cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Style in nineteenth century fiction: A Multi-Dimensional analysis

Recent years have seen substantial advances in ‘corpus stylistics’, which is the use of corpora and computational techniques to study literary style. Corpus stylistics has produced analyses of otherwise imperceptible features of literary style. However, studies in corpus stylistics have rarely considered the full set of core linguistic features. The present study explores literary style through the application of Multi-Dimensional analysis. Stylistic variation along three dimensions is accounted for using a large, principled corpus of fiction. The dimensions of variation are interpreted as ‘Thought Presentation versus Description’, ‘Abstract Exposition versus Concrete Action’, and ‘Dialogue versus Narrative’. These three dimensions are then used to compare the styles of nineteenth-century fiction between authors, and the range of stylistic variation among the novels of individual authors. The findings are interpreted qualitatively and with reference to previous analyses of author style.
The Role of Visual Perception in Spoken Responses

How subjects voice responses to flashed visual symbols was investigated at successive stages of the information processing. The representation exits from V1 mainly by 120–140, mean 130ms; cortical motor output to voice onset has a mean delay of 85ms. The latencies of voicing only a noise, blurting versus perceiving before responding correctly yield mean delays for perception (85ms) and for spatio-temporal motor coding of digits (45ms), with a mean total delay of 345ms. Prefrontal cortex and Intralaminar N. also contribute to perception.
Body image and obesity in adulthood.

David B. Sarwer, PhD*, J. Kevin Thompson, PhD, Thomas F. Cash, PhD Departments of Psychiatry and Surgery, The Edwin and Fannie Gray Hall Center for Human Appearance, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 3535 Market Street, Suite 3108, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, 4202 Fowler Avenue, Tampa, FL 33620-8200, USA Department of Psychology, Old Dominion University, Norfolk 23529, VA, USA
WHY TEACH? PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS’ REASONS FOR ENTERING THE PROFESSION

(2000). WHY TEACH? PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS’ REASONS FOR ENTERING THE PROFESSION. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education: Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 373-384.
Study of autoimmune disease in New Zealand mice. IV. Immunologic reactivity and reticuloendothelial function.

NZB, NZW and NZB/NZW mice were pretreated with nonaggregated bovine gamma globulin (BGG) to produce tolerance to this protein measured as a secondary response at 6 weeks of age when autoimmune disease was absent and at 9 months when disease was active. The young NZB arid NZB/NZW hybrids were relatively resistant to the development of tolerance when compared with CBA and Swiss ICR control animals. However, 9 month old NZB mice were made tolerant easily. The old NZB/NZW hybrids showed a poor antibody response to immunization with BGG so that specific immunosuppression could not be unequivocally established. The NZW mice could not he made tolerant at any age. Spleen cells from old NZB mice could not initiate a graft versus host reaction, but spleen cells from young NZB and old NZW mice showed a vigorous response. Reticuloendothelial (RE) function as measured by clearance of colloidal carbon was identical in all the New Zealand and control mice, except in the NZB strain which exhibited increased RE activity. Nonaggregated BGG was cleared from the circulation 2 to 3 times more rapidly in all three New Zealand strains than in CBA and Swiss ICR controls. RE function and clearance of non-aggregated BGG in New Zealand mice could not be correlated with the immunologic reactivity of these animals to BGG.
Protein similarity from knot theory and geometric convolution

Shape similarity is one of the most elusive and intriguing questions of nature and mathematics. Proteins provide a rich domain in which to test theories of shape similarity. Proteins can match at different scales and in different arrangements. Sometimes the detection of common local structure is sufficient to infer global alignment of two proteins; at other times it provides false information. Proteins with very low sequence identity may share large substructures, or perhaps just a central core. There are even examples of proteins with nearly identical primary sequence in which α-helices have become Β-sheets.Shape similarity can be formulated (i) in terms of global metrics, such as RMSD or Hausdorff distance, (ii) in terms of subgraph isomorphisms, such as the detection of shared substructures with similar relative locations, or (iii) purely topologically, in terms of the cohomology induced by structure preserving transformations. Existing protein structure detection programs are built on the first two types of similarity. The third forms the foundations of knot theory.The thesis of this paper is: Protein similarity detection leads naturally to an algorithm operating at the metric, relational, and homotopic scales. The paper introduces a definition of similarity based on atomic motions that preserve local backbone topology without incurring significant distance errors. Such motions are motivated by the physical requirements for rearranging subsequences of a protein. Similarity detection then seeks rigid body motions able to overlay pairs of substructures, each related by a substructure-preserving motion, without necessarily requiring global structure preservation. This definition is general enough to span a wide range of questions: One can ask for full rearrangement of one protein into another while preserving global topology, as in drug design; or one can ask for rearrangements of sets of smaller substructures, each of which preserves local but not global topology, as in protein evolution.In the appendix, we exhibit an algorithm for answering the general question. That algorithm has the complexity of robot motion planning. In the text, we consider a more common case in which one seeks protein similarity by rearrangements of relatively short peptide segments. We exhibit an algorithm based on writhing numbers that runs in time O(n2) to O(n4). We define and use a new datastructure, called geometric self-convolution, within this algorithm.Contributions: We believe that this is the first paper to consider carefully the need for combining metric and homotopic qualities in seeking protein similarity. We provide a parameterized definition of similarity that leads naturally to a metric in protein space. We exhibit algorithms for computing the metric and detecting similarity. We report results obtained with three pairs of proteins, each pair exhibiting different typical characteristics.
High-speed anisotropic etching of quartz using SF 6 /C 4 F 8 /Ar/O 2 based chemistry in inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching system

Etching of quartz and glass for microsystems applications requires optimization of the etch process for high etch rates, high aspect ratios and low rms surface roughness of the etched features. Typically, minimum surface roughness of the etched feature accompanied with maximum etch rate and anisotropy are desired. In this article, we investigate the effect of different gas chemistries on the etch rate and rms surface roughness of the Pyrex(R) 7740 in an inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching (ICP-RIE) system. The gases considered were SF6 and c-C4F8, with additives gases comprising of O2, Ar, and CH4. A standard factorial design of experiment (DOE) methodology was used for finding the effect of variation of process parameters on the etch rate and rms surface roughness. By use of 2000 W of ICP power, 475 W of substrate power, SF6 flow rate of 5 sccm, Ar flow rate of 50 sccm, substrate holder temperature of 20°C, and distance of substrate holder from ICP source to be 120 mm, we were able to obtain an etch rate of 0.536 μm/min and a rms surface roughness of ~1.97 nm. For an etch process optimized for high etch rate and minimum surface roughness using C4F8/SF6/O2/Ar gases, an etch rate of 0.55 μm/min and a rms surface roughness of ~25 nm was obtained for SF6 flow rate of 5 sccm, C4F8 flow rate of 5 sccm, O2 flow rate of 50 sccm, Ar flow rate of 50 sccm. Keeping all other process parameters the same, increasing the SF6 flow rate to 50 sccm resulted in an etch rate of 0.7 μm/min at an rms surface roughness of ~800 nm whereas increasing the C4F8 flow rate to 50 sccm resulted in an etch rate of 0.67 μm/min at an rms surface roughness of ~450 nm . Addition of CH4 did not contribute significantly to the etch rate while at the same time causing significant increase in the rms surface roughness. Regression or least square fit was used define an arbitrary etch rate number (Wetch) and rms surface roughness number (Wrms). These numbers were calculated by least square fit to the data comprising of ten correlated etch variables and enable quantization of etch parameters in terms of process parameters. The etch numbers defined in this work as function of process parameters present a very useful tool for the optimization, quantification and characterization of the dielectric etch processes developed in this work for MEMS fabrication and packaging applications.
The non-carcinogenicity of a single dose of 4-aminobiphenyl in the dog.

Abstract The approximate lethal oral dose of crystalline 4-aminobiphenyl (administered by capsule) is 50 mg/kg in mongrel dogs. Administration of this dose to six pure-bred beagles caused the death of two animals in 18 hr. The four surviving animals, plus two additional beagle dogs each given one oral dose of 15 mg/kg, were observed for 5 yr and then sacrificed. No signs of haematuria, precancerous lesions in the bladder mucosa or tumours in the urinary bladder were observed.
Evaluation of Interfraction Changes in Tumor Volume to Predict Long-Term Outcomes of SBRT in Early-Stage NSCLC

Materials/Methods: Ten patients with vestibular schwannoma were included in this study. Each case was planned using GK forward planning and VMAT inverse planning software. VMAT plans were generated with 1 coplanar and 3/ 5 non-coplanar arcs. A custom VMAT planning structure defined a steep dose gradient surrounding the tumor. Dose to normal brain tissue volumes receiving 6, 8 and 12 Gy, conformity index (CI), and dose to brainstem and cochlea were recorded. Beam-on times were calculatedwith dose rates of 600 and 1400MU/ min. Dosimetric outcomes for GK and VMAT plans were compared using a Kruskal-Wallis test and Dunn’s post-hoc test. Results: Median tumor volume was 2 cc (range 0.1-4.7 cc). A peripheral tumor dose of 12 Gy was prescribed. Excellent tumor coverage (>99.8%) was achieved with both GK and VMAT plans. Each of the VMAT arc groups had plans with lower target maximum and mean dose, as well as decreased beam-on time, compared to the GK plans (Table). CI was superior in VMAT (3 and 5 arc plans) to GK for targets 2 cc (p Z 0.01). Mean dose to cochlea was higher in VMAT 1 arc and lower in 3 and 5 arc plans, respectively, when compared to GK (p < 0.0001, p < 0.05). Each of the VMAT arc sets had plans with decreased beam-on time at 1400 MU/ min (Table) and 600 MU/min (data not shown) compared to the GK plans. Similar normal brain tissue V6, V8 and V12, and dose to brainstem were achieved with GK and VMAT (Table). Conclusions: In the present study, VMAT inverse planning for the treatment of vestibular schwannoma demonstrated similar dosimetric outcomes for sparing surrounding organs-at-risk as GK plans. There appears to be a benefit to VMAT compared to GK, in regard to treatment delivery time and mitigating hot spots. CI was superior in VMAT (3 and 5 arc plans) to GK for targets 2 cc. VMAT should be considered as a safe equivalent to GK for vestibular schwannoma SRS treatment. Author Disclosure: H. Kim: None. P. Potrebko: None. H. Liu: None. H.B. Eldredge-Hindy: None. V. Gunn: None. M. Werner-Wasik: None. D.W. Andrews: None. J.J. Evans: None. C.J. Farrell: None. K. Judy: None. W. Shi: None.
Remote sensing applications of unmanned aircraft: challenges to flight in United States airspace

The capabilities of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) have improved dramatically in the past 5 years, and as a result UAS have become increasingly popular among scientists. Missions that require long dwell times and/or are in locations generally too dangerous for manned aircraft are particularly suited to UAS, and scientists are looking more and more to UAS to perform these types of remote sensing missions. Sea ice characterization, mapping of fault lines, hurricane monitoring and satellite calibration/validation (cal/val) are some examples of applications that benefit from the use of UAS. Operations involving UAS have unique challenges compared to manned aircraft. For example, most instruments must be automated and miniaturized. One of the greatest challenges, however, is gaining access to the United States national airspace system (NAS). Currently, access is only granted to government agencies and universities through a certificate of authorization (COA) process. This article will provide a general view o...
THE CHILD PSYCHIATRIST AS EDUCATOR

At this time when government support for specialty training is being phased out, the publication of four papers describing various aspects of training by child psychiatrists offers a welcome opportunity to divert our attention away from the immediate preoccupation with financing. They stimulate a more basic reflection upon the merits of child psychiatry specialization and the contributions child psychiatrists make to medical education, to the practice of pediatrics and general psychiatry, and to the overall care of healthy and sick children. The specialty of child psychiatry evolved from the recognition that competence in treating adult patients was often not sufficient to restore healthy functioning and emotional progression in children and adolescents suffering from developmental arrests or psychopathological deviations. The difficulty of rehabilitating severely disturbed adult patients and the recognition that signs and symptoms of deviant behavior were often present long before the acute outbreak of their illness, increasingly guided psychiatrists' attention to the need for prevention and intervention in early childhood. Experiences during the two World Wars were critical in persuading influential physicians and psychiatrists that a special training in the psychiatry of children and adolescents should be developed. Psychoanalytic theory offered a conceptual framework for com pre-
Learning Impairment from Maternal Salicylate Treatment in Rats

THE administration of large doses of salicylates to pregnant animals produces malformations of the central nervous system, internal organs and skeleton1. In rats, minor abnormalities are observed to result from a single oral dose of 250 mg kg−1 at day 9 of gestation, with the severity and frequency of malformations increasing at higher doses. The period of maximal susceptibility has been shown to be on days 9 and 10 of gestation2. This study provides preliminary evidence that doses too low to yield gross central nervous system malformations can produce behavioural impairments in the offspring.
Cis-acting sequences responsible for anterior localization of bicoid mRNA in Drosophila embryos

The anterior body pattern of Drosophila melanogaster is specified in large part by the protein product of the bicoid (bcd) gene which functions as a graded morphogen with its peak of expression at the anterior pole of the embryo. Formation of the gradient is dependent on prior localization of bcd messenger RNA at the anterior pole of the egg cell during oogenesis. Here we demonstrate that a discrete portion of the bcd mRNA is necessary for anterior localization of the bcd transcript and is sufficient to cause localization of heterologous transcripts. The sequences responsible for localization appear to span an interval of about 625 base pairs in the 3' untranslated portion of the bcd mRNA and to include regions capable of forming extensive secondary structure. Transcripts from bcd are synthesized predominantly, if not exclusively, in the nurse cells and then transported to the oocyte by connections at the prospective anterior pole. Our findings support the proposal that bcd transcripts are selectively recognized and trapped as they enter the anterior tip of the oocyte, and suggest that this localization process is mediated by anchored sequence-specific receptors in the oocyte cytoplasm.
Primary central nervous system lymphoma: Phase I evaluation of infusional bromodeoxyuridine with whole brain accelerated fractionation radiation therapy after chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND The current study was performed to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD), toxicity, and outcome of infusional 5 bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (bromodeoxyuridine; BUdR) given with accelerated fractionation whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) after chemotherapy for the treatment of primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL). METHODS Twelve patients with untreated and histologically confirmed PCNSL were entered on the study between 1994 and 1996. Chemotherapy was comprised of one course of IDHAP plus high-dose methotrexate (HD-MTX). IDHAP is comprised of idarubicin at a dose of 1.5 mg/m2/day × 4 days intravenously by continuous infusion (i.v. CI), dexamethasone at a dose of 40 mg i.v. on Days 1–5, cytosine arabinoside at a dose of 2000 mg/ m2 i.v. on Day 5 after cisplatin, and cisplatin at a dose of 25 mg/m2/day × 4 days i.v. CI. HD-MTX was given at a dose of 3.5 g/m2 i.v. between Day 10 and Day 14 after IDHAP. BUdR was given as an i.v. CI over 48 hours, 2–3 days prior to WBRT and then weekly during WBRT. Dose escalation started at 1.5 g/m2/day for Cohort 1 with subsequent increments of 0.3 g/m2/day. The WBRT dose was 45 grays (Gy) at a dose of 1.5 Gy twice a day, 5 days per week. Neurocognitive testing was performed before, during, and after treatment. RESULTS Nine of 12 patients entered on the study received BUdR. One of 3 patients in Cohort 1 developed leukoencephalopathy (LEP), a dose-limiting toxicity (DLT), within 2 months of the completion of therapy. Therefore, the next cohort received the same dose level. Because no toxicity was observed in Cohort 2, the third cohort received a BUdR dose of 1.8 g /m2/day. Shortly after completing enrollment in Cohort 3, 3 more patients developed LEP, including 2 from Cohort 1 who had received a dose of 1.5 g/m2/day. Thus, DLT occurred at a dose of 1.5 g/m2/day, the starting level in the current study. As a result, the trial was stopped. Eight of 12 patients achieved a complete response, 3 achieved a partial response, and 1 patient died before response assessment. CONCLUSIONS Hyperfractionated WBRT with concurrent BUdR after chemotherapy was found to result in modest disease control but has unacceptable neurotoxicity. Cancer 2003;98:1021–8. © 2003 American Cancer Society. DOI 10.1002/cncr.11627
Response of an aridland ecosystem to interannual climate variability and prolonged drought

Water is a key driver of ecosystem processes in aridland ecosystems. Thus, changes in climate could have significant impacts on ecosystem structure and function. In the southwestern US, interactions among regional climate drivers (e.g., El Nino Southern Oscillation) and topographically controlled convective storms create a spatially and temporally variable precipitation regime that governs the rate and magnitude of ecosystem processes. We quantified the spatial and temporal distribution of reduced grassland greenness in response to seasonal and annual variation in precipitation at two scales at the Sevilleta Long Term Ecological Research site in central New Mexico, using Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) values from bi-weekly AVHRR data and seasonal ETM data from 1989 to 2005. We used spatially explicit NDVI Z-scores to identify times and places of significantly reduced greenness and related those to interactions between plant functional type, seasonal climate variation, and topography. Seasonal greenness was bimodal with a small peak in spring and a stronger peak following the summer monsoon. Greenness was generally spatially homogeneous in spring and more spatially variable in summer. From 2001 through spring 2002, drought effects were evidenced by a 4-fold increase in the number of pixels showing significantly low greenness. Spatial distribution of low greenness was initially modulated by topographic position, but as the drought intensified spread throughout the study area. Vegetation green up occurred rapidly when drought conditions ceased. We conclude that drought effects vary spatially over time, pervasive drought reduces broad-scale spatial heterogeneity, and greenness patterns recover rapidly when drought conditions end.
Discordance between spermatozoa detection and self-reported semen exposure

An analysis of data from a prospective study of 1257 high-risk women revealed 7 predictors of discordance between self-reported lack of recent exposure to semen and detection of spermatozoa on Gram stain, suggesting that inaccuracies in the reporting of sexual behaviors cannot be assumed to be distributed randomly.
Bayesian Analysis of Hypothesis Testing Problems for General Population: A Kullback–Leibler Alternative

Abstract We consider a hypothesis problem with directional alternatives. We approach the problem from a Bayesian decision theoretic point of view and consider a situation when one side of the alternatives is more important or more probable than the other. We develop a general Bayesian framework by specifying a mixture prior structure and a loss function related to the Kullback–Leibler divergence. This Bayesian decision method is applied to Normal and Poisson populations. Simulations are performed to compare the performance of the proposed method with that of a method based on a classical z-test and a Bayesian method based on the “0–1” loss.
A secure computer network design

Abstract This paper investigates fundamental issues in the design of computer networks capable of protecting information from illicit dissemination and modification. We examine networks with trusted and untrusted communications lines and develop a set of easily applied design rules for the connection of computers to form secure computer networks. Protocols that maintain security conditions are shown, covert channels and traffic analysis are examined, and a ‘good enough’ cryptosystem is shown to fulfill all of the network security and protocol requirements. Some attacks against these networks are analyzed for their effect, conclusions are presented, and future research is outlined.
The effect of seizures on working memory and executive functioning performance

The aim of this study was to assess whether duration of seizure disorder and lifetime seizure load are associated with deficits in higher cognitive functions in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) (N=207) or psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) (N=216). Multivariate regression analyses revealed that age at onset, duration, and group assignment were significant predictors of neuropsychological performance (all P<or=0.02), with group having a moderating relationship. Univariate analyses revealed different patterns of predictor effects on cognitive functioning within each diagnostic group. An impairment index was calculated for each individual, and univariate analyses revealed that age at TLE but not PNES onset was the only significant predictor of impairment (b=-0.005, P<0.001). The results suggest that earlier age at seizure onset, longer duration, and higher lifetime seizure frequency affect cognitive functioning in both the TLE and PNES groups, but differently within each group. These results have implications for early diagnosis and intervention in both groups.
Anisotropy of coherent interphase boundary energy

Abstract A nearest neighbor, broken bond model is employed to develop general relationships for the concentration profile associated with a coherent interphase boundary and for the interfacial energy of such a boundary, σc. This development incorporates a simple crystallographic method for describing the distribution of nearest neighboring atoms about a given atom in an interface of arbitrary orientation between two cubic-type crystals. Contours of constant σc are constructed on the unit steriographic triangle at several temperatures and illustrate the manner in which the anisotropy of σc evolves with decreasing temperature. Mathematical equivalency of the discrete lattice model and the continuum method of Cahn and Hilliard is demonstrated at high temperatures when the regular solution model is applicable. A comparison between the two approaches is used to demonstrate that σc is relatively insensitive to the concentration profile.
Fenofibrate treatment of diabetic rats reduces nitrosative stress, renal cyclooxygenase-2 expression, and enhanced renal prostaglandin release

Renal cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 expression is increased in the diabetic rat and has been linked to increased glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and renal injury. Our studies indicate that oxidative stress in the form of peroxynitrite (ONOO) may be the stimulus for induction of COX-2. In this study, we addressed the effects of a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha agonist on renal COX-2 expression as fibrates exert renal protective effects. Forty-eight hours after the induction of diabetes with streptozotocin in male Wistar rats, fenofibrate treatment (100 mg/kg/day) was started, and the effects were compared with untreated diabetic rats and treated and untreated age-matched control rats (n = 5 per group). After 12 to 14 weeks of treatment, the right kidney was perfused to determine prostaglandin release in response to arachidonic acid (AA), and the left kidney was used to examine the expression of COX-2 and nitrotyrosine, an index of ONOO formation. Release of prostaglandin (PG) E(2) in response to AA was enhanced in the diabetic rat kidney compared with control (4.8 +/- 0.7 versus 1.9 +/- 0.7 ng/min) and reduced by fenofibrate to 0.6 +/- 0.2 ng/min. A similar pattern was obtained for AA-stimulated release of 6-ketoPGF(1alpha). The effects of fenofibrate were associated with reduced renal expression of COX-2 and nitrotyrosine in diabetic rats. We used creatinine clearance as an index of GFR, which was increased in the diabetic rat, 3.09 +/- 0.4 versus 1.15 +/- 0.1 ml/min for control, and reduced by fenofibrate treatment to 1.87 +/- 0.3 ml/min. These results show that fenofibrate treatment of diabetic rats decreases renal COX-2 expression, possibly by reducing nitrosative stress, and is associated with a reduction of the enhanced GFR.
NUCLEON-NUCLEUS COLLISIONS AT RELATIVISTIC ENERGIES

The Fermi theory of multiple meson production is utilized in the interpretation of high-energy collisions between nucleons and complex nuclei. A relation between the total number of relativistic particles produced, their angular spread, and the number of nucleons involved in the collision is found to be satisfied by all the cases of relativistic showers published thus far.
Transition in a Supersonic Boundary Layer Due to Acoustic Disturbances

The boundary layer receptivity process due to the interaction of three-dimensional slow and fast acoustic disturbances with a blunted flat plate is numerically investigated at a free stream Mach number of 3.5 and at a high Reynolds number of 10(exp 6)/inch. The computations are performed with and without two-dimensional isolated roughness element located near the leading edge. Both the steady and unsteady solutions are obtained by solving the full Navier-Stokes equations using the fifth-order accurate weighted essentially non-oscillatory (WENO) scheme for space discretization and using third-order total-variation-diminishing (TVD) Runge-Kutta scheme for time integration. The simulations showed that the linear instability waves are generated very close to the leading edge. The wavelength of the disturbances inside the boundary layer first increases gradually and becomes longer than the wavelength for the instability waves within a short distance from the leading edge. The wavelength then decreases gradually and merges with the wavelength for the Tollmien-Schlichting wave. The initial amplitudes of the instability waves near the neutral points, the receptivity coefficients, are about 1.20 and 0.07 times the amplitude of the free-stream disturbances for the slow and the fast waves respectively. It was also revealed that small isolated roughness element does not enhance the receptivity process for the given nose bluntness.
Effect of a base-catalyzed dechlorination process on the genotoxicity of PCB-contaminated soil

Abstract We evaluated the genotoxicity of dichloromethane (DCM) extracts of PCB-contaminated soil before and after the soil had been treated by a base-catalyzed dechlorination process. The treatment process involves heating a mixture of the soil, polyethylene glycol (or hydrocarbons with boiling points of 310–387°C), and sodium hydroxide to 250–350°C. Dechlorination reduced by >99% the PCB concentration of the soil, which was initially 2,200 ppm. The DCM extracts of both control and treated soils were not mutagenic in strain TA100 of Salmonella, but they were mutagenic in strain TA98. Based on results in strain TA98, the base-catalyzed dechlorination process reduced the mutagenic potency of the soil by approximately one-half. The DCM extracts of the soils before and after treatment were equally genotoxic in a prophage-induction assay in E . coli , which detects some chlorinated organic carcinogens that are not detected by the Salmonella mutagenicity assay. These results suggest that treatment of PCB-contaminated soil by base-catalyzed dechlorination reduced the mutagenicity of the soil slightly.
A critique of Stephane Savanah’s “mirror self-recognition and symbol-mindedness”

Stephane Savanah (Savanah Biol Philos 28:657–673, 2013) provides a critique of theories of self-recognition that largely mirrors my own critique (though without recognizing it) that I began publishing two decades ago. In addition, he both misconstrues my kinesthetic-visual matching model of mirror self-recognition (MSR) in multiple ways (though he appears to agree with the actual model), and misconstrues the evidence in the scientific literature on MSR. I describe points of agreement in our thinking about self-recognition, and criticize and rectify inaccuracies.
Molecular basis for the subtype discrimination of the estrogen receptor-β-selective ligand, diarylpropionitrile

Although the two subtypes of the human estrogen receptor (ER), ERα and ERβ, share only 56% amino acid sequence identity in their ligand binding domain (LBD), the residues that surround the ligand are nearly identical; nevertheless, subtype-selective ligands are known. To understand the molecular basis by which diarylpropionitrile (DPN), an ERβ-selective ligand, is able to discriminate between the two ERs, we examined its activity on ER mutants and chimeric constructs generated by DNA shuffling. The N-terminal region of the ERβ LBD (through helix 6) appears to be fully responsible for the ERβ selectivity of DPN. In fact, a single ERα point mutation (L384M) was largely sufficient to switch the DPN response of this ER to that of the ERβ type, but residues in helix 3 are also important in achieving the full ERβ selectivity of DPN. Using molecular modeling, we found an energetically favorable fit for the S-DPN enantiomer in ERβ, in which the proximal phenol mimics the A ring of estradiol, and the nitrile engag...
Design to manufacture — Integrating STEM principles for advanced manufacturing education

The community and technical college systems possess unique opportunities to showcase the integration of Science, Technology, Engineering, (Art), and Math (STE(A)M) programs into cohesive, collective, and collaborative learning environments. It will be shown that involvement from separate disciplines within STEM fields facilitates a learning environment greater than the sum of its individual parts. The essential challenge to take theory shown in class, to a fully realizable product, produced in a college laboratory will be explored. A distinction between classical and modern manufacturing engineering processes will be defined. In a design study, we will look at the fundamental engineering principles of an internal combustion intake manifold system to showcase the central integration of design within STEM education. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation software will showcase that artistic design can improve the dynamics of a component. Finally, it will be shown that STEM project/product design need to be developed around advanced manufacturing techniques, ignoring the limitations of conventional machining.
Osculatory interpolation in the method of fundamental solution for nonlinear Poisson problems

Abstract The Method of Fundamental Solution (also known as the F-Trefftz method or the singularity method) is an efficient numerical method for the solution of Laplace equation for both two- and three-dimensional problems. In recent years, the method has also been applied for the solution of Poisson equations by finding the particular solution to the nonhomogeneous terms. In general, approximate particular solutions are constructed using the interpolation of the nonhomogeneous terms by the radial basis functions. The method has been validated in recent papers. This paper presents an improvement of the solution procedure for such problems. The improvement is achieved by using radial basis functions called osculatory radial basis functions. Such functions make use of the normal gradient at boundary to obtain improved interpolation. The efficacy of the method is demonstrated for some prototypical nonlinear Poisson problems and for multiple Poisson equations.
THE IMPACT OF STATE LAND‐USECONTROLS ON RESIDENTIAL LAND VALUES

In this paper, we examine the effects of state land-use controls on the aggregate demand and supply of residential land. Previous studies have examined the effect of land-use regulation on housing prices using single-equation estimation. We estimate a three-equation intejurisdidional supply-demand model of land-use controls. Our results suggest that land-use regulations have a significant impact on both the demand and supply of residentid land as expected.
Innate Immune Proteins C1q and Mannan-Binding Lectin Enhance Clearance of Atherogenic Lipoproteins by Human Monocytes and Macrophages

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disorder that is characterized by the accumulation of modified lipoproteins in the arterial intima. C1q and mannan-binding lectin (MBL) are not only recognition components involved in activation of inflammation via the complement cascade, but they are also able to directly modulate phagocyte activation. Studies in C1q−/− and MBL−/− mice suggest that these molecules play a protective role in the early atherosclerotic lesion in the absence of, or prior to, expression of other complement components. However, in later stages, complement activation becomes an inappropriate inflammatory response, contributing to disease pathology. Therefore, to investigate possible molecular interactions of C1q and MBL in atherosclerotic lesions, we examined the influence of C1q and MBL in the clearance of native and modified lipoproteins by human monocytes and monocyte-derived macrophages. Both C1q and MBL are shown to bind and enhance the monocyte/monocyte-derived macrophage clearance of modified forms of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), including oxidized LDL and acetylated LDL, but not native LDL. Modified forms of LDL activate the classical complement pathway, but no lectin pathway activation was detected. Interestingly, monocytes that ingested modified LDL in the presence of C1q or MBL upregulated surface CD80 and CD31, as well as CCL2 chemokine gene expression. However, C1q and MBL also significantly reduced levels of free cholesterol accumulation in monocytes and human monocyte-derived macrophages that ingested oxidized LDL, while enhancing high-density lipoprotein–specific cholesterol efflux from these cells. These results suggest a novel pathway in which C1q and MBL influence removal and metabolism of atherogenic forms of LDL in the early stages of atherosclerosis.
Potential impacts of climate change on nitrogen transformations and greenhouse gas fluxes in forests: a soil transfer study

Relatively little research has been conducted on how climate change may affect the structure and function of arid to semiarid ecosystems of the American Southwest. Along the slopes of the San Francisco Peaks of Arizona, USA, I transferred intact soil cores from a spruce-fir to a ponderosa pine forest 730m lower in elevation to assess the potential impacts of climate change on soil N cycling and trace gas fluxes. The low-elevation site has a mean annual soil temperature about 2.51C higher than the high-elevation site. Net rates of N transformations and trace gas fluxes were measured in high-elevation soil cores incubated in situ and soil cores transferred to the low-elevation site. Over a 13-month period, volumetric soil water content was similar in transferred soil cores relative to soil cores incubated in situ. Net N mineralization and nitrification increased over 80% in transferred soil cores compared with in situ soil cores. Soil transfer significantly increased net CO2 efflux (120%) and net CH4 consumption (90%) relative to fluxes of these gases from soil cores incubated in situ. Soil net N2O fluxes were relatively low and were not generally altered by soil transfer. Although the soil microbial biomass as a whole decreased in transferred soil cores compared with in situ soil cores after the incubation period, active bacterial biomass increased. Transferring soil cores from the low-elevation to the high-elevation site (i.e. simulated global cooling) commonly, but not consistently, resulted in the opposite effects on soil pools and processes. In general, soil containment (root trenching) did not significantly affect soil measurements. My results suggest that small increases in mean annual temperature can have large impacts on soil N cycling, soil‐atmosphere trace gas exchanges, and soil microbial communities even in ecosystems where water availability is a major limiting resource.
Use of Satellite Transmitters to Delineate Bald Eagle Communal Roosts within the Upper Chesapeake Bay

Abstract Although Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) roosts are protected under the federal Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, we have little systematic information on the distribution and abundance of roosts, and a policy framework that governs day-to-day management decisions has not been developed. We used satellite transmitters (n = 63) deployed on Bald Eagles that represented a cross section of age classes and populations present within the study area. The units were programmed to record nocturnal roost locations (n = 10 321) to assess roosting behavior and to delineate the boundaries of communal roosts within the upper Chesapeake Bay. More than 27% (n = 2800) of roost locations were not associated with communal roosts and were assumed to reflect solitary roosting. The remaining 72% (n = 7475) of roost locations were clustered within 170 communal roosts that varied in area (0.04–20.13 ha), relative use (5–755 roost-nights), and number of transmittered birds present (2–35). The number of ...
Gradient syllable weight and weight universals in quantitative metrics

Homeric Greek, Kalevala Finnish, Old Norse and Middle Tamil are all languages in which weight is claimed to be exclusively binary in the poetic metrics. As I demonstrate through corpus studies of these traditions, the poets were sensitive to additional grades of weight, such that finely articulated continua of syllable weight can be inferred from distributional asymmetries in the metres. Across all four languages, the scales are strongly correlated (for example, in each, C0V<C0VC<C0VV<C0VVC). These language-internal scales reflect the cross-linguistic typology of categorical weight criteria, providing new evidence for weight universals. A metrical grammar is proposed in a maximum entropy constraint framework in which categorical and scalar/gradient constraints interact to generate the weight-mapping typology.
Half frequency instability on a 1W bipolar part

Half frequency instability is investigated on a 1W bipolar part. The small signal scattering parameters are measured at 500 MHz while the bipolar part is operating at 1 GHz. The measurement is done over various drive levels ranging from linear to saturation regions of operation. An algorithm is used to calculate the small signal S-parameters at 500 MHz without having to present 50-ohm termination to the device but instead the optimum load at 1 GHz. This is significant because the microwave power transistor needs a suitable load termination (not a 50-ohm termination) in order to operate at that large signal level.
Model Checking Nash Equilibria in MAD Distributed Systems

We present a symbolic model checking algorithm for verification of Nash equilibria in finite state mechanisms modeling multiple administrative domains (MAD) distributed systems. Given a finite state mechanism, a proposed protocol for each agent and an indifference threshold for rewards, our model checker returns PASS if the proposed protocol is a Nash equilibrium (up to the given indifference threshold) for the given mechanism, FAIL otherwise. We implemented our model checking algorithm inside the NuSMV model checker and present experimental results showing its effectiveness for moderate size mechanisms.
Karyotype stability of the DT40 chicken B cell line: macrochromosome variation and cytogenetic mosaicism.

The DT40 transformed chicken B-cell line is an important and widely used vertebrate cell line. Knowledge of the 'wild-type' DT40 karyotype is a significant consideration for most research applications and for extrapolation of results to normal cells. Here we present data indicating that (1) modal karyotype differences exist between DT40 cultures from different sources, (2) DT40 cultures are cytogenetically mosaic, and (3) the mosaic features can change over time with media conditions influencing the degree and type of non-modal karyotypes that emerge. In addition to the previously reported trisomy for chromosome 2, a monosomy for chromosome 4 and a variant 4p– are described. The macrochromosomal variation and mosaic nature of the DT40 system should alert researchers using this important cell line to consider whether such variation will impact experimental results and interpretation. The results are discussed in regard to current knowledge of cytogenetic anomalies associated with chicken cancers.
Inelastic energy loss in low-energy ion-surface collisions

Recent measurements showed a previously unobserved sharp thresholdlike inelastic excitation occurring in low-energy ion-metal surface collisions when varying the energy of the incident ion. Using a relativistic Dirac-Fock-Slater approach we deduce that the inelastic energy loss of the ion beam can be traced to the fast diabatic promotion of specific molecular levels to the continuum. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}
Critical Hopefulness: A Person-Centered Analysis of the Intersection of Cognitive and Emotional Empowerment

Leaders in struggles for social justice agree on the importance and the difficulty of maintaining hopefulness while developing critical awareness of social issues. Research has indicated that the analogous components of psychological empowerment (emotional and cognitive) often do not co-vary across populations. This study used a person-centered analytic approach, latent class analysis, to identify subpopulations of participants (n = 1,322) according to the cognitive and emotional components of psychological empowerment. Four distinct sub-groups emerged: those who were relatively (1) critical but alienated, (2) uncritical but hopeful, (3) uncritical and alienated, or (4) critical and hopeful. These clusters were then examined for demographic differences and relationships with a set of conceptually relevant variables including social capital, psychological sense of community, openness, organizational participation and mental wellbeing. Results shed light on the complexity of empowerment processes and yield implications for ongoing community research and action.
Leukocytes and bacteria in men with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome compared to asymptomatic controls.

ABSTRACTPurpose: Chronic prostatitis has been traditionally characterized by inflammation and/or infection of the prostate gland, objectively categorized by white blood cells and cultured bacteria in prostate specific specimens. We compared leukocyte counts and localization rates for bacterial cultures of segmented urine samples (VB1, VB2, VB3), expressed prostatic secretion (EPS) and semen in men diagnosed with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) to men without pelvic pain (controls).Materials and Methods: A total of 463 men enrolled in the National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Cohort study and 121 age matched men without urinary symptoms had leukocyte counts performed and 5-day bacterial cultures on specimens obtained from a standard 4-glass test (VB1, VB2, EPS, VB3) and semen. All risk factor comparisons between case and control analyses were tested using generalized Mantel-Haenszel methods, and multivariable models were developed using logistic regression methods, ad...
NetCmpt: a network-based tool for calculating the metabolic competition between bacterial species

Summary: NetCmpt is a tool for calculating the competitive potential between pairs of bacterial species. The score describes the effective metabolic overlap (EMO) between two species, derived from analyzing the topology of the corresponding metabolic models. NetCmpt is based on the EMO algorithm, developed and validated in previous studies. It takes as input lists of species-specific enzymatic reactions (EC numbers) and generates a matrix of the potential competition scores between all pairwise combinations. Availability and implementation: NetCmpt is provided as both a web tool and a software package, designed for the use of non-computational biologists. The NetCmpt web tool, software, examples, and documentation are freely available online at http:// app.agri.gov.il/shiri/NetComp.php.
A hybrid multiple scale procedure for boundary layers involving several dissimilar scales

For a class of boundary-value problems involving damped oscillations that occur at three or more dissimilar scales, both matched asymptotic and multiple scale expansions can fail to provide uniformly valid solutions. A novel approach is introduced in this paper that suggests determining a composite scale that matches the dissimilar scales, in lieu of the asymptotic solutions, in their applicable domains. Information contained in the dissimilar scales is condensed into one composite scale, thus reducing the number of independent scales to two. For that purpose, a procedure is presented herein that consists of: 1) identifying the form and location of prevalent characteristic scales, 2) determining a composite scale that matches the stretched or contracted scales in their respective intervals, and 3) invoking a two-variable multiple scale method that employs the composite scale as one of its independent variables. This procedure is applied successfully to a problem that eludes conventional perturbation methods. The corresponding boundary-layer equation pertains to the separable transversely-dependent component of the rotational momentum equation used in modeling oscillatory flows in low aspect ratio rectangular channels where blowing is present at the walls. An expansion series is constructed in the parameter associated with small viscosity. A uniformly valid expression is extracted that captures the physical effects of unsteady inertia, viscous diffusion, and transverse convection of unsteady vorticity, while clearly showing that spatial attenuation of rotational waves is controlled by a single similarity parameter. Analytical results are numerically verified for a wide range of physical parameters and test cases.