cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Third generation sequencing revises the molecular karyotype for Toxoplasma gondii and identifies emerging copy number variants in sexual recombinants

ABSTRACT Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite that has a significant impact on human health, especially in the immunocompromised. This parasite is also a useful genetic model for intracellular parasitism given its ease of culture in the laboratory and relevant animal models. However, as for many other eukaryotes, the T. gondii genome is incomplete, containing hundreds of sequence gaps due to the presence of repetitive and/or uncloneable sequences that prevent complete telomere-to-telomere de novo chromosome assembly. Here, we report the first use of single molecule DNA sequencing to generate near complete de novo genome assemblies for T. gondii and its near relative, N. caninum. Using the Oxford Nanopore Minion platform, we dramatically improved the contiguity of the T. gondii genome (N50 of ∼6.6Mb) and increased overall assembled sequence compared to current reference sequences by ∼2 Mb. Multiple complete chromosomes were fully assembled as evidenced by clear telomeric repeats on the end of each contig. Interestingly, for all of the Toxoplasma gondii strains that we sequenced (RH, CTG, II×III F1 progeny clones CL13, S27, S21, and S26), the largest contig ranged in size between 11.9 and 12.1 Mb in size, which is larger than any previously reported T. gondii chromosome. This was due to a repeatable and consistent fusion of chromosomes VIIb and VIII. These data were further validated by mapping existing T. gondii ME49 Hi-C data to our assembly, providing parallel lines of evidence that the T. gondii karyotype consists of 13, rather than 14, chromosomes. In addition revising the molecular karyotype we were also able to resolve hundreds of repeats derived from both coding and non-coding tandem sequence expansions. For well-known host-targeting effector loci like rhoptry protein 5 (ROP5) and ROP38, we were also able to accurately determine the precise gene count, order and orientation using established assembly approaches and the most likely primary sequence of each using our own assembly correction scripts tailored to correcting homopolymeric run errors in tandem sequence arrays. Finally, when we compared the T. gondii and N. caninum assemblies we found that while the 13 chromosome karyotype was conserved, we determined that previously unidentified large scale translocation events occurred in T. gondii and N. caninum since their most recent common ancestry.
Review: From the River to the Sea: Palestine and Israel in the Shadow of “Peace,” edited by Mandy Turner

From the River to the Sea: Palestine and Israel in the Shadow of “Peace,” edited by Mandy Turner. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2019. 354 pages. $110.00 cloth, $104.50 e-book. From the River to the Sea examines the current context of various communities in Israel/Palestine more than twenty-five years after the Oslo Accords. While the contributors vary in their views regarding what the future holds for the region, they approach the topic as “an unjust and violent colonial situation that must be documented, opposed and resolved in a way that advances human dignity and rights” (p. x). This is not an introductory-level text, but rather is aimed at those with basic knowledge about the region, given the authors' sophisticated arguments and detailed discussions that involve a range of political actors, agreements, and geographical contexts. In keeping with the principle that research can be “objective” but cannot be “neutral” (p. ix), the contributors in this volume critically examine the “victor's peace” that has resulted from the Oslo process. More specifically, the authors seek to transform international public perception of the situation through their scholarship (p. x). The book's eleven chapters can be divided into three sections. The first four chapters provide a critical examination of the Oslo agreements and their consequences for Palestinians, with chapters that explore the impact of the Oslo Accords on local Palestinian politics and economy. The second section explores …
Pediatric lung transplantation: Dynamics of the microbiome and bronchiolitis obliterans in cystic fibrosis

BACKGROUND Compositional changes in the microbiome are associated with the development of bronchiolitis obliterans (BO) after lung transplantation (LTx) in adults with cystic fibrosis (CF). The association between the lower airway bacterial community and BO after LTx in children with CF remains largely unexplored and is possibly influenced by frequent antibiotic therapy. The objectives of this study were to examine the relationship between bacterial community dynamics and the development of BO and analyze antibiotic resistance trends in children after LTx for CF. METHODS For 3 years from the time of transplant, 12 LTx recipients were followed longitudinally, with 5 subjects developing BO during the study period. A total of 82 longitudinal bronchoalveolar lavage samples were collected during standard of care bronchoscopies. Metagenomic shotgun sequencing was performed on the extracted microbial DNA from bronchoalveolar lavage specimens. Taxonomic profiling was constructed using WEVOTE pipeline. The longitudinal association between development of BO and temporal changes in bacterial diversity and abundance were evaluated with MetaLonDA. The analysis of antibiotic resistance genes was performed with the ARGs-OAP v2.0 pipeline. RESULTS All recipients demonstrated a Proteobacteria-predominant lower airways community. Temporal reduction in bacterial diversity was significantly associated with the development of BO and associated with neutrophilia and antibiotic therapy. Conversely, an increasing abundance of the phylum Actinobacteria and the orders Neisseriales and Pseudonocardiales in the lower airways was significantly associated with resilience to BO. A more diverse bacterial community was related to a higher expression of multidrug resistance genes and increased proteobacterial abundance. CONCLUSIONS Decreased diversity within bacterial communities may suggest a contribution to pediatric lung allograft rejection in CF.
Angioedema: A potential complication of dupilumab in atopic dermatitis.

Dupilumab is a relatively new and quite effective medication for recalcitrant atopic dermatitis in patients over 6 years of age. Here, we present a 12-year-old girl with progressively worsening episodic facial swelling and erythema while treated with dupilumab. This case highlights the possibility of angioedema as an adverse effect of dupilumab treatment.
Intelligent Mobile Electrocardiogram Monitor-empowered Personalized Cardiac Big Data*

Smart health big data is quickly driving the healthcare field and bringing numerous new opportunities. Cardiac disease is a leading cause of death worldwide, and the personalized cardiac big data is expected to offer new strategies and possibilities for cardiac health management. The standard 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) has been a gold standard of cardiac health measurement for decades. However, there is still lack of effective ways to monitor 12-lead ECG in our daily lives, which is a critical obstacle towards personalized cardiac big data. In this study, we have proposed and validated a mobile 3-lead ECG monitoring system that can reconstruct the standard 12-lead ECG, offering a much greater usability for daily ECG tracking compared with the traditional 12-lead ECG system. Moreover, the system is able to deal with severe motion artifacts during daily physical exercises and yield high-fidelity ECG reconstruction, leveraging a deep recurrent neural network. A multi-stage long short-term memory network has been proposed to reconstruct the robust 12-lead ECG from the noisy 3-lead ECG. This motion artifacts-tolerant ability is highly important, considering that users may perform diverse and random physical activities, which will inevitably contaminate or even corrupt the ECG signal. The reconstruction error is as low as 0.069, and the correlation coefficient is as high as 0.84. This unobtrusive and motion-tolerant mobile ECG monitoring system has been validated on human data and demonstrated the feasibility to continuously establish the personalized cardiac big data. This research is highly encouraging and is expected to be able to significantly advance big data-driven cardiac health management.
Knowledge management in the public sector: a blueprint for innovation in government

Historical foundations of KM -- KM : a self-regulating social system -- The technology and processes subsystem -- Knowledge processes and policy directives -- Principles and processes in implementing KM -- Building a collaborative learning culture -- KM and organizational learning -- KM and innovation in government -- Knowledge management in the public sector -- The public-sector chief knowledge officer -- Knowledge management at NASA / Edward Hoffman, Jon Boyle, and Anthony J. Maturo -- KM at the army's communications-electronics command / Susan L. Kappi -- KM at the Virginia Department of Transportation / Maureen L. Hammer -- Conclusion : knowledge management's role in the drive to transform government.
SN1987A Pulsar Velocity From Modified URCA Processes and Landau Levels

Using a recent estimate of the velocity of pulsars arising from neutrinos emitted with modified URCA processes with electrons in Landua levels, and the temperture of the protoneutron star created by SN1987A, derived from the energy of the observed neutrinos, we predict the velocity of the resulting pulsar.
Collaborative community-supported agriculture: balancing community capitals for producers and consumers.

Sustainability for local food producers requires a balance of supply (from producers) with demand (from consumers) in the face of volatile weather and prices. Community-supported agriculture (CSA) attempts to achieve that balance through communication and commitments between producers and consumers, which depend on relationships and trust. These relationships and the trust they can generate are multidimensional and complex. We use the community capitals framework, looking at expectations and benefits in terms of natural, cultural, human, social, political, financial and built stocks and flows of assets, as the analytical tool to examine the expectations and realizations of past and current producers and consumers in collaborative CSAs (cCSAs), a particular kind of CSAs that require more relationships than single farmer CSAs. Producers and consumers who receive multiple ‘goods’ from the cCSAs are more likely to continue their associations. cCSAs can be organized in a variety of ways that develop more than economic benefits for producers and consumers, including social capital, cultural capital, human capital, and political capital, as well as providing a wider range and stability of foods. Surveying producers and consumers – past and present – from three of the four cCSAs in the US state of Iowa, which is dominated by industrial agriculture, we found that those who participated based on satisfying multiple capitals were more likely to maintain participation over time and were more satisfied with the experience. Producers and consumers, who defined the cCSA experience as social and political, as well as economic, were more likely to maintain and expand their participation. Producers that started out in collaborative CSAs and defined their activities based on multiple capitals often used the experience as a business incubator to begin individual CSAs and to expand the variety of food produced. cCSA structures that evolve to maximize multiple capitals for individual producers and consumers proved most sustainable and demonstrate the interactive nature of successful structures for on-going farmer–consumer relationships.
Calibration of a wideband FMCW radar used for microwave SAR imaging

A wide band FMCW radar has been used for microwave synthetic aperture imaging of objects embedded in dielectric medium. Initial images formed the system where highly distorted due to numerous phase errors, the system has been calibrated through the use of a number of different calibrations. The two main types of errors are (1) the hardware system itself and (2) the phase terms in the received signal. The errors were eliminated by either changing the hardware system or developing a suitable algorithm in software to account for the error in the system. This system will be used for nondestructive evaluation and ocean wave scatterometery experiments. >
Constrained Minimization Conditions

We turn now, in this final part of the book, to the study of minimization problems having constraints. We begin by studying in this chapter the necessary and sufficient conditions satisfied at solution points. These conditions, aside from their intrinsic value in characterizing solutions, define Lagrange multipliers and a certain Hessian matrix which, taken together, form the foundation for both the development and analysis of algorithms presented in subsequent chapters.
The Imperial Scholar Revisited: How to Marginalize Outsider Writing, TenYears Later

Investigates the state of affairs now that critical race theorists and radical feminists have entered the legal academy in substantial numbers. Revisits the original article, The Imperial Scholar, and explores whether the new generation of majority-race (white) scholars continue to operate in an insular fashion that marginalizes outsider and minority writers. Documents how the descendants of the original imperial scholars -- white academics writing about race in the top reviews -- although younger and hipper than the original versions, continue the same exclusionary pattern of neglect and non-citation. Concludes that those who control the terms of discourse will marginalize outsider writing as long as possible.
The Metabolism of Cyclopropane Fatty Acids by Tetrahymena pyriformis

Abstract Cyclopropane fatty acids are readily metabolized by whole cells of Tetrahymena pyriformis when the fatty acids are presented either as components of intact Escherichia coli cells or as free fatty acids added to the medium. cis-11,12-[methylene-14C]Methyleneoctadecanoic acid was degraded with the production of 14CO2 by whole T. pyriformis cells or a particulate fraction derived from them. In the presence of malonate, [2-14C]acetate was formed. A pathway for degradation of the cyclopropane fatty acids, requiring only minor modification of the usual β oxidation pathway, is proposed.
Economics of the Internet

There are several features of the Internet that are unique and give rise to new competition in business. As Shapiro and Varian point out, the cost of producing information is quite high but the cost of disseminating information is generally quite low. Keywords: network externalities; switching costs; lock in
Development of an integrated predictive MHD space weather model from the solar surface to the Earth's upper atmosphere

Abstract Taking advantage of the advent of massively parallel computers, sophisticated solution-adaptive techniques, and recent fundamental advances in basic numerical methods we have developed a high performance, adaptive-scale MHD code capable of resolving many of the critical processes in the Sun-Earth system which range over more than 9 orders of magnitude in scale size. The development of such models are of increasing importance as the impact of space weather on vulnerable technological systems increases, and too, as the severity of space weather increases with solar maximum. There is an increasing need to develop physics-based, high performance models of the Sun-Earth system-from the solar surface to the Earth's upper atmosphere-which can operate faster than real time and which can provide reliable predictions of the near Earth space environment based upon solar observations and upstream solar wind measurements. We report the status of the prototype development of a Comprehensive Space Environment Model for this purpose, to be composed of a core based upon the Michigan MHD code coupled to a high performance inner magnetosphere model and ionosphere/upper atmosphere model. The inner magnetosphere model and ionosphere/upper atmosphere models are derived from the Rice Convection Model (RCM) and the Thermosphere Ionosphere Electrodynamic General Circulation Model (TIEGCM) respectively, both reformulated for parallel operation using advanced numerics on adaptive grids with significantly higher spatial resolution.
ID: 53: cFLIPL-IRF3 interactions prevent IRF3 – Mediated gene expression

There are several cellular proteins whose over-expression is correlated to a poor prognosis for cancer survival. cFLIPL is one such protein, and one function that may be important in tumorigenesis is NF-kB activation. It previously was shown that cFLIPL inhibits the expression of the IFN-b gene, a gene controlled by NF-kB, IRF3 and AP1, suggesting that cFLIPL may affect other transcription factors. To solve this mystery, the effect of cFLIPL on IRF3 activation was interrogated. It was observed that ectopic expression of cFLIPL inhibited the transcription of a synthetic luciferase gene and cellular genes controlled by IRF3. cFLIPL expression did not prevent IRF3 phosphorylation, dimerization and nuclear localization. Instead, cFLIPL prevented IRF3:DNA interactions as detected by ChIP assays, and cFLIPL also co-immunoprecipitated with IRF3. Interestingly, cFLIPL acted in a multi-functional manner in the nucleus to inhibit IRF3 because cFLIPL also prevented IRF3:CBP interactions. Mutational analysis confirmed these interactions to be relevant. cFLIPS, an alternative splice form of cFLIP, did not disrupt IRF3:CBP interactions, prevent IRF3:DNA interactions or inhibit IRF3 activation. In contrast, the caspase-like domain (CLD) of cFLIPL was sufficient to inhibit all three of these events. These data show a novel function for cFLIPL in modulating innate immune responses To begin to understand whether cFLIP’s IRF3 inhibitory function may also contribute to tumorigenesis, we identified that the molecular mechanism of IRF3 inhibition occurs within the nucleus.
Who Turned Out the Lights? An Impressive Case of Melanosis Coli.

A 58-year-old man with a history of hemorrhoidectomy and chronic constipation presented for routine surveillance colonoscopy. He took an over-the-counter herbal laxative containing senna for constipation. The rectal mucosa showed a brownish discoloration in a moire pattern, characteristic of melanosis coli. Advancing beyond the rectum, the full circumference of colonic mucosa turned jet black in appearance (Figure 1). These findings persisted throughout the colon until the terminal ileum (Figure 2), Two random biopsies were consistent with melanosis coli.
Toward a Phylogenetic Classification of the Mammalia

Periodically it is worthwhile to assess our knowledge and understanding of mammalian phylogeny and one of its expressions, classification. This short paper is yet another attempt to do so, taking into account the results of recently published paleontological research and drawing heavily on work in progress by many researchers in many fields and in various parts of the world. Concepts of mammalian phylogeny and classification have changed markedly during the last few years. A good many of the ideas expressed here are frankly speculative, but they are presented anyway in order to determine how well they will stand scrutiny, especially by nonpaleontologists. A few years ago I prepared a paper with a similar aim (McKenna, 1969), but that paper is now outdated. In the present offering I attempt to update certain aspects of my previous review by taking into account research published since 1969, as well as work being incorporated into a new classification of the Mammalia now being prepared which wall deal with all taxonomic levels down to the subgeneric level in essentially the same style as Simpson’s (1945) classification.
Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Hereditary Nonpolyposis Colorectal Carcinoma

MutS and MutL are bacterial genes that have critical roles in DNA repair and recombination. Mutations in homologues of these genes cause hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal carcinoma and are implicated in some sporadic (nonhereditary) colorectal cancers. Molecular functions of these genes have been defined through extensive work in bacteria and yeast. This article reviews and explores molecular events that require MutS and MutL, including mismatch repair, homologous recombination, and gene conversion. The mechanisms of action of eukaryotic MutS and MutL homologues are compared with those of their prokaryotic counterparts, and the relevance of these mechanisms to tumorigenesis is discussed.
Critical versus tricritical phase transitions in symmetric electrolytes

Abstract In view of recent experimental results on phase transitions in symmetric electrolytes, we have critically reanalyzed our previous theoretical treatment of this problem [Phys. Lett. A 132 (1988) 347]. In this Letter we discuss the possibility of tricritical behavior in symmetric electrolytes. It is argued that the phase behavior of symmetric electrolytes could be well understood by employing the antiferromagnetic version of the Blume-Emery-Griffiths model. We provide a Landau-type analysis of this model which yields the exponents γ = 1 and β = 1 2 observed in recent experiments.
Intravenous immune globulin therapy for Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis complicated by hemolysis leading to pigment nephropathy and hemodialysis

Background Intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) is generally thought to be of relatively low risk for adverse events and some experts consider this to be the best treatment for Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis. Objective We evaluated the underlying cause of anemia and renal failure in 2 consecutive patients being treated with IVIG for Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis. Methods This is a retrospective chart review. Results We present 2 patients with Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis and severe hemolysis requiring blood transfusion who subsequently developed pigment nephropathy necessitating hemodialysis after treatment with IVIG. Both patients had antibodies to their ABO blood type detected in the eluate from their red blood cell membrane. Limitations This is a retrospective review with only 2 cases. Conclusions We propose that IVIG-associated hemolysis is an adverse reaction that may not be as rare as once thought, presenting as a mild decrease in hemoglobin and hematocrit. Antibodies to blood type A and B are given as part of pooled immune globulin and are considered to be the cause of hemolysis. More severe anemia requiring transfusion is less common, and the breakdown products produced by hemolysis can lead to pigment nephropathy and renal failure. We present methods by which this severe complication can be anticipated and managed more effectively.
Are antiemetics helpful in young children suffering from acute viral gastroenteritis

An 18 month old female is brought to the emergency department by her mother. She has been suffering from repeated vomiting and diarrhoea for the past 24 hours. Over the past eight hours she has vomited approximately 12 times. The vomitus has not contained any bile or blood. The little girl appears mildly dehydrated. Her stool tests positive for rotavirus. You wonder whether administration of an antiemetic may lessen her symptoms and increase the likelihood that oral rehydration therapy will be successful. In an 18 month old girl with rotavirus gastroenteritis [patient], does the administration of antiemetic medication [intervention] decrease vomiting and increase the likelihood that oral rehydration therapy will be successful [outcome]? Secondary sources: none. Medline 1966–July, 2004 using OVID interface: ondansetron OR promethazine OR metoclopramide OR antiemetics AND exp rotavirus infections OR exp Norwalk virus OR exp gastroenteritis OR exp enteritis OR exp transmissible gastroenteritis virus OR exp rotavirus Limits: human, English language, all infant …
Molecular diversity in Bacillus anthracis

Molecular typing of Bacillus anthracis has been extremely difficult due to the lack of polymorphic DNA markers. We have identified nine novel variable number tandemly repeated loci from previously known amplified fragment length polymorphism markers or from the DNA sequence. In combination with the previously known vrrA locus, these markers provide discrimination power to genetically characterize B. anthracis isolates. The variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) loci are found in both gene coding (genic) and non-coding (non-genic) regions. The genic differences are 'in frame' and result in additions or deletion of amino acids to the predicted proteins. Due the rarity of molecular differences, the VNTR changes represent a significant portion of the genetic variation found within B. anthracis. This variation could represent an important adaptive mechanism. Marker similarity and differences among diverse isolates have identified seven major diversity groups that may represent the only world-wide B. anthracis clones. The lineages reconstructed using these data may reflect the dispersal and evolution of this pathogen.
The design of floating-point data types

The issues involved in designing the floating-point part of a programming language are discussed. Looking at the language specifications for most existing languages might suggest that this design involves only trivial issues, such as whether to have one or two types of REALs or how to name the functions that convert from INTEGER to REAL. It is shown that there are more significant semantic issues involved. After discussing the trade-offs for the major design decisions, they are illustrated by presenting the design of the floating-point part of the Modula-3 language.
Inheritance of stomatal conductance in cotton (Gossypium barbadense)

Stomatal conductance in improved Pima cotton cultivars (Gossypium barbadense) has been previously shown to be positively associated with heat resistance and yield potential. In the present study we determined the mode of inheritance of stomatal conductance in crosses of six G. barbadense parents varying in origin, degree of agronomic development and stomatal conductance. Parents included a primitive tropical cotton (B368), two obsolete cultivars (St Vincent V135, Pima 32), one modern commercial line (Pima S-6) and two elite genotypes of the Pima germplasm (P70, P73). These lines showed distinct differences in stomatal conductance, under greenhouse and field conditions. The primitive B368 had the lowest conductance, and the elite lines the highest. Generation means analysis was used to quantify genetic effects in the crosses P70 × St Vincent V135, Pima S-6 × B368, Pima S-6 × Pima 32, P73 × Pima 32 and P73 × Pima S-6. Best-fit models of the inheritance of stomatal conductance varied in complexity from a simple additive-dominance model in the cross P70 × St. Vincent V135 to models displaying digenic epistatic interactions in the remaining crosses. Significant additive mean effects for stomatal conductance were detected in all crosses. Dominance mean effects were significant in the crosses P73 × Pima 32 and P73 × Pima S-6. Broadsense heritability estimates of stomatal conductance were relatively low (0.16–0.44) in all crosses except Pima S-6 × B368 (0.74). Results also show that the mode of inheritance of stomatal conductance is multigenic, and may have maternal as well as nuclear components. Recouping higher stomatal conductance levels from genetically wider crosses appears feasible and could proceed at a moderate rate. Fixing higher levels of stomatal conductance in populations from crosses of elite germplasm may be more difficult because of the presence of dominant mean effects and digenic epistatic interactions.
Migration, Transfers and Economic Decision Making among Agricultural Households: an Introduction

Abstract The increasing volume of remittances and public transfers in rural areas of the developing world has raised hopes that these inflows may serve as an effective mechanism for reducing poverty in the long term by facilitating investments and raising productivity, particularly in agriculture where market failures are most manifest. The seven papers in this special issue systematically test the relationship between transfers and productive spending amongst rural households in six different countries. Overall, the studies embrace a less optimistic view of the role of migration and public and private transfers on agriculture, with migration as facilitating a transition away from agriculture or to models of less labour intensive agriculture.
Infra-red spectroscopic characterization of the α→β phase transition in poly(tetramethylene terephthalate)

Abstract The mechanically induced crystal:crystal phase transition observed in poly(tetramethylene terephthalate) PTMT has been characterized using simultaneous stress, strain, and infrared measurements. Infrared data indicate that after the first deformation cycle the transition is reversible. Interconversion from α to β starts at a strain of 5% with the relative concentration of the 2 crystal phases in proportion to the applied strain up to 20%. Factor analysis of spectra collected over the course of a single deformation cycle indicates that the amorphous phase is not converted to either of the crystal phases.
Transesophageal echocardiography monitoring in the delivery of a preeclamptic parturient with severe left ventricular noncompaction

A multidisciplinary approach to the preterm delivery of a preeclamptic parturient with severe left ventricular (LV) noncompaction and pulmonary hypertension using transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) as a monitor of hemodynamic status in lieu of a pulmonary artery catheter during general anesthesia for Cesarean section is presented. This case adds to the available literature on LV noncompaction with pulmonary hypertension in preeclamptic parturients, and addresses the anesthetic concerns and approaches to management using echocardiography in these highly complex patients.
Revision of the bulbous Iridaceae of North America

The native bulbous Iridaceae of North America excluding Mexico comprise seven species in four genera. The type species ofAlophia Herb. (1836) is shown to belong toEustylis Engelm. & Gray (1836), hence the latter genus is reduced to synonymy. The well known genusAlophia (sensu auct. non Herb.) (Herbertia Sweet) now takes the nameTrifurcia. As a result of the new interpretation ofAlophia, new combinations are made for the North American and Latin American species ofTrifurcia andAlophia. New chromosome counts are given forNemastylis floridana (2n = 56) andTrifurcia lahue (2n = 56).
Pre-Colonial Institutions, Post-Colonial States, and Economic Development in Tropical Africa:

It is well known that Africa's development lags behind that of other regions. Lesser known is the substantial variance in development fortunes within Africa, with “miracle” economies compensating for the region's development disasters. Prevailing theories of Africa's average performance fail to account for intra-African disparities. Using empirical evidence from cross-sectional data, this study offers a new explanation for success and failure in African development, which builds upon the insights of neo-patrimonial theory. It argues that variations in the extent to which post-colonial state institutions clash with pre-existing ones largely account for what differentiates state capacity and economic growth across the region. The greater the incongruence between pre- and post-colonial institutions, the greater the relative power payoffs to domestic elites of adopting neo-patrimonial policies over developmental ones. The article challenges thereby the social capital and ethnic homogeneity theories of African...
Pulsed polarization spectroscopy with strong fields and an optically thick sample

The theory of pulsed polarization spectroscopy in the case of a saturating pump pulse and an optically thick sample is presented, both with and without inhomogeneous broadening. It is found that the molecular anisotropy produced by pumping an R- or P-branch transition is maximized by using a pulse whose flip angle is near 2π for the M component with the largest Rabi frequency. Calculations with no or extreme inhomogeneous broadening differ insignificantly. Such a pump pulse produces an anisotropy (and thus polarization rotation of the probe beam) of the opposite sign of that produced by weak-field excitation
Effects of Manipulation of Attributes on Efficiency of Concept Formation

In the typical concept formation experiment, instances of what a concept is and/or of what it is not are presented to Ss, and Ss' task is to determine the defining attributes of the concept. Ss may be required to make a response after each instance, indicating whether or not the instance represented the concept. Often several concepts are acquired simultaneously and Ss indicate after each instance which of the concepts has been presented by pressing an appropriate button (e.g., Archer, Bourne, & Brown, 1955) or giving an appropriate nonsense syllable (e.g., Heidbreder, 1947). In some studies no responses are made during a series of instances that define a single concept. At the conclusion of the series Ss attempt to define the concept (Hovland & Weiss, 1953; Glanzer & Huctenlocher, 1960). A major variation from these procedures with potential for increasing our understanding of inductive reasoning processes was introduced in a series of experiments carried out by Bruner, Goodnow, and Austin (1956). These authors studied the acquisition of single concepts and used a type of response that differed from those cited above. An entire set of instances containing the permutations of values for the attributes used was displayed to Ss. Ss selected instances and received information as to whether or not these were instances of the concept. Since Ss' responses, i.e., selection of instances, determined the succession of instances presented, their strategies for taking in information could be examined. While using a procedure similar to that of Bruner, Goodnow, and Austin to investigate che development of inductive reasoning in children, the present author noted that Ss of a given age seemed to have more difficulty acquiring a concept if they manipulated the attributes than if they were presented a series of instances. This observation was not made under controlled conditions and was confounded by the fact that manipulations carried out by Ss often involved redundant steps whereas those presented by E did not. The present study is designed to discover whether solution of inductive reasoning problems may be adversely affected when Ss conduct their own "experiment" of locating the defining attributes of concepts. METHOD
TH-E-330A-05: Reducing Metal Artifacts in Cone-Beam CT by Tracking and Eliminating Metal Shadows in Raw Projection Data

Purpose:CT streaky artifacts, caused by metallic implants such as fiducial markers or dental fillings, remain a challenge for automatic processing of image data. The effect of these metal artifacts is magnified in cone‐beam CT(CBCT)images due to the fact that the soft tissuecontrast is usually lower in these images and therefore is more sensitive to the artifacts. The goal of this study is to develop an effective offline processing technique to minimize the effect. Method and Materials: The geometry calibration cue of the CBCT system was used for tracking the position of the metal implant in the raw projection data. The 3D representation of the metallic object can be established from only two user‐selected viewing angles. The position of the shadowed region in any view can be accurately tracked by re‐projecting the 3D coordinates of the metal object. Then automatic image segmentation was performed to obtain a binary mask of the shadow at each projection angle. Finally, a Laplacian diffusion filter was used to replace the pixels in the masked region with the boundary pixels. The modified projection data were then sent back to the CBCTreconstruction engine to create a new CBCTimage. Varian's Trilogy system was used in this study. The procedure was tested phantoms and patient cases. Results: It was demonstrated that this procedure can significantly minimize the metal artifacts and at the same time restore soft tissuecontrast near the metallic object, even for the more difficult head and neck case with irregularly shaped dental fillings. Soft tissue visibility was improved drastically. Although not designed for on‐line applications, the processing time is approximately 1–2 second per projection on an Intel Pentium processor at 2.6GHz. Conclusion: We have implemented an effective metal artifact suppressing algorithm to improve the quality of CBCTimages.
An exact sum rule in optical activity

Abstract We prove that the lowest order contributions to the high frequency optical activity of any system is non-zero only if there are two or more electrons in the system.
Hyperthyroidism increases adenosine transport and metabolism in the rat heart

Hyperthyroidism induces a number of metabolic and physiological changes in the heart including hypertrophy, increase in inotropic status, and alterations of myocardial energy metabolism. The effects of hyperthyroidism on adenosine metabolism which is intimately involved in the control of many aspects of myocardial energetics, have not been clarified. The aim of this study was thus to evaluate the potential role of adenosine in the altered physiology of the hyperthyroid heart. Transport of adenosine was studied in cardiomyocytes isolated from hyperthyroid and euthyroid rats. Activities of different enzymes of purine metabolism were studied in heart homogenates and concentrations of nucleotide and creatine metabolites were determined in hearts freeze-clamped in situ. Both transport of adenosine into cardiomyocytes and the rate of intracellular phosphorylation were higher in the hyperthyroid rat. At 10 microM concentration, adenosine transport rates were 275 and 197 pmol/min/mg protein in hyperthyroid and euthyroid cardiomyocytes respectively whilst rates of adenosine phosphorylation were 250 and 180 pmol/min/mg prot. An even more pronounced difference was observed if values were expressed per number of cells due to cardiomyocyte enlargement. Hyperthyroidism was associated with a 20% increase in adenosine kinase, 30% decrease in membrane 5'-nucleotidase and 15% decrease in adenosine deaminase activities measured in heart homogenates. In addition there was a substantial depletion in the total creatine pool from 63.7 to 41.6 mumol/g dry wt, a small decrease in the adenylate pool (from 27.2 to 24.3 mumol/g dry wt) and an elevation of the guanylate pool (from 1.22 to 1.36). These results show that adenosine transport and phosphorylation capacity is enhanced in hyperthyroidism.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Electrically interconnected assemblies of microscale device components by printing and molding

This letter presents approaches for assembly and electrical interconnection of micro/nanoscale devices into functional systems with useful characteristics. Transfer printing techniques provide deterministic control over an assembly process that occurs prior to or simultaneously with a soft lithographic molding step that defines relief features in a receiving polymer. Filling these features with conducting materials that are processable in the form of liquids or pastes yields integrated interconnects and contacts aligned to the devices. Studies of the underlying aspects and application to representative systems in photovoltaics and solid state lighting indicators provide insights into the process and its practical use.
Lithium-conducting ionic melt electrolytes from polyether-functionalized fluorosulfonimide anions

Solvent-free lithium-conducting ionic melt (IM) electrolytes were synthesized and characterized with respect to chemical structure, purity, and ion transport properties. The melts consist of lithium (perfluorovinylether)sulfonimide salts attached covalently to a lithium-solvating polyether chain. Ionic conductivities are relatively high which is a consequence of the favorable combination of the low lattice energy of the lithium fluorosulfonimide salt (low basicity of the fluorosulfonimide anion), the relatively low viscosity of the polyether matrix, and the relatively high salt content of the melts. Galvanostatic dc polarization experiments, using cells with non-blocking Li electrodes, indicate that salt concentration polarization does not occur in these electrolytes as dc current is passed through them.
Policy implications from water pricing experiences in various countries

Abstract Water pricing can be used for improving water use efficiency. Prices, if accurately designed, give information to users, to make choices regarding water use. In practice water pricing schemes may be designed to meet many objectives, including political ones. This paper reviews water pricing experiences across 22 countries in various sectors and over time. The information shows that countries have different reasons for charging for water, including cost recovery, redistribution of income, improvement of water allocation and water conservation. The paper compares both the fixed and the variable rates for urban, agricultural and industrial sectors. Main findings are that fixed rates vary greatly between countries, while per unit rates are in a reasonable range. For urban and agricultural water, all developing countries, and some developed countries, set charges on the basis of average rather than marginal cost of supply. The willingness of countries to undertake water pricing reforms and successfully implement them cannot be solely explained by their water scarcity levels nor by the size of their budget deficits. However, high income countries are relatively more open to reforming water pricing policies.
Matrix analyses of interaction among fingers in static force production tasks

The fingers on a hand show interactions in force production tasks. The interfinger connection matrices (IFMs) quantify these interactions (Li et al. 2002; Zatsiorsky et al. 2002b; Danion et al. 2003). The goal of the present study was to explore the differences in the IFMs of individual subjects and, in particular, to establish a procedure that may be used in the future for diagnostic purposes. Subjects (n=20) pressed downward maximally with ten different combinations of the four fingers, index (I), middle (M), ring (R), and little (L): I, M, R, L, IM, MR, RL, IMR, MRL, and IMRL. Voluntary activation of a subset of the four fingers was accompanied by an involuntary force production by fingers that were not intentionally activated (enslaving). Interfinger connection matrices were computed for each subject by the artificial neural network. The similarities/dissimilarities (proximities) between the individual matrices were determined. This procedure was performed twice: (a) for nonnormalized IFMs whose elements represented the amount of force (in newtons) exerted by a finger i in response to a unit command to a finger j; and (b) for normalized IFMs, after dividing the elements of each IFM by the total force produced by the four fingers acting together (the elements of the matrix are in percents). The 20×20 matrix of the proximities was subjected to multidimensional scaling (MDS) to reduce the number of dimensions and identify the major ones. To interpret the meaning of the computed dimensions, they were regressed on a set of finger force parameters described in the text. For the nonnormalized IFMs an interpretable dimension was the strength of the subjects. For the normalized IFMs two dimensions were interpreted: (a) the location of the point of resultant force application along the mediolateral axis that is defined by the pattern of force sharing among the fingers and (b) the total contribution of the enslaved forces into the total finger force. We speculate that the similarity of typical everyday tasks across the population promotes the similarity of the IMFs reflecting optimal hand functioning over these tasks.
Scanned Probe Microscopies in Chemistry

The theory and applications of scanned probe microscopies in chemistry are reviewed. The review includes scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM), and other related techniques. Applications to chemical and biochemical imaging, molecular identification, and other systems of importance in chemistry are described.
Effects of additional Higgs doublets on the Coleman-Weinberg SU(2) × U(1) → U(1)em phase transition

Abstract In the standard electroweak theory with a Coleman-Weinberg Higgs doublet, it has been shown that the SU(2) × U(1) → U(1)em phase transition is driven by chiral symmetry breaking and that a phenomenologically dangerous amount of entropy is produced. We show that the addition of a second, sufficiently heavy Coleman-Weinberg doublet will make the transition go via tunneling and will suppress excessive entropy generation.
Validation of a New Aluminum Honeycomb Crush Model With Dynamic Impact Tests.

This paper describes a process for validating a new constitutive model for large, high strain-rate deformation of aluminum honeycomb, called the Honeycomb Crush Model (HCM). This model has 6 yield surfaces that are coupled to account for the orthotropic behavior of the cellular honeycomb being crushed on-axis and off-axis. The HCM has been implemented in the transient dynamic Presto finite element code for dynamic impact simulations. The HCM constitutive parameters were identified based on Presto finite element models that were used to simulate uniaxial and biaxial crush tests of 38 lb/ft3 aluminum honeycomb and reported in an earlier paper. This paper focuses on validating the HCM in the Presto code for application to impact situations that have honeycomb crush velocities up to 85 ft/sec. Also, a new approach for incorporating rate sensitivity into the model is described. A two-stage energy absorber with integrated aluminum honeycomb is described as the configuration for dynamic impact validation experiments. The test parameters and finite element model will be described along with the uncertainty quantification that was done and propagated through the model. Finally, correlation of model predictions and test results will be presented using an energy based validation metric.
A note on architectures for large-capacity CAMs

Recently, Schultz and Gulak have presented a taxonomy for content-addressable memories, discussed the relative advantages of the various serial/parallel architectures, and listed variations and options for implementing large systems. However, they do not cite the origins of this taxonomy that dates back to 1973, leaving the reader with the impression that it is new and being proposed for the first time. They also omit other relevant references to methods for implementing systolic and large-scale associative systems.
PROSTACYCLIN (PCI2) AND HYDROCORTISONE (HC) MEDIATES BRUSH BORDER PROTEIN (BBMP) SYNTHESIS

Glucocorticoids are known mediators of small intestinal maturation. In this study, the effects of exogenously administered HC and PGI2 on BBMP and DNA synthesis along with other indices of maturation were evaluated. Suckling rats were administered PGI2, HC or saline between days 10 to 13 of life and sacrificed on day 14. DNA and BBMP synthesis were analyzed using in vivo 3H-thymidine and 3H-leucine incorporation into DNA and BBMP in separate groups of animals. DNA synthesis was not significantly altered by PGI2 or HC. The ratio of 3H-leucine incorporation into BBMP to total intestinal homogenate protein was elevated in both PGI2 and HC administered animals as follows: RNA and RNA to DNA ratios were elevated in animals administered PGI2 or HC. Intestinal lactase was elevated in PGI2 administered animals, whereas, sucrase, maltase and enterocyte turnover time was considerably less in PGI2 than in HC administered littermates. These data suggests a preferential stimulation of brush border to total intestinal protein synthesis. A specific effect of PGI2 on lactase and HC on sucrase is also suggested.