cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Leucocytozoon in the Avian Order Columbiformes, with a Description of L. marchouxi Mathis and Leǵer 1910 from the Mourning Dove

Leucocytozoon marchouxi is described from the mourning dove, Zenaidura macroura carolinensis in Illinois. The macrogametocytes are rounded or elliptical, measuring 7 to 11 by 8 to 15 microns (mean, 9 by 12 microns), and stain dark blue with Giemsa stain. The microgametocytes are often distorted or ruptured by the smearing process, but if not badly injured measure 5 to 11 by 8 to 15 microns, (mean, 8 by 11 microns). They stain pale blue with Giemsa stain. Host cell cytoplasm is rarely seen surrounding the microgametocytes, but was found in 26% of cells parasitized by the macrogametocytes. When present it forms a narrow border around part or all of the parasite's periphery, and is not drawn out to form elongate “horns.” The parasite was found in ten birds, of which five were adults, one was a juvenile, and four were nestlings. The infections were relatively light in the adults. The youngest bird in which the protozoon was found was 14 days old. The literature on Leucocytozoon in the avian order Columbiformes is reviewed. All forms with rounded gametocytes so far reported are considered to be L. marchouxi Mathis and Leger, 1910, of which L. turtur Covaleda Ortega and Gallego Berenguer, 1946, is considered a synonym.
Loci independent of mating type that condition secondary sexual incompatibility in the fungus Cochliobolus heterostrophus

A full sib mating design was used to select for increased perithecial number in matings between sexually compatible pairs of ascospore progeny of the fungus Cochliobolus heterostrophus. In the third generation of selection approximately one-half of the isolate pairs produced abnormally low numbers of perithecia, indicating segregation at a single locus controlling fertility, which was independent of the mating type locus. We termed the phenomenon secondary sexual incompatibility, although it may also be related to vegetative compatibility. Large numbers of perithecia formed when the paired sexually compatible isolates had different alleles at the locus; few formed when they had identical alleles. Additional studies of two full sib families from another population showed the presence of at least four loci that condition secondary sexual incompatibility among these isolates. High fertility occurred only between isolates with different alleles at least one of the four loci. This phenomenon appears similar to the enhancement of fertility in Ceratocystis ulmi by genes for heterokaryon incompatibility, but the relationship of secondary sexual incompatibility loci to heterokaryon incompatibility loci in C. heterostrophys has not been determined.
Potential for airborne offbeam lidar measurements of snow and sea ice thickness

[1] This article discusses the capabilities and limitations of a new approach to airborne measurements of snow and sea ice thickness. Such measurements can help better understand snow and sea ice processes and can also contribute to the validation of satellite measurements. The approach discussed here determines physical snow and sea ice thickness by observing the horizontal spread of lidar pulses: The bright halo observed around an illuminated spot extends farther out in thicker layers because photons can travel longer without escaping through the bottom. Since earlier studies suggested the possibility of such sea ice retrievals, this article presents a theoretical analysis of additional uncertainties that arise in airborne observations of snow and sea ice. Snow and sea ice retrievals pose somewhat different challenges because while sea ice is usually much thicker, snow contains a much higher concentration of scatterers. As a result, sea ice halos are larger, but snow halos are brighter. The results indicate that airborne sea ice retrievals are possible at night and that snow retrievals are possible during both night and day. For snow thicknesses less than about 50 cm, observational issues, such as calibration uncertainty, can cause retrieval uncertainties on the order of 10% in 1-km-resolution retrievals. For moderate snow and sea ice thicknesses (<30 cm and 3 m, respectively), these issues cause similar (∼10%) uncertainties in sea ice thickness retrievals as well. These results indicate that offbeam lidars have the potential to become an important component of future snow and sea ice observing systems.
Radiographic Pitfalls in Lower Extremity Trauma

OBJECTIVE. Radiography remains the imaging standard for fracture detection after trauma. However, fractures continue to be the most common type of missed injuries. In this article, we describe common radiographic pitfalls in lower extremity trauma and describe strategies for dealing with them. CONCLUSION. Pitfalls include insufficient views, improperly positioned or technically imperfect radiographs, nondisplaced fractures, commonly missed locations, small avulsions portending large injury, sesamoid injuries, satisfaction of search, incomplete or faulty reasoning, and periprosthetic fractures.
Imaging of acute stroke

Brain imaging provides an objective basis for the clinical inferences that direct individual patient management in the acute stroke setting. A brain CT or MRI scan is required for all patients with suspected stroke or transient ischemic attack. Thrombolytic therapy is arguably the most important aspect of acute stroke management; however, most decisions in acute stroke do not relate to this treatment. Stroke imaging must, therefore, provide information beyond the presence or absence of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) and early evidence of a large infarct. Noncontrast CT and gradient-recalled echo MRI show comparable accuracy in the diagnosis of acute ICH. Diffusion-weighted MRI is more sensitive than noncontrast CT for differentiation of acute ischemic stroke from nonstroke conditions. Combined multimodal parenchymal, perfusion and vascular imaging with CT or MRI has the potential to identify patients with an ischemic penumbra that might be appropriate for acute reperfusion therapies. MRI identifies a broader range of acute and chronic cerebrovascular pathologies than does CT and, hence, could aid decisions about acute intervention, in-hospital management, and secondary prevention. Here, we present an overview of the diagnostic information that clinicians might gain from CT and MRI in the setting of acute stroke, along with the advantages and disadvantages of these techniques.
Analysis and prediction of loop segments in protein structures

The accurate modeling of loop segments in proteins is an important component of the overall protein folding problem. The challenge of the protein folding problem is to understand and predict the formation of the native three-dimensional structure of a protein given its primary amino acid sequence. In this paper, two methods are introduced to determine the structure of loop segments within the context of ASTRO-FOLD, an overall approach for the structure prediction of proteins. These approaches address a more difficult problem than that of traditional loop prediction in the sense that the separation distances between the loop stem regions are not assumed to be known a priori. When considering these additional degrees of freedom, the proposed methods perform extremely well, which is a result of both new modeling and algorithmic developments. In particular, the methods are validated on a testbed of benchmark protein systems, as well as a number of blind predictions from the recent CASP5 experiment.
Water-Soluble Poly(acrylic acid) Grafted Luminescent Silicon Nanoparticles and Their Use as Fluorescent Biological Staining Labels

UV-induced graft polymerization of acrylic acid (AAc) on the surface of silicon nanoparticles was used to prepare a stable aqueous luminescent silicon nanoparticle solution. By grafting a water-soluble polymer on the particle surface, the dispersions in water of the silicon nanoparticles became very stable and clear aqueous solutions could be obtained. XPS and NMR spectroscopy confirmed that PAAc was covalently grafted to the silicon nanoparticles. The grafted PAAc on silicon particles increased not only the dispersibility but also improved the photoluminescence stability of the silicon nanoparticles against degradation by water. The surface-modified nanoparticles were used as biological labels for cell imaging. The Si quantum dot labels exihibited bright fluorescence images and provided higher resistance to photobleaching than the commonly used organic dyes.
Does health care role and experience influence perception of safety culture related to preventing infections

Growing evidence reveals the importance of improving safety culture in efforts to eliminate health care-associated infections. This multisite, cross-sectional survey examined the association between professional role and health care experience on infection prevention safety culture at 5 hospitals. The findings suggest that frontline health care technicians are less directly engaged in improvement efforts and safety education than other staff and that infection prevention safety culture varies more by hospital than by staff position and experience.
Effects of spermatophores on male and female monarch butterfly reproductive success

I present the results of experiments designed to measure the effects of spermatophores produced by male monarch butterflies on male and female reproductive success. There was wide variation in the number of matings by captive males, suggesting the potential for strong sexual selection on males. Male lifespan was not affected by total number of matings, nor did it differ between males that were allowed to mate and those not exposed to females. Two effects of spermatophores on female behavior or fecundity are reported; (1) Females that received large spermatophores delayed remating longer than those receiving small ones. (2) Females allowed to mate several times laid more eggs than singly-mated females. The relative importance of these effects is discussed in relation to monarch mating patterns.
EURYPAMIDE A, A CYCLIC TRIPEPTIDE FROM THE PALAUAN SPONGE MICROCIONA EURYPA

Abstract The Palauan sponge Microciona eurypa contains the cyclic isodityrosine tripeptide, eurypamide A ( 5 ), and an inseparable mixture of three related tripeptides, eurypamides B - D ( 6–8 ) that can be identified but not characterized. Eurypamide A contains (2 S ,3 S ,4 R )-3,4-dihydroxyarginine, which has not been described previously.
Symptom perception in children with asthma: cognitive and psychological factors.

Objective: This study tested the differential effects of several cognitive and psychological variables on children's perception of asthma symptoms by use of an Asthma Risk Grid. Children's subjective and objective assessments of PEFR (peak expiratory flow rate) were characterized as representing perceptual accuracy, symptom magnification, and/or underestimation of asthma symptoms.
Functional homology of mammalian and yeast RAS genes

Yeast spores lacking endogenous RAS genes will not germinate. If such spores contain chimeric mammalian/yeast RAS genes or even the mammalian H-ras gene under the control of the galactose-inducible GAL10 promoter, they will germinate in the presence of galactose and produce viable haploid progeny dependent on galactose for continued growth and viability. These results indicate that the biochemical function of RAS proteins is essential for vegetative haploid yeast and that this function has been conserved in evolution since the progenitors of yeast and mammals diverged.
Anatomical Characterization of a Rabbit Cerebellar Eyeblink Premotor Pathway Using Pseudorabies and Identification of a Local Modulatory Network in Anterior Interpositus

Rabbit eyeblink conditioning is a well characterized model of associative learning. To identify specific neurons that are part of the eyeblink premotor pathway, a retrograde transsynaptic tracer (pseudorabies virus) was injected into the orbicularis oculi muscle. Four time points (3, 4, 4.5, and 5 d) were selected to identify sequential segments of the pathway and a map of labeled structures was generated. At 3 d, labeled first-order motor neurons were found in dorsolateral facial nucleus ipsilaterally. At 4 d, second-order premotor neurons were found in reticular nuclei, and sensory trigeminal, auditory, vestibular, and motor structures, including contralateral red nucleus. At 4.5 d, labeled third-order premotor neurons were found in the pons, midbrain, and cerebellum, including dorsolateral anterior interpositus nucleus and rostral fastigial nucleus. At 5 d, labeling revealed higher-order premotor structures. Labeled fourth-order Purkinje cells were found in ipsilateral cerebellar cortex in cerebellar lobule HVI and in lobule I. The former has been implicated in eyeblink conditioning and the latter in vestibular control. Labeled neurons in anterior interpositus were studied, using neurotransmitter immunoreactivity to classify individual cell types and delineate their interconnectivity. Labeled third-order premotor neurons were immunoreactive for glutamate and corresponded to large excitatory projection neurons. Labeled fourth-order premotor interneurons were immunoreactive for GABA (30%), glycine (18%), or both GABA and glycine (52%) and form a functional network within anterior interpositus involved in modulation of motor commands. These results identify a complete eyeblink premotor pathway, deep cerebellar interconnectivity, and specific neurons responsible for the generation of eyeblink responses.
Understanding the motivational effects of procedural and informational justice in feedback processes

Building upon traditional feedback models, this study examined the role of fair treatment in feedback contexts. Structural equation modelling using data from 236 undergraduate students highlighted perceived accuracy as a mediator in the credibility-motivation relationship as well as a relationship between accuracy and perceptions of procedural and informational justice. In addition, the results showed that the motivating effects of feedback accuracy partially occurred through procedural justice perceptions. Tests of an alternative model also demonstrated the interactive effects of credibility and accuracy on justice perceptions. Overall, this study provides insight into the role of fairness in appraisal processes, as well as how fairness might enhance recipients' reactions to appraisal and, subsequently, the effectiveness of appraisal systems.
Performance of high producing dairy cows with three different feeding systems combining pasture and total mixed rations.

Forty-five Holsteins cows in early to mid lactation were used to compare three feeding systems combining pasture and total mixed rations (TMR) on animal performance in a 21-wk repeated-measures experiment. The three treatments were: 1) pasture plus concentrate (PC), 2) pasture plus partial TMR (pTMR), and 3) TMR (non-pasture). Total dry matter intake, using chromic oxide as a marker, was 21.6, 25.2, and 26.7 kg/d for PC, pTMR, and TMR, respectively. Milk production was highest for TMR (38.1 kg/d), lowest on PC (28.5 kg/d), and intermediate for pTMR (32.0 kg/d). Cows on pTMR and TMR had higher milk fat and true protein percentages than cows on PC. Cows on PC gained less body weight and lost more body condition compared with cows on pTMR and TMR. Initial concentrations of plasma nonesterified fatty acids were higher on PC (302 μeq/L) than on pTMR (130 μeq/L) and TMR (225 μeq/L). Plasma and milk urea nitrogen were lower on both pTMR and TMR than on PC. Combining pasture and TMR resulted in higher milk production, milk fat and protein percentage, and maintenance in body condition score compared to pasture plus concentrate. The TMR feeding system resulted in the highest total dry matter intake and milk production.
MODIFICATION OF THE NMDA RECEPTOR GLUTAMATE BINDING SITE DURING ACUTE HYPOGLYCEMIA IN NEWBORN PIGLETS. † 1360

We have previously shown that acute hypoglycemia alters both the kainate-type glutamate receptor and the MK-801 binding site of the N-methyl-D-aspartate(NMDA)-type glutamate receptor in newborn piglet brain. The present study tests the hypothesis that acute hypoglycemia modifies the glutamate binding site of the NMDA receptor, potentially increasing excitotoxicity. Studies were performed in 3 control (C) and 5 hypoglycemic (H) newborn piglets. Hypoglycemia (blood glucose concentration 1 mmol/L) was induced with 150 U/kg IV bolus of regular insulin and maintained for 2 hr with continuous insulin infusion. Brain cell membranes were prepared from cerebral cortex and saturation binding assays were performed using 150 μg of membrane protein and 3H-glutamate at concentrations of 25-1000 nM. NMDA-dependent binding was determined in the presence of 1 mM NMDA. Bmax(number of receptors) and Kd (dissociation constant) were calculated from Scatchard plots. Bmax (mean ± SD) in hypoglycemic animals was significantly increased from the control value of 746 ± 42 to 992± 64 fmol/mg protein (p < 0.05). Kd was 296 ± 64 nM in H, not significantly different from the value of 251 ± 4 nM in C. Thus acute hypoglycemia increased the apparent number of glutamate binding sites of the NMDA receptor but did not alter receptor affinity for glutamate. The increased number of glutamate sites may be the mechanism for the increase in activation of MK-801 binding by glutamate during hypoglycemia which we reported previously. The results of the present study support the speculation that hypoglycemia enhances the sensitivity of cerebral cortex to excitotoxicity under conditions which increase extracellular glutamate concentration in the newborn. (Supported by NIH #HD-20337, UCP #R-503-93)
Reactions of Mongolian gerbils in the presence of urine stimuli

Forty sexually mature Mongolian gerbils served as subjects in a study designed to examine responsiveness to samples of urine. In a two-choice comparison situation in the home cage, each isolated gerbil was tested for amount of time spent with each urine sample during a 3-min period. Male gerbils spent significantly more time with estrus female urine than nonestrus female gerbil urine, and with nonestrus female gerbil urine than with either male gerbil urine or water. Female gerbils did not respond differentially to any of the stimuli. Neither sex discriminated between gerbil and hamster urine of either sex. Results suggest that female gerbil urine communicates sexual identity and, especially, sexual readiness to the male gerbil.
Crystal structure of high-Zr inclusions in an alloy containing U, Pu, Np, Am, Zr and rare-earth elements

Abstract Researchers commonly observe high-Zr inclusions in actinide–Zr alloys. As there is very little published data on the crystal structures of these inclusions, it has generally been assumed that the inclusions were impurity-stabilized α-Zr. However, new electron-diffraction data from two high-Zr inclusions in an alloy containing U, Pu, Np, Am, Zr, and rare-earth elements show that these inclusions are not α-Zr (which has a hexagonal structure) but, instead, have a face-centered cubic structure. This data is unique in that it combines single-crystal diffraction patterns and microchemical analyses from individual inclusions. More data on other high-Zr inclusions is clearly required. However, the present results suggest that caution is needed in assuming that all high-Zr inclusions in actinide–Zr alloys are α-Zr.
Validation of the brief test of attention in patients with huntington's disease and amnesia

Abstract We report two studies of auditory divided attention in patients with Huntington's disease (HD) and organic amnesia using the Brief Test of Attention (BTA). In the first study, 27 patients with HD were individually matched with 27 normal control subjects on the basis of age and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores. The patients and normal adults also did not differ in sex, race, or education. Despite the fact that mean MMSE scores were 28.8 (SD = 1.0) for both groups, the HD patients scored three SDs below the mean of normal adults on the BTA. In the second study, 9 nondemented amnesic patients and 9 normal adults who were individually matched for age, sex, race, and education produced no significant group differences on the Brief Test of Attention. These results show that BTA performance in impaired in a group known to have severe defects in attention, and that it does not require intact memory for successful performance.
The Value of Meaning-Making and Cultural Knowledge for Teachers Working in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Contexts

The tapestry of classrooms today is transforming into a mosaic of colors, languages, and backgrounds. As the population of culturally and linguistically diverse students continues to rise, a deeper understanding of how teachers construct meaning and understand their internal and relational experiences when working with these students has become an important area to examine. This study included in-depth interviews with ten public school teachers in the San Diego area, which assessed the teachers' meaning-making systems and their cultural competence. The framework of constructive developmental theory (Kegan, 1982, 1994) was drawn upon to assess how teachers' make sense of their experiences, and the framework of cultural intelligence (Earley & Ang, 2003) was used to determine their cultural competence. Although both frameworks provided some insight into this phenomenon, their limitations far exceeded their utility in terms of understanding the complex ways in which teachers understand and approach their work with culturally and linguistically diverse students. Additional frameworks for understanding teacher -student interactions are considered.
Iterative partitioning scheme for distributed simulation of dynamic networks

Network model partitioning is a key component of distributed network simulations. Simulations slow down considerably due to inequitable load balancing and heavy inter-host communication leading to unbounded synchronization overhead. Also, regularly refreshing the node partition is necessary due to to the dynamic nature of simulation load and event generation. In this paper, we propose a distributed method for network partitioning which includes a coarse initial partitioning followed by iterative improvements in the partition. We suggest a sparse-cut based method to identify nodes eligible for exchange.
Velocity profile statistics in a turbulent boundary layer with slot-injected polymer

The modification of a flat-plate turbulent boundary layer resulting from the injection of drag-reducing polymer solutions through a narrow inclined slot into the near-wall region of the flow has been studied. Two-component coincident laser-Doppler velocity profile measurements were taken with a free-stream velocity of 4.5 m/s with polymer injection, water injection, and no injection. Polyethylene oxide solutions at concentrations of 500 and 1025 w.p.p.m. were injected. These data are complemented by polymer concentration profile measurements that were taken using a laser-induced-fluorescence technique. Also, integrated skin friction measurements were made with a drag balance for a range of polymer injection conditions and free-stream velocities. The immediate effects of polymer injection are a deceleration of the flow near the wall, a dramatic decrease of the vertical r.m.s. velocit}’ fluctuation levels and the Reynolds shear stress levels, and a mean velocity profile approaching Virk's asymptotic condition. These effects relax substantially with increasing stream wise distance from the injection slot and become similar to the effects observed for dilute homogeneous polymer flows.
Characterization of pre-curved needles for steering in tissue

Needles with tip asymmetry deflect upon insertion into soft tissue, an effect that can be used to steer needles within the body. This paper presents a phenomenological characterization of the steering behavior of pre-curved needles, which have tip asymmetry due to curvature of the needle near the tip. We describe needle construction methods and a needle shaft triangulation algorithm to compute the shape of the needle based on images. Experimental results show that pre-curved needles possess greater dexterity than bevel-tipped needles and achieve radii of curvature similar to pre-bent needles. For long pre-curve arc lengths, the radius of curvature of the needle was found to approach the radius of curvature of the pre-curve. Pre-curved needles were found to display behaviors not seen with bevel-tipped needles, such as the insertion velocity influencing the path of the tip within the tissue and the ability to plastically deform the needle during steering.
Socially relevant representations in interfaces for learning

In this paper we describe a way of looking at how people learn from computer interfaces. In particular, we describe the concept of a socially relevant representation, or a representation of social context information (as opposed to domain knowledge information). We describe known or hypothesized mechanisms by which such representations might facilitate learning, and discuss implications for the design of knowledge media.
Complete response to carboplatin, gemcitabine, and paclitaxel in a patient with advanced metastatic renal medullary carcinoma

Renal medullary carcinoma (RMC) is a rare and aggressive malignancy seen primarily in patients with sickle-cell trait. We report a complete response to carboplatin, paclitaxel, and gemcitabine in a patient with advanced metastatic RMC. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2010;55:1217–1220. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
MVDR based all-pole models for spectral coding of speech

We present several analytical properties of minimum variance distortionless response (MVDR) based all-pole models that demonstrate the advantages and usefulness of these models for speech spectral coding. In particular, we show that a sufficient order MVDR all-pole model provides a spectral envelope that fits a set of spectral samples exactly with a parameterization convenient for quantization purposes. In addition, we show that MVDR all-pole filters provide a monotonically decreasing spectral distortion with increasing filter order. Furthermore, we show that the MVDR all-pole filter possesses the flexibility to be obtained from correlations based upon either spectral samples or conventional time-domain correlations. Finally, exploiting the insight gained from MVDR modeling, we introduce a novel class of constrained all-pole models for efficient spectral coding. In this approach, a subset of the line spectral frequency (LSF) parameters associated with the all-pole model are judiciously fixed, leading to a simpler model parameterization.
Heterogeneous allele expression of pulmonary SP-D gene in rat large intestine and other tissues

Random allele expression has recently been observed for several genes including interleukins and genes of the lymphoid system. We studied the hypothesis that the surfactant protein D (SP-D) gene, a...
Little Mosque, small screen: multicultural broadcasting policy and Muslims on television.

The success of Canada’s Little Mosque on the Prairie (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation [CBC], 2007–2012) suggests that multicultural broadcasting policy can serve as a tool to overcome the tendency in Western media to stereotype Muslims. But close examination of the show’s genesis and production reveals that policy was one factor within a complex network of factors, including the religious beliefs of the creator and executive producers, the desire for relevance among network executives, and the need to devise strategies for funding production. In other words, policy’s effect was indirect: it did not cause the production of Little Mosque, but it did provide an impetus for the CBC to take a risk it might not otherwise have taken.
Implementing the Use of Donor Milk in the Hospital Setting: Implications for Nurses

Breast milk is the ideal choice for neonates, particularly for the more vulnerable neonates in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). When milk from the mother is not available, pasteurized donor milk is an important option, because it maintains many of its health benefits after pasteurization. Yet there are barriers to implementing the use of donor milk at a hospital. This article discusses the implementation of a donor program for pasteurized donor breast milk in the NICUs of three hospitals.
Ingestion and elemental budgets for Linuche unguiculata , a scyphomedusa with zooxanthellae

Specific rations for the zooxanthellae-bearing medusa, Linuche unguiculata , were calculated using two approaches: (a) gut contents of field collected medusae combined with experimental measurements of digestion time; and (b) experimental feeding studies combined with estimates of ambient prey biomass. Estimates of specific daily ration from gut contents averaged 5% for carbon, 6% for nitrogen, and 4% for phosphorus for the dominant size of medusae. Of the 868 medusae examined, 86% contained recognizable prey with an average of 3.6 items per medusa. Copepods dominated the gut contents (51%) as well as the ambient zooplankton prey (82%), but there was an over-representation of shelled prey, larval molluscs and foraminifera, in the gut (33%) compared with their availability (4%). Digestion times for crustaceans ranged from 1—4 h with longer times for larger prey. Ambient prey concentrations in areas of abundant L. unguiculata ranged from 0.2—4.0 prey l -1 , with an average of 1.7 and no measurable day—night differences. There were also no measurable day—night differences in ingestion rates for field or laboratory fed medusae. Feeding studies showed a linear relationship between ingestion and prey concentration up to 400 prey l -1 . Rations determined from experimental feeding studies were higher but less than double the ration estimates based on field gut contents. Specific ration decreased with increased medusa size in both field and laboratory results. Heterotrophy was calculated to be a major source of both nitrogen and phosphorus, but only a minor source of carbon. Elemental budgets for carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus were calculated using measured inputs of photosynthesis, ingestion, and dissolved nutrients and measured outputs of respiration, excretion, reproduction and tissue growth. Total measured outputs balanced the inputs, within the uncertainty associated with egg production.
Collecting Spectral Data over Cropland Vegetation Using Machine-Positioning versus Hand-Positioning of the Sensor

The paper describes an all-terrain motorized platform for deploying sensors and compares data collected by means of that system with those collected by means of hand-held sensors. The results not only highlight the greater variability in spectra that can be expected when deploying field radiometers by hand but, more importantly, they quantify the difference. Researchers should be aware of the potential for diminishing the validity of findings based on reflectance spectra acquired by means of hand-held sensors.
Conscientiousness, Career Success, and Longevity: A Lifespan Analysis

Background Markers of executive functioning, such as prudent planning for the future and impulse control, are related to conscientiousness and may be central to both occupational success and health outcomes.
Teaching emergency preparedness to restricted-budget families.

To fulfill the health teaching and promotion responsibilities of public health nurses, a teaching intervention was devised to prepare low-income, low-resource families to survive a worst-case disaster scenario. The purpose of this study is to introduce that plan. Teaching sessions were held to increase awareness about disaster preparedness and to provide the resources necessary for preparing disaster kits on a restricted budget. This project focused on families enrolled at the Children's Relief Nursery in Portland, Oregon's St. Johns District. Posttest assessments and client follow-up at 3, 6, and 12 months were used to assess the effectiveness of the curriculum and follow-through on kit preparation. A replicable teaching tool was successfully developed, and the interest and commitment of community partners dedicated to assisting restricted-budget families was secured. States' disaster plans hinge on individuals' implementation of their own survival plans, and it is vital that these individuals be made aware of their responsibility. It is truly a matter of life and death that families possess the skills, knowledge, and resources to carry out a disaster survival plan successfully, and it is the ethical responsibility of the public health nurse to intervene. Language: en
Right hemisphere has the last laugh: neural dynamics of joke appreciation.

Understanding a joke relies on semantic, mnemonic, inferential, and emotional contributions from multiple brain areas. Anatomically constrained magnetoencephalography (aMEG) combining high-density whole-head MEG with anatomical magnetic resonance imaging allowed us to estimate where the humor-specific brain activations occur and to understand their temporal sequence. Punch lines provided either funny, not funny (semantically congruent), or nonsensical (incongruent) replies to joke questions. Healthy subjects rated them as being funny or not funny. As expected, incongruous endings evoke the largest N400m in left-dominant temporo-prefrontal areas, due to integration difficulty. In contrast, funny punch lines evoke the smallest N400m during this initial lexical–semantic stage, consistent with their primed “surface congruity” with the setup question. In line with its sensitivity to ambiguity, the anteromedial prefrontal cortex may contribute to the subsequent “second take” processing, which, for jokes, presumably reflects detection of a clever “twist” contained in the funny punch lines. Joke-selective activity simultaneously emerges in the right prefrontal cortex, which may lead an extended bilateral temporo-frontal network in establishing the distant unexpected creative coherence between the punch line and the setup. This progression from an initially promising but misleading integration from left frontotemporal associations, to medial prefrontal ambiguity evaluation and right prefrontal reprocessing, may reflect the essential tension and resolution underlying humor.
Performance comparison of single-precision SPICE Model-Evaluation on FPGA, GPU, Cell, and multi-core processors

Automated code generation and performance tuning techniques for concurrent architectures such as GPUs, Cell and FPGAs can provide integer factor speedups over multi-core processor organizations for data-parallel, floating-point computation in SPICE Model-Evaluation. Our Verilog AMS compiler produces code for parallel evaluation of non-linear circuit models suitable for use in SPICE simulations where the same model is evaluated several times for all the devices in the circuit. Our compiler uses architecture specific parallelization strategies (OpenMP for multi-core, PThreads for Cell, CUDA for GPU, statically scheduled VLIW for FPGA) when producing code for these different architectures. We automatically explore different implementation configurations (e.g. unroll factor, vector length) using our performance-tuner to identify the best possible configuration for each architecture. We demonstrate speedups of 3− 182× for a Xilinx Virtex5 LX 330T, 1.3−33× for an IBM Cell, and 3−131× for an NVIDIA 9600 GT GPU over a 3 GHz Intel Xeon 5160 implementation for a variety of singleprecision device models.
Condition and brightness of structural blue‐green: motmot tail‐racket brightness is related to speed of feather growth in males, but not in females

Coloration plays an important role in sexual and social communication, and in many avian species both males and females maintain elaborate colours. Recent research has provided strong support for the hypothesis that elaborate female traits can be maintained by sexual or social selection; however, most research on female ornamentation has focused on pigment-based colours, and less is known about how structural colours are maintained. Both sexes of the turquoise-browed motmot (Eumomota superciliosa) have a blue-green racket-tipped tail, and it remains unknown if tail coloration serves as a sexual or social signal in one or both sexes. Here, we describe sexual dichromatism in the blue-green portion of the tail racket, and we test for a relationship between coloration and condition, as indicated by growth bars. Tail colour of both sexes has a similar spectral shape, and there is significant, although moderate, sexual dichromatism: males are brighter than females, and males have marginally greater blue-green saturation than females. The length of feather grown per day is positively related to overall feather brightness, but this relationship is only present in males. The relationship between male coloration and condition suggests that tail colour has the potential to convey information about individual quality during mate choice or contest competition. The lack of a similar relationship in females suggests that female tail colour does not convey the same condition-dependent information that we suggest may be reflected by male colour. Female tail colour may therefore reflect other aspects of condition, be involved in other (non-condition-dependent) forms of communication, or be expressed as a non-functional byproduct of genetic correlation between the sexes. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 106, 673‐681. ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: condition dependence ‐ growth bars ‐ mutual ornamentation ‐ structural coloration.
Entangled and non-line-of-sight (NLOS) free-space photon quantum communication [Invited]

Feature Issue on Optical Wireless Communications (OWC) We present new quantum communication (QC) schemes suitable for free-space (wireless) QC implementation. In particular, we present several entangled QC schemes and propose non-line-of-sight (NLOS) free-space photon QC. It is shown that in the presence of atmospheric scattering media, UV photons can be used for NLOS QC. Non-Poisson quantum fluctuations in an invariance regime can propagate farther than coherent laser speckle. In such situations the non-Poissonian statistics survive over long distances and should be taggable with a polarization signature. Quantum noise observables scale markedly differently with scattering parameters compared to classical noise observables. Variation of the polarization should allow Yuen-Kumar QC using non-Poissonian statistics of the beam as an authentication of the signal. The NLOS communication in the UV would be expected to be possible to at least a range of 1 km and falls under the category of deliberately short-range QC. Applications of importance for this method include military stealth and optical communication in the presence of obstacles such as a forest or urban environment.
Synthesis and cytotoxicity evaluation of novel pyrido[3,4-d]pyrimidine derivatives as potential anticancer agents

A new series of 4-substituted 2-amino pyrido[3,4-d]pyrimidine derivatives has been designed and synthesized as potential anticancer agents. These compounds were prepared from a common intermediate, 4-chloro-8-methoxy pyrido[3,4-d]pyrimidin-2-amine, followed by palladium catalyzed cross-coupling reactions or nucleophilic aromatic substitutions at the C-4 position. Evaluation of the representative analogs using the US National Cancer Institute's 60 human cancer cell line (NCI 60) panel identified some of these compounds as exhibiting highly selective activities against breast cancer and renal cancer cell lines. A structure–activity relationship (SAR) study was explored to facilitate further development of this new class of compounds.
Political Theory as Both Philosophy and History: A Defense Against Methodological Militancy

This essay defends a broad, eclectic, and inclusive kind of political theory against methodological militants who would restrict political theory’s permissible purview. It rejects the idea—frequently voiced by exponents of both analytic-philosophic and historicist methodologies—that philosophical and historical analyses are necessarily two separate enterprises that ought to be kept distinct, not just conceptually but as a matter of scholarly practice. Against the methodological militants, this essay explains the value of those forms of political theory that combine philosophy (the study of what should be done) with history (the study of what past authors thought about politics). It concludes by raising one further objection to the methodological militants: They fail to acknowledge the reality and importance of the “classic” work within the study of political thought.
A fresh look at the muddy waters of psychopathy.

Contrary to traditional psychological definitions, psychopathic behavior is neither self-defeating nor contradictory. Once the psychopath's total self-absorption and need to exploit and humiliate others is recognized, many of the contradictory characteristics of the personality fall into logical place. Primary psychopaths exhibit strong self-serving motives and an insatiable need to prove superiority over anyone and everyone. Compulsive lying and flaunting of established rules are consistent with the psychopaths' view of their special position within various social/business constellations. This unique position is validated and measured by their abilities to violate successfully established boundaries without reprisal and to convince and manipulate others to do what they want or believe what they say. Far from being aimless and impulsive, the psychopath's behavior is completely goal-directed.
Sequential Aggregate Signatures with Lazy Verification from Trapdoor Permutations - (Extended Abstract).

Sequential aggregate signature schemes allow n signers, in order, to sign a message each, at a lower total cost than the cost of n in- dividual signatures. We present a sequential aggregate signature scheme based on trapdoor permutations (e.g., RSA). Unlike prior such propos- als, our scheme does not require a signer to retrieve the keys of other signers and verify the aggregate-so-far before adding its own signature. Indeed, we do not even require a signer to know the public keys of other signers! Moreover, for applications that require signers to verify the aggregate anyway, our schemes support lazy verification :as igner can add its own signature to an unverified aggregate and forward it along immediately, postponing verification until load permits or the necessary public keys are obtained. This is especially important for applications where signers must access a large, secure, and current cache of public keys in order to verify messages. The price we pay is that our signature grows slightly with the number of signers. We report a technical analysis of our scheme (which is provably se- cure in the random oracle model), a detailed implementation-level spec- ification, and implementation results based on RSA and OpenSSL. To evaluate the performance of our scheme, we focus on the target applica- tion of BGPsec (formerly known as Secure BGP), a protocol designed for securing the global Internet routing system. There is a particular need for lazy verification with BGPsec, since it is run on routers that must process signatures extremely quickly, while being able to access tens of thousands of public keys. We compare our scheme to the algorithms currently proposed for use in BGPsec, and find that our signatures are considerably shorter nonaggregate RSA (with the same sign and verify times) and have an order of magnitude faster verification than nonaggre- gate ECDSA, although ECDSA has shorter signatures when the number of signers is small.
OP0018 Epigenetic Study of Advanced Ankylosis in Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis

Background Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is an inflammatory spinal disease characterized by ankylosis of the spine. A subset of patients develops significant ankylosis resulting in mobility issues. Objectives To determine if epigenetic modifications may account for differences in the degree of ankylosis of the axial spine in ankylosing spondylitis. Methods AS patients satisfying the New York criteria with advanced ankylosing (characterized clinically with spinal flexion) and radiographically with at least 4 continuous ankylosed vertebrae were categorized as advanced ankylosis. Control AS patients had normal posture on clinical evaluation and had absence of syndesmophytes on plain radiographs. All patients were Caucasians of Northern European Ancestry. Genome-wide DNA methylation profiling was performed on the blood DNA samples from 23 AS patients with advanced ankylosis and 25 patients with no syndesmophytes. The profiling was performed using Illumina HumanMethylation450k Beadchip, which measures up ∼480,000 different CpG sites per sample and covers 96% of RefSeq genes. The methylation level at each CpG site was measured by β values varying from 0 (no methylation) to 1 (100% methylation). Results Advanced ankylosis patients were predominantly males (22/23), with mean of disease onset at age 21.9 years and age at time of assessment was 43.72. Meanwhile, AS patients with no syndesmophytes were also predominantly males (24/25), with mean of disease onset at age 24.6 years and age at time of assessment was 44.1 years. Methylation data were normalized using BMIQ method and no batch effects were detected by PCA analysis. Methylation analysis was performed on 382,232 autosomal CpG sites after quality controls. One outlier was identified and excluded in the subsequent analysis. Analysis revealed 100 locations where there was a difference between patients with and without spinal ankylosis. The three locations that differentiated the most included CPG sites in KIAA0319 (hypomethylated) (p=1.7×10-5); JAKMIP3 (p=6.4×10-5) and LYG2 (p=9.6×10-4). Based on functional relevance to AS pathogenesis, particularly antigen presentation, cytokine signalling, and bone remodeling, 5 candidate genes (4 hypomethylated; 1 hypermethylated) emerged: IL18RAP (beta diff=-0.1473; p=0.01), SMAD3 (beta diff=-0.16664; p=0.047), MCF2L (beta diff=-0.10894; p=0.009), DDAH2 (beta diff=0.11494; p=0.007), and NLRC5 (beta diff=-0.11542; p=0.052). Conclusions These preliminary results demonstrate that the global DNA methylation pattern in advanced ankylosis differs from AS patients with no spinal damage. High priority candidate genes identified in this study warrants further validation. Disclosure of Interest None declared DOI 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-eular.3270
The problem with peptide presumption and low Mascot scoring.

Mascot, a database-search algorithm, is used to deduce an amino acid sequence from a peptide tandem mass spectrum. The magnitude of the Ions score associated with each peptide mostly reflects the extent of b-y ion matching in a collision-induced dissociation spectrum. Recently, several studies have reported peptides identified with abnormally low Ions scores. While a majority of the spectra in these studies may be correctly assigned, low-scoring spectra could lack discernible b-y ion fragments needed to clearly delineate a peptide sequence. It appears that low- scoring identification may be predicated primarily on judgmental parent ion mass accuracy and that justification to include such low-scoring peptides may be based on inaccurate false discovery rate modeling. It is likely that additional scientific experi- mentation is needed or appropriate methodologies adopted before substandard fragment ion matching can be considered proof of peptide identification.
Stability and extreme ultraviolet photo-reduction of graphene during C-K edge NEXAFS characterization

Abstract Here, we show research innovation in radiation-matter interaction, with possible photonics and optoelectronics applications in building and maintenance of graphene-based devices, as well as a further confirmation for soft x-ray irradiation as a clean route towards graphene photoreduction. Thus, we have investigated the soft x-rays exposure effects on graphene/nickel samples damaged by nanosecond 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser under laser fluence above the damage threshold. In this regard, NEXAFS analyses reveal the typical GO features in the C K edge spectra of the irradiated specimens. Moreover, the continuous exposures to soft x-rays radiation show the photo-reduction process monitored by NEXAFS in real time. Ten-hour soft x-ray exposure moves the spectra towards the typical one of the graphene.