cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Rickettsia buchneri sp. nov., a rickettsial endosymbiont of the blacklegged tick Ixodes scapularis.

We obtained a rickettsial isolate from the ovaries of the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis. The isolate (ISO7T) was grown in the Ixodes ricinus embryonic cell line IRE11. We characterized the isolate by transmission electron microscopy and gene sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis of 11 housekeeping genes demonstrated that the isolate fulfils the criteria to be classified as a representative of a novel rickettsial species closely related to ‘Rickettsia monacensis’. These rickettsiae form a clade separate from other species of rickettsiae. Gene sequences indicated that several genes important in rickettsial motility, invasiveness and temperature adaptation were mutated (e.g. sca2, rickA, hsp22, pldA and htrA). We propose the name Rickettsia buchneri sp. nov. for this bacterium that infects the ovaries of the tick I. scapularis to acknowledge the pioneering contributions of Professor Paul Buchner (1886–1978) to research on bacterial symbionts. The type strain of R. buchneri sp. nov. is strain ISO-7T ( = DSM 29016T = ATCC VR-1814T).
Mounting casts on a new plasterless plane line articulator

Abstract A technique of mounting casts on a plane line articulator without the aid of plaster or artificial stone has been described. The advantages of this technique are: 1. The dimensional change errors inherent in a plaster or dental stone mounting are avoided. 2. Casts may be routinely mounted and articulated in less than 3 minutes. 3. Casts may be removed and returned to their original position with precise reliability. The disadvantages include the lack of an adjustable horizontal condylar guidance and the lack of an anterior guide pin or anterior guidance. Further studies should be directed toward determining the accuracy of remounting casts on the instrument.
Factors Responsible for Variation in Milk Composition

Summary Milk composition is affected by many environmental and inherited factors. To date there are no feeds, additives, or feeding practices that will practically and profitably change milk composition of dairy cows. The increased level of feeding of high-producing cows under some conditions of relatively high milk prices and low grain prices may come close to this objective, however. Overfeeding of protein, from accepted standards, will not increase SNF or milk protein content, but underfeeding protein will reduce milk yield. Pelleted, finely ground, or very high concentrate rations may drastically reduce milk fat content, often without a compensatory increase in other components or yield. Characteristic changes in rumen fatty acid concentrations are associated with these milk composition changes. Underfeeding total nutrients will reduce milk yield, SNF, and protein content. Recent and continuing research in rumen metabolism and the pathways whereby ration and environment influence milk composition is of great importance to future understanding of both genetic and management aspects of the problem. Season of the year, age of the cow, stage of lactation, and gestation all have an important effect on milk composition. Breeds differ in average milk composition and between individual cows within the breed there is even greater variation. Groups of paternal half-sisters differ significantly in mean values of milk fat, SNF, and protein content. The heritability estimates currently available indicate selection should be effective in changing milk composition. Further, the correlations between fat, SNF, or protein contents are not so high as to indicate their relationship could not be changed within reasonable limits over a long period of time. We need improved estimates of genetic and environmental parameters; these should be forthcoming from the regional milk composition projects. The problem of defining, in terms of nutritional and economic considerations, the optimum milk composition for the most efficient production of food needs serious study. Practices that increase total yield will usually decrease the per cent content of individual components slightly, but will result in the greatest net yield of each component. The expansion of SNF or protein-testing programs to gain research data and to prove sires for artificial insemination use seems very important. When definite goals become more clearly established, certain breeds or herds may find it most desirable to select for increased total yield. Others may give some attention to individual milk components and major attention to total yield, using an appropriate selection index to combine the objectives most efficiently.
Tailoring Optical and Plasmon Resonances in Core-shell and Core-multishell Nanowires for Visible Range Negative Refraction and Plasmonic Light Harvesting: A Review

Semiconductor nanowires (NWs) are sub-wavelength structures which exhibit strong optical (Mie) resonances in the visible range. In addition to such optical resonances, the localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) in metal-semiconductor core-shell (CS) and core-multishell (CMS) NWs can be tailored to achieve novel negative-index metamaterials (NIM), extreme absorbers, invisibility cloaks and sensors. Particularly, in this review, we focus on our recent theoretical studies which highlight the versatility of CS and CMS NWs for: 1) the design of negative-index metamaterials in the visible range and 2) plasmonic light harvesting in ultrathin photocatalyst layers for water splitting. Utilizing the LSPR in the metal layer and the magnetic dipole (Mie) resonance in the semiconductor shell under transverse electric (TE) polarization, semiconductor-metal-semiconductor CMS NWs can be designed to exhibit spectrally overlapping electric and magnetic resonances in the visible range. NWs exhibiting such double resonances can be considered as meta-atoms and arrayed to form polarization dependent, low-loss NIM. Alternatively, by tuning the LSPR in the TE polarization and the optical resonance in the transverse magnetic (TM) polarization of metal-photocatalyst CS and semiconductor-metal-photocatalyst CMS NWs, the absorption within ultrathin (sub-50 nm) photocatalyst layers can be substantially enhanced. Notably, aluminum and copper based NWs provide absorption enhancement remarkably close to silver and gold based NWs, respectively. Further, such absorption is polarization independent and remains high over a large range of incidence angles and permittivity of the medium. Therefore, due to the tunability of their optical properties, CS and CMS NWs are expected to be vital components for the design of nanophotonic devices.
Dynamics of damped coupled oscillators near resonance.

We study the dynamics of two conservative oscillators with perturbations from a linear displacement coupling and non-Hamiltonian forces such as damping. We examine the dynamics of these systems when they are near the primary resonance using secular perturbation theory. We show that near resonance a large class of driven oscillators and two coupled oscillators can be transformed to the same ordinary differential equations (ODEs). This common type of dynamics near the resonance is a generalization of the standard Hamiltonian dynamics of two coupled conservative oscillators. We derive expressions for the parameters in these ODEs. From these parameters, we derive analytical expressions for the parameters in these ODEs. From these parameters, we derive analytical expressions for the linear fixed point behavior of these oscillators near resonance. We find a relation between the amplitude frequency coupling of the oscillators and their phase-locking behavior. In particular, we show that two hard oscillators lock in phase and two soft oscillators lock out of phase. We compare our theoretical predictions with computer simulations of two examples: a sinusoidally driven ${\mathit{X}}^{3}$ force oscillator and two coupled van der Pol oscillators with ${\mathit{X}}^{3}$ force.
Self-scanned anode array with a microchannel plate electron multiplier: the SSANACON

A photoelectron counting detector utilizing a 128-element linear self-scanned anode array to collect the output of a dual microchannel plate electron multiplier is described. The operation of the detector, its spatial resolution and detection efficiency, and radiation behavior are discussed. The low-noise detector was developed for the Mariner Jupiter/Saturn mission UV spectrometer, and offers a large dynamic range and count rate of 0.003 per anode-sec. It can measure simultaneously two spatially separated signals differing by more than six orders of magnitude in count rate.
Current Issues in Sol-Gel Reaction Kinetics

This paper surveys a few of the current issues in sol-gel reaction kinetics. Many times seemingly modest changes in reactants or reaction conditions can lead to substantial differences in the overall reaction rates and pathways. For example, qualitative features of the reaction kinetics can depend on catalyst concentration. At very high acid-catalyst concentrations, reverse reactions are significant for TMOS solgels, while for moderate acid-catalyst concentrations, reverse reactions are substantially reduced. The reaction kinetics of two similar tetraalkoxysilanes: tetramethoxysilane (TMOS) and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), can be markedly different under identical reaction conditions. Under acid-catalyzed reaction conditions, a TMOS sol-gel undergoes both water- and alcoholproducing condensation reactions while a TEOS sol-gel undergoes only water-producing condensation. The early time hydrolysis and condensation reactions of a TMOS sol-gel are statistical in nature and can be quantitatively described by a few simple reaction rate constants while the reaction behavior of a TEOS sol-gel is markedly nonstatistical. A comprehensive theory of sol-gel kinetics must address these diverse experimental findings.
DNA restriction fragment length polymorphisms characteristic for Dw subtypes of DR2

Abstract DNA restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP) can be easily demonstrated in DNA of cells expresing different DR specificities when class II cDNA probes are used for hybridization. Previous studies of DR4 + homozygous typing cells (HTCs) carrying different Dw subtypes, however, detected no RFLP correlating with subtypes. In contrast, we report here Southern blotting studies of DR2+ HTCs carrying different subtypes which showed RFLP patterns characteristic for each subtype, using both DRβ and DQβ probes and several restriction enzymes. The RFLP between subtypes of DR2 was, however, apprciably lower than that found between DR specificities.
Proton conduction in discotic mesogens

In this communication, we show that liquid crystalline phases lower the activation energy barrier for proton transport. The liquid crystalline phases were obtained using a triphenylene core with alkyl chains bearing a triazole moiety at their termini.
Outcomes of laparoscopic and open colectomy at academic centers.

Abstract Background Laparoscopic techniques have emerged as a suitable approach for colon resection. This study determined and compared the outcomes of patients undergoing laparoscopic or open colectomy at United States academic centers. Methods Using ICD-9-CM codes, we obtained data from the University HealthSystem Consortium database for 50,443 patients who underwent open (n = 47,090; 94%) or laparoscopic (n = 3,353; 6%) colectomy during a 5-year period (2002 to 2006). Outcomes studied included length of stay (LOS), costs, in-hospital morbidity and risk-adjusted mortality rates. Results Mean LOS (open = 11 days and laparoscopic = 7 days) was significantly shorter and mean costs (open = $23,000 and laparoscopic = $17,000) significantly fewer with the laparoscopic approach. The overall in-hospital morbidity rate was significantly lower with laparoscopic colectomy (open = 33% and laparoscopic = 24%). The risk-adjusted mortality ratio was comparable between groups (open = .9 and laparoscopic = .7). Comments: Despite the major biases inherent in this retrospective review of the University Health System Consortium, which favors the use of laparoscopic colectomy by United States academic surgeons, laparoscopic colectomy offers the potential of significantly shorter LOS, fewer costs, lower in-hospital morbidity rates, and comparable risk-adjusted mortality rates compared with open colectomy. Laparoscopic colectomy is as safe as the open approach.
Molecules involved in cell death and peripheral tolerance

Apoptosis is important for maintaining peripheral lymphocyte homeostasis and for minimizing the accumulation of autoreactive lymphocytes. Disruption of apoptotic pathways has been linked to lymphadenopathy, breakdown of peripheral tolerance and the development of autoimmune diseases. Major progress has been made during the past year in understanding the critical roles of a variety of signaling molecules, especially a group of cysteine proteases, for the execution of apoptosis. These proteases appear to be the primary effector molecules responsible for carrying out lymphocyte apoptosis and may be critical for peripheral immunological tolerance.
Antigenic Determinant(s) Shared by the Human Thy 1 and Human IgG

Abstract A human T cell differentiation antigen (p25) previously described as being the mouse theta equivalent has been examined for shared antigenic determinants with immunoglobulin. A strong cross-reactivity of an antiserum prepared against p25 antigen was established with human IgG subclasses. This antiserum does not react with human IgM or IgA, nor with primate immunoglobulins. The shared determinants appear to be associated with the disulphide-bonded cysteines in the first and third constant domains of the IgG molecule and the 9–112 disulfide bond of Thy 1.
Influence of alkyl ether chain length of acetyl glyceryl ether phosphorylcholine and its ethanolamine analog on biological activity toward rabbit platelets

Abstract The preparation of the potent new lipid chemical mediator, 1- O -alkyl-2-acetyl- sn -glyceryl-3-phosphorylcholine (AGEPC), through a facile semisynthetic procedure utilizing the vinyl ether-containing lecithins (plasmalogens) of bovine heart muscle as the starting material results in a derivative with mixed chain alkyl residues. In order to focus more closely on the importance of the various components of AGEPC relative to its biological activity, it was of importance to develop a method for isolation of molecules rich in a specific chain length of the alkyl residue. In the current study it was found that a simple thin-layer chromatographic technique, using a solvent system of methanol water (2:1, v v ), afforded an excellent separation of semisynthetic AGEPC into two species, one containing over 95 mol% 16:0 and the other 95 mol% 18:0 alkyl chain species. The same procedure allowed a comparable separation of the species of 1- O -alkyl-2-acetyl- sn -glyceryl-3-phosphorylethanolamine (AGEPE) prepared from AGEPC by phospholipase D action. On the basis of their effectiveness in releasing serotonin from washed rabbit platelets, the 16:0-rich derivatives of AGEPC and AGEPE exhibited significantly higher specific activities, from three to six-fold, on a molar basis, respectively, than the corresponding 18:0-rich derivatives. These findings are discussed in relation to the importance of the chain length of the alkyl ether group in expression of the biological activity of AGEPC.
Filaggrin Mutations and Allergic Contact Sensitization

In this issue, Novak et al. (2008) provide evidence that filaggrin barrier defects might also predispose to allergic contact dermatitis by allowing greater penetration of chemical haptens. Their report provides a fresh perspective on the issues of contact allergy, nickel sensitization, and stratum corneum defects.
The economics of treating obesity.

Obesity has become a major contemporary public health concern. The excess burden of disease associated with obesity (e.g. cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, gallbladder disease) results in considerable costs to society, while the indirect costs of obesity include decreased labour input and lower educational achievement.
On optimal intrinsic growth rates for populations in periodically changing environments

The theory developed here applies to populations whose size x obeys a differential equation, $$\dot x = r(t)xF(x,t)$$ in which r and F are both periodic in t with period p. It is assumed that the function r, which measures a population's intrinsic rate of growth or intrinsic rate of adjustment to environmental change, is measurable and bounded with a positive lower bound. It is further assumed that the function F, which is determined by the density-dependent environmental influences on growth, is such that there is a closed interval J, with a positive lower bound, in which there lies, for each t, a number K(t) for which $$F(K(t),t) = 0$$ and, as functions on J × ℝ, F is continuous, while ∂F/∂x is continuous, negative, and bounded. Because x(t) = 0, > 0, or x(t), or K(t) < x(t), the number K(t) is called the “carrying capacity of the environment at time t”. The assumptions about F imply that the number K(t) is unique for each t, depends continuously and periodically on t with period P, and hence attains its extrema, Kmin and Kmax. It is, moreover, easily shown that the differential equation for x has precisely one solution x* which has its values in J and is bounded for all t in ℝ; this solution is of period p, is asymptotically stable with all of J in its domain of attraction, and is such that its minimum and maximum values, x min * and x max * , obey $$K_{min} \leqslant x_{min}^* \leqslant x_{max}^* \leqslant K_{max}^* .$$ The following question is discussed: If the function F is given, and the function r can be chosen, which choices of r come close to maximizing, x min * ? The results obtained yield a procedure for constructing, for each F and each ɛ > 0, a function r such that x min * > Kmax − ɛ.
Water-gas shift reaction on oxide/Cu(111): Rational catalyst screening from density functional theory

Developing improved catalysts based on a fundamental understanding of reaction mechanism has become one of the grand challenges in catalysis. A theoretical understanding and screening the metal-oxide composite catalysts for the water-gas shift (WGS) reaction is presented here. Density functional theory was employed to identify the key step for the WGS reaction on the Au, Cu–oxide catalysts, where the calculated reaction energy for water dissociation correlates well with the experimental measured WGS activity. Accordingly, the calculated reaction energy for water dissociation was used as the scaling descriptor to screen the inverse model catalysts, oxide/Cu(111), for the better WGS activity. Our calculations predict that the WGS activity increases in a sequence: Cu(111), ZnO/Cu(111) < TiO2/Cu(111), ZrO2/Cu(111) < MoO3/Cu(111). Our results imply that the high performances of Au, Cu–oxide nanocatalysts in the WGS reaction rely heavily on the direct participation of both oxide and metal sites. The degree that...
Bone Marrow Support of the Heart in Pressure Overload Is Lost with Aging

Rationale Exogenous stem cell delivery is under investigation to prevent and treat cardiac dysfunction. It is less studied as to the extent endogenous bone marrow derived stem cells contribute to cardiac homeostais in response to stress and the affects of aging on this stress response. Objective To determine the role of bone marrow (BM) derived stem cells on cardiac homeostasis in response to pressure overload (PO) and how this response is altered by aging. Methods and Results Young (8 weeks) and old (>40 weeks) C57/b6 mice underwent homo- and heterochronic BM transplantation prior to transverse aortic constriction (TAC). We found that older BM is associated with decreased cardiac function following TAC. This decreased function is associated with decrease in BM cell engraftment, increased myocyte apoptosis, decreased myocyte hypertrophy, increased myocardial fibrosis and decreased cardiac function. Additionally, there is a decrease in activation of resident cells within the heart in response to PO in old mice. Interestingly, these effects are not due to alterations in vascular density or inflammation in response to PO or differences in ex vivo stem cell migration between young and old mice. Conclusions BM derived stem cells are activated in response to cardiac PO, and the recruitment of BM derived cells are involved in cardiac myocyte hypertrophy and maintenance of function in response to PO which is lost with aging.
Practical considerations in using model-based optimization for the scheduling and planning of batch/semicontinuous processes

Abstract Over the last few years, there has been a proliferation of research, industry in-house projects, and new products for automating and improving chemical process industry (CPI) scheduling and planning activities. The principal reason for this proliferation has been the increased global competition within the CPI and a concomitant drive to reduce costs and improve profitability. This paper begins with a description of the issues involved in solving scheduling problems, then discusses a model-based framework for addressing these problems, and finally provides techniques by which models can be constructed for practical applications and solved with modest computational effort. The techniques are illustrated with test problems from the literature and, in the case of a CHES challenge problem, we provide the first optimal solution reported to date. A key point throughout the paper is the effectiveness of using multiple layers of problem representation to separate the high level problem description from its lower level mathematical models and the methods used for their solution.
Abrogation of Cell-Mediated Immunity by a Serum Blocking Factor Isolated from Patients with Infectious Mononucleosis

Lymphocytes from 80% of patients with infectious mononucleosis in this study failed to produce macrophage migration-inhibition factor in response to partially purified early antigen of Epstein-Barr virus or to tetanus toxoid, whereas lymphocytes from normal subjects did produce this lymphokine. Subsequent analysis of serum from the patients with infectious mononucleosis revealed a serum factor that completely abrogated antigen-specific inhibition of migration by human leukocytes as well as lymphocyte blastogenesis. The serum blocking factor was present in sera from 11 (73%) of 15 patients with infectious mononucleosis but only in sera from two (13%) of 15 normal subjects. Samples of serum from five of the patients with infectious mononucleosis and five normal subjects were fractionated with use of Sephadex G-200 gel filtration, and the eluants were assayed for several substances known to inhibit cell-mediated immunity. Serum blocking factor activity could be demonstrated only in fractionated sera from patients with infectious mononucleosis. The serum blocking factor is postulated to be either a soluble immune complex or some as yet unidentified immunoregulatory globulin contained in the IgG fraction of human serum.
Tractability of Algebraic Function Fields in One Variable of Genus Zero Over Global Fields

If the condition described in Definition 1.1 on the simultaneous representation of quaternion algebras holds over a field F, then F is called tractable. In this paper, we show that a field F is tractable if and only if any purely transcendental extension of F is tractable. Next, if F is a global field of characteristic unequal to two, we consider tractability of an algebraic function field K in one variable of genus zero over F and determine precisely when K is tractable if F has at most one ordering.
Cre-mediated cerebellum- and hippocampus-restricted gene mutation in mouse brain.

Using the phage P1-derived Cre/loxP recombination system, we have created a line of cre-transgenic mice in which the Cre-mediated gene deletion is restricted to granule cells of cerebellum and dentate gyrus of hippocampus. Low levels of deletion were also present in pyramidal cells of hippocampal CA1 and CA3 fields. The Cre/loxP recombination occurred prenatally. The recombination efficiencies in the granular layer of the cerebellum, the granular layer of the dentate gyrus, and the CA1 and CA3 pyramidal cells of the hippocampus were 34.0%, 23.1%, 3.0%, and 9.8%, respectively. This line of cre-transgenic mice should be conducive to studies of the effect of a gene mutation upon brain development and plasticity.
Probabilistic Optimization of Two-Phase Flow Using Bayesian Models

Gas-liquid two-phase flows are encountered in a variety of applications such as turbo-machinery flows, gas-turbines, ram-jet and scram-jets, automotive engines and aircraft engines. Designing systems to control such flows is enormously challenging owing to the addition of new non-dimensional groups that characterize the two-phase flow system compared to a single-phase flow. Additionally, two-phase flows can exhibit non-linear hydrodynamic instabilities that determine the overall behavior of the system.In this study, we choose a generic two-phase flow configuration that exhibits known complexities in realistic two-phase flow systems. The goal of the study is to optimize the geometry of the two-phase flow configuration with minimal computational cost. We propose a probabilistic approach to model the stochastic system and optimize the two-phase flow system under uncertain inputs. The potential benefits of the approach are highlighted along with future directions for using probabilistic design techniques to optimize two-phase flow systems.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Demographic behavior and poverty: Micro-level evidence from Southern Sudan

Abstract The largely subsistence economy of Southern Sudan remains one of the least developed in sub-Saharan Africa and very little has been documented about the nature of its economy and its demographic situation. Using household-level data drawn from a 5% sample survey in urban Juba, this paper explores some of the complex interrelationships between indicators of poverty and demographic behavior. Given the prevailing noncontracepting regime in Juba, the finding that behavioral factors are not so important in explaining fertility is perhaps not surprising. Success is greater in identifying the determinants of infant mortality, and measures to reduce infant mortality must be the priority goal of a comprehensive population and development policy that is still awaiting formulation. Our results may have a wider application for many other parts of the troubled continent where living standards have regressed in recent years, general fertility decline has yet to appear, and decreases in infant mortality may have tapered off.
A Communication-Based Appliance Scheduling Scheme for Consumer-Premise Energy Management Systems

In this paper, a communication-based load scheduling protocol is proposed for in-home appliances connected over a home area network. Specifically, a joint access and scheduling approach for appliances is developed to enable in-home appliances to coordinate power usage so that the total energy demand for the home is kept below a target value. The proposed protocol considers both “schedulable” appliances which have delay flexibility, and “critical” appliances which consume power as they desire. An optimization problem is formulated for the energy management controller to decide the target values for each time slot, by incorporating the variation of electricity prices and distributed wind power uncertainty. We model the evolution of the protocol as a two-dimensional Markov chain, and derive the steady-state distribution, by which the average delay of an appliance is then obtained. Simulation results verify the analysis and show cost saving to customers using the proposed scheme.
Technology as a tool for teaching EEs: As electrical engineering departments become even more computerized, colleges will admit more students and employ innovative techniques for teaching them

A slow but certain change is taking place in the teaching of electrical engineering. It is part of a broad change in U.S. higher education: an electronic university is beginning to emerge. Many components have been develops and are akeady in place-personal computers, computer-controlled video-disk systems, and video cassette recorders. Only cost and convenience will dictate if the changeover to an electronic university occurs on a wide scale in one decade, two decades, or more. But already private enterprise has jumped into the breach.
The Violacein Biosynthetic Enzyme VioE Shares a Fold with Lipoprotein Transporter Proteins

VioE, an unusual enzyme with no characterized homologues, plays a key role in the biosynthesis of violacein, a purple pigment with antibacterial and cytotoxic properties. Without bound cofactors or metals, VioE, from the bacterium Chromobacterium violaceum, mediates a 1,2 shift of an indole ring and oxidative chemistry to generate prodeoxyviolacein, a precursor to violacein. Our 1.21 A resolution structure of VioE shows that the enzyme shares a core fold previously described for lipoprotein transporter proteins LolA and LolB. For both LolB and VioE, a bound polyethylene glycol molecule suggests the location of the binding and/or active site of the protein. Mutations of residues near the bound polyethylene glycol molecule in VioE have identified the active site and five residues important for binding or catalysis. This structural and mutagenesis study suggests that VioE acts as a catalytic chaperone, using a fold previously associated with lipoprotein transporters to catalyze the production of its prodeoxyviolacein product.
Quantum Hysteresis in Molecular Magnets

Magnetic materials normally exhibit a smooth response to external fields, but recent experiments reported in Physical Review Letters yield stepwise response curves. In his Perspective, Chudnovsky discusses the results, which may be evidence for quantum behavior on a macroscopic scale.
Induction of Triploidy in White Crappie by Temperature Shock

Abstract During two spawning seasons, triploidy was induced in white crappie Pomoxis annularis by temperature shock 5 min after artificial fertilization. Heat shocks of 36–40°C for 1–5 min resulted in 0–10% triploidy. Cold shocks of 5°C for 45 min and 60 min yielded 0–24% and 72–92% triploidy, respectively. Triploids were identified initially by chromosome counts in 1987, but examination of confirmed diploids and triploids indicated that they could be distinguished unambiguously on the basis of measurements of erythrocyte nuclear major axis. Erythrocyte nuclear minor axis and volume were substantially less reliable for identifying triploids. Flow cytometry was used to identify triploids in 1988. Limited data on juvenile fish revealed no significant size difference between diploids and triploids in most of the treatment groups.
The Influences of User Characteristics on Performance in a Logistics DSS Application

Decision Support Systems (DSS) are widely used in logistics decision applications, and a large number and variety of systems are commercially available. We investigate the contributions of user characteristics including experiences, data preferences, intuition, and effort to decision performance in a logistics DSS context. The study includes a laboratory experiment in which decision makers with varied experiences used a DSS to make facility network design decisions for problems of varying complexity. Two variants of the DSS are utilized in order to examine the interactions of a DSS decision aid with user characteristics. We find that intuition and effort are associated with decision-making performance. High analytic ability is not related to intuition, however. Education and previous experience are associated with performance. Yet these characteristics are also unrelated to intuition. Decision makers who highly value disaggregated data provided by the DSS tend to perform poorly. Also, the results suggest that the effects of users' experiences and preferences on performance are influenced by an analytical decision aid.
Multilevel Factorial Experiments for Developing Behavioral Interventions: Power, Sample Size, and Resource Considerations

Factorial experimental designs have many potential advantages for behavioral scientists. For example, such designs may be useful in building more potent interventions by helping investigators to screen several candidate intervention components simultaneously and to decide which are likely to offer greater benefit before evaluating the intervention as a whole. However, sample size and power considerations may challenge investigators attempting to apply such designs, especially when the population of interest is multilevel (e.g., when students are nested within schools, or when employees are nested within organizations). In this article, we examine the feasibility of factorial experimental designs with multiple factors in a multilevel, clustered setting (i.e., of multilevel, multifactor experiments). We conduct Monte Carlo simulations to demonstrate how design elements-such as the number of clusters, the number of lower-level units, and the intraclass correlation-affect power. Our results suggest that multilevel, multifactor experiments are feasible for factor-screening purposes because of the economical properties of complete and fractional factorial experimental designs. We also discuss resources for sample size planning and power estimation for multilevel factorial experiments. These results are discussed from a resource management perspective, in which the goal is to choose a design that maximizes the scientific benefit using the resources available for an investigation.
Recurrent Holocene strike-slip faulting, Pyramid Lake fault zone, western Nevada

Trenches excavated at two sites on scarps of the Pyramid Lake fault zone revealed evidence of recurrent Holocene strike-slip faulting. Control for estimating the ages of faulting events is provided by soil stratigraphy, C-14 ages on organic sediments, and the Mazama ash (7000–6700 yr), which is present at both sites. The first site displayed evidence of at least three, probably four, and possibly five displacements within the past 7500 yr. Evidence of at least three and probably four post–Mazama-ash faulting events was found at the second trench site. The juxtaposition of lithologically contrasting deposits and units with different thicknesses on opposite sides of the faults indicates strike-slip faulting. The estimated average recurrence of surface faulting events (M s ⩾ 6.5) is about 1800 yr assuming four post–Mazama-ash events and about 2400 yr for three events. The most recent event occurred within the past few hundred years. The rate of recurrence of surface faulting events on the Pyramid Lake fault zone is three to five times higher than for most faults in the western Basin and Range province.
Bariatric Surgery Outcomes at Designated Centers of Excellence vs Nondesignated Programs

Objective To compare outcomes of patients undergoing bariatric procedures in hospitals designated as centers of excellence compared with nondesignated hospitals. Design The 2005 National Inpatient Survey was used to compare outcomes at designated vs nondesignated hospitals. In addition to conventional null-hypothesis statistical testing to assess differences, effect sizes were calculated to estimate the clinical significance for observed differences. Results Centers of excellence performed substantially more operations than nondesignated centers. Despite this, outcomes were equivalent at centers of excellence and hospitals without this designation. Volume-outcome modeling attempting to identify the optimal number for a minimum volume threshold for bariatric operations revealed that annual procedure volume has a weak effect on outcomes. Similarly, many variables that were statistically significantly different between centers and noncenters proved to be clinically unimportant by effect size analysis. Risk adjustment was effectively achieved by using the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality–supplied variables all-payer severity-adjusted diagnostic related group expected charges and deaths. Conclusions Designation as a bariatric surgery center of excellence does not ensure better outcomes. Neither does high annual procedure volume. Extra expenses associated with center of excellence designation may not be warranted.
Photoreactivation and other ultraviolet/visible light effects on DNA in human skin.

A computer-based system was devised for examining low levels (1 dimer/10/sup 8/ d) of DNA damage in human skin exposed to ultraviolet or visible radiation. The production of measurable levels of dimers was determined for light of wavelengths absorbed directly by DNA (290-320 nm). Exposure of skin to uv-A (320-380 nm) sources also produced significant numbers of endonuclease-sensitive sites. The immediate pigment darkening reaction (IPD) was tested to see whether IPD protects against uv-induced dimer formation. 29 references, 2 figures, 1 table. (ACR)
Frequency-shaped amplification changes the neural representation of speech with noise-induced hearing loss

Abstract Temporal response patterns of single auditory nerve fibers were used to characterize the effects of a common hearing-aid processing scheme, frequency-shaped amplification, on the encoding of the vowel /e/ in cats with a permanent noise-induced hearing loss. These responses were contrasted with responses to unmodified stimuli in control and impaired cats. Noise-induced hearing loss leads to a degraded representation of the formant frequencies, in which strong phase locking to the formants is not observed in fibers with best frequencies (BFs) near the formants and there is a wide spread of formant phase locking to fibers with higher BFs ( Miller et al., 1997a , Miller et al., 1997b ). Frequency shaping effectively limits the upward spread of locking to F1, which improves the representation of higher frequency components of the vowel. However, it also increases phase locking to harmonics in the trough between the formants, which decreases the contrast between F1 and the trough in the neural representation. Moreover, it does not prevent the spread to higher BFs of responses to the second and third formants. The results show a beneficial effect of frequency shaping, but also show that interactions between particular gain functions and particular spectral shapes can result in unwanted distortions of the neural representation of the signal.
Pressure and temperature dependence of the elasticity of pyrope–majorite [Py60Mj40 and Py50Mj50] garnets solid solution measured by ultrasonic interferometry technique

Abstract Compressional (P) and shear (S) wave velocities have been measured for two synthetic polycrystalline specimens of pyrope–majorite garnets [Py 60 Mj 40 and Py 50 Mj 50 ] by ultrasonic interferometry to 8 GPa and 1000 K, in a DIA-type cubic anvil high pressure apparatus (SAM-85) interfaced with synchrotron X-radiation and X-ray imaging. Elastic bulk ( K S ) and shear ( G ) moduli data obtained at the end of the cooling cycles were fitted to functions of Eulerian strain to third order yielding pressure derivatives of the elastic moduli (∂ K S /∂ P ) T = 4.3 (3); (∂ G /∂ P ) T = 1.5 (1) for Py 60 Mj 40 garnet and (∂ K S /∂ P ) T = 4.4 (1); (∂ G /∂ P ) T = 1.3 (1) for Py 50 Mj 40 garnet. Both (∂ K S /∂ P ) T and (∂ G /∂ P ) T are identical for the two garnet compositions and are also consistent with Brillouin scattering data for polycrystalline Py 50 Mj 50 . Moreover, the new pressure derivatives of the elastic moduli are equal within experimental uncertainties to those of end-member pyrope garnet from ultrasonic studies [Gwanmesia, G.D., Zhang. J, Darling, K., Kung, J., Li, B., Wang, L., Neuville, D., Liebermann, R.C., 2006. Elasticity of polycrystalline pyrope (Mg 3 Al 2 Si 3 O 12 ) to 9 GPa and 1000 °C. Phys. Earth Planet. Inter. 155, 179–190] and from Brillouin spectroscopic studies [Sinogeikin, S.V., Bass, J.D., 2002a. Elasticity of majorite and majorite–pyrope solid solution to high pressure: implications for the transition zone. Geophys. Res. 9(2), 1017], thereby demonstrating that the pressure derivatives of the elastic moduli are independent of the physical acoustics technique employed and unaffected by substitution of Si for Mg and Al within the Py–Mj solid solution in the range (Py 100 –Py 50 ) of the present measurements. Temperature dependence of the elastic obtained from linear regression of entire P – T – K and P – T – G data are (∂ K S /∂ T ) P = −14.6 (4) MPa/K; (∂ G /∂ T ) P = −9.4 (4) MPa/K for Py 60 Mj 40 garnet, and (∂ K S /∂ T ) P = −14.6 (4) MPa/K; (∂ G /∂ T ) P = −9.33 (2) MPa/K for Py 50 Mj 50 garnet. These values are essentially identical for the two compositions and are also in excellent agreement with the Brillouin scattering data of [Sinogeikin, S.V., Bass, J.D., 2002b. Elasticity of pyrope and majorite–pyrope solid solutions to high temperatures. Phys. Earth Planet. Inter. 203, 549–555] for Py 50 Mj 50 garnet; however, they are higher than those for pyrope by about 23% for (∂ K S /∂ T ) P and 11% for (∂ G /∂ T ) P [Gwanmesia, G.D., Zhang. J, Darling, K., Kung, J., Li, B., Wang, L., Neuville, D., Liebermann, R.C., 2006. Elasticity of polycrystalline pyrope (Mg 3 Al 2 Si 3 O 12 ) to 9 GPa and 1000 °C. Phys. Earth Planet. Inter. 155, 179–190].
Obesity : Person and population

COPE, MARK B. AND DAVID B. ALLISON. Obesity: person and population. Obesity. 2006;14(Suppl 4):156S–159S. Obesity is a problem among all ages and races, in both genders, and across all socioeconomic classes, and the prevalence of obesity has been increasing. Efforts are being made to combat the increasing prevalence, but only modest success has been achieved. Obesity is affected by multiple factors. There are genetic and environmental components involved, yet pinpointing specific genetic and environmental influences has been difficult. Development of treatments has ranged from pharmaceuticals to behavioral modification. Extant treatments aimed at the individual and administered for relatively brief portions of the lifespan have shown only modest results. If we are to make pervasive and enduring changes to population adiposity levels, it is likely that we will need to make pervasive and enduring changes to the ways in which we live across the lifespan.
Frequency, natural course, and outcome of neonatal neutropenia.

Objective. We studied the frequency, onset, duration, and prognosis of neutropenia in a neonatal hospital population to define subgroups of neonates who might benefit from cytokine therapy. Study Design. The study comprised of 2 parts: in a first retrospective study (I), clinical data of neonates with sepsis (n = 168) were analyzed; in a second retrospective and prospective study (II), clinical data of neonates with neutropenia (n = 131) were studied. In study I, the analysis focused on septic neonates with and without neutropenia, and in study II, on neutropenic neonates with and without primary infection. In the prospective part of study II, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) plasma concentrations were analyzed in neutropenic neonates (n = 32). Results. Thirty-eight percent of septic neonates were neutropenic. Neutropenia lasted <24 hours in 75% of these patients. It was recorded before or on the day of the clinical onset of sepsis in 87% of patients. The overall incidence of neutropenia was 8.1%. Seventy-two percent of these neutropenic episodes occurred in patients without infection at the time of diagnosis of neutropenia. In the latter patients, the risk of infection secondary to neutropenia was 9%, affecting only premature neonates. Neutropenic episodes without infection were of longer duration and were accompanied by lower G-CSF plasma concentrations than were episodes associated with infection. The percentage of neutropenic episodes primarily associated with infection was higher in VLBW neonates than in term neonates. Likewise, the risk of infection secondary to neutropenia (27%) and the mortality attributable to infection and neutropenia (28%) were significantly higher than in term newborns. Conclusion. Considering the priming time for induction of neutrophilia, G-CSF therapy in neonates presenting with severe bacterial infection and neutropenia may be too late. In contrast, neutropenic very low birth weight neonates without primary infection might benefit from prophylactic G-CSF treatment. Pediatrics 2000;106:45-51; neonatal sepsis, neutropenia, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor.
Conditionally positive definite functions and their application to multivariate interpolations

Abstract We derive integral representations for conditionally positive definite functions of various types. Using these representations, we show that certain symmetric linear combinations of translates of conditionally positive definite functions are positive definite functions and can be employed in multivariate scattered data interpolation. We also obtain a necessary and sufficient condition for the smoothness of conditionally positive definite functions. As a corollary, we establish a generalization of a theorem of von Neumann and Schoenberg on integral representation for functions of negative type which play a central role in isometric imbedding theory and radial basis function interpolation.
Placement Data and Advising: Handle with Flair but Care.

Each winter, the Office of PIacement Services at Michigan State University distributes on campus a publication entitled Follow-Up Report, which lists by college and major the names of all students who graduated, and degrees earned the previous academic year. In addition to salary data, the publication contains a wealth of information relevant to advising students interested in current employment prospects and trends. The annual FollowUp Report and other excellent research studies prepared by the Office of Placement Services accout for the frequent references in national publications to predictions and assessments made by its director. The Follow-Up Report is a valuable advising resource, but it should be used with caution, thoughtfulness, and a degree of imagination.
Actigraphy suggests age-related differences in napping and nocturnal sleep

The aim of this study was to contrast the time distribution of out-of-bed napping in young and older adults through recordings of wrist activity, and to evaluate the correlates of napping with nocturnal sleep. Seventy-three young adults between 18 and 32 years and 60 older adults between 60 and 75 years of age participated in the study. Subjects were selected for good general health and had few sleep complaints. They wore wrist-activity monitors and kept daily sleep logs for 1 week. Automatic sleep scoring was edited by the authors, supplemented by sleep logs and illumination data as well as activity data. Napping episodes were modestly increased in older adults, but there was no difference in the daily duration of napping. Older adults napped more in the evening (especially within 2 h before bedtime), whereas young adults napped more in the afternoon. The older adults with evening naps (n = 31) showed earlier nocturnal wake-up times and decreased nocturnal sleep duration compared with the older adults without evening naps (n = 29). There was no difference in nocturnal sleep between young adults with afternoon naps (n = 32) and without afternoon naps (n = 41). In determining the effects of napping on nocturnal sleep, timing of napping and age are important. Maintaining alertness during the evening (e.g. by bright light exposure or moderate exercise) would be a possible approach to delay wake-up times in older adults.