cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A comparison of desorption rate parameters obtained by the variation of heating rate and the threshold temperature programmed desorption methods

Abstract Coverage dependent activation energies and preexponential factors for desorption of CO on Ni(110) have been obtained by the variation of heating rate and the threshold temperature programmed desorption (TTPD) methods. With the TTPD technique the initial coverage was varied by an adsorption and a desorption method. All three measurements yield nearly identical rate parameters at low coverages, but significant deviations are observed for higher coverages. In particular, abnormally low binding energies are observed in TTPD analysis of high coverages surfaces, where coverage is controlled by adsorption. These anamolous binding energies are attributed to desorption of CO which has not equilibrated to the tight binding sites on the surface. Better agreement is obtained between the variation of heating rate results and those obtained from TTPD analysis of surfaces where coverage is controlled by desorption. Remaining differences are considered to be a result of fundamental limitations in the TTPD technique as shown by comparison of the results with a calculated correction factor.
On Management Myth-Information Systems

This paper describes some key defining characteristics of a special class of information systems known as Management Myth-Information Systems MMIS or story-telling information systems. MMIS are information systems [Mason, Richard O., Ian I. Mitroff. 1973. A program for research on management information systems. Management Sci.19 5, January 475--487.] which present information to a decision-maker by means of stories. In an MMIS, a scientific datum by itself is not information. In an MMIS, information is information if and only if it is tied to an appropriate story or myth that has meaning to the individual who needs the information, the organization in which he is located, and the type of problem that he faces. This defines the key variables underlying an MMIS. As such, the study of the critical literature dealing with the nature and function of mythology becomes central to the design of MMIS. One of the key purposes of this paper is to suggest how the literature of mythology and the phenomenon of story-telling can be used in the design of MMIS if not for information systems in general. An experiment dealing with some central features of MMIS is described. The experiment involved playing a series of games under the twin conditions of 1 uncertainty and 2 dialectical advice. Experimental subjects were exposed to the advice of two radically opposing “experts of the game” who were designed to present two radically opposing views “stories” of the game situation. Finally, a program of research on MMIS is proposed.
Bromodomain Protein Brd4 Associated with Acetylated Chromatin Is Important for Maintenance of Higher-order Chromatin Structure

Chromatin structure organization is crucial for regulating many fundamental cellular processes. However, the molecular mechanism that regulates the assembly of higher-order chromatin structure remains poorly understood. In this study, we demonstrate that Brd4 (bromodomain-containing protein 4) protein participates in the maintenance of the higher-order chromatin structure. Brd4, a member of the BET family of proteins, has been shown to play important roles in cellular growth control, cell cycle progression, and cancer development. We apply in situ single cell chromatin imaging and micrococcal nuclease (MNase) assay to show that Brd4 depletion leads to a large scale chromatin unfolding. A dominant-negative inhibitor encoding the double bromodomains (BDI/II) of Brd4 can competitively dissociate endogenous Brd4 from chromatin to trigger severely fragmented chromatin morphology. Mechanistic studies using Brd4 truncation mutants reveal that the Brd4 C-terminal domain is crucial for maintaining normal chromatin structure. Using bimolecular fluorescence complementation technology, we demonstrate that Brd4 molecules interact intermolecularly on chromatin and that replacing Brd4 molecules by BDI/II causes abnormal nucleosome aggregation and chromatin fragmentation. These studies establish a novel structural role of Brd4 in supporting the higher chromatin architecture.
Television Violence and Industry Self-Regulation: The V-Chip, Television Program Ratings, and the TV Parental Guidelines Oversight Monitoring Board

In 1997, the television industry created the TV Parental Guidelines, the program rating system that works in conjunction with the V-chip. To help gain the Federal Communications Commission's approval of the system, the industry also created the Oversight Monitoring Board, which it pledged would engage in a range of activities to ensure the accuracy and consistency of television program ratings. This article examines the operation and effectiveness of the board and the television program rating system as a form of industry self-regulation and provides suggestions for increasing the effectiveness of both the board and the rating system.
A novel approach to repair of wound dehiscence in the complicated patient

Wound dehiscence following abdominal surgery is a rare but deadly complication and management can be challenging. Multiple risk factors can increase the likelihood of encountering a wound dehiscence, including genetic predisposition. One such genetic disorder is type IV Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which is associated with extreme friability of tissues, including skin and fascia. Due to the friability of the tissue, closure of the wound with conventional techniques is frequently associated with reoccurrence of the dehiscence. Here, we describe a patient with an abdominal wound dehiscence who was treated successfully with a novel closure technique using the Quill SRS™ [Angiotech] barbed suture. The type of stitches and the technique employed allowed diffusion of wound forces away from the edges for distribution to a larger surface, thus decreasing the chances of ripping the skin in this challenging patient.
The Nature and Longevity of Agricultural Impacts on Soil Carbon and Nutrients: A Review

Since the domestication of plant and animal species around 10,000 years ago, cultivation and animal husbandry have been major components of global change. Agricultural activities such as tillage, fertilization, and biomass alteration lead to fundamental changes in the pools and fluxes of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) that originally existed in native ecosystems. Land is often taken out of agricultural production for economic, social, or biological reasons, and the ability to predict the biogeochemical trajectory of this land is important to our understanding of ecosystem development and our projections of food security for the future. Tillage generally decreases soil organic matter (SOM) due to erosion and disruption of the physical, biochemical, and chemical mechanisms of SOM stabilization, but SOM can generally reaccumulate after the cessation of cultivation. The use of organic amendments causes increases in SOM on agricultural fields that can last for centuries to millennia after the termination of applications, although the locations that provide the organic amendments are concurrently depleted. The legacy of agriculture is therefore highly variable on decadal to millennial time scales and depends on the specific management practices that are followed during the agricultural period. State factors such as climate and parent material (particularly clay content and mineralogy) modify ecosystem processes such that they may be useful predictors of rates of postagricultural biogeochemical change. In addition to accurate biogeochemical budgets of postagricultural systems, ecosystem models that more explicitly incorporate mechanisms of SOM loss and formation with agricultural practices will be helpful. Developing this predictive capacity will aid in ecological restoration efforts and improve the management of modern agroecosystems as demands on agriculture become more pressing.
Neuroligin1 Drives Synaptic and Behavioral Maturation through Intracellular Interactions

In vitro studies suggest that the intracellular C terminus of Neuroligin1 (NL1) could play a central role in the maturation of excitatory synapses. However, it is unknown how this activity affects synapses in vivo, and whether it may impact the development of complex behaviors. To determine how NL1 influences the state of glutamatergic synapses in vivo, we compared the synaptic and behavioral phenotypes of mice overexpressing a full-length version of NL1 (NL1FL) with mice overexpressing a version missing part of the intracellular domain (NL1ΔC). We show that overexpression of full-length NL1 yielded an increase in the proportion of synapses with mature characteristics and impaired learning and flexibility. In contrast, the overexpression of NL1ΔC increased the number of excitatory postsynaptic structures and led to enhanced flexibility in mnemonic and social behaviors. Transient overexpression of NL1FL revealed that elevated levels are not necessary to maintain synaptic and behavioral states altered earlier in development. In contrast, overexpression of NL1FL in the fully mature adult was able to impair normal learning behavior after 1 month of expression. These results provide the first evidence that NL1 significantly impacts key developmental processes that permanently shape circuit function and behavior, as well as the function of fully developed neural circuits. Overall, these manipulations of NL1 function illuminate the significance of NL1 intracellular signaling in vivo, and enhance our understanding of the factors that gate the maturation of glutamatergic synapses and complex behavior. This has significant implications for our ability to address disorders such as autism spectrum disorders.
Kinetic and thermodynamic considerations of the bracketing method: Entropy‐driven proton‐transfer reactions in a Fourier transform mass spectrometer

Several reports of experimentally derived proton affinity values and gas-phase basicity values for amino acids and peptides have recently appeared in the literature. Here, we show that the thermodynamic quantity that is measured by the Fourier transform mass spectrometry proton transfer bracketing of amino acids and peptides is gas-phase basicity and not proton affinity. Both experimental and theoretical evidence supports this conclusion. The difference between the values determined by proton transfer bracketing measurements for lysine versus leucine is consistent with a difference in gas-phase basicity rather than proton affinity. The rate of proton transfer from protonated lysine to a series of reference compounds have been measured. Entropy-driven, endothermic proton transfer is found to occur at the collision rate. Recent ab initio and semi-empirical calculations of the proton affinity of lysine are found to agree with the value that is derived from bracketing studies when one assumes that gas-phase basicity is measured. While entropy-driven reactions have been observed previously in high-pressure mass spectrometers, this is the first evidence for such reactions at low pressure in a Fourier transform mass spectrometer.
Hormone-induced loss of surface membrane during maturation of starfish oocytes: differential effects on potassium and calcium channels.

Abstract Prior to fertilization, starfish oocytes undergo meiotic maturation, triggered by the hormone 1-methyladenine (1-MA). Maturation involves a variety of complex biochemical, morphological, and electrical changes, many of which are similar to those caused by progesterone in vertebrates. Using voltage-clamp and ultrastructural techniques to study maturation in starfish, we have discovered a novel process by which 1-MA alters the electrical properties of the oocyte. The surface area of the oocyte decreases by more than 50% during the first hour of maturation, due to the elimination of microvilli, but the calcium and potassium currents present are affected differently by the loss of membrane. The amplitudes of both the transient K current (“A-current”) and the inwardly rectifying K current decrease, following the time course of the decrease in surface area, while the Ca current amplitude remains virtually unaffected, and may even increase in some oocytes. The kinetics of the currents do not change. This selective removal of K channels results in a larger and more rapidly rising action potential in the mature egg, which may aid in the fast block to polyspermy. The differential accessibility of various ion channels to mechanisms of membrane removal and insertion may play an important role in the development of excitable cells.
Level sets of the Takagi function: Hausdorff dimension

The Takagi function τ(x) is a continuous non-differentiable function on the unit interval defined by Takagi in 1903. This paper studies level sets L(y) = {x : τ(x) = y} of the Takagi function and bounds their Minkowski dimensions and Hausdorff dimensions above by 0.668. There exist level sets with Minkowski dimension 1/2. The method of proof involves a multiscale analysis that relies upon the self-similarity of τ(x) up to affine shifts.
Removing Point Sources from Cosmic Microwave Background Maps

For high-precision cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments, contamination from extragalactic point sources is a major concern. It is therefore useful to be able to detect and discard point-source-contaminated pixels using the map itself. We show that the sensitivity with which this can be done can often be greatly improved (by factors between 2.5 and 18 for the upcoming Planck mission) by a customized high-pass filtering that suppresses fluctuations due to the CMB and diffuse galactic foregrounds. This means that point-source contamination will not severely degrade the cleanest Planck channels unless current source count estimates are off by an order of magnitude. A catalog of around 40,000 sources at 857 GHz may be a useful by-product of Planck.
MALCBR: content-based retrieval of image databases at multiple abstraction levels

Content-based search of large image database has received significant attention recently. In this paper, we proposed a new framework, multiple abstraction level content based retrieval, for specifying and process content-based retrieval queries on databases of images, time series, or video data. This framework allows search targets to be expressed in a object-based fashion, that allows the extensible specification of arbitrarily complex queries. In our approach, the search targets are either simple objects, specified at multiple levels of abstraction, or composite objects, defined as collections of relation on the elements of a set of simple objects. During the search, simple objects at the semantic level are retrieved from database tables, feature level objects are computed using pre-extracted features, appropriately indexed, and pixel level objects are extracted from the raw data. Composite objects are computed at query execution time. This framework, provides a powerful mechanism for specifying complicated search target and enable efficient processing of filtering of the search results.
Corporate financial disclosure in emerging markets: Does economic development matter?

Abstract This paper breaks with previous research by concentrating on emerging market economies rather than developing countries. It tests the relationship between corporate financial disclosure and the sophistication of economies and capital markets within the context of the extant Cooke and Wallace (1990) model. It finds that, as posited in the model, firms in developed market economies have a significantly higher mean level of effective disclosure than those in emerging market economies. These differing levels of disclosure are modified by the importance of capital markets and a relatively low level of the uncertainty avoidance culture variable. The study also finds that the level of corporate disclosure is positively related to prior levels of corporate financial disclosure regulation and is directly related to the ability to draw future foreign portfolio investment.
Distributed sparse canonical correlation analysis in clustering sensor data

The problem of determining information-bearing sensors in the presence of multiple field sources and (non-)linear data models is considered. To this end, a novel canonical correlation analysis (CCA) framework combined with norm-one regularization is introduced to identify correlated measurements across the distributed sensors and cluster the sensor data based on their source content. A distributed algorithm is also put forth for informative sensor identification in nonlinear settings using the novel CCA approach. Toward this end, the sparsity-aware CCA framework is reformulated as a separable constrained minimization problem which is solved by utilizing block coordinate descent techniques combined with the alternating direction method of multipliers. Numerical tests demonstrate that the distributed sparse CCA scheme put forth outperforms existing alternatives when it comes to clustering the sensor data based on their source content.
Two fatal Ehrlichia cases with complete autopsies

Introduction: Human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME) is caused by infection of monocytes by Ehrlichia chaffeensis, an obligate intracellular Gram‐negative bacterium. The number of ehrlichiosis cases due to E. chaffeensis reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) since the disease became reportable in 1999 have increased steadily, from 200 cases in 2000 to 961 cases in 2008. In 2012, the case fatality rate, as reported by the CDC, was 1.1 %. Case Presentation: Described in this review are two cases of fatal HME, both of which received a complete autopsy examination. Both cases required serological and molecular studies to reach the final diagnosis. The heart and spleen tissue blocks were diagnostically useful in these cases. Conclusion: Awareness of HME leads to improved recognition and subsequent timely treatment of this disease. The discovery of HME in our second case was greatly facilitated by the experience gained by the diagnosis in the first case.
Self-limited uptake of α-pinene oxide to acidic aerosol: the effects of liquid–liquid phase separation and implications for the formation of secondary organic aerosol and organosulfates from epoxides

Abstract. The reactive uptake of α-pinene oxide (αPO) to acidic sulfate aerosol was studied under humid conditions in order to gain insight into the effects of liquid–liquid phase separation on aerosol heterogeneous chemistry and to elucidate further the formation of secondary organic aerosol and organosulfates from epoxides. A continuous flow environmental chamber was used to monitor changes in diameter of monodisperse, deliquesced, acidic sulfate particles exposed to αPO at 25% and 50% RH (relative humidity). In order to induce phase separation and probe potential limits to particle growth from acidic uptake, αPO was introduced over a wide range of concentrations, from 200 ppb to 5 ppm. Uptake was observed to be highly dependent on initial aerosol pH. Significant uptake of αPO to aerosol was observed with initial pH
Myosin filament assembly requires a cluster of four positive residues located in the rod domain

Abstract Myosin has an intrinsic ability to organize into ordered thick filaments that mediate muscle contraction. Here, we use surface plasmon resonance and light scattering analysis to further characterize the molecular determinants that guide myosin filament assembly. Both assays identify a cluster of lysine and arginine residues as important for myosin polymerization in vitro. Moreover, in cardiomyocytes, replacement of these charged residues by alanine severely affects the incorporation of myosin into the distal ends of the sarcomere. Our findings show that a novel assembly element with a distinct charge profile is present at the C-terminus of sarcomeric myosins. Structured summary of protein interactions WT LMM binds to WT LMM by surface plasmon resonance ( View Interaction ) WT LMM binds to CT2 LMM by surface plasmon resonance ( View Interaction ) WT LMM binds to Alanine mutant LMM by surface plasmon resonance ( View Interaction ) WT LMM and WT LMM bind by light scattering ( View Interaction ) Alanine mutant LMM and Alanine mutant LMM bind by light scattering ( View Interaction ) WT LMM and Alanine mutant LMM bind by light scattering ( View Interaction )
The fine structure of Haemoproteus columbae sporozoites.

SYNOPSIS. The fine structure of Haemoproteus columbae sporozoites has been studied and compared to sporozoite structure as revealed by the light microscope. The sporozoites are ultrastructurally similar to those of other Haemosporidia in that they possess a 3-layered pellicle, subpellicular microtubules, polar ring, micropore, free ribosome-like particles, micronemes, a structure resembling a Golgi complex, an irregular mitochondrion, and a large nucleus. In the anterior region of the sporozoite there are 21–22 regularly arranged longitudinal subpellicular microtubules located peripherally around the cell. In the apical region the microtubules appear thickened on 1 side. The sporozoite of H. columbae has a microneme system in which 1–3 micronemes are associated with the outer pellicular membrane at the anterior end. Micronemes are found throughout the cytoplasm, but occur in greater concentration in the anterior region of the sporozoite. A clear pellicular cavity, located between the polar ring and the termination of the inner pellicular layer, is present at the anterior end of the sporozoite. Vesicular invaginations of the inner pellicular layer have been observed in the anterior region; their function is unknown. Spherical osmophilic bodies are found throughout the cytoplasm.
Understanding wind turbine price trends in the U.S. over the past decade

Understanding Wind Turbine Price Trends in the U.S. Over the Past Decade Mark Bolinger and Ryan Wiser Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Pre-print of article submitted to Energy Policy Abstract: On a $-per-kW basis, wind turbine prices in the U.S. have declined by nearly one- third on average since 2008, after having previously doubled over the period from 2002 through 2008. These two substantial and opposing trends over the past decade – and particularly the earlier price doubling – run counter to the smooth, gradually declining cost trajectories predicted by standard learning curve theory. Taking a bottom-up approach, we examine seven possible drivers of wind turbine prices in the U.S., with the goal of estimating the degree to which each contributed to the doubling in turbine prices from 2002 through 2008, as well as the subsequent decline in prices through 2010. In aggregate, these seven drivers – which include changes in labor costs, warranty provisions, manufacturer profitability, turbine scaling, raw materials prices, energy prices, and foreign exchange rates – explain from 70% to 90% (depending on the year) of empirically observed wind turbine price movements in the U.S. through 2010. Turbine scaling is found to have been the largest single contributor to the price doubling through 2008, although the incremental cost of scaling has been justified by greater energy capture, resulting in a lower cost of wind generation. Acknowledgments The work described in this article was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Wind & Water Power Program, within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231. Disclaimer This document was prepared as an account of work sponsored by the United States Government. While this document is believed to contain correct information, neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor The Regents of the University of California, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by its trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof, or The Regents of the University of California. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof, or The Regents of the University of California. Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is an equal opportunity employer.
Structure of a myosin•adaptor complex and pairing by cargo.

Myosin 4 protein (Myo4p), one of five distinct myosins of yeast, is dedicated to cytoplasmic transport of two types of cargos, zipcoded messenger ribonucleoprotein particles (mRNPs) and tubular endoplasmic reticulum (tER). Neither cargo binds directly to Myo4p. Instead, swi5p-dependent HO expression 3 protein (She3p) serves as an “adaptor” that contains three binding modules, one for Myo4p and one each for zipcoded mRNP and tER. The assembly of a transport-competent motor complex is poorly understood. Here, we report that Myo4p•She3p forms a stable 1:2 heterotrimer in solution. In the Myo4p•She3p crystal structure, Myo4p’s C-terminal domain (CTD) assumes a lobster claw-shaped form, the minor prong of which adheres to a pseudocoiled-coil region of She3p. The extensive Myo4p•She3p interactome buries 3,812 A2 surface area and is primarily hydrophobic. Because the Myo4p•She3p heterotrimer contains only one myosin molecule, it is not transport-competent. By stepwise reconstitution, we found a single molecule of synthetic oligonucleotide (representing the mRNA zipcode element) bound to a single tetramer of zipcode binding protein She2p to be sufficient for Myo4p•She3p dimerization. Therefore, cargo initiates cross-linking of two Myo4p•She3p heterotrimers to an ensemble that contains two myosin molecules obligatory for movement. An additional crystal structure comprising an overlapping upstream portion of She3p showed continuation of the pseudocoiled-coil structure and revealed another highly conserved surface region. We suggest this region as a candidate binding site for a yet unidentified tER ligand. We propose a model whereby zipcoded mRNP and/or tER ligands couple two Myo4p•She3p heterotrimers and thereby generate a transport-competent motor complex either for separate transport or cotransport of these two cargos.
Eosinophils differentially accumulate in the necrotic and capsule areas of solid tumors independent of CD4+ T-cell activities

Abstract Rationale Previous studies have shown that eosinophils accumulate within many epithelial tumors. Nonetheless, the basis of this accumulation or the specific localization of eosinophils within these tumors remains obscure. Methods C57BL/6J mice were injected (s.c. ) with B16 melanoma cells and tumors harvested at days 10 and 16 for immunohistochemistry using antibodies to eosinophil major basic protein (MBP). Additional groups of tumor bearing mice were examined, including recipients of adoptively transferred eosinophils, and mice administered mAbs to deplete CD4 + T-cells and eosinophils. Results Eosinophils accumulate differentially in tumors, occurring in the necrotic and capsule areas and noticeably absent from viable regions. Interestingly, necrotic areas appeared in tumors of mice devoid of eosinophils. This accumulation was an active process as adoptively transferred ( i.v. ) eosinophils were recruited to necrotic areas within 24 hours of transfer. Transwell chemotaxis assays failed to detect tumor cell-released chemoattractants. Despite an association with Th2 responses, eosinophil accumulation also occurred in mice devoid of CD4 + T cells. Conclusions Eosinophils are actively recruited to solid tumors and differentially accumulate in the necrotic and capsule areas independent of Th2 responses (i.e., in the absence of CD4 + T cells). In the absence of released chemoattractants and a direct link between eosinophils and tumor cell death, the mechanism(s) and consequence(s) of this accumulation is unclear.
Closed-form solution of hyperbolic geolocation equations

A 3-dimensional (3D), closed-form solution for the time difference of arrival (TDOA) problem that does not depend on range data is given. Such a solution did not exist previously in the literature. For aerospace and military applications, the solution is precise. For civilian cellular phone applications, however, the solution is susceptible to unrelated errors from the phenomenon of multipath delays in the channels. This phenomenon is factored in mathematically in the solution and a simulation that characterizes its error bounds is presented
Interpersonal psychotherapy delivered over the telephone to recurrent depressives: A pilot study

Rates of recurrent depression peak among women in their childbearing years, yet a large number of these women are not treated or do not seek maintenance treatment between episodes. Barriers to treatment include time constraints, demands of child care, and finances. A method for improving access to treatment of depression may be delivery of psychotherapy over the telephone. A 12-week pilot controlled clinical trial with random assignment was conducted to test the feasibility and efficacy of Interpersonal Psychotherapy delivered over the telephone (IPT-T) for depression in women (N=15 IPT-T and N=15 no treatment) with a life-time history of recurrent depression and low rates of previous treatment. Patients were interviewed at baseline and at 12 weeks by a blind and independent clinical evaluator to assess their symptom level and social functioning. IPT-T as compared to no treatment was significantly better in lowering symptoms of depression as measured by the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (p<.02), improving global functioning (GAS) (p<.02), and improving work and social functioning (p<.03-.05, respectively). These preliminary findings support the feasibility and helpfulness of IPT-T in preventing an increase in depressive symptoms among women with recurrent depression but current mild to moderately levels of depression.
Traveltime inversion and error analysis for layered anisotropy

Abstract While tilted transverse isotropy (TTI) is a good approximation of the velocity structure for many dipping and fractured strata, it is still challenging to estimate anisotropic depth models even when the tilted angle is known. With the assumption of weak anisotropy, we present a TTI traveltime inversion approach for models consisting of several thickness-varying layers where the anisotropic parameters are constant for each layer. For each model layer the inversion variables consist of the anisotropic parameters e and δ , the tilted angle φ of its symmetry axis, layer velocity along the symmetry axis, and thickness variation of the layer. Using this method and synthetic data, we evaluate the effects of errors in some of the model parameters on the inverted values of the other parameters in crosswell and Vertical Seismic Profile (VSP) acquisition geometry. The analyses show that the errors in the layer symmetry axes sensitively affect the inverted values of other parameters, especially δ . However, the impact of errors in δ on the inversion of other parameters is much less than the impact on δ from the errors in other parameters. Hence, a practical strategy is first to invert for the most error-tolerant parameter layer velocity, then progressively invert for e in crosswell geometry or δ in VSP geometry.
Employment and Clinical Follow Up of 532 Tuberculosis Patients Discharged from 1951 to 1954

study was to determine in a large number of cases, followed up over periods of three to ten years, whether any relationship exists between employment and relapse in treated tuberculosis. Secondary objectives were : (a) to determine ratios of employment versus unemployment in treated tuberculosis and; (b) to compare employment in terms of physical exertion required with extent or severity of the treated disease.
Young investigator challenge: Comparison of 2 different methods of manual slide screening in semiautomated gynecologic cytology

BACKGROUND Negative gynecologic cytology cases (ie, those diagnosed as negative for intraepithelial lesion or malignancy) are manually reviewed by 2 methods using semiautomated screening: 1) immediate full slide review (FSR) after fields-of-view analysis (FOV) (FOV + FSR), and 2) quality-assurance/high-risk, quintile-directed full manual review (FMR). Data supporting current guidelines were limited. The authors investigated FMR, FOV + FSR, and the review process in general. METHODS Gynecologic cytology cases from 2009 to 2014 at Massachusetts General Hospital were analyzed. The data comprised 93,169 patients, 194,656 specimens, and 49,979 human papillomavirus (HPV) tests. RESULTS In patients who underwent FMR, the epithelial cell abnormality (ECA) rate was correlated with the HPV-positive rate (correlation coefficient [r2] = 0.82; Y = 0.19X + 0.02), and both rates decreased with age. For patients who underwent FOV + FSR, the ECA rate was also related to the HPV-positive rate (r2 = 0.86; Y = 0.39X + 0.11), and both rates decreased with age. The FMR group had similar HPV-positive rates compared to the FOV + FSR group (2%-52% vs 9%-68%, respectively). HPV-positive patients had a higher risk of ECA than HPV-negative patients (40% vs 8%; P < .0001). Currently, manual review allocates resources inefficiently, to older, HPV-negative patients as compared to younger, HPV-positive patients. Additionally, too many patients who have HPV-positive specimens with ECA proceed from primary screening to FMR. This imbalance can be observed in the slope of the line comparing the FMR ECA rate with the HPV-positive rate (which might serve as a surrogate marker for adequacy of FOV + FSR screening). Therefore, laboratories should try to reduce the number of HPV-positive cases that reach FMR. CONCLUSIONS Current review procedures devote too few resources to younger patients. FMR should be assigned according to HPV status and age. The slope of the line comparing the FMR ECA rate with the FMR HPV-positive rate might be a useful surrogate marker of screening accuracy. Cancer (Cancer Cytopathol) 2015;123:650–658. © 2015 American Cancer Society.
Tsukamurella spongiae sp. nov., a novel actinomycete isolated from a deep-water marine sponge.

A Gram-positive, rod-shaped, non-spore-forming bacterium (strain K362T) was isolated from a deep-water marine sponge collected off the coast of Curacao in the Netherlands Antilles. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities, strain K362T was shown to belong to the genus Tsukamurella, being most closely related to Tsukamurella pulmonis (99.2 %), Tsukamurella tyrosinosolvens (98.9 %), Tsukamurella strandjordii (98.8 %), Tsukamurella pseudospumae (98.8 %) and Tsukamurella spumae (98.8 %). A combination of the substrate utilization patterns, the fatty acid and mycolic acid profiles and the DNA–DNA hybridization results supported the affiliation of strain K362T to the genus Tsukamurella and enabled the genotypic and phenotypic differentiation of strain K362T from the seven recognized Tsukamurella species. Strain K362T therefore represents a novel species of the genus Tsukamurella, for which the name Tsukamurella spongiae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is K362T (=DSM 44990T=NRRL B-24467T).
Fiber-optic add-drop device based on a silica microsphere-whispering gallery mode system

An all-optical passive four-port system including a fused silica microsphere and two tapered fibers is proposed and demonstrated for the application as a channel adding-dropping device. It is shown that channels can be selectively exchanged between two fibers by coupling to a whispering gallery mode resonance in the microsphere. Finesse in excess of 11150 is measured for the loaded whispering gallery modes.
contested bodies: affliction and power in Heiltsuk culture and history

The body is a primary domain of contestation in colonial encounters. The indigenous response to virgin soil epidemics provides an opening for colonial agents, especially missionaries. Methodist missionaries among the Heiltsuk of the Northwest Coast imposed a hegemonic conception of the body, involving the central practice of discipline. Hegemony and resistance have been enacted in bodily beliefs, practices, and discourses. A focus on the meaningful body as a mediating category reveals important dimensions of processes of culture change. [body, colonialism, missionaries, ethnohistory, Northwest Coast]
Pharmacologic reduction of sympathetic drive increases platelet alpha-2-receptor number

Several lines of evidence implicate sympathetic nervous system involvement in the pathophysiology of essential hypertension in man. Extrapolations are frequently made from in vitro measurements of plasma catecholamine levels to the physiologic role of the sympathetic system in hypertension. We assessed the utility and validity of such extrapolation from in vitro to in vivo measures of adrenergic function. Addition of guanadrel to diuretic therapy in 11 patients with essential hypertension reduced supine intra-arterial blood pressure from 135 ± 14/76 ± 9 to 127 ± 13/67 ± 5 mm Hg (P < 0.02). Supine heart rate was also reduced, from 77 ± 14 to 63 ± 13 bpm (P < 0.001). Plasma norepinephrine levels fell from 303 ± 107 to 170 ± 46pg/ml (P < 0.01). Platelet α2-receptor number ([3H]yohimbme maximal binding) increased from 204 ± 77 to 301 ± 150 fmol/mg (P < 0.02). The pupillary mydriatic response to phenylephrine and the forearm arterial vasoconstrictor response to intra-arterial norepinephrine did not change. Thus guanadrel reduced blood pressure by decreasing sympathetic tone. In this milieu of low sympathetic activity the platelet α2-receptor number increased, but physiologic responses to exogenous α-agonists did not change. Caution is therefore advised when extrapolating from in vitro measurement of plasma catecholamine levels and platelet α2-receptor number to the in vivo physiologic significance. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (1985) 38, 519–524; doi:10.1038/clpt.1985.217
Documenting America's National Park Roads and Parkways

America's national park roads and parkways are outstanding design achievements exemplifying the harmonious integration of highway engineering and landscape architecture. By designing roadways to showcase scenery with minimal impact on their surroundings, the National Park Service created an internationally renowned road system that provides access to America's most treasured landscapes while standing as a remarkable social, artistic, and technological achievement in its own right. From 1988 to 2002, the Historic American Engineering Record conducted a documentation project that produced more than 4,000 photographs, 476 measured and interpretive drawings, and more than 10,000 pages of written history. These reports document the roads' physical characteristics and articulate their social, technological, and aesthetic influences. Not every park could be surveyed, but the most prominent roads were documented in detail. Several non—Park Service roads were also documented, including the Historic Columbia River ...
Clinical Features of Mild Systemic Meningococcal Disease with Characterization of Bacterial Isolates

Neisseria meningitidis is an important cause of fulminant septicemia and meningitis in children. Only limited reports of mild disease associated with this organism exist. In this study, we describe eight children, ages 2.5-19 months, with mild meningococcal disease and characterize the menin gococcal isolates from some of these patients. Children with mild meningococcal disease presented with a mean fever of 40.1°C, but without purpura or petechiae. Five were diagnosed as having otitis media and were not thought to be seriously ill when initially observed. Six of the eight children had complete resolution of their clinical symptoms as outpatients. One had apparent meningococcal meningitis that sterilized without antibiotic therapy, and one had persistent low grade bacteremia that cleared within 48 hours after institution of parenteral antibiotics. Charac terization of the meningococcal isolates from three of the patients revealed that the organisms were encapsulated, piliated, and contained similar outer ...
Changing Patterns of Fertility in the South: A Social-Demographic Examination

The trend in the fertility differences between the South and the remainder of the U.S. - a differential which has existed since colonial times - is examined. From the earliest censuses on the South has tended to have consistently higher levels of fertility than the rest of the U.S. The general issue of regional fertility differences is dealt with before preceding with the more specific question. The approach taken is that of controlling for compositional differences and examining empirically the trend in the souther/nonsouthern fertility differential with particular emphasis on the period since World War 2. The long-standing higher fertility of the South relative to the non-South has stopped. During the 1950s the convergence and reversal in fertility levels occurred. By the end of 1970 southern fertility was lower than nonsouthern fertility because southerners "prefer" fewer children than nonsoutherners. In response to the question "Why should region of residence be a social variable producing distinct fertility norms and values" there is only speculation. The source of this regional difference is probably the same as the source of fertility differences across developed nations - differences in historical and cultural backgrounds. The South and the non-South have had different historical experiences beginning in Colonial times through the Civil War and to the present period. Probably these different sets of experiences have resulted in different values and norma. Clearly region is a variable that sociologists interested in fertility will have to deal with in the future.
Glucose and amino acid metabolism in neonatal rat skeletal muscle in tissue culture

The characteristics of glucose and amino acid metabolism over a 98-hour incubation period were studied in a primary culture of neonatal rat skeletal muscle cells. The cells formed large myotubes in culture, were spontaneously highly contractile, and had cell phosphocreatine levels exceeding ATP concentrations. Medium glucose fell from 7.2±0.2 to 1.5±0.1 mM between 0 and 98 hours; intracellular glucose was readily detectable, indicating glycolysis was limited by phosphorylation, not glucose transport. Alanine levels in the medium increased from 0.06±0.01 to 0.82±0.04 mM between 0 and 48 hours and decreased to 0.72±0.04 mM by 98 hours. The period of net alanine production correlated with the rise in the cell mass action ratio of the alanine aminotransferase reaction. Cell aspartate, glutamate, and calculated oxalacetate levels were inversely related to the cell NADH/NAD+ ratio, as represented by the intracellular lactate/pyruvate ratio (r=0.78–0.88). The branched chain amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, valine) were actively utilized, e.g., medium leucine fell from 0.70±0.01 to 0.30±0.06 mM between 0 and 98 hours. In addition, arginine and serine consumption was observed in conjunction with ornithine, proline, and glycine production. Conclusions: (1) A major driving force for the high rates of alanine production by skeletal muscle cells in tissue culture is the active utilization of branched chain amino acids. (2) Intracellular aspartate and glutamate pools are linked, probably via the malate-aspartate shuttle, to the cell NADH/NAD+ redox state. (3) Muscle cells in tissue culture metabolize significant amounts of arginine and serine in association with the production of ornithine and proline, and these pathways may possibly be related to creatine production.
Clinical evidence for predominance of delta-5 steroid production in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

The overproduction of androstenedione and testosterone in women with PCOS is consistent with excessive steroidogenesis in the delta-5 pathway.
Online Finance and Economics Courses: A Comparative Study of Course Satisfaction and Outcomes across Learning Models.

Student learning outcomes and course satisfaction scores are two key considerations when assessing the success of any degree program. This empirical study was based upon more than 3,000 end-of-semester course evaluations collected from 171 courses in the 2010-2011 academic year. The study, conducted at a Midwestern business college, considered the model of learning when examining course satisfaction scores of finance and economics courses. The finance and economics courses at the college all use active learning constructs, even in the online and blended course models. Online, blended and face-to-face courses were studied to determine whether there was a statistically significant difference between course satisfaction and any of the models of learning. Surprisingly, online and blended courses had a stronger relationship with high course satisfaction than did face-to-face courses. The average grade point average of each course was also correlated with the three learning models, seeking a relationship between learning outcomes and online, blended and face-to-face courses. There was no significant relationship found among student learning outcomes, as demonstrated by grade point average, and model of learning, indicating that students were able to achieve the same outcomes despite model of learning chosen.
Some Considerations for Excess Zeroes in Substance Abuse Research

Background: Count data collected in substance abuse research often come with an excess of “zeroes,” which are typically handled using zero-inflated regression models. However, there is a need to consider the design aspects of those studies before using such a statistical model to ascertain the sources of zeroes. Objectives: We sought to illustrate hurdle models as alternatives to zero-inflated models to validate a two-stage decision-making process in situations of “excess zeroes.” Methods: We use data from a study of 45 cocaine-dependent subjects where the primary scientific question was to evaluate whether study participation influences drug-seeking behavior. The outcome, “the frequency (count) of cocaine use days per week,” is bounded (ranging from 0 to 7). We fit and compare binomial, Poisson, negative binomial, and the hurdle version of these models to study the effect of gender, age, time, and study participation on cocaine use. Results: The hurdle binomial model provides the best fit. Gender and tim...
Ethnographies of Encounter

Ethnographies of encounter are one response to calls to decolonize anthropology. These ethnographies explore how culture making occurs through unequal relationships involving two or more groups of people and things that appear to exist in culturally distinct worlds. The term encounter refers to everyday engagements across difference. Ethnographies of encounter focus on the cross-cultural and relational dynamics of these processes. They consider how such engagements bring discrepant stakes and histories together in ways that produce new cultural meanings, categories, objects, and identities. This article examines a transection of the discipline that shares this methodology. We focus on encounter approaches to (a) transnational capitalism, (b) space and place, and (c) human-nonhuman relations. Rather than taking capitalism, space and place, and humanness as contextual frameworks, these ethnographies demonstrate how encounter is the means by which these categories emerge.
Estimating the Market Risk Premium

One of the basic approaches to estimating the cost of common equity capital is the risk premium method, sometimes called the yield spread method. Analysts recognize that because investors are risk averters, the required rate of return increases as the riskiness of financial assets increases. Therefore, if investors have the opportunity to buy default-free U.S. Treasury bonds with a yield of 8 1/2 percent, they would require higher rates of return on corporate bonds and still higher returns on common stocks.1 The question is: How much higher? If we knew the answer to that question, we could, at any given time, determine the cost of common equity simply by adding the risk premium to the current yield on Treasury bonds.