cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Incidence of Fusarium graminearum in Wild Grasses is Associated With Rainfall and Cumulative Host Density in New York

The movement of plant pathogens between cultivated and natural host communities can result in lost agricultural production and altered microbial or plant biodiversity. Fusarium graminearum incidence was studied in wild grass hosts for 3 years to better understand the ecology of this plant pathogen at the interface of crop fields and nonagricultural environments. Research sites (n = 23) were spread between regions of high and low agricultural production and included both agricultural and nonagricultural fields. Pathogen incidence in living grass spikes and senesced, overwintered stems varied between regions of New York and was lowest in a region with sparser agricultural production (P = 0.001). However, pathogen incidence within regions was similar at both agricultural and nonagricultural sites. The groundcover of crop and wild hosts within 1 km of sample sites were equally effective predictors of pathogen incidence, indicating either host group may drive pathogen spread. Rainfall in the 8 weeks preceding sample collection was strongly correlated with F. graminearum incidence in grasses, as well as an increased prevalence of F. graminearum in Fusarium spp. communities (P = 0.001). Grass species diversity was not associated with a reduction in pathogen incidence, and F. graminearum incidence did not vary among the most well-sampled grasses. These results indicate the pathogen colonizes and spreads in noncultivated grasses in a manner consistent with existing concepts of pathogen epidemiology in cereal crops. Increasing host acreage, whether cultivated or not, could drive the colonization of grasses in remote or protected environments, potentially altering their microbial communities.
“France's (Kinder, Gentler) Extremist”: Marine Le Pen, Intersectionality, and Media Framing of Female Populist Radical Right Leaders

Although the populist radical right is generally seen as a particularly masculine and misogynist phenomenon, several of its parties have female leaders. The most prominent is Marine Le Pen, president of the French National Rally (formerly the National Front) and unofficial leader of the European populist radical right. Using insights from intersectionality theory, we posit that Marine Le Pen, as a female populist radical right politician, faces qualitatively different media coverage than both her female and her radical right counterparts. In this study, we analyze her media framing in two French (Le Figaro and Le Monde) and two U.S. (New York Times and Wall Street Journal) newspapers, focusing on the application of gender and populist radical right frames. We find that the “harder” populist radical right frame dominates the “softer” gender frame in all four newspapers, but, paradoxically, the combination of the two frames leads to overall less biased coverage of Marine Le Pen compared with both other female and other populist radical right politicians. In the conclusion, we discuss some of the consequences of the findings for the broader study of female politicians, most notably, theories of intersectionality and the double bind for women in leadership.
Hypertension and osteoporosis: Common pathophysiological mechanisms

Abstract Hypertension is a common disease affecting almost one half of adults and is a major cause of morbiditiy and mortality. Substantial epidemiological data suggest that there is a relationship between hypertension and osteoporosis although the underlying mechanisms remain poorly defined. It is now clear that inflammation and immune activation contribute to the end-organ damage that occurs in hypertension, and that factors in the hypertensive environment, including increased sympathetic outflow, cytokines, angiotensin II, oxidative stress and vascular disease can affect bone metabolism and the balance between bone generation and resorption. Many of these events likely contribute to osteoporosis. In this review we will consider these factors and discuss potential diagnostic and therapeutic measures that might be implemented to improve these diseases.
Capitalizing on the Urban Fiscal Crisis: Predatory Tax Buyers in 1970s Chicago:

Local governments across the United States annually hold tax auctions, in which unpaid property tax bills are sold to investors, who in turn obtain the right to charge interest on those debts or acquire title to tax delinquent property. In Chicago, reforms to Illinois’s tax sales law in 1951 gave rise to a class of investors who reaped millions through fees, interest payments, and, in some cases, acquisition of real estate for the price of a single property tax bill. Tax buying thrived as rates of property tax delinquency rose sharply in the 1970s, especially in the city’s African American neighborhoods, which suffered from discriminatory overassessment. As the city’s fiscal situation worsened, tax buyers wielded greater influence over tax policy and administration. Tax sales shed new light on the making of contemporary municipal fiscal policies and administrative practices, and highlight broader features of capitalism and the state in modern America.
Bardet-Biedl syndrome-7 (BBS7) shows treatment potential and a cone-rod dystrophy phenotype that recapitulates the non-human primate model.

Purpose: To provide a detailed ophthalmic phenotype of two male patients with Bardet-Biedl Syndrome (BBS) due to mutations in the BBS7 geneMethods: Two brothers ages 26 (Patient 1, P1) and 23 (P2) ...
Nowhere to Now, Where? Reconciling Public Cannabis Use in a Public Health Legal Framework

States continue to legalize recreational cannabis, but most have heavily restricted where consumption of newly licit cannabis is permitted. Every legalizing state has thus far prohibited open, outdoor public use, either limiting lawful use to private property or allowing a small number of licensed indoor venues for consumption outside of public view, an approach borrowed from alcohol control. In contrast, some non-U.S. jurisdictions have adopted a tobacco control approach, allowing limited outdoor public use while prohibiting indoor public use. Each approach presents individual and population health risks that reflect the complex intersection of health, social inequities, and community norms. Cannabis consumers face uncertain but potentially significant health risks from use, and the relative availability of use locations also implicates existing inequities in policing practices and housing. Those who do not use cannabis but are exposed to others’ use face possible harms from secondhand smoke and from intoxicated behavior, with such risks likely to be inequitably distributed due to existing employment and housing patterns. Communities as a whole also face risks, including that changing cannabis norms may increase use prevalence or intensity and that concentration of cannabis outlets in under-resourced communities may prove as detrimental as the concentration of other disfavored businesses has been. Each public use approach carries attendant risks, but a regulatory framework based on the tobacco control model best balances the protection of public health and the promotion of equity and social justice. This model recognizes the parallels between cannabis and tobacco (in addition to those between cannabis and alcohol). This approach also provides a pathway to mitigating the public health risks of cannabis legalization by leveraging an approach that has proven effective at reducing secondhand exposures and denormalizing smoking behavior in the tobacco context.
Postnatal Age Is a Critical Determinant of the Neonatal Host Response to Sepsis

Neonates manifest a unique host response to sepsis even among other children. Preterm neonates may experience sepsis soon after birth or during often-protracted birth hospitalizations as they attain physiologic maturity. We examined the transcriptome using genome-wide expression profiling on prospectively collected peripheral blood samples from infants evaluated for sepsis within 24 h after clinical presentation. Simultaneous plasma samples were examined for alterations in inflammatory mediators. Group designation (sepsis or uninfected) was determined retrospectively on the basis of clinical exam and laboratory results over the next 72 h from the time of evaluation. Unsupervised analysis showed the major node of separation between groups was timing of sepsis episode relative to birth (early, <3 d, or late, ≥3 d). Principal component analyses revealed significant differences between patients with early or late sepsis despite the presence of similar key immunologic pathway aberrations in both groups. Unique to neonates, the uninfected state and host response to sepsis is significantly affected by timing relative to birth. Future therapeutic approaches may need to be tailored to the timing of the infectious event based on postnatal age.
Detecting heavy metals in solution using electronic-tongue 3 REDOX water quality sensors

This paper describes results obtained from the E-Tongue 3 apparatus used to characterize residual contaminates in water. This apparatus is intended for use in water quality measurements for the ISS (International Space Station). The apparatus contains nine planar electrochemical cells and a conductivity sensor. Detection of contaminate ions in solution uses ASV (anodic stripping voltammetry) with a detection limit in the 10 /spl mu/M range. A linear calibration curve was achieved using Zn, Pb, Cu, and Mn cations. A robust method for identifying electroactive species is presented and uses the Savitzky-Golay second derivative method.
Exploiting Parallelism in Interactive Theorem Provers

This paper reports on the implementation and analysis of the MP refiner, the first parallel interactive theorem prover. The MP refiner is a shared memory multi-processor implementation of the inference engine of Nuprl. The inference engine of Nuprl is called the refiner. The MP refiner is a collection of threads operating as sequential refiners running on separate processors. Concurrent tactics exploit parallelism by spawning tactics to be evaluated by other refiner threads simultaneously. Tests conducted with the MP refiner running on a four processor Sparc shared-memory multi-processor reveal that parallelism at the inference rule level can significantly decrease the elapsed time of constructing proofs interactively.
A review of the clinical utility of duloxetine in the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain

Diabetes mellitus is a world-wide epidemic with many long-term complications, with neuropathy being the most common. In particular, diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain (DPNP), can be one of the most distressing complications associated with diabetes, leading to decreases in physical and mental quality of life. Despite the availability of many efficient medications, DPNP remains a challenge to treat, and the optimal sequencing of pharmacotherapy remains unknown. Currently, there are only three medications approved by the US Food and Drug Administration specifically for the management of DPNP. Duloxetine (DUL), a selective serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, is one of these. With the goal of optimizing pharmacotherapy use in DPNP population, a review of current literature was conducted, and the clinical utility of DUL described. Along with early clinical trials, recently published observational studies and pharmacoeconomic models may be useful in guiding decision making by clinicians and managed care organizations. In real-world practice settings, DUL is associated with decreased or similar opioid utilization, increased medication adherence, and similar health care costs compared with current standard of care. DUL has consistently been found to be a cost-effective option over short time-horizons. Currently, the long-term cost-effectiveness of DUL is unknown. Evidence derived from randomized clinical trials, real-world observations, and economic models support the use of DUL as a first-line treatment option from the perspective of the patient, clinician, and managed care payer.
Electroencephalogram-sleep study

The study of sleep, and in particular electroencephalogram (EEG)-sleep recordings, is important in several areas of medicine. Next to pain, sleep anomalies are the most significant indicators of illness. During sleep the human brain goes through several physiological stages; therefore, the problem of automated detection of sleep stages using EEG data naturally arises in neurosciences. A two step procedure of computerized scoring of sleep stages is considered, with the first step involving features extractions via spectral and nonlinear dynamics characteristics and the second step in which sleep classifications can be accomplished. WIREs Comput Stat 2013, 5:326–333. doi: 10.1002/wics.1261 Conflict of interest: The author has declared no conflicts of interest for this article. For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website
EXPERIMENTS WITH 315-MEV POLARIZED PROTONS: PROTON-PROTON AND PROTON- NEUTRON SCATTERING

The polarization in elastic $p\ensuremath{-}p$ and $p\ensuremath{-}n$ scattering at 315 Mev has been measured as a function of the scattering angle. The maximum polarization observed in each of these interactions is approximately 40 percent. A similar measurement of the polarization in $p\ensuremath{-}p$ scattering at 276 Mev is also reported. Triple-scattering experiments have been performed to measure the depolarization $D(\ensuremath{\theta})$ and the rotation $R(\ensuremath{\theta})$ in the proton-proton interaction. These parameters have been measured for center-of-mass scattering angles ranging from 22 to 80 degrees.Expressions for the measured quantities in terms of 14-phase shifts of the proton-proton system for $Jl~6$ and $ll~5$ are included. Two of the phase shifts represent mixing between states of the same total angular momentum $J$, spin $S$, and parity. Five sets of phase shifts are reported which satisfy 36 measurements of total cross section, relative differential cross section, polarization, depolarization, rotation, and supplementary conditions imposed by the analysis of information from the reaction $p+p\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{+}+d$.
Calculating T2 in images from a phased array receiver

Images reconstructed from multielement, phased array coils and presented as the square root of the sum of the squares of the signals received by the individual elements have a distribution of signal and noise that distorts the relationship between the image intensity and the underlying signal. The distortion is accentuated for long echo times for which the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) may be low. When measuring T2 or T this signal distortion leads to biased estimates of these parameters. We demonstrate this effect and its dependence on the image SNR and the number of elements in a phased array coil. We evaluated the effects of four techniques for calculating T2 from data acquired in phased array coils (log transform, least squares, lookup table correction, and maximum likelihood [ML] estimation). The ML estimation gave the most accurate T2 in the presence of this bias. Magn Reson Med, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES ON ENCEPHALITIS : II. THE SPECIFIC VIRUS CHARACTER OF THE INFECTIOUS AGENT FROM CASES OF ST. LOUIS AND KANSAS CITY ENCEPHALITIS, 1933.

1. The infectious agent from fatal cases of St. Louis and Kansas City encephalitis passes Seitz pads in high dilution without appreciable loss of infectivity and traverses collodion membranes with an average pore size of 66 mmicro or greater. 2. It is highly infectious for mice by the intracerebral and intranasal routes, but practically innocuous by the subcutaneous and intraperitoneal routes. 3. Certain strains of mice are more susceptible than others. 4. The agent administered to mice intranasally causes tremors and convulsions after a 6 to 7 day incubation period, followed by prostration and death in 8 to 10 days. Lesions are demonstrable in the olfactory bulbs 3 days after infection, in the piriform lobe after 4 days, and in Ammon's horn after 5 days. 5. In Macacus rhesus monkeys, the agent provokes a mild, non-fatal reaction and the development of specific neutralizing bodies. On passage in monkeys, the virus becomes progressively weaker. 6. In rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, and sheep the agent is apparently without effect. 7. All available strains of the agent proved alike in effects in animals and in immunological response. 8. The available data enable one to conclude that the agent is a filtrable virus differing from those studied heretofore.
Extraction of clinical information from electroencephalographic background activity: The combined use of brain electrical activity mapping and intravenous sodium thiopental

Traditional visual inspection of electroencephalographic (EEG) tracings and computer-assisted topographic mapping were compared in their abilities to detect and locate supratentorial lesions following intravenous sodium thiopental administration. Of the 13 subjects, 8 had atrophic and 5 had mass lesions, all defined by computed tomographic scan and 11 confirmed at operation. EEGs made before and after thiopental administration were evaluated separately from topographic maps of statistical difference between EEGs at multiple frequency ranges made before and after thiopental injection. Topographic mapping of statistical difference accurately detected all thirteen lesions, whereas EEG detected eight. In addition to demonstrating reduced beta production overlying structural abnormalities, topographic mapping revealed regionally augmented beta, especially over irritative lesions. Moreover, localization was possible with the topographic method after the first thiopental injection, whereas a second injection was required for EEG localization by visual inspection. Changes in slow (delta) activity were also useful in delineation of atrophic lesions, in which delta was usually augmented but occasionally regionally reduced. Multielectrode studies with topographic mapping appear essential in delineating cerebral abnormalities, because both slow and fast activities may be increased or reduced over such areas. The relative response of EEG background activity to thiopental at different frequencies may assist lesion characterization as well as localization.
Estrogen-induced interaction between KLF5 and estrogen receptor (ER) suppresses the function of ER in ER-positive breast cancer cells

Kruppel-like factor 5 (KLF5) is implicated in human breast cancer by frequent genomic deletion and expressional deregulation, but the molecular mechanisms by which KLF5 affects breast tumorigenesis are still unknown. This study was conducted to examine whether and how KLF5 affects the function of estrogen receptor (ER) in breast cancer cells. Using different cell lines, we found that restored expression of KLF5 inhibited estrogen-promoted cell proliferation in ER-positive MCF-7 and T-47D cell lines but had no effect on ER-negative SK-BR-3 cells. Transcriptional activity of ER was also suppressed by KLF5, as detected by using estrogen-stimulated ER responsive element-mediated reporter assay and expression analysis of ER target genes including c-MYC and Cathepsin D (CSTD). Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays showed that KLF5 inhibited ERα binding to the promoter of c-myc and CSTD. Furthermore, estrogen induced an interaction between KLF5 and ERα. These results suggest that KLF5 inhibits the function of ERα in gene regulation and cell proliferation through protein interaction that interrupts the binding of ERα to target gene promoters to prevent target gene induction.
Implementation of the 7-point checklist for melanoma detection on smart handheld devices

In this paper we implement the 7-point checklist, a set of dermoscopic criteria widely used by clinicians for melanoma detection, on smart handheld devices, such as the Apple iPhone and iPad. The application developed is using sophisticated image processing and pattern recognition algorithms, yet it is light enough to run on a handheld device with limited memory and computational speed. When combined with a commercially available handheld dermoscope that provides proper lesion illumination, this application provides a truly self-contained handheld system for melanoma detection. Such a device can be used in a clinical setting for routine skin screening, or as an assistive diagnostic device in underserved areas and in developing countries with limited healthcare infrastructure.
The Intergeniculate Leaflet Partially Mediates Effects of Light on Circadian Rhythms

Photic signals affect circadian activity rhythms by both phasic and tonic mechanisms that modulate pacemaker phase and period. In mammals, the effects of light on circadian activity are mediated by the retina, which communicates with the suprahiasmatic nucleus (SCN) by two different anatomical routes: the retino-hypothalamic tract (RHT), originating in the retina, and the geniculo-hypothalamic tract (GHT), arising from a retino-recipient nucleus, the intergeniculate leaflet (IGL). We assessed the roles of these two afferent systems in mediating phasic and tonic effects of light on circadian activity in IGL-lesioned animals. Destruction of the IGL significantly affected phase shifts produced by brief light pulses (phasic effect) and modified the change in period (tau) of the free-running activity rhythm produced by changing the level of constant light (LL) (tonic effect). Phase advances produced by brief light pulses were decreased in amplitude while phase delays were increased in IGL-lesioned animals as compared to controls. The free-running period in constant dark (tau DD) of IGL-lesioned animals was greater than tau DD of controls, and the lengthening of tau normally produced by LL was not observed or was greatly reduced in IGL-lesioned animals. Entrainment to light-dark cycles was unaffected by the lesions, as were other aspects of the circadian activity rhythm that normally change in response to LL (e.g., activity-rest ratio, total activity, splitting). Our data support the interpretation that the IGL plays a significant role in relaying information regarding illumination intensity to the SCN.
Fictitious absorber for truncating finite element meshes in scattering

A novel approach is proposed for truncating finite element meshes in the analysis of open region scattering problems. In particular, fictitious absorbers are used to minimise the reflection of the scattered field from the artificial boundary enclosing the scatterer, thus simulating a free space environment. A three layered fictitious absorber model is proposed and used to demonstrate the validity of the approach.
PCN6: CAN ICD-9 CODES BE USED AS A PROXY FOR DISEASE STAGING IN ECONOMIC EVALUATIONS?

Administrative health care databases are increasingly used as a source of data for economic studies in cancer. In order to adjust for disease severity, several investigators have utilized ICD-9 codes indicating metastases as a proxy for cancer staging. OBJECTIVE: To determine the validity of using ICD-9-CM codes indicating metastases as a proxy to classify lung cancer patients by stage of disease. METHODS: This retrospective database analysis used diagnosis codes to classify subjects to either localized or advanced stage disease and then compared this classification to the tumor registry staging, which was considered as the “gold standard”. Study subjects included all lung cancer patients treated at an academic institution during 1996–97 who were also members of a large insurance company. Data was derived from inpatient cancer-related claims linked with the institution's tumor registry data. Advanced stage disease (stages II to IV) was defined by claims indicating lymph node involvement or metastases (ICD-9 codes 196-199.1). The tumor registry staging of the disease for these patients were clustered into two groupings, stages 0–I (localized) and stages II–IV (advanced). RESULTS: Tumor registry entries were identified for 85.7% of patients. The crude concordance between the claims and tumor registry classifications was 74.2% (Kappa coefficient = 0.4848). The positive predictive value of identifying localized disease utilizing ICD-9 coding was 57.6%,while the predictive value of a negative test was 91%. The sensitivity and specificity for dichotomized disease stage was 86.4% and 68.2% respectively. CONCLUSIONS: For a population of lung cancer patients in an academic institution, the use of ICD-9 coding was associated with modest predictability for disease staging. The use of ICD-9 coding as a proxy for disease staging in economic evaluations should be executed with caution.
Hallucal flexor force direction change in hallux valgus

Summary The goal of this study was to develop a reliable measurement method to evaluate frontal plane hallucal flexion direction in controls and patients with varying severity of hallux valgus. The experimental apparatus consisted of a six-degree-of-freedom load cell, attached to an ankle immobilizer that allowed motion at only the first MTP joint. The hallucal flexion angle, ϑ, was defined as the arc tangent of the ratio of laterally directed force to inferiorly directed force. The SE between replicate measurements in normal subjects was 3.2° ( n = 10). The relationship between hallucal flexion angle (and axial plane MTP1 angle(the latter being an index of hallux valgus severity) for both asymptomatic subjects and patients with a bunion deformity was ( n = 20): (= 0.32 * y-3.2 ( r = 0.51). The significant ( P r = 0.51), it appears that factors other than the degree of axial plane hallux valgus deformity have major influences on the extent of functional changes with bunion deformity.
Real time extraction of polarimetric information at the focal plane

Traditional imaging systems focus on converting light's intensity and color property into suitable electronic signals. An important property of light, polarization is ignored with these traditional imaging systems. Polarization vision contains information about the imaged environment, such as surface shapes, curvature and material properties. Real time extraction of polarization properties would further allow synergy with traditional adaptive spatiotemporal image processing techniques for synthetic imaging. Therefore, we have developed an image sensor with real-time polarimetric extraction capability at the focal plane using low power analog circuits. This novel imaging system is the first of its kind to compute Stokes parameters at the focal plane in real-time. In order to fully describe the polarization state of light in nature, three linear polarized projections or two linear polarized projections in combination with the total intensity are required. We have fabricated a two layer micro polarizer array with total thickness of around 20μm. The micro polarizer array is mounted on top of the imaging sensor. The image sensor is composed of a 256 by 256 photo pixel array, noise suppression circuitry and analog processing circuitry for polarimetric computation. The image sensor was fabricated in 0.18μ process with 10μm pixel pitch and 75% fill factor. Block-parallel pixel read out is employed in order to compute Stokes parameters on a neighborhood of 2 by 2 pixels. The Stokes parameters are presented together with the noise suppressed intensity image. Experimental data from the polarimetric imaging system is also presented.
Properties of yeast l-phenylalanine ammonia-lyase☆

Abstract l -Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase from the yeast Rhodotorula glutinis is inhibited by the halide anions iodide, bromide, and chloride. Iodide acts as a competitive inhibitor of phenylalanine deamination. The enzyme is deactivated by reagents attacking either amino or sulfhydryl functional groups and contains approximately two catalytically essential sulfhydryl groups.
16.2 A 0.19pJ/b PVT-variation-tolerant hybrid physically unclonable function circuit for 100% stable secure key generation in 22nm CMOS

Physically unclonable function (PUF) circuits are low-cost cryptographic primitives used for generation of unique, stable and secure keys or chip IDs for device authentication and data security in high-performance microprocessors [1][2][3][7]. The volatile nature of PUFs provides a high level of security and tamper resistance against invasive probing attacks compared to conventional fuse-based key storage technologies [4]. A process-voltage-temperature (PVT) variation-tolerant all-digital PUF array targeted for on-die generation of 100% stable, device-specific, high-entropy keys is fabricated in 22nm tri-gate high-κ metal-gate CMOS technology [5], featuring: i) a hybrid delay/cross-coupled PUF circuit where interaction of 16 minimum-sized, variation-impacted transistors determines resolution dynamics, ii) a temporal majority voting (TMV) circuit to stabilize occasionally unstable bits, resulting in 53% reduction in instability, iii) burn-in hardening to reinforce manufacturing-time PUF bias, resulting in 22% reduction in bit-errors, iv) soft dark bits for run-time identification and sequestration of highly unstable bits during field operation, resulting in 78% lower bit-errors, v) 19× separation between inter- and intra-PUF Hamming distance, enabling die-specific keys, vi) autocorrelation factor≈0 and entropy=0.9997, while passing NIST randomness tests, vii) high tolerance to voltage and temperature variation with 82% reduction in average Hamming-distance using a 100-cycle dark bit window, viii) in-situ PUF hardening by leveraging directed NBTI aging to improve stability during field operation, and ix) ultra-low energy consumption of 0.19pJ/b with compact bitcell layout of 4.66μm2 (Fig. 16.2.7a).
Financial globalization and debt maturity in emerging economies

This paper studies how financial globalization affects debt structure in emerging economies. We find that by accessing international markets, firms increase their long-term debt and extend their debt maturity. In contrast, with financial liberalization, long-term debt decreases and the maturity structure shifts to the short term for the average firm. These effects are stronger in economies with less developed domestic financial systems. The evidence is consistent with financial integration having opposite effects on the firms that are able to integrate with world markets and obtain financing globally, relative to the firms that rely on domestic financing only.
The future dynamic world model

Defense and security forces exploit sensor data by means of a model of the world. They use a world model to geolocate sensor data, fuse it with other data, navigate platforms, recognize features and feature changes, etc. However, their need for situational awareness today exceeds the capabilities of their current world model for defense operations, despite the great advances of sensing technology in recent decades. I review emerging technologies that may enable a great improvement in the spatial and spectral coverage, the timeliness, and the functional insight of their world model.
Effects of Active-Learning Experiences on Achievement, Attitudes, and Behaviors in High School Biology

Active-learning labs for two topics in high school biology were developed through the collaboration of high school teachers and university faculty and staff and were administered to 408 high school students in six classrooms. The content of instruction and testing was guided by State of Texas science objectives. Detailed teacher records describing daily classroom activities were used to operationalize two types of instruction: active learning, which used the labs; and traditional, which used the teaching resources ordinarily available to the teacher. Teacher records indicated that they used less independent work and fewer worksheets, and more collaborative and lab-based activities, with active-learning labs compared to traditional instruction. In-class test data show that students gained significantly more content knowledge and knowledge of process skills using the labs compared to traditional instruction. Questionnaire data revealed that students perceived greater learning gains after completing the labs compared to covering the same content through traditional methods. An independent questionnaire administered to a larger sample of teachers who used the lab-based curriculum indicated that they perceived changing their behaviors as intended by the student-centered principles of the labs. The major implication of this study is that active-learning–based laboratory units designed and developed collaboratively by high school teachers and university faculty, and then used by high school teachers in their classrooms, can lead to increased use of student-centered instructional practices as well as enhanced content knowledge and process learning for students. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 960–979, 2007
Predictors of employee satisfaction with the performance appraisal process

Several studies have documented the importance of the performance appraisal interview in the appraisal process. However, interactions between the rater and ratee prior to the end of the performance evaluation period have been given little attention. The present study investigated the impact of several aspects of the appraisal process on three outcome measures: satisfaction with the appraisal process, fairness of ratings and motivation to improve performance. The findings suggest the importance of viewing the performance appraisal process from a systematic perspective, rather than as a single event.
Glucose Metabolism and Diet Predict Changes in Adiposity and Fat Distribution in Weight-reduced Women

Among obesity-prone individuals, metabolic state may interact with diet in determining body composition. We tested the hypotheses that, among 103 weight-reduced women over 1 year, (i) insulin sensitivity would be positively associated with change in %fat; (ii) this association would be modulated by dietary glycemic load (GL); and (iii) changes in fat distribution would be related to indexes of glucose metabolism. Insulin sensitivity, glucose effectiveness, fasting and postchallenge insulin and glucose, and glucose tolerance were assessed during intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT). Changes in %fat and fat distribution were examined using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and computed tomography. Dietary GL was assessed on 67 women using food records. On average, women showed a +5.3 ± 3.0% change in %fat over 1 year, with the magnitude of this change being greater in relatively insulin sensitive women (+6.0 ± 0.4%, mean ± s.e.m.) than in relatively insulin resistant women (+4.4 ± 0.4 kg; P < 0.05). Women who were relatively insulin sensitive and who consumed a higher GL diet showed a +6.8 ± 0.7% change in %fat, which was greater than those who were less insulin sensitive, regardless of diet (P < 0.05), but did not differ from women who were relatively insulin sensitive and who consumed a lower GL diet (P = 0.105). Changes in intra-abdominal and deep subcutaneous abdominal fat were inversely associated with the postchallenge decline in serum glucose. In conclusion, greater insulin sensitivity may predispose to adiposity among weight reduced women, an effect that may be ameliorated by a lower GL diet. The potential association between indexes of glucose disposal and changes in fat distribution warrants further study.
A study of the determination of peroxides in fats

The Kokatnur-Jelling method as modified by Lingenfelter for the determination of peroxides in animal fat has been found to agree satisfactorily with other methods now in use. The modified method involves a microtitration in a homogeneous medium (isopropanol) and has the additional advantages of being both simple and rapid. A statistical analysis of the peroxide values shows that the reaction time and temperature and the sample size must be standardized to obtain reproducible and reliable results. Close adherence to reaction specifications such as five minutes at 80°C. or seven minutes at 75°C. is necessary. Three minutes is too short a reaction time. The individual fat sample should contain no more than 50 microequivalents of peroxygen to avoid depression of the peroxide value.
Energetics of electrochemically-mediated amine regeneration

Abstract Cost-effective, large-scale carbon dioxide capture is a critical technology for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, and current capture technologies are energy intensive and difficult to deploy in existing power plants. We have previously introduced a novel electrochemically-mediated process for amine regeneration, and demonstrated its feasibility with a proof-of-concept system that can efficiently modulate amine affinity to carbon dioxide under the effect of redox-responsive molecules. The electrochemical process is simple to install, obviating the need for expensive retrofits. In addition, due to its targeted nature, the process has the potential for lower energy consumption as compared with the thermal amine capture process. In this work, we analyze the energy consumption of the electrochemical process, building from thermodynamic lower bounds, and addressing electrochemical kinetics, transport requirements as well compression and pumping energy. The analysis suggests that the electrochemical process can generate carbon dioxide at the conditions required for transportation with an electrical energy consumption of less than 50 kJ per mole of carbon dioxide captured and compressed. The electrochemical process efficiency can be further improved by optimizing flow design and utilizing additives to reduce activation overpotentials.
Diabetes Knowledge as a Moderator of Reactions to Illness by Patients With Insulin‐Dependent Diabetes Mellitus1

We examined patient knowledge as a moderator of psychological reactions to illness among patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. We reasoned that knowledgeable patients would have the most severe reactions to their illness because the causal implications of good or poor metabolic control would be most apparent. Accordingly, we expected that more knowledgeable patients would react more negatively than less knowledgeable patients to poor metabolic control but would react more positively to good metabolic control. Results from a sample of 46 patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus supported this hypothesis. These findings suggest that increased patient knowledge may not produce uniformly positive results. Patient education programs must consider the psychological implications of patient knowledge in addition to the physiological consequences.
Mitochondrial DNA analysis implying extensive hybridization of the endangered red wolf Canis rufus

THE red wolf, previously endemic to the southeastern United States, declined precipitously in numbers after 1900 because of habitat destruction, predator control programmes, and hybridiz-ation with coyotes1,2. Hybridization with coyotes probably occurred as these animals, which adjust well to agriculture, became numerous and moved eastwards1–4. By 1970, red wolves existed only in extreme southeastern Texas and southwestern Louisana (Fig. 1)2. In 1967, red wolves were classified as endangered and a captive breeding programme was begun in 1974 after passage of the Endangered Species Act, about a year before they became extinct in the wild. Protein electrophoresis and morphometrics have been used to try to discriminate red wolves from hybrids and coyotes1,4,5. But because the average substitution rate of mitochondrial DNA in mammals is much greater than that of nuclear genes6, mtDNA analysis is a more useful way of distinguishing closely related species. We have now analysed mtDNA restriction-enzyme sites and cytochrome b gene sequence variation in captive red wolves and in 77 canids sampled during the capture period. We also used the polymerase chain reaction to amplify and then sequenced mtDNA from red wolf skins collected before substantial hybridization of red wolves with coyotes is thought to have occurred. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that red wolves have either a grey wolf or coyote mtDNA genotype, demonstrating hybridization among these species. Thus, the red wolf is entirely a hybrid form or a distinct taxon that hybridized with coyotes and grey wolves over much of its previous geographical range. Our findings, however, do not argue against the continued protection of the red wolf.
Acrylamide Quenching of apo- and holo-α-Lactalbumin in Guanidine Hydrochloride

Abstract We have examined the fluorescence properties and acrylamide quenching of calcium-loaded (holo) and calcium-depleted (apo) α-lactalbumin (α-LA) as a function of guanidine hydrochloride (GDN/HCl) concentration. The spectral changes accompanying increasing GDN/HCl are consistent with protein unfolding and a release of internal fluorescence quenching, which occurs among the three tryptophan residues located in the region of the so-called “tertiary fold.” Values for the intrinsic fluorescence emission, the wavelength maximum of the emission, the Stern/Volmer dynamic quench constant, and the static quench constant are consistent with a significant stabilization effect by calcium against protein unfolding. The dynamic quench constant of apo-α-LA increases fourfold to its maximum, in the transition from the native state to protein in 1.5 M GDN/HCl. The dynamic quench constant for holo-α-LA remains unchanged until exposed to 2.5 M GDN/HCl, but increases by threefold with addition denaturant to 4 M GDN/HCl. The static quench constant of the apo-protein in the native solvent, approximately 0.2 M−1, declines to zero in 1 M denaturant, where the molten globule folding intermediate is most populated. A more protracted denaturant-dependent decline in the static quench constant occurs for the holo-protein. Sharp increase in the static quenching occurs for apo-α-LA and holo-α-LA above 1.5 M GDN/HCl and 3.5 M GDN/HCl, respectively. The results for apo-α-LA in dilute GDN/HCl suggest that acrylamide can penetrate the protein molecule (as judged by the collision quenching) but is unable to form a stable complex within the quenching domain for the tryptophans (as judged by the absence of the static quench constant). It seems reasonable to suggest that the protein folding intermediate which occurs in dilute denaturant represents a structure in which the tryptophans are, on average, more accessible to collisional quenching but sufficiently compact to prevent formation of a stable, dark equilibrium complex with acrylamide.
Klystron modulator design for the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center accelerator

This paper describes the design of the 44 modulator systems that will be installed to upgrade the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) accelerator RF system. The klystrons can operate up to 86 kV with a nominal 32 Amp beam current with a 120 Hz repetition rate and 15% duty cycle. The klystrons are a mod-anode design. The modulator is designed with analog feedback control to ensure the klystron beam current is flat-top regulated. To achieve fast switching whilst maintaining linear feedback control, a grid-clamp, totem-pole modulator configuration is used with an “on” deck and an “off” deck. The on and off deck modulators are of identical design and utilize a cascode connected planar triode, cathode driven with a high speed MOSFET. The derived feedback is connected to the planar triode grid to enable the flat-top control. Although modern design approaches suggest solid state designs may be considered, the planar triode (Eimac Y-847B) is very cost effective, is easy to integrate with the existing hardware, and provides a simplified linear feedback control mechanism. The design is very compact and fault tolerant. This paper will review the complete electrical design, operational performance, and system characterization as applied to the LANSCE installation.
Visualizing the chain rule (for functions over R and C) and more

A visual approach to understanding the chain rule and related derivative formulae, for functions from R to R and from C to C, is presented. This apparently novel approach has been successfully used with several audiences: students first studying calculus, students with some background in linear algebra, students beginning study of functions of a complex variable, and current secondary school teachers obtaining professional development.
The New Copernican Revolution

Let us suppose for a moment that we are back in the year 1600, concerned with forecasting probable future trends. In retrospect it is clear that one of the most significant events in progress was what came later to be called the Copernican revolution. Would our futurist researches have picked this up? They might have, if we were looking at the right things. What was the essence of this remarkable transformation that started with the brash suggestions of Nicholas Copernicus and Giordano Bruno and led to consequences as diverse as a
The Effect of an Infaunal Suspension Feeding Bivalve Mercenaria mercenaria (L.) on Benthic Recruitment

Abstract. Animal-animal interactions are recognized as critical in benthic invertebrate recruitment. The hypothesis tested was that benthic recruitment is more successful in low densities of infaunal suspension feeders than in high densities. Densities of young hard clams Mercenaria mercenaria (L.) ranging from 82.5 to 330m-2 were placed in defaunated boxes of sand. The mean number of species, mean number of individuals, mean wet weight biomass, mean species richness and mean dominance index per sample were calculated per density of hard clams from May to October. The experiment did not support the hypothesis. It was concluded that feeding behaviour of dense populations of M. mercenaria did not preclude successful recruitment of other benthic species.
A penalty method for the Generalized Method of Moments

When the Electric Field Integral Equation is discretized via the Generalized Method of Moments, small current irregularities sometimes appear. We propose a cause for these current deviations and advance a solution based on a Nitsche-type constraint based stabilization method. Two dimensional results demonstrate the method, although it is directly extensible to the three dimensional case.
Yearly Incidence of Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty in the United States

Our purpose was to estimate the incidence of unicompartmental knee arthroplasty in the United States. Three major implant manufacturers provided data over an 8-year period from 1998 to 2005. In addition, a database from 44 hospitals was used to derive national estimates for implants manufactured by all other companies. The incidence of unicompartmental knee arthroplasty ranged from 6570 implants in 1998 to 44990 in 2005. Unicompartmental knee arthroplasty increased at an average rate of 32.5% during the study period compared with a 9.4% average increase in rate of total knee arthroplasty over the same period. Although unicompartmental arthroplasty is growing at triple the rate of total knee arthroplasty in the United States, the data suggest that unicompartmental implants currently account for less than 8% of all knee arthroplasty procedures.