cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Vodka eyeballing: a potential cause of ocular injuries

Physicians may encounter patients with acute injuries or chronic problems secondary to performing dares promoted on the Internet through websites such as You-Tube and Facebook. Such websites provide a window into trends that illuminate transgressive behavior among teenagers and young adults. In 2010, reports in the media emerged concerning a practice known as “vodka eyeballing”, which involves a person pouring shots of vodka directly into the eye. Vodka eyeballing may have originated in the United States as a trick performed by waitresses for tips at resorts. A 2000 film called "Kevin and Perry go large" has been blamed for encouraging vodka eyeballing by featuring an actor who performs the stunt. 20-proof alcohol is used to delaminate the epithelial basement membrane of the cornea in laser subepithelial keratectomy. Vodka contains more ethanol by volume than this solution, and has corrosive effects on the eye. Physicians report that vodka eyeballing can cause corneal abrasions and scarring, promote angiogenesis in the eye and thereby cause loss of vision, and increase the risk for ocular infections. Participants claim that alcohol enters the bloodstream through veins in the rear of the eye and thereby causes speedier inebriation than drinking does. The American Academy of Ophthalmology states that a person does not get a “quick high” because the amount of alcohol absorbed by the conjunctiva and cornea is too small to have such an effect. Furthermore, participants already may be drunk at the time of the act and thus mistakenly think that vodka eyeballing intoxicates them more quickly. College students are at risk for engaging in vodka eyeballing. Participation in dares such as vodka eyeballing is partly driven by a desire to demonstrate one’s bravado to his or her peers in the milieu of the university drinking culture of the United States and the United Kingdom. This mentality, coupled with impaired judgment secondary to intoxication with alcohol, can inspire participants to make the dare even more dangerous. Participants may use beverages with higher alcohol content by volume or take shots in both eyes at the same time. These individuals may present to general practitioners or emergency physicians with diminished vision, tenderness of the eye, or weeping from the eye, and should be referred to an ophthalmologist. In conclusion, general practitioners, emergency physicians, and ophthalmologists may encounter patients who present with ocular problems secondary to vodka eyeballing. This practice has become more prevalent among college students per reports in the media that emerged in 2010. Language: en
Panel Size and Overbooking Decisions for Appointment-Based Services under Patient No-Shows

Many service systems that work with appointments, particularly those in healthcare, suffer from high no-show rates. While there are many reasons why patients become no-shows, empirical studies found that the probability of a patient being a no-show typically increases with the patient's appointment delay, i.e., the time between the call for the appointment and the appointment date. This paper investigates how demand and capacity control decisions should be made while taking this relationship into account. We use stylized single server queueing models to model the appointments scheduled for a provider, and consider two different problems. In the first problem, the service capacity is fixed and the decision variable is the panel size; in the second problem, both the panel size and the service capacity (i.e., overbooking level) are decision variables. The objective in both cases is to maximize some net reward function, which reduces to system throughput for the first problem. We give partial or complete characterizations for the optimal decisions, and use these characterizations to provide insights into how optimal decisions depend on patient's no-show behavior in regards to their appointment delay. These insights especially provide guidance to service providers who are already engaged in or considering interventions such as sending reminders in order to decrease no-show probabilities. We find that in addition to the magnitudes of patient show-up probabilities, patients' sensitivity to incremental delays is an important determinant of how demand and capacity decisions should be adjusted in response to anticipated changes in patients' no-show behavior.
Predictors of the Gap Between Program and Commercial Audiences: An Investigation Using Live Tuning Data

Abstract Audience measures serve as the basis on which billions of dollars of television advertising are purchased each year. However, these measures often fall short of providing marketers and media planners with information about the size of the audience that has the opportunity to see advertisements during commercial breaks. Although program audience measures remain relevant for product placement, the size of the gap between the audience potentially exposed to programming and the audience exposed to commercial breaks has implications for advertisers and networks, affecting decisions such as program selection and ad pricing. The authors use a full television season of live tuning data to study variation across programs in the size of the program audience and the size of the gap between the potential program audiences and the potential commercial audiences, which is found to exceed 20% of the program audience in some cases. Across program genres, the authors find that dramas have increased program popula...
Development and partial characterization of monoclonal antibodies to the hemolymph juvenile hormone binding protein of Manduca sexta

Murine monoclonal antibodies were made against the hemolymph juvenile hormone binding protein (JHBP) of Manduca sexta. Binding studies in conjunction with Western blot analysis of native and sodium dodecyl sulfate gels confirmed that antibodies from 10 hybridoma lines interacted with the juvenile hormone binding protein. The pattern of cross-reactivity among the hybridoma lines suggests that different epitopes are recognized. The cross-reactivity pattern for monoclonal antibody 9 suggested a common epitope in three different hemolymph proteins: JHBP, insecticyanin and a 40–45 kDa protein. Western blot analysis of a two-dimensional gel using monoclonal antibody 6 revealed interaction with JHBP and with several proteins that may be precursors or degradation products of the binding protein. An enzyme-immunoassay was developed that detects JHBP in the hemolymph at nanogram levels.
Mit castor satellite: Design, implementation, and testing of the communication system ☆

Abstract Cathode Anode Satellite Thruster for Orbital Reposition (CASTOR) is an orbital manoeuvre and transfer micro-satellite bus developed at MIT Space System Laboratory. The technical objective of the mission is achieving 1 km/s of delta-V over a 1 year mission in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). This will be accomplished using a novel electric propulsion system, the Diverging Cusped Field Thruster (DCFT), which enables high efficiency orbital changes of the ESPA-ring class satellite. CASTOR is capable of improving rapid access to space capabilities by providing an orbital transfer platform with a very high performance to mass ratio, thus greatly reducing launch costs and allowing for highly efficient orbital manoeuvre. Furthermore, CASTOR is highly scalable and modular, allowing it to be adapted to a wide range of scales and applications. CASTOR is developed as part of the University Nanosatellite Program (UNP) funded by Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). In order to accomplish CASTOR mission objective, a highly optimized, scalable, light weight, and low cost communication system needed to be developed. These constraints imply the development of trade studies to select the final communication system architecture able to maximize the amount of data transmitted, while guaranteeing reliability, redundancy and limited mass, power consumption, and cost. A special attention is also required to guarantee a reliable communication system in cases of tumbling, or in case of strong Doppler shift which is inevitable due to the high delta-V capabilities of the vehicle. In order to accomplish all the mission requirements, different features have been introduced in the design of the communication system for this mission. Specifically, customized patch antennas have been realized, and a customized communication protocol has been designed and implemented. The communication subsystem has been validated through an intense testing campaign which included software tests in the laboratory, hardware tests in anechoic chamber, and in flight tests through a balloon experiment. The article presents an overview of CASTOR mission, a presentation of the trade studies analysis and of the final communication architecture selected, a description of the customized antenna developed, of the customized protocol designed, and a presentation of the results of the tests performed.
A Multi-Attribute Extension of the Secretary Problem: Theory and Experiments

Abstract We present a generalization of a class of sequential search problems with ordinal ranks, referred to as “secretary” problems, in which applicants are characterized by multiple attributes. We then present a procedure for numerically computing the optimal search policy and test it in two experiments with incentive-compatible payoffs. With payoffs dependent on the absolute ranks of the attributes, we test the optimal search model with both symmetric (Experiment 1) and asymmetric (Experiment 2) search problems. In both experiments we find that, relative to the optimal search policy, subjects stop the search too early. Our results show that this bias is largely driven by a propensity to stop prematurely on applicants of intermediate (relative) quality.
Notes on Carbonate Reservoir Rocks

Abstract This is the first in a series of articles on carbonate reservoir rocks that will be published in the Energy Sources journal. The reader is introduced to carbonate reservoir rocks. In addition, classifications of reefs and bioherms are presented.
Evaluation of the Pulse-Contour Method of Determining Stroke Volume in Man

The pulse-contour method for determining stroke volume has been employed as a continuous rapid method of monitoring the cardiovascular status of patients. Twenty-one patients with ischemic heart disease and 21 patients with mitral valve disease were subjected to a variety of hemodynamic interventions. The pulse-contour estimations, using three different formulas derived by Warner, Kouchoukos, and Herd, were compared with indicator-dilution outputs. A comparison of the results of the two methods for determining stroke volume yielded correlation coefficients ranging from 0.59 to 0.84. The better performing Warner formula yielded a coefficient of variation of about 20%. The type of hemodynamic interventions employed did not significantly affect the results using the pulse-contour method. Although the correlation of the pulse-contour and indicator-dilution stroke volumes is high, the coefficient of variation is such that small changes in stroke volume cannot be accurately assessed by the pulse-contour method. However, the simplicity and rapidity of this method compared to determination of cardiac output by Fick or indicator-dilution methods makes it a potentially useful adjunct for monitoring critically ill patients.
Proportionality of Diagonal Blocks with Blockwise Independence

In this paper, the tests of similarities among group covariance matrices and the differences among block covariance matrices within a group under repeated measurement model are studied. There are nine hierarchical nested structures of covariance matrices which have been tested. The likelihood ratio tests have been derived for these nine hierarchically structured models. An algorithm for determining the numerical solution of the corresponding maximum likelihood equations is also given.
Mechanisms controlling the onset of simulated convectively coupled Kelvin waves

Convectively coupled Kelvin waves (CCKW) are analysed using a cloud-resolving model to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms that initiate and drive these waves. We compare the modelled precipitation and vertical structure of a convectively coupled Kelvin wave to the mechanisms that control precipitation over warm tropical oceans: convective inhibition (CIN), saturation fraction, atmospheric stability and surface moist entropy fluxes. Our results show that the primary onset mechanism for precipitation associated with CCKW is CIN associated with a decrease in the threshold moist entropy. Saturation fraction and atmospheric instability exhibit a time lag in comparison with the rainfall evolution and are, therefore, not primary controls in the onset of these waves. The modelled CCKW evolve by starting with congestus convection, develop into deep convection and decay with the stratiform convection. The results from the presented model agree with observations and linearised models. Keywords: convective inhibition, saturation fraction, moist entropy, stable layer (Published: 31 January 2014) Citation: Tellus A 2014, 66 , 22107, http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/tellusa.v66.22107
A whole-body mathematical model for intracranial pressure dynamics

Most attempts to study intracranial pressure using lumped-parameter models have adopted the classical "Kellie-Monro Doctrine," which considers the intracranial space to be a closed system that is confined within the nearly-rigid skull, conserves mass, and has equal inflow and outflow. The present work revokes this Doctrine and develops a mathematical model for the dynamics of intracranial pressures, volumes, and flows that embeds the intracranial system in extensive whole-body physiology. The new model consistently introduces compartments representing the tissues and vasculature of the extradural portions of the body, including both the thoracic region and the lower extremities. In addition to vascular connections, a spinal-subarachnoid cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) compartment bridges intracranial and extracranial physiology allowing explict buffering of intracranial pressure fluctuations by the spinal theca. The model contains cerebrovascular autoregulation, regulation of systemic vascular pressures by the sympathetic nervous system, regulation of CSF production in the choroid plexus, a lymphatic system, colloid osmotic pressure effects, and realistic descriptions of cardiac output. To validate the model in situations involving normal physiology, the model's response to a realistic pulsatile cardiac output is examined. A well-known experimentally-derived intracranial pressure-volume relationship is recovered by using the model to simulate CSF infusion tests, and the effect on cerebral blood flow of a change in body position is also examined. Cardiac arrest and hemorrhagic shock are simulated to demonstrate the predictive capabilities of the model in pathological conditions.
Chemiluminescent-based methods to detect subpicomole levels of c-type cytochromes

A variety of luminol-based substrates and either an autoradiographic film or a charge-coupled device (CCD) imaging system were used for chemiluminescence detection of c-type cytochromes. The Pierce Femto peroxidase substrate was at least 10 times more sensitive when using film than the highly cited 3,3('),5,5(')-tetramethylbenzidine (benzidine derivative) staining method and 50 times more sensitive when using a CCD imaging system. Film or CCD imaging result in highly sensitive and quantitative signals. The quantitative detection of c-type cytochromes from single colonies or from less than 1ml of a bacterial culture is possible.
The Mitochondrial KATP Channel Opener BMS-191095 Reduces Neuronal Damage after Transient Focal Cerebral Ischemia in Rats:

Activation of mitochondrial ATP-sensitive potassium (mitoKATP) channels protects the brain against ischemic or chemical challenge. Unfortunately, the prototype mitoKATP channel opener, diazoxide, has mitoKATP channel-independent actions. We examined the effects of BMS-191095, a novel selective mitoKATP channel opener, on transient ischemia induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in rats. Male Wister rats were subjected to 90 mins of MCAO. BMS-191095 (25 μg; estimated brain concentration of 40 μmol/L) or vehicle was infused intraventricularly before the onset of ischemia. In addition, the effects of BMS-191095 on plasma and mitochondrial membrane potentials and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in cultured neurons were examined. Finally, we determined the effects of BMS-191095 on cerebral blood flow (CBF) and potassium currents in cerebrovascular myocytes. Treatment with BMS-191095 24 h before the onset of ischemia reduced total infarct volume by 32% and cortical infarct volume by 38%. Ho...
Evolution and faith: empathy is crucial.

The News Focus story by J. Couzin, “Crossing the divide” (22 February, p. [1034][1]) accurately and respectfully describes the crux of the challenge that our scientific understanding presents to members of faith communities. With more than 20 years of experience in teaching biology to
Designing high-quality interactive multimedia learning modules

Modern research has broadened scientific knowledge and revealed the interdisciplinary nature of the sciences. For today's students, this advance translates to learning a more diverse range of concepts, usually in less time, and without supporting resources. Students can benefit from technology-enhanced learning supplements that unify concepts and are delivered on-demand over the Internet. Such supplements, like imaging informatics databases, serve as innovative references for biomedical information, but could improve their interaction interfaces to support learning. With information from these digital datasets, multimedia learning tools can be designed to transform learning into an active process where students can visualize relationships over time, interact with dynamic content, and immediately test their knowledge. This approach bridges knowledge gaps, fosters conceptual understanding, and builds problem-solving and critical thinking skills-all essential components to informatics training for science and medicine. Additional benefits include cost-free access and ease of dissemination over the Internet or CD-ROM. However, current methods for the design of multimedia learning modules are not standardized and lack strong instructional design. Pressure from administrators at the top and students from the bottom are pushing faculty to use modern technology to address the learning needs and expectations of contemporary students. Yet, faculty lack adequate support and training to adopt this new approach. So how can faculty learn to create educational multimedia materials for their students? This paper provides guidelines on best practices in educational multimedia design, derived from the Virtual Labs Project at Stanford University. The development of a multimedia module consists of five phases: (1) understand the learning problem and the users needs; (2) design the content to harness the enabling technologies; (3) build multimedia materials with web style standards and human factors principles; (4) user testing; (5) evaluate and improve design.
Thermal stability of Cu–Nb nanolamellar composites fabricated via accumulative roll bonding

In situ annealing within a neutron beam line and ex situ annealing followed by transmission electron microscopy were used to study the thermal stability of the texture, microstructure, and bi-metal interface in bulk nanolamellar Cu/Nb composites (h = 18 nm individual layer thickness) fabricated via accumulative roll bonding, a severe plastic deformation technique. Compared to the bulk single-phase constituent materials, the nanocomposite is two orders of magnitude higher in hardness and significantly more thermally stable, e.g., no observed recrystallization in Cu at temperatures as high as 85% of the melting temperature. The nanoscale h = 18 nm individual layer thickness is maintained up to 500°C, the lamellar structure thickens but is maintained up to 700°C, and recrystallization is suppressed even up to 900°C. With increasing temperature, the texture sharpens, and among the interfaces found in the starting material, the {112}Cu || {112}Nb interface with a Kurdjumov-Sachs orientation relationship shows ...
Modeling spatio-temporal relationships: retrospect and prospect

Interest in space–time modeling is experiencing a resurgence, in part because more and more sizeable space–time datasets are becoming readily available. Currently techniques to describe these data, many of which have existed for years, are being utilized and improved. This paper surveys general categories of these techniques (i.e., autoregressive-integrated-moving-average models, space–time autoregressive models, three-dimensional geostatistical models, and panel data models), in retrospect, demonstrates a future prospect (i.e., spatial filtering models), and suggests important topics for incorporation into a research agenda, including ones pertaining to non-normal random variables, panel data models, space–time heterogeneity, missing data, and distributional properties of space–time filters.
Epitaxy of Ag and Au on doped NaCl substrates

The epitaxy of Ag and Au on NaCl doped with moderate amounts of CaCl2 has been investigated under various vacuum conditions. The impurities are found to significantly alter the density of nuclei and their distribution on the surface of the crystals, depending on the type of vacuum system.
NMR chemical shift studies of ion association in aluminum halide-organic halide melts

Abstract The anion-cation interactions that take place in several room-temperature haloaluminate molten salts were investigated by using NMR spectroscopy. The systems studied were AlCl 3 -1-(1-butyl)pyridinium chloride, AlCl 3 -1-methyl-3-ethylimidazolium chloride and AlBr 3 -1-methyl-3-ethylimidazolium bromide. The ion-ion associations in these systems were examined by studying the 1 H and 13 C chemical shifts of the nuclei on the organic cations as a function of melt composition. Investigations conducted in basic melts, i.e. those melts with an aluminium halide mole fraction less than 0.5 and where the anion-cation interactions have been found to be most extensive, suggested that, in contrast to previous work, ion-ion interactions in these solvents involve more than just simple ion-pair formation. A model is proposed which considers that each cation may interact with two or more anions and vice versa to form oligomeric chains of alternating cations and anions. The latter model is shown to provide a more realistic interpretation of the experimental chemical shift data than a model based on simple ion-pair formation.
Perpetual inhibitory activity in mammalian brain slices generated by spontaneous GABA release.

Miniature spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents (sIPSCs) mediated by GABAA receptors were recorded using whole-cell patch clamp recordings in rat brain slices maintained in vitro at 34 +/- 1 degree C. We have found that firing of action potentials by principal neurons or by GABAergic interneurons is not necessary to the generation of sIPSCs since they persist in the presence of 1-5 microM tetrodotoxin (TTX). The average frequency of the discrete sIPSCs exhibits a large cell-to-cell variability and is between 5-15 Hz. The amplitudes of the sIPSCs depend on the difference between the membrane potential and the equilibrium potential for Cl- (ECl). Generally, 70-80 mV away from ECl, sIPSCs have a mean amplitude of 30-80 pA (i.e. peak conductance of 400-1000 pS) with an average decay time constant of 5.8 ms. Accordingly, unitary single sIPSCs arise from the simultaneous activation of no more than 20 GABAA receptor/channels. The perpetual barrage of spontaneous GABAergic activity is very likely to be a critical factor in the regulation of neuronal excitability and the mechanism of action of several neuroactive compounds.
Iron-binding and mobilization from ferritin by polypyridyl ligands

Polypyridyl ligands were investigated for their ability to bind and mobilize iron(II) from ferritin in aqueous solution. Association constants with iron(II) (pFeII) were determined for the pentadentate ligands N4Py (pFeII = 14.4) and Bn-TPEN (pFeII = 13.7) using a competition method with the hexadentate ligand TPEN (pFeII = 14.6, 0.1 M KNO3). Ferrous complexes were formed using the polypyridyl ligands and ferritin as the sole iron source in the presence of reductant. The observed rates of iron mobilization from ferritin were dependent on reductant and were higher in the presence of ascorbate than dithiothreitol. TPEN, N4Py and Bn-TPEN demonstrated comparable and in some cases faster rates and higher levels of iron mobilization when compared to the iron(II) chelator 1,10-phenanthroline, particularly at low concentrations of chelator.
Children of terrorism survivors: physiological reactions seven years following a terrorist incident.

Abstract Objective The aim of this study was to examine psychiatric illness and physiological indicators in the children of Oklahoma City bombing survivors seven years after the event. Methods A study of 17 Oklahoma City bombing survivors and their 21 adolescent and young-adult children conducted seven years after the disaster used structured diagnostic interviews to examine psychiatric outcomes. Physiological measurements included heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and physiological reactivity measured in response to a semi-structured bombing-reminder interview. Results Results revealed a statistically significant positive association between survivors and their children with respect to both post-disaster and current posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Also, children whose parents met diagnostic criteria for either post-disaster or current major depression were more likely to meet criteria for a post-disaster behavior disorder and for any post-disaster psychiatric disorder than children whose parents did not meet criteria for post-disaster or current major depression. Survivors' children meeting criteria for any post-disaster psychiatric diagnosis had higher heart rates during the pre-test, test, and post-test periods than children who did not meet criteria for any disorder. Children whose survivor parents met criteria for bombing-related PTSD and for any post-disaster psychiatric disorder had greater heart rate reactivity than those whose parents did not. Conclusion Findings of this study support previous literature on the relationships between children's psychiatric illness and physiological reactions and suggest interactions between disaster survivors' psychiatric illness and their children's psychiatric and physiological status.
Software tools to support research on airport departure planning

A simple, portable and useful collection of software tools has been developed for the analysis of airport surface traffic. The tools are based on a flexible and robust traffic-flow model, and include calibration, validation and simulation functionality for this model. Several different interfaces have been developed to help promote usage of these tools, including a portable Matlab/spl trade/ implementation of the basic algorithms; a web-based interface which provides online access to automated analyses of airport traffic based on a database of real-world operations data which covers over 250 US airports over a 5-year period; and an interactive simulation-based tool currently in use as part of a college-level educational module. More advanced applications for airport departure traffic include taxi-time prediction and evaluation of "windowing" congestion control.
Process as Product: Scholarly Communication Experiments in the Digital Humanities

Scholarly communication outreach and education activities are proliferating in academic libraries. Simultaneously, digital humanists—a group that includes librarians and non-librarians based in libraries, as well as scholars and practitioners without library affiliation—have developed forms of scholarship that demand and introduce complementary innovations focused on infrastructure, modes of dissemination and evaluation, openness, and other areas with implications for scholarly communication. Digital humanities experiments in post-publication filtering, open peer review, middle-state publishing, decentering authority, and multimodal and nonlinear publication platforms are discussed in the context of broader library scholarly communication efforts.
Automated procedure for determination of sialic acids and 2-deoxyribose in blood and tissues.

A manual procedure for measuring sialic acids in blood and tissue and an automated procedure for measuring sialic acids in blood have been combined and modified so that sialic acid concentrations in both blood and tissue can be determined by continuous-flow analysis. Because 2-deoxyribose interferes with tissue sialic acid determinations, there must be a correction for color produced by it. In the calculation of sialic acids, the value for 2-deoxyribose can simultaneously be obtained. In addition to the analyses of mixed standards of sialic acids and 2-deoxyribose, we report analytical data for rat blood and tissue samples.
Application of implicit-explicit high order Runge-Kutta methods to discontinuous-Galerkin schemes

Despite the popularity of high-order explicit Runge-Kutta (ERK) methods for integrating semi-discrete systems of equations, ERK methods suffer from severe stability-based time step restrictions for very stiff problems. We implement a discontinuous Galerkin finite element method (DGFEM) along with recently introduced high-order implicit-explicit Runge-Kutta (IMEX-RK) schemes to overcome geometry-induced stiffness in fluid-flow problems. The IMEX algorithms solve the non-stiff portions of the domain using explicit methods, and isolate and solve the more expensive stiff portions using an L-stable, stiffly-accurate explicit, singly diagonally implicit Runge-Kutta method (ESDIRK). Furthermore, we apply adaptive time-step controllers based on the embedded temporal error predictors. We demonstrate in a number of numerical test problems that IMEX methods in conjunction with efficient preconditioning become more efficient than explicit methods for systems exhibiting high levels of grid-induced stiffness.
Seismology and the International Geophysical Year

The International Geophysical Year (IGY) began in July 1957, and ended in December 1958, inspiring an irascible cartoon turtle to ask, “Well, if you scientists can't figure how long a year is any better than THAT... what's we gone b'lieve when you gits done with the tape measure?” (Kelly 1957). In fact the 18-month year, the butt of a series of “Pogo” jokes (Kelly 1957), gave scientists the opportunity to make measurements over a full summer and a full winter in both the northern and southern hemispheres (Paul Richards, personal communication 2008). The IGY involved an ambitious program to coordinate the collection of geophysical data from all corners of the globe. This far-reaching enterprise had humble beginnings: It was conceived over chocolate cake at a dinner party hosted by the pioneering astrophysicist James Van Allen and his wife, Abigail, at their home in Silver Spring, Maryland, on the night of 5 April 1950 (Sullivan 1961). Guests included Sydney Chapman, Lloyd Berkner, J. Wallace Joyce, Ernest Vestine, and S. Fred Singer. According to Van Allen, Chapman and Berkner first formulated the idea of holding an International Polar Year in 1957–1958. Two previous International Polar Years had been held, in 1882 and 1932. The latter had not been entirely successful; in part because of escalating global tensions as well as the Great Depression, much of the data and analyses were lost (see http://www.lib.noaa.gov/collections/ipy.html). The scientific community might naturally have looked at 1982 as an appropriate date for a third IPY, but Chapman observed that sunspot activity was expected to peak in 1957. The group agreed that this would be an advantageous time frame to launch an international program aimed at collection of auroral, magnetic, and meteorological observations. As originally conceived, the plan for a new IGY reflected not only historical precedent but …
2-Chlorodeoxyadenosine in the treatment of hairy cell leukemia and chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

More than 450 patients with hairy cell leukemia have been treated at the Scripps Clinic. Of 144 patients followed for a median of 14.2 months (range, 8.1–70 months), 123 (85%) obtained complete responses, 17 (12%) partial responses, 3 (2%) did not respond, and 1 patient was unevaluable. So far, 4 patients have relapsed at a median of 36 months (range, 12–48 months). Fever was the principal toxicity occurring in 43% of patients. Five patients resistant (3 patients) or intolerant (2 patients) to deoxycoformycin were also treated. Of these 5 patients, 4 obtained complete responses, including 2 patients resistant to deoxycoformycin, and 1 patient a partial response, suggesting a possible lack of cross-resistance between deoxycoformycin and 2–CdA in hairy cell leukemia. Other single-institution studies have documented similar response rates and toxicities.Ninety patients with advanced chronic lymphocytic leukemia were treated with 2–CdA administered either as a 0.1 mg/kg/day 7–day continuous intravenous infusi...
Kinetic Models for Receptor-Catalyzed Conversion of Coxsackievirus B3 to A-Particles

ABSTRACT The immunoglobulin superfamily protein receptors for poliovirus, human rhinovirus, and coxsackievirus B (CVB) serve to bind the viruses to target cells and to facilitate the release of the virus genome by catalyzing the transition from the mature infectious virus to the A-particle uncoating intermediate. Receptor binding sites characterized by two equilibrium dissociation constants have been identified. The site with higher affinity is best observed at warmer temperatures and appears to correlate with the reversible conformational state in which the capsid is permeable to small molecules and peptides that are buried in the crystal structures are exposed. Measurements of CVB conversion to inactive particles over time in the presence of varied concentrations of soluble coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor showed that the observed first-order rate constant varies with receptor concentration. The dose-response data, previously modeled as the sum of first-order reactions, have been used to evaluate models for the receptor-catalyzed conversion of CVB that include the high- and low-affinity binding sites associated with capsid breathing. Allosteric models wherein receptor binding shifts the equilibrium toward the open capsid conformation, in which the high-affinity binding site is available, best fit the data. IMPORTANCE This paper compares models that relate the structural, mechanistic, and kinetic details of receptor-virus interactions known from previous work with human enteroviruses. New models are derived using recent results from receptor-catalyzed conversion of coxsackievirus B3 to non-infectious A-particles. Of those considered, the acceptable models include the capsid breathing cycle and two conformation-dependent receptor binding sites. The results indicate that the receptor enhancement of virus conversion to A-particles involves allostery through conformation selection.
A phase-locked 4-6 GHz local oscillator using microwave prescaler

A phase-locked broadband local oscillator using a divide-by-8 microwave prescaler is described. The measured phase noise characteristics of the prescaler, the reference source, and the phase-locked source are discussed. The threshold bit error rate curve of a 6-GHz 64-QAM microwave digital radio using this direct division source is given and compared with that of a source using a multiplier and mixer configuration. >
Massive amplification of rolling-circle transposons in the lineage of the bat Myotis lucifugus

Rolling-circle (RC) transposons, or Helitrons, are a newly recognized group of eukaryotic transposable elements abundant in the genomes of plants, invertebrates, and zebrafish. We provide evidence for the colonization of a mammalian genome by Helitrons, which has not been reported previously. We identified and characterized two families of Helitrons in the little brown bat Myotis lucifugus. The consensus sequence for the first family, HeliBat1, displays the hallmarks of an autonomous Helitron, including coding capacity for an ≈1,500-aa protein with an RC replication motif and a region related to the SF1 superfamily of DNA helicases. The HeliBatN1 family is a nonautonomous Helitron family that is only distantly related to HeliBat1. The two HeliBat families have attained high copy numbers (≈15,000 and > 100,000 copies, respectively) and make up at least ≈3% of the M. lucifugus genome. Sequence divergence and cross-species analyses indicate that both HeliBat families have amplified within the last ≈30–36 million years and are restricted to the lineage of vesper bats. We could not detect the presence of Helitrons in any other order of placental mammals, despite the broad representation of these taxa in the databases. We describe an instance of HeliBat-mediated transduction of a host gene fragment that was subsequently dispersed in ≈1,000 copies throughout the M. lucifugus genome. Given the demonstrated propensity of RC transposons to mediate the duplication and shuffling of host genes in bacteria and maize, it is tempting to speculate that the massive amplification of Helitrons in vesper bats has influenced the evolutionary trajectory of these mammals.
FACTORS INFLUENCING DISPROPORTIONATE REPLICATION OF THE RIBOSOMAL RNA CISTRONS IN DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER

This report describes studies of the compensatory response employing D. melanogaster stocks that bear cloned-X chromosomes derived from laboratory populations of strains Oregon R and Canton S. We find that modification of the autosomal background in either the female or the (see PDF) male parent influences the expression of the compensatory response by X chromosomes derived from the Canton S population, whereas Oregon R isolates are unresponsive to these effects. We have also studied compensatory replication in X/O larvae produced from cloned-X derivatives of both Canton S and Oregon R. Canton S larval compensation exceeds that of the adult, whereas in Oregon R the converse is true. We have concluded that both X chromosomal and autosomal factors affect the expression and magnitude of the compensatory response.
High stakes supervision: we must do more

The characteristics of the emerging and existing teaching force are explored in relation to supervision Key trends that exacerbate teacher shortages include out‐of‐field teaching, increases in student population, critical subject‐area shortages, attrition, and retirement. This paper calls for a high‐stakes form of supervision as a long‐term solution to working with the constantly changing nature of the teaching force.
1D broken-gap tunnel transistor with MOSFET-like on-currents and sub-60mV/dec subthreshold swing

We present a detailed study on the operation of a tunneling field-effect transistor (TFET) based on one-dimensional broken-gap heterostructure geometry. Using numerical simulations we show that less than 60mV/dec subthreshold swing can be obtained in this device along with MOSFET-like drive-currents. We further demonstrate that the 1D geometry is uniquely suited for this device concept. Our model broken-gap TFET has a minimum swing of ∼20mV/dec along with ∼100x increase in above-threshold current compared to the homojunction geometry.
The regional context of earlier African American speech: Evidence for reconstructing the development of AAVE

Despite extensive research over the past four decades, a number of issues concerning the historical and current development of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) remain unresolved. This study utilizes a unique sociolinguistic situation – a long-standing, isolated, biracial community situated in a distinctive dialect region of coastal North Carolina – to address questions of localized dialect accommodation and ethnolinguistic distinctiveness in earlier African American English. A comparison of diagnostic phonological and morphosyntactic variables for a sample of four different generations of African Americans and a baseline European American group shows that considerable accommodation of the localized dialect occurred in earlier African American speech. Nonetheless, certain dialect features – e.g., copula absence and 3rd person verbal s marking – were distinctively maintained by African Americans in the face of localized dialect accommodation; and this suggests long-term ethnolinguistic distinctiveness. Cross-generational change among African Americans indicates that younger speakers are moving away from the localized Pamlico Sound dialect toward a more generalized AAVE norm. Contact-based and identity-based explanations are offered for the current trend of localized dialect displacement.
Response of vegetation and fire to Little Ice Age climate change: regional continuity and landscape heterogeneity

Late-Holocene climatic conditions in the upper Great Lakes region have changed sufficiently to produce significant changes in vegetation and fire regimes. The objective of this study was to determine how the vegetation mosaic and fire regimes on an oak (Quercus spp.)- and pine (Pinus spp.)-dominated sand plain in northwestern Wisconsin responded to climatic changes of the past 1,200 years. We used pollen and charcoal records from a network of sites to investigate the range of natural variability of vegetation on a 1,500-km2 landscape on the southern part of the sand plain. A major vegetation shift from jack pine (Pinus banksiana) and red pine (P. resinosa) to increased abundance of white pine (P. strobus) occurred between 700 and 600 calendar years before present (cal yr BP), apparently corresponding to more mesic conditions regionally. A decrease in charcoal accumulation rate also occurred at most sites but was not synchronous with the vegetation change. At some sites there were further changes in vegetation and fire regimes occurring ∼500–300 cal yr BP, but these changes were not as strong or unidirectional as those that occurred 700–600 cal yr BP. Our results suggest that both the composition and the distribution of vegetation of the southern part of the sand plain have been sensitive to relatively small climatic changes, and that the vegetation at the time of European settlement was a transitory phenomenon, rather than a long-term stable condition.
Maneuver Analysis and Targeting Strategy for the Stardust Re-Entry Capsule

The Stardust Sample Return Capsule (SRC) returned to Earth on January 15, 2006 after seven years of collecting interstellar and comet particles over three heliocentric revolutions, as shown in Figure 1. The SRC was carried on board the Stardust spacecraft, as shown in Figure 2. Because the spacecraft was built with unbalanced thrusters, turns and attitude control maintenance resulted in undesirable delta-v being imparted to the trajectory. As a result, a carefully planned maneuver strategy was devised to accurately target the Stardust capsule to the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR). This paper provides an overview of the Stardust spacecraft and mission and describes the maneuver strategy that was employed to achieve the stringent targeting requirements for landing in Utah. In addition, an overview of Stardust maneuver analysis tools and techniques will also be presented.
New directions for drug-resistant breast cancer: the CDK4/6 inhibitors

Many breast cancers are treated with selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) if the cancers are estrogen and progesterone hormone receptor positive. However, some 30% are not responsive or later become resistant to such therapies. There has been continued interest in developing new and more effective SERMs that target the estrogen receptors for therapeutic benefit. This article will focus on therapies directed against other molecular targets to improve outcomes, as preventing growth of breast cancer cells by an unrelated mechanism is most likely to yield success against resistance, or synergize in a combination therapy with SERMs or aromatase inhibitors. New drugs in development that target the cyclin-dependent kinases CDK4/CDK6 have ‘breakthrough therapy’ designation at the US FDA and may provide an exciting and realistic new avenue to patients in the near future.
Human Diseases from Wildlife by Michael R. Conover and Rosanna M. Vail.

Human Diseases from Wildlife. Michael R. Conover, and Rosanna M. Vail. ISBN: 978-1-4665-6214-1 Michael Conover and Rosanna Vail are to be commended for compiling the information in Human Diseases from Wildlife, CRC Press (ISBN: 978-1-4665-6214-1). In the true spirit of One Health, this book will prove to be an asset in many collections. The book is 527 pages, including four appendices and a lengthy topical index. Following an introductory chapter, the text is divided into seven sections based on disease-causing agents (bacteria, sprirochetes, Rickettsia, viruses, fungi, prions, and parasites). There are then multiple chapters in each section to address specific diseases, 30 in total. Each chapter follows a set pattern of topics (introduction/history, symptoms in humans, infection in animals, how humans contract the disease, medical treatment, how to reduce human risk, eradication of the disease from a country, and literature cited). This format provides a simple and easy to follow reference for each topic. The appendices address medical definitions, scientific names of animal species, photos of North American vectors and disease they transmit, and a list of zoonotic diseases covered in this book. As noted, this book provides a quick reference to field biologists, students, and health care providers to the basics of each of the extensive list of diseases. This book is largely focused, although not exclusively, upon North American wildlife. It is not extremely detailed, but provides basic information, and will be an ideal “first stop” reference. Since the book is organized by agents and not syndromes or manifestations, readers will need to know what disease they wish to review. One of the highlights of this text are the multiple “sidebars” found within each chapter. These provide anecdotal stories about the various diseases and their recent presentations and relevance/impact upon people and animals. Also, each chapter begins with one or several interesting quotes concerning the diseases. A disappointment in the book is the images. All are black and white and not of the highest quality. Most figures and tables significantly add to the textual presentations. Although the bacterial and viral disease chapters are quite extensive, the coverage of fungal diseases (only Cryptococcus and Histoplasma) is limited. For parasites, only baylisascariasis, trichinellosis, and swimmers' itch/giardiasis are addressed. All-in-all, I am pleased to have this book in my collection. It will be an asset for One health-related courses, and serve as a ready reference for students wishing to know more about zoonotic diseases associated with wildlife.
Functional Characterization of GABAA Receptors in Neonatal Hypothalamic Brain Slice

The hypothalamus influences a number of autonomic functions. The activity of hypothalamic neurons is modulated in part by release of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA onto these neurons. GABAA r...