cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Landsat's past paves the way for data democratization in earth science

Abstract: The Landsat Program has been observing and collecting Earth system data from space since 1972. Over this time, advances in spatial, spectral, and radiometric resolution have allowed the Landsat satellites to evolve into powerful global Earth observation imaging systems. The longevity of the Landsat Program has produced a massive catalogue of imagery data. The sheer magnitude of this collection necessitates the use of scalable techniques to extract value from decades of remote sensing data. With the introduction of commercial cloud computing, it is now possible to cheaply provision resources for processing and storing enormous amounts of such data. Machine learning–based computer vision is advancing at a blistering pace and has shown great promise when applied to satellite imagery. The combination of cloud computing and machine learning offers the ability to analyze the decades of imagery collected by the Landsat Program at a cost never before possible. The focus of this chapter is to discuss the Landsat Program progression, cloud computing, machine learning, and data policy and how all these components contribute to greater understanding on the state of our planet Earth.
Nonlinear Elastic Buckling of Ultra-Thin Coilable Booms

Abstract This paper presents a study of the elastic buckling behavior of Triangular Rollable And Collapsible (TRAC) booms under pure bending. An autoclave manufacturing process for ultra-thin composite booms is presented and the behavior of three test samples is investigated experimentally. Two regimes are observed, a pre-buckling regime and a stable post-buckling regime that ends when buckling collapse is reached. The buckling collapse moment, marking the end of the stable post-buckling regime, is typically four times higher than the initial buckling moment. A numerical simulation of the boom behavior with the Abaqus finite element package is presented and all of the features observed experimentally are captured accurately by the simulation, except buckling collapse. The numerical model is also used to study the effect of varying the boom length from 0.3 m to 5.0 m. It is shown that the pre-buckling deformation of the flanges under compression leads to a constant wavelength lateral-torsional buckling mode for which the critical moment is mostly constant across the range of lengths.
Understanding the Public Discussion About the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention During the COVID-19 Pandemic Using Twitter Data: Text Mining Analysis Study.

Background: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is a national public health protection agency in the United States. With the escalating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on society in the United States and around the world, the CDC has become one of the focal points of public discussion. Objective: This study aims to identify the topics and their overarching themes emerging from the public COVID-19-related discussion about the CDC on Twitter and to further provide insight into public's concerns, focus of attention, perception of the CDC's current performance, and expectations from the CDC. Methods: Tweets were downloaded from a large-scale COVID-19 Twitter chatter data set from March 11, 2020, when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, to August 14, 2020. We used R (The R Foundation) to clean the tweets and retain tweets that contained any of five specific keywords—cdc, CDC, centers for disease control and prevention, CDCgov, and cdcgov—while eliminating all 91 tweets posted by the CDC itself. The final data set included in the analysis consisted of 290,764 unique tweets from 152,314 different users. We used R to perform the latent Dirichlet allocation algorithm for topic modeling. Results: The Twitter data generated 16 topics that the public linked to the CDC when they talked about COVID-19. Among the topics, the most discussed was COVID-19 death counts, accounting for 12.16% (n=35,347) of the total 290,764 tweets in the analysis, followed by general opinions about the credibility of the CDC and other authorities and the CDC's COVID-19 guidelines, with over 20,000 tweets for each. The 16 topics fell into four overarching themes: knowing the virus and the situation, policy and government actions, response guidelines, and general opinion about credibility. Conclusions: Social media platforms, such as Twitter, provide valuable databases for public opinion. In a protracted pandemic, such as COVID-19, quickly and efficiently identifying the topics within the public discussion on Twitter would help public health agencies improve the next-round communication with the public.
Socioeconomic disparities in ostomy reversal among older adults with diverticulitis are more substantial among non-Hispanic Black patients.

Abstract Background While ostomies for diverticulitis are often intended to be temporary, ostomy reversal rates can be as low as 46%. There are few comprehensive studies evaluating the effects of socioeconomic status as a disparity in ostomy reversal. We hypothesized that among the elderly Medicare population undergoing partial colectomy for diverticulitis, lower socioeconomic status would be associated with reduced reversal rates. Methods Retrospective cohort study using a 20% representative sample of Medicare beneficiaries >65 years old with diverticulitis who received ostomies between January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2017. We evaluated the effect of neighborhood socioeconomic status, measured by the Social Deprivation Index, on ostomy reversal within 1 year. Secondary outcomes were complications and mortality. Results Of 10,572 patients, ostomy reversals ranged from 21.2% (low socioeconomic status) to 29.8% (highest socioeconomic status), with a shorter time to reversal among higher socioeconomic status groups. Patients with low socioeconomic status were less likely to have their ostomies reversed, compared with the highest socioeconomic status group (hazard ratio 0.83, 95% confidence interval 0.74–0.93) and were more likely to die (hazard ratio 1.21, 95% confidence interval 1.10–1.33). When stratified by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status, non-Hispanic White patients at every socioeconomic status had a higher reversal rate than non-Hispanic Black patients (White patients 32.0%–24.8% vs Black patients 19.6%–14.7%). Socioeconomic status appeared to have a higher relative impact among non-Hispanic Black patients. Conclusion Among Medicare diverticulitis patients, ostomy reversal rates are low. Patients with lower socioeconomic status are less likely to undergo stoma reversal and are more likely to die; Black patients are least likely to have an ostomy reversal.
Fundamental Limits of Map Relative Localization During Spacecraft Descent and Landing

Map relative localization is the process of estimating the location of a lander with respect to the terrain of a celestial body. Visual or topographic maps obtained from orbit are matched with came...
Ensemble stationary-based support vector regression for drought prediction under changing climate

Abstract Non-stationarity due to climate change and/or variability can reduce the capabilities of drought prediction models. The objective of this study is to improve drought prediction by eliminating non-stationarity from temperature time series, a key factor in development and propagation of droughts in a changing climate. In order to relax the assumption of stationarity, an ensemble stationary-based support vector regression (ESSVR) method was developed and compared with the traditional support vector regression (SVR). Three types of drought indices in three time scales (monthly, seasonal, and semiannual), including multivariate, bivariate standardized drought indices, and univariate standardized drought indices were used as the target variables. In an application to the Red River of the North Basin (RRB), the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS) data from 1979 to 2016 were used for the training and testing of the prediction model. The Pearson correlation, root mean square error (RMSE), and Taylor diagram were used to evaluate the performances of the ESSVR. Remarkably, the distribution of identified change points varies by climate divisions. The results of the SVR and ESSVR in the RRB were compared, demonstrating the better performances of the ESSVR for most of the drought indices, particularly those with higher sensitivity to temperature. It was found that the extreme (high and low) values of hyperparameters mostly assigned by SVR cause a higher risk of overfitting for SVR. In contrast, ESSVR improves the drought prediction by removing the non-stationarity, thus providing more accurate drought predictions, especially for a warming climate.
Family functioning and adaptation following pediatric brain tumor: A systematic review.

INTRODUCTION Pediatric brain tumor survivors (PBTS) experience psychosocial difficulties and poor quality of life (QOL). Family functioning may be adversely impacted by the stress of diagnosis and associated symptoms, which may, in turn, affect PBTS outcomes. The objective of this study was to complete a systematic review of family functioning and psychosocial outcomes in PBTS. METHODS We conducted systematic searches of PubMed and PsychInfo. Full-text articles (n = 324) were screened and 14 were included. A risk-of-bias assessment was conducted to evaluate the quality of study conclusions. RESULTS Studies examined associations of family functioning with adaptive, social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes, and QOL. More adaptive family functioning (cohesiveness, effective communication, lower conflict) was associated with better PBTS outcomes. Studies were limited by heterogeneous/small samples and cross-sectional designs. CONCLUSIONS Results provide preliminary support for the relationship between family functioning and psychosocial outcomes. Common outcome measures and prospective research designs can further advance understanding.
Nutrition Management of Glutaric Acidemia Type 1

Glutaric acidemia type 1 (GA-1) is an autosomal recessive disorder of lysine, hydroxylysine, and tryptophan metabolism. A defect of glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase results in the accumulation of 3-hydroxyglutaric acid and glutaric acid. Nutrition management of GA-1 consists of restricting lysine and tryptophan, supplementing L-carnitine, and providing sufficient energy to prevent catabolism. Patients with GA-1 have a particularly high risk of permanent cerebral damage from a metabolic crisis.
Gene Transfer in Early Evolution

Clues to the early evolutionary history of microorganisms can be found in the macromolecules of extant organisms. Two types of molecular data have proven useful in the study of early evolution: comparative analysis of biochemical pathways (Wachtershauser, 1992, Morowitz, 1992) and analysis of macromolecular sequence data. Universal phylogenies inferred from nucleic acid or amino acid sequences which compare organisms from distant lineages allow us to infer major events in the early history of life. Burgeoning data available from molecular databases and ongoing genome projects now allow us to examine phylogenies from many different molecular markers. However, phylogenies from different markers do not always yield the same branching pattern. Rather, markers can be grouped into categories that show a concensus relationship, or into those that show conflicting topology.
Wetlands Policy in the United States: From Drainage to Restoration

Historically, swamps have been regarded as wastelands, evoking reactions of “disgust at their sight and smell, fear of malaria and yellow fever, and unease about rich resources running to waste within them.” By the beginning of the twentieth century, perceptions began to change. Sportsmen and hunters called attention to declining number of waterfowl and initial federal efforts regarding wetlands focused almost exclusively on waterfowl habitat. In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt established the first National Wildlife Refuge by executive order to protect endangered species on Pelican Island, Florida. With the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act of 1934, Congress established a special fund to finance wetland acquisitions for duck habitat. Keywords: wetlands; swamps; politics; management; Clean Water Act of 1972; conservation; restoration; Environmental Protection Agency; Army Corps of Engineers
Assurance cases in model-driven development of the pacemaker software

We discuss the construction of an assurance case for the pacemaker software. The software is developed following a model-based technique that combined formal modeling of the system, systematic code generation from the formal model, and measurement of timing behavior of the implementation. We show how the structure of the assurance case reflects our development approach.
Fluorescence assays for liposome fusion.

Publisher Summary This chapter provides information on fluorescence assays that are used to study the kinetics of membrane fusion. Membrane fusion involves the simultaneous intermixing of the aqueous compartments bounded by two membranes and of the membrane components. Two widely used assays for the intermixing of internal aqueous contents, the tuberculosis–differential producibility analysis (Tb–DPA) and the adenine nucleotide translocase–p-xylene-bis-pyridinium bromide (ANTS–DPX) assays, and several assays for the intermixing of lipids based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer are also described. The simplicity and sensitivity of fluorescence assays for membrane fusion and contents leakage have rendered these assays highly useful. Several assays, such as the 7-nitro-4-benzofurazanyl–rhodamine (NBD–Rh) assay, have also found use in monitoring the fusion of cationic liposomes or their DNA complexes with cells, the fusion of secretory granules with liposomes, and virus fusion with liposomes. Moreover, the improvements of the first-generation assays, such as the boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY) and inner monolayer mixing assays, will help in the elucidation of the molecular mechanisms of membrane.
Automatic Parallelization of the Conjugate Gradient Algorithm

The conjugate gradient (CG) method is a popular Krylov space method for solving systems of linear equations of the form Ax = b, where A is a symmetric positive-definite matrix. This method can be applied regardless of whether A is dense or sparse. In this paper, we show how restructuring compiler technology can be applied to transform a sequential, dense matrix CG program into a parallel, sparse matrix CG program. On the IBM SP-2, the performance of our compiled code is comparable to that of handwritten code from the PETSc library at Argonne.
Induction of a cellular defense reaction is accompanied by an increase in sensory neuron excitability in Aplysia

The complexity of vertebrate immune and nervous systems makes detailed cellular analysis of neuroimmune interactions a challenging prospect. The immune systems of invertebrates, although much less complex than their vertebrate counterparts, share basic cellular defense responses to wounded self or nonself. We have developed a simple model system to study neuroimmune interactions using an invertebrate preparation well suited to detailed cellular analysis. Loose ligation of peripheral nerves in Aplysia induced a cellular defense reaction evidenced by the accumulation of large numbers of amebocytes at the ligation site. From 5 to 30 d after ligation, the excitability of the soma of sensory neurons having axons in ligated nerves was increased compared to contralateral sensory neurons with axons in nonligated nerves. Spike threshold and afterhyperpolarization were reduced, and spike amplitude and duration were increased. Spike accommodation was also decreased such that sensory neurons on the ligated side fired more spikes to a 1 sec intracellular depolarizing pulse than control sensory neurons. These effects are unlikely to be accounted for by ligation-induced injury of sensory axons since both morphological and electrophysiological evidence indicated that the axons in ligated nerves were healthy and able to conduct action potentials. Amebocytes activated by the presence of nonself may release factors that lead to a central sensitization of sensory neurons with axons in close proximity to the amebocytes.
Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy in a Heart Transplant Recipient Following Rituximab Therapy for Antibody-Mediated Rejection

We report the case of a male heart transplant recipient who developed acute antibody-mediated rejection and was treated with 5 weeks of a rituximab-containing regimen. Two months later he presented with progressive motor and cognitive impairments and was diagnosed with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). He was treated with reduction of his immunosuppressive medications, mirtazapine, IVIG and plasmapheresis. He died within weeks. We reviewed the current literature on PML and its association with immunosuppression, highlighting its impact in the setting of solid organ transplantation and considering the potential effect of newer biologic drugs on the incidence of this devastating disease in the transplant population.
The Morality of Wilderness: Federal Reserved Water Rights in Western Wilderness Areas

Wilderness allow the idea to inhabit your mind's eye for a moment. Typically, an image of trees and perhaps mountain peaks, alpine flowers, or wildlife will emerge. If you have ever been to a true wilderness, you will also recall a profound stillness, due not to any actual silence, but to the absence of the normal sounds of our everyday lives. This image, however, is far from an accurate description of many of the areas that Congress and the U.S. Forest Service proudly label Wilderness Areas under the 1964 Wilderness Act.1 The integrity of these wilderness areas has been eroded by economic pressures for development and the contradictory management objectives of the government agencies that administer the areas. To envision a modern wilderness accurately, then, you must add to your mental picture, among other things, trails, shelters, hardened campsites, portable toilets, and corrals for commercial outfitters. The image now comes closer to the bureaucratic reality. To envision the issue at stake in the recent decisions in Sierra Club v. Block and Sierra Club v.
An Investigation of Factors Relating to Retention of Student–Athletes Participating in NCAA Division II Athletics

Most studies investigating retention of college students have broadly looked at the entire student population. Few attempts have been made to determine if there are specific issues related to the retention of student–athletes. Factors involved in retaining student–athletes were examined by surveying two groups of participants currently enrolled or previously enrolled at a college participating at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II level. Student–athletes active in their sport and students no longer actively playing their sport were recruited. The survey consisted of 37 questions using a Likert Scale format as well as two open-ended questions. Eight areas related to retention were examined. Findings indicated that relationships with the head coach, satisfaction with the athletic department, team success, personal reasons, academic concerns, and player development were factors leading to retention or withdrawal from athletic participation. The findings of this study should aid college faculty, administrators, and coaches in their attempts to retain their student–athletes and also be helpful in recruiting practices related to this specific portion of the student body.
Comparison and analysis of the citedness scores in web of science and google scholar

An increasing number of online information services calculate and report the citedness score of the source documents and provide a link to the group of records of the citing documents. The citedness score depends on the breadth of source coverage, and the ability of the software to identify the cited documents correctly. The citedness score may be a good indicator of the influence of the documents retrieved. Google Scholar gives the most prominence to the citedness score by using it in ranking the search results. Tests have been conducted to compare the individual and aggregate citedness scores of items in the results list of various known-item and subject searches in Web of Science (WoS) and Google Scholar (GS). This paper presents the findings of the comparison and analysis of the individual and aggregate citation scores calculated by WoS and GS for the papers published in 22 volumes of the Asian Pacific Journal of Allergy and Immunology (APJAI). The aggregate citedness score was 1,355 for the 675 papers retrieved by WoS, and 595 for 680 papers found in GS. The findings of the analysis and comparison of tests, and the reasons for the significant limitations of Google Scholar in calculating and reporting the citedness scores are presented.
Unraveling the Effects of the Internet on Political Participation

While a long tradition of research documents the demographic and psychological determinants of political participation, there is also evidence to suggest that changes in communication technology ma...
New binucleating ligands to support dizirconium organometallics

A new class of bis(amidinato) ligands, which feature dibenzofuran or 9,9-dimethylxanthene spacers, are used to prepare structurally characterized dizirconium complexes.
The Principle of Common But Differentiated Responsibility in Post‐2012 Climate Negotiations

The article examines the on-going negotiation process towards a post-2012 climate change agreement in the light of the principle of common but differentiated responsibility (CBDR). The said principle is often identified as the cornerstone upon which State commitments are to be built. Nevertheless, the diversity of views as to how the CBDR principle should actually be put into operation in the new agreement is rather discomforting. The article reviews the negotiation work carried out in this respect and maps out the way that CBDR has been treated in the process.
Demonstrating the Equivalence between Two Methods of Measuring Excess Burden

Abstract Excess burden is a key concept in the field of public economics, and the authors of most public finance textbooks describe more than one way to measure it. Excess burden can, for example, be viewed as the area of a triangle underneath a demand curve or as the value of a mathematical formula. To emphasize that these approaches measure the same concept, an instructor can show that changing any relevant variable has the same effect on excess burden in both representations. In so doing, instructors must take particular care when drawing the demand curves associated with changes in price and quantity.
Short Communication: Contribution of the 5-hydroxyl group to the mutagenicity of mucochloric acid

The sodium borohydride reduction of 3,4-dichloro-5-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone (mucochloric acid) resulted in the formation of 3,4-dichloro-2(5H)-furanone and 4-chloro-2(5H)-furanone formed in relative amounts of 98 and 2%, respectively. Mucochloric acid and 3,4-dichloro-2(5H)-furanone were assayed together against Salmonella typhimurium (TA100). Mucochloric acid was consistently more mutagenic than 3,4-dichloro-2(5H)-furanone by a factor ranging from 36 to 49 times as established from three determinations of relative mutagenicity. Thus, the hydroxyl group substituted at the 5 position is concluded to have a marked influence on the mutagenicity of a chlorinated 2(5H)-furanone.
Nucleophilic 1,4-additions for natural product discovery.

Natural products remain an important source of drug candidates, but the difficulties inherent to traditional isolation, coupled with unacceptably high rates of compound rediscovery, limit the pace of natural product detection. Here we describe a reactivity-based screening method to rapidly identify exported bacterial metabolites that contain dehydrated amino acids (i.e., carbonyl- or imine-activated alkenes), a common motif in several classes of natural products. Our strategy entails the use of a commercially available thiol, dithiothreitol, for the covalent labeling of activated alkenes by nucleophilic 1,4-addition. Modification is easily discerned by comparing mass spectra of reacted and unreacted cell surface extracts. When combined with bioinformatic analysis of putative natural product gene clusters, targeted screening and isolation can be performed on a prioritized list of strains. Moreover, known compounds are easily dereplicated, effectively eliminating superfluous isolation and characterization. ...
Age-related decrease of the chorda tympani nerve terminal field in the nucleus of the solitary tract is prevented by dietary sodium restriction during development.

Institution of a low-NaCl diet beginning at embryonic day 3 and continued throughout pre- and postnatal development has widespread effects on the neuroanatomical organization of the first gustatory relay in the nucleus of the solitary tract. To determine when these effects are expressed postnatally, the terminal field of the chorda tympani nerve was compared between sodium-restricted and sodium-replete rats at postnatal days 15–17, postnatal days 25–27, postnatal days 35–37, and adults. Total terminal fields were significantly larger in postnatal days 35–37 and adult sodium-restricted rats compared with aged-matched controls. The group-related differences appear related more to a remodeling of the terminal field in the dorsal zone of the terminal field in controls. Specifically, the terminal field volume in the dorsal zone in controls decreased dramatically from postnatal days 25–27 to postnatal days 35–37 and then again from postnatal days 35–37 to adulthood. In contrast, the fields did not change during development in sodium-restricted rats. These findings suggest that remodeling of the chorda tympani field occurs in controls at about the developmental period of taste response maturation. The lack of remodeling in sodium-restricted rats may be explained by a corresponding lack of functional response development to sodium salts. These results also illustrate the specificity and extent of how early dietary manipulations shape the developing brainstem.
MIA: A program for multivariate information analysis

Information analysis is a method used in the quanti­ fication of communication systems (Miller, 1953). It has been applied to the study of information transfer and the sequential analysis of behaviors over time, and it can be used to generate models of interactive behavior. Following original mathematical formulations (Shannon & Weaver, 1949), information analysis was used to measure information transfer and learning in human systems (Garner, 1962) and has been applied to the study of animal and human communication (Dingle, 1972; Haldane & Spurway, 1965). This program was designed for the analysis of conflict-resolution communi­ cations of married couples (Billings, 1979). The MIA program calculates several information statistics (contingent uncertainty reduction) for a crite­ rion measure and three predictor variables. Previously developed programs calculated criterion uncertainty reductions for a single criterion and one predictor (Aspey & Feinstein, 1977; Nie, Hull, Jenkins, Steinbrenner, & Bent, 1975). MIA calculates both main and partial contingency reduction terms. The theoretical orienta­ tion, terms, and computational algorithms for the multivariate case are derived mainly from the presenta­ tion by Garner (1962). Description. The MIA program consists of three major segments, corresponding to the number of pre­ dictors chosen for the analysis. These segments are subdivided into three components. The first component reorganizes the raw data matrix into contingency matrices from which transitional probabilities are calculated. The second component calculates the contingent uncertainty reduction. Finally, these statistics are summed and weighted for each matrix, and appropriate contingent uncertainty statistics (in bits) are computed. Modulatized subroutines for each of these components will facilitate the inclusion of other routines or the modification of present routines to suit various applications. Input to the program may be in any form such that contingency matrices may be constructed. At present, the program is designed to read a particular data set and construct these matrices. These routines, however, can
Experimental seizures in the frog (Rana pipiens)

Abstract We investigated the effects of chemical convulsants in the leopard frog. Systemic kainic acid (5–20 mg/kg) caused limbic-like seizures, with staring, catatonia, fasciculations, and severe motor seizures, which were almost always lethal. Intracerebral electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings showed spike or spike-and-wave patterns at 6–8 Hz that decreased in frequency and increased in amplitude, maximal at an electrode in the midline olfactory/telencephalic (OLF-M) region. With time, an interictal pattern of 100–200 μV periodic spikes developed, followed by diffuse suppression of all brain activity. Seizures induced by pentylenetetrazole (150–450 mg/kg) and bicuculline (5–10 mg/kg) were characterized by the abrupt onset of motor activity, which continued intermittently for several hours, followed by recovery. EEG recordings in animals treated with pentylenetetrazole showed rhythmic spike-and-wave bursts at 1.5–3 Hz that were maximal at OLF-M. Recordings from frogs treated with bicuculline showed repetitive 3–6 Hz spike-and-wave discharges maximal at OLF-M that were nearly constant in amplitude and at times became continuous. Strychnine (1–5 mg/kg) caused reversible seizures characterized by tonic extensions of the extremities, that seemed to originate in the spinal cord. Frogs with recurrent seizures from systemic cis -diamminedichloroplatinum II showed 4–8 Hz rhythmic spike-and-wave activity that gradually slowed in frequency and increased in amplitude. Thus, the frog's reactivity to convulsive agents is similar to that of mammals.
Conformational and energetic effects of truncating nonbonded interactions in an aqueous protein dynamics simulation

It a previous aqueous protein dynamics study, we compared the rms deviation relative to the crystal structure for distance-dependent and constant dielectric models with and without a nonbonded cutoff. The strutures obtained from a constant dielectric simulation with a cutoff were substantially different from the structures obtained from a distance-dependent dielectric simulation, with and without cutoff, and a constant dielectric model without a cutoff
Lake Woebe guaranteed: Misuse of Test Scores in Massachusetts, Part I

Misuse of test results in Massachusetts largely guarantees woes for both students and schools. Analysis of annual test score averages for close to 1000 Massachusetts schools for four years (1998—2001) shows that test score gains in one testing period tend to be followed by losses in the next. School averages are especially volatile in relatively small schools (with less than 150 students tested per grade). One of the reasons why scores fluctuate is that the Massachusetts state test has been developed using norm-referenced test construction procedures so that items which all students tend to answer correctly (or incorrectly) are excluded from operational versions of the test. This article concludes with a summary of other reasons why results from state tests, like that in Massachusetts, ought not be used in isolation to make high-stakes decisions about students or schools.
‘‘Nonisolated‐sensor’’ solid polystyrene absorbed dose measurements

A ‘‘nonisolated‐sensor’’ solid polystyrene calorimeter was constructed to test the role of thermal diffusion in limiting the length of irradiation time during which temperature measurements with nonisolated sensors could be made sufficiently free of drift for determining dose with radiation fields such as gamma rays, x rays, and high‐energy electrons. From measured ratios of dose at 5.0 and 0.5 cm in polystyrene and comparisons to dose measurements with a polystyrene parallel‐plate (pancake) ion chamber, it was shown that thermal diffusion is sufficiently small in polystyrene to permit accurate measurements for irradiation periods of less than 20 min. Comparison of the absorbed dose measurements and depth dose ratios with pancake ion chambers and calorimeter showed, that within the precision and accuracy of the two measuring systems, there is close agreement. The nonisolated‐sensor solid polystyrene calorimeter has the interesting features of (i) simplicity of construction, (ii) simplicity of operation without vacuum or feedback for temperature control, (iii) capability of simultaneous measurements at several depths and off‐axis positions, (iv) the very small thermal defect correction with polystyrene, and (v) operation with the calorimeter in any orientation.
Improvement in lipid profiles over 6 years of follow-up in adults with AIDS and immune reconstitution.

Objectives The aim of the study was to evaluate long-term changes in lipids and to assess other coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors in highly experienced AIDS patients with immune reconstitution, and to examine their association with antiretroviral therapy (ART). Methods We evaluated 433 AIDS patients with prior severe immunosuppression and ART-based immune reconstitution, followed in a multicentre prospective observational study between 2000 and 2006. We estimated the prevalence at entry of hypercholesterolaemia and metabolic syndrome, and 10-year CHD risks. Trends in total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol were evaluated over time, and use of specific ART drugs at each study visit was assessed using mixed effect models, adjusting for CHD risk factors and use of lipid-lowering agents. Results At entry to observational follow-up, 28% of the 433 subjects had hypercholesterolaemia and 15% had a predicted 10-year CHD risk above 20%. Average TC and fasting TG levels declined over the follow-up period (median=5.8 years), and these declines were associated with increased use of physician-prescribed lipid-lowering agents and changes in ART regimens. After adjustment for CHD risk factors, TC and TG levels were significantly higher for those on ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitors and those on nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs), particularly efavirenz, than for other patients. Conclusions Abnormalities in serum lipids were common at baseline but became less so over time, and this improvement was associated with increased use of lipid-lowering agents and selection of ART agents with less deleterious effects on lipids.
Still Unheard by the Mainstream

Abstract The second wave of the women's movement beginning in the 1960s led to a renewed interest in the roles that women have played in history and society, particularly in areas formerly reserved for men. Although women were traditionally routed out of science there were those who still made significant contributions. In the last two decades girls and women have been encouraged to make science their life's work. How are these events represented in history serials, science serials and women's studies serials? This article surveys serial articles relating to women's studies, history and science from 1970 through 1995, and locates articles that concentrate on the historical role of women in science. Contextual analysis of where and when these articles appeared is provided. The significance of these articles for archivists, historians and researchers is discussed.
Two-dimensional gel analysis of rolling circle replication in the presence and absence of bacteriophage T4 primase.

The rolling circle DNA replication structures generated by the in vitro phage T4 replication system were analyzed using two-dimensional agarose gels. Replication structures were generated in the presence or absence of T4 primase (gp61), permitting the analysis of replication forks with either duplex or singlestranded tails. A characteristic arc shape was visualized when forks with single-stranded tails were cleaved by a restriction enzyme with the help of an oligonucleotide that anneals to restriction sites in the single-stranded tail. After calibrating the gel system with this well-studied rolling circle replication reaction, we then analyzed the in vivo replication directed by a T4 replication origin cloned within a plasmid. DNA samples were generated from infections with either wild-type or primase-deletion mutant phage. The only replicative arc that could be detected in the wild-type sample corresponded to duplex Y forms, consistent with very efficient lagging strand synthesis. Surprisingly, we obtained evidence for both duplex and single-stranded DNA tails in the samples from the primase-deficient infection. We conclude that a relatively inefficient mechanism primes lagging strand DNA synthesis in vivo when gp61 is absent.
SOOT FORMATION IN A MULTIPOINT-FUEL-INJECTED SPARK-IGNITED ENGINE

Higher levels of carbon in the oil of some multipoint-fuel-injected spark-ignited engines have been observed relative to carbureted and/or Throttle-Body-Injected (TBI) systems. These higher carbon levels could potentially shorten the oil change interval or cause engine wear. It has been theorized that carbon in the oil is caused by soot produced during the combustion process. Vehicle tests were run to show that this soot has no environmental impact. This paper discusses soot formation and how to minimize this formation by controlling injection parameters (direction, timing, method, and spray) and engine conditions (speed, load, coolant temperature, EGR rate, inlet air temperature, and spark advance). Effects on engine emissions and peak cylinder pressures are also addressed.
Density dependence of the momentum distribution for /sup 4/He

Neutron-scattering techniques have been used to determine the momentum distribution n(p) for /sup 4/He for different temperatures and densities. n(p) is found to be a strong function of density and thus brings into question any direct relationship between the condensate fraction and the pair distribution function g(r,T).
The social impacts of a special event on the host city: a conceptual framework and a case study of the Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon

This article provides a conceptual framework to study the potential impacts of a special event on the host city’s social assets. This framework is more encompassing than traditional studies of social impact, which tend to focus only on city image; it includes local pride, social networks, and support of social causes. It then presents a case study of the Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon and its social impacts on the host city, using unique data from surveys of participants (2002 and 2008) and volunteers (2012). The analysis finds some evidence that this event has had positive effects on Cincinnati’s social assets.
Parallel MIMD programming for global models of atmospheric flow

Modeling atmospheric flow is one application of supercomputers. In this paper we present some concepts for implementing global flow algorithms on shared memory multiprocessors. We describe how an analysis of the algorithms combined with the appropriate parallel programming language support allows an efficient and computationally correct implementation, which minimizes the synchronization difficulties. Some performance measurements on the Encore multiprocessor serve to support this assertion.
Use of NH4 HCO3‐DTPA soil test to assess availability and toxicity of selenium to alfalfa plants

Abstract This study was carried out to determine if ammonium bicarbonate‐DTPA soil test (AB‐DTPA) of Soltanpour and Schwab for simultaneous extraction of P, K, Zn, Fe, Cu and Mn can be used to determine the availability index for Se. Five Mollisols from North Dakota were treated with sodium selenate and were subjected to several wetting and drying cycles. These soils were extracted with hot water and with ammonium bicarbonate‐DTPA (AB‐DTPA) solution for Se analysis. Alfalfa plants were grown in these soils in a growth chamber to determine plant uptake of Se. In addition to the above experiment, coal mine soil and overburden materials from Western Colorado were extracted and analyzed as mentioned above. It was found that hot water and AB‐DTPA extracted approximately equal amounts of Se from Mollisols. A high degree of correlation (r =0.96) was found between Se uptake by plants and AB‐DTPA extractable Se. Extractable level of Se in treated soils was decreased with time due to change of selenate to less solu...
Anandamide-induced cell death in primary neuronal cultures: role of calpain and caspase pathways

Anandamide (arachidonoylethanolamide or AEA) is an endocannabinoid that acts at vanilloid (VR1) as well as at cannabinoid (CB1/CB2) and NMDA receptors. Here, we show that AEA, in a dose-dependent manner, causes cell death in cultured rat cortical neurons and cerebellar granule cells. Inhibition of CB1, CB2, VR1 or NMDA receptors by selective antagonists did not reduce AEA neurotoxicity. Anandamide-induced neuronal cell loss was associated with increased intracellular Ca(2+), nuclear condensation and fragmentation, decreases in mitochondrial membrane potential, translocation of cytochrome c, and upregulation of caspase-3-like activity. However, caspase-3, caspase-8 or caspase-9 inhibitors, or blockade of protein synthesis by cycloheximide did not alter anandamide-related cell death. Moreover, AEA caused cell death in caspase-3-deficient MCF-7 cell line and showed similar cytotoxic effects in caspase-9 dominant-negative, caspase-8 dominant-negative or mock-transfected SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells. Anandamide upregulated calpain activity in cortical neurons, as revealed by alpha-spectrin cleavage, which was attenuated by the calpain inhibitor calpastatin. Calpain inhibition significantly limited anandamide-induced neuronal loss and associated cytochrome c release. These data indicate that AEA neurotoxicity appears not to be mediated by CB1, CB2, VR1 or NMDA receptors and suggest that calpain activation, rather than intrinsic or extrinsic caspase pathways, may play a critical role in anandamide-induced cell death.
Synthesis Of Protein In The Mammalian Epidermis

Available information on the synthesis of protein in the mammalian epidermis is evaluated in relation to currently accepted mechanisms for this biosynthetic process. Sufficient data exist to allow the conclusion that in the epidermis there is a ribosomal system for protein synthesis similar to that found in microbial organisms and in rabbit reticulocytes. There is a hint that an additional mechanism—possibly transpeptidation—participates in the formation of some epidermal protein. Two major loci of protein synthesis in the mammalian epidermis seem indicated from kinetic autoradiographic studies of amino acid incorporation. Synthesis of protein of unique character and composition appears to occur in the cells of the granular layer representing one of these loci. This protein, containing an unusually high level of histidine, may play a role in the biogenesis of keratohyalin. Another unusual feature found in the granular cells, is the presence of urocanic acid-like substance in protein structure. The nature of the protein synthesized in the other locus, the basal and lower spinous cells, is presently uncertain. Aberrations in protein synthesis seem to occur in psoriatic epidermis, in the granular cells of epidermis exposed to ultraviolet light and β-irradiation and in epidermis exposed to stripping and to certain topically applied substances.
Characterization of cytochrome c oxidase III transcripts that are edited only in the 3′ region

Abstract The cytochrome c oxidase subunit III (COIII) transcript of T. brucei is extensively edited by the addition and deletion of uridines. We have identified partially edited COIII RNAs; they have unedited 5′ and edited 3′ regions. Transcripts with edited 5′ but unedited 3′ regions were not detected. The partially edited RNAs may be editing intermediates. The junctions of unedited and edited sequences in cDNAs differ from both the DNA and fully edited mRNA sequences over a multinucleotide region. The partially edited RNAs could arise from several processes, but it seems likely that editing proceeds in the 3′ to 5′ direction.
Sensitivity of variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry to isotropic thin film properties

Abstract Ellipsometry involves the solution of complicated mathematical relations between the measured data and the desired physical parameters. Dealing with these equations remains a central issue in the method, especially in light of the increased measurement speed and data set size. Here the sensitivity of ellipsometry measurements to parameters of interest for isotropic thin films is investigated as a first step to developing an ellipsometry expert system. A general approach to selecting incidence angles and light wavelengths is demonstrated for the particular case of ZrO 2 films sputter deposited onto fused silica substrates. At first the measurements must be sensitive to changes in the parameter of interest and, beyond that, the system of equations must be sufficiently well posed considering measurement error and computer truncation and roundoff. Simulations of the ZrO 2 film show that the incidence angles for best sensitivity do not correspond to those for the best equation conditions. This method can be applied to any reflecting surface to assist in the selection of angles and wavelengths. It is planned that a very large number of such simulations covering an increasing number of reflecting surface materials and configurations will be performed and stored in a high performance database for easy access. Such progress in the development of expert systems to make the equations work in the background for all but the most inquisitive ellipsometrist is described.
Mastitis Therapy and Antimicrobial Susceptibility: a Multispecies Review with a Focus on Antibiotic Treatment of Mastitis in Dairy Cattle

Mastitis occurs in numerous species. Antimicrobial agents are used for treatment of infectious mastitis in dairy cattle, other livestock, companion animals, and humans. Mastitis is an economically important disease of dairy cattle and most mastitis research has focused on epidemiology and control of bovine mastitis. Antibiotic treatment of clinical and subclinical mastitis in dairy cattle is an established component of mastitis control programs. Research on the treatment of clinical and subclinical mastitis in other dairy species such as sheep and goats has been less frequent, although the general principles of mastitis therapy in small ruminants are similar to those of dairy cattle. Research on treatment of clinical mastitis in humans is limited and as for other species empirical treatment of mastitis appears to be common. While antimicrobial susceptibility testing is recommended to direct treatment decisions in many clinical settings, the use of susceptibility testing for antibiotic selection for mastitis treatments of dairy cattle has been challenged in a number of publications. The principle objective of this review is to summarize the literature evaluating the question, “Does antimicrobial susceptibility predict treatment outcome for intramammary infections caused by common bacterial pathogens?” This review also addresses current issues related to antimicrobial use and treatment decisions for mastitis in dairy cattle. Information on treatment of mastitis in other species, including humans, is included although research appears to be limited. Issues related to study design, gaps in current knowledge and opportunities for future research are identified for bovine mastitis therapy.