cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Delayed Splenic Rupture Resulting in Massive Intraperitoneal Hemorrhage Post Ambulatory-Related Injury

Delayed splenic rupture, once thought to be unusual, but now growing in incidence, is an issue that could potentiate severe morbidity and mortality to patients, regardless of the severity of the trauma. This case report presents one instance of delayed splenic rupture following minor trauma and discusses the need for further investigation in the management of this condition. A middle-aged, hypotensive male presented to the emergency department (ED) with signs of an acute abdomen following a syncopal episode, with successful resuscitation upon arrival. Computed tomography (CT) revealed fluid in the gastrohepatic ligament, as well as the right pericolic gutter, along with findings suggestive of a perforated peptic ulcer. General surgery was consulted, and an exploratory laparotomy was performed. However, during exploration, no such perforation was found. A large amount of blood was visualized in the left upper quadrant. The spleen was mobilized, and inspection revealed a posterior rupture, resulting in a splenectomy and subsequent hemostasis by the surgical team. The post-operative period was uneventful, with the patient revealing a previous fall onto a concrete floor two weeks prior to presentation to the ED. A pathological examination of the spleen revealed capsular tear with focal congestion and hemorrhage. It is the goal of this report to highlight the morbidity and mortality that occur after delayed splenic rupture, even with minor traumatic events. Current guidelines suggest nonoperative management of splenic injury in stable patients with low-grade splenic injuries after blunt abdominal trauma. However, with the varied presentation and difficulty in the assessment of delayed splenic rupture, patients may be exposed to undue risks with current recommendations on the management of splenic injuries. Further research is needed to find the best practice in managing, and possibly preventing, delayed splenic rupture in patients presenting with an acute abdomen or abdominal trauma.
The material and social constitution of interest

Abstract In the 21st century, what role does interest play in the organization of equitable learning opportunities for young people? Drawing on a large corpus of interview data from a longitudinal study of fifty-four adolescents involved in interest-driven afterschool activities domestically and abroad, we investigate the role of youths' interests in their everyday lives. Cognizant of the growing emphasis from sociocultural learning scholars on issues of interest, agency, and engagement as they relate to learning, we explore youths' interests from their perspective—that is, we highlight the ways in which youth themselves made sense of their interests in relation to the rest of their lives. Informed by social practice theory, our analysis situates the interests articulated from the first-person perspectives of youth amidst the broader sociocultural situations from which they arose. Analysis of data reveals the material and social constitution of interest itself—and calls for increased attention to the interplay between social relations and material realities as key mediators of contemporary learning opportunities.
From Time-Resolved Difference Spectra to Kinetics, Mechanism, and Thermodynamics in the Bacteriorhodopsin Photocycle

Measurements of difference spectra at increasing times after photoexcitation allowed calculation of the component spectra and the kinetics of the bacteriorhodopsin photocycle. The data are consistent with a single reaction sequence which includes reversible internal proton transfer reactions and two consecutive M states in which the retinal Schiff base is deprotonated. Mechanistically, the latter correspond to the switch of the proton pump; it is the immediate site for coupling the transformations of the chromophore to proton transport. It includes a protein conformational change and at pH ≥ 5.8 proton release on the extracellular side. At pH ≤ 5.8 proton release is delayed until later in the cycle. Proton uptake on the cytoplasmic side appears to depend on recovery of the initial protein conformation.
Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor prophylaxis in adult cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) reduces the severity and duration of neutropenia associated with cancer chemotherapy [1–5]. In the pivotal phase III trial in patients with small cell lung cancer, patients were randomized to either G-CSF or placebo following combination chemotherapy in a double-blind fashion [3]. A significant difference in the cumulative risk of febrile neutropenia (FN) between the control (77%) and the G-CSF (40%) groups was observed despite the allowed use of secondary G-CSF prophylaxis after an initial occurrence of FN in the control group (P < 0.001). Several additional clinical trials of prophylactic G-CSF in patients with various malignancies receiving different treatment regimens have been reported [6–11].
Role of CXCL12 and CXCR4 in Tumor Biology and Metastasis

Chemokine receptor CXCR4 and its cognate ligand CXCL12, also known as stromal derived factor-1 (SDF-1), have been shown to play an important role in growth and metastasis of various tumors. CXCR4 is the most common chemokine receptor that has been demonstrated to be overexpressed in several cancers. Its overexpression is also correlated with poor clinical outcomes and survival in various cancers, including breast, prostate, and lung. CXCR4/CXCL12 signaling axis plays an important role in organ selective metastasis since CXCR4 overexpressing cancer cells have been shown to metastasize to organs such as bone, lymph nodes, liver, lung, and brain, which produce high amounts of CXCL12 and thus provide a favorable microenvironment. CXCR4/CXCL12 axis has been shown to enhance tumor growth and metastasis by maintaining cancer stem cells and modulating tumor stroma through activation of cancer-associated fibroblasts and recruitment of CXCR4+ endothelial precursor cells, thereby enhancing angiogenesis. CXCR4/CXCL12 axis has been shown to mediate both pro-tumorigenesis and metastasis by activating multiple signaling pathways, including protein tyrosine pathways through activation of Pyk2. Several CXCR4/CXCL12 antagonists/agonists have been shown to have potential therapeutic effects as they significantly inhibit tumor growth and metastasis of various cancers in both in vitro and in vivo mouse models. These studies suggest that the CXCR4/CXCL12 signaling axis is an important target for developing innovative therapies against various cancers.
Principles of Principle-Based Parsing

This book chronicles the first stirrings of a revolution in the study of natural language processing, language variation, and psycholinguistics—what some have called principle-based parsing.
Investigating the role of Osiris genes in Drosophila sechellia larval resistance to a host plant toxin

The underlying genetic basis of adaptive phenotypic changes is generally poorly understood, yet a growing number of case studies are beginning to shed light on important questions about the molecular nature and pleiotropy of such changes. We use Drosophila sechellia, a dietary specialist fruit fly that evolved to specialize on a single toxic host plant, Morinda citrifolia, as a model for adaptive phenotypic change and seek to determine the genetic basis of traits associated with host specialization in this species. The fruit of M. citrifolia is toxic to other drosophilids, primarily due to high levels of the defense chemical octanoic acid (OA), yet D. sechellia has evolved resistance to OA. Our prior work identified three Osiris family genes that reside in a fine-mapped QTL for OA resistance: Osiris 6 (Osi6), Osi7, and Osi8, which can alter OA resistance in adult D. melanogaster when knocked down with RNA interference suggesting they may contribute to OA resistance in D. sechellia. Genetic mapping identified overlapping genomic regions involved in larval and adult OA resistance in D. sechellia, yet it remains unknown whether Osiris genes contribute to resistance in both life stages. Furthermore, because multiple genomic regions contribute to OA resistance, we aim to identify other gene(s) involved in this adaptation. Here, we identify candidate larval OA resistance genes using RNA sequencing to measure genome-wide differential gene expression in D. sechellia larvae after exposure to OA and functionally test identified genes for a role in OA resistance. We then test the Osiris genes previously shown to alter adult OA resistance for effects on OA resistance in larvae. We found that Osi8 knockdown decreased OA resistance in D. melanogaster larvae. These data suggest that evolved changes in Osi8 could impact OA resistance in multiple life stages while Osi6 and Osi7 may only impact adult resistance to OA.
Review of United States fuel-cell patents issued during 1965 and 1966☆

Abstract In the 2-year period 1965 and 1966, more fuel-cell patents were issued than ever before; approximately 175 patents relating to fuel cells were granted in the United States. This review paper discusses these patents under the following headings: (1) electrodes, (2) fuel-cell systems, (3) electrolytes, (4) regenerative fuel cells, (5) liquid-fuel fuel cells, and (6) devices that use fuel cells.
Nodulation and Nitrogen-fixing Capacity of Rhizobial Isolates from China in Symbiosis with Maackia amurensis

Abstract Maackia amurensis Rupr. & Maxim (Amur maackia) is a leguminous Asian tree capable of forming N2-fixing symbioses with soil-borne Bradyrhizobium spp. This trait sets Amur maackia apart from...
Reply to the comment by Bailey et al. on “Long-term decline of sugar maple following forest harvest, Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire”

Sugar maple decline in eastern North America is caused by a complex combination of factors, with soil nutrition being one of several important determinants. Given the complexity of sugar maple population dynamics and the geographic extent of the species, we support Bailey et al.’s (2019, Can. J. For. Res. 49(7), doi:10.1139/cjfr-2018-0207) argument to interpret results from Cleavitt et al. (2018, Can. J. For. Res. 48(1): 23–31, doi:10.1139/cjfr-2017-0233) with due caution. The experiment at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest represents an atypical application of contemporary forest practice in the White Mountain National Forest; however, some comments in Bailey et al. (2019) missed the point; others inaccurately characterized our paper. Cleavitt et al.’s (2018) 30-year record of vegetation recovery following whole-tree harvest documented a worrisome inability of a sugar maple population that successfully established after harvest to maintain its position in the understory. This lack of persistence on base-poor soils such as those in the mid and upper elevations of Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest suggests that the successful recruitment of sugar maple is not guaranteed.
Detecting (Unusual) Events in Urban Areas using Bike-Sharing Data

Social media, traffic sensors, GPS trajectories, and location-based social network data provide diverse Spatio temporal information sources that help to detect and analysis Spatio temporal events. Nowadays, bike sharing systems are active all over the world in major cities, and collecting a large amount of data regarding trips taken by users and status of the stations. Through analysis of the data aggregated by bike sharing systems, one can gain an understanding of crowd/commuter movements and behaviors. However, no one has used only the bike sharing data for generic event detection.In this paper, we propose a clustering-based detection method to identify Spatio temporal events that deviate from normal or regular everyday life using publicly available bike sharing data. In particular, we apply spectral clustering on bike station and bike flow data as evolving graphs and monitor changes of the bike share network (edge/node values) over time. Our proposed method decides whether a cluster is expected or anomalous (unusual). When a cluster is anomalous, there is an unusual event occurring at that time instance. Preliminary results on 6-months of data from Philadelphia and Washington DC are used to show the feasibility of our proposed method. In particular, our preliminary results show that some signatures of local (and less prominent) events (e.g., university events/activities in an urban area) can show up when bike sharing data is utilized for generic event detection.
Large-scale Canonical Polyadic Decomposition via Regular Tensor Sampling

Tensor decomposition models have proven to be effective analysis tools in various applications, including signal processing, machine learning, and communications, to name a few. Canonical polyadic decomposition (CPD) is a very popular model, which decomposes a higher order tensor signal into a sum of rank 1 terms. However, when the tensor size gets big, computing the CPD becomes a lot more challenging. Previous works proposed using random (generalized) tensor sampling or compression to alleviate this challenge. In this work, we propose using a regular tensor sampling framework instead. We show that by appropriately selecting the sampling mechanism, we can simultaneously control memory and computational complexity, while guaranteeing identifiability at the same time. Numerical experiments with synthetic and real data showcase the effectiveness of our approach.
New from csteachingtips.org: microaggressions: the game!

Have you ever frozen - not knowing what to say - when you heard a comment or question about diversity in CS? Inspired by the Critical Listening Guide from the National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT; www.ncwit.org/resources/critical-listening-guide), I created Microaggressions: The Game! The game invites players to respond to challenging scenarios related to subtle and not-so-subtle bias. Each scenario appears on a card, and players discuss how they would respond.
The peptide sensor motifs asymmetrically couple ATP hydrolysis to transport in the heterodimeric ABC transporter TmrAB

ABSTRACT ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporters participate in many processes central to life including cell wall biosynthesis, lipid homeostasis, and drug efflux. Large conformational rearrangements accompany transport and allosterically couple substrate transport in the transmembrane region to dimerization of nucleotide binding domains (NBDs) nearly ∼30-40A away in the cytoplasm. How the two binding sites coordinate remains elusive, particularly in a class of ABC transporters with only one catalytically competent NBD, the asymmetric ABC transporters. The peptide transporter TmrAB from Thermus thermophilus is one such asymmetric transporter, and here we present biochemical evidence that substrate binding couples to ATP binding in nonequivalent ways through each half of the TmrAB heterodimer. Specifically, we show that this unique mechanism depends on a highly conserved electrostatic motif in a region previously termed the peptide sensor. In this conformationally dynamic region, we demonstrate that mutation of an absolutely conserved glycine in the catalytically active TmrA chain (G131A) accelerates ATPase activity while uncoupling substrate binding from ATP hydrolysis. Surprisingly, mutation of the conserved glycine in the non-functional TmrB chain (G116A) resulted in the opposite effect in which ATPase activity is decreased with little effect on substrate binding. Our findings highlight an intrinsic asymmetry extending beyond that of the NBDs in asymmetric ABC transporters and support a mechanism where the peptide sensor in each half of TmrAB plays different roles in substrate transport.
Valorization of an ‘Enemy Language’: Politics of ‘Progressive Anti-War’ Position and English-Worship in the Japanese TV Show Massan

This article analyzes portrayals of English in Japan during World War II in Massan, a Japanese television show that features the life of a mixed-race bilingual couple, Masaharu (the Japanese husban...
Reproductive Health Disparities in the USA: Self-Reported Race/Ethnicity Predicts Age of Menarche and Live Birth Ratios, but Not Infertility

Self-identified race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES) contribute to disparities in several health domains, although research on their effects on women’s reproductive function has largely focused on links between SES and age of menarche. Here, we assessed whether race/ethnicity, SES, and downstream correlates of SES such as food security and health-insurance security are associated with age of menarche, infertility, and live birth ratios (ratios of recognized pregnancies resulting in live births) in the USA. We used cross-sectional data from 1694 women aged 12–18 years for menarche (2007–2016), 974 women aged 23–45 for infertility (2013–2016), and 1714 women aged 23–45 for live birth ratios (2007–2016) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We estimated multiple linear and logistic regressions with survey weights to test these associations. When controlling for lifestyle (activity levels, smoking, alcohol consumption) and physiological factors (diabetes, weight status), non-Hispanic (NH) black and Hispanic girls reported a significantly lower age of menarche by about 4.3 (standard error [SE] = 0.08, p < 0.001), and 3.2 months (SE = 0.09, p < 0.001), respectively, relative to NH white girls. NH black women reported live birth ratios 9% (SE = 0.02, p < 0.001) lower than NH white women. Women with unstable health insurance reported live birth ratios 6% (SE = 0.02, p = 0.02) lower than women with stable health insurance. Race/ethnicity, SES, and its downstream correlates were not associated with infertility. One hypothesized explanation for observed disparities in age of menarche and live birth ratios is the embodiment of discrimination faced by NH black women within the USA. Our findings also underscore the importance of health insurance access for favorable reproductive health outcomes. Future work should elucidate the role of embodied discrimination and other downstream correlates of SES in modulating women’s reproductive health outcomes to inform strategies to mitigate health disparities.
Fungal Infections Associated With the Use of Novel Immunotherapeutic Agents

Recent concerns have emerged regarding the potential of immunotherapy to cause infection. In this review, we summarize the current literature on invasive fungal infections that occur during treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors and chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy. Fungal infections are uncommon with the use of checkpoint inhibitors. Most cases are caused by invasive aspergillosis and pneumocystis pneumonia and occur in patients requiring high dose corticosteroids for the management of immune-related adverse events. Conversely, fungal infections are commonly reported during therapy with CAR T cells. Most cases are caused by invasive aspergillosis and candidiasis and are likely the result of prolonged neutropenia following the conditioning regimen or immunosuppressant use for the management of cytokine release syndrome and neurotoxicity. Treatment-related toxicities that require prolonged immunosuppressive agents appear to play a key role in the development of fungal infections during immunotherapy. Ongoing surveillance is needed to fully address the risks of fungal infections with these novel agents.
Changes in antimicrobial utilization during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic after implementation of a multispecialty clinical guidance team.

OBJECTIVE: Evaluate changes in antimicrobial use during COVID-19 and after implementation of a multispecialty COVID-19 clinical guidance team compared to pre-COVID-19 antimicrobial use. DESIGN: Retrospective observational study. SETTING: Tertiary-care academic medical center. PARTICIPANTS: Internal medicine and medical intensive care unit (MICU) provider teams and hospitalized COVID-19 patients. METHODS: Difference-in-differences analyses of antibiotic days of therapy per 1,000 patient days present (DOT) for internal medicine and MICU teams treating COVID-19 patients versus teams that did not were performed for 3 periods: before COVID-19, initial COVID-19 period, and after implementation of a multispecialty COVID-19 clinical guidance team which included daily, patient-specific antimicrobial stewardship recommendations. Patient characteristics associated with antibiotic DOT were evaluated using multivariable Poisson regression. RESULTS: In the initial COVID-19 period, compared to the pre-COVID-19 period, internal medicine and MICU teams increased weekly antimicrobial use by 145.3 DOT (95% CI, 35.1-255.5) and 204.0 DOT (95% CI, -16.9 to 424.8), respectively, compared to non-COVID-19 teams. In the intervention period, internal medicine and MICU COVID-19 teams both had significant weekly decreases of 362.3 DOT (95% CI, -443.3 to -281.2) and 226.3 DOT (95% CI, -381.2 to -71.3). Of 131 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, 86 (65.6%) received antibiotics; no specific patient factors were significantly associated with an expected change in antibiotic days. CONCLUSIONS: Antimicrobial use initially increased for COVID-19 patient care teams compared to pre-COVID-19 levels but significantly decreased after implementation of a multispecialty clinical guidance team, which may be an effective strategy to reduce unnecessary antimicrobial use.
Psychometric Analysis of CCAPS-34 Scores With a Large University Sample

Analysis of CCAPS-34 scores on a large (n = 4,852) university counseling center student sample supported internal consistency (α = .803-.896), one-month test-retest reliability (rtt = .706–.829), c...
Design of Battery Energy Storage System based on Ragone Curve

With the characteristics of high power density, high energy density and flexible configuration, electrochemical energy storage power station is widely used in power generation, transmission, distribution and power consumption, which effectively solves the problem of time and space distribution of electric energy. Based on the Ragone curve of energy storage battery, the design method of energy storage system is proposed in this paper. This paper introduces the drawing method of Ragone curve, and introduces the Ragone curve of commonly used energy storage lithium iron phosphate battery and lead-acid battery. Taking the given 20kW, 500kJ energy storage system design as an example, using the Ragone curve and the actual demand, combined with the battery power constraints, two kinds of energy storage battery configuration methods are obtained. This method avoids complicated derivation and calculation of electrochemical formula, and has certain practical application value.
Russia & Legal Harmonization: An Historical Inquiry into IP Reform as Global Convergence and Resistance

This Article examines several waves of intellectual property (IP) regulation reform in Russia, starting with a specific examination into early Soviet attempts to regulate intellectual property. Historical analysis is useful to illustrate areas of theoretical convergence, divergence and tension between state ideology, positive law, and “law in action.” The relevance of these tensions for post-Soviet legal reform may appear tenuous. However, insofar as IP enforcement has been one of the largest hurdles for Russia’s prolonged accession to the WTO, these historical precedents may help to explain the apparent theoretical or political disconnect between the WTO and Russia.If Russian policymakers and many Western analysts agree that Russia has complied with all necessary structural adjustment reforms for WTO accession (including reforming its IP legislation), then we must search for deeper points of contention between Russia and the West. One point of departure, I posit, is Russia’s lingering inability to convey adherence to general international law, broadly conceived.Thus, this Article re-conceptualizes this link between domestic and international legal orders by connecting the IP debate to broader debates over the nature of international law in the Soviet and post-Soviet space. Specifically, part one examines how Soviet theorists were able to reconcile (or not) IP regulation with Marxist ideology and socialist international law. Part two surveys the main IP law reform projects in post-Soviet Russia from 1992 to 2006, with particular emphasis on harmonization with global legal standards. The second part of this Article also provides a brief comparative analysis of Russia’s latest IP law (effective 2008) versus copyright protections in U.S. law and the 1971 Berne Convention. The Article concludes with an overview of doctrinal debates within Russia over harmonization, WTO accession and international law. These debates shed light on the development of local resistance to further legal harmonization efforts, an issue of immediate relevance not just for policymakers working with Russia, but for broader law and development debates.
With Liberty and Reinsurance for All: Demanding a Government Backstop in Health Care

This article calls attention to our differential neglect of state-sponsored reinsurance for health care when viewed in light of the robust backstopping of risk that the U.S. government undertakes in other domains. For all our vaunted aversion to entitlements, whenever we as a nation we have deemed a material interest to be vital--from housing, food crops, higher education, or even banking--we have provided state guarantees. These guarantees, however, have not necessarily backed the individual beneficiary, but rather the primary private insurer or financier who bridges beneficiary access to that good or service. These commitments suggest an American conception of the government’s role as reinsurer of last resort. In these arenas and more, correlated or high-magnitude catastrophic losses are shed onto the state in order to smooth-out and shore-up the underlying private risk market. Health care risks should be given at least equal consideration.
Abstract 079: Nebivolol Associated With Reduced Incident Cardiovascular Events In Hypertensive Patients Compared With Non-vasodilatory Beta Blockers

Introduction: Beta blockers are not guideline-recommended first-line agents for hypertension, based on evidence that older generation beta blockers such as atenolol are associated with inferior red...
Remote time and frequency calibration with holdover traceability from a new treatment of non-white noise in rubidium clocks

A new method of uncertainty analysis for non-white noise is presented and used to evaluate traceable holdover capabilities of a new NRC system for time and frequency dissemination to remote rubidium-cell (Rb) clocks. As in many similar systems, these remote clocks are disciplined to track UTC using the Global Positioning System (GPS) and the common view time transfer method. When disciplining data is unavailable, we extend traceability into this holdover period with evaluations of uncertainty from the measurements of the Rb clock's non-white noise: modelled, matched, and simply presented as a time dependent dispersion in Monte Carlo simulations. This leads to improved simplicity, reliability and economy for the new method, with a postprocessed standard uncertainty down to 6~ns when disciplined, with a holdover period of $t$ seconds introducing an uncertainty component of $1.82\cdot10^{-3}\cdot t$~ns (combined standard uncertainty of 160~ns for a 24-hour holdover).
Chapter 8 Methods for Using Tetrahymena in Studies of the Normal Cell Cycle

Publisher Summary This chapter describes some simple and expedient techniques for obtaining and manipulating protozoan cells in definable positions of the growth-duplication cycle. These techniques have been applied primarily to Tetrahymena pyriformis , strain HSM, however, they are also largely applicable to other protozoans. The braking pipette, because of its slow, even rate of air flow, is the most important single piece of equipment in these techniques. The braking type of pipette allows the selection and isolation of cells in similar stages of division from relatively large populations in logarithmic growth. Capillary culture pipettes are used to incubate experimental and control groups of cells. The capillary culture pipettes avoid problems of evaporation and other difficulties that may be encountered when using depression slides and hanging-drop culture methods. Several experimental manipulations are available for obtaining information about the events occurring during the cell cycle; in addition, the effect of modifying the environment at some specific point of the interdivision interval can be determined. A pulse exposure of the organism to a radioisotope or other treatment is frequently useful.
Opposing roles of phytochrome A and phytochrome B in early cryptochrome-mediated growth inhibition

Summary The cryptochrome 1 (cry1) photoreceptor is responsible for the majority of the inhibitory effect of blue light on hypocotyl elongation, but phytochrome photoreceptors also contribute to the response through a phenomenon known as coaction. In Arabidopsis thaliana the participation of phytochromes A and B (phyA and phyB) in the early phase of cry1 action was investigated by determining the effects of phyA, phyB and hy1 mutations on a cry1-dependent membrane depolarization, which is caused by the activation of plasma-membrane anion channels within seconds of blue light treatment. High-resolution growth measurements were also performed to determine the timing of the requirement for phytochrome in cry1-mediated growth inhibition, which is causally linked to the preceding anion-channel activation. A null mutation in PHYA impaired the membrane depolarization and prevented the early cry1-dependent phase of growth inhibition as effectively and with the same time course as mutations in CRY1. Thus, phyA is necessary for cry1/cry2 to activate anion channels within the first few seconds of blue light and to suppress hypocotyl elongation for at least 120 min. This finding furthers the notion of an intimate mechanistic association between the cry and phy receptors in mediating light responses. The absence of phyB did not affect the depolarization or growth inhibition during this time frame. Instead, double mutant analyses showed that the phyB mutation suppressed the early growth phenotypes of both phyA and cry1 seedlings. This result is consistent with the emerging view that the prevailing growth rate of a stem is a compromise between light-dependent inhibitory and promotive influences. It appears that phyB opposes the cry1/phyA-mediated inhibition by promoting growth during at least the first 120 min of blue light treatment.
Corporate intranets: how can they give a new meaning to training and development?

Purpose – The paper explains how a corporate intranet can be used for something more than an electric library. The critical step is to not assume the intranet is for information sharing, but rather should be seen as a powerful tool rapid, relevant, and specific feedback.Design/methodology/approach – The paper explains how to combine data visualization software and the corporate intranet to provide relevant feedback and be a collaborate tool. An employees own desktop, can be used every day to show each person what is important, where they are headed, and how they are doing.Findings – Research has consistently shown the importance of teams having a common vision, and for the need to create subordinate goals and objectives that fit within a larger context.Originality/value – The value of the paper is to explain how the intranet can be something more than simply a way to share information; rather it can be used to help manage learning within an organization and makes it far easier to implement training and de...
A Computational Tool for the Design of Ultrasonic Systems

Advances in elastic wave scattering and inversion techniques have shown that advances in transducer technology are needed in order to fully exploit them. This is particularly true in the case of flaw sizing algorithms in which it has been demonstrated that a need exists for transducers with specified bandwidth characteristics. As a part of an effort to develop a composite, multiviewing ultrasonic transducer for flaw characterization, a computational tool has been developed which provides a convenient way to select driver pulse shapes and transducer characteristics which optimize this property. The purpose of this paper is to discuss this computational tool.
Boardroom Strategic Decision‐Making Style: Understanding the Antecedents

Manuscript Type Empirical Research Issue The purpose of this study is to develop an understanding of the antecedents that lead to boards embracing either procedural rationality or political behaviors as a particular style of strategic decision making. Research Findings Semi-structured interviews with 29 directors and officers of eight publicly-traded US companies were conducted. Of the eight boards analyzed, there were clear differences in the predominant style of decision making operationalized by each. More importantly, however, the variance between boards that tended towards procedural rationality versus political behaviors as the predominant style of strategic decision making was explained by three primary factors. These included: (1) shared mental models; (2) balanced power relationships between the board members and CEO, as well as amongst individual board members; and (3) board chair leadership skills. Our data allow us to identify important antecedents of these factors. Theoretical Implications We add to the work seeking to understand the processes associated with board level strategic decision making. We augment decision-making theories relating to procedural rationality and political behaviors with board-specific factors and their characteristics. Practitioner Implications We isolate a number of antecedents relating to the conduct of boards and the environment of board decision making. We also highlight the roles of the board chair and the CEO for creating a boardroom environment conducive to engaging in quality decision-making processes.
Lamin A/C truncation in dilated cardiomyopathy with conduction disease

Background Mutations in the gene encoding the nuclear membrane protein lamin A/C have been associated with at least 7 distinct diseases including autosomal dominant dilated cardiomyopathy with conduction system disease, autosomal dominant and recessive Emery Dreifuss Muscular Dystrophy, limb girdle muscular dystrophy type 1B, autosomal recessive type 2 Charcot Marie Tooth, mandibuloacral dysplasia, familial partial lipodystrophy and Hutchinson-Gilford progeria.
Nuclear Molecular Halo: Threshold Effect or Soft Dipole in 11Li?

The observation of large E1 strength near threshold in the electromagnetic dissociation of 11Li poses a fundamental question: Is the large E1 strength due to the threshold or is it due to a low lying E1 state? Such molecular cluster states were observed in 18O and in several nuclei near the drip line. We discuss the nature of the "threshold effect" as well as review the situation in Molecular (and Particle Physics) where such Molecular States are observed near the dissociation limit. We suggest that the situation in 11Li is reminiscent of the argon-benzene molecule where the argon atom is loosely bound by a polarization (van der Waals) mechanism and thus leads to a very extended object lying near the dissociation limit. Such states are also suggested to dominate the structure of mesons [a_0(980), f_0(975)] and baryons [Lambda(1405)] with proposed Kaon molecular structure (e.g. by Dalitz) near threshold. The inspection of such states throughout Physics allows us to gain insight into this phenomenon and suggest that a new collective Molecular Dipole Degree of Freedom plays a major role in the structure of hadrons (halo nuclei, mesons and baryons), and that quantitative tools such as the E1 Molecular Sum Rule are useful for elucidating the nature of the observed low lying E1 strength in halo nuclei.
Web search and browse log mining: challenges, methods, and applications

Huge amounts of search log data have been accumulated in various search engines. Currently, a commercial search engine receives billions of queries and collects tera-bytes of log data on any single day. Other than search log data, browse logs can be collected by client-side browser plug-ins, which record the browse information if users' permissions are granted. Such massive amounts of search/browse log data, on the one hand, provide great opportunities to mine the wisdom of crowds and improve search results as well as online advertisement. On the other hand, designing effective and efficient methods to clean, model, and process large scale log data also presents great challenges. In this tutorial, I will focus on mining search and browse log data for search engines. I will start with an introduction of search and browse log data and an overview of frequently-used data summarization in log mining. I will then elaborate how log mining applications enhance the five major components of a search engine, namely, query understanding, document understanding, query-document matching, user understanding, and monitoring and feedbacks. For each aspect, I will survey the major tasks, fundamental principles, and state-of-the-art methods. Finally, I will discuss the challenges and future trends of log data mining.
Intercomparison of an ADCP, ADP, standard and long-range HF radar: influence of horizontal and vertical shear

A nested HF radar network has been deployed along the New Jersey coast as part of the New Jersey Shelf Observing System (NJSOS). A standard range (about 50 km) system setup for continuous operation since 1999 includes two sites in Brant Beach and Brigantine, New Jersey. A second longer range system (about 170 km) includes four New Jersey sites set up in Wildwood, Tuckerton, Loveladies, and Sandy Hook. The first of the long-range sites was deployed in Spring 2000. Both the long-range and standard-range systems provide real-time maps of surface currents, with resolutions of 1.5 km (standard) and 6 km (long-range). During the summer of 2001, three Workhorse ADCPs and two SonTek ADPs were deployed along a line perpendicular to the coast. All of these in situ current meters were deployed for six weeks within the footprints of the two CODAR networks. Comparisons were made between the ADCP/ADP time series and radial CODAR time series provided by the long-range and standard-range sites closest to the line of current meters. Additional comparisons were drawn between the total current fields of the standard and long-range CODAR systems with the in situ current meters. Several forcings were examined to explain the differences in the observations including vertical and horizontal shears.
Shear viscosity in a non-Fermi-liquid phase of a quadratic semimetal

Transport coefficients such as the electrical and thermal conductivities or the viscosities play a central role in describing condensed matter systems. They are experimentally measurable and contain signatures which characterize the different phases of matter. Nonetheless, for strongly interacting systems at finite temperatures, as in the vicinity of a quantum critical point, there remain difficulties in calculating transport coefficients analytically due to the lack of a quasiparticle description [1]. Recently, insight has been gained from the relationship between strongly coupled field theories and classical gravitational theories in the context of gauge-gravity duality [2, 3]. In particular, Kovtun, Son and Starinets [4, 5] conjectured a lower bound on the ratio of the shear viscosity η and the entropy density s for a general class of finite temperature field theories
Photoreduction of Substituted Arenes with Borates and Borohydride: An Electron Transfer Mechanism

Abstract Electronically excited aryl nitriles and halides react with borohydride or with alkyl borates by an electron transfer reaction path to give reduction products.
Preferred orientation of guest molecules in low-temperature matrices: SF6 in xenon☆

Abstract Infrared spectral observations of highly oriented SF 6 molecules on low-symmetry sites in xenon matrices formed at 10 K are reported. This study offers proof of our earlier interpretation of site-symmetry spliting and dynamic averaging of SF 6 in xenon matrices.
ULTRASTRUCTURE OF TETRASPOROGENESIS IN THE MARINE RED ALGA PTILOTA HYPNOIDES1

SUMMARY Both tetrasporangia and dormant apical cells of short vegetative filaments of the marine red alga Ptilota hypnoides have been examined by electron microscopy. Various cytoplasmic inclusions readily distinguish the vegetative apical cells from the reproductive apical cells which become tetrasporangial mother cells. The transformation of tetrasporangial mother cells into mature tetrasporangia involves a series of cytoplasmic changes which can be correlated with specific changes in the investing wall layers. The extracellular changes provide the basic criteria for the division of tetrasporogenesis into 3 successive stages. The ultrastructure of each stage is described and discussed in relation to the current knowledge of red algal cytology. In addition, a possible mechanism for the liberation of spores and gametes of red algae is proposed.
C-terminal methylation of truncated neuropeptides: an enzyme-assisted extraction artifact involving methanol.

Neuropeptides are the largest class of signaling molecules used by nervous systems. Today, neuropeptide discovery commonly involves chemical extraction from a tissue source followed by mass spectrometric characterization. Ideally, the extraction procedure accurately preserves the sequence and any inherent modifications of the native peptides. Here, we present data showing that this is not always true. Specifically, we present evidence showing that, in the lobster Homarus americanus, the orcokinin family members, NFDEIDRSGFG-OMe and SSEDMDRLGFG-OMe, are non-native peptides generated from full-length orcokinin precursors as the result of a highly selective peptide modification (peptide truncation with C-terminal methylation) that occurs during extraction. These peptides were observed by MALDI-FTMS and LC–Q-TOFMS analyses when eyestalk ganglia were extracted in a methanolic solvent, but not when tissues were dissected, co-crystallized with matrix, and analyzed directly with methanol excluded from the sample preparation. The identity of NFDEIDRSGFG-OMe was established using MALDI-FTMS/SORI-CID, LC–Q-TOFMS/MS, and comparison with a peptide standard. Extraction substituting deuterated methanol for methanol confirmed that the latter is the source of the C-terminal methyl group, and MS/MS confirmed the C-terminal localization of the added CD3. Surprisingly, NFDEIDRSGFG-OMe is not produced via a chemical acid-catalyzed esterification. Instead, the methylated peptide appears to result from proteolytic truncation in the presence of methanol, as evidenced by a reduction in conversion with the addition of a protease-inhibitor cocktail; heat effectively eliminated the conversion. This unusual and highly specific extraction-derived peptide conversion exemplifies the need to consider both chemical and biochemical processes that may modify the structure of endogenous neuropeptides.
Tetrabutyl urea as an extractant for nitric acid and some actinide nitrates

Abstract Contrary to expectation, tetrabutyl urea (TBU) is not an exceedingly strong extractant in nitric acid systems. Instead, TBU has quantitatively nearly the same extractant strength as that of simple amides. The results suggest a maximum, at about the level for simple amides, in the electron density that can be transferred to the carbonyl oxygen in extractants with carbonyl groups.
Outcomes after heart transplantation in patients with and without pretransplant renal dysfunction.

AbstractObjective. To compare long-term survival and incidence of ESRD between patients with and without preoperative renal dysfunction following heart transplantation. Design. Fifty consecutive patients with preoperative estimated GFR ≤ than 50 ml/min were compared with 50 age-matched patients with estimated GFR ≥ than 80 ml/min who underwent heart transplantation between 1994 and 1998. We investigated two primary outcomes: death and development of ESRD. We also analyzed risk factors. Results. Eight patients (16%) developed ESRD and 19 (38%) died in the control group whereas 10 patients (20%) developed ESRD and 26 (52%) died in the renal failure group during a mean follow-up period of 6.74 ± 3.31 years. Survival and time to ESRD were not significantly different. In univariate and multivariate analysis, waiting time was the only risk factor found to predict mortality but not ESRD. High cyclosporine levels were only found to be associated with lower estimated GFR (p < 0.009). Among the control group, morta...
Investigation of the mechanism of sol-gel formation in the Sr(NO3)2/citric acid/ethylene glycol system by solution state 87 Sr nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

The polymerization mechanism of a modified Pechini process was investigated by 87Sr nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy for the mixed solution of strontium nitrate, citric acid, and ethylene glycol. The C-ratio (the ratio of citric acid to metal ions in the polymer complex) is suggested to have a strong influence on the quality of the derived film. An analysis of the chemical shift variation, as a function of C-ratio, indicates the presence in the solution of two species: solvated strontium ions and strontium ions bound to the polymer complex, with a stoichiometry of 1:7. A polymeric precursor model based on this stoichiometry is proposed. Through a relaxation rate study of the strontium sites, it was found that the polymerization mechanism is predominantly bimolecular within the concentration region being studied. The equilibrium rate constant for the polymerization was calculated to be 104 s−1. A kinetic study of the fast cation exchange between the two identified strontium sites indicates that the inhomogeneity of the polymeric network leads to film cracking during pyrolysis.
Longterm dietary restriction and immune function in mice: response to sheep red blood cells and to mitogenic agents

Abstract The humoral immune response to injection of sheep red blood cells and the responses of splenic lymphocytes to stimulation by three mitogens (phytohemagglutinin, concanavalin-A, and pokeweed) were compared between mice on a daily 21.6% casein/14.5 calorie diet and a population on half that amount from time of weaning. The mice were tested at 18–20 and 52–55 weeks of age. The results suggested that the more restrictive diet caused significant delay in maturation of the immune system. It is thus shown that a McCay type of dietary regime exerts a profound effect on the immune system. Whether this type of effect might be primary in the de-acceleration of aging classically associated with appropriate restriction of diet during childhood, or whether the immune changes are only tangentially related thereto is not yet established.
Probing the magnetosphere using chemical releases from the Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite

During the recent Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite (CRRES) mission, a series of chemical releases occurred in the magnetosphere and ionosphere to study a wide range of plasma processes. The experiments were designed to investigate (1) stimulated electron and ion precipitation, (2) ion transport in the magnetotail, (3) critical ionization velocity (CIV), (4) field line tracing and parallel acceleration, (5) diamagnetic cavity formation and collapse, and (6) plasma instabilities. The satellite orbit was highly elliptical having an apogee of 33 600 km and a perigee of 350 km. The range of altitudes permitted variations in background magnetic field strength and injection velocity. The release materials included barium, lithium, strontium, calcium, and europium. In situ diagnostics on board CRRES and ground‐based optical instruments recorded the effects of the chemical releases. The CRRES experiments either (1) verified theoretical predictions, (2) showed new, unanticipated effects, or (3) presented none of the predicted phenomena. Examples of each category are illustrated by one of more of the CRRES chemical releases.