cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Learning to Learn: Infants’ Acquisition of Stress-Based Strategies for Word Segmentation

A majority of English words are stressed on their first syllable. Infants use stress as a cue to word segmentation, but it is unclear how infants discover the correlation between stress and word boundaries. We exposed English-learning infants to a list of words stressed on their second syllable to discover whether infants can learn a new relation between stress and word boundaries. English-learning infants treat stressed syllables as word onsets, which is incorrect in words where stressed syllables occur second (iambic words). A brief exposure allowed infants to subsequently segment iambic words correctly, whether the exposure consisted of 100% or 80% iambic words. We also trained 7-month-olds—who typically rely on transitional probabilities—to use stress as a cue to word segmentation. The results suggest that infants are sensitive to the distribution of stress across word position and that altering this distribution affects their segmentation strategies.
Periodic non-autonomous second-order dynamical systems

We study the existence of periodic solutions for a second-order non-autonomous dynamical system. We give three sets of hypotheses which guarantee the existence of non-constant solutions. We were able to weaken the hypotheses considerably from those used previously for such systems. We employ a saddle point theorem using linking methods.
Sensitivity and uncertainty analysis coupled with automatic calibration for a distributed watershed model

Abstract Distributed watershed models should pass through a careful calibration procedure before they are utilized as a decision making aid in the planning and management of water resources. Although manual approaches are still frequently used for calibration, they are tedious, time consuming, and require experienced personnel. This paper describes an automatic approach for calibrating daily streamflow and daily sediment concentration values estimated by the US Department of Agriculture's distributed watershed simulation model, Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). The automatic calibration methodology applies a hierarchy of three techniques, namely screening, parameterization, and parameter sensitivity analysis, at the parameter identification stage of model calibration. The global parameter sensitivity analysis is conducted using a stepwise regression analysis on rank-transformed input–output data pairs. Latin hypercube sampling is used to generate input data from the assigned distributions and ranges, and parameter estimation is performed using genetic algorithm. The Generalized Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation methodology is subsequently implemented to investigate uncertainty of model estimates, accounting for errors due to model structure, input data and model parameters. To demonstrate their effectiveness, the parameter identification, parameter estimation, model verification, and uncertainty analysis techniques are applied to a watershed located in southern Illinois.
Development and psychometric properties of the Nurses Assertiveness Inventory (NAI)

The Nurses' Assertiveness Inventory (NAI) is an 84-item self-report inventory designed to measure levels of assertiveness in nurses. In Study I, the scale was administered to 238 nurses whose responses were analyzed to ascertain the scale's psychometric properties and concurrent validity. Results revealed a test-retest reliability coefficient of r = 0.92, an α-reliability coefficient = 0.93 and a Guttman split-half reliability = 0.84. The scale was found to have high internal consistency and temporal stability. The concurrent validity of the NAI was significant (P ⩽ 0.001) and highly correlated with the Rathus Assertiveness Scale and Wolpe-Lazarus Scale. Study II examined the scale's concurrent validity with other conceptually related measures with 51 nurses. Results from Studies I and II indicated that the NAI possessed good discriminative, convergent and concurrent validity. These results and recommendations for future research are discussed.
US Remittances to the Caribbean, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago

A remittance is part of an employee's wages or salary that is sent back home. Remittances not only help the workers' family members, but also help the home countries to strengthen their balance of payments. Remittances are remuneration to employees from the economy in which they work, and thus they contribute to both the gross domestic product (GDP) and the gross national income (GNI) of that economy. Because of their stability and dependability, remittances have become a permanent fixture of governments' financial revenues. The primary objective of this research is to determine whether foreign nationals make a significant contribution to the level of remittances and what some of the determinants are. We utilize three models to test whether the categories of foreign nationals – immigrants admitted; persons naturalized; and non-immigrants admitted as temporary workers, exchange visitors and intra-company transferees – send significant amounts of remittances. In this work, we look at the flow of remittances during the 1982–2001 period from the United States to the Caribbean region, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago. The results indicate that the number of “immigrants admitted”, “persons naturalized” and “non-immigrants admitted as temporary workers, exchange visitors and intra-company transferees”, together with the “exchange rate”, the “Hispanic unemployment rate” and the “median income of Hispanic families”, are significant determinants in the size of remittances. When the results are extrapolated, the number of “immigrants admitted” produces the maximum remittance flow to Jamaica. The number of persons naturalized is important to the total remittances for the overall Caribbean region. The non-immigrant temporary worker group is the largest single source of remittances. This group may potentially send US$15 billion to Trinidad and Tobago.
Motion coherent image registration and demons: practical handling of deformation boundaries

Much effort has gone into the understanding of regularization in ill-posed problems in computer vision. Yuille and Grzywacz were among the first to propose use of the Gaussian Tikhonov regularizer for image registration, illustrating the ideal properties of this regularizer for preserving motion coherence. Nielsen et al. 4 later described the intricate connection between the Gaussian Tikhonov regularizer and scale space theory; this work provided the basis with which Pennec et al. 8 detailed the theoretical underpinnings of the Thirion's Demons algorithm for deformable image registration. The Demons algorithm iteratively computes a force vector field to drive the deformation in the appropriate direction, and then smooths the force vector field by Gaussian convolution in order to update the deformation. The Gaussian convolution step, which can be performed in the Fourier domain or via recursive filters, explicitly incorporates motion-coherent regularization into the registration algorithm. However, these procedures do not allow for ideal treatment of the deformation at the image boundaries. Resolution in the Fourier domain forces the choice of periodic boundary conditions which do not mimic physical behavior. Recursive filters force the user to decide how to extrapolate image data, and they may yield deformations that are not endomorphic. In this article, we illustrate how to remove these limitations and define computationally efficient algorithms for motion-coherent registration under a wide variety of boundary conditions that enable endomorphic deformations and/or physically realistic behavior. The resulting algorithms enable a new degree of user control over the behavior of Demons-style motion coherent registration algorithms.
“And Who Is My Neighbor?” II: Quest Religion as a Source of Universal Compassion

Are those with a high-quest orientation to religion less likely to help a person if that person's behavior violates their values of open-mindedness and tolerance? If so, is it because they have antipathy toward the person or toward the behavior? To answer these questions, sixty undergraduate women were given the opportunity to help either of two same-sex peers win a monetary prize. About one peer, they knew nothing; from the other, they had received two self-disclosing notes. The first note either did or did not reveal that the discloser was intolerant of gays; the second revealed that the discloser wanted the money for an activity that either would or would not promote intolerance of gays. Participants scoring high on measures of quest religion helped the intolerant discloser less than the discloser who was not intolerant when their help would promote intolerance; they did not help the intolerant discloser less when their help would not promote intolerance. These results suggest that a high-quest orientation is associated with antipathy toward the value-violating behavior (intolerance), not toward the value-violating person. The scope of the associated compassion seems relatively broad.
Distributed sensing and UAV scheduling for surveillance and tracking of unidentifiable targets

This paper presents an automated decentralized surveillance system for the problem of tracking multiple mobile ground targets with no signature in a bounded area. The system consists of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unattended fixed ground sensors (UGSs) with limited communication and detection range that are deployed in the area of interest. Each component of the system (UAV and/or Sensor) is completely autonomous and programmed to scan the area searching for targets and share its knowledge with other components within communication range. UAV scheduling of the areas to search is stochastic and the characterizing probability distributions are determined through hypotheses of consistent tracks of target observations. Such hypotheses are formulated by a client subsystem called Process Query System, which is queried with streams of incoming observations of targets and stochastic models of their kinematics. The purpose of this work is also to provide a quantitative measure of the situational awareness of the monitoring system in relation to the accuracy of the target models and the degree of decentralization of the control.
Effects of chronic ozone (O3) exposure on vocal-fold mucosa in bonnet monkeys

Effects of ambient ozone (O3) on the respiratory tract have been frequently reported. However, little is known regarding possible effects of chronic exposure to O3 on the larynx or on vocal-fold mucosa. In this study, six bonnet monkeys were exposed to 1 ppm O3 8 h per day, 5 days per week, for 3 months. Three of the monkeys' larynges were examined 4 h after exposure, and three were examined 9 months after exposure. Tissues were subjected to histological staining and morphometric quantification. Results revealed increased thickness of epithelial and connective tissue components of vocal-fold mucosa in the 4-h group and connective tissue changes that persisted in mucosa examined 9 months after exposure. Additional changes indicative of hyperplasia and disorganization of epithelial and connective tissue, as well as disruption of glands and vessels, were also noted in tissues examined at both postexposure intervals. Implications of the data for the larynx and voice quality in humans exposed to similar environmental toxins are discussed.
Prevalence of the EH1 Groucho interaction motif in the metazoan Fox family of transcriptional regulators.

The Fox gene family comprises a large and functionally diverse group of forkhead-related transcriptional regulators, many of which are essential for metazoan embryogenesis and physiology. Defining conserved functional domains that mediate the transcriptional activity of Fox proteins will contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the biological function of Fox family genes. Systematic analysis of 458 protein sequences of the metazoan Fox family was performed to identify the presence of the engrailed homology-1 motif (eh1), a motif known to mediate physical interaction with transcriptional corepressors of the TLE/Groucho family. Greater than 50% of Fox proteins contain sequences with high similarity to the eh1 motif, including ten of the nineteen Fox subclasses (A, B, C, D, E, G, H, I, L, and Q) and Fox proteins of early divergent species such as marine sponge. The eh1 motif is not detected in Fox proteins of the F, J, K, M, N, O, P, R and S subclasses, or in yeast Fox proteins. The eh1-like motifs are positioned C-terminal to the winged helix DNA-binding domain in all subclasses except for FoxG proteins, which have an N-terminal motif. Two similar eh1-like motifs are found in the zebrafish FoxQ1 and in FoxG proteins of sea urchin and amphioxus. The identification of eh1-like motifs by manual sequence alignment was validated by statistical analyses of the Swiss protein database, confirming a high frequency of occurrence of eh1-like sequences in Fox family proteins. Structural predictions suggest that the majority of identified eh1-like motifs are short α-helices, and wheel modeling revealed an amphipathicity that supports this secondary structure prediction. A search for eh1 Groucho interaction motifs in the Fox gene family has identified eh1-like sequences in greater than 50% of Fox proteins. The results predict a physical and functional interaction of TLE/Groucho corepressors with many members of the Fox family of transcriptional regulators. Given the functional importance of the eh1 motif in transcriptional regulation, our annotation of this motif in the Fox gene family will facilitate further study of the diverse transcriptional and regulatory roles of Fox family proteins.
Acyl phosphate and cyclic AMP inhibition of reactions of D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase with aldehyde and acyl phosphate substrates: multiple inhibition analysis.

Abstract The effects of the inhibitors trimethylacetyl phosphate and cAMP have been determined in reactions catalyzed by d -glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. These inhibitors must influence the oxidation of aldehydes through substrate dependent co-operative conformational changes. Both trimethylacetyl phosphate and cAMP give sigmoidal 1 V vs ( I ) plots in oxidation of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, but exert linear competitive effects on the acyl phosphatase site in acylation reactions of β-(2-furyl) acryloyl phosphate. The linear inhibition in the latter reactions indicates that one inhibitor molecule is bound per active site. Hydride transfer to NAD + is the ratedetermining step in oxidation of benzaldehyde to an acylenzyme, as shown by the threefold decrease in V max without change in K m when 1-deuterobenzaldehyde is the substrate; it is very likely this step that is affected by acyl phosphate inhibitors. Plots of 1 V vs cAMP concentration for oxidation of benzaldehyde at a series of trimethylacetyl phosphate concentrations are parallel at concentrations of acyl phosphate less than 0.00625 m , which demonstrates that binding of the inhibitors is mutually exclusive. However, at higher concentrations of trimethylacetyl phosphate, the slopes are affected, which shows that both inhibitors are then binding. Thus, the binding of high concentrations of acyl phosphate must result in a conformational change of the enzyme that permits binding of both inhibitors. A number of conformations with different kinetic properties are formed with the various substrate and inhibitor combinations. In reactions of muscle d -glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, binding of these inhibitors is best explained in terms of induced fit and a sequential model of conformational changes.
NORMAL XERORADIOGRAPHIC AND RADIOGRAPHIC ANATOMY OF THE MALLARD DUCK (ANAS PLATYRHYNCHOS) WITH REFERENCE TO OTHER ANSERINE SPECIES

The purpose of this study was to provide a reference for xeroradiographic and conventional radiographic anatomy of the mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos) as a representative of the avian Order Anseriformes. The head, body, wing, and pelvic limb of three adult birds were radiographed using xeroradiographic and conventional radiographic techniques. Nine xeroradiographs and their corresponding conventional radiographs were selected, and the xeroradiographs labeled to illustrate normal anatomy. Selected views of other anseriform species were included to illustrate certain anatomical features unique to those species.
Integrated amorphous silicon linear image sensor

An integrated a-Si:H linear image sensor with a TFT-type photoconductor was successfully demonstrated. Each sensor element of the linear image sensor consists of a TFT-type photoconductor, a storage capacitor, and two TFT switches. All the devices were fabricated simultaneously with the same metal-insulator-semiconductor structure used for the TFTs. The characteristics of the TFT-type photoconductor and the TFTs are measured. The operation principle of the image sensor array is described; and the dynamic testing of a sensor element is discussed.© (1992) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Delayed cell cycle pathway modulation facilitates recovery after spinal cord injury

Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) causes tissue loss and associated neurological dysfunction through mechanical damage and secondary biochemical and physiological responses. We have previously described the pathobiological role of cell cycle pathways following rat contusion SCI by examining the effects of early intrathecal cell cycle inhibitor treatment initiation or gene knockout on secondary injury. Here, we delineate changes in cell cycle pathway activation following SCI and examine the effects of delayed (24 h) systemic administration of flavopiridol, an inhibitor of major cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs), on functional recovery and histopathology in a rat SCI contusion model. Immunoblot analysis demonstrated a marked upregulation of cell cycle-related proteins, including pRb, cyclin D1, CDK4, E2F1 and PCNA, at various time points following SCI, along with downregulation of the endogenous CDK inhibitor p27. Treatment with flavopiridol reduced induction of cell cycle proteins and increased p27 expression in the injured spinal cord. Functional recovery was significantly improved after SCI from day 7 through day 28. Treatment significantly reduced lesion volume and the number of Iba-1(+) microglia in the preserved tissue and increased the myelinated area of spared white matter as well as the number of CC1(+) oligodendrocytes. Furthermore, flavopiridol attenuated expression of Iba-1 and glactin-3, associated with microglial activation and astrocytic reactivity by reduction of GFAP, NG2, and CHL1 expression. Our current study supports the role of cell cycle activation in the pathophysiology of SCI and by using a clinically relevant treatment model, provides further support for the therapeutic potential of cell cycle inhibitors in the treatment of human SCI.
Fragmentation and the emission of particle stable and unstable complex nuclei

Abstract The production of intermediate mass fragments is discussed for intermediate energy heavy ion reactions. Intermediate mass fragments are produced with mean multiplicities less than one, Many of the fragments are emitted before the compound nucleus comes to thermal equilibrium. The concept of local thermal equilibrium is examined via measurements of the relative populations of ground and excited states of emitted fragments. Emission temperatures of 4–5 MeV are deduced from the relative populations of widely separated particle unstable states. These temperatures are independent of bombarding energy, suggesting the possibility that the emission temperature is a characteristic of the breakup process and not the temperature of an equilibrated subsystem formed by the overlap of projectile and target.
Rational decision‐making among male street prostitutes

This ethnographic study examines the lives of 18 young male street prostitutes. The focus of this study is to identify the benefits and liabilities associated with this activity by grounding the decision to engage in this behavior in a rational choice perspective. Benefits identified include financial gain, sexual pleasure, control of work schedule, and affection. The liabilities include fear of arrest, potential for violence, having sex with undesirable people, and not being paid for services rendered. This study demonstrates that the decision to engage in street prostitution is a complicated process that involves the weighing of the perceived benefits against the perceived risks.
Chloroplast DNA codes for the primary structure of the large subunit of fraction I protein.

Abstract Resolution of the tryptic peptides obtained from the large subunit of Fraction I proteins isolated from Nicotiana species indigenous to Australia revealed one peptide that was not found in Nicotiana species indigenous to the Western Hemisphere. The extra peptide appeared in the reciprocal F1 hybrids N. gossei ( Australia ) × N. tabacum ( Western Hemisphere ) , only when N. gossei was the female parent. The maternal mode of inheritance requires chloroplast DNA to code for the sequence of amino acids in the large subunit, in contrast to a previous finding that nuclear DNA codes for the small subunit.
Positive-Grid Characteristics of a Triode

By operating the grid of a triode at a positive potential it becomes a virtual cathode discharging electrons with uniform initial velocity, and thus a recent theory by Jaffe becomes applicable. The positive-grid characteristics of a number of radio receiving tubes are determined and matched with those determined from theory. Agreement, satisfactory under given conditions, is found in the region of low plate voltages. Departure of the experimental curves from the theoretical ones is discussed. Practical tubes tested do not, by any means, correspond to the ideal conditions of the theory: the electrodes are not plane; the electrostatic field is not homogeneous; secondary emission from the grid is present; contact potentials exist; and there is always a velocity distribution among the electrons. Nevertheless, the investigation points a way toward a better theory of the triode.
Image placement error due to pattern transfer for EUV masks

As semiconductor device requirements approach the 70 nm lithography node the development and implementation of a next-generation lithography (NGL) technology and the associated masks becomes of paramount importance. We have been developing Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography (EUVL) mask materials and processes. Fabrication of these masks includes the deposition and patterning of an EUV absorber stack. An understanding of the effect of pattern transfer on image placement is required due to the stringent image placement requirements for NGL masks. This article reports the measurement results of image placement caused by the pattern transfer of resist through final image for a candidate EUVL absorber stack using both bright field and dark field patterned 6025 (6” × 6” × 0.25”) masks. To determine stress related image distortion for EUV masks, an EUV stack consisting of SiON, TaSiN, and Cr was deposited onto Mo/Si coated mask blanks (6025 format) provided by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). Both dark field and bright field masks were built and the pattern image placement was measured after e-beam lithography and after every etch process. Analysis of the data sets provided the resultant pattern transfer induced image displacement.
Anesthesia for Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Procedures

Traditionally, sedation for gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures was provided by the gastroenterologist. Increasingly, however, complex procedures are being performed on seriously ill patients. As a result, anesthesiologists now are providing anesthesia and sedation in the gastrointestinal endoscopy suite for many of these patients. This article reviews the challenges encountered in this environment and anesthetic techniques that can be used successfully for these procedures.
Change in use of allogeneic red blood cell transfusions among surgical patients.

Background Although RBC transfusions can be lifesaving, recent evidence suggests that their use is associated with added morbidity and mortality and that a lower transfusion threshold is safe. It is unclear if this new evidence has translated into decreased RBC use among surgical patients. The purpose of this study is to measure the change in use of RBCs during the last decade. Study Design We performed a cross-sectional cohort study of all patients who underwent inpatient operations in the 52 hospitals in Maryland in 1997 to 1998 and 2004 to 2005. The primary outcomes variable was whether or not the patient received an allogeneic RBC transfusion. We controlled for confounders related to RBC transfusion, including age, gender, race, type of admission, comorbid conditions, and surgeon patient-volume. Results Patients receiving RBCs were older (63 versus 52 years), were more likely to be admitted through the emergency department (37% versus 24%) or as a readmission (12% versus 6.9%), had more Romano-Charlson index comorbidities, and had a higher unadjusted mortality (6.5% versus 1.1%). Comparing 1997 to 1998 to 2004 to 2005, RBC use in surgical patients increased (8.9% versus 14%), although unadjusted mortality decreased (2.0% versus 1.5%). Factors associated with higher adjusted relative risk (RR) of transfusion include age older than 65 years (RR = 2.45), unscheduled admissions (emergency department RR=1.32, readmission RR=1.62), Romano-Charlson comorbidities (RR = 1.04 to 2.71), third quartile of surgeon volume (RR = 1.10), death (RR = 1.24), and having operations in 2004 to 2005 (RR = 1.42). Conclusions Despite evidence supporting more restrictive use of RBC transfusions, RBC use among surgical patients has increased during the last decade.
Technical Note: Rehabilitation of a Biofouled Pressure-Relief Well Network, Garrison Dam, North Dakota

Dams are subject to seepage through their foundations and abutments. Seepage may result in excess fluid pressures or uplift pressures beneath elements of the dam, thereby becoming a safety concern with respect to the stability of the dam. Pressure-relief wells are an integral part of a dam's seepage control system. These wells are generally designed to be free flowing and placed to intercept zones in dam foundation materials that are sensitive to elevated fluid pressures. Pressure-relief wells reduce excess fluid pressures by allowing water to be safely discharged from the zone affected by the excess fluid pressure (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers [USACE], 1992). Upon completion of review of historic pressure-relief well discharge rates and down-hole video camera observations for a pressure-relief well network (Figure 1) at Garrison Dam, ND, it was determined rehabilitation efforts were required. Rehabilitation methodology and results for this pressure-relief well network are presented in this paper. Figure 1. Location of the pressure-relief well network and associated piezometers at Garrison Dam, ND (1 ft = 0.3048 m). Garrison Dam and reservoir (Lake Sakakawea) comprise a multiple-purpose project consisting of a rolled earth-filled dam, an emergency spillway, and a hydroelectric-generating plant. The reservoir stretches 178 mi (286 km) and has a capacity of 2.3 million acre-ft (2.8 billion m3) for flood control, conservation, navigation, power development, irrigation, recreation, and other uses. The dam is 11,300 ft (3,440 m) long; 210 ft (64 m) high; 60 ft (18 m) wide at the top; and 2,600 ft (790 m) wide at the base. Construction on the dam began in 1947 and lasted 7 years. Reservoir filling began in 1953, and the minimum operating pool was reached in 2 years and 5 months. The pressure-relief well network consists of eight pressure-relief wells, each 6 in. (15 cm) in diameter, …
Photocatalyzed oxidation of crude oil residue by beach sand

Crude-oil residue in contact with beach sand and air was observed to undergo photocatalytic oxidation on exposure to light from a high pressure mercury vapor lamp. The kinetics of the heterogeneous reaction were of zero order in the mass of organic material present. Carbon dioxide was the oxidation product. No dark reaction occurred. The beach sand used contained magnetite and ilmenite as minor constituents. These materials are known to have catalytic properties for hydrocarbon oxidation. The results point to a “self-cleaning” process provided by the natural environment for the photocatalytic removal of crude-oil contamination from sandy beaches.
Two prohormones for gastrin-releasing peptide are encoded by two mRNAs differing by 19 nucleotides

In our studies on the molecular biology of human gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP), we have discovered an example of a change in translational reading frame apparently produced through alternative RNA splicing. Complementary DNAs prepared from a pulmonary carcinoid tumor rich in GRP immunoreactivity had one of two different-sized internal DNA fragments after digestion with the restriction enzyme Pvu II. Nucleotide sequences of the two DNA fragments were identical except for 19 additional nucleotides present in the larger fragment. The region of the mRNA containing the 19 nucleotides corresponded to the carboxyl-terminal region of the human GRP precursor. The resulting shift in reading frame causes a difference of 10 amino acids in size and an overall sequence difference of 27 amino acids between the two GRP prohormones so formed. The change in reading frame described here is unusual in eukaryotes and is yet another mechanism to produce diversity in the generation of biological peptides.
Vesicular stomatitis virus as a treatment for colorectal cancer.

M protein mutant vesicular stomatitis virus is an attractive candidate oncolytic virus for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer due to its ability to kill cancer cells that are defective in their antiviral responses. The oncolytic activity of recombinant wild-type and M protein mutant vesicular stomatitis viruses was determined in RKO, Hct116 and LoVo colorectal cancer cells, as well as in human fibroblast and hepatocyte primary cultures. RKO and Hct116 cells were sensitive to both viruses, whereas LoVo cells were resistant. [35S]methionine labeling experiments and viral plaque assays showed that sensitive and resistant colorectal cancer cells supported viral protein and progeny production after infection with either virus. Colorectal cancer cells were pretreated with β-interferon and infected with vesicular stomatitis virus to evaluate the extent to which interferon signaling is downregulated in colorectal cancer cells. Although colorectal cancer cells retained some degree of interferon signaling, this signaling did not negatively impact the oncolytic effects of either virus in sensitive cells. Murine xenografts of RKO cells were effectively treated by intratumoral injections with M protein mutant virus, whereas LoVo xenografts were resistant to treatment with this virus. These results suggest that M protein mutant vesicular stomatitis virus is a good candidate oncolytic virus for the treatment of selected metastatic colorectal cancers.
Sensitivity of preadipose 3T3 cells to growth hormone

Cultured preadispose 3T3 cells are able to undergo a process of differentiation through which they are converted into adipose cells. Growth hormone induces this conversion in resting cultures but not in growing cultures. It was of interest to determine the period of cell sensitivity to the hormone and the timing of the induction of glycerophosphate dehydrogenase, a key enzyme in lipogenesis. It was found that 3T3-F442A cells became highly sensitive to rat growth hormone at confluence but that high sensitivity remained for only 3 days; thereafter, the responsiveness to the rat growth hormone declined rapidly. Refeeding of the cells with fresh medium did not lead to the recovery of the hormone sensitivity, indicating that the decrease in sensitivity was not due to exhaustion of medium components but that it seemed to be a specific property of F442A cells. As glycerophosphate dehydrogenase activity was detected at nearly the same time as its mRNA was measurable, it is likely that the mRNA is translated immediately after its synthesis.
Observation of Angular Momentum Saturation in Deep-Inelastic Processes Involving Light Heavy Ions

The most probable value for the total kinetic energy of reaction products from strongly damped collisions of $^{28}\mathrm{Si}$ + $^{12}\mathrm{C}$ was found to increase with bombarding energy only up to a limiting value. This behavior suggests that the orbital angular momentum of the dinuclear complex formed in these collisions has reached a saturation value beyond which further increase is not possible.
Laboratory Measurements of the Microwave Properties of H2S under Simulated Jovian Conditions with an Application to Neptune

H2S opacity may significantly affect the brightness temperatures of Uranus and Neptune due to possible depletion of ammonia in the tropospheres of those planets (de Pater et al. 1991). Though the rotational line centers of H2S are in the millimeter wavelengths region, significant absorption is also present at centimeter wavelengths due to pressure broadening of the lines. Accordingly, the properties of H2S under Jovian conditions have been measured in order to constrain further the constituents' abundances on these planets. These absorptivity measurements show values that are significantly greater than values predicted by the Van Vleck-Weisskopf models traditionally used at centimeter wavelengths. In order to better model the opacity due to H2S under Jovian conditions a Ben-Reuven lineshape formalism has therefore been developed and is presented. This formalism provides a possible constraint on the relative abundances of H2S and NH3 on Neptune based on Voyager 2 radio occultation results (Lindal 1992).
Process–structure–property relations of micron thick Gd2O3 films deposited by reactive electron-beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD)

Abstract Thick polycrystalline gadolinium oxide (Gd 2 O 3 ) films up to 11 μm in thickness were deposited via reactive electron beam-physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD) on silicon (111) substrates for use in neutron radiation detection. The effects of coating thickness, substrate temperature, and oxygen flow on film structural, electrical and optical properties were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), capacitance–voltage (C–V) measurements, and ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy. Films were characterized as either monoclinic or mixed monoclinic and cubic phase depending on deposition parameters. Increasing the deposition temperature resulted in increased film crystallinity and cubic phase volume while decreasing the O 2 flow rate resulted in increased volume of the monoclinic phase. Evidence of a thickness dependent crystallography is also presented. Electrical property measurements showed thin film dielectric constant could be tailored between 12 and 20 at 1 MHz frequency by decreasing the oxygen flow rate at deposition temperatures of 250 °C which is attributed to an increased presence of the monoclinic phase and increased film density. Band gap values were calculated from transmission measurements and ranged between 5.44 and 5.96 eV.
Access of quaternary ammonium blockers to the internal pore of cyclic nucleotide-gated channels: implications for the location of the gate.

Cyclic nucleotide-gated (CNG) channels play important roles in the transduction of visual and olfactory information by sensing changes in the intracellular concentration of cyclic nucleotides. We have investigated the interactions between intracellularly applied quaternary ammonium (QA) ions and the α subunit of rod cyclic nucleotide-gated channels. We have used a family of alkyl-triethylammonium derivatives in which the length of one chain is altered. These QA derivatives blocked the permeation pathway of CNG channels in a concentration- and voltage-dependent manner. For QA compounds with tails longer than six methylene groups, increasing the length of the chain resulted in higher apparent affinities of ∼1.2 RT per methylene group added, which is consistent with the presence of a hydrophobic pocket within the intracellular mouth of the channel that serves as part of the receptor binding site. At the single channel level, decyltriethyl ammonium (C10-TEA) ions did not change the unitary conductance but they did reduce the apparent mean open time, suggesting that the blocker binds to open channels. We provide four lines of evidence suggesting that QA ions can also bind to closed channels: (1) the extent of C10-TEA blockade at subsaturating [cGMP] was larger than at saturating agonist concentration, (2) under saturating concentrations of cGMP, cIMP, or cAMP, blockade levels were inversely correlated with the maximal probability of opening achieved by each agonist, (3) in the closed state, MTS reagents of comparable sizes to QA ions were able to modify V391C in the inner vestibule of the channel, and (4) in the closed state, C10-TEA was able to slow the Cd2+ inhibition observed in V391C channels. These results are in stark contrast to the well-established QA blockade mechanism in Kv channels, where these compounds can only access the inner vestibule in the open state because the gate that opens and closes the channel is located cytoplasmically with respect to the binding site of QA ions. Therefore, in the context of Kv channels, our observations suggest that the regions involved in opening and closing the permeation pathways in these two types of channels are different.
NOMINAL COSTS AND THE DEMAND FOR REAL TRANSACTIONS BALANCES

The standard specification of constant real transactions costs assumes that over the sample period transactions costs move in lock-step with the GNP deflator; our model assumes that transactions costs move negligibly compared to the GNP deflator. That is, nominal transactions costs are assumed constant here rather than real transactions costs as in other estimates of money demand. We find with this nominal-transactions-cost specification that the real money demand function is more stable in terms of the stability of the coefficients and the accuracy of out of sample predictions than indicated by earlier studies.
Effects of Time Scales on Lift of Airfoils in an Unsteady Stream

In unsteady aerodynamics, the reduced frequency has always been considered as the predominant controlling parameter because it relates to the unsteadiness. In this study, we examined the responses of several delta wings of varying aspect ratio and a two-dimensional wing in an unsteady periodic freestream. We found that in certain operating conditions, the lift of the airfoils may or may not be a function of the reduced frequency, depending on whether the leading-edge separation vortex can remain stationary on the wing or not. For delta wings with attached, stationary leading-edge vortices, the lift forces are not a function of the reduced frequency. However, if the leading-edge vortices shed and convect downstream, then the lift force depends on the reduced frequency.
Reproducible Research as a Community Effort: Lessons from the Madagascar Project

Reproducible research is the discipline of attaching software code and data to publications, which enables the reader to reproduce, verify, and extend published computational experiments. Instead of being the responsibility of an individual author, computational reproducibility should become the responsibility of open source scientific-software communities. A dedicated community effort can keep a body of computational research alive by actively maintaining its reproducibility. The Madagascar open source software project offers an example of such a community.
Standardized assessment of behavior and adaptive living skills in juvenile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis

We obtained information about the behavioral, psychiatric, and functional status of 26 children (13 males, 13 females) with juvenile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (JNCL; mean age 12y 3mo [SD 3y 4mo]; range 6y 9mo to 18y 8mo). Twenty-five children had visual impairment and 18 were known to have a positive seizure history before enrollment. Parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist, Scales of Independent Behavior - Revised, and a structured interview to assess obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Participants exhibited a broad range of behavioral and psychiatric problems, rated as occurring frequently and/or as severe in more than half of the sample. Males and females did not differ with regard to the number of behavioral and psychiatric problems. Children were also limited in their ability to perform activities of daily living, including self-care, hygiene, socialization, and other age-appropriate tasks. Results provide a quantitative baseline for behavioral and psychiatric problems and functional level in JNCL, against which further decline can be measured. Longitudinal assessment of behavioral and psychiatric symptoms and functional abilities is continuing and will provide much-needed data on the natural history of JNCL.
Risk of becoming cocaine dependent: epidemiological estimates for the United States, 2000-2001.

Risk of Becoming Cocaine Dependent: Epidemiological Estimates for the United States, 2000–2001
Cyclic biogeochemical processes and nitrogen fate beneath a subtropical stormwater infiltration basin

Abstract A stormwater infiltration basin in north–central Florida, USA, was monitored from 2007 through 2008 to identify subsurface biogeochemical processes, with emphasis on N cycling, under the highly variable hydrologic conditions common in humid, subtropical climates. Cyclic variations in biogeochemical processes generally coincided with wet and dry hydrologic conditions. Oxidizing conditions in the subsurface persisted for about one month or less at the beginning of wet periods with dissolved O 2 and NO 3 − showing similar temporal patterns. Reducing conditions in the subsurface evolved during prolonged flooding of the basin. At about the same time O 2 and NO 3 − reduction concluded, Mn, Fe and SO 4 2 − reduction began, with the onset of methanogenesis one month later. Reducing conditions persisted up to six months, continuing into subsequent dry periods until the next major oxidizing infiltration event. Evidence of denitrification in shallow groundwater at the site is supported by median NO 3 − –N less than 0.016 mg L − 1 , excess N 2 up to 3 mg L − 1 progressively enriched in δ 15 N during prolonged basin flooding, and isotopically heavy δ 15 N and δ 18 O of NO 3 − (up to 25‰ and 15‰, respectively). Isotopic enrichment of newly infiltrated stormwater suggests denitrification was partially completed within two days. Soil and water chemistry data suggest that a biogeochemically active zone exists in the upper 1.4 m of soil, where organic carbon was the likely electron donor supplied by organic matter in soil solids or dissolved in infiltrating stormwater. The cyclic nature of reducing conditions effectively controlled the N cycle, switching N fate beneath the basin from NO 3 − leaching to reduction in the shallow saturated zone. Results can inform design of functionalized soil amendments that could replace the native soil in a stormwater infiltration basin and mitigate potential NO 3 − leaching to groundwater by replicating the biogeochemical conditions under the observed basin.
Catching Up with the Economy

In his Presidential Address five years ago, Zvi Griliches (1994) called attention to the severe difficulties that beset current attempts to measure the growth of labor productivity in the American economy. Because of these difficulties, it is likely that the true rate of economic growth is substantially underestimated. The root of the problem is the difficulty in measuring output in the service sector which now represents two-thirds of the economy. In such sectors as health care and information services, the contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) is measured by inputs rather than outputs, a procedure that makes it impossible to gauge accurately improvements in the quality of output. Thus, in the case of computers, which are transforming American society, economists have been unable, so far, to find a measurable contribution of computers to the rise in labor productivity—an astonishing paradox. I want to follow up on this problem of mismeasurements. My thesis is that the profession
Ford Motor Company Global Ergonomics Process

The use of ergonomic principles in the design of automobile assembly and manufacturing operations has become an important part of a comprehensive health and safety process as well as an integral pa...
A new dynamic model for predicting transient phenomena in a PEM fuel cell system

Abstract In this paper, a mathematical model is developed to simulate the transient phenomena in a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) system. At present many electrochemical models are available to the fuel cell designers to capture steady state behavior by estimating the equilibrium voltage for a particular set of operating conditions, but models capable of describing transient phenomena are scanty. In practical applications such as powertrains of land-based vehicles or submarines, the output power from the fuel cell system undergoes large variations especially during acceleration and deceleration. During such processes, many transient dynamic mechanisms become significant, while simple empirical models are unable to represent the transient dynamics caused by such as diffusion effect and double layer capacitance at the interface between the electrodes and the electrolyte. Hence, a novel dynamic fuel cell model is developed in this paper which incorporates the effects of charge double layer capacitance, the dynamics of flow and pressure in the anode and cathode channels and mass/heat transfer transient features in the fuel cell body. This dynamic model can predict the transient response of cell voltage, temperature of the cell, hydrogen/oxygen out flow rates and cathode and anode channel temperatures/pressures under sudden change in load current. The proposed model is implemented in SIMULINK environment. The simulation results are analyzed and compared to benchmark results. Lab tests are carried out at Connecticut Global Fuel Cell Center and a good agreement is found between tests and simulations. This model will be very useful for the optimal design and real-time control of PEM fuel cell systems.
Sulfated tyrosines contribute to the formation of the C5a docking site of the human C5a anaphylatoxin receptor.

The complement anaphylatoxin C5a and its seven-transmembrane segment (7TMS) receptor play an important role in host defense and in a number of inflammation-associated pathologies. The NH2-terminal domain of the C5a receptor (C5aR/CD88) contributes substantially to its ability to bind C5a. Here we show that the tyrosines at positions 11 and 14 of the C5aR are posttranslationally modified by the addition of sulfate groups. The sulfate moieties of each of these tyrosines are critical to the ability of the C5aR to bind C5a and to mobilize calcium. A C5aR variant lacking these sulfate moieties efficiently mobilized calcium in response to a small peptide agonist, but not to C5a, consistent with a two-site model of ligand association in which the tyrosine-sulfated region of the C5aR mediates the initial docking interaction. A peptide based on the NH2 terminus of the C5aR and sulfated at these two tyrosines, but not its unsulfated analogue or a doubly sulfated control peptide, partially inhibited C5a association with its receptor. These observations clarify structural and mutagenic studies of the C5a/C5aR association and suggest that related 7TMS receptors are also modified by functionally important sulfate groups on their NH2-terminal tyrosines.