cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Functional Anatomy and Adaptation of Male Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) With Comparison to Male Orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus)

Great apes diversified during the Miocene in Old World forests. Two lineages, gorillas in Africa and orangutans in Asia, have sexual dimorphisms of super-sized males, though they presumably diverged from a smaller common ancestor. We test the hypothesis that they increased in body mass independently and convergently, and that their many postcranial differences reflect locomotor differences. Whole body dissections of five adult male gorillas and four adult male orangutans allowed quantification of body mass distribution to limb segments, of body composition (muscle, bone, skin, and fat relative to total body mass), and of muscle distribution and proportions. Results demonstrate that gorilla forelimb anatomy accommodates shoulder joint mobility for vertical climbing and reaching while maintaining joint stability during quadrupedal locomotion. The heavily muscled hind limbs are equipped for propulsion and weight-bearing over relatively stable substrates on the forest floor. In contrast, orangutan forelimb length, muscle mass, and joint construction are modified for strength and mobility in climbing, bridging, and traveling over flexible supports through the forest canopy. Muscles of hip, knee, and ankle joints provide rotational and prehensile strength essential for moving on unstable and discontinuous branches. We conclude that anatomical similarities are due to common ancestry and that differences in postcranial anatomy reflect powerful selection for divergent locomotor adaptations. These data further support the evolutionary conclusion that gorillas fall with chimpanzees and humans as part of the African hominoid radiation; orangutans are a specialized outlier.
Widening of socioeconomic inequalities in U.S. death rates, 1993-2001.

Background Socioeconomic inequalities in death rates from all causes combined widened from 1960 until 1990 in the U.S., largely because cardiovascular death rates decreased more slowly in lower than in higher socioeconomic groups. However, no studies have examined trends in inequalities using recent US national data. Methodology/Principal Findings We calculated annual age-standardized death rates from 1993–2001 for 25–64 year old non-Hispanic whites and blacks by level of education for all causes and for the seven most common causes of death using death certificate information from 43 states and Washington, D.C. Regression analysis was used to estimate annual percent change. The inequalities in all cause death rates between Americans with less than high school education and college graduates increased rapidly from 1993 to 2001 due to both significant decreases in mortality from all causes, heart disease, cancer, stroke, and other conditions in the most educated and lack of change or increases among the least educated. For white women, the all cause death rate increased significantly by 3.2 percent per year in the least educated and by 0.7 percent per year in high school graduates. The rate ratio (RR) comparing the least versus most educated increased from 2.9 (95% CI, 2.8–3.1) in 1993 to 4.4 (4.1–4.6) in 2001 among white men, from 2.1 (1.8–2.5) to 3.4 (2.9–3–9) in black men, and from 2.6 (2.4–2.7) to 3.8 (3.6–4.0) in white women. Conclusion Socioeconomic inequalities in mortality are increasing rapidly due to continued progress by educated white and black men and white women, and stable or worsening trends among the least educated.
Bemisia argentifolii (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) Honeydew Sugars and Relationships to Sticky Cotton

Trehalulose and melezitose produced by Bemisia argentifolii Bellows & Perring accumulated in cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., lint in open cotton bolls on plants and on lint on harvested bolls in trays suspended in infested plants. Amounts accumulated were correlated positively to increasing numbers of exposure days. Fructose, glucose, and total reducing sugars increased but results were variable, probably because these sugars, although found in Bemisia honeydew, also normally occur in cotton lint. Minicard sticky cotton ratings were correlated positively to increased amounts of all sugars tested. Rainfall (4.8 cm in a 48-h period) reduced amounts of all sugars and minicard sticky cotton ratings. Accumulated sugars and minicard sticky cotton ratings were reduced in insecticide-treated compared with untreated fields. Trehalulose, melezitose, fructose, and glucose that accumulated on clear plastic-wrapped styrofoam balls were correlated positively to exposure time in B. argentifolii infested cotton fields. Amounts of all sugars, in general, were higher in clear plastic-wrapped balls placed at the middle and bottom of the plant as compared with the top of the plant. Amounts of trehalulose, melezitose, and fructose, but not glucose, were significantly higher on lint from bolls at plant nodes 9-14 as compared with nodes 15-20.
SPATIAL DISCRIMINATION REVERSAL LEARNING FOR MICE GENETICALLY SELECTED FOR DIFFERING BRAIN SIZE: A SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT

Spatial discrimination reversal learning was explored for mice genetically selected for high brain weight and unselected controls with lower brain weights. Control-line Ss escaped from a water maze...
EVALUATION OF A CALCIUM ALGINATE FILM FOR USE ON BEEF CUTS

Effects of a calcium alginate coating on retail beef pieces and steaks were studied. Microbiological analyses were performed on beef pieces following treatments with: (1) a calcium alginate coating; (2) a 200 ppm HOCl solution; (3) a combination of 1 and 2; (4) a coliform inoculation and/or (5) no treatment (control). Each sample was wrapped in a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film and stored at 5°C for up to 7 days. The rate of microbial growth for total and coliform counts on the meat was not significantly different with coated and uncoated meat samples. The HOCl treated meat had significantly lower total microbial counts and coliform populations when compared to either the calcium alginate or the HOCl-calcium alginate treated meat. Acceptance of the calcium alginate film involved retail display and organoleptic evaluations of 40 2.54 cm thick beef steaks. Steaks that received the calcium alginate coating were significantly lower in shrinkage loss, drip and degree of off-odor detected through 96 hr storage when compared to the uncoated steaks. The coating significantly prolonged muscle color through 96 hr storage. No significant differences were observed between treatments for appearance, surface discoloration, flavor, juiciness, tenderness, overall acceptability or cooking loss.
Initiation of mode I degradation in sodium-beta alumina electrolytes

The extension of initial surface cracks by the focusing of the ionic current in beta alumina electrolytes (Mode I degradation) is discussed in terms of existing models. Focusing for an ion current impinging on an elliptic-cylindrical flaw is calculated by solving for the electric potential with suitable boundary conditions. The current density distribution along the crack is used to calculate the sodium flow velocity and Poiseuille pressure inside the flaw. Calculated critical current densities using aKlc criterion are several orders of magnitude higher than measured average critical current densities. This implies a lower effectiveKlc for electrolytic degradation than for mechanical testing. Current density enhancement around insulating barriers, such as non-wetted surface areas, is also calculated using elliptic-cylindrical coordinates. Significant current density enhancements are found, but they are localized in very small regions. Crack growth would occur within these regions, but should be arrested once the flaw extends past the high current density zone. A plausible mechanism for decreasingKlc in the electrolytic case is discussed.
Development and validation of serological methods for human vaccine potency testing: Case study of an anthrax vaccine

Abstract Only one anthrax vaccine (Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed, AVA) is licensed in the US to date, although new vaccines are under development. Logistic difficulties with the potency testing of AVA, plus humane considerations, have prompted the development of an alternative test method that can be used as a potency test not only for AVA, but also for newer vaccines. A potency test is not limited to measuring the concentration and quality of the antigen in the final formulation at the time of vaccine release, but should also detect changes in these characteristics during the dating period of the product, to ensure that the vaccine has retained its potency. We have developed a mouse immunogenicity test with potential for use as a potency test for anthrax vaccines. This model is based on the measurement of antibodies induced by a fixed dose of antigen. The test consists of two stages: a) the induction of antibodies in mice with one pre-selected test dose of vaccine; and b) the measurement of the response. We have established the test dose for AVA and experimental vaccines based on the use of anthrax Protective Antigen (PA). Two types of assays, an ELISA and a toxin neutralization assay (TNA) have been employed to measure antibodies to PA. TNA may be more useful in predicting vaccine efficacy, since it measures the neutralizing activity of sera against the cytotoxic effect of the toxin formed by PA when associated with Lethal Factor. However, anti-PA ELISA is less demanding from a technical point of view. Therefore, if ELISA were capable of detecting accurately changes in antigen quantity and quality, then it could be selected as the antibody-measuring test. Studies in our laboratory suggest that even though ELISA and TNA results are correlated, they may not be strictly interchangeable for quantification of anti-PA antibodies after a single immunization of mice with a test dose of anthrax vaccine. We have also found that TNA is better suited than ELISA to detect changes in immunogenicity caused by vaccine exposure to high temperature for very short periods (two minutes). These results open the possibility that an immunogenicity test in which TNA is used to quantify the anti-PA antibody responses can be used to measure vaccine potency of anthrax vaccines at the end of the manufacturing process and periodically after the finished product has been placed in storage, instead of an active protection test that requires lethal challenge.
The implications of centrosomal RNA.

The existence of nucleic acids associated with the centrosome has been controversial for many years. Founded in the 1950s and the subject of active inquiry in the 1970s and 1980s, the topic entered a period of hiatus for over a decade that was essentially capped by a comprehensive and authoritative review in 2000 (Marshall and Rosenbaum, 2000). The consensus at the time was that there was no evidence supporting the presence of DNA in the centrosome and related structures, although the existence of centrosomal RNA remained a possibility. The question of centrosomal DNA remains unresolved. To this day the evidence - with no recent additions - is inconclusive and sometimes contradictory. The existence of RNA at the centrosome, however, has been conclusively demonstrated. Consequently, we may now revisit the lines of inquiry established decades ago and ask, what are the functions and origins of centrosome-associated RNA (cnRNA)? Is it important for replication of the mitotic center? Does it play a role in spi...
National Tourist Offices in North America: an analysis

Abstract This article reports on a study of National Tourist Offices (NTOs) located in the USA and Canada. It begins with a general discussion of the types of NTOs and their roles and activities, reviewing the research on these organizations to date. A review is made of recent trends in NTO marketing. The study's results provide a profile of North American NTOs and their senior executives. The marketing priorities of North American NTOs are also discussed. The article concludes with recommendations for future research on foreign-based NTO locations.
The Relationships between Co-Rumination, Social Support, Stress, and Burnout among Working Adults

Workers regularly report high levels of stress and burnout because of their daily interactions at work. They also tend to seek social support as a mechanism to reduce stress and burnout. Social support buffers the negative effects of stress on health-related outcomes and is inversely associated with burnout and perceived stress. However, recent research has revealed that not all social support is beneficial. Co-rumination, or excessive negative problem talk about an issue, has been linked to increasing levels of stress and burnout. Working adults (N = 447) completed a survey exploring the relationships between social support, co-rumination, stress, and burnout. Two mediation models predicted that co-rumination would suppress the relationships between social support and both burnout and perceived stress. Data supported both partial mediation hypotheses. This study concludes that some social support can be less-than-beneficial, if the content of the supportive transaction focuses on excessive and negative p...
Identification, Mapping, and Confirmation of a Soybean Gene for Bud Blight Resistance

Bud blight, caused by Tobacco ringspot virus (TRSV; Genus: Nepovirus; Family: Comoviridae), can significantly reduce the seed yield and seed quality of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]. The identification of resistance genes and the development of resistant cultivars constitute an effective strategy for preventing yield loss. The objectives of this study were to identify and map quantitative trait loci (QTLs) conditioning resistance to bud blight and validate their genomic location with two populations derived from the cross of 'Young' (resistant) x PI 416937 (susceptible). One population consisted of 116 F 4:7 lines and was used to map restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) markers associated with resistance to bud blight. The lines were grown in one-row plots in a randomized complete block design with two replications. The plots were naturally infected with TRSV. At maturity, soybean plots were visually scored according to the number of plants that exhibited terminal bud death. A major QTL was identified and mapped on linkage group (LG) F by the RFLP marker K644―1. It accounted for 82% of the variation in bud blight score. To verify the genomic location of the major bud blight QTL, a second population of Young x PI 416937 that consisted of 180 F 2:3 lines was evaluated. In this population, simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers on LG F near the putative genomic location of the bud blight QTL were utilized. The major QTL conditioning bud blight resistance was confirmed and found to be closely linked to the Satt510 marker.
Comparison of three high-resolution digitizers for radiochromic film dosimetry

A recently introduced radiographic film scanner from Howtek is evaluated and compared to two other commercially available densitometry systems for its use in radiochromic (RC) film dosimetry in the clinical dose range 0–100 Gy. It has a high-intensity red LED light-source centered at 662 nm (near the major absorption peak for RC film), and is coupled to a CCD linear array detector. This new densitometry system is directly compared to two high-resolution film scanners commonly employed in RC film dosimetry, namely the Lumiscan 75 digitizer (He–Ne laser light source) and the Vidar VXR-16 digitizer (fluorescent light source). A spot densitometer (Nuclear Associates Radiochromic Densitometer) with a filtered 671 nm laser-diode light source is also included as a reference for comparison. The response of the spot densitometer and three high-resolution digitizers is characterized by the dose required to reach a net optical density of 1 (DNOD1), and is 16.0, 37.3, and 46.4 Gy for the Nuclear Associates Radiochromic Densitometer, Howtek MultiRAD 460 and Lumiscan 75 digitizer, respectively. The Vidar VXR-16 does not reach a net optical density of 1. The minimum usable dose at which a 2% level of uncertainty can be achieved ( MUD 2% ) on the three digitizers are 2.6, 6.0, and 38.5 Gy for the Howtek MultiRAD 460, Lumiscan 75, and Vidar VXR-16, respectively. The Howtek MultiRAD 460 shows the greatest sensitivity, lowest MUD 2% and best signal-to-noise ratio in the clinical dose range 0–100 Gy. Furthermore, it has no apparent interference (moire) artifacts that severely limit the low optical density region of the He–Ne laser digitizer. For high-resolution radiochromic dosimetry in the clinical dose range 0–100 Gy, the high-intensity red LED light-source digitizer proves to be the superior modality.
Three dimensional curved shell finite elements for heat conduction

Abstract This paper presents a finite element formulation for three dimensional curved shell heat conduction where nodal temperatures and nodal temperature gradients through the shell thickness are retained as primary variables. The three dimensional curved shell geometry is constructed using the coordinates of the nodes lying on the middle surface of the shell and the nodal point normals. The element temperature field is defined in terms of the element approximation functions, nodal temperatures and nodal temperature gradients. The weak formulation of the three dimensional Fourier heat conduction equation is constructed in the Cartesian coordinate system. The properties of the curved shell elements are then derived using the weak formulation and the element temperature approximation. The element formulation permits linear temperature distribution through the element thickness. Distributed heat flux as well as convective boundaries are permitted on all six faces of the element. The element also has internal heat generation as well as orthotropic material capability. The superiority of the formulation in terms of applications, efficiency and accuracy is demonstrated. Numerical examples are presented and comparisons are made with theoretical solutions.
Patterns of change over time in darter (Teleostei: Percidae) assemblages of the Arkansas River basin, northeastern Oklahoma, USA

Rivers and streams are among the most threatened ecosystems worldwide, and their fish assemblages have been modified by anthropogenic habitat alteration and introductions of non-native species. Consequently, two frequently observed patterns of assemblage change over time are species loss and biotic homogenization. In the present study, we compared contemporary (2006–2007) and historical (1948–1955) assemblages of darters, a group of small benthic fishes of the family Percidae, in the Arkansas River drainage of northeastern Oklahoma, USA. Results showed species loss between the two sampling periods, with historical estimates of overall species diversity across the study area exceeding contemporary estimates by five to eight species. Assemblages showed a low degree of darter similarity based on species presence and absence, with pairwise site comparisons (Jaccard’s similarity index) between historical and contemporary samples averaging  0.35. No significant homogenization or differentiation of assemblages occurred. Range expansion of widespread species, one of the primary mechanisms of biotic homogenization, was not observed; rather, all species occurred at a smaller proportion of sites in contemporary samples. Our results highlight the threat posed by anthropogenic habitat alteration to taxonomic groups such as darters, most of which are habitat specialists. However, our results suggest that biotic homogenization is unlikely to occur in the absence of immigration, especially if assemblages are subjected to ‘novel disturbances’ such as dam construction and watershed-scale habitat degradation which negatively affect all components of the assemblage.
Situational Leadership Theory: A Test of Leadership Prescriptions

The purpose of this study was to test the prescriptions for effective leadership as specified in Hersey and Blanchard's (1969, 1982, 1988) Situational Leadership Theory (SLT). The interac tion betw...
Call Center Staffing with Simulation and Cutting Plane Methods

We present an iterative cutting plane method for minimizing staffing costs in a service system subject to satisfying acceptable service level requirements over multiple time periods. We assume that the service level cannot be easily computed, and instead is evaluated using simulation. The simulation uses the method of common random numbers, so that the same sequence of random phenomena is observed when evaluating different staffing plans. In other words, we solve a sample average approximation problem. We establish convergence of the cutting plane method on a given sample average approximation. We also establish both convergence, and the rate of convergence, of the solutions to the sample average approximation to solutions of the original problem as the sample size increases. The cutting plane method relies on the service level functions being concave in the number of servers. We show how to verify this requirement as our algorithm proceeds. A numerical example showcases the properties of our method, and sheds light on when the concavity requirement can be expected to hold.
Fully automated layout generators for high-performance analog VLSI modules

Algorithms and a software implementation of a fully automated analog layout generation program are described. Device matching, area compaction, and parasitic/noise minimization are the key concerns in the analog layout generation. A new method to incorporate integrated-circuit reliability simulation results into the performance-driven optimization step is also presented. Experimental results on operational amplifiers, voltage comparators, and voltage-controlled oscillators show that the new generation program can produce high-quality circuit layouts efficiently. >
Diurnal cortisol rhythm as a predictor of lung cancer survival

Abstract Background Poorly coordinated diurnal cortisol and circadian rest-activity rhythms predict earlier mortality in metastatic breast and colorectal cancer, respectively. We examined the prognostic value of the diurnal cortisol rhythm in lung cancer. Methods Lung cancer patients (n = 62, 34 female) were within 5 years of diagnosis and had primarily non small-cell lung cancer, with disease stage ranging from early to advanced. Saliva collected over two days allowed calculation of the diurnal cortisol slope and the cortisol awakening response (CAR). Lymphocyte numbers and subsets were measured by flow cytometry. Survival data were obtained for 57 patients. Cox Proportional Hazards analyses were used to test the prognostic value of the diurnal cortisol rhythm on survival calculated both from study entry and from initial diagnosis. Results The diurnal cortisol slope predicted subsequent survival over three years. Early mortality occurred among patients with higher slopes, or relatively “flat” rhythms indicating lack of normal diurnal variation (Cox Proportional Hazards p = .009). Cortisol slope also predicted survival time from initial diagnosis (p = .012). Flattened profiles were linked with male gender (t = 2.04, df = 59, p = .046) and low total and cytotoxic T cell lymphocyte counts (r = −.39 and −.30, p = .004 and .035, respectively). After adjustment for possible confounding factors, diurnal slope remained a significant, independent predictor of survival. Conclusions Flattening of the diurnal cortisol rhythm predicts early lung cancer death. Data contribute to growing evidence that circadian disruption accelerates tumor progression.
Migraine aura without headache: Benign, but a diagnosis of exclusion

Migraine aura without headache should be considered as a diagnosis in anyone who has recurrent episodes of transient symptoms, especially those that are visual or neurological or involve vertigo. Visual and neurological symptoms due to migraine are not unusual and most commonly occur in older persons with a history of migraine headaches. Migraine aura without headache should be diagnosed only when transient ischemic attack and seizure disorders have been excluded.
A Distributed Fault-Tolerant Signal Processor(FTSP)

A digital, fault-tolerant signal processor, (FTSP) has been developed to address the needs of minimally attended radar systems. The design emphasizes fault-tolerant aspects in both hardware and software and is based on a network of custom-built microprocessors. This paper presents an overview of the FTSP, its fault tolerance philosophy, and an application to a fault-tolerant surveillance radar.© (1980) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
High-resolution X-ray diffraction analyses of protein crystals

High–resolution triple–axis X–ray diffraction analyses have been performed on tetragonal crystals of hen egg–white lysozyme (HEWL). In order to perform these analyses in a laboratory setting, an X–ray optical system consisting of a pair of parabolic graded X–ray mirrors and an asymmetric channel–cut crystal was employed. Analyses of thin silicon crystals confirmed the differences between the transmission geometry used for the HEWL crystals and the more common reflection geometry typically used for the characterization of inorganic crystals. Significant differences in the intensity distribution in the vicinity of the HEWL reciprocal lattice points between different reflections of the same crystal and between different crystals have been observed.
Amniotic fluid interleukin-10 concentrations increase through pregnancy and are elevated in patients with preterm labor associated with intrauterine infection.

Abstract OBJECTIVE: To better understand the role of the antiinflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 in preterm labor and infection, we evaluated the amniotic fluid interleukin-10 concentrations through pregnancy, in term, and in preterm labor. STUDY DESIGN: Amniotic fluid interleukin-10 levels were measured in 147 women throughout pregnancy including patients in the second trimester, patients at term with and without labor, and in patients in preterm labor with and without an intrauterine infection. We compared the amniotic fluid interleukin-10 concentrations among these five groups using the Mann-Whitney U test. RESULTS: Amniotic fluid interleukin-10 was detected in 70% to 91% of patients in each of the five study groups. Higher concentrations were found at term compared with the second trimester ( p p p p p = 0.014). CONCLUSIONS: Interleukin-10 was present in the amniotic fluid of the majority of pregnancies, with higher concentrations found at term compared with the second trimester. Intrauterine infection was associated with significantly increased concentrations, with even higher concentrations found in the very premature pregnancies. Interleukin-10 has a prominent yet undefined role in pregnancy and preterm labor complicated by intrauterine infection.
Incorporating Existential Themes into the Supervision of Social Work Practitioners

Abstract The social work profession has traditionally espoused a concern with the holistic person, including biological, psychological, and social influences on human behavior. Recently this perspective has expanded to include existential concerns, or the human search for, and adherence to, meanings, purposes, and commitments. An increasing number of social workers are interested in exploring existential themes in their work with some clients. Clinical supervisors can help practitioners gain expertise in this practice not by conceptualizing existentialism as a separate theory, but by integrating it with existing theoretical perspectives. In this paper the author discusses the concept of existentialism and demonstrates its fit with ego and cognitive theory. Two case examples are used as illustrations.
Hybrid Estimation of Semivariogram Parameters

Two widely used methods of semivariogram estimation are weighted least squares estimation and 4 maximum likelihood estimation. The former have certain computational advantages, whereas the 5 latter are more statistically efficient. We introduce and study a "hybrid" semivariogram estimation 6 procedure that combines weighted least squares estimation of the range parameter with maximum 7 likelihood estimation of the sill (and nugget) assuming known range, in such a way that the sill-to- 8 range ratio in an exponential semivariogram is estimated consistently under an infill asymptotic regime. 9 We show empirically that such a procedure is nearly as efficient computationally, and more efficient 10 statistically for some parameters, than weighted least squares estimation of all of the semivariogram's 11 parameters. Furthermore, we demonstrate that standard plug-in (or empirical) spatial predictors 12 and prediction error variances, obtained by replacing the unknown semivariogram parameters with 13 estimates in expressions for the ordinary kriging predictor and kriging variance, respectively, perform 14 better when hybrid estimates are plugged in than when weighted least squares estimates are plugged 15 in. In view of these results and the simplicity of computing the hybrid estimates from weighted least 16 squares estimates, we suggest that software that currently estimates the semivariogram by weighted 17 least squares methods be amended to include hybrid estimation as an option. 18 19
Research article: Production and disposal of waste materials from gas and oil extraction from the marcellus shale Play in Pennsylvania

The increasing world demand for energy has led to an increase in the exploration and extraction of natural gas, condensate, and oil from unconventional organic-rich shale plays. However, little is ...
RELATIONS BETWEEN PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND FLUORESCENCE IN CELLS AND EXTRACTS OF PHOTOSYNTHETIC BACTERIA

— Light-induced changes in the yield of bacteriochlorophyll fluorescence have been measured in cells and chromatophores of photosynthetic bacteria, and coordinated with light-induced absorbancy changes. Comparisons were drawn during transitions between dark and light steady states and also between steady states established at different light intensities. Aerobic cell suspensions of Rhodospirillum rubrum, Rhodopseudomonas spheroides, Chromatium and Rhodopseudomonas sp. NHTC 133 showed a strict correspondence between changes in the fluorescence yield and the bleaching of P870 (P985 in Rps. sp. NHTC 133), as reported by Vredenberg and Duysens for R. rubrum cells. The relationship shows that singlet excitation energy in bacteriochlorophyll is quenched by P870 at a rate proportional to the concentration of unbleached P870. This implies that the photosynthetic units are not independent with respect to energy transfer. In anaerobic cell suspensions the change in fluorescence did not follow the bleaching of P870 in the manner described by Vredenberg and Duysens. Here a change in fluorescence may have resulted from the reduction of a primary photochemical electron acceptor as well as from the oxidation (bleaching) of P870. In chromatophore preparations there were further deviations from the Vredenberg and Duysens relationship which could be attributed to changes in the rate constants for quenching of singlet excitation energy. Finally there was a light-induced increase in the fluorescence yield which was related to a band shift of bacteriochlorophyll and not to the bleaching of P870. Aerobic cell suspensions presented a limiting case in which these complications were absent. No change in the fluorescence was associated uniquely with the oxidation of cytochrome or band shifts of carotenoid pigments. These results, when coordinated with earlier findings about the fluorescence of bacteriochlorophyll and P870, indicate that the singlet excitation quantum is the only energy carrier linking the absorption of light with the initiation of photochemistry in bacterial photosynthesis.
Single switch dual output DC-DC converter

A novel DC-DC converter is proposed that provides two independently regulated DC outputs from a single DC voltage source using one power semiconductor switch. The operation is based on the use of a low-pass filter and a higher-frequency bandpass filter. The output voltage supplied from the low-pass filter is regulated by controlling the duty cycle of the switch, while the other output voltage is controlled by changing the switching frequency. >
The determination of ionospheric electron content and distribution from satellite observations: 2. Results of the analysis

The results of observations of the radio transmissions from Sputnik III (1958δ2) in an 8-month period are presented. The measurements of integrated electron density are made in two ways, described in part 1. The measurements reveal the diurnal variation of the total ionospheric electron content; also, the ratio of the total content to the content of the lower ionosphere below the height of maximum density in the F layer is obtained. An estimate of the average electron-density profile above the F-layer peak is made possible by the slow variation in the height of the satellite due to rotation of the perigee position. The gross effects of large magnetic storms on the electron content and distribution are found.
Productivity or Demand: Determinants of Plant Survival and Ownership Change in the U.S. Poultry Industry

We study the productivity-survival link in the U.S. poultry processing industry using longitudinal data constructed from 5 censuses of manufactures between 1987 and 2007. First, we study the effects of physical productivity and demand-specific factors on plant survival and ownership change. Second, we analyze the determinants of the firm-level expansion. The results show that higher demand-specific factors decrease the probability of exit and increase the probability of ownership change. The effect of physical productivity on the probability of exit or ownership change is generally insignificant. Also, firms with higher demand-specific factors have higher probability to expand, whereas average firm-level physical productivity turns out to be an insignificant determinant of firm expansion. Since demand specific factors all favor large companies, this could expedite industry concentration process already well under way and could raise new concerns over contract growers' income and consumers' welfare.
Structural features and adaptive properties of photoreceptors in the skate retina

In the duplex (rod/cone) retinae of most vertebrates, electrical responses associated with nocturnal vision can be recorded in relative isolation only over a limited intensity range before there is encroachment by signals from the cone system; e.g., at mesopic levels of illumination, the rods begin to saturate, and the cone mechanism is brought into play. On the other hand, the retinae of some sub-species of skate appear to contain only one class of photoreceptors, namely rods. Nevertheless, skate photoreceptors, as well as other retinal neurons, are able to respond to incremental stimuli presented on background fields so intense that 90% or more of the available rhodopsin is bleached during the exposure. These and other findings raise some doubts as to whether the skate has, in fact, an all-rod retina. In this paper, we present a body of evidence--based on the results of photochemical, anatomical, and electrophysiological studies--to support the view that only a single class of photoreceptor subserves vision in the skate retina. In addition, recent findings will be described that: a) demonstrate how the visual cells transform from sluggishly responding rods to brisk, cone-like elements, and b) may provide some insight into the functional significance of this unusual adaptive property.
Alternative Media in Suburban Plantation Culture

This article reconsiders the concept of `alternative media', and describes a set of alternative media projects produced over six years in and around migrant farm worker camps in southern California. The media projects described here (small-format videos within marginalized labor communities), challenge assumptions about `alternative media' on three levels - as a theoretical concept, as media practice and as a political project. The article argues the need to attend to the complex spatial and institutional contexts that inflect and complicate any local alternative media project. This examination of how the lived spaces of the migrant camps are both avowed and effaced by local residents and contractors underscores the tortured logic of the region. The study reveals not just how the landed status quo organizes workers lives as parts of its `scenic' landscape. It also describes how indigenous `Mixteco' labor organizers simultaneously work to exploit and resist the same conditions. Occupying semi-public contac...
State Sales Taxes in Fiscal 2004: Capturing Proceeds from a Stronger Economy

The author examines sales tax data for fiscal 2004. He finds that the growth in sales tax collections was robust and the sales tax continued to be the largest single producer of state tax revenue. The growth generally was the result of increased economic activity.
FTIR Characterization of Water–Polymer Interactions in Superacid Polymers

The OD stretch of dilute HOD in H2O absorbed in a series of sulfonated syndiotactic poly(styrene) and sulfonated poly(sulfone) membranes was studied using FTIR spectroscopy to measure how the chara...
Mirror-Image Artifact Can Affect Transcranial Doppler Interpretation

Transcranial Doppler ultrasonography (TCD) allows evaluation of blood-flow velocity in intracranial arteries detection and monitoring of vasospasm in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage. Spectral Doppler artifacts can affect TCD data. A 1-month series of TCD findings showed marked fluctuation in blood-flow velocity values in both the middle and anterior cerebral arteries of a patient with subarachnoid hemorrhage. A mirror-image artifact of the Doppler fast Fourier transform velocity spectrum resulted in erroneous interpretation of higher flow velocity in certain vessels. This artifact may cause misinterpretation of TCD flow-velocity data and lead to improper diagnosis of the condition and treatment of patients.
A six-week study comparing the efficacy of a rotary electric toothbrush with a conventional toothbrush

The rotary electric toothbrush, Rota-dent, is often recommended and used as an alternative to the conventional toothbrush. The purpose of this short-term study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Rota-dent on plaque removal and gingival health in comparison to a conventional toothbrush. Twenty-four subjects were divided into two groups. For 6 weeks one group used the Rota-dent, while the other group used a conventional (Oral-B 40) toothbrush. Plaque and gingival indexes were evaluated each week. Results indicated that the Loe and Silness Gingival Index scores improved significantly for both groups. There was a significant improvement in plaque removal as measured by Turesky modification of the Quigley-Hein Plaque Index for the Rota-dent group, while there were no significant differences in the Silness and Loe Plaque Index for either group. Thus, both devices had a positive effect on gingival health, and the Rota-dent removed plaque better than a conventional toothbrush as measured by one but not another plaque index.
Design with Material Uncertainty: Responsive Design and Fabrication in Architecture

Inspired by the smartness and creative opportunism of design practices in the informal city and by artists using found objects, this research develops the theoretical framework and enabling technologies for responsive design and fabrication. In this approach, the design project adjusts in real-time to take advantage of the contingencies of the fabrication process. The aim of the investigation is to expand scope of architectural design, embracing design and construction processes, which involve higher levels of uncertainty. As the main case, the research engages the creative challenges of designs that reuse discarded materials, in which the quantity, quality and properties of the available cannot be predicted with precision. Customizable and user-friendly computational systems seamlessly combining design computation, computer vision and robotics are developed and implemented to verify the feasibility. The paper presents theoretical findings, technology developments, and results of empirical experimentations, demonstrating the possibility of reproducing the adaptability of informal practices within the design disciplines.
Enslaved and Free Blacks before 1862

It was in part because the justification for North American settlement included the opportunity to bring the Gospel to native peoples who had never heard it that frequent, though usually ineffective, efforts were made to provide Western-style schooling to different Indian peoples. No such geopolitical rationale existed in the case of slaves and free Blacks, though similar efforts were not altogether lacking, mostly by initiatives from England. Anglican clergyman (later bishop) and philosopher George Berkeley complained, in 1731, about the resistance of the colonists to his own efforts to that end because of their “ancient antipathy to the Indians … together with an irrational contempt for the Blacks, as creatures of another species, who had no right to be instructed.”1
A bit of quantum hanky panky

In my capacity as a quantum-mechanical engineer, I am quite experienced in quantum hanky-panky.
Local Adaptation of Sun-Exposure-Dependent Gene Expression Regulation in Human Skin.

Sun-exposure is a key environmental variable in the study of human evolution. Several skin-pigmentation genes serve as classical examples of positive selection, suggesting that sun-exposure has significantly shaped worldwide genomic variation. Here we investigate the interaction between genetic variation and sun-exposure, and how this impacts gene expression regulation. Using RNA-Seq data from 607 human skin samples, we identified thousands of transcripts that are differentially expressed between sun-exposed skin and non-sun-exposed skin. We then tested whether genetic variants may influence each individual’s gene expression response to sun-exposure. Our analysis revealed 10 sun-exposure-dependent gene expression quantitative trait loci (se-eQTLs), including genes involved in skin pigmentation (SLC45A2) and epidermal differentiation (RASSF9). The allele frequencies of the RASSF9 se-eQTL across diverse populations correlate with the magnitude of solar radiation experienced by these populations, suggesting local adaptation to varying levels of sunlight. These results provide the first examples of sun-exposure-dependent regulatory variation and suggest that this variation has contributed to recent human adaptation.
ERAD-icating mutant insulin promotes functional insulin secretion

Overexpression of a chaperone protein liberates functional insulin from a misfolded mutant partner to improve insulin secretion.
Emerging Diagnostic and Therapeutic Strategies for Tauopathies.

Tauopathies represent a spectrum of incurable and progressive age-associated neurodegenerative diseases that currently are diagnosed definitively only at autopsy. Few clinical diagnoses, such as classic Richardson’s syndrome of progressive supranuclear palsy, are specific for underlying tauopathy and no clinical syndrome is fully sensitive to reliably identify all forms of clinically manifest tauopathy. Thus, a major unmet need for the development and implementation of tau-targeted therapies is precise antemortem diagnosis. This article reviews new and emerging diagnostic therapies for tauopathies including novel imaging techniques and biomarkers and also reviews recent tau therapeutics. Building evidence from animal and cell models suggests that prion-like misfolding and propagation of pathogenic tau proteins between brain cells are central to the neurodegenerative process. These rapidly growing developments build rationale and motivation for the development of therapeutics targeting this mechanism through altering phosphorylation and other post-translational modifications of the tau protein, blocking aggregation and spread using small molecular compounds or immunotherapy and reducing or silencing expression of the MAPT tau gene. New clinical criteria, CSF, MRI, and PET biomarkers will aid in identifying tauopathies earlier and more accurately which will aid in selection for new clinical trials which focus on a variety of agents including immunotherapy and gene silencing.
Evaluating the role of subacromial impingement in rotator cuff tendinopathy: Development and analysis of a novel murine model.

Subacromial impingement of the rotator cuff is understood as a contributing factor in the development of rotator cuff tendinopathy. However, changes that occur in the impinged tendon are poorly understood and warrant further study. To enable further study of rotator cuff tendinopathy, we performed a controlled laboratory study to determine feasibility and baseline characteristics of a new murine model for subacromial impingement. This model involves surgically inserting a microvascular clip into the subacromial space in adult C57Bl/6 mice. Along with a sham surgery arm, 90 study animals were distributed among time point groups for sacrifice up to 6 weeks. All animals underwent bilateral surgery (total N = 180). Biomechanical, histologic, and molecular analyses were performed to identify and quantify the progression of changes in the supraspinatus tendon. Decreases in failure force and stiffness were found in impinged tendon specimens compared to sham and no-surgery controls at all study time points. Semi-quantitative scoring of histologic specimens demonstrated significant, persistent tendinopathic changes over 6 weeks. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis of impinged tendon specimens demonstrated persistently increased expression of genes related to matrix remodeling, inflammation, and tendon development. Overall, this novel murine subacromial impingement model creates changes consistent with acute tendonitis, which may mimic the early stages of rotator cuff tendinopathy. A robust, simple, and reproducible animal model of rotator cuff tendinopathy is a valuable research tool to allow further studies of cellular and molecular mechanisms and evaluation of therapeutic interventions in rotator cuff tendinopathy. © 2018 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 36:2780-2788, 2018.
Introduction to Quantum Field Theory

The inhabitants of the universe [are] conceived to be a set of fields — an electron field, an electromagnetic field … this point of view … forms the central dogma of quantum field theory: the essential reality is a set of fields, subject to the rules of special relativity and quantum mechanics; all else is derived as a consequence of the quantum dynamics of these fields. — S. Weinberg (1977)
A fully 3-D numerical model to predict flood wave propagation and assess efficiency of flood protection measures

Abstract This paper discusses development and validation of a 3-D, non-hydrostatic, Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) model using the Volume of Fluid (VOF) approach to simulate flooding events in natural environments. A series of validation simulations in simple and complex geometries are performed to test the different modules of the flow solver. The paper also discusses the differences between simulation results obtained using the 3-D model and those obtained using a standard, 2-D hydrostatic, depth-averaged model. The predictions by the two models show fairly large differences in regions where 3-D effects are expected to be significant (e.g., in regions containing highly-curved river reaches and near hydraulic structures). Then, the validated 3-D model is employed to investigate the efficiency of using flood-protection walls to reduce adverse effects of flooding in the Iowa River near Iowa City, Iowa, USA. Finally, the propagation of a flood wave in a reach of the Iowa River containing a bridge is simulated and the effects of the flow becoming pressurized beneath the bridge deck are discussed. For such applications, in which the regime can change locally between open channel and pressurized flow, the use of fully 3-D, non-hydrostatic models may be the only viable option to accurately predict flow hydrodynamics and its effects on bed shear stresses and sediment entrainment potential, especially around locations where the flow becomes pressurized.