cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Linear and Nonlinear Smooth Orthogonal Decomposition to Reconstruct Local Fatigue Dynamics: A Comparison

Identifying physiological fatigue is important for the development of more robust training protocols, better energy supplements, and/or reduction of muscle injuries. Current fatigue measurement technologies are usually invasive and/or impractical, and may not be realizable in out of laboratory settings. A fatigue identification methodology that only uses motion kinematics measurements has a great potential for field applications. Phase space warping (PSW) features of motion kinematic time series analyzed through smooth orthogonal decomposition (SOD) have tracked individual muscle fatigue. In this paper, the performance of a standard SOD analysis is compared to its nonlinear extension using a new experimental data set. Ten healthy right-handed subjects (27 ± 2.8 years; 1.71 ± 0.10 m height; and 69.91 ± 18.26 kg body mass) perform a sawing motion by pushing a weighted handle back and forth until voluntary exhaustion. Three sets of joint kinematic angles are measured from the elbow, wrist and shoulder as well as surface Electromyography (EMG) from ten different muscle groups. A vector-valued feature time series is generated using PSW metrics estimated from movement kinematics. Dominant SOD coordinates of these features are extracted to track the individual muscle fatigue trends as indicated by mean and median frequencies of the corresponding EMG power spectra. Cross subject variability shows that considerably fewer nonlinear SOD coordinates are needed to track EMG-based fatigue markers, and that nonlinear SOD methodology captures fatigue dynamics in a lower-dimensional subspace than its linear counterpart.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
The Positive Role of Professionalism and Ethics Training in Medical Education: A Comparison of Medical Student and Resident Perspectives

Objective: To assess the perspectives and preferences of medical students and residents regarding professionalism and ethics education. Methods: A new written survey with 124 items (scale: “strongly disagree” = 1, “strongly agree” = 9) was sent to all medical students (n = 308) and PGY 1–3 residents (n = 233) at one academic center. Results: Of the 336 participants (200 students, 65% response; 136 residents 58% response), only 18% found current professionalism and ethics preparation sufficient. Respondents endorsed professionalism (means = 7.48 to 8.11) and ethics topics (means = 6.56 to 6.87), women more so than men (p<0.05). Respondents preferred clinically- and expert-oriented learning over formal, nontraditional, or independent approaches (p<0.0001). They preferred clinically-oriented assessment methods (p<0.0001), residents more so than medical students (p<0.0001). On several items, psychiatry residents expressed greater receptiveness to professionalism and ethics preparation. Conclusions: Medical students and residents indicate support for professionalism and ethics educational initiatives, including diverse curricular topics and clinically-attuned assessments.
Reduction of Silverman-like games to games on rounded sets

A two person zero sum game is regarded as Silverman-like if the strategy sets are sets of real numbers bounded below, the payoff function is bounded, the maximum payoff is achieved whenever the second player's numbery exceeds the first player's numberx by “too much”, and the minimum is achieved wheneverx exceedsy by “too much”. Explicit upper bounds are obtained for pure strategies to be included in an optimal mixed strategy in such games. In particular, if the strategy sets are discrete, the games may be reduced to games on specified finite sets.
Trade-off between energy and quality of service through dynamic operand truncation and fusion

Energy efficiency has emerged as a major design concern for embedded and portable electronics. Conventional approaches typically impact performance and often require significant design-time modifications. In this paper, we propose a novel approach for improving energy efficiency through judicious fusion of operations. The proposed approach has two major distinctions: (1) the fusion is enabled by operand truncation, which allows representing multiple operations into a reasonably sized lookup table (LUT); and (2) it works for large varieties of functions. Most applications in the domain of digital signal processing (DSP) and graphics can tolerate some computation error without large degradation in output quality. Our approach improves energy efficiency with graceful degradation in quality. The proposed fusion approach can be applied to trade-off energy efficiency with quality at run time and requires virtually no circuit or architecture level modifications in a processor. Using our software tool for automatic fusion and truncation, the effectiveness of the approach is studied for four common applications. Simulation results show promising improvements (19-90\%) in energy delay product with minimal impact on quality.
Elite control of HIV infection: implications for vaccine design

Background: ‘Elite controllers’ are rare HIV-infected individuals who are able to spontaneously control HIV replication without medication, maintaining viral loads that are consistently below the limits of detection by currently available commercial assays. Objective: To examine studies of elite controllers that may elucidate mechanisms of HIV immune control useful in designing a vaccine. Methods: Recent literature on HIV controllers and studies that have evaluated aspects of viral and host immunology that correlate with viral control are examined. Results/conclusions: Although many elements of innate and adaptive immunity are associated with control of HIV infection, the specific mechanism(s) by which elite controllers achieve control remain undefined. Ongoing studies of elite controllers, including those examining host genetic polymorphisms, should facilitate the definition of an effective HIV-specific immune response and guide vaccine design.
Expanding the role of methodology

One way of inducing economists to pay more attention to methodology is for methodologists to take up problems that practicing economists will see as relevant to their work and discuss them in a non-technical manner. The paper provides some examples of how methodologists could aid practicing economists in this way. The examples used are the validity of the new classical's insistence on reductionism, the tension between those who want to ground economic theory rigorously, and those willing to work with informal theory, and the related tension between the claimed reliance on ‘scientific’ theory and the actual reliance on informal evidence, conflicting interpretations of what science and theories are, and some low-level but important problems in econometrics.
Introduction to special issue on writing

This special issue is an outgrowth of two symposia on writing at international meetings in 2008. Miller, Molfese, Hooper, Wagner, and Berninger presented at the biennial meeting, Society for Research on Child Development, in Denver, CO in a symposium titled ‘‘Writing development from early to middle childhood: New interdisciplinary findings and models’’. Research presented at this symposium illustrated the kinds of writing development projects that are funded by federal agencies in the United States (e.g., the National Institutes of Health, US Department of Health and Human Services, and the Institute of Education Sciences, US Department of Education). Collectively, the symposium papers drew on multiple methods and conceptual models to study the writing acquisition process from a developmental perspective. At the Santa Barbara, CA Conference on Writing Research, Writing Research across Borders, in which writing researchers from 43 countries participated, Beers, Nagy, and Berninger presented papers in an Invited Symposium on ‘‘Levels of Language in Assessment and Instruction: Lessons from Longitudinal Studies Grades 1 to 7.’’ Their studies in that symposium and this special issue call attention to the need for more research on how specific levels of
Calculation of the electric susceptibilities of the helium atom

Abstract We calculated the static and the dynamic dipole polarizabilities and the static quadrupole polarizability of the helium atom. The results are α = 0.2070 × 10 −24 cm 3 for the static dipole polarizability and γ 4 = 0.1038 × 10 −40 cm 5 for the static quadrupole polarizability.
Temperament Alters Susceptibility to Negative Peer Influence in Early Adolescence

The role of deviant peers in adolescent antisocial behavior has been well documented, but less is known about individual differences in susceptibility to negative peer influence. This study examined whether specific temperament dimensions moderate the prospective relationship between peer deviance and delinquent behavior in early adolescence. Participants included 704 adolescents recruited from the community. At baseline, parents provided information on adolescents’ temperament and youth reported on their own and their friends’ delinquent behavior. Self-reports of adolescents’ delinquent behavior were collected again 16 months later. Peer deviance was related to delinquent behavior over time more strongly for adolescents with low levels of task orientation, flexibility, and positive mood, compared to youth with high levels of task orientation, flexibility, and positive mood. Analyses of gender differences indicated that low flexibility increased susceptibility to negative peer influence only for males, but not females. General activity level and sleep rhythmicity did not moderate the effect of peer behavior on delinquency.
Pertussis toxin and voltage dependence distinguish multiple pathways modulating calcium channels of rat sympathetic neurons

Abstract Agonist-induced suppression of current in voltage-gated Ca 2+ channels was studied in rat sympathetic neurons. We have previously distinguished two intracellular signaling pathways used by muscarinic agonists to suppress neuronal Ca 2+ current-one fast and membrane delimited, the other slow and acting via a diffusible second messenger. We now show that the fast pathway is sensitive mainly to pertussis toxin and shifts the gating of Ca 2+ channels to more positive voltages (voltage dependent). The slow pathway is pertussis toxin insensitive and depresses currents at all test potentials (voltage independent). Muscarinic agonists may also activate a pertussis toxin-insensitive fast pathway. α-Adrenergic agonists use the fast pertussis toxin-sensitive and the fast insensitive pathways, but not the slow one.
Design and performance of four-reflection optics for x-ray astronomy

Four reflection, grazing incidence X-ray optics offer the possibility of broad band (0.1-10.0 keV) X-ray telescopes that fit within the physical envelope of NASA's Small and Medium Explorer mission. We describe a short focal length (4 m) optical design with arcsec imagery over a 1 degree(s) field of view and good efficiency in the Fe-K band (6.4-7.1 keV).
Food as a contextual cue in counterconditioning experiments: Is there a counterconditioning process?

In three experiments, counterconditioning was found to reduce fear less effectively than extinction. In Experiments 1 and 2, the resistance to extinction of avoidance was greater if food was given during extinction of fear to the CS than if no food was given, even when exposure to the CS and numbers of food and no food confinement trials were equated. It is suggested that these results could be attributed to contextual control of fear extinction by the food cue and/or to frustration produced by removing food for the counterconditioning group. Experiment 3 also found counterconditioning to be less effective than extinction and provided evidence that this difference occurs because of contextual control of fear extinction by the food cue. Measuring conditioned suppression of licking, in a test with no food present, less fear was shown if no food had been present during fear extinction, and greater fear was shown if no food had been present during fear conditioning. These results indicate that food is an important part of the context controlling fear and fear extinction. It is suggested that there may be no unique counterconditioning process. Rather, when counterconditioning procedures are employed, rules governing interference paradigms in general may apply. Thus, in a test for fear following counterconditioning, fear will be shown to the extent the test situation is similar to that in which fear conditioning occurred rather than that in which fear reduction occurred.
Groundwater Hydraulics and Pollutant Transport

1. Introduction to Groundwater Hydrology. 2. Darcy's Law and Continuity Relations. 3. Groundwater and Well Hydraulics. 4. The Vadose Zone and Groundwater Recharge. 5. Groundwater Contamination. 6. Solute Transport by Advection. 7. Solute Transport by Diffusion. 8. Advection-Dispersion Transport and Models. 9. Multiphase Flow and Hydrocarbon Recovery. Appendix A: Mathematical Formalisms. Appendix B: Selected Conversions, Parameter Values, and Properties. Appendix C: Theis Well Function, W(u). Appendix D: Spreadsheet Modules for Calculating Well Functions. Appendix E: Spreadsheet Module for Calculating Slug Test Well Function. Appendix F: Water Balance for Rainfall Events. Appendix G: Error and Complementary Error Functions. Appendix H: Spreadsheet Calculations of LNAPL Distribution. Appendix I: Spreadsheet for LNAPL Recovery Analysis. References.
The Effect of Distal Femoral Resection on Passive Knee Extension in Posterior Cruciate Ligament–Retaining Total Knee Arthroplasty

Full passive extension in total knee arthroplasty is predicated on creating a large enough extension gap to accommodate any given combined thickness of femoral and tibial components. Additional distal femoral resection can achieve more passive knee extension. The predictable effect of further distal femoral resection has never been studied. We designed a simple institutional review board-approved, intraoperative study to quantify this effect. Routine posterior cruciate ligament-preserving total knee arthroplasty was performed with measured femoral and tibial resections, yielding full passive extension with trial components. Distal femoral augments were then sequentially applied to the back of the femoral trial component, and passive knee extension was measured. The data show that an average value of 9 degrees of femoral contracture is corrected for every 2 mm of distal femoral resection.
Inhibition of steryl sulfatase activity in LNCaP human prostate cancer cells.

The enzyme steryl sulfatase may help support the growth of hormone-dependent tumors, including prostate cancers, by facilitating the conversion of circulating precursor steroids to active hormones. We sought to determine the presence of steryl sulfatase activity in the androgen-dependent human prostate cancer cell line LNCaP, and to determine if this activity was inhibited by known steryl sulfatase inhibitors. Intact LNCaP cultures had steryl sulfatase activity, as determined by conversion of []estrone sulfate (E1S) to unconjugated steroids. The level of steryl sulfatase activity was relatively low (4.6 pmol/18 h/million cells) compared to MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells (284.0 pmol/18 h/million cells). The observed activity in both cell lines was blocked by addition of 1 μM estrone sulfamate (EMATE), an active-site-directed, steroidal inhibitor of steryl sulfatase. Steryl sulfatase activity was also inhibited by Danazol, and by (p-O-sulfamoyl)-tetradecanoyl tyramine (C2–14), a non-steroidal inhibitor. Microsomes prepared from LNCaP cultures also showed steryl sulfatase activity, as determined by hydrolysis of []E1S and []dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) to unconjugated forms. LNCaP and MDA-MB-231 microsomes both hydrolyzed E1S about two times faster than DHEAS. Hydrolysis of E1S in LNCaP and MDA-MB-231 microsomes was blocked by steryl sulfatase inhibitors with the following relative potencies: EMATE>C2–14>Danazol. These data demonstrate that LNCaP prostate cancer cells contain a steryl sulfatase with properties similar to that found in human breast cancer cells, and that the activity of this enzyme can be blocked by known steryl sulfatase inhibitors. Steryl sulfatase inhibitors may be useful as an adjuvant to androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer.
Electrophysiological Remodeling in Heart Failure

Heart failure affects nearly 6 million Americans, with a half-million new cases emerging each year. Whereas up to 50% of heart failure patients die of arrhythmia, the diverse mechanisms underlying heart failure-associated arrhythmia are poorly understood. As a consequence, effectiveness of antiarrhythmic pharmacotherapy remains elusive. Here, we review recent advances in our understanding of heart failure-associated molecular events impacting the electrical function of the myocardium. We approach this from an anatomical standpoint, summarizing recent insights gleaned from pre-clinical models and discussing their relevance to human heart failure.
Guanine in water solution: Comprehensive study of hydration cage versus continuum solvation model

We report the results of computational investigation of structures and properties of deoxyribonucleic acid base guanine in the isolated and under heavily hydrated conditions. Heavily hydrated condition involves guanine inside the hydrated cage of 65 water molecules. For comparison, results of hydration of guanine with smaller water shells and that in bulk water solution are also presented. Ground state geometries were optimized at the Hartree–Fock and density functional theory (DFT) level using the B3LYP functional. Vertical electronic singlet transitions were computed at the time-dependent DFT level using the B3LYP optimized geometries. Geometries in the electronic lowest singlet ππ* excited state were optimized at the CIS level of the theory. Effect of bulk water solution was considered using the PCM approach. The standard 6-311G(d,p) basis set was used in all calculations. The similarity and differences between these two models (bulk water solvation and hydration) in describing the aqueous environment on guanine are also reported. It has been found that hydration with 65 water molecule and PCM solvation both produce similar ground and excited state geometry of guanine. In addition, the possible effect of selective hydration on the excited state dynamics is also discussed. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2010
Nicotine Reduces the Secretion of Alzheimer's β‐Amyloid Precursor Protein Containing β‐Amyloid Peptide in the Rat without Altering Synaptic Proteins

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by cerebrovascular deposition of the amyloid beta-peptide (A beta), which is derived from a larger beta-amyloid precursor protein (beta APP). Altered metabolism of beta APP, resulting in increased A beta production, appears central in the neuropathology of AD. The processing of the holoprotein beta APP by different "secretase" enzymes results in three major carboxyl-truncated species. One species, which results from the cleavage of beta APP by gamma-secretase, is secreted into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and is called sAPP gamma as it contains an intact A beta domain. Moreover, AD is characterized by cholinergic dysfunction and the loss of synaptic proteins. Reports of an inverse relation between nicotine intake, due to cigarette smoking, and the incidence of AD prompted us to investigate the effects of nicotine on beta APP processing and synaptic proteins in rats and in cell culture. Nicotine, 1 and 8 mg/kg/day, doses commensurate with cigarette smoking, and a higher but well tolerated dose, respectively, was administered over 14 days to rats. Levels of sAPP in the CSF sample were evaluated by Western blot analysis. The higher dose significantly increased levels of total sAPP; however, both doses significantly reduced sAPP gamma, which contains the amyloidogenic portion of A beta. These actions were blocked by nicotinic receptor antagonism. Nicotinic antagonists alone had no effect on either total sAPP or sAPP gamma levels in CSF. Nicotine did not significantly change the intracellular levels of total beta APP in rat brain extracts, which is consistent with neuronal cell culture data. Similarly, levels of vesicular protein, such as synaptophysin, and presynaptic terminal protein SNAP-25 were unaffected by nicotine treatment both in vivo and in cell culture experiments. Taken together, these results suggest that nicotine modifies beta APP processing away from the formation of potentially amyloidogenic products, without altering the levels of synaptic proteins, and that this can potentially offer therapeutic potential for Alzheimer's disease.
The region preceding the C-Terminal NWETF pentapeptide modulates baseline activity and aspartate inhibition of Escherichia coli Tar

The Tar chemoreceptor−CheA−CheW ternary complex of Escherichia coli is a transmembrane allosteric enzyme in which binding of ligands to the periplasmic domain modulates the activity of CheA kinase. Kinase activity is also affected by reversible methylation of four glutamyl residues in the cytoplasmic domain of the receptor. E. coli Tar contains 553 residues. Residues 549−553 comprise the NWETF pentapeptide that binds the CheR methyltransferase and CheB methylesterase. The crystal structure of the similar Tsr chemoreceptor predicts that residues 263−289 and 490−515 of Tar form the most membrane-proximal portion of the extended CD1−CD2 four-helix bundle of the cytoplasmic domain. The last methylation site, Glu-491, is in the C19 heptad, and the N22-19 and C22-19 heptads are present in all classes of bacterial transmembrane chemoreceptors. Residues 516−548 probably serve as a flexible tether for the NWETF pentapeptide. Here, we present a mutational analysis of residues 505−548. The more of this region that i...
Shear band formation and mode II fracture of polymeric glasses

Mode I and II fracture studies were performed from quasistatic to low velocity impact rates on polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and polycarbonate (PC). Mode II tests used an angled double-edge notched specimen loaded in compression. The shear banding response of PMMA is shown to be highly sensitive to rate, with diffuse shear bands forming at low rates and sharp distinct shear bands forming at high rates. As the rate increases, shear deformation becomes more localized to the point where Mode II fracture occurs. PC is much less rate dependent and stable shear band propagation is observed over the range of rates studied with lesser amounts of localization. A new theory is formulated relating orientation in a shear band to intrinsic material properties obtained from true-stress true-strain tests. In a qualitative sense the theory predicts the high rate sensitivity of PMMA. A kinematic limit for orientation within a shear band is also derived based on entanglement network parameters. Mode II fracture in PMMA is shown to occur at this kinematic limit. For the case of PC, the maximum impact rates were not high enough to reach the kinematic limit.
Subunit interactions in the conformational change of horse apohemoglobin on binding of hemin.

Abstract Results are reported of a study of the contents of right-handed α-helix of apohemoglobin derived from horse hemoglobin, of apohemoglobin partially recombined with hemin and of fully reconstituted ferrihemoglobin. Analysis of these results indicates that the binding of one equivalent of hemin per globin dimer brings about the restoration of the helix content not only of the chain which has hemin bound but most, or all, of the helix content in the other chain of the dimer as well, without occupation of the heme binding site of that chain. In the binding of hemin, the interaction between binding sites in the dimer may be small or substantially negative, but not substantially positive. When one equivalent of ferriheme-dicyanide is added per globin dimer, the resulting ratio of occupied α-chains to occupied β-chains is about 7:3. Measurements are also reported on hemoglobin Gun-Hill, recently described by Bradley, Wohl & Rieder (1967). The circular dichroic spectra agree with their finding that heme is bound only to α-chains in this variant. The helix content, though slightly smaller than that of hemoglobin A, is considerably greater than that of a mixture of hemoglobin A and apohemoglobin A, and equal to the value reported here for half-recombined horse ferrihemoglobin.
Immunohistochemical and ultrastructural analysis of bronchopulmonary neuroendocrine neoplasms. II. Well-differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas.

We have attempted to characterize a group of bronchopulmonary neoplasms that share certain structural features with true carcinoids but appear distinctly more pleomorphic and behave far more aggressively. In reviewing our files from 1973 to 1982, 11 such neoplasms were identified; the original diagnoses were “atypical bronchial carcinoid” (3 cases), “malignant carcinoid” (1 case), “bronchial carcinoid” (3 cases), “peripheral carcinoid” (2 cases), and “peripheral oat cell carcinoma” (2 cases).Of the 11 neoplasms, 5 were central and 6 were peripherally located. At presentation, 7 patients had lymph node rnetastases and 1 had a distant metastasis. No patient had a conventionally defined hormonal syndrome; however, 2 patients had a history of episodic flushing, one of which was associated with diarrhea.All cases were studied by light microscopy and light microscopic immunohistochemistry for NSE (neuron-specific enolase), serotonin, and broad-spectrum neuropeptides. Five cases were studied by electron microsco...
Process Improvement: Facility wide Reduction in Hospital-Associated Infections Utilizing CHG for Oral Care and Preoperative Preparation

a checklist format identifying the reportable information for UTI, SSI, pneumonia and/or clostridium difficile. Instructions are provided for the various categories, allowing outside agencies to assist in reporting infections after discharge. 4. Investigation is underway to find a standardized method to denote clostridium difficile infection(s) and the date of the occurrence(s) in the patient's chart so that health care providers can determine the patient's clostridium difficile status and use this information to select the most appropriate treatment for that patient. The current hospital antibiogram has been distributed to physician's offices and the health care facilities listed above to aide in choosing effective and appropriate antibiotic therapy. the antibiogram will be distributed every 6 months as available. Lesson Learned: Improvements in communication in our community have already had a positive impact on patient care as critical information is easier to locate as the patient moves between hospital, nursing homes, hospice/home care agencies and assisted living facilities. There is also a tremendous potential for education and sharing of ideas now that the lines of communication have been established. The true winner is the patient.
Effect of Ethanol on Alkaline Phosphatase Activity in HeLa Cells

Incubation of HeLa cells with 10-80 mM ethanol, caused a dose-dependent decrease in alkaline phosphatase specific activity. With 80 mM ethanol, the decrease became apparent after 24-48 hr incubation. The same dose-dependent effect was observed with the nonmetabolizable alcohol t-butanol. The effect of ethanol was not due to toxicity as the cells continued to replicate for weeks in the presence of ethanol and was reversible. There were no differences in the Km values of alkaline phosphatase in crude extracts or solubilized enzyme prepared either from control or 80 mM ethanol-treated cells. Hydrocortisone and choline chloride, which by themselves increase alkaline phosphatase specific activity, altered the effect of ethanol on alkaline phosphatase. In the presence of either 1 microM hydrocortisone or 40 mM choline chloride, neither 10 nor 20 mM ethanol decreased alkaline phosphatase specific activity.
Resistivity and strength of precipitation-hardened dilute AlAu alloys

Abstract High purity aluminum is often favored over copper for superconductor stabilizer applications because of a lower resistivity and a lower magnetoresistance effect in high magnetic field. This preference coupled with the major disadvantage of aluminum, namely its lower strength, led to the study reported here on dilute AlAu alloys. This alloy is strengthened dramatically by a precipitation heat treatment and exhibits low resistivity in the aged condition. Experiments are reported on the yield strength and residual resistivity of dilute AlAu alloys. Several schemes are developed that allow the conductor design engineer to trade off resistivity and strength. A method of optimizing alloy strength-resistivity is presented.
Air/water exchange of mercury in the Everglades I: the behavior of dissolved gaseous mercury in the Everglades Nutrient Removal Project

From 1996 to 1998 we determined dissolved gaseous mercury (DGM) in waters of the Everglades Nutrient Removal Project (ENR), a constructed wetlands. The concentrations of DGM measured in these waters (mean 7.3±9.5 pg l−1) are among the lowest reported in the literature, and suggest a system often near or slightly above equilibrium with Hg in ambient air. DGM exhibited both seasonal and diel trends, peaking at midday and during the summer. A simple box budget model of DGM in waters of the Everglades was developed using an interactive spreadsheet based on a mass balance among light-induced reduction of HgII (production of DGM), Hg0 oxidation (removal), and Hg0 evasion in a box (water column) consisting of a surface region with sunlight available and a lower dark region. The modeling results suggest high sensitivity of hourly DGM concentrations to DGM production rates and initial DGM levels. The sensitivity to Hg0 oxidation is lower than the sensitivity to DGM production. The model performance demonstrates successful simulations of a variety of DGM trends in the Everglades. In particular, it clearly demonstrates how it is possible to measure comparable rates of evasion over several Everglades sites with different DGM concentrations.
On a Reverse Estimate for Hodge Decompositions of p-Laplacian Type Operators

Let σ(x, ξ)≈|ξ|p−2 ξ be a p-Laplacian type operator and consider the Hodge decomposition σ(x, Du)=Dϕ+H, div H=0. A standard elliptic theory asserts that ‖Dϕ‖q/(p−1)⩽C ‖Du‖p−1q for all q>p−1. There has been considerable recent interest in the validity of the reverse estimate ‖Du‖p−1q⩽C ‖Dϕ‖q/(p−1) for q>p−1 in the regularity study of certain geometrical mappings. In this paper, we give a relatively new proof of a well-known theorem that this reverse estimate holds for all q sufficiently close to the natural power p and also prove that the estimate holds for all q⩾p−1 for certain special weak solutions u.
News Frames Terrorism: A Comparative Analysis of Frames Employed in Terrorism Coverage in U.S. and U.K. Newspapers

Scholars have been increasingly concerned with portrayals of terrorism in mainstream and alternative media outlets following the September 11 and subsequent terrorist attacks in the United Kingdom and Spain. Communication researchers have examined public response and reaction to terrorist attacks, definitions of terrorism, policy questions, media portrayals of terrorism, and framing across different media and nations. This study undertakes a comparative framing analysis of media coverage of terrorism, as reported by prominent U.S. and U.K. newspapers, combining quantitative and qualitative methods. Findings revealed that the U.S. papers engaged in more episodic coverage and the U.K. papers in more thematic coverage of terrorism and terrorism-related events. The U.S. papers were consumed with presenting news associated with the military approach, whereas the U.K. papers were oriented toward diplomatic evaluations of terrorist events.
Software Design for Dynamic Stitching of Multi-Spectral Images of Field Crops

We proposed an alternate configuration for dynamic multi-spectral imaging of plants at ground level, using a one-sensor monochrome FireWire-A camera combined with a liquid crystal tunable filter (LCTF) tunable at 760 nm and 695 nm. We developed an algorithm based on the traditional NDVI procedure to untraditionally solve the problem of image correspondence within sequences of spectral images collected from a moving platform. This algorithm was designed from a multi-threaded software engineering approach and had been shown to work well during acceleration, steady, and deceleration phases of a moving platform under laboratory conditions and one limited field test. The algorithm had two components: one to determine the optimal number of pixel rows passing by the camera viewport during the time period needed for the LCTF to switch between wavelengths; the other to determine the proper conditions to trigger an image saving event so as to minimize the number of images recorded that would however have enough overlaps to permit their assembly into potential field-level maps. The proposed system could process up to 14 image sets per second (3 images per set−760 nm, 695 nm and NDVI) and was found to tolerate light breezes under field conditions.
The endocycle controls nurse cell polytene chromosome structure during Drosophila oogenesis

Polytene chromosomes exhibit intricate higher order chromatin structure that is easily visualized due to their precisely aligned component strands. However, it remains unclear if the same factors determine chromatin organization in polyploid and diploid cells. We have analyzed one such factor, the cell cycle, by studying changes in Drosophila nurse cell chromosomes throughout the 10 to 12 endocycles of oogenesis. We find that nurse cells undergo three distinct types of endocycle whose parameters are correlated with chromosome behavior. The first four endocycles support complete DNA replication; poorly banded polytene euchromatin progressively condenses during the late S phases to produce blob-like chromosomes. During the unique fifth endocycle, an incomplete late S phase is followed by a mitosis-like state during which the 64C chromosomes dissociate into 32 chromatid pairs held together by unreplicated regions. All the subsequent endocycles lack any late S phase; during these cycles a new polytene chromosome grows from each 2C chromatid pair to generate 32-ploid polytene nuclei. These observations suggest that euchromatin begins to condense during late S phase and that nurse cell polytene chromosome structure is controlled by regulating whether events characteristic of late S and M phase are incorporated or skipped within a given endocycle.
Advanced chronic kidney disease in non-valvular atrial fibrillation: extending the utility of R2CHADS2 to patients with advanced renal failure

Background. The R2CHADS2 is a new prediction rule for stroke risk in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients wherein R stands for renal risk. However, it was created from a cohort that excluded patients with advanced renal failure (defined as glomerular filtration rate of <30 mL/min). Our study extends the use of R2CHADS2 to patients with advanced renal failure and aims to compare its predictive power against the currently used CHADS and CHA2DS2VaSc. Methods. This retrospective cohort study analyzed the 1-year risk for stroke of the 524 patients with AF at Metropolitan Hospital Center. AUC and C statistics were calculated using three groups: (i) the entire cohort including patients with advanced renal failure, (ii) a cohort excluding patients with advanced renal failure and (iii) all patients with GFR < 30 mL/min only. Results. R2CHADS2, as a predictor for stroke risk, consistently performs better than CHADS2 and CHA2DS2VsC in groups 1 and 2. The C-statistic was highest in R2CHADS compared with CHADS or CHADSVASC in group 1 (0.718 versus 0.605 versus 0.602) and in group 2 (0.724 versus 0.584 versus 0.579). However, there was no statistically significant difference in group 3 (0.631 versus 0.629 versus 0.623). Conclusion. Our study supports the utility of R2CHADS2 as a clinical prediction rule for stroke risk in patients with advanced renal failure.
Approximate Method for Computing Convective Heating on Hypersonic Vehicles Using Unstructured Grids

The ability to predict surface heating rates, as well as shear and pressure forces, is fundamental to the analysis and design of the thermal protection system for hypersonic vehicles. Approximate engineering codes that can be used to rapidly predict heating rates are extremely useful in the preliminary or conceptual design phase, whereas more detailed and expensive Navier–Stokes codes are generally used to provide more accurate heating rate predictions for final design. An earlier code has been used successfully in conjunction with inviscid flowfield codes computed on single-block structured grids. More recent inviscid codes have been developed that use unstructured grids, which greatly reduce grid generation time for complex configurations. A newer heating code had been used successfully with unstructured inviscid flowfield codes to compute laminar heating on general three-dimensional vehicles using unstructured grids and the heating rates over most of the vehicle have been shown to compare favorably wit...
NMR Investigation of the Thermolysis of Citric Acid

The thermolytic decomposition of citric acid in the presence of tin/lead solder has been investigated. The solid reaction products were first examined by solid-state 13C NMR. The samples were then dissolved in D2O, and 1H and 13C 1D and 2D (HMQC, TOCSY) spectra were obtained. Results indicate the presence of a series of compounds including 3-hydroxyglutaric, citraconic, itaconic and aconitic acids, and anhydrides. Solution- and solid-state NMR data are provided for citric acid and a number of metal and alkali metal citrate salts. Results of this work are related to the use of citric acid as a solder flux and to the elimination of chlorofluorocarbon cleaning processes in the electronics industry.
A Scalable Statistical Static Timing Analyzer Incorporating Correlated Non-Gaussian and Gaussian Parameter Variations

We propose a scalable efficient parameterized block-based statistical static timing analysis (SSTA) algorithm incorporating both Gaussian and non-Gaussian parameter distributions, capturing spatial correlations using a grid-based model. As a preprocessing step, we employ an independent component analysis to transform the set of correlated non-Gaussian parameters to a basis set of parameters that are statistically independent. Given the moments of the variational parameters, we use a Pade acute-approximation-based moment-matching scheme to generate the distributions of the random variables representing the signal arrival times and preserve correlation information by propagating arrival times in a canonical form. Our SSTA procedure is able to generate the circuit delay distributions with reasonably small prediction errors. For the ISCAS89 benchmark circuits, as compared to Monte Carlo simulations, we obtain average errors of 0.99%, 2.05%, 2.33%, and 2.36%, respectively, in the mean, standard deviation, and 5% and 95% quantile points of the circuit delay. Experimental results show that our procedure can handle as many as 256 correlated non-Gaussian variables in about 5 min of runtime. For a circuit with |G| gates and a layout with g spatial correlation grids, the complexity of our approach is O(g|G|) .
Excision of an Active CACTA-Like Transposable Element From DFR2 Causes Variegated Flowers in Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]

Active endogenous transposable elements, useful tools for gene isolation, have not been reported from any legume species. An active transposable element was suggested to reside in the W4 locus that governs flower color in soybean. Through biochemical and molecular analyses of several revertants of the w4-m allele, we have shown that the W4 locus encodes dihydroflavonol-4-reductase 2 (DFR2). w4-m has arisen through insertion of Tgm9, a 20,548-bp CACTA-like transposable element, into the second intron of DFR2. Tgm9 showed high nucleic acid sequence identity to Tgmt*. Its 5′ and 3′ terminal inverted repeats start with conserved CACTA sequence. The 3′ subterminal region is highly repetitive. Tgm9 carries TNP1- and TNP2-like transposase genes that are expressed in the mutable line, T322 (w4-m). The element excises at a high frequency from both somatic and germinal tissues. Following excision, reinsertions of Tgm9 into the DFR2 promoter generated novel stable alleles, w4-dp (dilute purple flowers) and w4-p (pale flowers). We hypothesize that the element is fractured during transposition, and truncated versions of the element in new insertion sites cause stable mutations. The highly active endogenous transposon, Tgm9, should facilitate genomics studies specifically that relate to legume biology.
Diabetes Irreversibly Depletes Bone Marrow–Derived Mesenchymal Progenitor Cell Subpopulations

Diabetic vascular pathology is largely attributable to impairments in tissue recovery from hypoxia. Circulating progenitor cells have been postulated to play a role in ischemic recovery, and deficiencies in these cells have been well described in diabetic patients. Here, we examine bone marrow–derived mesenchymal progenitor cells (BM-MPCs) that have previously been shown to be important for new blood vessel formation and demonstrate significant deficits in the context of diabetes. Further, we determine that this dysfunction is attributable to intrinsic defects in diabetic BM-MPCs that are not correctable by restoring glucose homeostasis. We identify two transcriptionally distinct subpopulations that are selectively depleted by both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and these subpopulations have provasculogenic expression profiles, suggesting that they are vascular progenitor cells. These results suggest that the clinically observed deficits in progenitor cells may be attributable to selective and irreversible depletion of progenitor cell subsets in patients with diabetes.
Recent Results of Source Function Imaging from AGS through CERN SPS to RHIC

Recent femtoscopic measurements involving the use of an imaging technique and a newly developed moment analysis are presented and discussed. We show that this new paradigm allows robust investigation of reaction dynamics for which the sound speed cs ¹ 0 during an extended hadronization period. Source functions extracted for charged pions produced in Au+Au and Pb+Pb collisions show non-Gaussian tails for a broad selection of collision energies. The ratio of the RMS radii of these source functions in the out and side directions are found to be greater than 1, suggesting a finite emission time for pions.
Capacity dimensioning and routing for hybrid satellite and terrestrial networks

For future commercial broadband data satellite networks, satellite network topology, link capacity, and routing have major impacts on the cost of the network and the amount of revenue the network can generate. We propose a unified mathematical framework using a two-stage stochastic programming technique to assist network designers in selecting the most cost-effective network topology for data applications. The solution to the stochastic programming formulation gives optimal link capacities and an optimal routing strategy for different network topologies, taking into account uncertainties in longterm aggregate traffic statistics estimation. In particular, we give the optimal topology selection criteria for a general GEO satellite network and identify regions where a hybrid satellite-terrestrial topology is the most cost effective.
Integrated Seismic-Hazard Analysis of the Wasatch Front, Utah

We examined the combined effects of different sources that influence earthquake hazard of the populated Wasatch Front, Utah. We first evaluated the fault-stress interaction of the two largest historic earthquakes of the Intermountain Seismic Belt (ISB): the 1959 Hebgen Lake, Montana ( M s 7.5) and the 1983 Borah Peak, Idaho ( M s 7.3) earthquakes, which experienced multisegment, normal-faulting ruptures. Estimates of the static-stress change for these events revealed an increase in Coulomb failure stress in areas of extended aftershocks. These observations suggested that fault-stress analysis is applicable in evaluating the spatial distribution of aftershocks after large, normal-faulting earthquakes in the same extensional-stress regime of the eastern Basin-Range, including the Wasatch Front, Utah, which encompasses the 370-km-long Wasatch Fault and surrounding faults. On the basis of this result, we applied the modeling technique to the historically seismically quiescent Wasatch Fault and examined the relation between the pattern of stress change and the space-time distribution of paleoearthquakes. Ages and locations of the Wasatch Fault paleoseismic data imply 17 single-segment or 11 multisegment ruptures in the past 5.6 kyr. We prefer the multisegment model because almost all of the large, historical, normal-faulting earthquakes in the ISB were multisegment. Fitting the along-fault displacements by an analytic half-ellipse function provides a first-order distribution of the displacement over an entire rupture length and allows new estimates of fault slip rates and seismic moment. With these data, we also estimated the occurrence rate of M w > 6.6 Wasatch paleoearthquakes and showed that the rate was about three times higher than that inferred by the historical seismicity. This result, along with new information from a “megatrench” on the Wasatch Fault near Salt Lake City, that revealed no scarp-forming earthquakes between ca. 9.0 and 15.5 ka, suggests that large Wasatch Fault events in the past 5.6 kyr may be clustered. The recurrence rate of large earthquakes estimated by the geodetic-measured strain, on the other hand, is three to four times higher than that estimated by the long-term fault-slip rate. This difference, together with the observation of a low regional strain rate from historical seismicity, suggests that cumulative, aseismic deformation may be significant on the Wasatch Fault. We also examined a major consideration for along-strike segmentation, namely, how stress “contagion” could affect the probability of failure of adjacent faults. Including paleoearthquake-derived fault-slip rates, global positioning system derived geodetic moment rates, and the effect of stress contagion in the earthquake-hazard estimation for a specific location in the Salt Lake Valley revealed an increase in the annual frequency of peak ground acceleration ≥ 0.25 g by a factor of 1.4, 4.0, and 5.4, respectively, compared with that derived from historical seismicity only. Manuscript received 31 May 2001.
Loss of Vascular Early Response Gene Reduces Edema Formation After Experimental Stroke

Vascular Early Response Gene (Verge) is an immediate early gene (IEG) that is up-regulated in endothelial cells in response to a number of stressors, including ischemic stroke. Endothelial cell lines that stably express Verge show enhanced permeability. Increased Verge expression has also been associated with blood brain barrier breakdown. In this study we investigated the role of Verge in ischemic injury induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in both Verge knockout (KO) and wild type (WT) mice. Verge KO mice had significantly less cerebral edema formation after MCAO compared to WT mice. However, stroke outcome (infarct size and neurological deficit scores) evaluated at either 24 or 72 hours after stroke showed no differences between the two genotypes. Verge deletion leads to decreased edema formation after ischemia; however acute stroke outcomes were unchanged.
Radiotransmitter Mount Type Affects Burrowing Owl Survival

JENNIFER A. GERVAIS, Department of Forest, Range, and Wildlife Sciences, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USA DANIEL H. CATLIN, Department of Forest, Range, and Wildlife Sciences, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USA NATHAN D. CHELGREN, Department of Forest, Range, and Wildlife Sciences, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USA DANIEL K. ROSENBERG, Department of Forest, Range, and Wildlife Sciences, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USA