cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Wideband generalized multicarrier CDMA over frequency-selective wireless channels

Relying on symbol blocking and judicious design of user codes, this paper builds on a generalized multicarrier (GMC) quasi-synchronous CDMA system capable of multiuser interference (MUI) elimination and intersymbol interference (ISI) suppression with guaranteed symbol recovery, regardless of the wireless frequency-selective channels. GMC-CDMA provides a unifying framework for multicarrier (MC) CDMA systems and offers flexibility in full load (maximum number of users allowed by the available bandwidth) as well in reduced load settings. Analytic evaluation and simulations illustrate that GMC-CDMA outperforms competing MC-CDMA alternatives especially in the presence of uplink multipath channels.
Comparison of methods for estimation of 50-year peak discharge from a small, rural watershed in North Carolina

Four applied hydrologic methods were used to estimate the 50-year peak storm discharge (Q50) from a 15.8-ha agricultural (67%) and forested (33%) watershed in North Carolina, U.S.A. The methods (and Q50 results) were the NCDOT (North Carolina Department of Transportation) method (0.42 m3/s), the USGS (U.S. Geological Survey) regression method (0.50 m3/s), the rational method (1.2 m3/s), and the NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service) TR-55 method (2.6 m3/s). The wide range of results (coefficient of variation=84%, factor of >6 between highest and lowest estimates) indicates significant inaccuracy in one or more of the methods, and presents a practical problem for use of the methods in the design of drainage systems. The NRCS method likely overestimates Q50, and the NCDOT and USGS methods have other potential drawbacks for the study watershed. The least problematic approach in this case is probably the rational method. The best estimate of Q50 from the study watershed is likely ~1 m3/s. The results suggest the importance of developing improved methods for estimation of peak storm discharge from small, rural watersheds.
Platelet-Derived Growth Factor-Mediated Signal Transduction Underlying Astrocyte Proliferation: Site of Ethanol Action

Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) is a critical regulator of cell proliferation. Because ethanol inhibits cell proliferation in vivo and in vitro, we hypothesize that ethanol-induced inhibition results from differential interference with signal transduction pathways activated by PDGF. Cultured cortical astrocytes were used to examine the effects of ethanol on PDGF-mediated signal transduction, on the expression of two PDGF monomers (A- and B-chains), and on the expression of two PDGF receptor subunits (PDGFar and PDGFbr). PDGF-B chain homodimer (PDGF-BB), and to a lesser extent PDGF-A chain homodimer (PDGF-AA), stimulated the proliferation of astrocytes raised in a serum-free medium. Ethanol attenuated these actions in a concentration-dependent manner. Ethanol inhibited both PDGF-AA- and PDGF-BB-mediated phosphorylation of PDGFar, but it had little effect on PDGFbr autophosphorylation. Likewise, ethanol abolished the association of PDGFa rt o Ras GTPase-activating protein (Ras-GAP), but it did not affect the binding of Ras-GAP to PDGFbr. PDGF stimulated the activities of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) in protein kinase C (PKC) independent and dependent manners. Ethanol inhibited the PKC-independent, acute activation of MAPK; however, it stimulated the PKC-dependent, sustained activation of MAPK. The expression of neither ligand was altered by exposure to ethanol for 3 d. Moreover, such treatment specifically upregulated PDGFar expression in a concentration-dependent manner. It did not, however, affect the binding affinity of either receptor. Thus, the signal transduction pathways initiated by PDGF-AA and PDGF-BB were differentially affected by ethanol. This differential vulnerability resulted from the preferential effects of ethanol on PDGFar autophosphorylation. Hence, ethanol-induced alterations are transduced through specific receptors of mitogenic growth factors.
Effect of enzyme dynamics on catalytic activity

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the effect of enzyme dynamics on catalytic activity. It is widely accepted that the catalytic properties of enzymes are a consequence of binding energy differences between reactants and transition state (TS), arising from the arrangement of residues in the active site. In the ground state destabilization picture the role of the enzyme is to make the reactants less stable, leading again to a lower barrier to reaction. It is now widely accepted that for some enzymes proton transfer proceeds through quantum tunneling. The crystal structures of human purine nucleoside phosphorylase with several TS analogs showed an unusual geometric arrangement of three oxygens, lying in a close stack. Two theoretical techniques, that is, transition path sampling (TPS) and essential dynamics (ED) to analyze molecular dynamics trajectories have been used and help in identifying the atomic detail collective motions that affect catalysis. Recent work by Truhlar, Brooks, and Hammes–Schiffer on the relation of conformation fluctuations and catalysis in dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) is also discussed. A new method for studying much slower motions (such as conformation fluctuations) that may affect catalysis is also proposed.
Ostia: A Delegating Architecture for Secure System Call Interposition.

Application sandboxes provide restricted execution environments that limit an application’s access to sensitive OS resources. These systems are an increasingly popular method for limiting the impact of a compromise. While a variety of mechanisms for building these systems have been proposed, the most thoroughly implemented and studied are based on system call interposition. Current interpositionbased architectures offer a wide variety of properties that make them an attractive approach for building sandboxing systems. Unfortunately, these architectures also possess several critical properties that make their implementation error prone and limit their functionality. We present a study of Ostia, a sandboxing system we have developed that relies on a “delegating” architecture which overcomes many of the limitations of today’s sandboxing systems. We compare this delegating architecture to the “filtering” architecture commonly used for sandboxes today. We present the salient features of each architecture and examine the design choices that significantly impact security, compatibility, flexibility, deployability, and performance in this class of system.
A new taxon of phytosaur (Archosauria: Pseudosuchia) from the Late Triassic (Norian) Sonsela Member (Chinle Formation) in Arizona, and a critical reevaluation of Leptosuchus Case, 1922

Abstract: Leptosuchus Case, 1922 (Reptilia: Phytosauria) from the Late Triassic of the American West is represented by many specimens. Here, I present complete morphological descriptions of the skull material of a new taxon from the Sonsela Member (Chinle Formation) of Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona, with the first rigorous phylogenetic analysis focused on the interrelationships of Leptosuchus. The new taxon is recovered as the sister taxon to Pseudopalatinae. It possesses one unambiguous synapomorphy (the ‘septomaxillae’ form part of the lateral borders of the nares) and shares the presence of a subsidiary opisthotic process with Pseudopalatinae. The new taxon does not fall within the restricted clade Leptosuchus. In my analysis, the previously proposed, but undemonstrated, sister taxon relationship between Angistorhinus and Rutiodon is not supported, Paleorhinus is recovered as paraphyletic, and a subset of taxa traditionally included within Leptosuchus are found to be more closely related to Pseudopalatinae, rendering Leptosuchus paraphyletic. ‘Leptosuchus’adamanensis emerges as sister taxon to Smilosuchus gregorii and is here referred to as Smilosuchus adamanensis nov. comb., and ‘Machaeroprosopus’lithodendrorum is also transferred to Smilosuchus lithodendrorum nov. comb. Documentation of the variation present within Phytosauria, and specifically within Leptosuchus sensu lato, demonstrates higher diversity within Phytosauria than previously appreciated and places the character states previously proposed for Pseudopalatinae into a broader context of shared characters.
Effects of the calcium ionophore A23187 on dispersed bovine parathyroid cells.

Dispersed bovine parathyroid cells were employed to assess the effects of the divalent cation ionophore A23187 on parathyroid function. In the presence of ionophore, both basal parathyroid hormone (PTH) release and isoproterenol-stimulated cAMP accumulation were inhibited by significantly lower concentrations of calcium (half-maximal inhibition at 0.7–0.8 mm vs. 1.0 mm and 1.3–1.4 vs. 1.7–2.0 mm calcium, respectively). After preincubation with ionophore, there was also an alteration in the relationship between agonist-stimulated cAMP accumulation and PTH release similar to that observed previously with elevated extracellular calcium concentrations; with A23187, a given increase in secretion rate was associated with nearly a 10-fold greater increase in cAMP accumulation. A23187 effected a highly significant increase in the rate of efflux of 45Ca from dispersed cells. The uptake of 45Ca, in contrast, was decreased slightly by ionophore. A predominant effect of ionophore on calcium efflux was also suggested ...
A new New Orleans? Understanding the Role of History and the State-Local Relationship in the Recovery Process.

Two years after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, the city still struggles to rebuild and recover. In this article, we examine how deeply rooted historical patterns of state–local conflict reas...
Dynamic Partitioning of Shared Cache Memory

This paper proposes dynamic cache partitioning amongst simultaneously executing processes/threads. We present a general partitioning scheme that can be applied to set-associative caches. Since memory reference characteristics of processes/threads can change over time, our method collects the cache miss characteristics of processes/threads at run-time. Also, the workload is determined at run-time by the operating system scheduler. Our scheme combines the information, and partitions the cache amongst the executing processes/threads. Partition sizes are varied dynamically to reduce the total number of misses. The partitioning scheme has been evaluated using a processor simulator modeling a two-processor CMP system. The results show that the scheme can improve the total IPC significantly over the standard least recently used (LRU) replacement policy. In a certain case, partitioning doubles the total IPC over standard LRU. Our results show that smart cache management and scheduling is essential to achieve high performance with shared cache memory.
The neighborhood viewer: a paradigm for exploring image databases

The Brain Neighborhood Viewer is a tool developed to help neuroscientists explore massive databases of brain images. The viewer implements an interface paradigm based on stacks of 2D images that are "yoked together" to provide a common coordinate system. When a user navigates in an image stack, all yoked stacks are updated to display the same location, which we call a brain neighborhood. Experience with the neighborhood suggests that this interface is useful for neuroscience research.
Assessment of satellite-based rainfall estimates in urban areas in different geographic and climatic regions

This paper presents an assessment of the 3B42 research version rainfall product from NASA’s Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA). The study provides new results of TMPA data accuracy in urban areas and highlights trends associated with the climatological indicators of temperature and relative humidity in cities. Ten years (1998-2007) of TMPA data were analyzed for three case study cities in the United States (Houston, Atlanta, and Las Vegas) and one in Korea (Cheongju), representing semi-arid to humid climates. At each location, an urbanized river basin and non-urbanized river basin were selected and comparisons between TMPA and rain gage observations were made for recorded storm events in the study period, the largest storm events by total depth, and selected hurricanes and topical storms. The results indicate TMPA data match well with rain gage observations at all locations. TMPA is slightly underestimated for semi-arid regions and overestimated for humid regions. The relative magnitude of TMPA rain event accumulation compared to rain gage accumulation is noted to be smaller for urbanized watersheds and high intensity events. The correlation of TMPA accuracy with temperature and relative humidity and the analysis of accuracy by season indicate TMPA is more accurate for convective rainfall events. This suggests a possible linkage between the observed urban-modified temperatures, hypothesized enhanced convection, and improved TMPA accuracy in urban areas.
Comparative genomics of the environmental stress response in ascomycete fungi

Unicellular fungi thrive in diverse niches around the world, and many of these niches present unique and stressful challenges that must be contended with by their inhabitants. Numerous studies have investigated the genomic expression responses to environmental stress in 'model' ascomycete fungi, including Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida albicans and Schizosaccharomyces pombe. This review presents a comparative-genomics perspective on the environmental stress response, a common response to diverse stresses. Implications for the role of this response, based on its presence or absence in fungi from disparate ecological niches, are discussed.
Tunable surface-enhanced Raman scattering from large gold nanoparticle arrays.

Raman signal enhancements in excess of 10(7) can be achieved at near-infrared wavelengths when mid-nanometer sized gold particles self-organize into close-packed planar arrays. These substrates generate stable surface-enhanced Raman scattering which changes dramatically as a function of periodic structure and excitation wavelength.
A PAS reaction in erythrocytes of formalin-fixed tissue treated with Holt's hypertonic gum sucrose

When paraffin sections of mouse and rat kidney, liver and spleen were fixed in a formalin-type fixative overnight, then preserved in Holt's hypertonic gum-sucrose solution, erythrocytes stained strongly by the McManus periodic acid-Schiff method. The same tissues processed without gum-sucrose did not exhibit such positive staining of red blood cells. Tissues treated with the individual gum-sucrose components, a solution of gum arabic or of sucrose, gave positive staining of erythrocytes only after gum arabic. Powdered gum arabic but not sucrose crystals stained positively. The erythrocyte reaction in formalinfixed tissue treated with gum-sucrose is therefore related to the presence of gum arabic in Holt's solution. Opposing results were encountered with two non-formalin fixatives, glutaraldehyde and acetone, in that staining was consistently positive throughout in the former and consistently negative in the latter, regardless of gum-sucrose treatment.
An optical pH sensor with a linear response over a broad range

Abstract A method was developed for achieving a linear response over a broad pH range for optical pH sensors by using mixtures of multiple pH indicators. Requirements on the pH indicators were investigated, including the Δp K a between the indicators, and the colors and concentrations of the indicators. It is demonstrated that a linear response over a broad pH range can be obtained by using multiple indicators that have Δp K a ≤ 1.7. Optimum ratios between the concentrations of the indicators can be calculated by a computer program. A linear response over a range of 4.5 pH units was obtained for a mixture of four indicators in solution. A sol–gel glass pH sensor with a linear response over a range of 3.5 pH units was developed by co-entrapping three indicators in sol–gel glass. In both cases, a standard deviation of pH equal to 0.03 was obtained.
The History of Pertussis (Whooping Cough); 1906–2015: Facts, Myths, and Misconceptions

Pertussis and Bordetella pertussis infections since 1906 are reviewed with an attempt to address facts, myths, and misconceptions. Clinical pertussis is a noninflammatory illness which occurs without fever or productive cough, and its hallmark is the distinctive paroxysmal cough. Because of its significant mortality and morbidity, whole-cell vaccines were developed in the 1930s, and the universal use of these vaccines decreased the incidence of reported pertussis 157-fold by 1970. Because of real and perceived reactions to diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and whole cell pertussis vaccine (DTwP) vaccines, diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP) vaccines were developed and put into universal use in the USA in 1997. Pertussis has two epidemiologies; one is reported pertussis and the other is B. pertussis illness. The study of these two epidemiologies indicate that reported pertussis is just the tip of the iceberg and B. pertussis cough illnesses occur in all age groups and they are very common; also, asymptomatic infection is more common than symptomatic infection. DTaP vaccines are less reactogenic than DTwP vaccines, but their effectiveness is less. B. pertussis infection is caused by many protein antigens, but illness due to this organism is caused by just two factors, pertussis toxin (PT) and a “cough toxin” which, as yet, has not been discovered. The present “resurgence of pertussis” is mainly due to greater awareness and the use of PCR for diagnosis. There are also many other factors which have contributed to the “resurgence.” New vaccines are clearly needed; with our present vaccines (DTaP and adolescent and adult formulated tetanus and diphtheria toxoids and acellular pertussis vaccine (Tdap)), if used correctly, severe pertussis and deaths in infants can be prevented.
A 14 Bit Continuous-Time Delta-Sigma A/D Modulator With 2.5 MHz Signal Bandwidth

A continuous-time delta-sigma A/D modulator with 5 MS/s output rate in a 2.5 V 0.25 mum CMOS process is presented. The modulator has a fifth-order single-stage, dual-loop architecture allowing nearly one clock period quantizer delay. A multi-bit quantizer is used to increase resolution and multi-bit non-return-to-zero DACs are adopted to reduce clock jitter sensitivity. Capacitor tuning is utilized to overcome loop coefficient shifts due to process variations. Self-calibration is implemented to suppress current-steering DAC mismatch. Clocked at 60 MHz, the prototype chip achieves 81 dB peak SNR and 85 dB dynamic range with a 12X oversampling ratio. The power consumption is 50 mW.
Differential effects of ibogaine on local cerebral glucose utilization in drug-naive and morphine-dependent rats.

Abstract Ibogaine, a hallucinogenic indole alkaloid, has been proposed as a treatment for addiction to opioids and other drugs of abuse. The mechanism for its putative anti-addictive effects is unknown. In this study, the effects of ibogaine on local cerebral glucose utilization (LCGU) were determined in freely moving, drug-naive, or morphine-dependent adult, male, Sprague–Dawley rats using the [14C]2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) method. Morphine-dependent rats were treated with increasing doses of morphine (5–25 mg/kg, s.c., b.i.d.) and then maintained at 25 mg/kg (bid) for 4–7 days. For the 2-DG procedure, rats were injected with saline or ibogaine (40 mg/kg, i.p.). 2-DG was administered 1 h after administration of ibogaine. The rate of LCGU was determined by quantitative autoradiography in 46 brain regions. In drug-naive animals, ibogaine produced significant increases in LCGU in the parietal, cingulate, and occipital cortices and cerebellum compared to controls consistent with its activity as a hallucinogen and a tremorogen. Morphine-dependent rats had only minor alterations in LCGU at the time assessed in this experiment. However, in morphine-dependent animals, ibogaine produced a global decrease in LCGU that was greatest in brain regions such as the lateral and medial preoptic areas, nucleus of the diagonal band, nucleus accumbens shell, inferior colliculus, locus coeruleus, and flocculus compared to morphine-dependent animals treated with saline. These findings indicate that ibogaine produces distinctly different effects on LCGU in drug-naive and morphine-dependent rats. This suggests that different mechanisms may underlie ibogaine's hallucinogenic and anti-addictive effects.
Measure of the departure of the q-metastable stationary states from equilibrium

One great success of non-extensive statistical mechanics is that it offers a concrete statistical foundation for describing stationary states out of equilibrium characterized by kappa distributions, which are the analogues of Gaussian distributions in Boltzmann–Gibbs (BG) statistics. The Tsallis formalism offers a solid statistical foundation and provides a set of proven tools for understanding these distributions, including a consistent definition of temperature—the physical temperature, which characterizes the non-equilibrium stationary states. Here we develop a measure of the 'thermodynamic distance' of stationary states from equilibrium, called q-metastability, which fulfills specific conditions and is expressed in terms of the Tsallis entropic index, q, and the dimensionality of the system, f. We demonstrate its role in the spectrum-like arrangement of stationary states, so that all stationary states lie in a spectrum from q=1 (equilibrium) to the maximum value of q, which specifies the furthest possible stationary state from equilibrium. We show that the constructed q-metastability measure characterizes the identity of each stationary state in a more consistent way than the q-index itself. Finally, as an application, we demonstrate the eventual transition of metastable states toward equilibrium.
Fine mapping of a QTL region with large effects on growth and fatness on mouse chromosome 2

We combined the use of a congenic line and recombinant progeny testing (RPT) to characterize and fine map a previously identified region of distal mouse chromosome 2 (MMU2) harboring quantitative t...
A nuclear-envelope-specific protein in Amoeba proteus detected with a monoclonal antibody

A protein with two subtypes of 205 and 180 kDa was localized on the nuclear envelope of amoebae as detected by indirect immunofluorescence staining and immuno-electron microscopy using a monoclonal antibody as a probe. Electron microscopic observation showed that the protein was located on the honeycomb lamina of the nuclear envelope. During mitosis, the protein dispersed throughout the cytoplasm but reappeared on the nuclear envelope after the reformation of the envelopes of daughter nuclei. the findings suggested that the protein is a component of the nuclear lamina of amoebae.
Constraining the Luminous Red Galaxy Halo Occupation Distribution Using Counts-In-Cylinders

The low number density of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) luminous red galaxies (LRGs) suggests that LRGs occupying the same dark matter halo can be separated from pairs occupying distinct dark matter halos with high fidelity. We present a new technique, Counts-in-Cylinders (CiC), to constrain the parameters of the satellite contribution to the LRG halo occupation distribution once the parameters of the central galaxy contribution have been fixed. For a fiber-collision-corrected SDSS spectroscopic LRG subsample at 0.16 = ((M – M cut)/M 1)α with M cut = 5.0+1.5 –1.3(+2.9 –2.6) × 1013 M ☉, M 1 = 4.95+0.37 –0.26(+0.79 –0.53) × 1014 M ☉, and α = 1.035+0.10 –0.17(+0.24 –0.31) at the 68% and 95% confidence levels using a WMAP3 cosmology and z = 0.2 halo catalog. Our method tightly constrains the fraction of LRGs that are satellite galaxies, 6.36+0.38 –0.39%, and the combination M cut/1014 M ☉ + α = 1.53+0.08 –0.09 at the 95% confidence level, though these constraints may be relaxed when cosmological parameters and the central galaxy parameters are allowed to vary simultaneously. We also find that mocks based on a halo catalog produced by a spherical overdensity finder reproduce both the measured CiC multiplicity function and the projected correlation function, while mocks based on a Friends-of-Friends halo catalog has a deficit of close pairs at ~1 h –1 Mpc separations. Because the CiC method relies on higher order statistics of close pairs, it is robust to the choice of halo finder, and yields mock catalogs reproducing Finger-of-God (FOG) features in the observations probed by the CiC group multiplicity function. In a companion paper, we will apply this technique to optimize FOG compression to eliminate the one-halo contribution to the LRG power spectrum.
The biological clock phenomenon: Exogenous timing hypothesis

Abstract The underlying basis of biological clocks has completely eluded scholars to the present. Its nature appears as mysterious today as it did at the turn of the century despite the vast efforts by a great many able scholars. W. Pfeffer felt compelled to conclude in 1915 that each organism contained its own completely independent clock system. The bases were his ability to reset the phase of the clock‐timed daily rhythms at will together with the observation that in constant light and temperature the period of the rhythms usually assumed some arbitrary value ("free‐running") deviating slightly from 24 hours. This conclusion appeared later to be supported by a described light‐dependence of the frequency of the free‐running, the deviations of Q10’s of periods from 1.00, and discovery of genes and chemicals which could alter the free‐running period. The vast majority of investigators have adopted this hypothesis and have sought in vain for internal timers with clock properties. A demonstrated high degree...
Diffraction Studies of a Highly Metastable Form of Amorphous Silica

An amorphous powder of SiO2 that calorimetric studies indicated to be energetically metastable by 46.9 ± 0.8 kj/mol relative to fused silica was studied by X-ray diffraction. A calculation of the energetic instability, based on the bond length and bond angle distributions derived from the diffraction data and utilizing the force constants for bond stretching and bending, indicated that 41.3 ± 7.9 kj/mol of the instability may be associated with distortions of the Si-O bonds, the O-Si-O bond angles, and the Si-O-Si angles. Analyses of the extensive small-angle scattering from the porous material suggested that only a small portion of the instability is associated with surface structures.
Gravitational Radiation in Asymptotic de Sitter Space

A solution of the gravitational field equations is found by using an axially symmetric metric which is asymptotically a de Sitter space metric. We use the general approach of Bondi, van der Burg, and Metzner as applied to the asymptotic flat-space case and search for the necessary conditions for gravitational radiation in asymptotic de Sitter space. We find that the character of the gravitational radiation, if it exists at all, is considerably different from that obtained in the case of asymptotic flat space.
MARS: bringing the automation of small-molecule bioanalytical sample preparations to a new frontier

Background: In recent years, there has been a growing interest in automating small-molecule bioanalytical sample preparations specifically using the Hamilton MicroLab® STAR liquid-handling platform. In the most extensive work reported thus far, multiple small-molecule sample preparation assay types (protein precipitation extraction, SPE and liquid–liquid extraction) have been integrated into a suite that is composed of graphical user interfaces and Hamilton scripts. Using that suite, bioanalytical scientists have been able to automate various sample preparation methods to a great extent. However, there are still areas that could benefit from further automation, specifically, the full integration of analytical standard and QC sample preparation with study sample extraction in one continuous run, real-time 2D barcode scanning on the Hamilton deck and direct Laboratory Information Management System database connectivity. Results: We developed a new small-molecule sample-preparation automation system that imp...
Void distribution and susceptibility differences in ceramic materials using MRI

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is applied to porous ceramic materials to study structural properties. In ceramics, processing differences create inhomogeneous binder distribution in the materials which can cause the formation of regions with differing densities and voids. These defects can be observed with MRI using solvent permeation. Fractional porosity obtained by using image intensity measurements and weight gain due to solvent permeation can be correlated. Dark regions in the image are due to defects such as closed voids, pockets of binder, or agglomerates. Defects such as voids or agglomerates usually have different magnetic susceptibilities. This difference causes artifacts in the image. By exploiting the increase in signal loss using a gradient-echo sequence, apparent enhancement of voids in ceramics is achieved.
Regional variations in small-basin floods in the United States

This paper presents a reconnaissance study of regional flood patterns in the United States, focusing on peak discharges at several recurrence intervals and characteristics of flood-causing rainfall. Because of an interest in flash floods, attention was restricted to watersheds between 10 and 200 km 2 in area. Data were obtained from 130 stream gaging stations with a consistent 30-year period of record and from reports documenting 90 exceptional floods occurring mostly on ungaged watersheds. Peak discharges vary considerably within local regions. Roughly 60% of the local variability can be explained by watershed characteristics, but watershed area is not a reliable predictor of peak discharge within the narrow range of watershed sizes examined. On a continental scale the spatial patterns of the median and 25-year floods are similar. In both cases a concentration of large floods is found in the southeastern Great Plains and parts of the southeast. In the west, north, and northeast, floods tend to be small, but large floods still occur in scattered locations. The pattern and seasonality of the exceptional floods, which are presumed to have relatively long recurrence intervals, are different from the pattern of median and 25-year floods. The largest of the exceptional floods are concentrated in the central and southern Great Plains during May and June. They occur farther west (and several months later) than the largest median floods. Exceptional floods occurring in the semiarid west were caused by as little as 5-10 cm of rain in 30 - 60 min, whereas in humid areas most of the exceptional floods resulted from 13-32 cm of rain in 1-12 hours.
Incidental detection of population-based prostate cancer incidence rates through transurethral resection of the prostate.

Objective: To provide an updated assessment of the influence transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) has on incidental detection of prostate cancer and to characterize stage, histologic grade, and treatment patterns among these cases. Methods: Analyses were based on 17,310 histologically confirmed prostate cancer cases ages 45 years and older recorded in the Utah Cancer Registry between 1980 and 1999 and 6426 TURP procedures recorded in the Utah Hospital Discharge Database from 1992 through 1999. An algorithm was developed for identifying TURP-detected prostate cancer incidence. Results: Age-specific TURP-detected prostate cancer incidence rates tended to be flat between 1980 and 1990, decline through 1994, and then level off. Much of the decrease corresponds to the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening induced peak and subsequent fall in total prostate cancer incidence rates. Leveling off in the TURP-detected rates between 1994 and 1999 corresponds with a leveling off in the total prostate cancer incidence rates. The percentage of prostate cancer detected by TURP significantly increases with age, within each age group, but decreases over calendar years. For ages 45 years and older, the percentage of TURP-detected cases was 39.0% in 1980 to 1984, 33.9% in 1985 to 1989, 12.2% in 1990 to 1994, and 7.4% in 1995 to 1999. TURP-detected cases were significantly less likely to undergo radical prostatectomy or radiation therapy across age groups, despite having lower stage and histologic grade at diagnosis. Conclusion: TURP-detected prostate cancer rates have leveled off in the latter part of the 1990s, explaining about 10% of all detected cases. These cases have relatively good biologic potential and are less likely to pursue aggressive therapy.
STAT signaling in the pathogenesis and treatment of leukemias

Leukemias continue to cause significant mortality in adults and children, and the use of standard cytotoxic chemotherapy has reached a therapeutic plateau. Thus, there is great interest in treatments directed against inappropriately activated cell signaling pathways which stimulate the uncontrolled growth of neoplastic cells. Increasing evidence suggests that the STAT signaling cascade may be one target of these therapies. Signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) proteins are critical in mediating the response of hematopoietic cells to a diverse spectrum of cytokines. Constitutive STAT activation is present in many malignancies and has been especially well characterized in acute and chronic leukemias. While STAT activation is a common characteristic of leukemias, the specific pattern of activated STATs and the manner by which STAT activation occurs vary with each disease. STAT tyrosine phosphorylation can occur through inappropriate Jak activation or by direct activation of an oncoprotein such as Bcr/Abl, and STAT serine phosphorylation may play an important role in leukemias as well. Thus, the STAT signaling pathway is an attractive target for therapeutic intervention, and strategies designed to inhibit STAT activation and STAT mediated gene transcription may play an important role in the next generation of anti-leukemia therapies.
Parenting self-efficacy among Japanese mothers: qualitative and quantitative perspectives on its association with childhood memories of family relations.

Japanese mothers who were treated harshly as children believed they thereby developed personal strengths and competencies that increased their parenting efficacy once they had their own families.
Minpower: A power systems optimization toolkit

Minpower is an open source toolkit for students and researchers in power systems optimization. The toolkit is designed to make working with the classical problems of Economic Dispatch (ED), Optimal Power Flow (OPF), and Unit Commitment (UC) simple and intuitive. Minpower is also built for flexibility and will be a platform for research on smart grids and stochastic resources. Powerful generic optimization solvers (e.g., CPLEX) can be used by Minpower, allowing for reasonable solution times on even large-scale problems. The goal is to create a state-of-the-art open source tool that enables collaboration and accelerates research and learning. The Minpower code is open source and is set up for collaborative authorship and maintenance. Tutorials and thorough documentation are available at minpowertoolkit.com.
Fluorescence lifetime and polarization anisotropy studies of membrane surfaces with pyridoxal 5'-phosphate.

Abstract The fluorescence lifetime and depolarization of the pyridoxal 5′-phosphate label demonstrated different environments at the structure-solvent interface for micelles, liposomes, proteins and membranes. A short lifetime and rotational correlation time for the micelles and liposomes proved that the label was strongly associated with the water solvent and rotated freely about the covalent bond. The proteins provided a more buried or hydrophobic site as shown by an increase in the lifetimes. Rotational correlation times of 4–6 ns for sarcolemma and erythrocyte membranes suggested restricted rotation for the pyridoxal 5′-phosphate label. Lower values of the rotational correlation time for rod outer segment and myelin sheath proved that the protein ϵ-amino groups are at the solvent interface which allows for more rotation.
Conceptions of mental illness among Asian and Caucasian-American students.

The attitudes and beliefs of 62 Asian American and 81 Caucasian college students toward mental illness were examined. After controlling for demographic and background variables between students, a number of significant ethnic differences emerged. These results were interpreted in the context of Asian subcultural values and implications for psychotherapeutic practice were drawn.
A coupled-monotron analysis of band-edge oscillations in high-power traveling-wave tubes

A theoretical analysis of the interaction of an electron beam with a coupled-cavity structure near a band-edge frequency is presented. The analysis utilizes the resonant modes of the individual cavities in a way such that the details of the electronic interaction within each distinct cavity are identical to those of the monotron theory, but the coupling between adjacent cavities is taken into account via the circuit equations. There are n equations obtained for n cavities, and an algebraic rather than a characteristic wave type of approach is chosen for their solution. The theory is applied to finding the starting conditions for band-edge oscillations in an untapered structure. The results are verified experimentally. The theory also indicates that it is probably valid to use the simple monotron theory to find the minimum start-oscillation length or current.
Patterns and cycles in the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis wind and wave data

Abstract The Climate Forecast System Reanalysis and the corresponding WAVEWATCH III hindcast datasets allow climatic interpretation of winds as well as their impacts on waves. In this paper, we analyze the continuous 31 years of global wind and wave data in terms of climate patterns and cycles. Quarterly averages and percentile plots of the wind speed and wave height illustrate the seasonal pattern and distributions of extreme events, while the annual and inter-annual variability demonstrates the wind and wave climate. The data is correlated with published indices of known atmospheric cycles. The datasets show good correspondence with the Arctic Oscillation, Antarctic Oscillation, El Nino Southern Oscillation, and the Madden-Julian Oscillation in both the wind and wave fields. The results compare well with published climate studies on regional scales and provide important linkage to the global wave climate characteristics.
The use of certain psychological tests in the evaluation of brain injury.

(1947). The Use of Certain Psychological Tests in the Evaluation of Brain Injury. The Journal of General Psychology: Vol. 37, No. 1, pp. 25-44.
Background limited performance of long-wavelength infrared focal plane arrays fabricated from Type-II InAs/GaSb M-structure superlattice

Recent advances in growth techniques, structure design and processing have lifted the performance of Type-II InAs/GaSb superlattice photodetectors. The introduction of a M-structure design improved both the dark current and R0A of Type-II photodiodes. This new structure combined with a thick absorbing region demonstrated background limited performance at 77K for a 300K background and a 2-π field of view. A focal plane array with a 9.6 μm 50% cutoff wavelength was fabricated with this design and characterized at 80K. The dark current of individual pixels was measured around 1.3 nA, 7 times lower than previous superlattice FPAs. This led to a higher dynamic range and longer integration times. The quantum efficiency of detectors without anti-reflective coating was 72%. The noise equivalent temperature difference reached 23 mK. The deposition of an anti-reflective coating improved the NEDT to 20 mK and the quantum efficiency to 89%.
Anyon model on a cylinder.

The anyon model of superconductivity is investigated on a cylinder. The nonintegrable phase of the Wilson-line integral plays an essential role to maintain the translation invariance of the system. The response functions are evaluated in a closed form for both neutral and charged anyon gases.
PERFORMANCE IMPACTS OF OPERATING SUBSIDIES IN THE PARATRANSIT SECTOR

A multitude of studies in recent years have concluded that there are clear links between the amount of government subsidies and subsequent levels of transit performance and productivity. These studies have used data from fixed-schedule/fixed-route transit systems, largely ignoring the possibility of a different reaction of paratransit systems to the provision of operating subsidies. The effect of operating subsidies on the performance of paratransit systems is examined. The results indicate that subsidies from different sources (federal or state and local) have different directions and magnitudes of effects on the performance of different types of paratransit systems. Privately operated systems have been able to absorb and utilize subsidies in such a manner that has increased their performance, but the performance of publicly operated systems has generally decreased with the provision of subsidies. Finally, a drastic reduction in the levels of federal operating subsidies, a direction toward which the government is heading, will significantly and negatively affect the performance of paratransit systems.
Clinical features predictive of successfully weaning from spectacles those children with accommodative esotropia

Abstract Purpose It has been reported that most children with accommodative esotropia are not able to discontinue spectacle wear as they become older. We conducted a prospective study to determine which factors are predictive of successfully weaning children from spectacles. Methods Beginning in 1995, children with fully accommodative esotropia with a baseline refractive error of + 1.50 to + 5.00 diopters (D) were gradually weaned from their hyperopic correction. Patients with amblyopia or who had previously undergone strabismus surgery were excluded. Children were weaned in 0.50 D increments until spectacles were discontinued or they developed esotropia, asthenopia, or decreased vision. A multivariate analysis was performed to assess the association between successful weaning and various clinical characteristics. Results Twelve of 20 children (60%) were successfully weaned from spectacles. Spectacles were prescribed at a mean age of 4.2 ± 1.5 years, and weaning was initiated at a mean age of 8.0 ± 1.1 years. The spherical equivalent of the least hyperopic eye when spectacles were prescribed was 2.99 ± 1.06 D. The clinical characteristic most clearly associated with successful weaning was the refractive error at the time glasses were prescribed. Whereas 10 of 11 (91%) patients with P = .005). Conclusions Many children with fully accommodative esotropia can be weaned out of spectacles during the grade school years. The degree of baseline hyperopia appears to be one of the best predictors of success.
Comparison of Conventional Susceptibility Testing, Penicillin-Binding Protein 2a Latex Agglutination Testing, and mecA Real-Time PCR for Detection of Oxacillin Resistance in Staphylococcus aureus and Coagulase-Negative Staphylococcus

Penicillin-binding protein (PBP) 2a latex agglutination was compared with conventional susceptibility testing and mecA real-time PCR for the detection of oxacillin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus. Inoculum volume and induction with oxacillin were PBP 2a testing variables. For coagulase-negative Staphylococcus, an increased inoculum volume of 10 μl greatly reduced the number of isolates requiring induction.
What Does It Mean to Be a Good Citizen? Citizenship Vocabularies as Resources for Action

This article introduces the concept of citizenship vocabularies and argues that these vocabularies serve as resources for civic and political action. Drawing on interviews with young adults, the author presents a conceptual mapping of citizenship vocabularies. Examples show how citizenship vocabularies play a role in constraining or enabling emerging repertoires of participation such as political consumption. The article concludes by briefly outlining an agenda for exploring the connections among political socialization, citizenship vocabularies, and political participation.
System dynamics modeling of engineering change management in a collaborative environment

Engineering changes to products aim to correct design faults, exploit new market opportunities, improve overall product performance, or reduce production costs. These changes are thus considered as opportunities to stay competitive in the market place and companies strive to implement them in their products at the lowest possible costs. Such engineering changes in a collaborative environment require the original equipment manufacturer to work together with suppliers for designing, manufacturing, and marketing a product profitably. Simulation of an engineering change management process provides an understanding of important factors affecting the engineering change management process and helps in identifying any critical components of the entire process. In this research, system dynamics models have been developed to study the complex interrelationships among various members in a collaborative supply chain to achieve effective and efficient engineering change management processes. To address the complexity of the models, several standard templates have been developed and used.
Biochemical Studies of the Mechanism of Action of the Cdc42-GTPase-activating Protein

The small GTP-binding proteins Rac, Rho, and Cdc42 were shown to mediate a variety of signaling pathways including cytoskeletal rearrangements, cell-cycle progression, and transformation. Key to the proper function of these GTP-binding proteins is an efficient shut-off mechanism that ensures the decay of the signal. Regulatory proteins termed GAPs (GTPase-activating proteins) enhance the intrinsic GTP hydrolysis of the GTP-binding proteins, thereby ensuring signal termination. We have used site-specific mutagenesis to elucidate the limit domain for GAP activity in Cdc42-GAP, and show that in addition to the known GAP-homology domain (three conserved boxes), a C-terminal region outside that domain is also essential for GAP activity. In addition, we have replaced the conserved arginine (Arg305), which was suggested by structural studies to be a key catalytic residue, with an alanine and found that the R305A Cdc42-GAP mutant has a greatly diminished catalytic capacity but is still able to bind Cdc42 with high affinity. Thus, a key catalytic role for this residue is confirmed. However, we also present evidence for the involvement of an additional residue(s), since the R305A Cdc42-GAP mutant still exhibits measurable activity. Some of this residual activity might result from a neighboring arginine, since a double mutant R305A/R306A shows a further decrease in catalytic activity.
The roles of transformations and besponse functions chosen by maximum likelihood

We investigate the simultaneous choice of transformations and of possibly nonlinear response functions for the transformed variables. The choice is done by maximizing a hypothetical likelihood, generalizing the approach of Box & Cox. We show as a large sample property that the method leads to transformed variables with a distribution as close as possible to a normal distribution with homogeneous variance and to a response function which gives nearly the best normal approximation to the true distribution of the transformed variables. Some examples illustrate this property. Additionally some finite sample interpretations of the transformations are given. A uniform strong law of large numbers for random functions is presented as a useful tool.