cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sources, bioavailability, and photoreactivity of dissolved organic carbon in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta

We analyzed bioavailability, photoreactivity, fluorescence, and isotopic composition of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) collected at 13 stations in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta during various seasons to estimate the persistence of DOC from diverse shallow water habitat sources. Prospective large-scale wetland restorations in the Delta may change the amount of DOC available to the food web as well as change the quality of Delta water exported for municipal use.Our study indicates that DOC contributed by Delta sources is relatively refractory and likely mostly the dissolved remnants of vascular plant material from degrading soils and tidal marshes rather than phytoplankton production. Therefore, the prospective conversion of agricultural land into submerged, phytoplankton-dominated habitats may reduce the undesired export of DOC from the Delta to municipal users.A median of 10% of Delta DOC was rapidly utilizable by bacterio- plankton. A moderate dose of simulated solar radiation (286 W m � 2 for 4 h) decreased the DOC bioavailability by an average of 40%, with a larger relative decrease in samples with higher initial DOC bioavailability. Potentially, a DOC-based microbial food web could support £ 0.6 · 10 9 gC of protist production in the Delta annually, compared to � 17 · 10 9 g C phytoplankton primary production. Thus, DOC utilization via the microbial food web is unlikely to play an important role in the nutrition of Delta zooplankton and fish, and the possible decrease in DOC concentration due to wetland restoration is unlikely to have a direct effect on Delta fish productivity.
Model for the yeast cofactor A-β-tubulin complex based on computational docking and mutagensis

Virtually every biological process involves protein–protein contact but relatively few protein–protein complexes have been solved by X-ray crystallography. As more individual protein structures become available, computational methods are likely to play increasingly important roles in defining these interactions. Tubulin folding and dimer formation are complex processes requiring a variety of protein cofactors. One of these is cofactor A, which interacts with β-tubulin prior to assembly of the α-tubulin–β-tubulin heterodimer. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, β-tubulin is encoded by TUB2 and cofactor A by RBL2. We have used computational docking and site-directed mutagenesis to generate a model of the Rbl2–Tub2 complex from the solved structures of these two proteins. Residues in the N termini and the loops of the Rbl2 homodimer appear to mediate binding to β-tubulin. These interact with β-tubulin residues in the region that contains helices H9 and H10. Rbl2 and α-tubulin share overlapping binding sites on the β-tubulin molecule providing a structural explanation for the mutually exclusive binding of Rbl2 and α-tubulin to β-tubulin.
Pollen signatures of the arid to humid grasslands of North America

Aim Many studies have shown that the pollen record can be used to distinguish grasslands from other vegetation types at the biome level, but few have attempted to use pollen to distinguish between specific prairie types. This study was undertaken to determine whether the tallgrass, mixed-grass, shortgrass, and desert grasslands of North America have unique pollen signatures that can be used to distinguish between grasslands at the community-scale, rather than at the scale of the biome. Location Data was collected from the southern North American grasslands of Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. Methods High resolution, annual pollen-influx data gathered in Tauber pollen traps were analyzed using cluster analysis to summarize the pollen signature from each trap locality and to catagorize the samples into discrete grassland groups. Results Based on the results of the cluster analysis, each grassland produces a distinctive pollen signature that can be used to distinguish between grassland types. In addition, pollen influx is shown to be closely correlated with annual precipitation. Main conclusions The ability to distinguish between grassland types and to relate annual influx to annual precipitation has important implications for understanding the evolution of grasslands during the Holocene, for palaeoclimatic studies, and for monitoring ecosystem changes in the present-day grasslands.
Improved method for coliphage detection based on β-galactosidase induction

An improved method for coliphage detection based on the induction of β-galactosidase in Escherichia coli is described. Upon infection by coliphages, the cells are lysed and a stable indolyl product that is dark blue becomes visible within each plaque. The improved method is compared to the proposed coliphage detection procedure described in Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater.
Sphere formation from corneal keratocytes and phenotype specific markers

The keratocytes are specialized mesenchymal cells that produce and maintain the extracellular matrix of the corneal stroma. With a typical dendritic and flattened appearance, these cells can morph into fibroblasts and myofibroblasts upon injury, and produce abnormal or fibrotic extracellular matrices detrimental to corneal transparency. Insights into mechanisms that regulate these phenotypic switches and optimal culture conditions that preserve the keratocyte phenotype are important for tissue engineering of the corneal stroma. Like other cell types with self-renewing capacity, keratocytes can form spheres in culture. Here we investigated human and bovine keratocytes with respect to their sphere forming capabilities, and sought to identify potentially distinguishing markers for the keratocyte and fibroblast phenotypes. Keratocytes, isolated from bovine and human corneas, cultured in serum-free medium supplemented with insulin, selenium and transferrin, assumed typical keratocyte morphology, converted to fibroblasts in serum-containing medium and reverted to keratocytes after serum-deprivation. The bovine keratocytes produced spheres under adherent or low attachment conditions, while the human keratocytes produced spheres under low attachment conditions only. The primary keratocytes and fibroblasts expressed vimentin, confirming their mesenchymal origin. Keratocan, considered to be a marker for keratocytes, was also detected in early passage bovine fibroblasts. BMP3 was expressed in keratocytes and keratocyte-derived spheres, while cadherin 5 in keratocytes only, suggesting these as potential keratocyte markers.
Hepatic vectorial transport of xenobiotics.

Abstract The vectorial transport of xenobiotics across the hepatocyte is mediated by various transport and transfer proteins that differ in ligand specificity and function. The influx of xenobiotics from the blood across the sinusoidal membrane of the hepatocyte can occur through passive or active transport processes. Once in the cell, xenobiotics can be sequestered by intracellular transfer proteins that prevent refluxing of the chemical back through the sinusoidal membrane. Transfer proteins may also facilitate the localization of the xenobiotics within the cell to sites of metabolism (i.e., the endoplasmic reticulum) or elimination (i.e., the canalicular membrane). Intracellular transfer proteins include glutathione S -transferases, fatty acid-binding proteins, and 3α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase. Intracellular nuclear transfer proteins have also been identified that facilitate the transfer of chemical carcinogens from the cytoplasm into the cell nucleus. Several active transport proteins exist on the canalicular membrane of the hepatocyte that mediate the efflux of chemicals from the cell into the biliary canaliculus. Xenobiotic efflux proteins include the multispecific organic anion transporter, that eliminates xenobiotics that have undergone conjugation with glutathione, glucuronic acid, and possible sulfate; and, P-glycoprotein, an active transporter that actively effluxes a variety of structurally diverse xenobiotics. Induction of P-glycoprotein by the amplification of its gene has been identified as a major cause of resistance of tumor cells to the toxicity of a variety of anti-cancer drugs. The hepatic induction of P-glycoprotein may also contribute to acquired resistance of organisms to environmental toxicants. Continued elucidation of xenobiotic transport and transfer processes at the cellular levels will significantly advance our understanding of processes involved in xenobiotic toxicity and acquired resistance to chemical toxicity.
Probabilistic Communication and I/O Tracing with Deterministic Replay at Scale

With today's petascale supercomputers, applications often exhibit low efficiency, such as poor communication and I/O performance, that can be diagnosed by analysis tools. However, these tools either produce extremely large trace files that complicate performance analysis, or sacrifice accuracy to collect high-level statistical information using crude averaging. This work contributes Scala-H-Trace, which features more aggressive trace compression than any previous approach, particularly for applications that do not show strict regularity in SPMD behavior. Scala-H-Trace uses histograms expressing the probabilistic distribution of arbitrary communication and I/O parameters to capture variations. Yet, where other tools fail to scale, Scala-H-Trace guarantees trace files of near constant size, even for variable communication and I/O patterns, producing trace files orders of magnitudes smaller than using prior approaches. We demonstrate the ability to collect traces of applications running on thousands of processors with the potential to scale well beyond this level. We further present the first approach to deterministically replay such probabilistic traces (a) without deadlocks and (b) in a manner closely resembling the original applications. Our results show either near constant sized traces or only sub-linear increases in trace file sizes irrespective of the number of nodes utilized. Even with the aggressively compressed histogram-based traces, our replay times are within 12% to 15% of the runtime of original codes. Such concise traces resembling the behavior of production-style codes closely and our approach of deterministic replay of probabilistic traces are without precedence.
Assessing the corporate service quality performance of design-build contractors using quality function deployment

The design-build (D/B) project delivery system has gained increased market share in the last few years. It is superior to traditional systems in some respects but some claim that it does not lend itself to effective quality assurance and control. D/B construction owners who are in the process of selecting a D/B firm for a project should therefore be well informed about the quality performance of potential D/B firms in their bidding list. Total quality consists of the corporate quality culture, the quality of the project service, and the quality of the constructed facility. This paper describes a tool that was developed to measure the corporate service quality of a D/B firm using quality function deployment (QFD). The service quality factors are ranked relative to construction owners' needs and expectations by means of a survey administered to construction owners. The components of quality management systems in place in D/B firms are ranked by D/B executives in a survey administered to senior D/B firms. Th...
THE ACTION OF POLYMYXIN B AT THE FROG NEUROMUSCULAR JUNCTION

1 The effects of polymyxin B at the neuromuscular junction of the frog were studied by conventional electrophysiological and voltage clamp techniques. 2 At a concentration of 2.5 micrograms/ml polymyxin B produced neuromuscular blockade in 10 to 15 min neuromuscular block was characterized by a depressed e.p.p. quantal content (28 plus or minus 7), which was similar to that determined from endplates exposed to 13 mM magnesium (23 plus or minus 3), and a low e.p.p. quantal size, which was similar to that determined from endplates exposed to 3 microM (+)-tubocurarine. 3 Polymyxin B (0.25 to 0.75 micrograms/ml) decreased mean miniature e.p.pl amplitude with little effect on frequency. At a concentration of 5 micrograms/ml polymyxin B markedly shortened the duration of endplate currents (e.p.cs) and abolished the relationship between holding potential and the time to half-decay at negative potentials greater than -60 mV. This action is consistent with block of open acetylcholine activated ionic channels. 5 4-Aminopyridine (20 micrometers) antagonized the depressed e.p.p. quantal content produced by polymyxin B but did not alter the shortened e.p.c. duration. 6 It is concluded that polymyxin B decreases quantal release and produces some degree of postjunctional receptor blockade and a marked and persistent blockade of of acetylcholine activated channels. The latter action may explain the difficulty of reversal of polymyxin B-induced neuromuscular blockade and its non-competitive nature.
A convenient synthesis of carboxyl‐labelled ricinoleic acid

The exchange reaction of carboxyl groups with labelled carbon dioxide has been utilized for the preparation of carboxyl labelled ricinoleic acid. The thermal instability of ricinoleic acid is overcome by pyrolysis of the t-butyl ether-t-butyl ester in the presence of labelled carbonate. The developed procedure should be appropriate to other thermally unstable substrates.
Hyperbilirubinemia in premature infants; a follow-up study.

A group of 68 prematurely born children 7 years of age was studied to obtain more information regarding the indications for exchange transfusions in premature infants who have hyperbilirubinemia not due to hemolytic disease of the newborn. These sixty-eight patients were part of a group of 100 consecutively born premature infants on whom serial bilirubin determination had been made. With the inclusion of 8 patients who died during the newborn period and on whom autopsies were performed, 76 patients were evaluated. All received relatively large doses of vitamin K (menadione) which, as far as is known, does not increase susceptibility to kernicterus except through an increase in bilirubin. There were no major neurologic abnormalities, exclusive of mental retardation, in those patients whose serum bilirubin concentrations had been below 20 mg. per 100 ml. Twenty-two per cent of those whose serum bilirubin concetrations had been above 20 mg. per 100 ml. had major neurologic abnormalities which may have been related to hyperbilirubinemia. Data on other abnormalties found are also presented.
Geochemistry: Relict mantle from Earth's birth

Geochemical evidence for the existence of the mother of all mantle-source reservoirs for volcanism has come to light. The new results have provocative implications for our understanding of Earth's interior.
Hydrostatic and non-hydrostatic simulations of dense waters cascading off a shelf: The East Greenland case

Abstract The cascade of dense waters of the Southeast Greenland shelf during summer 2003 is investigated with two very high-resolution (0.5-km) simulations. The first simulation is non-hydrostatic. The second simulation is hydrostatic and about 3.75 times less expensive. Both simulations are compared to a 2-km hydrostatic run, about 31 times less expensive than the 0.5 km non-hydrostatic case. Time-averaged volume transport values for deep waters are insensitive to the changes in horizontal resolution and vertical momentum dynamics. By this metric, both lateral stirring and vertical shear instabilities associated with the cascading process are accurately parameterized by the turbulent schemes used at 2-km horizontal resolution. All runs compare well with observations and confirm that the cascade is mainly driven by cyclones which are linked to dense overflow boluses at depth. The passage of the cyclones is also associated with the generation of internal gravity waves (IGWs) near the shelf. Surface fields and kinetic energy spectra do not differ significantly between the runs for horizontal scales L > 30 km . Complex structures emerge and the spectra flatten at scales L 30 km in the 0.5-km runs. In the non-hydrostatic case, additional energy is found in the vertical kinetic energy spectra at depth in the 2 km L 10 km range and with frequencies around 7 times the inertial frequency. This enhancement is missing in both hydrostatic runs and is here argued to be due to the different IGW evolution and propagation offshore. The different IGW behavior in the non-hydrostatic case has strong implications for the energetics: compared to the 2-km case, the baroclinic conversion term and vertical kinetic energy are about 1.4 and at least 34 times larger, respectively. This indicates that the energy transfer from the geostrophic eddy field to IGWs and their propagation away from the continental slope is not properly represented in the hydrostatic runs.
Neuropharmacologic analysis of dopaminergic, cholinergic, and GABAergic brain systems in organizing the reflex to time.

1. In intact animals the reflex to time is disordered by the action of cholinolytics and improved by injections of anticholinesterases. Dopaminolytics, dopaminomimetics, as well as GABA-receptor blockers are ineffective. Temporal prognostication is disrupted after stimulation or inhibition of dopaminergic reception and after the injection of cholinolytics; the blockage of GABA receptors and the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (endogenous stimulation of cholinoreceptors) is ineffective. Deferred behavior is altered after systemic injection of psychotropic substances affecting the cholinoreactive structures of the brain, is improved after the injection of inhibitors of GABA receptors, and remains unchanged after the action of dopaminomimetics or dopaminoblockers. 2. The function of orientation in time, disordered as a result of injury of the frontal cortex and caudate nucleus, is restored under conditions of stimulation of cerebral cholinoreactive formations, while pharmacological manipulations of the dopaminergic and GABAergic systems are ineffective; the disruption of the ability for temporal extrapolation is compensated for only against the background of the action of dopaminergic agents; deferred behavior is possible after therapeutic measures aimed at activating (or inhibiting) GABAergic structures and exciting cholinergic nervous pathways. 3. The ability to reflect ongoing time is retained after bilateral extirpation of the frontal associative cortex in cats, but the ability for temporal prognostication is lost for a long period. The measure of real time is briefly disrupted after caudate insufficiency, and the function of generalizing relative quantities of time is impaired for a short time. Injury of the prefrontal cortex and caudate nucleus head eliminates orientation in time for 6–12 months of observation.
Effect of Involved Lymph Node Size on Cancer-Specific Mortality in Women With Node-Positive Breast Cancer

Purpose/Objective(s): To evaluate toxicity and corresponding dosimetric parameters for patients with early stage breast cancer treated with threedimensional conformal accelerated partial breast irradiation (3D-CRT APBI). Materials/Methods: Patients 40 years of age with Stage 0, I or II breast cancer measuring 2.5 cm without lymph node involvement were eligible for enrollment. After undergoing lumpectomy with pathologically confirmed margins 2 mm, patients were treated with 38.5 Gy 3D-CRT delivered in 10 fractions over 5 consecutive days prescribed to the lumpectomy cavity + 10-15 mm margin. Patients were treated using respiratory gating. Medical records were reviewed to evaluate toxicity, including hyperpigmentation, breast edema, breast pain, telangiectasia, fibrosis, induration, rib fracture, fat necrosis, volume loss (hypoplasia) in the breast, and tenderness. Results: Between 5/04 and 9/13, 142 patients with 143 breast cancers (1 bilateral) were treated with breast-conserving surgery followed by 3D-CRT APBI. The median cavity, CTV, and breast volumes were 16.9 cm (range 1.6e 203), 75.1 cm (range 4.1 e 443), and 744 cm (range 150 e 3551) respectively. The median cavity/breast ratio was 2.6 (range 0.16-14). Twenty-six patients did not experience any toxicity from APBI. The remaining 116 patients experienced grade 1-2 radiation toxicities of tenderness (nZ 70), hyperpigmentation (nZ 62), and induration (n Z 45). Conclusions: Although several studies report a high incidence of toxicity with 3D-CRTAPBI, our results with reduced margins suggest that toxicity may be acceptable if there is careful attention to the volume of normal breast tissue that is irradiated. 3D-CRT APBI may therefore be a good option for patients if techniques allow for limited normal tissue toxicity. Author Disclosure: G. Ognibene: None. K.C. Horst: None. C.E. Fasola: None. D.R. Goffinet: None. F.M. Dirbas: None.
Multicenter VATS experience with mediastinal tumors

Abstract Background . The use of video-assisted thoracic surgery for diagnosis and treatment of mediastinal tumors in a multiinstitution patient population is not well understood. Methods . We studied 48 cases from Cancer and Leukemia Group B thoracic surgeons. Of 21 men and 27 women, aged 41 ± 16 years, 22 patients were asymptomatic. In the others, 92% of tumor-related symptoms improved or resolved after treatment. Five tumors involved the anterior compartment, 19 the middle, and 24 the posterior compartment. Diagnoses were typical for each compartment but also included uncommon problems such as superior vena cava hemangioma and a histoplasmosis cyst causing hoarseness. Of the lesions, a biopsy of 12 was done without excision and the rest were excised completely. Fifteen were cystic and 10 were malignant (8 biopsy only). Maximal dimensions were 5.2 ± 3.3 cm. Results . Operations were briefer for 24 posterior (93 ± 41 min) than 5 anterior (195 ± 46 min, p p p = 0.05), as was chest tube duration (1.7 ± 1.4 days versus 3.2 ± 1.9 days, p = 0.03). There were no postoperative deaths or major complications, but 7 patients had minor complications. During a mean of 20 months of surveillance (range, 1 to 52 months), one cyst recurred (asymptomatic) as did one sarcoma that was excised. Conclusions . Video-assisted thoracic surgery is a safe technique for benign mediastinal tumors, typically those in the middle and posterior mediastinum.
Compatibilism and the Consequence Argument

Analyse detaillee des arguments echanges par P. van Inwagen et D. Lewis au sujet de l'incompatibilite entre le determinisme et le libre-artitre. La these incompatibiliste de van Inwagen repose sur un approfondissement de l'argument de la consequence (si le determinisme est correct, nos actes doivent etre consideres comme des consequences des lois naturelles et d'evenements passes| mais ceux-ci ne dependent pas de nous: donc leurs consequences non plus (y compris nos propres actes). Lewis a repondu a van Inwagen en precisant la notion de "falsification d'une proposition par un evenement". L'A. conclut en faveur de Lewis et du compatibilisme. En appendice, il etend cette conclusion a deux autres versions de l'argument de van Inwagen.
On a general time-varying model for speech signals

The authors show that the solutions of time-dependent difference equations represent a very general class of time-varying models for speech. Kamen's definition of time-dependent poles is introduced. Algorithms are presented which allow the coefficients of the time-dependent difference equation to be derived from the time-dependent poles and vice-versa. Parameter estimation is briefly discussed. >
Argatroban Dosing of Patients with Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia and an Elevated aPTT Due to Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome

Objective:To describe the clinical characteristics, management, and outcomes of patients with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia with thrombosis (HITTS) or without thrombosis (HIT) who also had an elevated baseline activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) due to antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APS).Case Summary:Four patients with HIT/HITTS and an elevated baseline aPTT due to APS were identified. Two patients had venous thrombosis, 1 had limb ischemia, and 1 had isolated HIT. All 4 were managed with a weight-based fixed dose of argatroban without laboratory monitoring. None of the patients had thrombotic or bleeding complications once therapy was initiated.Discussion:Management of patients with HIT/HITTS and an abnormal baseline aPTT due to APS is problematic. We review alternative management strategies, such as monitoring direct thrombin inhibitors with the ecarin clotting time or thrombin inhibition time or using an alternative anticoagulant, such as fondaparinux. As of March 13, 2006, none of the...
Lessons on drought and pollution from the forgotten three billion: An Indiana case study on using biomass crops for generating electricity

Although three billion people in the developing world face severe indoor air pollution from domestic incineration of biomass, other nations have not learned from these bio- mass harms. Instead, scores of developed countries are massively subsidizing biomass crop growing/incineration, touting biomass burning as clean and technologically im- proved, and claiming it helps address climate change. Are they right? To show why not, this commentary has three objectives. These are (i) to outline the drought/food, air pol- lution, and water-pollution threats posed by growing/burning biomass, (ii) to answer government/industry defenses of biomass growing/incineration, and (iii) to use a south- ern Indiana case study to reveal the flawed science in most biomass crop/incineration proposals. For instance, most biomass proposals fail to include a full human-health risk assessment, cost-benefit analysis, and ecological risk assessment. Discussing health- related biomass problems, the commentary uses a case study of a contemporary, state-of- the-art facility to incinerate Miscanthus giganteus biomass. It closes with suggestions for improving biomass science/decision-making and reducing biomass threats.
Environmental controls on geographic range size in marine animal genera

Here I test the hypothesis that temporal variation in geographic range size within genera is affected by the expansion and contraction of their preferred environments. Using occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, I identify genera that have a significant affinity for carbonate or terrigenous clastic depositional environments that transcends the Database's representation of these environments during the stratigraphic range of each genus. These affinity assignments are not a matter of arbitrarily subdividing a continuum in preference; rather, genera form distinct, nonrandom subsets with respect to environmental preference. I tabulate the stage-by-stage transitions in range size within individual genera and the stage-by-stage changes in the extent of each environment. Comparing the two shows that genera with a preference for a given environment are more likely to increase in geographic range, and to show a larger average increase in range, when that environment increases in areal extent, and likewise for decreases in geographic range and environmental area. Similar results obtain for genera with preferences for reefal and non-reef settings. Simulations and subsampling experiments suggest that these results are not artifacts of methodology or sampling bias. Nor are they confined to particular higher taxa. Genera with roughly equal preference for carbonates and clastics do not have substantially broader geographic ranges than those with a distinct affinity, suggesting that, at this scale of analysis, spatial extent of preferred environment outweighs breadth of environmental preference in governing geographic range. These results pertain to changes over actual geologic time within individual genera, not overall average ranges. Recent work has documented a regular expansion and contraction when absolute time is ignored and genera are superimposed to form a composite average. Environmental preference may contribute to this pattern, but its role appears to be minor, limited mainly to the initial expansion and final contraction of relatively short-lived genera.
Reduction of noise-induced streak artifacts in X-ray computed tomography through spline-based penalized-likelihood sinogram smoothing

We present a statistically principled sinogram smoothing approach for X-ray computed tomography (CT) with the intent of reducing noise-induced streak artifacts. These artifacts arise in CT when some subset of the transmission measurements capture relatively few photons because of high attenuation along the measurement lines. Attempts to reduce these artifacts have focused on the use of adaptive filters that strive to tailor the degree of smoothing to the local noise levels in the measurements. While these approaches involve loose consideration of the measurement statistics to determine smoothing levels, they do not explicitly model the statistical distributions of the measurement data. We present an explicitly statistical approach to sinogram smoothing in the presence of photon-starved measurements. It is an extension of a nonparametric sinogram smoothing approach using penalized Poisson-likelihood functions that we have previously developed for emission tomography. Because the approach explicitly models the data statistics, it is naturally adaptive-it will smooth more variable measurements more heavily than it does less variable measurements. We find that it significantly reduces streak artifacts and noise levels without comprising image resolution.
Multilayer Control Hierarchy for Water Management Decisions in Integrated Hydrologic Simulation Model

The regional simulation model (RSM) is a conjunctive groundwater surface-water hydrological model under development at the South Florida Water Management District. The model is designed to allow a flexible, extensible expression of a wide variety of natural hydrologic processes, as well as anthropogenic water resource control schemes in order to facilitate alternative management scenario evaluations. The management module of the RSM is the management simulation engine (MSE). The MSE is based on a multilayer hierarchical control architecture, which naturally encompasses the local control of hydraulic structures, as well as the coordinated subregional and regional control of multiple structures. MSE emphasizes independent abstraction of hydrological state information and managerial decision algorithms, facilitating the interoperation and compatibility of diverse management algorithms. The MSE architecture is described in this paper.
Photocurrents generated by intense flash illumination

Abstract Photocurrents in anthracene and iodine which have been induced by high intensity flashes have heretofore been analyzed in terms of transient space-charge-limited current theory. Recent studies of the charge carrier generation process in anthracene single crystals suggest that this model may be unrealistic because the quantum efficiency of carrier generation approaches zero as the electric field vanishes. It is shown here that an alternative mechanism of charge transport, based on the migration of a charge sheet through the crystal, predicts transient photocurrents qualitatively similar to space-charge-limited currents. The charge-sheet theory is also applicable in the region of moderate intensity light pulses, which has not previously been treated. If the transient photocurrents which have been reported in iodine are analyzed by this transport mechanism, it is predicted that the quantum yield for carrier generation in iodine decreases markedly with decreasing electric field.
Alcohol and Drug Use among Displaced Persons: An Overview

This paper provides a brief introduction to current research concerned with alcohol and drug use, misuse, and treatment among displaced persons, including immigrants, refugees, and homeless individuals. Among the topics examined are theoretical issues related to our understanding of substance use processes among displaced populations, methodological considerations, and directions for future research. The review is followed by an annotated bibliography of recent work related to this topic.
Convergence Properties of Adaptive Estimators of Time-Varying Linear Systems using Basis Functions

The estimation of time-varying linear systems using a basis function approach has been applied in various fields such as equalization of mobile radio channels and in estimation of dynamics in biological systems. Typically, time-varying finite impulse response system models have been employed with recursive least squares or least mean squares adaptation. In this paper the convergence properties of these and other adaptive algorithms employed in this setting are formulated. The use of time-varying ARMA models is also included in the framework that is examined. The relation of the prediction error with the parameter error and the system regressor is exposed, indicating that a previously analyzed class of adaptive algorithms is appropriate for these problems. The convergence of this class of algorithms is dependent on a persistent excitation condition on system signals and a passivity condition on a system operator. Requirements for system regressors to be persistently exciting are derived for the time-varying linear system identification using basis functions, and the relevant operator conditions are described.
Phagostimulant Activity of Sucrose, Sterols and Soybean Leaf Extract Ables to the Cabbage Looper Trichoplusia Ni (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Phagostimulant activities of sucrose, sitosterol, stigmasterol, campesterol, and soybean leaf extractables were evaluated towards the third-instar larvae of the cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni Hubner (Lepidoptera: Noctuldae) on elderberry-pith discs under laboratory conditions. There was a linear relationship between sucrose dosage and larval feeding on the pith discs. Water fraction from PI 227687 soybean leaf extractables at dosages > 400 μ/disc inhibited feeding by T. ni larvae. Ethyl acetate fraction showed phagostimulant properties comparable to sucrose. Sterols (5 μ/disc) and soybean leaf extractables (40 μ/disc) in combination with sucrose (400 μg/ disc) showed synergistic effect as phagostimulants. Implications of genotypic differences in sterol content in relation to host plant resistance are discussed.
Meta-analysis of the association between short-term exposure to ambient ozone and respiratory hospital admissions

Ozone is associated with health impacts including respiratory outcomes; however, results differ across studies. Meta-analysis is an increasingly important approach to synthesizing evidence across studies. We conducted meta-analysis of short-term ozone exposure and respiratory hospitalizations to evaluate variation across studies and explore some of the challenges in meta-analysis. We identified 136 estimates from 96 studies and investigated how estimates differed by age, ozone metric, season, lag, region, disease category, and hospitalization type. Overall results indicate associations between ozone and various types of respiratory hospitalizations; however, study characteristics affected risk estimates. Estimates were similar, but higher, for the elderly compared to all ages and for previous day exposure compared to same day exposure. Comparison across studies was hindered by variation in definitions of disease categories, as some (e.g., asthma) were identified through ≥3 different sets of ICD codes. Although not all analyses exhibited evidence of publication bias, adjustment for publication bias generally lowered overall estimates. Emergency hospitalizations for total respiratory disease increased 4.47% (95% interval 2.48, 6.50%) per 10ppb 24-hr ozone among the elderly without adjustment for publication bias and 2.97% (1.05, 4.94%) with adjustment. Comparison of multi-city study results and meta-analysis based on single-city studies further suggested publication bias.
The Monte Carlo Method in Radiative Heat Transfer

The use of the Monte Carlo method in radiative heat transfer is reviewed. The review covers surface-surface, enclosure, and participating media problems. Discussio. is included of research on the fundamentals of the method and on applications to surface-surface interchange in enclosures, exchange between surfaces with roughness characteristics, determination of configuration factors, inverse design, transfer through packed beds and fiber layers, participating media, scattering, hybrid methods, spectrally dependent problems including media with line structure, effects of using parallel algorithms, practical applications, and extensions of the method. Conclusions are presented on needed future work and the place of Monte Carlo techniques in radiative heat transfer computations
Tetrahedral mesh improvement via optimization of the element condition number

The authors present a new shape measure for tetrahedral elements that is optimal in that it gives the distance of a tetrahedron from the set of inverted elements. This measure is constructed from the condition number of the linear transformation between a unit equilateral tetrahedron and any tetrahedron with positive volume. Using this shape measure, they formulate two optimization objective functions that are differentiated by their goal: the first seeks to improve the average quality of the tetrahedral mesh; the second aims to improve the worst-quality element in the mesh. They review the optimization techniques used with each objective function and presents experimental results that demonstrate the effectiveness of the mesh improvement methods. They show that a combined optimization approach that uses both objective functions obtains the best-quality meshes for several complex geometries.
Classification rules in the unknown mixture parameter case: relative value of labeled and unlabeled samples

We investigate the relative value of labeled and unlabeled samples in constructing classification rules. We observe a training set Q composed of l labeled and u unlabeled samples coming from two classes. Let sample from class 1 be distributed according to f/sub 1/(/spl middot/), samples from class 2 according to f/sub 2/(/spl middot/), and let /spl eta/ be the probability that a sample is in class 1. Assume that f/sub 1/(/spl middot/) and f/sub 2/(/spl middot/) are known and that /spl eta/ is unknown. We want to classify a new sample X/sub 0/. The relative value of labeled and unlabeled observations in reducing the probability of error is equal to I/sub t/(/spl eta/)/I/sub u/(/spl eta/), the ratio of the Fisher information of the labeled and unlabeled samples. Moreover labeled samples are not necessary in order to construct a decision rule. However, if f/sub 1/(/spl middot/) and f/sub 2/(/spl middot/) are given, but it is not known whether observations from class 1 are distributed according to f/sub 1/(/spl middot/) or according to f/sub 2/(/spl middot/), then the labeled samples are necessary and exponentially more valuable than unlabeled samples. >
An Investigation of Microplasma Noise in Zener Diodes with the SEM

Avalanche breakdown and microplasma effects in silicon PN junctions are the direct source of noise generating mechanisms in these devices. Some of the noise sources are fundamentally related to the breakdown mechanism involved. However, in practical Zener diode structures, the mechanisms which contribute to excess noise often result from process induced defects and material imperfections. Breakdown mechanisms have been studied extensively using light emission optical miocroscopy,(1-5) but the technique is limited to shallow structures containing junction depths less than 1 ?m, particularly when bulk breakdown effects are being studied. These structures are generally free from overlying metal films and are designed to minimize optical absorption effects. Practical Zener diode structures are often more deeply diffused, and contain passivation layers and metal surface films. More recently, utilizing the electron beam induced current mode, the scanning electron microscope has been used to investigate electrical effects such as microplasma phenomena an and avalanche breakdown in PN junctions,(6-8) as well as structural imperfect ions in semiconductor devices. (9-12) This technique, provides the necessary means for the non-destructive investigation of avalanche breakdown sites which give rise to excess electrical noise in Zener diode structures. In the present investigation, a comparison is drawn between Zener diodes which exhibit surface and bulk breakdown mechanisms. Examples are presented which illustrate both typical breakdown noise in these structures, and excess noise resulting from specific process induced defects.
Minimal mental models

Agents must form and update mental models about each other in a wide range of domains: team coordination, plan recognition, social simulation, user modeling, games of incomplete information, etc. Existing research typically treats the problem of forming beliefs about other agents as an isolated subproblem, where the modeling agent starts from an initial set of possible models for another agent and then maintains a belief about which of those models applies. This initial set of models is typically a full specification of possible agent types. Although such a rich space gives the modeling agent high accuracy in its beliefs, it will also incur high cost in maintaining those beliefs. In this paper, we demonstrate that by taking this modeling problem out of its isolation and placing it back within the overall decision-making context, the modeling agent can drastically reduce this rich model space without sacrificing any performance. Our approach comprises three methods. The first method clusters models that lead to the same behaviors in the modeling agent's decision-making context. The second method clusters models that may produce different behaviors, but produce equally preferred outcomes with respect to the utility of the modeling agent. The third technique sacrifices a fixed amount of accuracy by clustering models that lead to performance losses that are below a certain threshold. We illustrate our framework using a social simulation domain and demonstrate its value by showing the minimal mental model spaces that it generates.
A bonding model for gold(I) carbene complexes.

An analysis of key intermediates relevant to gold(I) catalysis has been performed using density functional theory. A bonding model is proposed whereby the reactivity of gold(I)-coordinated carbenes is dependent on carbene substituents and ancillary ligands that dictate where these gold structures lie on a continuum ranging from a metal-stabilized singlet carbene to a metal-coordinated carbocation.
Children of a Lesser God. "Core Values in Therapeutic Recreation".

Students in recreation programs are often introduced to laws that apply to therapeutic or community recreation services. Several of these laws have to do with policy regarding people who experience...
Asymptotics for the 4 F 3 polynomials

Abstract Asymptotic expansions are given for the 4F3 and 4φ3 orthogonal polynomials which generalize the classical orthogonal polynomials. The expansions are applied to determine the complex sets of convergence of series of these polynomials. The proof of the main asymptotic expansion uses a convexity argument which is especially well suited to estimating certain hypergeometric series and their integral analogs. As an alternative approach to the asymptotics, a uniform version of Darboux's method is described.
Exact Power Function of Compendial Test Requirements for Content Uniformity

AbstractThe exact distributions associated with the current compendial test requirements are generated by resorting to the well known Computer Intensive Algorithm method to establish the exact percentage point (limit) for RSD, corresponding to each selected cut-off probability level (confidence level) for each of the four possible experimental outcomes based on the USP-NF test requirements. A table is constructed to present the two-dimensional power function. The similarities between these tabular values and the current compendial RSD limits for 10 and 30 dosage units are extremely remarkable.Minor differences exist, however. It is suggested that both the theoretical as well as the numerical approaches should be carried out to arrive at a comprehensive solution.
Who Is Multiracial? Assessing the Complexity of Lived Race

Patterns of racial classification in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health are examined. The survey's large sample size and multiple indicators of race permit generalizable claims about patterns and processes of social construction in the racial categorization of adolescents. About 12 percent of youth provide inconsistent responses to nearly identical questions about race, context affects one's choice of a single-race identity, and nearly all patterns and processes of racial classification depend on which racial groups are involved. The implications ofthe findings are discussed for users of data on race in general, and for the new census data in particular
Fast Approximate String Matching for Chinese Text

For now there are two effective methods to improve approximate string matching: bit-vector method and filter method. Since Chinese alphabet has many characters, it needs much computer memory for bit-vector method. This would be a problem for some little computer which has a small memory, such as embedded system. We present a new bit-vector method which needs only about 5% computer memory of original bit-vector method. And, we also utilize the fact that Chinese alphabet is very large and develop a new filter method, BPM-BM, for approximate string matching of Chinese text. It runs at least 14% faster than the known fasted algorithms. In most cases, our algorithm is even 1.5～2 times faster.
Electric and motor patterns associated with canine jejunal transit of liquids and solids

Our hypothesis was that the direction of liquid transit through the canine jejunum is determined by the direction that single jejunal pressure waves spread, while the direction of solid transit depends on the direction of spread of both single waves and clustered waves. In six dogs, 80-cm jejunal Vella loops were made and fitted with manometric catheters and serosal electrodes. After recovery, transit of liquids (Ringer lactate) and solids (2.4-mm nylon spheres) placed into the center of the loop was determined in the conscious animals while pacing the loop in a forward direction or in a backward direction. Under fasting and fed conditions, single pressure waves followed the direction of pacing, while the direction of migration of clustered waves was not determined by the direction of pacing. Liquid transit always followed the direction of single pressure waves. In contrast, solids moved distally regardless of the direction of pacing, except when liquids were also present in the lumen, in which case solids moved in the same direction as the single pressure waves.
The role of thoracoscopic lymph node staging in esophageal cancer.

Background Unlike mediastinoscopy in lung cancer, there exists no standard minimally invasive test to stage esophageal cancer. If it were possible to obtain exact preoperative staging in esophageal cancer, patients could be separated prospectively to receive adjuvant therapy appropriately. Methods We studied the feasibility and efficacy of thoracoscopic lymph node staging (TSLN) and laparoscopic lymph node staging (LSLN) in esophageal cancer. Results TSLN was performed in 45 patients with biopsy proven carcinoma of the esophagus. LSLN was done in the last 19 patients. TSLN was aborted in 3 pts due to adhesions. Thoracic LN stage was N0 in 39 patients and N1 in 3; celiac LN were negative in 13 and positive in 6 patients. Esophageal resection was performed in 30 patients after TSLN; 17 of these underwent LSLN. TSLN staging showed N0 lymph node status in 28 patients and N1 in 2 patients. Two of the 28 N0 patients (7%) were found at resection to have paraesophageal lymph node involvement (N1) and were thus understaged by TSLN. Thus TSLN was accurate in detecting the presence of thoracic LN in 28/30 cases (93%). LSLN staging found negative celiac nodes in 12 patients and positive LN in 5 patients. After esophagectomy, final pathology of the 12 N0 patients was N0 in 11 and positive LN in one patient. Thus, LSLN was accurate in detecting lymph node metastases in 16/17 patients (94%).