cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Measurements of Green Laser-Beam Propagation and Backscatter in Long-Scale Length Plasmas

Summary form only given. We have implemented a complete set of optical diagnostics at the Omega laser to measure propagation and backscatter of a green (527 nm) high intensity laser beam (1015 W/cm2) in large-scale length, laser produced plasmas. The diagnostics include a transmitted beam diagnostic (TBD), a full aperture backscatter station (FABS) as well as a near backscatter imager (NBI) to simultaneously measure forward and backward scattered light with temporal, spectral and spatial resolution. Heating a mm-size gasbag or hohlraum target with up to 36 defocused heater beams, delivering a total energy of up to 16 kJ in a 1 ns pulse, creates a plasma at a density around 6times1020 cm-3 and temperatures of several keV. We observe a reduction of the beam transmission with increasing probe beam intensity, consistent with the onset of parametric scattering instabilities. Beam propagation can be significantly improved, by applying temporal- or polarization-beam smoothing. Our results indicate good beam propagation in ignition scale plasmas for inertial confinement fusion
Barron’s most respected companies

In this study, we investigate the performance of firms selected to Barron’s Most Respected Companies against the S&P 500 and a matched sample over a short-term, long-term and operational basis. The most respected companies exhibit a statistically significant announcement effect associated with their selection and outperform the S&P 500 over longer-holding periods. The overall sample and those firms identified as top picks outperform a matched sample of firms. In addition, as measured by changes in the return on assets, the post-selection operational performance of the most respected firms was better than that of the matched firms.
Variation in Life Cycle Affects the Distance Decay of Similarity Among Bluegill Sunfish Parasite Communities

Rates of community similarity decay were examined among parasite communities of the bluegill sunfish from isolated populations located throughout the midwestern and southeastern United States. Rates of decay were compared for assemblages composed of all species, autogenic species only, and allogenic species only. Rates of similarity decay were calculated by regressing a matrix of intercommunity distance against a matrix of intercommunity Sorenson similarity for each group of species. Significance was determined with the use of a Mantel test using 1,000 permutations. Significant rates of decay were found for all groups; however, allogenic similarity decayed according to an exponential function, whereas autogenic similarity decayed according to a linear function. Overall, the results suggest that autogenic– allogenic status is an important factor determining the rate at which similarity decays, but illustrate the need for more insight regarding the factors that affect parasite dispersal ability.
The impact of social-responsibility screens on investment performance: Evidence from the Domini 400 social index and Domini Equity Mutual Fund

Abstract Socially responsible investors apply both financial and social criteria when evaluating investments in order to ensure that the securities selected are consistent with their personal value system and beliefs. This paper examines the potential impact these additional restrictions have on investment performance by comparing the performance characteristics of a carefully constructed, well diversified portfolio of socially screened stocks with two unrestricted benchmark portfolios. In contrast to prior research, the performance of the socially responsible portfolio examined in this paper is not subject to the confounding effects of trans- action costs, management fees, or differences in investment policy that are associated with actively managed mutual funds. Therefore, it is possible to more clearly isolate the potential performance implications associated with subjecting the investment opportunity set to social screening. Contrary to expectations, our findings indicate that application of social-responsibility screens does not necessarily have an adverse impact on investment performance.
The economic returns to college major, quality and performance: A multilevel analysis of recent graduates

Abstract This paper estimates the impact of three types of qualitative differences in college experiences on the earnings of recent college graduates — college major, school quality and educational performance. The analysis is based on a new statistical technique, known as hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), which distinguishes more precisely between the effects of individual factors and institutional factors on earnings. The results show that all three types of qualitative factors influence initial earnings, but the effects of institutional quality and educational performance are not uniform for graduates with different college majors.
Convergence properties of an adaptive noise cancelling lattice structure

This paper presents the results of a preliminary analysis designed to predict the properties of an adaptive noise-cancelling filter which is implemented using a lattice structure. Previous work in this area has been restricted to adaptive filters implemented using tapped-delay-lines. The comparison given shows that the lattice form has a time constant of convergence which is independent of the eigenvalue spread of the input data. Further, misadjustment values are shown to depend upon both filter length and the normalized adaptive step size.
The Role of Urinary Tract Infection in Chronic Renal Failure

The importance of bacterial infection as a major cause of progressive renal failure has become less prominent as long-term studies have failed to show progressive renal disease in bacteriuric humans. Functional or anatomic abnormalities of the urinary tract are necessary to perpetuate infection and cause renal scars and renal failure. In children, the most common abnormality is reflux. Sterile reflux that extends into the renal collecting ducts may cause scars previously called atrophic pyelonephritis. This entity is now referred to as reflux nephropathy. Other predisposing factors may lead to end-stage disease in a small proportion of bacteriuric patients. The most common are obstructive uropathy and calculus disease. Bacteriuria is difficult to eradicate in maintenance hemodialysis patients and may require bilateral nephrectomy. In transplant recipients, bacteriuria is common and has been associated with rejection and loss of allograft.
On the nature of thymine photoproduct

Abstract Frozen aqueous solutions of thymine and N,N′-dimethylthymine have been irradiated at 2537 A to yield two dimers from N,N′-dimethylthymine and a single dimer from thymine. In all cases irradiation of the dimer in liquid aqueous solution at 2537 A causes reversion to the monomer. One of the photodimers obtained from N,N′-dimethylthymine is identical to a product obtained by exhaustively N-methylating the single photodimer obtained from thymine. Nuclear magnetic resonance and ultraviolet absorption data support a structure containing a cyclobutane ring. Four different isomers consistent with these data are depicted in the text. Chemical shifts and spin coupling constants have been obtained for thymine and the three dimers.
Simulation of hydrologic changes associated with global warming

[1] Using the results obtained from a coupled ocean-atmosphere-land model with medium computational resolution, we investigated how the hydrology of the continents changes in response to the combined increases of greenhouse gases and sulfate aerosols in the atmosphere, which are determined based upon the IS92a scenario. In order to extract the forced response from natural, internal variability, the difference between the mean of an eight-member ensemble of numerical experiments and a control experiment are used for the present analysis. The global mean surface air temperature of the coupled model increases by about 2.3°C above the preindustrial level by the middle of the 21st century. Accompanying the warming, the global mean rates of both precipitation and evaporation increase by 5.2%, yielding the average increase in the rate of runoff by approximately 7.3%. The increase in the rate of runoff simulated by the model is particularly large in high northern latitudes, where the runoff from some rivers such as the Mackenzie and Ob′ may increase by as much as 20%. Runoff from many European rivers increases by more than 20%. Runoff also increases substantially in some tropical rivers such as the Amazon and Ganges. However, the percentage changes in simulated runoff from many other tropical rivers and middle latitude rivers are smaller with both positive and negative signs. In middle and high latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, soil moisture tends to decrease in summer, whereas it increases in winter. However, in many semi-arid regions in subtropical and middle latitudes, soil moisture is reduced during most of a year. These semi-arid regions include the southwestern part of North America, the northeastern part of China in the Northern Hemisphere, and the region in the vicinity of the Kalahari Desert and southern part of Australia in the Southern Hemisphere. Since a semi-arid region usually surrounds a desert, the reduction of soil moisture in such a region often results in the expansion of the desert. Soil moisture is also reduced during the dry season in many semi-arid regions. For example, it is reduced in the savannahs of Africa and South America during winter and early spring in the Southern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is reduced at the Mediterranean coast of Europe in summer.
Domain-wall dynamics driven by adiabatic spin-transfer torques

In a first approximation, known as the adiabatic process, the direction of the spin polarization of currents is parallel to the local magnetization vector in a domain wall. Thus the spatial variation of the direction of the spin current inside the domain wall results in an adiabatic spin-transfer torque on the magnetization. We show that domain-wall motion driven by this spin torque has many unique features that do not exist in the conventional wall motion driven by a magnetic field. By analytically and numerically solving the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation along with the adiabatic spin torque in magnetic nanowires, we find that the domain wall has its maximum velocity at the initial application of the current but the velocity decreases to zero as the domain wall begins to deform during its motion. We have computed domain-wall displacement and domain-wall deformation of nanowires, and concluded that the spin torque based on the adiabatic propagation of the spin current in the domain wall is unable to maintain wall movement. We also introduce the concept of domain-wall inductance to characterize the capacity of the spin-torque-induced magnetic energy stored in a domain wall. In the presence of domain-wall pinning centers, we construct a phase diagram for the domain-wall depinning by the combined action of the magnetic field and the spin current.
The Role of Muscle Loading on Bone (Re)modeling at the Developing Enthesis

Muscle forces are necessary for the development and maintenance of a mineralized skeleton. Removal of loads leads to malformed bones and impaired musculoskeletal function due to changes in bone (re)modeling. In the current study, the development of a mineralized junction at the interface between muscle and bone was examined under normal and impaired loading conditions. Unilateral mouse rotator cuff muscles were paralyzed using botulinum toxin A at birth. Control groups consisted of contralateral shoulders injected with saline and a separate group of normal mice. It was hypothesized that muscle unloading would suppress bone formation and enhance bone resorption at the enthesis, and that the unloading-induced bony defects could be rescued by suppressing osteoclast activity. In order to modulate osteoclast activity, mice were injected with the bisphosphonate alendronate. Bone formation was measured at the tendon enthesis using alizarin and calcein fluorescent labeling of bone surfaces followed by quantitative histomorphometry of histologic sections. Bone volume and architecture was measured using micro computed tomography. Osteoclast surface was determined via quantitative histomorphometry of tartrate resistant acid phosphatase stained histologic sections. Muscle unloading resulted in delayed initiation of endochondral ossification at the enthesis, but did not impair bone formation rate. Unloading led to severe defects in bone volume and trabecular bone architecture. These defects were partially rescued by suppression of osteoclast activity through alendronate treatment, and the effect of alendronate was dose dependent. Similarly, bone formation rate was increased with increasing alendronate dose across loading groups. The bony defects caused by unloading were therefore likely due to maintained high osteoclast activity, which normally decreases from neonatal through mature timepoints. These results have important implications for the treatment of muscle unloading conditions such as neonatal brachial plexus palsy, which results in shoulder paralysis at birth and subsequent defects in the rotator cuff enthesis and humeral head.
Increased pancreatic acinar content and secretion of cationic trypsinogen following 30-day continuous ethanol intoxication in rats

The effects of sustained, high blood alcohol levels (216 +/- 120 mg/100 ml, S.D.) for 30 days on cholecystokinin (CCK)-mediated pancreatic exocrine function were studied in a rat model that achieves both maximally controlled, optimal nutrition and high alcohol intake (approximately 40.5% of total calories). In alcohol-fed rats, basal plasma levels of immunoreactive cationic trypsinogen (ICT) were reduced by 50% (P less than 0.05), but intravenous doses (0-30 IDU/kg/hr; 1 IDU = approximately 62.5 ng CCK-8) of cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8) resulted in a 3-fold greater maximal concentration of ICT and an 80% steeper slope of the dose-response curve compared to those of pair-fed control animals. Basal plasma levels of amylase were not different in the two groups at basal conditions and did not change significantly following CCK-8 administration. In vitro studies with isolated pancreatic acini have shown that basal secretion of ICT into the media was similar in the two groups. However, ICT secretion in response to CCK-8 (30-3000 pM) was 2-fold greater in alcohol-fed rats than in pair-fed controls, resulting in a CCK-8 EC50 which was about half that of controls. On the contrary, the basal and maximal amylase secretion from acini isolated from alcohol-fed rats was reduced by 67 and 43%, respectively, causing a reduction in the magnitude of the response curve with almost identical EC50 and slopes. Despite the marked alterations in CCK-stimulated enzyme secretion, radioiodinated CCK-33 binding to receptors on acini isolated from both control and alcohol-fed rats was similar. Cellular concentrations of ICT and amylase, however, revealed similar patterns of alterations: 2 to 3-fold increase in ICT and 70% reduction in amylase in alcoholic acini compared to controls. These results indicate that the inverse changes in amylase and ICT secretions following continuous ethanol administration are probably due to differential effects on enzyme synthesis.
LIGAND DESULFURIZATION IN OSMIUM CARBONYL CLUSTER COMPOUNDS

Nature de la desulfuration des coordinats N-arylthioformamido et arylthiolato- par les agregats de triosmium
Effects of machined surface condition on the repeated impact behavior of silicon nitride

Abstract This study addresses the influence of grinding-induced roughness, subsurface damage and residual stress on the repeated impact behavior of silicon nitride, a leading material for diesel poppet-valves. A ball-on-flat repeated impact tester was used to evaluate the impact wear of GS-44 silicon nitride coupons machined in three different conditions: coarsely ground (with 80-grit wheel), finely ground (with 320-grit wheel), and polished. The impacting ball was made of NBD-200 silicon nitride, and the angles of incidence used were 45°, 60°, 75°, and 90°. Within these angles, the impact wear of the ground GS-44 coupons, which is generally higher than the wear in the polished GS-44, is maximum at 60° and lowest at 90° incidence. Of the two ground coupons, the finely ground surface suffered more wear. In contrast, wear in the polished sample is minimum between 60° and 75° incidence. These observations are explained in terms of the effects of grinding-induced surface conditions on the mode of deformation, wear rate, and the evolution of wear debris deposits during repeated impact.
West Indian migration to the United States Virgin Islands: demographic impacts and socioeconomic consequences.

This article examines the movements of British West Indians to the United States Virgin Islands. It emphasizes the demographic impact on the host society and the underlying socioeconomic forces and legal framework. (EXCERPT)
Musicogenic epilepsy and epileptic music: a seizure's song.

The brain, sound, and emotions have long been interconnected in human and probably also in animal behavior, ranging from the role of sound and song in communication among animals to its wider range of function in humans. Quite aside from the immediate purpose subserved by the meaning of words or even inflection in language is the other auditory form of communication and expression: sound as music. Purposeful sound has, in its own right, been generated to carry messages rapidly over distance, convey news (often of a martial nature) typically as drum beats, but over the centuries has also been increasingly elaborated melodically in different societies as an artistic and emotional expression and creation. One of the first extensive investigations into the science of the mind and music was Critchley and Henson s book on the subject, exploring the range of neurology and its disorders, hearing, emotions, sound
Understanding Dialogue as Practice

This article discusses implications of Ove Karlsson's article, ‘Critical Dialogue: Its Value and Meaning’, for thinking about the union of dialogue and evaluation. It argues that Karlsson's empiric...
Kinematic Analysis of Six Different Insertion Sites for FDS Opponensplasty.

Six variations of opponensplasty were biomechanically studied to determine if there is a significant difference in the amount of opposition produced by altering the insertion site of the tendon transfer while keeping the tendon source and pulley location constant. Five cadaveric arms were used to simulate six described insertion sites for opponensplasty tendon transfers. The arms were mounted through the ulna onto a specially designed stand. The stand was equipped with a calibrated stylus which could be turned 90° in order to accurately measure points in X, Y, and Z planes. Metacarpal–phalangeal flexion and thumb abduction were measured before and after application of a 550-g load. Axial rotation (pronation) was mathematically calculated using reference points on the thumb which were measured with the stylus before and after application of the load. The Bunnell transfer insertion site provided the greatest amount of palmar abduction, the Brand transfer insertion site the greatest metacarpophalangeal flexion, and the Royle transfer insertion site the greatest rotation. Although each of these transfers produced the greatest motion in one plane, they performed relatively poorly in the other two. The Riordan transfer insertion site into the extensor pollicis longus in line with the abductor pollicis brevis was, in our study, the overall best transfer, providing the second greatest change in motion in each of the three planes measured.
Impairment of neuronal nitric oxide synthase-dependent dilation of cerebral arterioles during chronic alcohol consumption

Background: Although chronic alcohol consumption impairs endothelial nitric oxide synthase-dependent reactivity of cerebral arterioles, the effect of alcohol consumption on vasodilation in response to activation of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) has not been examined. Thus, our first goal was to determine whether chronic alcohol consumption impairs nNOS-dependent reactivity of pial arterioles. Our second goal was to examine potential mechanisms for impaired responses of pial arterioles during chronic alcohol consumption. Methods: Sprague Dawley® rats were fed liquid diets with or without alcohol for 8 to 12 weeks. By using intravital microscopy, we measured the diameter of pial arterioles in response to nNOS-dependent agonists—NMDA and kainate (KA)—in the absence and presence of NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA) or 7-nitroindazole (7-NI). We also measured responses of pial arterioles to nitroglycerin. Next, using Western blot analysis, we measured protein levels of the NMDA receptor subunit, KA receptor subunit, and nNOS protein in cerebral microvessels, parietal cortex, cerebellum, and brainstem of non-alcohol-fed and alcohol-fed rats. Results: Topical application of NMDA (100 and 300 μM) and KA (100 and 300 μM) produced dose-related dilation of pial arterioles in non-alcohol-fed and alcohol-fed rats. However, the magnitude of vasodilation in response to NMDA and KA, but not nitroglycerin, was significantly less in alcohol-fed compared with non-alcohol-fed rats. Topical application of L-NMMA (10 μM) or 7-NI (10 μM) significantly inhibited dilation of pial arterioles in response to NMDA and KA in non-alcohol-fed rats. In alcohol-fed rats, only NMDA-induced vasodilation was inhibited by L-NMMA. In addition, we found that NMDA receptor subunit and KA receptor subunit protein levels increased in the parietal cortex and cerebellum of alcohol-fed compared with non-alcohol-fed rats. However, no significant difference in protein level of nNOS was observed between non-alcohol-fed and alcohol-fed rats. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that chronic alcohol consumption impairs nNOS-dependent dilation of pial arterioles via a mechanism that appears to be unrelated to quantitative changes in NMDA receptors, KA receptors, or nNOS. Because the regulation of cerebral blood flow is influenced by neuronal activation, impaired reactivity of cerebral blood vessels to neuronal activation may contribute to the pathogenesis of cerebrovascular disorders observed during chronic alcohol consumption.
A data-adaptive time-frequency representation applied to the scattering from a jet aircraft

The electromagnetic (EM) scattering from the engine inlets and exhausts of a jet aircraft are a significant part of the total RCS from the aircraft. The engine inlet/outlets can be modeled as open-ended waveguide cavities with complex termination due to the engine turbine. It is known that, for certain frequency band, the scattering from such cavities is dispersive. Time-frequency representations (TFR) have been recognized as the appropriate tool for describing the scattering from frequency-dispersive structures. A TFR based on a multi-resolution tiling of the time-frequency plane is presented. The idea of a multi-resolution representation is often associated with the wavelet transform (WT). The multi-resolution property of the WT is extended to obtain a data-adaptive multi-resolution/multi-focusing TFR. This TFR is then applied to the backscattered signal from the engine outlets of an aircraft in flight. >
Bias in estimating the cross-sectional smoking, alcohol, obesity and diabetes associations with moderate-severe periodontitis in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study: comparison of full versus partial-mouth estimates.

Objective To assess whether partial-mouth protocols (PRPs) result in biased estimates of the associations between smoking, alcohol, obesity and diabetes with periodontitis. Methods Using a sample (n = 6129) of the 1996–1998 Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study, we used measures of probing pocket depth and clinical attachment level to identify moderate-severe periodontitis. Adjusting for confounders, unconditional binary logistic regression estimated prevalence odds ratios (POR) and 95% confidence limits. Specifically, we compared POR for smoking, alcohol, obesity and diabetes with periodontitis derived from full-mouth to those derived from 4-PRPs (Ramfjord, National Health and Nutrition Examination survey-III, modified-NHANES-IV and 42-site-Random-site selection-method). Finally, we conducted a simple sensitivity analysis of periodontitis misclassification by changing the case definition threshold for each PRP. Results In comparison to full-mouth PORs, PRP PORs were biased in terms of magnitude and direction. Holding the full-mouth case definition at moderate-severe periodontitis and setting it at mild-moderate-severe for the PRPs did not consistently produce POR estimates that were either biased towards or away from the null in comparison to full-mouth estimates. Conclusions Partial-mouth protocols result in misclassification of periodontitis and may bias epidemiologic measures of association. The magnitude and direction of this bias depends on choice of PRP and case definition threshold used.
The Hypervelocity Star SDSS J090745.0+024507 Is Variable

We present high-precision photometry of the hypervelocity star SDSS J090745.0+024507 (HVS), which has a Galactic rest-frame radial velocity of v = 709 kms i1 , and so has likely been ejected from the supermassive black hole in the Galactic center. Our data were obtained on two nights using the MMT 6.5m telescope, and is supplemented by lower precision photometry obtained on four nights using the FLWO 1.2m telescope. The high-precision photometry indicates that the HVS is a short-period, low-amplitude variable, with period P = 0:2i 2 days and amplitude A = 2i 10%. Together with the known efiective temperature of Tefi ’ 10;500 K (spectral type B9), this variability implies that the HVS is a member of the class of slowly pulsating B-type main sequence stars, thus resolving the previously-reported two-fold degeneracy in the luminosity and distance of the star. The HVS has a heliocentric distance of 71 kpc, and an age of . 0:35 Gyr. The time of ejection from the center of the Galaxy is • 100 Myr, and thus the existence of the OS constitutes observational evidence of a population of young stars in the proximity of the central supermassive black hole» 0:1 Gyr ago. It is possible that the HVS was a member of a binary that was tidally disrupted by the central black hole; we discuss constraints on the properties of the companion’s orbit. Subject headings: Galaxy Center { Stellar Dynamics
A fast restart mechanism for checkpoint/recovery protocols in networked environments

Checkpoint/recovery has been studied extensively, and various optimization techniques have been presented for its improvement. Regardless of the considerable research efforts, little work has been done on improving its restart latency. The time spent on retrieving and loading the checkpoint image during a recovery is non-trivial, especially in networked environments. With the ever-increasing application memory footprint and system failure rate, it is becoming more of an issue. In this paper, we present a fast restart mechanism called FREM. It allows fast restart of a failed process without requiring the availability of the entire checkpoint image. By dynamically tracking the process data accesses after each checkpoint, FREM masks restart latency by overlapping the computation of the resumed process with the retrieval of its checkpoint image. We have implemented FREM with the BLCR checkpointing tool in Linux systems. Our experiments with the SPEC benchmarks indicate that it can effectively reduce restart latency by 61.96% on average in networked environments.
Preferential Duplication of Conserved Proteins in Eukaryotic Genomes

A central goal in genome biology is to understand the origin and maintenance of genic diversity. Over evolutionary time, each gene's contribution to the genic content of an organism depends not only on its probability of long-term survival, but also on its propensity to generate duplicates that are themselves capable of long-term survival. In this study we investigate which types of genes are likely to generate functional and persistent duplicates. We demonstrate that genes that have generated duplicates in the C. elegans and S. cerevisiae genomes were 25%-50% more constrained prior to duplication than the genes that failed to leave duplicates. We further show that conserved genes have been consistently prolific in generating duplicates for hundreds of millions of years in these two species. These findings reveal one way in which gene duplication shapes the content of eukaryotic genomes. Our finding that the set of duplicate genes is biased has important implications for genome-scale studies.
Age-related change in the damage morphology of human cortical bone and its role in bone fragility

Application of cyclic loading results in the formation of distinct strain-dependent microdamage morphologies. It is still unknown; however, how the morphology of microdamage affects age-related increase in bone fragility. In this study, four-point bending fatigue tests were conducted on aging human bone (age 26 to 89) in conjunction with histological evaluation of the resultant tensile (diffuse damage) and compressive (linear microcracks) damage to identify the damage morphologies associated with an increase in age-related bone fragility. The results demonstrate that young donors (38 +/- 9 years) had a longer fatigue life (P < 0.05) and formed more diffuse damage than the older donors (82 +/- 5 years) (P < 0.05). In contrast, old donors had a shorter fatigue life and formed more linear microcracks than the younger donors (P < 0.05). Linear microcracks were longer in older than in younger donors (P < 0.05) and were associated with weak lamellar interfaces. Areas of diffuse damage were, however, larger in younger than in older donors (P < 0.05), and these showed no relationship with the lamellar arrangement of bone. These findings show, for the first time, that the propensity of bone to form a particular damage morphology is subject to change with age and that the propensity of young donors to form diffuse damage over interlamellae linear microcracks plays a critical role in the ability of bone to dissipate energy and resist a catastrophic fracture. Age-related changes in damage morphology may therefore be an important contributor to the increased bone fragility in the elderly.
Imaging oil-sand reservoir heterogeneities using wide-angle prestack seismic inversion

Mass density, due to its linear relationship with porosity, has long been recognized as a potential seismic indicator of fluid saturation. Given its dependence on mineral composition, density can also be diagnostic for lithology. In this paper we discuss some key aspects of a wide-angle processing and density inversion workflow, and apply it to a bitumen reservoir in Canada for imaging reservoir heterogeneities, such as shales, that can potentially act as permeability baffles. In this field, intrareservoir shales typically have higher densities than surrounding reservoir sands. This wide-angle workflow yields stable density estimates, from reflected P-waves alone, at a resolution suitable for mapping the intrareservoir shales.
The Early Carboniferous paleomagnetic field of North America and its bearing on tectonics of the Northern Appalachians

Abstract We have obtained additional evidence for the Early Carboniferous paleomagnetic field for cratonic North America from study of the Barnett Formation of central Texas. A characteristic magnetization of this unit was isolated after thermal demagnetization at four sites (36 samples) out of eight sites (65 samples) collected. The mean direction of declination = 156.3°, inclination = 5.8° (N = 4 ,k = 905 , α95 = 3.0°), corresponds to a paleomagnetic pole position at lat. = 49.1°N,long. = 119.3°E (dp = 1.5° , dm = 3.0°). Field evidence suggests that characteristic magnetization was acquired very early in the history of the rock unit whereas the rejected sites are comprised of weakly magnetized limestones dominated by secondary components near the present-day field direction. Comparison of the Barnett pole with other Early Carboniferous (Mississippian) paleopoles from North America shows that it lies close to the apparent polar wander path for stable North America and that the divergence of paleopoles from the Northern Appalachians noted previously for the Devonian persisted into the Early Carboniferous. We interpret this difference in paleopoles as further evidence for the Northern Appalachian displaced terrain which we refer to here as Acadia, and the apparent coherence of Late Carboniferous paleopoles as indicating a large (∼1500 km) motion of Acadia with respect to stable North America over a rather short time interval in the Carboniferous.
SUBSIDIES, ENDOGENOUS TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY AND THE MEASUREMENT OF PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH

The impacts of program subsidy on productivity growth is investigated in this study. Mundlak’s concept of endogeneity is applied to technical efficiency and generalized within a dual framework. Technology is described by an aggregate cost fimction while technical efficiency is conditional on a vector of state variables. Empirical evidence from the U.S. dairy sector supports the hypothesis that protectionism, in the form of program subsidy, is the source of considerable technical inefficiencies.
Biosynthesis and degradation of CFTR.

Kopito, Ron R. Biosynthesis and Degradation of CFTR. Physiol. Rev. 79, Suppl.: S167–S173, 1999. — Many of the mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene that c...
Rheo-optical studies of the nature of the α mechanical loss mechanism of polyethylene

Dynamic x-ray diffraction and dynamic birefringence techniques are employed to determine the nature of the molecular motions associated with the α mechanical loss processes for low-density polyethylene. The results indicate that the low-temperature part of this loss (designated α1) is associated with an interlammellar “grain boundary” slip process while the higher temperature process (α2) involves intracrystalline motion and plasticity of the crystal itself. The activation energy for α1 determined by x-ray response is 25–30 kcal/mole, while that for α2 is 30–60 kcal/mole. The findings are consistent with dynamic infrared and dynamic light-scattering results which indicate that the motion of amorphous chains is closely correlated with that of the crystals. The relative contributions of amorphous and crystalline regions to the birefringence are dependent on the thermal treatment of the sample. The effect of static strain on the dynamic response indicates that crystal orientability is first increased with strain, probably because of splaying apart of lamellae, is subsequently decreased because of the restrictions of interlamellae tie chains, but then increases again as the spherulites are destroyed at high strain. The static strain reduces the orientability of amorphous regions.
Number, But Not Rhythmicity, of Temporal Cues Determines Phrasing Effects in Rat Serial-Pattern Learning

Abstract Recent work on experimental manipulations that affect chunking in sequential learning has shown that cues inserted into a sequence, termed “phrasing cues,” can facilitate learning by serving as discriminative cues that overshadow associations between sequence items (Stempowski, Carman, & Fountain, 1999). This experiment assessed whether rhythmicity is an important determinant of temporal phrasing effects or, instead, that a discrimination learning view can adequately account for the results of manipulating the number and sequential positioning of phrasing cues. Rats learned serial patterns in which the number and organization of phrasing cues were manipulated so that phrasing cues were positioned at the beginning of four or eight chunks in an eight-chunk serial pattern. Alternate Chunks phrasing, Aperiodic phrasing (four cues always positioned before the first, third, fourth, and seventh chunks), and Random phrasing (four cues positioned at four chunks chosen randomly for each new pattern presentation) produced equal facilitation of acquisition for cued chunks relative to a No Phrasing condition, but not as much facilitation as Every Chunk phrasing. Cue removal produced deficits, with greater impairment observed for the eight- versus four-cue conditions. Thus, the effects of temporal phrasing cues were predicted less by their rhythmicity than by the common discrimination learning notion that associative strength is a function of the number of stimulus–response pairings.
A very low column FPN and row temporal noise 8.9 M-pixel, 60 fps CMOS image sensor with 14bit column parallel SA- ADC

A 1.25-inch optical format, 8.9 M-pixel CMOS image sensor that employs a 4T pinned photodiode (P-PD) pixel and 14 bit column ADCs is reported. A 14 bit or 12 bit digital video signal is streamed out via 16-lane low-voltage, low-power differential serial output ports in 50 fps and 60 fps operations, respectively. Temporal noise floor of 2.8- rms and linear full-well of 27.8ke- were obtained at 60 fps operation. Row temporal noise and column FPN are as small as 0.31 e- rmsrms and 0.36 e- rms, respectively.
Interaction Effects of Client and Treatment Program Characteristics on Retention: An Exploratory Analysis Using Hierarchical Linear Models

This paper applied a hierarchical linear modeling approach to explore the interaction effects of treatment program and client characteristics on client retention in treatment for drug users. Program characteristics included services provision, funding sources, and staff-client gender congruence, and client characteristics included gender, age at admission, and drug use level prior to admission. The same model was applied separately to three modalities: residential, methadone maintenance, and outpatient drug-free programs. Data were obtained from 59 treatment programs and 3,764 of their clients who had discharge records. The most noteworthy significant interaction effect detected was program's funding source and client's gender on treatment retention in the outpatient drug-free modality. For example, female clients remained less time in the programs that accepted only public funding than in the programs that accepted both public and private funding. Male clients remained in the treatment an average of 25.3 fewer days than female clients in drug-free programs that only accepted public fund, but stayed about the same time as females if the programs received mixed funding.
A novel von Hippel-Lindau point mutation presents as apparently sporadic pheochromocytoma.

Von Hippel Lindau disease is a common cause of apparently sporadic pheochromocytomas. Herein, we describe a 20-year-old man with an apparently sporadic pheochromocytoma associated with a novel, relatively conservative germline Gly104Val VHL gene mutation, which is localized within exon 1 of the VHL gene corresponding to the β -domain of the VHL protein (pVHL). The nearly asymptomatic patient's father also carries the same mutation. Similar to other mutations localized in the same codon, the Gly104Val VHL mutation seems to have an attenuated disease phenotype.
Stress Fractures of the Femoral Shaft in Athletes—More Common Than Expected A New Clinical Test

Athletes from 20 Division I AA collegiate varsity sports and 1 club sport were followed carefully for the development of stress fractures during the 1990 to 1991 and the 1991 to 1992 academic years. During this period, among 914 athletes, 34 stress fractures were sustained. Seven of these, or 20.6%, were of the femoral shaft. This represents a much higher incidence than previously observed in athletes. A new clinical test is described that significantly aids in the early diagnosis and follow-up treatment of femoral shaft stress fractures.
Analysis of maintenance control center operations

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has recommended a nation-wide maintenance automation system (MAS), which will include maintenance control centers (MCCs). Three operational concepts were developed to consolidate the real-time monitoring, coordination, and remote maintenance at the MCCs. The three concepts were then evaluated both qualitatively and quantitatively. Surveys and questionnaires were used to develop the qualitative criteria for evaluation of the concepts and included such concerns as the service to air traffic controllers and the users of the National Airspace System, impact on the maintenance workforce and, impact on risks and costs. The remote-maintenance workload was then assigned to the MCC or the local work centers in order to compare the staffing implications. The results suggest an MCC starting with an initial staff-type facilitator MCC performing only monitoring and coordination and evolving into a super MCC responsible for most remote maintenance and control functions. >
Current analysis platforms and methods for detecting copy number variation

Copy number variation (CNV), generated through duplication or deletion events that affect one or more loci, is widespread in the human genomes and is often associated with functional consequences that may include changes in gene expression levels or fusion of genes. Genome-wide association studies indicate that some disease phenotypes and physiological pathways might be impacted by CNV in a small number of characterized genomic regions. However, the pervasiveness and full impact of such variation remains unclear. Suitable analytic methods are needed to thoroughly mine human genomes for genomic structural variation, and to explore the interplay between observed CNV and disease phenotypes, but many medical researchers are unfamiliar with the features and nuances of recently developed technologies for detecting CNV. In this article, we evaluate a suite of commonly used and recently developed approaches to uncovering genome-wide CNVs and discuss the relative merits of each.
Modulation of PAF-induced leukocyte adherence and increased microvascular permeability

The objective of this study was to assess whether superoxide and leukocyte adhesion glycoproteins (CD18) mediate the leukocyte adherence to mesenteric microvessels and increased intestinal microvascular permeability induced by platelet-activating factor (PAF). PAF was infused into the arterial supply of an isolated autoperfused segment of cat intestine. Thirty minutes into the infusion, the number of adherent leukocytes within mesenteric venules was measured. This was followed by intravenous administration of either human recombinant superoxide dismutase (hSOD), hydrogen peroxide-inactivated hSOD, or a monoclonal antibody against the leukocyte adhesion molecule CD18 (MoAb IB4), and 30 min later, adherence measurements were repeated. hSOD and MoAb IB4 produced a 30 and 66% decrease, respectively, in leukocyte adherence, whereas inactivated hSOD had no effect. Adherence of PAF-activated cat neutrophils to plastic was reduced only by MoAb IB4, suggesting that PAF-induced leukocyte adherence is mediated by both CD18 and superoxide and that endothelium is necessary for the superoxide-mediated adhesion. In a correlate study, hSOD and MoAb IB4 were shown to attenuate the PAF-induced increase in microvascular permeability by 40 and 70%, respectively. These data indicate that the increased microvascular permeability induced by PAF can be attenuated when leukocyte adherence to microvascular endothelium is reduced using molecules that either bind to CD18 adhesive glycoproteins or scavenge superoxide.
Birds at a Southern California beach: seasonality, habitat use and disturbance by human activity

Use of a Santa Barbara beach by people and birds varied in both time and space. There were 100 birds, 18 people and 2 dogs per kilometer. Bird density varied primarily with the season and tide while human activity varied most between weekend and weekday. Bird distributions along the beach were determined mainly by habitat type (particularly a lagoon and exposed rocky intertidal areas) For crows and western gulls, there was some evidence that access to urban refuse increased abundance. Interactions between birds and people often caused birds to move or fly away, particularly when people were within 20 m. During a short observation period, 10% of humans and 39% of dogs disturbed birds. More than 70% of birds flew when disturbed. Bird species varied in the frequency that they were disturbed, partially because a few bird species foraged on the upper beach where contact with people was less frequent. Most disturbances occurred low on the beach. Although disturbances caused birds to move away from humans, most displacement was short enough that variation in human activity did not alter large-scale patterns of beach use by the birds. Birds were less reactive to humans (but not dogs) when beach activity was low.
Evaluation of long-term trends in hydrographic and nutrient parameters in a southeast US coastal river

The Nassau River estuary is located in north- east Florida adjacent to the eutrophic St. Johns River. Historically, development has been sparse in the Nassau River's catchment; thus, the system may provide a rela- tively undisturbed aquatic environment. To monitor the condition of the Nassau River estuary and to discern spatial and temporal trends in water quality, nutrients and hydrographic variables were assessed throughout the estuary from 1997 to 2011. Hydrographic (tempera- ture, salinity, total suspended solids, and turbidity) and nutrient parameters (total phosphorus, ortho-PO4 3− ,t otal nitrogen, NH4 + , total Kjeldahl nitrogen, and NO3 − ) were monitored bimonthly at 12 sites in the mesohaline and polyhaline zones of the river. Nonparametric Kendall's Tau was implemented to analyze long-term water quality patterns. Salinity was found to increase with time, par- ticularly in the mesohaline sampling sites. Dissolved oxygen decreased over time in the estuary and hypoxic conditions became increasingly frequent in the final years of the study. Nutrients increased in the estuary, ranging from 149 to 401 %. Rainfall data collected in adjacent conservation areas did not correlate well with nutrients as compared with stream discharge data col- lected in the basin headwaters, outside of the conserva- tion lands, attributed here to expanding urbanization. During the study period, the Nassau basin underwent rapid human population growth and land development resulting in commensurate impacts to water quality. Nu- trient and physical data collected during this study indi- cate that the Nassau River estuary is becoming more eutrophic with time.
Some Characteristics and Applications of Four-Electrode Tubes

Four-electrode tubes may be classified by their designs and uses as "screen-grid" tubes, "space-charge-grid" tubes, and "double function" tubes. In the screen-grid tube the inner grid is the control electrode and the outer or screen-grid is kept at a fixed potential. The capacity between plate and control-grid is thereby reduced to an almost negligible value. A second result of the screen-grid is a large increase in amplification factor and plate resistance without reduction of mutual conductance. This permits high amplification in connection with high impedance coupling circuits, without undesired regeneration or oscillation. The screen-grid principle has been applied to transmitting tubes as well as receiving tubes. Characteristics of these tubes are given in detail. In the space-charge-grid tube the outer grid is the control electrode and the inner grid is maintained at a fixed potential. The purpose of the inner grid is to reduce the effect of the space-charge around the filament and thereby reduce the plate resistance of the tube. The space-charge-grid tube performs the same functions as ordinary three-electrode tubes, but in general has higher mutual conductance than a three-electrode tube of similar design. Several double function tubes and circuits are described in which both grids act as control-electrodes or in which one grid acts as control electrode and the other as a combination space-charge-grid and control or output electrode. These circuits are sometimes useful but are subject to certain definite limitations.