cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Rice fields of South Carolina: A resource inventory and management policy evaluation

Abstract Acreages and vegetative cover types of areas identified as former rice fields were determined from topographic maps and aerial photographs with verification by ground checks. Sixteen vegetative cover types were recognized and 74, 113 acres of former rice fields were located. Each drainage system studied had roughly the same acreage, but different proportions of cover types. A questionnaire was sent to selected rice field owners in the inventoried drainage systems and to selected owners in the Ashepoo, Combahee, and South Edisto River drainage system and the Savannah River drainage system. The questionnaire survey indicated that only about 32 percent of the former rice fields were being managed and that the rice fields were being managed for waterfowl. The regulatory and management problems associated with rice field utilization are discussed.
Subnational Differences and Firm Strategies during Institutional Transitions

This study explores subnational differences in Russia and how they can change the effects of institutions on firm strategies. Drawing on institutional theory and institutional transitions perspectives, we show that firms’ propensity to use market-based strategies is affected by the quality of the development of market institutions in different subnational regions. Specifically, our results show that, while older (incumbent) firms in general tend to use market-based strategies less, this relationship is weakened in more market-friendly Russian regions. Overall this study extends the institutional transitions perspective and contributes to the literature on subnational differences, as well as to research on Russian business and management.
It's not easy being green: student recall of plant and animal images

It is well documented that people are less interested in studying plants than animals. We tested whether university students would selectively recall more animal images than plant images even when equally-nameable plant and animal images were presented for equal lengths of time. Animal and plant images were pre-tested and 14 animal-plant pairs were selected, based on student ability to equally name the images. These images were randomly presented to two groups of university students: those currently enrolled in a psychology class and those currently enrolled in a botany class. Student recall of each image was recorded after a distracting task. The results confirmed that the animal images were recalled significantly more than the plant images. There was no apparent effect of attending a botany class on these results. However, gender effects were identified for recall of plant versus animal images in general (women recalled more plants than men) and for four specific plant images (carnation, rose, daisy, an...
Preparation and Characterization of Heavy Ion Targets

Many of the same target preparation techniques used to fabricate samples to be bombarded with light ions (protons, deuterons, 4He++, etc.) in various nuclear research studies can be and are used in fabricating targets for heavy ion interaction research. However, the experimental data obtained in heavy ion studies are far more sensitive to variations in target parameters than those resulting from light ion interactions. Careful consideration of anticipated results of the research must be given in selecting preparative techniques that can yield the desired target characteristics. Proper interpretation of experimental results demands that the target used is extensively characterized. Effects of specific target parameters, e.g., thickness, nuclidic uniformity, impurity concentration and identification, are reviewed in this paper. Preparative and characterization techniques are critically examined in terms of their effects on experimental results and on target lifetime.
Packaging technology of OptoBGA for 2.4 Gb/s

The significantly increasing transmission capacity in the subscriber system are accelerating demands for higher data transmission speed, low cost, and system miniaturization in the millennium approaches. The key solution for the demands, smaller, lower cost, and high performance package, is surface technology. OptoBGA package has been developed to meet this challenge, a surface mountable type optical package that is designed for high frequency transmission speeds. OptoBGA package has a BGA structure to bring forth effectively size and cost reduction for the packaging. OptoBGA consists of ceramic material, a robust material, which has many advantages such as design flexibility with fine design rule, ease of process technology, high performance, and high reliability. The design of OptoBGA was made possible by improvement in the physical structure. The results of this research produced an OptoBGA with a return loss of about -20dB at 10GHz. Furthermore, reliability test evaluations have been conducted to demonstrate that the OptoBGA can withstand harsh environments.© (2000) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Carriage of stx2a differentiates clinical and bovine-biased strains of Escherichia coli O157.

Background Shiga toxin (Stx) are cardinal virulence factors of enterohemorrhagic E. coli O157:H7 (EHEC O157). The gene content and genomic insertion sites of Stx-associated bacteriophages differentiate clinical genotypes of EHEC O157 (CG, typical of clinical isolates) from bovine-biased genotypes (BBG, rarely identified among clinical isolates). This project was designed to identify bacteriophage-mediated differences that may affect the virulence of CG and BBG.
Reduced quantum efficiency of a near‐surface quantum well

The effect of the proximity of a bare barrier surface on the quantum efficiency of underlying GaAs/Al0.3Ga0.7As and In0.13Ga0.87As/GaAs quantum wells (QWs) is studied by low‐temperature photoluminescence. The quantum efficiency of the resonantly excited QWs diminishes with decreasing surface barrier thickness; the onset of the reduction in quantum efficiency of the InGaAs QW occurs for a barrier that is 50 A thicker than for the GaAs QW. A simple model of carrier tunneling to the surface is formulated to explain the dependence of the quantum efficiency on surface barrier thickness and well width and height. This model shows good agreement with both sets of experimental data.
Importance of the Fixative for Reliable Ultrastructural Preservation of Poikilohydric Plant Tissues. Observations on Dry, Partially, and Fully Hydrated Tissues ofSelaginella lepidophylla

Abstract Leaves of desiccated ‘resurrection plants’, Selaginella lepidophylla , were hydrated either through the roots of intact plants or as isolated organs. Air-dry tissue and samples at 1, 4, 8 and 24 h (both detached and intact) of hydration were prepared for electron microscopy using aldehyde fixatives of different osmotic strengths. Both dry and hydrated tissues were also prepared using freeze substitution. Significant differences in the ultrastructural preservation of these different samples were noted. There was a direct correlation between the osmolality of both the fixative and the tissue with the quality of ultrastructural preservation. When the osmolality of the fixative was slightly (or even considerably) higher than that of the tissue, optimal preservation was achieved. Freeze substitution, however, gave the most faithful preservation of all subcellular compartments, despite the frequent presence of small ice crystals. Additionally, hydration of detached leaves for more than 4 h resulted in swelling damage of the organelles and cytoplasm, regardless of the fixation protocol. Broadly interpreted, the results of this study indicate that an optimal preservation of plant cell and organelle ultrastructure can be achieved by the use of high osmolality fixatives or, preferably, freeze substitution. These results are also important in determining the method of hydration of poikilohydric samples for physiological studies and for interpretation of functional changes as related to the structural condition of the organelles.
An Integrated Geomechanical and Microseismic Study of Multi-Well Hydraulic Fracture Stimulation in the Bakken Formation

We present an integrated study of multi-stage hydraulic fracture stimulation of two parallel horizontal wells in the Bakken formation in the Williston Basin, North Dakota. There are two distinct parts of this study: development of a geomechanical model for the study area, and analysis of the microseismic and hydraulic fracturing data. Despite the limited amount of well log data available, we estimate the current stress state to be characterized by a NF/SS regime, with Pp= 0.66 psi/ft, Sv=1.05 psi/ft, Shmin=0.79-0.85 psi/ft. Published data of drilling-induced tensile fractures observed in the FMI image logs just south of the study area indicate that SHmax is oriented ~N40-50°E. The microseismic events were recorded in six observation wells during hydraulic fracturing of parallel wells X and Z, and three unusual patterns were observed: First, rather than occurring in proximity to the stages being pressurized in X or Z, many of the events occur along the length of well Y (a parallel well located between X and Z that has been in production for about 2.5 years). Second, relatively few fracturing stages are associated with the expected elongate cloud of events trending in the direction of SHmax. Instead, the microseismic events from many stages appear to trend ~30° from the direction of SHmax. Finally, the microseismic events are clustered at two distinct depths, one close to the depth of the well being pressurized and the other about 800 ft above in another formation. We believe all three of these patterns result from the hydraulic stimulation being dominated by flow channeling along pre-existing fractures and faults.
Comparison of numerical oblique detonation solutions with an asymptotic benchmark

In order to have confidence in a numerical method, the verification of its reproduction of known benchmark analytic solutions for simple model problems is of great importance. Attention is presently given to a novel benchmarking procedure for numerical models of high speed, reactive 2D flows. The procedure is illustrated by comparing asymptotic and numerical solutions for oblique detonations in which an attached oblique shock is followed by an exothermic reaction with a thick reaction zone.
Structural and biomechanical characterizations of porcine myocardial extracellular matrix

Extracellular matrix (ECM) of myocardium plays an important role to maintain a multilayered helical architecture of cardiomyocytes. In this study, we have characterized the structural and biomechanical properties of porcine myocardial ECM. Fresh myocardium were decellularized in a rotating bioreactor using 0.1 % sodium dodecyl sulfate solution. Masson’s trichrome staining and SEM demonstrated the removal of cells and preservation of the interconnected 3D cardiomyocyte lacunae. Movat’s pentachrome staining showed the preservation of cardiac elastin ultrastructure and vascular elastin distribution/alignment. DNA assay result confirmed a 98.59 % reduction in DNA content; the acellular myocardial scaffolds were found completely lack of staining for the porcine α-Gal antigen; and the accelerating enzymatic degradation assessment showed a constant degradation rate. Tensile and shear properties of the acellular myocardial scaffolds were also evaluated. Our observations showed that the acellular myocardial ECM possessed important traits of biodegradable scaffolds, indicating the potentials in cardiac regeneration and whole heart tissue engineering.
A note on defining conditional probability

The notion of conditional probability is usually introduced on the basis of frequencies of events belonging to a specified subset (of the set all admissible events) events. Given P(xi) = Pi, i = 1,.. ., n, not identically 0 on the set of events {xi}, = 1, .. ., m, m < n, let us suppose that we wish to define an associated conditional distribution Q(xi) = qi, i = 1,..., m, on that subset. It is then defined as
Outdoor Weathering and Dissolution of TNT and Tritonal

Low-order detonations of military munitions scatter cm-sized chunks of high-explosives onto military range soils, where rainfall can dissolve and then transport the explosives to groundwater. We present 1 year of mass-loss data obtained from cm-sized chunks of the frequently used explosives TNT (2,4,6-trinitrotoluene) and Tritonal (an 80:20 mixture of TNT and aluminum flakes) exposed outdoors to weather and dissolve under natural conditions. The explosive chunks rested on glass frits in individual funnels and all precipitation interacting with them was collected and analyzed. Mass balance data reveal that TNT in the water samples accounts for only about one-third of the TNT lost from the chunks. The creation of photo-transformation products on the solid chunks, and their subsequent dissolution or sublimation, probably accounts for the other two-thirds. Although these products cannot, as yet, be quantified they are intrinsic to the outdoor weathering and fate of TNT-based explosives. TNT in our water samples was not photo-transformed. Thus, we used the yearlong, dissolved-mass time-series to validate a drop-impingement dissolution model for TNT. The model used measured rainfall and air temperature data as input, and the results agreed remarkably well with TNT dissolved-mass time-series measured for the year. This model can estimate annual TNT influx into range soils using annual rainfall and particle-size distributions. Nevertheless, large uncertainties remain in the numbers and sizes of TNT particles scattered on military ranges and the identities and fates of the photo-transformation products.
Mercury-induced H2O2 production and lipid peroxidation in vitro in rat kidney mitochondria

Mercuric ion (Hg(II)) causes oxidative tissue damage in kidney cortical cells. We studied the in vitro effects of Hg(II) on hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production by rat kidney mitochondria, a principal intracellular target of Hg(II). In mitochondria supplemented with a respiratory chain substrate (succinate or malate/glutamate) and an electron transport inhibitor (antimycin A (AA) or rotenone), Hg(II) (30 nmol/mg protein) increased H2O2 formation approximately 4-fold at the ubiquinone-cytochrome b region (AA-inhibited) and 2-fold at the NADH dehydrogenase region (rotenone-inhibited). Concomitantly, Hg(II) increased iron-dependent lipid peroxidation 3.5-fold at the NADH dehydrogenase region, but only by 25% at the ubiquinone-cytochrome b region. The mitochondrial concentration of reduced glutathione (GSH) decreased both with incubation time and Hg(II) concentration. Hg(II), at a concentration of 12 nmol/mg protein, caused almost complete depletion of measurable GSH in substrate-supplemented mitochondria after a 30-min incubation. In electron transport-inhibited mitochondria, Hg(II) caused greater depletion of GSH in rotenone-inhibited than in AA-inhibited mitochondria, consistent with the effects of Hg(II) on lipid peroxidation. These results suggest that Hg(II) at low concentrations depletes mitochondrial GSH and enhances H2O2 formation in kidney mitochondria under conditions of impaired respiratory chain electron transport. The increased H2O2 formation by Hg(II) may lead to oxidative tissue damage, such as lipid peroxidation, observed in mercury-induced nephrotoxicity.
Comparison of coronary artery bypass surgery and percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty including surgery for failed angioplasty.

Selection and treatment of patients with ischemic heart disease is presently undergoing an evolutionary trend. Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) has been recommended as the initial procedure for many patients with coronary artery disease and has thus redefined candidates for coronary artery bypass surgery. During our first years of experience with percutaneous angioplasty, 339 patients underwent the procedure and were compared with 338 patients who underwent isolated coronary artery bypass surgery. Patients who underwent PTCA had a shorter duration of angina and a lower number of prior myocardial infarctions and were found to have better left ventricular function (p < 0.01). PTCA was considered initially successful in 87% (295 of 339) of patients. The most common finding at operation in those with failed angioplasty who underwent urgent or emergency revascularization was dissection of atheromatous plaque. Although the cumulative frequency of new Q waves in the entire 18-month angioplasty series was low (2.7%), the incidence was high (18%) in those with angioplasty failure and subsequent operation (N = 20) and significantly greater than in patients who had elective coronary artery bypass surgery (3.6%). Use of inotropic agents and lidocaine for ventricular arrhythmias was significantly higher in patients with unsuccessful PTCA who required operation than in those who underwent elective bypass surgery (10% vs 3% and 10% vs 1.5%, respectively; p < 0.01). In an analysis of our entire experience between October 1980 and June 1982, 777 patients who had PTCA and 2068 patients who underwent coronary artery bypass surgery were analyzed for differences in clinical complications and early outcome. Patients who had coronary artery bypass surgery were significantly older and had a higher incidence of hypertension (46% vs 32%), more multivessel disease (80% vs 12%), and more left ventricular dysfunction. Emergency coronary artery bypass was required in 5.3% of patients following PTCA. There were no deaths following the angioplasty procedure and nine deaths in 1162 patients who underwent coronary artery bypass surgery between 1980 and 1981 (hospital mortality, 0.8%). Facilities and staff available for expedient revascularization accounted for the low morbidity and lack of mortality in PTCA failures.
Isolating, imaging, and electrically characterizing individual organic molecules on the Si(100) surface with the scanning tunneling microscope

Molecular electronics shows great potential as an approach for fabricating nanoelectronic devices and circuits. Despite this potential, many fundamental problems remain unsolved. This article outlines a three pronged approach that addresses key molecular electronic issues for molecules supported on ultrahigh vacuum scanning tunneling microscopy (UHVSTM) patterned hydrogen passivated Si(100) surfaces. First, feedback controlled lithography (FCL) has been developed as a reliable technique for making templates of individual dangling bonds on the Si(100)–2×1:H surface. FCL detects individual H desorption events while patterning, thereby compensating for variations in tip structure. When the surface is then exposed to a flux of molecules, they bind individually to the prepatterned sites. With this technique, norbornadiene and copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) molecules have been intentionally isolated into predefined patterns. STM images reveal intramolecular detail and suggest mechanical behavior such as molecular rotation. Second, using STM spectroscopy, molecules’ electronic properties have been revealed. Filled state tunneling conductance maps of CuPc molecules exhibit an enhanced density of electronic states. However, in empty states, a ring of reduced local density of states surrounds each CuPc molecule. Finally, an all-UHV scheme for isolating and, ultimately, electrically contacting STM-patterned nanostructures has been developed that utilizes a predefined p–n junction on a Si(100) substrate. With STM potentiometry, the junction is easily located, allowing for efficient registration of nanostructures after intermediate processing steps. In addition, by STM patterning across the depletion region, the electrical properties of selectively deposited nanostructures can be directly evaluated when the p–n junction is reverse biased.Molecular electronics shows great potential as an approach for fabricating nanoelectronic devices and circuits. Despite this potential, many fundamental problems remain unsolved. This article outlines a three pronged approach that addresses key molecular electronic issues for molecules supported on ultrahigh vacuum scanning tunneling microscopy (UHVSTM) patterned hydrogen passivated Si(100) surfaces. First, feedback controlled lithography (FCL) has been developed as a reliable technique for making templates of individual dangling bonds on the Si(100)–2×1:H surface. FCL detects individual H desorption events while patterning, thereby compensating for variations in tip structure. When the surface is then exposed to a flux of molecules, they bind individually to the prepatterned sites. With this technique, norbornadiene and copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) molecules have been intentionally isolated into predefined patterns. STM images reveal intramolecular detail and suggest mechanical behavior such as molecular...
Constitutive Model for Unfrozen Water Content in Subfreezing Unsaturated Soils

A new constitutive relationship for phase partitioning of water in frozen soils is proposed. This relationship extends to unsaturated conditions established relationships for gas-free conditions by smoothing a thermodynamically derived relationship to eliminate a jump discontinuity at the freezing temperature. This relationship is shown to compare well with experimental data on unfrozen water content as a function of temperature for different total water content values. Using this new relationship, a modified nonisothermal Richards equation is solved for flow in freezing soil. The results based on this modified Richards equation are shown to compare well with data from two different column experiments.
From Ladies' Days to Women's Initiatives: American Pastimes and Distaff Consumption

American entrepreneurs have, for more than a century, sought to cultivate female consumers of national pastimes, specifically horse racing, boxing, baseball, football and basketball. Because these sports have been principally and historically associated with manliness and masculinity, it is more appropriate to think in terms of women's involvement and consumption, as opposed to their athletic participation when it comes to ‘pastime' status. Marketing campaigns aimed at women by the promoters of national pastimes reveal complex processes of commercialisation, bourgeoisification and hypercommodification. The ways in which major sports leagues and administrators appealed to women have long been based on essentialised feminine roles, treating women as moralising agents, wives and mothers, and consumers. These strategies represent the primary force in shaping women's inclusion in national pastimes. In turn, they have defined what it means to be a ‘female fan' in ways that normalise male fandom and position wom...
Clearance Regulation of Mechanical Gas Face Seals: Part II—Analysis and Control

This article presents the analysis and control of noncontacting mechanical gas face seals based on the state space model developed in Part I. Methods to analyze the controllability and observability of axial and tilt modes are described. The controllability analysis determines to what extent the dynamic response of the seal system modes can be shaped in a closed-loop feedback system, and the observability analysis determines if the seal system modes can be reconstructed from specific state measurements of the axial clearance and stator tilts. The error state-space method is employed to design a tracking controller to regulate the seal at a prescribed axial clearance. The control law is a function of all axial states; therefore, reduced order linear observers are designed to observe the unmeasured axial and tilt seal states. The axial clearance and tilt state estimates are used to reconstruct the gas film axial force and moments, which cannot be directly measured, for design and analysis. The analysis and ...
Priming of naive T cells inside tumors leads to eradication of established tumors

The tumor barrier comprised of nonantigenic stromal cells may contribute to the failure of tumor rejection. The tumor-necrosis factor superfamily member LIGHT (also known as TNFSF-14) is a ligand of stromal cell-expressed lymphotoxin-beta receptor and T cell-expressed herpes viral entry mediator (HVEM). Here we show that forced expression of LIGHT in the tumor environment induces a massive infiltration of naive T lymphocytes that correlates with an upregulation of both chemokine production and expression of adhesion molecules. Activation of these infiltrating T cells, possibly through HVEM, leads to the rejection of established, highly progressive tumors at local and distal sites. Our study indicates that targeting the tumor barrier may be an effective strategy for cancer immunotherapy.
Nudeocytoplasmic shuttling by protein nuclear import factors

Protein nuclear import factors are not, in general, believed to function in the nuclear export of macromolecules and their reutilization therefore requires their recycling from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. Two possible mechanisms for recycling have been proposed. On the one hand, protein import factors such as importin beta and transportin (Trn) could continuously shuttle between cytoplasm and nucleoplasm. On the other hand, these proteins could penetrate into the nucleus only as far as the inner surface of the nuclear pore complex and then directly return to the cytoplasm. In this manuscript, we have used microinjection analysis in human cells, and in vitro nuclear assays, to demonstrate that importin beta, transportin and importin alpha are all nucleocytoplasmic shuttle proteins that efficiently enter and exit the cell nucleoplasm. In the case of transportin, we have mapped sequences required for nucleocytoplasmic shuttling to the carboxy-terminal 270 amino acids of this 890 amino acid import factor, thus demonstrating that nuclear export is independent of the amino-terminal Ran-binding domain of Trn. We further show that Trn shuttling is independent of nuclear RNA transcription. Overall, these data suggest that nucleocytoplasmic shuttling is likely to be a general attribute of protein nuclear import factors.
The Contributions of Race, Individual Socioeconomic Status, and Neighborhood Socioeconomic Context on the Self-Rated Health Trajectories and Mortality of Older Adults

Drawing on four waves of the Americans' Changing Lives Study, we examine the contributions of individual and neighborhood socioeconomic status to explain racial disparities in self-rated health trajectories over time, among Black and White older adults in the United States. Primary results of three-level growth curve analyses of self-rated health change, and multinomial logistic regression of mortality and attrition, indicate that (1) racial and socioeconomic disparities in health persist into old age, (2) Black older adults have greater declines in self-rated health over time than White older adults, and these disparities are explained by individual and neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES), (3) individual and neighborhood SES contribute to persisting self-rated health disparities at older ages, but may not contribute significantly to further declines in self-rated health at older ages, (4) Black disadvantage in mortality exists at older ages, and persists net of individual and neighborhood SES, and (5...
A novel H28Y mutation in LEC rats leads to decreased NAT protein stability in vivo and in vitro.

Nocturnal melatonin production is reportedly controlled by the rhythms of serotonin N-acetyltransferase (NAT, or arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase). While analyzing the melatonin synthetic pathways of Long Evans cinnamon (LEC) rats mutant for PINA, a pineal night-specific ATPase defective in Wilson disease, we discovered that NAT activity and protein levels are greatly reduced in LEC rats, and that the highly conserved histidine 28 is mutated to tyrosine. To study the effect of H28Y, we isolated a new strain of rat termed LPN that is mutant for NAT but wildtype for both PINA and coat color. Compared with control rats, the LPN rats displayed low NAT protein levels and enzyme activities. These results suggest that the H28Y mutation in NAT is the cause of reduced NAT levels in vivo. The identical H28Y mutation was also found in Sprague-Dawley rats from Zivic- Miller, suggesting it may be a common mutation in rodents. When analyzed in bacterial cells and HEK293 cells, the mutation resulted in reduction of both NAT protein stability and catalytic activity, confirming that the in vivo NAT phenotype in LPN rats was due to the H28Y mutation. Further analysis of the NAT-H28Y will focus on the mechanisms of the increased degradation both in vitro and in vivo, which will facilitate our understanding of how melatonin synthesis is controlled at the molecular level.
Significance of atrial septal aneurysm: Report of a case

Postoperative stroke can have many etiologies including cerebral thrombosis, embolism, and hemorrhage. If there is a right-to-left intracardiac shunt, paradoxical embolism may also occur. Atrial septal aneurysm has been diagnosed with increasing frequency because of the accuracy of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). Atrial septal aneurysm is also associated with patent foramen ovale and atrial septal defects. We report a case of a patient who developed a postoperative stroke one day after coronary artery bypass surgery. TEE performed in the intensive care unit revealed an atrial septal aneurysm with a right-to-left interatrial shunt, which may have resulted in paradoxical systemic embolism.
A user customizable X window system interface for simulation of neural networks

An X window system interface, the Neural Shell Version 3.5, which simplifies the use of neural-network simulators for neural-network research is presented. This interface can be customized by the user as additional simulators and toolkit programs are developed and added to the system. The Neural Shell runs on workstations and additionally supports the execution of large neural-network simulations on remote high-performance computers. Typically, users develop prototype neural networks on local workstations and then perform more extensive simulations on remote machines. The functional capabilities of the configurable user interface are described. >
Historic Fire and Canopy Disturbance Dynamics in an Oak-Pine (Quercus-Pinus) Forest of the Missouri Ozarks (1624–2010)

ABSTRACT Studies of historic forest disturbances provide an important context for the ecological dynamics that affect forest structure and successional trajectory. Previous historical disturbance research in the Missouri Ozark Highlands has highlighted the dynamics of fire regimes. However, little is known concerning canopy disturbance regimes in this region. The primary objective of this study was to reconstruct the history of multiple disturbances at a site that was known for having both historic Native and Euro-American activity. We analyzed the radial growth of shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata Mill.) and white oak (Quercus alba L.) to infer growth release events and documented historic fire events based on fire-scarred P. echinata. The majority of trees (87%) exhibited at least one growth release between 1624 and 2000 with the earliest growth release occurring in 1645. A total of 39 fires were documented between 1706 and 1915. Mean duration of growth releases for both species was approximately six years...
Fast simulation framework for subthreshold circuits

Subthreshold voltage operation, which can be considered an extreme case of voltage scaling, can greatly reduce the power consumption of circuits. This is beneficial in embedded applications that must run off of batteries and scavenged energy. Subthreshold operation has been proven to be very effective by several successful prototypes in the recent years, yet there is no fast and effective way for designers to estimate power and delay of a design operating in the subthreshold region. Traditional gate-level simulation tools are not set up to perform timing and power analysis in the subthreshold region and transistor level simulations are very time consuming due to the accuracy required to measure the very low levels of current. This paper presents a simulation framework that can accurately characterize a circuit from nominal voltage, all the way down into the subthreshold region. This framework uses the nominal frequency and power of a target circuit and a normalized ring oscillator curve to characterize the circuit at lower voltages. The contribution of this paper is a detailed analysis of this framework in the presence of a variety of design parameters such as bus lengths, transistor widths, etc. The simulation framework is extremely quick and accurate across a wide variety of circuits.
Activity of Uridine Diphosphate N-Acetylglucosamine-4-Epimerase During Spherulation of Physarum polycephalum

The specific activity of uridine diphosphate N-acetylglucosamine-4-epimerase increases during spherulation of Physarum polycephalum, a process that involves the synthesis of galactosamine walls. This increase is prevented by the addition of cycloheximide.
Model Combination for Machine Translation

Machine translation benefits from two types of decoding techniques: consensus decoding over multiple hypotheses under a single model and system combination over hypotheses from different models. We present model combination, a method that integrates consensus decoding and system combination into a unified, forest-based technique. Our approach makes few assumptions about the underlying component models, enabling us to combine systems with heterogenous structure. Unlike most system combination techniques, we reuse the search space of component models, which entirely avoids the need to align translation hypotheses. Despite its relative simplicity, model combination improves translation quality over a pipelined approach of first applying consensus decoding to individual systems, and then applying system combination to their output. We demonstrate BLEU improvements across data sets and language pairs in large-scale experiments.
NetLogger: a toolkit for distributed system performance tuning and debugging

Developers and users of high-performance distributed systems often observe performance problems such as unexpectedly low throughput or high latency. Determining the source of the performance problems requires detailed end-to-end instrumentation of all components, including the applications, operating systems, hosts, and networks. In this paper we describe a methodology that enables the real-time diagnosis of performance problems in complex high-performance distributed systems. The methodology includes tools for generating timestamped event logs that can be used to provide detailed end-to-end application and system level monitoring; and tools for visualizing the log data and real-time state of the distributed system. This methodology, called NetLogger, has proven invaluable for diagnosing problems in networks and in distributed systems code. This approach is novel in that it combines network, host, and application-level monitoring, providing a complete view of the entire system. NetLogger is designed to be extremely lightweight, and includes a mechanism for reliably collecting monitoring events from multiple distributed locations.
Plate Number Requirements for Establishing Method Suitability

Establishing the suitability of an analytical system has become a routine requirement in the testing of modern pharmaceuticals. Acceptable parameters that illustrate the system is performing as intended and in an equivalent manner to the original validation are often set at the time of method validation and transferred with the method to the production laboratory. For chromatographic methods, these parameters include—but are not limited to— resolution, tailing, and plate number specifications. Transferring methods is often a seamless transition from research to quality control. However, far too often the quality group receives arguably “overzealous” and strict requirements for the method. More specifically, chromatographic methods get issued with plate number specifications that far exceed the minimum number required to achieve sufficient resolution of the analytes. Presented here is a discussion of the setting of realistic plate number specifications that still maintain the minimum resolution of the chromatographic critical pair.
Synergistic combination of systems for structural health monitoring and earthquake early warning for structural health prognosis and diagnosis

Earthquake early warning (EEW) systems are currently operating nationwide in Japan and are in beta-testing in California. Such a system detects an earthquake initiation using online signals from a seismic sensor network and broadcasts a warning of the predicted location and magnitude a few seconds to a minute or so before an earthquake hits a site. Such a system can be used synergistically with installed structural health monitoring (SHM) systems to enhance pre-event prognosis and post-event diagnosis of structural health. For pre-event prognosis, the EEW system information can be used to make probabilistic predictions of the anticipated damage to a structure using seismic loss estimation methodologies from performance-based earthquake engineering. These predictions can support decision-making regarding the activation of appropriate mitigation systems, such as stopping traffic from entering a bridge that has a predicted high probability of damage. Since the time between warning and arrival of the strong shaking is very short, probabilistic predictions must be rapidly calculated and the decision making automated for the mitigation actions. For post-event diagnosis, the SHM sensor data can be used in Bayesian updating of the probabilistic damage predictions with the EEW predictions as a prior. Appropriate Bayesian methods for SHM have been published. In this paper, we use pre-trained surrogate models (or emulators) based on machine learning methods to make fast damage and loss predictions that are then used in a cost-benefit decision framework for activation of a mitigation measure. A simple illustrative example of an infrastructure application is presented.
Industrial Facilities Overhead Energy Estimation

In this study, two important techniques for estimating the nonprocess energy in industrial and manufacturing buildings were examined. The building energy data for two industrial facilities were collected and analyzed. The building nonprocess energy includes lighting, heating, cooling, and ventilation. The power intensity (W/ft2) for each energy type use was estimated using two methods and then analyzed. This nonprocess energy needs to be clearly defined to allow more quantitative improvements. Previous analysis of industrial energy use often expressed nonprocess energy as a percentage of total energy but without clear values of actual nonprocess energy. This information is a low value since the actual nonprocess energy is then dominated by the dominator which is unspecified. The research in this paper has further contributed to the life cycle assessment of products by estimating nonprocess energy which can then be added to the process energy to obtain a complete energy profile of product manufacturing.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Revealing ontological commitments by magic

Considering the appeal of different magical transformations exposes some systematic asymmetries. For example, it is more interesting to transform a vase into a rose than a rose into a vase. An experiment in which people judged how interesting they found different magic tricks showed that these asymmetries reflect the direction a transformation moves in an ontological hierarchy: transformations in the direction of animacy and intelligence are favored over the opposite. A second and third experiment demonstrated that judgments of the plausibility of machines that perform the same transformations do not show the same asymmetries, but judgments of the interestingness of such machines do. A formal argument relates this sense of interestingness to evidence for an alternative to our current physical theory, with magic tricks being a particularly pure source of such evidence. These results suggest that people’s intuitions about magic tricks can reveal the ontological commitments that underlie human cognition.
EFFECTS OF BACTERIAL ENDOTOXINS ON METABOLISM : V. THE HYPERREACTIVITY OF MICE INFECTED WITH MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS, STRAIN BCG.

The greater susceptibility to the lethal effects of bacterial endotoxin (heat-killed Salmonella typhimurium or Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide, in mice infected with an attenuated strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (BCG) was confirmed. It reached a maximum at 2 weeks postinfection and gradually diminished for an additional 6 weeks. At the time of maximum susceptibility several metabolic and physiological differences became apparent. BCG-infected mice die sooner (4 to 12 hours) and without the diarrhea, conjunctivitis, and general symptomatology associated with endotoxin deaths of normal animals. Reticuloendothelial blockade results in only a small change in reactivity to endotoxin, in contrast to normal mice. Subcutaneous injection of 2 units of ACTH is followed by no significant increase in urinary nitrogen excretion while in control animals it more than doubles. Plasma clearance of intravenously administered inulin is approximately normal in BCG-infected mice 17 hours after an LD(50) dose of endotoxin but control mice similarly treated show renal impairment. In line with this result is the absence of elevated carcass non-protein nitrogen (NPN) following endotoxin poisoning or at the moment of death from endotoxemia in the hyperreactive animals in contrast to the two- to threefold increase in carcass NPN in normal mice under similar conditions. Body carbohydrate is at a minimum and becomes depleted to a level approximating that found at death more rapidly in BCG-infected mice given endotoxin than in controls. There is also a lower ratio of carbohydrate anabolized to protein catabolized following cortisone administration to BCG-infected mice than in control mice. This is found in adrenalectomized mice and in stressed animals and is reported elsewhere. Some of the differences just described can be attributed to a refractory adrenal cortex. There is less depletion of adrenal cholesterol in vivo and lower corticoid synthesis in vitro than in normal mice yet this is not fundamentally responsible for the greater susceptibility of BCG-infected animals to endotoxin since adrenalectomized mice, which are even more susceptible, are metabolically and physiologically more comparable to normal mice than to BCG-infected mice. One can conclude, therefore, that the hyperreactivity of BCG-infected mice is more than an intensification of the normal response to endotoxin.
Oncological complications of human immunodeficiency virus disease and hematologic consequences of their treatment.

Despite advances in antiretroviral therapy and in the treatment and prevention of opportunistic infections, oncological and consequent hematologic complications of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection continue to occur and are of significant clinical importance. Virus-related tumors (e.g., Kaposi's sarcoma, induced by human herpesvirus 8; non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, linked to Epstein-Barr virus; and anogenital tumors, linked to human papillomavirus) are frequent in patients with HIV-induced immune deficiency. The incidence of AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma has declined among homosexual men, but this tumor remains problematic in many patients. Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is 60 times more prevalent in HIV-positive persons than in others and typically presents as advanced-stage, high- or intermediate-grade B cell lymphoma, with frequent extranodal involvement. Primary central nervous system lymphoma is also common. Cervical carcinoma in HIV-positive women is also usually advanced at diagnosis. Anal carcinoma is increasing in both HIV-positive and HIV-negative populations. Chemotherapy for these tumors can result in dose-limiting cytopenia that can be well-controlled with hematopoietic growth factors, allowing patients to avoid transfusions and maintain the dose intensity of their chemotherapy regimens.
Diaphragmatic treatment in ovarian carcinoma: a new radiotherapeutic technique.

Carcinoma of the ovary is a disease that frequently involves the diaphragm at presentation. A new radiotherapeutic technique is described that is directed toward treatment, not only of the pelvis, but also of the para-aortic nodes and diaphragm. Dosimetry is presented.
Liver Lipid Content of Twenty Varieties of Laying Hens from Three Confinement Systems

Abstract Average liver lipid values were determined for 20 varieties of 71-week old laying hens managed in 3 confinement systems of the 1972–73 North Carolina Random Sample Laying Test. There were highly significant differences in liver lipid attributable to variety, to confinement system, and a significant variety × system interaction. Four varieties had consistently high and five had consistently low liver lipid values in all 3 confinement systems. Variety means ranged from 25.8 to 49.0% liver lipid on a dry weight basis. Hens confined 2/cage had slight but significantly higher liver lipid than hens 7/cage or in floor pens. Liver lipid was positively correlated with body weight in hens 2/cage and in floor pens. There were no significant correlations of liver lipid with egg production or mortality. A frequency distribution of individual liver lipid values revealed a continuous distribution from 15.4 to 65.4% with a pronounced skew to the right of the mean of 38.2%. Neither a fatty liver syndrome nor liver hemorrhage syndrome was reported for any of the flocks during the laying year. The normal range of liver lipid values for hens 71 weeks of age appears to be between 25 and 49 g. of lipid per 100 g. of dry liver weight.
A Bayesian Statistics Based Design Curve Construction Method for Test Data With Extremely Small Sample Sizes

Fatigue design curve construction is commonly used for durability and reliability assessment of engineering components subjected to cyclic loading. A wide variety of design curve construction methods have been developed over the last decades. Some of the methods have been adopted by engineering codes and widely used in industry. However, the traditional design curve construction methods usually require significant amounts of test data in order for the constructed design curves to be consistently and reliably used in product design and validation. In order to reduce the test sample size and associated testing time and cost, several Bayesian statistics based design curve construction methods have been recently successfully developed by several research groups. Among all of these methods, an efficient Monte Carlo simulation based resampling method developed by the authors of this paper is of particular importance. The method is based on a large amount of reliable historical fatigue test data, the associated probabilistic distributions of the mean and standard deviation of the failure cycles, and an advanced acceptance-rejection resampling algorithm. However, finite element analysis (FEA) methods and a special stress recovery technique are required to process the test data, which is usually a time-consuming process. A more straightforward approach that does not require these intermediate processes is strongly preferred.This study presents such an approach, in which the only historical information needed is the distribution of the standard deviation of the cycles to failure. The distribution of the mean is directly calculated from the current tested data and the Central Limit Theorem. Neither FEA nor stress recovery technique is required for this approach, and the effort put into design curve construction can be significantly reduced. This method can be used to complement the previously developed Bayesian methods.Copyright © 2015 by ASME