cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Monitoring and protecting company and brand reputation on social networks: when sites are not enough

Companies are increasingly recognising that social networks are a force to contend with in reputation management. There are numerous examples of how single voices using viral systems have, in a matter of days, reached out to millions about poor service or flawed products. Managing social networks is, however, not without cost and thus one could reasonably assume that larger companies would have better defined strategies for social network reputation management than smaller ones. The paper explores this assumption and offers an integrity management model. The social network activities of 99 different size companies (33 small, 33 medium and 33 Large) were examined and results supported that larger companies are slightly more responsive but smaller firms seem to respond more quickly. Of interest was the number of firms (of all sizes) without social media sites. There appears to be a general lack of a strategic framework for thinking about communities as most firms in the study were not monitoring, integrating and leveraging social media adequately.
Evaluation of data thinning strategies for climate applications using the first four years of AIRS hyperspectral data

The application of infrared hyper-spectral sounder data to climate research requires the global analysis of multi-decadal time series of various atmosphere, surface or cloud related parameters. The data used in this analysis has to meet stringent global and scene independent absolute accuracy and stability requirements, it also has to be spatially and radiometrically unbiased, manageable in size and self-contained. Self-contained means that the data set contains not only a globally unbiased sample of the state of the Earth Climate system as seen in the infrared, it has to contain enough data to contrast clear with average (cloudy) data and to allow an independent assessment of the radiometric and spectral accuracy and stability of the data. We illustrate this with data from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) and Infrared Atmospheric Sounder Interferometer (IASI) data. AIRS and IASI were designed with fairly similar functional requirements. AIRS was launched on the EOS Aqua spacecraft in May 2002 into a 705 km polar sun-synchronous orbit with accurately maintained 1:30 PM ascending node. Essentially un-interrupted data are available since September 2002. Since October 2006 IASI is in a 9:30 AM polar orbit at 815 km altitude on the MetOp2 satellite, with data available since May 2007.
Gender differences in binge eating and behavioral correlates among college students

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate gender differences in binge eating and associated behavioral correlates in college students. METHODS: A webbased survey was conducted with 2073 students (mean age 19.8 yr; range 18–23 yr). Multiple logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the factors associated with binge eating. RESULTS: Twenty-nine percent of students reported recent bingeing. Factors associated with binge eating included being female, having a higher body mass index, current tobacco use, and exercising to lose weight. Women were more likely to binge eat (73.8%; χ2 =32.3; p≦0.001), report loss of control (45%; χ2=16.3; p≦0.001), self induced vomiting (20.7%; χ2=15.9; p≦0.001), and laxative use (6.7%; χ2=8.93; p≦0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Results generated from this study suggest that gender-disparate behaviors are potential targets for future tailored interventions.
Performance of decision feedback equaliser on measured indoor radio channels

The measured multipath profiles from five different factories are used for the performance analysis of a binary phase shift keying (BPSK) modem, with and without a decision feedback equaliser (DFE). Both average bit error rate and outage probability are calculated as the performance criteria.
Ferroelectric relaxor behaviour in Ba(ZrxTi1−x)O3 : MgO composites

In this paper we have shown a potential approach to fabricate relaxor materials by making a ceramic composite of environmental friendly Ba-based diffuse ferroelectric BaZrxTi1−xO3 (x = 0.20 and 0.25) with non-ferroelectric magnesium oxide (MgO). The dielectric behaviour of BaZrxTi1−xO3 : 50 wt% MgO (x = 0.20 and 0.25) composites has been studied in the temperature range from 300–11 K. The degree of relaxation (γ) has been estimated using the modified Curie–Weiss law. The dielectric relaxation rate follows the Vogel–Fulcher relation with a characteristic cooperative freezing at a specific temperature. These BaZrxTi1−xO3 composites have also shown strong dc electric field dependent dielectric behaviour.
BROWNING BELIEVING: “A DEATH IN THE DESERT” AND THE STATUS OF BELIEF

Some John, we are told, possibly both the Evangelist and the beloved apostle, but, for reasons we will see, possibly only one, the other, or neither, reanimated so his dying words can be recorded by other early Christians, tries to tell those who will now live with no contact with anyone who had contact with Jesus Christ, how they may live with that absence. Although his reanimaters preserve and venerate his words, it's not clear that they actually follow them or even understand them. In the wake of the questions first German Higher Criticism and then more recent work in the 1860s had raised with regard to the historical accuracy of the New Testament, Robert Browning, tries to propose how his contemporaries might believe. At the same time, as a consequence of a definition of how to believe, Browning also suggests how to look at the beliefs of others as expressions of one's condition and situation rather than as assertions whose accuracy it is in our interests to measure: he tells us what a dramatic monologue may show us. With regard to either aim, either with his contemporaries or with his critics, he did no better than John did with the poem's auditors. At least with regard to the issue of how to believe, one watches an odd critical history as readers have become increasingly aware of how completely Browning seems to have accepted the conclusions of the Higher Criticism about the historicity of the gospels, but have refused to accept how completely this meant that his justification for belief wound up reproducing the Higher Critical position about the historical reality of Christianity, with the addition of an epistemologically daring and dangerous justification of willed belief in an object accepted as possibly fictional that gives his ostensible Christianity only the appearance of an orthodoxy it had in fact abandoned.
Every body is somebody: The psychology and design of embodiment

There is a long tradition in psychology asking the question, "how does a body affect how people think and respond?" There is a much smaller literature addressing the question, "how does having a body affect how people think about us and respond to us?" In this talk, I will discuss a series of experimental studies that are guided by the idea that an understanding of people's responses to other people can guide research on human-robot interaction. Questions to be addressed include: When should a robot say "I"? Should robots have body parts that do not operate like human body parts? When should robots use synthetic speech as compared to recorded speech? How should teams of robots interact with teams of people? How should robots respond to human error and their own errors? For each study, I will describe theory, methods, results, and application to design.
Adsorption of ammonia on the Al(111) surface: Theoretical studies.

Model calculations on ${\mathrm{Al}}_{10}$${\mathrm{NH}}_{3}$ clusters are used to study the chemisorptive interaction of ${\mathrm{NH}}_{3}$ with the Al(111) surface. It is assumed that the ammonia molecule stabilizes on the surface with the N center pointing towards the metal and two different surface sites, on top and threefold hollow, are examined. The energetics of the ${\mathrm{NH}}_{3}$-Al interaction are described in detail. The interaction between the frozen charge distributions of the ${\mathrm{NH}}_{3}$ and ${\mathrm{Al}}_{10}$ subunits is repulsive for both sites. However, the repulsion is much larger in the threefold hollow site than in the on-top site. The charge rearrangements that are important for the bonding are the intra-unit polarizations of both ${\mathrm{NH}}_{3}$ and ${\mathrm{Al}}_{10}$ in the presence of the other (frozen) subunit. These polarizations make attractive electrostatic contributions. They are larger for the on-top site. As a consequence, the ${\mathrm{NH}}_{3}$-Al interaction leads to a 0.8 eV binding in the on-top site whereas the threefold hollow site is repulsive. In both sites, ${\mathrm{NH}}_{3}$ to metal ${a}_{1}$ donation is of minor importance. This is in contrast to the bonding scheme suggested from photoemission on ${\mathrm{NH}}_{3}$/metal systems. A large differential shift of the 3${a}_{1}$ ionization potential (IP) for adsorbed ${\mathrm{NH}}_{3}$ has been interpreted as major involvement of the ${\mathrm{NH}}_{3}$ 3${\mathrm{a}}_{1}$ orbital in the ${\mathrm{NH}}_{3}$--metal bond. We show that the differential 3${a}_{1}$ IP shift is not related to its involvement in the bonding.
MAPK Signaling Up-regulates the Activity of Hypoxia-inducible Factors by Its Effects on p300

Hypoxia-inducible factors (HIF) are a family of heterodimeric transcriptional regulators that play pivotal roles in the regulation of cellular utilization of oxygen and glucose and are essential transcriptional regulators of angiogenesis in solid tumor and ischemic disorders. The transactivation activity of HIF complexes requires the recruitment of p300/CREB-binding protein (CBP) by HIF-1α and HIF-2α that undergo oxygen-dependent degradation. HIF activation in tumors is caused by several factors including mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling. Here we investigated the molecular basis for HIF activation by MAPK. We show that MAPK is required for the transactivation activity of HIF-1α. Furthermore, inhibition of MAPK disrupts the HIF-p300 interaction and suppresses the transactivation activity of p300. Overexpression of MEK1, an upstream MAPK activator, stimulates the transactivation of both p300 and HIF-1α. Interestingly, the C-terminal transactivation domain of HIF-1α is not a direct substrate of MAPK, and HIF-1α phosphorylation is not required for HIF-CAD/p300 interaction. Taken together, our data suggest that MAPK signaling facilitates HIF activation through p300/CBP.
Multiple data set reduction on FPGAs

Many scientific or engineering applications perform reduction of sets of sequential data streams. If the core operator of the reduction is deeply pipelined, dependencies between the input data elements cause data hazards in the pipeline. To tackle this problem, we propose a multiple set variable length reduction design with low latency and high pipeline utilization in this paper. We prove the buffer size and execution time bounds, and then show its performance on practical multiple data set scenarios. We apply the proposed method to the Householder QR decomposition and compare its performance to other methods with superior results. The proposed design is implemented on FPGAs with resource usage and performance presented.
Planetary Rossby Waves Propagating Vertically Through Weak Westerly Wind Wave Guides

Abstract The role of horizontal wind shears in the vertical propagation of planetary Rossby waves is investigated using an adiabatic linear model. We discuss wave guides formed by regions of weak westerly wind. If the wave guide is formed by trapping of waves between strong westerlies and/or the geometric poles, the ducting occurs as a wave propagation in discrete normal modes of the internal wave guide. On the other hand, for wave guides formed by one or more lines of zero wind, waves are absorbed rather than reflected at the zero wind line so that there are no normal modes of the wave guide. Disturbances excited in the lower stratosphere in the equatorial zero wind wave guide will terminate somewhere in the equatorial stratosphere, but eddy motions may be maintained in the tropics at higher levels by leakage from the Aleutian high planetary wave propagating vertically in a polar wave guide. The Aleutian high should he significantly attenuated by such leakage. The theory of zero wind line absorption sugg...
Theory confronts data: how the HRS is shaped by the economics of aging and how the economics of aging will be shaped by the HRS

Abstract From its inception, the HRS (Health and Retirement Study), together with the companion AHEAD study (Asset and Health Dynamics of the Oldest Old), has been designed to provide data for the community of scientific and policy researchers who study the economics and demography of aging. This paper describes the evolution of the HRS from its origins as a longitudinal study of persons born in 1931–1941 who were 51–61 years of age in 1992 to its current design as a `steady state' sample of older Americans which, in cross-section, is representative of the entire U.S. population over age 50 and follows respondents longitudinally until they die. I discuss how the conceptual framework that underlies the original HRS design has lead the community of researchers to embrace the steady state design described above. In particular, I summarize a set of distinct, but interacting theoretical ideas whose origins lie in several disciplines that have guided us in determining the content and design of the survey. I then describe how the data collected in the HRS will allow these theories to be tested and briefly describe findings from recent research using the HRS, including some reported in this volume, with a special focus on understanding the very strong relationship between health and wealth that has been found in the HRS.
Electromagnetic Surface Wave Propagation over a Bonded Wire Mesh

The electromagnetic surface wave that can propagate over a square mesh of intersecting parallel wires is considered. A combined analytical and numerical method developed earlier is employed to deal with the interacting wire currents. For small mesh spacings, the propagation constant is found to be almost independent of the azimuthal direction of propagation. This is in agreement with previous results obtained by Soviet investigators who utilize averaged boundary conditions for analyzing such bonded wire meshes. However, for larger wire spacings, greater than about one tenth of a wavelength, there is a significant dependence on the direction of propagation over the mesh. The validity of describing the wire mesh in terms of an effective transfer inductance and related questions are discussed briefly in the Appendix.
Comparison of sampling methods for carbonaceous aerosols in ambient air

Measurement methods for fine particle carbon were compared under field sampling conditions. Sampling methods included filtration, impaction, and adsorption-corrected filtration. Systems were operated side-by-side for nine consecutive days in the Los Angeles Basin. Analytical methods were compared separately. For organic carbon and total carbon, ambient measurements showed greater variability than could be accounted for by differences in analytical methods, and these differences are attributed to sampling methodology. The highest reported concentrations were obtained by quartz filter sampling; the lowest were from the sum of the impactor stages (excluding the quartz afterfilters). Positive artifact from the adsorption of gaseous vapors on quartz fiber filters was significant. However, correction for vapor adsorption by subtraction of the carbon value on the second of two filters in series did not completely eliminate the dependence of the apparent total aerosol carbon concentration on filter face velocity ...
Anxiety Sensitivity, Coping Motives, Emotion Dysregulation, and Alcohol-Related Outcomes in College Women: A Moderated-Mediation Model

Objective:The present study examined the relation of anxiety sensitivity to alcohol-related outcomes via coping drinking motives in college women. Further, the impact of emotion dysregulation on the mediational path between anxiety sensitivity and alcohol-related outcomes was investigated.Method:A sample of 223 female undergraduate drinkers from a midwestern university completed self-report surveys assessing alcohol consumption, alcohol-related problems, anxiety sensitivity, coping drinking motives, and emotion dysregulation.Results:Anxiety sensitivity was indirectly related to both alcohol-related problems and alcohol use via coping motives. The indirect effect of anxiety sensitivity on alcohol-related problems (but not alcohol use) was qualified by the level of emotion dysregulation. As individuals reported more emotion dysregulation, the strength of the relation between coping drinking motives and alcohol-related problems increased.Conclusions:Results replicate and extend the link between anxiety sensi...
Analysis of the seismic origin of landslides: Examples from the New Madrid seismic zone

By analyzing two landslides in the New Madrid seismic zone, we develop an approach for judging if a landslide or group of landslides of unknown origin was more likely to have formed as a result of earthquake shaking or in aseismic conditions. The two landslides analyzed are representative of two groups of land-slides that previous research on the geomorphology and regional distribution of landslides in this region indicates may have been triggered by the 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes. Slope-stability models of aseismic conditions show that neither landslide is likely to have formed aseismically even in unrealistically high ground-water conditions. Dynamic stability analysis using Newmark's method shows that both slides probably would have experienced large inertial displacements during earthquake shaking similar to that which occurred in 1811-1812; these displacements are large enough that catastrophic failure is highly probable. Thus, the stability analyses are consistent with other lines of evidence that these landslides formed as a result of strong earthquake shaking during the 1811-1812 earthquakes. Our analysis yields a general relationship between Newmark landslide displacement, earthquake shaking intensity, and the critical acceleration of a landslide. Using this relationship, we estimate the minimum shaking intensities required to trigger the types of landslides studied: an mb = 5.8 or M = 5.9 earthquake is the lower bound threshold at zero epicentral distance that could trigger catastrophic movement of typical block slides in the New Madrid seismic zone; for earth flows, mb = 5.4 or M = 5.3 is the threshold earthquake.
Plant regeneration in Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) via coleoptile tissue cultures.

Plant regeneration in Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L. cv. Touchdown) via culture of seedling tissues was investigated. When coleoptile, leaf, and stem sections of dark-germinated seedlings were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium, different types of callus were produced, depending on the expiant source and growth regulator combinations. Only compact-friable callus (type 3) and moderately compact, friable callus (type 2) produced shoots upon subculture. The nonstructured watery callus (type 4) produced roots without shoots. Shoot differentiation from callus tissues was highest when the culture medium contained 0.2 mgL−1 picloram + 0.01 mgL−1 α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA). Calli grown from coleoptiles had higher shoot regeneration frequency (32%) than that obtained from either stem sections (12%) or young leaf tissues (2%) of the same seedlings. Some organogenic callus lines produced exclusively green plants, while others produced albino shoots or a mixture of green and albino shoots. The green plants were multiplied in a medium containing 0.1 mgL−1 BAP plus either 0.2 mgL−1 picloram or 0.1 mgL−1 indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). Over 90% of the cultures in the shoot proliferation medium produced roots in 4 weeks. The rooted plants were successfully established in soil medium and grown in the greenhouse.
The Influence of Diet on the Use of Near-Infrared Spectroscopy to Determine the Age of Female Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes

Interventions targeting adult mosquitoes are used to combat transmission of vector-borne diseases, including dengue. Without available vaccines, targeting the primary vector, Aedes aegypti, is essential to prevent transmission. Older mosquitoes (≥ 7 days) are of greatest epidemiological significance due to the 7-day extrinsic incubation period of the virus. Age-grading of female mosquitoes is necessary to identify post-intervention changes in mosquito population age structure. We developed models using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to age-grade adult female Ae. aegypti. To determine if diet affects the ability of NIRS models to predict age, two identical larval groups were fed either fish food or infant cereal. Adult females were separated and fed sugar water ± blood, resulting in four experimental groups. Females were killed 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, or 16 days postemergence. The head/thorax of each mosquito was scanned using a near-infrared spectrometer. Scans from each group were analyzed, and multiple models were developed using partial least squares regression. The best model included all experimental groups, and positively predicted the age group (< or ≥ 7 days) of 90.2% mosquitoes. These results suggest both larval and adult diets can affect the ability of NIRS models to accurately assign age categories to female Ae. aegypti.
Fading Procedures and Oddity Learning in Kindergarten Children.

Abstract The effectiveness of three fading and two nonfading procedures were compared in training kindergarten children on an oddity problem in which shape was the relevant dimension. The fading procedures employed supplementary cues which were gradually eliminated during training. The cues included either saturating the odd stimulus with a red color, saturating the nonodd stimuli with a red color, or varying the degree of illumination of the nonodd stimuli. One nonfading group received training on a structurally simpler oddity problem prior to transfer to a more complex oddity problem, and a second nonfading group received the standard oddity training procedure. While significant differences in acquisition were not obtained between training groups, the oddity task performance and the results from a test of dimensional observation revealed that the fading procedures were differentially effective in transferring Ss′ observation from the dimension of the fading cue to that relevant for solution of the oddity problem.
Extension of Stone's task assignment model for distributed computer systems

The authors consider optimal static assignment of a group of communicating tasks among a set of processors. The assignment is based on the throughput metric optimality criteria by H.S. Stone (1977) which is the total cost for execution and interprocess communication. Stone's model is generalized with the addition of an important factor called processor connectivity. The scheme is necessary in situations where the processors need not exhibit full connectivity. It is shown that a graph-theoretic approach similar to that proposed by C.C. Shen and W.H. Tsai (1985) for a delay metric can be used to solve the ensuing problem and it is found empirically that the procedure is computationally more efficient for the throughput metric. >
Active-passive correlation spectroscopy: a new technique for identifying ocean color algorithm spectral regions.

A new active-passive airborne data correlation technique has been developed which allows the validation of existing in-water oceoan color algorithms and the rapid search, identification, and evaluation of new sensor band locations and algorithm wavelength intervals. Thus far, applied only in conjunction with the spectral curvature algorithm (SCA), the active-passive correlation spectroscopy (APCS) technique shows that (1) the usual 490-nm (center-band) chlorophyll SCA could satisfactorily be placed anywhere within the nominal 460-510-nm interval, and (2) two other spectral regions, 645-660 and 680-695 nm, show considerable promise for chlorophyll pigment measurement. Additionally, the APCS method reveals potentially useful wavelength regions (at 600 and about 670 nm) of very low chlorophyll-in-water spectral curvature into which accessory pigment algorithms for phycoerythrin might be carefully positioned. In combination, the APCS and SCA methods strongly suggest that significant information content resides within the seemingly featureless ocean color spectrum.
Online current testing

Testing professionals must choose the online VLSI testing technique most suitable for mission goals with respect to design complexity, fault coverage, safety level, and product value. Online current testing techniques provide potential solutions to reliability problems in a wide spectrum of fault-tolerant applications.
Regulation of Follicle-Stimulating Hormone-Receptor Messenger RNA in Hen Granulosa Cells Relative to Follicle Selection

Abstract Both the viability of hen prehierarchal follicles and subsequent differentiation associated with the selection of a single follicle per day into the preovulatory hierarchy depend on circulating FSH and the expression of FSH receptor (FSH-R) in granulosa cells. The present study addresses mechanisms that mediate both basal expression plus selective up-regulation of FSH-R mRNA in granulosa cells from prehierarchal follicles. Results demonstrate that FSH-R mRNA is both expressed and functional in granulosa cells collected from growing prehierarchal follicles as small as those of 1–2 mm in diameter, as indicated by rapid induction of steroidogenic acute regulatory (StAR) protein expression by FSH in vitro. Real-time polymerase chain reaction determined that relative FSH-R expression within the granulosa layer from individual prehierarchal follicles of 6–8 mm in diameter was similar among the 8–13 follicles within this cohort, with the notable exception that the granulosa layer from a single follicle ...
Effect of endotoxin administration on heart glycolytic enzyme activities in normal and diabetic dogs.

AbstractThe effects of Escherichia coli endotoxin administration on the activities of key glycolytic enzymes in normal and alloxan-diabetic dog hearts were studied and the results were correlated with changes in plasma glucose concentrations. Normal dogs had a fasting plasma glucose concentration of 100 mg%, which was increased to 130 mg% 1 hr posten-dotoxin, then followed by a progressive decrease at 2 hr and thereafter to hypoglycemic levels (68 mg% at 4 hr). Diabetic dogs had a fasting plasma glucose concentration of 360 mg%, which was decreased to and maintained at 250 mg% at 2 and 4 hr following endotoxin injection. Hexokinase activity was not significantly different between the normal and diabetic dogs (P = 0.09). After endotoxin injection hexokinase activity tended to increase at 2 to 4 hr (P = 0.056) but it did not respond differently between the two groups, normal versus diabetic (P = 0.29). Phosphofructokinase activity was not different between normal and diabetic dogs (P = 0.49). After endotoxi...
Cost effectiveness of articulated buses when passenger time is treated as a cost

Abstract Simulations are used to estimate the impact on passenger time of a switch to articulated buses. The simulations are run under a variety of assumptions about bus operating characteristics and passenger behavior. The general implications are that articulated buses impose a fairly large time cost on passengers in high-density, short-haul routes. They are at less of a disadvantage on the long-haul routes, but even here their cost-effectiveness comes into question when the value of passenger time is taken into account. Those transit properties with articulated buses should consider concentrating them on their long-haul lines. As real wages rise over time, the disadvantage of the large buses can be expected to increase.
The Langevin distribution on high dimensional spheres

The Langevin (or von-Mises) distribution L(μ,k,q) of a unit vector in Rq has been well studied for the cases of large samples (n? 8) and high concentrations (K? 8). Here we study it as q? 8. Interesting results are only obtained when we use L(μ,q½,q).
RELIGIOUS LEADERS AS POLICY ADVOCATES: THE YOUNGSTOWN STEEL MILL CLOSING

Religious organizations have always played a major role in the formulations of public policy. In the case of plant closings and mass unemployment, religious organizations have always assumed a leadership role in comforting and caring for workers and families under distress from job loss. Recently, religious organizations have broken from this traditional role to become advocates and actors in the politics of plant closings, economic development, and worker ownership. In this article, the efforts of religious organizations spawned by the closing of Youngstown Sheet and Tube are examined.
‘THE ROOTING OUT OF MAU MAU FROM THE MINDS OF THE KIKUYU IS A FORMIDABLE TASK’: PROPAGANDA AND THE MAU MAU WAR*

Despite the recent proliferation of scholarship on the Mau Mau rebellion, little attention has been paid to the ‘propaganda war’ it generated. The absence is especially striking given the importance that both the British and Mau Mau fighters attached to success in the battle for the ‘hearts and minds’ of Kenya's African population. This article analyzes the production of colonial propaganda – and its reception by Africans – in the ‘Emergency’, revealing how its themes and strategies changed over the course of the 1950s. Despite vast resources pumped into this effort, both African and British testimonies reveal that this propaganda had only limited success until government forces gained the upper hand in the military war against Mau Mau in late 1954. After that point, the increased level of control in Central Province enabled officials to finally best the efforts of skilled Mau Mau propagandists.
Calculation of susceptibility through multiple orientation sampling (COSMOS): a method for conditioning the inverse problem from measured magnetic field map to susceptibility source image in MRI.

Magnetic susceptibility differs among tissues based on their contents of iron, calcium, contrast agent, and other molecular compositions. Susceptibility modifies the magnetic field detected in the MR signal phase. The determination of an arbitrary susceptibility distribution from the induced field shifts is a challenging, ill-posed inverse problem. A method called “calculation of susceptibility through multiple orientation sampling” (COSMOS) is proposed to stabilize this inverse problem. The field created by the susceptibility distribution is sampled at multiple orientations with respect to the polarization field, B0, and the susceptibility map is reconstructed by weighted linear least squares to account for field noise and the signal void region. Numerical simulations and phantom and in vitro imaging validations demonstrated that COSMOS is a stable and precise approach to quantify a susceptibility distribution using MRI. Magn Reson Med 61:196 –204, 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
ASSESSMENT OF THE DEGRADATION OF DENATURED ALBUMIN SOLDER BY HUMAN URINE

Purpose: Several studies have been undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of human serum albumin (HSA) as a solder in urologic procedures. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether albumin solder undergoes significant degradation in urine.Materials and Methods: Laser denatured 25% HSA pellets were incubated at 37C for varying times with 1 ml. of either pooled human urine or control diluent solution adjusted to the same pH and osmolality as urine. To assess the contribution of enzymatic degradation, aliquots of urine were boiled and compared with non-boiled urine and diluent. The amount of solubilized HSA in solution was measured using the Bradford assay, while the degradation of albumin was detected by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis.Results: Approximately 5% of the albumin was degraded over a period of 7 days following incubation at 37C, regardless of treatment. SDS-PAGE revealed only minor traces of degradation in urine and controls. The very slight degradation of denatured HSA appears to be non-enzymatic...
Above- and belowground biotic interactions facilitate relocation of plants into cooler environments

One important but largely unanswered question about floristic responses to climate change is how interactions such as competition, facilitation and plant-soil feedbacks will influence the ability of species to track shifting climates. In a rugged and moisture-limited region that has recently warmed by 2° (Siskiyou Mountains, OR, USA), we planted three species into cooler aspects and elevations than those they currently inhabit, with and without removal of neighbouring plants, and tracked them over 2 years. Two species had higher success in cooler topographic locations, and this success was enhanced by neighbouring plants, which appeared to modulate minimum growing season temperatures. One species' success was also facilitated by the higher soil organic matter found in cooler sites. These results are a novel experimental demonstration of two important factors that may buffer climate change impacts on plants: rugged topography and plant-plant facilitation.
Retrograde amnesia and selective damage to the hippocampal formation: memory for places and object discriminations

Using a within-subjects design, rats were trained on two place-memory problems and five object-discrimination problems at different intervals prior to receiving either ibotenate lesions of the hippocampal formation or sham surgery. Places c 1 and 2 were fixed-platform water-maze tasks that were run in different rooms and they were learned during the 14th and 2nd week before surgery, respectively. Object-discrimination problems c 1‐5 were learned during the 13th, 10th, 7th, 4th, and 1st week before surgery, respectively. Rats with hippocampal lesions displayed impaired retention of both Place problems with no evidence of a temporal gradient to the impairment. In contrast to their retrograde place-memory deficits, the hippocampal rats displayed normal retention of the five object-discriminations that were learned before surgery. Hippocampal lesions had similar consequences for anterograde learning, as the lesioned rats were impaired in acquisition of a new water-maze problem that was run in a third room (Place c3), whereas they showed normal acquisition of two new object-discriminations. The findings indicate that the hippocampal formation is not required for long-term consolidation of information underlying accurate performance of object-discriminations, and that its critical role in memory for places persists for at least 14 weeks, and probably for as long as those memories exist. © 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Partial depletion region collapse and its impact on transient capacitance measurements

We investigate capacitance transients under various experimental conditions on a number of different amorphous silicon Schottky barrier device structures. The samples differ mainly in their back contact configuration, which is non-ohmic for one type of sample and ohmic for the second type of samples. Anomalous transients can be observed for all samples regardless of the back contact if the depletion region is only partially collapsed by partial voltage pulsing. We find that samples without an ohmic back contact show a slowly rising capacitance during the filling pulse. These samples show anomalous capacitance transients for short filling pulses.
Photoemission spectral lineshapes from metal overlayers

Abstract Photoelectron spectral peaks derived from bulk band-to-band transitions contain information on band structure and quasiparticle lifetime. However, the lineshapes can be significantly distorted by surface photoemission and final-state broadening. The latter is often a dominant source of peak width and may be strongly dependent on the experimental geometry. The use of a thin film sample provides an alternate method of resolving k and removes the dependence on the matrix element and final states from the measurement. Many thin film systems display quantum-well peaks in their photoemission spectra, but in the typical case, the line widths are dominated by interfacial and surface roughness. It has been demonstrated that films that are atomically uniform over the area used for measurement can be grown. In such films broadening due to roughness is eliminated, and the observed peak widths are directly related to the quasiparticle lifetime. The film behaves like an optical interferometer. Imperfection of this interferometer, such as scattering or leakage at the boundaries, introduces additional broadening, but this contribution can be accounted for using a Fabry–Perot analysis. Quantum-well peaks derived from the sp band can be resolved in films of Ag on Fe(100) to thicknesses in excess of 100 ML. Application of the Fabry–Perot model to data covering a large thickness range yields an accurate band-structure determination, quasiparticle lifetimes, as well as properties of the well including the interfacial reflectivity and phase shift. Through a study of the temperature dependence of the spectra, the contribution to the lifetime width due to phonon scattering can be determined. This results in a value for the electron–phonon mass-enhancement parameter λ. The observation of quantum well states is not limited to sp-derived states: the Ag d bands also provide discrete states, although the range of film thicknesses over which they are observable is more limited than for the sp-derived states.
Nonlinear relativistic optics in the single-cycle, single-wavelength regime with kilohertz repetition rate

Summary form only given. Laser intensity in the relativistic regime, i.e. > 10/sup 18/ W/cm/sup 2/ for near-IR light, has opened new frontiers in physics. At this intensity, electrons acquire quiver energy greater than, 0.5 MeV, corresponding to the mass-energy of the electron. Their relativistic behavior is dominated by a mass increase and a large ponderomotive force (v /spl times/ B) where v is the quiver velocity of the electrons and B the light magnetic field. The laser-matter interaction in this regime is characterized by the generation of high-energy photons (x-rays and /spl gamma/-rays) and energetic electrons and ion. The latter are accelerated to tens of MeVs by the large forces associated with the v /spl times/ B term. Recently, we have shown that single millijoule pulses in the 10-fs regime (single cycle), focused to 1-/spl mu/m (single wavelength), can produce intensities greater than 10/sup 19/ W/cm/sup 2/ at kilohertz repetition rates. Because of their very short Rayleigh range (/spl sim/1 /spl mu/m) one might think that these pulses would have only limited applications. They would not be useful in electron acceleration, where longer interaction distances are necessary. If the laser numerical aperture (NA) is matched to the NA of a relativistic waveguide (determined by the laser power and the plasma frequency), single-mode propagation of the relativistic pulse over many Rayleigh ranges can be obtained, as in conventional waveguide optics. This is demonstrated by a 2D PIC simulation of laser pulse matching with a plasma slab.
Synthesis and pharmacology of site-specific cocaine abuse treatment agents: 2-(aminomethyl)-3-phenylbicyclo[2.2.2]- and -[2.2.1]alkane dopamine uptake inhibitors.

As part of a program to develop site-specific medications for cocaine abuse, a series of 2-(aminomethyl)-3-phenylbicyclo[2.2.2]- and -[2.2.1]alkane derivatives was synthesized and tested for inhibitory potency in [3H]WIN 35,428 binding and [3H]dopamine uptake assays using rat striatal tissue. Selected compounds were tested for their ability to substitute for cocaine in rat drug discrimination tests. Synthesis was accomplished by a series of Diels−Alder reactions, using cis- and trans-cinnamic acid derivatives (nitrile, acid, acid chloride) with cyclohexadiene and cyclopentadiene. Standard manipulations produced the aminomethyl side chain. Many of the compounds bound with high affinity (median IC50 = 223 nM) to the cocaine binding site as marked by [3H]WIN 35,428. Potency in the binding assay was strongly enhanced by chlorine atoms in the 3- and/or 4-position on the aromatic ring and was little affected by corresponding methoxy groups. In the [2.2.2] series there was little difference in potency between ci...
Characterization of equine vocalization

Abstract Bioacoustics is the study of sound in animals and includes, but is not limited to, animal communication with associated behavior, sound production anatomy and neurophysiology, auditory capacities and auditory mechanisms, and animal welfare. The present research investigates the vocalizations of horses during stressful situations. Stress can be positive or negative. Distress is anything that affects the animal in a negative way, such as in mare and foal separation. Eustress is anything that affects the animal in a positive way, such as morning feeding time in a horse barn. The purpose of the current research is to find spectral differences in the recorded vocalizations of stalled horses that indicate both distress and eustress using the Hidden Markov Model (HMM). Greenwood Function Cepstral Coefficient values suggest that there are spectral differences between vocalizations in a distress and eustress situation. These consistent results indicate that further research to obtain and evaluate vocalizations of horses may provide a productive tool in understanding equine welfare.
Specific challenges in treating breast cancer in pregnant women

SUMMARY A cancer diagnosis during pregnancy presents a challenge to practitioners and patients. Often diagnosis is delayed. There are limited prospective case series and scant long-term neonatal and maternal data on which to base treatment plans. Also, the majority of pregnancy-associated case series include women diagnosed with breast cancer up to 1 year postpartum. The later-diagnosed group has a poorer prognosis and should be evaluated separately. To avoid attributing breast masses to pregnancy-related changes, masses should be evaluated as if the patient were not pregnant. Mammography, MRI, ultrasound, mastectomy and lumpectomy, axillary dissection, sentinel lymph node biopsy and even chemotherapy during the second and third trimesters can be considered for the pregnant patient with breast cancer.
Lessons from the Cambodian Experience with Truth and Reconciliation

Written for a symposium on truth and reconciliation in South Korea, this article offers lessons from the Cambodian experience with truth and reconciliation. Cambodia might be a counter-intuitive case study given that it has never convened a formal truth and reconciliation commission, yet offers important lessons for South Korea and other states seeking to meet the needs of survivors of abusive regimes. We present two central claims drawn from the Cambodian experience of truth and reconciliation. First, local civil society should be engaged as a central player in truth and reconciliation initiatives. Second, the Cambodian example offers lessons about the role of institutional sequencing in transitional justice efforts, particularly the sometimes unexpected ways in which more traditional institutions create political space for more innovative and effective mechanisms.
Role of prior illness, stress, and personality in predicting illness.

A relationship between number and severity of stressors, coping skills, personality, and physical health has been reported by several investigators (3, 6 ) . To examine further the reported relationship and evaluate the role of prior illness six questionnaires, College Schedule of Recent Life Events ( I ) , Seriousness of Illness Rating Scale (2), Psychogenic Attitude Scales of the Millon Behavioral Health Inventory ( 5 ) , Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale ( 7 ) , and the Alienation Test of the Hardiness measure ( 4 ) were administered to 139 college students. Of these subjects 116 were retested G rno. later on the illness, life change, and alienation measures. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that current illness at 6-mo. retesting was related to test Time 1 variables (multiple R2 = 38, p < .001), but the only significant contribution to the prediction was level of prior illness.' Previous srudies examining stress, personality, and illness which did not include prior illness as a predictor variable may be overstating the case for psychosocial contributors to illness. To determine fully the impact of stressors, coping skills, social support, and personalicy variables on patients' illness level, prior illness should be controlled or included in regression analyses.
Miracles and the limits of medical knowledge.

In considering whether medical miracles occur, thelimits of epistemology bring us to confront ourmetaphysical worldview of medicine and nature ingeneral. This raises epistemological questions of ahigher order. David Hume's understanding of miraclesas violations of the laws of nature assumes thatnature is completely regular, whereas doctrines suchas C. S. Peirce's ``tychism'' hold that there is anelement of absolute chance in the workings of theuniverse. Process philosophy gives yet another viewof the working of nature. Physicians have noepistemological grounds for declaring any cure to bemiraculous. Miracles are theological (orphilosophical) entities, and not medical entities. All physicians can do is to determine whether or nota cure is scientifically inexplicable according to thecurrent epistemological standards of medical science. As these standards change, what is currentlyunexplainable may become explainable. However, we canalso come to realize that our current explanations arein fact unsatisfactory. Our justifications ofknowledge claims about miracles will depend on ourviews about determinism and indeterminism. If theuniverse is not a deterministic one, we should be opento the possibility of encountering what appear to usas sui generis events. These would not beviolations of immutable laws of nature, butmanifestations of the true workings of nature, andcertainly causes for wonder.
Rediscovery and cladistic placement of the Genus Cainosternum (Coleoptera: Leiodidae)

Until now, the monotypic North American genus Cainosternum Notman was known only from the unique female holotype collected in Chautauqua County, N.Y., near Westfield. A male and female specimen of C. imbricatum Notman reported here are from the southern Appalachians of western North Carolina (Macon County, near Highlands), where they were collected from rhododendron leaf litter near a stream above 900 m elevation. A generic diagnosis, redescription of C. imbricatum Notman, illustrations of diagnostic characters, and discussions of cladistic and ecological relationships are given. Cainosternum is provisionally assigned to the tribe Agathidiini (=Anisotomini) on the basis of sexually dimorphic tarsomere numbers, a putative synapomorph for the tribe.
Laboratory and Field Evaluation of Selected Pesticides for Control of the Red Crayfish in California Rice Fields

In recent years the weir boxes and earthen checks in rice fields in the Sacramento, California, area have been severely undermined by the soil-burrowing habits of the red crayfish, Procambarus Clari (Gerard), thus allowing water to escape and interfering with proper irrigation procedures. The toxicity of 9 insecticides tested in laboratory experiments against the red crayfish are in decreasing order: mention, methyl parathion, Durban® ( ODO -th ethyl. O -(3, 5, 6-trichloro-2-pyridyl) Phosphor ohio-ate). parathion, fielding, carbonyl, Agritox® ( O -ethyl O -2, 4, 5-trichlorophenyl ethylphosphonothioate), Mobil MG-A-600 (Benson[ b [thien-4-ylmethylcarbamate), and Adoring® ( 3 -hydroxy- N -methyl- CISC -croon amide dimethyl phosphate). The LC50 values for mention, methyl parathion, and Durban were 0.022, 0.041, and 0.041 ppm respectively. Field tests indicated that mention at a rate of 0.1. lb per ½ acre-foot was excellent in control of crayfish early in the rice-growing season but was less effective as a dense plant cover developed.