cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
α1 Adrenoceptor mediated signal transduction in neonatal rat ventricular myocytes: effects of prolonged hypoxia and reoxygenation

Study objective — The aim was to study the effects of prolonged hypoxia and reoxygenation on α1 adrenoceptors and inositol phosphate accumulation in neonatal rat ventricular myocytes maintained in culture for 6-8 d. Design — Neonatal rat ventricular myocytes were subjected to 2 h hypoxia followed by 2 h reoxygenation. Cells were harvested at various times during hypoxia and after reoxygenation and measurements of α1 adrenoceptor density and affinity and determinations of basal and (–)-noradrenaline stimulated inositol phosphate accumulation were carried out. Experimental material —A neonatal rat ventricular myocyte preparation almost completely free of contaminating non-myocytes was used. Cells were grown in serum containing medium for 5 d before experiments were performed. α1 Adrenoceptors were measured using the radioligand 125I-HEAT and inositol phosphates were measured by anion exchange chromatography after incubation with 1 μM (–)-noradrenaline for 5 min. Measurements and main results — Hypoxia resulted in an increase in α1 adrenoceptor density which was reversed by reoxygenation. There were no changes in antagonist affinity. (–)-Noradrenaline stimulated inositol phosphate production was increased at 1 h hypoxia but declined to control levels after 2 h hypoxia, while basal levels increased significantly at this time. This pattern was similar for all inositol phosphates measured: inositol-1-phosphate, inositol bisphosphate, and the putative second messenger, inositol trisphosphate. Displacement by (–)-noradrenaline of 125I-HEAT binding was signficantly shifted to the right after 2 h hypoxia. Conclusions — Prolonged hypoxia in neonatal rat ventricular myocytes increases α1 adrenoceptor density without change in antagonist affinity. Inositol phosphates follow a biphasic response, increasing after 1 h and decreasing after 2 h hypoxia in response to (−)-noradrenaline stimulation. This second messenger response and the rightward shift of the (−)-noradrenaline displacement curve suggests that after 2 h hypoxia there is a decrease in agonist affinity for the α1 adrenoceptor consistent with uncoupling of the α1 adrenoceptor from its effector.
A Performance Comparison of TCP Protocols over Mobile Ad Hoc Wireless Networks

The performance of wireless ad hoc networks is impacted significantly by the way TCP reacts to lost packets. TCP was designed specifically for wired, reliable networks; thus, any packet loss is attributed to congestion in the network. This assumption does not hold in wireless networks as most packet loss is due to link failure. In our research we analyzed several implementations of TCP, including TCP Vegas, TCP with ELFN, and SACK TCP, by measuring throughput, retransmissions, and duplicate acknowledgements through simulation with ns-2. We discovered that TCP throughput is related to the number of hops in the path, and thus depends on the performance of the underlying routing protocol, which was DSR in our research.
Therapists' feelings toward patients and patient treatment and outcome

Abstract This study, with a specimen set of 288 patients and 13 psychiatric residents, explored the concomitance of therapists' liking and sympathy for their patients with the patients' socio-economic background, psychiatric diagnosis, ratings of pathology, prognosis, treatment, and outcome. Significant correlates of affect were initial and final prognoses, number of drugs administered, level of anxiety, ratings of personality and symptomatic change, and the experience of the therapists.
First Reports of Pseudorabies and Winter Ticks (Dermacentor albipictus) Associated with an Emerging Feral Swine (Sus scrofa) Population in New Hampshire

Abstract The expansion of feral swine (Sus scrofa) populations into new geographic regions is of concern not only due to increased range but also because they carry diseases and parasites that pose a threat to humans, livestock, and wildlife into new areas. Recently, emerging feral swine populations have been reported in the northeastern US and due to their adaptive nature will likely continue to spread. During 2009–2012, 49 feral swine were removed from three counties in New Hampshire. Of these, serum samples were submitted from 34 for disease surveillance testing. One of the feral swine was antibody-positive for pseudorabies virus (PRV) making it the first documented infection in feral swine in New Hampshire. Infestations of winter tick (Dermacentor albipictus) were also documented on two of the feral swine which had only been reported previously on feral swine in Texas. Feral swine may not only serve as an important host for an economically important commercial swine pathogen like PRV, but they could a...
An improved approach for the segmentation of starch granules in microscopic images

Starches are the main storage polysaccharides in plants and are distributed widely throughout plants including seeds, roots, tubers, leaves, stems and so on. Currently, microscopic observation is one of the most important ways to investigate and analyze the structure of starches. The position, shape, and size of the starch granules are the main measurements for quantitative analysis. In order to obtain these measurements, segmentation of starch granules from the background is very important. However, automatic segmentation of starch granules is still a challenging task because of the limitation of imaging condition and the complex scenarios of overlapping granules. We propose a novel method to segment starch granules in microscopic images. In the proposed method, we first separate starch granules from background using automatic thresholding and then roughly segment the image using watershed algorithm. In order to reduce the oversegmentation in watershed algorithm, we use the roundness of each segment, and analyze the gradient vector field to find the critical points so as to identify oversegments. After oversegments are found, we extract the features, such as the position and intensity of the oversegments, and use fuzzy c-means clustering to merge the oversegments to the objects with similar features. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can alleviate oversegmentation of watershed segmentation algorithm successfully. We present a new scheme for starch granules segmentation. The proposed scheme aims to alleviate the oversegmentation in watershed algorithm. We use the shape information and critical points of gradient vector flow (GVF) of starch granules to identify oversegments, and use fuzzy c-mean clustering based on prior knowledge to merge these oversegments to the objects. Experimental results on twenty microscopic starch images demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.
Decreased Short- and Long-term Swallowing Problems With Altered Radiotherapy Dosing Used in an Organ-Sparing Protocol for Advanced Pharyngeal Carcinoma

Objective To determine the effect of a reduced radiotherapy dose on short- and long-term swallowing problems after organ-sparing treatment. Design Prospective case series. Setting Tertiary care referral center. Patients A consecutive sample of 29 patients with advanced oropharyngeal or hypopharyngeal cancer who were treated with intravenous hydroxyurea and concomitant hyperfractionated, accelerated radiotherapy. Interventions Initial experience with 74.4 Gy of radiation demonstrated severe long-term swallowing problems, prompting a dose reduction to 60.0 Gy. Eighteen patients were followed up for this study in the 74.4-Gy group, while 11 were in the 60.0-Gy group. Main Outcome Measures Swallowing variables were assessed in both patient groups at 4 months and at 12 months following completion of therapy. Results Patient demographics and tumor characteristics were similar in each group, while significant differences were noted in the posttreatment clinical swallowing variables. Persistent severe odynophagia at 4 months (89% [16/18] vs 30% [3/10]) and at 12 months (64% [7/11] vs 11% [1/9]) was greater in the 74.4-Gy group (P= .002). Clinical signs of aspiration were also increased in the 74.4-Gy group, with 81% (13/16) vs 11% (1/9) at 4 months and 60% (6/10) vs 11% (1/9) at 12 months (P Conclusion Decreased radiation doses can maintain disease control and reduce treatment-related long-term swallowing complications.
Lineages, quantal cell cycles, and the generation of cell diversity.

Most theories of determination or differentiation assume that embryonic cells differ from mature cells. Embryonic cells are thought to have metastable control mechanisms. These labile controls are believed to become progressively more stabilized as the cells differentiate. Zygote, blastula, neural plate, limb bud, somite, or ‘stem’ cells are conceived of as undifferentiated, totipotent, or multipotential cells. As such, these cells supposedly have available for activation a larger repertoire of phenotypic programmes than their progeny. A necessary corollary to this view is that the activation of one particular phenotypic programme out of the many available is a function of instructive exogenous inducing molecules.
Overexpression of Calcium-Permeable Glutamate Receptors in Glioblastoma Derived Brain Tumor Initiating Cells

Glioblastoma multiforme is the most malignant type of primary brain tumor with a poor prognosis. These tumors consist of a heterogeneous population of malignant cells, including well-differentiated tumor cells and less differentiated cells with stem cell properties. These cancer stem cells, known as brain tumor initiating cells, likely contribute to glioma recurrence, as they are highly invasive, mobile, resistant to radiation and chemotherapy, and have the capacity to self-renew. Glioblastoma tumor cells release excitotoxic levels of glutamate, which may be a key process in the death of peritumoral neurons, formation of necrosis, local inflammation, and glioma-related seizures. Moreover, elevated glutamate levels in the tumor may act in paracrine and autocrine manner to activate glutamate receptors on glioblastoma tumor cells, resulting in proliferation and invasion. Using a previously described culturing condition that selectively promotes the growth of brain tumor initiating cells, which express the stem cell markers nestin and SOX-2, we characterize the expression of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isozolepropionic acid (AMPA)-type glutamate receptor subunits in brain tumor initiating cells derived from glioblastomas. Here we show for the first time that glioblastoma brain tumor initiating cells express high concentrations of functional calcium-permeable AMPA receptors, compared to the differentiated tumor cultures consisting of non-stem cells. Up-regulated calcium-permeable AMPA receptor expression was confirmed by immunoblotting, immunocytochemistry, and intracellular calcium imaging in response to specific agonists. Our findings raise the possibility that glutamate secretion in the GBM tumor microenvironment may stimulate brain tumor derived cancer stem cells.
Associations leading to formation of reversible networks and gels

Abstract One of the most important properties of associative polymers is their ability to form reversible networks and gels. The issue of whether or not the reversible gelation of associative polymers is a thermodynamic transition has not been settled yet. At the same time the understanding of different mechanisms governing the dynamics of associative polymers has been significantly advanced. © 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd.
Allozyme diversity in Pinus virginiana (Pinaceae): intraspecific and interspecific comparisons

Two of the four members of subsection Contortae of the genus Pinus occur in the southeastern United States: Pinus virginiana, which ranges throughout the southern and central Appalachian Mountains, and P. clausa, which is restricted to Florida and southern Alabama. We examined allozyme variation within P. virginiana and genetic relationships between this species and the two varieties of P. clausa (var. clausa and var. immuginata). P. virginiana maintains more genetic diversity at both the species (H es 5 0.139) and population (Hep 5 0.128) levels than the other three species in the subsection, which may reflect the combination of its widespread distribution and the absence of cone serotiny. Genetic differentiation among populations in P. virginiana was relatively low (GST 5 0.053), but significant contrasts in allozyme frequencies and genetic diversity were apparent between populations to the northwest vs. southeast of the Appalachian Mountains. These regional differences likely resulted initially from historical processes that occurred during the Pleistocene and early Holocene, and have been reinforced by modern selective pressures and barriers to gene flow. The mean genetic distance between populations of P. virginiana and P. clausa (D 5 0.071) was greater than that between populations of the two varieties of P. clausa (D 5 0.012), which suggests that the two varieties diverged at some point after the separation of the two species. Contortae is a morphologically uniform subsection of the genus Pinus (Critchfield, 1985) that includes four species: Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud. (lodgepole pine), P. banksiana Lamb. (jack pine), P. virginiana Mill. (Virginia pine), and P. clausa (Chapm. ex Engelm.) Vasey ex Sarg. (sand pine). Collectively the four species occur in a broad horseshoe, from Baja California up through the Pacific coastal states, across the western United States and Canada, and down the Appalachian Mountains into Florida. Environments presently occupied by the Contortae have undergone significant alteration since the early Quaternary, with glacial advances and associated climatic changes displacing taxa from their preglacial distributions, even in areas not directly affected by the ice. These historical events have profoundly influenced modern species ranges, taxonomic differentiation within the subsection (Wheeler, Guries, and O’Malley, 1983; Dancik and Yeh, 1983; Critchfield, 1985), and geographic partitioning of genetic variation within taxa (Yeh and Layton, 1
Waveguide broad-wall coupling for RF guns

A theoretical analysis of the waveguide broad-wall coupling of RF gun structures is presented. The analysis of this three dimensional problem yields an equivalent circuit whose elements are either directly calculated from the frequency and geometry of the gun, or are inferred from the two dimensional numerical solver URMEL. Good agreement between experiment and theory is seen in cold tests of our 17 GHz 1 1/2 -cell RF gun.
Remote sensing of complex permittivity by multipole resonances in RCS

Both complex and real multipole resonance frequencies in radar cross section (RCS) of a dielectric sphere are studied in some detail. Charts of real resonance frequencies and peak values are presented, which are then used to determine the complex permittivity of the material from the resonance measurement. The results show the possibility of highly accurate measurement at microwave frequencies. This method is unique in several respects and has many advantages.
The effect of perceived message choice on persuasion

We argue that giving individuals a sense of choice over the product information they receive (i.e., message choice) can have important subsequent effects when individuals are prompted to make inferences about the company. Even when the product information that is received is exactly the same, being given a sense of choice can produce more favorable company evaluations and in turn, more favorable product judgments. The first two experiments support these hypotheses using different means of prompting company inferences: when prompted, those who had been given message choice judged the company more favorably and were more willing to purchase from that company. The third experiment illustrates when message choice effects can backfire. Specifically, when the company itself highlights the provision of message choice in the ad, and consumers are prompted to make inferences about the company, message choice can backfire because it may be perceived as a persuasion tactic rather than a sincere attempt to inform. The results support company evaluations as the mediator of message choice effects and rule out alternate accounts based on dissonance, elaboration, reactance and self-labeling explanations. These findings are important in interactive media environments where marketers have opportunities and imperatives to give consumers a sense of choice in message selection.
TAp63 is a transcriptional target of NF‐κB

The p53 homologue p63 encodes multiple protein isoforms either with (TA) or without (DeltaN) the N-terminal transactivation domain. Accumulating evidence indicates that TAp63 plays an important role in various biological processes, including cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. However, how TAp63 is regulated remains largely unclear. In this study, we demonstrate that NF-kappaB induces TAp63 gene expression. The responsible elements for NF-kappaB-mediated TAp63 induction are located within the region from -784 to -296 bp in the TAp63 promoter, which contains two NF-kappaB binding sites. Ectopic expression of RelA stimulates TAp63 promoter-driven reporter activity and increases endogenous TAp63 mRNA levels. Inhibition of NF-kappaB by IkappaBalpha super-repressor or with a chemical inhibitor leads to down regulation of TAp63 mRNA expression and activity. In addition, mutations in the critical NF-kappaB-binding sites significantly abolish the effects of NF-kappaB on TAp63. Activation of NF-kappaB by TNFalpha enhances p50/RelA binding to the NF-kappaB binding sites. Furthermore, we show that an Sp1 site adjacent to the NF-kappaB sites plays a role in NF-kappaB-mediated upregulation of TAp63. Taken together, these data reveal that TAp63 is a transcriptional target of NF-kappaB, which may play a role in cell proliferation, differentiation and survival upon NF-kappaB activation by various stimuli.
A comparison of selected communication, social, situational, and individual factors associated with alcohol and other drugs

This study examined selected communication, social, situational, and individual factors associated with alcohol and other drugs. High school students’ perceptions of these substances were analyzed to compare alcohol and other drugs. The largest effects involved communication processes. For alcohol, students knew more strategies for resisting offers, had more ability to take the perspective of alcohol offerers, were more likely to receive simple offers, and were more likely to be able to resist them. Social, situational, and individual factor effects were more moderate, showing less perception of risk for alcohol, more pressure to use, more difficulty refusing, and greater, and more frequent consumption.
What Might We Mean By "Secure Code" and How Might We Teach What We Mean?

To add precision to the term "secure code," several concepts from the area of high assurance system development are introduced. These allow the cost, in terms of organizational damage, to information asset owners of the lack of various forms of protection to be explored. The notion of system assurance levels is introduced as a solution to the combinatorial explosion of damage classes. Our approach to ensuring that students know how to construct evaluatable components, and as a by-product, "secure code," is discussed.
A TRANSIENT, NUTRIENT‐BASED MODEL OF ARCTIC PLANT COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO CLIMATIC WARMING

We developed a nutrient-based, plant community and ecosystem model (ArcVeg) designed to simulate the transient effects of increased temperatures on the biomass and community composition of a variety of arctic ecosystems. The model is currently parameterized for upland, mesic ecosystems in high Arctic, low Arctic, treeline, and boreal forest climate zones. A unique feature of ArcVeg is that it incorporates up to 18 plant functional types including a variety of forbs, graminoids, shrubs, and nonvascular plants that are distinguished by a set of five parameters. Timing and rate of growth, as well as nutrient use, are particularly important in defining competitive interactions in the model and in explaining coexistence in complex communities. Simulations of climatic warming, which increase nitrogen mineralization and growing season length, suggest an increase in total biomass for high and low Arctic zones over 200 yr, and an increase in shrub biomass at the expense of other plant functional types. The initial community response to warming was a function of the initial dominance structure, whereas the long-term response reflected adaptations of plant functional types to the new environment. Therefore, long-term responses (decades to centuries) differed in both direc- tion and magnitude from initial responses. In addition, warming resulted in the formation of novel, stable plant communities after 200 simulation years that were not typical of current zonal vegetation types in the Arctic of northwestern North America.
Distributed protocol for communications among underwater vechiles

Underwater surveying by swarms of autonomous underwater vehicles presents problems in communication among the robots. These problems involve the bandwidth, power consumption, timing, processing power, and other issues. This paper presents a novel approach to communicate and coordinate effectively among underwater vehicles to accomplish this task successfully. The proposed approach solves issues by reducing the number of hops to conserve power, while reducing computation time and bandwidth, effectively utilizing resources to reduce the load on each node. Finally, the simulation results are presented, in order to prove that the proposed approach improves efficiency and effectiveness in communicating among underwater vehicles.
Dissolution Behavior and Fission Product Release from Irradiated Thoria-Urania Fuel in Groundwater at 90°C

The dissolution behavior and fission-product release from irradiated thoria-urania fuel was studied by immersing fuel samples in J-13 well water at 90°C. The samples are from the Shippingport Light Water Breeder Reactor and consist of binary solid solutions of (U,Th)O2 with UO2 contents varying from 2.0 to 5.2 Wt.%. The post-irradiation U isotopic composition of the samples used in our experiments is: 87.3% 233U, 10.4% 234U, 1.8% 235U, and <0.5% 238U, 236U, 232U. Burn up values for the samples range from 22.3 to 40.9 megawatt-days per kg-metal. Our tests were performed on polished disks and on crushed and sieved samples in stainless-steel reaction vessels with air-filled head-space. After 196 days of reaction, samples showed no evidence for corrosion at the micrometer scale. Concentration ranges (μgL-1) of key radionuclides in filtered (∼5 nm pore size) leachates were: 0.1 – 15 90Sr, 0.9 – 7.0 99Tc, 0.1 – 35.2 137Cs,<0.2 – 0.8 233U, <0.1 – 0.7 232Th. Concentrations of 237Np, 239Pu, 240Pu and 241Am were all <0.2 μgL-1. The relatively high concentrations of the fission products 90Sr and 137Cs occur early during leaching and decrease for later samplings. Matrix dissolution rates for the irradiated thoria-urania samples range from ∼3x10-3 to <3×10-5 mg m-2day-1 and are at least two orders of magnitude lower than those measured for UO2 spent fuels under similar experimental conditions.
Identification of an evx1-dependent joint-formation pathway during FIN regeneration.

Joints are essential for skeletal flexibly and form, yet the process underlying joint morphogenesis is poorly understood. Zebrafish caudal fins are comprised of numerous segmented bony fin rays, where growth occurs by the sequential addition of new segments and new joints. Here, we evaluate joint gene expression during fin regeneration. First, we identify three genes that influence joint formation, evx1, dlx5a, and mmp9. We place these genes in a common molecular pathway by evaluating both their expression patterns along the distal-proximal axis (i.e. where the youngest tissue is always the most distal), and by evaluating changes in gene expression following gene knockdown. Prior studies from our lab indicate that the gap junction protein Cx43 suppresses joint formation. Remarkably, changes in Cx43 activity alter the expression of joint markers. For example, the reduced levels of Cx43 in the sof b123 mutant causes short fin ray segments/premature joints. We also find that the expression of evx1-dlx5a-mmp9 is shifted distally in sof b123, consistent with premature expression of these genes. In contrast, increased Cx43 in the alf dty86 mutant leads to stochastic joint failure and stochastic loss of evx1 expression. Indeed, reducing the level of Cx43 in alf dty86 rescues both the evx1 expression and joint formation. These results suggest that Cx43 influences the pattern of joint formation by influencing the timing of evx1 expression.
Microfluidic HPLC-Chip devices with integral channels containing methylstyrenic-based monolithic media

Polyimide HPLC-Chip devices containing poly(methylstyrene-bis-p-vinylphenyl)ethane (MS/BVPE) stationary phase within the device channels and with wall attachment were prepared by thermally initiated free radical polymerization. The microfluidic devices were coupled to both UV and MS detectors. The potential of the MS/BVPE monolith as an alternative separation media within chip devices was investigated by side-by-side comparisons to particulate media within commercial devices. The chromatographic behavior of this stationary phase was comparable to particulate media for separations of proteins as the average peak width at half-height was equal (6.2 s) for a separation within 8 min under gradient elution conditions. The ability to control the porosity characteristics of the MS/BVPE monolith with changes in polymerization time also extended its utility into small analyte (< 500 Da) applications, although more optimization is needed to match conventional RP media for these applications. The good mechanical stability of the MS/BVPE monolith within the microdevices enabled excellent run-to-run repeatability (%RSD retention time (⪇ 0.16) and chip-to-chip reproducibility (%RSD retention time (1.4). The use of this material within enrichment channels also shows its potential value in more complex work flows.
Mean flow generated by circulation on a β-plane: An analogy with the moving flame experiment

A number of laboratory experiments are described in which water with a curved upper surface in a rotating basin exhibited prograde flows when stirred by stirrers which put no azimuthal torque upon the fluid. It is suggested that the flows were generated by Reynolds stresses of the circulating fluid, and that this is a general consequence of circulations on a ?-plane. This is reinforced by an analogy between the equations of the moving flame experiment and the equations of flow on a ?-plane. Implications upon atmospheric and oceanic flows are mentioned. DOI: 10.1111/j.2153-3490.1975.tb01686.x
Robustness and precision of parametric and distribution-free tolerance limits for two lifetime distributions

Exact parametric tolerance limits or confidence limits on reliability are not available for the gamma distribution, and it is difficult to determine the approximate methods which are accurate for all parameter values. The precision lost by using the distribution-free tolerance-limit method based on the first order statistic, compared to using an approximate gamma tolerance limit method, is studied. The robustness of the approximate gamma tolerance limit when the true model is Weibull and the robustness of a Weibull tolerance limit when the true model is gamma are also studied. The efficiency of the distribution-free method ranges from about 0.60 to 0.90 in the range of values studied. Neither the Weibull nor the gamma method is very robust for the alternate model, but the Weibull tolerance limit is conservative for the gamma model for parameter values commonly encountered in life-testing problems and may be preferable to the distribution-free method in this case. >
Utility of reflexive semen cultures for detecting bacterial infections in patients with infertility and leukocytospermia

This study evaluated the benefit of reflexive semen cultures in peroxidase-positive samples drawn from 17,142 consecutive samples analyzed, in which 4.7% (807/17,142) had leukocytospermia and 12.7% of those (103/807) grew significant bacterial colonies on culture. Considering the potential ramifications of the use of samples with bacteriospermia, we conclude that reflexive culture results are cost-effective and prudent.
Starting the clock: defining nonoperative management of blunt splenic injury by time.

KEYWORDS: Trauma; Nonoperative management; Splenectomy; Spleen; Solid organ injury; Time Abstract BACKGROUND: There is no consensus when the designation of nonoperative management (NOM) for splenic injury (BSI) should start. We evaluated NOM success rates based on different time points after admission. METHODS: The National Trauma Data Bank was evaluated for BSI for the year 2008. Observations were evaluated by facility, the time to splenectomy, and the volume of BSI admissions. RESULTS: Of 15,732 BSIs identified, the overall splenectomy salvage rate was 81%. After the 5th hour, the NOM success rate was 95%. Multivariable analysis revealed that higher BSI grades, level 2 centers and community hospitals, and age R55 were associated with failed NOM. CONCLUSIONS: The grade of injury is an important predictor for failure of NOM. If a 5% failure rate is to be considered a benchmark, then the 5-hour time point after admission should be used for the calculation of NOM success rates.
Modeling Weather-Related Failures of Overhead Distribution Lines

Summary form only given. Weather is one of the major factors affecting the reliability of power distribution systems. An effective method to model weather's impact on overhead distribution lines' failure rates will enable utilities to compare their systems' reliabilities under different weather conditions. This will allow them to make the right decisions to obtain the best operation and maintenance plan to reduce impacts of weather on reliabilities. Two methods to model overhead distribution lines' failure rates are presented in this paper. The first is based on a Poisson regression model, and it captures the counting nature of failure events on overhead distribution lines. The second is a Bayesian network model, which uses conditional probabilities of failures given different weather states. Both methods are used to predict the yearly weather-related failure events on overhead lines. This is followed by a Monte Carlo analysis to determine prediction bounds. The results obtained by these models are compared to evaluate their salient features.
Constraints on global maps of phase velocity from surface‐wave amplitudes

SUMMARY We demonstrate that global maps of phase velocity can be obtained from a data set of fundamental-mode Rayleigh wave amplitudes in the period range 150–250 s. Although the maps are constructed without any information about the wave phase, they are highly correlated with phase-velocity maps derived entirely from measurements of phase delay. We consider there to be four factors that contribute to the observed amplitude anomalies: focusing by lateral velocity heterogeneity along the ray path, variable attenuation along the ray path, uncertainty in the strength of excitation and uncertainty in the response at the station. In our first analysis, we desensitize the data to attenuation, source uncertainty and receiver uncertainty by combining the amplitudes of four consecutive surface-wave arrivals. The resulting quantity is inverted for even-degree spherical-harmonic maps of phase velocity, which explain >50 per cent of the variance in an independent data set of great-circle phase-delay measurements. In our second analysis, the amplitude measurements are inverted simultaneously for global maps of phase velocity expanded to degree 20, global degree-12 maps of attenuation and source and receiver correction factors. The velocity maps obtained from the simultaneous inversion exhibit strong agreement with published phase-velocity maps. The success of our analysis, which is based on linearized ray theory, suggests that the underlying assumptions about the smoothness of heterogeneity in the mantle may be reasonable, and illustrates the utility of amplitude data for constraining elastic heterogeneity in the Earth.
Genetic relationships among Mycobacterium leprae, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and candidate leprosy vaccine strains determined by DNA hybridization: identification of an M. leprae-specific repetitive sequence.

Comparative DNA hybridization studies of genomic DNA indicated that, while different isolates of armadillo-derived Mycobacterium leprae have a high degree of homology, binding of M. leprae genomic DNA to DNA of other species of mycobacteria or to corynebacteria was low, establishing that M. leprae is only remotely genetically related to any of the species examined. Several candidate leprosy vaccine mycobacterial strains were similarly found to have little genetic similarity to M. leprae. In contrast, the DNAs of the slow-growing mycobacteria M. tuberculosis, M. africanum, M. bovis, and M. microti were found to be very closely related. In the course of these studies, an M. leprae-specific repetitive sequence, greater than 15-fold per genome equivalent, was identified that might be useful for diagnostic and epidemiological studies. Images
On the Optimality of Clickthrough Fees in Online Markets

We study optimal fee setting decisions by a monopoly online platform connecting advertisers with potential buyers in two environments: a simple model that captures stylised features of advertising on search engines, social networks and advertisement-supported email; and a richer model that is more
Ability of structurally diverse natural products and synthetic chemicals to induce gene expression mediated by estrogen receptors from various species

The ability of 14 structurally diverse estrogenic compounds to induce reporter gene expression mediated by estrogen receptors (ERs) from different species was examined. MCF-7 cells were transiently transfected with a Gal4-regulated luciferase reporter gene (17m5-G-Luc) and Gal4-ER chimeric receptors containing the D, E and F domains of the human (Gal4-hERdef), mouse (Gal4-mERdef), mouse (Gal4-mERdef), chicken (Gal4-cERdef), green anole (Gal4-aERdef), Xenopus (Gal4-xERdef) or rainbow trout ERs (Gal4-rtERdef). The efficacy of 17 -estradiol (E2) in inducing reporter gene expression was similar among the different constructs overall, with EC50 values ranging from 0.05 to 0.7 nM. However, Gal4-rtERdef had an EC50 value at 37 ◦ C of 28 nM, though at 20 ◦ Ca n EC 50 value of 1 nM was observed. Despite a similar response to E2 treatment among the ERs, many differences were observed in the magnitude of the response to other structurally diverse chemicals. For example, coumestrol induced Gal4-mERdef- and Gal4-aERdef-mediated reporter gene expression 164- and 8-fold greater, respectively, than mediated with the other Gal4-ERs. As well, in contrast to results with other Gal4-ERs,-zearalenol consistently induced Gal4-rtERdef-mediated reporter gene activity at lower concentrations than did E2. Overall, the results demonstrate that selected estrogenic compounds exhibit a differential ability to induce reporter gene activity mediated by ERs from different vertebrate species. These data also highlight the importance of incubation temperature when examining rtER-mediated activity.
ANALYSIS OF THE SYSTEMATIC RELATIONSHIPS AMONG TICKS OF THE GENERA RHIPICEPHALUS AND BOOPHILUS (ACARI: IXODIDAE) BASED ON MITOCHONDRIAL 12S RIBOSOMAL DNA GENE SEQUENCES AND MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERS

A portion of mitochondrial 12S rDNA sequences (337–355 base pairs) and 63 morphological characters of 36 hard-tick species belonging to 7 genera were analyzed to determine the phylogenetic relationships among groups and species of Rhipicephalus and between the genera Rhipicephalus and Boophilus. Molecular and morphological data sets were first examined separately. The molecular data were analyzed by maximum parsimony (MP), maximum likelihood, and neighbor-joining distance methods; the morphological data were analyzed by MP. After their level of congruence was evaluated by a partition homogeneity test, all characters were combined and analyzed by MP. The branches of the tree obtained by combining the data sets were better resolved than those of the trees inferred from the separate analyses. Boophilus is monophyletic and arose within Rhipicephalus. Boophilus species clustered with species of the Rhipicephalus evertsi group. Most of the clustering within Rhipicephalus was, however, consistent with previous c...
The Electromagnetic Field in Quantized Space-Time

Relativistically invariant equations of motion for the electromagnetic field are set up in quantized space-time. These equations are solved by a process similar to a Fourier analysis.
Sparse phonon modes of a limit-periodic structure

Limit-periodic structures are well ordered but nonperiodic, and hence have nontrivial vibrational modes. We study a ball and spring model with a limit-periodic pattern of spring stiffnesses and identify a set of extended modes with arbitrarily low participation ratios, a situation that appears to be unique to limit-periodic systems. The balls that oscillate with large amplitude in these modes live on periodic nets with arbitrarily large lattice constants. By studying periodic approximants to the limit-periodic structure, we present numerical evidence for the existence of such modes, and we give a heuristic explanation of their structure.
Measurement of macrocyclic trichothecene in floor dust of water-damaged buildings using gas chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry-dust matrix effects

Gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) was used to detect fungal secondary metabolites. Detection of verrucarol, the hydrolysis product of Stachybotrys chartarum macrocyclic trichothecene (MCT), was confounded by matrix effects associated with heterogeneous indoor environmental samples. In this study, we examined the role of dust matrix effects associated with GC-MS/MS to better quantify verrucarol in dust as a measure of total MCT. The efficiency of the internal standard (ISTD, 1,12-dodecanediol), and application of a matrix-matched standard correction method in measuring MCT in floor dust of water-damaged buildings was additionally examined. Compared to verrucarol, ISTD had substantially higher matrix effects in the dust extracts. The results of the ISTD evaluation showed that without ISTD adjustment, there was a 280% ion enhancement in the dust extracts compared to neat solvent. The recovery of verrucarol was 94% when the matrix-matched standard curve without the ISTD was used. Using traditional calibration curves with ISTD adjustment, none of the 21 dust samples collected from water damaged buildings were detectable. In contrast, when the matrix-matched calibration curves without ISTD adjustment were used, 38% of samples were detectable. The study results suggest that floor dust of water-damaged buildings may contain MCT. However, the measured levels of MCT in dust using the GC-MS/MS method could be significantly under- or overestimated, depending on the matrix effects, the inappropriate ISTD, or combination of the two. Our study further shows that the routine application of matrix-matched calibration may prove useful in obtaining accurate measurements of MCT in dust derived from damp indoor environments, while no isotopically labeled verrucarol is available.
Spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) from the Insect Limestone (Bembridge Marls, Late Eocene) of the Isle of Wight, southern England

The arachnids from the late Eocene Insect Limestone of the Isle of Wight are reviewed. Only spiders (Araneae) have been recorded, of which several dozen are known, mostly juveniles. Nearly all are araneomorphs; the putative mygalomorph Eoatypus woodwardii McCook, 1888 was removed from that infraorder by Selden (2001), but new specimens, yet to be described, could belong in this group. Among the adult specimens, which are thus identifiable to family level, most belong to the argyronetid water-spider Vectaraneus yulei Selden, 2001; some resemble araneids, and a small number can be referred to other families. New morphological information on the holotype of Vectaraneus is presented, and three other specimens are described in more detail here, in Segestriidae, Araneidae and Salticidae. Segestriids are nocturnal sedentary hunters living in tubular retreats in rock or bark crevices. Araneids are the archetypal weavers of orb webs. Salticids are the familiar jumping spiders; the one described here is an ant mimic. Their presence suggests a drier habitat was present some- where in the source environment for the fossil biota, and they were probably inhabitants of the raised hammocks suggested for the Insect Bed palaeoenvironment.
A study of timing in a manual and a spoken language: American sign language and English

A comparative analysis of the time variables in the production of speech and sign reveals that signers modify their global physical rate primarily by altering the time they spend articulating, whereas speakers do so by changing the time they spend pausing. When signers increase or decrease their pause time, however little they do so, they alter the number and the length of the pauses equally, whereas speakers primarily alter the number of pauses and leave their pause durations relatively constant. An analysis of the durations of signs reveals that signs are longer at the end of sentences than within sentences and that the first occurrence of a sign is longer than the second when syntactic location is controlled (both these findings have already been reported for spoken language). The inherent duration of a sign can be accounted for almost totally by the movement characteristic; handshape, location, and number of hands in a sign are of little importance. Finally, signers retain their regular “quiet-breathing” respiratory pattern across signing rates and inhale at locations independent of syntactic importance. In this they are quite unlike speakers, who breathe at syntactic breaks.
Trichlormethiazide and oral phosphate therapy in patients with absorptive hypercalciuria.

AbstractIn a short-term prospective study 36 patients with absorptive hypercalciuria were initially treated with diet alone followed by either trichlormethiazide (4mg. per day) or oral neutral phosphate (1,500mg. of elemental phosphorus per day) for 6 weeks. Study subjects were then crossed over to the second drug for an additional 6 weeks.In response to dietary treatment urinary calcium decreased from a pre-treatment value of 346 ± 63mg. per 24 hours to 308 ± 90mg. per 24 hours. Oral phosphate therapy caused a further decrease in urinary calcium to 218 ± 85mg. per 24 hours, an over-all decrease of 37 per cent. Parathyroid function did not change significantly with phosphate administration but circulating levels of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D decreased by 22 per cent (73 ± 12 to 57 ± 16pg. per ml., p less than 0.001). Pre-treatment renal phosphate threshold did not correlate with the response to oral phosphate administration. Trichlormethiazide treatment led to a 34 per cent decrease in urinary calcium with a...
Morphodynamics of the West-Central Florida barrier system: the delicate balance between wave- and tide-domination

The barrier island system along the west-central Florida peninsula is probably the most diverse and complicated reach of barrier islands in the world. All types and sizes of barrier islands and inlets persist along a low-energy coast with mean annual wave heights of <30 cm at the shore and tidal ranges <1 m. This mixed-energy barrier coast is bounded at each end by a tide-dominated coast with spring ranges <1.5 m. The general coastal morphology reflects the dominant coastal process in a fashion comparable to the German Bight on the North Sea and the Georgia Bight on the Atlantic coast of the United States.
Gang Affiliation as a Measure of Social Structure in Social Structure Social Learning Theory

The current study seeks to evaluate the use of gang membership as a measure of social structure in social structure social learning theory. The Evaluation of Gang Resistance Education and Training Program in the United States, 1995–1999 dataset was used with structural equation modeling to test if inclusion of gang membership as a social structure variable was a better predictor of deviance than social learning elements alone. The analysis suggests that gang membership will have an impact on the mechanisms of social learning, supporting the use of gang membership as a measure of social structure.
Use of electron-beam irradiation to study performance degradation of bipolar transistors after reverse-bias stress

Degradation of the electrical characteristics of a bipolar transistor results from reverse-biasing the emitter-base junction and from irradiation with energetic electrons. The authors compare the degradation of advanced, self-aligned bipolar transistors by these two means. DC and AC characteristics of single devices are compared, showing that, apart from minor differences, the effects are similar. By cross-calibrating, it is therefore possible to use electron-beam irradiation to simulate emitter-base reverse bias stress in circuits in order to estimate its effect on circuit performance. Electron beam irradiation can be used as a diagnostic tool to determine the effect of stress on the performance of integrated circuits, in which the transistors are inaccessible to electrical test. The significance of electron beam damage on circuits has been demonstrated with a simple ECL (emitter coupled logic) case. >
Numerical Model of Streaming DEP for Stem Cell Sorting

Neural stem cells are of special interest due to their potential in neurogenesis to treat spinal cord injuries and other nervous disorders. Flow cytometry, a common technique used for cell sorting, is limited due to the lack of antigens and labels that are specific enough to stem cells of interest. Dielectrophoresis (DEP) is a label-free separation technique that has been recently demonstrated for the enrichment of neural stem/progenitor cells. Here we use numerical simulation to investigate the use of streaming DEP for the continuous sorting of neural stem/progenitor cells. Streaming DEP refers to the focusing of cells into streams by equilibrating the dielectrophoresis and drag forces acting on them. The width of the stream should be maximized to increase throughput while the separation between streams must be widened to increase efficiency during retrieval. The aim is to understand how device geometry and experimental variables affect the throughput and efficiency of continuous sorting of SC27 stem cells, a neurogenic progenitor, from SC23 cells, an astrogenic progenitor. We define efficiency as the ratio between the number of SC27 cells over total number of cells retrieved in the streams, and throughput as the number of SC27 cells retrieved in the streams compared to their total number introduced to the device. The use of cylindrical electrodes as tall as the channel yields streams featuring >98% of SC27 cells and width up to 80 µm when using a flow rate of 10 µL/min and sample cell concentration up to 10⁵ cells/mL.