cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Modelling of rotors with axisymmetric solid harmonic elements

Abstract In rotating machinery analysis, the rotating shaft is typically modeled by a series of line or beam elements. These beam elements are formulated from classical beam theory, with a basic assumption that “plane sections remain plane” during bending. However, when the rotor has abrupt changes in the diameter, this assumption is not valid; local distortion occurs near the section change, resulting in an increase in the overall bending flexibility of the shaft. In this paper the bending stiffness and natural frequencies of several shaft geometries with stepped diameter changes are compared using several modelling assumptions. The comparison includes beam approximations with both transfer matrix and finite element approaches, and available experimental data. In addition, the conceptual approach of using an axisymmetric solid model of the shaft is reviewed. Results are included for a commercial four-node element, and for a cubic element developed for this work. The effective use of matrix reduction in conjunction with an axisymmetric model is shown. The importance of non-planar distortion near section changes is reviewed.
Quantitating qualitative issues in residency training: development and testing of a scaled program evaluation questionnaire.

Objectives: To develop and test a scaled program evaluation questionnaire focusing on resident satisfaction with workload, learning environment, and stress. Design/participants: Phase 1: A cross-section of 92 residents from five programs completed questionnaires for factor analysis and descriptive statistics. Phase 2: A three-year prospective study of questionnaire responses in a single program. Questionnaire development: After extensive literature review, 33 Likert-scaled statements were written, dealing with situational, personal, and professional issues. After pilot testing, the 92 questionnaires obtained in Phase 1 were factor analyzed, resulting in three distinct scales: workload, faculty/learning environment, and stress. Interventions: Program changes in Phase 2 included the introduction of a night float between 1989 and 1990, and an increase in senior resident call between 1990 and 1991. Results: Phase 1: The first-year residents reported significantly less stress and generally greater satisfaction with workload and learning environment than did the second- or third-year residents. Marked differences between programs were also present in the mean scores on all three scales. Phase 2: The introduction of a night float did not significantly affect response to the questionnaire, but the increase in nights on call significantly increased stress and dissatisfaction with the faculty/learning environment. Conclusions: This study demonstrates the techniques needed to develop and use scaled program evaluation questionnaires. It is hoped that widespread use and validation of such instruments may result in greater responsiveness to the needs of trainees and more facilitative environments in which to acquire medical knowledge.
Altruism, evolution, and welfare economics

Henrich clearly presents the convincing evidence that the evolution of prosocial preferences—altruism and altruistic punishment—is both theoretically possible and empirically present in human populations. Henrich convinces us using only the most restrictive arguments. If one goes beyond the assumptions of one-gene, one-trait, or recognizes the existence of “social cognition” (Caporael, 1997), the case for the existence of prosocial behavior is overwhelming. Furthermore, while Henrich is probably correct in saying that large-scale social cooperation is unique to the human species, mounting evidence suggests that prosocial behavior is also present in such diverse non-human species as lions, meerkats, fire ants, and Arabian babblers (Clutton-Brock, 2002). So why is the reaction against the notion of pure altruism so strong in both economics and biology? A likely reason is that it goes against the dominant cultural belief in progress through competition among individuals. Both evolutionary biology and political economy matured in Victorian England where Darwin’s careful and cautious argument for evolution by natural selection was recast as “survival of the fittest”, a metaphor which fit the dog-eat-dog world of commercial society. Rugged individualism is reflected in the gene-based reductionism of biology as well as the agent-based reductionism of welfare economics (Bergh and van den Gowdy, 2003). In his contribution, Henrich establishes the theoretical basis for cultural group selection based on large-scale cooperation. He shows that the existence of prosocial behavior cannot be explained by individual-based characteristic alone such as kin selection, reciprocal altruism or costly signaling. This does not contradict Darwinian natural selection which can operate on any statistically reliable pattern. Patterns of culture may vary widely in human societies based on the different kinds of cultural transmission including conformist transmission (a short cut to reliable information), prestige-based transmission, punishment of non-conformists, and normative conformity by which people want their behavior to match that of the group. The interplay between these kinds of cultural transmission and the in-
Progressive cardiac conduction defect and cardiomyopathy in siblings with syncope.

Three siblings evaluated for syncope were found to have left bundle-branch block. Progression to complete heart block occurred in all. Pacemaker implantation eliminated syncopal episodes in each case.
Back-scattering measurements with a space-separation method

A method for the experimental determination of the back-scattering cross section of arbitrarily shaped obstacles is suggested, which, in a manner analogous to the Michelson interferometer in optics, makes use of a semitransparent mirror in order to separate the incident wave and the reflected wave. A measurement setup is described, and possible sources of error are discussed. The accuracy of measurements is investigated by comparing the measured values of the back-scattering cross section of circular metallic disks with the results obtained from the exact theory.
Ischemic Brain Slice Glucose Utilization: Effects of Slice Thickness, Acidosis, and K+

Brain slices of varying thickness were used to modify retention of metabolic products in an in vitro model of ischemia. Past and present results reveal increased anaerobic glycolysis in 660-microns slices with accumulation of lactate as slice thickness reaches 1,000 microns. Brain slice glucose utilization and lactate content were measured in buffers of various extracellular K+ levels and pH in 540-, 660-, and 1,000-microns slices. Acidosis suppresses glucose utilization at all slice thicknesses without affecting tissue lactate. Studies of 2-deoxyglucose metabolites establish that the suppression of glucose utilization by acidosis is due entirely to inhibition of glucose phosphorylation without any effect on glucose uptake into tissue. The inhibition is reversible after 45 min at pH 6.1. The experiments with acidosis also suggest that persistent energy demands continue to stimulate phosphofructokinase despite the low pH so that glycolysis continues, with potential for injury. Increasing K+ increases glucose utilization and tissue lactate at all three thicknesses. Correlations of glucose utilization with lactate accumulation support the possibility that high K+ may exert a dual influence on the tissue metabolism, not only stimulating glucose utilization by inducing depolarization but also by influencing the removal of metabolic products.
Two issues in Pavlovian fear conditioning: selective fear of bright vs. dark, and CS determinants of CR form.

We examined the effects of tone, light, and dark conditioned stimuli (CSs) on barpress suppression and freezing in rats. We found more freezing to tone than to light or dark yet similar barpress suppression. In compound, the auditory and visual stimuli together evoked more suppression and freezing than did any element alone. The fact that the compounds could increase suppression speaks against a ceiling effect interpretation of the similar suppression to the elements. The data strengthen the growing evidence in fear conditioning that CSs in different modalities may evoke conditioned responses of different forms (freezing to tone vs. less freezing to light or dark) despite having similar associative values. The finding that light and dark produced similar levels of suppression and freezing argues against earlier claims (Welker & Wheatley, 1977) that rats are prepared to associate bright (but not dim) light with danger.
Les contours du principe de la participation publique et la protection des ressources en eau transfrontières

Le principe de participation du public se reflete dans plusieurs regles du droit international. Cet article soulignera la place des individus et des communautes dans trois pans du droit international, a savoir le droit des cours d’eau internationaux, le droit international de l’environnement et le droit des droits de l’homme. Chacune de ces trois typologies de normes apporte des caracteristiques particulieres au principe de la participation du public dans la gestion des ressources en eau transfrontieres. Le droit des cours d’eau internationaux indique que la transmission d’informations sur la qualite des eaux doit faire partie des regimes sur les cours d’eau internationaux. Le droit international de l’environnement met l’accent sur la participation du public dans le processus d’etude d’impact environnemental (EIE), en soulignant ainsi qu’une approche de prevention doit etre adoptee afin de prevenir la survenance d’un dommage a un cours d’eau international. Enfin, le droit international des droits de l’homme consacre l’interet public de la gestion des ressources en eau et donne aux individus et communautes un titre juridique a recevoir des informations et a etre consultes dans la gestion des ressources en eau.
Emergence and self-organization in partially ordered sets

The discovery of a simple functional the optimization of which by a dynamical process results in extraordinary structural organization in partially ordered sets is reported in this article. As partially ordered sets are one of the most prevalent and fundamental objects in Mathematics and are ubiquitous in nature, physics, engineering and technology in general, and since any system amenable to mathematical analysis can be represented as a partially ordered set, the discovery is proposed as an explanation for the phenomena of emergence and self-organization in dynamical systems. © 2011Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity, 17,19–38, 2011 © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The Active Principles of Plant Extracts with Antithyrotropic Activity: Oxidation Products of Derivatives of 3,4-Dihydroxycinnamic Acid

We have recently reported that freeze-dried extracts (FDE) of certain plants form high molecular weight adducts with bovine TSH (bTSH), preventing it from binding to and stimulating adenylate cyclase in human thyroid membranes. We have now studied 34 pure compounds identical or structurally related to compounds present in FDE from Lycopus or Lithospermum, 2 of the 3 species of active plants studied previously. In studies conducted at 4 C in 20 mM Tris-HCl-0.5% BSA buffer, pH 7.45, eight 3,4-dihydroxylated compounds, all structurally related to cinnamic acid, inhibited the binding of [125I] bTSH to human thyroid membranes. Of these, 4 (caffeic, rosmarinic, chlorogenic, and ellagic acids) are present in the plants, and 4 (3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, deoxyepinephrine, adenochrome, and nordihydroguaretic acid) are structurally related thereto. These compounds were inactive when tested directly but became active when allowed to undergo auto-oxidation. With all 8 compounds, half-maximum inhibition of [125I]bTSH binding required quantities of oxidized product equivalent to 20-80 micrograms/ml (60-195 microM) of the original compound. Half-maximum inhibitory concentrations of oxidized caffeic and ellagic acids were increased 2- to 4-fold when experiments were performed at 37 C in medium containing 50 mM NaCl. Preincubation of membranes with active oxidation products in concentrations up to 100 micrograms/ml, followed by washing, had no effect on the subsequent binding of [125I]bTSH. As has been shown in the case of FDE, when [125I]bTSH was preincubated with oxidation products of caffeic and ellagic acids and was then chromatographed on Sephadex G-100, its elution pattern was advanced from an apparent mol wt of 30,000 to the void volume, and [125I]bTSH in the early eluting fractions displayed greatly reduced binding to thyroid membrane preparations. Addition of a large excess of unlabeled bTSH during preincubation prevented the shift in the elution pattern of [125I]bTSH produced by these oxidation products. To ascertain whether FDE and active compounds interact with the protein or carbohydrate moieties of bTSH, studies of their effects on the binding and chromatographic behavior of 125I-deglycosylated-bTSH (dg-bTSH) were also performed. Effects were similar to those observed for intact bTSH, suggesting that they do not interact with the carbohydrate moiety of TSH. Preincubation of both bTSH and dg-bTSH with either active FDE or oxidation products of caffeic or rosmarinic acid also greatly decreased their activity in the McKenzie mouse assay.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
FRUCTOSE-INDUCED HYPERURICÆMIA

Abstract The effect of intravenous or oral fructose, 0.5 g. per kg. body-weight, has been determined in children with hereditary fructose intolerance (H.F.I.), control children, and a man with essential fructosuria. Uric-acid levels in both urine and serum rose dramatically, indicating increased uric-acid production, in controls and children with H.F.I. but not in the man with essential fructosuria. The rise was associated with increased lactic-acid generation. It is suggested that this fructose-induced hyperuricaemia is brought about by the intracellular acidosis in the liver caused by overproduction of lactic acid, and that the uric acid comes from the free purine nucleotides, D.N.A., and R.N.A.
Photosynthetic Characteristics of Eastern Dwarf Mistletoe (Arceuthobium pusillum Peck) and its Effects on the Needles of Host White Spruce (Picea glauca [Moench] Voss)

: We studied the biochemical composition and photosynthetic characteristics of the aerial parasite eastern dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium pusillum) and the effect of infection on the needles of host white spruce (Picea glauca) in a coastal forest stand in Maine, USA. Eastern dwarf mistletoe was capable of photosynthetic oxygen evolution; however, rates were low and were exceeded by respiratory oxygen consumption at all light intensities through full sunlight. Therefore, eastern dwarf mistletoe acts as a net sink for host photosynthate. Relative to those of uninfected trees, needles from infected branches of white spruce were significantly smaller in terms of length, fresh weight, maximum cross section and the diameter of the vascular cylinder. Needles of uninfected and infected trees did not differ in terms of fresh weight to dry weight ratio, nor in nitrogen, soluble sugar or starch content. Needles of infected trees possessed significantly less α-carotene and neoxanthin, but did not otherwise differ from uninfected needles in terms of chlorophyll and carotenoid composition. Since specific physiological roles for α-carotene and neoxanthin have not been described, the functional significance of the decreases in their content is not known. Photosynthetic capacities of needles from infected and uninfected white spruce did not differ significantly, as measured by oxygen evolution. These findings suggest that dwarf mistletoe infection does not substantially perturb host white spruce source-sink balance at the end of the growing season and that carbon exchange dynamics between the host and parasite are unlikely to fully explain the detrimental effects of infection on white spruce.
Nucleosome structure and repair of N-methylpurines in the GAL1-10 genes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Nucleosome structure and repair ofN-methylpurines were analyzed at nucleotide resolution in the divergent GAL1-10 genes of intact yeast cells, encompassing their common upstream-activating sequence. In glucose cultures where genes are repressed, nucleosomes with fixed positions exist in regions adjacent to the upstream-activating sequence, and the variability of nucleosome positioning sharply increases with increasing distance from this sequence. Galactose induction causes nucleosome disruption throughout the region analyzed, with those nucleosomes close to the upstream-activating sequence being most striking. In glucose cultures, a strong correlation between N-methylpurine repair and nucleosome positioning was seen in nucleosomes with fixed positions, where slow and fast repair occurred in nucleosome core and linker DNA, respectively. Galactose induction enhancedN-methylpurine repair in both strands of nucleosome core DNA, being most dramatic in the clearly disrupted, fixed nucleosomes. Furthermore, N-methylpurines are repaired primarily by the Mag1-initiated base excision repair pathway, and nucleotide excision repair contributes little to repair of these lesions. Finally,N-methylpurine repair is significantly affected by nearest-neighbor nucleotides, where fast and slow repair occurred in sites between pyrimidines and purines, respectively. These results indicate that nucleosome positioning and DNA sequence significantly modulate Mag1-initiated base excision repair in intact yeast cells.
Target Tracking in NLOS Environments Using Semidefinite Programming

In this paper, the problem of target tracking in non-line-of-sight (NLOS) environments is investigated. Target tracking has many commercial, civilian, and military applications. The accuracy of target tracking is highly affected in indoor environments where the majority of connections are NLOS. A novel tracking estimator based on semidefinite programming (SDP) with ability to mitigate the NLOS propagation is derived. Requiring no statistical information about the NLOS propagation, the proposed SDP algorithm estimates the NLOS biases jointly with the location and velocity of the target. The performance of the proposed estimator is evaluated through computer simulations where ray tracing is used to simulate the NLOS biases. It will be shown that the proposed SDP estimator outperforms the classic extended Kalman filter as well as other recently proposed estimators in NLOS environments.
Labeling conventions in isoelectronic sequences.

The isoelectronic exposition of atomic structure properties involves labeling ambiguities when more than one level of the same total angular momentum and parity is present, and an energy ordered labeling of these levels can lead to apparent isoelectronic discontinuities. For example, in the recent oscillator strength calculations for S-like ions by Saloman and Kim (Phys. Rev. A 38, 577 (1988)), abrupt changes in the rates were sometimes observed between one isoelectronic element and the next. We suggest an alternative labeling scheme that removes these discontinuities and produces a smooth isoelectronic variation. This alternative labeling offers advantages for data exposition and for semiempirical interpolation and extrapolation.
Effects of polyacrylic acid primers on adhesion and durability of FPL-etched aluminum/polyurethane systems

It has been determined that when a polyacrylic acid [p(AA)] macromolecule primer is used in polyurethane (PU)/p(AA)/FPL-etched aluminum joint systems, it interacts preferentially both with the hydrated Al2O3 or aluminum hydroxide adherend surface through the formation of hydrogen bonds and with the isocyanate groups in the PU adhesive to yield polymer-to-polymer chemical bonding. This chemical crosslinking between the hydrated adherend and the polymeric adhesive acts significantly to promote interfacial adhesive bonds. It appears that a near monolayer of p(AA) is enough to occupy all the available functional groups at the PU and aluminum surface sites. This arrangement plays a key role in improving the adhesion durability of the joint system upon exposure to a hot NaOH solution. It was also determined that the presence of excessive carboxylic acid groups resulting from the use of a thick p(AA) layer caused gel-formation-induced adhesion failures; namely, the locus of failure of the joint after exposure wa...
Macrophage activation:'tis the way the WNT blows

Comment on Blumenthal et al, page [965][1] Wnt5a and its receptor Frizzled-5 are up-regulated in human macrophages upon Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, and their expression promotes IL-12 production and T-cell activation, demonstrating a previously undescribed link between Wnt signaling and
The mechanisms of summer dryness induced by greenhouse warming

Abstract To improve understanding of the mechanisms responsible for CO2-induced, midcontinental summer dryness obtained by earlier modeling studies, several integrations were performed using a GCM with idealized geography. The simulated reduction of soil moisture in middle latitudes begins in late spring and is caused by the excess of evaporation over precipitation. The increase of carbon dioxide and the associated increase of atmospheric water vapor enhances the downward flux of terrestrial radiation at the continental surface at all latitudes. However, due mainly to the CO2-induced change in midtropospheric relative humidity, the increase in the downward flux of terrestrial radiation is larger in the equatorward side of the rain belt, making more energy available there for both sensible and latent heat. Since the saturation vapor pressure at the surface increases nonlinearly with surface temperature, a greater fraction of the additional radiative energy is realized as latent heat flux at the expense of ...
Influence of growing Aerobacter Aerogenes in a polyamine-enriched medium on the stability of the 70S ribosomes

Abstract Growth of Aerobacter aerogenes in a glucose-salts medium enriched with 2.5 × 10 −4 f spermine has been found to increase the proportion of 70S particles in isolated ribosome preparations made from these cells. Ultracentrifugal time studies on crude extracts of control and spermine-grown cells, beginning immediately after cell rupture, have shown that the 70S ribosomes from the latter cells are more stable with respect to dissociation in the presence of a suboptimal (∼10 −3 M ) Mg 2+ level. The stability enhancement of 70S from spermine-grown cells is greater when the bacteria have been harvested from a stationary phase culture than from log phase. Replacement of spermine by spermidine or by putrescine at the same concentration does not produce the marked increase in stability of the 70S ribosomes in extracts prepared from stationary phase cells.
Predictors of adherence to hormonal contraceptives in a female veteran population.

Objective: The objective was to identify predictors of adherence to hormonal contraceptives in a female veteran population. Study Design: This was a retrospective cohort study of female veterans from the VA San Diego Healthcare System. The study period was April 1, 2010, to March 31, 2012. Each patient was followed for 1 year from the index date, defined as the date of first contraceptive prescription in the study time period. Adherence was defined as a medication possession ratio ≥0.9. Income was estimated using zip-codebased median household income and split into quintiles (quintile 1 being the lowest-earning group). Logistic regression was used to analyze the association between adherence and the independent variables. Results: A total of 805 patients were included in the final analysis. The majority of the population was white (62.2%) and receiving a 3-month supply of medication (87.6%). The following independent variables were predictive of increased adherence: 3-month supply versus 1-month supply [odds ratio (OR) 1.79, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03–3.13], age group 40–45 versus 18–24 (OR 2.57, 95% CI 1.16–5.70) and income quintiles 3 (OR 1.96, 95% CI 1.16–3.29), 4 (OR 1.77, 95% CI 1.06–2.98) and 5 (OR 1.75, 95% CI 1.03–2.98) each versus quintile 1 as reference group. The following were associated with decreased adherence: new start versus continuing user (OR 0.25, 95% CI 0.18–0.37), OB/GYN provider versus primary care provider (OR 0.60, 95% CI 0.38–0.95), and highest weight group versus lowest weight group (OR 0.40, 95% CI 0.17–0.94). Conclusion: Hormonal contraceptive adherence in the veteran population is below optimal. Providing 3-month supplies of high-value therapies such as hormonal contraceptives is one strategy that may improve adherence. Initiatives to target lower socioeconomic status or new start populations to increase contraceptive adherence should also be considered. Implications: Adherencetohormonalcontraceptivesisnotaswellstudiedintheliteratureassomeotherhigh-valuetherapies.Identifyingpredictive variables for adherence may have implications for establishing possible interventions, or refining benefit structures, in order to increase adherence. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Fluoride-Facilitated Deuterium Exchange from DMSO-d6 to Polyamide-Based Cryptands

Multiple deuterium exchange between DMSO-d6 and amide hydrogens in two hexaamido cryptand fluoride receptors has been verified by 19F and 2H NMR and FAB mass spectral studies. Structural results for one of the complexes indicate a tricapped trigonal prism hydrogen bond coordination geometry around an encapsulated fluoride, with hydrogen bonds from fluoride to six amide and three phenyl hydrogens.
A forward-looking library use survey: WSU libraries in the 21st century

Abstract In a large-scale user survey, respondents rated current services, print materials, and electronic resources, and prioritized those services and resources in terms of importance to their work. Respondents also ranked services and resources that might be offered. User profiles were developed for faculty, graduate assistant, and undergraduate student users.
Imaging the ocean with ambient noise

FOR many years, the principal means of probing the ocean using sound has been through the use of 'active' or 'passive' techniques. With an active system, an object is illuminated by a pulse of sound and its presence inferred from the echo it produces, whereas the passive approach involves simply listening for the sound that the object itself emits. Here we report a new method of using sound in the ocean, which is neither passive nor active. It relies on the naturally occurring, incoherent ambient noise field in the ocean— which can be thought of as 'acoustic daylight'—as the sole source of acoustic illumination. By focusing the sound scattered by an object immersed in the noise field, it should be possible to produce a visual image of the object on a television monitor. We have tested this concept by conducting a simple experiment in the ocean, with a parabolic reflector acting as an acoustic lens, and our results confirm that objects illuminated only by ambient noise can indeed be 'seen' at frequencies between 5 and 50 kHz
IDOLATRY IN JANE EYRE

VICTORIAN CULTURE treated idolatry as a serious and compelling moral problem. For Victorian Protestants, this term meant more than simply the worship of graven images: it became the privileged term for denoting any devotion to a person, thing, or idea that hinders or supplants one's relation to God. It is this more inclusive meaning that especially fascinated the Victorians, and which, in the form of human idolatry, became the focus of so many marriage-plot novels in the period. Since the Reformation, Protestant theologians and writers have emphatically linked idolatry to Roman Catholicism, arguing that its excessive emphasis on external forms of worship obscures God. This connection took on renewed significance in Britain during the early and mid-nineteenth century, an era which witnessed such political milestones as Roman Catholic Emancipation in 1829 and the re-establishment of Roman Catholic dioceses in 1850.The events of 1850 around the restoration of Roman Catholic ecclesiastical government in Britain were popularly deemed the “Papal Aggression.” According to historian Paz, “Roman Catholics themselves added fuel to the Protestant fire” by essentially declaring “supreme spiritual authority over the nation and [denying] the validity of Anglican orders” (9). The distinctive anti-Catholicism of Victorian culture reflects a widespread anxiety about the growing influence of Roman Catholicism – an anxiety, I argue at length elsewhere, that took the form of an obsession with idolatry.
Foot Pain in the Child and Adolescent

There are multiple causes of pediatric foot and ankle pain. Although conservative measures are appropriate for initial management, patients with refractory pain should be given consideration for further intervention. This review highlights some of the most common causes of foot and ankle pain in the child, with specific attention to demographics, etiologies, diagnostic workup, and treatment options.
Outcomes Associated With a Summer Handwriting Course for Elementary Students

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to examine the benefits of a summer handwriting instruction course offered to community elementary-age students. METHODS. Twenty-six students participated in the study and attended instruction for 1 hour per day for 2 weeks. Pre- and posttesting with the Evaluation Tool of Children’s Handwriting (ETCH) were conducted. Parents were also asked to rate their child’s handwriting at pretest, posttest, and 3 months posttest. RESULTS. Participants made significant improvement in two subtests of the ETCH and in parent ratings between pretest and posttest. Parent ratings remained significantly improved 3 months posttesting. Additional results suggest that children who received special education during the previous school year improved their handwriting scores on the ETCH to a greater degree than those who did not receive special education. CONCLUSION. A new service delivery model for handwriting instruction has the potential to benefit students. Occupational therapists should consider offering handwriting training to students in the summer especially if deterioration of performance is anticipated. Marr, D., & Dimeo, S. B. (2006). Outcomes associated with a summer handwriting course for elementary students. American
Distinct Roles of the Repeat-Containing Regions and Effector Domains of the Vibrio vulnificus Multifunctional-Autoprocessing Repeats-in-Toxin (MARTX) Toxin

ABSTRACT Vibrio vulnificus is a seafood-borne pathogen that destroys the intestinal epithelium, leading to rapid bacterial dissemination and death. The most important virulence factor is the multifunctional-autoprocessing repeats-in-toxin (MARTX) toxin comprised of effector domains in the center region flanked by long repeat-containing regions which are well conserved among MARTX toxins and predicted to translocate effector domains. Here, we examined the role of the repeat-containing regions using a modified V. vulnificus MARTX (MARTX Vv ) toxin generated by replacing all the internal effector domains with β-lactamase (Bla). Bla activity was detected in secretions from the bacterium and also in the cytosol of intoxicated epithelial cells. The modified MARTX Vv toxin without effector domains retained its necrotic activity but lost its cell-rounding activity. Further, deletion of the carboxyl-terminal repeat-containing region blocked toxin secretion from the bacterium. Deletion of the amino-terminal repeat-containing region had no effect on secretion but completely abolished translocation and necrosis. Neither secretion nor translocation was affected by enzymatically inactivating the cysteine protease domain of the toxin. These data demonstrate that the amino-terminal and carboxyl-terminal repeat-containing regions of the MARTX Vv toxin are necessary and sufficient for the delivery of effector domains and epithelial cell lysis in vitro but that effector domains are required for other cytopathic functions. Furthermore, Ca 2+ -dependent secretion of the modified MARTX Vv toxin suggests that nonclassical RTX-like repeats found in the carboxyl-terminal repeat-containing region are functionally similar to classical RTX repeats found in other RTX proteins. IMPORTANCE Up to 95% of deaths from seafood-borne infections in the United States are due solely to one pathogen, V. vulnificus. Among its various virulence factors, the MARTX Vv toxin has been characterized as a critical exotoxin for successful pathogenesis of V. vulnificus in mouse infection models. Similarly to MARTX toxins of other pathogens, MARTX Vv toxin is comprised of repeat-containing regions, central effector domains, and an autoprocessing cysteine protease domain. Yet how each of these regions contributes to essential activities of the toxins has not been fully identified for any of MARTX toxins. Using modified MARTX Vv toxin fused with β-lactamase as a reporter enzyme, the portion(s) responsible for toxin secretion from bacteria, effector domain translocation into host cells, rapid host cell rounding, and necrotic host cell death was identified. The results are relevant for understanding how MARTX Vv toxin serves as both a necrotic pore-forming toxin and an effector delivery platform.
Recovery of severely compacted soils in the Mojave Desert, California, USA

Often as a result of large-scale military maneuvers in the past, many soils in the Mojave Desert are highly vulnerable to soil compaction, particularly when wet. Previous studies indicate that natural recovery of severely compacted desert soils is extremely slow, and some researchers have suggested that subsurface compaction may not recover. Poorly sorted soils, particularly those with a loamy sand texture, are most vulnerable to soil compaction, and these soils are the most common in alluvial fans of the Mojave Desert. Recovery of compacted soil is expected to vary as a function of precipitation amounts, wetting-and-drying cycles, freeze-thaw cycles, and bioturbation, particularly root growth. Compaction recovery, as estimated using penetration depth and bulk density, was measured at 19 sites with 32 site-time combinations, including the former World War II Army sites of Camps Ibis, Granite, Iron Mountain, Clipper, and Essex. Although compaction at these sites was caused by a wide variety of forces, rang...
Tillage effects on soil organic carbon distribution and storage in a silt loam soil in Illinois

Interest in tillage impacts on sequestration of soil organic carbon (SOC) has increased greatly during recent years. The use of reduced and no-tillage (NT) practices generally increases the SOC concentration in surface few centimeters when compared to conventionally tilled soils. However, use of conservation tillage does not always result in increased SOC storage overall. The effects of sample handling and data expressions on the assessment of tillage-induced SOC sequestration were investigated using data collected from a tillage trial on a Thorp silt loam (US Taxonomy: fine-silty, mixed, mesic Argiaquic Argialboll; FAO: Orthic Greyzems). The tillage experiment was established in 1986 in Illinois, USA. The NT treatment used no soil disturbance except for planting. The disk tillage treatment included fall disking (7.5‐10 cm deep) after corn (Zea mays L.) and spring field cultivation after soybean (Glycine max L.) production. The moldboard plowing treatment included fall moldboard plowing (20‐25 cm deep) after corn, followed by spring disking (7.5‐10 cm deep) and field cultivating; fall chisel plowing (30‐35 cm) was done after soybean, followed by spring disking and field cultivation. Estimates of tillage impacts on SOC sequestration varied with the soil depth considered, time of sampling, and sample handling technique. Results indicated that tillage-induced changes in SOC occurred in the surface 30 cm. NT soil had greater C contents in the upper 30 cm when assessed on a concentration and volumetric basis. Although the use of NT practices did increase C content stored as surface residues and SOC concentrations in the top few cm of the soil, it did not increase SOC storage overall. # 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
A perspective on the history, status and future of fusion materials research in the United States

Abstract Fusion materials research and development in the United States began in the early 1970s with ad hoc research using a wide variety of experimental approaches to approximate (in part) the effects that might be expected from the unavailable fusion reactor environment. Charged particle irradiation dominated but important 14 MeV neutron irradiation studies were initiated with the RTNS-I and fission reactor irradiation was started in the HFIR. By the mid '70s, major effort was directed to the definition and development of fusion specific irradiation facilities. Conceptual reactor design studies provided a focus on machine parameters and materials property requirements. Those studies shifted interest to materials that represented more current technology from the earlier focus on refractory metal alloys. In the early 1980s, a strongly structured DOE fusion reactor materials program increasingly focused on international cooperation, including development and use of irradiation facilities. At the present time, international program activities constitute virtually the total DOE fusion materials program. The development of low activation materials is now the primary long term goal, but resources are increasingly focused in support of the next immediate generation of fusion machines, including CIT and ITER. The unfulfilled requirement for an irradiation facility that is relevant to fusion reactor parameters remains the key agenda item before the international fusion materials community.
Stress-Dependent Regulation of FOXO Transcription Factors by the SIRT1 Deacetylase

The Sir2 deacetylase modulates organismal life-span in various species. However, the molecular mechanisms by which Sir2 increases longevity are largely unknown. We show that in mammalian cells, the Sir2 homolog SIRT1 appears to control the cellular response to stress by regulating the FOXO family of Forkhead transcription factors, a family of proteins that function as sensors of the insulin signaling pathway and as regulators of organismal longevity. SIRT1 and the FOXO transcription factor FOXO3 formed a complex in cells in response to oxidative stress, and SIRT1 deacetylated FOXO3 in vitro and within cells. SIRT1 had a dual effect on FOXO3 function: SIRT1 increased FOXO3's ability to induce cell cycle arrest and resistance to oxidative stress but inhibited FOXO3's ability to induce cell death. Thus, one way in which members of the Sir2 family of proteins may increase organismal longevity is by tipping FOXO-dependent responses away from apoptosis and toward stress resistance.
Coronary artery bypass grafts: new universal markers.

This report describes a new system to facilitate the identification of coronary artery bypass grafts during repeat coronary angiography. Geometric markers (square, triangle, circle, hexagon) are placed over the aortic end of the graft, with each geometric shape designating the target vessel of the graft, e.g. square, right coronary; triangle, anterior descending. This system significantly simplifies cannulation of the postoperative patient and also allows immediate recognition of specific vessels bypassed by mere perusal of the chest film.
A computer simulation study of the separation of aqueous solutions using thin zeolite membranes

A recently developed molecular simulation scheme for studying solutions undergoing osmosis and reverse osmosis was used to study the separation of aqueous solutions using thin zeolite membranes. This method allows for the preservation of the atomic roughness of the membranes, while the molecules that constitute the membranes are also allowed to vibrate. In the simulations, two thin membranes cut from a cubic cell of ZK-4 zeolite were used as the semi-permeable membranes to separate water from aqueous NaCl solutions. Both osmosis and reverse-osmosis phenomena were observed. The study showed that ZK-4 zeolite membranes show promise for use in membrane-based separation of aqueous electrolyte solutions, as well as other similar systems.
The Power Spectral Density of Digital Modulations Transmitted Over Nonlinear Channels

This paper examines by analytical methods the power spectral densities of digital modulations (in particular, staggered and unstaggered quadrature modulations) passed through band-limited nonlinear channels. Previously observed (by computer simulation or hardware measurement) behavior of such spectra with regard to the suppression or restoration of its sidelobes after passing through the nonlinearity is verified analytically. Several examples corresponding to specific quadrature modulations and filter-nonlinearity combinations are presented as illustrations of the general results.
Histoplasmosis in horses

Summary Histoplasmosis was diagnosed in nine horses during 1986-1990. The infection with Histoplasma capsulatum caused granulomatous placentitis and abortion in one mare in the 7th month of gestation and three mares in the 10th month. Four newborn foals died from severe granulomatous pneumonia within a few days of birth; and a weanling thoroughbred developed granulomatous pneumonia and lymphadenitis at 5 months of age.
Comparison of Methods for Sensitivity and Uncertainty Analysis of Signalized Intersections Analyzed with the Highway Capacity Manual

Most users of the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) would prefer to have confidence intervals around the estimate of delay, but no procedure measures the uncertainty in delay and level of service. Four sensitivity analysis methods-partial differential analysis (PDA), partial correlation coefficient analysis, standardized regression coefficient analysis, and the Fourier amplitude sensitivity test (FAST)-and four uncertainty analysis methods-first-order analysis (FOA), Monte Carlo simulation (MCS), FAST, and the point estimate method (PEM)-were investigated. They were applied to data from an actuated signalized intersection. All input variables in the delay model except for the duration of analysis period were considered uncertain, for consistency with HCM. Day-to-day variation was the source of errors. Progression factor, cycle length, green time, and saturation flow are the most sensitive parameters. The incremental delay and upstream metering factors are the least sensitive. Volume and peak hour factor fall ...
Governance, performance objectives and organizational form: Evidence from hospitals

Abstract In a sample of California hospitals, we find that the composition of the board of directors varies systematically across ownership types. For all ownership types, except government-owned, we find that poor financial performance is related to board and CEO turnover. However, different ownership types place different weights on levels of charity care and administrative expenses. Our overall findings support the proposition that ownership type reflects heterogeneity across consumers and producers, and that differences in these groups lead to differences in the organization's objectives and governance.
Treatment of femoral artery pseudoaneurysms using ultrasound-guided thrombin injection

Abstract Femoral artery pseudoaneurysms, a complication of femoral arterial puncture, is increasing in frequency with the proliferation of endovacular interventions. Pseudoaneurysms have historically been treated by open surgical repair, and more recently by ultrasound-guided compression. Ultrasound-guided compression is painful, and has a relatively low success rate of 51% to 73%. Since 1991, ultrasound-guided thrombin injection has become a treatment option. During injection of thrombin into a pseudoaneurysm, immediate thrombosis can be demonstrated within seconds. The entire procedure can be accomplished within 5 minutes, is simple to learn, and can be performed safely on an outpatient basis. © 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
California Integrated Seismic Network (CISN) Local Magnitude Determination in California and Vicinity

Determining local magnitude (M_L) in a manner that is uniform and internally consistent for earthquakes throughout California and the vicinity is an important component of the California Integrated Seismic Network (CISN). We present a new local magnitude attenuation function and corresponding station adjustments that are valid throughout California. The new attenuation function is an analytic function of the radial hypocentral distance between 1 and 500 km. Associated station adjustments are also available for 1185 horizontal seismometer and accelerometer channels from five seismic networks operating in California. The new attenuation function and adjustments provide several advantages to CISN. They allow a more robust M_L computation, the M_Ls are more consistent between northern and southern California than they have been in the past, and because adjustments are now available for more station-network-channel-location codes (SNCLs), M_Ls can be computed for small earthquakes in more locations than was previously possible. In addition to describing our method for calibrating the new CISN M_L, we also present a tool for adding adjustments for new or upgraded stations.
A Unified Explanation of Territorial Conflict: Testing the Impact of Sampling Bias, 1919–1992

This article develops a new unified territorial explanation of conflict that accounts for the possibility of certain factors affecting the rise of a militarized dispute, as well as the probability that a dispute will escalate to war. In the past, research linking territorial disputes to a relatively high probability of war outbreak has been criticized for underestimating the potential problem of sampling bias in the militarized interstate dispute (MID) data. This study utilizes newly available data on territorial claims going back to 1919 to determine, using a two-stage estimation procedure, whether the presence of territorial claims in the dispute onset phase affects the relationship between territorial militarized disputes and war in the second stage. It is found that territorial claims increase the probability of a militarized dispute occurring and that territorial MIDs increase the probability of war, even while controlling for the effect of territorial claims on dispute onset. The effect of territory across the two stages is consistent with the new territorial explanation of conflict and war and shows no sampling bias with regard to territory in the MID data.
Mechanism of ionic strength dependence of crystal growth rates in a subtilisin variant

An orthorhombic crystal form of a subtilisin variant exhibits a systematic variation in growth rates of its three unique faces, resulting in pronounced morphology variations, depending on ionic strength. Several common salts cause a concentration-dependent change in the crystal habit from thin plates to isometric bars. Analysis of the four crystal contacts in the 1.8 A resolution X-ray structure leads to models of the morphological growth fronts and reveals a short (2.5 A) hydrogen bond between two carboxyl groups in one of the contacts. Cation screening of this interaction in the nascent contact is proposed to play a key role in making the growth rates ionic strength sensitive.