cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Geochemical modeling of changes in shallow groundwater chemistry observed during the MSU-ZERT CO2 injection experiment

Abstract A field experiment involving the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) into a shallow aquifer was conducted near Bozeman, Montana, during the summer of 2008, to investigate the potential groundwater quality impacts in the case of leakage of CO2 from deep geological storage. As an essential part of the Montana State University Zero Emission Research and Technology (MSU-ZERT) field program, food-grade CO2 was injected over a 30 day period into a horizontal perforated pipe a few feet below the water table of a shallow aquifer. The impact of elevated CO2 concentrations on groundwater quality was investigated by analyzing water samples taken before, during, and following CO2 injection, from observation wells located in the vicinity of the injection pipe, and from two distant monitoring wells. Field measurements and laboratory analyses showed rapid and systematic changes in pH, alkalinity, and conductance, as well as increases in the aqueous concentrations of naturally occurring major and trace element species. The geochemical data were evaluated using principal component analysis (PCA) to (1) understand potential correlations between aqueous species, and (2) to identify minerals controlling the chemical composition of the groundwater prior to CO2 injection. These evaluations were used to assess possible geochemical processes responsible for the observed increases in the concentrations of dissolved constituents, and to simulate these processes using a multicomponent reaction path model. Reasonable agreement between observed and modeled data suggests that (1) calcite dissolution was the primary pH buffer, yielding increased Ca+2 concentrations in the groundwater, (2) increases in the concentrations of most major and trace metal cations except Fe could be a result of Ca+2-driven exchange reactions, (3) the release of anions from adsorption sites due to competitive adsorption of carbonate could explain the observed trends of most anions, and (4) the dissolution of reactive Fe minerals (presumed ferrihydrite and fougerite, from thermodynamic analyses) could explain increases in total Fe concentration.
DNA SEQUENCE VARIATION IN THE RIBOSOMAL INTERNAL TRANSCRIBED SPACER REGION OF FRESHWATER CLADOPHORA SPECIES (CHLOROPHYTA)1

Freshwater species of Cladophora (Chlorophyta) are globally distributed and occupy an unusually wide range of ecological habitats. Delineating species is difficult because most easily observed morphological traits are highly variable and because sexual reproduction has not been clearly documented. Synthesizing ecological data on freshwater Cladophora species is problematic because it is unclear whether freshwater Cladophora species comprise many genetically distinct species or a few ecologically and morphologically variable and/or plastic species. We determined nucleotide sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the nuclear ribosomal cistron of freshwater Cladophora species from a wide range of habitats and geographic locations. We compared these sequences to those derived from culture collections of C. fracta and C. glomerata, the two most commonly reported freshwater Cladophora species. Cladophora fracta and C. glomerata had very similar ITS sequences (95.3%). All other sequences were identical to those from the C. fracta or C. glomerata culture collections with the exception of one California sample that was similar to both C. fracta (95.6%) and C. glomerata (92.4%). ITS genotypes did not correlate with morphology or geography. This analysis shows that common freshwater Cladophora species comprise very few (possibly one) ecologically and morphologically variable species.
Effect of Testosterone on Plasma LH in Male Rats of Various Ages1

In male rats, plasma LH levels were elevated 10 days after castration at 7, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, and 70 days of age. The effect of replacement therapy with daily injections of testosterone propionate for 10 days was tested in rats castrated at 10, 40, and 70 days of age. In the immature rats castrated at 10 days of age, 6–12 μg/;100 g body wt/day reduced LH levels to normal, while in the adult rats castrated at 70 days of age, it required 25–50 μg/100 g, and in the pubertal group castrated at 40 days of age, it required 50–100 μg/100 g. In the groups castrated at 40 and 70 days of age, 6 μ;g/100 g produced a rise in plasma LH. No such “positive feedback“ was seen in the animals castrated at 10 days of age. (Endocrinology 94: 947, 1974)
Hitting, missing, and in between: a typology of the impact of western education on the non‐western world

In this article I describe a number of ways in which non‐western cultures have adopted and used western educational approaches, forming an illustrative typology of these adaptations. I provide an illustration(s) of each category in the typology, briefly presenting the history of the category, detailing its modern state, and discussing selected aspects of the effectiveness of a particular educational system. Efficacy is discussed along the following indicators for the country(ies) exemplified in a given category: (1) literacy rates in the general population, (2) standing of the country's students as exemplified by results of international comparison studies, and (3) perceived standing of higher‐education graduates of a given educational system as judged by the international labour market or commented on by the international community.
Novel Stably Transplantable Xenograft Models of Human Breast Cancer for Evaluation of Experimental Therapeutics.

In translational breast cancer research, our ability to evaluate clinical responses of human tumors to new therapeutic agents is severely limited experimentally. For example, it is not possible to evaluate the response of a single tumor to multiple candidate therapeutic agents. Conversely, the limited number of well-characterized in vivo preclinical human tumor models currently available precludes evaluation of multiple clinically relevant tumors with candidate therapeutic agents. These limitations severely impinge on our ability to develop and test novel therapeutic agents, particularly those that may target tumor-initiating “cancer stem cells”, which are relatively resistant to chemotherapy and radiation and may be responsible for disease recurrence and metastases.Historically, in vivo experimental therapeutic research has relied on either genetically engineered animal models, or “xenograft” transplantation models in which established human cancer cell lines are transplanted into immunocompromised host mice. However, each type of model has significant limitations. We sought to circumvent some of these limitations by propagating a cohort of human tumors as stably transplantable xenograft tissue lines grown in the absence of engineered or immortalized fibroblasts by transplanting clinical biopsies directly into the mammary fat pad of SCID/Beige immunocompromised mice (lacking B-cell, T-cell, and NK cell function) without intervening culture in vitro.Thus far, we have established 13 independent stably transplantable xenograft lines representing nine “triple-negative” (ER-PR-HER2-), two HER2+, and two ER+ breast cancers. Established xenograft lines show phenotypic similarity to the primary tumor with respect to histology and gene expression. Xenografts are being characterized genetically by whole genome sequencing as well as for the diversity of tumor-initiating cell types present. These models are proving useful for the evaluation of experimental therapeutics for their ability to inhibit tumor growth, and for their ability to target the subset cancer cells capable of regenerating tumors upon transplantation, with the goals of overcoming chemoresistance, preventing disease recurrence, and eliminating metastases. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(24 Suppl):Abstract nr 1159.
Strong quantum confinement effects in semiconductors : FeS2 nanoclusters

High quality, size-selected, nano-size clusters of FeS2 have been successfully grown inside inverse micellar cages and their optical absorption studied. Remarkable structure in the absorption spectrum is observed and large blue shifts in the absorption edge and other spectral features are observed upon crossing from the weak to strong quantum confinement regimes with decreasing cluster size. The bandgap appears to remain indirect down to the smallest cluster size studied (2 nm).
The spectrum of first-trimester ultrasound findings

A wide spectrum of sonographic findings can be seen in the first trimester of pregnancy. One must have an appreciation of embryology to recognize normal and abnormal early pregnancy development. In this article we emphasize discriminatory criteria for identification of normal structures, as well as ultrasound findings in threatened abortion, failing pregnancy, multiple gestations, ectopic pregnancy, and trophoblastic disease. Sonoembryology, the identification of embryonic anatomy, is discussed, as are examples of early identification of anomalies.
Reply to Clare and Høeg 2008. Balanus amphitrite or Amphibalanus amphitrite? A note on barnacle nomenclature.

The scientific names of living organisms can and do sometimes change. Such changes generally reflect advances in knowledge of the relationships of species and/or higher taxa. The new name, Amphibalanus amphitrite (subfamily Amphibalaninae), for a well-known fouling barnacle previously known as Balanus amphitrite (subfamily Balaninae), was proposed in accordance with the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature and is now widely accepted. Clare and Hoeg (2008) criticise this change but offer no scientifically valid reason to return to the earlier nomenclature of this or any other well-known species of barnacle.
Market power and the deregulation of special access service by the Federal Communications Commission1

In 1999, the Federal Communications Commission adopted an order granting complete deregulation of the rates for special access service for specific metropolitan statistical areas based on an objective showing that there was potential competition in that market. This was done in an environment where the local exchange carriers (LECs) subject to price caps were earning a rate of return in excess of 22% with the rate of return on an upward trend. By 2002, the average rate of return across all price cap LECs topped 35%. The questions investigated in this article are whether the price cap LECs have market power in supplying special access service and whether they have taken advantage of this. The data clearly show that this is the case. Given the prevailing situation, there is a clear need to revisit the pricing flexibility order. First, the product market for special access service needs to be more carefully examined and, second, the metrics used to define the potential for competition need to be revamped.
Nonparental progeny resulting from protoplast fusion inTrichoderma in the absence of parasexuality

Abstract The purpose of this study was to characterize a number of progeny from intra- and interstrain protoplast fusion within the genus Trichoderma . We wished to determine whether parasexuality or other genetic mechanisms occur in these fungi. When two different auxotrophs of the same strain were fused, rapidly growing prototrophic progeny were obtained in high frequencies. When single spore isolates of these strains were prepared, equal numbers of strains indistinguishable from the two parental auxotrophic strains were obtained, even though 10 9 –10 10 conidia were tested per strain. Thus, progeny from intrastrain fusions all appeared to be balanced heterokaryons, and no evidence of recombination between the two parental strains was obtained. When 16 separate interstrain fusions were conducted, very different results were obtained, regardless of whether fusions were within or between species. Following interstrain fusions, presumptive somatic hybrids developed very slowly and in low numbers as compared with hybrids from intrastrain fusions. Most were weakly prototrophic. These slow-growing progeny were unstable and sectors developed from them. Such sectors themselves were unstable and gave rise to other progeny. Usually sectors were more strongly prototrophic and more rapid growing than the original progeny strain. Sectoring gave rise to a very wide range of morphotypes. Most of these morphotype variants were stable through conidiation; thus, these types did not occur as a consequence of heterokaryosis. Isozyme analysis was conducted on over 1000 progeny strains. Nearly all progeny were identical to one or the other parental isozyme phenotypes. A few progeny, when tested as soon as possible after fusion, exhibited the isozyme phenotypes of both parents, but such biparental banding patterns were rapidly lost upon subsequent reculturing. Isozyme banding patterns of multimeric enzymes never gave band patterns indicative of heterokaryosis or heterozygosis. Banding patterns indicative of heterozygous diploids or recombinants were never detected. Despite the extreme variation in morphotype and nutritional requirements among progeny, isozyme banding patterns of derived progeny from any fusion were invariably identical to one or the other parental strains. From these results, we conclude that protoplast fusion in the genus Trichoderma gives rise to great variability, but that the classical parasexual cycle is not required for variation to occur.
Evolution of the mass distribution of resuspended cat allergen (Fel d 1) indoors following a disturbance

Using a specially designed closed chamber, the time evolution of the size distributions of airborne cat allergen (Fel d 1) was measured at three heights during the first 55 min following resuspension of dust from a carpet using a vacuum cleaner. By analyzing these data, indoor removal rates were estimated, along with the initial concentrations present. These parameters were then used to model the cumulative dose of allergen in various regions of the respiratory tract following a disturbance event. Because most of the resuspended Fel d 1 mass initially consisted of coarse particles, 77% by mass of the total cumulative dose in the first 30 min after a disturbance was predicted to deposit in the nose.
A methodology for solving the unequal area facility layout problem using distance and shape-based measures

This paper presents a methodology for solving the unequal area facility layout problem commonly encountered in industry practice. A mixed-binary nonlinear-programming model is formulated to capture the operational issues encountered on the shop floor. In particular, in addition to the distance measure that is typically used to quantify the material handling costs, the impact of geometry or the shape of the departments is quantified in the formulation of the model. A higher-level heuristic solution algorithm, based on a concept known as ‘tabu search’, is proposed to efficiently solve industry-relevant problems. The methodology not only considers the impact of both distance and shape-based measures simultaneously in the proposed initial solution finding mechanism, but also in the evaluation of the objective function during the entire search procedure, in the hope that it will lead to identifying a better final solution. Taking into consideration fixed and variable tabu list sizes, along with long-term memor...
Postnatal development of the mouse dentate gyrus in organotypic cultures of the hippocampal formation.

The hippocampal formation of newborn mice was explanted and maintained in Maximow culture assemblies for up to 35 days. At the time of explantation, only the suprapyramidal limb of the dentate gyrus was cytoarchitectonically distinct, and electron microscopy of newborn hippocampus revealed no definitive synapses. Histogenesis, as indicated by the development of the infrapyramidal limb of the dentate gyrus, and synaptogenesis, as indicated by the in vitro formation of mossy fiber synapses on the dendrites of hippocampal pyramidal neurons were studied by light and electron microscopy. At 12 days and thereafter in culture, mossy fiber terminals were found in synapsis with dendritic spines probably belonging to pyramidal cells of the hippocampal zone CA4. Near dentate granule cell somata a few axosomatic and many axospinous and axodendritic synapses were found. The data indicate that granule cells of the developing dentate gyrus are capable of differentiation in vitro into a structure essentially equivalent to that developed in vivo. The granule cells may become arranged into a recognizable granule cell layer, and develop dendritic processes which receive synapses virtually identical to those found in the intact organ. The differentiation of these features proceeds in the absence of the extrinsic afferents from the septum or from the contralateral hippocampal formation.
Occult axillary lymph node metastases do not have prognostic significance in early stage breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Axillary lymph node status is one of the most powerful prognostic indicators in patients with breast cancer and has implications for adjuvant treatment. It has been demonstrated that enhanced histologic evaluation of axillary lymph nodes, including serial sectioning of paraffin tissue blocks and immunohistochemical (IHC) staining, increases the rate of detection of occult metastases. The clinical significance of occult lymph node metastases has been the subject of debate. METHODS: In the current study, the authors identified 267 patients who underwent axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) between 1987 and 1995 and were lymph node negative according to a routine pathologic evaluation, which included the complete submission of all lymph nodes and an examination of 1 hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained section per paraffin block. Patients did not receive systemic chemotherapy or hormone therapy. All of the dissected lymph nodes from these patients were re-evaluated by intensified pathologic methods (serial sectioning with H&E levels plus IHC). Occult metastases were categorized by detection method and size. The clinical significance of the occult metastases was determined. RESULTS: Thirty-nine patients (15%) who had lymph node-negative results on routine evaluation of their ALND specimens had occult metastases identified. Eight of these patients (20%) had macrometastases >2.0 mm, 15 (40%) had micrometastases (range, >0.2 mm to ≤2 mm), and 16 (40%) had isolated tumor cells (≤0.2 mm). The presence of occult metastases and the size of metastases did not affect recurrence-free or overall survival. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of occult metastasis did not have clinical significance in this cohort of patients with early stage breast cancer. Cancer 2011;. © 2011 American Cancer Society.
A tale of tails: The place of dog parks in the urban imaginary

Abstract According to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association there are ∼75 million dogs living as companion animals in the country and ∼39% of all households include a dog. Because a significant population of dogs live in urban areas, there has been a growing interest in improving where and how dogs can inhabit city spaces. One result of this interest has been the rise of dog parks or off-leash dog areas – often inside of, or attached to, public parks. These dog parks, however, are not without controversy. At the heart of the controversy are two interrelated questions: (1) where and how do the needs of other species become incorporated into urban spaces? and (2) what is the place of dogs in the conceptual identity of urban residents? To answer these questions we used Kansas City, Missouri, as a case study because it is an urban area of ∼100,000 dogs (∼400,000 humans), one established dog park, and a recent political battle over establishing a second. We combine theoretical grounding in animal and urban geographies with data from a news media analysis, a small-scale resident survey, a content analysis of public comments, and interviews to demonstrate that as the urban human–dog relationship changes in the private space of the home it is driving new urban identities and new configurations of public spaces.
Transpiration-based micropump for delivering continuous ultra-low flow rates

In this paper we describe the design, construction and operation of a micropump that delivers continuous, ultra-low flow velocities at ~100 μm s−1. The pumping concept is based on the commonly observed phenomenon of transpiration in plant leaves. A liquid meniscus is pinned inside a microchannel by selective hydrophobic patterning and the evaporation rate of the liquid at the meniscus is controlled. The controlled evaporative flux results in a regulated flow of the liquid from a reservoir to the meniscus. Using this technique, precise flow control (5 nl min−1) has been achieved in several channel geometries for extended periods of time (~2 h). Various factors affecting the performance of the pump were studied and theoretical predictions along with experimental results are presented. Such a micropump could find applications in emerging biological assays such as single-molecule studies of DNA and cell adhesion analyses.
Forest structure and mortality in an old-growth Jeffrey pine-mixed conifer forest in north-western Mexico

Abstract Over 10 million hectares of forests in the western United States are in need of restoration. Restoration targets benefit from quantitative descriptions but many old-growth definitions are qualitative. Quantification of live forest structure and mortality in Jeffrey pine-mixed conifer forests in the Sierra San Pedro Martir (SSPM), Mexico, was done to assist in the development of restoration goals and to increase our understanding of old-growth forests. Conifer forests in the SSPM have not experienced systematic fire suppression or harvesting making them unusual in western North America. Tree and soil data were collected from a systematic design of plots. High variability characterized all structural attributes measured in this forest. This high variation is probably the result of the relatively intact frequent surface fire regime and no history of harvesting in the sampled area. Cumulative tree mortality was 2.7–3.6%; the annual rate of tree mortality was 0.162% yr −1 . Hierarchical cluster analysis determined that 33% of sampled plots included a relatively small number of large trees, 24% of plots had bi-modal diameter distributions, and 43% of plots had inverse-J diameter distributions. Separating these categories into seral stages is difficult since all plots included relatively large trees. Stand structure classes include old forest single-stratum, young multi-strata, and old forest, spatially distinct multi-strata. The forests of the SSPM have a great deal of variation and western United States forests with similar species, soils, topography, and disturbance regimes would be expected to have similar variation prior to fire exclusion. Restoration of similar western United States forests should not use uniform restoration targets. Methods must be developed to incorporate more variation in stand-level prescriptions. Conservation of the forests in the SSPM is critical because it is one of the last landscape-scale, old-growth-mixed conifer forest with a relatively intact frequent surface fire regime in western North America.
Morphologic findings in upper gastrointestinal biopsies of patients with ulcerative colitis: a controlled study.

Introduction Upper gastrointestinal involvement, both gastric and duodenal, is known to occur in both Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis (UC). However, the frequency and types of inflammation in upper gastrointestinal biopsies in patients with UC has not been well studied, especially in a controlled study. Methods Twenty-four esophageal, 59 gastric, and 40 duodenal biopsies from 69 UC patients were reviewed. These were compared with 35 esophageal, 66 gastric, and 46 duodenal biopsies from a control group of 97 consecutive patients of similar age and sex distribution. The pattern and extent of inflammation were noted in each biopsy. Results There were 3 types of gastric inflammation that occurred more in UC patients than in controls, and the differences were statistically significant. The most common was an intense focal gastritis, present in 29% of UC gastric biospies, compared with 9% of controls. Twenty-two percent of UC patients had a basal mixed inflammation compared with 8% of controls, and 20% of the UC patients had superficial plasmacytosis compared with 6% of controls. There were no esophageal inflammations that occurred more commonly in UC than controls. Four UC patients and no controls had diffuse chronic duodenitis, also a statistically significant difference. All 4 UC-duodenitis patients were among the 10 with previous colectomies, and all 4 patients had pouchitis. Only 1 of the 4 UC-colectomy patients without duodenitis developed pouchitis. Conclusions Most UC patients have no upper gastrointestinal inflammation in biopsies, and most of the inflammations they have are not unique. The most common upper gastrointestinal inflammatory pattern in patients with UC is focal gastritis, followed by gastric basal mixed inflammation and superficial plasmacytosis. The one unique upper gastrointestinal inflammation in UC patients is diffuse chronic duodenitis, present in 10% of patients who had duodenal biopsies, and in 40% of UC patients who had colectomy and all of these patients had pouchitis. This association strongly suggests that diffuse chronic duodenitis in UC patients who have colectomy is a strong predictor of pouchitis.
A buoyantly-driven shutdown rod concept for passive reactivity control of a Fluoride salt-cooled High-temperature Reactor

Abstract This paper presents a novel buoyantly-driven shutdown rod concept for use in Fluoride salt-cooled High-temperature Reactors (FHRs). The baseline design considered here is a 900 MWth modular version of the FHR class called the Pebble Bed Advanced High-Temperature Reactor (PB-AHTR) that uses pebble fuel. Due to the high volumetric heat capacity of the primary coolant, the FHRs operate with a high power density core with a similar average coolant temperature as in modular helium reactors. The reactivity control system for the baseline PB-AHTR uses a novel buoyantly-driven shutdown rod system that can be actively or passively activated during reactor transients. In addition to a traditional active insertion mechanism, the new shutdown rod system is designed to also operate passively, fulfilling the role of a reserve shutdown system. The physical response of the shutdown rod was simulated both computationally and experimentally, using scaling arguments where applicable, with an emphasis on key phenomena identified by a preliminary Phenomena Identification and Ranking Table (PIRT) study. This paper presents results from both the pre-predicted simulation and experimental validation efforts.
Mode Jumping of an Isogrid Panel Under Quasi-Static Compression

A wide column test of a composite isogrid panel subjected to quasi-static, axial compression is modeled with a hybrid-static dynamic computational method. The data from the test panel exhibited discontinuous responses in the compressive load for slowly increased end-shortening. The computational model was developed to corroborate these discontinuities with the phenomenon of mode jumping. Mode jumping refers to the transient response of the panel from an unstable bifurcation point on a postbuckled equilibrium path to a second stable equilibrium state on a new equilibrium path. On the new equilibrium path, both the analysis and test show that the panel can resist increased endshortening beyond that of the unstable critical point. Fair agreement is achieved between the analysis and test.
Rose hips as complementary and alternative medicine: overview of the present status and prospects

Generally, the rose hips are discarded as horticultural wastes. Recently, they have been discovered to be storehouse of nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals. Rich in polyphenols, essential fatty acids, vitamin A and C, mineral Ca and Fe, they have potential to be developed as functional foods. The extracts have demonstrated antioxidant, antiarthritic, antiinflammatory, analgesic, antidiabetic, cardioprotective, antimicrobial, immunomodulatory, gastroprotective and skin ameliorative effects. A slew of rose hip-based pharmaceutical supplements are already released to the market. Since very long, the indigenous traditional knowledge has accepted the medicinal value of rose hips. Now, modern clinical science is waking up to the rationale behind their incorporation in therapeutic regimens. This review has been compiled with a vision to promote the scarcely studied and barely exploited nutritional source as a nutraceutical aid and complementary and alternative medicine.
Sensitivity Analysis of Nonequilibrium Adaptation Parameters for Modeling Mining-Pit Migration

The nonequilibrium adaptation parameters of a depth-averaged two-dimensional hydrodynamic and sediment transport model were examined in the study. Calculated results were compared to data measured in two sets of published laboratory experiments that investigated mining-pit migration under well-controlled boundary conditions including steady flow and uniform rectangular cross sections along the flume except in the vicinity of the experimental mining area. The two sets of experiments were chosen as representatives of bed-load-dominated and suspended-load-dominated cases, respectively. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to estimate the influence of the nonequilibrium adaptation parameters on mining-pit migration simulation. Calculated results indicate that appropriate selection of the adaptation parameters is critical in order to close the nonequilibrium sediment transport formulas when modeling mining-pit migration.
Can we Automatically Transform Speech Recorded on Common Consumer Devices in Real-World Environments into Professional Production Quality Speech?—A Dataset, Insights, and Challenges

The goal of speech enhancement is typically to recover clean speech from noisy, reverberant, and often bandlimited speech in order to yield improved intelligibility, clarity, or automatic speech recognition performance. However, the acoustic goal for a great deal of speech content such as voice overs, podcasts, demo videos, lecture videos, and audio stories is often not merely clean speech, but speech that is aesthetically pleasing. This is achieved in professional recording studios by having a skilled sound engineer record clean speech in an acoustically treated room and then edit and process it with audio effects (which we refer to as production). A growing amount of speech content is being recorded on common consumer devices such as tablets, smartphones, and laptops. Moreover, it is typically recorded in common but non-acoustically treated environments such as homes and offices. We argue that the goal of enhancing such recordings should not only be to make it sound cleaner as would be done using traditional speech enhancement techniques, but to make it sound like it was recorded and produced in a professional recording studio. In this paper, we show why this can be beneficial, describe a new data set (a great deal of which was recorded in a professional recording studio) that we prepared to help in developing algorithms for this purpose, and discuss some insights and challenges associated with this problem.
Lack of Pwcr1/MBII-85 snoRNA is critical for neonatal lethality in Prader-Willi syndrome mouse models

Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS) is a neurobehavioral disorder caused by the lack of paternal expression of imprinted genes in the human chromosome region 15q11–13. Recent studies of rare human translocation patients narrowed the PWS critical genes to a 121-kb region containing PWCR1/HBII-85 and HBII-438 snoRNA genes. The existing mouse models of PWS that lack the expression of multiple genes, including Snrpn, Ube3a, and many intronic snoRNA genes, are characterized by 80%–100% neonatal lethality. To define the candidate region for PWS-like phenotypes in mice, we analyzed the expression of several genetic elements in mice carrying the large radiation-induced p 30PUb deletion that includes the p locus. Mice having inherited this deletion from either parent develop normally into adulthood. By Northern blot and RT-PCR assays of brain tissue, we found that Pwcr1/MBII-85 snoRNAs are expressed normally, while MBII-52 snoRNAs are not expressed when the deletion is paternally inherited. Mapping of the distal deletion breakpoint indicated that the p 30PUb deletion includes the entire MBII-52 snoRNA gene cluster and three previously unmapped EST sequences. The lack of expression of these elements in mice with a paternal p 30PUb deletion indicates that they are not critical for the neonatal lethality observed in PWS mouse models. In addition, we identified MBII-436, the mouse homolog of the HBII-436 snoRNA, confirmed its imprinting status, and mapped it outside of the p 30PUb deletion. Taking together all available data, we conclude that the lack of Pwcr1/MBII-85 snoRNA expression is the most likely cause for the neonatal lethality in PWS model mice.
Characterization of a Novel MEMGyroscope Actuated by Parametric Resonance

We present a novel scheme for a robust micro gyroscope excited parametrically that reduces the sensitivity loss due to mismatching in the drive and the sense natural frequencies, which is a common problem in micro gyroscopes based on harmonic oscillators. We demonstrate experimentally that sing a parametric resonance based actuator, the drive-mode signal has rich dynamic behavior with a large response in a large bandwidth. In this way the system is able to induce oscillations in the sense-mode by Coriolis force coupling, despite a clear disparity on their fundamental frequencies. Thus we propose a micro gyroscope that is less sensitive to parameter variations due to its inherent dynamical properties.Copyright © 2007 by ASME
Charlie's List

“Always bring a list to your doctor's visit,” the patient guidebooks recommend. “That way, you won't forget important things to discuss with your doctor.” Lists are a good idea, but until I saw Cha...
Physical Activity, but Not Aerobic Capacity, Correlates With Back Strength in Healthy Premenopausal Women From 29 to 40 Years of Age

The correlation of muscle strength at various sites of the axial and appendicular skeleton with physical activity and aerobic capacity was assessed in women 29 to 40 years old. Muscle strength of the spine and upper extremities was determined with strain gauges in 96 healthy white women, and power grip was used as an indicator of upper extremity strength. The physical activity score, which reflected the level of daily weight-bearing activity and was based on a standardized scale, ranged from 3 to 15. Maximal oxygen uptake (aerobic capacity) was measured in 69 of the 96 subjects. The mean values for maximal oxygen uptake were 1.9 liters/min and 27.9 ml/kg per minute when normalized for weight. In general, muscle strength was significantly correlated between axial and appendicular sites; thus, the axial musculature usually represents overall muscle strength. Maximal oxygen uptake in milliliters per kilogram per minute was not correlated with back extensor strength or upper extremity strength. Physical activity score was significantly correlated with back extensor strength but not with maximal oxygen uptake (aerobic capacity) either in liters per minute or in milliliters per kilogram per minute. Thus, maximal oxygen uptake is an invalid marker for level of daily weight-bearing physical activity.
ECOLOGICAL OPPORTUNITY AND PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY INTERACT TO PROMOTE CHARACTER DISPLACEMENT AND SPECIES COEXISTENCE

We investigated the roles of resource availability and phenotypic plasticity in promoting ecological character displacement (i.e., trait evolution stemming from resource competition between species). Because ecological character displacement generates new populations that differ in resource use, this process should only occur when exploitable resources are available. We tested this hypothesis in two species of spadefoot toads (Spea bombifrons and S. multiplicata) whose tadpoles use phenotypic plasticity to develop into either an omnivore morph, which specializes on detritus, or a physically distinctive carnivore morph, which specializes on shrimp. Both species grow best on shrimp, but when reared together, S. bombifrons outcompetes S. multiplicata for shrimp and S. multiplicata outcompetes S. bombifrons for detritus. We found that when each species occurred alone in the field, they produced similar proportions of omnivores and carnivores. When the two species occurred together, however, they underwent ecological character displacement in larval development, with S. multiplicata producing mostly omnivores, and S. bombifrons producing mostly carnivores. We combined observations of natural populations with experiments to evaluate whether such character displacement was only possible when both shrimp and detritus were relatively abundant. Mixed-species ponds contained abundant detritus and shrimp, in contrast with nearby pure-species ponds, which were deficient in one resource. Experiments revealed that S. multiplicata competed poorly when detritus was rare and that S. bombifrons competed poorly when shrimp was rare. In nature, when one of these two resources was scarce, one species was missing, perhaps through competitive exclusion by the species that was the superior competitor for the remaining resource. Thus, ecological character displacement and, therefore, coexistence of close competitors, was only possible when diverse resources were available. Finally, even if exploitable resources are available, character displacement is not guaranteed to transpire if species cannot utilize such resources expeditiously. Phenotypic plasticity provides a general and important mechanism for facilitating resource partitioning. Thus, by facilitating shifts in resource use, phenotypic plasticity and ecological opportunity may often interact to promote divergence and coexistence of competitors.
Characteristics of General Education Reading Interventions Implemented in Elementary Schools for Students With Reading Difficulties

The implementation of response to intervention requires interventions for struggling students be provided through general education prior to referral for special education. We surveyed elementary teachers (K-3) in one state to examine the characteristics of the supplemental reading interventions that their students receive through general education. Findings reveal differences between grade levels in the amount of time interventions are provided to students, the providers of the intervention, and the material selection for the interventions. No differences between grade levels were noted in the frequency of intervention or instructional group sizes. Three-quarters of the teachers reported providing the supplemental interventions to students in their class. The findings provide insight into the resources utilized by schools to implement supplemental interventions.
CATALASE ACTIVITY OF TWO STREPTOCOCCUS FAECALIS STRAINS AND ITS ENHANCEMENT BY AEROBIOSIS AND ADDED CATIONS

Abstract Jones, Dorothy (American Meat Institute Foundation, Chicago, Ill.), R. H. Deibel, and C. F. Niven, Jr. Catalase activity of two Streptococcus faecalis strains and its enhancement by aerobiosis and added cations. J. Bacteriol. 88:602–610. 1964.—The nature of catalase activity noted in two unusual Streptococcus faecalis strains was determined. Enzyme activity was lost slowly when cultures were maintained by daily transfer in test tubes of broth media. Loss of activity could be prevented by aerobic culture. Supplementation of the growth medium with ferric, manganese, and zinc ions, as well as aerobiosis, enhanced catalase activity. However, addition of these cations to cell suspensions or to cell-free extracts did not increase catalase activity. Although oxygen was observed to be one of the reaction end products, the catalase activity was not inhibited by cyanide or azide, and the iron-porphyrin coenzyme of classical catalase was not detected. The enzyme was purified 185-fold by precipitation with ammonium sulfate, followed by chromotography on a diethylaminoethyl cellulose column.
Recycling Engine Oil Containers to Prepare Wood-Plastic Composites

The collected oil containers were drained, crushed, and used directly to make wood–plastic composites through reactive extrusion, using maleic anhydride (MA) and maleated polyethylene (PE-g-MA) as coupling agents. Oil residue in the container would be controlled at lower than 6 wt % through simple draining, and it played a role as a plasticizer in the plastics and composites. As a coupling agent, MA performed better than PE-g-MA. The comprehensive mechanical properties of oil container plastics (OCP)/wood/MA (60/40/2 w/w) composite were at the same level as those of neat plastic/wood/PE-g-MA (60/40/3.2 w/w) system. Both PE-g-MA and MA effectively improved water resistance of the OCP/wood flour composites, especially MA. The residual oil in the composites was stable under heat to about 200°C or in the water, and it did not influence the thermal degradation behavior of the composites. The OCP was successfully used to make wood–plastic composite panels. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011
Links between social and linguistic processing of speech in preschool children with autism: behavioral and electrophysiological measures

Data on typically developing children suggest a link between social interaction and language learning, a finding of interest both to theories of language and theories of autism. In this study, we examined social and linguistic processing of speech in preschool children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developing chronologically matched (TDCA) and mental age matched (TDMA) children. The social measure was an auditory preference test that pitted ‘motherese’ speech samples against non-speech analogs of the same signals. The linguistic measure was phonetic discrimination assessed with mismatch negativity (MMN), an event-related potential (ERP). As a group, children with ASD differed from controls by: (a) demonstrating a preference for the non-speech analog signals, and (b) failing to show a significant MMN in response to a syllable change. When ASD children were divided into subgroups based on auditory preference, and the ERP data reanalyzed, ASD children who preferred non-speech still failed to show an MMN, whereas ASD children who preferred motherese did not differ from the controls. The data support the hypothesis of an association between social and linguistic processing in children with ASD.
Decision Making and Modern Institutional Change

When I began to prepare this talk, I recalled that the first such address I ever listened to helped persuade me to become an economic historian. It was Herbert Heaton's delightful “The Making of an Economic Historian,” which began with a bit of elegant doggerel. If a discipline could produce such an address, I decided that this association was certainly worth joining. But alas, I was optimistic. I was to hear more erudite presidential addresses but few so witty and informative. Nearly all these rituals, in this association or others, have followed the traditional recipe so well summarized by Shepard Clough. In a systematic review of our past meetings Shep found that “most of our presidential addresses have been devoted to making suggestions for research (mostly to be undertaken by others), to delineating the broad ‘tasks’ of economic history, to defending the kind of work in which the speaker has been engaged, and to advocating some particular methodology in our discipline.” Mine is no exception.
NATURAL FORMULATION OF THE RANDOM CHOICE METHOD FOR TWO–DIMENSIONAL INERT HIGH–SPEED FLOW FIELDS

The random choice method has now been shown to be successfully extendible from the original one-dimensional unsteady formulation to inert high-speed flow fields which are steady and two-dimensional using Cartesian, axisymmetric and Lagrangian formulations. This paper deals with the description of a new implementation of the random choice method formulated for natural co-ordinates based on streamlines and normals. Comparisons between theoretical and computed results for several different physical configurations are presented.
Novel single-device “XOR” AND “AND” gates for high speed, very low power LSI mechanical processors

We discuss novel functional MEMS/NEMS structures that enable implementation of universal logic gates such as XOR, AND, NAND, NOT, etc. in a single device instead of using 6–14 individual switches used in CMOS. By reducing the number of devices, our approach improves yield, reproducibility and speed and simplifies implementation of circuits such as adders and multiplexers. We show the feasibility of this novel approach through fabrication and testing of XOR, AND and related circuits such as a 2 bit full adder and multiplexer. The XOR gates with ∼1.5V turn-on voltage at 50 MHz with >109 cycles of reliable operations are reported. We also discuss the operation of XOR without deterioration at high temperature and in 90 kW ionizing radiation for 120 minutes.
Investigation of Plasma‐Sprayed Dysprosia Coatings

Plasma-sprayed coatings of dysprosia were made and characterized. The coatings consisted mostly of the metastable, monoclinic phase and minor amounts of the cubic phase. Grinding did not transform the high-temperature monoclinic phase, but, on annealing in air at 800° for 5 h, 50% reversion to the cubic phase occurred. Commercial yttria-stabilized zirconia thermal barrier coatings out-performed unannealed plasma-sprayed dysprosia coatings in terms of wear resistance.
The tandemly repeated sequences of cartilage link protein contain the sites for interaction with hyaluronic acid.

The ternary complex involving link protein (LP), proteoglycan monomer, and hyaluronic acid (HA) is an important component of the extracellular matrix of cartilage. LP contains tandemly repeated sequences that were tested for their ability to interact with HA. A solid-phase assay was developed in which LP could specifically bind to immobilized HA. Detection of LP was by means of an antiserum directed against a peptide from the NH2-terminal half of LP. LP binding to HA could be inhibited with mAb 8A4 (Caterson, B., J. R. Baker, J. E. Christner, Y. Lee, and M. Lentz. 1985. J. Biol. Chem. 260:11348-11356). Using synthetic peptides that correspond to specific amino acid sequences of chicken LP (Deak, F., I. Kiss, K. J. Sparks, W. S. Argraves, G. Hampikian, and P. F. Goetinck. 1986. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 83:3766-3770) the epitopes for mAb 8A4 were determined to reside in peptides Gly217-Pro226 and Arg316-Arg325. These two peptides were also capable of inhibiting the interaction between LP and HA. The peptide Trp242-Val251 and Pro339-Val348 could also inhibit the interaction between LP and HA. All four peptides reside in the tandemly repeated domains of LP and they contain clusters of positively charged amino acids. Polylysine could not inhibit the interaction of LP with HA. The results indicate that the sites for interaction with HA are in the tandemly repeated sequences of LP and that there are four potential sites available for that interaction.
Remarkable [3 + 2] Annulations of Electron‐Rich Olefins with Unstabilized Azomethine Ylides.

An unstabilized azomethine ylide, generated in situ from trimethylamine N-oxide, undergoes 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition with electron-rich olefins to give cis N-methylpyrrolidine derivatives.