cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Orientation to pictorial novelty by speech-disordered children.

Abstract The Mackworth wide-angle reflection eye camera was used to record the position of the gaze on a display of 16 white symbols. One of these symbols changed to red after 30 sec, remained red for a minute of testing, and then became white again. Ten aphasic children (aged 5–9) were compared with 10 normal children matched for sex and age. The normal children looked immediately at the red circle, and then began to look away. The 3 aphasics with low verbal I.Q., but high nonverbal I.Q., stared at the red circle for the whole minute. These 3 children with high nonverbal I.Q.s were markedly different from the children with low nonverbal I.Q.s. The 7 less severe cases showed poor visual orientation, being slow to look at the novel item, and often looking away from the display. Prolonged staring at novelty appears to be related to more serious problems specifically involving speech and suggests a difficulty in forming an internal model, while generalized failure of visual orientation to external novelty appears to be related to low I.Q. as a whole.
Nature of Fort Chadbourne Fault System and its Relation to Petroleum Potential of Wilberns Formation (Upper Cambrian) of West-Central Texas: ABSTRACT

The Wilberns Formation (Upper Cambrian) in the subsurface of west-central Texas is composed predominantly of sandstone units. Subsurface mapping of the Wilberns shows the sandstones to be persistent throughout End_Page 517------------------------------ most of the study area. The Fort Chadbourne fault system is a linear zone of deformation trending from Sutton County northward into northeastern Nolan County. This structural zone contains uplifted and faulted Wilberns Formation. En echelon faults and folds as the predominant structures along the Fort Chadbourne fault system suggest wrench faulting. The orientation of these faults (north-south) and folds (northeast-southwest) suggests that the wrench system had left-lateral movement that was produced from compressive forces active during the Ouachita orogeny. Based on thin-section analyses of core samples, the general paragenetic sequence for the upper sandstone units of the Wilberns Formation consists of at least 4 diagenetic stages: (1) reduction of primary porosity and development of quartz overgrowths resulting from burial and compaction; (2) precipitation of dolomite cement into remaining pore space; (3) dissolution of calcareous material and development of secondary porosity in response to uplift and exposure; and (4) precipitation of hematite, pyrite, and clays as pore lining and pore fill after reburial (hydrocarbon migration probably occurred during this stage). This sequence of diagenetic events is responsible for the excellent reservoir quality of the sandstone units within the Wilberns Formation found along the Fort Chadbourne fault system. End_of_Article - Last_Page 518------------
Effect of cysteamine hydrochloride on secretion of growth hormone in male swine.

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of cysteamine hydrochloride (CSH) on growth hormone (GH) secretion in male swine. Twelve Poland China x Yorkshire boars, weighing 103.4 +/- 3.0 kg and fitted with indwelling jugular vein catheters, were individually penned in an environmentally controlled room. Boars received i.v. injections of either 0, 25, 50, or 75 mg CSH/kg body weight (BW) at h 0 (n = 3/treatment). Blood samples were collected every 15 min from h 0 to h 4. Serum concentrations of GH were determined by radioimmunoassay. There was an effect of treatment (P .1) among treatments. Overall, GH pulse amplitude was 2.35 +/- .58 ng/ml and GH pulse frequency was .75 +/- .07 pulses/h. Results from this experiment indicate that CSH suppresses circulating GH concentrations in a dose dependent fashion in boars.
Barium adsorption on Si(100)-(2×1) at room temperature: a bi-polar scanning tunneling microscopy study

Abstract The initial stages of barium adsorption on Si(100)-(2×1) at room temperature has been studied by ultrahigh vacuum scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) under both positive and negative sample-bias imaging conditions. Two distinct adsorption sites have been identified by the high-resolution STM images. It was found that, with the substrate held at room temperature, barium atoms can occupy both valley-bridge sites in the trough between silicon dimers and silicon-vacancy sites. It is possible to image the barium atoms at valley-bridge sites with both negative and positive sample bias, revealing filled and empty surface states, respectively. For barium atoms adsorbed at vacancy sites, however, it is only possible to obtain filled-state images, and imaging with positive sample bias will induce the removal of the atom, possibly transferred to the tip, revealing a missing silicon dimer below.
An algorithm for 3D target scatterer feature estimation from sparse SAR apertures

We present an algorithm for extracting 3D canonical scattering features from complex targets observed over sparse 3D SAR apertures. The algorithm begins with complex phase history data and ends with a set of geometrical features describing the scene. The algorithm provides a pragmatic approach to initialization of a nonlinear feature estimation scheme, using regularization methods to deconvolve the point spread function and obtain sparse 3D images. Regions of high energy are detected in the sparse images, providing location initializations for scattering center estimates. A single canonical scattering feature, corresponding to a geometric shape primitive, is fit to each region via nonlinear optimization of fit error between the regularized data and parametric canonical scattering models. Results of the algorithm are presented using 3D scattering prediction data of a simple scene for both a densely-sampled and a sparsely-sampled SAR measurement aperture.
Technology Options for Next-Generation High Pin Count RF Packaging

Three packaging technologies are evaluated for application to next-generation RF products, particularly the Radio and MAC/Baseband components for WLAN cards. The trends for WLAN card packaging point to a need for ever-increasing pin counts in smaller form factors at an affordable cost. The three technologies considered are leadframe, patternable leadframe and ball grid array (BGA). These technologies are evaluated based upon performance (thermal, mechanical and electrical), manufacturability and design attributes. Data from modeling and assembly builds are presented. The key point of the paper is that increasing on-die integration for functional-rich, multiple-input / multiple output (MIMO)/multi-mode RF products is driving a need to investigate emerging package technologies. This paper presents a data based evaluation of three front-runner technologies: leadframe body-size extensions, patternable leadframe technologies and BGA. The key unique contributions of this paper are a demonstration of the manufacturability of higher pin count (150+), larger leadframe and patternable leadframe packages than have been previously been demonstrated and a test-vehicle, design-of-experiments comparison of the three leading technologies considered for next-generation RF product packaging.
Gas-Phase Cleavage and Dephosphorylation of Universal Linker-Bound Oligodeoxynucleotides

While base-specific support is commonly used for single-column oligodeoxynucleotide synthesis, the universal linker is critical for high-throughput synthesis of potentially thousands of samples in a single run. Here, we report conditions for cleavage and complete dephosphorylation of two commercial universal linkers, UnySupport and UnyLinker, processed in the gas phase (NH3) using our custom device. First, we compared the average yield of T10mers over time (15, 30, 60, 120, and 240 minutes, 40 psi, 80°C and 90°C). For samples processed with water added prior to incubation, we discovered a substantial increase in yield compared to those left dry (up to 55%). This was also the case for samples subjected to increases in chamber pressure (10, 20, 30 and 40 psi, 120 minutes, 80°C and 90°C). Next, we compared the effects of increased temperature, pressure and incubation times on the rates of dephosphorylation. We found the optimum conditions to be either 10 psi, 120 minutes at 80°C or 60 minutes at 90°C; in bot...
The Bly Creek ecosystem study — organic carbon transport within a euhaline salt marsh basin, North Inlet, South Carolina

Dissolved and particulate organic carbon fluxes were measured within the Bly Creek basin, North Inlet area, Georgetown County, South Carolina. 34 tidal cycles were sampled between 20 June 1986 and 19 June 1984. Flux direction and magnitude were determined for each measured tidal cycle. Continuously measured auxiliary variables were used in a regression model to produce annual flux estimates with minimum se. Annual budgets were similarly developed for subsystems within the basin, and annual input to the basin by rain, groundwater, and freshwater runoff were estimated. Mean dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations varied from 2.5 to 11.8 mg C·l−1, with lowest values in the summer and fall and highest values in late winter and spring. Net flux estimates varied similarly with greatest exports occurring during late winter and spring. On an annual basis 1.85 × 105 kg C·yr−1 (se 3.2 × 104 kg C·yr−1) was exported through the tidal creek. Freshwater inputs accounted for ≈ 11% of the observed export with 1.65 × 105 kg C originating within the marsh basin. Particulate organic carbon (POC) concentrations varied from 0.63 to 5.3 mg C·l−1 with largest concentrations in late summer. The annual basin flux estimate of 2.04 × 104 kg C·yr−1 imported was not statistically different from zero. However, there was a significant import of 2.1 × 104 kg C·yr−1 from the tidal creek to the marsh surface.
Problem of the Love-Gannon relation between the asymmetric disturbance field and Dst

[1] Love and Gannon (2009) discovered that statistically, over a fifty year period the difference in the dawn and dusk disturbance-field H component at low latitudes (hourly averaged) is linearly proportional to Dst. If the difference is designated by δDD in units of nT/RE, then the Love-Gannon (L-G) relation is δDD = −0.2 Dst. At any time departures from the relation can be large. Nonetheless, the relation is evident for all values of Dst and persists throughout magnetic storms, both the main phase and the recovery phase. The Love-Gannon discovery presents a problem to current understanding of the relation between the causes of δDD and Dst because the dawn dusk asymmetry in the disturbance field is presumably governed by a long-established magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling theory which predicts a characteristic time scale (the shielding time) of less than an hour whereas the characteristic time scale for Dst (the ring current decay time) is more like ten hours. Thus, without forcing both time scales toward each other to the limits of their ranges, a linear proportionality between δDD and Dst cannot be derived from the current understanding of the causes of the asymmetry and the ring current. This conclusion is the paper's main contribution. In addition, we attempt to get around the conflict of time scales by looking at other possibilities for generating δDD that depend directly on the ring current. The most promising of these is the possibility that the ring current decay mechanism creates a quasi-permanent, local-time modification of the ring current compared to what it would be in the absence of the decay mechanism and that this modification causes a field-aligned current that closes through the ionosphere and generates the asymmetry δDD. This idea has the virtue of coupling the asymmetry directly to the ring current and of accounting for the persistence of the L-G proportionality through the recovery phase of magnetic storms.
Case study of a Chinese aphasic with the Boston diagnostic aphasia exam.

Abstract This paper presents the case study of a 56-yr-old right-handed monolingual Chinese aphasic who had suffered a left hemisphere intracerebral bleed and was studied 1 1 2 and 2 1 2 yr post stroke with a Mandarin translation of the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Exam and the Token Test. She had a “mixed” aphasia, characterized by moderate-severe deficits in all language modalities. Her speech output was limited to one-word responses and although she was better at monosyllabic than bi-syllabic Chinese word repetition, she made errors on both word types characterized by incorrect tones, verbal paraphasias, omissions, substitutions and preseveration. There was good performance in pointing to single characters and matching characters to pictures; she could not read sentences. Writing was limited to her name and simple nouns; sequence of brush strokes was incorrect; errors were not related to number of brush strokes in the character. She had both a bucco-facial and left limb apraxia. Tone perception was impaired as tested by a specially designed tone perception test.
Joint migration of gonadotropin‐releasing hormone (GnRH) and neuropeptide Y (NPY) neurons from olfactory placode to central nervous system

The olfactory epithelium in vertebrates generates the olfactory sensory neurons and several migratory cell types. Prominent among the latter are the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons that differentiate within the olfactory epithelium during embryogenesis and migrate along the olfactory nerve to the central nervous system. We initiated studies to characterize additional neuronal phenotypes of olfactory epithelial derivation. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) neurons are functionally related to the reproductive axis, modulating the release of GnRH and directly enhancing GnRH-induced luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion from gonadotrophs. We demonstrate that a population of migratory NPY neurons originates within the olfactory epithelium of the chick. At stage 25, NPY-positive fibers, but not cells, were detected in the epithelium and the nerve. By stages 28–34, NPY neurons and processes were present in the olfactory epithelium, olfactory nerve, and at the junction of the olfactory nerve and forebrain. In these regions the number of NPY neurons increased until stage 30 and then declined as development progressed. Electron microscopic immunocytochemistry confirmed the neuronal phenotype of the NPY-positive cells. The origin and migratory nature of some of these NPY cells was confirmed by double-label immunocytochemical detection of NPY and GnRH. A large percentage of the NPY-cells coexpressed the GnRH peptide. Between stages 28 and 34 single- and double-labeled NPY and GnRH neurons were found side by side along the GnRH migratory route emanating from the nasal epithelium, along the olfactory nerve, and into the ventral forebrain. These data suggest that an NPY population originates in the olfactory epithelium and migrates into the central nervous system during embryogenesis. By stage 42, no NPY/GnRH double-labeled cells were detected. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Comparing Effects of Family and School Factors on Cross-national Academic Achievement using the 2009 and 2006 PISA Surveys

Abstract This paper investigates whether international differences in math and science achievement, and specifically the lower US scores, can be explained by family socioeconomic status (SES) and differences in school factors. Using 2009 and 2006 PISA data for the ten largest developed OECD countries, the results show that, while family SES has a strong effect on students' achievement, it does not explain the US achievement gap with other large developed OECD countries. In contrast, a substantial number of school variables not only have significant effects on math and science achievement, but they contribute more to the US gap than SES differences.
Schwinger-Dyson analysis of an exactly solvable model

I present an exactly solvable quantum field theory in 0+1 dimensions in which a fermion field interacts with a boson field via a Yukawa coupling. The exact two-point Green's functions are constructed and compared with the Green's functions obtained from a ladder approximation to the Schwinger-Dyson equations. I find that the ladder approximation fails to produce even a qualitative agreement with the exact spectral function except in the weak-coupling limit.
Hospitalists and intensivists in the medical ICU: a prospective observational study comparing mortality and length of stay between two staffing models.

BACKGROUND: A shortage of critical care specialists or intensivists, coupled with expanding United States critical care needs, mandates identification of alternate qualified physicians for intensive care unit (ICU) staffing. OBJECTIVE: To compare mortality and length of stay (LOS) of medical ICU patients cared for by a hospitalist or an intensivist-led team. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. SETTING: Urban academic community hospital affiliated with a major regional academic university. PATIENTS: Consecutive medical patients admitted to a hospitalist ICU team (n = 828) with selective intensivist consultation or an intensivist-led ICU teaching team (n = 528). MEASUREMENTS: Endpoints were ICU and in-hospital mortality and LOS, adjusted for patient differences with logistic and linear regression models and propensity scores. RESULTS: The odds ratio adjusted for disease severity for in-hospital mortality was 0.8 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.49, 1.18; P = 0.23) and ICU mortality was 0.8 (95% CI: 0.51, 1.32; P = 0.41), referent to the hospitalist team. The adjusted LOS was similar between teams (hospital LOS difference 0.9 days, P = 0.98; ICU LOS difference 0.3 days, P = 0.32). Mechanically ventilated patients with intermediate illness severity had lower hospital LOS (10.6 vs 17.8 days, P < 0.001) and ICU LOS (7.2 vs 10.6 days, P = 0.02), and a trend towards decreased in-hospital mortality (15.6% vs 27.5%, P = 0.10) in the intensivist-led group. CONCLUSIONS: The adjusted mortality and LOS demonstrated no statistically significant difference between hospitalist and intensivist-led ICU models. Mechanically ventilated patients with intermediate illness severity showed improved LOS and a trend towards improved mortality when cared for by an intensivist-led ICU teaching team. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2011;. © 2011 Society of Hospital Medicine
Time-dependent contrast effects in a multiple schedule of food reinforcement

Four rats were rewarded for running in a wheel under two alternating conditions of food reinforcement. These periods of frequent and infrequent reinforcement, each accompanied by a particular stimulus, were presented a number of times in each daily session. Following shifts from high to low frequency of reinforcement, responding decreased suddenly and markedly, and then recovered within the next few minutes. The magnitude of this temporary depression was an increasing function of the duration of the immediately preceding component of high-frequency reinforcement. A transient elevation in performance, which did not vary with the duration of the prior component, was noted in two subjects following shifts from low to high frequency of reinforcement. The elevation and depression effects did not appear simultaneously during the 48 experimental sessions. A possible relation between the difficulty of the discrimination and the extent of contrast effects is discussed.
In[ter]vention: Locating Rhetoric's Ethos

Rhetorical invention is the principal source of politics and ethics as contemporary theories from various disciplines demonstrate. The complex reflexive relationship among politics, ethics, and invention demands ethical responsibility, requiring rhetoricians (who hold a key to this subject) to acknowledge and attend to their ethos, used here in the classical sense of ethos as “gathering place.”
A data driven approach to diagnosing and treating disease

Throughout the biomedical and life sciences research community, advanced integrative biology algorithms are employed to integrate large scale data across many different high-dimensional datatypes to construct predictive network models of disease. The causal inference approaches we employ for this purpose well complement the types of natural artificial intelligence/machine learning approaches that have become nearly standard in the life and biomedical sciences for building classifiers for a range of problems, from disease classification and subtype stratification, to the identification of responders and non-responders for a given treatment strategy. By building a causal network model that spans multiple scales (from the molecular to the cellular, to the tissue/organ, to the organism and community) we can understand the flow of information and how best to modulate that flow to improve human wellbeing, whether better diagnosing and treating disease or improving overall health(1-4). More specifically, we have constructed predictive network models for Alzheimer's disease, along with other common human diseases such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and inflammatory bowel disease, and cancer, and demonstrated a causal network common across all of these diseases(3, 5-10). Not only do we demonstrate that our predictive models uncover important mechanisms of disease and mechanistic connections among different diseases, but that they have led to a natural way to prioritize therapeutic points of intervention and provide optimal molecular phenotypes for high throughput screening. Our application of these models in a number of disease areas has led to the identification of novel genes that are causal for disease and that may serve as efficacious points of therapeutic intervention, as well as to personalized treatment strategies that provide a more quantitative and accurate approach to tailoring treatments to specific forms of disease.
Inhibition of casein turn-over by hydrocortisone during mammary gland differentiation in vitro

Abstract Casein synthesized by mouse mammary explants is dephosphorylated upon prolactin stimulation of epithelial cells formed in the absence of hydrocortisone. Cells formed in the presence of hydrocortisone and various other active corticosteroid hormones do not exhibit this activity. These observations are interpreted to represent an inhibition of dephosphorylative activity as a concomitant of steroid-mediated covert differentiation of mammary epithelial cells.
Electrical characteristics of AlN insulating films in the thickness range 40 to 150Å

AlN insulating films prepared by nitriding freshly deposited aluminum films in a nitrogen glow discharge have sufficiently nonlinear current-voltage characteristics to be of possible use to charge-storage devices. The current-voltage-insulator thickness relationships of capacitor structures Al-AlN-Au relevant to this application are presented.
Fatigue crack propagation in polycarbonate foam

Abstract The resistance to fatigue crack propagation of a glass-reinforced rigid polycarbonate foam has been determined in both ambient air and aqueous environments. The growth rates for specimens in water were higher than for those observed in air at higher ΔK values. In comparison with the fatigue cracking of solid polycarbonate, the growth rates of the reinforced foamed materials were significantly lower at lower ΔK values, but the situation was reversed at higher ΔK values (for the frequency studied). Microstructural aspects, including the role of fiber pull-out and the retarding influence of the fiber reinforcement on crack growth, have also been described.
An assessment of convention tourism's potential contribution to environmentally sustainable growth

The tourism literature contains substantial discussions on how increasing numbers of attendees and conventions at a destination contributes to the local economy, but there is limited research on the environmental impact of the concomitant increases in air and other travel, and other activity increases in energy and other resource use. This research assesses the current environmental position of the convention industry in the United States and formulates suggestions for future direction in regard to “green” concepts by examining and comparing the perceptions, attitudes, and behavioral intentions of three groups of convention stakeholders: convention attendees, meeting planners, and convention suppliers. This empirical study recognizes the critical problem of inadequate understanding of the environmental impact of convention activities and the lack of knowledge regarding ecological convention practices. It shows that the perception of environmental impact among the three groups varies depending on which env...
Fun and Games: The Influence of a Playful Pre-Training Intervention and Microcomputer Playfulness on Computer-Related Performance

Changing technology creates a need for additional computer-related training. A quasi-experimental study tested a theoretical framework that maintained that a playful pre-training software intervention and an individual difference, microcomputer playfulness (MCP), would combine to influence computer-related performance. Results demonstrated that the intervention positively influenced the computer-related learning of low MCP participants more than of high MCP individuals. Implications for computer training are discussed.
Design of function-generating mapping networks by interactive neural-network simulation

Abstract We apply a new interactive simulation environment for neural-network development to the development of mapping networks , which produce learned or preset functions of real inputs. Function-mapping networks are useful for adaptive control and as general-purpose, self-learning function generators. DESIRE/NEUNET describes neural networks in a reasonable matrix language. A built-in, extra-fast compiler lets screen-edited programs execute immediately, without annoying translation delays, and simulations run faster than Microsoft FORTRAN. We simulate a simple backpropagation algorithm for function-table learning and proceed to describe an accurate self-optimizing sum of limiters (“diode”) function generator for functions of one argument.
Role of ecdysteroids and methyl farnesoate in morphogenesis and terminal moult in polymorphic males of the spider crab Libinia emarginata

Abstract Here we examine morphogenesis and terminal anecdysis in male morphotypes of the spider crab Libinia emarginata through eyestalk removal (ablation). Methyl farnesoate (MF), an unepoxidated form of juvenile hormone (JH III) and hydroxyecdysone, a moulting hormone, were measured in attempt to understand these processes and to determine the physiological characteristics of each morphotype, to be able to induce maturation by hormonal treatment and improve crustacean culture. Following arrival at the laboratory, ablated small-claw unabraded small-carapace males (SUM) moulted within 30 days to a juvenile and control SUM moulted within 75 days to a mature morphotype with large claws. Following eyestalk removal small-carapace abraded males (SAM), large-carapace unabraded large-claw (LUL) and large-carapace abraded large-claw (LAL) males never moulted even after 60 days, while the other ablated morphs moulted in 25–35 days. Significant increase of MF levels was observed in SUM, SAM and LUL de-stalked animals compared to intact control group, while no differences were observed in LAL individuals. In fact, LAL crabs presented the highest level of MF up to 2.23 ng/ml. Ten days prior to moulting MF increased 4-fold, and the ecdysteroids increased 15-fold in the haemolymph of ablated SUM and 25% in their testes. Ecdysteroid levels in the haemolymph of the SAM, LUL and LAL morphotypes remained low (around 5 ng/ml), and none of these animals moulted. The results strongly suggest that: (1) SUM are able to moult, and represent the juvenile stage, (2) SAM, LUL and LAL are terminally moulted and may represent the reproductive population, (3) circulating ecdysteroids induce moulting in juveniles, (4) high levels of ecdysteroids in the testes of SAM, LUL and LAL suggest a gonadal function, and (5) circulating MF controls morphogenesis of juveniles (SUM) and seems to stimulate gonads in adults.
Effect of infarcts on dementia in the Baltimore longitudinal study of aging.

Objective To define the magnitude and mechanism of the effect of brain infarcts on the odds of dementia in a prospective study.
Targeted treatment and new agents in peripheral T-cell lymphoma

Mature T-cell and NK-cell lymphomas are increasingly being recognized as unique biological entities distinguishable from other forms of lymphomas. Treatment paradigms developed for B-cell lymphomas are considered inadequate for application to these diseases, as indicated by the poor outcome of these patients with the overall 5-year survival remaining below 30% for most histologies. There is a tremendous need for newer treatment options both in the upfront and relapsed setting for T-cell lymphomas. In recent years, there has been a plethora of new targeted agents that have shown promising activity in T-cell lymphomas. The most notable is the novel antifolate pralatrexate that has been approved for the treatment of relapsed and refractory T-cell lymphoma. Other agents include histone deacetylase inhibitors (vorinostat, romidepsin, belinostat), proteosome inhibitors (bortezomib), immunomodulatory agents (lenalidomide), nucleoside analogs (gemcitabine, nalarabine) and targeted antibodies. An improved understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of T-cell lymphomas will help define the role of these agents in the treatment paradigms of T-cell lymphomas both as single agents and as rationally designed combinations and will lead to curative treatments for these difficult diseases.
Excessive urinary zinc losses during parenteral alimentation.

Abstract When heat-sterilized solutions of dextrose and protein hydrolysates or crystalline amino acids are given intravenously, urinary zinc excretion rises to four times control levels. Heat sterilization of either protein hydrolysates or crystalline amino acid solutions with dextrose results in the formation of sugar-amine compounds which were identified as ninhydrin-positive peaks on amino acid chromatography. These compounds were detected in the infused solution and, in the serum and urine, whenever crystalline amino acids or protein hydrolysate solutions, autoclaved with dextrose, were infused intravenously. Simultaneously urinary zinc losses increased by 3- to 4-fold indicating that these compounds bind zinc and are then excreted into the urine. When a solution containing sugar-amine compounds was given nasogastrically, these compounds were absent from the serum and urine and urinary zinc excretion was normal. Hence, sugar-amine compounds are not absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. Although zinc is probably important for wound healing, patients on prolonged parenteral nutrition do not generally receive zinc supplementation. In this clinical setting, excessive zincuria may be avoided by prescribing protein solutions which have not been autoclaved with dextrose.
Effects of the duration and timing of dietary methyl parathion exposure on bobwhite reproduction

Two northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) reproduction tests were conducted concurrently to evaluate how the duration and time of initiation of methyl parathion exposure affected dose-response relationships of reproductive parameters. In the long-term exposure test, pairs of adult bobwhite were fed methyl parathion-amended diets (0, 7, 10, 14, 20 or 28 ppm) for 25 weeks: 10 weeks prior to the onset of laying, 6 weeks as they came into laying condition and 9 weeks during egg laying. In the short-term exposure test, quail received amended diets (0, 10, 14, 20, 28 or 40 ppm) for only three weeks during the egg laying period, followed by a three-week posttreatment period. Fourteen birds died in the long-term test, compared to two in the short-term test. Significant dose-related reductions in daily food consumption, egg production and the number of 14-d-old chicks were observed in both tests during the treatment periods. No dose-related effects on fertility, hatch-ability or chick weights were detected. In the long-term test, there were dose-related decreases in adult body weight, brain and serum cholinesterase activity and female serum calcium concentrations. Cholinesterase and calcium were not measured in the short-term test. Eggshell weights were significantly decreased in both tests, but a dose-related decrease in eggshell strength and thickness was detected only in the short-term test. During the posttreatment period of the short-term test, no dose-related effects on reproductive parameters were observed, except that egg production did not recover until the third week after treatment. Except for the number of adult mortalities, all dose-related effects observed in the long-term exposure test also were observed in the short-term test. The short-term test design had two advantages that reduced variability unrelated to the chemical treatments: infertile and incompatible pairs could be removed from the experiment and pretreatment values could be obtained to serve as controls for each pair.
Semigroups Characterizing Hypergraphs

A new type of semigroups connected with hypergraphs is considered. Every hypergraph is characterized by its hypergraph semigroup up to isomorphism. An algebraic characterization of hypergraph semigroups is given.
Strong purifying selection in the silicon transporters of marine and freshwater diatoms

Marine and freshwater diatoms show several important differences in silicon physiology. In addition to containing an order of magnitude more silica in their cell walls, freshwater diatoms also appear to have a less efficient silicic acid uptake mechanism. A novel set of silicon transporters (SITs), encoded by a small gene family, import silicic acid from the environment into the diatom cell. Some evidence suggests that the disparity in uptake efficiency between marine and freshwater diatoms might be attributable to different demands on SITs in the two environments. To test this hypothesis, partial SIT genes were cloned and sequenced from 45 species of Thalassiosirales, a diatom lineage with high diversity in marine and freshwaters. Phylogenetically based codon substitution models were used to test whether SITs from marine and freshwater taxa were under similar selective constraints and whether codons in different structural locations of the protein were under similar functional constraints. Purifying selection is the predominant evolutionary force acting on SITs, irrespective of location in the protein, and differences in efficiency of silicic acid uptake between marine and freshwater diatoms are not due to sequence differences in SITs.
Fiber bragg reflectors prepared by a single excimer pulse

Narrow-line, permanent Bragg reflection gratings have been created in Ge-doped silica-core optical fibers by interfering beams of a single 20-ns pulse of KrF excimer laser light. Of the fibers studied, the highest reflectance value of ~2% was observed with a linewidth (FWHM) of 0.1 nm, which corresponds to a 2-mm grating length with an index modulation of ~3 x 10(-5).
Natural history of biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy with adjuvant radiation therapy.

Purpose: We evaluated the long-term outcome of patients with biochemical recurrence following radical prostatectomy with adjuvant radiation therapy and determined predictors of systemic progression in these men.Materials and Methods: We identified 134 men with biochemical recurrence following radical prostatectomy plus adjuvant radiation therapy for pTanyN0M0 disease. Median followup was 13.1 years. Survival after biochemical recurrence was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to analyze clinicopathological variables associated with systemic progression after biochemical recurrence.Results: Overall, 41 patients (31.5%) with biochemical recurrence experienced systemic progression and 57 (42.5%) died, including 19 (14.2%) of prostate cancer. Median systemic progression-free and cancer specific survival were not attained at 15 years of followup after biochemical recurrence. Median time from prostatectomy to recurrence was 3.3 years. Ten-year cancer spec...
The Biochemical Characterization of Two Carotenoid Cleavage Enzymes from Arabidopsis Indicates That a Carotenoid-derived Compound Inhibits Lateral Branching

Enzymes that are able to oxidatively cleave carotenoids at specific positions have been identified in animals and plants. The first such enzyme to be identified was a nine-cis-epoxy carotenoid dioxygenase from maize, which catalyzes the rate-limiting step of abscisic acid biosynthesis. Similar enzymes are necessary for the synthesis of vitamin A in animals and other carotenoid-derived molecules in plants. In the model plant, Arabidopsis, there are nine hypothetical proteins that share some degree of sequence similarity to the nine-cis-epoxy carotenoid dioxygenases. Five of these proteins appear to be involved in abscisic acid biosynthesis. The remaining four proteins are expected to catalyze other carotenoid cleavage reactions and have been named carotenoid cleavage dioxygenases (CCDs). The hypothetical proteins, AtCCD7 and AtCCD8, are the most disparate members of this protein family in Arabidopsis. The max3 and max4 mutants in Arabidopsis result from lesions in AtCCD7 and AtCCD8. Both mutants display a dramatic increase in lateral branching and are believed to be impaired in the synthesis of an unidentified compound that inhibits axillary meristem development. To determine the biochemical function of AtCCD7, the protein was expressed in carotenoid-accumulating strains of Escherichia coli. The activity of AtCCD7 was also tested in vitro with several of the most common plant carotenoids. It was shown that the recombinant AtCCD7 protein catalyzes a specific 9-10 cleavage of β-carotene to produce the 10 ▾-apo-β-carotenal (C27) and β-ionone (C13). When AtCCD7 and AtCCD8 were co-expressed in a β-carotene-producing strain of E. coli, the 13-apo-β-carotenone (C18) was produced. The C18 product appears to result from a secondary cleavage of the AtCCD7-derived C27 product. The sequential cleavages of β-carotene by AtCCD7 and AtCCD8 are likely the initial steps in the synthesis of a carotenoid-derived signaling molecule that is necessary for the regulation lateral branching.
Tropical forest succession on abandoned farms in the Humacao Municipality of eastern Puerto Rico

Abstract Secondary succession in tropical lands after human disturbances is becoming more common. Extensive areas of agricultural land have been abandoned in Puerto Rico during the last five decades due to economic changes, resulting in a dramatic increase in forest cover. This study documents forest structural and compositional changes along gradients of elevation and time since abandonment, and among substrate types. Sample sites were selected from a geographical information system database that included six forest age categories and three substrate types. A canonical correspondence analysis ordination of species abundance indicated relationships to site elevation, age of abandonment, substrate type, and bulldozing prior to abandonment. Structural comparisons among subsets of the data indicated that basal area and percent of exotics were greater while species diversity was lower on alluvial than on plutonic or volcanic substrates. Sites of intermediate age (13–30 years) at elevations >100 m had greater numbers of exotics than sites ≤100 m. Sites >30-year-old did not show significant differences in any structural characteristics among elevation categories. Species diversity was more than twice as high and the percent of exotics was less than half on non-bulldozed sites than on sites with a history of bulldozing prior to abandonment. Earlier floristic accounts of Puerto Rico under similar habitat conditions suggest that these forests are still missing some of the components of mature communities, particularly those habitats with a longer history of intensive utilization. It is in the later habitats that efforts for conservation of tropical communities should aim at preserving forest remnants or reintroducing species of the original vegetation.
Safety of stimulant treatment in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: part II

Importance of the field: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common childhood psychiatric disorder and in at least 50% of cases persists into adulthood. Treatment of ADHD with stimulants is one of the oldest and most effective pharmacological treatments in psychiatry. Yet, there continues to be controversy over the safety of stimulant medications in the treatment of ADHD.Areas covered in this review: This paper is a continuation of an earlier paper that reviewed the safety profile of newer stimulant agents, especially in relation to special populations. This part II reviews, through essentially an organ-system approach, the various clinical concerns that have been raised over the safety of stimulant medications. This includes neuropsychiatric, cardiovascular effects on growth and development, and a number of other less common concerns.What the reader will gain: A thorough review of safety concerns in stimulants that emphasizes clinical information, case reports, open series or cont...
Initiation of the homogeneous n‐butane oxidation

Initiation of the oxidation of hydrocarbons, an important part of many flame systems' remains largely unsolved. This paper reports a study of the oxidation of butane under conditions that yield information on the homogeneous initiation reactions. A sequential reaction mechanism is proposed involving activation of an oxygen molecule followed by attack on a butane. This leads to rate equations which accurately describe the observed butane decomposition rates. Activation energies have been calculated from experimental data with this equation and are found to check values obtained from the literature and from theoretical considerations. The tentative initiation mechanism is used to explain the existence of three classes of products in the exit gases: hydrocarbons other than butene, butene, and oxygenated products. Under some operating conditions periodic cool flame phenomena are observed, and their effect on the course of the reaction has been explained.
Yorkville Crossing: White teens, hip hop and African American English

This case study focuses on a white upper middle class New York City teenager who employed linguistic features of African American Vernacular English (AAVE). It describes some of these features, discusses their origins, and explores the complex dynamics of identification with hip hop, a youth subculture involving the consumption of rap music, baggy clothes and participation in activities like break dancing, writing graAti and rapping.
The concept of integrated systems in lower input/sustainable agriculture

Conventional agriculture has caused economic problems associated with overproduction of crops, increased costs of energy-based inputs and lessened farm incomes. It has also produced ecological problems such as poor ecological diversity, soil erosion, and soil and water pollution. The adoption of integrated systems of agricultural production involving lower inputs of fertilizer, pesticides and cultivations can alleviate these economic and ecological problems. Such systems are dependent upon a good understanding of the nature of interactions between the four main components of such systems, which are fertilizers, pesticides, cultivations and rotations and how these interactions influence crop yields and farm income. Alternatives to energy-based inputs include legume rotations, use of waste organic matter as well as that from animals and crops, integrated pest management, pest and disease forecasting, biological and cultural pest control, living mulches and mechanical weed control, conservation tillage methods, and specialized innovative cultural techniques, including intercropping, strip cropping, undersowing, trap crops, double-row cropping. Two commercial farms in Europe operated on integrated lower input systems have increased farm incomes by 5–20 percent. Further research on such techniques is needed, as well as computer-aided management systems, appropriate extension aids and farmer education.
Third order right focal boundary value problems on a time scale

Let be a closed subset of with and For the third order dynamic equation, where is continuous, we assume solutions of initial value problems are unique when they exist and extend to . We consider questions of the uniqueness of solutions implying the existence of solutions for right focal boundary value problems.
Learning and evaluating human-like NPC behaviors in dynamic games

We address the challenges of evaluating the fidelity of AI agents that are attempting to produce human-like behaviors in games. To create a believable and engaging game play experience, designers must ensure that their non-player characters (NPCs) behave in a human-like manner. Today, with the wide popularity of massively-multi-player online games, this goal may seem less important. However, if we can reliably produce human-like NPCs, this can open up an entirely new genre of game play. In this paper, we focus on emulating human behaviors in strategic game settings, and focus on a Social Ultimatum Game as the testbed for developing and evaluating a set of metrics for comparing various autonomous agents to human behavior collected from live experiments.
Sleep-specific atrioventricular block

A 39-year-old man presented to the sleep laboratory for evaluation of intermittent difficulty sleeping. His sleep study was essentially normal, with exception of the electrocardiographic tracing (ECG), which demonstrated second-degree atrioventricular block (figure, A, and detail in C). A screening 12-lead ECG was normal, when obtained when the patient was awake. The patient had no cardiac …
Modulation of Long-Term Synaptic Depression in Visual Cortex by Acetylcholine and Norepinephrine

In a slice preparation of rat visual cortex, we discovered that paired-pulse stimulation (PPS) elicits a form of homosynaptic long-term depression (LTD) in the superficial layers when carbachol (CCh) or norepinephrine (NE) is applied concurrently. PPS by itself, or CCh and NE in the absence of synaptic stimulation, produced no lasting change. The LTD induced by PPS in the presence of NE or CCh is of comparable magnitude with that obtained with prolonged low-frequency stimulation (LFS) but requires far fewer stimulation pulses (40 vs 900). The cholinergic facilitation of LTD was blocked by atropine and pirenzepine, suggesting involvement of M1 receptors. The noradrenergic facilitation of LTD was blocked by urapidil and was mimicked by methoxamine, suggesting involvement of α1 receptors. β receptor agonists and antagonists were without effect. Induction of LTD by PPS was inhibited by NMDA receptor blockers (completely in the case of NE; partially in the case of CCh), suggesting that one action of the modulators is to control the gain of NMDA receptor-dependent homosynaptic LTD in visual cortex. We propose that this is a mechanism by which cholinergic and noradrenergic inputs to the neocortex modulate naturally occurring receptive field plasticity.
Evaporation and Settling Behavior of Metalworking Fluid Aerosols

Environmental and industrial hygiene issues have been receiving ever increasing attention. One important issue is metalworking fluid (MWF) mist formation since it can have a negative effect on workplace air quality. A model is presented to characterize the evaporation and settling behavior of a diluted water-soluble MWF mist under ambient conditions. The model is based on the Langmuir-Knudsen law and Stoke' law. The Langmuir-Knudsen law is employed to describe the evaporation process of each MWF droplet and allows for nonequilibrium effects associated with small droplet size. Stoke' law is applied to characterize the droplet settling mechanism at small Reynolds numbers. Experiments are performed to validate the model. Experiments show that the evaporation rate decreases to zero as the water in a droplet completely evaporates to produce a small nonvolatile oil drop. It is found that the evaporation and settling of a collection of MWF droplets can be predicted by the proposed model.