cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
DORMANCY AND GROWTH STUDIES OF THE AMERICAN LOTUS, NELUMBO LUTEA.

Attempts to establish the beautiful native American lotus in new locations have often been marked by failure, a fact which evokes scientific interest in the growth and dormancy habits of this plant. In spite of the fact that embryos have been known to sprout after two hundred years of dormany (6), it is doubtful if the plant reproduces from seed at all frequently in nature. The facile multiplication of tubers and the rapid growth of shoots from these create a competition for light and space which seedling's, if started under natural conditions, could probably not overcome. With the lotus in nature primarily dependent upon tubers for perpetuation, it is not surprising that florists in commercial production also rely chiefly upon them rather than upon seeds. The tubers produce a large flowering plant in a single season while the seedlings require at least two and sometimes probably as many as four years for floral development. No record has been found in the literature of successfully growing the plant from seed. It is stated (3) that if holes are made in the fruits and they are then placed in a pond, their embryos are so delicate that they do not survive. In another case no signs of plants were found a few years subsequent to the planting of thousands of the fruits sown just as they came from the pods (3). The writer is personally acquainted with men who have had similar failures. Scientifically, interest has centered largely in the germination of Nelumbo seeds. Old Indian lotus fruits obtained by Ohga from a prehistoric peat bed in South Manchuria are the most striking examples of protracted dormancy known to science (6). These were estimated to be three hundred to four hundred years old and certainly not less than two hundred years. A long period of dormancy has not been recorded for the American species but the fruit structure of the two species is practically alike and no sign of swelling occurs in either after being kept in water for several months (2). Ohga (6) found concentrated sulphuric acid treatment to be the easiest method of overcoming this dormancy. Fifty per cent, chromic acid and concentrated potassium hydrate also overcome the impermeability after a longer period of time. According to his work, practically all of the fruit coat shows the cellulose reaction. Shaw (9) describes the cells as having a middle lamella of a mixture of pectic compounds and lignin, and a cellu-
Why enter post-compulsory education? white male choice and opportunity in an urban context

Abstract The underachievement of young white United Kingdom males in the face of globalisation is a source of political and educational concern. This ethnographic study of 12 white males in their final year of school in Manchester, England examines attitudes to post-compulsory education. Their decision to participate in post-compulsory education involves family members suggesting the potential usefulness of Household Labour Supply theory as opposed to the more individualistic Human Capital Theory. Aspects of compulsory education appear to be inadequate in preparing school leavers for the labour market. Student awareness of labour market conditions was poor. The marketisation of post-compulsory education following the 1992 Further and Higher Education Act, appears to have brought benefits and danger for students, although marketing seems to have made only a limited impact. There was little evidence of consumerist behaviour in choosing a post-16 destination, despite evidence of such behaviour at the seconda...
Technology assessment in an emerging world

While the profound social changes under way today are by no means solely the result of technology, one of the important impacts of technology is the growing need for more concentrated efforts at producing and applying technology assessments; i.e., the need for systematic examinations of the long-range interactions between technology and the rest of societal activity. It is from this situation that I draw my thesis: The very conditions of social change, including the anticipated role of technology assessments (TA’s), preclude defining and valuing TA’s as exclusively rational, formal, technical activities. Instead, I suggest that the applicability of TA’s is at least as great if they are also valued and viewed as a form of art. Here, I do not mean, as is usually meant, that, given their primitive stage of development, TA’s are more craft than science. I mean art as art-on a par with, but different than science in process as well as purpose. The implications of this viewpoint for the producer and user of technology assessments are significant, and, if pursued, will overcome the limitations imposed by valuing TA’s only to the degree that they approximate purely logical creations, useful only for technical applications. The realization of these benefits will require major efforts to conduct, use, and legitimize TA’s as an art form in which logic and the formal methodologies of TA serve the same functions as canvas, paint, and brushes for the painter; or stone, chisels, and mallets for the sculptor; or musical notation, musical instruments, and performance capabilities for the composer. To argue this thesis, I shall begin with a description of conditions that press for TA’s, as it is these conditions which inherently limit the sufficiency of scientific and formal knowledge and methodology brought to bear in the formulation and use of technology assessments. Three major pressures for TA may be singled out: First, there is a growing tendency to re-evaluate the priority of science and technology as a social enterprise, or, at least, pressure for closer examination of what should determine priority in a given situation. Much of the thrust for this re-evaluation arises from changing views regarding the purposes of social enterprise and the sufficiency of the positivist paradigm for describing the human condition and its purposes. Scientific-technical activities themselves have stimulated recognition of two circumstances that directly contribute to this re-evaluation. One circumstance has to do with accumulating evidence that science and technology are not objective and disinterested enterprises, that the choice of research topics and positions, taken with regard to the interpretation of data and information, are expressions
Studies on the resistance of desoxyribonucleic acids to physical and chemical factors.

Abstract The human and ox DNA were prepared by methods one of which included the addition of DNA having transforming activity, to serve as a marker of “non-denaturation”. The DNAs so prepared were tested for their resistance to heat, ionic strength, dehydration, DNAse, HCHO, H 2 O 2 , Fe +2 , and various other mutagenic or protein denaturing agents. No significant significant species differences in resistance were found. The resistance to heat was found to be considerably higher than in the preparations in which the injurious effects of low ionic strength, dehydration or minute traces of DNAse were not excluded. This loss of stability to heat in specified conditions was found to be a sensitive criterion of injuries to the DNA molecule. The parallel findings of the loss of transforming activity of hemophilus influenzae DNA are compared.
The photochemistry of the matrix-isolated dichloroethylenes

Abstract The vacuum ultraviolet photolysis of the three isomers of dichloroethylene has been studied in argon, carbon monoxide, nitrogen and krypton matrices at 13 K. Selective excitation into various regions from 1200 to 2050 A with resonance line sources and a medium pressure Hg lamp resulted in the formation of HCl and chloroacetylene as the major products detected by infrared spectroscopy. Isomerization among the three dichloroethylenes was also important, while the production of acetylene and dichloroacetylene made only minor contributions to the photochemistry. The chlorovinyl radical was not identified, though several unassigned absorptions were observed. The infrared absorptions of chloroacetylene and HCl produced by photolysis of trans -1,2-dichloroethylene were shifted from those produced from the other isomers, providing evidence for αα elimination of HCl from the trans isomer. The effects of varying the matrix material from Ar to CO, N 2 or Kr show that all the processes, with the exception of the formation of acetylene and Cl 2 , arise from triplet states. It is suggested that the αα elimination process observed for the trans isomer is due to the participation of a 3 nσ * state in the photochemistry of this isomer.
Evaluation of unscanned-mode soft-tissue thermal index for rectangular sources and proposed new indices.

Abstract The monopole-source solution was used to calculate the three-dimensional complex acoustic pressure field for one-dimensional focused rectangular apertures in a medium having homogeneous acoustic and thermal properties. For each of six frequencies (1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 12 MHz) and three focuses (f/1, f/2 and f/4), 33 rectangular aperture cases were investigated, for a total of 594 cases. For these focused field geometries, the three-dimensional temperature distribution was calculated using the bioheat transfer equation in homogeneous perfused media (attenuation = absorption: 0.3 dB/cm-MHz; perfusion length: 1.0 cm). For each of the 594 cases, the acoustic field was normalized to the derated spatial-peak temporal-average intensity (I SPTA.3 ) of 720 mW/cm 2 , the maximum value condition allowed based on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory limit for most diagnostic ultrasound (US) equipment. Using the normalized acoustic field, the axial temperature increase profiles and the maximum temperature increases (Δ T max ) were determined for each case. Also, from the normalized acoustic field, the unscanned-mode soft-tissue thermal index (TIS) for the rectangular sources was determined according to the procedures of the Standard for Real-Time Display of Thermal and Mechanical Indices on Diagnostic Ultrasound Equipment, commonly called the output display standard, ODS. The Δ T max :TIS ratio of the 594 cases yielded a mean value of 0.22, a median value of 0.16, a maximum value of 1.04 and a minimum value of 0.039. For all but one of the cases, TIS was greater than Δ T max . Also, two new unscanned-mode soft-tissue thermal indices (denoted TIS new(1) and TIS new(2) ) were proposed. For new model 1, the Δ T max : TIS new(1) ratio yielded a mean value of 1.02, a median value of 1.01, a maximum value of 1.83 and a minimum value of 0.44. For new model 2, the Δ T max : TIS new(2) ratio yielded a mean value of 1.04, a median value of 0.99, a maximum value of 2.31 and a minimum value of 0.34. Further, both new models fit more closely to Δ T max than does the ODS-determined TIS and have the potential of being easier for manufacturers to implement because only the source power and frequency need to be measured. (E-mail: wdo@uiuc.edu )
On the Meaning of the MMPI Mf and SVIB MF Scales

Correlations between the MMPI, SVIB and KPR for male student and non-student samples showed no meaningful relationships. However, consistently significant correlations between interests and masculinity-femininity scores were found. These results challenge the concept of sex connotations attached to vocational interests. The authors recommend revision of the MMPI Mf scale and a renaming or elimination of the SVIB MF scale.
Role of perisynaptic parameters in neurotransmitter homeostasis—Computational study of a general synapse

Extracellular neurotransmitter concentrations vary over a wide range depending on the type of neurotransmitter and location in the brain. Neurotransmit- ter homeostasis near a synapse is achieved by a balance of several mechanisms includ- ing vesicular release from the presynapse, diffusion, uptake by transporters, nonsy- naptic production, and regulation of release by autoreceptors. These mechanisms are also affected by the glia surrounding the synapse. However, the role of these mecha- nisms in achieving neurotransmitter homeostasis is not well understood. A biophysical modeling framework was proposed, based on a cortico-accumbens synapse example case, to reverse engineer glial configurations and parameters related to homeostasis for synapses that support a range of neurotransmitter gradients. Model experiments reveal that synapses with extracellular neurotransmitter concentrations in the micro- molar range require nonsynaptic neurotransmitter sources and tight synaptic isolation by extracellular glial formations. The model was used to identify the role of perisynap- tic parameters on neurotransmitter homeostasis and to propose glial configurations that could support different levels of extracellular neurotransmitter concentrations. Ranking the parameters based on their effect on neurotransmitter homeostasis, nonsy- naptic sources were found to be the most important followed by transporter concentra- tion and diffusion coefficient. Synapse 66:608-621, 2012. V C
Gonadal Identity in the Absence of Pro-Testis Factor SOX9 and Pro-Ovary Factor Beta-Catenin in Mice

Sex-reversal cases in humans and genetic models in mice have revealed that the fate of the bipotential gonad hinges upon the balance between pro-testis SOX9 and pro-ovary beta-catenin pathways. Our central query was: if SOX9 and beta-catenin define the gonad's identity, then what do the gonads become when both factors are absent? To answer this question, we developed mouse models that lack either Sox9, beta-catenin, or both in the somatic cells of the fetal gonads and examined the morphological outcomes and transcriptome profiles. In the absence of Sox9 and beta-catenin, both XX and XY gonads progressively lean toward the testis fate, indicating that expression of certain pro-testis genes requires the repression of the beta-catenin pathway, rather than a direct activation by SOX9. We also observed that XY double knockout gonads were more masculinized than their XX counterpart. To identify the genes responsible for the initial events of masculinization and to determine how the genetic context (XX vs. XY) affects this process, we compared the transcriptomes of Sox9/beta-catenin mutant gonads and found that early molecular changes underlying the XY-specific masculinization involve the expression of Sry and 21 SRY direct target genes, such as Sox8 and Cyp26b1. These results imply that when both Sox9 and beta-catenin are absent, Sry is capable of activating other pro-testis genes and drive testis differentiation. Our findings not only provide insight into the mechanism of sex determination, but also identify candidate genes that are potentially involved in disorders of sex development.
Intracavity frequency-doubled electrically-injected VECSEL

We have previously demonstrated an intra-cavity frequency doubled optically pumped vertical external cavity surface emitting laser (VECSEL) based on a top emitting epitaxial structure. In this paper we report on a similar device, an InGaAs MQW VECSEL that is electrically-injected and bottom emitting. The bottom emitting structure allows for better current spreading and more efficient heat extraction from the active region at the expense of increased intracavity absorption from the substrate region.
Phonics and Semiotics for Early Intervention.

Clay’s Reading Recovery has been one of the most effective one-to-one tutorial sessions. To make the daily lesson more interesting and fully engage the at-risk readers, the author modified Clay’s Reading Recovery Program by conceptualizing phonics and semiotics into early intervention. In this case study, three at-risk first graders formed an authors’ circle and constructed a variety of signs such as drawing, role playing, storytelling, invented spelling, and kinesthetic movements to expand their potential for understanding and communicating their transaction with the text. The research results positively reflect that phonics and semiotics-based early intervention foster the at-risk early readers' break through the bottleneck to literacy and ensure them on the right track to educational success.
The Effects of Caffeine and Directed Attention on Acoustic Startle Habituation

The present experiment tested the effects of caffeine on acoustic startle habituation during different attention tasks in which subjects either (a) attended to the acoustic startle stimulus (auditory attention; n = 9) (b) attended to a visual search task during presentation of acoustic startle stimuli (visual attention; n = 10), or (c) were given no specific instructions during acoustic startle testing (no attention; n = 9). Startle eyeblink responses were measured after subjects received either caffeine (1 mg/kg) or placebo. Caffeine significantly delayed response habituation in the no attention group and in the auditory attention group, but had no effect on habituation in the visual attention group. These data show that startle habituation can occur with minimal attention being directed to the acoustic startle stimulus, and that visual attention cancels the effects of caffeine on startle habituation.
Climate Change, Globalization, and Other “Modern” Issues in Ancient Syria

Many topics of archaeological interest have clear relevance today, such as societal responses to environmental changes, social networks, and maintenance of cultural identity among immigrants and ethnic minorities. These issues are not as inextricably linked to “modernity” as they seem, and archaeology offers a way to explore them with time depth. Even increasing regionalization across the Near East during the third millennium BCE may be considered a sort of “ancient globalization.” By investigating how past societies adapted to social stresses, or failed to do so, we may consider societal responses to similar challenges in the modern world. Near Eastern archaeologists and contemporary Syria scholars have much more in common than it may seem initially, and these issues cross-cut the divide between “ancient” and “modern” Syria. Interfaces between past and present offer exciting lines of inquiry in Syrian studies.
Group Projects: Student Perceptions of the Relationship Between Social Tasks and a Sense of Community in Online Group Work

Abstract This study explored the relationship between specific social tasks and student perceptions of a sense of community during online group work. A survey instrument was developed, piloted, and deployed to 125 students in six different online classes. Results revealed few significant relationships between each of the five social tasks examined and student perceptions of a sense of community during online group work; however, students reported that some social tasks were important. Students seemed to focus more on completing a task for a grade than seeing group projects as part of developing community to enhance learning. This might reflect a lack of understanding by the students of the importance of social tasks to successful group project completion.
Effect of surface conduction on dielectric charging in RF MEMS capacitive switches

Charging of the surface of the dielectric in electrostatically actuated RF MEMS capacitive switches has been shown to be strongly affected by ambient humidity. We now hypothesize that the humidity affects surface charging through enhanced surface conduction. This is confirmed by the experimental results obtained on surface conductivity sensors and RF MEMS capacitive switches fabricated on the same die. The results suggest that it is critical to not only minimize the humidity in the switch package, but also optimize the surface chemistry of the switch dielectric to reduce its surface conductivity.
Influence of heating conditions and starch on the storage modulus of Russet Burbank and Yukon Gold potatoes

The storage modulus of Russet Burbank (RB) and Yukon Gold (YG) potato discs (13.3 mm × 4.5 mm) was measured continuously during heating in water at temperatures ranging from 40 to 80 °C for 120 min using a dynamic mechanical analyser with a heating stage. The starch content of YG potatoes was higher than that of RB potatoes, but the raw starch granule size distribution of both varieties was similar. RB samples had the highest storage modulus values (25% higher than raw tissue) when heated in 60 °C water for 35 min. Image analysis revealed that the perimeters of starch granules in the potato samples increased by about 50% during heating for 30 min at 60 °C. Heating temperature and time and starch content influenced the storage modulus. © 2001 Society of Chemical Industry
Minimum-Weight Design of Stiffened Cylinders under Axial Compression

A procedure is outlined by which one may design a stiffened circular cylindrical shell under a given uniform axial compression with minimum weight By judicious choice of the objective function and proper grouping of the parameters involved, the solution is accomplished by separation into 2 phases: the "optimization" phase and the "design" phase. The "optimization" phase yields design charts, which are then used in the "design" phase to arrive at the minimum weight configuration. A critical review of previous investigations and a comparison with their resulting configurations are presented. The stiffener geometry used in this comparison is rectangular, because it represents the only configuration which has been dealt with to some degree of success in the past.
Clinical Approach to the Critically Ill, Morbidly Obese Patient

In the absence of a national registry, the prevalence of critically ill, morbidly obese patients in the United States is not known. On the basis of a retrospective study spanning 7 years of intensive care unit (ICU) data (1994–2000), it is estimated that the incidence of morbidly obese patients requiring intensive care treatment approaches 14 cases per 1,000 ICU admissions per year (1). However, this figure is likely to underestimate the true incidence because the database was restricted to nonsurgical patients. The growing interest in gastric bypass underlines the increased public awareness of the medical and economic consequences of this epidemic. The latest numbers released by the American Society for Bariatric Surgery indicate that the rate of bariatric surgeries has risen in the United States alone from 37,000 cases in the year 2000 to 62,400 cases in 2001 and it is expected that the total number of cases may exceed 100,000 by the end of 2003 (2). Most of the reviews that have provided data on morbidly obese patients have focused on the impact of obesity on individual organ function. Yet, clinical investigations addressing the care of the critically ill, morbidly obese patient are scarce. A recent review published in the AJRCCM detailed the principles and approach to outpatient treatment of obesity (3). The present commentary is aimed at (1) describing the common challenges of treating morbidly obese patients in critical care settings and (2) reviewing the current concepts and suggestions for therapy.
Effects of disturbance frequency, intensity, and area on assemblages of stream macroinvertebrates

Disturbance frequency, intensity, and areal extent may influence the effects of disturbance on biological communities. Furthermore, these three factors may have interacting effects on biological diversity. We manipulated the frequency, intensity, and area of disturbance in a full-factorial design on artificial substrates and measured responses of benthic macroinvertebrates in a northern Vermont stream. Macroinvertebrate abundance was lower in all disturbance treatments than in the undisturbed control. As in most other studies in streams, species density (number of species/sample) was lower in disturbed treatments than in undisturbed controls. However, species density is very sensitive to total abundance of a sample, which is usually reduced by disturbance. We used a rarefaction method to compare species richness based on an equivalent number of individuals. In rarefied samples, species richness was higher in all eight disturbed treatments than in the undisturbed control, with significant increases in species richness for larger areas and greater intensities of disturbance. Increases in species richness in response to disturbance were consistent within patches, among patches with similar disturbance histories, and among patches with differing disturbance histories. These results provide some support for Huston’s dynamic-equilibrium model but do not support the intermediate-disturbance hypothesis. Our analyses demonstrate that species richness and species density can generate opposite patterns of community response to disturbance. The interplay of abundance, species richness, and species density has been neglected in previous tests of disturbance models.
Event-related oscillations in mice: Effects of stimulus characteristics

Event-related oscillations (EROs) are rhythmic changes that are evoked by sensory and/or cognitive processes that influence the dynamics of the EEG. EROs are estimated by a decomposition of the EEG signal into phase and magnitude information for a range of frequencies and then changes in those frequencies are characterized over a millisecond time scale with respect to task events. EROs have been demonstrated to be sensitive measures of both normal and abnormal cognitive functioning in humans but have not been fully described in mice. The results of these studies demonstrate that EROs can be generated in cortical sites in mice in the delta, theta, alpha/beta frequency ranges in response to auditory stimuli. Oscillations in the 7.5-40 Hz frequencies were significantly affected in the 0-50 ms time range in response to differences in tone frequency. Whereas, changes in tone loudness produced changes in oscillations in the 7.5-40 Hz frequencies in the 350-800 ms range. No significant changes in EROs were found to differences in tone probability. These studies suggest that EROs are an electrophysiological assay sensitive to tone characteristics and as such may be suitable for the exploration of the effects of genetic or neuropharmacological manipulations on neurosensory processing in mice.
Organizational Dynamics, Functions, and Pathobiological Dysfunctions of Neurofilaments

Neurofilament phosphorylation has long been considered to regulate their axonal transport rate, and in doing so it provides stability to mature axons. We evaluate the collective evidence to date regarding how neurofilament C-terminal phosphorylation may regulate axonal transport. We present a few suggestions for further experimentation in this area, and expand upon previous models for axonal NF dynamics. We present evidence that the NFs that display extended residence along axons are critically dependent upon the surrounding microtubules, and that simultaneous interaction with multiple microtubule motors provides the architectural force that regulates their distribution. Finally, we address how C-terminal phosphorylation is regionally and temporally regulated by a balance of kinase and phosphatase activities, and how misregulation of this balance might contribute to motor neuron disease.
Surface contamination initiated laser damage

We are engaged in a comprehensive effort to understand and model the initiation and growth of laser damage initiated by surface contaminants. This includes, for example, the initial absorption by the contaminant, heating and plasma generation, pressure and thermal loading of the transparent substrate, and subsequent shockwave propagation, ``splashing`` of molten material and possible spallation, optical propagation and scattering, and treatment of material fracture. The integration use of large radiation hydrodynamics codes, optical propagation codes and material strength codes enables a comprehensive view of the damage process The following picture of surface contaminant initiated laser damage is emerging from our simulations. On the entrance optical surface, small particles can ablate nearly completely. In this case, only relatively weak shockwaves are launched into the substrate, but some particulate material may be left on the surface to act as a diffraction mask and cause further absorption. Diffraction by wavelength scale scattering centers can lead to significant intensity modulation. Larger particles will not be completely vaporized. The shockwave generated in this case 1642is larger and can lead to spallation of contaminant material which then may be deposited in the substrate. A gaseous atmosphere can lead to radiation trapping with concomitant increases in temperaturemore » and pressure near the surface. In addition, supersonic ionization waves in air may be generated which greatly extend the plasma plume spatially and temporally. Contaminants on the exit optical surface behave differently. They tend to heat and pop off completely in which case significant damage may not occur. Since plasma formed at the interface of the optic and absorbing particle is confined, much stronger pressures are generated in this case. Imaging of contaminants resulting in ``writing`` a diffraction pattern on the exit surface due to contamination on the entrance surface has been observed experimentally and predicted theoretically. Such imprinted damage regions can seed damage from subsequent pulses.« less
Review Essays: Landscape of Farewell: Alex Miller’s vision of friendship:

The fiction of Australian novelist Alex Miller has long been exploring the dynamics of friendship, but in Landscape of Farewell (2007) he provides the most ambitious, and in my view the most comprehensive and perceptive, treatment of the subject of any contemporary novel, Australian or otherwise. This essay explores this profound view of friendship, which goes quite beyond mateship, and examines the ways in which Miller represents and embodies that vision in fiction. Through its brilliant handling of the complexities of tone and its rich deployment of the dynamics of gift exchange, Landscape of Farewell confronts the stark realities of suffering and death and finds within the darkness itself the deepest sources of light.
Mirror Image of the Nation: An Investigation of Kaiser Wilhelm II’s Leadership of the Germans

In recent years, Kaiser Wilhelm II has been the subject of renewed historical interest. For decades, however, historians have ignored the Kaiser while focusing considerable attention on the period of German history that bears his name. The striking, if lamentable, reality that not one full-scale scholarly biography of Wilhelm II has yet been published testifies to the fact that until now historians have chosen to investigate Wilhelmine Germany while minimizing the significance of Wilhelm II. At the same time, a spate of popular biographies of the Kaiser have been written by more or less amateur historians. The general public, it seems, remains curious about the Kaiser. This combination of popular interest and scholarly neglect corresponds to the mixture of adulation and irritation with which Wilhelm was viewed by his contemporaries. He seemed at once a fascinating, mythical figure of heroic proportions and an inconsequential and pathetic posturer. It is the thesis of this study that both the images of the Kaiser reflect the reality of Wilhelm II’s leadership of the Germans, a leadership that was dynamic and compelling, yet weak and ineffectual.
Overestimation of Knowledge About Word Meanings: The “Misplaced Meaning” Effect

Children and adults may not realize how much they depend on external sources in understanding word meanings. Four experiments investigated the existence and developmental course of a “Misplaced Meaning” (MM) effect, wherein children and adults overestimate their knowledge about the meanings of various words by underestimating how much they rely on outside sources to determine precise reference. Studies 1 & 2 demonstrate that children and adults show a highly consistent MM effect, and that it is stronger in young children. Study 3 demonstrates that adults are explicitly aware of the availability of outside knowledge, and that this awareness may be related to the strength of the MM effect. Study 4 rules out general overconfidence effects by examining a metalinguistic task in which adults are well-calibrated.
Complete plastid genomes from Ophioglossum californicum, Psilotum nudum, and Equisetum hyemale reveal an ancestral land plant genome structure and resolve the position of Equisetales among monilophytes

Plastid genome structure and content is remarkably conserved in land plants. This widespread conservation has facilitated taxon-rich phylogenetic analyses that have resolved organismal relationships among many land plant groups. However, the relationships among major fern lineages, especially the placement of Equisetales, remain enigmatic. In order to understand the evolution of plastid genomes and to establish phylogenetic relationships among ferns, we sequenced the plastid genomes from three early diverging species: Equisetum hyemale (Equisetales), Ophioglossum californicum (Ophioglossales), and Psilotum nudum (Psilotales). A comparison of fern plastid genomes showed that some lineages have retained inverted repeat (IR) boundaries originating from the common ancestor of land plants, while other lineages have experienced multiple IR changes including expansions and inversions. Genome content has remained stable throughout ferns, except for a few lineage-specific losses of genes and introns. Notably, the losses of the rps16 gene and the rps12i346 intron are shared among Psilotales, Ophioglossales, and Equisetales, while the gain of a mitochondrial atp1 intron is shared between Marattiales and Polypodiopsida. These genomic structural changes support the placement of Equisetales as sister to Ophioglossales + Psilotales and Marattiales as sister to Polypodiopsida. This result is augmented by some molecular phylogenetic analyses that recover the same relationships, whereas others suggest a relationship between Equisetales and Polypodiopsida. Although molecular analyses were inconsistent with respect to the position of Marattiales and Equisetales, several genomic structural changes have for the first time provided a clear placement of these lineages within the ferns. These results further demonstrate the power of using rare genomic structural changes in cases where molecular data fail to provide strong phylogenetic resolution.
Investigations of Protein Structure and Function Using the Scientific Literature: An Assignment for an Undergraduate Cell Physiology Course

Undergraduate biology curricula are being modified to model and teach the activities of scientists better. The assignment described here, one that investigates protein structure and function, was designed for use in a sophomore-level cell physiology course at Earlham College. Students work in small groups to read and present in poster format on the content of a single research article reporting on the structure and/or function of a protein. Goals of the assignment include highlighting the interdependence of protein structure and function; asking students to review, integrate, and apply previously acquired knowledge; and helping students see protein structure/function in a context larger than cell physiology. The assignment also is designed to build skills in reading scientific literature, oral and written communication, and collaboration among peers. Assessment of student perceptions of the assignment in two separate offerings indicates that the project successfully achieves these goals. Data specifically show that students relied heavily on their peers to understand their article. The assignment was also shown to require students to read articles more carefully than previously. In addition, the data suggest that the assignment could be modified and used successfully in other courses and at other institutions.
Beyond the Taboo: Imagining Incest

This article provides an overview of anthropology's 150-year discussion of the incest taboo in light of the last 30 years of feminist and psychoanalytic discoveries about the incestuous abuse of children, it invites anthropologists to explore incest ethnographically and offers three suggested ways: one biosocial, a second social relational, and a third psychoanalytic, focusing on a connection between what psychologists call dissociation and what anthropologists call trance or possession. [Key words: incest taboo, childhood sexual abuse, dissociation, trance/possession, innate avoidance mechanism]
Distributed Cooperative Systems with Human Operator-in-the-Loop

We study the evolution of distributed multi-agent search systems where the autonomous agents may cooperate among each other, and/or with a human operator, in order to achieve the system’s objective. The cooperation is facilitated by means of information sharing among the autonomous agents and/or human operator, which has the purpose of improving the effectiveness of the autonomous agents. The evolution of cooperative systems is modeled using discrete-state, continuous-time Markov chains, and a technique for measuring and quantification of cooperation within such systems is proposed.
Running the Gamut: Music, the Aesthetic, and Wittgenstein's Ladder

Ludwig Wittgenstein’s thinking about musical aesthetics (a small but persistent strain in his writings) focused primarily on questions of demonstration and proper performance: how should this waltz or march sound? These emphases were part of a modernist-inspired effort to move aesthetics down from the heights of Kantian contemplation onto the plain of quotidian practice. But Wittgenstein does not so much escape Kant’s formulations as he extends them. The result opens the possibility of elaborating ordinary, even banal, comments about music into complex accounts of musical meaning.
Mean Flow Evolution of a Baroclinically Unstable Potential Vorticity Front

Quasi-linear theory and numerical models are used to study the mean flow modification of a two-layer shallow water baroclinically unstable flow as a function of Rossby number. This flow has an upper-layer potential vorticity front overlying a quiescent lower layer and is used as a simple representation of the Gulf Stream. Quantities derived from an analytical expansion in the small meander amplitude limit of the (quasi-linear) equations are found to compare quantitatively well with numerical model simulations of the flow in small amplitude and to pertain qualitatively even beyond the instability equilibration, where the meander amplitude is as large as the meander wavelength. The baroclinic evolution is similar for all Rossby numbers, with differences arising from increased asymmetry of the flow with increasing Rossby number. The equilibration of the instability is similar for all Rossby numbers and is due to the acceleration of a strong barotropic shear. This acceleration is predicted from the small amplitude analysis. Quasigeostrophic diagnostics are shown to be useful even for large Rossby number flows such as the Gulf Stream. One qualitative difference that appears is that as the mean flow is modified, a lateral separation of the zonal mean potential vorticity front and the jet maximum appears, consistent with Gulf Stream observations. This feature is found only for finite Rossby number flows.
Morphological Variation in the Carapace and Plastron of Terrapene coahuila Schmidt and Owens 1944

Terrapene coahuila is one of four extant species of North American box turtles. It is restricted in distribution to the Cuatro Cienegas Basin in Coahuila, Mexico. Results of previous examinations of extant T. carolina and T. ornata revealed relatively high levels of morphological variation, but morphological studies of T. coahuila are rare, and data on skeletal morphology are limited. We examined 214 skeletal specimens of T. coahuila and documented variation in 51 mensurative and discrete characters of the carapace and plastron. Overall levels of variation are low, as predicted by previously documented levels of gene flow between the sub-populations of the species. However, significant polymorphism is present in the positions of the anterior and posterior sulci of the fourth vertebral scute and the configuration of neural bones 2, 3, and 7. Additionally, co-ossification of the carapacial bones varies substantially within the sample, but independently of carapace length. Genetic, epigenetic, and environmental controls for those features are not known. In addition to documenting skeletal morphology within T. coahuila, we provide new perspectives on patterns of variation within Terrapene, and contribute data that should help paleontologists to establish more rigorous criteria for the identification of fossil specimens of North American box turtles. Those data will be especially important for critical evaluation of recently discovered early and middle Tertiary fossils that are yielding new insights into the evolution of box turtles and the modernization of the turtle biota.
Data sketching for tracking large-scale dynamical processes

In a time when data increase massively in their volume, variety, and velocity, performing inference tasks by utilizing the available information in its entirety is not always an affordable option. The present paper proposes a data-driven measurement selection scheme to render tracking of large-scale dynamic processes affordable, by processing a reduced number of data. The proposed method processes observations sequentially, and extracts a low-complexity sketch that can be implemented in real-time. Furthermore, a low-complexity smoothing is developed as a means of mitigating the error performance degradation caused by dimensionality reduction. Simulations on synthetic data, compare the proposed methods with competing alternatives, and corroborate their efficacy in terms of estimation accuracy versus complexity reduction.
Vicilin genes ofPisum

We describe four genomic clones of pea 7S storage protein gene, one of which corresponds to convicilin, and the others to vicilin. Hybridization studies exploiting these clones, and previously identified cDNA clones, have enabled us to define six different loci. Three of these loci have been mapped to positions on chromosome 7.
Evolution for John Doe: Pictures, the Public, and the Scopes Trial Debate

According to Joseph Wood Krutch, the most dramatic event at the Scopes trial of 1925 occurred when William Jennings Bryan announced, incredibly, that he was not a mammal. Looking back from the 1 960s, Krutch, who had covered the trial for the Nation, remembered the moment with amusement. H. L. Mencken, Krutch noted, had made a point of falling noisily from a table, as if to punctuate the absurdity of Bryan's statement.1 The trial transcript shows that Bryan did not precisely deny his place within the zoological class Mammalia. He did, however, emphatically object to a diagram that located humans among the mammals or, as he put it, in "a little ring . . . with lions and tigers and everything that is bad!" (See figure 1.) The diagrammatic balloon that so offended Bryan came from a discussion of evolution
The Atomic Structure of the Si/CoSi2 Interface

High resolution electron microscopy lattice images were calculated for six atomic arrangements at the CoSi 2 – (111)Si interface i.e. type A and type B, each type with Co atoms at the interface 8-, 7- and 5- fold coordinated. The results suggest that the new 8-fold coordinated variant should be easily distinguishable from the 5-fold coordinated variant, while 8- and 5-fold coordinated variants should be discernable from the 7-fold coordinated variant by the observation of a relative rigid body translation of Si and CoSi 2 lattices. Unit cell size variation was found not to affect the contrast in the computed images of the interface provided that (i) the unit cells were chosen correctly i.e. to assure continuity of the periodic extension and (ii) the sampling point density was sufficient to prevent aliasing.
Persistent Multilayer Electrode Adsorption of Polycationic Au Nanoparticles

Multilayers of mixed monolayer thiolate-protected Au nanoparticles with polycationic ligand shells are strongly and persistently adsorbed on Pt electrodes from dilute CH3CN/electrolyte solutions of the nanoparticles. The adsorption is so robust that the electrodes can be transferred, with rinsing, to nanoparticle-free CH3CN/electrolyte (and other organic solvents) and their voltammetry observed without significant desorption. The nanoparticles have the average composition [Au225(TEA-thiolate+)X(SC6Fc)Y][ClO4−lX, where X = 18, 22, or 27. The cation sites are a quaternary ammonium-terminated ligand (TEA-thiolate+ = −S(CH2)11N(CH2CH3)3+). The ferrocene content of the ligand shell (Y) allows voltammetric detection of the adsorption, and also affects it. This work describes how the extent of nanoparticle adsorption (surface coverage, ΓNP mol/cm2) depends on the manner of exposure of the electrode (with potential scanning, at a fixed potential, or at open circuit) to the nanoparticle solution, and on the nanopa...
Enriching practice in linguistically and culturally diverse classrooms: a guide for teachers and teacher educators, by E. Ponte and C. Higgins

In their book, Enriching practice in linguistically and culturally diverse classrooms: A guide for teachers and teacher educators, Eva Ponte and Christina Higgins of the University of Hawai'i, Māno...
Finite Element Analysis of Dynamics and Experimental Study about Rotating Drillstring in Vertical Well

In order to study the underground movement of drill string state,the structural dynamics in the Newmark integration method is used,established a direct wells rotating drillstring dynamic three-dimensional finite element analysis model and studied in vertical wells drill string dynamics in different speed.In order to verify the correctness of the numerical simulation,a vertical wells rotating drill stem test equipment is established.The results show that:as the drill string rotation speed increases,gradually increasing lateral displacement.In different situations of speeding,the numerical results and experimental results agree well,also verified the correctness of the numerical simulation
Modeling BMP and Vegetative Cover Performance for Highway Stormwater Runoff Reduction

Abstract Urbanization generally leads to increases of impervious surfaces, changes of the natural hydrologic conditions and watershed's response to stormwater runoff. The application of Best Management Practices (BMPs) can provide a solution for on-site management of post-construction stormwater runoff. This study investigated the effectiveness of various BMP alternatives for retaining the first inch of runoff from highways and roads in Illinois with the Personal Computer Stormwater Management Model (PCSWMM) and idealized catchment areas. The modeled scenarios included pre-BMP construction when there is no BMP and post-BMP construction with bioswale, infiltration trench and vegetated filter strip. The effects of vegetated covers such as turf or prairie grass on infiltration of various soil types with and without BMPs were also evaluated. For all scenarios, one-inch rainfall 24-hour accumulated precipitation was applied. Typical dimensions and sizing for BMPs were extracted from Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) projects. This study found that runoff reduction for bioswale, infiltration trench, and vegetated filter strip are 70 to 83%; 100%; and 68 to 78%, respectively. Results also showed that prairie grass cover is more effective than turf grass in reducing runoff on various soil types.
Broker Assessment of Real Estate Franchising: Asset or Expense?

Results of a three-part study of real estate franchising are reported. Multiple Listing data and broker survey responses are analyzed to determine relative performance, and differences in agency structure and operations, between franchise affiliates and independent firms. Broker attitudes toward franchising costs and benefits are related to structural, competitive, and environmental factors.