cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Using GIS to model tree population parameters in the Rocky Mountain National Park forest–tundra ecotone

Climatic change may alter vegetation composition and structure, but the response to climatic change can be expected to be spatially heterogeneous. Tree populations in the alpine forest–tundra ecotone, for example, may find only certain locations to be favourable for regeneration and growth. If monitoring and detection of vegetation responses to climatic change is to be most successful, the monitoring system must be tuned to the locations where a response is most likely. We used the grass geographical information system (gis) to map population parameters indicating potential change throughout the forest–tundra ecotone (FTE) of Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). Seedling density in patch forest and krummholz openings, as well as annual krummholz height growth, were measured in the field. These parameters were then modelled over the heterogeneity of the FTE environment, using principle components regression analysis. The grass gis was used to extrapolate the resulting predictive equations to the entire RMNP FTE. Potential FTE responses to climate change were evaluated in the context of species-specific differences in how tree seedling density and krummholz height growth are associated with the present environment. For example, climate change leading towards moister conditions, causing currently xeric environments to become more mesic, might increase the spatial extent of existing tree invasion into patch forest openings. This would increase the potential for widespread conversion of patch forest to closed forest. Present population parameters extrapolated spatially may provide a useful guide to where future change is likely.
Neurons containing a N-terminal sequence of the TRH-prohormone (preproTRH53–74) are present in a unique location of the midbrain periaqueductal gray of the rat

Abstract Using an antiserum (no. 373) raised against a tyrosinated analog of preproTRH 53–74 ([Tyr 1 ]preproTRH 53–74 or pYT 22), we have demonstrated the presence of a discrete population of immunoreactive neurons in the midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG). Relative to the distribution of serotonin, somatostain, peptide histidine isoleucine (PHI), methionine enkephalin, substance P and neurotensin-containing neuronal perikarya in the PAG, neurons containing immunoreactive pYT 22 occupied a unique location in the ventrolateral PAG. In contrast, terminal fields containing these neuroactive substances with the exception of PHI, were seen in abundance in the region of the ventrolateral PAG neurons. These studies indicate that a non-TRH sequence contained within the N-terminal portion of the TRH prohormone are expressed in a distinct group of neurons in the ventrolateral PAG. The location of these neurons in the PAG in a region richly innervated by nerve terminals containing analgesia-mediating substances, suggests a possible role for proTRH-derived peptides in the modulation of nociception.
THE ADIABATIC DEMAGNETIZATION REFRIGERATOR FOR THE MICRO-X SOUNDING ROCKET TELESCOPE

The Micro‐X Imaging X‐ray Spectrometer is a sounding rocket payload slated for launch in 2011. An array of Transition Edge Sensors, which is operated at a bath temperature of 50 mK, will be used to obtain a high resolution spectrum of the Puppis‐A supernova remnant. An Adiabatic Demagnetization Refrigerator (ADR) with a 75 gram Ferric Ammonium Alum (FAA) salt pill in the bore of a 4 T superconducting magnet provides a stable heat sink for the detector array only a few seconds after burnout of the rocket motors. This requires a cold stage design with very short thermal time constants. A suspension made from Kevlar strings holds the 255 gram cold stage in place. It is capable of withstanding loads in excess of 200 g. Stable operation of the TES array in proximity to the ADR magnet is ensured by a three‐stage magnetic shielding system which consists of a superconducting can, a high‐permeability shield and a bucking coil. The development and testing of the Micro‐X payload is well underway.
Testicular Self‐Examination in Young Adult Men

Purpose: To describe patterns of testicular self-examination (TSE) in a sample of young adult men and to identify factors distinguishing between men who do and do not practice TSE. Design: A comparative descriptive design with a convenience sample of 191 adult men aged 18–35 years, recruited from a large industrial complex in the U.S. Midwest. Data were collected during several occupational health fairs held from 1999–2001. Methods: A self-report, 75-item health risk appraisal (HRA) was administered to identify health-related lifestyle habits. Men who did and did not perform TSE regularly were compared using Mann-Whitney U statistics for discrete variables and t tests for continuous data. Discriminant function analysis was used to identify factors allowing prediction of frequent or infrequent TSE performance. Findings: Sixty-four percent of 191 participants reported rarely or never performing TSE, and 36% practiced TSE monthly or every few months. Men who infrequently performed TSE were more often African American or Hispanic and had less than a college education. Other significant factors associated with infrequent TSE practice included less satisfaction with current job assignment; less satisfaction with life in general; greater worries interfering with daily life; more serious family problems in dealing with spouse, children, or parents; and reduced availability of people to turn to for support. Conclusions: Demographic and socioeconomic variables were related to TSE knowledge and performance. Further investigation is required to determine why men, especially ethnic minority men, are not performing this important cancer-screening activity.
Characterization of Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Mutations in Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa Using Site-directed Mutagenesis

Type VII collagen (C7) is a major component of anchoring fibrils, structures that mediate epidermal-dermal adherence. Mutations in gene COL7A1 encoding for C7 cause dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB), a genetic mechano-bullous disease. The biological consequences of specific COL7A1 mutations and the molecular mechanisms leading to DEB clinical phenotypes are unknown. In an attempt to establish genotype-phenotype relationships, we generated four individual substitution mutations that have been associated with recessive DEB, G2049E, R2063W, G2569R, and G2575R, and purified the recombinant mutant proteins. All mutant proteins were synthesized and secreted as a 290-kDa mutant C7 α chain at levels similar to wild type C7. The G2569R and G2575R glycine substitution mutations resulted in mutant C7 with increased sensitivity to protease degradation and decreased ability to form trimers. Limited proteolytic digestion of mutant G2049E and R2063W proteins yielded aberrant fragments and a triple helix with reduced stability. These two mutations next to the 39-amino acid helical interruption hinge region caused local destabilization of the triple-helix that exposed an additional highly sensitive proteolytic site within the region of the mutation. Our functional studies demonstrated that C7 is a potent pro-motility matrix for skin human keratinocyte migration and that this activity resides within the triple helical domain. Furthermore, G2049E and R2063W mutations reduced the ability of C7 to support fibroblast adhesion and keratinocyte migration. We conclude that known recessive DEB C7 mutations perturb critical functions of the C7 molecule and likely contribute to the clinical phenotypes of DEB patients.
Optimal Yaw Regulation and Trajectory Control of Biorobotic AUV Using Mechanical Fins Based on CFD Parametrization

This paper treats the question of control of a biorobotic autonomous undersea vehicle (BAUV) in the yaw plane using a biomimetic mechanism resembling the pectoral fins of fish. These fins are assumed to undergo a combined sway-yaw motion and the bias angle is treated as a control input, which is varied in time to accomplish the maneuver in the yaw-plane. The forces and moments produced by the flapping foil are parametrized using computational fluid dynamics. A finite-difference-based, Cartesian grid immersed boundary solver is used to simulate flow past the flapping foils. The periodic forces and moments are expanded as a Fourier series and a discrete-time model of the BAUV is developed for the purpose of control. An optimal control system for the set point control of the yaw angle and an inverse control law for the tracking of time-varying yaw angle trajectories are designed. Simulation results show that in the closed-loop system, the yaw angle follows commanded sinusoidal trajectories and the segments of the intersample yaw trajectory remain close to the discrete-time reference trajectory. It is also found that the fins suitably located near the center of mass of the vehicle provide better maneuverability.
An update on histamine receptors and the gastrointestinal tract.

Revue des connaissances actuelles concernant: les secretions gastriques, la secretion de pepsinogene, le facteur intrinseque, la gastrine, d'autres secretions influencees par l'histamine. Influences de l'histamine sur les debits sanguins, sur la musculature du tube digestif. Applications cliniques dans l'ulcere duodenal, le syndrome de Zollinger-Ellison, la mastocytose, la leucemie basophile, l'ulcere gastrique, la gastrite erosive, l'œsophagite de reflux
Quantification of Kryptofix 2.2.2 in 2-[18F]FDG and other radiopharmaceuticals by LC/MS/MS

Abstract A high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric method (LC/MS/MS) was developed and validated for the quantitative analysis of Kryptofix (K-222) in the radiopharmaceuticals of 2-deoxy-2-[ 18 F] fluoro-D-glucose (2-[ 18 F]FDG) and 3-(3-((3-fluoropropyl)thio)-1,2,5-thiadiazol-4-yl)-1,2,5,6-tetrahydro-1-methylpyridine (FPTZTP). With an internal standard, the limit of quantitation for K-222 was 1.0 ng/ml. This is so far the most sensitive method for the quantification of K-222. Excellent linearity (RSQ = 0.9997) was obtained over the range of 1.0–100 ng/ml. Good precision and accuracy were also observed. The method is amenable to the validation of radiosynthetic methods.
Plastics for Leakproof Fuel Tanks

FOLLOWING the initial development of Convair's delta‐winged aircraft, a new concept of fuel tank design became imperative because it is necessary to use every available cubic inch of space for fuel storage in relatively thin wings.
Performance optimization for transparent fault-tolerant Web service

Reliable Web service requires the ability to complete transactions that are in progress when a Web server fails. We have previously presented a client-transparent scheme, based on a standby backup and logging, for providing such fault-tolerant Web service. The scheme does not require deterministic servers and can thus properly handle dynamic content. This paper presents two performance optimizations that significantly reduce the overhead of the scheme. For dynamic content, distributing the primary and backup tasks among the servers increases the throughput of a server cluster. For static content, that is deterministic and readily generated, avoiding explicit logging of replies to the backup reduces the overhead. Our implementation is based on special modules in the Linux kernel and the Apache Web server. We discuss implementation issues and present overhead measurements in terms of latency, throughput, and CPU cycles.
The role of migration in the development of depressive symptoms among Latino immigrant parents in the USA

Nearly one out of every four children in the US is a child of immigrants. Yet few studies have assessed how factors at various stages of migration contribute to the development of health problems in immigrant populations. Most focus only on post-migration factors influencing health. Using data from the Latino Adolescent Migration, Health, and Adaptation Project, this study assessed the extent to which pre-migration (e.g., major life events, high poverty), migration (e.g., unsafe and stressful migration experiences), post-migration (e.g., discrimination, neighborhood factors, family reunification, linguistic isolation), and social support factors contributed to depressive symptoms among a sample of Latino immigrant parents with children ages 12-18. Results indicated that high poverty levels prior to migration, stressful experiences during migration, as well as racial problems in the neighborhood and racial/ethnic discrimination upon settlement in the US most strongly contribute to the development of depressive symptoms among Latino immigrant parents. Family reunification, social support, and familism reduce the likelihood of depressive symptoms.
Women’s Perceptions of Safety and Risk Following Police Intervention for Intimate Partner Violence

Police intervention is a primary response to intimate partner violence (IPV) but does not guarantee a victim's future safety. This study sought to identify factors associated with IPV survivors' perceptions of safety and risk of revictimization following police intervention. One hundred sixty-four women completed a questionnaire, and 11 of those women also took part in qualitative interviews. The findings revealed that feeling unsafe and perceiving oneself to be at risk of future violence is associated with experiencing particular forms of IPV, including battering, lethality threats, and sexual violence. Having support from others and distance from the partner helps women feel safe.
A note on the central limit theorem for geodesic random walks

In this article we use a theorem of T.G. Kurtz to prove a central limit theorem for geodesic random walks.
Abuse Freedom in Access Control Schemes

We present a protocol for access control in which any entity can prove its access privileges only to designated servers. This generalizes the problem of abuse freedom to the question of access control. If an abuse free access control device is captured by a malicious party, the information about places or resources it can access would not be revealed to the capturing party.
A Novel Apparatus for the Synthesis of Graphite Encapsulated Metallic Nanocrystals

Graphite encapsulated metal nanocrystals (GEM nanocrystals) are a promising new class of materials with both scientific and industrial significance. Several encapsulating graphite layers protect the nanoscale metallic core without compromising the inherent magnetic properties of the metal, thereby enhancing studies of small particle magnetism. The size and single domain nature of these particles immediately suggest a wide variety of potential applications ranging from increased density magnetic data storage to immunoassays. Encapsulated nanoparticles have traditionally been synthesized by evaporating a composite metal/graphite anode via an electric arc. While effective, that method also results in a great deal of unwanted amorphous carbon debris in the product. Based on past synthesis runs and observations, an improved apparatus for GEM production has been designed with the goals of increasing GEM yield and reducing soot production. The four segment system consists of I ) a chamber capable of arc or resistive evaporation of raw material(s), 2) a tube furnace for the chemical vapor deposition of carbon on raw material(s) via hydrocarbon dissociation, 3) an increased-efficiency powder collection unit, and 4) a final powder reservoir. Details of the new apparatus are presented here.
FORMATION AND CHEMILUMINESCENT DECOMPOSITION OF DIOXETANES IN THE GAS PHASE

— High resolution chemiluminescence spectra have been obtained of the singlet electronically excited products of O2(1Δ) plus alkene, dioxetane forming, reactions. The experiments were conducted in a flow apparatus at pressures of 1–5 torr. The spectra are a measure of the unrelaxed initial distribution of energy in the excited product. Results are reported for ethylene, 1, 1-difluoroethylene. methyl vinyl ether, ethyl vinyl ether, n-butyl vinyl ether, ketene, ketene-d2, allene, unsymdimethyl allene, dimethyl ketene, 2-methoxy propene, 1-ethoxy propene, 2-bromo propene, and N, N-dimethyl isobutenyl amine. Chemiluminescence activation energies, representing the cycloaddition process, and absolute quantum yields for singlet excited product, ranging from 10--4 to 2.5 × 10--2. are reported for 10 alkenes. Several of the reactions, 1,1-difluoroethylene, ketene, ethylene and allene give formaldehyde 1nπ* product with excess vibrational-rotational energy and a higher quantum yield than reactions not displaying this phenomenon. This is an indication of at least partially statistical partitioning of the energy in excess of that needed to electronically excite the formaldehyde. The experiments with ketene and ketene-d2 provide the first evidence for the existence of unsubstituted 1,2-dioxetanone. The results from several of the experiments, particularly those with 2-methoxy propene and I-ethoxy propene are consistent with the mechanism of Goddard, which predicts regioselective and stereoselective attack of O2(1Δ) upon alkoxy substituted alkenes having allylic hydrogen.
Optimization of fuzzy clustering criteria using genetic algorithms

This paper introduces a general approach based on genetic algorithms for optimizing a broad class of clustering criteria. The standard approach for optimizing these criteria has been to alternate optimizations between the variables which represent fuzzy memberships of the data to various clusters, and those prototype variables which determine the geometry of the clusters. The approach suggested here first re-parameterizes the criteria into functions of the prototype variables alone. The prototype variables are then coded as binary strings so that genetic algorithms can be applied. An overview of the approach and two simple numerical examples are given. >
Morphological and cytochemical determination of cell death by apoptosis

Several modes of cell death are now recognized, including necrosis, apoptosis, and autophagy. Oftentimes the distinctions between these various modes may not be apparent, although the precise mode may be physiologically important. Accordingly, it is often desirable to be able to classify the mode of cell death. Apoptosis was originally defined by structural alterations in cells observable by transmitted light and electron microscopy. Today, a wide variety of imaging and cytochemical techniques are available for the investigation of apoptosis. This review will highlight many of these methods, and provide a critique on the advantages and disadvantages associated with them for the specific identification of apoptotic cells in culture and tissues.
Dynamic compilation for component-based high performance computing

Component-based frameworks for high-performance computing (HPC) are being developed in response to the increasing complexity of HPC software. These frameworks promote the development of clear programming interfaces that allow easy code reuse, distributed development, and inter-language operability. Unfortunately, the decoupled and dynamic nature of component-based applications prevent static compilers from applying optimization across components. Consequently, if components are used at too fine of a granularity they can impose a significant performance overhead -- a serious consequence in the HPC community. Therefore, this paper proposes dynamic compilation as a method for improving performance of component-based HPC applications, which would allow programmers to express programs at the most natural granularity. We introduce a technique called IR annotation in which a high-level intermediate representation (IR) of a program is embedded inside an optimized native executable. This approach leverages the benefits of multiple program representations at the cost of increased code size. The optimized code enables immediate execution at native speed while the IR allows selective dynamic re-compilation if runtime monitoring exposes performance problems. Our experimental results for using IR annotation on the Common Component Architecture (CCA), a component-based HPC framework, show that the program size increase is only about 2.5x. Finally, we propose several ideas that can potentially further reduce the code growth due to IR annotation.
Superconducting junctions perturbed by environmental fluctuation.

A superconducting junctions device is investigated in the case of the environmental perturbation. It is found that a net voltage can be produced, whose absolute value represents a phenomenon of resonance versus the additive noise strength, and may be negative, positive, and zero. By controlling the correlation between the additive and multiplicative noises, a reversal for the net voltage can be induced. The dc voltage versus the dc current is studied. It is shown that ~1! with increasing the additive noise strength, the curve of the dc voltage versus the dc current is nearer and nearer to the one for the Ohmic theorem; ~2! the behavior of the dc voltage versus the dc current can be manipulated by controlling the noise’s strengths. In addition, we study the mean first passage time ~MFPT! for the electron pair over a period of the potential, and find that the transition rate ~i.e., inverse of the MFPT! can be suppressed by the positive correlations between the additive and multiplicative noises and show a minimum as the function of the noise’s strengths.
Effect of carbohydrate on protein solubility

The effect of covalently attached carbohydrate on the solubility of a number of proteins has been examined by the PEG precipitation technique. Both increases and decreases in solubility are observed depending on the state of glycosylation, the type of protein, and temperature. It is concluded from this data and associated apparent thermodynamic parameters that a general role for carbohydrate in the solubilization of proteins is not currently experimentally supportable.
Normal and regenerating optic fibers in goldfish tectum: HRP-EM evidence for rapid synaptogenesis and optic fiber-fiber affinity.

The distribution of normal and regenerating retinal fibers and synapses was studied on tectum in goldfish by light (LM) and electron microscopy (EM). Since labeling of the early regenerating fibers was previously reported to be difficult, a new “cold-fill” HRP labeling protocol was developed, which labeled regenerating optic fibers and terminals on tectum as early as 14 days after nerve crush when they first arrive on tectum. In order to characterize the laminar distribution of optic afferents in normal fish and in fish regenerating for 14–240 days, EM photomontages of areas 14 μm wide by 160 μm deep through the HRP-labeled primary optic innervation layer (S-SO-SFGS) were constructed. The time points in regeneration that were examined spanned the period in which others have shown that an initially diffuse retinotopic map becomes spatially restricted. At the LM level regenerating optic fibers were restricted to the optic lamina. They reinnervated tectum in an anterior to posterior sequence as previously seen with autoradiography. In addition, at 14 days, some “pioneer” optic fascicles were found to have already grown to posterior tectum where they gave rise to branches with boutonlike terminations and growth-cone-like processes. From the ultrastructural analysis it was clear that optic fibers and terminals observed strict laminar boundaries as they partitioned themselves in the optic laminae (S, SO and SFGS) in both normal and regenerating fish. The behavior of optic fibers was lamina specific with respect to synapse formation and the orientation of fiber outgrowth. As early as 14 days regeneration, optic fibers made synapses onto the four types of postsynaptic profiles observed in normal fish. Numerous optic terminals were labeled at 14 days, and there appeared to be no waiting period between fiber ingrowth to the SO and synapse formation in the S and SFGS. At 14–60 days, atypical synaptic contacts which appear to be nascent synapses were made by labeled optic fibers in fascicles and by growth-cone-like processes. By 21–30 days, the density of optic terminals was high and there were many more fasciculated optic fibers in the SFGS than normal as late as 240 days. These findings suggest that optic fiber lamination is highly constrained by tectal cues, that fibers rapidly regenerate many synaptic terminals before retinotopic map refinement is complete, and that fibers have a strong affinity for each other.
On the tradeoff between two types of processing gains

One of the features characterizing almost every multiple-access (MA) communication system is the processing gain. Through the use of spreading sequences, the processing gain of random code-division multiple-access (RCDMA) systems, or any other code-division multiple-access (CDMA) systems, is devoted to both bandwidth expansion and orthogonalization of the signals transmitted by different users. Another type of MA system is impulse radio (IR). IR systems promise to deliver high data rates over ultra-wideband channels with low-complexity transmitters and receivers. In many aspects, IR systems are similar to time-division MA systems, and the processing gain of IR systems represents the ratio between the actual transmission time and the total time between two consecutive transmissions (on-plus-off-to-on ratio). While CDMA systems, which constantly excite the channel, rely on spreading sequences to orthogonalize the signals transmitted by different users, IR systems transmit a series of short pulses, and the orthogonalization between the signals transmitted by different users is achieved by the fact that most of the pulses do not collide with each other at the receiver. In this paper, a general class of MA communication systems that use both types of processing gain is presented, and both IR and RCDMA systems are demonstrated to be two special cases of this more general class of systems. The bit-error rate of several receivers as a function of the ratio between the two types of processing gain is analyzed and compared, under the constraint that the total processing gain of the system is large and fixed. It is demonstrated that in non-intersymbol interference (ISI) channels, there is no tradeoff between the two types of processing gain. However, in ISI channels, a tradeoff between the two types of processing gain exists. In addition, the suboptimality of RCDMA systems in frequency-selective channels is established.
The habitat of Salpa fusiformis in the California Current as defined by indicator assemblages1

Indicator assemblages can define the habitat of a planktonic species. Diatom assemblages that co-occur with Salpa fusiformis, a common planktonic herbivore, suggest a constancy in the environment of this tunicate: S. fusiformis is found with a suite of diatoms whose relative abundances are predictable to a degree. Preliminary results indicate that swarm formation by S. fusiformis occurs in waters different from that of other salp species commonly found in the California Current.
Protection of pulmonary epithelial cells from oxidative stress by hMYH adenine glycosylase

Background Oxygen toxicity is a major cause of lung injury. The base excision repair pathway is one of the most important cellular protection mechanisms that responds to oxidative DNA damage. Lesion-specific DNA repair enzymes include hOgg1, hMYH, hNTH and hMTH.
Some Meteorological Characteristics of Significant Tornado Events Occurring in Proximity to Flash Flooding

A study was performed to determine meteorological aspects of environments in which thunderstorms produced both strong or violent tornadoes and flash floods within a limited temporal and spatial domain. It was found that the overwhelming majority of these episodes occurred in the spring and summer months and during the afternoon and evening hours. In most instances, at least some of the tornadoes were present when flash flooding was in progress. The ambient environment usually included an air mass that exhibited both relatively high convective instability and abundant lower-tropospheric moisture, including an average most-unstable CAPE of 3200 J kg21 and mean surface dewpoint and precipitable water values of 708F (218C) and 41 mm (1.6 in.), respectively. Storm-relative helicity magnitudes indicated that the vertical wind shear ranged from marginally to moderately favorable for supercell formation in all cases. Surface patterns for each episode were generally similar to patterns earlier studies determined to be frequently attendant with flash flooding, in which preexisting surface boundaries acted to focus deep convection. Most events also occurred east of an approaching and welldefined upper-tropospheric trough and in the left-front or right-rear quadrant of an upper-level jet streak in which upward vertical motion is usually present.
Exploiting Signal Subspaces to Reduce Mean-Squared Error in Subband Adaptive Filtering

This paper shows that the lowest mean-squared error achievable in a subband adaptive filter depends on the error in a least-squares estimation problem involving the impulse response of the subband analysis filter. This connection is exploited to study the effect upon minimum mean-squared error of varying subband adaptive filter length, fullband time delay, and the subband decimation factor
A Maximal Mass Confinement Principle for Rigid and Locally Rigid Image Registration

In this paper we propose (1) to set the problem of image registration as a contour/region-template-to-image matching problem using so-called confiners --- also called blobs or components --- as template regions, (2) to select the confiners of one of the images by passing through the hierarchical structure which they define and registering them successively rigidly form coarse-to-fine to the other image, the target image, and (3) we propose a maximum mass confinement (MMC) principle for contour-to-image registration. This principle allows us to derive a similarity measure assessing how well the confiner fits into the target image simply by calculating the gray value mass confined by its contour. By optimizing this measure for rigid transformations we obtain our MMC algorithm registering a contour locally rigid to the target image. We illustrate that by proceeding based on (1-3) problems can be avoided which were related to previous registration algorithms based on confiners. We compare our MMC algorithm with another template matching algorithm based on normalized mutual information. Equally, we compare our hierarchical image registration strategy with B-Spline based non-rigid registration using normalized mutual information. We performed our evaluation on real and simulated images in terms of robustness, accuracy and computation speed. We show that both, MMC template matching on its own and hierarchical image registration using MMC, in most cases outperform the respective alternative method.
Evolution of a Short-Term Study of Lodgepole Pine Dwarf Mistletoe Vectors that Turned Into a Long-Term Study of the Remarkable Gray Jay on the Fraser Experimental Forest, Colorado 1982–2009

This is a summary of a 5-year short-term study that evolved into 28 years of long-term research on the US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service’s Fraser Experimental Forest in Colorado. The study was begun in 1982 by Forest Service Research Scientists Thomas H. Nicholls and Frank G. Hawksworth to determine the importance of mammal and bird vectors in the long-distance dissemination of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium americanum), an economically devastating forest disease of western forests. The original vector study evolved into a study of a plant growth regulator using ethephon for controlling small pockets of lodgepole pine dwarf mistletoe initiated by vector-disseminated seed. An in-depth study of the ecology of the most common vector of dwarf mistletoe, the gray jay (Persisoreus canadensis), followed. The gray jay study evolved into sub-studies on: radio-tracking gray jays between infected and healthy stands in 1983, the exotic West Nile virus in 2003, the development of a method to predict populations and habitat carrying capacities for gray jays by using modeling and geographic information systems techniques in 2005, the use of the polymerase chain reaction technique to sex gray jays for the first time in 2005, and determining the impact of the native mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) outbreak on gray jay habitat and population in 2009.
Extremely interesting, very interesting, or only quite interesting? Adverbs and social class

An earlier study, based on interviews with a socially stratified sample showed a difference in the use of adverbs, with the middle-class speakers using derived adverbs in -ly more than twice as frequently as the working-class speakers. An examination of interactions in peer-group same-sex dyads shows a similar socially stratified pattern in both adults and adolescents. There are similar differences in the use of some other adverbs and certain adjectives. The consistency of the results suggests that there is a stable difference in speech styles between the two social classes and that this difference reflects a different attitude on the part of the speakers to their audience.
Effects of Pretreatment and Posttreatment Depressive Symptoms on Alcohol Consumption Following Treatment in Project MATCH

Objective:This study examined the associations of pretreatment and posttreatment depressive symptoms with drinking outcomes in the year following treatment in Project MATCH (Matching Alcoholism Treatments to Client Heterogeneity), a multisite clinical trial of behavioral treatments for alcohol-use disorders. Method:Data from 1,726 participants were modeled using generalized estimating equations to examine drinking frequency and intensity, as reflected by percentage days abstinent (PDA) and average drinks per drinking day (DDD). We predicted that patients who reported more pretreatment and posttreatment depressive symptoms would report greater drinking frequency (PDA) and more intense drinking (DDD) across the 12-month follow-up period. Results:Pretreatment Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scores predicted more frequent and intense drinking in the year following treatment, although not after accounting for posttreatment BDI scores, which were associated with the drinking outcomes as hypothesized. Patients w...
A Milestone for the Journal of Thoracic Oncology.

Journal of Thoracic Oncology ® • Volume 10, Number 12, December 2015 In 2005, the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) ended their publishing agreement with Elsevier, signed an agreement with Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW), and the Journal of Thoracic Oncology was born. This December issue of the journal is the last to be published with LWW. Starting January 1, 2016, the new publisher of the journal will be Elsevier. Indeed, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” At this juncture, I would like to express the gratitude of the current Editorial Board to a number of individuals and entities who have contributed to the success of this journal over the past decade. First, the IASLC membership and Board of Directors have helped support and guide the journal over the years. Members are loyal and dedicated to the journal, and the IASLC executives and board members have always given their guidance and support. Second, I would like to thank our inaugural editor-in-chief Dr. James Jett and his editorial team for launching and growing the journal for the first 7 years. Finally, our publisher LWW has been pivotal in the growth of the journal, which they leave with an excellent reputation and high visibility. As we move into the second decade of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, please mull over a few facts that attest to the dedication, vision, and hard work of all those acknowledged here. The first impact factor in 2007 was 1.429, it is now 5.282. In 2005, 108 manuscripts were submitted to the journal, and in 2014, it was 1256. In 2005, it took an average of 30 days from the receipt of an article to the first decision being rendered. In 2014, it took 12.3 days. In 2005, we received submissions from 17 countries, and in 2015, submissions have been received from at least 43 countries. Indeed the journal has grown over the last 10 years and admirably serves the global oncology and research community. We thank all of our supporters and look forward to an even more dramatic growth over the next decade.
Phosphorylation of Na(+)-H+ antiporter is not stimulated by phorbol ester and acidification in granulocytic HL-60 cells.

During differentiation of HL-60 cells into granulocyte-like cells, mRNA and protein levels for the Na(+)-H+ antiporter increased 10- to 15-fold. However, functional activity, as measured by recovery from an acid load [intracellular pH (pHi) 6.5] increased by only about twofold. In addition, basal pHi (measured in the absence of bicarbonate) increased from 7.15 to 7.26, suggesting an alteration in the antiporter's "set point" during HL-60 cell differentiation. To gain insight into the role of the Na(+)-H+ antiporter in HL-60 cell differentiation, we studied mRNA expression of the NHE-1, NHE-3, and NHE-4 isoforms. Only the NHE-1 isoform mRNA increased during differentiation. Because it has recently been shown that the antiporter is regulated by phosphorylation, we next studied NHE-1 protein phosphorylation during HL-60 cell differentiation. Differentiation by exposure to 1 microM retinoic acid for 6 days caused a 15-fold increase in the synthesis of the NHE-1 protein. However, immunoprecipitation of 32P-labeled antiporter showed a decrease in band intensity. These data indicate that during HL-60 cell differentiation, there was a net decrease in the phosphorylation of NHE-1 despite an increase in pHi. Nonetheless, recovery from an acid load (pHi 6.51) was significantly more rapid in differentiated than control cells: 62 +/- 6 vs. 38 +/- 8 mmol H+.min-1.1 cells-1, respectively. However, acid loading decreased antiporter phosphorylation by twofold in differentiated and undifferentiated HL-60 cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Stress Wave Attenuation in Noncollinear Structures Subjected to Impulsive Transient Loadings

AbstractThis paper presents an exploration of noncollinear Timoshenko beam structures for attenuating the stress waves generated from impulsive transient loadings. Due to the existence of the noncollinear segments, flexural waves are generated in addition to the longitudinal waves. Furthermore, the resulting waves are dispersive and thus provide higher potential for the attenuation of the stress waves. Symmetric patterns are found to be more appropriate for increasing the stress-wave attenuation capacity, as these patterns can eliminate bending stress effects at the boundary of the structures. More generally, an adaptive optimization methodology is developed to find the most efficient layout of the noncollinear stress-wave attenuators (NSWAs). This methodology uses genetic algorithms (GA), coupled with an explicit finite-element (FE) method for analyzing the wave-propagation behavior of the structures. The developed methodology is capable of updating the FE model of each trial solution, as the geometric c...
Evaluative Studies of Institutions for Delinquents: Implications for Research and Social Policy

■ Most evaluative studies of institutions for delinquents try to measure organizational successes. This is a misleading approach since reliance is usually placed on indications of renewed delinquent involvement—a measure of potential organizational failure. When all sources of potential failure are taken into account, it is found that private residential treatment centers are as likely to be associated with failure as are their nonselective public counterparts. ■
Parametrization dependence and Delta Chi**2 in parton distribution fitting

Parton distribution functions, which describe probability densities of quarks and gluons in the proton, are essential for interpreting the data from high energy hadron colliders. The parton distribution functions are measured by approximating them with functional forms that contain many adjustable parameters, which are determined by fitting a wide variety of experimental data. This paper examines the uncertainty that arises from choosing the form of parametrization, and shows how that uncertainty can be reduced using a technique based on Chebyshev polynomials.
A Surgical Experiment in Changing the Refraction of the Eye

The eye has been shortened surgically. There has been no attempt to lengthen it by surgical means. Mueller1 reported a complicated operation for shortening the axis, by first performing a Kroenlein and then removing an eliptical segment of sclera from the exposed temporal side, 20 mm long and 8 mm to 10 mm wide, placing 5 scleral sutures and then puncturing the choroid before tying them to avoid injury. The object was the cure of detached retina, on the assumption of disproportion of the shrinking retina and the ocular shell. Recently. Lindner2 proposed cutting the superior rectus muscle, excising an eliptical piece of sclera, the long axis equatorially, stitching the scleral wound so as to avoid injuring the choroid and sewing the severed muscle and conjunctiva back in place; later, doing the same thing below, and in turn, the two sides. In other words, 4 stages. Barkan3 recently exhibited a moving picture of an operation where a strip of sclera was removed equatorially, after first severing the 4 recti ...
The A-V Conduction System in the Heart of the Guinea Pig:

SummaryIn the guinea pig heart, the A-V conducting tissue is readily differentiated under the microscope from the myocardial tissue. The distribution of the right and left branches of the A-V bundle is similar to that described for other mammalian hearts. In addition there are other septal branches in this heart which are not seen in most mammalian hearts. The significance of these findings is pointed out.
Designing a Pen-Based Data Collection Application for the Consumer Price Index: Lessons Learned

The ever-increasing number and variety of mobile devices allow users to access information and online applications from remote locations. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is taking advantage of these technologies to build a Computer-Assisted Data Collection (CADC) instrument for the Consumer Price Index (CPI). For the survey, BLS employees visit a total of 25,000 businesses each month to collect price information on approximately 85,000 items. Currently, they collect all the data on paper. In developing the instrument, we are following a user-centered design approach, which has enabled us to find and fix many usability problems early in development. We faced a variety of usability challenges, especially in designing the instrument to fit on the pen computer display. This paper describes some of the lessons we learned in converting our paper survey to CADC.
Selective Action of Dyes and of Other Disinfectants on Bacteriophages

In a previous report1 we showed that there is a selective action of crystal violet and of brilliant green on bacteriophages. It had been demonstrated by others 2 that methylene blue and toluidine blue inactivate staphylococcus phages when the proper procedures are followed. However, some of these investigators 2a failed to get positive results with crystal violet, brilliant green or gentian violet. It was found necessary in our former work to use high concentrations of the dyes, correlated with variable incubation periods and temperatures, in order to produce the desired results. When this was done, the data appeared to show some correlation between the selective action of crystal violet on bacteria and that on their respective phages. The results further indicated that the reactions followed the Gram rule
Bioactive hydrogels with enhanced initial and sustained cell interactions

The highly tunable properties of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-based hydrogel systems permit their use in a wide array of regenerative medicine and drug delivery applications. One of the most valuable properties of PEG hydrogels is their intrinsic resistance to protein adsorption and cell adhesion, as it allows for a controlled introduction of desired bioactive factors including proteins, peptides, and drugs. Acrylate-PEG-N-hydroxysuccinimide (Acr-PEG-NHS) is widely utilized as a PEG linker to functionalize bioactive factors with photo-cross-linkable groups. This enables their facile incorporation into PEG hydrogel networks or the use of PEGylation strategies for drug delivery. However, PEG linkers can sterically block integrin binding sites on functionalized proteins and reduce cell-material interactions. In this study we demonstrate that reducing the density of PEG linkers on protein backbones during functionalization results in significantly improved cell adhesion and spreading to bioactive hydrogels. However, this reduction in functionalization density also increases protein loss from the matrix over time due to ester hydrolysis of the Acr-PEG-NHS linkers. To address this, a novel PEG linker, acrylamide-PEG-isocyanate (Aam-PEG-I), with enhanced hydrolytic stability was synthesized. It was found that decreasing functionalization density with Aam-PEG-I resulted in comparable increases in cell adhesion and spreading to Acr-PEG-NHS systems while maintaining protein and bioactivity levels within the hydrogel network over a significantly longer time frame. Thus, Aam-PEG-I provides a new option for protein functionalization for use in a wide range of applications that improves initial and sustained cell-material interactions to enhance control of bioactivity.
Application of wet welding technology in underwater engineering

This paper deals with the application of wet welding technology in underwater construction.In this paper,blind welding,cold shortness and hydrogen brittleness are mainly discussed as the major problems arising in underwater wet welding.Some advanced welding procedure,welding rod,welding pressure,welding variable etc to solve these problems and some underwater welding examples are also involved in this paper.
Repair of thumb degloving injuries by island flaps with pedicle of the first or second dorsal metacarpal artery

Objective To introduce the method of repairing thumb degloving injuries by island flaps with pedicle of the first or second dorsal metacarpal artery,Methods Nine thumbs of degloving injuries with intact neurovaseular bundle and nail beds were treated by island flaps with pedicle the of first or second metacarpal artery,Results All 9 island flaps survived,Seven cases were followed-up for 6 months to 4 years,The repaired thumbs, reconstructed nail grooves and nail folds, and donor sites all had satisfactory appearance,Nail growth was normal,Two-point discrimination ranged from 6 to 9 ram with an average of 8 mm.Flexion and extension of the thumb, index and middle fingers was normal,Retrieved to primary jobs,Conclusion Island flap based on pedicle of the first or second metacarpal artery is a good choice for treating degloving injuries of the thumb when the neurovascular bundle and nail bed is intact.