cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
On measuring the hospital cost/quality trade-off.

This paper explores the relationship between cost and quality of hospital care. A total operating cost function is estimated for 137 US Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals for 1988-1993 using three rate-based measures of quality as regressors. The high likelihood of the existence of measurement error in quality in the cross section leads to the application of novel instrumental variable techniques. Results suggest that mortality and readmission indices are adjusted inadequately for illness severity. The measure on the failure to follow up inpatient discharges with outpatient care, however, appears to increase cost. The results of this paper underscore a number of practical difficulties and challenges facing government or other systems in evaluating the relative performance of their hospitals.
Induction and Regulation of Chloroplast Replication in Mature Tobacco Leaf Tissue

Chloroplast replication was induced in mature tobacco leaf tissue (Nicotiana tabacum L.) by culturing leaf discs on a sterile medium composed of salts and sucrose. Chloroplast replicaton is greatly enhanced by the addition of kinetin to this medium. Kinetin also enhances cell enlargement, but cell division does not occur. Chloroplast replication is nonsynchronous and proceeds most rapidly when the cell enlargement rate decreases. Chloroplast replication is light-dependent, but cell enlargement occurs in both light and dark. Chloroplast replication resumes when discs cultured in the dark are returned to the light. It appears that chloroplast replication is related to cell expansion. The possibility of inducing synchronous replication of chloroplasts in tobacco cells is discussed.
The role of female movement in the sexual behavior of Drosophila melanogaster

NormalDrosophila melanogaster males rapidly react to changes in the mobility of mutantshibire ts females by performing less courtship when the females are paralyzed and by courting movingshibire ts females vigorously. Mutantoptomotor-blind males, which are unable to respond to certain horizontally moving patterns, sustain abnormally short courtship bouts when tested with normal females, almost never perform orientation, one of the courtship behaviors, and require more time to initiate copulation than normal males. These results suggest that males must perceive female movement to perform normal courtship and copulation. Normal females become stationary before copulation occurs. Normal males mate quickly in response to this change in female behavior, while blind males require more time to effect copulation, prolonging the time that the female remains stationary. Mutantsmellblind females, which do not respond to certain odors, continue to move during the time that they are courted by normal or blind males and also require more time to copulate, suggesting that females may stop moving before mating in response to olfactory cues.
Aflatoxin contamination in Haitian peanut products and maize and the safety of oil processed from contaminated peanuts

The primary objective of this study was to monitor aflatoxin contamination in Haitian samples of raw peanuts (n = 21), peanut butters (n = 32), and maize (n = 30) obtained in Port-au-Prince and Cap Haitien, Haiti, during 2012 and 2013. Our secondary objective was to explore a process that uses a locally produced Haitian spirit (clarin) to transform oil from contaminated peanuts into a safe, edible product. Immuno-affinity column chromatography and fluorometry (VICAM Aflatest) detected aflatoxins in 14%, 97%, and 30% of raw peanuts, peanut butters, and maize samples, respectively, and the concentration of total aflatoxins was greatest in peanut butters (median: 137 μg/kg, maximum: 2720 μg/kg). The concentration of aflatoxin in extracted oil was on average 10% of that in un-extracted oil which, in turn, had a concentration that was only 5% of the original contaminated peanuts. Therefore, aflatoxin concentration in the final product was 99.5% less than that found in the original peanuts, even without pre-filtration. Our extraction experiments testing laboratory-grade ethanol and clarin provide evidence that the latter can serve as a low-cost alternative to effectively reduce aflatoxin concentrations in oil pressed from high aflatoxin peanuts.
Race-Ethnic Variations in the Importance of Service Quality Issues in Neighborhood Consumer Banking

ABSTRACT Marketers have devoted considerable attention to the improvement of customer perceptions of service quality. This work has culminated in a widely tested set of items referred to as the SERV-QUAL/SERVPERF scales that have been shown to be correlates of perceived service quality in a variety of service industries including banking. Researchers have used these findings to recommend customer satisfaction programs. However, research has not addressed racial or ethnic variations in perceptions of service quality. This study draws on data from a mail questionnaire survey of a mid-size Southern city in the United States to compare African American and White consumer assessments of the importance of specific SERVQUAL issues in regard to consumer banking. The results provide guidance for marketing programs directed to a culturally diverse target market.
Electrophoretic examination of human cervical mucus from normal, pregnant and carcinomatous patients.

Abstract Paper electrophoresis in barbiturate buffer, pH 8.6, of cervical mucus from normal and pregnant patients showed the presence of two main bands which stained with bromophenol blue; a non-migratory band composed of insoluble acid mucopolysaccharides and sloughed-off cell debris and a diffuse band, which moved towards the anode, composed of soluble neutral polysaccharide. In 8 out of 56 cases a further protein-staining component with the same electrophoretic mobility as serum albumin was detected in the mucus. This protein was shown to be identical with serum albumin by immunological methods and in each case it was accompanied by serum globulins. Four samples with an albumin content of over 20% (the dye bound by albumin expressed as a percentage of the total bound dye but excluding the nonmigratory band) were from patients with proven carcinoma of the cervix, vagina, and endometrium. One sample with an albumin content of 20.7% was from a pregnant patient with uterine myomata. Three samples with an albumin content below 10% were from one patient with cervicitis and two pregnant patients.
Flarimeter tests on athletes.

Abstract A standard flarimeter technique is presented for tests on athletes. A blow of fixed length (30 seconds) is begun 10 seconds after Master's standard two-step exercise. Responses to this standard stimulus are reproducible. Normal standards are established for college male athletes. The factors influencing the results are studied in some detail, to provide a background for the interpretation of the tests. Emotion is the most important. Indeed, functional tests, like athletic performance, seem to be essentially tests of nerve coordination.
Electron microscope immunolocation of gap junctions in Drosophila

Gap junction immunolocation was carried out in thin sections of Lowicryl K4M-embedded Drosophila imaginal wing discs using an affinity-purified polycolonal anti-18kD gap junction protein antibody and a colloidal gold-conjugated secondary antibody. Colloidal gold labelling was predominantly associated with obliquely-sectioned gap junctions, the ends of junctional profiles and other regions in which the adjacent junctional membranes were separated or distorted. The pattern of staining suggests that the determinant recognized by the antibody is relatively inaccessible, probably with a topological location in the transmembrane or extracellular domain of the membrane-spanning connexin protein.
Lipid diffusion from single molecules of a labeled protein undergoing dynamic association with giant unilamellar vesicles and supported bilayers.

It is demonstrated that single-molecule tracking of a fluorescently labeled protein undergoing transient binding to model membranes presents a useful method of obtaining fluid properties. The labeled ACBP protein was tracked during its binding to free-standing giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) and supported bilayers prepared from the GUVs in the same environment. The analysis of images that are blurred as a result of fast probe diffusion was discussed. An examination of the lateral diffusion trajectories revealed a homogeneous diffusion on the top segments of the GUVs with D = 6.9 ± 0.3 μm2/s. The supported bilayer experiments revealed two diffusion processes, one with Df = 3.1 ± 0.4 μm2/s and the other with Ds = 0.078 ± 0.001 μm2/s. The 2-fold difference in the lipid bilayer mobility for the free-standing and fast components in the supported bilayers is attributed to the known effect of frictional coupling with the solid support. The slow mobile fraction in the bilayer is suggested to be associated with ...
Electronic and Steric Influences on the Rate and Energetics of THF and MenTHF (n = 1, 2) Displacement from LRe(CO)2 (L = Tp, Tp*, Cp*) Fragments by Acetonitrile

The dissociative displacement of the THF solvent molecule from LRe(CO)2−THF (L = Tp, Tp*, Cp*) and of MenTHF (n = 1, 2) from TpRe(CO)2−MenTHF by acetonitrile is studied. While the reactivity of the Re−THF bond depends on the electronic properties of the ancillary ligands (Tp, Tp*, Cp*) attached to the metal center, the lability of the Re−MenTHF bond is primarily influenced by the steric demands of the departing solvent.
Timing and evolution of Cenozoic extensional normal faulting and magmatism in the southern Tobin Range, Nevada

Geologic mapping, 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dating, and whole-rock geochemical analyses were employed to establish the Cenozoic stratigraphy, geometry and timing of normal faults, and the magnitude of extension in the vicinity of Golconda Canyon in the southern Tobin Range. The Golconda Canyon area is near the westernmost extent of a major east-west–trending paleovalley that likely predates Basin and Range extension in that region. Latest Eocene–Miocene volcanic rocks infill and overtop the paleovalley. Four phases of extensional normal faulting have been identified in the Golconda Canyon area. The earliest phase of normal faulting was minor and took place during the early Oligocene in the form of northwest– and northeast–striking, west-dipping faults. This faulting resulted in as much as ~5°–10° of tilting in the western part of the Tobin Range, and occurred coeval with andesitic volcanism. A second phase of faulting consisted of a major northwest-striking fault and associated northeast-striking faults, both of which dip west. These faults may have begun movement as early as the late Oligocene(?), with much displacement in the middle Miocene (pre–14.1 Ma). The faults produced syntectonic basins filled with landslide breccia and megabreccia as well as coarse clastic sedimentary rocks. The next phase may represent an eastward progressive younging of the earlier phase, because it is documented largely in the middle and late Miocene record of the eastern part of the range. These north-striking faults are mostly west dipping, but some are east dipping, and they accommodated ~25°, and locally 30°, of eastward tilting. Younger moderately to steeply dipping active faults bound the eastern and western margins of the Tobin Range, and include the western fault that ruptured during the 1915 Pleasant Valley earthquake. Cumulative normal faulting has resulted in an overall ~25°–30° eastward tilt of the Tertiary stratified rocks in the Golconda Canyon area. The timing and magnitude of this faulting and tilting vary, with all areas showing the greatest magnitude of faulting and higher extension rates associated with the two sets of Miocene faults. The western part of the range displays evidence of early Oligocene faulting associated with andesitic magmatism, whereas these faults are not exposed in the eastern part of the range, where middle Miocene and younger tectonism produced slightly greater total stratal tilts. Palinspastic restorations of cross sections and calculations based on fault and rock unit dips suggest that the southern Tobin Range in central Nevada has undergone a minimum of ~50% east-west crustal extension since 34 Ma. This amount of extension and the initiation of normal faulting ca. 33 Ma in the Tobin Range are consistent with the westward decrease in the age and magnitude of extension at this latitude in the Basin and Range Province.
Incorporating string transformations in record matching

Today's record matching infrastructure does not allow a flexible way to account for synonyms such as "Robert" and "Bob" which refer to the same name, and more general forms of string transformations such as abbreviations. We expand the problem of record matching to take such user-defined string transformations as input. These transformations coupled with an underlying similarity function are used to define the similarity between two strings. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach via a fuzzy match operation that is used to lookup an input record against a table of records, where we have an additional table of transformations as input. We demonstrate an improvement in record matching quality and efficient retrieval based on our index structure that is cognizant of transformations.
Kinetic Isotope Effects Implicate Two Electrophilic Oxidants in Cytochrome P450-Catalyzed Hydroxylations

Intramolecular kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) were determined for cytochrome P450-catalyzed hydroxylation reactions of methyl-dideuterated trans-2-phenylcyclopropylmethane-d2 (1-d2), which gives two products from oxidation of the methyl group, trans-2-phenylcyclopropylmethanol (2) and 1-phenyl-3-buten-1ol (3). In oxidations of each enantiomer of 1-d2 with three P450 enzymes (CYP2B1, CYPDelta2E1, and CYPDelta2E1 T303A), the apparent intramolecular KIEs were different for products 2 and 3 in all cases and different for each enzyme-substrate combination. In oxidations of each enantiomer of undeuterated 1-d0 and trideuteriomethyl 1-d3 by CYP2B1 and CYPDelta2E1, the ratio of products 2/3 decreased for 1-d3 in comparison to 1-d0 in all cases. The results require multiple pathways for P450-catalyzed hydroxylation and are consistent with the "two-oxidants" model, where hydroxylation is effected by both the hydroperoxy-iron species and the iron-oxo species. The results are not consistent with predictions of the "two-states" model for P450-catalyzed hydroxylations, where oxidations occur from a low-spin state and a high-spin state of iron-oxo.
The security of link signature: A view from channel models

Link signature (LS) provides security to wireless devices by exploiting multipath characteristics, with an essential assumption that half-wavelength separation is sufficient to prevent nearby adversary sensors from effectively inferring the legitimate LS. However, such an assumption may be too optimistic; high channel correlation has been observed in real world experiments even when the spatial separation is much larger than half-wavelength. In fact, channel correlation varies for different wireless environments. Considering this, various well-established channel correlation models are investigated in this work and a set of physical factors that have significant influence on link signature security are identified. With the obtained insights, we build a generic channel correlation model for LS security assessment in various wireless environments of interest. Numerical experiments are conducted to explore corresponding guard zone designs.
Rare Complete Knockouts in Humans: Population Distribution and Significant Role in Autism Spectrum Disorders

To characterize the role of rare complete human knockouts in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), we identify genes with homozygous or compound heterozygous loss-of-function (LoF) variants (defined as nonsense and essential splice sites) from exome sequencing of 933 cases and 869 controls. We identify a 2-fold increase in complete knockouts of autosomal genes with low rates of LoF variation (≤ 5% frequency) in cases and estimate a 3% contribution to ASD risk by these events, confirming this observation in an independent set of 563 probands and 4,605 controls. Outside the pseudoautosomal regions on the X chromosome, we similarly observe a significant 1.5-fold increase in rare hemizygous knockouts in males, contributing to another 2% of ASDs in males. Taken together, these results provide compelling evidence that rare autosomal and X chromosome complete gene knockouts are important inherited risk factors for ASD.
Financial development, exchange rate regimes and productivity growth: Theory and evidence

Abstract This paper provides a microfounded, quantitative model that rationalizes recent empirical evidence by Aghion et al. (2009), who find that fixed exchange rate regimes lead to higher long-run productivity growth in countries with low financial development, while the effect in financially developed countries is insignificant. The channel that explains this evidence in my model is the following: A fixed exchange rate regime leads to lower inflation when the money growth is otherwise high under flexible exchange rates. In turn, lower inflation results in higher long-run productivity growth since financial intermediaries hold a fraction of deposits as reserves, whose return is lower than the market rate and, thus, is affected by inflation. I show that the positive effect of fixed exchange rate regime on growth is larger for countries with lower levels of financial development because inflation and the fraction of deposits held as reserves are typically higher in these countries.
Influence of Deontological and Teleological Factors on Research Ethics Evaluations

Abstract Using factorially synthesized scenarios, the author examines the influence of deontological and teleological evaluation processes on the research ethics judgments of marketing professionals and their assessment of the appropriateness of the reward/discipline of a researcher for ethical/unethical research behavior. The results indicate that marketing professionals form research ethics judgments based primarily on deontological considerations and only secondarily on teleological considerations. Additionally, the results suggest that marketing professionals' assessment of the appropriateness of reward/discipline of a researcher for ethical/unethical research behavior is guided solely by ethical judgments in the case of reward, and partly by ethical judgments and partly by teleological considerations in the case of discipline.
Computational and economic limitations of dispatch operations in the next-generation power grid

We study the interactions between computational and economic performance of dispatch operations under highly dynamic environments. In particular, we discuss the need for extending the forecast horizon of the dispatch formulation in order to anticipate steep variations of renewable power and highly elastic loads. We present computational strategies to solve the increasingly larger optimization problems in real time. To illustrate the developments, we use a detailed dispatch model of the entire Illinois system with out-of-state wind generation.
Small town local government finance in Kenya: The case of Karatina Town Council

In a country where local governments are plagued by numerous problems and are under frequent attack from national politicians and the central government, Karatina Town Council stands out as one of the few local authorities widely considered to be doing a highly effective job. This paper reviews the organization and functions of Kenyan local authorities and highlights major constraints on their performance. Some background information on Karatina Town Council is presented, followed by documentation of the council's superior performance and an analysis of the factors that seem to contribute to Karatina's success.
Clinical and Microscopic Diagnosis of Vaginal Yeast Infection: A Prospective Analysis

Abstract Study objectives: To evaluate the accuracy of clinical findings and direct microscopy in the diagnosis of yeast vaginitis. Design: Prospective. Setting: Urban teaching hospital emergency department and walk-in clinic. Participants: Seventy-one consecutive nonmenstruating women with a presenting complaint of vaginal discharge, itching, or pain. Interventions: Trained emergency physicians and nurse practitioners, blinded to culture results, collected clinical information, examined vaginal secretions, and obtained yeast cultures. Treatment was based on clinical impression and not altered by the study. Associations between clinical and laboratory parameters and yeast culture results were evaluated. Results: Twenty-three patients (32.4%) had positive yeast cultures. Accepted risk factors were seen in patients with and without culture-positive yeast vaginitis. Clinical criteria for yeast vaginitis—including pruritus, caseous discharge, perineal edema or erythema, and patient self-diagnosis—were more common in women with yeast vaginitis but were seen with other causes of vaginitis. Watery discharge and amine odor (negative "whiff" test) were good predictors of an alternative diagnosis, but, again, accuracy was poor. Gram stain showing yeast was the most accurate laboratory method of diagnosis. Saline microscopy, potassium hydroxide, and methylene blue were all equal and only moderately accurate, with a significant proportion of false-negative and false-positive results. Conclusion: Standard criteria for diagnosis of monilial vaginitis are relatively unreliable. Gram stain, absence of watery discharge, and patient self-diagnosis of "another yeast infection" are the best independent predictors of a positive culture. [Abbott J: Clinical and microscopic diagnosis of vaginal yeast infection: A prospective analysis. Ann Emerg Med May 1995;25:587-591.]
Clinical characteristics of cold-induced systemic reactions in acquired cold urticaria syndromes: recommendations for prevention of this complication and a proposal for a diagnostic classification of cold urticaria.

The acquired cold urticaria (ACU) syndromes consists of nonfamilial heterogeneous disorders characterized by urticaria, angioedema, and occasionally symptoms of hypotension after cold exposure. In a study of 50 consecutive patients with ACU syndromes, it was observed that 70% experienced cold-induced systemic reactions, most frequently with aquatic activities. Patients with ACU syndromes were categorized by their response to an experimental cold-stimulation time test (CSTT) i.e., minimum time threshold of cold stimulation required to induce a coalescent wheal. One subpopulation of patients with ACU syndromes with positive CSTTs of 3 minutes or less experienced the highest incidence (68%; 13/19) of severe systemic reactions with hypotensive symptoms after natural cold exposure. However, 32% of patients with ACU syndromes (6/19) who experienced cold-induced systemic reactions with hypotension had a negative CSTT or a positive test of greater than 3 minutes. These observations indicate that all patients with ACU with active histories of cold urticaria are at risk to develop systemic reactions to cold and should therefore refrain from participating in aquatic activities. In addition, high-risk patients should receive prophylactic medications (i.e., cyproheptadine or doxepin) that are effective in suppressing this disorder. A diagnostic classification of cold urticaria is presented. This classification permits a more specific definition of the various cold urticaria disorders that comprise the ACU syndromes.
Playing the Enlightenment: Eighteenth-Century Spain on the Nineteenth-Century Stage

Well before the middle of the nineteenth century, the figure of the ‘clasico’ had become a stock character in Spanish literature. Satires of the (normally rigid and rule-bound) type—particularly wh...
Optimal \(p\)--cyclic SOR

Our purpose in this paper is to extend $p$ --cyclic SOR theory to consistent singular systems and to apply the results to the solution of large scale systems arising, {\em e.g.,} in queueing network problems in Markov analysis. Markov chains and queueing models lead to structured singular linear systems and are playing an increasing role in the understanding of complex phenomena arising in computer, communication and transportation systems. For certain important classes of singular problems, we develop a convergence theory for $p$ --cyclic SOR, and show how to repartition for optimal convergence. Results by Kontovasilis, Plemmons and Stewart on the concept of convergence of SOR in an {\em extended} sense are rigorously analyzed and applied to the solution of periodic Markov chains with period $p = 2$ .
A test evaluation technique for VLSI circuits using register-transfer level fault modeling

Stratified fault sampling is used in register transfer level (RTL) fault simulation to estimate the gate-level fault coverage of given test patterns. RTL fault modeling and fault-injection algorithms are developed such that the RTL fault list of a module can be treated as a representative fault sample of the collapsed gate-level stuck-at fault set of the module. The RTL coverage for the module is experimentally found to track the gate-level coverage within the statistical error bounds. For a very large scale integration system, consisting of several modules, the level of description may differ from module to module. Therefore, the stratified fault sampling technique is used to determine the overall coverage as a weighted sum of RTL module coverages. Several techniques are proposed to determine these weights, known as stratum weights. For a system timing controller application specific integrated circuit, the stratified RTL coverage of verification test-benches is estimated to be within 0.6% of the actual gate-level coverage of the synthesized circuit. This ASIC consists of 40 modules (consisting of 9000 lines of Verilog hardware description language) that are synthesized into 17,126 equivalent logic gates by a commercial synthesis tool. Similar results on two other systems are reported.
Vancomycin in Combination with Other Antibiotics for the Treatment of Serious Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infections

Vancomycin is often combined with a second antibiotic, most often rifampin or gentamicin, for the treatment of serious methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections. Published data from experiments evaluating these and other vancomycin-based combinations, both in vitro and in animal models of infection, often yield inconsistent results, however. More importantly, no data are available from randomized clinical trials to support their use, and some regimens are known to have potential toxicities. Clinicians should carefully reconsider the use of vancomycin-based combination therapies for the treatment of infection due to methicillin-resistant S. aureus.
A Comparison of Contingent Preference Models

I compare the informational efficiencies of contingent rating, contingent ranking, and two contingent paired‐comparison methods as alternatives to the referendum contingent valuation method. The contingent rating method is hypothesized to be most efficient because ratings convey information on preference intensities and can uniquely represent respondent indifference or ambivalence. Survey data on hunters' ratings of alternative hypothetical hunting trips are used to estimate four alternative indirect utility models from which marginal willingness‐to‐pay measures for individual trip attributes are derived. Model comparison, WTP estimates, and their confidence intervals confirm the relative efficiency of the contingent rating approach.
Vertical burrowing in the saharan sand vipers (Cerastes)

The sand vipers of the genus Cerastes vertically burrow into the soft sand of the Saharan desert. The mechanics of vertical burrowing in Cerastes cerastes and Cerastes vipera were explored using a combination of morphology, videography, radiography, and experimental manipulation. The results suggest that the key to vertical burrowing is localized unilateral rib abduction. The ribs terminate in expanded calcified costal cartilages, which, when abducted, aid in scraping sand from below the snake and transporting it laterally. The transport of the sand is enhanced by long-axis torsion of the vertebral column. The specialized lateral scales of Cerastes do not appear to function in vertical burrowing.
Administration and the Limits of Democracy The Space of 19th-Century American Governance

Most administrative theory addresses how to make practice effective by means of abstract concepts: laws, regulations, and theories. Recent history is littered with examples of government’s failure—despite plans and protocols—to cope with disastrous events, calling into question continuing pursuit of a fit between practices and abstract concepts. A closer look at situational action itself may be warranted on both technical and political grounds. The case of federal government administration of the public domain in the early 19th century reveals interpretation and discretionary action on the part of field personnel involved in land survey and sales, and clarifies the relationship between concepts and actions in administrative situations. The author argues that the experiential expertise developed in practice is not only an important coping resource but also supports democratic administration.
Microstructure of Tracheids of Nymphaea

Hand sections of root and stem xylem of diverse species of Nymphaea (including Ondinea) were studied with SEM in order to explore the diversity of wall structure within the genus. Lateral walls of root tracheary elements are untextured at the magnifications used, but end wall structure suggests that lysis of pit membranes leaves a cellulosic network with a large reticulum. Stem tracheids have lateral walls that are untextured or have a few prominent fibrils, but end walls have a dense accretion of coarse fibrils. These fibrils form a spongiform or compressed network overlying the pit membranes. In addition, on the lumen side of pit membranes, coarse fibrils cross the pits in an axial direction. These coarse fibrils are connected to pit borders, and they may extend onto wall surfaces of the tracheary elements. These fibrillar accretions are considered here to fulfill criteria as secondary‐wall components. Variation within the genus with respect to the fibrillar accretions may occur, but there may be more e...
Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Receptor Couples to Multiple G Proteins in Rat Gonadotrophs and in GGH3 Cells: Evidence from Palmitoylation and Overexpression of G proteins

There is evidence in several cell systems suggesting that the GnRH receptor couples to multiple G proteins. Presently there are no published studies showing GnRH receptor coupling to Gialpha, Gsalpha, and Gq/11alpha in a single cell type. To examine this possibility we measured palmitoylation of G proteins in response to GnRH receptor occupancy, since this event is a measure of G-protein activation by cognate receptors. GnRH stimulated time (0-120 min)- and dose (10(-12)-10(-6) g/ml)-dependent palmitoylation of both Gialpha and Gsalpha. Palmitoylation is G-protein activation dependent; accordingly, pertussis toxin (100 ng/ml; PTX), phorbol myristic acid (100 ng/ml), and Antide (50 nM; a GnRH antagonist) did not stimulate palmitoylation of Gialpha or Gsalpha above basal levels. However, cholera toxin (5 microgram/ml), an activator of Gsalpha, stimulated palmitoylation of Gsalpha but not Gialpha. We used a lactotrope-derived cell line expressing the GnRH receptor (GGH3) to examine whether the ability of the receptor to couple multiple G proteins is gonadotroph specific. GGH3 cells were transfected with specific cDNA coding for different G proteins, and agonist-stimulated second messenger production was assessed. Buserelin (a GnRH agonist) stimulated increased cAMP release in Gsalpha cDNA-transfected GGH3 cells, whereas in Gialpha cDNA-transfected cells, both inositol phosphate (IP) production and cAMP release were decreased in response to buserelin. Transfection of Gqalpha, G11alpha, G14alpha, and G15alpha cDNA into GGH3 cells resulted in an increased IP production in response to buserelin, indicating that GnRH receptor couples to this PTX-insensitive G-protein family. The observations presented in this study provide evidence for GnRH receptor coupling to multiple G proteins in a single cell type.
Bubbles in Kaluza-Klein theories with spacelike or timelike internal dimensions

Bubbles are pointlike regular solutions of the higher-dimensional Kaluza-Klein equations that appear as naked singularities in four dimensions. We analyze all such possible solutions in five-dimensional ~5D! Kaluza-Klein theory that are static and spherically symmetric. We show that they can be obtained by taking unusual choices of the parameters in the dyonic black hole solutions, and find that regularity can only be achieved if their electric charge is zero. However, they can be neutral or possess magnetic charge. We study some of their properties, both in theories where the internal dimension is spacelike as well as timelike. Since bubbles do not have horizons, they have no entropy, nor do they emit any thermal radiation, but they are, in general, nonextremal objects. In the two-timing case, it is remarkable that nonsingular massless monopoles are possible, probably signaling a new pathology of these theories. These two-timing monopoles connect two asymptotically flat regions, and matter can flow from one region to the other. We also present a C-type solution that describes neutral bubbles in uniform acceleration, and we use it to construct an instanton that mediates the breaking of a cosmic string by forming bubbles at its ends. The rate for this process is also calculated. Finally, we argue that a similar solution can be constructed for magnetic bubbles, and that it can be used to describe a semiclassical instability of the two-timing vacuum against production of massless monopole pairs. @S0556-2821~97!01702-5#
Sky and Ocean Joined: The U.S. Naval Observatory, 1830–2000

Today, the U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO) is best known to most Americans as the location of the vice president's residence. Asked to search their memories, a few may recall that USNO maintains the nation's master clock, and is in some way responsible for introducing a “leap second” on New Year's Eve every few years. Even in the scientific community, the USNO is best known and most highly regarded for its service as the nation's timekeeper. In Sky and Ocean Joined: The U.S. Naval Observatory, 1830–2000, Steven Dick points out that the history of the development of ever-more accurate clocks and the dissemination of time closely parallels the general advance of science and technology. In addition, he takes the reader inside USNO to meet some of the more fascinating individuals that drove the events and scientific achievements associated with the work of maintaining the nation's master clock.
Interference reduction in Wireless Passive Sensor Networks using directional antennas

In this paper, we study a Wireless Passive Sensor Network (WPSN) that employs binary coded differential delay line surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices to monitor temperature in a harsh conditioned environment The sensors are individually addressed by different reflector patterns. The number of sensors in the system is related to the coded reflectors pattern length which itself is limited by the size constraint of sensors. We propose a new sectorized system model for the WPSN by utilizing a phased circular antenna array to increase the number of sensors in the system that yields higher sensing spatial accuracy. Moreover, the sensing accuracy is further improved by a new two-step detection procedure that purifies the response signal and removes the interference of undesired sensors1.
Post-LHC accelerator magnets

The design and practicality of future accelerators, such as hadron colliders and neutrino factories being considered to supercede the LHC, will depend greatly on the choice of superconducting magnets. Various possibilities will be reviewed and discussed, taking into account recent progress and projected improvements in magnet design and conductor development along with the recommendations from the 2001 Snowmass workshop.
Microsatellite analysis of genetic population structure in an endangered salmonid: the coastal cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki clarki)

The genetic population structure of coastal cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki clarki) in Washington state was investigated by analysis of variation in allele frequencies at six highly polymorphic microsatellite loci for 13 anadromous populations, along with one outgroup population from the Yellowstone subspecies (O. clarki bouvieri) (mean heterozygosity = 67%; average number of alleles per locus = 24). Tests for genetic differentiation revealed highly significant differences in genotypic frequencies for pairwise comparisons between all populations within geographical regions and overall population subdivision was substantial (FST = 0.121, RST = 0.093), with 44.6% and 55.4% of the among-population diversity being attributable to differences between streams (FSR = 0.054) and between regions (FRT = 0.067), respectively. Analysis of genetic distances and geographical distances did not support a simple model of isolation by distance for these populations. With one exception, neighbour-joining dendrograms from the Cavalli-Sforza and Edwards’ chord distances and maximum likelihood algorithms clustered populations by physiogeographic region, although overall bootstrap support was relatively low (53%). Our results suggest that coastal cutthroat trout populations are ultimately structured genetically at the level of individual streams. It appears that the dynamic balance between gene flow and genetic drift in the subspecies favours a high degree of genetic differentiation and population subdivision with the simultaneous maintenance of high heterozygosity levels within local populations. Results are discussed in terms of coastal cutthroat trout ecology along with implications for the designation of evolutionarily significant units pursuant to the US Endangered Species Act of 1973 and analogous conservation units.
Speakers optimize information density through syntactic reduction

If language users are rational, they might choose to structure their utterances so as to optimize communicative properties. In particular, information-theoretic and psycholinguistic considerations suggest that this may include maximizing the uniformity of information density in an utterance. We investigate this possibility in the context of syntactic reduction, where the speaker has the option of either marking a higher-order unit (a phrase) with an extra word, or leaving it unmarked. We demonstrate that speakers are more likely to reduce less information-dense phrases. In a second step, we combine a stochastic model of structured utterance production with a logistic-regression model of syntactic reduction to study which types of cues speakers employ when estimating the predictability of upcoming elements. We demonstrate that the trend toward predictability-sensitive syntactic reduction (Jaeger, 2006) is robust in the face of a wide variety of control variables, and present evidence that speakers use both surface and structural cues for predictability estimation.
In vivo growth of Epstein-Barr virus transformed B cells with mutations in latent membrane protein 2 (LMP2)

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) causes infectious mononucleosis in adolescents and is associated with malignant B lymphocyte proliferation in AIDS patients, patients undergoing immune suppression for organ transplantation, and SCID mice. In vitro, EBV transformed, latently infected lymphoblastoid B cell lines (LCLs) contain EBV episomes and express nine virus encoded proteins. Six are nuclear proteins (EBNAs) and three are the integral membrane proteins, LMP1, LMP2A, and LMP2B. To determine if LMP2 was essential for in vivo growth, SCID mice were injected with LCLs containing wild-type EBV (LMP2+) or with LCLs transformed with EBV containing mutations in either LMP2A or LMP2B (LMP2−). SCID mice injected with the LMP2+ or LMP2− LCLs were monitored for tumor development, length of time to tumor development, and phenotypic characterization of the resulting tumors. No difference was observed in any of the above parameters between LMP2+ and LMP2− LCLs demonstrating that LMP2 is not essential for the in vivo growth of EBV transformed B lymphocytes in SCID mice.
Urban Protest and the Discourse of Popular Nationalism in Postrevolutionary Mexico: The Case of the Veracruz Rent Strike

After the revolution of 1910-17 many Mexicans forged new identities, notions of citizenship and conceptions of social justice. As an example of the way in which this process took shape in urban areas, this essay examines how rent protesters during a housing strike in the port of Veracruz used anti-foreign rhetoric as an effective means to mobilise nearly 75 per cent of the local population. Comparing the discourse of the tenants with the available property records, the author argues that charges of foreign 'monopoly' were overly generalised. Nevertheless, in detailing specific aspects of the housing situation the author is able to identify certain elements in the port-namely those responsible for the administration of tenements-against which tenant claims were well substantiated. From this it can be seen how militants constructed a powerful set of charges that not only identified a common enemy against which strikers could rally, but also helped to articulate their own brand of locally based popular natio...
Lipid production rates and the pathogenesis of fatty liver in fasted cows.

Lipid production across the liver was measured in catheterized dairy cows in vivo in the fed state and during 6 days of fasting. Production rates were calculated from the lipid concentrations in arterial, portal and hepatic-venous plasma and from the rates of plasma flow in the portal vein and the hepatic veins.There was a consistent net hepatic output of triacylglycerol and a net hepatic uptake of free fatty acids in the fed state.In the fasted state there was a significant change to a net hepatic uptake of triacylglycerol and an increased hepatic uptake of free fatty acids. Both factors are likely to result in an accumulation of triacylglycerol in the liver.
Microbial influence on gene-for-gene interactions in legume-Rhizobium symbioses

Recent advances in our understanding of the molecular genetics of legume-Rhizobium symbioses have indicated that relatively few bacterial genes are required for nodulation. While some of these genes are functionally similar and shared among microsymbionts nodulating genetically diverse legumes, others appear to encode host-specific nodulation (hsn) functions which allow for nodulation of plants within a given legume genus. More recently, genotype-specific nodulation (GSN) determinants have been identified in R. leguminosarum bv. viceae strain TOM and in B. japonicum strain USDA 110. GSN determinants refer to those bacterial sequences that allow for nodulation of specific plant genotypes within a given legume species. In contrast to the avr loci of several plant pathogens, rhizobial host-range determinants (hsn and GSN) have been shown to positively affect nodulation. That is, the introduction of exogenous hsn and GSN loci extends host-range. Since GSN loci have been reported to interact with single host plant alleles, it suggests that gene-for-gene interactions occur in rhizobial-legume symbioses and contribute to nodulation specificity at the host genotype level.
The conformation of a female preference for a composite male trait in green swordtails

Female green swordtails, Xiphophorus helleri, possess a preference for the multicomponent male sword. Previous work suggests that this female preference is a result of a pre-existing receiver bias favouring a sword and has contributed to sword evolution via intersexual selection. We use video presentations to investigate how females respond to components of this composite trait. Complete swords in this species have at least four individual components. Based on female response to video stimuli depicting males with intact swords and males in which sword components were digitally manipulated, it appears that males possessing complete swords elicit the strongest female response. Additionally, we found that females prefer stimuli with black sword coloration to those lacking black coloration. The results suggest that multiple components of the sword stimulate females, and that these components operate in conjunction to make the sword structure more attractive to females.  2002 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour
Bivalve taphonomy in tropical mixed siliciclastic-carbonate settings. II. Effect of bivalve life habits and shell types

Abstract Bivalve death assemblages from subtidal environments within the tropical Bocas del Toro embayment of Caribbean Panama permit a test of the extent to which levels of damage are determined by the intrinsic nature of shell supply (proportion of epifaunal species, thick shells, calcitic shells, low-organic microstructures), as opposed to the extrinsic postmortem environment that shells experience. Only damage to interior surfaces of shells was used, to ensure that damage was unambiguously postmortem in origin. We find that facies-level differences in patterns of damage (the rank order importance of postmortem encrustation, boring, edge-rounding, fine-scale surface degradation) are overwhelmingly controlled by environmental conditions: in each environment, all subsets of the death assemblage present the same damage profile. The composition of shell supply affects only the intensity of the taphonomic signature (i.e., percentage of shells affected), and only in environments containing hard substrata (pa...
Social Criteria Preference as Behavior Toward Risk

This paper refines the framework proposed by Beal et al (2005) and by applying Tobin’s Liquidity Preference Theory (Tobin, 1958) to describe individual attitudes toward risk, and identifies a number of SRI investor profiles based on their attitude to risk.
Survival outcomes of obese patients in type II endometrial cancer: Defining the prognostic impact of increasing BMI.

Abstract Objective To investigate the role of obesity as a risk factor for type II endometrial cancer (EC), as well as the prognostic significance of increasing body mass index (BMI) on survival. Methods A single institution retrospective analysis of 154 type II EC cases from 1987 to 2010 was conducted. Patients were categorized into cohorts by BMI (normal ( Results The BMI distribution was 22.8% normal BMI; 24% overweight; 17.5% class I; and 35.7% class IIIII. The median follow up was 41months. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 45.4, 36.0, 35.3 and 42.0months and overall survival (OS) was 54.7, 44.7, 44.8 and 49.7months, among the respective groups. There was no association between BMI and PFS (p=0.71), OS (p=0.72), or time to recurrence (p=0.71). There were no differences among the increasing BMI groups compared to normal weight women for the risk of death. Conclusions Our analysis did not reveal any differences in outcomes by BMI group. Our data reveals that obesity is highly prevalent in type II ECs, though obesity has not historically been described as a risk factor. While BMI as a single variable may not be prognostic for survival outcomes, the role of obesity as a risk factor for type II EC should be further investigated, given the increasing prevalence of obesity in type II ECs.