cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Modification of orthogonal tRNAs: unexpected consequences for sense codon reassignment

Breaking the degeneracy of the genetic code via sense codon reassignment has emerged as a way to incorporate multiple copies of multiple non-canonical amino acids into a protein of interest. Here, we report the modification of a normally orthogonal tRNA by a host enzyme and show that this adventitious modification has a direct impact on the activity of the orthogonal tRNA in translation. We observed nearly equal decoding of both histidine codons, CAU and CAC, by an engineered orthogonal M. jannaschii tRNA with an AUG anticodon: tRNAOpt We suspected a modification of the tRNAOptAUG anticodon was responsible for the anomalous lack of codon discrimination and demonstrate that adenosine 34 of tRNAOptAUG is converted to inosine. We identified tRNAOptAUG anticodon loop variants that increase reassignment of the histidine CAU codon, decrease incorporation in response to the histidine CAC codon, and improve cell health and growth profiles. Recognizing tRNA modification as both a potential pitfall and avenue of directed alteration will be important as the field of genetic code engineering continues to infiltrate the genetic codes of diverse organisms.
CFD analyses of mixed and forced convection in a heated vertical rod bundle

Abstract The effects of spacer grid blockage ratio and spacer grid spacing on heat transfer in a vertical rod bundle are presented in this study. A 3-D model of a 1/8th cross-section of a subchannel with and without spacer grids has been considered for CFD simulation. The inlet flow Reynolds number (Re) was varied from 1640 to 12,000 to investigate the flow effect on heat transfer. A suitable turbulence model was selected for this study by comparing the local Nusselt number (Nu) in the subchannel with previously published experimental data. The simulation results predicted the experimental data satisfactorily with maximum 10% deviation when compared with published experimental data for a pitch-to-diameter (P/D) ratio of 1.25 and maximum 7% deviation for a P/D ratio of 1.5. Different spacer grid blockage ratios (0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4) were studied and the dependence of the pressure drop on the Re at the grid was analyzed. Furthermore, the effect of the spacer grid spacing was investigated. The simulation results were found to compare very well with some notable correlations found in the literature.
Source/Drain Asymmetry in InGaAs Vertical Nanowire MOSFETs

This paper demonstrates InGaAs vertical nanowire (VNW) MOSFETs fabricated via an improved top–down approach, the performance of which is comparable to that of the best bottom–up devices in terms of the balance between transport and electrostatics. These devices, when contrasted with an earlier generation fabricated by a similar technology, have enabled the first experimental study of source/drainasymmetry in InGaAs VNWMOSFETs. The transconductance differs significantly when swapping source and drain due to inherently different top and bottom contact electrical resistance. This also results in distinct asymmetry in the saturation behavior of the output characteristics. On the other hand, diameter nonuniformity along the nanowire (NW) length is responsible for asymmetry in the subthreshold characteristics. A uniform NW cross section, enabled by our improved InGaAs dry etch technology in the present devices, eliminates the asymmetry of the electrostatics, which was observed in our previous work.
Statistical Methods for Recurrent Event Analysis in Cohort Studies of CKD

Cardiovascular events, such as hospitalizations because of congestive heart failure, often occur repeatedly in patients with CKD. Many studies focus on analyses of the first occurrence of these events, and discard subsequent information. In this article, we review a number of statistical methods for analyzing ordered recurrent events of the same type, including Poisson regression and three commonly used survival models that are extensions of Cox proportional hazards regression. We illustrate the models by analyzing data from the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort Study to identify risk factors for congestive heart failure hospitalizations in patients with CKD. We show that recurrent event analyses provide additional insights about the data compared with a standard survival analysis of time to the first event.
Can learning communities boost success of women and minorities in STEM? Evidence from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Abstract I study the impacts of a freshman learning community at MIT called the Experimental Study Group (ESG) which has features aligning with the National Academies’ recommendations for expanding the representation and success of women and minorities in STEM fields. I exploit the lottery-based admission system to estimate causal treatment effects. I find no statistically significant effects on academic outcomes for ESG enrollees generally, but women who participate in the program have higher GPAs and complete more credits of coursework. Minority students are more likely to major in math, computer science, or electrical engineering after participating in the program. Though quite noisy, the results are suggestive that women and minorities in STEM may benefit from learning communities.
Definitions and the Development of Theory in Social Psychology

Formal definitions specify what is necessary and sufficient for the identification of a particular term. These formal definitions use precise language and do not admit contradictions; they are exac...
Jackson, E. L., & Burton, T. L. (1999). Leisure studies: Prospects for the twenty-first century

(2000). Jackson, E. L., & Burton, T. L. (1999). Leisure studies: Prospects for the twenty-first century. SCHOLE: A Journal of Leisure Studies and Recreation Education: Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 137-139.
Safe vegetarian diets for children

Questions concerning the suitability of different forms of vegetarian diets for young children and infants are explored. The basic principles and some practical approaches are outlined, with emphasis given to lacto-ovo-vegetarian diets.
Electronic States in LicMg1-c Alloys: Soft X-Ray Emission Spectra

It has been recognized since the 30’s (Farineau and Morand 1938) that soft x-ray spectroscopy represents a powerful tool for studying the electronic states of alloys. However, only with the advent of equally powerful theoretical tools for calculating the electronic states has soft x-ray spectroscopy been used as a quantitative test of the underlying theory of alloys. The recent work of Durham et al., (1979) on the CucNi1-c alloy system amply demonstrates both the utility of the experiment and the precision of the theoretical description afforded by the Korringa-Kohn-Rostocker-coherent-potential-approximation (KKR-CPA) method of calculating the electronic states in random metallic alloys (Stocks et al., 1978; Gyorffy and Stocks, 1979).
Localization of the lactose permease protein(s) in the E.coli envelope

The amino acid double labeling technique was used to identify and localize membrane-bound lactose operon proteins in E.coli. Both the “M” protein, thought to be the y gene product, and a polypeptide of MW ∼15,000 appeared in the membrane following lac operon induction. The amounts of these two proteins were approximately equal. The inner and outer membrane layers of the cell envelope were separated by sucrose density gradient centrifugation or by selective solubilization of inner membranes with the detergent Sarkosyl. When gentle lysis conditions were employed to prepare membrane vesicles, both lac induced proteins fractionated with the inner membrane. However, the “M” protein was more easily randomized in the envelope structure by sonication than the 15,000 dalton component or an inner membrane marker enzyme.
Quasi-Static and Dynamic Fracture Behaviors of Additively Printed ABS Coupons Studied Using DIC: Role of Build Architecture and Loading Rate

This work deals with quasi-static and dynamic fracture behaviors of Additively Manufactured (AM) ABS coupons. In this research, planar specimens have been additively printed using a heated circular nozzle producing a continuous bead of 0.2 mm diameter and 0.2 mm layer thickness in the build directions. Of specific interest to this work is the role of two different print architectures namely 0/90° and ± 45° in-plane orientations. The local measurement of in-plane displacements are performed optically using DIC up to crack initiation and during growth in quasi-statically loaded 3-point bend specimens and impact loaded edge-notched specimens. The latter set of experiments are carried out using an instrumented Hopkinson pressure bar and an ultrahigh-speed digital camera. Significant differences in the engineering parameters and failure modes as a result of the build variables and loading rates are observed.
Daratumumab-based combination therapies (DCT) in heavily-pretreated patients (pts) with relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM).

8038Background: Daratumumab-based Combination Therapies (DCT) with bortezomib (V)/ lenalidomide (R)/ pomalidomide (P) and dexamethasone (d) showed exceptional activity in RRMM in trials. Experience outside of trials since the approval of Daratumumab (D) in 2015 is limited. Methods: RRMM pts seen at Mayo Clinic, MN from 12/2015 -12/2016 were reviewed. Pts who received ≥ 1cycle of DCT were included. Time-to-event analyses were done from date of starting DCT. Common terminology criteria for adverse events v4.0 were used to grade toxicities. Results: Of 130 pts, 59% were males and median age at DCT initiation was 67 (43-93) years, ECOG performance score was ≥2 in 29%. Pts were classified as mSMART high (22%), intermediate (22%) or standard (56%) risk. Median time from diagnosis to initiation of DCT was 51.3 (5-156) months (m), and median number of prior therapies was 4 (1-14). 14% of pts were refractory to prior D monotherapy. Fifty-three (41%), 34 (26%) and 25 (19%) received DPd, DRd and DVd respectively. Ei...
IoT Based Framework: Mathematical Modelling and Analysis of Dust Impact on Solar Panels

The solar photovoltaic performance is governed by manifold parameters viz. temperature, irradiance, dust on solar module, photoactive material, panel orientation. Among these dust is a critical impediment, as its accumulation on panel surface degrades its productivity; while frequent cleaning sessions affect module’s life and result into PV destruction. Accordingly, the need to know dust thickness responsible for deteriorating panel’s capability and adequate cleaning time of solar panels to produce optimum yields is requisite. This paper aims to discern a right cleaning time, owing to a particular dust thickness so as to conserve the panel efficiency using internet of things (IoT). The mathematical correlations of PV efficiency and current with thickness of accumulated dust are derived using linear regression. Further, these equations are associated with an IoT-based platform which remotely monitors and records PV output current; thereafter dust thickness corresponding to a significant current reduction is estimated. For this, experimental data of 46 inverters with total 114,819.30 kWh productions in a month with an average of 4416.13 kWh/day is accessed and the results pertaining to mathematical analysis exhibit a decline in current by 1 A with 5.51 × 10−3 mm thickness of dust.
Vital-sign monitoring on the go

With the help of algorithms for target tracking and removal of random body-movement noise, a radio-frequency sensor can track multiple people and monitor their individual vital signs in a real-world setting.
What is the Role of Hyperosmolar Therapy in Hemispheric Stroke Patients

The role of hyperosmolar therapy (HT) in large hemispheric ischemic or hemorrhagic strokes remains a controversial issue. Past and current stroke guidelines state that it represents a reasonable therapeutic measure for patients with either neurological deterioration or intracranial pressure (ICP) elevations documented by ICP monitoring. However, the lack of evidence for a clear effect of this therapy on radiological tissue shifts and clinical outcomes produces uncertainty with respect to the appropriateness of its implementation and duration in the context of radiological mass effect without clinical correlates of neurological decline or documented elevated ICP. In addition, limited data suggest a theoretical potential for harm from the prophylactic and protracted use of HT in the setting of large hemispheric lesions. HT exerts effects on parenchymal volume, cerebral blood volume and cerebral perfusion pressure which may ameliorate global ICP elevation and cerebral blood flow; nevertheless, it also holds theoretical potential for aggravating tissue shifts promoted by significant interhemispheric ICP gradients that may arise in the setting of a large unilateral supratentorial mass lesion. The purpose of this article is to review the literature in order to shed light on the effects of HT on brain tissue shifts and clinical outcome in the context of large hemispheric strokes, as well as elucidate when HT should be initiated and when it should be avoided.
Thru-Transmission Wavefield Imaging of Polycrystalline Grains

The nondestructive quantification of local grain properties in polycrystalline aerospace materials is an important area of recent research, where information related to mean grain size, grain size distribution, and crystallographic orientation are needed for engineering analysis and remaining life predictions in aerospace engine components. In the present effort, a novel ultrasonic imaging method is described that provides enhanced resolution measurements and characterization opportunities for microstructure states in polycrystalline materials. The method utilizes a standard focused immersion ultrasound approach to send ultrasound into a material system, and a collinear wavefield imaging beam to sense local ultrasound fields on the opposite side of the material. By raster scanning the sample relative to the transducer and wavefield beam positions, a high resolution measurement can be generated that has enhanced sensitivity to local grain property estimation.
Analgesic efficacy of adding the IPACK block to a multimodal analgesia protocol for primary total knee arthroplasty

Background and objectives Peripheral nerve blocks have been integrated into most multimodal analgesia protocols for total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The adductor canal block (ACB) has gained popularity because of its quadriceps muscle sparing. Similarly, local anesthetic injection between the popliteal artery and the posterior capsule of the knee, IPACK block, has been described to provide analgesia to the posterior capsule of the knee with motor-sparing qualities. This prospective randomized controlled trial aimed to assess the analgesic efficacy of adding the IPACK block to our current multimodal analgesic regimen, including the ACB, in patients undergoing primary TKA. Methods 119 patients were randomized to receive either an IPACK or a sham block in addition to multimodal analgesia and an ACB. We were set to assess pain in the back of the knee 6 hours after surgery. Other end points included quality of recovery after surgery, pain scores, opioid requirements, and functional measures. Results Patients who received the IPACK block had less pain in the back of the knee 6 hours after surgery when compared with the sham block: 21.7% vs 45.8%, p Conclusion The IPACK block reduced the incidence of posterior knee pain 6 hours postoperatively.
Steklov Expansion Method for Regularized Harmonic Boundary Value Problems

A new type of meshless method is proposed in this paper to solve regularized Laplacian boundary value problems of the form L u : = r 2 u − Δ u ≡ 0 . In this method, solving the Laplacian boundary v...
Emergency Department Visits for Nonfatal Opioid Overdose During the COVID-19 Pandemic Across Six US Health Care Systems.

Study objective People with opioid use disorder are vulnerable to disruptions in access to addiction treatment and social support during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our study objective was to understand changes in emergency department (ED) utilization following a nonfatal opioid overdose during COVID-19 compared to historical controls in 6 healthcare systems across the United States. Methods Opioid overdoses were retrospectively identified among adult visits to 25 EDs in Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, North Carolina, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island from January 2018 to December 2020. Overdose visit counts and rates per 100 all-cause ED visits during the COVID-19 pandemic were compared with the levels predicted based on 2018 and 2019 visits using graphical analysis and an epidemiologic outbreak detection cumulative sum algorithm. Results Overdose visit counts increased by 10.5% (n=3486; 95% confidence interval [CI] 4.18% to 17.0%) in 2020 compared with the counts in 2018 and 2019 (n=3020 and n=3285, respectively), despite a 14% decline in all-cause ED visits. Opioid overdose rates increased by 28.5% (95% CI 23.3% to 34.0%) from 0.25 per 100 ED visits in 2018 to 2019 to 0.32 per 100 ED visits in 2020. Although all 6 studied health care systems experienced overdose ED visit rates more than the 95th percentile prediction in 6 or more weeks of 2020 (compared with 2.6 weeks as expected by chance), 2 health care systems experienced sustained outbreaks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion Despite decreases in ED visits for other medical emergencies, the numbers and rates of opioid overdose-related ED visits in 6 health care systems increased during 2020, suggesting a widespread increase in opioid-related complications during the COVID-19 pandemic. Expanded community- and hospital-based interventions are needed to support people with opioid use disorder and save lives during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Coronavirus management and control: Nutrition and alternative medicines.

Background:In late December 2019, the outbreak of COVID-19 caused by the coronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome-CoV-2, originated in Wuhan Province, the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The...
LYRUS: A Machine Learning Model for Predicting the Pathogenicity of Missense Variants

Abstract Single amino acid variations (SAVs) are a primary contributor to variations in the human genome. Identifying pathogenic SAVs can aid in the diagnosis and understanding of the genetic architecture of complex diseases, such as cancer. Most approaches for predicting the functional effects or pathogenicity of SAVs rely on either sequence or structural information. Nevertheless, previous analyses have shown that methods that depend on only sequence or structural information may have limited accuracy. Recently, researchers have attempted to increase the accuracy of their predictions by incorporating protein dynamics into pathogenicity predictions. This study presents (LYRUS), a machine learning method that uses an XGBoost classifier selected by TPOT to predict the pathogenicity of SAVs. LYRUS incorporates five sequence-based features, six structure-based features, and four dynamics-based features. Uniquely, LYRUS includes a newly-proposed sequence co-evolution feature called variation number. LYRUS’s performance was evaluated using a dataset that contains 4,363 protein structures corresponding to 20,307 SAVs based on human genetic variant data from the ClinVar database. Based on our dataset, the LYRUS classifier has a higher accuracy, specificity, F-measure, and Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC) than alternative methods including PolyPhen2, PROVEAN, SIFT, Rhapsody, EVMutation, MutationAssessor, SuSPect, FATHMM, and MVP. Variation numbers used within LYRUS differ greatly between pathogenic and neutral SAVs, and have a high feature weight in the XGBoost classifier employed by this method. Applications of the method to PTEN and TP53 further corroborate LYRUS’s strong performance. LYRUS is freely available and the source code can be found at https://github.com/jiaying2508/LYRUS.
Diatom growth, biogenic silica production, and grazing losses to microzooplankton during spring in the northern Bering and Chukchi Seas

Abstract It is unclear how warming polar marine systems will alter the magnitude of diatom productivity and its fate within the food web. We examined diatom productivity and size-fractionated phytoplankton grazing losses to protozoan grazers in the northern Bering and Chukchi seas during June 2017. Sea ice was nearly absent and water temperatures were unseasonably warm; such conditions may be considered normal in future decades. Among 28 experiments conducted, five were in bloom conditions. Diatom biomass and production rates were similar to previous studies, suggesting the early ice retreat did not lead to appreciably reduced diatom growth. Statistical analyses showed that 77% of the variance in diatom growth rate could be explained by a combination of nutrients, light, and their interaction, but the interactive effect was most important (explaining 66% of the variance). Protozoan grazing intensity on phytoplankton was largely affected by size, specifically, grazing on larger phytoplankton (e.g. diatoms) was highly variable among stations, with many stations having unquantifiable rates. Protozoan grazers consumed an average of 23 ± 35% of growth at bloom stations and 55 ± 102% among non-bloom stations. For smaller phytoplankton, grazing was persistent and less variable spatially, consuming 64 ± 38% of growth at bloom stations and 79 ± 63% at non-bloom stations. Although previous studies (that did not size-fractionate samples) inferred that protozoan grazers control diatom biomass during blooms, our results suggest that diatom productivity largely escaped protozoan grazing losses, especially in bloom conditions, likely due to temporal lag between phytoplankton and protist biomass accumulation. Thus, during bloom conditions, it was estimated that 20–50 times more diatom organic matter was available for higher trophic levels and/or export (as opposed to water column remineralization) than under non-bloom conditions, despite only a 12-fold increase in gross diatom production in the bloom.
Social Media and Privacy Laws and Regulations in Mongolia

The explosion of social media use among the public on one hand, and the convergence of previously separate media on the other hand, create unprecedented challenges for the Mongolian legal system. Television and radio which used to be the party-state’s propaganda apparatus during the socialist time, cable television that brought American MTV and NBA in the 1990s following the democratic revolution of 1990, and social media that merged with newspapers all converged on mobile and digital forms, and their content and programs have become easily convertible from one form to another. Media convergence is often defined as “the coming together of all forms of mediated communications in an electronic, digital form driven by computers” (Pavlik 1996, p. 132). Media convergence also spills out to regulatory practices and delivery networks as well, leading to a frenzy of media consolidation among media outlets around the world (McChesney 1999; Mueller 1999). In Mongolia, these platforms have developed and been regulated differently--broadcasting was mostly supported by the state with strict content regulation over the years, whereas cable, mobile, Internet and satellite platforms have been developed by private companies with little state support and almost no content regulation. Cable television, internet protocol television (IPTV), wireless operators and social media platforms are regulated separately and with little regulations in terms of their roles in the public discourse. I will attempt to make an argument below that these disparate treatments of traditional media still impede the development of laws in addressing speech and privacy related tensions. In the above discussed legal and regulatory environment, the conflicting notions of free speech, surveillance, and privacy create social and legal uncertainties. During the socialist time the party-state omnipotently practiced censorship and surveillance, while independent media and free speech even individual thoughts were strictly controlled in the interest of the state even though they the freedom of the press and speech were promulgated in the constitution. Over the seventy years of socialism, the party-state synonymously acted as the public, and took away from the public freedom of expression and human rights in the name of “the public interest” (нам, олон нийтийн эрх ашиг). These practices of censorship and surveillance remains ingrained in the legal system and still seem to influence public expression on social media reminiscent of the explosion of the yellow press of the 1990s following the democratic revolution. These notions of surveillance, censorship and the public interest still drive the current formulations and interpretations of those terms indicating the rudimentary nature of Mongolian media laws.
Driving with Para-Central Visual Field Loss: Pilot Study

The authors studied how para-central visual field loss affects pedestrian detection in a driving simulator. Participants with para-central field loss had relatively good visual acuity (20/15 – 20/60) and 3 of 5 met local vision requirements for an unrestricted drivers license; however, they had lower detection rates and longer reaction times to pedestrians likely to appear within the blind area than in their seeing areas. They were at collision risk for 7% to 30% of pedestrians, whereas controls were at a collision risk for 0 to 4% of pedestrians.
Chemokine Receptors in Neuroinflammation

Actions of chemokines and the interaction with specific receptors within the central nervous system (CNS) surpass their original defined role of leukocyte recruitment to inflamed tissues. Chemokine receptor expression by resident CNS cells is crucial for normal brain development and architectural organization, neuronal protection during inflammatory and neurotoxic challenges, and, among many others, protective mechanisms during inflammatory conditions such as multiple sclerosis. The chemokine/chemokine receptor systems involved in such significant functions include CXCR4/CXCL12, CXCR2/CXCL1, and CX3CR1/CX3CL1. In this chapter, we discuss how these receptors might contribute to modulate communication within the CNS and with peripheral elements, and we also suggest potential mechanisms of action of fractalkine and the translation of these into the understanding of microglial function during neuro-inflammatory conditions.
Safe Inhibition of Amyloid Proteins Toxicity without Protein Specificity

The distinctive 3D structures of proteins have been optimized by a hundred million years of evolution allowing them to recognize their substrates with very high specificity. Thus, drugs targeting enzymes/receptors must compete specifically and bind with high affinity, typically, in the nanomolar range. In contrast, abnormal self-assembly of amyloid proteins into toxic oligomers and fibrils was not optimized and may, in fact, be a process evolution selected against. Therefore, the forces mediating the abnormal assembly process are substantially weaker. This is why the resulting oligomers are metastable and the nucleation of amyloid fibrils is a rare event. Consequently, we hypothesized that safe remodeling of the abnormal assembly process to inhibit formation of toxic species could be achieved using compounds that bind with moderate affinity and low specificity. We reasoned that binding of such compounds to stable proteins would not affect their structure or function. We tested this hypothesis using “molec...
Preferential damage to defined regions of genomic DNA by AT-specific anticancer drugs

Summary A non-random distribution of DNA lesions in various domains of the human genome may be important for the selectivity of antiproliferative action of anticancer drugs. Recent investigations explored the determinants of region-specific damage to cellular DNA in cancer cells by comparing highly AT-specific drugs (bizelesin, adozelesin, U-78779, and tallimustine) to a relatively non-specific drug, cisplatin. These studies consistently show that sequence specificity at the nucleotide level and a long-range distribution of drug binding motifs analyzed “ in silico ” predict well the actual relative vulnerability of specific regions to various drugs. Bizelesin is the first small molecular weight anticancer drug demonstrated to preferentially damage specific regions in cellular DNA. Bizelesin is region specific because its binding motif is non-randomly distributed, with clusters in long (200–1000 bp) islands of AT-rich DNA. A substantial specificity of this drug at the nucleotide level is an important and necessary factor to accomplish region-specific damage. The less specific adozelesin targets similar regions as bizelesin but with only a marginal preference over other areas of the genome. Cisplatin is not a region-specific drug, due to its low specificity of DNA recognition and the omnipresence of its potential binding sites. High specificity at the nucleotide level, however, is per se insufficient for region specificity. Tallimustine is not region specific, despite the very high sequence specificity. Paradoxically, the highly specific, and accordingly infrequent, tallimustine sites are distributed throughout the genome nearly randomly, resembling the distribution of much less specific (and more numerous) lesions by cisplatin. The consequences of DNA lesions in AT-islands targeted by bizelesin seem to be dramatically more lethal than non region-specific lesions by tallimustine and cisplatin. The reviewed findings provide a proof of principle that targeting of critical repetitive sequences (not necessarily coding regions), which allow for clustering of drug binding motif, can be the paradigm for region specificity of small molecular weight agents. The notion of regional drug targeting should be recognized as an essential extension of the rational design of sequence-specific drugs.
Approximate Error Bounds for Simulated Hydrographs

The problem of quantifying uncertainty in hydrologic model output is examined, and a review of previous work on the topic is given. The study focuses on the estimation of error bounds for simulated hydrographs, assuming the model to be perfect and accounting only for output uncertainty caused by uncertainty in parameter values. First-order uncertainty analysis is applied to the Stanford Watershed Model to calculate the effects of parameter uncertainty as it propagates through the model. The first-order approximations to the mean and standard deviation of model output are compared to estimates of the same quantities, using Monte Carlo analysis. This was done to identify the degree of parameter error for which the first-order approximations are valid. First-order analysis was found to give good approximations if the coefficients of variation (standard deviation/mean) on sensitive parameters were less than about 0.25. First-order analysis allows a large reduction in computation over Monte Carlo methods for estimating error bounds on simulated hydrographs.
The Best Interest of the Child

Abstract The term “best interest of the child”(BIC) is used within the legal system to focus attention on the needs and welfare of individual children. However, little is known about parents' perspective of the best interest for their child during divorce. This paper examines parents' and attorneys' understanding of BIC legal criteria in order to examine the similarities and differences between parental and professional concepts. Forty-one parents and 28 attorneys participated for a sample size of 69 semi-structured interviews. Parent responses corresponded with the legal criteria in about one-half of the cases. Although legal professionals and parents ranked similar criteria as most important, differing language and perspectives used to communicate these criteria hinder reconciliation of seemingly divergent concepts of BIC across parties. The clarification of these differences in parental and legal perspectives is necessary to maintain the welfare of the child as the primary concern in divorce cases.
Introducing Language Typology: What is language typology?

Chapter outline In this chapter, the goals of language-typological research will be defined as studying similarities and differences among languages that do not stem from shared genetic relationship, language contact, or shared environmental conditions. Some basic research tools will be introduced: language-typological generalizations of various kinds, ways of constructing language samples, and sources for obtaining language data. Goals You are riding in a crowded elevator; next to you stand two people conversing in a foreign language. You don’t understand a word of what they are saying and couldn’t even repeat any of it: their speech strikes you as just plain noise. Yet, the two people obviously communicate. One person says something whereupon the other breaks into a peal of laughter; he then responds and the first person comes back with another round of what sounds like complete gibberish. How can these odd noises make any sense to anybody? What you have just experienced is a true fact: languages are different. The following examples further illustrate how different they can be. (2), (3), and (4) are Polish, Hungarian, and Turkish translations of the English sentence in (1).
Assessment of whole gut and regional gastrointestinal transit times using a wireless motility capsule (SmartPill®) in healthy adults (637.14)

Some probiotics are hypothesized to modulate gut health, including GI transit time. In this ongoing study we are evaluating the efficacy of the probiotic bacterium Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. l...
Primary cancer of the vagina

Abstract 1. 1. One hundred twelve patients with primary cancer of the vagina seen at Roswell Park Memorial Institute between January, 1919, and December, 1952, are presented. 2. 2. The incidence was found to be 1.3 per cent of all gynecological cancer, with a ratio of one vaginal cancer to fifty-five cervical cancers. 3. 3. The average age was 57.5 years for the whole group. 4. 4. Three and six-tenths per cent gave a familial history of cancer. 5. 5. The menses show little significant change from the normals. The average age of menopause was not abnormal. 6. 6. Each patient had an average of 2.7 full-term children. Twenty-eight and four-tenths per cent of the group were nulliparous. 7. 7. Third-degree prolapse was present in 3.6 per cent, a rather low incidence and is not thought to be a prime etiological factor. 8. 8. Pessaries were thought to be a contributing factor in 4 patients. 9. 9. The disease is uncommonly associated with pregnancy and pregnancy is not believed to be a primary etiological factor or to alter the prognosis seriously. 10. 10. There is little evidence that associated general diseases are more prevalent in women with vaginal cancer or contribute to the production of the cancer. 11. 11. Bleeding was the commonest symptom in 75 per cent, followed by pain in 37.5 per cent. Nine per cent were asymptomatic. 12. 12. The average length of symptoms was 7.3 months. In only 16.3 per cent were symptoms present for less than one month at the time of the diagnosis. The usage of cytological diagnosis in this disease is noted. 13. 13. Fifty-nine per cent of the patients delayed in seeking medical consultation for an average of 8.6 months. 14. 14. Twenty-three per cent of the group evidenced doctor delay averaging ten months. The most frequent reason given was lack of a pelvic examination. 15. 15. The position of the tumor in the vagina showed 45.7 per cent on the posterior wall and 22.4 per cent on the anterior wall. 16. 16. The three main gross types of tumor are described. The size of the tumor, the direct spread and metastases are described. Sixteen per cent had inguinal node metastases. 17. 17. The histopathologic types are noted, with squamous carcinoma occurring in 97.3 per cent. The most frequent pathological grades for this tumor were III and IV. No relation is found between pathological grades and survival rate. 18. 18. A discussion of treatments in our patients is presented. All patients had primary radiotherapy. Four women had secondary surgical therapy. 19. 19. The survival cases and complications of therapy are described. 20. 20. A 32 per cent five-year absolute survival rate without symptoms for 75 patients up to 1947 is shown. A comparison is made with the results of other reports.
Postcolonial Dublin: Imperial Legacies and the Built Environment – By Andrew Kincaid

This article reviews the book "Postcolonial Dublin: Imperial Legacies and the Built Environment" by Andrew Kincaid.
Security, Representation and Renewal: 'Top-Down' Security and Bottom-up 'Stability' Approaches in Somalia

August 2012 is an advantageous moment for proponents of the top-down security approach in Somalia. The installation of a new government in Mogadishu is a sign of the progress that has been made over the past year or more and a vindication of the top-down approach. Proponents claim that the advocates of the bottom-up stability approach have been too inflexible and unwilling to accept that peace enforcement and state-building would even have a modicum of success. However, it is still too early to determine which position, if any, will ultimately be proved right. Two observations can be made. First, the top-down security approach and the new Somali state appear to be here to stay, and bottom-up proponents will be forced to find ways to promote real representation and holistic renewal within that framework. Second, it is likely that the cultivation of civil society and inter-clan stability and reconciliation from the bottom-up are more likely to bring representation and renewal than a solely top-down security approach. Otherwise, the new government will remain narrowly based, authoritarian and corrupt. If the new constitutional order is encouraged to respect clan dynamics, civil society and NGOs, there will be a better chance for genuine representation and renewal to emerge for Somalis. In regard to the interrelationship among security, representation, and renewal, the Somalia case has shown that security can be imposed from the top down and create a chance for representation and renewal. However, the experiences of Afghanistan, the DRC and other states in conflict demonstrate the limitations of such an approach, and Somalia is likely to follow the pattern. A number of post-conflict cases have demonstrated that the growth of representation is dependent on grassroots stability, the development of civil society and service delivery by government, which can bring legitimation. In addition, the COIN experience in Iraq and Afghanistan shows the interrelationship between sufficient security, service delivery and grassroots stability, which creates the possibility for legitimation and representation. Therefore, both security and representation are necessary for the renewal of state and society. For Somalia, renewal is a long-term proposition, which requires a sustainable peacebuilding approach, including from the bottom-up.
Lectures on Geophysical Fluid Dynamics

The fluid kaleidoscope of the Earth's ocean and atmosphere churns and sparkles with jets, gyres, eddies, waves, streams, and cyclones. These vast circulations, essential elements of the physical environment that support human life, are given a special character by the Earth's rotation and by their confinement to a shallow surficial layer, thin relative to the solid Earth in roughly the same proportion as an apple skin is to an apple. Geophysical fluid dynamics exploits this special character to develop a unified theoretical approach to the physics of the ocean and atmosphere. With Lectures on Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, Rick Salmon has added an insightful and provocative volume to the handful of authoritative texts currently available on the subject. The book is intended for first-year graduate students, but advanced students and researchers also will find it useful. It is divided into seven chapters, the first four of these adapted from course lectures. The book is well written and presents a fresh and stimulating perspective that complements existing texts. It would serve equally well either as the main text for a core graduate curriculum or as a supplementary resource for students and teachers seeking new approaches to both classical and contemporary problems. A lively set of footnotes contains many references to very recent work. The printing is attractive, the binding is of high quality, and typographical errors are few.
Comparison of Antioxidant Effects of Milk Mineral, Butylated Hydroxytoluene and Sodium Tripolyphosphate in Raw and Cooked Ground Pork

Abstract The antioxidant effects of 0.5–2.0% milk mineral (MM) was tested in raw and cooked ground pork stored at 2 °C or −20 °C, compared to butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and sodium tripolyphosphate (STP). TBA numbers were low and not different between raw meat treatments. TBA numbers were lower ( P P P 1.4.
Clear cell renal cell carcinoma with intratumoral and nodal extramedullary megakaryopoiesis: a potential diagnostic pitfall

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma is occasionally associated with erythrocytosis, hypothesized to result from tumoral production of erythropoietin. Rarely, intratumoral erythropoiesis has been identified, although intratumoral megakaryopoiesis has not, to our knowledge, been previously described. We report the case of an 81-year-old man with myelofibrosis who underwent resection of a 9.8-cm clear cell renal cell carcinoma. Numerous megakaryocytes were present within the renal cell carcinoma; regional lymph nodes; and, to a lesser extent, the nonneoplastic kidney, glomeruli, and renal hilar soft tissue, in some areas associated with trilineage hematopoiesis. Immunohistochemistry verified the megakaryocytic lineage of the atypical cells (CD61, CD42b, and von Willebrand factor +; cytokeratin -). Intratumoral extramedullary megakaryopoiesis is a novel finding in clear cell renal cell carcinoma with potential to mimic high-grade carcinoma and involvement of lymph nodes. Careful attention to morphology, presence of other hematopoietic elements, and immunoprofile can facilitate recognition of this rare phenomenon.
Response of the upper tropospheric humidity and moisture transport to changes of tropical convection. A comparison between observations and a GCM over an ENSO cycle

Comparison of the upper tropospheric relative humidity (UTH) of CCM2 forced by observed sea surface temperatures (SSTs) with data from TOVS, MSU, and the GEOS-1 assimilation shows that the model reproduces the observed large-scale pattern of interannual changes of UTH in the tropics, but gives too much diving during the 1987 El Nino. How UTH responds to the changes of precipitation is well-simulated in the areas of anomalous subsidence and drying in the subtropical Pacific. However, the exaggerated increase of precipitation in the model in the equatorial central Pacific leads to excessive amplitudes of vertical motion, which dries the subtropical upper troposphere. Since the uplift does not result in excessive moistening in the equatorial Pacific, the effect of the too vigorous hydrological cycle is an unrealistically large reduction of UTH in the tropics during an El Nino in CCM2.
Exact solution for the zero creep load of a wire

Abstract The exact solution for the zero creep load of a wire with bamboo grain structure and isotropic free surface and grain boundary tensions is presented. The grains in the wire are modeled as rotationally symmetric about the wire axis, with a smoothly varying radius. This replaces the standard assumption of cylindrical grains whose constant radius is inconsistent with experimentally observed grain boundary grooves. The problem is also mapped onto the problem of a droplet between two rigid plates, for which a solution already exists.
The status of instruction in introductory undergraduate communication research methods

Because of the reflexive relationship between theory and research methods, students' understanding of communication is incomplete without some exposure to research methods. While graduate students traditionally receive instruction in research methods, the purpose of this study was to systematically assess whether such instruction has filtered down to the undergraduate level. A national survey found that the introductory undergraduate communication research methods course appears to be rapidly growing, and that there is general agreement about the purpose, content, problems, and plans for it. Future efforts, however, must be directed toward better integrating this course into the undergraduate communication curriculum.
Examination of electromagnetic attenuation induced by atmospheric water content on terahertz radiation

Many proposed applications of terahertz (THz) regime radiation involve atmospheric propagation which is subject to significant attenuation due to absorption. Accurate prediction of signal attenuation enables system designs tailored to the anticipated operating environment. In this presentation we report detailed measurements of electromagnetic wave attenuation at 400 GHz in atmospheric pressure air for relative humidity (RH) continuously varying between 0.4 – 64%.
A poem on the death of Robert Barnes, by Johannes Sastrow (1542)

The execution in 1540 of the notable English evangelical, Robert Barnes, sparked a flurry of martyrological propaganda. Although much of this literature is well known to scholars of the Henrician reformation, at least one contribution remains obscure: a poem (1542) by the Pomeranian Humanist, Johannes Sastrow. If in line with Protestant portrayals of Barnes as a martyr, Sastrow’s poem, produced at safe remove from England, is unique in attempting primarily to cast Henry VIII as a despot comparable to the tyrants of classical antiquity. Both its context and content, crowded with classical allusions, reveal a young Humanist concerned not only to memorialize a friend and to condemn the ruler responsible for his death, but also to advertise his own skills as a budding Humanist. The poem is here contextualized, translated, and annotated for the light it sheds on the multiple uses to which early-modern martyrological propaganda could be put.
Human chorionic gonadotropin suppresses ovarian epithelial neoplastic cell proliferation in vitro

Abstract Objective: To quantify the in vitro effects of gonadotropins on benign, borderline, and malignant ovarian cell lines. Design: In vitro cell culture. Setting: Research laboratory. Patient(s): None. Intervention(s): Three hormonally sensitive ovarian neoplastic cell lines were exposed to control medium, FSH (40 mIU/mL), hCG (200 mIU/mL), and a combination of FSH and hCG. Main Outcome Measure(s): Cellular proliferation measured by a colorimetric (MTT) assay. Result(s): Growth of the cell lines was similar when exposed to control or FSH. In the presence of hCG alone, the cell lines demonstrated decreased proliferation when compared to control or FSH alone. When hCG was given in combination with FSH, there was decreased proliferation of the cell lines compared to control or FSH alone. Conclusion(s): Growth of benign, borderline, and malignant ovarian epithelial cell lines is inhibited by hCG at levels, which are commonly achieved with hCG administration during ovulation induction or as a result of trophoblastic production in early pregnancy.
Screening techniques for detecting allelic variation in DNA sequences

This article reviews four ‘DNA screening techniques’, namely heteroduplex analysis, single-strand conformational polymorphism (SSCP), denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and temperature gradient gel electrophoresis (TGGE) as tools for the study of allelic variation in natural populations. The resolving power, advantages, and limitations of each technique are discussed and compared. We also provide some criteria for choosing among techniques and illustrate some practical issues with examples taken primarily from our own laboratory experience.