cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Planting Stormwater Solutions: A methodology for siting nature-based solutions for pollution capture, habitat enhancement, and multiple health benefits

Abstract Urban areas worldwide must manage stormwater to prevent flooding and reduce pollution. Infrastructure has historically been designed and used for the single purpose of managing stormwater, but this gray infrastructure typically has negative consequences and fails to address other challenges faced by urban areas. As an alternative, vegetated Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) such as bioretention facilities, constructed stormwater wetlands, and outfall retrofits may be used to capture and treat stormwater, while also contributing other benefits, such as reducing urban heat-island effects, increasing carbon sequestration, improving air quality, climate adaptation, and access to open space, and enhancing mental and physical health and urban biodiversity. To optimize these benefits, the siting of NBS can be crucial. We developed a spatially explicit analytical methodology, Planting Stormwater Solutions, to prioritize the siting of vegetated NBS to benefit biological diversity, social and public health, and water quality. Using Los Angeles as a case study, we demonstrate where benefits spatially converge or diverge. We found that while some of the greatest opportunities to benefit biodiversity occur along waterways, the greatest social and public health benefits may be realized for NBS installed in and around heavily developed areas. NBS sited in areas with a high density of commercial and industrial land uses may provide the greatest water quality benefits. Use of our analytical methodology may allow decision-makers with limited resources and multiple challenges to make more informed siting decisions for vegetated NBS.
Mid-Career Faculty Development Needs Assessment in Academic Radiation Oncology: A Prospective Qualitative Study.

Purpose/Objective(s) Mid-career faculty often report lower career satisfaction compared to those in their early or late career. Attrition, particularly of female faculty, is a major concern for academic medicine. Curricula for early-career faculty provide structure for professional development, but similar programming is less robust for mid- and late-career faculty. This qualitative prospective study aimed to explore and identify career needs and perceived obstacles to improve the experience and success of mid-career radiation oncology faculty. Materials/Methods Associate Professors at a single academic medical center and affiliated regional centers were invited to participate in semi-structured small group interviews between February and April 2019. Performed by an expert in medical anthropology, interviews covered the following themes: 1) Present to future career goals, 2) Visions guiding career work and aims, 3) Obstacles in achieving career goals, 4) Resources to assist achieving career goals, 5) Balancing work/life priorities, and 6) Immediate needs for current work. All interviews were audio-recorded, de-identified, and transcribed, then a conventional content analysis approach was employed by a qualitative research expert. Results Eight small group interviews were conducted, with 5 female and 12 male Associate Professors in total. The cohort included 10 physicians and 7 medical physicists, spanning clinical and research focused careers, and satellite and main site locations. The key themes elicited several sub-themes as responses, presented below. Conclusion This study suggests an unmet need for formal mentorship, sponsorship for leadership positions, and institutional resources targeting mid-level faculty in academic radiation oncology. Future efforts will address design and implementation of a strategic mid-career development program.
Comparison of lunar and Martian regolith simulant-based geopolymer cements formed by alkali-activation for in-situ resource utilization

Abstract Future human space exploration and habitation on the lunar and Martian surfaces necessitates in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) for the development of construction materials tailored for infrastructure and environmental protection. Here we explore the use of lunar and Martian regoliths to create construction materials with properties suitable for such structures as landing pads. Alkali activation of a spectrum of lunar and Martian regolith simulants generates geopolymer binders under ambient and vacuum curing conditions as well as exposure to extreme high and low temperatures (600 and -80 °C). Compressive strength is reduced for binders prepared from each simulant after curing under vacuum and exposure to sub-zero temperatures. In lunar simulant binders, the compressive strength is increased after heating to 600 °C, but the opposite effect is observed in the Martian simulant binder. Amorphous aluminosilicate content and percentage of small particles in the simulants are hypothesized to have a positive impact on compressive strength under ambient curing. Iron and magnesium content may be responsible for decreased compressive strength of the Martian binder after heating. This study offers a robust framework for comparing performance of different simulants under the same curing protocols and environmental exposures, as well as offering insight as to the effects of vacuum curing, and exposure to high and low temperature environments on cured binder samples. Developing a landing pad by transporting activator to the lunar surface is shown to be conceptually feasible within current payload constraints.
Questions and Answers in a Virtual World : Educators and Librarians as Information Providers in Second Life

The education community in Second Life has grown rapidly since the launch of the virtual world by Linden Labs in 2003, with an influx of universities, colleges, and libraries seeking land on the digital frontier to build campuses, libraries, and educational workspaces. However, these new virtual educational settings have also challenged educators and librarians to adapt or to innovate new ways of providing information for learners. This peer reviewed research study explores the varying roles that educators and librarians fulfill in Second Life, examining techniques they have evolved for teaching, providing information, and answering questions within a virtual world. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 educators and librarians who worked within a variety of virtual world education settings including colleges, universities, and academic and public libraries, as well as “embedded” workplace settings in Second Life’s roleplaying or themed communities. Snapshots, artifacts, and observational data were collected during visits to 50 library and education workplaces in Second Life, and were examined in combination with interview results to document tools, tasks, problems, and best practices in virtual world education. Findings of this study demonstrate how educators and librarians have used tools such as notecards, landmarks, whiteboards, language translators, and heads-up displays (HUDs), as well as revealing problems that educators and librarians have encountered, including limitations of existing information tools. A “wish list” of new informational tool features desired by librarians and educators is provided. Other issues found in the design of virtual education and information spaces ranged from accommodating needs for avatar personal space to understanding accessibility issues for disabled users. Playful and immersive experiential environments were among the examples of new ways of teaching and presenting information within a world where “real life” limitations no longer constrain educational designs.
Originalism and the State Education Clauses: The Louisiana Voucher Case as an Illustration

In school finance litigation, the plaintiffs claim that the state legislature has violated the State Constitution by failing to provide enough money for the public schools. Historically, litigants have relied on two different constitutional theories. In “equity suits,” which dominated the 1970s and 1980s, the plaintiffs assert that all children are entitled to have the same amount of money spent on their education and/or that children are entitled to equal educational opportunities. Specifically, the plaintiffs contend the legislature violates the State Constitution’s Equality Guarantee because education is a fundamental right. In “adequacy suits,” which have dominated since 1989, the plaintiffs, relying on the State Constitutions’ Education Clauses argue that the finance system is unconstitutional because some schools lack the money to meet minimum standards of quality. In other words, all children are entitled to an education of at least a certain quality, and that more money is necessary to bring the worst school districts up to the minimum level mandated by the State Constitution. Yet, despite the recent dominance of the Adequacy Theory, the courts are inconsistent in the interpretation of the Education Clauses. Although these provisions are limitations on legislative discretion, the cases focus not whether the legislature abused its discretion, but on the characteristics of individual school districts. While there are significant textual differences among the Education Clauses, those distinctions have been largely meaningless. Consequently, “there are few certainties in the school funding litigation process.”In order to bring consistency to school finance litigation based on the adequacy theory, it is necessary to develop a consistent coherent theory of constitutional interpretation for the Education Clauses. One such plausible theory is the application of Originalism to the Education Clauses. Interestingly, the Louisiana school voucher case, Louisiana Federation of Teacher v. Louisiana, while technically not a school finance case, in the sense of equity or adequacy, illustrates the application of Originalism to the Education Clauses as to how schools are to be financed. The purpose of this Article is to examine the Louisiana school voucher case through the lens of Originalism. This purpose is accomplished in three Parts. Part I provides a general overview of Originalism. Part II discusses the Louisiana school voucher case with particular emphasis on the Court’s use of Originalism. Part III explores the potential implications of an Originalism in other school finance cases.
Improved Synthesis of 9‐ and 10‐Methylbenz[a] Anthracenes

The synthesis of 9- and 10-methylbenz[a]anthracenes by improved methods are described. These new procedures are simple and convenient, and provide the title compounds in good yields and high purity.
Exchange risk and the macroeconomics of exchange rate determination

A paper prepared for the Conference on the Internationalisation of Financial Markets and National Economic Policy. Salomon Brothers Center, New York University, April 10-11, 1980
Adaptive OFDM radar for target detection and tracking

OF THE DISSERTATION Adaptive OFDM Radar for Target Detection and Tracking by Satyabrata Sen Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering Washington University in St. Louis, December 2010 Research Advisor: Dr. Arye Nehorai We develop algorithms to detect and track targets by employing a wideband orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) radar signal. The frequency diversity of the OFDM signal improves the sensing performance since the scattering centers of a target resonate variably at different frequencies. In addition, being a wideband signal, OFDM improves the range resolution and provides spectral efficiency. We first design the spectrum of the OFDM signal to improve the radar’s wideband ambiguity function. Our designed waveform enhances the range resolution and motivates us to use adaptive OFDM waveform in specific problems, such as the detection and tracking of targets. We develop methods for detecting a moving target in the presence of multipath, which exist, for example, in urban environments. We exploit the multipath reflections by utilizing different Doppler shifts. We analytically evaluate the asymptotic performance of the detector and adaptively design the OFDM waveform, by maximizing the noncentrality-parameter expression, to further improve the detection performance. ii Next, we transform the detection problem into the task of a sparse-signal estimation by making use of the sparsity of multiple paths. We propose an efficient sparse-recovery algorithm by employing a collection of multiple small Dantzig selectors, and analytically compute the reconstruction performance in terms of the `1-constrained minimal singular value. We solve a constrained multi-objective optimization algorithm to design the OFDM waveform and infer that the resultant signal-energy distribution is in proportion to the distribution of the target energy across different subcarriers. Then, we develop tracking methods for both a single and multiple targets. We propose a tracking method for a low-grazing angle target by realistically modeling different physical and statistical effects, such as the meteorological conditions in the troposphere, curved surface of the earth, and roughness of the sea-surface. To further enhance the tracking performance, we integrate a maximum mutual information based waveform design technique into the tracker. To track multiple targets, we exploit the inherent sparsity on the delay-Doppler plane to develop an computationally efficient procedure. For computational efficiency, we use more prior information to dynamically partition a small portion of the delay-Doppler plane. We utilize the block-sparsity property to propose a block version of the CoSaMP algorithm in the tracking filter.
Processes and Personal Variables in Affective Aggression

Publisher Summary Affective aggression is a response to some event or change in the environment, or to the mental representation of such an event. This chapter provides an overview of the processes involved in cognitively controlled aggression. Berkowitz has clearly stated that the initial impulsive reaction to negative affect is only a potential first stage in aggression. The anger, hostile thoughts, and aggressive motor patterns evoked at this stage are only “rudimentary.” Beyond this point, cognitive processes play an important role in what happens. The expectancy-value analysis of aggression has received some empirical support. A person who is deficient in the ability to receive and respond to social cues may manifest reactions to social information that are inappropriate and possibly maladaptive. The relationship between aggressiveness and social competence is a reciprocal and cyclical one. It is commonly believed in society that men are more aggressive than women; research has shown effects that are more complex. A major program of research into individual difference variables in human aggression has been reported by Caprara and associates, who have conceptualized a number of personality variables as antecedents of aggressive behavior and have developed scales to assess these variables.
The Effects of Lunar Dust on Eva Systems During the Apollo Missions

Mission documents from the six Apollo missions that landed on the lunar surface have been studied in order to catalog the effects of lunar dust on Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) systems, primarily the Apollo surface space suit. It was found that the effects could be sorted into nine categories: vision obscuration, false instrument readings, dust coating and contamination, loss of traction, clogging of mechanisms, abrasion, thermal control problems, seal failures, and inhalation and irritation. Although simple dust mitigation measures were sufficient to mitigate some of the problems (i.e., loss of traction) it was found that these measures were ineffective to mitigate many of the more serious problems (i.e., clogging, abrasion, diminished heat rejection). The severity of the dust problems were consistently underestimated by ground tests, indicating a need to develop better simulation facilities and procedures.
Realizable reduction of RLC circuits using node elimination

Reduction of an extracted netlist is an important step in the design and analysis of VLSI circuits. This paper describes a method for realizable reduction of extracted RLC netlists by node elimination. The proposed method eliminates nodes with time constants below a user specified time constant. By giving the freedom to the user to select a critical point in the spectrum of nodal time constants, this method provides an option to make a trade off between accuracy and reduction. The proposed method preserves the dc characteristics and the first two moments at all nodes. It also recognizes and eliminates all the redundant inductances generated by the extraction tools. The proposed method naturally reduces to TICER in the absence of any inductances.
Impact of an open online course on the connectivist behaviours of Alaska teachers

In this article we will describe a continuum of development towards knowledge generation and networked learning which emerges as practising teachers participate in a connectivist experience offered through an open online class (OOC) learning design. We believe that this design offers an opportunity to provide authentic professional development and collaboration particularly for those teachers in remote areas such as in the Alaska bush. Research remains in progress; however, current findings indicate that those teachers who valued the connectivist experience indicate a desire to promote these experiences with their own students. Content analysis of interviews, focus group transcripts and Twitter transcripts reveal four distinct stages of awareness of values necessary for success in the OOC. Of the practising teachers who enrolled, 98% were successful in completing the OOC for credit; however, 20% remained resistant to connectivist pedagogy throughout the experience.
Meningioma with Chordoid Features

Meningioma is a relatively common intracranial tumor, occurring most frequently in adults, and is capable of a wide variety of growth patterns. We describe a meningioma in a child that had a peculiar chordomalike appearance. The pathologic findings and distinction from chordoma are discussed.
Gorgias on rhetoric and poetic: A rehabilitation

Students of ancient rhetoric and poetic generally are content to view Gorgias through the idealism of Plato. Such an examination of his sophistic theories does an injustice to him and blurs an important philosophical relationship between his thought and modern existential phenomenology.
Treating Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tears in Skeletally Immature Patients

Purpose To systematically review the current evidence for conservative and surgical treatment of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears in skeletally immature patients. Methods A systematic search of PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) was performed for surgical and/or conservative treatment of complete ACL tears in immature individuals. Studies with less than 6 months of follow-up were excluded. Study quality was assessed, and data were collected on clinical outcome, growth disturbance, and secondary joint damage. Results We identified 47 studies meeting the inclusion criteria. Conservative treatment was found to result in poor clinical outcomes and a high incidence of secondary defects, including meniscal and cartilage injury. Surgical treatment had only very weak evidence of growth disturbance yet strong evidence of good postoperative stability and function. No specific surgical treatment showed clearly superior outcomes, yet the studies using physeal-sparing techniques had no reported growth disturbances at all. Conclusions The current best evidence suggests that surgical stabilization should be considered the preferred treatment in immature patients with complete ACL tears. Although physeal-sparing techniques are not associated with a risk of growth disturbance, transphyseal reconstruction is an alternative with a beneficial safety profile and a minimal risk of growth disturbance. Conservative treatment commonly leads to meniscal damage and cartilage destruction and should be considered a last resort. Level of Evidence Level IV, systematic review of Level II, III, and IV studies.
Heterotrophic nitrification by Pseudomonas aeurginosa.

Several soil bacteria and fungi produce nitrite when provided with acetaldoxime. Nitrite formation by one isolate, identified as a strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, is not directly linked to growth but rather proceeds mainly after the active growth period. The added oxime-nitrogen is converted completely to nitrite, and nitrate is not formed. Extracts of the bacterium generate nitrite, but not nitrate, more rapidly from nitroethane than from the added oxime. The enzyme system catalyzing the formation of nitrite in oxime solutions is soluble and inducible, whereas the enzyme catalyzing the release of equimolar quantities of nitrite and acetaldehyde from nitroethane is constitutive. The slow rate of nitrite production when the enzyme preparation is provided with acetaldoxime is not markedly increased by added cofactors. The soluble enzymes also generate nitrite when incubated with several aliphatic and alicyclic oximes and nitro compounds. Nitroethane is not formed from acetaldoxime. The possible mechanism of this nitrification reaction catalyzed by a heterotrophic microorganism is discussed.
Code Verification for Multiphase Flows Using the Method of Manufactured Solutions

Code verification is the process of ensuring, to the degree possible, that there are no algorithm deficiencies and coding mistakes (bugs) in a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code. In order to perform code verification, the Method of Manufactured Solutions (MMS) is a rigorous technique that can be used in the absence of exact solution to the problem. This work addresses major aspects of performing code verification for multiphase flow codes using the open-source, multiphase flow code MFIX which employs a staggered-grid and a modified SIMPLE-based algorithm. Code verification is performed on 2D and 3D, uniform and stretched meshes for incompressible, steady and unsteady, single-phase and two-phase flows using the two-fluid model of MFIX. Currently, the algebraic gas-solid exchange terms are neglected as these can be tested via unit-testing. The no-slip wall, free-slip wall, and pressure outflow boundary conditions are verified for 2D and 3D flows. A newly-developed curl-based manufactured solution for 3D divergence free flows is introduced. Temporal order of accuracy during unsteady calculations is also assessed. Techniques are introduced to generate manufactured solutions that satisfy the divergence-free constraint during the verification of the incompressible governing equations. Manufactured solutions with constraints due to boundary conditions as well as due to divergence-free flow are derived in order to verify the boundary conditions. Use of staggered grid and SIMPLE-based algorithm for numerical computations in MFIX requires specific issues to be addressed while performing MMS-based code verification. Lessons learned during this code verification exercise are discussed.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Effect of fruit harvest time on citrus canker detection using hyperspectral reflectance imaging

The citrus industry has need for effective and efficient approaches to remove fruit with canker before they are shipped to selective international markets. The objective of this research was to study the effect of fruit harvest time on citrus canker detection using hyperspectral reflectance imaging. Ruby Red grapefruits with normal surface, canker, and five common peel diseases including greasy spot, insect damage, melanose, scab, and wind scar were collected during a 7-month harvest period. Hyperspectral reflectance images were acquired in the wavelength range of 450–930 nm. Spectral information divergence (SID) was used as a discrimination measure to perform statistical comparisons among reflectance spectra of grapefruit samples over the whole harvest season. The SID values with respect to the mean reflectance spectrum of canker for the 7-month periods were 0.0009, 0.0002, 0.0008, 0.0001, 0.0007, 0.0003, and 0.0004, respectively. Correlation analysis (CA) was used for hyperspectral band selection. Two-band ratio images using wavelengths of 729 and 834 nm selected by CA (R834/R729) gave the maximum absolute correlation value of 0.811. The mean ratio values for canker were in the range from 1.287 to 1.407, which were higher than the ratio values for other peel conditions. A simple thresholding and morphological filtering operations were applied to the two-band ratio images. The classification accuracies were in the range of 93.3–96.7% for each month. The results presented in this study demonstrated that there is no significant difference among the accuracy for canker detection over the whole harvest season using the two-band ratio images and threshold based on the spectrum of 7-month average.
Tevatron Extraction Microcomputer

Extraction in the Fermilab Tevatron is controlled by a multi-processor Multibus microcomputer system called QXR (Quad eXtraction Regulator). QXR monitors several analog beam signals and controls three sets of power supplies: the ''bucker'' and ''pulse'' magnets at a rate of 5760 Hz, and the ''QXR'' magnets at 720 Hz. QXR supports multiple slow spills (up to a total of 35 seconds) with multiple fast pulses intermixed. It linearizes the slow spill and bucks out the high frequency components. Fast extraction is done by outputting a variable pulse waveform. Closed loop learning techniques are used to improve performance from cycle to cycle for both slow and fast extraction. The system is connected to the Tevatron clock system so that it can track the machine cycle. QXR is also connected to the rest of the Fermilab control system, ACNET. Through ACNET, human operators and central computers can monitor and control extraction through communications with QXR. The controls hardware and software both employ some standard and some specialized components. This paper gives an overview of QXR as a control system; another paper summarizes performance.
The effect of retroactive inhibition on the response-integration stage of paired-associate learning

Interference effects in the response-learning stage of paired-associate learning were studied in a design in which S s learned two lists in which the stimuli were unrelated (numbers and letters) and the responses consisted of two-word dyads. The relation between the List-1 and List-2 response dyads was one of the following paradigms: C-D, A-D, C-B, or A-Br. Control S s learned only one list. Retroactive inhibition was assessed by means of recall or matching of B members to A members subsequent to List-2 learning. In general, the results of both transfer and retention were similar to those found when transfer paradigm is manipulated at the stimulus-response level, suggesting that it is feasible to view response integration as involving the same kinds of processes thought to occur in paired-associate learning for stimuli and responses.
Characterization of two circular plasmids from the marine diatom Cylindrotheca fusiformis: plasmids hybridize to chloroplast and nuclear DNA.

This paper reports the discovery and initial characterization of two small plasmids, pCfl and pCf2, in the marine diatomCylindrotheca fusiformis. Extracted diatom DNA separates into two bands in CsCI-Hoechst 33258 dye gradients. Upon agarose gel electrophoresis of a sample of the upper band of the gradient we observed, in addition to high molecular weight (genomic) chloroplast and mitochondrial DNA, pairs of lower molecular weight bands. These bands contained two species of circular plasmid DNA molecules, as shown by electron microscopy. The nucleotide composition of the plasmids, and chloroplast and mitochondrial DNAs is similar, as indicated by their co-banding in the gradients. They were cloned, and their restriction maps determined, showing that pCfl is 4.27 and pCf2 4.08 kb in size. By hybridization analysis, we showed that pCfl and pCf2 share regions of similarity, but not identity. Neither plasmid hybridizes with mitochondrial DNA. Both plasmids hybridize with chloroplast DNA, and pCf2 also hybridizes with nuclear DNA.
Electroanatomic mapping as a supportive tool to map complex postoperative atrial reentrant tachycardias in patients with congenital heart disease

Abstract The electrophysiologic approach to post-operative intra-atrial reenty tachycardia is especially challenging in patients with congenital heart disease because the mechanism of the tachycardia is often complex and because the underlying anatomical defect(s) may distort anatomy or support more than one mechanism of tachycardia. Electroanatomic mapping as an adjunct to traditional electrophysiologic study was evaluated in 14 post-operative patients (ages 5–47 years) with congenital heart disease. There were 8 females. All patients had at least one prior surgery for congenital heart disease. The underlying anatomic defects included: Transposition of the great arteries in 3, ASD and/or VSD repair in 3, Tetralogy of Fallot in 3, single ventricle physiology in 2, and other defects in 3 patient(s). Electrophysiologic study and mapping was complemented with electroanatomic mapping in all patients. At least 19 different tachycardias were mapped in 14 patients. Five tachycardias were noted to use the “traditional”, anatomic isthmus. Electroanatomic mapping revealed a different isthmus in the other tachycardias including some that were broad. Anatomic barriers such as the atriotomy site, patches and the site of the pulmonary conduit were identifed which aided in better understanding of the tachycardia and a more thoughtful approach for ablation. We conclude that electroanatomic mapping assisted in identifying an electrophysiologic isthmus, defining the anatomy of distorted atria, supporting delineation of anatomic barriers and areas of silent or no electrical activity and supporting a more strategic approach to ablation of complex post-operative arrhythmias.
El Niño, climate change, and Southern African climate

The El Niiio phenomenon involves a large-scale warming of the equatorial eastern and central Pacific Ocean. Recent developments in the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon have raised concerns about climate change. In this review paper, these recent developments are critically assessed and forecasts of possible future changes are reviewed. Since the late-1970s, El Niiio episodes have been unusually recurrent, while the frequency of strong La Nina events has been low. Prolonged/recurrent warm event conditions of the first half of the 1990s were the result of the persistence of an anomalously warm pool near the date line, which, in turn, may be part of an abrupt warming trend in tropical sea-surface temperatures that occurred in the late-1970s. The abrupt warming of tropical sea-surface temperatures has been attributed to the enhanced-greenhouse effect, but may be indicative of inter-decadal variability: earlier changes in the frequency of ENSO events and earlier persistent El Nino and La Nina sequences have occurred. Most forecasts of ENSO variability in a doubled-CO 2 climate suggest that the recent changes in the tropical Pacific are anomalous. Of potential concern, however, is a possible reduction in the predictability of ENSO events given a warmer background climate. El Nino events usually are associated with below-normal rainfall over much of southern Africa. Mechanisms for this influence on southern African climate are discussed, and the implications of possible changes in ENSO variability on the climate of the region are assessed. Recent observed changes in southern African climate and their possible relationships with trends in ENSO variability are investigated. The El Nino influence on rainfall over southern Africa occurs largely because of a weakening of tropical convection over the subcontinent. A warming of the Indian Ocean during El Niiio events appears to be important in providing a teleconnection from the equatorial Pacific Ocean. The abrupt warming of the tropical Pacific and Indian oceans in the late-1970s is probably partly responsible for increasing air temperatures over southern Africa, and may have contributed to a prolongation of predominantly dry conditions. A return to a wet phase appears to have occurred, despite the persistence of anomalously high sea-surface temperatures associated with the late-1970s warming, and a record-breaking El Nino in 1997/98.
Transition metal substituted derivatives of cubic MCM-48 mesoporous molecular sieves

Mesoporous Ti-, Cr- and V-substituted derivatives of the cubic silica molecular sieve MCM-48 have been hydrothermally synthesized at 373 K by an electrostatic assembly pathway using cetyltrimethylammonium cation as the templating agent. The transition metal substituted products all exhibit improved crystallinity and a narrower pore size distribution relative to the pristine molecular sieve. Transition metal substitution caused an enlargement of the cubic unit cell as well as an increase in the degree of crosslinking in the mesopore walls. The coordination of V-sites in the meso-structure is exclusively tetrahedral, as judged by NMR spectroscopy. These sites as well as those of Ti and Cr sites are active and selective for the peroxide oxidation of styrene and methyl methacrylate to benzaldehyde and methyl pyruvate, respectively.
Interferometric measurement of temperature gradient reversal in a layer of convecting air.

Horizontal convecting air layer temperature gradient reversal measured with Michelson interferometer
Transfection-induced defects in dynein-driven transport: evidence that ICs mediate cargo-binding.

Cytoplasmic dynein contributes to the localization and transport of multiple membranous organelles, including late endosomes, lysosomes, and the Golgi complex. It remains unclear which subunits of dynein are directly responsible for linking the dynein complex to these organelles, however the intermediate chain (IC), light intermediate chain (LIC) and light chain (LC) subunits are each thought to be important. Based on previous mapping of a dynein IC phosphorylation site (S84), we measured the impact of transfected ICs on dynein-driven organelle transport (Vaughan et al.,2001). Wild-type and S84A constructs disrupted organelle transport, whereas the S84D construct induced no defects. In this study we investigated the mechanisms of transfection-induced disruption of organelle transport. Transfected ICs did not: (1) disrupt the dynein holoenzyme, (2) incorporate into the native dynein complex, (3) dimerize with native dynein ICs or (4) sequester dynein LCs in a phosphorylation-sensitive manner. Consistent with saturation of dynactin as an inhibitory mechanism, truncated ICs containing only the dynactin-binding domain were as effective as full-length IC constructs in disrupting organelle transport, and this effect was influenced by phosphorylation-state. Competition analysis demonstrated that S84D ICs were less capable than dephosphorylated ICs in disrupting the dynein-dynactin interaction. Finally, two-dimensional gel analysis revealed phosphorylation of the wild-type but not S84D ICs, providing an explanation for the incomplete effects of the wild-type ICs. Together these findings suggest that transfected ICs disrupt organelle transport by competing with native dynein for dynactin binding in a phosphorylation-sensitive manner. Cell Motil. Cytoskeleton 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Ultra-intense X-ray induced non-linear processes in molecular nitrogen

Sequential multiple photoionization of the prototypical molecule N2 is studied with femtosecond time resolution using the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). A detailed picture of intense x-ray induced ionization and dissociation dynamics is revealed, including a molecular mechanism of frustrated absorption that suppresses the formation of high charge states at short pulse durations. The inverse scaling of the average target charge state with x-ray peak brightness has possible implications for single pulse imaging applications. Moreover, we investigate the creation of double K-shell holes in N2 molecules via sequential absorption of two photons on a timescale shorter than the core-hole lifetime by using intense x-ray pulses from the LCLS. The production and decay of these states is characterized by photoelectron spectroscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy. In molecules, two types of double core holes are expected, the first with two core holes on the same N atom, and the second with one core hole on each N atom. We report the first direct observations of the former type of core hole in a molecule, in good agreement with theory, and provide an experimental upper bound for the relative contribution of the latter type.
Recurrent storm disturbance and recovery: a long-term study of coral communities in Hawaii

Damage caused by catastrophic storm waves and subsequent recovery was investigated with a series of 15 line transects on a reef off the west coast of Hawaii over a 20-year period (1973–1993). At the initiation of the study, four zones existed across the reef, each defined by a different dominant coral species. An intermediate intensity storm in 1974 caused a decrease in coral cover from 52% to 46% of bottom cover, while breakage and transport of fragments extended the depth of peak coral cover. In 1980, a “Kona” storm, which generated the largest storm surf on record, destroyed the coral zonation pattern almost entirely. Living coral was reduced from 46% to 10% of bottom cover, with greatest damage in the zones with highest cover. Twelve years later (1992), living coral cover increased to 15% of total bottom cover. Lack of significant correlation between increase of coral cover and initial cover indicated that recovery was from larval settlement, rather than regeneration of viable fragments. Extrapolation of recovery from 1980 to 1992 indicates that the pre-storm (1973) conditions would be reached in 40 years (exponential growth) to 70 years (linear growth). In 1993, following a hurricane and unusually large northwest swell, coral cover was once again reduced to 11%; recovery was set back to a level similar to that in 1980 following the Kona storm. In 1992 and 1993 no evidence of CaCO3 accretion was observed on the reef bench. Rubble fragments created by storm stress were deposited on the reef slope with little subsequent lithification. While hurricane force waves may occur very infrequently in Hawaii, this source of stress appears to effectively limit Holocene reef growth in all areas except sheltered embayments. The pattern of damage and recovery of this coral ecosystem conforms to the intermediate disturbance hypothesis, in which storms of intermediate intensity produce either an increase or decrease in diversity and cover, depending on the timing of severe storms. On a global scale, timescales of damage and recovery cycles vary substantially depending on the frequency of severe disturbances, and the adaptive capabilities of dominant species.
Phorbol ester-induced enhancement in lytic activity of CD8+ splenic T cells from low-dose melphalan-treated MOPC-315-tumor bearers

We have previously shown that while spleen cells from untreated mice bearing a large MOPC-315 tumor are not cytotoxic in vitro for MOPC-315 tumor cells, spleen cells obtained from such mice on day 7 after low-dose melphalan (l-phenylalanine mustard);l-PAM therapy exert a substantial anti-MOPC-315 cytotoxicity [Mokyr et al. (1989) Cancer Res 49: 4597]. Here we show that this anti-MOPC-315 lytic activity is evident by day 5, and peaks on day 7 after the low-dose chemotherapy, at a time when the mice are actively engaged in tumor eradication. Short-term exposure of spleen cells from mice bearing a MOPC-315 tumor and treated with low-dosel-PAM (l-PAM TuB mice) to phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) was found to enhance greatly the ability of these spleen cells to lyse MOPC-315 tumor cells. The highest level of anti-MOPC-315 cytotoxicity was obtained when spleen cells from tumor-bearing mice that had received chemotherapy 7 days earlier were exposed to PMA at a concentration of 1–10 ng/ml. The exertion of the enhanced anti-MOPC-315 lytic activity byl-PAM TuB spleen cells exposed to PMA was found to require CD8+, but not CD4+, T cells. The apparent specificity of the lytic activity exerted by the PMA-stimulatedl-PAM TuB spleen cells was illustrated not only by the inability of the spleen cells to lyse an allogeneic, antigenically unrelated thymoma (EL4), but also by their relatively weak lytic activity for two antigenically related syngeneic plasmacytomas. In addition, when EL4 target cells were admixed with MOPC-315 tumor cells, the lytic activity triggered in thel-PAM TuB spleen cells by the MOPC-315 tumor cells plus PMA was not effective in lysing the antigenically unrelated target cells. Moreover, even in the presence of the calcium-specific ionophore, ionomycin,l-PAM TuB spleen cells exposed to PMA were unable to lyse the EL4 target cells. Thus, fresh CD8+ splenic T cells froml-PAM TuB mice that are in the process of eradicating a large MOPC-315 tumor as a consequence of low-dosel-PAM therapy can be triggered with PMA to exert enhanced lytic activity against MOPC-315 tumor cells. Since the curative effectiveness of low-dose chemotherapy for MOPC-315 tumor-bearing mice requires the participation of CD8+ T cells that exploit a cytotoxic T lymphocyte type lytic activity for tumor eradication, it is feasible that in some situations PMA-like “stimulants” could be used to augment the antitumor cytotoxic activity of the CD8+ T cells, which in turn could improve the therapeutic outcome of low-dose chemotherapy.
Relation between QT and RR intervals during exercise testing in atrial fibrillation.

The ability to predict the RR-QT relation over a range of heart rates was evaluated in 10 patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and in 10 control subjects in sinus rhythm. The data from each subject were fitted by regression into 3 QT prediction formulas (the square root formula of Bazett, the cube root formula of Fridericia and the exponential formula of Sarma) applied in standard form and modified with a weighted average of the preceding 5 RR intervals. The goodness-of-fit of each formula was evaluated using mean square residual and Akaike information criterion. For AF, the mean square residuals did not differ among the 3 standard QT prediction formulas (Bazett 624 ± 274, Fridericia 625 ± 274 and Sarma 611 ± 267) and among the 3 modified QT prediction formulas (Bazett 507 ± 325, Fridericia 496 ± 255 and Sarma 495 ± 328). The weighted average modification produced a significant decrease in mean square residuals for all 3 equations (p < 0.05) in all patients. These findings were confirmed by Akaike information criterion. Goodness-of-fit in sinus rhythm was similar to previously published reports, and significantly better than the fit for AF (p < 0.0001). For 9 of the 10 patients with AF, sinus rhythm electrocardiograms were obtained and the above regression equations were used to predict QT intervals. Comparing the measured and predicted QT intervals, the best correlation was produced by the modified form of the Fridericia equation (r2 = 0.93); the mean r2 value was 0.86 ± 0.07. The proposed modification of previously described QT prediction formulas takes into account the gradual nature of the influences of the preceding RR intervals and may be clinically useful in correcting the QT interval in AF.
FGFR3 Dimer Stabilization Due to a Single Amino Acid Pathogenic Mutation

Mutations in the transmembrane (TM) domains of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) have been implicated in the induction of pathological phenotypes. These mutations are believed to stabilize the RTK dimers, and thus promote unregulated signaling. However, the energetics behind the pathology induction has not been determined. An example of a TM domain pathogenic mutation is the Ala391-->Glu mutation in fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3), linked to Crouzon syndrome with acanthosis nigricans, as well as to bladder cancer. Here, we determine the free energy of dimerization of wild-type and mutant FGFR3 TM domain in lipid bilayers using Forster resonance energy transfer, and we show that hydrogen bonding between Glu391 and the adjacent helix in the dimer is a feasible mechanism for dimer stabilization. The measured change in the free energy of dimerization due to the Ala391-->Glu pathogenic mutation is -1.3 kcal/mol, consistent with previous reports of hydrogen bond strengths in proteins. This is the first quantitative measurement of mutant RTK stabilization in a membrane environment. We show that this seemingly modest value can lead to a large increase in dimer fraction and thus profoundly affect RTK-mediated signal transduction.
Erosion of copper single crystals under conditions of 90° impact

Abstract High purity copper single crystals were eroded parallel to [111] at 90° to the surface with glass spheres 70 μm in diameter travelling at a velocity of 122 m s−1. Detailed scanning electron microscopy of eroded surfaces together with transmission electron microscopy of both erosion debris and near-surface layers of the target was performed. It was observed that a hilland-valley surface topology developed ; this has not been reported previously and gave rise to a local low angle cutting component of erosion at 90°. Direct evidence was obtained of a transient heating effect from the particle impact as well as the formation of subsurface voids in heavily deformed regions. In addition it was shown that subsurface cracking produced a flaking mechanism of material loss.
On efficient balanced codes

Balanced codes have the property that no codeword is “contained” in another. This property makes balanced codes attractive for certain applications, such as the encoding of unchangeable data on a laser disk. Donald E. Knuth [1] described a balanced code with 2p information bits and p parity bits, for which serial encoding and decoding is especially efficient. In order to encode and decode efficiently, he constructed a suitable mapping for p = 8. The purpose of this paper is to construct a similar mapping for every p.
The elastic stiffnesses of Fe-Ni-C martensites

Abstract An ultrasonic interferometric technique was used to measure the longitudinal and transverse sound velocities in untempered carbon-nickel martensites. An increase of about 0·11 × 105 cm/sec per atomic per cent carbon was observed for both velocities (in the presence of decreasing nickel contents). The mass densities of the martensites were also measured to allow calculation of the elastic moduli. Even with corrections applied for decreasing nickel contents both the shear and bulk moduli were found to increase with the carbon content, especially the shear modulus. This provides evidence that carbon increases the atomic cohesion within martensite.
Psychophysical dualism from the point of view of a working psychologist

Cognitive neuroscience constitutes the third phase of development of the field of cognitive psychophysiology since it was established about half a century ago. A critical historical overview is given of this development, focusing on recurring problems that keep frustrating great expectations. It is argued that psychology has to regain its independent status with respect to cognitive neuroscience and should take psychophysical dualism seriously. A constructive quantum physical model for psychophysical interaction is presented, based on a new stochastic interpretation of the quantum potential in the de Broglie–Bohm theory. This model can be applied to analyze cognitive information processing in psychological experiments. It is shown that the quantum potential shares several features with Duns Scotus’ notion of contingent causality.