cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The United States launch of the Sony PlayStation2

Abstract The United Sates launch of Sony's PlayStation2 (PS2) exposed vulnerabilities in Sony's product development process. How can new product development at Sony be improved to provide growth opportunities that will take Sony beyond the PlayStation2?
Evaluation of fixed factors affecting hoof health

Abstract Hoof trimming data were collected from the University of Illinois dairy farm. Normality transformed scores for six traits (corkscrew claw (CC), heel erosion (HE), interdigital dermatitis (ID), laminitis (LA), sole ulcers (SU) and white line separation (WLS)) were tested for fixed factors (breed, year, season, age, trimming interval and months postpartum) by an animal model. Ayrshires and Jerseys had ‘better’ claw scores for all six traits. Brown Swiss had the worst score for CC. LA, SU and WLS were worst in Guernseys, and HE and ID were worst in Holsteins. November was the highest risk season for HE, SU and LA, whereas WLS was worst at July trimming. Scores of CC and ID were worst in March. Risk of each of the six traits increased with age. A 4-month trimming interval had worse scores than a longer trimming interval for all traits except SU and CC. This emphasized that cows trimmed more frequently usually had a higher probability of repeating their problems. Multiple environmental factors were significantly involved in the expression of one or more of the six hoof traits.
Limited joint mobility and diabetic retinopathy demonstrated by fluorescein angiography

The association between limitation of finger joint mobility (LJM) and diabetic retinopathy demonstrable by fluorescein angiography was examined in 311 subjects aged 6–27 years. The relationship of these two complications was highly significant (P 0.3). The presence of LJM was predictive of associated retinopathy at the level of clinical recognition (more than ten microaneurysms); 43% of those with LJM and duration beyond 4 years had retinopathy while only 15% of this duration group without LJM had clinical retinopathy.
Factors Correlated with Adolescents' Use of Crack in Public Schools

This study was undertaken to evaluate factors correlated with crack use by 479 adolescents in 1992 in Dade County, Florida public schools. Based upon self-reports, after application of the Bonferroni correction, only two variables were related to crack use, i.e., having friends who use crack and living alone.
Analytical Techniques Used in Determining the Optimum Replacement Pattern

T HE purpose of this paper is to present appropriate techniques to use in determining when to replace certain types of assets. The problem will be approached in terms of maximizing revenue over time.1 The concepts involved are developed first for a relatively simple problem of replacement as a basis for the more complex models that follow. Three different types of enterprises will be used to illustrate the basic procedures involved in determining the optimum replacement pattern.
The Learnability of Phonotactic Patterns in Onset and Coda Positions

Cross-linguistically, languages allow a wider variety of phonotactic patterns in onsets than in codas. However, the variability of phonotactic patterns in coda position in different languages suggests these patterns must, at least in part, be learned. Two experiments were conducted to explore whether there is an asymmetry in English-learning infants’ ability to learn novel phonotactic patterns in word-medial onset and coda positions. In Experiment 1, English-learning 8- and 12-month-olds were familiarized with bisyllabic nonsense words with voiced fricatives restricted to either word-medial onset (Onset condition) or word-medial coda positions (Coda condition). At test, infants heard novel words that either followed or violated the familiarized patterns. Twelve-month-olds in the Onset condition showed a preference for the familiarized pattern; however, 12-month-olds in Coda condition as well as 8-month-olds in both conditions displayed no such preference. To explore whether there is a developmental patter...
Concealing with Structured Light

While making objects less visible (or invisible) to a human eye or a radar has captured people's imagination for centuries, current attempts towards realization of this long-awaited functionality range from various stealth technologies to recently proposed cloaking devices. A majority of proposed approaches share a number of common deficiencies such as design complexity, polarization effects, bandwidth, losses and the physical size or shape requirement complicating their implementation especially at optical frequencies. Here we demonstrate an alternative way to conceal macroscopic objects by structuring light itself. In our approach, the incident light is transformed into an optical vortex with a dark core that can be used to conceal macroscopic objects. Once such a beam passed around the object it is transformed back into its initial Gaussian shape with minimum amplitude and phase distortions. Therefore, we propose to use that dark core of the vortex beam to conceal an object that is macroscopic yet small enough to fit the dark (negligibly low intensity) region of the beam. The proposed concealing approach is polarization independent, easy to fabricate, lossless, operates at wavelengths ranging from 560 to 700 nm and can be used to hide macroscopic objects providing they are smaller than vortex core.
First-occurrence time of high-level crossings in a continuous random process.

This paper deals with the statistical distribution of the first‐occurrence and first‐recurrence times of the crossing of a given level in a continuous random process. Approximate forms of the first‐occurrence and first‐recurrence time densities are found by considering the successive crossings to form a renewal process. A relatively simple exponential distribution is found to give an appropriate representation of the limiting case when the crossings of the level under consideration are statistically rare events. Numerical examples are worked out for some stationary Gaussian processes. The method is of use in evaluating survival probabilities for randomly excited mechanical systems subject to failure upon occurrence of a sufficiently high load.
Identity management in HIV-positive prisoners in Russia: A case study

Identity management is a salient issue for all human beings. However, identity management is profoundly complicated among multiply stigmatized individuals, such as incarcerated diseased criminals. The current study represents a first to examine stigma management communication (SMC) among HIV-positive prisoners who consider themselves members of the Russian criminal underworld. Twenty-five HIV-positive ‘black’ inmates were interviewed and observed in a Russian prison. Data were interpreted using Goffman's [1961. Asylums. Essays on the social situation of mental patients and other inmates. Chicago, IL: Aldine.] concept of the total institutions and Meisenbach's [2010. Stigma management communication: A theory and agenda for applied research on how individuals manage moments of stigmatized identity. Journal of Applied Communication, 38(3), 268–292] SMC theory. The study revealed a number of salient communication management strategies in the lives and interactions of HIV-positive Russian inmate population. Ad...
Responses to Prolonged Selection for Resistance and Susceptibility to Acute Cecal Coccidiosis in the Auburn Strain Single Comb White Leghorn

Abstract Selection in the parental Auburn Strain Leghorn (A line) for resistance (R line, 13 filial generations) and susceptibility (S line, 7 filial generations) to acute cecal coccidiosis (ACC) caused by Eimeria tenella resulted in a sixfold difference in the ACC mortality rates of the two lines. Relaxation of selection for resistance in line RR, derived entirely from R line, resulted in gradual regression of the ACC mortality rate toward that of the parental A line nonselected control. Progress of selection in R line based on the same low dose of oocysts employed in S line neared a plateau of low mortality after six generations. Average ACC mortality in the first four generations of S line was 50% greater than that in A line. Before infection, chicks of S line were smaller than those of lines A, R, and RR. After infection, growth of S line survivors was inferior to that of survivors of the other lines. Uninfected controls of S line and A line grew at similar rates; those of R line grew at a significantly lower rate. In R line, large doses of oocysts caused high mortality. The largest dose caused mortality approaching 90% in both sexes; at lower doses, males died at higher rates than females. Among the survivors, growth rates of females were inferior to those of males; the difference increased with increasing dose. Large doses of oocysts resulted in spreading of the infection beyond the typical site. In R line, severe infection occurred in the necks of the cecal pouches and rectum with comparatively mild infection in the bulbar portion of the pouches. In contrast, the chief focus of infection remained in the bulbar pouches in S line. Selection for resistance seemingly disrupted the typical host tissue specificity of E. tenella. Thus, genes mediating the response of the host to ACC are possibly identical or complementary to genes controlling tissue specificity.
A numerical method for the transformation to good action-angle variables in non-separable multidimensional systems

Abstract We propose a method to numerically evaluate the transformation to good action-angle variables in non-separable multidimensional systems. This method, which is based on the adiabatic hypothesis of classical mechanics, is very easy to apply (formally and numerically) and is shown to yield excellent results.
Tailoring GIST therapy—biology is still king.

10. Gold JS, GonenM, Gutierrez A, et al. Development and validation of a prognostic nomogram for recurrence-free survival after complete surgical resection of localised primary gastrointestinal stromal tumour: a retrospective analysis. Lancet Oncol. 2009;10(11):1045-1052. 11. American Joint Committee on Cancer. Cancer Staging Atlas: A Companion to the Seventh Editions of the AJCC Cancer Staging Manual and Handbook. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Springer; 2012. 12. Merrill RM, Henson DE, Ries LA. Conditional survival estimates in 34,963 patients with invasive carcinoma of the colon. Dis Colon Rectum. 1998; 41(9):1097-1106. 13. Henson DE, Ries LA, Carriaga MT. Conditional survival of 56,268 patients with breast cancer. Cancer. 1995;76(2):237-242. 14. Nathan H, de JongMC, Pulitano C, et al. Conditional survival after surgical resection of colorectal liver metastasis: an international multi-institutional analysis of 949 patients. J Am Coll Surg. 2010;210(5):755-764, 764-766. 15. Kaplan EL, Meier P. Nonparametric estimation from incomplete observations. J Am Stat Assoc. 1958;53(282):457-481. 16. Cox DR. Regressionmodels and life-tables. J R Stat Soc B. 1972;34(2):187-220. 17. Harrell FE Jr, Lee KL, Mark DB. Multivariable prognosticmodels: issues indevelopingmodels, evaluating assumptions andadequacy, andmeasuring and reducing errors. StatMed. 1996;15(4):361-387. 18. Bouvier AM, Remontet L, Hedelin G, et al; Association of the French Cancer Registries (FRANCIM). Conditional relative survival of cancer patients and conditional probability of death: a French national database analysis. Cancer. 2009; 115(19):4616-4624.
On using pigment‐normalized, light‐saturated carbon uptake with satellite‐derived pigment for estimating column photosynthesis

[1] Using five Pacific open-sea data sets with five subsets, we linearly correlated observed column photosynthesis (Pt, mg C m−2 d−1, from 14C-uptake) with “satellite pigment” (Csat, mg m−3), simulated from in situ data at the same stations, and modeled Pt by a depth-integrated approach. The correlation (r2) of Pt with Csat and its accuracy improved after combining Csat with an in situ-based proxy for the light-saturated rate of photosynthesis, Poptb (mg C (mg chl d)−1), for the particular stations. Incorporating station Poptb always led to high r2 and accuracy of the regression of modeled on observed Pt. However, Poptb cannot yet be determined from space, so that in practice, geographic or seasonal means of Poptb have to be used. For our 10 sets, such means lead to more imprecise (lower r2 in 9 of 10 cases) and less accurate (for all) results, because Poptb and Pt are often correlated. We expect this error source to be widespread and to afflict all modeling of Pt using a term for light-saturated photosynthesis, but we cannot offer a solution to the quandary. On the basis of combining of data sets, we do not favor the use of a single algorithm employing light-saturated photosynthesis for calculating global Pt by a depth-integrated approach.
Organizational and Personal Dimensions in Diversity Climate: Ethnic and Gender Differences in Employee Perceptions

This article reports results from an organizational evaluation examining gender and racial/ethnic differences in the diversity perceptions of 2,686 employees of an electronics company located in a ...
A Simple Risk Score to Predict In-Hospital Mortality After Pancreatic Resection for Cancer

Pancreatectomy for cancer continues to have substantial perioperative risk, and the factors affecting mortality are ill defined. An integer-based risk score based on national data might help clarify the risk of in-hospital mortality in patients undergoing pancreatic resection. Records with the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer were queried from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample for 1998–2006. Procedures were categorized as proximal, distal, or nonspecified pancreatectomies on the basis of ICD-9 codes. Logistic regression and bootstrap methods were used to create an integer risk score for estimating the risk of in-hospital mortality using patient demographics, comorbidities (Charlson comorbidity score), procedure, and hospital type. A random sample of 80% of the cohort was used to create the risk score with a 20% internal validation set. A total of 5715 patient discharges were identified. Composite in-hospital mortality was 5.8%. Predictors used for the final model were age group, Charlson score, sex, type of pancreatectomy, and hospital volume status (low-, medium-, or high-volume center). Integer values were assigned to these characteristics and then used for calculating an additive score. Three clinically useful score groups were defined to stratify the risk of in-hospital mortality (mortality was 2.0, 6.2, and 13.9%, respectively; P < 0.0001), with a 6.95-fold difference between the low- and high-risk groups. There was sufficient discrimination of both the derivation set and the validation set, with c statistics of 0.71 and 0.72, respectively. An integer-based risk score can be used to accurately predict in-hospital mortality after pancreatectomy and may be useful for preoperative risk stratification and patient counseling.
Cosmopolitan Man and the Political Community: An Interpretation of Othello

In the world of today the existence of a common humanity has been established, negatively at least, by a common fear of a common extinction. Only rational beings fear thermonuclear annihilation; only rational beings can create such means of annihilation. An unprecedented danger supplies a new kind of evidence for the oldest thesis in political philosophy: man is by nature a rational and political animal. The roots of man's humanity, as of his inhumanity, are in the political community, and in the political community's capacity for making war or peace. As the growth from the roots reaches what were once the heavens, the problem of reconciling the origins with the ends attains an acute proportion. Can the new awareness of the commonness of our common humanity cause the fashioning of institutions and men equal to the problem that that very humanity has created? Can the particularity that characterizes individual races, nations, creeds—the particularity that has, from the known origins of political life until the present, provided the substance of political life both in its misery and in its glory—can that particularity transform itself into universality, as the finest and ultimate fruit of human reason? Or may the consummation of rationality, as it is given us to know it, be found in its own self-extinction?In pondering these ever new questions we turn again to the oldest wisdom of our kind. We have too long neglected the understanding of Shakespeare, perhaps because the brilliance of his art has blinded us to his political genius. Shakespeare lived through a decisive period in the emergence of modern society and thought; and he presented in living tableaux the human problems created by the new world opening before him. That he does not offer solutions nor formulas does not justify ignoring him. Before political scientists can proceed to the suggestion of policies, they must perceive the problems in the fullness of their complexity. In Shakespeare's works is to be found as complete a range of human types as any man is likely to meet in his lifetime, and they are viewed with an eye that penetrates more deeply than that of any common observer. The art of the poet brings to consciousness psychological depths that have not been fathomed by any other method.
Direct adaptive control for industrial manipulators

The feasibility of applying the principles of passivity-based direct adaptive control to the industrial manipulator trajectory tracking problem was rigorously investigated. The first three links of a PUMA-560 were used as a case study. Experimental analysis verified the algorithm's adaptation/learning capabilities and provided valuable insight into the implementation issues of tuning, parameter initialization and convergence, and asynchronous adaptation. Direct adaptive control clearly demonstrated the ability to enhance trajectory efficacy and significantly reduce payload sensitivity. >
Wafer Level Micropackaging of MEMS Devices Using Thin Film Anodic Bonding

A wafer level packaging technique that involves anodic bonding of Pyrex wafers to released surface micromachined wafers is demonstrated. Besides providing a hermetic seal, this technique allows full wafer release, provides protection during die separation, and offers the possibility of integration with optoelectronic devices. Anodic bonding was performed under applied voltages up to 1000 V, and temperatures ranging from 280 to 400°C under vacuum (10 -4 Torr). The quality of the bonded interfaces was evaluated using shear strength testing and leak testing. The shear strength of Pyrex-to-polysilicon and aluminum bonds was ∼10-15 MPa. The functionality of surface micromachined polysilicon devices was tested before and after anodic bonding. 100% of thermal actuators, 94% of torsional ratcheting actuators, and 70% of microengines functioned after bonding. The 70% yield was calculated from a test sample of 25 devices.
Radiation-Induced Grain Boundary Segregation in Austenitic Stainless Steels

Radiation-induced segregation (RIS) to grain boundaries in Fe-Ni-Cr-Si stainless alloys has been measured as a function of irradiation temperature and dose. Heavyion irradiation was used to produce damage levels from 1 to 20 displacements per atom (dpa) at temperatures from 175 to 550°C. Measured Fe, Ni, and Cr segregation increased sharply with irradiation dose (from 0 to 5 dpa) and temperature (from 175 to about 350°C). However, grain boundary concentrations did not change significantly as dose or temperatures were further increased. Although interfacial compositions were similar, the width of radiation-induced enrichment or depletion profiles increased consistently with increasing dose or temperature. Impurity segregation (Si and P) was also measured, but only Si enrichment appeared to be radiation-induced. Grain boundary Si peaked at levels approaching 8 at% after irradiation doses to 10 dpa at an intermediate temperature of 325°C. No evidence of grain boundary silicide precipitation was detected after irradiation at any temperature. Equilibrium segregation of P was measured in the high-P alloys, but interfacial concentration did not increase with irradiation exposure. Comparisons to reported RIS in neutronirradiated stainless steels revealed similar grain boundary compositional changes for both major alloying and impurity elements.
Plasma membrane K+/H+-ATPase from Leishmania donovani

Leishmania donovani has an active K+/H+ exchange system on the surface membrane. Modulation of external K+ concentration resulted in a corresponding change in internal pH (pHi) suggesting a link between proton and potassium transport. Although a Na+/H+ antiporter is present on the plasma membrane, its sensitivity to amiloride suggests that it operates independent of K+/H+ exchange. Reduction of cellular ATP with NaN3 and KCN inhibits K+/H+ exchange showing thereby that the process is energy dependent. The K+/H+ exchange is sensitive to inhibitors of the gastric K+/H+-ATPase. It is concluded that the H+-ATPase previously reported on the plasma membrane of L. donovani is in fact a K+/H+-ATPase. © 1994 wiley-Liss, Inc.
Herman Cain's 9-9-9 Tax Plan

Presidential candidate Herman Cain has proposed replacing current law’s income, payroll and estate taxes with his “9-9-9 Plan” - a 9 percent “individual flat tax,” a 9 percent “business flat tax,” and a 9 percent sales tax. This essay analyzes the components of the 9-9-9 Plan. Contrary to casual impressions, the Plan could be expected to raise substantial amounts of revenue, but does so largely by skewing downwards the distribution of tax burdens when compared to current law. The 9-9-9 Plan functions as an effective 27 percent payroll tax on wage income. By imposing an effective 27 percent flat tax on wage income, the 9-9-9 Plan would materially raise the tax burden on many low- and middle-income taxpayers, who today face little or no tax under the income tax, and a 15.3 percent effective payroll tax burden. The Plan apparently offers lower tax rates (17.2 percent) for labor income attributable to owner-employees of firms, because they can extract their labor earnings as returns to capital. The Plan operates as an ersatz variant on standard consumption taxes with respect to capital income, exempting normal returns on equity from tax and imposing tax at an effective 17.2 percent rate on economic rents. Finally, the Plan’s sales tax acts as a one-time tax on existing wealth. The relative undesirability of that consequence depends on what one chooses as the current-law comparable.
Using Semantic Wikis to Support Software Reuse

It has been almost four decades since the idea of software reuse was proposed. Many success stories have been told, yet it is believed that software reuse is still in the development phase and has not reached its full potential. How far are we with software reuse research? What have we learned from previous software reuse efforts? This paper is an attempt to answer these questions and propose a software reuse repository system based on semantic Wikis. In addition to supporting general collaboration among users offered by regular wikis, semantic Wikis provide means of adding metadata about the concepts and relations that are contained within the Wiki. This underlying model of domain knowledge enhances the software repository navigation and search performance and result in a system that is easy to use for non-expert users while being powerful in the way in which new artifacts can be created and located.
How to create successful discussions in science classrooms.

Professors often expect students to have the skills that are necessary to participate in discussions. Students, on the other hand, have been trained to glean information from the lecture format; their prior experiences in discussions are likely to be limited to personal opinions on topics such as stem–cell research or evolution. Sudden changes in expectations are jarring and unwelcome at any stage of life but especially when it affects our performance. Thus, bringing any new pedagogy into the classroom has to come with proper preparation for both the students and the faculty. Here, I present my guidelines for bringing discussions into small classrooms. A great deal of structure and preparation are needed to make a discussion-based class successful. To teach using a discussion-based format requires creating pedagogical links to every aspect of the course. It requires changing not only what we teach but also what we value. Various components that are needed for a successful discussion-based course are outlined here.
Examining Teachers’ Decisions on Test-Type Assignment for Statewide Assessments

Recent studies have raised concerns about the vagueness of alternate assessment eligibility guidelines, specifically, that students with mild disabilities (SWMD) have been inappropriately assigned to alternate assessment–alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS). In this study, special education teachers (N = 317) were surveyed about SWMD in vignettes to explore (a) perceptions of the clarity of eligibility guidelines, (b) teachers’ test-type decisions, (c) factors considered when making test-type decisions, and (d) teachers’ priority rankings of these factors. Teachers’ test-type decisions varied by state, subjectivity, and noninstructional factors. Findings raise concerns about the inconsistency and lack of specificity of the current state guidelines, their vulnerability to subjective interpretation of eligibility, and states’ different alternate assessment systems. Directions for future research, implications of the current findings, and limitations are discussed.
Field-Scale Sulfur Hexafluoride Tracer Experiment to Understand Long Distance Gas Transport in the Deep Unsaturated Zone

A natural gradient SF 6 tracer experiment provided an unprecedented evaluation of long distance gas transport in the deep unsaturated zone (UZ) under controlled (known) conditions. The field-scale gas tracer test in the 110-m-thick UZ was conducted at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Amargosa Desert Research Site (ADRS) in southwestern Nevada. A history of anomalous (theoretically unexpected) contaminant gas transport observed at the ADRS, next to the first commercial low-level radioactive waste disposal facility in the United States, provided motivation for the SF 6 tracer study. Tracer was injected into a deep UZ borehole at depths of 15 and 48 m, and plume migration was observed in a monitoring borehole 9 m away at various depths (0.5–109 m) over the course of 1 yr. Tracer results yielded useful information about gas transport as applicable to the spatial scales of interest for off-site contaminant transport in arid unsaturated zones. Modeling gas diffusion with standard empirical expressions reasonably explained SF 6 plume migration, but tended to underpredict peak concentrations for the field-scale experiment given previously determined porosity information. Despite some discrepancies between observations and model results, rapid SF 6 gas transport commensurate with previous contaminant migration was not observed. The results provide ancillary support for the concept that apparent anomalies in historic transport behavior at the ADRS are the result of factors other than nonreactive gas transport properties or processes currently in effect in the undisturbed UZ.
The effect of gantry spacing resolution on plan quality in a single modulated arc optimization

Volumetric-modulated arc technique (VMAT) is an efficient form of IMRT delivery. It is advantageous over conventional IMRT in terms of treatment delivery time. This study investigates the relation between the number of segments and plan quality in VMAT optimization for a single modulated arc. Five prostate, five lung, and five head-and-neck (HN) patient plans were studied retrospectively. For each case, four VMAT plans were generated. The plans differed only in the number of control points used in the optimization process. The control points were spaced 2°, 3°, 4°, and 6° apart, respectively. All of the optimization parameters were the same among the four schemes. The 2° spacing plan was used as a reference to which the other three plans were compared. The plan quality was assessed by comparison of dose indices (DIs) and generalized equivalent uniform doses (gEUDs) for targets and critical structures. All optimization schemes generated clinically acceptable plans. The differences between the majority of reference and compared DIs and gEUDs were within 3%. DIs and gEUDs which differed in excess of 3% corresponded to dose levels well below the organ tolerances. The DI and the gEUD differences increased with an increase in plan complexity from prostates to HNs. Optimization with gantry spacing resolution of 4° seems to be a very balanced alternative between plan quality and plan complexity.
Integrated analysis of transcriptomic and proteomic data of Desulfovibrio vulgaris: zero-inflated Poisson regression models to predict abundance of undetected proteins

Motivation: Integrated analysis of global scale transcriptomic and proteomic data can provide important insights into the metabolic mechanisms underlying complex biological systems. However, because the relationship between protein abundance and mRNA expression level is complicated by many cellular and physical processes, sophisticated statistical models need to be developed to capture their relationship. Results: In this study, we describe a novel data-driven statistical model to integrate whole-genome microarray and proteomic data collected from Desulfovibrio vulgaris grown under three different conditions. Based on the Poisson distribution pattern of proteomic data and the fact that a large number of proteins were undetected (excess zeros), zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP)-based models were proposed to define the correlation pattern between mRNA and protein abundance. In addition, by assuming that there is a probability mass at zero representing unexpressed genes and expressed proteins that were undetected owing to technical limitations, a Potential ZIP model was established. Two significant improvements introduced by this approach are (1) the predicted protein abundance level values for experimentally detected proteins are corrected by considering their mRNA levels and (2) protein abundance values can be predicted for undetected proteins (in the case of this study, ∼83% of the proteins in the D.vulgaris genome) for better biological interpretation. We demonstrated the use of these statistical models by comparatively analyzing proteomic and microarray results from D.vulgaris grown on lactate-based versus formate-based media. These models correctly predicted increased expression of Ech hydrogenase and decreased expression of Coo hydrogenase for D.vulgaris grown on formate. Contact: Weiwen.Zhang@pnl.gov Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Comparison of larval thermal maxima between Fundulus heteroclitus and F. grandis.

Fundulus heteroclitus and F. grandis are resident salt marsh fishes that overlap in distribution over a narrow range in northeastern Florida. The objective of the present study was to examine whether the limits of the species’ ranges could be explained by differences in thermal tolerance. Two populations of each species were collected and then spawned in the laboratory, and 9-day-old larvae were used for critical thermal maxima trials. Mean LOE temperatures of larvae ranged from 43.04 to 43.65°C and showed little difference between species. Therefore, differences in high temperatures experienced cannot account for the differences of the distributions of the two species. Condition-specific competition may play a greater role in determining the observed range of the two species.
The antlered crane fly, Tanyptera dorsalis (Walker) (Diptera: Tipulidae), in Michigan and a review of its distribution and biology.

Abstract The highly variable and strongly sexually dimorphic crane fly Tanyptera dorsalis (Antlered Crane Fly) is reported as a new state record from Michigan. The geographic distribution of the species and its biology are summarized, and a photograph of an adult of each sex is provided.
Effect of pressure and fat content on particle sizes in microfluidized milk.

Abstract Average diameters and particle size distributions in fluid milks with different fat contents and subjected to various homogenization pressures with a “microfluidizer” were evaluated. Skim, 2%, and whole milks were microfluidized at 50, 100, 150, and 200 MPa. Cream containing 41% milk fat was microfluidized at 50, 100, and 150 MPa. Particle sizes were determined by laser light scattering. As microfluidization pressure was increased from 50 to 100 MPa, particle sizes in skim, 2%, and whole milks decreased. Microfluidization at pressures greater than 100 MPa had little additional effect on reducing the particle sizes in skim and 2% milks compared with microfluidization at 100 MPa, but the particle sizes in whole milk increased as the microfluidization pressure was increased from 100 to 200 MPa due to formation of homogenization clusters. The particle sizes in cream increased as the microfluidization pressure was increased from 50 to 150 MPa. When the microfluidization pressure was held constant, the particle sizes increased as the milk fat concentration was increased. The coefficients of variations of the volume-weighted particle size distributions for cream were higher than for skim, 2%, and whole milks. Larger “big” particles and smaller “small” particles were formed in whole milk after microfluidization at 200 MPa than at 100 MPa. Although microfluidization can be used to produce small particles in skim, 2%, and whole milks, a higher than optimum pressure (above 100 MPa) applied to whole milk will not lead to the minimum d43 (volume-weighted average diameter) due to formation of clusters.
Effects of altered tonicity by sodium chloride on L-tryptophan binding to hepatic nuclei.

This study was concerned with the effects of NaCl administered in vivo or added in vitro to isolated nuclei on [3H]tryptophan binding to rat hepatic nuclei assayed in vitro. Hypertonic (10.7%) NaCl...
Treating Orthopaedic Infections in Pediatric Patients

Pediatric musculoskeletal infections represent a wide spectrum of diseases and pose a treatment challenge for the orthopaedic surgeon. Prompt and accurate diagnosis and treatment are of utmost importance to prevent long-term sequelae and often require a multidisciplinary approach. Staphylococcus aureus is still reported as the most common causative organism of infection, with an increase in the number of methicillin-resistant S. aureus infections in more recent years. Treatment consists of a combination of surgical debridement and antibiotics. Close follow-up is required, as up to 6% of all infected children still suffer from permanent sequela.
Elucidation of the surface characteristics and electrochemistry of high-performance LiNiO2

Phase pure LiNiO2 was prepared using a solid-state method and the optimal synthesis conditions led to a remarkably high capacity of 200 mA h g(-1) with excellent retention. The combination of bulk and surface characterization elucidated an essential role of the excess Li in phase formation during synthesis and the subsequent electrochemical performance.
Universal Phase Diagrams and “Ideal” High Temperature Superconductors: HgBa2CuO4+δ

The structural and superconducting properties of HgBa2CuO4−δ have been investigated over an extended range of doping (0<δ<0.25). Two series of samples were measured in which oxygen content was varied using different annealing conditions. Both series were found to have non-parabolic doping dependence as well as unusual structural phenomena in the vicinity of maximum Tc. Samples of identical oxygen content were found to have Tc variations as large as 30 K. These differences in superconducting and structural properties are evidence of oxygen ordering present in HgBa2CuO4+δ.
Highly Compact Electric Drive for Automotive Applications

The penetration of hybrid or purely electric drivetrain solutions in automotive applications increases continuously, benefiting also from the rapid advancements in the complementary technologies related to the on-board electric energy generation and storage. The automotive community has made a strong commitment to the development of fuel cells into viable products during the next decade, and there are already several hybrid vehicle designs successfully commercialized. The current electric drive configurations are susceptible to significant improvements with respect to weight and envelope dimensions versus torque and power capacity. This paper introduces a compact wheel end power unit concept that Integrates advanced motor, package bearing, and gear technologies, and summarizes the development work related to its integration with the specific components of an automotive driveline. The resultant electric drive is evaluated under different technical and commercial criteria, including performance, power density, ease of assembly, complexity and cost. Based on both analytical model predictions and performance test results, the wheel-end electric drives presented in the paper are very well suited for a wide range of vehicle platforms, as compact and efficient drive modules.
Latent Skill Embedding for Personalized Lesson Sequence Recommendation

Students in online courses generate large amounts of data that can be used to personalize the learning process and improve quality of education. In this paper, we present the Latent Skill Embedding (LSE), a probabilistic model of students and educational content that can be used to recommend personalized sequences of lessons with the goal of helping students prepare for specic assessments. Akin to collaborative ltering for recommender systems, the algorithm does not require students or content to be described by features, but it learns a representation using access traces. We formulate this problem as a regularized maximum-likelihood embedding of students, lessons, and assessments from historical student-content interactions. An empirical evaluation on large-scale data from Knewton, an adaptive learning technology company, shows that this approach predicts assessment results competitively with benchmark models and is able to discriminate between lesson sequences that lead to mastery and failure.
SELECTION ON BILL CHARACTERS IN A POPULATION OF DARWIN'S FINCHES: GEOSPIZA CONIROSTRIS ON ISLA GENOVESA, GALÁPAGOS.

Lande and Arnold's (1983) technique for measuring selection on correlated quantitative traits was used to identify the targets of selection and to reveal the direction of selection on three bill dimensions, during different stages of the life cycle in a population of Darwin's finches, Geospiza conirostris, on Isla Genovesa, Galapagos. There was a tendency towards disruptive selection during dry conditions, arising from differential survival. In terms of longevity and breeding success of females, the direction of selection was to increase bill length. For males competing for territories, selection acted to increase bill depth and bill length. The effects of male-male interactions were separated from those of female choice. Male-male interactions selected for deep and long bills, whereas females chose their mates on the basis of a male's territory position and plumage coloration. The results reveal three factors constraining changes in bill dimensions: a tendency for the mean of a dimension to shift in one direction is counteracted by selection in the opposite direction on 1) another, positively correlated, bill dimension, 2) the same dimension in the other sex, and 3) the same dimension at another stage of the life cycle. If these factors are overcome by strong directional selection at one stage of the life cycle and relaxation at another, there can be an evolutionary response because the bill dimensions in this population are known to be heritable. The results complement those found in studies of G. fortis on another island and strengthen the view that these populations of Darwin's finches are frequently subjected to natural selection.
Hydraulic responses to environmental perturbations in Tsuga canadensis and Betula lenta

Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis (L). Carr.) is a late-successional species found across the northeastern United States of America that is currently threatened by the exotic pest, hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae Annand). Because whole-tree physiological characteristics may scale to influence ecosystem processes, we considered whole-tree hydraulic controls in eastern hemlock and the replacement species black birch (Betula lenta L.). Through a series of misting perturbations, whole-tree resistances (R), capacitances (C) and time constants (tau) were determined from time series sap flux data in eastern hemlock and black birch. Black birch trees responded more rapidly to environmental perturbations than eastern hemlock. Utilizing the step function after applied treatments, whole-tree tau ranged between 9.4 and 24.8 min in eastern hemlock trees compared with 5.9 to 10.5 min in black birch. Species was not a significant predictor of R or C when controlling for tree size. In both species, R decreased with sapwood area and C increased. Our tau results indicate that the loss and replacement of eastern hemlock by black birch will decrease the lag between transpiration and absorption of water from the soil and potentially alter the diurnal pattern of carbon and water uptake.
Prevalence of Borderline Personality Symptoms in Two Groups of Obese Subjects

Objective: The purpose ofthis study was to compare the prevalence ofborderline personality symptoms and self-harm behavior in two distinct groups of obese subjects. Method: Obese women, I 7 from an eating disorders program and 60 from a primary care setting, were administered the borderline personality scale of the Personality Diagnostic QuestionnaireRevised, the Diagnostic Interview for Borderline Patients, and the Self-Harm Inventory. � � There was a significant between-group difference on all study measures, with subjects in the eating disorders program displaying more psychopathology. Conclusions: Study group membership appears to have a significant effect on the prevalence ofpsychopathology in obese women. (AmJ Psychiatry 1996; 153:117-118)
Inhibition of ultraviolet light B-induced cutaneous inflammation by a specific cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor

Ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation is responsible for the majority of cutaneous damage following both acute and long-term exposure, and is believed to be the most important etiologic agent in human skin cancer. UVB carcinogenesis initially induces an inflammatory response characterized by edema, dermal infiltration of leukocytes, as well as the production and release of prostaglandins, which may be critical to the observed damaging effects of UVB light on skin. Recently, a specific cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor, Celecoxib, was developed, which inhibits COX-2-induced inflammation without inhibiting the cytoprotective function of cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1). Studies have demonstrated that oral administration of Celecoxib decreased the incidence of skin and colon tumors. Recently, the process of inflammation has been linked to tumor formation. The present study examined the effects of a topical application of Celecoxib on the acute UVB-induced cutaneous inflammatory response. We show that topical Celecoxib treatment effectively reduced many parameters of UVB-mediated inflammation, including edema, dermal myeloperoxidase activity, neutrophil infiltration,and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) levels. By inhibiting this inflammatory response, topical Celecoxib treatment could ultimately be effective in preventing tumor development and progression in the skin, which is known to result from long-term UV exposure.
The Eternal Body

Blake’s various imaginings of the formation of the body are set in the context of a previous ideal body. When in The First Book of Urizen Los shapes Urizen, he does just that: he does not create Urizen, but takes a pre-existent form and binds its changes. In Jerusalem, Albion’s sons are exiled from his breast (19:1); beforehand, then, they must have been inside his manifold body. At Jerusalem’s close, his emanation reintegrates with him: ‘England who is Brit-tannia enterd Albions bosom rejoicing’ (95:22). Scattered in the interim, Albion’s component parts are one with him originally and ultimately. The bodies whose shapings, separations and conglomerations have preoccupied the preceding chapters of this study, and indeed preoccupy Blake’s prophecies, come from and return to an eternal body. Indeed, the limitations of the fallen body are seen as such in comparison to an alternative form. More often than we get an actual glimpse of the ideal body, we get an inkling of its characteristics from their lack. Blake’s recurring sense-catalogues, in showing what the body changes into, hint what it changed from. The passage from Europe which shed light on the significance of Urizen’s direful changes in Chapter 3 rewards another look from this different vantage point because it details the sense organs’ transformation. Blake narrates: when the five senses whelm’d In deluge o’er the earth-born man; then turn’d the fluxile eyes Into two stationary orbs, concentrating all things.
The Missing Dimension of the Political Resource Curse Debate

Given the methodological sophistication of the debate over the “political resource curse”—the purported negative relationship between natural resource wealth (in particular oil wealth) and democracy—it is surprising that scholars have not paid more attention to the basic statistical issue of how to deal with missing data. This article highlights the problems caused by the most common strategy for analyzing missing data in the political resource curse literature—listwise deletion—and investigates how addressing such problems through the best-practice technique of multiple imputation affects empirical results. I find that multiple imputation causes the results of a number of influential recent studies to converge on a key common finding: A political resource curse does exist, but only since the widespread nationalization of petroleum industries in the 1970s. This striking finding suggests that much of the controversy over the political resource curse has been caused by a neglect of missing-data issues.
Investigating dynamic sources of pharmaceuticals: Demographic and seasonal use are more important than down-the-drain disposal in wastewater effluent in a University City setting

Abstract Pharmaceutical pollution in surface waters poses risks to human and ecosystem health. Wastewater treatment facilities are primary sources of pharmaceutical pollutants, but little is known about the factors that affect drugs entering the wastewater stream. This paper investigates the effects of student pharmaceutical use and disposal behaviors and an annual demographic shift on pharmaceutical pollution in a university town. We sampled wastewater effluent during a ten-day annual spring student move-out period at the University of Vermont. We then interpreted these data in light of survey results that investigated pharmaceutical purchasing, use, and disposal practices among the university student population. Surveys indicated that the majority of student respondents purchased pharmaceuticals in the previous year. Many students reported having leftover drugs, though only a small portion disposed of them, mainly in the trash. We detected 51 pharmaceuticals in 80% or more of the wastewater effluent samples collected over the ten-day sampling period. Several increased in concentration after students left the area. Concentrations of caffeine and nicotine decreased weakly. Drug disposal among this university student population does not appear to be a major source of pharmaceuticals in wastewater. Increases in pharmaceutical concentration after the students left campus can be tied to an increase in the seasonal use of allergy medications directly related to pollen, as well as a demographic shift to a year-round older population, which supports national data that older people use larger volumes and different types of pharmaceuticals than the younger student population.