cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
New Apparatus for the Study of Ion−Molecule Reactions at Very High Pressure (25−700 Torr): A Turbulent Ion Flow Tube (TIFT) Study of the Reaction of SF6- + SO2

A new instrument, the turbulent ion flow tube (TIFT), has been developed for studying ion−molecule reactions up to atmospheric pressure. The instrument is based on the turbulent flow neutral reactor developed by Seeley et al.,8 and it operates under turbulent rather than laminar flow conditions. The TIFT is currently designed to operate at room temperature over a pressure range from approximately 20−750 Torr, although higher pressures are possible with minor modifications. In this initial report, 300 K rate constants and product distributions, measured from 25 to 700 Torr, are presented for the reaction of SF6- with SO2. Both the rate constants and product distributions for this reaction are independent of pressure, and the present results are consistent with previous measurements made at <1 Torr.
Multicycle Tests With Constant Primary Input Vectors for Increased Fault Coverage

Test generation procedures for n -detection test sets improve the quality of a test set by adding tests that increase the numbers of detections of target faults. A different approach to n-detection test generation increases the numbers of detections of target faults within the bounds of the number of tests of a single-detection test set. Multicycle tests provide the flexibility of improving the quality of a test set by increasing the number of clock cycles in each test, without increasing the number of tests. Improved test quality is thus achieved with limited increases in test application time and test data volume due to the larger numbers of clock cycles in each test. This paper describes a procedure that starts from a compact one-detection single-cycle test set for single stuck-at faults and produces a multicycle test set with the same number of tests, but increased numbers of clock cycles and improved test quality. The procedure uses only one-detection fault simulation of single stuck-at faults. A similar procedure is applied starting from a two-cycle test set and considering transition faults. The procedures produce tests with constant primary input vectors to accommodate tester limitations.
The Spanish Developmental Contrastive Spelling Test: An Instrument for Investigating Intra-Linguistic and Crosslinguistic Influences on Spanish-Spelling Development.

Abstract This article describes the development of a Spanish-spelling measure designed to assess the progress made by Spanish-English bilingual children from Grade 2 to Grade 5. Different stages of measure development are described, such as the selection of the focus features, the pilot phase of the assessment, and the finalizing of the operational version. Two underlying attributes characterize the spelling measure described here. First, it is developmental, meaning that it contains a wide variety of features and items that differ according to spelling difficulty, such that the assessment is able to measure the growth of Spanish-spelling ability over the full sequence of the upper elementary grades. Second, it is contrastive, as it was designed to detect some areas of potential crosslinguistic influence from English to Spanish. The combination of these two characteristics makes this spelling measure a unique tool for assessing the development of spelling ability by Spanish-English bilingual children.
Non-effect of a high yeast diet on survival of adrenalectomized rats.

SummaryFifty-nine adrenalectomized rats were fed a high yeast diet and their survival compared to 56 control animals on a stock diet. Reports that there is a factor in yeast (presumably vitamin G) which will extend the lives of adrenalectomized rats were not confirmed. The survival of treated animals was entirely within normal range.
Detection of nitrogenase components and other nonheme iron proteins in polyacrylamide gels.

Abstract The two Fe-containing component proteins of nitrogenase in crude cell-free extracts of N2-fixing bacteria can be detected as pink bands upon treatment of polyacrylamide gel with α, α-dipyridyl and mercaptoacetic acid. This technique is useful in studies of mutant strains lacking N2-fixing activity. It might be of value in the analysis of other nonheme iron proteins.
A triangulation approach to testing a family instrument

Sequential triangulation was used to test the validity of the Assessment of Strategies in Families (ASF), a screening tool for family effectiveness, and its application to families experiencing chronic pain. First, 30 subjects with chronic pain completed the questionnaire. Next, for the purpose of item validation, the subjects explained their thought process for each choice on the questionnaire. Results showed that they interpreted the items as intended. Subjects then responded to a semistructured interview about their perception about family stability and growth patterns. Thematic analysis suggested a tendency toward isolation from the community, intense involvement in each other's lives, and rigid control of family operations. ASF results reflected the trends by a low family-growth subscore, and a high or low stability score, depending on the success in achieving cooperation of family members. The findings suggest the instrument is valid and appropriate to screen families with chronic pain.
Neural regulation of luteinizing hormone secretion in the rat

I. Introduction Essentially, two modalities of luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion have been identified in the rat. The basal mode is characterized by episodic bursts of pituitary LH discharge whose frequency and amplitude may vary considerably during the day in male (1, 2) and according to different phases of the estrous cycle in female rats (4). This low level of pulsatile LH secretion is established early in the juvenile period (5). With advancing age, subtle and progressive disintegration of several compo-nents of the LH episodes seems to account for the near cessation of rhythmicity in old rats (6). Additionally, in adult female rats, the periodic mode of LH secretion is interrupted on the afternoon of proestrus by fast, high amplitude pulses constituting the preovulatory LH surge lasting for 4–6 h (7–9). The cyclic pattern of LH secretion is fully established by the 5th week of pubertal life (5). Abnormalities in periodicity, onset, duration and magnitude of the preovulatory LH discharge during middl...
Micromechanics of Unidirectional Viscoelastic Fibrous Composites-Homogenized vs Local Characterization

In this paper homogenized elastic and viscoelastic material properties are evaluated and compared for symmetric and randomly distributed fibers within the matrix of a unidirectional composite laminate. In general, homogenized properties are different from their localized values. In homogenized characterization one assumption rests on a systematic distribution of fibers which at many circumstances might not be true. We select representative volume elements (RVE) in terms of repeating unit cells (RUC) off our types of fiber distributions; two systematic types (square—SQR and hexagonal—HEX packing), and two randomly distributed (one with identical fibers—RND, and one with random geometry—RNDG packing). Employing the principles of micromechanical characterization, RUCs of the composites were exposed to six distinctive types of loadings(three axial loadings and three shear loadings) under periodic boundary conditions.Inverse analysis is conducted to characterize and determine the comprehensive volume-averaged homogenized elastic and viscoelastic material properties of the composite. To investigate the impact of constituents’ material anisotropy on the behavior of the compound material, both isotropic and orthotropic fibers are employed. To examine the effect of the fiber/matrix volume ratios, the results are presented for three different fiber volume ratios. The local stress/strain distributions within each RUC are monitored in comparison with the corresponding volume-averaged stresses and strains. The local stresses and strains are compared with the volume-averaged ones by which the material is characterized and the differences are highlighted. One conclusion is that the impact of random distribution and geometry of fibers on homogenized stiffness properties might be minor, but it has considerable effect on local stress/strain distribution and hence on the strength of the composite. Among the different types of RUCs the HEX packing provides more uniform distributions of stresses and strains.
A (√3 × √3)R30° reconstruction on annealed (111) surfaces of MgO

Abstract We have performed non-UHV studies on the (111) surface of MgO subjected to high temperature annealing (1550–1700°C) in an oxygen rich atmosphere. Reflection electron microscopy shows that the surface is atomically smooth over extended regions and exhibits a (√3 × √3)R30° reconstruction. Superlattice spots were observed in the RHEED patterns after two months exposure to air indicating that meaningful results can be obtained on this system under non-UHV conditions. Surface sensitive REELS indicates that the structure is mainly composed of oxygen.
Nuclear forces from chiral Lagrangians

The method of phenomenological lagrangians is used to derive the consequences of spontaneously broken chiral symmetry for the forces among two or more nucleons.
THE REGIONALIZATION OF HUTCHISON PORT HOLDINGS IN MAINLAND CHINA

Abstract Hong Kong-based Hutchison Port Holdings has been successful in capturing Mainland China's container port joint venture market share. After examining a handful of push and pull factors influencing the firm's regionalization drive, this research describes the firm's regional spatial strategies. In addition to traditional economic factors, Hutchison Port Holdings' market share dominance is explained by socio-cultural and political factors within the context of Mainland China's economic articulation with the global economy, and the institutional medium of a territorially defined “time-space governance” embedded within the political economy of pre- and post-1997 Hong Kong. The firm's superior joint venture bargaining position within this governance system is illustrated by its busiest joint venture ports of Shanghai and Yantian.
Effects of solid-state enzyme treatments on the water-absorbing and gelling properties of psyllium.

Psyllium husks were treated with commercial food grade enzymes under solid-state reaction conditions to improve their water-absorbing and gelling properties. The modified psyllium preparations were analyzed and compared to the original psyllium and the control, treated with no enzyme under the same reaction condition, for their water-absorbing ability, gelling capacity, surface structures, and fiber contents. The results showed that the solid-state enzymatic modification was able to reduce both water-absorbing and gelling abilities of psyllium with a slight reduction in soluble fiber content. Scanning electron microscopy measurements showed that the enzymatic modification decreased the total surface area. This may contribute to the reduced water-absorbing ability of the modified psyllium. The solid-state enzymatic procedure requires neither special equipment nor additional steps to remove moisture after inactivating the enzymes and generates no chemical waste. This study demonstrated the potential of preparing novel psyllium preparations with improved gelling and water-absorbing properties using a solid-state enzymatic method for commercial food applications.
Biological measures and cellular immunological function in depressed psychiatric inpatients.

Abstract Thirty depressed psychiatric inpatients, including 18 with a diagnosis of major depression, and 25 hospital staff controls were compared with respect to cellular immune function—that is, mitogen responsiveness to concanavalin A (con A), phytohemagglutinin (PHA), and pokeweed mitogen (PWM); natural killer cell (NK) activity; and T cell subsets, including helper/inducer T cells (CD4) and suppressor/cytotoxic cells (CD8). Only physically healthy subjects, who had not used psychoactive medications (except for low dose benzodiazepines) or other medications known to affect the immune system for at least 14 days, were included. Paired comparisons of the immune measures of patients with a DSM- III diagnosis of major depression ( n = 18) with their controls demonstrated a statistically significant reduction of the patients' con A response. In addition, the patients with major depression had significantly lower con A and PHA responses than the combined patients with other forms of depression (atypical, dysthymic, or atypical bipolar). There was no indication that severity of depression, dexamethasone suppression test status, benzodiazepine use, or age accounted for the differences in immune function. A possibly important, unexpected finding was that antihistamine use was associated with lower immune function.
‘Chick-a-dee’ calls of Carolina chickadees convey information about degree of threat posed by avian predators

Individuals of many group-living species of birds respond to potential predators by giving alarm calls, and some species give different, spatially referential alarm calls in response to aerial predators (raptors in flight) and terrestrial predators (including perched raptors). In black-capped chickadees, Poecile atricapillus, characteristics of alarm calls also vary with predator size and level of perceived threat (Templeton et al. 2005, Science, 308, 1934–1937). We examined whether the terrestrial alarm calls of Carolina chickadees, P. carolinensis, show similar variation. In 2007 and 2008, we monitored responses of eight flocks of Carolina chickadees in Madison County, Kentucky, U.S.A. to mounts of different species of raptors that varied in size. Chickadees responded to the raptors by uttering ‘chick-a-dee’ calls with different numbers and types of notes. Larger, lower-threat predators (e.g. red-tailed hawk, Buteo jamaicensis) elicited calls with significantly more introductory ‘chick’ notes and fewer ‘dee’ notes, whereas smaller, higher-threat predators (e.g. eastern screech-owl, Megascops asio) elicited calls with few or no ‘chick’ notes and significantly more ‘dee’ notes. In addition, playback experiments revealed that a greater percentage of Carolina chickadees responded to playback of ‘chick-a-dee’ calls previously given in response to a small predator than during playback of calls given in response to a large predator. These results suggest that the ‘chick-a-dee’ alarm call is a graded signal that informs conspecifics about the presence and behaviour (i.e. perched) of a predator and the degree of threat posed by that predator.
Catalytic oxygen transfer between CO and CO2 on TiO2

The rate of the exchange reaction: ∗CO2 + CO → ∗CO + CO2 was measured at atmospheric pressure in a flow reactor containing different TiO2 catalysts. The variables investigated and there range were as follows: ratio (pCO2pCO), 0.2 to 5.0; temperature, 450 ° to 575 °C; flow rate, 10 to 50 cc min−1; additions of Fe, Cr, Nb, and P to TiO2. From the results, the influence of the (pCO2pCO) ratio on the rate of reaction was determined and compared to that of pO2 on the electronic conductivity of TiO2 as gathered in previous investigations. From this information suggestions are advanced for the nature of the defect equilibrium reaction at the surface, the controlling step of the reaction rate, the nature of the adsorbed oxygen, and the influence of alterions upon the reactivity of TiO2. The results on TiO2 + Cr indicated that a space-charge layer at the surface governed the reactivity of TiO2. In this instance, the thermodynamic derivations were modified to take into account the influence of the surface space charge on the defect equilibrium. The values of the reaction rate constants were compared with those calculated with the help of the absolute rate theory and the experimental activation energies. Order of magnitude agreement was obtained assuming that the adsorption of CO2 was the controlling step of the isotope exchange reaction. On TiO2 with low impurity levels a mobile configuration of the adsorption complex is in best accord with the results. At higher impurity levels an immobile complex gives better agreement. The significance of the present results for the oxidation of CO on TiO2 is pointed out. Finally, the diverse yet complementary, roles of electron and ion defects in governing surface reactivity and catalytic activity of TiO2 and metal oxides in general is pointed out.
Fetal adrenal VIP: distribution and effect on medullary catecholamine secretion.

Abstract Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) was found in the adrenal gland of ovine fetuses at 130–135 days gestation and was shown to stimulate catecholamine secretion. VIP was demonstrated by immunocytochemistry using the indirect antibody-enzyme method. VIP-immunoreactive nerve fibers were observed in the capsule, zona glomerulosa and inner layer of the cortex as well as in the medulla; furthermore small clusters of VIP-containing cell bodies were found at the corticomedullary border. To study the direct effect of VIP on catecholamine release, fetal adrenal medulla was dispersed into single cells and incubated in vitro with VIP for 6 hours. Catecholamine release into the medium was measured at 1, 3 and 6 hours. At 6 hours of incubation, VIP stimulated total catecholamine release from fetal adrenomedullary cells in a dose-dependent manner at concentrations ranging from 10 −8 to 10 −4 M. The release of norepinephrine and epinephrine, but not dopamine, was significantly enhanced. The presence of VIP in the fetal adrenal cortex and medulla, and the ability of VIP to stimulate catecholamine release from fetal adrenomedullary cells in vitro suggest that VIP may be an important modulator of medullary catecholamine secretion during fetal life.
Hydrotalcite supported Co catalysts for CO hydrogenation

Abstract It is well known that the catalytic performance of Co catalysts depends on supports and promoters. The focus of this work was to investigate the catalytic activities for CO hydrogenation of Co catalysts supported on the solid base, hydrotalcite (HT), and to probe the role of support in the reaction. A cobalt catalyst containing 10 wt% cobalt supported on HT was prepared using the incipient wetness impregnation method. Pre-calcined HT (CHT), alumina and magnesium oxide were also employed as supports for comparison purposes. Catalysts were characterized by surface area and porosity analysis, XRD, TEM/STEM/EDX, TPR and H 2 chemisorption. The catalytic activity was tested using a fixed-bed reactor at 230 °C, 1.8 atm, and H 2 /CO = 2. It was found that the hydrotalcite supported catalyst showed the highest steady-state reaction rates. The activities of Co/HT reduced at different reduction temperatures (from 300 to 600 °C) were also compared. Reduction at 500 °C resulted in the highest activity; however, CH 4 selectivity was also enhanced as the reduction temperature increased. The product distributions for Co/HT obeyed an Anderson–Schulz–Flory distribution. The α values were not impacted by the different reduction temperatures for Co/HT. The characterization and reactivity results suggest that the thermal stability properties of hydrotalcite, BET surface area, particle size of Co, the interaction between Co and the support, and the reducibility of Co were all important in governing the catalytic performance of the Co catalysts for CO hydrogenation. Our study suggests that HT is a promising support for Co for Fischer–Tropsch synthesis because it gives high activity (higher than Co/Al 2 O 3 ) without the need for a reduction promoter.
Platelets: tetherballs in thrombus formation

[Comment on Maxwell et al, page 566][1]Although every student of hematology learns that platelets first adhere to the injured vessel wall, change shape, get activated, then aggregate to form the platelet plug, it is just not quite that simple. In the current issue, Maxwell and colleagues show that
Search for a narrow annihilation feature correlated with the MeV emission of Cygnus X-1

Strong gamma-ray emission near 1 MeV from Cygnus X-1 observed in the fall of 1979 during the 'gamma 1' period has been interpreted by Liang and Dermer (1988) as thermal emission from a relativistic, pair-dominated region surrounding the black hole. The observed gamma-rays should interact with each other and with X-rays to form electron/positron pairs inside and outside the accretion disk. Because the Eddington limit is reduced by a factor of 1836 in the presence of positrons, some pairs formed inside the disk may also escape the system under the influence of radiation pressure. If these pairs stop in the cold surrounding medium, a narrow 511 keV annihilation feature should be produced. The high resolution gamma 1 spectrum has been examined for such a feature, and some evidence at 1.9 sigma statistical significance for the line is observed with a flux which is generally consistent with theoretical expectations.
Lysosomal trafficking of β-catenin induced by the tea polyphenol epigallocatechin-3-gallate

beta-Catenin is a cadherin-binding protein involved in cell-cell adhesion, which also functions as a transcriptional activator when complexed in the nucleus with members of the T-cell factor (TCF)/lymphoid enhancer factor (LEF) family of proteins. There is considerable interest in mechanisms that down-regulate beta-catenin, since this provides an avenue for the prevention of colorectal and other cancers in which beta-catenin is frequently over-expressed. We show here that physiologically relevant concentrations of the tea polyphenol epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) inhibited beta-catenin/TCF-dependent reporter activity in human embryonic kidney 293 cells transfected with wild type or mutant beta-catenins, and there was a corresponding decrease in beta-catenin protein levels in the nuclear, cytosolic and membrane-associated fractions. However, beta-catenin accumulated as punctate aggregates in response to EGCG treatment, including in human colon cancer cells over-expressing beta-catenin endogenously. Confocal microscopy studies revealed that the aggregated beta-catenin in HEK293 cells was extra-nuclear and co-localized with lysosomes, suggesting that EGCG activated a pathway involving lysosomal trafficking of beta-catenin. Lysosomal inhibitors leupeptin and transepoxysuccinyl-l-leucylamido(4-guanido)butane produced an increase in beta-catenin protein in total cell lysates, without a concomitant increase in beta-catenin transcriptional activity. These data provide the first evidence that EGCG facilitates the trafficking of beta-catenin into lysosomes, presumably as a mechanism for sequestering beta-catenin and circumventing further nuclear transport and activation of beta-catenin/TCF/LEF signaling.
The 56Fe(p, n)56Co reaction in steel wear measurement

Abstract The 56 Fe(p, n) 56 Co reaction is used to activate a layer of a steel surface whose depth is determined by the incident proton energy and whose depth profile is determined by the shape of the excitation function for the reaction. The relative excitation function for the 56 Fe(p, n) 56 Co reaction has been measured to an accuracy of 3% from the 5.45 MeV threshold to 6.25 MeV using a stack of iron foils A measurement of the loss of activity from a surface can thus be converted to a loss of steel from that surface. Wear loss resolution of better than 0.25 μm can be achieved with this technique.
Renal artery stenosis in infants: long-term medical treatment before surgery

This report describes five infants (3 male, 2 female) with renal artery stenosis diagnosed in their 1st year of life. The age at initial presentation was 5 days to 10 months. All had symptoms of congestive heart failure, cardiomegaly on chest X-ray, and left ventricular hypertrophy by electrocardiogram or echocardiogram. Renograms were abnormal in four of the five infants. An intravenous pyelogram was obtained in three infants and was abnormal in two. Renal ultrasounds were obtained in two infants and were normal in both. Patients were treated for 4.4±0.9 years with antihypertensive drug therapy until surgical correction of the renal artery stenosis. Blood pressure was persistently elevated above the 95th percentile in four of the infants during the course of antihypertensive therapy prior to surgery. Patients have been followed for 9.4±2 years since surgery. The blood pressure of four patients is normal, and the blood pressure of the oldest patient (age 23 years) is borderline hypertensive. These data show that infants with renal artery stenosis can be cared for successfully with long-term antihypertensive drug therapy to preserve renal mass with minimal chronic adverse effects.
TPO and IL-3 Induce Overlapping but Distinct Protein Tyrosine Phosphorylation in a Myeloid Precursor Cell Line

TPO is a recently cloned cytokine which appears to play a central role in megakaryopoiesis and platelet production. It has been shown to be the ligand for c-mpl, a member of the hematopoietic receptor superfamily. We examined intracellular tyrosine phosphorylation events induced by TPO and compared them with events stimulated by IL-3, a pleiotropic cytokine which also has activity on the megakaryocyte lineage. The overall pattern of tyrosine phosphorylation stimulated by TPO and IL-3 in myeloid precursor cells revealed an overlapping but not identical pattern reflecting their distinct but partially redundant biological effects. We identify Shc and Vav as intracellular targets of TPO-induced tyrosine phosphorylation. Moreover, we demonstrate that the tyrosine kinase Jak2 is phosphorylated after TPO stimulation. Whereas phosphorylation of these proteins was induced by both cytokines, phosphorylation of Jak1 was induced only by IL-3 and not by TPO, distinguishing the signal transduction of the two cytokines on a molecular level.
Changes in the climate of the Alaskan North Slope and the ice concentration of the adjacent Beaufort Sea

A reliable data set of Arctic sea ice concentration based on satellite observations exists since 1972. Over this time period of 36 years western arctic temperatures have increased; the temperature rise varies significantly from one season to another and over multi-year time scales. In contrast to most of Alaska, however, on the North Slope the warming continued after 1976, when a circulation change occurred, as expressed in the PDO index. The mean temperature increase for Barrow over the 36-year period was 2.9°C, a very substantial change. Wind speeds increased by 18% over this time period, however, the increase were non-linear and showed a peak in the early 1990s. The sea ice extent of the Arctic Ocean has decreased strongly in recent years, and in September 2007 a new record in the amount of open water was recorded in the Western Arctic. We observed for the Southern Beaufort Sea a fairly steady increase in the mean annual amount of open water from 14% in 1972 to 39% in 2007, as deduced from the best linear fit. In late summer the decrease is much larger, and September has, on average, the least ice concentration (22%), followed by August (35%) and October (54%). The correlation coefficient between mean annual values of temperature and sea ice concentration was 0.84. On a monthly basis, the best correlation coefficient was found in October with 0.88. However, the relationship between winter temperatures and the sea ice break-up in summer was weak. While the temperature correlated well with the CO2 concentration (r = 0.86), the correlation coefficient between CO2 and sea ice was lower (r = −0.68). After comparing the ice concentration with 17 circulation indices, the best relation was found with the Pacific Circulation Index (r = −0.59).
Causes of Failure of Catch-up Growth After Certain Forms of Growth Retardation

These experiments were carried out in order to elucidate regulation of catch-up growth and occasional failures in catch-up which are observed clinically. Growth retardation was produced in Long-Evans rats, 37 to 41 days of age, by fasting, by cortisone injections, or by propylthiouracil (PTU) feeding. The cortisone or PTU treatments were adjusted to produce maximum differences in body weight between control and experimental groups that were equivalent to the differences produced in fast periods. Light and electron microscopy of epiphyseal cartilage and tibial epiphyseal width determinations were performed in representative groups. Serial measurements of body weight and tail length were carried out for 60 to 80 days from the start of the experimental treatments. Food intake was recorded. In the fast experiments refeeding was followed by nearly complete catch-up in body weight and tail length. After cortisone treatment there was no catch-up in body weight or tail length growth. After PTU there was a slight tendency to catch-up in body weight and tail length. The latter appeared to show a pattern of late catch-up. The results correlated with anatomic changes in cartilage. The findings suggest that in the rat cortisone treatment in post-weaning period permanently damages growth mechanisms and prevents growth recovery in certain circumstances. Hypothyroidism also results in a delayed catch-up in skeletal growth. These experiments illustrate certain complexities in the problem of clucidating the underlying basis of catch-up growth. The usefulness of this experimental model in studies of catch-up growth is demonstrated.
Fatal disseminated adenovirus infection in a young adult with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Abstract Background The use of corticosteroids and other immunosuppressive agents increases the risk of infection in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The role of human adenoviruses (HAdV) in the etiology of acute viral diseases in these patients is not known. Objectives Describe a case of acute fatal disseminated adenovirus infection in an SLE patient receiving immunosuppressive therapy. Study design Case report and detailed viral diagnosis by real time PCR and molecular typing of virus isolates by sequencing of hexon and fiber genes and restriction enzyme analysis of viral DNA. Results HAdV was detected by real time PCR in multiple clinical specimens including respiratory, urine, plasma, synovial fluid, and cerebrospinal fluid. Amplification and sequence analysis of the hexon and fiber genes identified the virus as HAdV-7-like for both coding regions. Adenoviruses isolated from respiratory and urine specimens were identical and corresponded to genome type 7d2 by restriction enzyme analysis of viral DNA. The isolated strain encodes a unique fiber gene with a 6-nucleotide deletion corresponding to amino acid positions 250 and 251 in the knob region and not previously described for closely related genomic variants of HAdV-7. Conclusions Adenovirus detection should be included in the diagnostic testing to determine the infectious etiology of fever and/or respiratory symptoms in SLE patients.
Psychoimmunologic and endorphin function in the aged.

In humans and all mammalian species which have been studied so far, the immune system undergoes significant changes with advancing age.I4 Immunosenescence may be defined as those alterations in immune function which occur to some degree in all older individuals, and which are distinguishable from immunodeficiency secondary to underlying disease, malnutrition, toxic exposure, or genetic disorder. The increased incidence of malignancy, infectious disease, autoimmune disorders, monoclonal gammopathies, and amyloidosis with age is felt to be linked with this decline of immunocompeten~e.~~ In addition, the immunologic theory of aging"' proposes genetically programmed changes in immune cells as the determinant of maximum lifespan. Support for this theory may be found in the fact that intervention which increases the lifespan of rodents (dietary restriction, hypothermia) also causes profound changes in immune Conversely, in humans, derangements of immunity such as high autoantibody low suppressor cell activity," and impaired cutaneous hypersensitivity l6 have been correlated with increased mortality. Immunosenecence is characterized by its high prevalence, interindividual variability, and complexity. The immune system is not uniformly affected by the aging process. For example, total numbers of white blood cells, lymphocytes, and granulocytes, as well as phagocytic function of neutrophils and the complement system do not change appreciably with The most significant decrements occur in cellular immunity, in such functions as delayed type hypersensitivity,2" resistance to tumor cells,Z' viruses and protozoans,6'* primary allograft rejection, and graft versus host
Oedipus loves his mother

The structural kinship relations in the classic play Oedipus Rex is depicted by using graph theory.
Digital Color Image Enhancement Based On The Saturation Component

Much of the work done in digital image processing has been limited in application to black-and-white images, this being especially true of enhancement and restoration. The extension to color image processing is not trivial; a suitable color space must be selected for a given application, and then a good processing strategy must be devised. In fact, we doubt that any of the available color spaces will meet the needs of all types of image processing. Many color image processing strategies require that only a luminance component be actually processed. In image restoration, for example, good results are achievable by processing only the Y component of the popular NTSC transformation from RGB to YIQ components. In this paper we show that color saturation, as well as luminance, can play an important role in achieving good image enhancement. The technique proposed is simple to implement and is based on the observation that the saturation component often contains high frequency components that are not present in the luminance component. Contrast and sharpness enhancement techniques are discussed; the computer processing algorithms are restricted to those that preserve the natural appearance of the scene. We also discuss limitations to luminance and saturation processing caused by poor quantization of the RGB tristimulus images.
NONLINEAR EFFECTS IN QUANTUM ELECTRODYNAMICS. PHOTON PROPAGATION AND PHOTON SPLITTING IN AN EXTERNAL FIELD.

The effective nonlinear Lagrangian derived by Heisenberg and Euler is used to describe the propagation of photons in slowly varying but otherwise arbitrary electromagnetic fields. The group and the phase velocities for both propagation modes are calculated, and it is shown that the propagation is always causal. The photon splitting processes are also studied, and it is shown that they do not play any significant role even in very strong magnetic fields surrounding neutron stars.
Bond strength and durability of glass ionomer cements used as bonding agents in the placement orthodontic brackets

Abstract One potential risk of orthodontic treatment is the development of surface decalcification in association with use of brackets and bands. A bonding agent that could render tooth structure more resistant to the caries process clearly would reduce the negative iatrogenic outcomes of orthodontic therapy and thereby benefit the patient. Glass ionomer cemont (GIC) bonds chemically to both enamel and dentin. In addition its high fluoride content makes enamel more resistant to caries. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the bond strength and durability of GIC when used as a bonding agent in the placement of orthodontic brackets. The materials tested were three GICs (Ketac-Fil. Ketac-Cem, and Chelon) and a standard bonding agent currently in widespread use (Rely-A-Bond). Brackets were attached to the facial surface of 96 premolar specimens and half the specimens for each bonding agent were thermocycling. Bond shear strength was determined with an Instron testing device by applying a load to the occlusal margin of each bracket to the point of failure. A two-way ANOVA indicated significant bonding agent by thermocycling interaction (F = 478, p
Combining the Liberal and Useful Arts: Sociological Skills in the Global Economy

The discipline of sociology remains vulnerable in an environment of economic uncertainty and global change. Constraints on higher education are likely to increase and recurrent pressures on traditional liberal arts programs will continue unabated. An older, more diverse, cost-conscious and career-minded student population will increasingly insist on clearer pathways to difficult and bewildering labor markets. But sociology’s weakness as a liberal art may be overcome by combining it with a more applied and practical orientation. The very forces that threaten the discipline’s institutional existence make it profoundly relevant and valuable in an age of social transformation. Based on a familiar Millsian conception of the sociological imagination, this article attempts to combine sociology’s liberal tradition with its role as a “useful art,” honed into the specific features of workplace change and the employment setting. It does so by suggesting five categories of emerging skills in the global economy and ways that sociology has a far reaching claim to their practice and development. The categories are: 1) the skills of knowledge workers; 2) skills in the learning organization; 3) skills in the technological context; 4) skills in the diverse and divided workplace; 5) change-making skills. The article concludes by urging those in the discipline to make sociology more of a useful art that has practical application in a changing world.
Scaling single-state variable catastrophe functions: an application to two-phase natural circulation

Abstract In this paper I present transformation laws to scale physical processes governed by polynomial equations. Of particular importance is the class of polynomials which describe catastrophe functions. Many important, stability-related, thermal hydraulic phenomena are described by these catastrophe functions, including flooding, two-phase natural circulation, and critical heat flux. Catastrophe functions can be used to define the boundaries of stable system behavior. If a process evolves such that one of these boundaries are crossed, it will undergo a discontinuity which radically alters its evolution (i.e. morphogenesis). By scaling these catastrophe functions, processes exhibiting discontinuous behavior can be studied in scaled test models rather than experimenting with a full-scale, and typically very expensive, prototype. To illustrate their usefulness, the catastrophe function transformation laws are applied to the practical problem of scaling two-phase fluid natural circulation. In addition, the catastrophe manifold for two-phase fluid natural circulation is developed and evaluated to obtain a criterion for the onset of flow instability.
On the macroscopic response, microstructure evolution, and macroscopic stability of short-fibre-reinforced elastomers at finite strains: I – Analytical results

This paper presents a homogenization-based constitutive model for the mechanical behaviour of particle-reinforced elastomers with random microstructures subjected to finite deformations. The model is based on a recently improved version of the tangent second-order (TSO) method (Avazmohammadi and Ponte Castaneda, J. Elasticity 112 (2013) p.139–183) for two-phase, hyperelastic composites and is able to directly account for the shape, orientation, and concentration of the particles. After a brief summary of the TSO homogenization method, we describe its application to composites consisting of an incompressible rubber reinforced by aligned, spheroidal, rigid particles, undergoing generally non-aligned, three-dimensional loadings. While the results are valid for finite particle concentrations, in the dilute limit they can be viewed as providing a generalization of Eshelby’s results in linear elasticity. In particular, we provide analytical estimates for the overall response and microstructure evolution of the ...
Dose-painting IMRT optimization using biological parameters.

AbstractPurpose. Our work on dose-painting based on the possible risk characteristics for local recurrence in tumor subvolumes and the optimization of treatment plans using biological objective functions that are region-specific are reviewed. Materials and methods. A series of intensity modulated dose-painting techniques are compared to their corresponding intensity modulated plans in which the entire PTV is treated to a single dose level, delivering the same equivalent uniform dose (EUD) to the entire PTV. Iso-TCP and iso-NTCP maps are introduced as a tool to aid the planner in the evaluation of the resulting non-uniform dose distributions. Iso-TCP and iso-NTCP maps are akin to iso-dose maps in 3D conformal radiotherapy. The impact of the currently limited diagnostic accuracy of functional imaging on a series of dose-painting techniques is also discussed. Results. Utilizing biological parameters (risk-adaptive optimization) in the generation of dose-painting plans results in an increase in the therapeuti...
The use of the contact Nd:YAG laser in arthroscopic surgery: Effects on articular cartilage and meniscal tissue

The contact Nd:YAG laser's small size, tip variety, fiberoptic application, and suitability for use in a saline medium make it a particularly appealing tool for use in arthroscopic procedures. This study was performed to investigate the laser's effects on articular cartilage and meniscal tissue with respect to depth of damage (canine cadaver model) and healing response (rabbit model). Depth of damage in the canine cadaver model was greater in meniscal tissue than in articular cartilage at each wattage level. In the presence of a saline bath, depth damage in both tissues was diminished. Scalpel articular cartilage lesions showed no response over time. Electrocautery lesions uniformly showed significant wide margins of hyaline cartilage necrosis which increased over time. Laser articular cartilage lesions showed vigorous healing responses characterized by fibrocartilage healing by 6 weeks. Scalpel meniscectomies showed characteristic fibrocartilagenous remodeling by 6 weeks, while electrocautery meniscectomies showed wide margins of necrosis with no specimen showing remodeling capability. Laser meniscectomies showed an intermediate response with a small number of menisci remodeling in a normal fashion. This article represents the first comprehensive look at the effects of the Nd:YAG laser on articular cartilage and meniscal tissue in terms of depth of damage and healing response over time, and indicates this laser's biological advantage over scalpel and electrocautery in arthroscopic procedures.
Effects of Improved Propulsion Modelling on the Flight Dynamics of Hypersonic Vehicles

This research effort is focused on developing a control-oriented model of a generic hypersonic vehicle that includes the interactions between several integrated components. The present paper addresses the interactions between the propulsion system and the flight dynamics of the vehicle model for two different propulsion system models. The first model is a low-fidelity propulsion model that assumes the combustion process is Rayleigh flow, and the combustor is coupled with an isentropic diffuser and internal nozzle, thus ignoring the effects of internal shock waves, area variations, and real gas effects. A second, higherfidelity propulsion system model that includes several new phenomena then analyzed. This model includes a pre-combustion shock train within the isolator and its interactions with the combustor, the loss of stagnation pressure due to gas dissociation and recombination, wall heat transfer and skin friction, a fuel-air mixing submodel, and a finite-rate chemistry description of autoignition. When the new propulsion model is added, it is observed that the poles and zeros undergo a shift, with the short-period poles moving closer to the imaginary axis. The unstable transmission zeros associated with the flight path angle are also observed to move towards the imaginary axis, and take a much more pronounced shift as compared to the short-period poles. This is attributed to a reduced lift curve slope and pitch stiffness for the high fidelity propulsion system model that stems from an change in the thrust sensitivity to angle-of-attack.
Hesselman'S Law, Prokosch'S Law, and Moraic Preservation in the Germanic Quantity Shift

According to Hesselman's Law, lengthenings in closed syllables (CSL) precede lengthenings in open syllables (OSL). This paper surveys dialectal and philological evidence from North Germanic and Upper German in support of Hesselman's Law. The paper argues that CSL serves as a catalyst for OSL. After CSL, short vowels are always followed by long consonants and short consonants are always preceded by long vowels in stressed heavy syllables, a pattern consistent with crosslinguistic tendencies for V/C duration ratios. OSL occurs when language learners extend the pattern by lengthening short vowels followed by heterosyllabic short consonants. The Moraic Preservation Principle (MPP) accounts for the precedence of CSL over OSL despite the preference for bimoraic stressed syllables in Germanic known as Prokosch's Law. A generalization of the Moraic Conservation Principle proposed by Hayes (1989), the MPP states that lengthening processes preserve mora count. CSL does not violate MPP since it results in a bimoraic syllable remaining bimoraic. However, OSL constitutes a violation of MPP by adding to the mora count of the word. I would like to thank two anonymous JGL reviewers and Mark Louden for helpful comments and suggestions.
Boehmians on the Sphere

A convolution structure in defined on s N−1, the unit sphere in RN . It is used to construct a space of Boehmians of S N−1; which generalizes the space of Schwartz distributions on S N−1;. Basicproperties of those Boehmians are investigated
Surface cracks in a plate of finite width under extension or bending

In this paper the problem of a finite plate containing collinear surface cracks is considered. The problem is solved by using the line spring model with plane elasticity and Reissner's plate theory. The main purpose of the study is to investigate the effect of interaction between two cracks or between cracks and stress-free plate boundaries on the stress intensity factors and to provide extensive numerical results which may be useful in applications. First, some sample results are obtained and are compared with the existing finite element results. Then the problem is solved for a single (internal) crack, two collinear cracks and two corner cracks for wide range of relative dimensions. Particularly in corner cracks the agreement with the finite element solution is surprisingly very good. The results are obtained for semielliptic and rectangular crack profiles which may, in practice, correspond to two limiting cases of the actual profile of a subcritically growing surface crack.
Lab on a Stick

Lab on a Stick (LoaS) is a portable, modular, and scalable way to teach networking, systems administration, and computer security related material to students of all ages. The LoaS model empowers educators to develop customized virtual laboratory environments hosted on commonly available USB flash drives that are easily distributable. The students can complete various networking or computer security related exercises in a classroom environment, or take the entire laboratory home to continue work at their own pace. A portable, decentralized virtual environment has many benefits over centralized approaches which are illustrated through four different use cases that each employ one of two different variations of the LoaS model. Lab on a Stick has been shown to be useful for full semester classes in higher education, cybersecurity summer camps for junior high and high school students, as well as for students who would like to extend their learning beyond what is traditionally offered in the classroom. This paper details the key benefits provided by the Lab on a Stick model, and also includes performance information gathered after evaluating LoaS on various USB 2.0 and 3.0 flash drives.