"Shouldn't we consider...?": Jury discussions of forbidden topics and effects on damage awards.

The Federal Rules of Evidence prohibit disclosure to civil jurors of information that is arguably related to their decision-making (e.g., that either party is insured). The basis for so-called "blindfolding" is that a jury might be biased by this information to alter its appraisal of the evidence to reach a desired verdict. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which mock juries in an automobile negligence case discuss several "silent factors" during deliberation (viz., insurance carried by the parties, the payment of attorneys' fees, and previous settlements between the plaintiff and other defendants) and the effects of such discussion on their compensatory damage award. We presented summaries of the evidence that varied in the severity of the plaintiff's injuries and the reprehensibility of the defendant's conduct. These variables influenced judgments of liability and damage awards. Analysis of the content of jury deliberations regarding damages showed that, although nearly all juries talked about silent factors, the size of their damage awards was unrelated to the frequency of these discussions and that such discussion accounted for only a very small portion of the variance in awards. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of yeast and human DnaJ homologs on clathrin uncoating by 70 kilodalton heat shock protein

We recently found that the DnaJ homolog auxilin is required for Hsc70 to uncoat clathrin baskets. In the present study, we investigated the effect of two other DnaJ homologs, YDJ1 from yeast and HDJ1 from humans, on the uncoating activity of Hsc70. Neither YDJ1 nor HDJ1 substituted for auxilin in supporting uncoating. Rather, in the presence of auxilin, both YDJ1 and HDJ1 strongly inhibited uncoating at pH 7 and also prevented the binding of Hsc70 to clathrin baskets at pH 6. Both YDJ1, as shown previously, and HDJ1 catalytically induce polymerization of Hsc70 into large polymers in ATP, and the YDJ1 concentration required to inhibit uncoating was similar to the concentration required for polymerization. However, uncoating was almost completely inhibited even at low concentrations of Hsc70 where only partial polymerization occurs, suggesting that YDJ1 inhibits uncoating not only by polymerizing the Hsc70 but also by some other mechanism as well. The effects of YDJ1 and HDJ1 were completely reversible; when they were removed, the Hsc70 regained full activity. Since both YDJ1 and HDJ1 inhibited the uncoating of clathrin baskets by brain cytosol as well as by purified Hsc70, this could be a physiological phenomenon which could affect other activities of Hsc70 in addition to uncoating.     

Noninvasive Versus Invasive Doppler Renal Blood Velocity and Flow Measurements

We compared simultaneous noninvasive and invasive determinations of blood velocity and flow in the renal arteries of 5 mongrel dogs. Noninvasive measurements of blood velocity spectra (?FN) were made using an ultrasonic echo-Doppler duplex scanner. Vessel diameters (DN) and Doppler angles (?N) were measured from sector images of the renal artery. Invasive measurements of blood velocity spectra (?F1) were made using a catheter Doppler velocimeter. Vessel lumen diameter (D1) and Doppler angle (?1) were measured angiographically. Using the Doppler and continuity equations, temporal mean blood velocities (VN, V1) and flows (QN, Q1) of five cardiac cycles were calculated. The ranges of velocity (8-48 cm/s) and flow (40-380 ml/min) were varied by pharmacological intervention. Standard linear regressions (n = 33) were Results suggest that simultaneous noninvasive echo-Doppler and invasive catheter Doppler measurements of canine renal artery blood velocity and flow correlate significantly. Nevertheless, large standard errors of the estimates exist which suggest that important systematic and experimental errors are present in both methods.     

Environment Mapping and Other Applications of World Projections

Various techniques have been developed that employ projections of the world as seen from a particular viewpoint. Blinn and Newell introduced reflection mapping for simulating mirror reflections on curved surfaces. Miller and Hoffman have presented a general illumination model based on environment mapping. World projections have also been used to model distant objects and to produce pictures with the fish-eye distortion required for Omnimax frames. This article proposes a uniform framework for representing and using world projections and argues that the best general-purpose representation is the is projection onto a cube. Surface shading and texture filtering are discussed in the context of environment mapping, and methods are presented for obtaining diffuse and specular surface illumination from prefiltered environment maps. Comparisons are made with ray tracing, noting that two problems with ray tracing?obtaining diffuse reflection and antialiasing specular reflection?can be handled effectively by environment mapping.     

Lack of effect of food on the steady state pharmacokinetics of BMS-181101, an antidepressant, in healthy subjects

An annual atmospheric pollen survey was performed for 14 consecutive years in the autumn at Sakado city, Saitama prefecture. The survey was performed on the transition of pollen dispersion of major allergen plants: ragweed (Ambrosia spp.), Humulus japonicus, Artemisia spp. and Gramineae. 1. Annual total pollen count of ragweed showed marked increases beginning from 1991. Total pollen count in 1991 was 8.8 times and that in 1996 was 18.6 times that in 1983. This increase is probably caused by marked proliferation of giant ragweed which is left without mowing as it is on a dry riverbed, and consequently produces much more pollen than short ragweed. 2. Annual increases in total pollen counts of other major plants which disperse their pollen in the same season as ragweed were 0.95 times in 1991 and 0.5 times in 1996 that in 1983 for Humulus japonicus, 0.68 times in 1991 and 1.5 times in 1996 that in 1983 for Artemisia spp. and 1.3 times in 1991 and 1.4 times in 1996 that in 1983 for Gramineae. None of these species showed a marked increase of pollen dispersion although they showed some annual variation. The above findings suggest that changes in the proliferous state of various allergenic plants due to environmental change should be considered with respect to characteristics of pollen allergy.     

Ion-beam doping during molecular beam epitaxy

Compositional modifications on the atomic scale, made possible through molecular beam epitaxy, have opened up a new range of semiconductor devices. Some recent work has investigated the addition of ion dopants during molecular beam epitaxy, with the goal of improving electrical and optical properties.     

The role of BWR secondary containments in severe accident mitigation: Issues and insights from recent analyses

All commercial boiling water reactor (BWR) plants in the US employ primary containments of the pressure suppression design. These primary containments are surrounded and enclosed by secondary containments. While not designed for severe accident mitigation, these secondary containments might also reduce the radiological consequences of severe accidents. This issue is receiving increasing attention due to concerns that BWR MK I primary containment integrity would be lost should a significant mass of molten debris escape the reactor vessel during a severe accident.The fission product retention capability of an intact secondary containment will depend on several factors. Recent analyses indicate that the major factors influencing secondary containment effectiveness include: the mode and location of the primary containment failure, the internal architectural design of the secondary containment, the design of the standby gas treatment system, and the ability of fire protection system sprays to remove suspended aerosols from the the secondary containment atmosphere. Each of these factors interact in a very complex manner to determine secondary containment severe accident mitigation performance.This paper presents a brief overview of US BWR secondary containment designs and highlights plant-specific features that could influence secondary containment severe accident survivability and accident mitigation effectiveness. Current issues surrounding secondary containment performance are discussed, and insights gained from recent secondary containment studies of Browns Ferry, Peach Bottom, and Shoreham are presented. Areas of significant uncertainty are identified and recommendations for future research are presented.     

Indium phosphide and quaternary doping superlattices grown by liquid-phase epitaxy

Stacks containing from 20 to 100 alternating n and p-layers, each less than 100 nm thick, have been produced by liquid-phase epitaxy in both InP and in the quaternary alloy Int?x GaxAsyP1?y. Increasing the excitation intensity shifts the photoluminescence (PL) towards shorter wavelengths by the expected magnitude. Hetero-nipi quaternary structures displaying two PL peaks have also been grown. The relative intensities of the two peaks depend strongly on the excitation intensity.