cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Positional accuracy as a measure of Chandra's optical distortions

We present a study of Chandra's optical distortions by examining the positional accuracy of observed sources on the HRC-I. We investigate the Chandra mirror and detector models' ability to reproduce the detector locations of observed sources by simulating ~160 calibration observations of AR Lac, HR 1099, and LMC X-1. To study the optical distortions of the mirrors more directly, we compare a 63 ksec observation of the Orion Nebular Cluster (ONC) with positions based on the well-determined optical astrometry of the cluster. We simulate observations of 100 reasonably bright sources from the Hillenbrand 1997 catalog of the ONC and compare the simulated positions with their observed positions. Offsets between the optical positions and the observed X-ray positions help determine a map of the optical distortions of the Chandra mirrors.
Ciliary behavior of a negatively phototactic Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

With an instrument that can record the motion of both cilia of the unicellular alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii for many hours, the behavioral differences of its two cilia have been studied to determine their specific role in phototaxis. The organism was held on a fixed micropipette with the plane of ciliary beating rotated into the imaging plane of a quadrant photodetector. The responses to square-wave light patterns of a wide range of temporal frequencies were used to characterize the responses of each cilium. Eighty-one cells were examined showing an unexpectedly diverse range of responses. Plausible common signals for the linear and nonlinear signals from the cell body are suggested. Three independent ciliary measures—the beat frequency, stroke velocity, and phasing of the two cilia—have been identified. The cell body communicates to the cilia the direction of phototaxis the cell desires to go, the absolute light intensity, and the appropriate graded transient response for tracking the light source. The complexity revealed by each measure of the ciliary response indicates many independent variables are involved in the net phototactic response. In spite of their morphological similarity, the two cilia of Chlamydomonas respond uniquely. Probably the signals from the cell body fan out to independent pathways in the cilia. Each cilium modifies the input in its own way. The change in the pattern of the effective and recovery strokes of each cilium associated with negative phototaxis has been demonstrated and its involvement in phototactic turning is described. Cell Motil. Cytoskeleton 61:97–111, 2005. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Using LnIII[15 -MCCuII(N)(S)-pheHA-5]3+ complexes to construct chiral single-molecule magnets and chains of single-molecule magnets

The {DyIII[15-MC-CuII(N)(S)-pheHA-5]}3+ complex displays slow magnetic relaxation behavior in a frozen solution at low temperature, whereas the analogous HoIII structure does not exhibit similar behavior.
Academic library monographic acquisitions: selection of Choice’s Outstanding Academic Books

There are strong indications that academic libraries are acquiring fewer unique titles, prompting the concern that the nation’s library resources are effectively shrinking. This study examines one portion of that concern—the acquisition of particular titles by academic libraries of various sizes. The source for the titles is “Outstanding Academic Books,” as selected by Choice for several years. Holdings are taken from the OCLC/AMIGOS Collection Analysis CD-ROM products. Findings demonstrate that across all subject and for broad subject areas, there have been significant declines in holdings over time and for all groupings of libraries. The changes in holdings over time are not always significant when specific subject areas are measured, however. In general, the concern that has been expressed regarding shrinking library resources is corroborated in this study.
Recording and Control System for Infra-Red Spectrophotometer

The recording system employs a contact-modulated amplifier and self-balancing potentiometer in an electrical null circuit including variable response speed and gain. The control system automatically adjusts the slits and zero at preselected prism positions. Familiar spectra illustrate the effects of variables such as slit width, recording speed, and response speed.
Response of Fish and Macroinvertebrate Bioassessment Indices to Water Chemistry in a Mined Appalachian Watershed

Multimetric indices based on fish and benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages are commonly used to assess the biological integrity of aquatic ecosystems. However, their response to specific stressors is rarely known. We quantified the response of a fish-based index (Mid-Atlantic Highlands Index of Biotic Integrity, MAH-IBI) and a benthic invertebrate-based index (West Virginia Stream Condition Index, WV-SCI) to acid mine drainage (AMD)-related stressors in 46 stream sites within the Cheat River watershed, West Virginia. We also identified specific stressor concentrations at which biological impairment was always or never observed. Water chemistry was extremely variable among tributaries of the Cheat River, and the WV-SCI was highly responsive across a range of AMD stressor levels. Furthermore, impairment to macroinvertebrate communities was observed at relatively low stressor concentrations, especially when compared to state water quality standards. In contrast to the WV-SCI, we found that the MAH-IBI was significantly less responsive to local water quality conditions. Low fish diversity was observed in several streams that possessed relatively good water quality. This pattern was especially pronounced in highly degraded subwatersheds, suggesting that regional conditions may have a strong influence on fish assemblages in this system. Our results indicate that biomonitoring programs in mined watersheds should include both benthic invertebrates, which are consistent indicators of local conditions, and fishes, which may be indicators of regional conditions. In addition, remediation programs must address the full suite of chemical constituents in AMD and focus on improving linkages among streams within drainage networks to ensure recovery of invertebrate and fish assemblages. Future research should identify the precise chemical conditions necessary to maintain biological integrity in mined Appalachian watersheds.
Probability of growth of the spoilage yeast Zygosaccharomyces bailii in a model fruit drink system

Abstract A quantitative method for the prediction of the probability of growth of the food spoilage yeast Zygosaccharomyces bailii in a model fruit-drink system is described. A factorially designed experiment, employing a microtitre-plate system was used to assess the effect on growth of culture pH and fructose concentration (°brix) as well as the weak-acid preservatives benzoic acid, sorbic acid and sulphur dioxide. Probability of growth was approximated to a logistic generalized linear model allowing a polynomial equation relating concentrations of sorbic acid, benzoic acid, sulphur dioxide, °brix and hydrogen ions to a function of the probability of growth to be produced. The resulting equation demonstrates a synergistic effect between o brix level and weak-acid concentration which is pH dependent. By quantifying this and other interactions as well as single effects the present model can be a useful tool not only to assess existing preservative systems but also during product formulation.
Apoplexy of pituitary adenomas: the perfect storm

OBJECT Pituitary adenomas occasionally undergo infarction, apoplexy, which often destroys much of the tumor. It is well known that apoplexy can be precipitated by several acute factors, including cardiac surgery, other types of surgery, trauma, insulin infusion, and stimulation with administration of hypothalamic releasing factors. METHODS The prior focus on mechanisms underlying pituitary apoplexy has been on these acute events. Less attention has been given to the endogenous features of pituitary tumors that make them susceptible to spontaneous infarction, despite that most pituitary apoplexy occurs in the absence of a recognized precipitating event. The authors examine intrinsic features of pituitary adenomas that render them vulnerable to apoplexy—features such as high metabolic demand, paucity of angiogenesis, and sparse vascularity, qualities that have previously not been linked with apoplexy—and argue that it is these features of adenomas that underlie their susceptibility to spontaneous infarction...
Does Asking Make a Difference? Effects of Initiator, Possible Gain, and Risk on Attributed Altruism

Abstract Three variables related to attributed altruism were investigated. American college students read a scenario depicting a single observation of a person who helped someone in financial need. In a 2 × 2 × 3 design, the actor was described either as responding to a request for aid or as volunteering without knowledge of the request; as potentially gaining or not gaining as a result of providing help; and as receiving positive consequences, negative consequences, or no consequences. Any information that could suggest selfish motivation—whether the prosocial actor was aware of the information or not—was found to detract from attributions of altruism, charitableness, benevolence, and friendliness. When no information for selfish motivation was present, positive attributions occurred.
Learning collaborative team behavior from observation

This paper describes an approach to creating a simulated team of agents through observation of another team performing a collaborative task. Simulated human teamwork can be used for a number of purposes, such as automated teammates for training purposes and realistic opponents in games as well as in military training simulation. Current simulated teamwork representations require that the team member behaviors be manually programmed into the agents, often requiring much time and effort. None of the currently documented techniques for multi-agent learning employ observational learning and a context-aware framework to automatically build agents that replicate the collaborative behaviors observed. Machine learning techniques for learning from observation and learning by demonstration have proven successful at observing the behavior of humans or other software agents and creating a behavior function for a single agent. This technique described here known as COLTS combines current research in teamwork simulation and learning from observation to effectively train a multi-agent system capable of displaying effective team behavior in limited domains. The paper describes the background and the related work by others as well as a detailed description of the learning method. A prototype built to evaluate the developed approach as well as the extensive experimentation conducted is also described. The results indicate success in the selected experiments.
Atmospheric effects of smoke from the Kuwaiti oil fires

As the Iraqi army fled Kuwait in March 1991, it damaged or destroyed 749 oil wells, 610 of which were ignited. The resulting fires produced an extraordinarily large plume of black smoke which affected weather and air quality in the Gulf region. Some scientists also postulated that the smoke might have global effects. As part of the United States interagency effort (coordinated by the National Science Foundation) to assess the effects of the Kuwaiti fires on the atmosphere, the University of Washington and the National Center for Atmospheric Research mounted an airborne study of the smoke from the Kuwaiti fires during the period May 16–June 12, 1991. The primary goals of this study were to determine the chemical and physical nature and the radiative properties of the smoke, the fluxes of various materials in the smoke plumes, and the potential effects of the smoke on air quality, weather, and climate.
Thermodynamic analysis of interactions between Ni-based solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) anodes and trace species in a survey of coal syngas

A thermodynamic analysis was conducted to characterize the effects of trace contaminants in syngas derived from coal gasification on solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) anode material. The effluents from 15 different gasification facilities were considered to assess the impact of fuel composition on anode susceptibility to contamination. For each syngas case, the study considers the magnitude of contaminant exposure resulting from operation of a warm gas cleanup unit at two different temperatures and operation of a nickel-based SOFC at three different temperatures. Contaminant elements arsenic (As), phosphorous (P), and antimony (Sb) are predicted to be present in warm gas cleanup effluent and will interact with the nickel (Ni) components of a SOFC anode. Phosphorous is the trace element found in the largest concentration of the three contaminants and is potentially the most detrimental. Poisoning was found to depend on the composition of the syngas as well as system operating conditions. Results for all trace elements tended to show invariance with cleanup operating temperature, but results were sensitive to syngas bulk composition. Synthesis gas with high steam content tended to resist poisoning.
STUDIES ON THE GROWTH HORMONE OF PLANTS : VII. THE FATE OF GROWTH SUBSTANCE IN THE PLANT AND THE NATURE OF THE GROWTH PROCESS.

Since the early work of Went (1928), it has been known that the growth substance of the Avena coleoptile may be obtained in the usual way, i.e. by diffusion into agar blocks, only from that part of the plant which produces it, namely the tip. The hormone is not recoverable in this way from those parts of the plant, such as the lower zones, which only make use of it. Recent work (Thimann, 1934) has, however, shown that by extraction with chloroform some growth substance is recoverable from the lower zones of the coleoptile. The results of this extraction method confirmed the earlier view that there is a marked concentration gradient of growth substance from tip to base.
The DHR78 Nuclear Receptor Is Required for Ecdysteroid Signaling during the Onset of Drosophila Metamorphosis

Pulses of ecdysteroids direct Drosophila through its life cycle by activating stage- and tissue-specific genetic regulatory hierarchies. Here we show that an orphan nuclear receptor, DHR78, functions at the top of the ecdysteroid regulatory hierarchies. Null mutations in DHR78 lead to lethality during the third larval instar with defects in ecdysteroid-triggered developmental responses. Consistent with these phenotypes, DHR78 mutants fail to activate the mid-third instar regulatory hierarchy that prepares the animal for metamorphosis. DHR78 protein is bound to many ecdysteroid-regulated puff loci, suggesting that DHR78 directly regulates puff gene expression. In addition, ectopic expression of DHR78 has no effects on development, indicating that its activity is regulated post-translationally. We propose that DHR78 is a ligand-activated receptor that plays a central role in directing the onset of Drosophila metamorphosis.
Raman dynamic probe of hydrogen exchange in bean pod mottle virus: base-specific retardation of exchange in packaged ssRNA

We describe a novel approach to investigating exchange kinetics in biological assemblies. The method makes use of a Raman multichannel analyzer coupled with a dialysis flow cell. We employ this methodology to determine exchange rates of labile hydrogens in both the packaged RNA genome and protein subunits of bean pod mottle virus (BPMV). In the BPMV assembly, which is similar to human picornaviruses, the x-ray structure indicates that about 20% of the ssRNA chain is ordered at the threefold vertices of the icosahedral capsid, although the nucleotide bases in the ordered segments are not known (Chen et al., 1989). Here, we compare exchange profiles of the native virus with those of the empty capsid, model nucleic acids and aqueous solvent to reveal the following exchange characteristics of BPMV RNA and protein: (i) Base-specific retardation of exchange is observed in the packaged RNA. (ii) Retardation is greatest for uracil residues, for which the first-order exchange rate constant (kU = 0.18 +/- 0.02 min-1) is 40% lower than that of either the H2O solvent or adenine or cytosine groups of RNA (ksolv approximately kA approximately kC = 0.30 +/- 0.02 min-1). (iii) Retardation of exchange is also observed for the guanine residues of packaged RNA. (iv) No appreciable exchange of amide NH groups of capsid subunits occurs within the time of complete exchange (t approximately 10 min) of packaged RNA or bulk solvent. Thus, the present results identify sites in both the protein subunits (amide NH) and RNA nucleotides (amino NH2 and imino NH) which are resistant to solvent-catalyzed hydrogen exchange. We propose that retardation of exchange of labile sites of the RNA nucleotides is a consequence of the organization of the RNA chromosome within the virion. Our findings support a model for BPMV in which surface and buried domains of capsid subunits are extensively and rigidly hydrogen-bonded, and in which uracil and guanine exocyclic donor groups of packaged RNA are the principal targets for subunit interaction at the threefold vertices of the capsid.
Hormonal Properties of Transplanted Pituitary Tumors and Their Relation to the Pituitary Gland

Pituitary tumor MtTW5, which secretes growth hormone and prolactin, causes growth of a hormone-dependent mammary tumor and development of the mammary gland. A variant of this tumor has arisen which is devoid of mammogenic activity but has retained somatotrophic activity. The parent tumor (MtTW5) and another prolactin-secreting tumor (7315a) caused large increases in the uptake of 131I by the mammary gland, but this was not apparent in rats bearing the variant strain of tumor (StW5). The luteotrophic hormone secreted by MtTW5 and 7315a was demonstrated by counting the number of corpus luteum cell nuclei per 0.0306 mm2. Ovaries from rats bearing these tumors had 40% fewer nuclei than nontumor rats or those bearing StW5. Increased somatotrophic hormone secreted by MtTW5 and StW5 was demonstrated by an increased rate of body growth and an enlarged tibia epiphysial cartilage plate. Pituitary gland weight expressed per 100 g body weight was significantly less in rats bearing MtTW5 and StW5 than in nontumor rats...
2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin induced alterations of pyruvate carboxylase levels and lactate dehydrogenase isozyme shifts in C57BL/6J male mice

A dose-dependent reduction of hepatic pyruvate carboxylase levels and activity occurs in C57BL/6J male mice given 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) i.p. in a corn oil carrier. The dose range was from 1 to 75 micrograms/kg body weight and the analysis was done 8 days postinjection. At the maximum TCDD level investigated, we found a 10-fold reduction in pyruvate carboxylase activity. Furthermore, TCDD at a dose of 1 microgram/kg body weight blocks corn oil induction of an increase in the amount of pyruvate carboxylase in liver protein extracts. At doses beyond those required to initiate a reduction in pyruvate carboxylase, lactate dehydrogenase isozyme patterns shift. This is accompanied by an increase in blood lactic acid levels. We propose that TCDD-mediated reduction in pyruvate carboxylase and lactate dehydrogenase isozyme shifts may represent a major component in TCDD toxicity.
γδ T-cells may interfere with a productive immune response in Plasmodium yoelii infections

Mice lacking alpha beta T-cells or gamma delta T-cells were infected with Plasmodium yoelii 17X NL (non-lethal) and followed for parasitaemia and cytokine production. While the parasitaemia in wild type mice resolved after reaching a peak value of 30 to 50%, it persisted in the -alpha beta T-cell mice until death. However, in the -gamma delta T-cell mice the peak parasitaemia was 12.5% of the levels seen in the wild type and -alpha beta T-cell mice and resolved faster than in the wild type mice. Higher levels of IL-10 and IFN-gamma were consistently found in the wild type and -gamma delta T-cell mice but not in the -alpha beta T-cell mice.
Asymmetrical SRAM Cells with Enhanced Read and Write Margins

In this paper, we describe technology methods to improve the read stability (or static noise margin (SNM)) of asymmetrical SRAM cell based on judicious placement of a weakened pull-down device (NL) in the cell. The core concept is to further weaken the strength of NL through device design and technology/process means beyond that achievable by the conventional device sizing or circuit scheme, thus achieving Read SNM comparable to the standby SNM. These methods improve/maximize the SNM of asymmetrical SRAM cell without degrading read/write performance, leakage/dynamic power, and area/density. They are also more scalable for low voltage operations. Write margin and performance can be noticeably improved by further device optimization.
Clients or citizens

Abstract John McKnight's The Careless Society tellingly exposes the ways the professionalized welfare state creates dependency. But McKnight is too quick to condemn this result as the product of professional self‐interest, and to posit as the alternative a selfless, republican model of community. He overlooks the more realistic possibility that the pursuit of their interests by social groups empowered to take care of themselves would better serve those interests, and would simultaneously create a feeling of interdependence and civic responsibility.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as a risk factor for concussions in NCAA division-I athletes

AbstractObjective: Sports-related concussions are associated with both acute and long-term consequences. Past work has identified novel risk factors and modifiers for concussions, including mood and neuropsychiatric disorders. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common neuropsychiatric disorder that may also contribute to concussion risk, although no study has examined this possibility.Methods: One hundred and thirty-nine NCAA Division-I athletes at Kent State University (KSU) self-reported a history of prior concussion and diagnostic history of ADHD as part of a larger concussion management programme at KSU.Results: ADHD was prevalent (10.1%) and 18.0% of the sample reported a prior history of at least one concussion injury. 50.4% of athletes with ADHD reported a history of at least one prior concussion vs 14.4% of athletes without ADHD, which represented a significant difference (p < 0.01). Analyses showed that athletes with ADHD were more likely to report a past history of concussions ...
Believing Is Seeing The Matrix of Vision and White Masculinities

Empirical research on both whiteness and masculinity has paid little attention to how white men actually see race and gender. This article combines data gathered from a set of twenty-six intensive interviews and three photoethnographic interviews, along with poststructuralist and psychoanalytic theory, to explore the different ways white men visually interpret race and gender within particular social contexts. From the data, I offer a theoretical model called “the matrix of vision” that addresses how the visual field is constructed within discursive, structural, interactive, and geographic contexts. This article highlights how the field of vision is especially susceptible to making white men feel racialized and/or gendered. It contributes to more recent research on whiteness that presents the constructed character of white identity formation. It also adds to visual sociology literature by highlighting photographic work done by the respondents themselves and how visual sociology can contribute to nonvisual...
Steplength selection in interior-point methods for quadratic programming ✩

Abstract We present a new strategy for choosing primal and dual steplengths in a primal–dual interior-point algorithm for convex quadratic programming. Current implementations often scale steps equally to avoid increases in dual infeasibility between iterations. We propose that this method can be too conservative, while safeguarding an unequally-scaled steplength approach will often require fewer steps toward a solution. Computational results are given.
The effects of 6-hydroxydopamine pretreatment on the accumulation of dopa and dopamine in brain and peripheral organs following L-dopa administration.

The capacity of brain and peripheral organs to accumulate dopamine following intraperitoneal l-dopa was not impaired in rats whose catecholamine-containing nerve terminals had been destroyed by pretreatment with intracisternal or intraperitoneal 6-hydroxydopamine. These findings indicate that the uptake of exogenous l-dopa and its conversion to dopamine are not restricted to cells that normally synthesize and contain catecholamines.
Clean-up techniques for pesticides in fatty foods

Abstract The separation of pesticides and other chemical contaminants from high-fat food samples prior to subsequent steps in the analytical process (usually gas chromatography) is a problem to which much effort in method development has been applied. Early methods involved liquid-liquid partitioning, adsorption chromatography and chemical destruction of lipids with strong base and acid. These techniques had limited applicability, especially with the advent of more polar and labile pesticides. Later developments involving sweep codistillation, gel-permeation chromatography and reversed-phase liquid chromatography on alkyl-bonded microparticulate silica are applicable to a wider range of analytes and are generally faster and more efficient and consume less reagents. Supercritical fluid extraction should prove useful in this regard. A brief overview of methods developed for isolating trace levels of environmental contaminants from lipids is presented.
Taxonomy of Gracilaria: Evaluation of some aspects of reproductive structure

Although Gracilaria Greville is a reasonably welldefined genus of the Gigartinales, the taxonomy of its species is notoriously chaotic (see Bird & McLachlan 1982; Bird, et al 1982). As some species are of economic value, it is necessary that at least these entities be well characterized and made recognizable. Identification of commercial stocks of Gracilaria has been based on gross morphology and, in some instances, has been incorrect [G. verrucosa (Huds.) Papenf. in Chile, Kim 1970] or suspect [G. debilis (Forssk.) Borg. in the Caribbean, Newton 1953; G. bursa-pastoris (Gmel.) Silva in Hawaii, Renfrew 1983]. It is becoming increasingly apparent that certain minor but fundamental differences among morphologically similar taxa merit consideration if species are to be correctly defined. Further, it is equally important to sample widely for such features, to determine their uniformity throughout populations and under a variety of environmental conditions. Herein we consider several aspects of reproductive structures and assess their taxonomic utility.
Functional neuroanatomy of the auditory cortex studied with [2-14C]deoxyglucose

The functional neuroanatomy of the auditory cortex during sound stimulation was studied in 16 cats using a labeled tracer, [2-14C]deoxyglucose. In individual experiments the effect of anesthesia and of stimulation with pure tones, narrow- or broad-band noise, and binaural or monaural input was examined. The results indicate that glucose utilization in the auditory cortex during barbiturate anesthesia was negligiable compared with that seen in paralyzed-awake cats. Narrow-band or broad-band noise stimulation produced activity in the auditory cortex in two dimensions, radially from white matter to pia and as bands of activity running in a dorsoventral orientation on the cortex. No activity could be elicited by pure-tone stimuli. The findings have implications for the more traditional anatomic and physiologic observations of the auditory cortex and for the utility of measuring glucose consumption in the cortex with the [2-14C]deoxyglucose tracer.
A Critical Role for the S4-S5 Intracellular Loop in Domain IV of the Sodium Channel α-Subunit in Fast Inactivation

Na+ channel fast inactivation is thought to involve the closure of an intracellular inactivation gate over the channel pore. Previous studies have implicated the intracellular loop connecting domains III and IV and a critical IFM motif within it as the inactivation gate, but amino acid residues at the intracellular mouth of the pore required for gate closure and binding have not been positively identified. The short intracellular loops connecting the S4 and S5 segments in each domain of the Na+ channel α-subunit are good candidates for this role in the Na+ channel inactivation process. In this study, we used scanning mutagenesis to examine the role of the IVS4-S5 region in fast inactivation. Mutations F1651A, near the middle of the loop, and L1660A and N1662A, near the COOH-terminal end, substantially disrupted Na+ channel fast inactivation. The mutant F1651A conducted Na+ currents that decayed very slowly, while L1660A and N1662A had large sustained Na+ currents at the end of 30-ms depolarizing pulses. Inactivation of macroscopic Na+currents was nearly abolished by the N1662A mutation and the combination of the F1651A/L1660A mutations. Single channel analysis revealed frequent reopenings for all three mutants during 40-ms depolarizing pulses, indicating a substantial impairment of the stability of the inactivated state compared with wild type (WT). The F1651A and N1662A mutants also had increased mean open times relative to WT, indicating a slowed rate of entry into the inactivated state. In addition to these effects on inactivation of open Na+channels, mutants F1651A, L1660A, and N1662A also impaired fast inactivation of closed Na+ channels, as assessed from measurements of the maximum open probability of single channels. The peptide KIFMK mimics the IFM motif of the inactivation gate and provides a test of the effect of mutations on the hydrophobic interaction of this motif with the inactivation gate receptor. KIFMK restores fast inactivation of open channels to the F1651A/L1660A mutant but does not restore fast inactivation of closed F1651A/L1660A channels, suggesting that these residues interact with the IFM motif during inactivation of closed channels. Our results implicate F1651, L1660, and N1662 of the IVS4-S5 loop in inactivation of both closed and open Na+ channels and suggest that the IFM motif of the inactivation gate interacts with F1651 and/or L1660 in the IVS4-S5 loop during inactivation of closed channels.
DISPLAY BY APPARENT HYBRID PRAIRIE-CHICKENS IN A ZONE OF GEOGRAPHIC OVERLAP

Abstract Greater (Tympanuchus cupido) and Lesser (T. pallidicinctus) Prairie-Chicken are thought to be historically and presently allopatric. We documented an area of approximately 250 000 ha in western Kansas characterized by leks with displaying males of both species. Display booms unlike typical Greater or Lesser Prairie-Chickens were heard and recorded at nine mixed leks. Spectrograms of these vocalizations contained elements of Greater and Lesser Prairie-Chicken booms, and comparisons suggested intermediate similarity. Males giving these booms had additional novel characters as well as novel combinations of Greater and Lesser Prairie-Chicken characters, and might represent the first case of hybridization in the wild. Despliegues de Hibridos Aparentes de Tympanuchus en una Zona de Simpatria Resumen. Aunque se ha pensado que Tympanuchus cupido y T. pallidicinctus son especies historica y actualmente alopatricas, documentamos un area de aproximadamente 250 000 ha en el oeste de Kansas que esta caracteri...
ethnoecology and planting practices in a swidden agricultural system1

Two sets of data on slash-and-bum agriculture in Northeast Brazil are compared. The first constitutes a cognitive paradigm of land types and the rules stating which crops “like” which lands best. The second shows the actual outcomes, for forty-four agriculturalists, of planting specific crops in specific land types. The cognitive model predicts the direction in which actual planting behavior deviates from randomness, although many interesting exceptions occur. The need for similar analyses in other cultures and spheres of activity is stressed, and techniques appropriate to the task are discussed.
Successful Treatment of a Critically Ill Patient with Disseminated Coccidioidomycosis, Using Adjunctive Interferon-γ

Conventional antifungal therapy was not successful for a critically ill patient who had been hospitalized for 137 days in the intensive care unit with disseminated Coccidioides immitis infection and respiratory failure. The addition of interferon-g to the therapeutic regimen resulted in improvement and discharge from the hospital. Adjunctive interferon-g used in the successful treatment of severe coccidioidomycosis has not been reported previously. Coccidioidomycosis is caused by Coccidioides immitis, a fungus that is endemic in the southwestern United States. The majority of persons infected with this fungus recover without significant sequelae. However, ∼5% of patients develop severe and lifethreatening disease [1]. Cell-mediated immunity is believed to play an important role in C. immitis infections, and impairment of the cell-mediated immune system is associated with moresevere disease [1‐3]. Clinicians experienced with coccidioidomycosis know that patients with impaired immunity can die of disseminated infection, despite administration of available antifungal therapy. Theoretically, if the immune response in patients with severe disease could be enhanced, the effectiveness of antifungals might be improved. It is known that the immunemodulating agent IFN-g can protect susceptible mice to challenge with C. immitis [4]. We are not aware of IFN-g being used therapeutically for humans with C. immitis infection. We describe a patient with severe coccidioidomycosis whose con
Enhanced resistivity and breakdown strength via a granular two-phase silicone oil and polypropylene mixed media dielectric

A new granular two-phase mixed media insulator consisting of packed polypropylene beads and silicone oil is found to have up to 10 times greater resistivity and nearly 2 times greater breakdown strength compared with the same silicone oil when operated in DC mode.
Bedside diagnostic ultrasound and therapeutic ultrasound-guided procedures in the intensive care setting.

Since its introduction to health care, ultrasound has developed into a widely accepted, readily available, accurate diagnostic tool. Its advantages are many, being safe and portable, allowing real-time viewing, and being relatively inexpensive. 22 Since the creation of duplex sonography, the role of ultrasound has expanded into the broad realm of vascular diagnosis and intervention. With the advent of color Doppler and other sophisticated technology, including guidance methods and catheters, ultrasound's value in intervention also is being realized. 86 Recent applications as a guidance tool include performance of aspirations, biopsies, drainages, and stent placements in virtually every organ, space, and vessel that can be visualized by ultrasound. This article specifically addresses the use of ultrasound at the bedside of critically ill patients in the ICU.
Integrating Asynchronous Task Parallelism with MPI

Effective combination of inter-node and intra-node parallelism is recognized to be a major challenge for future extreme-scale systems. Many researchers have demonstrated the potential benefits of combining both levels of parallelism, including increased communication-computation overlap, improved memory utilization, and effective use of accelerators. However, current “hybrid programming” approaches often require significant rewrites of application code and assume a high level of programmer expertise. Dynamic task parallelism has been widely regarded as a programming model that combines the best of performance and programmability for shared-memory programs. For distributed-memory programs, most users rely on efficient implementations of MPI. In this paper, we propose HCMPI (Habanero-C MPI), an integration of the Habanero-C dynamic task-parallel programming model with the widely used MPI message-passing interface. All MPI calls are treated as asynchronous tasks in this model, thereby enabling unified handling of messages and tasking constructs. For programmers unfamiliar with MPI, we introduce distributed data-driven futures (DDDFs), a new data-flow programming model that seamlessly integrates intra-node and inter-node data-flow parallelism without requiring any knowledge of MPI. Our novel runtime design for HCMPI and DDDFs uses a combination of dedicated communication and computation specific worker threads. We evaluate our approach on a set of micro-benchmarks as well as larger applications and demonstrate better scalability compared to the most efficient MPI implementations, while offering a unified programming model to integrate asynchronous task parallelism with distributed-memory parallelism.
Dynamic Catalog Mailing Policies

Deciding who should receive a mail-order catalog is among the most important decisions that mail-order-catalog firms must address. In practice, the current approach to the problem is invariably myopic: firms send catalogs to customers who they think are most likely to order from that catalog. In doing so, the firms overlook the long-run implications of these decisions. For example, it may be profitable to mail to customers who are unlikely to order immediately if sending the current catalog increases the probability of a future order. We propose a model that allows firms to optimize mailing decisions by addressing the dynamic implications of their decisions. The model is conceptually simple and straightforward to implement. We apply the model to a large sample of historical data provided by a catalog firm and then evaluate its performance in a large-scale field test. The findings offer support for the proposed model but also identify opportunities for further improvement.
IDENTIFYING CAUSE OF DECLINING FLOWS IN THE REPUBLICAN RIVER

The Republican River, shared by three states, Colorado, Nebraska, and Kansas, has yielded de- pleted streamflow at the Nebraska-Kansas border for about 20 years when compared to values preceding 1970. Based on model results estimating the average annual water balance of the basin, it is concluded that the observed decline in runoff cannot be explained by changes in climatic variables over the area; rather, it is the result of the combined effects of the following human activities: crop irrigation, change in vegetative cover, water con- servation practices, and construction of reservoirs and artificial ponds in the basin. These human-induced changes have one property in common: they all increase the amount of water being evaporated over the basin, thereby reducing the amount of water available to runoff.
A computer networking laboratory for administration and networking

This project implements a laboratory for studying administrative aspects of computer networking and operating systems. The primary goal is to provide an environment isolated from the campus network in which students install, manage, and measure the performance of several system and network configurations. The laboratory computers are usually organized into mini-networks of three PC workstations and one server, connected to the lab's backbone by a router. Additional hubs, switches and access points allow a variety of additional configurations. The computers can run both Linux and Windows 2000. The exercises currently being developed emphasize experimentation, observation, and measurement. Students not only gain hands-on experience with networks and operating systems, but also experience analyzing multiple configurations. This paper describes the exercises already developed and plans for additional ones.
Genetic heterogeneity and spectrum of mutations of the PRKAR1A gene in patients with the Carney complex

Carney complex (CNC) is an autosomal dominant multiple neoplasia syndrome, which has been linked to loci on 2p16 and 17q22-24. We recently reported that PRKAR1A, which codes for the type 1A regulatory subunit of protein kinase A (PKA), is a tumor suppressor gene on chromosome 17 that is mutated in some CNC families. To evaluate the spectrum of PRKAR1A mutations, we identified its genomic structure and screened for mutations in 54 CNC kindreds (34 families and 20 patients with sporadic disease). Fourteen families were informative for linkage analysis: four of four families that mapped to 17q had PRKAR1A mutations, whereas there were no mutations found in seven families exhibiting at least one recombination with 17q. In six of the latter, CNC mapped to 2p16. PRKAR1A mutations were also found in 12 of 20 non-informative families and 7 of 20 sporadic cases. Altogether, 15 distinct PRKAR1A mutations were identified in 22 of 54 kindreds (40.7%). In 14 mutations, the sequence change was predicted to lead to a premature stop codon; one altered the initiator ATG codon. Mutant mRNAs containing a premature stop codon were unstable, as a result of nonsense-mediated mRNA decay. Accordingly, the predicted truncated PRKAR1A protein products were absent in these cells. We conclude that (i) genetic heterogeneity exists in CNC; and (ii) all of the CNC alleles on 17q are functionally null mutations of PRKAR1A. CNC is the first human disease recognized to be caused by mutations of the PKA holoenzyme, a critical component of cellular signaling.
Perioperative Stroke, Encephalopathy, and Central Nervous System Dysfunction

The leading cause of mortality in adult populations throughout the world is atherosclerosis, which results in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular complications and consumes substantive health care r...
Evaluation of a vortex model of buoyancy-driven recirculation in potential flow analysis of data center performance

The prediction of flow and temperature in data center operation is of particular importance in creating better capacity utilization and lower capital costs. However, it is often a time- and computing-intensive task, and would be well served by more expeditious modeling methods than full Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) thermofluidic models. A software package named COMPACT (Compact Model of Potential Flow and Convective Transport) was developed to provide one such alternative. Recent versions of COMPACT take under 10 seconds on a commercially available laptop to characterize a 550 square foot data center; the same room modeled with a CFD solver took 8 hours. Having the ability to create velocity and temperature predictions orders of magnitude faster than conventional CFD allow a variety of data center applications for the model, such as use as a first-order design tool, a potential improvement to plant-based controllers, a tool for system-wide assessment of life-cycle efficiency, and as an initial guess for complex CFD solvers. COMPACT applies convective energy transport equations to a computed potential flow field to approximate a flow and temperature field. The results from this model were compared to experimental measurements taken from a data center at Hewlett-Packard Laboratories in Palo Alto, CA. The presence of high localized temperatures in the model led to the conclusion that recirculation and buoyancy were contributing excessively to error in the model. A novel approach was proposed to account for these effects: a non-iterative (to preserve computational resources) method of vortex superposition, in which hot locations in the original model are analyzed and a corrective flow field consisting of Rankine vortices is superimposed on the solution. An updated model using this approach was tested with further experimental measurements taken from the data center at HP Labs, and identical inputs were used to compare COMPACT to commercially available CFD. These newer results showed a marked decrease in mean deviation of the model from measured temperatures, as well as elimination of the highly localized temperatures which afflicted the original COMPACT results. The vortex superposition model was also “tuned”, with vortex strength optimized for multiple test cases at varying levels of recirculation. In addition, the model-generated velocity and temperature fields were used to locate and quantify the destruction of exergy resulting from the mixing of warmer and cooler air in the room; these results are used as a measure of system efficiency.
Transparency of Intergovernmental Organizations: The Roles of Member States, International Bureaucracies and Nongovernmental Organizations

As intergovernmental organizations (IOs) have grown in number and influence, there has been an increase in calls for their accountability, not just to governments but also toward the general public. One of the principal ways they can improve their accountability is by becoming more transparent, that is, offering more information to the public. Over the past decade, some IOs have adopted official policies and changed their practices concerning public access to information, while others have not. This study asks which IOs are likely to be transparent. To answer this question, it derives several hypotheses based on the existing international relations literature as well as the literature explaining government transparency in the domestic realm. The hypotheses focus on the roles of the principal actors affecting access-to-information from IOs: member states, IO bureaucracies and international nongovernmental organizations. This study tests these hypotheses across 72 IOs by using three newly developed measures of transparency. It finds that some of the main factors that explain IO transparency are analogous to those that have affected government transparency at the domestic level.
Reduction of Patient-Reported Antidepressant Side Effects, by Type of Collaborative Care

Objective:Antidepressants are effective for treating depression, and collaborative care increases initiation of and adherence to antidepressants. Side effects of antidepressants are common and can adversely affect quality of life. Care managers address antidepressant side effects directly, but the impact of collaborative care on adverse effects is unknown. This secondary data analysis tested the hypothesis that patient-reported antidepressant side effects were lower for depressed patients receiving high-intensity, telemedicine-based collaborative care (TBCC) than for patients receiving low-intensity, practice-based collaborative care (PBCC).Methods:This analysis used data from 190 patients enrolled in a pragmatic, multisite, comparative-effectiveness trial from 2007 to 2009 and followed for 18 months. Most patients were female (83%) and Caucasian (80%). The mean age was 50. Patients randomly assigned to PBCC received 12 months of evidence-based care from an on-site primary care provider and nurse care man...
Immunological Distinction of Mycobacterial Beta-Lactamases

Abstract Beta-lactamase-containing fractions have been isolated from Myobacterium tuberculosis strain R1Rv and M. smegmatis strains NCTC 8158 and T-64. Antisera raised in rabbits to these fractions demonstrated no cross-reactivity with a commercial Bacillus cereus beta-lactamase. Antiserum to either strain of M. smegmatis revealed no cross-reactivity with M. tuberculosis R1Rv, one specificity in common with the other M. smegmatis strain, and two specificities unique to the immunizing fractions. Further characterization of the common specificity was not possible, but beta-lactamase activity was related to the strain-specific precipitin lines in each case. These studies demonstrate the feasibility of isolating beta-lactamase enzyme fractions that may prove useful in the classification and diagnosis of mycobacteria.