cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Other-Sex Friendship Networks and the Development of Romantic Relationships in Adolescence

This longitudinal study examines 92 white middle-class participants' descriptions of their friendship networks from childhood to late adolescence, and their romantic relationships from middle to late adolescence. As expected, having larger other-sex friendship networks in early adolescence is related to the development of affiliative qualities in romantic relationships in middle adolescence and the maintenance of longer relationships in middle and late adolescence. In addition, girls have larger other-sex friendship networks than boys and are more likely to describe romantic relationships in terms of self-disclosure and support as well as other qualities of close friendships. The findings are discussed as they pertain to the importance of other-sex friendships and gender for the timing and trajectories of adolescent romantic relationships.
ROLE OF TOXINS IN PLANT MICROBIAL INTERACTIONS

Both plants and fungi produce a wide variety of low molecular weight natural products. Many of these compounds were once considered secondary metabolites with no particular biological role in the producing organism. Understanding the chemical interactions between plants and microorganisms can be complex and requires an integrated approach.
The loss of the phoS periplasmic protein leads to a change in the specificity of a constitutive inorganic phosphate transport system in Escherichia coli.

Abstract The phoS periplasmic protein, implicated in alkaline phosphatase regulation, is shown to be involved in inorganic phosphate (Pi) transport in E. coli . Although pho S − cells dependent upon the PST system for Pi transport can grow in minimal medium with 1 mM Pi as source of phosphorus, the affinity of these cells for Pi is greatly reduced; Km = 18 μM compared with Km = 0.4 μM for phoS + cells. pho S − cells dependent upon the PST Pi transport system acquire the ability to accumulate Asi from the medium in contrast to pho S + cells which exclude this toxic anion. It would appear that the periplasmic phoS protein is not essential for Pi accumulation but is involved in maintaining the specificity of the PST Pi transport system.
Abstract 13698: Effect of Dose and Standard Therapy on the Anti-Remodeling Effects of Rapamycin in Experimental Heart Failure

Effect of Dose and Standard Therapy on the Anti-remodeling Effects of Rapamycin in Experimental Heart Failure Introduction: MTOR inhibition with rapamycin attenuates adverse cardiac remodeling in experimental heart failure (HF). We sought to determine if rapamycin’s anti-remodeling effect is seen at blood levels targeted for immunosuppression in transplantation subjects and if angiotensin II receptor type-1 or beta-adrenergic receptor blockade has incremental benefit when added to rapamycin. Methods: Male C57BL/6 mice underwent transverse aortic constriction (TAC) and 3 weeks later, echocardiography. TAC mice with HF (EF Results: Table. Rapamycin treated HF mice had amelioration of adverse remodeling and HF severity (lung weights) associated with inhibition of downstream mTOR signaling (decreased S6k1 phosphorylation) and down-regulated PKA signaling (decreased PKA Reg I and PKA Catalytic-α expression). The addition of losartan or propranolol to rapamycin had no incremental effect. Conclusion: mTOR inhibition with rapamycin, at serum levels at the lower and upper range of transplant targeted immunosuppression, reversed LV remodeling in severe established HF. Angiotensin II receptor type-1 or beta-adrenergic receptor blockade have no additional benefit suggesting mTOR signaling is a central regulator of remodeling in HF downstream of adrenergic and angiotensin signaling input.
Comparing RNA-Seq and microarray gene expression data in two zones of the Arabidopsis root apex relevant to spaceflight.

Premise of the study The root apex is an important region involved in environmental sensing, but comprises a very small part of the root. Obtaining root apex transcriptomes is therefore challenging when the samples are limited. The feasibility of using tiny root sections for transcriptome analysis was examined, comparing RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) to microarrays in characterizing genes that are relevant to spaceflight. Methods Arabidopsis thaliana Columbia ecotype (Col-0) roots were sectioned into Zone 1 (0.5 mm; root cap and meristematic zone) and Zone 2 (1.5 mm; transition, elongation, and growth-terminating zone). Differential gene expression in each was compared. Results Both microarrays and RNA-Seq proved applicable to the small samples. A total of 4180 genes were differentially expressed (with fold changes of 2 or greater) between Zone 1 and Zone 2. In addition, 771 unique genes and 19 novel transcriptionally active regions were identified by RNA-Seq that were not detected in microarrays. However, microarrays detected spaceflight-relevant genes that were missed in RNA-Seq. Discussion Single root tip subsections can be used for transcriptome analysis using either RNA-Seq or microarrays. Both RNA-Seq and microarrays provided novel information. These data suggest that techniques for dealing with small, rare samples from spaceflight can be further enhanced, and that RNA-Seq may miss some spaceflight-relevant changes in gene expression.
Art's First Amendment Status: A Cultural History of The Masses

This Article explores a little-known chapter in the cultural history of The Masses, the radical, iconoclastic, and artistically cutting-edge publication that was the subject of Learned Hand's landmark First Amendment decision in Masses Publishing Co. v. Patten (1917). The Article sets forth the story of an internal battle about freedom of expression in the arts that had shaken The Masses to its core in the year leading up to Hand's famous decision. The Masses was founded on two central premises: first, that absolute freedom of expression was necessary for its mission; and second, that art and politics must be inextricably intertwined in pursuing this mission because creativity was itself an act of political rebellion against capitalism. Yet this marriage between art and politics was a fragile one; indeed it collapsed in the year before Hand's opinion, as editors tried to constrain the political messages of the artists, leading to an artists' strike that forever changed the magazine. At stake in this conflict were urgent questions about the nature of art and the relationship between art and politics. Ultimately the magazine devoted to free speech and free artistic expression - the magazine that would later be pursued by the government for speaking too frankly - set limits on the free expression of its own artists. By exploring the artistic significance of The Masses and by unearthing this internal censorship battle at the magazine, my goal is to show how the conflict over art at The Masses presaged contemporary debates about the role of art in the First Amendment. The bitter internal struggle over freedom of expression at The Masses anticipated a longstanding problem in free speech law: how do we justify protection for art, often apolitical, irrational, and hard to reduce to a "particularized message," under a vision of the First Amendment that prizes political discourse and assumes a rational marketplace of ideas. The history of The Masses sheds light on our ongoing discomfort about the place of art in the First Amendment.
Epidemiological evidence that common HPV types may be common because of their ability to evade immune surveillance: Results from the Women's Interagency HIV study.

Infection by human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16, the most oncogenic HPV type, was found to be the least affected by HIV-status and CD4 count of any of the approximately 13 oncogenic HPV types. This relative independence from host immune status has been interpreted as evidence that HPV16 may have an innate ability to avoid the effects of immunosurveillance. However, the impact of immune status on other individual HPV types has not been carefully assessed. We studied type-specific HPV infection in a cohort of 2,470 HIV-positive (HIV[+]) and 895 HIV-negative (HIV[-]) women. Semi-annually collected cervicovaginal lavages were tested for >40 HPV types. HPV type-specific prevalence ratios (PRs), incidence and clearance hazard ratios (HRs), were calculated by contrasting HPV types detected in HIV[+] women with CD4 < 200 to HIV[-] women. HPV71 and HPV16 prevalence had the weakest associations with HIV-status/CD4 count of any HPV, according to PRs. No correlations between PRs and HPV phylogeny or oncogenicity were observed. Instead, higher HPV type-specific prevalence in HIV[-] women correlated with lower PRs (ρ = -0.59; p = 0.0001). An alternative (quadratic model) statistical approach (PHIV+ = a*PHIV- + b*PHIV- 2 ; R2 = 0.894) found similar associations (p = 0.0005). In summary, the most prevalent HPV types in HIV[-] women were the types most independent from host immune status. These results suggest that common HPV types in HIV[-] women may have a greater ability to avoid immune surveillance than other types, which may help explain why they are common.
Multichannel direct detection of light dark matter: Target comparison

Author(s): Griffin, SM; Inzani, K; Trickle, T; Zhang, Z; Zurek, KM | Abstract: Direct-detection experiments for light dark matter are making enormous leaps in reaching previously unexplored model space. Several recent proposals rely on collective excitations, where the experimental sensitivity is highly dependent on detailed properties of the target material, well beyond just nucleus mass numbers as in conventional searches. It is thus important to optimize the target choice when considering which experiment to build. We carry out a comparative study of target materials across several detection channels, focusing on electron transitions and single (acoustic or optical) phonon excitations in crystals, as well as the traditional nuclear recoils. We compare materials currently in use in nuclear recoil experiments (Si, Ge, NaI, CsI, CaWO4), a few of which have been proposed for light dark matter experiments (GaAs, Al2O3, diamond), as well as 16 other promising polar crystals across all detection channels. We find that target- and dark-matter-model-dependent reach is largely determined by a small number of material parameters: speed of sound, electronic band gap, mass number, Born effective charge, high-frequency dielectric constant, and optical phonon energies. We showcase, for each of the two benchmark models, an exemplary material that has a better reach than in any currently proposed experiment.
Drug-induced vasculitis.

Many therapeutic agents, including recently introduced biologic response modifiers, can induce a variety of vasculitic manifestations ranging from small vessel hypersensitivity vasculitis and leukocytoclastic vasculitis to distinct vasculitic syndromes such as Wegener’s granulomatosis, polyarteritis nodosa, and Churg Strauss syndrome. The pathogenic mechanisms remain to be defined and appear to be multifactorial, with cell-mediated and humural immune mechanisms playing important roles. Clinical presentation varies in severity from mild to severe and even fatal illness, can be self-limiting, or follows a more chronic protracted course. There are no significant differences in clinical presentation, serologic abnormalities, and pathologic findings with the idiopathic forms of vasculitis. However, it is extremely important to identify the offending drug because the discontinuation of the drug is often followed by a rapid improvement of the underlying vasculitic disorder.
Moments of the quadrivariate Rayleigh distribution with applications for diversity receivers

Wireless channels exhibit time, frequency, and spatial correlation. Models in literature that study four-branch diversity receivers make assumptions such as independence, constant correlation, exponential correlation, or some other kind between received signals at each antenna. However, these models are not accurate in many scenarios. Addressing this issue, we provide novel results for the moments, moment-generating function, probability density function, and cumulative distribution function of the quadrivariate Rayleigh distribution with an arbitrary correlation model. To the best of our knowledge, our model is the most comprehensive and the only one that can incorporate the 3GPP suggested spatial correlation structure. We use our new results to derive an analytical expression for the moments of the output signal-to-noise ratio of the four-branch equal gain combining receiver and the four-branch maximal ratio combining receiver. We provide original insight about their output signal-to-noise ratio distributions through their higher order moments in different scenarios. Our expressions are valid for all moments.
Real-Time Data-Driven Quality Assessment for Continuous Manufacturing of Carbon Nanotube Buckypaper

Carbon nanotube (CNT) thin sheet, or buckypaper, has shown great potential as a multifunctional platform material due to its desirable properties, including its lightweight nature, high mechanical properties, and good conductivity. However, their mass adoption and applications by industry have run into significant bottlenecks because of large variability and uncertainty in quality during fabrication. There is an urgent demand to produce high-quality, high-performance buckypaper at an industrial scale. Raman spectroscopy provides detailed nanostructure information within seconds, and the obtained spectra can be decomposed into multiple effects associated with diverse quality characteristics of buckypaper. However, the decomposed effects are high-dimensional, and a systematic quantification method for buckypaper quality assessment has been lacking. In this paper, we propose a real-time data-driven quality assessment method, which fills in the blank of quantifying the quality for continuous manufacturing processes of CNT buckypaper. The composite indices derived from the proposed method are developed by analyzing in-line Raman spectroscopy sensing data. Weighted cross-correlation and maximum margin clustering are used to fuse the fixed effects into an inconsistency index to monitor the long-term mean shift of the process and to fuse the normal effects into a uniformity index to monitor the within-sample normality. Those individual quality indices are then combined into a composite index to reflect the overall quality of buckypaper. A case study indicates that our proposed approach can determine the quality rank for ten samples, and can provide quantitative quality indices for single-walled carbon nanotube buckypaper after acid processing or functionalization. The quality assessment results are consistent with evaluations from the experienced engineers.
The Impact of the Twin Financial Crises

Abstract We focus on the first 20 years of the Euro, from 1999 to 2019, and we split this period into two approximate decades to examine the performance of three benchmarks: the real GDP quarterly growth, the annualized real per capita GDP changes and unemployment. These illustrate that the underperformance of Europe is more evident during the second decade. Searching for causes we find that the Global Financial Crisis was an exogenous shock to the EU but its impact was large in both the U.S. and the EU. One major reason is that the U.S. responded quickly and aggressively both fiscally and via an unconventional monetary policy. The Euro area was constrained by a European Central Bank that focused on price stability, and fiscal policy was not much of an option. The second shock of the Sovereign Debt Crisis was endogenous to the Euro area and it, more than the Global Financial Crisis, revealed the original weaknesses and fragility of the European monetary union. This financial fragility quickly translated into declines in aggregate demand and economic underperformance.
Bioactive lipids and gene expression in neuronal plasticity.

Excitable membranes are a reservoir of bioactive lipids that are contained as part of the structure of phospholipids. Signals such as those elicited by receptor occupancy trigger, via the activation of phospholipases, the release of phospholipid moieties. These enzymes are under control of receptors, calcium ions, protein kinase/phosphatase cascades, and of other signaling mechanisms which still need to be better characterized. The best defined regulatory events of these enzymes are those controlled by the seven transmembrane domain superfamily of receptors that, through G proteins, activate phospholipase C (PLC). This enzyme predominantly hydrolyzes phosphatidylinositol 4′, 5′bisphosphate (PIP2), resulting in the production of the second messengers, diacylglycerol (DAG) and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3). These two messengers of inositol lipids represent a bifurcating, informational system inside the cell. The synaptic inositol lipid signaling system is activated by neurotransmitters, growth factors and drugs. IP3 promotes intracellular Ca2+ mobilization by binding to a specific receptor in the endoplasmic reticulum, which in turn enhances calcium-dependent cellular processes.
To Emerge? Breadwinning, Motherhood, and Women’s Decisions to Run for Office

Women’s underrepresentation in American politics is often attributed to relatively low levels of political ambition. Yet scholarship still grapples with a major leak in the pipeline to power: that many qualified and politically ambitious women decide against candidacy. Focusing on women with political ambition, we theorize that at the final stage of candidate emergence, household income, breadwinning responsibilities, and household composition are interlocking obstacles to women’s candidacies. We examine these dynamics through a multimethod design that includes an original survey of women most likely to run for office: alumnae of the largest Democratic campaign training organization in the United States. Although we do not find income effects, we provide evidence that breadwinning—responsibility for a majority of household income—negatively affects women’s ambition, especially for mothers. These findings have important implications for understanding how the political economy of the household affects candidate emergence and descriptive representation in the United States.
A Flexible Multiplatform Bioanalytical Strategy for Measurement of Total Circulating Shed Target Receptors: Application to Soluble B Cell Maturation Antigen Levels in the Presence of a Bispecific Antibody Drug

B cell maturation antigen (BCMA) is a membrane-bound receptor that is overexpressed on multiple myeloma cells and can be targeted with biotherapeutics. Soluble shed forms of membrane-associated receptors in circulation can act as a drug sink, especially when it is present in high molar ratio compared to drug concentration, potentially derailing the intended pharmacological mechanism and impacting pharmacokinetic (PK) measurements and efficacious dose predictions. In this study, we present a bioanalytical strategy for assessing dynamic levels of total soluble BCMA before and during treatment with a bispecific antibody targeting BCMA and CD3. Implementation of a ligand binding assay was not successful due to extensive bispecific antibody interference. Instead, we explored two types of immunoaffinity (IA) liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) assays, one at the protein level and one at the surrogate peptide level. Ultimately, the protein-level IA-LC-MS/MS method was optimized for use in a cynomolgus monkey PK/pharmacodynamic study. In addition, we demonstrated that the method was easily adapted for use with human samples in preparation for translation to the clinic. This work demonstrates the benefit of flexibility and agility in bioanalytical method development in early drug development. Multiplatform suitability assessments enable rapid, resource-sparing identification and qualification of clinically translatable assays. We recommend early adoption of this strategy to provide enough time for critical reagent development and assay validation for analysis of shed targets.
Non-parametric estimation of Spearman's rank correlation with bivariate survival data

We study rank-based approaches to estimate the correlation between two right-censored variables. With end-of-study censoring, it is often impossible to non-parametrically identify the complete bivariate survival distribution, and therefore it is impossible to non-parametrically compute Spearman's rank correlation. As a solution, we propose two measures that can be non-parametrically estimated. The first measure is Spearman's correlation in a restricted region. The second measure is Spearman's correlation for an altered but estimable joint distribution. We describe population parameters for these measures and illustrate how they are similar to and different from the overall Spearman's correlation. We propose consistent estimators of these measures and study their performance through simulations. We illustrate our methods with a study assessing the correlation between the time to viral failure and the time to regimen change among persons living with HIV in Latin America who start antiretroviral therapy.
Time-course analysis of Streptococcus sanguinis after manganese depletion reveals changes in glycolytic and nucleic acid metabolites

Manganese is important for the endocarditis pathogen Streptococcus sanguinis. Little is known about why manganese is required for virulence or how it impacts the metabolome of streptococci. We applied untargeted metabolomics to cells and media to understand temporal changes resulting from manganese depletion. EDTA was added to a S. sanguinis manganese-transporter mutant in aerobic fermentor conditions. Cell and media samples were collected pre- and post-EDTA treatment. Metabolomics data were generated using positive and negative modes of data acquisition on an LC–MS/MS system. Data were subjected to statistical processing using MetaboAnalyst and time-course analysis using Short Time series Expression Miner (STEM). Recombinant enzymes were assayed for metal dependence. We observed quantitative changes in 534 and 422 metabolites in cells and media, respectively, after EDTA addition. The 173 cellular metabolites identified as significantly different indicated enrichment of purine and pyrimidine metabolism. Further multivariate analysis revealed that the top 15 cellular metabolites belonged primarily to lipids and redox metabolites. The STEM analysis revealed global changes in cells and media in comparable metabolic pathways. Glycolytic intermediates such as fructose-1,6-bisphosphate increased, suggesting that enzymes that utilize them require manganese for activity or expression. Recombinant enzymes were confirmed to utilize manganese in vitro. Nucleosides accumulated, possibly due to a blockage in conversion to nucleobases resulting from manganese-dependent regulation. Differential analysis of metabolites revealed the activation of a number of metabolic pathways in response to manganese depletion, many of which are connected to carbon catabolite repression.
Long-Term Outcomes in Children Surviving Tropical Arboviral Encephalitis: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND Survivors of childhood encephalitis often suffer from physical and neurocognitive sequelae, particularly in tropical, resource-limited areas with a large burden of arboviral, neurotropic pathogens and limited resources with which to address chronic morbidities. Research into overall and pathogen-specific outcomes following childhood encephalitis may help identify risk factors for poor outcomes, quantify the burden of sequelae, assist with resource allocation and help focus rehabilitative efforts. However, such research is limited. To this end, we systematically reviewed the literature on this topic to identify gaps in knowledge worthy of future investigation. METHODS A search of PubMed, Web of Knowledge and the Cochrane databases was performed 10 January through 20 February 2020, using 17 search terms for sequelae and 14 for tropical, arboviral pathogens. Eligible reports demonstrated post-discharge follow-up of ≥3 months and assessment of clinical outcome in a child with an arboviral encephalitis ≤18 years of age at diagnosis. RESULTS Of 1513 articles, 35 were eligible, comprising 693 children. Japanese encephalitis accounted for 18 articles and 93.2% of all subjects (646 total). Sequelae were documented in ∼60% of subjects overall and in those with Japanese encephalitis. For non-Japanese encephalitis virus encephalitides (47 children), sequelae were found in 78.1%. No studies utilized comprehensive neurocognitive testing or assessed the efficacy of rehabilitative efforts. Only nine studies reported data from ≥1 follow-up visit. CONCLUSION Investigation into long-term outcomes following tropical childhood encephalitis is limited, particularly for neurocognitive sequelae, serial assessments over time and the effect of rehabilitative measures. LAY SUMMARY Encephalitis, an infection of the brain, is frequently caused by arboviruses (viruses spread via the bite of infected arthropods, such as mosquitoes) in tropical locales. Following infection, surviving children may be plagued with severe physical and cognitive deficits. Unfortunately, research into the type of deficits, their frequency and their responsiveness to rehabilitative efforts is lacking. We identified and reviewed 35 studies describing outcomes in children recovering from tropical, arboviral encephalitis at least 3 months following hospital discharge. Poor outcomes were common and found in up to 60% of children. Long-term and serial follow-up visits were rare, as was the use of comprehensive neurocognitive testing. No studies assessed the efficacy of rehabilitative measures. Further study into these areas is recommended.
YIELDS OF TRITIUM DURING FISSION OF NUCLIDES OF INTEREST IN NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS.

A very important problem associated with the development of commercial power reactors is the effect of their operation on the environment. An important product of the fission process which could be a serious source of environmental contamination is tritium.
Operations in the On-Demand Economy: Staffing Services with Self-Scheduling Capacity

Motivated by recent innovations in service delivery such as ride-sharing services and work-from-home call centers, we study capacity management when workers self-schedule. Our service provider chooses capacity to maximize its profit (revenue from served customers minus capacity costs) over a horizon. Because demand varies over the horizon, the provider benefits from flexibility to adjust its capacity from period to period. However, the firm controls its capacity only indirectly through compensation. The agents have the flexibility to choose when they will or will not work and they optimize their schedules based on the compensation offered and their individual availability. To guarantee adequate capacity, the firm must offer sufficiently high compensation. An augmented newsvendor formula captures the tradeoffs for the firm and the agents. If the firm could keep the flexibility but summon as many agents as it wants (i.e., have direct control) for the same wages it would not only generate higher profit, as is expected, but would also provide better service levels to its customers. If the agents require a “minimum wage” to remain in the agent pool they will have to relinquish some of their flexibility. To pay a minimum wage the firm must restrict the number of agents that can work in some time intervals. The costs to the firm are countered by the self-scheduling firm’s flexibility to match supply to varying demand. If the pool of agents is sufficiently large relative to peak demand, the firm earns more than it would if it had control of agents’ schedules but had to maintain a fixed staffing level over the horizon.
Modeling nonlinear lightwave systems

Summary form only given. The increasingly widespread use of erbium-doped optical fiber amplifiers in the 1990's has revolutionized optical fiber communications, making it possible to transmit hundreds of Gbit/s over thousands of kilometers without electronic repeaters. Because the effects of nonlinearity accumulate over long distances in modern-day systems-interacting all the while with spontaneous emission noise, chromatic dispersion, and the effects of randomly varying birefringence-modeling these systems accurately and efficiently is a significant challenge. A variety of techniques have evolved to meet this challenge. In this tutorial, I will describe the advantages and disadvantages of the principle techniques in current use, including Fourier mode coupling techniques, split-step computational methods, multiple-scale techniques, and empirical methods. No technique is universally applicable, and most are useful in some parameter regime. I will outline the contexts in which each of these techniques is of practical use in designing optical fiber communication systems.
Towards optimal priority and deadline driven scheduling in dynamic wireless environments

We formulate the problem of point-to-point scheduling at a congested network node as a Markov decision process (MDP) that considers the deadlines and priorities of each packet as well as the dynamic packet arrivals and channel conditions. Within this framework, we formulate the problem with the objective of maximizing the node's long-run priority-weighted throughput subject to instantaneous transmission rate constraints. We then analyze the structural properties of the optimal scheduling policy with respect to the deadlines and priorities of the backlogged packets. Additionally, we compare our approach to existing heuristics such as Priority Queueing (PQ), Earliest Deadline First (EDF), and Weighted Fair Queueing (WFQ). Our MDP-based approach outperforms all three heuristics not only because it takes into account the packets' priorities and deadlines, but also because it takes into account the future channel and packet arrival dynamics. Lastly, we experimentally show that the optimal scheduling policy has a switch-over type structure in several key parameters including the relative priorities of different traffic classes, the discount factor, and the traffic load intensity.
Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment, and Internal Service Quality: A Case Study of Las Vegas Hotel/Casino Industry

Abstract The purpose of this study, was to create a case study in employee attitudes on job satisfaction, in a major Las Vegas, Nevada hotel/casino. To accomplish this, the authors specifically investigated the discrete level of their job satisfaction, internal service quality, and organizational commitment. They also explored the overall impact of job satisfaction and internal service quality on employee organizational commitment. Currently there is no reported research on the simultaneous examination of these three variables. The results of this study have practical applications given the size and the nature of the casino business, in which a large number of employees may be assembled in a single location, and where employees may move easily from one property to another.
Nudging Fledgling Teen Readers from the Nest: From Round Robin to Real Reading

Abstract Middle and Secondary teachers often find it difficult to help their students read textbooks and other instructional materials. In order to ensure they read the text, teachers may rely on “round robin reading” and other ineffective strategies. In this article, the authors explain why this strategy hinders comprehension, fluency and development of independent reading skills and provide alternative, research-based reading instructional strategies for adolescents.
Soil Organic Carbon Pools Under Switchgrass Grown as a Bioenergy Crop Compared to Other Conventional Crops

Abstract Switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum L.) has been proposed as a sustainable bioenergy crop because of its high yield potential, adaptation to marginal sites, and tolerance to water and nutrient limitations. A better understanding of the potential effects of biomass energy crop production practices on soil biological properties and organic matter dynamics is critical to its production. Our objective was to evaluate changes in C pools under a warm-season perennial switchgrass in different soils compared to typically-grown crops collected at College Station, Dallas, and Stephenville, TX in February 2001. Sampling depths were 0–5, 5–15, and 15–30 cm. Switchgrass increased soil organic C (SOC), soil microbial biomass C (SMBC), mineralizable C, and particulate organic matter C (POM-C) compared to conventional cropping systems. Soil C concentrations were in the order: long-term coastal bermudagrass [ Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.] Panicum coloratum L.) planted in 1992 > switchgrass 1997 > conventional cropping systems. Soil C concentrations tended to increase with increasing clay content. Greater microbial biomass C followed the order of Dallas > College Station > Stephenville, and ranged from approximately 180 mg C kg −1 soil at Stephenville to 1900 mg C kg −1 soil at Dallas. Particulate organic C was more sensitive than other fractions to management, increasing as much as 6-fold under long-term coastal bermudagrass compared to conventional cropping systems. Our study indicated that conversion of conventional cropping systems into switchgrass production can sequestrate more SOC and improve soil biological properties in the southern USA.
Fertility of Bull Semen Diluted at 1:100

Summary In an investigation involving 5,765 inseminations no difference in fertility was found between dilution rates of 1:40, 1: 60, 1: 80, or 1 part of bull semen to 100 parts of the egg yolk-citrate diluent. At the highest rate of dilution on the average 12,836,000 spermatozoa were introduced in each 1.0 ml. of diluted semen used for insemination.
Seasonal, Regional, and Storm-Scale Variability of Cloud-to-Ground Lightning Characteristics in Florida

AbstractSeasonal, regional, and storm-scale variations of cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning characteristics in Florida are presented. Strong positive CG (+CG) and negative CG (−CG) flashes (i.e., having large peak current) are emphasized since they often are associated with strong storms, structural damage, and wildfire ignitions. Although strong −CG flashes are most common during the warm season (May–September) over the peninsula, the greatest proportion of strong +CG flashes occurs during the cool season (October–April) over the panhandle. The warm season exhibits the smallest +CG percentage but contains the greatest +CG flash densities, due in part to more ambiguous +CG reports (15–20 kA). The more frequent occurrence of ambiguous +CG reports helps explain the unusually small average +CG peak current during the warm season, whereas strong +CG reports (>20 kA) appear to be responsible for the greater average warm season +CG multiplicity. The −CG flash density, multiplicity, and peak current appear to be di...
Predicting return of fear following exposure therapy with an implicit measure of attitudes.

We sought to advance understanding of the processes underlying the efficacy of exposure therapy and particularly the phenomenon of return of fear (ROF) following treatment by drawing on a social psychological view of phobias as attitudes. Specifically, a dual process theory of attitude-related behavior predicts that a positive response to exposure therapy may reflect change in either the automatic (the attitude representation itself) or controlled (skills and confidence at coping with the fear) responses to the phobic stimulus, or both. However, if the attitude representation remains negative following treatment, ROF should be more likely. We tested this hypothesis in a clinical sample of individuals with public speaking phobia using a single-session exposure therapy protocol previously shown to be efficacious but also associated with some ROF. Consistent with predictions, a post-treatment implicit measure of attitudes toward public speaking (the Personalized Implicit Association Test [PIAT]) predicted ROF at 1-month follow-up. These results suggest that change in the automatically activated attitude toward the phobic stimulus is an important goal of exposure therapy and that an implicit measure like the PIAT can provide a useful measure of such change by which to gauge the adequacy of exposure treatment and predict its long-term efficacy.
Earth and space science community responds to U.S. presidential election

Following the 6 November reelection of U.S. president Barack Obama, Eos contacted a number of scientists and analysts involved with the Earth and space sciences. Each was asked (1) for their thoughts about what impact the presidential election will have on the Earth and space sciences and (2) what they see as the key challenges and what the Obama administration should have at the top of its agenda related to the geosciences. Here are 13 responses.
Granulomatous mycosis fungoides.

Summary— An unusual form of mycosis fungoides was characterized clinically by the spontaneous resolution of ulcerated nodular lesions into poikiloderma and histologically by a granulomatous malignant lymphoma.
FIBERS FOR OPTICAL SCANNING MICROSCOPES

A finite-element approach, with the aid of the perturbation technique, is used to determine the complex propagation characteristics of metal-clad optical fibers. Such structures of sub-micron dimension find an important application in near-field optical scanning microscopy, a technique which has been developing rapidly in recent years, providing high-resolution imaging in both the semiconductor industry and the biological sciences. The fundamental optical modal field profiles of these structures, suitable for optical scanning microscopy applications, for both TE and TM polarisations, are investigated
Intestinal Crypt Stem Cells Possess High Levels of Cytoskeletal-associated Phosphotyrosine-containing Proteins and Tyrosine Kinase Activity Relative to Differentiated Enterocytes

Growth and differentiation of stem cells is thought to be regulated by growth factors and responding protein tyrosine kinase activities. Comparing mitotic stem cells from the adult intestinal epithelium, isolated from the crypts of Lieberkuhn, with isolated differentiated absorbtive cells we find major differences in the levels of phosphotyrosine-containing proteins. Crypt stem cells possess two major phosphotyrosine-containing polypeptides of 36 and 17 kD which have greater than 15 times more phosphotyrosine than that present in the polypeptides of differentiated enterocytes. Tyrosine kinase activity and similar phosphotyrosine-containing proteins are associated with the Triton cytoskeleton. Moreover, crypt tyrosine kinase(s) is active in vitro in phosphorylating similar cytoskeleton-associated substrates. These results suggest that cytoskeleton-associated phosphotyrosine kinase(s) and their substrates may play a role in growth and differentiation of adult intestinal epithelial cells.
5-Fluorouracil for the treatment of intraepithelial neoplasia of the conjunctiva and cornea.

Abstract Objective To evaluate the efficacy of pulse dosing of topical 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in the treatment of conjunctival and corneal intraepithelial neoplasia. Design Prospective, noncomparative case series. Participants Seven patients with histologic evidence of intraepithelial neoplasia were identified by conjunctival biopsy or tumor excision. Methods Seven patients with a minimum of 7 months of follow-up were treated with pulsed dosing of 1% 5-FU. Topical 1% 5-FU was administered four times daily for 2 to 4 days for each cycle. The number of initial treatment cycles was two to six, with the time between cycles being 30 to 45 days. Main outcome measures The presence or absence of clinically evident intraepithelial neoplasia was evaluated after each treatment interval. Patients were also monitored for adverse reactions to the use of topical 5-FU. Results Four patients remain disease free with a mean follow-up of 18.5 months (range, 7–36 months) with no additional treatment after the initial treatment cycles (mean, 3.75 cycles; range, 2–5 cycles). Three patients had recurrence of disease after the initial treatment cycles. Two patients were treated with additional cycles for recurrent disease (six cycles in one patient and five cycles in the other patient) and are free of disease at 20 and 21 months after treatment, respectively. One patient had persistent disease despite treatment with topical 5-FU and was treated with topical mitomycin C with resolution of the disease without recurrence for 16.5 months. No adverse reactions to pulse dose treatment with topical 5-FU were noted. Conclusions Pulsed dosing with 1% topical 5-FU for the treatment of conjunctival and corneal intraepithelial neoplasia, alone or as an adjunct to excision of bulky disease, is a well-tolerated and effective method of treatment.
DUOS - Simple dual TCAM architecture for routing tables with incremental update

We propose a dual TCAM architecture - DUOS, for routing tables. Four memory management schemes for TCAMs also are proposed and evaluated. DUOS and our memory management schemes support control-plane incremental updates without delaying data-plane lookups. Compared to other TCAM architectures such as CAO OPT [19] that support incremental updates without delaying lookups, DUOS offers reduction in power consumption and improvement in average performance for update operations.
The Effects of Knowledge Maps on Acquisition and Retention of Visual Arts Concepts in Teacher Education

This study examined the use of knowledge maps as a tool for teacher education students to increase knowledge acquisition and retention of concepts related to the visual arts design elements: line, color, and shape. Participants were randomly assigned to either the no map or knowledge map group. Three instruments—Student Autobiography, Elements of Design Tests (EDT), and Knowledge Map Questionnaire—were used to collect data. Results revealed significantly higher means on the immediately administered posttest for the elements line and color and the delayed posttest for line map group. Questionnaire responses indicated positive attitudes toward knowledge map use as a study strategy. Specifically, endorsement was reported toward maps’ clarity, effectiveness for learning concepts, and enjoyment of use.
Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of dl-4,4-Difluoroglutamic Acid and dl-γ,γ-Difluoromethotrexate

dl-4,4-Difluoroglutamic acid (dl-4,4-F2Glu) and its methotrexate analogue, dl-γ,γ-difluoromethotrexate (dl-γ,γ-F2MTX), were synthesized and evaluated as alternate substrates or inhibitors of folate-dependent enzymes. Synthesis of dl-4,4-F2Glu involved the nitroaldol reaction of ethyl nitroacetate with a difluorinated aldehyde ethyl hemiacetal as a key step. Attempted ligation of dl-4,4-F2Glu to methotrexate (MTX), catalyzed by human folylpoly-γ-glutamate synthetase (FPGS), revealed that dl-4,4-F2Glu is a poor alternate substrate. dl-γ,γ-F2MTX was synthesized by a route proceeding through N-[4-(methylamino)benzoyl]-4,4-difluoroglutamic acid di-tert-butyl ester followed by alkylation with 6-(bromomethyl)-2,4-pteridinediamine hydrobromide. dl-γ,γ-F2MTX was found to be neither a substrate nor an inhibitor of human FPGS. The fluorinated analogue of MTX, however, inhibits DHFR and cell growth with the same potency as MTX.
Application rates from center pivot irrigation with current sprinkler types

Center pivot sprinkler irrigation is increasing in popularity in the United States due to the low labor requirement and ability to irrigate large fields. The main problem associated with pivots continues to be the inherently high application rates and tendency for runoff and erosion on medium- and fine-textured soils and rolling topography. Recently developed sprinklers or spray heads can produce high application uniformity with controlled drop sizes and medium sized pattern widths at medium to low pressures. A method is presented to predict the average and peak application rates at any point along a center pivot lateral for a particular type of sprinkler. The method can be incorporated with infiltration and center pivot design models to predict when runoff might occur. A computer program is available to aid in the design process and compare alternative configurations.
Sodium fluxes through the active transport pathway in toad bladder

To assess the active components of sodium flux across toad bladder as a function of transepithelial potential, unidirectional sodium fluxes between identical media were measured before and after adding sufficient ouabain (1.89×10−3m) to eliminate active transport, while clamping transepithelial potential to 0, 100 or 150 mV. Evidence was adduced that ouabain does not alter passive fluxes, and that fluxes remain constant if ouabain is not added. Hence, the ouabain-inhibitable fluxes represent fluxes through the active path. Results were analyzed by a set of equations, previously shown to describe adequately passive fluxes under electrical gradients in this tissue, here modified by the insertion ofE, the potential at which bidirectional sodium fluxes (β E and Φ E ) through the active pathway are equal. According to these equations, β E and Φ E are the logarithmic mean of bidirectional fluxes through the active path at any potential, and the flux ratio in this path is modified by a constant factorQia, which represents the ratio of the bulk diffusion coefficient to the tracer diffusion coefficient in this pathway. The data are shown to conform closely to these equations.Qia averages 2.54. Hence, serosal-to-mucosal flux vanishes rapidly as potential falls belowE. MeanE in these experiments was 158±1 mV. Thus, linear dependence of net flux in both active and passive pathways on potential is present, even though the sodium fluxes in both paths fail to conform to the Ussing flux ratio equation.Qi p 1 in the active path (as in single file pore diffusion). Both of these features tend to reduce the change in serosal-to-mucosal sodium flux induced by depolarization from spontaneous potential to zero potential (“short-circuiting”).
Renin gene nucleotide sequence of coding and regulatory regions in Dahl rats.

Renin alleles in the Dahl salt-hypertension sensitive (S) and Dahl salt-hypertension resistant (R) rats are known to strongly cosegregate with blood pressure. The purpose of this work was to look for structural differences in the S and R renin alleles that could account for the cosegregation result. The nucleotide sequences determined for the coding region and the 5′-flanking regulatory region for the renin gene of S and R rats were identical. There were some minor nucleotide changes in selected regions of the 1st and 8th introns that were sequenced, but these were unlikely to be of functional importance. The remaining possible reasons for the cosegregation of blood pressure with renin alleles in Dahl rats are differences in renin regulatory elements out of the immediate 5′-flanking area, or differences in alleles at an unknown closely linked locus.
Segment Adaptive Gradient Angle Interpolation

We introduce a new edge-directed interpolator based on locally defined, straight line approximations of image isophotes. Spatial derivatives of image intensity are used to describe the principal behavior of pixel-intersecting isophotes in terms of their slopes. The slopes are determined by inverting a tridiagonal matrix and are forced to vary linearly from pixel-to-pixel within segments. Image resizing is performed by interpolating along the approximated isophotes. The proposed method can accommodate arbitrary scaling factors, provides state-of-the-art results in terms of PSNR as well as other quantitative visual quality metrics, and has the advantage of reduced computational complexity that is directly proportional to the number of pixels.