cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Embracing variability in soils on smallholder farms: New tools and better science

Abstract A major challenge on smallholder farms is the tremendous heterogeneity of soil properties. This is at the same time an opportunity, as it is now feasible - at fine resolution - to quantify variability of soil organic carbon and other properties on farmer fields. This can provide unique insights for moving beyond conventional agriculture, which has largely relied on the use of large doses of inputs and average values. Alternative approaches are needed, ones that embrace heterogeneity rather than smooth it over. Two such alternatives are precision agriculture and ecological nutrient management. Such approaches can benefit from harnessing citizen science, open data and inexpensive monitoring. Specifically, on-farm, participatory experimentation can facilitate communication with farmers through local data, and generate new insights about soil processes and thresholds for crop and soil response as well as management options. Use cases are needed to document this process of integrating fine grained local soils data to improve knowledge and farmer decision making.
Stool microbiota are superior to saliva in distinguishing cirrhosis and hepatic encephalopathy using machine learning.

Abstract Background and Aims Salivary and stool microbiota are altered in cirrhosis. Since stool is logistically difficult to collect compared to saliva, it is important to determine their relative capability in differentiating groups. We aimed to determine the ability of stool versus salivary microbiota in differentiating between groups using machine learning (ML). Methods Controls and outpatients with cirrhosis underwent saliva and stool microbiome analysis. Controls vs cirrhosis and within cirrhosis [based on hepatic encephalopathy (HE), PPI and rifaximin use] were classified using four ML techniques [random forest (RF), support vector machine, logistic regression, and gradient boosting] with AUC comparisons for stool, saliva or both sample types. Individual microbial contributions were computed using feature importance of RF and Shapley additive explanations (SHAP). Finally, thresholds for including microbiota were varied between 2.5% to 10% presence and core microbiome (DESeq2) analysis was performed. Results 269 participants, including 87 controls and 182 patients with cirrhosis, of which 57 had HE, 78 were on PPI and 29 on rifaximin were included. Regardless of the ML model, stool microbiota had a significantly higher AUC in differentiating groups versus saliva. Individual microbiota driving the differentiations between controls versus cirrhosis were higher autochthonous taxa, oral-origin microbiota between PPI users and pathobionts and autochthonous taxa between rifaximin and HE patients. These were consistent with the core microbiome analysis results. Conclusions On ML analysis, stool microbiota composition are significantly more informative in differentiating between controls and patients with cirrhosis and those with varying cirrhosis severity compared to saliva. Despite logistic challenges, stool should be preferred over saliva for microbiome analysis. LAY SUMMARY Since it is harder to collect stool than saliva, we wanted to test whether microbes from saliva were better than stool in differentiating between healthy people and those with liver cirrhosis and those with worse disease within cirrhosis. Using machine learning, we found that microbes in stool were more accurate than saliva alone or in combination, therefore, stool should be preferred for analysis and collection wherever possible.
Crack-Wake Plasticity and Time-Dependent Bridging During Subcritical Crack Growth in CVI-SiC Reinforced with Nicalon Fibers

Time-dependent crack growth, referred to as subcriticai crack growth or slow crack growth (SCG), likely controls the long-term life of continuous-fiber-reinforced ceramic matrix composite (CFC) structural materials at elevated temperatures. The use of CFCs in systems where long-term stability is required demands resistance to time-dependent crack growth, as well as high-temperature corrosion. Subcriticai crack growth, or static fatigue, in glass1, 2, glass-ceramic3, and monolithic ceramics, such as alumina and silicon carbide4–11, have been extensively studied. Data for crack propagation shown on a log-log plot with crack velocity V as a function of applied stress intensity K typically show three distinct regions, referred to as regions I, II, and III. Region I exhibits a strong dependence of crack velocity on K such that the relationship V = AK n is obeyed once a threshold value of K, denoted as K th , is exceeded. Values of n can range from 4 to 30 or higher and n is a function of temperature, microstructure, and chemical environment.7–11 Higher values of n are associated with increased resistance to crack growth and n decreases with increasing temperature, decreasing grain size, and increasing corrosion rates. Region I behavior can be modeled by reaction rate theory and appears to be reaction rate limited. Region II, in contrast, exhibits a weak dependence on K and is observed in systems where diffusion of a critical chemical species to the crack-tip is rate controlling. Region II is not always observed in ceramics, especially at elevated temperatures.5–10 In region III the crack velocity again depends strongly on K and is, typically, independent of environment as K approaches K C and rapid crack growth ensues. For the majority of ceramics at elevated temperature the entire range of crack propagation can be represented by a single curve obeying V = AK n.
Critical success factors for innovation projects

A survey was conducted in a large food and beverage corporation, actively involved in innovation projects, to determine if critical success factors for innovation projects are different to those for other types of projects. As a result of the study, it was found that innovation projects have critical success factors that are similar to those in other types of projects: definition and understanding of project mission and goals, top management support, project planning, project user acceptance, contingency management, and project management. Factors related to the product, the company or the market are less important than factors related to the project, although relative product quality is also very important.
When Sleep Proves Impossible

Insomniac . By Gayle Greene . University of California Press, Berkeley, 2008. 517 pp. $29.95. ISBN 9780520246300. Drawing on her lifelong affliction with chronic insomnia and her interviews with neurologists, sleep researchers, physicians, psychiatrists, and fellow sufferers, the author weaves a wide-ranging account of the condition, its causes, and potential remedies.
Lessons Learned from the Shared Pathology Informatics Network (SPIN): A Scalable Network for Translational Research and Public Health

The article by McMurry et al. in the current issue of JAMIA describes an innovative architecture to support National Health Information Networks (NHIN) that comprises a “… distributed approach to data storage in order to protect privacy and enable strong institutional autonomy to engender participation. The architecture provides oversight and transparency to ensure patient trust and allows variable levels of access according to investigator needs and institutional policies, defining a self-scaling architecture that encourages voluntary regional collaborations that coalesce to form a nationwide network …”.1 This work moves informatics a critical step forward in providing an open architecture that can support translational research and interface with appropriate depth to systems for public heath and clinical care. This linkage is crucially important for the sharing of biospecimens, and a valuable resource in this “–omics” era. Modern molecular medicine drives the demand for extensively annotated tissue specimens for basic science and translational … Correspondence and reprints: Michael J. Becich, MD, PhD, Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Pittsburgh, 5230 Centre Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15232; e-mail: becich{at}pitt.edu)
Abstract P164: Lipid Management in Diabetes: the REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) Study

Background: The Look Ahead trial recently showed that lifestyle intervention did not lower the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) events in diabetes, emphasizing the importance of risk factor control. This is particularly important for blacks, who have higher risks of CHD mortality than whites. We examined race-sex differences in the prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of hyperlipidemia in a large national biracial cohort with diabetes. Methods: REGARDS recruited 30,239 black and white participants ≥ 45 years of age from the 48 continental US from 2003-2007. Telephone interviews were followed by in-home visits. This analysis included participants with physician/nurse diagnosed diabetes or treatment with diabetes medication or insulin. Hyperlipidemia was defined as low density lipoprotein cholesterol >100 mg/dL or statin use. We described the prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hyperlipidemia and calculated prevalence ratios and 95% confidence intervals comparing white men (WM) with other race-sex groups, adjusted for factors that influence health services use (sociodemographics, access to care, severity of diabetes, functional status, obesity, depressive symptoms and elevated high density lipoprotein cholesterol). Results: The race-sex distribution of the 6,497 participants with diabetes is shown in the Table. Although the prevalence of hyperlipidemia was 80-84% across race-sex groups, more white women (WW) (78%) and fewer black men (BM) (64%) were aware of their hyperlipidemia compared with WM (72%) and black women (BW) (71%). Compared to WM (80%) all other race-sex groups were less treated (WW 70%, BM 72%, BW 69%) and among the treated, less controlled (WM 77%, WW 71%, BM 62%, BW 54%). Results were similar after adjustment (Table). Conclusion: These disparities in treatment and control of hyperlipidemia in diabetes warrant further investigation, particularly among blacks, who are especially burdened by diabetes. Table. Prevalence ratios (95% CI) for hyperlipidemia prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control among participants with diabetes in REGARDS, n = 6,497.
Cdk6: Cyclin-dependent kinase-6 (vertebrates) (PLSTIIRE)

TThe cDNA encoded cyclin-dependent kinase-6 (Cdk6) was cloned via homology to the Cdc2/Cdc28 family and originally termed PLSTIRE. Like other Cdks, the Cdk6 subunit consists essentially of a catalytic domain only. Cdk6 is physically associated with, and activated by, D-type cyclins, including cyclin D1. A Cdk4/Cdk6 homologue has been isolated from Drosophila melanogaster, and Cdk6 is expressed in a wide variety of tissues. Among cell lines, Cdk6 expression appears to be elevated in hematopoietic cells.
What Next in Computer Technology

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the future advances in computer systems that are dependent on the full range of analog, digital, and hybrid hardware and techniques as they are on digital software. Future advances in computer applications demand a broader based familiarity and more comprehensive skill with the full complement of tools at disposal and not just an ability to write isolated digital computer software. It presents a highly diversified menu of articles on analog and digital hardware, software, and applications. The chapter articulates the computer hardware. It describes a number of new devices based upon recently discovered technological effects. These include new computer organizations based upon arrays of computers and stochastic machines, new memory devices using optical holographs and ratchet storage cells, and new circuit techniques that stem from stochastic signal representation. Physical limitations on size and speed of processing elements and systems are also discussed. The devices of novel configuration that have already seen prototype realization are also examined. The limitations on size and speed for devices, circuits, and systems are also described.
Renewing Haudenosaunee Ties: Laura Cornelius Kellogg and the Idea of Unity in the Oneida Land Claim

On 10 October 1925 a ceremony was planned for the scenic fields behind the former tribal school in Oneida, Wisconsin. The event was expected to accomplish a number of goals: it would assert political authority by a group of Oneidas, establish traditional leadership of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy locally, and affirm the Wisconsin Oneida’s ties to the Confederacy to tribal and nontribal members.1 The local newspaper described the ceremony in terms that stressed both the quaint and exotic qualities of this seemingly anachronistic event. “Chanting the sacred installation ritual originated by Hiawatha and Chief Deganawida more than six hundred years ago, Chief George Van Avery, law giver of the Onondagas Indian nation, will raise to Chiefhood at Oneida tomorrow eighteen Oneida descendants of ancient chiefs at what promises to be one of the greatest and most picturesque Indian ceremonials held in Wisconsin since the days when Indian law was supreme. . . . Elaborate preparations, seeking to make the scene as realistic as possible, have been made.”2 The newspaper account is one of several about the Oneida in Wisconsin that appeared in the early twentieth century—stories that conveyed a continual sense of surprise at the ways the tribe had managed to remain different from the surrounding non-Native community even while the overall tone confidently reassured its readers that the Oneida were assimilating into American society. Newspapers were particularly interested in Native ceremonies, for they captured the public’s fascination with what was regarded as the foreign
Do Live-Well Temperatures Differ from Ambient Water During Black Bass Tournaments?

AbstractElevated water temperature has been shown to influence mortality during fishing tournaments. However, data on water conditions in live wells are lacking, and the benefits of managing live-well temperature are equivocal. The objective of the current study was to define water temperature in a live well during live-release black bass Micropterus spp. angling tournaments, and to compare live-well temperatures with ambient temperatures in the surrounding lake. For this, thermal loggers were added to live wells during three different tournaments (17 live wells across three tournaments), and anglers fished in the tournament using automatic live-well recirculating pumps (recirculation and aeration occurs and freshwater is pumped in). Live wells were found to be significantly cooler (˜1°C) than the epilimnion for two of the three tournaments examined, and 1°C warmer than the epilimnion in the other tournament examined. Based on these findings, fish held in live wells during black bass tournaments do not ap...
The Genogram: From Diagnostics to Mutual Collaboration:

In this article, the authors present the need for the integration of mutual client-therapist collaboration into the process of genogram construction and demonstrate through case examples from their...
The ‘special obligations’ of the modern Hippocratic Oath for 21st century medicine

Context Profound advances and discoveries in medicine have markedly improved the lives of many over the 50 years since the modern Hippocratic Oath was written. Regrettably, these advances were and continue to be implemented suboptimally and inequitably across the globe. ‘Special obligations to all my fellow humans’ is an important theme of the modern Oath. From this perspective, we reflect on the special obligations of the medical profession, and examine how these obligations have changed over the past 50 years. Methods We draw from perspectives of the social contract, professionalism, quality improvement, patient safety and a group of 31 international colleagues involved in medical education as we examine these obligations for individual doctors, health care institutions and medical education systems. The perspectives of the 31 clinician-educators helped us to situate the meaning of the theme of ‘special obligations’ in the context of challenges facing medical education and health care in the 21st century. Observations Improving the quality of care and patient safety, and reducing health care disparities are now paramount as ‘special obligations’ for doctors, health care systems and medical education organisations, and require us to work collectively and collaboratively in an increasingly interconnected world. In our view, traditions such as the Hippocratic Oath will be worthy of public support only when the medical profession demonstrates in meaningful and transparent ways that it is meeting its social and civic obligations to make the world, not just health care, a better place.
Discourses of whiteness and blackness: an ethnographic study of three young children learning to be white

In blatant, but nuanced and often invisible ways, racism continues to exist globally, nationally and locally, implicating us all. The insidious nature of racism is deeply rooted in the lives of young children. In order to interrupt and reverse those practices, we must know how race is constructed during the early years. This study looked closely at the lives of three white children to identify and examine discourses in their worlds that unveiled how they learned to be raced.
Abdominal ventral incisional herniorrhaphy: a brief review.

Despite ongoing research in wound healing and adoption of innovative closure and reparative techniques, abdominal incisional hernia remains a persistent problem. There have been few operative challenges more vexing in the history of surgery than the incisional hernia. It is a common long-term complication of laparotomy, occurring in 2% to 11% of patients after an abdominal operation. Until very recently, innovations in reparative techniques over the last century have shown relatively little improvement in outcome and recurrence rates, which have approached 50% after multiple corrective attempts. In addition, controversy surrounds those factors postulated to predispose patients to this surgical outcome. Some recently developed technical options, both open and laparoscopic, reportedly decrease the rate of incisional hernia recurrence. This review will discuss predisposing factors, diagnosis, and surgical options in the repair of abdominal incisional hernias.
Conjugated Macrocycles Related to the Porphyrins. 12.1 Oxybenzi- and Oxypyriporphyrins: Aromaticity and Conjugation in Highly Modified Porphyrinoid Structures

The “3 + 1” route for porphyrinoid synthesis is an excellent methodology for preparing aromatic porphyrin analogues with six-membered ring subunits. Condensation of 5-formylsalicylaldehyde with tripyrranes 15, 24, and 25 in the presence of 5% TFA-dichloromethane, followed by neutralization and oxidation with DDQ, afforded a series of semiquinone-containing porphyrinoids 12, 26, and 27 in 35−52% yield. In these novel systems, the macrocycle achieves aromatization by undergoing a keto−enol tautomerization whereby the phenolic subunit is transformed so that the inner three carbon atoms become part of the 18 π-electron aromatic core, whereas the outer carbons generate an enone unit. The aromatic nature of these “oxybenziporphyrins” is evident from their porphyrin-like electronic spectra and the presence of powerful diamagnetic ring currents in their proton NMR spectra, where the inner CH is shifted upfield to δ = −7 ppm, whereas the external meso-protons appear downfield between 8.8 and 10.3 ppm. The presence...
The neutral cluster amminehexa‐μ2‐chlorido‐μ4‐oxido‐tris(1,4,6‐triazabicyclo[3.3.0]oct‐4‐ene)tetracopper(II)

The title compound, [Cu4Cl6O(C5H9N3)3(NH3)], is a neutral conformationally chiral cluster which crystallizes under the conditions described in this paper as a racemic conglomerate. It contains four CuII atoms in a tetra­hedral coordination with a central O atom lying on a crystallographic threefold axis. Six chloride anions bridge the four CuII atoms. Three CuII atoms are bound by an N atom of a monodentate 1,4,6-triaza­bicyclo­[3.3.0]oct-4-ene (Htbo) ligand and the remaining CuII atom is bound by a terminal ammine ligand. The geometry at each copper center is trigonal bipyramidal, produced by the bound N atom of Htbo or ammonia, the O atom in the axial position, and three chloride ions in the equatorial plane. The chloride anions form an octa­hedron about the oxygen center. The copper–ammonia bond lies along the crystallographic threefold axis, along which the mol­ecules are packed in a polar head-to-tail fashion.
Inactivation of expression of gene 4 of mouse hepatitis virus strain JHM does not affect virulence in the murine CNS.

The protein encoded by ORF 4 of mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) is not required for growth of some strains in tissue culture cells, but its role in pathogenesis in the murine host has not been defined previously in a controlled manner. MHV strain JHM causes acute and chronic neurological diseases in susceptible strains of rodents. To genetically manipulate the structural proteins of this and other strains of MHV, we have generalized an interspecies-targeted RNA recombination selection that was originally developed for the A59 strain of MHV. Using this approach, a recombinant MHV-JHM was constructed in which gene 4 was genetically inactivated. Virus lacking gene 4 expression replicated in tissue culture cells with similar kinetics to recombinant virus in which gene 4 expression was not disrupted. Both types of viruses exhibited similar virulence when analyzed in a murine model of encephalitis. These results establish a targeted recombination system for inserting mutations into MHV-JHM. Furthermore, the protein encoded by ORF 4 is not essential for growth in tissue culture cells or in the CNS of the infected host.
Neutron scattering studies of C60 and its compounds

Abstract We describe neutron scattering studies of the structure and dynamics of C60-fullerite. Above the order-disorder phase transition temperature, Tc, diffraction and quasielastic scattering measurements indicate that the molecules are constantly reorienting while their centers remain on a face-centered cubic lattice. Below Tc the molecules are orientationally ordered with four molecules per unit cell. Recent diffraction results suggest that any given molecule occupies one of two possible orientations with unequal probability, and inelastic scattering measurements show that the molecules librate about their equilibrium orientations. The librational amplitude becomes large as the phase transition is approached. Pulsed source measurements yield direct information regarding the structure of the C60 molecule and also support the low temperature two-orientation model. High energy inelastic studies of undoped and alkali metal-doped buckminsterfullerene provide detailed information about intramolecular vibrational frequencies and point to the important role of specific modes in promoting superconductivity at low temperatures.
Use of Computer Experiments to Locate the Melting Transition and Calculate the Entropy in the Solid Phase

Modern computers can accurately simulate the behavior of idealized systems of several hundred particles, but they have trouble in studying the melting process in which small‐system surface effects make the transition irreversible. It is here suggested that a thermodynamically reversible path linking the solid and fluid phases can be obtained by using a periodic ``external field'' to stabilize the solid phase at low density. The properties of the artificially stabilized solid at low density are studied theoretically, and two practical schemes are outlined for determining the melting parameters by using computer‐calculated entropies.
A note on cohomology with limited torsion

In this note we prove that if a classx in a torsion free (ordinary) cohomology ring of a topological space satisfiesx p =py (p-a prime) thany p is divisible byp. The proof and the applications of this statement are related to the theory of secondary operations.
Low frequency vibrations and molecular structure of /CH3/2NPF2.

The far infrared spectrum, from 33 to 500 cm−1, of (CH3)2NPF2 has been recorded in both the gaseous and solid states. The Raman spectrum of both the liquid and solid was also recorded. The three low frequency PF2 and three NC2 bending modes as well as the P-N torsion have been assigned. If these bending modes are sensitive to conformational changes, as found in previous studies, then the molecule exists in only one conformation in the gaseous, liquid and solid states for the temperature range −190 to 150 °C. A methyl torsion was assigned at 189 cm−1 and a barrier to internal rotation of 2·1 kcal/mole was calculated. This low barrier value is discussed in terms of a planar NC2 moiety.
Atomically flat LPE-grown facets seen by scanning tunneling microscopy

Abstract On GaAs ( 1 1 1 ) facets grown by a slider-free LPE technique, atomically flat areas and growth steps 6.5 A high have been verified by the novel scanning tunneling microscopy. Nomarski interference contrast micrographs give a mean distance of the steps of 6 μm. These extremely flat and structurally perfect surfaces are thus nearly free of steps in contrast to surfaces and facets previously prepared.
Calculating the efficiency of dye sensitized solar cells with industry based silicon solar cells

Our senior design project deal with two types of solar cell technologies: industry standard Si-based and the emerging one based on novel dye sensitized materials. Dye sensitized solar cells will be fabricated in a laboratory setting. FTIR and Raman microscopy will be used to study the surface make-up of the novel solar cells. A thin film flexible photovoltaic cell will be characterized. The efficiency of the dye sensitized solar cells will be compared to that of thin film Si-based solar cells. We will design the experiments and perform measurements using LabView controlled data acquisition. The prospects to improve the efficiency of the novel solar cell technology will be discussed.
Endocrine changes in sows exposed to elevated ambient temperature during lactation

Abstract Seven sows were placed into one of two environmental chambers at 22 C, 5 d prior to farrowing. On day 9 of lactation, one chamber was changed to 30 C (n=4) and the other remained at 22 C (n=3). On days 24 and 25, blood samples were collected every 15 min for 9 hr and 7 hr, respectively. On day 24, thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) and gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) were injected iv at hour 8. On day 25 naloxone (NAL) was administered iv at hour 4 followed 2 hr later by iv injection of TRH and GnRH. Milk yield and litter weights were similar but backfat thickness (BF) was greater in 22 C sows (P
Some Correlates of Voter Participation: The Case of Indiana

Until recently the social sciences exhibited an unfortunate tendency to conduct a survey here and an experiment there, and to let it go at that. Ph.D. candidates, for example, prided themselves on not repeating a study "which had already been done." Actually, the opposite trend should prevail. Results should be checked and rechecked under both identical and varying conditions. The complexity of social life requires that the same problems be studied many times before basic uniformities can be differentiated from transitory social occurrences.1
Bone marrow uptake of liposome-entrapped spin label after liver blockade with empty liposomes.

Using an ESR spectrometer, we studied the time course of the uptake of the liposomeentrapped spin label 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpipendine-N-oxyl-4-tnmethylammonium in liver, spleen, and bone marrow following reticuloendothelial liver blockade. Our results show that suppression of the phagocytic activity of the liver increases the delivery of liposomes to the spleen and bone marrow without substantially altering uptake by the liver. © 1989 Academic PITS, Inc. © 1989 Academic Press, Inc.
Adolescent Parents in the First Wave of the National Youth in Transition Database

Adolescent parenthood occurs with relative frequency among youth in the foster care system. Few studies describe the characteristics of adolescent parents in foster care, or compare male and female parents, particularly using large, national samples. The present study used data from the National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD; N = 15,601) to document the number of foster youth who had children at age 17 years, the factors associated with adolescent parenthood, and the differences between male and female parents on general functioning indicators and use of Chafee services. Results revealed that 4% of males and 10% of females in the NYTD sample had children. Multivariate analyses indicated that for males and females alike, non-White race and Hispanic ethnicity were associated with increased likelihood of childbirth. Among males, the multivariate odds of being a parent increased substantially if they had a history of homelessness, substance abuse referral, or incarceration. Among females, only a history ...
Total plankton respiration

Abstract Total plankton was gently concentrated from sea water, using a membrane filter, and its rate of respiration was quickly measured. Comparable measurements of respiration were made on plankton concentrated with a No. 2 net in a 12-in Clarke-Bumpus sampler. Organisms too small to be retained in the net accounted for 94–99% of the total respiration. In the Gulf Stream and Sargasso Sea flagellates usually appeared to be the most important metabolic component of the plankton.
Effect of removing one ovary and a half on ovulation number in cycling rats.

Nachweis, dass bei der Ratte nach Entfernung von 11/2 Eierstocken das verblieben Fragmente trotz kompensatorischer Hypertrophie eine 50%ige Reduktion der Ovulationszahl zeigt, was dafur spricht, dass die Anzahl der abgestossenen Eier durch die vorhandene Gewebemasse beeinflusst wird.
Femtosecond broadband stimulated Raman: a new approach for high-performance vibrational spectroscopy.

Femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy (FSRS) is a new technique that produces high-quality vibrational spectra free from background fluorescence. FSRS combines a narrow-bandwidth picosecond Raman pump pulse with an ~80 fs continuum probe pulse to produce stimulated Raman spectra from the pump-induced gain in the probe spectrum. The high intensity of the Raman pump combined with the broad bandwidth of the probe produces high signal-to-noise vibrational spectra with very short data acquisition times. FSRS spectra of standard solutions and solvents such as aqueous Na2SO4, aqueous KNO3, methanol, isopropanol, and cyclohexane are collected in seconds. Furthermore, stimulated Raman spectra can be obtained using just a single pump-probe pulse pair that illuminates the sample for only ~ 1 ps. Fluorescence rejection is demonstrated by collecting FSRS spectra of dyes (rhodamine 6G, chlorophyll a, and DTTCI) with varying degrees of fluorescence background and resonance enhancement. The high signal-to-noise, short data acquisition time, fluorescence rejection, and high spectral and temporal resolution of femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy make it a valuable new vibrational spectroscopic technique.
Origins of Viscoelastic Dissipation in Self-Assembled Organic Monolayers

Although self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) are promising candidates for interfacial lubricants in micro-electromechanical systems, the relationship between the monolayer structure and its viscoelastic properties is not understood. Using Acoustic Wave Damping (AWD), the authors have measured the complex shear modulus of linear alkane thiol monolayers, HS(CH{sub 2}){sub n{minus}1}CH{sub 3} denoted as C{sub n}, on Au(111)-textured substrates. The AWD technique measures the elastic energy storage and dissipative loss within a SAM adsorbed onto the electrodes of a quartz crystal microbalance. For C{sub 12}, C{sub 14} and C{sub 18} SAMs, the storage modulus increases with alkane chain length, but the loss modulus exhibits no systematic correlation. To investigate the origins of energy dissipation, the authors used a new, high-sensitivity oscillator circuit to simultaneously monitor the adsorption kinetics and acoustic damping during monolayer growth from the gas phase. For both C{sub 9} and C{sub 12} thiols, the dissipation in the growing monolayer can be correlated with distinct two-dimensional fluid phases and the nucleation and growth of condensed-phase islands.
Transient state isoelectric focusing: theory.

Abstract Mathematical theory is developed to describe the transient state of isoelectric focusing (pH-gradient electrophoresis) in a linear pH gradient under highly idealized conditions. This theory makes it possible to predict the concentration profile (distribution) for the protein or other amphoteric species of interest as a function of time, when the sample is applied in a zone of infinitesimal thickness at one end of the column, or in a uniform distribution throughout the column. Further, the position of the centroid, and the second moment around the mean, σ 2 , (square of the standard deviation of peak width) are described as a function of time, irrespective of the initial distribution of the protein in the column. Three arbitrary stages of the “focusing” experiment are considered: (1) Focusing, wherein the sample is applied to a preformed pH gradient; (2) Defocusing, which occurs when the electrical field is abolished after an arbitrary time (usually after the concentration profile has begun to approach its steady state) and diffusion is allowed to occur. (3) Refocusing, which occurs after the electrical field is reapplied. Although stages 1 and 3 are conceptually identical aside from the difference in initial conditions, they may differ in several important respects in practice, both with regard to technical problems of measurement, and with regard to the closeness of conditions to the stated assumptions. This theory should make it possible to predict the time necessary to achieve any desired degree of focusing, i.e., approach to the steady-state distribution. Further, this theory and the techniques of analytical scanning isoelectric focusing provide the basis for measurement of the apparent diffusion coefficient ( D ), the derivative of velocity with respect to position, and if the field strength is known, the slope of the mobility-pH curve at the isoelectric point, { dM d( pH ) }.
Geochemistry of lanthanides in basalts of central Japan.

Stable isotope dilution method used to determine lanthanides in six basalts of central Japan
Rhetoric and reality in science performance assessments: An update.

This article addresses the rhetoric of performance assessment with research on important claims about science performance assessments. We found the following: (a) Concepts and terminology used to refer to performance assessments often were not consistent within and across researchers, educators, and policy-makers. (b) Performance assessments are highly sensitive not only to the tasks and the occasions sampled, but also to the method (e.g., hands-on, computer simulation) used to measure performance. (c) Performance assessments do not necessarily tap higher-order thinking, especially when they are poorly designed. (d) Performance assessments are expensive to develop and use: technology is needed for developing these assessments in an efficient way. (e) Performance assessments do not necessarily have the expected positive impact on teachers' teaching and students' understanding. (f) If teachers are to use performance assessments in their classrooms, they need professional development to help them construct the necessary knowledge and skills. This article attempts to address some of these realities by presenting a conceptual framework that might guide the development and the evaluation of performance assessments, as well as steps that might be taken to create a performance assessment technology and develop teacher inservice programs. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Effects of L-leucyl-L-leucine methyl ester on human marrow and protection of progenitor cells by IL-1.

In murine models, L-leucyl-L-leucine methyl ester (LLME) is effective as an ex vivo purging agent for the prevention of graft-versus-host disease. However, reduction of progenitor cells by LLME raises concerns about the engraftment potential of LLME-treated marrow. Therefore, the effects of LLME on human marrow were investigated. Concentrations of LLME from 0.005 mM to 5 mM were used to examine the effects of LLME on marrow cells. Concentrations of LLME less than or equal to 0.05 mM had no effect on recovery of nucleated marrow cells, mononuclear cells (MNC), myeloid cells or monocytes. At 0.5 mM, nucleated marrow cell recovery was 25%, and MNC recovery was 93%. As determined by cytochemical stains, 0.5 mM LLME eliminated myeloid cells and monocytes. At 0.005 mM, LLME had little effect on marrow progenitor cells; progenitor cell recovery with 0.05 mM LLME was 35% for granulocyte-macrophage colony forming units (CFU-GM) and 23% for erythroid burst forming units (BFU-E) (p < 0.05 compared to 0.005 mM). At higher LLME concentrations, recoveries of both CFU-GM and BFU-E were less than 1%. To determine if earlier hematopoietic cells remained after treatment with LLME, progenitor cell experiments were repeated with 0.5 mM LLME using recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (rhGM-CSF) or recombinant human interleukin 3 (rhIL-3) plus or minus recombinant human mast cell growth factor (rhMGF) as sources of colony-stimulating activity. In this system, both IL-3 and GM-CSF induced rare progenitor cells (<6/5 × 104 cells plated). Addition of rhMGF (100 ng/ml) significantly increased (p < 0.05) BFU-E (˜20/5 × 104 treated cells) with either IL-3 or GM-CSF. The ability of IL-1 to protect marrow MNC from LLME was evaluated after an 18-hour incubation with IL-1β (100 ng/ml). Colony forming units granulocyte/erythroid/macrophage/megakaryocyte (CFU-GEMM), but not CFU-GM or BFU-E, were increased by IL-1β incubation prior to LLME treatment These studies indicated 1) that progenitor cells remain after exposure to 0.5 mM LLME and 2) that IL-1 ameliorates LLME toxicity on early progenitor cells.
Screening for lung cancer. The Mayo Lung Project revisited.

Background. The Mayo Lung Project (MLP) reported lung cancer incidence and mortality in a population offered chest radiographs and sputum cytologic screening examinations every 4 months and a population offered only the Mayo Clinic advice to undergo annual examination. No mortality benefit attributable to screening was observed after 6 years of observation and at least 1 year of follow-up. Methods. The authors describe a simulation study designed to estimate from Mayo data the parameters in a mathematical model of the natural history of lung cancer and to estimate the potential benefit associated with periodic screening of high-risk people starting at 45 years of age. Results. It was found that the mean duration of Stage non–small cell lung cancer is at least 4 years and that rates of Stage I detectability and curability are less than 25% and 35%, respectively. Conclusions. A trial of the magnitude, duration, and contamination of the MLP would have a less than 20% probability of showing significant benefit from screening; however, long-term annual screening might result in a modest decrease in lung cancer mortality, ranging from 0% to 13%. A greater benefit would accrue from improved detection and treatment.
Abstraction of themes from melodic variations.

A schema formation analysis was applied to listeners' abstraction of themes from melodic variations. A set of transformations of a prototypical melody was generated by systematic application of five transformational rules. The prototype represented the structural central tendency of the set. In Experiment 1 participants listened to the transformations and were tested for abstraction of the prototype in two ways; (a) they were asked to draw the melodic contour of 10 notes best describing the central tendency of the set of transformations, and (b) they were given a false recognition task in which they were asked to recognize the prototype and other transformations, none of which were in the original set, in a procedure analogous to that used by Franks and Bransford (1971). Both measures indicated that participants abstracted the prototype while listening to the original set of transformations. Experiment 2 replicated these findings with participants fully informed about the purpose and design of the experiment, a different task for recognizing the prototype (judging the similarity of transformations to the abstracted prototype), and a different prototype. In Experiment 3 participants who listened to the prototype produced data on the contour drawing and recognition tasks that were indistinguishable from those produced by participants who abstracted the theme from its variations.
Outcomes of patients with anemia and acute decompensated heart failure with preserved versus reduced ejection fraction (from the ARIC study community surveillance).

Anemia is associated with poor prognosis in patients hospitalized with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). Whether the impact of anemia differs by heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) or heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) is uncertain. We examined hospital surveillance data captured by the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study from January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2010. Diagnoses of ADHF were validated by standardized physician review of the medical record. Anemia was classified using the World Health Organization criteria (
Kinetics and mechanisms of the carbon-steam reaction on the monolayer and multilayer edges of graphite

Turnover frequency rates, i.e. rates per active edge-carbon site, on both monolayer and multilayer edges were measured for the C + H2O reaction at 700, 800 and 900°C. The rates followed the rate equation: Rate = k1PH2O1 + k2PH2n + k3PH2O where n = 0.5 at 700°C, n = 0.85 at 800°C and n = 1.0 at 900°C for monolayer edges; n = 0.5 for multilayer edges at all three temperatures. Additional experimental results indicated that the 0.5th order for H2 was due to the dissociative chemisorption of H2. On monolayer edges, the dissociative chemisorption preferentially took place on the {1010}, or zig-zag, face. The turnover rates on the multilayer edges were higher than the monolayer edges by approximately one order of magnitude. Theoretical values of the elementary rate constants, as predicted by transition state theory, compared reasonably well with the experimental values, including the H2 chemisorption constant. The rates of vacancy formation on the basal plane were also determined. Atomic oxygen formed by dissociation of H2O was responsible for vacancy formation. H or OH species were responsible when H2 was present in the gas phase.
Decreasing trend of methane: Unpredictability of future concentrations

Abstract Our data show that the trends of methane have decelerated rapidly during the last decade. We argue that cattle, domestic animals and rice, that caused major increases of methane over the last century, are not major contributors to methane increases during the last decade and are not likely to contribute much to the increases of methane in the future. If this is so, the sources of past increases, related to agriculture and closely tied to increase of population, are getting uncoupled from the present and future increases of methane making it impossible to predict future concentrations based on past changes. New sources that are becoming important are not closely tied to population growth and have an unpredictable future. The calculations show that little or no increases of annual emissions are required during the last decade to explain the observed concentrations and trends. The rapidly declining trends have taught us at least one lesson - that we cannot project measured atmospheric trends into the future with any degree of credibility.
Light patterns as a means of assessing and recording gait. I: methods and results in normal children.

SUMMARY A method of analyzing and documenting gait in normal children is described. Patterns produced during walking, by means of lights situated at seven sites on the head, trunk and extremities, were recorded on color transparency film. With this technique, features of both normal and pathological gait are identifiable. The wide applicability of this method, its satisfactory reproducibility and uncomplicated design are emphasised. RESUME Groupements lumineux pour apprecier et enregistrer la demarche. I: methodes et resultats chez les enfants normaux Une methode d'analyse et de precision de la demarche chez des enfants normaux est decrite. Les dessins produits durant la marche par des lumieres fixees sur sept points de la tete, du tronc et des extremites sont enregistres sur des films en couleur transparents. Grâce a cette technique les caracteristiques d'une demarche normale ou pathologique sont identifiees. La large application de cette methode, sa reproductibilite, sa simplicite et son utilite sont soulignees. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Lichtmuster als Mittel zur Beurteilung und Aufzeichnung des Ganges. I: Methoden und Resultate bei normalen Kindern Es wird uber eine Methode zur Analyse und Dokumentation des Ganges bei normalen Kindern berichtet. Die Muster, die durch Lichter wahrend des Gehens produziert wurden, die an 7 Stellen an Kopf, Stamm und Extremitaten angebracht sind, wurden auf Farbtransparentfilm aufgezeichnet. Mit dieser Technik wurden Zeichen des normalen sowie des pathologischen Ganges identifiziert. Die weite Anwendbarkeit dieser Methode, ihre befriedigende Reproduzierbarkeit und ihre unkomplizierte Anordnung und Verwendbarkeit werden betont. RESUMEN Esquemas luminosos como medio de valoracion y grabacion de la marcha. I: Metodo y resultados en ninos normales Se describe un metodo para analizar y documentar la marcha en los ninos normales. Esquemas producidos al andar con luces situadas en siete puntos de la cabeza, tronco y extremidades, fueron grabados en films en color. Con esta tecnica se identificaron marchas normales y patologicas. Se ponen de relieve la amplia posibilidad de aplicacion de este metodo, su satisfactoria reproducibilidad, y la falta de complication de su montaje y utilidad.
Magnetospheric models for QPOs

Models of quasi-periodic oscillation (QPOs) based on the assumption that QPOs have magnetospheres are discussed. Evidence supporting the use of magnetospheric models is presented. The study of low frequency noise in the blob model is examined, stressing the question of the how much the blob-to-blob correlation is needed to suppress the low frequency noise to the levels observed in QPO sources. It is suggested that in low mass X-ray binaries, larger amounts of energy should be expected to be released at the magnetospheric boundary rather than on the neutron stellar surface. Also, examples of reproducing hardness ratio curves and QPO frequencies are given.
Political terrorists: dangers of diagnosis and an alternative to the psychopathology model.

The coverage of political terrorism in the press and popular journals has promoted a view of this phenomena as symptomatic of psychopathology. Although professionally trained behavioral scientists rarely participate in such armchair diagnoses, other observers have often contributed to this psychopathology model. But this view of political terrorism not only rests on questionable methodological grounds, its promulgation may dangerously obscure the sources and nature of this increasingly important phenomena.
Plasmon spectrum in layered conductors

Abstract A general analytical expression describing the plasmon spectrum in layered conductors is derived. The analysis includes the low frequency part, whose presence is specific to layered systems.