cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evaluating consumptive and nonconsumptive predator effects on prey density using field time-series data.

Determining the degree to which predation affects prey abundance in natural communities constitutes a key goal of ecological research. Predators can affect prey through both consumptive effects (CEs) and nonconsumptive effects (NCEs), although the contributions of each mechanism to the density of prey populations remain largely hypothetical in most systems. Common statistical methods applied to time-series data cannot elucidate the mechanisms responsible for hypothesized predator effects on prey density (e.g., differentiate CEs from NCEs), nor can they provide parameters for predictive models. State-space models (SSMs) applied to time-series data offer a way to meet these goals. Here, we employ SSMs to assess effects of an invasive predatory zooplankter, Bythotrephes longimanus, on an important prey species, Daphnia mendotae, in Lake Michigan. We fit mechanistic models in an SSM framework to seasonal time series (1994-2012) using a recently developed, maximum-likelihood-based optimization method, iterated filtering, which can overcome challenges in ecological data (e.g., nonlinearities, measurement error, and irregular sampling intervals). Our results indicate that B. longimanus strongly influences D. mendotae dynamics, with mean annual peak densities of B. longimanus observed in Lake Michigan estimated to cause a 61% reduction in D. mendotae population growth rate and a 59% reduction in peak biomass density. Further, the observed B. longimanus effect is most consistent with an NCE via reduced birth rates. The SSM approach also provided estimates for key biological parameters (e.g., demographic rates) and the contribution of dynamic stochasticity and measurement error. Our study therefore provides evidence derived directly from survey data that the invasive zooplankter B. longimanus is affecting zooplankton demographics and offer parameter estimates needed to inform predictive models that explore the effect of B. longimanus under different scenarios, such as climate change.
Combination therapy improves vascular volume in female rats with pulmonary hypertension

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a female predominant disease in which progressive vascular remodeling and vasoconstriction result in right ventricular (RV) failure and death. Most PAH pati...
Automated Dynamic Detection of Self-Hiding Behavior

Certain Android applications, such as but not limited to malware, conceal their presence from the user, exhibiting a self-hiding behavior. Consequently, these apps put the user's security and privacy at risk by performing tasks without the user's awareness. Static analysis has been used to analyze apps for self-hiding behavior, but this approach is prone to false positives and suffers from code obfuscation. This research proposes a set of three tools utilizing a dynamic analysis method of detecting self-hiding behavior of an app in the home, installed, and running application lists on an Android emulator. Our approach proves both highly accurate and efficient, providing tools usable by the Android marketplace for enhanced security screening.
Artificial neural Networks to Evaluate Bank Financial Condition -- A Comparison of Relative Costs of Misclassification

This study compares the financial distress classification accuracy of two traditional analytical techniques for evaluating financial distress models: logit analysis and multiple discriminant analysis (MDA) to the less restrictive and non-parametric computer-aided techniques, Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). The study evaluates the techniques both for their overall classification accuracy and type I and type II misclassification rates. Five different ANNs were used because of their suitability for classification-type problems. The techniques were tested on select financial ratios on four areas of a bank's financial performance on 994 financially healthy and 145 financially distressed banks. The results indicated that logit and MDA to have lower overall error rates than ANNs. However, when the relative costs of misclassification were compared, ANNs, in general, performed better than logit and MDA.
ESTIMATION OF PARAMETERS IN AGE/SIZE STRUCTURE POPULATION MODELS

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the solution to the general inverse problem of estimation of growth, mortality, and recruitment rates from sequential observations of size distributions. The observations may be taken on timescales short enough that they do not contain distinct modes. Hence, the problem cannot be simply transformed to an age-structured problem. Before the formulation of procedures for the estimation of life history parameters from size distributions, it is useful to determine the dynamic effect that typical parameter value can have on the development of size distributions. Under appropriate assumptions, one can develop asymptotic distributional results for the residuals, thus allowing the development of statistical tests in the spirit of regression analysis to investigate goodness of fit-to-data of models.
The influence of whole-body vibration on heart rate, stride length, and bone mineral content in the mature exercising horse

Research in humans suggests whole-body vibration (WBV) aids in maintaining bone mineral content (BMC) yet results in the horse are less favourable. Anecdotally, WBV is reported to reduce pain and i...
Abstract 5011: Exercise prevents late Doxorubicin-induced vascular damage, decreases late-onset heart failure and fibrosis, and improved recovery from MI

Background Doxorubicin (Dox) is one of the most effective chemotherapy agents used to treat children and adolescent with cancer. However the use of Dox is associated with cardiac toxicities classified as acute (fibrosis and fractional shortening), early-onset (chronic dilated cardiomyopathy), and late-onset (left ventricular dysfunction and congestive heart failure). Cardiovascular disease leading to heart failure is one of the most common late effects that compromise QOL and the long-term survival of Pediatric cancer patients. We investigated whether exercise during and after Dox will prevent late-onset heart failure and allow better recovery following myocardial infarction (MI). Methods Exercise during and after Dox and myocardial infarction (MI): 4 week old nude mice were divided into 4 groups (10 mice/group): Control (saline, no exercise); Dox alone (2.5mg/kg, 2x/week for 2 weeks); exercise (EX) alone (treadmill walking for 45 minutes @ 12m/min x5 days/week); Dox+ EX during and for 12wks after therapy. Echocardiography was performed before and at the end of the study. To investigate if exercise allows better recovery following an ischemic event, mice were subjected to MI by permanent ligation of the left anterior descending artery (LAD). Heart function post MI was monitored by echocardiography and survival rate was quantified at 6 weeks. Heart vessel morphology, vascular architecture, and deposition of fibrosis were evaluated by histology. Results EX during and after Dox therapy prevented Dox-induced vascular damage (closed lumens, decreased pericytes), the deterioration of cardiac function (reduction of Ejection Fraction and Fractional Shortening) 12 weeks after therapy, prevented Dox-induced deposition of collagen in the left ventricular wall resulting in myocardial fibrosis, and prevented thinning of left ventricular wall post MI. Dox treated mice had an increased susceptible to MI. The survival rate of Dox treated mice was 22.2% compared to 66.7% for the Dox+Exer mice. Exercise initiated during and after therapy decreased Dox-induced late cardiac damage and improved survival rate following cardiac ischemia. Conclusion EX has the potential to decrease Dox-induced late cardiotoxicity resulting in an increased ability to recover from an ischemic event. EX reduced the sensitivity to this physiologic event. This would be a beneficial strategy for bone sarcoma patients who have an increased incidence of late cardiotoxicity. Our data indicate that EX interventions may decrease the risk of developing cardiac disease at an early age in childhood cancer survivors. Citation Format: Fei Wang, Eugenie S. Kleinerman. Exercise prevents late Doxorubicin-induced vascular damage, decreases late-onset heart failure and fibrosis, and improved recovery from MI [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 5011.
Evaluating the association between unmet healthcare needs and subsequent clinical outcomes: protocol for the Addressing Post-Intensive Care Syndrome-01 (APICS-01) multicentre cohort study.

Introduction As short-term mortality declines for critically ill patients, a growing number of survivors face long-term physical, cognitive and/or mental health impairments. After hospital discharge, many critical illness survivors require an in-depth plan to address their healthcare needs. Early after hospital discharge, numerous survivors experience inadequate care or a mismatch between their healthcare needs and what is provided. Many patients are readmitted to the hospital, have substantial healthcare resource use and experience long-lasting morbidity. The objective of this study is to investigate the gap in healthcare needs occurring immediately after hospital discharge and its association with hospital readmissions or death for survivors of acute respiratory failure (ARF). Methods and analysis In this multicentre prospective cohort study, we will enrol 200 survivors of ARF in the intensive care unit (ICU) who are discharged directly home from their acute care hospital stay. Unmet healthcare needs, the primary exposure of interest, will be evaluated as soon as possible within 1 to 4 weeks after hospital discharge, via a standardised telephone assessment. The primary outcome, death or hospital readmission, will be measured at 3 months after discharge. Secondary outcomes (eg, quality of life, cognitive impairment, depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder) will be measured as part of 3-month and 6-month telephone-based follow-up assessments. Descriptive statistics will be reported for the exposure and outcome variables along with a propensity score analysis, using inverse probability weighting for the primary exposure, to evaluate the relationship between the primary exposure and outcome. Ethics and dissemination The study received ethics approval from Vanderbilt University Medical Center Institutional Review Board (IRB) and the University of Utah IRB (for the Veterans Affairs site). These results will inform both clinical practice and future interventional trials in the field. We plan to disseminate the results in peer-reviewed journals, and via national and international conferences. Trial registration details ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03738774). Registered before enrollment of the first patient.
Gendered Islamophobia: The Overlapping Parallels of Hindu and Buddhist Nationalism in South Asia

This article explores the overlapping grievances of Hindu and Buddhist nationalists in India and Sri Lanka and associated violence. Although the organization and tactics of the nationalist groups vary, they express similar concerns about perceived Muslim expansionism and existential threats to Hindu and Buddhist identity. The findings in this article draw upon field research in India and Sri Lanka, including interviews with Hindu and Buddhist nationalist leaders, community activists, and Muslim minorities. The interviews are supplemented with findings from a database of violent anti-Muslim acts in both countries from 2013-2019. This time period coincides with the electoral rise of Hindu and Buddhist nationalist parties and anti-Muslim violence in both countries.
Middle Fossa Encephaloceles Treated via the Transmastoid Approach: A Case Series and Review of the Literature.

BACKGROUND Middle fossa (MF) encephaloceles are rare lesions resulting from herniation through defects in the tegmen tympani or mastoideum. Underlying etiologies and clinical presentations are variable. Surgical goals include fistula obliteration, resection of nonfunctioning parenchyma, and dehiscence repair. The middle cranial fossa approach (MCFA), transmastoid approach (TMA), and combined (MCFA + TMA) approaches have been described. The minimally invasive TMA provides excellent exposure of the pathology and allows for ample working room to repair the defect. OBJECTIVE To present short-term follow-up results in patients treated via the TM repair at our institution. METHODS A retrospective review of patients with symptomatic encephaloceles treated via the TMA by our multidisciplinary team. Patient demographics, clinical presentations, intraoperative findings, repair technique, and outcomes were highlighted. RESULTS A total of 16 encephaloceles in 13 patients were treated. Defect etiologies included spontaneous (50.0%), secondary to chronic infection (25.0%), or cholesteatoma (18.8%). Defects were most often within the tegmen mastoideum (68.8%). Average length of surgery was 3.3 h (95% CI: 2.86-3.67) and length of stay 3.9 d (95% CI: 3.09-4.79). On short-term follow-up (average 11.5 mo), no patients experienced postoperative cerebrospinal fluid leak or recurrence. The majority of patients (83.3%) experienced confirmed improvement or stabilization of hearing. CONCLUSION MF encephaloceles present with various clinical manifestations and result from multiple underlying etiologies. The TMA is an alternative to craniotomy and our short-term results suggest that this approach may be utilized effectively in appropriately selected cases.
Reliability and Validity of the UMove Mobility Screen.

Background and purpose The UMove Mobility Screen (UMove) was developed to help bedside nurses accurately assess patient's mobility. Objectives The purpose of this study was to assess reliability and validity of the UMove. Methods Interclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and alpha coefficient was completed to assess was based on internal consistency and inter-rater reliability. Construct validity was determined by ICC using two-way random model. Results Among the 176 participants the mean age was 57 years (SD = 15), and 60% were men (N = 105). Internal consistency and inter-rater reliability were acceptable (alpha coefficient of .94 and an intraclass correlation of .98). There was evidence of construct validity with an intraclass correlation of .95 between the UMove and the standard therapists' evaluation of patient functional mobility. Conclusions There was evidence for reliability and validity of UMove. Future work should focus on the effectiveness of UMove on clinical outcomes.
Nosocomial COVID-19 infection in women undergoing elective cesarean delivery: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic placed obstetricians in a difficult position of continuing to perform elective cesarean delivery without the knowledge of the risk of the spread of nosocomial infection of the COVID-19 virus. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to determine the nosocomial infection rate in women undergoing elective cesarean delivery at 2 academic institutions. STUDY DESIGN This nonrandomized prospective cohort trial evaluated patients undergoing elective cesarean delivery during the reopening phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state of New York at 2 large volume labor and delivery units. Eligible patients with a negative preoperative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction test and immunoglobulin G antibody test for COVID-19 were retested 6 to 9 days after discharge. The primary objective was the COVID-19 test conversion rate defined as a positive polymerase chain reaction test for SARS-CoV-2 after discharge with a negative preoperative test. This was used as a proxy for the nosocomial infection rate. RESULTS A total of 136 patients were screened for participation. Of these patients, 2 tested positive for COVID-19 on preoperative testing, and 25 declined to participate. Overall, 111 patients consented to participate, and 96 patients underwent both preoperative and postoperative testing. No patient with a negative polymerase chain reaction test preoperatively, had a positive polymerase chain reaction test for the COVID-19 virus postoperatively. CONCLUSION With strict and methodical perioperative and postpartum protocols, we can limit nosocomial COVID-19 infection in women undergoing elective cesarean delivery.
Blast Capsule: An Embedded Pressure Sensing System for Internal Blast Pressure Measurement

The mechanisms of blast injury in air and water have not been fully elucidated. Understanding how a certain dose of blast energy leads to injury is essential to develop accurate and usable safe standoff distance guidance. Such guidance is important for those who work with and around explosives. This information can also be beneficial for environmental concerns, potentially mitigating blast injuries in marine and terrestrial animals. Improved technologies to accurately measure blast energy dosage and relate it to observed injury are needed. We demonstrate a functioning prototype of an ingestible capsule that measures the internal pressures that occur within an organism due to underwater or in-air blast exposure. The capsule has a form factor similar to devices used for capsule endoscopy. It was tested with pressure waves delivered by indirect Hopkinson bar impacts and small explosive blasting caps. The capsule effectively captured pressure wave signals and recorded peak pressures as close as 9% of a reference sensor's recorded signal. Throughout the testing process, the device also underwent design revision to further its effectiveness and reliability. The successful operation of this capsule is a first step toward more robust experiments that will better quantify the amount of blast energy that leads to an observed injury.
From Coronaries to Cirrhosis: The Role of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention and Dual Antiplatelet Therapy in End-Stage Liver Disease

Drug-eluting stents (DES) have superior efficacy compared with bare metal stents (BMS) for treatment of coronary artery lesions. However, BMS continue to play an important role in percutaneous coronary intervention for patients who are at a high bleeding risk, because they require a shorter duration of dual antiplatelet therapy. However, new developments in DES and understanding of the optimal time required for dual antiplatelet therapy after percutaneous coronary intervention may further limit the use of BMS. Furthermore, the use of dual antiplatelet therapy is complicated in patients with cirrhosis, who may have coagulopathy. In this article, we present the case of a patient with cirrhosis and end-stage chronic liver disease with coronary artery disease and a proximal left anterior descending stenosis who received a DES and had multiple episodes of gastrointestinal bleeding. We review the literature addressing DES and BMS in patients at high risk of bleeding. We also review the optimal duration of dual antiplatelet therapy.
Effects of birds ingesting Heterodera rostochiensis cysts on viability of eggs and larvae.

Rate of passage through the digestive systems and effects of ingestion on viability of contents of cysts of Heterodera rostochiensis were determined in feeding trials with pigeons, thrushes, starlings, cowbirds, sparrows, and quails. Depending upon species of birds, 12-82% of the cysts ingested passed through the digestive system within 0.5 h. Pigeons required 6 h for complete evacuation. All other birds cmnpletely evacuated ingested cysts from their digestive systems within 3 h. Contents of cysts were nonviable if they were retained in the digestive system of starlings for more than 1.5 h, pigeons more than 1 h, or other birds more than 0.5 h. Cyst contents were nonviable if they remained in contact with excreta from cowbirds or quails for 4 h, thrushes for 96 h, or other species for 72 h after passage. Viability of contents of cysts was inversely related to exposure to excreta-filtrate concentration. Larvae failed to emerge from cysts that were exposed to a 25% concentration of excreta filtrate from starlings, 50% concentration from pigeons or thrushes, or 100% concentration of excreta filtrates from each of the other species. Cysts that were subjected to 44 C (avg. body temperature of cowbirds) for more than 3.5 h were nonviable. Cysts that passed through birds and collected with excrement on polyethylene or soil produced no infective larvae on potato. Key H:ords: Spread of nematodes, pigeons, thrushes, starlings, cowbirds, sparrows, quails.
Rules of engagement: the joint influence of trainer expressiveness and trainee experiential learning style on engagement and training transfer

We investigated the joint effect of trainer expressiveness and trainee experiential learning style on training transfer intentions. Extending prior research where trainer expressiveness has been established as a positive predictor of transfer, we show that trainer expressiveness is more impactful for trainees with high (vs. low) experiential learning styles. Based on our findings, trainees' experiential styles – also related to one's intuition – emerge as important enhancers of transfer intentions, and should be considered in future research and when assigning trainees to learning. In addition, we found that the effect of trainer expressiveness on transfer intentions is mediated by trainee engagement.
Formal Models of Heavy-Tailed Behavior in Combinatorial Search

Recently, it has been found that the cost distributions of randomized backtrack search in combinatorial domains are often heavytailed. Such heavy-tailed distributions explain the high variability observed when using backtrack-style procedures. A good understanding of this phenomenon can lead to better search techniques. For example, restart strategies provide a good mechanism for eliminating the heavy-tailed behavior and boosting the overall search performance. Several state-of-the-art SAT solvers now incorporate such restart mechanisms. The study of heavy-tailed phenomena in combinatorial search has so far been been largely based on empirical data. We introduce several abstract tree search models, and show formally how heavy-tailed cost distribution can arise in backtrack search. We also discuss how these insights may facilitate the development of better combinatorial search methods.
Credit Cards, Race, and Entrepreneurship *

We use the decision by 14 states to remove credit card interest rate caps after the U.S. Supreme Court's 1978 Marquette decision as a natural experiment to explore the impact of credit card availability on black entrepreneurship, which we contrast to the impact of bank branching deregulation. We use Current Population Survey data from 1971-1985 to show that removing state-level credit card interest rate caps increased transitions into self-employment among black individuals. There was no corresponding increase for black individuals following bank branching deregulation. We provide additional evidence that the impact was larger in states with a history of discrimination. Our findings suggest that credit cards were a mechanism that black entrepreneurs used to overcome financial barriers to entry due to discrimination in lending.
Using Distributional Analysis to Semantically Classify UMLS Concepts

The UMLS is a widely used and comprehensive knowledge source in the biomedical domain. It specifies biomedical concepts and their semantic categories, and therefore is valuable for Natural Language Processing (NLP) and other knowledge-based systems. However, the UMLS semantic classification is not always accurate, which adversely affects performance of these systems. Therefore, it is desirable to automatically validate, or, when necessary, to semantically reclassify UMLS concepts. We applied a distributional similarity method based on syntactic dependencies and -skew divergence to classify concepts in the T033 Finding class in order to determine which ones were biologic functions or disorders. A gold standard of 100 randomly sampled concepts was created that was based on a majority annotation of three experts. Precision of 0.54 and recall of 0.654 was achieved by the top prediction; precision of 0.64 and recall of 0.769 was achieved by the top 2 predictions. Error analysis revealed problems in the current method, and provided insight into future improvements.
Role of exogenous acid and retransfusion in hemorrhagic shock-induced gastric lesions in the rat

The separate roles of exogenous acid, ischemia, and retransfusion of shed blood on gastric lesion formation in the rat hemorrhagic shock model were studied. In addition, the role of oxyradicals in lesion formation in this model was studied. Intragastric HCl increased gastric mucosal lesion formation in a dose-dependent manner. Even in the absence of intragastric HCl, ischemia followed by retransfusion of shed blood caused histologic mucosal injury in the corpus and antrum. Allopurinol, a xanthine oxidase inhibitor that prevents oxyradical formation, slightly, but significantly, reduced the gastric mucosal injury induced by ischemia-reperfusion but not that induced by ischemia alone. There was no significant difference in the extent of damage caused by ischemia-reperfusion and ischemia alone. We conclude that exogenous acid, ischemia, and oxyradical formation after retransfusion of shed blood are all important interacting factors in the rat hemorrhagic shock model of gastric mucosal injury. Allopurinol, by inhibiting formation of the oxyradical component, significantly protects against the injury.
The Detection of a Cooling Flow Elliptical Galaxy from O VI Emission

Cooling flow models for the hot gas in elliptical galaxies predict that gas is cooling at a rate of ~1 M☉ yr-1, yet there is little evidence for this phenomenon beyond the X-ray wave band. If hot gas is cooling, it will pass through the 3 × 105 K regime and radiate in the O VI λλ1032, 1038 ultraviolet lines, which can be detected with the Far-Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE), and here we report on FUSE observations of the X-ray bright early-type galaxies NGC 1404 and NGC 4636. In NGC 1404, the O VI doublet is not detected, implying a cooling rate less than 0.3 M☉ yr-1, which is below the predicted values from the cooling flow model of 0.4-0.9 M☉ yr-1. In NGC 4636, both O VI lines are clearly detected, indicating a cooling rate of 0.43 ± 0.06 M☉ yr-1, which falls within the range of values from the cooling flow prediction, 0.36-2.3 M☉ yr-1, and is closest to the model where the production of the cooled gas is distributed through the galaxy. The emission-line widths, 44 ± 15 km s-1, are close to the Doppler broadening value (30 km s-1), indicating that the flow is quiescent rather than turbulent and that the flow velocity is less than 30 km s-1.
Flexible kinship: caring for AIDS orphans in rural Lesotho

HIV/AIDS has devastated families in rural Lesotho, leaving many children orphaned. Families have adapted to the increase in the number of orphans and HIV-positive children in ways that provide children with the best possible care. Though local ideas about kinship and care are firmly rooted in patrilineal social organization, in practice, maternal caregivers, often grandmothers, are increasingly caring for orphaned children. Negotiations between affinal kin capitalize on flexible kinship practices in order to legitimate new patterns of care, which have shifted towards a model that often favours matrilocal practices of care in the context of idealized patrilineality.
Meitokuki: Spirit Pacification and Political Legitimacy in the Late Medieval Japanese Epic

Meitokuki (1392–1396) is the first of a very small group of pieces of Japanese battle literature produced in the 15th and 16th centuries identified as gunki monogatari or epic. One of the chief characteristics of this genre is the relationship to the Kaku'ichi version of the Heike monogatari (by 1371), with which it shares descriptions of salvation/spirit pacification, especially that represented by the story of Kumagai Naozane and Taira Atsumori. Hyōdō Hiromi has proposed that the third Ashikaga shogun 1) assumed the position of head of the Minamoto clan, and 2) took over control of the guild of performers of the Kaku'ichi Heike in order to use the text as an assertion of political legitimacy and 3) to pacify the vengeful spirits of the dead killed in the process of consolidating Ashikaga power, which was his responsibility as clan chief. As a much smaller text with a much shorter performance history, the Meitokuki can be used to test the thesis that gunki monogatari were actually used in pacification rituals. The article examines the content and circulation of the Meitokuki to reevaluate the religious function of the text.
The Voices of Accepting and Supportive Parents of Gay Sons

Abstract In order to uncover personal attributes and systemic influences involved in being accepting and supportive of their sons' gay identities, 14 members of a chapter of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays were invited to describe their coming out processes as parents of gay sons. A qualitative approach examined parental definitions of acceptance, the parents' relationships with their sons, the parents' renditions of their coming out processes, and ecosystemic influences on the parents' coming out processes. Ethnographic content analysis suggested that the relevant attributes of parental personalities and their proximal environments were similar in this sample including emotional investment in the people involved, openness to new realities, and the capacity to find and use resources.
From NIMBY to acceptance: Toward a novel framework — VESPA — For organizing and interpreting community concerns

Despite the prevailing national support for renewable energy development, the installation of wind energy turbines at the local level is often met with resistance. Opposition is commonly attributed to NIMBYism (Not-In-My-Back-Yard), which implies selfishness, ignorance, and irrationality on behalf of residents. This article examines the factors that lead to community support and opposition. Based on an in-depth literature review and surveys conducted in three Massachusetts towns, the author discards NIMBY as a valid explanation and proposes a novel framework (VESPA) for organizing community concerns into four categories—visual/landscape, environmental, socioeconomic, and procedural. By comprehensively assessing local concerns, VESPA seeks to help policy makers approach communities more effectively and thereby achieve wider acceptance of wind installations.
Yielding of polymers filled with large‐diameter particles

The yield stress of a polymer filled with rigid filler particles much larger than 5 μm is affected by the single-particle debonding stress at large volume fractions of filler. This relationship holds up to a limiting modulus based on the size of the polymer chains of the binder. An elastic yield energy, or resilience, is defined. Within the limits of the yield stress equation, this yield energy is constant over a wide range of strain rates and temperatures at high volume fractions of filler. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 85: 455–466, 2002
Insulator Film Thickness to Fix the Spacing between Electrodes to Molecular Length Scale

Successful fabrication of reliable and scalable molecular electrodes is a major challenge in the making practical molecular electronics devices. Most of the present day molecular electrodes suffer with short circuit, scalability, and reproducibility problems. Moreover only few metals, gold (Au) is the mostly used one, can be utilized due to limitations with current molecular electrode design. We have come up with a new approach that is not only reliable but also allows the use of wide range of metals, including magnetic metals, in molecular electrodes. We have prepared novel molecular electrodes utilizing the exposed edge of metal-insulator-metal cross junction. As much as 50 fold increase over bare tunnel junction current was noticed following molecule attachment. The molecular electrodes with as high as 90% yield and 10 months long device life, were produced by using optical photolithography and sputtering deposition method. Major obstacle in the fabrication of molecular electrode was the adverse effects of mechanical stresses on the stability on ~2nm insulator barrier used in the tunnel junctions.
In vitro binding of [14C]2,5-hexanedione to rat neuronal cytoskeletal proteins.

2,5-Hexanedione (2,5-HD) induces central-peripheral axonpathy characterized by the accumulation of 10-nm neurofilaments proximal to the nodes of Ranvier and a Wallerian-type degeneration. It has been postulated that neurofilament crosslinking may be involved in the production of this axonopathy. A potential initiating event in this neurotoxic process may be the direct binding of 2,5-HD to neurofilament and microtubule proteins. In this study, the in vitro binding of [14C]2,5-HD to neurofilament and microtubule proteins was examined. Neurofilament proteins isolated from rat spinal cord or microtubule proteins isolated from rat brain were incubated in the presence of 2,5-HD at concentrations ranging 25 to 500 mM. Quantitative analysis of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) polyacrylamide gels revealed a dose- and time-dependent binding of 2,5-HD to both neurofilament proteins and microtubule proteins. Expressed as pmol 2,5-HD bound per μg protein, the observed relative binding was MAP2>NF160>NF200>NF68>tubulin. These data demonstrate the direct binding of 2,5-HD to cytoskeletal proteins including both neurofilaments and microtubules.
Meanings of Skill: Effects of Abacus Expertise on Number Representation

Research on expertise has focused on the amount and organization of domain-relevant knowledge as the key feature distinguishing experts from novices. The representations of experts are described as being more functionally organized as well as more detailed than those of novices. There are two different senses in which knowledge could become more functionally organized with expertise. The knowledge of experts could become more functionally organized with respect to the execution of skill, or their knowledge could become more functionally oriented with respect to contexts broader than their particular skill. Abacus skill provides a domain in which these two alternatives can be evaluated. The first alternative, conceptual determination by skill, implies that abacus experts' representations of numbers should emphasize the features that are functional in their calculation strategies. The second alternative, conceptual transparency, implies that experts should not emphasize abacus-specific features when judging similarity of numbers, giving less weight than novices to abacus features when judging abacus representations and no more weight than novices to abacus features when judging numerals. Conceptual transparency occurs when those features important in performing a skill are judged to be of little significance in understanding the skill. Number similarity judgments of abacus experts and novices from Taiwan and American children of comparable ages indicted that abacus skill was associated with a deemphasis of those features that are unique to the abacus. Implications of the phenomenon of conceptual transparency for models of skill development are discussed.
Between Micro-Politics and Administrative Imperatives: Decentralisation and the Watershed Mission in Madhya Pradesh, India

This essay examines the Watershed Development Mission in Madhya Pradesh, India, where the pressure to show tangible ‘success’, combined with the bureaucratic imperative to retain control, subverts the decentralised structure of participatory resource management. Project and funding imperatives have helped to undermine the very processes that they purport to support. Yet decentralised management is not simply empty rhetoric, but rather its success or subversion depends on the active collaboration of the state government and villagers. Villagers and lower-level bureaucrats bring diverse agendas and perspectives to development projects, co-opting new institutions and assimilating them into ongoing individual and collective projects of social survival and gain. In conclusion, ways to improve accountability in resource management are suggested.
Suppression by reinforcement, a model for multiple-schedule behavioral contrast.

The present paper argues that multiple-schedule behavioral contrast occurs because delayed reinforces suppress behavior. According to this idea, some reinforcers delivered in the second component of a multiple schedule suppress responding during the first component because they follow that responding after a delay. Removing second-component reinforcers removes suppression from the first component and response rates rise, creating positive contrast. Adding second-component reinforcers adds suppression and response rates fall, creating negative contrast. The paper shows that this idea is consistent with the major findings in the contrast literature.
A circadian rhythm in RNA in the dinoflagellate,Gonyaulax polyedra

The total RNA in stationary phase cultures of the dinoflagellate,Gonyaulax polyedra, in continuous light showed a well-defined circadian rhythm, as measured by the fluorescence of cells stained with acridine orange. The maximum RNA was found at CT 18 and was followed by a sharp drop in RNA content. The rhythm in RNA content could be phase-shifted by light in the same way as the rhythm in bioluminescence. Ribosomal RNA synthesis, as measured by the incorporation of32P into extracted RNA, was also rhythmic. New RNAs appeared at CT 18, as shown by acrylamide/agarose gel electrophoresis. Three to four hours later these RNAs had disappeared. These findings suggest a role of transcription in the expression of circadian rhythmicity inGonyaulax.
Loss of tumorigenicity correlates with a reduction in pp60src kinase activity in a revertant subclone of avian sarcoma virus-infected field vole cells.

Abstract We have recently isolated an interesting revertant subclone (revertant 866-4) of ESV-infected field vole cells that is indistinguishable from uninfected vole cells with respect to its lack of transformed cell properties. These revertants are not only normal morphologically, but they do not grow in soft agar and are nontumorigenic in athymic nude mice. Despite this lack of transformed cell properties, we have found that this cell line still contains pp60 src at concentrations (0.30 μg/mg cell protein) similar to those (0.13–0.42 μg/mg cell protein) found in transformed and morphologically reverted, but tumorigenic vole cells (partial revertants). However, the most interesting aspect of this newly isolated subclone is the marked reduction in its pp60 src kinase activity (2–3%) when compared with the specific activity of pp60 src immunoprecipitated from transformed and partially revertant vole cell lines. Since the reduction in pp60 src kinase activity strongly correlates with the loss of tumorigenicity in this particular revertant cell line, these data support the contention that this enzymatic activity is a crucial factor in the tumorigenic conversion of cells by avian sarcoma virus. Proteolytic peptide analysis of the structure of pp60 src from revertant 866–4 indicates that it is similar to pp60 src obtained from avian sarcoma virus-transformed chick embryo fibroblasts. Moreover, the reduction in kinase activity does not appear to be due to a lack of phosphorylation of the tyrosine residue in pp60 src . Thus neither an obvious structural alteration nor a reduction in phosphorylation of pp60 src appears responsible for the reduced kinase activity observed, suggesting that some as of yet undetermined feature of pp60 src can influence the pp60 src phosphorylating event.
Silicon-on-insulator-based photonic-crystal mach-zehnder interferometers

Si nanophotonics is anticipated to play a critical role in the future ultra-compact system integration due to the maturity of sub-micron silicon complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. Photonic crystals (PhCs) provide a promising platform for developing novel optoelectronic devices with significantly reduced device size and power consumption. The active control of photonic crystal waveguides (PCWs) incorporated in Mach-Zehnder interferometers has been investigated in this paper. We designed and fabricated a PCW based silicon thermo-optic (TO) switch operating at 1.55 μm. A novel device structure was proposed to enhance the heat exchange efficiency between the source and the active PCW region, which resulted in a faster switching time (< 20μs) compared with the conventional structure. The required π phase shift between the two arms of the MZI has been successfully achieved within an 80 μm interaction distance. The maximum modulation depth of 84% was demonstrated for switching power of 78mW. For high-speed applications, a p-i-n structure based PCW electro-optical (EO) MZI modulator was proposed. The transient performance of such a device was evaluated using a two-dimensional semiconductor device simulator MEDICI. The simulated structure demonstrated a great potential to realize high-speed ultra-compact Si modulators in the GHz region.
Haemolysis and intravascular coagulation due to incompatible red cell transfusion in isoimmunized monkeys.

Abstract : Ten monkeys were selected at random and divided into two groups for convenience in immunization. Each monkey was given an intramuscular injection of a mixture of red cells suspended in complete Freund's adjuvant from the five animals in its group. After 6 weeks a second injection in incomplete Freund's was given. Serial crossmatches were performed at 37C, 4C, and with rabbit antimonkey Coombs serum. All animals developed antibody to red cells from at least one of the five donors, and several against all four nonautologous donors. Antibody concentrations peaked at 3 to 4 weeks after initial injection. Subsequent immunizations produced higher and longer lived titers. Cold agglutinins frequently appeared before warm agglutinins and often decreased in titer as the others rose. Hemolysins were seen frequently. Transfusion reactions between incompatible pairs followed intravenous injections of 10% of recipients' red cell masses as 51Cr tagged cells. Major reactions occurred in five of seven animals and consisted of complete destruction of infused cells within 5 minutes: hemoglobinuria, hemoglobinemia, oliguria, anuria in one case, and the disseminated intravascular coagulation syndrome in three cases. The remaining two animals had extravascular destruction of the transfused blood and exhibited no coagulation changes. Stroma from red cells disrupted within the circulation probably initiates intravascular coagulation. This response may be conditioned by the functional state of the reticuloendothelial system. (Author)
Transcription factor GATA-3 is required for development of the T-cell lineage.

THE zinc-finger transcription factor GATA-3 is expressed in haematopoietic cells and in the developing kidney and nervous system1–7. Within the haematopoietic lineages, expression of GATA-3 is restricted to thymocytes and T cells. Functionally important GATA-3 binding sites have been identified in multiple T-cell-specific genes1,6–8. Mice containing homozygous null mutations of the GATA-3 gene die on embryonic day 12, precluding a detailed assessment of the role of GATA-3 in haematopoietic development9. Here we have used murine embryonic stem (ES) cells containing homozygous mutations in the GATA-3 gene (GATA-3−/− ) in conjunction with the RAG-2−/− (ref. 10) and C57BL/6 complementation systems to study the role of GATA-3 in mammalian haematopoiesis. Our results show that GATA-3−/− ES cells can contribute to the development of the mature ery-throid, myelomonocytic and B-cell lineages, but fail to give rise to thymocytes or mature peripheral T cells. The differentiation of GATA-3−/−T cells is blocked at or before the earliest double-negative (CD4−/CD8−) stage of thymocyte development, such that the GATA-3−/− ES cells are unable to contribute measurably to the double-negative thymocyte population. These findings suggest that GATA-3 is an essential and specific regulator of early thymocyte development.
Four Terminal Equivalent Circuits of Parametric Diodes

Four terminal equivalent circuits of variable capacitance (parametric) diodes used in various configurations of converters and amplifiers are presented. These equivalent circuits are derived from small signal approximations for the non-linear dynamic capacitance of a diode. The cases considered involve three frequencies, namely input and output signal frequencies and pumping frequency for converters or input signal frequency, idler and pumping frequencies for amplifiers.
Humidity sensation requires both mechanosensory and thermosensory pathways in Caenorhabditis elegans.

All terrestrial animals must find a proper level of moisture to ensure their health and survival. The cellular-molecular basis for sensing humidity is unknown in most animals, however. We used the model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans to uncover a mechanism for sensing humidity. We found that whereas C. elegans showed no obvious preference for humidity levels under standard culture conditions, worms displayed a strong preference after pairing starvation with different humidity levels, orienting to gradients as shallow as 0.03% relative humidity per millimeter. Cell-specific ablation and rescue experiments demonstrate that orientation to humidity in C. elegans requires the obligatory combination of distinct mechanosensitive and thermosensitive pathways. The mechanosensitive pathway requires a conserved DEG/ENaC/ASIC mechanoreceptor complex in the FLP neuron pair. Because humidity levels influence the hydration of the worm’s cuticle, our results suggest that FLP may convey humidity information by reporting the degree that subcuticular dendritic sensory branches of FLP neurons are stretched by hydration. The thermosensitive pathway requires cGMP-gated channels in the AFD neuron pair. Because humidity levels affect evaporative cooling, AFD may convey humidity information by reporting thermal flux. Thus, humidity sensation arises as a metamodality in C. elegans that requires the integration of parallel mechanosensory and thermosensory pathways. This hygrosensation strategy, first proposed by Thunberg more than 100 y ago, may be conserved because the underlying pathways have cellular and molecular equivalents across a wide range of species, including insects and humans.
Anion Contributions to the Electrical Conductivity of Alkali Chlorides

The measured electrical conductivity of pure RbCl is separated into the usual anion and cation contributions with activation energies of 2.55 and 1.58 eV, respectively. By comparison with corresponding results for KCl and NaCl it is found that the alkali-chloride anion and cation activation energies differ most for nearly equal anion and cation radii. We conclude from this anomalous trend that an extension of conventional theory is required.
A two-color photometric method for detection of extra-solar planetary systems

Abstract The transit of a star by a dark companion or planet results in a characteristic colorimetric “signature,” which should be detectable by photometric means. This signature, which is due to differential limb darkening in red and blue light, takes the form of a slight shift towards the blue as the planet crosses the limb of the star, followed by an abnormal reddening during the transit of the center region of the star, and finally another shift towards the blue as the planet approaches the far limb. An analysis of this signature, the probabilities of detecting such transits (using the solar system as a model), and possible instrumentation for this purpose are discussed. A system designed to yield one or more planetary detections per year is believed to be feasible at moderate cost. Such a system would consist of three wide-field telescopes, at well-separated sites, slaved to a central computer. Each telescope would be equipped with a two-color photometer employing an image dissector under computer control for tracking and rapid switching between program stars without requiring frequent resetting of the instrument. Each telescope would survey an independent sample of stars on a rapid rotation cycle, until one of the telescopes detected an unusual transient, at which time all three would be used to provide additional data and increased reliability as a coincidence detection system.