cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Design of a naturalized flow regime—an example from the Lower Missouri River, USA

A group of river managers, stakeholders, and scientists met during summer 2005 to design a more naturalized flow regime for the Lower Missouri River (LMOR). The objective was to comply with requirements under the U.S. Endangered Species Act to support reproduction and survival of threatened and endangered species, with emphasis on the endangered pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus), while minimizing negative effects to existing social and economic benefits of prevailing river management. Specific hydrograph requirements for pallid sturgeon reproduction are unknown, hence much of the design process was based on features of the natural flow regime. Environmental flow components (EFCs) extracted from the reference natural flow regime were used to design and assess performance of alternative flow regimes. The design process incorporated a primary stage in which conceptual hydrographs were developed and assessed for their general ecological and social-economic performance. The second stage accounted for hydroclimatic variation by coding the conceptual hydrographs into reservoir release rules, adding constraints for downstream flooding and low-storage precludes, and running the rules through 100 years of hydroclimatic simulation. The output flow regimes were then evaluated for presumed ecological benefits based on how closely they resembled EFCs in the reference natural flow regime. Flow regimes also were assessed for social-economic cost indicators, including days of flooding of low-lying agricultural land, days over flood stage, and storage levels in system reservoirs. Our experience with flow-regime design on the LMOR underscored the lack of confidence the stakeholders place in the value of the natural flow regime as a measure of ecosystem benefit in the absence of fundamental scientific documentation. Stakeholders desired proof of ecological benefits commensurate with the certainty of economic losses. We also gained insight into the processes of integrating science into a collaborative management exercise. Although the 2005 collaborative effort failed to reach a consensus among stakeholders on a naturalized flow regime, the process was successful in pilot-testing a design approach; it helped focus scienctific efforts on key knowledge gaps; and it demonstrated the potential for collaborations among scientists, stakeholders, and managers in river management decision making.
Longitudinal Invariance of the Satisfaction With Life Scale for Individuals With Schizophrenia

Objectives: This study examined the longitudinal structural stability of a subjective quality of life measure in an ethnically diverse sample of 331 adults with schizophrenia. Methods: Participants completed the Satisfaction With Life (SWL) scale at entry to community-based mental health services and again at 6 and 12 months. Five types of measurement invariance were tested using a series of multiple-group confirmatory factor analyses. Results: All five types of longitudinal invariance were supported. Conclusions: These findings offer strong support for the validity of the SWL scale as a tool for research or for clinical purposes to assess the effectiveness of interventions over time. Implications for use of the SWL scale in evidence-based social work practice are discussed.
Blake’s Milton: did Blake own and annotate the 1732 Bentley edition of Milton’s Paradise Lost?

This essay questions the attribution of annotations in the 1732 edition of John Milton’s Paradise Lost. The annotations, while attributed to William Blake by Michael Phillips, in whose possession the volume currently resides, in fact neither sound nor look like other of Blake’s annotations.
The Consistent Assessment and Fairing of Preference Functions

When a decision maker is assessing a preference (utility) function for assets (wealth), it is natural for him to start by making some quantitative assessments of the certainty equivalents of a few simple gambles and some qualitative statements specifying any regions in which he feels risk-averse or risk-seeking and any regions in which he feels decreasingly or increasingly risk-averse or risk-seeking. Several questions then arise. Does any preference function exist which satisfies all the quantitative and qualitative restrictions simultaneously, that is, are the restrictions consistent? If so, how far do they determine the preference function? How might one fair a "smooth" function satisfying the restrictions? This paper is addressed to these questions. First the problem is introduced in some detail, and the concepts involved reviewed. Then the case is considered where the qualitative restrictions only specify regions of risk-aversion or risk-seeking. It turns out in this case that all the restrictions are linear in certain quantities, so that the existence problem is essentially one of satisfying linear constraints. Furthermore, finding the maximum or minimum solution at a specified point is exactly a linear programming problem. Also discussed briefly are the possibility that some smoothing problems might simply introduce a nonlinear objective function (though the general smoothing problem is more complicated) and the problem of making the derivative of the preference function continuous (which is not always possible). If regions of increasing or decreasing risk-aversion are also given, the problem becomes much more difficult.
What is the relationship between myocardial perfusion imaging and coronary artery disease risk factors and markers of inflammation

The treatment of coronary artery disease (CAD) is clinically measured by monitoring changes in venous lipids and inflammatory markers. There is currently no established quantified relationship between coronary flow reserve and markers of inflammatory CAD. A total of 120 men and women underwent quantified measurement of coronary blood flow using SPECT imaging at baseline and 1 year later. They had fasting venous blood work obtained at baseline and 1 year later. These markers of lipids and inflammation included, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, lipoprotein-a, homocysteine, fibrinogen, C-reactive protein, and interleukin-6. Regression analysis reveals no general statistical relationship between these markers and coronary blood flow as measured by myocardial perfusion imaging. However, when changes in indices are considered and changes in risk factors are compared with changes in ischemia, blood factor based estimates yield an adjusted R2 = 0.31, R = 0.57, P < .0001. Initial levels of coronary ischemia cannot be diagnostically inferred from baseline values in lipid and inflammatory markers of coronary artery disease. When change in coronary blood flow is quantified using SPECT imaging, 6 independent underlying blood factors provided statistically useful information in identifying changes in coronary blood flow. Although the relationship of changes is statistically significant ( P < .0001), quantification of coronary blood flow by SPECT imaging provides physiologic status information, which cannot be inferred from fasting markers of lipids and inflammation status.
A Link between Quantum Logic and Categorical Quantum Mechanics

Abramsky and Coecke (Proceedings of the 19th Annual IEEE Symposium on Logic in Computer Science, pp. 415–425, IEEE Comput. Soc., New York, 2004) have recently introduced an approach to finite dimensional quantum mechanics based on strongly compact closed categories with biproducts. In this note it is shown that the projections of any object A in such a category form an orthoalgebra Proj A. Sufficient conditions are given to ensure this orthoalgebra is an orthomodular poset. A notion of a preparation for such an object is given by Abramsky and Coecke, and it is shown that each preparation induces a finitely additive map from Proj A to the unit interval of the semiring of scalars for this category. The tensor product for the category is shown to induce an orthoalgebra bimorphism Proj A×Proj B→Proj (A⊗B) that shares some of the properties required of a tensor product of orthoalgebras.
Ecosystem disruptive algal blooms of the brown tide species, Aureococcus anophagefferens and Aureoumbra lagunensis

Abstract Brown tides of the pelagophytes Aureococcus anophagefferens Hargraves et Sieburth and Aureoumbra lagunensis DeYoe et Stockwell have formed ecosystem disruptive algal blooms in shallow estuaries of the United States and South Africa for more than two decades. These algae achieve maximum growth rates at low light and nutrient levels and are able to utilize a wide variety of organic nutrient (N and P) substrates. They also experience low mortality losses via their ability to discourage grazing by zooplankton and filter feeding mollusks. Observations and conceptual and numerical models have indicated the importance of ‘pre-blooms’ of competing high nutrient-adapted phytoplankton that reduce available nutrients to low levels prior to the formation of many brown tide blooms, especially those of Aureococcus . These models suggest that brown tides are promoted by positive feedback mechanisms involving the ability of these algae to grow competitively at low nutrient and light levels, their low rates of grazing mortality, and the associated low grazing-mediated recycling of nutrients. The latter further reduces nutrient concentrations, which further favors competitive population growth of the brown tide species, thereby promoting blooms. Molecular and genomic studies of brown tides have identified the genes that encode many of the key proteins that facilitate bloom formation and persistence. Brown tides are among the most widely studied harmful algal blooms (HABs), which makes them ideal model systems for identifying the factors and complex mechanisms that promote HAB events. As such, several promising bloom mitigation strategies are now apparent.
Top physics at the Fermilab Tevatron

Planned and proposed luminosity enhancements at the Fermilab Tevatron will provide a large sample of identified top events. I review here a prospectus for top physics at the Tevatron as established by the Tev2000 Working Group. We estimate event yields and benchmark sensitivities for a catalog of measurements, including the top mass, production cross sections, Vtb, branching ratios to W and b, decay couplings, rare decays, and exotic production mechanisms. Comparison is made with capabilities at other facilities.
A NEW LEARNING APPROACH TO PROCESS IMPROVEMENT IN A TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY

Redesigning and improving business processes to better serve customer needs has become a priority in service industries as they scramble to become more competitive. We describe an approach to process improvement that is being developed collaboratively by applied researchers at US WEST, a major telecommunications company, and the University of Colorado. Motivated by the need to streamline and to add more quantitative power to traditional quality improvement processes, the new approach uses an artificial intelligence (AI) statistical tree growing method using customer survey data to identify operations areas where improvements are expected to affect customers most. This AI/statistical method also identifies realistic quantitative targets for improvement and suggests specific strategies predicted to have high impart. This research, funded in part by the Colorado Advanced Software Institute (CASI) to stimulate profitable innovations, has resulted in a practical methodology used successfully at US WEST to help set process improvement priorities and guide resource allocation decisions throughout the company.
Relationship of cutaneous sarcoidosis to systemic disease

Abstract Cutaneous sarcoidosis can be represented by an acute, nonspecific process (eg, erythema nodosum) or by a more chronic process represented histologically by the noncaseating granuloma. These manifestations have adequately been documented in other sections of this issue (see chapters 4 and 9). It is the purpose of this section to relate those skin lesions to the potential for internal organ involvement, and the correlation of a particular cutaneous variant with a specific type of organ involvement. In preparing this section, I began to review the data generated by our practice; then I compared and contrasted it to data reported in the literature. Much of the data is difficult to analyze for a number of reasons. Many of the studies (including ours) have an inclusion bias. For example, patients seen in a pulmonary clinic necessarily have a higher incidence of lung involvement in contrast to those studies seen by dermatologists who may have milder systemic disease. Another problem relates to the inability of a pulmonary specialist to describe the exact nature of the skin lesions or a dermatologist to adequately and thoroughly evaluate the systemic nature of the patient. Despite these biases, this section will deal with studies of systemic disease in patients with cutaneous disease, specifically, lupus pernio, subcutaneous lesions, and the miscellaneous cutaneous manifestations.
Wittgenstein on the metaphysics of the self: the dialectic of solipsism in philosophical investigations

Wittgenstein’s later efforts to exorcise the attractions of solipsism involve descriptions of the uses of ‘I’ which may be taken to show that ‘I’ does not refer in its philosophically most salient uses. This point of “grammarrdquo;, however, would not by itself provide a direct refutation of solipsism; Philosophical Investigations ¶¶398-410, of which this paper is a reading, traces a complex dialectic by which Wittgenstein elicits and questions the solipsist’s commitments. In challenging the intelligibility of the solipsist’s starting-points, Wittgenstein raises a forceful demand for an explanation of the motivations behind metaphysical inquiry into the nature of the self.
Biologically Inspired Methods for Array Signal Processing

This paper focuses on the various array signal processing methods that have been inspired by biological models. It discusses the long-standing algorithmic challenges and combinatorial complexity as well as the knowledge instinct and dynamic logic of these biologically-inspired methods. It also provides examples of these methods used in GMTI tracking, slow-moving targets in SAR and UAV swarm navigation and fusion
Membrane permeabilities determining resting, action and mechanoreceptor potentials inStentor coeruleus

In response to mechanical stimuli the protozoan,Stentor coeruleus, contracts in an all-or-none fashion and simultaneously reverses the direction of its ciliary beat. These behaviors have previously been shown to be correlated with the presence of a mechanoreceptor potential and all-or-none action potential (Wood 1970, 1973a). In the studies reported below the ionic bases of the resting, receptor and action potentials ofStentor were determined by use of intracellular microelectrodes penetrating animals chilled to 8.5–10 °C. The resting potential is most dependent on the extracellular concentration of KCl but some dependence on CaCl2 concentration was also observed. If allowance is made for the large increases in membrane conductance observed in solutions containing 2–8 mM KCl it is found that the resting potential data are well described by a modified form of the Goldman equation wherePCa/PK = 0.068 andPCl/PK = 0.072. The intracellular ionic activities (K i + = 13.1 mM, Cl i − = 9.9 mM, Ca i + = 0 mM) which provide the best fit of this equation to the resting potential data are in close agreement with the intracellular concentration values measured by flame microspectrophotometry (Ki=12.4 mM, Cli = 9.4 mM) except in the case of Cai where most of the intracellular concentration is presumed to be bound. 65 to 75 mV action potentials are produced by suprathreshold depolarizations but contractions were not generally seen in these chilled animals, only ciliary reversals. The action potential peak varies with CaCl2 concentration with a slope of 12.6 mV/10 fold change but varies only slightly with KCl or Cl− concentration. These peak potentials are well described by assuming that thePCa/Pk = 7.9 andPCl/PK=1.0 at the time of the action potential peak. Depolarizing receptor potentials and brief inward receptor currents were observed for all forms of punctate and gross bodily mechanical stimulation employed. No evidence was found for any form of hyperpolarizing mechanoreceptor potentials as observed in some other ciliates. The reversal potential of the mechanoreceptor current varied with CaCl2 concentration in a manner similar to that of the action potential peak. As in the case of the action potential both thePCa/Pk andpcl/pk ratios appear to increase as a result of mechanical stimulation to 9.3–15 and 1.2–1.95 respectively. Mechanoreceptor currents are voltage dependent being increased when the membrane is depolarized above resting potential and decreased when the membrane is hyperpolarized. In general the electrophysiological characteristics ofStentor appear similar to those ofParamecium andStylonychia, but its resting membrane appears more selectively permeable to K+, it produces only depolarizing receptor potentials when mechanically stimulated and the initial action potential elicited by depolarizing current pulses can be all-or-none even in culture medium.
Evidence for spider community resilience to invasion by non-native spiders

The negative impacts of non-native species are well documented; however, the ecological outcomes of invasions can vary widely. In order to determine the resilience of local communities to invasion by non-native spiders, we compared spider assemblages from areas with varying numbers of non-native spiders in California coastal sage scrub. Spiders were collected from pitfall traps over 2 years. Productive lowland coastal sites contained both the highest proportion of non-natives and the greatest number of spiders overall. We detected no negative associations between native and non-native spiders and therefore suggest that non-native spiders are not presently impacting local ground-dwelling spiders. Strong positive correlations between abundances of some natives and non-natives may be the result of similar habitat preferences or of facilitation between species. We propose that the effects of non-native species depend on resource availability and site productivity, which, in turn, affect community resilience. Our results support the contention that both invasibility and resilience are higher in diverse, highly linked communities with high resource availability rather than the classical view that species poor communities are more invasible.
HLA class II antigen presentation by prostate cancer cells

Prostate cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in men. Recent evidence suggests that reduced expression of target protein antigens and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) molecules is the predominant immune escape mechanism of malignant prostate tumor cells. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prospect of antigen specific immunotherapy against prostate cancer via the HLA class II pathway of immune recognition. Here, we show for the first time that prostate cancer cells express HLA class II proteins that are recognized by CD4+ T cells. Prostate tumor cells transduced with class II molecules efficiently presented tumor-associated antigens/peptides to CD4+ T cells. This data suggests that malignant prostate tumors can be targeted via the HLA class II pathway, and that class II-positive tumors could be employed for direct antigen presentation, and CD4+ T-cell mediated tumor immunotherapy.Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases (2008) 11, 334-341; doi:10.1038/sj.pcan.4501021; published online 16 October 2007.
The influence of urbanization on forest stand dynamics in Northwestern Oregon

Urbanization has been shown to affect forest stand characteristics in nearby natural areas. The purpose of this study was to examine forest structure in a naturally forested area, Forest Park in Portland, OR and adjacent forested land. Tree community structure was examined at 25 sites distributed along an urban-rural land use gradient. All trees in three quadrats per site were identified to species and the diameter at breast height was measured. ANOVA was used to examine differences in species richness and diversity, and tree density and importance value among four categorical areas. Tree species richness and diversity, and the density, diameter and importance values of shade-tolerant (later successional) species of trees decreased with urbanization. Sites nearer the city of Portland had significantly fewer shade tolerant saplings and young trees and were dominated by earlier successional species of trees as compared with sites at the far end of the study area. The forest structure in the city section of the park was very similar to that in the significantly younger middle section. The lack of young shade tolerant saplings and young trees appears to be the result of urbanization, although the mechanisms for such a loss are unknown at this time. Such a lack of recruitment may interfere with normal successional processes at more urban areas of the park.
CORRELATION EFFECTS IN ATOMS. II. ANGULAR CORRELATIONS BETWEEN ELECTRONS.

The variational-perturbation method is applied to the study of angular correlations between electrons in the helium atom. We compare the relative merits of various basis functions for calculating the correlation energies. Starting from the hydrogenic and Hartree-Fock Hamiltonians as zeroth-order approximations, we have performed detailed numerical calculations on the ground state of helium. Very accurate results are obtained with a set of basis functions intermediate between the Hylleraas and the "configuration-interaction" types of trial functions. The perturbation theory of the $(1s2s)^{1}S_{0}$ and $(1s2s)^{3}S_{1}$ states is also investigated.
Topological Optimization of Multiple-Level Array Logic

A generalized topological optimization tool for array-based layout styles is presented. This tool can be used for automated layout synthesis of logic networks in a variety of technologies and design styles, including static CMOS, static NMOS and dynamic MOS domino structures. Results obtained compare favorably with technology and design-style-specific synthesis systems. The topological optimization tool is a generalized array optimizer which can be used for the multiple constrained folding of programmable logic array, gate matrix, Weinberger array, multilevel matrix, and storage/logic array structures. The optimizer uses simulated-annealing-based algorithms and performs as well as or better than existing specialized PLA folding programs and gate matrix folders. The different layout style alternatives allow area-efficient synthesis of logic circuits in various technologies. Layout for sequential logic in the form of storage/logic arrays has been automated for the first time. A multiprocessor implementation of the simulated-annealing-based algorithms for generalized array optimization has been developed on the Sequent Balance 8000 multiprocessor. Dynamic windowing and dynamic partitioning techniques have resulted in an efficient parallel implementation of simulated annealing.
Effect of the exciton bandwidth on electron—phonon coupling in molecular crystals

Abstract A principle describing the effect of exciton bandwidths on the intensity of phonon sidebands in electronic spectra of molecular crystals is derived from some experimental observations, from some simple arguments, and from the quantum theory of electron—phonon coupling.
Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from desiccated Tortula ruralis identify a large number of novel plant genes.

The desiccation-tolerant moss Tortula ruralis [Hedw.] Gaerten., Meyer & Scherb. has both a constitutive protection system and an active rehydration induced recovery mechanism apparently unique to bryophytes. Immediately following rehydration, desiccated T. ruralis gametophytes produce a set of polypeptides whose synthesis is unique to the rehydrated state. We report the construction of a cDNA expression library from the polysomal mRNA of desiccated gametophytes and the single-pass sequencing of randomly selected clones. 152 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were generated representing more than 60,000 bp of non-redundant DNA sequence. 44 ESTs (29%) demonstrated significant uomology to previously identified nucleotide and/or polypeptide sequences, such as ribosomal proteins, desiccation-related peptides, early light-inducible proteins and a V-type ATPase. Analysis of a subset of these homologous ESTs reveals that codon preference in T. ruralis is similar to that of vascular plants, particularly the Magnoliopsida. 108 ESTs (71%) demonstrated no significant homology to deposited sequences and represent a large number of novel plant genes. Analysis of these ESTs will define the range of genes involved in cellular repair and recovery and may provide greater insight to the complex phenotype of vegetative desiccation-tolerance.
HTL1 Encodes a Novel Factor That Interacts with the RSC Chromatin Remodeling Complex in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

RSC is an essential chromatin remodeling complex in Saccharomyces cerevisiae that performs central roles in transcriptional regulation and cell cycle progression. Here we identify Htl1 as a novel factor that associates with the RSC complex both physically and functionally. We isolated HTL1 through a genetic screen for mutants that displayed additive growth defects with a conditional mutation in the protein kinase C gene (PKC1), which has been suggested through genetic connections to interact functionally with RSC. Several lines of evidence connect HTL1 to RSC function. First, an htl1 mutant displayed temperature-sensitive growth and a G2/M cell cycle arrest at restrictive temperatures, a phenotype similar to that of strains with conditional mutations in essential RSC components. Second, we isolated RSC3, which encodes a component of the RSC complex, as a dosage suppressor of the htl1 growth arrest. Third, an htl1 mutant displayed additive growth defects with conditional rsc3 alleles. Fourth, overexpression of HTL1 suppressed the growth defect of a strain with a conditional mutation in another RSC component, RSC8. Finally, we demonstrate that Htl1 is a nuclear protein that can associate in vivo with a fraction of the RSC complex. We propose that an RSC-Htl1 complex acts coordinately with protein kinase C to regulate the G2/M transition.
PHOTON EMISSION FROM TRANSITION METAL SURFACES IN SCANNING TUNNELING MICROSCOPY

Light emission from noble metal surfaces excited by a scanning tunneling microscope has been interpreted as arising from in elastic tunneling excitation of tip-induced plasmon modes. We have extended this work to study the adsorption of oxygen on Ti and have observed the formation of structures with subnanometer lateral dimensions which give rise to clear contrasts in STM topographs and photon intensity maps. The experimental results strongly indicate that these contrasts are due to oxygen-induced variations of the local density of states.
Nano-CMOS Mixed-Signal Circuit Metamodeling Techniques: A Comparative Study

Fast design space exploration of complex nano-CMOS mixed-signal circuits is an important problem. In this paper, a design process flow that uses metamodels is introduced. In this flow the most important task is the sampling of the design space. In this paper, different sampling techniques for producing an accurate metamodel are investigated to minimize the number of samples required by using a nano-CMOS ring oscillator (RO) as an example. Through SPICE simulations, it is shown that the parasitics have a drastic effect on performance metrics, such as the frequency of oscillation. Alternative sampling techniques, both random, such as Monte Carlo (MC), and uniform, such as Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS), and Design of Experiments (DOE), are considered as and compared for speed and accuracy. Due to the time constraints of the circuit design process, this paper can be used as a guideline for which sampling technique will produce the most accurate result to minimize the design time. All a experimental results are presented for a 45 nm technology.
Evaluation of antibody-bearing liposomal amphotericin B in the treatment of systemic candidiasis in a neutropenic murine model.

The efficacy of liposomal amphotericin B bearing anticandidal antibodies (LAMB-Ab) was investigated in the treatment of systemic candidiasis in a murine model made neutropenic by an intraperitoneal injection of cyclophosphamide. Treatment with a single dose (0·6 mg amphotericin B kg-1 body weight) of LAMB-Ab resulted in an improved survival of neutropenic mice infected with Candida albicans compared to neutropenic mice treated with identical doses of liposomal amphotericin B or free amphotericin B.
Predictors of missed research appointments in a randomized placebo-controlled trial

Background: The primary aim of this study was to determine predictors of missed research appointments in a prospective andomized placebo injection-controlled trial with evaluations 1 to 3 and 5 to 8 months after enrollment. Methods: This study represents a secondary use of data from 104 patients that were enrolled in a prospective randomized ontrolled trial of dexamethasone versus lidocaine (placebo) injection for various diagnoses. Patients were enrolled between June 2003 and February 2008. Sixty-three patients (61%) had lateral epicondylosis, 17 patients (16%) had trapeziometacarpal arthrosis, and 24 patients (23%) had de Quervain syndrome. Each patient completed a set of questionnaires at time of enrollment. Bivariable and multivariable analyses were used to determine factors associated with missed research appointments. Results: Fourteen patients (13%) did not return for the first follow-up and 33 patients (32%) did not return for the second follow-up. The best multivariable logistic regression model for missing the first research visit explained 35% of the variability and included younger age, belief that health can be controlled, and no college education. The best model for missing the second research visit explained 17% of the variability and included greater pain intensity, less personal responsibility for health, and diagnosis (trapeziometacarpal arthrosis and de Quervain syndrome). Conclusions: Younger patients with no college education, who believe their health can be controlled, are more likely to miss a research appointment when enrolled in a randomized placebo injection-controlled trial.
Outcome expectancy as a predictor of treatment response in cognitive behavioral therapy for public speaking fears within social anxiety disorder.

Outcome expectancy, the extent that clients anticipate benefiting from therapy, is theorized to be an important predictor of treatment response for cognitive–behavioral therapy. However, there is a relatively small body of empirical research on outcome expectancy and the treatment of social anxiety disorder. This literature, which has examined the association mostly in group-based interventions, has yielded mixed findings. The current study sought to further evaluate the effect of outcome expectancy as a predictor of treatment response for public-speaking fears across both individual virtual reality and group-based cognitive– behavioral therapies. The findings supported outcome expectancy as a predictor of the rate of change in public-speaking anxiety during both individual virtual reality exposure therapy and group cognitive– behavioral therapy. Furthermore, there was no evidence to suggest that the impact of outcome expectancy differed across virtual reality or group treatments.
Identification of systematic underestimation (bias) of case durations during case scheduling would not markedly reduce overutilized operating room time.

Abstract Study objective If a case has a high probability of taking longer than scheduled, then increasing the case's scheduled duration could reduce over-utilized operating room (OR) time. We studied surgeons' and schedulers' case scheduling behavior to evaluate whether such a strategy would be useful. Design Observational study. Setting University hospital. Measurements The probability of each of 66,561 cases taking longer than scheduled was estimated with an accuracy to within 1-2%. Main results Overall underestimation by surgeons and schedulers was 22 minutes for each 8 hours of used operating room (OR) time. If a 90% or 95% chance of taking longer than scheduled were required to conclude that a case's duration was deliberately underestimated, and if such cases' scheduled durations were changed, overall underestimation would be reduced by only 0.2 or 0.9 minutes per 8 hours of used OR time because only 0.1% or 0.6% of used OR time met that criterion. In contrast, underestimation would be reduced by 20 minutes if the cases identified were those with only a 50% to 60% chance of taking longer than scheduled because they accounted for more than 40% of OR time. Persistent underestimation of cases' durations was caused not by poor decisions for a few outlier cases, but instead by slight underestimation for many cases. Surgeons' and schedulers' behavior that fit cases into staffed (allocated) OR time was to underestimate slightly the duration of many cases. Conclusion The impact of inaccurate, scheduled case duration on staffing costs and unpredictable work hours can be reduced by allocating appropriate total hours of OR time (ie, staffing) for the cases that will get done, regardless of the inaccuracy of the scheduled durations of those cases.
Monitoring freeze-thaw along north-south Alaskan transects using ERS-1 SAR

Monitoring freeze-thaw transitions of the soil and vegetation in high latitude terrestrial ecosystems is useful for determining the length of the growing season, and for monitoring potential damage to living plants due to freezing and frost drought. The authors present a technique for monitoring freeze-thaw cycles using repeat-pass SAR data from the European Remote Sensing Satellite, ERS-1, 100 km in swath width, and mosaicked together along a north-south Alaskan transect 1400 km in length. Freezing of the soil and vegetation is detected based on a 3 dB decrease in radar cross-section /spl sigmasup 0/ relative to a known thawed state of the landscape. The decrease in /spl sigmasup 0/ is explained by radar backscatter models as resulting from a large decrease of the dielectric constant of the soil and vegetation with freezing. The technique is validated using air-temperature recordings from three forest stands along the Tanana River near Manley Hot Springs, and from local weather stations along the transect. The technique does not apply to areas of standing water, but is independent of the type of vegetation cover, and permits the spatial and temporal monitoring of freezing of the natural landscape at the regional scale. >
Modeling gene expression control using Omes Law

Mol Syst Biol. 2: 2006.0013 The binding of transcription factors (TFs) to specific sites in the genome is a crucial step in the molecular process controlling gene expression. The in vitro sequence specificity of these regulatory proteins can generally be well represented by consensus DNA motifs or slightly more sophisticated sequence profiles called position‐specific scoring matrices. These are widely used to scan genome sequences in order to find novel transcriptional target genes. Unfortunately, usually only a small fraction of the ‘hits’ thus obtained are functional in vivo , where local chromatin structure and TF–TF interactions come into play. Taking into account the context provided by the surrounding noncoding DNA is therefore essential. In a recent study currently published in Molecular Systems Biology, Nguyen and D'haeseleer (2006) present a promising strategy for determining which context features are most important for a given TF binding motif. Their approach belongs to a growing class of methods that fit simple mathematical models of transcription regulation to DNA microarray data to map gene regulation networks. Many of the molecular players that govern gene expression are known, but our knowledge about their interactions with the DNA and with each other is very incomplete. Information about the gene regulatory network is only implicitly represented in the large volume of functional genomics data now available to us. The strengths of the ‘arrows’ between TFs and their target genes and the condition‐specific activities of the regulatory ‘nodes’ need to be inferred by computational means. A detailed mathematical model that accurately describes the molecular …
Clustering of mRNA-Seq Data for Detection of Alternative Splicing Patterns

Author(s): Johnson, Marla | Advisor(s): Purdom, Elizabeth | Abstract: Whereas prior methods of studying expression in a cell returned only estimates of gene expression, sequencing of mRNA can provide estimates of the amount of individual isoforms within the cell. As a result, many standard statistical methods commonly used for analyzing gene expression levels need to be modified in order to take advantage of this additional information. Many methods have been developed to study differential isoform expression between known groups but little research has been done utilizing methods of unsupervised learning, such as clustering. One novel question is whether we can find clusters of samples that are distinguishable not by their gene expression but by their isoform usage. That is, instead of using clustering to find groups with shared changes in gene expression, we want to utilize clustering to find groups with shared changes in isoform usage. Here, we propose a novel approach to clustering mRNA-Seq data that identifies such clusters. In order to utilize both gene and isoform information when clustering, we treat the sequencing data as a vector denoting the relative isoform usage of each isoform in a gene. In simulated data, we show that clustering using relative isoform usage values rather than isoform counts is more sensitive to finding clusters based on changes in isoform usage. In a real data set, we demonstrate its performance in finding a technical artifact that resulted in different batches having different isoform usage patterns. Additionally, we also illustrate its usage on several TCGA data sets. Specifically, we looked at whether groups determined from clustering on relative isoform usage were associated with tumor stage or splicing mutations.
Yes/No Answers and the Verbally Delayed Child.

Verbally delayed children can usually be taught to say the words yes and no. Such utterances are of questionable value, however, unless the concepts of interrogation and affirmation/negation are appreciated. This paper describes the linguistic/cognitive challenge of answering yes/no questions appropriately. The coping strategies of normally developing children are used as the basis for tutorial suggestions for intervention with the developmentally delayed.
Testing terrane transport: An inclusive approach to the Baja B.C. controversy

The Baja British Columbia hypothesis holds that a large segment of the western edge of northern North America (Baja B.C.) was situated alongside California and northern Mexico in middle Cretaceous time, was displaced northward in the Late Cretaceous and Paleocene by north-oblique convergence of the Kula plate with North America, and arrived near its present location by the early Eocene. A consistent body of paleomagnetic data supports this hypothesis. However, doubt persists, and various crucial tests of a geologic nature have been proposed. One such test concerns the provenance of zircons in Cretaceous sedimentary basins of Baja B.C. In this paper we use both paleomagnetic data and zircon occurrences to reconfirm the Baja B.C. hypothesis. We first argue that the only truly crucial tests yet performed have been paleomagnetic, and that all such tests have been positive. Second, we show that detrital-zircon data from the Upper Cretaceous Nanaimo Group, although not a crucial test, provide valuable paleogeographic information. Available data demonstrate a change in detrital-zircon provenance in the Nanaimo Group that closely matches the position of these rocks predicted by the Baja B.C. hypothesis. Detrital zircons in the Nanaimo Group suggest a change from a southwestern North American source rich in Grenville and 1.4–1.5 Ga rocks to an increasing contribution from older parts of the craton such as the Wyoming province. Together, detrital zircons and paleomagnetic inclinations allow us to assemble a detailed schedule of northward tectonic transport of the Baja B.C. terranes.
Electrical Resynchronization A Novel Therapy for the Failing Right Ventricle

Background—Many patients with congenital heart disease develop right ventricular (RV) failure due to anatomy and prior therapy. RV problems may include right bundle-branch block (RBBB), volume loading, and chamber enlargement. Because the failing RV may have regional dyskinesis, we hypothesized that resynchronization therapy might augment its performance. Methods and Results—We studied 7 patients with RV dysfunction and RBBB, using a predefined pacing protocol. QRS duration, cardiac index (CI), and RV dP/dt were measured in 4 different pacing states. Atrioventricular pacing improved CI and RV dP/dtmax and decreased QRS duration as compared with atrial pacing or sinus rhythm. Conclusions—Atrioventricular pacing in patients with RBBB and RV dysfunction augments RV and systemic performance. RV resynchronization is a promising novel therapy for patients with RV failure. (Circulation. 2003;107:22872289.)
An SF6 Tracer Study of the Flow Dynamics in the Stockton Deep Water Ship Channel: Implications for Dissolved Oxygen Dynamics

A sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) tracer release experi- ment was conducted in the Stockton Deep Water Ship Channel (DWSC) to quantify mixing and transport rates. SF6 was injected in the San Joaquin River upstream of the DWSC and mapped for 8 days. From the temporal change in SF6 distributions, the longitudinal dispersion coefficient (Kx) was determined to be 32.7±3.6 m 2 s −1 and the net velocity was 1.75±0.03 km day −1 . Based on the decrease in SF6 inventory during the experiment, the pulsed residence time for waters in the DWSC was estimated at ∼17 days. Within the DWSC from Stockton downstream to Turner Cut, dissolved oxygen concentrations maintained a steady state value of 4 mg l −1 . These values are below water quality objectives for the time of year. The low flow rates observed in the DWSC and the inability of oxygen-rich waters from downstream to mix into the DWSC upstream of Turner Cut contribute to the low dissolved oxygen concentration.
DRESSING UP: HARDY’S TESS OF THE D’URBERVILLES AND OLIPHANT’S PHOEBE JUNIOR

Dress is by no means an unimportant item in human well-being. The majority of us, perhaps, are somewhat ashamed of the importance we attach to it, and only venture to avow our interest when the garments discussed are for the use of others; but there are very few indeed who have not at one time or other felt some personal anxiety on the subject. We shall have a wide audience indeed, if we may hope to include among our readers all those whose hearts have sunk with dismay or beat with pleasure, at least once in their lives, with the sensation, painful or exhilarating, of being ill or well dressed. ? Margaret Oliphant, Dress Never dress above your station; it is a grievous mistake and leads to great evils, besides being the proof of an utter want of taste.
Avalanche Breakdown in Polycrystalline Silicon Films

Electrons can flow from the field plate of a silicon gate MOS, through the gate oxide, to the contacts or the channel, if the field plate is brought into avalanche. This leads to shifts in the transistor threshold voltage, and premature discharge of floating nodes. The characteristics of p-type polycrystalline silicon films in MOS avalanche have been examined. Avalanche injected electron currents in the gate oxide up to 1 mA/cm2 have been measured at 500 KHz. Trapping of electrons occurs at a distance of 100 A from the oxide interface, and appears to depend strongly on the boron content of the gate oxide.
Presupposition Projection: the New Debate

A powerful intuition behind much recent research is that a presupposition must be satisfied in its context of evaluation. The relevant notion of context is, in Stalnaker’s terminology (Stalnaker 1978), the ‘context set’, which encodes what the speech act participants take for granted (we will say ‘context’ for short). But the simplest version of this analysis faces immediate difficulties with complex sentences: John is incompetent and he knows that he is does not require that the speech act participants already take for granted that John is incompetent, since this proposition is asserted, not presupposed. The dynamic approach solves the problem by postulating that the second conjunct is evaluated with respect to a local context, obtained by updating the global one with the content of the first conjunct; this explains why the presupposition of the second conjunct is in this case automatically satisfied. This analysis is captured by the dynamic rule stated in (1): the update of a context C with a conjunction is the successive update of C with each conjunct.
Alternative perturbation theories for triple excitations in coupled-cluster theory

The dominant method of small molecule quantum chemistry over the last twenty years is CCSD(T). Despite this success, RHF-based CCSD(T) fails for systems away from equilibrium. Work over the last ten years has lead to modifications of CCSD(T) that improve the description of bond breaking. These new methods include ΛCCSD(T), CCSD(2) T , CCSD(2) and CR-CC(2,3), which are new perturbative corrections to single-reference CCSD. We present a unified derivation of these methods and compare them at the level of formal theory and computational accuracy. None of the methods is clearly superior, although formal considerations favour ΛCCSD(T) and computational accuracy for the systems considered favours CR-CC(2,3).
Influence of Abscisic Acid and Benzyladenine on Fruit Set and Fruit Quality of ‘Bartlett’ Pears

Experiments were conducted to evaluate abscisic acid (ABA) and the combination of ABA and benzyladenine (BA) as a thinner on 'Bartlett' pears. Application of 500 mg·L L1 ABA at bloom, petal fall, and at the 10-mm stage resulted in significant fruit thinning at all timings. Application at the 10-mm stage nearly defruited the trees. Rates of ABA between 50 and 500 mg·L L1 were evaluated at 10 mm and the thinning response was quadratic and highly significant. Rates as low as 50 mg·L L1 thinned. BA at 150 mg·L L1 at the 10-mm stage did not thin and when combined with 250 mg·L L1 ABA, no additional thinning was observed, but extensive thinning was done by the ABA alone. When thinning with ABA was achieved, return bloom was also enhanced. Thinning with ABA generally resulted in larger fruit, greater flesh firmness, and higher soluble solids. The russet seen on ABA-treated fruit was attributed primarily to the surfactant used. Extensive leaf yellowing and leaf abscission were noted after ABA application, especially with the 250 mg·L L1 and 500 mg·L L1 and this was considered commercially unacceptable. BA was unable to reverse or modify the leaf yellowing and abscission caused by ABA as it has been shown to do with other plant species.
Rapid scan electron paramagnetic resonance at 1.0 GHz of defect centers in γ-irradiated organic solids.

Abstract The radicals in six 60 Co γ-irradiated solids: malonic acid, glycylglycine, 2,6 di-t-butyl 4-methyl phenol, l -alanine, dimethyl malonic acid, and 2-amino isobutyric acid, were studied by rapid scan electron paramagnetic resonance at L-band (1.04 GHz) using a customized Bruker Elexsys spectrometer and a locally-designed dielectric resonator. Sinusoidal scans with widths up to 18.2 mT were generated with the recently described coil driver and Litz wire coils. Power saturation curves showed that the rapid scan signals saturated at higher powers than did conventional continuous wave signals. The rapid scan data were deconvolved and background subtracted to obtain absorption spectra. For the same data acquisition time the signal-to-noise for the absorption spectra obtained in rapid scans were 23–37 times higher than for first-derivative spectra obtained by conventional continuous wave electron paramagnetic resonance.