cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Compound Closed Chains in Circular Planar Nearrings

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the concept of compound closed chains in circular planar nearrings. In 1986, the concept of a circular planar nearring was introduced at Combinatorics ’86 at Passo della Mendola. This idea is motivated by taking the field of complex numbers and constructing the planar nearring. Also introduced in Combinatorics ’86 at Passo della Mendola was a table of all the nontrivial circular planar nearrings, where nontrivial circular planar nearrings is the additive group of a prime field. By studying various examples from this table, one can find properties of these circles analogous to those in the usual euclidean plane. The chapter also discusses the torus phenomenon, the concept of simple closed 2-link chains, and the simple and compound closed s- link chains.
Towards the development of a testable model for spinal deformities using zebrafish

A wide range of species, from chickens to pigs have been used as model systems for studying spinal deformities. However most of these models focus on the etiology of the problem, and few studies examine the effects of spinal deformities on locomotion. The goal of this study was to create a 3D geometrical description of the zebrafish musculoskeletal system using Micro CT imaging technology as a basis for comparing normal zebrafish and zebrafish with spinal deformities. Specifically, for use in developing a model as a basis for testing the functional consequences of spinal deformities. Large 3D deformities and structural differences were observed in the vertebral column of the scoliotic fish relative to the normal fish. Also, further analysis of the structural differences revealed that the facets of the vertebrae in the deformed spinal sections were fused with rays extending from both the dorsal and anal fins of the zebrafish with spinal deformities, which could translate to changes in the normal function, and could affect the survivability of affected individuals.
Development as cross-cultural communication

(2003). Development as cross-cultural communication. The Journal of International Communication: Vol. 9, Intercultural Relations, pp. 50-75.
Visual event-related potentials to colored patterns and color names: attention to features and dimension.

Abstract Four right-handed males and 4 right-handed females were instructed to match pairs of stimuli (colored flashes with either colored patterns or color names) presented sequentially to the central retina. Subjects were to respond to the second stimulus of a pair when it matched the first stimulus in terms of (1) sensory color or (2) word meaning. ERPs recorded from the second stimulus of a pair over occipital and frontal cortical regions indicate the following: (1) Interdimension effects reflect an early and more global discrimination process between colored patterns and word patterns per se. The source of this effect appears to be localized in occipital cortical regions. (2) Intradimension effects were evident later in time and reflect a more refined discrimination process between particular features within a dimension rather than between dimensions. The intradimension color effect began earlier in time than the word effect (229 msec versus 318 msec in the occipital data) and appears to be localized in posterior temporal regions. The onset of the word effect appears to have two neural generators: an early effect localized in frontal regions (274 msec) and a later effect localized in occipital regions (318 msec). The hierarchical model of language processing seems to hold true predominantly in posterior cortical regions. Effects associated with linguistic processing were evident in frontal regions before effects were noted in the occipital regions. This result suggests that either: (1) word information is processed simultaneously and independently in the different regions, or (2) anterior regions feedback onto posterior regions and, therefore, influence the processing in this region.
Evolving views of disability and public health: the roles of advocacy and public health.

Abstract Promoting health, quality of life, and participation of persons with disabilities is a relatively recent development in public health. Its brief history reflects three distinct public health perspectives toward disability—a traditional approach that focuses on preventing disability, a contemporary approach that regards disability as a minority group experiencing disparities relative to people without disabilities, and an emerging perspective where disability status is considered one of multiple determinants of health. The field of disability and health has been influenced by the interaction of disability advocacy with the public health process of surveillance, epidemiology research, and intervention. Advocacy draws on political and legal arguments to press for action on issues such as health care access, control of services, and choice of residence. Public health uses surveillance to document magnitude of problems; epidemiology to identify specific groups, develop measures, and apply rigorous research methods; and intervention to improve health behaviors and health outcomes. The field of disability and public health, however, has lagged in addressing the role of environmental factors in the disabling process, in moving to societal participation as an outcome, and in implementing population scale interventions.
Traupmann and Wong: A reply

McCain did recognize that "during acq uisition, magnitude differences disappear under some conditions" (italics ours). He further recognized that "a number of possible confounding variables such as drive level, strain of animals, sampling, weight of Ss, particular re ward magnitudes, pretraining, and performance within days are obvious. Any or all of these could explain the results." He, nevertheless, drew the sweeping conclusion that "after about 60 consistently reinforced acquisition trials in a straight alley, the acquisition effects of different reward magnitudes are either minimal or absent," and went on to challenge "most learning theories. " It seems to us that the results of both experiments could be interpreted entirely in terms of drive level, sex differences, weight of Ss, and performance within days. In this light, McCain's results contribute !ittle to our knowledge that "under some conditions" the long-standing findings about reward magnitude during acquisition do not hold. However, if the effects of reward magnitude do, indeed, disappear with extended training while the factors we have mentioned are adequately controlled, then we certainly should be forced to revise some of our theoretical notions.
Regulatory T cells in nonlymphoid tissues

Both Foxp3(+)CD4(+) regulatory T cells (Treg cells) and local immune responses in nonlymphoid tissues have long been recognized as important elements of a well-orchestrated immune system, but only recently have these two fields of study begun to intersect. There is growing evidence that Treg cells are present in various nonlymphoid tissues in health and disease, that they have a unique phenotype and that their functions go beyond the classical modulation of immune responses. Thus, tissue Treg cells might add yet another level to classification of the Treg cell compartment into functional and/or phenotypic subtypes. In this Review, we summarize recent findings in this new field, discussing knowns and unknowns about the origin, phenotype, function and memory of nonlymphoid tissue-resident Treg cells.
Narrow spectral response schottky photodiodes.

Spicer’s absorption diffusion model is extended to analyze Schottky photodiodes which possess special characteristics. The model describes the generation of minority carriers by optical absorption in the bulk of a semiconductor material. The magnitude and shape of the spectral response for a minimally depleted device is found to depend on the rate of variation of the absorption coefficient with wavelength on the thickness of the absorbing region T and on the minority carrier’s diffusion length l. Narrow spectral response can exist in this device only in the wavelength region wherein the absorption coefficient α is rapidly changing. A combination of high quantum efficiency with sharp tuning is found to exist.
ANTIOXIDANT EFFECT OF SPICES, HERBS AND PROTEIN HYDROLYZATES IN FREEZE‐DRIED MODEL SYSTEMS: SYNERGISTIC ACTION WITH SYNTHETIC PHENOLIC ANTIOXIDANTS

Investigation of natural antioxidant and synergistic activity of some food ingredients included twenty spices, herbs and plant protein hydrolyzates. Of the spices tested, clove, cinnamon, sage, rosemary, mace, oregano, allspice and nutmeg were highly antioxidant and when coupled with BHA, these spices acted as strong synergists. Autolyzed yeast proteins (AYP), when combined with some of these spices, significantly extended the stability of the model food system. Results of tests of freeze-dried model systems consisting of corn oil and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) stored at 65°C suggest possible applications for stabilizing oxygen sensitive foods against quality deterioration.
Optimal volume of processed plasma and total number of selective plasmapheresis sessions in the treatment of patients with severe generalized myasthenia gravis.

The selection of the technical parameters of plasmapheresis in the treatment of patients with MG varies widely due to the lack of sufficient data from controlled studies to standardize the plasmapheresis procedure. Eight myasthenia gravis (MG) patients (Osserman IIb and III) received either immunoadsorption plasmapheresis (IA) with a IM-TR 350 (Asahi Medical Co., Tokyo, Japan) or double filtration plasmapheresis (DF) with a Cascadeflo AC-1770, with four in each group. A Plasmaflo AP 05 W (Asahi Medical Co., Tokyo, Japan) was used as the plasma separator in both groups. Each course of treatment consisted of five sessions of aphereses on alternate days. Plasma was sampled before and after passing through the column. Samples of plasma were analyzed for acetylcholine receptor antibody (AchRAb) at the start of plasmapheresis and sequentially after every 0.5 L of plasma treated. The IA method cleared significantly more AchRAb during the initial treatment of 1. 5 L of plasma than the DF method, especially in the initial 1 L (P < 0.01). The column saturated after treatment of 1.5 to 2 L of plasma. It is known that over-saturation of column may release the already adsorbed/filtrated antibodies. Longitudinal analysis on the serological changes during the five sessions revealed that the clearance obtained using the IA method was significantly higher and more sustained after the first session of treatment compared to the DF method (P < 0.05). The titers of AchRAb were also noted to rise after the fourth session. These results suggest that 2 L of processed volume is optimal in terms of the functional capacity of a plasmapheresis column in either IA or DF methods, and that a total of four sessions of treatment in one course may provide optimal elimination of AchRAb.
The Role of Genetics in Nicotine Dependence: Mapping the Pathways from Genome to Syndrome

Nicotine dependence continues to be a major public health problem worldwide and there is unequivocal evidence that genetics play a substantial role in its etiology. This review provides an overview of the evidence for genetic influences and recent advances in the field. Traditional quantitative genetics studies have revealed nicotine dependence is heritable and molecular genetics studies are providing increasing evidence that the genes responsible for nicotine’s pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics are particularly important. Despite considerable progress, a number of significant complexities and challenges remain. These include determining the specificity of genetic influences and clarifying the role of interactive contributions. One promising strategy for addressing these issues is an intermediate phenotype approach that attempts to identify the intervening proximal mechanisms that confer differential genetic risk. Understanding these mechanisms may permit more precision in understanding genetic influences and may also identify novel targets for intervention or prevention.
Enzymatic solubilization of an insoluble substrate, fish protein concentrate: Process and kinetic considerations

The solubilization of fish protein concentrate (FPC) by Bacillus subtilis protease (Monzyme) has been investigated. Conditions have been defined which eliminate the problems of microbial contamination and salt accumulation. A Kinetic treatment revealed that enzyme is adsorbed to the surface of the substrate, exposed to aqueous phase. The overall kinetics were described by a sequence of two first-order processes—an initial, fast reaction in which loosely bound polypeptide chains are cleaved from an insoluble protein particle, and a second, slower reaction in which more compacted core protein is digested.
The mechanochemistry of cytoskeletal force generation

In this communication, we propose a model to study the non-equilibrium process by which actin stress fibers develop force in contractile cells. The emphasis here is on the non-equilibrium thermodynamics, which is necessary to address the mechanics as well as the chemistry of dynamic cell contractility. In this setting, we are able to develop a framework that relates (a) the dynamics of force generation within the cell and (b) the cell's response to external stimuli to the chemical processes occurring within the cell, as well as to the mechanics of linkage between the stress fibers, focal adhesions and extracellular matrix.
A phase 2 study of the oral mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitor, everolimus, in patients with recurrent endometrial carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Dysregulation of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) and the gene that encodes the p110α catalytic subunit of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K), PIK3CA, are the most common mutations in endometrial carcinoma (EC). Loss of PTEN or activation of PIK3CA results in constitutive activation of AKT, which leads to up-regulation of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). Everolimus is an oral rapamycin analog that acts by selectively inhibiting mTOR. METHODS: A single-institution, open-labeled, phase 2 study of everolimus in patients with measurable recurrent EC who had failed at least 1 and no more than 2 prior chemotherapeutic regimens was performed. Everolimus was administered at a dose of 10 mg orally daily for 28-day cycles. Patients were treated until disease progression or toxicity. The primary endpoint was clinical benefit response (CBR), defined as a confirmed complete or partial response or prolonged stable disease (SD) (≥8 weeks). Inclusion was limited to patients with endometrioid histology. RESULTS: A total of 35 patients were enrolled (median age, 58 years; range, 38-81 years). A total of 81 cycles were administered. Twelve of 28 (43%) evaluable patients had not developed disease progression at the time of the first objective evaluation (8 weeks). All these patients had SD (median, 4.5 cycles; range, 2-10 cycles). Six of the 28 (21%) patients had a confirmed CBR at 20 weeks of therapy. Patients with CBR discontinued treatment because of toxicity (6 patients), disease progression (5 patients), and noncompliance (1 patient). Seven patients were unevaluable after receiving ≤1 cycle because of toxicity (5 patients) or noncompliance (2 patients). The most common drug-related toxicities were fatigue, anemia, pain, lymphopenia, and nausea. CONCLUSIONS: Everolimus demonstrated encouraging single-agent CBR in pretreated patients with recurrent endometrioid EC. Future studies will evaluate this agent in combination with hormonal and/or cytotoxic therapy. Cancer 2010. © 2010 American Cancer Society.
Identification of phosphoproteins coupled to initiation of motility in live epididymal mouse sperm.

A method for collecting live immotile cauda epididymal mouse sperm that initiate motility by dilution into an activation buffer is described. Sperm in collection buffer showed low percent motility (MOT) and population progression (PRG) that increased 10-fold and 9-fold, respectively, during the first 2 min after dilution into activation buffer. Western phosphoserine (pS), phosphothreonine (pT), and phosphotyrosine (pY) analysis revealed a 120 kDa protein that markedly increased in pT content during initiation of motility and may be related to FP130, the motility-coupled axonemal protein of sea urchin sperm. A prominent 82 kDa protein that was pS and pT-phosphorylated in immotile and motile sperm is likely the fibrous sheath component AKAP82 that is phosphorylated during spermatogenesis. Analysis of live human sperm also identified a prominent 120 kDa pT protein. Thus it appears that phosphorylation of FP130 and related 120 kDa proteins in mouse, and perhaps human sperm, represent common targets during motility initiation in sperm.
Cryogenic Moisture Uptake in Foam Insulation for Space Launch Vehicles

Rigid polyurethane foams and rigid polyisocyanurate foams (spray-on foam insulation), like those flown on Shuttle, Delta IV, and will be flown on Ares-I and Ares-V, can gain an extraordinary amount of water when under cryogenic conditions for several hours. These foams, when exposed for eight hours to launch pad environments on one side and cryogenic temperature on the other, increase their weight from 35 to 80 percent depending on the duration of weathering or aging. This effect translates into several thousand pounds of additional weight for space vehicles at lift-off. A new cryogenic moisture uptake apparatus was designed to determine the amount of water/ice taken into the specimen under actual-use propellant loading conditions. This experimental study included the measurement of the amount of moisture uptake within different foam materials. Results of testing using both aged specimens and weathered specimens are presented. To better understand cryogenic foam insulation performance, cryogenic moisture testing is shown to be essential. The implications for future launch vehicle thermal protection system design and flight performance are discussed.
Atomic size effect on the formation of ionized cluster beam epitaxy in Lennard-Jones systems

Abstract Ionized cluster beam deposition is studied by molecular dynamics simulations in which the atomic size of incident cluster atoms is different from the size of substrate atoms. Lennard-Jones interatomic potentials are used for the two-component system. The results provide the morphologies of the overlayers for various atomic sizes and are compared to simulation results of molecular beam epitaxy.
MINDFULNESS AND MINDLESSNESS IN EARLY CHAN

The Chan tradition is renowned as the "meditation" school of East Asia. Indeed, the Chinese term chan 禪 ( Jpn: zen) is an abbreviated transliteration of dhyna, the San- skrit term arguably closest to the modern English word "meditation." Scholars typi- cally date the emergence of this tradition to the early Tang dynasty (618-907), although Chan did not reach institutional maturity until the Song period (960-1279). In time, Chinese Chan spread throughout East Asia, giving birth to the various Zen, S¢n, and Thie`n lineages of Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, respectively. Today these tradi- tions continue to promote, at least in theory, meditation practices, and these have been the subject of considerable scholarly interest. 1 It may then come as a surprise to learn just how little is known about the medita- tion techniques associated with the "founders" of this tradition — the masters associ- ated with the nascent (or proto-) Chan lineages of the seventh and eighth centuries. It was during this fertile period — which, following scholarly convention, I will call "early Chan" — that the lineage myths, doctrinal innovations, and distinctive rhetori- cal voice of the Chan, Zen, S¢n, and Thie`n schools first emerged. Although hundreds of books and articles have appeared on the textual and doctrinal developments as- sociated with early Chan, relatively little has been written on the distinctive medita- tion practices, if any, of this movement. This essay emerged from an attempt to answer a seemingly straightforward ques- tion: what kinds of meditation techniques were promulgated in early Chan circles? The answer, it turned out, involved historical and philosophical forays into the notion of "mindfulness" — a style of meditation practice that has become popular among Buddhists (and non-Buddhists) around the globe. Accordingly, I will digress briefly to consider the roots of the modern mindfulness movement, and will suggest possible sociological parallels between the rise of the Buddhist mindfulness movement in the twentieth century and the emergence of Chan in the medieval period.
Isolation and characterization of monoclonal antibodies reactive with endothelial cells

Monoclonal antibodies were generated to antigens on cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Spleen cells from BALB/c mice, immunized with low passage cultures of human umbilical vein endothelial cells, were fused with the non-secretory myeloma line, P3 x 63Ag 8.653. Hybridoma supernatants were screened for the desired immunological reactivity using ELISA binding assays. Hybridomas secreting antibodies reacting with the immunizing endothelial cells, but not with peripheral blood mononuclear cells, were cloned by limiting dilution and three stable clones were chosen for study. Further testing by ELISA revealed that each antibody displayed a unique pattern of reactivity. One antibody, 14E5, reacted with the macrophage-like cell line DHL-2, cultured macrophages derived from peripheral blood monocytes, and macrophages derived from malignant effusions. The antibody failed to react with fibroblasts or bovine endothelial cells. The second antibody, 12C6, reacted with human and primate fibroblasts and endothelial cells derived from bovine arteries, but not with mature macrophages. The third clone, 10B9, reacted only with the immunizing endothelial cells and the immature-macrophage line U-937. All three antibodies failed to react with long-term human B or T lymphoblastoid cell lines, leukemic cell lines, or murine macrophage lines. None of the antibodies reacted with a battery of human epithelial derived cell lines or primary cultures of human epithelial cells. Indirect immunofluorescence assays revealed that the antigens were expressed on the cell surface. These antibodies should prove useful as differentiation markers of human endothelial cells and in studies of endothelial cell function.
Phase Diagrams and the Metathetic Reactions of Schiff Bases

Abstract La presence des reactions metathetiques altere le diagramme de phase des cristaux liquides a base(s) de Schiff et a composants multiples. Au lieu d'un point eutetique les diagrammes de phase montrent un minimum. Pour observer ce minimum, la metatheses doit conduire a des produits a structures homologues. Les bases de Schiff de la famille des p-n-alkoxybenzylaniline-p-n-alkylaniline forment des systemes homologues si, soit la chaine “alkyl,” soit la chaine “alkoxy” (mais pas tous les deux) differe par pas plus d'une unite de methylene.
The need for integrating behavioral care in a college health center.

Objective: A trend toward the integrated care model is evident in community primary medical care settings, where behavioral services are provided alongside medical services. The present study explored the potential need for implementing an integrated care model at a Midwest University Health Center by investigating whether the use of two behavioral questionnaires influenced providers' prescription of psychotropic medications and referrals for behavioral intervention. Design: Participants were randomly assigned to condition. The 109 participants in the experimental condition completed two behavioral questionnaires and the 91 control participants received treatment as usual. Main outcome measures: The behavioral questionnaires were the mental health-oriented Patient Health Questionnaire and the college-adjustment-oriented College Health Questionnaire. Postvisit, all participants rated their satisfaction with treatment; providers documented psychotropic medication prescriptions, and behavioral treatment referrals. Results: The experimental condition displayed significantly higher rates of discussion of behavioral problems and prescription of psychotropic medications but not referrals for behavioral treatment. Patients in the experimental condition and all providers indicated a desire to use the questionnaires in future visits. Conclusion: The findings suggest that increased awareness of behavioral problems influences treatment-decision making at a university health service, and therefore this setting would be fertile ground for implementation of an integrated care model.
On the mechanism of enzyme action. LI. Effects of naphthoquinones on carbohydrates → fat conversion in Fusarium lini Bolley

Abstract The effects of naphthoquinones on certain phases of growth and fat formation in Fusarium lini Bolley were studied. The addition of the effectors resulted in lowered mat weights, fat coefficients, sterol concentrations, and increases in the unsaturation of the fatty acids formed. Extension of this latter observation showed increased oleic and linoleic acid contents. Pyruvic acid accumulation increased with increasing amounts of added compounds, and was much greater than in the medium of the control, in some cases, as high as ten times the amount in the control. The conclusion arrived at is that quinones exercise two main functions in their participation in growth processes and fat formation in Fusarium lini Bolley.
Laterality differences in tachistoscopic word recognition in normal and delayed readers in elementary school

Abstract Children aged 7–11, with normal reading ability showed a right visual field preference for word recognition whether words were presented to each field singly or simultaneously. A heterogenous group of delayed readers showed similar findings including an enhanced right field preference for bilateral field presentations. A young group of delayed readers (aged 8–9) without known physical, intellectual, emotional or cultural deficits failed to show any field superiority, suggesting an effect of delayed cerebral maturation. Right field preference for word recognition did not correlate with handedness or lateral awareness. The results as discussed lend support to the hypothesis that hemispheric specialization for language processing develops with maturation of the nervous system.
Ultrathin gold island films for time-dependent temperature sensing

We report that an ultrathin gold island film deposited on non-wetted substrates, such as silica, is effective for time-dependent ex-situ temperature sensing with a fast time response from 5 to 180 s. The sensing mechanism is based on morphological self-organization of the ultrathin gold films upon thermal-induced dewetting. The shift of the characteristic surface plasmon absorption band can behave as effective “fingerprint” for temperature recording and allows a rapid readout. Time-dependent dewetting behaviors of the ultrathin films (1.0–5.0 nm) and their effects on surface plasmon resonance were investigated, opening up the possibility for developing nano film-based temperature sensors with controllable sensitivities and fast response.
TRANSPORT PROPERTIES OF CATIONIC DYES IN NAFION FILMS : UNUSUALLY HIGH DIFFUSION COEFFICIENTS AND AGGREGATION EFFECTS

Studies on the transport properties of the cationic dyes methylene blue, thionine, safranine and meldola blue in Nafion-coated electrodes are reported. Diffusion coefficients for the reduced and oxidized forms of the dyes are unusually high (up to 9 × 10−7 cm2s−1 at low dye concentrations in the film and show a dramatic decrease with increasing concentration. The results are interpreted in terms of recently proposed models for transport through Nafion as well as to the formation of dye dimers and/or higher aggregates in the Nafion film. This is demonstrated for methylene blue by spectrophotometric experiments where the dye was incorporated in Nafion films at different concentrations.
A new mixed excitation LPC vocoder

The authors introduce a novel synthesizer structure for an LPC (linear predictive coding) vocoder which increases the clarity and naturalness of the output speech. This synthesizer enhances the usual excitations of either periodic pulses or white noise by allowing pulse/noise mixtures and aperiodic pulses, and thus can generate a wider range of possible speech signals. The control algorithms for this new model replace the traditional binary voicing decision with more robust periodicity, peakiness, and power level detectors, without a significant increase in bit rate. As a result, the vocoder produces synthetic speech which is free of the usual LPC synthesis artifacts, even at bit rates below 2400 bps. >
The Chronically Reserpinized Rat as a Model for Cystic Fibrosis: Alterations in the Mucus-Secreting Sublingual Gland

Summary: The chronic administration of reserpine (0.5 mg/kg body weight, daily for 7 days) increases the density of adrenergic receptors in the sublingual gland of the rat. The Bmax values (in pmole/g tissue) were 5.8 ± 0.9 for [3H]-prazosin, 22 ± 4 for [3H]-clonidine and 11.9 ± 1.7 for [3H]-dihydroalpranolol. These radioligands are used, respectively, for the study of α1, α2 and β-adrenergic receptors and the Bmax values indicated are 181, 226, and 331%, respectively, of the corresponding values in control sublingual glands. The increase in the density of α1-adrenregic receptors was accompanied by the development of a clear secretory response to norepinephrine and phenylephrine, as judged by the ability to release K+ in vitro. This response, which was not observed in control sublingual glands, amounted to 21.9 ± 2.5 and 16.8 ± 3.1% of the tissue content of K+, respectively, for the two agonists. Neither the density of muscarinic cholinergic receptors (Bmax = 106% of control value) nor the extent of K+ release elicited by carbamylcholine was modified by the drug treatment, when compared to those observed in control glands. In vivo, the volume of sublingual saliva secreted in response to i.v. infusions of acetylcholine was significantly reduced in the treated animals to 45% of that secreted by control rats. This was accompanied by increases in salivary concentrations of protein-bound carbohydrates, with no change in the individual carbohydrate ratios. No significant changes in salivary electrolyte concentrations (Na+, K+, Ca++) were observed in sublingual saliva of reserpine-treated rats. In summary, reserpine administration alters adrenergic receptor density and sensitivity in the rat sublingual gland and modifies its secretory responses both in vitro and in vivo. The chronic administration of reserpine to rats causes widespread exocrine gland disturbances resembling those of cystic fibrosis. The results of this study show that the drug treatment also affects a mucus-secreting salivary gland and support the view that the reserpine-treated rat is a useful experimental model of the human disease.
Hemoglobin A1c Levels in a Diabetes Detection Program

Hemoglobin A1c concentration (HbA1cL) was compared to the plasma glucose responses at 1 and 2 h of an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in 63 subjects preselected because of postprandial hyperglycemia. HbA1c concentrations were correlated with 1- and 2-hour plasma glucose responses during the OGTT (r = 0.776 and 0.8602, respectively). The OGTT responses were diabetic-like in 21, indeterminate in 15, and normal in 27 subjects. HbA1ct values were within normal limits in all subjects who had a normal or indeterminate OGTT response and in 10 of 21 with a diabetic OGTT. The 2-h OGTT response among the 10 diabetic responders with normal HbA1c was 200 ± 31 mg/100 ml (mean ± SD), while that of the 11 diabetic responders with elevated HbAic was 352 ± 122 mg/100 ml. All subjects with an elevated HbA1c had a 2-h plasma glucose above 228 mg/100 ml, whereas only 7% of subjects with a normal HbA1c. had a 2-h glucose above this value. It is concluded that only about half of the patients currently diagnosed as having mi...
Admissibility spectra throughω 1

Jensen showed that any countable sequenceA ofA-admissibles is the initial part of the admissibility spectrum of a real. We considerω 1-long sequences, to be realized byB ⊆ω 1. The problem is similar to finding a club subset of a stationary set. We investigate when such aB can be forced and when one is already inV.
Yeast contains small nuclear RNAs encoded by single copy genes

Abstract We have identified a group of RNA molecules in Saccharomyces cerevisiae that appears to be equivalent to the U class of small nuclear RNAs previously described in other eucaryotes, resembling them in size, metabolic stability, 5′ cap structure, presence of modified bases, and nuclear localization. However, the yeast snRNAs differ from their counterparts in several potentially important ways. First, they are present in very low abundance, less than 200 copies per cell, as compared to 10 5 –10 6 for mammalian U1-U6. Second, there appear to be more species in yeast than in any cell type previously examined. Finally, we have cloned five yeast snRNA genes, and find that each is present in a single copy per haploid genome, whereas all previously characterized snRNAs are encoded by multiple (5 to 100) gene copies. The presence of single copy genes in yeast will greatly facilitate the genetic analysis of snRNA function.
Tangible weather channel

Tangible Weather Channel is an interactive sculptural apparatus that enables the participant to type in the remote location of a loved one and interprets its real-time weather information as a way of creating an emotional connection. Rather than employing traditional graphical representation, Tangible Weather Channel renders weather information into a multi-sensory experience by using natural elements such as water, air and sound. By materializing weather dynamics on intimate sites to mediate what occurs in another place, Tangible Weather Channel encourages the participant to establish links with his or her experiential memories of a specific place and to create a sense of closeness to a loved one via touch and contemplation. It investigates the experiential and performative aspects of information representation, and interrelationship among material, meaning, memory and perception. The system can be built upon to make more elaborate installations and this is the first iteration of a work which can be greatly expanded.
Optimization of the random multilayer structure to break the random-alloy limit of thermal conductivity

A low lattice thermal conductivity (κ) is desired for thermoelectrics, and a highly anisotropic κ is essential for applications such as magnetic layers for heat-assisted magnetic recording, where a high cross-plane (perpendicular to layer) κ is needed to ensure fast writing while a low in-plane κ is required to avoid interaction between adjacent bits of data. In this work, we conduct molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the κ of superlattice (SL), random multilayer (RML) and alloy, and reveal that RML can have 1–2 orders of magnitude higher anisotropy in κ than SL and alloy. We systematically explore how the κ of SL, RML, and alloy changes relative to each other for different bond strength, interface roughness, atomic mass, and structure size, which provides guidance for choosing materials and structural parameters to build RMLs with optimal performance for specific applications.
FIRST-PRINCIPLES APPROACH TO ALLOY PHASE STABILITY

Order-disorder phenomena and structural transformations in substitutional alloys are studied with a proper combination of quantum mechanics and statistical thermodynamics. The methodology is briefly presented and its predictive capabilities are illustrated for various alloys, including the bcc-based Ti-V, Ti-Fe and Cr-Fe systems, in terms of electronic structure, ground-state and short-range order diffuse scattering properties, and finally phase diagram results.
Morphologic alterations in small intestinal epithelium of lambs fed vitamin A-depleted diet

Ten crossbred wether lambs were fed once daily an oat diet that contained 3103 μg of retinyl palmitate (control) and were supplemented with 55,000 μg of retinyl palmitate orally once every two weeks. Twenty lambs were fed the same oat diet without retinyl palmitate supplements (A-depleted). After being fed the A-depleted diet for 28 weeks, 10 A-depleted lambs were repleted by feeding the control diet and oral supplementation of retinyl palmitate for eight weeks. The A-depleted lambs had serum vitamin A concentrations indicative of vitamin A deficiency, which was supported by very low liver vitamin A concentrations. Light microscopic and ultrastructural examinations revealed that alterations occurred at 50% and 75% of the small intestine length in A-depleted lambs only. Sawtooth configuration of the intestinal epithelium was a distinctive histologic feature. Consistent ultrastructural alterations were vesicular microvillar degeneration and disruption of the capillary endothelium. These results suggests that A-depleted diets have a detrimental effect on the small intestinal epithelium of lambs. Vitamin A repletion appears to minimize the detrimental effects.
Use of water-soluble polymers for the isolation and purification of human immunoglobulins.

Abstract By the use of fractional precipitation with high molecular weight nonionic polymers, immune globulins of marked homogeneity were isolated in high yield from either whole serum or commercial samples of immunoglobulins. The isolated fractions were characterized by immunochemical and ultracentrifugal analyses. When the pH was varied from 4.9 to 8.6 and the ionic strength from 0.1 to 2.0, little effect on the precipitation of the immunoglobulins was noted. The immunochemical studies indicated that this fractionation technique is not effective in separating the γ G , γ M , and γ A activities present in the γ-globulins isolated from whole serum or in commercial immunoglobulin preparations. Preliminary experiments indicate that this technique may be used for the isolation of other serum proteins, especially albumin and the α-globulins. In these instances, however, it is important that ionic strength and pH be controlled. The mechanism for the precipitation of serum proteins by PEG has not been established, but it is suggested that the precipitation involves a local dehydration and consequent change in the dielectric constant of the medium immediately surrounding the protein molecules. It would appear that the high-polymer precipitation technique may be an effective and simple method for the isolation of serum proteins with preservation of much of their native properties.
Environmental factors which control the sensitivity of a single crayfish interneuron

Abstract 1. 1. A technique is described for measuring sensitivity changes in a single crayfish interneuron with the use of chronically implanted macroelectrodes. 2. 2. The sensitivity of an interneuron, which responded to water-borne vibrations, was changed by (1) movement of the appendages, (2) struggling, (3) tail flips and (4) most types of visual stimuli. The sensitivity decreased rapidly and returned to its initial lever over a period of 5–10 min.
Elastin in Diseases

Previous morphologic observations have suggested abnormalities in the elastic fibers in a number of both inherited and acquired diseases. Recent progress made in understanding of the normal biology of elastin has allowed us to examine these diseases by biochemical means. In this review we are discussing the current status of the research on the elastin diseases with particular emphasis on clinical conditions affecting skin, as for example, cutis laxa, pseudoxanthoma elasticum, and the Buschke-Ollendorff syndrome. In addition, we present new data which appears to be the first demonstration of an elastin abnormality in the Marfan syndrome.
High average power 258nm generation in a nanosecond fiber MOPA system

Quasi-cw UV light sources are of interest for replacing frequency-doubled Ar-Ion lasers in several applications. Our target application in semiconductor inspection requires a narrow bandwidth cw or quasi-cw source at 258nm, which cannot be achieved by frequency converting the output of a (modelocked) Neodymium-based laser. We developed a fiber MOPA system which operates at a high repetition rate of 5MHz and generates 1ns long pulses. The system consists of a low power oscillator and four consecutive amplifier stages. which boost the average power to 40W at 1031nm. The IR output of the fiber system is frequency doubled and quadrupled using LBO and CLBO crystals for SHG and FHG, respectively. We achieved SHG conversion efficiencies of up to 82% and a UV power of up to 14W.
Imaging of brain tumors with diffusion-weighted and diffusion tensor MR imaging

The advent of diffusion-weighted MR imaging and diffusion tensor MR imaging has had little impact on brain tumor detection. Diffusion-weighted imaging has been effective in characterizing specific types of masses, particularly in distinguishing epidermoids from arachnoid cysts, and cystic tumors from intracerebral abscesses. Presurgical planning using tractography with diffusion tensor MR imaging, and perhaps the evaluation of tumor response to chemotherapy and radiation therapy with diffusion-weighted imaging, may become important applications in the near future.
“Weak” histocompatibility antigens generate functionally “strong” humoral immunity

The kinetics and complexity of the immune responses generated by weak histocompatibility antigens on transplants of normal tissues were investigated by analyzing (1) the survival times of test skin grafts on mice that had been initially immunized with skin, liver, or kidney implants, (2) the survival times of test skin grafts on mice that had received putatively immune sera or lymphocytes harvested from an allografted host, and (3) the cytotoxic potential of these cells and sera in vitro. The data indicate that despite chronic rejection, weak antigens rapidly immunize hosts, and that the immune response includes a major humoral component that can either accelerate graft rejection or prolong graft survival.
Stochastic stability of non-linear systems

Abstract The investigation of motion stability of a non-linear system can be simplified by focusing on a crucial variable, such as the amplitude or the total energy of the dominant mode. For a randomly excited system, this can be accomplished using the stochastic averaging or quasi-conservative averaging procedure. It is shown that the stochastic differential equation so obtained is generally associated with singular boundaries, in the sense that either the diffusion coefficient vanishes, or the drift coefficient becomes unbounded. The condition for a dynamical system to be asymptotically stable in probability can be determined from the behaviors of sample functions at or near the two boundaries. Criteria are established to characterize various sample behaviors near each type of singular boundary. A procedure is also developed to obtain the conditions for the asymptotic stability of the statistical moments. Examples are given for illustration.
Physics Based Control Oriented Modeling of Exhaust Gas Enthalpy for Engines Utilizing Variable Valve Actuation

Accurate calculation of the conditions (i.e., temperature, pressure, and enthalpy) of internal combustion engine cylinder exhaust is critical to the modeling of, and control design development for, gas exchange in modern and future diesel engine systems. In this paper, a physically-based model for cylinder exhaust temperature, pressure, and enthalpy for engines equipped with variable valve actuation is outlined and extensively validated against experimental data from 193 operating points. The model takes the known conditions when the intake valves close and steps through a polytropic compression process, constant pressure combustion process beginning at top-dead center, and a polytropic expansion process to achieve the desired results when the exhaust valves open. To incorporate the flexibility of modulating the intake valve opening and closing, the effective compression ratio is used to establish the conditions when the intake valves close. Experimental model validation, via a unique multi-cylinder diesel engine utilizing fully flexible intake valve actuation, shows that the model captures the influences of all of the model inputs: engine speed, charge flow, total fueling quantity, intake manifold pressure, and effective compression ratio.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
A neo-Weberian approach to religion in international politics

Current approaches for understanding and analyzing religion in international politics insufficiently incorporate the role of ethics in the practices of religious actors. Primordialist approaches essentialize religion, instrumental approaches consider it to be an epiphenomenon, and cosmopolitan approaches a priori downgrade alternative ethical constructs as insufficiently universalist. An approach to religion that begins with a constitutive understanding of religious belief and economic, social, and political practice as outlined in Weber’s Sociology of Religion, is more helpful. However, because Weber’s method insufficiently addresses ethical intentionality, the ‘neo-Weberian’ approach I advance here incorporates the concepts of ‘common good’ and ‘popular casuistry’ into socio-historical contextualization. This approach provides a way to understand and theorize how religious adherents connect religious guidelines to moral action that avoids the essentialization of religion which is often characteristic of other perspectives.
A re-evaluation of the effects of parent-molecule bending and overall rotation in triatomic direct photofragmentation. A more extensive study of ICN + hv → CN + I

The classical trajectory method has been used to investigate product energy partitionings in the 234–266 nm photolysis of ICN. The calculations, which include effects of ICN bending and overall rotation, consider ICN prior to photon absorption in the (0, 00, 0) ground vibrational state and with a rotational angular momentum appropriate to the most probable ICN rotational state (jmp = 32) at 300 K. Model potentials employed closely approximate those introduced by Morse, Freed and Band, and permit photodissociation to form both ground state I(2P32) and excited state I(2P12). Description of the ICN(0, 00, 0) vibrational phase-space distribution prior to photolysis is given either by the Wigner distribution function or by the classical (300 K) distribution function. Results obtained indicate that for the model potentials employed, photolysis to form I(2P32) produces relatively cold CN rotational distributions (for individual CN vibrational states) and that the fraction of available product energy entering CN rotation is insensitive to photolysis wavelength. For I(2P12) formation, CN rotational excitation increases markedly with decreasing photolysis wavelength (increasing photon energy). In contrast to the findings of an earlier preliminary study, present results indicate that use of a collinear, rotationless approximation is often successful in describing the CN vibrational state distribution following ICN photodissociation.
A nested dissection partitioning method for parallel sparse matrix-vector multiplication

We consider how to map sparse matrices across processes to reduce communication costs in parallel sparse matrix-vector multiplication, an ubiquitous kernel in high performance computing. Our main contributions are: (i) an exact graph model for communication with general (two-dimensional) matrix distribution, and (ii) a recursive partitioning algorithm based on nested dissection that approximately solves this model. We have implemented our algorithm using hypergraph partitioning software to enable a fair comparison with existing methods. We present partitioning results for sparse structurally symmetric matrices from several application areas. Our new method is competitive with the best 2D algorithm (fine-grain hypergraph model) in terms of communication volume, but requires fewer messages. The nested dissection method is almost as fast to compute as 1D methods and the communication volume is significantly reduced (up to 97%) compared to 1D layout. Further improvements in quality may be possible by small modifications to existing nested dissection ordering software.