cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Perennial grass bioenergy cropping systems: Impacts on soil fauna and implications for soil carbon accrual

Perennial grass energy crop production is necessary for the successful and sustainable expansion of bioenergy in North America. Numerous environmental advantages are associated with perennial grass cropping systems, including their potential to promote soil carbon accrual. Despite growing research interest in the abiotic and biotic factors driving soil carbon cycling within perennial grass cropping systems, soil fauna remain a critical yet largely unexplored component of these ecosystems. By regulating microbial activity and organic matter decomposition dynamics, soil fauna influence soil carbon stability with potentially significant implications for soil carbon accrual. We begin by reviewing the diverse, predominantly indirect effects of soil fauna on soil carbon dynamics in the context of perennial grass cropping systems. Since the impacts of perennial grass energy crop production on soil fauna will mediate their potential contributions to soil carbon accrual, we then discuss how perennial grass energy crop traits, diversity, and management influence soil fauna community structure and activity. We assert that continued research into the interactions of soil fauna, microbes, and organic matter will be important for advancing our understanding of soil carbon dynamics in perennial grass cropping systems. Furthermore, explicit consideration of soil faunal effects on soil carbon can improve our ability to predict changes in soil carbon following perennial grass cropping system establishment. We conclude by addressing the major knowledge gaps that should be prioritized to better understand and model the complex connections between perennial grass bioenergy systems, soil fauna, and carbon accrual.
The Role of Perinatal Palliative Care in Fetal Neurology.

OBJECTIVES Many serious or life-threatening neurologic conditions are first diagnosed during the fetal period, often following a routine ultrasound or sonographic evaluation after an abnormal aneuploidy screen. Such conditions represent a worrisome or unexpected finding for expectant parents, making the perinatal period a critical time point to engage and empower families encountering complex neurologic clinical scenarios. This review covers the role of perinatal palliative care in these settings. STUDY DESIGN Topical review RESULTS:: The prenatal identification of structural abnormalities of the brain or spinal cord, radiographic signs of hemorrhage or ischemic injury, or evidence of genetic or metabolic conditions should prompt involvement of a fetal palliative care team. The inherent prognostic uncertainty is challenging for prenatally diagnosed neurologic conditions which have difficult to predict short and long-term outcomes. While many of these conditions lead to the birth of an infant with neurodevelopmental challenges, few result in in utero demise. Palliative care beginning in the perinatal period provides an additional layer of support for families navigating complex decision-making during their pregnancy and provides continuity of care into the newborn period. Palliative care principles can help guide discussions around genetic and other diagnostic testing, fetal surgery, and birth planning. A multidisciplinary team can help support families with decision-making and through bereavement care in the setting of fetal or neonatal death. CONCLUSION Early palliative care team involvement can provide a more holistic approach to counseling, facilitate planning, and ensure that a family's goals and wishes are acknowledged throughout an infant's care trajectory. KEY POINTS · Many serious or life-threatening neurologic conditions are diagnosed during the fetal period.. · Palliative care principles should be incorporated in the fetal period for affected patients.. · Palliative care clinicians can aid parents and clinicians in shared decision-making.. · Palliative care principles should be employed by all care providers in relevant cases..
Boundary Crossings: Sexual Misconduct of Clergy

Clergy misconduct involves forms of boundary violations, the most egregious being child abuse, but also includes non-criminal behavior (such as homosexuality and adultery) that is acceptable in secular life, but problematic in religious settings. The betrayal of trust has farranging implications, and affects congregations as well. An understanding of the background and scope of these problems leads to suggestions for methods of appraisal and treatment, and emphasizes the need for religious organizations to increase their efforts of prevention.
Who Reads ABACUS

The 120 Abacus readers who returned the questionnaires bound into last fall’s issue (Fall 1984) gave us our first reliable idea of the nature of our audience. I thought you might like to know what we found out.
A plasmid-based system for expressing small interfering RNA libraries in mammalian cells

RNA interference (RNAi) is an evolutionarily conserved process that functions to inhibit gene expression. The use of RNAi in mammals as a tool to study gene function has rapidly developed in the last couple of years since the discovery that the function-inhibiting units of RNAi are short 21–25 nt double-stranded RNAs (siRNAs) derived from their longer template. The use of siRNAs allows for gene-specific knock-down without induction of the non-specific interferon response in mammalian cells. Multiple systems have been developed to introduce siRNAs into mammals. One of the most appealing of these techniques is the use of vectors containing polymerase III promoters to drive expression of hairpin siRNAs. However, there are multiple limitations to using hairpin siRNA vectors including the observation that some are unstable in bacteria and are difficult to sequence. To circumvent the limitation of hairpin siRNA vectors we have developed a convergent opposing siRNA expression system called pHippy. We have generated pHippy vectors or expression cassettes that knock down the expression of both reporter and endogenous genes. As a proof of principle that pHippy can be used to generate random siRNA libraries, we generated a small siRNA library against PGL3 luciferase and demonstrated that we could recover functional siRNAs that knock down PGL3 luciferase. siRNA is a powerful tool to study gene function. We have developed a new vector with opposing convergent promoters for the expression of siRNAs, which can be used to knock down endogenous genes in a high throughput manner or to perform functional screening with random or cDNA-derived siRNA libraries.
Exploring Fine-Grained Resource Rental Planning in Cloud Computing

Application services based on cloud computing infrastructure are proliferating over the Internet. In this paper, we investigate the problem of how to minimize cloud resource rental cost associated with hosting such cloud-based application services, while meeting the projected service demand. This problem arises when applications generate high volume of data that incurs significant cost on storage and transfer. As a result, an application service provider (ASP) needs to carefully evaluate various resource rental options before finalizing the application deployment. We choose Amazon EC2 marketplace as a case of study, and analyze the economical trade-off for on-demand resource rental strategies. Given fixed resource pricing, we first develop a deterministic model, using a mixed integer linear program, to facilitate resource rental decision making. Evaluation results show that our planning optimization model reduces resource rental cost by as much as $50$ percent compared with a baseline strategy. Next, we further investigate planning solutions to resource market featuring time-varying pricing (Amazon Spot Instance Market). We perform time-series analysis over the spot price trace and examine its predictability using auto-regressive integrated moving-average (ARIMA). We also develop a stochastic planning model based on multistage recourse. By comparing these two approaches, we discover that spot price forecasting does not provide our planning model with a crystal ball due to the weak correlation of past and future price, and the stochastic planning model better hedges against resource pricing uncertainty than resource rental planning using forecast prices.
On Deciding How to Do unto Others

The Neuroscience of Fair Play . Why We (Usually) Follow the Golden Rule. By Donald W. Pfaff . Dana Press, New York, 2007. 248 pp. $20.95. ISBN 9781932594270. Rejecting the idea of signaling circuits devoted to ethics, the author discusses neural and genetic mechanisms that may underlie the behavior of treating others as one wishes to be treated
Effect of Exercise on Regional Subcutaneous Fat Accumulations

Abstract Changes were observed in the thickness of a subcutaneous fat layer as a result of exercising an underlying unilateral muscle over a period of time using the subcutaneous fat layer over the inactive contralateral muscle as a control. The observations were made on 15 male subjects who participated in a ten-week weight-training program which involved the triceps of the dominant arm. A Harpenden skinfold caliper was used to estimate the thickness of the subcutaneous fat layers. The findings did not support the postulate that subcutaneous fat is reduced in localities where muscles are active and in proportion to their activity.
THE LIMITS TO GROWTH

This article examines aggregate real estate firm mortality rates in a group of metropolitan areas during the 1960s and 1970s. Real estate firms play a critical role in the local growth machine, yet no research has examined the environmental limits which these firms experience. A set of ecological hypotheses are constructed which detail the influence of task and institutional environments on aggregate firm mortality rates. The findings show the sensitivity of firms to their local context, although standard market forces are not operating. In addition, period differences suggest that larger societal forces interact with the local land market, increasing aggregate mortality rates over time. Results support recent observations of the local land market made by the “new urban sociology.”
Introduction to PCM Telemetering Systems

INTRODUCTION Basic Definitions Organization of the Text SECTION I - SYSTEM INTERFACES SENSOR TECHNOLOGY Introduction Objectives Measurement Environment Representative Sensor Technology Smart Sensor Technology MODELING AND CALIBRATION Background Objectives Basics Error Types Statistical Concepts Least Squares Fitting COMPUTER SYSTEMS Introduction Objectives Telemetry Database User Interface Systems Computer Organization SIGNAL PROCESSING Introduction Objectives Sampled versus Continuous Data Signal Types Bandlimiting Sampling Theorem Filter Design Software Filter Design Quantization Sampling Hardware SECTION II - DATA TRANSPORT, TIMING, AND SYNCHRONIZATION TELEMETRY FRAMES AND PACKETS Introduction Objectives Background Telemetry Frames Synchronization Codes Telemetry Frame Design Packet Telemetry MIL-STD-1553 Packets CCSDS Packets Data Networking Packets Command Processor Interface Formatting for Transmission TELEMETRY DATA SYNCHRONIZATION Introduction Objectives Synchronization Process Carrier Synchronization Bit Synchronization Frame Synchronization Error Detection Data Sequencing TIME AND POSITION DETERMINATION Introduction Objectives Definition of Time Time Code Formats Global Positioning System: Determining Time and Position COMMAND SYSTEMS Introduction Objectives Command Composition Command Strategies Verify-and-Execute Command Protocol Operational Considerations Packet Command Systems SECTION III - DATA TRANSMISSION TECHNIQUES MODULATION TECHNIQUES Introduction Objectives Analog Modulation Digital Modulation Bandwidth Estimates System Planning Digital Transmission with Analog Modulators MICROWAVE TRANSMISSION Introduction Objectives Background Antenna Basics Free Space Propagation Atmospheric, Sun, and Ground Effects Rain Effects Modeling Mobile Propagation Each chapter also contains References and Problems
The complement system in bullous pemphigoid. IV. Chemotactic activity in blister fluid

Abstract By a modified Boyden technique, chemotactic activity was present in bullous pemphigoid blister fluids but was also present in the corresponding sera. Heat inactivation (56°C for 30 min) only partially reduced the chemotactic activity of the blister fluid but almost completely inhibited the activity in pemphigoid sera. Both suction-induced and cantharidin-induced blister fluids exhibited some chemotactic activity but, in contrast to pemphigoid blister fluids, this activity was almost entirely abolished by heat inactivation. Blister fluids from some patients with other blistering skin diseases, however, did exhibit both heat-labile and heat-stable chemotactic activity. The chemotactic activity remaining in heat-inactivated pemphigoid blister fluid was inhibited by N-CBZ-α-glutamyl- l -tyrosine and by antiserum to C5 but not with antiserum to C3. Our studies suggest that complement-dependent chemotactic activity is present in bullous pemphigoid blister fluids, a finding that further implicates complement activation in the pathogenesis of this disease.
Recombinant Aequorin‐Based Systems for Biomarker Analysis

Detection methods utilized in the development of biosensors and biochips often require labeling strategies. Commonly employed labels include radioisotopes, enzymes, and fluorohphores. Bioluminescent proteins offer an alternative labeling option and are becoming increasingly popular because of their versatility, sensitivity, and nontoxicity. Bioluminescent labels emit light of varying colors as a method of releasing the energy that is produced by their specific chemical reactions. Aequorin is an example of one such bioluminescent protein which has been studied extensively and used in a variety of bioanalytical techniques. In this chapter, we describe the qualities of aequorin and the potential that it has as a generic label. This chapter also details several aequorin-based immunoassays that have been developed for the monitoring of biomarkers important to both hormonal disorders and cardiovascular disease. Lastly, we discuss the progress and the pitfalls associated with developing multianalyte detection schemes and robust sensing technologies based on bioluminescent, aequorin labeling. Keywords: aequorin; label; reporter; calcium detection; bioluminescence; photoprotein; immunoassay; lab-on-a-CD; multianalyte detection
A multiple copy approach for delivering messages under deadline constraints

A scheme to minimize the expected recovery cost incurred by a distributed real-time system as a result of messages failing to meet their deadline is proposed. The scheme is intended for distributed systems with point-to-point interconnection topology. The goal of minimizing the expected cost is achieved by sending multiple copies of a message through disjoint routes, thus increasing the probability of successful message delivery within the deadline. The number of copies of each message to be sent is determined by optimizing the tradeoff between the increase in the message traffic due to additional copies and the decrease in the probability of a message missing its deadline. The objective used to determine the optimal number of copies is formalized, and a numerical example is presented, showing that reductions of more than 70% can be achieved at low to moderate loads. At high loads the reductions are in the range of 10-40%. >
Effect of spherulites on the mechanical properties of nylon 66

The presence of spherulites in nylon 66 increases the yield point and reduces the effects of variations in per cent crystallinity. Decreasing the size of the spherulites through increased nucleation results in a higher flexural modulus and yield point, a lower ultimate elongation, and a loss of ductility. These effects are markedly reduced by raising the temperature or water content. The effects of spherulite size in nylon and grain size in metals such as mild steel are compared.
Firma Hebrona: A Private Enterprise in Latvia

With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, independence came to the Baltic republics. The focus of this case study is on Ainars Kadish and his entrepreneurial efforts in bringing an abandoned greenhouse operation back to a productive and profitable state. Also discussed are the post-Soviet environment and the privatization process as carried out in Latvia. The case provides financial information to explore Ainars' alternatives: should he continue producing at the current facility or build a new greenhouse complex?
Comparative study of the least squares approximation of the modified Bessel function

The least squares problem of the modified Bessel function of the second kind has been considered in this study with the Fourier series, Tchebycheff and Legendre approximation. Numerical evidence shows that the Gibbs phenomenon exists in the approximation with the truncated Fourier series, thus, giving poor convergence results compared with the other polynomial bases. For the latter two cases, the Legendre series perform better than Tchebycheff series in terms of the ℒ2 norm of the relative errors for each order of the polynomial approximation, and the ratio of the ℒ2 norm of the relative errors from the corresponding approximation seems to be a constant value of 1.3. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Soil and groundwater chemistry and vegetation distribution in a desert playa, Owens Lake, California

Generation of fine particulate dust (PM10)from the Owens Lake play a creates a severe air pollution hazard in the western Great Basin of the United States. One proposed mitigation strategy involves establishment of native vegetation to stabilize and trap fugitive sand. This study investigated soil and groundwater chemistry and the distribution of native plant species in relation to salts and toxic ions in the soil and groundwater along four transects from vegetated dunes or shorelines to nonvegetated playa surfaces. Soluble salts in soil extracts along all four transects were dominated by Na+(mole fraction = 0.43–0.47), HCO3/CO3 2‐ (020–026), and Cl‐ (0.15–022). Distichlis spicata (L.) E. Greene and Atriplex parryi S. Watson were found at locations with very high salt concentrations (44–77 dS m‐1 saturated paste electrical conductivity EC). The ultimate limitation to plant distribution, however, appears to result from shallow anoxic groundwater restricting rooting depth. Groundwater chemistry was characte...
Triangular processor array for computing singular values

A triangular processor array for computing the singular values of an m×n (m⩾n) matrix is proposed. A Jacobi-type algorithm is used to first triangularize the given matrix and then diagonalize the resultant triangular form. The requirements are 14n2 + O(n) processors and O(m + nS) time, where S denotes the number of sweeps. The “triangular” array can be extended to a “rectangular” one with 12mn + O(m) processors for the computational of singular vectors.
Event Mining in Multimedia Streams

Events are real-world occurrences that unfold over space and time. Event mining from multimedia streams improves the access and reuse of large media collections, and it has been an active area of research with notable progress. This paper contains a survey on the problems and solutions in event mining, approached from three aspects: event description, event-modeling components, and current event mining systems. We present a general characterization of multimedia events, motivated by the maxim of five ldquoWrdquos and one ldquoHrdquo for reporting real-world events in journalism: when, where, who, what, why, and how. We discuss the causes for semantic variability in real-world descriptions, including multilevel event semantics, implicit semantics facets, and the influence of context. We discuss five main aspects of an event detection system. These aspects are: the variants of tasks and event definitions that constrain system design, the media capture setup that collectively define the available data and necessary domain assumptions, the feature extraction step that converts the captured data into perceptually significant numeric or symbolic forms, statistical models that map the feature representations to richer semantic descriptions, and applications that use event metadata to help in different information-seeking tasks. We review current event-mining systems in detail, grouping them by the problem formulations and approaches. The review includes detection of events and actions in one or more continuous sequences, events in edited video streams, unsupervised event discovery, events in a collection of media objects, and a discussion on ongoing benchmark activities. These problems span a wide range of multimedia domains such as surveillance, meetings, broadcast news, sports, documentary, and films, as well as personal and online media collections. We conclude this survey with a brief outlook on open research directions.
Complexity, Response Competition, and Preference Implications for Affective Consequences of Repeated Exposure

In an attempt to resolve disagreements about the events underlying repeated exposure to a stimulus and the affective consequences of these events, two experiments examined psychological complexity and response competition (two measures of the uncertainty produced by a stimulus) as related to each other and to liking and goodness of meaning ratings of Chinese characterlike stimuli. In Experiment 1, 60 undergraduates' mean latency of first free association to the stimuli (response competition) increased as a perfect monotonic function of the number of lines constituting them (psychological complexity). In Experiment 2, ratings of liking by 40 undergraduates were highest for stimuli associated with an intermediate level of uncertainty (psychological complexity and response competition). Thus it was speculated that a moderate number of stimulus exposures (reducing uncertainty to an intermediate level) is preferable to an indefinitely large number of exposures (reducing uncertainty to a minimal level). The finding of no relationship between rated goodness of stimulus meaning and uncertainty was judged to be consistent with Stang's (1974) hypothesis that characteristically observed increases in rated goodness with increasing stimulus exposures (decreasing uncertainty) are a result of subject intuitions rather than an effect of decreasing uncertainty.
Structure and morphogenesis of microstromatolites from the Transvaal Supergroup, South Africa

ABSTRACT Submillimeter- to millimeter-sized stromatolites have been found in early carbonate-replacive black cherts from the 2.3 Ga Chuniespoort Group, Transvaal Supergroup, South Africa. This assemblage includes substrate-attached microcolumns and detached (intraclast) structures comprising nearly the full spectrum of basic macrostromatolite growth forms (i.e., columnar, bulbous, and nodular). Petrographic observations suggest a mechanism for microstromatolite morphogenesis involving the generation of primary producer biomass at the outer surfaces of the structures and the subsequent mineralization of that biomass by decomposer microbial populations with the concomitant precipitation of carbonate at successively lower levels within the microstromatolites. A carbonate precipitation mechanism i volving anaerobic respiration is thus suggested, which would constrain microstromatolite growth to a sedimentary environment which may have been relatively oxygen-poor or reducing. The Transvaal microstromatolites are interpreted as an integrating assemblage of growth forms rather than a collection of distinct end members. Conservative estimates suggest that a 1-m2 plot of microstromatolites could have provided a minimum of 55 g CaCO3/yr of allochemical sediment to the Transvaal carbonate platform--an amount which is comparable to the carbonate mud production of Thalassia epibionts from modern carbonate platform systems.
Accounting for the man-information interface in management information systems

Abstract A primary cause for the failure of both formal and informal management information systems to live up to expectations stems from the designer's lack of awareness or improper conception of the interfaces existing between information and man, its user. This underscores the need for a better understanding of the relationship between man, psychologically and sociologically, and information. The results of several experiments performed in a simulated financial setting are presented as illustrations of human information processing tendencies in both individuals and committees. Design options to attenuate human foibles and limitations and to counterveil propensities to subvert systems are discussed. Areas for further research are suggested.
Self-evaluation, actual performance and preference across the life-span

The relationship between self-evaluation and actual performance, and self-evaluation and preference was investigated with 175 females from seven distinct age groups (17 to 72 years). Participants were administered a complex reaction time task, after which they evaluated both their performance on, and preference for, the task using the Semantic Differential Technique. Results indicated that at all age levels individuals were inaccurate in evaluating their performance. Also, individuals' rated preference for the task was significantly related to how well they felt they performed on the task. Implications of results were discussed.
Ocean-Floor Erosion in the Equatorial Pacific

Detailed geological and geophysical studies conducted within a 300 km2 region of the equatorial Pacific (near 07°40′ N., 134°00′ W.), using the deep-towed instrumentation of the Marine Physical Laboratory. Closely spaced sediment cores and near-bottom reflection profiles show a sharp angular unconformity which separates a thin upper layer of Holocene sediment from a chalk bed of Tertiary age. This unconformity is interpreted as a Pleistocene erosion surface which truncates sediments ranging in age from late Eocene to middle Miocene. Bottom currents have evidently eroded and redistributed sediments tens to hundreds of meters in thickness. Bottom-current measurements in the surveyed area indicate that present current speeds are generally less than 10 cm/sec. It appears likely, therefore, that significant erosion is not taking place today but was perhaps restricted to the glacial stages of the Pleistocene. A schematic model is proposed to suggest how climatic and oceanographic processes may be modified in response to glaciation, and how these processes may interact to create conditions on the sea floor which favor increased sediment erosion and redistribution during glacial stages. Some of the missing sediment has evidently been redeposited into local topographic depressions. An enclosed basin measuring approximately 15 km × 25 km near the study area contains sediments which are twice as thick as those in the surrounding region. Such sites with anomalously thick accumulations of sediment, however, appear to be relatively rare in the equatorial Pacific. It may be that a substantial fraction of the eroded sediment must be accounted for by chemical dissolution. The results of this study are comparable with observations obtained in widely separated regions in the central Pacific, suggesting that some of the processes responsible for erosion within this area may have affected a substantial portion of the Pacific Ocean floor.
IS RACE RELATED TO GLYCEMIC CONTROL ? AN ASSESSMENT OF GLYCOSYLATED HEMOGLOBIN IN TWO SOUTH CAROLINA COMMUNITIES

To consider the relationship between race and long-term glycemic control, as measured by glycosylated hemoglobin (GHb), we analyzed data from a community based sample of 3175 adults in the South Carolina Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Project. A clinically meaningful difference for mean GHb levels (10.5 vs 8.4%, P < 0.001) was present between black people and white people reporting diabetes. Similarly, a significant association between race and GHb was present among people reporting “borderline diabetes” or no diabetes. Logistic regression confirmed this finding in all three diabetic categories, however, controlling for insulin use in the diabetic group reduced (P < 0.001) the association between GHb and race. These findings confirm that further improvements in glycemic control are necessary, especially for black patients and that black people not reporting diabetes have higher GHb levels compared to white people, possibly due to undiagnosed diabetes.
CONSUMERS AS COPRODUCERS OF PUBLIC SERVICES: SOME ECONOMIC AND INSTITUTIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

The concept of coproduction of public services has captured increased attention as a potential means of increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of local government. In this article we explore the concept of coproduction in an effort to sharpen the definition of that concept and add rigor to our understanding of the effects of coproduction in local service delivery and the processes by which coproductive activity occurs.
Anodal contraction of Paramecium protoplasm.

SYNOPSIS. Paramecia immobilized on an agar surface were stimulated with pulses of 2–8 mamps/cm2 with intervals ranging from 1.0 to 1000 msec. High speed cine films (1500-6000 frames per second) of the animals' responses were analyzed to determine changes in body length and the effects on cilia and trichocysts. At current densities in the range of 1.0 mamp/cm2, rapid ciliary reversal occurred. Above this value the paramecia shortened. This body contraction can be very rapid, resulting in shortening to 95% of the body length in 0.95 msec. At all levels of stimulation, contraction of the body length occurred 1st anodally, then cathodally. Extensive trichocyst extrusion occurred 1st at the anode and later at the cathode at current densities greater than 5 mamp/cm2 in the agar. Results of this study indicate that the protoplasm of paramecia is capable of very fast contraction in response to electric stimulation and that the initial response is always anodal.
Increased Pulmonary Superinfections in Cardiac-Transplant Patients Undergoing Primary Cytomegalovirus Infection

CYTOMEGALOVIRUS infection is extremely common after renal transplantation, with evidence of infection in as many as 90 per cent1 to 96 per cent2 of patients. Although many recipients excrete the vi...
On the dependence of structure of multivariate processes and corresponding hitting times

Abstract A direct approach to derive dependence properties among the hitting times of two processes has been initiated by N. Ebrahimi (1987, J. Appl. Probab . 24 115-122) and explored further by N. Ebrahimi and T. Ramalingam (1988, J. Appl. Probab . 25 355-362; 1989, J. Appl Probab . 26 287-295). In this paper new results are obtained for multivariate processes, which help us to identify positive and negative dependent structure among hitting times of the processes. Furthermore, an approach to derive dependence properties among the processes is proposed and a partial solution to the question that what kinds of dependence properties, when they are imposed on processes, are reflected as analogous properties of corresponding hitting times is given.
Theory of satellite ground-track crossovers

The fundamental geometry of satellite ground tracks and their crossover problem are investigated. For idealized nominal ground tracks, the geometry is governed by a few constant parameters whose variations lead to qualitative changes in the crossover solutions. On the basis that the theory to locate crossovers has not been studied in sufficient detail, such changes are described in regard to the number of crossover solutions in conjunction with their bifurcations. Employing the spinor algebra as a tool for establishing the ground-track crossing condition, numerical methodologies to locate crossovers appearing in general dual-satellite ground-track configurations are also presented. The methodologies are applied to precisely determined orbital ephemerides of the GEOSAT, ERS-1, and TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter satellites.
Menu Price Presentation Influences on Consumer Purchase Behavior in Restaurants

Abstract Empirical research on menu design and price presentation thus far has focused primarily on attitudinal affects on consumers and not necessarily on actual purchase behavior. This experiment uses price presentation manipulations to determine what price formats may affect consumer purchase behavior. Overall, price presentation was not found to be a significant predictor of consumer spending in an upscale restaurant environment. However, results did show a significant reduction in spending when formats with monetary cues such as the word “dollars” or the symbol “$” were used. In addition, no significant spending differences between numerical and scripted presentation formats were found.
Determinants of Residential Group Development and Social Control

The present research is concerned with the effects of architecturally determined residential group size on the development of social groups and norms of social control over shared interior spaces. Previous research has revealed a positive relationship between residential group size and the importance of residential group formation as a moderator variable in the numerosity crowding-relationship. It was predicted that residents of a long-corridor dormitory (36–40 per floor) would be less likely to form social groups and convert shared public spaces to group-controlled semiprivate interaction loci than residents of a short-corridor dormitory (60–63 per floor subdivided into clusters of approximately 20 by design features). A series of interview, observational, and field experimental studies yielded data supporting this hypothesis. Long-corridor residents expressed lower feelings of control over what happened to them in shared interior spaces and reported that they exerted less group-derived social control over hallway space than did short-corridor residents. In contrast to long-corridor residents, subjects residing in the short-corridor design were more likely to report that other areas of their floor were under the proprietary interests of neighbors and their patterns of space use reflected this perception. Long-corridor residents were also found to be less socially responsive to another person's presence in shared areas over which they exercised less social control than did short-corridor residents. The results are discussed in terms of the inhibiting effect of large group size on the development of residential social control and the ability of residents to regulate local social contact.
Incidental Language Learning in Foreign Language Content Courses.

This study examined the extent to which 40 students enrolled in upper level foreign language literary/cultural studies content courses showed evidence of incidental language learning over the course of a semester. Students completed a cloze passage and provided both writing and speaking samples at the beginning and end of the semester. In addition, they completed questionnaires related to their goals and perceived development, and instructors were interviewed and observed at various intervals throughout the semester. Instructors' focus was primarily on the content; focus on language was secondary and dealt with incidentally. Some positive evidence of language learning was found, but was mostly limited to students' writing. Speaking abilities, on the other hand, showed little evidence of significant improvement, and global proficiency, as measured by the cloze test, improved in some cases but not in others. Thus, there is some evidence for incidental language learning, but the question remains whether more could have been accomplished. It is suggested that an approach that more intentionally integrates content and language may meet the needs of a greater number of learners and maximize the potential for more language development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Therapeutic hypothermia during neonatal transport: data from the California Perinatal Quality Care Collaborative (CPQCC) and California Perinatal Transport System (CPeTS) for 2010

Therapeutic hypothermia during neonatal transport: data from the California Perinatal Quality Care Collaborative (CPQCC) and California Perinatal Transport System (CPeTS) for 2010
Seasonal variability of turbulence parameters at 2 to 21 km from MST radar measurements at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California

[1] Seasonal profiles of the turbulent kinetic energy, eddy dissipation rate, inner scale of turbulence, and vertical eddy diffusivity are presented from observations using the VHF Doppler profiling radar at Vandenberg (VBG) Air Force Base, California, over 4 calendar years from 2 to 21 km. Results are displayed seasonally both as a function of distance above the surface and relative to the tropopause. The VBG radar is located in the littoral region of southern California with a pronounced marine boundary layer; results are compared to those derived from other radars with similar performance located in different climatic regimes and terrain conditions. Turbulent kinetic energy values at VBG are between the higher values found at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), New Mexico, which is located in a semiarid valley, and the site at Gadanki, India, except under Indian monsoon conditions. The same trend in general is found for the eddy dissipation rate for the same three sites although differences between the two U.S. sites are small. Inner scale profiles show the largest values at Gadanki and the smallest at WSMR with VBG estimates in the middle. Eddy diffusivity values at WSMR and VBG are in general slightly smaller than those found with the MU radar near Kyoto, Japan, but are greater than the values found in the stratosphere in Gadanki, India. All turbulence parameters show significant correlations with wind speed.
A note on the theory of scattering from an irregular surface

Integral formulas are developed directly from vector field theory for scattering by a perfectly conducting irregular surface at very short wavelengths. It is shown that, in the optical limit, the back-scattered field has no cross polarized component. When the integrals are evaluated asymptotically by the method of stationary phase, it turns out that to a first approximation the back scattering cross section is proportional to the average number of specular points which are illuminated at a given angle of incidence and to the geometric mean of the principal radii of curvature at those points. The scattering problem is, thus, transformed to a problem in the statistical geometry of irregular surfaces.
Retrovirus‐Mediated Expression of an Artificial β‐Endorphin Precursor in Primary Fibroblasts

Peptides are of potential interest in the field of gene therapy but require modification by genetic engineering to facilitate their secretion. Amino terminal addition of a signal peptide is not always sufficient to achieve this goal, as found in this study for beta-endorphin. To overcome this problem, addition of the pre-pro-sequence of mouse nerve growth factor to beta-endorphin was tested. Retrovirus-mediated expression of a hybrid construct of the pre-pro-sequence of nerve growth factor and human beta-endorphin in primary fibroblasts resulted in the secretion of beta-endorphin immunoreactivity at a rate of 620 pg/h/10(6) cells. Analysis of the secreted beta-endorphin immunoreactivity with reverse-phase HPLC, immunoassays using three different antibodies, and an assay for the specific displacement of [3H][D-Ala2,N-MePhe4,Gly-ol5]enkephalin from mu-opioid receptors suggests that the pre-pro-sequence is cleaved off from the pre-pro-sequence/beta-endorphin construct prior to secretion, resulting in bona fide beta-endorphin. Transplantation of beta-endorphin-secreting cells into brain or spinal cord may provide a gene therapy approach for the treatment of chronic, opioid-sensitive pain states.
Large-Eddy Simulation and Single-Column Modeling of Thermally Stratified Wind Turbine Arrays for Fully Developed, Stationary Atmospheric Conditions

AbstractEffects of atmospheric thermal stratification on the asymptotic behavior of very large wind farms are studied using large-eddy simulations (LES) and a single-column model for vertical distributions of horizontally averaged field variables. To facilitate comparisons between LES and column modeling based on Monin–Obukhov similarity theory, the LES are performed under idealized conditions of statistical stationarity in time and fully developed conditions in space. A suite of simulations are performed for different thermal stratification levels and the results are used to evaluate horizontally averaged vertical profiles of velocity, potential temperature, vertical turbulent momentum, and heat flux. Both LES and the model show that the stratification significantly affects the atmospheric boundary layer structure, its height, and the surface fluxes. However, the effects of the wind farm on surface heat fluxes are found to be relatively small in both LES and the single-column model. The surface fluxes ar...
TRACKING THE CALUSA: A RETROSPECTIVE

In an article published in this journal in 1986, I critically reviewed models of the emergence of the Calusa social formation in southwest Florida. An interdisciplinary project that I hoped would provide detailed information with which to refine those models had just begun, so at the time there were few substantive results. In subsequent years, detailed data gathered by an interdisciplinary team have helped improve the models and also provided some surprises.
Swimbladder acoustic pressure transduction initiates Mauthner-mediated escape

THE bilateral Mauthner neurons initiate the characteristic 'C-start'1,2 escape of fishes when they respond to underwater sounds accompanying attacks by predators3–6. Either of the two sound components, particle motion or pressure change can initiate Mauthner-mediated escape. Particle motion can be detected by inner ear sensory receptors and used for locating a sound source7, but sound pressure requires a transduction mechanism to stimulate the same receptors8–10. For fishes, sound pressure is a nondirec-tional scalar signal that is transduced by the swimbladder11,12. It might be assumed that particle motion, because of its directional nature, triggers Mauthner-initiated predator evasion2, but we demonstrate here that for acoustically mediated escape, sound pressure is the salient stimulus for activating the Mauthner neurons in fishes with swimbladders. This implies that displacement determines which of the two Mauthner neurons is activated, so that the fish turns away from the direction of the predatory attack.
Remarks on Charged-Particle Scattering

The scattering of charged particles from a shielded Coulomb potential is reviewed. The limit as the shielding radius becomes infinite is discussed. A method of determining reaction cross sections, recently introduced by the authors is treated in detail and applied to the scattering of protons from ${\mathrm{He}}^{4}$ and ${\mathrm{H}}^{2}$ at 40 MeV.
Cueing effects on semantic and perceptual categorization : ERPs reveal differential effects of validity as a function of processing stage

Abstract Valid cueing has been shown to accelerate target identification and improve decision accuracy. However, the precise nature and extent to which biasing influences the successive stages of target processing remain unclear. The present event-related potential (ERP) study used a “hybrid” task that combined features of standard cued-attention and task-switching paradigms in order to explore the effects of expectation on both identification and categorization of centrally presented stimuli. Subjects made semantic judgments (living/nonliving) on word targets (“bunny”), and perceptual judgments (right/left) on arrow targets (“
Evolutionary divergence of the paralogs Methoprene tolerant (Met) and germ cell expressed (gce) within the genus Drosophila

Juvenile hormone (JH) signaling underpins both regulatory and developmental pathways in insects. However, the JH receptor is poorly understood. Methoprene tolerant (Met) and germ cell expressed (gce) have been implicated in JH signaling in Drosophila. We investigated the evolution of Met and gce across 12 Drosophila species and found that these paralogs are conserved across at least 63 million years of dipteran evolution. Distinct patterns of selection found using estimates of dN/dS ratios across Drosophila Met and gce coding sequences, along with their incongruent temporal expression profiles in embryonic Drosophila melanogaster, illustrate avenues through which these genes have diverged within the Diptera. Additionally, we demonstrate that the annotated gene CG15032 is the 5' terminus of gce. In mosquitoes and beetles, a single Met-like homolog displays structural similarity to both Met and gce, and the intron locations are conserved with those of gce. We found that Tribolium and mosquito Met orthologs are assembled from Met- and gce-specific domains in a modular fashion. Our results suggest that Drosophila Met and gce experienced divergent evolutionary pressures following the duplication of an ancestral gce-like gene found in less derived holometabolous insects.
On the use of positive economic theory to explain the choice of accounting methods to financial accounting students

Abstract Leading financial accounting textbooks explain the choice of accounting methods in terms of the accountant choosing the method that best reflects the firm's financial condition and results of its operations for the period. In this paper it is argued that a more satisfactory way of explaining why firms choose particular accounting methods is in terms of positive economic theory. Relevant research results that can be readily incorporated into classroom lectures are summarized.
Omphalocele closure: Surgical technique with preservation of the amniotic sac

The ideal surgical closure for large omphaloceles remains controversial. Most techniques described advocate removal of the amniotic sac prior to repair of the abdominal wall defect. Herein, the authors describe a surgical technique preserving the amniotic sac, which has distinct advantages in achieving safe and rapid closure of the omphalocele by primary or secondary means in selected patients.