cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A cropping systems approach to salinity management in California

In irrigated cropland of the semi-arid and arid regions of California, the lack of drainage outflow requires reassessment of crop rotation patterns. As regulatory actions place limits on drainage water quality and quantity, growers will be forced to manage water more efficiently and rely more heavily on salt-tolerant crops. Improved water use efficiency depends on integrated cropping systems in which cultural practices interact to reduce leaching requirements while maintaining productivity, profitability, and the environment. The success of this approach will require a better understanding of the physiological basis of plant salt tolerance and the evolution of soil properties as influenced by crop rotation, tillage, crop residue and soil fertility management. An increased commitment to evaluate such interactions in long-term field studies is needed.
Bringing society into the body

Drawing on Marx and Engels's critique of Feuerbach, as does Turner, we can come to some new directions for sociology to pursue. Marx and Engels argue that Feuerbach's contribution lies in reasserting the importance of the material world (in contrast to the neo-Hegelian idealism that prevailed in German thought at that time). Feuerbach's vision of nature is ahistorical. Marx and Engels argued that nature does not confront human actors as a constant, but is transformed through human activity. Nature (including human nature) is mediated by historical circumtances. When I view a California “landscape,” I see trees, brush, grass, and so forth. These are indeed organic but the particular type of vegetation, the state of its growth and development, its specific ecology, the atmosphere and climate of the region, the contours of the landscape and other features all have been strongly modifed by human activity. In that sense, they are not “just” nature but historically socialized nature. Particular historically socialized environments, in turn, affect the creatures who inhabit and transform such environments.
Consumer Health Informatics Adoption among Underserved Populations: Thinking beyond the Digital Divide.

Objectives: Underserved populations can benefit from consumer health informatics (CHI) that promotes self-management at a lower cost. However, prior literature suggested that the digital divide and low motivation constituted barriers to CHI adoption. Despite increased Internet use, underserved populations continue to show slow CHI uptake. The aim of the paper is to revisit barriers and facilitators that may impact CHI adoption among underserved populations. Methods: We surveyed the past five years of literature. We searched PubMed for articles published between 2012 and 2017 that describe empirical evaluations involving CHI use by underserved populations. We abstracted and summarized data about facilitators and barriers impacting CHI adoption. Results: From 645 search results, after abstract and full-text screening, 13 publications met the inclusion criteria of identifying barriers to and facilitators of underserved populations' CHI adoption. Contrary to earlier literature, the studies suggested that the motivation to improve health literacy and adopt technology was high among studied populations. Beyond the digital divide, barriers included: low health and computer literacy, challenges in accepting the presented information, poor usability, and unclear content. Factors associated with increased use were: user needs for information, user-access mediated by a proxy person, and early user engagement in system design. Conclusions: While the digital divide remains a barrier, newer studies show that high motivation for CHI use exists. However, simply gaining access to technology is not sufficient to improve adoption unless CHI technology is tailored to address user needs. Future interventions should consider building larger empirical evidence on identifying CHI barriers and facilitators.
Harnessing IMGN853-mediated cell cytoxicity response by modulating FRα expression in ovarian cancer.

e17061Background: Ovarian cancer (OC) is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death among women in the United States. Standard treatment includes debulking surgery followed by platinum based c...
Very early drinking: Event history models predicting alcohol use initiation from age 4 to 11 years.

Abstract While it is not normative to initiate alcohol use prior to adolescence, substantial numbers of children do so. However, relatively little is known about the prevalence or predictors of alcohol initiation in childhood, compared to extensive research on adolescent initiation and alcohol use. The present study examines patterns and predictors of very early drinking initiation in childhood, focusing on child behavioral undercontrol and parent alcohol and drug use as time-varying risk factors across childhood, independent of sociodemographic background variables. Event history analyses model and predict the age of alcohol initiation across ages 4 to 11 in the ongoing Millennium Cohort Study. Methodological strengths include the prospective design initiated in infancy (prior to any alcohol consumption), multiple reporters, and large representative sample of children and parents (n = 11,355). Key predictors are child behavioral undercontrol and parent alcohol and drug use assessed across childhood. Weighted results show that
Right Groin Pain and Limp

A 12-year-old African-American boy presents with right groin pain and a limp. He states that the pain is worse with walking and relieved by rest. The pain begins in his right groin and radiates to his right knee. The pain began about 1 month ago without antecedent trauma and has progressively worsened. He has no pain in any other joints or extremities. He denies any recent infections and reports no associated fevers, chills, or malaise. He participates in physical education at school, but is otherwise not involved in sports. He has no recent travel or camping trips and lives in an urban area. He takes no medications. There is no family history of joint problems. On physical examination, the patient is afebrile and appears to be moderately obese. The right lower extremity appears to be slightly externally rotated and he resists internal rotation. There is no leg length discrepancy. Neurologic and vascular exam are normal.
"TEACHING TABLES I:" Studying Your Teaching Practice with an Innovative Research Approach

Come join in with others interested in improving their scholarship of teaching by studying their practice. Learn about the self study of teaching and its utility to your personal, professional, and/or program development. This postmodern research approach focuses on your specific inquiry, driven by your questions, situated in your particular practice context and is not limited to teachers. Gain insight into how the systematic inquiry of your practice can impact your thinking and development as a professor, classroom teacher, or graduate student. You will be introduced to what study is and what it is not and the very important question of â€œWhy conduct self-study research?â€Â The self-study research methodology is particularly useful to faculty working on portfolios requiring evidenced-based data as well as to graduate students working on their theses or dissertations. Self-study research is applicable to all faculty and students across the university, regardless of discipline and years of experience who are interested in improving their practice. Excerpts from: Samaras, A. P. (forthcoming). Self-study teacher research: Studying your practice through collaborative inquiry. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Chapter 259 – Urban Habitats

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses how urban habitats are conducive to insect pest problems such as mosquitoes, flies, cockroaches, fleas, termites, and wooddestroying pests. In addition, crowding and waste also lead to vertebrate pest problems such as rats, mice, and pigeons. For example the Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus, has spread by marine commerce to semitropical and tropical seaports throughout the world. Once ashore, railroad ties provide a rapid method of moving and establishing large colonies of termites. The vast majority of insects, however, are not capable of adapting to the artificial and unnatural conditions created by humans in urban environments. A few pests such as the German cockroach, cat flea, and house fly have readily adapted, have been able to survive in close proximity to humans, and now are cosmopolitan. Humans can directly attribute the need for urban pest management in and around structures to the dislike of insects and arthropods. Some pests such as cockroaches, fleas, flies, and mosquitoes represent potential health risks. Others such as termites and wooddestroying pests can cause serious economic damage to structures. Pantry and fabric pests cause damage to foods, fabrics, and items made with furs, skins, and feathers.
Complexion dictated thermal resistance with interface density in reactive metal multilayers

Multilayers composed of aluminum (Al) and platinum (Pt) exhibit a nonmonotonic trend in thermal resistance with bilayer thickness as measured by time domain thermoreflectance. The thermal resistance initially increases with reduced bilayer thickness only to reach a maximum and then decrease with further shrinking of the multilayer period. These observations are attributed to the evolving impact of an intermixed amorphous complexion approximately 10 nm in thickness, which forms at each boundary between Al- and Pt-rich layers. Scanning transmission electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy find that the elemental composition of the complexion varies based on bilayer periodicity as does the fraction of the multilayer composed of this interlayer. These variations in complexion mitigate boundary scattering within the multilayers as shown by electronic transport calculations employing density-functional theory and nonequilibrium Green's functions on amorphous structures obtained via finite temperature molecular dynamics. The lessening of boundary scattering reduces the total resistance to thermal transport leading to the observed nonmonotonic trend thereby highlighting the central role of complexion on thermal transport within reactive metal multilayers.
Why This Book Is Important

Maura and Samuel Hanke, MD, MS, lost their son Charlie Paul in 2010 due to sleep-related infant death. But they are not alone. Since 1999, approximately 3600 babies have died every year in the United States due to this same cause. The tragedy of infants dying in their sleep is often handled as a quiet, personal, and private suffering, but it should be a public health crisis. Clinicians must recognize that saving these infants requires better communication and support for new parents.
Low Temperature Plasma Probe Mass Spectrometry for Analytes Separated on Thin-Layer Chromatography Plates: Direct vs Laser Assisted Desorption

Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) is a widespread technique because it allows fast, simple, and inexpensive analyte separations. In addition, direct analysis of the compounds separated on TLC plates via mass spectrometry (MS) has been shown to provide high sensitivity and selectivity while avoiding time-consuming sample extraction protocols. Here, direct desorption low-temperature plasma-mass spectrometry (LTP-MS) as well as diode laser assisted desorption (LD) LTP-MS are studied for direct spatially resolved analysis of compounds from TLC plates. Qualitative and quantitative characterization of amino acids, pharmaceuticals, and structural isomers were performed. The nature of the TLC plate stationary phase was found to have a significant influence, together with the analyte's characteristics, on the desorption efficiency. Tandem MS is shown to greatly improve the limits of detection (LODs). Direct desorption LTP-MS, without external thermal assisted desorption, demonstrates its best performance with cellulose TLC plates (LODs, 0.01 ng/mm2 to 2.55 ng/mm2) and restricted performance with normal-phase (NP) TLC plates (several analytes without observable signal). LD LTP-MS, with systematic optimization of irradiance and focal point diameter, is shown to overcome the direct-desorption limitations and reach significantly improved LODs with NP TLC plates (up to ×1000 better). In addition, a wide-ranging characterization of amino acid analytical figures of merit with LD LTP-MS shows that LODs from 84 pg/mm2 down to 0.3 pg/mm2 are achieved on NP TLC plates.
Effects of the Neonicotinoid Acetamiprid in Pollen on Bombus impatiens Microcolony Development

Honey bees and other wild bee species including bumble bees have experienced population declines in recent decades. Although many stressors are implicated in bee population declines, much attention has focused on neonicotinoid pesticides, which are widely used and known to be toxic to pollinators. One neonicotinoid, acetamiprid, has been studied very little in bumble bees, despite its use on bumble bee-pollinated crops. We assessed the impacts of acetamiprid to the North American bumble bee Bombus impatiens using the microcolony model. We examined nest growth, development, and subsequent nest productivity as measured by drone production. We found that high concentrations of acetamiprid in pollen (4520 µg/kg) significantly impacted nest growth, development, and, ultimately, reproduction (drone production). We found the no-observable-adverse effect level to be 45.2 µg/kg. Overall, acetamiprid has the potential to negatively impact reproductive endpoints for B. impatiens. However, effects occurred at concentrations substantially higher than expected environmental concentrations that would be achieved when following label rates. Further work is required to assess the effects of this pesticide on B. impatiens via alternate routes of exposure and on queenright colonies. Environ Toxicol Chem 2020;39:2560-2569. © 2020 SETAC. This article has been contributed to by US Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.
Covering Hate: Field Theory and Journalistic Role Conception in Reporting on White Nationalist Rallies

In the United States, journalists covering white nationalist groups find themselves in an impossible situation: how do you cover the newsworthy rallies—and the concerns raised by the local communit...
Risks Versus Consequences of Adolescent and Young Adult Substance Use: a Focus on Executive Control

This review examines the role of executive control processes in the liability for substance misuse and whether substance use, once initiated, leads to subsequent decrements as proposed by neurotoxicity models of substance use disorder (SUD). As indicated by a number of recent meta-analyses, executive control processes, which include working memory, cognitive flexibility, and numerous aspects of attentional, behavioral, and emotional control, are impaired in the context of active SUD. Longitudinal studies of behaviorally disinhibited children, individuals with familial risks for SUD, and twins within whom genetic versus environmental influences on behavior can be modeled robustly indicate that relatively poor control is a vulnerability factor for early substance use initiation, binge patterns of use, and subsequent SUD. Evidence of further declines in executive control, once substance use is initiated, is mixed, although a growing number of neuroimaging studies indicate that frontostriatal, frontolimbic, and frontocerebellar systems are altered as a consequence of use. Together these patterns suggest strategies for identifying children and adolescents at high risk for SUD, avenues through which substance-related neurotoxicities can be more reliably detected, and the need to structure prevention efforts in a manner that is developmentally appropriate and perhaps personalized to individual vulnerabilities.
Predictors of Biofilm Biomass in Oligotrophic Headwater Streams

Biofilm forms the base of food webs as an autochthonous resource in nutrient-poor, heavily shaded headwater streams. However, we know little about the influence of bottom-up and top-down controls on the standing stock of biofilm biomass in headwater streams. We used spatially extensive stream surveys and pre-existing stream chemistry data to assess the influence of potential bottom-up and top-down controls of biofilm biomass in the oligotrophic headwater streams of the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (HBEF), NH. The potential bottom-up controls we considered were canopy cover and aspect (determinants of available radiation at the stream surface), available nutrients (e.g., nitrogen, phosphorus), physical habitat characteristics (e.g., stream width, substrate), and physicochemical properties of water (e.g., water conductivity, pH). The potential top-down controls we examined were benthic macroinvertebrate biomass and stream salamander occurrence. Salamanders may affect biofilm biomass indirectly by preying on benthic macroinvertebrate consumers. We used stepwise multiple linear regression to assess the relative importance of these variables in predicting biofilm biomass and found that biofilm increased with light availability (as indicated by canopy cover and aspect), nutrient availability, and lower acidity, suggesting that the autotrophic components of biofilm may be particularly important. Our top-down control indices were unrelated to biofilm biomass; however, more intensive studies on top-down controls are needed in these systems.
Performatividad de género durante el tránsito migratorio en De Nadie (2005) de Tin Dirdamal

espanolEn una epoca de exodo masivo global, se explora el documental De Nadie (2005) de Tin Dirdamal, el cual, a traves de una variedad de instancias narrativas, presenta la experiencia y condicion migrante, aun actual, de centroamericanos en su transito por Mexico en su camino hacia EE.UU. Frente a la exclusion en el pasado de personajes migrantes femeninos, el cine y la narrativa literaria contemporanea despliegan significados culturales y sociales que avivan la presencia de mujeres como protagonistas en el vertiginoso cruce entre fronteras, bajo los regimenes de movilidad. Estas narrativas ponen en evidencia la trascendencia identitaria de las mujeres migrantes a partir del desplazamiento. En especifico, en este trabajo se examina el documental De Nadie (2005) bajo la lupa de la performatividad de genero de la hondurena Maria, antes y durante su recorrido migratorio. EnglishDuring a time of global massive exodus, I explore the documentary De Nadie (2005) by Tin Dirdamal. Through a variety of narrative instances, this film presents the still very present migrant conditions and the experience of Central American individuals traversing Mexico in their journey to the United States. Considering the exclusion in the past of feminine migrant characters, contemporary cinema and literary narrative present cultural and social meanings that bring to life the presence of women as protagonists in their vertiginous border crossing, under mobility regimes. These narratives provide evidence of women’s identity transcendence beginning with their displacement. In specific, I examine De Nadie (2005) under the lense of gender performativity of the Honduran Maria, before and during her migratory mobilization.
Phase 1, 2 trial of concurrent anti-PD1 and stereotactic radiosurgery for melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer brain metastases (NCT02858869).

2022Background: The safety and efficacy of concurrent pembrolizumab (anti-PD1) and stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for brain metastases (BM) is unknown. Methods: Patients with melanoma or NSCLC, 1-...
Reparative justice: The final stage of decolonization:

Taking inspiration from Neo-colonialism: the last stage of imperialism, by Kwame Nkrumah of the thesis by Lenin that Imperialism (is) the highest stage of capitalism, I postulate that reparative ju...
Hindsight Foresight Relabeling for Meta-Reinforcement Learning.

Meta-reinforcement learning (meta-RL) algorithms allow for agents to learn new behaviors from small amounts of experience, mitigating the sample inefficiency problem in RL. However, while meta-RL agents can adapt quickly to new tasks at test time after experiencing only a few trajectories, the meta-training process is still sample-inefficient. Prior works have found that in the multi-task RL setting, relabeling past transitions and thus sharing experience among tasks can improve sample efficiency and asymptotic performance. We apply this idea to the meta-RL setting and devise a new relabeling method called Hindsight Foresight Relabeling (HFR). We construct a relabeling distribution using the combination of "hindsight", which is used to relabel trajectories using reward functions from the training task distribution, and "foresight", which takes the relabeled trajectories and computes the utility of each trajectory for each task. HFR is easy to implement and readily compatible with existing meta-RL algorithms. We find that HFR improves performance when compared to other relabeling methods on a variety of meta-RL tasks.
Phosphine Generation Pathways on Rocky Planets.

The possibility of life in the venusian clouds was proposed in the 1960s, and recently this hypothesis has been revived with the potential detection of phosphine (PH3) in Venus' atmosphere. These o...
MO-A-BRB-00: Electronic Charting in EBRT and Brachytherapy

The process of converting to an electronic chart for radiation therapy can be daunting. It requires a dedicated committee to first research and choose appropriate software, to review the entire documentation policy and flow of the clinic, to convert this system to electronic form or if necessary, redesign the system to more easily conform to the electronic process. Those making the conversion and those who already use electronic charting would benefit from the shared experience of those who have been through the process in the past. Therefore TG262 was convened to provide guidance on electronic charting for external beam radiation therapy and brachytherapy. This course will present the results of an internal survey of task group members on EMR practices in External Beam Radiation Therapy as well as discuss important issues in EMR development and structure for both EBRT and brachytherapy. Learning Objectives: 1. Be familiarized with common practices and pitfalls in development and maintenance of an electronic chart in Radiation Oncology 2. Be familiarized with important issues related to electronic charting in External Beam Radiation Therapy 3. Be familiarized with important issues related to electronic charting in Brachytherapy
The costs of CO2 emission reductions: Some insights from global analyses

In recent years numerous studies on the costs of CO2 emissions abatement have been published.. The majority of these efforts have been at the country level. Such studies have contributed substantially to our understanding of the costs of emissions abatement. Studies which confine emission reduction opportunities to the boundaries of a single country however have certain limitations. First, they ignore low cost abatement opportunities available elsewhere in the world. Hence, they fail to identify least cost mitigation strategies. Second, they ignore potentially important ‘spill over effects’ — for example, the effect of a slowdown in economic growth in one country on the prices and incomes of another. Additional insights can be gained from taking a more global perspective. Capturing the relevant interactions, however, requires a ‘general equilibrium’ formulation of the global economic system.
Substructure discovery using minimum description length principle and background knowledge

Discovering conceptually interesting and repetitive substructures in a structural data improves the ability to interpret and compress the data. The substructures are evaluated by their ability to describe and compress the original data set using the domain's background knowledge and the minimum description length (MDL) of the data. Once discovered, the substructure concept is used to simplify the data by replacing instances of the substructure with a pointer to the newly discovered concept. The discovered substructure concepts allow abstraction over detailed structure in the original data. Iteration of the substructure discovery and replacement process constructs a hierarchical description of the structural data in terms of the discovered substructures. This hierarchy provides varying levels of interpretation that can be accessed based on the goals of the data analysis.
Evaluation of longitudinal dispersivity estimates from simulated forced- and natural-gradient tracer tests in heterogeneous aquifers

[1] We simulate three types of forced-gradient tracer tests (converging radial flow, unequal strength two well, and equal strength two well) and natural-gradient tracer tests in multiple realizations of heterogeneous two-dimensional aquifers with a hydraulic conductivity distribution characterized by a spherical variogram. We determine longitudinal dispersivities (αL) by analysis of forced-gradient test breakthrough curves at the pumped well and by spatial moment analysis of tracer concentrations during the natural-gradient tests. Results show that among the forced-gradient tests, a converging radial-flow test tends to yield the smallest αL, an equal strength two-well test tends to yield the largest αL, and an unequal strength two-well test tends to yield an intermediate value. This finding is qualitatively explained by considering the aquifer area sampled by a particular test. A converging radial-flow test samples a small area, and thus the tracer undergoes a low degree of spreading and mixing. An equal strength two-well test samples a much larger area, so the tracer is spread and mixed to a greater degree. Results also suggest that if the distance between the tracer source well and the pumped well is short relative to the lengths over which velocity is correlated, then the αL estimate can be highly dependent on local heterogeneities in the vicinity of the wells. Finally, results indicate that αL estimated from forced-gradient tracer tests can significantly underestimate the αL needed to characterize solute dispersion under natural-gradient flow. Only a two-well tracer test with a large well separation in an aquifer with a low degree of heterogeneity can yield a value of αL that characterizes natural-gradient tracer spreading. This suggests that a two-well test with a large well separation is the preferred forced-gradient test for characterizing solute dispersion under natural-gradient flow.
Cosmic-ray isotopic composition

Ever since the discovery more than thirty years ago that the cosmic rays include a small component of nuclei heavier than helium, the study of the composition of these heavy nuclei has been pursued as a means of investigating the nature of the cosmic ray sources and the conditions under which cosmic rays are transported from their sources to the Earth. Until recently the capabilities of available instrumentation allowed only the identification of the charge of cosmic ray nuclei. Recent advances in the development of high resolution detectors for use in charged particle identifier telescopes have made possible, in principle, the determination of the relative abundances of the isotopes of all elements from hydrogen (Z = 1) through nickel (Z = 28) in the low energy (~20-1000 MeV/amu) cosmic rays. The isotopic compositions of a number of important elements in this region of the periodic table have now been accurately measured, making possible the investigation of a number of questions which could not be resolved on the basis of elemental composition alone. In this paper I will discuss two of these questions: the “age” of the cosmic rays and the origin of cosmic ray source matter.
Possible localization behavior of the inherent conducting polymer (CH3)0.9ReO3

Abstract Polymeric methyltrioxorhenium (poly-MTO) represents the first example of an inherent conducting organometallic oxide. It adopts the structural motives and transport properties of some classical perovskites in two dimensions. In this study we present resistivity data down to 30 mK which exhibit a crossover from a metallic ( d ρ / d T > 0 ) to an insulating ( d ρ / d T 0 ) behavior at about 30 K. Below 30 K an unusual resistivity behavior, similar to that of some doped cuprate systems, is observed: initially the resistivity increases approximately as ρ ∼ log ( 1 / T ) before it starts to saturate below 2 K. Furthermore, a linear positive magnetoresistance is found (up to 7 T). Temperature dependent magnetization and specific heat measurements in various magnetic fields indicate that the unusual resistivity behavior may be driven by spatial localization of the d 1 moments at the Re atoms.
Full Length Single Chain Fc Protein (FLSC IgG1) as a Potent Antiviral Therapy Candidate: Implications for In Vivo Studies.

Abstract We have previously shown that FLSC, a chimeric protein containing HIV-1BAL gp120 and the D1 and D2 domains of human CD4, blocks the binding and entry of HIV-1 into target cells by occluding CCR5, the major HIV-1 coreceptor. In an effort to improve the antiviral potential of FLSC, we fused it with the hinge-CH2-CH3 region of human IgG1. The IgG moiety should increase both the affinity and stability in vivo of FLSC, due to the resultant bivalency and an extended serum half-life, thereby increasing its antiviral potency. We previously showed that (FLSC) IgG1 indeed had greater antiviral activity against T cell infections. Here we extend these results to macrophages, for which (FLSC) IgG1 has a more potent antiviral activity than FLSC alone, due in part to its higher binding affinity for CCR5. We also test both compounds in a relevant humanized mouse model and show that, as anticipated, the IgG1 moiety confers a greatly extended half-life. These data, taken together with previous results, suggest pot...
Reactions leading to the formation and breakdown of stilpnomelane in the Otago Schist, New Zealand

Semi-pelitic rocks ranging in grade from the prehnite–pumpellyite to the greenschist facies from south-eastern Otago, New Zealand, have been investigated in order to evaluate the reactions leading to formation and breakdown of stilpnomelane. Detrital grains of mica and chlorite along with fine-grained authigenic illite and chlorite occur in lower-grade rocks with compactional fabric parallel to bedding. At higher grades, detrital grains have undergone dissolution, and metamorphic phyllosilicates have crystallized with preferred orientation (sub)parallel to bedding, leading to slaty cleavage. Stilpnomelane is found in metapelites of the pumpellyite–actinolite facies and the chlorite zone of the greenschist facies, but only rarely in the biotite zone of the greenschist facies. Illite or phengite is ubiquitous, whereas chlorite occurs only rarely with stilpnomelane upgrade of the pumpellyite-out isograd. Chemical and textural relationships suggest that stilpnomelane formed from chlorite, phengite, quartz, K-feldspar and iron oxides. Stilpnomelane was produced by grain-boundary replacement of chlorite and by precipitation from solution, overprinting earlier textures. Some relict 14 A chlorite layers are observed by TEM to be in the process of transforming to 12 A stilpnomelane layers. The AEM analyses show that Fe is strongly partitioned over Mg into stilpnomelane relative to chlorite (KD≈2.5) and into chlorite relative to phengite (KD≈1.9). Modified A′FM diagrams, projected from the measured phengite composition rather than from ideal KAl3Si3O10(OH)2, are used to elucidate reactions among chlorite, stilpnomelane, phengite and biotite. In addition to pressure, temperature and bulk rock composition, the stilpnomelane-in isograd is controlled by variations in K, Fe3+/Fe2+, O/OH and H2O contents, and the locus of the isograd is expected to vary in rocks of different oxidation states and permeabilities. Biotite, quartz and less phengitic muscovite form from stilpnomelane, chlorite and phengite in the biotite zone. Projection of bulk rock compositions from phengite, NaAlO2, SiO2 and H2O reveals that they lie close to the polyhedra defined by the A′FM minerals and albite. Other extended A′FM diagrams, such as one projected from phengite, NaAlO2, CaAl2O4, SiO2 and H2O, may prove useful in the evaluation of other low-grade assemblages.
Search for biological/genetic markers in a long-term epidemiological and morbid risk study of affective disorders

Abstract A long-term epidemiological genetic study was conducted in which all new patients were evaluated prospectively at the Foundation for Depression and Manic Depression and two Lithium/Affective Disorders clinics at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center between the years of 1972 and 1978. All patients met Feighner, RDC and DSM III criteria for Major Depressive Disorder after initial clinical screening interviews and were further subtyped using the Fieve-Dunner 7-point criteria. All 604 probands and 90% of 2711 first-degree relatives were interviewed blindly by diagnosticians trained in the use of the SADS structured interview. Comulative morbid risk in parents, siblings and children of 490 bipolar probands was 15.6± 3% and 14.0± 1.7% in the first-degree relatives of 114 unipolar probands. A number of biological and genetic marker studies were simultaneously performed on samples of the overall population. The enzymes catechol O-methyltransferase and dopamine β-hydroxylase, and dexamethasone suppression test (SDT) did not show any biological marker value for outpatients even though both enzymes were determined to have hereditability. The HLA system, monoamine oxidase and acetylcholinesterase segregated differently from normal controls in samples of the patient population. The positive association findings with monoamine oxidase and the HLA system conflicted with the positive findings of other investigators, leaving doubtful their biological marker value. Red cell acetylcholinesterase was found to be significantly lower in affective disorder patients than in controls. This positive association finding was recently replicated by M ATHEWS et al. (1982) but needs further confirmation. Using 28 blood group markers, a prior association study between the trait defining susceptibility to affective disorder and the genetic marker was positive for haptoglobin GC, and properdinfactor B, confirming earlier findings. Using the sib-pair method of the remaining 25 blood groups revealed that none other than peptidase A showed significant linkage with affective disorder since one significant finding is expected by chance. We conclude from the overall morbid risk data and segregation analyses that bipolar manic- depressive illness is a spectrum disease inherited through a multifactorial mode of genetic transmission (which is not synonymous with polygenetic inheritance) with possible genetic heterogeneity and find no evidence for X-linkage. Additional studies with acetylcholinesterase, haptoblobin, GC, and properdin-factor B are needed to confirm their positive biological/genetic marker value suggested by our long-term epidemiological study.
Geographic variation in allele frequency of the gamete recognition protein M7 lysin throughout a mosaic blue mussel hybrid zone

Divergence at gamete recognition loci is hypothesized to result in speciation in broadcast spawning invertebrates. Many gamete recognition loci evolve quickly and show patterns of positive selection, yet the advantage of divergence is rarely known. M7 lysin is a sperm protein in the Mytilus edulis species complex that shows evidence of adaptive evolution. This locus is polymorphic with two distinct clades within Mytilus galloprovincialis, one of which, the D clade, shows the strongest signal of positive selection. We tested whether the geographic patterns in allele frequency were consistent with the hypothesis that positive selection on D clade alleles (G D ) was due to reinforcement. Populations of M. edulis showed little evidence of introgression of G D alleles, but there was no consistent evidence of reproductive character displacement. The lack of consistent patterns expected of reinforcement suggests that another mechanism is likely responsible for the adaptive divergence of M7 lysin.
Variation in Reproductive Life History Traits between Two Populations of Blackbanded Darters (Percina nigrofasciata)

We examined the life history of Blackbanded Darters (Percina nigrofasciata) from two streams in the Choctawhatchee River drainage, Florida, over a three-year study period. Blackbanded Darters from Turkey Creek were longer than fish from Ten Mile Creek; however, size-adjusted clutch and egg sizes were similar between populations. Larger females produced larger clutches, whereas egg size did not vary with female body size. Seasonally, clutch sizes were greater in May than in August. When contrasted with previous studies of Blackbanded Darters in Alabama and Louisiana, the reproductive season of Blackbanded Darters in Florida was unusually long, ceasing for only a few months in late fall. The reproductive season was longer in Turkey Creek than in Ten Mile Creek. Differences in thermal regime among streams may explain differences in life history traits among local and distant populations of Blackbanded Darters. This research, alone and in combination with previous studies of this species, emphasizes two main points. First, it reaffirms that life history studies based on a single locality or conducted at a single point in time may fail to capture the full range of variation in life history traits. Second, it highlights the extensive phenotypic variation found in species with broad geographic ranges. Such species lend themselves to comparative and experimental research on patterns and causes of life history variation. general aim of life history studies is to identify spatial and temporal patterns of variation in life history traits and to understand the underlying causes of variation among populations and species. Life histories represent adaptations to environmental conditions experienced by populations over time (Roff, 1992; Stearns, 1992). Measuring and characterizing variation in life history traits, therefore, enhances our understanding of the selective pressures faced by different populations as well as constraints on their ability to respond adaptively to these pressures. North American darters (Perciformes: Percidae) commonly exhibit spatial and temporal variation in reproductive traits. Body size, duration of spawning season, clutch size, and egg size vary within and among populations for many
A novel design methodology for high performance and low power digital filters

Presents novel design methodologies which can be used to dramatically reduce the complexity of parallel implementations of digital FIR filters. These approaches are also applicable to IIR filters. Two ideas are presented. First, we remove the redundant computation by using a graph-theoretic framework in which we find the optimal re-ordering of computations for maximal computation sharing. Second, we present the novel approach of searching for a quantization which improves the computation sharing when the frequency-domain transfer function is allowed to deviate within given bounds. A simple search scheme is presented and it is shown that, by appropriate perturbation of the filter coefficients, one can dramatically reduce the number of adders required in the filter implementation. Using these approaches, on an average, less than one adder per coefficient is required, in contrast to a full-width multiplier. Hence, the presented methodologies are a useful compliment to the existing design approaches of high-performance and low-power digital filters for future mobile computing and communication systems.
Suggestions on meeting ASPAN standards in a pediatric setting

Abstract Pediatric patients encompass a wide variety of ages and sizes that require specialized equipment and treatment plans. Managing all of these needs can be quite challenging. This article looks at each ASPAN standard and how it relates to the pediatric patient. Some standards are consistent across all patient care environments regardless of age, but some are appropriately adjusted to meet the needs of the pediatric population. Tips and ideas are provided on how to meet these standards not only in dedicated pediatric settings but also in institutions that care for few pediatric patients. © 2000 by American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses.
Lead inhibits meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid induced calcium transients in cultured rhesus monkey kidney cells.

Abstract Previously we have shown that meso -2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA, 15–500 μM) elicits concentration-dependent increases in intracellular calcium levels ([Ca 2+ ] i ) in untreated rhesus monkey kidney cells (LLC-MK 2 ) (Pokorski et al., 1997, unpublished results). Little is known about the restorative effects of the chelating agent 2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid on intracellular calcium homeostasis in the presence of lead. Lead interacts at numerous sites in Ca 2+ homeostasis and may mimic Ca 2+ to interfere with Ca 2+ -mediated intracellular signaling. To examine the effects of lead on [Ca 2+ ] i and DMSA-induced calcium transients, LLC-MK 2 were plated on 35 mm coverslip dishes (10 4 cells/dish) and pre-treated with non-cytotoxic concentrations of lead (0–100 μM) for 24 h. Cells were washed, loaded with the calcium-sensitive probe Fura-2/AM, rinsed again, and examined in loading buffer in the absence of any additional lead. Intracellular calcium was measured using a dual-wavelength calcium imaging system. Basal [Ca 2+ ] i levels did not change between Pb-exposed (0–50 μM, 24 h) and non-lead exposed cells. In cells treated with ≥10 μM lead for 24 h, the ability of DMSA to elicit a calcium response was blocked. These results provide evidence that pre-exposure to lead blocks the entry of extracellular calcium into LLC- MK 2 cells when stimulated by specific calcium mobilizing agents.
Membrane potential and human erythrocyte shape

Altered external pH transforms human erythrocytes from discocytes to stomatocytes (low pH) or echinocytes (high pH). The process is fast and reversible at room temperature, so it seems to involve shifts in weak inter- or intramolecular bonds. This shape change has been reported to depend on changes in membrane potential, but control experiments excluding roles for other simultaneously varying cell properties (cell pH, cell water, and cell chloride concentration) were not reported. The present study examined the effect of independent variation of membrane potential on red cell shape. Red cells were equilibrated in a set of solutions with graduated chloride concentrations, producing in them a wide range of membrane potentials at normal cell pH and cell water. By using assays that were rapid and accurate, cell pH, cell water, cell chloride, and membrane potential were measured in each sample. Cells remained discoid over the entire range of membrane potentials examined (-45 to +45 mV). It was concluded that membrane potential has no independent effect on red cell shape and does not mediate the membrane curvature changes known to occur in red cells equilibrated at altered pH.
Natural invariant measures, divergence points and dimension in one-dimensional holomorphic dynamics

In this paper we discuss dimension-theoretical properties of rational maps on the Riemann sphere. In particular, we study existence and uniqueness of generalized physical measures for several classes of maps including hyperbolic, parabolic, non-recurrent and Topological Collet-Eckmann maps. These measures have the property that their typical points have maximal Hausdorff dimension. On the other hand, we prove that the set of divergence points (the set of points which are non-typical for any invariant measure) also has maximal Hausdorff dimension. Finally, we prove that if (fa)a is a holomorphic family of stable rational maps, then the dimension d(fa) is a continuous and plurisubharmonic function of the parameter a. In particular, d(f) varies continuously and plurisubharmonically on an open and dense subset of Ratd, the space of all rational maps with degree d ≥ 2.
Diagnosed Characteristics of Precipitation Systems over Taiwan during the May–June 1987 TAMEX

Abstract Characteristics of Mei-Yu precipitating cloud systems over Taiwan during the May–June 1987 Taiwan Area Mesoscale Experiment (TAMEX) have been studied using sounding, surface precipitation, and radar data. Vertical motion has been computed over the island at 6-h intervals from 13 May to 15 June using a modification of the kinematic method that takes into account the mountainous lower boundary within a four-station sounding polygon. Two primary characteristics of the precipitation have been found. First, the major rainfall event were linked to the passage of midlatitude disturbances and typically consisted of both deep convective and stratiform components. Deep convection was primarily prefrontal or frontal, while the stratiform precipitation was postfrontal, presumably in association with overrunning and orographic lifting. Second, there was a pronounced diurnal variability in the rainfall. Vertical motion, heating (Q1), and moistening (Q2) profiles have been used to define the character of the pr...
Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Cystic Adnexal Lesions During Pregnancy

Management of cystic adnexal lesions diagnosed during pregnancy is a challenging issue for obstetricians. The range of treatment options changes from immediate surgery to close follow-up. This pictorial essay illustrates the magnetic resonance imaging findings of various cystic adnexal lesions in pregnant patients. Magnetic resonance imaging may help in better characterization of some of the cystic adnexal lesions diagnosed during pregnancy without exposing the fetus to ionizing radiation.
Why Women Loved Billy Sunday: Urban Revivalism and Popular Entertainment in Early Twentieth-Century American Culture

“One man, all alone with 17,000 women,” a Boston journalist marveled in January 1917, “can you beat it?” Among the many remarkable events that took place that winter during evangelist Billy Sunday’s six-week Boston crusade, his two services for “women only” made for a truly extraordinary spectacle. At both the afternoon and evening meetings, all men—except for Sunday himself—were “summarily ejected” from the tabernacle, from the janitors, policemen, and firemen to the choir director and every single male member of the press. When Billy ascended to the platform and instructed the remaining male ushers to “beat it,” “their dismissal,” said the Boston Globe , “was as spicy as any incident of the afternoon.” Reporter Ruth Spindler found the scene both titillating and a bit comical, as men “scampered” nervously for the doors “like hens running for feed.” The last man to leave found himself stranded between the speakers’ platform and the audience, staring into the face of Sunday’s formidable associate Virginia Asher. Within earshot of reporters, she informed him, “We don’t need even one man in here; we can run this meeting without men.” As the unfortunate young man “scooted” for the door, Billy cast a theatrical glance over at Mrs. Asher, “a question in his eyes.” Was the remark meant for him? Thousands of excited faces in the audience below emphatically testified otherwise. 1 What did their enthusiasm mean? The evangelist certainly made no secret of his disdain for “namby-pamby” liberals and their doting female allies. The only reason why there were “more feathers than whiskers” in the pews, he told one Boston crowd, was a lack of orthodox preaching. “The Lord save us,” Sunday declared in a fairly typical string of hyphenated adjectives, “from off-handed, flabbycheeked, brittle-boned, weak-kneed, thin-skinned, pliable, plastic, spineless, effeminate, ossified, three-carat Christianity.” 2 Yet four