cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A miniaturized circularly polarized, parasitic array antenna for ground station communication with cube satellites

A Miniaturized Circularly Polarized Yagi antenna for ground based communication with cube satellites is designed. The total volume of the antenna is 0.273λ × 0.273λ × 0.0584λ, and the electrical size is a kr of 1.23. A gain of 5.53 dBic is achieved while maintaining an axial ratio of less than 3 dB across the desired bandwidth of the VHF Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio band.
Children's Appraisals and Involvement in Interparental Conflict: Do They Contribute Independently to Child Adjustment?

This study examines concurrent and prospective relations between children’s threat and self-blame appraisals of interparental conflict, their involvement in interparental conflict, and their internalizing and externalizing problems. 539 children aged 7–10 years old and their mothers participated in the study. They completed 3 assessments spaced 6 months apart. At each assessment, children reported on their threat and self-blame appraisals of interparental conflict, their conflict involvement, and their internalizing and externalizing problems. Mothers also reported on children’s internalizing and externalizing problems. In concurrent analyses, threat and self-blame appraisals and conflict involvement were each positively and independently associated with children’s adjustment problems. Threat related more strongly to internalizing problems than to externalizing problems; self-blame related more strongly to externalizing problems than to internalizing problems. Threat appraisals were associated with children’s adjustment problems prospectively, but self-blame appraisals and conflict involvement were not. Although threat and self-blame appraisals and conflict involvement may each contribute to children’s concurrent adjustment problems, threat appraisals appear most salient to their future adjustment problems.
Nuclear modification factor and elliptic flow of muons from heavy-flavour decays in Pb-Pb collisions at = 2.76 TeV

We report on the latest results from ALICE on the measurement of the nuclear modification factor and elliptic flow of muons from heavy-flavour decays at forward rapidity in Pb-Pb collisions at = 2.76 TeV. A strong suppression of muons from heavy-flavour decays is observed at high transverse momentum, pT, in the most central collisions compared to the binary-scaled expectation from pp events at the same energy, while a positive elliptic flow is observed at intermediate pT in semi-central collisions. Comparisons with model predictions are presented.
A simulation study of hypothesis tests for differences in efficiencies

Abstract This paper reports the results of a simulation study to evaluate the performance of Banker's (1993) new asymptotic DEA tests for inefficiency differences between two groups. Their performance is evaluated relative to the performance of conventional parametric corrected ordinary least squares (COLS) tests and the Welch and Mann-Whitney tests used earlier in the DEA literature. We consider five different underlying production functions, four different inefficiency distributions and four different sample sizes in our study. Our results include the following: 1. (1) The new asymptotic DEA tests outperform COLS-based tests even when the parametric functional form employed for COLS estimation is identical to the underlying production function. 2. (2) The asymptotic DEA tests are robust in that they perform well for different underlying production functions and inefficiency distributions. 3. (3) Welch's mean and Mann-Whitney tests perform worse than both the new asymptotic DEA tests and the COLS-based tests. 4. (4) The performance of COLS-based tests is improved when Banker's (1993) new test statistics are employed using COLS estimates of production inefficiencies. 5. (5) No marked differences in Type II error are found between the various tests with one-output, two-input production technologies. But, the Welch's mean and MannWhitney tests and COLS-based tests perform slightly better than the asymptotic DEA tests in terms of proportion of Type II errors with one-output, five-input production technologies.
On the finite-valuedness problem for sequential machines

Abstract For a set A ={ A 1 ,…, A m } of n X n matrices with nonnegative integer entries, let P ( A ) be the set of all finite products of matrices in A . We show that there is a square space algorithm to decide, given A , whether or not P ( A ) is finite. As a corollary, we show that there is an exponential space algorithm to decide, given a nondeterministic Mealy sequential machine M with accepting states, whether there exists an integer d ⩾0 such that on every input, the number of accepting computations of M producing distinct outputs is at most d . If d exists, the smallest such d can be computed in space exponential in size( M )+log d . The space bound reduces to polynomial for the analogous problem of ambiguity of nondeterministic finite acceptors.
RECENT TECHNICAL ADVANCES FOR POLARIZATION STUDIES

A summary of technical contributions to this conference and recent technical progress in fields related to nuclear polarization studies is presented.
A sales forecasting benchmarking model : A qualitative study

The present qualitative study utilized a long interview protocol to evaluate the sales forecasting process in the commercial restaurant setting. This qualitative study consisted of interviewing twelve managers representing seven companies. The results validated the four dimensions; functional integration, approach, systems, and performance measurement found earlier in more general business settings. The companies were found to exhibit characteristics of three of the four stages in the four dimensions. The fourth stage, representing the most actualized company, was not reached by any of the companies in this study. This could be interpreted to mean that the commercial restaurant setting is not as advanced as conquerable companies in the industry. The concept, training, emerged during the analysis. Scenarios were developed to explain the relationship of training to the original dimensions.
Introducing a g-renewal component in system reliability analysis

Several models have been developed for imperfect repairs that assume that component is "better than old but worse than new" after repair. One of the most popular is the g-renewal process introduced by Kijima & Sumita [1]. They established an effectiveness parameter q, defining a virtual age of the system component at a given time after several repairs. Unfortunately, there is no closed form solution of corresponding g-renewal equation except special cases. Different approximate methods have been developed for other cases, however most of them are devoted to calculating the Expected Number of Failures (Renewal Function) and are not efficient enough to apply them in system reliability analysis. The main input parameters for system components (for example represented as basic events in a Fault Tree) are Failure Frequency (Failure Intensity) and Unavailability. Unavailability and Frequency of Failures calculation is only a preprocessing part of system reliability analysis. It should be done very fast, because the system (Fault Tree) can contain hundreds of components (basic events) [2, 3]. We suggest an efficient algorithm based on representation of g-renewal process as a continuous time semi-Markov Chain, whose state space is defined as a set of states of a component between i-th and (i+1)-th failures (i=0, 1, 2, …). We applied the Monte Carlo method, which is a generalization of the approach [4], to the Markov Chain for calculation of Failure Frequency and Unavailability of a system component. The accuracy of this approach increased dramatically compared to the raw Monte Carlo simulation. This allowed implementing the algorithm in Fault Tree analysis software.
A simple model capable of simulating the population dynamics of Gambierdiscus, the benthic dinoflagellate responsible for ciguatera fish poisoning

Ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) is the most prevalent form of phycotoxin-borne seafood poisoning in the world. It afflicts tens of thousands of individuals annually resulting in economic impacts on the order of tens of millions of dollars per year in the United States alone. One of the biggest hurdles hindering management strategies to monitor for and limit exposure to CFP is the sporadic nature of CFP outbreaks, both spatially and temporally. The purpose of this effort was to develop a simple, one-dimensional model that used essential physico-chemical parameters to adequately simulate the population dynamics of the causative organism behind CFP events, the benthic dinoflagellate, Gambierdiscus spp. The design data for this model came from seasonally comprehensive information for Gambierdiscus cell density and associated nutrient and physico-chemical data that were collected monthly over 3.5 years at two windward and two leeward sites on the island of Hawaii. Data from the windward sites were used to construct and calibrate the model, which was then verified against actual Gambierdiscus cell density values that were collected at the leeward sites. Additional modeling scenarios indicated that bloom scenarios resulted from subtle (yet complementary) changes in environmental conditions, and that nutrient enrichment and warming sea surface temperatures stimulated Gambierdiscus growth and resulted in higher cell densities. The results from this proof-of-concept effort to simulate the population densities of this benthic dinoflagellate suggest promise for more elaborate modeling efforts, and their potential value to protect against human impacts from future CFP outbreaks.
PROFILING AND POLICE LEGITIMACY: PROCEDURAL JUSTICE, ATTRIBUTIONS OF MOTIVE, AND ACCEPTANCE OF POLICE AUTHORITY*

This paper reports the results of four studies that investigate racial profiling as an attribution about police motives. Each study explores, first, the types of police behavior that heighten or lessen the occurrence of profiling attributions and, second, the consequences of such attributions. Results support prior studies in finding that judgments about whether the police are profiling are associated with the level of public support for the police. The studies then extend the analysis of subjective profiling judgments by examining their antecedents. The findings support the procedural justice hypothesis that the fairness with which the police exercise their authority influences whether members of the public view the police as profiling.
Transnational Homelessness: Finding a Place on the US–Mexico Border

AbstractTo date, research on homeless people has neglected three issues of growing importance: transnationalism, biculturalism, and the emergence of neoliberal security regimes. Homelessness is a complex and open-ended phenomenon that is too often imagined through narrow pre-existing categories or essentialized conceptions that are transcended by the actual experiences of people living in cultural and political border zones. This article attempts to address this gap in the homelessness literature through an ethnographic study of transnational processes along the US/Mexican political and cultural borderlands in El Paso, Texas and adjacent Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. We argue that being homeless in border areas, in spite of the rise of emerging new mobility restrictions, presents many opportunities and options—especially as a result of border crossing and the dense proximity of two countries—that are unavailable to monocultural homeless people living in the interior of nation-states. Transnational hom...
Controlled/Living Radical Polymerization of Methacrylic Monomers in the Presence of Lewis Acids: Influence on Tacticity

Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and reversible addition-fragmentation transfer (RAFT) polymerization of N-methyl methacrylamide and methyl methacrylate were investigated in the presence of rare-earth triflates known to enhance polymer isotacticity. Poly(N-methyl methacrylamide) with controlled molecular weight, low polydispersity, and enhanced isotacticity was prepared by ATRP and RAFT in the presence of catalytic amounts of yttrium trifluoromethanesulfonate or ytterbium trifluoromethanesulfanate. The tacticity of poly(N-methyl methacryllamide) depends on the Lewis acid concentration: well-defined polymers with predominantly either syndiotactic, atactic, or isotactic triads were prepared by adjusting the concentration of the Lewis acid. Simultaneous control of molecular weights, polydispersities, and tacticities in the polymerization of methylmethacrylate was less successful.
JTV: Java-enabled television

This paper provides a general overview of the capabilities provided by the JTV API. The JTV API defines an extension of Java and the Java Media Framework for TV-centric devices and services. This API enables programmers to develop and distribute interactive applications and applets that combine the power of Java with both enhanced broadcast and interactive television content. JTV provides an open Java- based platform for developers of set-top and TV software.© (1998) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Introduction: toward a context-based ethics for social research in health.

The idea for this Special Issue was born over dinner in a Greek restaurant. It was 2001 and each of us had just presented our work at a conference on narrative-based medicine in Cambridge, UK, sponsored by the BMJ. Although different issues were raised from the audience about our respective papers and others at the conference, many seemed to turn on particular questions: Were informed consent procedures followed properly? Were they sufficient to protect the confidentiality of vulnerable research participants who told lengthy narratives about their lives? Who ‘owns’ the stories collected during fieldwork? It is no accident that such questions should arise at a conference attended by health professionals. Institutional review boards (committees go by different names in different countries) began in the wake of massive abuses of power involving complicit physicians and nurses (Tuskegee, Nuremburg). But we sensed a narrow, individualistic and rights-oriented thrust to the comments. Like organs stolen from corpses in medical experiments, there was even a suggestion that informants’ stories had been appropriated by researchers – used for academic ends, rather than to benefit patients. The model of research ethics was medico-centric, appropriate for clinical trials perhaps, but bearing little relationship to ethnographic and narrative forms of social research. As seasoned researchers in sociology and anthropology, we had watched a medical model of ethics increase in influence on US university and hospital committees, composed largely of clinical researchers and others working in the experimental paradigm. We had witnessed the routinization of good intentions: standardized and scripted legalistic informed consent
Public‐Sector Workers. A New Vanguard?

A larger and larger proportion of all union members in advanced industrialized countries now work in the public sector. These union members are different from their private-sector counterparts. They are more likely to be female, highly educated, white-collar, and sheltered from direct market forces, and to work in bureaucratic settings. This article considers what consequences this shift in the composition of union membership will have upon national union movements.
Two methods of stimulus fading applied to a simultaneous flicker rate discrimination in pigeons

Abstract Two commonly applied stimulus fading procedures were compared with a trial-and-error procedure in their effect on error rates and rate of acquisition of a difficult target discrimination. In the intensity fading procedure stimulus control by one pretrained dimension (color) was faded while combined with the new stimulus dimension (flicker rate) of the target discrimination. In the transfer-along-a-continuum procedure, an easy flicker-rate discrimination was presented initially which was then made progressively more difficult by gradually decreasing flicker rate differences, thus finally approaching the target discrimination. Only the transfer-along-a-continuum procedure facilitated the discrimination of the target discrimination relative to the trial-and-error control procedure, while the intensity fading procedure occasioned the fewest errors during training. That is, acquisition and error rates were independent. The results are consistent with those in human applied situations in showing that fading improves the rate of learning only when it involves attentional shaping to the target stimulus dimension.
Language ability and sex affect humor appreciation.

Subjects (63 men and 63 women) completed a humor appreciation scale and 20 trials on a word-recognition task using a divided visual field. Factor analysis extracted eight factors from the humor scale most of which differentiated subjects on the basis of liking for various humorous contents including disparagement and nonsense humor. Subsequent analyses showed that greater liking for specific types of humor was associated with basic language abilities. The results also support sex differences in humor preferences and Freud's tripartite taxonomy of humor contents.
A STOCHASTIC HYBRID SYSTEMS FRAMEWORK FOR ANALYSIS OF MARKOV REWARD MODELS

Abstract In this paper, we propose a framework to analyze Markov reward models, which are commonly used in system performability analysis. The framework builds on a set of analytical tools developed for a class of stochastic processes referred to as Stochastic Hybrid Systems (SHS). The state space of an SHS is comprised of: (i) a discrete state that describes the possible configurations/modes that a system can adopt, which includes the nominal (non-faulty) operational mode, but also those operational modes that arise due to component faults, and (ii) a continuous state that describes the reward. Discrete state transitions are stochastic, and governed by transition rates that are (in general) a function of time and the value of the continuous state. The evolution of the continuous state is described by a stochastic differential equation and reward measures are defined as functions of the continuous state. Additionally, each transition is associated with a reset map that defines the mapping between the pre- and post-transition values of the discrete and continuous states; these mappings enable the definition of impulses and losses in the reward. The proposed SHS-based framework unifies the analysis of a variety of previously studied reward models. We illustrate the application of the framework to performability analysis via analytical and numerical examples.
The effects of commercial interruption of violent and nonviolent films on viewers' subsequent aggression.

Abstract Aggressive responses following the viewing of violent and nonviolent films were studied. Groups of subjects saw one of three full-length films: (1) a staged violent film, (2) a realistic violent film, or (3) a nonviolent film. For half of the groups of subjects, films were interrupted periodically by sets of commercials. Results confirmed predictions that aggressive responses will be greater after viewing aggressive films than nonaggressive films, and that aggressive responses will be greater if films are interrupted by commercials than when not interrupted. A hypothesis predicting an interaction such that aggressive responses will be maximal when violent films are interrupted by commercials was supported. No differences in aggressiveness following presentation of realistic and staged violent films were found.
Decreased specific antibody synthesis in old adults: Decreased potency of antigen-specific B cells with aging

The rise in rates of infection in adults over the age of 60 is accompanied by a decreased ability of older adults to make specific immune responses after immunization with a variety of specific antigens (Ag). This investigation delineates age-related changes in Ag-specific humoral immunity, comparing adults over age 60 to young adults aged 18-40, using tetanus toxoid (TT) as an immunologic probe. A culture system which does not require TT booster immunizations of study subjects was used to induce in vitro specific antibody responses. The amount of anti-TT antibody (Ab) produced in serum and in culture was measured by a TT-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The numbers of anti-TT Ab-secreting B cells were measured by a TT-specific ELISA-plaque assay. The TT-specific responses of old subjects were significantly less than that seen for young control subjects in the following measures: (1) serum anti-TT Ab titers (mean +/- S.E. log 2 titer = 3.3 +/- 1.1 vs. 9.5 +/- 1.4, P less than 0.01); (2) anti-TT Ab produced by peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) in cultures stimulated with TT (6 +/- 2.1 ng/ml vs. 22 +/- 8.4 ng/ml, P less than 0.01); (3) numbers of anti-TT Ab secreting B cells per million cells cultured (6.7 +/- 3.4 vs. 26.6 +/- 7.6, P less than 0.001) and (4) mean ng Ab secreted per anti-TT Ab-secreting B cell (0.6 +/- 0.4 ng vs. 12.7 +/- 7.8 ng, P less than 0.01). This study shows that both decreased numbers of Ag-specific immune B cells and decreased potency on a per cell basis contribute to the impaired immune responses to immunizations in older adults.
Local, regional, and global views of tropospheric carbon monoxide from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS)

More than five years of CO retrievals from the Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder (AIRS) onboard NASA's Aqua satellite reveal variations in tropospheric CO on timescales from twelve hours to five years and on spatial scales from local to global. The shorter timescales are invaluable to monitor daily variations in CO emissions, to enable three-dimensional tracking of atmospheric motions, and to enhance insights into atmospheric mixing. Previous studies have utilized AIRS CO retrievals over the course of days to weeks to track plumes from large forest fires. On the local scale, we will present AIRS observations of pollution from several northern hemisphere Megacities. On the regional scale, we will present AIRS observations of the Mexico City pollution plume. We will illustrate global scale AIRS CO observations of interannual variations linked to the influence of large-scale atmospheric perturbations from the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO). In particular, we observe a quasi-biennial variation in CO emissions from Indonesia with varying magnitudes in peak emission occurring in 2002, 2004, and 2006. Examining satellite rainfall measurements over Indonesia, we find the enhanced CO emission correlates with occasions of less rainfall during the month of October. Continuing this satellite record of tropospheric CO with measurements from the European IASI instrument will permit construction of a long time-series useful for further investigations of climatological variations in CO emissions and their impact on the health of the atmosphere.
Pheromone-induced movement of nymphs of the predator, Podisus maculiventris (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae)

Abstract Males of the generalist predator,Podisus maculiventris(Say) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) (known as the spined soldier bug), attract mates with a pheromone, but the immature stages of the predator also appeared to be attracted. Therefore, attraction of nymphs ofP. maculiventristo pheromone was studied in a wind tunnel and in field plots. The behavior of individual nymphs toward pheromone with and without Colorado potato beetles,Leptinotarsa decemilineata(Say) (Chrysomelidae), and/or potato plants in the airstream was studied in a wind tunnel. Field experiments were performed in plots planted with green beans,Phaseolus vulgarisL. that were allowed to become naturally infested with Mexican bean beetles,Epilachna varivestis(Moulsant) (Coccinellidae). Spined soldier bug nymphs were released in the middle row of plots planted for 3 weeks, and three commercial pheromone dispensers were placed outside the thirteenth row of a plot.Podisus maculiventrisnymphs were significantly attracted to synthetic pheromone both in the laboratory and in the field. Results of wind tunnel experiments indicated that combining the pheromone with the phytophage significantly increased the positive responses of nymphs compared to the pheromone alone; however, inclusion of damaged or undamaged potato plants with pheromone did not enhance the positive responses to the odor source. Spined soldier bugs released in field plots remained relatively sedentary for the first day after release, but by the end of the 1-week sampling period nymphs had significantly moved into rows nearer the pheromone dispensers. The ability to manipulate immature spined soldier bugs significantly expands the potential for using this generalist predator in integrated pest management programs.
Temperature fields generated by the elastodynamic propagation of shear cracks in the Earth

(� w < 1), the temperature maximum shifts toward the crack tip. For faults having slip zone thickness of the order of centimeters or less, the onset of thermally induced phenomena (e.g., frictional melting, thermal pressurization, etc.) may occur at any point along the rupture, depending on the degree of slip localization and rupture duration. In the absence of significant increases in the pore fluid pressure, localized fault slip may raise temperature by several hundred degrees, sufficient to cause melting. The onset of frictional melting may give rise to substantial increases in the effective fault strength due to an increase in the effective fault contact area, and high viscosity of silicate melts near solidus. The inferred transient increases in the dynamic friction (‘‘viscous braking’’) are consistent with results of high-speed rock sliding experiments and might explain field observations of the fault wall rip-out structures associated with pseudotachylites. Possible effects of viscous braking on the earthquake rupture dynamics include (1) delocalization of slip and increases in the effective fracture energy, (2) transition from a crack-like to a pulse-like rupture propagation, or (3) ultimate rupture arrest. Assuming that the pulse-like ruptures heal by incipient fusion, the seismologic observations can be used to place a lower bound on the dynamic fault friction. This bound is found to be of the order of several megapascals, essentially independent of the earthquake size. Further experimental and theoretical studies of melt rheology at high strain rates are needed to quantify the effects of melting on the dynamic fault strength. INDEX TERMS: 3210 Mathematical Geophysics: Modeling; 5104 Physical Properties of Rocks: Fracture and flow; 7209 Seismology: Earthquake dynamics and mechanics; 7260 Seismology: Theory and modeling; 8010 Structural Geology: Fractures and faults;
Damage characterization of quasi-statically indented composite sandwich structures:

The nature of quasi-static indentation damage is studied in aluminum honeycomb core sandwich panels with eight ply, quasi-isotropic, graphite/epoxy face sheets. Parameters that are varied include the core thickness, core density, face sheet layup, and indentor diameter. The majority of induced damage is in the vicinity of the barely visible threshold. The permanent dent in the panel is found to be always larger than the contact area of the indentor, and specimens with denser cores exhibit smaller dent diameters for a given dent depth. Regardless of specimen layup, delaminations occur essentially only at the 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 7th interfaces. Stiffer cores, either in terms of a higher density or, for those cores considered, a smaller thickness, result in lower dent depths, smaller dent diameters, and more face sheet delamination for a given indentation event. The manner in which core orthotropy influences the size and pattern of the delaminations is shown to depend on face sheet layup. Regardless of the co...
Successful Management of Massive Pulmonary Embolism Occurring during Cardiopulmonary Bypass for Mitral Valve Replacement

Massive pulmonary embolism occurred during cardiopulmonary bypass in a patient requiring mitral valve replacement Successful management of this unusual problem is described.
Membrane receptors and hormone action: Recent developments

Abstract 1. 1. Subsequent to the development of reliable binding assays for the detection of pharmacologic receptors, there has been considerable progress in several areas related to the mechanism of hormone action. 2. 2. Receptors for agents such as neurotransmitters and polypeptides can be thought of as membrane-localized macromolecules that possess both a “recognition function” and an “action function” related to cellular activation. In contrast, membrane-localized recognition molecules that simply function to translocate molecules, such as the transcobalamin-II-cobalamin complex from the cell exterior to the cytoplasm, may be termed “acceptors”. 3. 3. Various aspects of the physiology of receptors (and acceptors) that are under intensive study are discussed: (a) Receptor regulation, (b) Ligand internalization subsequent to receptor binding, (c) Cooperativity in the binding of ligands by receptors and (d) The regulation of adenylate cyclase by hormones and by guanine nucleotides. 4. 4. In the context of the data presented, the mobile receptor paradigm of hormone action is described, and an alternative postulate is explored, that the coupling of hormone receptor occupation to the activation of adenylate cyclase may proceed by an indirect mechanism rather than via a direct physical interaction between the occupied receptor and the cyclase.
Carbonate and Magnesium Interactive Effect on Calcium Phosphate Precipitation

Precipitation of Ca phosphates, an important process in controlling P stability and activity in P-fertilized soils and P-rich wastewater, is often affected by other components. The purpose of this study was to document interactive effects of CO3(2-) and Mg2+ on Ca phosphate precipitation under conditions simulating (i) dairy manure-amended soil leachate (system I; pH 7.1) and (ii) P recovery from flushed dairy manure wastewater (system II; pH 9.2). Hydroxyapatite (HAP) and more soluble amorphous Ca phosphate (ACP) were formed in the control solutions of system I and system II, respectively. Carbonate only slightly affected the crystallinity of the precipitate, but significantly reduced the precipitation rate via CO3(2-) competition for PO4(3-) (system I) or preemptive CaCO3 precipitation (system II). Magnesium severely inhibited both precipitate crystallinity and precipitation rate, allowing formation of ACP in both systems, presumably due to Mg2+ incorporation into the Ca phosphate structure to form Mg2+ -substituted structure that crystallized to whitlockite upon heating. Coexistence of CO32- and Mg2+ in system I showed a synergistic inhibitory effect, compared to their individual presence, probably because both CO3(2-) and Mg2+ were incorporated into the precipitate. However, in system II, the individual inhibitory effect of CO3(2-) or Mg2+ was eliminated when both were present. The likely mechanism involves formation of aqueous MgCO3 (aq) which reduces free CO3(2-) and Mg2+ activities, resulting in less preemptive CaCO3 formation and enhanced Ca phosphate precipitation.
Melanoma antigen expression in serial fine-needle aspiration samples in patients with metastatic malignant melanoma participating in immunotherapy clinical trials: a preliminary look.

BACKGROUND MART-1 and gp100 currently are utilized as targets in immunotherapy protocols for metastatic malignant melanoma (MMM). Enrollment of patients into ongoing peptide vaccination trials at the National Cancer Institute includes immunophenotyping of samples of metastatic lesions obtained by fine-needle aspiration (FNA). As therapy progresses, immunocytochemistry is performed on serial FNAs of metastatic lesions to monitor changes in antigen expression during treatment. It is theorized that antigen expression of melanoma cells may be diminished because of selective immunodestruction of tumor cells, or perhaps intentionally, to escape immunosurveillance. METHODS Thirty-eight lesions from 33 patients were serially monitored for the expression of gp100 (clone HMB-45) and MART-1 (clone M2-7C10), using an avidin-biotin peroxidase technique. The staining intensity of tumor cells was scored on a scale of 0 to 3+, with the proportion of positive cells categorized as less than 25%, 25–50%, 50–75%, and greater than 75%. All lesions were examined within approximately 2 months after the start of peptide vaccination, providing a consistent timepoint for analysis. RESULTS Using the Wilcoxon signed rank test, the authors found that there were no significant changes from baseline compared with 2 months later for quantitative antigen expression of HMB-45 or MART-1. However, there was a trend toward a decline in staining intensity of tumor cells for HMB-45. CONCLUSIONS Preliminary results evaluating antigen expression during selective immunotherapy indicate a trend in the decline of staining intensity of tumor cells to HMB-45. Thus, although other studies have shown that peptide-based immunotherapy results in immune selection, this does not hinder the diagnostic utility of antibodies to HMB-45 and MART-1 in FNA samples of MMM. Cancer (Cancer Cytopathol) 2001;93:409–14. © 2001 American Cancer Society.
The role of ascorbic acid in the biosynthesis of collagen. I. Ascorbic acid requirement by embryonic chick tibia in tissue culture.

Abstract Embryonic chick tibias, when incubated in a chemically defined medium, grow and synthesize collagen for several days. The tissues display a marked dependence upon the presence of L -ascorbic acid in the culture medium for normal growth. Deletion of ascorbic acid reduces collagen synthesis by the bones after the first 2 days in culture. A less drastic reduction in the synthesis of other proteins, DNA and RNA, was also observed. The rate of synthesis of these substances was rapidly restored by the addition of ascorbic acid.
Rapid Respiratory Changes Due to Red Light or Acetylcholine during the Early Events of Phytochrome-mediated Photomorphogenesis

Two millimeter long secondary root tips of etiolated mung bean (Phaseolus aureus) plants were given 4 minute consecutive treatments of darkness, red light, far red light, and acetylcholine during darkness. We studied the effects of these treatments on exogenous (H(+)) changes, ATP utilization, O(2) uptake, P(1) levels, and ATPase activity. Red light and acetylcholine increased the level of P(1), O(2) uptake, and exogenous H(+), but decreased ATP concentrations. Darkness and far red light caused the amount of ATP to increase and decreased the O(2) uptake and P(1) level. O(2) uptake of both excised root tips and isolated mitochondria was promoted by acetylcholine levels of the same order of magnitude that promoted the other photomimetic phenomena. ADP-O ratios indicated that acetylcholine did not cause an appreciable decrease in ATP synthesis. The total ATPase activity remained constant throughout all treatments. Ouabain caused no adhesion to negatively charged glass in the dark, while the inhibitors valinomycin, atractyloside, digitoxin, gramicidin, and oligomycin caused immediate adhesion. All of the inhibitors prevented release from the glass. In red light ouabain increased adhesion, whereas the other inhibitors caused caused immediate and complete adhesion.These data seem to imply that one of the functions of the phytochrome-mediated response to red light in roots, regulated by acetylcholine, is to cause the rapid utilization of ATP pools; far red light appears to inhibit this utilization.
Quasi-fixed inputs and long-run equilibrium in production: a cointegration analysis

This paper proposes a cointegration approach to testing the validity long-run equilibrium in production, where capital and labour are taken as quasi-fixed inputs. Previous studies consider only capital as the quasi-fixed input and do not take account of the time series properties of the variables, assuming implicitly that they are stationary. The canonical cointegrating regressions (CCR) procedure is employed to test for cointegration in both the single-equation and the seemingly unrelated regressions framework, and long-run equilibrium conditions are tested. The evidence from US manufacturing reveals that capital and labour are not fully adjusted to their long-run optimal values, casting doubt on the long-run equilibrium hypothesis. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Estimation of drug precipitation upon dilution of pH-controlled formulations.

An equation is developed for estimating the precipitation that may occur upon diluting or injecting a (pH-)solubilized drug formulation. Since it is based on equilibrium, it is the worst case scena...
Compact accelerated life testing with expanded measurement suite

An accelerated-life-testing (ALT) system has been built at the Colorado State University Photovoltaics Laboratory with an emphasis on versatility and periodically performing a suite of electronic measurements on stressed devices. The setup utilizes a scientific oven with a footprint of 17 × 17 inches as a stress chamber and four commercially available 40 W broad-spectrum LED arrays. A preliminary study has been performed on Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) devices. Devices were held at elevated temperature and were exposed to nominally one-sun illumination. Measurements taken of stressed devices include J-V, QE, C-V, electroluminescence (EL) and light-beam-induced current (LBIC).
Spirituality and autonomic cardiac control.

Background Spirituality has been suggested to be associated with positive health, but potential biological mediators have not been well characterized.
Effects of Iron Source on Iron Availability from Casein and Casein Phosphopeptides

Iron availability from FeSO 2 in samples containing sodium caseinate (SC), casein phosphopeptides (CPP) or whey protein concentrate (WPC), and from ferric citrate (Fe-CA) in samples containing SC or CPP was measured using an in vitro digestion/Caco-2 cell culture model. In FeSO 4 spiked samples, relative availability was CPP > SC, CPP = WPC, and CPP = FeSO 4 alone. In samples containing Fe-CA, a soluble iron chelate, relative availability was CPP = SC and CPP Cette etude compare la biodisponibilite du fer provenant de FeSO 4 ou de citrate ferrique dans des echantillons contenant du caseinate de sodium, des phosphopeptides de caseine ou un concentrat de proteines de lactoserum. De plus, l'effet de l'addition de phosphatase alcaline sur la biodisponibilite du fer de caseine et de ses produits d'hydrolyse est evalue. Les phosphopeptides de caseine, en l'absence de ligand du fer (comme l'acide citrique), augmenteraient l'absorption du fer par rapport au caseinate de sodium.
Biodegradation of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and o-xylene by a coculture of Pseudomonas putida and Pseudomonas fluorescens immobilized in a fibrous-bed bioreactor

A fibrous-bed bioreactor containing the coculture of Pseudomonas putida and P. fluorescens immobilized in a fibrous matrix was developed to degrade benzene (B), toluene (T), ethylbenzene (E), and o-xylene (X) in synthetic waste streams. The kinetics of BTEX biodegradation by immobilized cells adapted in the fibrous-bed bioreactor and free cells grown in serum bottles were studied. In general, the BTEX biodegradation rate increased with increasing substrate concentration and then decreased after reaching a maximum, showing substrate-inhibition kinetics. However, for immobilized cells, the degradation rate was much higher than that of free cells. Compared to free cells, immobilized cells in the bioreactor tolerated higher concentrations (> 1000 mg l-1) of benzene and toluene, and gave at least 16-fold higher degradation rates for benzene, ethylbenzene, and o-xylene, and a 9-fold higher degradation rate for toluene. Complete and simultaneous degradation of BTEX mixture was achieved in the bioreactor under hypoxic conditions. Cells in the bioreactor were relatively insensitive to benzene toxicity; this insensitivity was attributed to adaptation of the cells in the bioreactor. Compared to the original seeding culture, the adapted cells from the fibrous-bed bioreactor had higher specific growth rate, benzene degradation rate, and cell yield when the benzene concentration was higher than 100 mg l-1. Cells in the fibrous bed had a long, slim morphology, which is different from the normal short-rod shape found for suspended cells in solution.
Muscle Force Control of a Kinematically Redundant Bionic Arm with Real-Time Parameter Update

Redundant muscle-driven arms have numerous advantages, such as increased robustness, ability for load distribution, impedance change etc. However, controlling such a muscle-driven arm is a difficult task. This is mainly due to its redundancy, specially when the muscle force is required to follow certain output constraints and fulfill optimization objectives. In this paper, a new method for controlling such muscle-like systems is proposed. By considering both joint and muscle acceleration contributions, a set of linear equations was constructed. Driving muscle activation is thus framed as the only unknown vector. To solve this linear equation set, a pseudo-inverse solution was used. The null space within this solution represents the internal force, which was used to evenly distribute the muscle forces, which is considered as "anti-fatigue" way. Moreover, to make the proposed method adaptive to modeling errors, an estimated system model was added to represent the real model. By updating the parameters of the estimated model based on prediction error, the estimated model approaches the real model gradually in real time. The overall method was tested for the case of a bending-stretching movement. The presented results verify the validity of the method, and illustrate its useful features and advantages.
Optical studies of molecular motions: using fluorescence anisotropy decays to determine the shapes of dye molecules, proteins, and nucleosomes

Molecules undergo Brownian rotational diffusion, continually tumbling through solution. If a molecule contains a fluorescent chromophore with an appropriate excited-state lifetime, and a solution of such molecules is excited with a brief flash of polarized laser light, then it is possible to measure the rates at which the molecule tumbles. One can measure the anisotropy of the decay of the fluorescence, a measure of the depolarization of the fluorescence in time. The rates of rotational diffusion are sensitive to the shape of the molecule. This paper examines the molecular shape information available from the anisotropy decay. Three systems, which are of interest to our laboratory, are described here. Our studies on the dye rose bengal (molecular weight ~1000) suggest that an approximation used in rotational diffusion theory—that the solvent molecules are very small compared to the solute—is valid even for this relatively small molecule. Next, we examine the effects of calcium concentration on the rotational diffusion ofthe protein calmodulin (molecular weight ~17,000) derivatized by photoinduced crosslinking to form a dityrosine fluorophore. In the presence of sufficiently high calcium ion concentration, this crosslinked calmodulin shows a single exponential anisotropy decay consistent with the rotational diffusion of the extended dumbbell structure found for calmodulin by x-ray crystallography. At low calcium concentrations, the crosslinked calmodulin rotates considerably faster, suggesting a much more compact shape; also, this anisotropy decay shows short correlation times that are interpreted as arising from a segmental flexibility not evident for crosslinked calmodulin at high calcium concentration. Finally, we examine a transition that is observed at very low salt concentrations for nucleosome core particles, relatively large complexes (molecular weight ~204,000) derived from the chromatin of higher organisms and comprised of eight histone molecules and 145 base pairs of DNA. The anisotropy decay of ethidium bound to the DNA indicates that core particles exposed to low ionic strength are considerably elongated relative to the shape at higher ionic strength.
Fundamental Properties of Impregnated Paper

First results are given in this discussion covering a study of the separate electrical behavior of the paper, the impregnating oil, and the combination thereof which constitutes impregnated insulating paper. Where possible, efforts were made to determine the relationship existing between fundamental and final characteristics.
Retinoic acid induces secretion of latent transforming growth factor beta 1 and beta 2 in normal and human papillomavirus type 16-immortalized human keratinocytes.

RA treatment of both normal HKc and HKc/HPV16 resulted in a 2-3-fold indudion in secreted levels of latent TGF-$. The indudion in TGF-� secretion by LA was dose dependent, with significant increases observed with LA concentrations as low as 1-10 ntvi, and time dependent, with maximal indudion occurring about 3 days after initiation of RA exposure. In addition, RA induced intracellular levels of TGF-$ almost 5-fold. Sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were used to specifically quantify TGF-$1 and TGF-�92 secreted by normal HKc and HKc/HPV16 cultured in the absence or presence of RA. RA increased the secreted levels of latent TGF-$1 and TGFfl2 an average of 2- and 5-fold, respedively, with no major differences in the fold indudion between normal HKc and HKc/HPV16. Northern blot analysis of mRNA isolated from HKc/HPV16 demonstrated that RA treatment induced specific transcripts for TGF-$1 and TGF-i92 about 3- and 50-fold, respedively. RA treatment of HKc had no significant effed on the binding affinity of TGF-� for its receptors or receptor number. Normal HKc and HKc/HPV16 displayed similar dose-dependent inhibition of proliferation by TGF-fl1. These studies indicate that RA may regulate
The Day Care Ritual Abuse Moral Panic: A Sociological Analysis

A new type of sex crime was discovered in the United States in the 1980s – the sexual abuse of young children in ghastly rituals performed by devil worshippers who happened to be their day care providers. ‘Ritual abuse’, as this new sex crime came to be termed, appeared to be epidemic during that decade; hundreds of day care centers were investigated and scores of providers were arrested and prosecuted. This article asserts that the day care ritual abuse scare was a moral panic, in fact, the ‘purest example’ of a moral panic in that the putative threat to children had to be wholly constructed. Using the key sociological elements set out by Cohen (1972/2002), this article analyzes the day care ritual abuse moral panic and concludes by discussing additional key elements that will facilitate future sociological analyses of moral panics.
Persistent sucrose stimulation of ovine fetal ingestion: lack of adaptation responses.

Objective. Sweet taste responsiveness is reduced in adult rats and humans following continued oral sucrose. We have previously demonstrated that sublingual sucrose stimulates near term ovine fetal swallowing, suggesting intact taste responsiveness. We sought to determine if prolonged oral sucrose infusion to the near term ovine fetus will evoke adaptation, as manifested by reduced swallowing stimulation.Methods. Time-dated pregnant ewes and fetuses (n = 4) were chronically prepared with fetal vascular and sublingual catheters, and electrocorticogram and esophageal electromyogram electrodes and studied at 129 ± 1d gestation. Following an initial 2 h basal period, sucrose (2.5%) was infused sublingually (0.25 ml/min) to the fetus for 8 h. Fetal swallowing activity, blood pressure and heart rate were continuously recorded while maternal and fetal arterial blood samples were taken at timed intervals.Results. During the basal period, fetal swallowing averaged 0.9 ± 0.1 swallows/min. Fetal swallowing increased ...
A high density, high performance MCM-D/C package: a design, electrical, and process perspective

This paper describes a state-of-the-art seven chip MCM-D/C package currently under production for use as a processor module for the high end of IBM's AS/400 Advanced Series with PowerPC technology. Physical design, process, and electrical design (characterization) is described, and trade-offs made between them are discussed.