cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Creating an Obstacle Memory Through Event-Based Stereo Vision and Robotic Proprioception

To guarantee safety in a shared work space between humans and robots, robust yet flexible robotic motion control is required. Algorithms for motion planning of complex robotic systems are too computationally expensive to enable a real-time solution on conventional hardware. We apply neuromorphic sensors and Spiking Neural Networks to create an obstacle memory of a robot’s work space. We create a neuron population representing all objects of the robot’s work cell except for the robot itself. Hereby, we use two sensor networks for proprioception and exteroception. Furthermore, we adapt the network to preserve older states while still reacting to new events, obtaining a correct obstacle memory at any given point in time. This is done by extending the network with further neurons and introducing a neighborhood-based structure. The system is evaluated with experiments with increasing complexity on simulated data. The results show that even though the issues with spatially not-separated objects and fast motions remain, this method of obtaining a neural memory works. Our network of spiking neurons represents a neural memory of obstacles and a robotic arm. The long-term goal of performing a reactive path planning algorithm on it makes it interesting in the context of Human-robot interaction.
SecMonQ: An HSM based security monitoring approach for protecting AUTOSAR safety-critical systems

Abstract Many attacks on vehicle systems that result in a safety hazard follow a general pattern in which ECU firmware is modified, or code is injected in order to send spoofed CAN messages to safety-critical components causing an unsafe driving situation. There is a general consensus that protecting vehicles requires a defense in depth approach where protections are added at each layer of the vehicle data architecture. At the vehicle CAN bus layer, two powerful countermeasures exist: message authentication/encryption and network intrusion detection systems. The two approaches assume that an attacker has already managed to reach the CAN bus and therefore attempt to limit his impact. To defend against CAN injection attacks, we propose an alternative approach which aims at stopping a CAN injection attack before it reaches the vehicle bus. The proposed approach, working at the ECU level, leverages the embedded hardware security module (HSM), available in modern automotive ECUs, to implement four security monitors (SecMonQ) that run within the HSM firmware. SecMonQ performs continuous monitoring activities of the ECU firmware integrity, communication peripherals, periodic task timing, and flow sequence of certain critical functions. It is designed to detect an active attack and bring the system back to a safe state within the safety defined fault tolerant time. We implement SecMonQ on an automotive development environment which consists of an Elektrobit AUTOSAR stack and a Renesas RH850 F1KM micro-controller. We evaluate SecMonQ against the CAN masquerading attack to demonstrate efficacy while maintaining compatibility with AUTOSAR.
Using Popular Music Pedagogies to Foster 21st-Century Skills and Knowledge:

Recent changes in educational policy have placed 21st-century skills at the forefront of arts education, presenting arts educators with an opportunity to reassess instructional practices. Popular m...
Antagonistic pleiotropy conceals molecular adaptations in changing environments.

The importance of positive selection in molecular evolution is debated. Evolution experiments under invariant laboratory conditions typically show a higher rate of nonsynonymous nucleotide changes than the rate of synonymous changes, demonstrating prevalent molecular adaptations. Natural evolution inferred from genomic comparisons, however, almost always exhibits the opposite pattern even among closely related conspecifics, which is indicative of a paucity of positive selection. Here we hypothesize that this apparent contradiction is at least in part attributable to ubiquitous and frequent environmental changes in nature, causing nonsynonymous mutations that are beneficial at one time to become deleterious soon after because of antagonistic pleiotropy and hindering their fixations relative to synonymous mutations despite continued population adaptations. To test this hypothesis, we performed yeast evolution experiments in changing and corresponding constant environments, followed by genome sequencing of the evolving populations. We observed a lower nonsynonymous to synonymous rate ratio in antagonistic changing environments than in the corresponding constant environments, and the population dynamics of mutations supports our hypothesis. These findings and the accompanying population genetic simulations suggest that molecular adaptation is consistently underestimated in nature due to the antagonistic fitness effects of mutations in changing environments. Evolution experiments with Saccharomyces cerevisiae in changing and constant environments show that antagonistic pleiotropy can conceal molecular adaptations in changing environments.
Oxygen Sensing and Protein Phosphorylation by the Two-Component Regulatory FixLJ System from Rhizobium Meliloti

We have been studying the signal transduction mechanism mediated by the Rhizobium meliloti FixL and FixJ proteins in response to oxygen. FixL is a hemoprotein kinase that can sense oxygen tension and can respond to this signal by modifying its kinase activity. In vitro studies with a soluble truncated version of FixL (FixL*) demonstrated that low oxygen tension specifically augments the autophosphorylating and not the transfer activity to FixJ. FixL* also contains a phosphatase activity that is repressed under anaerobic conditions. Regulation of the phosphatase activity by oxygen is dependent on the phosphorylation state of the FixL* protein. These results demonstrate that oxygen regulates two opposing activities in the FixL protein, kinase and phosphatase, in a reciprocal manner and suggest a specific mechanism by which the oxygen tension within the nodule regulates transcription of the nitrogen fixation genes.
Ant Olfaction: Smells Like an Insect, Develops Like a Mammal.

Summary A detailed description of olfactory system development in ants reveals that — unlike in Drosophila and as in mammals — olfactory receptors may play a role, providing new insights into the developmental evolution of complex chemosensory systems.
Cholesterol antagonism of alcohol inhibition of smooth muscle BK channel requires cell integrity and involves a protein kinase C-dependent mechanism(s).

Abstract Alcohol constricts cerebral arteries via inhibition of voltage/calcium-gated, large conductance potassium (BK) channels in vascular myocytes. Using a rat model of high-cholesterol (high-CLR) diet and CLR enrichment of cerebral arteries in vitro, we recently showed that CLR protected against alcohol-induced constriction of cerebral arteries. The subcellular mechanism(s) underlying CLR protection against alcohol-induced constriction of the artery is unclear. Here we use a rat model of high-CLR diet and patch-clamp recording of BK channels in inside-out patches from cerebral artery myocytes to demonstrate that this diet antagonizes inhibition of BK currents by 50 mM ethanol. High-CLR-driven protection against alcohol inhibition of BK currents is reversed following CLR depletion in vitro. Similar to CLR accumulation in vivo, pre-incubation of arterial myocytes from normocholesterolemic rats in CLR-enriching media in vitro protects against alcohol-induced inhibition of BK current. However, application of CLR-enriching media to cell-free membrane patches does not protect against the alcohol effect. These different outcomes point to the involvement of cell signaling in CLR-alcohol interaction on BK channels. Incubation of myocytes with the PKC activators phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate or 1,2-dioctanoyl-sn-glycerol, but not with the PKC inhibitor Gouml 6983, prior to patch excision precludes CLR enrichment from antagonizing alcohol action. Thus, PKC activation either disables the CLR target(s) or competes with elevated CLR. Favoring the latter possibility, 1,2-dioctanoyl-sn-glycerol protects against alcohol-induced inhibition of BK currents in patches from myocytes with naive CLR. Our findings document that CLR antagonism of alcohol-induced BK channel inhibition requires cell integrity and is enabled by a PKC-dependent mechanism(s).
La memoria de/en los objetos. Artesanía, dibujos y bordados clandestinos de los presos políticos en la cárcel de Córdoba (Argentina, 1976-1979)

Between 1976 and 1979, hundreds of political prisoners at the Cordoba Penitentiary were subject to total isolation and inactivity. Letters, family visits, newspapers, magazines, manual work, exercise and sports were strictly prohibited in order to crush them physically and psychologically. In order to alleviate boredom prisoners made clandestine handicrafts, drawings and embroideries using forbidden tools such as bones, nails, towel string and jean fabric. Some of these objects were preserved at great risk and most were smuggled out of jail. They entail the memory of a collective experience of resistance inside a legal prison where prisoners remained totally incommunicado for three years, the only such case under the Argentine dictatorship.
Solidarity on Social Media

As with other technical revolutions before it, such as the printing press, radio, and telephone, social media has changed the way in which people communicate. Due to cases involving the use of social media by employees, among other reasons, the often little-known National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) has become the center of national media attention. In the cases involving social media, the Board simply applies well-established decades old legal principles. Yet, employers, business groups, and the media have portrayed the Board as deviating from longstanding precedent, overstepping its role in regulating employment, and misunderstanding the impact of social media. No Federal Circuit Court, to which Board decisions are appealed, has yet, however, denied enforcement of a Board decision in a case involving social media. While other scholars have contributed to the buzz surrounding the Board’s decision by arguing that the Board has been incorrect to apply its precedent to social media because the technology differs from prior technology, this article argues that the Board has properly used its wealth of expertise gained from many decades of enforcing labor management relations to extend its precedent in a flexible manner to the new technology. This article first summarizes the Board’s decisions and guidance about employees’ use of social media and employer policies regulating use of social media. It then discusses four simple clarifications that the Board should make in future decisions in order to make its regulation easier for employers and employees to understand and follow. First, the Board should clarify that anytime more than one employee is involved in a social media discussion, the employees act concertedly. Second, the Board should clarify that employees act for mutual aid and protection when they discuss working conditions, whether or not they explicitly focus on improving those conditions. Third, the Board should clarify how it will determine when employees engaged in otherwise protected concerted activity lose the protection of the Act due to the egregious nature of their social media use. Finally, the Board should clarify whether provision specific disclaimers providing concrete examples of what constitutes protected concerted activity will be effective to render a social media policy legal. These clarifications will enhance the likelihood of continued enforcement of Board decisions involving social media by the Circuit Courts. Moreover, these clarifications have not been discussed by articles written by other scholars and, thus, contribute to the growing literature on this topic.
Spectroscopic Analysis of Cu(II)-Complexed Thin Films to Characterize Molecular-Level Interactions and Film Behavior.

We report on the structure and dynamics of a Cu2+-complexed arachidic acid (AA) monolayer formed by Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) deposition. Infrared reflection–absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS) was used t...
Rate-Based Decoding of Images from Multi-Region, High Resolution, Electrode Recordings In the Mouse Visual System

We hypothesize that deep networks are superior to linear decoders at recovering visual stimuli from neural activity. Using high-resolution, multielectrode Neuropixels recordings, we verify this is the case for a simple feed-forward deep neural network having just 7 layers. These results suggest that these feed-forward neural networks and perhaps more complex deep architectures will give superior performance in a visual brain-machine interface.
Phage Therapy for Antibiotic-Resistant Bacterial Infections.

Antibiotic resistance in bacterial pathogens presents a substantial threat to the control of infectious diseases. Development of new classes of antibiotics has slowed in recent years due to pressur...
Exploration of Biogeochemical Temporal Variability

There is growing interest in better understanding the biogeochemistry of the world oceans, largely because of the rapid increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide, CO2, and the anticipated consequences for the oceans as well as the atmosphere. Interestingly, measurements are presently showing increasing levels of CO2 in the surface layers of the ocean in relatively pristine areas, namely at the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS) time series sites off Hawaii and Bermuda (e.g., Karl et al., 2001). Suggested effects of rising levels of CO2 include increases in global atmospheric and oceanic temperature, shifts in weather patterns causing regional droughts and flooding, melting of ice caps, sea level rise, and changes in ocean ecology and population dynamics that may affect fisheries. A fundamental scientific, societal, and political issue concerns the partitioning of the causes of these phenomena between natural variability versus anthropogenic influences.
Dynamic Content Adaptive Super-Resolution

We propose an automatic adaptive approach to enhance the spatial resolution of an image sequence that allows different regions of the scene to be treated differently based on the content. Experimental results have shown its promise to avoid artifacts that otherwise might result from treating all regions of the scene in the same way during the resolution enhancement process. Moreover, it is able to dynamically tailor the image resolution enhancement process in an intelligent way. In particular, it can deploy processing resources to different regions of the scene at varying computational intensity levels to achieve high quality resolution enhancement in an efficient way.
Diversity, Tenure, and Dissent

Although academics have long recognized that institutions such as opinion assignment procedures and voting order might influence the propensity to dissent, empirical studies have failed to recognize the importance of collegiality and personal relationships on dissent rates. Thus, in this short essay, I empirically test whether some of the judges’ assertions are consistent with the empirical data. I test whether various measures of diversity are associated with dissent rates in state supreme courts. I find that diversity in many areas - gender, race, age, religion, home state, and political affiliation - is associated with higher levels of dissent. In contrast, diversity in the jobs the judges had before taking the bench is associated with lower dissent rates.
Characterizing fault-plume intersection probability for geologic carbon sequestration risk assessment

Characterizing fault-plume intersection probability for geologic carbon sequestration risk assessment Preston D. Jordan a *, Curtis M. Oldenburg a , and Jean-Philippe Nicot b a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road MS90-1116, Berkeley, CA 94706 USA b Bureau of Economic Geology, University of Texas at Austin, PO Box X, Austin, TX 78713 USA Abstract Leakage of CO 2 out of the designated storage region via faults is a widely recognized concern for geologic carbon sequestration. The probability of such leakage can be separated into the probability of a plume encountering a fault and the probability of flow along such a fault. In the absence of deterministic fault location information, the first probability can be calculated from regional fault population statistics and modelling of the plume shape and size. In this study, fault statistical parameters were measured or estimated for WESTCARB’s Phase III pilot test injection in the San Joaquin Valley, California. Combining CO 2 plume model predictions with estimated fault characteristics resulted in a 3% probability that the CO 2 plume will encounter a fault fully offsetting the 180 m (590 ft) thick seal. The probability of leakage is lower, likely much lower, as faults with this offset are probably low-permeability features in this area. Keywords: geologic carbon sequestation, fault leakage risk, fault encounter probability 1. Introduction The potential for leakage of CO 2 via fault zones is an area of considerable uncertainty for geological storage of CO 2 [1]. The probability of leakage can be separated into the probability of CO 2 encountering a fault and the probability of flow out of the storage region via that fault. Fault zone properties vary considerably, with some fault zones forming recognized conduits for fluid flow, as commonly evidenced by springs co-located with fault zones, and others forming barriers to fluid flow, as evidenced by many hydrocarbon reservoirs created in part by sealing faults. There is currently little consensus regarding a methodology for characterizing fault zone properties in the deep subsurface with respect to their potential as leakage pathways. In contrast, research regarding fault population statistics has reached a moderate level of consensus. While there are certainly further interesting questions and unsettled issues in this field, it is sufficiently mature to be constructively applied to risk assessment involving potential fault zone leakage of CO 2 from prospective storage reservoirs. In this study, we present a method for using fault population statistics to estimate the probability of a CO 2 plume encountering a fault, and apply this method to * Corresponding author. Tel.: 00 1 510 486-6774; fax: 00 1 510 486-5686. E-mail address: pdjordan@lbl.gov.
When makerspaces go mobile: case studies of transportable maker locations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the implementation of mobile makerspaces in libraries and educational settings. Insights, decisions, challenges, and mobile makerspace projects will also be shared. Design/methodology/approach – This paper delves into six case studies of librarians and educators who made the decision to go mobile with a makerspace. The case studies include public and school librarians, as well as educators in higher education settings. The author of this paper will describe the cases, projects, challenges, along with other aspects of implementing of a mobile makerspace. Findings – Makerspaces, while becoming very popular in the field of librarianship, can be incredibly exciting to employ but often come with their own challenges and successes. What happens when the brick and mortar location is not enough? Librarians and educators begin to think creatively and bring the makerspace to the patrons if the clients cannot come to the space. Originality/value – Currently the rese...
Recent Publications in Natural History

Principal Review: Schultes, Richard Evans and Albert Hofmann. Plants of the gods: origins of hallucinogenic use.
Increased risk of preterm birth for women with inflammatory bowel disease

The reproductive histories of 177 women with Crohn's disease and 84 women with ulcerative colitis were compared with those of healthy control subjects. Inflammatory bowel disease was associated with reduced fertility as measured by number of pregnancies, but measures of childlessness, infertility, fecundability, and methods of birth control suggested that this reduced fertility was the patients' choice rather than a consequence of disease-mediated biological impairments. There was no evidence of increased risk of pregnancy loss, but the risk of preterm birth was significantly elevated for patients with Crohn's disease (odds ratio, 3.1; 95% confidence interval, 1.8-5.4) and for those with ulcerative colitis (odds ratio, 2.7; 95% confidence interval, 1.8-5.4). Several plausible biological mechanisms that could explain the link between preterm birth and inflammatory bowel disease are suggested. These results may be useful when counseling patients who desire pregnancy. Physicians can reassure patients about potential fertility problems but should also encourage close obstetrical monitoring during the third trimester of pregnancy.
The genomic relationship between Glycine max (L.) Merr. and G. soja Sieb. and Zucc. as revealed by pachytene chromosome analysis.

This study was conducted with the objective of determining the genomic relationship between cultivated soybean (Glycine max) and wild soybean (G. soja) of the subgenus Soja, genus Glycine. Observations on cross-ability rate, hybrid viability, meiotic chromosome pairing, and pollen fertility in F 1 hybrids of G. max × G. soja and reciprocals elucidated that both species hybridized readily and set mature putative hybrid pods, generated vigorous F1 plants, had a majority of sporocytes that showed 18II + 1IV chromosome association at diakinesis and metaphase I, and had a pollen fertility that ranged from 49.2% to 53.3%. A quadrivalent was often associated with the nucleolus, suggesting that one of the chromosomes involved in the interchange is a satellited chromosome. Thus, G. max and G. soja genetic stocks used in this study have been differentiated by a reciprocal translocation. Pachytene analysis of F1 hybrids helped construct chromosome maps based on chromosome length and euchromatin and heterochromatin distribution. Chromosomes were numbered in descending order of 1–20. Pachytene chromosomes in soybean showed heterochromatin distribution on either side of the centromeres. Pachytene analysis revealed small structural differences for chromosomes 6 and 11 which were not detected at diakinesis and metaphase I. This study suggests that G. max and G. soja carry similar genomes and validates the previously assigned genome symbol GG.
Bowling online: social networking and social capital within the organization

Within an organizational setting, social capital facilitates knowledge management processes in that it enables individuals to locate useful information, draw on resources and make contributions to the network. This paper explores the relationship between various dimensions of organizational social capital and the use of an internal social network site (SNS). We hypothesize that the use of a SNS contributes to social capital within the organization in that SNS users are able to maintain larger networks of heterogeneous contacts. Additionally, the affordances of the site support social interaction between users, thus helping individuals maintain existing relationships and deepen developing ones. We find that bonding relationships, sense of corporate citizenship, interest in connecting globally, and access to new people and expertise are all associated with greater intensity of use of the social network site.
Dynamic adjustment of labor allocation between collective, state, or cooperative farming and private farming in a planned economy☆

Abstract How collective and state farm workers dynamically adjust their labor allocations between farm and private plot is analyzed by adopting a behavioralist (as opposed to a marginalist) approach. Farm workers shift their labor allocations for a given season toward that operation which rewarded them with a better rate of return during the preceding season. This approach is then applied to a hypothetical case where the farm is a cooperative venture between state and farm workers, and farm workers can decide to work exclusively on private plots, or on the farm, or divide their labor in some way between these two operations.
TRUST, COORDINATION, AND THE INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION OF POLITICAL ACTIVISM

We study political activism by several interest groups with private signals. When their ideological distance to the policymaker is small, a “ low-trust” regime prevails: agents frequently lobby even when it is unwarranted, taking advantage of the cone rmation provided by others’ activism; conversely, the policymaker responds only to generalized pressure. When ideological distance is large, a “ high-trust” regime prevails: lobbying behavior is disciplined by the potential contradiction from abstainers, and the policymaker’ s response threshold is correspondingly lower. Within some intermediate range, both equilibria coexist. We then study the optimal organization of ine uence activities, contrasting welfare levels when interest groups act independently and when they coordinate. (JEL: D72, D78, D82)
Efficacy and Safety of Collagenase Clostridium Histolyticum in the Treatment of Proximal Interphalangeal Joints in Dupuytren Contracture: Combined Analysis of 4 Phase 3 Clinical Trials

Purpose To examine the results of proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint contractures from 4 phase 3 clinical trials of collagenase clostridium histolyticum (CCH) injection for Dupuytren contracture. Methods Patients enrolled in Collagenase Option for Reduction of Dupuytren I/II and JOINT I/II with one or more PIP joint contractures (20° to 80°) received CCH 0.58 mg/0.20 mL or placebo (Collagenase Option for Reduction of Dupuytren I/II only) injected directly into a palpable cord. The percentage of PIP joints achieving clinical success (0° to 5° of full extension), clinical improvement (50% or more reduction in baseline contracture), and range of motion improvement at 30 days after the first and last CCH injections was assessed. The PIP joint contractures were classified into low (40° or less) and high (more than 40°) baseline severity. Adverse events were recorded. Results A total of 506 adults (mean age, 63 ± 10 y; 80% male) received 1,165 CCH injections in 644 PIP joint cords (mean, 1.6 injections/cord). Most patients (60%) received 1 injection, with 24%, 16%, and 1% receiving 2, 3, and 4 injections, respectively. Clinical success and clinical improvement occurred in 27% and 49% of PIP joints after one injection and in 34% and 58% after the last injection. Patients with lower baseline severity showed greater improvement and response was comparable between fingers, as were improvements in range of motion. Adverse events occurring in more than 10% of patients were peripheral edema (58%), contusion (38%), injection site hemorrhage (23%), injection site pain (21%), injection site swelling (16%), and tenderness (13%). This incidence was consistent with data reported in phase 3 trials. Two tendon ruptures occurred. No further ruptures occurred after a modified injection technique was adopted. Conclusions Collagenase clostridium histolyticum was effective and well tolerated in the short term in patients with Dupuytren PIP joint contractures. Type of study/level of evidence Therapeutic II.
Morphological appearance manifolds for group-wise morphometric analysis

Abstract Computational anatomy quantifies anatomical shape based on diffeomorphic transformations of a template. However, different templates warping algorithms, regularization parameters, or templates, lead to different representations of the same exact anatomy, raising a uniqueness issue: variations of these parameters are confounding factors as they give rise to non-unique representations. Recently, it has been shown that learning the equivalence class derived from the multitude of representations of a given anatomy can lead to improved and more stable morphological descriptors. Herein, we follow that approach, by approximating this equivalence class of morphological descriptors by a (nonlinear) morphological appearance manifold fitting to the data via a locally linear model. Our approach parallels work in the computer vision field, in which variations lighting, pose and other parameters lead to image appearance manifolds representing the exact same figure in different ways. The proposed framework is then used for group-wise registration and statistical analysis of biomedical images, by employing a minimum variance criterion to perform manifold-constrained optimization, i.e. to traverse each individual’s morphological appearance manifold until group variance is minimal. The hypothesis is that this process is likely to reduce aforementioned confounding effects and potentially lead to morphological representations reflecting purely biological variations, instead of variations introduced by modeling assumptions and parameter settings.
Ignition characteristics of diesel and canola biodiesel sprays in the low-temperature combustion regime

The objective of this work is to investigate the spray ignition characteristics of diesel and canola-derived biodiesel in a rapid compression machine at the low temperatures (676–816 K) and reduced oxygen concentrations (12 and 18%) that are used in low-temperature combustion strategies of advanced diesel engines. A method for testing ignition delay times and apparent heat release rates at a series of temperatures is developed and characterized, whereby a given temperature is attained prior to the fuel spray by altering the charge cooling time after the end of compression. A single-zone heat release model is formulated and used with the experimental pressure data to calculate two unique ignition delay periods. For diesel, the total ignition delays measured with this approach are found to correlate very well with diesel ignition delay data published in the literature. When the first ignition delay period is compared, which approximates the initial time of heat release after the start of injection, it is no...
A comparison of microscopic dose with average dose near high energy heavy ions

Biophysical studies indicate that the mechanisms responsible for radiation effects involve injury to cell substructures much smaller than a cell nucleus. Therefore, in order to understand the molecular mechanisms responsible, it is important to know the amount of dose deposited in the microscopic volumes of interest for a particular biological endpoint. In the case of heavy ion passage through tissue, the local pattern of energy deposition in critical volumes is strongly influenced by the structure of the track. At the Bevalac in Berkeley, a small proportional counter mounted in a large vacuum chamber was used to measure single event energy deposition distributions as a function of the distance radially outward from the primary ion path, for a 1.3 μm diameter site. It was found that the distribution of energy deposited only by delta-rays in the site resembled that of 170 kVp X-rays, and also that the specific energy (microscopic dose) for those sites exceeded the calculated average radial dose by two orders of magnitude at large radial distances.
Dosage-dependent rescue of definitive nephrogenesis by a distant Gata3 enhancer

Human GATA3 haploinsufficiency leads to HDR (hypoparathyroidism, deafness and renal dysplasia) syndrome, demonstrating that the development of a specific subset of organs in which this transcription factor is expressed is exquisitely sensitive to gene dosage. We previously showed that murine GATA-3 is essential for definitive kidney development, and that a large YAC transgene faithfully recapitulated GATA-3 expression in the urogenital system. Here we describe the localization and activity of a kidney enhancer (KE) located 113 kbp 5' to the Gata3 structural gene. When the KE was employed to direct renal system-specific GATA-3 transcription, the extent of cell autonomous kidney rescue in Gata3-deficient mice correlated with graded allelic expression of transgenic GATA-3. These data demonstrate that a single distant, tissue-specific enhancer can direct GATA-3 gene expression to confer all embryonic patterning information that is required for successful execution of metanephrogenesis, and that the dosage of GATA-3 required has a threshold between 50% and 70% of diploid activity.
Charge-density-wave to spin-density-wave transition in the extended Hubbard model

Monte Carlo simulations are used to study the charge-density-wave to spin-density-wave transition in the one-dimensional Hubbard model with on-site ($U$) and nearest-neighbor ($V$) repulsion. The transition is found to be continuous for small $U$ and first order for large $U$, with the crossover occurring around $U\ensuremath{\sim}3$. The transition line deviates somewhat from the theoretical prediction $U=2V$ towards the charge-density-wave phase for intermediate coupling. A qualitative explanation for the results is given by use of strong-coupling arguments.
OH/OD bond breaking selectivity in hod photodissociation

Abstract The OH/OD bond breaking selectivity in HOD photodissociation is studied on the first excited state using a quantum-mechanical time-dependent technique. A simple two-photon scheme is presented to produce pure OD+H. The first photon prepares vibrationally excited HOD; the second, a UV photon, excites the molecule to the dissociative A state. The selectivity in bond breaking is over a large frequency region where no other present species absorb.
“To read as a poet”: Major performances of Edith Sitwell

Edith Sitwell, a figure surrounded by controversy during her lifetime and after, was a prolific writer who frequently lectured about literature and performed her own works. Her writing, personality, physical appearance, and vocal characteristics were unique and combined to make her both an interesting and worthwhile subject for the student of performance. Her landmark performance was of Facade, a program which consisted of her poems set to music. Other well‐documented major performances by Sitwell include one at Shakespeare and Company in Paris, the reading in 1943 attended by royalty, a memorable recitation of “Still Falls the Rain” during World War II, several tours of America during which she made an infamous interpretation of Lady Macbeth, a tumultuous time at the Edinburgh Festival, and her final public reading at the celebration of her seventy‐fifth birthday.
A Method for Measuring the Flow of Saliva from the Minor Salivary Glands

This investigation evaluated a procedure to measure the quantity of secretion by the minor salivary glands from various locations in the mouth before and after citric acid stimulation. Fourteen healthy non-medicated adults were assessed on each of two morning visits at the same specific areas of the mucosa (labial, buccal, and palatal). During each assessment, an absorbent paper strip was placed on each designated location for 30 s, removed, and its moisture content determined with a calibrated Periotron. Calibration procedures indicated that readings were linearly associated with known saliva volumes and were negligibly influenced by differences in salt concentration and viscosity. At each visit, the buccal flow was significantly greater than those from the lip and palate. The flow from glands in each area was unaffected by a single application of the gustatory stimulant. The mean flow rates at each specified site were similar during the two visits.
Impact of Trichosirocalus horridus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) on Carduus thistles in pastures

Abstract Trichosirocalus horridus (Panzer), a rosette-feeding weevil introduced from Europe, was released on musk thistle ( Carduus thoermeri Weinmann), plumeless thistle ( Carduus acanthoides L.) and mixtures of both thistle species from 1974 to 1976 in pastures in Virginia. The weevils became established at nine of the 10 release sites: three on musk, four on plumeless thistle and two on mixtures. Density of thistles was reduced in all established sites by 1981. Thistle reduction ranged from 1·3% for the most recently established site to 96·5% for the earliest established and most successful site, versus an 11·6% increase at the plumeless thistle site where T. horridus was not established, and a 9·7% increase at a mixed thistle site prior to establishment in 1980. A control musk thistle without any weevil release showed a 5·8% increase between 1976 and 1979, when Rhinocyllus conicus , a thistlehead weevil, which is well established in Virginia, dispersed into the area.
Obstructed uterovaginal anomalies: demonstration with sonography. Part I. Neonates and infants.

The sonograms of five neonates with an obstructed urogenital sinus and four with an obstructed cloaca were retrospectively reviewed to determine the sonographic features and the role of pre- and postnatal sonography in the diagnosis and management of hydrocolpos. On pre- and/or postnatal sonograms, the obstructed genital tract was visualized in seven neonates as a large cystic pelvic-abdominal mass, which was the markedly distended urine-filled vagina. One neonate had multiple cystic masses, which resulted from an obstructed duplex genital tract. In one of the neonates with an obstructed cloaca, the anomaly was not diagnosed. The bladder was compressed by the distended vagina and was not visualized in five patients. A vaginal fluid-debris level in six patients was a key finding that distinguished the vagina from the bladder. Obstruction of the urinary tract was an associated feature. An obstructed uterovaginal anomaly with renal dysplasia and oligohydramnios on prenatal sonograms indicates a poor prognosi...
Closely related species of Drosophila can contain different libraries of middle repetitive DNA sequences.

Very few of the middle repetitive DNA sequences found in Drosophila melanogaster are present in all of the species of the D. melanogaster subgroup. One member of the subgroup, D. erecta, lacks most of the families of repetitive elements from D. melanogaster (including copia and 412) but possesses many other families not present in the D. melanogaster genome. Other species in the subgroup possess some families in these two species and lack others. From this, we conclude that most individual middle repetitive families are highly unstable components of the Drosophila genome over short periods of evolutionary time.
Phase reconstruction of two-dimensional polychromatic fields

We show that, under the conditions of full spatial coherence, the phase of a 2-D polychromatic field can be experimentally retrieved simultaneously in each point in space with high accuracy and low-noise. Imaging experiments performed on standard phase samples indicate that the sensitivity of the measurement is approximately ?/400.
Quantum decoherence: a consistent histories treatment of condensed-phase non-adiabatic quantum molecular dynamics

Abstract We address the issue of quantum decoherence in mixed quantum classical simulations. We demonstrate that restricting the bath paths to a single stationary path which connects an initial quantum state to a final quantum state affects a coarse graining of the quantum subspace which leads to a macroscopic loss of quantum coherence. The coarse graining can be described in terms of reduction mappings of the density matrix of the reduced quantum system + stationary bath path. Application of the present model to various prototypical condensed-phase chemical problems reveals that non-adiabaticity is extremely sensitive to the decoherence timescale. Furthermore, we derive how to obtain quantum coherence timescales from realistic mixed quantum classical simulations and use this information to compute the non-radiative lifetimes for an excess electron in H2O and D2O. We demonstrate that subtle differences in the quantum coherence times provide a rationalization for a long-standing puzzle regarding the lack of experimentally observed isotopic dependence of the non-radiative lifetime of a photoexcited electron in H2O and D2O.
Influence of spin-spin coupling on inspiraling compact binaries with M 1 = M 2 and S 1 = S 2

Searching for gravitational waves with laser-interferometer detectors requires a highly accurate knowledge of the gravitational wave forms in order to construct search templates with which to cross correlate the noisy detectors' output. In this spirit, we derive here an analytic approximate formula describing the precession of an inspiraling compact binary with equal masses and equal spins, where both the spin-orbit and the spin-spin couplings are taken into account.
Densification and anisotropic grain growth in Sr2Nb2O7

Sr : Nb stoichiometry and donor-doping with La were found to affect densification behavior and anisotropic grain growth in Sr2Nb2O7 ceramics. La-doping improved the high temperature a.c. resistivity, but inhibits grain growth by grain boundary pinning. The presence of excess Nb was found to promote anisotropic grain growth by forming a liquid at the grain boundaries in both undoped and doped Sr2Nb2O7. Anisotropic grain growth in La-doped Sr2Nb2O7 can be controlled by incorporating large template particles in a Nb-rich matrix. High sintered densities (∼98% of theoretical) were achieved in both undoped and La-doped samples.
Some Effects of Role Conflict Source on the Experience of Role Conflict

A group of 176 undergraduates participated in a role-playing laboratory experiment that explored the effects of intersender and intrasender role conflict on experienced role stress. Each role sender's power (control over valued resources and outcomes) and importance (desire to meet the sender's expectations) were measured. For intrasender conflict only, role sender power was positively associated with upset over the conflict, whereas role sender importance was negatively associated with upset.
Modern developments in coatings characterization and microanalysis involving electron and ion beam applications

Abstract Surface and thin film analysis can be accomplished by a growing array of increasingly sophisticated analysis techniques. Improvements in electron and ion sources have provided more localized analysis capabilities in Auger electron spectroscopy and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), and these features are described in this short review. In addition, improved ion sources have allowed more rapid and uniform depth profile analysis. Compact tandem ion accelerators have allowed the development of economical Rutherford backscattering spectrometers. Developments in analyzer design with small angular acceptance allow an alternative means of limiting the area of the specimen that is examined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Our understanding of the secondary ion yields in SIMS has improved slightly, which when combined with better calibration procedures makes a more quantitative technique. Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy has become increasingly popular as a means of quantitative surface and thin film analysis. These and other aspects of these techniques are described with accompanying illustrations and applications. Thin films analysis and the characterization of coatings, even thick coatings which can be efficiently stripped from a surface or extracted intact, can be examined not only by increasingly sophisticated scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and microanalysis but also by combinations of scanning and transmission electron microscopies, e.g. scanning transmission electron microscopy and analytical electron microscopy. These combined analytical approaches allow for corroboration in cases of certain ambiguity in composition or microstructure, and several examples of these techniques applied to thin film and coating characterization are illustrated. Examples include the use of conventional transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis, electron energy loss spectrometry and SEM. Some specialized and novel techniques for thin film preparation are also described in this short overview which emphasizes the synergism of electron and ion microanalysis and the role that the thin specimen can play in the coating characterization. Morphological characterization is not treated in this overview.
Conditional stochastic dominance in R&D portfolio selection

This paper describes a methodology for the selection of research and development (RD however, they apply it using simulation in an R&D portfolio context. They apply the methodology to the portfolios of two actual companies and find that it generates priorities very close to those developed by internal company heuristics. They conclude that this methodology can be applied appropriately in these circumstances and that its recommendations are consistent with observed decision maker behavior. Their results suggest that an R&D manager should not consider project selection decisions in isolation, but, following this methodology, should take into account the context of the existing portfolio.
Neutrophil lymphocyte ratio significantly improves the Framingham risk score in prediction of coronary heart disease mortality: Insights from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey-III

Abstract Background Neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been shown to predict cardiovascular events in several studies. We sought to study if NLR predicts coronary heart disease (CHD) in a healthy US cohort and if it reclassifies the traditional Framingham risk score (FRS) model. Methods We performed post hoc analysis of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey-III (1998–94) including subjects aged 30–79years free from CHD or CHD equivalent at baseline. Primary endpoint was death from ischemic heart disease. NLR was divided into four categories: 4.5. Statistical analyses involved multivariate Cox proportional hazards models as well as discrimination, calibration and reclassification. Results We included 7363 subjects with a mean follow up of 14.1years. There were 231 (3.1%) CHD deaths, more in those with NLR>4.5 (11%) compared to NLR 4.5 was 2.68 (95% CI 1.07–6.72, p=0.035). There was no significant improvement in C-index (0.8709 to 0.8713) or area under curve (0.8520 to 0.8531) with addition of NLR to FRS model. Model with NLR was well calibrated with Hosmer–Lemeshow chi-square of 8.57 (p=0.38). Overall net reclassification index (NRI) was 6.6% (p=0.003) with intermediate NRI of 10.1% (p Conclusions NLR can independently predict CHD mortality in an asymptomatic general population cohort. It reclassifies intermediate risk category of FRS, with significant upward reclassification. NLR should be considered as an inflammatory biomarker of CHD.
Highly symmetric bi-frames for triangle surface multiresolution processing

Abstract In this paper we investigate the construction of dyadic affine (wavelet) bi-frames for triangular-mesh surface multiresolution processing. We introduce 6-fold symmetric bi-frames with 4 framelets (frame generators). 6-fold symmetric bi-frames yield frame decomposition and reconstruction algorithms (for regular vertices) with high symmetry, which is required for the design of the corresponding frame multiresolution algorithms for extraordinary vertices on the triangular mesh. Compared with biorthogonal wavelets, the constructed bi-frames have better smoothness and smaller supports. In addition, we also provide frame multiresolution algorithms for extraordinary vertices. All the frame algorithms considered in this paper are given by templates (stencils) so that they are implementable. Furthermore, we present some preliminary experimental results on surface processing with frame algorithms constructed in this paper.