cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Inability of Certain Vectors in North America to Transmit Maize Streak Virus

The major vector of Maize Streak Virus (MSV), the causal agent of a serious disease of corn in Africa, is Cicadulina mbila (Naude), a leafhopper restricted to the tropics and subtropics but not found in the United States. Seven species of leafhoppers, 2 species of planthoppers, and 3 species of aphids were tested for their ability to transmit MSV with negative results. The inability of these domestic insects to transmit MSV would seemingly greatly reduce the threat of this disease to corn production in the United States should it become established in the tropical or subtropical areas of the Americas.
The relationship of biochemical and morphological information in the central nervous system: the problem of sampling.

The histology of the central nervous system (CNS) is complex, consisting of membranes derived from a number of cell types as well as specialized membranes associated with structural modifications of the neuron. The cell structure, and thus the membrane content, of the CNS varies with age and from area to area; in no instance is it possible to isolate a single cell type without special microdissection techniques. Neurological disease often involves specific areas of the CNS attacking one or all of the cellular elements in that region. In other instances, damage may be wide-spread, but at the histological level it may be restricted to a single cell type or even to a single membrane. The latter situation is particularly applicable to diseases that attack the myelin sheath. The biochemical investigation of changes in the lipid content of the brain resulting from neurological disease is hampered not only by the morphological complexity of nervous tissue, but by the tendency of destructive processes to be accompanied by proliferation of other cellular elements, both during the acute phase of disease and during the process of repair, which may mask significant abnormalities. Thus, in order to decide which changes in the structural lipids of the diseased brain are meaningful, a knowledge of the histopathology of the disorder is essential. When the morphological changes that accompany a neurological disorder are known, one may choose an appropriate tissue sample for study. Isolation of specific structural or functional subunits of the CNS, dissection of small groups of cells, isolation of single cells and separation of specific membranes are techniques available to sample nervous tissue. These are discussed, and their applicability to the biochemical study of specific neurological diseases is evaluated.
Euclidean and Non-Euclidean Geometries Without Continuity

(1979). Euclidean and Non-Euclidean Geometries Without Continuity. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 86, No. 9, pp. 757-764.
Emergence, Construction, and Authorial Intent in Community-based Projects

The focus of community-based projects is participation. This idea has both an epistemological and a logistical dimension. Local knowledge is supposed to guide these investigations, while community ...
Measles epidemiology characteristic analysis in Zhaoqing

Objective Understood measles in my city popular three distributions, by formulates and the adjustment prevention strategy and the measure, controls measles well the unpopularity. Method With the excel software analysis from January 2004 to December, 2004,Zhaoqing measles monitors the system measles a case of illness document. Results Obtains case of illness after the analysis three between to distribute has obviously gathers the nature. Conclusion my city has the measles main reason this year: In order to seal Kai County time to explode population low immunity vaccination rate.
Some Laboratory Experiments Related to Topographic Effects on Rotating and Stratified Flows

It is well known that large scale features of the earth’s orography can have an important influence on atmospheric motions. At horizontal scales of the order of tens of kilometers one can cite the marvelous “ship-wave” patterns or vortex streets noted in satellite photographs in the lee of island mountains; e.g. Cheju, Guadalupe and Jan Mayen. Figure 1 is a photograph of a vortex-street cloud pattern in the lee of Guadalupe taken from the United States’ National and Aeronautics Administration’s Skylab. Note the dominance of the cyclonic vortices, a phenomenon which will be discussed with relation to the laboratory experiments considered in this review. For larger scale features, say the order of a thousand or more kilometers, one can also note the important effects of mountain range complexes on major weather patterns; e.g. the strong influence of the Alps on cyclogenesis in the vicinity of the Gulf of Genoa.
Ghost: Concealing vehicular botnet communication in the VANET control channel

Vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) are expected to play a big role in our lives in the near future; they will both improve traffic safety and revolutionize the driving experience. Their expected deployment in autonomous cars will induce attackers to design new methods to target these systems, and to organize the vehicles they compromise into vehicular botnets. Vehicular botnets enable new attacks that reveal previously unknown security flaws in VANETs. Effectively defending against such botnets requires investigation of their characteristics and of the attacks that these cooperating malicious vehicles can perform on VANETs. One important characteristic of a botnet is the way its members communicate to coordinate their attacks, with an emphasis on stealth. In this paper, we investigate alternatives for vehicular botnets to communicate to perform attacks. We design and demonstrate a VANET-based botnet communication protocol that hides itself in the ongoing network traffic over the control channel. We show via simulation that it is infeasible to detect such botnet communications due to the vulnerabilities existing in the VANET standards, and discuss possible countermeasures.
Details of a Shock-Separated Turbulent Boundary Layer at a Compression Corner

An experimental study is described in which detailed mean-flow measurements are made in a shock waveboundary-layer interaction. The interaction is produced by a 24° compression corner mounted on the wall of the Princeton University high Reynolds number wind tunnel. The experiments are performed at Mach 2.85 and Redo = 1.33 million. A detailed mapping of the flowfield is presented, including separated region shape and location and velocity profiles. Results indicate a relatively straight zero-velocity line, a persistent downstream normal pressure gradient, and reverse velocities up to 16% of u^.
Linked data platform for building cloud-based smart applications and connecting API access points with data discovery techniques

Globalization and cloud computing have allowed major strides forward in terms of communication possibilities, but it is also illuminating how many different resource options and formats exist access to which would dramatically increase the accuracy and reliability of choices made as a result of computational output. As a result, there is increasing need for methods resolving levels of data translations necessary for the effectiveness of distributed Linked Data platforms, especially in the context of the Building Information Modeling domain in which we conduct our work. The following research presents the current state of our Linked Data Platform for handling and processing Resilience and BIM data from existing and remotely located data stores and simulation models. This approach focuses on data interoperability and illustrates the functional interactions of a set of lightweight API endpoints that serve resources as requests are extensible with the HYDRA Core Vocabulary to increase data discoverability opportunities.
BandiTS: Dynamic timing speculation using multi-armed bandit based optimization

Timing speculation has recently been proposed as a method for increasing performance beyond that achievable by conventional worst-case design techniques. Starting with the observation of fast temporal variations in timing error probabilities, we propose a run-time technique to dynamically determine the optimal degree of timing speculation (i.e., how aggressively the processor is over-clocked) based on a novel formulation of the dynamic timing speculation problem as a multi-armed bandit problem. By conducting detailed post-synthesis timing simulations on a 5-stage MIPS processor running a variety of workloads, the proposed adaptive mechanism improves processor's performance significantly comparing with a competing approach (about 8.3% improvement); on the other hand, it shows only about 2.8% performance loss on average, compared with the oracle results.
Current Diagnosis and Management of Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy

Study Design:Review.Objectives:Cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) is a major cause of disability, particular in elderly patients. Awareness and understanding of CSM is imperative to facilitate e...
Frog Skin: A Giant Leap for Engineering Applications

Frog skin’s surface structure, color variations, and stickiness are protective features that have been widely explored by researchers for engineering applications. Many frogs have a thin film of water formed on their skin, and it is necessary for them to retain it in order to breathe through their skin (Mackean, Frogs—an introduction, http://www.biology-resources.com/frog.html, 2004). Some frogs are adapted to secrete a thick mucous that prevents water from escaping and their skin from drying out (Science Score, Did you know that frogs breathe through their skin? http://blog.sciencescore.com/fun-facts-for-kids/did-you-know-that-frogs-breathe-through-their-skin, 2012). Another function of the moist film is the lubrication effect it imparts. Color variation is one of the powerful defensive tactics of frogs that help them blend in with their natural surroundings. Some frogs such as dart frogs often display their bright skin with specific colored patterns to warn predators that they are highly toxic (Tesler, The amazing adaptable frog, http://www.exploratorium.edu/frogs/mainstory/index.html, 1999). Despite the great variation in types of frogs, all frogs have independently evolved to have adhesive pads on their toes, signifying that the adhesive pad is an optimal evolutionary design for frogs (Barnes, Adhesion in wet environments: frogs. In: Bhushan B (ed) Encyclopedia of nanotechnology. Springer, Netherlands, pp 70–83, 2012). The surface morphology of these toe pads consists of hexagonal disk-like pads with channel-like spaces, as well as fine microstructure pegs (Federle et al., J R Soc Interface 3(10):689–697, 2006). Toe pad adhesion is made possible by van der Waals forces and capillary pressure forces (Lau and Messersmith, Wet performance of biomimetic fibrillar adhesives. In: von Byern J, Grunwald I (eds) Biological adhesive systems. Springer, Vienna, pp 285–294, 2010). Advances in biomimetics have been made in which toe pad replicas have been produced. For example, an early attempt at creating a replica featured polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), and a later replica featured hierarchical micro- and nano-structures of epithelial cells (Barnes, Adhesion in wet environments: frogs. In: Bhushan B (ed) Encyclopedia of nanotechnology. Springer, Netherlands, pp 70–83, 2012).
Toward software updates in IoT environments: why existing P2P systems are not enough

The number of connected devices is growing, as well as their embedded software complexity. Applications require management and updates. Modern software orchestrators and management systems are mostly centralised and expensive to scale to very large systems. We propose a decentralised approach to distribute software updates more efficiently to IoT devices using P2P. We seek to adapt system behaviour to IoT constraints, such as device heterogeneity, unreliable network connectivity and applications specifics.
Oocyte Quality Control: Causes, Mechanisms, and Consequences

Oocyte quality and number are key determinants of reproductive life span and success. These variables are shaped in part by the elimination of oocytes that experience problems during the early stages of meiosis. Meiotic prophase-I marks an extended period of genome vulnerability in which epigenetic reprogramming unleashes retroelements and hundreds of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are inflicted to initiate the programmed recombination required for accurate chromosome segregation at the first meiotic division. Expression of LINE-1 retroelements perturbs several aspects of meiotic prophase and is associated with oocyte death during the early stages of meiotic prophase I. Defects in chromosome synapsis and recombination also trigger oocyte loss, but typically at a later stage, as cells transition into quiescence and form primordial follicles. Interrelated pathways that signal defects in DSB repair and chromosome synapsis mediate this late oocyte attrition. Here, I review our current understanding of early and late oocyte attrition based on studies in mouse and describe how these processes appear to be both distinct and overlapping and how they help balance the quality and size of oocyte reserves to maximize fecundity.
Estimating the response of wildlife communities to coastal dune construction

Abstract Coastal ecosystems worldwide are being impacted by sea-level rise caused by climate change. As mitigation efforts increase to protect these threatened ecosystems, a deeper understanding of how wildlife adapt to coastal management techniques is needed. We monitored three constructed sand dunes (built in 2010 and 2014) and two natural dunes in central Florida from June 2015 through June 2016 to assess the impact of dune construction as a management technique on terrestrial vertebrates. Specifically, we tested if constructed dunes accumulated and maintained similar community composition and species richness to natural dunes. We used AHDriFT, a game camera-based trapping technique, to monitor terrestrial wildlife communities in both the natural and human-modified landscapes. After 4502 camera nights, we documented 2537 unique photo-capture events, comprised of 33 different species. Species communities were compared by constructing species accumulation curves for each dune type, and by modeling community similarity through multivariate hierarchical clustering. Species accumulation curves overlapped among all dune types, and the cluster analysis showed no pattern separating natural and constructed dunes. However, PERMANOVA found a difference between constructed and natural dunes, which was verified by a NMDS ordination that separated out constructed and natural dunes. Differences between dunes was likely driven by rare species, as commonly observed species overlapped across all dunes, including one protected species. Given the similarity between overall species richness, and that differences in community composition may be due to microhabitat variation and species rarity, we conclude that constructing dunes to increase coastal resilience does not negatively impact endemic wildlife in coastal zones and may provide suitable habitat for many wildlife species.
Metalloendopeptidase EC 3.4.24.15 in Neurodegeneration

The metalloendopeptidases represent a fascinating class of enzymes involved in neurodegenerative diseases. Many metalloendopeptidases are integrally involved in brain processes. This family boasts enkephalinase (24.11), neurolysin (24.16), and others. One of the most important members of this family is 24.15, also known as Thimet oligopeptidase or ThopI. 24.15 has been strongly implicated in Alzheimer’s disease and a multitude of analgesic pathways and is a regulator of major reproductive hormones. In addition, it has been recently suggested to serve important roles in antigen presentation and immunity. Here, 24.15 will be the focus, but in discussing 24.15 there will be reference to 24.11 and 24.16, each of which shows some overlap in function and activity. While direct links have been made between 24.15 activity and Alzheimer’s disease, numerous suggestive links have been considered as well. These may be contributors to Alzheimer’s disease pathology and may play roles in other neurodegenerative phenomena as well. Both the direct and indirect links will be explored here. One of the prevailing aspects of this enzyme that will become apparent is the large number of very different activities. Coupled to this is the fact that these activities don’t necessarily quickly form an integrated picture of the physiological “role” of the enzyme. Finding that role has been and continues to be elusive. Even the direct links to disease leave many questions open. Its importance in many pathways is clear and there are many hints that suggest the beginnings of a coherent function for the enzyme. Nevertheless, as will be seen, much more work is necessary to come to a clear understanding of the full and precise influence of this enzyme. The common practice of naming an enzyme by its cleavage assay, (i.e. Pz-peptidase is the enzyme cleaving the Pz peptide) has led to multiple names for the metalloendopeptidases. In some cases more than half a dozen names refer to the same molecule. The Enzyme Commission (EC) classification system was developed, in part, to unite these many names under a common description. We will use this system where possible for the sake of clarity and refer, therefore, to the metalloendopeptidase as 24.15, rather than the ThopI or the full EC 3.4.24.15.
Effective legal reform and the malpractice insurance crisis.

This Case Study is built around two fundamental questions: First, is there really a malpractice insurance crisis in the United States today? Second, what is the best way to improve the medical liability system? While there is much ongoing debate, this Case Study argues that the answers to both questions are clear. I first review the nature, breadth, and source of the current crisis and then examine ways to ameliorate the problems in both the short and long-term. There is clear evidence that current problems are the result of a dramatic increase in the cost of litigation and that certain legal reforms would significantly alleviate the crisis.
The role of atomic repertoires in complex behavior.

Evolution and reinforcement shape adaptive forms and adaptive behavior through many cycles of blind variation and selection, and therein lie their parsimony and power. Human behavior is distinctive in that this shaping process is commonly “short circuited”: Critical variations are induced in a single trial. The processes by which this economy is accomplished have a common feature: They all exploit one or more atomic repertoires, elementary units of behavior each under control of a distinctive stimulus. By appropriate arrangements of these discriminative stimuli, an indefinite number of permutations of atomic units can be evoked. When such a permutation satisfies a second contingency, it can come under control of the relevant context, and the explicit arrangement of discriminative stimuli will no longer be required. Consequently, innovations in adaptive behavior can spread rapidly through the population. A consideration of atomic repertoires informs our interpretation of generalized operants and other phenomena that are otherwise difficult to explain. Observational learning is discussed as a case in point.
Antibacterial activity of reduced iron clay against pathogenic bacteria associated with wound infections.

Abstract Clay is a substance historically utilized by indigenous cultures for the treatment of superficial wound infections. This study evaluated the effects of a recently identified clay – OMT Blue Clay – against staphylococci, streptococci, Enterobacteriaceae and non-fermenting Gram-negative bacilli. The clay and its aqueous leachate were evaluated against the bacteria in biofilm and planktonic states. Time-kill studies were used to assess planktonic activity. Biofilms on medical-grade Teflon discs were treated with a hydrated clay suspension or leachate. For the planktonic studies, clay and leachate exhibited bactericidal activity against all strains tested, with the exception of leachate against Staphylococcus aureus IDRL-6169 and USA300. All strains treated with clay suspension and leachate resulted in statistically significant biofilm population reductions compared with controls, except S. aureus IDRL-6169 and USA300 (P ≤ 0.05). OMT Blue Clay and its aqueous leachate exhibited bactericidal activity against a range of human pathogens in the planktonic and biofilm states.
Association between atopic dermatitis and conjunctivitis in adults: a population-based study in the United States.

BACKGROUND The association between atopic dermatitis (AD) and conjunctivitis in adults has not been well established. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional study of the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) and National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) from 2002 to 2015 in order to evaluate the association between AD and conjunctivitis in U.S. adults. We performed multivariable logistic regression analyses adjusting for sociodemographic factors. RESULTS An estimated total [95% CI] of 8,581,098 [7,592,037-9,570,160] weighted AD visits and 12,853,199,920 [12,808,269,186-12,898,131,033] weighted non-AD visits were utilized for our analyses. When compared to adults without AD, adults with AD had a fourfold higher risk of conjunctivitis (OR = 4.38; 95% CI, 1.39-13.79; p = .012) and specifically, an eight-fold higher risk of allergic conjunctivitis (OR = 8.03; 95% CI, 1.76-36.58; p = .007). Among adults with AD, 67.6% of their visits for conjunctivitis were for allergic conjunctivitis. Among adults without AD, 35.4% of their visits for conjunctivitis were for allergic conjunctivitis. CONCLUSIONS Results of this study suggest that adults with AD have a significantly higher risk of conjunctivitis and specifically, allergic conjunctivitis when compared to those without AD. It is important for dermatology providers to be aware of this association and learn to recognize and potentially manage conjunctivitis in AD patients.
BIMC: The Bayesian Inverse Monte Carlo method for goal-oriented uncertainty quantification. Part I

We consider the problem of estimating rare event probabilities, focusing on systems whose evolution is governed by differential equations with uncertain input parameters. If the system dynamics is expensive to compute, standard sampling algorithms such as the Monte Carlo method may require infeasible running times to accurately evaluate these probabilities. We propose an importance sampling scheme (which we call BIMC) that relies on solving an auxiliary, fictitious Bayesian inverse problem. The solution of the inverse problem yields a posterior PDF, a local Gaussian approximation to which serves as the importance sampling density. We apply BIMC to several problems and demonstrate that it can lead to computational savings of several orders of magnitude over the Monte Carlo method. We delineate conditions under which BIMC is optimal, as well as conditions when it can fail to yield an effective IS density.
Effect of baseline cognitive impairment on association between predicted propofol effect site concentration and Bispectral index or sedation score.

This study determined whether the relationship between predicted propofol effect site concentration (Ce) and observer’s assessment of alertness/sedation scale (OAA/S) or Bispectral Index (BIS) was similar comparing cognitively intact vs impaired patients undergoing hip fracture repair with spinal anesthesia and sedation. Following informed consent baseline mini-mental status exam (MMSE), Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) and geriatric depression scale (GDS) were obtained. Intraoperatively OAA/S, BIS, and propofol (timing and exact amounts) administered were recorded. Cerebrospinal fluid was collected for Alzheimer’s (AD) biomarkers. Mean Ce level (AvgCe) during surgery was calculated using the area under the Ce measurement series from incision to closure, divided by surgical time. Average OAA/S (AvgOAA/S), and BIS (AvgBIS) were similarly calculated. Pearson correlations of AvgCe with AvgOAA/S and AvgBIS were calculated overall and by CDR. Nonparametric locally weighted scatterplot smoothing (LOWESS) fits of AvgOAA/S and AvgBIS on AvgCe were produced, stratified by CDR. Multivariable regression incorporating baseline cognitive measurements or AD biomarkers assessed AvgOAA/S or AvgBIS associations with AvgCe. In 186 participants AvgBIS and AvgOAA/S correlated with AvgCe (Pearson ρ = − 0.72; p < 0.0001 and Pearson ρ = − 0.81; p < 0.0001, respectively), and remained unchanged across CDR levels. Association patterns of AvgOAA/S or AvgBIS on AvgCe guided by LOWESS fits and modeled through regression, were similar when stratified by CDR (p = 0.16). Multivariable modeling found no independent effect on AvgBIS or AvgOAA/S by MMSE, CDR, GDS, or AD biomarkers after accounting for AvgCe. When administering sedation in conjunction with spinal anesthesia, cognitive impairment does not affect the relationship between predicted propofol AvgCe and AvgOAA/S or AvgBIS.
A Framework for Evaluating the Resilience Contribution of Solar PV and Battery Storage on the Grid

Motivated by decreased cost and climate change concerns, the penetration of solar photovoltaic (PV) energy generation and battery energy storage has been continually increasing. The variability in solar PV power generation has led to many new challenges for utilities and researchers. One challenge is the quantification of the resilience contribution to the grid from its assets and is the topic of this paper.In this work, we propose a framework for evaluating the resilience contribution of solar generation and battery storage assets on the grid. The metric provides a quantifiable adaptive capacity measure in terms of real and reactive power and includes uncertainty for solar PV assets. A case study using very short-term and short-term solar generation forecast demonstrates the framework and provides useful insight to the resilience solar and battery storage assets can contribute to the grid.
Foundations of Intelligence in Natural and Artificial Systems: A Workshop Report.

In March of 2021, the Santa Fe Institute hosted a workshop as part of its Foundations of Intelligence in Natural and Artificial Systems project. This project seeks to advance the field of artificial intelligence by promoting interdisciplinary research on the nature of intelligence. During the workshop, speakers from diverse disciplines gathered to develop a taxonomy of intelligence, articulating their own understanding of intelligence and how their research has furthered that understanding. In this report, we summarize the insights offered by each speaker and identify the themes that emerged during the talks and subsequent discussions.
Cysteine Mutations in the Ebolavirus Matrix Protein VP40 Promote Phosphatidylserine Binding by Increasing the Flexibility of a Lipid-Binding Loop

Ebolavirus (EBOV) is a negative-sense RNA virus that causes severe hemorrhagic fever in humans. The matrix protein VP40 facilitates viral budding by binding to lipids in the host cell plasma membrane and driving the formation of filamentous, pleomorphic virus particles. The C-terminal domain of VP40 contains two highly-conserved cysteine residues at positions 311 and 314, but their role in the viral life cycle is unknown. We therefore investigated the properties of VP40 mutants in which the conserved cysteine residues were replaced with alanine. The C311A mutation significantly increased the affinity of VP40 for membranes containing phosphatidylserine (PS), resulting in the assembly of longer virus-like particles (VLPs) compared to wild-type VP40. The C314A mutation also increased the affinity of VP40 for membranes containing PS, albeit to a lesser degree than C311A. The double mutant behaved in a similar manner to the individual mutants. Computer modeling revealed that both cysteine residues restrain a loop segment containing lysine residues that interact with the plasma membrane, but Cys311 has the dominant role. Accordingly, the C311A mutation increases the flexibility of this membrane-binding loop, changes the profile of hydrogen bonding within VP40 and therefore binds to PS with greater affinity. This is the first evidence that mutations in VP40 can increase its affinity for biological membranes and modify the length of Ebola VLPs. The Cys311 and Cys314 residues therefore play an important role in dynamic interactions at the plasma membrane by modulating the ability of VP40 to bind PS.
In or out of the game? Counter-stereotype paradoxes and Asian-identified student-athlete mental health.

OBJECTIVE This study examines stressors (i.e., discrimination and stereotypes) and buffers (i.e., exercise) relevant to Asian-identified student-athletes' mental health. The study tests a set of counter-stereotype paradox hypotheses positing that conforming to idealized stereotypes of Asians exacerbates discrimination-mental health links. METHOD Data were drawn from the 2015-2019 cohorts of the Healthy Minds Study. Regression-based moderations were used to test counter-stereotype paradox hypotheses and a buffering model of exercise. RESULTS A-student status was a moderator of the discrimination and lower positive mental health link, and gender and body mass index (BMI) were moderators of the discrimination and anxiety and lower positive mental health links. Consistent with counter-stereotype paradoxes, discrimination and these mental health indicators were significantly correlated for Asian-identified student-athletes who reported being A-students or being underweight/normal-weight women. Results contradicted the counter-stereotype paradox for the discrimination-suicidality relation, which was significant for student-athletes reporting B-grades or lower and not significant for A-students. Exercise appeared to buffer discrimination-mental health associations for depression, anxiety, positive mental health, and disordered eating concerns. CONCLUSIONS Results challenge the oft-celebrated Asian American model minority image and signify how both conforming and failing to conform to stereotypes can have benefits and liabilities for Asian-identified student-athletes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
High Leaf Respiration Rates May Limit the Success of White Spruce Saplings Growing in the Kampfzone at the Arctic Treeline.

Arctic Treeline is the transition from the boreal forest to the treeless tundra and may be determined by growing season temperatures. The physiological mechanisms involved in determining the relationship between the physical and biological environment and the location of treeline are not fully understood. In Northern Alaska we studied the relationship between temperature and leaf respiration in 36 white spruce (Picea glauca) trees, sampling both the upper and lower canopy, to test two research hypotheses (H0). The first H01 is that canopy position will not influence leaf respiration. The associated alternative hypothesis (HA) is that the upper canopy leaves which are more directly coupled to the atmosphere will experience more challenging environmental conditions and thus have higher respiration rates to facilitate metabolic function. The second H02 is that tree size will not influence leaf respiration. The associated HA is that saplings (stems that are 5-10 cm DBH (diameter at breast height)) will have higher respiration rates than trees (stems ≥ 10 cm DBH) since saplings represent the transition from seedlings growing in the more favorable aerodynamic boundary layer, to trees which are fully coupled to the atmosphere but of sufficient size to persist. Respiration did not change with canopy position, however respiration at 25°C was 42% higher in saplings compared to trees (3.43 ± 0.19 vs. 2.41 ± 0.14 micro mol m-2 s-1). Furthermore, there were significant differences in the temperature response of respiration, and seedlings reached their maximum respiration rates at 59°C, more than two degrees higher than trees. Our results demonstrate that the respiratory characteristics of white spruce saplings at treeline are extreme, imposing a significant carbon cost that may contribute to their lack of perseverance beyond treeline. In the absence of thermal acclimation, the rate of leaf respiration could increase by 57% by the end of the century, posing further challenges to the ecology of this massive ecotone.
Reversible binding of platelet-derived growth factor-AA, -AB, and -BB isoforms to a similar site on the "slow" and "fast" conformations of alpha 2-macroglobulin.

Abstract The mechanism by which the platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-binding protein, alpha 2-macroglobulin (alpha 2M), modulates PDGF bioactivity is unknown, but could involve reversible PDGF-alpha 2M binding. Herein we report that greater than 70% of 125I-PDGF-BB or -AB complexed to alpha 2M was dissociated by SDS-denaturation followed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, i.e. most of the binding was noncovalent. Reduction of the PDGF.alpha 2M complex following denaturation dissociated the cytokine from alpha 2M by greater than 90%, suggesting covalent disulfide bond formation. Approximately 50% of the growth factor was dissociated by lowering the pH from 7.5 to 4.0. 125I-PDGF-BB bound alpha 2M in a time-dependent manner (t1/2 = approximately 1 h), reaching equilibrium after 4 h. The 125I-PDGF.BB/alpha 2M complex dissociated more slowly (t1/2 = approximately 2.5 h). "Slow" and "fast" alpha 2M bound nearly equal amounts of PDGF-AB or -BB. Trypsin treatment converted PDGF-BB/alpha 2M complex to the fast conformation but did not release bound 125I-PDGF-BB. All PDGF-isoforms (AA, -AB, and -BB) competed for binding with 125I-PDGF-BB binding to slow alpha 2M and fast alpha 2M-methylamine by 65-80%. Other cytokines that bind alpha 2M (transforming growth factor-beta 1 and -beta 2, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, basic fibroblast growth factor, interleukin -1 beta, and -6) did not compete for 125I-PDGF-BB binding slow alpha 2M, but transforming growth factor-beta 1 and basic fibroblast growth factor inhibited 125I-PDGF-BB binding alpha 2M-methylamine by 30-50%. The reversible nature of the PDGF.alpha 2M complex could allow for targeted PDGF release near mesenchymal cells which possess PDGF receptors.
Non-parametric mixture models for clustering

Mixture models have been widely used for data clustering. However, commonly used mixture models are generally of a parametric form (e.g., mixture of Gaussian distributions or GMM), which significantly limits their capacity in fitting diverse multidimensional data distributions encountered in practice.We propose a non-parametric mixture model (NMM) for data clustering in order to detect clusters generated from arbitrary unknown distributions, using non-parametric kernel density estimates. The proposed model is non-parametric since the generative distribution of each data point depends only on the rest of the data points and the chosen kernel. A leave-one-out likelihood maximization is performed to estimate the parameters of the model. The NMM approach, when applied to cluster high dimensional text datasets significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art and classical approaches such as K-means, Gaussian Mixture Models, spectral clustering and linkage methods.
CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION IN THE PHYSICIAN'S OFFICE

Physicians are increasingly called on to provide care for patients whose cultures differ from their own. I describe strategies, attitudes, and investigative methods that will enhance the experience of cross-cultural medicine for both patients and physicians.
PLASMA FIBRIN STABILIZING FACTOR ACTIVITY IN VARIOUS DISEASES.

Ninety-five of 322 patients were found to have diminished plasma fibrin stabilizing factor (FSF) activity as measured by a modification of a threshold assay method. Repeat assays were normal in 85 of these 95 specimens after the addition of cysteine or other sulfhydryl-containing compounds to the plasma, suggesting that FSF was inactive in these instances. Abnormal specimens obtained from six patients with acute granulocytic leukemia, and three obstetrical patients with hypofibrinogenemia had decreased concentrations of FSF since the repeated assays were normal after 6 hours of incubation but not after the addition of cysteine. One abnormal specimen obtained from a severe cirrhotic in hepatic coma failed to show normal FSF activity after the addition of cysteine, after incubation and after mixing with equal volumes of normal plasma. This suggested the presence of an inhibitor of FSF. No specific correlation could be made between diminished FSF activity and hemorrhagic symptoms. It is proposed that normal hepatic function is necessary for the activation of FSF or for the removal of an inhibitor.
India, Pakistan's nuclear weapons: all the pieces in place

Recent probes reveal that nuclear weapons programs in both states are more extensive than suspected—from tritium and beryllium plants for sophisticated warheads to the missile technology to deliver them.
A Shape Memory Alloy Based Cryogenic Thermal Conduction Switch

Shape memory alloys (SMAs) can produce large strains when deformed (e.g., up to 8%). Heating results in a phase transformation and associated recovery of all the accumulated strain. This strain recovery can occur against large forces, resulting in their use as actuators. Thus an SMA element can integrate both sensory and actuation functions, by inherently sensing a change in temperature and actuating by undergoing a shape change as a result of a temperature-induced phase transformation. Two aspects of our work on cryogenic SMAs are addressed here. First - a shape memory alloy based cryogenic thermal conduction switch for operation between dewars of liquid methane and liquid oxygen in a common bulkhead arrangement is discussed. Such a switch integrates the sensor element and the actuator element and can be used to create a variable thermal sink to other cryogenic tanks for liquefaction, densification, and zero boil-off systems for advanced spaceport applications. Second - fabrication via arc-melting and subsequent materials testing of SMAs with cryogenic transformation temperatures for use in the aforementioned switch is discussed.
Trade-offs in producing patient-specific recommendations from a computer-based clinical guideline: a case study.

This case study explored 1) how much online clinical data is required to obtain patient-specific recommendations from a computer-based clinical practice guideline, 2) whether the availability of increasing amounts of online clinical data might allow a higher specificity of those recommendations, and 3) whether that increased specificity is necessarily desirable. The “quick reference guide” version of the guideline for acute postoperative pain management in adults, developed by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, was analyzed. Patient-specific data items that might be used to tailor the computer's output for a particular case were grouped into rough categories depending on how likely they were to be available online and how readily they might be determined from online clinical data. The patient-specific recommendations were analyzed to determine to what degree the amount of text produced depended on the online availability of different categories of data. An examination of example recommendations, however, illustrated that high specificity may not always be desirable. The study provides a concrete illustration of how the richness of online clinical data can affect patient-specific recommendations, and describes a number of related design trade-offs in converting a clinical guideline into an interactive, computer-based form.
Severe Accidents and Containment Considerations

The previous chapter considered transient sequences that were terminated without damage by self protecting features of the reactor system design. In this chapter, we provide a mostly qualitative approach to the sequential steps typically followed to evaluate hypothetical core-disruptive-accidents (HCDAs) with significant core damage. In addition, design consideration for containment and accommodation of large sodium fires are presented.
Hamiltonian for the Spin Quantum Hall Effect Solution and Derivation Based on an SU(2) Gauge Field

A Hamiltonian to describe a spin quantum Hall effect with two types of spin-orbit coupling is introduced and the eigenfunctions and eigenvalues are obtained for it. It is shown that this Hamiltonian also results by gauging a kinetic energy Hamiltonian by an SU (2) gauge field. The Berry phase is obtained from the model wavefunction for the model and used to define a filling factor. This allows for the calculation of the spin Hall conductivity. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2010
Synthetic-perturbation techniques for screening shared memory programs

The synthetic-perturbation screening (SPS) methodology is based on an empirical approach; SPS introduces artificial perturbations into the MIMD program and captures the effects of such perturbations by using the modern branch of statistics called design of experiments. SPS can provide the basis of a powerful tool for screening MIMD programs for performance bottlenecks. This technique is portable across machines and architectures, and scales extremely well on massively parallel processors. The purpose of this paper is to explain the general approach and to extend it to address specific features that are the main source of poor performance on the shared memory programming model. These include performance degradation due to load imbalance and insufficient parallelism, and overhead introduced by synchronizations and by accessing shared data structures. We illustrate the practicality of SPS by demonstrating its use on two very different case studies: a large image understanding benchmark and a parallel quicksort.
g-tensor and spin doubling constant in the 2Σ molecules CN and C2H

Abstract Free-molecule perpendicular g factor shifts (Δ g ⊥) of the CN and C 2 H radicals, determined by analysis of high resolution ESR spectra of the radicals in Ar and Kr matrices at 4K, support the predicted relation γ = 2 B O Δ g ⊥, where γ and B O are the spin doubling and rotational constants. The analysis also shows that CN in Ar at 4 K undergoes a complex motion resulting in a nonaxial spin hamiltonian.
Practicing penal harm medicine in the United States: Prisoners' voices from jail

This article explores how the implementation of the penal harm movement within a correctional health care system can lead to the ill-treatment and torture of prisoners. Through an interpretive/inductive analysis of reports written by a federal court monitor and 103 letters written by prisoners to a federal court monitor overseeing a consent decree of a county mega jail located in the United States, we identify six areas of ill-treatment and torture at the jail's medical facilities: (1) using medical care to humiliate prisoners; (2) withholding medical care from HIV-positive prisoners and those with AIDS; (3) withholding medical care from other prisoners; (4) exposing prisoners to temperature extremes and sleep deprivation; (5) using dental care as a means of ill-treatment and torture; and (6) falsifying prisoners' medical records. Because correctional medical personnel work in a system that subordinates their professional canons to the efficiency-based rationality of the new penology and the ethical relat...
Specific heat of quench-condensed hydrogen films

The specific heatC(X, T) of quench-condensed films of H2 has been measured as a function of ortho concentration X with 0.28<X<0.75 for coverages between 24.3 and 92.3 A−2 at temperatures between 0.4 and 3.0 K. The films were condensed on evaporated gold substrates held at several temperaturesT. cond between 1.0 and 3.5 K. The observed specific heat is attributed to orientational ordering of the ortho-H2 molecules. For the films withX = 0.74 condensed atT cond>2.5 K, there is a peak which indicates a bulk-like ordering transition. At temperatures below the peak, there is a large contribution toC, which is not present in bulk H2, and which we attribute to short-range ordering size effects. AsT cond is decreased below 2.5 K, the shape of the specific heat curve changes, and the peak at 1.5 K is replaced by a gradual rise with a sharp drop above 2.6 K. Despite this strong dependence ofC onT cond, the entropy per molecule at 3 K is only weakly dependent onT cond and comparable to that for bulk H2. Film annealing at 3.4 K produces a change in the specific heat curve, and a study of this effect is presented. The ortho-para conversion rate of the films condensed at the various temperatures is found to be same as in bulk, well-annealed H2. As in bulk H2, the transition temperature inferred from the location of the specific heat peak or anomaly decreases withX. Unlike in bulk H2, there is no temperature hysteresis inC for any of the quench-condensed films. This implies that the ordering transitions are not accompanied by a martensitic transformation.
Protein biomarkers associated with growth and synaptogenesis in a cell culture model of neuronal development

Cerebellar granule cells (CGC) provide a homogenous population of cells which can be used as an in vitro model for studying the cellular processes involved in the normal development of the CNS. They may also be useful for hazard identification as in vitro screens for developmental neurotoxicity. The present study examined morphologic and biochemical markers of CGC neurite outgrowth and synaptogenesis in vitro using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. CGC exhibit a rapid outgrowth of neurites over 14 days in vitro, concomitant with the expression of the synaptic protein Synapsin 1 that was observed as puncta associated with cell bodies and neurites. The expression of neurotypic proteins associated with the cytoskeleton (NF68, MAP2), growth cones (GAP-43) and the synapse (Synapsin I) present an ontogeny that reflects the morphological growth of CGC. The utility of these neurotypic proteins as biomarkers was examined by inhibiting CGC growth using pharmacologic inhibitors of PKC activity and the MAP kinase pathway. Quantitative analysis of neurite outgrowth was performed using an automated image acquisition and analysis system. Treatment of CGC with the MAP kinase pathway inhibitor U0126 significantly decreased total neurite outgrowth, while the inhibitor of classic PKC isoforms Bis I had no effect on this measure. The ontogenetic expression of neurotypic proteins was reduced after treatment with both inhibitors. In particular, Synapsin 1 and GAP-43 expression were both significantly reduced by chemical treatment. These data demonstrate that neurotypic proteins can be used as biomarkers of neuronal development in vitro, and in some cases, may detect changes that are not apparent using morphologic measures.
Divergence of the horizontal wind

The divergence of the horizontal wind is investigated from the viewpoint of observational wind-data. It is shown that in many cases in nature the horizontal divergence may be given by the product of wind-speed and the divergence of the unit-vector tangent to the horizontal stream-line. The divergence of this unit-tangent is determined analytically for various plane curves and for curves on a spherical surface. Computational techniques are given and numerical answers obtained for the most interesting cases of elliptical and sinusoidal stream-lines in the plane. The theories are applied numerically to demonstrate that divergence aloft is adequate to overcompensate frictional convergence in cyclones (conversely in anticyclones convergence aloft overcompensates divergence in the frictional layer). It is suggested that the shapes of stream-lines at the 500-mb level (as approximated by isohypses) or at the 20,000-foot level may be used to formulate rules of thumb for forecasting surface pressure-tendencies. It is emphasized throughout that accurate quantitative calculation requires more accurate observations of upper winds, and that the analyst must make a full three-dimensional analysis using data at several upper levels when available.