cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The importance of geophysical and petrophysical data integration for the hydraulic fracturing of unconventional reservoirs

Multidisciplinary integration is common in the petroleum industry and is critical for the success of many projects. This paper discusses the need for and importance of multidisciplinary integration of data inputs for the success of hydraulic fracturing treatments in unconventional reservoirs, specifically tight-gas sands and shale systems. Four main areas are discussed, including microseismic, field-wide seismic, petrophysical rock properties, and geological characterization. A discussion of future areas for integration is also provided.
Changing Horses in Wartime? The 2004 Presidential Election

The literature makes clear that foreign policy affects voting, but it does not lead to clear expectations as to how a war will affect voting. Will views about the advisability of the war predominate? Or will the indirect effect through the incumbent’s image be more important? Will a war crowd out other potential issues, particularly domestic ones? This paper addresses these questions through a series of focused analyses of NES survey data. We find that an increase in strong Republican partisans clinched the election for President Bush. The Iraq War was not a direct vote gainer for the President, but the larger War on Terrorism burnished his image as a leader, at least long enough to win the election. Likewise, the cultural war allowed President Bush to retain some of the votes that he might otherwise have lost due to the unpopularity of the Iraq War.
A stable gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis system to characterize Ma Huang products found in health foods and supplements.

Abstract Herbal mixtures containing Ma Huang are of significant interest because of their popularity regardless of their potential health hazards. In spite of reports of health problems and even several deaths, these products are still frequently recommended for use. The complex nature of the commercial supplement mixtures has posed a problem in both their qualitative and quantitative analysis. A gas chromatographic procedure has been developed to evaluate authenticity of Ma Huang mixtures. Mass spectrometric identification of the six major alkaloid ephedrine components and application of chi‐square evaluation of the chromatographic profile allows a determination to be made regarding the nature of the origin of the mixture. For comparison, a standard mixture was prepared that approximates a typical Ma Huang composition based on average amounts of each alkaloid component reported in the literature. The system is temperature stable and allows simultaneous analysis for caffeine and other components of the commercial supplements. Several samples of commercial herbal products were analyzed by the procedure, and their composition is evaluated and discussed. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmaceutical Association J Pharm Sci 90:943–948, 2001
The Wettability of Titanium Diboride by Molten Aluminum Drops

Titanium diboride is widely accepted to be completely wet by liquid aluminum, yet few published wetting studies demonstrate this behavior, and reported contact angles vary widely. Sessile drop substrates from four different sources were selected and their microstructures and chemistries characterized. The results of sessile drop experiments using four techniques to modify oxide film behavior were compared. The Al-TiB2 interfaces were examined in metallographic sections or after chemical removal of the Al drop. Al wets a material containing 5.5 wt% Ni in vacuum experiments before the hold temperature of 1025∘ C is reached. The other TiB2 substrates are completely wet by Al at 1025∘ C, but only after prolonged holds under vacuum. Elimination of boron oxide from the TiB2 surface leads to a spreading condition. The role of the substrate microstructure (porosity, grain size, roughness, and carbon content) in altering the wetting kinetics is discussed.
Characterizing the Gravitational Wave Signature from Cosmic String Cusps

Cosmic strings are predicted to form kinks that travel along the string, and cusps, where a small region of the string moves at close to the speed of light. These disturbances are radiated away as highly beamed gravitational waves that produce a burst like pulse as the cone of emission sweeps past an observer. Gravitational wave detectors such as the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) and the Laser Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory (LIGO) will be capable of detecting these bursts for a wide class of string models. Such a detection would illuminate the fields of string theory, cosmology, and relativity. Here, we develop template based Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) techniques that can efficiently detect and characterize the signals from cosmic string cusps. We estimate how well the signal parameters can be recovered by the advanced LIGO-Virgo network and the LISA detector using a combination of MCMC and Fisher matrix techniques. We also consider joint detections by the ground- and space-based instruments. We show that a parallel tempered MCMC approach can detect and characterize the signals from cosmic string cusps, and we demonstrate the utility of this approach on simulated data from the third round of mock LISA data challenges.
Adaptive institutions in social-ecological systems governance: A synthesis framework

Abstract Adaptive governance of social-ecological systems depends on adaptive institutions. Efforts to understand the factors affecting adaptive institutions have identified many variables, but our understanding is constrained by multiple definitions of these concepts. In this article, we synthesize across two decades of studies relating to adaptive institutions. After clarifying some definitional confusion in the literature, we provide a theoretical framework to guide research on purposeful institutional change. While numerous scholars have identified a wide variety of important factors, we find that many of these factors can be traced back to (1) federalism and polycentricity and (2) networks and learning. Our synthesis suggests several avenues for future research centered on these factors. For example, how might the potential negative effects of key facilitating variables such as polycentricity (e.g., racial segregation and income sorting) and heterogeneous networks (e.g., increased coordination costs) hinder adaptive institutions? How can learning through both scientific and time-and-place knowledge promote adaptive institutions? More broadly, social science can play an important role in identifying factors that foster adaptability in different contexts, so that policy makers can promote such adaptability.
Localization of Clinical Syndromes Using DWI: Two Examples of the “Capsular” Warning Syndrome

The capsular warning syndrome (CWS) is a subtype of transient ischemic attack characterized by its recurrent nature, absence of cortical signs, and high probability of early capsular stroke. Currently, standard imaging techniques have identified only internal capsule lesions in this entity. The authors present 2 cases with an otherwise typical CWS in whom a brainstem stroke was detected by diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). DWI's ability to differentiate between acute and chronic infarcts may assist in more accurate localization of clinical syndromes.
Aerobic exercise intensity and time of stressor administration influence cardiovascular responses to psychological stress.

This study examined cardiovascular responses as a function of time following exercise in which participants were exposed to a laboratory stressor. Ninety (42 women) young (18–35 years old) nonsmoking normotensive participants engaged in 30 min of high and low intensity (75–80% and 50–55% VO2 max) aerobic exercise and a sedentary control condition. Participants were randomly assigned to a laboratory stressor 5, 30, or 60 min following the exercise bout. Results indicate that low and high intensity exercise significantly reduce heart rate (HR) and systolic and diastolic blood pressure reactivity and HR recovery values. An inverse relationship between intensity of exercise and subsequent cardiovascular reactivity was found. These findings suggest attenuated stress responses following acute exercise depend both on exercise intensity and the time of exposure to psychological stress following exercise.
An alkyne-aspirin chemical reporter for the detection of aspirin-dependent protein modification in living cells

Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) is widely used for the acute treatment of inflammation and the management of cardiovascular disease. More recently, it has also been shown to reduce the risk of a variety of cancers. The anti-inflammatory properties of aspirin in pain-relief, cardio-protection, and chemoprevention are well-known to result from the covalent inhibition of cyclooxygenase enzymes through nonenzymatic acetylation of key serine residues. However, any additional molecular mechanisms that may contribute to the beneficial effects of aspirin remain poorly defined. Interestingly, studies over the past 50 years using radiolabeled aspirin demonstrated that other proteins are acetylated by aspirin and enrichment with antiacetyl-lysine antibodies identified 33 potential targets of aspirin-dependent acetylation. Herein we describe the development of an alkyne-modified aspirin analogue (AspAlk) as a chemical reporters of aspirin-dependent acetylation in living cells. When combined with the Cu(I)-catalyzed [3...
How useful is intrapartum electronic fetal heart rate monitoring

Summary It is essential for an obstetric anesthesiologist to be aware of the fetal status before undertaking care of the laboring mother. In the last 20 years electronic fetal monitoring has been the most widely used technique of evaluating the fetus in labor. Recently however, the ability to predict or improve fetal outcome using traditional interpretation has been questioned. This review presents a summary of the current technology and interpretation of intrapartum electronic fetal monitoring, as well as a discussion of its limitations and some of the developments in this field which may help improve the accuracy of fetal assessment. The new developments in fetal monitoring discussed in this article are computerized assessment of fetal heart tracings, heart rate variability analysis, fetal electrocardiogram waveform analysis, abdominal detection of fetal ECG, fetal scalp oxygen saturation, fetal pH sampling and transcutaneous oxygen and carbon dioxide measurement.
Stimulus-response compatibility and psychological refractory period effects: Implications for response selection

The purpose of this paper was to provide insight into the nature of response selection by reviewing the literature on stimulus-response compatibility (SRC) effects and the psychological refractory period (PRP) effect individually and jointly. The empirical findings and theoretical explanations of SRC effects that have been studied within a single-task context suggest that there are two response-selection routes-automatic activation and intentional translation. In contrast, all major PRP models reviewed in this paper have treated response selection as a single processing stage. In particular, the response-selection bottleneck (RSB) model assumes that the processing of Task 1 and Task 2 comprises two separate streams and that the PRP effect is due to a bottleneck located at response selection. Yet, considerable evidence from studies of SRC in the PRP paradigm shows that the processing of the two tasks is more interactive than is suggested by the RSB model and by most other models of the PRP effect. The major implication drawn from the studies of SRC effects in the PRP context is that response activation is a distinct process from final response selection. Response activation is based on both long-term and short-term task-defined S-R associations and occurs automatically and in parallel for the two tasks. The final response selection is an intentional act required even for highly compatible and practiced tasks and is restricted to processing one task at a time. Investigations of SRC effects and response-selection variables in dual-task contexts should be conducted more systematically because they provide significant insight into the nature of response-selection mechanisms.
On the effect of filter variability in compressive sensing systems

In this paper, we study the effect of filter variability in compressive sensing systems. Compressive sensing entails projecting the signal on a set of random signals, which is done by means of mixers and low pass filters. When reconstructing the signal, it is important to have a model for the sensing hardware, hence, the need to mitigate variability effects on the reconstruction process. In order to do that, there is a need for quantifying the effect of variability on reconstruction in order to be able to design compressive sensing systems that are robust to variability.
Group C Streptococcal Pneumonia: Report of a Fatal Case and Review of the Literature

A previously healthy 22-year-old man acquired tonsillitis due to Streptococcus equisimilis, a group C Streptococcus. He rapidly developed pneumonia, empyema, septicemia, and metastatic arthritis, and despite appropriate therapy with antibiotics and drainage of abscesses, he experienced progressive respiratory insufficiency and died. The four species of group C streptococci are described in terms of their biochemical properties, the infections they cause in animals, and their tendency to produce disease in humans. Pharyngeal carriage of these organisms is not rare, and outbreaks of pharyngitis and tonsillitis occur. Group C streptococcal pneumonia, like group A pneumonia, is often a severe disease with a prolonged febrile course and frequently is complicated by empyema. Appropriate management includes isolation of the patient, penicillin G therapy, drainage, and respiratory support.
Identifying agonistic and antagonistic mechanisms operative at the GABA receptor.

Based on our molecular modeling investigations of the glycinergic receptor, we expanded our studies to similarly investigate the GABAergic receptor. New data suggest there may exist a slightly different agonistic mechanism for the molecules described herein as compared to glycine. The origin of this is undoubtedly the fact that, while glycine has a positive and two negative binding sites, it is significantly shorter than GABA and the other GABA agonists. Clearly, discovery of more glycine agonists is needed to further clarify this point. Moreover, we find a remarkedly different antagonistic mechanism exists for this phylogenetically newer inhibitory system in the central ncrvous system (CNS) than recently reported for strychnine and eight weaker glycine antagonists. We used GABA and six agonists (muscimol, dihydromuscimol, TRIP, isoguvacine, trans-3-aminocyclopentane-1-carboxylic acid, piperidine-4-sulfonic acid) and five antagonists (bicuculline-Nl5-rnethobromide, R5135, pitrazepin, iso-THAZ and securinine) to derive our conclusions. We found that each of the agonists have three clearly defined atoms that can serve as attachment points at the GABAA receptor site. One of the three attachment atoms includes a carbonyl or carboxylate oxygen. The role of the carbonyl or carboxylate atom is very important. First, we theorize that a rapid two-point attachment occurs (one from the positive end and one from one of the other two negative atoms on the ligand) at the recognition site in the receptor where GABA or a GABAergic agonistt binds. The positive end of the agonist perhaps associates through hydrogen bonding to a β-carboxyl group in one of the aspartate molecules in the poly. peptide. The negative attachment points perhaps bind through hydrogen bonding to arginine molecules in this polypeptide. The second negative site in the agonist immediately triggers a conformational change by pulling together the aforementioned groups by electrostatic attraction, and hence opening the chloride channel. We propose the carbonyl oxygen is partly responsible for triggering the opening by formation of a double hydrogen bond to arginine. We postulate that this attraction is the first step inducing the conformational change. In the case of the GABA antagonists investigated, a fourth attachment site was not found. In fact only two sites have been identified similar to the group II glycine antagonists. Our data support a hypothesis for GABAergic antagonist activity which suggests that the antagonist simply binds to the recognition site and blocks the neurotransmitter, GABA, from entering this site thereby preventing the opening of the chloride channel; it just stays closed. This mechanism is different from the mechanism proposed for the large number of Group I glycine antagonists (Aprison et al.: J Neurosci Res 41:259-269, 1995). © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Transmission of Risk Factors across Three Generations

The present study examined the association between the parent-grandmother relationship, the parenting of toddlers, and toddlers' anger. Parent-grandmother relations were assessed when the parents were adolescents. Patient-toddler relations were examined when the toddlers were two years of age. The sample consists of 185 2-yr-old toddlers, one of the parents of each toddler, and the corresponding grandmother of each toddler. The findings support our hypothesis that there would be an indirect effect of the grandmothers' personalities and child-rearing practices on their grandchildren through the influence of the grandmothers on the parents. The influence of both the grandmothers' and the parents' smoking behaviors on the toddlers' anger was mediated by their child-rearing practices. The significance of the findings from a multigenerational study are discussed with reference to incorporating them into prevention programs. The findings are consistent with the notion of the intergenerational transmission of risk factors--from grandparents to parents to toddlers.
Summary of the IUVSTA workshop on wall conditioning in large UHV devices

Abstract The International Workshop on “Wall Conditioning in Large UHV Devices” was held on 27 February–3 March at Chavannes de Bogis (Switzerland). The workshop was sponsored by the International Union of Vacuum Science and Technology Associations (IUVSTA) for the purpose of bringing together three communities that are concerned with the most effective means of treating (i.e. “conditioning”) materials for use in high performance ultra high vacuum systems. Practitioners from the field of accelerators, fusion devices, the new gravity wave observatories and semiconductor process equipment attended the workshop.
Primary B-cell lymphoma with histologic features of a T-cell neoplasm

A 58-year-old white man had dermatomyositis and primary cutaneous B-cell lymphoma. The cutaneous lymphoma was evidenced by a noduloulcerative disease of the lower extremities. Histologic results resembled a T-cell process with a diffuse, superficial infiltrate composed of small- and medium-sized lymphocytes with angioinvasion and epidermotropism. The infiltrate extended into the deep dermis and panniculus with scattered large lymphocytes and necrosis. With the help of gene-rearrangement analysis and immunophenotyping, the true B-cell lineage was discovered. The importance of gene-rearrangement analysis and immunophenotyping in the diagnosis of cutaneous lymphoma is emphasized.
One-dimensional non-nearest-neighbor random walks in the presence of traps

A one-dimensional lattice random walk in the presence ofm equally spaced traps is considered. The step length distribution is a symmetric exponential. An explicit analytic expression is obtained for the probability that the random walk will be trapped at thejth trapping site.
Narrative Explanation in Psychotherapy

This article examines the field of psychotherapy as an interesting and illustrative example of human science inquiry. Three approaches to understanding human intentionality and action that have appeared in theories of psychotherapy over the years are distinguished. Naturalist approaches assume explanation involves describing underlying causes operating beneath the surface phenomena of thought and action. In recent years, difficulties this view encounters in doing justice to human agency have given rise to constructionist conceptions of psychotherapy. In this view, action is structured by narratives or stories understood as free creations that swing free of any facts and do not involve discovering any truth about a person's life or history. The author suggests that this approach involves a number of excesses and shortcomings and argues for a more moderate, narrativist viewpoint that draws on the ideas of ontological hermeneutics.
Monokaryotic fruiting and production of slime in Schizophyllum commune

The accumulation of slime by diallele crosses involving fruiting and non-fruiting monokaryons has been measured. Its accumulation does not appear to be correlated with the production of monokaryotic fruit bodies.
A study of consumer perception of smiling customer service within the airline industry

Smiling customer service has been the gold standard for American businesses since the early 1900s when “service with a smile” became a popular slogan for many businesses. Today, cutbacks, add-on fees, and airlines’ struggle to survive have placed unprecedented stresses on airline employees who deal with the public. Since 9/11 the airline industry and its shortcomings have been in the spotlight. Travelers often arrive hostile at boarding gates, feeling taken advantage of despite low fares. A smile seems a fragile defense against an angry public, yet a smile has power. This paper proposes that smiling while serving customers is a visible manifestation of the core values of respect, compassion, and hospitality, the foundations of excellent customer service. Patience and courtesy show themselves in the outward behavior of smiling while helping customers, and customers usually react well when attended by frontline staff whose smiles demonstrate they are putting the customer first. Smiling customer service works as airline employees show understanding, patience, attention to details, excellent listening skills, a willing spirit, resourcefulness, etc. In other words, service providers or frontline staff are willing to go above and beyond their job description to ensure total customer satisfaction. This research paper presents the results of an empirical study of customer reactions to smiling customer service. For purposes of the study, the smiles involved were considered both literally and figuratively. The aim was to discover the results when service providers or frontline staff actually did “smile” when handling or resolving explosive customer service issues.
Impact of structures from the protein structure initiative.

The collective efforts of the Protein Structure Initiative (PSI) have so far produced over 2700 protein structures (http://kb.psi-structuralgenomics.org/KB/, Metrics Module). This is an impressive statistic, but what of interest have we learned from these structures and what might be the future impact of this knowledge? In the case of conventional structural biology, most structural investigations are undertaken in the context of substantial prior knowledge about the subject molecules; typically, the structural studies are accompanied by functional analyses inspired by structural results, and the findings are published in papers (although months or years after structures are solved).
Postnatal maturation of gephyrin/glycine receptor clusters on developing Renshaw cells.

Adult mammalian Renshaw cells express large and complex postsynaptic gephyrin/glycine receptor clusters on their surface. Larger gephyrin clusters correlate with more “efficacious” inhibitory synapses, in terms of larger postsynaptic quantal size amplitudes, in part because they likely contain more postsynaptic receptors (Lim et al. [1999] J. Physiol. (Lond.) 516:505–512; Oleskevich et al. [1999] J. Neurophysiology 82:312–319). Here, we studied the postnatal development of the gephyrin/glycine receptor cluster size on Renshaw cells. Renshaw cells were identified by their calbindin immunoreactivity, location and morphology, and presence of cholinergic input. The populations of clusters over developing Renshaw cells immunoreactive to gephyrin or glycine receptor α1 subunits were comparable in number, size, and complexity and displayed a high degree of colocalization (>90%) at all ages. Quantitative morphologic analysis was performed on gephyrin-immunoreactive clusters. In neonatal animals, Renshaw cells expressed small punctate gephyrin-immunoreactive clusters (mean cluster size ± SD = 0.19 ± 0.19 μm2at 2 days; 0.22 ± 0.19 μm2at 5 days). By 10 and 15 days of age, Renshaw cells exhibited gephyrin-immunoreactive clusters that were larger and more complex (0.32 ± 0.19 μm2 at 10 days; 0.41 ± 0.32 μm2 at 15 days). Cluster growth reached a plateau in 25- and 60-day-old Renshaw cells (0.45 ± 0.43 μm2; 0.56 ± 0.55 μm2, respectively). By using electron microscopy, we confirmed that gephyrin-immunoreactive clusters were located at postsynaptic sites at both early and late postnatal ages on Renshaw cells. The potential significance of this gephyrin/glycine receptor cluster size maturation that sets Renshaw cells apart from other interneurons is discussed. J. Comp. Neurol. 426:130–142, 2000. © 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Demonstration and Evaluation of a Peer-Delivered, Individually-Tailored, HIV Prevention Intervention for HIV-Infected MSM in their Primary Care Setting

Employing HIV-infected peer counselors in secondary prevention interventions for MSM is appealing for scalable interventions. One-hundred-seventy-six HIV-infected MSM at their primary care facility participated in a secondary HIV-prevention study delivered by HIV-infected MSM peers. Of those who entered the intervention and completed the initial intake, 62% completed all four of the intervention sessions, and 93% completed at least one. While there was no overall change in transmission risk behavior (TRB) for the whole sample, among those who reported HIV TRB at baseline (n = 29), there were significant reductions in TRB over the next year. Themes that emerged in qualitative exit interviews conducted with a subset of participants centered on peer counselor quality, intervention implications, and intervention experience. This demonstration project provides initial evidence for the ability to recruit HIV-infected MSM in care into a peer-based intervention study, and shows how a peer-based intervention can be delivered in the context of HIV care.
Simplifying key management in electronic fund transfer point of sale systems

In the letter we will consider some of the security problems that arise within a large electronic fund transfer point of sale (EFTPOS) system, paying particular attention to the difficulties of key management. In particular, we will introduce the concept of a transaction key which provides automatic key management at almost no extra cost.
Intramolecular control of transcriptional activity by the NK2-specific domain in NK-2 homeodomain proteins

The developmentally important homeodomain transcription factors of the NK-2 class contain a highly conserved region, the NK2-specific domain (NK2-SD). The function of this domain, however, remains unknown. The primary structure of the NK2-SD suggests that it might function as an accessory DNA-binding domain or as a protein–protein interaction interface. To assess the possibility that the NK2-SD may contribute to DNA-binding specificity, we used a PCR-based approach to identify a consensus DNA-binding sequences for Nkx2.2, an NK-2 family member involved in pancreas and central nervous system development. The consensus sequence (TCTAAGTGAGCTT) is similar to the known binding sequences for other NK-2 homeodomain proteins, but we show that the NK2-SD does not contribute significantly to specific DNA binding to this sequence. To determine whether the NK2-SD contributes to transactivation, we used GAL4-Nkx2.2 fusion constructs to map a powerful transcriptional activation domain in the C-terminal region beyond the conserved NK2-SD. Interestingly, this C-terminal region functions as a transcriptional activator only in the absence of an intact NK2-SD. The NK2-SD also can mask transactivation from the paired homeodomain transcription factor Pax6, but it has no effect on transcription by itself. These results demonstrate that the NK2-SD functions as an intramolecular regulator of the C-terminal activation domain in Nkx2.2 and support a model in which interactions through the NK2-SD regulate the ability of NK-2-class proteins to activate specific genes during development.
Role of Gq protein in behavioral effects of the hallucinogenic drug 1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl)-2-aminopropane

Extensive evidence suggests that 5-HT2 receptors may play a role in mental disorders including schizophrenia. In addition, several studies indicate that G(q)-coupled 5-HT(2A) receptors are likely targets for the initiation of events leading to the hallucinogenic behavior elicited by lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), (+/-)1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl)-2-aminopropane (DOI), and related drugs. However, 5-HT(2A) receptors couple to other G proteins in addition to G(q) protein. To evaluate the role of the G(q) signaling pathway in DOI-induced behaviors, we utilized two behavioral models of 5-HT(2A) receptor activation: induction of head-twitches by DOI, a common response to hallucinogenic drugs in rodents, and DOI elicited anxiolytic-like effects in the elevated plus maze. Experimental subjects were genetically modified mice [Galpha(q)(-/-)] in which the G(q) alpha gene was eliminated. Galpha(q)(-/-) mice exhibited a decrease in DOI-induced head-twitches, when compared to wild-type littermates. In addition, the DOI-induced increase in anxiolytic-like behavior was abolished in Galpha(q)(-/-) mice. These results, combined with our finding that DOI-induced FOS expression in the medial prefrontal cortex was also eliminated in Galpha(q)(-/-) mice, suggests a key role for G(q) protein in hallucinogenic drug effects.
Neuromuscular transmission in larval tobacco budworm, Heliothis virescens (F.) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).

Abstract The morphology, cable electric properties and synaptic responses of skeletal motor units in fourth-instar Heliothis virescens are described. The ventral internal lateral (VIL 1 ) muscle has an input impedance of approx. 150 kΩ and a length constant that is 60% of the mean fibre length. Significant electrotonic coupling, indicated by a coupling coefficient of approx. 0.4, is evident between VIL 1 in adjacent segments. Each VIL 1 is innervated by a single “fast” excitatory motor neurone which generates a composite neuromuscular response consisting of an excitatory junctional potential (EJP) and overshooting action potential. The neuromuscular response is rapidly desensitized when exposed to bath-applied glutamate and related analogues. The order of effectiveness is quisqualate > glutamate > aspartate. The EJP amplitude is reduced and the action potential abolished in low calcium (0.75 mM) saline. Quantum content measured under normal conditions is approx. 17, but drops to 3 when extracellular calcium is reduced to 0.75 mM. MEJC durations are unusually long in physiological saline and are further prolonged to tens of milliseconds when extracellular calcium is lowered, suggesting a pronounced influence of calcium on transmitter-activated channel kinetics.
Obituary: George Dewey Purvis Jr. MD (1920-2011).

George Dewey Purvis Jr. MD, died at his home in Jackson, Mississippi on July 2, 2011 (Fig. 1). He is survived by his wife Janet, four sons and daughters-in-law, 10 grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Fig. 1 George Dewey Purvis Jr. MD. (Photograph published with courtesy of JM Purvis MD.) As a young boy, he had a severe infection develop in his leg and was transferred to Memphis, Tennessee, for treatment at the Campbell Clinic (Fig. 2). His experience and the care he received at Campbell Clinic influenced his desire to become an orthopaedic surgeon. He graduated from the University of Tennessee School of Medicine and trained in surgery at the Universities of Iowa and Michigan before returning to Campbell Clinic as a fellow in orthopaedics in 1947. In 1950, George returned to Jackson, Mississippi, and entered solo practice. He and others later formed the Central Orthopaedic Clinic, where he practiced until 1990. Fig. 2 A young George Purvis was treated at Campbell Clinic in Memphis for a severe leg infection. (Photograph published with courtesy of JM Purvis MD.) George was an active member of numerous professional organizations and held many leadership positions, including the presidencies of the Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons in 1976, the Mississippi Orthopaedic Society, and the Mid-America Orthopaedic Association. He was the first surgeon from Mississippi to join the American Orthopaedic Association. He also was a member of the Board of Councilors of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. George also contributed his time and services to the Mississippi Crippled Children’s Service and the State Hospital at Whitfield. In his spare time, he enjoyed spending time with his family and friends, and golf, bridge, travel, and photography. Although he was a “high-tech” orthopaedic surgeon during his career, he will be remembered for his warm and caring personality by his patients and peers.
Exposure-Dose-Rate-Dependence for a CMOS/SOS Memory

This study of a 1K RAM demonstrated the basic recovery characteristics previously reported in the literature for MOS capacitors and transistors. High exposure-rate-tests (i.e. 5.3 × 105 rads (Si)/(hr) indicated low-failure-doses of 1 kilorad (mean value of Pass/Fail range) in space qualified memories. The most significant failure effect was identified as due to back-channel-leakage which was traceable to starting substrates. Reduction of exposure rate from 5.3 × 105 to 5.9 rads (Si)/hr increased the minimum-failure-dose to 4.5 kilorads. This improvement could not be predicted by the use of Convolution theory.
Globular Cluster Photometry Near the Turnoff: Blue Stragglers, Relative Ages, and the Horizontal Branch.

Using CCD color-magnitude diagrams of Galactic globular clusters in the B and V filter bands, we focus on the main sequence turnoff region and its usefulness in studying blue straggler stars, relative cluster ages, and the luminosity of the horizontal branch. In addition, we have measured several basic photometric parameters for the clusters in our program; these include NGC 288, NGC 3201, NGC 4372, NGC 4590 (M68), IC 4499, NGC 5897, NGC 6101, NGC 6171 (M107), NGC 6496, NGC 6584, NGC 6723, NGC 6809 (M55), NGC 6934, and NGC 6981 (M72). Of the 14 globular clusters in our sample, 11 appear to have definite blue straggler sequences. In the majority of cases, the blue stragglers are found to be more centrally concentrated and therefore more massive than the subgiant branch stars. Furthermore, the characteristics of the clusters which contain blue stragglers span practically the entire observed range for Galactic globular clusters. It therefore seems that all such systems must contain blue stragglers. The HR Diagram of the blue stragglers reveals that all of these stars occupy the same general region of this diagram, but the mean location of the individual cluster sequences do scale with metal abundance in the expected fashion. Finally, the luminosity function indicates the possible identification of blue stragglers which have evolved away from their initial positions. There exists a range in age among the Galactic globular clusters of 3 to 5 gigayears. Such a range suggests a relatively slow formation timescale for the Galactic halo. In addition, from the variation of age as a function of horizontal branch type, we conclude that age is the 'second parameter' which, along with metallicity, governs the behavior of the horizontal branch. Finally, we derive a simple algebraic expression that describes the slope of the horizontal branch luminosity - metallicity relation in terms of three relative cluster parameters. Using available values of these quantities in 8 globular clusters, we compute a slope of 0.15 ± 0.05 (mag/dex) for the variation of horizontal branch luminosity with metallicity.
Specific previous experience affects perception of harmony and meter

Prior knowledge shapes our experiences, but which prior knowledge shapes which experiences? This question is addressed in the domain of music perception. Three experiments were used to determine whether listeners activate specific musical memories during music listening. Each experiment provided listeners with one of two musical contexts that was presented simultaneously with a melody. After a listener was familiarized with melodies embedded in contexts, the listener heard melodies in isolation and judged the fit of a final harmonic or metrical probe event. The probe event matched either the familiar (but absent) context or an unfamiliar context. For both harmonic (Experiments 1 and 3) and metrical (Experiment 2) information, exposure to context shifted listeners' preferences toward a probe matching the context that they had been familiarized with. This suggests that listeners rapidly form specific musical memories without explicit instruction, which are then activated during music listening. These data pose an interesting challenge for models of music perception which implicitly assume that the listener's knowledge base is predominantly schematic or abstract.
Evolution with stochastic fitness and stochastic migration

Background Migration between local populations plays an important role in evolution - influencing local adaptation, speciation, extinction, and the maintenance of genetic variation. Like other evolutionary mechanisms, migration is a stochastic process, involving both random and deterministic elements. Many models of evolution have incorporated migration, but these have all been based on simplifying assumptions, such as low migration rate, weak selection, or large population size. We thus have no truly general and exact mathematical description of evolution that incorporates migration. Methodology/Principal Findings We derive an exact equation for directional evolution, essentially a stochastic Price equation with migration, that encompasses all processes, both deterministic and stochastic, contributing to directional change in an open population. Using this result, we show that increasing the variance in migration rates reduces the impact of migration relative to selection. This means that models that treat migration as a single parameter tend to be biassed - overestimating the relative impact of immigration. We further show that selection and migration interact in complex ways, one result being that a strategy for which fitness is negatively correlated with migration rates (high fitness when migration is low) will tend to increase in frequency, even if it has lower mean fitness than do other strategies. Finally, we derive an equation for the effective migration rate, which allows some of the complex stochastic processes that we identify to be incorporated into models with a single migration parameter. Conclusions/Significance As has previously been shown with selection, the role of migration in evolution is determined by the entire distributions of immigration and emigration rates, not just by the mean values. The interactions of stochastic migration with stochastic selection produce evolutionary processes that are invisible to deterministic evolutionary theory.
Sorption and pervaporation of benzene-cyclohexane mixtures through composite membranes prepared via concentrated emulsion polymerization

Abstract Composite membranes have been prepared starting from concentrated emulsions of styrene in aqueous solutions of acrylic acid as precursors. Each of the phases of the emulsion contained a suitable initiator and the continuous phase contained a dispersant (sodium dodecylsulfate). The polymerization of the precursor generated a composite consisting of particles of dispersed phase imbedded in the continuous phase. To obtain the membranes, the polymer powders generated via grinding were subjected to hot pressing. The mechanical properties of the membranes have been improved by dissolving either butyl acrylate or styrene-butadiene-styrene three block copolymer in styrene. The membranes have been used to separate benzene from benzene-cyclohexane mixtures. The components of the membranes have been selected because polystyrene swells well in benzene and much less in cyclohexane, while the poly (acrylic acid) does not swell well in either of the components and can, therefore, maintain the integrity of the membrane. The mechanical and sorption behaviors of the membranes as well as their pervaporation capabilities were investigated.
Sustainability of Natural Hazard Risk Mitigation: Life Cycle Analysis of Environmental Indicators for Bridge Infrastructure

AbstractThe performance of structures and infrastructure under natural hazards can have a significant impact on the sustainability of the system, often characterized in terms of environmental, economic, or social indicators of performance. This paper commences with a brief review of the relation of natural hazard performance to sustainability and an assessment of bridge infrastructure sustainability with an emphasis on environmental indicators. A framework for life cycle sustainability analysis (LCS-A) is then posed that elucidates the role of natural hazard risks when evaluating sustainable bridge performance using risk-based indicators of environmental sustainability, including embodied energy and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Its application provides insight on the sustainability of mitigating damage from natural hazards through retrofitting deficient structures, considering uncertainty in the hazard occurrence, structural performance, and repair or reconstruction actions that affect energy expenditu...
On the fate of visual and verbal memory codes for pictures and words: Evidence for a dual coding mechanism in recognition memory

Memory storage for concrete words (nouns) and pictures was assessed in a recognition memory paradigm by using as confusion items corresponding stimuli in the opposite modality; that is, words which are verbal labels of the pictures, and pictures which are visual representations of the words. Results from both a Yes-No and Forced-Choice recognition experiment supported a dual-coding theory of memory storage such as that proposed by Paivio (1971) , in which both verbal and visual codes are stored for both words and pictures. The influence of confusion items which referred to identical concepts was particularly marked for picture memory, and was interpreted as indicating that verbal codes of pictures are more likely to match their corresponding words than visual codes of words are to match their corresponding pictures.
Transcending the Curricular Barrier Between Fitness and Reading With FitLit

The author discusses how FitLit, children's literature that spotlights the multiple aspects of health and well-being, offers a vehicle for integrating reading and fitness into existing classroom routines such as guided reading, read-alouds, independent reading, and reading and writing workshop. Sample FitLit titles are provided as well as a detailed lesson to show how fitness and reading can be integrated within the school day and how students can be encouraged to apply their learning in their everyday lives for optimal fitness and reading.
Properties of the Periodic Review (R, T) Inventory Control Policy for Stationary, Stochastic Demand

This paper compares the commonly used periodic review, replenishment interval, order-up-to ( R, T ) policy to the continuous review, reorder point, order quantity, ( Q, r) model. We show that long-run average cost function for the single-product ( R, T ) policy has a structure similar to that of the ( Q, r) model. Consequently, many of the useful properties of the latter model are applicable. In particular, the optimal cost is insensitive to the choice of the replenishment interval,T,provided the optimal order-up-to level,R, corresponding toT is used. For instance, a suboptimalT obtained from a deterministic analysis increases costs by no more than 6.125%. For continuous demand, we analytically prove that use of a ( R, T)policy instead of the optimal policy increases costs by at most 41.42% in the worst case. Computational experiments on Poisson demand demonstrate that the average-case relative error of using a ( R,T)policy is under 7.5%. This relative error is lower when the demand rate and leadtime are high and the fixed order costs are either very low or very high. When coordination of order placement epochs is desirable, the ( R,T) policy may sometimes be preferred to the ( Q, r) policy. In this context, we illustrate application of our single-product results to more complex systems. In particular, we show that a simple power-of-two, ( R,T) based heuristic for the stochastic multiproduct joint replenishment problem has a worst-case performance guarantee of 1.5. A similar result is explored for a special case of a two-echelon serial inventory system
Preservation of cognitive function in primary CNS lymphoma survivors a median of 12 years after enhanced chemotherapy delivery.

(A) The z-score (mean ± SD) across survivors at baseline (pretreatment), long-term follow-up, and the change score for Verbal Memory Learning, Verbal Memory Delayed, and for Verbal Memory Domain are shown. There was no significant change from baseline to long-term follow-up. (B) Number of patients who declined (z-score declined 1 SD or more), were stable (z-score remained within 1 SD of baseline score), and improved (z-score improved 1 SD or more) from baseline (pretreatment) to long-term follow-up for the following tests: Digit Span Forward, Digit Span Backward, Trail Making A, Trail Making B, Verbal Memory Learning, and Verbal Memory Delayed.
Maximizing the effectiveness of reading aloud

Reading aloud makes important contributions to young children's literacy development, but some methods of reading aloud are much more beneficial than others. Researchers have investigated ways to make read-aloud sessions more meaningful for children, and several methods have emerged as particularly effective. This article examines the role of reading aloud to children and suggests ways for both teachers and parents to maximize the effectiveness of read-aloud sessions with children.
Quantifying Inter- and Intra-Population Niche Variability Using Hierarchical Bayesian Stable Isotope Mixing Models

Variability in resource use defines the width of a trophic niche occupied by a population. Intra-population variability in resource use may occur across hierarchical levels of population structure from individuals to subpopulations. Understanding how levels of population organization contribute to population niche width is critical to ecology and evolution. Here we describe a hierarchical stable isotope mixing model that can simultaneously estimate both the prey composition of a consumer diet and the diet variability among individuals and across levels of population organization. By explicitly estimating variance components for multiple scales, the model can deconstruct the niche width of a consumer population into relevant levels of population structure. We apply this new approach to stable isotope data from a population of gray wolves from coastal British Columbia, and show support for extensive intra-population niche variability among individuals, social groups, and geographically isolated subpopulations. The analytic method we describe improves mixing models by accounting for diet variability, and improves isotope niche width analysis by quantitatively assessing the contribution of levels of organization to the niche width of a population.