cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Patient selection for macular translocation surgery using the scanning laser ophthalmoscope

Abstract Objectives To evaluate the use of the scanning laser ophthalmoscope (SLO) as a predictor for potential visual improvement in eyes with subfoveal choroidal neovascularization (CNV) secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD) undergoing limited macular translocation. Design Retrospective noncomparative case series. Participants Consecutive series of 71 eyes of 70 patients with subfoveal CNV secondary to AMD that underwent effective and uncomplicated limited macular translocation at the Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute. Methods Evaluation of the fundus microperimetry and fixation pattern was conducted on all patients using the Rodenstock scanning laser ophthalmoscope (G. Rodenstock Instrument GmbH, Munich, Germany) within 72 hours before surgery. Main outcome measures Sensitivity and specificity in addition to positive and negative predictive values of SLO findings for visual outcome after macular translocation. Results Stable fixation presented the highest positive predictive value for visual acuity equal to or better than 20/100 (30 of 33=0.91), and predominantly eccentric fixation had the highest negative predictive value for visual acuity worse than 20/100 (7 of 9=0.78). Sensitivity was higher for the presence of predominantly central fixation (42 of 48=0.87), and specificity was higher for relatively unstable/unstable fixation (20 of 23=0.87). Conclusions Eyes with stable and central fixation (without dense central scotoma) good preoperative visual acuity, and short length of symptoms are those with the greatest chance to achieve good vision after macular translocation. The knowledge of the fixation and microperimetry pattern enables better understanding of the macular function in eyes with AMD and may be useful for evaluation of baseline retinal cell viability. Incorporation of these testing modalities may help to optimize patient selection for macular translocation or other future techniques aimed at rescuing photoreceptors.
Electron microscopic study of postcytokinetic cell fusion in an autosomal male sterile mutant (ms(2)3R) of Drosophila melanogaster.

The ultrastructure of abnormal fusion of meiotic products in an autosomal male sterile mutant of Drosophila melanogaster is described. In mutant ms(2)3R mitotic cytokinesis proceeds normally, but the meiotic divisions give rise to as many as four sets of spermatid organelles developing in one cytoplasmic mass. The contractile ring which is responsible for cell constriction during cytokinesis appears to form and function normally during meiosis. Ring canals, which form intercellular bridges between synchronously developing spermatids, are also apparently normal. However, there is an adhesion and subsequent disintegration of the furrow membranes after division is completed. In addition to double membrane fragments in areas of open communication between germ cells, occasional unattached ring canals within the spermatid cytoplasm were found. These findings suggest that cell fusion is the anomaly in ms(2)3R. Some observations on abnormal nebenkern formation are also reported.
Discontinuous ephemeral streams

Abstract Many ephemeral streams in western North America flowed over smooth valley floors before transformation from shallow discontinuous channels into deep arroyos. These inherently unstable streams of semiarid regions are sensitive to short-term climatic changes, and to human impacts, because hillslopes supply abundant sediment to infrequent large streamflow events. Discontinuous ephemeral streams appear to be constantly changing as they alternate between two primary modes of operation; either aggradation or degradation may become dominant. Attainment of equilibrium conditions is brief. Disequilibrium is promoted by channel entrenchment that causes the fall of local base level, and by deposition of channel fans that causes the rise of local base level. These opposing base-level processes in adjacent reaches are maintained by self-enhancing feedback mechanisms. The threshold between erosion and deposition is crossed when aggradational or degradational reaches shift upstream or downstream. Extension of entrenched reaches into channel fans tends to create continuous arroyos. Upvalley migration of fan apexes tends to create depositional valley floors with few stream channels. Less than 100 years is required for arroyo cutting, but more than 500 years is required for complete aggradation of entrenched stream channels and valley floors. Discontinuous ephemeral streams have a repetitive sequence of streamflow characteristics that is as distinctive as sequences of meander bends or braided gravel bars in perennial rivers. The sequence changes from degradation to aggradation — headcuts concentrate sheetflow, a single trunk channel conveys flow to the apex of a channel fan, braided distributary channels end in an area of diverging sheetflow, and converging sheetflow drains to headcuts. The sequence is repeated at intervals ranging from 15 m for small streams to more than 10 km for large streams. Lithologic controls on the response of discontinuous ephemeral streams include: (1) amount and size of sediment yielded from hillslopes: (2) infiltration capacity of valley-floor alluvium that influences both the unit stream power available for upstream headcut migration, and the attenuation of flashy streamflow events by riparian vegetation in sheetflow reaches; and (3) cohesiveness of alluvium, which affects headcut and streambank morphology, and rates of arroyo extension, downcutting, and widening. Initiation of arroyo cutting may be too complex to be attributed to a single cause such as change in mean annual precipitation or grazing by livestock, but is most likely associated with a decrease in density of protective plant cover on hillsides and along valley floors. Relatively larger unit stream power makes downstream reaches more susceptible to initial entrenchment during floods than headwaters reaches, and favors persistent arroyos. Entrenchment continues until an equilibrium longitudinal profile is briefly attained. Then, channel widening occurs: streambanks are undercut and aggradation begins.
Rhyme and the structure of English consonants

The phenomenon of off-rhyming is based upon the relationship of similarity among sounds. Sounds perceived as like one another create acceptable off-rhyming pairs. Because the distinctive features of sounds are hierarchically arranged in languages, off-rhyming patterns can reveal the groupings within these hierarchies. Changes in pattern diachronically or among synchronic dialects express rearrangements in the phonological structure of the language. With respect to the consonantal features of English, off-rhymes in the codas of rhyming syllables in the works of twenty British poets writing from c. 1600–1900 have been examined to discover acceptable patterns of similarity. Most common are rhymes of voiceless and voiced pairs of homorganic consonants; /s/ to /z/ is the most frequent pair. The most frequent rhymes apart from homorganic pairs involve alveolar and alveopalatal consonants. With respect to acoustic features, the most frequent rhymes utilize the [±tense] feature, then [±compact] (with [±strident] playing a minor role). These patterns remain consistent over time and across dialects.
Model Update December 2008: Upper Mantle Heterogeneity beneath North America from P-wave Travel Time Tomography with Global and USArray Transportable Array Data

Online material: MIT P -wave tomography model for the United States created using travel-time residuals from the USArray Transportable Array from April 2004 to December 2008. As the Transportable Array of USArray (http://www.iris.edu/USArray/), the seismology component of EarthScope (http://www.earthscope.org/), progresses eastward across the United States, the seismological database available for studies of mantle heterogeneity beneath the North American continent is rapidly expanding. Burdick et al. (2008) published a tomographic model of mantle heterogeneity beneath North America based on USArrayTA P -wave travel time data through November 2007. The purpose of this article is to announce the availability (as an electronic supplement through the SSA Web site. www.seismosoc.org) of model MITP\_USA\_2008DEC, which is based on USArrayTA data through December 2008. By the end of 2008 USArrayTA had begun to illuminate mantle structure below the center of the continent, where systematic high-resolution tomography was previously unavailable. Specifically, data from stations east of the Rocky Mountains provides new constraints on the heterogeneity of the stable North American craton and allows for direct comparison with mantle heterogeneity beneath the tectonically active western margin. Compared to the previous version (Burdick et al. 2008), the current model update refines estimates of mantle heterogeneity around the Yellowstone hotspot, better defining its boundaries and revealing a strong slow anomaly beneath the transition zone. Large-scale structural features in the west, such as the Basin and Range and the Cascadia subduction zone, where data coverage was already good, remain similar to those in the original model, which suggests that the tomographic images of them are now robust. Our tomographic inversions of USArray data are based on the method developed by Karason (2002) and described by Li et al. (2008). We perform global inversions in order to account properly for mantle heterogeneity outside the study area and use an adaptable grid …
Resonant effects on electron-impact ionization of sodiumlike selenium

We have calculated the resonant-excitation-double-autoionization (REDA) cross sections for sodiumlike selenium. The REDA process is treated as a three-step process (i.e., resonant electron capture followed by sequential double Auger emission). The necessary atomic data are computed using the multiconfiguration Dirac-Fock model. The effects of radiative damping can reduce the calculated REDA cross sections by a factor of 6, and the loss channels can further reduce these cross sections by a factor of 2. The REDA processes produce many strong narrow resonances and contribute 10--20 % to the average total ionization cross sections.
Tillage differentially affects the capture rate of pitfall traps for three species of carabid beetles

The influence of tillage, gender, and microclimate on capture rates of pitfall traps for the beetles Poecilus scitulus LeConte, Poecilus lucublandus (Say), and Pterostichus melanarius Illiger (Coleoptera: Carabidae) were assessed in mark-release-recapture experiments in spring pea and spring wheat. Experiments were conducted during June, July, and August of 2003 in the Palouse region of northern Idaho, USA. Rates of capture in pitfall traps for the three carabid species were differentially affected by crop-tillage systems. Capture rates for P. scitulus and P. lucublandus were higher in no-till (NT) than in conventional tillage (CT) peas, whereas capture rates for P. scitulus and Pt. melanarius were higher in CT than in NT wheat. Ground-level temperatures and relative humidity (r.h.) differed little among tillage systems. Nevertheless, capture rates were generally positively correlated with ground-level temperature and negatively correlated with r.h., with correlations more often significant in NT than in CT systems. The response of the thermophilic Poecilus spp. to temperature provides a possible mechanistic explanation for capture rate patterns in legumes during June, but not in other months for peas or any month in wheat during the experiments. Movement impedance due to residue could explain lower capture rates of P. scitulus and Pt. melanarius in NT than in CT spring wheat. These results suggest that researchers using pitfall trapping for carabid populations should take into account potential capture biases their treatments can introduce.
Relativity-Induced Ordering and Phase Separation in Intermetallic Compounds

The formation enthalpies of ordered compounds and the mixing enthalpies of random alloys were calculated for Ni-Au, Ni-Pt, and Au-Pt using an Ising-like cluster expansion based on the local-density formalism. We show that relativity i) induces long-range order in Ni-Pt due to a reduction in packing strain and enhancement of s-d coupling, but ii) it leads to phase separation in Au-Pt due to suppression of the Au(s,p) → Pt(d) charge transfer.
A study of the time-, areal-, and type-distribution of tornadoes in the United States

In taking up the study of tornado-occurrences in the United States, we have found that hitherto they have been studied chiefly from the standpoint of geographical distribution by states, and possibly their subdivisions. The frequency of the occurrence of weather phenomena has been used as a basis for the calculation of the premium rate on weather insurance. No attention has been paid to the type of the tornado with reference to special meteorological conditions under which it developed. Furthermore, the seasonal distribution of the tornadoes has not been considered. The fact that tornadoes may occur more frequently at one time of the year than another has been lost sight of. Again the time-place data of occurrence, in which certain tornadoes occur in a definite region at certain periods of the year, up to the present time has not been studied, and the triple combination of time-place-type tornado-data, up to the present study, has not been correlated.
Tuning the Voltage Dependence of Tetraethylammonium Block with Permeant Ions in an Inward-Rectifier K+ Channel

To understand the role of permeating ions in determining blocking ion–induced rectification, we examined block of the ROMK1 inward-rectifier K+ channel by intracellular tetraethylammonium in the presence of various alkali metal ions in both the extra- and intracellular solutions. We found that the channel exhibits different degrees of rectification when different alkali metal ions (all at 100 mM) are present in the extra- and intracellular solution. A quantitative analysis shows that an external ion site in the ROMK1 pore binds various alkali metal ions (Na+, K+, Rb+, and Cs+) with different affinities, which can in turn be altered by the binding of different permeating ions at an internal site through a nonelectrostatic mechanism. Consequently, the external site is saturated to a different level under the various ionic conditions. Since rectification is determined by the movement of all energetically coupled ions in the transmembrane electrical field along the pore, different degrees of rectification are observed in various combinations of extra- and intracellular permeant ions. Furthermore, the external and internal ion-binding sites in the ROMK1 pore appear to have different ion selectivity: the external site selects strongly against the smaller Na+, but only modestly among the three larger ions, whereas the internal site interacts quite differently with the larger K+ and Rb+ ions.
Stress response dampening: effects of gender and family history of alcoholism and anxiety disorders

One hundred and fifteen non-alcoholic social drinkers, ages 21–30 years, were selected on the basis of parental history of alcoholism and/or anxiety disorders to participate in a laboratory study of stress response dampening (SRD) effects of alcohol. The following four risk groups were identified based on the diagnoses of both parents: 1) alcoholism (ALC+), (2) alcoholism and anxiety disorder (ALCANX+), (3) anxiety (ANX+), and (4) no psychiatric diagnoses (FH–). Subjects were randomly assigned to receive a placebo or alcohol (0.85 g/kg) beverage, following which cardiovascular measures and self-reports of anxiety were monitored prior to, during and after a speech stressor. Women with a family history of alcoholism and women with a family history of anxiety disorders showed strong SRD effects of alcohol on heart rate and pulse transit time. Men with a family history of anxiety disorders showed evidence of increased subjective response to stress during the alcohol beverage condition. Finally, SRD effects of alcohol were not found for male subjects, and this was attributed to their heavier drinking histories and lower breath alcohol levels as compared to women. Implications of the SRD effects in women are discussed in the context of the comorbid association between alcoholism and anxiety disorders.
Evilism, moral rationalism, and reasons internalism

I show that the existence of an omniscient, omnipotent, and essentially omnimalevolent being is impossible given only two metaethical assumptions (viz., moral rationalism and reasons internalism). I then argue (pace Stephen Law) that such an impossibility undercuts Law’s (Relig Stud 46(3):353–373, 2010) evil god challenge.
Cerebrovascular Accident Under Anesthesia During Dental Surgery

Abstract Stroke, or cerebrovascular accident (CVA), is a medical emergency that may lead to permanent neurological damage, complications, and death. The rapid loss of brain function due to disruption of the blood supply to the brain is caused by blockage (thrombosis, arterial embolism) or hemorrhage. The incidence of CVA during anesthesia for noncardiac nonvascular surgery is as high as 1% depending on risk factors. Comprehensive preoperative assessment and good perioperative management may prevent a CVA. However, should an ischemic event occur, appropriate and rapid management is necessary to minimize the deleterious effects caused to the patient. This case report describes a patient who had an ischemic CVA while under general anesthesia for dental alveolar surgery and discusses the anesthesia management.
Contribution of K99 and D319 to substrate binding and catalysis in the saccharopine dehydrogenase reaction

Abstract Saccharopine dehydrogenase catalyzes the NAD-dependent oxidative deamination of saccharopine to l -lysine and α-ketoglutarate. Lysine 99 is within hydrogen-bond distance to the α-carboxylate of the lysine substrate and D319 is in the vicinity of the carboxamide side chain of NADH. Both are conserved and may be important to the overall reaction. Replacing K99 with M gives decreases of 110-, 80- and 20-fold in the V2/Km values for lysine, α-ketoglutarate and NADH, respectively. Deuterium isotope effects on V and V/KLys increase, while the solvent deuterium isotope effects decrease compared to the C205S mutant enzyme. Data for K99M suggest a decreased affinity for all reactants and a change in the partition ratio of the imine intermediate to favor hydrolysis. A change in the bound conformation of the imine and/or the distance of the imine carbon to C4 of the nicotinamide ring of NADH is also suggested. Changing D319 to A decreases V2/KNADH by 33-fold. Primary deuterium and solvent deuterium isotope effects decrease compared to C205S suggesting a non-isotope sensitive step has become slower. NADH binds to enzyme first, and sets the site for binding of lysine and α-ketoglutarate. The slower step is likely the conformational change generated upon binding of NADH.
Unraveling the Catalytic Mechanism of Nitrile Hydratases

To elucidate a detailed catalytic mechanism for nitrile hydratases (NHases), the pH and temperature dependence of the kinetic constants k(cat) and K(m) for the cobalt-type NHase from Pseudonocardia thermophila JCM 3095 (PtNHase) were examined. PtNHase was found to exhibit a bell-shaped curve for plots of relative activity versus pH at pH 3.2-11 and was found to display maximal activity between pH 7.2 and 7.8. Fits of these data provided pK(E)(S1) and pK(E)(S2) values of 5.9 +/- 0.1 and 9.2 +/- 0.1 (k(cat)' = 130 +/- 1 s(-1)), respectively, and pK(E)(1) and pK(E)(2) values of 5.8 +/- 0.1 and 9.1 +/- 0.1 (k(cat)'/K(m)' = (6.5 +/- 0.1) x 10(3) s(-1) mm(-1)), respectively. Proton inventory studies indicated that two protons are transferred in the rate-limiting step of the reaction at pH 7.6. Because PtNHase is stable at 60 degrees C, an Arrhenius plot was constructed by plotting ln(k(cat)) versus 1/T, providing E(a) = 23.0 +/- 1.2 kJ/mol. The thermal stability of PtNHase also allowed DeltaH(0) ionization values to be determined, thus helping to identify the ionizing groups exhibiting the pK(E)(S1) and pK(E)(S2) values. Based on DeltaH(0)(ion) data, pK(E)(S1) is assigned to betaTyr(68), whereas pK(E)(S2) is assigned to betaArg(52), betaArg(157), or alphaSer(112) (NHases are alpha(2)beta(2)-heterotetramers). A combination of these data with those previously reported for NHases and synthetic model complexes, along with sequence comparisons of both iron- and cobalt-type NHases, allowed a novel catalytic mechanism for NHases to be proposed.
Optimizing Fermi-chopper spectrometers for the Spallation Neutron Source

The construction of the next-generation Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory offers an opportunity to optimize instrument performance in conjunction with moderator and target building configurations. For direct-geometry inelastic scattering instruments operating in the moderate- to high-energy range, the constraints on performance are often given by geometrical considerations. The implications for the specific case of the SNS are explored using simple analytical models of the performance of Fermi-chopper spectrometers. Two instrument configurations are proposed, based on user input concerning the desired instrument capabilities as well as current practices at existing spallation sources.
Market Value Impacts of Information Technology Enabled Supply Chain Management Initiatives

This study investigates the market value impacts of IT-enabled supply chain systems using event study method. The authors examine abnormal stock returns to investments in IT-enabled SCM systems announced by 346 firms from 2001 to 2004, and find significant, positive abnormal returns for two, three, and five day periods surrounding the event date. Further, the authors employ organizational integration perspective to test if market value impacts differ based on the functional scope, physical scope and the industry context of the SCM systems adopted by the firms. Using a multiple regression analysis, the authors find the abnormal returns to be greater for firms investing in SCM systems with greater functional scope and physical scope. The authors find marginal evidence for the effect of industry context and no impact of firm size on the market value generated from investments in SCM systems.
Chimeras reveal a single lipid-interface residue that controls MscL channel kinetics as well as mechanosensitivity

Summary MscL, the highly conserved bacterial mechanosensitive channel of large conductance, serves as an osmotic "emergency release valve," is among the best-studied mechanosensors, and is a paradigm of how a channel senses and responds to membrane tension. Although all homologs tested thus far encode channel activity, many show functional differences. We tested Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus chimeras and found that the periplasmic region of the protein, particularly E. coli I49 and the equivalent S. aureus F47 at the periplasmic lipid-aqueous interface of the first transmembrane domain, drastically influences both the open dwell time and the threshold of channel opening. One mutant shows a severe hysteresis, confirming the importance of this residue in determining the energy barriers for channel gating. We propose that this site acts similarly to a spring for a clasp knife, adjusting the resistance for obtaining and stabilizing an open or closed channel structure.
Transition from a cold to a warm state of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation cycle

The transition from a cold to a warm state of the E1 Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle is studied using Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Sets (COADS) for the period 1950–1992.
Cephradine: Absorption, Excretion, and Tissue Distribution in Animals of a New Cephalosporin Antibiotic

Abstract Metabolic studies were conducted with cephradine administred by the oral, subcutaneous, intravenous, or rectal routes to mice, rats, and dogs. Peak blood levels were usually attained in 30 to 150 min after dosing, depending on the animal species studied. Based on urinary excretion, cephradine appeared to be well absorbed after oral or subcutaneous administration; after rectal doses, cephradine was absorbed poorly. In rats and dogs given oral or intravenous doses of cephradine, about 70 to 100% of the administered dose was recovered during a 24-h collection period. Cephradine was excreted unchanged. After the oral or intravenous administration of [3H]cephradine to rats and dogs, respectively, its plasma half-life was about 1 h. After oral administration to rats, cephradine was distributed widely throughout the body tissues, with the greatest concentrations in the kidneys and liver; at 45 min to 6 h postdose, cephradine concentrations in the kidneys and liver were about 8 and 3 times higher, respectively, than those in plasma.
controlled-potential coulometric determination of plutonium with a hydrochloric acid—sulfamic acid electrolyte and phosphate complexing

Total plutonium is selectively determined by a controlled-potential coulometric method in which plutonium is reduced to Pu(III) at 0.25 V (vs. SCE) in a 5.5 M hydrochloric acid—0.015 M sulfamic acid electrolyte, diverse ions are oxidized at 0.57 V, phosphate is added to reduce the Pu(III)—Pu(IV) potential, and Pu(III) is oxidized to Pu(IV) at 0.68 V. None of more than 50 metal ions present in nuclear fuel-cycle material interferes. Many anions are without effect and most interfering ones are removed by preliminary fuming with perchloric acid. The apparatus described consists mainly of commercial components. The relative standard deviation is <0.1% at the 5-mg plutonium level.
Isolation of a highly mutagenic aminophenanthrene from a coal gasification process tar

A major portion of the mutagenic activity associated with products and by-products of coal conversion can be ascribed to nitrogen-containing bases. We improved the extraction efficiencies for three- to five-ring aromatic bases by extracting them with a mixture of methanol and aqueous HCl, rather than with aqueous HCl alone. A complex mutagenic basic fraction of a coal gasification process tar was successively fractionated using cation exchange and reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography. The fractions were assayed for mutagenic activity and were chemically analyzed by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Aminophenanthrenes were identified as major contributors to the mutagenicity of the basic fraction. Aminonaphthalenes, aminobiphenyls, and their alkyl homologs were also present but were not detected as principal mutagens.
A unified Bayesian framework for MEG/EEG source imaging.

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) and related electroencephalography (EEG) use an array of sensors to take electromagnetic field (or voltage) measurements from on or near the scalp surface with excellent temporal resolution.
Interaction between Yeast Sgs1 Helicase and DNA Topoisomerase III

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae Sgs1 protein is a member of the RecQ family of DNA helicases that includes the human Bloom's syndrome and Werner's syndrome proteins. In this work, we report studies on the interaction between Sgs1 and DNA topoisomerase III in vitro and in vivo. Affinity chromatography experiments with various fragments of Sgs1, a 1447-amino acid polypeptide, suggested that its N-terminal one-fifth was sufficient for interaction with DNA topoisomerase III. Gel electrophoretic mobility shift assays also indicated that a fragment Sgs1(1-283), containing residues 1-283, inhibited the binding of DNA topoisomerase III to single-stranded DNA. A shorter protein fragment containing residues 1-107 also showed partial inhibition in these assays. Studies of a sgs1 top1 double mutant lacking both Sgs1 and DNA topoisomerase I showed that the slow growth phenotype of this double mutant is suppressed by expressing full-length Sgs1, but not Sgs1 without the N-terminal 107 amino acid residues. In sgs1 top3 cells devoid of DNA topoisomerase III, however, expression of full-length Sgs1 or Sgs1 lacking the N-terminal 107 amino acid residues has the same effect of reducing the growth rate of the double mutant. These in vitro and in vivo data indicate that Sgs1 and DNA topoisomerase III physically interact and that this interaction is physiologically significant.
Ramsey's theorem with sums or unions

Abstract Using Hindman's theorem as a strong pigeonhole principle, we prove strengthened versions of Ramsey's theorem and of various generalizations of Ramsey's theorem due to Nash-Williams, Galvin and Prikry, and Silver.
Entrainment due to turbulent shear flow at the interface of a stably stratified fluid

An investigation is made of the entrainment due to turbulent shear flow at the interface of a stably stratified fluid between an upper turbulent layer and a lower non-turbulent layer in which the flow is generated by a disc pump in a recirculating channel, first introduced by Odell and Kovasznay. It is found that, based on friction velocity u * and on mean velocity U , the plots of the entrainment rates as functions of the corresponding Richardson numbers for two-fluid systems and for linearly stratified systems are in agreement and collapse, so that the two systems follow the same entrainment law. The entrainment rates of the present investigation agree with those of Kantha et al., and for the most part with entrainment rates of Kranenburg. The entrainment rates of Moore and Long are also in agreement with those of present study, as are the heat-stratified entrainment rates of Deardorff and Willis. Using δ b for the buoyancy jump and h for mixed-layer depth, limiting values of Ri* = hδb / u 2 * ≅ 2000 and Ri u = hδb / U 2 ≅ 20 are obtained experimentally as E* = u e / u e and E u = u e / U approach zero and turbulent entrainment ceases, in agreement with an argument of Kantha. Also, limiting values of E * ≃ 0.3 and E u ≃ 0.03, are found for small values of Ri*, based on an argument of Tennekes and Lumley. Although no simple power-law dependence of entrainment rates on Richardson number is obtained for the whole range of Ri*, it was possible to obtain such dependence when the range 15 < Ri* < 1500 is divided into 3 smaller subranges. DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0870.1986.tb00454.x
Imitative Altruism by Deaf Children

The study was designed to investigate the influence of a behavioral model upon hearing-impaired children’s behavior and judgments. Children from a residential school for the deaf witnessed a model ...
S-P interrogatives

By an ‘S-P interrogative’ I mean an English interrogative something like one of the following four: (1) Which S is a P? (2) Which S’s are P’s? (3) What’s (an example of) an S which is a P? (4) What are some (examples of) S’s which are P’s? S-P’ is supposed to suggest ‘subject-predicate’, but since I use ‘subject’ and ‘predicate’ in other ways, it will reduce confusion if I stick to just ‘S-P’. Let us call S the S-term and P the P-term of (1)–(4). I want to marshall three quite different apparatuses for your consideration as formal explications of S-P interrogatives, paying particular attention to the way in which S-terms and P-terms enter differently into the logic of the situation. Throughout, the primary aim will be to give an account of these questions in terms of their answers — ‘answers’ in the sense of ‘possible answers’ or ‘what counts as an answer’ rather than in the sense of ‘true answers’.
Ray tracing of Steiner patches

Steiner patches are triangular surface patches for which the Cartesian coordinates of points on the patch are defined parametrically by quadratic polynomial functions of two variables. It has recently been shown that it is possible to express a Steiner patch in an implicit equation which is a degree four polynomial in x,y,z. Furthermore, the parameters of a point known to be on the surface can be computed as rational polynomial functions of x,y,z. These findings lead to a straightforward algorithm for ray tracing Steiner patches in which the ray intersection equation is a degree four polynomial in the parameter of the ray. The algorithm presented represents a major simplification over existing techniques for ray tracing free-form surface patches.
Recent insights on RNA folding mechanisms from catalytic RNA

Methods for probing RNA structure in real time have revealed that initial folding steps are complete in less than a second. Refolding of large catalytic RNAs in vitro often results in long-lived intermediates that reach the native structure very slowly. These kinetically trapped intermediates arise from alternative secondary structures that form early in the folding process. In cells, proteins modulate the outcome of RNA folding reactions by stabilizing specific conformations or by accelerating refolding of misfolded intermediates. At the same time, competition between metastable conformations provides a means for regulating the biological activity of transcripts.
Experimental Study on Surge Inception in a Centrifugal Compressor

An investigation of surge inception in a centrifugal compressor was done with measurements of steady and unsteady static pressure. Vaneless diffuser and vaned diffuser were tested. Analyses of the static pressure and the pressure fluctuation showed that stall at the impeller leading edge occurred at first, and then it extended to downstream. In case of the vaneless diffuser, deterioration of the pressure rise in the impeller triggered instability. For the vande diffuser, instability that was generated in the impeller propagated into the vaned diffuser, however the pressure recovery by the vaned diffuser made the operation of the compressor stable at low flow rate.
Enhanced axonal growth into a spinal cord contusion injury site in a strain of mouse (129X1/SvJ) with a diminished inflammatory response.

After injury in the adult central nervous system, invading and intrinsic cells contribute to the formation of a lesion site that is refractory to axonal growth. To test the hypothesis that the inflammatory response to trauma dictates the extent of axonal growth after spinal cord injury, the time course of lesion evolution was compared in two mouse strains with contrasting cellular responses to peripheral inflammatory challenge. Adult C57Bl/6 and 129X1/SvJ mice received identical contusion injuries to the mid-thoracic spinal cord and were allowed to recover for 6 hours to 9 weeks. Both strains responded with a rapid, transient increase in chemokine expression, but the magnitude of this early response was slightly reduced in the 129X1/SvJ mice. Morphological indicators of inflammation were similar during the first week postinjury. After 7 days postinjury, however, the cellular responses differed between strains. The C57Bl/6 lesion core was chronically occupied by macrophages, devoid of astrocytes, and contained few axonal profiles. In contrast, as the macrophage density decreased a network of astrocytic processes and axons of central and peripheral origin invaded the center of the lesion site in 129X1Sv/J mice. Growth of axons in the 129X1Sv/J mice was accompanied by increased extravascular laminin in the lesion core and a reduced expression of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan glycosaminoglycan sidechains in the periphery of the lesion. These results demonstrate that the diminished chronic inflammatory response in 129X1/SvJ mice is associated with enhanced cellular repair and increased axonal growth after spinal cord injury. J. Comp. Neurol. 474:469–486, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Integrating the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 into client intervention.

Testimony provided by Kemp (1991) before the Subcommittee on Employment Opportunities of the U.S. House of Representatives provided occupational therapists with an open invitation to become involved with the implementation of the ADA: [The] EEOC's [Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's] Office of General Counsel anticipates that a significant portion of the ADA cases will require the use of medical, architectural, ergonomics or vocational specialists. These experts will be called on to provide advice and guidance on general and specific ADA issues and to provide specific advice and testimony in certain cases. (Kemp, 1991 [no page no.]) We need to rally to this opportunity. Occupational therapists' knowledge and understanding of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 is an important component to providing comprehensive services to clients. It is crucial that we as occupational therapists become sophisticated regarding the implications of the ADA and advocate for its implementation for our clients.
The use of dopamine agonists in very elderly patients with Parkinson's disease.

BACKGROUND Controversy exists regarding the use of dopamine receptor agonists in elderly patients with Parkinson's disease because of concern about a high rate of intolerable side effects. METHODS A retrospective chart review was used to examine our experience with dopamine agonist use in the very elderly by identifying patients in our Parkinson's disease database who were over the age of 80 years and who had received agonists. Sixty-nine patients were identified who had 120 separate trials of agonist therapy. Successful treatment with the agonist was defined as maintenance of the agonist for a minimum of 6 months. RESULTS The overall success rate among the very elderly for an agonist trial was 46%. Success rates for individual agonists were 15 of 27 (56%) bromocriptine, 18 of 34 (53%) pergolide, 17 of 43 (40%) pramipexole, and 5 of 16 (31%) ropinirole. In successful trials with bromocriptine, the mean daily dose was 12.8 mg, mean duration of treatment was 40 months, and mean age at drug initiation was 82 years; for pergolide it was 1.8 mg, 32 months, and 83 years; for pramipexole 2.7 mg, 14 months, and 83 years, and for ropinirole 10.6 mg, 11 months, and 83 years. CONCLUSION This study demonstrated that therapeutic dosages of dopamine agonists were well tolerated by 46% of very elderly patients who received a trial of an agonist. These results indicate that dopamine receptor agonist therapeutic trials are warranted in selected very elderly patients.
Ocelot: A wireless sensor network and computing engine with commodity palmtop computers

The embedded class processors found in commodity palmtop computers continue to become increasingly capable while retaining an energy-efficient footprint. Palmtop computers themselves, including smartphones and tablets, provide a small form factor system integrating wireless communication and non-volatile storage with these energy-efficient processors. In this paper, we present Ocelot, a grid-like computing environment that leverages palmtop computers in place of traditional workstation or server class machines to compute highly parallel light to medium-weight tasks in an energy efficient manner. Ocelot is motivated to be used in a wireless sensor network environment where palmtop computers with onboard or attached sensors form nodes to obtain and process sensor data. Using a centralized server/dashboard, data processing jobs and managed and distributed to these palmtop computers to compute the results in parallel. Our results demonstrate that these palmtop machines provide significant energy advantage-average of 67% in our case study-over energy-optimized desktop, high-performance workstation and server class machines.
Laboratory Isolation Techniques in Human and Experimental Fungal Infections

In laboratory experience with a heterogenous group of 26 human ocular fungal isolates, brain-heart infusion broth proved to be the most useful medium for isolation. Although Candida and Fusarium species grew out within four days of inoculation, one fourth of the cultures did not become positive until 14 to 19 days had elapsed. In an animal model of endophthalmitis due to F. solani infection, brain-heart infusion broth again was the most useful. The highly nutritious media used for fungal isolation are prone to contamination by organisms that are difficult to distinguish from true pathogens. Sham culture studies demonstrated that this contamination can easily occur during the process of sampling the lesion and inoculating the media.
A Place to Heal: Environmental Sources of Satisfaction Among Hospital Patients1

Telephone interviews with 380 discharged inpatients were conducted to identify environmental sources of satisfaction with the hospital, to determine the relative contribution of environmental satisfaction to overall satisfaction with the hospital experience, and to explore differences in satisfaction across 4 departments (medical, obstetrics, orthopedics, and surgical) and 6 hospitals. Analyses indicate that interior design, architecture, housekeeping, privacy, and the ambient environment were all perceived as sources of satisfaction. Environmental satisfaction was a significant predictor of overall satisfaction, ranking below perceived quality of nursing and clinical care. There were no significant differences between hospitals or departments in the level or sources of environmental satisfaction. Results suggest potential directions for architects, designers, and health care providers.
Management compensation and earnings-based covenants as signaling devices in credit markets

Abstract A firm seeks to raise capital in credit markets to fund risky operating activities. The firm has private information about the future cash flows from such activities. Firm owners delegate operating decisions to a manager who privately learns further information about the distribution of those cash flows subsequent to contracting, but before taking actions. Those actions include the selection of which operating activities to pursue and how much hidden effort to exert. At issue initially after introducing the problem is the efficient design of the manager's compensation as a device for signaling private information to lenders as well as for inducing operating decisions. Our results provide conditions under which a Bayesian Nash separating equilibrium satisfying the Cho–Kreps intuitive criterion exists. Broadly speaking, these results suggest that contracts that resolve internal adverse selection and moral hazard problems may serve as signaling devices in efficiently resolving information asymmetries with external parties. Next, we show how earnings-based debt covenants and the selection of conservative accounting methods may eliminate signaling costs altogether.
A spectrophotometric assay for strictosidine synthase.

Abstract A spectrophotometric assay for strictosidine synthase is described. Strictosidine is extracted with ethyl acetate and, where high substrate concentrations are used, the organic extract is washed with dilute ammonia to remove coextracted secologanin; after evaporation of the solvent, the residue is heated with 5 m H 2 SO 4 for 45 min and the A 348 value is measured. Strictosidine production is calculated from the response of similarly treated standards. A minimum production of 10–25 nmol of strictosidine may be determined. The assay is demonstrated using extracts of cultured Cinchona ledgeriana cells.
Improving Power Density and Efficiency of Miniature Radioisotopic Thermoelectric Generators.

Abstract We have built and tested a prototype miniaturized thermoelectric power source that generates 450 μW of electrical power in a system volume of 4.3 cm 3 . The measured power density of 104 μW cm −3 exceeds that of any previously reported thermoelectric power system of equivalent size. This improvement was achieved by implementing a novel thermopile design in which wagon wheel-shaped thermoelectric elements contact the entire circumference of the heat source whereas traditional approaches utilize only one heat source surface. The thermopile consists of 22 wagon wheel-shaped elements (11 P–N thermocouples) fabricated from 215-μm thick bismuth–telluride wafers having ZT = 0.97 at 30 °C. The power source operates on a 150 mW thermal input provided by an electrical resistance heater that simulates a capsule containing 0.4 g of 238 PuO 2 located at the center of the device. Our primary research objective was to develop and demonstrate a prototype thermopile and radioisotopic thermoelectric generator (RTG) architecture with improved power density at small scales. Output power from this device, while optimized for efficiency, was not optimized for output voltage, and the maximum power was delivered at 41 mV. We also discuss modifications to our prototype design that result in significantly improved voltage and power. Numerical predictions show that a power output of 1.4 mW, power density of 329 μW cm −3 , and voltage of 362 mV, is possible in the same package size.
Discovering intrinsic properties of human observers' visual search and mathematical observers' scanning.

There is a lack of consensus in measuring observer performance in search tasks. To pursue a consensus, we set our goal to obtain metrics that are practical, meaningful, and predictive. We consider a metric practical if it can be implemented to measure human and computer observers’ performance. To be meaningful, we propose to discover intrinsic properties of search observers and formulate the metrics to characterize these properties. If the discovered properties allow verifiable predictions, we consider them predictive. We propose a theory and a conjecture toward two intrinsic properties of search observers: rationality in classification as measured by the location-known-exactly (LKE) receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and location uncertainty as measured by the effective set size (M*). These two properties are used to develop search models in both single-response and free-response search tasks. To confirm whether these properties are “intrinsic,” we investigate their ability in predicting search performance of both human and scanning channelized Hotelling observers. In particular, for each observer, we designed experiments to measure the LKE–ROC curve and M*, which were then used to predict the same observer’s performance in other search tasks. The predictions were then compared to the experimentally measured observer performance. Our results indicate that modeling the search performance using the LKE–ROC curve and M* leads to successful predictions in most cases.
Rehabilitation, Computers in Cognitive

This research is supported, in part, by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) grant no. H133P990001. The authors express their sincere gratitude to the Moody Foundation and the Moody Endowment for their support of this work. Keywords: cognitive; rehabilitation; computer; brain injury; learning disability; virtual reality; VR
Genetic diversity in the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum: Population differentiation and cryptic species

The social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum is a commonly used model organism for the study of social evolution, multicellularity, and cell biology. But the boundaries and structure of the species have not been explored. The lack of morphological traits to distinguish D. discoideum makes even knowing whether a given clone is D. discoideum a challenge. We address this with a phylogeny of a widespread collection of clones from a range of locations and including clones identified previously as potential cryptic species. We sequenced portions of nuclear ribosomal DNA and mitochondrial DNA, analyzing approximately 5500 and 2500 base pairs from the two regions respectively. We compared these sequences to known reference sequences for both D. discoideum and other closely related Dictyostelium species to create Bayesian and neighbor-joining phylogenetic trees representing the evolutionary relationships among the clones. We identified 51 unique D. discoideum concatenated sequences based on the combined mitochondrial and ribosomal sequence data. We also identified four unique D. citrinum concatenated sequences, three of which were previously classified as D. discoideum clones. Our analysis of the data revealed that all D. discoideum clones form a monophyletic group, but there are several well-supported subclades and pronounced genetic differentiation among locations (F(ST)=0.242, P=0.011), suggesting the presence of geographic or other barriers between populations. Our results reveal the need for further investigation into potential tropical cryptic species.