cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Heavy “Ecstasy” Use Is Associated With Increased Impulsivity

AbstractObjectiveMethylene-dioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), known to the public as “ecstasy,” decreases serotonin function in animals. There is also some evidence that MDMA decreases serotonin function in humans, and thereby may increase impulsivity in MDMA abusers.MethodsSixteen current MDMA users and
Electron Irradiated Bulk n-Type GaAs

Bulk boat grown gallium arsenide doped to 1.7 × 1016 cm-3 with silicon was irradiated with 7 MeV electrons until the sample resistivity rose to the range 106 to 108 ohm-cm. Both resistivity versus temperature and Hall-effect versus temperature data indicate the presence of an acceptor-like level at Ec - .31 eV. Carrier removal was found to be approximately 2.3 × 10-3 cm-l and annealing was found to occur near 500 K.
Neuromuscular Control of Esophageal Peristalsis

The esophagus is a muscular conduit connecting the pharynx and the stomach. Its function is controlled by an intrinsic nervous system and by input from the central nervous system through the vagus nerve. Peristalsis in its striated muscle is directed by sequential vagal excitation arising in the brain stem, whereas peristalsis in its smooth muscle involves complex interactions among the central and peripheral neural systems and the smooth muscle elements of the esophagus. The peripheral neuronal elements responsible for producing esophageal off-response, relaxation of the lower esophageal sphincter, and hyperpolarization of the circular esophageal muscle cells reside in the myenteric plexus of the esophagus. For many years these nerves were considered nonadrenergic and noncholinergic because the inhibitory neurotransmitter released on their activation was unknown. We now know that nitric oxide or a related compound is that inhibitory neurotransmitter. The primary excitatory neurotransmitter controlling esophageal motor function is acetylcholine. Some disorders of esophageal motor function, including diffuse esophageal spasm and achalasia, may result from defects in or an imbalance between these excitatory and inhibitory neuromuscular systems.
Hadronic polarization in neutrino scattering

Using a parton-model framework we show how the polarization of unstable hadrons produced in neutrino scattering may be used to study the helicity structure of the weak neutral current. Consistency tests of the framework are also suggested.
Changes in free volume and mechanical properties of PVC films incurred by quenching and aging

Abstract Using a specially constructed microbalance for hydrostatic weighing, the specific volume increase due to rapid quenching (∼500°C/sec) and the subsequent densification from physical aging have been observed for PVC thin films. The more severe the quench through its glass transition temperature (Tg), the greater is the free-volume content. Isobaric volume recovery at higher temperatures has further been investigated by volume dilatometry. Within the experimental time scale, aging of relaxing molecular rearrangements for PVC films takes place as a linear function of logarithmic aging time at temperatures far below Tg. When aging temperatures approach Tg, however, the isothermal volume contraction becomes nonlinear. The observed volumetric results follow the wellknown phenomena of physical aging. The changes in molecular mobility during quenching and aging have further been explored by means of tensile creep and stress-strain to failure. All results reflect that a relatively small change in free volu...
Population and community effects of sediment contamination from residential urban runoff on benthic macroinvertebrate biomass and abundance

Levels of sediment contamination from nonpoint source urban runoff often exceeds that of point source discharges. Nonpoint source runoff is frequently regarded as a low-level and less intense, though more widespread type of contamination. Benthic macroinvertebrates are particularly useful in evaluating the presence of this type of low-level chronic contamination because of their relatively limited mobility and sufficiently long life span (some up to a year or more). Difficulties in biomonitoring studies can arise from the need to use a separate unimpacted community for comparison. Finding two discrete systems with the same biotic and abiotic characteristics can prove difficult. Studies are often conducted in two systems that appear superficially similar but have subtle and important differences. This procedure can produce variation not attributable to the impact of the contaminant. Studying a lake with two distinct basins provides an opportunity to examine the impact of two types of runoff on a single benthic community. The goal of this study was to evaluate whether residential urban runoff influences the benthic macroinvertebrate community. 12 refs., 2 tabs.
Propeller Unsteady Thrust due to Operation in Turbulent Inflows

In order to better understand the broadband radiated sound and vibrations due to a propulsor blade row operating in a turbulent inflow, an experimental and analytical investigation of the unsteady thrust response of a series of propellers due to operation in turbulent inflows having various characteristic parameters was conducted. The propeller variable considered was blade spacing. The turbulence variables considered were characteristic length scale and intensity. Homogeneous, isotropic turbulence was considered. The propeller unsteady thrust spectra were measured for each propeller over a range of turbulent inflow conditions. Comparisions of experimental spectra with those due to two different analytical methods are made. Conclusions are drawn regarding the accuracy of the two analytical methods.Copyright © 1978 by ASME
Nitrogen Source Tracking with δ15N Content of Coastal Wetland Plants in Hawaii

Inter- and intra-site comparisons of the nitrogen (N) stable isotope composition of wetland plant species have been used to identify sources of N in coastal areas. In this study, we compared delta(15)N values from different herbaceous wetland plants across 34 different coastal wetlands from the five main Hawaiian Islands and investigated relationships of delta(15)N with land use, human population density, and surface water quality parameters (i.e., nitrate, ammonium, and total dissolved N). The highest delta(15)N values were observed in plants from wetlands on the islands of Oahu (8.7-14.6 per thousand) and Maui (8.9-9.2 per thousand), whereas plants from wetlands on the islands of Kauai, Hawaii, and Molokai had delta(15)N values usually <4 per thousand. The enrichment in delta(15)N values in plant tissues from wetlands on Oahu and Maui was most likely a result of the more developed and densely populated watersheds on these two islands. Urban development within a 1000-m radius and population density were positively correlated to average delta(15)N vegetation values from each wetland site (r = 0.56 and 0.51, respectively; p < 0.001). This suggested that site mean delta(15)N values from mixed stands of wetland plants have potential as indices of N sources in coastal lowland wetlands in Hawaii and that certain sites on Oahu and Maui have experienced significant anthropogenic N loading. This information can be used to monitor future changes in N inputs to coastal wetlands throughout Hawaii and the Pacific.
Statistical Translation Language Model for Twitter Search

With the prevalence of social media applications, an increasing number of internet users are actively publishing text information on-line. This influx provides a wealth of text information on those users. Ranking in social media poses different challenges than Web search ranking, one of which is that Microblog messages are really short. As a result, the vocabulary mismatch problem is exacerbated in social media search. In this paper, we first study the standard translation model for this problem and reveal that translation language model not only helps to bridge the vocabulary gap but also improves the estimate of Term Frequency. We further propose two ways to improve translation language model through leveraging Hashtag information and adaptively setting the self-translation parameter. Experimental results on Twitter data set show that our proposed methods are effective.
Competitive Interactions Between Two Salt Marsh Halophytes Across Stress Gradients

In tidal marshes, facilitative and competitive interactions between plant species can shift in response to variation in stress gradients (e.g., inundation and salinity) and resource gradients (e.g., nutrient availability). We measured plant competitive response using relative yield based on total biomass of salt marsh species Salicornia virginica and Triglochin concinna. We tested interactions between these species in two greenhouse experiments using an additive experimental design which included nitrogen supply, water level, and duration (4-months and 1-year) treatments. We repeated two N-supply treatments in a 1-year field experiment at two elevations. We found that competitive and facilitative processes were dependent on the type of stress, the species, and the experiment duration. We found a facilitation-competition shift along the N-availability gradient, but only for Salicornia in the 4-month experiment. We found no effect of N addition on competitive response in the 1-year experiment; relative yield values remained <1 for both Triglochin and Salicornia. Our results have implications for understanding competitive interactions across multiple stress gradients and for community structure in restored sites; for example, planting Triglochin in restored marshes could reduce aboveground biomass of Salicornia and aid in the development of a species-rich canopy.
The long-term mental health consequences of child sexual abuse: An exploratory study of the impact of multiple traumas in a sample of women

The current study examined exposure to multiple traumas as mediators of the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and negative adult mental health outcomes. Participants were 174 women interviewed in the third wave of a longitudinal study of the consequences of child sexual abuse. Child sexual abuse victims reported a lifetime history of more exposure to various traumas and higher levels of mental health symptoms. Exposure to traumas in both childhood and adulthood other than child sexual abuse mediated the relationship between child sexual abuse and psychological distress in adulthood. There were also some significant direct effects for child sexual abuse on some outcome measures. Results point to the importance of understanding the interconnected nature of trauma exposure for some survivors.
Effect of bundling on the π plasmon energy in sub-nanometer single wall carbon nanotubes

Abstract Due to their unusual electronic and vibrational properties, single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with sub-nanometer diameters d ∼ 0.5–0.9 nm have recently gained interest in the carbon community. Using UV–Vis–NIR spectroscopy and ultra-centrifugation, we have conducted a detailed study of the π plasmon energy (present at∼5–7 eV) in sub-nm SWCNTs as a function of the size of the bundle. We find that the energy of the π plasmon peak E varies with the bundle diameter D h as E = (-0.023 eV) ∗ ln( D h / d o ) + 5.37 eV, where d o = 0.5 nm and corresponds to the smallest tube diameter. 1 This is compared with the same data for HiPCo and Carbolex SWCNTs of larger diameter (1–1.4 nm) confirming a clear dependence of E on the bundle size, which is present in addition to the previously reported dependence of E on SWCNT diameter d .
Measurement of light-scattering changes in isolated tissues.

Abstract A simple, inexpensive apparatus is described for the measurement of light-scattering changes in isolated tissue. The device utilizes photoresistors to measure the change in light-scattering. Liver slices, brain cortical slices and isolated rat stomach have been studied.
Inositol pyrophosphates are required for DNA hyperrecombination in protein kinase c1 mutant yeast.

Diphosphoinositol pentakisphosphate (InsP7) and bis-diphosphoinositol tetrakisphosphate (InsP8) contain energetic pyrophosphate groups, occur throughout animal and plant kingdoms, and are synthesized by a recently cloned family of inositol hexakisphosphate kinases (InsP6Ks). We report that these inositol pyrophosphates mediate homologous DNA recombination in yeast S. cerevisae. Hyperrecombination, caused by altered protein kinase C1 (PKC1), is lost in yeast with deletion of yeast InsP6K (yInsP6K) and can be restored selectively by catalytically active yeast or mammalian InsP6Ks. Inositol pyrophosphates are required for two forms of hyperrecombination that differ in mechanism, suggesting some generalities for actions of inositol pyrophosphates in recombination.
276 Paired Donor Lung Expression Suggest Key Effectors in Primary Graft Dysfunction

cultures (cx). 33% (26/80) of MRSA colonized pts developed dz. Donor MSSA cx were protective against MSSA dz (p 0.006), likely due to tailored antibiotics post-LT. SA dz was associated with longer ICU and hospital stays (p 0.0001), acute and chronic rejection (BOS), and lower survival (MRSA MSSA). Increased mortality is apparent up to 4 yrs post-LT. Conclusions: SA largely causes PNA (VAP in particular) and tracheobronchitis early post-LT. Early-onset SA dz is associated with longer stays and increased rejection (BOS in particular) and mortality. Risks for MRSA dz are recipient nasal or sterility cx, suggesting that MRSA decolonization may reduce dz and be cost-effective.
Volumetric analysis and hydrologic characterization of a modern debris flow near Yucca Mountain, Nevada

Abstract On July 21 or 22, 1984, debris flows triggered by rainfall occurred on the southern hillslope of Jake Ridge, about 6 km east of the crest of Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Rain gages near Jake Ridge recorded 65 mm and 69 mm on July 21, and 20 mm and 17 mm on July 22. Rates of rainfall intensity ranged up to 73 mm/h on the twenty-first, and 15 mm/h on the twenty-second. Digital elevation models with 2.0 m grid-node spacing, measured from pre-storm and post-storm aerial stereo-photographs, were used to map hillslope erosion and the downslope distribution of debris. Volumetric calculations indicate that about 7040 m 3 of debris was redistributed on the 49,132 m 2 hillslope study area during the two-day storm period. About 4580 m 3 (65%) of the eroded sediment was deposited within the study area and the remaining 35% was deposited outside the study area in a short tributary to Fortymile Wash and in the wash itself. The maximum and mean depths of erosion in the study area were about 1.8 m and 5 cm, respectively. The mean depths of erosion on the upper and middle hillslope were 27 cm and 4 cm, respectively. The mean depth of deposition on the lower hillslope was 16 cm. Analysis of the values of cumulative precipitation in the context of the precipitation-frequency atlas of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration indicates that precipitation from the main storm on July 21 was more than double that expected, on average, once during a 100-year-period. The relations of precipitation intensity/duration, developed from data recorded at a nearby precipitation gage, indicate a storm interval of 500 years or greater. The amount of erosion caused by such a storm is primarily dependent on three variables; storm intensity, development of the drainage network on the hillslope, and the amount of available colluvium. Additionally, the erosive ability of successive storms of equal intensity will decrease because such storms would tend to progressively isolate and reduce the amount of colluvium available. The preservation of Pleistocene deposits on hillslopes of Yucca Mountain, in general, indicates that erosional events that strip 5% of the available hillslope colluvium must be quite rare. We conclude that the recurrence interval of an erosional event comparable to the July, 1984 event is probably much longer than 500 years.
Direct cloning of human transcripts with HnRNA from hybrid cell lines

A library of human-derived complementary DNA from a human-hamster hybrid cell line containing the Xq24-qter region has been constructed. Complementary DNA synthesis was primed from heterogeneous nuclear (hn) RNA by oligonucleotides derived from conserved regions of human Alu repeats. At least 80% of these cloned sequences were of human origin, providing an enrichment of at least two orders of magnitude. Two clones, one containing a fragment of the primary transcript of the human hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) gene at Xq26 and another recognizing a family of human genes mapping to two regions of Xq24-qter, were characterized. Additional hncDNA clones mapped to a variety of sites in the Xq24-qter region, demonstrating the isolation of many transcriptionally active loci. These clones provide probes for identification of genetic loci on the terminal region of the X chromosome long arm, which is the location of a number of inherited disorders.
Cardiovascular risk factors cause premature rarefaction of the collateral circulation and greater ischemic tissue injury

Rationale Collaterals lessen tissue injury in occlusive disease. However, aging causes progressive decline in their number and smaller diameters in those that remain (collateral rarefaction), beginning at 16 months of age in mice (i.e., middle age), and worse ischemic injury—effects that are accelerated in even 3-month-old eNOS−/− mice. These findings have found indirect support in recent human studies.
Economic Crisis and Global Governance: The Stability of a Globalized World

Abstract It is difficult to estimate the ultimate effects of an economic crisis that is far from over. Nevertheless, international collaboration during this sharp economic recession has been far more sustained and stable than the course of international cooperation during two previous economic downturns that matched or exceeded its severity: the Great Depression of 1929-33 and the global recession of 1981-82. In both of these earlier cases, economic nationalism grew, and existing modes of cooperation either collapsed or were threatened by unilateralism and corrosive forms of regionalism. The persistence global institutions for economic cooperation in the wake of the current economic crisis bears explanation given this history. Among the explanations considered for this departure from previous responses to economic crisis are: (a) The character of economic globalization. Although global economic integration may have promoted diffusion of the economic crisis; it may also have shifted the incentives of national governments toward more cooperative responses and rendered economic nationalism and decoupling less attractive. (b) Constraints imposed by international economic cooperation. Contemporary international institutions, following the model of Bretton Woods, have combined international constraints with policies to support national economic expansion: policies of economic stimulus, most notably, have been forged as part of international collaborative bargains, not in opposition to those cooperative modalities. (c) The major developing and transitional economies, which led the way in decoupling from the international economy during the Great Depression and bore the brunt of earlier economic crises, have been able to weather the current economic crisis better than many industrialized countries. (d) Each of these possible explanations for the current record of global economic cooperation also points to a shortcoming in current global economic governance that future reforms must address: (e) A more fully globalized economy means that national policies, particularly those of larger economies, will have a more immediate and potentially negative effect on other economies and their well-being. Closer scrutiny of national policies and new means for exercising such scrutiny will be demanded. (f) Although the current mechanisms of global economic cooperation have allowed considerable flexibility for national policymakers in confronting the crisis, the weakness of international constraints also permitted persistent macroeconomic imbalances and lax regulatory policies that produced the crisis. (g) Award of effective decision-making authority in global governance to key emerging economies, such as China, India, and Brazil, has hardly begun. Given the hard stance in defense of national sovereignty taken by these governments, their growing role has ambiguous implications for future strengthening of global institutions.
Variant intraneural vein-trigeminal nerve relationships: an observation during microvascular decompression surgery for trigeminal neuralgia.

Objective Trigeminal neuralgia is often caused by compression, demyelination, and injury of the trigeminal nerve root entry zone by an adjacent artery and/or vein. Previously described variations of the nerve-vessel relationship note external nerve compression. We offer a detailed classification of intraneural vessels that travel through the trigeminal nerve and safe, effective surgical management. Clinical presentation We report 3 microvascular decompression operations for medically refractory trigeminal neuralgia during which the surgeon encountered a vein crossing through the trigeminal nerve. Two types of intraneural veins are described: type 1, in which the vein travels between the motor and sensory branches of the trigeminal nerve (1 patient), and type 2, in which the vein bisects the sensory branch (portio major) (2 patients). Intervention We recommend sacrificing the intraneural vein between the motor and sensory branches if the vein is small (most likely type 1). If the intraneural vein is large and bisects the sensory branch (most likely type 2), vein mobilization can be achieved, but often requires extensive dissection through the nerve. Because this maneuver may lead to trigeminal nerve injury and result in uncomfortable neuropathy and numbness (including corneal hypoesthesia), we recommend against mobilization of the vein through the nerve, suggesting instead, consideration of a selective trigeminal nerve rhizotomy. Conclusion Because aggressive dissection of intraneural vessels can lead to higher than normal complication rates, preoperative knowledge of vein-trigeminal nerve variants is crucial for intraoperative success.
Characterization of an Adhesion Molecule that Mediates Leukocyte Rolling on 24 h Cytokine- or Lipopolysaccharide-stimulated Bovine Endothelial Cells under Flow Conditions

Bovine γ/δ T cells and neutrophils roll on 24 h cytokine- or lipopolysaccharide-stimulated bovine fetal umbilical cord endothelial cells in assays done under physiological flow. An antibody directed against E- and L-selectin has minimal blocking effect on this rolling interaction. mAbs were raised against the stimulated bovine endothelial cells and screened for inhibition of γ/δ T cell rolling. One mAb (GR113) was identified that recognizes an antigen (GR antigen) selectively expressed by stimulated bovine endothelial cells isolated from fetal umbilical cord, mesenteric lymph nodes, and aorta. GR113 blocked bovine γ/δ T cell as well as neutrophil rolling on the 24 h-activated endothelial cells. The GR antigen was constitutively expressed at low levels on the cell surface of platelets and its expression was not upregulated after stimulation of these cells with thrombin or phorbol myristate acetate. However, stimulated platelets released a soluble, functionally active form of the molecule that selectively bound in solution to γ/δ T cells in a mixed lymphocyte preparation. GR113 mAb blocked the binding of the soluble platelet molecule to the γ/δ T cells. Soluble GR antigen also bound a subset of human lymphocytes. Cutaneous lymphocyte-associated antigen (CLA) bright human lymphocytes exhibited the greatest capacity to bind the GR antigen, though CLA was not required for binding. Subsets of both human CD4 and CD8 T cells bound the GR antigen. Immunoprecipitation experiments showed the GR antigen to be 110-120 kD Mr. The binding of soluble GR antigen was inhibited by EDTA and O-sialoglycoprotease, but not neuraminidase treatment of the target cells.
Food-borne intestinal trematodiases in humans

Food-borne trematodiases still remain a public health problem world-wide, despite changes in eating habits, alterations in social and agricultural practices, health education, industrialization, environmental alteration, and broad-spectrum anthelmintics. Food-borne trematodiases usually occur focally, are still persistently endemic in some parts of the world, and are most prevalent in remote rural places among school-age children, low-wage earners, and women of child-bearing age. Intestinal fluke diseases are aggravated by socio-economic factors such as poverty, malnutrition, an explosively growing free-food market, a lack of sufficient food inspection and sanitation, other helminthiases, and declining economic conditions. Control programs implemented for food-borne zoonoses and sustained in endemic areas are not fully successful for intestinal food-borne trematodiases because of centuries-old traditions of eating raw or insufficiently cooked food, widespread zoonotic reservoirs, promiscuous defecation, and the use of “night soil” (human excrement collected from latrines) as fertilizer. This review examines food-borne intestinal trematodiases associated with species in families of the Digenea: Brachylaimidae, Diplostomidae, Echinostomatidae, Fasciolidae, Gastrodiscidae, Gymnophallidae, Heterophyidae, Lecithodendriidae, Microphallidae, Nanophyetidae, Paramphistomatidae, Plagiorchiidae, and Strigeidae. Because most of the implicated species are in the Echinostomatidae and Heterophyidae, emphasis in the review is placed on species in these families.
On the radial structure of Saturn's rings

Voyager 1 cameras revealed that Saturn's B ring appears to be subdivided into hundreds of chaotically spaced narrow rings in a hierarchy that extends to the limit of resolution. A disk model is proposed and applied to Saturn's rings: it is shown that the radial diffusion in a particulate Keplerian disk, under the influence of a viscosity law that decreases more steeply with a certain surface density than with another, will promote the breakdown of the system into an ensemble of thin rings.
Altered free associations: Some cognitive effects of DOET (2, 5‐dimethoxy‐4‐ethylamphetamine)

Normal adult males were administered DOET (2, 5-dimethoxy-4-ethylamphetamine) and d-amphetamine, at two separate times in a double blind experimental design. DOET in low doses (1.5 mg/70 kg) produced no gross behavioral or perceptual design. DOET did alter Ss' free associations at the time of maximal drug uptake. Ss produced lower frequency, less common, free associations with DOET. Although the associations Ss produced with DOET occur less frequently in association norms they were neither bizarre or idiosyncratic responses. In addition, these free associations were at least as reproducible as the associations produced under no drug or amphetamine conditions. This new psychotropic agent, in low doses, appears to be particularly effective in altering normal cognition without producing disorganization in thinking or perception.
Green's function for a semicircular plate

Abstract The exact closed form solution is derived for the displacement of a thin elastic semicircular plate acted upon by a concentrated force at an arbitrary point. It is assumed that the semicircular boundary of the plate is clamped, and that its diametral boundary is simply supported. The derivation is accomplished in the following manner. First, a singularity function is employed in order to obtain a closed form solution for the displacement of the semicircular plate subject to a circumferential sinusoidal line load. Thus a solution for arbitrary circumferential line loading of the plate is derived in the form of a Fourier series. Next, the series solution for the particular case of a concentrated force is arranged into components which can be summed in closed forms. Finally it has been shown that with the exception of the point of application of the concentrated load, the obtained Green's function and its derivatives of any order are continuous in the region. Numerical values of dimensionless stress couples at various points of the region are presented for three different positions of the concentrated force.
Miniature biochip system for bioenvironmental applications

An integrated multi-functional biochip based on integrated circuit complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensor array for use in medical diagnostics and pathogen detection has been described. The usefulness and potential of the biochip as a rapid, inexpensive screening tool for detection of bioenvironmental pathogens will be demonstrated. Detection of aerosolized spores was achieved by coupling the miniature system to a portable bioaerosol sampler, and the performance of the antibody-based recognition and enzyme amplification method was evaluated. The bioassay performance was found to be compatible with the air sampling device, and the enzymatic amplification was found to be an attractive amplification method for detection of low spore concentrations. The combined portable bioaerosol sampler and miniature biochip system detected 100 B. globigii spores, corresponding to 17 aerosolized spores/L of air.
Differential patterns of benthic foraminiferal extinctions near the Paleocene/Eocene boundary in the North Atlantic and the western Tethys

Bathyal benthic foraminifera and stable isotopes from the Caravaca and Zumaya sections of Spain, indicate that the mass extinction near the Paleocene/Eocene (P/E) boundary (upper planktic foraminiferal Zone P6a) was rapid, coinciding with a negative δ13C-shift of 2–4%., the onset of dark grey shale deposition and increased carbonate dissolution. Prior to the extinction event, diverse benthic foraminiferal assemblages and high δ13C values suggest the presence of a stable intermediate-deep watermass rich in oxygen and saturated in calcium carbonate in both Caravaca and Zumaya sections. After the extinction event, small finely agglutinated (Haplophragmoides, Glomospira) and thin-walled epifaunal taxa (Nuttallides truempyi) dominate in the North Atlantic, Zumaya section. This assemblage indicates sluggish circulation, bottom waters undersaturated in calcium carbonate and dysaerobic conditions. Low oxygen conditions prevailed for the succeeding 400 kyr and are characterized by 1–2%. fluctuations in benthic δ13C. In the western Tethys, Caravaca section, infaunal taxa (“buliminids”) dominate after the extinction event and prevailed through the succeeding 400 to 450 kyr of decreased δ13C values, indicating low oxygen conditions. Despite these common features, benthic foraminiferal assemblages from these two sections exhibit significant differences during the extinction event. At the Zumaya section, the extinction event occurred over less than 50 kyr and resulted in a sudden reduction in species richness after the δ13C-shift. In contrast, at the Caravaca section species diversity declined gradually, beginning prior to and in concert with the gradually declining δ13C values. This gradual change occurred over a period of 250 kyr and culminated in a 4%. δ13C-shift. These differences in δ13C values and benthic assemblages between Caravaca and Zumaya, suggest that the P-E oceanographic changes that triggered the benthic foraminiferal mass extinction, exhibited its first manifestation in the Tethys region.
Leaf litter decomposition in three Louisiana freshwater forested wetland areas with different flooding regimes

Litter decomposition was studied for one year in three Louisiana forested wetland sites with different flooding regimes. Decomposition was significantly higher in a crayfish pond where flooding was manipulated by pumping. Only 20% of the original dry mass remained after 46 weeks versus over 40% in the natural and impounded wetland forests. Nitrogen was immobilized in the natural and impounded areas but was mineralized during the spring and summer in the managed area. Phosphorus was not immobilized in the natural and impounded areas like nitrogen but was mineralized much more slowly in these areas than it was in the managed area. Because of the slower decomposition in the natural and impounded areas, falling leaf litter buries the old, partially decomposed material. Thus, there tends to be a net accumulation of organic matter, nitrogen, and phosphorus in stagnant, more flooded areas and mineralization and/or export from free-flowing areas.
A segment-based framework for modeling and mining data streams

Data Streams have become ubiquitous in recent years because of advances in hardware technology which have enabled automated recording of large amounts of data. The primary constraint in the effective mining of streams is the large volume of data which must be processed in real time. In many cases, it is desirable to store a summary of the data stream segments in order to perform data mining tasks. Since density estimation provides a comprehensive overview of the probabilistic data distribution of a stream segment, it is a natural choice for this purpose. A direct use of density distributions can however turn out to be an inefficient storage and processing mechanism in practice. In this paper, we introduce the concept of cluster histograms, which provides an efficient way to estimate and summarize the most important data distribution profiles over different stream segments. These profiles can be constructed in a supervised or unsupervised way depending upon the nature of the underlying application. The profiles can also be used for change detection, anomaly detection, segmental nearest neighbor search, or supervised stream segment classification. Furthermore, these techniques can also be used for modeling other kinds of data such as text and categorical data. The flexibility of the tasks which can be performed from the cluster histogram framework follows from its generality in storing the historical density profile of the data stream. As a result, this method provides a holistic framework for density-based mining of data streams. We discuss and test the application of the cluster histogram framework to a variety of interesting data mining applications.
An analysis of local flow effects in flow-induced orientation and crystallization

An analysis is presented of the effects of external flow kinematics on the so-called local flow in seeded, flow-induced crystallization and orientation. The flow field around a growing crystal or nucleation seed is modelled by the Stokes flow equations past a prolate ellipsoid of high aspect ratio. Exact solutions for various flow kinematics, worked out elsewhere by the singularity method, are applied here to the analysis of local gradients. The results show that along the symmetry axis of the spheroid, the extensional gradients which result for various free-stream velocity fields are primarily the result of the constant-velocity free-stream component. However, free-stream, extensional flow can significantly enhance the region of such high gradients. Along the symmetry plane of the spheroid, primarily shearing gradients result, with small extensional gradients occurring when the free-stream flow has extensional components. Results of chain extension and birefringence calculations are also presented and discussed.
Multiscale Analysis of Census-Based Land Surface Temperature Variations and Determinants in Indianapolis, United States

This study utilized remote sensing and geographic information system data to perform a multiple scale analysis of urban heat island (UHI) at Indianapolis, United States. Land surface temperature (LST) data derived from a Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus image of Indianapolis city were used to examine census-based variations and to model their numerical relationships with its urban landscape. Selected variables for the urban landscape included building, roads, water bodies, vegetation, and open space. Correlation analysis and linear regression modeling at each census level (i.e., block, block group, and tract) were performed. The sensitivity of the relationship to aggregation and thus the scale effect were examined. The impact of the provision of different urban landscape features on the UHI pattern at three census levels was also examined. Results show LST had strong positive correlations with buildings and roads, but was greatly negatively correlated with vegetation and water at all levels. Overall, the larger the analytical unit, the stronger the correlation between LST and the urban landscape parameters, and the better the LST modeling. The results of this empirical study establish a method for evaluating urban thermal environment within geographical (census) units.
Soil moisture–precipitation coupling: observations from the Oklahoma Mesonet and underlying physical mechanisms

Abstract. Interactions between soil moisture and the atmosphere are driven by the partitioning of sensible and latent heating, through which soil moisture has been connected to atmospheric modifications that could potentially lead to the initiation of convective precipitation. The majority of previous studies linking the land surface to subsequent precipitation have used atmospheric reanalysis or model data sets. In this study, we link in situ observations of soil moisture from more than 100 stations in Oklahoma to subsequent unorganized afternoon convective precipitation. We use hourly next generation (NEXRAD) radar-derived precipitation to identify convective events, and then compare the location of precipitation initiation to underlying soil moisture anomalies in the morning. Overall we find a statistically significant preference for convective precipitation initiation over drier than normal soils, with over 70 % of events initiating over soil moisture below the long-term median. The significant preference for precipitation initiation over drier than normal soils is in contrast with previous studies using satellite-based precipitation to identify the region of maximum precipitation accumulation. We evaluated 19 convective events occurring near Lamont, Oklahoma, where soundings of the atmospheric profile at 06:00 and 12:00 LST are also available. For these events, soil moisture has strong negative correlations with the level of free convection (LFC), planetary boundary layer (PBL) height, and surface temperature changes between 06:00 and 12:00 LST. We also find strong positive correlations between morning soil moisture and morning-to-afternoon changes in convective available potential energy and convective inhibition. In general, the results of this study demonstrate that both positive and negative soil moisture feedbacks are important in this region of the USA.
Invasive aquarium fish transform ecosystem nutrient dynamics

Trade of ornamental aquatic species is a multi-billion dollar industry responsible for the introduction of myriad fishes into novel ecosystems. Although aquarium invaders have the potential to alter ecosystem function, regulation of the trade is minimal and little is known about the ecosystem-level consequences of invasion for all but a small number of aquarium species. Here, we demonstrate how ecological stoichiometry can be used as a framework to identify aquarium invaders with the potential to modify ecosystem processes. We show that explosive growth of an introduced population of stoichiometrically unique, phosphorus (P)-rich catfish in a river in southern Mexico significantly transformed stream nutrient dynamics by altering nutrient storage and remineralization rates. Notably, changes varied between elements; the P-rich fish acted as net sinks of P and net remineralizers of nitrogen. Results from this study suggest species-specific stoichiometry may be insightful for understanding how invasive species modify nutrient dynamics when their population densities and elemental composition differ substantially from native organisms. Risk analysis for potential aquarium imports should consider species traits such as body stoichiometry, which may increase the likelihood that an invasion will alter the structure and function of ecosystems.
Records Management for Special Collections Departments

The records of special collections departments are both a blessing and a curse. Most departments have voluminous files where such important information as the history of individual collections, correspondence with readers and donors, personnel records, data on facilities and equipment, and other necessary documents are stored. All too often, however, these files are inefficiently organized and seldom, if ever, weeded. As a result, critical information may not be accessible when required. None of the standard works on special collections librarianship discusses the records generated by such departments or the most effective ways to administer them. The discipline of records management . . .
Estimating dry grass biomass residues using AVIRIS image analysis

The amount of dry grass residue remaining in grasslands in the autumn is indicative of land management practices, especially grazing, and for predicting future fire and erosion potentials. This study has examined factors necessary to provide a remote assessment of grassland condition (biomass, patch distribution), based on a linear spectral mixing analysis of Advanced Visible Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) images calibrated to surface reflectance for an 80 km/sup 2/ area east of Lake Berryessa, California. The fine-scale spectral features that distinguish soils and dry plant material in the shortwave infrared (SWIR) region are thought to be primarily due to the presence of cellulose and lignin which are absent from soils. The authors have used the endmember fractions of dry grass (mixed annual grasses), green vegetation (Heteromeles arbitufolia, Toyon), and soils (Sehorn Clay series), contained in a spectral library of common plant and soil materials of the area for the analysis. Estimated abundance of dry grass biomass were also estimated by lignin and cellulose absorption features around 1.72 /spl mu/m and compared to endmember fractions and against ground measured biomass samples. The endmember fractions were combined with topographic data, slope, aspect, and cumulative drainage in a geographic information system (GIS) and used to produce a maximum likelihood classification of vegetation of the region. The region contains grazed and ungrazed grasslands, oak woodlands, chaparral, riparian woodlands, agricultural cultivation, and other vegetation types. The prediction accuracy of the vegetation map was estimated to be 0.58 overall, based on comparison against a vegetation map of the University of California's Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve (SCCR) which was derived through field-based and photogrammatic interpretation a small area in the AVIRIS image. >
Bayesian Sequential Estimation for One-Parameter Exponential Families

Abstract The Bayesian sequential estimation problem for one-parameter exponential families is considered using loss related to the Fisher information and linear sampling cost. Tractible expressions for the Bayes estimator and the posterior expected loss are found, and the myopic, or one-step-ahead, stopping rule is defined. Sufficient conditions are given for optimality of the myopic procedure, and the myopic procedure is shown to be asymptotically optimal in all cases considered.
Changes in the protein content of blastocysts from normal and delayed implanting mice

Total protein content of preimplantation mouse embryos was measured at 06.00 and 16.00 hours on day 5 of pregnancy (day 1, the day of vaginal plug formation). During this ten hour period, just prior to implantation, the amount of protein increased from 23 to 35 ng per blastocyst; a net increase of 52%. In contrast, protein content was unchanged in delayed implanting embryos recovered from ovariectomized animals during a comparable period on days 5 or 10 (day 5, 24 ng at 06.00 hours and 24 ng at 16.00 hours; day 10, 29 ng at 06.00 hours and 30 ng at 16.00 hours). These results demonstrate that the different uptake and incorporation of amino acids between normal and delayed implanting embryos (Weitlauf and Greenwald, '65, '68; Weitlauf, '73) reflect a difference in the actual net synthesis of protein by the two types of blastocysts.
Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus ori-Lyt-Dependent DNA Replication: Involvement of Host Cellular Factors

Herpesvirus lytic DNA replication requires both the cis-acting element, the origin, and trans-acting factors, including virally encoded origin-binding protein, DNA replication enzymes, and auxiliary factors. Two lytic DNA replication origins (ori-Lyt) of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) have been identified, and two virally encoded proteins, namely, RTA and K8, have been shown to bind to the origins. In this study, we sought to identify cellular factors that associate with ori-Lyt by using DNA affinity purification and mass spectrometry. This approach led to identification of several cellular proteins that bind to KSHV ori-Lyt. They include topoisomerases (Topo) I and II, MSH2/6, RecQL, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase I (PARP-1), DNA-PK, Ku86/70 autoantigens, and scaffold attachment factor A (SAF-A). RecQL appears to associate with prereplication complexes and be recruited to ori-Lyt through RTA and K8. Topoisomerases, MSH2, PARP-1, DNA-PK, and Ku86 were not detected in prereplication complexes but were present in replication initiation complexes on ori-Lyt. All these cellular proteins accumulate in viral replication compartments in the nucleus, indicating that these proteins may have a role in viral replication. Topo I and II appear to be essential for viral DNA replication as inhibition of their activities with specific inhibitors (camptothecin and ellipticine) blocked ori-Lyt-dependent DNA replication. Furthermore, inhibition of PARP-1 with chemical inhibitors (3-aminobenzamide and niacinamide) resulted in decreased ori-Lyt-dependent DNA replication, whereas hydroxyurea, which raises PARP-1 activity, caused an increase in the DNA replication, suggesting a positive role for PARP-1 in KSHV lytic DNA replication.
A real-time performance monitoring system based on data logging device for signalized intersections

Most existing traffic signal systems do not monitor or archive traffic system performance data in real time and thus have operational improvement limitations. A system based on intelligent data acquisition device has been successfully developed by National Institute for Advanced Transportation Technology (NIATT) for real-time performance monitoring at signalized intersections. This system is able to collect complete high-resolution detector and signal indication data and generate real-time performance measurements for intersection operations. The application to monitor intersection operations involves macroscopic estimation of average delay values.