cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sex-based differences and aging in tactile function loss in persons with type 2 diabetes

Background Recent evidence of significant sex-based differences in the presentation of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (DM) and its complications has been found in humans, which may contribute to sex-based differences in reduced functionality and quality of life. Some functionality, such as tactile function of the hands, has significant direct impact on quality of life. The purpose of the current study was to explore the impact of DM and sex on tactile function, with consideration of variability in health state measures. Research design and methods A case-control single time point observational study from 2012-2020 in an ethnically diverse population-based community setting. The sample consists of 132 adult individuals: 70 independent community dwelling persons with DM (PwDM) and 62 age- and sex-matched controls (42 males and 90 females in total). The Semmes-Weinstein monofilament test was used to evaluate tactile sensation of the hands. Results Tactile sensation thresholds were adversely impacted by sex, age, degree of handedness, high A1c, diagnosis of DM, and neuropathy. Overall, strongly right-handed older adult males with poorly controlled DM and neuropathy possessed the poorest tactile discrimination thresholds. When self-identified minority status was included in a secondary analysis, DM diagnosis was no longer significant; negative impacts of age, neuropathy, degree of handedness, and high A1c remained significant. Conclusions The data indicate significant impacts of male sex, age, degree of handedness, self-identified minority status, and metabolic health on the development of poor tactile sensation. This combination of modifiable and non-modifiable factors are important considerations in the monitoring and treatment of DM complications.
A Comparison of Serological Markers and Exosome Content between Lung Transplant Recipients with BOS and RAS

Purpose Chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD) is a common cause of death among lung transplant recipients (LTxRs). Two phenotypes of CLAD have been recognized; bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS) and restrictive allograft syndrome (RAS), each with distinct clinical presentations, radiologic features, and prognosis. We have demonstrated increased levels of circulating exosomes containing lung self-antigens (SAgs), transcription factors, co-stimulatory molecules, and microRNA (miRNA) in LTxRs with BOS. Goal is to determine immunologic and molecular differences between LTxRs with BOS and RAS. Methods Antibodies (Abs) to SAgs (Kα1Tubulin, Collagen V) were identified using ELISA from LTxRs with BOS (n=12) and RAS (n=8). Donor specific antibodies (DSA) to HLA-DR, DQ were quantified using Luminex single antigen. Exosomes were isolated using ultracentrifugation, purified by 0.2µ filtration followed by size determination by Nanosight. Exosome contents were determined by western blot with Abs to SAgs, NFkB, 20S proteasome, HLA-DQ, DR, and poly immunoglobulin receptor protein (PIGR). Nanostring was done to identify miRNAs. Results Three of 12 (25.0%) LTxRs with BOS, 1 of 8 (12.5%) with RAS developed Abs against SAgs (p=0.0027). All 8 (100%) LTxRs with RAS, 5 (41.7%) with BOS developed DSA to HLA-DR, DQ (p Conclusion This study demonstrates that Abs to SAgs, DSA to HLA DR, DQ, and exosome content differs between LTxRs with BOS and RAS. These differences suggest that humoral immunity may play a prominent role in the pathogenesis of RAS compared to BOS.
Child and adolescent perceptions of oral health over the life course

To elicit perceptions of oral health in children and adolescents as an initial step in the development of oral health item banks for the Patient-Reported Oral Health Outcomes Measurement Information System project. We conducted focus groups with ethnically, socioeconomically, and geographically diverse youth (8–12, 13–17 years) to identify perceptions of oral health status. We performed content analysis, including a thematic and narrative analysis, to identify important themes. We identified three unique themes that the youth associated with their oral health status: (1) understanding the value of maintaining good oral health over the life course, with respect to longevity and quality of life in the adult years; (2) positive association between maintaining good oral health and interpersonal relationships at school, and dating, for older youth; and (3) knowledge of the benefits of orthodontic treatment to appearance and positive self-image, while holding a strong view as to the discomfort associated with braces. The results provide valuable information about core domains for the oral health item banks to be developed and generated content for new items to be developed and evaluated with cognitive interviews and in a field test.
The Humanitarians: The ICRC and international humanitarian law

War is so awful that it makes us cynical about the possibility of restraint, and then it is so much worse that it makes us indignant at the absence of restraint. Our cynicism testifies to the defectiveness of the war convention, and our indignation to its reality and strength. Walzer, Just and Unjust Wars, 46 No century [compared to the twentieth century] has had better norms and worse realities. Rieff: A Bed for the Night , 70 Apparently the phrase “international humanitarian law” (IHL) was first used by the ICRC in 1953. In this chapter I will first show that there remains a lack of clarity about the precise scope of IHL. Then I will show that there is often confusion about its relation to international human rights law (HRL). Finally I will show that in relation to IHL the ICRC exercises three roles by whatever name: helping to develop the law, helping to disseminate the principles and rules of the law, and helping to apply the law. The central point of this chapter is not to provide a legal commentary on the specifics of IHL, but rather to discuss its practical relevance to victims of conflicts through the efforts of the ICRC. A theme running throughout this chapter is that one can overemphasize IHL as a technical legal subject compared to humanitarian diplomacy.
Expanding the Computational Model of Graded Cueing: Robots Encouraging Health Behavior Change

These late breaking results present a study extending the implementation of a computational model of graded cueing feedback from our previous work (Greczek et al., 2014). The model was extended to a nutrition education task with two sub-goals. Graded cueing helped 92.3% of participants to reach the correct answer, providing further evidence for the potential of the graded cueing model to promote user autonomy in health behavior tasks.
Parental oxytocin responses during skin-to-skin contact in pre-term infants

article Objective: Maternal skin-to-skin contact (M-SSC) has been found to reduce adverse consequences of prema- turity, however, its neurobiological mechanisms have been unknown. The purpose of the study was to examine oxytocin mechanism in modulating parental stress and anxiety during M-SSC and P-SSC (paternal SSC) with their pre-term infants. Methods: Twenty-eight stable pre-term infants and their parents (triads) were recruited in a 2-day cross-over study and 26 mothers and 19 fathers completed the study protocol. Each triad was randomly assigned to one of the two sequences: M-SSC was conducted on day-1 and P-SSC on day-2; and P-SSC on day-1 and M-SSC on day-2. Parents' saliva samples for oxytocin and cortisol assays and visual analog anxiety levels were collected pre-SSC, 30-min during-SSC, and 30-min post-SSC. Results: Both maternal and paternal oxytocin levels were significantly increased during-SSC from baseline. Maternal oxytocin dropped post-M-SSC, but paternal oxytocin continued to be maintained at a higher level during post-P-SSC. Both maternal and paternal cortisol levels significantly decreased during-SSC from baseline. Maternal cortisol continuously dropped post-M-SSC, but paternal cortisol increased post-P-SSC. Both mothers' and fathers' anxiety levels decreased during-SSC from baseline, and then increased post-SSC. Mother- father dyads also showed correlated or synchronized stress and anxiety responses in the NICU. Conclusion: M-SSC and P-SSC activated the oxytocin release and reduced stress and anxiety responses in mothers and fathers of pre-term infants. Practice implications: SSC plays a positive role in early post-partum period and patterns of maternal and paternal bio-behavioral responses to SSC with pre-term infants might be different.
Ultrasonically guided percutaneous aspiration biopsy of the pancreas

One hundred and twenty-six patients had fine needle aspiration of the pancreas under ultrasonic guidance. The aspirates of 66 patients contained malignant cells. Two of 38 patients who had negative cytology subsequently were diagnosed at laparotomy as having carcinoma of the pancreas. The results of this study show that the sensitivity of the cytologic method was 97%, and the specificity and predictive value were 100%.
Radar and telegraph each developed by pulsing

Radar's development during the 1930s, as sketched by R. D. Hill (“Origins of Radar,” Eos, July 3, 1990) strongly paralleled that of the electric telegraph a century earlier. For each, basic feasibility (signal reflection for radar, current transmission for telegraph) had been demonstrated many years earlier in various parts of Europe and America, but practical application awaited pulsing. For radar, this required emission and timing of returns (echos) of pulses shorter than their travel times; telegraphy required the development of an alphabet based on groups of pulses of two or more differing durations. After Bishop Watson's transmission of a Leyden jar discharge through 2 miles of wire near London in 1747, a multiwire scheme for signaling letters was published in 1774 but was never implemented (A. P. Deschenel, Popular Science Monthly, August 1873). At Geneva in 1784, Lesage used 24 wires, one for each letter; by 1837, Professor Steinheil in Vienna sent letters formed “by different combinations of two elementary signals.”
Critical Thinking Exercises in the Classroom are Helpful but not Sufficient for Improving Critical Thinking Test Scores

A Review of: Wallace, E. D., & Jefferson, R. N. (2013). Developing Critical Thinking Skills For Information Seeking Success. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 19(3): 246-255. Objective – To determine whether a series of workbook exercises contributed to improved critical thinking test scores. Design – Post-test design with a quasi-experimental control group. Setting – Military college in the United States of America. Subjects – 76 undergraduates enrolled in a required freshman orientation seminar. Methods – Approximately one third of the enrolled participants (n=26) were provided with a copy of the book Critical Thinking: Building the Basics. A subset of exercises was completed independently over three to four class sessions during the first three weeks of the semester. The control group (n=50) did not receive any critical skills thinking instruction. The iCritical Thinking Skills Test, an online exam provided by Educational Testing Service (ETS), was administered to both groups during a class session. The exam consists of 7 types of tasks: define, access, evaluate, manage, integrate, create, communicate, evaluated using 14 tasks based on real-world scenarios. Main Results – Approximately 20% (15) of all students passed the test, 9 from the intervention group and 6 from the control group. Significant differences were detected between the groups on the Integrate and Manage subtests. The range for individual subtests and total scores was wide. Scores for two of the seven subtests, Create and Evaluate, showed the greatest amount of variability; the Communicate subtest scores had the least. Conclusion – Limitations of the study include potential motivational differences between the groups. Students who completed workbook exercises appeared to be motivated to do well on the test, while those who did not seemed less motivated. The effectiveness of exercises in developing critical thinking skills in this study will persuade administrators to consider using such exercises in the classroom.
Strategic Venturing in the Global Medical Device Industry: Corporate Venture Capital and Entrepreneurship

Corporate venture capitalists (CVC) invest in entrepreneurial startups for reasons including financial and strategic goals. In high-tech industries CVCs may use direct equity investment to stimulate innovation that is directly relevant to the investing firms' innovation efforts. At the same time, CVC is also used for strategic goals which may include blocking competitors or gaining a window on competitor's technology. In this paper, I analyze corporate venture capital (CVC) investment and innovation performance by startup companies in relation to the investing firm. I provide project level evidence that CVC investment is associated with the production of knowledge by the startup that is directly relevant to the investing firm. This paper makes significant contributions to our understanding of project level dynamics and the innovation returns to CVC with respect to the level and staging of CVC investment. I find evidence of a U-shaped relationship between total CVC investment in a project and innovation performance and of diminishing innovation returns to later rounds of CVC investment. Furthermore, in a given industry, CVCs share a common pool of potential startups in which to invest. Empirically, the likelihood of production of relevant knowledge by the startup is greater if the founder is an entrepreneurial clinician as opposed to a non-clinician background. At the same time, the likelihood of production of relevant knowledge for the investing CVC is diminished if multiple CVCs (competitive CVCs) coinvest in the same startup firm. The suppression of innovation performance is pronounced in higher rounds of investment.
The Maqsad of Hifz al-Din: Is Liberal Religious Freedom Sufficient for the Shari'ah?

This article examines some treatments of the meaning and extension of the Islamic legal purpose (maqsad) of protecting religion (hifz al-din), with an eye towards Islamic legal theoristsâ€™ explicit or implicit encounter with modern liberal and secularist understandings of what it means to â€˜protect religionâ€™. The theory of the â€˜purposes of divine lawâ€™ (maqasid al-shari'ah), which the author refers to as a form of â€˜Complex Purposivismâ€™ in legal interpretation and argumentation, is often viewed as a panacea for modern reformers and pragmatists who want to establish Islamic legitimacy for new substantive moral, legal and political commitments in new socio-political conditions, because it allows Muslims to ask not whether a given norm has been expressly endorsed within the texts, but whether it is compatible with the deeper goods and interests which God wants to protect through the Law.
CXCR4 function requires membrane cholesterol: implications for HIV infection.

HIV requires cholesterol and lipid rafts on target cell membranes for infection. To elucidate a possible mechanism, we determined that cholesterol extraction by hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (BCD) inhibits stromal cell-derived factor 1α (SDF-1α) binding to CXCR4 on T cell lines and PBMCs. Intracellular calcium responses to SDF-1α, as well as receptor internalization, were impaired in treated T cells. Loss in ligand binding is likely due to conformational changes in CXCR4 and not increased sensitivity to internalization. SDF-1α binding and calcium responses were effectively restored by reloading cholesterol. Immunofluorescence microscopy revealed that SDF-1α binding occurred in lipid raft microdomains that contained GM1. CXCR4 surface expression, on the other hand, only partially colocalized with GM1. HIV-1 IIIB infection assays confirmed the functional loss of CXCR4 in the cell lines tested, Sup-T1 and CEM-NKR-CCR5. These data suggest that cholesterol is essential for CXCR4 conformation and function and that lipid rafts may play a regulatory role in SDF-1α signaling.
Synthesis and incorporation of [6,7]-selenatryptophan into dihydrofolate reductase.

Abstract Until recently, the only selenium containing amino acid which could be used to completely substitute for a wild type amino acid was selenomethionine (SeMet). In the last decade the preparation of SeMet containing proteins has proved to be valuable tools in the determination of three-dimensional structure by multiwavelength anomalous diffraction (MAD) techniques. The potential utility of a selenium containing tryptophan analog, β-seleno[3,2-b]pyrrolyl- l -alanine ([4,5]selenatryptophan), has recently been demonstrated in the literature. This finding shows promise for the bioincorporation of its positional isomer, β-selenolo[2,3-b]pyrrolyl- l -alanine ([6,7]selenatryptophan), thereby adding to the essential arsenal of selenium-containing amino acids for use in the characterization of proteins. The synthesis of [6,7]selenatryptophan by enzymatic biotransformation with tryptophan synthase from selenolo[2,3-b]pyrrole was carried out as well as its characterization by NMR spectroscopy and thin layer chromatography. Selenatryptophyl dihydrofolate reductase ([6,7]SeTrp-DHFR) was then synthesized in vivo, purified, and found to exhibit no perturbations to enzymatic activity.
The Writing of Anglo and Hispanic Elementary School Students in Bilingual, Submersion, and Regular Programs

The purpose of this descriptive cross-sectional study was to describe and rate the writing of Hispanic students in a bilingual program and to compare their writing with that of Hispanic students in a submersion program and with native English speakers in a regular program. Five dependent variables were investigated: rhetorical effectiveness, overall quality of writing, productivity, syntactic maturity, and error frequency. Analyses of variance for both grade and program revealed that the sixth graders had significantly higher scores than did the fourth graders on all of the dependent variables except for error frequency. The students in the regular program had significantly higher scores on rhetorical effectiveness and overall quality of writing than did the submersion program students and the bilingual program students; they also made significantly fewer errors than did the bilingual program students. The bilingual program students had significantly higher scores on syntactic maturity and productivity than did the submersion program students. Results suggest that students who learn to write in their L1 before learning to write in their L2 will write just as effectively in their L2 as those students who learn to write only in their L2.
A fluorometric screening assay for drug efflux transporter activity in the blood-brain barrier

Purpose. To examine the capability of a fluorometric assay to identify and characterize the drug efflux interactions of a broad spectrum of drug agents in an in vitro model of the blood-brain barrier (BBB).
GENERAL TREATMENT OF THE THERMOGRAVIMETRY OF POLYMERS

Theoretical equations are developed for typical decompositions of polymers including those in which the volatilization does not follow a simple "reaction order" and those made up of a composite of several reactions of differing energies of activation. The effects of order, activation energy, heating rate and temperature dependence upon the calculated thermograms is illustrated. The literature on thermogravimetric kinetics is critically reviewed and coalesced into a logical and coherent development stressing the interrelation of methods and employing a consistent system of notation. As a result, a number of improved methods and new methods for the analysis of kinetic data applicable to the complex systems mentioned above are developed. It is concluded that methods involving a variable rate of heating or involving several thermogravimetric traces at different rates of heating are capable of establishing the uniqueness of kinetic parameters. A new method of determining initial parameters from rate-conversion data is developed. A novel concept is employed of programming reaction variables (in this case, the heating rate) in a manner which greatly simplifies the mathematics of the kinetic system and which shows promise of a wide range of applicability in the area of rate processes.
Training health-care practitioners in screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment using standardized approaches and expert coaching

Skill acquisition and maintaining fidelity to a practice requires ongoing monitoring and performance feedback in addition to initial training. This paper describes an evaluation of a training and coaching model employed for the Texas and Georgia screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) programs, funded by the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Both programs were both implemented in large community medical settings that included hospital emergency departments, trauma and inpatient services, and primary care. We describe the specialist training processes with an emphasis on our web- and phone-based expert coaching model and standardized training programs. Specialists who received the multifaceted training package demonstrated significant improvements in SBIRT skills during a half-day standardized patient activity and over 12 months of coaching as measured by the Motivational Interviewing Treatment Integrity (MITI) coding system and coaching evaluations. Videotaped recordings of four standardized patient training sessions for 20 randomly selected trainees were coded by an expert external coder using the MITI-3 coding system. Trainees made significant improvements in evocation (p = 0.004), collaboration (p = 0.003), direction (p = 0.030), empathy (p = 0.029), spirit (p = 0.008), and in percentage of MI-adherent speech (p = 0.035). Further, 148 quarterly reports were examined for those trainees who received at least 12 months of coaching. Thirty-seven trainees (17 from Texas and 20 from Georgia) were included in these analyses. Trainee global ratings on spirit (Texas, p = 0.026; Georgia, p = 0.002) and empathy (Texas, p = 0.012; Georgia, p = 0.001) improved during the four quarters. In addition, MI-behavior ratings for both sites showed improvement at some point over the four quarters analyzed (p < 0.05). This study adds evidence to previous findings indicating that progressive feedback and coaching enhance SBIRT skill development.
Patterning 0.05µm gate on pHEMT

The pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor (pHEMT) was designed with 0.05@mm gate. The reduced size of the gate provides immediate advantage for high frequency, better linearity and higher breakdown voltage. The design of extremely small gate, below resolution of conventional optical lithography, was achieved by developing a process of directional wet etching enhanced by ultrasonic agitation (UA). Starting with regular optical window we applied selective etching along the prescribed direction. To provide constant rate and to avoid stagnation of etching in a narrow space the capillar forces were destroyed by UA.
Solid-State 2H NMR Shows Equivalence of Dehydration and Osmotic Pressures in Lipid Membrane Deformation

Lipid bilayers represent a fascinating class of biomaterials whose properties are altered by changes in pressure or temperature. Functions of cellular membranes can be affected by nonspecific lipid-protein interactions that depend on bilayer material properties. Here we address the changes in lipid bilayer structure induced by external pressure. Solid-state 2H NMR spectroscopy of phospholipid bilayers under osmotic stress allows structural fluctuations and deformation of membranes to be investigated. We highlight the results from NMR experiments utilizing pressure-based force techniques that control membrane structure and tension. Our 2H NMR results using both dehydration pressure (low water activity) and osmotic pressure (poly(ethylene glycol) as osmolyte) show that the segmental order parameters (SCD) of DMPC approach very large values of ≈0.35 in the liquid-crystalline state. The two stresses are thermodynamically equivalent, because the change in chemical potential when transferring water from the interlamellar space to the bulk water phase corresponds to the induced pressure. This theoretical equivalence is experimentally revealed by considering the solid-state 2H NMR spectrometer as a virtual osmometer. Moreover, we extend this approach to include the correspondence between osmotic pressure and hydrostatic pressure. Our results establish the magnitude of the pressures that lead to significant bilayer deformation including changes in area per lipid and volumetric bilayer thickness. We find that appreciable bilayer structural changes occur with osmotic pressures in the range of 10−100 atm or lower. This research demonstrates the applicability of solid-state 2H NMR spectroscopy together with bilayer stress techniques for investigating the mechanism of pressure sensitivity of membrane proteins.
Strength training and light physical activity reduces the apnea-hypopnea index in institutionalized older adults.

Abstract Objectives To determine the effect of 7 weeks of resistance training and walking on the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) in institutionalized older adults compared with a usual care control group. Design Secondary analysis of data from a randomized controlled trial. Setting Ten nursing and 3 assisted living facilities in Arkansas. Participants Institutionalized older adults. Interventions Exercise group (EG) performed supervised resistance training to arm and hip extensors on 3 days a week with additional 2 days a week of light walking. Usual care group (UC) participated in the usual activities provided within their living facility. Measurements Two nights of polysomnography before and following 7-week intervention. Results Adjusted means in the EG group showed a decrease in AHI from 20.2 (SD ±1.3) at baseline to 16.7 (SD ±0.9) at 7 weeks. Absolute strength gains were not associated with improved AHI. Conclusion Supervised resistance training and light walking reduced the severity of obstructive sleep apnea in institutionalized older adults.
“Spontaneous” transfer of stimulus control from tact to mand contingencies☆

An important issue in teaching verbal behavior to persons with severe handicaps is the transfer of stimulus control from tact (e.g., naming) to mand (e.g., requesting) relationships. Previous research has shown that topographies taught as tacts frequently fail to appear as mands unless transfer between these two response classes is explicitly programmed. Procedures promoting this transfer would provide a necessary instructional tool. Transfer from tact to mand contingencies was investigated in two adults with severe mental retardation. Correct pointing responses to line drawing symbols depicting the utensils required to access previously requested food (beverage) items were assessed prior to and following tact intervention. Mands for two of three utensils emerged following tact intervention. The results suggest transfer from tact variables to the conditioned establishing operation may be facilitated by the prior development of a minimal mand repertoire.
Aspects of simple, non-cooperative relaxations

Abstract The lower limit for the activation energies of internal motions in polymers is defined by a relationship corresponding to an activation entropy of zero. We associate this characteristic with non-cooperative motions of molecular segments. While these motions are localized in space, they are very diffuse in frequency or time. Examples are side-group relaxations and certain motions within the crystalline regions. Local-mode γ relaxations of the main chain appear to involve a spectrum of motions in which the limiting low-temperature, high-frequency component has an activation entropy close to zero. Glass transitions characteristically have very large apparent activation energies and entropies. This is attributed to a spectrum of motions that is sampled differently at different temperatures. At temperatures well above Tg, the apparent activation energy again approaches a value corresponding to a zero activation entropy. For a wide variety of relaxations, the distribution of relaxation times corresponds to a distribution of activation enthalpies having a width at half-maximum of 5–6 kcal mol−1.
An Update on the Vaccinia Virus Genome

This communication is intended as a single source update of the initial report (Goebel et al., 1990a,b) which described the complete DNA sequence of the vaccinia virus genome. We have integrated published information as well as unpublished data. Our understanding of the complexities of the genetic functional organization of poxviruses is increasing at a remarkable rate. While some previously unknown identities have since been elucidated, the fact that the majority of vaccinia-encoded gene products still lack assigned functions lends excitement to the immediate future of poxvirus research.
Eddy current distributions in cylindrical samples: effect on equivalent sample resistance (medical NMR application)

Presents a general technique for the determination of eddy current distributions within an irregularly shaped conducting sample in the uniform field of an NMR RF coil. Also presented is a general expression for the sample-induced coil resistance. The technique is applied specifically to a conducting cylindrical solid. Unlike previous descriptions of cylindrical samples in solenoidal coils where the induction is parallel to the axis of the cylinder and eddy current streamlines are circular, the author treats the case where the induction is perpendicular to the cylindrical axis and where consequently eddy current streamlines take on an irregular shape.
examining holland's person—environment fit, workplace aggression, interpersonal conflict, and job satisfaction

The researchers examined the impact of person–environment (P-E) fit, as defined by Holland's (1997) theory, on interpersonal conflict at work (ICAW) and workplace aggression. In addition, previous relationships found in the job satisfaction literature were examined in the present sample of 244 United States employees. Internet-based surveys were completed by 244 participants in the current research. Results of hierarchical multiple regression and correlational analyses demonstrated a negative relationship between P-E fit and ICAW. Replication of previous relationships was found between job satisfaction, P-E fit, and workplace aggression. Implications for P-E fit and workplace aggression research are discussed.
One-to-oneness of the solution map in retarded functional differential equations

Abstract The present paper is concerned with the one-to-oneness property of the solution map of retarded functional differential equations defined on a compact manifold. It is proved that any retarded functional differential equation can be uniformly approximated on a compact set containing the attractor by equations whose solution maps are one-to-one on the corresponding atttractors. Sufficient conditions for the one-to-oneness of the solution map are found. Analogous results on the whole phase space are obtained for differential difference equations with a finite number of delays.
High-field transport in wide-band-gap semiconductors

The drift velocity in high electric fields is calculated for several wide-band-gap semiconductors. Saturated velocities above ${10}^{7}$ cm/sec are found for several and SiC, diamond, and GaN hold promise for values above 2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{7}$ cm/sec.
Learning of aggression as a function of presence of a human model, response intensity, and target of the response

Abstract An aggressive modeling display in past research with children has had three distinct components: (a) the performing model, (b) the high-intensity response produced by the model, and (c) the human surrogate which served as a target for the response. The presence of these components was manipulated with video displays in order to examine the contribution of each component to the observational learning of surrogate aggression by 112 five-year-olds. The model served predominantly an information transmission function. However, the greatest amount of learning occurred, and imitative responses were most intense, when the displayed events were performed by a model in a vigorous fashion. Other results suggest that the high magnitude theory of aggression may be applicable for the observational learning of aggression and that the features of the surrogate may have been irrelevant in some experiments which have studied surrogate aggression in children.
Soil quality changes under continuous cropping for seventeen seasons of an alfisol in western Nigeria

Tillage and soil management effects on soil physical and chemical qualities were monitored for eight years from 1979 through 1987 in a long-term experiment involving 17 consecutive crops of maize. Effects of no-till and plow-till methods of seedbed preparation were compared at two levels of residue management (residue removed versus residue returned) and two levels of fertilizer application (without fertilizer versus recommended fertilizer). Soil chemical quality was better for no-till compared with plow-till methods. Mean soil chemical properties of 0–5 cm depth for no-till and plow-till treatments respectively were 18·6 g kg−1 versus 12·2 g kg−1 for soil organic carbon content, 1·9 g kg−1 versus 1·1 g kg−1 for total soil nitrogen, 0·14 units yr−1 versus 0·18 units yr−1 rate of decline in soil pH, 63·1 mg kg−1 versus 31·8 mg kg−1 for Bray-P, and 6·0 cmol kg−1 versus 2·3 cmol kg−1 for Ca+2. Soil chemical quality consistently declined, although the rate of decline differed among tillage and fertilizer treatments. There were also differences in soil physical quality. Soil bulk density increased with cultivation duration in both tillage methods, and use of furadan in no-till plots drastically increased soil bulk density. Infiltration rate and soil moisture retention at all suctions was consistently more for no-till than plow-till treatments. Decline in soil quality with cultivation was reflected in decrease in crop yields. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Japanese conversation, discourse structure, and ellipsis∗

Ellipsis is a common occurrence in Japanese conversation despite the fact that there are no overt clues to the identity of ellipted elements. Both the ellipsis of noun phrases and main verbals is examined. It is shown that an analysis which utilizes a version of frame theory can account for when ellipsis has occurred; recognition of paragraph structures defines the identity of ellipted elements. All sentences require a main verbal; if one is not present, an appropriate verbal is selected from those available in immediate consciousness. All verbals have specific noun phrases which must be identified; if any of these are not present they are also selected from available candidates in immediate consciousness. In addition to structural information about paragraphs, the accretion of information throughout a conversation and the notion of scripts is necessary to identify the referents of ellipted noun phrases.
Identification and Immunogenicity of Group A Streptococcus Culture Supernatant Proteins

Extracellular proteins made by group A Streptococcus (GAS) play critical roles in the pathogenesis of human infections caused by this bacterium. Although many extracellular GAS proteins have been identified and characterized, there has been no systematic analysis of culture supernatant proteins. Proteins present in the culture supernatant of strains of serotype M1 (MGAS 5005) and M3 (MGAS 315) mutants lacking production of the major extracellular cysteine protease were separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and identified by amino-terminal amino acid sequencing and interrogation of available databases, including a serotype M1 genome sequence. In the aggregate, amino-terminal amino acid sequence data for 66 protein spots were generated, 53 unique sequences were obtained, and 44 distinct proteins were identified. Sixteen of the 44 proteins had apparent secretion signal sequences and 27 proteins did not. Eight of the 16 proteins with apparent secretion signal sequences have not been previously described for GAS. Antibodies against most of the apparently secreted proteins were present in sera from mice infected subcutaneously with MGAS 5005 or MGAS 315. Humans with documented GAS infections (pharyngitis, acute rheumatic fever, and severe invasive disease) also had serum antibodies reacting with many of the apparently secreted proteins, indicating that they were synthesized in the course of GAS-human interaction. The genes encoding four of the eight previously undescribed and apparently secreted culture supernatant proteins were cloned, and the proteins were overexpressed in Escherichia coli. Western blot analysis with these recombinant proteins and sera from GAS-infected mice and humans confirmed the immunogenicity of these proteins. Taken together, the data provide new information about the molecular aspects of GAS-host interactions.
Bone mass and exercise

The overall role of exercise as an integral part of osteoporosis prevention and treatment remains unclear and controversial. Comparatively well accepted are the facts that disuse results in bone mass loss, that sedentary individuals in general have less bone mass than exercising individuals (from cross-sectional study data), that exercise may produce a modest increase in bone mass (from longitudinal study data), and that exercise cannot compensate for estrogen loss. However, numerous questions regarding exercise and the skeleton remain to be answered, such as how the apparent osteogenic effect of exercise is mediated, what is the relationship of exercise in reducing fractures, how to reconcile the discrepancy between exercise-induced bone mass gain (lesser) and disuse bone loss (greater). At present, it seems reasonable to recommend avoidance of a sedentary existence, and participation in a moderate exercise program, for individuals seeking to prevent or treat osteoporosis, recognizing that much of the benefit may be in the resultant increase in muscle strength, in coordination, and in flexibility associated with such a program.
Local protein instability predictive of helper T-cell epitopes

Abstract Although seletivity at the levels of peptide binding to major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II and recognition by T cells may partially account for immunodominance patterns, it is clear that differential antigen processing also exerts a strong effect. Here, Sam Landry correlates immunodominant epitopes with nearby structurally unstable segments, as identified by hydrogen-deuterium exchange nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and suggests that epitope presentation is directed by preferential proteolytic cleavage at the unstable sites.
Reflections on grades

The APL function REVERSE and a certain defined function generate a group of order four on permutation vectors. The group is extended with the GRADE-UP function to produce GRADE-DOWN and the order eight group known as D4, the fourth dihedral group. The symmetries of a square are generated by REVERSE and TRANSPOSE on square matrices. The resulting isomorphism maps GRADE-DOWN and its inverse to the ninety degree rotations. APL's powerful formalism easily reveals the isomorphisms between the domains of algebra and geometry.
Designing Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Primer Multiplexes in the Forensic Laboratory

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a common experiment in upper-level undergraduate biochemistry, molecular biology, and forensic laboratory courses as reagents and thermocyclers have become more affordable for institutions. Typically, instructors design PCR primers to amplify the region of interest and the students prepare their samples for PCR and analyze the results. However, primers can also be designed in undergraduate laboratories with students at this level. In a course that focuses on forensic DNA molecular biology for forensic chemistry students, students have used the Applied Biosystems AmpFlSTR SGM Plus kit that amplifies DNA at eleven regions in a single test tube. It is important for forensic chemistry students to be able to design and analyze a single set of primers and, more importantly, create multiplexes of primers. This enables students to more fully understand how the primers and the kits that are routinely employed by the crime laboratories function. Creating a single set of primer...
The use of multifrequency and polarimetric SIR-C/X-SAR data in geologic studies of Bir Safsaf, Egypt

Abstract Bir Safsaf, within the hyperarid “core” of the Sahara in the Western Desert of Egypt, was recognized following the SIR-A and SIR-B missions in the 1980s as one of the key localities in northeast Africa, where penetration of dry sand by radar signals delineates previously unknown, sand-buried paleodrainage valleys (“radar-rivers”) of middle Tertiary to Quaternary age. The Bir Safsaf area was targeted as a focal point for further research in sand penetration and geologic mapping using the multifrequency and polarimetric SIR-C/X-SAR sensors. Analysis of the SIR-C/X-SAR data from Bir Safsaf provides important new information on the roles of multiple SAR frequency and polarimetry in portraying specific types of geologic units, materials, and structures mostly hidden from view on the ground and on Landsat TM images by a relatively thin, but extensive blanket of blow sand. Basement rock units (granitoids and gneisses) and the fractures associated with them at Bir Safsaf are shown here for the first time to be clearly delineated using C- and L-band SAR images. The detectability of most geologic features is dependent primarily on radar frequency, as shown for wind erosion patterns in bedrock at X-band (3 cm wavelength), and for geologic units and sand and clay-filled fractures in weathered crystalline basement rocks at C-band (6 cm) and L-band (24 cm). By contrast, Quaternary paleodrainage channels are detectable at all three radar frequencies owing, among other things, to an usually thin cover of blow sand. The SIR-C/X-SAR data investigated to date enable us to make specific recommendations about the utility of certain radar sensor configurations for geologic and paleoenvironmental reconnaissance in desert regions.
Non-protein amino acid-insect interactions-II. Effects of canaline-urea cycle amino acids on growth and development of the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta L. (Sphingidae).

Abstract 1. Larvae of the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta L. (Sphingidae), were fed diets containing 0·5, 1, 2·5, 5 and 10 mM levels of the canaline-urea cycle amino acids. 2. Consumption of the canaline-urea cycle amino acids caused increased larval mortality, decreased larval growth, prevention of pupation, pupal and adult malformations and reduction in ovarial tissue mass. 3. For a given concentration, the relative toxicity of the canaline-urea cycle amino acids was: l -canavanine > l -canaline > O-ureido- l -homoserine > l -canavaninosuccinate. 4. Diets supplemented with 10 mM levels of the ornithine-urea cycle amino acids had no effect on insect growth and development.
Minimization of polypeptide energy XII. The methods of partial energies and cubic subdivision

Abstract Two techniques are described for finding relatively low minima of the energy of a polypeptide. The first, the method of “partial energies,” in which successively more components of the total energy function are included in the minimization procedure, is applicable primarily to empirical conformational energy calculations. The second, the method of “cubic subdivision,” in which high energy regions are eliminated from the space to be searched, is a more general global minimization algorithm. The results of both methods on “tetraglycine” are presented, and trials on other problems are discussed.
Innovative Power Semiconductor Solutions Towards Better Energy Efficiency

The power semiconductor industry is providing innovative devices, integrated solutions and advanced packaging that satisfy world's insatiable demands for applications that are better, faster, smaller, and more power efficient. Integrated solutions are increasingly becoming viable alternatives to non-integrated solutions and will eclipse the non-integrated solutions for power semiconductor offerings.
Synthetic and thermochemical studies of fluorinated tertiary phosphine ligands R2PRf [R=Cy, Ph, iPr; Rf=CH2CH2(CF2)5CF3] in an organoiron system

Abstract The fluorinated phosphine ligands [PR 2 R f (R=Cy ( 2 ); i Pr, ( 3 ); Ph, ( 4 ); R f =CH 2 CH 2 (CF 2 ) 5 CF 3 ] react with Fe(CO) 3 (BDA) ( 1 ) (BDA=(C 6 H 5 )CH=CHC(O)CH 3 , benzylideneacetone) to yield the corresponding Fe(CO) 3 (PR 2 R f ) 2 (R=Cy, ( 5 ) i Pr, ( 6 ) Ph, ( 7 )) complexes. Infrared studies on the carbonyl complexes and solution calorimetry studies of the reaction of 1 with 2 , 3 and 4 have been performed to quantify the donor strength of this series of ligands.
Short-lived bromine and selenium nuclides from fission

Abstract A 6·0 ± 0·2 min bromine activity has been found in fission products and in rubidium bombarded with D-T neutrons. Experiments with enriched 85Rb and 87Rb support its assignment as an isomer of 84Br. β- and γ-scintillation counting with 100-channel pulse analysis indicate β groups of 0·8 ± 0·1 MeV (20 per cent), 1·9 ± 0·2 MeV (72 per cent), and possibly 3·2 MeV (∼8 per cent), plus prominent γ rays of 0·44 ± 0·01 MeV (68 per cent), 0·88 ± 0·01 MeV (75 per cent), 1·46 ± 0·02 MeV (75 per cent), and 1·89 ± 0·03 MeV (16 per cent). The 235U thermal fission yields of the 6·0 min 84Br and the 31·7 min 84Br are (0·019 ± 0·003) per cent and (0·92 ± 0·06) per cent, respectively. By rapid separation of selenium from fission products and subsequent milking of the bromine daughters the half-lives of 84Se and 85Se have been measured as 3·3 ± 0·2 min and 39 ± 4 sec, respectively. The 6·0 min 84Br does not appear to grow from selenium. The experiments also produced evidence for a 16 ± 3 sec selenium parent of a 1·0 min bromine activity which is probably 87Br.
Multi-scale embedded descriptor for shape classification

We present a new shape descriptor that are robust to deformation and capture part details.Using running angle to transforming a shape into 2-D description image in position and scale space.Performing circular wavelet-like sub-band decomposition of this 2-D description image.Experiments demonstrate the proposed method outperforms state-of-the-art methods. We present a new shape descriptor that are robust to deformation and capture part details. In our framework, the shape descriptor is generated by (1) using running angle to transforming a shape into a 2-D description image in the position and scale space and (2) performing circular wavelet-like sub-band decomposition of this 2-D description image based on its periodic convolution with orthogonal kernel functions. Each sub-band is described by the histogram of its decomposition coefficients. To capture unique and discriminative part, we compare the decomposition coefficients across sub-band to detect singularity in the position and scale space. The singularity information is encoded with a tree of binary bits. The coded feature vectors of all sub-bands and singularity trees are pooled together to form the descriptor of the shape. The shapes are classified with linear SVM. Our performance evaluations on several public datasets, demonstrating that the proposed method significantly outperforms state-of-the-art methods.