cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
MiaB, a bifunctional radical-S-adenosylmethionine enzyme involved in the thiolation and methylation of tRNA, contains two essential [4Fe-4S] clusters.

The radical-S-adenosylmethionine (radical-AdoMet) enzyme MiaB catalyzes the posttranscriptional methylthiolation of N-6-isopentenyladenosine in tRNAs. Spectroscopic and analytical studies of the reconstituted wild-type and C150/154/157A triple variant forms of Thermotoga maritima MiaB have revealed the presence of two distinct [4Fe-4S]2+,1+ clusters in the protein. One is coordinated by the three conserved cysteines in the radical-AdoMet motif (Cys150, Cys154, and Cys157) as previously reported, and the other, here observed for the first time, is proposed to be coordinated by the three N-terminal conserved cysteines (Cys10, Cys46, and Cys79). The two [4Fe-4S]2+ clusters have similar UV−visible absorption, resonance Raman, and Mossbauer properties but differ in terms of redox properties and the EPR properties of the reduced [4Fe-4S]1+ clusters. Reconstituted forms of MiaB containing two [4Fe-4S] clusters are more active than previously reported. Comparison of MiaB with other radical-AdoMet enzymes involved...
Lateral pharyngeal wall movement during speech production.

Movement of one lateral pharyngeal wall during the production of VCVCV trisyllables was monitored via pulsed ultrasound using a time-motion method of display. Three normal speakers produced the six...
Evidence of calcium-permeable AMPA receptors in dendritic spines of CA1 pyramidal neurons.

GluA2-lacking, calcium-permeable α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionate receptors (AMPARs) have unique properties, but their presence at excitatory synapses in pyramidal cells is controve...
Comparison of fluorimetric and chromatographic procedures for determination of serum phenylalanine

Abstract Comparison of phenylalanine measurements obtained by paper chromatography and the fluorimetric procedure shows a high degree of correlation between the two methods. Both procedures can be carried out using capillary specimens. Fluorometry and paper chromatography are equally valid procedures for determining phenylalanine content of serum or plasma either for purposes of diagnosis of phenylketonuria or for subsequent monitoring of the treatment diet. There were no significant differences in phenylalanine content of specimens tested within 24 h of collection or after mailing and storage up to one week.
Identification of complex geometrical shapes by means of low-frequency radar returns

A study of the effectiveness of low-frequency electromagnetic responses for identifying objects of complex shape is presented. The linear separability of a large variety of objects such as cubes, cylinders and aircraft were examined. Two classification algorithms, a linear discriminant and a nearest neighbour rule, were used to classify a set of four aircraft models. The classification performance is presented in terms of the probability of misclassification versus noise level. The effectiveness of the various combinations of electromagnetic features was evaluated. The results indicate that amplitude, phase and polarization all contribute substantial amounts of target information. Making the assumption of a priori knowledge of the target's approximate aspect angle, a reliable classification can be attained utilizing a rather small number of frequencies.
USING NATURAL LANGUAGE DESCRIPTIONS TO IMPROVE THE USABILITY OF DATABASES

This paper describes the REGIS extended command language, a relational data language that allows users to name and describe database objects using natural language phrases. REGIS accepts multiple-word phrases as the names of tables and columns (unlike most systems, which restrict these names to a few characters). An extended command parser uses a network-structured dictionary to recognize multi-word names, even if some of the words are missing or out of order, and to prompt the user if an ambiguous name is entered. REGIS also provides facilities for attaching descriptive text to database objects, which can be displayed online or included in printed reports. Initial data from a few databases indicate that users choose to take advantage of the naturalness of multi-word descriptions when this option is available.
How the Perceived Masculinity and/or Femininity of Software Applications Influences Students' Software Preferences.

Increasingly, technology skills are becoming central to academic and economic success. More and more technological tools are becoming a vehicle for teaching and learning and a vehicle for buying and selling goods. However, research continues to show that women lag behind men in PC-ownership regardless of social economic status (SES) or education level (Lenhart, 2003; McConnaughey & Lader, 1998); girls take fewer computer science and computer design courses and consistently rate themselves significantly lower than boys in terms of computer skills (AAUW, 1998); men outnumber women 6 to 1 in computer science Ph.D. programs (AAUW, 2000; Furger, 1998); and girls and boys are more likely to perceive computers as a male domain (Clewell, 2002; Eastman & Krendl, 1987). Due to our society’s increasing dependence on technological skills, the continued existence of the technological gender and cultural gap is a problem that must be explored with vigor in order to ensure that the technological tools we use provide equitable 1 access to and experiences for women and children of color.
Case report 588

A case of intracortical chondroma in the left femur in a 22-year-old man is presented. Proof was obtained by open biopsy. The issue of periosteal vs intracortical chondroma was discussed in depth, with emphasis on the radiographic appearances. The differential diagnosis of this benign intracortical lesion was also included. The histopathologic characteristics of this intracortical chondroma were described and a possible explanation for the unusual location of the cartilage lesion within the cortex was considered.
The mass cultivation of Spirulina platensis in Brazil

In 1983 we brought an inoculum of Spirulina platensis (originally from the Lake Chad area of Africa) to the Catholic University in Rio de Janeiro (PUC/RJ) and started outdoor cultures. Up to that time, there were in Brazil only small laboratory cultures existing in Sao Paulo and in Rio de Janeiro. The activities at PUC/RJ are ongoing and have the character of experimental installations for investigating and developing both biological and technological details. Meanwhile two private industrial companies are producing Spirulina platensis in Brazil based on the cultivation procedure developed at PUC/RJ.
A simple spectrophotometric method for measurement of nematode populations.

Abstract An ordinary spectrophotometer was used to study growth rates and increases in population size of nematodes by optical density measurements of nematodes suspended in 30–40% sucrose (w/v) solutions. The sucrose solution retarded the movement of nematodes in suspension and thereby decreased the fluctuations normally observed in optical density. This method was effectively used to study growth rates and increases in population numbers of a free-living nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans . This procedure was also used to quantitate Ascaris lumbricoides eggs in a given sample. The limitations of this method when employed for establishing total nematode counts in a growing culture by direct spectrophotometric readings are discussed.
Zinc and carbon co-limitation of marine phytoplankton

PROCESSES that control carbon uptake by marine phytoplankton are important in the global carbon cycle11–3. Uptake of CO2 itself may be limited by diffusion4. Bicarbonate uptake may be limited by zinc as HCO−3 transport appears to involve the zinc metallo-enzyme carbonic anhydrases5,6and the concentration of inorganic zinc in seawater7is low enough to limit the growth of certain phytoplankton in culture8,9. Here we show that HCO–3 uptake by the marine diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii is modulated by the partial pressure of CO2 and by the concentration of inorganic Zn (for which Cd and Co may substitute in carbonic anhydrase). This result leads naturally to a 'zinc hypothesis' which, like the standing 'iron hypothesis10, posits that Zn (Fe) may limit oceanic production and influence the global carbon cycle. Because of the large13C enrichment of HCO−3 over CO2, our results may be important for the interpretation of δ13C measurements in seawater and sediments.
How Science Can Stigmatize: The Case of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Objective: This article reviews issues involving the name of an illness, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), along with flawed epidemiologic approaches, which may have further contributed to the diagno...
Genetic experssion of temperature tolerance in the copepod Eurytemora affinis in different salinity and temperature environments

The genetic expression of temperature tolerance in Eurytemora affinis Poppe in different environments was investigated by testing temperature tolerances of broods in pairs of salinity and temperature environments. Three methods were used to identify interaction between genotype and environment: (1) the correlation between mean tolerances of halves of broods grown in the two environments, (2) brood by environment interaction and (3) heritabilities in the two environments. All correlations between means of half broods were positive, only one of six brood by environment interactions was significant and the heritability estimates were not markedly different. Thus, the variability in temperature tolerance in different salinities and in different temperatures seems to be due to the same genes; and selection pressure on temperature tolerance is in the same direction with seasonal changes in temperature and salinity.
GRAIN-SIZE EFFECT ON STRUCTURE AND PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS FOR BARIUM TITANATE

We report the results of an investigation into the grain-size dependence of lattice structure for barium titanate (${\mathrm{BaTiO}}_{3}$) ceramics prepared by a sol-gel method. Raman and infrared spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, and differential scanning calorimetry were used in combination with electron microscopy to study the evolution of lattice structure and phase transformation behavior with heat treatment and grain growth from the nano scale to the micron scale for ${\mathrm{BaTiO}}_{3}$ polycrystals. Raman spectroscopy and optical second-harmonic-generation measurements indicated the onset of local room-temperature acentric crystal symmetry with heat treatment and crystallite growth, well before the observation of any tetragonal structure by x-ray diffraction. Analysis of the room-temperature Raman spectra for ultrafine grain (grain size 0.1 \ensuremath{\mu}m) polycrystals suggested that a locally orthorhombic structure preceded the globally tetragonal form with grain growth. In support of this observation, differential scanning calorimetry suggested the orthorhombic-tetragonal phase transformation shifts up through room temperature with decreasing grain size. Hot-stage transmission electron microscopy studies revealed that fine grain (grain size \ensuremath{\approxeq}0.1 \ensuremath{\mu}m) ceramics, which showed a thermal anomaly associated with the cubic-tetragonal phase transformation, were untwinned at room temperature, as well as on cycling through the normal Curie temperature, suggesting a single-domain state for individual grains. The findings are discussed in light of a number of possible causes, including the presence of processing-related hydroxyl defects and the effect of elastic constraints on phase transformation behavior for ${\mathrm{BaTiO}}_{3}$ grains in a polycrystalline microstructure. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.
The roles of the iodothyronine deiodinases in mammalian development

The thyroid hormones (TH) are essential for normal development in vertebrate species. This review considers the roles that the three deiodinases, types 1, 2 and 3 (D1, D2, and D3), play in regulating intracellular levels of TH during this critical period. The focus is on rodents and humans with emphasis on brain development. There is little evidence to suggest that the D1 plays a significant role in development and this is substantiated by the absence of any obvious developmental impairment in a D1-deficient mouse model. There is, however, compelling indirect evidence pertaining to the importance of the D2 in development, particularly with respect to that of the brain. However, surprisingly, a D2-deficient mouse model exhibits a very mild phenotype. This, together with the fact that D2 activity is increased in hypothyroidism, suggests that this deiodinase may be of greater importance in development when supplies of thyroxine are limited. The D3 is clearly essential for development in the euthyroid mammal. Information, both indirect and that obtained from a D3-deficient mouse model, strongly suggests that its presence in placenta, uterus and some fetal tissues are critical for limiting exposure of fetal tissues to inappropriate levels of TH.
Restoration of Plant Communities in Former Pine Tree Plantations

Abstract As human populations encroach on more remote areas, tree plantations are frequently converted into suburban developments or conservation lands. The purpose of the current study was to compare the effects of restoration treatments on the abundance and biodiversity of two former pine plantations in northeast Florida. Restoration methods, which varied greatly in both environmental impact and effort from minimal (non-manipulated control plots) to thinned (removal of 90–97% of Slash Pines and exotic plant species) to cleared (mechanical removal of all vegetation to the substrate surface), were compared using replicated 100-m2 plots. Although sites exhibited variation in plant densities and relative guild abundance, restoration treatment produced a significant increase in plant abundance and relative composition of plant guilds. Plant abundance was 2–3 times higher in cleared plots compared to thinned and control plots, respectively; not surprisingly this was because cleared plots had large numbers of ...
Recurrent inguinal herniorrhaphy: the centripetal approach utilizing a pre-formed polypropylene plug

Recurrence is the most common complication of inguinal herniorrhaphy and its mending carries an unacceptably high recurrence rate. During the development of a hernia clinic we initially repaired recurrent inguinal hernias using the Shouldice technique which requires complicated dissection followed by tissue approximation under tension. The necessary tissue exposure may injure anatomical elements incorporated into the scarred tissues. We progressively developed a modality that approaches the hernia sac directly, dissecting it centripetally up to the hernia’s neck which was then occluded with a pre-formed polypropylene plug (233 patients). This technique, used for defects measuring up to 3 cm in diameter minimizes the dissection of tissues not involved in the repair reducing the chances of injury to nerves, vas deferent ducts, and veins. For defects larger than 3 cm, the posterior inguinal wall was mesh-reinforced utilizing the Rives or Kugel approaches (19 patients). The centripetal technique, used in the repair of 233 recurrent inguinal hernias produced three recurrences in a ten-year follow up. Incidences of infection, testicular ischemia, or disabling neuropathy were not observed. In our hands the selective use of the centripetal technique produced good and reproducible results.
On the Relationship between Two Statistics Pertaining to Tests of Three-Factor Interaction in Contingency Tables

Abstract This note solves a problem posed by Berkson and Nagnur at the end of their recent article [2]. The problem pertains to the relationship between two particular statistics that can be used in the three-way contingency table to test the null hypothesis H 0 of zero three-factor interaction; viz., the usual chi-square goodness-of-fit statistic and a statistic proposed by Nagnur [9]. Although the formulas for these two statistics appear to be quite different, we shall prove that the two statistics are equal when the expected frequencies under H 0 are estimated by the usual maximum-likelihood method. This equality holds true both for the 2 × 2 × K contingency table and also the I × J × K table.
Clonality of the stem cell compartment during evolution of myelodysplastic syndromes and other bone marrow failure syndromes

Clonal hematopoiesis, observed in certain forms of marrow failure including aplastic anemia (AA), may be due to stem cell depletion. Alternatively, oligoclonality may be a result of recruitment of a preexisting defective clone, such as in paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) or myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). In PNH, exogenous permissive factors may be required for dominance of the abnormal clone, while in MDS, stem cells undergo transformation steps leading to a growth advantage. Stem or multipotent progenitor cell involvement in PNH is evidenced by long-term persistence of a clonal defect and its presence in all blood cells. In MDS, some clonal aberrations may have a ‘founder-effect’ and additional defects are secondary. Metaphase cytogenetics measures the proportion of clonal cells within dividing progenitor but not mature cells. Owing to low resolution, lesions can be found in only ∼50% of MDS patients. This shortcoming may be overcome by application of newer technologies such as comparative genomic hybridization and SNP array-based karyotyping (SNP-A). SNP-A facilitates identification of cryptic lesions in bone marrow failure patients with normal or abnormal cytogenetics and allows for detection of loss of heterozygosity as a result of uniparental disomy, a lesion frequently found in MDS.
Inhibition of Inhibition in Visual Cortex: The Logic of Connections Between Molecularly Distinct Interneurons

Cortical inhibitory neurons contact each other to form a network of inhibitory synaptic connections. Our knowledge of the connectivity pattern underlying this inhibitory network is, however, still incomplete. Here we describe a simple and complementary interaction scheme between three large, molecularly distinct interneuron populations in mouse visual cortex: parvalbumin-expressing interneurons strongly inhibit one another but provide little inhibition to other populations. In contrast, somatostatin-expressing interneurons avoid inhibiting one another yet strongly inhibit all other populations. Finally, vasoactive intestinal peptide-expressing interneurons preferentially inhibit somatostatin-expressing interneurons. This scheme occurs in supragranular and infragranular layers, suggesting that inhibitory networks operate similarly at the input and output of the visual cortex. Thus, as the specificity of connections between excitatory neurons forms the basis for the cortical canonical circuit, the scheme described here outlines a standard connectivity pattern among cortical inhibitory neurons.
Tidal effects on the thermosphere

Theoretical understanding of the earth's atmosphere is not possible without accounting for tidal waves and their interactions. In the thermosphere, tides represent the dominant motion system. Current observational efforts are aimed at providing tidal morphologies, i.e., maps of the vertical profiles of the tidal fields as a function of time for various locations. These are in hand for the mesosphere and have proved extraordinarily useful in deriving appropriate inputs for numerical models of the thermosphere. The basic latitudinal, seasonal, and solar cycle variation of the tides in the thermosphere is much less well known but the advent of coordinated global multi-day campaigns promises to ameliorate the situation. Progress would be facilitated by agreement on a standard data reduction procedure. Theoretical efforts are focused on simulating the observed morphologies and understanding the day to day variations while investigating mutual interactions and feedback between the mean atmosphere and the tidal, gravity, and planetary waves.
Clinical characteristics of language regression in children

The spectrum of language regression in childhood is incompletely understood. To describe the features of this disorder more fully, we reviewed the records of 196 consecutive children (143 males and 53 females) with language regression or perceived plateau evaluated between 1988 and 1994 by a child neurologist. Mean age at regression was 21.2 months and the mean interval to referral was 34.8 months. A trigger for the regression was identified in 74 of the children (38%) and was associated with a more rapid regression. Mean age at follow-up was 64 months (SD 55). Seventy per cent of the children became nonverbal, and 75% were cognitively impaired. Language regression was associated with a more global autistic regression in 93% of children. There was a history of seizures in 15% of the children. Some recovery occurred in 61% but only one child recovered fully. Improvement was more likely in the 49% who were entirely developmentally normal before the regression. We conclude that language regression in childhood is a serious disorder with significant long-term morbidity.
Decision-Theoretic Approach for Classification of Ricker Wavelets and Detection of Seismic Anomalies

Decision-theoretic pattern recognition methods are applied to classifying Ricker wavelets and to detecting waveform anomalies in seismograms. The methods include Bayes decision rule and linear and quadratic classifications. Envelope and instantaneous frequency are extracted as the two features of a seismic trace used as input into the classification schemes. A modified fixed-increment training procedure is employed to solve the decision boundary. The classification schemes successfully distinguish zero-phase Ricker wavelets of different peak frequencies from each other and from random noise.
Superresolution from image sequence

Due to cost of hardware, size, and fabrication complexity limitations, imaging systems like CCD detector arrays or digital cameras often provide only multiple low-resolution (LR) degraded images. However, a high-resolution (HR) image is indispensable in many applications including health diagnosis and monitoring, military surveillance, and terrain mapping by remote sensing. Other intriguing possibilities include substituting expensive high-resolution instruments like scanning electron microscopes by their cruder, cheaper counterparts and then applying technical methods for increasing the resolution to that derivable with much more costly equipment. This paper presents a comparison between the various popular approaches to the attaining of superresolution following image acquisition.
Role of water on the surface-guided growth of horizontally aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes on quartz

The role of water in carbon feed on the surface-guided growth of horizontally aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes (HA-SWCNTs) was investigated. It is shown that the amount of water can be optimized to favor HA-SWCNT growth, which is proposed to be due to selective etching of carbon deposits at carbon–metal interface. Without water, nanotube–nanotube interaction and carbon accumulation at the interface are disproportionately large compared to the rate of nanotube growth, leading to catalyst deactivation. With excess water, suppression of nanotube growth occurs, resulting in reduced carbon yield on the surface. Intermediate carbon/water feed ratios achieve cleaner growth with high efficiency.
An Alternate Pathway for Cortisol Metabolism: 6β-Hydroxycortisol Production by Human Tissue Slices

ABSTRACT. The in vitro conversion of 4-C14-cortisol to 4-C14-6β-hydroxycortisol by human tissue slices was studied. Liver, adrenal, kidney, placenta and skeletal muscle were all capable of this conversion. Liver displayed the most activity in this regard and was also the only tissue studied which demonstrated a response to the addition of estrone. The conversion of 4-C14-cortisol to 4-C14-tetrahydrocortisol (THF) and 4-C14-tetrahydrocortisone (THE) by liver slices was depressed by estrone while 6β-hydroxylation was concurrently increased. These data corroborate previous in vivo findings and indicate that 6β- hydroxylation may represent a truly compensatory route of metabolism for cortisol.
Photomutagenicity of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from the US EPA priority pollutant list.

Abstract The photomutagenicity of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), all on the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) priority pollutant list, was studied. Concomitant exposing the Salmonella typhimurium bacteria strain TA102 to one of the PAHs and light (1.1 J/cm 2 UVA+2.1 J/cm 2 visible) without the activation enzyme S9, strong photomutagenic response is observed for anthracene, benz[ a ]anthracene, benzo[ ghi ]perylene, benzo[ a ]pyrene, indeno[1,2,3- cd ]pyrene, and pyrene. Under the same conditions, acenaphthene, acenaphthylene, benzo[ k ]fluoranthene, chrysene, and fluorene are weakly photomutagenic. Benzo[ b ]fluoranthene, fluoranthene, naphthalene, phenanthrene, and dibenz[ a , h ]anthracene are not photomutagenic. These results indicate that PAHs can be activated by light and become mutagenic in Salmonella TA102 bacteria. At the same time, the mutagenicity for all the 16 PAHs was examined with the standard mutagenicity test with 10% S9 as the activation system. Benzo[ b ]fluoranthene, benzo[ k ]fluoranthene, chrysene, acenaphthylene, and fluorene are weakly mutagenic, while the rest of the PAHs are not. In general, the photomutagenicity of PAHs in TA102 does not correlate with their S9-activated mutagenicity in either TA102 or TA98/TA100 since they involve different activation mechanisms.
Crisis intervention with survivors of natural disaster: Lessons from Hurricane Andrew.

Crisis intervention has typically been conceptualized as seeking a return of clients to a state of equilibrium. Our work with Hurricane Andrew survivors in south Florida, as part of the Disaster Mental Health Services team of the American Red Cross, has led us to appreciate the importance of several further considerations. In our work, we developed a proactive approach, attempting to recognize and extend clients' preexisting strengths. We offer a number of pragmatic interventions, focusing particularly on children's issues and we draw attention to sensitive multicultural issues.
Increasing Yields of Channel Catfish Using a Combination of Cage and Open Pond Production Systems1

Channel catfish (lctalurus punctatus) fingerlings stocked at a rate of 450 fish/0.04 ha pond were simultaneously cultured with fingerlings stocked in 1.25 m3 cages (0, 250, 350, or 450 fishlcage; one cage/pond). The fish in the cages were cultured and harvested for a 90–330 g (whole fish) market. The fish in the open ponds were cultured and harvested for a 490–1,140 g market. Harvest weights of open pond fish in all treatments were similar indicating that the presence of the caged fish and the associated higher daily pond feeding rates did not affect open pond production. Ninety-five to 99% of the caged fish and 96 to 98% of the open pond fish were of marketable size at harvest. Survival and food conversion ratios were similar among treatments. Results of this study indicate that total pond production can be increased (in this case up to 19%) by using a combination of open pond and cage techniques and by simultaneously producing fish for two markets.
A rovibrational analysis of the ν1 and ν2 bands of OCDF by supersonic jet FTIR spectroscopy

High resolution spectra of the ν1 (DF stretch) and ν2 (CO stretch) vibrations of the hydrogen bonded dimer OCDF were recorded using a supersonic jet Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. The following molecular constants were obtained (in cm−1): for ν1, ν0=2819.90104(18), B′=0.1031110(13), D′=3.113(22)×10−7; for ν2, ν0=2168.86239(16), B′=0.1010374(17), D′=3.355(45)×10−7. A Coriolis interaction between the ν1 excited state and a dark state was analyzed, which led to the estimation of the vibrational term value and rotational constant of the dark state.
Evaluation of the Medial Column in Flatfoot Surgery

Evaluating the effectiveness of medial column surgery as an isolated entity is difficult, and there is little information to guide the surgeon in choosing the appropriate procedure. This article presents a systematic method of evaluating the medial column. The parameters discussed are not absolute, allowing the surgeon to decide which procedure is most appropriate. To ensure a successful outcome, the surgeon should be able to evaluate the medial column clinically and radiographically and make a decision based on specific criteria rather than relying on anecdotal reports.
Semantic resolution for E-Commerce

We describe a research project on resolving semantic differences for multi-agent systems (MAS) in electronic commerce. The approach can be characterized as follows: (1) agents in a MAS may have their own specific ontologies defined on top of a shared base ontology; (2) concepts in these ontologies are represented as frame-like structures based on DAML+OIL language; (3) the semantic differences between agents are resolved at runtime through inter-agent communication; and (4) the resolution is viewed as an abductive inference process, and thus necessarily involves approximate reasoning.
Opportunistic research and sampling combined with fisheries and wildlife management actions or crisis response.

Abstract Currently most of the activities of state, federal, first nation, and private conservation agencies, including management of and field research on free-ranging wildlife, are not regulated under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) and thus not subject to National Institutes of Health guidelines or routine institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC) review. However, every day thousands of fish and wildlife management activities occur across North America that provide an opportunity to take observations, measurements, biological specimens, or samples that may have research value. Most of these opportunities are secondary to ongoing and often mandated wildlife management or conservation actions. Strange as it may seem to the academic and research community, the full research potentials of these opportunities are rarely utilized. IACUCs and research institutions should strive to facilitate such research, which by its very nature is often more opportunistic than designed. They can do this by ensuring that their policies do not unnecessarily impede the rapid research responses needed, or over burden researchers with inappropriate reporting requirements designed for laboratory research. The most prominent reasons for failures to utilize wildlife research opportunities include lack of the following: personnel and expertise to collect and use the information; preparation for inevitable (or predictable) events (e.g., oil spills); resources to preserve and curate specimens; a mandate to conduct research; and recognition of the value in data or sample collection. IACUC support of open protocols and generic sampling plans can go a long way toward improving the development of useful knowledge from animals that will otherwise be lost. Opportunities to sample wildlife are categorized generally as dead sampling (road kill surveys, harvest sampling, lethal collection, and "die-offs"); live sampling (handling for marking, relocation or restocking; and captures for field or biological studies); and crisis response (e.g., population salvage operations or oil spills). Examples of the many unique situations in each category serve to illustrate how valuable research and sampling can be accomplished opportunistically. Several unique limitations of sample collection situation are described. It is recommended that IACUCs have mechanisms in place to facilitate good research in all of these circumstances.
One Community’s Perspective on the Withdrawal of Cough and Cold Medications for Infants and Young Children

The study goals were to assess, via survey (a) parental knowledge regarding the use of over-the counter (OTC) cough and cold medicines in children younger than the age of 6 years and (b) the effects of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommendations on community pediatricians following voluntary withdrawal of these medications. Of the 179 parents surveyed, approximately 60% had used OTC cough and cold medicines in the past, and many parents indicated an inappropriate dose when asked. Parents who were aware of the recall were significantly less likely to continue use (P < .05). All 33 physicians surveyed were aware of the withdrawal of these medications for children younger than age 2 years and most were aware of consideration to remove these medications for children <6 years old. A total of 15% of physicians reported that FDA considerations were likely to change their practice by reducing or discontinuing use of these medications, whereas 6% would continue recommending these medications.
Adverse effects of phytoestrogens on reproductive health: A report of three cases

Summary Background Phytoestrogens have been thought to have favorable effects on women's health and perhaps in offsetting cancers. The possible adverse effects of phytoestrogens have not been evaluated. Cases Abnormal uterine bleeding with endometrial pathology in three women was found to be related to a high intake of soy products. The first woman had postmenopausal bleeding with uterine polyp, proliferative endometrium and a growing leiomyoma. The second woman presented with severe dysmenorrhea, abnormal uterine bleeding, endometriosis and uterine leiomyoma not responding to treatment. The third woman with severe dysmenorrhea, abnormal uterine bleeding, endometriosis and uterine leiomyomata presented with secondary infertility. All three women improved after withdrawal of soy from their diet. Conclusion Additional information on phytoestrogens is necessary to ascertain their safety before they can be routinely used as supplements.
Depth-Dependent Glycosaminoglycan Concentration in Articular Cartilage by Quantitative Contrast-Enhanced Micro–Computed Tomography

ObjectiveA quantitative contrast-enhanced micro–computed tomography (qCECT) method was developed to investigate the depth dependency and heterogeneity of the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) concentration of ex vivo cartilage equilibrated with an anionic radiographic contrast agent, Hexabrix.DesignFull-thickness fresh native (n = 19 in 3 subgroups) and trypsin-degraded (n = 6) articular cartilage blocks were imaged using micro–computed tomography (μCT) at high resolution (13.4 μm3) before and after equilibration with various Hexabrix bathing concentrations. The GAG concentration was calculated depth-dependently based on Gibbs-Donnan equilibrium theory. Analysis of variance with Tukey’s post hoc was used to test for statistical significance (P < 0.05) for effect of Hexabrix bathing concentration, and for differences in bulk and zonal GAG concentrations individually and compared between native and trypsin-degraded cartilage.ResultsThe bulk GAG concentration was calculated to be 74.44 ± 6.09 and 11.99 ± 4.24 mg/mL fo...
Reasoning about the function and timing of integrated circuits with interval temporal logic

Important aspects of behavior at the transistor level are discussed, including timing and capacitance. In the approach described here, the structures of circuits and their functional behavior are described with interval temporal logic (ITL). These specifications are expressed in Prolog, and the logical manipulations of the proof process are achieved with the Prolog system. To demonstrate the flexibility of this approach, the behavior of several CMOS circuits designed with different design styles is described. These examples include a dynamic latch and a 1-b adder, both of which use a two-phase clocking scheme and exploit charge storage. The 1-b adder is a sophisticated full adder implemented with a dynamic CMOS design style. Timing as well as functional aspects of behavior are derived, and constraints on the way a circuit interacts with its environment are reasoned about formally. >
Short Pulse Propagation in Wavelength Selective Index-Guided Photonic Crystal Fiber Coupler

Dual core photonic crystal fiber (PCF) couplers that support femtosecond (fs) pulses have been presented in this paper. The couplers are dispersion managed and relatively short. A vector finite-element-based model has been developed to precisely evaluate coupling coefficients and higher order dispersions for wavelength selective applications of these PCFs. Material dispersion of silica glass along with the waveguide dispersion has also been taken into account. Cladding has been designed innovatively to manage coupling length and dispersion. Dispersion demonstrates the wavelength region where it can support short duration pulses, and the propagation of 100 fs pulses has been shown at 1550 and 1310 nm wavelengths, respectively, incorporating the higher order dispersions and wavelength selective coupling behavior.
Maximum likelihood localization of sources in noise modeled as a stable process

This paper introduces a new class of robust beamformers which perform optimally over a wide range of non-Gaussian additive noise environments. The maximum likelihood approach is used to estimate the bearing of multiple sources from a set of snapshots when the additive interference is impulsive in nature. The analysis is based on the assumption that the additive noise can be modeled as a complex symmetric /spl alpha/-stable (S/spl alpha/S) process. Transform-based approximations of the likelihood estimation are used for the general S/spl alpha/S class of distributions while the exact probability density function is used for the Cauchy case. It is shown that the Cauchy beamformer greatly outperforms the Gaussian beamformer in a wide variety of non-Gaussian noise environments, and performs comparably to the Gaussian beamformer when the additive noise is Gaussian. The Cramer-Rao bound for the estimation error variance is derived for the Cauchy case, and the robustness of the S/spl alpha/S beamformers in a wide range of impulsive interference environments is demonstrated via simulation experiments.
New approach to a general nonlinear multicomponent chromatography model

In this work, we present a robust and efficient approach to solve the general nonlinear, multicomponent rate equation model. It uses the finite element (with quadratic elements) method for the bulk-phase equations and the orthogonal collation method for the particle-phase equations. The resulting ordinary differential equations are solved with implicit Gear's stiff method. Our code is capable of simulating the three major modes of chromatography, frontal, elution, displacement, and multistage operations accurately and efficiently.
Notes on Advertising, Economies of Scale, and Entry Barriers

The paper discusses how advertising and economies of scale in production interact to produce economies of scale. The latter are defined to occur when costs per dollar of revenues decline with revenues. It is argued that, in an industry with differentiated products and advertising, it is the declining costs per collar of revenues rather than declining production costs per unit of output that directly affects entry barriers and the profitability of established firms. In the industrial organization literature, advertising is claimed to be an entry barrier or to reflect some aspect of structure that creates an entry barrier. There is considerable empirical literature exploring the relationship between advertising and profitability.' In it, several observations of a theoretical kind are made in defense of the view that advertising has an entry-deterring effect. It is sometimes said that advertising has the character of a fixed cost, and therefore, if advertising is required to sell the good, it has the effect of creating economies of scale. It is also asserted that there are threshold effects in advertising, creating regions of increasing returns to scale. In addition, the technology and markets for producing and distributing advertising "messages" may exhibit declining average costs. And finally, if a certain amount of advertising is "needed," and if it is expensive, then it may contribute to risk or to absolute capital requirements barriers. As the reader will see, I agree that advertising can contribute to entry barriers by augmenting the extent to which profitability increases with firm size. The problem with the propositions above is not that they are untrue, but rather that they are incomplete. They are clearly relevant to the issue of the relation of advertising to entry barriers. While advertising may have something of the character of fixed costs, it also influences demand by making it possible to sell a higher volume at a fixed price, or the same volume at a higher price, or some combination of these. Thus, the fact that costs per unit of physical volume
Distributed estimation in wireless sensor networks via variational message passing

In this paper, a variational message passing framework is proposed for Markov random fields. Analogous to the traditional belief propagation algorithm, variational message passing is performed by only exchanging messages between adjacent nodes in a graph and updating local estimations, but with more energy and computation saving achieved. Explicit forms for distributions in the exponential family are derived and applied to a distributed estimation problem in wireless sensor networks. Furthermore, structured variational methods are explored to improve the estimation accuracy, whose performance is elaborated in a Gaussian Markov random field, by both theoretical analysis and simulation results. To our best knowledge, this is the first work to explicitly apply the structured variational approach in wireless sensor networks.
Defining failure of manufacturing machinery and equipment

The Society of Automation Engineering's (SAE) "Reliability and Maintainability (R&M) Guideline for Manufacturing Machinery and Equipment (M&E)" defines as: an event when machinery/equipment is not available to produce parts at specified conditions when scheduled or is not capable of producing parts or perform scheduled operations to specification. For every failure, an action is required. The R&M Guideline's definition of failure makes both the user and the supplier accountable for the failure. The new definition requires the user to specify the specific conditions in which the equipment will work. >
Analysis of Protective Hoods Near High-Voltage Power Lines With Installed Communication Antennas

This paper studies the effect of the conducting hoods used to protect workers from the exposure to high-voltage power frequency and high-frequency communication electromagnetic fields. The finite-difference time-domain technique is employed to solve for the electric-field strength inside a human head model filled with biological material representing the human brain. By evaluating the field at several points and comparing the results with and without the hood, it is shown that at some spots in the head, the field is higher by a significant factor when the hood is present. It is also shown that with the presence of a see-through screen, the field intensity inside the head can be drastically reduced by eliminating the resonance effects. Following our analysis, a general safety guideline can be prescribed and used by the workers when exposed to a broad frequency range spanning from extremely low frequencies to the radio frequencies. The method also enables investigations on how to design a hood that is most suitable for a given frequency spectrum.
Seismic reflection and gravity study of proposed Taconic suture under the New Jersey Coastal Plain: Implications for continental growth

A vibroseis seismic reflection line near Buena, New Jersey, crosses the linear positive Salisbury Bouguer gravity and magnetic anomaly that follows the proposed Taconic suture. Two reflections at 1.4 and 1.7 sec under the positive gravity anomaly and beneath the Coastal Plain basement reflections at 1.1 sec are from interpreted Taconic suture rocks with ophiolitic crustal fragments (7.1-7.9 km/sec). A gently southeast-dipping reflection (2.0-2.7 sec) is interpreted as the detachment thrust below the allochthonous suture rocks. A stratified sequence (5.4-6.3 km/sec) is interpreted as remnants of parautochthonous lower Paleozoic drift-stage sedimentary rocks beneath the detachment thrust. Below 3.0 sec (8 km depth), the reflections are subhorizontal or gently dipping (11°) all the way to the Moho reflection at 11.0 sec. On the northwest end of the vibroseis line, a northwest-tilted Mesozoic rift-basin basement reflection is seen from 1.1 to 1.5 sec. These Mesozoic rocks (4.5-4.8 km/sec) are at least 1 km thick. The denser suture rocks with ophiolitic fragments and the less dense Mesozoic rocks explain almost all of the Salisbury Bouguer anomaly. No significant lateral density variations are needed below 8 km depth. These results are compatible with the Taconic suture under the New Jersey Coastal Plain being allochthonous and underlain by parautochthonous Grenville-age continental crust. A deep-seated Taconic suture at the edge of the Grenville North American basement may be southeast of the New Jersey Coastal Plain. This implies a greater amount of Taconic overthrusting and lesser amounts of accretion of the North American crust than previously proposed.
Aggregate scheduling of a flexible machining and assembly system

An aggregate scheduling problem for a flexible manufacturing system which consists of a machining and an assembly subsystem is presented. The aggregate schedule developed is used as an input to a real-time scheduling problem discussed previously by the author (Proc. 2nd ORSA/TIMS Conf. on Flexible Manuf. Syst: Oper. Res. Methods and Appl., Elsevier NY, 1986, pp.521-32). Although features of the flexible manufacturing environment are not explicit at the aggregate scheduling level, they are incorporated at the real-time scheduling level. The single-product and N-product scheduling problems are considered. To solve the problems two optimal scheduling algorithms are developed. Each algorithm is illustrated with a numerical example. The results are also applicable to the single-batch and N-batch scheduling problems. >
Revisiting the Family Life Cycle: Modifications and Implications

The family life cycle often has been considered a viable segmentation tool. The volatile changes throughout the 1970’s and the 1980’s in the composition of the American household make the traditional family life cycle quite obsolete as a segmentation tool. This paper explores the major demographic shifts in light of their impact on the family life cycle. A revised family life cycle, that takes into consideration the emerging demographics, is also presented.
Warming the nursing education climate for traditional-age learners who are male.

Abstract For nurse educators to facilitate student learning and the achievement of desired cognitive, affective, and psychomotor outcomes, they need to be competent in recognizing the influence of gender, experience, and other factors on teaching and learning. A study was conducted in one academic institution to describe how traditional-age male learners' perceptions of the nursing education climate compare to perceptions of female learners. Interviews were conducted with a sample of four male and four female learners. Additional data from interviews with nurse educators, classroom observations, and a review of textbooks provided breadth and depth to their perceptions. Findings support a nursing education climate that is cooler to traditional-age male learners and warmer to traditional-age female learners. The main cooling factor for men was caused by nurse educators' characteristics and unsupportive behaviors. Additional factors inside and outside the education environment contributed to a cooler climate...