cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cryospheric hazards and risk perceptions in the Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park and Buffer Zone, Nepal

Glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) are among the most serious cryospheric hazards for mountain communities. Multiple studies have predicted the potential risks posed by rapidly expanding glacial lakes in the Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park and Buffer Zone of Nepal. People’s perceptions of such cryospheric hazards can influence their actions, beliefs, and responses to those hazards and associated risks. This study provides a systematic approach that combines household survey data with ethnography to analyze people’s perceptions of GLOF risks and the socioeconomic and cultural factors influencing their perceptions. A statistical logit model of household data showed a significant positive correlation between the perceptions of GLOF risks and livelihood sources, mainly tourism. Risk perceptions are also influenced by spatial proximity to glacial lakes and whether a village is in potential flood zones. The 2016 emergency remediation work implemented in the Imja Tsho (glacial lake) has served as a cognitive fix, especially in the low-lying settlements. Much of uncertainty and confusions related GLOF risks among locals can be attributed to a disconnect between how scientific information is communicated to the local communities and how government climate change policies have been limited to awareness campaigns and emergency remediation efforts. A sustainable partnership of scientists, policymakers, and local communities is urgently needed to build a science-driven, community-based initiative that focuses not just in addressing a single GLOF threat but develops on a comprehensive cryospheric risk management plan and considers opportunities and challenges of tourism in the local climate adaptation policies.
Reconsidering Devitt on Realism and Truth

Michael Devitt tells us that metaphysical realism has a kind of immunity from considerations concerning the nature of truth. Part of this immunity comes from Devitt’s insistence that realism is a metaphysical issue, not a semantic one. Most of Devitt’s critics have focused on this point, arguing that a proper understanding of the realism question necessarily involves semantic considerations (Appiah in Philos Stud 61(1):65–74, 1991; Miller in Synthese 136(2):191–217, 2003; Putnam in Comments on Michael Devitt’s ‘Hilary and Me’, in: Baghramian (ed) Reading Putnam. Taylor and Francis, Hoboken, 2012; Taylor in Models, truth, and realism. Oxford University Press, New York, 2006). But Devitt also argues at length that semantic considerations should not lead us to give up on realism regardless of whether we admit that the correct characterization of realism is metaphysical in character or not. Devitt’s view hinges on the viability of a strategy which he calls Putting Metaphysics First (Devitt in Putting metaphysics first. Oxford University Press, New York, 2010), which essentially involves giving “a certain temporal and explanatory priority to metaphysical concerns” (1998, p. 499). Fully explicated, Devitt’s strategy is seen to be based on an epistemological naturalism in the vein of Quine. The main idea is that if we assume a naturalism according to which the only way to know anything is empirically through experience, then we will be able to establish a version of metaphysical realism early on in our investigations. According to Devitt, the empirical evidence for this realism is much stronger than the empirical evidence for the numerous semantical and epistemological views which are put forward in favor of antirealism. So, Devitt argues, we should hold on to the realism that we establish first and build our other theories on top of it. After detailing Devitt’s approach, I offer two objections. The first problem for Devitt is that in the process of putting metaphysics first, he puts epistemological naturalism first. This fact is in tension with his claim that epistemology is a weak starting place and a poor basis of theoretical revision. The second problem is that while our experiences of objects give us evidence that those objects exist, our experiences do not tell us that the objects exist mind-independently in all the ways required for metaphysical realism, or so I contend. Thus, I argue, even if we do put naturalized metaphysics first as Devitt recommends, realism is not secured as a starting point.
Elasto-Plastic Analysis of Reinforced Concrete Frames by Microcomputer

The purpose of this investigation is to develop a computer program for elasto-plastic analysis of plane reinforced concrete frames. The basic assumption is that the structure behaves elastically up to failure and all the non-linearities are concentrated at the plastic hinges which form at points where the moment reaches the section capacity. After the formation of a plastic hinge, the structure response to any additional load is obtained by appropriate modification of the stiffness matrix of the structure. The sequence and the location of plastic hinges are determined by the program and depend on the loading history [1,2]. The mechanism obtained by the computer is the one in which upper bound is equal to the lower bound as suggested by the classical method [3].
46 Presence of porcine TET3L isoform in oocytes: Potential involvement in the DNA demethylation process

Fertilized oocytes undergo genome-wide DNA demethylation with the exception of imprinted genes and certain repetitive elements. Ten-eleven translocation 3 (TET3) protein has been known to be responsible for the DNA demethylation process by catalysing oxidation of 5-methylcytosine. Recent studies in the mouse indicated that multiple Tet3 isoforms exist in oocytes, implying differential actions of the isoforms. Previously, we reported the sequence of TET3 in porcine oocytes (GenBank: KC137685). Here, we investigated the presence of TET3 isoforms in porcine oocytes and cumulus cells, and followed changes in the TET3 expression during oocyte maturation to further understand the mechanism of TET3 action in the DNA demethylation process. To identify porcine TET3 isoforms, 5′ RACE (rapid amplification of cDNA ends) was conducted using mRNAs isolated from oocytes and cumulus cells at both germinal vesicle (GV) and MII stages. Gene-specific primers for 5′RACE were designed to recognise conserved regions of TET3 that are present in all isoforms, based on EST databases and the cloned sequence in our previous study. The PCR-amplified 5′RACE products were cloned into a vector and subsequently sequenced. The 5′RACE revealed 3 different TET3 isoforms from GV and MII cumulus cells; no amplification was detected using oocytes, potentially due to a low amount of mRNA. Among the isoforms, the longest variant (TET3L) contained sequences for the CXXC domain, known to carry DNA binding properties. Then, RT-PCR was used to detect the presence of the isoforms in porcine oocytes. Interestingly, the expression of TET3 isoform containing the CXXC domain (TET3L) was only verified from the RT-PCR, suggesting that the isoform may be the predominant isoform in porcine oocytes. To characterise transcript abundance of porcine TET3L, RNAs were isolated from different cells and/or tissues including cumulus cells, oocytes, brain, spleen, and lung. The RT-qPCR was performed using the RNAs and ΔΔCT method was used to analyse the data; GAPDH was used as an internal control. Three biological replicates were used for analysis of RT-qPCR data and P-values of less than 0.05 from one-way analysis of variance were considered significant. The expression level of TET3L was much higher in MII oocytes compared with that in somatic tissues; MII oocytes expressed the TET3 isoform over 350-fold higher than MII cumulus cells and 18-fold higher than lung cells. Interestingly, the expression level of TET3L increased over 3-fold during oocyte maturation (i.e. from GV to MII stage oocytes), indicating that TET3L may have a significant role in DNA demethylation after fertilisation. In conclusion, the TET3 isoform containing CXXC domain (TET3L) is predominantly expressed in matured porcine oocytes, suggesting an important role of the TET3 CXXC domain in DNA demethylation in zygotes.
The 2019 H. Paul Douglass Lecture: I Can’t Keep Quiet: Engaging with Scholarly Research on Religion

Methodologies used by social scientists grant access to quiet worlds and otherwise hidden truths. Social scientists are akin to strangers, trusted with secrets. The 2019 H. Paul Douglass Lecture proposes that scholars who engage with research on religion ought to listen quietly, but not keep quiet. We can transform the quiet to which we are privy into the collective. I illustrate the imperative to speak research out loud using the case example of the National Abortion Attitudes Study. Personal knowledge becomes collective revelation and, sometimes, social change.
Gastric outlet obstruction: when you cannot do an endoscopic gastroenterostomy or enteral stent, try an endoscopic duodenojejunostomy or jejunojejunostomy

Background and Aims Certain situations preclude an endoscopic gastroenterostomy (EUS-GE) or enteral stent placement in gastric outlet obstruction (GOO), leaving patients with the option of a surgical bypass or enteral nutrition beyond the point of obstruction. We present a third option in these situations: an endoscopic duodenojejunostomy (EUS-DJ) or jejunojejunostomy (EUS-JJ). Methods This was a retrospective review of 5 patients whose anatomy precluded an endoscopic gastrojejunostomy and an enteral stent, who underwent a successful EUS-DJ or EUS-JJ from 2016 to 2018. Results Four EUS-DJs and 1 EUS-JJ were performed, with use of a 15-mm cautery-enhanced lumen-apposing metal stent by direct technique. All cases were technically successful. Three patients tolerated an unrestricted diet, but 2 patients needed enteral supplementation or total parenteral nutrition because of severe gastroparesis. There was 1 moderate adverse event: bleeding from severe reflux esophagitis and gastroparesis. No reinterventions were needed on any of these stents, for a median follow-up time of 23 weeks. Conclusions When anatomy precludes an EUS-GE or enteral stent, an EUS-DJ or EUS-JJ may have similarly successful outcomes and could help avoid the need for enteral feeding tubes or surgery.
Abcb10 Physically Interacts with Mitoferrin1 to Enhance Its Stability for Heme Synthesis in the Erythroid Mitochondria

We previously described a zebrafish mutant, frascati (frs) , with hypochromic anemia and erythroid maturation arrest. Using positional cloning, we identified mitoferrin1 (mfrn1, slc25a37) as the gene disrupted in frs mutants (Shaw GC, et al. 2006 Nature 440:96–100). Mfrn1, the principle iron-importer in the mitochondria, is essential for heme and iron-sulphur (Fe/S) cluster syntheses in erythroblasts, and is required for primitive and definitive erythropoiesis. The biochemistry for Mfrn1-mediated iron acquisition into the mitochondria of developing erythroblasts, however, is poorly understood. In order to identify Mfrn1-associated proteins involved in mitochondrial iron homeostasis, we employed the strategy of in vivo epitope-tagged affinity purification and mass spectrometry (MS). A “bait protein,” Biotag-mouse Mfrn1 (BT-Mfrn1), was engineered to affinity-purify the associated proteins. A series of control experiments were first conducted to demonstrate that the BT-Mfrn1 protein properly targeted to the mitochondria and functionally complemented the anemia in frs embryos. A two-dimensional Blue Native gel followed by SDS-PAGE and western blot showed Mfrn1 forms higher-order protein complexes with interacting proteins in the mitochondrial fraction. A stable mouse erythroleukemia (MEL) clone expressing BT-Mfrn1 protein was derived as a source for protein purification. Affinity-purified BT-Mfrn1 protein complexes were analyzed by MS in triplicate runs in comparison to control MEL cells. Abcb10, a GATA-1 induced ATP-binding cassette transporter highly expressed in hematopoietic tissues and involved in heme biosynthesis (Shirihai OS, et al . 2000EMBO J.19:2492–2502), was found as one of the proteins which physically associated with Mfrn1 during MEL differentiation. The Abcb10:Mfrn1 interaction was confirmed by immunoprecipitation (IP) and western analysis with endogenously expressed proteins in MEL cells and proteins expressed by transient transfection in heterologous cells. Mfrn1 was previously shown to have longer protein half-life in differentiated MEL cells compared to undifferentiated cells (Paradkar PN, et al. submitted). To test our hypothesis that the Abcb10:Mfrn1 interaction may enhance Mfrn1 protein stability, a pulse-chase assay using 35 S-methionine labeled cells was performed, followed by IP. Abcb10 was found to stabilize Mfrn1 protein in COS7 cells co-transfected with Abcb10 and Mfrn1 compared to control cells transfected with Mfrn1 alone. Similar results were obtained when total steady-state Mfrn1 protein was evaluated by western analysis comparing lysates from Abcb10:Mfrn1 cotransfected and Mfrn1 transfected cells. Our data suggest that Abcb10 physically interacts with Mfrn1 to enhance its stability and promote Mfrn1-dependent mitochondrial heme biogenesis.
Troponin and Other Biomarker Levels and Outcomes Among Patients Hospitalized With COVID-19: Derivation and Validation of the HA2T2 COVID-19 Mortality Risk Score

Background The independent prognostic value of troponin and other biomarker elevation among patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) are unclear. We sought to characterize biomarker levels...
Mathematical synthesis of the cortical circulation for the whole mouse brain—part II: Microcirculatory closure

Recent advancements in multiphoton imaging and vascular reconstruction algorithms have increased the amount of data on cerebrovascular circulation for statistical analysis and hemodynamic simulations. Experimental observations offer fundamental insights into capillary network topology but mainly within a narrow field of view typically spanning a small fraction of the cortical surface (less than 2%). In contrast, larger-resolution imaging modalities, such as computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), have whole-brain coverage but capture only larger blood vessels, overlooking the microscopic capillary bed. To integrate data acquired at multiple length scales with different neuroimaging modalities and to reconcile brain-wide macroscale information with microscale multiphoton data, we developed a method for synthesizing hemodynamically equivalent vascular networks for the entire cerebral circulation. This computational approach is intended to aid in the quantification of patterns of cerebral blood flow and metabolism for the entire brain. In part I, we described the mathematical framework for image-guided generation of synthetic vascular networks covering the large cerebral arteries from the circle of Willis through the pial surface network leading back to the venous sinuses. Here in part II, we introduce novel procedures for creating microcirculatory closure that mimics a realistic capillary bed. We demonstrate our capability to synthesize synthetic vascular networks whose morphometrics match empirical network graphs from three independent state-of-the-art imaging laboratories using different image acquisition and reconstruction protocols. We also successfully synthesized twelve vascular networks of a complete mouse brain hemisphere suitable for performing whole-brain blood flow simulations. Synthetic arterial and venous networks with microvascular closure allow whole-brain hemodynamic predictions. Simulations across all length scales will potentially illuminate organ-wide supply and metabolic functions that are inaccessible to models reconstructed from image data with limited spatial coverage.
Attestation Infrastructures for Private Wallets.

In this paper we focus on one part of the trust infrastructures needed for the future virtual assets industry, namely the attestation infrastructure related to key management in private wallet systems. Our focus is on regulated private wallets utilizing trusted hardware, and the capability of the wallet to yield attestation evidence suitable to address requirements in several use-cases, such as asset insurance and regulatory compliance. We argue that attestation services will be needed as a core part of the key management lifecycle for private wallets in true decentralized systems.
Geographic and temporal diversity in dental morphology reflects a history of admixture, isolation, and drift in African Americans

Objectives While genetic studies have documented variation in admixture proportions in contemporary African Americans across the US, relatively little is known about the socio-historical roots of this variation. Our goal in this study is to use dental morphology to explore the socio-historical correlates of admixture, localized gene flow, and drift in African Americans. Methods Our data are ordinally-graded dental morphological traits scored in 196 Africans, 335 Europeans and European Americans, 291 pre-Spanish-contact Native Americans, and 722 African Americans. The African American data derived from contemporary and historic samples. We eliminated from analysis individuals and traits with greater than 20% missing data. We summarized the major axes of trait variation using principal component analysis (PCA), estimated biological distance, constructed multidimensional scaling (MDS) plots of the distances, and measured the correlation between geographic and biological distance. Results In the PCA, African American groups clustered between Africans and Europeans on PC 1, reflecting admixture between the groups. PC 2 separated African American samples, possibly reflecting movement, isolation, and drift. MDS analyses confirmed the existence of sizable biological distances between African American samples, especially between contemporary and past African American samples. We found no relationship between biological and geographic distances. Discussion We demonstrate that admixture and drift can be inferred from multi-variable analyses of patterns of dental morphology in admixed populations. Localized gene flow has not affected patterns of trait variation in African Americans, but long-range movement, isolation, and drift have. We connect patterns of dental trait variation to efforts to flee oppression during the Great Migration, and the repeal of anti-miscegenation laws.
Informed trading or liquidity trading: a theoretical formulation

This paper provides theoretical formulations of informed trading contrasted with liquidity trading. Informed trading occurs when traders flock to purchase or sell securities, based upon private information. In contrast, liquidity traders purchase or sell securities for their own inventory. Informed traders purchase in large volume over very short periods of time, with a definite direction of price movement. Liquidity trading consists of unlimited market entry of traders, reducing profit per trader, along with a long time period of investment in which the direction of price movement is uncertain, diminishing gains. This paper presents optimal trade prices for informed traders prior to stock mergers, whereupon traders have been observed short selling the acquirer stock, using the proceeds to purchase target stock, or to purchase put options. A capital structure arbitrage strategy is used for liquidity traders, with the trader purchasing or selling bonds at trade prices influenced by the market maker's prices. Proceeds from this strategy may be used to purchase equities.
In-Between Layers Modular Residual Neural Network for the Classification of Images

Abstract Convolutional neural networks encounter exploding/vanishing gradient and higher training error which cannot be overcome by adding layers, enhancing initialization methods, and better optimizers. Residual Neural Networks (ResNet) include added layers into residual blocks. This new design focuses mainly on activation inside the residual blocks and is more successful than CNN in object classification, detection, and segmentation. Deep residual networks have an issue of diminishing feature reuse related to the flowing through the network gradient, but not through all residual blocks. Thus, some blocks might be skipped or make small contributions to the final goal. Three simple ways to reduce the depth and increase the representation power of residual blocks, are adding convolutional layers per block, widening the convolutional layers by adding feature planes, and increasing filter sizes in convolutional layers. Here we propose In-Between Layers Modular (IBLM) ResNet - a modification of Wide Residual Net. The proposed model widens the convolutional layers by adding feature planes interpreted as increase of filter numbers for each convolution layer of our residual module, and adding some topology changes. We demonstrate the IBLM ResNet classification performance on imbalanced datasets with various optimizers and additionally improve the testing results using ensemble methods.
IIR Analysis/Synthesis Systems

A subband coding system may be conveniently viewed as having two constituent components: the analysis/synthesis section pair and the coding section pair. The term analysis describes the process of splitting the input into critically-sampled frequency related subband signals while the term synthesis refers to the dual operation of interpolating and merging the signals to reconstruct the input. The coding section pair, which consists of an encoder and decoder, appears between the analysis and synthesis operations and enables the input to be represented at a reduced bit rate.
A Scientific Curriculum Design for High School Physical Education

(1966). A Scientific Curriculum Design for High School Physical Education. Journal of Health, Physical Education, Recreation: Vol. 37, No. 3, pp. 26-49.
Acquiring Things: Strange Cases of Compulsive Hoarding

Why has compulsive hoarding recently captured the American imagination? To what extent is hoarding a subtype of OCD or a discrete "disorder" in its own right? Can a cultural-studies and philosophical assessment of hoarding complement the medical model that has recently been offered by clinicians and the DSM IV? This essay tracks these and related questions in order to offer a theory of compulsive hoarding that pays particular attention to the sometimes distorted representation of hoarding in literature and the mainstream media.
Measurement of aircraft speed and altitude

Problems involved in measuring speed and altitude with pressure-actuated instruments (altimeter, airspeed indicator, true-airspeed indicator, Machmeter, and vertical-speed indicator) are examined. Equations relating total pressure and static pressure to the five flight quantities are presented, and criteria for the design of total and static pressure tubes are given. Calibrations of typical static pressure installations (fuselage nose, wing tip, vertical fin, and fuselage vent) are presented, various methods for flight calibration of these installations are described, and the calibration of a particular installation by two of the methods is described in detail. Equations are given for estimating the effects of pressure lag and leaks. Test procedures for the laboratory calibration of the five instruments are described, and accuracies of mechanical and electrical instruments are presented. Operational use of the altimeter for terrain clearance and vertical separation of aircraft is discussed, along with flight technical errors and overall altitude errors of aircraft in cruise operations. Altitude-measuring techniques based on a variety of properties of the Earth and the atmosphere are included. Two appendixes present airspeed and altitude tables and sample calculations for determining the various flight parameters from measured total and static pressures.
Stereospecific grignard activated coupling of a deoxynucleoside : Methylphosphonate on a polyethylene glycol support

Abstract Stereospecific synthesis of Rp and Sp methylphosphonate diastereoisomers of d(ApG) was carried out on a polymeric support, polyethylene glycol (PEG), by the Grignard reagent solution route described by Stec. The coupling yield on PEG was higher than that observed in solution, and precipitation of the PEG at each step allowed easy separation of oligomer product from soluble reactants at each step.
SOUTH FLORIDA: THE REALITY OF CHANGE AND THE PROSPECTS FOR SUSTAINABILITY

Abstract Surprises commonly occur in natural resource systems and are manifest as dramatic shifts in ecosystem structure and processes. Southern Florida ecosystems have had two such surprises in the last two decades, (1) changes in dominant plant species in freshwater marshes of the Everglades; and (2) massive die-offs of seagrass in Florida Bay. Both examples indicate a loss of ecological resilience and subsequent shifts in controlling processes or stability domains. Techniques of adaptive environmental assessment and management that confront alternative hypotheses of ecosystem change and propose management actions that allow managers to learn have provided robust responses to these surprises. Two predicates for adaptive management are sufficient resilience in the ecosystem components of a resource system and flexibility in the social system. Ecological resilience provides a buffer in the ecosystem to the inevitable failure of management actions. Social flexibility through trust and cooperation is needed if ecosystem resilience is exceeded.
Accessing Data in ASP.NET

This chapter contains sections titled: What Is the .NET Framework? What Is ASP.NET? Develop ASP.NET Web Application to Select Data from SQL Server Databases Develop ASP.NET Web Application to Insert Data into SQL Server Databases Develop Web Applications to Update and Delete Data in SQL Server Databases Develop ASP.NET Web Applications with LINQ to SQL Query Develop ASP.NET Web Application to Select Data from Oracle Databases Develop ASP.NET Web Application to Insert Data into Oracle Databases Develop ASP.NET Web Application to Update and Delete Data in Oracle Databases Chapter Summary Homework
A linearization technique for linearly inseparable patterns

This paper concerns a technique which transforms a set of linearly inseparable binary patterns to a set of linearly separable one. Using the technique, a framework to train multilayer perceptrons without iteration is introduced. The trained multilayer perceptrons using these ideas use only hard limiters as neutrons and integer weights and thresholds. Hence accurate hardware implementation of the networks can be realized using the readily available VLSI technology. >
The color line: race matters in the elimination of health disparities.

The “color line” is not fixed but ripples through time, finding expression at distinct stages of our development as a nation. As the meaning of race has changed over time, its burdens and privileges have shifted among population groups. At one time in our history, for instance, the Irish and Italians were considered “non-White,” along with other immigrants who were not descendants of the early Anglo-Saxon Protestant settlers. In this issue of the Journal, Gerald Oppenheimer traces the color line through the course of American history.1 He demonstrates how the original language of White racial differences began with the anxious response of early Americans to waves of immigration, beginning in the 1840s when the Irish (or Celts) entered US ports, followed by nationals from Central, Southern, and Eastern Europe. Over time, the descendants of these “White ethnic groups” became the monolithic Caucasian race, the majority population, superior in all respects to the Black people of African descent.1
Information Governance and Assurance: Reducing Risk, Promoting Policy

The care and handling of information has been a part of the human condition since at least the days of the Sumerians and their cuneiform tablets filled with sundry accounts of business transactions...
High surface area and Z′ in a thermally stable 8-fold polycatenated hydrogen-bonded framework

1,3,5-Tris(4-carboxyphenyl)benzene assembles into an intricate 8-fold polycatenated assembly of (6,3) hexagonal nets formed through hydrogen bonds and π-stacking. One polymorph features 56 independent molecules in the asymmetric unit, the largest Z′ reported to date. The framework is permanently porous, with a BET surface area of 1095 m2 g−1 and readily adsorbs N2, H2 and CO2.
Near-infrared analysis of soluble and insoluble dietary fiber fractions of cereal food products.

The use of near-infrared (NIR) reflectance spectroscopy for the rapid and accurate measurement of soluble and insoluble dietary fiber was explored in a diverse group of cereal products. Ground samples were analyzed for soluble and insoluble dietary fiber (AOAC Method 991.43) and scanned (NIRSystems 6500 monochromator) to obtain NIR spectra. Modified PLS models were developed to predict insoluble and soluble dietary fiber using data sets expanded to include products with high fat and high sugar contents. The models predicted insoluble dietary fiber accurately with an SECV of 1.54% and an R2 of 0.98 (AOAC determined range of 0−48.77%) and soluble dietary fiber less accurately with an SECV of 1.15% and an R2 of 0.82 (AOAC determined range of 0−13.84%). Prediction of independent validation samples by the soluble fiber model resulted in a bias that may be related to the way the reference method treats samples with different soluble fiber constituents. The insoluble fiber model can be used to rapidly monitor in...
Fields of motion and transport within a sheared thunderstorm

Abstract The fields of motion within a small, strongly sheared High Plains thunderstrom are examined using measurements of reflectivity and velocity from an airborne Doppler radar and other in situ measurements. The measurements are complemented by a high resolution two-dimensional numerical simulation of the storm. Implications for predicting storm characteristics, delivery and effectiveness of seeding material, and precipitation efficiency are examined. The numerical model run was made in the forecasting mode 5 h before initial storm development and 7 h before the observations of the mature stage. The main features of the simulated storm structure and motions are very similar to those measured, except that the model produced a vertically and temporally compressed storm. The characteristics of the measured and the modeled storm, in combination, are consistent with other theories and observations that precipatation efficiency is low and a large portion of the processed water substance is transported out through the anvil in thunderstorms that develop in an environment with strong wind speed shears in the vertical. The measurements and the model reveal a quasi-steady-state organization during the mature stage. Although the storm formed in response to surface heating, the simulation and the radar measurements in combination indicate that the relative importance of inflow directly from the surface was diminished during the mature stage and completely cut off during the dissipation stage. Despite the modest size and intensity of this storm, the actual circulation within it was highly three dimensional and this, of course, could not be directly simulated by the two-dimensional model. Mature-stage inflows between about 3 and 6 km above ground level from a south-flank feeder cell field contributed significantly to the main updraft. Effective delivery of cloud seeding material to a storm like this would be influenced by the three-dimensionality and the relative importance of surface feeding in relation to inflows from levels above the surface. Such features would have to be determined in real time and state-of-the-art technologies offer the means to do this.
Determination of the nuclear RNA content of cells from donors of three different ages during in vitro senescence.

Abstract Diploid fibroblasts from male donors aged 8, 40 and 84 years were grown in vitro and their nuclear RNA content was determined at early and late doublings by absorption cytophotometry after staining with Azure B for 2 hours at 40°C and pH 4. It was found that the average nuclear RNA content of the early doublings was lower than that of the last doubling in all three strains. This difference became smaller as donor age increased. Also, as the age of the donor increased the percentage of early passage cells with a relative nuclear RNA content of less than 6 arbitrary units decreased, those with a relative nuclear RNA content of more than 6 units increased and the diversity in nuclear RNA content increased. The distribution pattern of relative RNA content for late passage cells was similar for the three donors.
Acousto-optic photonic crossbar switch. Part I: design

We present the design of a 12 × 12 photonic crossbar interconnection network constructed using a single three-dimensional acousto-optic crystal. Previous crossbars based on bulk acousto-optic cells require multichannel deflectors with one deflector per optical input; in contrast the design presented here angularly multiplexes these independent deflectors into a single-transducer acousto-optic device. A Fourier-optics analysis of an acoustically lossy Bragg deflector is coupled to a momentum-space analysis that permits the derivation of complete design equations for the switch. As a concrete example, the complete design of a 12 × 12 crossbar is presented. Finally, a coupled-mode analysis of the first- and second-order diffractions in the angularly multiplexed Bragg cell reveals the fundamental efficiency bounds of the switching network.
A controlled study of pertussis prophylaxis

Summary 1. An outline of our investigation for the study of pertussis prophylaxis is given. 2. During a three-year period observations were made upon: (1) 95 children injected with undenatured bacterial antigen; (2) 272 children injected with Phase I, H. pertussis vaccine; (3) 256 control children. 3. In the group of 95 children injected with undenatured bacterial antigen, there were 34 children who were exposed and 28 (or 82.3 per cent) who developed pertussis. Six (or 17.6 per cent) of the exposed children escaped attack. The attack rate in the total of 95 children was 29.4 per cent. 4. Of the 272 children injected with Phase I, H. pertussis vaccine, there were 42 who were exposed to pertussis. Of these, 7 (or 16.6 per cent) developed H. pertussis infections. Thirty-five (or 83.4 per cent) of the 42 exposed children escaped. The attack rate in the total group of 272 children was 2.5 per cent. 5. Of the 256 control children, there were 71 exposed to pertussis, and 62 (or 87.2 per cent) of these developed attacks. Nine (or 12.6 per cent) of the exposed children escaped. The attack rate in the total group of 256 children was 24.2 per cent. 6. A comparison of our observations is made with that of other controlled studies reported in the literature. 7. There is included a discussion of the evidence that protection conferred by active immunization with pertussis vaccine is similar to that of a previous attack of the disease.
Effect of heavy metals on human rheumatoid synovial cell proliferation and collagen synthesis

Abstract The dose-dependent effects of heavy metals on cell proliferation, collagen synthesis, and non-collagen protein synthesis were studied in early passage cultures of human synovial cells exposed to 1–100 μM concentration of gold, silver, mercury, cadmium or lead for 5 days. The incorporation of [ 3 H]thymidine into trichloroacetic acid insoluble material was inhibited 50% by each of the heavy metals at concentrations between 1 and 10 μM. Gold, lead and mercury (10 μM) decreased the DNA content of the cultures by less than 15%; silver (10 μM) and cadmium (10 μM) resulted in decreased DNA content, which was attributed to cytotoxicity. A dose-dependent inhibition of [ 3 H]proline incorporation into bacterial collagenase resistant (non-collagen) protein was observed after incubation with 10 μM mercury, lead and silver. During incubations with 10 μM gold and cadmium, collagenase resistant protein accumulation increased. All the heavy metals except for gold inhibited collagen accumulation to a greater extent than non-collagen protein accumulation. Gold (10 μM) stimulated the amount of collagen produced per cell, and the percentage of collagen to total protein was increased 50%. The rate of collagen accumulation in medium decreased during incubation with 10 μM silver, mercury, cadmium and lead. The stimulation of collagen synthesis may be a unique property of gold related to the therapeutic indices of gold, compared to other heavy metals, in rheumatoid arthritis.
Late Quaternary climates and environments of the Edwards Plateau, Texas

Abstract Fossil vertebrate, pollen, and plant macrofossil data from the Edwards Plateau, Texas and throughout the southcentral United States permit reconstruction of regional changes in temperature and effective moisture. Full-glacial temperatures were significantly cooler than those of today, at least 6°C during the summer months, but by ca. 13,000 yrs B.P. summer temperatures were within 2–3°C of present values. There was more effective moisture during the full-glacial period than at any time since then. During the late-glacial, ca. 14,000–10,500 effective moisture first decreased then increased, while the early to middle Holocene was dominated by a protracted decrease in effective moisture. This long-term trend culminated in conditions that were drier than modern during the early part of the late Holocene from ca. 5000 to 2500 yr B.P. Conditions were more mesic than present from ca. 2500 and 1000 yr B.P., while the modern drought-prone climate has characterized the last 1000 years. Fossil vertebrates and the characteristics of cave fill sediments show that late Pleistocene and Holocene changes in temperature and moisture regimes were coupled with vegetation changes and a gradual degradation of upland soils. During the full- and late-glacial much of the upland landscape was covered by thick, deeply weathered reddish clay-rich soils and an open savanna vegetation with a mixed tall and short grass understory. Changes to Holocene climatic conditions promoted a diminished vegetation cover and initiated the gradual degradation of soil mantles, whereas minimum effective moisture during the earlier part of the late Holocene resulted in upland landscapes that were covered by a mixture of short grasses and scrub vegetation, and the near complete removal of the remaining soil mantle. Vegetation changes during the last 2500 years are poorly known, but the upland landscape has consisted of exposed bedrock with little soil cover. Comparison of empirical data and the results of paleoclimate models shows good correspondence for the full-glacial through middle Holocene when climate system boundary conditions that drive model simulations were substantially different from today. Climate models also provide plausible physical explanations for climatic and environmental changes identified by empirical data. Our synthetic reconstruction, based on both empirical data and climate model simulations, provides a framework for evaluation of the impacts of climatic and environmental changes on earth surface processes and landforms, and a basis for discussion of prehistoric human adaptations to different environmental conditions.
Media Review: Public Policy and Higher Education: Reframing Strategies for Preparation, Access, and College Success

(2013). Media Review: Public Policy and Higher Education: Reframing Strategies for Preparation, Access, and College Success. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice: Vol. 50, No. 4, pp. 462-464.
PiggyBac Transposon-Mediated Gene Transfer in Human Cells

Transposons are mobile genetic elements that can be used to integrate transgenes into host cell genomes. The piggyBac transposon system has been used for transgenesis of insects and for germline mutagenesis in mice. We compared transposition activity of piggyBac with Sleeping Beauty (SB), a widely used transposon system for preclinical gene therapy studies. An engineered piggyBac transposon with minimal length 5' and 3' terminal repeats exhibited greater transposition activity in transfected cultured human cells than a well-characterized hyperactive SB system. PiggyBac excision was very precise as evidenced by the typical absence of "footprint" mutations at the site of transposon excision. We mapped 575 piggyBac integration sites in human cells to determine site selectivity of genomic integration. PiggyBac demonstrated non-random integration site selectivity that differed from that previously reported for SB, including a higher preference for integrations in regions surrounding transcriptional start sites and within long terminal repeat elements. Importantly, overproduction inhibition was not observed with piggyBac, a major limitation of the SB system. This permitted the generation of combination "helper-independent" piggyBac transposase-transposon vectors that exhibited a 2-fold increase of transposition activity in human cells as compared with cells transfected with separate transposon and transposase plasmids. We conclude that piggyBac is a transposon system with certain properties, including high efficiency and lack of overproduction inhibition that are advantageous in preclinical development of transposon-based gene therapy.
Food intake of rats depleted of dopamine as neonates is impaired by inhibition of catecholamine biosynthesis

Abstract The food intake of rats depleted of brain dopamine (DA) as neonates was markedly reduced by doses of the catecholamine synthesis inhibitor, α -methyl- p -tyrosine (AMT), that had little effect on control animals. In contrast, rats depleted of DA as neonates were subsensitive to doses of the DA antagonist, haloperidol, that greatly inhibited food intake in controls. Unexpectedly, low doses of haloperidol potentiated the effects of AMT in both control and DA-depleted animals. These results suggest that activity within residual DA neurons may remain important for the expression of ingestive behavior in rats depleted of DA as neonates although the precise mechanisms may differ from those operating in normal animals
Dynamic effects in a saturated layered soil deposit: centrifuge modeling

The dynamic response of a saturated layered soil deposit was modeled on the Princeton University geotechnical centrifuge using various centrifugal acceleration levels. The layered soil deposit consists of a saturated Nevada sand layer overlaid by a silt layer of low permeability. Measured acceleration and pore-water pressure time histories are used to validate the scaling laws used in interpreting dynamic centrifugal modeling test results. Careful measurements of the settlements at the silt surface are performed using a non-contact displacement transducer, and comparisons are made with measurements obtained with a standard linear voltage displacement transducer. Finally, the experimental results are used to verify the validity of the numerical procedures encompassed in the computer code DYNAFLOW.
Tracking the Propagation of Solar Ultraviolet Radiation: Dispersal of Ultraviolet Photons in Inland Waters

Abstract Solar extraterrestrial ultraviolet radiation is tracked from its impingement upon the Earth's atmosphere to its dispersal in natural inland waters. This is accomplished through the use of a solar spectral irradiance model, a water column optical model, directly measured (AES monitoring network) values of ground-level ultraviolet radiation and stratospheric ozone, optical properties of aquatic matter indigenous to Lake Ontario and Waskesiu Lake, Setlow DNA damage action spectrum, and phyto-plankton photosynthesis inhibition spectrum. The conclusions from such a combined theoretical/experimental study include a) the presence of dissolved organic matter (DOM) provides an effective UV-B shield for aquatic organisms despite the absorption spectra of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) indigenous to North American waters displaying substantial variations, b) UV absorption for a given DOC concentration varies from water body to water body, c) when UV irradiance is weighted according to the Set-low DNA damage action spectrum, the physical depth of the 1% of surface irradiance level decreases, i.e., attenuation ofSetlow-weighted irradiance is greater than attenuation of actual UV-B irradiance, d) a single mathematical relationship can relate the change in Setlow-weighted daily irradiation at the surface of the Earth to ozone layer depletion while another single relationship can relate the change in depth-averaged Setlow-weighted daily irradiation to ozone layer depletion, these single relationships being applicable throughout the year for all mid-to-high latitudes, e) the increase in Setlow-weighted irradiation due to ozone layer depletion decreases with depth in the water column, f) phytoplankton photosynthesis inhibition by UV-A significantly exceeds inhibition by UV-B, g) inhibition of phytoplankton photosynthesis in many inland waters will not be significantly impacted by ozone layer thinning, h) modeling ground-level and subsurface values of ultraviolet radiation provides a suitable surrogate for the direct measurement of the minuscule and spectrally steep UV radiation, i) the highly diffusive character of the ground-level UV-B irradiance results in the reflectance of UV-B from the water being essentially constant (5% to 8%) throughout the year and the transmission of UV-B across the air-water interface being virtually unaffected by surface waves, j) in the absence of suspended sediments, the contribution of chlorophyll-bearing biota to the spectral UV photon budget is in anti-phase with the contribution of DOM, while the contributions of water and surface reflectance are comparable, small, and relatively constant, k)for the water bodies considered, dissolved organic matter accounts for the largest component of the UV photon budget.
Crevice Corrosion Repassivation of Alloy 22 in Aggressive Environments

Abstract The resistance of Alloy 22 (UNS N06022) to crevice corrosion in aggressive environments was studied using various modifications of the Tsujikawa-Hisamatsu Electrochemical (THE) technique. ...
Haitian Attitudes Toward Family Size

Over the past decade a number of studies of attitudes toward family size have been conducted in underdeveloped countries. The results of such investigations have been surprisingly similar. When lower income, poorly educated women in Lebanon, Peru, or India are asked for their ideal family size or the number of children they desire, the responses cluster around three or four children. Such findings have surprised intellectuals in countries concerned, since the stereotypic belief about ideal family size is that lower class women want an unlimited or large number of children, or that they do not care how many they have.
Computed tomography diagnosis of right aortic arch with an aberrant left innominate artery

A patient whose chest computed tomography scan demonstrated a right-sided aortic arch with an aberrant retroesophageal left innominate artery is reported. There have been only isolated case reports of this developmental variation of the arch and great vessels. The demonstration of this anomaly by computed tomography scanning has never been previously reported.
Multivariate versions of Bartlett's formula

This paper quantifies the form of the asymptotic covariance matrix of the sample autocovariances in a multivariate stationary time series-the classic Bartlett formula. Such quantification is useful in many statistical inferences involving autocovariances. While joint asymptotic normality of the sample autocovariances is well-known in univariate settings, explicit forms of the asymptotic covariances have not been investigated in the general multivariate non-Gaussian case. We fill this gap by providing such an analysis, bookkeeping all skewness terms. Additionally, following a recent univariate paper by Francq and Zakoian, we consider linear processes driven by non-independent errors, a feature that permits consideration of multivariate GARCH processes.