cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Deficient Emotion Processing is Associated with Everyday Functioning Capacity in HIV-associated Neurocognitive Disorder

OBJECTIVE: Emotion processing has received little research focus in HIV, but emerging evidence suggests that abilities such as facial affect discrimination may be features of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND). The present study hypothesized that individuals with HAND would evidence an emotion processing deficit relative to cognitively unimpaired individuals with HIV and seronegative comparison participants on a task assessing these abilities. Moreover, it was expected that this deficit would be significantly associated with social aspects of everyday functioning. METHOD: To explore these hypotheses, 37 HIV+ individuals with HAND, 46 HIV+ without HAND, and 38 HIV-seronegative comparison participants were administered the CogState Social Emotional Cognition Task (SECT) and the UCSD Performance-based Skills Assessment-Brief (UPSA-B). RESULTS: Results revealed that the HAND group was more likely to have impaired accuracy and slower reaction time relative to the comparison groups on the SECT task. In fact, individuals with HAND were almost 10 times more likely to be impaired on emotion processing accuracy than HIV+ without HAND. Among individuals with HIV, accuracy (but not reaction time) was independently related to a functional capacity measure tapping social ability, but not to a similar measure without a social component (UPSA-B Communication and Finances subscales, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that disruption of emotion processing may be an important feature of HAND that has clinical value as an independent predictor of real-world activities that involve social components. Future research should prospectively investigate this relationship, which may inform of intervention strategies for improving everyday functioning.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CORPORATE VOLUNTEERING AND CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: RESULTS OF AN EMPIRICAL STUDY

Corporate Volunteering (CV) is a phenomenon that emerged in the second half of the 20th century and began to grow and globalize at the beginning of the 21st century. There seems to be a consensus that the recent growth of Corporate Volunteering is related to the development and growing legitimacy of the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Nevertheless, the theoretical discussion on how the two concepts (Corporate Volunteering and Corporate Social Responsibility) are related is just beginning, while empirical research on how this relationship operates in corporate practice is still incipient. This paper presents preliminary results of a research on this subject carried out in Uruguay in 2016. This is a statistical study that analyses the relationship between the application of corporate volunteering activities and the incorporation of a CSR approach to the management of companies. The incorporation of both types of practices is measured by a self-assessment questionnaire that includes 81 indicators (using a Likert scale to assess them), which were designed based on ISO 26000 Guidance of Social Responsibility [i] . The questionnaire was administered to 96 companies, using a comparative analysis between those that practice Corporate Volunteering and those which do not. The results obtained allow us to support the hypothesis that the application of Corporate Volunteering is positively associated with the incorporation of CSR when managing the relationship between the company and its employees and also with the community. Moreover, these results contribute to a better understanding on how both concepts are related. Keywords: Corporate Volunteering, Employee Volunteering, Corporate Social Responsibility, ISO 26000 [i] ISO (2011). Guia de Responsabilidad Social (ISO 26.0000: 2012, IDT). Montevideo: UNIT
Computational Modeling and Experimental Validation of Shock Induced Damage in Woven E-Glass/Vinylester Laminates

A novel experimental method was developed to simulate underwater explosion pressure pulses within a laboratory environment. An impact-based experimental apparatus was constructed; capable of generating pressure pulses with basic character similar to underwater explosions, while also allowing the pulse to be tuned to different intensities. Having the capability to vary the shock impulse was considered essential to producing various levels of shock-induced damage without the need to modify the fixture. The experimental apparatus and test method are considered ideal for investigating the shock response of composite material systems and/or experimental validation of new material models. One such test program is presented herein, in which a series of E-glass/Vinylester laminates were subjected to a range of shock pulses that induced varying degrees of damage. Analysis-test correlations were performed using a rate-dependent constitutive model capable of representing anisotropic damage and ultimate yarn failure. Agreement between analytical predictions and experimental results was considered acceptable.
Heat Generation in Nematic Mesophases Subjected to Magnetic Fields

Moll and Ornstein and later Miesowicz and Jezewski observed that temperature changes were induced in nematic mesophases in the vicinity of solid interfaces by application or removal of magnetic fields. Such phenomena have been considered to be entropy effects associated with the ordering produced by the interface and the magnetic field. In the present work, these experiments have been conducted with two materials, p-azoxyanisole and p-n-decyloxy benzoic acid, but measurements of sample temperature were extended to much larger times and in larger volume that is relatively free of interfaces than those used by the earlier workers. It was found that the temperature rise upon application of a magnetic field was permanent rather than transient; the sample returned to the surroundings temperature only after the field was removed. Thus, a magnetic field causes a continuous generation of heat in a nematic mesophase, and this cannot be attributed simply to ordering effects.
Silicon and Boron Containing Oligomers: Potential Precursors for Ceramics

A liquid silazane, [CH3SiHNH]n was used with H2, NH3 and NH3/H2 to deposit silicon—based ceramic films in a CVD reactor at 873–1073° K. Characterization of the films by elliposmetry, FTIR and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) indicated that the silazane was pyrolyzed to silicon carbonitride in H2 and silicon nitride in both NH3 and NH3/H2. The synthesis of ultra—fine Si3N4 surface layers on a metal substrate, as well as powders, was also attempted by CO2 laser pyrolysis. Microstructural examination indicates the viability of obtaining ultra—fine ceramic particles of 30–100 nm in diameter. Poly(ureidoborazines) were also synthesized and the oligomers pyrolyzed in argon and NH3 and the residues analyzed for B, N and C.
Sector-Based Perceptions of the Public Sector, Public Service, and the Public Interest

This paper investigates public and private nonprofit employees’ motivation to serve the public and the public interest and variation in their perceptions of worker quality and work life in the public and business sectors. We propose a Model for Determinants of Sector Perceptions and propositions about the relationships between public service motivation, public sector motivation, private sector work experience, current work environment, and professional training and sector perceptions. The results point to the important relationships between professional training, work experience, public service motivation, and sector perceptions among public-serving individuals in the public and nonprofit sectors.
Effect of echocardiogram prior to induction therapy for acute myeloid leukemia on detection of cardiac dysfunction and treatment modifications.

e18514Background: Standard induction therapy for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) includes “cytarabine and anthracycline”. Anthracyclines are known to cause acute, subacute and chronic cardiac complica...
Will converting naloxone to over-the-counter status increase pharmacy sales?

Objective To estimate the own-price elasticity of demand for naloxone, a prescription medication that can counter the effects of an opioid overdose, and predict the change in pharmacy sales following a conversion to over-the-counter status. Data sources/study setting The primary data source was a nationwide prescription claims dataset for 2010-2017. The data cover 80 percent of US retail pharmacies and account for roughly 90 percent of prescriptions filled. Additional covariates were obtained from various secondary data sources. Study design We estimated a longitudinal, simultaneous equation model of naloxone supply and demand. Our primary variables of interest were the quantity of naloxone sold, measured as total milligrams sold at pharmacies, and the out-of-pocket price paid per milligram, both measured per ZIP Code and quarter-year. Data collection/extraction methods Primary data came directly from payers and processors of prescription drug claims. Principal findings We found that, on average, a 1 percent increase in the out-of-pocket price paid for naloxone would result in a 0.27 percent decrease in pharmacy sales. We predict that the total quantity of naloxone sold in pharmacies would increase 15 percent to 179 percent following conversion to over-the-counter status. Conclusions Naloxone is own-price inelastic, and conversion to over-the-counter status is likely to lead to a substantial increase in total pharmacy sales.
Submental island flap and bone variation

The submental island flap is a versatile pedicle flap for reconstruction of head and neck defects. Initially described over 20 years ago, numerous modifications have been described with successful treatment of a wide range of surgical defects including all oral cavity sub-sites and facial defects involving the orbital rim, zygoma, and malar eminence. The current paper is a review of the relevant anatomy, detailed description of the harvest technique, and review of published studies since the submental island flap was initially described.
Overview of Cervical and Anal Cytopathology

Pap test has been an excellent example of success in medicine because of its role in remarkably reducing the incidence and death rate of cervical cancer. However, it is not a perfect test, and to certain degree, it became the victim of its success due to overexpectation of the public that led to a stringent government regulation of the practice. With the evolving of our knowledge of high-risk HPV infection in the development of cervical cancer, HPV molecular tests have been developed to enhance the Pap test in the early detection of cervical cancer. HPV vaccination has further advanced the battle against the development of cervical cancer by blocking the initial viral infection. This chapter briefly updates the current status of cervical cancer prevention and early detection, and the government regulation on pertinent cytology practice. Anal smear has recently emerged as a new approach to detect anal epithelial dysplastic changes; common questions in daily anal-rectal cytology are also discussed.
Optimizing Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy for Adults With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

PURPOSEThe anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy tisagenlecleucel (CTL019) has an 81% response rate in children with relapsed or chemotherapy refractory (r/r) B-cell acute lymphoblasti...
The U.S.-Japan Trading Relationship and its Effects

The historical relationship between the United States and Japan since 1945 has always been one-sided. Since World War II Japan has tended to assume that it was (at least in security terms) a dependent partner of the United States. From that standpoint, Japan could be a "free rider" on U.S. security and foreign policy protection and largesse. Equally and oppositely, the United States has generally believed that because Japan was dependent, it did not need to be consulted about matters of global security and high policy. It could be asked to participate in U.S. and United Nations peacekeeping and peacemaking endeavors after the fact. The United States could concert with other nations, Russia and the European allies, and then ask Japan to help pay for the operations that had been agreed upon. Both of these assumptions obviously represent inappropriate responses to the changed relationship between the two countries. The future success of the U.S.-Japan relationship requires mutuality and reciprocity of interests and symmetry of behavior that have not yet been fully understood, and certainly not acted upon, by either partner. Can these outdated policies be changed?
Information-Seeking Sensor Selection for Ocean-of-Things

We propose a general sensor selection (SS) methodology for ocean-of-things (OoT) where a sensing network performs multiobject tracking (MOT) under resource constraints. SS methods address the combinatorial problem of determining the best subset of sensors that maximizes a suitable reward function for a fixed cardinality. The novelty of this article is twofold. First, we propose a tractable information-theoretic reward function for MOT-OoT with an unknown and time-varying number of objects such as ocean vessels. A tractable reward function is essential in order to rapidly evaluate a sensor subset, which is crucial in the high-dimensional problems encountered in OoT. Second, we propose a general cross-entropy SS (CE-SS) methodology that efficiently estimates the probabilities of sensor activations and determines the optimal sensor subset according to the proposed reward function and under the imposed cardinality constraint. The CE-SS algorithm avoids exhaustive searching over the space of all sensor subsets, which is intractable for most OoT applications. The CE-SS methodology, coupled with the proposed reward function, is capable of selecting sensors that lead to more accurate estimates than random selection for both the number of vessels and their trajectories. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our method via numerical simulation in serveral scenarios, including multivessel tracking for OoT with an emulated network of acoustic sensors deployed off the coast of Italy.
Modulation of Phorbol Ester Induced Events by Dietary Corn Oil

Increased consumption of dietary corn oil, rich in linoleic acid, has been shown to have a protective effect on 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-induced tumor promotion in mouse skin [Leyton et al., Cancer Res. 51:907–15 (1991)]. To investigate the molecular basis of this observation, it was hypothesized that the dietary lipids incorporated into the epidermal cell membrane modulate events associated with tumor promotion, specifically ornithine decarboxylase activity and hyperplasia, and subcellular distribution of protein kinase C activity. To test this hypothesis, weanling female SENCAR mice were fed modified AIN-76 diets containing 15% total fat for approximately four weeks. Corn oil and coconut oil were added to achieve three levels of linoleic acid: 0.8%, 4.5%, and 8.4% (1%, 7.9%, and 15% corn oil, respectively). Fatty acid analysis of each epidermal phospholipid fraction by gas chromatography revealed that increasing dietary linoleic acid was associated with an increase in phospholipid linoleate. Although TPA induction of ornithine decarboxylase was not significantly modified by dietary linoleate, TPA induced hyperplasia was decreased in the epidermis of mice fed the 8.4% linoleate diets compared to the other groups. Subcellular distribution of protein kinase C in the epidermis was altered by the different diets. In mice fed 0.8% linoleate, 69% of the protein kinase C activity was found in the cytosol compared to 78% and 74% for the mice fed 4.5% and 8.4% linoleate diets, respectively. It was also found that partially purified protein kinase C isolated from mouse epidermis was activated by linoleic acid in vitro, however, the extent of activation was less than that for arachidonic acid. These data suggest that the effect of dietary lipid on TPA tumor promotion may be mediated through modulation of protein kinase C.
HCI History and Today's Challenges What Was Anticipated, What Was Not

This course is for students, practitioners and academics interested in understanding the evolution of the field of human-computer interaction that now presents us with new opportunities and serious challenges. Early visions were achieved, bringing anticipated benefits but also unanticipated consequences. Hindsight can identify future possibilities and past oversights. Creativity will be needed to address them. The course surveys HCI in computer science, human factors, information systems, and information science, and discusses relationships to design and artificial intelligence. In a diverse field, it is useful to understanding the forces that have guided the interaction of related disciplines. The principal goal of this course is to better understand significant issues that will engage us for years to come.
Architecture of NETRA

This chapter contains a detailed description of the architecture of NETRA. The first four sections describe the components of NETRA, their functions, capabilities and features. The last section critically examines the architecture in view of the computational requirements for IVS developed in the previous chapter.
Stable C isotope data of southern mixed-grass prairie vegetation from Oklahoma, United States

Abstract Stable carbon isotopic data (δ13C) of 41 individual plant species was collected from long-term grazed and ungrazed pastures in Oklahoma, USA. These data can serve as a library of stable carbon isotope values for Southern mixed-grass prairie species. Seventeen warm-season (C4) and twenty-four cool-season (C3) plants were identified and collected from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Southern Plains Experimental Range (SPER). Plant samples were dried at 55°C, and ground finely. The δ13C isotopic compositions were determined using a Europa Scientific automated nitrogen carbon analyzer (ANCA/NT) with a Solid/Liquid Preparation Module (Dumas combustion sample preparation system) coupled to a Europa 20–20 Stable isotope analyzer continuous flow isotope ratio mass spectrometer (Sercon Ltd, formerly Europa Scientific Ltd., Crewe, England). These data can be used as end members in isotopic mixing models or in paleoecology to correlate soil ages with plant species composition. Data from plant species provides information about soil organic carbon sequestration and possible long-term climate change.
Too good to fire: Non-assortative matching to play a dynamic game

Abstract We model stable, non-assortative labor-market matchings. We endogenize how transferable utility is: a matched firm and worker play an infinite-horizon game with one-sided moral hazard. Becker 's ( 1973 ) result that complementarity yields positively assortative matching fails, because increasing match quality harms dynamic incentives: a firm cannot credibly threaten to fire a worker who is productive even with low effort. Thus, firms may prefer lower-type workers who will exert more effort. We offer a new interpretation of efficiency wages: committing to a high wage improves effort incentives indirectly by increasing the firm's willingness to walk away. We also show that the set of stable outcomes has a lattice structure.
The Coherence and Consistency of Investors' Probability Judgments

This study investigates the quality of direct probability judgments and quantile estimates with a focus on calibration and consistency. The two response modes use different measures of miscalibration so it is difficult to compare directly their relative (in)accuracy. We employed a more refined within-subject design in which DMs used both response modes to make judgments about a random sample of stocks accompanied by identical information to facilitate comparison between the two judgment methods. DMs judged the probabilities that the stocks will reach a certain threshold, provided lower and upper bounds of these forecasts, and estimated median, 50%, 70% and 90% confidence intervals of their future prices. We found that the judgments were internally consistent and coherent but, in most cases, they were slightly miscalibrated. We used several new methods of analysis that allow for more precise and reliable comparison between the two response modes. We inferred point probability estimates for the target events from the confidence intervals and analyzed them by the same methods applied to binary judgments. Interestingly, when we quantified miscalibration in identical fashion for both methods we did not find evidence of differential levels of miscalibration for the probability judgments and the confidence intervals. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these results.
Story Writing in the Accounting Classroom

A story is an established method of communicating fact, fiction, parable, and myth from cultural generation to generation. Is it possible to actively engage accounting students with content when the student becomes the storywriter? Can story writing by the student be an effective teaching tool, and should accounting professors consider its use in their classrooms? This archival research seeks to review the literature regarding the value of story writing as a pedagogical tool across academic disciplines in higher education, synthesize the findings of existing research and describe the uses, benefits and difficulties with using story writing in various accountancy classes across the curriculum.
A Data-assisted Algorithm for Truly Grant-free Transmissions of Future mMTC

In truly grant-free (TGF) transmissions, pilot is crucial to fully exploit the user separation capability of spatial domain. Based on pilots, joint active user detection and channel estimation can be done. The state-of-art work suggests to use the recovered data to improve the channel estimation accuracy. In this paper, a novel data-assisted algorithm is proposed. This algorithm jointly utilizes the recovered and unrecovered data to further improve the performance. The constant modulus (CM) feature is used as the optimization target. To obtain an efficient convergence, a fixed modulus version of CM is employed, and multiple relatively good spatial combining vectors are normalized and used as the initial values of the quasi-Newton iterations. Furthermore, a target function of post signal to interference plus noise ratio is proposed to gain a better performance and faster convergence. The simulation results show that the proposed method achieves a tremendous performance gain, especially when more receiving antennas are employed.
Robowflex: Robot Motion Planning with MoveIt Made Easy.

Robowflex is a software library for robot motion planning in industrial and research applications, leveraging the popular MoveIt library and Robot Operating System (ROS) middleware. Robowflex takes advantage of the ease of motion planning with MoveIt while providing an augmented API to craft and manipulate motion planning queries within a single program. Robowflex's high-level API simplifies many common use-cases while still providing access to the underlying MoveIt library. Robowflex is particularly useful for 1) developing new motion planners, 2) evaluation of motion planners, and 3) complex problems that use motion planning (e.g., task and motion planning). Robowflex also provides visualization capabilities, integrations to other robotics libraries (e.g., DART and Tesseract), and is complimentary to many other robotics packages. With our library, the user does not need to be an expert at ROS or MoveIt in order to set up motion planning queries, extract information from results, and directly interface with a variety of software components. We provide a few example use-cases that demonstrate its efficacy.
Variation in plant–soil interactions among temperate forest herbs

Antagonistic interactions between plants and soil biota promote species diversity in many plant communities but little is known about how these plant–soil interactions influence herbaceous species in temperate forests. To assess the potential for soil biota to affect the growth of forest herbs, I conducted a greenhouse experiment in which seedlings of nine focal herb species common in Wisconsin (USA) forests were grown in soil derived from conspecific and heterospecific plants. This soil origin treatment was crossed with a subsequent treatment in which half of the soils were pasteurized to eliminate soil biota. The presence and origin of soil biota had variable effects on plant growth among the nine focal species. Thalictrum dioicum, Elymus hystrix, and Solidago flexicaulis growth were inhibited by the presence of soil biota in unpasteurized soils. Thalictrum dioicum seedlings grown in conspecific, unpasteurized soil accumulated 30% less biomass than seedlings grown in heterospecific, unpasteurized soil indicating that host-specific effects of microbial pathogens restrict seedling growth. Similarly, E. hystrix seedlings were 11% smaller in conspecific-trained soils. The remaining herb species showed no significant response to experimental treatments manipulating soil biota. These variable growth responses highlight the potential for differences in plant–soil interactions among plant species to influence local plant distributions and community dynamics. Janzen–Connell effects, like those observed in T. dioicum and E. hystrix, could promote coexistence among certain species and contribute to high local plant diversity in temperate forest understories.
Residence in a Hispanic Enclave Is Associated with Inferior Overall Survival among Children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Hispanic children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) experience poorer overall survival (OS) than non-Hispanic White children; however, few studies have investigated the social determinants of this disparity. In Texas, many Hispanic individuals reside in ethnic enclaves-areas with high concentrations of immigrants, ethnic-specific businesses, and language isolation, which are often socioeconomically deprived. We determined whether enclave residence was associated with ALL survival, overall and among Hispanic children. We computed Hispanic enclave index scores for Texas census tracts, and classified children (N = 4083) as residing in enclaves if their residential tracts scored in the highest statewide quintile. We used Cox regression to evaluate the association between enclave residence and OS. Five-year OS was 78.6% for children in enclaves, and 77.8% for Hispanic children in enclaves, both significantly lower (p < 0.05) than the 85.8% observed among children not in enclaves. Children in enclaves had increased risk of death (hazard ratio (HR) 1.20, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01-1.49) after adjustment for sex, age at diagnosis, year of diagnosis, metropolitan residence and neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation and after further adjustment for child race/ethnicity (HR 1.19, 95% CI 0.97-1.45). We observed increased risk of death when analyses were restricted to Hispanic children specifically (HR 1.30, 95% CI 1.03-1.65). Observations suggest that children with ALL residing in Hispanic enclaves experience inferior OS.
Randomized Controlled Trials: Design and Implementation for Community-Based Psychosocial Interventions

1. Introduction 2. Ethical Consideration of RCTs 3. Planning the RCT 4. Developing Conceptual Foundations for RCTs 5. Designing the RCT 6. Implementing the RCT 7. Generalizing the RCT Outcomes to Community Practice Settings
Making variability decisions during architecture design

Two different models for variability are used to enable selections among various architectural choices to achieve variability. A cost model is used to justify and rationalize choices among architectural mechanisms intended to defer the binding time. A dependency model is used to justify and rationalize architectural choices intended to keep a variability from affecting more than the necessary number of modules.
Failed Surgical Management of Acute Proximal Fifth Metatarsal (Jones) Fractures: A Retrospective Case Series and Literature Review.

Nonunion, delayed union, and refracture after operative treatment of acute proximal fifth metatarsal fractures in athletes is uncommon. This study was a failure analysis of operatively managed acut...
Large area single and multi-core photonic crystal fiber amplifiers and lasers

We use a combination of finite element modal analysis and laser modeling to design high power, large core area, single transverse mode and phase-locked multi-core photonic crystal fiber amplifiers and lasers.
Scalar-Mediated Flavor-Changing Neutral Currents

The simplest extension of the standard model involves adding a scalar doublet--the so-called two-Higgs model. In general, the additional scalar will mediate tree-level flavor-changing neutral currents. Although one can arbitrarily impose a discrete symmetry to avoid these, it isn't necessary to do so; reasonable assumptions about the size of the flavor-changing couplings can make them sufficiently small as to avoid problems in the kaon sector. However, these same assumptions give much larger effects in the third-family case. We discuss the model, the "reasonable assumptions" on the size of the couplings, and examine phenomenological bounds on the couplings, showing that the most promising signatures are from $B_s --> \mu\tau$, $\mu --> e\gamma$, etc. We then include the newest result which shows potentially significant effects on the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon.
The Continuing Demographic Transition

The Continuing Demographic Transition. Gavin W. Jones. Robert M. Douglas. John C. Caldwell. and Rennie D'Souza. eds. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. 454 pp.
Robust Bounded Influence Tests in Linear Models

Abstract A robust test that we call an aligned generalized M test for testing subhypotheses in general linear models is developed, and its asymptotic properties are studied. The test is a robustification of the well known F test, and it is an elegant alternative to Ronchetti's (1982) class of τ tests, p-values associated with it can be approximated readily using existing chi-square tables. The test is based on an appropriately constructed quadratic form and uses the generalized M estimators of the parameters in the reduced model. Under the null hypothesis the asymptotic distribution is a central chi square, and under contiguous alternatives it is a noncentral chi square with the same degrees of freedom. The test can be viewed as a generalization of Sen's (1982) M test for linear models. The influence function of the test is bounded. The bound not only applies to the influence of residuals but to the influence of position in the factor space as well. On the other hand, Sen's test has bounded influence only...
Performance of Quantitative Vegetation Sampling Methods Across Gradients of Cover in Great Basin Plant Communities

Resource managers and scientists need efficient, reliable methods for quantifying vegetation to conduct basic research, evaluate land management actions, and monitor trends in habitat conditions. We examined three methods for quantifying vegetation in 1-ha plots among different plant communities in the northern Great Basin: photography-based grid-point intercept (GPI), line-point intercept (LPI), and point-quarter (PQ). We also evaluated each method for within-plot subsampling adequacy and effort requirements relative to information gain. We found that, for most functional groups, percent cover measurements collected with the use of LPI, GPI, and PQ methods were strongly correlated. These correlations were even stronger when we used data from the upper canopy only (i.e., top “hit” of pin flags) in LPI to estimate cover. PQ was best at quantifying cover of sparse plants such as shrubs in early successional habitats. As cover of a given functional group decreased within plots, the variance of the cover estimate increased substantially, which required more subsamples per plot (i.e., transect lines, quadrats) to achieve reliable precision. For GPI, we found that that six–nine quadrats per hectare were sufficient to characterize the vegetation in most of the plant communities sampled. All three methods reasonably characterized the vegetation in our plots, and each has advantages depending on characteristics of the vegetation, such as cover or heterogeneity, study goals, precision of measurements required, and efficiency needed.
Next generation DNA sequencing and the future of genomic medicine.

In the years since the first complete human genome sequence was reported, there has been a rapid development of technologies to facilitate high-throughput sequence analysis of DNA (termed “next-generation” sequencing). These novel approaches to DNA sequencing offer the promise of complete genomic analysis at a cost feasible for routine clinical diagnostics. However, the ability to more thoroughly interrogate genomic sequence raises a number of important issues with regard to result interpretation, laboratory workflow, data storage, and ethical considerations. This review describes the current high-throughput sequencing platforms commercially available, and compares the inherent advantages and disadvantages of each. The potential applications for clinical diagnostics are considered, as well as the need for software and analysis tools to interpret the vast amount of data generated. Finally, we discuss the clinical and ethical implications of the wealth of genetic information generated by these methods. Despite the challenges, we anticipate that the evolution and refinement of high-throughput DNA sequencing technologies will catalyze a new era of personalized medicine based on individualized genomic analysis.
Eruptive history of South Sister, Oregon Cascades

Abstract South Sister is southernmost and highest of the Three Sisters, three geologically dissimilar stratovolcanoes that together form a spectacular 20 km reach along the Cascade crest in Oregon. North Sister is a monotonously mafic edifice as old as middle Pleistocene, Middle Sister a basalt–andesite–dacite cone built between 48 and 14 ka, and South Sister is a basalt-free edifice that alternated rhyolitic and intermediate modes from 50 ka to 2 ka (largely contemporaneous with Middle Sister). Detailed mapping, 330 chemical analyses, and 42 radioisotopic ages show that the oldest exposed South Sister lavas were initially rhyolitic ~ 50 ka. By ~ 37 ka, rhyolitic lava flows and domes (72–74% SiO2) began alternating with radially emplaced dacite (63–68% SiO2) and andesite (59–63% SiO2) lava flows. Construction of a broad cone of silicic andesite–dacite (61–64% SiO2) culminated ~ 30 ka in a dominantly explosive sequence that began with crater-forming andesitic eruptions that left fragmental deposits at least 200 m thick. This was followed at ~ 27 ka by growth of a steeply dipping summit cone of agglutinate-dominated andesite (56–60.5% SiO2) and formation of a summit crater ~ 800 m wide. This crater was soon filled and overtopped by a thick dacite lava flow and then by > 150 m of dacitic pyroclastic ejecta. Small-volume dacite lavas (63–67% SiO2) locally cap the pyroclastic pile. A final sheet of mafic agglutinate (54–56% SiO2) – the most mafic product of South Sister – erupted from and drapes the small (300-m-wide) present-day summit crater, ending a summit-building sequence that lasted until ~ 22 ka. A 20 kyr-long-hiatus was broken by rhyolite eruptions that produced (1) the Rock Mesa coulee, tephra, and satellite domelets (73.5% SiO2) and (2) the Devils Chain of ~ 20 domes and short coulees (72.3–72.8% SiO2) from N–S vent alignments on South Sister's flanks. The compositional reversal from mafic summit agglutinate to recent rhyolites epitomizes the frequently changing compositional modes of the South Sister locus throughout its lifetime. South Sister is part of a reach of the Cascades unusually active in the last 50 kyr, characterized by high vent density, N–S vent alignments, and numerous eruptive units of true rhyolite (≥ 72% SiO2) that distinguishes it from much of the Quaternary Cascade arc; these are eruptive expressions of the complex confluence of arc and intraplate magmatic–tectonic regimes.
Cross-modal estimation of angular velocity

The exponent of 1.0 found previously for numerical magnitude estimates of angular velocity during passive rotation was validated by auditory cross-modality estimates. Acceleration intensities ranged from 3°/sec2 to 24°/sec2, with durations varying from 10 sec to 80 sec. It was concluded that adaptation evident in responses to the longer duration stimuli is a real phenomenon and of potential significance as one form of disorientation.
Analysis of the t(6;11)(q27;q23) in leukemia shows a consistent breakpoint in AF6 in three patients and in the ML-2 cell line.

The t(6;11)(q27;q23) is one of the most common translocations observed in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The translocation breakpoint involves the MLL gene, which is the human homolog of the Drosophila trithorax gene, at 11q23 and the AF6 gene at 6q27. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using an MLL sense primer and an AF6 antisense primer detected the MLL/AF6 fusion cDNA from three leukemia patients with the t(6;11) [two AML and one T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)] and one cell line. The fusion point in the AF6 cDNA from these cases is identical, regardless of the leukemia phenotype. The ML-2 cell line, which was established from a patient with AML that developed after complete remission of T-cell lymphoma, has retained an 11q23–24 deletion from the lymphoma stage and has acquired the t(6;11) with development of AML. The ML-2 cells have no normal MLL gene on Southern blot analysis, which indicates that an intact MLL gene is not necessary for survival of leukemic cells. Genes Chromosom Cancer 15:206–216 (1996). © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Aggregation of platelets by muscle actin. A multivalent interaction model of platelet aggregation by ADP

Abstract Filamentous muscle actin (F-actin) aggregated blood platelets while G-actin was ineffective. This aggregation could be blocked by ATP suggesting a possible role of actin-bound ADP in this process. Actin-bound ADP caused platelet aggregation at concentrations significantly lower than equivalent concentrations of free ADP. Thus, actin potentiates the aggregating action of ADP. An actin antibody or DNase I inhibited this aggregation showing the requirement of actin in this process. Like other physiological agents, Ca++ was necessary for platelet aggregation by actin. Platelets fixed in formaldehyde were not aggregated by actin showing the need for viable platelets. Since F-actin contains 1 mole of bound ADP/mole protein, it is postulated that actin potentiates ADP-induced aggregation by providing multiple interaction sites for platelets.
Direct Measurement of the Attractive Force Between Individual Cooked Rice Grains of Sticky and Flaky Cultivars

The attractive force between juxtapositioned cooked rice grains of five sticky and flaky cultivars was determined using a surface tensiometer. The attractive force between the sticky grains was in the order of 800–1700 dynes and between the flaky ones, 200–1000 dynes. Increase of the water-to-rice ratio during cooking, in the range 0.75:1 to 1.9:1, resulted in an increase of the attractive forces. Determination of the amount of solids extracted during cooking in excess water indicated that stickiness was most probably associated with extractability.
Causes of Browning in Pear Juice Concentrate During Storage

Pear juice was treated with cation exchange resin, PVPP, XAD-4, oxygen, and various resin combinations. Samples were concentrated and increases in browning measured during storage at 37°C. Analytical determinations included α-amino nitrogen, total phenolics, metal ions, ascorbic acid, and dehydroascorbic acid. While XAD-4 and PVPP were more effective in lowering phenolic content and reducing initial color, cation exchange treatment removed amino acids and was most effective in preventing browning and providing flavor stability. Addition of glycine to cation-exchange treated samples restored browning rates. Reductone formation during storage resulted in an apparent increase in ascorbic acid. It was concluded that Maillard browning reactions predominated during storage.
Alterations in human trabecular meshwork cell homeostasis by selenium

Epidemiological evidence indicates that selenium supplementation may increase risk for glaucoma and ocular hypertension. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of selenium on trabecular meshwork cells, a likely site of pathology for glaucoma. Human trabecular meshwork (HTM) cells and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were treated with selenium (MSeA) at or near physiologically relevant concentrations. Selenium uptake by cells was monitored using mass spectrometry. Alterations in protein secretion, intracellular signaling, and cell morphology were monitored; and the role of integrin signaling in MSeA-induced morphological alterations was investigated using divalent cation treatments. Radiolabeling was used to assess protein synthesis and secretion, while luciferase and MTT assays monitored total cellular ATP and cell viability, respectively. Whereas detectible changes in intracellular selenium were observed after exposure to 1-10 microM MSeA for 24hr, the majority remained in the conditioned medium. Selenium-induced morphological changes (< or =3 hr) occurred before alterations in protein secretion and intracellular signaling (3-6 hr). Zinc treatment prevented selenium-mediated alterations in protein secretion and changes in cell-matrix adhesion. MSeA treatment (5 microM) led to a 60% decrease in protein synthesis after 3 hr and a 30% reduction in secretion, although significant alterations in cell viability and total ATP were not observed after MSeA treatment. Selenium altered several indicators of HTM cell homeostasis, but did not affect viability at physiologically relevant doses. Similar results with HUVECs have implications for understanding selenium's mechanisms of action as an anti-angiogenic agent.
The fate of metals in the oceans

The role of particules in cleaning the aqueous system of metals from land to sea can be demonstrated using natural 210Pb.
Metathesis in Kwara'ae

Abstract Unlike most languages, Kwara'ae has a powerful synchronic phonological rule of metathesis, which feeds most other phonological rules in the language. This paper establishes some justification for the rule, presenting forms and alternations that motivate metathesis and providing some evidence that the rule is psychologically real. The paper further examines the interaction of the rule with other major phonological rules, and reviews Ultan's hypotheses on the nature of metathesis, concluding that Kwara'ae evidence does not support them. Kwara'ae metathesis is characterized as a process of minimizing the number of syllables by converting open to closed syllables, with a minimum loss of phonological features as well as of communication.
Characterization of Aligned Wafer-Level Transfer of Thin and Flexible Parylene Membranes

This paper reports a wafer-level transfer technique for forming thin, flexible, and freestanding parylene membranes. Parylene thin films (~1.3 mum) have been successfully transferred from one wafer to another to form a freestanding membrane encapsulating over wide and shallow cavities (< 5 mum deep and 2000 times 2000 mum2 square) with fine alignment (< 3.0 mum) and 87% yield. Transferred membranes may be a composite of parylene/metal/parylene, contain through-hole patterns of diverse size (5 times 5 ~ 2000 times 2000 mum2), have mild tension (1.14 MPa), and remain freestanding and flat through various standard post-transfer microfabrication processes such as photolithography, evaporation, and wet etching. They also provide excellent sealing against pressure of up to 20 kPa and long-term stability over repeated deflection. This paper focuses on two areas: (1) the study of issues involving optimum transfer conditions, minimum achievable gap between transferred membranes and device wafers, patterned-film and composite-layer transfer, and aligned transfer; and (2) the characterization of the post-transfer membrane properties, including stress/tension, sealing capability, effects of post-transfer processing, and long-term stability after a repeated deflection.
Gene transfer to the embryo: Strategies for the delivery and expression of proteins at 48 to 56 hours postfertilization

Background/Purpose: Although gene and protein transfer may potentiate the cure of genetic disease, current strategies involving fetal gene therapy remain nonfocal and confounded by the lack of imaging techniques and in vivo markers for precise gene transfer. Methods: Fourteen white Leghorn chick eggs were incubated for 48 to 56 hours postfertilization until they reached stages 11 to 16, about 3 mm in size. In 7 chick embryos, a glass needle was placed at the midbrain/hindbrain level and 1 × 10^7 pfu of an adenovirus containing the green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter gene was injected into the lateral head. In another 7 chicken embryos, colored agarose beads coated with Sonic hedgehog (Shh) protein were implanted at the level of the hindbrain under direct microscopy. The eggs were then sealed, incubated at 37°C for 24 hours, and reimaged using fluorescent microscopy and confocal laser microscopy. Results: At 24 hours postinjection, all embryos were alive and were imaged in vivo. Fluorescent microscopic imaging showed green fluorescence in the region of the injection site in all the embryos. In embryos that underwent bead placement, the beads were visualized under microscopy in the lateral hindbrain of all embryos, and the presence of the Shh protein was confirmed using fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated secondary antibody. Conclusions: This study shows that embryonic 3-mm chick embryos survive adenoviral transduction or agarose bead implantation in a focal manner in vivo and that this delivery results in production of imageable levels of protein. This may be used in mammalian systems, including humans, to introduce genes and proteins.
Filaggrin-2 variation is associated with more persistent atopic dermatitis in African American subjects

Background Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common skin disease characterized by recurrent episodes of itching. Genetic variation associated with the persistence of AD has not been described for African American subjects. Objective We sought to evaluate genetic variation of filaggrin-2 (FLG2) in African American subjects with AD. Methods We evaluated a multiyear prospective cohort study of African American children with AD with respect to FLG2 variation based on whole-exome sequencing, followed by a targeted analysis. We ultimately evaluated the association of rs12568784 and rs16833974 with respect to the persistence of AD symptoms over time. Results Whole-exome analysis was conducted on 60 subjects, revealing a premature stop codon in exon 3 at S2377X (rs12568784) and X2392S (rs150529054) and a large exon 3 deletion mutation, Q2053del224. On the basis of a priori criteria, we then studied rs12568784, rs16833974 (H1249R), and Q2053del224. We noted that patients with S2377X (odds ratio [OR], 0.44; 95% CI, 0.25-0.46) and H1249R (OR, 0.23; 05% CI, 0.12-0.46) were significantly less likely to be free of symptoms of AD, and Q2053del224 (OR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.16-1.80) trended toward this outcome. S2377X and H1249R were in high linkage disequilibrium (D′ = 0.95). Conclusions In an African American cohort with AD, FLG2 mutations were associated with more persistent AD. This is the first finding of genetic variation of a skin barrier protein in subjects of African ancestry with AD.