cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
EFFECTS OF LATE HOLOCENE FOREST DISTURBANCE AND VEGETATION CHANGE ON ACIDIC MUD POND, MAINE, USA'

The limnological effects of natural forest disturbance and succession were studied by analyzing the chemistry, charcoal, pollen, chrysophytes, and diatoms in sedi- ments deposited from -3500 to ':'700 yr BP in Mud Pond, Maine, USA. Mud Pond was chosen for this study because its oligotrophy (mean chlorophyll a = 0.5 gg/L), large ratio of catchment area to lake area (--50:1), and steeply sloping catchment (-"' 12%) are likely to make the lake unusually sensitive to the terrestrial environment. Fine-grained sediments rich in organic matter are interrupted every 100-500 yr (X = 280) by coarser and more minerogenic sediments, reflecting brief pulses of soil erosion. These disturbance horizons contain high concentrations of charcoal, indicating forest fires, low percentages of pollen of late-successional trees such as Tsuga, and high percentages of pollen and spores of early- successional plants such as shrubs and ferns. Within a few decades, pollen percentages of Alnus peak, followed by Betula. Tsuga pollen percentages increase for roughly 200-400 yr after disturbances, and generally stabilize or decrease several decades before the fol- lowing disturbance horizon. Limnological responses to these terrestrial changes are indi- cated at disturbance horizons by high percentages of diatoms (e.g., Rhizosolenia sp., Fra- gilaria spp., and Synedra spp.) and chrysophytes (e.g., Synura spinosa and Mallomonas caudata) of waters of near neutral pH. Diatom-inferred pH typically increases abruptly from =5.0 to -6.1, and chrysophyte-inferred pH from =5.5 to -5.8 at disturbance horizons. These increases may be caused by increased inputs of wood ash and mineral soils rich in base cations after fires or other disturbances. This pulse is followed by a two-step recovery. First, within a few years or a few decades, the inferred pH decreases nearly to the pre- disturbance condition as pH-circumneutral diatoms are replaced by taxa of waters of pH ?5.5 (e.g., Asterionella ralfsii var. americana, and Eunotia spp.) and pH-circumneutral chrysophytes are replaced by taxa of waters of pH ?6.0 (largely Mallomonas allorgei and M. duerrschmidtiae). This response likely results from soil stabilization and uptake of base cations by successional vegetation. Second, a slower acidification of =0.1 pH unit per century occurs as early successional shrubs and hardwood forest are replaced by old-growth conifer forest. This process may involve further sequestration of base cations in vegetation, and greater availability of organic acids from the forest floor. Increasing percentages of pollen of Picea, Alnus, and Salix by 1350 yr BP, and decreasing percentages of hemlock and beech around 1350 yr BP imply cooler conditions. Large changes in diatom and chryso- phyte assemblages in approximately this period may be related.
New Directions in Peer-to-Peer Malware

In this paper, we will examine in general the multiple generations of malware leading up to the latter category of botnets, and in specific the failures and successes in the category of hybrid/P2P botnets. We will include some thoughts on the implications for telecommunications providers in an age where anti-virus, anti-spam, intrusion prevention systems, and firewalls individually may to prevent the compromise of internal enterprise or customer systems, and how reaction capabilities must adapt to the emerging threat environment. The convergence of features in today's "smart phones" will bring this threat to hand-held devices in the same manner as historically has been seen in desktop and portable computers.
The use of the henderson equation to estimate the emf difference between cells with and without liquid junction

Abstract Experiments have been performed using suitably constructed electrochemical cells to determine the reliability of the Henderson equation when used for the purpose of estimating the emf diference between cells with and without liquid junction. It has been found that the Henderson equation is more reliable in estimating the observed emf difference in the case of junctions composed of salt solutions of the same valence type than it is for junctions composed of salt solutions of different valence types. A possible explanation for this observation is discussed.
Composite specimen bearing failure reduction in iosipescu shear tests

ASTM losipescu sheart test fixtures often crush the loaded edges of high shear strength specimens before shear failure occurs between the notches. To alleviate this problem, two new shear test fixtures were designed and built. The first uses a pivoting load surface to track the specimen shape as it changes under load. The second uses a rounded load surface optimized to produce a uniform bearing pressure along the loaded edge of a quasi-isotropic sheet-molding compound (SMC) specimen at shear failure. Finite element analyses and strain gage data are presented that describe the behavior of the baseline ASTM, pivoting load surface and rounded load surface fixtures. A substantial reduction in bearing stress and edge crushing was obtained with the rounded load surface fixture. Additionally, the modified surface optimized to test SMC specimens showed no tendency to change the shear strength measured in other composite specimens.
Diffraction-limited lucky imaging with a 12" commercial telescope

Here we demonstrate a novel lucky imaging camera which is designed to produce diffraction-limited imaging using small telescopes similar to ones used by many academic institutions for outreach and/or student training. We present a design that uses a Meade 12” SCT paired with an Andor iXon fast readout EMCCD. The PSF of the telescope is matched to the pixel size of the EMCCD by adding a simple, custom-fabricated, intervening optical system. We demonstrate performance of the system by observing both astronomical and terrestrial targets. The astronomical application requires simpler data reconstruction techniques as compared to the terrestrial case. We compare different lucky imaging registration and reconstruction algorithms for use with this imager for both astronomical and terrestrial targets. We also demonstrate how this type of instrument would be useful for both undergraduate and graduate student training. As an instructional aide, the instrument can provide a hands-on approach for teaching instrument design, standard data reduction techniques, lucky imaging data processing, and high resolution imaging concepts.
Motherland in danger: Soviet propaganda during World War II

Motherland in danger: Soviet propaganda during World War II, by Karel C. Berkhoff, Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 2012, 416 pp., $35.00 (hardcover), ISBN 978-0-674-04924-6 Recently, much scho...
The suffering of the healer.

TOPIC The severe distress sometimes experienced by nurses in their role as healer. PURPOSE To identify the sources that give rise to the suffering of the healer, describe the responses of healers to their suffering, and make recommendations on how to prepare nurses to cope with suffering. SOURCES The concept of the suffering of the healer is derived from the work of Erik Cassell; the framework for understanding responses to suffering from the work of Dorothy Solle. CONCLUSIONS Nurses need to be aware that practice in health care can give rise to the suffering of the healer. Nursing education and administration need to help nurses learn to cope.
Yeast genes involved in DNA-repair processes : new looks on old faces

Multiple genes (many of which are designated RAD (for radiation resistance)) are required for cellular responses to DNA damage in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In recent years a number of these genes have been cloned and sequenced and in some cases their polypeptide products have been purified and characterized biochemically. These studies are beginning to yield clues about the possible nature of the multiple biochemical pathways for DNA-damage processing in yeast.
Acute ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction in Patients Hospitalized for Non-Cardiac Conditions: The Next Challenge in Reperfusion Time

Early animal studies demonstrated that temporary coronary artery occlusion does not lead to irreversible myocardial damage. Delayed reperfusion resulted in a wave of myocardial necrosis extending from the subendocardium to the subepicardium. With increasing occlusion times the amount of transmural
Collateral branches of cerebellopontine axons reach the thalamus, superior colliculus, or inferior olive: a double-fluorescence and combined fluorescence-horseradish peroxidase study in the rat.

Abstract Retrograde double-labeling methods that used two different fluorescent dyes or a fluorescent dye in combination with wheat germ agglutinin-horseradish peroxidase were used in the rat to study the collateralization of cerebellopontine fibers to the thalamus, the superior colliculus, or the inferior olive. In cases with combined basilar pontine nuclei and thalamus injections, double-labeled neurons were located in the rostral part of the lateral cerebellar nucleus as well as within the interpositus anterior and interpositus posterior nuclei. These cells are medium to large in size and multipolar-shaped. A much smaller number of double-labeled cells was observed in the combined basilar pontine nuclei and superior colliculus injections. In these cases most of the double-labeled cells were intermediate- to large-sized and either bipolar- or multipolar-shaped. Such neurons were distributed throughout the rostrocaudal extent of the lateral cerebellar nucleus, with only a few double-labeled cells located in the interpositus anterior and posterior nuclei. Finally, in the cases with combined basilar pontine nuclei and inferior olive injections, double-labeled cells were located in interpositus anterior and posterior nuclei and the medial portion of the lateral cerebellar nucleus. The double-labeled cells were relatively small in size and most were spindle-shaped. No double-labeled cells were observed in the medial cerebellar nucleus in any of the three injection combinations. Based upon the observation of double-labeled neurons in the deep cerebellar nuclei in each of the three injection combinations involving the basilar pontine nuclei, we conclude that cerebellar projections to the basilar pons arise in part as collaterals of axons that project to the thalamus, superior colliculus, or the inferior olive.
Importance of mechanical disaggregation in chemical weathering in a cold alpine environment, San Juan Mountains, Colorado

Weathering of welded tuff near the summit of Snowshoe Mountain (3660 m) in southwestern Colorado was studied by analyzing infiltrating waters in the soil and associated solid phases. Infiltrating waters exhibit anomalously high potassium to silica ratios resulting from dissolution of a potassium-rich glass that occurs as a trace phase in the rock. In laboratory experiments using rock from the field site, initial dissolution generated potassium-rich solutions similar to those observed in the field. The anomalous potassium release decreased over time (about 1 month), after which the dominant cation was calcium, with a much lower potassium to silica ratio. The anomalous potassium concentrations observed in the infiltrating soil solutions result from weathering of freshly exposed rock surfaces. Continual mechanical disaggregation of the rock due to segregation freezing exposes fresh glass to weathering and thus maintains the source of potassium for the infiltrating water. The ongoing process of creation of fresh surfaces by physical processes is an important influence on the composition of infiltrating waters in the vadose zone.
An imaging system for simultaneous inspection, authentication and forensics

A high-resolution, handheld, USB-powered imaging device can be used to simultaneously provide authentication, inspection and forensic imaging capabilities. In this paper, we describe the capture of 6.55 × 4.84 mm, 7600 lines/inch resolution images that afford the reading of intentional (authentication) and stochastic (forensic) information using the same image. Because of the high-resolution, high-contrast nature of the images, they can also be used for inspection of print quality. The security payload density obtained (per unit area) exceeds that of fixed bed scanners, and our data shows that the density is limited by the capabilities of the printing process, not the imaging. Taking advantage of the structured nature of security deterrents, we readily incorporate a simple shape warp descriptor feature to distinguish between sets of authentic (same deterrent imaged multiple times) and counterfeit (same image data, different prints) deterrents. This capability affords the simultaneous achievement of payload reading (mass serialization, track & trace) and high-quality proof of authenticity. We discuss the implications for providing an overall imaging ecosystem for product identification, track & trace, authentication and forensic validation.
Structural analysis of the matrix protein from the nuclear polyhedrosis virus of Heliothis zea.

Abstract Polyhedrin from the nuclear polyhedrosis virus of Heliothis zea was analyzed. Alkalisolubilized polyhedrin consists of a 12 S aggregate of 27,000 MW subunits. Results from chemical crosslinking experiments suggest that 12 subunits are present in the 12 S aggregate. In isoelectric focusing gels, the aggregate migrates as a single entity with an isoelectric point of 5.9. Under denaturing conditions, four charge isomers of the subunits are revealed. The presence of alkaline protease activity in the Heliothis virus is confirmed.
The model multiplicity problem: experimenting with real-time specification methods

The object-process methodology (OPM) specifies both graphically and textually the system's static-structural and behavioral-procedural aspects through a single unifying model. This model singularity is contrasted with the multimodel approach applied by existing object oriented system analysis methods. These methods usually employ at least three distinct models for specifying various system aspects: mainly structure, function, and behavior. Object modeling technique (OMT), the main ancestor of the unified modeling language (UML), extended with timed statecharts, represents a family of such multimodal object oriented methods. Two major open questions related to model multiplicity vs. model singularity have been: 1) whether or not a single model, rather than a combination of several models, enables the synthesis of a better system specification; and 2) which of the two alternative approaches yields a specification that is easier to comprehend. The authors address these questions through a double-blind controlled experiment. To obtain conclusive results, real time systems, which exhibit a more complex dynamic behavior than nonreal time systems were selected as the focus of the experiment. We establish empirically that a single model methodology, OPM, is more effective than a multimodel one, OMT, in terms of synthesis. We pinpoint specific issues in which significant diiferences between the two methodologies were found. The specification comprehension results show that there were significant differences between the two methods in specific issues.
Adaptive Multipath Cancellation for Digital Data Communications

In this paper, an adaptive spectral equalization technique is developed for multipath cancellation, and more generally for any minimum-phase distortion, which is implemented by a constrained form of adaptive linear prediction. The technique does not use decisiondirected feedback, has guaranteed convergence and stability, and is simple to realize using conventional circuit technology. Binary amplitude-shift-keying (ASK) is considered as an example of the technique, and the theoretical performance characteristics are derived for a bandlimited pulse shape. Experimental results are also presented for an operational real-time processing system which has been developed for this application and are shown to conform favorably to theory. The analytic and experimental results presented in this paper clearly indicate the usefulness of this concept for a single multipath channel, yielding a performance advantage of between 5 and 20 dB. Particularly significant is the potential of this adaptive technique to acquire and track the multipath without any a priori knowledge of the specific parameters.
Approximate Planning in POMDPs with Macro-Actions

Recent research has demonstrated that useful POMDP solutions do not require consideration of the entire belief space. We extend this idea with the notion of temporal abstraction. We present and explore a new reinforcement learning algorithm over grid-points in belief space, which uses macro-actions and Monte Carlo updates of the Q-values. We apply the algorithm to a large scale robot navigation task and demonstrate that with temporal abstraction we can consider an even smaller part of the belief space, we can learn POMDP policies faster, and we can do information gathering more efficiently.
Blood versus synovial fluid ethanol concentrations in humans.

Many tissues have been analyzed for their relevance in prediction of blood ethanol concentrations, with varying results. Synovlal fluid is contained and protected by the bursa sac. Because of its high water content, it may be a suitable biological fluid for analysis If a linear correlation could be established between blood and synovlal fluid ethanol concentrations. Blood-synovlal fluid ratios of ethanol in 28 human cadavers, using an Internal standard, exhibit a good distribution ratio with an average of 0.99 + 0.29 and a correlation coefficient of 0.89. This study shows that synovial fluid is a good alternative biological sample for prediction of blood ethanol levels within a range.
Preparation of TiO2-coated Hydroxyapatite Single Crystals

TiO2-coated hydroxyapatite single crystals were prepared by hydrolysis of Ti-bearing dicalcium phosphate powder. On the surface of the TiO2-coated hydroxyapatite single crystals, TiO2 regions and hydroxyapatite regions can function as photocatalysts and adsorbents for organic contaminants, respectively, allowing simultaneous decomposition of organic contaminants by the photocatalysis of TiO2 under irradiation. Therefore, the TiO2-coated hydroxyapatite single crystals can favorably be applied for antibacterial applications and environmental purification.
AACR Cancer Progress Report 2015: Transforming Lives Through Precision Medicine.

I am pleased to announce that this issue of Clinical Cancer Research ( CCR ) has an online supplement, the AACR Cancer Progress Report 2015 , which is freely available on the journal website ( ). The annual AACR Cancer Progress Report is a cornerstone of the
Multi-tone FSK for ultrasonic communication

Traditional radio frequency communication schemes are not capable of transmitting signals through metal enclosures. However, in some applications it is necessary to transmit information to/from devices located inside metal enclosures, e.g., a closed shipping container in transit. A conformal ultrasonic communication system based on multi-tone FSK (MFSK) has been developed and evaluated using steel corner posts from shipping containers as the communication medium. The communication system is configurable, consisting of two or more modules. A module is mounted to a metal surface and utilizes an inexpensive ultrasonic transducer to send and receive modulated signals through the metal channel. A module also makes use of an inexpensive DSP chip for modulating and demodulating MFSK signals. For the shipping container application, experiments were conducted that achieve data rates of approximately 800 bps. Experiments related to two scenarios for the shipping container application were investigated: (1) communicating through one container and (2) communication between stacked containers. For the second case, experiments were conducted with modules on two separate corner posts that are under compressive load.
The Effect of Methanethiol and Methionine Toxicity on the Activities of Cytochrome c Oxidase and Enzymes Involved in Protection from Peroxidative Damage

The tissue changes characteristic of methionine toxicity may be caused by methanethiol (CH3SH) inhibition of enzymes involved in protection from peroxidative damage. Methanethiol is an intermediate of the transaminative pathway of methionine metabolism. Glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reducA­ase,catalase and Superoxide dismutase activities were therefore tested for susceptibility of CH3SH. Cytochrome c oxidase activity was also measured because of its known inhibition by mercaptans. A 10-min exposure to CH3SH depressed hepatic Cytochrome c oxidase activity to 28 % of the incubated control value, while hepatic, splenic and erythrocyte catalase activities were depressed, respectively, to 53, 52 and 71% of the incubated control. Similar reductions in catalase and cytochrome c oxidase activities were ob served in rats fed a diet containing 3 % L-methionine as compared to rats pair-fed a control diet containing 0.3% methionine There was no difference in the amount of lipid peroxidation as monitored by the presence of malondialdehyde in the livers of these rats. In rats injected i.p. with 50 or 75 /imol of 3-methylthiopropionate, an inter mediate of methionine catabolism, the maximum levels of exhaled methanethiol coincided with depressions in liver catalase and cytochrome c oxidase activity to 40-50 % of control values. The activities of these enzymes returned to control values within 2 to 4 h. The inhibition of catalase activity does not appear to be the cause of the membrane damage observed in methionine toxicity. J. Nutr. 116: 204-215,
Reduction potentials of conjugated aliphatic ketones, oximes,and imines: correlation with structure and bioactivity

Resumen en: To determine which structural features may favor electron transfer in biological systems, cyclic voltammetric studies were carried out on conjugated al...
The ganglia distributed monitoring system: design, implementation, and experience

Abstract Ganglia is a scalable distributed monitoring system for high performance computing systems such as clusters and Grids. It is based on a hierarchical design targeted at federations of clusters. It relies on a multicast-based listen/announce protocol to monitor state within clusters and uses a tree of point-to-point connections amongst representative cluster nodes to federate clusters and aggregate their state. It leverages widely used technologies such as XML for data representation, XDR for compact, portable data transport, and RRDtool for data storage and visualization. It uses carefully engineered data structures and algorithms to achieve very low per-node overheads and high concurrency. The implementation is robust, has been ported to an extensive set of operating systems and processor architectures, and is currently in use on over 500 clusters around the world. This paper presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of Ganglia along with experience gained through real world deployments on systems of widely varying scale, configurations, and target application domains over the last two and a half years.
Stopping eye and hand movements: are the processes independent?

To explore how eye and hand movements are controlled in a stop task, we introduced effector uncertainty by instructing subjects to initiate and occasionally inhibit eye, hand, or eye + hand movements in response to a color-coded foveal or tone-coded auditory stop signal. Regardless of stop signal modality, stop signal reaction time was shorter for eye movements than for hand movements, but notably did not vary with knowledge about which movement to cancel. Most errors on eye + hand stopping trials were combined eye + hand movements. The probability and latency of signal respond eye and hand movements corresponded to predictions of Logan and Cowan’s (1984) race model applied to each effector independently.
A Success Story: President of Four-Generation Family Business Talks About Strategy, “Giving Back,” and Gubernatorial Aspirations

Steve Grossman, Democratic candidate for governor of Massachusetts in 2002, is president of MassEnvelopePlus in Somerville, MA, a full-service printing and graphic design firm started by his grandfather in 1910 and now a fourth-generation family business. He is also founder and president of Givenation.com, which helps nonprofit organizations raise funds online.Steve has played a prominent role in both national and state politics, most recently as national chairman of the Democratic National Committee, which he helped revitalize from 1997 to 1999, president and chairman of the Board of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee from 1992 to 1996, and chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party from 1991 to 1992. A strong believer in grassroots politics, he remains an active member of the Ward 7 Newton Democratic City Committee. He was also a leader of many philanthropic, civic, and cultural organizations over the years.
Statistical procedures for developing earthquake damage fragility curves

Summary This paper describes statistical procedures for developing earthquake damage fragility functions. Although fragility curves abound in earthquake engineering and risk assessment literature, the focus has generally been on the methods for obtaining the damage data (i.e., the analysis of structures), and little emphasis is placed on the process for fitting fragility curves to this data. This paper provides a synthesis of the most commonly used methods for fitting fragility curves and highlights some of their significant limitations. More novel methods are described for parametric fragility curve development (generalized linear models and cumulative link models) and non-parametric curves (generalized additive model and Gaussian kernel smoothing). An extensive discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of each method is provided, as well as examples using both empirical and analytical data. The paper further proposes methods for treating the uncertainty in intensity measure, an issue common with empirical data. Finally, the paper describes approaches for choosing among various fragility models, based on an evaluation of prediction error for a user-defined loss function. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Tracing architectural concerns in high assurance systems (NIER track)

Software architecture is shaped by a diverse set of interacting and competing quality concerns, each of which may have broad-reaching impacts across multiple architectural views. Without traceability support, it is easy for developers to inadvertently change critical architectural elements during ongoing system maintenance and evolution, leading to architectural erosion. Unfortunately, existing traceability practices, tend to result in the proliferation of traceability links, which can be difficult to create, maintain, and understand. We therefore present a decision-centric approach that focuses traceability links around the architectural decisions that have shaped the delivered system. Our approach, which is informed through an extensive investigation of architectural decisions made in real-world safety-critical and performance-critical applications, provides enhanced support for advanced software engineering tasks.
Interpolation of 2D layered-medium periodic green's function

An important problem in many applications is the efficient computation of the two-dimensional (2D) periodic Green's functions in layered media. In this paper, we investigate various ways to use interpolation to speed up the calculation of the periodic 2D Green's function in layered media. This corresponds to the calculation of the potential from a 2D infinite periodic set of source points arranged on a lattice in the xy plane, with z being the direction normal to the layers. The lattice vectors s 1 and s 2 in the plane of the sources may be arbitrary, corresponding to a skewed lattice as illustrated in Fig. 1.
Parturition dysfunction in obesity: time to target the pathobiology

Over a third of women of childbearing age in the United States are obese, and during pregnancy they are at increased risk for delayed labor onset and slow labor progress that often results in unplanned cesarean delivery. The biology behind this dysfunctional parturition is not well understood. Studies of obesity-induced changes in parturition physiology may facilitate approaches to optimize labor in obese women. In this review, we summarize known and proposed biologic effects of obesity on labor preparation, contraction/synchronization, and endurance, drawing on both clinical observation and experimental data. We present evidence from human and animal studies of interactions between obesity and parturition signaling in all elements of the birth process, including: delayed cervical ripening, prostaglandin insensitivity, amniotic membrane strengthening, decreased myometrial oxytocin receptor expression, decreased myocyte action potential initiation and contractility, decreased myocyte gap junction formation, and impaired myocyte neutralization of reactive oxygen species. We found convincing clinical data on the effect of obesity on labor initiation and successful delivery, but few studies on the underlying pathobiology. We suggest research opportunities and therapeutic interventions based on plausible biologic mechanisms.
Multi-Stage Intermediation in Display Advertising

We consider a setting where an advertiser seeks to acquire an impression from an advertising exchange through a chain of intermediaries, and provide a game theoretic model to study the mechanisms offered by strategic intermediaries when the advertiser’s value is private. We characterize the subgame perfect equilibrium of the game among intermediaries within a practically relevant class of mechanisms, and show that economic incentives are not necessarily aligned along the chain, i.e., profit-maximizing intermediaries have incentives to shade bids and not to allocate impressions, even when profitable for their customers. We also provide the equilibrium mechanisms and profits in closed-form for cases where the advertiser has (i) exponential, (ii) Pareto, (iii) uniform value distribution. Our results indicate that when the advertiser has exponential value distribution, the expected profits of all intermediaries are identical. On the other hand, for Pareto and uniform distributions, downstream and upstream intermediaries have higher profits, respectively. This result indicates that the position in the intermediation process has a significant impact on the profits of the intermediaries, and the most profitable position depends on the underlying value distribution. Moreover, we extend our characterization to tree networks and analyze the impact of different network structures on the profits of intermediaries and the seller’s revenue.
Understanding the Role of Social Networks on Labor Market Outcomes Using a Large Dataset from a Mobile Network

We use a new and unique dataset combining social network data from Call Detail Records with employment information on mobile phone subscribers to study the role of information networks on job market outcomes. The novel contribution of our work is to focus on the effect of actual social connections beyond that associated to living in the same neighborhood. We find that the propensity to work together is two orders of magnitude greater for a pair of neighbors who call each other than that for a pair of neighbors who do not, suggesting that actual social ties play a significant role in learning about job opportunities. We also find that social networks play a stronger role in less privileged neighborhoods, which provides some evidence that social networks may be unable to mitigate the insulation problems of such neighborhoods.
Strengthening Federal Bankruptcy Laws: Implications for Small Businesses

Significant changes in the American bankruptcy laws have recently been passed by both Houses of Congress. Although the terrorist attacks of September 11 , 2001 have temporarily delayed final approval by President Bush, he has indicated his endorsement of these modifications to the law, and eventual realization is expected. While most of the publicity regarding these proposed changes has focused on their impact upon individuals and their ability to erase personal debts, small businesses are also extensively impacted by these changes. This article first explains bankruptcy law in general as it affects small companies, then discusses the expected changes in the law and their small business implications, and finally suggests appropriate responses for small business owners, managers and their consultants.
Mapping Lawyer Competencies Onto the Law School Curriculum to Confirm that Graduates are Prepared for Law Practice

This article describes how to define lawyer competencies from a variety of professional, research, and institutional sources, in order to map them against a law school curriculum. The article explains how a table of lawyer competencies can help lawyers, law firms, and law schools ensure adequate professional preparation and development. It then tests popular myths and common premises regarding lawyer competencies. The article concludes from its study of lawyer competencies that legal education should continue its present reforms to further integrate and align instruction to practice competencies.
Unveiling Protein Kinase A Targets in Cryptococcus neoformans Capsule Formation

The protein kinase A (PKA) signal transduction pathway has been associated with pathogenesis in many fungal species. Geddes and colleagues [mBio 7(1):e01862-15, 2016, doi:10.1128/mBio.01862-15] used quantitative proteomics approaches to define proteins with altered abundance during protein kinase A (PKA) activation and repression in the opportunistic human fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans. They observed an association between microbial PKA signaling and ubiquitin-proteasome regulation of protein homeostasis. Additionally, they correlated these processes with expression of polysaccharide capsule on the fungal cell surface, the main virulence-associated phenotype in this organism. Not only are their findings important for microbial pathogenesis, but they also support similar associations between human PKA signaling and ubiquitinated protein accumulation in neurodegenerative diseases.
Reversed determination of the reaction; phlogopite+quartz = enstatite+potassium feldspar+H 2 O in the ranges 750-875 degrees C and 2-12 kbar at low H 2 O activity with concentrated KCl solutions

The reaction of phlogopite plus quartz to enstatite, potassium feldspar, and aqueous fluid in the system KMASH-KCl was reversed at 2-12 kbar and 750-875 degrees C and at low H 2 O activities by reversal of the H 2 O content of concentrated KCl solutions equilibrated with product and reactant assemblages. Synthetic 1M phlogopite [KMg 3 AlSi 3 O 10 (OH) 2 ] and enstatite (MgSiO 3 ) maintained end-member stoichiometry throughout, and the potassium feldspar (KAlSi 3 O 8 ) was a high sanidine, based on unit-cell refinements. The broad P-T-XH 2 O and narrow reversal ranges of this investigation were possible because of the low and well-defined H 2 O activity, yet powerful fluxing action, of concentrated KCl solutions. Solubility experiments on quartz and potassium feldspar in our P-T-XH 2 O range showed that fluid-phase solution of silicate constituents was too small to have affected the H 2 O activity in the experiments. The new determinations are more definitive than previous work done at very low pressures with pure H 2 O or in CO 2 -H 2 O mixtures. They establish the standard free energy of the reaction in the experimental range with an uncertainty of about 1 kJ and indicate that the synthetic phlogopite has maximal (Al-Si) disorder under our experimental conditions. The standard enthalpy of reaction at 298 K is 106.54+ or -2.0 kJ (2sigma ) based on our reversals, a value 6 kJ less positive than that currently used by many workers in calculations of biotite stability and H 2 O activity in the petrogenesis of high-grade metamorphic rocks. The lower thermal stability that we find for phlogopite requires revision in estimates of H 2 O activity of granulite facies metamorphism: typical values for the natural assemblage orthopyroxene-biotite-garnet-potassium feldspar-plagioclase-quartz at deep-crustal metamorphic conditions (750-850 degrees C, 5-10 kbar) are alpha H2O = 0.4-0.6 compared with values of 0.15-0.30 which would have been estimated with previously available data on phlogopite stability. An important consequence of the expanded H 2 O activity range of granulites is that alkali chloride solutions of only moderate concentration [XH 2 O = 0.5-0.7], which are the values observed in actual fluid inclusions in many kinds of igneous and metamorphic rocks, are a feasible alternative to the vapor-absent conditions considered necessary by many workers based on previous low estimates of H 2 O. Participation of concentrated brines in deep-crust/upper mantle metamorphic processes enables alkali metasomatism and other kinds of chemical transport in an aqueous fluid without large-scale melting of the crust.
Predatory Behavior and Food Preferences of Driver Ants in Selected African Habitats

Aspects of predatory behavior and food preferences of three species of driver ants, Dorylus (Anomma) gerstaeckeri Emery, D. (A.) nigricans Illiger, and D. (A.) nigricans var. molesta (Gerstaecker), in selected African habitats are analyzed. Driver ants prey primarily on insects, arachnids, and earthworms. Diet composition is determined primarily by habitat and prey availability and only secondarily by prey characteristics. Less mobile prey such as immature forms, particularly of holometabola, are more vulnerable to attack than are adults. Their prey are usually sectioned into transportable pieces (designated prey units in this study for purposes of analysis). Prey unit size is correlated with prey-retrieval ability of the species (as determined by size and behavior). Workers exhibit a prey-retrieval division of labor in which large workers carry prey units and smaller workers retrieve prey liquids or carry no prey at all.
Reference Architecture for Digital Video/Audio Transfer and Streaming

In an ever increasing way, video/audio assets are becoming digital. The days of analog-based video and audio are waning. As we usher in a production and distribution culture established on digital assets, new opportunities and challenges face us. One of the challenges involves moving digital assets from place to place. Why not continue to use tape as the agency of transfer? Because although tape has its application space, networked video offers new capabilities not offered by tape. So let's focus on using network and channel a technology to move digital assets. At first this may seem to be a solved problem. After all, haven't computer users done this for years? Well, yes and no. Although technology from the networking and computer sectors is useful for moving digital files, moving video/audio essence' in a frame synchronized, fixed delay, realtime way with little or no loss is a foreign concept to most users of networks and computers. As will be shown, judicious selection of networking and computer technology will allow us to create a reference architecture for asset transfer and streaming.
CONFINED RAPID THERMOLYSIS/FTIR SPECTROSCOPY OF HYDROXYLAMMONIUM NITRATE

Measurements have been made to investigate the isothermal decomposition characteristics of hydroxylammonium nitrate (HAN) in the condensed phase over the temperature range from 120 to 180 C. Experiments were conducted at atmospheric pressure in a nitrogen environment using confined rapid thermolysis (CRT)TFTIR spectroscopy. Results show that the major IR-active decomposition species of HAN-water mixtures are H2O, N2O, NO, NO2, and HNO3. For solid HAN, N2O is the dominant species formed, and HNO3 concentration is somewhat higher than that in solution state at the same temperature. It is conjectured that the evolution of species from the HAN-water mixture can be split into three general separate regions: 1) proton transfer is initiated and subsequent reactions form a pool of the highly reactive species HONO and HNO, 2) these species are involved in many subsequent reactions causing the evolution of gas-phase species and depletion of HAN, and 3) reactions in the condensed phase occur among products from HAN decomposition. Foils exposed to rapid thermolysis of HAN experienced essentially no pitting or fracturing over the range of temperatures studied.
Normalization of Resonant Hamiltonians

The definition of integrability is simple to state; an autonomous N degree of freedom Hamiltonian is integrable if N independent global invariants exist and these are in involution with each other.1 However, a failure to find such a set of global invariants does not exclude the possibility that the Hamiltonian in question is integrable. The detection of integrability is thus a critical issue in non-linear dynamics and a variety of analytical and numerical procedures has been developed to determine if a Hamiltonian is integrable. The most obvious approach is to try to establish if the Hamiltonian is separable, possibly using the Stackel conditions to guide one to appropriate coordinate system. It should be noted, however, that finding coordinates that separate a particular problem can itself be a difficult task. More general and systematic approaches than simply seeking separability are therefore in order, e.g., the Whittaker program. An alternative method is the Painleve test2 in which the analytic structure of the equations of motion in the complex time plane is examined. This approach has been used to uncover integrability but must be applied gingerly because it cannot be guaranteed to succeed in every case. Probably the simplest numerical method is to generate Poincare surfaces of section and determine by eye whether or not the motion is integrable. Of course, no numerical method by itself can definitively determine integrability.
Stereospecific reduction of crotonyl coenzyme A

SUMMARY An enzyme preparation obtained from brain tissue catalyzes the stereospecific reduction of crotonyl CoA to butyrate. Tritium from TPNH3 was localized predominantly on the 8-carbon of recovered butyric acid. Both this enzyme and a preparation from adipose tissue, which also catalyzes the reduction of crotonyl CoA, catalyze the synthesis of longchain fatty acids from malonyl CoA and acetyl CoA. The significance of these findings is considered in view of the demonstration that, in long-chain fatty acids synthesized in the presence of TPNH3, labeled hydrogen is localized on alternate carbon atoms beginning with the @-carbon.
Humanism in Mass Media

Humanism in mass media should be realized by their respect to the life,dignity and rights of human beings.Humanism should be a basic attitude of the press media in that they should give due concerns to the people's livelihood,in particular the exhistance of the vunerable class.
Analysis of monitoring results of rural drinking water in Yandu District of Yancheng City from 2011-2013

[Objective]To investigate the hygienic quality of the rural drinking water in Yandu District of Yancheng City,to explore the influence of the water treatment and sanitary management,and to provide the scientific basis for the drinking water safety.[Methods]The finished water and tap water of 40 town and village water works were collected for 1 sample in dry season(March)and wet season(July). A total of 480 water samples were analyzed chemical and microbiological health indicators in 3years with GB/T 5750-2006"Standard Test Method for Drinking Water".[Results]Of 480 tested samples,the qualified rate was70.42%. The total qualified rate was 57.50%,68.75%,85.00% in 3 years,showing upward tendency. It is concretely represented in the increasing of the qualified rate of Mn, chlorides, colony count and thermotolerant coliform bacteria.[Conclusion]The qualified rate of the rural drinking water in Yandu District is increasing annually. The deep well in rural area is suggested to be used as standby water source,and the supervision of standby water source should be strengthened by government in the regional water supply.
Machine learning as a means toward precision diagnostics and prognostics

Machine learning plays an essential role in medical imaging. Pattern analysis techniques can identify, and quantify, subtle and spatially complex patterns of disease-induced changes in the brain despite confounding statistical noise and inter-individual variability. This allows the construction of sensitive biomarkers that can identify disease, or risk of developing it, and characterize future clinical progression on an individual patient basis. Thus pattern analysis techniques have become an indispensable part of the growing need for personalized, predictive medicine. However, despite important advances, several challenges remain before they can gain widespread acceptance as tools for precision diagnostics and prognostics in clinical practice. These include: (i) feature extraction and dimensionality reduction; (ii) readily interpreting complex multivariate models; and (iii) elucidating disease heterogeneity. In this chapter, we describe these challenges, putting emphasis on possible solutions, and present evidence of the usefulness of machine learning techniques at the clinical and research levels.
Sequential measurement-dependent noisy search

Consider a target search problem on a unit interval where at any given time an agent can choose a region to probe into for the presence of the target in that region. The measurement noise is assumed to be increasing with the size of the search region the agent chooses. In this paper, a single-phase sequential and adaptive search algorithm is proposed and shown to achieve the best possible targeting rate and error exponent among all adaptive search algorithms. The proposed algorithm simply adopts a low complexity sorting operation on the posterior of the target and then pick up locations with larger posterior until the probability that the search region contains the target is closest to half.
Morality and Mind-Body Connections

Sociologists who study morality have incorporated a variety of models of mind-body connections into their research. These models generally fall within three categories: cognitivist, intuitionist, and holistic models. Cognitivist research is focused on deliberative, “rational” thought, schemas, and cognitive frames. Intuitionist research emphasizes “pre-rational” emotions related to empathy, shame, anger, and disgust. Holistic research treats cognition and emotion as super-tightly integrated, and investigates them together. While there are analytic and methodological advantages to sharply distinguishing between cognition and emotion, researchers have developed a number of innovative methods for analyzing moral decision-making more holistically.
Statistical Concepts in Laboratory Quality Control

Quality control ensures that the performance of a test is within the limits set by validation experiments as well as the requirements of the lab and regulatory bodies. The goal of quality control is to minimize variability and maximize accuracy and precision; this requires measurements of quality metrics and interpretation and analysis of these quality metrics by statistical methods.