cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Modern Day “Victory Garden”☆

Abstract During World War I food production was at a low in both the United States and Europe. In the United States, food prices soared and meatless and wheatless days were introduced to cut consumption. When it became apparent that food production needed to be increased, the National War Garden Commission was formed and encouraged Americans to do their part to contribute to the war effort by cultivating home “victory” gardens. During World War II victory gardens returned and grew in popularity under the National Victory Garden Program. Gardening was part of popular culture, no longer reserved for those who could not afford to purchase food. Gardens could be found in vacant lots, back yards, and city parks. When the war ended and the baby boomer era began, the interest in gardening waned. Gardening is once again part of popular culture with many Americans cultivating home gardens for both health and environmental benefits. Many property owners across the nation have been caught off guard to discover their gardens are in violation of local ordinances and/or restrictive covenants. Some have been fined and others threatened with jail time while local governments struggle to determine what, if any, limits can be placed on the rights of individual property owners. This paper will discuss challenges to zoning ordinances that restrict gardening, as well as changes to local ordinances that allow gardens, and in some cases chickens and bees, in suburban and urban areas.
Isolation of GLUT4 Storage Vesicles

The immunoisolation of GLUT4-containing vesicles from adipocytes is described in this unit. The methods involve homogenization of cells followed by differential centrifugation to provide the intracellular membranes that contain GLUT4. Subsequently, an immobilized monoclonal antibody is used for the isolation of vesicles of very high purity. The various protocols are applicable to cultured and primary adipocytes as well as skeletal muscle, the major insulin target cells expressing GLUT4.
Spectral properties of V4 neurons in the macaque

Spectral properties of 129 cells in the V4 area of 5 macaque monkeys were studied quantitatively with narrow-band and broad-band colored lights. The large majority of cells exhibited some degree of wavelength sensitivity within their receptive fields. The half-bandwidth of the primary peak in the spectral-response curve was less than 50 nm for 72% of the cells; the mean half-bandwidth of these cells, 27 nm, is similar to that found for color-opponent ganglion cells and cells in the parvocellular dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN). Contrast- response functions indicated that the narrow spectral tuning of these cells derived from cone opponent interactions. From comparison of receptive-field sizes, we suggest that a typical V4 neuron sums inputs that ultimately derive from several thousand ganglion or parvocellular dLGN cells. In spite of their wavelength sensitivity, most V4 cells had properties that would not fit some simple criteria for classification as “color selective.” First, few cells showed overt signs of color opponency, namely, on-inhibition or off-excitation to spectrally opponent wavelengths. Second, about 30% of the cells in V4 had spectral- response curves with 2 peaks. (The wavelength distribution of these second peaks was almost identical to that of primary peaks, and combinations of peak wavelengths were fairly random.) Third, most cells responded to white light; overall, the response to white light was about 60% of that to the best narrow-band or broad-band colored light. Similarly, most V4 cells gave at least a small response to all or nearly all of the different broad-band colored lights we presented. Therefore, a given V4 cell is very likely to respond to most of the colored or white surfaces in natural scenes. These combinations of response properties probably explain the widely divergent percentages of “color” cells reported in previous studies of V4. The most unusual spectral property we found in V4 was a large, spectrally sensitive surround outside the “classical receptive field” of most cells. Although stimulation of the surround by itself did not cause any response, surround stimulation could completely suppress the response to even the optimally colored stimulus in the receptive field. In general, the optimal wavelengths for receptive-field excitation and surround suppression were the same or nearly so. Thus, “color contrast” may be computed in V4. In some cases, contrasting wavelengths in the surround caused moderate enhancement of response to a receptive-field stimulus.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Effects of the intrauterine contraceptive device on endometrial enzyme and carbohydrate histochemistry

Abstract Histochemical staining procedures for specific enzymes and carbohydrates were done on endometrium obtained by biopsy from a group of normal women with an intrauterine device (IUD) in place from 5 months to 4 years. This study group was compared to a control group of normal patients who had endometrial biopsies at varying times throughout the menstrual cycle. Several special histochemical stains, as well as routine histologic stains, were used. The alkaline phosphatase and acid phosphatase enzymes showed definite cyclic activity in the control group and the presence of the IUD caused only minor alterations in the cycle. The mucosubstances, i.e., acid mucosubstances and neutral mucosubstances, also showed a definite predictable cycle in the normal control group. The study group with the IUD in place showed a similar cycle but the amount of acid mucosubstance was increased throughout all phases of the cycle. In both groups the sulfomucins predominated during the preovulatory or proliferative phase and the carboxymucins predominated during the postovulatory or secretory phase. Certain histologic changes rendered by the presence of the IUD were also evident in this study.
Differential Contribution of IL-4 and STAT6 vs STAT4 to the Development of Lupus Nephritis

Mechanisms that initiate lupus nephritis and cause progression to end-stage renal disease remain poorly understood. In this study, we show that lupus-prone New Zealand Mixed 2410 mice that develop a severe glomerulosclerosis and rapidly progressive renal disease overexpress IL-4 in vivo. In these mice, STAT6 deficiency or anti-IL-4 Ab treatment decreases type 2 cytokine responses and ameliorates kidney disease, particularly glomerulosclerosis, despite the presence of high levels of IgG anti-dsDNA Abs. STAT4 deficiency, however, decreases type 1 and increases type 2 cytokine responses, and accelerates nephritis, in the absence of high levels of IgG anti-dsDNA Abs. Thus, STAT6 and IL-4 may selectively contribute to the development of glomerulosclerosis, whereas STAT4 may play a role in autoantibody production.
Can the subduction process of mountain building be extended to Pan-African and similar orogenic belts?

Abstract Two extreme hypotheses are compared for the origin of Pan-African-type orogenic belts: (a) they are formed essentially in situ by upwelling of hot materials from the mantle; and (b) they are formed as a result of subduction and great motions of lithospheric plates. Although some evidence is presented in favor of the first hypothesis, it seems that the second hypothesis will also explain almost all of the observed geological features if hemisphere-sized new oceans are developed in the process to account for the great spatial extent and long time-span of the activity.
The tryptic and chymotryptic fragments of the β‐subunit of guanine nucleotide binding proteins in brain are identical to those of retinal transducin

Abstract The 35-kDa β-subunit of transducin purified from rod outer segment membranes is cleaved into 2 major fragments by trypsin, and 7 major fragments by chymotrypsin. Identical fragments are visualized by immunoblotting with transducin-β specific antisera after proteolysis of rod outer segment membranes, purified brain guanine nucleotide binding proteins, and brain membranes. The results indicate that the β-subunits of transducin and of brain guanine nucleotide binding proteins are not only similar structurally, but are also similarly oriented in membranes with respect to accessibility to proteolytic enzymes.
On a weaker notion of controllability of a language K with respect to a language L

A necessary and sufficient condition for a prefix-closed language K contained in Sigma * to be controllable with respect to another prefix-closed language L contained in Sigma * is that K contained in L. A weaker notion of controllability where it is not required that K contained in L is considered here. If L is the prefix-closed language generated by a plant automaton G, then essentially there exists a supervisor Theta that is complete with respect to G such that L( Theta mod G)=K intersection L if and only if K is weakly controllable with respect to L. For an arbitrary modeling formalism it is shown that the inclusion problem is reducible to the problem of deciding the weaker notion of controllability. Therefore, removing the requirement that K contained in L from the original definition of controllability does not help the situation from a decidability viewpoint. This observation is then used to identify modeling formalisms that are not viable for supervisory control of the untimed behaviors of discrete-event dynamic systems. >
Wave-current interactions in shallow waters and shore-connected ridges

Abstract A formalism is developed for the interactions of waves and currents on long time scales. The resulting hydrodynamic equations are applicable to a variety of barotropic flows. It specifically identifies the Stokes drift velocity due to the gravity waves as the contributing effect of the waves to the general circulation. The Stokes drift plays a role on the long-time dynamics of the mean Eulerian velocity, by coupling to the mean vorticity. If tracers are present in the flow, this Stokes drift also affects the dynamics of the mean tracer field by modifying its advection due to currents alone. The theory may be used to study the dynamics of large scale erodible beds composed of loose sediment subjected to interacting storm- and tidal-driven flows. One such problem is the origin and evolution of certain shore-oblique sand ridges. An hypothesis is that they are generated by instabilities in the erodible bed due to the passage of steady currents. By applying the theory we show how such an hypothesis is modified when the unsteadiness assumption is lifted and when both waves and currents are present.
HAMILTONIAN EVOLUTIONS OF TWISTED POLYGONS IN PARABOLIC MANIFOLDS: THE LAGRANGIAN GRASSMANNIAN

We show that the moduli space of twisted polygons in G=P , where G is semisimple and P parabolic, and where g has two coordinated gradations has a natural Poisson bracket that is directly linked to G -invariant evolutions of polygons. This structure is obtained by reducing the quotient twisted bracket on G N (as defined by M. Semenov-Tian-Shansky) to the moduli space G N =P N . We prove that any Hamiltonian evolution with respect to this bracket is induced on G N =P N by an invariant evolution of polygons. We describe in detail the Lagrangian Grassmannian case (G D Sp.2n/) and we describe a submanifold of Lagrangian subspaces where the reduced bracket becomes a decoupled system of Volterra Hamiltonian structures. We also describe a very simple evolution of polygons whose invariants evolve following a decoupled system of Volterra equations.
A vector for controlled, high-yield production of specifically mutated proteins in Escherichia coll: test of a putative cytidine-binding domain in Rho factor and its Thr16→ Ala mutant

Abstract A derivative of the plasmid vector, pET-3a [Rosenberg et al., Gene 56 (1987) 125-135], is described that contains the origin of replication from bacteriophage f1. This plasmid is well-suited for oligodeoxyribonucleotide mutagenesis and controlled production of mutant proteins from a single vector. Its utility is demonstrated by the preparation of a mutational alteration of Thr16→Ala (T16A) of the Escherichia coli transcription termination factor, Rho. The altered protein (T16A Rho) binds oligo(C)7 with the same affinity as wild-type (wt) Rho, thus indicating that Thr16 is not critical for binding cytidine residues in RNA, in spite of its being part of a sequence that is similar to a sequence in the CTP-binding domain of aspartate transcarbamoylase. However, T16A Rho was less efficient in terminating transcription than was wt Rho and had a lowered kcat for ATP hydrolysis with cra RNA as co-factor. Thus, the change affects the coupling of ATP hydrolysis by Rho to actions on RNA that cause termination.
Coronary steal caused by a coronary artery fistula

C ORONARY ARTERY fistulae, anomalous connections between the coronary arteries and a cardiac chamber or the venous circulation, are the most common hemodynamically significant coronary congenital anomalies,’ found in up to 0.2% of the adult population.’ Many patients with coronary fistulae remain asymptomatic, but others present with angina or myocardial infarction due, in part, to a “coronary steal.” Definitive treatment of symptomatic coronary fistulae usually requires cardiac surgery, often with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Although this problem is likely to be encountered by the practicing cardiovascular anesthesiologist, the principles of anesthetic management have not been previously published. A case concerning a congenital fistula between the left main coronary artery (LMCA) and the pulmonary artery (PA) in an adult patient who presented with unstable angina is presented. The pertinent literature is reviewed, and the implications for the anesthesiologist are examined.
The evolution of wages over the lifecycle: insights from intergenerational connections

This article uses intergenerational information to improve our understanding of lifecycle wage dynamics. I present a simple statistical model that relates the wages of workers at different points in their lifecycle to the earnings of their parents. I decompose cross-sectional variance of wages into a permanent component related to parental background, a permanent component unrelated to parental background, and a transitory component. Data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) suggests that intergenerational relationships are stronger when measured later in the lifecycle of the son. This implies that the permanent parent-related component is increasingly important for wage determination as workers grow older. This is not consistent with wage evolution through persistent random shocks. Rather, it is consistent with human capital models and learning models of wage evolution.
Temperament and Response Processing: Facilitatory and Inhibitory Consequences of Positive and Negative Motivational States

Abstract Individual differences in response facilitation and inhibition were assessed through a modified go/no go task presented in alternating positive (where points could be gained) and negative (where points could be lost) incentive blocks. Neurotic extraverts showed enhanced facilitation on positive blocks following positive feedback. Neurotic introverts and individuals high in STAI trait anxiety showed enhanced inhibition on negative blocks. Individuals high in I 7 impulsiveness showed generally low inhibition. These results support models proposing that positive incentive motivation and its facilitatory response consequences peak in neurotic extraverts, whereas negative incentive motivation and its inhibitory effects peak in neurotic introverts. However, neurotic introverts were also relatively fast in responding following negative feedback, which confirms recent reports of "anxious impulsivity."
The precise structure and coding capacity of mRNAs from early region 2B of human adenovirus serotype 2.

Abstract Replication of human adenovirus (Ad) DNA requires three virus-encoded proteins that are coordinately transcribed from a single promoter at early times after infection. The mRNAs for two of these proteins, the precursor to the terminal protein (pTP) and the Ad DNA polymerase (Ad Poll, share several exons, including one encoded near Ad genome coordinate 39. The positions of the splice points of these mRNAs have been mapped by S1 nuclease mapping, by RNA sequencing, and by cDNA cloning. As a result of RNA splicing events, a short open reading frame (ORF) encoded at genome coordinate 39 is connected to the beginning of both the pTP and Ad Pol coding sequences; inclusion of this upstream ORF is essential for expression of functional pTP and Ad Pol proteins.
Observations on the Life History and Habits of a Pine Sawfly, Neodiprion nanulus contortae (Hymenoptera: Diprionidae)

Observations on the biology and ecology of Neodiprion nanulus contortae Ross in northwestern Montana are reported. This sawfly is known from Oregon, Idaho, and Montana, U.S.A. and Alberta, Canada where it feeds on lodgepole and ponderosa pine. N. n. contortae occasionally reaches epidemic levels causing significant defoliation. Seasonal history is similar to that described for N. n. nanulus in Wisconsin. There is 1 generation a year with winter being passed in the egg stage. Larvae feed in June and early July on older needles. Adult emergence occurs from mid-September to mid-October. Notes on occurrence of outbreaks, natural enemies and effect on hosts are presented.
Effects of acculturation and age on the exercise capacities of Solomon Islanders

Submaximal exercise tests were carried out on 197 females and 290 males from five populations in the Solomon Islands to determine how acculturation affects the fitness of different age and sex groups. Males and females in the least acculturated group show the highest fitness levels, reflecting strenuous work patterns. Subjects from the most acculturated groups exhibit the lowest levels of fitness, a consequence of their more sedentary life-styles. Unexpectedly, older females in these groups show exercise capacities that are equal to those of younger women. This may be a consequence of generational differences in the practice of traditional activities, such as those associated with gardening. Groups ranked intermediate in acculturation show variable patterns. For some age and sex groups, modernization has reinforced and even intensified strenuous activity patterns, resulting in high levels of fitness. For others, modernization has promoted inactivity and/or altered dietary patterns, resulting in increased body fat and low levels of fitness.
Optimization of capillary zone electrophoresis/electrospray ionization parameters for the mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry analysis of peptides

The solution chemistry conditions necessary for optimum analysis of peptides by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE)/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and CZE electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry have been studied. To maximize the signal-to-noise ratio of the spectra it was found necessary to use acidic CZE buffers of low ionic strength. This not only increases the total ion current, but it also serves to fully protonate the peptides, minimizing the distribution of ion current across the ensemble of possible charge states.
Isotope dilution gas chromatography/mass spectrometry method for the determination of methionine sulfoxide in protein

We have developed a new technique for quantifying methionine sulfoxide (MetSO) in protein to assess levels of oxidative stress in physiological systems. In this procedure, samples are hydrolyzed with methanesulfonic acid (MSA) in order to avoid the conversion of MetSO to methionine (Met) that occurs during hydrolysis of protein in HCl. The hydrolysate is fractionated on a cation exchange column to remove the nonvolatile MSA from amino acids, and the amino acids are then derivatized as their trimethylsilyl esters for analysis by selected ion monitoring-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The limit of detection of the assay is 200 pmol of MetSO per analysis, and the interassay coefficient of variation is 5.8%. Compared to current methods, the SIM-GC/MS assay avoids the potential for conversion of Met to MetSO during sample preparation, requires less sample preparation time, has lower variability, and uses mass spectrometry for sensitive and specific analyte detection.
Current insights into the biology and pathogenesis of Pneumocystis pneumonia

The fungal infection Pneumocystis pneumonia is the most prevalent opportunistic infection in patients with AIDS. Although the analysis of this opportunistic fungal pathogen has been hindered by the inability to isolate it in pure culture, the use of molecular techniques and genomic analysis have brought insights into its complex cell biology. Analysis of the intricate relationship between Pneumocystis and the host lung during infection has revealed that the attachment of Pneumocystis to the alveolar epithelium promotes the transition of the organism from the trophic to the cyst form. It also revealed that Pneumocystis infection elicits the production of inflammatory mediators, culminating in lung injury and impaired gas exchange. Here we discuss these and other recent findings relating to the biology and pathogenesis of this intractable fungus.
Origin of persistent hole burning of N-V centers in diamond

New satellite features and antiholes in the persistent hole-burning spectrum of N–V centers in diamond, as well as their dependences on applied electric fields and frequency within the inhomogeneous absorption line, are reported. These results, together with reassignments of spin states of this center, permit an understanding of the origin of the satellite holes as well as of possible mechanisms for the persistent hole-burning phenomenon itself. In addition we report narrow optical interference fringes in heterodyne-detected spectra of persistent spectral holes in the N–V defect center in diamond and discuss a recent suggestion for high-resolution Ramsey-fringe hole-burning spectroscopy of solids based on phase-separated fields.
Career transitions of superiors and subordinates

Abstract The career transitions of supervisors were examined to determine the impact of their transitions on the behaviors and attitudes of subordinates who had made recent career transitions. A sample of 124 managers and subordinates participated in the field survey. The data generally supported the major proposition that the magnitude of both a supervisor's and subordinate's career transition interacted to affect a subordinate's commitment to the company, job satisfactions, and perceptions of the work environment. The magnitude of a supervisor's career transition was related to the performance evaluation of subordinates.
INCENTIVES, ENTREPRENEURS, AND BOUNDARY CHANGE A Collective Action Framework

The authors develop an institutional choice framework to examine and interpret change in local boundaries and provide a single explanation for the use of varied instruments to create new boundaries or expand old ones. Boundary decisions are viewed as the product of actors’ seeking particular outcomes within a context of existing governments and established rules governing boundary change. Selective costs and benefits, rather than collective costs and benefits, are most likely to provide incentives for institutional entrepreneurship and collective action. Such a framework is valuable because it integrates the fragmented literatures on local boundaries, provides a linkage between boundary choices and policy outcomes at the local level, and can guide empirical research into the causes and consequences of boundary change. This framework can provide the foundation of a more general model of institutional choice and institutional entrepreneurship.
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and the epidemic growth of its literature

The beginning and early spread of the world-wide epidemic of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) has been paralleled closely by a rapidly expanding literature concerned with many aspects of the disease. In order to assess the growth of the AIDS literature, a quantitative analysis was conducted focusing on the number of articles, the number of journals contributing, the number of languages used, and the number of countries of origin of publications over time (a bibliometric study). The growth of the popular literature was also studied. Three online databases — MEDLINE, Magazine Index, and the National Newspaper Index — were examined from 24 September 1982 (the date the Centers for Disease Control first adopted the name “acquired immunodeficiency syndrome”) through the end of 1986 for the popular literature and through the end of 1987 for MEDLINE. A survey of the MEDLINE file showed that by the end of 1987, twenty-five languages were represented in articles from fifty-four countries published in 1170 different journal titles.
Oligomer formation, metalation, and the existence of aggregation-prone and mobile sequences within the intracrystalline protein family, Asprich

The formation of crack propagation—resistant single crystal calcite in the prismatic layer of the mollusk shell involves the participation of a number of different proteins, some of which form intracrystalline organic inclusions. One protein family, Asprich (Atrina rigida), participate in the ACC formation/transformation process and become occluded within calcite. However, these two phenomena are poorly understood. Here, we experimentally establish that the Asprich “3” protein oligomerizes in solution over a wide pH range and that this oligomerization process is enhanced by the presence of Ca2+ ions, which form complexes with this protein as verified by ESI-MS. Bioinformatics analyses confirm that intrinsic disorder and unstable interactive domains constitute the entire length of each Asprich sequence. In addition, an amyloid- or prion-like aggregation-prone region was identified within the highly conserved 12 AA N-terminal sequence, KPVFKRSLSDPS. Together, these bioinformatics findings suggest that different sequence elements of the Asprich family contribute to the observed oligomerization process. Solution NMR studies of Asprich “3” protein assemblies document that portions of the 12 AA N-terminal domain are mobile within these assemblies. This mobility is driven by Pro imido ring cis-trans isomerization at P11, and this induces multiple conformational states for V3, R6, and L8 which lie upstream of this Pro residue. This Asprich “3” Pro-induced conformational exchange phenomena parallels other findings obtained for self-assembling nacre layer- and tooth enamel-specific biomineralization proteins. In conclusion, we have identified the presence of self-association, unusual sequence behavior, and ion clustering phenomena in Asprich “3” and we believe that these are key factors in the ability of Asprich proteins to control ACC formation and form organic inclusions that resist crack propagation.
Concomitant repair of complete atrioventricular canal defect and transposition of the great arteries in an infant

The case of an infant who was born with the rare presentation of complete atrioventricular canal defect and transposition of the great arteries is described. The patient underwent pulmonary banding at the age of 2 months, followed by concomitant arterial switch and repair of the atrioventricular canal defect at 20 months. Palliative banding allowed for the infant to grow and thus facilitated the later successful repair of these congenital defects.
American college of preventive medicine policy statement: Screening for skin cancer

Abstract Based on a review of current literature and recommendations, the American College of Preventive Medicine presents a practice policy statement on screening for skin cancer.
Influence of a Benthic Predatory Fish (Cottus cognatus) on Invertebrate Community Structure and Secondary Production in a Tributary of the Susquehanna River

Abstract Populations of sculpin (Cottus cognatus) were altered to create stream sites with increased and decreased fish density. Subsequently, the response of benthic insect species was observed. Sculpin predation appeared to have little or no effect on size distributions and secondary production of most benthic invertebrates. However, densities of some trophic groups increased by two- or three-fold following reductions of sculpin densities. Within sites of sculpin removal, densities of gatherer/scrapers were twice those of addition or reference sites. Densities of total insect populations in reduction or reference sites were two to three times greater than those in the addition sites. Several trophic groups, particularly scraper/gatherers, showed the highest densities in sites of unaltered sculpin densities. Filter-feeders presented a third response to the manpulated sculpin populations; their densities increased with increased sculpin density. This suggests a negative sculpin influence on competitors of...
Human-centric multi-layer synchronization scheme with inter-sender synchronization skewcontrol

Next-generation teleimmersive environments allow fullfledged collaboration of people in different geographical locations. The unique user experience poses new inter-sender synchronizationrequirement,which has notbeen investigated in past studies. The real-time nature of teleimmersive applications also introduce a tradeoff between synchronization quality and interactive quality during online synchronization adaptation. In this paper, we conduct subjective user study and demonstrate that inter-sender synchronization is important to human perception in teleimmersive activities. We also show that people exhibit contradicting opinions at the presence of synchronization and interaction tradeoff. Based on real subjective feedback, we propose a novel human-centric multi-layer synchronization scheme with inter-sender synchronization skew control for multi-site teleimmersion.
Profiles in Science for Science Librarians: Anthony S. Fauci, M.D.

Tony Fauci is arguably America's best known clinical investigator and federal medical research administrator. He has authored a torrent of papers in research and professional journals (1,368 as of May 15, 2013) and has appeared well over 100 times on TV news shows explaining aspects of America's fight against autoimmune and infectious diseases, particularly AIDS. The vast majority of today's American medical students and their librarians will also recognize him as editor in chief of the best-selling textbook Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. He has been awarded honorary degrees by thirty-eight universities, including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Penn, and Georgetown. His productivity and visibility have spanned three generations of Americans, and yet his work has probably had an even greater impact far beyond our borders. An analysis of the evolving assortment of journals in which he has been published over the course of his career discloses three major patterns: a progressively higher proportion o...
Interpolatory Subdivision on Open Quadrilateral Nets with Arbitrary Topology

A simple interpolatory subdivision scheme for quadrilateral nets with arbitrary topology is presented which generates C 1 surfaces in the limit. The scheme satisfies important requirements for practical applications in computer graphics and engineering. These requirements include the necessity to generate smooth surfaces with local creases and cusps. The scheme can be applied to open nets in which case it generates boundary curves that allow a C 0 -join of several subdivision patches. Due to the local support of the scheme, adaptive refinement strategies can be applied. We present a simple device to preserve the consistency of such adaptively refined nets.
Low-coherence interferometry in random media. I. Theory

We present a new nonperturbative theoretical method for the analytical description of light propagation in random multiscattering media. The method is illustrated through the calculation of an expression that describes optical backscattering from a semi-infinite disordered medium. A companion paper [J. Opt. Soc. Am. A17, 2034 (2000)] compares the theoretical expression with experimental data.
Stabilization of fluorescent silver clusters by RNA homopolymers and their DNA analogs: C,G versus A,T(U) dichotomy

Single-stranded RNAs host fluorescent silver nanoclusters, analogous to previously studied Ag:DNAs. C and G homopolymers stabilize visible- to IR-emitting silver complexes at neutral pH in both RNA and DNA, but A and T/U do not. Cluster fluorescence is sensitive to sugar as well as base type.
OSMOLALITY-INDUCED CHANGES IN EXTRACELLULAR VOLUME ALTER EPILEPTIFORM BURSTS INDEPENDENT OF CHEMICAL SYNAPSES IN THE RAT : IMPORTANCE OF NON-SYNAPTIC MECHANISMS IN HIPPOCAMPAL EPILEPTOGENESIS

The contribution of non-synaptic mechanisms to the seizure susceptibility of rat CA1 hippocampal pyramidal cells was examined in vitro by testing the effects of osmolality on synchronous neuronal activity, using solutions which blocked chemical synaptic transmission both pre- and post-synaptically. Decreases in osmolality, which shrink the extracellular volume, caused or enhanced epileptiform bursting. Increases in osmolality with membrane-impermeant solutes, which expand the extracellular volume, blocked or greatly reduced epileptiform discharges. Reductions in the extracellular volume, therefore, can enhance synchronization among CA1 hippocampal neurons through non-synaptic mechanisms. Since similar osmotic treatments are known to modify epileptiform discharges in several models of epilepsy, non-synaptic mechanisms are probably more important in hippocampal epileptogenesis than previously realized and may contribute to the high susceptibility of this brain region to epileptic seizures in animals and humans. These data also provide a possible explanation for the observation in humans that decreased plasma osmolality, which can be associated with a wide range of clinical syndromes, leads to seizures.
Natural History of Multiple Sclerosis: Early Prognostic Factors

Multiple sclerosis is a heterogeneous disease, and predicting its course is difficult at the individual level. In this article, clinical, demographic, and additional features that are associated with the risk of relapses and of intermediate-term disability are reviewed.
Predicting the host range of Nystalea ebalea: Secondary plant chemistry and host selection by a surrogate biological control agent of Schinus terebinthifolia

Abstract The safety of weed biological control depends upon the selection and utilization of the target weed by the agent while causing minimal harm to non-target species. Selection of weed species by biological control agents is determined by the presence of behavioral cues, generally host secondary plant compounds that elicit oviposition and feeding responses. Non-target species that possess the same behavioral cues as found in the target weed may be at risk of damage by classical biological control agents. Here we conducted host range tests and examined secondary plant compounds of several test plant species. We studied the specialist herbivore Nystalea ebalea (Lepidoptera: Notodontidae) a Neotropical species, present in Florida as a surrogate biological control agent of the weed, Brazilian peppertree Schinus terebinthifolia, invasive in Florida and Hawaii. We found that the larvae had the greatest survival when fed the target weed, the Neotropical species Spondias purpurea, the Florida native species Rhus copallinum, and the ornamental Pistacia chinensis. Reduced survival and general larval performance were found on the native species Metopium toxiferum and Toxicodendron radicans. Both the volatiles and the allergen urushiols were chemically characterized for all species but urushiol diversity and concentration best predicted host range of this herbivore species. These results provide insight into host selection and utilization by one oligophagous Schinus herbivore. Other potential biological control agents may also be sensitive to plants that contain urushiols and if so, they may pose minimal risk to these native species.
Sex differences in the neural circuit that mediates female sexual receptivity

Female sexual behavior in rodents, typified by the lordosis posture, is hormone-dependent and sex-specific. Ovarian hormones control this behavior via receptors in the hypothalamic ventromedial nucleus (VMH). This review considers the sex differences in the morphology, neurochemistry and neural circuitry of the VMH to gain insights into the mechanisms that control lordosis. The VMH is larger in males compared with females, due to more synaptic connections. Another sex difference is the responsiveness to estradiol, with males exhibiting muted, and in some cases reverse, effects compared with females. The lack of lordosis in males may be explained by differences in synaptic organization or estrogen responsiveness, or both, in the VMH. However, given that damage to other brain regions unmasks lordosis behavior in males, a male-typical VMH is unlikely the main factor that prevents lordosis. In females, key questions remain regarding the mechanisms whereby ovarian hormones modulate VMH function to promote lordosis.
Major Accomplishments and Future Directions in Early Childhood Mainstreaming

Major accomplishments and future directions in the concept and practice of early childhood mainstreaming are discussed. A convergence among the three major themes of influence of (a) public policy, (b) educational practice, and (c) developmental principles and research are noted in relation to the value of fully mainstreamed programs. Specific discussions focus on the topics of implementation, the perspectives of parents, and the development of friendships and peer relations in mainstreamed settings. The importance of establishing a developmental framework and collaborating with the early childhood community are emphasized.
Acute and recurrent patellar instability in the young athlete

Many reports of patellofemoral instability treatment suffer the same flaws of inappropriate patient selection, poor injury definition, insufficient activity assessment, and, especially in skeletally immature patients, limited followup found in other orthopedic literature. A significant number of dogmatic statements concerning risk factors and treatment interventions continue to be recycled through the literature without adequate clinical or laboratory substantiation, even in the face of contradictory data. Traditionally, patellar instability has been treated with variable periods of immobilization, sporadic rehabilitation, and an expected full return to sports activity. The reality is that many young athletes have long-term retropatella pain and sport-limiting extensor mechanism impairment following patellar dislocations. Most athletes benefit from an initial nonoperative program that is aggressive, multidimensional, and responsive to early treatment outcomes. Concurrent osteochondral injuries are common and a major contributor to adverse outcomes. Diagnostically, MRI is improving in its ability to detail osteochondral injury and it plays an important role in determining the location and extent of MPFL injury. The primary stabilizing role of the MPFL in the normal knee and its injury as an essential lesion of patella instability has been appreciated only recently. There is growing interest in exchanging the myriad of nonanatomic extensor mechanism reconstructions for more anatomic procedures based on restitution of the MPFL.
Synergism of Insecticides by Herbicides

The herbicides atrazine, simazine, monuron, and 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) enhanced the toxicity of selected insecticides to Drosophila melanogaster Meigen, Musca domestica L., and larvae of Aedes aegypti L. The insecticides-nine organophosphorus compounds, two chlorinated hydrocarbons, and one carbamate-were used at dosages that resulted in low insect mortalities, while the herbicides by themselves were nontoxic. Atrazine was most effective. With increasing amounts of this herbicide and constant amounts of some insecticides, increasing mortalities of fruit flies were observed. Exposure of the insects for 24 hours to carbofuran (0.5 microgram), p,p'-DDT [1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane] (4 micrograms), parathion (0.35 microgram), and diazinon (0.2 microgram) alone resulted in mortalities of 7.5, 9.5, 8, and 10.5 percent, respectively. Based on dosage mortality curves obtained with increasing amounts of atrazine, mortalities of 50 percent of the insect populations would have been achieved with 23, 40, 6, and 10 micrograms of atrazine added to the abovementioned dosages of carbofuran, DDT, parathion, and diazinon, respectively.
The self-dual type IIB superthreebrane

Abstract We find exact multi-threebrane soliton solutions of D=10 type IIB supergravity which break half the supersymmetries, and saturate a Bogomol'nyi bound between the mass per unit volume and a conserved Noether charge. Since the type IIB five-index field strength is self-dual, however, the “electric” Noether charge and the “magnetic” topological charge are equal and we comment on the Dirac quantization rule for such threebrane “dyons”. This self-dual threebrane represents a new point (d=4, D=10) on the brane-scan of supersymmetric extended objects. The gauge-fixed action on the worldvolume, corresponding to the zero modes of the soliton, is described by a four-dimensional Maxwell multiplet with N=4 non-linearly realized supersymmetries.
The evaluation of xylocaine as a new local anesthetic

T HE birth of modern local anesthesia took place with the demonstration by Keller of the anesthetic properties of cocaine in 1884, twenty-six years after it was isolated from the leaves of Erythroxylon coca by Niemann and Loessen. Alfred Einhorn in 1905 prepared Novocaine synthetically aft,er his discovery that local anesthetic action of cocaine is attributable to the combinstion of the benzoic acid radical and a basic nitrogen group. It was shortly after introduced into practice by Braun, who also, employing the principle suggested in 1885 by Corning, combined Novocaine with adrenalin, thus greatly multiplying its usefulness and creating the most satisfactory and least toxic of the many substitutes for cocaine. Novocaine, being entirely nonhabit forming, noncumulative, considerably less toxic than cocaine and any of its derivatives, possessing the highly commendable property of not causing tissue irrit,ation, when properly prepared and injected, being compatible with Adrenalin and readily soluble in isotonic salt solution, has practically fulfilled most of the principal requirements of an ideal local anesthetic agent. Since the discovery of Novocaine, a considerable number of substitute local anesthetics, mostly Novocaine derivatives were discovered, introduced, and tried, but because of one or more inherent faults, could not take thz place of Novocaine; their use was primarily limited either to direct application to sockets, burns, wounds, or ulcers, where the nerve ends may be exposed, or where surface or topical anesthesia is desirable. Among the principal reasons for the steadily continued search for a substitute for Novocaine remains the factor that while Novocaine, especially when it is combined with Adrenalin or some other vasoconstrictor, unquestionably possesses most of the requirements so highly desirable in a local anesthetic, it is equally true that it also lacks in some essential desirable qualifications. When it is used without being combined with a vasoconstrictor, its anesthetic property is quite ineffective, and when it is used with a vasoconstrictor, it not infrequently and unpredictably gives rise to various systemic side reactions. Its duration is brief for the more extensive surgical procedures
Rapid detection of arbuscular mycorrhizae in roots and soil of an intensively managed turfgrass system by PCR amplification of small subunit rDNA

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) were detected in uninoculated soil and roots of turfgrass (Agrostis palustris) by direct extraction and PCR amplification of the small subunit rRNA gene. Sequence analysis of the cloned PCR product confirmed the identity of the amplified DNA as an AMF sequence having 95% identity to Glomus intraradices. The sensitivity of the method was gauged by comparison with the most probable number analysis of infective propagules in an intensively managed turfgrass system having 56 propagules per 100 g soil. In contrast to the heavily managed system, infective propagule numbers were high in systems under moderate and limited management. The method described may be useful for rapid investigations of genetic diversity and community structure of AMF.
Thermal tides and Martian dust storms: Direct evidence for coupling

Evidence for the coupling of diurnal and semidiurnal thermal tides, observed as surface pressure oscillations at the Viking Lander 1 and 2 landing sites, to Martian global dust storms is presented and the implications for models of dust storm generation are discussed. Local atmospheric opacity increases and jumps in atmospheric pressure ranges were found to be essentially simultaneous, and diurnal and semidiurnal components of the pressure and wind oscillations were observed to increase markedly after the onset of a dust storm. The semidiurnal wind component can be related to the observed surface pressure variations by means of a model of a semidiurnally forced Ekman boundary layer. However, a classical atmospheric tidal model shows that the preferential enhancement of the semidiurnal surface pressure oscillation observed at the Lander 1 site can be produced by a tidal heating distribution in which most of the heating is done at an altitude above 10 km. Observations suggest that various mechanisms are important for the generation and decay of global Martian dust storms.
Linear redshift distortions and power in the IRAS Point Source Catalog Redshift Survey

We present a state-of-the-art linear redshift distortion analysis of the recently published IRAS Point Source Catalog Redshift Survey (PSCz). The procedure involves linear compression into 4096 Karhunen–Loeve (signal-to-noise) modes culled from a potential pool of ∼3×105 modes, followed by quadratic compression into three separate power spectra, the galaxy–galaxy, galaxy–velocity and velocity–velocity power spectra. Least squares-fitting to the decorrelated power spectra yields a linear redshift distortion parameter