cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Doing Great Basin Archaeology Recently: Coping with Variability

Great Basin archaeologists spent the 1970s and most of the 1980s tearing down the Desert Culture hypothesis without presenting compelling means for dealing with the empirical variability that made it untenable. Recent research seeks to understand this variability by examining the effect of key variables in extreme environmental contexts, especially in wetlands and at high altitudes, and by developing and refining models of optimality that anticipate variability as the local expression of general evolutionary ecological principles. Research on intraregional and ethnic variability has lagged behind—the former because it is said to be costly, the latter because it is problematical in theory.
Using film to provide a context for teaching L2 pragmatics

Abstract This qualitative study examines the pragmatic tools that first-year learners of German from two intact classes have at their disposal at the beginning and at the end of an eight-week period. The control (n = 15) and treatment groups (n = 22) watched a feature film, The Edukators, as part of the study. The control group answered comprehension questions based on the film, while the treatment group completed tasks focused on pragmatics, using the film as context-rich scaffolding for analyzing authentic, discourse-length language. The pre- and post-tests were administered eight weeks apart and elicited dialogs based on interactions in the film. Learners' metapragmatic reflections were also analyzed. The data suggests that participants in the treatment group were better able to vary their responses to reflect relationships between interactants or the purpose of the exchange, utilizing the social context portrayed in the film and explicit pragmatic instruction. Their ability to express pragmatic variability, albeit with limited linguistic tools, has implications for understanding beginning language learners' pragmatic abilities and for the possibilities of using films for teaching pragmatics in foreign language contexts, where other types of authentic input may be scarce.
One Eye But No Vision: Cave Fish With Induced Eyes Do Not Respond to Light

One of the most intriguing questions in evolutionary biology is the degree to which behavior is a necessary consequence of morphology. We explore this issue by examining phototactic behavior in epigean (eyed surface-dwelling) and troglomorphic (blind cave) forms of the teleost Astyanax fasciatus whose eyes were modified during embryogenesis by removing one or both lens vesicles from the epigean form or by transplanting the lens vesicle from an epigean fish into the optic cup of a blind cave form. Lens removal results in eye degeneration and blindness in adult epigean fish, whereas lens transplantation stimulates growth of the eye, inducing the development of optic tissues in the normally eyeless adult cave fish. Photoresponsiveness was examined by placing fish in an aquarium with one half illuminated and the other half dark and scoring their presence in the illuminated or dark half. Both the eyeless epigean fish and cave fish with induced eyes are indifferent to the illumination whereas the surface forms are scotophilic, suggesting that optic development and phototactic behavior are decoupled.
Mixing processes for agricultural and food materials: 3. Powders and particulates

Mixing of solid particulate materials is a common and ancient operation. The factors and methods relating to mixing of solid materials have been reviewed. Considering the wide application, the amount of information available appears quite limited. There is a general understanding of what happens in the process, but the details of forces and mechanisms have not been completely elucidated and developed into design procedures. Inter-particle percolation is an important mechanism in solids mixing. Mixing of solids is often accomplished by manipulating material flows or by use of simple tumblers. Ribbon impellers or large, open augers in vessels are sometimes utilized. The vessels may be open or closed, horizontal or vertical and may be cylindrical or some other shape such as conical with the impeller inclined. Total mixed rations for livestock are composed of materials with diverse characteristics. Mixing, and prevention of segregation of such materials are problems. Standard methods for evaluating the performance of mixing equipment have been developed. Tracers are added to a standard mixture and then the coefficient of variation determined for a series of samples. There is a need to develop methods for determining when mixing is satisfactorily completed.
The energy spilling reactions of bacteria and other organisms.

For many years it was assumed that living organisms always utilized ATP in a highly efficient manner, but simple growth studies with bacteria indicated that the efficiency of biomass production was of
Group mentoring to foster the responsible conduct of research.

This article reports on a method of group mentoring to strengthen responsible research conduct. A key feature of this approach is joint exploration of the issues by trainees and their faculty research supervisors. These interactions not only help participants learn about current ethical norms for research practice, but also draw on the accumulated experience of faculty and staff about practical problems of research conduct, and help to make faculty more articulate about responsible research conduct and so better able to guide their trainees. By working with departments or laboratories as a whole the method facilitates the formulation of specific norms appropriate to particular research situations and to strengthen the group’s ability to support appropriate behavior and deal with new issues as they arise. It also gives students more ways to ask questions about research practice and to benefit from the experience of all members of their department or group as well as their own research supervisors.
Notochordal cell-derived therapeutic strategies for discogenic back pain.

An understanding of the processes that occur during development of the intervertebral disk can help inform therapeutic strategies for discogenic pain. This article reviews the literature to identify candidates that are found in or derived from the notochord or notochordal cells and evaluates the theory that such factors could be isolated and used as biologics to target the structural disruption, inflammation, and neurovascular ingrowth often associated with discogenic back pain. A systematic review using PubMed was performed with a primary search using keywords “(notochordal OR notochord) And (nerves OR blood vessels OR SHH OR chondroitin sulfate OR notch OR CTGF) NOT chordoma.” Secondary searches involved keywords associated with the intervertebral disk and pain. Several potential therapeutic candidates from the notochord and their possible targets were identified. Studies are needed to further identify candidates, explore mechanisms for effect, and to validate the theory that these candidates can promote structural restoration and limit or inhibit neurovascular ingrowth using in vivo studies.
Affective forecasting: an unrecognized challenge in making serious health decisions.

Patients facing medical decisions that will impact quality of life make assumptions about how they will adjust emotionally to living with health declines and disability. Despite abundant research on decision-making, we have no direct research on how accurately patients envision their future well-being and how this influences their decisions. Outside medicine, psychological research on “affective forecasting” consistently shows that people poorly predict their future ability to adapt to adversity. This finding is important for medicine, since many serious health decisions hinge on quality-of-life judgments. We describe three specific mechanisms for affective forecasting errors that may influence health decisions: focalism, in which people focus more on what will change than on what will stay the same; immune neglect, in which they fail to envision how their own coping skills will lessen their unhappiness; and failure to predict adaptation, in which people fail to envision shifts in what they value. We discuss emotional and social factors that interact with these cognitive biases. We describe how caregivers can recognize these biases in the clinical setting and suggest interventions to help patients recognize and address affective forecasting errors.
N-Tetrachlorophthaloyl (TCP) for ready protection/deprotection of amino sugar glycosides.

Abstract The tetrachlorophthaloyl (TCP) group can be utilized when imidic protection of an amine is desired and durability of the protecting group to conditions ranging from mildly basic to harshly acidic is required. Installation can be accomplished in two steps by treating the free base with the commercially available TCP anhydride, and then closing the imidic ring with acetic anhydride and pyridine. Cleavage is effected by 2–4 eq of ethylenediamine under very mild conditions under which esters and glycopeptides have been shown to be stable, and racemization of amino acid residues does not occur. Unsubstituted phthalimides, even within the same molecule, are also unaffected during TCP cleavage. TCP protecting groups serve as β-directors on donors and can also be present on acceptor species during electrophilic couplings in oligosaccharide synthesis.
METABOLIC ACTIVITY OF CNS PROTEINS IN RATS AND MONKEYS WITH EXPERIMENTAL ALLERGIC ENCEPHALOMYELITIS (EAE)

—The metabolic activity of proteins from myelin and non-myelin fractions of slices of lesions in monkey brains and in spinal cords of Lewis rats with acute experimental allergic encephalomyelitis was investigated using [1-14C]leucine as a protein precursor. The uptake in vitro of [1-14C]leucine into the monkey EAE lesions was greatly increased in both the myelin and non-myelin fractions. Similar findings were made in spinal cord slices of the EAE rat with an average specific activity 341 per cent of control measured in proteins of purified myelin and 415 per cent of control in the non-myelin protein. The increased uptake appeared with the onset of paralytic symptoms 10–14 days after injection. The increased uptake did not appear to be a result of an increased amino acid pool size as measured with uniformly labelled l-leucine, valine, arginine and phenylalanine. The increase in specific activity of the myelin protein of the EAE rats was shown to be associated with the peaks characteristic of myelin protein when separated on polyacrylamide gels and the serial slices counted. Most of the radioactivity of both the control and EAE myelin protein migrated with the high molecular weight fraction, and the largest increase in radioactivity in myelin protein appeared in this fraction. Some increase in specific activity was also found in the basic and proteolipid proteins. Four different guinea-pig antigens were used to induce EAE: whole spinal cord, purified basic protein, purified myelin and basic protein + cerebroside. All caused paralytic symptoms and greatly increased incorporation in vitro of [1-14C]leucine into spinal cord proteins. The incorporation of [1-14C]leucine into slices of the inguinal and popliteal lymph nodes of the EAE and Freund's adjuvant control rats were measured and compared with the incorporation into the spinal cord non-myelin fractions. The specific activity of lymph node proteins was of the order of 10 × that of the non-myelin protein of the control spinal cord. Invasion of a moderate number of cells of the order of activity of these lymph nodes could account for the large increase in rate of protein synthesis in the EAE nervous tissue. It is concluded that much of the increased protein synthesis could be due to the inflammatory cells, although a small amount of the total increase appears to be associated with myelin protein. Other changes in metabolism of the CNS tissue of the EAE rat include a lower rate of lipid synthesis and a decreased activity of the tricarboxylic acid cycle.
Signal processing, tracking, and resource allocation for highly maneuvering closely spaced targets

In this paper a novel signal processor combined with a tracker/radar resource allocator based on the Interacting Multiple Model Probabilistic Data Association (IMMPDA) estimator is presented for tracking highly maneuvering, closely spaced targets. An advanced monopulse processing technique, which uses the Maximum Likelihood (ML) approach and yields separate angle measurements for two targets in the same radar beam and same range cell, i.e., they are unresolved, is developed. This processing results in a significant improvement, in terms of tracking performance, over techniques using the monopulse ratio for the same problem. The standard monopulse ratio technique of extracting angles yields a single merged measurement when the targets are unresolved, resulting in track coalescence. The signal processor and tracker were coupled with a radar resource allocator to minimize the radar resources required to track the target while maintaining a low track loss and ensuring high estimation accuracies.© (2000) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Stochastic metallic-glass cellular structures exhibiting benchmark strength.

By identifying the key characteristic “structural scales” that dictate the resistance of a porous metallic glass against buckling and fracture, stochastic highly porous metallic-glass structures are designed capable of yielding plastically and inheriting the high plastic yield strength of the amorphous metal. The strengths attainable by the present foams appear to equal or exceed those by highly engineered metal foams such as Ti-6Al-4V or ferrous-metal foams at comparable levels of porosity, placing the present metallic-glass foams among the strongest foams known to date.
How to Help Your Patient Stop Smoking – Guidelines for the Office Physician

T he overwhelming weight of scientific evidence clearly establishes cigarette smoking as a grave threat to personal health. This unpleasant fact can no longer be ignored. Nor can we deny that as physicians we forfeit an unparallelled opportunity to practice highly effective preventive medicine when we fail to counsel all patients and, in particular, our younger patients on the dangers of smoking. Yet, recent evidence indicates ( see article by Green and Horn ) that many physicians are inadequately meeting their responsibilities on this critical health issue. In part, some of the hesitancy to speak firmly to patients about smoking may reflect an madequate acquaintance with the evidence linking cigarettes to human disease. However, from my conversations with many smokers who have attended cigarette withdrawal clinics in New York City, I believe a far more significant factor is the physician’s uncertainty as to how to approach the patient who wants to stop smoking and deal persuasively and effectively with that inevitable inquiry-”O.K., doctor, I believe what you say about smoking, now how do I go about stopping?” It is my intention here to grapple with this and related questions and present guidelines that may be useful to the practicing physician in assisting those patients who want help in breaking the cigarette habit.
PARsing the phrase "all in for Axin"- Wnt pathway targets in cancer.

Genetic alternations resulting in constitutive stabilization of β-catenin and altered transcription of β-catenin/TCF-regulated genes are found in many cancers. A recent Nature paper offers insights into the role of tankyrase in regulating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway and suggests that compounds targeting tankyrase's poly-ADP-ribosylation (PARsylation) activity may hold promise for cancer therapy.
Comparison of Different Time Series Methods for Short-Term Forecasting of Wind Power Production

Reliable short-term predictions of the wind power production are critical for both wind farm operations and power system management, where the time scales can vary in the order of several seconds, minutes, hours and days. This comprehensive study mainly aims to quantitatively evaluate and compare the performances of different Box & Jenkins models and backpropagation (BP) neural networks in forecasting the wind power production one-hour ahead. The data employed is the hourly power outputs of an N.E.G. Micon 900-kilowatt wind turbine, which is installed to the east of Valley City, North Dakota. For each type of Box & Jenkins models tested, the model parameters are estimated to determine the corresponding optimal models. For BP network models, different input layer sizes, hidden layer sizes, and learning rates are examined. The evaluation metrics are mean absolute error and root mean squared error. Besides, the persistence model is also employed for purpose of comparison. The results show that in general both best performing Box & Jenkins and BP models can provide better forecasts than the persistence model, while the difference between the Box & Jenkins and BP models is actually insignificant.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Optimal timing for term delivery of twin pregnancies: a population-based study.

Objective The objective of this study was to examine the risk of adverse neonatal outcomes after twin delivery according to gestational age. Materials and Methods The U.S. Natality Database from 2007 to 2010 was reviewed. Inclusion criteria were twin deliveries and gestational age of 37 to 42 weeks. Exclusion criteria were congenital anomalies and missing/incomplete data. Cases were subdivided by gestational age into early term, term, and late term. Singleton pregnancies matched by delivery time and location were selected as controls. Outcome variables included were low Apgar score, assisted ventilation, neonatal intensive care unit admission, surfactant/antibiotic use, seizures, and birth injury. Logistic regression analysis was used to calculate adjusted odds ratios according to gestational age and plurality, using singleton term as reference. Results A total of 220,169 twin and 270,540 singleton deliveries were identified. The risk of adverse neonatal outcomes for twins was higher than for singletons. For twins, the distribution of the risks of the composite of adverse neonatal outcomes was linear, being the lowest at early term and the highest at late term, whereas the distribution for singletons was u -shaped being lowest at term compared with early and late term. Conclusions Twins are at higher risk of suboptimal neonatal outcomes than singletons, but do better when delivered at early term rather than term or late term.
Transit time through customs as an instrument of trade and drug policy: The case of Colombian flowers

Abstract Unnecessarily delaying perishable goods at customs is a tool that can be used to reduce the value of imported goods—thereby helping domestic producers of those goods—or to punish a country whose policies are not to the importing country's liking. In the absence of data on actual transit times of goods through customs, such delays are difficult to detect. The article looks for traces of such a policy in the behavior of prices and quantities of cut carnations in the United States, incorporating a model of the U.S. Customs Service as an agency that balances the interests of American producers and consumers into a model of the U.S. carnation market, where almost all imports come from Colombia. A key implication of the model is that the demand for imported carnations appears to be less elastic than it really is.
Variability of short arm cast application: the influence of experience using fibreglass tape and QuickCast™

A new short arm casting material which is heated to conform to the underlying limb was compared to conventional fibreglass tape. The time required for application, the pressures generated beneath the casts and the availability for digital motion were studied in three groups with varying lengths of casting experience. Results showed that the new immobilizer did not require additional time for application and provided similar interface pressures beneath the casts as compared to fibreglass tape. In addition, metacarpophalangeal joint motion was less restricted with the new casting material. This was independent of years of casting experience. The shrinkable immobilizer thus offers an alternative to conventional fibreglass tape casts.
Elemental: A New Framework for Distributed Memory Dense Matrix Computations

Parallelizing dense matrix computations to distributed memory architectures is a well-studied subject and generally considered to be among the best understood domains of parallel computing. Two packages, developed in the mid 1990s, still enjoy regular use: ScaLAPACK and PLAPACK. With the advent of many-core architectures, which may very well take the shape of distributed memory architectures within a single processor, these packages must be revisited since the traditional MPI-based approaches will likely need to be extended. Thus, this is a good time to review lessons learned since the introduction of these two packages and to propose a simple yet effective alternative. Preliminary performance results show the new solution achieves competitive, if not superior, performance on large clusters.
Design of a unique open-geometry cylindrical Penning trap

Abstract The Texas A&M University Penning trap facility is an ion trap system currently under construction, and will be used for precision nuclear physics experiments with radioactive beams provided by the Cyclotron Institute. Its primary focus is to carry out experiments to search for possible scalar currents in T =2 superallowed β - delayed proton decays, which, if found, would be an indication of physics beyond the standard model. In addition, TAMUTRAP will provide a low-energy, spatially localized source of ions for various other applications. The experiment is centered around a unique, compensated cylindrical Penning trap that employs a specially optimized length / radius ratio in the electrode structure that is not used by any other facility. This allows the electrode structure to exhibit an unprecedented 90 mm inner radius, which is larger than in any existing trap, while at the same time remaining a tractable overall length. The trap geometry was designed from first principles to be suitable for a wide range of nuclear physics experiments. In particular, the electrode structure allows for a near quadrupole electric field at the trap center, a feature necessary for performing precision mass measurements.
A common allosteric site and mechanism in caspases

We present a common allosteric mechanism for control of inflammatory and apoptotic caspases. Highly specific thiol-containing inhibitors of the human inflammatory caspase-1 were identified by using disulfide trapping, a method for site-directed small-molecule discovery. These compounds became trapped by forming a disulfide bond with a cysteine residue in the cavity at the dimer interface ≈15 A away from the active site. Mutational and structural analysis uncovered a linear circuit of functional residues that runs from one active site through the allosteric cavity and into the second active site. Kinetic analysis revealed robust positive cooperativity not seen in other endopeptidases. Recently, disulfide trapping identified a similar small-molecule site and allosteric transition in the apoptotic caspase-7 that shares only a 23% sequence identity with caspase-1. Together, these studies show a general small-molecule-binding site for functionally reversing the zymogen activation of caspases and suggest a common regulatory site for the allosteric control of inflammation and apoptosis.
Factors Inhibiting the Alkyl-Branch Plasticization of Polyoxymethylene

The ability of an alkyl branch to depress the melting temperature in a polyoxymethylene chain is measurably less than that in a polyethylene chain. The factors that inhibit the alkyl-branch plasticization of polyoxymethylene are considered by computational assessment of a series of model compounds at various levels of theory: DFT B 3 LYP 6-31+G*, DFT B 3 LYP 6-3n++G**, MP 2 cc-pVTZ, Ti, and G 3 (MP 2 ). Intramolecular interactions―characterized as acetal CH ...O hydrogen bonds―are surprisingly strong and likely encourage conformational regularity in the vicinity of the alkyl branches, allowing maintenance of the intermolecular chain-chain interactions. The acetal CH···O hydrogen bonds in dimethylene glycol average to 2 .6 5 kcal/mol while the non-acetal CH···O interactions in 1,3-propanediol are much weaker with an average of 0.34 kcal/mol (G 3 (MP 2 )). The related, classical OH···O hydrogen bond in ethylene glycol is found to be worth 2 . 12 kcal/mol. To describe this energetic ordering, an additional stabilizing anomeric effect is invoked for dimethylene glycol, a model for polyoxymethylene.
The utility of observational studies in clinical decision making: lessons learned from statin trials.

AbstractContemporary clinical decision making is well supported by a wide variety of information sources, including clinical practice guidelines, position papers, and insights from randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Much of our fundamental understanding of cardiovascular risk factors is based on multiple observations from major epidemiologic studies, such as The Seven Country Studies and the US-based Framingham Heart Study. These studies provided the framework for the development of clinical practice guidelines, including the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel series. The objective of this article is to highlight the value of observational studies as a complement to clinical trial data for clinical decision making in real-world practice. Although RCTs are still the benchmark for assessing clinical efficacy and safety of a specific therapeutic approach, they may be of limited utility to practitioners who must then adapt the lessons learned from the trial into the patient care en...
The DNA Repair Protein yKu80 Regulates the Function of Recombination Enhancer during Yeast Mating Type Switching

Recombination enhancer (RE) is essential for regulating donor preference during yeast mating type switching. In this study, by using minichromosome affinity purification (MAP) and mass spectrometry, we found that yeast Ku80p is associated with RE in MATa cells. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays confirmed its occupancy in vivo. Deletion of YKU80 results in altered chromatin structure in the RE region and more importantly causes a dramatic decrease of HML usage in MATa cells. We also detect directional movement of yKu80p from the RE towards HML during switching. These results indicate a novel function of yeast Ku80p in regulating mating type switching.
Current appraisal of conjunctival melanocytic tumors: classification and treatment

Conjunctival melanocytic tumors represent a spectrum of pigmented tumors that include benign, premalignant and malignant tumors. Conjunctival nevi are the most common pigmented tumors and are typically found in the interpalpebral bulbar conjunctiva. These lesions usually contain fine clear cysts on slit lamp biomicroscopy. Primary acquired melanosis includes lesions from increased melanin pigmentation without proliferation of melanocytes to melanoma in situ. In the new classification system, the idea is to use the term 'primary acquired melanosis' only as a clinical description, highlighting the fact that the biologic behavior of acquired melanotic lesions cannot be predicted solely based upon clinical grounds without histopathologic examination. Conjunctival melanoma represents only 5% of all melanomas arising in the ocular region and is associated with a high mortality rate. The management of primary acquired melanosis, nevi and conjunctival melanomas involves various modalities used either alone or concomitantly depending on the size and extent of the lesion.
Etanercept-related Cutaneous Nodulosis in a Patient with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Etanercept is a recombinant human tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor fusion protein, which inhibits the biological activity of TNF-α. The common side effects of TNF-α inhibitors are injection site reactions, infusion reactions and infection. Rheumatoid nodules are the most common extraarticular manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis. Drugs such as methotrexate were reported to be associated with rheumatoid nodules, but etanercept-related nodules were uncommonly observed. We report the new formation of cutaneous rheumatoid nodules in a 58-year-old man during anti-TNFα therapy with etanercept. He had 2-year history of seropositive rheumatoid arthritis, and been treated with methotrexate, hydroxychloroquine, sulfasalazine, prednisolone and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs before etanercept regimen. Rheumatoid nodules developed on the palmar surface of fingers 4 month after treatment of etanercept, although his disease activity was maintained low. One month later, we decided to stop etanercept because his nodulosis extended to elbow. Since then, he has been followed up without any progression of rheumatoid nodules or aggravation of arthritis.
Update on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Disorders of Calcium Regulation

Specialized assays are available for use in the diagnosis of disorders of calcium regulation in companion animals. Intact parathyroid hormone and ionized calcium assays are used to further define an abnormality of total calcium and then identify whether or not the calcium disorder is caused by inappropriate parathyroid gland function. An assay of parathyroid hormone-related protein may help to better document the presence of humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy in dogs and cats. Dietary excess or deficiency of vitamin D may be identified by measurement of 25-hydroxyvitarnin D. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the diagnostic utility of these assays and offer guidelines for interpretation of results. Also included are data base surveys examining breed predisposition for selected disorders of calcium metabolism in dogs.
Evidence That the Enterotoxin Gene Can Be Episomal in Clostridium perfringens Isolates Associated with Non-Food-Borne Human Gastrointestinal Diseases

Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin (CPE) is responsible for the diarrheal and cramping symptoms of human C. perfringens type A food poisoning. CPE-producing C. perfringens isolates have also recently been associated with several non-food-borne human gastrointestinal (GI) illnesses, including antibiotic-associated diarrhea and sporadic diarrhea. The current study has used restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analyses to compare the genotypes of 43 cpe-positive C. perfringens isolates obtained from diverse sources. All North American and European food-poisoning isolates examined in this study were found to carry a chromosomal cpe, while all non-food-borne human GI disease isolates characterized in this study were determined to carry their cpe on an episome. Collectively, these results provide the first evidence that distinct subpopulations of cpe-positive C. perfringens isolates may be responsible for C. perfringens type A food poisoning versus CPE-associated non-food-borne human GI diseases. If these putative associations are confirmed in additional surveys, cpe RFLP and PFGE genotyping assays may facilitate the differential diagnosis of food-borne versus non-food-borne CPE-associated human GI illnesses and may also be useful epidemiologic tools for identifying reservoirs or transmission mechanisms for the subpopulations of cpe-positive isolates specifically responsible for CPE-associated food-borne versus non-food-borne human GI diseases.
Solar irradiance in the stratosphere - Implications for the Herzberg continuum absorption of O2

A set of solar irradiance observations is analyzed that were performed from the third Solar Absorption Balloon Experiment (SABE-3) as the payload ascended through the stratosphere from 32 to 39 km. Comparison of these data with calculations of the attenuated irradiance based on simultaneous ozone and pressure measurements made from the payload suggests a refinement of the cross section values used in photochemical models. More ultraviolet radiation in the 200-210 nm spectral region reaches the middle stratosphere than is predicted by the absorption data presently available. It is suggested that significantly smaller values for the Herzberg continuum of O2 be used in future models.
Mental Health Care in the Accountable Care Organization

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is promoting formation of accountable care organizations (ACOs). In these population-based models, CMS aligns a Medicare beneficiary population to an ACO with associated expenditure and quality targets, transitioning away from purely volume-based revenue of fee-for-service Medicare. Patients with mental illness are among high-cost Medicare beneficiaries, but this population has received little attention in ACO implementation. Although the ACO goals of providing chronic and preventive care in a coordinated, patient-centered manner are consistent with what some mental health providers have long advocated, the population-based orientation may be unfamiliar. In addressing the needs of high-cost, high-risk patients to meet quality and expenditure targets, an ACO should examine the quality of mental health care it provides as well as medical quality for patients with mental illness. In addition, federal agencies should invest to ensure understanding of the im...
Variations in Nasopharyngeal Skeletal Architecture

Cephalometric and nasopharyngoscopic studies have shown wide and unpredictable variability in the pharyngeal skeletal architecture and velar size and shape in all cleft types.
Trans-targeting of protease substrates by conformationally activating a regulable ClpX-recognition motif.

Summary Conversion of bacteriophage Mu repressor to ClpXP-sensitive form correlates with induced local flexibility at the ClpX recognition motif located at the C-terminal end. Changing the C-terminal valine to an alanine (RepV196A) caused the degradation tag to be constitutively active like that of mutant repressors called Vir, which have a dominant ClpXP-sensitive conformation. However, unlike Vir, RepV196A was unable to convert wild-type repressor (Rep) to the ClpXP-sensitive form. In mixtures with Rep, only RepV196A was rapidly degraded by ClpXP. Unlike Rep, RepV196A was ClpXP sensitive without induced C-terminal flexibility. And unlike adaptor proteins that tether and deliver substrates to ClpX for trans-targeting, Vir promoted rapid degradation of Rep by ClpX deleted for the tethering site that binds adaptor proteins. Therefore, Rep's ClpX recognition motif has regulable properties, allowing an alternative trans-targeting mechanism in which an inactive degradation tag is turned on by induced conformational changes.
Factors Affecting Whole- and Part-Lactation Milk Yield and Fat Percentage in a Herd of Holstein Cattle

Abstract Relationships among milk and fat-corrected milk yield, fat percentage, weight change, body weight, and days open were studied in 1,004 lactations collected over a 14-year period in a herd of Holstein cattle. Least-squares analyses of 31 to 60-day, 121 to 150-day, and of 181 to 210-day part lactations and total lactation were performed on an intra-sire basis. The regressions of milk and fat-corrected milk on weight change were consistently large, negative, and linear. The regressions of yield on average lactation body weight were significant and curvilinear; production increased up to average or above-average weight, then declined. Effects of the number of days open were small, accounting for less than 2% of the variance in all cases. Years and age were the factors most closely associated with variation in fat percentage.
Adaptively and spatially estimating the hemodynamic response functions in fMRI

In an event-related functional MRI data analysis, an accurate and robust extraction of the hemodynamic response function (HRF) and its associated statistics (e.g., magnitude, width, and time to peak) is critical to infer quantitative information about the relative timing of the neuronal events in different brain regions. The aim of this paper is to develop a multiscale adaptive smoothing model (MASM) to accurately estimate HRFs pertaining to each stimulus sequence across all voxels. MASM explicitly accounts for both spatial and temporal smoothness information, while incorporating such information to adaptively estimate HRFs in the frequency domain. One simulation study and a real data set are used to demonstrate the methodology and examine its finite sample performance in HRF estimation, which confirms that MASM significantly outperforms the existing methods including the smooth finite impulse response model, the inverse logit model and the canonical HRF.
General dispersion equation of exchange spin waves in an antiferromagnetic superlattice

A general dispersion equation for exchange spin waves propagating in a general direction in an antiferromagnetic superlattice is derived by the recurrence relations technique. The elementary unit cell of the superlattice under consideration consists of N different antiferromagnetic layers. The results are illustrated numerically for a particular choice of parameters. (© 2003 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Renal medullary endothelin-1 is decreased in Dahl salt-sensitive rats

Although it is well established that the renal endothelin (ET-1) system plays an important role in regulating sodium excretion and blood pressure through activation of renal medullary ETB receptors, the role of this system in Dahl salt-sensitive (DS) hypertension is unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the DS rat has abnormalities in the renal medullary endothelin system when maintained on a high sodium intake. The data indicate that Dahl salt-resistant rats (DR) on a high-salt diet had a six-fold higher urinary endothelin excretion than in the DR rats with low Na+ intake (17.8 ± 4 pg/day vs. 112 ± 44 pg/day). In sharp contrast, urinary endothelin levels increased only twofold in DS rats in response to a high Na+ intake (13 ± 2 pg/day vs. 29.8 ± 5.5 pg/day). Medullary endothelin concentration in DS rats on a high-Na+ diet was also significantly lower than DR rats on a high-Na+ diet (31 ± 2.8 pg/mg vs. 70.9 ± 5 pg/mg). Furthermore, DS rats had a significant reduction in medullary ETB receptor expression compared with DR rats while on a high-Na+ diet. Finally, chronic infusion of ET-1 directly into the renal medulla blunted Dahl salt-sensitive hypertension. These data indicate that a decrease in medullary production of ET-1 in the DS rat could play an important role in the development of salt-sensitive hypertension observed in the DS rat.
Adaptive Channel Buffers in On-Chip Interconnection Networks— A Power and Performance Analysis

On-chip interconnection networks (OCINs) have emerged as a modular and scalable solution for wire delay constraints in deep submicron VLSI design. OCIN research has shown that the design of buffers in the router influences the energy consumption, area overhead, and overall performance of the network. In this paper, we propose a low-power low-area OCIN architecture by reducing the number of buffers within the router. To minimize the performance degradation due to the reduced buffer size, we use the already existing repeaters along the inter-router channels to double as buffers along the channel when required. At low network loads, the proposed adaptive channel buffers function as conventional repeaters, propagating the signals. At high network loads, the adaptive channel buffers function as storage elements in addition to the router buffers. The router buffers can be assigned either statically or dynamically to the incoming packets. Static allocation reserves equal buffer space partitioned among all of the incoming packets, whereas dynamic allocation reserves buffer space on a per-flit basis, enabling higher buffer occupancy. We evaluate the proposed adaptive channel buffers with both static and dynamic buffer allocation policies in the 90-nm technology node, using 8 times 8 mesh and folded torus network topologies. Simulation results using the SPLASH-2 suite benchmarks and synthetic traffic patterns show that, by reducing the router buffer size, our proposed architecture achieves nearly 40 percent savings in router buffer power, 30 percent savings in overall network power, and 41 percent savings in area, with only a marginal 1-5 percent drop in throughput under dynamic buffer allocation and about 10-20 percent drop in throughput for statically assigned buffers.
WHY THE 1936 LITERARY DIGEST POLL FAILED

The Literary Digest poll of 1936 holds an infamous place in the history of survey research. Despite its importance, no empirical research has been conducted to determine why the poll failed. Using data from a 1937 Gallup survey which asked about participation in the Literary Digest poll I conclude that the maga- zine's sample and the response were both biased and jointly pro- duced the wildly incorrect estimate of the vote. But, if all of those who were polled had responded, the magazine would have, at least, correctly predicted Roosevelt the winner. The current rele- vance of these findings is discussed. The 1936 campaign concluded with the Literary Digest (1936a) publish- ing survey results forecasting a landslide victory for the Republican presidential candidate, Alf Landon. The actual election was, of course, won by the incumbent, Franklin Roosevelt, by a large margin. Thus the Literary Digest poll gained an infamous place in the history of survey research. Almost every book on presidential elections or survey methodology contains some scathing reference to the poll and gives reasons why it failed to forecast the correct results. Some claim the error resulted from a biased sample. A few assert that the sample was acceptable but that the low response rate produced the incorrect forecast. Many others state that a combination of these problems was responsible. Surprisingly, these claims are mere speculation; no analysis has been conducted to determine why the Literary Digest poll was wrong. Con- sequently, we have some ideas-really competing hypotheses-as to why the poll failed but no empirical research by which to determine the source of the error.
ILS-a safe bet for your future landings

An argument is presented in favor of the ILS (instrument landing system), the principal components of which are the localizer, which provides lateral guidance to the pilot, and the glide slope, which gives the vertical guidance. A pilot flying these signals precisely will end up over the hard surface runway with the ILS receiving antenna, wherever it is mounted on the aircraft, being about 20 ft above the touchdown point. The safety record and evolution of the ILS are examined, and a pilot's view of ILS (that of the author, an engineer who has worked with ILS since 1957 and a pilot who has used ILS safely for over 30 years) is given. System availability is discussed, and comments concerning future use are offered. >
Behavioral synthesis of combinational logic using spectral-based heuristics

A prototype system developed to convert a behavioral representation of a Boolean function in OBDD form into an initial structural representation is described and experimental results are given. The system produces a multilevel circuit using heuristic rules based on properties of a subset of spectral coefficients. Since the behavioral description is in OBDD form, efficient methods are used to quickly compute the small subset of spectral coefficients needed for the application of the heuristics. The heuristics guide subsequent decompositions of the OBDD, resulting in an iterative construction of the structural form. At each stage of the translation, the form of the decomposition is chosen in order to achieve optimization goals.
Developmental and spatial regulation of a Dictyostelium prespore gene: cis-acting elements and a cAMP-induced, developmentally regulated DNA binding activity

Previously, 5′ deletion analysis revealed three important upstream regions within the regulatory region of the cAMP-induced, prespore gene SP60 of D. discoidium, each of which contains a CA-rich sequence element (CAE: consensus CACACAYYYCACACAAA/T). In this study, we have made site-directed mutations within these CAEs and examined their effect on reporter gene activity (luciferase or lacZ). Point mutations within or deletion of the distal CAE (CAE-1), middle CAE (CAE-2) or proximal CAE (CAE-3) result in substantial decreases in promoter activity at 18 h of development or in response to cAMP. lacZ fusions made with the CAE mutant promoters produced novel beta-gal staining patterns that suggest the presence of one or more morphogen gradients within the prespore zone of the slug and indicate that the CAEs are also important in regulating the spatial patterning of SP60 expression in the multicellular aggregate. Gel mobility shift assays were used to identify activities from crude nuclear extracts that bind oligonucleotides containing the CAEs. One of the binding activities is not observed in extracts from vegetative cells or cells in early development and is induced during multicellular development with kinetics similar to those of SP60 gene expression. This activity is also induced in response to cAMP and specifically binds the wild-type CAE-1- and CAE-2-containing oligonucleotides. CAE-1 and CAE-2 oligonucleotides containing point mutations within the CAE core sequence neither bind to nor compete for the cAMP-induced, developmentally regulated factor(s) and result in substantial reductions in expression levels when substituted for the wild-type CAEs in vivo. The correlation between in vitro binding and in vivo function suggests that the CAE-1/CAE-2 binding activity may be involved in regulating cAMP and developmentally induced expression of SP60. A second, constitutive in vitro binding activity with high affinity to CAE-3 is also described. Models are proposed to relate the binding activities with the effects of the mutations on the spatial patterning of SP60-lacZ expression.
Embracing Political Conflict

This article examines the nature of moral conflicts, the role of politics in mediating moral conflicts at a societal level, and the implications of this role for public administration. The article argues that the political practices of a community can help it deal with conflicts regarding different conceptions of the good in a manner that minimizes force and violence by providing an opportunity for hearing the other side on the issues that divide it. It presents an agonistic view that sees politics as an ongoing contest among competing conceptions of the good rather than as a cooperative search for truth. This agonistic understanding of politics suggests that Americans should pay special attention to their constitutional traditions because they encourage the resolution of conflicts through political practices of adversarial argument and make it impossible for public administrators to evade their moral responsibility to participate in these practices.