cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dim target detection and clutter rejection using modified high order correlation neural network

The authors present a scheme for detecting dim moving targets in highly cluttered background from infrared (IR) data. A high-order spatiotemporal correlation scheme developed by R.J. Liou et al. (1991) to extract the sequency information carried by a target track and reject the background clutter is modified to incorporate target motion dynamics. More than 97% clutter rejection is achieved without losing the target information. In addition, a scoring process is used as a post processor to assign velocity and curvature dependent scores to all the possible target windows. The clutter rejection rate can further be improved by examining the scores of the windows using a back-propagation decision making network. Simulation results are also presented. >
Laughter as a scientific problem: An adventure in sidewalk neuroscience

Laughter is a stereotyped, innate, human play vocalization that provides an ideal simple system for neurobehavioral analyses of the sort usually associated with such animal models as walking, wing-flapping, and bird song. Laughter research is in its early stages, where the frontiers are near and accessible to simple observational procedures termed "sidewalk neuroscience." The basic, nontechnical approach of describing the act of laughter and when humans do it has revealed a variety of phenomena of social and neurological significance. Findings include the acoustic structure of laughter, the minimal voluntary control of laughter, contagiousness, the "punctuation effect" that describes the placement of laughter in conversation, the dominance of speech over laughter, the role of breath control in the evolution of speech, the evolutionary trajectory of laughter in primates, and the role of laughter in human matching and mating. If one knows where to look and how to see, advances in neuroscience are accessible to anyone and require minimal resources.
U.S. population in the 21st century: Which scenario is reasonable?

A major Census Bureau study released in January 1989 has evoked renewed warnings in the media and among some population analysts that the U.S. faces population decline in the next century if it does not increase fertility and/or raise immigration. The report's middle scenario rests on an assumed future total fertility rate (TFR) of 1.8, life expectancy of 81.2 years, and net immigration of 500,000 annually. These mid-range assumptions would yield a United States population of 268 million by 2000, peaking at 302 million in 2040 and falling to 292 million by 2080. Questionable assumptions in the report's most likely scenario are discussed. These are: The report's low growth scenario projects future population size that is more reassuring than alarming: 264 million in 2000, rising to 288 million in 2030, and falling to 266 million in 2080. Thus, in ninety years the United States would still have 20 million more people than now. While some fear that such slow growth will lower United States influence and bring labor shortages and an aging population, the nation's quality of life would be less at risk with a population of 266 million than with one approaching the one-half billion projected by the Census report's high estimates.
Community Mediation: Writing in Communities and Enabling Connections through New Media

Abstract The question of how best to facilitate the creation of sustainable new media compositions within communities is vital if these compositions are to become a permanent part of community knowledge-making practices and to reach audiences in a meaningful way. We explore a model of community mediation that is cognizant of the practices and structures of communication within a given community. This model also acknowledges the boundary between the definition of community identity and the possibility of connection to both internal and external audiences. We illustrate this model of community mediation using three cases in which it was practiced: the creation of an informational video that profiles a local neighborhood center, the building of a digital installation on the history of the Cherokee Nation, and the preservation and practice of Indian classical dance amid its remediation via new media technologies. These examples reveal where and how stabilized meaning-making practices can emerge when researchers and other facilitators of new media composition are cognizant of existing mediums that community members use to represent themselves and the complex lifeways embodied by those mediums. Because all cultural practices resist mediation to some degree, we ultimately find that the only way to insure sustainable community mediation is to use existing practices and structures as infrastructures for building new compositions.
Psychological Distress, Problem Solving, and Coping Reactions: Sex Role Differences.

Previous research has demonstrated that psychological well-being and distress are strongly associated with masculinity, but unrelated to femininity. The present study provides for a replication of this literature in that results from 211 undergraduate students revealed that high-masculine subjects, compared to low-masculine persons, reported significantly lower scores on self-report measures of depression, state anxiety, and trait anxiety. No differences in distress were found as a function of sex or the femininity dimension. Further, high-masculine subjects, relative to low-masculine subjects, were also found to rate their problem-solving ability as more effective, to engage in more active-behavioral and less avoidance methods of coping in response to previously experienced stressful reactions and to engage in more problem-focused and less emotional-focused coping styles regarding stressful situations. Sex and femininity differences were not found related to differences in problem solving and coping. However, the relation between masculinity and distress was found to be nonsignificant when the variance due to coping was partialed out, suggesting that sex role relations to distress may be mediated by coping skills.
Performance on Multiple Choice Tests and Penalty for Guessing

Two multiple-choice achievement tests were administered to 102 undergraduates, fifty-three males and forty-nine females, under conditions of penalty vs. no penalty for guessing as part of regular evaluation in a course. A three-way (intelligence, penalty for guessing, and sex) multivariate analysis of variance, involving rights, wrongs, and omissions, indicated only two main effects (intelligence and penalty for guessing) to have significant (p ^ .05) influence on performance. The penalty for guessing resulted in highly (p < .001) signif icant a. ) decrease in rights, b. ) increase in wrongs, and c. ) increase in omissions. Penalty for guessing effectively controlled risk-taking tendency only when the material was difficult.
Colonial legacy, minorities and association football in Kenya

Kenya is a country that has a good reputation earned through her sportsmen and women, especially the athletes in middle and long distance running. However, it is association football (soccer) that attracted the imagination of the nation as the number one sport. To understand the context of football in Kenya, one should have an idea of the country’s ethnic composition, geographical/regional distribution and colonization. For much of Kenya’s history, her 42 ethnic groups were loose social formations, fluid and constantly changing. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries British colonial rule solidified ethnic identities among Kenya’s people. Colonial administrators associated ethnic groups with specific areas of the country by designating areas where only people with a particular ethnic identity could reside. This pattern of ethnically based settlement and regionalism has persisted in Kenya since it became independent. Given the regionalization of the different ethnic groups, it was easy for fo...
The Challenges of Designing and Implementing a Doctoral Student Mentoring Program

The relationship between doctoral students and faculty members has been identified as a key component of a successful graduate school experience. In this article, we consider the challenges inherent in designing and implementing a formal doctoral student mentoring program. By bringing together students, peer mentors, and faculty mentors, the program sought to introduce a team-based platform to facilitate student success. We specifically consider how program components might be scaled up across the institution, providing both a personal and supportive relationship for participants as well as an information resource for the broader student population.
Total risk aversion, stochastic optimal control, and differential games

We present a connection between the theory of risk in the context of a stochastic optimal control problem and its relation to the theory of differential games. In particular, we define the notion of “total risk aversion” from the viewpoint of the upper value of a differential game. We prove that as the index of absolute risk aversion of a utility function in a stochastic control problem converges to infinity the (certainty equivalent) optimal payoff converges to the upper value of an associated deterministic differential game. The two main points of this paper are (1) a precise characterization oftotal risk aversion and (2) the construction of a stochastic optimal control problem intimately connected to a deterministic differential game.
Lung transplantation for pulmonary fibrosis in dyskeratosis congenita: Case Report and systematic literature review

Dyskeratosis congenita (DC) is a progressive, multi-system, inherited disorder of telomere biology with high risks of morbidity and mortality from bone marrow failure, hematologic malignancy, solid tumors and pulmonary fibrosis. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) can cure the bone marrow failure, but it does not eliminate the risks of other complications, for which life-long surveillance is required. Pulmonary fibrosis is a progressive and lethal complication of DC. In this report, we describe a patient with DC who developed pulmonary fibrosis seven years after HSCT for severe aplastic anemia, and was successfully treated with bilateral lung transplantation. We also performed a systematic literature review to understand the burden of pulmonary disease in patients with DC who did or did not receive an HSCT. Including our patient, we identified 49 DC patients with pulmonary disease (12 after HSCT and 37 without HSCT), and 509 with no reported pulmonary complications. Our current case and literature review indicate that pulmonary morbidity is one of the major contributors to poor quality of life and reduced long-term survival in DC. We suggest that lung transplantation be considered for patients with DC who develop pulmonary fibrosis with no concurrent evidence of multi-organ failure.
The new entrepreneurs: New philanthropy or not?

As the new entrepreneurs become engaged donors, they are bringing some new ideas to philanthropy while also holding on to some traditional ones.
Laboratory analysis of back-corona discharge

Abstract An experimental research program was designed and performed to characterize back-corona generation and behaviour in a range of environments and geometries common to electrostatic precipitators (ESP's). A wire-parallel plate device was utilized to monitor the intensity and distribution of back-corona discharges. Back-corona was generated by subjecting a deposited layer of fly ash to corona current. Visual observations of back-corona emissions were made with a sensitive video camera. These observations provided new insight into the characteristics of back-corona phenomena. Conditions that were varied in the experiments included ash resistivity, corona electrode design, corona polarity, and ash-layer thickness and surface condition. The effect of pulsed energization on back-corona was also studied. Analyses of visual observations and measured distributions of corona- and back-corona current allowed an assessment of the effects of back-corona emissions on ESP-operating parameters.
Mental Imagery of Concrete Proverbs: A Developmental Study of Children, Adolescents, and Adults.

The development of mental imagery in relation to the comprehension of concrete proverbs (e.g., one rotten apple spoils the barrel) was examined in children, adolescents, and adults who were ages 11 to 29 years old (n = 210). The findings indicated that age-related changes occurred in mental imagery and in proverb comprehension during the years between late childhood and early adulthood, and that the two domains were associated in children and adults but not in adolescents. Children and adults were more likely to describe relevant mental imagery (age 11: “A big barrel of apples and a woman picks up one that is rotten and there are worms in it and the worms go to all the other apples”) when they also comprehended the proverb on a multiple-choice task. It was also found that participants' mental images became more metaphorical in relation to increasing age (age 21: “One bad comment can spoil the entire conversation”). The findings are consistent with dual coding theory, the view that nonverbal information (relevant visual imagery) in addition to verbal information (related words and phrases) supports language comprehension in the case of concrete meanings. The results also support the view that mental imagery reflects figurative understanding and the individual's tacit awareness of underlying metaphorical concepts.
Arthropod pest and natural enemy abundance under second-level versus first-level integrated pest management practices in apple orchards: a 4-year study

Abstract The authors conceive of second-level integrated pest management (IPM) in apple orchards as involving integration of multiple management tactics across all classes of pests. From 1991–1994, a second-level IPM pilot project was carried out in six commercial Massachusetts apple orchard blocks (2–4 ha) in which pest and natural enemy populations and injuries to fruit were compared with those in adjacent blocks receiving first-level IPM practices (considered to be integration of tactics within a single class of pests). The approach to second-level IPM was use of chemically based tactics for arthropod, disease and weed control during the first part of the growing season (up to mid-June for arthropods) and thereafter use of only biologically based tactics (cultural, behavioral and biological control methods). This article deals with findings on arthropod management. As expected, total injury to fruit by insects causing damage before mid-June did not differ between second-level (4.7%) and first-level (4.8%) IPM blocks. Total injury to fruit by insects active after mid-June averaged about the same (0.5%) in both types of blocks in 1991 and 1992, but in 1993 and 1994 it averaged more in second-level blocks (4.8%) than first-level blocks (1.9%). This was particularly true for Grapholitha prunivora Walker and leafrollers and less so for Cydia pomonella (L.) and Rhagoletis pomonella (Walsh). Among foliar pest arthropods and their natural enemies, populations of aphids and aphid predators and populations of spider mites and mite predators averaged about the same in both types of blocks. Populations of leafminers averaged lower and parasitoids of leafminers averaged greater in second-level blocks. Populations of leafhoppers averaged greater in second-level blocks. Pesticide use against fruit-damaging insects averaged 37% less in second-level than in first-level blocks, but against foliar-damaging arthropods, it was not less. Some refinements of second-level IPM tactics for arthropod control are needed before second-level IPM practices can be recommended broadly to commercial growers in New England as an economical and reliable alternative to first-level IPM.
Dorfman and R1-type procedures for a generalized group- testing problem☆

Abstract The Dorfman procedure for group-testing in a binomial setting is carefully studied for the case of any finite starting number of units. The results of this study are used to solve a generalized group-testing problem in which an arbitrary unit has to be “positive” on two independent tests in order to be classified as defective. Procedures of both the Dorfman-type and R1-type [6] are developed and compared. In the original (one-test) group-testing problem, savings of the order of 80% (resp., 90%) in the expected number of tests are attained (over the one-at-a-time procedure) when the Dorfman (resp., R1-type) procedures are used and the probability of a defective p is 0.01. In the new (two-test) group-testing problem when both probabilities of a defective are 0.01 the corresponding saving is about 90% (resp., 95%) for the procedures studied.
Effects of α-2A adrenergic receptor agonist on time and risk preference in primates

Subjective values of actions are influenced by the uncertainty and immediacy of expected rewards. Multiple brain areas, including the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia, are implicated in selecting actions according to their subjective values. Alterations in these neural circuits, therefore, might contribute to symptoms of impulsive choice behaviors in disorders such as substance abuse and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In particular, the α-2A noradrenergic system is known to have a key influence on prefrontal cortical circuits, and medications that stimulate this receptor are currently in use for the treatment of ADHD. We tested whether the preference of rhesus monkeys for delayed and uncertain reward is influenced by the α-2A adrenergic receptor agonist, guanfacine. In each trial, the animal chose between a small, certain and immediate reward and another larger, more delayed reward. In half of the trials, the larger reward was certain, whereas in the remaining trials, the larger reward was uncertain. Guanfacine increased the tendency for the animal to choose the larger and more delayed reward only when it was certain. By applying an econometric model to the animal's choice behavior, we found that guanfacine selectively reduced the animal's time preference, increasing their choice of delayed, larger rewards, without significantly affecting their risk preference. In combination with previous findings that guanfacine improves the efficiency of working memory and other prefrontal functions, these results suggest that impulsive choice behaviors may also be ameliorated by strengthening prefrontal functions.
Microscopical Study of the Structural Evolution of Sol-gel Derived Buffer Layers for the Integration of YBCO on Biaxially Textured Nickel

Epitaxial buffer layers of Ho2O3 on biaxially textured nickel were fabricated using a chelate (acetic acid) solution route as an alternative to the 2-methoxyethanol solution approach, which has demonstrated good texturing characteristics. Plan-view SEM studies of the films as a function of heat treatment temperature have shown that the holmium oxide film pyrolyzes into an open structure with a high level of interconnected porosity before densification, without significant film shrinkage in the thickness direction. Consolidation of the film started around 900°C along the backbone of the open structure and sintering to a dense film of uniform small crystallites (~25 nm) was observed at higher temperature. The as-received nickel tapes displayed significant surface damage with a roughness on the order of 1000 A. Electron backscattering analysis suggests that only 65% of the nickel grains were aligned along the (100) axis within 5°. Finally, STM studies of the nickel substrate have shown that small nickel oxide crystallites were formed on the surface when the substrate is in contact with air.
1H NMR Spectral Simplification with Achiral and Chiral Lanthanide Shift Reagents. Metapramine. Variation of Coupling Constants Produced by Shift Reagent

Abstract The 60 MHz 1NMR spectra of racemic metapramine, l, have been studied in CDCl3 solution at 28° with the achiral shift reagent, tris(6,6,7,7,8,8,8-heptafluoro-2,2-dimethyl-3,5-octanedionato) europium(III), 2, and the chiral reagent, tris[3-(heptafluoropropylhydroxy-methylene)-d-camphoratoleuropium(III), 3. Reagent 2 additions resulted in changes of the apparent vicinal coupling constants within the CH-CH2 moiety, as observed from the NCH methine resonance. The chiral 3 led to observable enantiomeric shift differences for the 2° NCH3 signal that could have potential for direct optical purity determinations of 1. Results with 2 and 3 are interpreted as consistent with major shift reagent binding at the 2° nitrogen, with conformer equilibria changes sterically induced by this complexation.
Trigger and Self-Latch Mechanisms of n-p-n Bistable Resistor

Trigger and self-latch mechanisms in n-p-n bistable resistor (biristor) were investigated. A two terminal vertical n-p-n biristor with floating p-type base was fabricated on a bulk silicon wafer. The temperature and current compliance effects on the current-voltage characteristics were analyzed to understand the underlying physical mechanism. The fact that the current compliance is temperature independent suggests that latch-up is triggered by band-to-band tunneling. In contrast, the high temperature and current compliance diminished the latch-down and hysteresis loop, which reveals that impact ionization is responsible for self-latching at bistable regime.
Control of an expanding network—“An operational nightmare”

Control of a network, especially as it expands into new geographic areas, is one of the most important factors in assuring that both the reliability and availability of that network will not be adversely effected. When the General Electric Company first offered a commercial network as part of its Time-Sharing service, only a small part of communications control was automated. The remainder of the control functions were performed manually. As the network grew from its infancy into what it is today, it could have become “An Operational Nightmare”. It became evident that it was necessary to develop into the network a completely automatic control system that would provide operations personnel with the tools for both recognizing and recovering from problems that might compromise either its availability or reliability. Included in this capability are the following: 1 The ability to detect and display the status of all the nodes. 2 The ability to detect and display the status of all links. 3 The ability to introduce new software. 4 The ability to measure the overall network performance. 5 The ability to schedule preventive maintenance. 6 The ability to detect imminent failures. This paper will show why this automated control system is necessary, how it is structured to record the pulse and heart-beat of the network and finally how it is used to maintain the stability of the network.
Critical period of sensitivity for effects of cadmium on frog growth and development.

Cadmium is a ubiquitous pollutant in aquatic environments that can alter organismal physiology and ecology. Previous experiments found that ecological Cd exposures increased the growth and development of two North American anurans. However, the generality of these effects among species, the time period over which they occur, and the mechanisms responsible remain conjectural. The goal of the present study was to determine the critical period of sensitivity of Rana pipiens exposed to ecologically relevant levels of Cd. We exposed tadpoles to Cd (0 [control], 1.0, and 10.0 microg/L) from Gosner stage (GS) 25 to metamorphic climax. We assessed effects of Cd on amphibian length, survival, and development during premetamorphosis (GS 25-30) and prometamorphosis (GS 31-42). After 14 d of exposure, we staged tadpoles and recorded snout-vent length. Tadpoles were then pooled according to treatment and stage (GS or =30) and allowed to undergo metamorphic development. Tadpoles exposed to 10 microg/L were significantly larger and more advanced in development by 14 d. Survival to forelimb emergence exceeded 90% in all treatments, and time to metamorphic climax was not different from that in controls. Body burdens of Cd were positively correlated with increasing treatment. Early amphibian development (premetamorphosis) was shown to be the critical period of sensitivity for growth and development. Whereas the freshwater criterion for Cd appears to be protective for survival, a lack of knowledge remains about the sublethal effects of chronic exposures of metal pollutants, especially as they relate to tissue concentrations at various stages of amphibian life history.
Retention behavior of suwannee river fulvic acid components in RP-HPLC

Abstract Chromatographic data of RP - HPLC hasbeen used to provide additional information on the properties of the reference Suwannee River fulvic acid components. The polarities of the fulvic acid components were found to range from 5.86 to 10.15, and the total solubility parameters to range from 14.12 to 20.92. The estimated hydrocarbonaceous surface areas of the polar moieties range from 30 to 120A2. The hydrophobic neutral constituents represent ∼ 30% of the total fulvic acid peaks and can be resolved into five components with k' ranging from 0.5 to 2.0. Their uv and fluorescence chromatograms show what appears to be a regular retention pattern of a homologous series. The uv-visible scans of three of these peaks provide further evidence to this interpretation.
The market liquidity of DIAMONDS, Q's, and their underlying stocks

Abstract We investigate the market liquidity effects of the introduction of index-tracking stocks for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIAMONDS) and the NASDAQ 100 index (Q's). Our main finding is liquidity of the underlying DJIA 30 index stocks improves after the introduction of the exchange-traded fund, largely because of a decline in the cost of informed trading. Further, we find the DIAMONDS has significantly lower liquidity costs over the first 50 days of trading as compared to the portfolio of its component stocks, again primarily because of lower adverse selection costs. Finally, we find weaker but qualitatively similar results for the Q's.
Bioluminescent Bacteria as Indicators of Chemical Contamination of Coastal Waters

The ratio of bioluminescent to total bacteria (bioluminescent ratio, BLR) as an indicator of a variety of types of anthropogenic contamination of estuarine ecosystems was evaluated through a series of laboratory and field studies. Laboratory studies indicated that the BLR of natural bacterioplankton communities was proportionally reduced in the presence of a number of contaminants including diesel fuel and saltmarsh sediments co-contaminated with mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Bioluminescent ratio inhibition was observed after short-term exposure to a contaminant suggesting a physiological rather than a population response of native microbial communities. Simulated eutrophication did not suppress the BLR. Field observations of the BLR were conducted weekly for a 2-yr period in the Skidaway River estuary, Georgia, USA. These observations revealed considerable seasonal variability associated with the BLR. Bioluminescent ratios were highest during the summer (25 +/- 15%), lower in the fall (6 +/- 5%) and spring (3 +/- 2%), and near zero during the winter. Although the BLR was not significantly correlated to salinity at a single site (Skidaway River estuary), the BLR was significantly correlated with salinity when sites within the same estuary system were compared (r2 = 0.93). Variation in BLR was not correlated to standard bacteriological indicators of water quality including total and fecal coliform bacteria. Comparison of the BLR from impacted and pristine estuarine sites during the fall suggested that anthropogenically impacted sites exhibited lower BLR than predicted from salinity versus BLR relationships developed in pristine systems. These observations suggest that the BLR could be used as a simple and reliable initial indicator of chemical contamination of estuarine systems resulting from human activity.
Urethrography and Cavernosography Imaging in a Small Series of Penile Fractures: A Comparison With Surgical Findings

Abstract Objectives. To compare our results of preoperative corporal cavernosography and retrograde urethrography in penile fractures with the clinical and intraoperative findings. Methods. From January to October 1996, 7 cases of penile fracture were diagnosed at our inner city trauma center. All cases were associated with sexual activity and patients underwent preoperative retrograde urethrography and corpus cavernosography with immediate surgical intervention. Results. We found that 2 patients who presented with blood at the meatus had intact urethras, whereas 2 of the 3 patients who had urethral lacerations did not have a bloody meatus. In 2 cases the urethrogram and cavernosogram revealed lacerations that were not initially detected surgically. However, in another 2 cases, the urethrogram and cavernosogram were falsely negative. Two of the seven corporal fractures were bilateral and five were unilateral. Conclusions. On the basis of this small sample, it appears that preoperative cavernosography and retrograde urethrography may show additional sites of tears in the corpora and urethra because hematoma formation may mask some ruptures. However, the presence or absence of a bloody meatus may not necessarily correlate with the status of the urethra, and the urologist also should be wary of a false-negative imaging study. We suggest that all cases of penile fracture be explored surgically, but preferably by a subcoronal degloving incision that allows careful examination of the urethra and corpora. Results of a larger series may determine if the routine use of these imaging modalities is justified intraoperatively.
Evaluation of blood pressure during early alcohol withdrawal

Ninety-five patients undergoing early alcohol withdrawal were observed for a five-day period in a non-hospital facility to evaluate the natural history of blood pressure change during this period. Patients under 30 years old developed a significant increase in systolic pressure on the second abstinent day, decreasing a mean of 10 mm Hg by the fourth abstinent day. With increasing age there was a progressively smaller rise in systolic pressure. Multivariate analysis showed a history of hypertension, delirium tremens, seizures, initial pulse, race, and sex not to be predictive of blood pressure change. Diastolic pressure was unaffected. Etiology of this difference requires further study. There were no hypertensive complications in this group. Patients undergoing early withdrawal need not be treated for changes in blood pressure without evidence of end organ damage or severe hypertension.
Observations of nearshore infragravity waves: Seaward and shoreward propagating components

[1] The variation of seaward and shoreward infragravity energy fluxes across the shoaling and surf zones of a gently sloping sandy beach is estimated from field observations and related to forcing by groups of sea and swell, dissipation, and shoreline reflection. Data from collocated pressure and velocity sensors deployed between 1 and 6 m water depth are combined, using the assumption of cross-shore propagation, to decompose the infragravity wave field into shoreward and seaward propagating components. Seaward of the surf zone, shoreward propagating infragravity waves are amplified by nonlinear interactions with groups of sea and swell, and the shoreward infragravity energy flux increases in the onshore direction. In the surf zone, nonlinear phase coupling between infragravity waves and groups of sea and swell decreases, as does the shoreward infragravity energy flux, consistent with the cessation of nonlinear forcing and the increased importance of infragravity wave dissipation. Seaward propagating infragravity waves are not phase coupled to incident wave groups, and their energy levels suggest strong infragravity wave reflection near the shoreline. The cross-shore variation of the seaward energy flux is weaker than that of the shoreward flux, resulting in cross-shore variation of the squared infragravity reflection coefficient (ratio of seaward to shoreward energy flux) between about 0.4 and 1.5.
cAMP-dependent Mobilization of Intracellular Ca2+ Stores by Activation of Ryanodine Receptors in Pancreatic β-Cells A Ca2+ SIGNALING SYSTEM STIMULATED BY THE INSULINOTROPIC HORMONE GLUCAGON-LIKE PEPTIDE-1-(7–37)

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is an intestinally derived insulinotropic hormone currently under investigation for use as a novel therapeutic agent in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. In vitro studies of pancreatic islets of Langerhans demonstrated that GLP-1 interacts with specific beta-cell G protein-coupled receptors, thereby facilitating insulin exocytosis by raising intracellular levels of cAMP and Ca2+. Here we report that the stimulatory influence of GLP-1 on Ca2+ signaling results, in part, from cAMP-dependent mobilization of ryanodine-sensitive Ca2+ stores. Studies of human, rat, and mouse beta-cells demonstrate that the binding of a fluorescent derivative of ryanodine (BODIPY FL-X ryanodine) to its receptors is specific, reversible, and of high affinity. Rat islets and BTC3 insulinoma cells are shown by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction analyses to express mRNA corresponding to the type 2 isoform of ryanodine receptor-intracellular Ca2+ release channel (RYR2). Single-cell measurements of [Ca2+]i using primary cultures of rat and human beta-cells indicate that GLP-1 facilitates Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release (CICR), whereby mobilization of Ca2+ stores is triggered by influx of Ca2+ through L-type Ca2+ channels. In these cells, GLP-1 is shown to interact with metabolism of D-glucose to produce a fast transient increase of [Ca2+]i. This effect is reproduced by 8-Br-cAMP, but is blocked by a GLP-1 receptor antagonist (exendin-(9-39)), a cAMP antagonist ((Rp)-cAMPS), an L-type Ca2+ channel antagonist (nimodipine), an antagonist of the sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATPase (thapsigargin), or by ryanodine. Characterization of the CICR mechanism by voltage clamp analysis also demonstrates a stimulation of Ca2+ release by caffeine. These findings provide new support for a model of beta-cell signal transduction whereby GLP-1 promotes CICR by sensitizing intracellular Ca2+ release channels to the stimulatory influence of cytosolic Ca2+.
Parameters of oxygen delivery in the species Marmot a flaviventris: At sea level and 12,000 feet☆

Abstract 1. 1. Hemoglobin, hematocrit, 2,3-DPG, O2 dissociation curve and plasma pH changes were evaluated in the high altitude native mammal, Marmota flaviventris (yellow-bellied marmot), acclimatized to an altitude of 840 ft for 1 year. 2. 2. They were then placed in hypobaric chambers at 12,000 ± 500 ft for 5 days and the same parameters again studied. 3. 3. Increases in all parameters were statistically significant except plasma pH. 4. 4. It is suggested that this animal should be considered a natural paradigm for further laboratory biochemical, physiological and pharmacological studies of oxygen conductance under conditions of hypoxic stress.
Application of the Faustmann principle to a short-rotation tree species: an analytical tool for economists, with reference to Kenya and leucaena

Attention has increasingly focussed on fast-growing trees as a potential means of slowing high rates of deforestation and as a source of renewable energy. Unfortunately, the analytical tools for determining economic tractability of tree-growing projects lags behind the popular support to implement them. This paper brings the methodology of the Faustmann Principle, which was established for use with longer growing species, to bear on leucaena, a short-rotation, leguminous tree crop. The principle incorporates biological and economic parameters to derive a function relating the present value of net revenue to rotation length. Additionally, a method of incorporating secondary benefits, such as nitrogen fixation, is demonstrated. Results from the model are applied to Kenya. Research on agro-climatic zones in Kenya is used to indicate the potential volume of leucaena production.
Patenting inventions based on algorithms

Arithmetic algorithms alone are not patentable, but physical things are. The patentability of concepts embodying both algorithmic and physical elements has been questioned for a long time. In the past, patentability was decided by criteria (such as statutory class and novelty) detailed in the patent statute. In the recent Flook case, the US Supreme Court says that arithmetic algorithms are nonpatentable because they are not `inventions' in the first place, whether or not they are new. The effect of this decision on the patentability of methods and systems embodying both arithmetic and physical elements is known. Rough guidelines for patentability are provided.
Specific conditions for enhancement of lipoprotein lipase activity by platelets

Homogenates of human blood platelets, but not of red blood cells, have been found to stimulate lipoprotein lipase activity only when assayed against an emulsified triglyceride substrate sonicated for a short period of time. The degree of stimulation was inversely related to the time of sonication of the substrate. Using chylomicrons as substrate no stimulation of lipoprotein lipase activity by platelet homogenate was seen.
Human IgG in immune complexes bound to human erythrocyte CR1 is recognized differently than human IgG bound to an erthrocyte surface antigen

We have developed several methods, including a new use of magnetic cell separation techniques, to examine how human IgG bound to human erythrocytes can be recognized. We find that human IgG in complement-opsonized immune complexes bound to erythrocyte CR1 is less accessible to several probes than human IgG bound to the rhesus antigen on erythrocytes. These findings suggest that the mechanism by which immune complexes are removed and cleared from erythrocyte CR1 in the circulation is different from the mechanisms which lead to splenic clearance of IgG sensitized erythrocytes.
Decreased expression of CD73 (ecto-5′-nucleotidase) in the CD8+ subset is associated with zinc deficiency in human patients

We used flow cytometry to observe the changes in T cell populations resulting from zinc deficiency in subjects with sickle cell anemia (SCA) and in healthy human volunteers without SCA. Zinc deficiency was associated with significant decreases in cellular zinc concentration, CD4+/CD8+ ratio, and percentage of CD73+ cells in the CD8+ population. The decrease in the percentage of CD73+ cells in the CD8+ subset was significantly correlated with lymphocyte zinc concentration and was accompanied by essentially no change in the percentage of CD11b+ cells in the CD8+ subset. Daily oral zinc supplementation in nine zinc-deficient human volunteers (25 mg elemental zinc) and in seven zinc-deficient SCA subjects (50 mg elemental zinc) resulted in increases in the absolute lymphocyte count and significant increases in the CD4+/CD8+ ratio and in the percentage of CD73+ cells in the CD8+ subset. In zinc-supplemented subjects, the increase in the percentage of CD73+ cells was accompanied by a significant decrease in the percentage of CD11b+ cells in the CD8+ subset. Changes in the CD4+/CD8+ and CD73+/CD11b- cell ratios in the CD8+ subset after treatment may provide a useful diagnostic criterion for zinc deficiency in humans.
Current Appraisal of Diagnosis and Treatment of Bronchogenic Carcinoma

Truly adequate tools for early diagnosis of carcinoma of the lung are not available. Of most importance is the physician's acute sensitivity to the insidious nature of this disease and its great frequency in men past 40 with long smoking histories. In addition, routine x-ray films of the chest at frequent intervals, possibly on a communitywide basis, offer the greatest potential case finding means at the present time. Cytologic techniques are being explored and may have great utility in the future, but at present are too ponderous fo rroutine use. Pulmonary resection is the treatment of choice for bronchogenic carcinoma. It should be possible to carry out this procedure with an operative mortality in the neighborhood of 10 per cent, and a five-year survival of approximately 25 per cent of those patients in whom resection is possible. Management of the inoperable patient poses many difficulties. In the absence of metastases outside the chest, radiation therapy is often employed and offers a significant likelihood of potential benefits. Improvements in the techniques of radiation therapy, possibly in conjunction with appropriate chemotherapeutic agents, may extend the utility of this medium to a large number of patients who at the present time are beyond the scope of all available therapy.
Accurate detection of excess over a standard based on a random sample

A known number N of packages each contain, in differing unknown amounts, both substances of no particular import and some substance of interest, the total weight of the latter substance for all N of the packages being an unknown quantity T. Based on the amounts of the substance of interest found in each of n (n ≦= N) randomly sampled packages one is to decide, with a very small probability of the error of wrongly deciding that T exceeds L, whether or not the quantity T exceeds a given amount L. An optimal way of doing this is presented in which the probability of the error of wrongly deciding that T exceeds L can be precisely bounded above as desired.
Characterization of unintentionally-ordered superlattice resonant-tunneling diodes

In the molecular-beam-epitaxy growth of ternary and quaternary InGaAs and In(GaAl)As alloys on InP it is observed that the layer composition is ordered in the direction of growth. This ordering is caused by the nonuniform distribution of beam fluxes at the rotating substrate with an ordering period determined by the combined effects of growth rate and substrate rotation rate. The effect of the ordering is to produce a strained-layer superlattice whose properties can be inferred from the current-voltage characteristics of resonant-tunneling diodes. The physical and electrical characteristics of these rotation-induced superlattices are described utilizing several one-dimensional theoretical approaches to calculate the miniband structure and interpret the experimental data. >
Considerations in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's testing approach for mutagenicity

Abstract This paper provides the rationale and support for the decisions the OPP will make in requiring and reviewing mutagenicity information. The regulatory requirement for mutagenicity testing to support a pesticide registration is found in the 40 CFR Part 158. The guidance as to the specific mutagenicity testing to be performed is found in the OPP's Pesticide Assessment Guidelines, Subdivision F, Hazard Evaluation: Human and Domestic Animals (referred to as the Subdivision F guideline).
Best Achievable Isomerization Reaction Conversion in a Membrane Reactor

Membrane reactors provide exciting opportunities for overcoming thermodynamic limits on the maximum attainable conversion of reversible reactions. Some of them are of particular interest to the petrochemical industry. A simple membrane reactor model has been employed to investigate the performance of a reversible reaction A ⇌ B and identify the operating conditions (for efficient reactant use and reduced waste generation) at which maximum conversion occurs. This conversion supremization problem is shown to be nonconvex and possess discontinuity properties which lead to different optimal conditions. Analytic formulas that describe the maximum attainable conversion have been derived. These help identify when conversions above the equilibrium conversion can be attained. They also reveal that the surface-to-volume ratio should be small to attain maximum conversion. Applications are discussed for butane isomerization reactions important to the manufacture of alkylates and reformulated gasoline.
Neural-network design applied to protein-secondary-structure predictions

The success of neural networks is often limited by a sparse database of training examples, deficient neural-network architectures, and nonglobal optimization of the network variables. The convolution of these three problems has curtailed the application of network models to protein-structure predictions, where homology modeling or information theory approaches are considered better controlled alternatives. This paper introduces our broad objective of disentangling the three degrading features of neural networks cited above, beginning with improved designs of network architectures used in the prediction of protein secondary structure. This work demonstrates that network architecture design considerations greatly improve generalization and more efficiently extract complex sequence-structure relationships from the existing database, as compared to arbitrary architectures with the same size input window.
Effect of dietary calcium and phosphorus vitamin D metabolites 25(OH)D and 1,25(OH)2D, and response to bPTH (1‐34) in blue duikers

In a colony of blue duiker antelope (Cephalophus monticola bicolor) at Pennsylvania State University, many animals had reversed Ca:P ratios and acid-base imbalance, and some developed urinary calculi. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between age, dietary Ca, P, and the homeostatic mechanisms controlling their extracellular fluid levels. Sixteen males (1–5 years old) had serum and urine electrolytes and vitamin D metabolites evaluated before, during, and after bPTH (1-34) intravenous infusion while consuming 1.38%Ca:0.66%P, and after consuming one of four experimental diets (Ca and P: 0.5:0.4%, 0.8:0.8%, 0.8:0.4%, 1.25:0.4%) for four months. Pretrial, all duikers responded similarly to bPTH. Post-trial bPTH caused an increase in serum Ca and a decrease in P followed by a rebound in P in duikers consuming 0.4% P and either 0.5, 0.8, or 1.25% Ca, whereas the 0.8:0.8% (high P diet) caused a decline in serum Ca and no change in P, followed by an increase in serum P to higher levels than baseline. Vitamin D metabolites pretrial were similar between age groups and assigned treatment. Post-trial 1,25(OH)2D was significantly lower in younger males consuming diets with %Ca > %P than in older males. 25(OH)D was similar between age groups. Ca intake inversely affected 25(OH)D (P < 0.002) and was directly related to 1,25(OH)2D. P intake inversely affected 1,25(OH)2D (P < 0.04) and was directly related to 25(OH)D. This suggests that blue duikers have a unique ruminant response to PTH that is related to vitamin D metabolism as influenced by the dietary level of Ca and P, and the age of the animal. This may indicate an age-related impairment of 25(OH)D metabolism in young duikers, or a dependence on increased 1,25(OH)2D to maintain Ca and P homeostasis in older animals. Zoo Biol 21:171–183, 2002. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
A Planning and Evaluation Six-Pack for Sustainable Organizations: The Six-P Framework

As performance improvement (PI) practitioners, we seek not only to solve organizational problems but also to add value. For some time, we have focused on financial value. However, we are beginning to be held accountable also for the impact of our interventions on society and the environment. The Six-P framework—proposed here––can help PI practitioners develop a broader view of organizational value and engage in planning and evaluation activities that will contribute to sustainability.
Adapting Motivational Interventions for Comorbid Schizophrenia and Alcohol Use Disorders

The co-occurrence of schizophrenia and alcohol use disorders often leads to poor treatment retention and adherence. Both empirical research and statements of best practices suggest that interventions including motivational interviewing principles can enhance treatment engagement and improve outcomes. This article describes a set of exercises used within a motivational enhancement protocol for outpatients with schizophrenia-spectrum and alcohol use disorders. We describe how each exercise was tailored to the target population, and how it is designed to enhance motivation to change and treatment engagement. Examples from clinical transcripts are used to demonstrate how motivational interviewing is adapted to the cognitive, social, and environmental circumstances associated with schizophrenia.