cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of vitamin A on toxicity of hexachlorophene in the rat

Abstract Male rats were given vitamin A acetate orally either daily in a dose of 0, 0.83 or 10.0 mg/kg or every third day at three times this dose, 2 wk before and continuing after daily administration of 50 or 75 mg hexachlorophene (HCP)/kg. At certain levels and regimens, vitamin A offered partial protection against HCP toxicity, in that it retarded the rate at which deaths occurred but not the eventual outcome. The highest level of vitamin A (30 mg/kg) given every third day for 2 wk did not alter significantly the single-dose LD 50 of HCP. Vitamin A deficiency produced by omission of the vitamin from the diet considerably increased the toxicity of HCP after daily dosing at various levels. Cerebrospinal-fluid pressure in vitamin A-deficient control rats was 88 mm saline compared with 251 mm in HCP-treated normal rats. These quantitative differences suggest that these two factors exert independent and possibly additive effects rather than that vitamin A plays a primary role in the genesis of HCP neurotoxicity. Results do indicate, however, that the nutritional status of the animal affects its susceptibility to toxic halogenated hydrocarbons.
A novel fuzzy classification to enhance software regression testing

An effective system regression testing for consecutive releases of very large software systems, such as modern telecommunications systems, depends considerably on the selection of test cases for execution. Classification models can classify, early in the test planning phase, those test cases that are likely to detect faults in the upcoming regression test. Due to the high uncertainties in regression test, classification models based on fuzzy logic are very useful. Recently, methods have been proposed for automatically generating fuzzy if-then rules by applying complicated rule generation procedures to numerical data. In this research, we introduce and demonstrate a new rule-based fuzzy classification (RBFC) modeling approach as a method for identifying high effective test cases. The modeling approach, based on test case metrics and the proposed rule generation technique, is applied to extracting fuzzy rules from numerical data. In addition, it also provides a convenient way to modify rules according to the costs of different misclassification errors. We illustrate our modeling technique with a case study of large-scale industrial software systems and the results showed that test effectiveness and efficiency was significantly improved.
Crystal Structure of Homo sapiens Kynureninase.

Kynureninase is a member of a large family of catalytically diverse but structurally homologous pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) dependent enzymes known as the aspartate aminotransferase superfamily or alpha-family. The Homo sapiens and other eukaryotic constitutive kynureninases preferentially catalyze the hydrolytic cleavage of 3-hydroxy-l-kynurenine to produce 3-hydroxyanthranilate and l-alanine, while l-kynurenine is the substrate of many prokaryotic inducible kynureninases. The human enzyme was cloned with an N-terminal hexahistidine tag, expressed, and purified from a bacterial expression system using Ni metal ion affinity chromatography. Kinetic characterization of the recombinant enzyme reveals classic Michaelis-Menten behavior, with a Km of 28.3 +/- 1.9 microM and a specific activity of 1.75 micromol min-1 mg-1 for 3-hydroxy-dl-kynurenine. Crystals of recombinant kynureninase that diffracted to 2.0 A were obtained, and the atomic structure of the PLP-bound holoenzyme was determined by molecular replacement using the Pseudomonas fluorescens kynureninase structure (PDB entry 1qz9) as the phasing model. A structural superposition with the P. fluorescens kynureninase revealed that these two structures resemble the "open" and "closed" conformations of aspartate aminotransferase. The comparison illustrates the dynamic nature of these proteins' small domains and reveals a role for Arg-434 similar to its role in other AAT alpha-family members. Docking of 3-hydroxy-l-kynurenine into the human kynureninase active site suggests that Asn-333 and His-102 are involved in substrate binding and molecular discrimination between inducible and constitutive kynureninase substrates.
Hyperspectral imaging polarimeter in the infrared

ABSTRACT The Space Dynamics Laboratoiy at Utah State University is building an infrared Hyperspectral ImagingPolarimeter (HIP). Designed for high spatial and spectral resolution polarimeiry ofbackscattered sui1ight from cloud topsin the 2.7 im water band, it will fly aboard the Flying Infrared Signatures Technology Aircraft (FISTA)1, an Air Force KC-135. It is a proof-of-concept sensor, combining hyperspectral pushbroom imaging with high speed, solid state polarimetiy,using as many off-the-shelf components as possible, and utilizing an optical breadboard design for rapid prototyping. It isbased around a 256x320 window selectable InSb camera, a solid-state Ferro-electric Liquid Ciystal (FLC) polarimeter, anda transmissive diffraction grating.Keywords: optical remote sensing; hyperspectral; imaging spectrometer; imaging polanmeter, polarimetry; polarizationmeasurement, radiometric calibration. 1. INTRODUCTION The linear polarization characteristics (degree and angle) of sunlight backscattered from cloud tops can yield a wealth ofinfonnation about the phase ofthe particles in the cloud, whether they are ice ciystals, water droplets, or a mixture2.Measurements in the wings ofthe 2.7 m water band should be especially fruitful, since at certain wavelengths in this band,photons that have undergone a single scattering should dominate the backscattered photons. At these (yet undetermined)wavelengths, the degree ofpolarization should be maximized, and the information contained in this polarization should bemore readily analyzed. Information about the phase ofthe cloud particles has a number ofpotential scientific applications.Determination ofthe glaciation characteristics and altitudes ofclouds via passive remote sensing would be of particularinterest to aviation, weather prediction, and the global climate modeling community, among others.One ofthe purposes ofthe HIP sensor is to determine the precise wavelengths at which the single scattered photonsdominate, and to evaluate the data analysis algorithms that will be required to determine the cloud particle phaseinformation. In order to do this a hyperspectral sensor that will split the 2.5 pm to 3.5
Impact of thiamine deficiency on T-cell dependent and T-cell independent antibody production in lake trout.

Abstract Lake trout Salvelinus namaycush on thiamine-replete and thiamine-depleted diets were evaluated for the effects of thiamine status on in vivo responses to the T-dependent antigen trinitophenol (TNP)-keyhole limpet hemocyanin (TNP-KLH), the T-independent antigen trinitrophenol-lipolysaccaharide (TNP-LPS), or Dulbecco's phosphate-buffered saline (DPBS; negative control fish). Plasma antibody concentrations were evaluated for possible differences in total anti-TNP activity as well as differences in response kinetics. Associations between anti-TNP activity and muscle and liver thiamine concentrations as well as ratios of muscle-to-liver thiamine to anti-TNP activity were also examined. Thiamine-depleted lake trout that were injected with TNP-LPS exhibited significantly more anti-TNP activity than thiamine-replete fish. The depleted fish injected with TNP-LPS also exhibited significantly different response kinetics relative to thiamine-replete lake trout. No differences in activity or kinetics were obs...
Are Shocks Asymmetric to Volatility of Chinese Stock Markets

This paper uses ARCH models to examine if there is a leverage effect and also to test if A- and B-share holdings have different risks in Chinese stock markets before and after B-share markets open to domestic investors in February 2001. The empirical results suggest that leverage effect was not present and shocks have symmetric impact on the volatility of Chinese B-share stock returns in both periods and A-share returns in Period I. Thus GARCH model would be a better model to fit the Chinese B-share stock returns than EGARCH or GJR-GARCH model. But EGARCH or GJR-GARCH model fits recent (Period II) A-share markets data better than GARCH model. Another finding of this paper is that holding A- or B-share bears different risk in returns in the two Chinese markets. Furthermore, news or shocks have a larger impact on volatility of B-share returns in Period I than in Period II.
Hardy's multiquadric-biharmonic method for gravity field predictions

Abstract The potential theoretic foundations proposed by Hardy for his multiquadric-biharmonic method are shown to be either erroneous or deficient for the purpose of gravity predictions based on mixed data types. Specifically, the discretized model for the potential as a sum of point sources weighted by distance is nonharmonic in free space; whereas, the relationships between gravitational quantities (gravity anomaly, geoid undulation, deflections of the vertical, etc.) are predicated on a Newtonian (harmonic) potential.
Mother-child interaction patterns and the degree of fatness in children

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between the degree of fatness in young children and mother-child interaction behaviors in an eating and non-eating situation. The 21 children in the study ranged in age from 44 to 81 months. The mother-child pairs represented a broad range of socioeconomic classes. Triceps skinfold thickness served as the index of fatness among the children. Skinfold thickness did not correlate significantly with a number of physical and demographic characteristics, a result indicating that there was not a systematic socioeconomic bias confounding interpretation of the relationships between a mother-child interaction pattern and the child's fatness. Results indicated that skinfolds were correlated negatively with several verbal interaction measures. Mothers of fatter children talked less to their children in both settings, were less responsive to their children's behavior, gave their children less approval, and used less impulse control to keep the child focused on the task. During a lunch situation thinner children and their mothers ate less food and at a slower rate, talked more to each other during lunch about both food and nonfood topics, and made relatively more positive comments about the food. The high degree of cross-situational consistency provides evidence for mother-child interaction styles relevant to childhood obesity.
History of the roles of nurses caring for persons with mental retardation

A historic examination of the major responsibilities of nurses in providing care to individuals with mental retardation indicates that the responsibilities have remained relatively constant, whereas the roles have shifted and expanded over time from nursing assistant activities to advanced practice roles. Regardless of the setting, nurses have been involved in primary and secondary prevention, case finding, health care management of the individual with mental retardation and their family across the life span, instruction about this care to other nurses, and referral. This specialty nursing practice has a long history. In recent years, the role of nurses in interdisciplinary care has waned with the continual trend of institutional closings and movement of the clients to small community group homes. As individuals with mental retardation achieve greater participation in their communities, the roles and responsibilities of nurses who specialize in the care of persons with mental retardation will also change, but much effort is needed today to enforce nursing's contribution in this field to the other disciplines involved in the care of these individuals and to society. The recent Surgeon General's report [57], Closing the Gap: A National Blueprint for Improving the Health of Individuals with Mental Retardation (2001), could serve as such a springboard for renewal of nursing action in this field.
Development of an expert system prototype for determining software functional requirements for command management activities at NASA Goddard

The development of an expert system prototype for software functional requirement determination for NASA Goddard's Command Management System, as part of its process of transforming general requests into specific near-earth satellite commands, is described. The present knowledge base was formulated through interactions with domain experts, and was then linked to the existing Knowledge Engineering Systems (KES) expert system application generator. Steps in the knowledge-base development include problem-oriented attribute hierarchy development, knowledge management approach determination, and knowledge base encoding. The KES Parser and Inspector, in addition to backcasting and analogical mapping, were used to validate the expert system-derived requirements for one of the major functions of a spacecraft, the solar Maximum Mission. Knowledge refinement, evaluation, and implementation procedures of the expert system were then accomplished.
An Ontology-Based Framework for Designing a Sensor Quality of Information Software Library

Assessing the quality of sensor-originated information is key for the effective and predictable operation sensor-enabled computerized applications. However, with increasing uncertainties due to alternative deployment scenarios, operational realities, and sensing resource use, it becomes very challenging in designing replicable software solutions that can be easily reused in a number of occasions with minimal customization. Leveraging semantic sensor web technologies, this paper presents an ontology-based design framework for organizing a library of quality of information (QoI) analysis algorithms specific to a data source, and interfacing to a library containing computational algorithms assessing quality of information. The ontology-based framework is broad enough to allow easy accommodation of new computational algorithms that domain experts may provide to the library as needed to reflect specific deployment, operational, sensing realities.
Comment on «surface and size effects on the thermodynamics of the dilute classical 1D planar model»

Abstract A response is made to some recent criticism, by Pini and Rettori, regarding the work of Hu and McGurn on the solution of the continuum limit Heisenberg and planar 1D diluted classical spin models.
Lesbian and Heterosexual Adoptive Mothers’ Experiences of Relationship Dissolution

Little research has explored same-gender couples’ experiences of relationship dissolution, and no research has explored relationship dissolution in same-gender adoptive parents. Drawing from feminist and social constructionist perspectives, the current qualitative study examined the perspectives of 13 adoptive mothers (seven lesbian, six heterosexual) who had separated from their partners over the course of a longitudinal study on adoptive families. Participants were interviewed via telephone and represented a geographically diverse sample of mothers in the U.S. Becoming a parent (to a high-needs child in particular), differences in parenting style, parent problems (e.g., substance abuse), and infidelity were perceived as contributing to relationship dissolution by all types of participants. Lesbian mothers were especially likely to emphasize problems with emotional and sexual intimacy, and inequities in the division of labor, as contributors. Lesbian mothers were more likely to describe shared custody arrangements than heterosexual mothers, who were typically the primary residential parents. Participants described both practical challenges (e.g., financial insecurity) and emotional challenges (e.g., feelings of guilt, especially in light of the child’s history of loss) in the wake of relationship dissolution. However, participants also identified positive changes that had occurred post-dissolution, including personal growth and improved co-parenting, with the latter being noted by lesbians in particular. Findings have implications for professionals wishing to support diverse families during key life transitions, such as parental relationship dissolution.
Biological Entropy Pump

THE recent exchange between Woolhouse1 and Popper2 presents the enigma of the low entropy content of living systems. The means whereby their rapid decay into the inert state of “equilibrium” is avoided are serious problems to the theoretical biologist. It is, of course, to Schrodinger3 that we owe the classic analysis of biological entropy. It was the source of negentropy which Schrodinger was unable to discover, as the recent discussion indicates. That from, one generation to the next, a complex coding and decoding can occur without net loss of negentropy is problem enough, but in the large sequence of generations through geological time, we see that, if anything, the informational system becomes fuller and the organization of many species more improbable. It is my purpose here to show what I believe to be the answer to this seeming paradox and to describe the “entropy pump” whereby the species of living matter not only prevent a drop into a position of greater positive entropy at each generation, but may in fact acquire more negentropy as their reproduction continues. This will involve only principles widely known and easily defended.
Induction of calcium flux across the rat mast cell membrane by bridging IgE receptors

Abstract Rabbit antibody against IgE receptors or its F(ab')2 fragments induced an increase of 45Ca uptake into normal mast cells, and this process was accompanied by histamine release. Evidence was obtained that a substantial portion of 45Ca uptake was due to movement of calcium across the cell membrane. Neither 45Ca uptake nor histamine release was induced by Fab' monomer fragments of the antireceptor antibody. However, bridging of receptor-bound Fab' fragments by antirabbit IgG or bridging of receptor-bound IgE by anti-IgE induced an increase in 45Ca uptake. The results collectively indicate that crosslinking IgE receptors increases the membrane permeability of the mast cells toward calcium.
Pure Complementary Energy Principle and Triality Theory in Finite Elasticity

It is well-known that the complementary energy principle for large deformation elasticity was first proposed by Hellinger in 1914. Since Reissner clarified the boundary conditions in 1953, the complementary energy principles and methods in finite deformation mechanics have been studied extensively during the last forty years (cf. e.g. Koiter, 1976; Nemat-Nasser, 1977; Atluri, 1980; Lee & Shield, 1980; Buffer, 1983; Oden & Reddy, 1983; Ogden, 1984; Tabarrok, 1984 and much more). But the Hellinger-Reissner principle involves both the second Piola-Kirchhoff stress and the displacement, it is not considered as a pure complementary energy principle. For more than 80 years, this principle was considered only as a stationary principle. Its extremum property has been an open problem, which yielded many arguments. The Levinson-Zubov principle involves only the first Piola-Kirchhoff stress r . Unfortunately in finite deformation problems with compressive external loads, the stored energy function W(F) is usually nonconvex in the deformation gradient F (cf. e.g. Ogden, 1984). In this case, even for one-dimensional problems, the complementary energy W e obtained by the Legendre transformation
Stability issues in tunneling via quantum systems

Since the introduction of resonant tunneling via man-made quantum structures, there have been concerns regarding the possibility of intrinsic instability. Some of the issues were thought to be only associated with quantum devices. In my view, the most important thing is not due to quantum effects, rather, due to a drastic reduction in the number of electrons taking part in the process. Redundancy and robustness may be established using a radically different approach.
Second-Order Epi-Derivatives of Composite Functionals

We compute two-sided second-order epi-derivatives for certain composite functionals f=g○F where F is a C1 mapping between two Banach spaces X and Y, and g is a convex extended real-valued function on Y. These functionals include most essential objectives associated with smooth constrained minimization problems on Banach spaces. Our proof relies on our development of a formula for the second-order upper epi-derivative that mirrors a formula for a second-order lower epi-derivative from [7], and the two-sided results we obtain promise to support a more precise sensitivity analysis of parameterized optimization problems than has been previously possible.
Does physical abuse, sexual abuse, or neglect in childhood increase the likelihood of same-sex sexual relationships and cohabitation? A prospective 30-year follow-up.

Existing cross-sectional research suggests associations between physical and sexual abuse in childhood and same-sex sexual orientation in adulthood. This study prospectively examined whether abuse and/or neglect in childhood were associated with increased likelihood of same-sex partnerships in adulthood. The sample included physically abused (N = 85), sexually abused (N = 72), and neglected (N = 429) children (ages 0–11) with documented cases during 1967–1971 who were matched with non-maltreated children (N = 415) and followed into adulthood. At approximately age 40, participants (483 women and 461 men) were asked about romantic cohabitation and sexual partners, in the context of in-person interviews covering a range of topics. Group (abuse/neglect versus control) differences were assessed with cross-tabulations and logistic regression. A total of 8% of the overall sample reported any same-sex relationship (cohabitation or sexual partners). Childhood physical abuse and neglect were not significantly associated with same-sex cohabitation or sexual partners. Individuals with documented histories of childhood sexual abuse were significantly more likely than controls to report ever having had same-sex sexual partners (OR = 2.81, 95% CI = 1.16–6.80, p ≤ .05); however, only men with histories of childhood sexual abuse were significantly more likely than controls to report same-sex sexual partners (OR = 6.75, 95% CI = 1.53–29.86, p ≤ .01). These prospective findings provide tentative evidence of a link between childhood sexual abuse and same-sex sexual partnerships among men, although further research is needed to explore this relationship and to examine potential underlying mechanisms.
Evaluation of an automated deformable image matching method for quantifying lung motion in respiration-correlated CT images.

We have evaluated an automated registration procedure for predicting tumor and lung deformation based on CT images of the thorax obtained at different respiration phases. The method uses a viscous fluid model of tissue deformation to map voxels from one CT dataset to another. To validate the deformable matching algorithm we used a respiration-correlated CT protocol to acquire images at different phases of the respiratory cycle for six patients with nonsmall cell lung carcinoma. The position and shape of the deformable gross tumor volumes (GTV) at the end-inhale (EI) phase predicted by the algorithm was compared to those drawn by four observers. To minimize interobserver differences, all observers used the contours drawn by a single observer at end-exhale (EE) phase as a guideline to outline GTV contours at EI. The differences between model-predicted and observer-drawn GTV surfaces at EI, as well as differences between structures delineated by observers at EI (interobserver variations) were evaluated using a contour comparison algorithm written for this purpose, which determined the distance between the two surfaces along different directions. The mean and 90% confidence interval for model-predicted versus observer-drawn GTV surface differences over all patients and all directions were 2.6 and 5.1 mm, respectively, whereasmore » the mean and 90% confidence interval for interobserver differences were 2.1 and 3.7 mm. We have also evaluated the algorithm's ability to predict normal tissue deformations by examining the three-dimensional (3-D) vector displacement of 41 landmarks placed by each observer at bronchial and vascular branch points in the lung between the EE and EI image sets (mean and 90% confidence interval displacements of 11.7 and 25.1 mm, respectively). The mean and 90% confidence interval discrepancy between model-predicted and observer-determined landmark displacements over all patients were 2.9 and 7.3 mm, whereas interobserver discrepancies were 2.8 and 6.0 mm. Paired t tests indicate no significant statistical differences between model predicted and observer drawn structures. We conclude that the accuracy of the algorithm to map lung anatomy in CT images at different respiratory phases is comparable to the variability in manual delineation. This method has therefore the potential for predicting and quantifying respiration-induced tumor motion in the lung.« less
Len Barton, critical education and the problem of ‘decentered unities’

In the process of discussing the significant contributions that Len Barton has made to the sociology of education and to disability studies, I argue that a good deal of critical analyses of power and inequality in education are impoverished by some of their essentialist and reductive tendencies. I use an example taken from disability rights to show how parts of these tendencies can be overcome. I suggest that disability rights movements provide powerful possibilities for the interruption of capitalist ideological forms and their attendant ways of organising and controlling labour. They do this by challenging some of the most fundamental assumptions that underpin capitalist economies and ways of life. By strongly resisting the ways in which paid work and paid workers are treated, new relations are made possible. I connect this example to some of the insightful analyses of the place of affective equality in the struggle for social justice in both a politics of redistribution and a politics of recognition. B...
Extrapolating target tracks

Steady-state performance of a tracking filter is traditionally evaluated immediately after a track update. However, there is commonly a further delay (e.g., processing and communications latency) before the tracks can actually be used. We analyze the accuracy of extrapolated target tracks for four tracking filters: Kalman filter with the Singer maneuver model and worst-case correlation time, with piecewise constant white acceleration, and with continuous white acceleration, and the reduced state filter proposed by Mookerjee and Reifler. 1, 2 Performance evaluation of a tracking filter is significantly simplified by appropriate normalization. For the Kalman filter with the Singer maneuver model, the steady-state RMS error immediately after an update depends on only two dimensionless parameters. 3 By assuming a worst case value of target acceleration correlation time, we reduce this to a single parameter without significantly changing the filter performance (within a few percent for air tracking). 4 With this simplification, we find for all four filters that the RMS errors for the extrapolated state are functions of only two dimensionless parameters. We provide simple analytic approximations in each case.
Transient sheets of field-aligned current observed by DMSP during the main phase of a magnetic superstorm

[1] During the main phase of the 6 April 2000 magnetic storm with Dst ≅ −300 nT, four Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites encountered intense sheets of field-aligned currents (FACs). Their magnetic perturbations were >1300 nT, corresponding to integrated currents ∣J∥∣ > 1 A/m. The FACs appeared in both the evening and dawn magnetic local time sectors. They had relatively fast rise times (∼5 min), lasted for ∼0.5 hours, and were associated with widespread reconfigurations of plasma in the near-Earth magnetotail. The largest magnetic and related electric field perturbations occurred at magnetic latitudes <60°. Magnetometer measurements from DMSP satellites show repeated episodes of similarly large FACs late in the main phase of this and other superstorms. Poynting flux calculations indicate that a few percent of the total ring current energy is dissipated as Joule heat in the midlatitude ionosphere during each of these events. A survey of ground magnetometers at auroral and middle latitudes found perturbations typically <200 nT, incommensurate with magnetic observations at the altitude of the DMSP satellites. The small ground responses reflect weak ionospheric Hall currents and provide an empirical validation of the theorem derived by Fukushima [1976]. Height-integrated Pedersen conductances (ΣP) calculated with observed precipitating electron fluxes have significantly lower values than those estimated from Ohm's law using simultaneously measured electric and magnetic field variations. This discrepancy suggests that under some highly stressed conditions the neglect of contributions from low energy electrons and precipitating ions can lead to serious underestimates of ΣP and a consequent misunderstanding of the magnetosphere-ionosphere circuit.
Rock squirrel (Spermophilus variegatus) blood sera affects proteolytic and hemolytic activities of rattlesnake venoms

Rock squirrels (Spermophilus variegatus) from two sites in south central New Mexico, where prairie (Crotalus viridis viridis) and western diamondback (Crotalus atrox) rattlesnakes are common predators, were assayed for inhibition of rattlesnake venom digestive and hemostatic activities. At statistically significant levels rock squirrel blood sera reduced the metalloprotease and hemolytic activity of venoms from C. v. viridis and C. atrox more than venom from an allopatric snake species, the northern Pacific rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus). In contrast, general proteolytic activity of venom from C. oreganus was inhibited more by S. variegatus serum defenses than activity of venom from sympatric snakes. For all three venoms, incubation with squirrel sera increased the level of fibrinolysis over venom-only treatments. These results suggest that rock squirrels (S. variegatus) can defend against metalloproteases and other proteases after envenomation from at least two of five rattlesnake predators they might encounter. However, there were statistically significant differences between general proteolytic activity and fibrinolytic activity of C. v. viridis and C. atrox venom, suggesting that rock squirrels might be differentially vulnerable to these two predators. The hypothesis that prey resistance influences snake venom evolution in a predator–prey arms race is given further support by the previously cryptic variation in venoms detected when assayed against prey defenses.
Molecular phylogeny and biogeography of the Malagasy and South Asian cichlids (Teleostei: Perciformes: Cichlidae)

Phylogenetic relationships of the Malagasy and South Asian cichlids are investigated using nucleotide characters from two mitochondrial genes, a 544 bp region of the large ribosomal subunit (16S) and a 649 bp region of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI). This is the first molecular analysis to include a thorough taxonomic sampling of all Malagasy-South Asian genera, and a near complete taxonomic inventory of all valid species. Parsimony analysis of the combined data set (1193 aligned nucleotide positions) results in a single, completely resolved phylogenetic hypothesis. Results of this analysis, and that based on more comprehensive taxonomic sampling across Cichlidae for 16S alone (554 bp for 73 taxa), indicate that the Malagasy cichlids are paraphyletic, whereas the Malagasy and South Asian cichlids comprise a monophyletic group. In both analyses, the African and Neotropical assemblages are monophyletic. The Malagasy-South Asian cichlids are not recovered as plesiomorphic members of the family in either analysis. Two major clades are recovered within the Malagasy-South Asian assemblage and given subfamilial rank, Etroplinae, comprising Paretroplus (Madagascar) and Etroplus (southern India and Sri Lanka), and Ptychochrominae, comprising Ptychochromis, Ptychochromoides, and Oxylapia, all endemic Malagasy genera. Placement of the endemic Malagasy genus Paratilapia is equivocal depending on the gene fragment(s) analyzed. Inter- and intrageneric relationships within Ptychochrominae and Etroplinae are presented and discussed. The hypothesis of relationships for Cichlidae based on nucleotide characters from 16S alone, arguably the most comprehensive and broadly sampled data set across all major geographic assemblages to date, is congruent with prevailing hypotheses regarding the sequence of Gondwanan fragmentation and a vicariance scenario to explain the current distribution of cichlid fishes.
Rewriting Logic as a Logic of Special Relations

Abstract I formally define a logic of special relations with the purpose of capturing those logics that, by using several binary relations besides equality in their logical sentences, enhance the expressiveness of order-sorted equational logic. I believe that a general notion of rewriting along binary relations —that I briefly introduce in this paper—may constitute a kernel upon which particular rewriting based proof calculi for these logics can be constructed. As an example, I show how rewriting logic is captured in this logic of special relations by means of a map of logics as defined in Meseguer's framework of general logics. This map highlights the expressive gain of this framework --since the properties of the rewrite relation are stated explicitly-- while keeping a rewrite-based proof calculus. I also discuss, on the example of membership equational logic, how the general perspective of term rewriting presented in this paper unifies, under a unique notion of local confluence, several up to now distinct decidability conditions for logical theories. I am very grateful to Jaume Agusti Jordi Levy, and Jose Meseguer for fruitful discussions and inspiring suggestions concerning the research issues presented in this paper.
Theory of modulated filter banks and modulated wavelet tight frames

Perfect reconstruction (PR), finite-impulse-response (FIR), unitary modulated filter banks (MFBs) have been constructed by several authors. The forms of modulation used in these works are not the same. In the present work, the authors exhibit the most general form of modulation (which depends on an integral parameter, the modulation phase) and characterize PR for this general MFB problem (no FIR assumptions on the filters are made). An M-channel PR MFB reduces to J( approximately=M/2) two-channel PR FBs. Unitariness of an MFB is equivalent to the unitariness of each of the two-channel FBs. Type 1 and Type 2 MFBs are introduced. All FIR unitary MFBs are parametrized. Unitary MFBs are associated with modulated wavelet tight frames (MWTFs). All compactly supported MWTFs are parametrized. MFBs can be implemented efficiently using Type III and Type II discrete cosine transform (DCT) when the modulation phase is even and Type IV DCT when the modulation phase is odd. >
Clinicopathologic Features and Prognosis of Duodenal Adenocarcinoma and Comparison with Ampullary and Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

Because of the rarity of duodenal adenocarcinoma (DAC), the clinicopathologic features and prognostication data for DAC are limited. There are no published studies directly comparing the prognosis of DAC to that of ampullary adenocarcinoma (AA) and of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) after resection. In this study, we examined the clinicopathologic features of 68 patients with DAC, 92 patients with AA, and 126 patients with PDA who underwent resection. Patient clinicopathologic and survival information were extracted from medical records. Statistical analysis was performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences with 2-sided significance level of .05. Patients with DAC had higher American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage than AA patients (P = .001). Lymph node metastasis (P = .013) and AJCC stage (P = .02) correlated with overall survival in DAC patients. Patients with DAC or AA had lower frequencies of lymph node metastasis and positive margin and better survival than those with PDA (P < .05). However, no differences in nodal metastasis, margin status, or survival were observed between DAC patients and those with AA. Our study showed that lymph node metastasis and AJCC stage are important prognostic factors for overall survival in DAC patients. Patients with DAC had less frequent nodal metastasis and better prognosis than those with PDA. There was no significant difference in prognosis between DAC and AA.
Describing developing phonological systems: A surrebuttal

This article refutes the reanalysis of a phonologically disordered child's use of fricatives as developed by Fey (1989) within a relational framework. Evidence in the form of nonsystematic correspondences between this child's substitution patterns and the target sound system is used to further establish the accuracy of the original independent generative analysis developed by Gierut (1986). This evidence supplements and supports the initial claims that this child exhibited a pattern of complementary distribution among the fricatives [f] and [s] and, moreover, the remediation program successfully induced a phonemic split.
Sensitive and specific high-performance liquid chromatographic assay with ultraviolet detection for the determination of cocaine and its metabolites in rat plasma

Abstract A sensitive, specific and precise HPLC–UV assay was developed to quantitate cocaine (COC) and its metabolites benzoylecgonine (BE), norcocaine (NC) and cocaethylene (CE) in rat plasma. After adding 50 μl of the internal standard solution (bupivacaine, 8 μg/ml) and 500 μl of Sorensen's buffer (pH 6) to 100 μl of rat plasma sample, the mixture was extracted with 10 ml of chloroform. The organic layer was transferred to a clean test tube and was evaporated under nitrogen. The residue was reconstituted in 100 μl of mobile phase and 35 μl was injected onto the HPLC column. The mobile phase consisted of methanol–acetonitrile–50 m M monobasic ammonium phosphate (5:7:63, v/v/v) and was maintained at a flow-rate of 0.4 ml/min. Separation of COC and its metabolites was achieved using a Supelcosil ABZ+plus deactivated reversed-phase column (250×2.1 mm I.D., 5 μm). Calibration curves were linear over the range of 25–5000 ng/ml for COC and its three metabolites. The absolute extraction efficiencies for BE, COC, NC, CE and bupivacaine were 56.6%, 78.6%, 61.1%, 76.4% and 67.0%, respectively. COC and its metabolites were stable in mobile phase for 24 h at room temperature and in rat plasma for 2 weeks at −20°C. The limits of detection for BE, COC, NC and CE were 20, 24, 15 and 12.9 ng/ml, respectively. These values correspond to 0.70, 0.84, 0.525 and 0.452 ng of the according compound being injected on column. The within-day coefficient of variation for the four compounds ranged from 3.0% to 9.9% while the between-day precision varied from 3.6% to 14%. This method was used to analyze rat plasma samples after administration of COC alone and in combination with alcohol. The pharmacokinetic profiles of COC and its metabolites in these rats are also described.
Phytoplankton pigment absorption: A strong predictor of primary productivity in the surface ocean

Over a range of trophic conditions in the ocean, we argue that variations in productivity are more closely related to variations in phytoplankton absorption than to variations in the chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentration. Our analysis suggests that environmental variability is expressed through the absorption properties of phytoplankton pigments rather than their quantity, and that productivity normalized to absorption is relatively invariant in the world ocean. The relationship between primary productivity and phytoplankton absorption makes possible a more direct approach to the estimation of ocean productivity from satellite sensors.
Fast simulation of microstrip antennas using the fast multipole method

We report a significant decrease of the time and storage required for the simulation of large microstrip antennas via the solution of the Electric Field Integarl Equation (EFIE). The solution is obtained using the Fast Mutipole Method (FMM) with an iterative solver. We show storage and timing data required for the simulation of a 30 element linear microstrip diploe antenna array. This is the first report of the use of the FMM for microstrip antennas.
Markov models for a multiple processor system with a shared bus

A finite population queueing model applicable to a class of real-time multiple processor systems with a shared bus is developed and analysed. It assumes Poisson arrivals and services, and its service discipline is FIFO, with the restriction that a customer cannot be served for the (k + l)st time unless all customers have been served k times. The performance of the system is studied by evaluating its throughput. In the special case of equal arrival and service rates, the model reduces to a simpler one, whose solution is obtained by a recursive technique that reduces significantly the computation time. Under certain conditions, the simplified model provides a good approximation to the throughput predicted by the general model.
Manipulating the cavity of a porous material changes the photoreactivity of included guests

Changing an ether to a ketone within the framework of a bis-urea macrocycle has little effect on the supramolecular assembly of this building block into porous crystals but introduces a triplet sensitizer into the framework that dramatically alters the photochemical reactions of included guests.
Improved Synthesis of 3-Nitrophenylacetic Acid

Abstract In the development of certain work in our laboratory, we needed large quantities of 3-nitrophenylacetic acid. This material is very expensive commercially. It therefore became necessary to find a convenient and efficient process since none of the reported procedures is suitable for a large scale preparation of 3-nitrophenylacetic acid. In the first synthesis reported by Frederick et al.1, 3-nitrobenzyl chloride was converted to 3-nitrophenylaceto-nitrile which was hydrolyzed to 3-nitrophenylacetic acid in 38% yield. The utility of this method for making large quantities of 3-nitrophenylacetic acid is restricted by the high cost of 3-nitrobenzyl halides. The second 2 method published by Jennings2 is a multistep process starting with 3-nitrobenzaldehyde and the reported overall yield is 31%. This method also is not suitable for a large scale preparation due to the hazardous nature of the acid azide which is formed as one of the intermediates in this five step sequence. The third method describes th...
Becoming a Culturally Responsive Early Childhood Educator: A Tool to Support Reflection by Teachers Embarking on the Anti-Bias Journey

As children begin to construct an understanding of human differences and similarities during their earliest years, early childhood teachers are challenged to be culturally responsive to the diversity of the children and families. Based on our review of the literature and other existing tools, this article discusses a framework for thinking about this work and proposes critical elements for teachers to re-examine their practice. The article describes a reflective tool structured to provoke thinking about attitudes, assumptions, and knowledge base regarding culturally responsive teaching.
A Chromosome 11 YAC Library

A targeted yeast artificial chromosome (YAC) library for chromosome 11 has been constructed from the J1 cell line that carries a single human chromosome 11 within a hamster DNA background. Interspecies chimeric clones generated during construction of the library were detected during the screening process and eliminated from the library. Contig assembly becomes much less difficult using such a library as the complexity is decreased and the ends of the clone inserts can be rescued for walking to neighboring clones. The library contains > 1824 clones with an average insert length of 337 kb. This represents a fourfold coverage of chromosome 11 or a >95% chance of recovering a unique single-copy sequence from the library. Two hundred YAC clones were localized by fluorescence in situ hybridization and found to be randomly distributed along the chromosome. The library has been screened with probes for the chromosome 11 markers HBB, GLUR4, H19, and D11S193. Corresponding YAC clones have been isolated for each locus. This analysis has indicated that the library is unbiased, that cognate YAC clones can be recovered with chromosome 11 markers, and that extensive contig assembly should be feasible. 31 refs., 5 figs.
Superior mechanical properties of dense and porous organic/inorganic hybrid thin films

The intrinsic mechanical properties of a given material strongly depend upon its chemical nature: the organics tend to be soft, but tough, while the inorganic materials are hard but brittle and are prone to fracture. The later characteristic gets even worse for porous materials and is of major concern in the microelectronics industry as porous organosilicates (mainly inorganic) will constitute the insulating layers in future electronic devices. In this paper, we demonstrate that significantly tougher organosilicate glass thin-films prepared by sol–gel process, can be obtained by introducing carbon bridging units between silicon atoms present in the organosilicate network. A fracture energy value of 15 J/m2 was measured, surprisingly higher than that for dense silicon dioxide (10 J/m2), suggesting mechanical properties that lie somewhere in between those of conventional glasses and organic polymers. We also found that the Young’s modulus follows a linear decay when porosity is introduced, a unique property when compared to traditional organosilicates. As a result, crack resistant films were obtained at high levels of porosity, opening potential applications in the fields of low-k materials for future integrated circuits, membranes, sensors, waveguides, fuel cells and micro-fluidic channels.
Coupled-State Calculations of Proton-Hydrogen Scattering in the Sturmian Representation

Proton-hydrogen scattering has been solved in the Sturmian representation. The Sturmian functions of Rotenberg form an infinite, discrete, and complete basis set without a continuum. Comparison has been made with the following proton-hydrogen scattering experiments: transfer and excitation cross sections to the $2s$ and $2p$ states, the total exchange cross section, and the notable experiments of Helbig and Everhart on the total transfer probability at 3\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}. Particularly excellent agreement is found with the last. This work is a direct extension of previous calculations for the proton-hydrogen scattering problem developed by the authors in which the expansion basis functions were discrete, traveling hydrogenic states. The present work demonstrates the role of the hydrogenic continuum.