cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Prevention by cyproterone acetate of androgenic, but not of gonadotrophic, elicitation of persistent estrus in rats.

Persistent estrus (PE) occurs after treatment of female nursling rats with testosterone propionate (TP) or with human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG). Studies were made to ascertain if development of PE could be inhibited by simultaneous treatment of nurslings with an anti-androgen, cyproterone acetate (Cyp A). Cyp A largely prevented TP from eliciting PE, presumably by direct action of Cyp A on the central nervous system as a target organ. Cyp A prevented the production of clitoral hypertrophy by HCG, showing that Cyp A also inhibited stimulation provided by endogenous ovarian androgens. Cyp A did not prevent PE caused by HCG, however; this and other evidence led to rejection of the postulate that the PE produced by HCG was due to “masculinization” by ovarian androgens. Therefore, the collective term, tonic function of the central nervous system, was used to describe not only the condition acquired at an early age by females treated perinatally with various steroids or HCG, but also the status appearing so...
Leukocytes and organ-nonspecific autoantibodies in schizophrenics and their siblings: markers of vulnerability or disease?

To determine whether leukocyte counts and organ-nonspecific autoantibodies mark familial vulnerability for schizophrenia and/or the disease itself, we examined 92 patients with schizophrenia and 94 unrelated, demographically balanced, healthy individuals. In addition, for 19 of the probands, one of their nonschizophrenic, full siblings also was recruited. At the time of the blood draw, most probands (87%) had been free of medications for a minimum of 2 weeks and about half were neuroleptic-naive, first-episode patients. Results indicate that a relative lymphopenia in the context of a relative granulocytosis appears to mark familial vulnerability for schizophrenia, whereas an absolute monocytosis appears to mark spectrum manifestations of the clinical phenotype. The former observation is consistent with the hypothesis that the etiology of schizophrenia is immunologically mediated, whereas the latter is consistent with emerging evidence that an inflammatory process is associated with the expression of the disorder. Neither antinuclear antibody nor rheumatoid factor emerged as liability or disease markers.
A method for the meta‐analysis of mutually exclusive binary outcomes

Meta-analyses of multiple outcomes need to take into account the within-study correlation across the different outcomes. Here we focus on the meta-analysis of dichotomous outcomes that are mutually exclusive and exhaustive. Correlations between effect sizes for mutually exclusive outcomes are negative and can be obtained from data already available. We present both fixed-effects and random-effects methods that account for the negative correlations and yield correct simultaneous confidence intervals for both the marginal outcome-specific effect sizes and the relative effect sizes between outcomes. Formulae for the odds ratio, risk ratio, risk difference, and the differences in the arcsin-transformed risks are provided. An example of a meta-analysis of randomized trials of radiotherapy and mastectomy with axillary lymph node clearance versus only mastectomy with axillary clearance for early breast cancer is presented. The mutually exclusive outcomes of breast cancer deaths and deaths secondary to other causes are examined in separate meta-analyses, and also by taking the between-outcome correlation into account. We argue that mutually exclusive outcomes in the meta-analyses of binary data are optimally analyzed in a multinomial setting. This may also be applicable when a meta-analysis examines only one out of several mutually exclusive outcomes. For large sample sizes and/or low event counts, the covariances between outcome-specific effect sizes are small, and either ignoring them or accounting for them would result in similar estimates for any practical purpose. However, meta-analysts should explore the robustness of the findings from individual meta-analyses when mutually exclusive outcomes are assessed.
Pit-1 messenger ribonucleic acid is differentially expressed in human pituitary adenomas.

Thirty-four human pituitary adenomas were examined for the presence of Pit-1 mRNA via Northern analysis. All tumors that were immunoreactive with either human (h) PRL or hGH antiserum contained Pit-1 mRNA (8 of 8) as did a small percentage of alpha-subunit only (1 of 3) and null tumors (1 of 9). Two tumors that contained TSH beta mRNA by RNAse protection assay also contained Pit-1 mRNA. Tumors that were immunoreactive with antiserum for hACTH, hFSH beta, or hLH beta without containing PRL, GH, or TSH beta were uniformly Pit-1 negative (0 of 14). Although RNA from the majority of Pit-1-positive tumors (10 of 11) contained primarily a 2.4-kilobase (kb) Pit-1 mRNA transcript, 1 tumor appeared to contain a 1.6-kb mRNA. Analysis of human pituitary autopsy specimens revealed no 1.6-kb Pit-1 mRNA, indicating that this variant may be tumor specific. The wide variety of serum PRL, GH, and insulin-like growth factor-I levels in patients with Pit-1-positive tumors suggests that although Pit-1 is necessary for PRL an...
Youths' imitation and de-identification from parents: a process associated with parent-youth cultural incongruence in Mexican-American families.

Cultural adaptation and parent–youth cultural incongruence have strong implications for individuals’ social adaptation and family dynamics. This study highlighted adolescents’ active role in parent–youth cultural incongruence through their decision to imitate or de-identify from parents, parent–youth warmth, and demographic similarities. Longitudinal data, spanning 8 years, from 246 Mexican-American families (mothers, fathers, and an early adolescent child), were used to address two study goals. The first goal was to link parent–youth relationship qualities and demographic similarities (i.e., gender, immigration status) at Wave 1 to adolescents’ imitation and de-identification from parents at Wave 2. Findings revealed that adolescents who reported more parent–youth warmth reported more imitation and less de-identification. Also, adolescents who belonged to U.S.-raised dyads reported less de-identification. The second goal tested adolescents’ reports of imitation and de-identification as predictors of parent–youth cultural incongruence in Mexican and Anglo cultural orientations at Wave 3. Results indicated that more imitation was associated with less mother–youth Anglo incongruence and that more de-identification was associated with more father–youth Anglo and Mexican incongruence. The unique relationship dynamics of mother–youth and father–youth dyads and the implications for intervention programming focused on reducing cultural incongruence and increasing family cohesion are discussed.
Evidence that enzyme polymorphisms are not selectively neutral.

THE discovery of large amounts of electrophoretically-detectable genetic variation within natural populations has aroused considerable interest in the factors maintaining so much polymorphism. It has been proposed that these allozyme polymorphisms reflect the action of random processes1–6, the polymorphic variation being of little or no selective significance. Alternative hypotheses have suggested that these polymorphisms may be maintained by a balance of selective forces7–10.
A Quantitative Model to Predict a Safe Yield for Well Fields in Kufra and Sarir Basins, Libya

The Kufra and Sarir basins of Libya have huge ground-water resources. Three well fields-Sarir, Kufra, and Jalo-have been constructed for irrigation purposes. The Tazerbo and West Sarir well fields are under construction. Wells in these well fields have tapped only a small portion of the total ground water available. The hydrological behavior of the Sarir well field (determined by using analytical and numerical models) indicated a leaky artesian aquifer and a significant partial penetration effect. Long and short-term pump tests did not provide true estimates of the values of transmissivity and the coefficient of storage. A steady-state model of the Kufra and Sarir basins indicated a minimum of 80 m3 /s of underflow entering from Tibesti, Chad and Sudan. A transient model was constructed to pump a total of 120 m3 /s from 14 well fields. The simulation indicated that sufficient drawdown was available to last at least 50 years.
Null energy conditions outside a background potential

We study the ``Casimir'' energy of a minimally coupled, real, massless scalar field outside a spherically symmetric background potential. We obtain a general expression for the null energy condition in d dimensions and explicit expressions for a perfectly reflecting spherical boundary in $3+1$ and $2+1$ dimensions. In these cases, the null energy condition is always violated for radial motion and obeyed for azimuthal motion. Nevertheless, the averaged null energy condition is always obeyed.
Co2/Bicarbonate stimulates growth independently of PH in mouse mammary epithelial cells

Mouse mammary cells of the NMuMG line proliferated faster and formed colonies more efficiently when the air above the cells contained 5% CO2. An increase in colony forming efficiency also occurred if the bicarbonate concentration in the medium was higher (44 versus 13 mM). These growth increases induced by the CO2 or bicarbonate occurred even when the control cultures were maintained at the same pH, and they occurred at every pH tested. Both the growth rate and colony forming efficiency of the NMuMG cells were highest at pH 7.0 to 7.3.
GINA, genism, and civil rights.

Culminating its 13-year legislative gestation, The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), was signed by President George W. Bush on May 21, 2008. GINA is the first major federal law to come out of the Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) portion of the Human Genome Project. The passage of GINA has been widely celebrated. For the genetic research community, the act was sought to encourage people to become research subjects by providing them with some assurance that genetic research results would not be used against them by health insurance companies or employers. For Francis Collins, the project's leader, the long gestation period was a ‘silver lining’ in that it provided many opportunities ‘to educate policymakers about the potential of genomic medicine and the challenges that must be addressed if we are to realize that potential’.1
QseC mediates Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium virulence in vitro and in vivo.

The autoinducer-3 (AI-3)/epinephrine (Epi)/norepinephrine (NE) interkingdom signaling system mediates chemical communication between bacteria and their mammalian hosts. The three signals are sensed by the QseC histidine kinase (HK) sensor. Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium is a pathogen that uses HKs to sense its environment and regulate virulence. Salmonella serovar Typhimurium invades epithelial cells and survives within macrophages. Invasion of epithelial cells is mediated by the type III secretion system (T3SS) encoded in Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 (SPI-1), while macrophage survival and systemic disease are mediated by the T3SS encoded in SPI-2. Here we show that QseC plays an important role in Salmonella serovar Typhimurium pathogenicity. A qseC mutant was impaired in flagellar motility, in invasion of epithelial cells, and in survival within macrophages and was attenuated for systemic infection in 129x1/SvJ mice. QseC acts globally, regulating expression of genes within SPI-1 and SPI-2 in vitro and in vivo (during infection of mice). Additionally, dopamine β-hydroxylase knockout (Dbh−/−) mice that do not produce Epi or NE showed different susceptibility to Salmonella serovar Typhimurium infection than wild-type mice. These data suggest that the AI-3/Epi/NE signaling system is a key factor during Salmonella serovar Typhimurium pathogenesis in vitro and in vivo. Elucidation of the role of this interkingdom signaling system in Salmonella serovar Typhimurium should contribute to a better understanding of the complex interplay between the pathogen and the host during infection.
Cleft Palate Surgery: An Evaluation of Length of Stay, Complications, and Costs by Hospital Type

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess length of stay (LOS), complication rates, costs, and charges of cleft palate repair by various hospital types. We hypothesized that pediatric hospitals would have shorter LOS, fewer complications, and lower costs and charges. Methods: Patients were identified by ICD-9-CM code for cleft palate repair (27.62) using databases from the Agency for Health Research and Quality Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Kids' Inpatient Database from 1997, 2000, 2003, and 2006. Patient characteristics (age, race, gender, insurer, comorbidities) and facility resources (hospital beds, cleft palate surgery volume, nurse-to-bed ratio, pediatric intensive care unit [PICU], PICU intensivist, burn unit) were examined. Hospitals types included pediatric hospitals, general hospitals, and nonaccredited children's hospital. For each hospital type, mean LOS, extended LOS (LOS > 2), and complications were assessed. Results: A total of 14,153 patients had cleft repair with a mean ...
The double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial: Gold standard or golden calf?

The double-blind randomized controlled trial (RCT) is accepted by medicine as objective scientific methodology that, when ideally performed, produces knowledge untainted by bias. The validity of the RCT rests not just on theoretical arguments, but also on the discrepancy between the RCT and less rigorous evidence (the difference is sometimes considered an objective measure of bias). A brief overview of historical and recent developments in “the discrepancy argument” is presented. The article then examines the possibility that some of this “deviation from truth” may be the result of artifacts introduced by the masked RCT itself. Can an “unbiased” method produce bias? Among the experiments examined are those that augment the methodological stringency of a normal RCT in order to render the experiment less susceptible to subversion by the mind. This methodology, a hypothetical “platinum” standard, can be used to judge the “gold” standard. The concealment in a placebo-controlled RCT seems capable of generating a “masking bias.” Other potential biases, such as “investigator self-selection,” “preference,” and “consent” are also briefly discussed. Such potential distortions indicate that the double-blind RCT may not be objective in the realist sense, but rather is objective in a “softer” disciplinary sense. Some “facts” may not exist independent of the apparatus of their production. © 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.
Optimization of polymerase chain reaction for the detection of Borrelia burgdorferi in biologic specimens.

This study describes the use of a newly constructed set of primers that amplifies an U-base pair (bp) segment of Borrelia burgdorferi chromosomal DNA. This 85-bp product is not produced when other Borrelia species, Leptospira, or other bacteria are subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR). We also describe a rapid method of optimizing the amplification of B. burgdorferi DNA from canine ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid- treated blood and urine samples that circumvents some of the problems encountered due to low number of spirochetes in clinical specimens and that removes inhibiting substances, which improves the PCR diagnosis of canine Lyme borreliosis. Lyme borreliosis (LB), caused by the spirochete Bor- relia burgdorferi, is transmitted primarily by various species of ixodid ticks. Seroepidemiologic data indicate that the disease is worldwide in distribution, although published reports of clinical illness in humans and an- imals have been most frequently from North Ameri- ca 20,34 Lyme borreliosis is presently the most com- . monly reported arthropod-borne disease of humans in the United States. 34 Despite discovery of the etiologic agent of LB in 1982 and subsequent elucidation of the multisystemic manifestations of the disease in humans, confirmation of diagnosis is still problematic. Uncer- tainty in confirming the diagnosis results from diffi- culties in interpretation of serologic data. In both hu- man and veterinary medicine, typical clinical signs combined with elevated serum IgG and/or IgM anti- body titers to B. burgdorferi, detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or immunofluorescent assay (IFA) methods, and response to appropriate an- tibiotic therapy have been used to make a presumptive diagnosis of LB. 3,8,17,19,30 In dogs, the use of the B. burg- dorferi bacterin increases specific serum IgM and IgG Borrelia antibody titers, making antibody measure- ments in vaccinated dogs an unreliable indicator of exposure to or infection with B. burgdorferi. 2,33 Definitive confirmation of current infection with B. burgdorferi would involve cultivation of the organism, which requires the use of a special medium (BSK II) and often takes weeks to months for positive results. 1 Furthermore, tissues and body fluids for Borrelia cul- tivation have low cultivation frequencies. 3l Therefore,
Distribution of Lake Sturgeon in New York: 11 Years of Restoration Management

Abstract Lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) are native within the Lake Ontario drainage basin and listed as threatened by New York State. In 1995 the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) initiated restoration management of lake sturgeon. This management included both protection of extant populations and stocking of uninhabited historic waters with juvenile sturgeon. A list compiled by NYSDEC of observations of lake sturgeon from New York State waters for the period encompassing 1800–2005 was combined with recent observations through 2008 and formatted (Geographic Information System) to allow mapping of sturgeon geographical distribution. Distributions of pre- and post-restoration sturgeon were examined by occurrence and type of observation. Distribution patterns indicated lakes and rivers with current sturgeon presence have increased from five to eight, which was the first-phase goal of the New York Lake Sturgeon Recovery Plan. Lake sturgeon have started to expand into joinin...
Effects of Reduced Visibility from Fog on Car-Following Performance

A study examined the effects of reduced visibility of scene information because of fog on car-following performance. Drivers were presented with a straight roadway scene in a driving simulator and were asked to maintain a predetermined driving distance in response to speed variations of a lead vehicle. Lead vehicle speed varied according to a sum of three prime sine wave frequencies. Five simulated fog density conditions and three average lead vehicle velocities were examined. Car-following performance was assessed using distance headway, variance of distance headway, root-mean-square (RMS) velocity error, control gain, phase angle, and squared coherence. Distance headway decreased only at the highest fog density condition examined. RMS velocity error increased with an increase in fog density. These results indicate that drivers had greater difficulty responding to changes in lead vehicle speed than to changes in headway. Results for squared coherence indicated that the effects of fog were greatest for th...
Intrinsic tethering activity of endosomal Rab proteins

Rab small G proteins control membrane trafficking events required for many processes including secretion, lipid metabolism, antigen presentation and growth factor signaling. Rabs recruit effectors that mediate diverse functions including vesicle tethering and fusion. However, many mechanistic questions about Rab-regulated vesicle tethering are unresolved. Using chemically defined reaction systems, we discovered that Vps21, a Saccharomyces cerevisiae ortholog of mammalian endosomal Rab5, functions in trans with itself and with at least two other endosomal Rabs to directly mediate GTP-dependent tethering. Vps21-mediated tethering was stringently and reversibly regulated by an upstream activator, Vps9, and an inhibitor, Gyp1, which were sufficient to drive dynamic cycles of tethering and detethering. These experiments reveal a previously undescribed mode of tethering by endocytic Rabs. In our working model, the intrinsic tethering capacity Vps21 operates in concert with conventional effectors and SNAREs to drive efficient docking and fusion.
Amplatzer vascular plug IV for occlusion of pulmonary arteriovenous malformations in a patient with cryptogenic stroke

Paradoxical embolism resulting in cryptogenic stroke has received much attention recently, with the primary focus on patent foramen ovale (PFO). However, it is essential to be vigilant in the search for other causes of paradoxical embolic events, such as pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (PAVM). We describe successful closure of pulmonary AVM with a St Jude Medical (Plymouth, MN) Amplatzer TM vascular plug IV. The newer AVP-IV devices can be used for successful embolization of tortuous pulmonary AVM in remote locations where use of other traditional devices may be technically challenging.
A Pneumococcal Protein That Elicits Interleukin-8 from Pulmonary Epithelial Cells

To understand how neutrophils are recruited to the lung in pneumococcal pneumonia, the ability of pneumococcal components to elicit the chemokine interleukin (IL)-8 from monolayers of cultured human type II cells was assessed. Heat-killed clinical and laboratory strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae and secreted proteins from exponentially growing pneumococci elicited significant quantities of IL-8 from A549 cells. All strains that elicited IL-8 production secreted a protein ( approximately 90 kDa) that comigrated on SDS-PAGE with a C3-binding protein previously identified in S. pneumoniae. As little as 7 pmol of the purified 90-kDa protein readily elicited levels of IL-8 production equivalent to those obtained with 1 U of IL-1alpha. Supernatant proteins and heat-killed cells of an isogenic mutant that failed to produce the C3-binding protein elicited significantly less IL-8 than did supernatant proteins or heat-killed cells of the parent strain. These results implicate the C3-binding protein of S. pneumoniae in a novel pathway of pulmonary inflammation.
Parallel algorithms for the static dictionary compression

Studies parallel algorithms for two static dictionary compression strategies. One is the optimal dictionary compression with dictionaries that have the prefix property, for which our algorithm requires O(L+log n) time and O(n) processors, where L is the maximum allowable length of the dictionary entries, while previous results run in O(L+log n) time using O(n/sup 2/) processors, or in O(L+log/sup 2/n) time using O(n) processors. The other algorithm is the longest-fragment-first (LFF) dictionary compression, for which our algorithm requires O(L+log n) time and O(nL) processors, while the previous result has O(L log n) time performance on O(n/log n) processors. We also show that the sequential LFF dictionary compression can be computed online with a lookahead of length O(L/sup 2/).
A Genetic Suppressor of Two Dominant Temperature-Sensitive Lethal Proteasome Mutants of Drosophila melanogaster Is Itself a Mutated Proteasome Subunit Gene

Two dominant temperature-sensitive (DTS) lethal mutants of Drosophila melanogaster are Pros261 and Prosβ21, previously known as DTS5 and DTS7. Heterozygotes for either mutant die as pupae when raised at 29°, but are normally viable and fertile at 25°. Previous studies have identified these as missense mutations in the genes encoding the β6 and β2 subunits of the 20S proteasome, respectively. In an effort to isolate additional proteasome-related mutants a screen for dominant suppressors of Pros261 was carried out, resulting in the identification of Pros25SuDTS [originally called Su(DTS)], a missense mutation in the gene encoding the 20S proteasome α2 subunit. Pros25SuDTS acts in a dominant manner to rescue both Pros261 and Prosβ21 from their DTS lethal phenotypes. Using an in vivo protein degradation assay it was shown that this suppression occurs by counteracting the dominant-negative effect of the DTS mutant on proteasome activity. Pros25SuDTS is a recessive polyphasic lethal at ambient temperatures. The effects of these mutants on larval neuroblast mitosis were also examined. While Prosβ21 shows a modest increase in the number of defective mitotic figures, there were no defects seen with the other two mutants, other than slightly reduced mitotic indexes.
Economics of Improving Well and Pump Efficiency

Significant savings are frequently achieved from increasing well and pump efficiency by repair or replacement. Replacement analysis (a part of engineering economics) may be used to schedule these actions. The criterion is to maximize net benefits or minimize the cost of water. The optimal timing of repair or replacement occurs when the cost per unit of water from the old system becomes more than the minimum annualized cost per unit of water from the new system.
What Was Politics to the Denisovan

What does it mean that humans were not the only hominin? Or, more importantly, what does it mean that other hominins held cultural, biological, and perhaps even linguistic equivalence to human beings? Drawing on mitochondrial DNA analyses, theories of deep history, and attention to the inhuman, this essay argues that such equivalence entails not only the reality of human/nonhuman genetic compatibility but the existence of politics in places and times without humans. Such a politics of non-humans would entail political and social forms playing a central role in the development of humanity. If politico-social experiences in the prehuman and non-human hominin communities actually affected behavior and practices, then the development of humanity is an effect of politics rather than a precondition for it.
Safety profile of caffeine and 1,3-dimethylamylamine supplementation in healthy men.

Caffeine and 1,3-dimethylamylamine (DMAA) are widely used alone and in combination with dietary supplements. No investigation has determined the safety profile of chronic intake of caffeine or DMAA, alone or in combination, within the same study design. A total of 50 young and healthy men completed 12 weeks of daily supplementation with either a placebo (n = 11), caffeine at 250 mg day−1 (n = 14), DMAA at 50 mg day−1 (n = 13), or caffeine at 250 mg day−1 + DMAA at 50 mg day−1 (n = 12). Before and after 6 and 12 weeks of supplementation, the following variables were measured: body mass/composition, resting respiratory rate, blood pressure, 12-lead electrocardiogram, urinalysis, complete blood count, metabolic panel, lipid panel, and oxidative stress, inflammatory, and cardiac biomarkers. No interaction effects were noted for any variable (p > 0.05), with little change occurring across time for subjects in any of the four conditions. With the exception of urinary pH (p = 0.05; Pre (6.5 ± 0.1) higher than we...
Inhibitory control test for the diagnosis of minimal hepatic encephalopathy.

Background & Aims Minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) is difficult to diagnose. The Inhibitory Control Test (ICT) measures response inhibition and has diagnosed MHE with 90% sensitivity and specificity in a selected population; high lure and low target rates indicated poor ICT performance. We studied the reliability and validity of ICT for MHE diagnosis. Methods ICT was compared with a psychometric battery (standard psychometric tests [SPT]) for MHE diagnosis and overt hepatic encephalopathy (OHE) prediction. ICT was administered twice for test-retest reliability, before/after transvenous intrahepatic portosystemic shunting (TIPS), and before/after yogurt treatment. The time taken by 2 medical assistants (MA) to administer ICT was recorded and compared with that of a psychologist for cost analysis. Results One hundred thirty-six cirrhotic patients and 116 age/education-matched controls were studied. ICT (>5 lures) had 88% sensitivity for MHE diagnosis with 0.902 area under the curve for receiver operating characteristic. MHE-positive patients had significantly higher ICT lures (11 vs 4, respectively, P = .0001) and lower targets (92% vs 97%, respectively, P = .0001) compared with MHE-negative patients. The test/retest reliability for ICT lures (n = 50, r=0.90, P = .0001) was high. ICT and SPT were equivalent in predicting OHE (21%). ICT lures significantly worsened after TIPS (n = 10; 5 vs 9, respectively; P = .02) and improved after yogurt supplementation (n = 18, 10 vs 5, respectively; P = .002). The MAs were successfully trained to administer ICT; the time required for test administration and the associated costs were smaller for ICT than for SPT. Conclusions ICT is a sensitive, reliable, and valid test for MHE diagnosis that can be administered inexpensively by MAs.
Teaching future verification engineers: the forgotten side of logic design

This paper describes a senior/graduate level course in hardware logic verification being offered by The Ohio State University in cooperation with IBM. The need for the course is established through the growing importance of logic verification to users of custom logic designs. We discuss the short-term and long-term goals for the course, and describe the course content and format. The course relies heavily on lab projects to illustrate the main concepts. Three projects and a final project review are described.
Directional and stabilizing selection on wing size and shape in migrant and resident monarch butterflies, Danaus plexippus (L.), in Cuba

The majority of migrant monarchs (Danaus plexippus) from the eastern USA and south-eastern Canada migrate to Mexico; however, some of them migrate to Cuba. Cuban migrants hatch in south-east Canada and eastern USA, and then engage in a southern trip of 4000 km to this Caribbean island. In Cuba, these migrants encounter resident monarchs, which do not migrate, and instead move between plant patches looking for nectar, mating partners and host plants. These differences in flight behaviour between migrant and resident Cuban monarchs may have resulted in different selective pressures in the wing size and shape. Two modes of selection were tested, directional and stabilizing. In addition, wing condition was compared between these two groups. Monarchs were collected for 4 years in Cuba and classified as resident or migrant using two independent techniques: Thin-layer chromatography and stable hydrogen and stable carbon isotope measurements. Wing size was measured and wing condition was rated in the butterflies. Fourier analysis and wing angular measurements were used to assess wing shape differences. Migrants have significantly longer wings than residents, thus supporting the action of directional selection on wing size. In addition, directional selection acts on wing shape; that is, migrant females differ significantly from resident females in their wing angles. However, the results do not support the action of stabilizing selection: there was no significant variance between migrant and resident monarchs in their wing size or shape. Also, migrant females and males differed in wing condition as a result of differences in flight behaviour. In conclusion, eastern North American monarchs offer a good opportunity to study the selective pressures of migration on wing morphology and how different migratory routes and behaviours are linked to wing morphology and condition. © 2007 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2007, 92, 605–616.
2SNP: scalable phasing based on 2-SNP haplotypes

Summary: 2SNP software package implements a new very fast scalable algorithm for haplotype inference based on genotype statistics collected only for pairs of SNPs. This software can be used for comparatively accurate phasing of large number of long genome sequences, e.g. obtained from DNA arrays. As an input 2SNP takes genotype matrix and outputs the corresponding haplotype matrix. On datasets across 79 regions from HapMap 2SNP is several orders of magnitude faster than GERBIL and PHASE while matching them in quality measured by the number of correctly phased genotypes, single-site and switching errors. For example, 2SNP requires 41 s on Pentium 4 2 Ghz processor to phase 30 genotypes with 1381 SNPs (ENm010.7p15:2 data from HapMap) versus GERBIL and PHASE requiring more than a week and admitting no less errors than 2SNP. Availability: 2SNP software package is publicly available at http://alla.cs.gsu.edu/~software/2SNP Contact: [email protected]
Small submerged vortex generators for turbulent flow separation control

The performance of low-profile submerged vortex generators for controlling moderate two-dimensional turbulent flow separation has been investigated experimentally. Surface static pressure measurements, as well as surface oil flow visualizations, have been used to explore the effect of these vortex generators on separation and reattachment locations and downstream pressure recovery. Drag measurements have also been used to evaluate the device (or parasitic) drag of these vortex generators. All of the vortex generators investigated have been shown to reduce the reattachment distance and increase pressure recovery. A small submerged (Wheeler-type) vortex generator with a device height of only 10% of the boundary-layer thickness is shown to perform as well as a conventional vane-type vortex generator with a device height (and device drag) an order-of-magnitude higher.
UT Austin Villa 2012: Standard Platform League World Champions

In 2012, UT Austin Villa claimed Standard Platform League championships at both the US Open and RoboCup 2012 in Mexico City. This paper describes the key contributions that led to the team’s victories. First, UT Austin Villa’s code base was developed on a solid foundation with a flexible architecture that enables easy testing and debugging of code. Next, the vision code was updated this year to take advantage of the dual cameras and better processor of the new V4 Nao robots. To improve localization, a custom localization simulator allowed us to implement and test a full team solution to the challenge of both goals being the same color. The 2012 team made use of Northern Bites’ port of B-Human’s walk engine, combined with novel kicks from the walk. Finally, new behaviors and strategies take advantage of opportunities for the robot to take time to setup for a long kick, but kick very quickly when opponent robots are nearby. The combination of these contributions led to the team’s victories in 2012.
Youth-Adult Partnerships in Decision Making: Disseminating and Implementing an Innovative Idea into Established Organizations and Communities

The principles and processes for engaging youth-adult partnerships (Y-AP) in organizational and community decision making have often been articulated from developmental and social justice perspectives. A broad empirical foundation for Y-AP has been established. Y-AP remains an innovative idea in the United States, however. The belief that youth and adults can, and should, collaborate on issues of importance runs counter to prevailing policies, institutional structures, and community norms. 4-H Youth Development is one public system that is actively seeking to disseminate and implement Y-AP. 4-H Youth Development seeks to integrate Y-AP into its own governance structures as well as those of local government and community coalitions. Through qualitative analysis of the efforts in one Midwestern state, this study examines the contextual challenges faced by county staff—the providers of program support within 4-H Youth Development—and the ways in which county staff respond to these obstacles. This project identifies the goals, leverage points, and strategies through which county staff seek to integrate Y-AP into established forums of decision making. Implications for the dissemination and implementation of principle and process-based innovation are offered, with special attention to the role of the program support system.
First-principles prediction of equilibrium precipitate shapes in Al-Cu alloys

A first-principles thermodynamic approach for studying coherent precipitation in size-mismatched alloys is presented and applied to the well studied (but still controversial) problem of Guinier-Preston (GP) zone formation in Al-Cu alloys. The exceptionally soft anharmonic elastic response of Cu along {100} is crucial in determining the shape of clusters of Cu atoms embedded in the Al matrix which are plate-like {100} structures. First-principles calculations involving both strain and interfacial energies yield two types of discshaped precipitate, namely GP1 and GP2, which are single Cu monolayers and two monolayers separated by three A1 layers respectively, in agreement with many (but not all) measurements. Competition between the thermodynamic driving force (favouring GP2) and interfacial energy around the perimeter of the zones (favouring GP1) leads to a size-dependent transition in the equilibrium precipitate shape from GP1 to GP2 at about 150 A. This theoretical approach (generally applicable to metal...
Increasing Freshman Applications in the Secondary Admissions Process

Objective: To i dentify those f actors that influence freshmen application to Commission on Accreditation of A llied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP)-accredited undergraduate ATEPs having a secondary admissions process. (All undergraduate ATEPs are now accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE)). Design and Setting: The Athletic Tr aining Student Persistence Survey was used to measure freshmen athletic training student level of satisfaction with various aspects of their program in CAAHEPaccredited AT EPs in t he United States to det ermine factors that influence the decision to apply. Subjects: Three hundred and forty-seven freshmen athletic training students (113 males and 234 females) enrolled in CAAHEPaccredited ATEPs. Measurements: Students' level of satisfaction with the ATEP as defined by the co nstructs, demographic information, and the decision to apply to the ATEP. Results: All of the co nstructs except Clinical Education were found to be significantly different between the two groups (P < .05). None of the demographic variables were related to a student's decision to apply. Cumulative college grade point average and the grades re ceived in athletic training and science courses d id influence a student's decision to apply. (P < .05). Conclusions: Freshman student sa tisfaction with the ATEP is predictive of a student's decision to apply to the program. Factors affecting the decision to apply included social integration, intellectual integration, commitment, and t he clinical education
Scoring completion effectiveness in unconventional horizontal wells using 3D seismic attributes

Abstract Using a multihorizontal well-completion pilot in an unconventional oil field in the Lower 48 (contiguous United States) Midcontinent, a workflow is proposed to evaluate the effectiveness of horizontal-well completions through 3D surface-seismic attributes and microseismic data. Three-dimensional surface seismic is often continuous over unconventional fields and provides a measurement in areas where no other data are available. In addition, microseismic is the only geophysical data that allows us to “see” the apparent hydraulic-fracture zone around a wellbore. Using these two geophysical tools integrated with engineering and geologic data such as image logs, total proppant, number of stages, estimates of fracture length and height, permeability, chemical tracers, and production rates, a “geophysical completion scorecard” is developed to evaluate a multiwell horizontal pilot and apply it to additional wells drilled outside the pilot in an effort to predict their completion effectiveness. A postdril...
SEPARATION OF POLIOVIRUS AND POLIOVIRUS RNA ON SEPHADEX G 200. (BRIEF REPORT).

Poliovirus RNA has been chromatographed previously. Kubinsl~y and Koch (1) using methylated serum albumin on celite as column packing separated polio RNA from cellular RNA. Lamb and Dubes (2) using a column of hydromagnesite separated poliovirus RNA from intact virions, cellular RNA, DNA, and glycogen. Both methods are based on ion exchange; a gradient with increasing ionic strength is used to elute the substances adsorbed to the column. Gel filtration does not require an eluent gradient and the eluent can be chosen according to the necessities dictated by the further use of the fractions. In the ease of virus and RNA ffactionation phosphate buffered saline (PBS) was used as eluent because the infectivity residing in the various fractions could be determined on monkey kidney tissue cultures (MKTC's) without further adjusting the fractions to physiological conditions. The Sephadex gels separate substances primarily on the basis of differences of their molecular weight (MW) but also on differences in their struetual configuration or chemical compo-
Search and Determine Integrated Environment (SADIE) for Automated Processing of Space Surveillance Observations (Invited)

A new high-performance computing software applications package called the Search and Determine Integrated Environment (SADIE) is being developed and refined jointly by the Air Force and Naval Research Laboratories (AFRL and NRL). SADIE is designed to resolve uncorrelated tracks (UCTs) and build a more complete space object catalog for improved Space Situational Awareness (SSA), automatically. The motivation for SADIE is to address very challenging needs identified by Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) and other senior leaders and to develop this technology for the evolving Joint Space Operations Center (JSpOC) and Distributed Space Command and Control Center (DSC2)-Dahlgren. The SADIE suite includes modification and integration of legacy applications and software components that include Satellite Identification (SID) and Parallel Catalog (ParCat) as well as other utilities and scripts to enable end-to-end catalog building and maintenance in a parallel processing environment. SADIE is being developed to handle large catalog-building challenges in all orbit regimes and includes the automatic processing of radar and optical data. Promising real data results are provided for the processing of near-Earth radar and Space Surveillance Telescope optical data.
PREDICTION OF TERMINAL DESCENT CHARACTERISTICS OF PARACHUTE CLUSTERS USING CFD

Introduction A computational study has been performed to determine the aerodynamics of a cluster of round parachutes using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The results given here are the first predictions of descent characteristics for a cluster of three half-scale C-9 parachutes. In particular, the results include the aerodynamic flow field and geometry of the parachute cluster with assumed shapes for the individual canopies. Computed results have been obtained using both structured and unstructured numerical techniques. The computed pressure over the inner and outer surfaces of a single canopy in the cluster is used to calculate the net forces and moments acting on the canopy. A manual iterative process is used to determine the expected stable configuration for the cluster geometry by determining the condition at which the net moment about the payload (origin) is zero. The corresponding angular location of the canopies predicted by the CFD computations is compared with the available experimental results and is found to be in good agreement with the data. It is shown that significant progress has been made in determining the terminal descent flow field characteristics of a particular parachute cluster configuration. These computational solutions provide, for the first time, an understanding of the flow field in and around parachute clusters. * Aerospace Engineer, Associate Fellow AIAA ** Aerospace Engineer, Member AIAA This paper is declared a work of the U.S. Government and is' not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Parachute clusters have been utilized in a wide range of applications throughout their history, and the process utilized for their development and design has significantly improved over the years. Parachute cluster systems were developed to avoid the use of excessively large single canopies. A practical limit for the utility of single-round canopies is approached, as the users' desire for recovering larger payload weights increases. In many applications, a cluster of parachutes has a number of benefits over a large single canopy. These include the ability to rig and manufacture the system. Clusters also have the advantage of backup protection. This is evident when a single cluster chute failure is considered. The system under a smaller subset of the canopies still has a lower impact velocity than a free fall. Clustered parachute systems have excellent stability characteristics compared to most single-canopy systems. This is due in part to the terminal descent shape of multiple-bluff bodies versus a single-bluff body. Of course there are some undesirable features of parachute clusters which include the difficulty in obtaining a time-sequenced opening of all canopies together. This phenomena is known as lead-lag, in which one canopy opens quicker than the next canopy. This generally forces the individual parachutes in the cluster to be stronger than
Implications of nuclear diameter in small cell lung carcinoma

The nuclear diameter of 5,117 malignant cells from 42 small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) patients was assessed either on pretreatment tissue sections (35 cases) or cytologic smears (7 cases) by ocular micrometry. The SCLCs were subtyped as 30 oat cell carcinomas and 12 intermediate cell carcinomas according to the World Health Organization classification, based on the predominant histology of the tumor. The median number of nuclei measured from each patient was 110. All patients were treated identically by sequential hemibody and local irradiation combined with chemotherapy and had a median follow-up time of 310 days. The mean nuclear diameter (+/- standard error) obtained from tissue sections was 8.2 +/- 0.03 microns (median = 8.0), including 7.3 +/- 0.03 microns (median = 7.0) for oat cell cases and 9.5 +/- 0.06 microns (median = 9.0) for intermediate cell cases (P less than .001). In 28.6% of these patients, the nuclear diameter overlapped in the range of 8 microns to 9 microns between both subtypes. Comparisons between the nuclear diameter of primary and metastatic SCLC cells revealed no statistically significant differences. The nuclear diameter of malignant cells correlated with the mitotic index and stage of disease, but did not correlate with the other nuclear morphologic variables or with survival. The only identified prognostic factor was the stage of disease; these results indicate that the nuclear diameter of malignant cells should not be considered a prognosticator or a guide for therapy in SCLC patients.
Photoimmunology: the mechanisms involved in immune modulation by UV radiation.

Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) may be the most prevalent agent that man encounters in his environment. As a result, certain biological adaptations take advantage of the beneficial effects of UVR exposure, e.g. the photoactivation steps involved in vitamin D metabolism. In this regard, UVR plays an important role in maintaining our good health; however, it must be noted that UVR is potentially the most harmful naturally occurring agent in our environment. Thus, it appears that several mechanisms have evolved to protect us against the detrimental effects of UVR overexposure. Although epidermal melaninization or "tanning" may be the most obvious example of these processes, we would argue that adoptive mechanisms within the immune system also provide protection against UVR-induced skin damage. It is now known that UVR affects the distribution and functional activities of various immunocompetent cells within the skin, as well as modifying the production of inflammatory and hematopoietically active cytokines. This review will focus on the known mechanisms involved in the immune modulatory effects of UVR and how adoptive immune responses to UVR-induced skin damage contribute to specific pathological processes.