Effect of hydrogen loading on temperature/electric-field poling ofSiO2-based thin films on Si

Waveguide stacks of GeSiO₂-based glass deposited on Si exhibit a permanent second-order nonlinearity following temperature electric-field poling. High temperature hydrogen loading increases the second harmonic signal under certain conditions     

The X-linked lymphoproliferative-disease gene product SAP regulates signals induced through the co-receptor SLAM

In addition to triggering the activation of B- or T-cell antigen receptors, the binding of a ligand to its receptor at the cell surface can sometimes determine the physiological outcome of interactions between antigen-presenting cells, T and B lymphocytes. The protein SLAM (also known as CDw150), which is present on the surface of B and T cells, forms such a receptor-ligand pair as it is a self-ligand. We now show that a T-cell-specific, SLAM-associated protein (SAP), which contains an SH2 domain and a short tall, acts as an inhibitor by blocking recruitment of the SH2-domain-containing signal-transduction molecule SHP-2 to a docking site in the SLAM cytoplasmic region. The gene encoding SAP maps to the same area of the X chromosome as the locus for X-linked lymphoproliferative disease (XLP) and we found mutations in the SAP gene in three XLP patients. Absence of the inhibitor SAP in XLP patients affects T/B-cell interactions induced by SLAM, leading to an inability to control B-cell proliferation caused by Epstein-Barr virus infections.     

Induced magnetic fields as evidence for subsurface oceans in Europa and Callisto

The Galileo spacecraft has been orbiting Jupiter since 7 December 1995, and encounters one of the four galilean satellites-Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto-on each orbit. Initial results from the spacecraft's magnetometer have indicated that neither Europa nor Callisto have an appreciable internal magnetic field, in contrast to Ganymede and possibly Io. Here we report perturbations of the external magnetic fields (associated with Jupiter's inner magnetosphere) in the vicinity of both Europa and Callisto. We interpret these perturbations as arising from induced magnetic fields, generated by the moons in response to the periodically varying plasma environment. Electromagnetic induction requires eddy currents to flow within the moons, and our calculations show that the most probable explanation is that there are layers of significant electrical conductivity just beneath the surfaces of both moons. We argue that these conducting layers may best be explained by the presence of salty liquid-water oceans, for which there is already indirect geological evidence in the case of Europa.     

Posttraining estrogen and memory modulation

The present paper provides a review of recent research carried out in this laboratory investigating the effects of posttraining peripheral and intrahippocampal injection of estradiol on memory in rats, and estradiol-acetylcholine interactions in memory modulation. Ovariectomized rats received an eight-trial training session in a hippocampal-dependent hidden platform water maze task. Immediately following training, rats received a posttraining peripheral or intrahippocampal injection of estradiol-cyclodextrin complex or vehicle. Twenty-four hours later rats were returned to the maze for a retention test session, and latency to escape was used as a measure of memory for the previous day's training. Peripheral posttraining injection of estradiol enhances memory relative to vehicle-treated rats. Injections of estradiol given 2 h posttraining has no effect on retention, indicating a time-dependent effect of estradiol on memory storage processes. A time-dependent memory enhancing effect of posttraining intrahippocampal injections of estradiol has also been observed in both male and ovariectomized female rats. The memory enhancing effect of peripheral posttraining injection of estradiol in ovariectomized rats is blocked by a subeffective dose of the acetylcholine muscarinic receptor antagonist scopolamine, suggesting that estradiol interacts with cholinergic systems in memory modulation. Concurrent peripheral posttraining injection of a subeffective dose of estradiol and a subeffective dose of the cholinergic agonist oxotremorine produces a synergistic memory enhancing effect. The findings suggest that: (1) estradiol selectively influences memory storage independent of an effect on nonmnemonic processes, (2) the hippocampus is a potential neuroanatomical site of action mediating estrogenic effects on memory, and (3) estradiol interacts with cholinergic systems in memory modulation.     

Hemispheric contributions to the integration of visual and auditory information in speech perception

Differential hemispheric contributions to the perceptual phenomenon known as the McGurk effect were examined in normal subjects, 1 callosotomy patient, and 4 patients with intractable epilepsy. Twenty-five right-handed subjects were more likely to demonstrate an influence of a mouthed word on identification of a dubbed acoustic word when the speaker's face was lateralized to the LVF as compared with the RVF. In contrast, display of printed response alternatives in the RVF elicited a greater percentage of McGurk responses than display in the LVF. Visual field differences were absent in a group of 15 left-handed subjects. These results suggest that in right-handers, the two hemispheres may make distinct contributions to the McGurk effect. The callosotomy patient demonstrated reliable McGurk effects, but at a lower rate than the normal subjects and the epileptic control subjects. These data support the view that both the right and left hemisphere can make significant contributions to the McGurk effect.     

The environmental basis of sustainable development

Much economic activity depends on the environmentalresource base (soils, water, vegetation, climate) that ultimately underpins virtually all human endeavor. This environmental-resource support is obviously important for agriculture, forestry, fisheries and hydropower generation. It is less obviously important for public health: without regular supplies of domestic-household water with sufficient quantity and quality, the risk of sanitation-disease increases. Much the same applies, through indirect linkages, to such further economic sectors as communications and education.These considerations are especially significant for developing countries. A greater share of their economies is usually dependent on the environmental-resource base than is the case with developed-world economies; and at the same time, the resource base, being generally tropical in location, is more fragile and hence susceptible to depletion than is the case with temperate-zone countries. Thus there is a premium on safeguarding the environmental-resource base as an integral part of those processes known as sustainable development.This is a revised and expanded version of a paper prepared for a Seminar on Land and Water Management, Economic Development Institute, The World Bank, November 10–21, 1986. The author is a consultant in Environment and Development, Upper Meadow, Old Road, Headington, Oxford, United Kingdom. The views expressed in this paper are those of the author, and should not be attributed to the World Bank, to its affiliated organizations or to any individual acting on their behalf.     

Effect of Water Vapor on the Release of Fission Gases from Uranium Oxycarbide in High-Temperature, Gas-Cooled Reactor Coated Fuel Particles

The hydrolysis of uranium oxycarbide (UCO) was studied by injecting water vapor into a fuel element containing a known number of high-temperature, gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) coated particles with exposed fuel kernels. The experiments were conducted in the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) at temperatures between 700° and 1000°C, a system pressure of 200 kPa, and partial pressures of water vapor between 21 and 199 Pa. The general sequential response of the exposed fuel kernels to water vapor addition consisted of (1) a rapid release of stored fission gas with a concomitant increase in the steady-state release and (2) a period of constant steady-state release. Upon cessation of the addition of water vapor, a decline in the release to prehydrolysis values generally occurred. The release of stored fission gas was dependent on the square of the partial pressure of water vapor. The ratio of the constant steady-state release to the prehydrolysis value was independent of the partial pressure of water vapor. The time constant for the decline in the release was the same in all of the hydrolysis tests.     

Soy protein combined with copper and boron compounds for providing effective wood preservation

Chromated copper arsenate (CCA), an arsenicbased wood preservative, is toxic to human health and the environment. Although CCA is stable in seasoned wood, there are potential dangers during CCA manufacture, lumber treatment, and waste disposal. This research was conducted to study the effectiveness of soy products to replace toxic chromium and arsenic compounds in wood preservative formulations. Three soy product (Arpro 2100, HM 90, and Supro 760) were used as fixative agents in preservative solutions containing anhydrous CuSO₄ and Na₂B₄O₇·10H₂O. The decay resistance of treated wood blocks was measured by a soil-block culture method. Despite the large molecular sizes of copper-protein and copper-boron-protein complexes, southern pine sapwood was treatable with these preservative formulations. Wood samples treated with >6 kg°m⁻³ CuSO₄ and 7.5 kg·m⁻³ soy product, and subsequently leached for 3 d and exposed to the decay fungus Gloeophyllum trabeum (Fr.) Mur., sustained only 0.5% weight loss over 12 wk. Wood samples needed 40 kg·m⁻³ CuSO₄ and 50 kg·m⁻³ soy protein to resist the copper-tolerant decay fungus Postia placenta (Fr.) M. Lars. & Lomb. These results suggest that soy-based wood preservatives can prevent wood products from fungal attack and can replace CCA.     

Nitrogen fertilizer in leucaena alley cropping. II. residual value of nitrogen fertilizer and leucaena residues

Legume residues have been credited with supplying mineral nitrogen (N) to the associated cereal crop and improving soil fertility in the long term. Few studies using¹⁵N have reported the fate of legume N and fertilizer N in the presence of legume residues in soil-plant systems over periods of two years or longer. A field experiment was conducted in microplots to evaluate: (1) the residual value of the¹⁵N added in leucaena residues; (2) the residual value of fertilizer¹⁵N applied in the presence of unlabelled leucaena residues in the first year to maize over three subsequent years; and (3) the long-term fate of residual fertilizer and leucaena¹⁵N in a leucaena alley cropping system.There was a significant increase in maize production over three subsequent years after addition of leucaena residues. The residual effect of fertilizer N increased maize yield in the second year when N fertilizer was applied at 36 kg N ha^–1 in the first year in the presence of leucaena residues. Of the leucaena¹⁵N applied in the first year, the second, third and fourth maize crop recovered 2.6%, 1.8% and 1.4%, respectively. The corresponding values for the residual fertilizer¹⁵N were 0.7%, 0.4% and 0.3%. About 12–14% of the fertilizer¹⁵N added in the first year was found in the 200 cm soil profile over the following three years. This differed from the 38–41% of leucaena¹⁵N detected in the soil over the same period. Most of the residual fertilizer and leucaena¹⁵N in the soil was immobilized in the top 25 cm with less than 1% leached below 100 cm. More than 36% of the leucaena¹⁵N and fertilizer¹⁵N added in the first year was apparently lost from the soil-plant system in the first two years. No further loss of the residual leucaena and fertilizer¹⁵N was detected after two years.     

Design ethnography in information systems

Until recently, most ethnographic research in information systems has been based on the traditional anthropological model of ethnography. In this traditional model of ethnography, one of the most important data‐gathering techniques is participant observation. The ethnographer observes and participates but does not actively seek to change the situation. In recent years, however, a new type of ethnographic research has emerged – one that can be called design ethnography. Design ethnography is where the researcher goes beyond observation and actively engages with people in the field. Our view is that design ethnography has much potential for research in information systems. It is a new form of engaged scholarship that bridges the gap between ethnographic research and design science research.