cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Where Predators and Prey Meet: Anthropogenic Contact Points Between Fishes in a Freshwater Estuary

Author(s): Lehman, Brendan M.; Gary, Meagan P.; Demetras, Nicholas; Michel, Cyril J. | Abstract: The Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta has been invaded by several species of non-native predatory fish that are presumed to be impeding native fish population recovery efforts. Since eradication of predators is unlikely, there is substantial interest in removing or altering manmade structures in the Delta that may exacerbate predation on native fish (contact points). It is presumed that these physical structures influence predator-prey dynamics, but how habitat features influence species interactions is poorly understood, and physical structures in the Delta that could be remediated to benefit native fish have not been inventoried completely. To inform future research efforts, we reviewed literature that focused on determining the effects of predator-prey interactions between fish, based on contact points that are commonly found in the Delta. We also performed a geospatial analysis to determine the extent of potential contact points in the Delta. We found that the effects of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) and artificial illumination are well studied and documented to influence predation in other freshwater systems worldwide. Conversely, other common structures in the Delta—such as docks, pilings, woody debris, revetment, and water diversions—did not have the same breadth of research. In the Delta, the spatial extent of the different types of contact points differed considerably. For example, 22% of the Delta water surface area is occupied by SAV, whereas docks only cover 0.44%. Our conclusion, based on both the literature review and spatial analysis, is that the effects of SAV and artificial illumination on predation warrant the most immediate future investigation in the Delta.
Periodontal Disease and Systemic Interactions (Periodontal Medicine): Current Epidemiological Evidence

To review recent literature on the effects of periodontal diseases on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) with emphasis on the contributions of Dr. Robert Genco. Numbers of missing teeth are positively related to levels of infection and inflammation. Most studies find a positive relationship between periodontitis and incident CVD and T2DM and the ability of periodontal treatment to reduce CVD risk factors and HbA1C levels, but controversy due to negative findings remains. Recent finding that tooth loss is related to levels of inflammation is important as it provides clues to how tooth loss is related to systemic diseases. New studies involving microorganisms and host response are important, as they underlie clinical signs. Basic problems, such as periodontal case definitions, type of treatments, timing of treatment, and follow-up times need to be addressed in order to reduce inconsistent findings in epidemiologic studies and clinical trials.
A case report of recurrent spontaneous coronary artery dissection and Takotsubo cardiomyopathy: a treatment dilemma.

Background Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is an uncommon cause of acute coronary syndrome in younger females with no pre-existing history of coronary artery disease. Recurrent SCAD is common after a first episode and can involve the same coronary artery or present as a new dissection unrelated to the initial lesion. Current recommendations advise for a conservative approach in the absence of haemodynamic compromise and flow limitations. Conversely, there are no clear guidelines for the management of early recurrent SCAD. Case summary A 52-year-old woman with history of obesity, asthma, and prediabetes presented with chest pain and electrocardiogram (ECG) showing inferior wall ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Coronary angiography revealed proximal right coronary artery (RCA) dissection and distal left anterior descending artery (LAD) dissection, while left ventriculogram showed Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TC). Angiography revealed no flow limitations so conservative management was pursued. She returned within a couple of days with recurrent chest pain and ECG showing similar findings of inferior STEMI. Repeat angiography confirmed progression of the proximal RCA SCAD with resolution of distal LAD SCAD. Since flow through the distal RCA was still preserved, conservative medical management was continued. She presented a third time for palpitations only and another repeat coronary angiogram showed healing RCA SCAD. Discussion Management of early recurrent SCAD continues to be a clinical dilemma. In addition, our patient had features of TC which shares a similar clinical risk factor profile with SCAD thus it may be prudent to further investigate for TC in patients presenting with SCAD and have suggestive features of TC on history and echocardiography.
Evaluation of Sedation Outcomes Following Increased Dexmedetomidine Use in the ICU.

To evaluate sedation practices following a dexmedetomidine guideline update in the ICU. Design Single-center, retrospective chart review. Setting Tertiary academic medical center. Patients Patients were included in this analysis if they were admitted to the ICU and were ordered for continuous infusion sedatives or opioids from September to November 2016 (PRE) and from September to November 2017 (POST). Patients were excluded from this analysis if they met any of the following criteria: mechanical ventilation less than 12 hours, admitted with acute neurologic injury, burn of greater than 20% total body surface area, chronic tracheostomy, admitted to the neuroscience or cardiac surgery ICU, on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support, or received an infusion of neuromuscular blockers. Interventions Patients admitted during a restricted dexmedetomidine prescribing guideline were compared with patients admitted during an expanded prescribing guideline. Measurements and Main Results Of the 1,426 patients evaluated for inclusion, 427 patients met the criteria in this analysis. Of these, 217 patients were in the PRE and 210 patients in the POST. A majority of patients were excluded for admission to neuroscience or cardiac surgery ICU. Dexmedetomidine was used in 13.8% of encounters in the PRE and 51.9% of encounters in the POST (p < 0.001). The median duration of mechanical ventilation was 49 hours (24-110 hr) in the PRE and 47.5 hours (26-98 hr) in the POST (p = 0.8). ICU length of stay was a median of 136 and 121 hours in the PRE and POST, respectively (p = 0.2). The median hospital length of stay was 296 and 326 hours in the PRE and POST, respectively (p = 0.35). After controlling for possible confounders, ventilation time remained unchanged between the PRE and POST (p = 0.98). Conclusions The expansion of a hospital dexmedetomidine prescribing guideline resulted in an increased use of dexmedetomidine but was not associated with a difference in length of mechanical ventilation.
4 – Parallel and Serial Input/Output

Publisher Summary The interfacing of a microcomputer to almost any I/O system has been shown to be simple and flexible, using parallel and serial I/O devices. This chapter reviews the different ways in which data can be passed through a port, into or out of a microcontroller. The chapter shows some I/O software that move data through a microcomputer, move data into a buffer, and implement a traffic light controller and IC tester using the simple I/O devices. Because timing is important to them, the chapter studies the timing of such program segments. The chapter also studies indirect and serial I/O, which are especially attractive to the 'A4 and other microcontroller systems. Finally, it considers how the SPI can assist in serial I/O. One can use the same approach to designing an IC (or an I/O system) as one can for studying it, and thus one can develop an understanding of why it was designed as it was and how it might be used.
High-Fidelity Simulations of Discrete Roughness Boundary-Layer Transition with Added Perturbations

High-fidelity numerical results have been obtained for low-disturbance wind-tunnel tests of transitional flow including isolated, discrete roughness elements on a 7 deg half-angle cone. Solutions f...
Validation of the suppression ratio from a simplified EEG montage during targeted temperature management after cardiac arrest.

Abstract Aim The Suppression Ratio (SR) estimates the percent of the electroencephalography (EEG) epoch with very low voltage, and is associated with neurological outcome after cardiac arrest. We aimed to compare the SR generated by two monitoring devices and determine the association between SR and patterns on amplitude integrated EEG (aEEG) and full conventional EEG (cEEG). Methods Consecutive adult patients treated with TTM after cardiac arrest were enrolled. We compared the SR from the Medtronic Vista monitor (MSR) to the SR generated from the full montage cEEG with Persyst Magic-Marker software (PSR). A blinded neurologist, board certified in epilepsy, scored the 4-channel aEEG pattern and the cEEG background using standardized terminology. Values for SR were compared to aEEG and cEEG categories using Kruskal–Wallis ANOVA, and to each other using Altman-Bland methodology. Results 23 adults treated with TTM had a mean core temperature of 33.8 °C at the time of SR and EEG background analysis. The MSR was 0% during continuous cEEG background, 23% when cEEG was discontinuous, and 64% during cEEG burst suppression (p = 0.01). The MSR was 0% during aEEG continuous patterns, 34% during aEEG burst suppression, and 46% during flat aEEG (p Conclusion The Suppression Ratio from the Medtronic Vista monitor is highly correlated with the full montage SR from Persyst software. The MSR values are valid, changing with different aEEG patterns and cEEG background categories.
Analysis and Research on Generation Cost of Hydropower Enterprise

With the continuous reform of the power system, competition in the power market has become increasingly fierce. Power generation companies urgently need to sort out their own costs in order to make scientific bidding strategies in the market and improve their market competitiveness. This paper analyzes and researches various costs of hydropower enterprises, selects a hydropower enterprise in Guizhou as the research object, calculates and analyzes its various costs, and finally gives relevant suggestions for cost management.
Digital Otoscopy Videos Versus Composite Images: A Reader Study to Compare the Accuracy of ENT Physicians

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS With the increasing emphasis on developing effective telemedicine approaches in Otolaryngology, this study explored whether a single composite image stitched from a digital otoscopy video provides acceptable diagnostic information to make an accurate diagnosis, as compared with that provided by the full video. STUDY DESIGN Diagnostic survey analysis. METHODS Five Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) physicians reviewed the same set of 78 digital otoscope eardrum videos from four eardrum conditions: normal, effusion, retraction, and tympanosclerosis, along with the composite images generated by a SelectStitch method that selectively uses video frames with computer-assisted selection, as well as a Stitch method that incorporates all the video frames. Participants provided a diagnosis for each item along with a rating of diagnostic confidence. Diagnostic accuracy for each pathology of SelectStitch was compared with accuracy when reviewing the entire video clip and when reviewing the Stitch image. RESULTS There were no significant differences in diagnostic accuracy for physicians reviewing SelectStitch images and full video clips, but both provided better diagnostic accuracy than Stitch images. The inter-reader agreement was moderate. CONCLUSIONS Equal to using full video clips, composite images of eardrums generated by SelectStitch provided sufficient information for ENTs to make the correct diagnoses for most pathologies. These findings suggest that use of a composite eardrum image may be sufficient for telemedicine approaches to ear diagnosis, eliminating the need for storage and transmission of large video files, along with future applications for improved documentation in electronic medical record systems, patient/family counseling, and clinical training. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 3 Laryngoscope, 131:E1668-E1676, 2021.
Online Monitoring for Safe Pedestrian-Vehicle Interactions

As autonomous systems begin to operate amongst humans, methods for safe interaction must be investigated. We consider an example of a small autonomous vehicle in a pedestrian zone that must safely maneuver around people in a free-form fashion. We investigate two key questions: How can we effectively integrate pedestrian intent estimation into our autonomous stack? Can we develop an online monitoring framework to give rigorous assurances on the safety of such human-robot interactions? We present a pedestrian intent estimation framework that can accurately predict future pedestrian trajectories given multiple possible goal locations. We integrate this into a reachability-based online monitoring and decision making scheme that formally assesses the safety of these interactions with nearly real-time performance (approximately 0. 1s). These techniques are both tested in simulation and integrated on a test vehicle with a complete in-house autonomous stack, demonstrating safe interaction in real-world experiments.
Weaning Induced Gut Dysfunction and Nutritional Interventions in Nursery Pigs: A Partial Review

Weaning is one of the most stressful events in the life of a pig. Unsuccessful weaning often leads to intestinal and immune system dysfunctions, resulting in poor growth performance as well as increased morbidity and mortality. The gut microbiota community is a complex ecosystem and is considered an "organ," producing various metabolites with many beneficial functions. In this review, we briefly introduce weaning-associated gut microbiota dysbiosis. Then, we explain the importance of maintaining a balanced gut microbiota. Finally, we discuss dietary supplements and their abilities to restore intestinal balance and improve the growth performance of weaning pigs.
Clinical and biochemical footprints of inherited metabolic diseases. VI. Metabolic dermatoses

Cutaneous signs and symptoms may facilitate the diagnosis or can help in identifying complications or side effects of overtreatment of inherited metabolic diseases. The principal manifestations can be grouped into vascular lesions, ichthyosis, papular and nodular skin lesions, abnormal pigmentation, photosensitivity, skin laxity, hair shaft involvement, and nail abnormalities. We have summarized associations of these cutaneous signs and symptoms in 252 inherited metabolic diseases. This represents the sixth of a series of articles attempting to create and maintain a comprehensive list of clinical and metabolic differential diagnoses according to system involvement.
The Effectiveness of CHINS: A Review of the Richmond County Juvenile Court

This paper carefully examines the effectiveness of Georgia’s “Child in Need of Services program,” or CHINS program, in Richmond County Juvenile Court since its enactment on January 1, 2014. The paper measures effectiveness by the number of juveniles who complete the CHINS program and never return to Juvenile Court. The study utilizes a quantitative methodology to determine whether the CHINS program used is effective by comparing the completers of the program to the data of repeaters. The Richmond County Juvenile Court provided secondary data on the number of juveniles who participated in the program. The results show that 185 out of 203 youth involved in the CHINS program have successfully completed the program. That is a 91% success rate. With the Richmond County CHINS program having a 91% success rate compared to the national average of 46%, one can conclude that the program has been successful in Richmond County. Meanwhile, there were only 18 out of 203 youth that participated in CHINS more than once, equating to approximately 9% of youth that repeated the CHINS program. Since the juveniles’ data shows that they are successful with the CHINS program, this article recommends implementing this and similar programs elsewhere in Georgia and the United States.
The effects of stimulus modality, task complexity, and cuing on working memory and the relationship with speech recognition in older cochlear implant users.

Abstract INTRODUCTION The role of working memory (WM) in speech recognition of older cochlear implant (CI) users remains unclear. This study 1) examined the effects of aging and CI on WM performance across different modalities (auditory vs. visual) and cuing conditions, and 2) assessed how specific WM measures relate to sentence and word recognition in noise. METHOD Fourteen Older CI users, 12 Older acoustic-hearing (AH) listeners with age-appropriate hearing loss, and 15 Young normal-hearing (NH) listeners were tested. Participants completed two simple span tasks (auditory digit and visual letter span), two complex WM tasks (reading span and cued-modality WM with simultaneously presented auditory digits and visual letters), and two speech recognition tasks (sentence and word recognition in speech-babble noise). RESULTS The groups showed similar simple span performance, except that Older CI users had lower auditory digit span than Young NH listeners. Both older groups had similar reading span performance, but scored significantly lower than Young NH listeners, indicating age-related declines in attentional and phonological processing. A similar group effect was observed in the cued-modality WM task. All groups showed higher recall for auditory digits than for visual letters and the advantage was most evident without modality cuing. All groups displayed greater cuing benefits for visual recall than for auditory recall, suggesting that participants consistently allocated more attention to auditory stimuli regardless of cuing. For Older CI users, after controlling for the previously reported spectral resolution, auditory-uncued WM performance was significantly correlated with word recognition but not sentence recognition. CONCLUSIONS Complex WM was significantly affected by aging but not by CI. Neither aging nor CI significantly affected modality cuing benefits in the WM task. For Older CI users, complex auditory WM with attentional control may better reflect the cognitive load of speech recognition in noise than simple span or complex visual WM.
Investigations into the inheritance of serum IgD concentration

Population studies repeatedly showed a trimodal distribution of the serum IgD concentration in adults (Becker et al. 1969; Dunnette et al. 1977; Rowe and Fahey 1965). Consequently, a genetic polymorphism of the serum IgD level was suggested. But also investigations in twins (Allansmith et al. 1969; Lee et al. 1980) and the correlation between IgD concentration in the serum and in the Gm phenotype (Walzer and Kunkel 1974) indicate genetic influences. Family studies (Dunnette et al. 1978) yielded evidence for an autosomal-recessive inheritance of an allele which is responsible low serum IgD concentration.
Culturally Sensitive Health Promotion Plan for Tuberculosis Prevention and Treatment in Mexican Migrant Farm Worker Populations

Tuberculosis (TB) is re-emerging as a national health priority. Healthcare providers have been attempting to address the challenge of providing preventative care as well as addressing TB cases through long-term treatment plans as these cases are identified. The migrant farm worker population has come into the spotlight as highly vulnerable to this disease with highly unsuccessful outcomes in prevention and treatment. Many factors contribute to this disturbing trend, including barriers related to a specific lack of cultural competence amongst health care providers for this specific patient population and patient related barriers associated with cultural beliefs, logistics such as transportation and clinic locations, and the transient nature of the farm worker lifestyle. Thus innovations to address these barriers to services are needed. There is a need to develop unorthodox service provision locations as well as the provision of appointment times that are suitable to the workers’ needs. Interventions such as reducing wait times, providing meaningful incentives and the renovation of disease specific educational approaches may improve outcomes. Treatment strategies that incorporate the cultural beliefs and practices of this population may narrow the service gap considerably. The purpose of this case study presentation is to illustrate the issues associated with providing TB treatment to this vulnerable patient population and to discuss possible solutions and interventions to stimulate culturally competent communication and care.
Constructing a Unitary Hessenberg Matrix from Spectral Data

We consider the numerical construction of a unitary Hessenberg matrix from spectral data using an inverse QR algorithm. Any upper unitary Hessenberg matrix H with nonnegative subdiagonal elements can be represented by 2n − 1 real parameters. This representation, which we refer to as the Schur parametrization of H, facilitates the development of efficient algorithms for this class of matrices. We show that a unitary upper Hessenberg matrix H with positive subdiagonal elements is determined by its eigenvalues and the eigenvalues of a rank-one unitary perturbation of H. The eigenvalues of the perturbation strictly interlace the eigenvalues of H on the unit circle.
Human Relations Area Files

The Human Relations Area Files (HRAF) comprise a searchable database of ethnographic materials, exhaustively coded and indexed to enable systematic cross-cultural research. The HRAF allows researchers to test psychological and developmental hypotheses cross-culturally by easily retrieving correlational data about behavioral items in 400 cultures. For example, John and Beatrice Whiting hypothesized that harsh male initiation ceremonies could be explained by the presence of strong Oedipal attachments that could be measured objectively by the presence of exclusive mother-child sleeping, long postpartum sex taboos, and harsh initiations into manhood. To test the hypothesis, the Whitings chose a sample of 56 societies. A panel of separate judges rated the societies for each element by reading the ethnographic material supplied by the HRAF. The hypothesis was supported; in the 20 societies where both mother-child sleeping and long post-partum sex taboos occurred, 14 had exceptionally harsh male initiation ceremonies. In the six societies that did not, there was a compensating cultural alternative, the “couvade” (cultural practice in which the father goes to bed as if he had borne the child). Keywords: methodology; anthropology; statistical methods in psychology
Investigating online low-footprint speaker adaptation using generalized linear regression and click-through data

To develop speaker adaptation algorithms for deep neural network (DNN) that are suitable for large-scale online deployment, it is desirable that the adaptation model be represented in a compact form and learned in an unsupervised fashion. In this paper, we propose a novel low-footprint adaptation technique for DNN that adapts the DNN model through node activation functions. The approach introduces slope and bias parameters in the sigmoid activation functions for each speaker, allowing the adaptation model to be stored in a small-sized storage space. We show that this adaptation technique can be formulated in a linear regression fashion, analogous to other speak adaptation algorithms that apply additional linear transformations to the DNN layers. We further investigate semi-supervised online adaptation by making use of the user click-through data as a supervision signal. The proposed method is evaluated on short message dictation and voice search tasks in supervised, unsupervised, and semi-supervised setups. Compared with the singular value decomposition (SVD) bottleneck adaptation, the proposed adaptation method achieves comparable accuracy improvements with much smaller footprint.
Moving Gravitational Lenses

A massive object distorts the path of light passing near it. If the object's metric changes at a different rate than that of the Universe, then a monochromatic source behind the object will change in frequency and flux relative to a similar source elsewhere. Contracting lenses and large masses in the early Universe provide effects of this type, but an alternative mechanism for producing such an effect is motion of the lensing object. A lensing object moving across the line of sight should cause (a) a redshift difference between multiple images of a background object (e.g., a quasar lensed by a galaxy), and (b) a brightness anisotropy in the microwave background radiation. Effect (a) is unlikely to be measurable for the multiple images formed by ‘conventional’ astrophysical objects, although a string may produce a detectable effect if it has sufficient mass per unit length. Effect (b) should soon be detectable for clusters of galaxies with large peculiar velocities.
CaLa 2 S 4 : ceramic window material for the 8 to 14 μm region

CaLa2S4 is a member of the family of ternary sulfides. It has the cubic Th3P4 structure, space group I-43d, with both cations on equivalent 8-coordinated sites. Powders prepared by firing oxides and carbonates in flowing H2S can be processed by a combination of hot-pressing and hot-isostatic pressing into sulfide ceramics with good infrared transmission. The vibrational absorption edge is at 17 μm. The materials are resistant to attack by water. The microhardness of the nearly 100% dense ceramics is 600 kg/mm2. Optical transmission of 55% (including reflection losses) at 14 μm has been achieved, but optical quality is extremely sensitive to processing conditions. Absorption and scattering are produced by residual pores, by second phase impurities on grain boundaries, by oxidation products such as sulfate and thiosulfate, and electronic defects arising from non-stoichiometry.© (1982) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Fabrication Process and Properties of Fully-Planarized Deep-Submicron Nb/Al– $\hbox{AlO}_{\rm x}\hbox{/Nb} $ Josephson Junctions for VLSI Circuits

A fabrication process for Nb/Al-AlO x /Nb Josephson junctions (JJs) with sizes down to 200 nm has been developed on a 200-mm-wafer tool set typical for CMOS foundry. This process is the core of several nodes of a roadmap for fully-planarized fabrication processes for superconductor integrated circuits with 4, 8, and 10 niobium layers developed at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. The process utilizes 248 nm photolithography, anodization, high-density plasma etching, and chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) for planarization of SiO 2 interlayer dielectric. JJ electric properties and statistics such as on-chip and wafer spreads of critical current, I c , normal-state conductance, G N , and run-to-run reproducibility have been measured on 200-mm wafers over a broad range of JJ diameters from 200 nm to 1500 nm and critical current densities, J c , from 10 kA/cm 2 to 50 kA/cm 2 where the JJs become self-shunted. Diffraction-limited photolithography of JJs is discussed. A relationship between JJ mask size, JJ size on wafer, and the minimum printable size for coherent and partially coherent illumination has been worked out. The G N and I c spreads obtained have been found to be mainly caused by variations of the JJ areas and agree with the model accounting for an enhancement of mask errors near the diffraction-limited minimum printable size of JJs. I c and G N spreads from 0.8% to 3% have been obtained for JJs with sizes from 1500 nm down to 500 nm. The spreads increase to about 8% for 200-nm JJs. Prospects for circuit densities > 10 6 JJ/cm 2 and 193-nm photolithography for JJ definition are discussed.
Further Characterization of the Helicase Activity of eIF4A SUBSTRATE SPECIFICITY

Eukaryotic initiation factor (eIF) 4A is the archetypal member of the DEAD box family of RNA helicases and is proposed to unwind structures in the 5′-untranslated region of mRNA to facilitate binding of the 40 S ribosomal subunit. The helicase activity of eIF4A has been further characterized with respect to substrate specificity and directionality. Results confirm that the initial rate and amplitude of duplex unwinding by eIF4A is dependent on the overall stability, rather than the length or sequence, of the duplex substrate. eIF4A helicase activity is minimally dependent on the length of the single-stranded region adjacent to the double-stranded region of the substrate. Interestingly, eIF4A is able to unwind blunt-ended duplexes. eIF4A helicase activity is also affected by substitution of 2′-OH (RNA) groups with 2′-H (DNA) or 2′-methoxyethyl groups. These observations, taken together with results from competitive inhibition experiments, suggest that eIF4A may interact directly with double-stranded RNA, and recognition of helicase substrates occurs via chemical and/or structural features of the duplex. These results allow for refinement of a previously proposed model for the mechanism of action of eIF4A helicase activity.
Software Engineering for Computational Science and Engineering

The guest editor describes the key issues and ongoing concerns in the field of software engineering for computational science and engineering, and discusses how the articles in this special issue explore necessary solutions.
The Effect of Age at Lighting on Egg Production and Pausing in Turkey Hens

Abstract In each of 2 experiments, 4 groups of Broad Breasted White turkey hens were hatched at 2-week intervals and given a 6-week period of restricted light (8L-16D) when 24, 22, 20 and 18 weeks of age. The hens were given stimulatory light (16L-8D) when 30, 28, 26 and 24 weeks of age, respectively. There was a delay of 5 days in onset of lay in hens lighted at 24 weeks of age, as compared to those lighted at 30 weeks. Mean age at sexual maturity was 234, 221, 209 and 197 days of age, respectively, for hens lighted at 30, 28, 26 and 24 weeks of age. In test 1 (1971), hens given stimulatory light at 30 weeks of age produced significantly more eggs in a 140-day production period than did hens lighted at 26 or 24 weeks of age. A similar but nonsignificant trend was noted in test 2. The youngest hens (26 and 24 weeks of age) were lighter in weight and initially laid smaller eggs than hens lighted at 28 and 30 weeks of age. Approximately 53 percent of the 2 youngest hatches of hens paused 1 or more times in lay as compared to about 30 percent of the hens in the 2 older hatches. A comparison of egg production between hens pausing and those not pausing during the 140 days of lay indicated that pausing accounted for a loss of about 27 eggs per hen. Pausing hens had fewer and smaller egg sequences than did nonpausing birds. Age at lighting had no appreciable effect on fertility and hatchability of eggs laid during the second 10-week period of lay.
Decreolization as emergent grammar(s): Some Afro-Bolivian data

A restructured variety of Spanish spoken by small communities of Afro-descendents in Bolivia differs from modern Spanish in exhibiting no noun-adjective agreement for gender or number. Only a few individuals continue to speak this most basilectal variety; the majority of speakers exhibit at least some gender and number concord, in a fashion that proceeds generally rightward, from determiners and other prenominal modifiers to head nouns, postnominal modifiers, and predicate nominatives/adjectives. Number concord (plural marking) usually appears before gender concord in mesolectal varieties, and occurs at a higher rate than gender concord across the entire range of Afro-Bolivian speakers. A variationist analysis based on a corpus of recorded material suggests that this gradual emergence of (feminine) gender and plural marking represents a systematic form of decreolization governed largely by structural principles, namely the stepwise activation of agreement projections. Decreolization is represented as a series of nested intermediate grammars, each of which properly contains the preceding one(s).
A VOLATILE SELF-INHIBITOR FROM COLLETOTRICHUM GRAMINICOLA

Germination of conidia of Colletotrichum graminicola was inhibited by volatile metabolites produced by C. graminicola cultures grown on oatmeal agar. The volatile material suppressed conidium ger? mination but did not kill conidia. Sorghum mesocotyls inoculated with conidia and exposed to volatiles from cultures failed to develop symptoms because conidia were prevented from germinating, forming appressoria, and penetrating into the tissue. In contrast, conidia on inoculated, nonexposed mesocotyls that were incubated in identical chambers produced appressoria and penetrated the tissue with the result that seedlings responded by the production of deoxyanthocyanidin phytoalexins. Attempts to identify the volatile inhibitor by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry showed that acetic acid was the primary component of the volatile preparation. It is believed that the acetic acid was formed as a result of degradation of a parent compound during gas chromatography suggesting that the native volatile self-inhibitor is a substituted acetate.
An inability to antagonize with naloxone the elevated nociceptive thresholds resulting from electrical stimulation of the mesencephalic central gray.

Abstract The elevation in the nociceptive threshold induced by electrical stimulation of sites within the mesencephalic central gray of rats was not antagonized by the systemic administration of naloxone.
TURNING OF SLENDER WORKPIECES: MODELING AND EXPERIMENTS

This paper introduces a dynamic cutting force model for turning of slender workpieces, as well as experimental results related to the frequency response of the workpiece in turning. The model is based on a flexible workpiece and rigid machine tool, and a workpiece displacement dependent cutting force. The model is described and studied theoretically as well as experimentally. The experimental studies utilise both cutting force and workpiece vibration measurements in two orthogonal directions. This data is obtained for both cutting and non-cutting conditions, and analysed in the frequency domain. The model was found to be in partial agreement with the experimental results. The experimental procedure described here represents a new method for determining the cutting process damping ratio, based on differences in the measured workpiece natural frequencies with and without cutting.
Analysis of the electro-viscous effects on pressure-driven liquid flow in a two-section heterogeneous microchannel

Abstract In this paper, the electro-viscous effects on pressure-driven liquid flow through a microchannel which is composed of two heterogeneous sections are analyzed. The Poisson–Boltzmann equation, Navier–Stokes equations and a set of constrained equations are solved analytically to obtain the velocity profiles and the streaming potentials in each section. Effects of the zeta potential and length ratio of the two sections on the flow resistance are discussed by means of the apparent viscosity ratio and the Poiseuille number.
The catabolite repression gene of the lac operon in Escherichia coli.

A new gene, CR, has been shown to participate in the control of transcription of the lac operon. A mutation in the CR gene leads to insensitivity to catabolite repression of the lac operon. No other changes could be found to result from the mutation. The CR gene appears to map genetically distant from the lac genes and near the tryptophan locus. We have shown, by means of stable merodiploids heterozygous for the CR gene, that the wild-type allele is trans dominant. This finding suggests that the CR gene determines a cytoplasmic product which may function in catabolite repression in an analogous fashion to the i gene product in the repression that is overcome by addition of inducer.
Nanoscale tailoring of dendrimers and polymers for photonic and optoelectronic applications

Recent development of dendron-containing NLO chromophores and polymers is summarized. By modifying the chromophore shape or applying the site isolation principle to these materials, we have systematically build up our understanding of how to molecular engineer the NLO materials. In this process, we have introduced the dentritic structures to these materials, varied from 3-D shaped dendritic chromophore, to fully-functionalized dendrimers with the center cores of NLO chromophores and crosslinkable periphery, and to side-chain dendronized NLO polymers. Compared to the conventional designed organic NLO materials, these nanoscale tailored NLO chromophores and macromolecules provide great opportunities for the simultaneous optimization of macroscopic electro-optic activity, thermal stability, and optical loss.
Hawthorne and War

Of the “classic” antebellum authors who lived to write about the Civil War, none was so artistically disabled by it as Nathaniel Hawthorne. Turning from his biting satire “Chiefly About War-Matters” to compose a new romance, he struggled with it until he died, no longer capable of “beautifying and idealizing our rude, material life.”
Revising the Redundancy Principle in Multimedia Learning.

College students viewed a short multimedia PowerPoint presentation consisting of 16 narrated slides explaining lightning formation (Experiment 1) or 8 narrated slides explaining how a car's braking system works (Experiment 2). Each slide appeared for approximately 8-10 s and contained a diagram along with 1-2 sentences of narration spoken in a female voice. For some students (the redundant group), each slide also contained 2-3 printed words that were identical to the words in the narration, conveyed the main event described in the narration, and were placed next to the corresponding portion of the diagram. For other students (the nonredundant group), no on-screen text was presented. Results showed that the group whose presentation included short redundant phrases within the diagram outperformed the nonredundant group on a subsequent test of retention (d = 0.47 and 0.70, respectively) but not on transfer. Results are explained by R. E. Mayer's (2001, 2005a) cognitive theory of multimedia learning, in which the redundant text served to guide the learner's attention without priming extraneous processing.
Telepresence and the Exemplification Effects of Disaster News

Exemplification theory (Zillmann, 1999, 2002; Zillmann & Brosius, 2000) suggests exemplar representations in media content may cause people to make overestimated judgments about phenomena included in this content. The current study sought to examine the role telepresence plays in increasing this exemplification effect. Two-hundred and seventeen participants viewed a news story about Hurricane Katrina using one of three channels: HDTV, NTSC, or on an iPod. Data were consistent with predictions as participants who experienced greater spatial presence and perceptual realism while watching this news story reported increased judgments of the severity of hurricanes and also reported a greater likelihood to engage in behaviors associated with hurricanes. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
In Search of Token Women in Academia

Women faculty in predominantly male departments at a large university were interviewed and responded to paper-and-pencil instruments in a test of Laws' analysis of the necessity for the “token wome...
The Northern Forest Canoe Trail: economic impacts and implications for community development

Recreation is increasingly promoted as a sustainable means of diversifying rural economies, yet few studies have explored how the characteristics of a recreational activity and its economic impact can vary significantly between communities. This research examined the economic impact of paddler recreation in six communities along the Northern Forest Canoe Trail. Results indicate that approximately 90,000 visitors paddled the waterways in 2006. Their spending created $12 million in economic impacts, supporting about 280 jobs. However, economic impacts varied considerably between communities, due to differences in the number of users, trip lengths, lodging choices, group size, travel distances, and use of outfitters. This finding suggests that, while expenditures by visitors may help diversify local economies, community development practitioners and land managers must be cognizant of the conditions that facilitate visitor use and spending to ensure that potential economic benefits contribute positively to co...
Trace element geochemistry and surface water chemistry of the Bon Air coal, Franklin County, Cumberland Plateau, southeast Tennessee

Abstract Mean contents of trace elements and ash in channel, bench-column, and dump samples of the abandoned Bon Air coal (Lower Pennsylvanian) in Franklin County, Tennessee are similar to Appalachian COALQUAL mean values, but are slightly lower for As, Fe, Hg, Mn, Na, Th, and U, and slightly higher for ash, Be, Cd, Co, Cr, REEs, Sr, and V, at the 95% confidence level. Compared to channel samples, dump sample means are slightly lower in chalcophile elements (As, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, S, Sb, and V) and slightly higher in clay or heavy-mineral elements (Al, K, Mn, REEs, Th, Ti, U, and Y), but at the 95% confidence level, only As and Fe are different. Consistent abundances of clay or heavy-mineral elements in low-Br, high-S, high-ash benches that are relatively enriched in quartz and mire-to-levee species like Paralycopodites suggest trace elements are largely fluvial in origin. Factor analysis loadings and correlation coefficients between elements suggest that clays host most Al, Cr, K, Ti, and Th, significant Mn and V, and some Sc, U, Ba, and Ni. Heavy accessory minerals likely house most REEs and Y, lesser Sc, U, and Th, and minor Cr, Ni, and Ti. Pyrite appears to host As, some V and Ni, and perhaps some Cu, but Cu probably exists largely as chalcopyrite. Data suggest that organic debris houses most Be and some Ni and U, and that Pb and Sb occur as Pb–Sb sulfosalt(s) within organic matrix. Most Hg, and some Mn and Y, appear to be hosted by calcite, suggesting potential Hg remobilization from original pyrite, and Hg sorption by calcite, which may be important processes in abandoned coals. Most Co, Zn, Mo, and Cd, significant V and Ni, and some Mn probably occur in non-pyritic sulfides; Ba, Sr, and P are largely in crandallite-group phosphates. Selenium does not show organic or “clausthalite” affinities, but Se occurrence is otherwise unclear. Barium, Mn, Ni, Sc, U, and V, with strongly divided statistical affinities, likely occur subequally in multiple modes. For study area surface waters, highest levels of most trace elements occur in mine-adit or mine-dump drainage. Effluent flow rates strongly affect both acidity and trace element levels. Adit drainages where flow is only a trickle have the most acidic waters (pH 3.78–4.80) and highest trace element levels (up to two orders of magnitude higher than in non-mine site waters). Nonetheless, nearly all surface waters have low absolute concentrations of trace elements of environmental concern, and all waters sampled meet U.S. EPA primary drinking water standards and aquatic life criteria for all elements analyzed. Secondary drinking water standards are also met for all parameters except Al, pH, Fe, and Mn, but even in extreme cases (mine waters with pH as low as 3.78 and up to 1243 ppb Al, 6280 ppb Fe, and 721 ppb Mn, and non-mine dam-outflow waters with up to 18,400 ppb Fe and 1540 ppb Mn) downslope attenuation is apparently rapid, as down-drainage plateau-base streams show background levels for all these parameters.
The relationship between self-reported cocaine withdrawal symptoms and history of depression

This study examined the relationship between cocaine withdrawal and lifetime history of depression (major depression, dysthymia). Participants with a history of regular cocaine use (n = 146) were administered the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-IV (SCID) and were asked to recall whether they experienced any of the six DSM-IV cocaine withdrawal symptoms. Results of bivariate analyses demonstrated that those meeting criteria for the cocaine withdrawal syndrome (dysphoria plus two or more other symptoms), in comparison to those who did not, were significantly (P<.001) more likely to have a lifetime history of depression. Lifetime history of depression was also more common in those individuals reporting the withdrawal symptoms of "dysphoria" (P<.001), "insomnia/hypersomnia" (P<.05), "vivid unpleasant dreams" (P<.01), and "psychomotor agitation/retardation" (P<.01). These relationships remained significant after controlling for demographics, severity of addiction, and the presence of opiate, alcohol and cannabis dependence or abuse. The withdrawal symptoms of "fatigue" and "increased appetite" were not associated with mood history. Results suggest that lifetime history of depression is strongly related to whether or not a cocaine abuser self-reports withdrawal symptoms. Several competing hypotheses regarding the nature of this relationship are discussed.
A finite element model for analyzing shear wave propagation observed in magnetic resonance elastography

Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is a novel non-invasive approach to determine material stiffness by using a conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system incorporated with an oscillating motion-sensitizing gradient to detect nodal displacements produced by a shear excitation wave. The effects of material properties, excitation frequency, boundary conditions, and applied tension on shear wavelength measurement must be examined before MRE can become a useful diagnostic tool. We propose finite element (FE) modeling as a robust method to systematically study the effects of these parameters. An axisymmetric FE model was generated with ABAQUS to simulate agarose gel phantoms. The effects of material stiffness, density, and excitation frequency on propagating shear wavelength were examined individually. The effect of the boundary conditions on shear wavelength was also demonstrated. Results of shear wavelength from MRE measurement were compared with the results of FE model, which showed good agreement between the methods.
Toward a retinal prosthesis for the blind: advanced microelectronics combined with a nanochannel glass electrode array

An important new area of biomedical engineering is the development of neural prosthesis particularly in the area of cochlear and retinal devices. An intraocular retinal prosthesis test device is currently under development at NRL/JHU. The microelectronic device has an image format of 80 x 40 unit cells interfaced to the retinal surface via an array of microwires in a glass matrix. The system architecture and technology development issues are discussed as well as the topic of biocompatibility. This test device will enable acute human experiments in an operating room environment to demonstrate a massively parallel interface between retinal tissue and a microelectronic array.
Effect of external calcium and of temperature on contraction in snake muscle fibers.

The effect of external calcium and of temperature on the contractile responses has been studied in voltage clamped snake twitch muscle fibers. Increasing [Ca++]o from 0.2 to 7.0 mM raised contractile threshold by 15–20 mV, the latter coinciding with the appearance of delayed rectification. The duration of contracture, the rates of rise and decay of tension depended on the level of depolarization and [Ca++]o. The minimum duration of repolarization necessary to restore the contractile response was much shorter in high [Ca++]o. When the bathing solution was cooled to 10 from 20°C the time-course of contracture was markedly prolonged and the outward current was reduced without significant change in maximum tension. The threshold for contraction tended to be somewhat lower at the lower temperature. The contractile repriming was much slower at low temperature. However, reduction in temperature slowed the rate of recovery much less at low [Ca++]o than at normal [Ca++]o.