cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Assessing Speaking Proficiency in the Undergraduate Curriculum: Data from French

ABSTRACT With increasing use of the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview, especially in conjunction with college foreign language requirements and teacher certification, it is imperative that we understand how well our students currently function in speaking a foreign language. This article presents research rating the speaking proficiency on the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview of University of Wisconsin French students at four levels of study: end of first year, end of second year, third year or minor, and end of fourth year or major. The data show a significant, positive relationship between level of proficiency and level of study. Each level of study includes a range of overlapping proficiency levels. Findings are discussed in detail for each level of study, and the UW data are compared with available data and related proposed requirements nationwide. The conclusion calls for an extended data base and acceleration of test development in other skill areas, in order to provide for realistic and comprehensive proficiency testing in our foreign language programs.
Shuttleworth receives 2001 Hydrology Award

W.James Shuttleworth received the Hydrology Award at the 2001 Fall Meeting in San Francisco, California, last December.
How Strong are the Ethical Preferences of Senior Business Executives

How do senior business executives rank their preferences for various ethical principles? And how strongly do the executives believe in these principles? Also, how do these preference rankings relate to the way the executives see the future (wherein business decisions play out)? Research on these questions may provide us with an appreciation of the complexities of ethical behavior in management beyond the traditional issues concerning ethical decision-making in business. Based on a survey of 585 vice presidents of U.S. businesses it was found that: (1) there is a distinct set of principles of ethical conduct that is considered favorable as opposed to another set considered unfavorable among a comprehensive list of 14 ethical principles; (2) the executives believed overwhelmingly that their own individual ethical preferences are better than those of other executives; (3) the strength of their preferences for ethical principles is associated with whether the executives are relatively near-future oriented or more distant-future oriented; and (4), there are very few significant differences in terms of gender, age, education level, private/public education, prestigious/other schools, business/non-business academic backgrounds, and length of job experience. Implications of these findings are discussed.
The exoribonuclease Nibbler controls 3' end processing of microRNAs in Drosophila.

Summary MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous noncoding small RNAs with important roles in many biological pathways; their generation and activity are under precise regulation [1–3]. Emerging evidence suggests that miRNA pathways are precisely modulated with controls at the level of transcription [4–8], processing [9–11], and stability [12, 13], with miRNA deregulation linked with diseases [14] and neurodegenerative disorders [15]. In the Drosophila miRNA biogenesis pathway, long primary miRNA transcripts undergo sequential cleavage [16–18] to release the embedded miRNAs. Mature miRNAs are then loaded into Argonaute1 (Ago1) within the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) [19, 20]. Intriguingly, we found that Drosophila miR-34 displays multiple isoforms that differ at the 3′ end, suggesting a novel biogenesis mechanism involving 3′ end processing. To define the cellular factors responsible, we performed an RNA interference (RNAi) screen and identified a putative 3′→5′ exoribonuclease CG9247/nibbler essential for the generation of the smaller isoforms of miR-34 . Nibbler (Nbr) interacts with Ago1 and processes miR-34 within RISC. Deep sequencing analysis revealed a larger set of multi-isoform miRNAs that are controlled by nibbler . These findings suggest that Nbr-mediated 3′ end processing represents a critical step in miRNA maturation that impacts miRNA diversity.
Thiocholesterol-based lipids for ordered assembly of bioresponsive gene carriers.

A series of thiocholesterol-based cationic lipids (TCL) has been designed and synthesized by the attachment of thiocholesterol to a cationic amine via a disulfide bond. TCL can be incorporated into liposomes and used to package DNA into a lipoplex, thereby protecting it from DNase digestion. DNA is rapidly released from the complex in the presence of low concentrations of reducing agents. The lipoplex mediated efficient transfection activity and had low cytotoxicity. To improve the biocompatibility of the cationic lipoplex, TCL were used as a component in the assembly of a nanolipoparticle (NLP). The particle surface was subsequently modified by disulfide exchange to replace the cationic group with a negatively charged (glutathione) or zwitterionic (cysteine) reducing agent. A cell-binding ligand (TAT peptide, sequence GRKKRRQRRRGYG) was then incorporated onto the particle surface to enhance the particle–cell recognition. The sequentially assembled cell-binding NLP with a zwitterionic surface gave a larger transfection yield than the cationic NLP at all concentrations tested. At low DNA concentrations, the enhancement was 80-fold. The disulfide cationic lipids and the sequential assembly strategy enable one to tailor the surface charge, hydrophilicity, and recognition elements of a nanosized gene carrier. This results in increased gene transfer activity in a biocompatible particle.
Applying Judicial Doctrine to Visitor Capacity Decision Making

In the next decades, the park and recreation profession will have its day in court as agencies accept that restraint on recreational freedoms is the price to be paid for protecting important natural resources and the recreational opportunities they afford. Yet most professionals have had little experience with the judiciary, and to consider the judiciary as a valued management tool is an oxymoron for most. However, the judiciary will remain an active participant in public land management. Rather than viewing the judiciary with fear and intimidation, decision makers can use legal doctrines to exercise their administrative discretion and responsibility. Our natural and cultural resources, the recreating public, and the judiciary would benefit from agency decision makers proactively applying the doctrines of deference, ripeness, due diligence and due care, and sufficient evidence to visitor capacity decision making.
Multicore-shell PNIPAm-co-PEGMa microcapsules for cell encapsulation.

The overall goal of this study was to fabricate multifunctional core–shell microcapsules with biological cells encapsulated within the polymer shell. Biocompatible temperature responsive microcapsules comprised of silicone oil droplets (multicores) and yeast cells embedded in a polymer matrix (shell) were prepared using a novel microarray approach. The cross-linked polymer shell and silicone multicores were formed in situ via photopolymerization of either poly(N-isopropylacryamide)(PNIPAm) or PNIPAm, copolymerized with poly(ethylene glycol monomethyl ether monomethacrylate) (PEGMa) within the droplets of an oil-in-water-in-oil double emulsion. An optimized recipe yielded a multicore–shell morphology, which was characterized by optical and laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) and theoretically confirmed by spreading coefficient calculations. Spreading coefficients were calculated from interfacial tension and contact angle measurements as well as from the determination of the Hamaker constants and the ...
Ethical dilemmas in continuing a zidovudine trial after early termination of similar trials

Ethical dilemmas caused by external events and an interim subset analysis raised concerns about continuing a long-term VA clinical trial comparing early with later zidovudine therapy for symptomatic human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. The first external event was the early termination of other, apparently similar, trials conducted by the AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) and the announced clear benefits for the zidovudine-treated patients. Interim analysis of the VA trial at this time did not show similar benefits. Subset analyses were performed to explore factors that might explain the different results. These suggested a difference in response to zidovudine in white and minority groups. The Data Monitoring Board and a special advisory panel reviewed these data and concluded that, since the VA results were neutral overall and the subset analyses based on small numbers, the trial should continue. By conference call, the study cochairmen and biostatistician discussed this decision with study personnel without revealing interim results, and study personnel passed the information on to patients at the participating centers. The second event was in March 1990, when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved earlier use of zidovudine, which applied to patients still in the VA trial. Patients were asked to reaffirm their participation by signing a new informed consent that explained the findings reported by the ACTG, the FDA-approved revised recommendations, and the rationale for continuation of the VA trial. The consent form emphasized that continued masked therapy was optional and that unmasked treatment and follow-up would be provided to patients requesting it. Seventy-four percent of the participants chose to continue masked therapy. We conclude that when new external data are announced, informed participation in a long-term clinical trial may require a revised consent form and that it is ethical and practical to present this without disclosure of interim study results.
On the endoparasites of Buccinum undatum L. with special reference to the trematodes

Abstract In all 1375 Buccinum undatum from the Sound (Oresund) were collected during a one year period (May 1966–April 1967), and 325 Buccinum from the Gullmarfjord, Sweden, August 1967. Four species of larval trematodes were found in Buccinum from Oresund: Cercaria Neophasis lageniformis, C. Zoogonoides viviparus, C. buccini and a xiphidiocercaria of the genus Renicola, all in the digestive gland and in the gonad. An adult trematode, Steringophorus furciger, which occurs in the stomach, does not produce mature eggs in Buccinum, but attains the same size as in the true final hosts, various flatfishes. The vertebrate hosts of this trematode and Buccinum feed on the same diet, and Buccinum becomes, therefore, presumably infected by ingesting metacercariae with the food. The two last-mentioned trematodes have not previously been found in Buccinum. A turbellarian, Graffilla buccinicola, and two sporozoans, Merocystis kathae and Piridium sociabile, were also found. In eight cases two different species of cerca...
Protein structures by spallation neutron crystallography

The Protein Crystallography Station at Los Alamos Neutron Science Center is a high-performance beamline that forms the core of a capability for neutron macromolecular structure and function determination. This capability also includes the Macromolecular Neutron Crystallography (MNC) consortium between Los Alamos (LANL) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories for developing computational tools for neutron protein crystallography, a biological deuteration laboratory, the National Stable Isotope Production Facility, and an MNC drug design consortium between LANL and Case Western Reserve University.
Reexamining the significance of childhood recreation patterns on adult leisure behavior

This study is the examination of the impact of childhood participation levels in outdoor recreation on the activity level of that individual as an adult. The study is based on a stratified random sample of adult residents in eight northeastern Iowa counties. Forty‐five outdoor recreation activities were used to determine the “carry‐over” of participation from childhood to adulthood. The results indicate a direct effect of the childhood level of participation on adult level of participation. Only eight of forty‐five activities seem to carry over; therefore, prediction of specific activity carryover is very limited. Implications for educating for leisure and aspects of socialization are discussed.
When Outcomes Prompt Criticism of Procedures: An Analysis of the Rodney King Case.

A content analysis of newspaper editorials about the trial of the four officers accused of beating Rodney King investigated when people would become concerned with procedural propriety in the case. Consistent with research demonstrating that people's moral convictions are important determinants of their perceptions of fairness and reactions to outcomes, results revealed that people were more critical of the procedures used in the case after learning the “unjust” verdict than before. Specifically, editorials only mentioned aspects of procedures after the verdict was announced, despite potential reasons for preverdict procedural concern. Editorials also contained more mentions of racism post- than preverdict suggesting that the “unjust” verdict also prompted concerns with institutionalized procedural problems.
Accuracy of indicator-dilution measurement of cardiac output in dog: role of coronary circulation.

Abstract The accuracy of the indocyanine green indicator-dilution technique of measuring cardiac output was studied in the dog with the aid of an extracorporeal pump-bypass circuit. The superior and inferior venae cavae were cannulated and venous return diverted into a calibrated reservoir system and then pumped into the right atrium. The circuit therefore delayed the appearance of systemic recirculation so that dye injections into the left atrium could be sampled downstream in the femoral artery and upstream in the pulmonary artery to yield not only values of cardiac output, but also values of coronary flow rate (found to be 10 to 15% of the cardiac output). Even when coronary flow was accounted for, flow estimations from dye curves consistently overestimated the pump flow (0.3 to 4.5 liter/min) by 1 to 40% (mean values for 11 series of injections totaling 107 dye curves). If coronary flow had not been accounted for, these overestimations would have been even higher by 15–20 percentage points. The overestimation appeared to decrease as the pump flow rate was increased above a value of 1 liter/min. No significant difference was found between flow estimations obtained with the use of the pulmonary artery and left atrium as injection sites (40 pairs of dye curves).
Fabrication of interdigitated micropatterns of self-assembled polymer nanofilms containing cell-adhesive materials.

Micropatterns of different biomaterials with micro- and nanoscale features and defined spatial arrangement on a single substrate are useful tools for studying cellular-level interactions, and recent reports have highlighted the strong influence of scaffold compliance in determining cell behavior. In this paper, a simple yet versatile and precise patterning technique for the fabrication of interdigitated micropatterns of nanocomposite multilayer coatings on a single substrate is demonstrated through a combination of lithography and layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly processes, termed polymer surface micromachining (PSM). The first nanofilm pattern is constructed using lithography, followed by LbL multilayer assembly and lift-off, and the process is repeated with optical alignment to obtain interdigitated patterns on the same substrate. Thus, the method is analogous to surface micromachining, except that the deposition materials are polymers and biological materials that are used to produce multilayer nanocompos...
An enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay for the quantitation of the terminal complement complex from cell membranes or in activated human sera

A sensitive and simple enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA) has been developed to measure the terminal complement complex (TCC) in solution. Commercially available antibodies to the native complement (C) components C5 and C9 were used in a double antibody sandwich technique sensitive enough to detect 0.3 microgram/ml of purified TCC. The TCC was not detected in normal human serum (NHS) nor was it generated when sera from patients with a genetic deficiency of functional C5, C7, C8 beta or C9 were activated with cobra venom factor (CVF). If the C8 beta deficient serum was reconstituted with the C8 beta chain and incubated with CVF, TCC were formed and detected by the assay. In in vitro experiments, the TCC was detected in NHS activated by either the classical or alternative pathway even when there was no measurable consumption of C5, C8 or C9. In addition, adaptation of a detergent extraction procedure permitted the quantitation by the assay, of TCC which were generated on sensitized sheep erythrocyte membranes. Experiments to test sample handling conditions showed no generation of TCC in NHS after four freeze/thaw cycles and spontaneous formation only if NHS had been incubated at 37 degrees C for 48 h. The TCC in zymosan-activated NHS were stable at 37 degrees C for 1 week. Patients with C activation associated diseases such as SLE and rheumatoid arthritis had increased levels of TCC that correlated with positive clinical tests for inflammation, even though C levels were normal when measured by routine techniques. These results suggest that this ELISA will provide a valuable tool for studying the role of C in the pathogenesis of C-mediated diseases and in examining the mechanism of tissue injury in in vitro experimental systems.
Thermoelectric Properties of Doped Rhenium Chalcogenides Re 6 M x Te 15 (x = 0, 1, 2; M = Ga, In, Ag)

Temperature dependencies of the electrical resistivity, ρ, and the thermoelectric power, α, are reported for Re 6 M x Te 15 (M = Ga, In, Ag; x = 0, 1, 2) between 90–380 K. Theoretical discussion of the results is presented. The materials, synthesized by filling large voids in the Re 6 Te 15 cluster system, may have potential thermoelectric applications around and below room temperatures. The samples are prepared by reacting 99.99% pure elemental powders in evacuated and sealed quartz ampoules at 1070 K for 170 hours. The resistivity data indicate semiconducting behavior for all samples. Possible hopping conduction is present at lower temperatures. The energy gap is observed at higher temperatures in all the samples. Positive values of α in Re 6 (Ga,In) x Te 15 (x = 0, 1, 2) indicate p -type semiconducting behavior in the studied temperature range. For these samples α increases initially with temperature, then levels off to a nearly constant value. The positions of the sharp peaks in a, observed at lower temperatures for x = 1, 2 only, depend on the Ga (In) concentration. High values of a (∼ 300 μV/K) are measured at room temperatures. In Re 6 AgTe 15 α has small positive values (∼ 20–40 μV/K) between 185 K and 270 K. Outside this range α is negative. It reaches local maxima of -340 μV/K at 105 K and -350 μV/K at 370 K. In Re 6 Ag 2 Te 15 α changes from positive to negative values above 295 K. A maximum positive value of +350 μV/K is reached at 250 K and maximum negative of -250 μV/K at 330 K. The power factor, α 2 /ρ, increases with temperature for all studied samples. Theoretical fits to α(T) for all samples are discussed. Also discussed is the effect of filling the voids in the rhenium-telluride system on the figure of merit.
Agent-Based Synthesis of Electromechanical Design Configurations

A new automated approach to engineering design known as A-design is presented that creates design configurations through the interaction of software agents. By combining unique problem solving strategies, these agents are able to generate solutions to openended design problems. The A-design methodology makes several theoretical claims through its combination of multiagent systems, multiobjective design selection, and stochastic optimization, and is currently implemented to solve general electromechanical design problems. While this paper presents an overview of the theoretical basis for A-design, it primarily focuses on the method for representing electromechanical design configurations and the reasoning of the agents that construct these configurations. Results from an electromechanical test problem show the generality of the functional representation.
Computational learning theory: survey and selected bibliography

Permission to copy without fee all or part of this material ie granted provided that the copies are not made or distributed for direct commercial advantage, the ACM copyright notice and the title of the publication and its date appear, and notica is given that copying is by permission of the Association for Computing Machinery. To copy otherwise, or to republish, requires a fee and/or specific permission. 24th ANNUAL ACM STOC 5/92/VICTORiA, B. C., CANADA G 1992 ACM ()-89791.51 2-7/92/0004/03~j -..$1 .~() the only textbook in the field is Natarajan’s [101]. Surveys by Laird [83] and Valiant [129] are valuable. Somewhat more peripheral are the European meetings on Analogical and Inductive Inference, AH, and the AI machine learning communit y’s annual International Conference on Machine Learning. In addition, the general AI meetings, AAAI and IJCAI, currently have a large number of papers devoted to learning, as do the neural net meetings.
Headache and acute illness in children

Thirty-seven children with headaches who were seen in a walk-in clinic were matched to 37 headache-free controls. Thirty percent of the headache group and 11% of the headache-free control group had a body temperature above 38 degrees C (p less than 0.05). Nonrhythmic pain was more commonly associated with fever than was rhythmic pain (p less than 0.05). Of 34 headache subjects who completed questionnaires, those with more intense headaches reported a greater number of headache-exacerbating factors (p less than 0.01). Bilateral headaches were more painful than unilateral headaches, and in two thirds of the subjects, the intensity of pain paralleled the course of the underlying illness. A family history of migraine was more common in the headache group as compared to the headache-free control group (p less than 0.05). Headaches associated with acute illnesses may be a precursor to later migraine.
A microtiter plate assay for polyglutamine aggregate extension.

Abstract Polyglutamine (polyGln) aggregates are neuropathological markers of expanded CAG repeat disorders, and may also play a critical role in the development of these diseases. We have established a highly sensitive, fast, reproducible, and specific assay capable of monitoring aggregate-dependent deposition of polyglutamine peptides. This assay allows detailed studies on various aspects of aggregation kinetics, and also makes possible the detection and quantitation of low levels of “extension-competent” aggregates. In the simplest form of this assay, polyGln aggregates are made from chemically synthesized peptides and immobilized onto microplate wells. These wells are incubated for different times with low concentrations of a soluble biotinylated polyGln peptide. Europium-streptavidin complexation of the immobilized biotin, followed by time-resolved fluorescence detection of the deposited europium, allows us to calculate the rate (fmol/h) of incorporation of polyGln peptides into polyGln aggregates. This assay will make possible basic studies on the assembly mechanism of polyGln aggregates and on critical features of the reaction, such as polyGln length dependence. The assay also will be a valuable tool for screening and characterizing anti-aggregation inhibitors. It will also be useful for detection and quantitation of aggregation-competent polyGln aggregates in biological materials, which may prove to be of critical importance in understanding the disease mechanism.
Socio-Cognitive Skills as a Determinant of Life Satisfaction in Aged Persons.

The purpose of this study was to explore the viability of a revised model of elderly life satisfaction, specifically evaluating the contribution of socio-cognitive skills. The role of such skills in relation to life satisfaction among aged persons has not been explored in research to date. Pilot data gathered from 60 community-living aged individuals indicated that numerous variables (e.g., subjective/objective health, education, financial satisfaction, role participation, subjective integration) significantly correlated with life satisfaction. However, the combined effects of two variables, persons' feelings of loneliness and isolation from their families and a measure of socio-cognitive skill, accounted for 49 percent of the variability in elderly life satisfaction. The effects of each on life satisfaction were unique however. Implications of these data and possible interventions for increasing elderly persons' life satisfaction are discussed.
Conditioning Energetic Electron Beams with Ultra-Intense Laser Pulses and Generation of High-Brightness XUV Radiation

It is experimentally demonstrated for the first time that the longitudinal field of a relativistically intense laser pulse deflects an electron beam (3 degrees). This technique is used to generate ultrashort duration (fs) electron bunches.
Mental health outcomes in older women with breast cancer: Impact of perceived family support and adjustment

Objectives: (1) To examine the mental health of older women with breast cancer in relation to support provided by, and the adjustment of, significant others including partners, children, and other family members or friends and (2) to document how often physicians address the women's significant others and the helpfulness of doing so. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of newly diagnosed breast cancer patients aged 55 years or older (n=222) was conducted. Results: Partners, and in many instances children and other family members or friends, provided support. Support from partners and adjustment of both partners and children independently predicted less depression and anxiety among the study participants. For racial/ethnic minorities, support from, and adjustment of, adult children assumed particular importance. Nonetheless, women reported that their physicians rarely asked their significant others how they were coping (15%) or referred them to a support group (3%), even though both behaviors were rated as extremely helpful. Conclusion: For older women with breast cancer, both partners and adult children were important sources of support and their adjustment affected the women's mental health. Support sources and their impact on women's mental health varied among racial/ethnic groups, suggesting the importance of culturally sensitive provision of care by clinicians. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Africa’s Initial Encounter with Texas: The Significance of Afro‐Tejanos in Colonial Tejas, 1528–1821*

The topic of African slavery and the role of Afro-Tejanos in Texas during the period of Spanish colonial rule has been totally neglected. Primary sources used in this study discuss Afro-Tejano family life, economic activities, military duties, and their experiences both as slaves and as individuals who gained their freedom. Hispanic treatment of Africans gradually became more enlightened by the eighteenth century to the point that Afro-Tejanos suffered a decline in their overall standard of living after Texas became an independent republic in 1836. The relationship of Afro-Tejanos to Mexico’s current total of 500,000 Afro-Mexicans is an issue of contemporary relevance because of recent efforts in Mexico to highlight its African heritage.
The triple choice: social, political, cultural.

Book reviewed in this article: Man is a multiple amphibian, living in a number of environments. Three of these are the social, the political, and the cultural. This paper points up our need to rebuild community in the social sphere, to revitalize democracy in the political sphere, to update our culture through relevant art.
Adiponectin and Prostate Cancer Mortality: To Be or Not to Be Skinny?

Obesity is one of the biggest public health crises of our day. In the United States, 1 in 3 adult men is obese. This rate is staggeringly high compared with obesity rates in other countries—notably those in Asia, where obesity rates are <5%. Obesity is well known to increase the risk for numerous medical problems, such as diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension, and has been linked with the incidence of and the mortality from multiple cancers. In terms of prostate cancer, the relationship with obesity is complex (1). In the 20 000-foot view, obesity appears to be associated with a slightly decreased risk in the incidence of prostate cancer, but it is also associated with a clear and consistent, albeit modest, increased risk of prostate cancer mortality. Multiple molecular mechanisms have been proposed to explain these observations (2). Ultimately, the contributions from each of these mechanisms remain unclear. Therefore, it is important to continue to investigate the pathways that link obesity with aggressive prostate cancer. With that goal in mind, Li and coworkers (3) describe in this issue of Clinical Chemistry their investigation of whether prediagnostic concentrations of adipocytokines (leptin or adiponectin) correlated with prostate cancer incidence or disease aggressiveness/mortality. This study used frozen serum samples from nearly 1300 adult male participants nested within the Physicians’ Health Study. The strength of this analysis was the fact that samples were collected before the diagnosis of prostate cancer. The design of this prospective cohort study thus avoids the limitations of case–control studies, in which biomarkers are measured in men already known to have the disease. The problem with the case–control approach is that increased biomarker concentrations may be due to a tumor already present rather than to an increase in a biomarker that causes the …
Identification of linear periodically time-varying systems using white-noise test inputs

Abstract A nonparametric technique for the identification of a class of nonlinear time-varying systems using white-noise test inputs published previously (Marmarelis, 1981, IEE Proc.-D, 128, 211–214) is applied to computer simulated linear periodically time-varying systems. This identification technique avoids the necessity of ensemble averaging through a separation of system dynamics and time-varying characteristics. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of these simulations and discuss some practical issues that arise in the actual implementation of the method. The simulation results corroborate the ability of this technique to practically identify periodically time-varying systems (of unknown periodicity) by use of a single input-output data-record.
Testosterone and Group Size in Cliff Swallows: Testing the “Challenge Hypothesis” in a Colonial Bird

The "challenge hypothesis" states that increases in testosterone levels of male animals during the breeding season are directly related to the extent of intrasexual competition for resources or mates that they experience. Although often tested in territorial species, the challenge hypothesis has not been evaluated for colonial animals that live in groups of different sizes and that thus experience different intensities of intrasexual competition. We measured circulating testosterone levels of male and female cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) in southwestern Nebraska, where these birds nest in colonies of widely different sizes. Males had significantly higher testosterone levels than females, as expected. For males especially, there was a seasonal rise in testosterone levels early in the nesting cycle, corresponding to the period when birds were establishing nest ownership and egg laying, and then a fall as they switched to parental duties. Testosterone levels varied significantly with colony size; for both sexes, birds in larger colonies had higher levels of testosterone than those in smaller colonies when controlling for date. Age and body mass were not related to testosterone levels. Higher levels of testosterone for birds of both sexes in larger colonies probably reflect greater competition for matings, often extra pair, in the more social nesting situations. The results support the predictions of the challenge hypothesis.
Portrayals of professionalism by the media: trends in etiquette and bedside manners as seen on television.

Background Critics of current healthcare argue that professionalism, as manifest by etiquette and bedside manners, has been eroding, in part as a consequence of portrayals on television (TV) and in the media. Objective We sought to identify changing patterns of physicians' behaviors as shown on TV (as these interactions have often served as models for physicians-in-training) over the last 30 years. Method We selected popular TV shows that portrayed practicing physicians and analyzed doctor–family, doctor–doctor, and doctor–nurse interactions as well as methods of disclosing errors to identify changing behavioral trends. Results We found that difficult news was more commonly delivered while standing, and that handshakes were rarely offered to patients. Male physicians were seen raising their voices toward, disclosing errors to, as well as inappropriately touching, peers or subordinates. In comparison, female physicians were identified as raising their voices toward, disclosing errors to, as well as inappropriately touching, their supervisors. Over the past several decades, official salutations between physicians and nurses have become less common; physicians have started to address nurses solely by their first names. More recently, sexual banter and sexual activity have been portrayed as occurring predominantly between male physicians and female nurses. Conclusions While shifts in behavioral patterns (in etiquette, bedside manners, and professionalism) of physicians as seen on television have not been radical, potentially concerning trends were identified. Media portrayals may change patients' perceptions of physicians, hospitals, and the health care profession as well as influence behaviors of medical trainees. Moreover, TV and the media can be used as teaching tools about professionalism in healthcare providers.
Technological Choice and Union-Management Cooperation

Growth in the number and complexity of “new technology” agreements has led some observers to suggest that companies and unions are entering a new era of bargaining. Key features of the emerging model appear to be formal cooperation around the content and the process, as well as the impacts, of technological change. This paper evaluates these expectations against case study data on technological change in a major unionized firm. Even with a formal commitment to a new approach, intervening factors—intra-organizational power struggles, resource competition, and technical uncertainties—appear to severely limit union involvement and represent major obstacles to a new era of bargaining over technology.
Mononuclear and Mixed-Valence Binuclear Oxovanadium Complexes with Benzimidazole-Derived Chelating Agents

Oxovanadium complexes with H2bzimpy (2,6-bis[benzimidazol-2‘-yl]pyridine) and Me2bzimpy (2,6-bis[N‘-methylbenzimidazol-2‘-yl]pyridine), and H3ntb (tris[benzimidazol-2‘-yl-methyl]amine) and Me3ntb (tris[N‘-methylbenzimidazol-2‘-yl-methyl]amine) have been synthesized. Dioxovanadium(V) and oxovanadium(IV) complexes prepared from H2bzimpy and Me2bzimpy are [VVO2(Hbzimpy)]·1.25H2O (1), [VVO2(Me2bzimpy)](ClO4)·H2O (3), [VIVO(H2bzimpy)(H2O)2](CF3SO3)2·2H2O (2), and [VIVO(Me2bzimpy)(H2O)2](CF3SO3)2 (4). H3ntb and Me3ntb afforded oxovanadium(IV) complexes, [VIVO(Hntb)]·2MeOH (5), [VIVO(H3ntb)Cl]Cl·H2O (7), [VIVO(Me3ntb)SO4]·H2O (9), [VIVO(Me3ntb)Cl]Cl·H2O (10), and mixed-valence complexes, [(H3ntb)VIVO(μ-O)VVO(H3ntb)](CF3SO3)3·2H2O (8) and [(Me3ntb)VIVO(μ-O)VVO(Me3ntb)](CF3SO3)3·3H2O (11). Crystal structures of 2, 7, and 11 are reported. The mixed-valence complexes, 8 and 11, show 15-line isotropic ESR spectra in fluid solutions at room temperature. These compounds also exhibit an intervalence transfer band around...
Long-term ethanol treatment elicits changes in nicotinic receptor binding in only a few brain regions.

Abstract Chronic nicotine treatment will produce an upregulation of brain nicotinic receptors, and rats treated for 5 months with ethanol had increased [ 3 H]nicotine binding in two of the three brain regions that were studied. However, several studies using short-term treatment did not detect an effect of ethanol on mouse brain nicotinic receptor numbers. Therefore, LS and SS mice were force-fed ethanol (15%, v/v) in the drinking water for 6 months. The LS mice developed tolerance to ethanol as measured by Y-maze crossing and rearing activity, body temperature, and sleep time. No evidence for tolerance to ethanol was seen in the SS mice. However, the SS mice showed increases in [ 3 H]nicotine binding in thalamus and an increase in [ 125 I]α-bungarotoxin binding in the cerebellum and superior colliculus. LS mice had reduced levels of hippocampal [ 125 I]α-bungarotoxin binding. Thus, long-term ethanol treatment may affect brain nicotinic receptor binding but the effect is limited to only a few brain regions and may be influenced by genetic factors.
Comparison of the Brener‐Jones and Whitehead Procedures for Assessing Cardiac Awareness

The similarities between the discrimination scores derived from the Brener-Jones and Whitehead procedures for assessing cardiac awareness were examined. Subjects were provided with no performance feedback at any time, and were simply instructed to attend to afferent sensations of heartbeats. Twenty-four male and female subjects were run under both procedures in a single session. Half of each gender were run in the order Brener-Jones/Whitehead and half in the order Whitehead/Brener-Jones. Subjects were given 50 trials of each procedure separated by a short rest interval. Three indices of discrimination were calculated for each procedure: number of correct calls, P(I), and 2 arcsin √P(A). Correlations between Brener-Jones and Whitehead derived scores were weak and negative. Measures of physiological activity showed little indication of differential physiological arousal during or over trials.
A model for low-temperature biogeochemistry of sulfur, carbon, and iron on Europa

[1] Galileo spacecraft data obtained from Jupiter's ice-covered satellite Europa suggest the existence of a subsurface water ocean. The formation of this ocean is a direct consequence of early igneous and hydrothermal processes that may have facilitated oxidation through H2 and CH4 escape. These processes could have led to a moderately alkaline sulfate-carbonate ocean and a moderately oxidized magnetite-bearing silicate mantle. When the ocean formed, low-temperature chemical disequilibria involving oceanic sulfate, bicarbonate, and ferrous minerals in underlying rocks could have provided multiple energy sources for chemotrophic organisms. Potential metabolic processes include oxidation of ferrous iron, sulfides, native sulfur, methane, hydrogen, and organic compounds, as well as reduction of water, sulfate, bicarbonate and carbonate ions (methanogenesis and acetogenesis), native sulfur, and ferric iron. If they occurred, these reactions would have provided close coupling for biogeochemical cycles of S, C, and Fe in the ocean. Periodic supplies of fresh rocks and/or aqueous fluids at the oceanic floor could drive these cycles throughout the satellite's history, including the present epoch. Signs of chemical disequilibria in the ocean would indicate chemical sources of energy for metabolism but should not be considered as indicators of life. In turn, observational signs of low-temperature redox equilibration among sulfur and carbon species would be suggestive of ancient life.
New systems for pattern formation studies

Abstract Recent years have witnessed remarkable developments in the study of spatial pattern formation in reaction-diffusion systems. One of the most notable achievements has been the discovery of Turing patterns in the chlorite-iodide-malonic acid (CIMA) system. We have developed a mechanism for the chemistry of that system and from that mechanism have derived: (a) an understanding of how the Turing patterns arise; (b) a simple two-variable model, amenable to analytic study, that reproduces both the homogeneous behavior of the system and the Turing patterns; and (c) a general approach to the design of new systems that will show Turing patterns. We present experimental results of Turing patterns in the chlorine dioxide-iodine-malonic acid system, which our mechanistic analysis suggests lies at the heart of the CIMA Turing patterns. We also discuss, using the example of traveling waves in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction, another experimental configuration, a sol-gel glass impregnated with key reagents, that shows great promise for the study of pattern formation and wave behavior.
Edges of Saturn’s rings are fractal

The images recently sent by the Cassini spacecraft mission (on the NASA website http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/photos/halloffame/ ) show the complex and beautiful rings of Saturn. Over the past few decades, various conjectures were advanced that Saturn’s rings are Cantor-like sets, although no convincing fractal analysis of actual images has ever appeared. Here we focus on four images sent by the Cassini spacecraft mission (slide #42 “Mapping Clumps in Saturn’s Rings”, slide #54 “Scattered Sunshine”, slide #66 taken two weeks before the planet’s Augus’t 200’9 equinox, and slide #68 showing edge waves raised by Daphnis on the Keeler Gap) and one image from the Voyager 2’ mission in 1981. Using three box-counting methods, we determine the fractal dimension of edges of rings seen here to be consistently about 1.63 ~ 1.78. This clarifies in what sense Saturn’s rings are fractal.
Leveraging Shear Stress to Bust Clots with Nanoparticles

In 1987, the first clinical trial of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) for the treatment of acute stroke commenced and led to U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval in 1996 ( 1 ). tPA is used as soon after the stroke as possible, within the first 4 hours, to dissolve clots and restore blood flow. It has revolutionized treatment of strokes, heart attacks, and pulmonary embolisms; however, it is not without risk. On page 738 in this issue, Korin et al. ( 2 ) describe a method they have developed for targeting tPA to clots to reduce the side effects while restoring blood flow.
Exploiting Latent I/O Asynchrony in Petascale Science Applications

We present a collection of techniques for exploiting latent I/O asynchrony which can substantially improve performance in data-intensive parallel applications. Latent asynchrony refers to an applicationâs tolerance for decoupling ancillary operations from its core computation, and is a property of HPC codes not fully explored by current HPC I/O systems. Decoupling operations such as buffering and staging, reorganization, and format conversion in space and in time from core codes can shorten I/O phases, preserving valuable MPP compute cycles. We describe in this paper DataTaps, IOgraphs, and Metabots, three tools which allow HPC developers to implement decoupled I/O operations. Using these tools, asynchrony can be exploited by data generators which overlap computation with communication, and by data consumers that perform data conversion and reorganization out-of-band and on-demand. In the context of a data-intensive fusion simulation, we show that exploiting latent asynchrony through decoupling of operations can provide significant performance benefits.
On a conjecture of Brualdi and Shen on block transitive tournaments

The following conjecture of Brualdi and Shen is proven in this paper: let n be partitioned into natural numbers no one of which is greater than (n + 1) - 2. Then, given any sequence of wins for the players of some tournament among n players, there is a partition of the players into blocks with cardinalities given by those numbers, and a tournament with the given sequence of wins, that is transitive on the players within each block. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 44: 215–230, 2003
Lipolysis Is an Important Determinant of Isoproterenol-Induced Myocardial Necrosis

The cardiotoxic effect of isoproterenol (ISO) is associated with, and possibly due to, calcium overload. Prior work suggests that calcium entry into cardiac myocytes after ISO administration occurs in two phases: an early rapid phase, followed by a slow phase beginning about 1 hour after ISO injection, leading to a peak myocardial calcium level after about 4 hours. We have tested the relationship of these phases to myocardial necrosis (MN) by determining the time after ISO administration at which the commitment to MN occurs. This was done by administration of propranolol at various times before and after ISO. In addition, since ISO induces lipolysis, and lipids can be toxic, experiments were conducted to determine if adrenergically-activated lipolysis could play a significant role in ISO-MN. We found that propranolol protected the myocardium equally well when administered anytime within 2 hours of ISO injection, but had no effect when given 4 hours after ISO. This showed that metabolic events taking place more than two hours after ISO injection are required for ISO-MN. As expected from prior work, there was a small and consistent amount of propranolol-resistant ISO-MN. Lipolysis, assessed by measuring serum glycerol levels, increased to tenfold above base line at one hour after ISO administration and returned to near basal levels at 4 hours. Potentiation of lipolysis by intravenous injections of phospholipase A2 (PLA2) or lipoprotein lipase (LPL) to rats treated with ISO substantially augmented MN. Propranolol completely blocked the increase in necrosis produced by PLA2 when given with ISO. Lipases induced only minimal necrosis in the absence of ISO. Administration of adenosine (an anti-lipolytic agent), oxfenicine (an inhibitor of mitochondrial palmitoyl carnitine transferase), or vitamin C (an anti-oxidant) resulted in a 55-60% reduction in MN. These results suggest that critical necrosis-determining events occur between 2 and 4 hours after ISO administration and imply a relationship between ISO-induced lipolysis, calcium influx, and ISO-MN. We hypothesize that importance of lipolysis as a determinant of ISO-MN is related to the generation of free fatty acids, their oxidized/metabolic products, or direct damage to plasma membrane.
Biphasic response to elevated levels of NaCl in Nicotiana occidentalis subspecies obliqua Burbidge

Abstract The seedling growth response of N. occidentalis subspecies obliqua Burbidge to elevated levels of NaCl was studied under various conditions with respect to light/dark cycle and temperature. When cultured at 28 °C under continuous light, the seedlings showed a unique biphasic response to NaCl; the seedlings died in the presence of 75 mM NaCl, while they survived in the presence of 150 mM NaCl. The results of Na + and K + accumulation in leaves suggested that this biphasic response was not due to the disruption of ion homeostasis under 75 mM NaCl. A similar phenomenon was observed when NaCl was replaced with KCl. Moreover, seedlings survived in the coexistence of 75 mM KCl or KNO 3 even under 75 mM NaCl. These results implied that the seedling response may be determined by the differential expression of salt-inducible gene(s) rather than specific ion toxicity. The biphasic response may be useful for understanding the salt tolerance mechanisms and for isolating the involved gene(s).