cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Clearing the path for MPN therapy monitoring

In this issue of Blood , Takahashi and colleagues have helped clarify the validity of using peripheral blood for monitoring the JAK2-V617F allele burden among the myeloproliferative neoplasms.[1][1] The understanding of the BCR-ABL–negative MPNs of essential thrombocythemia (ET), polycythemia vera
Professional group on electronic computers system organization of the DYSEAC

The DYSEAC is a complete general-purpose high-speed digital computer utilizing the same basic electronic circuit elements as those in SEAC. In the DYSEAC, however, these basic building blocks have been organized into a more powerful system for controlling and responding to auxiliary devices. Communication between these auxiliary devices and the DYSEAC (or between the DYSEAC and the persons operating it) can take place at any time, on a completely unscheduled basis, at the instigation of either the computer or the external world, or both acting jointly. The System features which enable such impromptu interchanges of information to occur are described in this paper.
Community Issues in American Metropolitan Cities: A Data Mining Case Study

The city of San Francisco in California has 826,000 residents and is growing slowly compared to other large cities in the western United States, facing concerns such as an aging population and flight of families to nearby suburbs. This case study investigates the social and demographic factors that are causing this phenomenon based on data that were collected by San Francisco's city controller's office in its annual survey to residents. By using data analytics, we can predict which residents are likely to move away, and this help us infer which factors of city life and city services contribute to a resident's decision to leave the city. Results of this research indicate that factors like public transportation services, public schools, and personal finances are significant in this regard, which can potentially help the city of San Francisco to prioritize its resources in order to better retain its locals.
Free Radical Studies By Excimer Laser Ultraviolet Photolysis

A promising new technique for studying vibrational and low-lying electronic states of radicals has been developed. Infrared emission from vibrationally excited radicals is observed following ultraviolet photolysis of several small polyatomics with a rare gas-halide excimer laser. Strong emission from the C-H stretches of the CH2I radical is directly detected following photolysis of CH2I2 at 248 nm. Photolysis of CH2I2 at 308 nm and CH3I at 248 nm does not produce excitation of the C-H stretches in the radicals generated. In all three cases, strong emission from excited I*(2P1/2) atoms is observed. With the techniques described, infrared fluorescence is monitored as a function of both wavelength and time, allowing information to be obtained about the initial vibrational state distribution of radicals following photolysis. Subsequent vibrational deactivation, energy transfer, and reaction kinetics may also be studied. By using low resolution, continuously variable interference filters, measurements of the gas phase vibrational frequencies of the radical can be obtained, since the temporal resolution allows radical emission to be readily distinguished from that of the parent molecules.© (1978) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Chemisorption of H2 on supported Pt clusters probed by129Xe NMR

The surface of Pt clusters with average size between 1 and 8 nm supported on SiO2, γ-Al2O3 or Y-zeolite was probed by129Xe NMR as the Pt surface coverage with hydrogen, θ, was increased. A distinct change in the structure of the hydrogen overlayer at θ≈ 0.3 was inferred from the NMR spectra. This change is believed to take place when the chemisorbed hydrogen fills all the next nearest neighbor metal sites and the nearest neighbors start to be occupied. These new observations clarify previously reported determinations of the average number of Pt atoms in supported clusters by means of Xe NMR and other techniques. It also appears that interfacial metal-support interactions may be probed by Xe NMR.
Commercializing public information: a critical issue for governmental IS professionals

Abstract Public data is viewed as an increasingly valuable commodity by business. Access to this data is affected by many federal and state legislative acts, most notably the Freedom of Information, Privacy Act, and Open Access laws. Some governmental agencies recognize that their data is a saleable commodity and are seeking to charge access fees that exceed actual copying costs. It is important for public information systems managers to recognize their role in dealing with the most salient issues arising from the commercialization of public data, including their ability to charge fees for their data that are in excess of copying costs to recover reasonable costs related to obtaining and formatting the information and the degree to which they must respond to specialized formatting and access requests.
Microlensing by the Milky Way halo

The measurements of the possible gravitational microlensing events are analysed with a simple yet accurate disc-halo model of the Milky Way galaxy. This comprises a luminous exponential disc embedded in a flattened dark matter halo with density varying like distance −1.8 . The inclusion of a disc has the important effect of lowering the implied mases of the dark matter objects. For the possible detection reported by Alcock et al., the inferred mass of the lens lies in the range ∼0.01-0.15 M ○. . The candidate events reported by Aubourg et al. have slightly larger implied masses of ∼0.025-0.35 and ∼0.03-0.45 M ○. . These are consistent with the deflectors being either brown dwarfs or low-mass stars
Congressional Preemption During the George W. Bush Administration

President Bush approved 64 preemption acts during 2001-2005. Fifteen acts were responses to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and five acts extended sunset provisions. The other acts removed specified powers from states in the fields of banking, commerce, energy, environmental protection, finance, foreign commerce, health, intellectual property, safety, taxation, telecommunications, and transportation. Only the two Internet taxation prohibition acts have a major impact on state governments by depriving them of billions of dollars in tax revenues that could be used to exercise their reserved powers. The other acts are minor ones on the periphery of state exercised powers compared to laws enacted in the period 1964-1999.
Women Between Two Worlds: Midlife Reflections on Work and Family

Preface Acknowledgments Study Participants 1. Introduction 2. Growing Up Female: The Possible and the Appropriate 3. Becoming Adult Women 4. At Home 5. From Housewives to Career Women 6. The Persistence of Domesticity 7. Between Two Worlds 8. Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index
Influence of demographics and inhalation injury on burn mortality in children.

Background: Pulmonary failure has emerged as one of the leading causes of mortality in burned children due, in part, to the success in reducing the incidence of sepsis, early surgery and fluid resuscitation, and new advances in nutritional support. To evaluate the effect of pulmonary injury, age, gender, race, and burn size on mortality, the records of 3179 burned children admitted to our burn center from 1985 to 2001 were reviewed. In this population, 1246 were admitted within 14 days of injury with burns greater than 20% of their total body surface area (TBSA). Methods: Lethal burn areas (LAs) for a thermal injury only or burn plus inhalation injury were estimated from best fit probit curve within 95% confidence limits. Data analysis was by χ2-test, t-test, or Fisher’s exact test where appropriate. Results: The lethal burn area for a 10% mortality rate with and without concomitant inhalation injury was a 50 and 73% TBSA burn, respectively. Children up to the age of 3 with ≥20% TBSA burns had a higher rate of mortality (9.9%) compared to those 3–12 years of age (4.9%) and 13–18 years of age (4.2%). Children with 21–80% TBSA burns showed a significant difference in mortality (P<0.05) between those with burn plus inhalation injury (13.9%) and burn only (2.9%), while those with 81–100% TBSA burns showed no significant difference between burn only and burn plus inhalation injury. Conclusion: Inhalation injury remains one of the primary contributors to burn mortality. Children under the age of 3 years, however, are at a higher risk both with and without inhalation injury.
The dynamic adjustments of stock prices to inflation disturbances

Abstract While theoretical predictions establish a strong positive relationship between equity prices and inflation, finding substantiating empirical evidence has been a difficult endeavor. Generally, the data suggests a weak negative relationship between stock prices and inflation. Aided by two different structural VAR specifications that allow for time variation in the covariance and drift of the system, this paper finds evidence that the weakly negative correlation between stock prices and US inflation results from offsetting effects of shocks to monetary policy and disturbances to the demand for financial assets. Since the 1960s, the stock price-inflation correlation is estimated to be relatively more stable than the volatility of either series, both of which have experienced substantial change—albeit volatility in US economic activity is estimated to have taken place far more gradually than that of stock prices. The volatilities of US economic activity, inflation, and stock prices all rose as a result of the financial crisis and the ensuing 2008–2009 Great Recession—with the level of inflation volatility estimates during the Great Recession comparable to those of the Great Inflation period of the 1970s. While it is shown that a traditional VAR approach would also predict a positive stock price response to inflationary disturbances, our time-varying approach enables us to uncover that during the 2008–2009 Great Recession period a stock price increase is more pronounced following inflationary shocks that stem from money supply, rather than money demand, disturbances—in contrast to the 1980–1982 recession where the magnitude of the stock price response to both shocks is more similar. These conclusions are qualitatively robust to changes in variable choice and measurement frequencies.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder. What to do if you recognize baffling behavior.

PREVIEWObsessive-compulsive disorder is now recognized as one of the most common causes of disability worldwide. Recent advances in treatment have greatly improved the prognosis for patients with this disorder, but diagnosis can be elusive. What should the primary care physician watch for or ask about? What interventions are appropriate? In this article, Dr Khouzam discusses the definition, causes, epidemiology, diagnostic criteria, and treatment options for this often puzzling problem.
Enhancement of nitrate reduction in Fe0-packed columns by selected cations

Tests were conducted in Fe0 -packed columns to investigate the effects of adding selected cations on nitrate removal by Fe0 . Due to a rapid passivation of Fe0 , only negligible nitrate was reduced in the columns without adding the selected cation. However, adding certain selected cations ( Fe2+ , Fe3+ , or Al3+ ) in feed solution can significantly enhance nitrate reduction. Extending hydraulic retention time (HRT) increased nitrate removal by the columns, but the increase was not linearly proportional to HRT. Decreases in columns’ hydraulic conductivity (K) were monitored in an 8 month operating period. A modest decrease in K was recorded in the upper and the middle section of the media bed, whereas a significant decrease in K occurred in the inlet section. X-ray diffraction analyses indicate that magnetite ( Fe3 O4 ) was the dominant species of the iron corrosion products in the entire height of the column media under anoxic and other test conditions. In the inlet section, however, lepidocrocite and goe...
The interaction of the lens and the vitreous. II. The influence of the vitreous on lens trauma, water and electrolyte balance and osmotic stress.

Abstract Paired lenses were incubated in 5·5 m m glucose medium. One lens was prepared by stripping the vitreous off the lens posterior. The other was prepared as a lens vitreous preparation without disrupting the normal lens vitreous interface. The stripping of the vitreous from the posterior capsule was shown to be traumatic to the lens as indicated by potassium loss and sodium gain. These changes could be compensated by the lens, presumably by increased pump activity. Incubation in hypotonic medium, final osmolarity 100 mmol/l, results in more rapid changes in the Na/K ratio in the isolated lens than the lens with the vitreous attached. More protein, as measured by the lens dry weight, is lost from the isolated lens. The total gain in water, however, is greatest in the lens with the attached vitreous. This is probably due to greater retention of protein and osmotically active solutes within the lens with the attached vitreous. The vitreous in apposition to the lens posterior acts to impede the efflux of water and large molecules and renders the lens membranes more stable. This enhanced membrane stability allows the lens-vitreous preparation to gain more water than the isolated lens. The isolated lens is not in a normal anatomical or metabolic state when separated from the vitreous. If isolated lenses must be used in experimental studies it is recommended that the vitreous be removed as atraumatically as possible by sharp dissection.
Energy-Efficient High-Order FIR Filtering through Reconfigurable Stochastic Processing (Abstract Only)

High-order FIR filtering is widely used in many important DSP applications in order to achieve filtering stability and linear-phase property. This paper presents a hardware- and energy-efficient approach to implementing energy-efficient high-order FIR filtering through reconfigurable stochastic processing. We exploit a basic probabilistic principle of summing independent random variables to achieve approximate FIR filtering without costly multiplications. Our new multiplierless approach has two distinctive advantages when compared with the conventional multiplier-based or DA-based FIR filtering methods. First, our new probabilistic architecture is especially effective for high-order FIR filtering because it bypasses costly multiplications and does not rely on large size of memory to store store pre-computed coefficient products. Second, this new probabilistic convolver is significantly more robust or fault tolerant than the conventional architecture because all signal values will be represented and computed probabilistically, and local signal corruption can not easily destroy the overall probabilistic patterns, therefore achieving much higher error tolerance. For example, our proposed approach allows our proposed FIR architecture, for a standard 128-tap FIR filter, to achieve about 9 times and 4 times less power consumption than the conventional multiplier-based and DA-based design, respectively. Additionally, when compared with the state-of-the-art systolic DA-based design, our design can achieve about 3 times reduction in hardware usage.
The university department as a non-profit labor cooperative

In this paper, the academic department at a university is viewed as a nonprofit labor cooperative. We shall draw on two theoretical strands to analyze its behavior: the growing literature on non-profit organizations (NPO’s) and the literature on collective decision-making. Where appropriate, we shall compare the academic department with other NPO’s and collectives, such as the Yugoslav enterprise and the Israeli kibbutz.1
705: Maternal carriage of the K121Q single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the ENPP (PC-1) gene is associated with preterm birth and diminished birthweight in a hispanic population

THE ENPP (PC-1) GENE IS ASSOCIATED WITH PRETERM BIRTH AND DIMINISHED BIRTHWEIGHT IN A HISPANIC POPULATION ERROL NORWITZ, VICTORIA SNEGOVSKIKH, CHARLES LOCKWOOD, EDWARD KUCZYNSKI, LOUIS MUGLIA, DANIEL TILDEN, BETH KOZEL, EDMUND FUNAI, MERT O. BAHTIYAR, GUOYANG LUO, STEPHEN THUNG, THOMAS MORGAN, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri OBJECTIVE: Preterm birth (PTB) is a major cause of perinatal mortality and morbidity. Familial clustering, racial disparities, and the high incidence of recurrent PTB suggest that maternal genetic factors are involved. Ectonucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase 1 (ENPP1), also known as plasma cell glycoprotein-1 (PC-1), is a surface protein involved in cell differentiation and calcium transport. The K121Q(A C) SNP of this gene is associated with arterial calcification syndromes, insulin resistance, type-2 diabetes, and obesity. This study investigates for the first time the association between the K121Q SNP in the maternal ENPP1 gene and PTB. STUDY DESIGN: Patients with spontaneous PTB were identified at Yale, NYU, and Wash U. Controls were term deliveries. DNA was extracted from stored buffy coats and genotyped for the ENPP1 SNP using established primers and the Sequenom MALDI-TOF platform. All specimens were linked with medical data abstrated from maternal/neonatal records. Data were analyzed by chi-square tests and logistic regression analysis. The analysis was confined to Hispanics due to lack of power for other ethnic groups. RESULTS: Genotyping was successful in 99.4% of samples. ENPP1 CC genotype was present in higher frequency in PTB cases (19.7% [14/71]) vs controls (7.1% [15/211]; p 0.0004). The C allele frequency was 0.39 in cases and 0.21 in controls. There was no deviation from Hardy-Weinberg expectations in cases (p 0.14), but there was a slight excess of heterozygotes (n 11) among controls (p 0.02). There was a significant linear trend towards decreasing birthweight with increasing number of C alleles (ANOVA F 10.3; p 0.002), and the association between PTB and ENPP1 genotype remained significant after adjusting for birthweight (p 0.048). CONCLUSION: The K121Q (CC) genotype in the maternal ENPP1 gene is independently associated with PTB, and there is a linear trend towards diminished birthweight with increasing exposure to the C allele. Larger studies of PTB are needed to confirm these observations. Funded by March of Dimes #21-FY05-1250 (to E.N.).
Hydrocarbon synthesis in the American cockroach.

CUTICULAR lipids of insects are important because they conserve the water content of the insects1 and protect them from fungicidal activity2 and some agricultural chemicals. Hydrocarbons are important components of these cuticular lipids3. In vivo studies with radioactive acetate have shown that hydrocarbons are synthesized by Dermestes maculatus4, Musca domestica5, Periplaneta americana6, Nezara viridula7, Apis mellifera8 and Oulema melanopus9. No studies have been reported on the use of in vitro techniques to determine the sites of hydrocarbon synthesis in insects, although some work has been done to determine the conditions in which fatty acid synthesis takes place in the fat body10–13.
Xylem sap flow and stem hydraulics of the vesselless angiosperm Drimys granadensis (Winteraceae) in a Costa Rican elfin forest

For decades, botanists have considered Winteraceae as the least modified descendents of the first angiosperms primarily because this group lacks xylem vessels. Because of a presumed high resistance of a tracheid-based vascular system to water transport, Winteraceae have been viewed as disadvantaged relative to vessel-bearing angiosperms. Here we show that in a Costa Rican cloud forest, stem hydraulic properties, sapwood area- and leaf area-specific hydraulic conductivities of Drimys granadensis L. (Winteraceae) are similar to several co-occurring angiosperm tree species with vessels. In addition, D. granadensis had realized midday transpiration rates comparable to most vessel-bearing trees. Surprisingly, we found that D. granadensis transpired more water at night than during the day, with actual water loss being correlated with wind speed. The failure of stomata to shut at night may be related to the occlusion of stomatal pores by cutin and wax. Our measurements do not support the view that absence of xylem vessels imposes limitations on water transport above those for other vesselled plants in the same environment. This, in turn, suggests that a putative return to a tracheid-based xylem in Winteraceae may not have required a significant loss of hydraulic performance.
Stability of reacting mixing layers

The structure and stability characteristics of reacting, compressible mixing layers are briefly reviewed. In addition, recent unpublished work will also be presented.
Oxaliplatin in the treatment of colorectal cancer

Significant advances in the treatment of colorectal cancer have been observed over the past several years. With the introduction of oxaliplatin combined with infusional 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin, survival for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer has nearly doubled. The incorporation of biologic agents that target angiogenesis (bevacizumab) and tumor growth pathways (cetuximab, panitumimab) extends survival even further, in addition to increasing response rates in patients with metastatic disease. The benefit of these newer drugs is also being realized in the adjuvant setting, where the addition of oxaliplatin to infusional 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin has led to improvements in 3-year disease-free survival. Future challenges with the use of oxaliplatin include defining strategies to optimize its use while avoiding treatment-limiting neurotoxicity and identification of markers predictive of response.
A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ENGLISH ORAL READING SKILLS IN DIFFERENTLY SCHOOLED GROUPS OF HISPANIC STUDENTS

Bilingual Hispanic students whose English or Spanish dominance cannot be clearly determined, and who are not achieving at grade level, are particularly at risk for academic failure. This study examined the patterns of oral reading miscues, retelling, and fluency of such mixed dominant students in order to develop a better understanding of their reading strategy use. The scores and text of fourth- to sixthgrade Hispanic mixed dominant (MD) students were compared to those of two other distinct fourth- to sixth-grade Hispanic student groups: good English readers (GE) and good Spanish readers reading in English, their second language (GSESL). The data indicated MD students did not differ significantly from good English readers on several important categories including story retelling, where they got the highest mean scores. The ability to retain in-text grammatical function was low for both the GE and MD groups. The GE group was more fluent that either of the two groups, making significantly less miscues per words read. A factor analysis indicated that the MD group was distinctly different in strategy use from the GS-ESL group. Overall, these data suggested that MD students were not easily categorized into a homogeneous group, and that some of their strategies and skills may have been underutilized. Language minority children constitute the fastest growing segment of the American school population (Olson, 1986), with the majority of these students coming from Spanish-speaking homes (NCBE, 1984). The bilingual communities in which these students live represent a wide diversity of language use. For example, Spanish and English may be used exclusively or alternately in expressing ideas, or they may be intermingled to serve a speaker's purposes. In addition, one or the other may be used only for particular topics or in particular contexts, or both might be used across topics and contexts.
On the zeros, initial undershoot, and relative degree of lumped-mass structures

This paper considers lumped-mass structures where each mass in the structure has a single degree of freedom. Specifically, we analyze the zeros and relative degree of the single-input single-output (SISO) transfer function from the force applied to an arbitrary mass to the position, velocity, or acceleration of another mass.
EIMERIA SPP. (APICOMPLEXA: EIMERIIDAE) FROM THE EASTERN CHIPMUNK (TAMIAS STRIATUS) IN PENNSYLVANIA WITH A DESCRIPTION OF ONE NEW SPECIES

Intestinal contents of 41 eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus) from Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, were examined for the presence of Eimeria spp. Three previously named species were identified: E. lateralis (prevalence = 9%), E. ovata (3%), and E. vilasi (74%); 1 new species, Eimeria tamiensis n. sp. (74%), is described here. This report extends the geographic ranges of the named species into Pennsylvania. Sporulated oocysts of E. tamiensis n. sp. are ovoid and 18.6 × 14.5 (16–23 × 12–17) µm, with no micropyle or residuum. Sporocysts are ellipsoid and 8.6 × 5.4 (7–10 × 4–8) µm, with a Stieda body and granular residuum. Prevalences of E. lateralis and E. vilasi were similar to those reported previously. The differences in prevalences may be due to different life-history strategies of high- and low-prevalence Eimeria species.
Dupuytren Disease: Anatomy, Pathology, Presentation, and Treatment

The disorder called Dupuytren's disease has been recognized for approximately 400 years. Its presentation, although seemingly rather constant, is actually extremely variable, depending on which structures are involved. A thorough knowledge of palmar fascial anatomy is essential to the understanding of Dupuytren's disease.
Herpes simplex virus triggers activation of calcium-signaling pathways

The cellular pathways required for herpes simplex virus (HSV) invasion have not been defined. To test the hypothesis that HSV entry triggers activation of Ca2+-signaling pathways, the effects on intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) after exposure of cells to HSV were examined. Exposure to virus results in a rapid and transient increase in [Ca2+]i. Pretreatment of cells with pharmacological agents that block release of inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate (IP3)–sensitive endoplasmic reticulum stores abrogates the response. Moreover, treatment of cells with these pharmacological agents inhibits HSV infection and prevents focal adhesion kinase (FAK) phosphorylation, which occurs within 5 min after viral infection. Viruses deleted in glycoprotein L or glycoprotein D, which bind but do not penetrate, fail to induce a [Ca2+]i response or trigger FAK phosphorylation. Together, these results support a model for HSV infection that requires activation of IP3-responsive Ca2+-signaling pathways and that is associated with FAK phosphorylation. Defining the pathway of viral invasion may lead to new targets for anti-viral therapy.
Pneumococcal bacteremia in adults: differences between patients with and without human immunodeficiency virus infection

Abstract Objective: To determine the differences between human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected and non-HIV-infected patients with pneumococcal bacteremia. Methods: The demographics, clinical findings, and hospital course of 194 adult cases of pneumococcal bacteremia were retrospectively reviewed. Results: All but six patients were African-American and 41 had HIV infection. The HIV-infected patients were younger (37 vs. 51 years, P Conclusions: The overall hospital course of HIV-infected patients with pneumococcal bacteremia is similar to that of non-HIV-infected patients, despite some clinical differences.
Multipurpose prototypes for assessing user interfaces in pervasive computing systems

In pervasive computing systems, prototypes serve several uses and have different requirements related to those uses. We've developed CogTool to enable low-cost, rapid construction of interactive prototypes that serve all three UI purposes. CogTools core prototyping technique is storyboarding -specifically, interactive storyboarding using HTML. Rather than covering all possible pervasive systems, CogTool focuses on systems involving deliberate commands that the user invokes by some motor action. Such systems include PDAs, cell phones, handheld terminals (such as those used by rental car return personnel), in-vehicle driver information systems, and certain wearable computers that run desktop- or PDA-like applications.
Toward an Understanding of the Context of Anal Sex Behavior in Ethnic Minority Adolescent Women

Understanding the context of anal sex behavior among ethnic minority adolescent women has public health implications for behavioral sexual health promotion and risk reduction interventions. African-American (n = 94) and Mexican-American (n = 465) women (14-18 years of age) enrolled in a clinical trial completed semi-structured interviews to assess psychosocial and situational factors and relationships to sexual risk behavior, substance use, sexually transmitted infection/HIV acquisition, and violence. Bivariate analyses with comparisons by anal sex experiences identified differences by ethnicity and higher self-reported histories of sexual risk behaviors, substance use, violence, and stressful psychosocial and situational factors among adolescent women experiencing anal sex. Predictors of anal sex identified through logistic regression included Mexican-American ethnicity, ecstasy use, methamphetamine use, childhood sexual molestation, oral sex, and sex with friends for benefits.
Female preference for large males in sailfin mollies, Poecilia latipinna: the importance of predation pressure and reproductive status

We examined the effect of predation risk on female association patterns in the live-bearing sailfin molly (Poecilia latipinna). We tested two classes of females, with and without the risk of predation by a green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus): (1) postpartum females (maintained with males until visibly gravid, then isolated and tested within 24-48 h of dropping a brood); and (2) non-postpartum females (different females, isolated from males for >50 days). When there was no apparent risk of predation, postpartum females showed a significant preference for large over small males, whereas non- postpartum females showed no size preference at all. When there was an apparent risk of predation, postpartum females maintained their preference for larger males and non-postpartum females continued to show no preference for large or small males. These results suggest that reproductive status (receptivity) plays a greater role in mate preference than predation risk. For postpartum females, the cost of not choosing a preferred mate may outweigh the potential cost of predation. Non-postpartum females either do not benefit from mating or are being indecisive about mating and thus are less likely to be choosy whether or not a predator is present.
Single measurement retrieval of amplitude and phase of wide temporal window optical waveforms using dual-quadrature spectral interferometry

We demonstrate single measurement retrieval of amplitude and phase of wide temporal window (100 ps) optical waveforms from a 10 GHz optical frequency comb source and a line-by-line pulse shaper by using dual-quadrature spectral interferometry.
Football, it’s a man’s game: Insult and gendered discourse in The Gender Bowl:

Women's participation as athletes in American football precipitates gendered conflict, in that the routine reproduction of masculine discourse and identity is challenged. As such, the purpose of this study was to explore how the creation of discourses of masculinity and femininity undermine most women's access and acceptance into American football. Utilizing critical discourse analysis, an analysis of The Gender Bowl (Jordan et al., 2005), a reality TV program featuring a full-contact football game between women and men, revealed how men sought to preserve the social relations of football and how women sought to contest this masculine domain in part by adopting typically masculine linguistic practices of insult. Results of the analysis revealed interdiscursivity of two discourses of gender relations: discourses of conservative gender relations iterated by the men, discourses of conflict from both men and women, and discourses of egalitarian gender relations iterated by the women.
New records of marginal locations for American pika ( Ochotona princeps ) in the western Great Basin

We describe 46 new site records documenting occupancy by American pika (lOchotona princeps) at 21 locations from 8 mountain regions in the western Great Basin, California, and Nevada. These locations comprise a sub- set of sites selected from regional surveys to represent marginal, isolated, or otherwise atypical pika locations, and to provide information for assessing environmental tolerance limits. Several locations are known from historic observations (Madeline Plain, Bodie Mtns., Wassuk Mtns., Mono Craters) and are included here to update current status. Site eleva- tions range from 1848 m to 3392 m; relative to the broad range of pika sites in the region, the new locations have cli- mates that are 2—4 °C warmer and receive approximately half the annual precipitation. Sites are located in lava flows and domes, inselbergs (isolated, rocky exposures on a small hill), eroding bedrock, rock-glacier till, talus slopes, and anthro- pogenic roadbed armaments and mining ore dumps. Several sites are situated in uncommon vegetation contexts, for example, montane desert scrub communities or locations where vegetation adjacent to taluses is sparse or lacking. Prox- imity to surrounding pika habitats (as a measure of marginality) was evaluated based on relative talus distribution pat- terns for 0.5-km, 2.5-km, and 5.0-km circular areas nested around each site. Seven idealized, schematic spatial patterns were used to assess potential connectivity among sites, ranging from “island” (no other talus within the respective areas) to “even” (many talus patches regularly distributed). Applying this approach to the 21 sites demonstrated a simple method for qualitatively assessing pika habitat relative to dispersal potential and metapopulation viability and also revealed complexities of biogeographic patterns related to marginality.
Conditioned orienting and defensive responses in the developing rat

Abstract Infant rats (16, 21, and 26 days old) received 3 days of classical conditioning training to Tone/Shock pairings using heart rate as the index of conditioning. The youngest group (16 days old) showed no evidence of conditioning at any stage of acquisition. In the 21- and 26-day-olds, response to the conditioned stimulus (CS) was a deceleration in heart rate during the first day of training. By day 3, the conditioned response (CR) shifted to cardioacceleration. The data were interpreted as offering strong support for a two-stage model of information processing in the infant rat, comprised of a conditioned orienting response in the first stage and a conditioned defensive response in the second.
Retrieval of surface directional reflectance and hemispherical albedo using multi-angle measurements

Atmospheric correction schemes, using various levels of approximation, are described to retrieve surface bidirectional reflectance factors (BRFs) and directional hemispherical reflectances (albedos) from multi-angle radiance measurements. Observational scenarios include measurements from space-based and airborne platforms and from the ground. The retrieval schemes are tested on simulated data incorporating realistic BRFs and atmospheric models containing aerosols. It is assumed that the optical properties of the atmosphere are known well enough to model the radiative effects in the retrieval process. Sensitivity of the atmospherically-corrected BRFs and associated hemispherical reflectances to various aerosol properties and the Sun-view geometry is illustrated. >
POTENTIATION OF T-CELL-MEDIATED IMMUNITY BY SELECTIVE SUPPRESSION OF ANTIBODY FORMATION WITH CYCLOPHOSPHAMIDE

Delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) appears in mice immunized with less than an optimal immunogenic dose of sheep red blood cells (SRBC), but is blocked progressively as antibody production increases in response to larger doses of SRBC. Treatment with cyclophosphamide (CY) was shown to release T cells from this inhibitory influence of the humoral response, and cause enhancement of DTH. The magnitude of this enhancing effect on T-cell activity was markedly dependent on the time of treatment relative to the time of immunization, and on the time chosen for measuring DTH. The reasons for these pronounced effects of timing are threefold: ( a ) CY given before antigenic stimulation has a long-lasting effect on antibody formation, but no apparent effect on the precursors of activated T cells. ( b ) After antigenic stimulation, T cells also become susceptible to CY. ( c ) The production of a nonspecific participant (monocyte) in the DTH reaction is also suppressed by CY, though the supply of circulating monocytes is not immediately affected by the drug. The differential effect of CY on T and B lymphocytes depends on the differing physiological states of the majority of cells that make up these two populations. The former are resting cells that are insensitive to CY until exposed to specific antigen, while the latter are drawn from a rapidly replicating precursor pool and are susceptible to CY at all times.
Independent component analysis based on nonparametric density estimation

In this paper, we introduce a novel independent component analysis (ICA) algorithm, which is truly blind to the particular underlying distribution of the mixed signals. Using a nonparametric kernel density estimation technique, the algorithm performs simultaneously the estimation of the unknown probability density functions of the source signals and the estimation of the unmixing matrix. Following the proposed approach, the blind signal separation framework can be posed as a nonlinear optimization problem, where a closed form expression of the cost function is available, and only the elements of the unmixing matrix appear as unknowns. We conducted a series of Monte Carlo simulations, involving linear mixtures of various source signals with different statistical characteristics and sample sizes. The new algorithm not only consistently outperformed all state-of-the-art ICA methods, but also demonstrated the following properties: 1) Only a flexible model, capable of learning the source statistics, can consistently achieve an accurate separation of all the mixed signals. 2) Adopting a suitably designed optimization framework, it is possible to derive a flexible ICA algorithm that matches the stability and convergence properties of conventional algorithms. 3) A nonparametric approach does not necessarily require large sample sizes in order to outperform methods with fixed or partially adaptive contrast functions.
Transcription Enhancer Factor 3 (TEF3) Mediates the Expression of Down Syndrome Candidate Region 1 Isoform 1 (DSCR1-1L) in Endothelial Cells

The Down syndrome candidate region 1 gene (DSCR1) can be expressed as four isoforms, one of which is the well-studied isoform 4 (DSCR1-4) that is induced by VEGF-A165 to provide a negative feedback loop in the VEGF-A165-induced angiogenesis. We reported previously that another DSCR1 isoform, DSCR1-1L, was also up-regulated by VEGF-A165 in cultured endothelial cells and in several in vivo models of pathological angiogenesis and that different from DSCR1-4, DSCR1-1L overexpression alone induced cultured endothelial cell proliferation and promoted angiogenesis in Matrigel assays. It was reported recently that tumor growth was greatly repressed in DSCR1 knock-out mice. Although DSCR1-4 transcription was primarily regulated by NFAT, the mechanism regulating DSCR1-1L expression was still unknown. We developed human DSCR1-1L promoter-driven luciferase system and found that deletion of a putative conserved M-CAT site located 1426-bp upstream of the translation start site blunted promoter activity. We further showed that knockdown of TEF3, not other members of TEF family inhibited VEGF-A165-induced DSCR1-1L expression. We also demonstrated that TEF3 directly interacted with the putative M-CAT site in the DSCR1-1L promoter in vitro and in vivo. Finally, overexpression of TEF3 isoform 1, not isoform 3, in HUVEC was sufficient to induce DSCR1-1L expression even in the absence of VEGF-A165 stimulation. Taken together, we elucidated a novel function of transcriptional factor TEF3. TEF3 was required for DSCR1-1L expression through binding to the M-CAT site in its promoter and could be an attractive target for anti-angiogenesis therapy.
Semantic Tagging of Web Search Queries

We present a novel approach to parse web search queries for the purpose of automatic tagging of the queries. We will define a set of probabilistic context-free rules, which generates bags (i.e. multi-sets) of words. Using this new type of rule in combination with the traditional probabilistic phrase structure rules, we define a hybrid grammar, which treats each search query as a bag of chunks (i.e. phrases). A hybrid probabilistic parser is used to parse the queries. In order to take contextual information into account, a discriminative model is used on top of the parser to re-rank the n-best parse trees generated by the parser. Experiments show that our approach outperforms a basic model, which is based on Conditional Random Fields.
A quantitative model for linking two disparate sets of articles in MEDLINE

Background: Identifying information that implicitly links two disparate sets of articles is a fundamental and intuitive data mining strategy that can help investigators address real scientific questions. The Arrowsmith two-node search finds title words and phrases (so-called B-terms) that are shared across two sets of articles within MEDLINE and displays them in a manner that facilitates human assessment. A serious stumbling-block has been the lack of a quantitative model for predicting which of the hundreds if not thousands of B-terms computed for a given search are most likely to be relevant to the investigator. Methodology/Principal Findings: Using a public two-node search interface, field testers devised a set of two-node searches under real life conditions and a certain number of B-terms were marked relevant. These were employed as ‘gold standards;’ each B-term was characterized according to eight complementary features that were strongly correlated with relevance. A logistic regression model was developed that permits one to estimate the probability of relevance for each B-term, to rank B-terms according to their likely relevance, and to estimate the overall number of relevant B-terms inherent in a given two-node search. Conclusions/Significance: The model greatly simplifies and streamlines the process of carrying out a two-node search, and may be applicable to a number of other literature-based discovery applications, including the so-called one-node search and related gene-centric strategies that incorporate implicit links to predict how genes may be related to each other and to human diseases. This should encourage much wider exploration of text mining for implicit information among the general scientific community. Availability: Two-node searches can be carried out freely at http://arrowsmith.psych.uic.edu Contact:neils@uic.edu, vtorvik@uic.edu Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Enhancement of Copper Wetting via Surfactant-Based Post-Treatment of Ultra-Thin Atomic Layer Deposited Tantalum Nitride Liners

The influence of surfactant-based liner post-treatment on the wetting and nucleation characteristics of ultra-thin copper (Cu) films has been examined, employing ultra-thin atomic layer deposited (ALD) tantalum nitride (TaN x ) as liner material. This surfactant-based posttreatment consists of in-situ exposure of the liner to a metal-organic source containing a low surface free energy metal (Sn) surfactant, which is a potential candidate for enhancing the wetting of Cu on liner surfaces and subsequently suppressing island-type growth of Cu, due to both the high atomic volume and low surface free energy of the surfactant relative to Cu. A methodology involving thermally-enhanced de-wetting of Cu, promoted by annealing Cu/liner stacks in a forming gas (95% Ar, 5% H 2 ) ambient under several applied thermal budgets (annealing at 350°C for 30 minutes, and at 600°C for 4, 12, and 48 hrs, respectively), was utilized to both elucidate and quantify the wetting properties of Cu on liners, via detailed analyses of the surface morphology of annealed stacks by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). By comparing stacks containing ALD TaNx liners to those that contain post-treated ALD TaNx liners, this method allowed an evaluation of the effectiveness of surfactant-based liner surface post-treatments in inhibiting Cu de-wetting.
Backstepping Designs in the Presence of Non-constant Delays on the Virtual Input

We present results on stabilization of nonlinear systems in the strict-feedback form with delays affecting the virtual inputs. We consider systems with constant and time-varying delays, as well as systems with delays that depend on the current or past states, which arise in numerous applications, such as, for example, in cooling systems. The design methodology is based on the concepts of infinite-dimensional backstepping and nonlinear predictor feedback. Several illustrative examples are provided.
Switching Principles to Circumvent Euler Angle Singularity

In this paper, the singularity associated with a minimal attitude parameterization using Euler angles is circumvented by recently developed switching principles. These principles are based on describing the attitude as a function of time with two sets of Euler angle sequences that possess nonconjunctive singularities. This property exists when the singularity causing values of the relevant rotation variables associated with any two Euler angle sequences do not materialize simultaneously. For a given Euler angle set, either antisymmetric or symmetric, another Euler angle set exists such that the pair of representations possesses nonconjunctive singularities. Conditions determining when, and when not, a pair of representations possess this property are developed and analyzed. Nonconjunctive symmetric-antisymmertic and antisymmetric-antisymmetric pairs always exist. This property is exploited by a switching algorithm which facilitates motion description with a minimal parameterization not hindered by singularities. This description may possess computational savings and allow continued use of insightful variables when compared with nonminimal representations such as Euler parameters. The algorithm is numerically demonstrated and validated by a nonlinear six degree of freedom closed-loop spacecraft simulation test.
Energy: The Illusive Factor in Daily Activity

Historically occupational therapists have planned treatment programs requiring activity involving different and diverse amounts of energy use by patients. Also, many energy saving methods and devic...
Nanoscale Plasmonic Interferometers for Multispectral, High-Throughput Biochemical Sensing

In this work, we report the design, fabrication, and characterization of novel biochemical sensors consisting of nanoscale grooves and slits milled in a metal film to form two-arm, three-beam, planar plasmonic interferometers. By integrating thousands of plasmonic interferometers per square millimeter with a microfluidic system, we demonstrate a sensor able to detect physiological concentrations of glucose in water over a broad wavelength range (400–800 nm). A wavelength sensitivity between 370 and 630 nm/RIU (RIU, refractive index units), a relative intensity change between ∼103 and 106 %/RIU, and a resolution of ∼3 × 10–7 in refractive index change were experimentally measured using typical sensing volumes as low as 20 fL. These results show that multispectral plasmonic interferometry is a promising approach for the development of high-throughput, real-time, and extremely compact biochemical sensors.