cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Population trapping in Kr and Xe in intense laser fields.

We have observed trapping of population in Rydberg states of atoms and ions exposed to intense laser radiation. The trapping occurs in nonstationary ``wave-packet'' superposition states, created, via ac Stark-shifted multiphoton resonances during the laser pulse. The formation of these highly excited bound states requires the nonresonant absorption of up to 20 or more photons; some of the ionic Rydberg states lie nearly 32 eV above the ionic ground state. All of the trapped states having binding energies much less than the photon energy but remain stable against ionization even when the multiphoton ionization probability of the atom is saturated.
Bumble bee pollen foraging regulation: role of pollen quality, storage levels, and odor

The regulation of protein collection through pollen foraging plays an important role in pollination and in the life of bee colonies that adjust their foraging to natural variation in pollen protein quality and temporal availability. Bumble bees occupy a wide range of habitats from the Nearctic to the Tropics in which they play an important role as pollinators. However, little is known about how a bumble bee colony regulates pollen collection. We manipulated protein quality and colony pollen stores in lab-reared colonies of the native North American bumble bee, Bombus impatiens. We debut evidence that bumble bee colony foraging levels and pollen storage behavior are tuned to the protein quality (range tested: 17–30% protein by dry mass) of pollen collected by foragers and to the amount of stored pollen inside the colony. Pollen foraging levels (number of bees exiting the nest) significantly increased by 55%, and the frequency with which foragers stored pollen in pots significantly increased by 233% for pollen with higher compared to lower protein quality. The number of foragers exiting the nest significantly decreased (by 28%) when we added one pollen load equivalent each 5 min to already high intranidal pollen stores. In addition, pollen odor pumped into the nest is sufficient to increase the number of exiting foragers by 27%. Foragers directly inspected pollen pots at a constant rate over 24 h, presumably to assess pollen levels. Thus, pollen stores can act as an information center regulating colony-level foraging according to pollen protein quality and colony need.
Opiates and enkephalin reduce the excitability of neuronal processes

Abstract Intracellular recordings were made from somata of neurones in the myenteric ganglia of ileum isolated from guinea-pigs. Action potentials were evoked in the soma either by stimulating a cell process at a distance of up to 100 μm from the soma, and allowing the spike to propagate along the process, or by directly depolarizing the soma membrane by passing current through the recording electrode. Enkephalin, morphine and levorphanol prevented the appearance in the soma of the action potential following distant stimulation, without changing the action potential caused by direct depolarization of the neuron soma. This occurred whether these substances were applied by superfusion (100 nM-1 μM) or by electrophoresis; however, electrophoretic application was usually more effective when the tip of the electrophoresis electrode was close to the course of the cell process. These effects were not shared by dextrorphan, and were prevented by naloxone (100 nM-1 μM). The opiates and enkephalin sometimes caused the action potential to fractionate, suggesting that an important site of action in many neurones may be the proximal part of the process. The block of action potential propagation which occurred at the proximal process, or more distal parts of the process, was sometimes but usually not associated with a hyperpolarization of the membrane of the soma. The results indicate that opiates and enkephalin either block action potential propagation along, or initiation in, fine unmyelinated varicose processes in neurons in which they have no detectable effects on soma membrane properties. The mechanism of spike blockade may be local hyperpolarization or conductance increase.
How Dynamic Is Interhemispheric Interaction? Effects of Task Switching on the across-Hemisphere Advantage.

Interaction between the cerebral hemispheres may allow both hemispheres to contribute their processing resources in order to cope efficiently with complex tasks [Banich, M. (1998). The missing link: the role of interhemispheric interaction in attentional processing. Brain and Cognition, 36, 128-157]. The current study investigated whether the benefits of interhemispheric interaction arise because of top-down knowledge about the task built up over the course of a block of trials or because of the processing demands present in a single trial. Participants performed a less computationally complex physical identity task and a more complex adding task on within-visual field and across-visual field trials. Task differences in interhemispheric interaction were compared between the blocked and mixed conditions to investigate whether frequent task switches altered the pattern of interhemispheric resource recruitment. A similar interaction between task difficulty and trial type (across- or within-visual field presentation) was obtained for both the blocked and mixed conditions. The degree of task-dependency of interhemispheric interaction was not altered in the mixed condition. This finding supports the view that interhemispheric interaction becomes beneficial in response to the processing demands of an individual trial rather than as a result of top-down task knowledge.
Do MMPI Psychopathic Deviancy Scores Reflect Psychopathic Deviancy or Just Deviancy

Summary The Pd, K and L scales of the MMPI and four of Kolberg's Moral Judgment Situations were administered to three criterion groups; adolescent delinquents, college students, and individuals belonging to a therapy collective which provides free community service. Greater than 50% of both the delinquent and therapy collective subjects were classified as psychopathic, (Pd + K T score > 70). The three subject groups obtained significantly different moral maturity scores with the therapy collective subjects receiving the highest moral maturity mean score. The results of two stepwise regression analyses found no relationship between Pd scores and moral maturity scores.
The effect of incubation temperature, initial pH, and sodium chloride on the growth kinetics of Escherichia coli O157:H7

The 6 effects of initial pH, sodium chloride content, and incubation temperature on the aerobic and anaerobic growth kinetics of a three strain mixture of Escherichia coli O157:H7 were evaluated using brain heart infusion broth. The three variables interacted to affect growth, with the primary effects being noted in relation to generation times (GTs) and lag phase durations (LPDs). The maximum population densities (MPDs) achieved by the cultures were largely independent of the three variables; however, there was a general depression of MPDs by 0·5–1·0 log cycles when the cultures were incubated anaerobically. Under otherwise optimal conditions, GTs and LPDs were largely unaffected by initial pH at values ⩾ 5·5. Initial pH had a greater effect when the NaCl content was elevated. Increasing NaCl levels decreased the growth rate of the organism, with the effect being greater if the other variables were also non-optimal. In general, the effect of temperature could be adequately described by the Ratkowsky square root function; however, there was a general depression of optimal growth temperatures and an increase in the differential between Tmin and actual temperature that did not support growth as other variables became non-optimal. Comparison of the current data with previous reports suggest that the growth kinetics of E. coli O157:H7 are similar to those for non-pathogenic strains.
Personality and Dreaming: Boundary Structure and Dream Content

Prior studies indicate that a personality dimension reflecting thin versus thick boundaries is related to global ratings of dream vividness, amount of emotion, and amount of interaction. In the present study, these relationships were examined by relating scores from the Boundary Questionnaire ( Hartmann, 1991) to dream content among 80 patients seen at a sleep disorders center. Thinness of boundaries was significantly correlated with dream length, vividness, amount of detail, and amount of emotion, and showed a trend towards correlation with aggressive interaction and nightmare-likeness. When dream length was statistically controlled, the relationships between boundary structure and dream content were no longer statistically significant, although amount of emotion and amount of detail showed a trend in the original direction. A principal components analysis was used to identify three factors in the dream content data (eigenvalues > 1.0). The first factor involved dream length, vividness, detail, and emotion; the second involved love/tender interaction and sexual interaction; and the third involved aggressive interaction. Thinness of boundaries showed a significant correlation with only the first factor. We suggest that the trait continuum ranging from thick to thin boundaries is similar to the state continuum running from focused waking thought to dreaming, and that both continua refer to the same aspects of cortical activity.
Aura Virus Is a New World Representative of Sindbis-like Viruses

Aura virus is an alphavirus present in Brazil and Argentina that is serologically related to Sindbis virus (present throughout the Old World) and to Western equine encephalitis (WEE) virus (present in the Americas). We have previously shown that WEE is a recombinant virus whose glycoproteins and part of whose 3' nontranslated region (NTR) are derived from a Sindbis-like virus, but the remainder of whose genome is derived from Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) virus. We show here that Aura virus is a Sindbis-like virus that shares considerable organizational and sequence identity with Sindbis virus. Certain nucleotide sequence elements present in Aura RNA that are believed to function as promoters are almost identical to their Sindbis counterparts, repeated elements in the 3' nontranslated region are shared with Sindbis virus, and important antigenic epitopes are conserved between the two viruses. Despite their close relationship, the two viruses have diverged significantly, sharing 73% amino acid sequence identity in the nonstructural proteins and 62% identity in the structural proteins. This is about the same as the identities between EEE and Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus, whose promoter elements, 3' NTRs, and antigenic epitopes have diverged more radically, such that these two viruses are considered to belong to different subgroups. Importantly, the glycoproteins of WEE are more closely related to those of Sindbis than to those of Aura virus. From this we propose that an ancestral Sindbis-like virus present in the Americas (probably South America) diverged 1000-2000 years ago into a lineage that gave rise to Aura virus and a lineage that gave rise to Sindbis virus and to the Sindbis-like parent of WEE. At some time after this divergence, a Slndbis-like virus belonging to the latter lineage was transferred to the Old World where it gave rise to Sindbis viruses distributed throughout the Old World, and in a separate event a Sindbis-like virus belonging to the same lineage underwent recombination with EEE to give rise to WEE.
Radiotherapy-induced myelosuppression in dogs: 103 cases (2002-2006)

Definitive radiotherapy refers to delivery of large doses, typically 48‐62 Gray, of ionizing radiation over several weeks using a daily or alternate-day fractionation schedule. The impact of definitive radiotherapy alone on haematopoiesis in tumour-bearing dogs is unknown. Medical records from 103 dogs receiving definitive 60 Cobalt teletherapy for cancer over a 5-year period were reviewed for signalment, tumour type and location, total radiotherapy dose and fractionation scheme. Complete blood count data were collected before, halfway through, and at the end of radiation treatment, and analysed for changes associated with patient variables. The results demonstrate significant reductions in haematocrit, total white blood cell count, neutrophils, eosinophils, monocytes, lymphocytes and platelets occurred during definitive radiotherapy but remained within laboratory reference intervals. These data are important for anticipation of toxicity associated with combinations of radiotherapy and chemotherapy in dogs but do not support the routine monitoring of haematology parameters during definitive radiotherapy.
Inactivation of Platelet-derived Growth Factor Receptor by the Tumor Suppressor PTEN Provides a Novel Mechanism of Action of the Phosphatase

PTEN, mutated in a variety of human cancers, is a dual specificity protein phosphatase and also possesses D3-phosphoinositide phosphatase activity on phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-tris-phosphate (PIP3), a product of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. This PIP3 phosphatase activity of PTEN contributes to its tumor suppressor function by inhibition of Akt kinase, a direct target of PIP3. We have recently shown that Akt regulates PDGF-induced DNA synthesis in mesangial cells. In this study, we demonstrate that expression of PTEN in mesangial cells inhibits PDGF-induced Akt activation leading to reduction in PDGF-induced DNA synthesis. As a potential mechanism, we show that PTEN inhibits PDGF-induced protein tyrosine phosphorylation with concomitant dephosphorylation and inactivation of tyrosine phosphorylated and activated PDGF receptor. Recombinant as well as immunopurified PTEN dephosphorylates autophosphorylated PDGF receptor in vitro. Expression of phosphatase deficient mutant of PTEN does not dephosphorylate PDGF-induced tyrosine phosphorylated PDGF receptor. Rather its expression increases tyrosine phosphorylation of PDGF receptor. Furthermore, expression of PTEN attenuated PDGF-induced signal transduction including phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and Erk1/2 MAPK activities. Our data provide the first evidence that PTEN is physically associated with platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) receptor and that PDGF causes its dissociation from the receptor. Finally, we show that both the C2 and tail domains of PTEN contribute to binding to the PDGF receptor. These data demonstrate a novel aspect of PTEN function where it acts as an effector for the PDGF receptor function and negatively regulates PDGF receptor activation.
Visual Field Information in the Face Perception of Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Evidence for a visual field advantage (VFA) in the face perception of chimpanzees was investigated using a modification of a free-vision task. Four of six chimpanzee subjects previously trained on a computer joystick match-to-sample paradigm were able to distinguish between images of neutral face chimeras consisting of two left sides (LL) or right sides (RR) of the face. While an individual's ability to make this distinction would be unlikely to determine their suitability for the VFA tests, it was important to establish that distinctive information was available in test images. Data were then recorded on their choice of the LL vs. RR chimera as a match to the true, neutral image; a bias for one of these options would indicate an hemispatial visual field advantage. Results suggest that chimpanzees, unlike humans, do not exhibit a left visual field advantage. These results have important implications for studies on laterality and asymmetry in facial signals and their perception in primates.
Near Infrared Analysis Potential for Grading Raisin Quality and Moisture

Near infrared transmittance (NIT) spectroscopy was examined as a means for measuring raisin quality. High positive correlation was found between measured values and those predicted by NIT for bulk density, visual grade, and moisture content. NIT measures properties at the molecular level. Thus, results showed a relationship between raisin quality and some chemical constituents. NIT analysis has the potential for measuring general raisin quality as well as specific constituents.
Comparison of thoracic kyphosis and postural stiffness in younger and older women

Abstract Background context An increase in thoracic kyphosis and postural stiffness is commonly associated with aging and many pathological conditions. Simple clinical measurements are needed to estimate the relative degree of postural stiffness to determine whether clinical interventions, such as exercise, are beneficial. Purpose To compare the amount of kyphosis and postural stiffness in the thoracic spine of younger and older women. Study design/setting Experimental design conducted at a large health science center in southeastern Texas. Patient sample Fifty-one healthy adult women, 25 between the ages of 21 and 51 years and 26 aged 66 to 88 years. Outcome measures Index of kyphosis (IK) measured with a surveyor's flexicurve. Differences, percent change and ratios between IK measures taken in the relaxed and maximally erect positions were used to estimate postural stiffness. Methods Subjects were measured while standing in their usual relaxed posture and again in their maximally erect posture by three different raters. IK measures were calculated by each rater and averaged for further data analysis. Independent t tests were used to compare the two age groups at the .05 alpha level. Results Significant differences were found in both the relaxed (p=.018) and erect (p Conclusions Age-related differences in thoracic kyphosis and postural stiffness were documented between younger and older women by means of repeated flexicurve measurements performed in both a relaxed and a maximally erect position.
Double-Loop Diversity: Applying Adult Learning Theory to the Cultivation of Diverse Educational Climates in Higher Education

Most U.S. higher education institutions have implemented initiatives to increase campus diversity. The intended outcome is to reduce educational inequities among underrepresented populations. Such initiatives have come under fire, however, for serving as a superficial solution to educational inequities. Here I propose the application of an action-knowledge conceptual framework to explore why money and policy change are not enough to create campus environments where multi-culturalism enhances student learning. Argyris' (1985) notion of double-loop learning recognizes the necessity for “actionable” knowledge to be instilled in practitioners in order for diversity initiatives to truly achieve desired outcomes and have lasting effects.
Early response to false claims in Wikipedia

A number of studies have assessed the reliability of entries in the Wikipedia at specific times. One important difference between the Wikipedia and traditional media, however, is the dynamic nature of its entries. An entry assessed today might be substantially extended or reworked tomorrow. This study paper assesses the frequency with which small, inaccurate changes are quickly corrected.
Vasculitis in a cocaine user.

A 45-year-old woman was admitted for a painful purpuric rash on her cheeks, ears and legs, which began after a 3-day period of heavy crack cocaine use. She reported a similar rash 3 years ago and a skin biopsy at that time revealed thrombi in the small blood vessels. However, serological testing was not consistent with any specific known diagnosis and she was discharged when her rash improved. On physical examination, retiform …
galign: A Tool for Rapid Genome Polymorphism Discovery

Background: Highly parallel sequencing technologies have become important tools in the analysis of sequence polymorphisms on a genomic scale. However, the development of customized software to analyze data produced by these methods has lagged behind. Methods/Principal Findings: Here I describe a tool, ‘galign’, designed to identify polymorphisms between sequence reads obtained using Illumina/Solexa technology and a reference genome. The ‘galign’ alignment tool does not use SmithWaterman matrices for sequence comparisons. Instead, a simple algorithm comparing parsed sequence reads to parsed reference genome sequences is used. ‘galign’ output is geared towards immediate user application, displaying polymorphism locations, nucleotide changes, and relevant predicted amino-acid changes for ease of information processing. To do so, ‘galign’ requires several accessory files easily derived from an annotated reference genome. Direct sequencing as well as in silico studies demonstrate that ‘galign’ provides lesion predictions comparable in accuracy to available prediction programs, accompanied by greater processing speed and more user-friendly output. We demonstrate the use of ‘galign’ to identify mutations leading to phenotypic consequences in C. elegans. Conclusion/Significance: Our studies suggest that ‘galign’ is a useful tool for polymorphism discovery, and is of immediate utility for sequence mining in C. elegans.
Nonhuman primates as models for studies of prostate specific antigen and prostatic diseases.

BACKGROUND Because prostate specific antigen (PSA) is released at increased levels into the blood early in the development of prostate cancer, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostatitis, it is widely used as a marker for these diseases. However, PSA has clinical limitations as a screen for prostatic diseases due to its low sensitivity and specificity. There is a strong need to better understand the biology of PSA and factors affecting its serum levels. METHODS We evaluated cynomolgus macaques, rhesus macaques, baboons, and marmosets for their suitability as models for the study of PSA biology and prostatic diseases. RESULTS Prostates of several nonhuman primates are anatomically similar to the human counterpart. Anti-human PSA antibody detected PSA antigens in all the Old World monkeys (cynomolgus macaques, rhesus macaques, and baboons) but not in marmosets. Of the Old World monkeys, cynomolgus macaques have the highest serum PSA levels; baboons have the lowest. Serum PSA levels from macaques includes a number of outlier samples with unusually high values. We also report two cases of abnormal pathologies in macaques accompanied by high serum PSA levels. One case consisted of prostatic hyperplasia involving both glandular and basal cells in a cynomolgus macaque and another of glandular hyperplasia and atrophy in a rhesus macaque. The finding that pathological changes in the prostate of macaques may lead to increases in serum PSA is worthy of further exploration. CONCLUSION Cynomolgus macaques and rhesus macaques are promising animal models for PSA biology studies. Prostate 68: 1546–1554, 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Tea Plantations in the Darjeeling Hills Geo-Ecological Impact and Livelihood Implications

The geo-ecological stability of a place has an important role in contributing to the livelihood security of its people. A disturbance to the geo-ecology of a region jeopardizes the livelihood resources of the population and creates pressures for livelihood security. Human interventions in the form of destruction of forests and degradation of land significantly alter the geo-ecology of a region. Moreover, interventions with forests result in several other forms of degradations of the geo-ecology of a region. In the light of this understanding, the present study evaluates the impact of tea plantations on the geo-ecology of Darjeeling Hills, Inia and the consequent impact on the livelihood security of the people in the region. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hn.v10i0.7104 Hydro Nepal Vol.10 January 2012 53-59
Legal Integration and Use of the Preliminary Ruling Process in the European Union

Scholars agree that the preliminary ruling system of the European Court of Justice has been instrumental in promoting European integration; however, no consensus has been reached as to why the system is used. Although many explanations have been posited, there has been no systematic comparative test among them to date. In this article, we perform this test. We find evidence that transnational economic activity, public support for integration, monist or dualist tradition, judicial review, and the public's political awareness influence use of the preliminary ruling system.We would like to acknowledge Matthew Gabel, Eric Reinhardt, Georg Vanberg, and Christopher Zorn for helpful comments. We would also like to acknowledge the support of NSF grant #0079084.
Evidence of spray-mediated air-sea enthalpy flux within tropical cyclones

It has long been conjectured that spray ejected from the high-wind ocean surface enhances air/sea enthalpy fluxes, but a lack of observational data, particularly at wind speeds exceeding 20 m s −1 , has prevented either confirmation or refutation of this hypothesis. The current study has two aims: first, to provide an estimate of surface enthalpy fluxes obtained from dropsonde data and second, to provide evidence of spray-mediated enthalpy transfer. These are accomplished first by assuming that Monin-Obukhov similarity is satisfied throughout the bottom 100 m of the high-wind boundary layer, then by focusing on the enthalpy flux HK rather than its transfer coefficient CK . The scaling of HK with wind speed in observational data sets reveals similarities to spray-mediated fluxes predicted by a newly developed surface flux model, in contrast with measurements made in a laboratory setting. This behavior supports the claim that surface enthalpy fluxes are dominated by spray within tropical cyclones.
Blind equalization of rapidly fading channels via exploitation of cyclostationarity and higher-order statistics

Basis expansion ideas are used for blind equalization of rapidly fading time-varying channels. Each time-varying coefficient is expanded onto a basis and the expansion parameters are estimated. It is shown that the mobile radio channel falls into this framework and its time-variation is well described by an exponential basis. Linear and nonlinear algorithms are derived to estimate the expansion parameters using time-varying cumulants. Identifiability and consistency are also established. Finally, a procedure for estimating the frequencies of the exponentials is delineated. >
Critical Examination of Area Reduction Factors

AbstractArea reduction factors (ARFs), which are used to convert estimates of extreme point rainfall to estimates of extreme area-averaged rainfall, are central to conventional flood risk assessment. Errors in the estimation of ARFs can result in large errors in subsequent estimates of design rainfall and discharge. This paper presents a critical examination of commonly used ARFs, particularly those from the U.S. Weather Bureau TP-29, demonstrating that they do not adequately represent the true properties of extreme rainfall. This lack of representativeness is due mainly to formulations that mix rainfall observations from different storms and different storm types. Storm catalogs developed from a 10-year high-resolution radar rainfall data are used set to estimate storm-centered ARFs for Charlotte, North Carolina. Storms are classified as either tropical or nontropical to demonstrate that storm type strongly influences spatial rainfall structure. While there appears to be some relationship between ARF str...
ESTABLISHING CONCEPTUAL BOUNDARIES: WHAT IS AN ADULT EDUCATION PROJECT?

In a movement toward workforce development as an academic entity, the identity of adult education as projects for inquiry is troubled. In some academic programs, adult education has been termed adult learning in the service of promoting teaching and learning for the workplace. However, adult education’s inquiry, its projects, might be more than just teaching adults or researching how adults’ learn. This paper presents an argument that adult education projects might have a social justice focus. Adult education might serve as a critique of social, educational, and political policies concerning work and the workplace. It would be helpful for us (faculty in an academic program in workforce development and education) in the future to agree on a definition of what is meant by “projects in adult education”. In fact many adult education researchers do projects in areas that might actually be considered HRD, or even policy development. Would these not be considered adult education projects simply because the researcher’s professional identity is with human resource and or workforce development? What are the conceptual boundaries of “projects in adult education”? The above quote was posed to our four member faculty, each representing identities in adult education, human resource development (HRD), career technical education, and policy studies. The question arose in the awarding of dissertation support endowed by professor Andrew Hendrickson, faculty member in adult education and the Director for the Center for Adult Education at the Ohio State University from 1947-1967. During the post World War II era, adult education was recognized by the College of Education as an area of study focusing on adult learning primarily in home, educational and community settings. The award stipulated support for a doctoral student doing research in adult education. To the faculty of the 50s -60s the boundaries of adult education projects must have been clear since the award did not specify conceptual boundaries. Over the past fifty years the study of adult education has remained but the academic entity known as adult education has lost its unique identity. In an era in which graduate programs in adult education are going under the rubric of workforce development, the meaning and boundaries of adult education is becoming problematic. What might be the boundaries that distinguish an adult education project from projects that research or teach adults? The academic study of adult education at my university is located in a program area named Workforce Development and Education. The name represented a merging of identities among three academic courses of study, adult education, HRD, and career technical education. Stein, D. S. (2006). Establishing conceptual boundaries: What is an adult education project? New Horizons in Adult
Counteraction of Underfeeding-Induced Inhibition of Mammary Tumor Growth in Rats by Prolactin and Estrogen Administration

The purpose of this study was to determine whether administration of estrogen or/and haloperidol (HAL), a drug that increases prolactin (PRL) secretion, could counteract the inhibitory effects of underfeeding on growth of established carcinogen-induced mammary cancers in rats. Sprague-Dawley female rats were fed half of the complete diet consumed daily by ad libitum fed controls, beginning 1 week before daily injection of estradiol benzoate (EB) or/and HAL for 3 weeks. Body weight, mammary tumor number, and mammary tumor diameter were measured at weekly intervals, and at the end of the 3 weeks blood was collected for assay of serum PRL. Full-fed (FF) control rats showed an increase by the end of 3 weeks in average body weight, mammary tumor number, and mammary tumor size whereas half-fed (HF) rats showed a significant decrease in average body weight, tumor number, and tumor size, and serum PRL concentrations when compared with these parameters in FF rats. Administration of EB to the HF rats partially prevented loss of mammary tumor size and significantly increased serum PRL levels over those of HF or FF control rats. Injection of HAL or the combination of HAL and EB completely prevented the decrease in mammary tumor number and size in the HF rats. These results suggest that regression in number and size of established mammary tumors in HF rats during a 3-week period is due primarily to a decrease in secretion of estrogen and PRL, the two hormones essential for mammary tumor growth in rats.
A Low-Jitter PLL and Repeaterless Clock Distribution Network for a 20Gb/s Link

A 10GHz clock generation and distribution network for an 8-channel 20Gb/s/channel data transmitter is demonstrated in a 90nm 1.2V CMOS process. Jitter due to power supply and device noise is minimized with an LC VCO and repeaterless clock network. The performance of the forwarded-clock link degrades by only 4% due to plusmn5% supply noise at the transmitter. The LC VCO achieves supply noise sensitivity of 200MHz/V (0.02%-frequency/1%-supply noise) and short-term (8-symbol) rms jitter of 100fs. The clock distribution network delay sensitivity to supply noise is 36ps/V. The total clocking power is 408mW
Preschoolers' Categorical and Sequential Toy Play: Change over Time.

Longitudinal change in the categorical and sequential toy play of 22 preschool children with cognitive delays was examined. Children were videotaped during home-based independent play sessions at Time 1 and approximately 13 months later at Time 2. No statistically significant Time 1 to Time 2 changes were observed for the proportion of time spent in various categorical play behaviors. Children's relative ranking on play sophistication remained stable over time. Statistically significant changes in the proportion of time spent in play sequences, the length of play sequences, single-scheme sequences, and unordered multischeme sequences were observed. Finally, the correspondence between Time 1-Time 2 difference scores on developmental age and behavioral measures provided modest support for the concept of progression on play competency.
An Adaptive IHS Pan-Sharpening Method

The goal of pan-sharpening is to fuse a low spatial resolution multispectral image with a higher resolution panchromatic image to obtain an image with high spectral and spatial resolution. The Intensity-Hue-Saturation (IHS) method is a popular pan-sharpening method used for its efficiency and high spatial resolution. However, the final image produced experiences spectral distortion. In this letter, we introduce two new modifications to improve the spectral quality of the image. First, we propose image-adaptive coefficients for IHS to obtain more accurate spectral resolution. Second, an edge-adaptive IHS method was proposed to enforce spectral fidelity away from the edges. Experimental results show that these two modifications improve spectral resolution compared to the original IHS and we propose an adaptive IHS that incorporates these two techniques. The adaptive IHS method produces images with higher spectral resolution while maintaining the high-quality spatial resolution of the original IHS.
Chapter 17 Dictyostelium discoideum: Methods and Perspectives for Study of Cell Motility

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the methods and perspectives for study of cell motility using Dictyostelium discoideum . Dictyostelium is very easy to work with, can be grown in large quantities, exists as a stable haploid organism, and can be studied genetically. It exists as individual amoebas as long as bacteria or other food supply is available. The driving force for pseudoplasmodium movement appears to be the amoeboid movement of its individual cells. Each pseudoplasmodium gives rise to a fruiting body consisting of a long, thin stalk supporting a mass of spores collected together in a balloon-like structure known as a sorus. Germination of the spores gives rise to amoebas and the cycle is completed. It is found that in addition to pseudopod formation that leads to general movements, this organism displays fascinating chemotactic and phototactic responses. A chemically defined medium for growing Dictyostelium axenic strains is described. Cells grow in this medium with a doubling time of about 10 h at 23°C. This medium is extremely useful for studies involving radioactivity to know the specific radioactivity of a particular nutrient after it has entered the cell constituents.
Recent Developments Relating to Physician-Assisted Suicide

In 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court held in two separate cases that there is no constitutional right to receive assistance in suicide. This article discusses developments since those cases were decided, including experience under the Oregon statute and in several foreign countries.
The Status of National HIV Case Surveillance, United States 2006

Since the height of HIV incidence in the mid-1980s, advances in treatment have delayed progression of HIV infection. As a result, surveillance of AIDS cases alone is no longer sufficient to monitor the current status of the HIV epidemic. At the national level, new HIV diagnoses and progression of these cases to AIDS are used to describe the epidemic. The capacity to monitor the national HIV epidemic has consistently improved over the last several years. An increasing number of states report diagnosed HIV cases to the national surveillance system, allowing data from this system to better represent the national picture. Monitoring the national HIV epidemic depends on a nationwide system using standardized methods of data collection, and establishing such a comprehensive system remains one of the highest priorities for national HIV case surveillance.
Role of Vibrational Dynamics in Resonant Positron Annihilation on Molecules

Vibrational Feshbach resonances are dominant features of positron annihilation for incident positron energies in the range of the molecular vibrations. Studies in relatively small molecules are described that elucidate the role of intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution into near-resonant multimode states, and the subsequent coupling of these modes to the positron continuum, in suppressing or enhancing these resonances. The implications for annihilation in other molecular species, and the necessary ingredients of a more complete theory of resonant positron annihilation, are discussed.
Characterization of primary amine capped CdSe, ZnSe, and ZnS quantum dots by FT-IR: determination of surface bonding interaction and identification of selective desorption.

Surface ligands of semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) critically influence their properties and functionalities. It is of strong interest to understand the structural characteristics of surface ligands and how they interact with the QDs. Three quantum dot (QD) systems (CdSe, ZnSe, and ZnS) with primary aliphatic amine capping ligands were characterized primarily by FT-IR spectroscopy as well as NMR, UV–vis, and fluorescence spectroscopy, and by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Representative primary amines ranging from 8 to 16 carbons were examined in the vapor phase, KBr pellet, and neat and were compared to the QD samples. The strongest hydrogen-bonding effects of the adsorbed ligands were observed in CdSe QDs with the weakest observed in ZnS QDs. There was an observed splitting of the N–H scissoring mode from 1610 cm–1 in the neat sample to 1544 and 1635 cm–1 when bound to CdSe QDs, which had the largest splitting of this type. The splitting is attributed to amine ligands bound to either Cd or Se ...
Normal and Radiofrequency Ablated Atrial Models Enabled by Optical Coherence Tomography Tissue Characterization

Computational models facilitate investigation of arrhythmias. In this study, geometry, fiber orientation and radiofrequency ablation lesion location are extracted from optical coherence tomography images to develop structural models of the atria.
The importance of public participation in legislation of TENORM risk management in the oil and gas industry

The great debate about incorporating public participation in the legislative process of oil and gas regulation is contentious and triggered by the political game theory, whereby states focus on building a strong economy and full sovereignty at the expense of the environment, the safety of their citizens, and health. The relationship between politics and the economy in oil- and gas-producing states is represented by the oil and gas industry. During oil and gas production, harmful radioactive materials known as TENORM (technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials) are coproduced. Furthermore, the coproduced radiological materials pose a serious radiological risk to workers in the oil and gas industry as well as the public. This occurs via radiological pathways that contaminate soil, water, and food sources due to the current methods of disposing radioactive materials that are stored either near the surface or underground. Incidentally, TENORM disposal sites that are subsequently developed into residential sites, commercial premises, or industrial sites can increase the radiological risk. This paper focuses on the relationship between the legislation and politics of the oil and gas industry and the laws associated with the oil and gas industry that protect human health and environmental safety. The paper aims to highlight the importance and activate the role of public participation in the formulation of legislation, by striking a balance between the interest of the authorities and interests of the public under democracy.
La luz de la fantasía

Este articulo es una lectura de la filosofia y la poetica barroca, basada principalmente en un tratado de Francisco Sanchez ( Quod nihil Scietur ) y el “poema de arte mayor” o El sueno , un poema filosofico de la escritora colonial mexicana Juana Ines de la Cruz. La traduccion al latin de los escritos del esceptico Sexto Empirico en la segunda mitad del siglo XVI llevo a los pensadores barrocos a un examen exhaustivo de la tradicion filosofica escolastica a fin de rechazar el pensamiento metafisico y llevar a la mente hacia la investigacion de la naturaleza. El “concepto” barroco no es univoco sino que incluye la contradiccion y la paradoja; no es una nocion fija sino que registra el cambio fenomenologico; se convierte en una nocion “in progress”, en perpetuo desarrollo. Por otra parte, el poema El sueno contrasta el estado de vigilia al estado de sueno, cuando una facultad intelectual llamado “fantasma” ilustra la escena del sueno con su propia luz en contraste con la luz del sol. La experiencia humana se alterna entre estas dos luces que entran en conflicto y se complementan entre si al mismo tiempo. Por lo tanto, la mente barroca presta atencion a las alternativas y ritmo de la naturaleza, tanto en los niveles cosmicos y microscopicas.
Randomized Controlled Trial of an Educational Intervention Using an Online Risk Calculator for Knee Osteoarthritis: Effect on Risk Perception.

Objective: Young adults, in general, are not aware of their risk of knee osteoarthritis (OA). Understanding risk and risk factors is critical to knee OA prevention. We tested the efficacy of a personalized risk calculator on accuracy of knee OA risk perception and willingness to change behaviors associated with knee OA risk factors. Methods: We conducted a randomized controlled trial of 375 subjects recruited using Amazon Mechanical Turk. Subjects were randomized to either a) use a personalized risk calculator based on demographic and risk factor information (intervention) or b) view general OA risk information (control). At baseline and after the intervention, subjects estimated their 10-year and lifetime risk of knee OA and responded to contemplation ladders measuring willingness to change diet, exercise, or weight-control behaviors. Results: Subjects in both arms had an estimated 3.6% 10-year and 25.3% lifetime chance of developing symptomatic knee OA. Both arms greatly overestimated knee OA risk at baseline, estimating a 10-year risk of 26.1% and a lifetime risk of 47.8%. After the intervention, risk calculator subjects' perceived 10-year risk decreased by 12.9 percentage points to 12.5% and perceived lifetime risk decreased by 19.5 percentage points to 28.1%. Control subjects' perceived risks remained unchanged. Risk calculator subjects were more likely to move to an action stage on the exercise contemplation ladder (RR = 2.1). There was no difference between the groups for diet or weight-control ladders. Conclusions: The risk calculator is a useful intervention for knee OA education and may motivate some exercise-related behavioral change. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Linking ecosystem service supply to stakeholder concerns on both land and sea: an example from Guánica Bay watershed, Puerto Rico.

Abstract Policies to protect coastal resources may lead to greater social, economic, and ecological returns when they consider potential co-benefits and trade-offs on land. In Guanica Bay watershed, Puerto Rico, a watershed management plan is being implemented to restore declining quality of coral reefs due to sediment and nutrient runoff. However, recent stakeholder workshops indicated uncertainty about benefits for the local community. A total of 19 metrics were identified to capture stakeholder concerns, including 15 terrestrial ecosystem services in the watershed and 4 metrics in the coastal zone. Ecosystem service production functions were applied to quantify and map ecosystem service supply in 1) the Guanica Bay watershed and 2) a highly engineered upper multi-watershed area connected to the lower watershed via a series of reservoirs and tunnels. These two watersheds were compared to other watersheds in Puerto Rico. Relative to other watersheds, the Upper Guanica watershed had high air pollutant removal rates, forest habitat area, biodiversity of charismatic and endangered species, but low farmland quality and low sediment retention. The Lower Guanica watershed had high rates of denitrification and high levels of marine-based recreational and fishing opportunities compared to other watersheds, but moderate to low air pollutant removal, soil carbon content, sediment and nutrient retention, and terrestrial biodiversity. Our results suggest that actions in the watershed to protect coral reefs may lead to improvements in other ecosystem services that stakeholders care about on land. Considering benefits from both coastal and terrestrial ecosystems in making coastal management decisions may ultimately lead to a greater return on investment and greater stakeholder acceptance, while still achieving conservation goals.
Soil organic carbon increases under intensive agriculture in the Central Sands, Wisconsin, USA

Abstract Soil organic carbon (SOC) plays a crucial role in maintaining fertility and productivity in sandy soils. This study mapped the spatial variability of SOC concentration, A-horizon thickness, and SOC stocks from the Central Sands in Wisconsin. Soil samples were collected from three different areas (area A, B, and C) that were sampled through grid sampling (GS, n = 100), conditioned latin hypercube sampling (cLHS, n = 100), and random sampling (RS, n = 150) schemes. Average SOC concentration of the A-horizon from soil sampling area A, B, and C were 6.1, 7.1, 8.3 g kg− 1, respectively. The mean A-horizon thickness for agricultural soils was 28 cm compared to 15 cm under adjacent grassland. Regression kriging was selected as prediction model where ECa and local topographic information (i.e., slope gradient, slope aspect, elevation, wetness index, altitude above channel network etc.) were used as predictors. We observed an increased SOC content, SOC stock, and A-horizon thickness with ECa and wetness index. SOC from area B had the strongest spatial dependency (NSR = 0.64) followed by area A (NSR = 0.72), whereas that from area C was the weakest (NSR = 0.78). Compared to SOC content and A-horizon thickness prediction, SOC stocks prediction had the maximum uncertainty. Predicted SOC stock (t ha− 1) ranged from 28 for sampling area A to 40 for B, and 59 for area C. These high SOC stocks are the result of decade long intensive agriculture with high amount of nitrogen input and irrigation. It has resulted in deep A-horizon and high SOC stocks. This study found that SOC stocks in the Central Sands could be estimated from A-horizon thickness (R2 ~ 0.5).