cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Discovering Robust Knowledge from Databases that Change

Many applications of knowledge discovery and data mining such as rule discovery for semantic query optimization, database integration and decision support, require the knowledge to be consistent with the data. However, databases usually change over time and make machine-discovered knowledge inconsistent. Useful knowledge should be robust against database changes so that it is unlikely to become inconsistent after database updates. This paper defines this notion of robustness in the context of relational databases and describes how robustness of first-order Horn-clause rules can be estimated. Experimental results show that our estimation approach can accurately identify robust rules. We also present a rule antecedent pruning algorithm that improves the robustness and applicability of machine discovered rules to demonstrate the usefulness of robustness estimation.
CBCT-based dosimetric verification and alternate planning techniques to reduce the normal tissue dose in SBRT of lung patients

Purpose: Confirmation of treatment delivery accuracy in stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) of lung tumors suggests the possibility of treatment margin, or aperture reduction. In this investigation, the dose delivery to lung tumors using SBRT techniques was verified, and the feasibility of normal tissue sparing via aperture reduction or altered prescription isodose line was assessed. Methods: Planned and delivered doses to the gross tumor volume (GTV) and planning target volume (PTV) were compared for 10 patients using planning CT and conebeam CT image. Potential for reduction in normal tissue dose were assessed using 2 alternate treatment plans – reduced PTVs and alternate prescription techniques. Plans were assessed using conformity index, homogeneity index and the ratio of 50% / 100% isodose volumes (R 50% ). Results: The planned and delivered mean doses were consistent to within 4%. However, the mean dose delivered to the GTV exceeded the prescription dose (Rx) by 19% and is consistent with our planning technique of prescribing to the 80% isodose line. When reducing treatment margins and retaining a constant dose-volume constraint, block margins had to be increased which produced a constant effective field aperture outside of the GTV. Prescription to a lower isodose line using stereotactic-like planning techniques yielded the only method by which the volume of the prescription isodose could be affected, although this yielded increases in normal tissue dose due to the increased monitor units required. Conversely, conventional prescription techniques using wider field apertures were effective in reducing absolute values of normal tissue dose. Although dose conformity was similar across different prescription isodose lines, homogeneity index and R 50% values were significantly different in the 60%-70% prescription isodose line plans than the 80%, 90% prescription plans. Conclusion: Traditional margin reduction techniques did not affect a reduction in the volume of normal tissue irradiated to the prescribed dose. Prescribing to low isodose lines yields reduced volumes of the prescribed dose, but at the expense of normal tissue dose.
UNSATURATED AMINO ACIDS V. Microbiological Properties of Some Halogenated Olefinic Amino Acids

Shapira, Jacob (Department of Chemistry, Florida State University, Tallahassee) and Karl Dittmer. Unsaturated amino acids. V. Microbiological properties of some halogenated olefinic amino acids. J. Bacteriol. 82:640–647. 1961.—It has been shown previously that several amino acid analogues containing unsaturated linkages were inhibitors of the growth of Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This paper reports the results obtained when a series of unsaturated halogen-containing amino acids was examined. The cis isomer of ω-chloroallylglycine showed the greatest toxicity yet found in this series of unsaturated amino acids toward E. coli, whereas the trans-isomer was usually far less toxic. The major effect of cis-ω-chloroallylglycine in E. coli appeared to be to extend the lag phase before the normal rate of growth began. A wide variety of amino acids was capable of partially or completely preventing the toxicity of low levels of these compounds. At higher levels, relatively few amino acids (primarily valine, leucine, and glutamic acid) were effective. In E. coli, cis-ω-chloroallylglycine showed an unusual [Formula: see text] relationship with both glutamic acid and valine over a wide range in concentration.
Model Uncertainty and Energy Technology Policy: The Example of Induced Technical Change

Over the past four decades, numerical modeling based on economic principles has become the dominant analytical tool in U.S. energy policy. Energy models are now used extensively by public agencies, private entities, and academic researchers, and in recent years have also formed the core of "integrated assessment" models used to analyze the relationships among the energy system, the economy, and the global climate. However, the widespread application of these models in policy analysis poses challenges to decision-makers. In addition to the "black-box" problem – that the workings of complex models may be simply unintelligible to non-specialists – fundamental uncertainties are intrinsic in what has become the typical circumstance of multiple, "co-existing" models embodying different representations of the energy-economy, and producing different policy-relevant outputs that model users are compelled to interpret as equally plausible and/or valid. Because the policy implications of these outputs can diverge substantially, policy-makers are confronted with a significant degree of model-based uncertainty and little or no guidance as to how it should be addressed. Decision-makers may reasonably infer that such "ensemble uncertainty" accurately reflects the present-day limits of our ability to predict the consequences of large-scale energy or environmental policy. If so, then the problem of rationally taking account of this form of uncertainty should be analyzed in its own right.This problem of "model uncertainty" has recently been the focus of groundbreaking work in macroeconomics, where scholars have studied the problem of how a decision-maker should proceed in the face of uncertainty regarding the correct model of an economic system that is the object of policy. A unifying theme in this work is the identification of decision-rules that are robust to such uncertainty. This paper describes a first attempt to apply to energy modeling the macroeconomists’ insights and methods related to model uncertainty and robust analysis, focusing on the important example of model representations of technical change. Using a well-known model by Goulder and Mathai, we treat contrasting assumptions on technical change – and their implications for CO2 emissions abatement policy – as a phenomenon of model uncertainty. We apply non-Bayesian decision rules – min-max and min-max regret – to this problem and computationally solve the model under the min-max regret criterion, yielding a policy – an emissions abatement path – that reflects a form of robustness to the model uncertainty.
Relating spatial patterns of fractional land cover to savanna vegetation morphology using multi-scale remote sensing in the Central Kalahari

Understanding, monitoring, and managing savanna ecosystems requires characterizing both functional and structural properties of vegetation. From a functional perspective, in savannas, quantitative estimation of fractional cover of photosynthetic vegetation (fPV), non-photosynthetic vegetation (fNPV), and bare soil (fBS) is important as it relates to carbon dynamics and ecosystem function. On the other hand, vegetation morphology classes describe the structural properties of the ecosystem. Due to high functional diversity and structural heterogeneity in savannas, accurately characterizing both these properties using remote sensing is methodologically challenging. While mapping both fractional cover and vegetation morphology classes are important research themes within savanna remote sensing, very few studies have considered systematic investigation of their spatial association across different spatial resolutions. Focusing on the semi-arid savanna ecosystem in the Central Kalahari, this study utilized fPV,...
Chirp Focused Transmitter Theory

We have described an electronically focused and scanned acoustic imaging device in earlier papers.1,2 This device was constructed by using a tapped acoustic surface wave delay line as a phase reference for an array of piezoelectric transducers. By inserting a frequency modulated chirp along the delay line, the device can be used either as a receiver or as a transmitter. In the transmit mode, it acts like a moving lens, emitting a focused beam which scans along a plane parallel to the array at a velocity comparable to the acoustic velocity. The same array can be used in the receive mode. By this means, a B-scan device was constructed which has good transverse and range definition..
Promote Your Electronic Resources: How to Get More Bang for Your E-Resource Buck

Law libraries spend a significant amount of their budget on electronic resources. However, many of these e-resources may be unknown to the majority of library patrons. This article offers suggestions and examples of techniques law librarians across the country are using to promote their electronic resources.
The relationship of fetal transverse body diameter and biparietal diameter in the diagnosis of intrauterine growth retardation

This study evaluates the relationship of fetal transverse body diameter and biparietal diameter in the diagnosis of intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR). Criteria were formulated which result in 68 per cent sensitivity and 69 per cent specificity for diagnosing IUGR. The sensitivity is comparable to that achieved with other sonographic modalities, and there are important advantages as well. This method does not depend on accurate identification of the last menstrual period, and does not require serial studies. The anatomy for the necessary measurements is readily obtained and reproducible. Subtraction is the only calculation involved. Determination of the relationship of fetal transverse body diameter and biparietal diameter is recommended as a simple screening test for IUGR.
Orbits of computably enumerable sets: low sets can avoid an upper cone

We investigate the orbit of a low computably enumerable (c.e.) set under automorphisms of the partial order E of c.e. sets under inclusion. Given an arbitrary low c.e. set A and an arbitrary noncomputable c.e. set C, we use the New Extension Theorem of Soare to construct an automorphism of E mapping A to a set B such that C≰TB. Thus, the orbit in E of the low set A cannot be contained in the upper cone above C. This complements a result of Harrington, who showed that the orbit of a noncomputable c.e. set cannot be contained in the lower cone below any incomplete c.e. set.
Cause specific mortality following cerebral infarction.

Abstract Mortality from four causes (index stroke, subsequent stroke, cardiac disease and non-cardiovascular causes) was examined during a 5 year follow-up of 1694 cerebral infarction patients admitted to 25 community hospitals between 1969 and 1973. The hazard for mortality from the index stroke was high initially, but declined to a negligible level by 6 months post-stroke. In contrast, hazards for mortality from subsequent strokes, cardiac diseases and non-cardiovascular causes each peaked midway through the first year, declined during the remainder of that year, and then increased in the latter part of the follow-up. Proportional hazards analysis indicated that advanced age and increased stroke severity were the only factors significantly related to increased risk from each of the four causes of death. Other risk factors were significant only for one or two select causes of death. White patients were less likely to die from subsequent strokes, but more likely to die from cardiac diseases, than were non-white patients (primarily blacks). Males were more likely to die from both the index stroke and non-cardiovascular causes than females. A history of cardiac disease increased the risk of death from both the index stroke and from future cardiac events, while a history of hypertension or diabetes increased the risk of death from non-cardiovascular causes, and a history of previous stroke increased the risk of death from subsequent stroke.
A NEW SPECIES OF DELPHACODES FROM ALBERTA (FULGOROIDEA)

Among the many interesting Homoptera which have been sent to me by Professor E. H. Strickland is a series of an unusual Delphacodes collected at Cooking Lake, Alberta. This distinct little species is described at this time in order to stimulate further collection of these inconspicuous but interesting insects from western Canada, where there must be many more new species as yet unrecorded.
URINARY HYDROXYPROLINE EXCRETION IN NORMAL CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS.

SummaryTwenty-four hour urinary total hydroxyproline was measured in 70 normal males and 10 normal females between the ages of 5 through 49. Normal values for excretion of hydroxyproline were found...
NOvA DAQ, System Architecture, Data Combiner and Timing System

NOnuA (E929) is a long baseline experiment that will search for neutrino oscillations. There will be one detector near the beam source at Fermilab, and one detector in northern Minnesota. The DAQ system for the far detector collects over-threshold hits from over 450,000 channels of scintillator readouts, sorts the time-stamped data packets and archives selected time periods of data for transmission and processing. While a simple point-to-point protocol is used for the first level of data collection, Ethernet was chosen as the fabric for the rest of the DAQ. The packet time-stamp and overall system synchronization is based on two common-view GPS trained clock oscillators, one at each site. The present design cost-effectively satisfies the experiment's moderate speed and data volume requirements.
Sintering of a class F fly ash

Abstract The sinterability of a class F fly ash was investigated as a function of processing conditions including sintering temperature (1050–1200 °C) and sintering time (0–90 min). Density, shrinkage, splitting tensile strength, water absorption and residual loss on ignition (RLOI) were evaluated as measures of sintering efficiency. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray microanalysis and X-ray diffraction was used to examine microstructure and phase development due to processing. The results show that premature densification can inhibit complete carbon removal and that carbon combustion is influenced by both internal and external mass transfer conditions.
Sex differences in conditioned nicotine reward are age-specific

Women constitute half of all smokers and many studies suggest that adult males and females differ in factors that maintain tobacco smoking, yet there is limited information about sex differences in nicotine reward during adolescence. Limited studies suggest that adolescent male rats self-administer more nicotine than adults, suggesting that drug administration during adolescence leads to different behavioral effects than during adulthood. In the present study, male rats developed a significant conditioned place preference (CPP) to lower doses of nicotine than females, regardless of age. In addition, adolescents were more sensitive than adults. In female rats, adolescents exhibited a CPP of greater magnitude than adult females. In males, the magnitude of the CPP did not differ as a function of age, but adolescents exhibited CPP to lower doses than adults. There also were differences in nicotinic acetylcholinergic receptor binding in nucleus accumbens and caudate putamen in response to nicotine across age and sex. These findings suggest that it is necessary to consider sex- and age-specific effects of drugs such as nicotine when developing strategies for improving smoking cessation treatments.
Blood flow in abdominal aortic aneurysms: pulsatile flow hemodynamics

Numerical predictions of blood flow patterns and hemodynamic stresses in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms (AAAs) are performed in a two-aneurysm, axisymmetric, rigid wall model using the spectral element method. Physiologically realistic aortic blood flow is simulated under pulsatile conditions for the range of time-averaged Reynolds numbers 50< or =Re(m)< or =300, corresponding to a range of peak Reynolds numbers 262.5< or =Re(peak) < or = 1575. The vortex dynamics induced by pulsatile flow in AAAs is characterized by a sequence of five different flow phases in one period of the flow cycle. Hemodynamic disturbance is evaluated for a modified set of indicator functions, which include wall pressure (p(w)), wall shear stress (tau(w)), and Wall Shear Stress Gradient (WSSG). At peak flow, the highest shear stress and WSSG levels are obtained downstream of both aneurysms, in a pattern similar to that of steady flow. Maximum values of wall shear stresses and wall shear stress gradients obtained at peak flow are evaluated as a function of the time-average Reynolds number resulting in a fourth order polynomial correlation. A comparison between predictions for steady and pulsatile flow is presented, illustrating the importance of considering time-dependent flow for the evaluation of hemodynamic indicators.
Interactive visual simulators for beginning programming students

This paper discusses two programs that have been written to be aids to introductory programming students. They both embody the belief that Computer Assisted Instruction can be a worthwhile aid to students when properly used and that one of the best uses is to present visually to the student a process that he has some control over and which he would not otherwise be able to observe. Section 2 of this paper discusses HYCOMP1, an interactive visual computer simulator. Section 3 discusses IVF, the Interactive Visual FORTRAN interpreter. They were both written in SNOBOL41 and run under the KRONOS Time Sharing System on a CDC 6600 using an Applied Digital Data Systems, Inc. ADDS Consul 880 terminal, which is an ASCII terminal with a CRT display and an addressable cursor.
Visceral varicella-zoster after bone marrow transplantation: report of a case series and review of the literature.

Abstract Objectives: Infection with varicella-zoster virus after bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is a common cause of morbidity and mortality. Visceral involvement with varicella-zoster may be incorrectly ascribed to graft-versus-host disease, resulting in delayed diagnosis and misguided therapy. Methods: A 4-yr retrospective chart review was performed to determine the presenting symptoms and clinical outcome of visceral varicella-zoster virus infection in BMT recipients. Results: Ten BMT recipients who subsequently developed visceral varicella-zoster virus infection were identified. The mean age at diagnosis was 40 yr (range 27–56 yr). Primary hematological malignancies were leukemia (N = 7), myelodysplasia (N = 2), and myelofibrosis (N = 1). Bone marrow transplants in affected patients were autologous (N = 2), related allogeneic (N = 5), or matched unrelated allogeneic (N = 3). The mean time interval from BMT to symptomatic visceral varicella-zoster virus infection was 153 days (range 60–280 days). Presenting symptoms included abdominal pain in all patients, nausea (60%), fever > 38°C (60%), vomiting (50%), pneumonitis (50%), skin rash (40%), and diarrhea (30%). All patients had moderately or profoundly elevated aminotransferases and most had elevated pancreatic enzymes (80%). The mean time interval from the development of abdominal pain to the characteristic skin rash and then diagnosis was 6 and 7 days, respectively (range 4–10 and 4–14 days). Active graft-versus-host disease had previously been documented in five of the eight allogeneic BMT recipients. Immunosuppressive medications were increased at the onset of the abdominal pain in seven of these eight patients for suspected exacerbation of graft-versus-host disease. After recognition of varicella infection, antiviral therapy was promptly initiated; despite this, mortality was still 50%. Conclusions: Visceral involvement with varicella-zoster virus infection can occur as a late complication after both allogeneic and autologous BMT. In these cases, symptoms of severe abdominal pain with associated nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea and elevated liver and pancreatic enzymes preceded the vesicular skin eruption and were confused with graft-versus-host disease. With the increasing application of high-dose chemotherapy followed by stem cell rescue for both hematological and solid tumors, clinicians should be aware of this potentially treatable and often lethal complication.
Fast estimation of transverse fields in high-finesse optical cavities

Optical cavities with imperfect geometries have resonant transverse field modes whose spatial descriptions usually deviate from known mathematical functions. Numerical methods are therefore used to approximate the fields inside the cavities, and one method is reviewed that is in current use by groups designing large interferometric systems for gravitational wave detection. The method suffers from a large increase in computational time as the finesse of the cavity is increased. A modified method is presented that cuts down the computational time significantly (by factors of 10–100 in the cases considered) without affecting the accuracy of the results.
Differential Etiology of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder with Conduct Disorder and Major Depression in Male Veterans

Background Epidemiologic studies reveal that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is highly comorbid with both conduct disorder and major depression in men. The genetic and environmental etiology of this comorbidity has not been examined. Methods Data were analyzed from 6744 middle-aged male-male monozygotic and dizygotic twins from the Vietnam Era Twin Registry. Conduct disorder, major depression, and PTSD were assessed via telephone interview using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for the DSM-III-R in 1992. Structural equation modeling was used to estimate additive genetic, shared environmental, and individual-specific environmental effects common and specific to conduct disorder, major depression, and PTSD. Results The association between conduct disorder and PTSD was explained primarily by common shared environmental influences; these explained 10% (95% confidence interval: 6%–17%) of the variance in PTSD. The association between major depression and PTSD was largely explained by common genetic influences; these explained 19% (95% confidence interval: 11%–26%) of the variance in PTSD. Conclusions Our findings suggest that different etiologic mechanisms explain the association of conduct disorder and major depression with PTSD in male veterans. If replicated in other populations, results suggest research aimed at identifying specific genetic and environmental factors that influence PTSD may benefit from starting with those that have been more consistently and strongly associated with major depression and conduct disorder.
Pyretic action of low doses of γ-hydroxybutyrate in rats

Abstract γ-Hydroxybutyrate (GHB) has been found to have a biphasic effect on body temperature with increased body temperature after low doses (5–10 mg/kg) and decreased body temperature after high doses (300–500 mg/kg). Brain levels of GHB between 30 and 60 min post-injection of GHB were not altered by the low doses (5–10 mg/kg), although a dose of 200 mg/kg produced a large increase in the brain concentration.
A cross-language study of the identification of non-native nasal consonants varying in place of articulation

Seven listener groups, varying in terms of the nasal consonant inventory of their native language, orthographically labeled and rated a set of naturally produced non-native nasal consonants varying in place of articulation. The seven listener groups included speakers of Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil, Oriya, Bengali, and American English. The stimulus set included bilabial, dental, alveolar, and retroflex nasals from Malayalam, Marathi, and Oriya. The stimulus set and nasal consonant inventories of the seven listener groups were described by both phonemic and allophonic representations. The study was designed to determine the extent to which phonemic and allophonic representations of perceptual categories can be used to predict a listener group’s identification of non-native sounds. The results of the experiment showed that allophonic representations were more successful in predicting the native category that listeners used to label a non-native sound in a majority of trials. However, both representations frequently failed to accurately predict the goodness of fit between a non-native sound and a perceptual category. The results demonstrate that the labeling and rating of non-native stimuli were conditioned by a degree of language-specific phonetic detail that corresponds to perceptually relevant cues to native language contrasts.
Emergency department management of Lyme disease

Abstract Lyme disease (LD), a vector-borne illness caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, has firmly entered the public consciousness since its initial description in 1977. Although it may be easily treated with antibiotics, perception of the threat LD poses far outweighs the actual medical sequelae endured by the 16,000 people annually affected in the United States. Of these, late neurologic, cardiac, and musculoskeletal complications are the most problematic. The recognition and treatment of early signs and symptoms of LD, especially erythema migrans (EM), is central to preventing the morbidity associated with late stages of LD. Because EM may be absent or subtle, familiarity with all of the manifestations of LD is essential for pediatric emergency medicine physicians.
Iron chelation therapy in sickle-cell disease and other transfusion-dependent anemias

Regular red cell transfusion therapy may be life-saving or may reduce complications substantially in several hematological disorders. The inevitable consequence of repeated transfusions is iron loading, which, if untreated, leads to organ failure and death. Chelation therapy with deferoxamine is the standard of care for patients who have transfusional iron overload. The necessity to administer this drug parenterally limits compliance; this has prompted the search for a safe and effective orally-administered chelator. Deferiprone, the first extensively studied orally active chelator, is now licensed for use in Europe for patients who are unable to use deferoxamine effectively or safely. ICL670, a newer oral chelator, is being tested in large clinical trials. Combined therapies, potentially including transfusional methods to reduce iron loading with parenteral and oral chelators, may improve compliance and efficacy in some patients who are transfused chronically.
High current density emitter-down InGaAlAs heterojunction bipolar transistors

Summary form only given. The authors discuss the use of deep O/sup +/ ion implantation, in conjunction with multiple self-aligned device geometries, to more efficiently block parasitic injection through the extrinsic base diode and allow much higher current density operation of inverted HBTs (heterojunction bipolar transistors) than would be achieved by standard techniques. In GaAlAs on InP, inverted HBTs were fabricated using several self-aligned as well as standard processes, with the final goal a novel four-mask, triple self-aligned process using semi-insulating substrates. The collector current density for maximum current gain (I/sub max/) has been measured for inverted HBTs of varying emitter stripe width and exhibits a clear inverse proportionality to the stripe width. While maximum current densities of approximately=150 A/cm/sup 2/ were measured for devices of 60- mu m stripe width, values in excess of 1000 A/cm/sup 2/ were measured for a device with a 6- mu m stripe width. >
Chemi-ionization in Shock-Induced Hydrocarbon Combustion I. Ion Concentrations in Methane/Air

Abstract An experimental and analytical study of chemi-ionization processes in reacting methane/air mixtures was carried out at temperatures up to 2000 °K. Using the reflected shock region as a homogeneous reaction zone, Langmuir probe measurements were performed in a conventional shock tube to determine positive ion concentrations and their induction times. The results are analyzed by means of a numerical study using an ionization mechanism incorporated into recently established methane oxidation mechanisms, and the calculated and experimental ion concentrations are comparable primarily at higher temperatures. Various ionization mechanisms are discussed. The ion-concentrations are compared to those obtained from flame studies at similar conditions, and although ion concentrations in homogeneous systems are higher, the ion production rates are found to be comparable.
Seasonal Monitoring of Hydrocarbon Degraders in Alabama Marine Ecosystems Following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Following the Deepwater Horizon explosion and crude oil contamination of a marsh ecosystem in AL in June 2010, hydrocarbon-degrader microbial abundances of aerobic alkane, total hydrocarbon, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) degraders were enumerated seasonally. Surface sediment samples were collected in October and December of 2010 and in April and July of 2011 along 40–70-m transects from the high tide to the intertidal zone including Spartina alterniflora-vegetated marsh, seagrass (Ruppia maritima)-dominated sediments, and nonvegetated sediments. Alkane and total hydrocarbon degraders in the sediment were detected, while PAH degraders were below detection limit at all locations examined during the sampling periods. The highest counts for microbial alkane degraders were observed at the high tide line in April and averaged to 8.65 × 105 of cells/g dry weight (dw) sediment. The abundance of alkane degraders during other months ranged from 9.49 × 103 to 3.87 × 104, while for total hydrocarbon degraders, it ranged between 5.62 × 103 and 1.14 × 105 of cells/g dw sediment. Pore water nutrient concentrations (NH 4 + , NO 3 − , NO 2 − , and PO 4 3− ) showed seasonal changes with minimum values observed in December and April and maximum values in October and July. Concentrations of total petroleum hydrocarbons in sediments averaged 100.4 ± 52.4 and 141.9 ± 57.5 mg/kg in January and July, 2011, respectively. The presence of aerobic microbial communities during all seasons in these nearshore ecosystems suggests that an active and resident microbial community is capable of mineralizing a fraction of petroleum hydrocarbons.
The Heterogeneity of Khumbu Sherpa Ecological Knowledge and Understanding in Sagarmatha (Mount Everest) National Park and Buffer Zone, Nepal

The ecological knowledge and understanding of indigenous peoples and long-term settlers is heterogeneous and continually in flux as they adapt to ecological, political and economic changes. This research focuses on Khumbu Sherpa ecological knowledge and its relation to environmental decision-making. The Sherpa, Tibetan Buddhists who practice agro-pastoralism, provide tourism services to visitors of Sagarmatha (Mount Everest) National Park and Buffer Zone. Utilizing mixed quantitative and qualitative methods, I selected a stratified random sample of 100 individuals to assess spiritual values, and species and landscape knowledge. The results generally showed that individuals who lived on the tourist route and younger generations had less knowledge of these domains. These findings suggest that some Sherpa ecological knowledge and understanding had shifted from spiritual and agro-pastoralist socioeconomic values to a more tourism-centered economic logic. Future environmental decisions may be influenced by these changes.
Quinones as Electron Acceptors. X-Ray Structures, Spectral (EPR, UV−vis) Characteristics and Electron-Transfer Reactivities of Their Reduced Anion Radicals as Separated vs Contact Ion Pairs

Successful isolation of a series of pure (crystalline) salts of labile quinone anion radicals suitable for X-ray crystallographic analysis allows for the first time their rigorous structural distinction as “separated” ion pairs (SIPs) vs “contact” ion pairs (CIPs). The quantitative evaluation of the precise changes in the geometries of these quinones (Q) upon one-electron reduction to afford the anion radical (Q-•) is viewed relative to the corresponding (two-electron) reduction to the hydroquinone (H2Q) via the Pauling bond-length/bond-order paradigm. Structural consequences between such separated and contact ion pairs as defined in the solid state with those extant in solution are explored in the context of their spectral (EPR, UV−vis) properties and isomerization of tightly bound CIPs. Moreover, the SIP/CIP dichotomy is also examined in intermolecular interactions for rapid (self-exchange) electron transfer between Q-• and Q with second-order rate constants of kET ≈ 108 M-1 s-1, together with the spect...
Metastasising pleomorphic salivary gland adenoma presenting as synchronous pulmonary and hepatic metastases

Pleomorphic salivary adenomas (PAs) are the commonest benign tumours of glandular origin in the head and neck. Occasionally PAs undergo malignant transformation to carcinoma-ex-PA and can metastasise. More rarely they metastasise without malignant transformation of the primary tumour. We present a case of a benign pleomorphic salivary gland adenoma, presenting 7 years later with multiple liver metastases and a synchronous pulmonary metastasis. Histological analysis of the lung and liver lesions confirmed a diagnosis of metastasising pleomorphic adenoma (MPA). The lung lesion was fully excised, but the multifocal nature of the liver lesions rendered them inoperable. The patient is being managed conservatively and to date has no local recurrence of the primary salivary gland tumour or any further metastases. To the best of our knowledge this is the first case of MPA with simultaneous metastasis to both lungs and liver, and also the first to describe multiple liver metastases.
Effects of State Legal Loads on Bridge Rating Results Using the LRFR Procedure

The main objective of this research was to study the effects of different specified trucks on bridge rating with the load and resistance and factor rating (LRFR) procedure. Twelve specified trucks were selected for this study, which include one AASHTO design truck, three AASHTO legal trucks, and eight state legal trucks. These rating trucks were applied on 16 selected Tennessee Dept. of Transportation bridges to obtain the LRFR ratings. The selected bridges covered four commonly used bridge types, including prestressed I-beam bridges; prestressed box beam bridges; cast-in-place T-beam bridges; and steel I-beam bridges. The research results revealed that (1) LRFR AASHTO legal load ratings factors were enveloped by the LRFR HL-93 truck ratings factors, thereby confirming the validity of the LRFR tiered approach with regard to AASHTO legal loads; (2) the lighter state legal trucks were enveloped by the HL-93 loads, whereas the heavier state trucks with closer axle spacing typically resulted in load ratings t...
Shaping Biology: The National Science Foundation and American Biological Research, 1945-1975

Historians of the postwar transformation of science have focused largely on the physical sciences, especially the relation of science to the military funding agencies. In Shaping Biology, Toby A. Appel brings attention to the National Science Foundation and federal patronage of the biological sciences. Scientists by training, NSF biologists hoped in the 1950s that the new agency would become the federal government's chief patron for basic research in biology, the only agency to fund the entire range of biology-from molecules to natural history museums-for its own sake. Appel traces how this vision emerged and developed over the next two and a half decades, from the activities of NSF's Division of Biological and Medical Sciences, founded in 1952, through the cold war expansion of the 1950s and 1960s and the constraints of the Vietnam War era, to its reorganization out of existence in 1975. This history of NSF highlights fundamental tensions in science policy that remain relevant today: the pull between basic and applied science; funding individuals versus funding departments or institutions; elitism versus distributive policies of funding; issues of red tape and accountability. In this NSF-funded study, Appel explores how the agency developed, how it worked, and what difference it made in shaping modern biology in the United States. Based on formerly untapped archival sources as well as on interviews of participants, and building upon prior historical literature, Shaping Biology covers new ground and raises significant issues for further research on postwar biology and on federal funding of science in general.
Programmed Cell Death in Animal Development and Disease

Programmed cell death (PCD) plays a fundamental role in animal development and tissue homeostasis. Abnormal regulation of this process is associated with a wide variety of human diseases, including immunological and developmental disorders, neurodegeneration, and cancer. Here, we provide a brief historical overview of the field and reflect on the regulation, roles, and modes of PCD during animal development. We also discuss the function and regulation of apoptotic proteins, including caspases, the key executioners of apoptosis, and review the nonlethal functions of these proteins in diverse developmental processes, such as cell differentiation and tissue remodeling. Finally, we explore a growing body of work about the connections between apoptosis, stem cells, and cancer, focusing on how apoptotic cells release a variety of signals to communicate with their cellular environment, including factors that promote cell division, tissue regeneration, and wound healing.
Synthesis and application of 13C enriched phenylisothiocyanate as a 13C NMR protein probe

Phenylisothiocyanate, enriched with 13C at the isothiocyanate carbon, has been synthesized and utilized as a 13C NMR probe of proteins for the first time. The reagent has been used to label the amino groups of oxidized glutathione, and the resulting 13C NMR spectrum shows a prominent thiocarbonyl peak after a single NMR scan. The reagent is also capable of differentiating amino groups on the insulin molecule with distinct peaks corresponding to the amino groups on the A and B chains of insulin. This study illustrates the potential of using a new 13C label to functionalize amino groups of proteins and to study the labeled proteins with 13C NMR.
An agent-based tetrahedral walker

ANTS (autonomous nano technology swarm) SMART (super miniaturized addressable reconfigurable technology) architectures were initiated at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) to develop new kinds of robotic structures capable of: goal-oriented motion, changing its form to optimize its function, adapting to new environmental demands, and/or repairing itself. To begin to explore the possibilities of these concepts and the possible application of multi-agent control, a series of increasingly complex roving shapes leading up to the tetrahedron were considered. The goal is to have the structure move from an initial location to a specified goal location. The tetrahedron has six struts that can be reversibly deployed or stowed. More complex structures will be formed by interconnecting these reconfigurable tetrahedra, making structures that are scalable and massively parallel systems. The full functionality of such a complex system requires fully autonomous operations. This paper will address this innovative use of multi-agent system technology that is being used to achieve the desired autonomous behaviors as well as the increasingly complex staged approach in the development of the multi-agent tet.
Inequalities in the public sphere: emergence of community television in India

Economic restructuring in the 1980s opened the doors to the previously state-dominated television sector in developing countries. In India, unexpectedly, the resulting competitive setting produced multiple channels targeting various local ethnicities from below along with national-level expansion involving transnational corporations from above in a process now known as localization. While the plurality of channels translates into growth of the public sphere, this paper examines the reasons behind the uneven growth of community media, which cannot be explained by the community's size or economic resources. Some community channels extend their reach into the national arena while others lag in media development implying unequal political participation in the communicative system. What are the institutional reasons behind such variations in a multiethnic setting? The paper also examines whether the development of ethnic media reflects the redistribution of power taking place in the political arena or is it an...
A behavioural-pharmacological treatment of dually addicted patients.

Abstract Methadone maintenance appears to be an effective means of treating narcotic addiction both because it blocks the effects of heroin and because patients are willing to accept methadone treatment. However, alcoholism has been found commonly to complicate methadone maintenance and to result in treatment failure. The regular ingestion of disulfiram, a drug which blocks ethanol metabolism, could provide a solution to this problem, but alcoholics tend not to persist in taking this drug, because unlike methadone it possesses no reinforcing properties. This paper describes a novel technique whereby the reinforcing action of methadone has been employed to maintain disulfiram-taking, and thus to arrest alcohol abuse and consequent treatment failure.
The interaction of factor and product market distortions in developing countries

This essay will examine distortions in product and factor markets in developing countries, and the interaction of these distortions in respect to the development strategies applied. The analysis will concentrate on policy-imposed distortions, where departures from efficient resource allocation result from policy actions; these contrast with distortions resulting from market imperfections.1
Ultrastructure of hydrated proteoglycans using a pulsed plasma source.

During the past 10 years, attempts have been made to examine hydrated biological specimens by using wet chambers (at ambient temperature) [1–3] or cold stages (at −30°C and below) during electron microscopic examination. Obtaining sufficient contrast of unstained hydrated biological samples has proven a considerable problem using both of these methods. Many fragile biological specimens, when examined hydrated, frozen or dried, are severely damaged by the electron beam and cannot be imaged by conventional scanning or transmission electron microscopy. In order to increase specimen contrast and eliminate electron beam induced trauma to the specimen, we have developed a wet-cell [4], which when used in concert with a pulsed plasma soft X-ray source, provides high contrast contact replicas of totally hydrated, unstained biological specimens. Although it has been postulated that hydrated unstained samples can be imaged by soft X-ray contact microscopy [5–7], to date there has been little success due to cell movement or degradation of the wet sample during the long exposure period necessary for an adequate imaging dose [8]. With the pulsed plasma source described in this study we have been able to use exposure times of ∼40–60 ns while maintaining the sample in its hydrated state at atmospheric pressure. The resultant contact replicas exhibit good contrast and better than 30 nm spatial resolution when examined by conventional scanning electron microscopy.
International Compensation for Fluctuations in Commodity Trade

I. The situation calling for action, 259. — II. Existing instruments of international compensatory action, 263. — Instruments of international compensatory action: insurance proposals, 266. — IV. The effective use of compensatory payments, 269. — V. Related aspects of commodity trade, 270. — VI. Conclusion, 271.
What Do Musical Chairs Afford? On Clarke's Ways of Listening and Sacks's Musicophilia

Oliver Sacks's Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain (2007) and Eric F. Clarke's Ways of Listening: An Ecological Approach to the Perception of Musical Meaning (2005) purport to show the active nature of listening. Sacks, a neurologist, examines the transformative effects of music on his patients' behavior, which he traces to their active engagement. Clarke, a musician, focuses on the intersection between worldly and aesthetic perceptions; he describes various dimensions of the musical environment, drawing on Gibson's (1979/1986) idea of the affordance to show how musical objects and events carry meaning for the active listener. Despite their stated intentions, however, Sacks and Clarke characterize the listening experience as one in which the musical stimulus is imposed on the listener, a subject whose responses are largely determined by outside forces. Problematic issues arise from Clarke's loose definition of the terms “affordance” and “environment” and lack of distinction between percepts and con...
Eruptive style and location of volcanic centers in the Miocene Washington Cascade Range: Reconstruction from the sedimentary record

Primary and reworked pyroclastic material in the Ellensburg Formation of central Washington records middle and late Miocene volcanism in the Cascade Range despite the absence of correlative volcanics within the volcanic chain. Volcanics marking sources for Ellensburg detritus were eroded during late Neogene uplift. Facies patterns and paleocurrent data suggest that the bulk of the volcaniclastics were derived from a source near Bumping Lake; a K-Ar date for an intrusion in this area supports this conclusion. Depositional patterns and characteristics of the detritus allow hypothetical reconstruction of the style of volcanism during this period. Eruptive episodes began with modest-sized Plinian eruptions followed by extended periods of dome growth. Aggradation in adjacent sedimentary basins occurred principally in response to introduction of large volumes of lithic pyroclastic material during eruptive episodes.
Thermal Performance Impacts of Center-of-Glass Deflections in Installed Insulating Glazing Units

Abstract This study examines the thermal performance impact of center-of-glass (COG) deflections in double- and triple-pane insulating glass units (IGUs) installed at several locations throughout the U.S. Deflection was measured during summer and winter temperatures; the results show that outdoor temperature variations can be represented a linear change in COG gap width in double- and triple-pane IGUs within the temperature ranges measured. However, the summer-winter temperature-induced deflection is similar in magnitude to the observed spread in COG deflection of similar units at the same temperature, which suggests that factors other than temperature are of equal importance in determining the in situ deflection of windows. The effect of deflection on thermal performance depends on the IGU's designed gap. Units constructed with smaller-than-optimal gaps often exhibit significant U -factor change due to temperature-induced reduction in gap width. This effect is particularly problematic in high-performance triple glazing where small gap dimension changes can have a large impact on performance.