cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Challenges for the Modern Science in its Descend Towards Nano Scale

The current rise in the interest in physical phenomena at nano spatial scale is described hereby as a natural consequence of the scientific progress in manipulation with matter with an ever higher sensitivity. The reason behind arising of the entirely new field of nanoscience is that the properties of nanostructured materials may significantly differ from their bulk counterparts and cannot be predicted by extrapolations of the size-dependent properties displayed by materials composed of microsized particles. It is also argued that although a material can comprise critical boundaries at the nano scale, this does not mean that it will inevitably exhibit properties that endow a nanomaterial. This implies that the attribute of "nanomaterial" can be used only in relation with a given property of interest. The major challenges faced with the expansion of resolution of the materials design, in terms of hardly reproducible experiments, are further discussed. It is claimed that owing to an unavoidable interference between the experimental system and its environment to which the controlling system belongs, an increased fineness of the experimental settings will lead to ever more difficulties in rendering them reproducible and controllable. Self-assembly methods in which a part of the preprogrammed scientific design is substituted with letting physical systems spontaneously evolve into attractive and functional structures is mentioned as one of the ways to overcome the problems inherent in synthetic approaches at the ultrafine scale. The fact that physical systems partly owe their properties to the interaction with their environment implies that each self-assembly process can be considered a co-assembly event.
Novel CA resists with photoacid generator in polymer chain

Novel chemically amplified resists with photoacid generating units in the polymer chains were synthesized and their lithographic properties evaluated under both 248nm and 20keV electron exposures. The positive-tone CA resists were found to exhibit excellent film formation behavior and extremely high sensitivity.
Urban sprawl as a risk factor in motor vehicle crashes

A decade ago, compactness/sprawl indices were developed for metropolitan areas and counties which have been widely used in health and other research. In this study, we first update the original county index to 2010, then develop a refined index that accounts for more relevant factors, and finally seek to test the relationship between sprawl and traffic crash rates using structural equation modelling. Controlling for covariates, we find that sprawl is associated with significantly higher direct and indirect effects on fatal crash rates. The direct effect is likely due to the higher traffic speeds in sprawling areas, and the indirect effect is due to greater vehicle miles driven in such areas. Conversely, sprawl has negative direct relationships with total crashes and non-fatal injury crashes, and these offset (and sometimes overwhelm) the positive indirect effects of sprawl on both types of crashes through the mediating effect of increased vehicle miles driven. The most likely explanation is the greater prevalence of fender benders and other minor accidents in the low speed, high conflict traffic environments of compact areas, negating the lower vehicle miles travelled per capita in such areas.
Stone entrapment during percutaneous removal of infection stones from a continent diversion.

Infection calculi are a frequent complication of continent urinary diversion. Percutaneous removal has become an accepted method for removing these stones. Unfortunately, this technique can be challenging due to mobility of the stones and because small fragments can easily be obscured in the mucosal folds. We describe a modification of the percutaneous technique in which a laparoscopic specimen retrieval bag is used to facilitate removal. CASE HISTORY A 54-year-old man with a history of invasive transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder underwent uncomplicated radical cystoprostatectomy with continent urinary diversion (Indiana pouch). Stones developed within the pouch 3 years postoperatively but the patient was asymptomatic and deferred treatment. The stone burden increased 7 years postoperatively (fig. 1, A) and the patient had recurrent symptomatic urinary tract infections. He was referred to our institution for surgical stone removal. With the patient supine a 16F flexible cystoscope was passed through the stoma of the pouch and 2 large stones were visualized. Under direct vision and ultrasound guidance a 10 mm. laparoscopic trocar was passed into the pouch through a 1 cm. incision (fig. 2). A specimen retrieval laparoscopic bag was deployed through the trocar (fig. 2) and the stones were captured under vision of the flexible cystoscope. The retrieval bag neck was brought through the skin incision, a standard 26F nephroscope was placed, and standard
Multiplication of poliovirus in tissue cultures previously infected with other enteroviruses.

Multiplication of polioviruses in tissue cultures previously infected with non-polio enteroviruses was studied. Reduction of poliovirus yield was obtained only when certain other enteroviruses had been previously introduced in a multiplicity of 10 or more, so that an adequate opportunity to infect the available cells was provided. When lower multiplicities of non-polio enteroviruses were used, no significant reduction in poliovirus yield was observed. Nor was there any reduction when both viruses were added at the same time, regardless of multiplicity of infection. Microdrops, which by microscopic examination appeared to contain only single cells, obtained from cultures infected first with ECHO 1 virus at a multiplicity of about 100 and 2 hours later with varying multiplicities of type 1 poliovirus, yielded the following results: a) only ECHO virus from 13 infected cells when the multiplicity was 0.25; b) only ECHO virus from 5 cells and only poliovirus from 4 cells when the multiplicity was 0.5; c) with a poliovirus multiplicity of 25, among 27 infected cells, 17 yielded only ECHO virus, 3 only poliovirus, and 7 a mixture of both viruses — each of a titer not significantly different from that found in the microdrops yielding only one type of virus.
Use of the net metabolizable energy values for labeling of infant formulas and foods—potential issues

Abstract The use of net metabolizable energy (NME) rather than metabolizable energy (ME) to determine energy values for food labeling has been suggested. A review was undertaken to determine issues that might arise if NME were applied to infant formulas and foods for infants. Both ME and NME factors derived from adult studies appear to be reasonably applicable to infants. Use of NME rather than ME values decreased the apparent energy density of human milk by about 4%; that of infant formulas, 4–6%. Even though the regulatory requirements for upper and lower limits of nutrients in infant formulas are expressed per 100 kJ or per 100 kcal, few significant issues would be expected based on a change in the declared energy content of this magnitude. Energy content of representative baby foods decreased 2–9%. The regulatory implications of using NME are at least a requirement to relabel virtually all products. The use of NME as it relates to selection of a healthy diet for infants, scientific validity, comparability of food energy values and requirements, interproduct comparisons and facilitation of trade are briefly addressed. It is recommended that factors used to calculate food energy in infant formula and foods for infants and small children be consistent with those used for other foods.
Community genomic analyses constrain the distribution of metabolic traits across the Chloroflexi phylum and indicate roles in sediment carbon cycling

Background: Sediments are massive reservoirs of carbon compounds and host a large fraction of microbial life. Microorganisms within terrestrial aquifer sediments control buried organic carbon turnover, degrade organic contaminants, and impact drinking water quality. Recent 16S rRNA gene profiling indicates that members of the bacterial phylum Chloroflexi are common in sediment. Only the role of the class Dehalococcoidia, which degrade halogenated solvents, is well understood. Genomic sampling is available for only six of the approximate 30 Chloroflexi classes, so little is known about the phylogenetic distribution of reductive dehalogenation or about the broader metabolic characteristics of Chloroflexi in sediment. Results: We used metagenomics to directly evaluate the metabolic potential and diversity of Chloroflexi in aquifer sediments. We sampled genomic sequence from 86 Chloroflexi representing 15 distinct lineages, including members of eight classes previously characterized only by 16S rRNA sequences. Unlike in the Dehalococcoidia, genes for organohalide respiration are rare within the Chloroflexi genomes sampled here. Near-complete genomes were reconstructed for three Chloroflexi. One, a member of an unsequenced lineage in the Anaerolinea, is an aerobe with the potential for respiring diverse carbon compounds. The others represent two genomically unsampled classes sibling to the Dehalococcoidia, and are anaerobes likely involved in sugar and plant-derived-compound degradation to acetate. Both fix CO2 via the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway, a pathway not previously documented in Chloroflexi. The genomes each encode unique traits apparently acquired from Archaea, including mechanisms of motility and ATP synthesis. Conclusions: Chloroflexi in the aquifer sediments are abundant and highly diverse. Genomic analyses provide new evolutionary boundaries for obligate organohalide respiration. We expand the potential roles of Chloroflexi in sediment carbon cycling beyond organohalide respiration to include respiration of sugars, fermentation, CO2 fixation, and acetogenesis with ATP formation by substrate-level phosphorylation.
FindAll: a local search engine for mobile phones

We present the design and evaluation of FindAll, a local search engine that lets users search and retrieve web pages, even in the absence of connectivity. Our user study with 23 users show that mobile users often search for web pages that they have previously visited, known as re-finding. This re-finding behavior makes the case for a local solution. FindAll goes beyond caching and using keyword search, and instead, implements a full blown search engine. The key challenge in FindAll is in designing a search engine, which is both memory- and energy-intensive, on the constrained phone environment. To this end, FindAll balances the cost of running the search engine with the expected benefits of serving a web page locally. FindAll estimates the benefits of local search, by learning the re-finding behavior of users. We implement FindAll on Android by adapting a publicly available search engine. Our evaluations, based on the traces collected from our user study, shows that FindAll reduces search latency by two-folds for users who re-find often, and reduces 3G data usage by up to 100 MB a month.
Spatially Adaptive Classification and Active Learning of Multispectral Data with Gaussian Processes

Multispectral remote sensing images are widely used for automated land use and land cover classification tasks. Remotely sensed images usually cover large geographical areas, and spectral characteristics of each class often varies over time and space. We apply a spatially adaptive classification scheme that models spatial variation with Gaussian processes, and apply uncertainty sampling based active learning algorithm to achieve better classification accuracies with a fewer number of samples. The spatially adaptive classifier shows better performances than the conventional maximum likelihood classifier in both passive and active learning settings, and the active learners achieves better classification accuracies than passive learners with fewer number of samples for both classification algorithms.
DRIER PROBLEMS WITH CALCULATIONS1

The importance of proper drying of clayware and some of the causes of drier troubles are discussed briefly. The use of a humidity chart in control and design problems is described. The Carrier humidity chart is used in illustrating the solution of several typical problems, vis., air and heat requirements and the control of condensation in waste-heat and radiated-heat types of driers.
Synchronously-pumped near-degenerate doubly resonant optical parametric oscillator

We study the characteristics of a low-loss type-II phase matched synchronously-pumped DRO. Numerical simulations using a split-step Fourier method agree well with experimental results.
Hacker practice: Moral genres and the cultural articulation of liberalism

Past literature tends towards dichotomous representations of computer hackers as either unhealthy young men engaged in bold tournaments of sinister hacking or visionaries whose utopian technologica...
An Unknown Nutritive Factor in Feeds of Animal Origin

Abstract It has been shown that chick rations without animal protein feeds do not promote as good growth as those rations containing some of these ingredients (Heuser and Norris, 1944). These results have been confirmed during the past few years at this laboratory with rations of similar makeup. When the vegetable protein ration was supplemented with animal protein feeds, only two out of twenty-two lots receiving animal protein feeds did not exceed the cow manure in rations of this type. The experience of this laboratory does not agree with these reports. In Table I are presented comparisons in which it was possible to differentiate any unknown growth factor in feeds of animal origin from vitamin B12 since crystalline vitamin B12 was included in the vegetable protein basal rations in an amount as great or greater than that furnished in the animal protein rations and sufficient to more than satisfy the average
Electrocardiographic and Echocardiographic Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in the Prediction of Stroke in the Elderly.

Introduction It is unclear whether left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) detected by electrocardiography (ECG-LVH) is equally predictive of heart failure as LVH detected by echocardiography (echo-LVH). Methods This analysis included 4,008 white participants (41% men) aged 65 years or older from the Cardiovascular Health Study who were free of stroke and major intraventricular conduction defects. ECG-LVH was defined by the Cornell criteria from baseline ECG data and echo-LVH was calculated from baseline echocardiography measurements. Cox regression was used to compute hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between ECG-LVH and echo-LVH and adjudicated incident stroke events, separately. Harrell's concordance indices (C-index) were calculated for the Framingham Stroke Risk Score with inclusion of ECG-LVH and echo-LVH, separately. Results ECG-LVH was detected in 136 (3.4%) participants and echo-LVH was present in 208 (5.2%) participants. Over a median follow-up of 13 years, a total of 769 (19%; incidence rate = 15.4 per 1000 person-years) strokes occurred. In a multivariable Cox regression analysis adjusted for stroke risk factors and potential confounders, ECG-LVH (HR = 1.68; 95% CI = 1.23, 2.28) and echo-LVH (HR = 1.58; 95% CI = 1.17, 2.14) were associated with an increased risk of stroke. Similar values were obtained for the C-index when either ECG-LVH (C-index = .786) or echo-LVH (C-index = .786) were included in the Framingham Stroke Risk Score. Conclusion ECG-LVH and echo-LVH are able to be used interchangeably in stroke risk scores.
Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial of Prehospital Induction of Mild Hypothermia in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Patients With a Rapid Infusion of 4°C Normal Saline

Background— Although delayed hospital cooling has been demonstrated to improve outcome after cardiac arrest, in-field cooling started immediately after the return of spontaneous circulation may be more beneficial. The aims of the present pilot study were to assess the feasibility, safety, and effectiveness of in-field cooling. Methods and Results— We determined the effect on esophageal temperature, before hospital arrival, of infusing up to 2 L of 4°C normal saline as soon as possible after resuscitation from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. A total of 125 such patients were randomized to receive standard care with or without intravenous cooling. Of the 63 patients randomized to cooling, 49 (78%) received an infusion of 500 to 2000 mL of 4°C normal saline before hospital arrival. These 63 patients experienced a mean temperature decrease of 1.24±1°C with a hospital arrival temperature of 34.7°C, whereas the 62 patients not randomized to cooling experienced a mean temperature increase of 0.10±0.94°C (P<0.000...
Exciting news: catecholamines in induction and regionalization of the heart.

This editorial refers to ‘Tyrosine hydroxylase is expressed during early heart development and is required for cardiac chamber formation’ by C. Lopez-Sanchez, doi:10.1093/cvr/cvq179 The heart develops in the anterior half of the vertebrate embryo. Soon after gastrulation has commenced, the heart starts to develop from cells that are part of the splanchnic layer of the lateral plate mesoderm ( Figure 1 ).1 The identification of molecules involved in cardiac induction in the embryo is of great interest, since these are same as those that would be required to efficiently control cardiac differentiation in stem cells. Thus, the knowledge gained in embryos appears to be directly relevant for regenerative medicine.2 Figure 1 Signalling molecules involved in cardiac specification. ( A ) Depicted is a schematized chick embryo at mid-gastrulation. The left ventricular portion of the heart derives from two heart fields (red) that are bilaterally organized in the anterior half of the embryo. Other parts of the heart (right ventricle, outflow tract, and atria) will form from precursors, which are positioned more medially (orange area). ( B ) Schematic depiction of a transversal section through the heart field region. The heart fields (red) are part of the splanchnic layer of the lateral plate mesoderm (light blue). Inducing factors that are involved in cardiac specification are mostly derived from the foregut endoderm (dark green), which is part of the … *Corresponding author. Tel: +44 1895 453 826, fax: +44 1895 828 900, Email: tbrand{at}imperial.ac.uk
Illinois borehole still open

A rare, deep, exploratory hole in northern Illinois will remain open for experiments by investigators. The hole was scheduled to be plugged, making it inaccessible. At the last minute, money was found to keep it open, said Bezalel Haimson, chairman of a steering group that coordinated testing. The hole penetrated Precambrian granite and reached a final depth of 1606.3 m (EOS, March 4, April 22, April 29).
The Neural Substrates of Cognitive Control Deficits in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Executive function deficits are among the most frequently reported symptoms of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), however, there have been few functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies that investigate the neural substrates of executive function deficits in ASDs, and only one in adolescents. The current study examined cognitive control - the ability to maintain task context online to support adaptive functioning in the face of response competition - in 22 adolescents aged 12-18 with autism spectrum disorders and 23 age, gender, and IQ matched typically developing subjects. During the cue phase of the task, where subjects must maintain information online to overcome a prepotent response tendency, typically developing subjects recruited significantly more anterior frontal (BA 10), parietal (BA 7 and BA 40), and occipital regions (BA 18) for high control trials (25% of trials) versus low control trials (75% of trials). Both groups showed similar activation for low control cues, however the ASD group exhibited significantly less activation for high control cues. Functional connectivity analysis using time series correlation, factor analysis, and beta series correlation methods provided convergent evidence that the ASD group exhibited lower levels of functional connectivity and less network integration between frontal, parietal, and occipital regions. In the typically developing group, fronto-parietal connectivity was related to lower error rates on high control trials. In the autism group, reduced fronto-parietal connectivity was related to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms.
1905 and all that

How Einstein claimed his place in the changing landscape of physics during his annus mirabilis.
Visualizing and Testing Convergence Between Two Income Distributions

We use the Interdistributional Lorenz Curves (ILCs) of Butler and McDonald (1987) to visualize convergence or divergence between income distributions. To illustrate the idea, we compare income distributions from Spain, Italy, and Germany. We also offer methods to test for significant differences between the 45-degree line and an ILC, or between ILCs in different years. The tests apply to any partial moment of the distributions and impose no prior restrictions on the functional form of the underlying distribution. We illustrate the statistical inference tests by an application to income distributions for whites and non-whites in the United States.
Managing variability with traceability in product and service families

Service family architectures are based on a set of basic building blocks that can be configured appropriately to build different services based on the same set of assets. These building blocks should be designed to provide variability so as to facilitate configuration and assembly in order to produce a family of products/services. Such an architectural design for a family of services is recognized as a highly knowledge intensive process. Documenting design decisions associated with these various configurations leading to variability and the capability to trace the life of a variation in both forward and backward directions are key to a flexible development of a service family. In this paper; we discuss the key role played by a traceability-based knowledge management system in documenting such design decisions and in tracing variability. Using a case study, we illustrate the importance of using such a knowledge management system in the design and development of service families.
Taking a Walk on the Supply Side The Determinants of Civilian Nuclear Cooperation

When and why do states transfer nuclear technology, materials, and knowledge to other states for peaceful purposes? This question is important given the recent finding that countries receiving nuclear aid are more likely to pursue and acquire nuclear weapons. I argue that countries provide civil nuclear assistance for three strategic reasons: to strengthen their allies and alliances, to strengthen their relationship with enemies of enemies, and to strengthen existing democracies and bilateral relationships with these countries (if the supplier is also a democracy). I test these arguments using statistical analysis and a new data set on more than 2,000 bilateral civilian nuclear cooperation agreements signed between 1950 and 2000. The findings offer robust empirical support for my argument and very little support for the competing explanation rooted in norms and nonproliferation. This article enhances scholarly understanding of how and why nuclear weapons spread and encourages further research on the suppl...
Reproductive Risk Factors for Breast Cancer in Hispanic and Non-Hispanic White Women The New Mexico Women's Health Study

The authors conducted a population-based case-control study of breast cancer in Hispanic women in New Mexico. Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women with incident breast cancer, aged 30-74 years and diagnosed between 1992 and 1994, were identified by the New Mexico Tumor Registry. Controls were selected using random digit dialing and frequency matched by ethnicity, age, and region. Information on reproductive history, lactation, and other risk factors was collected through in-person interviews; 719 Hispanics and 836 non-Hispanic whites were included in the analysis. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate relative risk of breast cancer for reproductive factors and to assess ethnic differences in effects. Older age at first full-term birth was associated with breast cancer among Hispanics; the odds ratio for women aged 27 years and older at first full-term birth compared with women 18 years or younger was 2.26 (95% confidence interval 1.17-4.38) compared with 1.60 (95% confidence interval 0.86-3.01) for non-Hispanic whites. Higher parity was associated with reduced risk of breast cancer for non-Hispanic whites, but not Hispanics (p < 0.008). Longer lactation was associated with reduced risk in premenopausal Hispanic women and premenopausal and postmenopausal non-Hispanic white women. Reproductive factors explained 17% of the ethnic difference in breast cancer incidence for postmenopausal women and none of the difference for premenopausal women.
Issues Affecting U.S. Filipino Student Access to Postsecondary Education: A Critical Race Theory Perspective

There are 3.2 million Filipinos in the United States, arguably the largest Asian American ethnic group. Although 36.7% of Filipino adults have college degrees, which is much higher than their ethnic and racial counterparts, U.S. Filipino 1 youth have fewer postsecondary opportunities. Filipino immigrant and second-generation youth exhibit high secondary “push out” rates, suffer from depression and other mental health issues, demonstrate lower levels of participation and retention in higher education, and attend less selective colleges if they pursue postsecondary education. They are additionally marginalized by institutional policies that do not consider the complexity of their lives. In the context of color-blind educational discourse, their issues have been rendered largely invisible; they are often not targeted or eligible for institution-sponsored postsecondary access and retention programs. In this paper, I use Critical Race Theory to guide a review of literature to show how the intersection between ...
Fast statistical spam filter by approximate classifications

Statistical-based Bayesian filters have become a popular and important defense against spam. However, despite their effectiveness, their greater processing overhead can prevent them from scaling well for enterprise-level mail servers. For example, the dictionary lookups that are characteristic of this approach are limited by the memory access rate, therefore relatively insensitive to increases in CPU speed. We address this scaling issue by proposing an acceleration technique that speeds up Bayesian filters based on approximate classification. The approximation uses two methods: hash-based lookup and lossy encoding. Lookup approximation is based on the popular Bloom filter data structure with an extension to support value retrieval. Lossy encoding is used to further compress the data structure. While both methods introduce additional errors to a strict Bayesian approach, we show how the errors can be both minimized and biased toward a false negative classification.We demonstrate a 6x speedup over two well-known spam filters (bogofilter and qsf) while achieving an identical false positive rate and similar false negative rate to the original filters.
Inhibition of proteolysis and other posttranslational modifications with substrate-targeted inhibitors.

This article reviews the concept of developing protease inhibitors that target the substrate polypeptide rather than the enzyme. Substrate-targeted inhibitors have the potential to be more specific than even the most highly selective enzyme-targeted inhibitors because essentially all proteases process multiple substrates. The challenge in developing substrate-targeted protease inhibitors centers on the development of high-affinity binding agents for short stretches of amino acids (linear epitopes). Recent experimental progress toward this goal and a number of other potential solutions are discussed.
Effect of treatment of cystic fibrosis pulmonary exacerbations on systemic inflammation

Rationale: In cystic fibrosis (CF), pulmonary exacerbations present an opportunity to define the effect of antibiotic therapy on systemic measures of inflammation.Objectives: Investigate whether plasma inflammatory proteins demonstrate and predict a clinical response to antibiotic therapy and determine which proteins are associated with measures of clinical improvement.Methods: In this multicenter study, a panel of 15 plasma proteins was measured at the onset and end of treatment for pulmonary exacerbation and at a clinically stable visit in patients with CF who were 10 years of age or older.Measurements and Main Results: Significant reductions in 10 plasma proteins were observed in 103 patients who had paired blood collections during antibiotic treatment for pulmonary exacerbations. Plasma C-reactive protein, serum amyloid A, calprotectin, and neutrophil elastase antiprotease complexes correlated most strongly with clinical measures at exacerbation onset. Reductions in C-reactive protein, serum amyloid A...
Performance analysis of a DS/CDMA system with noncoherent M-ary orthogonal modulation in Nakagami fading

The probability of error performance of a direct sequence code-division multiple-access (DS/CDMA) system employing noncoherent M-ary orthogonal signaling in a Nakagami multipath fading channel is analyzed. A RAKE receiver structure with square-law demodulation is used at the receiver. The multiple-access interference are modeled as Gaussian and expressions derived for the exact probability of error. The performance is also evaluated in terms of the number of users that can be supported by the system at a given probability of error. The effect of correlated fading on system performance is also investigated by considering two correlation models, which can be characterized by a single correlation coefficient /spl rho/. In the first model, the correlation coefficient between any two diversity branches is constant. In the second model, it is assumed that the correlation coefficient between any two diversity branches decreases exponentially as the separation between them increases. For both models, it is found that the presence of correlation deteriorates system performance. The use of larger signal alphabets than binary modulation in conjunction with diversity reception provides a considerable performance improvement even in the presence of correlated fading.
Divorce, Race, and Military Service: More Than Equal Pay and Equal Opportunity

Several researchers have suggested that the persistently higher rate of divorce among Blacks may be due to hard-to-measure concepts such as culture or norms. To attack this problem, we use data from the NLSY-79 to examine the risk of divorce among enlisted active-duty military servicemen where economic differences and the negative effects of discrimination are minimized. Our results indicate that military service reduces the likelihood of marital dissolution among Blacks serving in the Army and that this finding is not likely the result of unobserved selectivity. We attribute the latter finding to the fact that the Army has a well-defined career ladder for Blacks that fully integrates them into leadership positions providing role models and positive work environments that reduce stress associated with discrimination and promote stable marriages.
Two New Species of Nearctic Fungus Gnats (Diptera: Mycetophilidae)

Abstract. Two new species of Nearctic fungus gnats were discovered in western Michigan. One adult male of Anatella nigrohalterata n. sp. and three adult males of Platurocypta bicorna n. sp. flew to a Malaise trap in an ecotone between swamp and second-growth forest dominated by black ash (Fraxinus nigra Marshall), paper birch (Betula papyrifera Marshall), red maple (Acer rubrum L.), and black cherry (Prunus serotina Ehrhart). Adult females and juveniles of both species remain unknown.
The cicadas of Colombia including new records and the description of a new species (Hemiptera: Cicadidae)

The cicada fauna of Colombia is determined. A list of species reported from Colombia in the literature is provided along with synonymies, the description of Orellana castaneamaculata Sanborn, sp. nov., and the first Colombian records of 14 cicada species. Two species are assigned to new genera. Cicada xanthospila Germar, 1830 is transferred to Bergalna Boulard and Martinelli, 1996 to become Bergalna xanthospila (Germar, 1830) comb. nov. and Fidicina bogotana Distant, 1892 is transferred to Dorisiana Metcalf, 1952 to become Dorisiana bogotana comb. nov. The generic affiliation of Orellana brevis Distant, 1905 and Orellana columbia (Distant, 1881) is clarified with O. brevis being reassigned to Zammara. The first records of Zammara smaragdula Walker, 1858, Plautilla hammondi Distant, 1914, Diceroprocta bicosta (Walker, 1850), Proarna dactyliophora Berg, 1879, Fidicinoides brisa (Walker, 1850), Fidicinoides distanti (Goding, 1925), Fidicinoides flavibasalis (Distant, 1905), Fidicinoides flavipronotum Sanborn...
An insula-frontostriatal network mediates flexible cognitive control by adaptively predicting changing control demands

The anterior cingulate and lateral prefrontal cortices have been implicated in implementing context-appropriate attentional control, but the learning mechanisms underlying our ability to flexibly adapt the control settings to changing environments remain poorly understood. Here we show that human adjustments to varying control demands are captured by a reinforcement learner with a flexible, volatility-driven learning rate. Using model-based functional magnetic resonance imaging, we demonstrate that volatility of control demand is estimated by the anterior insula, which in turn optimizes the prediction of forthcoming demand in the caudate nucleus. The caudate's prediction of control demand subsequently guides the implementation of proactive and reactive attentional control in dorsal anterior cingulate and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices. These data enhance our understanding of the neuro-computational mechanisms of adaptive behaviour by connecting the classic cingulate-prefrontal cognitive control network to a subcortical control-learning mechanism that infers future demands by flexibly integrating remote and recent past experiences.
N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors in associative eyeblink conditioning: Both MK-801 and phencyclidine produce task-and dose-dependent impairments

The effects of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor blockade on two major variants of rabbit eyeblink conditioning were evaluated using a selective noncompetitive antagonist, [5R, 10S]-[+]-5-methyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[a, d] cyclo-hepten-5,10-imine hydrogen maleate; dizocilpine (MK-801) or phencyclidine (PCP), a drug of abuse. Either MK-801 or PCP (given daily) impaired rabbits’ ability to associate tone conditioned stimuli with airpuff unconditioned stimuli, with the severity of impairment exhibiting clear dose and task dependencies. Trace-conditioned rabbits given ≥ 80 μg/kg of MK-801 or ≥1.0 mg/kg of PCP failed to reach a criterion of 80% conditioned responses during training, with significant impairments seen at intermediate doses. Delay-conditioned rabbits, although dose-dependently slowed, successfully acquired the task, even when given doses of MK-801 or PCP that completely blocked acquisition in trace conditioning. Additionally, even low doses of MK-801 (10 μg/kg) or of PCP (0.1 mg/kg) severely altered conditioned response timing in trace but not in delay conditioning, resembling effects observed after hippocampal lesions. Doses of MK-801 or PCP that impaired acquisition also severely impaired extinction of both trace- and delay-conditioned eyeblink responses. However, neither MK-801 nor PCP altered retention or timing of previously learned responses. Higher doses of MK-801 (≥200 μg/kg) or of PCP (≥2.0 mg/kg) dose-dependently impaired unconditioned response performance, although lower doses of MK-801 (≤160 μg/kg) or of PCP (≤1.0 mg/kg) had no effects on unconditioned responses or on nonassociative pseudoconditioned responses. The deficits observed indicate that although not necessary for retention, N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor activation may facilitate acquisition of delay-conditioning. N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor activation appears to be necessary for acquisition of trace conditioning, and for extinction in either paradigm.
Some Provisional Techniques for Quantifying the Degree of Field Effect in Social Data

The authors present some relatively simple measures for the degree of organization of a social field, illustrating them with the intuitively accessible cases of fields that are organized by geographic space, and demonstrate that the measures are able to indicate when fields become more organized and that they can be applied to nongeographic data. Finally, the general approach highlights the danger of ignoring complexities of the functional form of spatial interdependence for social data.
Research on Korean Communism: Promise versus Performance

Research on Korean communism is clearly subsumed under a new field of inquiry known as “comparative study of communism” or “studies of comparative communism.” Developed in the wake of the Sino-Soviet conflict, the comparative study of communism claims greater conceptual and methodological potency through the use of “value-neutral” models and theories developed in the social and behavioral sciences. The author critically examines the performance of current scholarship on North Korean politics in light of the promise of the comparative study of communism. Specifically, he first identifies key normative, conceptual, and methodological problems that plague the current lines of inquiry in the field. He then probes the areas of substantive strengths, weaknesses, and gaps in our present knowledge about the North Korean political system, focusing on two issues of normative and policy importance to both domestic and foreign policy—legitimacy and chuch'e. The author suggests several alternative methods and approaches for liberating the field from its intellectual isolationism and for charting a path toward a cumulative, orderly, and systematic way of building a body of knowledge about Korean communism.
A practical guide to nonvascular thoracic magnetic resonance imaging.

Abstract There is increasing perception that thoracic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is underutilized. Various obstacles to implementation and utilization of thoracic MRI can be overcome with continuous updating, improvement, and standardization of thoracic MRI protocols, close collaboration with MRI technologists, continued education of MRI technologists, radiologists, and referring health care providers, and incorporation of MRI training into thoracic imaging fellowship programs. The purpose of this article is to share the author's experience in developing a successful nonvascular thoracic MRI practice, discuss the fundamentals of nonvascular thoracic MRI, and provide a "how-to" manual for its performance.
Self-tuning fiber lasers: machine learning applied to optical systems

We demonstrate that machine learning with adaptive control is capable of producing an efficient and optimal self-tuning algorithm for mode-locked fiber lasers. The methods can generalized to a variety of optical systems.
Patterning Nanodomains with Orthogonal Functionalities: Solventless Synthesis of Self-Sorting Surfaces

simple method to fabricate a multifunctional patterned platform on the nanometer scale is demonstrated. The platform contains two reactive functional groups on the surface: one is an acetylene group which can be functionalized via click chemistry, and the other is an amine group which can also be functionalized by classic carbodiimide chemistry with N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS). The click-active and amine surface could be obtained from polymer coating of poly(propargyl methacrylate) (PPMA) via initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) and poly(allylamine) (PAAm) via a plasma polymerization process, respectively, utilizing commercially available monomers. A capillary force lithography (CFL) process was applied on a stacked film of a PPMA layer on PAAm, and CFL could selectively pattern PPMA maintaining the bottom PAAm layer intact, which completes the multifunctional nanopatterns. The minimum feature size of this nanopattern was 110 nm. The entire fabrication process is solventless and low temperature, which can minimize the loss of functionalities. The click and NHS reactions are highly orthogonal to each other so that nonspecific immobilization can be minimized. These advantageous characteristics enable the covalent functionalization of two independent components in a one-pot functionalization process in self-recognized way. The one-pot orthogonal functionalization was performed in an aqueous solution at room temperature, which is biocompatible. Considering the versatility and generality of the reactions used here, we believe this platform can be easily extended to various biodevice applications.
The R130S mutation significantly affects the function of prestin, the outer hair cell motor protein.

A missense mutation, R130S, was recently found in the prestin gene, SLC26A5, of patients with moderate to severe hearing loss (DFNB61). In order to define the pathology of hearing loss associated with this missense mutation, a recombinant prestin construct harboring the R130S mutation (R130S-prestin) was generated, and its functional consequences examined in a heterologous expression system. We found that R130S-prestin targets the plasma membrane but less efficiently compared to wild-type. The voltage operating point and voltage sensitivity of the motor function of R130S-prestin were similar to wild-type prestin. However, the motor activity of R130S-prestin is greatly reduced at higher voltage stimulus frequencies, indicating a reduction in motor kinetics. Our study thus provides experimental evidence that supports a causal relationship between the R130S mutation in the prestin gene and hearing loss found in patients with this missense mutation.
Aging and Anthropology in Alaska

When I started my anthropological training I had no idea how I would use it until I met a woman who was born in 1906 in Council, Alaska, 85 miles northwest of Nome. She led a fascinating life and at 79 was still an active volunteer and life participant. Through my association with her I began to think of how I could combine anthropology with gerontology and my career goals formed. I did not want to just obtain stories from elders, but rather see how I could help people manage in these rapidly changing times. Specifically through applied anthropology, I wanted to provide appropriate services to elders in the vast state where I live. Knowing this goal provided focus to my anthropological training, allowing me to pursue projects that enhanced my education and employment opportunities. Moreover, my anthropological background alerted me to the importance of the structure and history of service provision. This provided a catalyst for further investigation of the political and social issues of aging in Alaska, w...
The Epidemic Characteristics of Measles in an Army Troop from 1996 to 2005

Objective To analyze the epidemic characteristics of measles from 1996 to 2005 in an army troop and provide reference for scientificy preventing measles.Methods The case report cards and the daily communicable diseases reports from all hygienic organizations in the army troop from 1996 to 2005.were anayzed.Results 301 of the recruits had suffered from measles,which account for 84.79%(301/355)of all the measles cases in the army troop from 1996 to 2005.The cases of measles occurred from 2002 to 2005 account for 48.73%(173/355)of all measles cases in the army troop in the near 10 years.Conclusion To prevent measles we should further improve the coverage rate of immunization,especially in the recruits,enrolled students and other concentrated young people.
Photoinduced Chern insulating states in semi-Dirac materials

Two-dimensional (2D) semi-Dirac materials are characterized by a quadratic dispersion in one direction and a linear dispersion along the orthogonal direction. We study the topological phase transition in such 2D systems in the presence of an electromagnetic field. We show that a Chern insulating state emerges in a semi-Dirac system with two gapless Dirac nodes in the presence of light. In particular, we show that the intensity of a circularly polarized light can be used as a knob to generate topological states with nonzero Chern number. In addition, for fixed intensity and frequency of the light, a semi-Dirac system with two gapped Dirac nodes with trivial band topology can reveal the topological transition as a function of polarization of the light.
Symptom profile and clinical characteristics of metastases in metastatic renal cell carcinoma

19638 Background: In the US, 39,000 new cases of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) will be diagnosed and 13,000 people will die of RCC, in 2006(1). While incidence has increased 126% since 1950 (2,3), lit...
The effect of television watching and portion size on intake during a meal.

Watching television while eating and eating from larger portion sizes of food are factors that have been found to independently increase food intake. When combined, these factors may further enhance consumption. This investigation, using a 4 × 2 × 2 mixed factorial design, with a between-subjects factor of order of conditions and within-subjects factors of television watching (NO TV and TV) and portion size (SMALL and LARGE), tested the independent effects and interaction of these factors in seventeen women and three men (21.6 ± 2.3 kg/m2, 22.3 ± 3.7 years, 80% white and 95% non-Hispanic). In each condition, participants had 30 min to eat a meal containing macaroni and cheese and salad with dressing. For NO TV, participants sat for 30 min while eating, while for TV, participants viewed a 30-min show containing no food cues while eating. In SMALL the meal provided 1083 kcal, while in LARGE the meal provided 200% of SMALL. Mixed factorial analysis of variance revealed a significant main effect of portion size on grams and energy consumed of the total meal. Participants consumed more grams (577.9 ± 150.5 g vs. 453.1 ± 96.6 g; p < 0.001) and energy (903.9 ± 270.4 kcal vs. 734.6 ± 187.1 kcal; p < 0.001) in LARGE as compared to SMALL. No significant effect of television watching or interaction of television watching and portion size was found. Results of this study suggest that to assist with reducing intake, smaller portion sizes should be implemented in all types of eating situations.
Radiation Conditions and Integral Representations for Clifford Algebra-Valued Null-Solutions of the Iterated Helmholtz Operator

Fundamental solutions to iterated Helmholtz operators are explored and utilized in the construction of integral representations for Clifford algebra-valued null-solutions over exterior domains.