Epicardial development in the rat: a new perspective.

Development of the epicardium is critical to proper heart formation. It provides all of the precursor cells that form the coronary system and supplies signals that stimulate cardiac myocyte proliferation. The epicardium forms from mesothelial cells associated with the septum transversum and is referred to as the proepicardium (PE). Two different methods by which these PE cells colonize the developing heart have been described. In avians, PE cells form a bridge to the heart over which PE cells migrate onto the heart. In fish and mammals, PE cells form vesicles of cells that detach from the mesothelium, float through the pericardial cavity, and attach to the heart. A previous study of rat PE development investigated this process at the histological level. Protein markers have been developed since this study. Thus, we investigated this important developmental process coupled with these new markers using other visualization techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and confocal microscopy. Finally, a novel, three-dimensional (3-D) culture system was used to confirm the identity of the PE cells. In this study, we found convincing evidence that the rat PE cells directly attach to the heart in a manner similar to that observed in avians.     

Overtone spectroscopy of H2O clusters in the V(OH) = 2 manifold: infrared-ultraviolet vibrationally mediated dissociation studies

Spectroscopy and predissociation dynamics of (H2O)2 and Ar-H2O are investigated with vibrationally mediated dissociation (VMD) techniques, wherein upsilon(OH) = 2 overtones of the complexes are selectively prepared with direct infrared pumping, followed by 193 nm photolysis of the excited H2O molecules. As a function of relative laser timing, the photolysis breaks H2O into OH and H fragments either (i) directly inside the complex or (ii) after the complex undergoes vibrational predissociation, with the nascent quantum state distribution of the OH photofragment probed via laser-induced fluorescence. This capability provides the first rotationally resolved spectroscopic analysis of (H2O)2 in the first overtone region and vibrational predissociation dynamics of water dimer and Ar-water clusters. The sensitivity of the VMD approach permits several upsilon(OH) = 2 overtone bands to be observed, the spectroscopic assignment of which is discussed in the context of recent anharmonic theoretical calculations.     

Supersonically cooled hydronium ions in a slit-jet discharge: high-resolution infrared spectroscopy and tunneling dynamics of HD2O+

Jet-cooled high-resolution infrared spectra of partially deuterated hydronium ion (HD2O+) in the O-H stretch region (nu3 band) are obtained for the first time, exploiting the high ion densities, long absorption path lengths, and concentration modulation capabilities of the slit-jet discharge spectrometer. Least-squares analysis with a Watson asymmetric top Hamiltonian yields rovibrational constants and provides high level tests of ab initio molecular structure predictions. Transitions out of both the lower (nu3(+)<--0(+)) and the upper (nu3(-)<--0(-)) tunneling levels, as well as transitions across the tunneling gap (nu3(-)<--0(+)) are observed. The nu3(-)<--0(+) transitions in HD2O+ acquire oscillator strength by loss of D(3h) symmetry, and permit both ground-state-[27.0318(72) cm(-1)] and excited-state-[17.7612(54) cm(-1)]-tunneling splittings to be determined to spectroscopic precision from a single rovibrational band. The splittings and band origins calculated with recent high level ab initio six-dimensional potential surface predictions for H3O+ and isotopomers [X. C. Huang, S. Carter, and J. M. Bowman, J. Chem. Phys. 118, 5431 (2003); T. Rajamaki, A. Miani, and L. Halonen, J. Chem. Phys. 118, 10929 (2003)] are in very good agreement with the current experimental results.     

High resolution Dopplerimetry of correlated angular and quantum state-resolved CO(2) scattering dynamics at the gas-liquid interface

Full three dimensional (3D) translational distributions for quantum state-resolved scattering dynamics at the gas-liquid interface are presented for experimental and theoretical studies of CO(2) + perfluorinated surfaces. Experimentally, high resolution absorption profiles are measured as a function of incident (θ(inc)) and scattering (θ(scat)) angles for CO(2) that has been scattered from a 300 K perfluorinated polyether surface (PFPE) with an incident energy of E(inc) = 10.6(8) kcal mol(-1). Line shape analysis of the absorption profiles reveals non-equilibrium dynamics that are characterized by trapping-desorption (TD) and impulsive scattering (IS) components, with each channel simply characterized by an effective "temperature" that compares very well with previous results from rotational state analysis [Perkins and Nesbitt, J. Phys. Chem. A, 2008, 112, 9324]. From a theoretical perspective, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of CO(2) + fluorinated self-assembled monolayer surface (F-SAMs) yield translational probability distributions that are also compared with experimental results. Trajectories are parsed by θ(scat) and J, with the results rigorously corrected by flux-to-density transformation and providing comparisons in near quantitative agreement with experiment. 3D flux and velocity distributions obtained from MD simulations are also presented to illustrate the role of in- and out-of-plane scattering.     

Exploration of pension funding in case of exact vesting

A pension plan is said to be exactly vested if it provides in addition to the benefit available upon retirement, a benefit, upon termination for any cause prior to retirement, which is exactly equivalent to the actuarial accured liability for the terminating participant.The concept of exact vesting has simple application in defined contribution plans such as those of the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association. It is also feasible to develop the exact vesting concept for a defined benefit plan which uses an individual type of actuarial cost method. An exactly vested plan would have more individual equity than is available under customary vesting and early retirement provisions of defined benefit plans.In this paper, theory is developed for an exactly vested model plan in parallel to the theory for a pure pension model plan discussed in previous papers on pension funding dynamics.     

Vibrational-translational energy transfer from highly excited anharmonic oscillators

Model trajectory calculations reveal a simple power law behavior for anharmonic oscillator energy transfer for all bound vibrational levels.     

Supervisor and Teacher Educator Perceived Relevance of Recommendations in the NCTM Curriculum Standards

Based on judgments of mathematics supervisors and teacher educators, the findings of this empirical study confirm that the Curriculum and Evaluation Standards (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics [NCTM], 1989) reflect content that is relevant to mathematics instruction. However, some concern did exist about the relevancy of teaching statistics and probability at the elementary level. Despite the general consensus about the Standards, total agreement was not evident. Respondents with asecondary-school focus rated many of the standards and criteria across grade levels significantly lower in importance than did other respondents; elementary- and middle-school respondents judged several K-8 standards and criteria to be more important than did some higher-education and secondary respondents, while secondary-and middle-school respondents judged the 9–12 standards and critera to be more important than did elementary and some higher education respondents. Respondents with 30 or more years of experience or who were less familiar with the standards rated the K-8 standards and criteria to be lower in importance than did other respondents.