cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Automotive Diagnostics as a Service: An Artificially Intelligent Mobile Application for Tire Condition Assessment

Vehicle tires must be maintained to assure performance, efficiency, and safety. Though vehicle owners may monitor tread depth and air pressure, most are unaware of the safety risks of degrading rubber. This paper identifies the need for tire material condition monitoring and develops a densely connected convolutional neural network to identify cracking from smartphone photographs. This model attains an accuracy of 81.2% on cropped outsample images, besting inexperienced humans’ 55% performance. We develop a web service using this model as the basis of an AI-backed “Diagnostics-as-a-Service” platform for online vehicle condition assessment. By encoding knowledge of visual risk indicators into a neural network model operable from a user’s trusted smartphone, we raise awareness of the risk of degraded rubber and improve vehicle safety without requiring specialized operator training.
Immigration and Migration: Cultural Concerns

The article begins with some definitions of immigration, considering both time and space. It briefly outlines causes of migration, transnational networks, and the role of armed conflict. The position of the state in regulating and controlling immigration is discussed, with reference to asylum seekers and illegal immigrants. The author then moves on to the controversial topic of the economics of immigration and the role of migrant labor in the global economy. Finally, some cultural consequences of large-scale population movements are considered.
Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR) and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) detection of soilborne pathogen Sclerotium rolfsii

Abstract Early detection of soilborne disease is essential for prediction of disease development and successful disease management. Traditional methods of monitoring soilborne diseases based on plant growth and symptoms did not take into account the presence and inoculum potential of pathogens in the soil, which generally delay the prevention of diseases. To detect and quantify soil populations of Sclerotium rolfsii, the causal agent of southern blight of tomatoes, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR) was used to measure the amount of soil general fungal and specific S. rolfsii DNA. Significantly higher amounts of total fungal and S. rolfsii DNA were detected in inoculated than in uninoculated soil in a greenhouse inoculation experiment. Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) was successfully developed to detect the abundance of S. rolfsii through whole cell hybridization and was further applied for visual detection of the abundance of S. rolfsii in the soil samples of greenhouse inoculation experiment. Natural abundance of S. rolfsii in soil with a DNA amount of 0.06 pg µl−1 DNA extraction, which was equivalent to 8 pg g−1 soil, was successfully detected. The hybridization signal detected in soil for S. rolfsii had a great correlation with the amount of infested DNA levels of S. rolfsii. Molecular detection and quantification of soilborne pathogens in plant roots and in the soil could provide valuable information to predict disease development and apply management practices for soilborne diseases.
The Education of Jane Addams

Review of: "The Education of Jane Addams: Politics and Culture in Modern America," by Victoria Bissell Brown.
Notes on power comparison between the sequential parallel comparison and other commonly-used designs

Because one excludes in the sequential parallel comparison design (SPCD) both placebo responders and patients assigned to the experimental treatment in period 1 from comparison in period 2, test pr...
High Failure Rates for Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty in Morbidly Obese Patients: A Two-Year Minimum Follow-Up Study

Abstract Background Several recent studies have recommended offering unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) to all patients regardless of body mass index (BMI). The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the proposition that UKA can indeed be offered to the morbidly-obese and super-obese (morbidly-obese, BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2) without compromising results or survivorship. Methods We retrospectively reviewed mobile-bearing medial UKA procedures performed at our facility from January 2012 to May 2015 with a minimum of 2-year follow-up. The study cohort was divided into patients with morbid obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2) and those without morbid obesity (BMI Results We found 152 patients (190 knees) who met criteria for inclusion. Mean follow-up duration was 3.4 years (range: 2.0-6.8 years). Major revision surgery occurred more frequently in the morbid-obesity UKA group (15.7% vs 3.0%, P Conclusion We found the rate of early major revision surgery in morbidly-obese patients undergoing UKA to be over 5-times greater than that of other patients. Failure was predominantly due to disease progression in other compartments or mobile-bearing instability. Further study is warranted and needed before expanding UKA indications to the morbidly-obese population.
Comparison of Trabectome Ab Interno Trabeculectomy to Baerveldt and Ahmed Glaucoma Implants

Purpose: To compare reduction of intraocular pressure (IOP) and number of medications after trabecular meshwork ablation with the trabectome (T) to Baerveldt (BGI) or Ahmed (AGI) glaucoma implants which bypass the conventional drainage system. Conclusion: In this retrospective study, T, BGI and AGI had similar IOPs and reduction of glaucoma medications at 6 and 12 months. In contrast to BGI and AGI, patients who underwent T had no complications. This data suggests that a randomized controlled trial is feasible.
U.S. Supreme Court Accepts Cell Phone Privacy Case with Transnational Implications

A privacy case headed to the U.S. Supreme Court will give justices an opportunity to examine “the third-party doctrine” in U.S. constitutional law. The doctrine manifests a central feature of American privacy policy, marking a divide that has flummoxed transnational data transfer negotiators.
Predictors of electronic patient-reported outcomes use in the survivorship setting.

e14038Background: Patient-reported outcomes (PRO) offer insight into patient perception of health and symptom burden. Despite a shift toward electronic PRO (ePRO), optimal administration methods ar...
Temporal changes in the muscle extracellular matrix due to volumetric muscle loss injury.

Purpose/Aim: Volumetric muscle loss (VML) is a devastating orthopedic injury resulting in chronic persistent functional deficits, loss of joint range of motion, pathologic fibrotic deposition and l...
Repetitive diacetyl vapor exposure promotes ubiquitin proteasome stress and precedes bronchiolitis obliterans pathology.

Bronchiolitis obliterans (BO) is a devastating lung disease seen commonly after lung transplant, following severe respiratory tract infection or chemical inhalation exposure. Diacetyl (DA; 2,3-butanedione) is a highly reactive alpha-diketone known to cause BO when inhaled, however, the mechanisms of how inhalation exposure leads to BO development remains poorly understood. In the current work, we combined two clinically relevant models for studying the pathogenesis of DA-induced BO: (1) an in vivo rat model of repetitive DA vapor exposures with recovery and (2) an in vitro model of primary human airway epithelial cells exposed to pure DA vapors. Rats exposed to 5 consecutive days 200 parts-per-million DA 6 h per day had worsening survival, persistent hypoxemia, poor weight gain, and histologic evidence of BO 14 days after DA exposure cessation. At the end of exposure, increased expression of the ubiquitin stress protein ubiquitin-C accumulated within DA-exposed rat lung homogenates and localized primarily to the airway epithelium, the primary site of BO development. Lung proteasome activity increased concurrently with ubiquitin-C expression after DA exposure, supportive of significant proteasome stress. In primary human airway cultures, global proteomics identified 519 significantly modified proteins in DA-exposed samples relative to controls with common pathways of the ubiquitin proteasome system, endosomal reticulum transport, and response to unfolded protein pathways being upregulated and cell–cell adhesion and oxidation–reduction pathways being downregulated. Collectively, these two models suggest that diacetyl inhalation exposure causes abundant protein damage and subsequent ubiquitin proteasome stress prior to the development of chemical-induced BO pathology.
Explaining universality: infinite limit systems in the renormalization group method

I analyze the role of infinite idealizations used in the renormalization group (RG hereafter) method in explaining universality across microscopically different physical systems in critical phenomena. I argue that despite the reference to infinite limit systems such as systems with infinite correlation lengths during the RG process, the key to explaining universality in critical phenomena need not involve infinite limit systems. I develop my argument by introducing what I regard as the explanatorily relevant property in RG explanations: linearization* property; I then motivate and prove a proposition about the linearization* property in support of my view. As a result, infinite limit systems in RG explanations are dispensable.
Bias and Fairness in Multimodal Machine Learning: A Case Study of Automated Video Interviews

We introduce the psychometric concepts of bias and fairness in a multimodal machine learning context assessing individuals’ hireability from prerecorded video interviews. We collected interviews from 733 participants and hireability ratings from a panel of trained annotators in a simulated hiring study, and then trained interpretable machine learning models on verbal, paraverbal, and visual features extracted from the videos to investigate unimodal versus multimodal bias and fairness. Our results demonstrate that, in the absence of any bias mitigation strategy, combining multiple modalities only marginally improves prediction accuracy at the cost of increasing bias and reducing fairness compared to the least biased and most fair unimodal predictor set (verbal). We further show that gender-norming predictors only reduces gender predictability for paraverbal and visual modalities, while removing gender-biased features can achieve gender blindness, minimal bias, and fairness (for all modalities except for visual) at the cost of some prediction accuracy. Overall, the reduced-feature approach using predictors from all modalities achieved the best balance between accuracy, bias, and fairness, with the verbal modality alone performing almost as well. Our analysis highlights how optimizing model prediction accuracy in isolation and in a multimodal context may cause bias, disparate impact, and potential social harm, while a more holistic optimization approach based on accuracy, bias, and fairness can avoid these pitfalls.
Intraosseous meningioma mimicking osteosarcoma.

Background Predominantly intraosseous meningiomas are rare entities that include true primary intraosseous meningiomas (PIM), as well as meningiomas that may show extensive bone involvement, such as en plaque meningiomas. Different hypotheses have been proposed to decipher the origin of PIMs, such as ectopic arachnoid cap cell entrapment during birth or after trauma. Surgical resection is the treatment of choice of such lesions. Case presentation We present a case of a 65-year-old man with an enlarging mass in the parieto-occipital region that grew slowly and progressively over 13 years, following head trauma during a motor vehicle accident. One year prior to presentation, he started experiencing daily holocranial headaches and blurry vision. CT and MRI studies revealed a permeative midline calvarial lesion measuring 14 cm in greatest dimension with extensive periosteal reaction, extension into the subcutaneous soft tissues, subjacent dural thickening and intracranial extension with invasion of the superior sagittal sinus. The favored pre-operative clinical diagnosis was osteosarcoma. The abnormal calvarium was excised and histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of a predominantly intraosseous calvarial meningioma, WHO grade I. Conclusions The present case highlights the importance of histopathologic diagnosis in guiding therapeutic decisions and reiterates the necessity of considering PIM or meningiomas with extensive intraosseous component in the differential diagnosis of calvarial masses, even when imaging suggests a neoplasm with aggressive behavior, such as osteosarcoma.
A 33 V, 0.25 m/spl Omega/-cm/sup 2/ n-channel LDMOS in a 0.65 /spl mu/m smart power technology for 20-30 V applications

This paper describes a conventional 33 V n-channel lateral DMOS (LDMOS) transistor device integrated into a 20-30 V 0.65 /spl mu/m (0.8 /spl mu/m minimum feature size) smart power technology based on an analog BiCMOS process flow. A specific on-resistance of 0.25 m/spl Omega/-cm/sup 2/ has been realized for this device without significantly compromising the performance of other devices in the technology. This is the lowest specific on-resistance obtained to date for a power device in this voltage range.
Analysis and implementation of the max-NLMS adaptive filter

We provide an efficient implementation and a statistical analysis of the max-NLMS adaptive filter. This adaptive filter only adjusts the coefficient associated with the data element that has the maximum absolute value in the filter memory at each iteration. Our method for determining this maximum absolute data value requires many fewer compares and storage locations on average as compared to other techniques. We then provide statistical and stability analyses of the max-NLMS algorithm for several input data models. Theory and simulations show that the max-NLMS adaptive filter is statistically more efficient than other adaptive filters with similar computational complexity for some input signals; however, its stability behavior is very sensitive to skew in the input data probability distribution.
A note on the Poincaré and Cheeger inequalities for simple random walk on a connected graph

In 1991, Persi Diaconis and Daniel Stroock obtained two canonical path bounds on the second largest eigenvalue for simple random walk on a connected graph, the Poincar\'e and Cheeger bounds, and they raised the question as to whether the Poincar\'e bound is always superior. In this paper, we present some background on these issues, provide an example where Cheeger beats Poincar\'e, establish some sufficient conditions on the canonical paths for the Poincar\'e bound to triumph, and show that there is always a choice of paths for which this happens.
Neural networks with hybrid morphological/rank/linear nodes and their application to handwritten character recognition

We propose a general class of multilayer feed-forward neural networks where the combination of inputs in every node is formed by hybrid linear and nonlinear (of the morphological/rank type) operations. For its design we formulate a methodology using ideas from the back-propagation algorithm and robust techniques to circumvent the non-differentiability of rank functions. Experimental results in a problem of handwritten character recognition are described and illustrate some of the properties of this new type of nonlinear systems.
Hydrogen Permeation Studies I . Armco Iron and Iron‐Molybdenum Alloys

Hydrogen permeation of Armco iron, 5 w/o (weight per cent) molybdenum‐iron, and 10 w/o molybdenum‐iron alloys was investigated over a temperature range of 350–800°C and at 1 atm hydrogen pressure. Activation energies have been calculated from the experimental data as , , and . Use of iron diaphragm electrodes, in lithium hydride cells under heavy current loads, has resulted in current densities which were 1.5 times greater than those obtainable from data on the permeability of hydrogen through an iron diaphragm at 1 atm hydrogen pressure across the diaphragm. Alpha activation of the hydrogen gas also increases the hydrogen permeation rate of iron. When ionization of the hydrogen gas with alpha particles was used, the activation energy for the process was reduced from −10.3 kcal g‐atom−1 to −7.9 kcal g‐atom−1.
A New Stochastic/Perturbation Method for Large-Scale Global Optimization and its Application to Water Cluster Problems

We describe a class of new global optimization methods that has been designed to solve large, partially separable problems. The methods have been motivated by the consideration of problems from molecular chemistry, but should be applicable to other partially separable problems as well. They combine a first, stochastic phase that identifies an initial set of local minimizers, with a second, more deterministic phase that moves from low to even lower local minimizers and that accounts for most of the computational cost of the methods. Both phases make critical use of portions that vary only a small subset of the variables at once. Another important new feature of the methods is an expansion step that makes it easier to find new and structurally different local minimizers from current low minimizers. We give the results of the initial application of these methods to the problem of finding the minimum energy configuration of clusters of water molecules with up to 21 molecules (189 variables). These runs have led to improved minimizers, and interesting structures from the chemistry perspective.
A comparison of central lines in pediatric oncology patients: Early removal and patient centered outcomes

Background While there is increasing evidence supporting the choice of subcutaneous ports (SPs) over external venous catheters (EVCs) in pediatric oncology patients, prior conflicting studies exist and little data have been gathered as to which type of central line is preferred from the patient/family perspective. Procedure We performed a single institution, 10 years, retrospective analysis of central lines in pediatric oncology patients (n = 878) to evaluate unplanned early removal and cause of removal while simultaneously obtaining a cross sectional survey of 143 of the primary caretakers/parents of these patients to evaluate their overall satisfaction with the line. Results EVCs have significantly higher odds of unplanned early removal in comparison to SPs (6.7% of SPs vs. 27.3% of EVCs, odds ratio (OR) = 6.3, P < 0.0001 when controlling for age and diagnosis) secondary to increased infection, malfunction and patient preference. Patients with SPs felt like their central line was easier to care for, had less daily impact in their life, and were overall more satisfied with their central line compared to patients with EVCs, even when controlling for early removal (P < 0.0001 for all). SP patients were much more likely to state that they would choose the same type of line again (OR = 15, P < 0.0001) than EVC patients. Conclusion SPs demonstrated lower removal rates and greater patient satisfaction than EVCs. These data should be considered when choosing a central line for pediatric cancer patients. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2013;60:1890–1895. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Voyages into ocean space: A view from the humanities

There is a serious need for academic humanists to bring the value-centered concerns of their disciplines to the current effort by marine educators to achieve what has become known as "nationwide marine literacy." But the terms of humanist's involvement must first be defined. For the humanist is not simply the person who provides cultural embellishment on the work of other marine educators to make the efforts by those educators aesthetically pleasing; rather his main task is to assist in the creation and maintenance of a worthwhile culture, or more specifically, to help ocean scientists and technologists realize who they are and how they're doing. As an example, a study of the sea fiction of such writers as James Fenimore Cooper, Herman Melville, and Joseph Conrad can help us understand the historical development of the Anglo-American idea of frontier as that idea has shaped the counterplay of human and natural forces which is the American imperial epic. The best novels by these men mark the limits of rational inquiry and suggest dangerous consequences if we continue our voyage into ocean space without understanding those limits.
Perceived Retail Crowding and Shopping Satisfaction: What Modifies This Relationship?

Research has shown that an increase in perceived crowding in a retail store (created from either human or spatial density) can decrease the level of satisfaction that shoppers have with the store. The three studies reported here examine the retail crowding-satisfaction relationship to determine the extent to which it is a simple, direct relationship. Specifically, we consider the possibility that the crowding–satisfaction relationship is mediated by emotional reactions that are experienced while shopping. In addition, moderating variables such as prior expectations of crowding, tolerance for crowding, and store type are examined for their influence on the crowding–satisfaction relationship. The results of two field studies indicate that whereas emotions only partially mediate the relationship, the decrease in shopping satisfaction due to crowding is moderated by expectations of crowding and personal tolerance for crowding. A laboratory experiment replicated the field studies and shows, in addition, that although ceiling and floor effects may be present, the relationship between perceived crowding and shopping satisfaction appears to vary by store type.
Pimozide attentuates d-amphetamine-induced sleep changes in man.

Abstract Pretreatment with pimozide (mean dose = 13 mg/day) blocked the effect of d-amphetamine (20 mg base, administered by intravenous bolus infusion at 0815) on all-night EEG sleep patterns in seven hospitalized psychiatric patients. Each patient was studied for five nights (2 nights baseline, 1 night on the day of the infusion, and 2 nights recovery) with and without pretreatment with pimozide. Without treatment with pimozide, d-amphetamine significantly reduced duration of total sleep, REM and nonREM sleep, Stage I, and Stage II. With coadministration of pimozide, d-amphetamine had no effect on sleep. These results suggest that the d-amphetamine induced changes in sleep are mediated by dopaminergic neurons.
Licit and Illicit Use of Medications for Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Undergraduate College Students

Objective: The authors studied the relationship between a diagnosis of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), grade point average (GPA), and licit and illicit drug use. Participants and Methods: They obtained survey data from a convenience sample of undergraduates in a large southern public university. Results: Among 1,550 respondents, 163 (10.5%) reported an ADHD diagnosis (ADHD Group). Of those without an ADHD diagnosis, 591 (43%) reported using prescription stimulants illicitly (No ADHD, Illicit Use group), and 794 (57%) reported not using prescription drugs illicitly (No ADHD, No Illicit Use group). The GPA of the ADHD group was significantly lower than the GPA of the other 2 groups. The ADHD group and the No ADHD, Illicit Use group reported significantly greater use of all other drugs than did the No ADHD, No Illicit Use group. Conclusions: Drug use was associated with a lower GPA in ADHD-diagnosed students than in students without ADHD.
Redox-active ligands in catalysis

Odd-electron, redox-active ligands are discussed in the context of catalysis. We focus on ligand-based, non-singlet state intermediates and their participation in catalytic processes and related stoichiometric transformations.
Recycling paint overspray

The use of recovered paint overspray from the auto industry was investigated. Water and solvent had been removed from the recovered paint by a vacuum treatment process. The acid catalyst had been neutralized by excess base prior to processing. The recovered paint, as supplied, contained contaminant particles of self-crosslinked hardener that were removed by filtration. The cleaned paint was then formulated with additional catalyst and additional crosslinker to replace that which was lost in processing, and solvent (55% solids, 3 lb/gal VOC) to reach application viscosity. The paint was applied to metal test panels and baked at 190°C for 15, 20, or 25 min. The results indicate that the gray recycled paint gave reasonable properties for many expected industrial applications.
Transport parameters in two-dimensional dispersive—convective systems from temporal moments of pulsed tracer experiments

Abstract Species concentrations in systems such as the liquid on trays in distillation columns can be described by the two-dimensional dispersion—convection equation. Based on this model, the relationship between temporal moments, measured at points near the tracer injection site during pulsed tracer experiments, and the transport parameters is presented. The resulting nonlinear parameter estimation problem is solved by methods that take account of the noisy nature of the data, and which allow meaningful probabilistic statements to be made about the estimates.
The geometric phase effect shows up in chemical reactions

Abstract The persistent differences between the rotational state distribution measurements of Kliner, Adelman and Zare (J. Chem. Phys. 95, (1991) 1648) for the D + H 2 reaction and theory are shown to be almost entirely the result of the geometric phase effect. This effect is due to a conical intersection between the two lowest electronically adiabatic potential energy surfaces of this system. Using accurate quantum scattering calculations, we have identified it for the first time in a chemical reaction studied experimentally. Predictions of additional large dynamical effects are also made. This phase is apt to be important for many other systems displaying conical intersections.
On managing operating capacity to reduce congestion in service systems

Abstract This paper presents an alternative framework in which service systems are classified according to the ‘visibility level’ of the queue length in the system to the customers. By directly considering the customer's behavior while waiting in the system, we develop two simple models that analyze the benefit of adjusting the ‘operating’ capacity dynamically for two different types of service systems: a system with invisible queue length and a system with visible queue length. The first system is motivated by a customer support service system in which the caller cannot ‘see’ the queue length while the second system is motivated by a check-out service system in which the queue length is highly ‘visible’ to the customers. For each service system, we first specify a policy for adjusting the ‘operating capacity’ dynamically according to the physical environment of the operation. Then we develop a queueing model that analyzes the benefit of managing the capacity dynamically. The analysis provides useful managerial insights for managing capacity in these types of service systems.
The characterization of asymmetric alumina membranes by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry

Abstract Effective membrane structures often rely on the presence of thin discriminating layers that exert selectivity control while maintaining high fluxes. Characterizing these separating layers is often difficult given the scarcity of analytical tools capable of measuring structural detail below sample surfaces. We have shown that Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) is an effective tool for characterizing asymmetric inorganic membranes. The ability to accurately measure the thickness and composition of thin metal layers using RBS offered a means of analyzing composite structures in which metals are deposited to influence separation or provide strength to the membrane. This analysis of commercially available alumina membranes by RBS quantified the interpenetration depth of deposited gold layers. RBS has also been applied to the measurement of sample porosity in Al 2 O 3 membranes using specialized 16 O resonance experiments. The measured porosity of these asymmetric membranes resulting from the resonance measurements was compared to a graphical analysis of scanning electron microscopy images. The results of this study suggest that RBS may offer advantages in a wide range of membrane materials analysis applications.
Hidden Mass in the Solar Neighborhood

It is suggested that the minimum mass of a star at the time of its formation is approximately 0.01M⊙. Making use of this fact and the stellar mass functionF(M) ∞M−α, it is found that the hidden mass (or the missing mass) in the solar neighborhood may be explained by the presence of a large number of invisible stars of very low mass (0.01M⊙≲M<0.07M⊙).
Electron transfer and orbital hybridization in slow collisions between excited hydrogen atoms and aluminum surfaces

Abstract We have developed a new two-center close-coupling approach in which the time-dependent Schrodinger equation is solved for an active electron interacting with a slow projectile and a metal surface. The motion of the active electron in the metal subspace is discretized by using Weyl wave packets. Results for the time evolution of the atomic and metallic population amplitudes for the H/Al system are shown and discussed.
A multi-level analysis of factors affecting software developers' intention to reuse software assets: An empirical investigation

Reuse of software assets in application development has held promise but faced challenges. In addressing these challenges, research has focused on organizational- and project-level factors while neglecting grass-root level adoption of reusable assets. Our research investigated factors associated with individual software developers' intention to reuse software assets and integrated them in TAM. Towards that end, 13 project managers were interviewed and 207 software developers were surveyed in India. Results revealed that the technological-level (infrastructure), and individual-level factors (reuse-related experience and self-efficacy) were major determinants. Implications are discussed.
Observed Instability of Bound Pybox Ligands towards Acetate Counterions

Reaction of Pd(OAc)2 with bis(oxazolinyl)pyridine (pybox) ligands led cleanly to products that contained a ring-opened oxazoline ring. The transformations were formally the result of the attack of bound pybox ligands by acetate counterions, leading to acetate incorporation into the ring-opened products.
A Validity Study of Scores on the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure Based on a Sample of Academically Talented Adolescents

This study examined the validity of scores on the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM) in a group of 275 academically talented adolescents attending a summer enrichment program. The two-factor...
Leaving on the lights: host-specific derepression of Mycobacterium tuberculosis gene expression by anti-sigma factor gene mutations.

Summary Regulation of transcription by alternative sigma factors is a strategy widely used by bacteria to adapt to changes in environmental conditions. For several pathogenic bacteria, alternative sigma factor-regulated gene expression is critical for virulence. The activity of many alternative sigma factors is in turn controlled by regulatory proteins that transduce and integrate environmental signals. In this issue of Molecular Microbiology, Said-Salim et al. demonstrate high-level expression of genes encoding major protein antigens in the bovine subspecies of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, in contrast to low-level expression in the human subspecies. Having previously suggested that SigK regulates the expression of these genes, the authors found that the high-expressers have point mutations in Rv0444c, a gene adjacent to sigK, and provided evidence that this gene encodes an anti-sigma factor whose function is abrogated by these mutations. These findings not only demonstrate an adaptive mechanism of potential importance in tuberculosis immunity and pathogenesis, but also raise interesting questions regarding the origin of these mutations and their effects on anti-sigma factor function.
Effect of copper deficiency on synthesis of haem.

ALTHOUGH copper is essential for the formation of normal haemoglobin, it has not been demonstrated that this element functions directly in the synthesis of haem. We have demonstrated an increased synthesis of haem in vitro from glycine labelled with carbon-14, by means of adding inorganic copper to copper-deficient chicken blood.
Sociocultural expectations of attractiveness for males

Sociocultural expectations of attractiveness for women have been studied extensively, but little research has focused on this topic with males. Using the two most popular men's fashion magazines (GQand Esquire), this study examined article and advertisement content as well as male models' body sizes to determine the extent to which men have received messages from the media on how to behave (e.g., diet, exercise) and look over a 32 year period (i.e., 1960–1992). Linear trend analyses revealed that the number of messages concerning physical fitness and health have increased as has the general popularity of health and fitness activities. Messages concerning weight and beauty, however, have declined since the late 1970s. In spite of these changes, measures of male models' body sizes have not changed significantly since the 1960s. These findings are discussed in the context of the sociocultural approach to eating disorders and recommendations for future research are provided.
Bactericidal Action of Streptomycin and Comparison with Spectinomycin in Heterozygotes of Escherichia coli

Str(s)/str(r) heterozygotes of Escherichia coli K-12 are shown to be sensitive to the lethal as well as the inhibitory action of streptomycin. The rate of killing was lower in heterozygotes than in sensitive homozygotes, and among heterozygotes it was lower in those with a higher proportion of resistant ribosomes. These strains also differed, in a parallel manner, in the kinetics of inhibition of growth and protein synthesis by streptomycin. Similar results were obtained with spectinomycin and corresponding merodiploid strains. Since spectinomycin is purely bacteriostatic and stabilizes polysomes, it must block resistant ribosomes behind inhibited sensitive ribosomes; hence, these results are consistent with an initial similar polysomal blockade by streptomycin. However, since streptomycin causes gradual polysome breakdown, its dominant lethal action must involve some mechanism other than a permanent polysomal blockade.
Mobile workers, modernist narratives: a critique of the historiography of transition on the Zambian copperbelt[part one]

Questions of labour migration and circulation of population between urban and rural areas in Zambia have usually been described according to a grand modernist narrative charting the progressive, stage‐wise emergence of a stable, settled urban working class. In this over‐arching, progressive narrative, changes in the nature of migration and urbanisation over the years have been described in terms of a transition through which a ‘classic migrant labour system’ featuring short‐term migration by lone, male, rurally‐based migrants gradually gave way to a ‘permanently urbanised’, ‘fully proletarianised’, settled urban working class. This paper argues that this conceptualisation obscures our understanding of the complex relations urban workers have maintained with rural areas over the years, and stands in the way of the task of coming to terms with developments in Zambia over the last fifteen years, which have no place in the progressive narrative and its scheme of phases. The critical re‐examination of issues o...
Distribution and Diversity of Carboniferous and Permian Colonial Rugose Coral Faunas in Western North America: Clues for Placement of Allochthonous Terranes

Colonial rugose corals are common in western cratonal North America and in some of the allochthonous terranes, now amalgamated against its western margin. Throughout the Late Paleozoic, the coral faunas in these two different settings were significantly different. Comparisons of these faunas suggest that during the Mississippian the Alexander terrane probably was southwest of Arctic Alaska and the Stikine terrane probably lay west of the southern part of the North American craton. The Cache Creek terrane lay far out in the Paleopacific Ocean. The Pennsylvanian faunas suggest that the Quesnellia and Eastern Klamath terranes were situated southwest of Arctic Alaska and the Alexander terrane was somewhat farther southwest and farther from cratonal North America. The Stikine terrane continued to be positioned west of the southern part of the North American craton. During the Early Permian, terranes with a cratonal faunal aspect may have lain 2000–3000 km west of cratonal North America and latitudinally generally southwest of their present positions. In the Middle Permian these terranes were carried southward relative to the North American craton. Simultaneously the Tethyan Realm expanded eastward.
Vibro-levitation and inverted pendulum: parametric resonance in vibrating droplets and soft materials

The phenomenon of liquid droplets “levitating” or bouncing off a liquid vibrating surface has attracted attention of scientists due to its possible application in microfluidics and novel nanostructured superhydrophobic materials. Several models have been suggested in the literature, and the effect is usually attributed to non-linear viscosity. Here we suggest a simple model relating the effect to the parametric resonance as described by the Mathieu equation, which explains stabilization of an inverted pendulum with vibration foundation. Small fast vibrations can be substituted by an effective “levitation” force. We present modeling and experimental results for oil droplets and discuss how the mathematical separation of the slow and fast motion provides insights on the relation of vibro-levitation of oil droplets and soft materials with the vibro-stabilization of an inverted pendulum, and the “Indian rope” and “Cornstarch monster” tricks.
Media Multiplexing Behavior: Implications for Targeting and Media Planning

There is a growing trend among consumers to serially consume small, incomplete “chunks” of multiple media types – television, radio, Internet and print – within a short time period. We refer to this behavior as “media multiplexing” and note that key challenges for integrated marketing communications (IMC) media planners are (1) predicting which media or combination their target audience is likely to consume at any given time and (2) understanding potential substitutions and complementarities in their joint consumption. We propose a forecasting model that incorporates media-multiplexing behavior of both traditional and new media, their interdependencies, and consumer heterogeneity and calibrate the model using a rich database of individual-specific media activity diaries. The results suggest that accounting for media synergies within a single utility specification significantly improves model forecasts. We also introduce a utility function that directly models cross-channel media complementarities via interactive effects of the satiation parameters of own and joint consumption of various media types. Finally, our individual-level analyses generate unique insights on consumer-level media switching, multiplexing and individual heterogeneity often ignored in aggregate data.
From superconductors and four-manifolds to weak interactions

The goal of this article is to describe the concept of “gauge symmetry breaking” and its applications to superconductors, four-manifold theory, and particle physics.
Infrared Sensitivity of Plasmonic Metal Films with Hole Arrays to Microspheres In and Out of the Holes

Both experiments and finite difference time domain (FDTD) calculations show that infrared (IR) absorption spectroscopy and IR transmission resonances of metal films with arrays of subwavelength holes (meshes) are more sensitive to material in the holes of the mesh than to material on the front or back surfaces of the mesh. IR extinction spectra of isolated, individual latex (polystyrene) spheres inside or outside of a hole on plasmonic Ni mesh are compared to similar isolated microspheres on a ZnSe substrate. Although vibrational spectra of single microspheres on ZnSe are dominated by scattering, vibrational spectra of microspheres in microholes of metal mesh are dominated by absorption. The IR absorption spectrum of a latex microsphere with mesh is much stronger when the microsphere is inside a mesh hole rather than on the front or back surface, which pertains to the nature of spectroscopic enhancements on the plasmonic mesh. These results are supported and enhanced by FDTD simulations showing changes in the primary infrared transmission resonance of the mesh when latex spheres are placed in different positions. The simulations demonstrate how interaction with a plasmonic resonance changes the intensity and line shape of a vibration in the dielectric material.
Advances in Transmission and Distribution Technology

Efforts are being made to improve every aspect of equipment and operating system designs, to develop new and greater advances in transmission and distribution technology.
Influence of Moderate Wall Cooling on Cone Transition at M e = 13.7 in Helium

O the many factors influencing hypersonic boundary-layer transition, one of the most controversial is the effect of wall cooling (or heating). Some investigations" indicate that heat transfer has a moderate to strong effect on hypersonic boundarylayer transition. Conversely, other studies ~ indicate that heat transfer has no measurable effect. In addition, transition "reversal'' has been detected at extreme wall cooling for hypersonic,' as well as supersonic conditions. This Note presents additional hypersonic transition measurements on a moderately cooled slender cone at a local Mach number considerably higher than previously reported in the literature. The present results, combined with lower hypersonic Mach number data, allow speculation as to the influence of wall cooling on transition Reynolds number for the noise dominated hypersonic case. The tests were conducted in the Mach 20 leg of the Langley High Reynolds Number Helium Facility. This tunnel has an axisymmetric contoured nozzle with a 1.525-mdiam test section. Heat-transfer measurements were obtained at zero angle of attack on a 1.525-m-long, 2.87°-half-angle cone with a nose radius of 0.010 cm. The model was instrumented with thermocouples for determining heating rates (from which the transition location was determined). Local unit Reynolds number for the tests was essentially constant at about-Re/m& 37 x 10. The helium freestream flow was unheated with Tt ^ & 300°K. Previous transition data for the same model and facility combination, for the uncooled case, are available in Kef. 9. Cooling of the model surface was accomplished by venting cold helium vapor into the interior of the cone. The cold helium vapor entered through a tube which ran from the helium supply through the base of the model, and terminated internally about midway along the cone length. The helium vapor exited at this point and distributed itself inside the cone, eventually passing into
Vibrational Dynamics of the I3 Radical: A Semiempirical Potential Surface, and Semiclassical Calculation of the Anion Photoelectron Spectrum

The semiempirical diatomics in molecules (DIM) approach is used to model the potential surface for ground-state vibration of a linear I3 molecule. We use this system to explore semiclassical methods for treating quantal nuclear vibrations by computing the photoelectron spectrum of I3- which produces vibrationally excited I3 . We compare semiclassical results with full quantum calculations and experimental results recently reported by Neumark and co-workers. (Taylor, T. R.; Asmis, K.R.; Zanni, M. T.; Neumark, D. M. J. Chem. Phys. 1999, 110, 7607.)
The Impact of Jail: Collateral Costs and Affective Response.

Abstract Aside from restrictions on freedom, confinement in jail carries with it a variety of collateral consequences which may include the loss of employment and the disruption of family life. This study examines the collateral costs of incarceration for jail inmates and focuses on variables that increase or decrease those costs. The relationship between the costs of confinement and the affective responses of inmates to incarceration is also examined. The data indicate that collateral costs can be extensive and are unrelated to legal status, prior criminal history, time in jail, or the resources available to the inmate at the time of his arrest. However, collateral costs are exacerbated by preexisting problems. In addition, collateral costs have a significant influence on adjustment to the jail environment.
A Theoretical model suitable for higher conversion data of sulfur dioxide oxidation

Abstract A theoretical model has been developed to adequately correlate higher conversion data of sulfur dioxide oxidation. The model includes a potential term with an apparent stoichiometric number which is, in general, a function of experimental conditions. The usefulness of the model is demonstrated by employing existing kinetic data for the oxidation reaction.
Antioxidant supplementation to the exercising horse

Evidence of oxidative stress in horses has been described in reports dealing with intense and endurance exercise. Oxidative stress occurs when antioxidant systems are insufficient causing oxidation to potentially damage DNA, proteins, and lipids, and contribute to degenerative changes. Vitamin E is the most commonly supplemented antioxidant in horses and has been shown that horses in exercise conditioning may require higher intakes of vitamin E than recommended. Also in various species vitamin C potentiates the effects of vitamin E; however, under maintenance conditions horses have the ability to synthesize sufficient ascorbate, the demand increases as stress on the body is increased. Competitive endurance horses were estimated to consume 1.2 to 5-times higher levels of vitamin E than recommended intakes. In these horses a negative correlation was found between the vitamin E intake and creatine kinase, and aspartate aminotransferase. Similarly, three-day event horses have vitamin E average intakes about 50% over recommended levels, and it was also found that intake of vitamin E negatively correlated with inflammatory markers. However, large doses of vitamin E at about 10-times the recommended levels could potentially interfere with beta-carotene absorption. While some studies have shown benefits of lipoic acid supplementation in endurance trained horses similar to that of vitamin E, other studies failed to show any benefit of supplemental superoxide dismutase in intensely exercising horses. The implications from this broad scope of work show potential benefits for supplementing various antioxidants however, before assuming efficacy from other species horse specific studies should be performed.