cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The ionizing background at the end of reionization

One of the most sought-after signatures of reionization is a rapid increase in the ionizing background (usually measured through the Lyα optical depth towards distant quasars). Conventional wisdom associates this with the ‘overlap’ phase when ionized bubbles merge, allowing each source to affect a much larger volume. We argue that this picture fails to describe the transition to the post-overlap Universe, where Lyman-limit systems (LLSs) absorb ionizing photons over moderate length-scales (≲20–100 Mpc). Using an analytic model, we compute the probability distribution of the amplitude of the ionizing background throughout reionization, including both discrete ionized bubbles and LLSs (parametrized by an attenuation length, which we impose rather than attempt to model self-consistently). We show that the overlap does not by itself cause a rapid increase in the ionizing background or a rapid decrease in the mean Lyα transmission towards distant quasars. More detailed seminumeric models support these conclusions. We argue that the rapid changes should instead be interpreted as evolution in the attenuation length itself, which may or may not be directly related to overlap.
Two enzymes, BtaA and BtaB, are sufficient for betaine lipid biosynthesis in bacteria.

Abstract Betaine lipids are non-phosphorous glycerolipid analogs of phosphatidylcholine. The biosynthesis of the betaine lipid diacylglyceryl-N,N,N-trimethylhomoserine has previously been studied in phosphate-starved cells of the purple bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides, and a genetic approach identified two proteins that are necessary for this process. Here, we show that all reactions of DGTS biosynthesis in R. sphaeroides are attributable to RsBtaA and RsBtaB, as co-expression of the respective genes leads to DGTS formation in Escherichia coli, which normally lacks this lipid. The recombinant RsBtaA protein was membrane-associated and showed S-adenosylmethionine/diacylglycerol 3-amino-3-carboxypropyl transferase activity. RsBtaA directed the transfer of label from 1-[14C]S-adenosylmethionine or [14C]diacylglycerol at equal rates into the betaine lipid precursor diacylglycerylhomoserine identifying both metabolites as the substrates of the reaction. Comparative analysis of RsBtaA and its bacterial orthologs revealed a motif with similarity to the AdoMet binding pocket of methyltransferases, and allowed the prediction of residues involved in substrate binding.
Photooxidation of Diimine Dithiolate Platinium(II) Complexes Induced by Charge Transfer to Diimine Excitation.

A photochemical and photophysical investigation was carried out on (tbubpy)PtII(dpdt) and (tbubpy)PtII(edt) (1 and 2, respectively, where tbubpy = 4,4‘-di-tert-butyl-2,2‘-bipyridine, dpdt = meso-1,2-diphenyl-1,2-ethanedithiolate and edt = 1,2-ethanedithiolate). Luminescence and transient absorption studies reveal that these complexes feature a lowest excited state with Pt(S)2 → tbubpy charge transfer to diimine character. Both complexes are photostable in deoxygenated solution; however, photolysis into the visible charge transfer band in air-saturated solution induces moderately efficient photooxidation. Photooxidation of 1 produces the dehydrogenation product (tbubpy)PtII(1,2-diphenyl-1,2-ethenedithiolate) (4). By contrast, photooxidation of 2 produces S-oxygenated complexes in which one or both thiolate ligands are converted to sulfinate (−SO2R) ligands. Mechanistic photochemical studies and transient absorption spectroscopy reveal that photooxidation occurs by (1) energy transfer from the charge transf...
The tripartite osteotomy of the mid-face for orbital expansion and correction of the deformity in craniostenosis.

Summary A new concept of dividing the mid-facial skeleton into three parts (the tripartite osteotomy) permits a more selective correction of the varied deformities characteristic of craniostenosis. Three variations of this type of operation which remedies some of the deficiencies of the Le Fort III advancement osteotomy are discussed.
The Quantum Mechanics of Electrons in Crystals

A general solution is developed for the motion of electrons in the potential field of the nuclei in a crystal lattice. As usual the energy interaction terms due to nuclear vibration and to the presence of other electrons are neglected; they are to be included later by approximation methods.It is shown for low energies the wave function becomes a linear combination of the atomic wave functions, the allowed energies approximating the discrete atomic levels; and for high energies the wave function approaches that of the free electron, with the allowed energies a nearly continuous range. However, for electrons coming into the crystal from outside, the crystal becomes impenetrable for those electronic wave-lengths and directions analogous to the beams producing Bragg and Laue beams in x-rays.The solution is computed for a simple form of potential lattice, and the results are shown to be in quantitative agreement with the experimental results of Davisson and Germer. The phenomenon they call anomalous dispersion is shown to be a natural consequence of the characteristics of the wave function.
High speed effusion flows from a rectangular exit into a vacuum

Abstract This paper presents a set of analytical gaskinetic solutions of highly rarefied free molecular jet expanding into a vacuum from a rectangular exit. Different from the past work, these solutions are exact and they include completely three-dimensional flowfield properties of density, velocity components, temperature, and pressure. These results provide us the free molecular limiting results, opposite to the continuum flow situation. The evaluation speed is faster than particle simulation methods. They expect to find many possible applications, such as materials processing inside vacuum chambers, space and micro-propulsion devices, and molecular beams.
Die Begegnung von Chemie und Physik im Festkörper

Wollen Chemiker die erstaunlichen elektronischen Eigenschaften von Festkorperverbindungen verstehen, mussen sie die Sprache der Festkorperphysik, der Bandstrukturen, erlernen. Es soll hier versucht werden, diese Sprache zu entmystifizieren, indem klare Parallelen zu allgemein bekannten Begriffen der Theoretischen Chemie gezogen werden. Der Chemiker bringt in das gemeinsame Bemuhen von Physikern und Chemikern um ein Verstandnis der Bindung in ausgedehnten Systemen ein hohes Mas an Intuition und einige einfache, aber wirkungsvolle Vorstellungen ein. Am wichtigsten sind dabei der Begriff der Bindung und der Gebrauch von Grenzorbital-Argumenten. Wie aber findet man lokalisierte Bindungen in all den vollstandig delokalisierten Bandern? Interpretationshilfen wie Zustandsdichten und ihre Aufteilung sowie Kristallorbital-Uberlappungspopulationen ermoglichen es, Bindungen „aufzuspuren” und die Grenzorbitale ausfindig zu machen, die fur die Struktur und Reaktivitat sowohl in ausgedehnten Systemen als auch in diskreten Molekulen entscheidend sind.
Internal Multiple Reduction In Inverse-Data Domain

We propose two new methods to attenuate internal multiples in the inverse-data space. The first method involves a datuming step to the top of the multiplegenerating interface. Thus, internal multiples become surface-related and can be removed by a simple muting process. The second method is based on a new theoretical formulation in the inverse-data domain and results in a fully automated, data-driven algorithm. The correctness of both methodologies is verified using synthetic data. These two approaches have been applied poststack on field data, and promising results were obtained.
Effect of negative emotional pictures on associative memory for peripheral information

We investigated the influence of negative emotional pictures on associative memory. A visual object was embedded in the periphery of negative emotional or neutral pictures. Memory was assessed for central item (pictorial) information, peripheral (object) information, and the association between item and peripheral information. On tests of item information, negative emotional pictures were remembered better than neutral pictures. However, associative memory between item and peripheral information was less accurate when the pictures were negative compared to neutral. This occurred despite equivalent recall (Experiments 1 and 2) and recognition (Experiment 2) for the peripheral objects themselves. Further experiments confirmed that performance on the associative test was not influenced by testing order (Experiment 3). These findings suggest that negative emotional arousal can particularly disrupt the associative binding of peripheral information to a central emotional event.
Historical Aspects and the Future of Pancreatoduodenectomy

Allen Oldfather Whipple was born in 1881, in Persia (Iran) of American missionary parents. He received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University, then graduated in medicine in 1908 from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University. After internship, he returned to his alma mater. Thirteen years after graduation from medical school, he became Professor of Surgery and Director of the Surgical Service of Presbyterian Hospital [1].
Tonically active vagal pulmonary afferent neurones

Abstract Except for pulmonary deflation receptors (Paintal, 1963), which are inactive in the eupneic anesthetized cat, all known types of pulmonary afferent endings exhibit a discharge pattern which is related to the respiratory cycle. Recent studies of the sensory discharge of vagal afferent neurones has revealed the existence of a group of afferent endings which although they originate from the trachea, bronchi and lungs, exhibit a pattern of discharge which is unrelated to the respiratory rhythm.
Disability Beyond Stigma: Social Interaction, Discrimination, and Activism

This article critiques the assumptions about the nature and meaning of disability advanced in social-psychological writing, suggests the origins of these assumptions, and proposes a return to a Lewinian/minority-group analysis of the situation of people with disabilities. It concludes by placing the articles in this issue of the Journal of Social Issues in context and by presenting questions in need of further exploration.
How generative encodings fare on less regular problems

Generative representations allow the reuse of code and thus facilitate the evolution of repeated phenotypic themes or modules. It has been shown that generative representations perform well on highly regular problems. To date, however, generative representations have not been tested on irregular problems. It is unknown how fast their performance degrades as the regularity of the problem decreases. In this report, we test a generative representation on a problem where we can scale a type of regularity in the problem. The generative representation outperforms a direct encoding control when the regularity of the problem is high but degrades to, and then underperforms, the direct control as the regularity of the problem decreases. Importantly, this decrease is not linear. The boost provided by the generative encoding is only significant for very high levels of regularity.
Acoustic levitation methods for density measurements

The capability of ultrasonic levitators operating in air to perform density measurements has been demonstrated. The remote determination of the density of ordinary liquids as well as low density solid metals can be carried out using levitated samples with size on the order of a few millimeters and at a frequency of 20 kHz. Two basic methods may be used. The first one is derived from a previously known technique developed for acoustic levitation in liquid media, and is based on the static equilibrium position of levitated samples in the earth’s gravitational field. The second approach relies on the dynamic interaction between a levitated sample and the acoustic field. The first technique appears more accurate (1% uncertainty), but the latter method is directly applicable to a near gravity‐free environment such as that found in space.
The Role of Christian churches in National Politics: Reflections from Laity and Clergy in Ghana

This study examines the role of Christian churches in national politics in Ghana. It draws on various forms of data: a 1994 survey questionnaire, in-depth interviews, and content analysis of existing data. A total of 355 responses were received on the survey while 110 people were interviewed on a variety of church and political issues. Respondents were drawn from Catholic and Protestants denominational backgrounds. The preliminary results of the study lend support to the view that since the 1980's, Ghanaian Christians have been more actively involved in politics than ever before. These findings have important implications for the role religion plays in political development in Ghana.
Throughput behavior of the n-ary stack algorithm in mobile networks with capture

The emergence of wireless and personal communication networks has brought random access protocols for packet radio networks back to the research forefronts. Most such protocols are based on the ever popular ALOHA protocol. Unfortunately, this protocol is inherently unstable and requires sophisticated schemes to stabilize it. Another class of random access schemes, called limited sensing or stack algorithms, has been proposed that is stable and allows for the dynamic incorporation of new stations into the network. In this paper, we will review the simple to implement n-ary Stack Algorithm, and we will demonstrate its performance in the presence of capture under various system parameters. As a by-product of this work, we will show that random access schemes have throughput conditions that are sensitive to the traffic generation process.
Flow Cytometry Data Analysis: Comparing Large Multivariate Data Sets Using Classification Trees

This paper describes a method to compare flow cytometry data sets, which typically contain 50,000 six-parameter measurements each. By this method, the data points in two such data sets are divided into subpopulations using a binary classification tree generated from the data. "l~he )~2 test is then used to establish the homogeneity of the two data sets based on how their data are distributed across these subpopulations. Preliminary results indicate that this comparison method is sufficiently sensitive to detect differences between flow cytometry data sets that are too subtle for human investigators to notice.
Cross-layer design of dynamic resource allocation with diverse QoS guarantees for MIMO-OFDM wireless networks

We propose a PHY-MAC cross-layer based dynamic-resource allocation (DRA) scheme with diverse QoS guarantees for heterogeneous mobile users over MIMO-OFDM wireless network downlinks. Our scheme differentiates real-time users (e.g., audio/video) from non-real-time users (e.g., data). At the PHY layer, the DRA adaptively allocates transmit antennas and modulation levels for real- and non-real-time users to increase the spectral efficiency while guaranteeing the distinct BER-QoS requirements. Combining with the proposed PHY-layer infrastructure, the DRA at the MAC layer treats real- and non-real-time users differently: (1) it dynamically assigns time-slots for real-time users in a TDM-mode to guarantee the bounded delays; (2) it adaptively allocates subcarriers for non-real-time users in an FDM-mode to maximize the system throughput while retaining fairness among users. We analytically derive the admission-control and time-slot allocation conditions to guarantee the statistical delay-bound for real-time users using the effective bandwidth theory. Also, extensive simulations are conducted to evaluate the performance of our proposed scheme.
Fusion of wavelet transform and color information features for automatic vehicle reidentification in intelligent transportation systems

Vehicle reidentification is the process of reidentifying or tracking vehicles from one point on the roadway to the next. By performing vehicle reidentification, important traffic parameters including travel time, section density and partial dynamic origin/destination demands can be obtained. This provides for anonymous tracking of vehicles from site-to-site and has the potential for improving intelligent transportation systems (ITS) by providing more accurate data. The paper presents a fusion based vehicle reidentification algorithm that uses four different features to achieve high accuracy: (1) the wavelet transform of the inductive signature vector acquired from loop detectors; (2) vehicle velocity; (3) traversal time; (4) color information (based on images acquired from video cameras). A nearest neighbor approach classifies the features and linear feature fusion is shown to improve performance. With the fusion of four features, more than a 92% accuracy is obtained on real data collected from a parkway in California. Also, it is found that the wavelet transform improves performance and reduces the dimension of the feature vector when compared to the raw vehicle signatures.
Retinoic acid accelerates downregulation of the Xist repressor, Oct4, and increases the likelihood of Xist activation when Tsix is deficient

Imbalances in X-linked gene dosage between the sexes are resolved by transcriptionally silencing one of two X-chromosomes in female cells of the early mammalian embryo. X-inactivation is triggered by expression of the non-coding Xist gene. In turn, Xist is dually regulated by the antisense Tsix RNA and by the Oct4 pluripotency factor. Although there is general agreement that Tsix is an inhibitor of Xist, some laboratories have observed ectopic Xist induction in differentiating male ES cells when Tsix is mutated, whereas we have not observed significant changes in Xist. These observational differences have led to fundamentally diverse models of X-chromosome counting. Here, we investigate if different methods of cell differentiation and use of all -trans retinoic acid (RA) could be causative factors and how they might impact Xist expression. We compared suspension and cell-adhesion cultures in the presence or absence of RA and find that RA significantly impacts Xist expression in Tsix-mutant male cells. Whereas the standard embryoid body method infrequently leads to ectopic Xist expression, adding RA generates a significant number of Xist-positive male cells. However, while normal Xist clouds in wild-type female cells are robust and well-circumscribed, those found in the RA-treated mutant males are loosely dispersed. Furthermore, ectopic Xist expression does not generally lead to complete gene silencing. We attribute the effect of RA on Xist to RA's repressive influence on Oct4, a pluripotency factor recently shown to regulate Tsix and Xist. RA-treated ES cells exhibit accelerated decreases in Oct4 RNA levels and also display accelerated loss of binding to Xist intron 1. When Tsix is deficient, the faster kinetics of Oct4 loss tip the equilibrium towards Xist expression. However, the aberrant Xist clusters are unlikely to explain elevated cell death, as X-linked silencing does not necessarily correlate with the qualitatively aberrant Xist clusters. We conclude that RA treatment leads to premature downregulation of Oct4 and partial derepression of Xist irrespective of X-chromosome counting. RA-induced Xist clusters in male cells do not result in global or stable silencing, and excess cell death is not observed. These data and RA's known pleiotropic effects on ES transcription networks suggest that RA differentation bypasses normal X-inactivation controls and should be used judiciously. We propose that the likelihood of Xist expression is determined by a balance of multiple Xist activators and repressors, and that levels of Oct4 and Tsix are crucial toward achieving this balance.
A SIMPLE AND RAPID METHOD FOR DETERMINING THE CHAIN LENGTH OF OLIGONUCLEOTIDES RANDOMLY LABELED WITH P32.

Abstract The chain length of P32-labeled oligonucleotides was determined conveniently on DEAE paper disks by counting total radioactivity and then digesting the terminal phosphate with E. coli alkaline phosphatase at 60°C in strong salt solution. The inorganic phosphate was complexed with molybdate and extracted into heptanol, plated on paper disks, and assayed for P32.
Vitamin D: A millenium perspective

Vitamin D is one of the oldest hormones that have been made in the earliest life forms for over 750 million years. Phytoplankton, zooplankton, and most plants and animals that are exposed to sunlight have the capacity to make vitamin D. Vitamin D is critically important for the development, growth, and maintenance of a healthy skeleton from birth until death. The major function of vitamin D is to maintain calcium homeostasis. It accomplishes this by increasing the efficiency of the intestine to absorb dietary calcium. When there is inadequate calcium in the diet to satisfy the body's calcium requirement, vitamin D communicates to the osteoblasts that signal osteoclast precursors to mature and dissolve the calcium stored in the bone. Vitamin D is metabolized in the liver and then in the kidney to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)(2)D]. 1,25(OH)(2)D receptors (VDR) are present not only in the intestine and bone, but in a wide variety of other tissues, including the brain, heart, stomach, pancreas, activated T and B lymphocytes, skin, gonads, etc. 1,25(OH)(2)D is one of the most potent substances to inhibit proliferation of both normal and hyperproliferative cells and induce them to mature. It is also recognized that a wide variety of tissues, including colon, prostate, breast, and skin have the enzymatic machinery to produce 1,25(OH)(2)D. 1,25(OH)(2)D and its analogs have been developed for treating the hyperproliferative disease psoriasis. Vitamin D deficiency is a major unrecognized health problem. Not only does it cause rickets in children, osteomalacia and osteoporosis in adults, but may have long lasting effects. Chronic vitamin D deficiency may have serious adverse consequences, including increased risk of hypertension, multiple sclerosis, cancers of the colon, prostate, breast, and ovary, and type 1 diabetes. There needs to be a better appreciation of the importance of vitamin D for overall health and well being.
Perceived Impacts of a Public Health Training Center Field Placement Program among Trainees: Findings from a Small Group Externship Experience

There is heightened interest in identifying the impact of the federally-funded Public Health Training Center (PHTC) program. Although evaluation studies have been conducted of public health training in general, evaluations of PHTC programs are rare. Field placement components are Congressionally-mandated requirements of PHTCs. Field placements are typically intensive, supervised externships for students to gain public health experience with local health departments or non-profit organizations. We have found no published evaluations of PHTC field placement components. This may be because of their small size and unique nature. We designed and evaluated a 200-hour field placement program at an established Public Health Training Center. The evaluation included pre/post surveys measuring public health core competencies, and post-experience interviews. We found significant increases in three competency domains among trainees: policy development and program planning, communication skills, and community dimensions of practice. These outcomes contribute to an evidence base on the efficacy of PHTC field placement programs, and underscore their role in public health training.
Facing the 'Black Peril': The Politics of Population Control in South Africa

There is no sense in withstanding the enemy beyond the country's borders while the far more serious population explosion within its borders is allowed to continue unchecked.' A programme of national population control theoretically encompasses three distinct elements: limitation on women's fertility, change in human mortality rates and control of immigration. The government of South Africa has adopted specific policies on each of these three which, taken together, attempt to limit the black population while maintaining a large white population. 2 This article will focus on official policy regarding the limitation of women's fertility in the wider context of population control. While the National Party, in power since 1948, has long been committed to limiting the growth of the black population, its efforts to curb such growth have varied in intensity. It was only in 1974, for example, that Pretoria announced an official 'family planning' policy and allocated sufficient funds to carry it out. This article therefore also explores the nature and cause of these policy shifts, placing the birth control programme in the context of South Africa's evolving political economy.
GyroTab: a handheld device that provides reactive torque feedback

Haptic devices that provide robust and realistic force feedback are generally grounded to counterweight the applied force, prohibiting their use in mobile devices. Many ungrounded force-feedback devices rely on the gyro effect to produce torques on the human body, but their active control systems render them extremely bulky for implementation in small mobile devices. We present GyroTab, a relatively flat handheld system that utilizes the gyro effect to provide torque feedback. GyroTab relies on the user to produce an input torque and provides feedback by opposing that torque, making its feedback reactive to the user's motion. We describe the implementation of GyroTab, discuss the kinds of feedback it generates, and explore some of the psychophysical results we obtained from a study with the device.
Role of chromatin and transcriptional co-regulators in mediating p63-genome interactions in keratinocytes

The Transcription Factor (TF) p63 is a master regulator of epidermal development and differentiation as evident from the remarkable skin phenotype of p63 mouse knockouts. Furthermore, ectopic expression of p63 alone is sufficient to convert simple epithelium into stratified epithelial tissues in vivo and p63 is required for efficient transdifferentiation of fibroblasts into keratinocytes. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms of p63 function, in particular how it selects its target sites in the genome. p63, which acts both as an activator and repressor of transcription, recognizes a canonical binding motif that occurs over 1 million times in the human genome. But, in human keratinocytes less than 12,000 of these sites are bound in vivo suggesting that underlying chromatin architecture and cooperating TFs mediate p63-genome interactions. We find that the chromatin architecture at p63-bound targets possess distinctive features and can be used to categorize p63 targets into proximal promoters (1%), enhancers (59%) and repressed or inactive (40%) regulatory elements. Our analysis shows that the chromatin modifications H3K4me1, H3K27me3, along with overall chromatin accessibility status can accurately predict bonafide p63-bound sites without a priori DNA sequence information. Interestingly, however there exists a qualitative correlation between the p63 binding motif and accessibility and H3K4me1 levels. Furthermore, we use a comprehensive in silico approach that leverages ENCODE data to identify several known TFs such as AP1, AP2 and novel TFs (RFX5 for e.g.) that can potentially cooperate with p63 to modulate its myriad biological functions in keratinocytes. Our analysis shows that p63 bound genomic locations in keratinocytes are accessible, marked by active histone modifications, and co-targeted by other developmentally important transcriptional regulators. Collectively, our results suggest that p63 might actively remodel and/or influence chromatin dynamics at its target sites and in the process dictate its own DNA binding and possibly that of adjacent TFs.
Intravenous immune globulins: an update for clinicians

Immunoglobulins provide the body with an important defense mechanism against infectious agents for the patient with hypogammaglobulinemia. Less well understood is the ability of infused immune globulins to modulate immune-mediated diseases. Many excellent reviews have been written about the scientific and technical aspects of IVIGs. This review uses a different slant, with emphasis on the role of IVIGs in clinical practice and particular attention to the many research and clinical studies published in the past 5 years pertaining to currently available products, indications for use, and reactions, and other complications.
Distance nursing education in Alaska: a longitudinal study.

Abstract This study explored the benefits, problems, and effectiveness of educational delivery methods utilized in an associate degree nursing program at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) over three years. The sample consisted of two groups of students in their final semester (traditional, on-campus students, n = 71; students from sites where course content was delivered through distance-delivery methods, n = 94). Student achievement data were compared to examine effectiveness. A researcher-developed survey was used to obtain demographic data and participant perceptions about various items rated on a Likert scale; the questionnaire also asked for narrative statements. The survey instrument was shown to demonstrate adequate reliability (Cronbach's alpha ≥ .68). No statistically significant differences were found between on-campus and distance-delivery participants' mean responses related to effectiveness. However, the distance participants evidenced statistically significant higher ratings for benef...
Fingerprint registration using genetic algorithms

In automated fingerprint identification systems, an efficient and accurate alignment algorithm in the preprocessing stage plays a crucial role in the performance of the whole system. We explore the use of genetic algorithms for optimizing the alignment of a pair of fingerprint images. To test its performance, we compare the implemented genetic algorithm with two other algorithms, namely, 2D and 3D algorithms. Based upon our experiment on 250 pairs of fingerprint images, we find that: genetic algorithms run ten times faster than a 3D algorithm with similar alignment accuracy; and genetic algorithms are 13% more accurate than a 2D algorithm, with the same running time. The conclusion drawn from this study is that a genetic algorithm approach is an efficient and effective approach for fingerprint image registration.
Distribution and Habitat Associations of Juvenile Common Snook in the Lower Rio Grande, Texas

Common Snook Centropomus undecimalis were once abundant off the Texas coast, but these populations are now characterized by low abundance and erratic recruitment. Most research concerning Common Snook in North America has been conducted in Florida and very little is known about the specific biology and habitat needs of Common Snook in Texas. The primary objective of this study was to describe the habitat use patterns of juvenile Common Snook and their role in the fish assemblage in the lower portion of the Rio Grande, Texas. Secondarily, we documented the relationship between age and juvenile reproductive development. Fish were collected during January-March 2006 from the lower 51.5 km of the Rio Grande using a bottom trawl and boat-mounted electrofisher. Measurements of water quality and other habitat traits were recorded at each sampling site. We captured 225 Common Snook exclusively in freshwater habitats above river kilometer 12.9. The distribution of juvenile Common Snook was not random, but influenced primarily by turbidity and dissolved oxygen. Sex differentiation and gonadal development based on histological examination of gonads established that age-1 and age-2 Common Snook were juvenile, prepubertal males. There was no difference between the age groups in their overall distribution in the river. However, age-2 Common Snook were associated with deeper areas with faster currents, higher conductivity, and steeper banks. Overall, Common Snook in the lower Rio Grande show substantial differences in habitat use than their counterparts in other parts of the range of the species, but it is unclear whether this is due to differences in habitat availability, behavioral plasticity, or some combination thereof.
Interactions of poly (L-lysine) with human platelets. Correlation of binding with induction of platelet aggregation.

Abstract Poly(L-lysine) (PLL) was iodinated with 125 I by use of the Bolton and Hunter reagent. Use of 125 I-PLL permitted demonstration of the binding of this cationic polymer to platelets. 125 I-PLL binds to freshly isolated viable platelets, paraformaldehyde-fixed platelets, isolated platelet plasma membrane preparations, and fixed plasma membrane preparations. Determination of affinities of binding suggests the possibility of at least two classes of binding sites for PLL. The binding is inhibited competitively by unlabeled PLL but displacement of bound PLL is complicated by the aggregation of platelets that occurs in the presence of large amounts of added unlabeled PLL. Succinylation of ϵ-amino groups of PLL results in complete loss of binding of the polymer to platelets. Binding of 125 I-PLL is not affected by the presence of EDTA, adenosine, prostaglandin E 1 , cyclic 2′3′ AMP, or acetyl-salicyclic acid, and none of these agents have an effect on PLL-induced platelet aggregation. When studies were conducted with PLLs of different average molecular weights (MW), it was observed that 68,000 MW PLL has a significantly greater binding affinity than either 30,000 MW or 6,200 MW PLLs. When the platelet aggregation-inducing abilities of different MW PLLs were compared with their binding affinities, it was observed that the molecular size of PLL that caused maximal aggregation at minimal molar concentration also exhibited the greatest deqree of binding.
Accounting For Defined Benefit Pension Plans: Is FASB Finally Fulfilling Its 25 Year Old Promise?

With the September 2006 release of Statement No. 158, “Employers’ Accounting for Defined Benefit Pension and Other Postretirement Plans,” the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has completed the first phase of its ongoing pension accounting project. The new standard improves the accounting for defined benefit pensions by requiring employers to report the over(under)funded status of their plans as an asset(liability) within the main body of their balance sheet. This requirement represents a significant change from previously-existing pension accounting standards, and represents a major step forward toward the goal of increased transparency in financial reporting. This article provides a discussion of the very lengthy and controversial history of employer pension accounting, and examines the improvements that have finally resulted from Statement No. 158. Also provided is a discussion of the potential outcome of the second and final phase of the FASB’s pension accounting project
Gender in the Classroom

There are many ways that gender operates in the educational system, especially the classroom. This chapter focuses on the gendered organization of schools themselves, the gendered classroom experience, competing explanations for gender differences in educational attainment, and suggestions for the future. Most of the research is from developed countries, especially the United States, so the content may not generalize to countries in which education is not public and/or is not mandatory for both girls and boys, such as southern Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and western Asia (United Nations Population Fund [UNFPA], 2005). In some of these countries (e.g., Chad, Yemen, Niger, Ethiopia), fewer than 75 girls are in primary school for every 100 boys enrolled. Thus, it is not surprising that the women constitute 64% of all adults who are illiterate (UNFPA, 2005). Given the gross inequalities in educational opportunities for girls relative to boys in some developing cultures, the picture in developed countries is much brighter. Nonetheless, gender inequalities still exist, albeit of a subtler nature.
Big Boats, Big Crews, the Biggest Seas and Little Licenses: Exposing the Regulatory Paradox Allowing the Existence of the Uninspected Fish Processing Vessel

This article explores the regulatory paradox allowing large, crew-intensive vessels, operating in extreme maritime conditions, to be classified as uninspected vessels. Section I explores the legislative hsitory of the regulatory scheme and its possible relationship to the Magnuson Act. Section II examines the difference in the qualification requirements between crewmembers on inspected and uninspected vessels. Section III considers possible mitigation of safety discrepancies between inspected vessels and uninspected fish processing vessels because fish processing vessels require certification by the American Bureau of Shipping. Finally, Section IV examines the significance of the fishing industry's exemption from the requirements of Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers.
Neurourologic Abnormalities in Multiple Sclerosis

AbstractMultiple sclerosis is a demyelinating disease of the central nervous system, often producing abnormalities in sexual function and urinary control. Eighty-six patients with this disorder were referred to our neurourologic facilities for evaluation (45 women and 41 men). Symptomatic voiding dysfunction was present in 84 patients (97 per cent). Sexual dysfunction was present in 29 of the 41 men (71 per cent). Neurourologic evaluation was performed by rapid-fill carbon dioxide cystometry and perineal floor needle electromyography. Several neurourologic patterns were identified in multiple sclerosis patients: the most common cystometry pattern was detrusor hyperreflexia (76 per cent) and the most common electromyography finding was vesico-sphincter dyssynergia (50 per cent). Voiding symptoms alone were not found to correlate with neurourologic findings. The presence of bilateral extensor plantar reflexes was found to indicate the possibility of vesico-sphincter dyssynergia. The addition of sacral-evoke...
Government by Case Anecdote or Case Advocacy: A Pediatrician’s View

I have decided to address the role of the pediatrician as an advocate for children in the development of health and social policy. Since this is a very broad charge, and there are many other pediatricians who have labored long and valiantly as advocates for children, it would be presumptuous and misleading for me to attempt to represent them all. Suffice it to say that the efforts of these pediatricians in a variety of areas ranging from calling attention to the horrors of a nuclear holocaust to the eradication of dread diseases such as smallpox and polio would have to rank as among some of the most noteworthy in the past and at present.
Islamic Political Theology in Late Colonial Buganda

This paper explores Islamic political theology in late colonial Buganda. While Muslim activists maintained power in Buganda's political landscape up until the 1880s, superior weaponry allowed Christian chiefs to secure political power in the 1890s, resulting in the political marginalisation of Ganda Muslims. Through the educational politics of Badru Kakungulu and the Young Men's Muslim Association, Ganda Muslims sought to equip a future generation of younger Muslims to engage in public discourse. The social background of Abubakar Kakyama Mayanja (1929-2005) positioned him to adapt earlier Islamic political tradition in Buganda. Mayanja used his training in history at Cambridge University to adapt Islamic ideation, pluralising historical space from which marginal actors could claim political centrality in the postcolony. Whereas previous scholars of Uganda have focused mostly on Christian political practice during decolonisation, this paper uses new sources to begin to fill an extensive gap in Ganda historiography.
Techniques of Open Lung Biopsy

There is a continuing and expanding in­ terest in diffuse pulmonary disease. The importance of an accurate diagnosis can­ not be overstressed, and the potential dis­ asters of mistaken diagnosis are to be avoided. In recent years, the procedure of diagnostic open lung biopsy for diffuse pul­ monary disease has been firmly estab­ lished.2’4 An appropriate specimen should provide ample material for paraffin bloc section, for culture for routine bacteria, acid-fast bacilli and fungi, and, when avail­ able, for electron microscopy. It is our opinion that closed needle biopsy and transbronchoscopic lung biopsy do not pro­ duce adequate material for such a full bat­ tery of study, and that those procedures carry an appreciable morbidity. There is, by blind biopsy technique, the risk of miss­ ing significant areas of disease. Our pre­ ferred method of obtaining lung tissue for the definitive diagnostic workup of diffuse pulmonary disease is by an open direct procedure under general anesthesia through a small anterior approach employing sta­ pling devices.1’3
The Impact of Pretrial Publicity and Need for Cognition on Mock-Jurors' Decisions and Deliberation Behavior

This experiment explored whether negative pretrial publicity (N-PTP) and need for cognition (NC) affect mock-jurors' decisions and deliberation behaviors (N = 169). Jurors and juries exposed to N-PTP were significantly more likely to render guilty verdicts than non-exposed jurors/juries. There was a significant PTP x NC interaction on post-deliberation individual verdicts. High-NC jurors exposed to N-PTP were less likely to vote guilty than their low-NC counterparts, suggesting a corrective function of NC on PTP bias. Hierarchical analyses revealed a significant PTP x NC interaction for juror deliberation behavior. For N-PTP jurors, those high in NC talked more and were rated higher on assertiveness, leadership, influence on verdicts, and presenting logical and strong arguments than those low in NC. For non-exposed jurors NC status did not significantly affect any of the deliberation behaviors coded. This research suggests that how and whether NC influences juror verdicts and deliberation behavior depends on case-related variables present.
The Long Term Recovery of New Orleans’ Population after Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina created a catastrophe in the city of New Orleans when the storm surge caused the levee system to fail on August 29, 2005. The destruction of housing displaced hundreds of thousands of residents for varying lengths of time, often permanently. It also revealed gaps in our knowledge of how population is recovered after a disaster causes widespread destruction of urban infrastructure, housing and workplaces, and how mechanisms driving housing recovery often produce unequal social, spatial and temporal population recovery. In this article, I assemble social, spatial and temporal explanatory frameworks for housing and population recovery and then review research on mobility - both evacuation and migration - after Hurricane Katrina. The review reveals a need for a comprehensive social, spatial and temporal framework for explaining inequality in population recovery and displacement. It also shows how little is known about in-migrants and permanent out-migrants after a disaster.
Current and Future Research Programs at Stanford's Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology

The Kavli Institute of Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, or KIPAC, at Stanford University, and the LeCosPA Institute at the Taiwan National University were sibling institutions even before their respective official births. The existence of both institutes was to a great extent facilitated by the foresight of Prof. Pisin Chen, current director of LeCosPA, and we fully envision the vibrant on-going collaboration between the two institutes for the years to come. This presentation highlights the current research direction of KIPAC, including the wide range of programs in particle astrophysics and cosmology. Of the on-going projects, the main current effort at KIPAC is the operation of, and the analysis of data from the Large Area Telescope on-board the space-borne Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, which is described in more detail in the article by Prof. Kamae in these proceedings. That article focuses on the instrument, and the results gleaned from observations of our own Galaxy. Here, the second part of this article also includes the highlights for astrophysics of jets emanating from the vicinity of black holes, which are prominent gamma-ray sources detected by Fermi: this is the area of research of the article’s author.
Comparison of Interior Coatings to Control Surface Microbiological Contamination

Abstract Coating materials for poultry processing plant walls and ceilings were compared as a potential source of microbial contamination. The surface contamination of acrylic latex-coated concrete used in conjunction with a chemical sanitizer were compared in a simulated poultry processing plant environment with uncoated and painted concrete surfaces in this study. When all coating materials were inoculated and sanitized daily to simulate commercial utilization, aerobic plate counts (APC) from acrylic latex coating surfaces were significantly (P This data indicates that surface contamination on concrete was more effectively reduced by coating with acrylic latex than by coating with normal paints. And, although the chemical sanitizer treatment significantly decreased the contamination levels from uncoated and painted concrete surfaces, this procedure did not affect the contamination level of acrylic latex coating.
Plutonium Isotopes in the Terrestrial Environment at the Savannah River Site, USA. A Long-Term Study

This work presents the findings of a long-term plutonium (Pu) study at Savannah River Site (SRS) conducted between 2003 and 2013. Terrestrial environmental samples were obtained at the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) in the A-Area. Plutonium content and isotopic abundances were measured over this time period by α particle and thermal ionization mass spectrometry (3STIMS). We detail the complete process of the sample collection, radiochemical separation, and measurement procedure specifically targeted to trace plutonium in bulk environmental samples. Total plutonium activities were determined to be not significantly above atmospheric global fallout. However, the (238)Pu/(239+240)Pu activity ratios attributed to SRS are substantially different than fallout due to past (238)Pu production on the site. The (240)Pu/(239)Pu atom ratios are reasonably consistent from year to year and are lower than fallout indicating an admixture of weapons-grade material, while the (242)Pu/(239)Pu atom ratios are higher than fallout values, again due to actinide production activities. Overall, the plutonium signatures obtained in this study reflect a distinctive mixture of weapons-grade, heat source, and higher burn-up plutonium with fallout material. This study provides a unique opportunity for developing and demonstrating a blue print for long-term low-level monitoring of trace plutonium in the environment.
Simultaneous 12-passband microwave photonic multiband filter with reconfigurable passband frequency

A reconfigurable microwave photonic multiband filter with up to 12 simultaneous passbands is demonstrated. Both the passband frequencies and passband numbers are adjustable, and each passband has a sidelobe suppression of over 35 dB.
Evaluation of Clean Fractionation Pretreatment for the Production of Renewable Fuels and Chemicals from Corn Stover

Organosolv fractionation processes aim to separate the primary biopolymers in lignocellulosic biomass to enable more selective deconstruction and upgrading approaches for the isolated components. Clean fractionation (CF) is a particularly effective organsolv process that was originally applied to woody feedstocks. The original CF pretreatment employed methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK), ethanol, and water with sulfuric acid as a catalyst at temperatures ranging from 120 to 160 °C. Understanding the feasibility and applicability of organosolv processes for industrial use requires mass balances on the primary polymers in biomass, detailed understanding of the physical and chemical characteristics of the fractionated components, and viable upgrading processes for each fraction. Here, we apply two CF approaches to corn stover, one with MIBK/ethanol/water and acid and the other with MIBK/acetone/water and acid, with the aim of understanding if these fractionation methods are feasible for industrial application. We ...