cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
HEATED, AVIRULENT ANTIGENS FOR COMPLEMENT-FIXATION TESTS WITH CERTAIN ENCEPHALITIS VIRUSES.

A simple method is described for producing avirulent mouse brain antigens for complement-fixation tests in human encephalitides, by application of heat at 60° C for 30 minutes. The heated antigens retain for most of the viruses employed a sufficiently high titer to warrant their use, since they are also specific, not anticomplementary, can be lyophilized and moreover, are avirulent, and thus can be handled with safety.
31P NMR spectroscopy and HbO2 cryospectrophotometry in prediction of tumor radioresistance caused by hypoxia.

Abstract The aim of this study was to search for possible relationships between the fraction of radiobiologically hypoxic cells in tumors and their 31 P NMR spectral parameters and intracapillary HbO 2 saturations. Four different tumor lines, two murine sarcomas (KHT, RIF-1) and two human ovarian carcinoma xenografts (MLS, OWI), were used. When tumor volume increased from about 200 mm 3 to about 2000 mm 3 , hypoxic fraction increased from 12 to 23% for the KHT line, from 0.9 to 1.7% for the RIF-1 line, and from 9 to 28% for the MLS line. The OWI line showed similar hypoxic fractions at 200 (17%) and 2000 mm 3 (15%). Tumor bioenergetic status decreased, that is, the inorganic phosphate (P i ) resonance increased and the phosphocreatine (PCr) and nucleoside triphosphate β (NTPβ) resonances decreased, with increasing tumor volume for the KHT, RIF-1, and MLS lines, whereas the OWI line did not show any changes in the 31 P NMR spectral parameters during tumor growth. Similarly, tumor HbO 2 saturation status, that is, the fraction of vessels with HbO 2 saturation above 30%, decreased with increasing tumor volume for the KHT, RIF-1, and MLS lines, but remained unchanged during tumor growth for the OWI line. Although the data indicated a relationship between hypoxic fraction and tumor bioenergetic status as well as tumor HbO 2 saturation status within a specific line during tumor growth, there was no correlation between hypoxic fraction and tumor bioenergetic status or tumor HbO 2 saturation status across the four tumor lines. This may have occurred because cell survival time under hypoxic stress as well as fraction of non-clonogenic, but metabolically active hypoxic cells differed among the tumor lines. This indicates that 31 P NMR spectroscopy and HbO 2 cryospectrophotometry data have to be supplemented with other data to be useful in prediction of tumor radioresistance caused by hypoxia.
HOUSEHOLD ACTIVITIES, LIFE CYCLE, AND ROLE ALLOCATION

Four basic hypotheses about activities that are fundamental to pursuing an activity-based travel-forecasting modeling procedure are presented. They include classifying activities as mandatory, flexible, or optional; using life-cycle stages to differentiate the amount of time spent on different activities; determining whether there are differences in proportionate amounts of time spent on activities by gender; and examining role allocations to activities between people in a household on the basis of working status and gender. The hypotheses are tested by using a subsample of households from a sample collected in Boston in 1991 from an activity diary. Within the limitations of the data, it is found that the classification of activities appears to be sensible, and statistically significant differences are found among life-cycle groups. Differences are also found by gender and working status. Recommendations are made for further research and on some of the implications of these findings for activity modeling.
Effect of coumadin-induced coagulopoietin plasma on vitamin K-dependent carboxylation of liver microsomes

Summary. Coumadin-treated rabbits have a humoral substance(s) (coagulopoietin) which is capable of elevating vitamin K-dependent coagulation factors when injected into recipient rabbits (Karpatkin & Karpatkin, 1973). Biologic levels of coagulation factors II, V, VII and X; immunologic levels of factors II and X; and vitamin K-dependent liver microsomal carboxylase activity were measured in recipient rabbits receiving coumadin-induced coagulopoietin plasma. Factor II biologic activity increased 3·5-fold compared to the increase in immunologic activity. Factor X biologic activity increased 1·7-fold compared to the increase in immunologic activity. This indicates an increase in specific activity of factors II and X. Coumadin-induced coagulopoietin plasma had no effect on vitamin K-dependent liver microsomal carboxylase activity in vitro. However, livers obtained from recipient animals treated with coumadin-induced coagulopoietin plasma enhanced their carboxylase activity (compared to control animals) 2·4-fold employing endogenous microsomal precursor for carboxylation, and 6·2-fold employing synthetic substrate, phe-leu-glu-glu-val. Thus, coumadin-induced coagulopoietin plasma enhances the biologic activity of vitamin K-dependent coagulation factors II, VII, and X as well as the ex vivo vitamin K-dependent carboxylase activity of liver microsomes.
Numerical modeling of lava flow cooling applied to the 1997 Okmok eruption: Approach and analysis

[1] Throughout February and March of 1997 Okmok Volcano, in the eastern Aleutian Islands of Alaska, erupted a 6 km long lava flow of basaltic 'a'a within its caldera. A numerical model for lava flow cooling was developed and applied to the flow to better understand the nature of its cooling. Radiation and convection from the surface, as well as conduction to the ground, were used to transport the flow's heat to its surroundings in the model. Internally, a conduction-only approach moved heat from the interior outward. Vesiculation, latent heat generation, and thermal conductivity changes with temperature are among the other factors that were dynamically accounted for. Results indicate that ambient temperature fluctuations, on the scale of days to weeks, must be taken into account to create an accurate short-term prediction of lava surface temperature. Daily data of rainfall and ambient temperature, as opposed to yearly averages, greatly increased the accuracy of the model. Furthermore, convective cooling of the lava surface was observed to be a dominant heat loss process during the first 200 days, indicating the convective heat transfer coefficient is a prime determinant of the accuracy of the model for predicting surface temperatures. Over a longer cooling period (2 years), thermal conductivity and porosity proved to be among the dominating factors for heat loss because of the limiting role of conductive heat flow in the interior. The model's flexibility allows application to flows other than the 1997 Okmok eruption.
First measurement of the ASTRO-H soft x-ray telescope performance

ASTRO-H is a Japanese X-ray astrophysics satellite under the development led by Japan and US. It will have two Soft X-ray Telescopes (SXTs), among other instruments, that are being developed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. One is for an X-ray micro-calorimeter instrument and the other for an X-ray CCD camera, both covering the X-ray energy band below 15 keV. The SXT Engineering Model (EM) quadrant was successfully completed and has shown big improvements in the X-ray performance from Suzaku owing to number of changes made. The EM was tested at the Goddard 100-m X-ray beamline (diverging beam) and the ISAS/JAXA beamline (pencil beam scan). The angular resolution was found to be 1.1 arcmin at Goddard, while 1.27 arcmin at ISAS, and the effective area was 157 and 122 cm 2 at 1 and 6 keV, respectively. The discrepancy in the angular resolution can be explained by the difference of the measurement method, i.e. the diverging beam vs. the pencil beam scan. The development of the first Flight Model (FM) is underway. The first three quadrants are completed so far and show about 1 arcmin (HPD) angular resolution. We expect that the first FM SXT will have about 1 arcmin resolution, which will be completed in September, 2012.
Identification of a second major antigenic epitope in the α-subunit of soy β-conglycinin

Soybean meal in the post-weaning diet of pigs results in a growth lag correlated with Immunoglobulin G (IgG) production against soybean proteins, including the seed storage protein β-conglycinin. We screened sera from 30 pigs for IgG directed against β-conglycinin. Analysis of the same sera on protein blots identified sera that had IgG against the α-subunit of β-conglycinin. A tiled peptide array (16 amino acids with an 11 amino acid overlap) of the α-subunit of β-conglycinin was screened to identify the epitopes of the α-subunit that bind IgG. One major IgG binding epitope previously identified was confirmed. A second major IgG binding epitope was identified that bound IgG from half of the animals tested. Minor epitopes that bound IgG from one or two other sera were also identified. Binding of IgG to β-conglycinin in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was inhibited by a synthetic peptide representing one of the minor epitopes.
Mechanical asymmetry in the embryonic chick heart during looping.

Cardiac looping, which begins with ventral bending and rightward rotation of the primitive heart tube, is an essential morphogenetic event that occurs early in vertebrate development. The biophysical mechanism that drives this process is unknown. It has been speculated that increased stiffness along the dorsal side of the ventricle combined with an intrinsic cardiac force causes the heart to bend. There is no experimental support for this hypothesis, however, since little is known about regional mechanical properties of the heart during looping. We directly measured diastolic stiffness of the inner curvature (IC), outer curvature (OC), and dorsal–ventral sides of the stage 12 chick heart by microindentation. The IC of intact hearts was found to be significantly stiffer than either the OC or the sides, which were of similar stiffness. Isolated cardiac jelly, which is a thick, extracellular matrix compartment underlying the myocardium, was approximately an order of magnitude softer than intact hearts. The results of a computational model simulating the indentation experiments, combined with the stiffness measurements, suggests the regional variation in stiffness is due to the material properties of the myocardium. A second model shows that a relatively stiff IC may facilitate bending of the heart tube during looping. © 2003 Biomedical Engineering Society.
A model for thermal growth of ultrathin silicon dioxide in O/sub 2/ ambient: a rate equation approach

A new thermal oxidation model based on a rate equation approach with concentration dependent diffusion coefficient is proposed for ultrathin SiO/sub 2/ for thicknesses of the order of 100 /spl Aring/. The oxidation reaction of silicon is assumed to be dependent on the concentrations of unreacted silicon and oxygen. The results of oxide thickness versus oxidation time for various growth conditions and activation energies for diffusion coefficients are in agreement with various experimental data for O/sub 2/ ambient.
The structure of injective covers of special modules

In this paper, we prove that the injective cover of theR-moduleE(R/B)/R/B for a prime ideal B ofR is the direct sum of copies ofE(R/B) for prime ideals D ⊃ B, and if B is maximal, the injective cover is a finite sum of copies ofE(R/B). For a finitely generatedR-moduleM withn generators andG an injectiveR-module, we argue that the natural mapG n →G n/Hom R (M, G) is an injective precover if Ext R 1 (M, R) = 0, and that the converse holds ifG is an injective cogenerator ofR. Consequently, for a maximal ideal R ofR, depthR R ≧ 2 if and only if the natural mapE(R/R) →E(R/R)/R/R is an injective cover and depthR R > 0.
Compound Poisson Disorder Problems with Nonlinear Detection Delay Penalty Cost Functions

Abstract The quickest detection of the unknown and unobservable disorder time, when the arrival rate and mark distribution of a compound Poisson process suddenly changes, is formulated in a Bayesian setting, where the detection delay penalty is a general smooth function of the detection delay time. Under suitable conditions, the problem is shown to be equivalent to the optimal stopping of a finite-dimensional piecewise-deterministic strongly Markov sufficient statistic. The solution of the optimal stopping problem is described in detail for the compound Poisson disorder problem with polynomial detection delay penalty function of arbitrary but fixed degree. The results are illustrated for the case of the quadratic detection delay penalty function.
Mapping the humidification range of a single PEM fuel cell

A test is conducted on a SO cm single fuel cell to map the operational range for the optimal humidification of PEM membrane. A major challenge to the optimum operation of a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell lies in maintaining a certain humidification level of the electrolyte. For an optimal operation of a solid polymer fuel cell, correct humidification level of the membrane is desired to enable proton conductivity and prevent drying out with the consequent loss of fuel cell power. On the contrary, if the membrane is over humidified, the cell will flood - a condition in which the humidifying fluid blocks the flow of the reactants to the catalyst sites. To maintain an optimal operation range, a test is conducted at various temperatures, flow rates, current densities and stoichiometry with the intent of mapping the operational range of a 50 cm2 proton exchange fuel cell with an externally mounted humidifier. The result reveals that a dew point temperature range of 65degC presents an acceptable range for the membrane tested. This report focuses on humidification of a single cell, using NAFIONtrade 111 membrane, with air and hydrogen as reactant gases, an external humidification system with the objective of finding the optimal operational range for the cell.
Translocation of PKC delta by insulin in a rat hepatoma cell line

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of insulin and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), an activator of classic and novel PKCs, on the translocation of PKC from cytosol to membrane in H4IIE (H4) rat hepatoma cells. Six PKC isoforms were expressed, including PKC-μ and PKC-λ, identified for the first time in this hepatoma cell line. Insulin induced translocation of PKC-δ from the cytosol to the membrane fraction as early as 15 min and maximally at 60 min with levels returning to that of controls by 180 min. Insulin also decreased levels of PKC-ζ in membranes at 5, 10, 15, and 30 min, but had no effect on cytosol levels. Ten minutes of PMA treatment translocated PKC-δ completely, and 24 h of PMA treatment downregulated PKC-δ. Neither acute nor chronic PMA had any effect on PKC-ζ. These studies establish the ability of both insulin and PMA to activate PKC-δ in H4 cells, and coupled with our previous work demonstrating a diminution of the effect of insulin on gene transcription in PKC downregulated cells, suggest that insulin may exert specific effects, in part, through a PKC-dependent pathway.
Outsourcing: a primer

Outsourcing is defined as the procurement of products or services from sources that are external to the organization. Firms should consider outsourcing when it is believed that certain support functions can be completed faster, cheaper, or better by an outside organization. Tasks that are not core competencies of the organization are candidates for being contracted out. However, any skill or knowledge that allows you to serve your customer base better, that deals directly with the product or service you are trying to put out of the door, is one that must remain in‐house. Today, the outsourcing of selected organizational activities is an integral part of corporate strategy. For corporations, benefits of outsourcing are substantial: reduced costs, expanded services and expertise. Outsourcing allows companies to refocus their resources on their core business. Corporations can buy technology from a vendor that would be too expensive for them to replicate internally. For outsourcing to be successful the decision needs to be an informed one. Effective management of the outsourcing relationships is an organizational imperative.
Relationship between silver scurf levels on seed and progeny tubers from successive generations of potato seed

The level of silver scurf on potato seed tubers on successive generations of potato seed tubers and their progeny tubers was investigated during 3 years in the field. The objective was to determine the importance of seed-borne inoculum on silver scurf development on the subsequent progeny tubers. Silver scurf incidence and severity increased with each generation. Coefficients of determination for disease levels among generations were significant and ranged from 0.89 to 0.97, indicating that seed tuber source accounted for a large proportion of silver scurf on progeny seed tubers. Incidence and severity of silver scurf also increased with decreasing time periods between potato crops in the field. In a field near Paterson, WA, where potatoes had not been previously grown, the severity of silver scurf increased on progeny tubers of cvs Russet Norkotah, Ranger Russet, and Shepody as disease severity increased on seed tubers of successive generations. Disease severity index significantly increased as disease incidence increased. The relationship between the two was best described using a curvilinear regression model.
Changes in synaptosomal pH and rates of oxygen radical formation induced by chlordecone.

The resting pH of 7.14±0.02 within rat cortical synaptosomes is elevated in vitro by the insecticide chlordecone, in a dose-dependent manner. Chlordecone also reduces the rate of oxygen radical formation within synaptosomes. Both of these changes can also be demonstrated following in vivo treatment of rats with chlordecone (75 mg/kg body wt). Although chlordecone increases the permeability of the plasma membrane, the increase in pH observed is unlikely to be caused by this, since in vivo administration of chlordecone does not appreciably alter membrane order as evaluated by both a lipophilic probe, and a probe with an ionic segment. Another xenobiotic agent, methyl mercuric chloride, and a free radical generating system, an ascorbic acid-ferrous sulfate mixture, did not modulate synaptosomal pH, although membrane permeability was increased. Other evidence of the ability of synaptosomes to maintain homeostasis was the failure of mitochondrial inhibitors to significantly reduce pH. The drop in synaptosomal pH effected by amiloride, an inhibitor of Na+/H+ exchange, and the transient rise in pH caused by ammonium chloride further suggested that synaptosomes may be a good model in the study of the regulation of intracellular pH. The elevation of cytosolic pH, and depression of oxygen radical formation by chlordecone, may result from both the attenuation of respiratory metabolism and an impaired capacity of the plasma membrane to maintain ionic gradients.
A Reliable Method for Isolation of Viable Porcine Islet Cells

Hypothesis Mechanical injury and oxidative stress caused by reoxygenation of isolated porcine islet cells result in their unresponsiveness to glucose stimulation. Design Adult pigs (weighing 25-30 kg) were anesthetized, and following intra-arterial infusion of ice-cold University of Wisconsin solution, a complete pancreatectomy was performed. The pancreatic duct was cannulated for infusion of digestion medium containing collagenase type P, 1.5 mg/mL; deoxyribonuclease I, 10 000 U; and a water-soluble analogue of vitamin E (Trolox), 1 mmol/L. After 20-minute incubations on ice, and at 37°C, the pancreas was hand shaken for 1 minute, followed by filtration and separation on an automatic cell separator (COBE 2991). Islet cells, identified by dithizone staining, were perifused at 37°C. Results The mean ± SEM yield of intact purified islet cells (50-200 µm in diameter), and mostly present in clusters, was 2398 ± 143 cells per gram (n = 12). Glucose stimulation caused a significant increase in biphasic insulin secretion in the perifusion experiments. Conclusion We have developed a simple, reproducible, and reliable procedure for isolating intact and viable porcine islet cells suitable for xenotransplantation.
Is Sentinel Lymph Node Dissection Warranted for Patients with a Diagnosis of Ductal Carcinoma In Situ

Positive sentinel lymph node (SLN) findings in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) range from 1 to 22 % but have unknown biologic significance. This study sought to identify predictors of positive SLNs and to assess their clinical significance for patients with an initial diagnosis of DCIS. The study identified 1234 patients with an initial diagnosis of DCIS who underwent SLN dissection (SLND) at our institution from 1997 through 2011. Positive SLN findings were categorized as isolated tumor cells (ITCs) (≤0.2 mm), micrometastases (>0.2–2 mm), or macrometastases (>2 mm). Predictors of positive SLNs were analyzed, and survival outcomes were examined. Positive SLN findings were identified in 132 patients (10.7 %): 66 patients with ITCs (5.4 %), 36 patients with micrometastases (2.9 %), and 30 patients with macrometastases (2.4 %). Upstaging to microinvasive (n = 68, 5.5 %) or invasive (n = 259, 21.0 %) cancer occurred for 327 patients (26.5 %). Factors predicting positive SLNs included diagnosis by excisional biopsy (odds ratio [OR] 1.90; P = 0.007), papillary histology (OR 1.77; P = 0.006), DCIS larger than 2 cm (OR 1.55; P = 0.030), more than three interventions before SLND (4 interventions: OR 2.04; P = 0.022; ≥5 interventions: OR 3.87; P < 0.001), and occult invasion (microinvasive: OR 3.44; P = 0.001; invasive: OR 6.21; P < 0.001). The median follow-up period was 61.7 months. Patients who had pure DCIS with and without positive SLNs had equivalent survival rates (100.0 vs 99.7 %; P = 0.679). Patients with occult invasion and positive SLNs had the worst survival rate (91.7 %; P < 0.001). Occult invasion and more than three total interventions were the strongest predictors of positive SLN findings in patients with an initial diagnosis of DCIS. This supports the theory of benign mechanical transport of breast epithelial cells. Except for patients at high risk for invasive disease, routine use of SLND in DCIS is not warranted.
Correlation between local structure and electrical response of Rb and (Rb,Ag) germanate glasses: dc conductivity

The relationship between ionic conductivity and local structure (interatomic distance, coordination number, structural disorder around the various cations and the fraction of non-bridging oxygen) is determined for xRb2O · (1 - x)GeO2 binary glasses with x = 0.01−0.20, and 0.2(Ag,Rb)2O · 0.8GeO2 mixed mobile ion glasses. The composition dependence of activation energy for dc conductivity is explained by the existence of an ‘unoccupied volume’. The cooperative ion movement model proposed for alkali silicate glasses is found inappropriate for describing ionic conduction in Rb germanate glasses, probably because elastic interactions in the latter are not duly accounted. The mixed (Rb,Ag) germanate glass series shows the classical mixed mobile ion effect in dc conductivity. The distance of the mobile cation from oxygen and the disorder around it are not important for the development of this effect.
NCBI BLASTP on High-Performance Reconfigurable Computing Systems

The BLAST sequence alignment program is a central application in bioinformatics. The de facto standard version, NCBI BLAST, uses complex heuristics that make it challenging to simultaneously achieve both high performance and exact agreement. We propose a system that uses novel FPGA-based filters that reduce the input database by over 99.97p without loss of sensitivity. There are several contributions. First is design of the filters themselves, which perform two-hit seeding, exhaustive ungapped alignment, and exhaustive gapped alignments, respectively. Second is the coupling of the filters, especially the two-hit seeding and the ungapped alignment. Third is pipelining the filters in a single design, including maintaining load balancing as data are reduced by orders of magnitude at each stage. Fourth is the optimization required to maintain operating frequency for the resulting complex design. And finally, there is system integration both in hardware (the Convey HC1-EX) and software (NCBI BLASTP). We present results for various usage scenarios and find complete agreement and a factor of nearly 5x speedup over a fully parallel implementation of the reference code on a contemporaneous CPU. We believe that the resulting system is the leading per-socket-accelerated NCBI BLAST.
World space servoing for character animation under simulation

Real-time, interactive motion brings characters to life in virtual worlds like video games. However, combining playback of motion capture (mocap) data with physical simulation remains a hard problem. Most previous systems either switch between predefined animation and ragdoll (such as in Half-Life 2) or reaction physics [Zordan et al. 2005], or compute parent-space mocap torques for each bone to apply during simulation [Faloutsos et al. 2001; Zordan and Hodgins 2002]. The switching approach to control limits interaction with the environment. The parent space approach suffers from instability and accumulated pose error over long linkages, like the human spine. As a result, creating controllers for executing motion data is nontrivial and requires a heavy burden for tuning motor gains. Neither previous method is an “off-the-shelf” solution for animating characters in highly interactive environments where locomotion, object manipulation, and inter-character interaction is desired.
Statistical description of the bulge-type auroral substorm in the far ultraviolet

[1] Using global auroral images at ultraviolet wavelengths during 116 substorms, we have obtained quantitative measures of key features of the bulge aurora and oval aurora: their temporal variations, their locations, rates, and characteristics of gross expansion and decay, and the variability of these parameters. The expansion period identified solely from images varied primarily from 10 to 40 minutes, with an average of 30.9 minutes. To avoid mixing expansion data with recovery data, we normalized the time of each substorm to one unit from onset to maximum expansion. The average onset location was 22.6 magnetic local time (MLT) and 66.8° invariant latitude (ILat), in good agreement with previous analyses. We found that the bulge aurora rapidly expanded out of the onset location approximately equally to the west (surge) and to the east, so that the average center of the bulge remained close to the onset MLT. This is also the case for average location of the maximum expansion in latitude of the bulge. Thus the bulge is offset about 1 1/2 hours west of midnight. By half the expansion period the bulge has usually expanded poleward sufficiently to reveal a brightened portion of the original auroral oval. This brightening expands less than 1 hour MLT to the west, but rapidly to the east, farther than the east end of the bulge. Thus the two auroras are offset in MLT. The bulge expansion is fastest initially but slows for the second half of the expansion period. The ends of the bulge continue a small expansion poleward during early recovery when the center of the bulge slowly retreats. The large spreads of substorm expansion times, the onset locations and in the locations in ΔMLT and ΔILat of the key features of these auroras, argue strongly for the need to normalize the time of expansion and location of key features of the substorm for any kind of superposed epoch analysis to be meaningful.
An Examination of the Factor, Convergent, and Discriminant Validity of the Behavioral Inhibition System and Behavioral Activation System Scales

The Behavioral Inhibition System and Behavioral Activation System Scales (BIS/BAS scales) are the most widely used measures designed to assess Gray’s Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory. However, questions remain regarding its factor, convergent, and discriminant validity. We assessed these properties in two samples of undergraduates (N = 723, N = 103). In Study 1, confirmatory factor analysis supported previous findings that suggested removal of several items, resulting in acceptable fit for a four-factor model. Convergent and discriminant validity were assessed for the original and revised scales. In Study 2, a public speaking task was used to assess validity of the scales in reference to positive/negative affect. Convergent and discriminant validity for the revised scales were not substantially different from the original scales. We suggest that future researchers should consider the use of the revised measure we describe. We also suggest that the creation of a revised BIS/BAS scale using new items may be warranted.
Thrombospondins Are Astrocyte-Secreted Proteins that Promote CNS Synaptogenesis

The establishment of neural circuitry requires vast numbers of synapses to be generated during a specific window of brain development, but it is not known why the developing mammalian brain has a much greater capacity to generate new synapses than the adult brain. Here we report that immature but not mature astrocytes express thrombospondins (TSPs)-1 and -2 and that these TSPs promote CNS synaptogenesis in vitro and in vivo. TSPs induce ultrastructurally normal synapses that are presynaptically active but postsynaptically silent and work in concert with other, as yet unidentified, astrocyte-derived signals to produce functional synapses. These studies identify TSPs as CNS synaptogenic proteins, provide evidence that astrocytes are important contributors to synaptogenesis within the developing CNS, and suggest that TSP-1 and -2 act as a permissive switch that times CNS synaptogenesis by enabling neuronal molecules to assemble into synapses within a specific window of CNS development.
LIFE HISTORIES AND DEMOGRAPHY OF SHADE‐TOLERANT TEMPERATE FOREST HERBS: A REVIEW

Summary Information is reviewed on the life histories and demographic patterns of shade-tolerant herbs of temperate deciduous forest. Most of the species that have been studied are deciduous perennials. These species generally have a juvenile (non-flowering) period of several years followed by an extended period of flower and seed production. About half the species reviewed are self-incompatible, the others are at least partially self-compatible. Although vegetative reproduction is common, replacement does not always occur by vegetative spread; many species appear to be able to replace themselves by seed. Sexual reproductive effort ranges from 1–5 to 50 % among the species reviewed; seed weight averages 2–6 mg. Short dormancy periods (one season) are most common, with germination rates generally below 50%. Mortality rates of small plants are high, but decline as plant size increases. ‘Ageing’ does not appear to occur. No information exists on population growth rates of temperate deciduous forest herbs, or on the temporal stability of their population sizes or structures. The transition matrix model is suggested as a promising approach to future studies in plant demography.
The Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, 1877-1900

"It is the fascinating story not only of institutions but of people. Orlan Svingen has made a rich contribution to the history of the Cheyennes and the northern plains". -- Robert M. Utley "A valuable study of the Northern Cheyennes, one that is extremely well researched and nicely written". -- Montana: The Magazine of Western History
Composition of the Workplace and Psychological Well-Being: The Effects of Tokenism on America's Black Elite

Kanter's theory of proportional representation suggests that tokens should expenence more work stress and psychological symptoms than nontokens. We examine the effects of proportional representation by race and by gender on work stress and symptoms. Data come from stmctured personal interviews with a disproportionate stratified sample of elite black leaders in the U.S. (N -167). Consistent with expectations, analyses showed that numerical rarity by race and by gender significantly increased symptoms of depression and anxiety, respectively. Numerical rarity by race significantly increases "token stress" (e.g., loss of black identity, multiple demands of being black, sense of isolation, having to show greater competence) and a high degree of gender tokenism increases role overload. Some, but not all, of the total impact of proportional representation is mediated through work stressors since these stressors are themselves directly
Cyclic Erosional Instability of Sandbars along the Colorado River, Grand Canyon, Arizona

The study and management of regulated rivers have become important issues. A prime example is Glen Canyon Dam and its operational impacts on the downstream environment in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. We present an overview of the Glen Canyon Dam environmental issue, a novel methodology for monitoring dam impacts on alluvial sediments, and three years of study relating to the stability of alluvial deposits along the Colorado River. This research uses oblique photographs taken daily, automatically, from twenty-one fixed-position programmable cameras. Digital image-processing techniques created planimetric models of sandbar area from the photos for the period of March 1993 through May 1995. The technique allowed daily tracking of sandbar areas for detection of rapid erosional events. We demonstrated that rapid erosional events occur commonly on Grand Canyon sandbars. Sandbars are unstable over the study period, especially the first two years. Most of the rapid erosional events are associated with wee...
Fluorescence emission and stopped-flow kinetic studies of the acid expansion of bovine serum albumin.

Abstract The tryptophan fluorescence of bovine serum albumin shifts to shorter wavelengths as the protein expands on reducing the pH from 7 to 2. This indicates that the acid expansion of the protein does not result in an open network but a conformation which retains globular regions. The absorption and fluorescence changes accompanying the acid expansion occur largely within the dead time of the stopped-flow, but the binding site for 1,8 anilinonaphthalene sulfonic acid is lost much more slowly. This suggests that the ligand binding site is on a globular region rather than in a crevice between globular regions which breaks up when the protein expands.
INTELLIGENT INVESTING AND GOVERNANCE: THE ROLE OF FINANCIAL ACQUIRERS.

This paper examines the role of financial acquirers in the market for corporate assets. I argue that a combination of capabilities and appropriate incentive structures places financial acquirers in an advantageous position in pursuing opportunities involving underinvestment in uncertain and complex projects, as well as misgovernance of target firms.
Cooling to 10°C and treatment with Cyclosporine A improve cerebral recovery following prolonged hypothermic circulatory arrest in a chronic porcine model

Objective: This study was undertaken to assess whether cooling to 10 8C and/or treatment with Cyclosporine A (CsA) can reduce neurological injury during prolonged hypothermic circulatory arrest (HCA) in a chronic animal model. Methods: In this blinded study, 24 pigs (20–23 kg) were randomized to HCA for 90 min at 20 8 C( nZ8), at 10 8 C( nZ8), or at 10 8C with 5 mg/kg CsA (nZ8). CsA (or placebo) were given intravenously before and for 3 days after HCA. Hemodynamics and neurophysiological data were monitored periodically throughout the experiment and for 3 h after HCA, as well as intracranial pressure (ICP), which has been shown to correlate with outcome. Daily neurological/behavioral evaluation (mental status, coordination and appetite; 12Znormal and 0Zcoma or death) was carried out until sacrifice on postoperative day (POD) 3. Results: Overall survival rate was 83.3%: one 20 8C control, two 10 8C controls, and one 10 8C/CsA pig died and were replaced. Basic hemodynamic data revealed no significant differences between groups. ICP differed significantly among the groups during the first 3 h postoperatively (PZ0.003 by repeated measures ANOVA); it was higher in the 20 8C group than in the 10 8C/CsA or 10 8C control groups. Recovery of visual evoked potentials was significantly better in the10 8C/CsA group than in the 10 8C control group; no recovery was seen by 3 h in the 20 8C control group. Postoperative behavioral scores also differed significantly between the groups, PZ0.03: a good behavioral outcome—a score O9 on POD3—was more prevalent among CsA-treated pigs (75%) than among 10 8C controls (50%), or 20 8C controls (12.5%, PZ0.06). Conclusions: The data suggest that cooling to 10 8C and CsA treatment are both of benefit in improving cerebral recovery after HCA when compared with untreated 20 8C controls, and may be synergistic. q 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
New Agents for the Treatment of Fungal Infections: Clinical Efficacy and Gaps in Coverage

The incidence of fungal infections has increased globally, and the introduction of the newer triazoles and echinocandin antifungals is a more-than-welcome and long overdue development. In this report, we review the clinical trials evaluating the therapeutic efficacy of these new antifungal agents and examine possible gaps in coverage. Voriconazole has become the primary treatment for most forms of invasive aspergillosis in a number of centers, posaconazole offers a broad antifungal spectrum, and echinocandins are fungicidal against most Candida species. Moreover, the new agents are active against some fungi that are resistant to amphotericin B, may have a role in the management of fever and neutropenia, and provide exciting options for combination antifungal therapy. However, significant questions remain, including the management of breakthrough infections and treatment failures and the efficacy of the new antifungal agents against less common fungi.
Classified quadtree-based adaptive loop filter

In this paper, we propose a classified quadtree-based adaptive loop filter (CQALF) in video coding. Pixels in a picture are classified into two categories by considering the impact of the deblocking filter, the pixels that are modified and the pixels that are not modified by the deblocking filter. A wiener filter is carefully designed for each category and the filter coefficients are transmitted to decoder. For the pixels that are modified by the deblocking filter, the filter is estimated at encoder by minimizing the mean square error between the original input frame and a combined frame which is a weighted average of the reconstructed frames before and after the deblocking filter. For pixels that the deblocking filter does not modify, the filter is estimated by minimizing the mean square error between the original frame and the reconstructed frame. The proposed algorithm is implemented on top of KTA software and compatible with the quadtree-based adaptive loop filter. Compared with kta2.6r1 anchor, the proposed CQALF achieves 10.05%, 7.55%, and 6.19% BD bitrate reduction in average for intra only, IPPP, and HB coding structures respectively.
Thermal modeling of lesion growth with radiofrequency ablation devices

Temperature is a frequently used parameter to describe the predicted size of lesions computed by computational models. In many cases, however, temperature correlates poorly with lesion size. Although many studies have been conducted to characterize the relationship between time-temperature exposure of tissue heating to cell damage, to date these relationships have not been employed in a finite element model. We present an axisymmetric two-dimensional finite element model that calculates cell damage in tissues and compare lesion sizes using common tissue damage and iso-temperature contour definitions. The model accounts for both temperature-dependent changes in the electrical conductivity of tissue as well as tissue damage-dependent changes in local tissue perfusion. The data is validated using excised porcine liver tissues. The data demonstrate the size of thermal lesions is grossly overestimated when calculated using traditional temperature isocontours of 42°C and 47°C. The computational model results predicted lesion dimensions that were within 5% of the experimental measurements. When modeling radiofrequency ablation problems, temperature isotherms may not be representative of actual tissue damage patterns.
The Decision Problem for Some Classes of Sentences Without Quantifiers

In this paper we shall be concerned with questions regarding decision problems for certain classes of sentences (without quantifiers) of various kinds of algebra. In the first section we shall establish a result of a general nature, which enables one, in a number of cases, to reduce a decision problem of the type considered to a somewhat simpler problem. In the second section we formulate a rather broad sufficient condition for the existence of a decision method for sentences without quantifiers; and in the last section we show that this condition holds of lattices.
Reconstructing an Open Order from Its Closure, with Applications to Space-Time Physics and to Logic

In his logical papers, Leo Esakia studied corresponding ordered topological spaces and order-preserving mappings. Similar spaces and mappings appear in many other application areas such the analysis of causality in space-time. It is known that under reasonable conditions, both the topology and the original order relation $${\preccurlyeq}$$ can be uniquely reconstructed if we know the "interior" $${\prec}$$ of the order relation. It is also known that in some cases, we can uniquely reconstruct $${\prec}$$ (and hence, topology) from $${\preccurlyeq}$$ . In this paper, we show that, in general, under reasonable conditions, the open order $${\prec}$$ (and hence, the corresponding topology) can be uniquely determined from its closure $${\preccurlyeq}$$ .
The function and molecular identity of inward rectifier channels in vestibular hair cells of the mouse inner ear

Inner ear hair cells respond to mechanical stimuli with graded receptor potentials. These graded responses are modulated by a host of voltage-dependent currents that flow across the basolateral mem...
An evaluation of model parameterizations of sediment pathways: a case study for the Tejo estuary

Abstract A simple sediment transport model was used to reproduce the evolution of sedimentary features in the Tejo estuary over a 50-yr period. The parameterizations of fundamental processes of sediment dynamics such as erosion, deposition and flocculation were evaluated by conducting sensitivity analysis of model simulations to changes in specific parameters and their interactions. The analysis of the sediment budget for model simulations indicated that deposition and erosion mechanisms are sufficient to describe long-term bathymetric changes in the Tejo. The results suggest that erosion is the controlling mechanism in the classic representations of sediment pathways used in the model, while deposition is highly dependent on the prevailing erosion regime. At low to average concentrations of suspended sediments, dynamic feedbacks between deposition and erosion mechanisms control the sediment regime, but for high concentrations (erosional regime) advection determines the net export or accretion in the estuary. The short-term variability of the sediment budget along the longitudinal axis of the estuary is directly related to flocculation effects, which contribute to a significant increase of the instantaneous rates of removal of suspended sediments in the maximum turbidity zone, especially during peak flood and ebb flows. The role of erosion thresholds was also investigated with the purpose of assessing feedback effects among bottom and water-column processes. This study showed that modeling of bottom consolidation processes needed for a realistic representation of the time-space evolution of bed erosion thresholds is essential to replicate sediment processes consistent with in situ observations.
Interactions mediating bacterial translocation in the immature intestine

Systemic disease caused by transmucosal passage of enterovirulent bacteria and toxins from the gut lumen into the mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN) is reviewed, with particular concern for bacterial interactions in the developing gut of premature newborns. Anaerobic bacteria are rarely observed to translocate to the MLN. Bifidobacterial strains have been tested for their abilities to adhere to enterocyte-like Caco-2 cells in culture. We have investigated the inhibitory effect of adherent human bifidobacterial strains against colonization by a number of diarrheagenic bacteria (Escherichia coli O157; Salmonella typhimurium) and viruses (murine and rhesus rotavirus), in various in vitro and in vivo models. The phagocytic cell (macrophage) may be a key factor in bacterial translocation (BT). Human breast milk contains abundant bioactive substances (immunologic, nutritional) that provide protective effects through inhibition of bacterial overgrowth and BT. New biotherapeutic therapies that stimulate beneficial anaerobic microflora (Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium) are promising avenues of research to combat BT in disease treatment.
Optical and crystal quality improvement in green emitting InxGa1-xN multi-quantum wells through optimization of MOCVD growth

We report on green-emitting In0.18Ga0.82N/GaN multi-quantum well (MQW) structures over a variety of metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) growth conditions to examine the morphology, optical quality, and micron-scale emission properties. The MOCVD growth parameter space was analyzed utilizing two orthogonal metrics which allows comparing and optimizing growth conditions over a wide range of process parameters: effective gas speed, S*, and effective V/III ratio, V/III*. Optimized growth conditions with high V/III, low gas speed, and slow growth rates resulted in improved crystal quality, PL emission efficiency, and micron-scale wavelength uniformity. One of the main challenges in green MQWs with high Indium content is the formation of Indium inclusion type defects due to the large lattice mismatch combined with the miscibility gap between GaN and InN. An effective way of eliminating Indium inclusions was demonstrated by introducing a small fraction of H 2 (2.7%) in the gas composition during the growth of high temperature GaN quantum barriers. In addition, the positive effects of employing an InGaN/GaN superlattice (SL) underlayer to crystal quality and micron-scale emission uniformity was demonstrated, which is of special interest for applications such as micro-LEDs.