cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Silencing the expression of multiple Gβ-subunits eliminates signaling mediated by all four families of G proteins

The Gβγ-subunit complex derived from heterotrimeric G proteins can act to regulate the function of a variety of protein targets. We established lentiviral-based RNA interference in J774A.1 mouse macrophages to characterize the role of Gβ in G protein-coupled receptor signaling. The expression of Gβ1 and Gβ2, the major subtypes present in J774A.1 cells, was eliminated by sequential treatment with small hairpin RNA expressing lentivirus. These βγ complex-deficient cells lost the ability to respond to G protein-mediated signals. Chemotaxis and the phosphorylation of Akt in response to C5a were both blocked. Similarly, C5a-mediated actin polymerization, C5a- and UTP-stimulated intracellular calcium mobilization, and the stimulation of cAMP formation by isoproterenol were all eliminated in the absence of the Gβ-subunits. In addition, stabilization and membrane localization of several Gα- and Gγ-subunit proteins was strongly effected. Furthermore, in DNA microarray analysis, regulation of gene expression stimulated by prostaglandin E2 and UTP was not observed in cells lacking Gβ-subunits. In contrast, phagocytotic activity, serum-dependent cell growth and the patterns of gene expression induced by stimulating the Toll receptors with LPS were similar in wild-type cells and small hairpin RNA-containing cells. Thus, ablation of the Gβ-subunits destabilized Gα- and Gγ-subunits and effectively eliminated G protein-mediated signaling responses. Unrelated ligand regulated pathways remained intact. These cells provide a system that can be used to study signaling in the absence of most G protein-mediated functions.
Women with diabetes during pregnancy : sociodemographics, outcomes, and costs of care

This study provides sociodemographic, outcome, and cost data on a population (N = 55) of predominately low-income, diabetic women who were hospitalized during pregnancy. Study findings indicated that 43 percent received no prenatal care in the first trimester, 20 percent delivered a low-birthweight infant, 47 percent had a cesarean delivery, and 63 percent reported an annual income under $12,500. Following the women's initial admission for glucose control, 19 acute care visits and 32 rehospitalizations were recorded for them. The mean hospital charges for antepartum initial hospitalization for glucose control were $4,665 (4.3 days). The mean charges for postpartum hospitalization were $7,793 (4.3 days). The mean hospital charges per infant were $12,991. Given the data presented in this study, it is imperative that monies be targeted to provide a broad spectrum of health care services that will meet the unique needs of this population. These services should address not only the needs related to superimposed disease state but also identify mechanisms to assist women to receive care prior to conception, or at the very least to begin prenatal care in the first trimester of pregnancy.
Limbaugh's Social Media Nightmare: Facebook and Twitter as Spaces for Political Action

When Rush Limbaugh made his now famous remarks about Sandra Fluke's Congressional testimony he set off a social media firestorm. The ensuing backlash cost Limbaugh many prominent advertisers and damaged his public image. In this study, we examine the characteristics that motivated some to engage in the social media conversation while others remained on the sidelines. We find that political information efficacy, or confidence that one has the knowledge and skills necessary to participate, dictate political engagement online. We discuss the implications of this finding for radio, communication and media scholars, and healthy democratic deliberation among young Americans.
Searching for the common good: A process-oriented approach

T he issue of corporate social responsibility has been subjected to a great deal of analysis by both practitioners and academicians over a lengthy period of time. The degree of commitment to the debate, and the large number of authors that turn again and again to its theme, are significant evidence of both its endurability and its appeal. The very notion of "corporate social responsibility" is controversial, as can be seen from the other articles in this issue. Our goal in this article is to offer an approach to a managerially based understanding of corporate social responsibility and the "common good," to propose simple yet powerful questions that can be asked by managers and others in evaluating corporate social responsibility, and to offer a process by which corporations and other organizations in society can raise up social responsibility for explicit consideration in decision making. This process and set of practical questions also includes cost aspects, but costs that go beyond the traditionally understood cost/benefit analysis approach.
Why are ruminal cellulolytic bacteria unable to digest cellulose at low pH

Ruminant animals depend on cellulolytic ruminal bacteria to digest cellulose, but these bacteria cannot resist the low ruminal pH that modern feeding practices can create. Because the cellulolytic bacteria cannot grow on cellobiose at low pH, pH sensitivity is a general aspect of growth and not just a limitation of the cellulases per se. Acid-resistant ruminal bacteria have evolved the capacity to let their intracellular pH decrease, maintain a small pH gradient across the cell membrane, and prevent an intracellular accumulation of VFA anions. Cellulolytic bacteria cannot grow with a low intracellular pH, and an increase in pH gradient leads to anion toxicity. Prevotella ruminicola cannot digest native cellulose, but it grows at low pH and degrades the cellulose derivative, carboxymethylcellulose. The Prevotella ruminicola carboxymethylcellulase cannot bind to cellulose, but a recombinant enzyme having the Prevotella ruminicola catalytic domain and a binding domain from Thermomonspora fusca was able to bind and had cellulase activity that was at least 10-fold higher. Based on these results, gene reconstruction offers a means of converting Prevotella ruminicola into a ruminal bacterium that can digest cellulose at low pH.
Is protein unfolding the reverse of protein folding? A lattice simulation analysis.

Simulations and experiments that monitor protein unfolding under denaturing conditions are commonly employed to study the mechanism by which a protein folds to its native state in a physiological environment. Due to the differences in conditions and the complexity of the reaction, unfolding is not necessarily the reverse of folding. To assess the relevance of temperature initiated unfolding studies to the folding problem, we compare the folding and unfolding of a 125-residue protein model by Monte Carlo dynamics at two temperatures; the lower one corresponds to the range used in T -jump experiments and the higher one to the range used in unfolding simulations of all-atom models. The trajectories that lead from the native state to the denatured state at these elevated temperatures are less diverse than those observed in the folding simulations. At the lower temperature, the system unfolds through a mandatory intermediate that corresponds to a local free energy minimum. At the higher temperature, no such intermediate is observed, but a similar pathway is followed. The structures contributing to the unfolding pathways resemble most closely those that make up the "fast track" of folding. The transition state for unfolding at the lower temperature (above Tm) is determined and is found to be more structured than the transition state for folding below the melting temperature. This shift towards the native state is consistent with the Hammond postulate. The implications for unfolding simulations of higher resolution models and for unfolding experiments of proteins are discussed.
Development of a work seat for industrial sewing operations: results of a laboratory study

A hydraulically adjustable chair with seven independent variables - seat height, seat angle, seat rocking, seat swivel, back-rest distance, back-rest height and back-rest angle-was constructed to evaluate comfort and biomechanical factors relevant to the design of a chair for industrial sewing operations. The purpose of this investigation was to determine which of these factors were significant. Four assessment methods: overall body discomfort, localized body discomfort, electromyography (EMG) and height reduction (vertebral disc shrinkage) were used to evaluate these seven independent variables. Two female subjects attended eight 6 hour experimental sessions. The results indicate that to accommodate 90% of the female population, the seat height should be adjustable in the range 51 to 61 cm, the back-rest distance should be adjustable in the range 10 to 15 cm (measured from the centre of the back-rest to the centre of the seat-pan), the back-rest height should be fixed at 25 cm (measured from the centre o...
Powder specimen preparation for transmission EXAFS measurements

Abstract A simple, reproducible method for preparing permanent films of powder specimens for transmission extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) measurements is described. Film microstructure of some selected powder materials were determined by optical microscopy, and their EXAFS spectra were compared with those of the corresponding foils, whenever possible.
A host-dependent temperature-sensitive mutant of Rous sarcoma virus: evidence for host factors affecting transformation.

Abstract We have characterized a host range mutant of Rous sarcoma virus in order to identify host cell factors involved in transformation. This mutant, tsLA 33-1, which was isolated from a stock of the temperature-sensitive mutant tsLA 33, is not temperature-sensitive for transformation of chicken embryo fibroblasts, as judged by its ability to induce morphological changes and agar colony formation at both 36 and 41.5°. In Rat-3 cells, however, this mutant induced a temperature-dependent transformation: infected Rat-3 cells were transformed at 34° but not at 39.5°. Retransformants were isolated from tsLA 33-1-infected Rat-3 cells by growth in agar suspension at 39.5°. Virus rescued from these retransformants induced a temperature-dependent transformation when reintroduced into rat cells. The level of expression of pp60 v- src at 39.5° was unchanged in the retransformants. When the retransformants were treated with herbimycin, an antibiotic which induces turnover of certain protein-tyrosine kinases, they reverted to a normal phenotype, indicating that the transformed phenotype of the retransformants was dependent on continued expression of pp v- src . The re-transformants are therefore pseudorevertants in which a cellular alteration has occurred that allows transformation at 39.5° by the mutant pp60 v- src . Thus the temperature-dependence of transformation by tsLA 33-1 is affected by the cellular environment, and is suppressed or complemented both in chicken cells and in the rat cell pseudorevertants. No clear correlation between levels of phosphorylation at tyrosine and transformation was observed. In Rat-3 cells the pp60 v- src encoded by tsLA 33-1 may be defective in its interaction with low abundance substrates that are critical for transformation; alternatively the nonpermissive cells may require a higher threshold dose of pp60 v- src for transformation.
The thermodynamics of nitrogen austenite

Nitrogen austenite solute-solute binding energy derivation from experimental data for comparison with carbon austenite
Stereo-based region of interest generation for real-time pedestrian detection

Pedestrian detection is one of the major goals in advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) which has become an active research area in recent years. In this paper, we present a stereo based pedestrian detection system by fusing the depth and color data provided by a stereo vision camera on a moving platform. The proposed method uses an adaptive window for region of interest (ROI) generation using dense depth map. The extracted candidates are then applied to a Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG) feature descriptor to refine ROIs and Support Vector Machine (SVM) is used to classify them into pedestrian and non-pedestrian classes. The system is tested on a stereo based DAS dataset and results show that our system is able to detect pedestrians with different scales and illumination conditions and in presence of partial occlusion.
Orthopyroxene-olivine assemblages in diogenites and mesosiderites

Diogenites contain equilibrated orthopyroxene-olivine assemblages. Mn is very regularly partitioned between olivine and orthopyroxene in pallasites, diogenites and synthetic eucrite melts, with an FeO/MnO partition ratio for olivine versus orthopyroxene of 1.6 by weight over a very wide range of FeO contents. In contrast to diogenites, Fe and Mn are not regularly partitioned between the olivine and orthopyroxene of mesosiderites and these minerals were not in equilibrium. Mesosiderite olivine differs from diogenite olivine in Fe/Mn and Ca/Mn ratios. Lack of olivine-orthopyroxene equilibrium suggests that olivine in mesosiderites was derived not from a pyroxenite component analogous to diogenites but from dunites.
A 10000 frames/s CMOS digital pixel sensor

A 352/spl times/288 pixel CMOS image sensor chip with per-pixel single-slope ADC and dynamic memory in a standard digital 0.18-/spl mu/m CMOS process is described. The chip performs "snapshot" image acquisition, parallel 8-bit A/D conversion, and digital readout at continuous rate of 10000 frames/s or 1 Gpixels/s with power consumption of 50 mW. Each pixel consists of a photogate circuit, a three-stage comparator, and an 8-bit 3T dynamic memory comprising a total of 37 transistors in 9.4/spl times/9.4 /spl mu/m with a fill factor of 15%. The photogate quantum efficiency is 13.6%, and the sensor conversion gain is 13.1 /spl mu/V/e/sup -/. At 1000 frames/s, measured integral nonlinearity is 0.22% over a 1-V range, rms temporal noise with digital CDS is 0.15%, and rms FPN with digital CDS is 0.027%. When operated at low frame rates, on-chip power management circuits permit complete powerdown between each frame conversion and readout. The digitized pixel data is read out over a 64-bit (8-pixel) wide bus operating at 167 MHz, i.e., over 1.33 GB/s. The chip is suitable for general high-speed imaging applications as well as for the implementation of several still and standard video rate applications that benefit from high-speed capture, such as dynamic range enhancement, motion estimation and compensation, and image stabilization.
Enhancement of memory processing in an inhibitory avoidance and radial maze task by post-training infusion of bombesin into the nucleus tractus solitarius.

Abstract Bombesin is a peptide known to modulate memory storage when given either systematically or intraventricularly immediately after training. Two experiments were conducted to determine whether the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) mediates the effects of bombesin on memory. In the first experiment male Sprague-Dawley rats were trained in an inhibitory avoidance task (0.35 mA, 0.5 s footshock) and bombesin or vehicle was infused unilaterally into the NTS through implanted cannulae immediately after training. Retention was assessed either 2 or 7 days later. Doses of 25 or 50 ng of bombesin significantly enhanced retention on the 2 day test (P
Importance of Components for a System

Which component is most important for a system's survival? We answer this question by ranking the information relationship between a system and its components. The mutual information (M) measures dependence between the operational states of the system and a component for a mission time as well as between their life lengths. This measure ranks each component in terms of its expected utility for predicting the system's survival. We explore some relationships between the ordering of importance of components by M and by Zellner's Maximal Data Information (MDIP) criterion. For many systems the bivariate distribution of the component and system lifetimes does not have a density with respect to the two-dimensional Lebesgue measure. For these systems, M is not defined, so we use a modification of a mutual information index to cover such situations. Our results for ordering dependence are general in terms of binary structures, sum of random variables, and order statistics.
Porcelain surface alterations and refinishing after use of two orthodontic bonding methods.

Abstract Objective: To compare porcelain surfaces at debonding after use of two surface preparation methods and to evaluate a method for restoring the surface. Materials and Methods: Lava Ceram feldspathic porcelain discs (n = 40) underwent one of two surface treatments prior to bonding orthodontic brackets. Half the discs had sandblasting, hydrofluoric acid, and silane (SB + HF + S), and the other half, phosphoric acid and silane (PA + S). Brackets were debonded using bracket removing pliers, and resin was removed with a 12-fluted carbide bur. The surface was refinished using a porcelain polishing kit, followed by diamond polishing paste. Measurements for surface roughness (Ra), gloss, and color were made before bonding (baseline), after debonding, and after each step of refinishing. Surfaces were also examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Data was analyzed with 2-way ANOVA followed by Tukey HSD tests (α = 0.05). Results: The SB + HF + S bonding method increased Ra (0.160 to 1.121 µm), decr...
Nuclear Data Sheets for A = 175

Abstract The 1965 version of Nuclear Data Sheets for A = 175 has been revised on the basis of experimental data received prior to April 1975. Experimental data, arguments for Jπ-assignments, and detailed level schemes are presented. A large amount of new information is given for the 175Yb, 175Lu, and 175Hf level schemes. Very little is known about the decays of 175W and the more neutron-deficient isobars in this A-chain. Unless stated otherwise, all energies in this compilation are given in keV.
The photochemistry of 6‐phenanthridinecarbonitrile II. The physical and photophysical properties

The physical and photophysical properties of 6-phenanthridinecarbonitrile (1) have been examined. We previously reported that when 1 is irradiated in aqueous 2-propanol, three products are formed [3]. These include dimethyl-6-phenanthridinylcarbinol (2), phenanthridine (3) and 6,6′-biphenanthridine (4). Phenanthridinyl radical is formed in neutral media by hydrogen atom abstraction from an alcohol molecule by an excited state of 1 in a monophotonic process. The presents of acid effectively quenches all photochemical behavior. These products may all be explained assuming in-cage and out-of-cage reactions. The free spin value, ge, was determined at 125 K and found to be 2.0043 which is close to the theoretical value for that of a free electron. The total emission spectrum of 1 at 77 K shows a fluorescence maximum at 378 nm and a much weaker phosphorescence maximum at 502 nm which represented less than 3% of the total emission. When benzophenone is added to the reaction mixture, the triplet state of 1 is populated, but photosensitized product formation does not occur. The result supports a singlet reactive state. When cis/trans-piperylene is added to the reaction mixtures, it quenches the fluorescence of 1. The fluorescence quantum yield (Φf) was found to be 0.227 in neat 2-propanol. The addition of water causes an increase in Φf and a decrease in the Pka of the medium. The excited state lifetime (τ) was determined in neat 2-propanol, using oxygen quenching, and found to be 3.4 ns. This number increased with increasing water concentration. The photoreactive state of 1 appears to be its π,π* singlet state making its behavior more like that of the corresponding hydrocarbon parent.
Cognitive Neuroscience: Scene Layout from Vision and Touch

Parahippocampal and retrosplenial cortices respond strongly to visual scenes. A new study shows that these regions also activate when scenes are perceived haptically - even in the blind.
Fungus-alga ultrastructure in the lichen, Cornicularia normoerica.

A B S T R A C T Ultrastructure in the symbiotic association in Cornicularia normoerica, fixed in glutaraldehyde, was demonstrated by staining either with potassium permanganate or osmium tetroxide-thiocarbohydrazide-osmium tetroxide (OTO) procedures modified for lichen tissues. Channels were observed to originate within the chloroplast, cross the algal cell wall and flare to open space shared with fungal and other algal cells. Tubules within the channels were extensions of chloroplast vesicles. Deeply staining channel walls, tubule elements, spherical bodies within the chloroplast, and organelles of the fungal cytoplasm suggested lipoid substances. The OTO procedure delineated zones in the thick cell walls of both symbionts. Their exterior boundaries were without discernible cellular membranes. The inner zone of the fungal cell wall was finely layered and particulate. No invasive fungal haustoria or zones of dissolution between fungus and alga were seen in any preparation.
The Effects of a Learning Experience Upon THe Preference for Complexity and Asymmetry

The field of art education has long claimed the development of perceptual awareness as a result of learning in art but has failed to identify the behav orial referents for such training. This study was part of an attempt to make such an identification. This study investigated the effects of a specific type of perceptual training upon figure preference. This instructional methodology was designed to enable the individual to resist a set for simplicity-symme try in favor of a set for complexity-a s y m m e t r y. The subjects in the experimental condition were giv en training in the manipulation of those visual ele ments which Hochberg (4) had empirically found to determine figure preference for complexity and asymmetry.
Welfare-enhancing fraudulent behavior

We demonstrate that an increased likelihood of fraud within an organization can benefit both the organization and its auditor. This is the case even though undetected fraud always harms both the organization and the auditor. The increased likelihood of fraud can induce the auditor to increase his auditing effort, which reduces the equilibrium incidence of undetected fraud and thereby benefits both the organization and the selected auditor.
Entrepreneurship in China during the transition from state ownership to free market: case study of a woman entrepreneur (1994 to 2010)

This 17-year case history presents the experiences of Li Lin, a Chinese entrepreneur, during China’s transition from a socialist to a free-market economy (1994–2010). Li Lin started two companies under very difficult circumstances: the first private foreign automobile repair and maintenance shop in Beijing, and an educational testing service used by five million English students at Chinese primary and high schools. Venture capital was scarce and Li faced additional challenges as a young woman dealing with older male government officials. The key issues faced by Li Lin and the factors that contributed to her success and failure are analysed.
Hotspots for spontaneous and mutagen-induced lesions in regulatory subunit of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase in S49 mouse lymphoma cells.

From an S49 mouse lymphoma cell subline that carries an electrophoretic marker mutation in one allele for a regulatory (R) subunit of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase, 130 cyclic AMP-resistant mutants were isolated and characterized. Of the 77 independent spontaneous and mutagen-induced isolates identified, 74 had kinases with increased apparent activation constants (Kas) for cyclic AMP-dependent activation. The “Ka” phenotype was invariably correlated with an apparent structural lesion in one R subunit allele. “Charge-shift” lesions in 43 independent isolates were mapped to small regions within the R subunit by two-dimensional gel analysis of partial proteolysis peptides. Nine Ka mutations were distinguished by differences in charge or peptide maps of mutant R subunits, and the mutations were clustered in two regions associated with the cyclic AMP-binding sites of the R subunit. The relative frequencies of different mutations differed among spontaneous, ethyl methanesulfonate-induced, and N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine-induced isolates. Mutation frequencies were also markedly different for the two R subunit alleles; this allele preference was strongest for mutagen-induced lesions in the more carboxy terminal cyclic AMP-binding site.
Fractal based outdoor landmark recognition system for the navigation of a mobile robot

Outdoor mobile robots usually rely on visual landmarks for guidance and navigation purposes. However the task of locating these landmarks in cluttered environment is very complex. The perceived size of the landmarks is a function of the imaging distance of the robot. Also, the appearance of the landmark may vary due to changes in lighting, viewing direction and interfering objects. In this paper we present a fractal based approach to landmark detection. Fractals are inherently scale invariant; the model presented here is also invariant to changes in light intensity. We present the performance of the incremental fractional Brownian motion (IFBM) classifier for natural textures as well as a segmentation tool for natural scene images. >
Longitudinal analysis of the presence, efficacy and stability of maternal scaffolding during informal problem-solving interactions.

The use of contingent instruction by parents and a related positive outcome for subsequent child behaviours have been documented in past research. In the current study the scaffolding paradigm was used to investigate patterns of maternal instructional behaviours and related child behaviours during informal problem-solving interactions and during independent problem-solving tasks. Forty-five mother-child dyads were observed at four time points across a 3-year period (children aged 16, 26, 44 and 54 months). In general, mothers showed systematic decreases in the amount of support offered and systematic increases in their use of contingent instruction, whereas children became more successful in their behaviours during the parent-child interactions. Surprisingly, there was little or no stability across time for each mother-child dyad. Mothers and children became more successful at working together during the problem-solving tasks, but each parent and each child was not consistent from one period to the next. In addition, when predicting children's success during independent tasks at the earlier ages there was an indirect link between parent behaviours and child success, whereas at 54 months there was a direct effect for both parent behaviours and children's previous abilities.
Modeling of the Propagation Loss and Backscattering in Air-Core Photonic-Bandgap Fibers

We report numerical simulations based on normal coupled mode theory of the fundamental-mode loss and backscattering induced in air-core fibers by random longitudinal perturbations of the core diameter. To quantitatively explain the measured loss of ~24 dB/km at 1550 nm of air-core fiber HC-1550-02 from crystal fibre, these simulations predict that the autocorrelation function of the perturbation is close to an exponential and characterized by a ratio D/sigma2 of ~2.36 times 1013 m-1, where D is the characteristic length and sigma the amplitude of the perturbation. This analysis yields a characteristic perturbation length for this fiber in the range of ~1 to ~30 cm. That this is much shorter than in a conventional fiber is consistent with the slower speeds at which air-core fibers are pulled, which reduces the length of the fiber perturbations. The same exponential perturbation and D/sigma2 ratio also predict that the backscattering coefficient for the fundamental mode of this fiber is 1.5 times 10-9 mm-1, which agrees well with a measured value. When applied to a 19-cell air-core fiber from the same manufacturer (HC19-1550-01) the same perturbation predicts a loss of 4 dB/km, which agrees with the measured range of 1.2 to ~10 dB/km. These independent agreements between modeled and measured loss and backscattering coefficients and the reasonable predicted range of perturbation lengths confirm that core dimension variations are the dominant mechanism behind the loss and backscattering of current air-core fibers.
The specificity of neuroprotection by antioxidants

Background Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play an important role in aging and age-related diseases such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. Much of the ROS production under conditions of toxic stress is from mitochondria, and multiple antioxidants prevent ROS accumulation. The aim of this study is to examine the specificity of the interaction between the antioxidants and ROS production in stressed cells.
Bladder cancer after managing upper urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma: predictive factors and pathology.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate patients with a history of transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the upper urinary tract (UUT) to determine the incidence, pathological distribution, and risk factors for developing subsequent bladder tumours. PATIENTS AND METHODS Between 1993 and 2003, 103 patients were treated at our institution for UUT-TCC. We reviewed demographic, clinical, surgical, and pathological data from these patients at a median follow-up of 38.7 months, and used univariate and multivariate analyses with logistic regression modelling to determine prognostic variables for bladder recurrences. RESULTS In all, 51 (49.5%) patients developed bladder tumours after treatment for UUT-TCC, at a mean interval of 13.2 months. Patient age (P = 0.01), UUT tumour size (P = 0.03), UUT tumour multifocality (P = 0.05), a history of bladder tumours (P = 0.03), and the number of previous bladder tumours (P = 0.05) predicted the development of bladder recurrences on univariate analysis. On multivariate analysis, only a previous history of bladder tumours (odds ratio 2.6, P = 0.05) remained significant. Over 90% of the recurrent bladder tumours were superficial, with two-thirds of these being low to moderate grade. Six patients had muscle-invasive disease, and five had a cystectomy. CONCLUSION Bladder tumours occurred in half the patients after treatment for UUT-TCC; >60% of these subsequent bladder tumours were superficial, low- to moderate-grade lesions. Neither the pathology of the UUT tumours nor the method of treatment for the UUT disease was associated with recurrent bladder tumours. Only a history of bladder cancer predicted the development of subsequent bladder tumours.
Global/local motion-compensated frame interpolation for low-bit-rate video

A new motion-compensated frame interpolation scheme for low bitrate video based on the ITU-T H.263/H.263+ standard is investigated in this research. The proposed scheme works solely on the decoded bitstream with a block-based approach to achieve interpolation results. It is composed of two main modules: the background/foreground segmentation module and the hybrid motion compensated frame interpolation module. The background/foreground segmentation module uses a global motion model to estimate the background motion and an iterative background update to refine the segmentation. The hybrid motion compensated frame interpolation module is employed to reconstruct background and foreground, respectively. Global motion compensation and frame interpolation is applied to background blocks where either the 6-parameter affine or the 8-parameter perspective model is used to reduce the computational complexity and implement perspective correction, while local motion compensation and frame interpolation with localized triangular patch mapping is applied to the foreground area. Experiments show that the proposed scheme can achieve higher overall visual quality compared to conventional block-based frame interpolation schemes.
Relative redundancy for large alphabets

Standard redundancy measures the excess number of bits required to encode a sequence of a given length when the underlying distribution is not known. Relative redundancy measures the same increase, but as a function of the sequence's minimum description length. We consider the relative redundancy of i.i.d. distributions over large alphabets and show that, like standard redundancy, relative redundancy too increases with the alphabet size. We then consider compression of patterns of i.i.d. strings. Again analogous to standard redundancy, we show that the relative redundancy of patterns of large, or even infinite alphabet i.i.d. distributions is negligible compared to the patterns' minimum description length.
JOB‐RELATEDNESS OF A POSTTRAINING JOB KNOWLEDGE CRITERION USE TO ASSESS VALIDITY AND TEST FAIRNESS

Significant job-relatedness was found for a posttraining job knowledge test criterion using an application of Lawshe's content validity method. The aide test was used as a criterion to assess the predictive validity of a vocabulary test and a civil service test with samples of black (N= 43) and white (N= 62) psychiatric aides. Significant validities were found on both tests, but a vocabulary test proved to be the better predictor of the criterion in both samples. The obtained validities were discussed in terms of differential validity, test fairness, and sample size. This study demonstrated that a content validity method could be applied to criteria as well as selection tests. It was concluded that content validity methods may be able to help solve the problem of criterion relevance in validation research by providing quantitative evidence of the job-relatedness of criteria.
Surface ozone in Yosemite National Park

During the summers of 2003 and 2005, surface ozone concentrations were measured with portable ozone monitors at multiple locations in and around Yosemite National Park. The goal of these measurements was to obtain a comprehensive survey of ozone within Yosemite, which will help modelers predict and interpolate ozone concentrations in remote locations and complex terrain. The data from the portable monitors were combined with concurrent and historical data from two long-term monitoring stations located within the park (Turtleback Dome and Merced River) and previous investigations with passive samplers. The results indicate that most sites in Yosemite experience roughly similar ozone concentrations during well-mixed daytime periods, but dissimilar concentrations at night. Locations that are well exposed to the free troposphere during evening hours tend to experience higher (and more variable) nocturnal ozone concentrations, resulting in smaller diurnal variations and higher overall ozone exposures. Locations that are poorly exposed to the free troposphere during nocturnal periods tend to experience very low evening ozone, yielding larger diurnal variations and smaller overall exposures. Ozone concentrations are typically highest for the western and southern portions of the park and lower for the eastern and northern regions, with substantial spatial and temporal variability. Back-trajectory analyses suggest that air with high ozone concentrations at Yosemite often originates in the San Francisco Bay Area and progresses through the Central California Valley before entering the park.
Constructing Accurate Application Call Graphs For Java To Model Library Callbacks

Call graphs are widely used to represent calling relationships among methods. However, there is not much interest in calling relationships among library methods in many software engineering applications such as program understanding and testing, especially when the library is very big and the calling relationships are not trivial. This paper explores approaches to generate more accurate application call graphs for Java. A new data reachability algorithm is proposed and fine-tuned to resolve library callbacks accurately. Compared to a simple algorithm that generates an application call graph by traversing the whole-programcall graph, the fine-tuned data reachability algorithm results in fewer spurious callback edges. In experiments with the spec jvm98 benchmarks, the new algorithm shows a significant reduction in the number of spurious callback edges over the simple algorithm: on average, the number of callback edges is reduced by 74.97%, amounting to overall 64.43% edge reduction for the generated application call graphs.
Zazen: A Mediating SOA between Ajax Applications and Enterprise Data

One reason that enterprises are adopting service-oriented architectures (SOA) is to develop applications more quickly by packaging - and then reusing - applications and data assets as services. Service encapsulation of implementation details is an important feature, and contributes to the loosely-coupled nature of a SOA. From this perspective, SOA data-services seem incompatible with AJAX frameworks which presume a great degree of client-side control of an application's data. For their part, AJAX frameworks promise to increase web-application performance by reducing the number of interactions between the browser and server. Caching server data on the web-client is a well known technique for achieving this goal, but implies that enterprise data is exposed to client-side developers. This paper presents ZAZEN, a SOA that mediates between the need to encapsulate enterprise data as a service and the needs of AJAX developers who want more control of their application's data. We describe ZAZEN's server-side architecture and discuss two APIs to the data-service: a REST API, and an implementation of the DOJO data APIs for relational databases.
Soft-decision cognitive radio power control based on intelligent spectrum sensing

We formulate an expression for the channel capacity of a soft-decision cognitive network in which cognitive radio transmitters can share spectrum usage with primary users depending on adaptive interference tolerance limits. We consider the problem of capacity maximization in this domain and provide an efficient polynomial time algorithm for cognitive radio power control. Results obtained using this algorithm will be useful in soft-decision spectrum allocation for cognitive radio (CR) transmitters as well as for developing the general analytic enabling waveform for soft-decision CR.
Effects of the daily feeding of pyrantel tartrate on Anoplocephala infections in three horses: A pilot study

Summary Four horses passing eggs of Anoplocephala spp. in their feces were placed in two separate pastures at the College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida in early December 1991. Three were given 2.6 mg/kg of pyrantel tartrate and the remaining horse served as the nontreated control. Fecal samples were examined by a modified Wisconsin flotation method (5 g feces) twice a week. After 30 days of treatment, the horses were euthanized and necropsied. No tapeworms were recovered from the small intestine and cecum of the three horses given pyrantel. The single nontreated control had 12 adult Anoplocephala Perfoliata in the cecum and 1 adult A. maqna in the jejunum. Therefore, tapeworms in the pyrantel tartrate treated horses were eliminated, whereas tapeworms inthe nontreated horse persisted through the 30 day trial.
Multi-scale integrated information and telecommunications system (MIITS): first results from a large-scale end-to-end network simulator

Performing realistic simulations of Internet packet traffic on a national or global level is a daunting task from both the modeling and the computational perspective. We present the MIITS (Multi-scale Integrated Information and Telecommunications System) tool that implements a novel approach to network simulation and report first scaling results from a realistic Internet scenario. MIITS' end-to-end approach to network simulation relies on modules for (i) accurate network topology and capacity representation, (ii) realistic communication session generation based on the activities of an agent population that is statistically equivalent to the population in a large metropolitan area, (iii) the actual scalable packet-level network simulation that is based on distributed event?driven technology, and (iv) analysis of large amounts of simulation output data. We present a sample simulation of a Los Angeles network as an intermediate step toward the vision of national-level simulation.
Fatty acid chain elongation by microsomal enzymes from the bovine meibomian gland.

Abstract The composition of meibomian gland lipids suggested that fatty acid chain elongation might play a major role in the synthesis of such lipids. A fatty acid synthase preparation from the bovine meibomian gland catalyzed the formation of C 16 acid and the enzyme was immunologically quite similar to that in the mammary gland. The microsomal fraction from the gland, on the other hand, catalyzed elongation of endogenous fatty acids in the presence of ATP and Mg 2+ and of exogenous C 18 -CoA using malonyl-CoA and NADPH as the preferred reductant. The elongated products, ranging up to C 28 in chain length, were found mainly as CoA esters and products derived from them. With C 18 -CoA as the exogenous primer, the elongation rate was linear with incubation time up to 20 min but the rate changed in a sigmoidal manner with increasing protein concentration. The elongation rate was maximal at a pH around 7.0. Typical Michaelis-Menten-type substrate saturation patterns were observed with both malonyl-CoA and NADPH. From linear double-reciprocal plots, the K m values for the two substrates were calculated to be 52 and 11 μ m , respectively, with a V of about 340 pmol min −1 mg protein −1 with respect to malonyl-CoA. Exogenous CoA esters of C 16 to C 22 fatty acids were elongated to give products up to C 28 without exhibiting any preference for the primer. The present elongation system could account for the formation of most of the very long chains found in meibomian lipids.
Shaping gain of the partially coherent additive white Gaussian noise channel

We derive necessary conditions on the channel input and output probability density functions (PDFs) to achieve channel capacity for the additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel with Tikhonov distributed phase error. We show that the Gaussian input does not achieve capacity, and we obtain a lower bound on the shaping gain. The shaping gain can be as large as 2.4 dB at rates as low as 0.5 b/symbol/Hz. This contrasts with the well-known shaping gain for the AWGN channel, which is small at low transmission rates and 1.53 dB at higher rates.
NUMERICAL RANGE OF THE DERIVATION OF AN INDUCED OPERATOR

Let V be an n-dimensional inner product space over C, let H be a subgroup of the symmetric group on f1;:::;mg, and let ´ : H ! C be an irreducible character. Denote by V m ´ (H) the symmetry class of tensors over V associated with H and ´. Let K(T) 2 End(V m ´ (H)) be the operator induced by T 2 End(V ), and let DK(T) be the derivation operator of T. The decomposable numerical range W ⁄ (DK(T)) of DK(T) is a subset of the classical numerical range W(DK(T)) of DK(T). It is shown that there is a closed star-shaped subset S of complex numbers such that S µ W ⁄ (DK(T)) µ W(DK(T)) = convS; where convS denotes the convex hull of S. In many cases, the set S is convex, and thus the set inclusions are actually equalities. Some consequences of the results and related topics are discussed.
Prognostic Significance of High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin T Concentrations between the Limit of Blank and Limit of Detection in Community-Dwelling Adults: A Metaanalysis

BACKGROUND: There is controversy regarding whether to report concentrations of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) to the limit of blank (LOB) (3 ng/L) or the limit of detection (LOD) (5 ng/L) of the assay in community-based cohorts. We hypothesized that hs-cTnT concentrations between the LOB and LOD would be associated with poorer cardiovascular outcomes compared to concentrations below the LOB. METHODS: hs-cTnT was analyzed in a total of 10 723 participants from the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS), Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study, and Dallas Heart Study (DHS). Participants were divided into 2 groups, those with hs-cTnT concentrations below the limit of blank (LOB) (<3 ng/L) and those with hs-cTnT between the LOB and limit of detection (LOD) (3–4.99 ng/L). Cross-sectional associations with traditional cardiovascular risk factors and cardiac structural measurements, and longitudinal associations with long-term cardiovascular outcomes of incident heart failure and cardiovascular death, were determined. RESULTS: Participants with hs-cTnT between the LOB and LOD for all 3 cohorts were older, more likely to be male, and have a higher burden of cardiovascular risk factors and structural pathology. A metaanalysis of the 3 cohorts showed participants with hs-cTnT between the LOB and LOD were at increased risk of new-onset heart failure (hazard ratio, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.02–1.38) and cardiovascular mortality (hazard ratio, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.06–1.57). CONCLUSIONS: hs-cTnT concentrations between the LOB and LOD (3–4.99 ng/L) are associated with a higher prevalence of traditional risk factors, more cardiac pathology, and worse outcomes than concentrations below the LOB (<3 ng/L).
Critical Water Resources Issues in the Nile River Basin

The central water management issue for the Nile River basin, as in many other river basins throughout the world, is sustainability of water supply in the context of intense population growth, recurring drought, and increasing competition for water. The issue gets complicated as a result of global climate change that is taking place at an alarming rate. A serious discussion of these and other important water resource issues and the challenges in the basin is necessary and needs our attention to seek solutions and insure sustainability of the water supply. This chapter addresses the physical and hydrological conditions of the basin as a background and present the cross-cutting issues of concern in the basin. The uncertainty of availability of water in the face of climate variability and increased land degradation will be also discussed. The challenges to obtain, protect, and manage the basin’s water supply and ecosystem will also be discussed. Even though one cannot make a meticulous coverage of all the issues and challenges in the basin, a serious attempt was made to present possible solutions at local and regional scale. The solution will be geared towards getting more of the water, using it as much, and making it sustainable.
Tracking When the Camera Looks Away

Tracking players in sports videos presents numerous challenges due to weak distinguishing features and unpredictable motion. Considerable work has been done to track players in such videos using a combination of appearance and motion modeling, mostly in continuous streams of video. However, in a broadcast sports video, having advertisements, replays and intermittent change of camera view, it becomes a challenging task to keep track of players over an entire game. In this work, we solve a novel problem of tracking over a sequence of temporally disjoint soccer videos without the use of appearance cue, using a Graph based optimization approach. Each team is represented by a graph, in which the nodes correspond to player positions and the edge weights depend on spatial inter-player distance. We use team formation to associate tracks between clips and provide an end-to-end system that is able to perform statistical and tactical analysis of the game. We also introduce a new challenging dataset of an international soccer game.
Directional Solidification of Mo5Si3-MoSi2 Eutectic

The Mo-Si phase diagram exhibits a Mo5Si3-MoSi2 eutectic at the 54% Si composition. Since the terminal phases have comparable melting points and are equidistant from the eutectic composition, there is the possibility of obtaining lamellar microstructures in this system. In addition, if the alloys are directionally solidified, there is the further possibility of obtaining aligned lamellae. In this study, a high temperature (xenon-arc-lamp) optical floating zone furnace is utilized to directionally solidify Mo-Si alloys of the eutectic composition. Growth conditions are systematically varied to investigate their effects on the solidification microstructure. Growth rates and rotation speeds are identified that result in lamellar microstructures.