cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Comparison of Penile Brachial Index and Angiography: Evaluation of Corpora Cavernosa Arterial Inflow

AbstractWe studied 32 impotent patients with angiography. The penile brachial index was calculated from the maximal penile arterial pressure measured from any penile artery. In 15 of the 32 patients an attempt was made to isolate the cavernous artery pressure (cavernous artery penile brachial index). There was a poor correlation between angiography and penile brachial index (r equals 0.314) and between angiography and cavernous penile brachial index (r equals 0.637). We also evaluated 15 normal individuals and a wide range of penile brachial index values was found (0.7 to 1.0).Penile brachial index values from normal patients overlapped with those from impotent patients. Penile brachial index values from impotent patients with normal and abnormal arteries (as determined by angiography) overlapped. The fact that penile brachial index measurements are performed in the flaccid state and without direct visualization of the cavernous arteries accounts for some of the variability of the penile brachial index test.
Crease Instability on the Surface of a Solid

Crease instability takes place on the surface of a solid when the lateral compression exceeds a critical level. Despite the weak singularity at the cusp, formation of a crease relieves the elastic energy through the local out-of-plane deformation. Due to the singular fields of deformation and stress, a crease differs from wrinkles in both appearance and mathematical description. The singularity also prevents common linearization-based methods for stability analysis from correctly predicting the critical condition for the instability. This chapter first reviews the recently published energy method which has successfully calculated the critical strain for crease formation. Examples of more general loading conditions, such as the crease instability on growing tissues, are demonstrated. Moreover, the equilibrium states of a crease on a film of finite thickness are studied. The approach of extrapolating the results of thinner films actually yields a more accurate result than the energy method. With the aid of this new approach, the later part of the chapter focuses on the effect of material properties on crease instabilities. The effect of material compressibility, as well as the crease formation on a swelling gel, is further investigated.
P300 Latency Estimation Using Least Mean Squares Filter

Event-related potentials (ERPs) are the brain response directly related to specific events or stimuli. The P300 ERP is a positive deflection nominally 300ms post-stimulus that is related to mental decision making processes and also used in P300-based speller systems. Single-trial estimation of P300 responses will help to understand the underlying cognitive process more precisely and also to improve the speed of speller brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). This paper aims to develop a single-trial estimation of the P300 amplitudes and latencies by using the least mean squares (LMS) adaptive filtering method. Results for real data from people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) have shown that the LMS filter can be effectively used to estimate P300 latencies.
Endemic Fishes of the Red Sea

The Red Sea is characterised by a unique composition of species of fishes which, based on unpublished data of the present authors, currently consists of 1166 species from 159 families whose habitats range from shallow waters to the deep sea. There is a total of 1120 species in coastal waters of the Red Sea recorded within an overall depth range 0–200 m; among them, 165 species are exclusively endemics to the Red Sea, whilst another 51 species are restricted to the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden only, and 22 species living at depths greater than 200 m are endemic. As the westernmost peripheral area of the Indo-West Pacific region, the Red Sea is at the opposite end of the distributions of many widespread coral reef organisms that range to the easternmost regions, such as the Hawaiian Islands, Easter Island, and the Marquesas Islands. It is noted that these areas exhibit high percentages of endemism among coastal fishes. The Hawaiian archipelago has 30.7% of its fishes as endemic species; Easter Island has 21.7%, the Red Sea 14.7% (19.3% when combined with the Gulf of Aden), and the Marquesas Islands have 13.7% endemic fishes. The Red Sea is 2250 km in length and it is very deep, with an average depth of 490 m, and a maximum depth of 3040 m. As expected, the fish fauna is far from homogeneous. The most divergent sector is the Gulf of Aqaba. We have noted that its entrance to the rest of the Red Sea is shallow. It has a maximum width of only 24 km, but a maximum depth of 1850 m. The shore drops off quickly to deep water. The prevailing cross wind creates upwelling, resulting in surface sea temperature at least as low as 21 ℃. Twenty-two of 46 species of Red Sea fishes living at depths greater than 200 m in the Red Sea are endemic (48% endemism). The Gulf of Aqaba has 22 endemic coastal species of fishes and eight endemic deep-dwelling species. By contrast, the neighboring Gulf of Suez, with extensive sand flats and a maximum depth of 70 m, has only seven endemic species of fishes. Of the 165 endemic Red Sea species of fishes, only two are elasmobranchs. Twenty-three families of Red Sea fishes have more than 20% of endemic species with the highest rates of endemism occurring among the Pseudochromidae, Schindleriidae (83.3% and 100% respectively) and the family Gobiidae with the greatest number of endemic species (36 of 139 recorded species). A brief summary of the history of scientific research on Red Sea fishes is provided together with complete lists of endemic species for (i) the entire Red Sea (separately for coastal and deep-dwelling fishes); (ii) the Red Sea combined with the Gulf of Aden; (iii) the Gulf of Aqaba and the Gulf of Suez; and (iv) Lessepsian migrants. Ongoing research is likely to reveal additional endemic species in the region.
Local buckling analysis of periodic sinusoidal corrugated composite panels under uniaxial compression

Abstract The critical local buckling of simply-supported sinusoidal panels subjected to uniaxial compression using the Rayleigh-Ritz method is investigated. With increased applications of thin-walled composite structures in engineering, these corrugated panels are especially popular due to their high stiffness to weight ratio and high out-of-plane rigidities. Failure of such thin-walled panels occurs mainly in buckling rather than material failure; thus, it leads to the importance of buckling failure analysis. Conventional methods are limited when analyzing these panels in local buckling because of its unique geometries. Hence, a semi-analytical solution is developed to predict the local buckling based on classical shell theory with a unit cell approach, and it shows excellent correlation with the results based on the numerical finite element analysis . A parametric study is conducted to evaluate the effects of the thickness, aspect ratio, and the corrugated amplitude of the panel on buckling. It is revealed that the derived solution can accurately capture the local buckling behavior at high thickness/radius of curvature ratios, any aspect ratios, and high corrugated amplitudes. Additionally, the effects of orthotropy, Poisson’s ratios and twisting capacities on the buckling behavior are explored. The proposed semi-analytical solution can be effectively used to aid in the efficient and accurate design analysis and optimization of corrugated panels.
Accounting for task switching when measuring listening effort: A cautionary tale for the dual-task paradigm

Listening in everyday environments inevitably involves task switching. For example, one might be typing up an abstract while listening to children singing in the background or one might be listening to a radio news program while finding a parking space on a crowded street. While there is an extensive body of research that examines how cognitive control processes support the ability to adjust behavior dynamically, how task-switching impacts listening is less explored. In this talk, different kinds of costs associated with task switching will be reviewed. Specifically, how these well-studied switch costs could impact our interpretations of dual-task paradigm findings—an experimental framework that is often used to interrogate listening effort—will also be discussed. [Work supported by NIH R01 DC013260].
US hedge fund activism

Notwithstanding the focus on hedge fund activism, fundamental questions remain. How much does hedge fund activism really matter? What has academic study contributed to the understanding of hedge fund activism? And what, if anything, does research on hedge fund activism illuminate about the viability of regulation in the area? This chapter for the Research Handbook on Shareholder Power (edited by Randall Thomas and Jennifer Hill) addresses these questions from three perspectives. First, it assesses the historical development of scholarship on hedge fund activism, from the first attempts to define “hedge funds” and “activists,” and to gather data about both. Second, it examines and critiques one of the “hot issues” that has emerged from the debate about hedge fund activism – the potential separation of voting and economic interests – and offers a new way of conceptualizing that issue, derived in part from tax regulation. Third, it compares regulatory approaches to hedge fund activism in the U.S. with approaches elsewhere. It closes with a discussion of one recent and controversial incident of hedge fund activism in Canada, involving shares of the Telus Corporation, and examines the role of academic research in assessing that incident.
Cycling and Spatial Navigation in an Enriched, Immersive 3D Virtual Park Environment: A Feasibility Study in Younger and Older Adults

BACKGROUND: Cognitive decline is a significant public health concern in older adults. Identifying new ways to maintain cognitive and brain health throughout the lifespan is of utmost importance. Simultaneous exercise and cognitive engagement has been shown to enhance brain function in animal and human studies. Virtual reality (VR) may be a promising approach for conducting simultaneous exercise and cognitive studies. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of cycling in a cognitively enriched and immersive spatial navigation VR environment in younger and older adults. METHODS: 20 younger (25.9±3.7 years) and 20 older (63.6±5.6 years) adults participated in this study. Participants completed four trials (2 learning, 2 recall) of cycling while wearing a head-mounted device and navigating a VR park environment. Questionnaires were administered to assess adverse effects, mood, presence, and physical exertion levels associated with cycling in the VR environment. RESULTS: 4 subjects withdrew from the study due to adverse effects, yielding a 90% completion rate. Simulator sickness levels were enhanced in both age groups with exposure to the VR environment but were within an acceptable range. Exposure to the virtual environment was associated with high arousal and low stress levels, suggesting a state of excitement, and most participants reported enjoyment of the spatial navigation task and VR environment. No association was found between physical exertion levels and simulator sickness levels. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that spatial navigation while cycling is feasible and that older adults report similar experiences to younger adults. VR may be a powerful tool for engaging physical and cognitive activity in older adults with acceptable adverse effects and with reports of enjoyment. Future studies are needed to assess the efficacy of a combined exercise and cognitive VR program as an intervention for promoting healthy brain aging, especially in older adults with increased risk of age-related cognitive decline.
Approaches for Disrupting Tissue-Associated Biofilms

There is no question that new antibiotics are sorely needed as bacteria become more and more resistant. However, another important cause of antibiotic failure is the tolerance bacteria exhibit to treatment when they are present within a biofilm. In contrast to the heritable changes bacteria undergo when acquiring new resistance determinants, tolerance is a reversible phenotype that is dependent upon being in a biofilm. Therefore, approaches that can successfully disrupt biofilms are likely to potentiate the efficacy of antibiotics. Biofilm removal by mechanical means is the conventional and most straightforward approach and includes desloughing and debridement. However, newer experimental approaches that target integral components of the biofilm itself are now showing promise.
Delayed kindergarten entry among low-income, ethnically diverse children: Prevalence, predictors, and selection patterns

Abstract School readiness is a concern for parents when deciding whether/when to enroll their children in kindergarten. Increased rigor/accountability standards in kindergarten may push parents to delay their child’s entry into school, known as “academic redshirting.” Current estimates suggest that 3–7% of students delay kindergarten entry in the US and that this is more common among high-SES families. The current project examined prevalence, predictors, and selection patterns of academic redshirting among a large, ethnically and linguistically diverse preschool sample (n = 30,967; 57.5% Latino, 34.7% Black, 7.8% White/Other) that was prospectively followed into kindergarten. Overall, delayed kindergarten entry was rare in this low-income sample—only 305 (1%) students entered kindergarten a year later than their age eligibility. Bivariate tests indicated that boys, native English speakers, students in poverty, younger students, and students who attended center-based childcare were more likely to delay entry than their peers. Further, delayed-entry students had poorer preschool cognitive, language, fine motor, and social/behavioral skills, on average, than those who entered on time. After including all variables in a logistic regression, demographic associations changed, suggesting that White children were more likely than their minority peers to delay entry, and that there were no differences by poverty status. After accounting for school readiness variables, gender associations disappeared, suggesting that boys may be more likely to delay entry due to poorer school readiness skills. We also examined evidence for positive and negative selection into kindergarten entry and found that most students in our predominantly low-income sample were negatively selected (i.e., had poorer school readiness skills prior to delayed entry).
The association between minority racial/ethnic groups and travel mode choices

This study highlights the association between minority racial/ethnic groups and travel mode choices according to a multitude of neighborhood characteristics, travel modes, and purposes in the Delaware Valley region. This study finds that minority racial/ethnic groups show different travel mode choices than whites. For instance, Blacks and Hispanics are less inclined to walk/bike, whereas whites prefer to use household carpool in high density areas when they go home. This study also highlights that minority racial/ethnic groups choose different travel modes according to travel purposes. For instance, blacks in ethnic neighborhoods are less inclined to use household carpool, whereas Asians are more apt to use it for the purpose of home. The results show that urban planners should design transportation policies for minority groups based on race/ethnicity, neighborhood characteristics, and travel purposes.
Identification of Life Models for Li-Ion Batteries Using Penalized Regression and Bilevel Optimization

Reduced-order physics-based life models are extremely useful for rapidly predicting battery state-of-health and for simulating battery lifetime in arbitrary aging conditions. However, identification of well-parameterized models is difficult. This is because, for maximum usefulness in predicting lifetime under a variety of conditions, aging test data exhibits many degradation mechanisms, which all need to be accurately modeled. However, because aging tests are time-consuming and expensive, especially for large-format batteries, a minimum of tests are conducted while probing many stress factors. Building a well-parameterized model is then very challenging: an under-parameterized model will neglect critical degradation modes, and an over-parameterized model will extrapolate poorly to new testing conditions. To complicate this matter, the functional form of the model for any individual degradation rate can be very difficult to identify. In this work, the statistical tools of penalized regression and bilevel optimization are used to help identify both the functional forms of and optimize the parameters of reduced-order life models, accelerating identification of robust models. Model robustness is demonstrated through traditional statistics methods of cross-validation and sensitivity analysis, uncertainty quantification through bootstrap resampling and Monte-Carlo simulation, and simulation of real-world use cases.
Trends in Emergency Department Computed Tomography Usage for Diagnosis of Peritonsillar Abscess

Objectives:Peritonsillar abscess (PTA) is the most common deep neck space infection and a frequent cause for otolaryngology consultation. Patients often undergo computed tomography (CT) scan for co...
Enhancing Police Services in the United States Through Public and Interagency Collaboration

Public service agencies must strive for effective and efficient service delivery. Notable options available for enhancing efficacy include intra- and interagency cooperation and collaboration. At a time when government leaders are expecting most police departments to improve productivity while cutting agency budgets, there is an obvious call to “do more with less.” While intraorganizational cooperation has been a clear staple of the COMSTAT era, many law enforcement agencies have opted to engage in interagency cooperation in an effort to address many of the nontraditional law enforcement responsibilities, including dealing with the mentally ill, homeless, and other social services oriented assignments. The New York City Police Department, under the guidance of former Police Commissioner William Bratton, has developed the Office of Collaborative Policing in an effort to develop innovative solutions in partnership with other public and private organizations. A number of examples of successful collaborative initiatives will be outlined to reveal how interagency partnerships can enhance police service delivery and improve public confidence in local law enforcement.
Feasibility, engagement, and acceptability of a behavioral pain management intervention for colorectal cancer survivors with pain and psychological distress: data from a pilot randomized controlled trial.

Colorectal cancer survivors report pain and psychological distress to be burdensome long-term cancer consequences. Quality cancer survivorship care includes interventions for managing these symptoms. Yet, no studies have tested the efficacy of an accessible behavioral intervention for colorectal cancer survivors with pain and comorbid psychological distress. This paper reports on the feasibility (i.e., accrual, attrition, and adherence to study procedures), engagement, acceptability, and descriptive outcomes of a telephone-based coping skills training (CST) intervention. This randomized pilot trial assigned colorectal cancer patients (N=31) to 5 sessions of CST or standard care. CST sessions focused on cognitive-behavioral theory-based coping skills tailored to colorectal cancer symptoms of pain and psychological distress. Participants completed assessments of pain severity, self-efficacy for pain management, health-related quality of life, and psychological distress at baseline, post-treatment, and 3-month follow-up. Data indicated strong feasibility, evidenced by high completion rates for intervention sessions and assessments (93% completed all sessions; M=48.7 days; baseline=100%; post-treatment=97%; 3-month follow-up=94%). Participants demonstrated robust engagement with CST (M days per week with reported skills use=3.8) and reported high protocol satisfaction (M=3.6/4.0). Descriptive statistics showed self-efficacy for pain management and health-related quality of life improved for all participants. Findings suggest that a telephone-based CST intervention has strong feasibility, evidenced by accrual, low attrition, and adherence to intervention sessions and assessments. Likewise, participant engagement and acceptability with CST were high. These data provide a foundation for larger randomized efficacy trials of the telephone-based CST intervention.
Designing Multimodal Datasets for NLP Challenges.

In this paper, we argue that the design and development of multimodal datasets for natural language processing (NLP) challenges should be enhanced in two significant respects: to more broadly represent commonsense semantic inferences; and to better reflect the dynamics of actions and events, through a substantive alignment of textual and visual information. We identify challenges and tasks that are reflective of linguistic and cognitive competencies that humans have when speaking and reasoning, rather than merely the performance of systems on isolated tasks. We introduce the distinction between challenge-based tasks and competence-based performance, and describe a diagnostic dataset, Recipe-to-Video Questions (R2VQ), designed for testing competence-based comprehension over a multimodal recipe collection (this http URL). The corpus contains detailed annotation supporting such inferencing tasks and facilitating a rich set of question families that we use to evaluate NLP systems.
Reappraisal of metabolic dysfunction in neurodegeneration: Focus on mitochondrial function and calcium signaling.

The cellular and molecular mechanisms that drive neurodegeneration remain poorly defined. Recent clinical trial failures, difficult diagnosis, uncertain etiology, and lack of curative therapies prompted us to re-examine other hypotheses of neurodegenerative pathogenesis. Recent reports establish that mitochondrial and calcium dysregulation occur early in many neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs), including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington's disease, and others. However, causal molecular evidence of mitochondrial and metabolic contributions to pathogenesis remains insufficient. Here we summarize the data supporting the hypothesis that mitochondrial and metabolic dysfunction result from diverse etiologies of neuropathology. We provide a current and comprehensive review of the literature and interpret that defective mitochondrial metabolism is upstream and primary to protein aggregation and other dogmatic hypotheses of NDDs. Finally, we identify gaps in knowledge and propose therapeutic modulation of mCa2+ exchange and mitochondrial function to alleviate metabolic impairments and treat NDDs.
Masks Don’t Work but You Should Get One: Circulation of the Science of Masking During the Covid-19 Pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic quickly increased public demand for scientific information, thus providing a stress test that can reveal whether, and how, the science communication environment is able to meet those demands. The topic of mask use by the general public emerged as particularly fraught. Informed by the intermediate agenda setting theory, framing theory, and research on flows of information, our chapter examines how scientific information about masks was disseminated and interpreted by the mainstream media and Twitter users during the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic. The study revealed that neither news media nor Twitter were securely in the lead when it comes to disseminating scientific articles. The analysis also demonstrated that both mainstream media and Twitter users cited the same scholarly articles in support of opposite positions regarding masks, and that media publications were more likely to communicate the uncertainty of the science than Twitter posts.
Pathophysiological Reactivities of Nitric Oxide

Nitric oxide (·NO) is a free radical signal transducing agent that mediates a variety of physiological processes. The cellular reactivity of ·NO may be regulated by reaction with heme proteins, metal complexes, thiols, O2 and superoxide (O 2 − ). To evaluate the pathophysiological role of ·NO in biological systems, its reactivity with thiols, which regulates physiological responses, and with O 2 − , which mediates pathological actions, was examined. Experimental evidence supporting a mechanism for the formation of S-nitrosothiols under physiological conditions indicates that ·NO reacts directly with reduced thiol to form an intermediate that is converted to S-nitrosothiol by the reduction of an electron acceptor. This novel mechanism for the formation of S-nitrosothiols can explain the presence of S-nitrosylated proteins in vivo. The nearly diffusion limited reaction of ·NO with O 2 − forms peroxynitrite (ONOO−), a relatively long-lived, highly reactive species. Peroxynitrite exhibits selective reactivity with proteins to form bioactive nitrotyrosine residues that have been detected in atherosclerosis, sepsis, inflammation, and neurodegenerative diseases. Tyrosine nitration results in inactivation of protein function and interferes with tyrosine phosphorylation, a key event in cellular signal transduction. These data indicate that the reactivity of ·NO with target molecules is critical in regulating its biological function.
Testing online helps with paper and pencil

Testing online help systems does not have to be limited to the final stages of a project. A paper-and-pencil scenario can help you identify problems in the help text, in the organization of information, and in the underlying design of the software. In addition, such tests can help you determine where to put hypertext links and graphics. >
Anatomic factors causing respiratory distress in acyanotic congenital cardiac disease. Special reference to bronchial obstruction.

Respiratory symptoms in acyanotic congenital cardiac disease may result from several factors, including cardiac failure and bronchial obstruction. Significant bronchial compression by hypertensive pulmonary arteries and, in some cases, the left atrium, also may occur. Sites of predilection are the left main bronchus and the left upper and right middle bronchi. The latter two sites correlate with distribution of lobar emphysema in acyanotic congenital cardiac disease.
Judicial Sovereignty: The Legacy of the Rehnquist Court

This review of John Noonan's book applauds the author for his careful, penetrating analysis of the Rehnquist Court's federalism theme. According to Narrowing the Nation's Power, the Rehnquist Court has rewritten the Constitution to advance federalism beyond anything recognizable in history. While Judge Noonan did not intend his book to be a close doctrinal analysis of all the Supreme Court's federalism cases in the past ten years, this review of the book brands the Court's work as "revisionism." This review asserts that the Supreme Court is engaged in judicial activism as it rewrites history in order to shift power back to the states at the expense of democratic principles and congressional prerogatives. The review goes beyond Judge Noonan's book by also analyzing Tenth Amendment cases as part of the larger rearticulation of federalism as an overarching constitutional and political doctrine. The review concludes that "while judicial review may have been the means to achieve the Court's federalism goals of strengthening the rights of others at the expense of Congress, ultimately the larger judicial and political shift, as ably demonstrated by Judge Noonan, has been structured - judicial supremacy over Congress' sovereignty and democratic values."
Digital Creativity: Techniques for Digital Media and the Internet

This comprehensive guide presents an overview of the digital production pipeline, shares principles and techniques for all types of new media, and examines how professionals create commercial art and fine art. It is an excellent resource for students and design professionals who need the skills and information necessary to succeed in the highly competitive world of digital design.
Induction of chemokines and prostaglandin synthesis pathways in luteinized human granulosa cells: potential role of luteotropin withdrawal and prostaglandin F2α in regression of the human corpus luteum

Our objective was to determine the effects of prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α) and withdrawal of luteotropic stimulants (forskolin or hCG) on expression of chemokines and prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2) in luteinized human granulosa cells. Human granulosa cells were collected from 12 women undergoing oocyte retrieval and were luteinized in vitro with forskolin or hCG. In first experiment, granulosa-lutein cells were treated with PGF2α, the primary luteolytic hormone in most species. In second experiment, granulosa cells that had been luteinized for 8 d had luteotropins withdrawn for 1, 2, or 3 d. Treatment with PGF2α induced mRNA for chemokine (c-x-c motif) ligand 2 (CXCL2) and CXC ligand 8 (CXCL8; also known as interleukin-8) in granulosa cells luteinized for 8 d but not in cells that were only luteinized for 2 d. Similarly, luteinization of human granulosa cells for 8 d with forskolin or hCG followed by withdrawal of luteotropic stimulants, not only decreased P4 production, but also increased mRNA concentrations for CXCL8, CXCL-2 (after forskolin withdrawal), and PTGS2. These results provide evidence for two key steps in differentiation of luteolytic capability in human granulosa cells. During 8 d of luteinization, granulosa cells acquire the ability to respond to luteolytic factors, such as PGF2α, with induction of genes involved in immune function and PG synthesis. Finally, a decline in luteotropic stimuli triggers similar pathways leading to induction of PTGS2 and possibly intraluteal PGF2α production, chemokine expression, leukocyte infiltration and activation, and ultimately luteal regression.
Borrelia host adaptation Regulator (BadR) regulates rpoS to modulate host adaptation and virulence factors in Borrelia burgdorferi.

Summary The RpoS transcription factor of Borrelia burgdorferi is a ‘gatekeeper’ because it activates genes required for spirochaetes to transition from tick to vertebrate hosts. However, it remains unknown how RpoS becomes repressed to allow the spirochaetes to transition back from the vertebrate host to the tick vector. Here we show that a putative carbohydrate-responsive regulatory protein, designated BadR (Borrelia host adaptation Regulator), is a transcriptional repressor of rpoS. BadR levels are elevated in B. burgdorferi cultures grown under in vitro conditions mimicking unfed-ticks and badR-deficient strains are defective for growth under these same conditions. Microarray and immunoblot analyses of badR-deficient strains showed upregulation of rpoS and other factors important for virulence in vertebrate hosts, as well as downregulation of putative tick-specific determinants (e.g. linear plasmid 28-4 genes). DNA-binding assays revealed BadR binds to upstream regions of rpoS. Site-directed mutations in BadR and the presence of phosphorylated sugars affected BadR’s binding to the rpoS promoters. badR-deficient B. burgdorferi were unable to colonize mice. Several putative tick-specific targets have been identified. Our study identified a novel regulator, BadR, and provides a link between nutritional environmental cues utilized by spirochaetes to adaptation to disparate conditions found in the tick and vertebrate hosts.
Removal of atmospheric effects from hyperspectral imaging data for remote sensing of coastal waters

Existing atmospheric correction algorithms for multi-channel remote sensing of ocean color from space were designed for retrieving water leaving radiances in the visible over clear deep ocean areas. The information about atmospheric aerosols is derived from channels between 0.66 and 0.87 micrometer, where the water leaving radiances are close to zero. The derived aerosol information is extrapolated back to the visible when retrieving water leaving radiances from remotely sensed data. For the turbid coastal environment, the water leaving radiances from the 0.66-micrometer channel may not be close to zero because of back scattering by suspended materials in the water. This channel may not be useful for deriving information on atmospheric aerosols. As a result, the algorithms developed for applications to clear ocean waters cannot be easily modified to retrieve water leaving radiances from remotely sensed data measured over the coastal environments. We have developed an atmospheric correction algorithm for hyperspectral remote sensing of ocean color with the near-future Coastal Ocean Imaging Spectrometer (COIS). The algorithm uses lookup tables generated with a vector radiative transfer code. Aerosol parameters are determined by a spectrum-matching technique utilizing channels located at wavelengths longer than 0.86 micrometer. The aerosol information is extracted back to the visible based on aerosol models during our retrieval of water leaving radiances. Quite reasonable results have been obtained when applying our algorithm to process hyperspectral imaging data acquired with an airborne imaging spectrometer.© (2001) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Lunar Rilles and Hawaiian Volcanic Features: Possible Analogues

In this paper we consider the origin of rilles on the lunar maria, both sinuous and those having straight line segments, from the point of view of lava tubes formed in surface lava flows, and also in terms of collapses along active fissures. Terrestrial examples of tube formation and collapse, as well as the large-scale collapse of a chain of craters built over an active fissure were observed on the Island of Hawaii by the writers and serve as the basis of comparison with lunar topography shown on Orbiter photographs of the Moon. We also consider the origin of apparent flow channels on steep slopes on the Moon, and conclude that these are often related to early stages in the formation of covered lava tubes.
Cytotoxicity of streptomycin and streptothricin.

SummarySeveral different preparations of streptomycin were tested on cultures of rabbit's spleen and were found to have a uniformly low toxicity for wandering cells and fibroblasts. Streptothricin had a relatively low cytotoxicity for leukocytes and macrophages but showed a fairly high cytotoxicity for fibroblasts.
The use of natural areas to establish environmental baselines

Abstract In order that wise decisions can be made in environmental management, an understanding is needed of ecosystem functioning and reaction to change. To obtain this information we must have continuing knowledge of the undisturbed ecosystem as a baseline against which to measure the effects of modifications. It is proposed that relatively undisturbed natural areas form the basic research tool for the establishment of such baselines. Thus, there is a need for a comprehensive natural area system to preserve, manage, and catalogue for use, the full range of natural area types. This, together with a network of environmental monitoring stations, should lead to the long-term continuation of the many baseline measurements required for necessary ecosystems analysis programmes. It is expected that such a system of natural area/baseline programmes will lead away from the narrow focus on pollution and towards an integrated approach to environmental quality and management.
Selective message distribution with people-tagging in user-collaborative environments

Oftentimes, we would like to distribute call-for-participation messages by email to people who are potentially interested in the topics of the corresponding events. Meanwhile, people either broadcast such messages to everyone in their organizations or maintain a number of mailing lists for different topics. But both approaches have drawbacks. In this paper, we explore the idea of automatically selecting recipients for broadcasting messages on different topics using people-tagging. In a collaborative people-tagging system, users can tag each other with the terms they want, and tags from different users are combined and aggregated. Tags applied to a user usually describe the user's attributes, such as her affiliation, expertise, and the projects she has been involved in. We can thus effectively find interested recipients by matching the content of messages with people's tags. A prototype of our solution has been implemented for a real-world and large-scale people-tagging system in IBM.
Thermal conductivity of dilute 3He4He mixtures near the superfluid transition

Abstract Thermal conductivity measurements of 4 He and very dilute mixtures of 3 He in 4 He (7 × 10 −4 X 3 −2 ) at saturated vapor pressures near the superfluid transition T λ ( X ) are reported. The results for the mixtures in the normal phase are compared with recent predictions by Dohm, Folk and Bhattacharjee, and Onuki. In the superfluid phase the data extrapolated to T λ ( X ) are compared with previous experiments and with predictions.
Experimental and numerical studies of injection molding with microfeatures

Injection molding with microstructures was investigated both experimentally and theoretically. A series of injection molding experiments with PP and PMMA was carried out in a long and a short rectangular mold containing microchannels with the thickness of either 50 or 100 μm and an aspect ratio of 5. The filling lengths in the microchannels were affected by injection speed, mold temperature, and channel location. A high injection speed or high mold temperature resulted in a longer filling length. The filling length in the microchannels decreased as the filling time in the main flow region increased. All filling lengths can be merged into a single curve vs. Fourier number based on the microchannel thickness. Comparison was also made between the experimental measurements and numerical simulation. The mold/melt heat transfer coefficient was found to be a critical factor in determining the filling lengths. The local heat transfer coefficient provided a much better agreement than a constant heat transfer coefficient. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 45:866–875, 2005. © 2005 Society of Plastics Engineers
Determining Ethanol Distribution in Phospholipid Multilayers with MAS−NOESY Spectra

The location of an ethanol molecule within a membrane, an issue of considerable controversy, was investigated directly by NMR with two-dimensional NOESY. Lipid and ethanol 1H NMR resonances of multilamellar liposomes were resolved by magic-angle spinning (MAS). We observed strong proton lipid−ethanol crosspeaks in dispersions of saturated dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine and monounsaturated stearoyloleoylphosphatidylcholine and in polyunsaturated stearoyldocosahexaenoylphosphatidylcholine. Crosspeak intensity has been interpreted in terms of an ethanol distribution function over the lipid bilayer. Ethanol resides with the highest probability at the lipid water interface near the lipid glycerol backbone and upper methylene segments of lipid hydrocarbon chains. Chain unsaturation has only a minor influence on the ethanol distribution function. In all cases, the ethanol concentration in the bilayer core is significantly lower. At ambient temperature all lipid−ethanol crosspeaks are positive. Crosspeak intensit...
A multivariate approach for persistence-based drought prediction: Application to the 2010–2011 East Africa drought

Summary The 2011 East Africa drought caused dire situations across several countries and led to a widespread and costly famine in the region. Numerous dynamic and statistical drought prediction models have been used for providing drought information and/or early warning. The concept of Ensemble Streamflow Prediction (ESP) has been successfully applied to univariate drought indicators (e.g., the Standardized Precipitation Index) for seasonal drought prediction. In this study, we outline a framework for using the ESP concept for multivariate, multi-index drought prediction. We employ the recently developed Multivariate Standardized Drought Index (MSDI), which integrates precipitation and soil moisture for describing drought. In this approach, the ESP concept is first used to predict the seasonal changes to precipitation and soil moisture. Then, the MSDI is estimated based on the joint probability of the predicted accumulated precipitation and soil moisture as composite (multi-index) drought information. Given its probabilistic nature, the presented model offers both a measure of drought severity and probability of drought occurrence. The suggested model is tested for part of the 2011 East Africa drought using monthly precipitation and soil moisture data obtained from the NASA Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA-Land). The results indicate that the suggested multi-index predictions are consistent with the observation. Furthermore, the results emphasize the potential application of the model for probabilistic drought early warning in East Africa.
Prewar and postwar macroeconomic uncertainty: An international perspective*

Time series on U.S. international macroeconomic variables from the prewar period are compared to postwar data to explore whether the uncertainty experienced by economic agents differs over the two historical time periods. Conditional time series measures of uncertainty reveal that shocks to the time series appear to raise the level of uncertainty more dramatically in the postwar period, but the series exhibit more persistence in volatility in the prewar period. We conclude that the nature of uncertainty differs in the prewar and postwar periods and that these differences are likely to have implications for the behavior of economic agents.
Origins and Rationale for the African American Economic Summit

African American economists and related social scientists have an indispensible role to play in providing culturally-informed insight into the role of economic disadvantage in the current crisis in African American health, incarceration, wealth, housing, and education. The African American Economic Summit co-sponsored by the Institute of African American Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Research Network on Racial and Ethnic Inequality at Duke University brought together over 30 experts who provided insights into the roots of the current economic status of African Americans, its broad impact on the quality of African American life, and possible remedial solutions. This volume reports on the deliberations in this first Summit.
Autostepping during the transgressive growth of deltas: Results from flume experiments

A series of three-dimensional flume experiments on the transgressive growth of deltas, conducted with constant rate of relative sea-level rise ( A ), constant sediment discharge ( S ), and constant upstream water discharge ( Q ), reveals an inbuilt geomorphic process that inevitably forms discrete steps on the abandoned subaqueous deltaic slope. The stepped topography and its process of formation are here referred to as autostep(s) and autostepping, respectively. The stepped topography is caused by the lateral migration of delta- front lobes that inevitably shift landward but fail to cover lobes of older cycles. The autostepping arises from the principle of autoretreat combined with autocyclic lateral shifting of the feeder system. Discrete changes of A , S , A / S , or Q / S are not required to explain the origin of episodic backstepping in an overall transgressive regime. Allocyclic changes in A and S , as commonly invoked in the sequence stratigraphy literature, are not an alternative to autostepping, but would only enhance or reduce the inbuilt process of autostepping in river-dominated delta systems.
PURIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF TWO MANGANESE PEROXIDASE ISOZYMES FROM THE WHITE-ROT BASIDIOMYCETE DICHOMITUS SQUALENS

Abstract Two manganese peroxidase isozymes, MnP1 and MnP2, were purified from the extracellular medium of ligninolytic cultures of Dichomitus squalens . The proteins were purified to homogeneity using DEAE-Sepharose chromatography and Mono Q fast protein liquid chromatography. MnP1 and MnP2 have molecular masses of 48 000 and 48 900 Da, as respectively, as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Both isozymes are glycoproteins and each contains one iron protoporphyrin IX as a prosthetic group. The p I values of MnP1 and MnP2 are 4.15 and 3.90, respectively. N-Terminal amino-acid analysis suggests that these proteins are encoded by distinct genes. The Soret bands of the native ferric enzymes (408 nm and 406 nm, respectively) are shifted to 434 nm in the reduced enzymes and to 422 nm in the reduced-CO complexes. EPR g -values of the native enzymes are essentially identical to those for other MnPs and lignin peroxidases, and they confirm the high-spin state of the iron. The addition of 1 equivalent of H 2 O 2 to either of the native ferric isozymes yields spectra which are characteristic of compound I. Successive additions of 1 equivalent of ferrocyanide and 1 equivalent of H 2 O 2 to the native enzymes yield spectra which are characteristic of compound II. Both MnP isozymes oxidize Mn 2+ to Mn 3+ in the presence of organic acid chelators. The MnP isozymes are produced by D. squalens only when the cells are grown in the presence of Mn.
Enhanced disappearance of drugs from plasma following polybrominated biphenyls.

Abstract Polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) are potent stimulators of hepatic drug metabolism. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effect of dietary exposure to PBBs on the disappearance of drugs from plasma in mice. To estimate hepatic function, plasma and hepatic concentrations of indocyanine green (ICG) and ouabain were determined at various times following intravenous injection of these drugs (ICG, 40 mg/kg; ouabain, 0.1 mg/kg). Two-week dietary exposure to PBBs did not affect body weight but resulted in a dose-dependent increase in liver weight. Plasma concentrations of ICG were significantly lower than control values 10 and 15 min following injection of ICG in mice fed 100, 150, and 200 ppm of PBBs. In addition, 60-min plasma ouabain concentrations in 100- and 200-ppm PBBs-fed mice were significantly lower than control values. PBBs induced enhanced disappearance of ICG from plasma correlated to significantly higher hepatic ICG content. This effect was similar to that produced by phenobarbital pretreatment (75 mg/kg/day for 4 days) in mice. When compared to controls, mice fed PBBs had significantly higher hepatic ouabain content 10 min following glycoside injection but significantly lower amounts in liver 30 and 60 min following injection. PBBs feeding did not alter ouabain LD50 values. These results demonstrate that PBBs enhance drug elimination from plasma.
Reactivity of supported platinum nanoclusters studied by in situ GISAXS : clusters stability under hydrogen.

This paper is an initial study of the reactivity and thermal stability of atomic platinum clusters supported on Al2O3/SiO2/Si(100) as a function of the thickness of the alumina film and presence of hydrogen. Extremely high thermal stability of Pt7–10 clusters in vacuo as well as in the presence of hydrogen is observed on SiO2/Si(100) coated with six cycles of Al2O3 film prepared by an atomic layer deposition technique.