Miles (1959).
Repression of glucocorticoid-stimulated angiopoietin-like 4 gene transcription by insulin

Angiopoietin-like 4 (Angptl4) is a glucocorticoid receptor (GR) primary target gene in hepatocytes and adipocytes. It encodes a secreted protein that inhibits extracellular LPL and promotes adipocyte lipolysis. In Angptl4 null mice, glucocorticoid-induced adipocyte lipolysis and hepatic steatosis are compromised. Markedly, insulin suppressed glucocorticoid-induced Angptl4 transcription. To unravel the mechanism, we utilized small molecules to inhibit insulin signaling components and found that phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and Akt were vital for the suppression in H4IIE cells. A forkhead box transcription factor response element (FRE) was found near the 15 bp Angptl4 glucocorticoid response element (GRE). Mutating the Angptl4 FRE significantly reduced glucocorticoid-induced reporter gene expression in cells. Moreover, chromatin immunoprecipitation revealed that GR and FoxO1 were recruited to Angptl4 GRE and FRE in a glucocorticoid-dependent manner, and cotreatment with insulin abolished both recruitments. Furthermore, in 24 h fasted mice, significant occupancy of GR and FoxO1 at the Angptl4 GRE and FRE was found in the liver. In contrast, both occupancies were diminished after 24 h refeeding. Finally, overexpression of dominant negative FoxO1 mutant abolished glucocorticoid-induced Angptl4 expression, mimicking the insulin suppression. Overall, we demonstrate that both GR and FoxO1 are required for Angptl4 transcription activation, and that FoxO1 negatively mediates the suppressive effect of insulin.
Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 Enrichment near Tricellular Endothelial Junctions Is Preferentially Associated with Leukocyte Transmigration and Signals for Reorganization of These Junctions To Accommodate Leukocyte Passage

Leukocyte transmigration occurs at specific locations (portals) on the endothelium, but the nature of these portals is not clear. Using intravital confocal microscopy of anesthetized mouse cremaster muscle in combination with immunofluorescence labeling, we showed that in microvessels transmigration is mainly junctional and preferentially occurs at tricellular endothelial junctional regions. Our data suggest that enrichment of ICAM-1 near approximately 43% of these junctions makes these locations preferred for transmigration by signaling the location of a nearby portal, as well as preparing the endothelial cell (EC) junctions, to accommodate leukocyte passage. Blockade of the extracellular domain of the ICAM-1 significantly reduced transmigration (by 68.8 + or - 4.5%) by reducing the ability of leukocytes to get to these portals. In contrast, blockade of the cytoplasmic tail of ICAM-1 reduced transmigration (by 71.1 + or - 7.0%) by disabling VE-cadherin rearrangement. Importantly, venular convergences are optimally equipped to support leukocyte transmigration. Differences in EC morphology result in a significantly higher number of tricellular junctions in convergences compared with straight venular regions (20.7 + or - 1.2 versus 12.43 + or - 1.1/6000 microm(2), respectively). Consequently, leukocyte adhesion and transmigration are significantly higher in convergences compared with straight regions (1.6- and 2.6-fold, respectively). Taken together, these data identify an important role for EC morphology and expression patterns of ICAM-1 in leukocyte transmigration.
Population abundance and stock characteristics of flathead catfish in the lower St. Joseph River, Michigan

Abstract Little information exists regarding the biological attributes and stock dynamics of flathead catfish Pylodictis olivaris in lotic systems throughout the northern United States. We examined the population abundance, annual survival, growth, condition, size structure, and age structure of flathead catfish in the lower St. Joseph River, Michigan, to direct future management efforts in this system and increase our knowledge of northern flathead catfish stocks. Fish were collected by means of electrofishing during June through September 2002 and 2003. Population abundance was estimated at 5,452 individuals (range, 3,985–7,277 fish), and annual survival was estimated at 67%. Analysis of pectoral spine cross sections revealed that growth was greatest for fish younger than age 6 (range, 83–98 mm/year) and decreased among older age-classes (range, 18–70 mm/year). Relative weight was greatest for individuals less than 300 mm total length (TL; 115%) and declined with increasing fish length. The size structu...
Enhanced Laser Cooling of Ion-Doped Nanopowders

Enhanced laser cooling performance of rare-earth ion doped nanocrystalline powders is predicted, using Yb3+ :Y2 O3 as the model material. This is achieved by enhancing the anti-Stokes off-resonance absorption, which is proportional to the three factors considered in this paper: dopant concentration, pumping field energy, and anti-Stokes transition rate. The concept of the optimum dopant concentration for cooling is proposed based on the fact that higher concentration increases absorption while decreases quantum efficiency. Using the concentration quenching theory of energy transfer, the optimum concentration, which gives the maximum cooling power, is found to be larger than the currently used value, suggesting noticeable enhancement effects for laser cooling. The pumping field energy is enhanced in random nanopowders compared with bulk crystals under the same irradiation, due to the multiple scattering of photons. Photons are thus localized in the medium and do not propagate through, increasing the photon absorption of the pumping beam. This also contributes significantly to laser cooling enhancement. Using molecular dynamics simulations, the phonon density of states (DOS) of the nanopowder is calculated, and found to have extended, small tails at low and high frequencies. The second-order electronic transition rate for the anti-Stokes luminescence is calculated using the Fermi golden rule, which includes the influence of this phonon DOS, and is shown to have enhancement effects on the laser cooling efficiency using nanopowders. Finally, it is concluded that these three enhancement mechanisms are exactly equivalent to increasing the number of the three participating carriers (electron, photon, and phonon) in the interacting volume.Copyright © 2005 by ASME
Temperature Dependence of Magnetic Losses

The rapidly increasing use of electric motors, transformers, and other electrical equipment operating at cryogenic temperatures has created an urgent need for engineering data on the low-temperature magnetic losses of ferromagnetic materials. Unfortunately, such data have been very scarce. Therefore, a research program in this field was begun under the sponsorship of the Advanced Research Projects Agency. The research is continuing; only the results on the first group of materials are presented at this time.
Model Development for the Positioning Mechanisms in an Atomic Force Microscope

This paper addresses the development of distributed models for the piezoceramic positioning mechanisms employed in current atomic force microscope designs. Two common configurations for positioning mechanisms employ stacked actuators utilizing d33 motion and piezoceramic shells utilizing a d31 motion. In both cases, the relation between input voltages and generated displacements exhibits hysteresis and constitutive nonlinearities due to the ferroelectric nature of piezoceramic materials. Model development for these nanopositioners is considered in two steps. In the first, nonlinear constitutive relations that incorporate the hysteresis are developed through energy principles. In the second step, system models based on these constitutive equations are developed for the stacked actuator and piezoceramic shell. An abstract formulation encompassing both models is developed and used to establish well-posedness criteria. Numerical approximation techniques for the two models are summarized and the accuracy of the stacked actuator model is demonstrated through comparison with experimental data.
Feasting the Ancestors in Early China

The importance of feasting in graveside ritual during both the Late Shang dynasty and the slightly earlier Xiajiadian culture is strongly suggested by the numerous vessels found in burial contexts dating to these periods. But it seems to be feasting of a different nature than that described in the classical anthropological literature on pig feasts in New Guinea, which forms the basis of many of our models of the role of feasting activities in traditional societies (Rappaport 1967). Rather than constituting a means of cementing alliances, producing Big Men, and organizing for war, early Chinese feasting activities appear to have had other goals. The evidence for graveside feasting in early Chinese society suggests that enlisting the aid of the dead was of greater importance than forming alliances with the living. In other words, it seems that the deceased, both the recently departed as well as more ancient ancestors, were more powerful and desirable allies than their earthly counterparts.
Tracking the Elusive CRF

From earliest recollections, I was fascinated by studies of the nervous system, mind, emotions, and behavior. I intended to become a neuro-physiologist and devote my life to unraveling the secrets of the nervous system. As is so often the case, a series of unexpected circumstances detoured me from my original goals and seduced me into neuroendocrinology, a discipline that did not even exist at the time I was involved in career direction decisions.
Using the correlation exponent to decide whether an economic series is chaotic

We consider two ways of distinguishing deterministic time-series from stochastic white noise; the Grassberger-Procaccia correlation exponent test and the Brock, Dechert, Scheinkman (or BDS) test. Using simulated data to test the power of these tests, the correlation exponent test can distinguish white noise from chaos. It cannot distinguish white noise from chaos mixed with a small amount of white noise. With i.i.d. as the null, the BDS correctly rejects the null when the data are deterministic chaos. Although the BDS test may also reject the null even when the data are stochastic, it may be useful in distinguishing between linear and nonlinear stochastic processes.
Effects of Dendronization on the Linear and Third-Order Nonlinear Optical Properties of Bis(thiopyrylium) Polymethine Dyes in Solution and the Solid State

Effects of the size and attachment position of benzyl aryl ether dendrons covalently attached to bis(thiopyrylium) penta- and heptamethines on the optical properties of these dyes in solution and in solid films have been investigated. In dilute solution the low-energy absorption bands of some of the dendronized species differ from those of the parent compounds in having much smaller transition dipole moments, this effect possibly due to differences in ion pairing, while at higher concentrations, dye–dye interactions lead to a decrease in the transition dipole moments of the nondendronized species, but not of the dendronized ones. Consequently, in the high concentration range, dendronized and nondendronized species exhibit similar values of the real part of the microscopic third-order polarizability at 1550 nm. Solid-state film absorption spectra suggest that the dendrons significantly disrupt the chromophore–chromophore interactions seen for the nondendronized species, reducing, but not eliminating, linea...
Postoperative analgesia in the laboratory mouse, Mus musculus.

Despite increased use of surgical procedures on mice, little is known about postoperative analgesia in this species, and there has been some argument regarding its necessity. The author reviews the literature on this controversial issue.
Risk strategy of natural gas pipeline construction studies

There are four ways of risk management strategies:risk avoidance,risk control and mitigation,risk retention and risk transfer,the goal of risk management strategies is to degrade risk to a tolerable level through the use of science-based risk management strategies.The tolerence degree of enterprise to the risk is relevant to the expected cost of risk control,the risk prone of enterprise,political and economical factors.Pipeline construction project risk factors are very complex,we can learn from human factors,physical factors,environmental factors and management factors to identify and classify.A risk probability of occurrence and the severity of the loss is a risk that are different from the others.In the risk management process of pipeline construction,we need comprehensive use of a variety of risk management strategies,so that each Risk factors can be reduced to sustainable levels.In this process,managers can even change the route to bypass the specific risk area or buy the appropriate insurance,so that the project owners will no longer take responsibility for specific risks.
Status and Evaluation of Japonica Rice Varieties Eating Quality in Heilongjiang Province

Through testing from 2005 to 2007,modern inspection techniques such as Visible near infrared spectra,characteristic values of RVA and Texture Analyzer had been studied.The rapid evaluation system of japonica rice was preliminary built.28 main japonica rice varieties of Heilongjiang province harvested in 2007 were evaluated by this system.Correlation analysis and phylogenesis analysis to 28 varieties,comprehensive quality was divided intoⅠ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ and Ⅳ.Ⅰand Ⅱ include Shangyu No.397,Wuyoudao No.1,Wuyoudao No.3,Wuyoudao No.4,Longdao No.3,Longjing 14,Longjing 20,Longjing 17,Suijing No.4,Suijing No.10,Songjing No.6,Mudanjiang 27,Kendao No.10,Kongyu 131,etc.Comprehensive quality of these varieties is better.The differences from japanese varieties Yueguang and Yimuhu are low peak viscosity,high setback value and bad balance of texture characteristics.
Alloimmunization following platelet transfusion: the absence of a dose- response relationship

A major concern about the use of prophylactic platelet transfusions is the development of alloimmunization. To determine whether the rate of alloimmunization is related to the number of platelet transfusions, we measured the development of lymphocytotoxic antibody in the first 2 mo of induction therapy in patients with acute nonlymphocytic leukemia. All patients received prophylactic random donor platelets and packed red blood cells during induction. No patient had lymphocytotoxic antibody present at admission. One hundred and six patients received an average of 9.3 platelet transfusions (range 2-34) containing an average of 61 U (range 9-236). The rate of alloimmunization was 38% overall and correlated with refractoriness to platelet transfusions. Ten of 19 patients receiving less than or equal to 4 transfusions became immunized, compared with 30/87 patients receiving less than 4 transfusions. There was no relationship between the number of platelet transfusions given and the rate of severity of alloimmunization, suggesting prophylactic platelets need not be withheld expressly to prevent alloimmunization.
Adult Ureteral Ectopia

AbstractWe report on 6 women with ureteral ectopia to emphasize the need for careful endoscopic examination in evaluating the entity. The clinical histories are unusual in that 1 of the 6 patients had classical symptoms of urinary incontinence. A discussion of the diagnosis and treatment of ureteral ectopia in such patients is presented.
Writing on Violence and Healing for Young Audiences: An Interview with Rigoberto Gonzalez

Iinterviewed Rigoberto Gonzalez in Riverside, California, on March 20, 2009. In our conversation we discussed bis growing up experiences as Cbicano, gay, and a child of migrant farmworkers, and the impact this has had on his writing for children. We also explored the range of his writing across genres and the ways his adult works resonate into his writing targeted toward Latina/o children, including his recent three-book juvenile fiction series, The Mariposa Club (Alyson Books, 2009), focused on the lives of queer Latinal o youth. Our discussion worked from my interest in Gonzalez’s ongoing engagement with matters of violence, most especially economic violence, as well as violence of thought, such as racism and homophobia; the publishing of his children’s books with Children’s Book Press, the nation’s most important publisher devoted to multiethnic children’s picture books; and his position as a visiting writer in impoverished schools and its impact on his writing Soledad Sigh Sighs (2003) and Antonio’s Card (2005), the two children’s books discussed within this volume’s featured critical essay in on violence and trauma in Latina/o children’s literature.
A Systematic Approach to Determining the Identifiability of Multistage Carcinogenesis Models

Multistage clonal expansion (MSCE) models of carcinogenesis are continuous-time Markov process models often used to relate cancer incidence to biological mechanism. Identifiability analysis determines what model parameter combinations can, theoretically, be estimated from given data. We use a systematic approach, based on differential algebra methods traditionally used for deterministic ordinary differential equation (ODE) models, to determine identifiable combinations for a generalized subclass of MSCE models with any number of preinitation stages and one clonal expansion. Additionally, we determine the identifiable combinations of the generalized MSCE model with up to four clonal expansion stages, and conjecture the results for any number of clonal expansion stages. The results improve upon previous work in a number of ways and provide a framework to find the identifiable combinations for further variations on the MSCE models. Finally, our approach, which takes advantage of the Kolmogorov backward equations for the probability generating functions of the Markov process, demonstrates that identifiability methods used in engineering and mathematics for systems of ODEs can be applied to continuous-time Markov processes.
Reregulation: The Response to the Financial Crisis

Several economists were of the view that the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act along with relatively light regulation of financial intermediaries and financial markets by the supervisory agencies were the two principal contributing factors behind the global financial crisis of 2008.1 Attempts to redress this culminated in the passage of one of the most comprehensive pieces of financial legislation ever tackled by the U.S. Congress, in 2010. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, usually referred to as the Dodd-Frank Act, was “an Act to promote the financial stability of the United States by improving accountability and transparency in the financial system, to end ‘too big to fail’, to protect the American taxpayer by ending bailouts, to protect consumers from abusive financial services practices, and for other purposes.”2