cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Optical and redox properties of dimeric chlorophyll-water aggregates: An in vitro approach toward characterizing the primary molecular adduct in photosynthesis

Abstract We report the preparation and characterization of a 700 nm absorbing (A700) chlorophyll a-water dimeric adduct species corresponding to the recently proposed primary molecular unit (Chl a · H 2 O 2 ) 2 in photosynthesis. We summarize the results of absorption, fluorescence, excitation and redox experiments that point to a striking resemblance between the optical and redox properties of the in vitro A700 adduct and those of the in vivo P700 reaction center Chl a complex.
Patients at elevated risk of major adverse events following endarterectomy for asymptomatic carotid stenosis

Abstract Background Carotid endarterectomy (CEA) as treatment in patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis is the subject of much debate. Methods The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database from 2005 to 2012 was queried. Patients undergoing CEA for asymptomatic carotid stenosis were identified. Preoperative risk factors and patient demographics were compared using chi-square analysis and logistic regression to determine their relation with stroke and death. Results During an 8-year period, 24,211 CEAs performed for asymptomatic carotid stenosis were identified. Patients with dependent functional status (12.5%), recent myocardial infarction (6.3%), chronic heart failure (5.0%), hypoalbuminemia (4.8%), angina (4.1%), dialysis dependence (3.4%), steroid dependence (3.4%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (3.3%), and American Society of Anesthesiologists > 3 (3.2%) had a clinically significant increase in risk of stroke and death. Patients with none of the above risk factors had a stroke and death rate of 1.08%, which was significantly less than the overall stroke and death rate ( P Conclusions A high-risk subset of patients undergoing CEA for asymptomatic carotid stenosis can be identified. If patient selection is optimized and perioperative morbidity and mortality are minimized, CEA will continue to play an important role in stroke prevention for those with significant asymptomatic carotid stenosis.
The neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors α4* and α6* differentially modulate dopamine release in mouse striatal slices

Striatal dopamine plays a major role in the regulation of motor coordination and in the processing of salient information. We used voltammetry to monitor dopamine-release evoked by electrical stimulation in striatal slices, where interneurons continuously release acetylcholine. Use of the α6-selective antagonist α-conotoxin MII[E11A] and α4 knockout mice enabled identification of two populations of dopaminergic fibers. The first population had a low action potential threshold, and action potential-evoked dopamine-release from these fibers was modulated by α6. The second population had a higher action potential threshold, and only α4(non-α6) modulated action potential-evoked dopamine-release. Striatal dopaminergic neurons fire in both tonic and phasic patterns. When stimuli were applied in a train to mimic phasic firing, more dopamine-released was observed in α4 knockout vs. wildtype mice. Furthermore, block of α4(non-α6), but not of α6, increased dopamine release evoked by a train. These results indicate that there are different classes of striatal dopaminergic fibers that express different subtypes of nicotinic receptors.
A Little to One Side: Caregiving, Spatial Seclusion, and Spiritual Border-Crossing in Frail Old Age among the Tuareg (Kel Tamajaq)

This essay examines the meanings of the seclusion of frail elders and the roles of small children who act as their primary caregivers in rural Tuareg communities of northern Niger, and explores the implications of these arrangements for intergenerational relationships. Data suggests that both cosmological and socioeconomic forces shape the seclusion and caregiving of frail elders. It is argued that, despite some physical decline and social withdrawal in these circumstances, particularly on approaching death, nonetheless there is enhanced spiritual power in which these elders and their small caregivers cross thresholds toward new sources of meaning. More broadly, the essay contributes to debates over the meanings of disengagement over the life course and the semiotics of peripheral and secluded spaces.
Use of deer models to study larviposition by wild nasopharyngeal bot flies (Diptera: Oestridae).

Deer models baited with CO2 and with CO2 plus 1-octen-3-ol and Deer Trail Scent attracted and induced female Cephenemyia apicata Bennett & Sabrosky and C. jellisoni Townsend to larviposit on them. Larvae were not deposited on unbaited models. Females of both species were seen at baited models, and an insect trapping adhesive applied to the nostrils, muzzle, and lips of models revealed that all larvae were stuck to the lips and bottom part of the muzzle. The models also attracted and caught most other parasitic Diptera known to attack California black-tailed deer, Odocoileus hemionus columbianus (Richardson), in the study area.
Hashitoxicosis in children: clinical features and natural history.

Objective To determine the incidence, natural history, and clinical characteristics of Hashitoxicosis (Htx) in pediatric patients with autoimmnune thyroiditis. Study design Medical records of children diagnosed with Hashimoto thyroiditis between 1993 and 2002 were reviewed. The clinical course of patients presenting with hyperthyroidism was determined. Variables including sex, age, family history, thyroid hormone levels, anti-thyroid antibody titers, 123 I thyroid scan results, and presenting features were investigated as possible predisposing factors for the development of Htx. Results Out of 69 patients with autoimmune thyroiditis, 8 were diagnosed with Htx. The duration of hyperthyroidism ranged from 31 to 168 days. Three patients became hypothyroid after an average of 46.3 ± 13.2 days, and 5 patients became euthyroid after an average of 112.8 ± 59.8 days. Additional findings included an elevated thyroid stimulating immunoglobulin (TSI) titer in 3 of the 8 patients with Htx, and increased uptake on 123 I scan in 2 patients. Conclusion Htx is an uncommon yet important cause of hyperthyroidism in children that has a variable clinical course. The diagnosis may be complicated, as presenting features sometimes exhibit significant overlap with Graves' disease. No factors predisposing to the development of Htx were identified.
Fast acoustic velocity tomography of focusing operators

ABSTRACTA 2D velocity model was estimated by tomographic imaging of overlapping focusing operators that contain one-way traveltimes, from common-focus points to receivers in an aperture along the earth’s surface. The stability and efficiency of convergence and the quality of the resulting models were improved by a sequence of ideas. We used a hybrid parameterization that has an underlying grid, upon which is superimposed a flexible, pseudolayer model. We first solved for the low-wavenumber parts of the model (approximating it as constant-velocity pseudo layers), then we allowed intermediate wavenumbers (allowing the layers to have linear velocity gradients), and finally did unconstrained iterations to add the highest wavenumber details. Layer boundaries were implicitly defined by focus points that align along virtual marker (reflector) horizons. Each focus point sampled an area bounded by the first and last rays in the data aperture at the surface; this reduced the amount of computation and the size of th...
Effects of hypothalamic deafferentation late in gestation on lactation and nursing behavior in the rat

Complete deafferentation of the medial basal hypothalamus (MBH) in 13 primiparous Sprague-Dawley rats was performed on or about Day 14 of gestation. The most significant result was a depression in litter growth as evidenced by the marked number of dead pups by the postpartal Day 5 and the loss of weight in those that survived. Control animals deafferented in the same region but only along one side (the incomplete deafferented rats, n = 9) adequately maintained young. Animals in both groups gave birth as expected. There were no significant differences in the latency and duration of retrieving and crouching behaviors. Therefore, nursing behavior appeared normal. Only milk ejection seemed disturbed, judging from the fact that suckling alone could not release milk, oxytocin in addition was needed. Thus, by the methods we employed, the MBH appears to be necessary for lactation but not for nursing behavior in the primiparous rat.
Potential probe dissipation measurements in a flowing superfluid helium film

Dissipation along a thermally driven, flowing, superfluid helium film has been measured using an adaptation of the Keller-Hammel potential probes. These data are described by Langer-Fisher fluctuation theory, provided the velocity dependence is characteristic of vortex ring generation.
Assessment of Gaussian-4 theory for energy barriers

Gaussian-4 (G4) theory, and various modifications, are assessed for the calculation of the heights of reaction energy barriers. The results indicate that G4 theory based on QCISD/MG3 geometries shows good accuracy for the calculation of bond-making and bond-breaking reaction barriers with a mean unsigned deviation of 0.71 kcal/mol for 76 barrier heights involving both hydrogen and non-hydrogen transfer reactions. G4 theory based on B3LYP/6-31G(2df,p) geometries has a larger mean unsigned deviation of 1.36 kcal/mol for the 76 barriers heights due to deficiencies in the geometries of transition states for fluorine-containing systems.
Uncertainty and international debt maturity

Abstract This paper shows that high macroeconomic volatility, lax rule of law, and inefficient bureaucracy in foreign countries contributes to a tilt toward short-term maturity of international debt. The results are important as short-term debt has been linked to several financial crises in recent years. The paper explores factors that contribute to short-term lending. The results are obtained using data on international lending by three groups of U.S. banks: large, medium-sized, and small. The effect of uncertainty on debt maturity is particularly strong in emerging economies and for smaller banks.
Sphingosine kinases, sphingosine 1-phosphate, apoptosis and diseases.

Abstract Sphingolipids are ubiquitous components of cell membranes and their metabolites ceramide (Cer), sphingosine (Sph), and sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) have important physiological functions, including regulation of cell growth and survival. Cer and Sph are associated with growth arrest and apoptosis. Many stress stimuli increase levels of Cer and Sph, whereas suppression of apoptosis is associated with increased intracellular levels of S1P. In addition, extracellular/secreted S1P regulates cellular processes by binding to five specific G protein coupled-receptors (GPCRs). S1P is generated by phosphorylation of Sph catalyzed by two isoforms of sphingosine kinases (SphK), type 1 and type 2, which are critical regulators of the “sphingolipid rheostat”, producing pro-survival S1P and decreasing levels of pro-apoptotic Sph. Since sphingolipid metabolism is often dysregulated in many diseases, targeting SphKs is potentially clinically relevant. Here we review the growing recent literature on the regulation and the roles of SphKs and S1P in apoptosis and diseases.
High reliability packaging technologies and process for ultra low k Flip Chip devices

Ultra-high density chips are required for higher device performance, lower power consumption and a smaller form factor device. The interconnection between the chip and integrated circuit (IC) reflect these higher densities, smaller feature size can induce electrical interference based on layout and material set. Therefore, when new interlayer dielectric (ILD) materials are introduced into next generation process node, the chip package interaction (CPI) must be fully characterized for process compatibility and reliability.
Can the Error-Monitoring System Differentiate ADHD From ADHD With Reading Disability? Reading and Executive Dysfunction as Reflected in Error Monitoring.

Objectives ADHD and reading disability (RD) are distinct disorders that often appear together. Individuals with both disorders are currently diagnosed based on questionnaires/behavioral performance. The present study aimed to determine whether ADHD alone differs from ADHD with RD in error monitoring, which is part of the executive system, as measured while reading. Method Event-related potentials were recorded during a lexical decision task performed by children with comorbid ADHD and RD and children with ADHD. Results Lower executive function and reading abilities were accompanied by decreased event-related potential components in participants with ADHD and RD, compared with participants with ADHD. Conclusion Results suggest that the error monitoring activation can be used as a possible biomarker to objectively differentiate ADHD with RD from ADHD alone.
Comparing temperature effects on Escherichia coli, Salmonella, and Enterococcus survival in surface waters.

UNLABELLED The objective of this study was to compare dependency of survival rates on temperature for indicator organisms Escherichia coli and Enterococcus and the pathogen Salmonella in surface waters. A database of 86 survival datasets from peer-reviewed papers on inactivation of E. coli, Salmonella and Enterococcus in marine waters and of E. coli and Salmonella in lake waters was assembled. The Q10 model was used to express temperature effect on survival rates obtained from linear sections of semi-logarithmic survival graphs. Available data were insufficient to establish differences in survival rates and temperature dependencies for marine waters where values of Q10 = 3 and a survival rate of 0·7 day(-1) could be applied. The Q10 values in lake waters were substantially lower in marine waters, and Salmonella inactivation in lake water was, on average, twice as fast as E. coli; data on E. coli substantially outnumber data on Enterococcus and Salmonella. The relative increase in inactivation with increase in temperature is higher in marine waters than lake water, and differences in inactivation between Salmonella and E. coli at a given temperature were significant in lake water but not in marine waters. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY Microbiological quality of surface waters is of paramount importance for public health. The novelty of this work is using a large compendium of published data to develop the first comparison of temperature effects on survival of the pathogen Salmonella and water quality indicator micro-organisms Escherichia coli and Enterococcus in natural waters. The existing relatively large body of knowledge on E. coli survival appears to be useful to assess the effect of temperature on survival of Salmonella. Moreover, results of this work constitute an essential input in models to support environmental management decisions on the use of surface water sources in agriculture, aquaculture and recreation.
Neurogenic responses in rat and porcine large pulmonary arteries.

AbstractPharmacological differences between neurogenic sympathetic responses in rat and pig isolated pulmonary arteries were examined in strip preparations. Electrical field stimulation in the range of 0.6 to 40 Hz resulted in frequency-dependent contractions in terms of amplitude and rate of rise. Responses in the rat declined sharply from pulmonary trunk to main artery; in contrast, in the pig they continued into the third-order vessels. Contractions were inhibited in the presence of tetrodotoxin, prazosin or WB-4101 and hence neurogenic in origin. Cocaine enhanced field stimulated contractions in both rat and porcine tissues; however, the effect in the former was of significantly greater magnitude in terms of either area under the mechanogram or height of contraction. In addition, the rate of rise, time to peak and duration of peak were all increased in the rat but less so or not in the pig. Field stimulated contractions were virtually abolished by guanethidine (1×10−6 M) in rat but not in porcine pulm...
Trust in online news: comparing social media and official media use by chinese citizens

Since 2006 social media use has grown dramatically in China. Social media has become a stage for citizens to report and disseminate news and to vocalize viewpoints, at times competing with reports from highly curated official media sources. These competing news channels, oftentimes presenting contradictory information, raise questions about citizens' trust in these different media. This study explores the level of trust Chinese Internet users place on news from social media versus official media. We conducted a large-scale anonymous survey in China that revealed that official and citizen news attract different audience groups and each group uses different features to assess news trustworthiness. We present a model for predicting preference for news from citizen media. The results reveal features of social media that explain why some citizens trust it as a channel for news. The results also suggest that in highly regulated news environments, citizen media has the potential to become an alternative news channel where citizens can trust each other for information.
Bone marrow influences quantitative ultrasound measurements in human cancellous bone.

Quantitative ultrasound (QUS) transmission and backscatter measurements were made in 46 human cancellous bone specimens from the calcaneus. All QUS measurements were made at 35°C, initially with marrow filling the pores and then repeated after substituting water for marrow. Bone mineral density (BMD) was determined using x-ray absorptiometry. Marrow significantly decreased ultrasound (US) velocity, but increased attenuation, attenuation slope and backscatter (p < 0.001 for all) compared to the water-saturated state. The impact of marrow on QUS measurements was greater at lower BMD values (p < 0.05), and was greater in women than in men (p < 0.05). QUS measurements in marrow-saturated specimens correlated less strongly with BMD than did corresponding measurements in water-saturated specimens (p < 0.05), consistent with interspecimen marrow heterogeneity. These data indicate that the potential impact of marrow should be considered when interpreting clinical QUS measurements. Understanding and exploiting these effects could lead to novel approaches for ultrasonic characterisation of both bone and marrow. (E-mail: patrick_nicholson@hotmail.com)
Electrocardiographic left ventricular scar burden predicts clinical outcomes following infarct-related ventricular tachycardia ablation

Background Conducting channels within scars form the substrate for infarct-related ventricular tachycardia (VT) and are targeted during catheter ablation. Whether the amount of left ventricular scar (LVS) affects outcomes after VT ablation is not known. Objective To test the hypothesis that increased LVS is associated with worsened clinical outcomes and reduced survival after VT ablation. Methods Patients with coronary artery disease and intrinsic AV nodal conduction undergoing infarct-related VT ablation were studied. A validated 32-point scoring system was used to measure LVS from 12-lead ECGs. Primary endpoint was all-cause mortality or transplantation. Secondary endpoint was a composite of death, transplantation, or readmission due to VT recurrence within 1 year of discharge. Results Of 356 patients undergoing 466 infarct-related VT ablations screened, 192 (84% male, age 66 ± 11 years, 52% prior coronary artery bypass graft, ejection fraction 28% ± 11%) who underwent 245 procedures for VT (2.4 ± 1.5 VTs per patient, 31% with VT storm, refractory to 2.7 ± 1.2 antiarrhythmic drugs) between 1999 and 2009 were included. During mapping, all patients had low-voltage areas. Mean LVS was 21.4% ± 15.0%. Over 3.4 ± 3.1 years, 78 patients (41%) reached the primary endpoint (73 deaths, 5 transplants). In the first year after discharge, the secondary endpoint was reached in 56 subjects (29%). In a multivariate model, larger LVS (hazard ratio [HR] 1.03 for every 3% increase in LVS, P P P P Conclusion LVS burden derived from 12-lead ECGs is a significant and independent predictor of mortality and clinical outcomes in subjects with infarct-related VT.
High performance organic field-effect transistors using high-Κ dielectrics grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD)

We report on high performance field-effect transistors fabricated with pentacene as an active material and Al 2 O 3 as a gate dielectric material grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD). These transistors were operated in enhancement mode with a zero turn-on voltage and exhibited a low threshold voltage (< -10 V) as well as a low subthreshold slope (< 1 V/decade) and an on/off current ratio larger than 10 6 . Hole mobility values of 1.5 ± 0.2 cm 2 /Vs were obtained when using heavily n-doped silicon (n + -Si) as gate electrodes and substrates. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images of pentacene films on Al 2 O 3 treated with octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) revealed well-ordered island formation, and X-ray diffraction patterns showed characteristics of a "thin film" phase. Compared with thermally-grown SiO 2 , Al 2 O 3 gate insulators have lower surface trap density and higher capacitance density, to which the high performance of pentacene field-effect transistors can be attributed.
An orbital grinder-polisher for preparation of irradiated metallography specimens

Abstract A unique orbital grinder-polisher was developed, fabricated, and installed in hot cells for the preparation of irradiated specimens for optical metallography. The compact unit occupies approximately 0.2 cubic foot of cell space. It was specifically designed to provide the capabilities of commercially available vibratory polishers without their large space requirements. Units have been in operation about two years. The design of the grinder-polisher is described, operating experience is discussed, and illustrations of results are presented.
Land use analysis using GIS, radar and thematic mapper in Ethiopia: PhD showcase

Land degradation, and poverty issues are very common in our world, especially in developing countries in Africa. There are fewer adaptation strategies for climate change in these countries. Ethiopia is a tropical country found in the horn of Africa. The majority of the population live in rural areas and agriculture is the main economic sector. Extensive agriculture has resulted in an unexpected over-exploitation and land degradation. The project locations are Southwestern and Northwestern Ethiopia. The main objectives are to analize the accuracy of land use classification of each sensors, classification algorithms and analyze land use change. Thematic Mapper (TM) and Radar data will be used to classify and monitor land use change. Two consecutive satellite images will be used to see the land use change in the study area (1998, 2008). ERDAS Imagine will be used to resample and spatially register the Radar and TM data. The image classification for this research study is supervised signature extraction. The Maximum likelihood decision rule and C4.5 algorithm will be applied to classify the images. TM and Radar data will be fused by layer staking. The accuracy of the digital classification will be calculated using error matrix. Land change modeler will be used for analyzing and predicting land cover change. The impact of roads, urban and population density on land use change will be analayzed using GIS.
Hepatitis c virus and human immunodeficiency virus: clinical issues in coinfection

The prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) coinfection ranges from nearly 30% to over 50%, depending on the population. Shared modes of transmission and the success of current antiretroviral regimens have contributed to the emergence of HCV as a significant pathogen in the HIV-positive population. HIV coinfection appears to worsen HCV infection, with studies showing more severe fibrosis, a higher frequency of cirrhosis, and increased deaths from liver disease. HIV coinfection may also increase the rate of maternal-fetal transmission of HCV. Similarly, studies suggest a more rapid progression to AIDS or death for HCV genotypes 1a and 1b than for other genotypes in HIV-infected patients with hemophilia. Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), such as HIV protease inhibitors, has no effect on HCV infection and may transiently increase ALT, AST, and hepatitis C viral load. Hepatotoxicity associated with HAART may or may not be related to the presence of HCV and may depend on the specific agents used. Data suggest that treating chronic hepatitis C in HIV-co-infected patients can decrease fibrosis, increase T-cell responsiveness to HCV antigens, and decrease the rate of fatal hepatomas. Interferon alpha may provide sustained biochemical or virologic responses in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients. The combination of interferon-alpha and ribavirin may also be a treatment option but is more complex, and additional research is needed. Treating HCV infection in HIV/HCV-coinfected individuals may help lower the hepatitis C viral load and permit treatment with protease inhibitors.
Aging of glutamate receptors: correlations between binding and spatial memory performance in mice

C57B1/6 mice aged 3, 10, and 26 months were tested for spatial learning in the Morris water maze. Ten and 26 month old mice were ad libitum-fed or diet restricted (60% of ad libitum-fed calories). Diet restriction significantly improved memory performance among the 10 and 26 month olds. In age/diet group comparisons, aged ad libitum-fed mice had significantly higher average proximity scores, indicating poorer performance, in probe trials for place learning than the 3 month olds and diet restricted 10 month olds. Diet restricted 26 month olds did not differ significantly from 3 month olds or any other groups in probe trial measures. The group means for average proximity scores were significantly correlated with binding densities for the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) subtype of glutamate receptors in the frontal cortex and CA1 region of the hippocampus. Alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazoleproprionate (AMPA) binding correlated with group proximity scores in frontal and parietal cortices and within the CA1 and CA3 regions of the hippocampus. Kainate and metabotropic binding sites showed no significant correlations with behavior. These results suggest that there is a sparing of spatial memory with diet restriction in aging C57B1/6 mice and that the effects of aging on NMDA and AMPA receptors may be associated with age-related declines in spatial learning.
Motivating crowds using social facilitation and social transparency

We reported results from an experiment using an image labeling task, when workers were able to compare their own labels with the labels generated by another worker, they were motivated to generate more labels. In addition, when the workers shared their demographic information with their colleagues, the number of labels generated by them became even higher. This indicates that we can utilize the power of social facilitation and social transparency to motivate workers in crowdsourcing to reduce operation costs and even enhance outcome quality.
Limiting deception in groups of social agents

In open environments there is no central control over agent behaviors. On the contrary, agents in such systems can be assumed to be primarily driven by self-interests. Under the assumption that agents remain in the system for significant time periods, or that the agent composition changes only slowly, a prescriptive strategy has been previously presented for promoting and sustaining cooperation in the group. This strategy was shown to improve both individual and group performance in the long run. The prescribed strategy has been an adaptive, probabilistic, reciprocity-based policy for deciding which other individual to cooperate with. In this paper two mechanisms are investigated to limit exploitation of the reciprocative strategy by deceptive agents: 1) a penalty factor for declining requests for help, and 2) a cutoff limit on outstanding balance of help. The relative effectiveness of these mechanisms is evaluated for augmenting robustness of agent behaviors, without adversely affecting performance of ho...
Slab-Coupled Semiconductor Lasers with Single-Spatial, Large-Diameter Mode

A high-brightness semiconductor diode laser design, which utilizes a slab-coupled optical waveguide region to achieve several potentially important advances in performance, is described and experimentally demonstrated using simple rib waveguide quantum well structures. These lasers operate in a large, low-aspect-ratio, lowest-order spatial mode, which can be butt coupled to a single-mode fiber with very high coupling efficiency. The acronym used for this new type of structure is SCOWL, taken from "slab-coupled optical waveguide laser". Initial results on 1.3μmm InGaAsP/InP and 980-nm AlGaAs/InGaAs SCOWLs are presented.
The Extra Spots in Laue Photographs

THE existence of diffuse spots in X-ray crystal photographs which do not belong to the Laue pattern has now been established1,2,3,4,5. Explanations of the extra spots have been proposed by Preston1, Zachariasen6, and Raman and Nath7. Following Preston's suggestion that the crystal is broken up into small groups of atoms by thermal agitation, Sir William Bragg8 has recently derived a formula for the intensity of X-rays scattered from a group of eight point atoms arranged at the corners of a cube of edge a. This formula may be written in the form where n = 2.
An evaluation of freshwater mussel toxicity data in the derivation of water quality guidance and standards for copper

The state of Oklahoma has designated several areas as freshwater mussel sanctuaries in an attempt to provide freshwater mussel species a degree of protection and to facilitate their reproduction. We evaluated the protection afforded freshwater mussels by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) hardness-based 1996 ambient copper water quality criteria, the 2007 U.S. EPA water quality criteria based on the biotic ligand model and the 2005 state of Oklahoma copper water quality standards. Both the criterion maximum concentration and criterion continuous concentration were evaluated. Published acute and chronic copper toxicity data that met American Society for Testing and Materials guidance for test acceptability were obtained for exposures conducted with glochidia or juvenile freshwater mussels. We tabulated toxicity data for glochidia and juveniles to calculate 20 species mean acute values for freshwater mussels. Generally, freshwater mussel species mean acute values were similar to those of the more sensitive species included in the U.S. EPA water quality derivation database. When added to the database of genus mean acute values used in deriving 1996 copper water quality criteria, 14 freshwater mussel genus mean acute values included 10 of the lowest 15 genus mean acute values, with three mussel species having the lowest values. Chronic exposure and sublethal effects freshwater mussel data available for four species and acute to chronic ratios were used to evaluate the criterion continuous concentration. On the basis of the freshwater mussel toxicity data used in this assessment, the hardness-based 1996 U.S. EPA water quality criteria, the 2005 Oklahoma water quality standards, and the 2007 U.S. EPA water quality criteria based on the biotic ligand model might need to be revised to afford protection to freshwater mussels.
What the Future Holds for Solid-State Memory

The memory industry faces significant disruption due to challenges related to scaling. Future memory systems will have more heterogeneity at individual levels of the hierarchy, with management support from multiple layers across the stack.
Observation of the HH 1 and 2 region with IRAS

Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) observations of the region in Orion containing HH 1 and 2 reveal for the first time the large-scale distribution of newly formed stars. New infrared sources discovered in these observations are discussed, and attempts are made to untangle the complex infrared morphology of this field. A major finding of this study is that HH 1 is near the peak of an intense and broad plateau of 60 and 100 micron emission that spatially corresponds well with the boundaries of a previously detected molecular cloud. Other findings include the detection of an emitting circum-HH object dust complex around HH 2, 25 micron emission associated with the putative HH 1 and 2 exciting source discovered with the VLA, a new luminous far-infrared source, and numerous infrared source complexes, some in blank optical fields and others in fields containing optical emission-line stars.
A highly unstable initial value boundary value problem

Abstract In this paper we consider a two-dimensional diffusion equation on the closed right halfspace R + 2 ¯ satisfying a boundary condition for which the minimum principle fails. As a consequence, the associated Cauchy initial value problem fails to be well-posed. In particular, solutions need not exist and, when they do exist, they may do so for only a finite length of time. Among other things, we provide a necessary and sufficient condition on the initial data in order that the solution exist for all time and remain non-negative.
Product query classification

Web query classification is an effective way to understand Web user intents, which can further improve Web search and online advertising relevance. However, Web queries are usually very short which cannot fully reflect their meanings. What is more, it is quite hard to obtain enough training data for training accurate classifiers. Therefore, previous work on query classification has focused on two issues. One is how to represent Web queries through query expansion. The other is how to increase the amount of training data. In this paper, we took product query classification as an example, which is to classify Web queries into a predefined product taxonomy, and systematically studied the impact of query expansion and the size of training data. We proposed two methods of enriching Web queries and three approaches of collecting training data. Thereafter, we conducted a series of experiments to compare the classification performance of using different combinations of training data and query representations over a real data set. The data set consists of hundreds of thousands queries collected from a popular commercial search engine. From the experiments, we found some interesting observations, which were not discussed before. Finally, we proposed an effective and efficient product query classification method based on our observations.
Antigen-presenting cells in the human female reproductive tract: analysis of antigen presentation in pre- and post-menopausal women.

PROBLEM: To determine whether cells in the female reproductive tract (FRT) are functionally capable of presenting antigen to T cells. METHOD OF STUDY: Analysis was done by determining the proliferation of purified autologous T cells to antigen, following co-incubation with non-proliferating cell suspensions isolated from the uterus and prepared by enzymatic digestion of reproductive tract tissues from hysterectomy patients with benign disease. RESULTS: All uterine preparations analyzed were functionally capable of presenting antigen; the ability to present antigen was independent of pre- and post-menopausal status. In contrast, some, but not all, tissues from the ovary, Fallopian tube, cervix, and vagina were capable of presenting antigen. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the human FRT is an inductive site for immune responses. Regulation of antigen presentation in the reproductive tract may be important for protection against sexually transmitted diseases.
The psychologist's role in sexual rehabilitation of people with physical disabilities

Sexual rehabilitation of individuals with physical disabilities is a new and expanding field. Psychologists are contributing in the areas of direct counseling services to patients and families, consultation with other health professionals, education, advocacy and research. Their work is characterized by the philosophy and skills imparted by psychological training. Influential factors include knowledge of human learning theory and skill in implementing programs of behavioral change, a research orientation toward the identification of needs and provisions of services, training in personality theory and the complex process of adjustment, and highly developed interviewing skills.
An evaluation of two screening tools for cognitive impairment in older emergency department patients.

Objectives: Screening for cognitive impairment in older emergency department (ED) patients is recommended to ensure quality care. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) may be too long for routine ED use. Briefer alternatives include the Six-Item Screener (SIS) and the Mini-Cog. The objective of this study was to describe the test characteristics of the SIS and the Mini-Cog compared with the MMSE when administered to older ED patients. Methods: This institutional review board–approved, prospective, randomized study was performed in a universityaffiliated teaching hospital ED. Eligible patients were 65 years and older and able to communicate in English. Patients who were unable or unwilling to perform testing, who were medically unstable, or who received medications affecting their mental status were excluded. Patients were randomized to receive the SIS or the Mini-Cog by the treating emergency physician. Investigators administered the MMSE 30 minutes later. An SIS score of #4, the MiniCog’s scoring algorithm, and an MMSE score of #23 defined cognitive impairment. Results: A total of 149 of 188 approached patients were enrolled; 74 received the SIS and 75 the Mini-Cog. Fifty-five percent were female, the average age was 75 years, and 23% had an MMSE score of #23. The SIS had a sensitivity of 94% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 73% to 100%) and a specificity of 86% (95% CI = 74% to 94%). The Mini-Cog had a sensitivity of 75% (95% CI = 48% to 93%) and a specificity of 85% (95% CI = 73% to 93%). Conclusions: The SIS, using a cutoff of # 4a s impaired, is a promising test for ED use. It is short, easy to administer, and unobtrusive, allowing it to be easily incorporated into the initial assessment of older ED patients. Key words: cognitive impairment; emergency department; MiniMental State Examination; Six-Item Screener; Mini-Cog. ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2005; 12:612–616.
Surface-engineered coatings for multispectral infrared mirrors

This paper summarizes the research and development of multispectral infrared mirror designs based on the surface patterning of coating materials. Three-dimensional structures can be etched into the coating materials to create infrared devices capable of meeting a wide variety of different multispectral performance requirements. The design methodology developed in this work is based on optimizing the patterning of a singly periodic three-dimensional structure (grating) that is etched directly into a coating material. Each of these designs consists of a unit cell that possesses a single 2-D strip with various heights, thicknesses, and sidewall profiles. The goal of this work is to develop mirror designs that exhibit high reflectance properties (R>85%) in the spectral regions of interest. A robust genetic algorithm (GA) optimization technique is employed to modify the height, thickness, and sidewall profile of the grating structure in order to meet these design goals. In addition, the optimizations take into account the fabrication constraints needed to guarantee that the resulting geometries can be reproduced experimentally. A prototype device based on an amorphous silicon (aSi) grating with an optimized sidewall profile backed by a quartz substrate was fabricated
Particle limit of field theory: A new strong-coupling expansion

We study a new semiclassical expansion of field theory. In this expansion, the natural variables are geometrical (particle coordinates), and the expansion is about solutions to the classical mechanics of such variables. It is a strong-coupling expansion, and it offers considerable hope for bridging the gap between quantum field theories and theories of quantized geometrical objects.
Information fusion in computer vision using the fuzzy integral

A method of evidence fusion, based on the fuzzy integral, is developed. This technique nonlinearly combines objective evidence, in the form of a fuzzy membership function, with subjective evaluation of the worth of the sources with respect to the decision. Various new theoretical properties of this technique are developed, and its applicability to information fusion in computer vision is demonstrated through simulation and with object recognition data from forward-looking infrared imagery. >
THE EFFECT OF URBANIZATION ON LABOR TURNOVER

The paper empirically examines labor market matching as a source of urban agglomeration economies. We work from the hypothesis that job turnover leads to tighter labor matches and estimate the relationship between urbanization and the job mobility of young men. Using a panel from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we find evidence that young men change jobs more frequently in their early career if they live in larger or in more educated urban areas. The sensitivity of the results to whether the young men were "movers" or "stayers" suggests the possible endogeneity of location.
The character of Christian realism

This article aims to set out a modest, ’pre-theoretical’ or common sense account of metaphysical realism in Christian theology. The essay defends and explores the claim that Christian theology does not rest on definitions or world views when it speaks about ’realism’. Christian realism is not a method, especially not a method spinning free of its proper content, nor a theory about schools of realism. Christian theology is ordered to God's own ways and works: it is a realism in which the God of Israel is both agent and sovereign, both object and subject in the world we inhabit. Christian realism is reflection upon the reality created and blessed by the Creator.
Identification of Nonnative Phragmites at Clear Creek Wildlife Management Area, Kentucky, Using Genetic Techniques

Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud. (common reed), a perennial wetland grass, has been present in the United States along both Atlantic and Pacific coasts for hundreds of years (Orson 1999, Goman and Wells 2000). Phragmites was deemed rare in the 1800s (Saltonstall 2002) and according to Ward (2010), its distribution was discontinuous in portions of the Midwest, southern Canada, and California, and sporadic along the Gulf Coast from Florida to Texas throughout the 1800s. Also, during that time it was considered absent from Virginia to Georgia inclusive, and inland portions of Alabama and Mississippi (Ward 2010). The abundance and distribution of Phragmites has dramatically increased over the last century (Ward 2010) with the most significant increases along the Atlantic coast (Saltonstall 2002). The rapid expansion was primarily due to the introduction of a European strain in the late 1700s or early 1800s via one or more coastal ports along the Atlantic Coast (Saltonstall 2002). It is highly competitive, aggressive, and virtually indist inguishable morphologically from the native strains, resulting in "cryptic" invasions (Carlton 1996, Saltonstall 2002) going undetected for decades in various locations around the country. The European strain's spread was likely facilitated by construction of railroads, major roadways (Saltonstall 2002), and changes to hydrologie regimes and/or nutrient availability (Saltonstall 2002, King et al. 2007). Currently, it dominates and effeetively displaees native Phragmites in
Sketch-based search and composition of 3D models

There is growing interest in developing tools with which novice users can create detailed 3D models of their own designs. The most popular approaches to this problem include sketch-based interfaces and part-composition systems. The sketch-based modeling systems provide natural interfaces for creating 3D models from 2D sketches, but are generally limited to creating simple geometric models. The part-composition systems provide tools for combining parts extracted from a database of 3D models, and thus can generate very detailed 3D models, but usually with much higher overhead and expertise required by the user for manipulating 3D geometry interactively. In this paper, we introduce a new modeling method that overcomes these limitations by combining both approaches - we introduce a modeling system for parts composition with a sketching interface. The system allows the user to find a part in a database and composite it into a model with a single sketch. This approach combines the benefits of both approaches - i.e., it allows creation of highly detailed models/scenes (as details come from parts in the database), while 2D sketched strokes provide all the information for part selection and composition (no 3D manipulation is required, in general). To enable this modeling method, we investigate an algorithm for 3D shape search with 2D sketch as a shape query and a part placement algorithm which automatically orients, translates, scales, and attaches a new part into a modeling scene by taking the user sketch as a hint. User experiences with our prototype system show that novice users can create interesting and detailed models with our system.
Dynamic Context Compression for Low-Power Coarse-Grained Reconfigurable Architecture

Most of the coarse-grained reconfigurable architectures (CGRAs) are composed of reconfigurable ALU arrays and configuration cache (or context memory) to achieve high performance and flexibility. Specially, configuration cache is the main component in CGRA that provides distinct feature for dynamic reconfiguration in every cycle. However, frequent memory-read operations for dynamic reconfiguration cause much power consumption. Thus, reducing power in configuration cache has become critical for CGRA to be more competitive and reliable for its use in embedded systems. In this paper, we propose dynamically compressible context architecture for power saving in configuration cache. This power-efficient design of context architecture works without degrading the performance and flexibility of CGRA. Experimental results show that the proposed approach saves up to 39.72% power in configuration cache with negligible area overhead (2.16%).
Chromosome Dynamics: New Light on Aurora B Kinase Function

Aurora B family kinases play an essential role in chromosome segregation and cytokinesis. Recent work suggests that the kinase activity is required for bipolar chromosome orientation, kinetochore assembly, spindle checkpoint and microtubule dynamics. Aurora B also has additional functions in chromosome condensation and cohesion.
Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms in the rRNA Operon and Variable Numbers of Tandem Repeats in the Lipoprotein Gene among Mycoplasma genitalium Strains from Clinical Specimens

We characterized the single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the rRNA operon and variable numbers of tandem repeats in the lipoprotein gene MG309 among Mycoplasma genitalium strains from clinical specimens by PCR and sequencing. Analysis of 31 M. genitalium-infected patient specimens and 7 American Type Culture Collection strains identified six types of rRNA sequences and 11 different numbers of MG309 repeats. Examination of sequential specimens from 10 patients showed that these genotypes were stable for at least 5 weeks. These data suggest the potential usefulness of the rRNA genotypes and the MG309 repeats for genotyping of M. genitalium.
Furunculosis in cultured American eel Anguilla rostrata (Le Sueur)

Diseased American eels, Anguilla rostrata, were collected from an eel culture facility in South Carolina and examined. The disease was characterized by skin lesions located on the body. A bacterium identified as Aeromonas salmonicida was isolated from the lesions and shown to be the causative agent. The bacterium was also isolated from the kidney during later stages of the disease.