cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Video watermark detection with controllable performance with and without knowledge of watermark location

In this paper, we build a theoretical framework for video watermark detection based on a likelihood ratio test. This framework is used to develop two different video watermark detection algorithms; one detects the watermark only from watermarked coefficients and one detects the watermark from all the ac coefficients in the video. These algorithms can be used in different video watermark detection applications where the detector knows and does not know the precise location of watermarked coefficients. Both watermark detection schemes have controllable detection performance, thus, the error rate of the detector can be maintained regardless of the video sequence if the video is long and the detector response latency can be arbitrary. Furthermore, the detector can maintain the same detection performance after attacks by using more frames to obtain its detection response. Our simulation results show that we achieve the desired detection performance in Monte Carlo trials. We also demonstrate the robustness of our proposed algorithm to several different attacks.
WATER‐SOLUBLE ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF OILSEED PROTEIN DERIVATIVES IN MODEL LIPID PEROXIDATION SYSTEMS OF MEAT

Water-soluble antioxidant activities of defatted flours, protein concentrates, and protein isolates derived from soybeans, cottonseeds and peanuts were determined. The activity of aqueous extract (0.25%, w/v) of each product was measured by its inhibitory effect on the linoleate peroxidation catalyzed by Met Mb, Fe++-EDTA (1:1) or beef homogenates. The antioxidative effect varied depending on the kind of oilseeds used, the type of protein derivatives, and the catalytic system employed. Antioxidant activities of the three oilseed flours were significantly different when tested in Fe++-EDTA and beef homogenate systems, soy flours showing higher activity than either cottonseed or peanut flours. The differences among flours were not significant in Met Mb system where ah the flours were highly antioxidative. Cottonseed concentrate exhibited higher activity than the corresponding soy or peanut products regard less of the catalytic system used. Of the isolates included, those of soybeans and cottonseeds, the former had higher activity than the latter in each system. In general, flour extracts were the most effective of the three types of derivatives. All the aqueous extracts included in the study were more effective for inhibiting Met Mb catalysis of linoleate peroxidation, less effective for Fe++-EDTA catalysis and least effective for beef homogenate catalysis.
Disc electrophoresis: avoiding artifacts caused by persulfate

Abstract Artifacts of separation and inactivation of enzymes in polyacrylamide disc electrophoresis may be avoided by substituting riboflavin for persulfate, or by incorporating an antioxidant into stacking gels and samples. Polymerization with riboflavin results in gels having poor resolution and reproducibility. Addition of an antioxidant to stacking gels and samples is the more reliable alternative for general use.
Echinostoma paraensei: Hemocytes of Biomphalaria glabrata as targets of echinostome mediated interference with host snail resistance to Schistosoma mansoni

Earlier in vivo work by Lie et al. (1977) indicated that the innate resistance of the 10R2 strain of Biomphalaria glabrata to PR1 Schistosoma mansoni could be interfered with if the snails were infected previously with another trematode, Echinostoma paraensei. We have studied this interference phenomenon using in vitro methods in an attempt to understand its mechanistic basis. Hemolymph, derived from 10R2 snails infected with E. paraensei for 14–28 days, killed 25% of S. mansoni sporocysts in vitro, significantly less (P 0.1) in their relative inability to kill S. mansoni sporocysts in vitro. The defect in sporocyst killing exhibited by echinostome infected 10R2 snails was traced to the cellular, rather than the humoral, component of the hemolymph. Preparations containing uninfected 10R2 snail hemolymph and echinostome daughter rediae exhibited significantly less (P < 0.001) killing of S. mansoni sporocysts than did controls containing only 10R2 hemolymph and S. mansoni sporocysts. Our results suggest that echinostome larvae release factors that interfere with the ability of B. glabrata hemocytes to kill S. mansoni sporocysts.
A species-specific bacterial productivity method using immunomagnetic separation and radiotracer experiments

Abstract A species-specific bacterial productivity assay, combining radiotracer methods with immunomagnetic bead separation, was developed and tested in the marine environment. The capture method was optimized using cultures of the marine denitrifying strain, Pseudomonas stutzeri (ATCC 14 405). Immunocapture was optimal at a bead to target cell ratio of 10:1 using an indirect antibody technique, in which the target cell is first incubated with specific (primary) polyclonal antiserum and then with the secondary antibody-coated beads. Primary antibody concentration was less important than target cell concentration in determining the efficiency of target cell recovery. Reproducible recovery efficiencies of 75% could be obtained using cultures, but at natural seawater abundance levels, efficiency was much lower, around 20%. Estimates of total heterotrophic bacterial production and P. stutzeri production, based on radiotracer incorporation, were obtained for seawater samples from Monterey Bay, CA. To measure species-specific production, samples were incubated with radiotracers (methyl-[3H]-thymidine and [14C]-leucine), fixed, and concentrated. After separating P. stutzeri cells from the bacterial assemblage using immunomagnetic separation, target cell fraction radioactivity was measured. P. stutzeri abundance, estimated by immunofluorescence, represented less than 0.1% of the total bacterial abundance, whereas radiotracer incorporation by the target fraction represented 1–3% of the total assemblage tracer incorporation.
Effects of White Clover Inclusion on Turf Characteristics, Nitrogen Fixation, and Nitrogen Transfer from White Clover to Grass Species in Turf Mixtures

Abstract An irrigated field trial was conducted to test the effects of white clover in three turfgrass species (perennial ryegrass, Kentucky bluegrass, and creeping bentgrass) on color, clipping yield, and botanical composition and to estimate nitrogen (N)2 fixation and N transfer from white clover to associated turfgrass species under different N‐fertilization conditions in 1999–2002. Nitrogen fertilizers significantly increased color ratings in all observations. Grass–white clover mixtures had better color ratings than pure grass at all sampling dates and seasonal averages in unfertilized conditions. Fertilized pure grass plots yielded significantly more than control plots in all turfgrass species. Nitrogen fertilization did not affect clipping yield greatly in turfgrass–white clover mixtures. Nitrogen application significantly decreased white clover percentage in the harvested clippings in second and third year. Nitrogen fertilization increased tissue N concentration positively in all turfgrass species...
Chemical differences of adult, fetal and hypogammaglobulinemic IgG immunoglobulins.

Abstract Heavy and light chains of IgG molecules from pooled normal adult sera, pooled normal fetal sera, and pooled hypogammaglobulinemic sera were studied by means for starch gel electrophoresis in hypertonic urea. Differences were demonstrated among the heavy chain preparations. These data indicated that: 1. (1) The transfer of IgG molecules across the placenta has a selective nature. Not all species of material IgG pass equally well into the fetal circulation. IgG2 subclass immunoglobulins were detected in the fetal serum in only trace amounts. 2. (2) Neonatal IgG molecules are not entirely composed of molecules passively transferred from the mother. 3. (3) IgG molecules from hypogammaglobulinemic patients are less heterogeneous than those from normal people.
PU.1 regulates the expression of the vav proto-oncogene.

Vav is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for the rho/rac GTPases that is upregulated in the embryo during the transition from primitive to definitive hematopoiesis. It is one of several genetic markers that correlates with the differentiation of the intraembryonic definitive hematopoietic stem cell. Subsequently, in the adult, vav is expressed predominantly in cells of the hematopoietic system. A heat-resistant protein complex that bound to a 23-bp segment, which is essential for vav promoter activity, was found to be present in myeloid cells but not T-cells. The complex was absent in non-hematopoietic cells which normally do not express vav. Using a saturation mutagenesis method, Mutex, a "footprint" of the protein binding site (AGAGGAAGT) was obtained that was consistent with the consensus binding site for PU.1. A specific antibody to PU.1 supershifted the complex and identified the presence of PU.1 within the complex. A GST fusion protein of the human PU.1 bound to the same consensus sequence as the heat-resistant complex from myeloid lineages. Specific mutation of the GGAA PU.1 core binding site silenced vav promoter activity and a dominant negative PU.1 inhibited the transactivation of PU.1 at the vav promoter as measured by the expression of the EGFP reporter gene. In addition, PCR analysis of immunoprecipitated chromatin using specific antibodies for PU.1 detected the co-immunoprecipitation of DNA containing the vav promoter. These results suggest that PU.1 is essential for transcriptional activity of the vav promoter in myeloid cells.
DOCUMENT DETECTION DATA PREPARATION

Critical to the success of TIPSTER was the creation of the test collection. Like most traditional retrieval collections, there are three distinct parts to this collection--the documents, the queries or topics, and the relevance judgments or "right answers". It was important to match all three parts of the collection to the TIPSTER application.
Alasdair Macintyre’s Aristotelian Business Ethics: A Critique

This paper begins by summarizing and distilling MacIntyre’s sweeping critique of modern business. It identifies the crux of MacIntyre’s critique as centering on the fundamental Aristotelian concepts of internal goods and practices. MacIntyre essentially follows Aristotle in arguing that by privileging external goods over internal goods, business activity – and certainly modern capitalistic business activity – corrupts practices. Thus, from the perspective of virtue ethics, business is morally indefensible. The paper continues with an evaluation of MacIntyre’s arguments. The conclusion is drawn that MacIntyre’s critique, although partially valid, does not vitiate modern business as he claims. In short, modern business need not of necessity be antithetical to individuals’ pursuit of internal goods within practices.
Poisoning by DDT: Relation between Clinical Signs and Concentration in Rat Brain

The severity of signs of poisoning in rats after a single dose of DDT is directly proportional to the concentration of the compound in their brains. The concentrations associated with death after one large dose are about the same as those after many smaller doses.
Salinity tolerance of adult and juvenile red king crabs Paralithodes camtschatica

Abstract 1. 1. Juvenile king crabs were more tolerant of reduced salinities than adult crab; juvenile crab were better volume regulators at reduced salinities than adult crab. 2. 2. Adult female king crab hemolymph was hyperosmotic to full seawater (30 ppt) and isosmotic to dilute seawater. Juvenile king crab (2 years old) were hypoosmotic at the same concentrations. 3. 3. Lower osmotic concentration of juvenile hemolymph is at least partially due to lower sodium concentration. 4. 4. Juvenile king crab can tolerate some dilution and survive for short periods in the reduced salinity of the lower intertidal zone.
The First Ruler and the Prophet: On the Identity-in-Difference of Politics, Religion, and Philosophy in the Thought of Alfarabi and Ibn Sina

This article explores some discrepancies between Alfarabi’s and Ibn Sina’s treatments of the political sphere and of the role of the first ruler or prophet in establishing and maintaining the political order. While Alfarabi makes much of the religious function of the first ruler and calls him by a secular name, Ibn Sina treats the first ruler as little more than the guarantor of the trustworthiness of contract law, yet consistently refers to him as “prophet.” Alfarabi, in other words, is content with secular language, even though his aims are lofty, whereas Ibn Sina employs elevated, religious language, even though his aims appear more realistic. This article unveils an irony: that fundamentally similar understandings of the political situation of man—and of the philosopher in relation to the city—can account for the various differences between these thinkers’ emphases and modes of presentation.
Quantum noise and quantum nondemolition measurements

We examine the effects of quantum noise in the readout of a proposed quantum non-demolition (QND) system. The equations of motion of the system are solved approximately both with and without noise. The effect of the noise upon the measurement accuracy of the system is determined and it is found that, in principle, the presence of quantum noise in the readout should not prevent one from measuring the amplitude of the oscillator to better than the standard quantum limit.
Coal cleaning: Progress and potential

Results from a detailed analysis of sulfur dioxide (SO/sub 2/) reductions achievable through ''deep'' physical coal cleaning (PCC) at 20 coal-fired power plants in the Ohio-Indiana-Illinois region are presented in this paper. These plants all have capacities larger than 500 MWe are currently without any flue-gas-desulfurization (FGD) systems, and burn coal of greater than 1% sulfur content (in 1980). Their aggregate emissions of 2.4 million tons of SO/sub 2/ per year represents 55% of the SO/sub 2/ inventory for these states. The principal coal supplies for each power plant were identified and characterized as to coal seam and county of origin, so that published coal-washability data could be matched to each supplier. The SO/sub 2/ reductions that would result from deep cleaning and moderate cleaning of each coal were calculated using a PCC computer model.
Modeling and simulation of hydrogen behavior in Zircaloy-4 fuel cladding

Abstract As a result of corrosion during normal operation in nuclear reactors, hydrogen can enter the zirconium-alloy fuel cladding and precipitate as brittle hydride platelets, which can severely degrade the cladding ductility. Under a heterogeneous temperature distribution, hydrides tend to accumulate in the colder areas, creating local spots of degraded cladding that can favor crack initiation. Therefore, an estimation of the local hydride distribution is necessary to help predict the risk of cladding failure. The hydride distribution is governed by three competing phenomena. Hydrogen in solid solution diffuses under a concentration gradient due to Fick’s law and under a temperature gradient due to the Soret effect. Precipitation of the hydride platelets occurs once the hydrogen solubility limit is reached. A model of these phenomena was implemented in the 3D fuel performance code BISON in order to calculate the hydrogen distribution for arbitrary geometries, such as a nuclear fuel rod, and is now available for BISON users. Simulations have been performed on simple geometries to validate the model and its implementation. The simulations predict that before precipitation occurs, hydrogen tends to accumulate in the colder spots due to the Soret effect. Once the solubility limit is reached, hydrogen precipitates and forms a rim close to the outer edge of the cladding. The simulations also predict that the reactor shut down has little effect on already precipitated hydrides but causes the remaining hydrogen to precipitate homogeneously into hydrides.
Biosynthesis, Isolation, and Identification of 6β‐Hydroxynaltrexone, a Major Human Metabolite of Naltrexone

Abstract Chemical reduction of naltrexone is described in an attempt to synthesize 6β‐hydroxynaltrexone. Only the epimer, 6α‐hydroxynaltrexone, was produced. Pilot metabolic studies on naltrexone in the dog, rat, and guinea pig were made to determine which animal produced the greatest amount of 6β‐hydroxynaltrexone. The guinea pig was selected and used to produce the metabolite. Isolation and purification methods are described, and spectral data are presented for structural confirmation of the metabolite.
Proteolysis in cheddar cheese made with sodium chloride, potassium chloride or mixtures of sodium and potassium chloride

Abstract Cheddar cheese from a split lot of cheese curd was prepared with or without added NaCl, KCl or mixtures of NaCl/KCl (2:1, 1:1, 1:2 and 3:4, all on wt/wt basis) to achieve final salt concentrations of approximately 15.0 or 17.5 g/kg. Cheeses were ripened at 3 ± 1°C and proteolysis was determined over a 36 wk period. Peptide material soluble in trichloroacetic acid (120 ml/L) (TCA sol-N) and free amino acids measured as phosphotungstic acid-soluble amino N (PTA sol-amino N) increased in all cheeses during ripening through 36 wk. There were no significant (P > 0.05) differences attributable to various salt treatments in levels of TCA sol-N and PTA sol-amino N of cheeses tested after 12, 24 and 36 wk of ripening. Unsalted cheese generally had more proteolysis than salted cheeses. Peptide extracts of selected cheeses from trials 1 (made with Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis and L. lactis subsp. cremoris) and 2 (made with L. lactis subsp. lactis) were chromatographed using a Sephadex G-25 column. Sensory evaluation indicated that only eluent fractions of cheeses from trial 1 were slightly to markedly bitter. In trial 2, fractions from unsalted cheese were slightly bitter and those from cheeses made with NaCl or NaCl/KCl mixtures were not bitter. Thus it is unlikely that KCl was responsible for bitterness in cheeses of trial 1.
Edutainment and teen modeling may spark interest in nutrition & physical activity in elementary school audiences.

Providing knowledge alone is simply not enough to motivate children to eat fruits and vegetables. Innovative nutrition education strategies are often needed to improve attitudes and behaviors about fruit and vegetable intake. Educational theater for nutrition education is one approach in particular that rarely gets attention from academia. The use of education entertainment, or ‘‘edutainment,’’ is the incorporation of education with entertainment and is known to enhance the overall learning experience for the audience. Although previous theaterbased nutrition education programs exist, the literature concerning the effect of teen-led interventions is limited. The main objective of this research was to guide high school students in developing and evaluating an entertaining and educational performance about nutrition and physical activity for kindergarten-6th grade (K-6) audiences. The main messages that were selected for the performance were to eat more fruits and vegetables and participate in regular physical activity.
Multi-organ failure secondary to a Clostridium perfringens gaseous liver abscess following a self-limited episode of acute gastroenteritis.

Patient: Female, 81 Final Diagnosis: Liver absces Symptoms: Diarrhea • jaundice • vomiting • weakness Medication: — Clinical Procedure: CT scan guided drainage Specialty: Gastroenterology and Hepatology Objective: Rare disease Background: Clostridium perfringens is an unusual pathogen responsible for the development of a gas-forming pyogenic liver abscess. Progression to septicemia with this infection has amplified case fatality rates. Case Report: We report a case of an 81-year-old lady with pyogenic liver abscess with gas formation that was preceded by an acute gastroenteritis. The most common precipitating factors are invasive procedures and immunosuppression. Clostridium perfringens was unexpectedly isolated in the drained abscess, as well as blood. It is a normal inhabitant of the human bowel and a common cause of food poisoning, notoriously leading to tissue necrosis and gas gangrene. Conclusions: We report a case of gas-forming pyogenic liver abscess and bacteremia progressing to fatal septic shock, caused by an uncommon Clostridium perfringens isolate.
Communication is More than Verbal: The Role of Clients’ Documents in Requirement Solicitation

The software development process is a collaboration between developers, users experience experts, clients and other stakeholders. Several teams of Computer Science students developed citizen-science Android applications, working with scientists, the application clients and domain experts. We studied the applications’ development and determined the progress and performance of the teams by interviewing team members, studying their emails records, and documents shared by the scientists. The results from usability tests were used to measure the performance of the teams in terms of software correctness and usability. Our results showed that communication between clients and developers during the software development process is more complex than verbal. The quality of the documents shared by the clients is important.
Ordering gene function: the interpretation of epistasis in regulatory hierarchies

The order of action of genes in a regulatory hierarchy that is governed by a signal can often be determined by the method of epistasis analysis, in which the phenotype of a double mutant is compared with that of single mutants. The epistatic mutation may be in either the upstream or the downstream gene, depending on the nature of the two mutations and the type of regulation. Nevertheless, when the regulatory hierarchy satisfies certain conditions, simple rules allow the position of the epistatic locus in the pathway to be determined without detailed knowledge of the nature of the mutations, the pathway, or the molecular mechanism of regulation.
Youth, Climate Change, and Peace in South Sudan

On July 9, 2011, the Republic of South Sudan (RoSS) was inaugurated as an independent state with new hopes for a more peaceful and prosperous future for all its citizens after years of conflict. In...
Status of cryogenic system for spallation neutron source's superconducting radiofrequency test facility at Oak Ridge National Lab

The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL) is building an independent cryogenic system for its Superconducting Radiofrequency Test Facility (SRFTF). The system will provide refrigeration for the SNS cryomodule test and cavity test at both 2K (using vacuum pumped helium) and 4.5K for the maintenance purposes and the Power Upgrade Project of SNS. It will also provide the part of the cooling power needed to backup the existing CHL to keep the Linac at 4.5K during CHL future maintenance periods. The system will be constructed in multiple phases. The first phase is to construct an independent 4.5K helium refrigeration system with a helium Dewar and distribution box as the load interface. It is scheduled to be commissioned in 2013. Here we report on the design concept for the system and the status of the first phase of this project.
Vascular lesions and s-thrombomodulin concentrations from auricular arteries of rabbits infused with microbubble contrast agent and exposed to pulsed ultrasound

Arterial injury resulting from the interaction of contrast agent (CA) with ultrasound (US) was studied in rabbit auricular arteries and assessed by histopathologic evaluation and s-thrombomodulin concentrations. Three sites on each artery were exposed (2.8 MHz, 5-min exposure duration, 10-Hz pulse repetition frequency, 1.4-μs pulse duration) using one of three in situ peak rarefactional pressures (0.85, 3.9 or 9.5 MPa). Saline, saline/CA, and saline/US infusion groups (n = 28) did not have histopathologic damage. The saline/CA/US infusion group (n = 10) at exposure conditions below the FDA mechanical index limit of 1.9 did not have histopathologic damage, whereas the saline/CA/US infusion group (n = 9) at exposure conditions above the FDA limit did have damage (5 of 9 arteries). Lesions were characteristic of acute coagulative necrosis. Mean s-thrombomodulin concentrations, a marker for endothelial cell injury, were highest in rabbits exposed to US at 0.85 and 3.9 MPa, suggesting that vascular injury may be physiological and not accompanied by irreversible cellular injury.
Classification Taxonomy and Empirical Analysis of Work Arrangements

The work-related characteristics of an individual act as pegs around which other nonwork activities are scheduled on a day-to-day basis. In this paper, four dimensions of the medium- to long-range work arrangements that are important to day-to-day temporal and spatial characteristics of work patterns (and hence to day-to-day activity-travel schedules) are identified. The four dimensions are full-time versus part-time employment, teleworking or not, inflexible or flexible work schedules, and regular or alternate shifts. This paper develops a comprehensive taxonomy of work arrangements in each of these four dimensions and empirically analyses the factors affecting the work arrangement decisions along three of these dimensions.
Active Streams - an approach to adaptive distributed systems

Summary form only given. An increasing number of distributed applications aim to provide services to users by interacting with a correspondingly growing set of data-intensive network services. To support such requirements, we believe that new services need to be customizable, applications need to be dynamically extensible, and both applications and services need to be able to adapt to variations in resource availability and demand. A comprehensive approach to building new distributed applications can facilitate this by considering the contents of the information flowing across the application and its services and by adopting a component-based model to application/service programming. It should provide for dynamic adaptation at multiple levels and points in the underlying platform; and, since the mapping of components to resources in dynamic environment is too complicated, it should relieve programmers of this task. We propose Active Streams, a middleware approach and its associated framework for building distributed applications and services that exhibit these characteristics.
Catalytic activity of a novel serine/threonine protein phosphatase PP5 from Leishmania major

Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne disease caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania . Our knowledge of protein phosphatases (PPs) and their implication in signaling events is very limited. Here we report the expression, characterization and mutagenesis analysis of a novel protein phosphatase 5 (PP5) in Leishmania major . Recombinant PP5 is a bona fide phosphatase and is enzymatically active. Site-directed mutagenesis revealed auto-inhibitory roles of the N-terminal region. This is a rational first approach to understand the role of PP5 in the biology of the parasite better as well as its potential future applicability to anti-parasitic intervention.
Fast Low Power eDRAM Hierarchical Differential Sense Amplifier

In this paper, a hierarchical differential sense amplifier for fast, low power DRAM arrays in logic-based eDRAM technology that operates with large parameter variations is described. Unique features of the hierarchical sense amplifier include its short local bit lines and a local half sense amplifier p device latch that is connected by a switch to a global half sense amplifier device latch. When the local and global half latches are connected by the switch, they form a conventional cross-coupled latch. As a result of the short bit lines, the magnitude of the differential signal is large enough to overcome device variations in the various pairs of like-devices of the sense amplifier. The differential sense amplifier is quite insensitive to absolute parameter variation and mainly sensitive to mismatches between paired devices. The hierarchical differential sense amplifier has very low static power due to the use of a sense voltage of approximately Vdd/2 which causes low leakage in the local and global sense amplifiers as well as in the storage cell. Low active power also results from this Vdd/2 sensing. In addition, simulation results show low latency, fast restore, and fast cycle time with clocking and timing that are relatively simple.
Host-based detection of worms through peer-to-peer cooperation

We propose a host-based, runtime defense against worms that achieves negligible risk of false positives through peer-to-peer cooperation. We view correlation among otherwise independent peers' behavior as anomalous behavior, indication of a fast-spreading worm. We detect correlation by exploiting worms' temporal consistency, similarity (low temporal variance) in worms' invocations of system calls. We evaluate our ideas on Windows XP with Service Pack 2 using traces of nine variants of worms and twenty-five non-worms, including ten commercial applications and fifteen processes native to the platform. We find that two peers, upon exchanging snapshots of their internal behavior, defined with frequency distributions of system calls, can decide that they are, more likely than not, executing a worm between 76% and 97% of the time. More importantly, we find that the probability that peers might err, judging a non-worm a worm, is negligible.
Differences in species composition and feeding ecology of catostomid fishes in two distinct segments of the Missouri River, North Dakota, U.S.A.

In 1997 and 1998, we sampled the Missouri River, North Dakota to determine if anthropogenic disturbances had influenced catostomid species composition and feeding ecology. We compared two distinct river segments, the Missouri River between the mouth of the Yellowstone River and Lake Sakakawea (the Yellowstone–Sakakawea segment (YSS)), a moderately altered segment and the Missouri River between Garrison Dam and Lake Oahe (the Garrison–Oahe segment (GOS)), a highly altered segment. The segments exhibited greatly different sucker communities. Bigmouth buffalo, Ictiobus cyprinellus, smallmouth buffalo, Ictiobus bubalus, and river carpsucker, Carpiodes carpio, represented 94% of the sucker catch in the YSS, whereas in the GOS, white sucker, Catostomus commersoni, and longnose sucker, Catostomus catostomus, constituted 98% of the sucker catch. In the YSS, high zooplankton densities led to greater sucker zooplanktivory and food niche overlap than in the GOS. Intense anthropogenic disturbances to the GOS are associated with the differences in sucker species composition, prey density and composition, and sucker feeding ecology between the two segments.
The potential role of incretin therapy in the hospital setting

Hyperglycemia has been associated with increased morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients. Insulin has traditionally been the drug of choice for managing hyperglycemia in this setting, but carries a significant risk of hypoglycemia. Incretin-based therapies, including glucagon-like peptide-1, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors, have potential use in the hospital. These agents have a relatively low risk of hypoglycemia, favorable short-term side effect profile, and can be used alone or in combination with insulin. Several small studies have supported the safety and efficacy of incretin therapies in the inpatient setting with the majority of data coming from the intensive care setting. Large-scale clinical studies are needed to further evaluate the potential role of incretins in the management of inpatient hyperglycemia.
Functional Validation of System Level Static Scheduling

Increase in system level modeling has given rise to a need for efficient functional validation of models above cycle accurate level. This paper presents a technique for comparing system level models, before and after the static scheduling of tasks on processing elements of the architecture. We derive a graph representation from models written in system level design languages (SLDLs) and define their execution semantics. The notion of functional equivalence of system level models is established using these graphs. We then present well defined rules for reduction of such graphs to a normal form. Finally, we show how to check for functional equivalence of two system level models by isomorphism of their normal graph representations. A checker built on the above concept is used to automatically validate the functional correctness of the static scheduling step. As a result, the models generated for various scheduling decisions do not have to be reverified using costly simulations.
Effects of Atmospheric CO2 Enrichment on Crop Nutrient Dynamics under No-Till Conditions

Increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration could increase crop productivity and alter crop nutrient dynamics. This study was conducted (3 yrs) with two crops ([Glycine max (L.) Merr.] and grain sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench.]) grown under two CO2 levels (ambient and twice ambient) using open top field chambers on a Blanton loamy sand under no-tillage. Macronutrient and micronutrient concentrations and contents were determined for grain, stover, and roots. Although elevated CO2 tended to reduce nutrient concentrations, high CO2 consistently increased nutrient content especially in grain tissue; this response pattern was more notable with macronutrients. The CO2 effect was observed primarily in soybean. The consistent CO2-induced increases in grain macronutrient contents favors reliable predictions of system outputs, however, predictions of crop nutrient inputs (i.e., stover and root contents) to the soil are less robust due to observed variability. Again, this is particularly true in regards to micronutrient dynamics in CO2-enriched cropping systems.
A Parsimonious Statistical Protocol for Generating Power-Law Networks

We propose a new mechanism for generating net- works with a wide variety of degree distributions. The idea is a modification of the well-studied preferential attachment scheme in which the degree of each node is used to determine its evolving connectivity. Modifications to this base protocol to include features other than connectivity have been considered in building the network. However, schemes based on preferential attachment in any form require substantial information on the entire network. We propose instead a protocol based only on a single statistical feature which results from the reasonable assumption that the effect of various attributes, which determine the ability of each node to attract other nodes, is multiplicative. This composite attribute or fitness is lognormally distributed and is used in forming the complex network. We show that, by varying the parameters of the lognormal distribution, we can recover both exponential and power-law degree distributions. The exponents for the power-law case are in the correct range seen in real- world networks such as the World Wide Web and the Internet. Further, as power-law networks with exponents in the same range are a crucial ingredient of efficient search algorithms in peer-to- peer networks, we believe our network construct may serve as a basis for new protocols that will enable peer-to-peer networks to efficiently establish a topology conducive to optimized search procedures. Index Terms—Power-law networks, growing random networks, lognormal distribution, peer-to-peer networks, search in power- law networks
Institutional Conditions and Prison Suicide: Conditional Effects of Deprivation and Overcrowding

This article uses national data on prisons in the United States to examine the effects of deprivation, overcrowding, and their interaction on the likelihood of prison suicide. Our central argument is that overcrowding is a pivotal feature of prison environments that conditions the effects of deprivation. Findings provide substantial support for this hypothesis. For example, at low levels of overcrowding, minimum-security facilities evidence a lower probability of prison suicide, but at high levels, they are as likely to experience a suicide as their medium- and maximum-security counterparts. Theoretical and policy implications of the findings are discussed.!
Latent TGFβ1 overexpression in keratinocytes results in a severe psoriasis‐like skin disorder

Transforming growth factor beta1 (TGFbeta1), a potent keratinocyte growth inhibitor, has been shown to be overexpressed in keratinocytes in certain inflammatory skin diseases and has been thought to counteract the effects of other growth factors at the site of inflammation. Surprisingly, our transgenic mice expressing wild-type TGFbeta1 in the epidermis using a keratin 5 promoter (K5.TGFbeta1(wt)) developed inflammatory skin lesions, with gross appearance of psoriasis-like plaques, generalized scaly erythema, and Koebner's phenomenon. These lesions were characterized by epidermal hyperproliferation, massive infiltration of neutrophils, T lymphocytes, and macrophages to the epidermis and superficial dermis, subcorneal microabscesses, basement membrane degradation, and angiogenesis. K5.TGFbeta1(wt) skin exhibited multiple molecular changes that typically occur in human Th1 inflammatory skin disorders, such as psoriasis. Further analyses revealed enhanced Smad signaling in transgenic epidermis and dermis. Our study suggests that certain pathological condition-induced TGFbeta1 overexpression in the skin may synergize with or induce molecules required for the development of Th1 inflammatory skin disorders.
Strain energy minimization in SSC magnet winding

Differential geometry provides a natural family of coordinate systems, the Frenet frame, in which to specify the geometric properties of a magnet winding. By a modification of the Euler-Bernoulli thin rod model, the strain energy is defined with respect to this frame. Then, it is minimized by a direct method from the calculus of variations. The mathematics, its implementation in a computer program, and some analysis of a Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) dipole by the program are described.
INTERACTIONS BETWEEN HERBIVOROUS FISHES AND LIMITING NUTRIENTS IN A TROPICAL STREAM ECOSYSTEM

Ecologists have long been interested in understanding the strengths of con- sumer and resource limitation in influencing communities. Here we ask three questions concerning the relative importance of nutrients and grazing fishes to primary producers of a tropical Andean stream: (1) Are stream algae nutrient limited? (2) Are top-down and bottom-up forces of dual importance in limiting primary producers? (3) Do grazing fishes modulate the degree of resource limitation? We obtained several lines of evidence suggesting that Andean stream algae are nitrogen limited. Addition of nitrogen in flow-through channels resulted in major increases in algal standing crop, whereas there were no measurable effects of phosphorus enrichment. Inter- estingly, the N2-fixing cyanobacteria Anabaena was one of the taxa that responded most dramatically to the addition of nitrogen. Moreover, nutrient uptake rates were significantly higher for inorganic nitrogen (NO3-N and NH4-N) compared to phosphorus (PO4-P). Nutrients and the presence of grazing fishes were manipulated simultaneously in a series of experiments by using nutrient-diffusing substrates in fish exclusions vs. open cages accessible to the natural fish assemblage. We observed strong effects of both nitrogen addition and consumers on algal standing crop, although consumer limitation was found to be of considerably greater magnitude than resource limitation in influencing algal biomass and composition. Finally, the degree of resource limitation varied as a consequence of grazing fishes. Experiments examining nutrient limitation in the presence and absence of fishes showed that the response to nitrogen enrichment was significantly greater on sub- strates accessible to natural fish assemblages compared to substrates where grazing fishes were excluded. These experiments demonstrate simultaneous and interactive effects of top- down and bottom-up factors in limiting primary producers of tropical Andean streams. Whereas other studies have shown that consumers affect nutrient supply in ecosystems, our findings suggest that consumers can play an important role in influencing nutrient
Early Visual Experience Shapes the Representation of Auditory Space in the Forebrain Gaze Fields of the Barn Owl

Auditory spatial information is processed in parallel forebrain and midbrain pathways. Sensory experience early in life has been shown to exert a powerful influence on the representation of auditory space in the midbrain space-processing pathway. The goal of this study was to determine whether early experience also shapes the representation of auditory space in the forebrain. Owls were raised wearing prismatic spectacles that shifted the visual field in the horizontal plane. This manipulation altered the relationship between interaural time differences (ITDs), the principal cue used for azimuthal localization, and locations of auditory stimuli in the visual field. Extracellular recordings were used to characterize ITD tuning in the auditory archistriatum (AAr), a subdivision of the forebrain gaze fields, in normal and prism-reared owls. Prism rearing altered the representation of ITD in the AAr. In prism-reared owls, unit tuning for ITD was shifted in the adaptive direction, according to the direction of the optical displacement imposed by the spectacles. Changes in ITD tuning involved the acquisition of unit responses to adaptive ITD values and, to a lesser extent, the elimination of responses to nonadaptive (previously normal) ITD values. Shifts in ITD tuning in the AAr were similar to shifts in ITD tuning observed in the optic tectum of the same owls. This experience-based adjustment of binaural tuning in the AAr helps to maintain mutual registry between the forebrain and midbrain representations of auditory space and may help to ensure consistent behavioral responses to auditory stimuli.
Impact of Physician Awareness on Hospital Charges for Radical Retropubic Prostatectomy

AbstractPurpose: We determine if physician awareness of hospital costs for radical retropubic prostatectomy affects physician practice patterns.Materials and Methods: We reviewed 256 consecutive radical retropubic prostatectomies performed by 14 urologists during 4 years at a community hospital. After 2 years the physicians were provided information on factors that may decrease charges.Results: Charges decreased significantly following intervention, from $17,134 within the initial 2 years to $13,826 within the last 2 years (p less than 0.005). Significant decreases were noted for length to stay, need for intensive care, operating time and blood loss.Conclusions: Traditional methods of physician education can impact practice patterns to decrease hospital charges for radical retropubic prostatectomy.
Statistical logic cell delay analysis using a current-based model

A statistical model for the purpose of logic cell timing analysis in the presence of process variations is presented. A new current-based cell delay model is utilized, which can accurately compute the output waveform for input waveforms of arbitrary shapes subjected to noise. The cell parasitic capacitances are pre-characterized by lookup tables to improve the accuracy. To capture the effect of process parameter variations on the cell behavior, the output voltage waveform of logic cells is modeled by a stochastic Markovian process in which the voltage value probability distribution at each time instance is computed from that of the previous time instance. Next the probability distribution of a % V/sub dd/ crossing time, i.e., the hitting time of the output voltage stochastic process is computed. Experimental results demonstrate the high accuracy of our cell delay model compared to Monte-Carlo-based SPICE simulations.
Cotton Color Classification by Fuzzy Logic

This paper describes the application of fuzzy logic to cotton color grading in an attempt to improve the acceptance of machine grading for cotton colors. Cotton color grades are a number of classes in the (Rd, b) color space. Adjacent color classes have blurry and overlapping boundaries, making crisp-boundary methods ineffective for cotton color classification. Fuzzy logic is specialized to deal with uncertainty and imprecision in the decision-making process, and thus offers a new approach for grading cotton colors. In this paper, we present the procedures for constructing a fuzzy inference system (FIS) using fuzzy logic to classify major classes of cotton colors, and the preliminary results to demonstrate FIS effectiveness in reducing machine-classer disagreements in color grading. The results from the Fis show great consistency for multiple year of cotton color data.
Concept maps in medical education: an analytical literature review

OBJECTIVES As the medical profession continues to change, so do the educational methods by which medical students are taught. Various authors have acknowledged the need for alternative teaching and learning strategies that will enable medical students to retain vast amounts of information, integrate critical thinking skills and solve a range of complex clinical problems. Previous research has indicated that concept maps may be one such teaching and learning strategy. This article aims to: (i) review the current research on concept maps as a potential pedagogical approach to medical student learning, and (ii) discuss implications for medical student teaching and learning, as well as directions for future research. METHODS The literature included in this review was obtained by searching library databases including ACADEMIC SEARCH, ERIC, EBSCOHost, PsychINFO, PsychARTICLES, PubMed/MEDLINE, CINAHL and EMBASE. This literature review is a summary of both conceptual and empirically published literature on the uses of concept mapping in medical education. RESULTS The 35 studies reviewed here indicate that concept maps function in four main ways: (i) by promoting meaningful learning; (ii) by providing an additional resource for learning; (iii) by enabling instructors to provide feedback to students, and (iv) by conducting assessment of learning and performance. CONCLUSIONS This review provides ideas for medical school faculty staff on the use of concept maps in teaching and learning. Strategies such as fostering critical thinking and clinical reasoning, incorporating concept mapping within problem-based learning, and using concept mapping in group and collaborative learning are identified. New developments in medical education include the use of serial concept maps, concept maps as a methodology to assist learners with lower cognitive competence, and the combination of group concept maps with structured feedback.
Apoptosis of growth plate chondrocytes occurs through a mitochondrial pathway

Abstract Objective: To determine the role of mitochondria in chondrocyte apoptosis induced by inorganic phosphate (Pi). Materials and Methods: Chondrocytes isolated from the growth plates of chick embryo tibia were treated with Pi in serum-free media; chondrocyte viability, mitochondrial membrane potential, cytochrome c release from mitochondria, caspase 3 activity, endonuclease activity, and DNA fragmentation were investigated. Results: Exposure to Pi for 24 hours induced apoptosis in growth plate chondrocytes through a pathway that involved loss of mitochondrial function, release of cytochrome c into the cytoplasm, increases in caspase 3 and endonuclease activities, and fragmentation of DNA. Conclusions: This study suggests that mitochondria are important players in Pi-induced apoptosis.
Age determination method using neurolipofuscin: a reply to Buesa

Estimates of age of some types of animals such as fish and bivalves are possible by analysing hard structures such as otoliths, shells and vertebrae, which are retained throughout life and show age...