cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
PUM2, a novel murine puf protein, and its consensus RNA-binding site.

Members of the Puf family of RNA-binding proteins from Drosophila, Caenorhabditis elegans, and Dictyostelium are known to function as translational repressors. To identify mammalian proteins that might regulate posttranscriptional gene expression, we have characterized a novel murine Puf protein, PUM2. Pum2 transcripts were expressed in all murine tissues examined, suggesting the gene influences processes common to many cell types. Like all Puf family members, PUM2 contains a C-terminal RNA-binding domain related to the Drosophila Pumilio homology domain (PUM-HD). Two features found in the amino-terminus of PUM2, regions rich in serine and glutamine/alanine-rich regions, were also identified in most Puf family members. RNA sequences capable of binding with high affinity (6.5 nM) to a 48-kDa recombinant protein containing the PUM2 PUM-HD were isolated by using an iterative amplification‐ selection protocol (SELEX). The consensus sequence [UGUANAUARNNNNBBBBSCCS] of the PUM2 binding element (PBE) is related to, but distinct from, the 39 end of the Drosophila Nanos response element. The characterization of PUM2 and potential RNA-binding site will assist efforts to assess the extent and mechanism by which mammalian genes are regulated at a posttranscriptional level.
Acute effects of whole-body proton irradiation on the immune system of the mouse

The acute effects of proton whole-body irradiation on the distribution and function of leukocyte populations in the spleen and blood were examined and compared to the effects of photons derived from a (60)Co gamma-ray source. Adult female C57BL/6 mice were exposed to a single dose (3 Gy at 0.4 Gy/min) of protons at spread-out Bragg peak (SOBP), protons at the distal entry (E) region, or gamma rays and killed humanely at six different times thereafter. Specific differences were noted in the results, thereby suggesting that the kinetics of the response may be variable. However, the lack of significant differences in most assays at most times suggests that the RBE for both entry and peak regions of the Bragg curve was essentially 1.0 under the conditions of this study. The greatest immunodepression was observed at 4 days postexposure. Flow cytometry and mitogenic stimulation analyses of the spleen and peripheral blood demonstrated that lymphocyte populations differ in radiosensitivity, with B (CD19(+)) cells being most sensitive, T (CD3(+)) cells being moderately sensitive, and natural killer (NK1.1(+)) cells being most resistant. B lymphocytes showed the most rapid recovery. Comparison of the T-lymphocyte subsets showed that CD4(+) T helper/inducer cells were more radiosensitive than the CD8(+) T cytotoxic/suppressor cells. These findings should have an impact on future studies designed to maximize protection of normal tissue during and after proton-radiation exposure.
Quantitation and morphology of equine abortion virus in hamsters.

Abstract Infection of hamsters with equine abortion virus results in a fulminating disease that terminates fatally in 18–21 hours. In the latter half of this infection, the plasma and extracts of liver tissue contain particles in large numbers that the authors believe are the virus elementary bodies. By electron microscopy, the particles are round with average diameter 170 mμ; many have a tail of about 50-mμ width and variable length up to 340 mμ. They first appear about 9 hours after infection and increase rapidly in number to 10 11 per gram in the terminal stages. The particles appear and increase in parallel with the infectious titer of the tissues involved. Their number is consistent with the frequency of their appearance in electron micrographs of thin tissue sections.
The effects of source/drain resistance on deep submicrometer device performance

As MOSFET channel lengths approach the deep-submicrometer regime, performance degradation due to parasitic source/drain resistance (R/sub sd/) becomes an important factor to consider in device scaling. The effects of R/sub sd/ on the device performance of deep-submicrometer non-LDD (lightly doped drain) n-channel MOSFETs are examined. Reduction in the measured saturation drain current (R/sub sd/=600 Omega - mu m) relative to the ideal saturation current (R/sub sd/=0.0 Omega - mu m) is about 4% for L/sub eff/=0.7 mu m and T/sub ox/=15.6 nm and 10% for L/sub eff/=0.3 mu m and T/sub ox/=8.6 nm. Reduction of current in the linear regime and reduction of the simulated ring oscillator speed are both about three times higher. The effect of salicide technologies on device performance is discussed. Projections are made of the ultimate achievable performance. >
Organizational Ecology Success Factors in the Business: A Case Study at Fingerhut Inc.

The proliferation, growth, decline, and re-growth of the high tech industry during the past several decades has allowed for the creation of new organizational concepts. One of these concepts finds its theoretical underpinnings in the areas of ecology and biology. This paper attempts to apply organizational ecology, particularly the well-known Verhulst-Pearl (VP) ecological logistic growth model, to the life cycle of e-commerce enterprises using Fingerhut Inc. as an example noting its successes and failures.
Integrating Point-to-Point Videoconferencing Into Professional Development of Rural Elementary School Science Teachers

This study investigated the effectiveness of using point-to-point videoconferencing for a 3-day professional development workshop of elementary school science teachers as part of the Science Co-op Project in rural Missouri. The intentions of this exploratory case study were to provide an overview of the program and to assess the degree to which participating teachers perceived the effective use of distance education technologies to address the challenge of reaching teachers in rural, isolated areas. The sample of teacher participants had participated in at least one traditional, onsite professional development workshop in previous years of the project. An exploratory case study design methodology was used to ascertain new information as it arose during the data collection process. Results suggest that teachers perceived the use of point-topoint videoconferencing to be as effective as their previous experience in traditional workshops. However, teacher participants overwhelmingly preferred to have the workshop leaders onsite.
SHEDDING LIGHT ON DARK MATTER: SEEING THE INVISIBLE WITH THE BULLET CLUSTER 1E0657-56

The cluster of galaxies 1E0657-56 has been the subject of intense ongoing research in the last few years. This system is remarkably well-suited to addressing outstanding issues in both cosmology and fundamental physics. It is one of the hottest and most luminous X-ray clusters known and is unique in being a major supersonic cluster merger occurring nearly in the plane of the sky, earning it the nickname ”the Bullet Cluster”. Here I will present our measurements of the composition of this system, show the evidence for existence of dark matter, and describe limits that can be placed on the intrinsic properties of dark matter particles. In addition, I will explain how this cluster offers a serious challenge to MOdified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) theories.
Energy- and Performance-Aware Incremental Mapping for Networks on Chip With Multiple Voltage Levels

Achieving effective run-time mapping on multiprocessor systems-on-chip (MPSoCs) is a challenging task, particularly since the arrival order of the target applications is not known a priori. This paper targets real-time applications which are dynamically mapped onto embedded MPSoCs, where communication happens via the Network-on-Chip (NoC) approach, and resources connected to the NoC have multiple voltage levels. We address precisely the energy- and performance-aware incremental mapping problem for NoCs with multiple voltage levels and propose an efficient technique (consisting of region selection and node allocation) to solve it. Moreover, the proposed technique allows for new applications to be added to the system with minimal in- terprocessor communication overhead. Experimental results show that the proposed technique is very fast, and as much as 50% communication energy savings can be achieved compared to using an arbitrary allocation scheme.
Effective search strategies for application-independent speedup in UDP demultiplexing

We present UDP datagram demultiplexing techniques that can yield potentially substantial application-independent performance gains over BSD-derived UDP implementations. Our demultiplexing strategies exploit local host and UDP implementation features: (1) how UDP processes connection-less datagrams, (2) local host application as client or server, and (3) local host application "density"-resulting in straight-forward hash-based search strategies that caused demultiplexing speedups as high as 24-to-1 over BSD's one-behind cache. Furthermore, while past researchers have shown that cache-based schemes yield little performance benefit for UDP, we show that cache-based implementations can actually degrade demultiplexing performance. Finally, we recommend simple, non-protocol altering local host modifications for existing and future UDP implementations. We used four server traffic traces and eight algorithms in our trace-driven simulations, and executed more than 60 simulations to obtain our results.
Governance structures and accounting at large municipalities

Either Mayor–Council or Council–Manager forms of governance operate most cities in the US, with a slow trend toward Council–Manager cities. Theoretical modeling suggests that the Council–Manager form should be more efficient, since the city manager has greater incentives to increase financial and accounting performance relative to the mayor as chief executive officer. However, two sets of factors may be more important for municipal comparisons. Since the mid-1980s, regulations of state and local governments have intensified. At the same time, economic conditions improved dramatically. Consequently, these two factors might be more relevant to evaluate the financial and accounting conditions in large cities. The purpose of this paper is to test the significance of governance structure on accounting disclosure levels and financial condition, based on samples of large cities from the early 1980s and the mid-1990s. The findings support the perspective that city manager cities substantially outperform Mayor–Council cities on major dimensions examined in both univariate and multivariate tests. Large municipalities improved on key financial and accounting variables from 1983 to 1996. Council–Manager cities maintained superiority over Mayor–Council cities for accounting disclosure in both periods. Council–Manager cities were significantly better in financial condition in 1983, but the evidence for 1996 was mixed. 2003 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.
On the (24, 12, 10) quaternary code and binary codes with an automorphism having two cycles

A general decomposition theorem is given for codes over finite fields which have an automorphism of a given type. Such codes can be decomposed as direct sums of subcodes which may be viewed as shorter length codes over extension fields. If such a code is self-dual, sometimes the subcodes are also. This decomposition is applied to prove that the self-dual (24, 12, 10) quaternary code has no automorphism of order 3. This decomposition is also applied to count the number of equivalent (2r, r) and (2r+2r+1) self-dual binary codes with an automorphism of prime order r. >
Fixed Point Analysis for Recurrent Networks

This paper provides a systematic analysis of the recurrent backpropagation (RBP) algorithm, introducing a number of new results. The main limitation of the RBP algorithm is that it assumes the convergence of the network to a stable fixed point in order to backpropagate the error signals. We show by experiment and eigenvalue analysis that this condition can be violated and that chaotic behavior can be avoided. Next we examine the advantages of RBP over the standard backpropagation algorithm. RBP is shown to build stable fixed points corresponding to the input patterns. This makes it an appropriate tool for content addressable memories, one-to-many function learning, and inverse problems.
Empirical Likelihood and Small Samples

A Monte Carlo simulation compares 9 methods for setting central 95% confidence intervals for the mean of a small sample, for 7 different sampling distributions. The bootstrap t method is the clear winner in terms of coverage accuracy provided at least 4 observations are available. The confidence intervals tend to be long, but not unreasonably so provided at least 6 observations are available. Thus it is not true, as is commonly supposed, that small samples require one to use parametric methods.
Novel “Nonkinase” Phorbol Ester Receptors: The C1 Domain Connection

In recent years, there have been great advances in our understanding of the pharmacology and biology of the receptors for the phorbol ester tumor promoters and the second messenger diacylglycerol (DAG). The traditional view of protein kinase C (PKC) as the sole receptor for the phorbol esters has been challenged with the discovery of proteins unrelated to PKC that bind phorbol esters with high affinity, suggesting a high degree of complexity in the signaling pathways activated by DAG. These novel "nonkinase" phorbol ester receptors include chimaerins (a family of Rac GTPase activating proteins), RasGRPs (exchange factors for Ras/Rap1), and Munc13 isoforms (scaffolding proteins involved in exocytosis). In all cases, phorbol ester binding occurs at the single C1 domain present in these proteins and, as in PKC isozymes, ligand binding is a phospholipid-dependent event. Moreover, the novel phorbol ester receptors are also subject to subcellular redistribution or "translocation" by phorbol esters, leading to their association to different effector and/or regulatory molecules. Clearly, the use of phorbol esters as specific activators of PKC in cellular models is questionable. Alternative pharmacological and molecular approaches are therefore needed to dissect the involvement of each receptor class as a mediator of phorbol ester/DAG responses.
Variability of laser-evoked potentials: attention, arousal and lateralized differences

We recorded laser-evoked potentials (LEPs) from 20 normal subjects by stimulating the skin with pulses from an infrared CO2 laser. The conduction velocity of the peripheral afferent fibers mediating the LEPs averaged 14.9 m/sec. The amplitude of the LEP components correlated significantly with perceived stimulus intensity. During repetitive constant intensity stimulation, the peak-to-peak LEP amplitude decreased 38% during a distraction task and 42% during drowsiness and was absent during stage 2 sleep, indicating a modulation of responsiveness to laser stimulation during distraction and decreased states of arousal. Normative data revealed considerable intersubject variability in LEP latencies and amplitudes. Analysis of intrasubject lateralized (side-to-side) differences revealed that the relative peak-to-peak amplitude was less variable than that of the N or P components. For clinical applications using 3 S.D.s to define the normal range, a lateral interpeak amplitude difference greater than 28% would suggest focal or lateralized sensory abnormality in an individual patient. Vigilance and attentiveness to the stimuli should be monitored during the acquisition of LEPs.
Topographic components analysis of evoked potentials: parameter estimation and some preliminary results

Analyzing multichannel evoked potentials (EPs) is a difficult problem because of the typically large volumes of data acquired-data which are space- and time-dependent and which must be analyzed in both of these domains. Some preliminary results from using the topographic components (TC) model recently proposed by Mocks (1988) for spatiotemporal EP analysis are presented. A three-stage steepest-descent algorithm is derived for least-squares parameter estimation. The algorithm is used to fit the TC model to actual EP data and to examine two aspects. The model is compared to the standard method of principal components for its ability to fit EP data. For two sample data sets, the TC model is shown to provide a better least-squares fit with many fewer parameters than principal components, suggesting that the seemingly restrictive assumptions made by the model may not be inappropriate. The ability of the model to discriminate between two classes of subjects distinguished by different topographic patterns to their evoked responses for a given stimulus is evaluated. >
The asymptotic structure of a shear band in mode-II deformations

A shear band is assumed to propagate at a uniform velocity in a thermoviscoplastic body being deformed in mode-II. The deformation field appears steady to an observer situated on and moving with the shear band tip. The region around the shear band tip is divided into a core region and an inertial region. The core region is behind the shear band tip, and the inertial region surrounds the band tip but excludes a small region around the tip. Asymptotic fields for the velocity, temperature and the effective stress are determined in the inertial region. The dependencies of the thermal width of the band and of the rate of energy dissipated within the core region behind the shear band-tip upon the speed of the shear band are exhibited.
Interplay among Cyclic Diguanylate, HapR, and the General Stress Response Regulator (RpoS) in the Regulation of Vibrio cholerae Hemagglutinin/Protease

Vibrio cholerae secretes the Zn-dependent metalloprotease hemagglutinin (HA)/protease (mucinase), which is encoded by hapA and displays a broad range of potential pathogenic activities. Expression of HA/protease has a stringent requirement for the quorum-sensing regulator HapR and the general stress response regulator RpoS. Here we report that the second messenger cyclic diguanylic acid (c-di-GMP) regulates the production of HA/protease in a negative manner. Overexpression of a diguanylate cyclase to increase the cellular c-di-GMP pool resulted in diminished expression of HA/protease and its positive regulator, HapR. The effect of c-di-GMP on HapR was independent of LuxO but was abolished by deletion of the c-di-GMP binding protein VpsT, the LuxR-type regulator VqmA, or a single-base mutation in the hapR promoter that prevents autorepression. Though expression of HapR had a positive effect on RpoS biosynthesis, direct manipulation of the c-di-GMP pool at a high cell density did not significantly impact RpoS expression in the wild-type genetic background. In contrast, increasing the c-di-GMP pool severely inhibited RpoS expression in a ΔhapR mutant that is locked in a regulatory state mimicking low cell density. Based on the above findings, we propose a model for the interplay between HapR, RpoS, and c-di-GMP in the regulation of HA/protease expression.
A Methodology for Assessing Dynamic Fine Scale Built Environments and Crime: A Case Study of the Lower 9th Ward After Hurricane Katrina

This chapter will present a method of data collection and analysis for fine scale environments experiencing change. The setting for this work is the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans for the period 2010 and 2011. The approach described here utilizes a low cost mobile data collection strategy involving a spatial video, a built environment coding scheme, and fine scale spatial analysis using a spatial filter that creates a surface of abandonment/blight/returnee rates linked to individual crimes. This chapter will also address the need for longitudinal analysis beyond simply considering changes in crime events by framing crimes between two data collection periods. Although this chapter should be viewed as a methodological example, including the importance of primary data collection and spatial investigation at the street segment scale, one interesting result is that crimes in association with abandonment and blight only became statistically significant for the 2011 landscape. The chapter concludes with several examples of spatial video derived fine scale maps that can be used to advance current spatial crime theories.
Bi-decomposition of large Boolean functions using blocking edge graphs

Bi-decomposition techniques have been known to significantly reduce area, delay, and power during logic synthesis since they can explore multi-level and, or, and xor decompositions in a scalable technology-independent manner. The complexity of bi-decompo-sition techniques is in achieving a good variable partition for the given logic function. State-of-the-art techniques use heuristics and/or brute-force enumeration for variable partitioning, which results in sub-optimal results and/or poor scalability with function complexity. This paper describes a fast, scalable algorithm for obtaining provably optimum variable partitions for bi-decomposition of Boolean functions by constructing an undirected graph called the blocking edge graph (BEG). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first algorithm that demonstrates a systematic approach to derive disjoint and overlapping variable partitions for bi-decomposition. Since a BEG has only one vertex per input, our technique scales to Boolean functions with hundreds of inputs. Results indicate that on average, BEG-based bi-decomposition reduces the number of logic levels (mapped delay) of 16 benchmark circuits by 60%, 34%, 45%, and 30% (20%, 19%, 16% and 20%) over the best results of state-of-the-art tools FBDD, SIS, ABC, and an industry-standard synthesizer, respectively.
Selection of Children To Provide Care: The Effect of Earlier Parental Transfers

We use the first wave of data from the Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old (AHEAD) study to examine the effects of past parent-to-child financial transfers on selection of a child to provide assistance with basic personal care for unmarried parents. We estimate a fixed-effects conditional logit model and find a positive and significant association between past financial transfers and a child's current helping behavior. The coefficient of past financial transfers is in the direction hypothesized, and its magnitude is 80% as large as that of gender, a welldocumented powerful predictor of parental caregiving. There appears to be substantial evidence that earlier parentto-child financial gifts play a role in determining which child in the family will provide assistance.
RENAL nephrometry score is associated with complications after renal cryoablation: a multicenter analysis.

Objective To analyze outcomes and complications of percutaneous (PRC) and laparoscopic renal cryoablation (LRC) using the radius, endophytic, nearness to collecting system, anterior/posterior, and location (RENAL) nephrometry system. Methods Retrospective multicenter analysis of 154 consecutive patients who underwent either ultrasound-guided LRC (n = 88) or computed tomography (CT)-guided PRC (n = 66) from March 2003 to December 2011. RENAL score and demographics were compared to postoperative complications (Clavien). Multivariable analysis was carried out for factors associated with development of postprocedure complications. Results Mean age was 68 years (94 men/60 women). Median follow-up was 34 months (range 23.6-45.6 months). Mean tumor size was 2.6 ± 1 cm. Mean RENAL score was 5.2 ± 1.4. Differences in (A)nterior/posterior component and (H)ilar domain of the RENAL scores were noted, with PRC favoring posterior tumors and hilar lesions compared to LRC ( P P = .044, respectively). There were 14.9% complications, all of which were low-grade (Clavien 1,2). There were no differences in complications between LRC and PRC (15.9% vs 13.6%, P = .82). Most common complication type was hemorrhagic in 9 of 154 patients (5.8%); significant increase in the hemorrhagic complication rate was noted for patients with “N” (“nearness”) component score of 2 or 3 (5/36, or 13.9%), compared to patients with “N” score of 1 (4/115 or 3.5%, P = .033). multivariable analysis demonstrated that increasing RENAL score was associated with postprocedure complications (odds ratio [OR] = 1.37, P = .025). When separated into individual domains, multivariable analysis revealed that “N” score 3 was significantly associated with postoperative complications (OR 16.15, P = .027). Conclusion Increasing RENAL score was associated development of postprocedure complications after renal cryotherapy. Further investigation is requisite to elucidate the role of RENAL nephrometry score in risk stratification prior to renal cryotherapy.
Multiscale Evolution of a Derecho-Producing Mesoscale Convective System

Abstract In this paper the authors address one type of severe weather: strong straight-line winds. The case of a mesoscale convective system that developed in eastern Colorado on 12–13 May 1985 was studied. The system formed in the afternoon, was active until early morning, and caused strong winds during the night. A multiscale nonhydrostatic full physics simulation was performed to formulate a conceptual model of the main airflow branches of the system, and to gain understanding of the physical processes involved in the strong wind generation in this storm. Four telescopically nested grids covering from the synoptic-scale down to cloud-scale circulations were used. A Lagrangian model was employed to follow trajectories of parcels that took part in the updraft and downdraft, and balances of forces were computed along the trajectories. The strong nocturnal winds were caused by downdrafts reaching the surface and by a dynamically forced horizontal pressure gradient force. The most important branch of the do...
The role of deferred requirements in a longitudinal study of emailing

Our group has taken a clinical approach to doing requirements engineering for a specific domain: delivering email tools to the cognitively impaired population. The clinical view suggests a process that first gathers an individual's goals, assesses the individual's abilities, delivers a tailored system, and finally, monitors usage over time to look for adaptation needs. One concept that has arisen from our project is the notion of a deferred requirement (or deferred goal). Professional clinicians ask an individual to think broadly of the goals they have, and think about not only goals that are achievable today, but ones that might be striven for and become achieved in the future. We discuss this idea of deferred requirements in terms of a longitudinal study working with nine participants over a two year period. We also report on initial attempts to build automated tools around deferred requirements, monitoring, and system adaptation.
Comparison of Inhibition and Consolidation Theories of Spaced Practice Effects

Inhibition and consolidation theories of spaced practice effects in psychomotor performance were compared in terms of the accuracy with which they were able to forecast the decremental consequences of massed practice following variable amounts of well-spaced practice on a rotary pursuit task. As predicted by inhibition theory, the rate of performance decrement during the massed trials was independent of the amount of previously spaced practice. This was contrary to an implication of consolidation theory, which predicted an inverse relationship between decremental rate and amount of previous practice. These and kindred data, reviewed herein, continue to sustain inhibition theory as the explanation of choice.
Bleeding Duodenal Ulcer Associated with Cerebellar Tumor in Childhood

Summary 1.The literature on peptic ulcer in infancy and childhood is reviewed. 2.Particular emphasis is placed upon the association of peptic ulcer with central nervous system lesions, not only in infants and children but also in adults. 3.A case of perforating and bleeding duodenal ulcer associated with medulloblastoma of the cerebellar vermis is presented.
BT-03TARGETED INHBITION OF HISTONE DEMETHYLASE ACTIVITY FOR THE TREATMENT OF PEDIATRIC BRAINSTEM GLIOMAS

INTRODUCTION: Histone gene mutations occur in pediatric brainstem gliomas. The most common mutation, a substitution of methionine for lysine at position 27 (K27M) of H3.3 protein, one of the histone H3 family members, causes substantial reduction in histone H3 tri- and di-methylation of K27 in cellular chromatin. We hypothesize that increase histone methylation would be a unique epigenetic therapeutic approach for treating this cancer. METHODS: Histone H3.3 lysine 27 (H3K27) methylation status was evaluated by western blotting. Cell proliferation assays were performed to assess the response to pharmacological inhibition with GSKJ4, a selective inhibitor of H3K27 demethylase JMJD3 and genetic suppression using JMJD3 siRNA. Gene expression changes and sequence association of K27me3, as a result of GSKJ4 treatment, were examined in cells with the K27M mutation using CHIP sequence and gene expression array. In vivo tumor growth and response to therapy were quantitatively measured by bioluminescence imaging and animal survival. RESULTS: H3.3K27M mutant brainstem glioma cells showed global reduction of H3K27 methylation compared to H3.3 wild-type glioma cells. Pharmacologic inhibition and genetic suppression of the H3K27 demethylase JMJD3, had anti-tumor activities that are specific to glioma cells with K27M mutation. Inhibition of JMJD3 opposed the suppressive effect of K27M mutation on H3K27 tri- and di-methylation. GSKJ4 treatment reduced the growth rate of K27M brainstem glioma xenografts in mice, while promoted tumor cell death, and significantly extended animal survival. Gene expression array combined with CHIP sequence association of K27me3, as result of GSKJ4 treatment, revealed 25 genes for which there was a strong correlation between GSKJ4-associated gene expression changes and corresponding changes in K27me3 sequence association. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that pharmacologic modulation of histone K27 methylation by inhibiting the JMJD3 demethylase is a viable approach for treating with pediatric gliomas with H3F3A mutations.
Diversity of herbicide resistance among wild oat sampled 36 yr apart

Abstract The diversity of resistance among wild oat collected before and after commercial introduction of imazamethabenz, difenzoquat, diclofop, fenoxaprop-P, sethoxydim, and tralkoxydim was evaluated. Wild oat sampled in 1964 and 2000 from the Red River Valley of Minnesota and North Dakota were screened for resistance. Nearly 43% of the 1964 collections were susceptible (S) to all six herbicides, whereas only 9% were S by 2000. The frequency of resistance in 2000 compared with 1964 increased for all six herbicides, and 27 phenotype response groups to the six herbicides occurred in 2000 vs. 14 phenotype response groups for the 1964 collection. The proportion of resistant (R) plants increased faster for the aryloxyphenoxypropionate (APP) herbicides, diclofop and fenoxaprop-P, than for the cyclohexanedione (CHD) herbicides, sethoxydim and tralkoxydim. High diversity of resistance responses was observed in wild oat to acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase–inhibitor herbicides, suggesting that there may be multiple A...
Pressure-Temperature-Time Paths

The past decade has been a time of unprecedented improvement in our ability to reconstruct the thermal evolution of orogenic belts. Like many instances of rapid advancement in science, this achievement can be traced to the convergence of disparate research directions. The new field of thermochronology (the study of the time-temperature evolution of rocks) derived from the realization by geochronologists that many mineral-iso­ topic systems could be used to determine the time of cooling of a terrain through a series of predictable temperatures (e.g. Armstrong 1966, Wagner et aI 1977, Harrison & McDougalI 1980, Berger & York 1981). Petrologists have made great progress in their ability to discern the pressure-tem­ perature history of metamorphic rocks through the improvement of con­ ventional thermobarometric techniques [see Bohlen & Lindsley (1987) and Essene (1989) for reviews] and the development of important new approaches to relating changes in mineral chemistry to changes in environ­ mental parameters (Spear & Selvcrstonc 1983, St-Onge 1987). From a theoretical standpoint, several geophysical papers in the midto late-1970s and early 1980s explored heat transfer processes in orogenic belts and the role of these in the development and preservation of metamorphic mineral assemblages (Oxburgh & England 1974, Bickle et a1 1975, Bird et a1 1975, England & Richardson 1977, Toksoz & Bird 1977, England & Thompson 1984, among others). The integration of geochronologic and petrologic techniques alIows us
Local administration of ibandronate and bone morphogenetic protein-2 after ischemic osteonecrosis of the immature femoral head: a combined therapy that stimulates bone formation and decreases femoral head deformity.

Background: Bisphosphonate therapy has been shown to preserve the osteonecrotic femoral head in experimental and short-term clinical studies. However, a lack of new bone formation within the preserved femoral head due to the inhibition of bone remodeling is a concern. The purpose of this investigation was to determine if combined therapy consisting of ibandronate and bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) can preserve the shape of the femoral head and stimulate new bone formation in an immature animal model of ischemic osteonecrosis. Methods: Ischemic osteonecrosis was surgically induced in immature pigs. Four groups were studied: normal, treated with saline solution, treated with ibandronate, and treated with both ibandronate and BMP-2 (the ibandronate + BMP-2 group). The animals were killed eight weeks after surgery. Radiographic, histological, and histomorphometric assessments were performed. Results: Radiographic assessment showed better preservation of the femoral head shape—i.e., a 54% (CI [95% confidence interval]: 22%, 86%) higher mean epiphyseal quotient—in the ibandronate + BMP-2 group than in the saline group. Histological assessment showed increased trabecular bone in the ibandronate + BMP-2 group as compared with that in the saline group. The mean values for trabecular bone volume, thickness, and number and for osteoblast surface were an average of 400% (CI: 242%, 558%), 212% (CI: 166%, 259%), 71% (CI: 6%, 137%), and 2402% (CI: 2113%, 2693%) higher, respectively, in the ibandronate + BMP-2 group than in the saline group. The osteoclast number was significantly reduced in the ibandronate + BMP-2 group compared with that in the saline group (−59% [CI: −75%, −42%]). The mean osteoblast surface value in the ibandronate + BMP-2 group was significantly higher (2567% [CI: 2258%, 2877%]) than that in the ibandronate group. Heterotopic ossifications were present in the capsule of the hip joint in the ibandronate + BMP-2 group. Conclusions: A combination of ibandronate and BMP-2 decreased femoral head deformity while stimulating bone formation in an immature animal model of ischemic osteonecrosis. Clinical Relevance: The findings provide a proof of concept that a combination of antiresorptive and anabolic agents can significantly improve bone healing and decrease deformity following ischemic osteonecrosis in the immature femoral head of a pig. Additional studies are needed to investigate whether heterotopic ossification can be prevented.
Inside banks' information and control systems

In response to the catastrophic outcome of the 2008-2009 Financial Crisis we report on a qualitative study of decision maker surprise in the banking industry. Banks use a remarkably sophisticated ensemble of information technologies for supporting their management control systems and enabling oversight by government regulators and industry watchdogs. Banks depend on a global network of data processing and information systems to provide their core banking services and to manage the complex financial and macroeconomic elements of their environment. They are also subject to federal and/or state oversight, which includes on-site examinations and quarterly financial data monitoring, to reaffirm their safety and soundness. Yet, the financial crisis caught them unawares. To get behind the headlines of the crisis, we opted to not study crisis decisions overtly, but rather to explore bankers' general ability to interpret the data that they were receiving via their information technologies and observations and to follow a number of crisis and non-crisis decisions that had surprise outcomes for them.Our focus is on understanding the context, process and patterns of decisions that resulted in surprise outcomes for bankers. We interviewed 23 senior executives from banks in the southeast who recounted fifty-one post-decision surprises that had occurred between 2008 and 2010. From analyzing those interviews, we found that they attributed surprise outcomes of their decisions to specific behaviors, including their complacency and over-confidence, their over-trusting of others, their deviation from protocol, their habitual information reporting and decisioning efforts, and their deficient detection of warning signals. In addition they tended to rationalize surprise outcomes by diverting blame to others. Combined, these symptoms reveal a chronic organizational and cultural susceptibility for being surprised. It was evident from our analysis that the bankers exhibited a narrow focus of attention and a reduced sense of inquiry, refrained from calibrating their mindfulness with the complexity of their decisions, limited their sense of accountability and experienced rigidity in procedures from bank routines and information standardization. Together, these elements nurtured less-mindful behavior and triggered surprise outcomes. Given the important role banks play in our financial world and the ineffectiveness of their elaborate information support systems for reliable management control the results are disturbing. Banks have organizational and cultural susceptibility toward post-decision surprise.Information systems are operationally sound, advanced and managerially responsive.Surprise exposes operating deficiencies, weak collective mindfulness and rigid routines.Bankers' missed early warning signals, denied failure and avoided accountability.Bankers' refrained from calibrating required mindfulness with decision complexity.Given important role banks play in our financial world, the results are disturbing.
A Multi-criteria Text Selection Approach for Building a Speech Corpus

Speech corpus is an important and primary requirement for several speech tasks. Building a speech corpora is a lengthy, time consuming and expensive process, it typically involves collection of a large set of textual utterances and then selective distribution of these text utterances among a set of speakers, called speaker sheets. These speaker sheets are articulated by speakers to generate the speech corpora. Depending on the task at hand the speech corpora needs to satisfy certain criteria; For example, a phonetically balanced speech corpora is essential for building an automatic speech recognition ASR engine, while for a text dependent speaker recognition engine there is a need for several spoken repetition of the same text by several speakers. In this paper, we formulate a method that enables creation of speaker sheets from a predetermined set of text utterances such that the speech corpora satisfies the desired requirement.
Commentary: Education and the Arts: The Windows of Imagination

This article focuses upon the significance of art experiences at moments of pervasive unease and uncertainty in the society surrounding the schools. Concerned more with a loss of expectation and a sense of futility than actual fear of catastrophe, I turn towards encounters with the several arts to activate imagination which, as Emily Dickinson wrote, may "light the slow fuse of possibility." The sense of possibility, of what might be, what ought to be, what is not yet--seems to be essential in moving the young to learn to learn. It may be nurtured, not only through art education as ordinarily understood, but also through aesthetic education, moving people by means of participation, to awaken to the wonders of authentic appreciation.
Abstract 2924: The role of autophagy in telomere damage-induced replicative senescence.

Recent studies have implicated autophagy in multiple aspects of cancer biology, including oncogene-induced senescence (OIS) and genome instability. Autophagy is thought to control the transition to OIS through its ability to regulate the Senescence Associated Secretory Phenotype (SASP), which is necessary and sufficient for OIS. In addition, autophagy can suppress genome instability by limiting p62 accumulation in an apoptosis-deficient setting. In this study, we explored the role of autophagy in replicative senescence, an important barrier to tumorigenesis that is driven by telomere dysfunction and that is very distinct from OIS. We modeled replicative senescence by expressing mutant telomerase in human diploid fibroblasts, which rapidly induces telomere dysfunction and senescence. We observed strong induction of autophagic flux in response to telomere dysfunction prior to and during senescence. To determine the role of autophagy in the cellular response to telomere damage, we examined multiple components of the dysfunctional telomere response: transition and maintenance of senescence, SASP, DNA damage response, genome instability, and heterochromatin foci. In cells depleted of key autophagy mediators (ATGs), we did not observe a clear defect in the transition to senescence, as was previously seen with OIS. However, we did observe an outgrowth population of non-senescent cells among the senescent autophagy-deficient population, suggesting a possible defect in the maintenance of senescence. We also found that telomere dysfunction induced secretion of IL6 in an autophagy-dependent manner. Lastly, we observed an increase in polyploid cells in Atg7-deficient checkpoint-proficient cells, suggesting a role for autophagy in maintaining genome stability during the dysfunctional telomere response. Our results suggest that autophagy controls several aspects of the cellular response to telomere dysfunction in normal human cells. Citation Format: Florie Charles, Jayanta Debnath, Bradley Stohr. The role of autophagy in telomere damage-induced replicative senescence. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2924. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-2924
Micromechanical Studies of Model Metal Matrix Composites

The fiber-matrix interface is believed to play a central role in the load-supporting and crack-growth resisting capabilities of fiber-reinforced high temperature composites. In metal matrix composites, this interface can be very complex: new phases may be present due to reactions between the matrix and reinforcement, compositional gradients due to interdiffusion occur, and the outer fiber surface is usually coated to avoid handling damage, improve fiber wetability, and/or control matrix reactivity. Attempts at measurements of fiber and interface strength from studies of actual composite samples are thwarted in part by the difficulty of determining the local distribution of stress and strain in these highly inhomogeneous materials. Furthermore, the inability to determine the point, during loading, where failure occurs in the interfacial zone also complicates the problem in these opaque materials. It is not surprising, therefore, that the fundamental relationships between the structure and properties of interfaces, on the one hand, and the load-supporting/crack-resisting properties of bulk metal matrix composities, on the other, have not been determined to date.
Forging a Geometric Link Between Function-Based Design and DfM

Design for Manufacture (DfM) tends to explore only a small space of possible designs toward improving manufacturability. By focusing primarily on detailed geometry, DfM tends to recommend incremental changes. This paper presents a methodology that begins at the conceptual design stage, applying functional modeling to the generation of design configurations. These functional abstractions are merged with real part geometry toward generating potentially manufacturable design skeletons. The direct connection from function to manufacturable form afforded by this method allows the designer to make better-informed design decisions at the earliest stages of the design process.Copyright © 2002 by ASME
Seasonal abundance, population growth, and within-plant distribution of sweetpotato weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) on sweet potato in southern Florida

Abundance and population growth rates of the sweetpotato weevil, Cylas formicarius elegantulus (Summers), were compared on different cultivars of sweet potato, Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam. (cvs. Campeon, Centennial, Picadito, and Regal) in southern Florida. The within-vine and within-root distributions of the weevil on plants also were determined. Studies were conducted during the cool, dry, winter and the warm, wet, summer growing seasons. Weevils were more abundant and populations increased more rapidly during the summer than during the winter season. During the summer season, they tended to be most abundant on ‘Centennial’ followed in decreasing order by ‘Regal’ and ‘Picadito.’ Weevils were more abundant and populations increased more rapidly in roots than in vines of ‘Centennial,’ ‘Regal,’ and ‘Campeon,’ whereas they were more abundant or as abundant, and populations increased more rapidly, in vines than in roots of ‘Picadito.’ In vines, weevil populations increased more rapidly on ‘Picadito’ and on one planting of ‘Centennial.’ In roots, populations increased most rapidly on ‘Centennial’ and on one planting of ‘Regal.’ Overall, populations increased most rapidly on ‘Centennial’ and least rapidly on ‘Campeon.’ The weevil displayed a characteristic within-plant distribution that differed among cultivars, Overall, 81.6, 90.2, 91.2, and 91.3% of the total weevil populations within the vines and roots of ‘Picadito,’ ‘Centennial,’ ‘Regal,’ and ‘Campeon,’ respectively, were found below the soil surface. Also, 87.4, 78.7, 89.3, and 78.0% of the total weevil population in vines and roots were found in the region of the plant extending from 15 cm below the crown to 10 cm above the crown on ‘Campeon,’ ‘Centennial,’ ‘Regal,’ and ‘Picadito,’ respectively. These data will help to develop a sampling plan for sweetpotato weevil on cultivated sweet potato.
Dynamic Redistribution of Isotopically Labeled Cohorts of Nitrogen Inputs in Two Temperate Forests

We compared simulated time series of nitrogen-15 (15N) redistribution following a large-scale labeling experiment against field recoveries of 15NH4+ and 15NO3− in vegetation tissues. We sought to gain insight into the altered modes of N cycling under long-term, experimentally elevated N inputs. The study took place in two contrasting forests: a red pine stand and a mixed deciduous stand (predominantly oak) at the Harvard Forest, Massachusetts, USA. We used TRACE, a dynamic simulation model of ecosystem biogeochemistry that includes 15N/14N ratios in N pools and fluxes. We simulated input–output and internal fluxes of N, tracing the labeled cohorts of N inputs through ecosystem pools for one decade. TRACE simulated the peaks and timing of 15N recovery in foliage well, providing a key link between modeling and field studies. Recovery of tracers in fine roots was captured less well. The model was structured to provide rapid, initial sinks for 15NO3− and 15NH4+ in both forests, as indicated by field data. In simulations, N in litter turned over rapidly, even as humus provided a long-term sink for rapidly cycling N. This sink was greater in the oak forest. Plant uptake fluxes of N in these fertilized plots were on the same order of magnitude as net assimilation fluxes in forest-floor humus. A striking result was the small rate of incorporation of N in humus resulting from the transfer of litter material to humus, compared with large fluxes of N into humus and its associated microorganisms through direct transfers from pools of inorganic N in soils.