cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Gender, migration, and career trajectories in Malaysia.

With data from the Malaysian Family Life Survey, I use a continuous-state hazards model to study the impact of migration on the dynamics of individuals’ careers. I distinguish between the effects of family migration and solo migration by gender. The results show that migration alters the career trajectory primarily by accelerating the process of occupational mobility rather than by increasing the level of occupational attainment. Further, the effect of migration on careers varies by type of migration, especially for women. Male-female differences in the outcome of family migration, however, are visible only in transitions into and out of employment.
Light Emitting Properties of Fluorine-Substituted Poly(1,4-phenylene vinylenes)

Three fluorine-containing polymers, poly(2-fluoro-1,4-phenylene vinylene), poly(2,5-difluoro-1,4-phenylene vinylene), and poly(2[5]-(n-hexyloxy)-5[2]-fluoro-1,4-phenylene vinylene) (1−3, respectively) have been synthesized by the soluble precursor method and were used to fabricate light emitting diode (LED) devices. Monosubstituted 1 yielded an electroluminescent emission peaking at 560 nm (green-yellow); polymers 2 and 3 emitted in the 600−610 nm region (red). The result for 1 represents a blue shift in emission relative to emission from hompolymeric unsubstituted poly(1,4-phenylene vinylene) (PPV) LEDs fabricated by similar techniques, while the results for 2 and 3 represent a substantial red shift. These results may be compared to those obtained from LEDs fabricated from copolymers of PPV and poly(2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-1,4-phenylene vinylene), which show a slightly blue shifted emission relative to homopolymeric PPV (Benjamin, I.; Faraggi, E. Z.; Avny, Y.; Davidov, D.; Neumann, R. Chem. Mater. 1996, 8, 3...
Next steps in the expanded learning discourse

This concluding chapter examines the emerging themes, challenges, opportunities, and next steps for ELTO.
Pilot test of the Global Reputation Measurement: what do US students think of the Russian Federation today?

The article reports on the study of the reputation of the Russian Federation among US students. The research, employing a survey methodology, proposes a new instrument, Global Reputation Measurement, based on two previously used instruments: Reputation Quotient and Fombrun–RI (Reputation Institute) Country Reputation Index. The study concludes that US students have on average a neutral attitude toward Russia. The research findings suggest that the Russian Federation does not have to worry about the reputational scars left in the memories of the Americans from the Cold War period. At least, among the younger generation the reputation of Russia and attitudes toward Russia are not negative. Russia is not viewed as an enemy or villain, but rather as one of the countries out there. The bigger problem that Russia faces is lack of knowledge about Russia – its history, nature, economy, and policies.
Tests for heritable genetic damage and for evidence of gonadal exposure in mammals.

Abstract Tests for the induction of genetic damage in mammalian germ cells provide the data needed for human genetic risk assessment and are used as standards for judging the ability of shorter-term tests to predict genetic hazard. In this review, 15 mammalian germ-cell tests and their variants are described. These tests are of two general types: (a) those designed to detect certain classes of genetic damage (gene mutations, chromosome breakage and/or rearrangement, and chromosome mis-segregation), regardless of whether or not the endpoint scored has any significance to human health, and (b) those designed to detect phenotypes that have human health implications, while the nature of the genetic damage is not usually known. Exposure to a mutagenic agent presents no genetic hazard if the chemical or its metabolites fail to reach the reproductive cells. Tests for gonadal exposure are, therefore, important, as preliminaries or components of studies on germ-cell mutagenicity. Seven of these tests and their variants are briefly described in the second part of the paper.
Feedback invariants of linear multivariable systems

This paper studies the invariant structure of a controllable matrix pair (A, B) under a transformation group G, which includes the regular linear coordinate transformations and also transformations of 'state feedback' type which take A into A + BF for some F. A generalization is obtained, by quite different methods, of Brunovsky's result on the orbital invariants of G. With these invariants is associated a bona fide canonical decomposition of state space into independent controllability subspaces. As applications, the concepts are introduced of 'cover' and 'cover index' of a state subspace relative to a controllable pair, together with dual concepts of 'observer' and 'observer index' relative to an observable pair. It is then shown how to compute a dynamic observer of minimal order which asymptotically evaluates a single linear functional.
Molecular Diffusion Coefficients in Ethanol/Water/Carbon Dioxide Mixtures

Supercritical and liquid mixtures of ethanol/H2O/CO2 are increasingly used to extract solutes from solid or semi-solid matrixes when nontoxic solvents and fast extraction kinetics are desired. Accordingly, to better understand the mass transport capabilities of these mixtures, the diffusion coefficients of benzene, anthracene, m-cresol, and p-nitrophenol in enhanced-fluidity liquid mixtures of ethanol/H2O/CO2 were studied. The effect of mixture composition and temperature variation on the measured diffusion coefficients was studied. In a mixture containing 0.61/0.39 mole ratio ethanol/H2O, the diffusion coefficients of the four solutes increased comparably either by adding 30 mol % CO2 or by changing the temperature of the mixture from 25 to 60 degrees C. The experimental data were compared to that predicted by the Stokes-Einstein and the Wilke-Chang relations. Often, the experimental diffusion coefficients were greater than those predicted by these mass transport relations. However, the Eyring relationship was useful in describing the variation of diffusion coefficients as a function of temperature change for all of the ethanol/H2O/CO2 mixtures tested.
A New Transport Layer Sensor Network Protocol

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) are becoming a viable tool for many monitoring applications. These applications may be of critical nature where the transportation of the information of events from the region of interest to some base station or sink is crucial, where the data loss can not be tolerated. In the other direction, the information (for the purpose of control or management) sent from the base station to the sensor nodes can be very sensitive to loss as well. For example, in re-tasking sensors nodes, sending a program image to them is challenging. A loss of a single message, associated with the program code, will leave the image useless and the whole re-tasking process will fail. To deal with with this issue, a reliable Transport Protocol is needed that can guarantee the delivery of packets and can cater to the special neecds and characteristics of WSN. In this paper, we discuss the importance and the need of the transport layer protocol for wireless sensor networks and review some existing work. We also propose to implement the transport layer protocol on two-tiered wireless sensor network, a clustering-based archtecture where the cluster-heads, more powerful in resources and features, can deal with the responsibilities of a transport layer protocol, and can provide the reliability in data transmission.
Relative dispersion in a single realization of divergent flow

Abstract A single realization of time-dependent divergent flow can stir the specific concentration of a passive scalar to coarse-grained spatial uniformity. It is necessary only that the Lagrangian time series of velocity, and of divergence, become independent at sufficiently large separations in time. Independence is defined here in terms of the distributions over the totality of coarse-graining cells that cover the spatial domain. The result applies to two-dimensional flow on isopycnal surfaces in the ocean and the troposphere, and to high speed three-dimensional flow in the stratosphere. The result holds for stationary and moderately nonstationary flow statistics. Homogeneity is not required. The analysis is complicated owing to certain Lagrangian spatial averages not commuting with temporal integrals, but the need to invoke the abstraction of an ensemble of worlds is avoided.
Watermark design for embedded wavelet image codec

A new scheme to search perceptually significant wavelet coefficients for effective digital watermark casting is proposed in this research. An adaptive method is developed to determine significant subbands and select a number of significant coefficients in these subbands. Experimental results show that the cast watermark can be successfully retrieved after various attacks including signal processing, geometric processing, noise adding, JPEG and wavelet-based compression methods.© (1998) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
La rhétorique protestataire du Parlement de Rouen (1753-1763)

Durant les quatre dernieres decennies de l'Ancien Regime, d'âpres querelles eclaterent entre les parlements de France et la Couronne. Bon nombre d'historiens, appartenant aux ecoles les plus diverses de l'historiographie, ont essaye de faire la lumiere sur le rapport qui a pu exister entre ces querelles et la Revolution francaise. Il est a remarquer que le debat historiographique sur l'importance du role joue par l'opposition parlementaire s'est toujours pose dans les termes du debat politique qui debuta pendant la periode que Jean Egret a appelee la « pre-Revolution francaise ». En septembre 1788, lorsque le Parlement de Paris demanda que les Etats generaux fussent convoques « suivant la forme observee en 1614 », les parlements subirent immediatement une perte de prestige dans l'opinion publique. Des les annees 1750, ils s'etaient fait une gloire, tant dans leurs propres ecrits qu'a travers ceux d'autres representants de la societe lettree, d'etre les defenseurs de la tradition constitutionnelle francaise contre la monarchie usurpatrice.
A note on the Everett interpretation of quantum mechanics

Three aspects of the Everett interpretation of quantum mechanics are considered. It is first shown that the proof of the metatheorem is not complete—thus it is an open question as to whether or not it is true. Next, some difficulties for the Everett interpretation and the metatheorem, which arise from consideration of the physics developed by observers in maverick universes, are discussed. Finally, it is shown that the universal state description of an ever-branching universe with each branch corresponding to a possible perceived universe fails completely in the limit of an infinite number of successive branchings.
Cherty carbonate facies of the Montoya Group, southern New Mexico and western Texas and its regional correlatives: a record of Late Ordovician paleoceanography on southern Laurentia

Abstract The Upper Ordovician Montoya Group in southern New Mexico and westernmost Texas records predominantly subtidal deposition on a gently dipping carbonate ramp that was subsequently nearly entirely dolomitized. The medial unit of the Montoya Group, the Aleman Formation is unique because it contains abundant chert (10–70% by volume). The chert occurs as: (1) thin continuous beds of sponge spicules within mudstone or calcisiltite; (2) discontinuous, lenses or nodules within skeletal wackestones and packstones; or (3) as a replacement of skeletal grains and burrows. Coeval skeletal grainstones and muddy peritidal facies contain little chert. Phosphate (up to 5 wt.%) occurs within the underlying Upham Formation and the Aleman Formation as replacement of fossils and peloids. The abundance of chert and phosphate in these subtidal facies indicates they formed within a region of strong upwelling. Regional correlation with Upper Ordovician cherty units along the periphery of southern Laurentia and other low latitude continents suggests that upwelling was widespread and long-lived during the Late Ordovician. The upwelling is interpreted to record vigorous oceanic circulation produced by the onset of glaciation on Gondwana during this period. Late Ordovician relative sea-level curves around the periphery of Laurentia indicate correlative third-order (1–3 my duration) fluctuations that may provide a means for high-resolution global correlations. However, the mechanism(s) that produced these long-term fluctuations are unclear.
Theory of multiwave propagation and frequency conversion in a Raman medium

A theory is presented to describe the propagation of a laser pulse with several frequency components ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{j}$=${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{O}$+j${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{R}$ through a Raman medium, where ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{0}$ is the initial laser frequency and ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{R}$ is the frequency of the Raman transition. We consider primarily the transient regime, where the pulse width is comparable to or less than the relaxation times of the medium. We formulate the Maxwell-Bloch equations in terms of a two-photon Rabi frequency \ensuremath{\Omega} and an overall phase theta. The resulting equations are similar in form to those describing self-induced transparency, and exhibit solutions corresponding to slowly traveling, but ultimately decaying, pulses. Numerical solutions to the equations are presented that include pump depletion, the ac Stark shift, and finite relaxation times. Significant frequency conversion to high-order (j\ensuremath{\sim}8) anti-Stokes modes is observed in the numerical results.
LRRK2 function on actin and microtubule dynamics in Parkinson disease

The mutations in the LRRK2 gene cause clinically typical, late-onset Parkinson’s disease, strengthening the idea that the familial forms of the disease represent an important tool for the study of ...
Scattering of Ultrasound by Blood

The ultrasonic volumetric scattering cross section of the erythrocyte has been measured over a range of frequencies by comparing the rms value of the gated backscattered signal from the blood with that of a wave reflected from a flat reflector with known reflection coefficient. It is found to be proportional to the fourth power of the frequency predicted by the wave scattering theory for small particles in the frequency range from 5 MHz to 15 MHz. The relation between the scattering coefficient and the hematocrit is also examined up to a hematocrit of 45 percent. This coefficient is found to increase along with the hematocrit until it reaches a maximum around hematocrit = 26 percent and then decreases as the hematocrit increases. Twersky's wave scattering theory is applied to describe this result.
Descriptive Simulation: Combining Symbolic and Numerical Methods in the Analysis of Chemical Reaction Mechanisms

Abstract The Kineticist's Workbench is a computer program currently under development whose purpose is to help chemists understand, analyze, and simplify complex chemical reaction mechanisms. This paper discusses one module of the program that numerically simulates mechanisms and constructs qualitative descriptions of the simulation results. These descriptions are given in terms that are meaningful to the working chemist (e.g., steady states, stable oscillations, and so on); and the descriptions (as well as the data structures used to construct them) are accessible as input to other programs.
The Oshkosh Meteorite

In the fall of 1961, fragments of an olivine-bronzite chondrite were found about 2 miles NNW of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the total weight being 144.8 g. This paper fixes the exact location and describes the circumstances of the find.
SACCHARIDES IN PROSO AND FOXTAIL MILLETS

The saccharide composition of 8 samples of proso and foxtail millets was determined. Sucrose was the major saccharide followed by raffinose. Glucose, fructose, and galactose were present only in trace amounts. Myo-inositol was found in small amounts in some of the samples. Maltose and maltotriose were not detected. Autolysis after 16 hr at pH 6.5 and 5.0, respectively, changed the saccharide composition. Sucrose and raffinose values decreased. Maltose values increased with autolysis at pH 6.5, but were much lower with incubation of the samples in a pH 5.0 acetate buffer. The amounts of myo-inositol were higher after autolysis at the lower pH presumably due to hydrolysis of phytic acid by phytase.
The mercury content of prehistoric fish

Seventeen samples of fish remains have been analyzed for mercury content by a neutron activation technique. Three samples were from Apple Creek, a Late Woodland site in central Illinois, which is dated shortly after A.D. 400. Five samples were from the Schultz site in Saginaw County, Michigan, a Middle Woodland location slightly older than Apple Creek. The remaining nine samples were from the pre‐Inca Chilca site located on the central coast of Peru. Freshwater species tested were Ictalurus punctatus (channel catfish), Pylodictis olivaris (flathead catfish), and Aplodinotus grunniens (drum). Five modern samples of these species from streams near Apple Creek were analyzed as a control. Peruvian salt water species have not yet been identified but are probably tuna and anchovy. Samples of the soil matrix in which the Chilca and Shultz specimens were found were also tested. Twelve of the prehistoric samples contained mercury in detectable quantities ranging from 0.014 to 9.463 ppm. Only one of the modern samp...
FM-test: a fuzzy-set-theory-based approach to differential gene expression data analysis.

Background Microarray techniques have revolutionized genomic research by making it possible to monitor the expression of thousands of genes in parallel. As the amount of microarray data being produced is increasing at an exponential rate, there is a great demand for efficient and effective expression data analysis tools. Comparison of gene expression profiles of patients against those of normal counterpart people will enhance our understanding of a disease and identify leads for therapeutic intervention.
Implementation of armlocking with a delay of 1 second in the presence of Doppler shifts

LISA relies on several techniques to reduce the initial laser frequency noise in order to achieve an interferometric length measurement with an accuracy of ≈ 10pm/. LISA will use ultra-stable reference cavities as a first step to reduce the laser frequency noise. In a second step the frequency will be stabilized to the LISA arms which provide a better reference in the frequency band of interest. We present experimental results demonstrating Arm locking with LISA-like light travel times and Doppler shifts. We also integrated this system with a LISA-like pre-stabilization system using our ultra-stable cavities. The addition of realistic Doppler shifts led to further refinements of the arm locking controllers compared to the controller architecture discussed in the past. A first experimental result of the new controller is also presented.
Cache content placement using triangular network coding

Video is one of the main causes of the dramatic increase in data traffic over cellular networks. Caching is an effective mechanism that decreases the download rate from base stations and, as a result, the load on the base station, by storing the most popular files or videos on the caches and providing them to the users. The problem of efficient content placement on the caches is known as an NP-complete problem. In this paper, we study the role of network coding by increasing the amount of available data to the users through the cache nodes. We propose a network coding-based content placement method, and we compare it to the best uncoded content placement and the best triangular network coding strategies. Our method not only increases the amount of available data to the users, but also results in a fair distribution of data.
Multi-objective parameter estimation for simulating canopy transpiration in forested watersheds

Abstract A Jarvis based [Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London, Ser. B 273 (1976) 593] model of canopy stomatal conductance was evaluated in context of its application to simulating transpiration in a conifer forest covered watershed in the Central Sierra Nevada of California, USA. Parameters influencing stomatal conductance were assigned values using Monte Carlo sampling. Model calibration was conducted by evaluating predicted latent heat fluxes against thermal remote sensing estimates of surface temperature. A fuzzy logic approach was used to select or reject simulations and form a restricted set of ensemble parameter solutions. Parameter estimates derived from the ensembles were evaluated using theory on how stomatal conductance regulates leaf water potential to prevent runaway cavitation. Canopy level parameters were found to be sufficient for predicting hydraulically consistent transpiration when soils were well watered. A rooting length parameter controlling the amount of plant available water was a sufficient addition to the parameter set to predict hydraulically consistent transpiration when soil moisture stress was occurring. Variations in maximum stomatal conductance among different hillslopes within the watershed were explained by a light threshold parameter. The results demonstrate that the Jarvis model can be reliably parameterized using thermal remote sensing data for estimating transpiration in meso-scale watersheds.
Out of the Mouths of Babes: Early College High School Students’ Transformational Learning Experiences

Focus Group interviews with 31 disadvantaged students in an Early College High School (ECHS) program present insights to students’ experience in the hybrid school, specifically regarding their perc...
Axially Symmetric 3D Pots Configuration System Using Axis of Symmetry and Break Curve

This paper introduces a novel approach for reassembling pot sherds found at archaeological excavation sites, for the purpose of reconstructing clay pots that had been made on a wheel. These pots and the sherds into which they have broken are axially symmetric. The reassembly process can be viewed as 3D puzzle solving or generalized cylinder learning from broken fragments. The estimation exploits both local and semi-global geometric structure, thus making it a fundamental problem of geometry estimation from noisy fragments in computer vision and pattern recognition. The data used are densely digitized 3D laser scans of each fragment's outer surface. The proposed reassembly system is automatic and functions when the pile of available fragments is from one or multiple pots, and even when pieces are missing from any pot. The geometric structure used are curves on the pot along which the surface had broken and the silhouette of a pot with respect to an axis, called axis-profile curve (APC). For reassembling multiple pots with or without missing pieces, our algorithm estimates the APC from each fragment, then reassembles into configurations the ones having distinctive APC. Further growth of configurations is based on adding remaining fragments such that their APC and break curves are consistent with those of a configuration. The method is novel, more robust and handles the largest numbers of fragments to date.
Defect and design error location procedure-theoretical basis

In this paper theoretical basis for VLSI chip defect diagnosis and defect location are discussed and a simple diagnosability measure is introduced. The proposed framework can be used to evaluate quality of defect diagnosis oriented testing vectors, as well as, for the development of test generation algorithms. >
Thermodynamical and Statistical Mechanical Implications Associated with Grüneisen Ratios Calculated by Various Formulations

The direct relationship between the thermal expansion of a solid material to the motion of the atoms in the interchain potential of the crystal has been the topic of much discussion (1–10). New theoretical approximations were initiated with the theories of Barron (11) and Blackman (12) who used Born-Von Karman lattice dynamics to generalize the Gruneisen theory on thermal expansion. Barron (11) has shown that the calculation of the Gruneisen ratio acts as a useful link between experiment and theory in the consideration of the temperature variation of the frequencies of vibration in solid state dynamics. Childs (13), Collins and White (14) and Vernon and Weintroub (15) have illustrated the relationship of the Gruneisen ratio to the anisotropy of many noncubic materials. Wada, et. al. (10) pointed out that the Gruneisen ratio is a means of determining the interchain specific heat, Cint, and the mass, m*, of a segmented unit in the original lattice.
A Poisoning-Resilient TCP Stack

We treat the problem of large-scale TCP poisoning: an attacker, who is able to monitor TCP packet headers in the network, can deny service to all flows traversing the monitoring point simply by injecting a single spoofed data or control packet into each of the flows. One of the entities responsible for this severe vulnerability is certainly the TCP protocol itself: it behaves as a "dummy" state machine that can more-than-easily become desynchronized by an attacker. In this paper, we explore ways for upgrading TCP endpoints into viable DoS-resilient protocol entities, capable of mitigating large-scale poisoning attacks. We show, by means of analytical modeling, simulations, and Internet experiments, how small upgrades implemented by the endpoints can dramatically improve resilience to attacks. The key mechanisms unique to our approach are (i) deferred protocol reaction, used to accurately detect poisoning attacks; (ii) forward nonces, applied to distinguish among different traffic sources during the attack; and (iii) self-clocking-based correlation, utilized for successfully detecting legitimate packet streams. Our solution solely relies on the protocol design, it is incrementally deployable, and TCP friendly.
The absence of coherent vibrations in the Raman spectra of living cells

Abstract Mie scattering from cell density fluctuations reproduces the majority of reported spectra from a Raman study of living cell suspensions. These previous spectra do not represent evidence for coherent vibrations of intracellular macromolecules predicted by Frohlich.
β‐Hydroxynorleucine: Separation of its isomers and biological studies

Abstract Separation of the four isomers of β‐hydroxynorleucine was accomplished by partition column chromatography and asymmetric enzymatic hydrolysis of the N ‐chloroacetyl derivatives. From these, the corresponding N ‐chloroacetyl derivatives were made. The purity and configuration of each isomer of the free acid and N ‐chloroacetylated derivative were ascertained by: (a) paper chromatography in five solvent systems, (b) elemental analysis, ( c ) Van Slyke nitrous acid determination of primary amino nitrogen, ( d ) Van Slyke ninhydrin determination of α‐carbonyl carbon, and ( e ) optical rotation. Comparison of the rate of enzymatic hydrolysis by hog renal acylase I of the N ‐chloroacetyl derivative of the L‐isomers of each diastereomer showed that the acyl B isomer is a better substrate than the acyl A isomer, where A denotes the faster moving diastereomer and B denotes the slower moving diastereomer in a defined chromatographic solvent system. Microbiological assay using Lactobacillus casei in a system selected for screening for possible antitumor activity indicated that while none of the isomers as free amino acids had any growth inhibitory action, the N ‐acylated isomers showed modest but significant activity. The N ‐chloroacetyl derivative of the D‐enantiomorph of diastereomer B exhibited the greatest growth inhibitory activity, showing about twice the activity of the other three isomers.
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Navigation Strategy for Mars Science Laboratory Entry, Descent and Landing Telecommunication Relay Support

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is an orbiting asset that performs remote sensing observations in order to characterize the surface, subsurface and atmosphere of Mars. To support upcoming NASA Mars Exploration Program Office objectives, MRO will be used as a relay communication link for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission during the MSL Entry, Descent and Landing sequence. To do so, MRO Navigation must synchronize the MRO Primary Science Orbit (PSO) with a set of target conditions requested by the MSL Navigation Team; this may be accomplished via propulsive maneuvers. This paper describes the MRO Navigation strategy for and operational performance of MSL EDL relay telecommunication support.
Computations on Heisenberg Spin Models

A computational approach for general Heisenberg spin Hamiltonians for a finite number of interacting doublet species is described. Maximum use of permutation and point group symmetry is incorporated in factorizing the secular equation. Associated problems in the computation of symmetric group characters, related frequencies, and selection of linearly independent kets from a large linearly dependent set are also solved.
Preplant Fungicide Dips of Strawberry Transplants to Control Anthracnose Caused by Colletotrichum acutatum in California

ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS. crown rot, Fragaria ·ananassa, root rot, strobilurin SUMMARY. Bare-root daughter plants of strawberry (Fragaria ·ananassa) were inoculated with Colletotrichum acutatum, the cause of crown rot, root rot, and fruit rot of strawberry in California. Plants were subsequently dipped in fungicide solutionsorwashedwithrunningtapwaterimmediatelybeforeplantinginSummer and Fall 2002 and Fall 2004. Fungicide treatments reduced plant dieback by up to 92% in fruit production fields. Plants treated with azoxystrobin, the premixtures of boscalid + pyraclostrobin and cyprodinil + fludioxonil had 50% to 92% reduction in disease incidence, increased canopy size by more than 100%, and produced significantlyhighermarketableyieldsinallplantingdatesthantheinoculatedplants that were not treated with the fungicides. Chlorothalonil and captan also significantly reduced disease incidence but did not consistently increase marketable yield compared with the untreated, inoculated control. The effects of propiconazole and trifloxystrobin were inconsistent in reducing disease incidence. Water wash did not reduce root and crown disease incidence but significantly increased marketable yields by 13% over the untreated, inoculated controls in one of two plantings. No pretransplant treatments provided protection against fruit and foliar infection; thus, in-season fungicide applications would be necessary for disease control in commercial productionfields if environmental conditions favored disease development.
On the relative brightness of specular and diffuse reflection

Inhomogeneous dielectric surfaces exhibit both diffuse and specular reflection components. While various reflection models have been proposed for both of these components, the prediction of the relative strengths of these components in computer vision and computer graphics has so far not had a strong physical motivation. We propose in this paper a reflectance model for combined diffuse and specular reflection from dielectric materials which involves purely physical parameters (i.e., no ad hoc weighting of specular and diffuse components). This reflectance model is used to predict the relative strength of diffuse and specular reflection components in terms of imaging geometry, dielectric surface parameters, and, solid angular extent of incident light. We derive lower bounds on the contrast ratio between a specularity and surrounding diffuse reflecting regions. These can be used effectively to rule out highly contrasting diffuse reflecting regions being misidentified as specularities under a number of conditions which can significantly aid intensity-based specularity detection methods, and in turn image understanding. The theoretical developments in this paper can be used to predict the photometric dynamic range of illuminated objects which can be essential to inspection methods in machine vision. The developments in this paper can also be used in computer graphics for the physically precise rendering of the relative strengths of specular and diffuse reflection from inhomogeneous dielectrics. >
THE C. ELEGANS PROTEIN EGL-1 IS REQUIRED FOR PROGRAMMED CELL DEATH AND INTERACTS WITH THE BCL-2-LIKE PROTEIN CED-9

Abstract Gain-of-function mutations in the Caenorhabditis elegans gene egl-1 cause the HSN neurons to undergo programmed cell death. By contrast, a loss-of-function egl-1 mutation prevents most if not all somatic programmed cell deaths. The egl-1 gene negatively regulates the ced-9 gene, which protects against cell death and is a member of the bcl-2 family. The EGL-1 protein contains a nine amino acid region similar to the Bcl-2 homology region 3 (BH3) domain but does not contain a BH1, BH2, or BH4 domain, suggesting that EGL-1 may be a member of a family of cell death activators that includes the mammalian proteins Bik, Bid, Harakiri, and Bad. The EGL-1 and CED-9 proteins interact physically. We propose that EGL-1 activates programmed cell death by binding to and directly inhibiting the activity of CED-9, perhaps by releasing the cell death activator CED-4 from a CED-9/CED-4–containing protein complex.
Was Your Mother Right— Do We Always Need to Close the Door?

Stroke remains one of the most feared and devastating complications for patients to envisage. This remains true regardless of the age of the patient and the presence or absence of comorbidities, but it may be relatively more important the younger the patient is. Establishing the pathogenesis of stroke is fundamentally important for attempts at prevention. In some patients, the diagnosis of the underlying cause is relatively straightforward—eg, the presence of a high-grade, ulcerated lesion in the carotid artery in the distribution of the central nervous system symptoms or neurological deficit. In other cases, it may be considerably more difficult; then, the question of a cardiac source is often raised. See p 1121 Echocardiography has become an integral part of the evaluation in many such patients. Early in the history of this field, attention was focused on the left atrial appendage as a putative source. In addition, however, abnormalities of the atrial septum were documented and have since come to occupy an important position. These abnormalities were further characterized after the introduction of contrast studies and transesophageal echocardiography, which helped in the documentation of patent foramen ovale (PFO), atrial septal aneurysm (ASA), and right-to-left shunt. In such patients, emboli potentially could pass from the venous to the systemic arterial circulation.1,2⇓ It must be remembered that there may be other mechanisms, including thrombus forming in the ASA or thrombus from supraventricular arrhythmias. In a recent meta-analysis,3 there were 2738 references of case-control studies that identified the keywords PFO, ASA, or right-to-left shunt. In this meta-analysis, combined odds ratios were calculated with the use of both fixed and random-effect methods. There are several important issues that can be addressed, including: (1) the frequency of each of these conditions in control populations versus patients with cryptogenic stroke or stroke of known …
Pyrolysis and Volatilization of Cocaine

The increasing popularity of inhaling cocaine vapor prompted the present study, to determine cocaine's fate during this process. The free base of [3H]cocaine (1 microCi/50 mg) was added to a glass pipe, which was then heated in a furnace to simulate freebasing. Negative pressure was used to draw the vapor through a series of glass wool, ethanol, acidic, and basic traps. Air flow rate and temperature were found to have profound effects on the volatilization and pyrolysis of cocaine. At a temperature of 260 degrees C and a flow rate of 400 mL/min, 37% of the radioactivity remained in the pipe, 39% was found in the glass wool trap, and less than 1% in the remainder of the volatilization apparatus after a 10-min volatilization. Reducing the air flow rate to 100 mL/min reduced the amount of radioactivity collected in the glass wool trap to less than 10% of the starting material and increased the amount that remained in the pipe to 58%. GC/MS analysis of the contents of the glass wool trap after volatilization at 260 degrees C and a flow rate of 400 mL/min revealed that 60% of the cocaine remained intact, while approximately 6 and 2% of the starting material was recovered as benzoic acid and methylecgonidine, respectively. As the temperature was increased to 650 degrees C, benzoic acid and methylecgonidine accounted for 83 and 89% of the starting material, respectively, whereas only 2% of the cocaine remained intact. Quantitation of cocaine in the vapor during the course of volatilization revealed high concentrations during the first two min and low concentrations for the remaining time.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Quantitative prediction of CYP2B6 induction by estradiol during pregnancy: potential explanation for increased methadone clearance during pregnancy.

There is considerable evidence that pregnancy changes the disposition of drugs in an enzyme- and gestational stage–specific manner. On the basis of probe drug studies, the activity of CYP3A4 and CYP2D6 increases and CYP1A2 decreases during human pregnancy. However, no studies of CYP2B6 activity during human pregnancy have been conducted. In rodent models and in HepG2 cells, CYP2B enzymes have been shown to be regulated by estradiol. Because estradiol concentrations increase by ∼50-fold during human pregnancy, it was hypothesized that the increasing estradiol concentrations during human pregnancy would result in induction of CYP2B6 activity. Hepatocytes from three female donors were treated with estradiol, and the EC50 and Emax were measured for CYP2B6 mRNA and bupropion hydroxylation activity. The measured values were used to predict the magnitude of CYP2B6 induction during human pregnancy. At 100 nM total estradiol, a concentration achievable during the third trimester of pregnancy, CYP2B6 activity was predicted to increase by 1.5–3-fold, based on increased CYP2B6 activity and mRNA. When the Emax and EC50 values were compared with those for carbamazepine and rifampin, estradiol was found to be as potent an inducer of CYP2B6 as rifampin and carbamazepine. These data suggest that, during human pregnancy, the increasing estradiol concentrations will result in increased clearance of drugs that have CYP2B6-mediated clearance pathways. This could in part explain the observed increase in methadone clearance during pregnancy.
RNA-Seq Accuracy Comprehensive Assessment, Duplicability and Knowledge Content by the Sequencing Internal Control Consortium

We gift primary results from the Sequencing Internal Control (SEQC) project, coordinated by the America Food and Drug Administration. Examining Illumina HiSeq, Life Technologies SOLiD and Roche 454 platforms at multiple laboratory sites victimization reference RNA samples with intrinsical controls, we have a tendency to assess RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) performance for junction discovery and differential expression identification and compare it to microarray and quantitative PCR (qPCR) information victimization complementary metrics. in the slightest degree sequencing depths, we have a tendency to discover unannotated exon-exon junctions, with >80% valid by qPCR. We discover that measurements of relative expression area unit correct and reproducible across sites and platforms if specific filters area unit used. In distinction, RNA-seq and microarrays don't offer correct absolute measurements, and gene-specific biases area unit determined for all examined platforms, together with qPCR. Activity performance depends on the platform and information analysis pipeline, and variation is giant for transcript-level identification. The whole SEQC information sets, comprising >100 billion reads (10Tb), offer distinctive resources for evaluating RNA-seq analyses for clinical and regulative settings.
Human Gaze Stabilization During Natural Activities: Translation, Rotation, Magnification, and Target Distance Effects

Crane, Benjamin T. and Joseph L. Demer. Human gaze stabilization during natural activities: translation, rotation, magnification, and target distance effects. J. Neurophysiol. 78: 2129–2144, 1997. ...
Introduction to Ultra Low Power Transceiver Design

Design of radios with ultra-low-power consumption can enable many new and exciting applications ranging from wearable healthcare to Internet of Things devices and beyond. Achieving low power operation is usually an exercise in trading-off important performance metrics with power. This chapter presents an overview of state-of-the-art narrowband architectures and techniques that achieve ultra-low-power operation, and concludes with a section that benchmarks recent state-of-the-art designs in order to illustrate power-performance trade-offs.
Novel Switching Jumps Dependent Exponential Synchronization Criteria for Memristor-Based Neural Networks

This paper investigates the problem of global exponential synchronization for memristor-based neural networks with delay. Based on the nonsmooth analysis and differential inclusion theory, a new analytic technique is employed to design a discontinuous state feedback controller, which ensures the memristor-based drive system exponential synchronize with the response system. The succinct synchronization conditions is closely relate to the switching jumps. The estimated rate of the exponential synchronization can be obtained by solving a sample algebra equation. Simulation results are given to show the effectiveness and benefits of the proposed methods.
Participatory development and rural modernization in Hausa Niger

The Republic of Niger is a particularly interesting case for students of the relationship between political power and economic modernization. Since independence its government has advocated a rural development strategy called participation populaire au developpement, which proposes a specific resolution to the dual needs of the state to raise the standard of living while building the power capacity of the national government.
Sexually active adolescents: implication for social work intervention and family planning services.

There are considerable data documenting the devastating consequences of school age parenthood on the young mothers life and that of her child. Yet to deal effectively with the increasing incidence of adolescent sexuality more knowledge is necessary regarding the characteristics of young females who effectively use contraceptives and those who are sexually active without protection and become pregnant. Exploratory research focusing on these 2 groups was conducted to provide these data. Profiles of these 2 groups are offered and implications for social work intervention and family planning services are discussed. (authors modified)
Book Review: Botulinum Toxin: Procedures in Cosmetic Dermatology Series

Alastair Carruthers, Jean Carruthers , eds. Botulinum Toxin: Procedures in Cosmetic Dermatology Series. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders, 2012. ISBN-10: 1455727814 Botox (Allergan, Inc, Irvine, California) is likely one of the most (if not the most) referenced medical terms on the Internet and in popular culture. Not a day goes by that an aesthetic plastic surgeon will not be asked about the use of a neurotoxin. According to statistics from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, botulinum toxin injections continue to be the most commonly performed cosmetic procedure, with more than 4 million procedures in 2012 alone.1 These statistics do not cover the ever-increasing number of procedures performed by physicians outside the core specialties or those performed for medical indications alone. The growth in use has been consistently significant since the cosmetic indication was approved more than a decade ago. Botulinum Toxin is a workbook designed for practical use and application by world experts on the subject. The authors are recognized experts in the field of dermatology. The …
Segmental distribution of epidermal growth factor binding sites in rabbit nephron

The kidney possesses epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptors and is a major site of synthesis for the EGF precursor, prepro-EGF. To examine the segmental localization of EGF receptors in the rabbit...
Immunological and clinical significance of HLA class I antigen processing machinery component defects in malignant cells

Experimental as well as clinical studies demonstrate that the immune system plays a major role in controlling generation and progression of tumors. The cancer immunoediting theory supports the notion that tumor cell immunogenicity is dynamically shaped by the immune system, as it eliminates immunogenic tumor cells in the early stage of the disease and then edits their antigenicity. The end result is the generation of a tumor cell population able to escape from immune recognition and elimination by tumor infiltrating lymphocytes. Two major mechanisms, which affect the target cells and the effector phase of the immune response, play a crucial role in the editing process. One is represented by the downregulation of tumor antigen (TA) processing and presentation because of abnormalities in the HLA class I antigen processing machinery (APM). The other one is represented by the anergy of effector immune infiltrates in the tumor microenvironment caused by aberrant inhibitory signals triggered by immune checkpoint receptor (ICR) ligands, such as programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1). In this review, we will focus on tumor immune escape mechanisms caused by defects in HLA class I APM component expression and/or function in different types of cancer, with emphasis on head and neck cancer (HNC). We will also discuss the immunological implications and clinical relevance of these HLA class I APM abnormalities. Finally, we will describe strategies to counteract defective TA presentation with the expectation that they will enhance tumor recognition and elimination by tumor infiltrating effector T cells.
Development of the dry-band arc on all-dielectric self-supporting cables during laboratory tests

Utilities frequently install All-Dielectric Self-Supporting (ADSS) fiber-optic cables on transmission lines. The cable jackets suffer damage due to dry-band arcing caused by high electric fields and pollution on the cable. A test method to determine cable resistance to dry-band arcing is being considered for standardization by the IEEE. A new nozzle arrangement for the test is proposed in this paper. Using this nozzle the repeatability of the test is significantly improved over previous arrangements. Each test cycle consists of three stages: wetting, drying, and arcing. The three stages are examined in detail. Development of the dry-band arc on the cable jacket during the arcing period is presented. It is shown that the length of the arc increases exponentially with time and reaches a stable length. The stable length is shown to be a function of the applied voltage.
Planned Descemetorhexis Without Endothelial Keratoplasty in Eyes With Fuchs Corneal Endothelial Dystrophy.

Purpose:The purpose of this study was to describe the results of a simple 6-mm central descemetorhexis in eyes with Fuchs corneal endothelial dystrophy.Methods:This prospective nonrandomized IRB approved pilot study was performed on 2 patients with coexisting Fuchs dystrophy and cataract who underwe