cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Poly(bis‐2,2,2‐trifluoroethoxymethyl oxetane): Multiple crystal phases, crystallization‐induced surface topological complexity and enhanced hydrophobicity

Semicrystalline poly(bis-trifluoroethoxymethyl)oxetane, P(B-3FOx), was prepared by cationic ring-opening polymerization at −5 °C with Mn up to 21 kDa. Differences in cooling rates from the melt have substantial effects on crystal phase, percent crystallinity, surface topography, and wetting behavior. DSC and WAXD show that cooling from the melt at slow rates (<5 °C/min) gives α-P(B-3FOx) with ΔHf = 22–27 J/g. Quenching from the melt results in β-P(B-3FOx) for which a mesophase structure is suggested. β-P(B-3FOx) melts at 53 °C followed by recrystallization to α-P(B-3FOx). Solution casting from THF results in third phase, γ-P(B-3FOx). TM-AFM and SEM imaging for α-P(B-3FOx) showed that cold crystallization at 25 °C brought about increased crystallinity and surface topologies characterized by sharp asperities and lath-shaped crystals. Spontaneous surface roughening of α-P(B-3FOx) results in a discontinuous three-phase contact line with water and an increase in water sessile drop contact angle from 106° to 136°. The ∼30° increase in water contact angle was attributed primarily to a topological change from a relatively smooth surface (Wenzel state) to an asperity-rich surface yielding a discontinuous three-phase contact line (composite of Wenzel and Cassie-Baxter state). The oleophobicity for this polymer, which contains only a single CF3 end group on each side chain, compares favorably with more highly fluorinated acrylates. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 48: 1022–1034, 2010
Wizard of Oz in a Structured Expert Review (WiSER): An Evaulative Study

Time and money constraints are often an issue when selecting a method for testing user interface designs. The Wizard of Oz technique allows usability practitioners to re-create speech user interfaces without building a hi-fidelity prototype. Wizard of Oz in a Structured Expert Review (WiSER) leverages the advantages of Wizard of Oz by combining it with aspects of the Cognitive Walkthrough method. The result is a method which can be efficiently implemented to test speech user interfaces by using usability practitioners as test participants and the designer as the wizard. The participant is presented with a set of tasks to complete using the speech user interface. After each task, problem areas are discussed and design alternatives, explored; modified versions of the two questions identified by Spencer [2000] are addressed for each problem area. This paper covers a direct comparison of WiSER to an online usability test in which both tests are executed on a voice dialer application.
THE INSTRUCTIONAL COHERENCE OF READING LESSONS IN SEVEN BASAL READER SERIES

This study was conducted to determine the instructional coherence of randomly selected reading lessons in seven basal reading series. Instructional coherence was described as “a structure which logically links instructional components of a reading lesson to one another in an organized manner.” For the analyses, 210 instructional units were randomly selected from seven basal reading series from grades 1‐6. A procedure and instrument were developed by the researchers to analyze the basals. Three raters were trained to analyze the basals. Initially, 10 units were analyzed by the three raters to check for agreement. Regression analyses and least square mean differences in the ratings for each item were checked. More training and conferencing was conducted until significant differences among raters’ ratings were eradicated. The basals were examined for explicit links in the teachers’ manuals among the traditionally accepted lesson parts: vocabulary introduction, story introduction, the story, story questions, ...
Social Mobility and the Theodosian Code

Until recent centuries, historians had to reckon with only limited social movement. I use the phrase in a very wide sense, to cover change of habitation, profession, or class; but even so defined, in a world dominated numerically by small farmers, people rarely moved around, or up or down, socially. This is as true of the thirteenth as of the third century.But it is usual to say that, granted these limitations, social movement was still much more restricted after 250 than before. This has recently been challenged by A. H. M. Jones. ‘The late Roman empire is often conceived of as a rigid hierarchical society, in which every man was tied to the station in life to which he was born.’ But the laws directing this confess, in their repetitions and relaxations, that they could not really be applied. Society, he says, was actually less static after 250 than before. Despite what has become the almost canonical view of the question, Professor Jones is certainly in the right. Under three major headings, all perfectly well known, many people did change jobs and homes. Some fled from invasion, in numbers powerfully suggested by the thousands of coin hoards from Britain to the Black Sea—we must assume that for every treasure we find, a hundred are still hidden, and for every man who buried his money, a hundred took it with them—; another group, from one to two hundred thousand, joined an expanded army; an equal number in Egypt alone turned monk. If we say, then, that over the century 250–350, half a million people were taken from one life and newly rooted in another, we have a figure by no means fantastic, yet without parallel in any earlier era of the Empire.
α1-Adrenoceptor Subtypes Mediate Negative Inotropy in Myocardium from α1A/C-Knockout and Wild Type Mice

D. T. McCloskey, D. G. Rokosh, T. D. O'Connell, E. C. Keung, P. C. Simpson and A. J. Baker. α1-Adrenoceptor Subtypes Mediate Negative Inotropy in Myocardium from α1A/C-Knockout and Wild Type Mice. Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology (2002) 34, 1007–1017. Cardiac α1-adrenoceptors (AR) have two predominant subtypes (α1A-AR and α1B-AR) however, their roles in regulating contraction are unclear. We determined the effects of stimulating α1A-AR (using the subtype-selective agonist A61603) and α1B-AR (using a gene knockout mouse lacking α1A-AR) separately, and together (using phenylephrine) on Ca2+ transients, intracellular pH, and contraction of mouse cardiac trabeculae. Stimulation of α1-AR subtypes separately or together caused a triphasic contractile response. After a transient (≈3%) force rise (phase 1), force declined markedly (phase 2), then partially recovered (phase 3). In phase 2, the force decline (% of initial) with combined α1A-AR plus α1B-AR stimulation (50±3%) was more than with separate subtype stimulation (P<0.01), suggesting α1A-AR and α1B-AR mediate additive effects during phase 2. Force decline in phase 2 paralleled decreases of Ca2+ transients that were reduced more with combined vs. separate subtype stimulation. During phase 3 the final force reduction was similar with stimulation of α1A-AR (20±5%), or α1B-AR (20±3%), or both (26±4%) suggesting α1A-AR and α1B-AR mediate non-additive effects during phase 3. In contrast, Ca2+ transients recovered fully in phase 3 suggesting reduced force in phase 3 involved decreased myofilament Ca2+-sensitivity. Decreased Ca2+-sensitivity was not mediated by changes of intracellular pH since this was not affected by α1-AR stimulation. In contrast to mouse trabeculae, rat trabeculae demonstrated a positive inotropic response to α1-AR stimulation. In conclusion, for mouse myocardium in vitro both α1-adrenoceptor subtypes mediate negative inotropy involving decreased Ca2+ transients and a decreased Ca2+ sensitivity that does not involve altered intracellular pH.
A Study of Hybridization in the Genus Eurytoma Illiger including Descriptions of Two New Species and a Redescription of E. Querci-Globuli (Fitch.) (Eurytomidae: Hymen.)

Eurytoma auerci-globuli, originally placed by Fitch in Macroglenes, is redescribed, and E. punctiventris Walsh is synonymized with it, based on a series of intergrading hybrid populations representing a color cline extending from the northern part of the United States south to the Gulf coast states; two new subspecies, E. q.-g. ruba and E. q.-g. utahensis are recognized, the former from Mississippi and Florida. Data from the distribution of the host cynipids (Disholcaspis quercus-globulus (Fitch), D. mamma (Walsh), D. colorado (Gillette), D. cinerea (Bassett), and D. virens (Ashmead), as well as the oak species (Quercus macrocarpa, Q. alba, Q. stellata, Q. utahensis, and Q. virginiana) on which the hosts occur, are correlated with the distribution of E. querci-globuli. Eurytoma furva from D. washingtonensis (Gillette) on Q. douglasii in California, and E. brevivena from D. quercus-globulus on Q. gambelii from the Grand Canyon, Arizona, are described as new species.
Metabolic acclimation to temperature in the ozark salamander Plethodon dorsalis angusticlavius

Abstract 1. 1. Oxygen consumption rates of Ozark salamanders, Plethodon dorsalis angusticlavius , were measured at acclimation temperatures of 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25°C acutely at plus and/or minus 5°C. 2. 2. Overcompensation (Q 10 = 0.5) occurred between 15 (44.4 μl O 2 g −1 hr −1 ) and 20 C (31.2 μl O 2 g −1 hr −1 ). 3. 3. Virtually complete metabolic acclimation (Q 10 = 1.2) occurred between 20 and 25 C (34.6 μl O 2 g −1 hr −1 ). Presumably this results in considerable energy savings for P. dorsalis during summer. 4. 4. Inverse metabolic compensation was indicated by the high Q 10 (4.3) between 5 (11.1 μl O 2 g −1 hr −1 ) and 10° C (15.4 μl O 2 g −1 hr −1 ). 5. 5. Higher metabolic sensitivity to temperatures (Q 10 = 2.2–3.6) in the 5–15 C range should enable P. dorsalis to quickly take advantage of its heterogeneous thermal environment through rapid adjustment of its metabolic activity.
Bias-Corrected Estimator of Factor Loadings in Bayesian Factor Analysis:

A Bayesian factor analysis model is implemented to formulate estimators of the hyperparameters. Motivated by a simulation study that revealed significant bias in the Bayes estimates of factor loadings, new bias-corrected estimators of factor loadings in the Bayesian factor analysis are proposed and their properties studied; a simulation study reveals a more favorable picture.
A Crank—Nicolson orthogonal spline collocation method for vibration problems

Abstract A discrete-time orthogonal spline collocation scheme is formulated and analyzed for a problem governing the transverse vibrations of a clamped square plate. The problem is reformulated as a Schrodinger-type system which is then approximated by a Crank–Nicolson orthogonal spline collocation scheme. This scheme is shown to be second-order accurate in time and of optimal order accuracy in space in the H 1 - and H 2 -norms.
Factorial and Construct Validity of the Body Parts Satisfaction Scale-Revised: An Examination of Minority and Nonminority Women:

In this two-part study, the psychometric properties of the Body Parts Satisfaction Scale, an extensively used body image attitudes measure, were tested. In Study 1-A, the two-factor structure of the Body Parts Satisfaction Scale-Revised (BPSS-R)—Satisfaction With Body and Satisfaction With Face—was established through exploratory procedures with a racially diverse sample of women (66.7% White American, 17.6% African American, 6.3% Mexican American, 5% Asian American, 0.6% Native American, and 3.8% unreported). In Study 1-B, the two-factors were validated through confirmatory procedures with a matched racially diverse sample of women (71.9% White American, 14.0% African American, 5.3% Mexican American, 4.7% Asian American, 1.2% Native American, and 2.9% unreported). Correlational analyses supported the construct and concurrent validity of the factors. To learn more about body image attitudes within racial/ethnic minorities, Study 2 examined the two-factor solution and psychometric properties in an independ...
Copper and iron deficiencies: effects on serum lipids and tissue minerals

Abstract To study the interrelationship between iron and copper on serum lipid concentrations, four diets were fed to growing rats: iron and copper deficient, copper-deficient, iron-deficient, iron and copper adequate. After 18 weeks, concentrations of iron and copper in organs and lipids in sera were determined. Iron deficiency alone or combined with copper deficiency resulted in reduced body weights, hemoglobin concentrations, hematocrits, and iron concentrations in liver, spleen, and heart. Hepatic copper was elevated 8-fold in iron deficiency. Copper deficiency alone or combined with iron deficiency resulted in reduced copper concentrations of liver and spleen and reduced ceruloplasmin. Serum triglycerides and cholesterol did not differ among experimental treatments. No significant effects of the interaction between dietary iron and copper on serum lipid levels were found.
Use of laser metrology optical truss for monitoring baseline motion

Optical interferometry has been shown to be a viable method for making high-precision astrometric measurements, with the capability for unprecedented accuracy in both narrow- and wide-angle regimes.' As astrometric resolution increases, however, the contribution of certain systematic internal errors of the instrument itself to the measured optical delay can become significant compared to the contributions due to angular position variations on the scale of 5-10 miliiarcseconds. In particular, the baseline of the interferometer can no longer be regarded as a fixed quantity at scales below about 1 micron. On the Mark III interferofneter at Mt. Wilson2, the major moving parts, aside from the optical delay lines, are the siderostats which mark the endpoints of the baseline. Non-ideal motions of the siderostat mirrors can cause changes in the instrument's baseline at the 1 micron level. To compensate for this motion, a prototype laser metrology system in the form of an optical tripod has been installed to measure changes in the instrument's baseline and supply corrections to the optical delay and delay offset data. This system has revealed a number of issues that are crucial to the development of future systems. In particular, future space-based systems3 will require laser metrology systems with accuracies of the order of 0.01-0. 1 nanometers, and the implications of the Mt. Wilson results on future systems are discussed, and current thinking on future designs is presented.
Nuclear shearing and chromatin structure

Abstract Disruption of HeLa nuclei by sonication under mild conditions (up to 60 sec) does not alter the repeating subunit structure of the micrococcal nuclease digested chromatin DNA, but sonication greater than 60 sec does. Moreover, purified chromatin obtained from sonicated nuclei, or by the nuclease digestion procedure of Noll et al 1975 , exhibits the same nuclease digestion pattern. In contrast, chromatin prepared by mechanical shearing, used conventionally for solubilizing chromatin, does not reveal the subunit structure. Furthermore, electron microscopy reveals that the beaded morphology of chromatin strands is maintained in mildly sonicated nuclei. Similarly, nucleosomes can be visualized in chromatin isolated from nuclear sonicates.
Selecting predictive features for recognition of hypersensitive sites of regulatory genomic sequences with an evolutionary algorithm

This paper proposes a method to improve the recognition of regulatory genomic sequences. Annotating sequences that regulate gene transcription is an emerging challenge in genomics research. Identifying regulatory sequences promises to reveal underlying reasons for phenotypic differences among cells and for diseases associated with pathologies in protein expression. Computational approaches have been limited by the scarcity of experimentally-known features specific to regulatory sequences. High-throughput experimental technology is finally revealing a wealth of hypersensitive (HS) sequences that are reliable markers of regulatory sequences and currently the focus of classification methods. The contribution of this paper is a novel method that combines evolutionary computation and SVM classification to improve the recognition of HS sequences. Based on experimental evidence that HS regions employ sequence features to interact with enzymes, the method seeks motifs to discriminate between HS and non-HS sequences. An evolutionary algorithm (EA) searches the space of sequences of different lengths to obtain such motifs. Experiments reveal that these motifs improve recognition of HS sequences by more than 10% compared to state-of-the-art classification methods. Analysis of these motifs reveals interesting insight into features employed by regulatory sequences to interact with DNA-binding enzymes.
A computer system for combined neuronal mapping and morphometry

A computer system has been developed which allows both mapping and planimetry of histological preparations. Data consist of cytoarchitectonic boundaries defined in low-power micrographs of thick sections, and nuclear and vascular profiles defined in high-power micrographs of semi-thin sections taken from the original thick tissue, and landmarks common to both. Data from these different preparations and magnifications are entered into the computer on a digitizing tablet and are stored as points in a real-world coordinate system, along with profile labels, landmarks for alignment purposes, and section depth. Subsequent programs determine parameters such as area and perimeter for each profile, as well as its geometric center and relationship to the cytoarchitectonic boundary. This mapping parameter allows morphometric analysis of profiles as a function of their position. Other programs allow display and manipulation of data in 3 dimensions, cell counts, and stereology. Data acquisition is done in the laboratory, using a micro-computer; analysis and display are done on a large time-sharing computer connected to the small machine by a telephone interface.
Infinite divisibility of a Bethe lattice Ising model

It is shown that the probability distribution for the infinite-volume, free-boundary-condition Ising ferromagnet on the Bethe lattice under zero external field is infinitely divisible with respect to the group operation of pointwise multiplication of spin variables.
Effects of H-2 and Vitamin A on Eye Defects in Congenic Mice

AbstractPregnant mice congenic with C57BL/10 (B10.A, B10.BR, B10.D2, B10.A(2R), B10.A(5R), B10.A(15R), B10.A(1R), B10.A(18R), and B10.OL) were fed Purina Mouse Chow or the same diet plus 200 IU of vitamin A daily. The pregnant dams were sacrificed on the 18th day of gestation and the fetuses were sexed and examined for defects in eye development. It was found that the frequency of microphthalmia and anophthalmia in the female progeny of mice fed Mouse Chow was 7.4–9.2% in B10.A and B10.BR, 4.0–5.5% in B10.A(18R), B10, B10.A(5R), B10.A(1R), B10.A(15R), and B10.A(2R), and 0.8% and 1.4% in B10.D2 and B10.OL mice, respectively. On average, the frequency of these defects in the female progeny was 6.2 times greater than that in males (P < 0.001). The right eye was 5.8 times more often affected than the left (P < 0.001). The addition of vitamin A to the diet increased the frequency of these eye abnormalities in all strains, suggesting that this effect is not mediated by loci associated with H-2, as is the case w...
Ultracentrifugal characteristics of macroamylasemic serum

Abstract Sedimentation coefficients of the amylases present in the sera of 22 patients with macroamylasemia were measured by means of sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation using beef liver catalase (11.3 S) and the 7 S serum proteins as markers. The sedimentation coefficients of the macroamylases in 18 of the cases ranged from 7.7 S to 10.7 S; in four cases the activity peaks were too broad to assign a definite sedimentation coefficient. One exceptional case (Case 6) exhibited two peaks of amylase activity: one had a sedimentation coefficient greater than the 19 S serum proteins and the other a coefficient of 10.7 S. The normal-size amylase component seen on dextran gel filtration was no longer discernible after ultracentrifugation in eight of the cases. These observations, in contrast to those on the paper electrophoretic pattern of those sera, suggest that the macroamylase complexes in patients with macroamylasemia are not homogeneous. The observations also indicate that dextran gel filtration may lead to erroneous concepts regarding the component fractions of serum amylase and their molecular sizes because of interaction between amylase and dextran.
SAVINGS AND LOAN FRAUD AS ORGANIZED CRIME: TOWARD A CONCEPTUAL TYPOLOGY OF CORPORATE ILLEGALITY*

This paper proposes a classification scheme for distinguishing “organized crime” and “corporate crime” based not on the occupational position or social status of their perpetrators, but on the motives and methods of the offenses themselves. Using government documents, interviews with FBI investigators and thrift regulators, as well as a variety of secondary sources, it documents patterns of crime in the savings and loan industry and demonstrates that these conspiracies more closely approximate organized crime than corporate crime. Included in the discussion is a brief exploration of the other forms of corporate illegality to which this broader typology can be applied. The paper concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and policy implications of applying the organized crime model to certain forms of white-collar crime and argues that with the proliferation of financial fraud, it is imperative to replace traditional ad hominem assumptions about corporate illegality with more analytically useful distinctions based on the modus operandi.
Seasonal variation in carnitine levels of the ground squirrel, Citellus tridecemlineatus.

Abstract 1. 1. Carnitine (carn) and associated compounds were measured in plasma, heart, liver, skeletal muscle, brain, brown fat and kidney from ground squirrels ( Citellus tridecemlineatus ). 2. 2. Nonhibernating squirrels were maintained at 25°C, fed ad libitum , subjected to a 12L-12D photoperiod, and killed during June, October and February. Hibernating animals were housed in an 8°C dark chamber with no food for 40 days and sacrificed in Jan. 3. 3. Compared to June and October animals, plasma free carn, total tissue carn and tissue acylcarn/free carn increased significantly in January and February squirrels. No consistent seasonal differences were noted in tissue levels of free CoA, acetyl CoA or long chain acyl CoA. 4. 4. Increased carn levels in February animals may indicate an annual change in lipid metabolism which is independent of total food deprivation. light or decreased ambient temperature. High levels of plasma and tissue carn during hibernation support an increased capacity for fatty acid oxidation.
Record high mobilities for regioregular poly(3-octylthiophene)

Regioregular poly(3-alkylthiophene)s are promising candidates for plastic electronics. In particular, poly(3- hexylthiophene) (P3HT) has attracted considerable interest due to its excellent field effect mobility. However, not much attention has been given to poly(3-alkylthiophene)s with longer alkyl side chains, mainly because a few studies reported that longer side chain length was detrimental to field effect mobility. However, these past studies used untreated SiO 2 as the gate dielectric and commercially available polymers synthesized by the Rieke method. Here, all polymers tested were synthesized in house using our quasi-living GRIM method to yield well-defined clean polymers. For our first study, we synthesized P3HT and regioregular poly(3-octylthiohene) (P3OT), both with a high molecular weight (Mn of 40kDa and 35kDa, respectively). Regioregular P3HT required some sonication to dissolve in chloroform, whereas P3OT dissolved readily in chloroform at room temperature. Hole mobility was measured using bottom-contact geometry, with SiO 2 as gate dielectric. The SiO 2 surface was either untreated, or chemically treated with octyltrichlorosilane. Average mobility on untreated SiO 2 was 0.09 cm 2 /Vs for P3HT and 0.03 cm 2 /Vs for P3OT. Average mobility on OTS-8 treated SiO 2 , on the other hand, was 0.13 cm 2 /Vs for P3HT and 0.19 cm 2 /Vs for P3OT. The OTS-8 treatment therefore dramatically improved the mobility of P3OT. Both polymers had a maximum mobility of about 0.2 cm 2 /Vs for channel lengths ≥10 μm, and a mobility of 0.22 cm 2 /Vs was obtained several times for P3OT. To our knowledge, this is by far the highest mobility reported for P3OT.
Genetic Core Competencies: Exploring the Implications for Psychiatric Nursing:

Abstract Psychiatric nurses need to become knowledgeable about the basics of genetics and then keep up-to-date with the rapid explosion of genetics information and applications to clinical practice. The Human Genome Project has produced a map of the human genome composed of all the genetic information that makes up a human being. As a result, focus has been on genetic-related research, and a significant amount of media attention has been directed to the findings. This article provides information that psychiatric nurses need to move into the genetic era of health care, to be able to respond to questions, and to provide supportive care to patients. (J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc [2003]. 9, 1-6.)
Identification of 20 β-Hydroxyhydrocortisone in Rat Plasma After Administration of Hydrocortisone

Summary(1) After intravenous administration to rats, hydrocortisone-4-C14 was rapidly converted into several more polar compounds, detected by paper chromatographic methods combined with radioautog-raphy. (2) Evidence suggests that the most abundant of these is 20β-hydroxyhydrocorti-sone (Reichstein's Compound E). (3) An authentic specimen of this compound was found to be glycogenic in adrenalectomized mice but to be less active than hydrocortisone. The authentic compound corresponded in activity with the material isolated from rat blood.
Detection and classification of acoustic signals from fixed-wing aircraft

The acoustic emission from a twin propeller aircraft is analyzed in the frequency domain. The time-varying power spectrum estimate of the signal is generated. The approach is to generate frequency spectra for fixed time segments of the signal using the Welch method. A confidence interval is calculated, and if the confidence interval is too wide, the power spectrum estimate is not incorporated into the detection decision. The spectral peaks in the power spectrum estimate are identified by thresholding with a local mean. An algorithm to detect and classify the aircraft based on these spectral peaks is proposed. >
Geographic song discrimination in relation to dispersal distances in song sparrows

Abstract: Whether geographic variation in signals actually affects communication between individuals depends on whether discriminable differences in signals occur over distances that individuals move in their lifetimes. We measure the ability of song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) to discriminate foreign from local songs using foreign songs recorded at a series of increasing distances and compare the results with previous measurements of dispersal distances. We test discrimination in males using playback of songs on territories and measuring approach and in females using playback to estradiol‐treated captives and measuring courtship display. Females fail to discriminate against foreign songs recorded at 18 km but do discriminate against foreign songs recorded at 34, 68, 135, and 540 km. Males fail to discriminate against foreign songs recorded at 18, 34, 68, 135, and 270 km but do discriminate against foreign songs from 540 km. Females are more discriminating, but even they do not discriminate at a distance...
Kinetics and Interpenetration of Ionically Self-Assembled Dendrimer and PAZO Multilayers

Multilayer films comprised of a generation 3.0 dendrimer and NLO-active polyanion PAZO were formed by ionic self-assembly. The films were studied by UV−visible spectroscopy, single-wavelength ellipsometry, and second-harmonic generation. We show that the multilayer formation mechanism involves an initial adsorption of the polymer that reaches saturation after 5 min, while conformational changes equilibrate after 10 min. The terminal layer is more loosely packed than the nonterminal layers that have interpenetrated zones containing both the dendrimer and PAZO. Most of the anisotropic order of the NLO-active chromophores is thought to exist at the interfacial regions between these layers. From SHG polarization studies, we determine the angle of these ordered PAZO chromophores to be 20.5° ± 5° with respect to the surface normal.
A Graphical Illustration of the EM Algorithm

Abstract The EM algorithm is a method for producing a sequence of parameter estimates that, under mild regularity conditions, converges to the MLE. The EM algorithm is well regarded, in part because of two monotonicity properties: convergence to the MLE is monotone, and the value of the likelihood function increases with each iteration. A graphical illustration of the EM algorithm makes these properties intuitively apparent in the one-parameter case. In addition, a well-known result regarding the rate of convergence of the algorithm can be inferred.
Stxbp4 Regulates ΔNp63 Stability by Suppression of RACK1-Dependent Degradation

p63, a member of the p53 tumor suppressor family, is essential for the development of epidermis as well as other stratified epithelia. Collective evidence indicates that DeltaNp63 proteins, the N-terminally deleted versions of p63, are essential for the proliferation and survival of stratified epithelial cells and squamous cell carcinoma cells. But in response to DNA damage, DeltaNp63 proteins are quickly downregulated in part through protein degradation. To elucidate the mechanisms by which DeltaNp63 proteins are maintained at relatively high levels in proliferating cells but destabilized in response to stress, we sought to identify p63 interactive proteins that regulate p63 stability. We found that Stxbp4 and RACK1, two scaffold proteins, play central roles in balancing DeltaNp63 protein levels. While Stxbp4 functions to stabilize DeltaNp63 proteins, RACK1 targets DeltaNp63 for degradation. Under normal growth conditions, Stxbp4 is indispensable for maintaining high basal levels of DeltaNp63 and preventing RACK1-mediated p63 degradation. Upon genotoxic stress, however, Stxbp4 itself is downregulated, correlating with DeltaNp63 destabilization mediated in part by RACK1. Taken together, we have delineated key mechanisms that regulate DeltaNp63 protein stability in vivo.
Empowering students and building confidence in novice programmers through Gauntlet

All freshmen at the United States Military Academy take an information technology course in which they learn fundamental programming skills using Java. For novice programmers, Java's compile-time errors can be undecipherable. Instructors noted that students made the same mistakes and became frustrated trying to understand the error messages and correct their code often wasting hours of time on a simple error. Given our focus on problem solving in the course as opposed to debugging code, we needed a new approach. Our initial premise was that we could significantly enhance the student experience and instructor workload by catching and explaining the top fifty programming errors in a pre-compiler. To empower the students, we developed a program called Gauntlet that pre-processes student source code and explains in layman's terms each of the syntax errors. Gauntlet also finds many common novice-level semantic errors that do not necessarily result in syntax errors. Gauntlet empowers students to solve their own problems with system development efforts.
The Commodification of Pollution and a Preemptive Double Movement in Environmental Governance: the Case of Water Quality Trading

The management of environmental pollution has traditionally been accomplished via the regulatory power of the state, but more recently the rise of a new, market-based form of governance has been observed. This article examines the sector of water quality trading, in which caps are placed on surface water pollution and polluters can purchase “offset credits” from farms or other polluters who are under their cap. Using a content analysis of program case studies and federal and state trading rules, the author analyzes this emergent form of environmental governance using an expanded Polanyian framework that he terms the preemptive double movement. Instead of the state reacting to the dangers of a new market form after the fact, here the state uses its existing authority to constrain the market so that further environmental damage does not result. The author describes eight specific regulatory mechanisms that illustrate this preemptive double movement at work.
State AMT for Individuals: An Analysis and Assessment

The authors analyze the problems that state taxpayers face as the federal alternative minimum tax changes and some state AMTs change along with it. State legislators may face growing difficulty in justifying the AMT's arcane rules and substantial compliance costs, the authors say.
Cognitive interventions for Primary Progressive Aphasia: Promising initial results highlight the need for more systematic research targeting impairment, function, and quality of life

Carthery-Goulart, M. T., da Silveira, A. D. C., Machado, T. H., Mansur, L. L., Parente, M. D. M., Senaha, M. L. H., ... & Nitrini, R. (2013). Nonpharmacological interventions for cognitive impairments following primary progressive aphasia. Dementia & Neuropsychologia, 7, 121–131.Source of funding and declaration of interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest.
A supplementary study of response uncertainty and relative expected value in multiple-choice decision behavior

Data from a previous study are reanalyzed. The study is typical 10-choice probability learning task including 1500 trials. The results demonstrate the feasibility of decomposing multiple-choice decision behavior into two distinct processes. The first process is concerned with the uncertainty of the response distribution, and the second process is concerned with the allocation of the responses to the available alternatives.
Influence of Season and Diet on Feedlot Performance of Bison1

Bison (Bison bison) feeders have little information available on feeds and feedlot management. The objectives of this study were to determine feedlot performance of bison bull calves fed during the four seasons of the year using four different diets. Weaned intact male calves (n = 78, avg. wt. 214 kg, avg. age 272 d) were randomly assigned to four different feedlot diets in a 4 diet × 4 period (season) Latin Square design. Periods were approximately 80 d long and closely associated with spring, summer, fall, and winter. Dietary treatments based on major or unique ingredients in the formulation were: 1) wheat screenings, 2) wheat middlings from durum wheat, 3) crambe meal, and 4) a commercial bison ration. Daily gains averaged 0.78 kg during spring, 0.63 kg during summer, 0.80 kg during fall, and 0.17 kg during the winter with a standard error of ± 0.11 kg. Gains were lower (P 0.10) in dry matter intake per unit animal weight were detected due to season; however, hay intake increased (P<0.10) during the winter on a per head basis. Daily gains were not different (P=0.24) for dietary treatments when pooled across all seasons. Because significantly lower gains (P<0.01) were observed during the winter, dietary treatments were reanalyzed using only spring, summer, and fall data. Average daily gains were 0.78 kg for screenings, 0.69 kg for crambe meal, 0.74 kg for wheat midds, and 0.73 kg for the commercial feed with a standard error of ± 0.05. The screenings diet produced greater gains (P=0.07) than crambe meal with the other two treatments intermediate. Season has a major impact on gain and feed efficiency for feedlot bison. There appears to be some variation in animal performance based on ingredients in the diet.
Collecting and conserving method of wild rice germplasm resources

The appropriate collecting and conserving methods are the prerequisite for the genetic diversity conservation of wild rice germplasm.The collecting and conserving methods for wild rice germplasm were reviewed in this paper.The genebank,germplasm nursery and ex-situ conservation for wild rice are complementary.The conservation environments for different wild rice species should simulate respectively their habitats as far as possible at germplasm nursery.When collecting,a strategic sampling method should be designed according to the biological characteristics and environmental conditions of wild rice.The sampling plan should consider the number of individuals within a given population,the methods of sampling in relation to the genetic structure of the population under consideration and the sites where populations will be collected.
Achieving Clinical Competencies Through Community-Based Clinical Experiences

BACKGROUND: Twenty-five percent of American adults experience a diagnosable psychiatric mental health (PMH) problem each year, and acute care medical-surgical nurses carry on average a five- to six-patient load per shift. Traditionally, U.S. PMH clinical experiences have occurred on inpatient units located within acute care hospitals or psychiatric hospital settings. However, many nursing programs are moving much of the PMH clinical experience to community-based settings. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to investigate how prelicensure undergraduate baccalaureate (BSN) student nurses and their faculty perceive students’ ability to achieve learning outcomes in community-based PMH clinical settings. This study’s research questions include the following: (a) What are student nurses’ perceptions of their abilities to achieve learning outcomes in community-based PMH clinical settings? (b) What are faculty’s perceptions of the students’ abilities to achieve learning outcomes in community-based PMH clinical settings?...
A science of individuals. Medicine and uncertainty.

While the Individual man is an Insoluble puzzle, In the aggregate he becomes a mathematical certainty. You can, for example, never foretell what any one man will do, but you can say with precision what an average number will be up to.
Deactivation of Cu2O(100) by CO Poisoning

We have performed kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) simulations of 13 reaction processes for CO oxidation on the O-terminated Cu2O(100) surface to calculate the conversion rate of CO to CO2. We find that CO adsorption at O vacancy sites prevents dissociative adsorption of O2 onto the Cu2O(100) surface and accordingly CO oxidation of the Cu2O(100) surface is poisoned by CO. As a result, we could obtain a 100 % conversion rate only for a brief period of time.
Overview of Global Land Use, Food Security and the Environment

Feeding the world’s population while ensuring the environmental sustainability is one of the world’s ‘grand challenges’. As we look ahead to the middle of this century, will the world’s agricultural resource base be up to the task of meeting the diverse demands being placed on it by growing population, rising incomes, growing biofuel production and rising demand for land-based environmental services? In this chapter we lay out a framework for thinking about the long run sustainability of the world’s food and environmental systems. This model brings together factors from the demand side (population, income, biofuels) as well as the supply side (technological progress, climate change, competing land uses) in order to predict the equilibrium use of land in agriculture over the long run. Absent economic responses, this boils down to a food race between demand growth and improving yields. By bringing the responsiveness of demand and supply to scarcity into the picture, we find that the resource requirements due to growing demands are muted. This framework also gives us a vehicle for determining how much of the adjustment to potential scarcity will come through reduced consumption and how much from increased supplies. The former has important consequences for nutrition, while the latter can have serious environmental impacts. This basic framework, which is fully developed in Appendix B, forms the basis for the economic analysis throughout this book.
Planning for the American Dream: The College-Savings Behavior of Asian and Latino Foreign-Born Parents in the United States

Rapid growth in the population of children of immigrants has occurred during an era of soaring college costs in the United States. Despite well-established knowledge that immigrant parents hold high educational expectations for their children and that children of immigrants will make up a large share of the U.S. college-aged population, little is known about how immigrant families prepare financially for their children’s postsecondary education. We use data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 to examine the patterns and predictors of college savings behavior among Asian and Latino foreign-born parents of high school students in the United States. Relative to white U.S.-born parents, Asian immigrant parents have higher odds of saving and have more money saved for their 10th-grader’s college education. In contrast, Latino immigrant parents are less likely than white U.S.-born parents to save for their children’s college education. However, among parents who save, Latino immigrant parents do not differ from white U.S.-born parents in the amount saved. For both Asian and Latino immigrant parents, income is less predictive of saving than it is for white U.S.-born parents, and the odds of saving increase with U.S. experience. Findings improve understanding of college access and the long-term socioeconomic prospects of children of immigrants in the U.S.
Genome-wide associations of CD46 and IFI44L genetic variants with neutralizing antibody response to measles vaccine

Population-based studies have revealed 2–10% measles vaccine failure rate even after two vaccine doses. While the mechanisms behind this remain unknown, we hypothesized that host genetic factors are likely to be involved. We performed a genome-wide association study of measles specific neutralizing antibody and IFNγ ELISPOT response in a combined sample of 2872 subjects. We identified two distinct chromosome 1 regions (previously associated with MMR-related febrile seizures), associated with vaccine-induced measles neutralizing antibody titers. The 1q32 region contained 20 significant SNPs in/around the measles virus receptor-encoding CD46 gene, including the intronic rs2724384 (p value = 2.64 × 10−09) and rs2724374 (p value = 3.16 × 10−09) SNPs. The 1q31.1 region contained nine significant SNPs in/around IFI44L, including the intronic rs1333973 (p value = 1.41 × 10−10) and the missense rs273259 (His73Arg, p value = 2.87 × 10−10) SNPs. Analysis of differential exon usage with mRNA-Seq data and RT-PCR suggests the involvement of rs2724374 minor G allele in the CD46 STP region exon B skipping, resulting in shorter CD46 isoforms. Our study reveals common CD46 and IFI44L SNPs associated with measles-specific humoral immunity, and highlights the importance of alternative splicing/virus cellular receptor isoform usage as a mechanism explaining inter-individual variation in immune response after live measles vaccine.
Lesions caused by virulent Aeromonas hydrophila in farmed catfish ( Ictalurus punctatus and I. punctatus × I. furcatus) in Mississippi.

In 2009, a virulent strain of Aeromonas hydrophila caused severe disease and high mortalities (motile aeromonad septicemia variant [MASv]) in farmed channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) and hybrid...
Universal newborn eye screening: an effective strategy to improve ocular health?

Universal newborn eye screening is gaining increased interest as a potential way to reduce long-term visual impairment through early identification of ocular abnormalities. The number of skilled healthcare providers available to provide bedside examinations for a universal newborn eye screening program is inadequate, but advances in retinal fundus imaging and telemedicine systems have enabled the execution of several pilot studies in India, China and the United States.1, 2, 3 In the study by Goyal and colleagues, they report on fundus image screening of 1152 newborn infants in an Eastern Indian hospital from March 2014 to October 2015.4
Animals and Hominid Development

Abstract The theme of this chapter is the relationship between meat consumption and hominid evolution. It is argued that in hominid evolution, scavenging led to hunting and then a virtuous circle with improvements in hunting techniques and technologies producing increases in meat available for consumption and more energy and other essential nutrients critical for brain development. The primates are predominantly fruit eating. Hominids are most closely related to the great apes (Superfamily Hominoidea) and then to the Old World monkeys and apes (Parvorder Catarrhini). The last common ancestors to hominids and chimpanzees and bonobos lived about 6 million years ago in Africa. There was a divergence with multiple Hominin species in the genus Ardipithecus, Australopithecus, Paranthropus, and Homo. These transitioned to fully bipedal successful hunters with large brains and smaller gastrointestinal tracts. They were omnivorous, cooking their food, increasingly spreading geographically, and impacting their environment. Also discussed, are the impact of the First Americans and their hunting on native animal populations and the extinction of the megafauna.
Partners in Crime: Phenolic Glycolipids and Macrophages

Two recent articles advance our understanding of mycobacterial pathogenesis, revealing key roles for bacterially derived phenolic glycolipids (PGLs). In leprosy, Mycobacterium leprae PGL-1 uniquely subverts local macrophages to produce neurotoxic nitric oxide (NO), leading to nerve demyelination. In a related model, Mycobacterium marinum PGL stimulates the recruitment of growth-conducive monocytes to sites of initial infection as an early immune evasion strategy.
Bloody urine – the list of differential diagnoses lengthens, but diagnostics remain the same

Summary The cause of haematuria often can be surmised based on a horse's signalment, recent history, and clinical signs that may accompany haematuria. The site, if not the cause, of haemorrhage can sometimes be revealed by examining that portion of the urinary tract palpable per rectum, by endoscopically examining the urethra and bladder, or by ultrasonographically examining the kidneys. When cystolithiasis or urethrolithiasis is determined to be the cause of haematuria, further examination is indicated to identify disease of one or both kidneys that might have precipitated formation of the urolith. Contrast-enhanced, cross-sectional imaging of the abdomen of small equids might be of value when a vascular anomaly of a kidney is suspected. Neoplastic cells can sometimes be found in the urine of horses suffering from neoplasia of the bladder or in peritoneal fluid of horses suffering from renal neoplasia. When a kidney is determined to be the source of haemorrhage, urine can be obtained for bacterial culture and cytological examination by passing tubing through the biopsy port of an endoscope into the ureter draining the kidney in question. Histological examination of tissue obtained by biopsy of the kidney or the mucosa of the bladder may be indicated when neoplasia of one of these organs is suspected. Immunohistochemical examination of endoscopically obtained tissue from a cystic carcinoma can identify whether the neoplastic cells express COX-2 receptors, thereby determining if treating the horse with a COX-2 selective NSAID might be effective.