cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Lexical effects and lexical properties associated with National Adult Reading Test (NART) stimuli in healthy young adults and healthy elderly adults

Fifty healthy younger adults and 45 healthy elderly adults performed a speeded lexical decision task (LDT). Stimuli consisted of 57 National Adult Reading Test (NART) words (the NART consists of “irregular” words that violate standard spelling-to-sound correspondence rules) and 57 pronounceable pseudowords (e.g., blant). Both groups displayed statistically equivalent lexicality (PW-W) effects, and error rates were lower in elderly adults. With groups equated on vocabulary ability, lexicality effects remained the same and error rates did not differ across either group. Correlational analyses confirmed the role played by word frequency and word familiarity in latencies to NART stimuli. Results are discussed regarding the importance of obtaining speeded latency measures for age-related word recognition comparisons. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Clin Psychol 54: 577–584, 1998.
Complementary Roles for Formal and Informal Support Groups: A Study of Nursing Homes and Mortality Rates:

Organizational theorists have argued that formal and informal support systems cannot exist in strong form in the same society. In this article, the author argues that such theories fail to consider the complementarity of these two systems and the necessity of both for the completion of most tasks. A study of tasks performed for nursing home residents found that the formal organization assumed those tasks that could be standardized and deemed legitimate for Medicaidfunding, while the others were either maintained by informal support groups or lost altogether. A study of the influence of informal support groups on mortality rates found that such groups played an important role in reducing death in older persons resulting from causes associated with nontechnical matters. In conclusion, the author finds that formal groups can best manage tasks that require technical knowledge or that can be reduced to simpler, routine components, whereas informal groups can better manage tasks requiring everyday knowledge and...
Growth of nacre in abalone: Seasonal and feeding effects

Abstract The processes of aggregation of mineral and organic materials to the growing surfaces in red abalone (Haliotis rufescens) are analyzed. The flat pearl implantation method is used to observe the transient stages of calcium carbonate deposition, the structure of the organic interlayer, and the steady-state growth of aragonite tiles. The morphology of the organic interlayer is characterized by scanning electron microscopy. These results enable a realistic depiction of the formation of the terraced cones that comprise the principal biomineralization mechanism in this gastropod. In all cases, the growth initiated through spherulites, followed by tile formation. The transient stage with spherulitic formation was shorter at higher temperature; this is indicative of a greater activity of the animal at 21 °C. The growth rate in a normally fed gastropod was found to be higher compared with one provided with limited food. The effect of water temperature (seasonal) was also established, with growth proceeding faster in the summer (T ~ 21 °C) than in winter (15 °C). The structures of the organic interlayer and of the epithelium are revealed by scanning electron microscopy.
Molecular Orbital Studies of Zinc Oxide Chemical Vapor Deposition: Gas-Phase Radical Reactions

The gas-phase reactions involved in the radical mechanism for zinc oxide chemical vapor deposition have been examined by ab initio and density functional calculations. Geometries of reactants, transition structures, intermediate complexes, and products have been optimized with B3LYP/6-31G(d), and energetics have been computed with B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p), CCSD(T)/6-311+G(d,p), and MP2/ 6-311+G(3df,2p) levels of theory. The latter two were combined to give a G2(MP2)-like estimate of the enthalpy and free energy. Initiation reactions involve the thermal dissociation of diethyl zinc. The second bond dissociation of diethyl zinc is calculated to be significantly smaller than experimental estimates. The first step in the propagation reactions is ethyl radical abstracting a hydrogen from water to form hydroxyl radical. This has the highest barrier of the reaction sequence and would appear to be the rate-limiting step. The addition of hydroxyl radical to diethyl zinc proceeds without a barrier producing ethyl zinc hy...
The Effect of Open-Ended High Tunnels in Western Washington on Late Blight and Physiological Leaf Roll Among Five Tomato Cultivars

Abstract A 3-year study in western Washington from 2010 to 2012 evaluated five tomato cultivars for tomato disease development and yield in open-ended high-tunnel versus open-field settings. Findings in 2010 revealed that severity of late blight, caused by Phytophthora infestans (US-11), was significantly (P = 0.002) lower in high-tunnel compared with open-field experimental plots based on area under disease progress curve (AUDPC) values of 0.02 versus 321, respectively. In spite of rescue foliar fungicide applications to open-field plots in 2011 and 2012, the mean number of late blight infections across cultivars was 1.8 to 30.8 compared with only 0 to 6.5 in high tunnels for these years. Furthermore, accumulated hours of leaf wetness were fewer in high tunnels than the open field each year (857 versus 1,060 in 2010, 598 versus 998 in 2011, and 885 versus 923 in 2012). Cultivar susceptibility to late blight could not be differentiated in high tunnels due to low disease pressure. However, all five cultiva...
The development and applications of charging/battery swap technologies for EVS

The construction of charging/battery swap infrastructure is the prerequisite and basis for the rapid and healthy development of electric vehicle (EV) industry, and the development and applications of charging/battery swap technologies is one of the most important factors for the construction of EV infrastructure. From the aspect of research for the key technology and equipment of EV charging/battery swap infrastructure, the characteristics of existing charging/battery swap technologies are analyzed firstly in this paper, the typical applications of above technologies are described, and the main achievements in the construction of charging/battery swap infrastructure in China are also introduced lastly.
Stratigraphic evidence of quaternary climatic change at Echo Cave, transvaal, and a paleoclimatic record for Botswana and northeastern South Africa

Summary Changes in climate at Echo Cave during the last 35,000 years caused ground water levels to fluctuate by > 29 m. There was little speleothem deposition during dry climatic phases because of a lack of moisture and only localized deposition during very wet phases when water levels rose and most cave passages were flooded. The most massive speleothems were laid down in transitional periods between very wet and dry conditions when water levels were low enough for many passages to be air filled and the climate wet enough for rapid deposition of travertine. Data from Echo Cave and from other sites in Botswana and northeastern South Africa suggest that there were three cooler and wetter phases during the Holocene at 9,700-7,600, 4,300-2,200, and 1,700-400 yr B.P.; that the Late Glacial climate (12,000-10,000 yr B.P.) was warm and dry; and that the climate during the Upper Pleniglacial (18,000-13,000 yr B.P.) and Middle Pleniglacial (38,000-30,000 yr B.P.) was cooler and wetter than today but warmer and drier than the first 12,000 years (30,000-18,000 yr B.P.) of the Upper Pleniglacial.
The X-Ray Structure of an Antiparallel Dimer of the Human Amyloid Precursor Protein E2 Domain

Amyloid β-peptide, which forms neuronal and vascular amyloid deposits in Alzheimer's disease, is derived from an integral membrane protein precursor. The biological function of the precursor is currently unclear. Here we describe the X-ray structure of E2, the largest of the three conserved domains of the precursor. The structure of E2 consists of two coiled-coil substructures connected through a continuous helix and bears an unexpected resemblance to the spectrin family of protein structures. E2 can reversibly dimerize in the solution, and the dimerization occurs along the longest dimension of the molecule in an antiparallel orientation, which enables the N-terminal substructure of one monomer to pack against the C-terminal substructure of a second monomer. Heparan sulfate proteoglycans, the putative ligand for the precursor present in extracellular matrix, bind to E2 at a conserved and positively charged site near the dimer interface.
Densely Packed Small Clusters of Atoms

WHEN real materials are randomly packed, the possible existence of local very dense regions may affect the porosity of the system. Earlier packing studies have dealt with hard spheres1–7, but we now examine the packing of real atoms—particles with a potential having a long range attraction and a short range repulsion. Real potentials allow a distribution of nearest, neighbour distances. We show, for a Lennard–Jones potential, that there exist very dense low energy structures for clusters of 13 and 55 atoms.
The Development of a Cultural Standardized Patient Examination for a General Surgery Residency Program

Abstract Background Recent articles have documented the importance of cultural competency in surgery. Surgical residency programs have used the Objective Structured Clinical Examinations or cultural standardized patient examinations as a training tool. Past studies evaluating cultural competency have noted the importance of including an observational (control) arm, which would allow for a more objective assessment of a resident's competency in this area. The purpose of our article is to present the results of a follow-up study to a pilot cultural standardized patient examination for surgery residents. Methods All first-year surgery residents were required to participate in the videotaped cultural SP examination as part of the general surgery residency curriculum. Two measures were used to assess resident performance. On the day of the examination, the Cross-Cultural Care Survey was administered. The examination was assessed by the residents themselves, faculty observers, and standardized patients, using a written checklist that was developed to evaluate residents on all 6 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education competencies. Results The current study includes 20 first-year surgery residents from academic years 2011 to 2012 and 2012 to 2013. The examination of pretest differences in groups found that students born outside of the United States had significantly higher scores on attitude ( t = −2.68, df = 18, p=0.02), but no statistically significant differences were found in skillfulness or knowledge or in the overall rating scale. For the overall rating scale, change from pretest to posttest was statistically significant ( t = −2.25, df = 18, p=0.04). Further analysis revealed that students who were born in the United States demonstrated a significant increase in ratings ( t = −3.08, df = 10, p=0.01) whereas students who were not born in the United States showed little change ( t = −0.35, df = 7, p=0.74). These results show that the means in attitude scales changed little for all groups, but both white and US-born students showed greater improvement on skillfulness and knowledge. Conclusions Training and measurement of cross-cultural health care skills remains challenging. However, studies like these provide a good starting point from which to build.
Photoconductors for 200–400 μm: Choices and challenges

Abstract Extrinsic silicon and germanium photoconductors are the most sensitive detectors of far infrared radiation. This paper surveys various options being considered to extend the wavelength coverage of extrinsic photoconductors beyond the current limit of 220 μm. The benefits, current status, and potential limitations of Ge: Ga blocked impurity band detectors, GaAs extrinsic photoconductors and GaAs blocked impurity band detectors are reviewed.
Interest-Rate Setting at the ECB Following the Financial and Sovereign Debt Crises, in Real-Time

We analyse European Central Bank (ECB) policy by estimating a forward-looking, augmented Taylor rule using expectations data. Specifically, we investigate the impact of the financial and sovereign debt crises on ECB policy. We find the European Overnight Index Average (EONIA) rises when expected economic activity is strong. Regardless of the inflation measure, inflation is not associated with the EONIA. Using a recursive estimation and a Chow test, we identify a policy shift in December 2008. The more generally accepted starting date of the crisis, August 2007, does not correspond to a statistically significant shift in the ECB policy. Using December 2008 for a policy shift, general financial market sentiment, as measured by VSTOXX, is not significant in explaining EONIA movements. The ECB’s response to a shock to economic activity has been more moderate since the crises. However, the EONIA increases as Greek sovereign risk rises, possibly from increasing demand for liquidity by banks.
A journey to become a federally qualified health center.

Purpose: Since 1998, Integrated Health Care (IHC), an academic nurse-managed center of the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Nursing, has delivered primary and mental health care to people with serious and persistent mental illness who are enrolled in psychosocial rehabilitation. Data sources: Federal guidelines and experiences of the steering group. This article reports our journey of transformation to a achieve the status of a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). Conclusions: Nurse-managed clinics (NMCs) have become important in the U.S. healthcare system with well documented positive impact. However, financial issues have placed may NMCs at risk for closure. Achieving FQHC status is seen as a viable option to increase revenue and therefore financial stability. Implications for practice: This discussion of the benefits of FQHC status, an overview of some common compliance issues with FQHC requirements, and the report of lessons learned along the way in meeting FQHC standards that we encountered can provide support and guidance for other NMCs in similar situations.
Evaluation of GM-APD array devices for low-light-level imaging

The ability to count single photons is necessary to achieve many important science objectives in the near future. This paper presents the lab-tested performance of a photon-counting array-based Geiger-mode avalanche photodiode (GMAPD) device in the context of low-light-level imaging. Testing results include dark count rate, afterpulsing probability, intra-pixel sensitivity, and photon detection efficiency, and the effects of radiation damage on detector performance. The GM-APD detector is compared to the state-of-the-art performance of other established detectors using Signal-to-noise ratio as the overall evaluation metric.
MAGNETIC MOMENT OF THE DEUTERON AND NUCLEON-NUCLEON SPIN-ORBIT POTENTIALS

The change in the magnetic moment of the deuteron arising from the presence of a spin-orbit potential in the nucleon-nucleon interaction has been estimated for two recent proposals. The effects are found to be substantial. (auth)
Net glutamate release from astrocytes is not induced by extracellular potassium concentrations attainable in brain.

Elevated extracellular potassium concentration ([K + ] e ) has been shown to induce reversal of glial Na + -dependent glutamate uptake in whole-cell patch clamp preparations. It is uncertain, however, whether elevated [K + ] e similarly induces a net glutamate efflux from intact cells with a physiological intracellular milieu. To answer this question, astrocyte cultures prepared from rat and mouse cortices were incubated in medium with elevated [K + ] e (by equimolar substitution of K + for Na + ), and glutamate accumulation was measured by HPLC. With [K + ] e elevations to 60 mM, medium glutamate concentrations did not increase during incubation periods of 5-120 min. By contrast, 45 min of combined inhibition of glycolytic and oxidative ATP production increased medium glutamate concentrations 50-100-fold. Similar results were obtained in both rat and mouse cultures. Studies were also performed using astrocytes loaded with the nonmetabolized glutamate tracer D-aspartate, and parallel results were obtained; no increase in medium D-aspartate content resulted from [K + ] e elevation up to 90 mM, whereas a large increase occurred during inhibition of energy metabolism. These results suggest that a net efflux of glutamate from intact astrocytes is not induced by any [K + ] e attainable in brain.
Analysis of alpha tocopherol in blood plasma and platelets by gas liquid chromatography.

A method is described for the analysis of α-tocopherol by gas liquid chromatography (GLC) with 0.3% Apiezon L as liquid phase. Impurities that interfere with GLC are removed by saponification. Cholesterol and other nonsaponifiables are separated from α-tocopherol by GLC.
Generating functions for exactp-values of odds ratios in logistic regression

Specialized algebraic methods are presented for computing exactly thep-value of the odds ratio in a conditional hypothesis test. The method uses normal forms of generating functions with respect to a Grobner basis.
The role of free-play physical activity in healthy blood glucose maintenance in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus

Medical management for children with type 1 diabetes mellitus, including insulin administration to control high blood glucose levels (BGL), is crucial. However, a child-controlled behavioural strategy, like physical activity, to maintain target BGL may be warranted. To demonstrate, pre- and post-activity BGL were collected for 73 children aged 8- to 14-years attending a diabetes camp. Change in BGL across one session of a free-play swimming activity was analysed. Average BGL was significantly reduced from 197.18 mg/dl to 177.78 mg/dl across one 45 min session, and male gender predicted larger reductions. With safety precautions and within the context of appropriate medical management, free-play activity could be used as a strategy for maintaining target BGL.
Methodological Issues Associated with Studying the Flynn Effect: Exploratory and Confirmatory Efforts in the Past, Present, and Future

This essay, written by the guest editor, is an introduction to a special issue of the Journal of Intelligence devoted to methodological issues associated with the Flynn Effect. The essay evaluates past Flynn Effect research in terms of exploratory versus confirmatory efforts. Future research is also cast within this same framework. Finally, the four special issue papers are briefly reviewed, including comments on their own exploratory/confirmatory status.
Necatoriasis: treatment and developmental therapeutics

Two hookworm parasites, Necator americanus and Ancylostoma duodenale, infect approximately one billion people worldwide. These hookworms are one of the leading causes of iron-deficiency anaemia especially in children, resulting directly from intestinal capillary blood loss following the feeding activities of fourth-stage (L4) larva and adult worms. If ignored, human hookworm infections can retard growth and the intellectual development of children. Another clinical manifestation often associated with hookworm infections is cutaneous larva migrans (CLM). It is a well recognised, usually self-limiting condition caused by the infectious larvae of nematodes, especially Ancylostoma spp. CLM is characterised by skin eruption and represents a clinical description rather than a definitive diagnosis. Of the hookworm parasites, the dog and cat worm A. braziliense and A. caninum are the most common nematodes causing CLM, although many other species have also been implicated. The major subject of this review article ...
Gods, Rituals, and the Moral Order

The functionalist “law” that religion sustains the moral order must be amended. As is demonstrated in this study, religion has this effect only as it is based on belief in powerful, active, conscious, morally-concerned gods. Contrary to Durkheim’s claims, participation in religious rituals per se has little independent impact on morality and none when done on behalf of gods conceived as unconscious essences, or as conscious gods of small scope and lacking moral concerns. Thus, the link between gods and morality is limited mainly to societies having more complex cultures, but even in some highly developed societies a religious basis for morality is missing. Quantitative results are based on 427 societies included in the Atlas of World Cultures, and on surveys of the United States and 33 other nations. Religion functions to sustain the moral order. This classic proposition, handed down from the founders, is regarded by many as the closest thing to a “law” that the social scientific study of religion possesses.
Building a hypertextual digital library in the humanities: a case study on London

This paper describes the creation of a new humanities digital library collection: 11,000,000 words and 10,000 images representing books, images and maps on pre-twentieth century London and its environs. The London collection contained far more dense and precise information than the materials from the Greco-Roman world on which we had previously concentrated. The London collection thus allowed us to explore new problems of data structure, manipulation, and visualization. This paper contrasts our model for how humanities digital libraries are best used with the assumptions that underlie many academic digital libraries on the one hand and more literary hypertexts on the other. Since encoding guidelines such as those from the TEI provide collection designers with far more options than any one project can realize, this paper describes what structures we used to organize the collection and why. We particularly emphasize the importance of mining historical authority lists (encyclopedias, gazetteers, etc.) and then generating automatic span-to-span links within the collection.
Inhibition of the Oxygen Reduction Reaction on Copper with Cobalt, Cerium, and Molybdate Ions

The inhibition of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) on copper was investigated after pretreatment with Co, Ce, and Mo ions at applied potential simulating galvanic coupling to AA2024-T3. Specifically, the effect of Ce(III), Co(II), and MOO 2 - 4 pretreatments on ORR was investigated in the mixed charge transfer, mass transport regime in pH 7-11 solutions using the Koutecky-Levich approach. Co reduces the ORR rate the most in more alkaline solutions (pH 9.5) while the Ce pretreatment works best in slightly less alkaline solutions (pH 7-8.2). Mo pretreatment was also most effective at pH 8.2 and was ineffective at pH 11. These results were consistent with chemical precipitation of Co(OH) 2 and Ce(OH) 3 or CeO 2 . MoO 2 was rationalized to be formed by electrochemical reduction of MoO 2 - 4 on copper. This process was not operative at highly alkaline pH at applied potentials near the open circuit potential of AA2024-T3.
Two new bacterial pathogens of Colorado potato beetle Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae).

Abstract Other than Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner, few bacteria are lethal to the Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata [Say]), a major pest of potatoes and eggplant. Expanded use of biologicals for the control of Colorado potato beetle will improve resistance management, reduce pesticide use, and produce novel compounds for potential use in transgenic plants. Using freeze-dried, rehydrated artificial diet in pellet form to screen bacteria lethal to other insects, we determined that strains of Photorhabdus luminescens killed Colorado potato beetle larvae. The LC50 for second instar larvae of strain HM5-1 was 6.4 ± 1.87 × 107 cells per diet pellet. In an attempt to find additional naturally occurring P. luminescens strains toxic to Colorado potato beetle larvae, we recovered, from soil, bacteria that produced a purple pigment. This bacterial strain, identified as Chromobacterium sp. by 16S ribosomal DNA sequencing, was also toxic to Colorado potato beetle larvae within 3 d. The LC50 for secon...
The usefulness and uselessness of the decomposition of tobit coefficients

McDonald and Moffitt's (1980) decomposition method for Tobit coefficients disaggregates the total changes in a censored outcome variable into the changes in the probability of attaining noncensored values and the changes in the noncensored values themselves. McDonald and Moffitt, however, did not highlight two limitations of this decomposition, and sociological applications of the Tobit decomposition that do not acknowledge these limitations have been misleading. First, the decomposition ratio of the two effects depends on the choice of an observation point in the sample. Some sociological studies invalidly generalized a decomposition at the mean point of the sample to the whole sample. Second, once the observation point is fixed, the decomposition ratio is the same across all coefficients or across all predictors. That is, the two effects remain proportionally constant, but studies often erroneously assume they differ across predictors. Further implications are discussed in relation to other selection bi...
On The Use Of Second- And Higher-order Inverse Statistics

Inverse higher-order statistics of non-Gaussian, stationary random processes are introduced in this paper, as an extension of their 2nd- order counterparts, known as inverse correlations. Their use in system identification, and specifically in model order determination and parameter estimation problems, is investigated. Estimation procedures are proposed for obtaining sample estimates of inverse statistics and the corresponding (poly)spectra. The algorithms derived are illustrated by simulation examples, involving inverse 2nd- and 3rd-order statistics.
Antenna Selection for Energy-Efficient MIMO Transmission

In previous works on multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna selection, it is usually assumed that the transmit power and the number of active antennas is fixed and the antenna subset is selected to maximize the capacity. In this paper, we jointly optimize the transmit power, the number of active antennas, and the antenna subsets at the transmitter and receiver to maximize the energy efficiency. The optimal solution can be obtained by exhaustive search; suboptimal algorithms are also developed to reduce the complexity. Simulation results show that antenna selection can improve the energy efficiency significantly.
An Analysis of Contextual Information Relevant to Medical Care Unexpectedly Volunteered to Researchers by Asthma Patients

Objective. To describe and categorize contextual information relevant to patients’ medical care unexpectedly volunteered to research personnel as part of a patient advocate (PA) intervention to facilitate access health care, communication with medical personnel, and self-management of a chronic disease such as asthma. Methods. We adapted a patient navigator intervention, to overcome barriers to access and communication for adults with moderate or severe asthma. Informed by focus groups of patients and providers, our PAs facilitated preparation for a visit with an asthma provider, attended the visit, confirmed understanding, and assisted with post-visit activities. During meetings with researchers, either for PA activities or for data collection, participants frequently volunteered personal and medical information relevant for achieving successful self-management that was not routinely shared with medical personnel. For this project, researchers journaled information not captured by the structured question...
Dynamic Localization of Rop GTPases to the Tonoplast during Vacuole Development

Vacuoles are essential pleomorphic organelles that undergo dynamic changes during cell growth and differentiation in plants. How developmental signals are linked to vacuole biogenesis and development is poorly understood. In this report, we show that a Rop GTPase is localized to developing vacuoles in pea (Pisum sativum cv Extra Early Alaska). Rop belongs to the RHO family of Ras-related small GTP-binding proteins that are key molecular switches in a wide variety of eukaryotic signal transduction pathways. Using indirect immunofluorescence and an anti-Rop antibody, we showed that Rop proteins accumulate to high levels in rapidly growing tapetal cells of pea anthers. In these cells, Rop is localized to an endomembrane system that exists as dynamic pleomorphic networks: a perinuclear fine network decorated with punctate dots, a network composed of small spheres and tubules, and interconnected chambers. Colocalization with a tonoplast annexin VCaB42 shows that these dynamic networks represent the tonoplast. Our results suggest that the dynamic Rop-containing tonoplast networks represent a unique stage of vacuole development. The specific localization of Rop to developing vacuoles supports a role for Rop in signal transduction that mediates vacuole development in plants.
Issues in Workplace Sexual Harassment Law and Related Social Science Research

The law governing sexual harassment in the workplace defines sexual harassment as unwelcome, sex-based conduct that renders harm through work interactions or creation of a hostile work environment. Unresolved legal issues remain concerning the amount and kind of proof required to establish certain elements of a sexual harassment claim and relating to an employer's legal responsibility for sexually harassing conduct by someone other than a managing or supervisory employee. Problems also arise in applying the law to the factual circumstances of a specific case, testing the credibility of the parties' claims and proof, conceptualizing relief, and valuing damage. Social science research (including major contributions in this volume) provides important guidance for both the legal and factual determination of a sexual harassment claim. Drawing primarily from federal employment discrimination statutory and case law, the author describes the proof required to establish a claim of workplace sexual harassment, delineates the primary areas of controversy in the law, and discusses the contribution that social science research has made and can make to legal analyses.
Echo correlation analysis and the acoustic evidence in the Kennedy assassination revisited.

A Dallas Police Department recording contemporaneous with the Kennedy assassination contains five impulsive sounds that have the acoustic waveform of Dealey Plaza gunfire. One of the sounds matches the echo pattern of a test shot fired from the Grassy Knoll. The shock wave precedence associated with this pattern is consistent with the muzzle velocity of a .30 calibre rifle. Criticism of the acoustic identifications on statistical grounds is based on erroneous assumptions concerning the assignment of values to the parameters that determine the probability that random noises could resemble gunshot patterns. A conservative estimate of the true value of the probability that the putative Grassy Knoll shot is attributable to random radio noise is no greater than 0.037. Alleged asynchroneity of the sounds with the time of the assassination stemmed from several incorrect assumptions. Whatever their origin, the gunshot-like sounds occur exactly synchronous with the time of the shooting.
Sustainable use of California biomass resources can help meet state and national bioenergy targets

Biomass constitutes a major renewable energy resource for California, with more than 30 million tons per year of in-state production estimated to be available on a sustainable basis for electricity generation, biofuels production and other industrial processing. Annually, biofuel production from these resources could exceed 2 billion gallons of gasoline equivalent, while providing opportunities for agricultural and rural economic development. Continuing research and large-scale demonstrations now under way will test alternative technologies and provide much-needed information regarding costs and environmental performance. Biomass can help meet state goals for increasing the amounts of electricity and fuels from renewable resources under the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) and the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), and can similarly help meet national biofuel targets under the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Internationally consistent sustainability standards and practices are needed to inform policy and provide direction and guidance to industry.
A Verifiable Language for Programming Real-Time Communication Schedules

Distributed hard real-time systems require predictable communication at the network level and verifiable communication behavior at the application level. At the network level, communication between nodes must be guaranteed to happen within bounded time and one common approach is to restrict the network access by enforcing a time-division multiple access (TDMA) schedule. At the application level, the application's communication behavior should be verified to ensure that the application uses the predictable communication in the intended way. Network code is a domain-specific programming language to write a predictable verifiable distributed communication for distributed real-time applications. In this paper, we present the syntax and semantics of network code, how we can implement different scheduling policies, and how we can use tools such as model checking to formally verify the properties of network code programs. We also present an implementation of a runtime system for executing network code on top of RTLinux and measure the overhead incurred from the runtime system.
Nuclear carrier and RNA-binding proteins in frontotemporal lobar degeneration associated with fused in sarcoma (FUS) pathological changes.

Aims:? We aimed to investigate the role of the nuclear carrier and binding proteins, transportin-1 (TRN1) and transportin-2 (TRN2), TATA-binding protein-associated factor 15 (TAF15) and Ewing's Sarcoma protein (EWS) in inclusion body formation in cases of Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (FTLD) associated with Fused in Sarcoma protein (FTLD-FUS). Methods:? Eight cases of FTLD-FUS (5 cases of atypical FTLD-U (aFTLD-U), 2 of Neuronal Intermediate Filament Inclusion Body Disease (NIFID) and 1 of Basophilic Inclusion Body Disease (BIBD)) were immunostained for FUS, TRN1, TRN2, TAF15 and EWS. 10 cases of FTLD associated with TDP-43 inclusions served as reference cases. Results:? The inclusion bodies in FTLD-FUS contained TRN1 and TAF15 and, to a lesser extent, EWS, but not TRN2. The patterns of immunostaining for TRN1 and TAF15 were very similar to that of FUS. None of these proteins was associated with tau or TDP-43 aggregations in FTLD. Conclusion:? Data suggest that FUS, TRN1 and TAF15 may participate in a functional pathway in an interdependent way, and imply that the function of TDP-43 may not necessarily be in parallel with, or complementary to, that of FUS, despite each protein sharing many similar structural elements. � 2012 The Authors. Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology � 2012 British Neuropathological Society.
Long-term effects of lindane on the oribatid community in a pine plantation.

Numbers and community structure of oribatid mites in 11 plots in a Sierra Nevada pine plantation treated with lindane at 11.3 g/m2 active ingredient (AI) were compared with 11 control plots 10 yr after application. Twenty-two species were found. Five of the nine most abundant species were severely depressed in numbers in the lindane plots. Of the 13 least abundant species in the control plots. 12 were not found in the treated plots. Four types of measurements of community structure were made. The number of species per plot was significantly depressed from the first sample through the 10-yr posttreatment sample. The heterogeneity of the community was lowest after 10 yr. The rank correlation of species in control versus treatment plots was slightly higher than the lowest point, which was at 93 d after treatment. The effect of the single application on the oribatid community remained great for 10 yr.
Application of the Empirical Mode Decomposition Method to the Identification of Disc Brake Squeal

This paper investigates the identification of mechanisms of disc brake squeal by the application of a recently developed Empirical Mode Decomposition method (EMD). A known strength of the EMD is its adaptive nature in analyzing nonstationary data, with success in its original application to ocean mechanics. The EMD decomposes an original signal into a number of intrinsic mode functions (IMFs), with each IMF often containing distinct physical significance. Several sets of disc brake squeal data were obtained and processed by EMD. A typical set data is presented in this paper for discussion. Employing a sifting process in the EMD, four prominent squeal-related IMFs are identified in this set of data. The Hilbert transform is then used to analyze the frequency and amplitude contents of the four IMFs, and it is shown that the first IMF is dominant. The spectrogram method is applied to analyze the time-evolution of the frequency components of the IMFs in the squeal process. This analysis procedure confirms an important squeal mechanism, i.e., the squeal condition is governed by the coupling of in-plane and out-of-plane vibration modes of the rotor and the coalescence of their natural frequencies. The inverse approach outlined in this paper is shown to be useful for providing new insights and confirming established hypotheses of disc brake squeal.Copyright © 2002 by ASME
The role of cross-sectional echocardiography in Kawasaki disease

Cross-sectional echocardiography is an essential tool in the evaluation ofchildren with Kawasaki disease, both in the acute and chronic stages. In the acute phase of the illness, it is valuable for diagnosis and management of pancarditis and for the long-term monitoring of pericardial effusions, left ventricular function, and the rare cases of chronic valvar dysfunction. When coronary arterial abnormalities are detected, echocardiography can serially evaluate long-term treatment with drugs which prevent the aggregation of platelets and monitor the resolution of coronary aneurysms. The value of cross-sectional echocardiography, nonetheless, is very limited in the detection of coronary arterial stenosis. Coronary arteriography is still important for the diagnosis of obstructive lesions in the coronary arteries and should be used in conjunction with cross-sectional echocardiography for the appropriate long- term management of children with Kawasaki disease at high risk of developing coronary arterial stenosis. Perhaps, in the future, high resolution transesophageal echocardiography will allow clear delineation of coronary arterial anatomy and specifically stenosis, but its role in the evaluation and management of children with Kawasaki disease remains to be explored.
Context-Specific Metabolic Networks Are Consistent with Experiments

Reconstructions of cellular metabolism are publicly available for a variety of different microorganisms and some mammalian genomes. To date, these reconstructions are “genome-scale” and strive to include all reactions implied by the genome annotation, as well as those with direct experimental evidence. Clearly, many of the reactions in a genome-scale reconstruction will not be active under particular conditions or in a particular cell type. Methods to tailor these comprehensive genome-scale reconstructions into context-specific networks will aid predictive in silico modeling for a particular situation. We present a method called Gene Inactivity Moderated by Metabolism and Expression (GIMME) to achieve this goal. The GIMME algorithm uses quantitative gene expression data and one or more presupposed metabolic objectives to produce the context-specific reconstruction that is most consistent with the available data. Furthermore, the algorithm provides a quantitative inconsistency score indicating how consistent a set of gene expression data is with a particular metabolic objective. We show that this algorithm produces results consistent with biological experiments and intuition for adaptive evolution of bacteria, rational design of metabolic engineering strains, and human skeletal muscle cells. This work represents progress towards producing constraint-based models of metabolism that are specific to the conditions where the expression profiling data is available.
Fatty acid amide hydrolase inhibition by neurotoxic organophosphorus pesticides.

Abstract Organophosphorus (OP) compound-induced inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and neuropathy target esterase explains the rapid onset and delayed neurotoxic effects, respectively, for OP insecticides and related compounds but apparently not a third or intermediate syndrome with delayed onset and reduced limb mobility. This investigation tests the hypothesis that fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), a modulator of endogenous signaling compounds affecting sleep (oleamide) and analgesia (anandamide), is a sensitive target for OP pesticides with possible secondary neurotoxicity. Chlorpyrifos oxon inhibits 50% of the FAAH activity (IC50 at 15 min, 25°C, pH 9.0) in vitro at 40–56 nM for mouse brain and liver, whereas methyl arachidonyl phosphonofluoridate, ethyl octylphosphonofluoridate (EOPF), oleyl-4 H -1,3,2-benzodioxaphosphorin 2-oxide (oleyl-BDPO), and dodecyl-BDPO give IC50s of 0.08–1.1 nM. These BDPOs and EOPF inhibit mouse brain FAAH in vitro with ≥200-fold higher potency than for AChE. Five OP pesticides inhibit 50% of the brain FAAH activity (ED50) at in vivo (ED50 0.5–6 mg/kg). FAAH inhibition of ≥76% in brain depresses movement of mice administered anandamide at 30 mg/kg ip, often leading to limb recumbency. Thus, OP pesticides and related inhibitors of FAAH potentiate the cannabinoid activity of anandamide in mice. More generally, OP compound-induced FAAH inhibition and the associated anandamide accumulation may lead to reduced limb mobility as a secondary neurotoxic effect.
ACAT1 Deficiency Disrupts Cholesterol Efflux and Alters Cellular Morphology in Macrophages

Objective— Acyl-coenzyme A: cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) converts intracellular free cholesterol (FC) into cholesteryl esters (CE) for storage in lipid droplets. Recent studies in our laboratory have shown that the deletion of the macrophage ACAT1 gene results in apoptosis and increased atherosclerotic lesion area in the aortas of hyperlipidemic mice. The objective of the current study was to elucidate the mechanism of the increased atherosclerosis. Methods and Results— CE storage and FC efflux were studied in ACAT1 (−/−) peritoneal macrophages that were treated with acetylated low-density lipoprotein (acLDL). Our results show that efflux of cellular cholesterol was reduced by 25% in ACAT1-deficient cells compared with wild-type controls. This decrease occurred despite the upregulated expression of ABCA1, an important mediator of cholesterol efflux. In contrast, ACAT1 deficiency increased efflux of the cholesterol derived from acLDL by 32%. ACAT1-deficient macrophages also showed a 26% increase in the accumulation of FC derived from acLDL, which was associated with a 75% increase in the number of intracellular vesicles. Conclusions— Together, these data show that macrophage ACAT1 influences the efflux of both cellular and lipoprotein-derived cholesterol and propose a pathway for the pro-atherogenic transformation of ACAT1 (−/−) macrophages.
Sins and Crimes

A law, say, prohibits homosexual conduct or punishes the prostitute for plying her trade. According to some it is a bad law, according to others a necessary one. Those who argue that it is a bad law do so on a variety of grounds—that it is sheer folly to try to change human nature by law, that such legislation can only be effective at the price of the right to privacy, that the punishment of acts arising from compelling desires is cruel and excessive, that the law has no business meddling in what people do to others with their consent. Those who argue that it is a necessary law do so on one ground, that the act in question is immoral, and that what is wrong must be punished, lest the law itself fall into disrepute by failing to carry out a consistent campaign against wrong-doing.
Accessing DNA damage in chromatin: insights from transcription.

Recently, there has been a convergence of fields studying the processing of DNA, such as transcription, replication, and repair. This convergence has been centered around the packaging of DNA in chromatin. Chromatin structure affects all aspects of DNA processing because it modulates access of proteins to DNA. Therefore, a central theme has become the mechanism(s) for accessing DNA in chromatin. It seems likely that mechanisms involved in one of these processes may also be used in others. For example, the discovery of transcriptional coactivators with histone acetyltransferase activity and chromatin remodeling complexes has provided possible mechanisms required for efficient repair of DNA in chromatin. BioEssays 21:596–603, 1999. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Financial Crisis During 2007 And 2008: Efficient Markets Or Human Behavior?

The recent U.S. financial crisis, the U.S. stock market crash of 1987, and other recent anomalies have seriously challenged Fama’s classic efficient capital markets hypothesis. These events have made it likely that future capital markets research will be enriched by the important role that human behavior plays in the success or failure of the financial markets. This paper examines the factors causing the recent crisis within the United States financial services sector, the degree to which it may be explained by efficient capital markets theory and the degree to which such behavioral finance concepts as noise, excessive volatility, fashion and fads, and irrational behavior compromise that theory.
Angular correlation measurements in 43 Ca

Particle-..gamma.. angular correlations have been measured for transitions from the 373, 593, 990, 2877, 3027, and 3270 keV states in /sup 43/Ca. In addition, information about the decay schemes of states at 2695 and 2943 keV was obtained. These levels were populated with known initial alignment by detection of ..cap alpha.. particles from the /sup 44/Ca(/sup 3/He,..cap alpha..)/sup 43/Ca reaction at 0degree relative to the beam. The measured value of the M2/E1 mixing ratio of the 990..-->..373 keV transition is delta=0.012 +- 0.017. This small value of delta implies an upper limit on the M2 strength for this transition which is consistent with the systematics of other M2 rates in this mass region. The measured angular correlations, in conjunction with previous work, suggest spin-parity values of 3/2/sup +/ for the 2877 keV state, 3/2/sup +/ for the 3027 keV state, and 5/2/sup +/ or 5/2/sup -/ for the 3270 keV state. (AIP)