cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Knowledge construction with causal concept maps in a teachable agent environment

We have developed Betty’s Brain [1], a computer-based learning environment that employs the learning-by-teaching paradigm to foster students’ acquisition of science knowledge and self-regulated learning strategies. The system provides students with opportunities for self-directed, open-ended learning in science. In this learning environment, students are given a knowledge construction task in which they teach a virtual agent by engaging in an iterative process of reading source material and structuring their knowledge in a causal concept map for a particular science domain (e.g., ecology or thermo-regulation). The agent, then, can use this map to answer questions and take quizzes.
Protein Synthesis and Temperature Compensation in Circadian Rhythmicity

In Euglena gracilis and several mutants of Neurospora crassa a correlation exists between the Q10 of the circadian rhythm and the extent to which the period of the rhythm is lengthened by inhibitors of protein synthesis. A model is proposed in which the temperature-compensation mechanism of the circadian clock includes a device to compensate for changes in the rates of protein synthesis.
Updates in Gestational Diabetes Prevalence, Treatment, and Health Policy

Gestational diabetes (GDM) is associated with adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes and increased maternal risk for subsequent type 2 diabetes. The best diagnostic strategy for GDM is debated and the role of oral antidiabetic medications (OAD) for treatment is unclear. In this paper, we review methods of GDM diagnosis, updates in GDM therapy, and interventions to reduce future type 2 diabetes in women with a history of GDM. A “one-step” screening protocol for GDM using 75-g, 2-h oral glucose tolerance testing at 24–28 weeks gestation is recommended by the International Association of the Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups, the American Diabetes Association, and the Endocrine Society. This strategy identifies a milder degree of hyperglycemia and thus increases GDM prevalence. Studies indicate that in these cases of mild hyperglycemia, treatment decreases pregnancy and neonatal complications. Insulin analogues including detemir, aspart, and lispro have been shown to be safe in pregnancy with a pregnancy category B classification. Growing literature suggests that sulfonylureas cross the placenta and are associated with increased incidence of macrosomia and neonatal hypoglycemia. Telephone or online diabetes prevention program (DPP)-based interventions for women with GDM have shown encouraging results in pilot studies. Insurance coverage remains a barrier. Additional studies are needed to determine the safety of OAD in pregnancy. Public policy supporting DPP could help improve patient access to these proven interventions.
Thermite reactivity with ball milled aluminum-zirconium fuel particles

Abstract Thermite reactivity is a function of the reactant particle size. However, metallurgical strategies that purposefully engineer larger fuel particles to be as reactive as their smaller scale counterparts could be a transformative development in thermite combustion. In this study, ball milled aluminum/zirconium (Al:Zr) particles are prepared with four different Al:Zr particle size ranges (0–10, 10–32, 32–53 and 53–75 µm) and similar internal microstructures to understand the influence of particle size on reactivity within thermite mixtures. The thermites are prepared by combining the Al:Zr particles with molybdenum trioxide (MoO3) particles and reactivity was assessed using flame speed measurements. The results showed that for the smallest size range (0–10 µm) and the largest size range (53–75 µm), flame speeds were ∼ 4 cm/s while the two middle Al:Zr size ranges had flame speeds of only ∼ 2 cm/s. The unexpected size dependence is attributed to a change in the thermal transport mechanism controlling flame propagation, from thermal conduction at small Al:Zr powder sizes to thermal convection at large sizes. The rate of energy release during the thermite reaction also plays a role in controlling the flame speed. We propose that the faster flame speed for the 0–10 µm Al:Zr particles result from more contact points between the fuel and oxidizer powders, leading to improved oxygen mass diffusion and greater energy release promoting thermal transport by conduction. In contrast, the faster speed for the largest 53–75 µm Al:Zr particles is attributed to increased thermal transport via convection due to larger pore sizes. The 10–32 and 32–53 µm Al:Zr particle sizes are either too big or too small for reactivity or thermal transport to be optimized, resulting in slightly slower flame speeds. These results show that larger Al:Zr particles can be designed to exhibit reactivity representative of smaller size particles by utilizing composite particles that leverage intermetallic reactions while also exploiting multiple modes of heat transfer.
Relationship of extracellular volume assessed on cardiac magnetic resonance and serum cardiac troponins and natriuretic peptides with heart failure outcomes

Measures of serum cardiac troponins and natriuretic peptides have become established as prognostic heart failure risk markers. In addition to detecting myocardial fibrosis through late gadolinium enhancement (LGE), extracellular volume fraction (ECV) measures by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) have emerged as a phenotypic imaging risk marker for incident heart failure outcomes. We sought to examine the relationship between cardiac troponins, natriuretic peptides, ECV and their associations with incident heart failure events in a CMR referral base. Mid short axis T1 maps were divided into 6 cardiac segments, each classified as LGE absent or present. Global ECV was derived from T1 maps using the area-weighted average of only LGE-absent segments. ECV was considered elevated if measured >30%, the upper 95% bounds of a reference healthy group without known cardiac disease (n = 28). Patients were dichotomized by presence of elevated ECV. High-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) and N-terminal B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) were measured using serum samples acquired and stored at time of CMR scan, and patients were categorized into 3 groups for each blood marker based on recommended cutoff values. Subsequent heart failure admission and any death were ascertained. Relationships with ECV, hs-cTnT, and NT-proBNP were examined separately and as a composite with Cox proportional hazard models. Of 1,604 serial patients referred for a clinical CMR with myocardial T1 maps, 331 were eligible after exclusions and had blood available and were followed over a median 25.0 [interquartile range 21.8, 31.7] months. After adjustments for age (mean 57.3 [standard deviation (SD) 15.1 years), gender (61% male), and ethnicity (12.7% black), elevated ECV remained a predictor of a first composite heart failure outcome for patients with high levels of hs-cTnT (≥14 ng/L; hazard ratio [HR] 2.42 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.17, 5.03]; p = 0.02) and NT-proBNP (≥300 pg/mL; HR 2.28 [95% CI 1.24, 4.29]; p = 0.01). Similar trends were seen for lower category levels of blood markers, but did not persist with minimal covariate adjustments. Elevated measures of ECV by CMR are associated with incident heart failure outcomes in patients with high hs-cTnT and NT-proBNP levels. This imaging marker may have a role for additional heart failure risk stratification.
Gamers First – How Consumer Preferences Impact eSports Media Offerings

Since 2016, eSports has grown into a key sector of the media landscape. Yet, manystakeholders are challenged with managing the complexity of eSports media. Existing business model literature sugges...
Experimental metatranscriptomics reveals the costs and benefits of dissolved organic matter photo-alteration for freshwater microbes.

Microbes and sunlight convert terrigenous dissolved organic matter (DOM) in surface waters to greenhouse gases. Prior studies show contrasting results about how biological and photochemical processes interact to contribute to the degradation of DOM. In this study, DOM leached from the organic layer of tundra soil was exposed to natural sunlight or kept in the dark, incubated in the dark with the natural microbial community, and analysed for gene expression and DOM chemical composition. Microbial gene expression (metatranscriptomics) in light and dark treatments diverged substantially after 4 h. Gene expression suggested that sunlight exposure of DOM initially stimulated microbial growth by (i) replacing the function of enzymes that degrade higher molecular weight DOM such as enzymes for aromatic carbon degradation, oxygenation, and decarboxylation, and (ii) releasing low molecular weight compounds and inorganic nutrients from DOM. However, growth stimulation following sunlight exposure of DOM came at a cost. Sunlight depleted the pool of aromatic compounds that supported microbial growth in the dark treatment, ultimately causing slower growth in the light treatment over 5 days. These first measurements of microbial metatranscriptomic responses to photo-alteration of DOM provide a mechanistic explanation for how sunlight exposure of terrigenous DOM alters microbial processing and respiration of DOM.
Preparing faculty to lead doctor of nursing practice projects: A faculty development pilot project.

Abstract Faculty expressed a need to improve knowledge and skills related to leading Doctor of Nursing Practice projects. A mentoring program was designed to provide faculty the skills to increase confidence when leading Doctor of Nursing Practice projects. The program included an assessment of confidence of six key skills. The intervention included didactic and individual experiential learning that coincided with student progression through project courses. Participants' self-identified areas of need included understanding application of translation science, methods, statistical choices, and all phases of analysis. Four of the six elements were improved from baseline, with two statistically significant, Project Analysis (M = 2.05, SD =0.88, p
Greater Somatosensory Afference With Acupuncture Increases Primary Somatosensory Connectivity and Alleviates Fibromyalgia Pain via Insular γ-Aminobutyric Acid: A Randomized Neuroimaging Trial

Objective Acupuncture is a complex multicomponent treatment that has shown promise in the treatment of fibromyalgia (FM). However, clinical trials have shown mixed results, possibly due to heterogeneous methodology and lack of understanding of the underlying mechanism of action. The present study was undertaken to understand the specific contribution of somatosensory afference to improvements in clinical pain, and the specific brain circuits involved. Methods Seventy-six patients with FM were randomized to receive either electroacupuncture (EA), with somatosensory afference, or mock laser acupuncture (ML), with no somatosensory afference, twice a week over 8 treatments. Patients with FM in each treatment group were assessed for pain severity levels, measured using Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) scores, and for levels of functional brain network connectivity, assessed using resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy in the right anterior insula, before and after treatment. Results Fibromyalgia patients who received EA therapy experienced a greater reduction in pain severity, as measured by the BPI, compared to patients who received ML therapy (mean difference in BPI from pre- to posttreatment was -1.14 in the EA group versus -0.46 in the ML group; P for group × time interaction = 0.036). Participants receiving EA treatment, as compared to ML treatment, also exhibited resting functional connectivity between the primary somatosensory cortical representation of the leg (S1leg ; i.e. primary somatosensory subregion activated by EA) and the anterior insula. Increased S1leg -anterior insula connectivity was associated with both reduced levels of pain severity as measured by the BPI (r = -0.44, P = 0.01) and increased levels of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA+) in the anterior insula (r = 0.48, P = 0.046) following EA therapy. Moreover, increased levels of GABA+ in the anterior insula were associated with reduced levels of pain severity as measured by the BPI (r = -0.59, P = 0.01). Finally, post-EA treatment changes in levels of GABA+ in the anterior insula mediated the relationship between changes in S1leg -anterior insula connectivity and pain severity on the BPI (bootstrap confidence interval -0.533, -0.037). Conclusion The somatosensory component of acupuncture modulates primary somatosensory functional connectivity associated with insular neurochemistry to reduce pain severity in FM.
Bleeder entry evaluation using condition mapping and numerical modeling

Abstract One of the most common critical areas of longwall mining in terms of ground stability are the gateroad and bleeder entries. These critical entries provide much-needed safe access for miners and allow for adequate ventilation required for dilution of hazardous airborne contaminants and must remain open during mining of a multi-panel district. This paper is focused on the stability of the longwall entries subjected to a single abutment load such as bleeders, first tailgate, and last headgate. First tailgate and last headgate are also referred to as blind headgate and tailgate. A study of a longwall district through conditions mapping, support evaluations, and numerical modeling was conducted and evaluated by researchers from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The condition mapping and support evaluations were performed on entries that spanned the previous five years of mining and relied on a diverse selection of supports to maintain the functionality of the entry. Numerical modeling was also conducted to evaluate various support types with further investigation and comparison to the condition mapping. The study demonstrated the importance of the abutment load decay versus distance from the gob edge, the potential for a reduction in material handling related injuries, as well as optimal usage of secondary and standing support.
Malpractice Reform - Opportunities for Leadership by Health Care Institutions and Liability Insurers

This paper describes models of private reform of the medical injury compensation process, focusing on "disclosure-and-offer" programs. Please contact the author at mmello@hsph.harvard.edu for a copy of the paper. You can also find it full-text online at the New England Journal of Medicine's website.
‘How differently it came upon her’: The Ageing Young Stepmother in Charlotte Yonge’s The Young Step-Mother and Dinah Craik’s Christian’s Mistake

This article looks at two domestic novels of the 1860s, The Young Step-Mother by Charlotte Yonge and Christian’s Mistake by Dinah Craik, alongside Victorian vital statistics and family structure in order to argue that fictional stepmothers of the period — even very young stepmothers — are better understood as a portrayal of female middle age. One of the strongest conventions of the nineteenth-century novel is that its protagonist be young, especially if that protagonist is female. This youth convention prevented novelists from putting many aspects of women’s lives at the centre of their work; one such aspect was mothering a child past the age of infancy. When critics write about the stepmother in Victorian literature, they usually portray her either as a stereotype (the wicked stepmother of fairy tale) or as a representation of a common nineteenth-century reality. This article shows that a young stepmother-protagonist offered Victorian writers a way to respect the novel’s youth convention at the same time as exploring emotions and experiences not typically available to biological mothers until their thirties, forties or even fifties: dealing with the competing demands of infant and adolescent children, for example, or with a daughter’s unhappy marriage or son’s professional difficulties. Through showing how Yonge’s and Craik’s novels give mature experience to young women, this article offers a model for finding Victorian representations of age in unexpected places and unexpected bodies.
Thailand beyond the crisis

Contributors Preface Note on referencing of Thai names Map of Thailand Part 1 Background to the Crisis and the Recovery Process 1. Boom, Bust and Beyond 2. Anatomy of the Crisis Part 2 The Social and Political Context of the Recovery Process 3. Pluto-Populism: Thaksin and Popular Politics 4. Socio-economic Consequences of the Crisis 5. Developing Social Alternatives: Walking Backwards into a Khlong Part 3 The New Environmenta for Economic Policy Making 6. Public Sector Reform: A Post-crisis Opportunity 7. Dealing with Debt: NPLs and Debt Restructuring 8. The Implications of a Flexible Exchange Rate Part 4 The Long Term - Human Capital, Urbanization and the Environment 9. Education: The Key to Long Term Recovery? Sirilaksana Khoman 10. Urbanization: New Drivers, New Outcomes Douglas Webster 11. Natural Resources and the Environment Mingsarn Kaosa-ard Index
Beamforming for interference mitigation in TH impulse radio UWB systems

The ability of impulse radio to resolve a large number of multipaths in a dense frequency selective channel suggests only a marginal improvement in performance by the use of multiple antennas from a diversity perspective. Furthermore, the small size of UWB receivers for in-home or sensor networking would result in a very high correlation among antenna elements, reducing even more the exploitable diversity. Therefore, we concentrate on the use of multiple antennas for interference suppression. Specifically, we investigate the performance of a quadrature receiver for impulse radio systems with multiple receive antennas and minimum-mean-square-error beamforming to combat interference
Colloquium: Theory of quantum corrals and quantum mirages

Quantum corrals are two-dimensional structures built atom by atom on an atomically clean metallic surface using a scanning tunneling microscope (STM). These two-dimensional structures ``corral'' electrons in the surface states of noble metals, leading to standing-wave patterns in the electron density inside the quantum corral. The authors review the physics of quantum corrals and relate the signal of the STM to the scattering properties of substrate electrons from atomic impurities supported on the surface. The theory includes the effects of incoherent surface-state electron scattering at the impurities and quantitively describes nearly all of the current STM data on quantum corrals, including the recent quantum mirage experiments with Kondo effect. The physics underlying the recent mirage experiments is discussed, as are some of the outstanding questions regarding the Kondo effect from impurities in nanoscale structures on metallic surfaces. The authors also summarize recent work on variations of ``quantum'' corrals: Optical corrals and acoustical corrals.
An Incremental Distributed Algorithm for Computing Biconnected Components (Extended Abstract)

This paper describes a distributed algorithm for computing biconnected components of a dynamically changing graph. Our algorithm has worst case communication complexity of O(b + c) messages for edge insertion and O(b′ + c) messages for edge removal, and worst case time complexity of O(c) for both operations, where c is the maximum number of biconnected components in any of the connected components during the operation, b is the number of nodes in the biconnected component containing the new edge, and b′ is the number of nodes in the biconnected component in which the update is being processed.
Suffering in the Land of Sunshine: A Los Angeles Illness Narrative

The history of medicine is much more than the story of doctors, nurses, and hospitals. Seeking to understand the patient's perspective, historians scour the archives, searching for rare personal accounts. Bringing together a trove of more than 400 family letters by Charles Dwight Willard, ""Suffering in the Land of Sunshine"" provides a unique window into the experience of sickness. A Los Angeles civic leader at the turn of the twentieth century, Willard is well known to historians of the West, but exclusively for his public life as a booster and reformer. Completely ignored is his thirty-year struggle with tuberculosis, the most fearsome disease of his time. Emily K. Abel explores the contradictions between the ideology he espoused and the illness he lived. Like many Anglo Saxons in Los Angeles, Willard was proud of his genetic heritage and often associated tuberculosis with tramps and Mexicans. He also became one of the city's foremost promoters, seeking to lure white-middle class invalids with the promise of miraculous cures. As his own symptoms worsened, however, he found it increasingly difficult to distinguish himself from the groups that he disparaged. Willard's evocative story offers fresh insights into several critical issues, including how concepts of gender, class, and race shape patients' representations of their illness, how expectations of cure affect the illness experience, how different cultures constrain the coping strategies of the sick, and why robust health is such an exalted value in certain societies.
BALANCING ROBUSTNESS AND EFFICIENCY IN UNIFICATION-AUGMENTED CONTEXT-FREE PARSERS FOR LARGE PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Large practical NLP applications require robust analysis components that can effectively handle input that is disfluent or extra-grammatical. The effectiveness and efficiency of any robust parser are a direct function of three main factors: (1) Flexibility: what types of disfluencies and deviations from the grammar can the parser handle?; (2) Search: How does the parser search the space of possible interpretations, and what techniques are applied to prune the search space?; and (3) Parse Selection and Disambiguation: What methods and resources are used to evaluate and rank potential parses and sub-parses, and how does the parser cope with the extreme levels of ambiguity introduced by its flexibility parameters? In this chapter we describe our investigations on how to balance flexibility and efficiency in the context of two different robust parsers — a GLR parser and a left corner Chart parser — both based on a unification-augmented context-free grammar formalism. We demonstrate how the combination of a beam search together with ambiguity packing and statistical disambiguation provide a flexible framework for achieving a good balance between robustness and efficiency in such parsers. Our investigations are based on experimental results and comparative performance evaluations of both parsers using a grammar for the spoken language ESST (English Spontaneous Scheduling Task) domain.
A fast lightstripe rangefinding system with smart VLSI sensor

The focus of the research is to build a compact, high performance lightstripe rangefinder using a Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) smart photosensor array. Rangefinding, the measurement of the three-dimensional profile of an object or scene, is a critical component for many robotic applications, and therefore many techniques were developed. Of these, lightstripe rangefinding is one of the most widely used and reliable techniques available. Though practical, the speed of sampling range data by the conventional light stripe technique is severely limited. A conventional light stripe rangefinder operates in a step-and-repeat manner. A stripe source is projected on an object, a video image is acquired, range data is extracted from the image, the stripe is stepped, and the process repeats. Range acquisition is limited by the time needed to grab the video images, increasing linearly with the desired horizontal resolution. During the acquisition of a range image, the objects in the scene being scanned must be stationary. Thus, the long scene sampling time of step-and-repeat rangefinders limits their application. The fast range sensor proposed is based on the modification of this basic lightstripe ranging technique in a manner described by Sato and Kida. This technique does not require a sampling of images at various stripe positions to build a range map. Rather, an entire range image is acquired in parallel while the stripe source is swept continuously across the scene. Total time to acquire the range image data is independent of the range map resolution. The target rangefinding system will acquire 1,000 100 x 100 point range images per second with 0.5 percent range accuracy. It will be compact and rugged enough to be mounted on the end effector of a robot arm to aid in object manipulation and assembly tasks.
Statistical and adaptive approach for verification of a neural-based flight control system

This work presents a combined statistical and adaptive approach for the verification of an adaptive, online learning, sigma-pi neural network that is used for aircraft damage adaptive flight control. Adaptive flight control systems must have the ability to sense its environment, process flight dynamics, and execute control actions. This project was completed for a class in complex adaptive systems at Nova Southeastern University. Verification of neural-based damage adaptive flight control system is currently an urgent and significant research and engineering topic since these systems are being looked upon as a new approach for aircraft survivability, for both commercial and military applications. The most significant shortcoming of the prior and current approaches to verifying adaptive neural networks is the application of linear approaches to a non-linear problem. Advances in computational power and neural network techniques for estimating aerodynamic stability and control derivatives provide opportunity for real-time adaptive control. New verification techniques are needed that substantially increases confidence in the use of these neural network systems in life, safety, and mission critical systems.
Azotobacter vinelandii Ribonucleic Acid Polymerase: X. SOME PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF THE ALTERNATING COPOLYMERS OF INOSINIC AND CYTIDYLIC RESIDUES AND OF GUANYLIC AND CYTIDYLIC ACID RESIDUES

Abstract Some physical properties of r(I-C)n and r(G-C)n copolymers have been studied. Both copolymers exhibit a strictly alternating sequence, as determined by nearest neighbor analysis. At low ionic strengths, r(I-C)n is highly sensitive to nuclease attack, while r(G-C)n is very resistant. r(I-C)n has a Tm of 49.5° in 0.1 m Na+, and r(G-C)n has a Tm of approximately 92° in 1 mm Na+. Both alternating copolymers melt below their homologous homopolymer pairs, (rI)n·(rC)n and (rG)n·(rC)n. The melting behavior of the polymers studied is probably attributable to the existence of weaker base stacking interactions in the alternating copolymers than in the homopolymer pairs. The ultraviolet absorption spectrum of helical r(I-C)n closely resembles that of the deoxyanalogue, d(I-C)n, and is unlike that of helical (rI)n·(rC)n. Helical r(G-C)n has a spectrum like that of helical (rG)n·(rC)n; a shoulder characteristic of G-C pairs is noted at approximately 280 to 290 mµ. Coil form r(I-C)n has a spectrum similar to that of coil form (rI)n·(rC)n. Coil form r(G-C)n has a spectrum resembling that of a 1:1 mixture of GMP + CMP. Procedures for the purification of r(I-C)n copolymer and for the separation of r(G-C)n product from the r(I-C)n template are described.
Measured voluntary avoidance behaviour during the 2009 A/H1N1 epidemic.

Managing infectious disease is among the foremost challenges for public health policy. Interpersonal contacts play a critical role in infectious disease transmission, and recent advances in epidemiological theory suggest a central role for adaptive human behaviour with respect to changing contact patterns. However, theoretical studies cannot answer the following question: are individual responses to disease of sufficient magnitude to shape epidemiological dynamics and infectious disease risk? We provide empirical evidence that Americans voluntarily reduced their time spent in public places during the 2009 A/H1N1 swine flu, and that these behavioural shifts were of a magnitude capable of reducing the total number of cases. We simulate 10 years of epidemics (2003–2012) based on mixing patterns derived from individual time-use data to show that the mixing patterns in 2009 yield the lowest number of total infections relative to if the epidemic had occurred in any of the other nine years. The World Health Organization and other public health bodies have emphasized an important role for ‘distancing’ or non-pharmaceutical interventions. Our empirical results suggest that neglect for voluntary avoidance behaviour in epidemic models may overestimate the public health benefits of public social distancing policies.
Karyotype alteration generates the neoplastic phenotypes of SV40-infected human and rodent cells

Despite over 50 years of research, it remains unclear how the DNA tumor viruses SV40 and Polyoma cause cancers. Prevailing theories hold that virus-coded Tumor (T)-antigens cause cancer by inactivating cellular tumor suppressor genes. But these theories don’t explain four characteristics of viral carcinogenesis: (1) less than one in 10,000 infected cells become cancer cells, (2) cancers have complex individual phenotypes and transcriptomes, (3) recurrent tumors without viral DNA and proteins, (4) preneoplastic aneuploidies and immortal neoplastic clones with individual karyotypes. As an alternative theory we propose that viral carcinogenesis is a form of speciation, initiated by virus-induced aneuploidy. Since aneuploidy destabilizes the karyotype by unbalancing thousands of genes it catalyzes chain reactions of karyotypic and transcriptomic evolutions. Eventually rare karyotypes evolve that encode cancer-specific autonomy of growth. The low probability of forming new autonomous cancer-species by random karyotypic and transcriptomic variations predicts individual and clonal cancers. Although cancer karyotypes are congenitally aneuploid and thus variable, they are stabilized or immortalized by selections for variants with cancer-specific autonomy. Owing to these inherent variations cancer karyotypes are heterogeneous within clonal margins. To test this theory we analyzed karyotypes and phenotypes of SV40-infected human, rat and mouse cells developing into neoplastic clones. In all three systems we found (1) preneoplastic aneuploidies, (2) neoplastic clones with individual clonal but flexible karyotypes and phenotypes, which arose from less than one in 10,000 infected cells, survived over 200 generations, but were either T-antigen positive or negative, (3) spontaneous and drug-induced variations of neoplastic phenotypes correlating 1-to-1 with karyotypic variations. Since all 14 virus-induced neoplastic clones tested contained individual clonal karyotypes and phenotypes, we conclude that these karyotypes have generated and since maintained these neoplastic clones. Thus SV40 causes cancer indirectly, like carcinogens, by inducing aneuploidy from which new cancer-specific karyotypes evolve automatically at low rates. This theory explains the (1) low probability of carcinogenesis per virus-infected cell, (2) the individuality and clonal flexibility of cancer karyotypes, (3) recurrence of neoplasias without viral T-antigens, and (4) the individual clonal karyotypes, transcriptomes and immortality of virus-induced neoplasias - all unexplained by current viral theories.
A prototype Internet autopsy database. 1625 consecutive fetal and neonatal autopsy facesheets spanning 20 years.

. Objective.-To demonstrate that cause-of-death statements can be generated by a computer algorithm from an autopsy database composed of diagnostic terms. Data Sources.-Over 49 000 autopsy facesheets contributed by over a dozen institutions were collected from a publicly accessible Internet autopsy database. This database is available at the following web site : http ://www.med.jhu.edu/pathology/iad.html Study Selection.-To test the feasibility of creating and using a publicly available autopsy database, and to identify the technical and medicolegal problems that may arise with such a novel resource, a prototype study was designed by selecting autopsy facesheets from fetal and neonatal deaths. An algorithm was developed to determine the cause of death from the listing of anatomic diagnoses. Data Extraction.-One thousand six hundred twenty-five fetal and neonatal autopsy facesheets were selected encompassing fetal and neonatal deaths occurring up to 28 days after birth. Data Synthesis.-The algorithm determined causes of death from autopsy facesheet data in all cases. On review by an experienced pediatric pathologist, these automatically generated cause-of-death statements required no modification or only slight modification in over 90% of cases. Conclusions.-A large multi-institutional autopsy database composed of demographic and diagnostic information has been deposited on the Internet. This information can be freely downloaded and used by any researcher without violating patient confidentiality. As a demonstration of one possible application of the database, fetal and neonatal autopsies generated cause-of-death statements using a computer algorithm. One can anticipate that the wealth of information contained in autopsy facesheets can be assembled into a database that will serve the public interest.
Introduction to Linear Algebra

Mathematical theories are not invented spontaneously. The theories that have proved to be useful have their beginnings, in most cases, in special problems, which are difficult to understand or to solve without a grasp of the underlying principles. This chapter begins with two such problems, which have a common set of underlying principles. Linear algebra, which is the study of vector spaces, linear transformations, and matrices, is the result of trying to understand the common features of these and other similar problems.
Phosphorus disequilibrium in the tripartite plant-ectomycorrhiza-plant growth promoting rhizobacterial association

Plant roots and rhizospheres are colonized by an extensive and diverse microbial community. These microbes may form mutualistic, commensal, and/or pathogenic relationships and influence agricultural and forest productivity. Symbiotic ectomycorrhizal (EcM) fungi colonize the roots of many tree species, and the literature on these associations extensively describes their influence on plant nutrient relations and response to environmental stress. Similarly, soil bacteria ubiquitously colonize roots and rhizospheres and many of these bacteria may also play roles in influencing tree productivity. In particular, plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) positively affect plant growth by altering nutrient availability in soils and inducing changes in plant hormone balance, plant stress resistance, and immunity pathways. In nature, EcM fungi and soil PGPR co-exist and the interaction and composition of this multi-tiered rhizosphere community aids in the acquisition of nutrient resources from soils as well as host plant response to environmental stress. The assembly of EcM communities is influenced by tree species and environmental conditions, and the tree and EcM species further influence PGPR community structure. Functionally, these symbiotic associations exhibit unique expression profiles and ecophysiological activities within the tripartite association. EcM and PGPR mediate production of complex arrays of exudates, including organic acids, siderophores, enzymes, and other organic compounds, which alter nutrient equilibria in soils, leading to increased access to phosphorus (P) and other macro- and micronutrients. As a metaorganism, the tripartite ectomycorrhizas increase the ecological breadth of host trees and influence the structure and function of forested ecosystems.
5,120 Superconducting Bolometers for the PIPER Balloon-Borne CMB Polarization Experiment

We are constructing the Primordial Inflation Polarization Explorer (PIPER) to measure the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and search for the imprint of gravity waves produced during an inflationary epoch in the early universe. The signal is faint and lies behind confusing foregrounds, both astrophysical and cosmological, and so many detectors are required to complete the measurement in a limited time. We will use four of our matured 1,280 pixel, high-filling-factor backshort-under-grid bolometer arrays for efficient operation at the PIPER CMB wavelengths. All four arrays observe at a common wavelength set by passband filters in the optical path. PIPER will fly four times to observe at wavelengths of 1500, 1100, 850, and 500 microns in order to separate CMB from foreground emission. The arrays employ leg-isolated superconducting transition edge sensor bolometers operated at 145 mK; tuned resonant backshorts for efficient optical coupling; and a second-generation superconducting quantum interference device multiplexer readout. We describe the design, development, and performance of PIPER bolometer array technology to achieve background-limited sensitivity for a cryogenic balloon-borne telescope.
Relation of Schottky Barriers to Empty Surface States on III-V Semiconductors

We report new evidence that intrinsic surface states play a predominant role in determining Schottky-barrier energies for III-V semiconductors. Namely, empty surfacestate levels have been measured (using photoelectron yield spectroscopy) for (110) GaSb, GaAs, GaP, InSb, and InAs whose one-electron energies correlate with Schottky-barrier energies reported by Mead and Spitzer. Also, these sharp molecularlike surface states are shown to be insensitive to metal overlayers and to be cation derived.
The effect of eyestalk extirpation on larval development of the mud crab, Rhithropanopeus harrisii (Gould)☆

Abstract Because of the high survival of Rhithropanopeus harrisii, a small mud crab, through four zoeal stages and a megalops stage to the first crab stage, the larvae of R. harrisii were chosen for studies to examine the effect of eyestalk extirpation during early zoeal development. Removal of one eyestalk at different periods of development did not alter the sequence of larval stages, accelerate the molting frequency of the larvae or the early postlarval stages. Removal of both eyestalks prior to Day 3, Stage III resulted in one or two supernumerary zoeal stages, but acceleration of larval molts was not observed regardless of the time of extirpation. The production of supernumerary zoeal stages in eyestalkless larvae supports the hypothesis that a hormone within the eyestalks controls the rate of morphological development, and may be partly responsible for the initiation of physiological processes culminating in metamorphosis. The absence of accelerated molting during larval development suggests that the X-organ sinus gland complex of the adult is not functional during larval development of R. harrisii and that molting is controlled by some other mechanism during this period. Results of injecting normal and eyestalkless zoeae at different stages of development with a variety of extracts including larval eyestalks, larval central nervous systems, and adult optic nerves are given. Increase in size of the postlarval stages which developed from eyestalkless zoeae was greater than observed for one-eyed crabs or crabs of the control series, but the molting frequency of the first two postlarval stages was the same in the experimental and control series. After the third molt, there was a reduction in duration of intermolt period for crabs which developed from zoeae with both eyestalks removed. The significance of these results is discussed.
How should we measure consumer confidence

Research on consumer confidence has mainly sought to evaluate the power of available data to predict economic outcomes. In contrast, this article considers how best to measure consumer confidence. We analyze the responses to eight questions that have appeared recently on the Michigan Survey of Consumers; four elicit expectations in the traditional qualitative manner and four use a newer "percent chance" format. Examination of the responses suggests three implications. It makes more sense to ask for expectations of events directly relevant to individual economic decisions than for predictions of general business conditions. Surveys should shift away from qualitative questions in favor of ones eliciting subjective probability judgments. While aggregating responses into an index of consumer confidence may provide simple summary statistics, results should also be presented on a question-by-question basis for different subgroups of the population.
Ambidentate H-bonding by heme-bound NO: structural and spectral effects of –O versus –N H-bonding

Resonance Raman studies have uncovered puzzling complexities in the structures of NO adducts of heme proteins. Although CO adducts of heme proteins obey well-behaved anti-correlations between Fe–C and C–O stretching frequencies, which reflect changes in backbonding induced by distal H-bonding residues, the corresponding NO data are scattered. This scatter can be traced to distal influences, since protein-free NO–hemes do show well-behaved anti-correlations. Why do distal effects produce irregularities in νFeN/νNO plots but not in νFeC/νCO plots? We show via density functional theory (DFT) computations on model systems that the response to distal H-bonding differs markedly when the NO acceptor atom is N versus O. Backbonding is augmented by H-bonding to O, but the effect of H-bonding to N is to weaken both N–O and N–Fe bonds. The resulting downward deviation from the νFeN/νNO backbonding line increases with increasing H-bond strength. This effect explains the deviations observed for a series of myoglobin variants, in which the strength of distal H-bonding is modulated by distal pocket residue substitutions. Most of the data follow a positive νFeN/νNO correlation with the same slope as that calculated for H-bonding to N. Such deviations are not observed for CO adducts, because the CO π* orbital is unoccupied, and serves as a delocalized acceptor of H-bonds. H-bonding to N primes NO–heme for reduction to the HNO adduct, a putative intermediate in NO-reducing enzymes.
Metallic Ions and Clusters: Formation, Energetics, and Reaction

Several aspects of the properties of metal clusters and metals in cluster ions are discussed. In particular, results from our laboratory on the photoionization and reactions of sodium clusters, and the thermochemistry and formation of clusters containing metallic ions are presented.
MD Studies of Transport in Polymer-Salt Complexes: A Progress Report

Molecular dynamics simulations performed on highly concentrated Coulomb/solvent systems are used to help interpret the transport mechanism in polymer ionics. Using simple Coulomb and Lennard-Jones forces among the ions and a solvent model of a fixed dipole contained in a spherical solvent particle, we investigated the nature of ion pair formation and stability. For a model NaI system, we find that ion pairs decrease with increase in solvent dipole moment or temperature. The latter observation is at variance with experimental results on polymer electrolytes, probably because of entropy terms that do not occur with our simple solvent molecule.
Simulation of molecular crowding effects on an Alzheimer's α-amyloid peptide

Fibril formation by the Alzheimer's β-amyloid (Aβ) peptide in brain tissue is integral to the Alzheimer's disease pathology. Understanding the conformational properties and the mechanisms triggering aggregation of the Aβ peptides, at an atomic level of detail, is of crucial importance for the design of effective therapeutic agents against this disease. In this work, the conformational transitions and dynamic properties of an amyloidogenic peptide fragment (Aβ10-35) were studied by molecular dynamics simulations in systems modeling infinite dilution and the presence of macromolecular crowding agents (CA). The model system consists of the peptide described with an atomistic force field, the CA represented by inert, quasi-hard spheres and a continuum solvent model. This combined model allowed the simulations to be extended to 100 ns each. Simulations were carried out starting from a completely extended structure, a β-strand structure, and four nuclear magnetic resonance structures in dilute aqueous solution. For all structures, two additional simulations were performed that included the inert CA in the solution and occupied approx 30 and 40% of the volume, respectively. For two of the nuclear magnetic resonance structures, additional simulations were carried out with 35% volume fraction of CA to further examine the diffusive behavior of the peptide. The peptide adopted a collapsed coil conformation in all simulations. The results of the simulations in dilute solution showed reasonable qualitative agreement with experimental and other simulation results, whereas the presence of volume excluding agents resulted in some distinct changes in properties (e.g., an increase in the appearance of transient β-structure or decreases in diffusivity with increasing CA concentration). At the same time, internal motion such as order parameter or atomic root mean square fluctuations showed less systematic responses to volume exclusion.
A Periodically Kicked Chaos Circuit For Rank-One Attractor Generation

In this paper, we propose a new Rank One Chaos (ROC) circuit that generates chaotic signals based on a recent mathematical theory of rank one maps. This circuit is obtained by adding a periodically controlled switch to the so-called MLC (Murali-Lakshmanan-Chua) circuit to modulate one of the state variables of the system. The existence of ROC is proved by following a recipe-like procedure to accurately determine the circuit parameters step-by-step. The results of numerical simulations are presented to verify the circuit theory and design method.
Maternal and developmental toxicity of halogenated 4'-nitrodiphenyl ethers in mice.

In an ongoing effort to delineate structure-activity relationships in the developmental toxicity of diphenyl ethers, we evaluated the maternal and developmental toxicity of 10 diphenyl ethers related to the herbicide nitrofen. All possible trichlorophenyl 4'-nitrophenyl ethers were evaluated, as were the 2,4-difluorophenyl and 2,4-dibromophenyl 4'-nitrophenyl ethers. We also evaluated bifenox and chlomethoxyfen, which are 2,4-dichlorophenyl congeners with meta-substituents on the 4'-nitrophenyl ring. Nitrofen (2,4-dichlorophenyl 4'-nitrophenyl ether) was included for comparison. Identity of the halogen affected the postnatal (but not prenatal) mortality induced by 2,4-dihalogenated 4'-nitrophenyl ethers. The presence of 3'-substituents on the 4'-nitrophenyl ring reduced both pre- and postnatal toxicity of 2,4-dichlorinated congeners. Among chlorinated 4'-nitrophenyl congeners without meta-substituents on the nitrophenyl ring, the position of chlorine substituents strongly affected the congener's poten tial for inducing prenatal vs. postnatal syndromes. All congeners increased liver to body weight ratios in unmated females, but such increases were not well correlated with either prenatal or postnatal embryotoxicity.
Activation of glucocorticoid receptor by ATP.

Summary Glucocorticoid-receptor complex from rat liver cytosol acquired the ability to bind to isolated nuclei when incubated with 5–10 mM ATP at 4°C. This nuclear uptake resulting from the ‘activation’ of cytosolic glucocorticoid-receptor complex was comparable to the activation achieved by warming the steroid-receptor complex at 23°C. ATP was more effective in causing this transformation when compared with ADP, whereas AMP failed to show any such effect. Both ATP and temperature-caused activation of glucocorticoid receptor was blocked by the presence of 10 mM molybdate. The presence of ATP did not alter the steroid binding properties or the sedimentation characteristics of glucocorticoid receptor under the above conditions. These results suggest a role for ATP in receptor function and offer a convenient method of studying the activation process of glucocorticoid receptor at mild assay conditions.