cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
New theories on boundary layer transition and turbulence formation

This paper is a short review of our recent DNS work on physics of late boundary layer transition and turbulence. Based on our DNS observation, we propose a new theory on boundary layer transition, which has five steps, that is, receptivity, linear instability, large vortex structure formation, small length scale generation, loss of symmetry and randomization to turbulence. For turbulence generation and sustenance, the classical theory, described with Richardson's energy cascade and Kolmogorov length scale, is not observed by our DNS. We proposed a new theory on turbulence generation that all small length scales are generated by "shear layer instability" through multiple level ejections and sweeps and consequent multiple level positive and negative spikes, but not by "vortex breakdown." We believe "shear layer instability" is the "mother of turbulence." The energy transferring from large vortices to small vortices is carried out by multiple level sweeps, but does not follow Kolmogorov's theory that large vortices pass energy to small ones through vortex stretch and breakdown. The loss of symmetry starts from the second level ring cycle in the middle of the flow field and spreads to the bottom of the boundary layer and then the whole flow field.
Genetic susceptibility to respiratory syncytial virus infection in inbred mice.

Differences in the severity of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-induced lower respiratory disease in infants have been attributed to multiple environmental and genetic factors. To identify the genetic factor(s) influencing RSV susceptibility, we examined RSV infection in eight inbred mouse strains. Lung RSV titers differed significantly between mouse strains: the RSV titers were 15-fold higher in AKR/J (permissive) mice compared with C57BL/6J (resistant) mice at 4 days after inoculation. This strain-specific difference in RSV titers suggested that susceptibility to RSV infection was attributable to genetic differences between strains. To examine the mode of inheritance of RSV susceptibility, F1 and backcross (F1 × AKR/J) progeny were infected and RSV titers determined. RSV titers in the F1 progeny were similar to those found in the resistant (C57BL/6J) parent, suggesting resistance was inherited as a dominant trait. The distribution of RSV titers in backcross progeny were discordant with that predicted for a single gene effect, suggesting susceptibility was influenced by more than one gene. These data suggest that RSV susceptibility is a multigenic trait that should be amenable to resolution by genomic analysis. J. Med. Virol. 67:92–100, 2002. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Synthetic signaling networks for therapeutic applications

Synthetic signaling networks contain exogenous, modified, or rationally designed components involved in sending, receiving, and processing information from the environment and other cells. Advances in the input, output, and processing elements for such networks hold promise towards developing new therapies and prophylactics for disease. Therapeutic synthetic signaling systems are still in their infancy, but are progressing into mouse models of disease and even into clinical trials. As signaling technology matures, we will see an increase in implanted and ingested cellular therapies capable of autonomously diagnosing and treating disease. These technologies have the potential to reduce some of the burden on both patients and clinicians, contributing to more efficient and eventually personalized medicine.
Interpolation during Apparent Motion

A simple experiment was performed to demonstrate a spatiotemporal filling-in process in apparent motion. A vertical column consisting of seven closely spaced dots was presented in a sequence of eight discrete positions, except for the fifth position in which only part of the column (upper two dots) was shown. At an appropriate timing of this repeated sequence no partial gap could be discerned. A sequence of at least two complete columns on either side of the partial column is necessary for this filling-in to occur. This implies that the visual system must be integrating information over several frames and that the result of this computation influences the perception of subsequent spatially adjacent frames.
Effect of Foliar Boron Fertilization of Fine Textured Soils on Corn Yields

Boron (B) is an essential micronutrient needed for normal plant growth and development. To evaluate the response of corn to foliar B applications at V4-V6 (4-6 leaves with visible collars) and VT (tasseling) growth stages on fine textured soils, a field experiment was conducted at four sites from 2008 to 2010 in Northeast Missouri. The treatments included a non-treated control; V4-V6 applied B at 0.56, 1.12 and 2.24 kg·ha −1 ; and VT applied B at 0.28, 0.56 and 1.12 kg·ha −1 . Foliar B, applied at V4-V6 at 2.24 kg·ha −1 , resulted in higher yields than VT applications. No significant differences in yield were found for B applications at different timings for concentrations of 0.56 and 1.12 kg·ha −1 . Boron applied at V4-V6 and 2.24 kg·ha −1 increased yield 0.29 Mg·ha −1 compared to the non-treated control. The B applications at VT increased ear leaf tissue B concentration compared to V4-V6 applications and non-treated control, but it had no significant effect on corn yields. No significant difference between B treatments was observed for grain oil, protein, starch or extractable starch concentration; severity of anthracnose stalk rot or common rust; and ear tip fill. The B application of 2.24 kg·ha −1 at V4-V6 decreased the severity of gray leaf spot, but increased the severity of northern leaf blight compared to the non-treated control. Boron applied at V4-V6 at 2.24 kg·ha −1 was the most beneficial timing and concentration evaluated in these fine textured soils.
The thorium isotope content of ocean water

232Th concentrations of surface and deep Pacific Ocean waters are 0.01–0.02 dpm/1000 kg (60 pgm/kg). The230Th activity is 0.03–0.13 dpm/1000 kg in surface waters and 0.3–2.7 dpm/1000 kg in deep waters. Chemical residence times based on in situ production from parent isotopes are about the same for230Th and228Th in surface waters (1–5 years) but are ten times greater for230Th in deep waters (10–100 years). Apparently there are additional sources of230Th into deep waters. At MANOP site S manganese nodule tops are enriched in Th isotopes by adsorption of Th from seawater and not by incorporation of Th-rich particulates.
Postnatal development of the Sertoli cell barrier, tubular lumen, and cytoskeleton of Sertoli and myoid cells in the rat, and their relationship to tubular fluid secretion and flow.

The postnatal development of the Sertoli cell barrier, tubular lumen, fluid flow, and cytoskeletal elements in Sertoli and myoid cells was investigated in the Sprague-Dawley rat. With the aid of hypertonic fixatives, a barrier to the rapid entry of fluid was noted in the majority of tubules on the 15th and 16th postnatal (p.n.) days and was completely formed in all tubules prior to p.n. day 18. The actin forming the ecto-plasmic specialization (ES), a cytoskeletal complex related to the occluding junctions composing the barrier, began its development during the period of initial barrier formation (16 p.n. day) and progressively attained its adult prominence. The ES developed its characteristic adult pattern and adult fluorescent intensity at about p.n. day 22. Some seminiferous tubules showed very small lu-mina as early as p.n. day 10. All tubules were not open until p.n. day 30. The size (diameter) of the lumen increased slowly from p.n. day 10 until p.n. day 30 when it started to increase rapidly until about p.n. day 50. Fluid flow in seminiferous tubules was detected as early as p.n. day 20 and increased in amount thereafter. Myoid cell actin filament bundles, running in parallel, were present at p.n. day 10. Actin formed a meshwork pattern characteristic of the adult on, or slightly prior to, p.n. day 22. These data indicate that there is a temporal relationship between the development of the actin cytoskeleton within the Sertoli cell and initial formation of the Sertoli cell barrier. Similarly, there is a temporal relationship between the development of the actin cytoskeleton of myoid cells and tubular fluid flow. The rapid increase in tubular lumen diameter, however, does not correlate with the initial development of Sertoli and myoid cytoskeletal elements.
First-graders’ spatial-mathematical reasoning about plane and solid shapes and their representations

The primary goal of the study was to explore first-grade children’s reasoning about plane and solid shapes across various kinds of geometric representations. Children were individually interviewed while completing a shape-matching task developed for this study. This task required children to compose and decompose geometric figures to identify geometric shapes that either matched or did not match the stimulus shape. The stimulus shapes were 2D diagrams of plane and solid-shape geometric figures. The results showed that children overestimated the significance of triangular vertices (“pointiness”); certain kinds of scaling demands gave children trouble in shape classification; children had trouble translating lines found in 2D diagrams into 3D visual boundaries, especially where projected curvature was involved; and that children had difficulty reasoning consistently across the task. Implications for future research as well as teaching recommendations are discussed.
Student Presentations of Case Studies to Illustrate Core Concepts in Soil Biogeochemistry

Soil biogeochemistry, a discipline that explores the chemical speciation and transformations of elements in soils and the relationships between soils and global biogeochemical cycles, is becoming a popular course offering because it unites themes from a number of other courses. In this article, we present a set of case studies that have been used as the basis for student presentations and student-lead discussion. These case studies were specifically chosen because they focus on modern problems that illustrate key concepts in the course material and communicate an issue of significant concern or interest to society. The exercise helps to forge a linkage between the subjects discussed in the course and real-world issues. Presentations were used as a starting point for classroom discussion to encourage active participation on the part of the students. Instructor and student evaluations both indicated that the assignment was valuable as a learning aid to most students, and may have helped to connect course materials to more practical real-world examples.
Investigation of tigecycline bactericidal activity: Optimisation of laboratory testing

Abstract The objectives of this study were to optimise the conditions for bactericidal testing of tigecycline and to investigate its bactericidal activity against clinical isolates of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Tigecycline is the first in a new class of glycylcycline antibiotics exhibiting in vitro activity against a broad range of bacteria, including multidrug-resistant organisms. Its bactericidal activity in vitro has not been extensively investigated using multiple test conditions. Five growth media comprising Mueller Hinton broth, Minimum Essential Medium of Eagle, Ham F-12, RPMI 1640 and Iso-Sensitest broth (ISB) with and without surfactant (Tween 80) were investigated in vitro to assess tigecycline bactericidal activity. Clinical isolates of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus , meticillin-susceptible S. aureus , Escherichia coli , Klebsiella pneumoniae and Enterococcus spp., representing the majority of clinically relevant bacteria, were evaluated for the impact of test conditions on the tigecycline minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC), ISB with 0.02% Tween 80 most efficiently demonstrated the bactericidal action of tigecycline when evaluated in 64 well-characterised clinical isolates and was considered as the optimal bactericidal test medium. Using this condition, tigecycline approached 56% bactericidal activity with 3 log 10 reduction in CFUs at 72 h incubation. Bactericidal action increased to 80% of strains when 2 log 10 reduction was used as the endpoint. Only Enterococcus spp. showed no bactericidal response in this analysis. Tigecycline exhibited a bactericidal effect in vitro against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. At the tested in vitro conditions, tigecycline MICs were unchanged regardless of the different test media used.
International marginal abatement costs of non-CO2 greenhouse gases

Abstract This analysis develops country-specific non-CO2 greenhouse gas abatement cost estimates that can be incorporated into economic models, allowing the abatement options for these gases to be compared with the abatement of CO2. The data are based on official government emission projections or Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change guidelines for estimating emissions, on existing engineering-economic studies, and on available country- or region-specific economic data. The results of the analysis are presented as marginal abatement curves for countries that are major sources of emissions, including Russia, China, the United States and Ukraine.
Diabetes and Obesity Risks in African American Young Adult Freshmen Attending a Historically Black College/University

Convincing African American and other young adults that obesity increases their risk for diabetes and its complications is challenging for health educators and clinicians. At a historically Black university (HBCU) this question was examined, Do overweight and obese African American freshmen have higher risks for diabetes through low physical activ- ity or toning and poor nutritional habits? Survey data found 40% of the 101 respondents sampled there were obese (defined as body mass index of 30 or more kg/m 2 ), which is a higher proportion of obesity than found in other college health surveys. Scores reflect - ing higher risks of diabetes mellitus were significantly related to higher BMI values and low aerobic physical activity. Students had low levels of physical activity and toning than reported in general college populations. To reduce diabetes-disparity risks and obesity- related behaviors, African American younger adult freshmen may benefit from effective intervention strategies targeting them.
Deep maxout networks for low-resource speech recognition

As a feed-forward architecture, the recently proposed maxout networks integrate dropout naturally and show state-of-the-art results on various computer vision datasets. This paper investigates the application of deep maxout networks (DMNs) to large vocabulary continuous speech recognition (LVCSR) tasks. Our focus is on the particular advantage of DMNs under low-resource conditions with limited transcribed speech. We extend DMNs to hybrid and bottleneck feature systems, and explore optimal network structures (number of maxout layers, pooling strategy, etc) for both setups. On the newly released Babel corpus, behaviors of DMNs are extensively studied under different levels of data availability. Experiments show that DMNs improve low-resource speech recognition significantly. Moreover, DMNs introduce sparsity to their hidden activations and thus can act as sparse feature extractors.
Evaluation of Pyranine Derivatives in Boronic Acid Based Saccharide Sensing: Significance of Charge Interaction Between Dye and Quencher in Solution and Hydrogel

In an ongoing program to synthesize a glucose sensing polymer that could be used for real time glucose monitoring in vivo, we have been exploring the use of boronic acid functional viologens as glucose responsive quenchers for fluorescent dyes. The present study focuses on the effect of ionic interactions between pyranine or its various sulfonamide derivatives and the viologen quenchers. Dyes bearing anionic groups were quenched more efficiently when compared to dyes with nonionic substituents. The anionic dyes in conjunction with the cationic quenchers exhibited a broader range of glucose response both in solution and when immobilized in a hydrogel. The interaction of glucose with the sensing components was similar whether they are soluble or immobilized.
On the statistical theory of turbulence

G. I. Taylor (1) gave an important impetus to the statistical theory of turbulence by introducing the concept of "isotropic" turbulence, defined by the feature that the mean squares and mean products of the velocity components and of their derivatives are invariant with respect to rotation and reflection of the coordinate axes.
Examination of the significant placebo effect in the treatment of interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome.

Objective To examine the significant “placebo effect” in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome trial. Randomized clinical trials are the reference standard for therapeutic impact assessment. However, proving efficacy of treatments for interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome with rigorous placebo-controlled trials is difficult due to a significant effect of the placebo intervention. Methods Interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome patients were randomized to receive subcutaneous adalimumab or subcutaneous placebo every 2 weeks for 12 weeks and outcome measures were assessed. Results Of the 43 patients, 21 received adalimumab and 22 received placebo. Of the patients who received placebo, there was a statistically significant improvement demonstrated in the O'Leary-Sant Interstitial Cystitis Symptom and Problem Indexes of −8.1 (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.0-13.2), Interstitial Cystitis Symptom Index of −3.7 (95% CI, 0.9-6.5), Interstitial Cystitis Problem Index of −4.4 (95% CI, 2.0-6.8), and Pelvic Pain, Urgency, Frequency scale of −6.9 (95% CI, 2.8-11.0) at week 12 compared with baseline. Most of the significantly improved placebo patients felt their improvement was because they were more conscientious about following physician advice and feeling less stress while in the study. Conclusion Patients with moderate to severe interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome had significant improvement after receiving only advice and support. This intervention is risk free and inexpensive. Physicians should review standard advice with all interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome patients before starting medical therapy.
The Quantitative Removal and Recovery of Chlorine and Bromine from Air Streams with 2,1,3-Benzoselenadiazole

Abstract The affinity of 2,1,3-Benzeneselenadiazole (piaselenole) for dimeric chlorine and bromine has been investigated. A 1:1 adduct is formed between piaselenole and both molecular C12 and Br2. At slow flow rates, piaselenole quantitatively removes halogens from contaminated air strcams. The adducts, upon reaction with water or gentle heating in an oil solution, liberates the halogen and regenerates the piaselenole.
Adding Percentiles of Erlangian Distributions

In networking, enterprise computing and many other areas the issue of adding percentiles of a performance metric, such as the response time, arises regularly. Percentiles cannot be added using the arithmetic sum, and surprisingly there are no known formulae that permit us to do so correctly. In this paper, we obtain an exact analytical expression for adding percentiles of random variables which can be represented by a series of generalized exponential stages (e.g., Erlang, hypoexponential and two-stage Coxian). We demonstrate the applicability of our results by an example in which we use our expressions in the Dijkstra's algorithm to calculate the shortest 'percentile delay' path.
The relationship between anterior tibial shear force during a jump landing task and quadriceps and hamstring strength

Abstract Background Eccentric quadriceps contraction during landing and the resulting anterior tibial shear force are anterior cruciate ligament injury risk factors, while hamstring contraction limits anterior cruciate ligament loading. Anterior tibial shear force is derived from quadriceps and hamstring co-contraction, and a greater quadriceps/hamstring strength ratio has been associated with heightened lower extremity injury risk. The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate relationships between anterior tibial shear force during landing and quadriceps and hamstring strength. Methods Anterior tibial shear force was calculated during a jump landing task in 26 healthy females. Isokinetic eccentric quadriceps strength and concentric hamstrings strength were assessed at 60°/s, 180°/s, and 300°/s. Correlational analyses were conducted to evaluate relationships between lower extremity strength and anterior tibial shear force. Findings Quadriceps ( r = 0.126 to 0.302, P > 0.05) and hamstrings strength ( r = −0.019 to 0.058, P > 0.05) and the quadriceps/hamstring ratio ( r = 0.036 to 0.127, P > 0.05) were not significant predictors of anterior tibial shear force. Interpretation Quadriceps and hamstring strength are not indicative of sagittal-plane knee loading during landing. Contractile force resulting from maximal strength testing may not represent that produced during landing, as it is unlikely that landing requires maximal effort. Additionally, peak anterior tibial shear force, quadriceps torque, and hamstrings torque are generated at different points in the knee flexion/extension range of motion. Therefore, peak anterior tibial shear force is a function of the available strength at a given point in the range of motion rather than of peak strength. These findings illustrate the limitations of peak strength values in predicting dynamic loading during landing.
Colonic Mucosal Fatty Acid Synthase as an Early Biomarker for Colorectal Neoplasia: Modulation by Obesity and Gender

Background: We have previously reported that colonic pericryptal microvascular blood flow is augmented in the premalignant colonic epithelium, highlighting the increased metabolic demand of the proliferative epithelium as a marker of field carcinogenesis. However, its molecular basis is unexplored. In this study, we assessed the expression of a regulator of the "lipogenic switch," fatty acid synthase (FASN), in early colon carcinogenesis for its potential biomarker utility for concurrent neoplasia. Methods: FASN expression (IHC) in the colonic epithelium from azoxymethane and polyposis in rat colon (Pirc) models of colorectal cancer was studied. FASN mRNA expression from endoscopically normal rectal mucosa was evaluated and correlated with colonoscopic findings (pathologic confirmation of neoplasia). Results: FASN expression progressively increased from premalignant to malignant stage in the azoxymethane model (1.9- to 2.5-fold; P < 0.0001) and was also higher in the adenomas compared with adjacent uninvolved mucosa (1.8- to 3.4-fold; P < 0.001) in the Pirc model. Furthermore, FASN was significantly overexpressed in rectal biopsies from patients harboring adenomas compared with those with no adenomas. These effects were accentuated in male (� 2-fold) and obese patients (1.4-fold compared with those with body mass index < 30). Overall, the performance of rectal FASN was excellent (AUROC of 0.81). Conclusions: FASN is altered in the premalignant colonic mucosa and may serve as a marker for colonic neoplasia present elsewhere. The enhanced effects in men and obesity may have implications for identifying patient subgroups at risk for early-onset neoplasia. Impact: These findings support the role of rectal FASN expression as a reliable biomarker of colonic neoplasia. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 23(11); 2413–21. � 2014 AACR.
Online Tracking of Component Interactions for Failure Detection and Localization in Distributed Systems

This paper proposes a novel failure-detection approach that can handle high-dimensional observation and frequent system changes. We extract two statistics from the subspace decomposition of observations, and use the mixture of Gaussians to model their probability density. Instead of monitoring the original data, the density model of extracted statistics is adaptively updated and examined regularly to detect failures. We also present a localization method to identify the faulty components once the failure happens. Applying our technique to monitor the component interactions in an e-commerce application shows satisfactory results in detecting a variety of injected failures.
Intimate partner violence and incidence of hypertension in women

Abstract Purpose Intimate partner violence, a prevalent stressor for women, may influence the risk of cardiovascular disease. We estimated the association between intimate partner violence and the development of hypertension, an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease, in the Nurses' Health Study II cohort. Methods Intimate partner violence measures included adult lifetime physical and sexual partner violence and the Women's Experiences with Battering Scale, which ascertained women's subjective experience of recent emotional abuse. Physician-diagnosed hypertension was self-reported on biennial questionnaires. We used Cox proportional hazards models to estimate the association between report of intimate partner violence in 2001 and incidence of hypertension from 2001 through 2007. Results Of 51,434 included respondents, 22% reported being physically hurt, and 10% reported being forced into sexual activities at some point in adulthood by an intimate partner. After adjustment for confounders, physical and sexual abuse were not associated with hypertension. However, women reporting the most severe emotional abuse had a 24% increased rate of hypertension (hazard ratio 1.24; 95% confidence interval: 1.02–1.53) compared with women unexposed to emotional abuse. Conclusions The risk of hypertension appears to be increased in the small number of women recently exposed to severe emotional abuse.
PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS AND SLEEP

There is growing experimental evidence that the relationship between psychiatric disorders and sleep is complex and includes bidirectional causation. This article provides the evidence that supports this point of view, reviewing data on sleep disturbances seen in patients with psychiatric disorders as well as data on the impact of sleep disturbances on psychiatric conditions. Although much has been learned about the psychiatric disorders-sleep relationship, additional research is needed to better understand the relationship. Such work promises to improve comprehension of these phenomena and lead to better treatment for the many patients with sleep disorders and psychiatric disorders.
Optimal Asset Location and Allocation with Taxable and Tax-Deferred Investing

We investigate the optimal intertemporal asset allocation and location decisions for an investor with both taxable and tax-deferred investment opportunities. With unrestricted borrowing opportunities, the investor optimally allocates his entire tax-deferred wealth to taxable bonds and combines either borrowing or lending with investment in equity in the taxable account to achieve his optimal overall risk exposure. When the investor is prohibited from borrowing, the optimal asset allocation in his tax-deferred account may consist of both bonds and stocks, but only if the wealth in his taxable account is allocated entirely to equity. The preference for holding taxable bonds in the tax-deferred account and equity in the taxable account reflects the higher ordinary income on bonds and the tax avoidance strategies available on equity. The effect of liquidity shocks on the optimal asset location policy is also examined. Our results are in striking contrast to the asset location choices observed in practice.
On MIMO capacity in the ultra-wideband regime

We consider multiple antenna communication over a wideband, non-coherent Rayleigh block fading channel. As the available power is spread over a large bandwidth, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) per degree of freedom is low for these channels. While the capacity of multiple antenna channels in the high SNR regime has recently become well understood, the low SNR regime has been scantily studied. We explore the interaction among transmit antennas, coherence time, SNR and receive antennas for time-varying channels at low SNR, with no channel state information at either the transmitter or receiver. We obtain a necessary criterion the coherence length of the non-coherent channel must satisfy, for a certain rate to be achievable. This derivation also tells us how large the coherence length necessarily needs to be, for the non-coherent channel to have a "near" coherent performance.
A process of re-engineering large and complicated systems

For very large and old systems the program source code is often the only reliable representation. Supporting documentation for system maintenance can be extracted from the source code by a reverse engineering process, which is similar to that used in electrical engineering. Program schematics alone are enough to perform the re-engineering process of decomposition. The example shows that there is no need for semantic description of all units and circuits while decomposing the system. To identify all program statements which are involved in a particular application, the formal documentation reverse engineered from the source code is often enough-the majority of functional names are not needed, just a flow of transfers of control. It means that irrespective of the size and complexity of a system, it can formally be described without the intensive involvement of a maintainer. Separate applications identified from this formal documentation can then be enriched by gradually adding a semantic content within each application until this application becomes easy to read and understand. >
Understanding Global Cultures: Metaphorical Journeys Through 17 Countries

The article reviews the book “Understanding Global Cultures: Metaphorical Journeys Through 17 Countries,” by Martin J. Gannon.
EFFECTS OF ELEVATED CO2 AND DEFOLIATION ON GRASSES: A COMPARATIVE ECOSYSTEM APPROACH

Three plant species from each of three grassland ecosystems were grown under elevated (700 mL/m 3 ) and ambient (350 mL/m 3 )C O 2 and were defoliated or left undefoliated to test whether species response to elevated CO 2 and grazing is related to evolutionary grazing history or to mode of photosynthesis. The three ecosystems represented a tropical grassland dominated by C4 species (the Serengeti of Africa), a temperate grassland dominated by a mixture of C3 and C4 species (Flooding Pampa of South America), and a northern temperate grassland dominated by C3 species (Yellowstone National Park of North America). Plants were grown in growth chambers under common conditions to compare relative responses to grazing and elevated CO2. Elevated CO2 caused an increase in total biomass and total productivity (biomass 1 clippings) only in Yellowstone species, and increases in growth occurred primarily in crowns and roots (storage organs). There were no significant CO 2 effects on biomass or productivity in Serengeti or Flooding Pampa species, and no CO2 effects on aboveground biomass or productivity (aboveground biomass 1 clippings) in species from any of the three ecosys- tems. Since aboveground plant parts are the portions that are available to grazing mammals, this suggests that increased atmospheric CO2 may not affect food quantity in these three grasslands. There was no interaction between CO2 and defoliation for any species; thus, it appears that herbivores will not affect how grasses respond to elevated CO 2 (at least under average nutrient conditions). Elevated CO2 caused a reduction in leaf percentage of N in species from Yellowstone and Flooding Pampa (especially the C3 species, Briza subaristata), but not in Serengeti species. Because the quantity of food was unaffected by the CO2 treatments and forage N was reduced, grazing mammals in Yellowstone (elk, Cervus ela- phus, and bison, Bison bison) and the Flooding Pampa (cattle) may be negatively affected. Responses to defoliation were fairly consistent among ecosystems in aboveground pro- ductivity, which did not differ between defoliated and undefoliated plants, and in leaf water potentials and percentage of N, both of which increased in response to defoliation. However, differences among ecosystems were found for crown and root biomass in response to defoliation: Serengeti species, on average, had higher crown and similar root biomasses after defoliation, whereas defoliated species from the other two ecosystems had reduced crown and root biomass. We suggest that the lower intensity and increased temporal variance in grazing pressure in Yellowstone vs. the Serengeti, selected for plants that shift allocation away from roots and crowns in order to compensate for aboveground herbivory.
SIGNALING TO THE ACTIN CYTOSKELETON IN PLANTS

Plants have developed finely tuned, cellular mechanisms to respond to a variety of intrinsic and extrinsic stimuli. In several examples, these responses necessitate rearrangements of the cytoplasm that are coordinated by a network of actin microfilaments and microtubules, dynamic polymers collectively known as the cytoskeleton. This review focuses on five different cellular responses in which the actin cytoskeleton redistributes following extracellular stimulation: pollen tube tip growth and the self-incompatibility response; root hair responses to bacterial nodulation factors; light-mediated plastid positioning; nonhost resistance to fungal attack; and guard cell shape and turgor changes. For each of these systems, there is reasonable knowledge about what signals induce the plant response and the function(s) of the actin rearrangement. This review aims to build beyond a description of cytoskeletal changes and look at specific actin-binding proteins that have been implicated as effectors of each response, as sites of action for second messengers, and as fundamental coordinators of actin dynamics.
Affiliate directors and perceived risk bearing in publicly traded, family-controlled firms: The case of diversification

The present study examines the influence exerted by affiliate directors in the diversification decisions of family–controlled, publicly traded firms. Using a relational view based on the developmen...
Diverse therapeutic targets and biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias: report on the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation 2012 International Conference on Alzheimer's Drug Discovery

The Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation's 13th International Conference on Alzheimer's Drug Discovery was held on 10-11 September 2012 in Jersey City, NJ, USA. This meeting report provides an overview of Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation-funded programs, ranging from novel biomarkers to accelerate clinical development to drug-discovery programs with a focus on targets related to neuroprotection, mitochondrial function, apolipoprotein E and vascular biology.
A Survey of Epidermolysis Bullosa Care in the United States and Canada

Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is a group of rare, inherited, blistering diseases that typically present in infancy. EB is not curable, and treatment is entirely supportive. There is a paucity of standardized recommendations to guide management. To assess the current state of EB care, an original online survey was conducted targeting attending physicians experienced with the care of EB. Members of the Society for Pediatric Dermatology residing in the United States and Canada served as the source pool. Parameters assessed included clinic visits, availability of subspecialists, and performance of surveillance studies. Fifty-six completed surveys were analyzed. Most providers saw between 1 and 10 individuals with EB per year in a general dermatology clinic. For each EB type there was considerable variation in the frequency of clinic visits, availability and use of specialists, and use of laboratory and imaging studies. Some agreement was observed in the frequency of follow-up for infants with more severe EB types, as well as for the components of a history, physical, and routine laboratory studies. These findings describe variations in the current state of EB care that pediatric dermatologists provide. The development and acceptance of evidence-based guidelines and outcome measures may lead to greater uniformity in EB care.
Regulation of sensitivity in the peripheral chemoreceptor systems for host-seeking behaviour by a haemolymph-borne factor in Aedes aegypti

Abstract The taking of a blood meal and subsequent development of eggs by a female mosquito is reported to suppress host-seeking behaviour. This change in behaviour may be partly mediated by changes in certain chemosensitive antennal afferent neurones that influence the behaviour of female mosquitoes. Electrophysiological activity of the lactic acid-excited neurons to lactic acid—a normal host-attractant substance—is depressed following a blood meal. This reduction in lactic acid sensitivity is coincident with the reported inhibition of host-seeking behaviour. The reduction in lactic acid sensitivity is reversible; this sensitivity returns to the pre-blood-fed level following oviposition. Like the inhibition of host-seeking behaviour, the reduced lactic acid sensitivity is due to a transfusable, haemolymph-borne factor. A role for the peripheral sensory system in the control of behaviour in female mosquitoes is discussed.
TREATMENT OF MALABSORPTION AND DIARRHEA OF THE CARCINOID SYNDROME WITH METHYSERGIDE.

Summary Methysergide therapy was considered effective in controlling malabsorption and diarrhea in 2 patients and diarrhea in 4 of 5 other patients with the carcinoid syndrome. Evidence which implicates the overproduction of serotonin as being responsible for both diarrhea and malabsorption of the syndrome is cited.
The effects of ageing condition on shear localization from the tip of a notch in maraging steel

An experimental investigation of shear localization at the tip of a notch in several material states of 300 maraging steel is reported. Side-impacted edge-notched plates were tested in the under-aged, peak-aged, and over-aged conditions, and the critical impact velocity above which shear localization occurs at the notch tip is reported for a notch root radius of 175 μm. It is found that the critical minimum impact velocity required for shear localization is independent of the ageing condition. Next, the propagation of shear localization in two of the three ageing conditions is recorded using high speed photography at framing rates of 480 000 frames per second. It is seen that, within the uncertainty of the experimental method, shear localization initiates at approximately the same time and stress intensity factor for the two materials. A heavy dependence of the shear band propagation speed and final length upon the ageing condition is seen. For the conditions examined shear failure is seen to propagate at an average velocity of 1000 m s-1 in peak-aged material and 300 m s-1 in under-aged material. The peak-aged material fails fully by shear while the shear failure in under-aged material arrests and is followed by tensile failure. This result demonstrates the effect of material strength, roughly independent of the strain hardening characteristics for these materials, on shear localization propagation. The effects of the specimen and projectile geometry on the results are examined qualitatively using elastodynamic finite element analysis of the stationary notch tip loading. © 1998 Chapman & Hall
Production of benthic macroinvertebrate communities along a southern Appalachian river continuum

1. Annual production was estimated for macroinvertebrate communities of principle habitats along a first- to seventh-order river continuum in the southern Appalachian Mountains (U.S.A.). Annual production was relatively low in depositional habitats, pebble/gravel substrata, and on cobble devoid of plant biomass (mosses and hydrophytes). Production was greater in bedrock habitats and greatest on hydrophyte-covered cobble, with estimates reaching 364 g AFDM (ash-free dry mass)m–2 yr–1 in a sixth-order river reach. Annual production in depositional habitats was correlated to standing crops of benthic organic material (BOM) in low-order stream reaches but not in higher-order reaches, indicating differences in BOM availability with stream size. In cobble, pebble/gravel and bedrock habitats production was significantly correlated to standing crops of aquatic plants, which can stabilize substrata and enhance access of collector-filtering invertebrates to entrained food resources. 2. By accounting for proportional availability of habitats along the continuum, estimates of total production ranged from 5 to 154 g AFDM m–2 yr–1, and increased significantly with stream size. Annual production estimated for sixth- and seventh-order reaches of the continuum were amongst the highest reported thus far for lotic systems. Organization of the benthic community along the continuum, based on production estimates for individual functional feeding-groups, generally supported predictions of the River Continuum Concept (RCC): shredder contributions were greatest in low-order reaches and declined downstream; scraper percentages were greatest in the middle of the continuum; collector-filterer contributions increased with increasing stream size. Longitudinal trends for collector-gatherers and predators did not support RCC predictions; these groups appeared to be influenced by localized changes in habitat availability and occurrence of vertebrate predators along the continuum.
A Memoir for Andrew Isserman

In this short memoir, I try to recall some of my impressions of Andrew Isserman as well as offering an appreciation of his recent teaching activities.
Survey of bulk tank milk using blood-esculin agar counts

Milk from bulk tanks of 2,931 dairy herds were sampled and evaluated using trypticase blood-esculin agar, somatic cell, standard plate and preliminary incubation counts. Percent samples with trypticase blood-esculin agar counts >1 × 102 colony forming units/ml by organisms were Staphylococcus aureus , 33; Staphylococcus spp., 84; Streptococcus agalactiae , 47; esculin-positive streptococci, 72; coliforms, 73; and other microbes, 89. Trypticase blood-esculin agar counts were useful for identifying primary bacterial contaminants. Correlations were low between trypticase blood-esculin agar counts of specific bacterial groups and somatic cell, standard plate and preliminary incubation counts.
The Societal Infrastructures and Development Project (SID): Gauging Differences in Institutional Designs

This PowerPoint presentation provides an overview of a an on-going program of research on national institutions, societal contexts and societal welfare, broadly defined.
Recent Advances in Understanding and Managing Tourette Syndrome

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurologic and behavioral disorder consisting of motor and phonic tics with onset in childhood or adolescence. The severity of tics can range from barely perceptible to severely impairing due to social embarrassment, discomfort, self-injury, and interference with daily functioning and school or work performance. In addition to tics, most patients with TS have a variety of behavioral comorbidities, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Studies evaluating the pathophysiology of tics have pointed towards dysfunction of the cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuit, but the mechanism of this hyperkinetic movement disorder is not well understood. Treatment of TS is multidisciplinary, typically involving behavioral therapy, oral medications, and botulinum toxin injections. Deep brain stimulation may be considered for “malignant” TS that is refractory to conventional therapy. In this review, we will highlight recent developments in the understanding and management strategies of TS.
Hemorrhagic Cerebellar Abscess

Background Brain abscess represents a significant medical problem, accounting for 1 in every 10,000 U.S. hospital admissions and imposing a mortality of 17%–32%. Treatment success depends on early diagnosis, allowing for prompt intervention before a potentially catastrophic rupture. However, diagnosis can be difficult because currently no magnetic resonance imaging signal characteristics are pathognomonic. The presence of hemorrhage may further complicate the radiographic detection of an abscess, potentially leading to delayed treatment. Clinical Presentation A 71-year-old man was diagnosed with hemorrhagic cerebellar abscess as a complication of groin abscess after cardiac catheterization. After surgical resection of the cerebellar abscess and culture-based antibiotic treatment, the patient suffered repeat hemorrhages into the abscess cavity, of which he died. We describe his clinical course with emphasis on radiology-based differential diagnosis. We also describe the possible pathogenesis of this rare case, based on review of the literature. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first report on recurrent hemorrhages in a cerebellar abscess. Hemorrhagic brain abscess has a complex radiologic appearance, which may delay diagnosis and treatment. A high degree of clinical suspicion is necessary to ensure timely treatment of this potentially lethal lesion.
Role of areoles on prey abundance and diversity in the hooded pitcher plant (Sarracenia minor, Sarraceniaceae)

The hooded pitcher plant, Sarracenia minor, is a carnivorous facultative wetland species native to the southeastern USA and is listed as threatened by the state of Florida. Pitchers of S. minor possess white, semitranslucent spots (areoles), which have been hypothesized to aid in the capture of prey (= visual lures) by increasing the amount of light entering the back of the hood, which persuades insects to enter and fall into the base of the pitcher. In this study, the role of the areoles in prey capture abundance and diversity were experimentally investigated under variable lighting conditions in situ. Plants in two populations experiencing different light intensities, which varied in the amount of canopy cover and incident light reaching the plants, were experimentally manipulated by coloring varying percentages of areoles, ranging from 0 to 100 % (in increments of 25 %), with indelible ink. After 2 months, pitchers were collected and dissected to determine the number and identity of prey captured (approximately 18,000 prey were sampled). Although total prey abundance was approximately five times higher at McGirt’s Creek (sunny site) compared to UNF (shaded site), the effect of areoles on prey capture rates and biodiversity was site dependent. Reducing the number of visual lures of plants at the sunny site produced a significant decrease in the number of prey captured, but prey biodiversity (community composition) was unaffected. However, total prey capture was unaffected at the shaded site, while prey biodiversity was negatively correlated with the percent of areoles colored. Results from the current study suggest that areoles conditionally act as visual lures, but their overall importance is dependent on local environmental variables—especially canopy cover and the amount of incident sunlight reaching the plants.
Estimating and interpreting the waiting time for customers arriving to a non-stationary queueing system

When a customer arrives to a service system, how long should they expect to wait, and how long might their wait actually be? Computer simulation is an ideal tool for answering such questions for very general and complex queueing systems, but they are not always answered by the automatic statistical summary generated by commercial simulation languages. Using an illustration based on passenger check-in at an airport, we demonstrate how standard summary measures go wrong and provide methods that correctly answer these questions.
Rheological Study of time/temperature dependent viscosity curves of mayonnaise

The shelf-life of mayonnaise is a major concern for manufacturers and restaurateurs especially in regions where adequate refrigeration is scrace. Temperature, climate and food additives affect the properties of mayonnaise. When subjected to torsional flow at constant temperature and stress, mayonnaise reveals a quasi-exponential time-dependent viscosity curve, with a shere thinning and temperature dependent phenomena. These behaviors cannot be characterized by a single well-known mathematical equation and thus must be fitted with additional piecewise functions.© 2003 ASME