cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Blood glucose dysregulation and cognitive outcome in ARDS survivors

Objective: Hyperglycaemia is common in critically ill patients and may contribute to increased mortality and morbidity. This study assessed the impact of blood glucose on cognitive outcome in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) patients’ 1 year post-hospital discharge.Design: Retrospective data for 74 ARDS survivors who were enrolled in a prospective mechanical ventilation randomized clinical trial. A standard protocol was used to manage blood glucose. The highest, lowest, mean and standard deviation glucose values were examined, as well as duration of hypoxemia and other clinical data. Standardized neuropsychological tests were administered to identify cognitive sequelae. Logistic regression models were used to assess risk factors for cognitive sequelae.Measurements and results: There was a significant relationship between the blood glucose and cognitive sequelae. Greater duration of mechanical ventilation and highest blood glucose predicted cognitive sequelae.Conclusions: Blood glucose dysregulat...
Effects of spin accumulation in magnetic multilayers

The diffusion equation for the spin accumulation in magnetic multilayers is extended to capture the time-dependent buildup of spin accumulation as well as the influence of an external field and arbitrary magnetization orientations on the spin accumulation. One obtains a consistent formulation for spin accumulation that can explain such important effects as spin injection, spin filtering, and spin transfer on an equal footing. Spin transfer is determined by the amount of spin accumulation at the interfaces whereas spin filtering by the departure from collinear magnetization orientations. The noncollinear magnetization orientations lead to a spatial decay of the spin accumulation in the transverse direction of the multilayer plane. Spin filtering can thus be associated with a new length scale in the transverse direction. Moreover, spin filtering is in correspondence with a biquadratic coupling between layers and changes in the angular dependence of the giant magnetoresistance. What is interesting is that spin filtering is not a prerequisite to spin transfer. Different scenarios for current-induced magnetization reversal are discussed in which, depending largely on the geometry of the magnetic multilayer, either spin injection or spin transfer will be dominant.
Factors Affecting the Benthic Community Structure of a Discontinuous Stream in Guadelupe Mountains National Park, Texas

McKittrick Creek, a discontinuous mountain-desert stream in Guadelupe Mountains National Park, Texas, was sampled at discrete locations (pools) to test for differences in biomass, density, species diversity, equitability, and species richness in the benthic macroinvertebrate community. Significant differences occurred among pools for these biotic characteristics of the benthic community along the downstream gradient. Pools connected by flow were more similar to each other than pools separated by dry reaches. Variation in the quantity of coarse detritus and periphyton best explained differences among pools.
Naukar, Rajput, and sepoy : the ethnohistory of the military labour market in Hindustan, 1450-1850

Preface List of abbreviations Glossary 1. Beyond the control of the state 2. A Warlord's fresh attempt at empire 3. The Rajput of pre-Mughal North India 4. Politics and entrepreneurship of a 'spurious' Rajput clan 5. Bhojpuri soldiering and the vicissitudes of Empire Epilogue Bibliography Index.
Variation in photoreactivity of iron hydroxides taken from an acidic mountain stream

The photoreduction of iron hydroxides is known to exert significant influence over many biogeochemical processes in streams impacted by acid mine drainage. Using laboratory and in-stream measurements, the variation in reactivity of iron hydroxides taken from a stream receiving acid mine drainage (AMD) was studied. The reactivity decreased for material collected at sites progressively downstream from the AMD inflow. In the presence of two simple organic ligands, photoreduction increased for the fresher iron hydroxides but remained unchanged for the older hydroxides. The importance of ligand coordination to the enhancement of photoreduction in natural waters was further demonstrated in experiments using two types of fulvic acids. In-stream measurements of hydrogen peroxide concentration are consistent with the conclusions drawn from the batch experiments. Iron hydroxides were observed to age over time, becoming less photoreactive. This aging was accompanied by an increase in crystal linity. The loss of phot...
Combined semiclassical and effective-mass Schrödinger approach for multiscale analysis of semiconductor nanostructures

A multiscale model, seamlessly combining semiclassical and quantum-mechanical theories, is proposed for electrostatic analysis of semiconductor nanostructures. A quantum potential criterion is used to determine if a local region in the semiconductor is semiclassical or quantum mechanical. If the local physical model is semiclassical, the charge density is directly computed by the semiclassical theory. If the local physical model is quantum mechanical, the charge density is calculated by using the theory of local density of states (LDOS). The LDOS is efficiently calculated from the Green's function by using Haydock's recursion method where the Green's function is expressed as a continued fraction based on the local effective-mass Schr\"odinger Hamiltonian. Once the charge density is determined, a Poisson equation is solved self-consistently to determine the electronic properties. The accuracy and efficiency of the multiscale method are demonstrated by considering examples from nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) and nanoelectronics. Furthermore, the regions where quantum-mechanical effects are significant are identified for the NEMS and nanoelectronic device structures.
Narcolepsy with tinnitus aura: interpretation.

A fifty-five year old man was admitted to our ward for evaluation of narcoleptic-cataplectic attacks which were signaled by a “hissing sound like high pressure steam leaking out of a pipe.” This tinnitus was exclusively localized to the right ear. It started about sixty-to-ninety seconds before the cataplectic episode (affecting mostly the jaw muscles) and lasted through part of it as it became progressively louder toward the end and ceased abruptly. It is postulated that, along with the collapse of tonic musculature of the mandible, a decrease of proprioceptive tone also affected the tensor tympani muscle leaving the middle ear vulnerable to internally generated noise. We further postulate that tinnitus was finally arrested by the generation of phasic bursts of contraction of the tensor tympani and/or the stapedius muscle at a later stage of cataplexy.
Therapeutic mechanisms of a mindfulness-based treatment for IBS: effects on visceral sensitivity, catastrophizing, and affective processing of pain sensations

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a prevalent functional disorder characterized by abdominal pain and hypervigilance to gastrointestinal sensations. We hypothesized that mindfulness training (MT), which promotes nonreactive awareness of emotional and sensory experience, may target underlying mechanisms of IBS including affective pain processing and catastrophic appraisals of gastrointestinal sensations. Seventy five female IBS patients were randomly assigned to participate in either 8 weeks of MT or a social support group. A theoretically grounded, multivariate path model tested therapeutic mediators of the effect of MT on IBS severity and quality of life. Results suggest that MT exerts significant therapeutic effects on IBS symptoms by promoting nonreactivity to gut-focused anxiety and catastrophic appraisals of the significance of abdominal sensations coupled with a refocusing of attention onto interoceptive data with less emotional interference. Hence, MT appears to target and ameliorate the underlying pathogenic mechanisms of IBS.
The Heavy Burden of Psychiatric Comorbidity in Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Large Comparative Study of a Psychiatrically Referred Population

The objective of the study was to systematically examine patterns of psychiatric comorbidity in referred youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) including autistic disorder and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified. Consecutively referred children and adolescents to a pediatric psychopharmacology program were assessed with structured diagnostic interview and measures of psychosocial functioning. Comparisons were made between those youth satisfying diagnostic criteria for ASD and age and sex matched youth without ASD referred to the same clinical program. 9.3% (217/2323) of the referred youth (age range: 3–17 years) met DSM-III-R criteria for ASD. ASD youth suffered from significantly higher number of comorbid disorders than comparisons (6.4 ± 2.7 vs. 5.2 ± 2.9; p < 0.001). Ninety-five percent of the youth with ASD had three or more comorbid psychiatric disorders and 74% had five or more comorbid disorders. ASD youth were also more functionally impaired and required extra-assistance in school and therapeutic interventions at higher rates than age and sex matched non-ASD referred youth. Youth with ASD have high levels of psychiatric comorbidity and dysfunction comparable to the referred population of youth without ASD. These findings emphasize the heavy burden of psychiatric comorbidity afflicting youth with ASD and may be important targets for intervention.
Midcervical neuronal discharge patterns during and following hypoxia

Anatomical evidence indicates that midcervical interneurons can be synaptically coupled with phrenic motoneurons. Accordingly, we hypothesized that interneurons in the C3–C4 spinal cord can display...
The Developmental Stages of Eurytemora Americana Williams, 1906, and Eurytemora Herdmani Thompson & Scott, 1897 (Copepoda, Calanoida) 1)

none of the afore mentioned species were reared from egg to adult in the laboratory, descriptions of development stages are based partly on cultured animals and partly on developmental stages isolated from plankton collections. The present paper describes the developmental stages of E. americana and E. herdmani from specimens reared in the laboratory. The laboratory cultures were initiated by isolating egg-bearing females from plankton samples obtained in February and March from the Woods Hole Oc?anographie Institution pier in Woods Hole Harbor, Massachusetts. The naupliar and copepodid stages were reared in glass vessels containing 75 to 100 cc of sea water and were fed a mixed food containing the following: Mono cry sis lutheri, Is o cry sis galbana, Dunaliella tertiolecta, Cy clot ella nana, and Phaeodactylum tricornatum. The animals were usually examined daily and fed every 3 or 4 days.
Exoskeletons in a disabilities context: the need for social and ethical research

The potential of exoskeletons – defined as powered, wearable robots that can enhance the user's strength and endurance – has many groups excited. While they receive some attention in military-focused research, exoskeletons are also garnering attention in the civilian world, in particular for people who have disabilities. This article describes some of the technical, social, and ethical aspects of exoskeletons in a disabilities context. The paper's main purpose, though, will be to shine light on the dearth of social scientific and ethical analyses of this subject and, in doing so, show that these technologies – which are quickly moving from “emerging” to available – can no longer be overlooked as a subject of study.
Strongly coupled elliptic systems and applications to Lotka–Volterra models with cross-diffusion

Abstract The aim of this paper is to investigate the existence and method of construction of solutions for a general class of strongly coupled elliptic systems by the method of upper and lower solutions and its associated monotone iterations. The existence problem is for nonquasimonotone functions arising in the system, while the monotone iterations require some mixed monotone property of these functions. Applications are given to three Lotka–Volterra model problems with cross-diffusion and self-diffusion which are some extensions of the classical competition, prey–predator, and cooperating ecological systems. The monotone iterative schemes lead to some true positive solutions of the competition system, and to quasisolutions of the prey–predator and cooperating systems. Also given are some sufficient conditions for the existence of a unique positive solution to each of the three model problems.
Estimating Root Production: Comparison of 11 Methods in Shortgrass Steppe and Review of Biases

Estimating root production has been difficult due to multiple potential biases associated with both old and new methods. This shortgrass steppe site is the only place we are aware of that can compare most methods including sequential coring, ingrowth cores, and ingrowth donuts, 14C pulse-isotope dilution, 14C pulse-isotope turnover, rhizotron windows, and minirhizotron, and indirect methods including nitrogen budget, carbon flux, simulation carbon flow model, and regression model. We used the studies at this site, other comparisons, a summary of potential directional biases, and different ways of calculating estimates in a logical, comparative approach of evaluating methods. Much of the literature for root production is based on sequential biomass coring, a method resulting in erroneous estimates. Root ingrowth estimates of production are generally conservative compared to minirhizotron and isotope turnover methods. The size of the ingrowth area may be the most important determinant of the underestimation. Estimates based on pulse-isotope dilution are also erroneous due to non-uniform labeling of tissues. Uniform labeling is not an assumption of the pulse-isotope turnover method, and this method has the least severe potential biases. Root production estimates from pulse-isotope turnover were lower than those using minirhizotron when the most common method of calculation was used. This agrees with literature concerning bomb 14C continuous-isotope labeling comparisons with minirhizotron, although some potential biases between isotope methods are different. However, good agreement between pulse-isotope turnover and minirhizotron were obtained when minirhizotron estimates were calculated from regression of decomposition versus production to equilibrium and when pulse-isotope turnover estimates were calculated from two-phase life-span regressions. This minirhizotron method bypasses biases associated with the artificial surface similar to root-cohort methods that may be practical only in mesic systems, and takes into account both short- and long-lived roots and corrects for soil-isotope contamination that the continuous-isotope labeling bomb 14C method is not able to account for. Comparisons of these direct methods are also made with four indirect methods.
Work of breathing characteristics of seven portable ventilators

Portable ventilators (PVs) are used for patient transport with increasingly frequency. Due to design differences it would not be unexpected to find differences among these ventilators in the imposed work of breathing (WOBI) during spontaneous respiratory efforts. The purpose of this investigation was to compare the WOBI characteristics during spontaneous breathing of seven PVs; Bird Avian, Bio-Med Crossvent 4, Pulmonetics LTV 1000, Hamilton Max, Dragerwerk Oxylog 2000, Impact Uni-Vent 750, and Impact Uni-Vent 754 using a model of spontaneous breathing. Differences between the PVs in regards to the measured parameters increased with increases in simulated breathing demand. WOBI, peak inspiratory pressure, and pressure-time product were consistently less with the LTV 1000 over the range of simulated breathing conditions. During pressure support ventilation these parameters were significantly less with the LTV 1000 compared with the Crossvent 4. Only the WOBI produced by the LTV was consistently lower than the physiologic work of breathing across the simulated spontaneous breathing conditions. Based on these results it is predicted PVs with flow triggering and positive end-expiratory pressure compensation will consistently offer the least WOBI. Clinicians should be aware of these characteristics when using PVs with spontaneous breathing patients.
Molecular epidemiology of nosocomial infection associated with multi-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii by infrequent-restriction-site PCR.

Abstract Acinetobacter baumannii was considered endemic in a university-affiliated tertiary hospital. A significant increase was noted in the proportion of nosocomial infections associated with this micro-organism from 1996 to 1999, although no apparent clusters could be found. Between July 1998 and February 2000, 58 nosocomial isolates of A. baumannii were collected and characterized by antibiotyping and a genotyping method, infrequent-restriction-site PCR (IRS-PCR). High resistance to the 14 antimicrobial agents examined was observed among the isolates. Of the 13 antibiograms detected, eight were multi-resistant to gentamicin and almost all of the traditional and extended-spectrum β-lactams. These multi-resistant strains consisted of 41 isolates (71%), distributed amongst different wards and intensive care units (ICUs). By IRS-PCR, 23 types were obtained, with one major type found among 28 (48%) isolates. All of these 28 isolates were collected from surgical ICUs. It appears that a single strain of multi-resistant A. baumannii was responsible for the prevalence of nosocomial infection amongst surgical patients, clearly differentiating this outbreak from the previous endemic situation. An efficient molecular typing method played a vital role in making this discrimination.
New occurrences of ferroselite (FeSe2)

Abstract Iron selenide from the uranium-vanadium ores of the Colorado Plateau was under investigation when ferroselite was described as a new mineral in Russia by Bur'yanova and Komkov (1955). Association of ferroselite with selenian pyrite and marcasite within discrete areas of these uranium-vanadium deposits suggests an unusual environment of formation. Its association with apparent low temperature assemblages in the United States and Bussia indicates that its minimum temperature of formation is quite low. Chemical analyses of ferroselite agree well with the theoretical formula FeSe 2 ; material from the Virgin no. 3 mine, Montrose County, Colorado, gives the formula FeSe 2.07 and that from the A.E.C. no. 8 mine, Temple Mountain, Utah, gives the formula (Fe, Co)Se 2.08 . The similarity of hastite and ferroselite suggests that a complete series FeSe 2 -CoSe 2 may exist. In contrast to this, pyrite associated with ferroselite apparently will camouflage only 4 per cent (molecular) FeSe 2 within its structure. Ferroselite cannot be distinguished from rammelsbergite (FeAs 2 ) by X-ray or in polished section; therefore, the exact identification of these two minerals can be made only by specific tests for As or Se. As hastite (CoSe 2 ) and marcasite are in the same structure group as ferroselite and rammelsbergite, identification of these minerals should include qualitative chemical determinations.
Artificially induced metamorphosis acetone in Acris gryllus.

The causative agents (hormones) involved in amphibian metamorphosis as well as the involved specific endocrine organs have been well established for decades. Tri-iodothyronine and thyroxin, both secretions of the larval thyroid gland, are directly responsible for metamorphosis under physiological conditions. High amounts of the element iodine (approximately 300 times the amount found in equally effective levels of thyroxin) can also induce metamorphosis in amphibians. In a search for an appropriate emulsifier to be employed in studying the effects of hydrophobic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) on metamorphosis, reagent-grade acetone (a commonly used carrier molecule for PCBs) was found to be a potent inducer of metamorphosis inAcris gryllus. The acetone was employed as a component of an artificial pond water (APW) medium. Other test conditions included exposure to thyroxin and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) for comparison. Not only was metamorphosis enhanced in the acetone-treated animals, but the effect was concentration-dependent when acetone levels of 10 mg/L and 50 mg/L were employed. The 50 mg/L acetone-treated group showed precocious metamorphosis at a rate not significantly different from that produced by thyroxin. Dimethyl sulfoxide exposure produced no significant increase in metamorphic rate.
Development of a Collagen-Gag Copolymer Implant for the Study of Tendon Regeneration

Following injuries resulting in a gap, tendons generally do not heal sufficiently because the defect does not fill with reparative tissue, or the resulting scar tissue is not functionally adequate. The objective of this study was to engineer a collagen-GAG (CG) copolymer to facilitate tendon regeneration. Previous work in our laboratory using similar porous resorbable analogs of extracellular matrix have led to regeneration of skin and peripheral nerve. Matrices with controlled pore structure were produced by adapting the manufacturing technique developed in our laboratory for grafts with cylindrical geometry. CG suspensions contained within silicone elastomer tubes were frozen and lyophilized in a controlled manner. Quantitative optical microscopy was used to determine the percent porosity, average pore size, and pore orientation of the matrices. The CG matrices, formed in silicone elastomer tubes, 3.8 mm in diameter, had average pore sizes ranging from 20 to 150 μm. his range of pore sizes was comparable to that obtained previously using a diameter of 1.5 mm.1 The average pore size did not appear to be strongly dependent on the tubing diameter. The homogeneity of the pore structure and the pore channel orientation could be controlled by adjusting the temperature of the bath used for freezing the CG suspension and the velocity with which the graft was immersed into the coolant bath.
Estimate of radon-222 concentrations in rainclouds from radioactivity of rainwater observed at ground level

A time-independent model is presented which predicts the short-lived radon daughter activity of rainwater at ground level for unit concentration of radon (222Rn) in cloud. The model incorporates the physical processes of diffusive attachment of radon daughters and impact collection for cloud droplets by raindrops. It also includes consideration of cloud droplet and raindrop size spectra. It is concluded from the results from the model that the specific activity of rainwater is not affected very much by aerosol concentration, liquid water content, average radius of raindrops and height of cloud base but is affected markedly by rainfall rate. The radon concentrations in the rainclouds are estimated from the comparison between calculation and near-ground observations carried out for a period of almost 3 years. The result shows that the monthly geometric mean concentration ranges from 2 to 6 pCi·m−3 at Nagoya.
Distribution of hyaluronan in the mouse endometrium during the periimplantation period of pregnancy.

Abstract The tissue distribution of stromal hyaluronan (HA) in the periimplantation mouse uterus was studied histochemically using a biotin-labelled HA-binding complex from cartilage proteoglycan. HA is present around proliferating stromal cells in both the pregnant and pseu-dopregnant mouse uterus prior to their differentiation into the decidualized phenotype. Decidualization is accompanied by clearance of HA from the extracellular matrix (ECM). This clearing is part of an intrinsic developmental program of the differentiating deciduum. A specific embryonic signal from the implanting conceptus is not required for this phenomenon to occur, since a similar response could be induced in deciduoma produced by artificial stimulation of a receptive uterus. Clearing of HA from the antimesometrial stroma is consistent with the hypothesis that the HA-negative decidual cell may be involved in restricting the invasion of trophoblast cells during embryo implantation. Retention of HA within angiogenic regions of the decidua basalis implies a functional role for this molecule in placental vascularization.
Acute molecular markers of rodent hepatic carcinogenesis identified by transcription profiling.

Currently, the only way to identify nongenotoxic hepatocarcinogens is through long-term repeat dose studies such as the 2 year rodent carcinogenicity assay. Such assays are both time consuming and expensive and require large amounts of active pharmaceutical or chemical ingredients. Thus, the results of the 2 year assay are not known until very late in the discovery and development process for new pharmaceutical entities. Although in many cases nongenotoxic carcinogenicity in rodents is considered to be irrelevant for humans, a positive finding in a 2 year carcinogenicity assay may increase the number of studies to demonstrate the lack of relevance to humans, delay final submission and subsequent registration of a product, and may result in a “black box” carcinogenicity warning on the label. To develop early identifiers of carcinogenicity, we applied transcription profiling using several prototype rodent genotoxic and nongenotoxic carcinogens, as well as two noncarcinogenic hepatotoxicants, in a 5 day repe...
Cuba-US relations: will public health lead the way?

At the recent American Public Health Association (APHA) Meeting (held in New Orleans, in November, 2014), leaders of the American and Cuban public health associations signed an agreement to collaborate. With encouragement from WHO, PAHO, and the World Federation of Public Health Associations, Georges Benjamin, Executive Director of APHA, and C Alcides A Ochoa Alonso, President of the Sociedad Cubana de Salud Publica affi xed their signatures. Now that the USA plans to re-establish diplomatic relations with Cuba, will the handshake between public health associations help the two governments cooperate? The focus now moves to an April, 2015 meeting in Havana, where everyone— the US and Cuban public health associations and public health leaders from every country in the Americas will be invited to help build hemispheric cooperation in public health. Public health has overcome enmity in the past. Wars have been put on hold so that children could be immunised. Can cooperation between their public health associations encourage the US and Cuban Governments to work together?
THE ONE TO ONE PRINCIPLE OF INTERLANGUAGE CONSTRUCTION

Studies of pidginization have often characterized the minimal nonnative linguistic systems that result from the process of pidginization in negative terms, as the absence of morphosyntactic features of the native target language. Such negative definitions (1) fail to explain what pidgins are like and how they get that way and (2) fail to provide a means for describing and explaining continual linguistic development of nonnative interlanguage systems beyond the minimal skeletal systems characteristic of the earliest stage of interlanguage development. This paper suggests that one important principle of interlanguage construction can account for both minimal "pidginized" interlanguage systems and more developed interlanguage systems. The One to One Principle of interlanguage construction specifies that an interlanguage system should be constructed in such a way that an intended underlying meaning is expressed with one clear invariant surface form or construction. Evidence for this principle is drawn from recent second language acquisition research on Dutch, English, French, German, Spanish, and Swedish as second languages.
Collagen structure: Evidence for a helical organization of the collagen fibril

The collagen fibrils of human or guinea pig dermis when exposed to the denaturing agents, urea or guanidine—HCl, dissociated into smaller, disparate subunits, probably aggregates of microfibrils. The process of dissociation demonstrates that the fibrils are assembled helically. Initially, diagonal clefts appear on the surface of the fibril. These clefts are surface manifestations of a spirally oriented, internal space. Continued exposure to these denaturants resulted in progressive dissociation of the fibril into helically oriented subunits. It is suggested that water-miscible compounds such as glycols or hydroxypropyl methacrylate, in addition to the urea—guanidinium class of denaturants used in this study, affect the observed fbrillar changes through the disruption of hydrogen bonds between the microfibrils making up the fibril. Such a mode of action may explain why freeze-fractured or “inert embedded” collagen demonstrates helical organization while other, more conventional methods of tissue processing do not. Further support for the proposed mode of action of these dissociative agents was provided by the observation that mature collagen, in which extensive intra- and intermolecular covalent crosslinks are present, is more resistant to dissociation than newly formed collagen.
Big lessons about small things.

Teaching a diverse field such as nanotechnology is far from easy. Doug Natelson provides a few pointers.
COMAR [IEEE Committee on Man Radiation]

The author reports the activities of the IEEE Committee on Man and Radiation (COMAR). COMAR critically examines and interprets the literature on biological effects. Its findings are usually reported in the form of Technical Information Statements (TISs). While the Committee holds several regular meetings every year, most of the technical work is done offline, and discussed via e-mail. It should be pointed out that COMAR does not establish safety standards, but it has an interest in the standards activity within its scope.
In vivo bicarbonate requirement for water oxidation by Photosystem II in the hypercarbonate-requiring cyanobacterium Arthrospira maxima.

Abstract While the presence of inorganic carbon in the form of (bi)carbonate has been known to be important for activity of Photosystem II (PSII), the vast majority of studies on this “bicarbonate effect” have been limited to in vitro studies of isolated thylakoid membranes and PSII complexes. Here we report an in vivo requirement for bicarbonate that is both reversible and selective for this anion for efficient water oxidation activity in the hypercarbonate-requiring cyanobacterium Arthrospira ( Spirulina ) maxima , originally isolated from highly alkaline soda lakes. Using a non-invasive internal probe of PSII charge separation (variable fluorescence), primary electron acceptor ( Q A - / Q A ) reoxidation rate, and flash-induced oxygen yield, we report the largest reversible bicarbonate effect on PSII activity ever observed, which is due to the requirement for bicarbonate at the water-oxidizing complex. Temporal separation of this donor side bicarbonate requirement from a smaller effect of bicarbonate on the Q A - reoxidation rate was observed. We expect the atypical way in which Arthrospira manages intracellular pH, sodium, and inorganic carbon concentrations relative to other cyanobacteria is responsible for this strong in vivo bicarbonate requirement.
Geographers and Sustainability: A Missing Connection?

As geography matured during the 20th century, it followed a course that might appear, to outsiders at least, as a series of distributary channels — rather than coming together in a coherent and unified flow. Schisms among geographers and competing identities for their discipline risk impairing geography’s effectiveness to provide tangible solutions to problems plaguing Planet Earth (Hanson 1999). Although this parallels changes in some other disciplines, it also carries with it the potential for unraveling the sinews that give strength to its disciplinary project.
Population sex ratios under differing local climates in a reptile with environmental sex determination

Populations that experience different local climates, such as those along a latitudinal gradient, must match life history traits to local environmental conditions. In species with temperature-dependent sex determination, such as many reptiles, population sex ratio is strongly influenced by local climate, yet local climate differs substantially among populations in geographically-widespread species. We studied the painted turtle at three sites across the species' geographic range to gain a mechanistic understanding of how sex ratios are produced under different local climates. We combined data on maternal nest- site choice, nest incubation temperature, and the resultant offspring sex ratio of populations across a climatic gradient, to demonstrate how geographic variation in behavior and physiology translates into sex ratios among populations of a widely-distributed species. We found that populations across the species' geographic range match incubation conditions with local climatic conditions through population-specific adjustment of maternal nest-site choice. Incubation temperatures during the thermosensitive period were cooler and clut- ches were more male-biased in the south, with populations farther north having warmer
Distributed tuning of machine learning algorithms using MapReduce Clusters

Obtaining the best accuracy in machine learning usually requires carefully tuning learning algorithm parameters for each problem. Parameter optimization is computationally challenging for learning methods with many hyperparameters. In this paper we show that MapReduce Clusters are particularly well suited for parallel parameter optimization. We use MapReduce to optimize regularization parameters for boosted trees and random forests on several text problems: three retrieval ranking problems and a Wikipedia vandalism problem. We show how model accuracy improves as a function of the percent of parameter space explored, that accuracy can be hurt by exploring parameter space too aggressively, and that there can be significant interaction between parameters that appear to be independent. Our results suggest that MapReduce is a two-edged sword: it makes parameter optimization feasible on a massive scale that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago, but also creates a new opportunity for overfitting that can reduce accuracy and lead to inferior learning parameters.
Evaluating Online Health Information: Beyond Readability Formulas

Although understanding health information is important, the texts provided are often difficult to understand. There are formulas to measure readability levels, but there is little understanding of how linguistic structures contribute to these difficulties. We are developing a toolkit of linguistic metrics that are validated with representative users and can be measured automatically. In this study, we provide an overview of our corpus and how readability differs by topic and source. We compare two documents for three groups of linguistic metrics. We report on a user study evaluating one of the differentiating metrics: the percentage of function words in a sentence. Our results show that this percentage correlates significantly with ease of understanding as indicated by users but not with the readability formula levels commonly used. Our study is the first to propose a user validated metric, different from readability formulas.
Contour matching using local affine transformations

A noniterative scheme for determining contour matches using locally affine transformations is proposed. The method assumes that contours are approximated by the orthographic projection of planar patches within oriented neighborhoods of varying sizes. For degenerate cases, a minimal matching solution is chosen closest to the minimal pure translation. Performance on noisy synthetic and natural contour imagery is reported. >
Introducing efl faculty to online instructional conversations

This article describes the anatomy and dynamics of an online professional development activity, the Moodle fishbowl. The fishbowl was designed as an opportunity for experienced EFL educators to witness and make sense of instructional conversation strategies that they might themselves use as they migrate their EFL courses to blended and eventually fully online venues, venues where the roles and dynamics of interaction are decidedly different than those in the live classroom. A major emphasis in this professional development sequence was to raise faculty awareness of the unique affordances on which they, as experienced language educators, might capitalize through observation of authentic examples of responsive online instructional strategies. To that end, three-week-long collaborations were established between participating faculty's EFL students and a 'cultural expert' in the US. The cultural experts were doctoral students in language technology who employed instructional conversation strategies with the EFL students as part of informal, authentic asynchronous threaded discourse topics. The role of the faculty in training was to observe these conversations by looking into the metaphorical fishbowl, reflect on the anatomy and impact of these online instructional conversations, and report back to the group as a whole. The following narrates the rationale, processes and outcomes of this Moodle fishbowl professional development sequence and suggests future considerations in supporting language educators as they move some or all of their instruction online.
Characterization by indentation of combustion synthesized cermets

Results of indentation experiments used for the determination of the deformation response of the combustion synthesized TiC-NiTi composite are described. The experimentally obtained data is used in combination with a model developed for the indentation process which enables the calculation of the constitutive properties of a porous cermet.
A high-sensitivity polyimide capacitive relative humidity sensor for monitoring anodically bonded hermetic micropackages

This paper presents the design, fabrication and complete characterization of a high-sensitivity polyimide-based humidity sensor for monitoring internal humidity level in anodically bonded hermetic micropackages. This capacitive sensor is 1 mm on a side and utilizes CU1512 polyimide film with a thickness in the range from 300 /spl Aring/ to 1200 /spl Aring/ sandwiched between two metal electrodes to sense moisture. The measured sensitivity for a sensor with a 1200-/spl Aring/-thick film is 0.86 pF/%RH, and for a 300-/spl Aring/-thick sensor is 3.4 pF/%RH. The sensor has been exposed to and survived a one-hour test at 400/spl deg/C, which is the temperature typically used to perform anodic bonding. Measurements show a drift of less than 1% RH at 50% RH and 37/spl deg/C for 48 h, and a hysteresis of <2% RH over a range from 30 to 70% RH for a 1200-/spl Aring/-thick polyimide film sensor. The measured breakdown voltage of the sensor (1200 /spl Aring/ thick) exceeds 20 V and agrees well with other results.
An Evaluation of Vaporizing Rates of SiO2 and TiO2 As Protective Coatings for Ultrahigh Temperature Ceramic Composites

For temperatures >1973 K, the thermodynamic and kinetic analyses of the major gaseous species for a liquid titanate layer would vaporize significantly less than a silicate layer, when considering these layers as a protective barrier for ultrahigh temperature ceramic composites. At 2500 K, the major species is TiO(g) with P TIO(g) =0.1 kPa compared with SiO(g) with P SIO(g) =1.3 x 10 kPa at the Ti/TiO 2 and Si/SiO 2 equilibrium, respectively. The SiO(g) attains a partial pressure greater than ambient pressure at 2500 K even with a thermodynamic activity of 0.01 considering equilibration with a silicide (e.g., Tisi x ). In addition, at 2500 K the TiO 2 layer would vaporize at a rate of 0.23 mm/s compared with the SiO 2 layer's loss rate of 207 mm/s. Although the oxygen diffusivity and permeability through titanate solutions must be further analyzed, the thermodynamic and kinetic analyses for vaporization indicate a longer duration for a liquid titanate than for a liquid silicate layer at ultrahigh temperatures.
Environmental Factors Controlling Soil Respiration in Three Semiarid Ecosystems

Previous research suggests that soil organic C pools may be a feature of semiarid regions that are particularly sensitive to climatic changes. We instituted an 18-mo experiment along an elevation gradient in northern Arizona to evaluate the influence of temperature, moisture, and soil C pool size on soil respiration. Soils, from underneath different free canopy types and interspaces of three semiarid ecosystems, were moved upslope and/or downslope to modify soil climate. Soils moved downslope experienced increased temperature and decreased precipitation, resulting in decreased soil moisture and soil respiration las much as 23 acid 20%, respectively). Soils moved upslope to more mesic, cooler sites had greater soil water content and increased rates of soil respiration las much as 40%), despite decreased temperature. Soil respiration rates normalized for total C were not significantly different within any of the three incubation sites, indicating that under identical climatic conditions, soil respiration is directly related to soil C pool size for the incubated soils. Normalized soil respiration rates between sites differed significantly for all soil types and were always greater for soils incubated under more mesic, but cooler, conditions. Total soil C did not change significantly during the experiment, but estimates suggest that significant portions of the rapidly cycling C pool were lost. While long-term decreases in aboveground and belowground detrital inputs may ultimately be greater than decreased soil respiration, the initial response to increased temperature and decreased precipitation in these systems is a decrease in annual soil C efflux.
Tracing the Tumor Lineage

Defining the pathways through which tumors progress is critical to our understanding and treatment of cancer. We do not routinely sample patients at multiple time points during the progression of their disease, and thus our research is limited to inferring progression a posteriori from the examination of a single tumor sample. Despite this limitation, inferring progression is possible because the tumor genome contains a natural history of the mutations that occur during the formation of the tumor mass. There are two approaches to reconstructing a lineage of progression: (1) inter-tumor comparisons, and (2) intra-tumor comparisons. The inter-tumor approach consists of taking single samples from large collections of tumors and comparing the complexity of the genomes to identify early and late mutations. The intra-tumor approach involves taking multiple samples from individual heterogeneous tumors to compare divergent clones and reconstruct a phylogenetic lineage. Here we discuss how these approaches can be used to interpret the current models for tumor progression. We also compare data from primary and metastatic copy number profiles to shed light on the final steps of breast cancer progression. Finally, we discuss how recent technical advances in single cell genomics will herald a new era in understanding the fundamental basis of tumor heterogeneity and progression.
The effects of guanethidine and of alpha-methyldopa on the digital circulation in hypertension

Abstract 1. 1. The reactions of the digital circulation to drugs were compared in two groups of 15 hypertensive subjects each. In one group the patients received a-methyldopa (750 mg. daily) for 2 to 8 weeks, and in the other they received guanethidine (50 mg. daily) for 2 to 4 weeks. 2. 2. Digital circulatory studies in the supine position, involving measurements of flow, pressure, radius equivalent, and reactivity to 1-norepinephrine (NE), were carried out on the same subject under the same conditions in both groups, prior to and after administration of the drug. 3. 3. Despite the well-known postural hypotensive effect of both drugs, the decrease in supine, resting brachial and digital blood pressures was not statistically significant in patients treated with guanethidine. Guanethidine also produced a slight but significant decrease in vascular caliber in the dilated state, possibly attributable to edema of the walls of the blood vessels, and, hence, correctable by simultaneous administration of a diuretic. 4. 4. In patients given α-methyldopa, there was a significant fall in resting brachial systolic pressure, a rise in resting digital blood flow and radius equivalent, and, hence, a reduction in the work of vasoconstriction in the supine position. 5. 5. The increase in digital vascular reactivity to NE in both groups was probably attributable to depletion of N E from tissue stores by the drugs.
Solar cells made from p-CdTe films grown with ion-assisted doping

CdTe thin films grown by ion-assisted doping are investigated for use as the absorber layer in solar cells. In particular, the sharp reduction in carrier density with increased ion current which occurs after a maximum in the carrier density has been reached is examined. The ability to make carrier density profiles and to grade junctions is demonstrated. Preliminary results from films grown on graphite and alumina substrates are presented. Solar cells prepared using the epitaxial p-CdTe films as the collector material and n-CdS as the window are presented, and V/sub oc/, J/sub sc/, and fill factor are examined for different carrier densities and configurations in the p-CdTe. Carrier density levels in p-CdTe epitaxial films up to 2*10/sup 17/ cm/sup -3/ using ion-assisted doping with P as the dopant were achieved. >
Verbal identification of stimulus components in ambiguously named compounds

Two experiments were conducted to provide information regarding acquisition of names for component stimuli. In Experiment I, 2 groups of 31 children each, given training in associating nonsense syllables with 2-component compounds, were tested with the components alone. Results showed that Group E (trained to apply names consistent with the components of each compound) was significantly superior (p < 0.001) to Group C (given inconsistent training) in correctly naming the components. In Experiment II, 4 groups of 30 children each were given either consistent or inconsistent training with relevant or irrelevant compounds. The consistent-relevant group made significantly more correct test responses (p < 0.001) than the other 3 groups, which did not differ from each other. Results of both experiments support the hypothesis that names for components are learned in a task soluble only on a component basis.
Abuse during pregnancy: a quintessential threat to maternal and child health--so when do we start to act?

Abuse to a pregnant woman is a quintessential threat to maternal and child health because it both directly (because of blunt trauma to the abdomen, for example) and indirectly affects the mortality and morbidity of both infant and mother, it interacts with many other health and economic risk factors