cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Altered bladder function in transgenic mice expressing rat elastin.

The elasticity of tissues subjected to repeated deformation is provided by the presence of elastic fibers in the extracellular matrix (ECM). The most abundant component of elastic fibers is elastin, whose soluble precursor is tropoelastin. To establish the role elastin plays in the bladder, this study describes the biosynthetic, histologic, and physiologic consequences of expression of an isoform of rat tropoelastin in transgenic mouse bladder. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to determine expression of a rat tropoelastin minigene in transgenic mice. Histochemical methods were used to demonstrate changes in elastic fibers in frozen sections of bladder. Cystometric analysis was carried out in transgenic and non-transgenic mice, prior to and after 3 weeks of partial outlet obstruction. The PCR assay demonstrated that bladder tissue of transgenic mice expressed rat tropoelastin mRNA, whereas non-transgenes did not. Increased deposition of elastic fibers was demonstrated with the Verhoeff-van Gieson stain. Bladders of transgenic animals were more compliant than bladders of their non-transgenic littermates. Partial outlet obstruction resulted in increased bladder volume and more compliant bladders in non-transgenic mice. In contrast, the bladder volume and compliance in transgenes was almost unchanged by obstruction. This study demonstrates that normal elastic fiber assembly is prerequisite for the compliant properties of the bladder wall. Moreover, the response of the bladder to obstruction is critically influenced by elastin synthesis. Neurourol. Urodynam. 18:55–68, 1999. © 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
The critical roles of information and nonequilibrium thermodynamics in evolution of living systems.

Living cells are spatially bounded, low entropy systems that, although far from thermodynamic equilibrium, have persisted for billions of years. Schrodinger, Prigogine, and others explored the physical principles of living systems primarily in terms of the thermodynamics of order, energy, and entropy. This provided valuable insights, but not a comprehensive model. We propose the first principles of living systems must include: (1) Information dynamics, which permits conversion of energy to order through synthesis of specific and reproducible, structurally-ordered components; and (2) Nonequilibrium thermodynamics, which generate Darwinian forces that optimize the system.
Phosphate diester hydrolysis promoted by Zinc(II) complexes with alkoxide pendants

Abstract Two new Zn(II) complexes of tripodal pyridyl-amine ligands with alcohol pendants, 2-[bis-(2-pyridin-2-yl-ethyl)-amino]-ethanol (L1) and 3-[bis-(2-pyridin-2-yl-ethyl)-amino]-propan-1-ol (L2), have been synthesized and structurally characterized. The reactivities of ZnL1 (1) and ZnL2 (2) for promoting the hydrolysis of bis(p-nitrophenyl)phosphate (BNPP) have been investigated, and both complexes are highly active in catalyzing the hydrolysis of BNPP, with 2 (k = 1.8 × 10−1 M−1 s−1) being about two orders of magnitude more active than 1 (k = 2.7 × 10−3 M−1 s−1) in promoting the hydrolysis of BNPP. The differences in reactivity can be attributed to the disparate abilities of the alkoxide nucleophiles in the pendant groups in ligands L1 and L2 to attack the substrate phosphate diester BNPP due to differences in their tether lengths. X-ray crystal structures of 1 and 2 are also reported, which show that the complexes form dimers with bridging alkoxide ligands in the solid state.
Hepatic clearance of drugs. I. Theoretical considerations of a "well-stirred" model and a "parallel tube" model. Influence of hepatic blood flow, plasma and blood cell binding, and the hepatocellular enzymatic activity on hepatic drug clearance.

Two commonly used models of hepatic drug clearance are examined. The “well-stirred” model (model I) views the liver as a well-stirred compartment with concentration of drug in the liver in equilibrium with that in the emergent blood. The “parallel tube” model (model II) regards the liver as a series of parallel tubes with enzymes distributed evenly around the tubes and the concentration of drug declines along the length of the tube. Both models are examined under steady-state considerations in the absence of diffusional limitations (cell membranes do not limit the movement of drug molecules). Equations involving the determinants of hepatic drug clearance (hepatic blood flow, fraction of drug in blood unbound, and the hepatocellular enzymatic activity) and various pharmacokinetic parameters are derived. Similarities and differences between the models are explored. Although both models predict similar hepatic drug clearances under a variety of conditions, marked differences between them become apparent in their predictions of the influence of changes in the determinants of drug clearance on various pharmacokinetic parameters.
Reduced tidal volume increases 'air hunger' at fixed PCO2 in ventilated quadriplegics.

Abstract The act of breathing diminishes the discomfort associated with hypercapnia and breath-holding. To investigate the mechanisms involved in this effect, we studied the effect of tidal volume (V T ) on CO 2 -evoked air hunger in 5 high-level quadriplegic subjects whose ventilatory capacity was negligible, and who lacked sensory information from the chest wall. Subjects were ventilated at constant frequency with a hyperoxic gas mixture, and end-tidal P CO 2 was maintained at a constant but elevated level. V T was varied between the subjects' normal V T and a smaller V T . Subjects used a category scale to rate their respiratory discomfort or ‘air hunger’ at 30–40 sec intervals. In 4 of 5 subjects there was a strong inverse relationship between breath size and air hunger ratings. The quality of the sensation associated with reduced V T was nearly identical to that previously experienced with CO 2 alone. We conclude that afferent information from the lungs and upper airways is sufficient to modify the sensation of air hunger.
Population density and land consumption trends in the metropolitan Southwest

Abstract A gap exists between the developers of urban density gradient and land use models and applied researchers interested in understanding population density and land consumption trends. Simplifying model assumptions, lack of data, and local development patterns limit the usefulness of model insights for understanding specific regional and metropolitan contexts. This paper discusses the problems of developing an urban time series, using the regional context of Southwestern metropolitan areas, and specifically. Phoenix, Arizona, to emphasize issues of urban boundary measurement, microcomputer calculation, and contrasting local model assumptions. We conclude by addressing, the value of linking planning practice and current urban modeling research through similar comparative, applied studies using multiple data sources.
An ultradian clock shapes genome expression in yeast

Cell biology has traditionally focused on where rather than when things happen inside cells. The fundamental biochemical activities of the cell have been sorted into spatial domains, with functions allotted to subcellular compartments that can either promote or inhibit molecular interaction. Important exceptions to this prominence of three dimensions have arisen in the areas of cell-division cycle research and studies of circadian (≈24-hr) rhythm. Here the emphasis has been distinctly time-oriented, and recent efforts have made use of powerful new strategies to develop temporal maps of gene expression and macromolecular assembly. Microarray analyses have exposed deeply rooted, cell-autonomous programs of timed gene activity, and in both areas sequential control is extensive. Circadian rhythms are associated with the ordered expression of 10% or more (see below) of the genome in Arabidopsis, Drosophila , and the mouse, and a comparable fraction of the genome appears to be regulated by the cell cycle in yeast (1–12). An even more pervasive system of temporal organization is now the subject of a study in this issue of PNAS by Klevecz et al. (13), who follow the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae . An initial search for clusters of gene expression that might support a well known ≈40-min respiratory cycle has instead revealed that ≈40-min rhythms are a genomewide phenomenon. Truly constitutive expression may not apply to any gene's activity in continuously grown, aerobic cultures of yeast. Respiratory oscillations have been observed in budding yeast for at least 30 years and are readily detected at higher cell densities in continuous culture. It has been proposed that a stage of ethanol metabolism may supply diffusible factors that effect synchrony (14). In addition to periodic fluctuations in the concentration of dissolved oxygen, NAD(P)H and reduced glutathione concentrations are rhythmic. Perturbations of the reduced glutathione concentration reset the phase …
Target Cell Cyclophilins Facilitate Human Papillomavirus Type 16 Infection

Following attachment to primary receptor heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPG), human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) particles undergo conformational changes affecting the major and minor capsid proteins, L1 and L2, respectively. This results in exposure of the L2 N-terminus, transfer to uptake receptors, and infectious internalization. Here, we report that target cell cyclophilins, peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerases, are required for efficient HPV16 infection. Cell surface cyclophilin B (CyPB) facilitates conformational changes in capsid proteins, resulting in exposure of the L2 N-terminus. Inhibition of CyPB blocked HPV16 infection by inducing noninfectious internalization. Mutation of a putative CyP binding site present in HPV16 L2 yielded exposed L2 N-terminus in the absence of active CyP and bypassed the need for cell surface CyPB. However, this mutant was still sensitive to CyP inhibition and required CyP for completion of infection, probably after internalization. Taken together, these data suggest that CyP is required during two distinct steps of HPV16 infection. Identification of cell surface CyPB will facilitate the study of the complex events preceding internalization and adds a putative drug target for prevention of HPV–induced diseases.
Individualized evaluation of facial form

Abstract The purpose of this study was to establish a nonnumeric graphic approach to the evaluation of facial form. By using a centroid-based pattern of orientation, skeletal, dental, and soft-tissue morphologic characteristics can be identified that more reliably represent the uniqueness of the person and are not dependent on nonrepresentative group-based numerical standards. The CentroGraphic Analysis (CGA) cephalomorphically demonstrates vertical and horizontal balance or disharmony in skeletal, dental, and soft-tissue form and position. The Facial Centroid Axis (FCA) provides a relatively stable reference plane that can be used for longitudinal cephalomorphic superimposition. (Am J Orthod Dentofac Orthop 1997;111:510-7.)
Transfusion in the absence of inflammation induces antigen-specific tolerance to murine RBCs.

Most human transfusion recipients fail to make detectable alloantibodies to foreign RBC antigens (“nonresponders”). Herein, we use a murine model to test the hypothesis that nonresponders may be immunologically tolerant. FVB mice transfused with RBCs expressing transgenic human glycophorin A (hGPA) antigen in the absence of inflammation produced undetectable levels of anti-hGPA immunoglobulins, unlike those transfused in the presence of polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid–induced inflammation. Mice in the nonresponder group failed to produce anti-hGPA after subsequent transfusions in the presence of polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid, whereas anti-hGPA levels increased in the responder group. This tolerance was antigen specific, because nonresponders to hGPA produced alloantibodies to RBCs that expressed a different transgenic antigen. This tolerance was not an idiosyncrasy of the hGPA antigen nor of the recipient strain, because B10.BR mice transfused with membrane-bound hen egg lysozyme antigen–transgenic RBCs also demonstrated induced nonresponsiveness. These data demonstrate that RBCs transfused in the absence of inflammation can induce tolerance.
Efficacy and Durability of Radiofrequency Ablation for Barrett’s Esophagus: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Background & Aims In patients with Barrett's esophagus (BE), radiofrequency ablation (RFA) safely and effectively eradicates dysplasia and intestinal metaplasia. We aimed to determine the efficacy and durability of RFA for patients with dysplastic and nondysplastic BE. Methods We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies identified in PubMed and EMBASE that reported the proportion of patients treated with RFA who had complete eradication of dysplasia (CE-D) and intestinal metaplasia (CE-IM), and the proportion of patients with recurrent IM after successful treatment. Pooled estimates of CE-D, CE-IM, IM recurrence, and adverse events were calculated. Results We identified 18 studies of 3802 patients reporting efficacy and 6 studies of 540 patients reporting durability. Ten were prospective cohort studies, 9 were retrospective cohort studies, and 1 was a randomized trial. CE-IM was achieved in 78% of patients (95% confidence interval [CI], 70%–86%) and CE-D was achieved in 91% (95% CI, 87%–95%). After eradication, IM recurred in 13% (95% CI, 9%–18%). Progression to cancer occurred in 0.2% of patients during treatment and in 0.7% of those after CE-IM. Esophageal stricture was the most common adverse event and was reported in 5% of patients (95% CI, 3%–7%). Confidence in most summary estimates was limited by a high degree of heterogeneity, which did not appear to be caused by single outlier studies. Conclusions Treatment of BE with RFA results in CE-D and CE-IM in a high proportion of patients, with few recurrences of IM after treatment and a low rate of adverse events. Despite the large amount of study heterogeneity, these data provide additional information for patients and providers to make informed treatment decisions.
Religious Involvement and Mortality Risk among African American Adults

This article examines the effects of religious involvement on mortality risk among African Americans. The authors use a relatively new and innovative nationally representative data set—the National Health Interview Survey matched to the National Center for Health Statistics’ multiple cause of death file—to model this relationship. The results show that, compared with African Americans who attend religious services more than once a week, those who never attend are more than twice as likely to die during the nine-year follow-up period, even net of a large number of confounding and mediating factors. The strong effect of nonattendance on mortality risk is robust, pervasive, and remarkably strong across all subgroups of the population, whereas a moderate level of attendance is associated with higher mortality risk among young adults, men, and Southerners, but not among older adults, women, and non-Southerners. Among African Americans, lack of religious involvement appears to be associated with risk of prematu...
Increasing Achievement and Higher-Education Representation of Under-Represented Groups in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Fields: a Review of Current K-12 Intervention Programs

The under-representation of women and ethnic minorities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and professions has resulted in a loss of human capital for the US scientific workforce and spurred the development of myriad STEM educational intervention programs. Increased allocation of resources to such programs begs for a critical, prescriptive, evidence-based review that will enable researchers to develop optimal interventions and administrators to maximize investments. We begin by providing a theoretical backdrop for K-12 STEM programs by reviewing current data on under-representation and developmental research describing individual-level social factors undergirding these data. Next, we review prototypical designs of these programs, highlighting specific programs in the literature as examples of program structures and components currently in use. We then evaluate these interventions in terms of overall effectiveness, as a function of how well they address age-, ethnicity-, or gender-specific factors, suggesting improvements in program design based on these critiques. Finally, program evaluation methods are briefly reviewed and discussed in terms of how their empirical soundness can either enable or limit our ability to delineate effective program components. "Now more than ever, the nation's changing demographics demand that we include all of our citizens in science and engineering education and careers. For the U.S. to benefit from the diverse talents of all its citizens, we must grow the pipeline of qualified, underrepresented minority engineers and scientists to fill positions in industry and academia."-Irving P. McPhail..
Japanese advances in fuzzy systems research

During this past summer (1991), I spent two months on an appointment as visiting researcher at Kansai University, Osaka, Japan, and five weeks at the Laboratory for International Fuzzy Engineering Research (LIFE), in Yokohama. Part of the expenses for the time in Osaka, and all the expenses for the visit at LIFE, were covered by ONR. While there I met with most of the key researchers in both fuzzy systems and case-based reasoning. This involved trips to numerous universities and research laboratories at Matsushita/Panasonic, Omron, and Hitachi Corporations. In addition, I spent three days at the Fuzzy Logic Systems Institute (FLSI), Iizuka, and I attended the annual meeting of the Japan Society for Fuzzy Theory and Research (SOFT-91) in Nagoya. The following report elaborates what I learned as a result of those activities.© (1992) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
SU‐E‐T‐683: Prediction of Sensitivity of IMPT Plans to Anatomical Change Due to Plan Complexity

Purpose: To assess the significance of the treatment plan complexity on the sensitivity of multifield optimized intensity modulated proton therapy (IMPT) plans to inter‐fraction anatomical changes. Methods: Eight lung cancer patients were planned with IMPT to meet clinical criteria. These plans were retrospectively analyzed for this study. A complexity score based on the in‐field dose heterogeneity within the target weighted by the number of regions of dose homogeneity was devised to evaluate the complexity of IMPT plans. The complexity score was calculated for each of the treatment plans and the change in target coverage over the course of treatment was assessed for each patient based on weekly CT imaging. The change in proton range to the distal edge of the clinical target volume was used as a quantitative metric for anatomical change. Greater than 5% drop to the target D99% was chosen as an action level to signal a clinically significant drop in target coverage that would require adaptive replanning. Results: For plans with a low complexity score, target coverage was well preserved over the course of treatment for even a large change in proton range to the target distal edge. Plans with high complexity scores, however, were sensitive to changes in anatomy, and even a small WET change resulted in a clinically significant drop in target coverage. Plans with complexity score below 1 preserved target coverage in 16/18 cases, while plans with complexity score above 1 preserved target coverage in only 3/25 cases. Conclusion: IMPT plan with highly modulated field‐to‐field dose distribution can suffer clinically significant target coverage changes due to anatomical change. The complexity score function devised in this work can be a good predictor of robustness to anatomical change and could potentially be a part of routine plan check.
Normal Price as a Market Concept

The normal price concept reflects a constructive purpose of economic theory, 632. — Margin of profit-making entrepreneurship a test of normality, 633. — Need of a market-distribution normal particularly in the case of extractive products, whose supply is not expansible during certain periods, 636. — This implies merely some change of emphasis and complementing of the equilibrium theory of value, 638. — The perfect competitive market price really a normalized price, 639. — The distribution normal as a test of the efficiency of our marketing arrangements, 640. — Relation of cross-section to longitudinal view of the market, 641. — Market normal of fixed-supply goods, 642. — For farm products a "season's normal," 643. — This may undergo change as the season progresses, 644. — Recapitulation, 648. — Three phases of the market normal, 649. — Interplay of the market-distribution and production-adjustment concepts of normality, 650. — Practical usefulness of the above theory, 651.
Reversible permeability changes in the membrane of a yeast cell sugar compartment.

Sorbose uptake bySaccharomyces cerevisiae was increased 40 to 60% by glucose and other metabolizable sugars. Neither growth nor binding accounted for the increased uptake. However, accessibility of a restrictive intracellular compartment was increased as shown by counterflow and efflux measurements. Efflux from the compartment was more than doubled by glucose. This effect was reversed by washing and was prevented by iodoacetic acid and other inhibitors, but not by cycloheximide. No evidence was found for a facilitated transport system in the compartment membrane such as exists in the external cell membrane. It was concluded that sorbose crosses the compartment membrane by simple diffusion and that a reaction requiring the metabolism of sugars increases the permeability of the membrane. Arabinose and fucose entered and were lost from the compartment like sorbose, whereas dimethylsulfoxide was unaffected by the compartment. All three of these latter compounds were bound by the cells when glucose was available in uptake suspensions. Binding was prevented by iodoacetic acid, but not by cycloheximide.
Phenotypic similarity and the evolutionary significance of countergradient variation.

Countergradient variation is a geographical pattern of genotypes (with respect to environments) in which genetic influences on a trait oppose environmental influences, thereby minimizing phenotypic change along the gradient. Phenotypic similarity across changing environments ought to be of intense interest because it belies considerable genotypic change. When it occurs in characters that are positively associated with fitness, countergradient variation conflicts with the hypothesis that local adaptation to one environment trades off against performance in another environment. Cases of countergradient variation therefore offer unique insight into the mechanisms that produce and maintain phenotypic similarity and/or differences along environmental gradients.
Coherent Optical Pulse Propagation in a Four-Level Medium

We investigate the coherent propagation of four laser pulses through a medium of resonant four-level atoms. A particular analytic solution is found and shown to be naturally described in three distinct regimes.
Claiming HIV Infection From Improbable Modes as a Possible Coping Strategy

Despite the extreme improbability of contracting HIV from oral intercourse, individuals continue to claim seroconversion via such behaviors. Among a sample of HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM), those who attributed contracting HIV from oral intercourse or other non-anal intercourse sexual behaviors were 5 times more likely to be a racial minority and 2 times more likely to be of lower socioeconomic status. Those believing less in a just world were 2 times more likely to attribute contracting HIV from non-anal intercourse sexual behaviors. Attributing HIV contraction to improbable modes may be an attractive coping strategy to deflect the stigma more intensely felt among poorer, minority HIV-positive MSM, and among men who are sensitive to fairness and justice.
Auditory Functional Age

In the audiologic research of the Boston VA Normative Aging Study, an auditory age measure has been developed to represent the extent to which an individual is older or younger than his age peers in terms of his hearing ability. Sixteen auditory measures were placed in a stepwise regression procedure: air and bone conduction hearing at various frequencies, speech reception thresholds, speech discrimination scores, and two and three frequency averages. With chronological age as criterion, the resulting equation yielded an auditory age calculated from two variables: air conduction at 8,000 cps and speech reception threshold. Because of redundancy among the larger number of measures, these two effectively index the larger number. The two include high and low frequency measures so are sensitive to high frequency loss at older age.
SylC Catalyzes Ureido-Bond Formation During Biosynthesis of the Proteasome Inhibitor Syringolin A

Syringolins are a class of cyclic tripeptide natural products that are potent and irreversible inhibitors of the eukaryotic proteasome. In addition to being hybrid NRPS/PKS molecules, they also feature an unusual ureido-linkage (red) between two amino acid monomers. Here we report the first in vitro characterization of enzymatic ureido-linkage formation which is catalyzed by an NRPS, SylC. Using 13C- and 18O-labeling studies, we show that biosynthesis occurs via N-carboxylation to form an initial N-carboxy-aminoacyl-S-Ppant enzyme intermediate which undergoes intramolecular cyclization followed by condensation with a second amino acid to form the ureido-containing dipeptide product.
The effect of probucol on HDL-mediated sterol translocation and efflux from cells.

Abstract It has been suggested that the antioxidant drug probucol can prevent arterial cholesterol accumulation in part by promoting HDL-mediated cholesterol removal from cells. In this study, the effect of probucol in vitro on the interaction of HDL 3 with cultured skin fibroblasts, bovine aortic endothelial cells and human monocyte-derived macrophages was tested. Treatment of cholesterol-loaded cells with up to 20 μM probucol had no effect on [ 3 H]cholesterol efflux from plasma membranes. No effect of probucol on HDL 3 -mediated efflux of labeled sterol was seen after intracellular sterol was labeled either with the biosynthetic precursor [ 3 H]mevalonolactone or after incubation with lipoprotein-associated [ 3 H]cholesterol linoleate. Further, no effect of probucol on cell cholesterol mass efflux was observed. Thus these results demonstrate that probucol does not affect movement of sterol from different cellular radiolabeled sterol pools. Within the limitations of cell culture studies, it is suggested that the proposed antiatherogenic effect of probucol in vivo is not likely to be the result of modulation of major cellular pathways for removal of cholesterol.
Toward structural sparsity: an explicit $$\ell _{2}/\ell _0$$ approach

As powerful tools, machine learning and data mining techniques have been widely applied in various areas. However, in many real-world applications, besides establishing accurate black box predictors, we are also interested in white box mechanisms, such as discovering predictive patterns in data that enhance our understanding of underlying physical, biological and other natural processes. For these purposes, sparse representation and its variations have been one of the focuses. More recently, structural sparsity has attracted increasing attentions. In previous research, structural sparsity was often achieved by imposing convex but non-smooth norms such as $${\ell _{2}/\ell _{1}}$$ and group $${\ell _{2}/\ell _{1}}$$ norms. In this paper, we present the explicit $${\ell _2/\ell _0}$$ and group $${\ell _2/\ell _0}$$ norm to directly approach the structural sparsity. To tackle the problem of intractable $${\ell _2/\ell _0}$$ optimizations, we develop a general Lipschitz auxiliary function that leads to simple iterative algorithms. In each iteration, optimal solution is achieved for the induced subproblem and a guarantee of convergence is provided. Furthermore, the local convergent rate is also theoretically bounded. We test our optimization techniques in the multitask feature learning problem. Experimental results suggest that our approaches outperform other approaches in both synthetic and real-world data sets.
Frontiers and Opportunities in Productivity Research

This article highlights intangible capital, management practices, and human capital as areas for future productivity research. It also stresses the importance of developing reliable productivity estimates for emerging and developing countries, and of enhancing collaboration between national statistical offices and academic researchers.
SO3 revisited: Impact of tight d augmented correlation consistent basis sets on atomization energy and structure

Abstract The atomization energy and structure of SO3 have been calculated using the advanced ab initio method, CCSD(T), in combination with the newly revised families of correlation consistent basis sets, cc-pV(n + d)Z and aug-cc-pV(n + d)Z (where n = D(2), T(3), Q(4), or 5). The impact of these sets upon structure and energy has been examined, as has convergence behavior toward the complete basis set (CBS) limit. Overall, these revised sets have a particularly strong effect upon energies determined using the lower level basis sets, and can reduce the unusually large deviation from experiment by over half.
Eolian processes, ground cover, and the archaeology of coastal dunes: A taphonomic case study from San Miguel Island, California, U.S.A.

Geomorphological evidence and historical wind records indicate that eolian processes have heavily influenced San Miguel Island environments for much of the Late Quaternary. The island is almost constantly bombarded by prevailing northwesterly winds, with peak velocities exceeding 75 km/h and wind gusts reaching over 100 km/h. These strong winds played an important role in the location, formation, and preservation of the island's more than 600 archaeological sites. Excavation and surface collection at a stratified Middle and Late Holocene archaeological site on the island's north coast suggest that wind related disturbances result in significant displacement of light fish bones, produce concentrations of shellfish and heavy mammal bones, and cause significant abrasion, etching, and polishing of bones, shells, and artifacts. These data illustrate that wind not only alters surface materials but can significantly disturb subsurface deposits to a depth of at least 20 cm. Working in concert with a variety of taphonomic processes, wind can play a fundamental role in the preservation of archaeological sites and careful scrutiny during excavation and laboratory analysis is required to delineate its effects. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Dominance status and sex influence nutritional state and immunity in burying beetles Nicrophorus orbicollis

Intrasexual competition for mates or resources important for reproduction often leads to the establishment of dominance relationships that influence an individual’s reproductive success. Although dominance can be an honest indicator of health or immunocompetence, the attainment and maintenance of dominance status can also influence an individual’s ability to invest in immunity, making it difficult to disentangle cause and effect. Here we examine the relationship between intrasexual competition and the nutritional condition and immunity of burying beetles, Nicrophorus orbicollis, insects that reproduce on small vertebrate carcasses that serve as a larval food source. We staged intrasexual contests on carcasses in both sexes and compared the nutritional state and immunity of dominant and subordinate individuals with those of beetles reproducing on a carcass without competitors. The nutritional state and immunity of dominant beetles were not significantly different from beetles without competitors, but subordinates were characterized by a lower weight gain and reduced encapsulation response. In addition, we found a clear sex effect, with females gaining more weight than males and having superior immunity. We conclude that the subordinate’s exclusion from the carcass plays an important role in mediating the difference in encapsulation. Our data suggest that this is not entirely a nutritional effect because better-fed subordinates did not exhibit higher immune responses. Rather, subordinates may have no need to invest in improved immunity because they do not participate in carcass maintenance and defense.
Effects of occlusal therapy on pantographic reproducibility of mandibular border movements.

Abstract A clinical experiment was undertaken to study the relationship between occlusal therapy and pantographic reproducibility. Twenty-six subjects were categorized according to their ability to reproduce pantographic border movements and were put into either a control nonreproducible, control reproducible, or experimental nonreproducible group. From each subject a sequence of five pantographic surveys consisting of two morning and two afternoon pantographic recordings was taken, Each survey period lasted a minimum of 30 days. The experimental subjects alone were given occlusal splint therapy and occlusal adjustment therapy during the sequence of recall periods. The relationship between the effect caused by occlusal therapy and pantographic reproducibility was analyzed. For the purpose of analysis, the pantographic recordings were assessed a numerical score using a pantographic reproducibility index. A double-blind technique was used until all data were collected.
Missing data analysis: making it work in the real world.

This review presents a practical summary of the missing data literature, including a sketch of missing data theory and descriptions of normalmodel multiple imputation (MI) and maximum likelihood methods. Practical missing data analysis issues are discussed, most notably the inclusion of auxiliary variables for improving power and reducing bias. Solutions are given for missing data challenges such as handling longitudinal, categorical, and clustered data with normal-model MI; including interactions in the missing data model; and handling large numbers of variables. The discussion of attrition and nonignorable missingness emphasizes the need for longitudinal diagnostics and for reducing the uncertainty about the missing data mechanism under attrition. Strategies suggested for reducing attrition bias include using auxiliary variables, collecting follow-up data on a sample of those initially missing, and collecting data on intent to drop out. Suggestions are given for moving forward with research on missing data and attrition.
Cassini imaging of Titan's high‐latitude lakes, clouds, and south‐polar surface changes

[1] Cassini's Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) has been observing Titan since April 2004, compiling a nearly global surface map and monitoring the surface and atmosphere for activity. Early images of the south-polar region revealed numerous dark surface features and contemporaneous convective cloud systems, suggesting the presence of hydrocarbon lakes similar to those later detected at Titan's North Pole. Intriguingly, repeated south-polar imaging by ISS revealed differences consistent with ponding of hydrocarbon liquids on the surface due to precipitation from a large storm. More recent ISS images of high northern latitudes illustrate the full extents (>500,000 km2) of hydrocarbon seas, sections of which have been observed by Cassini's RADAR. These observations demonstrate dynamic processes at work on Titan and that the poles harbor liquid-hydrocarbon reservoirs, the extents of which differ from pole to pole and which may be coupled to seasonally varying circulation.
The natural DNA bending angle in the lac repressor headpiece-O1 operator complex is determined by protein-DNA contacts and water release.

We performed molecular dynamics simulations of the lac repressor headpiece—O1 operator complex for natural, over and underbent DNA to assess the factors that determine the natural DNA bending angle. At the natural angle, the specific and nonspecific contacts between the protein and DNA are optimized. Protein–DNA contacts show different angle dependences in the right and left sites, with the left site generally getting weaker and the right site getting stronger as the bending angle increases. Two entropic factors were identified as well: at the natural bending angle, water release and the quasiharmonic protein configurational entropy are maximized. The gain in protein configurational entropy might stem from an entropy–entropy compensation mechanism, in which a reduction in protein fluctuations is offset by a loss in correlations between the right and left sites.
Intersections of Gender, Race, and Class in Introductory Textbooks

We update Ferree and Hall’s (1996) examination of the stratification systems of gender, race, and class in introductory textbooks. Using a sample of textbooks from 2003 through 2010, we explore 24 ...
Neuroimaging of inherited metabolic disorders producing seizures

Both MRI with FLAIR and T2, diffusion and post-contrast T1 imaging, as well as proton MRS, allow for defining an approach to evaluating MRI and MRS in neurometabolic diseases producing seizures. Examples of this approach are given here in a limited number of cases, recognizing that a more comprehensive review is beyond the scope of this paper.
The "Disappearance" of Dissonance in an Age of Relativism

Berkowitz and Devine (this issue) cite Lord, Ross, and Lepper's study of attitude polarization as evidence that current researchers are reinventing dissonance results without realizing it. They also cite Cooper and Fazio's review as evidence that current researchers have excessively narrowed the scope of dissonance theory. They regard these tendencies to overlook and narrow dissonance theory as symptomatic of a pervasive analytic, rather than synthetic, approach to studying human social behavior. In reviewing the evidence cited by Berkowitz and Devine, other interpretations are possible.
Concurrent Multiple-Issue Negotiation for Internet-Based Services

Negotiation is a technique for reaching a mutually beneficial agreement among autonomous entities. In an Internet-based services context, multiple entities are negotiating simultaneously. The concurrent negotiation protocol extends existing negotiation protocols, letting both service requestors and service providers manage several negotiation processes in parallel. Colored Petri nets, which have greater expressive power than finite state machines and offer support for concurrency, represent the negotiation protocol and facilitate the analysis of desirable properties
Perceptual Reasoning for Perceptual Computing: A Similarity-Based Approach

Perceptual reasoning (PR) is an approximate reasoning method that can be used as a computing-with-words (CWW) engine in perceptual computing. There can be different approaches to implement PR, e.g., firing-interval-based PR (FI-PR), which has been proposed in J. M. Mendel and D. Wu, IEEE Trans. Fuzzy Syst., vol. 16, no. 6, pp. 1550-1564, Dec. 2008 and similarity-based PR (S-PR), which is proposed in this paper. Both approaches satisfy the requirement on a CWW engine that the result of combining fired rules should lead to a footprint of uncertainty (FOU) that resembles the three kinds of FOUs in a CWW codebook. A comparative study shows that S-PR leads to output FOUs that resemble word FOUs, which are obtained from subject data, much more closely than FI-PR; hence, S-PR is a better choice for a CWW engine than FI-PR.
Periphyton response to simulated nonpoint source pollution: local over regional control

We investigated functional and structural responses of periphyton communities to simulated nonpoint source (NPS) pollution over a 2-year period. Periphyton communities were examined in three unique but hydrologically connected habitats in the lower Muskegon River: river, wetland, and lake. Our study addressed several major questions: (1) what are the effects of nonpoint source pollutants on periphyton structure and function, (2) to what degree do environmental conditions, including the pollutant delivery system and hydrologic conditions, affect periphyton response, and (3) do periphyton communities show synchronous responses to nonpoint source pollution? Nutrients were added over a 21-day period in each of the four seasons over 2 years. The effect of road salt on metabolism was evaluated in the winter and spring seasons in the river habitat only. In general, the periphyton community showed complex responses to the NPS amendments, but there was little evidence of nutrient limitation in this system based on community structure, biomass accrual, metabolism, or alkaline phosphatase activity. This result was unexpected given the relatively low ambient concentrations of phosphorus. We discuss the possibilities that nutrient delivery was ineffective or that herbivory and/or irradiance might have constrained periphyton growth, but ultimately conclude that our results suggest that periphyton communities in the lower Muskegon River watershed were (1) nutrient-replete, (2) tolerant of short-term salt additions, and (3) influenced more by local conditions (habitat) than by regional (watershed) factors. In systems where nonpoint source pollutant delivery is diffuse and hydrologic residence time is short, the influence of nonpoint source pollutants on periphyton may be either modest or too difficult to detect using traditional endpoints.
Reasoning about change in knowledgeable office systems

Managing of and reasoning about dynamic processes is a central aspect of much activity in the office. We present a brief description of our view of office systems and why change is of central importance in the office. A description system used to describe the structure of the office and office activity is discussed. A viewpoint mechanism within the description system is presented and we discuss how this mechanism is used to describe and reason about change in the office. A general scenario is described in which viewpoints are illustrated as a means of describing change. Previous technologies for accommadating change in knowledge embedding languages are characterized. We contrast the approach using viewpoints with previous technologies where change is propagated by pushing and pulling information between slots of data structures.
Cell State Dynamics and Tumorigenesis in Boolean Regulatory Networks

A major goal of complex system sciences is to formally describe and understand how the parts of a system integrate into a whole whose qualities (‘emergent properties’) cannot be understood by studying the parts in isolation, but are derived from the interaction of the parts within the context of the whole. This bridging of the ‘hierarchical levels of integration’ will gain particular practical relevance in biology as genomic scientists will have soon collected and categorized the molecular inventory (the parts) of the system ‘human being’ (the whole). Therefore, a formal description of the fundamental rules for the integration of genes and proteins into organismal function is necessary if the deluge of genomic data is to be translated into a conceptual understanding of the organism that should benefit our knowledge of ‘complex’ diseases like cancer. A first level of integration well established to give rise to emergent properties is the interaction of genes and proteins in small model circuits involving (non-linear) feedback regulation that give rise to multiple stable states (multistability).
Predicting the roughness length of turbulent flows over landscapes with multi-scale microtopography

Abstract. The fully rough form of the law of the wall is commonly used to quantify velocity profiles and associated bed shear stresses in fluvial, aeolian, and coastal environments. A key parameter in this law is the roughness length, z0. Here we propose a predictive formula for z0 that uses the amplitude and slope of each wavelength of microtopography within a discrete-Fourier-transform-based approach. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling is used to quantify the effective z0 value of sinusoidal microtopography as a function of the amplitude and slope. The effective z0 value of landscapes with multi-scale roughness is then given by the sum of contributions from each Fourier mode of the microtopography. Predictions of the equation are tested against z0 values measured in ∼ 105 wind-velocity profiles from southwestern US playa surfaces. Our equation is capable of predicting z0 values to 50 % accuracy, on average, across a 4 order of magnitude range. We also use our results to provide an alternative formula that, while somewhat less accurate than the one obtained from a full multi-scale analysis, has an advantage of being simpler and easier to apply.
Predicting Expenditures for Persons With Chronic Conditions

Research on the distribution of health care expenditures among the U.S. population has shown that a small proportion of individuals, many of whom have chronic health conditions, accounts for a disproportionate share of total expenses. Previous work by Berk and Monheit showed that in both 1987 and 1996 the top 1% of individuals in the expenditure distribution accounted for more than one-quarter of all expenses, and the top 5% accounted for more than half. They found this distribution had been constant for more than 20 years, despite significant changes in the U.S. health care system during that period. Previous research has also shown that more than three-quarters of all medical expenditures are associated with the care of persons with chronic conditions. Recent efforts to contain medical care costs in the U.S. have focused on what might be done to obviate some of this disproportionate spending, either through more effective use of preventive care, or better management of care for persons with chronic medical conditions. These efforts are complicated, however, by the fact that research has shown that being in the top of the expenditure distribution is not something that is highly persistent over time. Although expenditures in one year are correlated with expenditures in the next, there are a number of factors that determine individuals' levels of spending from one year to the next, and simply knowing base year expenditures does not mean insurers or providers can identify which individuals are most appropriate for additional attention. Nonetheless, to the extent there are specific, treatable conditions that are associated with persistently high expenditures there may be opportunities to develop methods of managing treatment that can enhance efficiency without sacrificing, or perhaps even improving, quality of care. This analysis builds on previous work on the prediction and concentration of expenditures to examine which health conditions and health status measures, in addition to demographic characteristics, are most associated with high medical care costs. The focus will be on chronic conditions, such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and depression, and combinations of those chronic conditions, to determine which set of conditions and other factors, including overall health status measures such as risk scores and self assessed health, are the best predictors of being in the upper tail of the expenditure distribution. For this study we pool data from the 1996 through 2004 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) and predict annual expenditures for individuals with single and multiple chronic conditions. The focus will be on identifying the subset of chronic conditions or combination of conditions that appear to have the greatest potential for efficiency improvement due to the level of expenditures associated with them.