cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
2018 ACM SIGAI student essay contest on artificial intelligence technologies

Win one of several prizes including $500USD or a chat with a leading AI Researcher. For complete details, including submission requirements, formats, and judges please see: www.tinyurl.com/SIGAIEssay2018
Spatial and temporal distribution of mobulid ray species in the eastern Pacific Ocean ascertained from observer data from the tropical tuna purse-seine fishery

This research focuses on the description of the spatial and temporal distributions of mobulid ray species (Mobula birostris, Mobula mobular, Mobula thurstoni, Mobula tarapacana and Mobula munkiana) using data from the observer program (1993–2014) of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC). The tuna purse seine operations in the region extend from 70 to 150°W to 20°S-30°N. Significant differences on the captures per sets between fishing modes and species were found. Results showed that the most common species taken are M. thurstoni, M. mobular and M. birostris in School sets (sets on unassociated tuna schools). The temporal distributions showed high variability of the catches by species and years. The spatial distribution showed several areas of importance depending of the type of fishing, such as the coast of Peru, Galagapos or the Costa Rica Dome, and possible relationships with some oceanographic processes of the eastern Pacific Ocean (i.e. coastal and seasonal upwelling systems). The frequency of the captures per set showed that, although the greatest numbers caught in a set were very low (around 53.7% of sets with one capture), in some areas and periods there were captures of aggregates of hundreds of individuals of some of these species, such as Galapagos Islands during December, Costa Rica Dome during August, or Baja California during June. These events are of biological interest, and may offer good opportunities for conservation. This project has been developed with the aim of identifying the most important areas for these bycatch species and thus, improving the knowledge on them to reduce their mortality.
Strong introspection

The purpose of this paper is to expand the syntax and semantics of logic programs and deductive databases to allow for the correct representation of incomplete information in the presence of multiple extensions. The language of logic programs with classical negation, epistemic disjunction, and negation by failure is further expanded by a new modal operator K (where for the set of rules T and formula F, KF stands for "F is known to a reasoner with a set of premises T"). Theories containing such an operator will be called strongly introspective. We will define the semantics of such theories (which expands the semantics of deductive databases from [Gelfond and Lifschitz 1990bD and demonstrate the applicability of strongly introspective theories to formalization of some forms of commonsense reasoning.
Abstract 220: Adipocyte-Derived Exosome-Containing miRNAs Exacerbated Cardiac Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury in Diabetic Mice

Objective: Diabetes significantly exacerbates myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (MI/R) injury. However, the molecules mediate the crosstalk between adipose tissue and heart is unclear. The current st...
OMSCS: the revolution will be digitized

Lessons learned from the first five years of Georgia Tech's Online Master of Science in Computer Science program.
Effectiveness and safety of dimethyl fumarate in progressive multiple sclerosis

BackgroundThere is limited data analyzing the safety and effectiveness of dimethyl fumarate (DMF) in the progressive multiple sclerosis (PMS) population.ObjectiveTo analyze the safety and effective...
Staffing in a Level 1 Trauma Center: Quantifying Capacity for Preparedness.

OBJECTIVE We sought to determine who is involved in the care of a trauma patient. METHODS We recorded hospital personnel involved in 24 adult Priority 1 trauma patient admissions for 12 h or until patient demise. Hospital personnel were delineated by professional background and role. RESULTS We cataloged 19 males and 5 females with a median age of 50-y-old (interquartile range [IQR], 35.5-67.5). The average number of hospital personnel involved was 79.71 (standard deviation, 17.62; standard error 3.6). A median of 51.2% (IQR, 43.4%-59.8%) of personnel were first involved within hour 1. More personnel were involved in direct versus indirect care (median 54.5 [IQR, 47.5-67.0] vs 25.0 [IQR, 22.0-30.5]; P < 0.0001). Median number of health-care professionals and auxiliary staff were 74.5 (IQR, 63.5-90.5) and 6.0 (IQR, 5.0-7.0), respectively. More personnel were first involved in hospital locations external to the emergency department (median, 53.0 [IQR, 41.5-63.0] vs 27.5 [IQR, 24.0-30.0]; P < 0.0001). No differences existed in total personnel by Injury Severity Score (P = 0.1266), day (P = 0.7270), or time of admission (P = 0.2098). CONCLUSIONS A large number of hospital personnel with varying job responsibilities respond to severe trauma. These data may guide hospital staffing and disaster preparedness policies.
Relationship between coupling and the controllability Grammian in co-design problems

Abstract Design of smart products requires optimization of both the physical device, or artifact, and its controller. While some components of coupling can be computed a priori , the existence and strength of coupling between these problems over the entire Pareto frontier currently cannot be computed until they are solved. If coupling is expected to be present, then the problem is often solved as a simultaneous, or all-in-one, optimization. This solution process is more difficult, computationally intensive, and operationally inconvenient than a sequential solution method. Consequently, knowing in advance whether coupling is weak or nonexistent is useful. In this paper, a general formulation for the control problem is given, which includes components for the speed of response, accuracy of the response, and control effort. While this general formulation does not permit a priori determination of coupling, the existence and strength of coupling can be determined for several special cases, which represent common and important control problems. Controllability is a property of the uncontrolled system and does not depend on the controller design. These relationships between coupling and controllability can be utilized in problem formulation, choice of solution method, and development of Control Proxy Functions (CPFs) for each of these problem types. The concepts developed are demonstrated via design of a positioning gantry and a MEMS actuator.
Marsh thistle in New York: early detection and rapid response to a recent invader

Case studies implementing early detection and rapid response (EDRR) protocols are crucial to our understanding of how to evaluate the threat of a new invasive organism. Most EDRR schematics depict a linear approach to EDRR beginning with detection, then assessment, and concluding with the rapid response. Our case study exemplified the need to adjust this protocol by interlacing all three phases. Our target species is a recent invader to central New York: Cirsium palustre (marsh thistle). We observed 192 populations and reported them on iMapInvasives.org. These locations were used to generate risk maps of neighboring counties. Six test plots evaluated the plant's bienniality and monocarpism. A life-stage analysis allowed us to delineate the invasion front to target control and management solutions where they are most effective for marsh thistle. An adaptive approach to EDRR can expedite response strategies, develop risk maps, and train partners for better control.
The Effects of a Custom-designed Animation Program on Learning Chinese Characters

As the economic growth of China increasingly affects the global economy, the interest in learning the Chinese language in U.S. schools has been growing rapidly. For adult learners who are non-native Chinese and who are beginning learners of Chinese as a foreign language (CFL), one of the difficult tasks is to produce Chinese characters correctly. Although it is important to write Chinese characters with the correct stroke sequence, most CFL learners in U. S. higher education institutions do not have the knowledge of the basic strokes in Chinese characters. With the advances of computer technology, computer animation has been used to support learning in education. However, few research studies have investigated the effects of computer animation on the content of language learning. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of a custom-designed computer animation program on learning Chinese characters by beginning learners of Chinese as Foreign Language (CFL) in a higher education setting. This study used a matched comparison quasi-experimental design to explore the effects of the customized computer program within two groups of students. The treatment groups were two classes of CHIN 110 course taught by instructor A and the control groups were two classes of CHIN 110 course taught by instructor B. A demographic questionnaire, a posttest, and a pre and post attitude Surveys were given to students to measure the effects of the custom-designed computer program. A one-way ANOVA was performed to compare the posttest scores and test completion time between control group and treatment group. The results showed there was a significant difference in test scores between the control group and the treatment group, and there was no significant difference on test completion time between the control group and the treatment group, The Chi-Square tests were conducted to compare the attitudes toward learning Chinese characters between control and treatment group. The results showed no significant difference on attitudes toward learning Chinese characters between control and treatment group. Additionally, the results of supplementary attitude questionnaire showed the treatment group had a positive view of the program. The findings of this study can help Chinese language teachers to understand how computer animation can affect Chinese characters learning and will encourage adoption of the computer animation program in the teaching of their courses.
Signal and Image Processing with Belief Propagation [DSP Applications]

In this column, we review a particularly effective inference algorithm known as belief propagation (BP). After describing its message-passing structure, we demonstrate the interplay of statistical modeling and inference in two challenging applications: denoising discrete signals transmitted over noisy channels, and dense 3-D reconstruction from stereo images.
Modeling market pricing in a deregulated environment using adaptive fuzzy inference systems

The focus of this presentation is on the development of a software model that allows an electricity market player to predict future market behavior given a set of indicators. This model should not be just a "black box" mechanism but, rather, it should be interpretable allowing insight as to how these indicators drive the behavior of the market. The method chosen is an extension of the approach termed a probabilistic inference network.
Benefit Bundle Analysis

This paper is one of 18 selected by the Editorial Review Board of The Journal of Advertising Research to be a ‘classic’ - an article that has withstood the test of time. First published in 1972, the authors discuss how product and service benefit analysis can assist in market segmentation. Specifically it covers the question of quantifying benefit importance, and introduces the concept of benefit bundle analysis (as an extension to conjoint and other trade-off utility models).
Musical meter modulates the allocation of attention across time

Dynamic attending theory predicts that attention is allocated hierarchically across time during processing of hierarchical rhythmic structures such as musical meter. ERP research demonstrates that attention to a moment in time modulates early auditory processing as evidenced by the amplitude of the first negative peak N1 approximately 100 msec after sound onset. ERPs elicited by tones presented at times of high and low metric strength in short melodies were compared to test the hypothesis that hierarchically structured rhythms direct attention in a manner that modulates early perceptual processing. A more negative N1 was observed for metrically strong beats compared with metrically weak beats; this result provides electrophysiological evidence that hierarchical rhythms direct attention to metrically strong times during engaged listening. The N1 effect was observed only on fast tempo trials, suggesting that listeners more consistently invoke selective processing based on hierarchical rhythms when sounds are presented rapidly. The N1 effect was not modulated by musical expertise, indicating that the allocation of attention to metrically strong times is not dependent on extensive training. Additionally, changes in P2 amplitude and a late negativity were associated with metric strength under some conditions, indicating that multiple cognitive processes are associated with metric perception.
Catecholaminergic innervation of white adipose tissue in Siberian hamsters

When Siberian hamsters are transferred from long summerlike days (LDs) to short winterlike days (SDs) they decrease their body weight, primarily as body fat. These SD-induced decreases in lipid stores are not uniform. Internally located white adipose tissue (WAT) pads are depleted preferentially of lipid, whereas the more externally located subcutaneous WAT pads are relatively spared. These data suggest a possible differential sympathetic neural control over catecholamine-induced lipolysis and that lipolytic rates are greater for internal vs. external WAT pads. Moreover, if these differential rates of lipolysis are due to differential sympathetic nervous system (SNS) drives on the pads, then fat pad-specific catecholaminergic innervation may exist. Therefore, we tested whether inguinal WAT (IWAT; an external pad) and epididymal WAT (EWAT; an internal pad) were innervated differentially. In addition, we tested whether norepinephrine (NE) turnover (TO) reflected the presumed greater SNS drive on EWAT vs. IWAT after SD exposure. Injections of fluorescent tract tracers [Fluoro-Gold or indocarbocyanine perchlorate (DiI)] demonstrated projections from the SNS ganglia T13-L3 to both fat pads. Retrograde labeling revealed a relatively separate pattern of distribution of labeled neurons in the ganglia projecting to each pad. In vivo anterograde transport of DiI resulted in labeling in both IWAT and EWAT that included staining around individual adipocytes and occasionally retrogradely labeled cells. The proportionately greater decrease in EWAT compared with IWAT mass after 5 wk of SD exposure was reflected in greater EWAT NE TO than found in their LD counterparts for this pad.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Abdominal pain and anemia following heart transplantation.

A 6-year-old boy presented with abdominal pain, haemaochezia, and facial oedema. He received a heart transplant at 0 months for dilated cardiomyopathy, his medications included acrolimus and azathioprine. He was pale, afebrile, and tachyardic with mild facial oedema. Stool was occult blood positive. abs showed elevated tacrolimus level, anaemia, leukopenia, and ypoalbuminemia. Upper endoscopy showed a large ulcer and muliple duodenal sessile masses (Fig. 1, asterisk). Biopsy showed a ense infiltrate of atypical lymphocytes with brisk mitotic activity Fig. 2A, arrow). Immunohistochemical staining for CD20 (B) was
Numerical study of a ramjet dump combustor flowfield

Increased interest in ramjet propulsion systems with higher performance requirements and tighter constraints on system size and weight has lead to the need for improved techniques for analyzing and designing such systems. A computer program has been developed to analyze the turbulent reacting flow field in a ramjet dump combustor configuration. The program solves the axisymmetric Navier-Stokes and species equations throughout the engine diffuser and combustor providing a unified analysis of the complete engine flow field, including flow separation, fuel-air mixing, and preliminary results with chemical reaction. Details of the program development are given, along with a comparison of program results with data from a dump combustor simulation experiment, to allow assessment of the flow field modeling that is employed.
Modeling intrametropolitan industrial location realistically

This paper compares intrametropolitan industrial location models to the process of intrametropolitan industrial location as described in the real estate and urban economic literature. It identifies seven areas where industrial location models are at odds with reality, and suggests ways to make them realistic. Specifically, it makes a case for microanalytic/stochastic/recursive/dynamic/economic industrial location models. It goes on to describe an operational model that is “realistic” in most respects.
Efficacy and safety of lanthanum carbonate for reduction of serum phosphorus in patients with chronic renal failure receiving hemodialysis.

BACKGROUND Lanthanum carbonate is a highly effective phosphate binder with significant potential as a treatment for hyperphosphatemia in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Here, the results of a placebo-controlled, dose-ranging study are presented. METHODS 196 patients (> or = 18 years) receiving hemodialysis for at least 6 months entered a 1- to 3-week, single-blind, placebo run-in phase. Of these, 145 patients were randomized to a double-blind phase in which they received placebo or lanthanum carbonate in daily lanthanum doses of 225, 675, 1,350 or 2,250 mg for 6 weeks. Serum levels of phosphorus, calcium and parathyroid hormone, and adverse events were monitored throughout the study. RESULTS The intent-to-treat analysis (n = 144) showed significant dose-related reductions in serum phosphorus at lanthanum doses of 675, 1,350 and 2,250 mg. After 6 weeks of treatment, phosphorus levels were significantly lower in the lanthanum groups receiving 1,350 mg/day and 2,250 mg/day, compared with the placebo group (respective changes from randomization: -0.95 +/- 1.39 mg/dl (-0.31 +/- 0.45 mmol/l), -1.13 +/- 2.01 mg/dl (-0.36 +/- 0.65 mmol/l), 0.75 +/- 1.47 mg/dl (0.24 +/- 0.47 mmol/l), p < 0.001). Significant reductions in serum phosphorus, compared with placebo, occurred in the lanthanum 1,350 mg/day group from the second week of treatment and in the 2,250 mg/day group from the first week of treatment. Adverse events were mainly gastrointestinal (e.g. nausea and vomiting). Treatment-related adverse events occurred in 39% of patients treated with lanthanum carbonate and 44% of the placebo group. CONCLUSION Lanthanum carbonate is an effective and well-tolerated agent for the short-term treatment of hyperphosphatemia in patients with ESRD.
The effects of intergroup discrimination and social values on level of self‐esteem in the minimal group paradigm

The proposition that individuals engage in intergroup discrimination to increase or maintain positive social identity and a high level of self-esteem has received some empirical support. An attempt was made to extend prior findings by evaluating whether intergroup allocation behaviour consistent with subjects' social values would lead to higher self-esteem than inconsistent allocation behaviour. More specifically, it was predicted that competitive subjects' self-esteem will be higher following discriminatory choices than fair choices and prosocial subjects' self-esteem will be higher following fair choices than discriminatory choices. It was also predicted that after subjects were constrained to make discriminatory choices, competitors' self-esteem would be higher than prosocials' self-esteem and after subjects were constrained to make fair choices, prosocials' self-esteem would be higher than competitors' self-esteem. Experiment I supported the first of these predictions when a measure of personal self-esteem was used as a dependent variable. Experiment 2 attempted to extend the generality of the findings of Experiment 1 by defining and measuring self-esteem in collective terms. The expected prior pattern of results did not occur again. Constraining subjects to make discriminatory choices increased their collective self-esteem regardless of their social values.
A Finite Element Analysis of Void Evolution in 2-D Machining

The objective of this paper is to study void evolution and its effects on material failure during the machining process. The influence of cutting conditions on void nucleation, growth and coalescence is studied. The ultimate goal of this approach, as applied to machining, is to predict chip breakage and surface conditions via damage mechanics. A damage mechanics model proposed by Komori [1] is chosen to study the evolution of the void volume fraction in the chip and workpiece being machined with a grooved tool. A Thomason [2] type criterion as modified by Dhar et al. [3], that uses the variables calculated by FEM analysis, is used to predict void coalescence (failure). The distribution of the variables, such as effective strain-rate, nondimensional hydrostatic stress, and effective strain are obtained using the FEM methodology described by Zhang [4]. It is found that void coalescence always occurs in the newly machined surface below the flank face of the tool and in the chip flowing around the chip-groove region near the upper end of the face land. On the other hand, whether void coalescence occurs inside the chip or not, depends on the complex interactions between the machining parameters and chip geometry.© 2002 ASME
The roots of ‘Michurinism’: Transformist biology and acclimatization as currents in the Russian life sciences

Summary By now, the story of T. D. Lysenko's phantasmagoric career in the Soviet life sciences is widely familiar. While Lysenko's attempts to identify I. V. Michurin, the horticulturist, as the source of his own inductionist ideas about heredity are recognized as a gambit calculated to enhance his legitimacy, the real roots of those ideas are still shrouded in mystery. This paper suggests those roots may be found in a tradition in Russian biology that stretches back to the 1840s—a tradition inspired by the doctrines of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Etienne and Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire. The enthusiastic reception of those doctrines in Russia and of their practical application—acclimatization of exotic life forms—gave rise to the durable scientific preoccupation with transforming nature which now seems implicated in creating the context for Lysenko's successful bid to become an arbiter of the biological sciences.
Hedonic Property Valuation Models: Are Subjective Measures of Neighborhood Amenities Needed?

Common applications of hedonic residential property valuation models have relied on proxy measures of neighborhood amenities rather than directly measured subjective evaluations. While this approach simplifies data collection, there is reason to suspect that the use of proxy measures has degraded the accuracy of hedonic valuation models. The extent to which the use of proxy measures may decrease predictive accuracy, and fail to capture the effect of neighborhood amenities, has not been reported previously. The results presented here show that direct subjective measures yield only modest improvements in price prediction. Careful use of proxy measures for neighborhood amenities appears to be cost efficient for large-scale appraisal work.
Valental aspects of Peircean algebraic logic

Abstract This paper describes a system of logic that has both an algebraic syntax and a graphical syntax and that may be regarded as a kind of semantic net. The paper analyses certain “valental” characteristics of terms and graphs of this logical system: characteristics defined in terms of the “valence”, or number of argument-places, in the terms and graphs. The most famous valental result is the so-called “Reduction Thesis” of Charles Sanders Peirce. The paper briefly explicates the author's proof, which is to be published in a forthcoming book, of this Reduction Thesis. Several additional valental results are proved, and the potential of PAL as a bridge between logic and topological graph theory is suggested.
Benthic biological effects of seasonal hypoxia in a eutrophic estuary predate rapid coastal development

Abstract Nutrient and organic loading associated with escalating human activities increases biological oxygen demand from microbial decomposition. In the Neuse River estuary, North Carolina, recurrent nuisance algal blooms, bottom-water hypoxic events, and fish kills during summers of the 1990s suggest that uncapped nutrient loading may have increased the frequency, duration, and/or spatial scope of important biological effects of hypoxia during summer, when persistent water column stratification can occur and microbial metabolism is greatest. We test the hypothesis that the severity of benthic biological effects of hypoxia in this estuary has increased over a 30-year period of dramatic human population growth in eastern North Carolina by comparing survival over summer of the benthic bivalve Macoma spp. between historical (1968–1970) and recent (1997–1998) years. Macoma is a demonstrated indicator of oxygen availability, the benthic biomass dominant in the Neuse and other temperate estuaries and the major prey link to higher trophic levels. All three historical summers exhibited patterns of collapse in Macoma populations indistinguishable from the recent summer of severe hypoxia (1997) but distinct from the modest changes documented during the mildly hypoxic summer of 1998. The only Macoma to survive any severely hypoxic summer were those in shallows where oxygen could be renewed by surface mixing. Thus, the biological effects of hypoxia observed in the Neuse River estuary in the late 1990s appear no more severe than 30 years before. Historic rates of organic loading to the Neuse River estuary may have been sufficient to induce widespread and intense hypoxia beneath the surface mixed layer, implying that even if algal blooms are diminished through nutrient reductions, the severity of biological effects of bottom-water hypoxia may not change detectably.
Absorption and fluorescence spectra of spinach chloroplast fractions obtained by solvent extraction.

Abstract Separation of previously postulated chlorophyll components in vivo was attempted by fractional extraction of chloroplasts with acetone and methanol of various concentration. Dilute solvents were found to extract more or, less intact chlorophyllcarrier complexes; more concentrated solvents dissociate these complexes, first in the extracts, then also in the residual chloroplast material. The absorption and the fluorescence spectra of the extracts and the residues further suggest a partial separation of two types of complexes, with the “long-wave” component, chlorophyll a 683, extracted ahead of the “short-wave” component, chlorophyll a 668. Particularly revealing are the fluorescence spectra at −196°; it seems that at this temperature all chlorophyll a complexes become fluorescent (while only one fluoresces strongly at room temperature). The relative intensities of the fluorescence maxima at 685 nm, 696–700 nm, and 735 nm change with solvent concentration, suggesting partial separation of the complexes.
Control of spatially distributed nonstationary systems over arbitrary graph structures with communication latency

The paper focuses on spatially distributed control systems where the controller sensing and actuation topology is inherited from that of the plant. Specifically, the paper considers distributed systems composed of linear time-varying subsystems interconnected over general graph structures. These distributed systems are subject to communication latency, where the information sent by a subsystem at the current time step is received by the target subsystem at the next time step. The paper provides convex analysis and synthesis conditions for control design in this setting, with the l2-induced norm used as the performance measure. These conditions reduce to finite sequences of linear matrix inequalities in the case of eventually periodic systems interconnected over finite graphs.
Active galactic nuclei, neutrinos, and interacting cosmic rays in NGC 253 and NGC 1068

The galaxies M82, NGC?253, NGC?1068, and NGC?4945 have been detected in ?-rays by Fermi. Previously, we developed and tested a model for cosmic-ray interactions in the starburst galaxy M82. Now, we aim to explore the differences between starburst and active galactic nucleus (AGN) environments by applying our self-consistent model to the starburst galaxy NGC?253 and the Seyfert galaxy NGC?1068. Assuming a constant cosmic-ray acceleration efficiency by supernova remnants with Milky Way parameters, we calculate the cosmic-ray proton and primary and secondary electron/positron populations, predict the radio and ?-ray spectra, and compare with published measurements. We find that our models easily fit the observed ?-ray spectrum for NGC?253 while constraining the cosmic-ray source spectral index and acceleration efficiency. However, we encountered difficultly modeling the observed radio data and constraining the speed of the galactic wind and the magnetic field strength, unless the gas mass is less than currently preferred values. Additionally, our starburst model consistently underestimates the observed ?-ray flux and overestimates the radio flux for NGC?1068; these issues would be resolved if the AGN is the primary source of ?-rays. We discuss the implications of these results and make predictions for the neutrino fluxes for both galaxies.
A mechanically coupled reaction diffusion model of breast tumor response during neoadjuvant chemotherapy

There is currently a paucity of reliable techniques for predicting the response of breast tumors to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The standard approach is to monitor gross changes in tumor size as measured by physical exam and/or conventional imaging, but these methods generally do not show whether a tumor is responding until the patient has completed therapy. One promising approach to address this clinical need is to integrate quantitative in vivo imaging data into biomathematical models of tumor growth in order to predict eventual response based on early measurements during therapy. Contrast enhanced and diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging data acquired before and after the first cycle of therapy to calibrate a patient-specific response model can be used to predict patient outcome at the conclusion of therapy. We have developed a mathematical modeling approach to optimize key model parameters for the calibration of a patient-specific mechanically coupled reaction-diffusion model of response. We apply the approach to patient data in which tumors were either responsive or non-responsive to neoajuvant chemotherapy and demonstrate changes to the patient-specific model which result in altered growth patterns. Additionally, we show that reconstructed parameter maps exhibit drastic differences between patients with different tumor burden outcomes at the conclusion of therapy, in this case, a 10-fold increase in proliferative capacity is found for a non-responding tumor versus its responsive counterpart. Finally, we show that the mechanically coupled reaction-diffusion growth model, when projected forward, more accurately predicts residual tumor burden than the uncoupled model.
Observations on the Sexual Stage of Colletotrichum orbiculare

An isolate of the fungus Colletotrichum orbiculare (syn. C. lagenarium) race 1 that forms perithecia in culture was isolated from edible gourd in North Carolina. This isolate has been identified as a species of Glomerella. The isolate produces very few ascopores when selfed; however, ascospores are produced in abundance when mated with certain other isolates of C. orbiculare.
Simultaneous submicrodetermination of glucose and uric acid

Abstract An automated submicro procedure for the simultaneous determination of glucose and uric acid from a single 25 microliter capillary blood specimen is presented. The system is based on the Technicon AutoAnalyzer analytical system and the Unopette submicro sampling system. The colorimetric determinations for glucose and uric acid, respectively are the alkaline ferricyanide and phosphotungstic acid procedures. The proposed method is suitable for routine use as well as for population screening programs. Accuracy and precision are evaluated by comparison to standard macro procedures.
Does sleep apnea increase the risk of cardiorespiratory complications during endoscopy procedures

Background Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have an increased risk of perioperative complications.
The synthesis of complementary ribonucleic acid during infection with LSc poliovirus.

Synthesis of poliovirus RNA begins within an hour after infection and continues throughout the viral growth cycle (1). Temperature-sensitive mutants produce RNA for 2 hr at 36” and 40°C; thereafter synthesis is blocked 98 % at 40°C (2,3). The production of RNA early in infection at 4O’C and the fact, that early RNA is not incorporated into virions under permissive conditions (1) led us to investigate t’hc nature of the RNA synthesized at different stages of infection. We have employed short pulses with radioactive uridine to label replicative intermediate (RI; a multi-stranded RNA considered to be the extracted form of the replicating structure), and have thereby examined poliovirus transcription to determine whether complementary RNA (cRNA) is preferentially produced during the early stages of infection. The data shows a constant level of synthesis of cRNA throughout the viral growth cycle. HeLa-0 cells (provided by B. Korant, E. I. duPont de Nemours) were grown in roller culture in Eagle’s minimal essential medium (MEM) (4). Cells were infected at a ratio of 100 plaque-forming units (PFU) per cell with LSc type 1 poliovirus at 35°C. Virus was allowed to attach for 45 min after which cells were washed and fresh medium was added. To study nascent viral R,NA infected cells were pulse labeled with uridine-5 ,6-3H (43 Ci/mmole; Schware, Mann, Orangeburg,
Reflected irradiance indicatrices of natural surfaces and their effect on albedo

The indicatrices of solar radiation reflected from characteristic natural surfaces were measured with a Nimbus Medium Resolution Radiometer (MRIR) 3 m above the ground. Results indicated that areas such as salt and alkali flats had only small deviations from isotropic reflections, while others such as sparsely vegetated areas had substantial deviations. The indicatrices were strongly dependent on the sun angle; thus a daily variation was found for most features. Typical indicatrices, normalized to nadir angle of zero degrees, are presented along with their impacts on measured albedo, which varies with solar angle. Our results can (1) improve surface albedo considerations using space-generated data, and (2) serve as a more realistic lower boundary condition for atmospheric transfer determinations based on space data.
Thinking ahead: the case for motor imagery in prospective judgements of prehension

How similar are judgements concerning how we expect to perform an action, to how we actually behave? The veracity of such prospective action judgements, and the mechanisms by which they are computed, was explored in a series of tasks that involved either grasping (MC conditions) or thinking about grasping (PJ conditions) a dowel presented in various orientations. PJs concerning limits of comfortable hand supination and pronation when turning a dowel in the picture plane were highly consistent with values obtained during actual hand rotation (Exp. 1). The same was true for judgements regarding the level of awkwardness involved in adopting a prescribed grip (e.g. overhand with right hand) for dowels in various picture plane orientations (Exp. 2). When allowed to select the most natural grip (overhand versus underhand) or hand (left versus right) for engaging dowels in these orientations, subjects preferred virtually identical responses in both PJ and MC conditions. In both instances, they consistently chose the least awkward response options. As would be expected for actual movements, PJs involving awkward hand postures had longer response times (RTs), and were less accurate. Likewise, latencies for both grip and hand judgements tended to increase as a function of the angular distance between the current positions of subjects' hands, and the orientation of the chosen posture. Together, these findings are consistent with a the hypothesis that PJs involve mentally simulated actions, or motor imagery. These results suggest that motor imagery does not depend on the existence of a completed premotor plan (Jeannerod, 1994), but may instead be involved in the planning process itself. A provisional model for the involvement of imagery in motor planning is outlined, as are a set of criteria for evaluating claims of the involvement of motor imagery in problem solving.
Multiple-peril crop insurance: successes and challenges

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine international experience with multiple-peril crop insurance (MPCI). Named peril crop insurance is available in most countries but MPCI is less common. While named peril insurance is widely successful, MPCI has a checkered history. In most cases, MPCI actuarial experience has been poor and large premium subsidies have been required to incentivize purchasing. Design/methodology/approach – International experience with MPCI is reviewed with a particular focus on the USA which has the largest MPCI program in the world. Rationales for government involvement in facilitating MPCI offers are examined and future challenges are explored. Findings – In most cases, MPCI actuarial experience has been poor and large premium subsidies have been required to incentivize purchasing. MPCI purchasing has increased dramatically in recent years but so have government expenditures to support MPCI programs. Significant challenges remain with providing cost-effective MPCI coverage...
Metal-sulfide mineral ores, Fenton chemistry and disease. Particle induced inflammatory stress response in lung cells

Abstract The inhalation of mineral particulates and other earth materials, such as coal, can initiate or enhance disease in humans. Workers in occupations with high particulate exposure, such as mining, are particularly at risk. The ability of a material to generate an inflammatory stress response (ISR), a measure of particle toxicity, is a useful tool in evaluating said exposure risk. ISR is defined as the upregulation of cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) normalized to cell viability. This study compares the ISR of A549 human lung epithelial cells after exposure to well-characterized common metal-sulfide ore mineral separates. The evaluation of the deleterious nature of ore minerals is based on a range of particle loadings (serial dilutions of 0.002 m2/mL stock) and exposure periods (beginning at 30 min and measured systematically for up to 24 h). There is a wide range in ISR values generated by the ore minerals. The ISR values produced by the sphalerite samples are within the range of inert materials. Arsenopyrite generated a small ISR that was largely driven by cell death. Galena showed a similar, but more pronounced response. Copper-bearing ore minerals generated the greatest ISR, both by upregulating cellular ROS and generating substantial and sustained cell death. Chalcopyrite and bornite, both containing ferrous iron, generated the greatest ISR overall. Particles containing Fenton metals as major constituents produce the highest ISR, while other heavy metals mainly generate cell death. This study highlights the importance of evaluating the chemistry, oxidation states and structure of a material when assessing risk management.
Sudden death in infants with scurvy

Summary In three cases of severe scurvy in infancy death took place suddenly and unexpectedly. Two of the children had right-sided cardiac hypertrophy. Except for this, no other changes were found to account for death. The probable importance of vitamin C deficiency in producing myocardial hypertrophy and also in leading to cardiac insufficiency is discussed. It is pointed out that vitamin C deficiency may not be the only responsible factor.
Chelation of divalent cations by ATP, studied by titration calorimetry

Thermodynamic parameters and stoichiometry for the formation of complexes of ATP with Mg2+, Ca2+, and Sr2+ were determined by titration calorimetry. In each case, 1:1 stoichiometry was observed and complex formation was entropy driven. Binding constants for formation of complexes decreased in the order of Mg2+ greater than Ca2+ greater than Sr2+, as expected from charge density considerations. Monovalent cations hindered complex formation with Mg2+, apparently by competing with the divalent cation for complexation with ATP. Analysis of this competitive effect provided estimates of the binding constants for complexes of ATP with monovalent cations, which decreased in the order expected from charge density considerations (Li+ greater than Na+ greater than K+).
Effective lowering of dimensionality in the strongly correlated two dimensional electron gas.

We study a system of fermions interacting with a gauge field which can be used to describe either a spin liquid or the \ensuremath{\nu}=1/2 quantum Hall state. We propose a generalized model with a dimensionless parameter N. We evaluate the properties of the model in both limits N\ensuremath{\gg}1 and N\ensuremath{\ll}1 and deduce the properties of the model in the most physically interesting case of N=1,2. At N\ensuremath{\ll}1 the motion of the fermions becomes one dimensional. By applying the bosonization method in this limit, we obtain the fermion Green function and response functions.
On the transmission of external pressure fluctuations to the cerebrospinal fluid

Abstract A theory has been formulated to explain the manner in which external pressure fluctuations are transmitted to the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The theory is based upon a three-compartment model which consists of the cerebral ventricles, the basal cisterns and spinal subarachnoid space, and the cortical subarachnoid space. The external pressure disturbance is represented by a Fourier series summed over the frequency ω. The mathematical analysis leads to a time constant τ which depends upon the compliances of the spinal region and sources of external pressure fluctuations, the rate of CSF absorption and the rate of fluid transfer between compartments. For arterial pulsations where ωτ ⪢ 1, the theory is in accord with the experimental observations that (i) the arterial and CSF pulse waves are nearly identical in shape, and (ii) the amplitude of the CSF pulse wave increases with intracranial pressure. Moreover, it predicts that the amplitude of the wave will be larger in the spinal region than in the ventricles. The theory also accounts for the observation of one per minute pulse waves observed in hydrocephalic patients with decreased absorption rates.
A nationwide assessment of local government planning information systems

Abstract This study used a questionnaire survey in attempting to answer two questions: (1) How effective was the technology transfer of an early HUD-sponsored computerized planning information system and (2) what is the level of interest, need and sophistication of local government efforts to develop new systems today? The results are very encouraging. The study reveals that well over half of all cities and counties have a system in operation, are developing one or are planning to do so soon. The existing software and hardware has brought the cost of planning information systems within the reach of nearly all local governments. The interest is very high, as well as the need. Despite this good news, the study shows that most communities are not using their systems as effectively as they could or should, and many do not seem to realize the full potential of their systems. Finally, there seems to be a substantial need for a more complete exchange of information about system design and applications.
Optimizing the Wind Uplift Resistance of Mechanically Attached Roof Systems

Wind dynamics on a mechanically attached single-ply roofing assembly can lift the membrane and cause fluttering, introducing stresses at the attachment locations. To identify a component in a system that has the weakest resistance against wind uplift forces, a dynamic evaluation method is beneficial. Over the past 10 years, a number of mechanically attached systems were constructed and exposed to simulated dynamic wind uplift forces using the Dynamic Roofing Facility at the National Research Council of Canada. This paper presents data from this ongoing investigation that will help system designers to maximize wind uplift ratings by choosing the appropriate roof components at the early design stage or by replacing/adding components during reroofing to improve uplift resistance. By diagnosing roof system failures, one can identify the weakest link and select design alternatives that can improve the wind resistance. Through a case study, this paper concludes with a procedure for system optimization.
Codistribution of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit alpha3 and beta4 mRNAs during rat brain development.

We have used in situ hybridization to characterize the ontogeny of α3 and β4 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subunit mRNA expression in rat brain. Transcripts for both subunits were detected in embryonic brain, although overlapping expression of α3 mRNA was only evident in areas of strong β4 mRNA expression, including the medial habenula, locus coeruleus, the cerebellar primordium, and several motor and sensory brainstem nuclei. During the perinatal period, the independent expression of α3 mRNA declined, and greater correspondence in the temporal and spatial expression of α3 and β4 subunit mRNAs emerged. In general, β4 mRNA expression preceded that of α3 mRNA by 1 to 2 days. Overlapping expression patterns were transiently detected in the caudate putamen, basal forebrain, frontal and visual cortices, and in the CA3 field of hippocampus. Codistribution that lasted throughout development and into adulthood was noted in a number of brain areas, including the retrosplenial cortex, subiculum, medial habenula, interpeduncular nucleus, locus coeruleus, and brainstem motor nuclei. In many of these regions, α5 subunit mRNA was also expressed. Colocalization of α3 and β4 mRNAs with choline acetyltransferase mRNA was detected in cholinergic neurons of the brainstem motor nuclei, nucleus ambiguus, dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus, motor trigeminal nucleus, and facial nucleus, but not in most forebrain cholinergic cells. The extensive correspondence in temporal and spatial distribution of α3 and β4 mRNAs throughout postnatal brain development suggests that these subunits may be coordinately regulated and may form functional neuronal nAChRs with significant developmental roles. J. Comp. Neurol. 386:540–554, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Calcium-Induced Ciliary Reversal in the Extracted Models of "Pawn," a Behavioral Mutant of Paramecium

"Pawn," a genic mutant of Paramecium aurelia, cannot swim backward as the wild type can upon proper stimulation. In contrast, after membrane disruption by Triton X-100, the adenosine triphosphate-magnesium reactivated models of Pawns swim backward in the presence of calcium as wild-type models do. Thus, the mutant phenotype is due to an impairment in the membrane and not in the calcium-sensitive motile system.