cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Algèbres de Processus Réversibles

Nous presentons un systeme de retour arriere distribue base sur le Calcul des Systemes Communicants de Robin Milner. L'algebre de pro- cessus reversible ainsi definie (RCCS) nous permet de poser les fondements theoriques du retour arriere dans un calcul concurrent. En particulier, etant donne un processus et un passe, nous montrons que RCCS permet de re- venir en arriere dans tout passe causalement equivalent. Nous exprimons aussi l'equivalence comportementale associee aux processus reversibles en utilisant une notion de bisimulation mettant en relation les traces causales des processus. Il en resulte une methode de programmation declarative de systemes transactionnels qui peuvent etre efficacement verifies a l'aide d'un algorithme base sur des structures d'evenements. Par l'intermediaire d'une construction categorique, nous montrons que cette methode peut etre gene- ralisee a une large classe de calculs concurrents.
CHAINS OF CONNECTION: RETHINKING THE BOURGEOISIE

Since his first year in graduate school, Jerrold Seigel has puzzled over the relationship between modernity and the bourgeoisie. Willing to acknowledge the salience of this class in the making of the modern, he grew increasingly troubled by the failure of every effort to give a clear account of its distinctive historical role. To define the bourgeoisie as simply the group(s) in the middle, “all those who are neither peasants nor workers on the one side, nor aristocrats by birth on the other,” might be empirically accurate, he reasoned, but this provided no analytical insight into the processes of history. The Marxist alternative avoids this vacuity, but only by creating a mythology of the ascendant bourgeoisie—a class that by mere dint of its privileged relation to capital is deemed to be capable of entirely transforming the realms of culture, politics, and the material world. Dissatisfied with these conventional approaches, Seigel introduced a fundamentally new way of thinking in his seminal synthesis Modernity and Bourgeois Life, which sought to replace the “traditional nominative formulation [of the bourgeoisie's role] with ones that are more adjectival and historical.” Considering “‘bourgeois’, not in terms of the rise of a class,” he has reconceptualized this term to denote “the emergence and elaboration of a certain ‘form of life’.” It is in connection with this project that Seigel developed the two key concepts that will be considered in this essay, “chains of connection” and “networks of means” (MBL, ix, 6, 25).
ConfChem Conference on Select 2016 BCCE Presentations: Putting Your Own Personal Twist on a Flipped Organic Classroom and Selling the Idea to Students

This paper presents gradual implementation of active learning approaches in an organic chemistry classroom based on student feedback and strategies for getting students on-board with this new approach. Active learning techniques discussed include videos, online quizzes, reading assignments, and classroom activities. Preliminary findings indicate a significant increase in American Chemical Society standardized exam scores after implementation of select active learning techniques. This Communication summarizes one of the invited papers to the Select 2016 BCCE Presentations ACS CHED Committee on Computers in Chemical Education online ConfChem held from October 30 to November 22, 2016.
Acceptability of SPECTRUM Research Cigarettes among Participants in Trials of Reduced Nicotine Content Cigarettes.

Objectives SPECTRUM research cigarettes (SPECTRUMs) are being used in trials evaluating the effects of switching to reduced nicotine content (RNC) cigarettes. Because smokers have a high brand affinity, we evaluated if they were willing to switch and continue smoking normal nicotine content (NNC) SPECTRUMs. Methods We asked smokers (N = 341) to rate their own brand of cigarettes and NNC SPECTRUMs (after 2 weeks of use) using subjective measures including satisfaction, reward, taste, and craving reduction. We measured plasma cotinine, exhaled carbon monoxide (CO), and cigarettes per day (CPD), and recorded reasons for dropping out. Results After 2 weeks, 95% of participants chose to continue using SPECTRUMs for an additional 18 weeks. Moreover, 67% said SPECTRUMs were as good as or better than their own brand, and 65% said they would consider purchasing them. Ratings of satisfaction, reward, and craving reduction were 10%-15% lower on SPECTRUMs than on their own brand (p < .01). There were no differences in these ratings between menthol and non-menthol smokers. Conclusions Menthol and non-menthol SPECTRUMs are acceptable to smokers. Lower SPECTRUM ratings were likely due to brand switching and did not hinder study retention.
Impact of a Population Health Management Intervention on Disparities in Cardiovascular Disease Control

Background Healthcare systems use population health management programs to improve the quality of cardiovascular disease care. Adding a dedicated population health coordinator (PHC) who identifies and reaches out to patients not meeting cardiovascular care goals to these programs may help reduce disparities in cardiovascular care.
Models of first responder coping: Police officers as a unique population

The term "first responders" refers to a range of professional occupations, including police officers, fire fighters, search and rescue personnel, ambulance personnel, and military personnel. Research by the present authors has developed empirical models of first responder coping, identifying 2 coping pathways with differential outcomes: approach and avoidance coping. The present investigation considers police officers as a unique group and measures the extent to which police officers differ from other first responders in coping behaviours following trauma, based upon a nationally representative survey of 917 Swedish police officers. Although the model of coping behaviours following trauma and the effects on well-being displayed several similarities between police officers and other first responders, there was compelling evidence to suggest that there are professionally bound aspects of psychological coping, resilience, and well-being that merit further exploration. Among police officers, for example, avoidant coping was related to worse well-being, and police officers reported greater consequence to well-being related to substance use than other first responders. The unique aspects of police officer coping in comparison with other first responder groups are explored.
Aerial Localization with Smartphone

This paper presents how we applied a smartphone for aerial localization. We have developed a fully functional aerial localization system HAWK and reported preliminary results in a related paper. In this paper, we focus on the technical details of using a smartphone Nokia N900 as a wireless sniffer on a mini helicopter and comparing the performance of three localization approaches for wireless device localization. The flight is controlled by a software controller on a laptop. The flight route can be specified in two ways: manually setting waypoints on Google map and automatically generating waypoints based on Moore space filling curve. The smartphone based sniffer captures the wireless traffic during flight and transmits the traffic dump files through a 3G network to a locator once the surveillance flight is finished. We applied three different approaches, maximum signal strength approach, centroid approach and Quasi-Newton method, for the locator on the laptop to calculate the position of the target device and compared the localization accuracy of these three localization approaches. Surprisingly, the simplest approach, maximum signal strength approach (which uses the location where the maximum signal strength is sensed as the target’s location) has similar localization accuracy compared with the other two. We also provided an indoor localization approach locating the target in a recorded video.
Heart rate deceleration is not an orienting reflex; heart rate acceleration is not a defensive reflex.

Graham and Clifton (1966) proposed an integration of Sokolov’s theory of orienting and defensive reflexes with the stimulus intake/rejection dichotomy of the Laceys. This integration consisted of hypothesizing that heart rate deceleration is a measure of the orienting reflex, and that cardiac acceleration is a measure of the defensive reflex. This article demonstrates that Graham and Clifton failed to establish a valid integration of these two theories. This failure is a consequence of 1) their misconstruing Sokolov’s theory, and 2) an inaccurate and selective review of the research literature then available. Consideration of more recent research would seem to rule out the possibility that their thesis was correct in spite of these flaws in its derivation. Cardiac responding in the OR context thus remains open to further investigation and interpretation.
PHYSIOLOGICAL STUDIES ON MYOTONIA

Publisher Summary This chapter describes physiological studies on myotonia. The myotonic goat has been used for many years in the laboratory as a model of nondystrophic hereditary myotonia which resembles human myotonia congenita. Some studies have revealed lowered chloride conductance in myotonic fibers, which in computer simulations is sufficient to account for the abnormal repetitive firing during depolarization. The post stimulus discharge arises from a depolarization of the T-system possibly because of potassium accumulation in the tubular lumen during stimulation. Agents such as anthracene-9-carboxylic acid which block chloride conductance in normal mammalian fibers can mimic the hereditary myotonia except that these agents lower mechanical threshold, whereas the threshold has been found to be elevated in myotonic goat fibers. This chapter reports recent investigations in the myotonic goat. The problems discussed include: (1) sodium and potassium conductances analyzed by voltage clamp; (2) the effect of denervation on myotonic excitability; and (3) some characteristics of the chloride conductance in the disease.
Rearrangements of Real Functions Derived from the Combinatorics of Young Tableaux

The relationship between Young tableaux and longest increasing subsequences is extended to measurable functions on an interval. We also extend Knuth equivalence to this context, and we show that every function is Knuth equivalent to a function associated with a continuous Young tableau.
Direct-Global Separation for Improved Imaging Photoplethysmography

Camera-based estimation of vital signs has made significant progress in last few years. Despite of the significant algorithmic advances, the low signal-to-background ratio in video-based photoplethysmography continues to be a performance bottleneck. One of the main challenges is that much of the light returning to the camera from the subject is surface reflection from the skin and other dermal layers, and hence does not contain any pulsatile blood perfusion information to estimate photoplesthysmogram (PPG). In this paper, we show that direct-global separation techniques designed to reject much of the surface reflection photons can improve the signal-to-background ratio in the raw captured video signal. We study two techniques for the suppression of direct surface reflection (a) cross-polarization and (b) structured illumination. Using a dataset from 28 participants, our results show an average SNR improvement in estimating PPG from the use of structured illumination is 1.42 dB compared to the brightfield illumination. The use of cross-polarizers leads to an average SNR increase of 1.49 dB compared to brightfield illumination. And the combined structured illumination and polarizer method increases the SNR on the average by 1.90 dB compared to the brightfield illumination. The key result is that local PPG estimate SNR can increase to more than 5.63dB, enabling very large gains on regions with a large specular component. The RMSE decreased 55% and the range of error reduced by 12.9% with the use of a polarizer and structured illumination.
Immediate Feedback and Learning in Athletic Training Education.

Context: Immediate feedback has been shown to improve student learning more efficiently than delayed feedback in lower-level general education courses. No research exists examining the effects of immediate feedback on learning in higher-level athletic training coursework. Objective: To determine if using the Immediate Feedback Assessment Technique (IF-AT) improves retention of information taught in upper-level athletic training courses better than traditional multiple choice (TMC) exams. The second purpose of this research was to determine students' perceptions of the IF-AT. Design: 2 x 2 randomized, crossover experimental design. Setting: A standard higher education classroom. Patients or Other Participants: A convenience sample of 23 students enrolled in an upper-level athletic training course. Interventions: Examination type (IF-AT and TMC) and examination session (initial and follow-up). Main Outcome Measures: Examination scores of the students on the initial examinations and the follow-up examination...
Hume’s Own Life

This essay explores the motivations that may lie behind Hume’s autobiographical essay “My Own Life,” written just months before his death in 1776. It compares Hume’s end-of-life assessment—what the author calls “an extraordinary literary disappearing act”—with earlier autobiographical remarks of his and places the essay in the larger context of Hume’s account of the task of history-writing in general, showing how Hume wrestled with the problem of the inherent interestedness involved in the judging of one’s own life.
Powerful Dual Metal-Organic Framework Heterointerface for Wound Healing.

Core−shell dual metal−organic framework (MOF) with excellent photocatalytic and photothermal properties shows an excellent synergistic antibacterial effect.
Identifying genes with cell-type-specific alternative polyadenylation in multi-cluster single-cell transcriptomics data

Alternative polyadenylation (APA) causes widespread shortening or lengthening of the 3ʹ-untranslated region (3ʹ-UTR) of genes across multiple cell types (dynamic APA). Bioinformatic tools have been developed to identify dynamic APA in single cell RNA-Seq (scRNA-Seq) data, but they suffer from low power and cannot identify APA genes specific to each cell type (cell-type-specific APA) when multiple cell types are analyzed. To address these limitations, we develop a model-based method, scMAPA. scMAPA quantifies 3ʹ-UTR long and short isoforms without posing assumptions on the signal shape of input data, enabling a sensitive identification of APA genes. In human peripheral blood mono cellular data, this enhanced power identifies unique associations of dynamic APA with hematological processes, e.g. progenitor cell development. Further, scMAPA identifies APA genes specific to each cell type while controlling confounders using a sophisticated statistical model. In mouse brain data, scMAPA identifies APA genes specific to each cell type and provides a novel implication of neuron-specific APA genes in the interaction between neurons and blood vessels. Altogether, scMAPA sheds novel insights into the function of cell-type-specific APA dynamics in complex tissues.
SUNY Series in New Political Science: Fight to Live, Live to Fight: Veteran Activism after War, by Benjamin Schrader, Albany, NY, State University of New York Press, 2019, 222 pp., $31.95 (softcover), ISBN 978-1-4384-7518-9

The United States’ war in Afghanistan, in its broader Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), recently passed the nineteenth-year mark, easily surpassing Vietnam as its longest war. Domestic support for th...
Biogeochemical and omic evidence for paradoxical methane production via multiple co-occurring mechanisms in aquatic ecosystems

Abstract Aquatic ecosystems are globally significant sources of the greenhouse gas methane (CH4) to the atmosphere. However, CH4 is produced ‘paradoxically’ in oxygenated water via poorly understood mechanisms, fundamentally limiting our understanding of overall CH4 production. Here we resolve paradoxical CH4 production mechanisms through CH4 measurements, δ13CH4 analyses, 16S rRNA sequencing, and metagenomics/metatranscriptomics applied to freshwater incubation experiments with multiple time points and treatments (addition of a methanogenesis inhibitor, dark, high-light). We captured significant paradoxical CH4 production, as well as consistent metabolism of methylphosphonate by abundant bacteria—resembling observations from marine ecosystems. Metatranscriptomics and δ13CH4 analyses applied to experimental treatments identified an additional CH4 production mechanism associated with (bacterio)chlorophyll metabolism and photosynthesis by Cyanobacteria, and especially by Proteobacteria. Both mechanisms occured together within metagenome-assembled genomes, and appear widespread in freshwater. Our results indicate that multiple, co-occurring, and broadly-distributed bacterial groups and metabolic pathways produce CH4 in aquatic ecosystems.
The effect of amplification on cortical synchrony in children with auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder

The benefit of hearing aids as a clinical intervention strategy for children with Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder (ANSD) remains controversial. The goal of this study was to determine whether...
Cost Effectiveness of an Electrocardiographic Deep Learning Algorithm to Detect Asymptomatic Left Ventricular Dysfunction.

Abstract Objective To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of an artificial intelligence electrocardiogram (AI-ECG) algorithm under various clinical and cost scenarios when used for universal screening at age 65. Patients and Methods We used decision analytic modeling to perform a cost-effectiveness analysis of the use of AI-ECG to screen for asymptomatic left ventricular dysfunction (ALVD) once at age 65 compared with no screening. This screening consisted of an initial screening decision tree and subsequent construction of a Markov model. One-way sensitivity analysis on various disease and cost parameters to evaluate cost-effectiveness at both $50,000 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) and $100,000 per QALY willingness-to-pay threshold. Results We found that for universal screening at age 65, the novel AI-ECG algorithm would cost $43,351 per QALY gained, test performance, disease characteristics, and testing cost parameters significantly affect cost-effectiveness, and screening at ages 55 and 75 would cost $48,649 and $52,072 per QALY gained, respectively. Overall, under most of the clinical scenarios modeled, coupled with its robust test performance in both testing and validation cohorts, screening with the novel AI-ECG algorithm appears to be cost-effective at a willingness-to-pay threshold of $50,000. Conclusion Universal screening for ALVD with the novel AI-ECG appears to be cost-effective under most clinical scenarios with a cost of
Technopolitics in a Twilight Civilization

In the 2020 Prague Virtual Conference of the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S), Langdon Winner was awarded the society’s John D. Bernal Prize jointly with Sharon Traweek. The Bernal Prize is awarded annually to individuals who have made distinguished contributions to the field of STS. Prize recipients include founders of the field of STS, along with outstanding scholars who have devoted their careers to the understanding of the social dimensions of science and technology. The following paper describes the significance of several recurrent figures in Winner’s writings about autonomous technologies, and their importance in generating better readings of his corpus, including his Bernal Prize lecture.
Overview of Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) (adenocarcinoma of the large bowel) arises from a neoplastic process involving the epithelial layer of the intestine. In most CRC, the process begins as a benign polyp or adenoma. The adenoma undergoes a transformation to cancer through a series of molecular changes. Early in the process, the cancer can be treated easily with removal of the adenoma or early stage cancer. Thus, as expected from the nature of this disease, prevention and screening have likely reduced the incidence and mortality rates of this disease. The goal of this chapter is to provide an overview of CRC as well as an understanding of the rational for screening for this cancer.
Photoacoustic image guidance for robot-assisted skull base surgery

We are investigating the use of photoacoustic (PA) imaging to detect critical structures, such as the carotid artery, that may be located behind the bone being drilled during robot-assisted endonasal transsphenoidal surgery. In this system, the laser is mounted on the drill (via an optical fiber) and the 2D ultrasound (US) probe is placed elsewhere on the skull. Both the drill and the US probe are tracked relative to the patient reference frame. PA imaging provides two advantages compared to conventional B-mode US: (1) the laser penetrates thin layers of bone, and (2) the PA image displays targets that are in the laser path. Thus, the laser can be used to (non-invasively) extend the drill axis, thereby enabling reliable detection of critical structures that may reside in the drill path. This setup creates a challenging alignment problem, however, because the US probe must be placed so that its image plane intersects the laser line in the neighborhood of the target anatomy (as estimated from preoperative images). This paper reports on a navigation system developed to assist with this task, and the results of phantom experiments that demonstrate that a critical structure can be detected with an accuracy of approximately 1 mm relative to the drill tip.
Unsupervised activity discovery and characterization from event-streams

We present a framework to discover and characterize different classes of everyday activities from event-streams. We begin by representing activities as bags of event n-grams. This allows us to analyze the global structural information of activities, using their local event statistics. We demonstrate how maximal cliques in an undirected edge-weighted graph of activities, can be used for activity-class discovery in an unsupervised manner. We show how modeling an activity as a variable length Markov process, can be used to discover recurrent event-motifs to characterize the discovered activity-classes. We present results over extensive data-sets, collected from multiple active environments, to show the competence and generalizability of our proposed framework.
Three-Year Summary of Performance of Finishing Pigs in Hoop Structures and Confinement during Winter and Summer

Finishing pigs were fed for 3 years in bedded hoop structures and a confinement building with slotted floors in central Iowa. When summer and winter feeding periods for 3 years were combined, the trials showed that the finishing pigs in hoops ate 4.9% more feed, grew 1.7% faster, and required 3.4% more feed per unit of liveweight gain than confinement pigs. The mortality rate was similar and percentage of culled and light pigs was higher for hoops compared with confinement. Also, the hoop pigs had 4.9% thicker backfat with 4.8% smaller loin muscle area and 1 percentage unit less of carcass lean and carcass yield compared with confinement pigs. The efficiency of lean gain was also poorer for the hoop pigs. The hoop pigs required 6.8% more feed per unit of lean gain. Because the hoops are unheated structures, there were seasonal effects. The hoop pigs ate more feed, particularly in the winter, grew faster in the summer, and were less efficient in the winter than the confinement pigs. The hoop pigs had thicker backfat in the summer only and were less efficient in converting feed to lean in the winter only. The hoop pigs had a greater incidence of roundworm infestations. Therefore, hoop pigs may need to be fed diets somewhat differently than the diets fed to confinement pigs to optimize lean growth, and the control of internal parasites in hoop pigs may need to be more aggressive than in confinement. Bedding use was approximately 237 lb/pig on a year-round basis. Approximately 204 lb of bedding per pig was used in summer and approximately 270 lb of bedding per pig was used in winter.
Solution of the spectra puzzle

In this paper, we solve the SPECTRA Puzzle and express the solution in terms of color-path sets. We can add, invert, and combine these sets by the addition, inverse, and the union operators, respectively. We express the solution by a mathematical formula in which we use color-path sets and its operators. To simplify the C++ implementation of the solution, we define a C++ SPECTRA class. We translate the mathematical formula into C++ code by using the SPECTRA class. The SPECTRA class contains a color-path set and the set operators. The color-path set is implemented as a linked list and the set operators are implemented by extending the C++ operators "+", "--" and "*".
An object-oriented programming framework for parallel finite element analysis with application: liquid composite molding

The use of object-oriented programming techniques in development of parallel, finite element analysis software enhances software reuse and makes application development more efficient. In this paper, an object-oriented programming framework for developing parallel finite element software is described. All required steps, from data file parsing and equation solving to post processing and graphical user interfaces, are discussed. After development of the framework, a sample parallel finite element code, namely COMPOSE, is taken from its original functional programming paradigm and implemented in the new framework. Besides ease of development, the use of generic visualization and interface tools for software utilizing the framework speeds delivery of research codes to end users.
A 2/sup nd/-order double-sampled /spl Delta//spl Sigma/ modulator with individual-level averaging

Delta-sigma modulators (/spl Delta//spl Sigma/Ms) can provide high-resolution, high-linearity analog-to-digital conversion without accurately matched passive components. With a second-order modulator, the signal-to-quantization-noise ratio increases with the oversampling ratio by 15 dB/octave. Therefore, maximizing the sample rate for a given signal bandwidth is important in high-resolution applications. To increase the sample rate by an amount close to the ideal maximum of 100%, individual-level averaging (ILA) can be used. ILA is a dynamic-element matching technique that has been shown to improve the linearity of /spl Delta//spl Sigma/Ms with multibit feedback. In this paper the use of ILA in a double-sampled /spl Delta//spl Sigma/M is described.
The Kraske procedure: a critical analysis of a surgical approach for mid-rectal lesions.

Background and Objectives To analyze the Kraske procedure as an approach to mid-rectal disease. Methods Twenty-two patients underwent a Kraske procedure at either Duke University Medical Center, the Durham Veterans Administration Medical Center, or the Durham Regional Hospital between 1992 and 1997. The clinical and pathologic characteristics of these patients were retrospectively analyzed and compared with previous published series. Results Of the 22 patients, 13 underwent resection of an adenocarcinoma and 9 underwent resection of a villous adenoma. Post-operative complications included four fecal fistulas (two of which required a temporary diverting colostomy), two wound infections, two cases of urinary retention, and one case of transient fecal incontinence. Conclusions The Kraske procedure minimizes exposure of mid-rectal lesions without the morbidity of a major laparotomy. However, it does carry a moderate complication rate and thus should be utilized selectively in managing patients with mid-rectal tumors not amenable to other treatment options. J. Surg. Oncol. 2006;94:194–202. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Spectroscopic and Electronic Structure Studies of a Dimethyl Sulfoxide Reductase Catalytic Intermediate: Implications for Electron and Atom Transfer Reactivity

The electronic structure of a genuine paramagnetic des-oxo Mo(V) catalytic intermediate in the reaction of dimethyl sulfoxide reductase (DMSOR) with (CH3)3NO has been probed by electron paramagneti...
Inadequate Health Literacy Among Paid Caregivers of Seniors

Background Many seniors rely on paid non-familial caregivers to maintain their independence at home. Caregivers often assist with medication reminding and activities of daily living. No prior studies have examined the health literacy levels among paid non-familial caregivers.
Copolymerization of cyclohexene oxide and carbon dioxide using (salen)Co(III) complexes: synthesis and characterization of syndiotactic poly(cyclohexene carbonate)

Synthetic routes to a series of new (salen)CoX (salen = N,N′-bis(salicylidene)-1,2-diaminoalkane; X = halide or carboxylate) species are described and the X-ray crystal structures of two (salen-1)CoX (salen-1 = N,N′-bis(3,5-di-tert-butylsalicylidene)-1,2-diaminocyclohexane; X = Cl, I) complexes are presented. (R,R)-(salen-1)CoX (X = Cl, Br, I, OAc, pentafluorobenzoate (OBzF5)) catalysts are active for the copolymerization of cyclohexene oxide (CHO) and CO2, yielding syndiotactic poly(cyclohexene carbonate) (PCHC), a previously unreported PCHC microstructure. Variation of the salen ligand and reaction conditions, as well as the inclusion of [PPN]Cl ([PPN]Cl = bis(triphenylphosphine)iminium chloride) cocatalysts, has dramatic effects on the polymerization rate and the resultant PCHC tacticity. Catalysts rac-(salen-6)CoX (salen-6 = N,N′-bis(3,5-di-tert-butylsalicylidene)-1,2-diaminopropane; X = Br, OBzF5) have high activities for CHO/CO2 copolymerization, yielding syndiotactic PCHCs with up to 81% r-centered tetrads. Using Bernoullian statistical methods, PCHC tetrad and triad sequences were assigned in the 13C NMR spectra of these polymers in the carbonyl and methylene regions, respectively.
Prediction of seasonal mean United States precipitation based on El Niño sea surface temperatures

A method for seasonal predictions of U.S. precipitation based on tropical Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies is developed in this letter with the singular value decomposition (SVD). This method was applied to the 1997/98 El Nino. The 1997 summer and 1997/98 winter precipitation over the United States were predicted using forecast SST from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) coupled ocean-atmosphere model. A cross validation, based on the percentages of hit between the hindcast and observed precipitation for the past El Nino and La Nina events, indicates a certain degree of predictability in both winter and summer seasons. During El Nino, significant predictability of summer precipitation is found over the Northern Plains and Atlantic States, while during La Nina it is in the Midwest. Above normal precipitation in the Northern Plains and the Midwest and below normal precipitation in the Atlantic States is associated with a warm phase of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in summer. For winter precipitation, significant predictability is detected over the Gulf Coast States, the Southern Plains and California. Over these regions, wetter conditions are generally associated with the warm phase of ENSO.
Dose–Response Assessment Strategies for Endocrine-Active Compounds

Hazard identification provides evidence for the potential of compounds to cause effects in exposed people. Dose-response assessments define the range of exposure conditions associated with minimal risks of adverse effects. With endocrine-active compounds (EACs), the vast majority of resources are presently being applied to hazard identification. In the past, dose-response assessments have been based on empirical analysis of these relationships. The empirical underpinnings of these models do not permit conclusions about the low-dose and interspecies extrapolation of the animal study results. Biologically based dose-response assessments relying on knowledge of mode-of-action (pharmacodynamics) and dosimetry (pharmacokinetics) offer promise to develop broadly applicable strategies for quantitative dose-response assessments with these EACs. These approaches would focus on normal physiological endocrine signaling processes in the body, their associated control mechanisms, and the interaction among different internal signaling pathways. A critical element of signaling is regulation of the concentration of the signaling compound, e.g., steroid sex hormone. Exogenous compounds that act as signals but evade the normal homeostatic control of signaling compound concentrations represent one class of EACs. Other molecular components of these signaling systems include receptors, second messengers, and DNA-accessory/transcriptional protein complexes; EACs may interfere with the functions of any of these components. The challenge facing the toxicology and risk assessment professions is to base regulatory strategies on the interaction of these EACs with the fundamental control mechanisms which regulate responses throughout the body and to determine the extent to which these interactions create specific dose-response behaviors in the living animals.
Ibogaine and its congeners are σ2 receptor-selective ligands with moderate affinity

Ibogaine (12-methoxyibogamine) exhibited moderate affinity for sigma 2 sites (Ki = 201 nM) and low affinity for sigma 1 sites (Ki = 8554 nM), thus showing 43-fold selectivity for sigma 2 receptors. Tabernanthine (13-methoxyibogamine) and (+/-)-ibogamine had sigma 2 Ki = 194 nM and 137 nM, respectively. However, they showed 3- to 5-fold higher sigma 1 affinity compared to ibogaine, resulting in about 14-fold selectivity for sigma 2 sites over sigma 1. A potential ibogaine metabolite, O-des-methyl-ibogaine, had markedly reduced sigma 2 affinity relative to ibogaine (Ki = 5,226 nM) and also lacked significant affinity for sigma 1 sites. (+/-)-Coronaridine ((+/-)-18-carbomethoxyibogamine) and harmaline (1-methyl-7-methoxy-3,4-dihydro-beta-carboline) lacked significant affinity for either sigma subtype. Thus, sigma 2 receptors could play a role in the actions of ibogaine.
Counting irregular multigraphs

Abstract Gagliardi et al. (1996, unpublished manuscript) defined an irregular multigraph to be a loopless multigraph with degree sequence n , n − 1,…, 1, and they posed the problem of determining the number of different irregular multigraphs f n on n vertices. In Gagliardi et al. (1996) they showed that if n ≡ 0 or 3 (mod 4) then f n > n − 1. In this note our aim is to show that there are constants 1 c 1 c 2 and n 0 > 0 such that if n ⩾ n 0 and n ≡ 0 or 3 (mod 4) then ( c 1 ) n 2 f n c 2 ) n 2 . Indeed, we show that c 1 = 1.19 and c 2 = 1.65 can be chosen.
Droplet size determination in food emulsions: comparison of ultrasonic and light scattering methods

Abstract Ultrasonic velocity and attenuation spectra (1–5 MHz) were measured for a series of corn-oil-in-water emulsions (20 wt% oil in 2 wt% polyoxyethylene sorbitan monolaurate) with a range of different mean droplet diameters (0.5–1.5 μm). Multiple scattering theory was used to calculate mean diameters for each emulsion from both spectra. Droplet size was also determined using two commercial light scattering instruments. All techniques showed the same general trend of decreased size with increased degree of homogenization but there was only limited quantitative agreement between the various measurement techniques.
Apatite and phosphorus in mantle source regions: An experimental study of apatite/melt equilibria at pressures to 25 kbar

Abstract The solubility of fluorapatite in a wide variety of basic magmatic liquids was experimentally determined over a range of upper mantle P-T conditions (8–25 kbar, 1275–1350°C). Fluorapatite is stable over the entire range of conditions investigated, but its solubility in melts is variable, depending negatively on SiO2 content of the melt and positively upon temperature, with relatively little sensitivity to pressure above 8 kbar. At upper mantle pressures and a temperature of 1250°C, molten basalt (50% SiO2) will dissolve 3–4 wt.% P2O5 before saturation in apatite is reached. For a magma 100°C cooler or containing 10 wt.% more SiO2, apatite saturation occurs at less than 2 wt.% dissolved P2O5. The observed high solubility of apatite in basic magmas at their normal near-liquidus temperatures virtually precludes the occurrence of residual apatite in mantle source regions. If relatively low-temperature melting conditions prevail (e.g., 1100°C), as might be possible in H2O-bearing regions of the upper mantle, apatite could remain in the residue, but only in amounts too small to have significant effects on the rare earth patterns of the liquids. Because of the high solubility of apatite in basic magmas, phosphorus can be confidently treated as an incompatible element in peridotite melting models. Such models, in combination with observed characteristics of basic lavas, indicate that the upper mantle contains ∼200 ppm of phosphorus, much less than the chondritic abundance of ∼900 ppm.
Microwave-hydrothermal synthesis of W0.4Mo0.6O3 and carbon-decorated WOx-MoO2 nanorod anodes for lithium ion batteries

W0.4Mo0.6O3 and carbon-decorated WOx-MoO2 (x = 2 and 3) nanorods have been synthesized by a microwave-assisted hydrothermal process. The carbon-decorated WOx-MoO2 nanorods exhibit excellent capacity retention as the carbon provides an elastic matrix for absorbing the volume expansion–contraction smoothly and prevents aggregation of the nanorods during cycling.
Delayed microtubule reappearance in skin fibroblasts of Alzheimer patients: Preliminary report

To investigate the postulated microtubule defect in dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT), we examined the reappearance of the cytoplasmic microtubule (MT) network following colchicine treatment of cultured skin fibroblasts derived from four patients with DAT and from three controls using peroxidase-antiperoxidase staining. No difference in the cytoplasmic MT network was observed between patients and controls either prior to colchicine treatment or following complete MT reappearance. However, the reappearance of the organized MT network was significantly delayed in patient compared to control cultures (p < 0.001). Although the biochemical basis for this delayed reappearance is unknown, the findings of this pilot study are consistent with a previously postulated peripheral microtubular defect in DAT.
Prediction-based routing with packet scheduling under temporal constraint in delay tolerant networks

Routing in Disruption Tolerant Networks (DTNs) is a challenging problem due to the intermittent connectivity between the nodes. Researchers have proposed many routing protocols that adapt to the temporary connections of DTNs. One classification of routing protocols makes use of historical information to predict future contact patterns for any pair of nodes. However, most existing protocols focus on the probability of a path from the source to the destination without considering the information in a packet which includes the source, destination, size, TTL (Time-To-Live) and limited resources such as available buffer size and bandwidth. In this paper, we propose a new prediction-based routing algorithm that takes into account packet information under the conditions of limited transmission opportunities. The goal of this protocol is to increase the overall delivery ratio through scheduling packets at each node. Meanwhile, this protocol may sacrifice some messages' delivery delay time to some extent. Extensive simulation results with real traces show that our protocol with packet scheduling has better performance than the pure probabilistic routing algorithms in term of delivery ratio. Our protocol's performance advantage is more obvious for nodes with higher packet intensity and shorter TTL in packets.
The classical mouse mutant postaxial hemimelia results from a mutation in the Wnt 7a gene

The study of spontaneous mutations has aided the understanding of developmental processes. A large collection of spontaneous or "classical" mouse mutations has been accumulated over many decades. One of the mutations causes the postaxial hemimelia (px) phenotype, which consists of limb patterning defects accompanied by Mullerian duct-associated sterility in both sexes. We were intrigued that both the limb and the Mullerian duct px phenotypes are similar to those caused by mutations in the gene encoding the Wnt 7a signaling molecule. In this paper, we investigate the nature of the px mutation. Morphological analysis and breeding experiments demonstrate that the px phenotype indeed results from a mutation in the Wnt 7a gene. Molecular analysis demonstrates that px results from a 515-bp deletion in the Wnt 7a gene. This generates an abnormal splicing event, which ultimately produces a truncated Wnt 7a protein of half the normal size. Thus, the px mutation is predicted to be a likely null allele of the Wnt 7a gene. Our results provide another interesting example of a classical mutation that disrupts an important patterning gene in development.
Rat as a model system for hypertension drug discovery

Polygenic ‘essential’ hypertension remains a leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease, strokes and chronic kidney disease. Current antihypertensive therapies successfully lower blood pressure but have not normalized the burden of hypertensive end-organ damage – be it cardiovascular, cerebrovascular or chronic kidney disease. Next-generation antihypertensives need to address the causal polygenic mechanisms, the subtype-specific heterogeneity and end-organ disease burden of polygenic ‘essential’ hypertension. Rat models of hypertension recapitulate the key features of human essential hypertension disease course such as the polygenic etiology, genetic subtypes, gene–environment interactions, exacerbation of end-organ damage through hypertension-common disease (atherosclerosis and diabetes) interactions and the spectrum of end-organ damage. As such, rat models of polygenic hypertension provide a strategic platform for preclinical testing of the safety and efficacy of next-generation antihypertensive therapies that target the normalization of blood pressure and ensuing end-organ damage.
Linking Diversity in Evolutionary Origin and Stereospecificity for Enoyl Thioester Reductases: Determination and Interpretation of the Novel Stereochemical Course of Reaction Catalyzed by Crotonyl CoA Reductase from Streptomyces collinus

The stereochemical course of reduction of crotonyl CoA by the novel crotonyl CoA reductase (CCR) of Streptomyces collinus was determined using a radiochemical assay. The reaction was shown to proceed with transfer of the hydrogen from the pro-4S position of NADPH to the Re face of the β-carbon of crotonyl CoA. This transfer represents the first exception to the observation that enoyl thioester reductases catalyze transfer of the pro-4S hydrogen of NADPH to the Si face of the substrate. The observation of addition of solvent hydrogen to the Re face of the α-carbon in the reaction catalyzed by CCR demonstrated that the overall reduction of crotonyl CoA proceeds in an anti fashion. The overall stereochemical outcome of the reaction catalyzed by CCR is different to the four stereochemical outcomes that have previously been observed for enoyl thioester reductases. It is significant that the predicted amino acid sequence of CCR has also been shown to be unrelated to other enoyl thioester reductases. Based on th...
Carbamylphosphate synthetase of lactating bovine mammary tissue.

Summary A carbamylphosphate synthetase has been partially purified from lactating bovine mammary tissue which uses ammonia and not L-glutamine as a primary substrate. It is stimulated by phosphoribosylpyrophosphate, does not require activation by N-acetyl-L-glutamate, and is inhibited by several nucleotides of which UTP is not the most effective. Although the enzyme resembles more closely the carbamylphosphate synthetase of the pyrimidine synthesis pathway than that of the urea cycle, its characteristics indicate that it is a different form than has been described.
An examination of feedback-seeking behaviors, the feedback source and career success

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether individuals seeking feedback from either a supervisor or co-worker relate to intrinsic and extrinsic career success. Design/methodology/approach – Survey data were collected from 168 employees in three different organizations in the southeastern United States. Moderated multiple regression was used to test the hypotheses. Findings – Results support interactions of feedback seeking and feedback source (both supervisor and co-worker) to predict extrinsic career success. There was no support for the proposed interaction of feedback seeking and feedback source to predict intrinsic career success. Practical implications – The results support the need for organizations to focus on developing feedback environments that encourage feedback-seeking behaviors. Individuals that desire more feedback and take initiative within their careers by seeking feedback may have positive outcomes related to extrinsic career success. Originality/value – The study is on...
Reaching Out to Colleagues: Starting a Special Interest Group for Business and Economics Librarianship

This article discusses how the Special Interest Group (SIG) of Business and Economics Librarianship got started in New York City. The author explores some of his outreach strategies in promoting this group, and past and upcoming programming ideas. This experience may offer readers creative ideas for starting their own SIG.
Rat skeletal muscle phosphoglycerate kinase: purification, characterization and comparison with the enzyme from rabbit skeletal muscle and brewer's yeast.

Abstract 1. 1. Rat skeletal muscle phosphoglycerate kinase (E.C. 2.7.2.3) has been purified to homogeneity by a six-step process. 2. 2. The enzyme is a single-stranded protein with a molecular mass of about 43,000 Daltons as determined by exclusion chromatography. 3. 3. The monomeric nature of rat muscle phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK) has been substantiated by analogy with PGK's from other sources and by fingerprint analysis after tryptic digestion. 4. 4. Complete amino acid analysis shows exceedingly close homology with the rabbit muscle enzyme and surprising agreement with the yeast enzyme. Thus, the molecular weight and compositional data suggest that phosphoglycerate kinases from both primitive and highly differentiated cells are approximately the same size. 5. 5. Rat muscle PGK has an extinction coefficient, E 1·0cm 0·1% , at 280 nm of 0·811. 6. 6. Rat muscle PGK contains five free sulfhydryl groups compared to seven and one for the rabbit muscle and yeast enzymes, respectively. 7. 7. None of the above enzymes manifest disulfide bridges.
How Media Frames Move Public Opinion: An Analysis of the Women's Movement

We examine the weekly print media's coverage of the women's move ment and ascertain the presence of five unique frames from the 1950s through the 1990s: a sex roles frame, a feminism frame, political rights frame, economic rights frame, and an anti-feminism frame. After describ ing the frames we discuss an experimental test of four of the media pack ages on voters' political attitudes using a non-random sample of adults. Experimental results indicate that the economic rights and anti-feminism frames had a strong, negative impact on subject attitudes toward gender equality, support for women's rights, support for non-traditional gender roles and the frequency with which subjects mentioned "women's issues" as among the most important issues facing the U.S. In addition, the femi nism frame also exerted negative effects; while, conversely, the political rights frame had a positive influence on similar gender attitudes. Results were moderated by respondent gender with men demonstrating greater susceptibility t...