cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Isotopic biogeochemistry of the Neocomian lacustrine and Upper Aptian marine-evaporitic sediments of the Potiguar Basin, Northeastern Brazil

Abstract Systematic variations in the abundances of 13C in kerogens and in saturated hydrocarbons were used to assess the paleoenvironments of the Neocomian lacustrine and Aptian lagoonal to restricted marine-evaporitic sediments of the Pendencia and Alagamar Formations, respectively, from the Potiguar Basin, Brazil. In the Pendencia Formation, the isotopic compositions of compounds formed in the photic zone, i.e., pristane, β-carotane, and some of the n-alkanes, vary only slightly with depth, suggesting invariable conditions in the surface environment. However, dramatic changes occur in the carbon-isotopic compositions of hopanoid biomarkers produced by organisms inhabiting the lower part of the water column of the Pendencia paleolake. Parts of the section having finely laminated sediments with no burrowing coincide with the most significant 13C depletion of the hopanoids relative to algal products, indicating effective stratification of the water column and active recycling of methane. In the Alagamar Formation, isotopic compositions of the n-alkanes vary systematically with depth but not with carbon number, indicating dominance of a single source for all n-alkanes, independent of carbon number, and secular variations in the isotopic composition of that source. The latter variations can be correlated with global changes in the isotopic composition of marine dissolved inorganic carbon associated with the oceanic anoxic event that occurred in the Upper Aptian (OAE-1, [Arthur, M. A. and Schlanger, S. O. (1979) AAPG Bull. 63, 870–885]). The 17α(H),21β(H)-C30 hopane is the most depleted in 13C among the compounds and reflects contributions from chemoautotrophs, and in extreme cases from methanotrophs. The covariations between the δ13C values of pristane and phytane, and these acyclic isoprenoids and β-carotane suggest a common origin from phytoplankton. Gammacerane has δ13C values compatible with a derivation from bacterivorous ciliates feeding on algae and cyanobacteria growing under variable paleoenvironmental conditions.
Coexistence of sharp quasiparticle dispersions and disorder features in graphite

Angle resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES) on azimuthally disordered graphite demonstrates that sharp quasiparticle dispersions along the radial direction can coexist with a complete lack of dispersion along the azimuthal direction. This paradoxical coexistence can be explained in terms of van Hove singularities in the angular density of states. In addition, nondispersive features at the energies of band maxima and saddle points are observed and possible explanations are discussed. This work opens a possibility of studying the electronic structure of layered materials using ARPES even when large single crystals are difficult to obtain.
The Infected Foot of the Diabetic Patient: Quantitative Microbiology and Analysis of Clinical Features

The quantitative deep-tissue microbiology of the infected feet of 32 patients with diabetes mellitus was studied, and the clinical features of the patients were analyzed. Techniques of specimen collection designed to avoid contamination from surface flora were used to study amputated lower limbs. Cultures of deep tissue from six patients yielded only aerobes, and for one patient, only anaerobes. Cultures for 25 patients yielded a mixture of aerobes and anaerobes. A mean of 4.81 species (2.84 aerobes and 1.97 anaerobes) were isolated from each patient. The density of growth of anaerobes, however, was significantly higher than that of aerobes. Culture specimens obtained by curettage of the base of the ulcer correlated better with results of deep-tissue culture than did those obtained by needle aspiration or swab of the ulcers. The most frequently isolated organisms were Bacteroides species, anaerobic streptococci, group D streptococci, Clostridium species, and Proteus species. The presence of anaerobes was associated with a higher frequency of fever and foul-smelling lesions and with the presence of a foot ulcer. Prior antibiotic therapy did not appear to influence the nature of the microorganisms isolated. The polymicrobial nature of this disease should be considered when antimicrobial therapy is indicated.
Interactive hierarchical displays: a general framework for visualization and exploration of large multivariate data sets

Abstract Numerous multivariate visualization techniques and systems have been developed in the past three decades to visually analyze and explore multivariate data being produced daily in application areas ranging from stock markets to the earth and space sciences. However, traditional multivariate visualization techniques typically do not scale well to large multivariate data sets, with the latter becoming more and more common nowadays. This paper proposes a general framework for interactive hierarchical displays (IHDs) to tackle the clutter problem faced by traditional multivariate visualization techniques when analyzing large data sets. The underlying principle of this framework is to develop a multi-resolution view of the data via hierarchical clustering, and to use hierarchical variations of traditional multivariate visualization techniques to convey aggregation information about the resulting clusters. Users can then explore their desired focus region at different levels of detail, using our suite of navigation and filtering tools. We describe this IHD framework and its full implementation on four traditional multivariate visualization techniques, namely, parallel coordinates (Inselberg and Dimsdale, Proceedings of Visualization (1990) 361; Wegman, J. Amer. Statist. Assoc. 411(85) (1990) 664), star glyphs (Siegel et al., Surgery 72 (1972) 126), scatterplot matrices (Cleveland and McGill, Dynamics Graphics for Statistics (1988)), and dimensional stacking (LeBlanc et al., Proceedings of Visualization 90 (1995) 271), as implemented in the XmdvTool system (Ward, Proceedings of Visualization 94 (1994) 326; Martin and Ward, Proceedings of Visualization 95 (1995) 271; Fua et al., Proceedings of Visualization 99 (1999) 43; Proceedings of Information Visualization 99 (1999) 58). We also describe an empirical evaluation that verified the effectiveness of the interactive hierarchical displays.
Neonatal urinary ascites secondary to ureteropelvic junction obstruction

A case of neonatal urinary ascites resulting from a ureteropelvic junction obstruction in a solitary kidney is reported. This is an uncommon cause of urinary ascites in the newborn, reported but once heretofore.
Your brain on speed: cognitive performance of a spatial working memory task is not affected by walking speed

When humans walk in everyday life, they typically perform a range of cognitive tasks while they are on the move. Past studies examining performance changes in dual cognitive-motor tasks during walking have produced a variety of results. These discrepancies may be related to the type of cognitive task chosen, differences in the walking speeds studied, or lack of controlling for walking speed. The goal of this study was to determine how young, healthy subjects performed a spatial working memory task over a range of walking speeds. We used high-density electroencephalography to determine if electrocortical activity mirrored changes in cognitive performance across speeds. Subjects stood (0.0 m/s) and walked (0.4, 0.8, 1.2, and 1.6 m/s) with and without performing a Brooks spatial working memory task. We hypothesized that performance of the spatial working memory task and the associated electrocortical activity would decrease significantly with walking speed. Across speeds, the spatial working memory task caused subjects to step more widely compared with walking without the task. This is typically a sign that humans are adapting their gait dynamics to increase gait stability. Several cortical areas exhibited power fluctuations time-locked to memory encoding during the cognitive task. In the somatosensory association cortex, alpha power increased prior to stimulus presentation and decreased during memory encoding. There were small significant reductions in theta power in the right superior parietal lobule and the posterior cingulate cortex around memory encoding. However, the subjects did not show a significant change in cognitive task performance or electrocortical activity with walking speed. These findings indicate that in young, healthy subjects walking speed does not affect performance of a spatial working memory task. These subjects can devote adequate cortical resources to spatial cognition when needed, regardless of walking speed.
Systematics and phylogeny of cockroaches (Dictyoptera: Blattaria)

Abstract The systematics and phylogeny of the Blattaria are reviewed. Subjects covered are: taxonomic and diagnostic characters, fossils, classification, families, genera, estimates of number of taxa, non-classical taxonomy, identification, scientific and vernacular names; a glossary, and brief sketches of some Masters of cockroach taxonomy are included. Previously unreported, Cahita gradlis Rocha is a junior synonym of Symploce pollens (Stephens).
Abortion surveillance at CDC: creating public health light out of political heat

In the late 1960s, states began to liberalize their abortion laws, and a new era in women's health began. Under the leadership of Jack Smith, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) established a voluntary abortion surveillance system that provided the first nationwide information on the numbers and characteristics of women having abortions. Studies of abortion morbidity done by the CDC revealed that suction curettage was safer than sharp curettage, local anesthesia was safer than general anesthesia, free-standing clinics were safer than hospitals, and dilation and evacuation (D&E) was safer than the alternative of labor induction for early second-trimester abortions. This evidence, which contradicted traditional medical tenets, rapidly changed the practice of abortion in the United States. CDC also established a surveillance system for abortion deaths. This demonstrated a rapid improvement in the safety of abortion in the early 1970s. Lessons learned from mortality investigations helped to change practice as well.Today, more is known about the epidemiology of abortion than any other operation in the history of medicine. In the midst of strident debate over the abortion issue, CDC abortion surveillance data have helped to guide judicial rulings, legislative actions, and Surgeon General's reports, which have supported safer choices for women of reproductive age. When medical historians of the future look back on this century, the increasing availability of safe, legal abortion will stand out as a public health triumph.
Generalized multifield Von-Karman equations for large deflection of artificial muscle plates

Recent advances in manufacturing of multifunctional materials that respond to multi-field excitation have motivated the design and prototyping of sensing and actuating devices for various applications aiming to improve functionality and decrease overall cost. Computer aided design is one of the techniques utilized for achieving these goals. However, it requires the development and integration of behavioral evolution models for the respective materials. This paper addresses the initiation of an effort to develop a computational implementation of a theoretical methodology for describing such systems in a way that allows accurate prediction of their behavior within their state space. Continuum mechanics, irreversible thermodynamics, and electrodynamics are utilized to derive the general four dimensional multiphysics field equations of materials used for artificial muscle applications along with the appropriate constitutive theories. The generalized nonlinear Von-Karman equations expressing the behavior of multi-field artificial muscle-based materials are derived as a special case of electric multi-hygrothermoelasticity developed as the closest theory for modeling the behavior electro-hygro-thermo-elasto-active materials. Numerical solution examples of these equations are presented for the case of an ionic polymeric material structure.
New technique for the cytologic identification of presumed acanthamoeba from corneal epithelial scrapings

Abstract PURPOSE: To describe a cytologic technique for the rapid identification of presumed Acanthamoeba organisms from corneal epithelial scrapings. METHODS: After administering topical anesthesia, we removed the affected corneal epithelium with a scalpel blade. The tip of the blade, containing the scrapings, was washed off into a cuvette with a solution of an alcohol-based fixative for cytology specimens. The blade was immersed in the cuvette and agitated to ensure that the sample was collected. The specimen was fixed for at least 10 minutes and processed by cytospin centrifugation. RESULT: Seventy-five patient samples have been studied with this technique, with excellent preservation of the organism. CONCLUSIONS: The organism preservation with this technique is superior to that of conventional smears and permits confirmatory organism identification by immunohistochemistry.
An interim report on remote sensing of environmental pollutants with a Fourier interference spectrometer.

A small Fourier interference spectrometer for sensing environmental pollutants from spacecraft has been developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The instrument is intended for obtaining high spectral resolution infrared absorption spectra in the 1.2 to 5.5 micron region at speeds sufficiently high for medium altitude orbital satellite surveys. The paper reviews basic details of the instrument servo and infrared detection systems, previously described, as well as recent developments. In particular, the data-handling system, data reduction techniques and optical tolerance problems are discussed. Preliminary results are included.
Evaluation of cytocompatibility and bending modulus of nanoceramic/polymer composites.

In an attempt to simulate the microstructure and mechanical properties of natural bone, novel nanoceramic/polymer composite formulations were fabricated and characterized with respect to their cytocompatibility and mechanical properties. The bending moduli of nanocomposite samples of either poly(L-lactic acid) (PLA) or poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) with 30, 40, and 50 wt % of nanophase (<100 nm) alumina, hydroxyapatite, or titania loadings were significantly (p < 0.05) greater than those of pertinent composite formulations with conventional, coarser grained ceramics. The nanocomposite bending moduli were 1–2 orders of magnitude larger than those of the homogeneous, respective polymer. For example, compared with 0.06 GPa for the 100% PLA, the bending modulus of 50/50 nanophase alumina/PLA composites was 3.5 GPa. Osteoblast adhesion on the surfaces of the nanophase alumina/PLA composites increased as a function of the nanophase ceramic content. Most importantly, osteoblast adhesion on the 50/50 nanophase alumina/PLA substrates was similar to that observed on the 100% nanophase ceramic substrates. Similar trends of osteoblast adhesion were observed on the surfaces of the nanophase titania/polymer and nanophase hydroxyapaptite/polymer composites that were tested. In contrast, fibroblast adhesion on the nanophase composites was either similar or lower than that observed on the conventional composites with either PLA or PMMA and minimum on all tested neat nanophase substrates. The calcium content in the extracellular matrix of cultured osteoblasts was also enhanced on the nanoceramic/PLA composite substrates tested as a function of the nanophase ceramic loading and duration of cell culture. The results of the present in vitro study provide evidence that nanoceramic/polymer composite formulations are promising alternatives to conventional materials because they can potentially be designed to match the chemical, structural, and mechanical properties of bone tissue in order to overcome the limitations of the biomaterials currently used as bone prostheses. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res 72A: 98–106, 2005
MicroRNA 21 Blocks Apoptosis in Mouse Periovulatory Granulosa Cells

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in many developmental processes, including cell differentiation and apoptosis. Transition of proliferative ovarian granulosa cells to terminally differentiated luteal cells in response to the ovulatory surge of luteinizing hormone (LH) involves rapid and pronounced changes in cellular morphology and function. MicroRNA 21 (miR-21, official symbol Mir21) is one of three highly LH-induced miRNAs in murine granulosa cells, and here we examine the function and temporal expression of Mir21 within granulosa cells as they transition to luteal cells. Granulosa cells were transfected with blocking (2′-O-methyl) and locked nucleic acid (LNA-21) oligonucleotides, and mature Mir21 expression decreased to one ninth and one twenty-seventh of its basal expression, respectively. LNA-21 depletion of Mir21 activity in cultured granulosa cells induced apoptosis. In vivo, follicular granulosa cells exhibit a decrease in cleaved caspase 3, a hallmark of apoptosis, 6 h after the LH/human chorionic gonadotropin surge, coincident with the highest expression of mature Mir21. To examine whether Mir21 is involved in regulation of apoptosis in vivo, mice were treated with a phospho thioate-modified LNA-21 oligonucleotide, and granulosa cell apoptosis was examined. Apoptosis increased in LNA-21-treated ovaries, and ovulation rate decreased in LNA-21-treated ovaries, compared with their contralateral controls. We have examined a number of Mir21 apoptotic target transcripts identified in other systems; currently, none of these appear to play a role in the induction of ovarian granulosa cell apoptosis. This study is the first to implicate the antiapoptotic Mir21 (an oncogenic miRNA) as playing a clear physiologic role in normal tissue function.
Activation of Complement by Endotoxin

Ovine erythrocytes (E) coated with endotoxin (LPS) from Salmonella typhosa 0901 have been used for characterization of the nature of a pathway by which LPS activates complement (C). E-LPS consumed C in normal guinea-pig serum in a manner identical to that in which C is consumed by LPS, that is, with marked consumption of C3-C9 and little depletion of C1, C4, and C2. A "natural" y2-globulin, isolated from serum by ion-exchange chromatography, was required for C-mediated lysis of E-LPS in dilute serum. When it was reacted with guinea-pig y2-globulin, C1, C4, and C2, followed by C-EDTA, E-LPS was lysed. Deletion of y2-globulin, C1, C4, or C2 from the reaction prevented lysis. The small amounts of the early-acting components of C used indicated that it would be difficult to measure their loss in whole serum after incubation with LPS. This
Redox properties of the "P-836" pigment complex of Chromatium.

Abstract The redox potential of the component responsible for the photobleaching at 836 nm in chromatophores of Chromatium vinosum strain D was determined to be 320 mV. This result may be of significance for suggestions regarding the existence of a low potential, non-cyclic photosystem in Chromatium .
Crowding effects on the small, fast-folding protein λ6-85

The microsecond folder lambda6-85 is a small (9.2 kDa = 9200 amu) five helix bundle protein. We investigated the stability of lambda6-85 in two different low-fluorescence crowding matrices: the large 70 kDa carbohydrate Ficoll 70, and the small 14 kDa thermophilic protein SubL. The same thermal stability of secondary structure was measured by circular dichroism in aqueous buffer, and at a crowding fraction phi = 15 +/- 1% of Ficoll 70. Tryptophan fluorescence detection (probing a tertiary contact) yielded the same thermal stability in Ficoll, but 4 degrees C lower in aqueous buffer. Temperature-jump kinetics revealed that the relaxation rate, corrected for bulk viscosity, was very similar in Ficoll and in aqueous buffer. Thus viscosity, hydrodynamics and crowding seem to compensate one another. However, a new fast phase was observed in Ficoll, attributed to crowding-induced downhill folding. We also measured the stability of lambda6-85 in phi = 14 +/- 1% SubL, which acts as a smaller more rigid crowder. Significantly greater stabilization (7 to 13 degrees C depending on probe) was observed than in the Ficoll matrix. The results highlight the importance of crowding agent choice for studies of small, fast-folding proteins amenable to comparison with molecular dynamics simulations.
Use of machine vision techniques to detect human settlements in satellite images

The automated production of maps of human settlement from recent satellite images is essential to studies of urbanization, population movement, and the like. The spectral and spatial resolution of such imagery is often high enough to successfully apply computer vision techniques. However, vast amounts of data have to be processed quickly. In this paper, we propose an approach that processes the data in several different stages. At each stage, using features appropriate to that stage, we identify the portion of the data likely to contain information relevant to the identification of human settlements. This data is used as input to the next stage of processing. Since the size of the data has reduced, we can now use more complex features in this next stage. These features can be more representative of human settlements, and also more time consuming to extract from the image data. Such a hierarchical approach enables us to process large amounts of data in a reasonable time, while maintaining the accuracy of human settlement identification. We illustrate our multi-stage approach using IKONOS 4-band and panchromatic images, and compare it with the straight-forward processing of the entire image.
FREDHOLM EQUATIONS OF THE SECOND KIND FOR RADIAL STRESSES AIMED AT THE DETERMINATION OF THE THERMOELASTIC STATE OF AN INHOMOGENEOUS HOLLOW LONG CYLINDER

The problem of thermoelasticity in terms of stresses for an inhomogeneous hollow long cylinder with an arbitrary dependence of the physicomechanical characteristics of the material on the radial coordinate is reduced to the solution of a Fredholm equation of the second kind for radial stress. We obtain this equation by direct integration of the equations of equilibrium and continuity and solve it by reducing to a system of algebraic equations. The results of calculations are compared with the known exact solutions of the problem of thermoelasticity for individual dependences of the characteristics of the material on the radial coordinate. We determine the characteristics of materials, the temperature field, and loading guaranteeing the equality of the radial stress in the cylinder to zero.
3D numerical simulation of the flow of viscous newtonian and shear thinning fluids in a twin sigma blade mixer

ABSTRACT: The ﬂow and mixing in a 3D geometrically accuraterepresentation of a twin sigma blade mixer is simulated using the ﬁnite elementmethod (FEM) combined with the mesh superimposition technique asimplemented by Polyﬂow (Fluent, Inc.) to calculate the velocity, velocitygradients, shear rates, and mixing index. The mixing conditions and materialmodels are based on those used in the laser-Doppler anemometry (LDA)experiments of Prakash and Kokini. The simulation results are analyzed todetermine the effect of increasing shear thinning on the ﬂow and mixing, and arealso compared with the experimental results of Prakash and Kokini for the This is publication no. NJAES D10544-3-05 of the New JerseyAgricultural Experiment Station. Correspondence to: Jozef L. Kokini; e-mail: kokini@aesop.rutgers.edu.Present address of Robin K. Connelly: Departments ofFood Science and Biological Systems Engineering, University ofWisconsin—Madison, 1605 Linden Dr, Madison, WI 53706.Contract grant sponsor: National Research Initiative of theUSDA Cooperative State Research, Education and ExtensionService.Contract grant number: 2001-35503-10127.Contract grant sponsor: Center for Advanced Food Tech-nology (a New Jersey Commission on Science and TechnologyCenter).Advances in Polymer Technology, Vol. 25, No. 3, 182–194(2006)
'What affects me?': a smart public alert system based on stream reasoning

Public alert services is gradually becoming popular in smart cities because this enhances the awareness of the citizen about activities within the city. Such a service also ensures the safety and security of the citizens. However the state of the art lacks in providing real-time alerts in a personalized, context-aware fashion utilizing the combined knowledge about the city, its events and its citizens. In this paper, a solution architecture is presented that uses stream reasoning as its backbone which suits the domain of a public alert system very well. The stream reasoner uses rule-based reasoning and queries. The rules are designed as atomic concepts. A fully functional prototype of the proposed system was developed and tested on data of a smart city. The experimental results support that the proposed methodology is very effective.
Experimental study on fuzzy skyhook control of a vehicle suspension system using a magnetorheological fluid damper

Skyhook control is an effective control strategy for suppressing vehicle vibration. It is typically classified as on-off skyhook control and continuous skyhook control. In this study, a fuzzy skyhook control is proposed. It combines the fuzzy logic theory with the skyhook principle to improve control performance. In order to compare performance of each control strategy, an experimental study is prepared utilizing a quarter car model of high-mobility multi-purpose wheeled vehicle (HMMWV) with a controllable magneto-rheological fluid (MRF) damper. The experimental results under rough road excitation demonstrate that the fuzzy skyhook control offers more robust suspension performance over the continuous skyhook control while still out performing the on-off skyhook control. The system model-independent fuzzy skyhook control is simpler and provides some robust advantages for real application as compared to the system model-dependent continuous skyhook control.
Exploration for the masses? Or joyrides for the ultra-rich? Prospects for space tourism

Abstract A space tourism industry appears to be about to take off. Businesses have announced plans to launch people into suborbital space for $200,000/person, with flights beginning as early as 2008. A brief review of the history of the idea of space tourism over the past four decades—and an awareness that many ventures have quietly shelved their grandiose plans—might aid thinking about the prospects for development of a safe and thriving space tourism industry. Today's space tourism model emphases the concept of luxury, and the lifestyle of hyper-consumption. It may be worth considering whether and how this conception of space tourism might affect the future of space exploration.
Tactical Innovation, Democratic Governance, and Mixed Motives: Popular Movement Resilience in Peru and Ecuador

Urban popular movements that organize illegal land invasion communities present an intriguing puzzle. When most invasion organizations acquire land titles, their participation levels plummet and their agendas stagnate; yet some neighborhoods achieve land titles, sustain high participation, and acquire other services, such as piped-in water. Why do these organizations achieve movement resilience? The more typical trajectory of movement collapse is explained by the disappearance of the key selective incentive, property security. Some organizations, however, evade this “security trap” through mixed motives: their basic material agenda is supplemented by a nonmaterial and often altruistic agenda, which sustains participation in the face of reduced selective incentives. Examining three neighborhood case studies in Lima and Quito, this article argues that a new, “innovator” type of invasion organization is more likely to exhibit sustained participation and movement resilience due to tactical innovation, democratic governance, and mixed motives.
Reinforcement learning for energy efficient wireless transmission: Green communications for a green hand transmitter

Reinforcement learning is applied to the green communication of a green hand wireless transmitter which has no a priori information about the environment. Via reinforcement learning, radio emission power, transmission rate and transmitter hardware mode (transmit, idle and sleep) are controlled to optimize the energy consumption. To alleviate the problem of prohibitively many states (the curse of dimensions), an approach of state merge and split is proposed to adapt the state space to the number of observations and achieve the tradeoff between learning speed and final performance. On using a typical configuration of wireless transmitter, numerical results show that the learning procedure converges and significantly improves the energy efficiency. They also demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed technique of state merge and split.
Cardiac computed tomographic imaging to evaluate myocardial scarring/fibrosis in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: a comparison with cardiac magnetic resonance imaging

Contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (CeMRI) reliably identifies myocardial fibrosis in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). However, many patients have contraindications to ceMRI. Previous studies have shown that contrast enhanced multi-detector computed tomography (ceMDCT) can visualize focal scars following myocardial infarction in experimental animals and patients. The purpose of this manuscript is to assess the ability of ceMDCT to detect focal myocardial scars in patients with HCM. Twelve HCM patients underwent ceMRI and ceMDCT. Fibrotic areas of myocardium were defined as focal or diffuse areas of fibrosis. The mean signal intensity in ceMRI and attenuation values in ceMDCT of the fibrotic regions, normal myocardium and left ventricle blood pool contrast were measured using qualitative and quantitative analysis. Focal scar mass was calculated using both techniques. Focal scars were detected in 9 patients and diffuse fibrosis was visualized in all patients by ceMRI. Differences between normalized SI of normal myocardium and focal scars, normal and diffuse areas of fibrosis, and diffuse fibrosis and focal scars were significant for both ceMRI and ceMDCT (p < 0.05). Diffuse fibrosis was poorly visualized by ceMDCT but was detectable using quantitative measurements. CeMDCT has potential to detect focal myocardial scars in patients with HCM who have contraindications to ceMRI study. However, ceMDCT does not enable adequate visualization of diffuse myocardial fibrosis, and thus is less well suited than ceMRI for assessment of total burden of fibrosis. This limitation may be overcome using quantitative methodology.
IR Spectroscopic Measurement of Diffusion Kinetics of Chemisorbed Pyridine through Nanocrystalline MgO Particles. The Involvement of Surface Defect Sites in Slow Diffusion

The molecular transport of pyridine through nanosized MgO particles has been investigated by Fourier transform IR spectroscopy. Two regimes of chemisorbed pyridine diffusion are observed. A fast di...
Prenatal care disparities and the migrant farm worker community.

Abstract The pregnant migrant farm worker faces many barriers to accessing healthcare in the United States due to poverty, language/literacy issues, transportation difficulties, and geographic isolation. The advanced practice nurse has the opportunity to contribute solutions to the problems of lack of adequate prenatal care among the migrant farm worker community, if he/she is aware of the need and can institute novel models of care. This article describes the problem of migrant farm worker health and suggests ways that advanced practice nurses can provide cost effective, competent professional care to reduce or eliminate the obstacles to care for this population.
PCA Well-Orderings of the Line

There is a PCA well-ordering of the real line if and only if there is a real from which every real is constructible. The proof given below of the above statement is formalizable in ZFC; indeed, in second-order arithmetic. Despite this, it is open whether this result can be refined by considering the codes for PCA well-orderings. Specifically, let H be "there is a l well-ordering of wa if and only if w'0 c L." It would be particularly satisfying to have a proof in ZFC of H. More generally, for f E we let H(f) be "there is a well-ordering of wA that is 192 in f if and only if b c L(f)." We conjecture that (Vf)(H(f)) is provable in ZFC. Throughout the paper we will work in the space wA rather than the continuum, and use the logical notation Z instead of PCA. Throughout, g, 1h will be used as variables over wam. Let L(f) be the class of sets constructible from f. The 21degrees are the equivalence classes of wAd under the equivalence relation (f is \2 in g and g is Al in f). The first ordinal not Al in f is denoted by >2(f). For K c let AL(K) be UKL'(f). Let (f, g)(2n) = f(n), (f, g)(2n + 1) = g(n). Let (f, g, h) = ((f,g), h). Kis Turing closed iff (f ge K,h < T(f, g))heK. In Friedman [2], a complete discussion of the existence of minimal and minimum upper bounds for sequences of A4-degrees is given. Although perfect set forcing is never mentioned there, the techniques may be viewed as forcing arguments; i.e., where the conditions, for example, are the Al perfect trees, and in which 2 statements are forced if and only if they are true of all nonconstructible paths. The key theorem (Theorem I) of Friedman [2] is the key lemma of this paper. The following is the relevant part. LEMMA 1. Let (g,) be a sequence of functions in w' whose range K is Turing closed. Then there is a perfect tree T e L((gn)) such that (Vf e T)(f 0 U L(gn) -* ((Vn)(gn is Al inf andf is not Al in gn) & l(ff) = A'(K)) LEMMA 2. If (Vg)(ww t L(g)) then no w nr L(g) contains a perfect subset. PROOF. Let g E wO, Tbe a perfect subset of aU, and h O L(g, T). ChoosefE Tso that h ? T (f, T). Then f L(g). LEMMA 3. Suppose (Vg)(wU t L(g)), and fix f. Then there is a strictly increasing sequence of A-degrees df, cc < w1, such that fe do and Al(dj) = z\1(f) for all c < w1. PROOF. It is an obvious transfinite recursion on w1 by means of Lemma 1. Thanks to Lemma 2, the recursion is well-defined. The following is well-known. Received January 5, 1973. This research was partially supported by NSF GP-34091X. 79 @ 1974, Association for Symbolic Logic This content downloaded from 157.55.39.72 on Thu, 15 Sep 2016 05:42:10 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
THE INTEGRATED PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT CAPABILITY MATURITY MODEL (CMM) SM

Integrated Product Development (IPD) is a systematic approach to product (or service) development that achieves a timely collaboration of necessary disciplines throughout the product lifecycle to better satisfy customer needs. This paper provides the architecture and content description for a Capability Maturity Model for IPD. The formal model is based on industry (service and manufacturing), government, and academic input for IPD and the roles of teams within it. The intent of the session will be to update the current model state and to collect feedback on practitioner-targeted, short, informational presentations and what else practitioners who help develop and implement processes need/want to know to want to try out this IPD CMM SM.
The Role of Mindfulness and Neuroticism in Predicting Acculturative Anxiety Forecasting Error

The present research examines the role of two individual differences—mindfulness and neuroticism—in predicting acculturative anxiety forecasting error, above and beyond extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness, emotional intelligence, and cultural intelligence. With 86 US undergraduate students who participated in study abroad programs, the current study provided three key findings. First, consistent with the claim of immune neglect, acculturative anxiety experienced abroad was lower than forecasted. Second, consistent with the claim that mindfulness reduces immune neglect whereas neuroticism increases immune neglect, mindfulness was negatively related to acculturative anxiety forecasting error, interestingly, only when the cultural distance between the host country and the USA was small, whereas neuroticism was positively related to acculturative anxiety forecasting error, regardless of the cultural distance. Third, parenthetically and consistent with a self-regulation view, mindfulness attenuated the relationship between neuroticism and acculturative anxiety forecasting error. These novel findings shed light on both mindfulness and affective forecasting research.
Effects of restricting first graders' TV-viewing on leisure time use, IQ change, and cognitive style

Abstract Middle-class 6-year-olds matched for sex, age, pretest WPPSI IQ, and TV-viewing time were blindly assigned to a restricted TV-viewing group or an unrestricted group. Restricted parents halved subjects' previous TV-viewing rates and interacted 20 min./day with subjects for a 6-week period. Unrestricted TV parents provided similar interactions but did not limit viewing. Results tentatively suggest that TV restriction enhanced Performance IQ, reading time, and reflective Matching Familiar Figures scores.
Law and Games Studies

This brief article investigates the relationship between legal scholarship and game studies. It attempts to find some common ground between theories of law and theories of games, looking to lawas a game, the lawof sports, and contemporary claims about online governance.
Estradiol 17β-dehydrogenase and estradiol binding in human mammary tumors

The metabolism of estradiol was studied in 31 human breast carcinoma in vitro. All 16 estrogen-receptor-poor tumors transformed estradiol to estrone with percent conversions ranging from 11.4 to 95 except for one poorly differentiated tumor where 0.5% conversion to estrone was observed. On the contrary, only 3 out of 15 estrogen-receptor-rich tumors showed higher than 10% conversion of estradiol to estrone (p = 0.001). There is indication that the enzymatic activity in receptor-poor tumors steadily decreases in premenopausal patients as they approach menopausal age, whereas, the activity steadily increases in post-menopausal patients as the duration of menopause lengthens.
Sulfur transformations and pool sizes in tropical forest soils

Samples of A horizon soils collected along an elevational gradient within the Luquillo Experimental Forest in Puerto Rico, were examined for their capacity to adsorb sulfate, form organic S, and mobilize organic S that had been recently formed. Soil moisture, carbon. pH. and S pool sizes were assayed to determine factors regulating these processes. Samples were found to adsorb between 1.6 and 5.7 nmol S g−1 dry wt of added sulfate, while organic S formation potentials ranged from 0.7 to 3.6 nmol S g−1 dry wt. All soils within the gradient exhibited the capacity to mobilize organic S (between 27.3 and 56.9% 24h−1) as well as the capacity to accumulate organically bound S (0.7-1.8 nmol S g−1 24h−1). Total S ranged from 1231 to 353 μg S g−1 dry wt and organic S was the most abundant constituent. Carbon and moisture content were positively correlated with organic S formation potentials (r = 0.71; P ⩽0.001; r = 0.80; P ⩽0.001; respectively), while total amounts of sulfate were positively correlated with organic S mobilization rates (r = 0.85; P ⩽ 0.004).
Sgt1 , but not Rar1 , is essential for the RB -mediated broad-spectrum resistance to potato late blight

Late blight is the most serious potato disease world-wide. The most effective and environmentally sound way for controlling late blight is to incorporate natural resistance into potato cultivars. Several late blight resistance genes have been cloned recently. However, there is almost no information available about the resistance pathways mediated by any of those genes. We previously cloned a late blight resistance gene, RB, from a diploid wild potato species Solanum bulbocastanum. Transgenic potato lines containing a single RB gene showed a rate-limiting resistance against all known races of Phytophthora infestans, the late blight pathogen. To better understand the RB-mediated resistance we silenced the potato Rar1 and Sgt1 genes that have been implicated in mediating disease resistance responses against various plant pathogens and pests. The Rar1 and Sgt1 genes of a RB-containing potato clone were silenced using a RNA interference (RNAi)-based approach. All of the silenced potato plants displayed phenotypically normal growth. The late blight resistance of the Rar1 and Sgt1 silenced lines were evaluated by a traditional greenhouse inoculation method and quantified using a GFP-tagged P. infestans strain. The resistance of the Rar1-silenced plants was not affected. However, silencing of the Sgt1 gene abolished the RB-mediated resistance. Our study shows that silencing of the Sgt1 gene in potato does not result in lethality. However, the Sgt1 gene is essential for the RB-mediated late blight resistance. In contrast, the Rar1 gene is not required for RB-mediated resistance. These results provide additional evidence for the universal role of the Sgt1 gene in various R gene-mediated plant defense responses.
A study of variation and progression in oncongenicity in an SV 40-transformed hamster heart cell line and its clones*

An investigation of factors underlying a marked increase in oncogenicity observed after passage in vivo of a line of SV 40-transformed hamster heart cells is described. Through analyses carried out in vitro and in vivo of the behaviour of this line and its clones, evidence was obtained that at least two mechanisms may be operative in the increase in oncogenic potential: (a) selection of cells of high oncogenicity among a population differing in this property, and (b) cellular mutation from a lower to a higher level of oncogenic potential. The data provided no indication that the viral genome was responsible for the observed increase in oncogenicity.
Prenatal diagnosis for CF using High Resolution Melting Analysis and simultaneous haplotype analysis through QF-PCR☆ , ☆☆ , ★

Abstract Background High Resolution Melting (HRM) Analysis is a validated, robust, low-cost, high throughput CF screening method. Here, we report the development and retrospective evaluation of the diagnostic value of a novel multiplex HRM, genotyping and haplotyping method for CF prenatal diagnosis (generic HRM/haplotyping). Methods 80 study samples from 20 carrier couples referred for PND (whole blood in EDTA and CVS or amniotic fluid) were genotyped retrospectively using the suggested protocol. Results All DNA samples (variable sources, extraction methods and unknown concentrations) were successfully amplified by the 1st and 2nd round PCR. The Se, Sp, NPV and PPV for the generic HRM/haplotyping method are calculated at 100%. Conclusions This generic protocol for PND using HRM, facilitates the simultaneous analysis of DNA samples from various sources in a fast, robust and efficient way. It can be easily adapted and applied for any genetic condition.
Quality versus quantity: spring wheat seed size and seeding rate effects on Avena fatua interference, economic returns and economic thresholds.

Summary A 3-year field experiment was conducted at Kalispell, Montana, USA, to investigate the effects of spring wheat seed size and seeding rate on wheat yield loss (YL), economic returns and economic thresholds (ETs), as a function of Avena fatua density. Crop competitive ability increased as wheat seeding rate and seed size increased, with the greatest differences among treatment factors being observed at low weed densities. Both treatment factors decreased spring wheat YL, increasing economic returns during all 3 years of the study despite the higher associated seed costs. Averaged over all other factors, adjusted gross returns (AGR) were 477 and 537$ ha−1 for the low and high seeding rates, while values of 453, 521 and 547$ ha−1 were obtained for the small, bulk and large seed size classes respectively. Weed-free yield potential varied yearly. As yield potential increased, A. fatua competitive effects were more evident and ETs decreased. Nonetheless, both treatment factors increased ETs in 2 of 3 years. These results demonstrate that the use of higher seeding rates and larger seed size classes both improve wheat competitive ability towards A. fatua while simultaneously increasing economic returns.
The structural characterization of (NH4)2B10H10 and thermal decomposition studies of (NH4)2B10H10 and (NH4)2B12H12

Abstract The structure of (NH 4 ) 2 B 10 H 10 ( 1) was determined through powder XRD analysis. The thermal decomposition of 1 and (NH 4 ) 2 B 12 H 12 ( 2 ) was examined between 20 and 1000 °C using STMBMS methods. Between 200 and 400 °C a mixture of NH 3 and H 2 evolves from both compounds; above 400 °C only H 2 evolves. The dihydrogen bonding interaction in 1 is much stronger than that in 2 . The stronger dihydrogen bond in 1 resulted in a significant reduction by up to 60 °C, but with a corresponding 25% decrease in the yield of H 2 in the lower temperature region and a doubling of the yield of NH 3 . The decomposition of 1 follows a lower temperature exothermic reaction pathway that yields substantially more NH 3 than the higher temperature endothermic pathway of 2 . Heating of 1 at 250 °C resulted in partial conversion of B 10 H 10 2− to B 12 H 12 2− . Both 1 and 2 form an insoluble polymeric material after decomposition. The elements of the reaction network that control the release of H 2 from the B 10 H 10 2− can be altered by conducting the experiment under conditions in which pressures of NH 3 and H 2 are either near, or away from, their equilibrium values.
Gift-Wrapping Effects on Product Attitudes: A Mood-Biasing Explanation

In four experiments, I examined the effects of gift wrapping on product attitudes. Two questions were addressed. First, does gift wrapping an item have a favorable influence on attitudes toward owning what is received? Results of all four experiments consistently support an affirmative answer to that question. Second, what explains the attitudinal results? I argued that gift wrapping, through repeated pairing with joyous events in people's lives, has utility in cuing a happy mood which, in turn, positively biases attitudes. Results of the last three experiments support this mood biasing position by demonstrating that a happy mood consistently mediates gift-wrapping effects on attitudes. The results are consistent with an encoding specificity view of mood retrieval and a mood maintenance explanation of attitude formation. The encoding specificity view was supported by finding stronger effects of gift wrapping on mood retrieval in conditions arguably present when the relation between gift wrapping and happy mood was established in the lives of subjects, such as the receipt of a personal gift (Experiment 2), the receipt of a gift wrapped in traditional gift-wrapping paper (Experiment 3), and the receipt of a gift-wrapped present on subjects' birthdays (Experiment 4). The mood maintenance process was supported by finding parallel effects of gift wrapping on mood and attitude and by finding the mediational effects of happy mood on attitude strengthened as subjects felt happier. These results are consistent with the premise that the happier the mood, the more subjects sought to maintain that state through the development of favorable attitudes toward owning the gift they received.