cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Death and Rehabilitation

While rehabilitation is reemerging as an important penological goal, the Supreme Court is eroding the long-revered divide between capital and non-capital sentences. This raises the question of whether and how rehabilitation applies in the capital context. Courts and scholars have long concluded that it does not — that death is completely irrelevant to rehabilitation. Yet, historically, the death penalty in this country has been imposed in large part to induce the rehabilitation of offenders’ characters. Additionally, there are tales of the worst offenders transforming their characters when they are facing death, and several legal doctrines are based on the idea that death spurs rehabilitation. Courts’ and scholars’ conclusion that death is irrelevant to rehabilitation likely stems from changes in our understanding of rehabilitation. While it was once understood as referring to an offender’s character transformation, references to rehabilitation now often focus on offenders’ direct impacts on society. This has the effect, though, of distracting from the humanness of the worst offenders and consequently not providing them with true opportunities to transform their characters — a denial which challenges the Eighth Amendment’s focus on respecting the human dignity of the condemned.
Bearing fault detection via autoregressive stator current modeling

This research proposes a method for detecting developing bearing faults via stator current. Current-based condition monitoring offers significant economic savings and implementation advantages over vibration-based techniques. This method begins by filtering the stator current to remove most of the significant frequency content unrelated to bearing faults. Afterwards, the filtered stator current is used to train an autoregressive signal model. This model is first trained while the bearings are healthy, and a baseline spectrum is computed. As bearing health degrades, the modeled spectrum deviates from its baseline value; the mean spectral deviation is then used as the fault index. This fault index is able to track changes in machine vibration due to developing bearing faults. Due to the initial filtering process, this method is robust to many influences including variations in supply voltage, cyclical load torque variations, and other (nonbearing) fault sources. Experimental results from 10 different bearings are used to verify the proficiency of this method.
High-Level Modeling and Analysis of an Air-Traffic Management System

This talk describes progress in a current project on modeling and analyzing the TCAS II aircraft collision-avoidance system.
Carbon–hydrogen bond activation in cyclopentadienyl dimethyl tungsten nitrosyl and carbonyl

Mechanisms for generating tungsten carbene complexes from CpW(NO)(CH3)2, Cp*W(NO)(CH3)2 and [CpW(CO)(CH3)2]− by methane elimination were studied by density functional (B3LYP) computations. Based on the calculations, a one-step (σ-bond metathesis like) mechanism is preferred in nitrosyl complexes, while a two-step (oxidative addition then reductive elimination) mechanism is preferred in the carbonyl complex. The one-step mechanism is strongly assisted by the metal as the transition state for this mechanism has a W–H distance that is only ≈0.1 A longer than the W–H single bond in the oxidative addition intermediate. Stronger π backbonding of the NO ligand is responsible for the difference.
Interactive prototyping of communication-intensive systems

Formalizes an interpretation of message-flow diagrams, allowing them to be translated into an executable forms, and develops a system, called "Cara", which allows a designer to enter message-flow diagrams and data operations, and to begin simulating with them immediately. Both control and data operations are translated into rules, which can be fine-tuned by the designer and used for simulation. In the Cara system, a flow-to-rule translator and a rule simulator operate concurrently with the designer. As the designer creates and modifies a diagram, the translator incrementally updates the architecture. The simulator uses the updated definition immediately to offer a next action to the designer (if one exists). In this way, the designer can always see whether the architecture is operating as intended. >
Humoral stimulation of cell proliferation in small bowel after transection and resection in rats.

Abstract Possible humoral involvement in the control of postresectional intestinal adaptation was tested in individual rats and in pairs of rats connected in vascular parabiosis for 48 hr. In individual rats, transection of the jejunum produced transient mucosal hyperplasia in the mid and distal small intestine, independent of the effect of laparotomy and of handling the bowel. Jejunal resection caused more intense and sustained distal hyperplasia, with increases in midbowel RNA content (38%), DNA content (16%), and DNA specific activity (68%) over values 48 hr after transection. In parabiotic rats, both transection and resection of the jejunum in one partner stimulated mucosal uptake of [ 3 H]TdR in the intact parabiont; increments of 59 to 128% in total radioactivity and in specific activity of DNA were found in the mid and distal small intestine of the intact parabiont. Because only rats actually undergoing abdominal operations had higher mucosal nucleic acid contents than their parabiotic partners, the transmitted response was weaker than the direct response. Systemic factors as well as local (topical) stimulators appear to be involved in adaptation of the shortened gut.
Human papillomavirus and Epstein-Barr virus in nasopharyngeal carcinoma in a low-incidence population.

Background The significance of human papillomavirus (HPV) in nasopharyngeal carcinomas (NPCs) in a low-incidence population remains unknown.
Unraveling the Signals of Global Climate Change

During the last 50 million years, Earth's climate has been getting colder. An important measure of this trend can be found in data on the concentration of oxygen isotopes in the fossil shells of tiny sea creatures. Yet, as [Dwyer][1] discusses in his Perspective, the isotope record has been plagued by a vexing ambiguity: the relative contribution of changes in ocean temperature and in the volume of polar ice are intertwined. Now, in a report in the same issue [ Lear et al. ][2] describe a new method for resolving the ambiguity. By measuring the ratio of magnesium to calcium in the microfossils, the temperature effect can be separated from the ice volume effect. While challenges remain to a full understanding of the climate record, the new findings clearly indicate the potential of this new analysis tool. [1]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/287/5451/246 [2]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/short/287/5451/269
Prism fingerprint sensor that uses a holographic optical element

A prism fingerprint sensor is described that uses a holographic grating glued to a right-angled prism. A light source normally illuminates the hypotenuse side of the prism with the finger pressed against the grating. The ridges and valleys of the finger are sensed on the basis of the principle of total internal reflection. The grating is used essentially to correct the distortion usually present with prism sensors. The quality of the fingerprint is very good: the pores on the ridges can be seen.
Transient Heat Conduction from Buried Underground Radioactive Nuclear Waste

An exact analytical solution for transient heat conduction in the ground from buried radioactive nuclear waste has been derived. The heat sources are assumed to be an array of arbitrarily located point sources in an infinite ground. The solution accounts for orthotropic thermal conductivity effects in three dimensions and for the timevarying nature of the heat generation rate of each source due to radioactive decay. Owing to the point source nature of the assumed heat sources, the solution derived is valid only at intermediateand far-field distances from real finite-size sources. Numerical results are presented for several typical waste repository situations in shale, salt, and basalt.
Property extraction in well-founded property sets

To carry out significant program optimization, it is necessary to know what properties hold at each program unit. Frequently the properties of interest form a partially ordered set with a minimum condition (i.e., well-founded). When this occurs, it is possible to directly compute the properties that can be attached to program units and, optionally, to expand the program text to obtain a strong assignment of properties. Techniques are presented for property computation in iterative and recursive programs. Application to a variety of property sets is discussed.
Alienation and moral imperatives: A reply to Kanungo

Rabindra Kanungo's position that alienation at work can be eliminated within capitalism is critically evaluated. My argument is that Kanungo only emphasizes the psychological aspect of Marx's view of alienation. The failure to include the ontological element of alienation results in the confused position that alienation can be eliminated while workers are still being separated from their work by capital. The role that the right to private property plays in the maintenance of this separation is also seen to be a part of Marx's conception of alienation that is missing from Kanungo's analysis. The clarification of Marx's conception of alienation results in the position that organizations within capitalism cannot live up to the moral imperative to be socially responsible in removing alienation at work.
Interaction of sedimenting drops in a miscible solution – formation of heterogeneous toroidal-spiral particles

Toroidal-spiral structures form through the interaction of horizontally and vertically displaced drops sedimenting in a miscible bulk solution. These polymeric drops are then solidified into particles, which can be potentially used to encapsulate and deliver multiple active compounds on separate schedules. Sedimentation regimes and drug release were quantified.
Probability Densities for Fluorescent Photons Emitted by a Two-State Atom Driven by a Laser

Fluorescent photons emitted by a two-state atom in a laser beam are correlated. We have obtained the probability density for the emission of the th photon after a random initial time . It is shown that the correlations between the photons lead to a deviation from the poissonian value for this function (the probability density for independent events), although the deviation is not as significant as one may expect.
Regression of posterior uveal malignant melanomas after cobalt plaque radiotherapy

We reviewed the records of 17 patients with posterior uveal malignant melanoma who had been followed for at least 3 months prior to cobalt plaque radiotherapy and whose tumor had been documented to enlarge in thickness during that interval. We evaluated the relationship between the rates of pretreatment tumor enlargement and post-treatment tumor shrinkage using linear regression analysis. We found that the rate of postirradiation tumor shrinkage correlated strongly with the rate of preirradiation tumor enlargement regardless of whether the pretreatment rate of growth was slow, intermediate or rapid. We speculate that the more rapidly regressing tumors were more mitotically active than their more slowly regressing counterparts. If true, the survival rate of patients whose posterior uveal malignant melanomas regress rapidly following radiation therapy may prove to be worse than that of patients whose tumors regress slowly.
Caprellid amphipods: fast food for the reproductively active

Caprellid amphipod abundance within seagrass meadows of Padilla Bay, Washington, USA, reaches >93 specimens · 625 cm−2 during winter. When shiner perch Cymatogaster aggregata Gibbon invade the seagrass on reproductive migrations, caprellid abundances drop to <2 specimens · 625 cm−2. Although caprellids normally do not constitute a major item in fish diets, shiner perch preferentially preyed upon the caprellids immediately following immigration into the grassbeds. This “critical window” of predation previously has not been reported.
Intermittent self-organization of scroll wave turbulence in three-dimensional excitable media

We study the asymptotic behavior of scroll wave turbulence in large three-dimensional excitable media modeled by FitzHugh-Nagumo equations. The focus is on the type of turbulence caused by negative tension of scroll wave filaments, which is considered to be one of the mechanisms of cardiac fibrillation. We discovered that the initial increase in turbulence complexity can be followed by intermittent self-organization, when complex filament tangles are replaced by a small number of relatively stable triple filament strands. The intermittency is the result of a competition between the destabilizing effect of negative tension and mutual attraction of filaments with similar orientation.
The influence of exercise-induced fatigue on cognitive function

Abstract Although anecdotal reports suggest that information processing and decision making is impaired immediately following prolonged periods of physical activity, results obtained from laboratory studies of exercise-induced fatigue have been inconsistent. Fatigue effects may be task specific and related to the time of post-exercise testing. The present study examined the effects on adults' performance of two cognitive tasks that differed in processing demands over an 80-min period of fatigue. Thirty young adult men and women were randomly assigned to either an exercise group and completed a 60-min bout of cycle ergometry at 90% ventilatory threshold or a control group and rested for 60 min. Following interventions, each participant completed a simple and complex version of a visual perceptual discrimination test, a 40-min memory-based vigilance test and a repetition of the visual perceptual discrimination tests. Those who exercised evidenced significant decrements in performance on complex perceptual-d...
Basal cell carcinoma of the eyelid with exceptional histomorphologic expressions.

Abstract: A basal cell carcinoma of the eyelid had unique and potentially confusing histopathologic features. The tumor displayed a carcinoma in situ pattern with replacement of an extensive segment of the tarsal epithelium by neoplastic basaloid cells, a finding to the best of the authors’ knowledge that has not been previously documented. Within the infiltrating component of the dermis were classical solid basaloid nests and lobules; they were accompanied, however, by a separate and exceptionally prominent component of duct-like (pseudoglandular) units mimicking a microcystic adnexal carcinoma.
Randomized distance-vector routing protocol

The purpose of routing protocols in a computer network is to maximize throughput. Shortest-path routing protocols have the disadvantage of causing bottlenecks due to their single-path routing. That is, the shortest path between a source and a destination may become highly congested even when many other paths have low utilization. In this paper, we propose a routing scheme that randomly balances traffic over the whole network, therefore, it removes bottlenecks and increases network throughput. For each data message to be sent from a source s to a destination d, the proposed routing protocol randomly chooses an intermediate node e, and routes the data message along the shortest path from s to e. Then, it routes the data message via the shortest path from e to d. This increases the effective bandwidth between each pair of nodes. In our simulation results, we show that this proposed routing protocol distributes traffic evenly over the whole network and increases network throughput.
Interactions of the DNA Polymerase X From African Swine Fever Virus with the ssDNA. Properties of the Total DNA-Binding Site and the Strong DNA-Binding Subsite

Interactions of the polymerase X from the African Swine Fever Virus with the ssDNA have been studied, using quantitative fluorescence titration and fluorescence resonance energy transfer techniques. Direct binding experiments were performed with fluorescent etheno-derivative of ssDNA oligomers. Studies of unmodified ssDNA oligomers were carried out using the competition titration method. The primary DNA-binding subsite of the enzyme, which establishes the contact with the nucleic acid independent of the DNA conformation, is located on the C-terminal domain of the enzyme. Association of the bound DNA with the weak DNA-binding subsite on the catalytic N-terminal domain, finalizes the engagement of the total DNA-binding site of the enzyme in interactions with the nucleic acid. Moreover, it induces a large topological change in the structure of the bound ssDNA. The intrinsic free energy of binding of the total DNA-binding site is not a simple sum of contributions from the strong and the weak DNA-binding subsites. Large positive enthalpy changes accompanying the ASFV pol X - ssDNA association indicate that specific conformational changes of the complex are induced by the engagement of the weak DNA-binding subsite on the N-terminal domain. The unfavorable enthalpy changes are offset by large entropy changes accompanying the DNA binding to the strong DNA-binding subsite and the total DNA-binding site, and, predominantly, result from the release of the water molecules.
Toxicity of textile mill effluents to freshwater and estuarine algae, crustaceans and fishes☆

Abstract The toxicity of secondary waste effluents from textile manufacturing plants was determined with freshwater (Selenastrum capricornutum, Daphnia pulex, Pimephales promelus) and estuarine Skeletonema costatum2, Palaemonetes pugio, Cyprinodon variegatus) organisms. Daphnia pulex was generally the most sensitive animal, but no animal responded to all wastes. Growth of the algae S. capricornutum and S. costatum was affected by all wastes, through either inhibition or stimulation. Some wastes were stimulatory to S. costatum at low concentrations ( 50%). The concentration of waste that stimulated growth of S. costatum by 20% compared with controls (SC 20 ) was calculated and used with EC 50 values for the survival of D. pulex to estimate the potential impact of the wastes in relation to volume of discharge.
Microstructural and crystallographic relationships in directionally solidified NbCr2Nb and CrCr2Nb eutectics

The present paper describes processing, microstructures and phase relationships in directionally solidified Cr[sub 2]Nb-Nb and Cr[sub 2]Nb-C eutectics. Both of these eutectics, and the stoichiometric Laves phase Cr[sub 2]Nb, were directionally solidified using cold crucible Czochralski crystal growth with growth rates from 1 to 15 mm/min. Cr[sub 2]Nb-Nb had a rod/ribbon-type structure and Cr[sub 2]Nb-Cr had a lamellar structure. The crystallographic orientation relationships between both Cr and Nb and the Cr[sub 2]Nb Laves phase in the individual eutectics were characterized using transmission electron microscopy. Inter-phase orientation relationships in these eutectics were complicated by the transformation of Cr[sub 2]Nb from the C14 to the C15 crystal structure on post-solidification cooling. Twins were observed in the C15 Cr[sub 2]Nb phase in both the single phase and eutectic samples. The relationship between the twins, the C14-C15 transformation, and the eutectic morphology is also discussed.
A Class of Two-Sample Distribution-Free Tests for Scale

Abstract A class of distribution-free statistics for testing equality of two scale parameters when the location parameters are equal is defined. When the two populations are identical, each statistic in this class is governed by the same distribution as that of the two-sample Wilcoxon statistic. A method for selecting which member of the class to use for a particular data set is described, the resulting adaptive procedure being relatively insensitive to small failures in the assumption of equal locations.
Beyond standards: reaching usability goals through user participation

The promise of social inclusion, reinforced by online technologies, has not become the reality for most people with disabilities. In 2002, over ten years after the implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, more people with disabilities are unemployed than at any time in the last thirty years. Most online educational environments are still not accessible to students with disabilities or those using assistive technologies. While enrollment of people with disabilities in colleges and universities has increased, few have been able to graduate, find successful employment, and move on to independent lifestyles, free of government assistance.To support the vision of universal usability, designers and instructors of assistive technology must go beyond the limited constructs of engineering standards and integrate actual users of assistive technology as participants into both the design and delivery processes.
Selective chemisorption and detoxification of aflatoxins by phyllosilicate clay.

Practical and effective strategies for the detoxification of aflatoxins are critically needed. We have shown that a phyllosilicate clay (HSCAS): i) tightly binds aflatoxins in aqueous solutions, including milk; ii) markedly decreases the bioavailability of radiolabeled aflatoxins; iii) greatly diminishes aflatoxicosis in young animals, i.e., rats, chickens, turkeys, lambs, and pigs; and iv) reduces the level of aflatoxin M1 in the milk from lactating dairy cattle and goats. In further studies, ligands with one or more of the functional groups in common with aflatoxin were reacted with HSCAS in vitro in an attempt to elucidate the specificity and mechanism of tight binding (or chemisorption). A chemisorption index (C alpha) was developed, allowing for direct comparison of various clay and zeolitic minerals with HSCAS. Chemisorption indices were determined by HPLC analysis of extracts of the supernatants and sorbed pellets (exhaustively extracted with methanol and chloroform). The beta-dicarbonyl system of aflatoxin was found to be essential for tight binding by HSCAS. Comparison of the chemisorption indices from various classes of compounds with spectral data (DRIFTS) indicated that the molecular mechanism of aflatoxin binding may involve the chelation of metal ions in HSCAS with the beta-dicarbonyl moiety in aflatoxin. Computer modeling was utilized to provide additional information. Preliminary evidence suggests that aflatoxin B1 may react at surfaces and within the interlayers of HSCAS particles. With knowledge of the mechanism involved, it has been possible to further enhance the propensity of HSCAS for aflatoxins.
Protein-binding sites in Ig gene enhancers determine transcriptional activity and inducibility

Individual protein-binding sites within the mouse immunoglobulin heavy chain and kappa light chain gene enhancers were altered, making it possible to examine the functional role of the sites during transcription. The E motifs, which bind factors that are present in many if not all cells, mostly behave as transcriptional activating sites. The only known heavy chain enhancer site that binds a lymphocyte-specific factor, the "octamer" site, plays a critical role in transcription but only in a truncated form of the enhancer. In the full enhancer, no one site is crucial because of an apparent functional redundancy. The site in the kappa enhancer that binds a factor specific to mature B cells, kappa B, was crucial to the constitutive activity of the enhancer in B cells. This factor is also inducible in pre-B cells, and the site was necessary for inducibility of the kappa enhancer. Thus, the sites defined by protein binding are important for the functional activity of immunoglobulin enhancers, with the sites that bind proteins restricted in their cellular distribution playing the most important roles.
Mutagenesis by acrolein-derived propanodeoxyguanosine adducts in human cells.

Acrolein, which is widely spread in the environment and is produced by lipid peroxidation in cells, reacts with DNA to form two exocyclic 1,N2-propanodeoxyguanosine (PdG) adducts. To establish their relative contribution to the acrolein mutagenicity, the genotoxic properties of α-OH-PdG and γ-OH-PdG together with their model DNA adduct, PdG, were studied in human cells. DNA adducts were incorporated site-specifically into a SV40/BK virus origin-based shuttle vector and replicated in xeroderma pigmentosum complementation group A (XPA) cells. Analysis of progeny plasmid revealed that α-OH-PdG and PdG strongly block DNA synthesis and that both adducts induced base substitutions with G → T transversions predominating. Primer extension studies, catalyzed by the 3‘→5‘ exonuclease-deficient Klenow fragment of Escherichia coli pol I, revealed limited extension from the 3‘ primer termini opposite these two adducts. In contrast, γ-OH-PdG did not strongly block DNA synthesis or miscode in XPA cells. Primer extension...
Gaga, a new fern genus segregated from cheilanthes (pteridaceae)

Abstract Ongoing molecular phylogenetic studies of cheilanthoid ferns confirm that the genus Cheilanthes (Pteridaceae) is polyphyletic. A monophyletic group of species within the hemionitid clade informally called the “C. marginata group” is here shown to be distinct from its closest relatives (the genus Aspidotis) and phylogenetically distant from the type species of Cheilanthes. This group is here segregated from Cheilanthes as the newly described genus, Gaga . In this study, we use molecular data from four DNA regions (plastid: matK, rbcL, trnG-R; and nuclear: gapCp) together with spore data to circumscribe the morphological and geographical boundaries of the new genus and investigate reticulate evolution within the group. Gaga is distinguished from Aspidotis by its rounded to attenuate (vs. mucronate) segment apices, minutely bullate margins of mature leaves (vs. smooth at 40 ×), and less prominently lustrous and striate adaxial blade surfaces. The new genus is distinguished from Cheilanthes s. s. by ...
The Emission Spectrum of Manganese-Activated Magnesium Germanate***

An unusual fine structure of emission has been reported1 for some manganese-activated magnesium germanate phosphors. In order to determine the precise nature of the transitions involved, the temperature dependence of the actual intensities, half-widths and peak positions of the individual emission bands have been measured from −190°C to +90°C using ultraviolet excitation. The measurements were made in a constant temperature vacuum sample chamber and with a Littrow type spectrograph containing calibrated photographic plates. Five emission bands were clearly resolved between 6200 and 6800A. The intensity of each band increases with temperature up to a critical temperature above which the efficiency decreases rapidly. Also, the short wave-length bands practically disappear at −190°C, and the individual bands shift slightly to shorter wave-lengths and decrease in half-width at low temperatures. The experimental results are qualitatively interpreted, and tentative correlations with atomic spectra are proposed.
Mycobacterium malmoense Infections in the United States, January 1993 through June 1995

Mycobacterium malmoense is a nontuberculous mycobacterium rarely encountered in the United States. However, isolations of M. malmoense from 73 patients (11 in 1992, 35 in 1993, and 27 in 1994) were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We contacted state mycobacteriology laboratories and health care providers of patients whose M. malmoense isolations were reported from January 1993 through June 1995. To assign disease status for these patients, we used the criteria of the American Thoracic Society. Of 60 evaluable patients with disease status, only six (10%) had disease due to M. malmoense (five adults with pulmonary disease and one child with cervical lymphadenitis). We conclude that the number of patients with disease due to M. malmoense remains low. Increased isolation of this species may be due to the increased use of more sensitive and specific laboratory methods. For surveillance purposes, multiple M. malmoense isolates and age of younger than 10 years appear to be the best predictors for M. malmoense disease.
EXPERIMENTS ON TOLERATION OF TEMPERATURE BY DROSOPHILA

1. Most wild stocks of Drosophila melanogaster can be bred indefinitely on banana agar at a temperature of 31°C. There is no relation between the geographical origin of these stocks and their ability to tolerate this temperature. 2. A single wild stock has been found which will breed for only one generation at temperatures above 29°C. The offspring hatched at 31°C. will breed normally at 24°C. This difference from other wild stocks is apparently genetic, but its genetic basis has not yet been worked out. 3. The mutant stocks of D. melanogaster tested by us will breed for only one generation at 31°C. and their offspring at this temperature are also fertile at 24°C. This condition is apparently a physiological effect of the presence of any of the mutant genes in a homozygous condition. 4. Similar tests indicate that wild stocks of D. virilis and Chymomyza procnemis will breed at 31°C., while D. simulans, D. immigrans, and D. funebris will not. The last two species are northern forms not commonly found in the tropics. 5. Both male and female flies from mutant stocks hatched at 31°C. produce offspring at this temperature if mated to flies hatched at 24°C. Their germ cells are therefore capable of development, and the cause of their failure to develop at 31°C. when inbred must lie either in the failure of the germ cells to reach each other or in the fertilization process itself.
Direct and Differential Prediction of Academic Success as Measured by the Stanford Achievement Test

(1941). Direct and Differential Prediction of Academic Success as Measured by the Stanford Achievement Test. The Journal of Social Psychology: Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 71-87.
Temperature-Dependent Shift of Balance among the Components of Short-Term Plasticity in Hippocampal Synapses

Studies of short-term plasticity (STP) in the hippocampus, performed mostly at room temperature, have shown that small central synapses rapidly depress in response to high-frequency stimulation. This decrease in synaptic strength with synapse use places constraints on the use of STP as a dynamic filter for processing of natural high-frequency input. Here we report that, because of a strong but differential temperature dependence of STP components, the properties of STP in excitatory hippocampal synapses change dramatically with temperature. By separating the contributions of various STP processes during spike trains at different temperatures, we found a shift from dominating depression at 23°C to prevailing facilitation and augmentation at 33−38°C. This shift of balance among STP components resulted from a large increase in amplitudes of facilitation and augmentation (Q10 ∼2.6 and ∼5.1, respectively) and little change in the amplitude of depression (Q10 ∼1.1) with temperature. These changes were accompanied by the accelerated decay of all three processes (Q10 = 3.2, 6.6, and 2.1, respectively). The balance of STP components achieved at higher temperatures greatly improved the maintenance of synaptic strength during prolonged synaptic use and had a strong effect on the processing of natural spike trains: a variable mixture of facilitated and depressed responses at 23°C changed into a significantly more reproducible and depression-free filtering pattern at 33−38°C. This filtering pattern was highly conserved among cells, slices, and animals, and under various physiological conditions, arguing for its physiological significance. Therefore, the fine balance among STP components, achieved only at near body temperatures, is required for the robust function of STP as a dynamic filter during natural stimulation.
Identification of microorganisms using superconducting tunnel junctions and time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Abstract We present time-of-flight measurements of biological material ejected from bacterial spores following laser irradiation. Ion impacts are registered on a microchannel plate detector and on a Superconducting Tunnel Junction (STJ) detector. We compare mass spectra obtained with the two detectors. The STJ has better sensitivity to massive ions and also measures the energy of each ion. We show evidence that spores of different bacillus species produce distinctive mass spectra and associate the observed mass peaks with coat proteins.
Notes on the Multiple Source Schlieren System

The effect of diffraction by the negative grid, the problem of the formation of a shadow of the negative grid on the viewing screen, and the manufacture of grids are treated briefly. A brief note on mechanical design is included. Five references are cited.
Performance of a rapid antigen test (Binax NOW® RSV) for diagnosis of respiratory syncytial virus compared with real-time polymerase chain reaction in a pediatric population.

Abstract Background Infants from Alaska's Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta (YKD) have a high respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) hospitalization rate (104/1000/yr). Appropriate patient management requires rapid and accurate RSV diagnosis. Antigen-based methods are often used in clinical settings, but these tests can lack sensitivity. Objective We compared Binax NOW ® RSV (BN) used for RSV diagnosis in the YKD hospital with a real-time polymerase chain reaction assay (RT-qPCR) used for viral surveillance. Study design Between October 2005 and September 2007 we obtained nasopharyngeal washes (NPW) from children Results 79/311 (25%) children had RSV infection as determined by RT-qPCR. As compared with RT-qPCR, sensitivity and specificity of BN were 72% and 97%, respectively. The sensitivity of BN was higher in children p = 0.025), children with bronchiolitis compared with children without bronchiolitis (89% vs. 38%; p p = 0.04). The median RSV viral load in NPW positive by BN and RT-qPCR was 1.01 × 10 9 copies/mL vs. a median of 5.25 × 10 7 copies/mL for NPW positive by RT-qPCR only ( p Conclusion RT-qPCR is more sensitive than BN in detecting RSV infection. BN sensitivity is high in children with bronchiolitis, but the sensitivity is low when children present with a non-bronchiolitis illness, especially after a longer duration of symptoms before testing.
Higher Maternal Gestational Glucose Concentration Is Associated with Lower Offspring Insulin Sensitivity and Altered β-Cell Function

Maternal glucose during pregnancy is significantly associated with lower insulin sensitivity and greater static β-cell response in children 5–10 years of age.
Comparison of the Performance of Different Discriminant Algorithms in Analyte Discrimination Tasks Using an Array of Carbon Black−Polymer Composite Vapor Detectors

An array of 20 compositionally different carbon black−polymer composite chemiresistor vapor detectors was challenged under laboratory conditions to discriminate between a pair of extremely similar pure analytes (H_(2)O and D_(2)O), compositionally similar mixtures of pairs of compounds, and low concentrations of vapors of similar chemicals. Several discriminant algorithms were utilized, including k nearest neighbors (kNN, with k = 1), linear discriminant analysis (LDA, or Fisher's linear discriminant), quadratic discriminant analysis (QDA), regularized discriminant analysis (RDA, a hybrid of LDA and QDA), partial least squares, and soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA). H_(2)O and D_(2)O were perfectly classified by most of the discriminants when a separate training and test set was used. As expected, discrimination performance decreased as the analyte concentration decreased, and performance decreased as the composition of the analyte mixtures became more similar. RDA was the overall best-performing discriminant, and LDA was the best-performing discriminant that did not require several cross-validations for optimization.
Is the expansion of biofuels at odds with the food security of developing countries

The production of ethanol and biodiesel has been growing rapidly in Brazil, the USA and the EU. Although the current share of overall fuel consumption is quite small, if biofuels become a global mainstream energy source, their production will eventually affect the traditional food and feedstock market. This may cause further problems in already food-insecure nations (mainly developing countries) owing to food price increases. This perspective discusses possible responses to supply variability that developing countries may make to mitigate the odds against them and take advantage of the opportunities offered by price increases through efficient marketing systems, investing in agri-cultural research, improving agricultural practices, and developing an extension system focusing on the sustainable use of limited land and renewable resources. Developing technology that can convert cellulosic materials to biofuels efficiently will also help defuse the demand stress on traditional food supplies worldwide. © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Eugenol stimulates lactate accumulation yet inhibits volatile fatty acid production and eliminates coliform bacteria in cattle and swine waste.

V.H. VAREL AND D.L. MILLER. 2004. Aim: To determine how eugenol affects fermentation parameters and faecal coliforms in cattle and swine waste slurries stored anaerobically. Methods and Results: Waste slurries (faeces : urine : water, 50 : 35 : 15) were blended with and without additives and aliquoted to triplicate 1-l flasks. Faecal coliforms were eliminated in cattle and swine waste slurries within 1 or 2 days with additions of eugenol at 10AE05 mM (0AE15%) and 16AE75 mM (0AE25%). At these concentrations volatile fatty acids (VFA) were reduced ca 70 and 50% in cattle and swine waste, respectively, over 6‐8 weeks. Additionally, in cattle waste, eugenol stimulated the accumulation of lactate (>180 mM) when compared with thymol treatment (20 mM lactate). In swine waste, lactate accumulation did not occur without additives; eugenol and thymol stimulated lactate accumulation to concentrations of 22 and 32 mM, respectively. Conclusions: Eugenol added to cattle waste may be more beneficial than thymol because not only does it effectively control faecal coliforms and odour (VFA production), it also stimulates lactate accumulation. This in turn, causes the pH to drop more rapidly, further inhibiting microbial activity and nutrient emissions. Significance and Impact of the Study: Plant essential oils have the potential to solve some of the environmental problems associated with consolidated animal feeding operations. Thymol and eugenol reduce fermentative activity, thus, have the potential to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and odour, and curtail transmission of pathogens in cattle and swine wastes.
Mobile Augmented Reality for Enhancing E-Learning and E-Business

This paper demonstrates a new E-Learning/E-Business experience using mobile Augmented Reality (AR). We address the greatest limitation of current E-learning/E-business systems. We propose the use of advanced augmented reality, mobile computing and communication techniques, and demonstrate many advantages of such an augmented reality system. We introduce several important adaptations to incorporate them into the mobile AR system to enhance the real-world performance.
May-Flies of Fall Creek

The following paper is a preliminary study of the ecology of the May-flies in the streams about Ithaca, N. Y., more especially in Fall Creek. In these, as in most fresh water streams, the nymphs of this order are abundant. In Fall Creek they are the dominant insects of the stream during the months of April, May and June, and by their fine adaptations to diverse environments they offer a satisfying :field of study to any brook traveler. The nymphs may be easily secured, but only imagoes exist in most collections, and these usually as dried distorted specimens whose life-histories are little known. The winged or aerial life lasts but a few days at most; the nymphal or aquatic life may extend over two or three years. The imago exhibits great specialization of parts concerned with reproduction and more striking atrophy of other parts than may be seen any where else among insects. Imagoes of all the groups are remarkably alike in superficial appearance. The nymphs, on the other hand, display a series of adaptations as diverse as their environments. Only by rearing specimens from nymphal to adult life may these two stages be linked together. Many of the life-histories of those species found in Eastern North America have been made known. It has been with the hope of adding to the number of these life-histories, as well as with the purpose of gaining more knowledge of the habits of those already known, that this study has been begun. The earlier American workers, Say, Hagen and Walsh* scarcely took up the rearing of nymphs but by their descriptive work they laid the foundation for the life-history studies which have followed. Berryt ’03 reared and described the nymphs of Habrophlebia americana Banks, (which nymph is not a Habrophlebia but a typical Leptophlebia), Blasturus cupidus Say, and Callibaetis ferruginea Walsh. A note on the nymphs of the genus Tricorythus was published by Cockerell and Gill ’06. The largest number of life-histories of Eastern North American forms has been written by Professor James G. Needham in Bulletins 47, 68, and 86 of the New York State Museum, and includes the following species: * Walsh, B. D. On the pupa of the Ephemerinous genus Baetisca Walsh Proceed. of the Ent. Soc. of Philadelphia. 1864. pp. 200-206. * Walsh, D. B. List of the Pseudoneuroptera of Illinois. Proceedings of the Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 1862.
Safety of intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) thrombolysis based on CT localization of external ventricular drain (EVD) fenestrations and analysis of EVD tract hemorrhage.

Background The purpose of the study is to review the CT findings associated with ventriculostomy placement in regards to the safety of an EVD plus recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) for IVH.
COST-EFFECTIVENESS IN A TEACHING INTENSIVE CARE NURSERY: NEONATAL NURSE PRACTITIONER VS. RESIDENT SUPERVISED CARE. † 1483

Hospital care costs may vary depending in part on differences in background and level of training of providers. In this teaching hospital nursery, teams of pediatric and family medicine interns supervised by neonatal nurse practitioners (NNP) or senior pediatric residents (RES), directed by the same attending physician, provide care. Patients (pts) are alternately assigned to a team regardless of severity of illness, and ≈15% of pts are cared for by NNPs directly. To evaluate potential cost-containment strategies in this setting, we tested the hypothesis that NNP and RES supervised care would differ in length of hospital stay (LOS) and/or total hospital charges. Admissions to the level II or III nurseries at one university hospital were reviewed for the year 1994. LOS (discharge date minus birth date) was determined for all infants of gestational age (GA) ≤ 34 weeks. Survival analysis censored for pt deaths, discharge transfer to other units, or major congenital anomalies. Total hospital charges (excluding physicians' fees) came from the hospital pt database. A Kaplan-Meier estimate of the survival function was used; NNP and RES pt groups were compared by the Mantel-Cox logrank test. 131 pts were admitted, with 101 uncensored; charges were available for 100. GA and birth weights were similar in both groups: means 31 wks and 1415 g for NNP vs 30.5 wks and 1311 g for RES. There wereno differences in the survival curves generated by either NNP(n=53) or RES (n=48) patient stays. Average LOS was 43.2 ± 3.5 d for NNP vs 42.6 ± 4.5 d for RES. Hospital charges, total (survival analysis) and daily (unpaired t-test), also did not differ: mean total and daily charges were $70,321 and $1,572 for NNP vs $71,265 and $1,478 for RES. We conclude that care provided by pediatric trainees has no adverse impact on LOS or total hospital charges compared to care supervised by NNPs in this teaching setting. Strategies to contain costs should be directed at specific elements of treatment, i.e. earlier discharge with home nursing care, regardless of the personnel who apparently provide similar cost-effective care.
World Data Center A: Consolidation of upper atmosphere disciplines

The international exchange of geophysical data through World Data Centers was first organized during the International Geophysical Year to ensure that, the large volume of data collected during this period would be readily available to scientists throughout the world. This new form of international cooperation in exchanging data was found to be very effective and has been continued beyond the IGY in accordance with the principles set forth by the International Council of Scientific Unions in the ‘Guide to International Data Exchange through the World Data Center for the Period 1960 onward,’ issued by the Comite International de Geophysique (CIG). The World Data Centers were organized in three sections, each to contain a complete set of data specified by the international agreements in the IGY ‘Guide’ and the subsequent CIG ‘Guide’: WDC-A in the USA; WDC-B in the USSR; WDC-C divided by disciplines among several countries of Western Europe and Japan. WDC-A itself was subdivided by discipline, originally into eleven subcenters; locations of all WDC's (A, B, and C) are given in the CIG ‘Guide.’
Predictors of smoking cessation among cancer patients enrolled in a smoking cessation program

AbstractMany cancer patients continue to smoke postdiagnosis, which is associated with poorer clinical outcomes. Identifying prospective predictors of smoking cessation among patients currently receiving smoking cessation treatment can help guide the development and implementation of smoking cessation programs with this population. Material and methods. Data from 246 cancer patients participating in a randomized placebo-controlled smoking cessation clinical trial were used to examine baseline predictors of end-of-treatment and six-month postbaseline smoking cessation outcomes. Baseline demographic, smoking-related, disease-related, and psychological variables were examined as predictors of biochemically-confirmed point-prevalence abstinence. Results. Multivariate analysis indicated that, for end-of-treatment abstinence, patients were significantly more likely to have quit smoking if they were older (OR = 1.06, 95% CI: 1.03–1.10, p < 0.05) and were diagnosed with a non-tobacco related cancer (OR = 2.54, 95...
First Report of Calosphaeria pulchella Associated with Branch Dieback of Sweet Cherry Trees in California.

California is the second largest sweet cherry producer in the United States with approximately 10,800 ha and an average annual crop value of approximately $150 million. Perennial canker diseases constitute major threats to the cherry industry productivity by reducing tree health, longevity, and yields. During the course of summer 2006, we observed severe limb and branch dieback of sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) in San Joaquin, San Benito, Contra Costa, and Stanislaus counties of California. Isolation from diseased branches repeatedly yielded the fungus Calosphaeria pulchella (Pers.: Fr.) J. Schrot. (1,2). Cankers and vascular necroses had developed in tree limbs and branches, generally initiating from the heart wood and later spreading into the sapwood. External symptoms of disease may be unapparent throughout the early stages of infection, particularly in large diameter shoots. Older infections often appeared as wilted leaves. Branches and trunks affected with cankers from which C. pulchella was isolated...