cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Addressing human vulnerability to climate change: Toward a ‘no-regrets’ approach

Abstract This paper presents and applies a conceptual framework to address human vulnerability to climate change. Drawing upon social risk management and asset-based approaches, the conceptual framework provides a unifying lens to examine links between risks, adaptation, and vulnerability. The result is an integrated approach to increase the capacity of society to manage climate risks with a view to reduce the vulnerability of households and maintain or increase the opportunities for sustainable development. We identify ‘no-regrets’ adaptation interventions, meaning actions that generate net social benefits under all future scenarios of climate change and impacts. We also make the case for greater support for community-based adaptation and social protection and propose a research agenda.
Analysis of Site Formation Processes at the Rex Rodgers Bison Bonebed

AbstractA reanalysis of bison remains from the Rex Rodgers site (41BI42 Area 2) indicates that the previous interpretation of the site as a well-preserved single event kill of a small herd of bison is in need of revision. A taphonomic analysis of approximately 330 identifiable bison bones from the site suggests that, although the animals were likely killed by prehistoric hunters approximately 11,500 cal B.P. as previously believed, extensive post-depositional alterations to the bonebed make many of the previous interpretations about human actions at the site problematic. The Rex Rodgers material probably reflects the end products of at least one, and possibly two, bison kills. A tooth eruption study suggests the bison died sometime between late fall and late winter. Taphonomic analyses identified culturally derived surface modifications to some limb and axial elements that show car-casses were partially skinned, butchered, and disarticulated prior to abandonment of the site. Following site abandonment, fl...
The University of Oklahoma Library's Digitization of Title Pages Project

ABSTRACT The University of Oklahoma library's digitization of title pages project began as a result of a backlog in the History of Science Collections. Lacking sufficient staff to fully catalog 17,000 books, many of which were rare, a decision was made to scan the title page of each book and download these into Hyperion, a component of SIRSI, the University's ILS, so that author/title access to these materials could be obtained. The twenty-three month project resulted in 8,300 title pages being scanned. These images were batch loaded into Hyperion and their metadata was added to the online catalog so that the images were searchable by author and/or title.
Pharmacological Assay Formats: Binding

This chapter illustrates the application of binding techniques to the study of drug-receptor interaction. It discusses the theory of binding and the methods used to quantify drug effect before the experimental prerequisites for good binding experiments. The methods used to detect and rectify nonequilibrium experimental conditions utilize the very methods used to quantify drug effect. Therefore, they must be understood before their application to optimize experimental conditions can be discussed. This chapter first presents what the experiments strive to achieve, and then explores the possible pitfalls of experimental design that may cause the execution to fall short of the intent. A direct measure of the binding of a molecule to a protein target can be made if there is some means to distinguish bound molecule from unbound and a means to quantify the amount bound. Historically, the first widely used technique to do this was radioligand binding. Radioactive molecules can be detected by observation of radioactive decay and the amount quantified through calibration curves relating the amount of molecule to the amount of radioactivity detected. An essential part of this process is the ability to separate the bound from the unbound molecule. This is done by taking advantage of the size of the protein versus the soluble small molecule. The protein can be separated by centrifugation, equilibrium dialysis, or filtration. Alternatively, the physical proximity of the molecule to the protein can be used.
Microbial Contamination Control in Parenteral Manufacturing

Historical And Emerging Themes In Parenteral Manufacturing Contamination Control. Microbial Contamination Hazard Analysis In Sterile Product Manufacturing. Overview Of Modern Parenteral Processes. The Role Of USP In The Microbiological Assessment Of Parenteral Manufacturing. Sterile Concepts And Bioindicators. Biological Safety Cabinets And Isolators Used In Pharmaceutical Processing. Developing A Process For Aseptic Facility Design And Validation. Pharmaceutical Water Systems: New Orientations In System Design & Multimedia Filtration. Airborne Contamination Control. Disinfection Practices In Parenteral Manufacturing. Sterile Filtration. Process Development Of Alternative Sterilization Methods. Terminal Sterilization And Parametric Release. Raw Material Contamination Control. Endotoxin: Worst Case Parenteral Pyrogen. Screening Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients And Excipients For Endotoxin. Viral And Prion Clearance Strategies For Biopharmaceutical Safety. Microbiological Contamination Control In Monoclonal Antibody Production. Statistical Sampling Concepts. Environmental Monitoring. Prevention And Troubleshooting Of Microbial Excursions. Simulation Of Aseptic Manufacture. Standard Methods Of Microbial Identification. Rapid Methods Of Microbial Identification
Storage Cell Target for Polarized Hydrogen and Deuterium

This paper describes recent wall depolarization studies, in which the degree of polarization of hydrogen atoms in a storage cell was measured for different wall coatings as a function of wall temperature. For the cells tested, the average number of wall collisions of atoms in the cell varied between 40 and 380. It is found that cells coated with a thin film of fluorinated polymers tolerate 380 wall collisions for wall temperatures between 120K and 300K without significant loss in polarization.
Validity of a self-administered version of the brief index of lupus damage in a predominantly African American systemic lupus erythematosus cohort.

Objective To assess the reliability and criterion and construct validity of the self-administered Brief Index of Lupus Damage (SA-BILD), a patient-reported measure of organ damage in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods The validity of the SA-BILD was assessed using data from the Georgians Organized Against Lupus (GOAL) survey. GOAL is a longitudinal cohort of SLE patients predominantly derived from the Georgia Lupus Registry, a population-based registry established in Atlanta, Georgia. In total, 711 participants with documented SLE completed the SA-BILD. To test reliability, the SA-BILD was readministered to 32 patients. Criterion validity was examined in 150 respondents for whom the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology Damage Index (SDI) was also completed. Construct validity was assessed among 711 GOAL participants by dividing the SA-BILD scores into quartiles and examining the association with demographics, health status, and health care utilization. Results The test–retest correlation score was 0.93 (P 80% for most SA-BILD items, and the Spearman's rho correlation coefficient for the SDI and SA-BILD was moderately high (ρ = 0.59, P < 0.0001). SA-BILD scores showed significant associations in the expected directions with age, disease duration, disease activity, overall health, comorbidity index, and physician visits. Conclusion The SA-BILD was reliable and had very good or good criterion validity compared with the SDI when tested in a predominantly African American cohort of US SLE patients. Associations of SA-BILD scores with sociodemographics and health status were consistent with previous studies. These findings support the use of the SA-BILD as a valid measure of patient-reported damage in SLE.
Development of an interfacial test system for the determination of interfacial properties in fiber reinforced ceramic composites

In fiber-reinforced ceramic composites, a critical need exists for the accurate measurement of interfacial properties such as the debond strength, sliding shear stress, and residual stress. The characterization of these properties frequently relies on the use of indentation techniques and their instrumentation which may suffer from one or more of the following: insufficient load capabilities, lack of automation, the indentor used produces plastic deformation or worse fiber fracture, and/or inability to conduct tests on fibers whose diameter may be as small as 10--12 {mu}m. The development of an interfacial test system at ORNL represents a concerted effort at addressing these limitations. A description of the hardware and a brief test methodology is presented in addition to a discussion of two test cases.
The first cleavage plane and the embryonic axis are determined by separate mechanisms in Xenopus laevis: II. Experimental dissociation by lateral compression of the egg

In eggs of Xenopus laevis, the meridian of sperm entry (SEP meridian), the direction of subcortical rotation, and the first cleavage furrow have been used to predict, with varying degrees of accuracy, the position of the plane of bilateral symmetry of the embryo. We show here that altering the shape of the uncleaved egg by lateral compression disrupts some of these topographical relationships in a reproducible way. The neural groove, which identifies the embryonic dorsal midline, usually forms at either of the two narrow ends of the compressed egg, regardless of the position of the SEP meridian, whereas the first cleavage furrow divides the compressed egg across its shorter dimension, regardless of the position of the SEP meridian. Thus the positions of the SEP meridian, the cleavage plane, and the embryonic bilateral plane can be completely uncoupled from each other. In contrast, the direction of subcortical rotation is usually parallel to the plane of compression and predicts the position of the neural groove in all cases. Since the direction of subcortical rotation and the plane of bilateral symmetry still correlate under conditions of compression, we conclude that subcortical rotation is the crucial early step in the process of axis specification.
That Used To Be Us: Through the Eyes of the Aviation Industry

The U.S. economic success was rooted in an industrial policy which had five pillars of a prosperity formula that served as a catalyst for development and growth: 1) public/private cooperation on education, 2) immigration policy, 3) infrastructure, 4) risk/capital management, and 5) government-funded scientific research. In this paper, the development and growth of the aviation industry is viewed in the framework of such a prosperity formula in order to face the four areas that the entire economy will need to face in the current market in order to be competitive in the global market in the 21st century. Since the aerospace and aviation industry is an integral part of the US economy, it stands that those elements will also challenge the aviation industry’s future. Considering the economic history of the industry and the prosperity formula, the industry has opportunities for not only normal growth but potentially can be used as a catalyst for industry health, significance and renewal in the future as well as the indirect aviation-related industries. It is clear that further research and thought are needed to provide pathways to meet the four economic challenges in the aviation sector identified in this paper. It is hoped that this paper will serve as a foundation for that research.
Long-term complete clinical and hematological responses of the TEMPI syndrome after autologous stem cell transplantation.

Long-term complete clinical and hematological responses of the TEMPI syndrome after autologous stem cell transplantation
Red-Black Prefetching: An Approximation Algorithm for Parallel Disk Scheduling

We address the problem of I/O scheduling of read-once reference strings in a multiple-disk parallel I/O system. We present a novel on-line algorithm, Red-Black Prefetching (RBP), for parallel I/O scheduling. In order to perform accurate prefetching RBP uses L-block lookahead. The performance of RBP is analyzed in the standard parallel disk model with D independent disks and a shared I/O buffer of size M. We show that the number of parallel I/Os performed by RBP is within a factot \(\Theta(\max \{\sqrt{MD/L}, D^{1/3}\})\) of the number of I/Os done by the optimal off-line algorithm. This ratio is within a canstant factor of the best possible when L is L=O(MD 1/3).
A role for M2 and M3 muscarinic receptors in the contraction of rat and human small airways

Large airway bronchoconstriction acts mainly through cholinergic pathways via muscarinic M3 receptors with some contribution from M2 receptors. By contrast, the mechanisms of small airway contraction are largely unknown. This study used precision cut lung slices to examine the role of muscarinic M2 and M3 receptors in the contractile response of rat and human small airways. In rat small airways, the M3 preferential antagonist, 4-DAMP, inhibited carbachol-mediated contraction (1×10(-6) M) more than that of the M2 selective antagonist, AF-DX116 (pIC50 values: 8.85±0.18 and 6.31±0.19, n=6-8 respectively). Tiotropium, inhibited the contractile response to carbachol with (pIC50: 9.86±0.07, n=6), but could not distinguish between M2 and M3 mediated effects. Similar experiments using human small airways with tiotropium and AF-DX116, gave a pIC50 of 10.35±0.05 and a pKB of 6.37±0.13, n=5 respectively. Therefore, M3 receptors play a key role in muscarinic contraction of small airways in both rats and humans but the effect of M2 receptors cannot be excluded. To investigate the role of M2 receptors, carbachol-induced contraction of small airways was performed in the presence and absence of a β2-agonist in order to elevate intracellular cAMP levels prior to contraction. Isoproterenol-induced relaxation was significantly increased by AF-DX116 (P<0.001) in rat small airways and by AF-DX116 (P<0.01), gallamine (P<0.05) and pertussis toxin (P<0.05) in human small airways. Taken together, these data suggest that cholinergic antagonism of muscarinic receptors in human and rat small airways inhibits airway contraction via direct inhibition of contraction through M3 receptors, and by M2 receptor mediated inhibition of relaxation.
Real-time ultrasound elasticity of the breast: initial clinical results.

Purpose: To determine the sensitivity and specificity of a real-time elasticity imaging (EI) ultrasound (US) system in the characterization of breast lesions as benign or malignant. Methods: A total of 208 patients with 251 lesions were scheduled to undergo a US-guided breast biopsy for a mass identified on B-mode US, and each received a real-time elasticity image of the lesion before the biopsy. The lesion size measurements were obtained, and the EI/B-mode size ratio was obtained. The pathology report was obtained and correlated with the EI/B-mode ratio. An EI/B-mode ratio equal to or greater than 1 was considered malignant lesion, whereas EI/B-mode ratios of less than 1 were considered benign. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive values, and negative predictive values were calculated. Results: Of the 251 lesions biopsied, 197 were pathologically benign, and 54 were malignant. Of the 54 malignant lesions, all had an EI/B-mode ratio equal to or greater than 1. Of the 197 benign lesions, 187 had an EI/B-mode ratio of less than 1. Ten benign lesions had an EI/B-mode ratio of greater than 1. The benign lesions that had an EI/B-mode ratio of greater than 1 were lesions with dense fibrosis, and in addition, a characteristic artifact was identified, which was visualized in all simple and complex cysts. The results correspond with a sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 95%, a positive predictive value of 84%, and a negative predictive value of 100%. Conclusions: Initial results of a real-time EI system for characterization of breast lesions suggest this technique can provide significant new diagnostic information. As a result, this information may significantly improve the ability to select patients for breast biopsy, resulting in a reduction in the number of benign breast biopsies.
hREV3 is essential for error-prone translesion synthesis past UV or benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide-induced DNA lesions in human fibroblasts.

In S. cerevisiae, the REV3 gene, encoding the catalytic subunit of polymerase zeta, is involved in translesion synthesis and required for the production of mutations induced by ultraviolet radiation (UV) photoproducts and other DNA fork-blocking lesions, and for the majority of spontaneous mutations. To determine whether hREV3, the human homolog of yeast REV3, is similarly involved in error-prone translesion synthesis past UV photoproducts and other lesions that block DNA replication, an hREV3 antisense construct under the control of the TetP promoter was transfected into an infinite life span human fibroblast cell strain that expresses a high level of tTAk, the activator of that promoter. Three transfectant strains expressing high levels of hREV3 antisense RNA were identified and compared with their parental cell strain for sensitivity to the cytotoxic and mutagenic effects of UV. The three hREV3 antisense-expressing cell strains were not more sensitive than the parental strain to the cytotoxic effect of UV, but the frequency of mutants induced by UV in their HPRT gene was significantly reduced, i.e. to 14% that of the parent. Two of these hREV3 antisense-expressing cell strains were compared with the parental strain for sensitivity to (±)-7β,8α-dihydroxy-9α,10α-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene (BPDE). They were not more sensitive than the parent strain to the cytotoxic effect of BPDE, but the frequency of mutants induced was significantly reduced, i.e. in one strain, to 17% that of the parent, and in the other, to 24%. DNA sequencing showed that the kinds of mutations induced by BPDE in the parental and the derivative strains did not differ and were similar to those found previously with finite life span human fibroblasts. The data strongly support the hypothesis that hRev3 plays a critical role in the induction of mutations by UV or BPDE. Because the level of hRev3 protein in human fibroblasts is below the level of antibody detection, it was not possible to demonstrate that the decrease in mutagenesis reflected decreased hRev3 protein. However, the conclusion is supported by the fact that in a similar study with a strain expressing a high level of antisense hREV1, a very similar result was obtained, i.e. UV or BPDE mutagenesis was virtually eliminated.
In vitro comparison of frictional torque and torsional resistance of aged conventional gamma-in-nitrogen sterilized polyethylene versus aged highly crosslinked polyethylene articulating against head sizes larger than 32 mm.

Background The advent of highly crosslinked polyethylene has allowed the re-evaluation of the use of femoral heads larger than 32 mm for metal-on-polyethylene total hip arthroplasties. However, the effect of larger heads on the frictional torque of highly crosslinked polyethylene is unknown.Methods We performed an in vitro examination of the effect of larger chrome cobalt femoral heads (40 mm diameter) on the frictional torque and torsional resistance of hip articulations on aged liners of polyethylene that were sterilized by gamma rays while in nitrogen, and aged highly crosslinked polyethylene. The frictional torque at the femoral head articulation was usually higher for the highly crosslinked polyethylene than for the conventional polyethylene. The aged conventional liners oxidized considerably, which led to gross failure of the polyethylene at the anti-rotation portion of the rim. The aged crosslinked polyethylene showed no such failures despite the higher frictional torque.Interpretation Our findings...
Connecting nutrient sensing and the endocrine control of metabolic allocation in insects

It is clear that specific hormones control an organism's energy use and regulate the differential allocations of energy to activity, growth and maintenance of specific tissues, and reproduction. Appropriate metabolic allocations require an assessment of the nutrient state of the animal, and nutrient sensing must be tied to appropriate signals in order to coordinate the repertoire of behaviors and physiologies accompanying a particular metabolic investment. Here, we review the known and speculated connections between nutrient sensing and the endocrine control of energy allocation in insects. Insects, being speciose and diverse in life history strategies, offer a unique perspective into the general architecture of the signaling mechanisms of energetic allocation and also into unique elements that correlate with specific life histories.
The Successful Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Practice

Oral and maxillofacial surgery has been and will continue to be one of the premiere health care specialties in the United States. Incomes of oral and maxillofacial surgeons are among the highest of any profession in the country. With efficient scheduling, organized business systems, efficient fee schedules, and appropriate use of consultants, oral and maxillofacial surgery can lead to a lifestyle that is relatively stress free, allows a direct route to financial independence, and provides a great public service.
Gene expression by the anterior pituitary gland: effects of age and caloric restriction.

Abstract Biological aging is associated with functional deficits at the cellular, organ, and system levels. The pituitary gland, the central organ of the neuroendocrine system, has been shown to play an important role in the aging process. To gain a better understanding of its functional changes with aging, we compared the gene expression profiles of the anterior pituitary of young and old Brown Norway rats, focusing on the major pituitary hormone genes. We also explored the effects of caloric restriction, an intervention shown to delay or inhibit age-associated pathologic and biologic changes in a number of systems and organisms, on the expression of these genes. Of the total of 1176 genes arrayed on each of the six membranes per group that we used, 542 (46%) were detectable in the anterior pituitary of young and old rats. Significance analysis of microarrays (SAM) of these 542 detectable genes revealed 28 genes that changed significantly with age, among which 24 decreased and 4 increased. Among the five major hormone genes on the membrane, growth hormone (GH) and prolactin decreased with age, the glycoprotein hormone common α subunit gene increased, and follicle-stimulating hormone-β subunit (FSH-β) and thyrotropin-β (TSH-β) subunit did not change. Among these genes, the three found to change by array analysis were confirmed to do so by Northern blot analysis. For the two genes among the five that were not selected (i.e. did not change) by array analysis, TSH-β also showed no significant change by Northern blot; but the other, FSH-β, showed significant increase. Thus, of the five genes checked by Northern blot analysis, the results were consistent with the array data in four cases. Short-term caloric restriction (5 weeks) of young adult animals resulted in 19 genes being significantly down-regulated, while no significantly up-regulated genes were identified. Among the genes that were down-regulated were GH, gonadotropin releasing hormone receptor (GnRH-R), three cytochrome c oxidase subunits and two heat shock proteins. With long-term (21 month) caloric restriction, about 30% of the genes that changed with aging (8/28) were prevented from doing so, and none of the age-related changes was enhanced with long-term caloric restriction. The genes that showed most significant rescue were neuropeptide Y, GnRH-R, DNA-binding protein inhibitor Id-3, and nerve growth factor-induced protein I-B. These results indicate that long-term caloric restriction can partially prevent some of the age-related changes in gene expression in the anterior pituitary of Brown Norway rats, suggesting a benefit of this regimen to be the slowing of the aging process. The fact that fewer than 30% genes derived benefit also suggests that the effect of caloric restriction is rather limit, which is consistent with the thesis that caloric restriction may slow, but not prevent, the aging process.
Quantum noise in heterodyne detection

A fully quantum mechanical theory of diode mixers which includes quantization of the external circuit is presented. We find that Tucker's theory for SIS mixer conversion efficiencies is correct, but that his expression for the measurement noise must be augmented by an amount corresponding to half a photon at every frequency to which the mixer responds. Noise in high quality SIS mixers is shown to be accurately described by the conceptually simpler photodiode mixer noise theory. The radiation coupling efficiency term, η, which appears in photodiode theory turns out to be the coupling efficiency between the signal source admittance and the admittance which the SIS presents to the LO. Our theory reduces to Caves' quantum linear amplifier formalism, and therefore predicts measurement noises bounded by the quantum lower limit of hv/k_{B} . Predictions of performance versus frequency for SIS's are made. We predict that NbN SIS's will behave as nearly ideal photodiodes for frequencies as high as 3000 GHz.
Effects of longitudinal space charge in beams for heavy-ion fusion

Abstract A new analytic model is presented that accurately estimates the radially averaged axial component of the space-charge field of an axisymmetric heavy ion beam in a cylindrical beam pipe. The model recovers details of the field near the beam ends that are overlooked by simpler models, and the results compare well with exact solutions of Poisson's equation. Field values are shown for several simple beam profiles and are compared with values obtained from simpler models. The model has been implemented in the fluid-envelope code CIRCE and used to study longitudinal confinement in beams with a variety of axial profiles. The effects of errors in the longitudinal control fields are presented.
Electronic overshoot and other bias in the CZCS Global Data Set: comparison with ground truth from the subarctic Pacific

For an area near Ocean Weather Station P in the eastern subarctic Pacific, in situ observations of surface phytoplankton pigment are compared to pigment concentration estimates from the Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS). CZCS data favourably supplement the in situ data, but a few extreme CZCS estimates have erroneously elevated the temporal composites of the region in the NASA Global Data Set. Effects of CZCS subsampling, atmospheric correction, cloud and systematic error detection on accuracy and variability are examined. For the open ocean, accurate atmospheric correction and detection of cloud contamination are the most important requirements for quantitative application of CZCS data.
Differential Adaptive Capacity to Extreme Heat: A Phoenix, Arizona, Case Study

AbstractClimate change is projected to increase the number of days producing excessive heat across the southwestern United States, increasing population exposure to extreme heat events. Extreme heat is currently the main cause of weather-related mortality in the United States, where the negative health effects of extreme heat are disproportionately distributed among geographic regions and demographic groups. To more effectively identify vulnerability to extreme heat, complementary local-level studies of adaptive capacity within a population are needed to augment census-based demographic data and downscaled weather and climate models. This pilot study, conducted in August 2009 in Phoenix, Arizona, reports responses from 359 households in three U.S. Census block groups identified as heat-vulnerable based on heat distress calls, decedent records, and demographic characteristics. This study sought to understand social vulnerability to extreme heat at the local level as a complex phenomenon with explicit chara...
Correlation of cleavage of SNAP-25 with muscle function in a rat model of botulinum neurotoxin type A induced paralysis

Injection of botulinum neurotoxin serotype A (BoNT/A) into muscle results in cleavage of the synaptosomal associated protein of 25 kDa (SNAP-25) and relatively long-term paralysis. However, nerve-terminal sprouting, which appears to require intact SNAP-25, has been reported to occur much earlier. The difference between the long-term paralysis induced by injection of BoNT/A and the short time needed for sprouting led us to investigate the relationship between BoNT/A catalyzed cleavage of SNAP-25 and muscle function. The effect of BoNT/A on SNAP-25 present in nerve endings innervating gastrocnemius muscles of rats was monitored over time. Cleaved SNAP-25 was found in nerve terminals innervating the muscles within 24 h of inoculation with BoNT/A and was present more than 2 months later. Comparison of the ratios of cleaved to intact SNAP-25 from the onset of BoNT/A-induced paralysis until function was regained indicated that paralysis was probable when the ratio of cleaved to intact SNAP-25 was greater than 0.35.
Design of soft handoff algorithms for cellular communications

This paper discusses the design of soft handoff algorithms for cellular communication systems based on signal-strength measurements. The handoff process is modeled as a hybrid system and handoff design is cast as an optimization problem based on such a model. Performance is evaluated in terms of call quality, average number of active base stations and average number of active set updates. Preliminary designs based on selective diversity combining are investigated. A suboptimal handoff algorithm, which achieves a tradeoff between these three performance criteria, is obtained using principles of dynamic programming.
Generating streamflow forecasts for the Yakima River Basin using large-scale climate predictors

Multifaceted demands on western water supply, such as irrigation and mandated biological flows, coupled with climate variability are increasing the importance of supply forecasting to water managers. In this study, we develop and examine the accuracy of a seasonal ensemble streamflow forecasting model for the Yakima River Basin. The model incorporates large-scale climate information, related to the Pacific North American (PNA) pattern, with the objective of increasing the skill of the forecasts for water managers and stakeholders in the basin. Our study has found that spring runoff in the Yakima Basin is strongly correlated (correlation significant at the 5% significance level) with two of the large-scale circulation patterns associated with the PNA pattern from the preceding fall and winter seasons. Incorporating such climate information into our forecasts allowed a longer lead-time (a season in advance) planning period for water managers and stakeholders from the current practice of an April 1st forecast. The ensemble nature of our streamflow forecasts provides continuous probability distributions that will help the decision maker to objectively quantify the associated risk with selected streamflow values.
Cdkn1b overexpression in adult mice alters the balance between genome and tissue ageing

Reduced rates of cell proliferation are thought to contribute to age-related tissue dysfunction. Here Pruitt et al. induce expression of the cell cycle inhibitor Cdkn1b in adult mice and show that this recapitulates ageing-related defects in tissue maintenance.
Use of nesiritide (human B-type natriuretic peptide) in infants following cardiac surgery

We report the use of nesiritide in two infants following cardiac surgery. Both infants had increased intracardiac filling pressures postoperatively, despite traditional afterload reduction and diuretics. Both infants demonstrated clinical improvement with nesiritide therapy. There is currently limited data available describing the use of nesiritide in infants.
INVOLVED SPECTATORSHIP IN ARCHAIC GREEK ART

It is argued that models of spectatorship developed by Alois Riegl and Richard Wollheim offer a productive means of understanding how the Archaic Greek eye cup works. Eye cups represent the faces of particular mythological creatures who expect to see their mythical counterparts in the space occupied by spectators. The decoration of the cups is structured so as to invite the beholder to enter imaginatively into the Dionysiac world. Some representations of silens shown with frontal faces invite a similar response. A significant amount of Archaic poetry experienced, like the vases, in symposia also induced symposiasts temporarily to adopt fictional or mythical personae. As Nietzsche observed in The Birth of Tragedy, a comparable form of involved spectatorship is also at the heart of early Greek drama. A common aesthetic conception of involved spectatorship manifested itself concretely in several different media or cultural forms in late Archaic Greece.
Weak coupling model of a core plus several particles

A nuclear model consisting of a core plus several particles is considered with interactions between each particle and the core and among the particles. It is shown that the energy levels of a several-particle nucleus can be expressed in terms of the levels of the one- and two-particle nuclei. An application is then made to 193Au and 195Au in which it is seen that the core-particle interaction alone is sufficient to account for the features of the observed levels.
Introduction to Paper by R. G. Jost, M.D., et al, “PACS Experience as a Motivation for a Campus-wide Picture Network”

IT IS INTERESTING and somewhat nostalgic for me to re-read this paper, written over 15 years ago, which captured our view of the future of picture archiving and communications systems (PACS). Many of our assumptions were pretty much on target. The campus-wide picture network described here assumed what was then a rather heretical notion that centralized computing would give way to distributed systems, that computer terminals would routinely be replaced by workstations, and that picture transmission would become commonplace in the educational and business worlds. Those assumptions turned out to be right. In some areas we were not quite so prescient. Recognizing the limitations of Ethernet, we felt that broadband cable television (CATV) systems might provide a suitable alternative in the near term for medical image transmission. It was to be many years, however, before the routine transmission of digital images was to be realized using CATV networks. The scale of the problem was perceived to be different then. Note that the average number of images per magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study in 1985 was 24, with just over 2,000 MRI exams performed per year. Also, at that time a 1024 × 1024 image display system was an expensive commodity and efforts were made to “time share” the system among several users. Many of us assumed that PACS developments would initially progress far more rapidly than they did, but I’m not sure that any of us envisioned the remarkable pace of technological progress that has led to the ubiquity of digital image transmission in our society. Certainly all of us working in this field in the 1980s believed that PACS would one day dramatically change the way that radiology is practiced. In that, we were 100% correct.
Synthesis and Characterization of High Temperature Polyimides from Bicyclic Dianhydrides

Abstract Polyimides were synthesized from bicylic dianhydrides and diamines. The bicyclic monomers used were bicyclo[2.2.2]oct‐7‐ene‐2,3,5,6‐tetracarboxylic dianhydride (BCDA), 1,4,7,8‐tetrabromobicyclo[2.2.2]oct‐7‐ene‐2,3,5,6‐tetracarboxylic dianhydride, and 1,4,7,8‐tetrachlorobicyclo[2.2.2]oct‐7‐ene‐2,3,5,6‐tetracarboxylic dianhydride. The diamines used were benzidine, 4,4′‐diaminodiphenyl ether, 4,4′‐(hexafluoroisopropylidene)dianiline and 4,4′‐(1,4‐phenylenedioxy)dianiline. Each dianhydride was polycondensed with each of the diamines in N‐methyl pyrrolidinone (NMP) at elevated temperatures. The polymers were characterized by means of IR and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, solubility and thermal analysis such as differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Thermogravimetric analysis studies indicate that the polymers were all stable to above 320°C. Most of the polymers were found to be soluble in highly polar solvents such as dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)...
Cosmological Significance of Time Reversal

A RECENT attempt by Stannard1 to explain the apparent overthrow of parity in the long-lived kaon experiments suggested the possibility of an unseen component of the universe in which matter was of opposite time sense to that in the observable universe.
The spatial variability of heat-related mortality in Massachusetts

This study assesses heat-related mortality in Massachusetts during the months of May through September from 1990 to 2008. Daily maximum apparent temperature was interpolated across space via kriging, and aggregated to 29 municipality groups (MGs), a spatial unit composed of municipalities that was designed to have minimal variation in population. Death certificate data were analyzed to determine the spatial distribution of excess mortality on days that exceeded the 85th, 90th, and 95th percentiles of apparent temperature. We find that the average statewide mortality anomalies were 5.11, 6.26, and 7.26 deaths on days exceeding the 85th, 90th, and 95th percentiles of apparent temperature respectively. A linear stepwise regression showed that percent African–American population and percent elderly population (those above the age of 65) were positively associated with an MG’s mortality anomaly on days exceeding the 85th percentile of apparent temperature (p < 0.05). In spite of the urban heat island effect, our measure of urbanization was not associated with higher rates of heat-related mortality.
Midlatitude TEC enhancements during the October 2003 superstorm

[1] We use observations from the array of North American GPS receivers to examine the formation and severity of midlatitude enhancements and steep gradients in total electron content (TEC) during the October 30–31, 2003 superstorm. A large (∼10x) enhancement in dayside TEC was observed over the US mainland during these events as Dst decreased sharply and strong SAPS electric fields eroded the outer reaches of the post-noon plasmasphere boundary layer (PBL) forming poleward-streaming plumes of storm enhanced density. TEC increased to >250 TECu equatorward of the PBL. TEC gradients across the PBL over the central US exceeded 60 TECu per deg latitude. While intense, these features are qualitatively similar to those seen in lesser storms.
Postglacial inception and growth of anthropogenic landscapes in China, Korea, Japan, and the Russian Far East

Abstract With the onset of deglaciation in the Northern Hemisphere about 20,000 years ago, a rich temperate biota, earlier driven southward by ice-age cold, began its long, slow return to East Asia. Fully modern and technologically sophisticated Upper Paleolithic Homo sapiens communities re-engineered their ecological niche in keeping with these changes by mapping on to newly productive hunting localities, gathering grounds, and raw-material sources and situating their wintering/home base residential sites in relation to the others. Acorns, nuts, annual seeds, and other foods accessed within such logistic networks were at first gathered wild, but over millennia came to be harvested, tended, and finally domesticated in great quantity. Agriculture, population, and infrastructural additions to natural landscapes expanded in scope. Over a long period, originally familistic lineage heads and elders claimed an ever-increasing authority and personal share of the collective wealth generated by the community. Archeological evidence and written histories, appearing earliest in Central China, document the rise of elite family dynasties that garnered enormous wealth and luxury through their control of agriculture, industry, and trade, while peasant laborers profited far less. Military force applied to outsiders on their borders, and at times to their own people, became an important instrument of this ruling class. Central Riverine China led in all these developments, and over time neighboring peoples in Northeast China, Korea, Japan, and the Russian Far East engineered their own civic and productive infrastructures according to the same dynamics, resulting in a pervasive spread of anthropogenic landscapes throughout East Asia.
Saturation of the Drell--Hearn--Gerasimov sum rule

The Drell-Hearn-Gerasimov sum rule for the forward spin-flip amplitude of nucleon Compton scattering is decomposed into separate sum rules originating from different isospin components of the electromagnetic current. The resulting sum rules are reexamined using recently available analyses of single-pion photoproduction in the region up to photon laboratory energies of 1.2 GeV. All three sum rules receive important nonresonant as well as resonant contributions. The isovector sum rule whose contributions are known best is found to be nearly saturated, lending support to the assumptions underlying the sum rules. The failure of the isoscalar-isovector sum rule to be saturated is then presumably to be blamed on inadequate data for inelastic contributions.
The molecular biology of selected phagocyte defects

Advances in molecular genetic understanding of disease processes has been extended to a number of phagocytic disorders. Most of these disorders were extensively characterized at the functional and protein level prior to cloning of the relevant genes. Nucleotide sequence data has been essential for establishing the mechanism and mode of inheritance of genetically transmitted phagocyte disorders. Such data provides insights into the functionally important regions of affected proteins and information regarding regulation of these genes and homologies to other known proteins. From such data it is also possible to determine the evolutionary history of these genes. Chronic granulomatous disease, a phenotypic classification of a heterogeneous group of defects in oxidative metabolism, has now been defined in terms of specific molecular defects. Cloning of the two subunits of cytochrome b558 has led the way to characterization of the X-linked form and one of the autosomal recessive forms of this disease and confirmed the importance of this protein in the phagocyte oxidative burst. The absence of lactoferrin associated with hereditary specific granule deficiency is a result of decreased transcription of the lactoferrin gene in myeloid cells. Myeloperoxidase deficiency is likely a result of a mutation of the gene coding for myeloperoxidase. More precise understanding of expression of the lactoferrin and myeloperoxidase genes may be important in elucidating some of the underlying mechanisms in the pathogenesis of myeloid malignancies. A rare disorder, leukocyte adhesion deficiency, has provided a model for establishing the relationship between the several distinct alpha subunits and the shared common beta subunit of leukocyte adhesion proteins. These proteins have been shown to be genetically related to the superfamily of extracellular matrix receptors termed 'integrins'. Because these proteins have been highly conserved at the genetic level across a variety of species, comparison of nucleotide sequence data has illuminated some of the evolutionary history of these genes as they arose from ancestral genes. Studies of these adhesion protein genes may contribute new information in the broader context of how the functions of these genes evolved.
Verbal encouragement and joint attention in 18-month-old infants

Abstract The effects of three different attention-directing actions toward familiar and unfamiliar objects on 18-month-olds’ frequency of establishing and maintaining episodes of joint attention were examined. The results demonstrated that the addition of verbal information to gestures promoted longer but not more episodes of joint attention. The results also indicated that adults’ verbal encouragements were particularly effective in promoting joint attention when the infant was unfamiliar with the target object. The results are discussed in terms of the role different gestures play in the promotion and continuation of joint attention in infancy.
The Polyadenylation Factor CstF-64 Regulates Alternative Processing of IgM Heavy Chain Pre-mRNA during B Cell Differentiation

The switch from membrane-bound to secreted-form IgM that occurs during differentiation of B lymphocytes has long been known to involve regulated processing of the heavy chain pre-mRNA. Here, we show that accumulation of one subunit of an essential polyadenylation factor (CstF-64) is specifically repressed in mouse primary B cells and that overexpression of CstF-64 is sufficient to switch heavy chain expression from membrane-bound (microm) to secreted form (micros). We further show that CstF-64 is limiting for formation of intact CstF, that CstF has a higher affinity for the microm poly(A) site than for the micros site, and that the microm site is stronger in a reconstituted in vitro processing reaction. Our results indicate that CstF-64 plays a key role in regulating IgM heavy chain expression during B cell differentiation.
Vessel Patency Following Nonsuture Anastomosis With Intravascular Rings

ANONSUTURE method of vascular anastomosis using thrombus-resistant intravascular rings was reported previously. 1 This method of vascular anastomosis permits very rapid reestablishment of blood flow and has been found to be particularly useful in experimental cardiac transplantation. The present study reports vessel patency rates after intravascular ring anastomoses of both arteries and veins of various size in the dog. Materials and Methods Both single and coupled rings with internal diameters of 4, 7, 8, 10, and 13 mm were constructed of polycarbonate (Fig 1). The rings were coated with graphite by dipping in a Dag 154 colloidal graphite solution diluted with two parts 95% ethanol and one part benzene. This solution contains suitable hydrocarbon solvents and plastic binders to produce an adequate graphite coating on polycarbonate for the purposes of this study. The solvents were driven from the surface by heat (130F for 48 hr). The graphite-coated rings were then
Lipid Content of the Alfalfa Weevil as Related to Seasonal Activity

The fat content of adult alfalfa weevils, Hypera postica (Gyllenhal), is at a low level, 6-10% of body weight, during the winter months when egg deposition is occurring. It rises to about 30% at the beginning of aestivation in May to June and falls to an intermediate level, 10-16%, by the time the weevils return to the fields. Insecticide control should be more effective during the period of low fat content.