cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Intensification and Specialization, Archaeology of

Changes in the organization of production are associated with significant historical transitions such as the development of food production, settlement aggregation and sedentism, the institutionalization of social and other inequalities, occupational specialization, urbanization, exchange, the production of surpluses, and the development of markets. Understanding production in terms of its constituent processes has thus been critical. Two of these processes, the intensification and specialization of production, lie at the heart of many of these transitions and are used to characterize the level of effort, productivity, land and labor use, and degree of skill in agricultural production and craft or artifact production.
Cosmological interpretation from high redshift clusters observed within the XMM-Newton Ω-Project

During the last ten years astrophysical cosmology has brought three remarkable results of deep impact for fundamental physics: the existence of non-baryonic dark matter, the (nearly) flatness of space, the domination of the density of the universe by some gravitationally repulsive fluid. This last result is probably the most revolutionizing one: the scientific review Sciences has considered twice results on this question as Breakthrough of the Year (for 1998 and 2003). However, direct evidence of dark energy are still rather weak, and the strength of the standard scenario relies more on the “concordance” argument rather than on the robustness of direct evidences. Furthermore, a scenario can be build in an Einstein-de Sitter universe, which reproduces as well as the concordance model the following various data relevant to cosmology: WMAP results, large scale structure of the universe, local abundance of massive clusters, weak lensing measurements, most Hubble constant measurements not based on stellar indicators. Furthermore, recent data on distant x-ray clusters obtained from XMM and Chandra indicates that the observed abundances of clusters at high redshift taken at face value favors an Einstein de Sitter model and are hard to reconcile with the concordance model. It seems wise therefore to consider that the actual existence of the dark energy is still an open question.
Clinical Assessment of Blood Glucose Homeostasis in Horses: Comparison of a Continuous Glucose Monitoring System with a Combined Intravenous Glucose and Insulin Test Protocol

Background: The combined glucose-insulin test (CGIT) is helpful for evaluating insulin sensitivity. A continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS) reports changes in interstitial glucose concentrations as they occur in the blood. Use of the CGMS minimizes animal contact and may be useful when performing a CGIT. Hypothesis: Results obtained using a CGMS are useful for the evaluation of glucose responses during the evaluation of insulin sensitivity in equids. Animals: Seven mature, obese ponies. Methods: Ponies were equipped with CGMS for determination of interstitial glucose concentrations. Glucose (150 mg/kg, IV) and insulin (0.1 U/kg, IV) were administered and blood glucose concentrations determined at (minutes after time zero) 1, 5, 15, 25, 35, 45, 60, 75, 90, 105, and 120 with a hand-held glucometer. Blood chemistry results were compared with simultaneously obtained results using CGMS. Results: Concordance coefficients determined for comparison of blood glucose concentrations determined by a hand-held glucometer and those determined by CGMS after the zero time point were 0.623, 0.764, 0.834, 0.854, and 0.818 (for delays of 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 minutes, respectively). Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Interstitial glucose concentrations obtained by the CGMS compared favorably to blood glucose concentrations. CGMS may be useful for assessment of glucose dynamics in the CGIT.
Laser needle guide for the sonic flashlight

We have extended the real-time tomographic reflection display of the Sonic Flashlight to a laser guidance system that aims to improve safety and accuracy of needle insertion, especially for deep procedures. This guidance system is fundamentally different from others currently available. Two low-intensity lasers are mounted on opposite sides of a needle aimed parallel to the needle. The needle is placed against a notch in the Sonic Flashlight mirror such that the laser beams reflect off the mirror to create bright red spots on the flat panel display. Due to diffuse reflection from these spots, the virtual image created by the flat panel display contains the spots, identifying the projected destination of the needle at its actual location in the tissue. We have implemented our design and validated its performance, identifying several areas for potential improvement.
Moving object segmentation using the flux tensor for biological video microscopy

Time lapse video microscopy routinely produces terabyte sized biological image sequence collections, especially in high throughput environments, for unraveling cellular mechanisms, screening biomarkers, drug discovery, image-based bioinformatics, etc. Quantitative movement analysis of tissues, cells, organelles or molecules is one of the fundamental signals of biological importance. The accurate detection and segmentation of moving biological objects that are similar but nonhomogeneous is the focus of this paper. The problem domain shares similarities with multimedia video analytics. The grayscale structure tensor fails to disambiguate between stationary and moving features without computing dense velocity fields (i.e. optical flow). In this paper we propose a novel motion detection algorithm based on the flux tensor combined with multi-feature level set-based segmentation, using an efficient additive operator splitting (AOS) numerical implementation, that robustly handles deformable motion of non-homogeneous objects. The flux tensor level set framework effectively handles biological video segmentation in the presence of complex biological processes, background noise and clutter.
Paraphrase Acquisition for Information Extraction

We are trying to find paraphrases from Japanese news articles which can be used for Information Extraction. We focused on the fact that a single event can be reported in more than one article in different ways. However, certain kinds of noun phrases such as names, dates and numbers behave as "anchors" which are unlikely to change across articles. Our key idea is to identify these anchors among comparable articles and extract portions of expressions which share the anchors. This way we can extract expressions which convey the same information. Obtained paraphrases are generalized as templates and stored for future use.In this paper, first we describe our basic idea of paraphrase acquisition. Our method is divided into roughly four steps, each of which is explained in turn. Then we illustrate several issues which we encounter in real texts. To solve these problems, we introduce two techniques: coreference resolution and structural restriction of possible portions of expressions. Finally we discuss the experimental results and conclusions.
Shock wave structure for a fully ionized plasma

We study planar shock wave structure in a two-temperature model of a fully ionized plasma that includes electron heat conduction and energy exchange between electrons and ions. For steady flow in a reference frame moving with the shock, the model reduces to an autonomous system of ordinary differential equations which can be numerically integrated. A phase space analysis of the differential equations provides an additional insight into the structure of the solutions. For example, below a threshold Mach number, the model produces continuous solutions, while above another threshold Mach number, the solutions contain embedded hydrodynamic shocks. Between the threshold values, the appearance of embedded shocks depends on the electron diffusivity and the electron–ion coupling term. We also find that the ion temperature may achieve a maximum value between the upstream and downstream states and away from the embedded shock. We summarize the methodology for solving for two-temperature shocks and show results for several values of shock strength and plasma parameters in order to quantify the shock structure and explore the range of possible solutions. Such solutions may be used to verify hydrodynamic codes that use similar plasma physics models.
Fluorometric Determination of Drug-Protein Association Constants: Binding of Pamaquine by Bovine Serum Albumin

The binding of pamaquine to bovine serum albumin is accompanied by the enhancement of the fluorescence efficiency of the former but without shifting its fluorescence energy. This phenomenon was used to evaluate the stoichiometry and streng of the binding. The results indicate that three singly protonated pamaquine molecules are bound by each bovine serum albumin molecule. The individual binding constants were calculated by using the Bjerrum technique. The average values of the three constants were K1 = 6.4 × 107, K, 2 = 3.1 × 106, and K, 3 = 1.9 × 105, indicating that, compared to anionic drugs and fluorescent probes, pamaquine is very strongly bound by the protein.
Enhancer Responses to Similarly Distributed Antagonistic Gradients in Development

Formation of spatial gene expression patterns in development depends on transcriptional responses mediated by gene control regions, enhancers. Here, we explore possible responses of enhancers to overlapping gradients of antagonistic transcriptional regulators in the Drosophila embryo. Using quantitative models based on enhancer structure, we demonstrate how a pair of antagonistic transcription factor gradients with similar or even identical spatial distributions can lead to the formation of distinct gene expression domains along the embryo axes. The described mechanisms are sufficient to explain the formation of the anterior and the posterior knirps expression, the posterior hunchback expression domain, and the lateral stripes of rhomboid expression and of other ventral neurogenic ectodermal genes. The considered principles of interaction between antagonistic gradients at the enhancer level can also be applied to diverse developmental processes, such as domain specification in imaginal discs, or even eyespot pattern formation in the butterfly wing.
Basal cell tumor with eccrine differentiation (eccrine epithelioma)

In 1969, Freeman and Winkelmann reported two cases of basal cell tumors with features of eccrine differentiation. On the basis of subsequent personal cases and isolated literature reports, we wish to emphasize the characteristics of this tumor. It is an infiltrating basaloid growth, usually on the scalp or head, that frequently recurs, apparently because of inadequate excision. Basaloid, alveolar, and cystic epithelial masses, which constitute the tumor, may be seen individually or together. Areas that appear to be morpheaform epithelioma or similar to syringoma can be observed. Enzyme studies reveal phosphorylase and focal lysosomal enzymes such as acid phosphatase. Acid mucopolysaccharides are present in foci. Electron microscopy shows epithelial masses with eccrine duct features. Eccrine epithelioma is a rare tumor that may be mistaken for syringoma, basal cell carcinoma, adenocystic carcinoma, sweat gland carcinoma, or metastatic tumor. Its differentiation toward eccrine structure and function predicts the chronic, recurrent, locally infiltrative clinical course observed in patients to date.
Aphid-transmitted potato viruses: The importance of understanding vector biology

This review addresses some of the biological complexities presented by aphid-transmitted viruses of potato,Solanum tuberosum L., and their vectors and discusses the application of this knowledge to the management of potato viruses with particular emphasis on seed potato production.
Synthesis of material drying history: phenomenon modeling, transferring and rendering

We consider the problem of the spatio-temporal variations in material appearance due to the wetting and drying of materials. We conducted a series of experiments that capture the appearance history of surfaces drying. We reduce this history to two parameters that control the shape of a drying curve. We relate these drying parameters to the shape of the original wetted area and the surface geometry. Using these relationships, we generate new time-varying spatial patterns of drying on synthetic shapes.
Docosahexaenoic acid metabolism and effect on prostacyclin production in endothelial cells.

Abstract Bovine aortic endothelial cultures readily take up docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Most of the DHA was incorporated into phospholipids, primarily in ethanolamine and choline phosphoglycerides, and plasmalogens accounted for 34% of the DHA contained in the ethanolamine fraction after a 24-h incubation. The retention of DHA in endothelial phospholipids was not greater than other polyunsaturated fatty acids and unlike arachidonic and eicosapentaenoic acids, DHA did not continue to accumulate in the ethanolamine phosphoglycerides after the initial incorporation. About 15% of the [14C(U)]DHA uptake was retroconverted to docosapentaenoic and eicosapentaenoic acids in 24 h. Some of the newly incorporated [14C(U)]DHA was released when the cells were incubated subsequently in a medium containing serum and albumin. The released radioactivity was in the form of free fatty acid and phospholipids and after 24 h, 11% was retroconverted to docosapentaenoic and eicosapentaenoic acids. Total DHA uptake was decreased only 10% by the presence of a 100 μ m mixture of physiologic fatty acids, but as little as 10 μ m docosatetraenoic acid reduced DHA incorporation into phospholipids by 25%. DHA was not converted to prostaglandins or lipoxygenase products by the endothelial cultures. When DHA was available, however, less arachidonic acid was incorporated into endothelial phospholipids, and less was converted to prostacyclin (PGI2). Enrichment of the endothelial cells with DHA also reduced their capacity to subsequently produce PGI2. These findings indicate that endothelial cells can play a role in DHA metabolism and like eicosapentaenoic acid, DHA can inhibit endothelial PGI2 production when it is available in elevated amounts.
Effects of humidity, conveying velocity, and particle size on electrostatic charges of glass beads in a gaseous suspension flow

Abstract Measurements3of mean electrostatic charge distributions on flowing glass beads in a grounded 2-inch copper pipe loop have been made with an improved Faraday probe system under various combinations of air humidities, conveying velocities, and particlessizes. Air humidity was shown to have a significant effect on particle charges. When the system moisture content exceeds a cutoff relative humidity of 76%, the charges on glass beads become effectively neutralized. The particle charge distributions at low humidity or high conveying speed are characterized by a wide spectrum and a large mean charge, while at high humidity or low velocity, the widths of the distributions narrow with the average shifting toward the small charge range. Large particles carry a large mean charge but a small mean charge-to-mass ratio, as expected. An interesting finding was that the mean charge density on the particle surface remained almost constant over a wide range of particle size.
Two counterexamples in general topology

(1988). Two Counterexamples in General Topology. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 95, No. 4, pp. 342-343.
Where can we find future K-12 science and math teachers? a search by academic year, discipline, and academic performance level†‡§

Responding to the increasing math and science teacher shortage in the United States, this study intended to determine which science, engineering, and math (SEM) majors during which years in their undergraduate education and from which academic performance levels are most interested in K-12 teaching. Results may aid policymakers and practitioners in making most effective use of this traditional undergraduate candidate pool when designing K-12 science and math teacher recruitment programs. A survey of SEM majors from two research-oriented, urban universities is used to assess participants' interest in K-12 teaching both compared to other career choices and in isolation. Results indicate that the more successful targets for K-12 teacher recruitment include (1) SEM undergraduates in their junior and senior years independent of SEM major, (2) SEM undergraduates with mid-academic performance levels independent of SEM major and academic year, and (3) math majors followed by natural science majors and, as least promising targets, engineering majors. Results remain independent from gender and ethnicity variables. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed89:980–1006, 2005
Morphological analysis of the antimicrobial action of nitric oxide on gram-negative pathogens using atomic force microscopy.

Abstract Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to study the morphological changes of two Gram-negative pathogens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli , after exposure to nitric oxide (NO). The time-dependent effects of NO released from a xerogel coating and the concentration-dependent effects rendered by a small molecule that releases NO in a bolus were examined and compared. Bacteria exhibited irregular and degraded exteriors. With NO-releasing surfaces, an increase in surface debris and disorganized adhesion patterns were observed compared to controls. Analysis of cell surface topography revealed that increasing membrane roughness correlated with higher doses of NO. At a lower total dose, NO delivered via a bolus resulted in greater membrane roughness than NO released from a surface via a sustained flux. At sub-inhibitory levels, treatment with amoxicillin, an antibiotic known to compromise the integrity of the cell wall, led to morphologies resembling those resulting from NO treatment. Our observations indicate that cell envelope deterioration is a visible consequence of NO-exposure for both Gram-negative species studied.
The effect of ergonovine on coronary vasodilatory reserve in patients with angiographically normal coronary arteries.

Abstract Ergonovine produces physiologic coronary artery narrowing in many patients without focal coronary spasm. The effect of ergonovine-induced coronary vasoconstriction on coronary vasodilatory reserve is unknown. Therefore we studied 10 patients with atypical chest pain and angiographically normal coronary arteries. The heart rate and blood pressure were recorded continuously and coronary Doppler flow velocity was measured continuously with a 20 MHz Doppler-tipped catheter. Ergonovine caused diffuse narrowing of the vessels in all patients, with a 12% ± 5% change in diameter of the left anterior descending coronary artery ( p p p
Data-driven method for calculating limits for particle control charts

In semiconductor manufacturing, a key measure of product quality is the number of particles added during a fab processing step. Usual statistical process control methods assume an underlying normal distribution for the data. Particle measurements typically display skewed, nonnormal distributions, hence traditional control limits are not valid. This paper examines using bootstrap estimates of the upper percentiles of a distribution to find control limits for particle charts.
Prevalence of Sarcocystis in grackles in Maryland

SYNOPSIS. One hundred and fifty-nine grackles (Quiscalus quiscula) in Maryland were examined grossly and microscopically for Sarcocystis sp. Of 98 mature birds, 91 had Sarcocystis. None of 51 juvenile birds and none of 10 birds hatched in the laboratory had Sarcocystis. More mature females had Sarcocystis than did mature males. However, the number of intramuscular cysts (per bird) was greater in male grackles than in females. Both male and female grackles had more infections in the leg and thigh muscles than in breast muscles. No tongue or heart muscles contained Sarcocystis. No seasonal fluctuation in the number of infected birds was apparent.
Predict and relay: an efficient routing in disruption-tolerant networks

Routing is one of the most challenging open problems in disruption-tolerant networks (DTNs) because of the short-lived wireless connectivity environment. To deal with this issue, researchers have investigated routing based on the prediction of future contacts, taking advantage of nodes' mobility history. However, most of the previous work focused on the prediction of whether two nodes would have a contact, without considering the time of the contact. This paper proposes predict and relay (PER), an efficient routing algorithm for DTNs, where nodes determine the probability distribution of future contact times and choose a proper next hop in order to improve the end-to-end delivery probability. The algorithm is based on two observations: one is that nodes usually move around a set of well-visited landmark points instead of moving randomly; the other is that node mobility behavior is semi-deterministic and could be predicted once there is sufficient mobility history information. Specifically, our approach employs a time-homogeneous semi-markov process model that describes node mobility as transitions between landmarks. Landmark transition and sojourn time probability distributions are determined from nodes' mobility history. A simulation study shows that this approach improves the delivery ratio and also reduces the delivery latency compared to traditional DTN routing schemes.
Heterogeneous modeling of medical image data using B-spline functions:

Biomedical data visualization and modeling rely predominately on manual processing and utilization of voxel- and facet-based homogeneous models. Biological structures are naturally heterogeneous and it is important to incorporate properties, such as material composition, size and shape, into the modeling process. A method to approximate image density data with a continuous B-spline surface is presented. The proposed approach generates a density point cloud, based on medical image data to reproduce heterogeneity across the image, through point densities. The density point cloud is ordered and approximated with a set of B-spline curves. A B-spline surface is lofted through the cross-sectional B-spline curves preserving the heterogeneity of the point cloud dataset. Preliminary results indicate that the proposed methodology produces a mathematical representation capable of capturing and preserving density variations with high fidelity.
Use and reuse of shared lists as a social content type

Social networking sites support a variety of shared content types such as photos, videos, or music. More structured or form-based social content types are not mainstream but we have started seeing sites evolve that support them. This paper describes the design and use of structured lists in an enterprise social networking system. As a major feature of our shared lists, we introduced the ability to reuse someone else's list. We report the results on the use and reuse of shared lists based on three months of usage data from 285 users and interviews with 9 users. Our findings suggest that despite the structured nature of lists, our users socialize more around lists than photos, and use lists as a medium for self-representation.
Regulation of Protein Synthesis in Ventricular Myocytes by Vasopressin THE ROLE OF SARCOPLASMIC/ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM Ca2+ STORES

Protein synthesis in H9c2 ventricular myocytes was subject to rapid inhibition by agents that release Ca2+ from the sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum, including thapsigargin, ionomycin, caffeine, and arginine vasopressin. Inhibitions were attributable to the suppression of translational initiation and were coupled to the mobilization of cell-associated Ca2+ and the phosphorylation of eIF2α. Ionomycin and thapsigargin produced relatively stringent degrees of Ca2+mobilization that produced an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response. Translational recovery was associated with the induction of ER chaperones and resistance to translational inhibition by Ca2+-mobilizing agents. Vasopressin at physiologic concentrations mobilized 60% of cell-associated Ca2+ and decreased protein synthesis by 50% within 20–30 min. The inhibition of protein synthesis was exerted through an interaction at the V1 vascular receptor, was imposed at physiologic extracellular Ca2+ concentrations, and became refractory to hormonal washout within 10 min of treatment. Inhibition was found to attenuate after 30 min, with full recovery occurring in 2 h. Translational recovery did not involve an ER stress response but rather was derived from the partial repletion of intracellular Ca2+ stores. Longer exposures to vasopressin were invariably accompanied by increased rates of protein synthesis. Translational inhibition by vasopressin, but not by Ca2+-mobilizing drugs, was both preventable and reversible by treatment with phorbol ester, which reduced the extent of Ca2+ mobilization occurring in response to the hormone. Larger and more prolonged translational inhibitions occurred after down-regulation of protein kinase C. This report provides the first compelling evidence that hormonally induced mobilization of sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+stores is regulatory upon mRNA translation.
Acetone catabolism by cytochrome P450 2E1: studies with CYP2E1-null mice.

Previous experiments in vitro have suggested that cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) is involved in acetone catabolism by converting acetone to acetol and then to methylglyoxal, both intermediates in the gluconeogenic pathway. In the present study, CYP2E1-null mice were used to demonstrate the role of CYP2E1 in acetone catabolism in vivo. The blood acetone level in male CYP2E1-null mice was 3.3 ± 0.9 μg/mL, which was similar to levels of their sex- and age-matched parental lineage strains C57BL/6N (2.3 ± 0.2 μg/mL) and 129/Sv (3.5 ± 0.3 μg/mL) mice (both are CYP2E1wild-type). After fasting for 48 hr, the blood acetone levels in the CYP2E1 wild-type mice were increased by 2.5- to 4.4-fold, but that in the CYP2E1-null mice increased 28-fold. These results clearly demonstrate that CYP2E1 plays a vital role in the catabolism of acetone under fasting conditions.
The Unfolded Protein Response Is Required for Haploid Tolerance in Yeast

HAC1 encodes a transcription factor that mediates the unfolded protein response (UPR) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We characterized hac1Delta mutants in the sporulation-proficient SK1 genetic background and found a novel function for HAC1 in haploid tolerance. hac1Delta spore clones contain a diploid DNA content as determined by fluorescence-activated cell sorting and genetic analyses. Autodiploidization of hac1 spore clones occurred after germination; hac1 spores were born haploid, but efficiently generated diploid progeny during the subsequent mitotic division. Once the hac1 mutant acquired a diploid DNA content, no further ploidy increase was observed. Interestingly, the increase in genome content following meiosis was not a general property associated with hac1 spore clones; instead, it was restricted to an inability to tolerate the haploid state. Genetic analyses involving the UPR target gene KAR2 and the UPR regulator IRE1 revealed that autodiploidization associated with hac1 mutants is a consequence of its role in the UPR pathway. Inhibition of the UPR pathway induces autodiploidization, and constitutive activation of UPR target genes suppresses this response.
Single-Step, Integrated Assembly and Encapsulation of Microfluidic Bubble Generator

This paper describes a single-step method for assembling and encapsulating a microbubble chamber in which injection-molded plastic secures the fluidic and electrical interconnects. All of the necessary components for the chamber are loose assembled in a plastic-injection mold and subsequently packaged, encapsulated, and sealed in one molding step. These components include a silicon/Pyrex® bubble chamber, copper electrical leads, and small-gauge stainless steel fluidic headers. This approach delivers a fully integrated microbubble chamber with 1) zero dead volume, 2) low electrical contact resistance (<1 Ohm), 3) low compliance, in-plane fluid interconnects and 4) small overall dimensions (7.5 mm × 4 mm × 3 mm) conforming to the Dual In-Line Package (DIP) standard, Fig 1.Copyright © 2005 by ASME
Old before their time.

The discovery of massive, evolved galaxies at much greater distances than expected — and hence at earlier times in the history of the Universe — is a challenge to our understanding of how galaxies form.
Variable selection and estimation for longitudinal survey data

There is wide interest in studying longitudinal surveys where sample subjects are observed successively over time. Longitudinal surveys have been used in many areas today, for example, in the health and social sciences, to explore relationships or to identify significant variables in regression settings. This paper develops a general strategy for the model selection problem in longitudinal sample surveys. A survey weighted penalized estimating equation approach is proposed to select significant variables and estimate the coefficients simultaneously. The proposed estimators are design consistent and perform as well as the oracle procedure when the correct submodel was known. The estimating function bootstrap is applied to obtain the standard errors of the estimated parameters with good accuracy. A fast and efficient variable selection algorithm is developed to identify significant variables for complex longitudinal survey data. Simulated examples are illustrated to show the usefulness of the proposed methodology under various model settings and sampling designs.
Long-term performance characteristics of the detectors for the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer

We have examined the long term performance of two prototype microchannel plate (MCP) detectors built for the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer mission. The detectors were subjected to an extended test sequence, encompassing preconditioning, evaluation of operating characteristics, and a period of extended operation with regular re-evaluations. Our results show that under vacuum storage conditions the MCP performance characteristics remain stable for several years, provided preconditioning has been performed. We also find that for extended periods of detector operation the MCP gain gradually declines. The extent of gain decline is found to be directly related to the level of charge extracted from the MCP's. The MCP intrinsic background event rate is also found to decrease with time under vacuum, and with increasing extracted charge. In part, the latter is related to a decrease in the activity of MCP hot spots.
Coblation adenotonsillectomy: An improvement over electrocautery technique?

OBJECTIVES: To compare postoperative complication rates of coblation and electrocautery adenotonsillectomies.STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective chart review.RESULTS: From January 2000 to June 2004, 1997 p...
Alexithymia and the five-factor model of personality

The relationship between alexithymia assessed by the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) and the five-factor model of personality measured by the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (FFI) was investigated in a group of psychiatric outpatients (n = 114) and normal volunteers (n = 71). When controlling for depression, the domains of neuroticism, introversion, and low openness predicted alexithymia. These three dimensions accounted for 57.1% of the explained variance in the patient cohort and 38.1% in the volunteer group. In the patient cohort, neuroticism contributed the majority of explained variance, which may reflect the state effect of distress that elevates neuroticism. Introversion was the most significant predictor in the volunteer group. These data suggest alexithymia is a unique personality trait that is not fully explained by the five-factor model of personality.
Lifting the veil: exploring colorblind racism in Black student athlete experiences.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of post-racial narratives and colorblind racism in a case of Black intercollegiate student athlete experiences. This case study engaged a critical race theory (CRT) perspective and colorblind ideologies to advance an understanding of participant experiences and extend the CRT literature. Findings indicate that participants recognize racial beliefs and racial inequities abound and that colorblind racism has indirectly affected their experiences and perceptions. The findings are illuminated using the four colorblind racism frames: abstract liberalism, naturalization, cultural racism, and minimization of racism. Implications for enhancing student athlete programming, preparing others to work with student athlete populations, and continuing CRT sport scholarship are further discussed.
Ship waves and lee waves

Dynamics analogous to those of surface ship waves on water of finite depth are noted for the three-dimensional trapped lee wave modes produced by an isolated obstacle in a stratified fluid. This vertical trapping of wave energy is modeled by uniform upstream flow and stratification, bounded above by a rigid lid, and by a semiinfinite fluid of uniform stability whose wind velocity increases exponentially with height, representing the atmosphere. While formal asymptotic solutions are produced, limited quantitative usefulness is obtained through them because of the limitations of the approximations and the infinity of modes in the solution. Time-dependent numerical models are accordingly developed for both surface ship waves and internal and atmospheric ship waves, yielding a variety of results.
The ‘Opinionization’ of Fingerprint Evidence

Perhaps the seminal moment in the now celebrated Shirley McKie fingerprint misidentification case that has preoccupied Scotland from 1997 until the present came in 2002 when Justice Minister Jim Wallace told the press that a fingerprint identification is ‘not an exact science’ (BBC News, 2002a). Shirley McKie, an officer in the Strathclyde Police Department, had been assigned to investigate the murder of Marion Ross at her home in Kilmarnock. McKie was not authorized to enter the crime scene, and she denied that she did. But four Scottish Criminal Records Office (SCRO) latent print examiners identified her as the source of a latent print found on a doorframe inside the house. A builder named David Asbury was eventually convicted of the crime, based primarily on the latent print evidence. With the Asbury conviction hinging on the latent print evidence, McKie was eventually charged with perjury. McKie sought assistance from other experts, and a British examiner and two American examiners concluded that she was not the source of the print. The same experts and others later concluded that the identification of Asbury, made by the same four SCRO experts, was also false, and his convictionwas quashed (Jofre, 2002).McKie was acquitted, but her and her father’s demands for investigations, apologies and compensation from the government have embroiled Scotland in what is now a decade-long scandal that shows few signs of abating (McKie and Russell, 2007). Wallace’s remark prompted widespread outrage. One member of Scottish Parliament called Wallace ‘scientifically illiterate’, said his remark was ‘the forensic equivalent of the flat earth theory’ (BBC News, 2002a), and said that he had turned Scottish justice into ‘a laughing stock throughout the world’ (BBC News, 2002b). Critics of the government read Wallace’s remark as an exercise in scandal management, a cynical attempt to minimize or even excuse the apparent incompetence, and perhaps even malfeasance, on the part of the Scottish Criminal Records Office. Members of the community of latent print practitioners, on the other hand, read the remark as a direct attack onwhatwas perhaps their most cherished epistemic artifact: the perceived ‘facticity’ of fingerprint identifications. A British latent print examiner replied ‘It is not opinion. It’s a fact in black and white. Either it is or it isn’t or it’s inconclusive, nothing else’ (BBC News, 2002b). However, Wallace’s remark may also be read as an understandable response to the epistemological trap in which he found himself. This trap was composed primarily of the extraordinarily strong epistemological claims—to ‘facticity’, to ‘reliability’ and even
CONTROLLING ATOM-ATOM INTERACTION AT ULTRALOW TEMPERATURES BY DC ELECTRIC FIELDS

We propose a physical mechanism for tuning the atom-atom interaction strength at ultralow temperatures. In the presence of a dc electric field the interatomic potential is changed due to the effective dipole-dipole interaction between the polarized atoms. Detailed multichannel scattering calculations reveal features never before discussed for ultracold atomic collisions. We demonstrate that optimal control of the effective atom-atom interactions can be achieved under reasonable laboratory conditions. Implications of this research on the physics of atomic Bose-Einstein condensation and on the pursuit for atomic degenerate fermion gases will be discussed.
Do the Unrealized Gains in Alternative Assets Ever Become Realized

Alternative asset funds often market a new fund during the lifetime of other funds under the stewardship of common management. The marketing materials of the new fund include the interim results of the existing funds, which are self-reported. The research question before the authors was whether the self-reported interim rate of return would actually be realized by the investor when all was said and done. The authors hypothesized that funds currently marketing new funds would have an incentive to overstate the interim rates of return and that firms that were not marketing new firms would not. The results were somewhat mixed but clearly did not support the hypothesis. Of the eight funds that were in the process of marketing, three had returns that were overstated and five had returns that were understated (when comparing the self-reported returns to our recalculated returns). For the six funds that were not marketing new investments, three had returns that were overstated, two were understated, and one had returns where the reported and calculated returns matched. Further parsing the data by only looking at differences greater than 10% between reported and calculated returns, in each case only one fund reported higher rates of return than calculated.
Capsule Commentary on Patrick et al., Trends in Insulin Initiation and Treatment Intensification among Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

This study by Patrick et al.1 investigated the pattern of insulin initiation, as well as treatment intensification, among patients with type 2 diabetes compared to American Diabetes Association (ADA) and European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) guidelines. Although this observational study may not be representative of the general population, as the 7,932 studied patients were derived from a single commercial insurance company from a single state, the reported data are relevant to the treatment of type 2 diabetes for both primary care physicians and specialists. The main finding was that insulin was frequently initiated without the withdrawal of sulfonylureas or meglitinides, as recommended by the guidelines. Moreover, sulfonylureas were started in 29 % and meglitinides in 11 % of patients following insulin initiation. This is concerning, given the important risk of hypoglycemia when combining these antidiabetic agents. Furthermore, insulin and hypoglycemic agents represent, respectively, the number two and number four causes of emergency hospitalizations in older Americans,2 and hypoglycemia was thought to be the cause of excess death in the ACCORD trial.3 Only one-third of patients benefitted from treatment intensification after insulin initiation, suggesting suboptimal care. However, HbA1c levels were not available. Finally, a quarter of patients discontinued insulin following initiation. This might reflect either poor compliance, possibly due to lack of knowledge or side effects, or the transient need for insulin, such as during steroid use or severe illness. It is uncertain whether endocrinologists would do better; in this study, only 17 % of patients were seen by specialists,1 though there is data that endocrinologists are more likely to intensify diabetes treatment and initiate insulin in type 2 diabetic patients.4 This study suggests that a significant portion of type 2 diabetics being initiated on insulin are continued on hypoglycemic agents, notably sulfonylureas and meglitinides, a potentially hazardous practice and in discordance with ADA/EASD guidelines.5 Whether this reflects under-appreciation of the hazards of hypoglycemia, inadequate training and knowledge, or some other factor is unknown and deserving of further research.
Short, Enantioselective Total Synthesis of Chatancin

An enantioselective total synthesis of the polycyclic diterpene (+)-chatancin, a potent PAF antagonist, is reported. Proceeding in seven steps from dihydrofarnesal, this synthetic route was designed to circumvent macrocyclization-based strategies to complex, cyclized cembranoids. The described synthesis requires only six chromatographic purifications, is high yielding, and avoids protecting-group manipulations. An X-ray crystal structure of this fragile marine natural product was obtained.
Does Intact Limb Loading Differ in Servicemembers With Traumatic Lower Limb Loss

Background The initiation and progression of knee and hip arthritis have been related to limb loading during ambulation. Although altered gait mechanics with unilateral lower limb loss often result in larger and more prolonged forces through the intact limb, how these forces differ with traumatic limb loss and duration of ambulation have not been well described.
Atmospheric teleconnection patterns and severity of winters in the Laurentian Great Lakes basin

Abstract We analyzed the relationship between an index of Great Lakes winter severity (winters 1950–1998) and atmospheric circulation characteristics. Classification and Regression Tree analysis methods allowed us to develop a simple characterization of warm, normal and cold winters in terms of teleconnection indices and their combinations. Results are presented in the form of decision trees. The single most important classifier for warm winters was the Polar/Eurasian index (POL). A majority of warm winters (12 out of 15) occurred when this index was substantially positive (POL > 0.23). There were no cold winters when this condition was in place. Warm winters are associated with a positive phase of the Western Pacific pattern and El Nino events in the equatorial Pacific. The association between cold winters and La Nina events was much weaker. Thus, the effect of the El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on severity of winters in the Great Lakes basin is not symmetric. The structure of the relationship betwe...
In vitro actions on human cancer cells and the liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry fingerprint of phytochemicals in rice protein isolate

Rice protein isolate (RPI) has been reported to reduce the incidence of 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene-induced mammary tumors in rats. To determine the potential role of phytochemicals associated with the RPI, we studied in vitro antitumor activities of an ether fraction from RPI using human tumor cell lines, including two human breast carcinoma cell lines (MDA-MB-453 and MCF-7) and two myeloma cell lines (RPMI-8226 and IM-9). Concentration-dependent antiproliferative effects of the ether fraction were observed in all cell lines using the standard 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Fraction-induced apoptosis (P < 0.05) was detected in all cell lines, and this was associated with the induction of proapoptotic bax protein and cdk inhibitors (p21) and the suppression of cdk4 and cyclin D1 activity. Liquid chromatography−mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) with both positive and negative modes was used to analyze the phytochemicals in the ether fraction from RPI. Fi...
Adolescent school-based sex education: Using developmental neuroscience to guide new directions for policy and practice

While school-based sex education is one of the key program and policy solutions to improve adolescent sexual health outcomes, new efforts are needed to strengthen its overall impact. The cognitive, hormonal, emotional, and physical changes that accompany the onset of puberty and occur throughout the teenage years play a significant role in aspects of adolescent sexual risk taking. Thus, one approach to advancing current understanding of these complex issues is to leverage emerging knowledge in developmental affective neuroscience over the past 15 years, which suggests some potentially promising innovations that may inform new educational directions to improve adolescent sexual health. Exploring the conceptual and empirical advances in understanding adolescent brain development through the lens of the conceptualization, implementation, and evaluation of sex education, this article provides new perspectives that encourage the testing of innovative approaches to sex education policy and practice.
Evaluation of a boat-mounted electro-trawl as a commercial harvesting system for crawfish

Abstract Field experiments were conducted to ascertain if trawling utilizing electrical currents was an effective method of harvesting crawfish. Results suggest that catch efficiency relative to vegetation density is more dependent upon trawl mechanical ability than on relative crawfish abundance. Catch is also dependent upon trawling speed, water depth and time of trawling. Trawling consistently yielded higher catches per area than did conventional traps. Unmarketable individuals and mortality were no different for the two gear types. Trawling could be an effective supplemental harvesting method, but additional work needs to be performed to alleviate electrical and mechanical problems before economic efficiency can be realistic.
The GEON portal: accelerating knowledge discovery in the geosciences

Geoscience studies produce data from various observations, experiments, and simulations at an enormous rate. With proliferation of applications and data formats, the geoscience research community faces many challenges in effectively managing and sharing resources and in efficiently integrating and analyzing the data. In this paper, we discuss how this challenge is being addressed by the GEON Portal, a Web based distributed resource management system that provides integrated access to data and tools needed for knowledge discovery in the geosciences. Unlike previous data management efforts that were either data-driven or application-driven, the GEON Portal provides facilities for efficient sharing, discovery and integration of both data and services that use geoscience data. We identify the challenges involved in managing geoscientific resources and provide solutions that exploit the syntactic, semantic, temporal and spatial metadata associated with the resources. One of our goals is to provide some insight into the challenges involved in providing a comprehensive scientific data management solution based on our experiences with geoscientific data.
Fur in the Midst of the Waters: Visual Search for Material Type Is Inefficient

A limited set of attributes can guide visual selective attention. Thus, it is possible to deploy attention to an item defined by an appropriate color, size, or orientation but not to a specific type of line intersection or a specific letter (assuming other attributes like orientation are controlled). What defines the set of guiding attributes? Perhaps it is the set of attributes of surfaces or materials in the world. L. Sharan, R. E. Rosenholtz, and E. H. Adelson (submitted for publication) have shown that observers are extremely adept at identifying materials. Are they equally adept at guiding attention to one type of material among distractors of another? A series of visual search experiments shows that the answer is "no." It may be easy to identify "fur" or "stone," but search for a patch of fur among the stones will be inefficient.