cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Declines in dissolved silica concentrations in western Virginia streams (1988–2003): Gypsy moth defoliation stimulates diatoms?

[1] Dissolved silica concentrations in western Virginia streams showed a significant bias toward declines (p < 0.0001) over the time period from 1988 to 2003. Streams with the greatest declines were those that had the highest mean dissolved silica concentrations, specific to watersheds underlain by basaltic and granitic bedrock. We examined potential geochemical, hydrological, and biological factors that could account for the observed widespread declines, focusing on six core watersheds where weekly stream chemistry data were available. No relationships were evident between stream water dissolved silica concentrations and pH, a finding supported by the results from a geochemical model applied to the dominant bedrock mineralogy. Along with changes in watershed acidity, changes in precipitation and discharge were also discounted since no significant trends were observed over the study period. Analyses of two longer-term data sets that extend back to 1979 revealed that the initiation of the dissolved silica declines coincided with the timing of a gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) defoliation event. We develop a conceptual model centered on benthic diatoms, which are found within each of the six core watersheds but in greater abundance in the more silica-rich streams. Gypsy moth defoliation led to greater sunlight penetration and enhanced nitrate concentrations in the streams, which could have spurred population growth and silica uptake. The model can explain why the observed declines are primarily driven by decreased concentrations during low-flow conditions. This study illustrates lasting effects of disturbance on watershed biogeochemistry, in this case causing decadal-scale variability in stream water dissolved silica concentrations.
Divergent effects of o-nitrophenyl sulfenyl ACTH on rat and rabbit fat cell adenyl cyclases.

The o-nitrophenyl sulfenyl derivative of ACTH (NPS-ACTH) is inactive in stimulating adenyl cyclase in ghosts isolated from rat epididymal fat cells. NPS-ACTH inhibits the stimulation of adenyl cyclase by ACTH in rat fat cell ghosts. On the other hand, NPS-ACTH is found to be as active as ACTH in stimulating adenyl cyclase in ghosts isolated from rabbit fat cells.
The Subordinate's Exposure of Organizational Vulnerability to the Superior: Sex and Organizational Effects

Sixty male and 60 female undergraduates evaluated eight randomly presented messages which were both important for organizational effectiveness and personally threatening to the subordinate. The fol...
Anomalous and Galactic Cosmic Rays at 1 AU During the Cycle 23/24 Solar Minimum

Anomalous cosmic ray (ACR) intensities at 1 AU at solar minimum generally track galactic cosmic ray (GCR) intensities such as those measured by neutron monitors, albeit with differences between solar polarity cycles. The unusual cycle 23/24 solar minimum was long-lasting with very low sunspot numbers and significantly reduced interplanetary magnetic field strength and solar wind dynamic pressure and turbulence, but also featured a heliospheric current sheet tilt that remained high for an extended period. Peak ACR intensities did not recover to the maximum values reached during the last two A>0 solar minima and just barely reached the last A<0 levels. However, GCR intensities in 2009 (neutron monitor rates and also at ∼200 MeV/nucleon) were the highest recorded during the last 50 years, indicating their intensities were not as heavily modulated during their transport from the outer heliosphere. This unexpected difference in the behavior of ACRs and GCRs remains unexplained, but suggests that either the ACR source intensity may have weakened since the last A<0 epoch, or perhaps that ACR intensities at 1 AU in the ecliptic may be more sensitive than GCRs to the higher tilt angle. This seems plausible if the ACR source intensity is greater at low latitudes during A<0 cycles, while the GCR distribution at the heliospheric boundary is more uniform in latitude. Shortly after an abrupt increase in the current sheet tilt angle in late 2009, both ACR and GCR intensities showed dramatic decreases, marking the end of solar minimum modulation conditions for this cycle.
High Resolution Electron Microscopy of Grain Boundaries in Nanophase Palladium

Using high resolution electron microscopy, consolidated nanophase palladium samples were examined following electrolytic thinning after a hydriding - dehydriding cycle at 310 K. Due to the small size and random orientations of the individual grains, a large number of grain boundaries were available for examination. Some of these yielded adequate imaging conditions to allow observation of the lattice structure in the grain boundary regions. Image simulations were performed to determine the sensitivity of the technique to lattice disorder. The results of these studies suggest that grain boundary structures in nanophase palladium are similar to those in conventional coarse-grained polycrystals.
Living carbocationic copolymerizations. II. Reactivity ratios and microstructure of isobutylene/p‐methylstyrene copolymers

A novel method was developed for the quantitative description of copolymerization behavior, specifically for the derivation of reactivity ratios and micro- and macro-compositions of monomer pairs with significantly different reactivities. The novelty of the method lies in the manner of generating instantaneous feed and copolymer composition data from experimentally readily obtainable cumulative copolymer compositions, although the latter drifts with progressing copolymerization. It is demonstrated that such copolymer systems can be described by two reactivity ratios, albeit the values are valid only over the narrow feed composition range within which they were determined. The great advantage of this method is that whereas the differential copolymer composition equation is strictly valid only at 0% conversion, the method produces corresponding instantaneous feed and copolymer compositions at any conversion. Assumptions or approximations are unnecessary to calculate reactivity ratios. Subsequently the procedure was applied to obtain reliable monomer reactivity ratios of isobutylene (IB)–p-methylstyrene (pMeSt) copolymers, rIB and rpMest, prepared by living carbocationic copolymerizations with [IB]/[pMeSt] feeds compositions of 90:10 and 97:3 mol/mol, i.e., with feed compositions of industrial importance. According to our procedure, rIB = 0·74±0·11 and rpMeSt = 7·99±3·34. These reactivity ratios were then used to calculate overall IB–pMeSt copolymer compositions over the entire comonomer conversion range and to compare calculated with experimental compositions. The good quantitative agreement between calculated and experimental compositions indicates that the description of both macro- and micro-compositions of IB–pMeSt copolymers obtained in the 90:10 and to 97:3 mol/mol feed composition range is satisfactory.
Survey of empirical studies of graphical representations for algorithms

Graphical representations for algorithms (GRA's) have been available to practitioners as software comprehension aids since the introduction of the flowchart in the late forties. Many others have followed, including the Nassi-Shneiderman (1972), Warnier-Orr (1976), action diagram (1984), and control structure diagram (1986). Empirical studies of GRA's have focused primarily on the flowchart and the results of these studies indicate its effectiveness as an aid to comprehension is questionable. These results also indicate that, with the evolution of more sophisticated software development tools, there is a need to determine which, if any, of these GRA's would be most beneficial to the user as an aid in program comprehension.The usefulness of flowcharts as a graphical means of representing software continues to be debated. Although studying a “picture” may be more aesthetically appealing than poring through lines of “textual” code for program reading, debugging, modification, etc., empirical studies have indicated that flowcharts may be no more beneficial than source listings. In fact, they may even be a hindrance.In one study, students were asked questions which forced them to do forward and backward tracing through an algorithm in flowchart form and another in a constrained language such as PDL. The results were equal, in speed and accuracy, for both forms. In a questionnaire that followed the experiment, more students indicated that they preferred using the constrained language over flowcharts [1]. Another study concluded that procedures written as flowcharts did not increase performance by subjects in identifying procedural faults [2]. Yet another found that programs written with the aid of a flowchart were no better than programs written without one [3]. The use of flowcharts as an educational tool may even inhibit students in learning a programming language, since it introduces new information that distracts them from learning the basic material [4].Few, if any, empirical studies have been done to measure the effectiveness of more recent GRA's such as the Nassi-Shneiderman chart, Warnier-Orr diagram, and, in particular, the action diagram and control structure diagram, which are simple graphical extensions of pseudo-code or source code. The need for new empirical studies of GRA's is predicated on the renewed interest in graphical representation of software that has resulted from availability of high-density bit-mapped graphics. A formal study of the comprehension effectiveness of GRA's is currently under way here at Auburn University.
Investigation of SPM Mooring Tension and Barge Orientation With Wind, Waves and Strong Current

The vessel moored to a single-point mooring is subjected to the combined action of current, wind and waves. In this paper the vessel orientation and corresponding mooring line loads are examined in terms of the magnitude of the current force to the total force acting on the vessel. The results of systematic computer calculations are presented to show that there is relatively small influence when the ratio of current force to wind/wave forces is below 0.1. Graphs useful for preliminary design are introduced to illustrate this point. The estimates are compared with model test results showing reasonable agreement.
Interplay of excitonic and phonon-mediated Stark effects in quantum wells

Abstract We calculate the pump-probe spectrum of a quasi-2D semiconductor, when the detuning between the pump and probe matches the optical phonon frequency of the material and the probe is tuned across the resonance. The interplay of phonon-mediated and phase space filling nonlinearities is discussed. We show that the relative contribution of the former mechanism should increase at lower temperatures.
Caldesmon Stabilizes Nascent Actin Filaments and Promotes Branching by Arp2/3 Complex

Caldesmon is an actin-binding protein found in nearly all vertebrate cells. The heavy caldesmon isoform, which is specific to smooth muscle cells, is known to inhibit actomyosin interactions in vitro in a phosphorylation-dependent manner. However, possible roles of caldesmon as a regulator of actin mechanics and turnover are being explored, and the effects of caldesmon on actin dynamics and structure are not well understood.We have recently demonstrated that polymerizing actin undergoes an irreversible structural transition (termed “maturation”), and that the caldesmon C-terminal fragment, H32K, if added during the early stage of actin polymerization, prevents this maturation process (Huang et al., 2010 J Biol Chem 285(1):71-79). Actin filaments stabilized in this “nascent” state by H32K appear rough under electron microscopy and exhibits attenuated pyrene fluorescence enhancement compared to normal, mature F-actin, but H32K does not otherwise affect the polymerization kinetics of actin (Collins et al., 2011 Bioarchitechture 1(3):127-133).Both phosphorylated caldesmon and the actin-branching protein complex Arp2/3 are present at the leading edge of motile cells, where actin assembly provides the force needed to protrude the plasma membrane. Here, we study the interaction of H32K-stabilized nascent F-actin with Arp2/3 complex. By direct visualization of actin assembly in the presence of Arp2/3 complex using confocal fluorescence microscopy, we show that actin polymerized in the presence of H32K exhibits increased branching activity. We propose that the observed change is a result of the structural state of the young actin filament, which is stabilized by the early added H32K. This effect suggests a role of caldesmon as a regulator of actin structure, in turn dictating the interaction of other actin-binding proteins with actin.
A fritless, EOF microchip pump for high pressure pumping of aqueous and organic solvents

A fritless, microchip electroosmotic flow (EOF) pump is microfabricated and demonstrated on a planar soda lime glass substrate to be capable of supplying reasonable flow rates under high back pressures, such as that required for micro-high pressure liquid chromatography (µ-HPLC). The microchip EOF pump is composed of a densely packed microchannel containing 800 nm silica particles and was capable of generating a maximum pressure > 1000 psi (∼ 7 MPa) and a maximum flow rate of 282 nL/min (aqueous cyclohexylamino alkyl sulfonate (CHES) buffer, 10 mM, pH 9.0, 200 V/cm). Other pumping fluids, such as CHES buffer–acetonitrile mixture (50%, v/v), CHES buffer–methanol mixture (50%, v/v), and pure acetonitrile were also used in a characterization of pump performance that included determinations of the maximum flow rate, maximum pressure, and resulting flow rate against an applied, downstream back pressure. The flow rate under a 200 psi (∼1.4 MPa) back pressure at an applied electric field strength of 250 V/cm ranged from 285 nL/min for aqueous CHES buffer to 44 nL/min for CHES buffer–acetonitrile mixture (50%, v/v), indicating that this EOF pump will meet the future requirements of a µ-HPLC system.
Adaptive disposal models

This paper reconsiders the classical model for selling an asset in which offers come in daily and a decision must then be made as to whether or not to sell. For each day the item remains unsold a continuation (or maintenance cost) c is incurred. The successive offers are assumed to be independent and identically distributed random variables having an unknown distribution F. The model is considered both in the case where once an offer is rejected it may not be recalled at a later time and in the case where such recall of previous offers is allowed.
Infection-Related Kidney Stones

Infection and stones can be associated in two ways. Stone disease can occur due to infection by an organism that expresses the urea-splitting enzyme urease (infection stones). Nephrolithiasis can also be complicated by urinary tract infection that in turn was caused by obstruction of the urinary tract by a stone and/or colonization of a pre-existing stone, in both cases by non-urease producing organisms. Although the incidence of infection stones appears to have declined over recent years in the United States, they remain a cause of significant morbidity and mortality. A strong index of suspicion is necessary to identify infection stones before they become large, damage kidneys, or lead to acute morbidity such as urosepsis. Surgery remains the mainstay of therapy for infection stones, combined with careful attention to antibiotic choice based upon appropriate culture results. Use of medical therapy alone is reserved for those relatively unusual cases in which there is a strong contraindication to surgery. Infection-related stones also require prompt recognition, often via use of non-contrast CT. Any obstruction that is present needs to be promptly relieved in order to decompress the kidney and allow the infection to be cleared by antibiotics chosen based upon culture results.
Biochemistry of smooth muscle myosin light chain kinase.

The smooth muscle isoform of myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) is a Ca2+-calmodulin-activated kinase that is found in many tissues. It is particularly important for regulating smooth muscle contraction by phosphorylation of myosin. This review summarizes selected aspects of recent biochemical work on MLCK that pertains to its function in smooth muscle. In general, the focus of the review is on new findings, unresolved issues, and areas with the potential for high physiological significance that need further study. The review includes a concise summary of the structure, substrates, and enzyme activity, followed by a discussion of the factors that may limit the effective activity of MLCK in the muscle. The interactions of each of the many domains of MLCK with the proteins of the contractile apparatus, and the multi-domain interactions of MLCK that may control its behaviors in the cell are summarized. Finally, new in vitro approaches to studying the mechanism of phosphorylation of myosin are introduced.
Stability of mutual fund systematic risk statistics

Abstract Empirical data for 85 mutual funds are used to test the intertemporal stability of their systematic risk statistics. Reasons why the portfolios may be nonstationary are suggested. A random coefficient model developed by Theil [37] is employed to test for the stability of each fund's beta. The data suggest that some funds do exhibit a beta that is best described as being a random coefficient. However, the percentage of funds exhibiting this characteristic was not statistically different from the percentage of randomly created portfolios that exhibited a random beta coefficient. The findings of this study support the statistical models employed in two other recent studies [18,21] to test for the stability of beta. Yet, for mutual funds that do exhibit a random beta coefficient, the partitioning of the total risk of the portfolio return into systematic and unsystematic risk is no longer valid for explaining the total risk.
Thyroxine: just a prohormone or a hormone too?

Study of thyroid function tests in (i) untreated hypothyroidism, (ii) hypothyroidism during treatment with triiodothyronine (T3), and in (iii) the normal newborn fetus has provided, in each case, data which support the view that thyroxine (T4) has intrinsic hormonal activity other than that due to in vivo conversion to T3. Of 41 clinically hypo thyroid patients with elevated serum TSH and subnormal serum free T4, 8 (19%) had normal serum free T3 concentration. Thus, normal serum free T3 in absence of normal serum free T4 is not a sufficient condition to sustain euthyroidism. In four hypothyroid patients given 75 μg T3 per day, serum concentrations of total and free T3 were supranormal during most of the day. Together with previously published information indicating that 75 μg of T3 is no more than necessary to maintain euthyroidism and to suppress elevated serum TSH to normal, our data suggest that maintenance of euthyroidism may require a supranormal concentration of serum T3 because serum T4 is subnorma...
Why is Cancer More Depressing for Men than Women among Older White Adults

Using data from two waves of the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (N = 8,054), I examine gender differences in psychological adjustment to cancer among older white adults. Results from different types of longitudinal models reveal that cancer has more adverse psychological implications for men than women. Men's higher levels of depression are reduced after adjustment for adherence to masculinity ideals of strength, independence and invincibility. Cancer poses a threat to the masculine identity because it entails lack of control over one's body and other consequences incompatible with traditional masculinity. This study contributes to sociological knowledge of the ways in which gender shapes psychological resilience and vulnerability to cancer through meanings people attach to gender roles.
The Influence of Internal Pore Pressure During Roll Forming of Structurally Porous Metals

Structurally porous metal sandwich panels consisting of dense face sheets and porous cores of controlled relative density can be manufactured by trapping inert gas during hot isostatic pressing and modifying its distribution via subsequent thermo-mechanical forming. At high pressures, the internal gas is expected to influence the forming response. This paper describes a model for the roll forming of a porous metal panel and its use to explore the effects of internal pore pressure upon rolling response. It is shown that for gas pressures below about half the yield strength of the fully dense matrix material, there is essentially no influence on the forming response. Only in the case of very high initial pore pressures or at relative densities approaching full theoretical does a noticeable effect arise. In this case, a limiting upper density is attainable which depends on the specific rolling conditions and geometry.
Transgene Coplacement and High Efficiency Site-Specific Recombination With the Cre/loxP System in Drosophila

Studies of gene function and regulation in transgenic Drosophila are often compromised by the possibility of genomic position effects on gene expression. We have developed a method called transgene coplacement, in which any two sequences can be positioned at exactly the same site and orientation in the genome. Transgene coplacement makes use of the bacteriophage P1 system of Cre/loxP site-specific recombination, which we have introduced into Drosophila. In the presence of a cre transgene driven by a dual hsp70-Mos1 promoter, a white reporter gene flanked by loxP sites is excised with virtually 100% efficiency both in somatic cells and in germ cells. A strong maternal effect, resulting from Cre recombinase present in the oocyte, is observed as white or mosaic eye color in F1 progeny. Excision in germ cells of the F1 yields a strong grand-maternal effect, observed as a highly skewed ratio of eye-color phenotypes in the F2 generation. The excision reactions of Cre/loxP and the related FLP/FRT system are used to create Drosophila lines in which transgenes are at exactly allelic sites in homologous chromosomes.
State of the art: historical perspective of smelting.

This article discusses the general processing of non-ferrous ores by pyrometallurgical methods. A general description of the process flows are given for copper, lead, zinc, antimony, nickel, and cadmium. Also described, in the case of copper, are the new pyrometallurgical processes being utilized in the U.S. copper industry.
Psychodermatology: A Guide to Understanding Common Psychocutaneous Disorders

Objective: This review focuses on classification and description of and current treatment recommendations for psychocutaneous disorders. Medication side effects of both psychotropic and dermatologic drugs are also considered. Data Sources: A search of the literature from 1951 to 2004 was performed using the MEDLINE search engine. English-language articles were identified using the following search terms: skin and psyche, psychiatry and dermatology, mind and skin, psychocutaneous, and stress and skin. Data Synthesis: The psychotropic agents most frequently used in patients with psychocutaneous disorders are those that target anxiety, depression, and psychosis. Psychiatric side effects of dermatologic drugs can be significant but can occur less frequently than the cutaneous side effects of psychiatric medications. In a majority of patients presenting to dermatologists, effective management of skin conditions requires consideration of associated psychosocial factors. For some dermatologic conditions, there are specific demographic and personality features that commonly associate with disease onset or exacerbation. Conclusions: More than just a cosmetic disfigurement, dermatologic disorders are associated with a variety of psychopathologic problems that can affect the patient, his or her family, and society together. Increased understanding of biopsychosocial approaches and liaison among primary care physicians, psychiatrists, and dermatologists could be very useful and highly beneficial.
Functional anatomy of speech perception and speech production: psycholinguistic implications

This paper presents evidence for a new model of the functional anatomy of speech/language (Hickok & Poeppel, 2000) which has, at its core, three central claims: (1) Neural systems supporting the perception of sublexical aspects of speech are essentially bilaterally organized in posterior superior temporal lobe regions; (2) neural systems supporting the production of phonemic aspects of speech comprise a network of predominately left hemisphere systems which includes not only frontal regions, but also superior temporal lobe regions; and (3) the neural systems supporting speech perception and production partially overlap in left superior temporal lobe. This model, which postulates nonidentical but partially overlapping systems involved in the perception and production of speech, explains why psycho- and neurolinguistic evidence is mixed regarding the question of whether input and output phonological systems involve a common network or distinct networks.
Mapping link SNRs of wireless mesh networks onto an indoor testbed

As a platform for synergistic theory-experiment exploration in the field of wireless networking, wireless testbeds have been used to facilitate a broad range of research. From the perspective of system-level wireless emulation, average link SNR is the dominant factor in the performance of a wireless link. Thus, this work seeks to develop a systematic link SNR mapping method that replicates real-world link SNRs on an indoor testbed. The challenge is to optimize the nodes' spatial configuration and transmission powers to overcome the inherent propagation differences, as expressed in terms of pathloss exponents and environmental shadowing, between the real world and a given testbed. To avoid the technical difficulty of "forward mapping" from the real world to the testbed, we have developed a reverse mapping method to turn a testbed configuration with given link SNRs into a corresponding real-world configuration. By inducing the dB link gain differences between the testbed and the real world distance-dependent path loss to have a Gaussian distribution, a close approximation to real-world log-normal shadow fading is achieved. We present results for a variety of indoor and outdoor real-world scenarios.
Trade-off analysis of ROI for capability stepping-stones to a lunar habitat

As mankind continues to progress, a logical next step is the expansion into space. Independent space enterprises are developing capabilities to support: space tourism, space debris collection, low earth orbit (LEO) habitats, lunar visits, and temporary/permanent lunar habitats. The structure of the space market has created an industry structure such that activities are independent, are not coordinated, and do not consider leveraging adjacent capabilities. For example, insurance costs are determined based on individual capabilities and do not take into account synergies and liability mitigation to reduce risk from adjacent capabilities. This project evaluates the return on investment from coordination of activities to create “capability stepping-stones” from the five independent capabilities listed above to develop a lunar habitat. A decision support tool that utilizes discrete-event simulation was developed to estimate the ROI from alternate investment, direct operating, indirect costs, and revenues to determine cost, time, and risk thresholds to achieve ROI financial targets. This model is based on data from peer-reviewed government and industry sources such as DARPA, NASA, and the ESA and includes quarterly computation of Net Present Value (NPV). Data and inputs for the decision support tool were used where available. Trade-off analysis indicates the necessity of debris collection, and the importance of lowering launch costs on the development of space. One of the major factors achieved through capability stepping-stones is lowering of launch costs, insurance costs and reversal of the declining trend of LEO conditions. These results indicate an important role for international governance and collaboration between capability stepping-stones of the space-market place to maximize the potential of space.
Using information retrieval to support software maintenance tasks

This paper presents an approach based on Information Retrieval (IR) techniques for extracting and representing the unstructured information in large software systems such that it can be automatically combined with analysis of program dependencies and execution traces to define new techniques for feature location, impact analysis, and software measurement tasks. We expect that these new techniques will contribute directly to the improvement of design of incremental changes and thus increased software quality and reduction of software maintenance costs. The presented results are based on the author's doctoral dissertation [23].
Studies on measles

Summary 1.Twenty-two children who had been previously inoculated with egg-passage measles virus were exposed by chance at various intervals up to one year from the time of their inoculations to children with active cases of measles under field conditions. Three of these children developed typical measles, one developed mild measles, three developed an extremely mild disease distinguishable with difficulty as measles, and fifteen developed no disease. 2.Twenty-four children who had been previously inoculated withegg-passage measles virus were exposed by challenging injections of blood from active cases of measles at various intervals from the time of their original inoculations. Three of these children developed typical measles, two developed mild measles, five developed an extremely mild disease distinguishable with difficulty as measles, and thirteen developed no disease. One additional child showed a slight nasopharyngitis without fever, rash, or Koplik spots.Suitable control children and monkeys were injected with portions of the challenge material used and developed measles typical for the species injected. 3.The use of measles virus, attenuated by passage on the chorioallantoisof the developing chick embryo, for active immunization of children against measles gave results sufficiently encouraging to warrant further trial of such immunization in larger groups of susceptible children under field conditions inasmuch as forty of the forty-six children inoculated appeared to be completely or partially protected from measles.
Spacecraft Attitude Measurement Using Spatial Coherence of Laser or Star Light

A new method of measuring the attitude of spacecraft with respect to a reference beam of laser light or star light is described. The method uses the spatial coherence property of these beams and provides accuracies of ± 0.01 second of arc or greater. After giving a general description of the method, the feasibility of constructing such systems using presently available lasers and detectors is established. Finally, some aspects of the detection equipment are examined in detail.
Learning to Take Concurrent Actions

We investigate a general semi-Markov Decision Process (SMDP) framework for modeling concurrent decision making, where agents learn optimal plans over concurrent temporally extended actions. We introduce three types of parallel termination schemes - all, any and continue - and theoretically and experimentally compare them.
Preliminary report on equilibrium‐relations between feldspathoids, alkali‐feldspars, and silica

Several years ago, an investigation of phase equilibrium-relations in the system NaAlSiO4-KAlSiO4-SiO2, was begun. These studies, now well along, throw considerable light on the composition of natural nephelite, on the pseudo-leucite reaction, and on the possible courses of crystallization in alkaline magmas. The system, involving as it does, two common feldspathoids, leucite and nephelite,the alkali feldspars, and the forms of silica, is of great interest to petrologists.
Immune mediators in inflammatory heart disease: insights from a mouse model

Cardiac myosin-induced murine myocarditis provides a useful model for assessing the role of immune mediators in the development of inflammatory heart disease. Myocarditis is characterized by leucocyte infiltration, fibrosis, and cardiomyocyte death, which collectively lead to deterioration of both systolic and diastolic function as assessed by pressure-volume relations. In severe cases, disease progresses to dilated cardiomyopathy and heart failure. Key factors that promote disease include complement, tumour necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-4, and interleukin-12. Factors found to suppress myocarditis include interferon-gamma, interleukin-10, and cyotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4. Final disease outcome is determined by the interplay of these immune mediators.
Franklin's Civic Science

The First Scientific American Benjamin Franklin and the Pursuit of Genius . By Joyce E. Chaplin . Basic Books (Perseus Books Group), New York, 2006. 431 pp. $27.50, C$37.50. ISBN 9780465009558. While she does not ignore Franklin's accomplishments as a printer, revolutionary, diplomat, and statesman, Chaplin devotes most of her efforts to considering the variety and scope of her subject's scientific activities.
(3-Iodo­phen­yl)[2-(3-iodo­phenyl­imino)-1-methyl­propyl­idene]amine

In the crystal structure of the title compound, C16H14I2N2, the mol­ecule lies on a crystallographic inversion center and hence the two imine groups are mutually trans.
Weakly non-local solutions for capillary-gravity waves: fifth-degree Korteweg-de Vries equation

Hunter and Scheurle have shown that capillary-gravity water waves in the vicinity of Bond number (Bo) = l/3 are consistently modelled by the Korteweg-de Vries equation with the addition of a fifth derivative term. This wave equation does not have strict soliton solutions for Bo < l/3 because the near-solitons have oscillatory “wings” that extend indefinitely from the core of the wave. However, these solutions are “arbitrarily small perturbations of solitary waves” because the amplitude of the “wings” is exponentially small in the amplitude 6 of the “core”. Pomeau, Ramani, and Grammaticos have calculated the amplitude of the “wings” by applying matched asymptotics in the complex plane in the limit E + 0. In this article, we describe a mixed Chebyshev/radiation function pseudospectral method which is able to calculate the “weakly non-local solitons” for all E. We show that for fixed phase speed, the solitons form a three-parameter family because the linearized wave equation has three eigensolutions. We also show that one may repeat the soliton with even spacing to create a three-parameter of periodic solutions, which we also compute. Because the amplitude of the “wings” is exponentially small, these non-local capillary gravity solitons are as interesting as the classical, localized solitons that solve the Korteweg-de Vries equation.
GOES high-resolution interferometer sounder retrieval performance simulations

An evolutionary improvement to the existing GOES I-M Sounder has been proposed as the GOES high-resolution interferometer Sounder (GHIS). This instrument will be based upon technology developed during successful demonstrations of an airborne Michelson interferometer instrument for the temperature and moisture sounding of the atmosphere from passive infrared measurements. The spectral resolution afforded by the interferometer technology will substantially improve retrieval accuracy and vertical resolution of the sounding information. Simulations of the spectral radiance measurements have been used to study the expected retrieval operator in an iterative, non-linear scheme. The effects of instrument noise and spectral operating mode have been considered in the retrieval simulation. A measure of the vertical resolution of the retrieved profiles has been developed. This measure considers the correlation in the retrieval error between atmospheric levels of the retrieved parameters. The effects of instrument noise and spectral operating mode have been considered in the retrieval simulation. A measure of the vertical resolution of the retrieved profiles has been developed. This measure considers the correlation in the retrieval error between atmospheric levels of the retrieved parameters. The effects of both the instrument characteristics and those of the retrieval algorithm are thus considered in this measure. The results indicate that the GHIS is expected to provide temperature retrieval accuracy on the order of 1 degree C throughout the troposphere which will be a significant improvement over the existing GOES-8 sounder. The vertical resolution simulations also show improvement over GOES-8 capabilities.© (1996) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Mixed germ cell–sex cord stromal tumor of the testis with an intratubular component: a problem in differential diagnosis

The origin of mixed germ cell-sex cord stromal tumor (MGC-SCST) of the testis is uncertain, and a controversy exists as to whether the germ cells in these tumors are neoplastic. Although intratubular components of the common and several uncommon forms of testicular germ cell tumors have been described, to our knowledge, intratubular MGC-SCST has not previously been reported in detail. In a study of 13 cases of testicular MGC-SCST, we observed entrapped seminiferous tubules in 7 cases and an intratubular component in 2, both of which were associated with extensive entrapped tubules. Intratubular MGC-SCST is distinguished from entrapped tubules by the occurrence of germ cells resembling spermatogonia in the adluminal compartment and the absence of tubular lumens. By way of contrast, the adluminal compartment of entrapped tubules is composed entirely of immature Sertoli cells, and lumen formation is observed in favorably oriented tubules. Although the germ cells in our cases of MGC-SCST do not show histologic features of malignancy, the observation of spermatogonia-like cells in the adluminal compartment of the tubule, sometimes with concomitant germ cell proliferation, and the infiltrative pattern of the germ cells in the extratubular component support their neoplastic nature. The intratubular component tends to be more centrally located than the adjacent entrapped seminiferous tubules suggesting that it originates from the latter. The tubules of intratubular MGC-SCST are not expanded except in the advanced stage and are approximately the same size as entrapped seminiferous tubules but are considerably smaller than those of the uninvolved testis that shows active spermatogenesis.
Empirical Correlation for Hypersonic Aerodynamic Heating in Open Cavity Geometries Under Rarefied Flow Conditions

Aerodynamic heating measurements were taken during hypersonic shock tunnel and suborbital tests within two open cylindrical cavity geometries with effective L/D ratios less than 1.2. Examined variables included angle of attack, free stream density and Mach number. The test data indicate a free stream Reynolds number based relationship between the heating inside the cavity and stagnation heating. This relationship was observed for both cavity configurations and was more pronounced for lower angles of attack. The relationship was not observed for Knudsen numbers greater than 0.1, which represents the onset of slip flow conditions. Since the correlation allows for prediction of cavity heating to within 25%, it indicates the possibility of using an empirical correlation to estimate cavity heating under rarefied aerodynamic heating conditions. This could reduce the need for costly Computational Fluid Dynamics analyses to simulate cavity heating under near slip flow conditions.
Effects of sugars on leucine and lysine uptake by intestinal cells from rats fed sucrose and stock diets.

SummaryThe effect of various dietary sugars on the uptake of 1 mM leucine and 1 mM lysine by intestinal cells isolated from stock-fed and sucrose-fed rats was determined. Leucine uptake was activated by 10 mM fructose and inhibited by 10 mM glucose or 20 mM sucrose on both diets. The major dietary effect noted was a significant increase in the inhibition of leucine by glucose in the sucrose-fed rats. The uptake of lysine was minimally affected by the sugars irrespective of the diet fed. These results demonstrate an important dichotomy in the properties of glucose and fructose transport in the intestine and suggest that dietary fructose may increase the transport of certain amino acids.We wish to thank John Putney for his very valuable technical assistance.
Epidemic Analysis on Notifiable Diseases in Dalian City during 2004—2008

[Objective] To analyze the epidemic trend and epidemiological features of infectious diseases in DaLian City of Liaoning Province.[Methods]The analysis was conducted on the data collected from national information system for disease surveillance. [Results]Twenty-four kinds of infectious disease of class A, B, C were reported in DaLian City from 2004 to 2008 with a total of 91696 cases. The average annual incidence was 310.14/100 000. The lowest incidence appeared in 2004, and then fluctuated slightly with upward trend during 2005—2008. A total of 64 death cases were reported, the average annual mortality was 0.22/100 000. The major constituent of infectious diseases was intestinal infectious diseases and respiratory diseases. The first 5 reported infectious diseases were: other infectious diarrheal diseases, diarrhea, hepatitis, tuberculosis and mumps.[Conclusion]Prevention and control of intestinal infectious diseases and respiratory diseases are the central task and key work in the next period. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the prevention and control of these priority diseases.
Plasma glucose kinetics during exercise in subjects with high and low lactate thresholds.

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that the rate of plasma glucose oxidation during exercise is inversely related to muscle respiratory capacity. To this end, 14 subjects were stu...
Bioactive Secondary Metabolites from Acid Mine Waste Extremophiles

The extremophilic microbes of the Berkeley Pit Lake are a valuable source of new and interesting secondary metabolites. It is of particular interest that these acidophilic microbes produce small molecule inhibitors of pathways associated with low pH and high Eh. These same small molecules also inhibit molecular pathways induced by reactive oxygen species (ROS) and inflammation in mammalian cells. Low pH is a hallmark of inflammation and high Eh is one of ROS, so the suitability of this collection as a source of bioactive metabolites is actually quite biorational. Compound isolation was guided by inhibition of caspase-1 and matrix metalloproteinase-3, and active compounds were sent to the National Cancer Institute-Developmental Therapeutics Program and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer center for evaluation as either antiproliferative or cytotoxic agents.
Clinical Outcomes and Biologic Costs of Switching Between Tumor Necrosis Factor Inhibitors in US Veterans with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Introduction The purpose of this study was to evaluate clinical outcomes and drug/administration costs of treatment with tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) agents in US veterans with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) initiating TNFi therapy. The analysis compared patients initiating and continuing a single TNFi with patients who subsequently switched to a different TNFi.
fslr: Connecting the FSL Software with R.

We present the package fslr, a set of R functions that interface with FSL (FMRIB Software Library), a commonly-used open-source software package for processing and analyzing neuroimaging data. The fslr package performs operations on ‘nifti’ image objects in R using command-line functions from FSL, and returns R objects back to the user. fslr allows users to develop image processing and analysis pipelines based on FSL functionality while interfacing with the functionality provided by R. We present an example of the analysis of structural magnetic resonance images, which demonstrates how R users can leverage the functionality of FSL without switching to shell commands.
Industrialization in the United States (1815–60)

The economic growth of the United States clearly accelerated between the end of the second war with England and the Civil War.1 This acceleration is evident not only in ‘extensive’ expansion — increasing output as a result of the vast increase in land and resources, labour, capital, and entrepreneurial talent — but also in the substantial increase in efficiency of productive factors which characterized the period.2
A survey of coarse-grained methods for modeling protein conformational transitions

The decryption of transient structural changes during protein conformational transitions is essential to a detailed understanding of protein functions. To this end, coarse-grained protein structural models have proven valuable by enabling cost-effective simulation/analysis of protein conformational transitions which are too slow for all-atom molecular dynamics simulation. Here we survey state-of-the-art coarse-grained methods for protein conformational transition modeling developed in the past decade, with focus on those available online to public. We highlight the similarities and differences between these methods, and illustrate their usage in case of the T-to-R″ transition of chaperonin GroEL. This survey aims to provide researchers with a useful guide to the available tools for modeling protein conformational transitions.
Remote Sensing Evaluation of Two-spotted Spider Mite Damage on Greenhouse Cotton

The objective of this study was to evaluate a ground-based multispectral optical sensor as a remote sensing tool to assess foliar damage caused by the two-spotted spider mite (TSSM), Tetranychus urticae Koch, on greenhouse grown cotton. TSSM is a polyphagous pest which occurs on a variety of field and horticultural crops. It often becomes an early season pest of cotton in damaging proportions as opposed to being a late season innocuous pest in the mid-southern United States. Evaluation of acaricides is important for maintaining the efficacy of and preventing resistance to the currently available arsenal of chemicals and newly developed control agents. Enumeration of spider mites for efficacy evaluations is laborious and time consuming. Therefore, subjective visual damage rating is commonly used to assess density of spider mites. The NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) is the most widely used statistic to describe the spectral reflectance characteristics of vegetation canopy to assess plant stress and health consequent to spider mite infestations. Results demonstrated that a multispectral optical sensor is an effective tool in distinguishing varying levels of infestation caused by T. urticae on early season cotton. This remote sensing technique may be used in lieu of a visual rating to evaluate insecticide treatments.