cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Welfare Women Go Elite: The Ada Comstock Scholars Program

This article traces the development of Smith College’s program for returning women from 1968 through 1985. Guided by Smith’s feminist president, Jill Conway, the elite women’s college offered full financial aid packages to support women welfare recipients and their dependent children through a complete undergraduate education. The program garnered national attention as a model for expanding college access to one of the nation’s least-well served populations. Three key aspects of the program’s development are considered: Conway’s top-down support of continuing education, which was crucial to the program’s success; the mechanisms by which the College was able to circumvent restrictive welfare policies and implement a novel approach to educating the poor; and the broader aims of the Ada Comstock Scholars Program as a national model for both informing public policy and expanding college access. The work draws on archival sources, an interview with Conway, and secondary literature.
Partial oxidation of methane over Y1Ba2Cu3O6+x-zFz

In this communication we report our study on using high-temperature superconductors as partial oxidation catalysts. We have also investigated fluorinated superconducting materials, since the presence of a strong oxidizing agent should favor partial oxidation selectivities.
Cloning and tissue-specific expression of the cDNA for the mouse Clara cell 10 kD protein: comparison of endogenous expression to rabbit uteroglobin promoter-driven transgene expression.

Uteroglobin (UG) is a hormonally regulated secretory protein produced in the lung and urogenital system of rabbits. It is homologous to rat and human Clara cell 10 kD protein (CC10); however, there are significant differences in the tissue-specific expression between these species. Mouse CC10 (mCC10) protein has been less well characterized. In this study, we cloned and sequenced the cDNA encoding the mCC10 protein. The mouse cDNA showed 90, 52, and 51% amino acid homology to rat and human CC10 and rabbit UG cDNA, respectively. The cellular and tissue-specific expression of mCC10 was examined in adult and developing mice. Endogenous mCC10 expression was compared with transgenic mice expressing a fusion gene of the rabbit 3.3 kb UG promoter linked to human growth hormone (hGH) as an easily detectable marker. Northern blot analysis detected mCC10 mRNA only in the lung. hGH mRNA was detected in the lung in levels similar to the endogenous mCC10 transcripts. However, it was also present in trace quantities in...
A Theoretical and Experimental Study of Projectile Impact on Clamped Circular Plates

A method for the analysis of the plastic deformation of a circular plate subject to projectile impact is presented based on the assumption that the material is rigid viscoplastic, obeying a von Mises yield condition and associated flow rule. The predictions of the analysis are com­pared with the results of experiments in which projectiles of different masses are fired at various velocities at clamped plates of mild steel. The plates used in the experiments are such that substantial plastic strains can develop, while the maximum displacements are of the same order as the thickness. The analytical method presented predicts the behaviour of the plates to within the accuracy of the tests. The material constants which fit the results are in accord with those obtained from different tests.
Loss of sex and age driven differences in the gut microbiome characterize arthritis-susceptible 0401 mice but not arthritis-resistant 0402 mice.

Background HLA-DRB1*0401 is associated with susceptibility, while HLA-DRB1*0402 is associated with resistance to developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and collagen-induced arthritis in humans and transgenic mice respectively. The influence of gut-joint axis has been suggested in RA, though not yet proven.
An ultrasound approach to the posterior compartment and anorectal dysfunction

Introduction and hypothesis Patients with anorectal dysfunction are common and can be quite challenging to diagnose. The common underlying causes for such conditions are usually anatomical in nature, which may be difficult to fully evaluate by clinical examination alone. The aim of this video was to demonstrate how multicompartmental ultrasound imaging can be utilized clinically in the evaluation of patients with anorectal dysfunction.
O081: Reduction of clostridium difficile infections with enhanced evidence-based practices and antimicrobial stewardship

Infection rates, deaths, and excess healthcare costs resulting from Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in hospitalized patients are at an historic high, costing the United States Healthcare system at least an extra $1 billion annually. This study assesses the incidence of CDI cases at an inner city hospital in the Northeast Tristate region and determines whether evidence-based intervention and antimicrobial stewardship showed a reduction in CDI.
Using evapotranspiration to assess drought sensitivity on a subfield scale with HRMET, a high resolution surface energy balance model

Abstract Evapotranspiration (ET) rates provide a valuable within-season indicator of plant productivity, as well as data on fluxes of water in a landscape. Applying remote sensing for ET estimation has potential to improve the sustainable management of water resources in agricultural settings. Most current ET models, however, rely on ‘dry’ and ‘wet’ pixels within a given scene to partition turbulent fluxes between latent and sensible heat, thus limiting their ability to map ET throughout the growing season at extremely high (meter scale) spatial resolutions. Here, we develop a field-validated surface energy balance model, High Resolution Mapping of EvapoTranspiration (HRMET), which requires only basic meteorological data, spatial surface temperature and canopy structure data. We use HRMET to estimate ET rates over two commercial cornfields in south-central Wisconsin during the 2012 growing season, which was characterized by severe drought. HRMET results indicate that the magnitude of within-field variability in ET rates was primarily driven by water availability. The application of remotely sensed data to precision agriculture has also been hampered by turnaround time between image acquisition and availability. We introduce relative ET (ETR), which enables comparison of ET rates between image dates by normalizing for variability caused by weather and crop stage. ETR also provides an intuitive, index-like metric for evaluating spatial variability in ET on a subfield scale. ETR maps illuminate persistent patterns in ET across measurement dates that may be driven by soil water availability and topography. ETR is used to develop a novel paired-image technique that can map subfield sensitivity classes to stressors such as drought. Sensitivity class mapping can be used to circumvent issues related to turnaround time to facilitate the incorporation of remotely sensed data into precision agriculture.
Issues with increasing bioethanol productivity: A model directed study

We explore a way to improve the efficiency of fermentation of lignocellulosic sugars (i.e., glucose and xylose) to bioethanol in a bioreactor. For this purpose, we employ the hybrid cybernetic model developed by Song et al. (Biotechnol and Bioeng, 103: 984-1000, 2009), which provides an accurate description on metabolism of recombi- nant S. cerevisiae due to its unique feature of accounting for cellular regulation. A comprehensive analysis of the model reveals many interesting features of the process whose balance is critical for increasing the productivity of bioethanol. In particular, the addition of extra xylose to the medium may increase ethanol productivity (a somewhat counterintui- tive result as xylose metabolism is slower!), but one that must be orchestrated with control of other important variables. Effects of xylose addition are shown to be different for different reactor environments. In a batch culture, xylose addi- tion substantially improves ethanol productivity at low sugar concentration (e.g., about 45% up by increasing initial xylose concentration from 10 to 30 g/L with glucose concentration of 20 g/L), but worsens it at high sugar concentration (e.g., about 10% drop by increasing xylose concentration from 40 to 160 g/L with glucose concentration of 80 g/L). On the other hand, the productivity of chemostats is constantly improved by increasing the ratio of xylose to glucose level in the feed. It is found that multiple local maxima can exist in chemostats and, consequently, optimal composition for mixed sugars is different depending on the allowable range of xylose addition. Batch operation, however, is found to be superior when mixed sugars are consumed slowly, while continuous operation becomes attractive for rapidly me- tabolized sugars such as pure glucose. Optimal reactor configurations for given lignocellulosic sugars are shown to depend on calculated operating curves. Reasonably close comparison of model simulations with existing batch fer- mentation data provides support in part to the value of the current effort. The lesson that emerges is the importance of modeling in improving the efficiency of bioprocesses.
Time series analysis of wind speed using VAR and the generalized impulse response technique

Abstract This research examines the interdependence in time series wind speed data measured in the same location at four different heights. A multiple-equation system known as a vector autoregression is proposed for characterizing the time series dynamics of wind. Additionally, the recently developed method of generalized impulse response analysis provides insight into the cross-effects of the wind series and their responses to shocks. Findings are based on analysis of contemporaneous wind speed time histories taken at 13, 33, 70 and 160 ft above ground level with a sampling rate of 10 Hz. The results indicate that wind speeds measured at 70 ft was the most variable. Further, the turbulence persisted longer at the 70-ft measurement than at the other heights. The greatest interdependence is observed at 13 ft. Gusts at 160 ft led to the greatest persistence to an “own” shock and led to greatest persistence in the responses of the other wind series.
Surface Characterization of the Mechanism for Decreased Boiler Slagging via Fly Ash Surface Modification

Slagging difficulties encountered in large, pulverized coal-fired utility boilers can be alleviated by using recently developed chemical conditioners designed to inhibit the agglomeration of molten fly ash particles. Slagging results from the impaction and accretion on the boiler interior surfaces of molten ash particles in the flue gas resulting from the combustion of coal. Electron Spectroscopy for chemical Analysis (ESCA) and ion sputtering depth profiling were utilized to examine the mechanism whereby a fuel conditioner containing copper oxychloride effectively reduced slag deposition rates during a pilot-scale, pulverized coal combustion experiment.
DNA polymerase II is encoded by the DNA damage-inducible dinA gene of Escherichia coli.

Abstract The structural gene for DNA polymerase II was cloned by using a synthetic inosine-containing oligonucleotide probe corresponding to 11 amino acids, which were determined by sequencing the amino terminus of the purified protein. The labeled oligonucleotide hybridized specifically to the lambda clone 7H9 from the Kohara collection as well as to plasmid pGW511 containing the SOS-regulated dinA gene. Approximately 1400 base pairs of dinA sequence were determined. The predicted amino-terminal sequence of dinA demonstrated that this gene encoded DNA polymerase II. Sequence analysis of the upstream region localized a LexA binding site overlapping the -35 region of the dinA promoter, and this promoter element was found to be only two nucleotides downstream from the 3' end of the araD gene. These results demonstrate that the gene order is thr-dinA (pol II)-ara-leu on the Escherichia coli chromosome and that the DNA polymerase II structural gene is transcribed in the same direction as the araBAD operon. Based on the analysis of the predicted protein, we have identified a sequence motif Asp-Xaa-Xaa-Ser-Leu-Tyr-Pro-Ser in DNA polymerase II that is highly conserved among a diverse group of DNA polymerases, which include those from humans, yeast, Herpes and vaccinia viruses, and phages T4 and PRD1. The demonstration that DNA polymerase II is a component of the SOS response in E. coli suggests that it plays an important role in DNA repair and/or mutagenesis.
Feasibility of extracting tissue optical properties from amplitude OCT data during optical skin clearing

This paper investigates three different techniques to investigate the dynamic change of the attenuation coefficient in in-vitro hamster skin during optical skin clearing using a hyper-osmotic solution of 50% glycerol. The tissue is imaged using an amplitude based OCT system with a wavelength of 1290 nm during the clearing experiment. The tissue sample rested on a mirror surface and OCT images of the tissue and mirror were acquired in 1 minute intervals over a 45 minute period. Intensity profiles were obtained from averaging A-scans at each time interval. The tissue optical properties were determined by curve fitting an exponential function to the acquired intensity profiles, by linear line fit between front- and mirror surface reflection as well as by fitting the photo detector voltage at front- and mirror surface peaks to a modified expression of Beer's Law. In addition, another experimental set-up was used to evaluate focus effects on the back scattered signal from the mirror underneath an in-vitro porcine skin sample which was dehydrated in air to mimic optically cleared tissue. Both, tissue and mirror were mounted onto two independent micro translation stages in order to determine focal effects on the mirror signal. Results show that exponential curve fitting initially yields acceptable data for the attenuation coefficient but later introduces significant error due to the altered light propagation through the tissue due to the applied clearing agent. Attempting to use a linear fit between front- and mirror reflections does not yield physically meaningful data while using the detector voltage read-out in combination with Beer's law yields acceptable results comparable with tissue data published in the literature. Focal effects account for 1.5 to 2.5 dB higher signals than otherwise can be expected from the back reflection of the mirror underneath a scattering tissue sample if the mirror is in the focal plane of the input optics.
System Partition Technique to Improve Signal Coordination and Traffic Progression

A heuristic approach to the application of bandwidth-oriented signal timing is proposed based on a system partition technique. The proposed approach divides a large signalized arterial into subsystems with three to five signals in each subsystem. Each subsystem is optimized to achieve the maximum bandwidth efficiency. A one-directional system progression bandwidth, normally in the peak-flow direction, is then formed by appropriately adjusting the offsets between each subsystem. Such an approach provides a signal-timing solution that would achieve maximum progression for the peak direction while still maintaining partial progression for the off-peak direction. Further improvements on signal timing may be achieved by adjusting the phasing sequences at the subsystem boundary locations. A case study is presented to illustrate how the proposed approach can be applied, and the timing solutions are compared with the solutions from traditional signal-timing software. Evaluation of the timing solutions using CORSIM simulation indicates that the proposed approach results in improved bandwidth efficiencies for both directions and improved performance measures such as stops and travel speeds. The proposed heuristic approach is easy to apply using existing signal timing software packages such as PASSER II and Synchro. The proposed approach could also be used to develop new or improved existing bandwidth optimization algorithms.
Predicting school weapon possession: A secondary analysis of the youth risk behavior surveillance survey

As school psychologists are asked to help schools evaluate the level of violence risk posed by specific students, they need to fully consider the technical adequacy of any test or procedure that is proposed to “predict” future violent behavior or conditions. In this article, we contribute to this discussion by examining responses of 40,435 students from the 1993, 1995, and 1997 administrations of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey. Student self-reported school risk behaviors and experiences are used to “predict” recent weapon possession on school campuses and to illustrate the use of receiver operating characteristic curves to evaluate the performance of a test for prediction purposes. An index of nine school risk behaviors was moderately correlated (r = .36) with school weapon possession. However, when the accuracy of using this school risk index to predict weapon possession is evaluated, it is found that the area under the ROC curve was approximately .75, a moderate-to-large effect size but still demonstrating inadequate prediction at the individual student level. Further, there were twice as many frequent weapon carriers with zero school risks than with 7–9 risks, suggesting that attention directed toward violence risk profiles may promote inattention to another group of students who engage in potentially high-risk behaviors at school. It is argued that school psychologists should consider school violence appraisals within a developmental, long-term model. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Determinants of Low Birthweight: A Comparative Study

Scientists compared 1978-1981 data on 9774 births in Yaounde Cameroon with 1985 data on 9863 births in the US (except California Texas and Washington) to determine cross-national risk factors for low birth weight (LBW) and whether there are risk factors that are common only in one country. Even though the modal birth weight was greater in the US than in Cameroon (3250-3499 gm vs. 3000-3249 gm) the US had higher percentages of births at the lowest and highest extremes of the birth weight curve (2.5% for 4250 gm infants vs. 1.5% and 1% respectively). Prematurity and intrauterine growth retardation accounted for the same percentage of infants who were of LBW in both countries (58% and 42% respectively). Significant determinants of LBW in both countries were female sex multiple births single motherhood and premature births (p < .01). Prenatal care reduced the risk of LBW in both countries (at least 6 visits; p < .01). Mothers education reduced the risk only in the US (p < .01). Birth order of 2 or more increased the likelihood of not having an LBW infant in Cameroon only (p < .01). Negative outcome of previous pregnancy significantly affected the likelihood of LBW in just the US (p < .01). The different social economic and environmental settings in the US and Cameroon most likely accounted for the differences in risk factors of LBW for these countries.
Subcellular distribution of potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium and chloride in cerebral cortex.

The subcellular distributions of potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium and chloride have been determined for rabbit cerebral cortex. After homogenization and differential centrifugation, the following percentages of ions were associated with the particulate fraction (nuclear, mitochondrial, synaptic vesicles, and microsomal): (a) 19% of the total potassium; (b) 22% of the total sodium; (c) 77% of the total calcium; (d) 69% of the total magnesium; and (e) less than 2% of the total chloride. However, the sum of the potassium and sodium content in each of the particulate fractions was greater than the sum of the calcium and magnesium content. After hypo-osmotic shock of the crude mitochondrial fraction (MT), more sodium than potassium (μmol/g wet wt.) was associated with the mitochondrial (M1) and synaptic vesicle (M2) fractions. The molar ratio of sodium to potassium was 1·4 for M1 and 4·5 for M2. The association of 22Na+ with the particulate fractions was further studied by the method of equilibrium dialysis. The data from both types of experiments indicate that a large fraction of the sodium in cortical tissue appears to be in a bound state.
New models for the exploration of biological processes at fronts

The use of models in the exploration of biological processes at fronts has been limited by the poor representation of boundary-layer processes. The strongly sloping pycnocline of frontal regions forces very different buoyancy and momentum fluxes on either side of the front. This cross-frontal contrast in the vertical mixing of heat or momentum by wind or bottom stress couples to the horizontal velocities, creating non-linear cross-frontal flows. These vertical and horizontal motions have immediate impacts on the spatial and temporal patchiness of biological properties at fronts. New model architectures now couple more accurate representations of turbulent mixing in boundary layers with traditional primitive-equation models. Recently, these coupled primitive-equation/mixed-layer models have been integrated with simple ecosystem models to explore the dynamics of biological processes at fronts. I describe two different architectures of these coupled models: a slab mixed-layer/primitive-equation/ecosystem model, and a turbulence-closure mixed-layer/primitive-equation/ecosystem model. These models have been applied to a wind-forced front and a tidal front respectively. The scales of physical features and biological patchiness described by the models with mixed-layer physics are quite different, usually smaller, than the scales predicted by the primitive-equation models alone. Resolution of vertical processes is significantly enhanced by the inclusion of mixed-layer physics, contributing to a more accurate description of biological dynamics at these intermediate scales.
Penile Anomalies and Circumcision

In the male, the genital tubercle gives rise to the two corporal bodies that elongate in the early part of gestation. As the genital tubercle elongates, the urethral groove forms that terminates in the urethral plate at the level of the glans. Urethral folds close between nine and 13 weeks of gestation and an in-growth of glandular surface epithelium occurs to complete the process. The process is completed by approximately 14 weeks gestational age.
Incest revisited: delayed post-traumatic stress disorder in mothers following the sexual abuse of their children

The case histories of four women who developed symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder following the disclosure of the sexual abuse of their daughters are presented. These individuals also exhibited comorbid symptoms of depression and personality disorders. Awareness of the sexual abuse of their daughters catalyzed a reliving of their own childhood victimization. The psychodynamics operating in these cases, as well as treatment strategies are also presented. A brief follow-up of three of the four cases is included.
Evaluation of Online Resources in Assisting Phishing Detection

Phishing is an attempt to fraudulently acquire users’ sensitive information, such as passwords or financial information, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in online transactions. Recently, a number of researchers have proposed using external online resources like the Google Page Rank system to assist phishing detection. The advantage of such an approach is that the detection capability will gradually evolve and improve as the online resources become more sophisticated and manipulation-resistant. In this paper, we evaluate the effectiveness of three popular online resources in detecting phishing sites—viz, Google PageRank system, Yahoo! Inlink data, and Yahoo! directory service. Our results indicate that these online resources can be used to increase the accuracy of phishing site detection when used in conjunction with existing phishing countermeasures. The proposed approach involves examining the following three attributes of a target site (site being examined): (1) the credibility of the target site’s hosting domain, (2) the credibility of in-neighbor sites that link to the hosting domain, and (3) the correlation between the target site’s web category and its hosting domain’s web category. The aforementioned online resources by themselves are insufficient to address the phishing attack problem. We provide discussions on how each of those resources may be integrated with existing phishing detection techniques to provide a more effective solution.
Erythropoietin receptor is expressed on adult rat dopaminergic neurons and erythropoietin is neurotrophic in cultured dopaminergic neuroblasts

Exogenous erythropoietin (EPO) is a potent neurotrophic factor in vivo, protective against neuronal death in animal models of brain ischemia and human stroke. To date, reports on the distribution of EPO receptor in brain suggest that it is expressed mostly on capillaries. This receptor pattern suggests an indirect effect of EPO on neurons. In these studies, we show that EPO receptor is abundantly expressed on adult dopaminergic neurons, suggesting a direct effect of EPO on neurons. Furthermore, we show that EPO mediates the classic neurotrophic effects of proliferation, differentiation and maintenance in a dopaminergic cell line. The biology of therapeutically administered EPO in brain is a function of its receptor distribution, and the neuronal expression of EPO receptor on adult CNS neurons is consistent with EPO's potent neurotrophic function in vivo.
Effectiveness of botulinum toxin administered to abolish acquired nystagmus

We injected botulinum toxin into the horizontal rectus muscles of the right eyes of 2 patients who had acquired pendular nystagmus with horizontal, vertical, and torsional components. This treatment successfully abolished the horizontal component of the nystagmus in the injected eye in both patients for approximately 2 months. Both patients showed a small but measurable improvement of vision in the injected eye that may have been limited by coexistent disease of the visual pathways. The vertical and torsional components of the nystagmus persisted in both patients. In 1 patient, the horizontal component of nystagmus in the noninjected eye increased; we ascribe this finding to plastic-adaptive changes in response to paresis caused by the botulinum toxin. Such plastic-adaptive changes and direct side effects of the injections--such as diplopia and ptosis--may limit the effectiveness of botulinum toxin in the treatment of acquired nystagmus. Neither patient elected to repeat the botulinum treatment.
Mating behavior and fertility of broiler breeder males reared on shortened growth cycles

SUMMARY One of the more difficult tasks when raising broiler breeder cockerels is controlling BW gain in the rearing house without inflicting excess stress. This is a period of time for the young male when many portions of the reproductive system are in the formative stages and, if neglected, can have lifelong effects on their reproductive performance. The objective of this study was to raise males under feed management programs that produced the recommended target BW of 3,060 g for males at 12, 15, 18, 21, and 24 wk of age. Males were placed at 3-wk intervals so that all males with the same BW were light stimulated at the same time but at different ages. All males were reared in the same light-controlled house at the University of Arkansas Research Farm. Males were light stimulated, and testes development, complete semen analysis, fertility, and mating activity and behavior were recorded for each group of males. At the time of light stimulation, the younger males were less successful at completing matings, crowed less often, and showed less wing flapping and neck flaring than older males, based on the results for mating behavior. Males that were older at the time of light stimulation had higher fertility than younger males. Males that were 24 wk old at the time of light stimulation had an overall fertility of 94.5%, compared with 91.8, 91.6, 79.2, and 87.3%, respectively, for the other ages. In this study, we found that males that were exposed to light at earlier ages exhibited less overall mating activity than older males.
Interannual variation in the adrenal responsiveness of black-legged kittiwake chicks (Rissa tridactyla).

Over the last decade, field endocrinologists have explored the efficacy of using plasma corticosterone concentrations of breeding seabirds as an indicator of food availability and predictor of breeding success. However, studies have been predominately confined to adults and the results have been inconsistent. We examined the relationship between the productivity of black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) and the baseline and stress-induced corticosterone levels of 12–15 day-old kittiwake chicks in a multi-year study in Chiniak Bay, Kodiak, Alaska. We predicted that corticosterone levels would negatively correlate with productivity. Productivity decreased across years from relatively high levels in 2002, to very low levels in 2004 and 2005. Baseline corticosterone levels of the chicks did not increase consistently across years. Stress-induced corticosterone levels were statistically indistinguishable in high productivity years but increased significantly in low productivity years. The decline in kittiwake productivity coincided with warming ocean conditions, which, historically, are linked to declines in forage abundance for kittiwakes. Inconsistent changes in baseline corticosterone levels suggest some adult kittiwakes were able to buffer their chicks from poor foraging conditions. However, large increases in stress-induced corticosterone levels during the low productivity years indicate chicks were physiologically stressed for some period prior to sampling. Our results suggest that stress-induced corticosterone levels of kittiwake chicks are effective indicators of productivity in poor years, whereas the changes in baseline corticosterone levels across years are not as pronounced and therefore may not be as reliable.
Gender, Law, and Resistance in India

Gender, Law, and Resistance in India. Erin P. Moore. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1998. + 205 pp., notes, bibliography, index.
A Study on Bayes Feature Fusion for Image Classification

We consider here the problem of image classification when more than one visual feature are available. In these cases, Bayes fusion offers an attractive solution by combining the results of different classifiers (one classifier per feature). This is a general form of the so-called "naive Bayes" approach. Analyzing the performance of Bayes fusion with respect to a Bayesian classifier over the joint feature distribution, however, is tricky. On the one hand, it is well-known that the latter has lower bias than the former, unless the features are conditionally independent, in which case the two coincide. On the other hand, as noted by Friedman, the low variance associated with naive Bayes estimation may dramatically mitigate the effect of its bias. In this paper, we attempt to assess the tradeoff between these two factors by means of experimental tests on two image data sets using color and texture features. Our results suggest that (1) the difference between the correct classification rates using Bayes fusion and using the joint feature distribution is a function of the conditional dependence of the features (measured in terms of mutual information), however: (2) for small training data size, Bayes fusion performs almost as well as the classifier on the joint distribution.
Isolation of cytoplasmic pituitary granules with gonadotropic activity.

A fraction isolated from the anterior pituitary glands of rats castrate for 8 weeks contained essentially a single cytoplasmic constituent with which the major portion of the gonadotropic hormone activity was associated. The glands were homogenized in an 0.25 M sucrose + 7.3 per cent polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) solution and fractionated by differential centrifugation to give a heterogeneous small granule fraction which contained almost all the gonadotropic hormone activity. The active supernatant containing this small granule fraction was separated into layers by isopycnic gradient centrifugation on a continuous 6 to 45 per cent sucrose + 17.5 per cent "diodrast" + 5 x 10-4 M "versene" gradient at 100,000 g for 2 hours. Three layers were obtained and the pellet from the active bottom layer was sectioned, examined with the electron microscope, and found to contain 200 mµ granules, mitochondria, ergastoplasm, and other cellular debris. This layer was fractionated further by isopycnic and differential centrifugation to obtain a pellet which contained the major portion of the gonadotropic hormone activity. Because of the heterogeneity of this fraction, due to the contamination of the 200 mµ granules with mitochondria and other cellular debris, the active layer and the resuspended active pellet, obtained by centrifuging this layer first at 17,000 g then diluting the supernatant and centrifuging at 30,000 g for 1 hour, were filtered through Millipore HA paper with a pore size of 0.45 µ. The cytoplasmic material containing the gonadotropic hormone activity passed through the filter paper and this activity was recovered in the pellets obtained by centrifuging at 100,000 g for 1 hour. These active pellets consisted almost entirely of 200 mµ granules with a minimum amount of contamination, and they contained the major portion of the gonadotropic hormone activity with practically none remaining in the supernatant fraction. These results are discussed in view of their importance to the cytology of the pituitary gland.
Tilable nature of virus capsids and the role of topological constraints in natural capsid design

Virus capsids are highly specific assemblies that are formed from a large number of often chemically identical capsid subunits. In the present paper we ask to what extent these structures can be viewed as mathematically tilable objects using a single two-dimensional tile. We find that spherical viruses from a large number of families-eight out of the twelve studied-qualitatively possess properties that allow their representation as two-dimensional monohedral tilings of a bound surface, where each tile represents a subunit. This we did by characterizing the extent to which individual spherical capsids display subunit-subunit (1) holes, (2) overlaps, and (3) gross structural variability. All capsids with T numbers greater than 1 from the Protein Data Bank, with homogeneous protein composition, were used in the study. These monohedral tilings, called canonical capsids due to their platonic (mathematical) form, offer a mathematical segue into the structural and dynamical understanding of not one, but a large number of virus capsids. From our data, it appears as though one may only break the long-standing rules of quasiequivalence by the introduction of subunit-subunit structural variability, holes, and gross overlaps into the shell. To explore the utility of canonical capsids in understanding structural aspects of such assemblies, we used graph theory and discrete geometry to enumerate the types of shapes that the tiles (and hence the subunits) must possess. We show that topology restricts the shape of the face to a limited number of five-sided prototiles, one of which is the "bisected trapezoid" that is a platonic representation of the most ubiquitous capsid subunit shape seen in nature (the trapezoidal jelly-roll motif). This motif is found in a majority of seemingly unrelated virus families that share little to no host, size, or amino acid sequence similarity. This suggests that topological constraints may exhibit dominant roles in the natural design of biological assemblies, while having little effect on amino acid sequence similarity.
BIM Standard: Tensile Structures Data Modeling

To leverage all the benefits that building information modeling (BIM) is bringing to the build environment, the AEC industry recognized the critical need for BIM standardization. The issues of level of details and interoperability as means to communicate and integrate various model-based applications into an efficient workflow have materialized to the forefront of the standardization process. The ultimate goal of BIM standard is in part to enable capturing all relevant data in the BIM model, and to allow for flawless data exchange between the various applications. Current BIM tools that have been developed to model conventional structural steel and concrete construction are not yet satisfactory for modeling tensile structures. This paper reviews the current state of BIM platforms in modeling tensile structures and formulates the functional requirements for cross-platform standardization and interoperability. This study centers on advancing standardization of BIM models for designing and analyzing tensile structures. Specifically, the study addresses the Information Delivery Manual (IDM) and Model View Definitions (MVDs) as they aim to provide the integrated reference for process and data required by identifying the distinct processes undertaken to design tensile structures as well as to create an efficient method for unified, reproducible exchange of consistent information that is customarily acknowledged by the industry.
Functional imaging of legumain in cancer using a new quenched activity-based probe

Legumain is a lysosomal cysteine protease whose biological function remains poorly defined. Legumain activity is up-regulated in most human cancers and inflammatory diseases most likely as the result of high expression in populations of activated macrophages. Within the tumor microenvironment, legumain activity is thought to promote tumorigenesis. To obtain a greater understanding of the role of legumain activity during cancer progression and inflammation, we developed an activity-based probe that becomes fluorescent only upon binding active legumain. This probe is highly selective for legumain, even in the context of whole cells and tissues, and is also a more effective label of legumain than previously reported probes. Here we present the synthesis and application of our probe to the analysis of legumain activity in primary macrophages and in two mouse models of cancer. We find that legumain activity is highly correlated with macrophage activation and furthermore that it is an ideal marker for primary tumor inflammation and early stage metastatic lesions.
Natural variation in flight performance is related to timing of breeding in tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) in New York

Abstract In many avian species, including Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor), females that lay eggs earlier in the season have higher fitness. It has been hypothesized that nonheritable variation in individual quality could explain how variation in laying date persists in the face of this apparently directional selection. Previous experimental work on Tree Swallows has suggested that natural variation in flight ability enables early-laying females to attain feeding rates high enough to support egg production on earlier, sparser food than later-laying females. We tested that hypothesis with standardized flights through a 9.75-m flight-performance test tunnel. One group of female swallows was tested at the height of the breeding season on 28 May regardless of their nesting phenology; another group was tested on the 11th day of incubation. Average acceleration in the tunnel was negatively correlated with clutch initiation date for the females tested on 28 May. Daily variation in ambient environmental condit...
An Empire of Air and Water: Uncolonizable Space in the British Imagination, 1750-1850

Many books about the Age of Exploration (commonly so-called) tell it as the story of filling the blank patches in the world map, a project reaching its climax in the late l9th century in overlappin...
Ethical Considerations in the Elderly Population

Ethical issues relating to the geriatric population hold profound implications for society. This chapter will deal with problems, realities, and questions raised relative to ethics and the elderly and guide the reader to other resources for additional information. The importance of ethical considerations has not changed. The focusing of the medical system and, more specifically, geriatrics and gerontology on this discipline has been precipitated by demographic changes. Although the declining mortality among the elderly population over the last two decades remains not completely understood, consequences for society are obvious.
Automatic Reduction of a Document-Derived Noun Vocabulary

We propose and evaluate five related algorithms that automatically derive limited-size noun vocabularies from text documents of 2,000-30,000 words.The proposed algorithms combine Personalized Page Rank and principles of information maximization, and are applied to the WordNet graph for nouns. For the best-performing algorithm the difference between automatically generated reduced noun lexicons and those created by human writers is approximately 1-2 WordNet edges per lexical item. Our results also indicate the importance of performing word-sense disambiguation with sentence-level context information at the earliest stage of analysis.
Generating Random Numbers

Much of this book deals with simulation methods for probability models, also called Monte Carlo methods. We have seen a few introductory examples in Chapter 1. Even for some models that are easy to specify in a theoretical form, it may be difficult or impossible to “do the math” necessary to obtain the numerical results required in practice. Because of recent advances in computer hardware and software, simulation methods now offer feasible solutions to some of these troublesome computational problems.
Restoring the greater Florida Everglades, once and for all

Abstract The dilemma and ultimate solutions to recent ecological and economic disasters of polluted farm runoff being discharged in the Florida estuaries, described by some as much more severe than anything that happened to Florida's coastline during the 2010 BP oil spill on the Gulf of Mexico, is presented. Two particularly notable episodes have occurred in the last few years. In 2013, 746 million m3/yr of water from Lake Okeechobee was discharged to the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean estuaries, much of it in the summer wet season, with significant ecological disruption on both coasts. In February 2016, an unusually high amount of precipitation in the dry season (>30 cm in January 2015) led to 326 million m3 of polluted Lake Okeechobee water being discharged to the sea over a 2-week period in early February. The obvious solution to this estuarine pollution is to allow water from the lake to flow to south as it historically did before water management was imposed on the lake and watershed. But that would cause polluted water to flow to the oligotrophic and much treasured Florida Everglades. We estimate that the water quality issue could be solved by creating an additional 40,000 Ha of stormwater treatment wetlands. Those would complement the 23,000 Ha of stormwater treatment wetlands that have already been created. Creating a deepwater reservoir to store the excess water is not a sustainable option.
Craniofacial fellowship training: where are we now?

Background The authors sought to evaluate current craniofacial training in the United States to achieve perspective on changes over time and to gain insights into possible process improvements. Methods Following a review of the San Francisco Match listings and an Internet search, an anonymous online survey invitation was sent to all fellows finishing in 2013. Results Thirty-three fellows were identified in 29 listed programs and 30 responded (91 percent). All had completed plastic surgery training. A mean caseload of 380 cases (95 percent CI, 307 to 452) was reported. Case analyses permitted subclassification of fellowships into five areas of relative strengths: cleft/intracranial/midface, 35 percent; cleft/general pediatrics, 20 percent; cleft/adult plastics, 20 percent; cleft/facial trauma, 15 percent; and adult plastics/facial trauma, 10 percent of programs. Eighty-six percent were residency-type programs, whereas only 14 percent remained apprenticeships. Fellows cited confidence in any procedure following participation in more than 12 cases, but 20 percent reported not feeling adequately trained following fellowship. Over half (52 percent) thought training could be improved by establishing core areas of exposure and case category minimums. Conclusions Fellowships identified as "craniofacial" are actually fairly heterogeneous, offering diverse clinical experiences. Currently, only a minority emphasize traditional cleft, intracranial, and midfacial procedures, with the majority focused more on cleft care, general pediatric plastic surgery, and trauma. Concomitant with an increase in fellowship-trained surgeons has come a change in program structure from apprenticeships to residency-type models. Prospective fellows should consider matching their individual training goals with each program's unique clinical strengths.
Sampling-based Strategies for the Estimation of Probabilistic Sensitivities

This note presents the mathematical background and numerical evaluation of several approaches for calculating probabilistic sensitivities. In particular, we use the finite difference method and the Leibniz integral rule to derive two formulations for approximating derivatives of the mean, the variance, and the failure probability of a dependent variable with respect to means, and variances of the independent variables. These derivatives not only indicate the sensitivity to the uncertainty model assumed but also allow for the identification of the most dominant uncertain parameters. Deterministic sampling techniques that eliminate the random character of the numerical approximation are used to evaluate the resulting expressions. Examples admitting closed-form expressions for the sensitivities are used to validate the efficiency and accuracy of the approximations and to perform convergence analyses as a function of the discretization parameters. Remarks on the advantages and limitations of each method as well as our take on the best practices are also presented.
Clinical Value of High Mobility Group Box 1 and the Receptor for Advanced Glycation End-products in Head and Neck Cancer: A Systematic Review.

Introduction High mobility group box 1 is a versatile protein involved in gene transcription, extracellular signaling, and response to inflammation. Extracellularly, high mobility group box 1 binds to several receptors, notably the receptor for advanced glycation end-products. Expression of high mobility group box 1 and the receptor for advanced glycation end-products has been described in many cancers. Objectives To systematically review the available literature using PubMed and Web of Science to evaluate the clinical value of high mobility group box 1 and the receptor for advanced glycation end-products in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas. Data synthesis A total of eleven studies were included in this review. High mobility group box 1 overexpression is associated with poor prognosis and many clinical and pathological characteristics of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas patients. Additionally, the receptor for advanced glycation end-products demonstrates potential value as a clinical indicator of tumor angiogenesis and advanced staging. In diagnosis, high mobility group box 1 demonstrates low sensitivity. Conclusion High mobility group box 1 and the receptor for advanced glycation end-products are associated with clinical and pathological characteristics of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas. Further investigation of the prognostic and diagnostic value of these molecules is warranted.