cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nickel Block of Three Cloned T-Type Calcium Channels: Low Concentrations Selectively Block α1H

Nickel has been proposed to be a selective blocker of low-voltage-activated, T-type calcium channels. However, studies on cloned high-voltage-activated Ca(2+) channels indicated that some subtypes, such as alpha1E, are also blocked by low micromolar concentrations of NiCl(2). There are considerable differences in the sensitivity to Ni(2+) among native T-type currents, leading to the hypothesis that there may be more than one T-type channel. We confirmed part of this hypothesis by cloning three novel Ca(2+) channels, alpha1G, H, and I, whose currents are nearly identical to the biophysical properties of native T-type channels. In this study we examined the nickel block of these cloned T-type channels expressed in both Xenopus oocytes and HEK-293 cells (10 mM Ba(2+)). Only alpha1H currents were sensitive to low micromolar concentrations (IC(50) = 13 microM). Much higher concentrations were required to half-block alpha1I (216 microM) and alpha1G currents (250 microM). Nickel block varied with the test potential, with less block at potentials above -30 mV. Outward currents through the T channels were blocked even less. We show that depolarizations can unblock the channel and that this can occur in the absence of permeating ions. We conclude that Ni(2+) is only a selective blocker of alpha1H currents and that the concentrations required to block alpha1G and alpha1I will also affect high-voltage-activated calcium currents.
Anomalous dimensions and the renormalization group in a nonlinear diffusion process.

We present a renormalization-group (RG) approach to the nonlinear diffusion process ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\partial}}}_{\mathit{t}}$u=D ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\partial}}}_{\mathit{x}}^{2}$u, with D=1/2 for ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\partial}}}_{\mathit{x}}^{2}$ug0 and D=(1+\ensuremath{\epsilon})/2 for ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\partial}}}_{\mathit{x}}^{2}$u0, which describes the pressure during the filtration of an elastic fluid in an elastoplastic porous medium. Our approach recovers Barenblatt's long-time result that, for a localized initial pressure distribution, u(x,t)\ensuremath{\sim}${\mathit{t}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}(\mathrm{\ensuremath{\alpha}}+1/2)}$f(x/ \ensuremath{\surd}t, \ensuremath{\epsilon}), where f is a scaling function and \ensuremath{\alpha}=\ensuremath{\epsilon}(2\ensuremath{\pi}e${)}^{1/2}$+O(${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\epsilon}}}^{2}$) is an anomalous dimension, which we compute perturbatively using the RG. This is the first application of the RG to a nonlinear partial differential equation in the absence of noise.
Off-shell prescription for dilation tadpoles☆

Abstract Using the off-shell prescription for the Polyakov path integral with boundaries, we calculate the one-point amplitude on disc (D2) and real projective (RP2) topologies of the world-sheet. From the singular puncture limit of the off-shell boundary, we extract the on-shell dilation tadpoles. The ghost contribution shows up explicitly, which changes the numerical value of the dilaton tadpole amplitude from the previous results. This may be important to the proper factorization of scattering amplitudes on D2 and RP2.
Organosilylmercurials, a mass spectral study☆

Abstract The mass spectra of a number of organosilylmercurials and related compounds have been examined. Although the spectra are dominated by mercury free fragments, all compounds showed parent molecular ions and most showed other mercury containing fragments. Extrusion of mercury was found to be the most important fragmentation process and was supported by metastable peaks in several examples. Bis(triethylsilyl)mercury showed a metastable peak for the formation of Et 3 Si + from the parent molecular ion. This was the only other example of the fragmentation of a parent molecular ion supported by a metastable fragment. The effect of substitution of longer chain alkyl, alkene, phenyl, and chlorine groups on bis(trimethylsilyl)mercury are reported and discussed.
The Case for Open Services Innovation: The Commodity Trap

Service innovations represent an important way for firms to retain their competitive advantage as products become increasingly commoditized. To do so, firms need to think of their businesses as a services business, engage customers in the service innovation process, and employ open innovation as a means to accelerate and deepen service innovation. The creative application of open innovation in services provides firms with the opportunity to fundamentally change their business models. This is an excerpt from Henry Chesbrough's new book, Open Services Innovation: Rethinking Your Business to Grow and Compete in a New Era .
Comparative morphometrics of echinoderm larvae. II. Larval size, shape, growth, and the scaling of feeding and metabolism in echinoplutei

Abstract The relationships among egg size, larval growth and form, and the functional consequences of larval form, (e.g. the changing relationship between ciliated band length and metabolic activity) were compared among four co-occurring echinoids, Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis (O. F. Muller), S. franciscanus (A. Agassiz), S. purpuratus (Stimpson), and Dendraster excentricus (Eschscholtz). Development time from fertilization to the formation of the echinus rudiment, just prior to metamorphic competence, was inversely related to egg volume. Egg sizes spanned a 6-fold range in volume, corresponding to a doubling of developmental duration. Species with smaller eggs should have greater fecundity per unit reproductive effort. However, the larval stages should suffer greater planktonic predation as a result of slower development. In general, the initial differences in larval size and shape that are related to egg size do not persist throughout development. The quantitative importance of shape change in increasing the size of feeding structures relative to support structures is uniformly high (80–85% of total change is allometric) in these species. During the period of arm formation (2-armed stage to 8-armed stage), ciliated band length scaled with strong positive allometry with respect to body length. The allometric exponents ranged from 2.7 to 3.4 and were positively related to egg size. Species with larger eggs have greater inherent capability for increasing the size of feeding structures relative to support structures during growth. Likewise, the sealing of feeding capability with respect to metabolic activity was positively related to egg size, with the allometric exponents ranging from 0.8 to 1.5. An important consequence of increased egg size is the increased ability to seale feeding structures positively with respect to the geometric and energetic size of the larva.
The Extraordinary Abundances of QSO Broad Absorption Line Regions: A Matter of Novae?

The broad absorption lines (BALs) of QSOs indicate abundances of heavy elements, relative to hydrogen, that are 1 to 2 orders of magnitude higher than the solar values. In at least one QSO, an especially large enhancement of phosphorus is observed. These abundances resemble those in Galactic novae, and this suggests that novae may produce the BAL gas. The needed rate of nova outbursts may come from single white dwarfs that accrete gas as they pass through a supermassive accretion disk around a central black hole.
Hubris Games: Analyzing Success and Failure of Large-Scale Energy Projects

You might think that because of the recent global economic downturn and slow recovery that the number of proposed energy "megaprojects" would be declining. However, you would be wrong. Indeed, just one of the lessons from the excellent new book by Benjamin K. Sovacool and Christopher J. Cooper, The Governance of Energy Megaprojects: Politics, Hubris and Energy Security (2013, Edward Elgar), is that the" hubris" is not so much extreme pride or arrogance, but rather "an overestimation of one's own competence, accomplishments or capabilities, especially when the person exhibiting it is in a position of power." The authors demonstrate that not only is there no shortage of megaprojects being developed in the world, but the pace and scope of megaprojects is rapidly increasing, especially energy projects -- even though most such projects have cost overruns and other forms of failed expectation. Until our and other societies build more efficiency or renewable energy projects that save or generate in the 100-500 MWs or so range (not the 2-20,000 MWs range of supersized projects), only then can we best determine how to better slow the growth of fossil fueled greenhouse gas emissions while minimizing externalities and risks. And slow the pace of flawed mega-and tera-sized energy projects.
Spinal canal stenosis with hypophosphatemic vitamin D-resistant rickets: case report.

A 42-year-old woman with sex-linked hypophosphatemic vitamin D-resistant rickets presented with a 6-month history of progressive weakness and numbness in her lower extremities. Radiological studies revealed severe spinal canal stenosis extending from levels T4 to T10. Her symptoms improved markedly after extensive thoracic laminectomies
A navigation algorithm using measurement-based extrapolation

An element in the guidance loop of any aircraft is the navigation system. This system derives position (and sometimes velocity) information by combining data from various on-board and external measurement devices and transmits it to the guidance algorithm. In this paper a navigation algorithm is designed for an aircraft which has on-board inertial measurements, range measurements from a TACAN station, and range, elevation and azimuth measurements from a ground-based radar. The basic design philosophy is the predictor-corrector form for a recursive estimator. State prediction is accomplished by extrapolation of the inertial measurements rather than from Newton's second law. This eliminates major modelling problems caused by the aircraft's aerodynamics. State correction is accomplished using optimal linear stochastic estimation methods. The resulting estimator (navigation algorithm) is essentially an ‘extended Kalman filter’ which processes the above-mentioned inputs and generates optimal (in a linearized sense) estimates of the aircraft's latitude, longitude and altitude.
Further Understanding of the Thermal Motions of Atoms in Aspirin and Acetaminophen Crystals with Conceptual Density Functional Theory

Following up on a previous report, further correlations between force constants of thermal motions of atoms in aspirin and acetaminophen single crystals and nuclear Fukui functions have been identified. It is believed that the energy barrier of the thermal vibration of one atom in an organic crystal is mainly dominated by the soft-soft type of interatomic interactions, which may be characterized by the nuclear Fukui functions.
Multiscale vector fields for image pattern recognition

A uniform processing framework for low-level vision computing in which a bank of spatial filters maps the image intensity structure at each pixel into an abstract feature space is proposed. Some properties of the filters and the feature space are described. Local orientation is measured by a vector sum in the feature space as follows: each filter's preferred orientation along with the strength of the filter's output determine the orientation and the length of a vector in the feature space; the vectors for all filters are summed to yield a resultant vector for a particular pixel and scale. The orientation of the resultant vector indicates the local orientation, and the magnitude of the vector indicates the strength of the local orientation preference. Limitations of the vector sum method are discussed. Investigations show that the processing framework provides a useful, redundant representation of image structure across orientation and scale.
Efficient Parallel Communication Schemes for Computational Fluid Dynamics Codes

A scheme for improving the efficiency of communications for the parallel computation of Euler equations is presented. The NPARC (National PARC) code is employed as an example for analyzing the flow through a supersonic inlet. The flowfield is divided into subregions called blocks. The parallel computation of the problem normally requires communication between each block after each time step of an explicit Runge-Kutta integration scheme. In the developed procedure, the boundary conditions are frozen for k = 10-20 time steps, and blocks are integrated in time without communication with each other during this period. When the boundary conditions are updated, an oscillatory error is introduced into the solution with a fundamental period of 4k time steps, which is then filtered in time. As a result, the communication cost of parallel computing is significantly reduced. Examples for steady and unsteady flows are presented to demonstrate the applicability of the developed procedure
Discussions of three-dimensional models for mixed-mode fatigue crack growth

Abstract This technical note discusses several three-dimensional models for mixed-mode fatigue crack growth that were developed recently by Bian and coauthors [1] , [2] , [3] , [4] , [5] . However, these models are found being formulated from a generally incorrect three-dimensional crack-front stress field for embedded elastic elliptical cracks. The corresponding correct crack-front stress field for the elliptical cracks is thus presented, and then the three-dimensional fatigue crack growth models are corrected and expressed in much simpler functions.
Are actual weather and perceived weather the same? Understanding perceptions of local weather and their effects on risk perceptions of global warming

I use one nationally representative sample from CBS News/New York Times Poll on Environment (2007), supplemented with monthly temperature and precipitation data from the United States Historical Climatology Network and extreme weather events data from National Climatic Data Center, to examine how different weather measures and individuals’ socio-demographic background, political predisposition, and beliefs about global warming affect the perception of local weather. Beliefs about global warming are found to play a dominant role in determining the perception of local weather. Specifically, people who view that global warming is causing an immediate impact, is serious, and needs to be a priority are much more likely to perceive a strange pattern of weather in the recent past. This finding conforms to motivated reasoning which refers to the tendency to interpret evidence to confirm the preexisting beliefs and predisposition. Among all the weather measures, the total number of extreme weather events in the pa...
Destruction of zearalenone in contaminated corn

Several chemical and physical treatments were investigated as possible methods for destroying zearalenone in contaminated corn. An ammoniation process which significantly lowers aflatoxin levels had no effect on zearalenone contamination in yellow corn. Also, treatments of propionic acid, acetic acid, hydrochloric acid, sodium bicarbonate and hydrogen peroxide failed to reduce toxin levels. High-temperature treatment (150 C) had no effect on zearalenone. Formaldehyde, in vapor form from paraformaldehyde crystals or in aqueous solutions, destroyed significant quantities of zearalenone in naturally contaminated yellow corn meal and in spiked corn grits and animal feed. Samples treated with aqueous formaldehyde must be dried at 50 C or more to cause effective destruction of zearale-none. Levels as high as 10 ppm zearalenone in animal feed and 8 ppm in ground corn were reduced to less than 0.5 ppm with formal-dehyde. Ammonium hydroxide and formaldehyde partially des-troyed zearalenone in highly contaminated ground corn. Levels as high as 33.5 ppm were reduced to 12 ppm by 3% ammonium hydroxide and to 2.1 ppm by 3.7% formaldehyde. No treatment used in this study significantly reduced zearalenone levels in whole-kernel corn.
“Sacrifice Honors God”: Ritual Struggle in a Liberian Church

Studies on African Religions have neglected the topic of animal sacrifice in African Initiated Churches. I examine the role and meaning of sacrifice in a Liberian church called the United Church of Salvation I encountered over two decades ago. The church observed two forms of sacrifice: a Sin Sacrifice that mandated immolation of a goat; and a Life Sacrifice that mandated immolation of a ram. Animal sacrifice provided an effective ritual strategy that obviated direct accusations of witchcraft, yet reminded each member of his or her responsibility to the moral order of the church. The church's practice of sacrifice, however, would change with the emergence of Diaspora branches, new affiliations, and circuiting with global Pentecostalism. I contend that sacrifice needs to be understood in terms of ritual struggle, denoting an agonistic theme that continues whether sacrifice persists or disappears.
Translocated stimuli affecting plant virus infections.

Abstract Abrasion, phosphate, and heat treatments which were subcritically injurious to leaves increased or decreased virus infection at a distance from the point of application. Rubbing the lower surfaces of bean and cowpea leaves with a dry brush caused injury to these leaves and increased the susceptibility of the upper surfaces of these leaves to tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) and tobacco necrosis virus (TNV), respectively. If the leaves were washed after abrasion, or if the abrasion was performed under running water, the increase due to abrasion was less. Spraying the lower leaf surfaces with water or aqueous K2HPO4, or applying an air jet to the lower leaf surface, increased infection of TNV on the upper surfaces of cowpea leaves. Floating leaves on phosphate for 1 hour before inoculation reduced the susceptibility of leaves. Heating one primary bean leaf for 2–20 seconds at 60–70° C increased the susceptibility of the opposite leaf to the sweet potato strain of TMV by as much as 300-fold. Increased infection due to translocated stimuli was also demonstrated with spotted wilt virus and peach yellow bud mosaic virus. It is hypothesized that the increased susceptibility may be due to a wound hormone.
Workshop — Developing active learning classroom exercises for use with Tablet PCs

Tablet PCs use their inherent ability to accept electronic ink (e-ink) input to enable users to interact with the device in a more natural way. This is especially important in learning environments where the user needs to focus on subject material rather than on the device used to record or store the subject information. Using Tablet PCs, instructors are able to increase their effectiveness by making more dynamic presentations and by including active exercises into their classroom environments. Tablet PCs also facilitate better and more natural note-taking by students and easier after-class review of course material and notes. Further, Tablet PCs facilitate better interaction with persons participating in classroom sessions from remote locations since they easily involve students exchanging visual descriptions of concepts with the instructor and the rest of the class. Several software packages are available to support the pedagogical needs of the university classroom as well as typical group collaborative environments. Classroom Presenter, DyKnow, WriteOn and MS OneNote with the Interactive Classroom add-in are examples of some of the packages that provide excellent classroom capabilities. These packages allow for a highly interactive environment with both teacher-student and student-student bi-direction real-time interaction. See www.ee.vt.edu/∼jgtront/tabletpc/ to download tablet PC software. In this hands-on tutorial faculty will receive an introduction to the use of Classroom Presenter, OneNote, Interactive Classroom, VectorPad, and PDF Annotator. We will provide sufficient instruction for faculty to have a basic competency with the technology. Most importantly, we will show faculty various pedagogical practices that we have found helpful in using these technology tools in the classroom over the past seven years. Active learning exercises for various disciplines will be emphasized. Faculty will be tasked with developing short active learning exercises starting from the development of goals for the exercise, through the desired student interaction, and ending with the exercise assessment and improvement strategy. These active learning exercises will be targeted to students who are expected to be in the classroom as well as those who may be taking the course at extended campus locations. Exercises will be determined by the individual faculty member's disciplinary interests.
Focusing1 on the natural world: An ecosomatic approach to attunement with an ecological facilitating environment

Although conventional Western thought upholds that we live according to analytic and linear thought models, in reality, the body and the psyche form according to principles that guide self-balancin...
Sub Pixel Detection of Polarimetric Signatures of Man-Made Targets

The purpose of this study is to explore subpixel detection of backscattered polarimeric signatures from targets in a variety of experimental scenarios utilizing high-sensitivity polarimetric detection techniques. An autobalanced polarimetric detection technique was applied and the polarimetric signatures have been processed, by means of Mueller Matrix algorithms, the Stokes parameters were deduced, and the degree of linear polarization (DOLP) was estimated. The experimental results of this study indicate that the DOLP signal produces significant enhancement and target discrimination over backscattered light intensity signals.
Nanoscale attrition during activation of precipitated iron Fischer- Tropsch catalysts: Implications for catalyst design

Publisher Summary The work reported in this chapter is directed at the development of high activity attrition resistant iron catalysts. Commercial catalysts use binders to improve the attrition resistance of iron catalysts. As it is shown in this chapter, binders such as kaolin that are commonly used in commercial catalysts may not be effective in improving attrition resistance. Other binders, such as silica, which may potentially be effective at improving attrition resistance, have been reported to cause a loss of catalyst activity. Previous work has shown that the low reactivity of the supported iron phase may be caused by migration of the silica and incorporation into the iron oxide or on the surfaces of α-Fe. To examine these factors in more detail and to investigate the silica-Fe interface, this chapter has prepared model Fe catalysts. It also discusses the role of Cu on the reducibility of the Fe catalysts. This chapter provides the supporting data that will help in the rational design of precipitated Fe catalysts.
Blockade of Striatal Dopamine Transporters by Intravenous Methylphenidate Is Not Sufficient to Induce Self-Reports of “High”

The reinforcing effects of cocaine and methylphenidate have been linked to their ability to block dopamine transporters (DAT). Using positron emission tomography (PET), we previously showed that intravenous cocaine induced a significant level of DAT blockade, which was associated with the intensity for self-reports of “high” in cocaine abusers. In this study, we measured DAT occupancies after intravenous methylphenidate and assessed whether they also were associated with the “high”. Occupation of DAT by intravenous MP was measured with PET using [11C]cocaine, as a DAT ligand, in eight normal control subjects tested with different methylphenidate doses. The ratio of the distribution volume of [11C]cocaine in striatum to that in cerebellum, which corresponds to B max/ K d + 1, was used as measure of DAT availability. In parallel, self-reports of “high” were measured. Methylphenidate produced a dose-dependent blockade of DAT with an estimated ED50 of 0.075 mg/kg. DAT occupancies were significantly correlated with the “high” ( p < .03). However, four of the eight subjects, despite having significant levels of DAT blockade, did not perceive the “high”. Methylphenidate is as effective as cocaine in blocking DAT in the human brain (cocaine ED50 = 0.13 mg/kg), and DAT blockade, as for cocaine, was also associated with the “high”. However, the fact that there were subjects who despite significant DAT blockade did not experience the “high” suggests that DAT blockade, although necessary, is not sufficient to produce the “high”.
DNA Adducts and Carcinogenesis

A central tenet of cancer research is that tumors arise from cells that have undergone a permanent heritable change in their genetic material. This hypothesis originated from the observation that tumor cells have lost normal growth-control mechanisms and transmit this characteristic to their progeny. It is supported by the findings that most chemically induced tumors are monoclonal in origin1 and that consistent cytogenetic changes are present in certain tumors.2 Although a number of mechanisms can be envisaged to explain the origin of these heritable genetic changes (e.g., see Chapters 4 and 5), clearly the dominant theme in present-day carcinogenesis is that in most instances they arise from the interaction between chemical carcinogens and DNA. This belief is supported by a number of observations, including the facts that (1) most carcinogens are also mutagens; (2) the mutagenic and carcinogenic properties of many compounds depend on their in vivo conversion into electrophilic derivatives that react with nucleophilic sites within DNA to form covalent adducts; (3) the extent of DNA adduct formation can often be correlated with mutagenic and carcinogenic responses; and (4) the activation of specific DNA sequences, termed protooncogenes, can be accomplished through the interaction of chemical carcinogens with DNA (see Chapter 14).
On the interactions between strain accumulation, microstructure, and fatigue crack behavior

Fatigue crack growth is a complex process that involves interactions between many elements ranging across several length scales. This work pro- vides an in-depth, experimental study of fatigue crack growth and the relationships between four of these elements: strain field, microstructure, crack path, and crack growth rate. Multiple data sets were acquired for fatigue crack growth in a nickel-based superalloy, Hastelloy X. Electron backscatter diffraction was used to acquire microstructural information, scanning elec- tron microscopy was used to identify locations of slip bands andcrack path, andoptical microscopy wasused to measure crack growth rates and to acquire images
A third version of constructivism: rethinking Spinoza’s metaethics

In this essay, I claim that certain passages in Book IV of Benedict de Spinoza’s Ethics suggest a novel version of what is known as metaethical constructivism. The constructivist interpretation emerges in the course of attempting to resolve a tension between Spinoza’s apparent ethical egoism and some remarks he makes about the efficacy of collaborating with the right partners when attempting to promote our individual self-interest (Sect. 1). Though Spinoza maintains that individuals necessarily aim to promote their self-interest, I argue that Spinoza has an atypical conception of self (and hence of self-interest) that allows the interests of other people to be partially constitutive of one's own self-interest. In this way, Spinoza can account for the rationality of concern for the interests of others (Sect. 2). This interpretation attributes to Spinoza a form of constructivism that differs in important ways from contemporary Humean and Kantian constructivisms and which can in principle be detached from Spinoza’s particular metaphysical commitments in order to yield a third general category of constructivist view (Sect. 3). Though my treatment is necessarily brief, it is my hope that it can serve both to motivate a constructivist reading of Spinoza and, perhaps even more crucially, to suggest a Spinozistic variety of constructivism as a live theoretical option in metaethics.
Población y sustentabilidad en la era de los cambios ambientales globales: tendiendo puentes entre conocimiento científico y acción en Brasil

MARTINE, George (Ed). Populacao e sustentabilidade na era das mudancas ambientais globais: contribuicoes para uma agenda brasileira. Belo Horizonte: Abep, 2012. 320 p.La preocupacion por la falta de mencion explicita de los temas de poblacion dentro de los temas principales de la Conferencia de la Naciones Unidas sobre Desarrollo Sustentable Rio +20, llevo a los demografos a elaborar una serie de documentos solicitando y justificando la inclusion de la dinamica demografica – tamano, caracteristicas, estructura, composicion, distribucion, procesos de cambio — en la agenda de la Conferencia (GLOBAL EXPERT PANEL, 2011; HERRMAN et al., 2012; MUEHLDORFER et al., 2012). El presente volumen, editado por G. Martine y co-organizado por R. Ojima, A. Barbieri y R. do Carmo, se inscribe en el marco de esta preocupacion por integrar la dinamica demografica en la discusion sobre desarrollo sustentable. Como se explica en la presentacion, las caracteristicas, estructuras y cambios demograficos deben estar presentes en el debate ambiental porque influyen decisivamente en las actividades productivas y en los patrones de consumo. Esto es particularmente relevante en Brasil, cuya poblacion ha experimentado una muy rapida transicion de la fecundidad, y una aun mas rapida transicion urbana, asi como tambien la reduccion de la pobreza y la desigualdad. Pero el libro avanza un paso mas, al proponerse tambien ‘traducir’ los resultados de la investigacion cientifica a informacion que pueda usarse para la accion, evitando la jerga academica para llegar a una audiencia mas amplia, “tendiendo puentes” entre el conocimiento cientifico y el publico, y articulando las escalas global y nacional, y las cuestiones demograficas y ambientales. El objetivo final es la difusion del conocimiento cientifico de las relaciones
Assessment of eating disorders in bariatric surgery candidates: self-report questionnaire versus interview.

Objective To compare the Eating Disorder Examination (EDE), an investigator-based interview for the assessment of the specific psychopathology of eating disorders, with the EDE-Q, a self-report questionnaire based directly on it. Method Ninety-eight morbidly obese gastric bypass surgery candidates were administered both instruments. Results The four subscale scores (Restraint, Eating Concern, Weight Concern, and Shape Concern) generated by the EDE and EDE-Q were significantly correlated, although the questionnaire scores were significantly higher. Eating Concern and Shape Concern exhibited the lowest levels of agreement. Frequency of binges (objective bulimic episodes) as rated by the EDE and EDE-Q was significantly correlated and was not significantly different. However, variability in ratings contributed to only modest agreement with respect to classification of patients as binge eaters. Discussion Overall, there were lower levels of agreement between the EDE and EDE-Q than have been previously found in other samples. © 2000 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 28: 465–469, 2000.
Effects of teacher attention on digit-reversal behavior in an elementary school child.

Teacher attention was systematically manipulated to modify digit-reversal behavior in an elementary school child. Almost invariably, the child reversed the order of digits (e.g., writing 21 as the sum of 5 + 7) when adding numbers yielding a two-digit sum. The child, along with classmates, was given 20 addition problems a day for the duration of the study, and the number of reversals was recorded. During an initial baseline period, the teacher responded to digit reversals by marking them as incorrect and then giving the child “extra help” until all sums were correctly ordered. The child's present and previous teacher had both responded to reversals in this manner for approximately one year before the present study began. An experimental period followed during which the rate of reversals decreased sharply. During this period, all sums were marked as correct (whether reversed or not); “extra help” with reversals was discontinued; and correct, i.e., non-reversed, response forms were responded to with a smile, a pat on the back, and a brief comment. A reversal period followed, during which the teacher responded to reversals as she had in the first baseline period. An increase in the rate of reversals to baseline level occurred within three days. A final period, replicating the first experimental period followed, and was characterized by a sharp decrease in the rate of reversals.
The oceanic non-sulfidic oxygen minimum zone: a habitat for graptolites?

Summary Shallow oxygen-deficient waters beneath oxic mixed-layer waters in modern oceans provide a potential analog of graptolite living conditions in the Paleozoic. The most extensive of these mod­ern oceanic environments, the waters of the East­ern Tropical Pacific, have been stable long enough to have developed a characteristic en­demic fauna. The animals of this fauna have de­veloped adaptations for survival under conditions of low to no oxygen availability and to feed on phytoplankton that use reduced nitrogen com­pounds concentrated in these waters. As such waters were more wide-spread in the Early Pal­eozoic than today, such exclusively Paleozoic or­ganisms as the graptolites, who occupied the zoo-plankton niche, may have lived in or adjacent to similar waters. Such a biotope for planktic grap­tolites would explain their common fossil occur­rence (1) in clusters on single bedding planes and (2) without accepted aerobic faunas, both result­ing from local upwelling from toxic, anoxic layers below which did not reach the surface aerated waters. Changes in the graptolite colony, from many to few branches and from pendent to scan­dent forms may be a reflection of adaptation to life in the denitrification zone as it sank to greater depths as a consequence of both surface and deep ventilation with time. The change from biserial to uniserial scandent forms may have permitted these graptolites to migrate vertically to more ef­fectively feed and respire in the oxic layer, while enjoying the protection from respiring predators by descending into the denitrification zone. Greater residence time of graptolites in the oxic mixed layer due to the sinking of the denitrifica­tion zone would have exposed them to predation by evolving fish and ammonites and competition from smaller or more active zooplankton, thus resulting in extinction of the group in the Early Devonian.
An unusual pattern of lysine rich histone components is associated with spermatogenesis in rat testis.

Abstract Lysine rich histones from the testes as well as many other organs from sexually mature rats were examined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Extracts from testes contained a prominent species that was at most a minor component in the other tissues examined. Detailed comparison of lysine rich histones from testis and thymus by column chromatography revealed marked quantitative differences in three of the five resolvable components. Treatment with bacterial alkaline phosphatase did not alter the electrophoretic behavior of any of the fractions resolved from testis or thymus. The appearance of one of the components in the testis as a prominent band could be correlated with the occurence of the early phases of active spermatogenesis.
Applying data mining and HPC for water quality assessment and prediction

Water quality assessment and prediction of Lake Michigan are becoming major challenges in Northwest Indiana. Traditionally, mechanistic simulation models are employed for water quality modeling and prediction. However, given the complicate nature of Lake Michigan in Northwestern Indiana, the detailed simulation model is extremely simple in comparison and, at some point, additional detail exceeds our ability to simulate and predict with reasonable error levels. In this regard, this research applied data mining technologies, as an innovative alternative, to develop an easy and more accurate approach for water quality assessment and prediction. The drawback of the data mining modeling is that the execution takes quite long time, especially when we employ a better accuracy but more time consuming algorithm in clustering. Therefore, we applied the High Performance Computing System of the Northwest Indiana Computational Grid to deal with this problem. The experiments have achieved very promising results. The visualized water quality assessment and prediction obtained from the research are published in an interactive website so that the public and the environmental managers can use the information for their decision making.
An Introduction to the HF Through THz Issue [From the Guest Editor's Desk]

Over the past century, the frequency range embraced by the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society (MTT-S) has grown from the relatively narrow range where klystrons and waveguides ruled the waves. A natural tendency for scientists and engineers is to constantly push frontiers, so it is no surprise that techniques formerly used at 6 GHz are now common at 60 GHz.
Cardinality and Structure of Semilattices of Ordered Compactifications

: Cardinalities and lattice structures which are attainable by semilattices of ordered compactifications of completely regular ordered spaces are examined. Visliseni and Flachsmeyer have shown that every infinite cardinal is attainable as the cardinality of a semilattice of compactifications of a Tychonoff space. Among the finite cardinals, however, only the Bell numbers are attainable as cardinalities of semilattices of compactifications. It is shown here that all cardinals, both finite and infinite, are attainable as the cardinalities of semilattices of ordered compactifications of completely regular ordered spaces. The last section examines lattice structures which are realizable as semilattices of ordered compactifications, such as chains and power sets.
Loss of heterozygosity and base substitution at the APRT locus in mismatch-repair-proficient and -deficient colorectal carcinoma cell lines.

We determined the nature of mutations occurring at the autosomal APRT locus in mismatch-repair-proficient and -deficient colorectal carcinoma cell lines. The analysis of mutations that result in APRT deficiency in a mismatch-repair-deficient strain of DLD-1 heterozygous for this locus enabled us to measure the rate of loss of the wild-type gene through deletion, recombination, or gene conversion as well as the rate of point mutation. The overall rate of mutation at the APRT locus in DLD-1 was elevated 100-fold compared with the mismatch-repair-proficient colorectal carcinoma cell line SW620. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at APRT accounted for only 4 to 9% of mutant strains derived from DLD-1, indicating a rate for these types of events of 4 x 10(-7) to 9 x 10(-7). In SW620 the rate of LOH at APRT was about 10-fold higher. LOH was not found at polymorphic markers within the same chromosome subband as APRT, indicating that only a limited portion of the chromosome was affected by these alterations. Chromosome painting of SWS620 mutants revealed that the loss of APRT occurred together with a substantial portion of the long arm of chromosome 16. Differences in the nature of base substitutions at APRT (e.g., the proportion of mutations resulting from transitions or transversions) in these tumor cell lines were also detected. There was also an important similarity---the presence of a mutant APRT gene with multiple base substitutions that may be the result of some sort of error-prone DNA synthesis.
Imaging of Frequent Emergency Department Users with Alcohol Use Disorders

Abstract Background Patients with altered level of consciousness secondary to alcohol use disorders (AUDs) often undergo imaging in the emergency department (ED), although the frequency and yield of this practice over time are unknown. Study Objectives We describe the use of imaging, the associated ionizing radiation exposure, cumulative costs, and identified acute and chronic injuries and abnormalities among frequent users of the ED with AUDs. Methods This is a retrospective case series of individuals identified through an administrative database having 10 or more annual ED visits in 2 consecutive years who were prospectively followed for a third year. International Classification of Diseases, 9 th Revision, Clinical Modification and Current Procedural Terminology codes were used to select individuals with alcohol-related diagnoses, track imaging procedures, and calculate cost. Diagnoses, imaging results, and radiation exposure per computed tomography (CT) study were abstracted from the medical record. Results Fifty-one individuals met inclusion criteria and had a total of 1648 imaging studies over the 3-year period. Subjects had a median of 5 (interquartile range [IQR] 2–10) CT scans, 20 (IQR 10–33) radiographs, 28.3 mSv (IQR 8.97–61.71) ionizing radiation, 0.2% (IQR 0.07–0.4) attributable risk of cancer, and $2979 (IQR 1560–5440) in charges using a national rate. The incidence of acute fracture or intracranial head injury was 55%, and 39% of the cohort had a history of moderate or severe traumatic brain injury. Conclusion The remarkable use of imaging and occurrence of injury among these highly vulnerable and frequently encountered individuals compels further study to refine clinical practices through the development of evidence-based, effective interventions.
Comparison of a unidirectional panoramic 3D endoluminal interpretation technique to traditional 2D and bidirectional 3D interpretation techniques at CT colonography: preliminary observations

Aim To compare the evaluation times and accuracy of unidirectional panoramic three-dimensional (3D) endoluminal interpretation to traditional two-dimensional (2D) and bidirectional 3D endoluminal techniques. materials and methods Sixty-nine patients underwent computed tomography colonography (CTC) after bowel cleansing. Forty-five had no polyps and 24 had at least one polyp ≥6mm. Patients underwent same-day colonoscopy with segmental unblinding. Three experienced abdominal radiologists evaluated the data using one of three primary interpretation techniques: (1) 2D; (2) bidirectional 3D; (3) panoramic 3D. Mixed model analysis of variance and logistic regression for correlated data were used to compare techniques with respect to time and sensitivity and specificity. Results Mean evaluation times were 8.6, 14.6, and 12.1min, for 2D, 3D, and panoramic, respectively. 2D was faster than either 3D technique ( p p =0.0139). The overall sensitivity of each technique per polyp and per patient was 68.4 and 76.7% for 2D, 78.9 and 93.3% for 3D; and 78.9 and 86.7% for panoramic 3D. Conclusion 2D interpretation was the fastest overall, the panoramic technique was significantly faster than the bidirectional with similar sensitivity and specificity. The sensitivity for a single reader was significantly lower using the 2D technique. Each reader should select the technique with which they are most successful.
Thiophosphoramides as cooperative catalysts for copper-catalyzed arylation of carboxylates with diaryliodonium salts

A thiophosphoramide-based co-catalyst was found to significantly accelerate copper(II) trifluoromethanesulfonate-catalyzed arylation of potassium carboxylates with diaryliodonium salts. This effect could be attributed to counterion activation of diaryliodonium salts or organocopper intermediates by thiophosphoramides. Inclusion of thiophosphoramides permits achieving significantly milder reaction conditions and expands the scope of solvents and diaryliodonium counterions that could be used for the arylation of carboxylate nucleophiles.
Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition of silicon nitride from novel organosilanes

The environmentally benign precursors diethylsilane and di-t-butylsilane were used with NH3 to synthesize silicon nitride films by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The growth kinetics and film properties were examined as a function of deposition temperature, total pressure, and NH3/organosilane ratio. The growth rate was observed to decrease with higher temperature and higher NH3/organosilane ratio while increasing with higher total pressure. Values of index of refraction, film stress, hardness, and Young’s modulus were measured as a function of processing variables and related to film density and resulting film composition. Oxidation of the films was noted to occur at high pressures, low temperatures, and low NH3/organosilane ratios. Carbon incorporation was present for all deposits and appeared not to be dependent on processing conditions.
Distributed and lumped element models for a bimorph-actuated micromirror

A procedure to model electrothermally actuated devices is developed and demonstrated using a 1D scanning micromirror. The micromirror is actuated by thermal bimorphs and an embedded platinum (Pt) resistor is used for generating Joule heating. Electrothermal, thermal and thermomechanical models are developed and integrated to generate a compact electrothermomechanical model. The electrothermal model relates the thermal power generated in the device to the applied voltage. The thermomechanical model evaluates the mirror rotation angle. The thermal model is developed by drawing analogy between heat flow in the device and current flow through an electrical transmission line. It provides the temperature of the embedded heater and the bimorph actuators. The heat loss coefficient to the surrounding atmosphere is obtained from finite element (FE) simulations. The distributed thermal resistances are represented by an equivalent circuit model with a few elements. A simplification of the circuit model is proposed when small length scales are involved. Rotation angle per unit power input predicted by the circuit model has an error of less than 8% compared to experimental results.
Comparative evaluation on concept approximation approaches

Formal concept analysis (FCA) is a method for deriving conceptual structures out of data that are represented as objects with features. FCA discovers dependencies within the data based on the relation among objects and features. However, not every pair of objects and features defines a concept. Concept approximation is to find the best or closest concept(s) to approximate a pair of objects and features. Concept approximation is significant in that under the circumstances that we can not find a concept, using concept approximation will give the best or most possible solution. In this paper, we evaluate three approaches through experiments in the application of document retrieval. We provide analysis of these approaches and give our concluding remarks.
An Investigation of the Impact of Misrouting Under Two‐Stage Multistage Testing: A Simulation Study

The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential impact of misrouting under a 2-stage multistage test (MST) design, which includes 1 routing and 3 second-stage modules. Simulations were used to create a situation in which a large group of examinees took each of the 3 possible MST paths (high, middle, and low). We compared differences in examinees' scores associated with different paths under 2 MST assembly conditions: a small-difference condition in which 3 modules at Stage 2 overlap in difficulty, and a large-difference condition in which the 3 modules at Stage 2 are distinct in difficulty. We also compared examinees' score differences associated with the target MST path with the ones obtained when the second-stage module was 1 level of difficulty above or below the target module. When the second-stage modules overlapped in difficulty, the score differences (i.e., bias) associated with different MST paths were negligible for practical purposes. Similar trends appeared even when the second-stage modules were significantly distinct in difficulty. The impact of misrouting was generally minimal under the MST design used in this study.