cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Where did Porgy and Bess Come From

In 1924, Metropolitan Opera board chairman Otto Kahn proposed that the yet-to-be-written Great American Opera might well be a “jazz opera.” Eleven years later, George Gershwin's engagement with Kahn's idea came to fruition in Porgy and Bess (1935), set to a libretto by DuBose Heyward, based on Heyward's novella Porgy (1925) and his play of the same name staged in 1927. Several months before Porgy was published, Gershwin had already decided that a work of Kahn's description would have to be written for a black cast. Gershwin and Heyward, two white men, revealed through their collaboration not an exploitative impulse but an understanding that the wellsprings of an American operatic art might lie as much with the performers as with the creators.
GENETIC RECOMBINATION BY TRANSDUCTION BETWEEN MANNITOL-NEGATIVE MUTANTS OF STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS.

SummaryReciprocal tests for genetic recombination by transduction have divided 19 mtl— mutants of Staphylo coccus aureus strain 233 into 3 genetic groups. One group was composed of 4 mutants having a pleiotropic defect in their fermentation of carbohydrates. One group was composed of 2 mutants postulated to be defective in their phosphorylation of mannitol. The remaining mutants, postulated to have defects at specific steps in the utilization of mannitol, were linked genetically into the third group.
A method to fabricate disconnected silver nanostructures in 3D.

The standard nanofabrication toolkit includes techniques primarily aimed at creating 2D patterns in dielectric media. Creating metal patterns on a submicron scale requires a combination of nanofabrication tools and several material processing steps. For example, steps to create planar metal structures using ultraviolet photolithography and electron-beam lithography can include sample exposure, sample development, metal deposition, and metal liftoff. To create 3D metal structures, the sequence is repeated multiple times. The complexity and difficulty of stacking and aligning multiple layers limits practical implementations of 3D metal structuring using standard nanofabrication tools. Femtosecond-laser direct-writing has emerged as a pre-eminent technique for 3D nanofabrication.1,2 Femtosecond lasers are frequently used to create 3D patterns in polymers and glasses.3-7 However, 3D metal direct-writing remains a challenge. Here, we describe a method to fabricate silver nanostructures embedded inside a polymer matrix using a femtosecond laser centered at 800 nm. The method enables the fabrication of patterns not feasible using other techniques, such as 3D arrays of disconnected silver voxels.8 Disconnected 3D metal patterns are useful for metamaterials where unit cells are not in contact with each other,9 such as coupled metal dot10,11or coupled metal rod12,13 resonators. Potential applications include negative index metamaterials, invisibility cloaks, and perfect lenses. In femtosecond-laser direct-writing, the laser wavelength is chosen such that photons are not linearly absorbed in the target medium. When the laser pulse duration is compressed to the femtosecond time scale and the radiation is tightly focused inside the target, the extremely high intensity induces nonlinear absorption. Multiple photons are absorbed simultaneously to cause electronic transitions that lead to material modification within the focused region. Using this approach, one can form structures in the bulk of a material rather than on its surface. Most work on 3D direct metal writing has focused on creating self-supported metal structures.14-16 The method described here yields sub-micrometer silver structures that do not need to be self-supported because they are embedded inside a matrix. A doped polymer matrix is prepared using a mixture of silver nitrate (AgNO3), polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and water (H2O). Samples are then patterned by irradiation with an 11-MHz femtosecond laser producing 50-fs pulses. During irradiation, photoreduction of silver ions is induced through nonlinear absorption, creating an aggregate of silver nanoparticles in the focal region. Using this approach we create silver patterns embedded in a doped PVP matrix. Adding 3D translation of the sample extends the patterning to three dimensions.
Looking backwards from outcome to exposure to assess cancer latency

Abstract Assessing time relationships in cancer epidemiology involves linking exposure and cancer incidence or mortality on a time scale. The traditional approach is to make some exposure criterion the referent point, such as date of first exposure. However, the time relationships between exposure and cancer may also be usefully explored using the date of diagnosis (or death) as the referent point in time. This has been accomplished to date in industry-based case-control studies by estimating the etiologic fraction among ever exposed cases for years prior to death from cancer, and in the serially additive expected dose (SAED) model by estimating excess case exposure dose for each year prior to cancer death. Each of these measures assesses exposure in time windows (of arbitrary width) prior to cancer death or diagnosis. Both measures are mathematically related (by constants) to a measure of the fraction of excess case exposure dose achieved in each time window, where “excess” means beyond that expected on the basis of non-cases or controls. This particular measure, the retrospective excess exposure fraction (REEF) in time windows, may be valuable in exploring time relationships between exposure and cancer. It is concluded that retrospective measures between cancer occurrence and exposure warrant further attention to maximize the informativeness of cancer epidemiology studies.
Origin of terrestrial gypsum dunes—Implications for Martian gypsum-rich dunes of Olympia Undae

Abstract The Estancia, White Sands, Guadalupe and Cuatrocienegas Dune Fields are among the largest known aeolian gypsum sand-dune accumulations on Earth and occupy closed-drainage basins within the Rio Grande Rift. High sedimentation rates of lacustrine gypsum occur in topographic depressions within the closed basins. The gypsum accumulations result from long-term, complex, interaction between tectonism, climate, and a hydrologic cycle that involves geochemical recycling of sulfur from older sedimentary rocks flanking and underlying the basins. Gypsum precipitation in lacustrine environments is strongly controlled by local groundwater/bedrock interaction. The ranges of δ34S values (per mil, vs. VCDT) for gypsum sand in the White Sands Dune Field (12.1 to 13.9‰), Guadalupe Dune Field (10.2 to 12.5‰) and Cuatrocienegas Dune Field (14.6 to 15.9‰) indicate that the main sources of dissolved sulfate are evaporite strata of Lower Permian, Middle Permian and Cretaceous ages, respectively. A spatial increase of δ34S values across the White Sands Dune Field, in the direction of prevailing winds, matches well with a stratigraphically upward increase of δ34S values recorded in Lake Otero (an ancient lake in the basin) strata. This finding supports previous suggestions that White Sands Dune Field evolved as a result of the step-wise deflation of previously stored sediments in Lake Otero. The modern gypsum dune fields are primarily wet eolian systems in which dune accumulation is controlled by a near-surface groundwater table, which promotes early cementation of the dune accumulations. Early cementation in the interdune surfaces and, to a lesser degree, on the dune surfaces reduces the amount of sand available for transport and slows rates of dune migration. Based on an average migration rate of 2 m/year, the time needed for a dune at White Sands to migrate the downwind distance of the dune field is approximately 6500 years, which matches well with other estimates of the initiation of the dune field at approximately 7000 years ago and indicates that White Sands likely evolved as a wet aeolian system. As on Earth, gypsum-rich dune fields apparently are rare on Mars. Gypsum has been identified only within the Olympia Undae Dune Field which encircles a portion of the Martian north polar residual ice cap. Analogous to terrestrial gypsum dunes, the gypsum within the Olympia Undae gypsum-rich dunes might have originated from transport and deposition via aeolian processes. In this model, gypsum-rich source sediment could have been formed by confined groundwater or surface water activity and later transported by the wind. Any subsequent gypsum precipitation in the source area could have been initiated by episodic melting of the Martian polar ice cap. It is likely that the gypsum was deposited in the Olympia Undae dunes after the main deflation events that led to formation of the siliciclastic components of the dune field.
Fast communication: Generalization of Hilbert transform for symbolic analysis of noisy signals

A recent publication has reported a Hilbert-transform-based partitioning method, called analytic signal space partitioning (ASSP), which essentially replaces wavelet space partitioning (WSP) for symbolic analysis of time series data in dynamical systems. When used in conjunction with D-Markov machines, also reported in the recent literature, ASSP provides a fast method of pattern recognition. However, wavelet transform facilitates denoising, which allows D-Markov machines to have a small depth D even if the time series data have a low signal-to-noise ratio. Since Hilbert transform does not specifically address the issue of noise reduction, usage of D-Markov machines with a small D could potentially lead to information loss for noisy signals. On the other hand, a large D tends to make execution of pattern recognition computationally less efficient due to an increased number of machine states. This paper explores generalization of Hilbert transform that addresses symbolic analysis of noise-corrupted dynamical systems. In this context, theoretical results are derived based on the concepts of information theory. These results are validated on time series data, generated from a laboratory apparatus of nonlinear electronic systems.
Existential-Humanistic and Dynamic Systems Approaches to Child Development in Mutual Encounter

Dynamic systems theory is one of the most recent perspectives to appear in child development texts. This article critically examines some of the dynamic systems thinking that has emerged in the area of child development from an existential-humanistic developmental point of view. In particular, special attention is given to Esther Thelen and Linda B. Smith's dynamic systems theory, because they alone have made an effort to build an organized dynamic systems framework for interpreting child development. Moreover, this theoretical framework has remained exceptionally popular and influential relative to other dynamic systems works. It was found that there are both similarities and differences between existential-humanistic developmental thought and Thelen and Smith's theory. Alan Fogel's dynamic systems views were found to be helpful in overcoming barriers to a fruitful dialogue between existential-humanistic and dynamic systems approaches to child development.
A queue with semiperiodic traffic

In this paper, we analyze the diffusion limit of a discrete-time queueing system with constant service rate and connections that randomly enter and depart from the system. Each connection generates periodic traffic while it is active, and a connection's lifetime has finite mean. This can model a time division multiple access system with constant bit-rate connections. The diffusion scaling retains semiperiodic behavior in the limit, allowing for both short-time analysis (within one frame) and long-time analysis (over multiple frames). Weak convergence of the cumulative arrival process and the stationary buffer-length distribution is proved. It is shown that the limit of the cumulative arrival process can be viewed as a discrete-time stationary-increment Gaussian process interpolated by Brownian bridges. We present bounds on the overflow probability of the limit queueing process as functions of the arrival rate and the connection lifetime distribution. Also, numerical and simulation results are presented for geometrically distributed connection lifetimes.
New solar systems

A team of astronomers from UCLA, Cornell University, and the University of Hawaii have discovered what may be two new planetary systems aborning around young stars in the constellations Taurus and Monoceros. The team's ground-based infrared observations of HL Tau and R Mon reveal features similar to those seen around Vega and Fomalhaut last year by NASA's Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS)—disks of very fine dust particles extending outward from a central star. If current theories about solar system formation are correct, then those disks most likely represent an early evolutionary step in the formation of planets. Using the technique of speckle interferometry to counter the effects of atmospheric distortion, Steven Beckwith of Cornell, Benjamin Zuckerman of UCLA, Melvin Dyck of the University of Hawaii, and Cornell graduate student Michael Skrutskie were able to make the observations using telescopes on Mauna Kea in Hawaii and Kitt Peak in Arizona. What they saw in both cases was short-wavelength infrared starlight being scattered by dust particles surrounding the star. In the case of HL Tau, the dusty “cloud” appears to extend out about 160 Astronomical Units from the star (4 times as wide as our solar system) in the east-west direction, but only half that far in the north-south direction. The explanation, according to Beckwith, is that “we're looking at a tilted disk rather than an oblate spheroid.” The cloud, in other words, is neither exactly edge-on nor face-on as seen from earth.
The role of radiologic imaging and biopsy in renal tumor ablation

The rate of unintentionally discovered renal masses has been increasing along with a parallel increased incidence of renal cell carcinoma both in men and women. Ablation therapy has emerged as an alternative for the treatment of these small renal tumors. Several techniques have been developed for renal tumor ablation with cryoablation (CA) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) being among the most widely used and studied. The purpose of this article is to review the role of imaging and renal mass biopsy in renal tumor ablation with focus on CA and RFA. We performed a PubMed® database search from January 2000 to January 2010 using the terms: renal tumor ablation, renal biopsy, indications, imaging, computed tomography (CT) guided, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) guided and ultrasound (US) guided. Nephron-sparing procedures, such as cryoablation and RFA, offer an adequate treatment option for selected patients. Imaging techniques such as ultrasonography, CT and MRI are critical to targeting thermal ablation of renal masses. Intra-operative biopsy prior to treatment is becoming a standard procedure but controversy remains regarding pre-operative biopsy. Additionally, contradictory data exist on the value of post-ablation biopsy.
Age-dependent changes in the distribution and concentration of human lens cholesterol and phospholipids

Analyses of total lipid in individual lenses 1.8-63 years of age indicate that both the cholesterol and the phospholipid concentrations have reached a high level of 10 and 14 micrograms/mg lens dry weight, respectively, after the first ten years of growth. Thereafter, the rate of phospholipid accumulation was greatly reduced to a value of 0.05 microgram/mg per year while that of cholesterol reduced to 0.19. Analyses of the distribution of lipid in successive lens fiber layers indicate that both the cholesterol and phospholipid levels increase in the entire lens between the age of 1.8 and 9 years. Older lenses showed a continuous increase in the accumulation of cholesterol in the deep cortical fibers, while little or no increase in phospholipid concentration was observed. These results indicate that the accumulation of lipids is greater than that of lens dry mass (protein) during the first decade of lens growth. Since more than 90% of lenticular lipids are associated with fiber cell membranes, these data suggest a gradual change in the differentiation of the newly formed secondary fibers from the epithelium during this period. Analyses of the phospholipid composition of the successive fiber fractions indicate that the major phospholipids of phosphatidyl ethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylserine (PS) and sphingomyelin maintained a uniform distribution in the 1.8- and 5-year-old lenses. While no change was observed with the cortical fibers, older lenses showed a gradual loss of PE and PS in the nuclear fiber up to 63 years of age. By the late teen years, nuclear PS can no longer be detected, while high levels of PE are maintained in lens nucleus. The disappearance of nuclear PE begins in the teen years and is completed by the age of 40. The decrease in PE and PS resulted in a continuous increase in the cholesterol/phospholipid ratio, a measure of membrane rigidity in the nuclear fiber in lenses 20 years of age and older. This decrease is also responsible for the exceedingly high rigidity of the nuclear fibers of lenses 60 years of age and older. Possible lamellar cholesterol organization in the lens fiber membrane is discussed.
Conditional versus contingent fees: Litigation expenditure incentives ☆

Abstract Many jurisdictions in the UK and Australia now allow conditional fees to be struck between a lawyer and their client. While both conditional and contingent fees are outcome-contingent, only under the former is the lawyer's remuneration a function of inputs. The public policy arguments put forward for each fee structure hinge importantly on litigation expenditure incentives. We show that conditional (contingent) fees are not better suited to the English (American) rule of fee-shifting. We also show that whether conditional fees result in higher or lower expenditure than contingent fees depends crucially on whether the inputs to litigation are determined by the lawyer or the client. If the latter, then conditional fees result in (weakly) lower expenditure than contingent fees. If the lawyer determines inputs then expenditure is higher under conditional fees.
Exploring Rhodopsin-Bilayer Interactions via Coarse-Grained Molecular Dynamics Simulation

Proteins are dynamic in structure, with molecular motions dictated primarily by local physical forces. Integral membrane proteins differ in the sense that the environment plays a major role in protein flexibility and, in turn, function. Rhodopsin, a G protein-coupled receptor, is a membrane protein whose function is dependent on major environmental factors, including lipid composition, cholesterol concentration, and the ionic strength of the surrounding solvent. In this work, we further explored these effects by utilizing coarse-grained molecular dynamics to simulate large, native-like membranes for long timescales. We discovered clear preferences at the surface of the protein for polyunsaturated lipid tails, an effect that has been explored before with simulation, though not at the timescales present in this work. We also noted preferential binding regions for cholesterol, possibly suggesting specific binding sites.
Predicting different conceptualizations of system use: the competing roles of behavioral intention, facilitating conditions, and behavioral expectation

Employees' underutilization of new information systems undermines organizations' efforts to gain benefits from such systems. The two main predictors of individual-level system use in prior research-behavioral intention and facilitating conditions-have limitations that we discuss. We introduce behavioral expectation as a predictor that addresses some of the key limitations and provides a better understanding of system use. System use is examined in terms of three key conceptualizations: duration, frequency, and intensity. We develop a model that employs behavioral intention, facilitating conditions, and behavioral expectation as predictors of the three conceptualizations of system use. We argue that each of these three determinants play different roles in predicting each of the three conceptualizations of system use. We test the proposed model in the context of a longitudinal field study of 321 users of a new information system. The model explains 65 percent, 60 percent, and 60 percent of the variance in duration, frequency, and intensity of system use respectively. We offer theoretical and practical implications for our findings.
Paradigm Cases in Decision Making for Neonates

After completing this article, readers should be able to: 1. Describe potential problems with interpreting legal cases relating to neonates who have disabilities. 2. Trace the evolution of legal decisions regarding neonates who have disabilities. 3. Describe the Baby Doe rules and their ultimate revision. Just as clinical practices, methods of diagnosis and therapy, and technology have evolved dramatically over the past 40 years in neonatology, so too have the ethical and legal dilemmas that clinicians face. This evolution is not peculiar to perinatology and neonatology; it also has occurred in pediatric and adult intensive care. Clinical situations that raised serious ethical questions 20 years ago are now common, everyday clinical events (eg, do not resuscitate orders, withdrawal of mechanical ventilation or dialysis, withdrawal of gastric feeding tubes). The history of the important or “classic” or “paradigm” cases in a field reveals much about how the issues have evolved, how clinical decisions are made today, what factors are currently seen as important in a case, who should participate in decisions, how much power each decision maker has in a decision, and why clinicians behave the way they do. Some of the important cases progressed through state or federal legal systems; some cases were tried in the criminal system and others in the tort system. Many, however, appeared as interesting or provocative case reports and discussion in the literature. Especially for those that have been decided in the court system, each case often is used as an example of a key legal or ethical principle or a revolutionary event or phenomenon in clinical decision making. Unfortunately, this frequently represents an oversimplification, at times a misrepresentation, of what can be complex issues, in which the primary issues that raised the profile of the case may not finally be the issues for which the case becomes …
An authentic assessment at the graduate level: a reflective Capstone Experience

It is often challenging for teacher educators to design an authentic Capstone Experience at the graduate level that aligns with what research tells us about the value of authentic assessment and the power of reflection in student’s learning and professional growth. This article introduces an innovative form of assessment for graduate students that is comprehensive, constructive and deeply reflective. Throughout their final semester, students were invited to synthesize and critically and thoughtfully reflect on their learning, to engage in self-assessment, and to take an active role in the conceptualization and design of their Capstone presentations. This product was used as both a personal and professional learning tool, as well as a means of program assessment for faculty. The authors have included a thorough description of the Capstone Experience including: the rationale, framework, expectations for students, components of the final product and presentation guidelines.
All‐Organic Vapor Sensor Using Inkjet‐Printed Reduced Graphene Oxide

Described herein is a flexible and lightweight chemiresistormade of a thin film composed of overlapped and reducedgraphene oxide platelets (RGO film), which were printedonto flexible plastic surfaces by using inkjet techniques. TheRGO films can reversibly and selectively detect chemicallyaggressivevapors suchasNO
Localized transmission of acoustic beam energy

The theory and experiments used to measure a new type of finite beam pulse, the localized wave pulse, are described. Recent experiments have shown that it is possible to create a pulsed beam of acoustic energy which maintains amplitude and beam width better than either conventional single-frequency or wideband beams of comparable frequency content. Work done on the design and generation of these localized wave transport beams is described. The experimental techniques to date have included acoustooptics, two-transducer linear superposition, and arrays composed of individually addressable elements. The beam width, amplitude, and frequency spectra of the localized beams are compared to those of both single-frequency tone burst piston beams and wideband Gaussian beams. An overview of the theory is given, and proposed applications are discussed. >
A network audit system for host-based intrusion detection (NASHID) in Linux

Recent work has shown that conventional operating system audit trails are insufficient to detect low-level network attacks. Because audit trails are typically based upon system calls or application sources, operations in the network protocol stack go unaudited. Earlier work has determined the audit data needed to detect low-level network attacks. We describe an implementation of an audit system which collects this data and analyze the issues that guided the implementation. Finally, we report the performance impact on the system and the rate of audit data accumulation in a test network.
Do eating disorders co-occur with personality disorders? Comparison groups matter.

Objective: To assess and compare lifetime rates of occurrence of eating disorders (ED) with four Axis II personality disorders (PD) and with major depressive disorder (MDD) without PD. The eating disorders met criteria outlined in the 4th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). Method: Six hundred sixty-eight patients recruited for the Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study (CLPS) were reliably assessed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders and the Diagnostic Interview for DSM-IV Personality Disorders. The distribution of ED diagnoses was compared among four PD study groups (schizotypal, borderline, avoidant, obsessive-compulsive) and a fifth study group with MDD without any PD. Results: The distribution of lifetime diagnoses of anorexia nervosa (N ¼ 40), bulimia nervosa (N ¼ 56), and eating disorder not otherwise specified (N ¼ 118) did not differ significantly across the five study groups, between the MDD group versus all PD groups, and among the four PD study groups. Conclusions: ED diagnoses did not differentially co-occur significantly across common Axis I and II disorders. The pattern of ED lifetime co-occurrence rates demonstrates the powerful influence of base rates and highlights that declarations of comorbidity demand significant variations from base-rate patterns. # 2003 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 33: 155-164, 2003.
Lateralized behavior and lymphocyte counts in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): A cross-sectional and longitudinal assessment

Cross‐sectional and longitudinal assessment of lymphocyte count and behavioral laterality was examined in a sample of captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) to assess the validity of the Geschwind‐Behan‐Galaburda (GBG) theory of cerebral lateralization. For the cross‐sectional analysis, chimpanzees classified as right‐handed for feeding exhibited lower lymphocyte counts than chimpanzees classified as either ambiguously handed or left‐handed. Longitudinal analysis indicated that some measures of laterality within the first 3 months of life predicted (a) direction of hand preference at 2 to 5 years of age and (b) lymphocyte counts for the first 3 years of life. The association between lymphocyte count and behavioral laterality was more evident in males than females. Taken together, the results support some aspects of the GBG theory.
Evaluation of extended-season mating disruption of the Oriental fruit moth Grapholita molesta (Busck) (Lep., Tortricidae) in apples.

: Oriental fruit moth Grapholita molesta (Busck) (Lep., Tortricidae) has recently become a key pest of apples throughout the eastern USA. Pheromone-mediated mating disruption of Oriental fruit moth was successfully used in North Carolina apple orchards in the past few years. However, low levels of late-season fruit damage occurred in some orchards treated in late May with hand-applied pheromone dispensers because of inadequate dispenser longevity. To investigate alternative pheromone application schedules for extended mating disruption control, the following pheromone treatments were compared with conventional insecticides in Henderson County (NC) in 2002: late May application of hand-applied dispensers; late June application of hand-applied dispensers; late May application of hand-applied dispensers supplemented with a late August application of sprayable pheromone dispensers; late May application of hand-applied dispensers which have a longer activity period; and conventional insecticides as a control. All treatments were sprayed with an insecticide at petal fall in late April for thinning and for control of the first generation Oriental fruit moth adults. Pheromone trap catches were significantly reduced in all mating disruption blocks compared with conventional insecticide blocks. Among pheromone treatments, the highest trap captures were recorded in the delayed hand-applied dispenser treatment in June before treatment. However, the mean percentage fruit damage did not vary with timing of application of hand-applied dispensers and the type of pheromone dispenser used. Clearly, the combination of each mating disruption treatment with insecticide application against first generation Oriental fruit moth was as effective as the conventional insecticide treatment under moderate population pressure.
Protein synthesis is required for expression of anthrax lethal toxin cytotoxicity.

Anthrax lethal toxin, which is composed of two proteins, i.e., protective antigen and lethal factor, is cytolytic to mouse peritoneal macrophages and the macrophage-like cell line J774A.1. After exposure of cells to lethal toxin, inhibition of protein synthesis occurred only slightly before the onset of cytolysis. Thus, cell death did not appear to be due to inhibition of protein synthesis. However, prior treatment of J774A.1 cells with cycloheximide or puromycin, which inhibited protein synthesis, protected them completely against lethal toxin-induced cytolysis, which suggested that continuous protein synthesis is required for the expression of lethal toxin activity. Inhibition of protein synthesis had no appreciable effect on the binding of protective antigen to the cell surface receptor or on proteolytic cleavage of surface-bound protective antigen. Furthermore, inhibition of protein synthesis did not alter the uptake of toxin, which suggested that protein synthesis is required at a later stage of the intoxication process. The protection provided by inhibition of protein synthesis was effective, even up to 1 h after exposure to anthrax lethal toxin. The increased uptake of calcium observed in cells exposed to lethal toxin did not occur when they were protected by blocking protein synthesis. Identifying the protein(s) synthesized during the intoxication process may help to understand the mechanism of cell death produced by anthrax lethal toxin.
Divergent patterns of riparian cottonwood recovery after the return of wolves in Yellowstone, USA

Understanding the potential effect apex predators may have on riparian plant communities, via a trophic cascade, represents an important research challenge in Rocky Mountain ecosystems. In the northern ungulate winter range of Yellowstone National Park where grey wolves (Canis lupus) were historically present, absent for seven decades, and recently reintroduced, our objective was to evaluate patterns of cottonwood (Populus spp.) recruitment for two adjacent reaches of the Lamar Valley. Results indicated that recruitment was common in both reaches when wolves were historically present and declined because of intensive herbivory from elk (Cervus elaphus) after wolves were extirpated in the early 1900s. By the 1970s, cottonwood recruitment along both reaches had essentially ceased. Wolves were reintroduced in the mid-1990s, and by 2012, some 4660 young cottonwoods ≥2 m in height (the general upper browse level of elk) had become established within the 2-km-long upper Lamar study reach, consistent with re-establishment of a tri-trophic cascade involving wolves, elk, and cottonwoods. However, within the 8-km-long lower Lamar study reach, only 22 young cottonwoods had attained a height of ≥2 m because of high levels of herbivory, especially from bison (Bison bison). Top–down trophic interactions involving wolves and elk, as well as reach characteristics and browsing by bison, appear to explain the strongly contrasting patterns of recent riparian cottonwood recruitment currently underway in the northern Yellowstone – one reach represented by a recovering riparian ecosystem and the other an alternative stable state with highly altered riparian vegetation and channel conditions. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Geopolitics as Theory:: Historical Security Materialism

Despite its previous centrality in Western political science, materialist arguments in contemporary theories of security politics are neglected and attenuated due to several political and intellectual developments. The extensive geopolitical literature of the late 19th and early 20th centuries was theoretically unsophisticated, deterministic and reductionist, but it was, along with classical Marxism, a branch of a broader attempt to historicize earlier materialist arguments in response to the industrial and Darwinian revolutions. In order to reformulate geopolitics as a more conceptually robust and sophisticated theory, I employ a generalized version of the apparatus of Marxian historical (production) materialism to construct geopolitics as historical security materialism. In this model, the forces of destruction, constituted by the interaction of geography and technology, determine the security functionality of different modes of protection. Two competing modes of protection, the real-state and the feder...
Large-scale drivers of malaria and priority areas for prevention and control in the Brazilian Amazon region using a novel multi-pathogen geospatial model.

Background: Most of the malaria burden in the Americas is concentrated in the Brazilian Amazon but a detailed spatial characterization of malaria risk has yet to be undertaken. Methods: Utilizing 2004-2008 malaria incidence data collected from six Brazilian Amazon states, large-scale spatial patterns of malaria risk were characterized with a novel Bayesian multi-pathogen geospatial model. Data included 2.4 million malaria cases spread across 3.6 million sq km. Remotely sensed variables (deforestation rate, forest cover, rainfall, dry season length, and proximity to large water bodies), socio-economic variables (rural population size, income, and literacy rate, mortality rate for children age under five, and migration patterns), and GIS variables (proximity to roads, hydro-electric dams and gold mining operations) were incorporated as covariates. Results : Borrowing information across pathogens allowed for better spatial predictions of malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum, as evidenced by a ten-fold cross-validation. Malaria incidence for both Plasmodium vivax and P. falciparum tended to be higher in areas with greater forest cover. Proximity to gold mining operations was another important risk factor, corroborated by a positive association between migration rates and malaria incidence. Finally, areas with a longer dry season and areas with higher average rural income tended to have higher malaria risk. Risk maps reveal striking spatial heterogeneity in malaria risk across the region, yet these mean disease risk surface maps can be misleading if uncertainty is ignored. By combining mean spatial predictions with their associated uncertainty, several sites were consistently classified as hotspots, suggesting their importance as priority areas for malaria prevention and control. Conclusion: This article provides several contributions. From a methodological perspective, the benefits of jointly modelling multiple pathogens for spatial predictions were illustrated. In addition, maps of mean disease risk were contrasted with that of statistically significant disease clusters, highlighting the critical importance of uncertainty in determining disease hotspots. From an epidemiological perspective, forest cover and proximity to gold mining operations were important large-scale drivers of disease risk in the region. Finally, the hotspot in Western Acre was identified as the area that should receive highest priority from the Brazilian national malaria prevention and control programme.
Pause menopause with Rhodiola rosea, a natural selective estrogen receptor modulator.

Abstract Background Menopausal women are challenged by the adverse effects of estrogen loss on energy, mood, cognitive function, and memory. These stresses are compounded by increased risks for cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and cancer. Known to have neuroprotective, cardio-protective, anti-oxidative and anti-carcinogenic effects, Rhodiola rosea extracts have also been shown to improve energy, mood, cognitive function and memory. Purpose We propose that R. rosea be investigated for use as a potential selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) in the prevention and treatment of menopause-related fatigue, stress, depression, cognitive decline, memory impairment, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and cancer. Method This paper briefly reviews the relationship between estrogen decline and menopause-related health risks, the molecular mechanisms underlying estrogenic effects on health, and the evidence indicating beneficial effects of R. rosea extracts on these mechanisms and health risks. Mechanisms include non-genomic and genomic effects, for example: activation of intra-cellular signal transduction pathways by binding to estrogen receptors, ERα-mediated activation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase with increased nitric oxide release; and anti-inflammatory effects, counteracting TNFα by inhibiting nuclear factor-Kappa-B (NF- K B) and protection of osteoblasts from hydrogen peroxide. A clinical case illustrating treatment of a menopausal woman with R. rosea is presented. Risks, benefits, gaps in knowledge, and future directions are discussed. Conclusion Numerous lines of evidence indicate that R. rosea should be investigated as a potential selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) to prevent, delay or mitigate menopause-related cognitive, psychological, cardiovascular and osteoporotic conditions.
Chronic infection and coronary atherosclerosis. Will the hypothesis ever really pan out

Although much is known about the process whereby atherosclerosis develops, in many cases the underlying cause remains unclear. Certain risk factors are well defined, including diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, tobacco abuse, and a positive family history ([1][1]). These risk factors,
Fine-Grained Opinion Extraction with Markov Logic Networks

Markov Logic Networks, a joint inference framework that combines logical and probabilistic representations, enable effective modeling of the dependencies that exist between different instances of a data sample. While its ability to capture relational dependencies makes it an ideal framework for predicting the structures inherent in many natural language processing (NLP) tasks, it is arguably underused in NLP, especially in comparison to other joint inference frameworks such as integer linear programming. In this paper, we present the first Markov logic model for the NLP task of fine-grained opinion extraction that exploits a factuality lexicon. When evaluated on a standard evaluation corpus, our approach surpasses a state-of-the-art approach in performance.
Integrating Advanced Technology into Air Traffic Controller Training

Effective training for air traffic controllers is a critical component of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA’s) mission of providing a safe and efficient national aerospace system. The Air Traffic Control (ATC) training program must address the training needs of newly hired controllers (students), ongoing refresher and skill enhancement training for Certified Professional Controllers (CPCs), and new technology and procedures training for students and CPCs. The current ATC training practices and methods have not kept pace with advancements in training technology and design. As a result, training for students and CPCs is costly, inefficient, subjective, and inconsistent. The current training system also does not have the flexibility or adaptability necessary to meet the need for training new technologies which may reduce the expected benefit of acquisitions. Since 2004, The MITRE Corporation’s Center for Advanced Aviation System Development has been analyzing the FAA’s training processes and capabilities and exploring the application of advanced training technology to air traffic controller training. This research has demonstrated that training quality, standardization, efficiency, and availability can all be improved throught the use of advanced training technology.
Picture Quality Judgments in a Digital Television System

Digital communication systems distort their signals as a consequence of the digitization process. The distortions are related to the code length and sampling frequency of the system. The present study assessed viewers' responses to these variables by using simulated digital television. To do this, 24 subjects rated the quality of pictures distorted by several combinations of the variables. A response surface generated from the ratings showed that the ratings were affected by both variables, but most profoundly by code length. Interpretation of the surface's contours from the perspective of system costs revealed that costs should be considered solely from the standpoint of code length.
Teaching Design of Designing Experiment and Implementation

On the basis of definiting connotations and characteristics of designing experiment,students’ experiment process and teachers’ tasks in the process of designing experiment are expounded.And the organization of teaching process of designing experiment and implement are discussed.Combined with the teaching practice,the basic conditions of establishing designing experiment are proposed.
Demonstration of a human epsilon-globin gene silencer with studies in transgenic mice

The human epsilon-globin gene displays normal developmental regulation in transgenic mice; it is expressed only in embryonic and in definitive erythroid cells. We show here that deletion of a negative element located between -182 and -467 bp upstream of the epsilon-globin gene cap site results in continuation of epsilon gene expression in the definitive erythroblasts of the fetal liver and in the red blood cells of adult transgenic mice. These data provide direct in vivo evidence that cis acting silencing elements are involved in the developmental control of the epsilon-globin gene.
[Semi-quantitative risk assessment on local transmission of Dengue fever caused by introduced cases].

OBJECTIVE To assess the risk of local transmission of Dengue caused by introduced cases with semi-quantitative method in 2015 in Zhejiang Province. METHODS Risk indexes of local transmission of Dengue caused by introduced cases were reviewed. The weights of indexes were computed by analytic hierarchy process and further used to generate absolute risk values by multiplying indexes. Moreover, comprehensive indexes were computed to describe relative risk by combining analytic hierarchy process and TOPSIS methods. RESULTS Four primary indexes and 19 secondary indexes were identified for risk assessment of local transmission of Dengue. The indexes with maximum and minimum weight were the number of immigration from countries with Dengue patients (weight value: 0.0678) and density of population (weight value: 0.0371) respectively. All CR values, statistics for measuring consistency of score matrix, were less than 0.1 (minimum: 0.000, maximum: 0.0922, average: 0.0251). The absolute risk of Zhejiang Province was within the range of 0.397-0.504 (the full score was 1.0). The risk orders of 11 municipalities sorted by relative comprehensive indexes and absolute risk values methods were similar. The three highest municipalities were Hangzhou, Wenzhou and Ningbo and the ranges of absolute risk value were 0.387-0.494, 0.404-0.511 and 0.392-0.499 respectively. CONCLUSION The results provides scientific basis for preventing and controlling Dengue in Zhejiang Province. The indexes and weights may be used to assess risk of Dengue in future. In addition, the semi-quantitative method constructed in this study would be a significant reference for risk assessment of public health in emergencies.
Evaluating an Online Resourcefulness Training Intervention Pilot Test Using Six Critical Parameters

Few resources are available to help grandmother caregivers to grandchildren manage their complex family situations that may have immediate and long-term consequences for themselves and their families. Resourcefulness training is an intervention designed to help grandmothers improve their ability to deal with these problems. The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the necessity, feasibility, acceptability, fidelity, safety, and effectiveness (i.e., effect sizes) of an online, computer-based resourcefulness training intervention that was adapted from a face-to-face intervention. Twelve grandmothers raising or living with grandchildren participated in the pilot intervention that included (a) watching an instructional video on resourcefulness, (b) completing two online questionnaires over a 6-week time period, and (c) writing in an online journal every day for 4 weeks. Data are evaluated within the context of the six parameters important to intervention development. Qualitative and quantitative results provide initial support for all six parameters. Recommendations to improve aspects of the intervention are discussed.
Distributed virtual test tubes

Biomolecular computing (BMC) aims to capture the many advantages that biological molecules have gained in the course of millions of years of evolution for computational purposes, in the same way that evolutionary algorithms aim to capture the key properties of natural evolution. While biomolecules have resolved fundamental problems as a parallel computer system that we are just beginning to decipher, BMC still suffers from our inability to harness these properties to bring biomolecular computations to levels of reliability, efficiency and scalability that are now taken for granted with solid-state based computers. We explore an alternative approach to exploiting these properties by building virtual test tubes in electronics that would capture the best of both worlds. We describe a distributed implementation of a virtual tube, EdnaCo, on a cluster of PCs that aims to capture the massive asynchronous parallelism of BMC. We report several experimental results, such as solutions to the Hamiltonian Path problem (HPP) for large families of graphs than has been possible on single processors or has been actually carried out in wet labs. The results show that the paradigm of molecular computing might be implemented much more efficiently (time and costwise) in silico than the corresponding wet experiments. Consequently, we pinpoint a range of practical problem sizes that would make a critical difference in establishing wet biomolecular solutions superior to electronics.