cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Isolated salt marsh colonization by a resident species, mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus), and a transient species, pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides)

Abstract The potential for species to populate habitat patches is directly influenced by dispersal and colonization abilities. To test the dispersal and colonization capabilities of a resident, mummichog ( Fundulus heteroclitus ), and a transient, pinfish ( Lagodon rhomboides ), marsh species, isolated-island marsh sites were used for removal and colonization assessments, while a nearby non-removal site was used to concurrently monitor temporal catch variability. F. heteroclitus and L. rhomboides were removed from island marshes using baited minnow traps during mid-fall 2004 (after F. heteroclitus spring/summer spawn, and prior to L. rhomboides winter recruitment), then monitored for colonization through the peak F. heteroclitus spawning season the following year (July 2005). Significant abundance reductions occurred for F. heteroclitus and L. rhomboides due to removal efforts, and for L. rhomboides due to temperature-dependent offshore migration. F. heteroclitus and L. rhomboides were capable of seasonally colonizing marsh sites separated by > 800 m of open water, which was twice the previously documented distance for F. heteroclitus movement within marsh habitats. Results from size-class analysis indicated that F. heteroclitus populated sites via adult colonization from nearby marshes within weeks to months of removal. L. rhomboides site colonization occurred by young-of-year (YOY) recruitment and was documented within months of removal efforts, when YOY attained sufficient size for gear collection. Low population contribution by F. heteroclitus YOY to island compared to mainland type marsh indicated that island marshes were primarily sustained by immigrants, which colonized during late fall and winter, while YOY production sustained the population at the mainland marsh. Island marshes acted as sinks for estuarine F. heteroclitus populations. F. heteroclitus population characteristics were determined during: (1) the spring/summer spawn and recruitment, and (2) the late fall/winter dispersal–colonization by adult F. heteroclitus . Further, the F. heteroclitus dispersal–colonization phase maintains the species' large-scale (geographic) distribution, while the spawn–recruitment phase maintains the small-scale (local) populations. L. rhomboides recruitment and dispersal–colonization occur simultaneously during late fall/winter when pulsed dispersal–colonization by recruits maintains geographic and local populations.
Experimental Analysis of the Real-time Recurrent Learning Algorithm

Abstract The real-time recurrent learning algorithm is a gradient-following learning algorithm for completely recurrent networks running in continually sampled time. Here we use a series of simulation experiments to investigate the power and properties of this algorithm. In the recurrent networks studied here, any unit can be connected to any other, and any unit can receive external input. These networks run continually in the sense that they sample their inputs on every update cycle, and any unit can have a training target on any cycle. The storage required and computation time on each step are independent of time and are completely determined by the size of the network, so no prior knowledge of the temporal structure of the task being learned is required. The algorithm is nonlocal in the sense that each unit must have knowledge of the complete recurrent weight matrix and error vector. The algorithm is computationally intensive in sequential computers, requiring a storage capacity of the order of the thi...
"In the Interest of the Moral Life of Our City": The Beginning of Motion Picture Censorship in Portland, Oregon

This paper explores how movie censorship developed in Portland, Oregon, and why theater managers and the city struggled so intensely over local censorship of motion pictures. It does so through an analysis of the history of Portland’s motion picture censor board in its various iterations in the early 1910s. Primary evidence is derived from a selection of archival documents from the mayoral papers of H.R. Albee, who served the city of Portland from 1913 to 1917, and other documents from the City of Portland archives, including City Council documents and monthly reports. The paper also consults various local newspapers from the same era, as well as compilations of theater, vice, and social hygiene reports from prominent civic and government groups at the time. This examination will serve to illustrate factors that affected the legitimacy and effectiveness of Portland’s censor board, which in turn will contribute to a broader understanding of the birth of motion picture censorship within the unique social and political conditions of the 1910s. In addition, a case study of Portland’s censor board provides much-needed analysis of censorship processes in area of the country that was, during this period, shedding its identity as a frontier setting and beginning to define itself as an urban center.
Cutaneous scar at anterior hair line in mother and child with associated frontal bone defect in child.

A large frontal bone defect underlying a “V” shaped scar was noted in a newborn male whose mother had an identical “V” shaped scar at the same location in the anterior hairline. Both had hypertelorism and short palpebral fissures. The mother had no radio-graphic evidence of skull defect and neither mother nor child had other cutaneous or skeletal anomalies. Cranioplasty was performed on the child using the remaining frontal bones with an excellent cosmetic result. Biopsy performed at operation documented scar tissue extending through the dermis and underlain by thickened dura. Mother and child appear to have a variant form of aplasia cutis congenita, an autosomal dominant trait with wide variation in expression. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Parental Scaffolding of Children's Phonological Awareness Skills: Interactions Between Mothers and Their Preschoolers With Language Difficulties

This study examined mother—child verbal exchanges during phonological awareness (PA) tasks embedded into storybook reading sessions. The aims of the research were (a) to determine how mothers scaffolded their children's task performance, (b) to characterize the stability of maternal scaffolding over four sessions, and (c) to study the relation between maternal scaffolds and children's developing PA competencies. Five mothers and their 4-year-old children with language difficulties read a storybook four times during a 1-week period. The storybook included nine questions (e.g., What sound does bear start with?) for mothers to ask their children to help them develop PA. Coding of maternal scaffold quantity and type, as well as children's task performance, was conducted to characterize scaffolding over time and to measure children's developing PA competence. Results showed that mothers used a variety of directive and responsive scaffolds to help their children perform the PA tasks but preferred phonological c...
Roles of conserved nucleotide-binding domains in accessory proteins, HypB and UreG, in the maturation of nickel-enzymes required for efficient Helicobacter pylori colonization

Helicobacter pylori synthesizes two nickel-containing enzymes (urease and hydrogenase), both of which are important pathogenesis factors. Among the many accessory proteins needed for maturation of these Ni-enzymes, are two proteins, HypB and UreG, each of which contain a conserved nucleotide-binding domain (GSGKT). To address the role of this domain in the maturation process, site-directed mutations were introduced in both hypB and ureG. The hypB site-directed mutant strain (Lys59 to Ala59) lacked hydrogenase activity and had less than 1% of the parental urease activity. Hydrogenase activity was partially, and urease activity was fully restored in the hypB mutant strain when grown on nickel supplemented media. The hydrogenase activity of the ureG site-directed mutant strain (Lys14 to Ala14) was comparable to that of the parental strain. However, the ureG mutant strain lacked urease activity, and this deficiency could not be suppressed even when the strain was grown on nickel supplemented media. The expression of immunologically detectable HypB and UreG in the mutants was similar to the parental strain. Expression of the UreA and UreB subunits of urease in both the mutants was also normal. Purified UreG parental and mutant (Lys14 to Ala14) proteins had molecular masses of 27 kDa, but possessed negligible GTP hydrolyzing activity.
Economical and ecological cryogenic machining of AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel

While it is a clean alternative to conventional machining using environmentally polluting cutting oils and emulsions, cryogenic machining using liquid nitrogen has been reported to increase cutting forces and shorten tool life when cutting AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel. This paper presents improved results by using an economical cryogenic cooling approach designed after studying the cryogenic properties of the stainless steel material. By injecting a small amount of liquid nitrogen to the chip–tool interface, but not to the workpiece, this approach yielded a 67% tool-life improvement at 3.82 m/s and a 43% improvement at the medium speed of 3.40 m/s when compared with conventional emulsion cooling. It improved machining productivity and reduced production cost. In this study, different cryogenic machining approaches were compared in the machining test using commercial carbide inserts. The results show the cooling approach is crucial in attaining the benefits of cryogenic machining in cutting stainless steel.
Structure of the hydrogen-induced Ni{110}-p(1 × 2)-H reconstructed surface

Abstract The structure of the Ni{110}-p(1 x 2)H surface resulting from saturation exposure to H2 at ∼ 350 K has been investigated by time-of-flight scattering and recoiling spectrometry (TOF-SARS). The scattered neutral plus ion flux resulting from a 4 keV Ne+ beam incident on the surface is monitored as a function of crystal azimuthal angle and beam incidence angle along selected low index azimuths. Classical trajectory simulations of the scattering events are used for comparison to the experimental data. The results for the Ni{110}-p(1 × 2)H hydrogen-saturated surface are contrasted to the results for the clean Ni{110}-p(1 × 1) surface and the Ni{110}-p(2 × 1)O oxygen-covered surface. Several different (1 × 2) reconstruction models are tested on the scattering results. Only the missing-row model, in which every other 〈1 1 0〉 first-layer row is missing, is consistent with all of the experimental data.
Mitral regurgitation after percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty in adults: evaluation by pulsed Doppler echocardiography.

Percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty is a new technique used in the treatment of adult patients with mitral stenosis. To evaluate the occurrence and severity of mitral regurgitation after balloon valvuloplasty, 24 patients (20 women and 4 men, mean age 57 years) were studied using two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography before and <24 h after this procedure. Mitral valve area increased after valvuloplasty in all patients, from 0.89 ± 0.07 to 1.61 ± 0.09 cm2(p < 0.001). Before valvuloplasty, 10 patients had no mitral regurgitation, 4 had 1+, 4 had 2+ and 6 had 3+ mitral regurgitation. After valvuloplasty, new mitral regurgitation occurred in six patients. Regurgitation grade did not change in 13 patients (54%), increased by one grade in 8 patients (33%) and by two grades in 3 patients (13%). Left atrial volume decreased in all except one patient from 100 ± 12 to 83 ± 12 cm3(p < 0.001). Neither age, sex, cardiac rhythm, initial mitral valve area, increase in mitral valve area, morphologic characteristics of the valvular and subvalvular apparatus, previous mitral commissurotomy nor effective balloon dilating area discriminated between those patients with and without an increase in mitral regurgitation after valvuloplasty. Thus, mitral balloon valvuloplasty is frequently associated with an increase in mitral regurgitation. However, in this series, no patient developed severe mitral regurgitation, and left atrial volume decreased in nearly all patients. An increase in mitral regurgitation could not be predicted from any features of the valve or subvalvular apparatus, clinical characteristics of the patients or technical aspects of the procedure.
Popularization of Traditional Culture in Postsocialist China: a study of the Yu Qiuyu Phenomenon

This essay investigates the ‘Yu Qiuyu’ Phenomenon that attracted literary and critical attention in the 1990s. By examining the historical conditions under which it arose and the prose as a literary genre, I argue that Yu Qiuyu's ‘cultural prose’ writing exemplifies a paradoxical cultural logic deeply symptomatic of postsocialist China: traditional culture, with all its cultural elitism, strategically responds to the sweeping commercialization and re-identifies itself in the social transformation.
The Taxation of Exhaustible Resources

The efficiency and equity effects of unit, yield, property, and windfall profits taxes upon nonrenewable resources are compared. The yield tax is the most efficient, and unit and property taxes are the least efficient of current taxes. If the base price of the windfall profits tax is set close to extraction cost, the windfall profits tax can be even more efficient than the yield tax. All the tax burdens fall primarily upon owners. In fact, with the property and windfall profits taxes, consumers can even be made better off. 4 references, 7 tables.
The singing/acting voice in the mature adult

With years of training and performance, the mature vocal performer experiences less vocal changes with aging than does his/her age peer who is not a performer. We have considered, some physical problems that may adversely influence the voice of the older performer. With some awareness and effective management of these possible problems, the negative effects on the older performer's voice can be minimized.
Invasive line placement in critically ill patients: do hemostatic defects matter?

Background: Blood components are often given prophylactically before the placement of invasive lines in patients with coagulation defects. Little, however, is known about the epidemiology of defects in these patients. The purpose of this study is to ascertain what proportion of intensive care patients who receive invasive lines have hemostatic defects, what actions are taken by physicians to correct these abnormalities before invasive line insertion, and what the incidence is of bleeding complications after invasive line placement. Study Design and Methods: Charts were retrospectively reviewed for 490 intensive care patients in whom 938 arterial, pulmonary artery, and central venous lines were placed. Results: At least one defect in hemostasis was documented for 388 patients (41%) before line placement, with 253 (27%) of these patients evidencing severe abnormalities. Seventeen percent of patients had no preprocedure laboratory evaluation. Trauma patients showed the highest numbers of abnormalities in hemostatic testing, but medical patients had more-severe defects. The occurrence of isolated abnormal laboratory values did not predict bleeding, but a score derived from a consideration of multiple defects did. Correction of the abnormalities was attempted in 37 percent of patients with hemostatic defects. Sixteen patients had bleeding complications, but only two had complications that were life-threatening. None of the complications were fatal. Conclusion: Invasive lines are used frequently in patients with hemostatic defects, often without any attempt to correct the abnormalities. Nevertheless, rates of hemorrhage are low and appear to be closely related to the level of experience of the physician rather than to defects in hemostasis. These findings suggest that the use of blood components for preprocedure correction of hemostatic defects is not necessary, except in those patients who have the most severe hemostatic abnormalities.
Arctic front: defending Canada in the far North

Arctic front: defending Canada in the far North, by Ken Coates, P. Whitney Lackenbauer, William R. Morrison and Greg Poelzer, Toronto, Thomas Allen Publishers, 2008, xiii + 261 p., preface, introdu...
2D beam scanning focal plane array using microfluidic reconfiguration techniques

Novel microfluidic based focal plane arrays (FPAs) have been recently introduced as a low cost alternative to realize mm-wave beam-scanning arrays. These FPAs consist of a proximity-fed patch antenna within a microfluidic channel filled with a low loss dielectric solution. Elevation plane scanning is obtained by placing the channel at the focal plane of a microwave lens and repositioning the antenna using micropumps. This paper, for the first time, realizes the antenna element of these FPAs from a metalized plate (instead of liquid metal) to improve the implementation reliability. In addition, a circuit model is presented for the all-passive feed network of the arrays to conveniently model their bandwidth and impedance matching performance for various element numbers. Also, the array is combined with a stepper motor to provide beam-scanning in the azimuth plane. Due to the microfluidic reconfiguration enabled all-passive feed network, the beam-scanning is realized without employing any RF switches or phase shifters. As a result, the feed network design is simplified and cost is notably reduced. The proposed design is verified by designing and evaluating a 1×8 microfluidic enabled 30GHz FPA. Specifically, the array exhibits a beam scanning range of ±25° with > 20dB measured realized gain.
Matching Therapy and Patients: The Cafeteria Plan*

Not all alcoholic patients can benefit from all treatment modalities. The “Cafeteria Plan” offers a sufficient variety of treatment approaches for any one patient to be able, with professional guidance, to select appropriate therapeutic modalities for himself. This paper describes a concept of comprehensive alcoholism services, and shows how these can be adapted to any clinic program and how patients can be assisted in selecting acceptable treatment plans. Clinics which have broadened their therapeutic program by adopting such a concept have found that they can offer treatment to larger numbers of patients and that attrition rates diminish.
Brewster-angle resonant filters with absentee layers

A method for lowering the sideband levels associated with the spectral response of resonant waveguide-grating filters is presented. With a TM-polarized incident wave near the Brewster angle, the sidebands are suppressed in resonant structures consisting of a half- wavelength “absentee” waveguide layer and an arbitrary-thickness grating layer. Adjusting the thickness of the grating layer permits control the spectral linewidth without appreciably affecting the sideband features. As the antireflection condition does not depend on the refractive index of the waveguide layer, flexibility in material selection results. The calculated results are verified by experiments.
Conservative dichotomous choice responses in the active policy setting: DC rejections below WTP

An important feature of a Contingent Value (CV) study is that researchers design a survey that guides respondents to answer dichotomous choice (DC) questions as if they represent once-and-for-all choices. Researchers frequently construct hypothetical markets to satisfy this condition; yet detractors assert that ‘hypotheticality’ leads inevitably to inflated DC responses. For active policy questions, however, some respondents may suspect that a CV informs an actual policy issue; so to reject a DC might induce the policy-maker to reintroduce the policy with a price reduction or a program improvement. With potential incentives to deflate a DC response when policies are active, we locate two types of respondents that represent two different incentives. One class is expected to be able to risk permanent rejection of a waiver from one automobile emissions inspection. This class more frequently rejects a DC value known to improve existing conditions. Another respondent class is expected to be risk averse to defeat of the program or to excessive delay. Predictably, these respondents more frequently accept a DC value that represents a known gain. Conservative DC responses have implications for the use of CV in active policy contexts, opening a role for theory to assist practitioners in these circumstances.
Is incomplete revascularization during PCI and stenting associated with adverse long-term outcomes?

Is incomplete revascularization during PCI and stenting associated with adverse long-term outcomes?
Fishing For Feelings? Hooking Viewers Helps!

To better understand individual variation in emotional responses to advertising, the authors recommend considering 3 general factors: characteristics of the individual who sees the ad, characteristics of the ad itself, and the nature of the ad–individual interface. This article examines 1 aspect of the individual, affect intensity (AI); one aspect of the ad, the degree to which the ad tells a story; and 1 aspect of the ad–individual interface, whether the individual is hooked by the ad. Experimental results reveal that an individual's being hooked by an ad has a positive relation with upbeat and warm feelings, a negative relation with disinterested feelings, and significantly enhances the viewer's attitude toward the ad. We find that AI has a positive relation with upbeat and warm feelings, and AI moderates the effect of being hooked on upbeat and warm feelings. Findings also reveal that narrative ad structure has a positive relation with upbeat and warm feelings, a negative relation with disinterested feelings, and that being hooked moderates the effect of narrative ad structure on upbeat and warm feelings responses.
Continuous and discontinuous grazing bifurcations in impacting oscillators

This paper seeks to formulate conditions for the persistence of a local attractor in the immediate vicinity of periodic and quasiperiodic grazing trajectories in an impacting mechanical system. A local analysis based on the discontinuity-mapping approach is employed to derive a normal-form description of the dynamics near the grazing trajectory. In agreement with previous studies of grazing periodic trajectories, it is found that the catastrophic loss of a local attractor and strong instability characteristic of grazing bifurcations is directly associated with the repeated application of a square-root term that appears to lowest order in the normal-form expansion. Specifically, it is found that the square-root term is absent in the description of the dynamics normal to a quasiperiodic trajectory covering a co-dimension-one invariant torus resulting in a piecewise linear description of the normal dynamics and, at most, a weak instability. In contrast, for co-dimension-two or higher, the square-root term is generically present in the normal dynamics. Here, however, the quasiperiodicity of the grazing motion implies that there is no upper limit to the time between impacts on nearby trajectories suggesting the persistence of a local attractor for some interval about the parameter value corresponding to grazing. The results of the analysis are illustrated through a series of model examples.
Correlates of women's representation in lower state legislative chambers

This comparative, quantitative analysis complements the varied literature concerning women in politics by illustrating the importance of two domains in that literature: state socio-economic development and political-cultural factors. This analysis supports the observations made in some case studies that women's representation is bound by certain socio-economic parameters. Factors which operationalize the socio-economic development of a state are found more important than political-cultural dimensions of state politics. By supplementing case studies with the comparative aggregate data of this paper, one contributes to a more holistic understanding of women in state politics.
THE EXPOSURE OF AZEF, A MODERN "JUDAS": FACTS AND LEGENDS

Summary Many intricate details about the Azef affair remain unclear, but until new evidence is found, it is possible to challenge at least one currently accepted legend associated with it, namely, the revolutionaries' claim that Lopukhin helped them to expose Azef out of an altruistic love of truth. There are serious reasons to believe that the radicals used coercion to force the former director of the Police Department to supply them with evidence against Azef. This immediately transforms Lopukhin from an ally of the radicals into their victim, and demonstrates once again that any new evaluation of the events surrounding the Azef affair must not rely solely upon the version presented by Burtsev and the SRs, even in seemingly insignificant details.68The shock of the master spy's exposure was so tremendous that the PSR never fully recovered from the terrible wound the Azef affair inflicted upon it. Indeed, this wound proved mortal for the party's Combat Organization, and drastically reduced the terrorist activities of the revolutionary camp in general. With terror discredited as a revolutionary tool and the combatants demoralized, never again did the PSR possess adequate strength to mount political assassinations against the leading statesmen of autocratic Russia—assassinations that could have drastically altered the course of Russian history.
Display Technologies for Collaborative Work in 3D Augmented and Virtual Environments

This talk reviews state-of-art display research toward creating a 3D collaborative interface. A 3D display system that is being developed at the 3DVIS Lab, along with technical challenges involved, will be presented.
Adenosine inhibits fMLP-stimulated adherence and superoxide anion generation by human neutrophils at an early step in signal transduction.

The ability of physiological concentrations of adenosine to inhibit formylmethionylleucylphenylalanine (fMLP)-stimulated superoxide anion (O−2) generation, adherence and degranulation is well established in human neutrophils. However, the mechanism of inhibition remains to be determined. To better understand where adenosine blocks the fMLP signal transduction pathway, we examined the ability of adenosine to inhibit neutrophil adherence stimulated by phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), NaF, and A23187; these agents activate intermediate steps in fMLP signal transduction. Adenosine (0.1–100 μM) did not inhibit adherence mediated by these receptor-independent agonists or NaF-and A23187-mediated O−2 production. Additionally, NaF and A23187 completely abrogated adenosine inhibition of fMLP-stimulated neutrophil adherence. We also found that pertussis toxin (5 and 10 μM) completely inhibited fMLP-induced neutrophil adherence and O−2 generation, indicating that both processes are G protein mediated. Furthermore, fMLP-stimulated GTPase activity in neutrophil membrane preparations was significantly inhibited by adenosine (1 and 10 μM) or 5′-N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine (1 μM) (NECA). These data indicate that adenosine inhibits a G-protein-dependent pathway of fMLP stimulation by uncoupling G proteins from the fMLP receptor. This may be a general mechanism of adenosine inhibition of cell-surface receptor-mediated signals as both fMLP- and C5a-stimulated neutrophil adherence were inhibited at similar concentrations.
CFD Study of Wake Interaction of Two Wind Turbines

Understanding the wake behavior properly would help in designing proper layouts of wind farms to obtain maximum power and improved turbine life. This research aims at studying the impact of power of a turbine that is in the wake of another turbine under uniform inflow condition. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations are carried out to represent the velocity deficit behind two turbines in-line with the wind using the Virtual Blade Model (VBM). Power loss of the second wind turbine located at different distance downstream is also calculated.
Forepaw food pellet grasping and consumption in rats following amygdaloid lesions

Efficiency in grasping, manipulating, and consuming 45-mg food pellets by rats with preferred, nonpreferred, or either forepaw was tested before and after amygdaloid lesions or control procedures. Amygdaloid lesions did not alter forepaw preference but did significantly increase food wastage. The lesions also tended to decrease efficiency in grasping and manipulating food pellets when responses were restricted to a single paw. The results suggest that amygdaloid Ss may receive less effective reward than normal Ss in tasks which employ small food rewards and/or which place constraints on the manner in which delivered rewards are obtained.
Aeroelasticity as a consideration in aerodynamic design of rolling, unguided, research rockets.

The design of multistage vehicles using slender, fast-burning rockets is a complex process, and the flexural behavior of the structure is a critical aspect. This paper shows how the flexural behavior is modified by roll rate, highlighting the aerodynamic loading aspects and the dangers of resonance occurring between roll, pitch, and flexural frequencies. For a vehicle having the same properties in pitch as in yaw, conclusions are that the divergence boundary found for zero roll rate usually applies at all practical roll rates, and that a vehicle operating close to this boundary has maximum chance of survival at a roll frequency lying between the pitching and fundamental bending frequencies. The theory is presented with linear Magnus effects included, but the conclusions are based on calculations with zero Magnus force.
Performance of Montessori and Traditionally Schooled Nursery Children on Social Cognitive Tasks and Memory Problems.

Abstract In two independent experiments, the performance of 4-year-old children drawn from Montessori classrooms was compared with that of children attending traditional preschools. It was speculated that the Montessori children might excel in social cognitive reasoning and in memory—both indirect consequences of the cognitive skills targeted by the curriculum. In Experiment 1, there were three social cognitive tasks—referential communication, speech differentiation, and identifying emotions. In Experiment 2, there were two memory problems—recognition of logically related objects, and free recall. There was no evidence of a difference in the level of performance of children from the two types of schools on social cognitive tasks, and both groups recoded messages more effectively to explicit requests from the listener than to implicit ones. For memory, the Montessori children excelled on the recognition problem, but there was no difference between groups on free recall. It was concluded that the Montessori curriculum does influence cognitive development beyond the narrow bounds of the cognitive skills ostensibly taught in the classroom, but the impact is greatest where there is a close relation between the specific concepts learned in class and the skill in question.
Two open complexes and a requirement for Mg2+ to open the lambda PR transcription start site

Potassium permanganate (KMnO4) footprinting in the absence and presence of magnesium (Mg2+) at the lambda PR promoter identified two different open complexes with Escherichia coli E sigma 70 RNA polymerase (designated RPo1 and RPo2). The single-stranded region in RPo1 (formed in the absence of Mg2+) was at most 12 bases long, whereas that in RPo2 (formed in the presence of Mg2+) spanned at least 14 bases. Only in RPo2 did the single-stranded region extend to the start point of transcription (+1, +2). These results provide a structural basis for the requirement for uptake of Mg2+ in the formation of RPo2 from RPo1, as deduced from kinetic studies at this promoter.
Spectrum of a Fabry-Perot resonant cavity containing an active medium

A Michelson interferometer has been used to measure the visibility curves for the 6328 A neon emission line in a 90% He-10% Ne gas mixture in order to determine the effect of an optical cavity upon the line shape when the medium exhibits a net gain and yet the system is below lasing threshold. An analytical model for the effect of the cavity is proposed and a computer program set up to fit the model to the data. The cavity gain and finesse are used as variable parameters. The same techniques can be applied to a laser and the number of longitudinal lasing modes can be determined; however, in this case the gain and to some extent the finesse are indeterminate.
Violence, mental illness, and the brain - A brief history of psychosurgery: Part 2 - From the limbic system and cingulotomy to deep brain stimulation

Knowledge of neuroscience flourished during and in the wake of the era of frontal lobotomy, as a byproduct of psychosurgery in the late 1930s and 1940s, revealing fascinating neural pathways and neurophysiologic mechanisms of the limbic system for the formulation of emotions, memory, and human behavior. The creation of the Kluver-Bucy syndrome in monkeys opened new horizons in the pursuit of knowledge in human behavior and neuropathology. In the 1950s specialized functional neurosurgery was developed in association with stereotactic neurosurgery; deep brain electrodes were implanted for more precise recording of brain electrical activity in the evaluation and treatment of intractable mental disorders, including schizophrenia, “pathologic aggression,” and psychomotor seizures in temporal lobe epilepsy. Psychosurgical procedures involved deep brain stimulation of the limbic system, as well as ablative procedures, such as cingulotomy and thalamotomy. The history of these developments up to the 21st century will continue in this three-part essay-editorial, exclusively researched and written for the readers of Surgical Neurology International.
The ratio of older women to men: Historical perspectives and cross-national comparisons

In nearly all populations throughout the world there are substantially more older women than men. Although there are many biological explanations for why women have greater longevity than men, the higher proportion of women in the older population appears to be a phenomenon of the twentieth century. Using contemporary data on population size and life expectancy in a large number of countries and historical life table data from a diverse subset of countries, cross-national contrasts and historical trends in the female to male ratio are explored. In the 1990’s, only 4 countries had fewer women than men in the age group 75 years and older. The number of women per 100 men aged 75+ in the remainder of the world’s countries ranged from 100 to 355. In general, countries with a lower overall life expectancy had a lower number of women per 100 men aged 75+, while countries with higher overall life expectancy had a higher female to male ratio in this age group. A hundred years ago there were nearly equal numbers of women and men aged 75+ in many countries. In all countries studied, the female to male ratio increased as the century progressed. Historical life table data were used to calculate the probability of surviving through 5 stages of life: ages 0 to 5, 5 to 15, 15 to 40, 40 to 65, and 65 to 85. Although the probability of survival through all age intervals increased dramatically during the century, the current disparity in the size of the older populations of men and women can be explained primarily by the divergence in male and female probabilities of survival for the two older age intervals as the century progressed. Thus, with higher life expectancy, whether it be comparing countries or over time within a country, the proportion of the older population that is female is greater. Changes in survival probability in middle and late life, rather than childhood and young adulthood, have been responsible for the increased number of women compared to men in the older population.
The Enigma of Organization and Distinctiveness

Abstract The concepts of organization and distinctiveness are considered important to memory. Yet, examination of research related to these concepts reveals conceptual inconsistency and confusion. We suggest that the problem can be traced to the use of similarity and difference as explanations and further suggest that adoption of a theory of similarity judgment as the description of encoding ameliorates the problem. The approach is illustrated by showing that Medin, Goldstone, and Gentner′s (Psychological Review, in press) theory of similarity judgment allows simultaneous organizational and distinctive processing. Reinstatement of these processes at retrieval produces unique convergence on a particular item and completes the description of the simultaneous importance of relational and distinctive processing of a particular item. The idea is applied to research directly related to organization and distinctiveness, and to the less obviously related phenomena of hypermnesia, generation effectsm, proactive interference, prose recall, and self-referent encoding.
Silk insect nets can reshape creek beds

Plants and animals in streams alter the way sediments flow and channels form. Among these species are the miniscule caddisfly larvae, which measure less than a centimeter in length but populate many streams in large numbers.
Nocturnal thyrotropin surge in growth hormone-deficient children*

Because some patients with growth hormone (GH) deficiency are found to be hypothyroid after initiation of treatment with GH, we assessed the predictive value of the nocturnal thyrotropin surge (a sensitive test for central hypothyroidism) in 56 untreated GH-deficient children and adolescents. Eighteen patients had a subnormal thyrotropin surge (mean 18% (range −30% to +46%)), significantly less than that of 96 normal control subjects (mean 124%; 95% confidence limits, 47% to 300%; p 4 ) level or a subnormal free T 4 level, or both. These 18 patients were given thyroid hormone replacement therapy; GH deficiency was confirmed during treatment with thyroxine. Of the remaining 38 patients, who had no initial evidence of dysfunction of the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyrold axis, 23 were reexamined while they were receiving GH treatment. Hypothyroidism developed in none of those 23 children during GH therapy. The nocturnal thyrotropin surge test and determination of iodothyronine levels were repeated in 14 of these euthyroid patients. There was no significant change in mean thyrotropin surge (129% (range +49% to +300%) vs 125% (range +51% to +222%)), mean serum level of total T 4 (111±4 vs 103±3 nmol/L), mean serum level of free T 4 (19±0.7 vs 18±0.8 pmol/L), mean serum level of triiodothyronine (2.5±0.1 vs 2.5±0.1 nmol/L), or mean serum level of thyrotropin (2.9±0.3 vs 2.9±0.5 mU/L (mean±SEM)). We conclude that GH treatment does not appreciably alter thyroid function in GH-deficient patients who have no evidence of thyroid axis dysfunction before GH treatment.
The Peripatetic Viewer at Heartfield's Film und Foto Exhibition Room

The traveling exhibition Film und Foto, inaugurated in 1929 by the famous German Werkbund association, stands as a critical landmark in the exhibition of modernist photography and film. Yet walking through its inaugural venue, in Stuttgart, was as much like flipping through an instructional photo essay as navigating an exhibition space. The first of the show's thirteen rooms, for example, offered a large number of prints that recapitulated the history of photography, or more specifically the history of its practical use. Displayed on sleek scaffolds that efficiently expanded the available exhibition surface, these prints hung in what may best be described as modernist salon style meets the printed page. A lower register seems strung near thigh level while a second row pushed toward the ceiling. The left-page/right-page and vertical/horizontal dialogues this arrangement afforded encouraged viewers to compare photographs taken from the spheres of science and industry to avant-garde prints inspired by the fo...
Methodological issues in the assessment of life events: A review of issues and research

Abstract Holmes and Rahe were the first researchers to quantify the “stressfulness” of the items on a life event scale. Although many investigators have described methodological difficulties with the Holmes and Rahe inventory, it continues to be widely used. This paper reviews the criticisms made by a number of authors concerning the Holmes and Rahe instrument in particular, and life event assessment in general. The review examines the empirical evidence supporting such intuitively derived criticisms. Some of the underlying conceptual and measurement issues in assessing life stress via life event scales are questioned. Studies examining the reliability of life event assessment are summarized, and comparisons are made between the reliability of first and second generation scales. Recommendations for future research are made.
The effect of the dipole bound state on AgF⁻ vibrationally resolved photodetachment cross sections and photoelectron angular distributions.

The first photoelectron spectra of AgF− are recorded over the energy range 1.61–1.85 eV using the velocity map imaging technique. The resolved vibrational structure of the AgF X′, v′ ← AgF− X″, v″ = 0 band yields an AgF electron affinity of 1.46 ± 0.01 eV and vibrational frequency of 500 ± 40 cm−1. For the v′ = 2, 3, 4 channels, the photodetachment cross sections and angular distributions undergo rapid changes over a narrow electron kinetic energy range in the region of 50 meV (approximately 13 meV below the opening of the next vibrational channel). This is consistent with Fano-like behavior indicating autodetachment following excitation to a resonant anion state lying in the detachment continuum. EOM-CCSD calculations reveal this to be a dipole bound state. The consistency of the detachment data with the vibrational autodetachment propensity rule Δv = −1 shows that the autodetachment results from breakdown of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation, coupling the vibrational and electronic degrees of freedom.
Equity Carve-Outs and Managerial Discretion

This study proposes a managerial discretion hypothesis of equity carve-outs in which managers value control over assets and are reluctant to carve out subsidiaries. Thus, managers undertake carve-outs only when the firm is capital constrained. Consistent with this hypothesis, firms that carve out subsidiaries exhibit poor operating performance and high leverage prior to carve-outs. Also consistent with this hypothesis, in carve-outs wherein funds raised are used to pay down debt, the average excess stock return of +6.63 percent is significantly greater than the average excess stock return of -0.01 percent for carve-outs wherein funds are retained for investment purposes. IN THIS STUDY, WE INVESTIGATE the financial and operating performance of firms that undertake equity carve-outs and analyze the cross section of excess stock returns around the announcement of these transactions. In an equity carve-out, a firm offers to sell shares in a wholly owned subsidiary to the public. As such, a carve-out can be viewed as the sale of an asset or as an equity offering. Schipper and Smith (1986) focus on carve-outs as equity offerings and compare the announcement period stock returns of carve-outs with those of seasoned equity offerings. In this study, we view the carve-out as the sale of an asset which is intended to raise funds to finance other activities of the parent or the subsidiary. In viewing equity carve-outs as asset sales, we borrow -from the work of Lang, Poulsen, and Stulz (1995) who propose and test a "financing hypothesis" to explain the cross section of excess stock returns around announcements of asset sales. The characterization of an equity carve-out as a sale of assets must be tempered by the fact that certain features distinguish carveouts from outright asset sales. Equity carve-outs are asset sales to public shareholders as opposed to a single buyer, carve-outs are undertaken explicitly for the purpose of raising funds in the capital market, and the parent firm typically continues to hold a substantial fraction of the equity of the carved out subsidiary following the offering. Equity carve-outs are similar to asset sales in that funds raised in the offering can be either retained within
Identity, autonomy and conflict in republics of Russia and Ukraine

Abstract This paper discusses the results of the survey conducted in co-operation with the European Research Center for Migration and Ethnic Relations, concerning identity in the Autonomous Republics of Russia and Ukraine. The survey queried 6522 residents of such republics as Bashkortostan, Karelia, Komi, Sakha (Yakutia), and Tatarstan in Russia, and Crimea in Ukraine. It examined the construction of social identities, common narratives regarding threats and deprivations, confidence in public institutions, the prevalence of views toward national minorities as ‘fifth columns’, ethnic stereotypes, ethnocentrism, and other conflict indicators. An early warning model, built on the basis of the results, measured the potential for conflict based on these factors, and found that it was most pronounced in Bashkortostan and Crimea, and to a lesser extent in Tatarstan. Conflict was less likely in Sakha, Karelia, and Komi, although there were still certain indicators that suggested potential problems, including moderate support for independence in these republics.
Character Is Key To Ethical Healthcare Leadership

Character, leadership and ethics are key to long-term success of healthcare organizations. Good character and strong ethics together assist leaders in making good decisions. Leaders who base their decisions on the Golden Rule (do unto others as you would have them do unto you) make ethical decisions. It is not essential that healthcare leaders adopt any one of the many different leadership theories and styles, but what is essential is that they assess their current character, ethics, and leadership skills and create a plan on how they will continue to grow and develop to the level they would like to be. Leaders that seek to develop good character and strong leadership through continued growth in knowledge and understanding along with a commitment to ethical practices will contribute to organizational success.
The Oral Analgesic Efficacy of Bicifadine Hydrochloride in Postoperative Pain

: The analgesic efficacy of 75 and 150 mg bicifadine hydrochloride was compared to 650 mg aspirin and placebo in a double-blind, single-dose study. Oral doses were administered to 100 patients suffering from moderate to severe postoperative pain. Significant analgesic activity was demonstrated with 650 mg aspirin and 150 mg bicifadine as compared to 75 mg bicifadine or placebo. No significant treatment difference was found between 75 mg bicifadine and placebo. Side effects were minor and did not interfere with the course of therapy.
The selection of U.S. cabinet officers and other political executives

Cabinet officers and other political executives in the United States are chosen from a pool of potential candidates from various sectors of society: business, the professions, and government, as well as others. At the cabinet level those selected are clearly the president's choice but other political executives may be the product of cabinet officer and White House recruitment efforts. There are distinct patterns of recruitment from department to department with differing emphases on economic sectors, geography, and prior political experience. The process and the pool of candidates are distinctive during the middle of an administration, with greater emphasis on persons already in government. This selection system reflects basic American values, political experience, and institutional capabilities. The system has significant implications, both for governance and for the legitimacy of government.