cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The effect of non-linear human visual system components on linear model observers

Yani Zhang, Binh T. Pham, Miguel P Eckstein Vision and Image Understanding Laboratory Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Barbara CA, 93106, USA ABSTRACT Linear model observers have been used successfully to predic t human performance in clinically relevant visual tasks for a variety of backgrounds. On the other hand, there has been another family of models used to predict human visual detection of signals superimposed on one of two identical backgrounds (masks). These masking models usually include a number of non-linear components in the channels that reflect properties of the firing of cells in the primary visual cortex (V1). The relationship between these two traditions of m odels has not been extensively investigated in the context of detection in noise. In this paper, we evaluated the effect of including some of these non-linear components into a linear channelized Hotelling observer (CHO), and the associated practical implications for medical image quality evaluation. In particular, we evaluate whether the rank order evaluation of two compression algorithms (JPEG vs. JPEG 2000) is changed by inclusion of the non-linear components. The results show: a) First that the simpler linear CHO model observer outperforms CHO model with the nonlinear components investigated. b) The rank order of model observer performance for the compression algorithms did not va ry when the non-linear components were included. For the present task, the results suggest that the addition of the physiologically based channel non-linearities to a channelized Hotelling might add complexity to the model observers without great impact on medical image quality evaluation.
Synthesis of malondialdehyde‐1,2,3‐14C3 via ethyl vinyl‐[1,2‐14C2] ether

The synthesis of 1,1,3,3-tetraethoxypropane-1,2,3-14C3 from uniformly labeled paraldehyde is described. The synthesis involves three steps and proceeds in an overall yield of 25%. The final product is greater than 95% radiochemically pure and it is stable indefinitely when stored as thoroughly degassed benzene solutions. Hydrolysis of radiolabeled tetraethoxypropane occurs in moderate yields to form malondialdehyde-1,2,3-14C3(1,3 propanedial-1,2,3-14C3) which is isolated and stored as the sodium salt. One of the intermediates in the synthesis of tetraethoxypropane is ethyl vinyl-[1,2-14C2] ether, which is isolable in 50% overall yield from paraldehyde. The widespread utilization of ethyl vinyl ether in organic synthesis suggests that the radiolabeled material should provide an entry to a large number of specifically [14C] labeled compounds.
Influence of adrenalectomy on homologous disease.

SummaryAdrenalectomy performed 24 hours before the induction of homologous disease, by the injection of parental strain spleen cells, resulted in early death in both (A X C57B1/1)F1 recipients of A spleen cells, and in (C3H X CS7B1/1)F1 recipients of C3H spleen cells. In addition there was an increased incidence of death in the latter strain combination. The early death of adre-nalectomized (C3H X C57B1/1)F1 recipients of C3H parental strain spleen cells was prevented by the administration of cortisone acetate.
Journey to Crime and Victimization: An Application of Routine Activities Theory and Environmental Criminology to Homicide

Abstract Despite the attention the crime of homicide has received by the academic community there are still gaps in the literature. One of these gaps pertains to the examination of the mobility patterns of homicide victims and offenders. This study addresses this gap by focusing on three research questions—(1) Does the distance traveled by homicide suspects and victims from their residence to the incident location vary by homicide motive type? (2) Does the reason why homicide victims and suspects travel to the incident location vary by homicide motive type? (3) What victim and suspect characteristics significantly predict the distance traveled from the residence to the incident location? The analyses show that there are statistically significant differences among the homicide types in terms of the length of the journey of victims and suspects to the incident location. In addition, there is variation by motive in terms of why the victims and suspects traveled to the incident location. Finally, the findings...
Individual, Family, and Relationship Predictors of Young Women's Sexual Risk Perceptions

Abstract Objective : To identify the individual, dyad, and family variables that influence young women's perceptions of risk for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Design Cross-sectional telephone survey using forced-choice questioning. Data were analyzed using first-order correlations and logistic regression. Setting Participants were recruited from a mid-Atlantic study of young adults and from volunteers at a mid-Atlantic university and surrounding community. Participants A convenience sample of 93 sexually active, unmarried, heterosexual women, ages 17-26 years. The majority of the study sample was white. Main Outcome Measure Respondents were asked to estimate their own level of risk for STDs, including HIV, using the responses no, low, moderate, and high risk. Responses were later recoded into no risk versus some risk. Results Communication with parents about sexual risk decreased the odds that women would see themselves as being at no risk. Consistent condom use, relationship satisfaction, and perceiving the partner as no risk increased the odds that women would believe they were at no risk. Conclusions Nurses can incorporate these and other study findings into the design of sexual risk reduction programs. Programs that enhance parent-teen communication about sexual risks and assist young women to examine their perceptions of their partners may be more effective than programs that provide information only. JOGNN, 28, 60-67; 1999.
Space−Velocity Correlation Focusing

An algorithm is developed for identifying optimal focusing conditions in time-of-flight mass spectrometers with certain ionization source geometries. Ions are extracted from the source using time-dependent electric fields. Calculations and experiments demonstrate that use of these optimum conditions can significantly improve mass spectrometer resolution. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) represents an application that is of considerable interest. Because the identification of optimum conditions depends on a correlation between the spatial and velocity distributions of ions in the source region of the instrument, we call this approach space−velocity correlation focusing.
ESTROGENIC STIMULATION OF HYPOTHALAMIC-LIMBIC SYSTEM METABOLISM IN AGEING DIABETIC C57BL/KSJ MICE

The therapeutic influences of estrogen treatment on age- and diabetes-related declines in regional brain glucose utilization (RBGU) rates were evaluated in 8- to 20-week-old female C57BL/KsJ normal &l
Spectrophonic humidity-trace detection in hydrogen and air

A spectrophone with low resonant frequency compatible with the repetition frequency of a pulsed discharge CO laser is described. The spectrophone is used for humidity detection in hydrogen and air. The simple and inexpensive system provides a detection capacity of 10–100ppb/ $$\sqrt {\operatorname{Hz} } $$ . The responsivity of the resonant spectrophone is interpreted taking the dependence of the acoustical quality factor on the geometry into account.
The assent of a nation: genethics and Iceland

The Icelandic parliament passed legislation authorizing the establishment of a national health sector database which will be sponsored financially by private enterprises through DeCode Genetics Inc. Health related data will be gathered from patients, without their informed consent, from all points of contact with Icelandic public and private health care providers. A centralized data curator will 'non-personalize' the identity of the subjects in a one-way coding system which the government and DeCode Genetics argue overrides the need for informed consent. This legislation is in conflict with the European Data Protection Act, which requires informed consent for the collection of personal data. The law raises many ethical questions regarding the central tenets of informed consent, the power of government, the rights of the human subject, and finally, the responsibility of the clinician balancing commitments of the patient and research.
SALT SUBSTITUTES IN RESTRUCTURED HAM

Potassium chloride, magnesium chloride, calcium chloride and magnesium sulfate were incorporated to individually substitute 50% of the ionic strength of the sodium chloride in restructured ham. The calcium chloride, magnesium chloride and magnesium sulfate treatments resulted in significantly lower cook yields while those samples with calcium chloride exhibited significantly higher thiobarbituric acid (TBA) values compared to the four other treatments. The calcium chloride and magnesium sulfate treatments produced hams that had significantly different “L”, “a”, and “b” values compared with the control. The total lipid and cholesterol contents of the various treatments were not significantly different.
Politics and the budgetary process

Abstract A set of equations incorporating alternative explanations of municipal expenditures is estimated using data from Cleveland, Ohio. One explanation is the determinants of demand or external theory, the second is the bureaucratic or internal explanation, and the third is a political or electoral approach. This latter view accepts the notion that mayors, department heads and financial officers may behave in a bureaucratic fashion. However, the political explanation contends that mayors are elected to and remain in office on their ability to provide the services desired by their constituents. This political explanation was tested by including variables measuring the different budgetary strategies followed by the three post-World War II municipal administraitons in Cleveland. These differences refer to each administration's decisions on the overall size of the public sector and to the different expenditure priorities within this total budget. Additional variables were included to represent the determinants model, e.g., crime rates, population, and income and the bureaucratic model, e.g., a constant incremental increase and changes in total revenues. The results suggest that all three explanations have some validity as well as some shortcomings. Changes in budgetary strategies could be associated with changes in administrations for some expenditures. At the same time, the demand-related variables were significant in many equations, as was the change in total revenue variable. One conclusion from these results is that administrations and elections are important and that the next step is to relate these changes directly to the electoral process.
Multiple Quantum Coherence Spectroscopy

Multiple quantum coherences provide a powerful approach for studies of complex systems because increasing the number of quantum states in a quantum mechanical superposition state increases the selectivity of a spectroscopic measurement. We show that frequency domain multiple quantum coherence multidimensional spectroscopy can create these superposition states using different frequency excitation pulses. The superposition state is created using two excitation frequencies to excite the symmetric and asymmetric stretch modes in a rhodium dicarbonyl chelate and the dynamic Stark effect to climb the vibrational ladders involving different overtone and combination band states. A monochromator resolves the free induction decay of different coherences comprising the superposition state. The three spectral dimensions provide the selectivity required to observe 19 different spectral features associated with fully coherent nonlinear processes involving up to 11 interactions with the excitation fields. The different features act as spectroscopic probes of the diagonal and off-diagonal parts of the molecular potential energy hypersurface. This approach can be considered as a coherent pump-probe spectroscopy where the pump is a series of excitation pulses that prepares a multiple quantum coherence and the probe is another series of pulses that creates the output coherence.
The postoperative pain experience: a description based on the McGill Pain Questionnaire.

In surgical nursing practice, postoperative pain is of particular concern because of its documented effect on recovery and behaviors associated with recovery. Yet, little is known about the nature ...
Subsidized Parking and Neighborhood Nuisances

Abstract Expansions of subsidized parking may encourage some travelers to switch from public transportation to auto travel. This note demonstrates that, if parking demand is price elastic, a one unit increase in (subsidized) free parking will result in more than one additional parker, adding to neighborhood spillovers.
Multiple classes of dopamine receptors in mammalian central nervous system: the involvement of dopamine-sensitive adenylyl cyclase.

Abstract Two classes of dopamine receptor mechanism are defined according to their association with, or independence from, a dopamine-sensitive adenylyl cyclase. Dopamine receptors unrelated to adenylyl cyclase are designated type alpha. Dopamine receptors linked to adenylyl cyclase are designated type beta. Drugs discriminate between the two receptor mechanisms. The dopaminergic ergots (lisuride, lergotrile and CB-154) and their antagonists (such as metoclopramide) are relatively specific for the alpha-dopaminergic receptor in the anterior pituitary. Other agonists (e.g. apomorphine and dopamine) and antagonists (e.g. antipsychotic phenothiazines and butyrophenones) affect both classes of receptor.
Tradition and critique in Paul Muldoon's “Madoc: A Mystery”

Paul Muldoon's “Madoc: A Mystery” remains his longest poem and most thorough vision of an alternative history. This article argues that Muldoon's poem works to stage not only a visionary history of America but also, via the uneasy relations that develop between its two main characters (semi-fictionalised versions of Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey), a dramatisation of the conflict that obtains between competing modes of historical understanding. Muldoon's Coleridge and Southey represent stances that may be usefully regarded as parallel to positions advanced in the famous debate regarding interpretation between Hans-Georg Gadamer and Jurgen Habermas, thinkers whose names appear in the poem itself. To read the poem in light of this connection between its fantastical transatlantic history and the history of critical theory allows a reading of Muldoon's treatment of both literary and political histories as secondary to the work's playful exploration of struggles between modes of historical interpre...
The Farmington meteorite. Mineralogy and chemistry

Minerology and chemistry of Farmington hypersthene chondrite, examining microtexture aspects such as metal globules, grain shapes and troilite orientation
Effects of personal experience on self-protective behavior

This article seeks to further our understanding of self-protective behavior by examining the effects of a particularly powerful stimulus to action: personal experience. It reviews the effects of automobile accidents on seat belt use, criminal victimization other than rape on individual crime prevention efforts, natural hazards experience on both natural hazards preparedness and compliance with evacuation warnings, and myocardial infarction on smoking. Theories suggesting mechanisms that could link personal experience to behavior are described, and data concerning the effects of experience on some key variables in these theories are discussed. Tentative propositions are offered to resolve the many apparent discrepancies in this literature. These propositions concern the effects of experience on risk perceptions, the influence of experience on risk salience, the specificity of responses to victimization, and the duration of experience effects.
Negative signaling by inhibitory receptors: the NK cell paradigm

Receptors carrying immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibition motifs (ITIMs) in their cytoplasmic tail control a vast array of cellular responses, ranging from autoimmunity, allergy, phagocytosis of red blood cells, graft versus host disease, to even neuronal plasticity in the brain. The inhibitory function of many receptors has been deduced on the basis of cytoplasmic ITIM sequences. Tight regulation of natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxicity and cytokine production by inhibitory receptors specific for major histocompatibility complex class I molecules has served as a model system to study the negative signaling pathway triggered by an ITIM-containing receptor in the physiological context of NK-target cell interactions. Advances in our understanding of the molecular details of inhibitory signaling in NK cells have provided a conceptual framework to address how ITIM-mediated regulation controls cellular reactivity in diverse cell types.
Electronic design of an absolute counting system for Mn56

Abstract To permit accurate counting of weakly activated solutions of Mn 56 SO 4 drawn from an integrating neutron detector of the “manganese bath” type, a two-stage counting facility has been developed. Two liter aqueous solutions are counted directly in a gamma-gamma coincidence arrangement which features relatively high efficiency and long-term stability. An electronic delay, mixing, splitting, and repeating technique is used to allow full utilization of radiation detected in both NaI(Tl) crystals while only two single channel analyzers are required. This system is calibrated on an absolute scale through another unit which counts small aliquots of a strongly activated sample mixed with liquid scintillator in a 4 π beta-gamma coincidence mode. Signals from two high-gain, low-noise photomultiplier tubes viewing the same scintillation cell are put into coincidence to reduce thermionic photocathode noise below background level for room-temperature operation. Automatic punched-card readout with subsequent computer analysis of data is available. Otherwise incompatible requirements of convenience, stability, efficiency and accuracy are satisfied by using this two-stage process of direct counting backed up by calibration. The gamma-gamma counter, with twice the efficiency of ordinary gamma-gamma coincidence systems, has demonstrated better than 2 3% stability over months of operation. Comparisons with standard sources and with a 4 π - beta proportional counter indicate better than 1% accuracy for the beta-gamma setup. Single channel efficiencies for Mn 56 are 4% at 1.9 c/s background and 9% at 1.5 c/s background; coincidence efficiency is 0.2%. While intended primarily for precision detection of Mn 56 , the system is readily adaptable to other radio- isotope counting requirements.
Proposal and analysis of laser-amplifier-based optical bistable circuit

A laser-amplifier-based optical bistable circuit is proposed. Static and dynamic behaviors are analyzed theoretically. Switching transients, pulse comparison, and shaping characteristics, as well as optical memory operations are given, based on the numerical analysis.
Liaison psychiatry in the University Medical Center

ceptual approaches unique to psychology and psychiatry into the arena of general medical care and research. It is the purpose of this paper to examine in greater detail how the above objectives have been accomplished in the past, how they may be extended, and to elaborate some of the difficulties encountered in such an activity. With several notable exceptions, the history and development of psychiatry has been to isolate, if not alienate, itself from the mainstream of medical practice. Indeed, approaches to behavioral disorders have always been and still are frequently relegated to a position somewhere between religion and medicine. The explanation for this lies within the anxieties that bizarre and inexplicable behavior causes in all of us. We, in turn, are utilizing our own defenses to keep our own potential for similar behavior at bay. Without an understanding of perverse behavior, man has called upon his less rational processes to ascribe such behavior to unknown demonic forces beyond his comprehen/sion and control. The various traditions that have developed to understand behavior have for the most part developed within a scientific framework after the traditions in the rest of medicine. However, the hypotheses of the new psychologic disciplines have acquired a force of their own that has taken them far afield from their medical descent. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the tradition of psychoanalysis, a discipline that had its beginning as a firmly based biologic science. Whether or not explanations for abnormal behavior have derived from a scientific foundation or a more mi~taphysical one, the net results in almost all instances have been to separate psychiatry from the rest of scientific medicine. This is equally the case whether the school of psychiatry characterizes itself as basically organic, social, behavioral, or psychoanalytic.
Greedy-type resistance of combinatorial problems

This paper gives a sufficient condition for a combinatorial problem to be greedy-type resistant, i.e. such that, on some instances of the problem, any greedy-type algorithm will output the unique worst possible solution. The condition is used to show that the Equipartition, the k-Clique, the Asymmetric Traveling Salesman, the Hamiltonian Path, the Min-Max Matching, and the Assignment Problems are all greedy-type resistant.
A position sensitive detector for the g-2 experiment using pencil fibers

Abstract An x − y hodoscope using bundles of 2 mm diameter “pencil” fibers (waveshifting fibers embedded in scintillating fibers) mated to smaller diameter clear fibers has been built and tested for use in the new g-2 experiment at Brookhaven. The fibers were read out by a 64-channel Philips XP4722 photomultiplier tube. Data is presented on the light yield, attenuation and fusing efficiency from pencil fibers; the crosstalk, uniformity, rate and linearity of the multichannel tubes; and the overall performance of the device in a test beam.
Titanium-doped cerium oxide nanoparticles protect cells from hydrogen peroxide-induced apoptosis.

To develop new nanoparticle materials possessing antioxidative capacity with improved physical characteristics, we have studied titanium-doped cerium oxide (CeTiO2) nanoparticles. CeTiO2 nanoparticles had mode diameters in the range of 15–20 nm. These nanoparticles demonstrated catalase activity, and did not promote the activation of hemolytic or cytolytic pathways in living cells. Using surface plasmon resonance-enhanced microscopy, we find that these nanoparticles associate with cells. Transmission electron microscopy studies demonstrated that these nanoparticles accumulate within the vacuolar compartment of cells. Importantly, CeTiO2 nanoparticles decrease hydrogen peroxide-mediated apoptosis of cells as judged by the reduced cleavage of a caspase 3-sensitive label. CeTiO2 nanoparticles may contribute to deflecting tissue damage in a broad spectrum of oxidant-mediated diseases, such as macular degeneration and Alzheimer’s disease.
Trauma experience in children and adolescents: An assessment of the effects of trauma type and role of interpersonal proximity.

The psychiatric sequelae associated with childhood experience(s) of trauma is complex and distinguishable from that of adult trauma exposure. Categories of impairment associated with experiences of early trauma include internalizing and externalizing emotional and behavioral problems, posttraumatic stress symptomatology, and dissociation. The present study assessed the relationship between the type of trauma experience (i.e., non-interpersonal or interpersonal) and the manifestation of a wide range of psychiatric symptomatology using prospective longitudinal data from a community sample of ethnically diverse children and adolescents (N=1676; ages 4-18). The study also examined the relationship between different types of trauma experiences (e.g., direct, vicarious, interpersonal) and levels of various symptom domains (e.g., anxiety, posttraumatic stress, conduct problems). A number of factors relevant to the relationship between early trauma experience and subsequent impairment including temperament, socioeconomic status, sex, and age were included in the analyses. Results indicated that interpersonal traumas involving significant interpersonal proximity were associated with externalizing problems (i.e., oppositional defiant and conduct problems). Direct trauma experiences and emotionality were positively associated with almost all symptom domains. Implications for the relationship between trauma and developmental psychopathology are discussed.
A mass analysis technique using coincidence measurements from the Interstellar Boundary Explorer-Hi (∼0.3–∼6 keV) detector

NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) mission, scheduled to launch in October 2008, will make the first observations of charge exchange energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) produced near the edge of the heliosphere. IBEX will measure these ENAs with two ultra-high sensitivity, single-pixel ENA sensors in the energy range of approximately 0.01- approximately 2 keV (IBEX-Lo) and approximately 0.3- approximately 6 keV (IBEX-Hi), respectively. The primary purpose of IBEX is to measure hydrogen ENAs from the outer heliosphere, but it will also be sensitive to heavier species of ENAs produced anywhere throughout the solar system. For this study, we measured the coincidence response of the IBEX-Hi detector section to H, He, N, and O ions. Based on these results, we have developed an innovative technique in estimating the hydrogen to heavy ion ratio in the signal. This new technique can be applied more widely than the IBEX-Hi detector section, and the basic principle may be useful for other, future space and ground-based measurements.
Novel phenotypes and migratory properties distinguish memory CD4 T cell subsets in lymphoid and lung tissue

Memory T cells are heterogeneous in expression of lymph node homing receptors, delineating "central-memory" (TCM, CD62Lhi/CCR7+) and "effector-memory" (TEM, CD62Llo/CCR7-) subsets that migrate to lymphoid and non-lymphoid tissues, respectively. It is not known how these subsets arise or how homing receptor expression and tissue origin determine their functional and migratory properties. Here, we investigated the role of CD62L expression in the generation, function, distribution and migration of heterogeneous memory CD4 T cells specific for influenza hemagglutinin (HA). We found that CD62Lhi and CD62Llo memory subsets are generated independent of CD62L expression by the activated precursor, and both subsets distribute into spleen and lung. Functionally, spleen- and lung-derived CD62L memory subsets produce effector cytokines at similar kinetics but differ strikingly in cell surface phenotype and migration: the CD62Llo memory subset expresses a classic memory phenotype (CD45RBlo/CD44hi/CD11a(hi)), while the CD62Lhi subset expresses an unconventional phenotype (CD45RBhi/CD44int/CD11a(int)), defining a new polyclonal memory subset. The CD62Lhi subset also trafficked more efficiently than CD62Llo cells into lymph nodes; however, only lung but not spleen CD62Llo memory T cells homed to lung. Our results reveal novel phenotypic heterogeneity of memory CD4 T cells co-segregating with CD62L expression and tissue-specific tropism of non-lymphoid memory CD4 T cells.
On Money and Motivation: A Quasi-Experimental Analysis of Financial Incentives for College Achievement

Abstract:Programs linking college aid to academic achievement could work either by lowering the cost of college or by inducing additional student effort. I examine the PROMISE program in West Virginia, which offers free tuition to students who maintain a minimum GPA and course load. Using administrative data, I exploit discontinuities in the eligibility formula and the timing of implementation to estimate causal effects. I find robust and significant impacts on key academic outcomes. Impacts are concentrated around the annual requirements for scholarship renewal, suggesting that the program works via incentives for academic achievement, not simply by relaxing financial constraints.
127 SECONDARY HYPERPARATHYROIDISM IN A PRETERM INFANT CAUSED BY HIGH PLASMA PROTEIN CONCENTRATION

127 SECONDARY HYPERPARATHYROIDISM IN A PRETERM INFANT CAUSED BY HIGH PLASMA PROTEIN CONCENTRATION
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR OF TELENOMUS CALVUS (HYMENOPTERA: SCELIONIDAE), A PHORETIC EGG PARASITOID OF PODISUS MACULIVENTRIS (HEMIPTERA: PENTATOMIDAE)

The behavior, reproductive capability, and longevity of Telenomus calvus Johnson, a phoretic egg parasitoid of the spined soldier bug, Podisus maculiventris (Say), were examined in the laboratory. Telenomus calvus females were observed at 25 different locations on hosts’ bodies; preferred sites were pronota and femora. Attachment to hosts was facilitated by greatly enlarged arolia. Parasitoids dismounted from hosts at the time of oviposition to parasitize egg masses. Production of female progeny by parasitoids in phoretic association with hosts peaked on the 1st day after adult emergence, then declined steadily until day 6; male progeny production remained relatively low and constant over the same period. The mean (± SE) number of progeny produced by T. calvus females was 22.4 ± 3.0. Such a small egg complement enabled most females not in phoretic association, and presented with a fresh egg mass daily, to oviposit all or nearly all of their eggs in the first host egg mass encountered. The intrinsic rate of natural increase for T. calvus in phoretic association was estimated as 0.149 ♀ ♀−1 day−1, resulting in a doubling time of 4.65 days. Longevity on non-ovipositing females with access to honey was 33.7 ± 1.1 days, but declined sharply to 5.7 ± 0.4 days when in phoretic association with hosts. Pre-imaginal development of T. calvus was restricted to host eggs that were ≤12h old, despite continued observed oviposition attempts in older host masses. These results are discussed with regard to the biology of T. calvus as a phoretic parasitoid and to its importance as a parasitoid of P. maculiventris in Louisiana.
A Semidefinite Programming Approach to Side Chain Positioning with New Rounding Strategies

Side chain positioning is an important subproblem of the general protein-structure-prediction problem, with applications in homology modeling and protein design. The side chain positioning problem ...
Woody litter decomposition following clear-cutting

Unconfirmed Quercus prinus woody litter of three size classes (0-1, 1-3. and 3-5 cm diameter) was placed on forest floors of a control hardwood watershed and on mesic and xeric sites of a clear-cut watershed at Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory, North Carolina. Exponential decay coefficients for mass loss on the control were ,1524, .1728, and .0912 yr~' for 0-1, 1-3, and 3-5 cm branches, respectively. Coefficients for 0-1, 1-3, and 3-5 cm branches were .1752, .0756, and .1644 yr"1 on the mesic site and .0456, .0948, and .0377 yr~' on the xeric site. The effect of site differences on decomposition rate was greater than the effect of diameter, although an inverse relationship be- tween diameter and decay coefficient is suggested. Time in the field, temperature, moisture, and microarthropod abundance also appeared to influence decomposition rate. Microarthropods dominated the animal community on decaying wood with oribatid mites and collembolans the most numerous. Microarthropod densities were highest on 0-1 cm twigs and lowest on 3-5 cm branches. Microarthropod densities were generally highest on the control, slightly de- pressed on the mesic site, and greatly depressed on the xeric site. Time in the field and state of decomposition both positively correlated with microarthropod abundance. Calcium concentration and total calcium exhibited transitory increases but little net change at the end of 1 yr in experimental branches. Total potassium decreased on all sites for 6 mo and for 12 mo on the control and xeric sites, with =60% remaining after 1 yr. Total potassium increased rapidly on the mesic site over the last 6 mo and reached 110% of the initial amount. Temperature, moisture, microbes, and microarthropods appeared to control nutrient dynamics. Woody litter dynamics were more important in terms of nutrient conservation on the clear-cut watershed than on the control and contributed to the resilience of the system. Removal or destruction of woody debris after clear-cutting would decrease the nutrient conservation properties of decaying wood and would probably contribute to watershed output of nutrients.
Accuracy of canine parturition date prediction using fetal measurements obtained by ultrasonography.

The length of canine gestation is 65 days from the luteinizing hormone (LH) surge. Early and accurate determination of canine gestational age is useful for predicting and managing parturition. We performed a retrospective study on fetal measurements obtained by transabdominal ultrasonographic examination of 83 bitches (32 breeds) to estimate gestational age. Gestational age was estimated using two published tables correlating either (1). embryonic vesicle diameter (EVD), crown-rump length (CRL), body diameter (BD), and biparietal diameter (HD) to the LH surge in mid-gestational beagles or (2). BD and HD to parturition in late-gestation retrievers. Parturition date was predicted by obtaining the difference between the gestational age estimate and 65 days. Bitches were divided into four body weight (BW) groups based on nonpregnant body weight: small ( 9-20 kg), large (>20-40 kg), and giant (>40 kg). Mean+/-S.D. litter size (LS) was calculated for each BW group. The BW groups were then divided into small, average, or large LS groups. The accuracy of the prediction was not affected by LS but was affected by maternal body weight for small and giant BW groups only. When adjusted for weight, the accuracy of prediction within +/-1 day and +/-2 day intervals was 75 and 87%, respectively. Using stepwise logisitic regression, the most accurate prediction of parturition date was obtained when fetuses were measured at 30 days after the LH surge, regardless of body weight or LS. Parturition date predictions made after 39 days of gestation using only biparietal and BD fetal measurements were <50% accurate within +/-2 days.
THE ROLE OF HISTORY IN REDISTRIBUTIONAL POLICY DISCOURSE: EVIDENCE FROM LIVING WAGE CAMPAIGNS IN CHICAGO AND SAN FRANCISCO

The existing urban politics literature is insufficient in explaining why redistributional policymaking flourishes in some contexts and not in others. This article attempts to move beyond the structure versus agency dichotomy and uses a close comparison of the living wage movements in Chicago and San Francisco, not only to argue that “history matters,” but to illustrate how historical narratives are actively (re)constructed by social actors to further their agenda(s). Although each city started with similar campaigns to enact basic “contractor-only” forms of living wage laws, by the end of a 10-year period the resulting level of change in San Francisco stood in stark contrast to Chicago, where advocates failed to extend the living wage to “big box” retailers. Using a brief history of economic restructuring and an empirical assessment of the business climate valence of each city's political regime, this article finds that economic and political factors jointly structure the depth and pace of policy change by setting the terms of debate within redistributional policy discourses. This joint determination occurs because “problem frames” are path-dependent and because inherited political structures, such as the availability of binding referendum, allocate agenda-setting power and opportunities to challenge entrenched interests.
policing boundaries: race, class, and gender in Cartagena, Colombia

Analysis of everyday discourse among the poor of Cartagena, Colombia, reveals the mutual construction of race, class, and gender identities. Discourse on class and gender encodes racially discriminatory concepts, identifying blackness with acts that contradict normative class and gender identities. This article shows how the interlocking meanings of race, class, and gender enforce the status quo of men's, nonblacks', and elders' authority within the popular class. [race, class, gender, symbolic analysis of difference and inequality, Afro-Spanish America]
Local Current Transport and Current Sharing Between Filaments in Striated Coated Conductors With Artificial Defects

Multifilamentary YBCO coated conductor with fishnet striation pattern is investigated by transport measurements and scanning laser microscopy (SLM). Each filament is clearly visible in SLM images, and higher current flows along the edges of filaments. After initial measurements, an incision is made to disable two filaments and to investigate the changes in the current transport, the current sharing, and the dissipation patterns. Current sharing and redistribution are clearly observed among the filaments and at the weak links. We find that the dissipation is mainly caused by local current crowding. Since the current is to be shared among intact filaments, the most impacted area is the filaments closer to the disabled ones which have to carry higher current. The other susceptible area is the weak links where the current redistributes and the increased current density is expected.
A charge‐scaling implementation of the variational electrostatic projection method

Two new charge-scaling methods for efficient modeling of the solvated macromolecular environment in hybrid QM/MM calculations of biological reactions are presented. The methods are extensions of the variational electrostatic projection (VEP) method, and allows a subset of atomic charges in the external environment to be adjusted to mimic, in the active dynamical region, the electrostatic potential and field due to the large surrounding macromolecule and solvent. The method has the advantages that it offers improved accuracy, does not require the use of a three-dimensional grid or auxiliary set of fitting points, and requires only minor molecular simulation code modifications. The VEP−cs and VEP-RVM+cs methods are able to attain very high accuracy (relative force errors of 10−7 or better with appropriate choice of control parameters), and take advantage of a recently introduced set of high-order discretization schemes and Gaussian exponents for boundary element solvation and VEP methods. The methods developed here serve as potentially powerful tools in the arsenal of computational techniques used in multiscale computational modeling problems. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 27: 103–115, 2006
Oxidation of Ascorbic Acid in Copper‐Catalyzed Sucrose Solutions

The effect of sucrose on the oxidation of ascorbic acid (A) in Cucatalyzed (1, 2.5, and 5 ppm) and noncatalyzed solutions was studied at 30°C in samples shaken at various speeds. In unbuffered solutions, all sucrose levels tested (10–40%) were protective of A without shaking; however, all sucrose levels tested were destructive of A at the highest speed of shaking. This observation was much more pronounced in Cu-catalyzed reactions. Sucrose enhanced the catalytic action of Cu on the oxidation of A. In 0.1M acetate-buffered sucrose solutions this destructive effect of sucrose was slightly diminished due to the Cu-complexing effect of the buffer salt.
Seasonally resolved stable isotope chronologies from northern Thailand deciduous trees

Abstract Despite the existence of a number of climate proxies, the terrestrial expression of tropical climate variability over the past few centuries remains poorly resolved. We explore the applicability of stable isotope dendroclimatology as a tool for chronology and paleo-hydrology reconstruction on deciduous trees from monsoonal northern Thailand. Analysis of 11 trees coming from 4 different regions of northern Thailand yielded 7 records with varying degrees of δ 18 O and δ 13 C seasonality. We develop age models for trees lacking visible rings based on the seasonality of the δ 18 O and find agreement to within ≤ 3 years with radiocarbon age estimates. We use the isotopic age models to reconstruct estimates of growth rates and find a significant positive correlation between growth and amplitude of the oxygen and carbon seasonal isotopic signals. A comparison of a reconstructed dendro-isotopic index from Pangmapa with regional rainfall records indicates significant correlations consistent with the locally derived patterns but with decreased representation of the variance. Individual isotopic chronologies stemming from different tree species share common trends, which are also consistent with patterns of rainfall variability. We see an increase in the amplitude of the seasonal δ 18 O cycle along with an increase in δ 18 O max over the past few decades suggesting a tracking of the recent drying trend of Thailand's monsoon.
Gelatinous fibers are widespread in coiling tendrils and twining vines

Although the coiling of tendrils and the twining of vines has been investigated since Darwin's time, a full understanding of the mechanism(s) of this coiling and twining ability has not yet been obtained. In a previous study (Planta 225: 485-498), gelatinous (G) fibers in tendrils of redvine occurred concomitantly with the ability to coil, strongly indicating their role in the coiling process. In this study, tendrils and twining vines of a number of species were examined using microscopic and immunocytochemical techniques to determine if a similar presence and distribution of these fibers exists in other plant species. Tendrils that coiled in many different directions had a cylinder of cortical G fibers, similar to redvine. However, tendrils that coiled only in a single direction had gelatinous fibers only along the inner surface of the coil. In tendrils with adhesive tips, the gelatinous fibers occurred in the central/core region of the tendril. Coiling occurred later in development in these tendrils, after the adhesive pad had attached. In twining stems, G fibers were not observed during the rapid circumnutation stage, but were found at later stages when the vine's position was fixed, generally one or two nodes below the node still circumnutating. The number and extent of fiber development correlated roughly with the amount of torsion required for the vine to ascend a support. In contrast, species that use adventitious roots for climbing or were trailing/scrambling-type vines did not have G fibers. These data strongly support the concept that coiling and twining in vines is caused by the presence of G fibers.
‘It’s about the smoke, not the smoker’: messages that motivate rural communities to support smoke-free policies

Rural residents are exposed to sophisticated tobacco advertising and tobacco growing represents an economic mainstay in many rural communities. There is a need for effective health messages to counter the pro-tobacco culture in these communities. To determine relevant cultural themes and key message features that affect receptivity to pro-health advertisements among rural residents, 11 exploratory focus groups and surveys with community advocates (N = 82) in three rural Kentucky counties were conducted. Participants reviewed and rated a collection of print media advertisements and branding materials used by rural communities to promote smoke-free policies. Findings reveal that negative emotional tone, loss framing, appeals to religiosity, and shifting focus away from smokers are effective strategies with rural audiences. Potential pitfalls were identified. Attacks on smokers may not be a useful strategy. Health risk messages reinforced beliefs of secondhand smoke harm but some argued that the messages needed to appeal to smokers and emphasize health hazards to smokers, rather than to non-smokers only. Messages describing ineffectiveness of smoking sections were understood but participants felt they were only relevant for restaurants and not all public spaces. Emphasis on religiosity and social norms shows promise as a culturally sensitive approach to promoting smoke-free environments in rural communities.
THREE SOLITUDES IN CONTRACT: LAW, DATA, AND THEORY

This note discusses and contrasts the different perspectives that the law, empirical labor economics and contract theory bring to the study of the employment relationship. Understanding the reasons for these different perspectives should give rise to a better understanding of the employment relationship and more effective labor market policy.
Effects of state helmet laws on bicycle helmet use by children and adolescents

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of state helmet laws in increasing the use of bicycle helmets by children and adolescents under age 16. Setting: United States. Methods: A cross sectional study of factors associated with the likelihood of helmet use by children and adolescents. Data were derived from a national random digit dial telephone survey of bicycle riders. A multiple logistic regression analysis was used to quantify the independent effect of the state helmet laws on helmet use. Results: Helmet use was systematically related to the presence of state helmet laws (odds ratio 2.65; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.29 to 5.44). The increase in the average probability of helmet use attributable to state helmet laws was 18.4% (95% CI 17.8% to 19.0%). Conclusions: State helmet laws significantly increase helmet use by children and play an important part in any comprehensive effort designed to achieve this goal.
Disjunction errors in qualitative likelihood judgment

Probability theory requires that the disjunction of two events be judged at least as likely as either of those events. Two studies are described which imply that violations of this requirement are very common. The data also show that subjects do not commit disjunction errors because they misinterpret the disjunctive statement “A or B” to mean “A or B, but not both.” Instead, the pattern of errors is consistent with a judgment process describable as averaging. These results provide support for a “signed combination model of qualitative likelihood judgment.” This model generalizes a previous one which applied to judgments concerning conjunctive events (J. F. Yates and B. W. Carlson, 1986,
Pople's Gaussian-3 model chemistry applied to an investigation of (H2O)8 water clusters

The Gaussian-3 method developed by Pople and coworkers has been used to calculate the free energy of neutral octamer clusters of water, (H2O)8. The most energetically stable structures are in excellent agreement with those determined from experiment and those predicted from previous high-level calculations. Cubic structures are favored over noncubic structures over all temperature ranges studied. The D2d cubic structure is the lowest free energy structure and dominates the potential energy and free energy hypersurfaces fro m0Kt o 298 K. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem 102: 565-572, 2005
Mobius’ edge: Infinite regress in the resource-based and dynamic capabilities views

The study of strategic organization involves many delicious ironies, one of which is the goal to prescribe general paths to sustainable competitive advantage. Twenty years after Collis and a few good men and women originally exposed and confronted the infinite regress problem in the resource-/capabilities-based theories, we revisit this problem to resolve it. We consider the linkages between the infinite hierarchical levels that form the paths to the origins of sustainable competitive advantages in both the resource-based view and the dynamic capabilities view. We find that there are logical factors that limit the number of levels that need to be traversed to reach the origins. We discuss the implications to academics, managers and policy-makers from our resolution to the infinite regress problem to provide a more crystal clear understanding of the strenuous objective that continues to challenge all strategic theory.