cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Embryogenic Callus Induction and Regeneration in a Pentaploid Hybrid Bermudagrass cv. Tifton 85

Hybrid bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. x C. transvaalensis Burtt Davy] cv. Tifton 85 is a major forage grass in the southeastern USA that suffers severe yield losses because of insect damage. A facile, cultivar-specific regeneration protocol is required to pursue genetic improvement of Tifton 85 for incorporating insect resistance into this valuable forage crop. An efficient regeneration system that uses somatic embryogenesis from immature inflorescences of Tifton 85 has been established. Young, immature inflorescence explants proved to be an excellent source for obtaining embryogenic callus, as opposed to apical merislems and nodal segments. Embryogenic callus with demonstrable morphogenetic competence was obtained on MS basal medium containing 30 g L -1 sucrose, 4 mg L -1 ; 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic add (2,4-D), 0.01 mg L -1 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) and 200 mg L -1 casein hydrolysate. The regenerants were rooted on hormone free MS basal medium supplemented with 30 g L -1 sucrose, successfully established in soil under greenhouse conditions, and did not show any phenotypic differences compared with wild-type Tifton 85 plants.
An opportunity: critical care beyond the intensive care unit.

Introduction:Development of formal systems of critical care follow-up is an essential expansion of critical care services.Background:The impact of critical illness and intensive care services extends beyond the temporal and physical confines of critical care units. With the exception of neonatalogy,
Familial aspects of CT scan abnormalities in chronic schizophrenic patients

To investigate the possibility that lateral cerebral ventricular size may be under genetic control, we compared the computed tomography (CT) scans of 17 healthy siblings from 7 normal sibships. The CT scans of 10 chronic schizophrenic patients and 12 of their nonschizophrenic siblings were also compared. A trend was found for a correlation of ventricular size between siblings in the healthy sibships (ICC = 0.25, p = 0.1) but not in the schizophrenic sibships (ICC = -0.05). In each sibship the schizophrenic patient had the largest ventricles; in seven cases they exceeded the normal range. Although the discordant siblings were all well within the normal range, their ventricles were larger (p = 0.001) than those of the controls. The findings suggest a genetic component to ventricular size in healthy individuals and that CT findings in schizophrenics are not coincidental familial traits but markers of the illness. The implications of the findings in the discordant siblings are discussed.
Interpretation of null values in database machine architecture

Abstract Missing or incomplete data continues to be a common problem in the data processing environment. Hardware solutions to the database problem, namely the database machines, must be able to provide an adequate solution to handling missing data in order to compete with current software solutions. We examine the optimal level of interpreting missing data values in the database machine - the Associative Search Language Machine (ASLM). Two approaches are identified and an analytical evaluation of the two methods is given.
The Distributional Effects of U.S. Textile and Apparel Protection

A number of studies have estimated the effects of U.S. textile and apparel protection. Most of these studies have not addressed the impact of these protective measures on the distribution of household income. This paper addresses the income distribution issue using a computable general equilibrium model of the United States with a disaggregated household sector. We find that liberalization of textile and apparel import restraints improves the real income of all household categories, but does so more for higher income households. Therefore, liberalization of these protective measures will be slightly regressive. [F13, F14]
Placebo effects: clinical aspects and neurobiology

Placebo effects are beneficial health outcomes not related to the relatively direct biological effects of an intervention and can be elicited by an agent that, by itself, is inert. Understanding these placebo effects will help to improve clinical trial design, especially for interventions such as surgery, CNS-active drugs and behavioural interventions which are often non-blinded. A literature review was performed to retrieve articles discussing placebo implications of clinical trials, the neurobiology of placebo effects and the implications of placebo effect for several disorders of neurological relevance. Recent research in placebo analgesia and other conditions has demonstrated that several neurotransmitter systems, such as opiate and dopamine, are involved with the placebo effect. Brain regions including anterior cingulate cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia have been activated following administration of placebo. A patient's expectancy of improvement may influence outcomes as much as some active interventions and this effect may be greater for novel interventions and for procedures. Maximizing this expectancy effect is important for clinicians to optimize the health of their patient. There have been many relatively acute placebo studies that are now being extended into clinically relevant models of placebo effect.
Circulating fatty acids and prostate cancer risk in a nested case-control study: the Multiethnic Cohort

Objective Dietary fat, including specific fatty acids, has been proposed to contribute to prostate cancer pathogenesis, but findings from the studies based on biomarkers have been conflicting.
A theory of rational and feasible budget allocation

The purpose of this article is to describe a method of allocating scarce resources across budget categories in a way that is both rational and feasible. It is rational because it allocates in proportion to proxies for elasticity coefficients in accordance with classical calculus optimization. It is, however, feasible in the sense that the proxies are of such a nature that they are easily obtained and can be easily worked with.
Line positions from high temperature isotopically enriched CO2 in the 740 to 1060 cm-1 region

A high resolution step-and-hold Fourier transform spectrometer has been used to observe the spectrum of CO 2 samples heated to 800 K in a high temperature absorption cell. The interferograms were recorded using a maximum optical path difference of 152 cm resulting in an apodized spectral resolution of 0.007 cm -1 . The 20 torr isotopically enriched CO 2 sample consisted of 88% 13 C 16 O 2 and 11% 16 O 13 C 18 O. The sample was contained in a single pass high temperature absorption cell with a total absorption path length of 1.75 meters. A total of 1601 lines belonging to 15 rotation-vibration bands of 13 C 16 O 2 and 146 lines belonging to two bands of 16 O 13 C 18 O were identified in the observed spectrum. A weighted least-squares fit was then used to obtain improved estimates of the band centers and rotational constants.
Application of the Gibbs ensemble to the study of fluid-fluid phase equilibrium in a binary mixture of symmetric non-additive hard spheres

The ‘Gibbs’ Monte Carlo method introduced by Panagiotopoulos to study coexisting phases, is applied to the study of fluid-fluid phase equilibrium in a binary system of symmetric, non-additive hard spheres, previously studied by Melnyk and Sawford [1]. We find that the method is generally applicable, although requiring a significantly larger number of insertions per Monte Carlo step at higher densities than in the previously studied cases of gas-liquid binary mixtures. The coexistence curve calculated using this technique agrees qualitatively although not quantitatively with that obtained in [1]. In particular, in contrast to their results, the coexistence curve at high density is found to be significantly closer to the estimates from second order perturbation theory than those obtained from first order perturbation theory. The critical density ηcr is estimated to be ηcr = 0·2175+0·0025 -0·0075. However, near the critical density, relatively large long-time fluctuations render the calculation of the coexis...
Kinetic ELISA in Microfluidic Channels

In this article, we describe the kinetic ELISA of Blue Tongue and Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease viral antibodies in microfluidic channels by monitoring the rate of generation of the enzyme reaction product under static conditions. It has been shown that this format of the immunoassay allows very reliable quantitation of the target species using inexpensive glass microchips and a standard epifluorescence microscope system coupled to a CCD camera. For the viral antibodies assayed here, the limit of detection (LOD) for the analyte concentration in our microchips was established to be 3–5 times lower than that obtained on commercial microwell plates using a fiftieth of the sample volume and less than a third of the incubation time. Our analyses further show that when compared to the end-point ELISA format, the kinetic mode of this assay yields an improvement in the LOD by over an order of magnitude in microfluidic devices. This benefit is primarily realized as the observed variation in the background fluorescence (signal at the start of the enzyme reaction period) was significantly larger than that in the rate of signal generation upon repeating these assays in different microchannels/microchips. Because the kinetic ELISA results depend only on the latter quantity, the noise level in them was substantially lower compared to that in its end-point counterpart in which the absolute fluorescence measurements are of greater significance. While a similar benefit was also recorded through implementation of kinetic ELISAs on the microwell platform, the improvement in LOD registered in that system was not as significant as was observed in the case of microfluidic assays.
The role of necessity in cognitive development

Abstract There seem to be two kinds of nonconservers—those who think their response might change on another occasion and those who think their response would always be the same. After training in conservation, the former (called nonconservers without necessity) show no detectable gains in conservation, while the latter (called nonconservers with necessity), surprisingly, show significant gains in conservation. In the present study, nonconservers with necessity were more likely than the nonconservers without necessity to think the classic conservation arguments (e.g., identity, negation, and compensation) were good and correct reasons and that the typical nonconservation reasons were poor and wrong. In sum, the nonconservers who can support their conclusions with the deductive force of necessity, even though they are wrong in their conclusion, appear to be more developmentally advanced than other nonconservers who do not offer necessity as part of the justification for their nonconservation conclusion.
Comparative mapping of the chicken genome using the East Lansing reference population

Abstract The annotation of known genes on linkage maps provides an informative framework for synteny mapping. In comparative gene mapping, conserved synteny is broadly defined as groups of two or more linked markers that are also linked in two or more species. Although many anonymous markers have been placed on the chicken genome map, locating known genes will augment the number of conserved syntenic groups and consolidate linkage groups. In this report, 21 additional genes have been assigned to linkage groups or chromosomes; five syntenic groups were identified. Ultimately, conserved syntenic groups may help to pinpoint important quantitative trait loci.
Kinetic Roughening of Quenched Xenon Films

We investigate the growth of quenched Xe films formed by deposition onto a cold (15-35K) substrate via in situ measurements of x-ray reflectivity and diffraction. Surface roughness, film density, and crystallinity are determined as a function of Xe film thickness, substrate temperature and Xe flux in order to test for dynamic scaling behavior. Deposition of poly-crystalline films with random crystallite orientations is achieved through heating of a grafoil sheet that is enclosed in the sample cell and has previously been covered with bulk Xe. At 16K the films are sufficiently quenched to be stable over several days, while at 25K annealing takes place. Differing atomic mobilities at different temperatures lead to contrasting scaling behavior. The substrate remains unchanged under repeated film deposition and desorption and therefore allows a systematic comparison of different films.
A Modeling Study of the Self-Assembly of Various Hydrogen-Bonding Fullerene Derivatives on Au(111)

Several experimental groups have recently reported self-assembly of fullerene derivatives on metal substrates. These studies have shown that both the size of the substituent moiety and the presence of hydrogen-bonding functional groups affect the observed adlayer symmetries. However, little theoretical work has been carried out to explain these results. Accordingly, we have carried out classical rigid body Monte Carlo simulations of a variety of fullerene derivatives on a rigid Au(111) surface. We consider several fullerene derivatives functionalized with carboxylic acid groups attached to the fullerene using “arms” of phenyl rings of variable length. A pairwise-additive united-atom potential energy function was constructed using data from a variety of sources. The potential reproduces many of the details observed in experimental studies of C60 on Au(111). For fullerenes containing two hydrogen-bonding groups, ordered rows of molecules can self-assemble if the fullerenes are able to form a close-packed la...
Quantum Yield of Gold-Cathode Photomultipliers

Two gold-cathode EMI 6255G tubes have been investigated for their quantum yield between 3100 and 1900 A. The tubes had cathodes of different appearances. One of these, numbered 3012, had a slight bluish tinge and was very transparent to visible light; the other, numbered 3021, had a definite gold coloration. The relative quantum yield of each tube was determined with the aid of a Cary model 14 recording spectrophotometer used as a monochromator. The monochromator relative-energy output was determined from the current output of a sodium-salicylate-coated RCA 1P21 photomultiplier. Each gold-cathode tube was then operated at 3000 v, and the central 1.8 cm cube of the cathode was exposed to the monochromator output.
Application of the distance function to nonmarket valuation of environmental goods and services: An illustrative example

Abstract This paper develops and implements a unique formulation of a household production model in that technology is characterized as a distance function. The properties of the distance function allow for the derivation of shadow prices for the inputs and outputs associated with household production, which can be applied to the problem of valuing nonmarket goods or activities. The approach requires only one input to or output of household production to bear a price. The derivation of shadow prices for all other household inputs/outputs follows from the properties of the distance function. I demonstrate the approach using data on the waste management activities of a sample of households from Marietta, Georgia, and by calculating shadow prices for the nonmarket activity of recycling.
Detection of cold hemagglutination in a blood cardioplegia unit before systemic cooling of a patient with unsuspected cold agglutinin disease

A case is described in which hemagglutination occurred intraoperatively in cold blood flushed through the blood cardioplegia delivery system from a patient with unsuspected cold agglutinin disease. On initiating cardiopulmonary bypass and then selectively cooling the perfusate in the blood cardioplegia delivery system before inducing systemic cooling, it is possible to check for cold agglutination. Routine use of this technique may be worthwhile to detect cold agglutination in vitro before systemic cooling is begun in the rare patient with unsuspected cold agglutinins.
The auricular impression: An alternate technique

Several conditions necessitate surgical or prosthetic ear reconstruction. If an auricular prosthesis is planned, accurate impressions of both the affected and unaffected ears are essential. This article describes a technique that uses a wax-customized, rigid impression tray and irreversible hydrocolloid to minimize distortion during the procedure.
The social life of information displays: How screens shape psychological responses in social contexts

This article presents the results of two experimental laboratory studies that establish relationships between displays and people's attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors toward self, others, and social situations. Experiment I investigates how participants (N = 40) engaging in a trivia game respond when their answers and performance feedback evaluations are made public via either a large shared display or each person's laptop display. Using a 2 (answer display: shared vs. personal) × 2 (feedback display: shared vs. personal) between-participants, nested design, we find that participants exhibit differential levels of social anxiety, enjoyment, willingness to change answers, and attributions of coparticipant competence. Participants whose answers are shown on the shared display exhibit greater social anxiety but are attributed with greater competence by their peers. Viewing information on the shared display induces a greater degree of change in answers. Precisely because all information is public throughout the experiment, we are able to isolate the effects of sharing screens as opposed to sharing information. Experiment II (N = 40) builds from Experiment I by employing similar display configurations within an explicitly persuasive context. In a 2 (display: shared vs. personal) × 2 (context: common vs. personal) × 2 (content presentation style: common vs. interpersonal), mixed experimental design we produce systematic differences in the persuasiveness of information, people's engagement with content, and sense of social distance from each other. Through both experiments strong consistency effects are evident: enjoyment, engagement, and persuasiveness are all diminished where incongruencies are part of the experimental conditions. So too these mismatches increase the sense of social distance from others in the setting. We discuss the implications for future research and design of display ecologies and situated media.
Comparison of static and dynamic strength and J-R curves of various piping materials from the IPIRG-1 program☆

Abstract Material property tests were conducted on nuclear piping steels at 288°C at both quasi-static and dynamic displacement rates. The dynamic rates were similar to those estimated to occur in pipe tests that simulate seismic loading. The results suggest that quasi-static material property data are adequate for in-service flaw evaluation and leak-before-break analyses for stainless-steel pipes. However, dynamic strength and toughness data appear to be needed for such evaluations in some carbon-steel pipes.
Involvement of biogenic amines in memory formation.

Drugs that deplete the biogenic amines of the central nervous system were found to impair the consolidation of memory, in mice, of an avoidance task. Results indicate that normal levels of one of the catecholamines are necessary for the formation of long term memory.
Internal Friction in Lithium Aluminosilicate Glass-Ceramics

This paper describes the results of an investigation of the anelastic behavior of two glass-ceramic materials with similar compositions, one nucleated with TiO[sub 2] and the other with ZrO[sub 2]. The influence of the grain size, residual glass fraction, and composition was examined. A low-frequency torsion pendulum was constructed for this purpose. The as-received TiO[sub 2]-nucleated Corning Code 9608 ceramic exhibits an attenuation peak at about 750 C; when heat-treated at 1,200 C for 167 h, the attenuation peaks at approximately 850 C. The ZrO[sub 2]-nucleated glass-ceramics showed no such peak. The results indicate that this anelastic behavior is due to grain boundary sliding, but the rates and magnitude of sliding are strongly dependent on boundary chemistry.
Intelligence: A consumer's guide∗

(1988). Intelligence: A consumer's guide. International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence: Vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 457-486.
The Efficacy of Colesevelam HCl in the Treatment of Heterozygous Familial Hypercholesterolemia in Pediatric and Adult Patients

Abstract Background Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a common autosomal co-dominant genetic disorder that results in severely increased levels of LDL-C. Patients with FH are at an increased risk for premature coronary artery disease. Expert panels therefore recommend initiation of lipid-lowering therapy in childhood to reduce the very high lifetime risk of coronary artery disease. The bile acid sequestrant colesevelam is indicated to reduce elevated LDL-C levels in adults with primary hyperlipidemia and in boys and postmenarchal girls (aged 10–17 years) with heterozygous FH. Objective The purpose of this article was to review currently available data on the use of colesevelam in the treatment of heterozygous FH. Methods PubMed and Google Scholar were searched to identify clinical trials evaluating colesevelam in patients with heterozygous FH. Results The search returned 2 results (both multicenter, multinational studies): 1 study conducted in adults and the other in pediatric patients. In the study in adults with refractory FH, the addition of colesevelam to a maximally tolerated regimen of a statin plus ezetimibe provided a significantly greater reduction from baseline in LDL-C levels compared with placebo. Significantly greater reductions from baseline in LDL-C were also seen in pediatric patients with heterozygous FH receiving colesevelam (alone or in combination with statins) compared with placebo. Colesevelam was generally well tolerated in studies in patients with FH; consistent with other colesevelam studies, gastrointestinal disorders were the most common drug-related adverse events, but these events rarely led to study withdrawal. Conclusions Currently available data demonstrate that colesevelam, alone or in combination therapy, is efficacious and well tolerated in the treatment of heterozygous FH in adults and pediatric patients, supporting its use as a treatment option in both of these patient populations.
SAFT1-RPM Approximation Extended to Phase Equilibria and Densities of CO2−H2O and CO2−H2O−NaCl Systems

In SAFT1-RPM approximations of CO2−H2O and CO2−H2O−NaCl systems, relevant to oil recovery and CO2 sequestration, CO2 is modeled as a molecule with three association sites, two sites of type O and one site of type C. H2O is modeled as a molecule with four association sites, two sites of type O and two sites of type H. The salt is modeled as a molecule composed of two charged, but nonassociating, spherical segments, of which one represents the cation and one represents the anion. For the CO2−H2O system, only one type of cross-association is assigned, i.e., between the site of type O in CO2 and the site of type H in H2O. Using temperature-dependent parameters, SAFT1-RPM is found to represent the density and equilibrium data for the CO2−H2O system, including the minimum H2O concentration in the CO2-rich phase in the y-P diagram. For the CO2−H2O−NaCl system, an additional binary interaction constant is used, the same for both CO2−Na+ and CO2−Cl- pairs, which is needed to correct the short-range interactions. S...
Do vanadate polyanions inhibit phosphotransferase enzymes

Decavanadate inhibits hexokinase, adenylate kinase and phosphofructokinase; neither mono-, tri nor tetrameric vanadate anion is an inhibitor. Decavanadate inhibits phosphofructokinase obtained from bacterial and protistic sources. No form of vanadium(V) anion inhibits galacto-, glycero-, pyruvate and creatine kinase, or inorganic pyrophosphatase. Decavanadate appears to be a non-competitive inhibitor of both hexokinase substrates.
Hepatocellular Protection by Nitric Oxide or Nitrite in Ischemia and Reperfusion Injury

Ischemia and reperfusion (I/R)-induced liver injury occurs in several pathophysiological disorders including hemorrhagic shock and burn as well as resectional and transplantation surgery. One of the earliest events associated with reperfusion of ischemic liver is endothelial dysfunction characterized by the decreased production of endothelial cell-derived nitric oxide (NO). This rapid post-ischemic decrease in NO bioavailability appears to be due to decreased synthesis of NO, enhanced inactivation of NO by the overproduction of superoxide or both. This review presents the most current evidence supporting the concept that decreased bioavailability of NO concomitant with enhanced production of reactive oxygen species initiates hepatocellular injury and that endogenous NO or exogenous NO produced from nitrite play important roles in limiting post-ischemic tissue injury.
Parallel recovery of epidermal antigen-presenting cell activity and contact hypersensitivity responses in mice exposed to ultraviolet irradiation: The role of a prostaglandin-dependent mechanism

Abstract Contact hypersensitivity (CH) responsiveness to 2–4-dinitro-l-fluorobenzene (DNFB) is depressed in mice that are sensitized through skin sites exposed to ultraviolet radiation (UVR). This is partially due to a reduction in antigen-presenting cell (APC) activity within UVR-exposed skin, a condition marked by a decrease in the density of ATPase/Ia-positive epidermal cells. The purpose of this study was to correlate the histological and functional recovery of APC activity in the skin of C3H mice exposed to low-dose (4 × 450 J/m 2 ) or high-dose (1 × 15 kJ/m 2 ) UVR with the normalization of CH responsiveness. Skin biopsy specimens taken at various intervals after UVR exposure revealed a rapid recovery in the density of ATPase/Ia positive cells: about 70% of normal by 3 days, and normal after 5 days. Functional analyses showed that lymph node cells obtained from donors that were sensitized with DNFB 3 days after UVR treatment transferred normal ear-swelling responsiveness to nonprimed recipients, thus indicating that APC activity in UVR-exposed skin paralleled the recovery of ATPase/Ia-positive epidermal cells. This suggested that an alternative mechanism causes the persistent depression of CH in mice exposed to UVR. Mice pretreated with indomethacin prior to UVR exposure demonstrated a capacity to elicit CH responses to DNFB, which paralleled the histological and functional recovery of APC in the skin (i.e., normal CH responses were elicited 3 days after exposure to UVR). We conclude from this study that APC activity in the skin recovers rapidly after exposure to UVR, and that a PG-dependent mechanism is responsible for many of the persistent and systemic effects that cause a depression in the CH responsiveness of mice treated with UVR.
Bruce S. Miller, MD, MS, on "Quality and content of Internet-based information for ten common orthopaedic sports medicine diagnoses" by James S. Starman, MD, et al.

The objective of this study by Starman and associates was to assess the quality and content of Internet-based information regarding commonly encountered diagnoses in orthopaedic sports medicine. The authors used ten common sports-medicine conditions to identify and evaluate web sites according to three criteria: (1) type of web site (for example, academic compared with commercial), (2) web-site quality, and (3) web-site content. The study question is timely, the methods and analysis are clear, and the manuscript is very well-written. The authors report some interesting, and …
Demonstration of 1024x1024 pixel dual-band QWIP focal plane array

QWIPs are well known for their stability, high pixel-pixel uniformity and high pixel operability which are quintessential parameters for large area imaging arrays. In this paper we report the first demonstration of the megapixel-simultaneously-readable and pixel-co-registered dual-band QWIP focal plane array (FPA). The dual-band QWIP device was developed by stacking two multi-quantum-well stacks tuned to absorb two different infrared wavelengths. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the mid-wave infrared (MWIR) band extends from 4.4 - 5.1 μm and FWHM of the long-wave infrared (LWIR) band extends from 7.8 - 8.8 μm. Dual-band QWIP detector arrays were hybridized with direct injection 30 μm pixel pitch megapixel dual-band simultaneously readable CMOS read out integrated circuits using the indium bump hybridization technique. The initial dual-band megapixel QWIP FPAs were cooled to 68K operating temperature. The preliminary data taken from the first megapixel QWIP FPA has shown system NEuT of 27 and 40 mK for MWIR and LWIR bands respectively.
Influence of nutrient intake on blood lead levels of young children at risk for lead poisoning.

Although removal of lead paint hazards from at-risk houses remains the primary means of preventing elevated blood lead among young children, reduction of risk through nutritional factors has also b...
Postmenopausal estrogen and prevention bias.

Excerpt In the last decade many investigators reported that postmenopausal women taking estrogen were at reduced risk for cardiovascular disease compared with women not taking estrogen (1). Many cl...
Darwin's two paradigms: An ‘opportunistic’ approach to natural selection theory

Abstract Darwin's presentation of natural selection theory involved two different images or analogies: (a) nature selects much as an animal or plant breeder selects, through the interbreeding of organisms carrying desired characters; labeled here, Darwin's Variational Paradigm, but focusing on the continuity of traits across generations; (b) selection operates on organisms as individuals that live or die in competition over scarce resources; Darwin's Malthusian Paradigm. Darwin, like many contemporary theorists, saw these two analogies as quite consistent with one another. However a contemporary approach, considering selection as it operates across multiple generations and in sexually breeding species, should distinguish between selection of traits or characters which remain relatively constant across generations, and selection of individuals whose genotypes, due to sexual reproduction, are continually fluctuating within populations. I argue that selection operates, across generations, on constant traits rather than fluctuating individuals. This claim, when consistently pursued, leads to conclusions at some variance to received views. It suggests that natural selection leads to situations where traits and their underlying genetic components function as communities. These have evolved over the past three and a half billion years through the progressive selection of synergetic combinations in which communal combinations of elements of the system have persisted, and or have been successful. This constitutes an approach to the evolution of organismic social organization distinct from group selection, kin selection, or reciprocal altruism.
Clinical and professional role development among experienced pediatric nurses: the pediatric medical nursing certificate program.

ISSUES AND PURPOSE. The development of a multiunit-based certificate program to promote retention by increasing experienced pediatric nurses' knowledge, skills, and professional role development through a blend of didactic, clinical, and mentoring components. CONCLUSIONS. The certificate group demonstrated an increase in knowledge and skill, advanced leadership role acquisition, promotion, certification, and graduate school matriculation, and achieved a 95% retention rate within the organization. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS. With support from management and multidisciplinary team members, a certificate program like this can be implemented in a variety of settings and specialties.
The memorial delirium assessment scale

We conducted two studies with medically hospitalized cancer and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients to assess the reliability and validity of a new measure of delirium severity, the Memorial Delirium Assessment Scale (MDAS). The first study used multiple raters who jointly administered the MDAS to 33 patients, 17 of whom met DSM III-R/DSM IV criteria for delirium, 8 met diagnostic criteria for another cognitive impairment disorder (for example, dementia), and 8 had non-cognitive psychiatric disorders (for example, adjustment disorder). Results indicate high levels of inter-rater reliability for the MDAS (0.92) and the individual MDAS items (ranging from 0.64 to 0.99), as well as high levels of internal consistency (coefficient alpha = 0.91). Mean MDAS ratings differed significantly between delirious patients and the comparison sample of patients with other cognitive impairment disorders or no cognitive impairment (P < 0.0002). The second study compared MDAS ratings of 51 medically hospitalized delirious patients with cancer and AIDS made by one clinician to ratings on several other measures of delirium (Delirium Rating Scale, clinician's ratings of delirium severely) and cognitive functioning (Mini-Mental State Examination) made by a second clinician. Results demonstrated a high correlation between MDAS scores and ratings on the Delirium Rating Scale (r = 0.88, p < 0.0001), the Mini-Mental State Examination (r = -0.91, P < 0.0001), and clinician's global ratings of delirium severity (r = 0.89, P < 0.0001). Thus, our findings indicate that the MDAS is a brief, reliable tool for assessing delirium severity among medically ill populations that can be reliably scored by multiple raters. The MDAS is highly correlated with existing measures of delirium and cognitive impairment, yet offers several advantages over these instruments for repeated assessments which are often necessary in clinical research.
Feminism as a predictor of mass media use

The mass media habits of men and women who hold discrepant attitudes toward traditional female sex-role expectations were assessed. From a random sample of more than 500 citizens of Santa Barbara, California, high feminists (respondents who agreed with women's movement ideals) were found to differ significantly in several respects in their uses of media from low feminists (individuals who did not agree with movement ideals). Feminism differentially predicted the amount of television viewing for highly educated audience members. Significant differences were also found between high and low feminists for television program and radio format preferences, but not for newspaper reading habits.
Inverting for slip on three-dimensional fault surfaces using angular dislocations

The increasing quality of geodetic data (synthetic aperture radar interferometry [insar] dense Global Positioning System [gps] arrays) now available to geophysicists and geologists are not fully exploited in slip-inversion procedures. Most common methods of inversion use rectangular dislocation segments to model fault ruptures and therefore oversimplify fault geometries. These geometric simplifications can lead to inconsistencies when inverting for slip on earthquake faults, and they preclude a more complete understanding of the role of fault geometry in the earthquake process. We have developed a new three-dimensional slip-inversion method based on the analytical solution for an angular dislocation in a linear-elastic, homogeneous, isotropic, half-space. The approach uses the boundary element code Poly3D that employs a set of planar triangular elements of constant displacement discontinuity to model fault surfaces. The use of triangulated surfaces as discontinuities permits one to construct fault models that better approximate curved three-dimensional surfaces bounded by curved tiplines: shapes that commonly are imaged by three-dimensional reflection seismic data and inferred from relocated aftershock data. We demonstrate the method’s ability to model three-dimensional rupture geometries by inverting for slip associated with the 1999 Hector Mine earthquake. The resulting model avoids displacement anomalies associated with the overlapping rectangular dislocations used in previous models, improving the fit to the geodetic data by 32%, and honors the observed surface ruptures, thereby allowing more direct comparisons between geologic and geodetic data on slip distributions. Online Material : Hector Mine input files and file format description.
Automated analysis and exploration of image databases: Results, progress, and challenges

In areas as diverse as earth remote sensing, astronomy, and medical imaging, image acquisition technology has undergone tremendous improvements in recent years. The vast amounts of scientific data are potential treasure-troves for scientific investigation and analysis. Unfortunately, advances in our ability to deal with this volume of data in an effective manner have not paralleled the hardware gains. While special-purpose tools for particular applications exist, there is a dearth of useful general-purpose software tools and algorithms which can assist a scientist in exploring large scientific image databases. This paper presents our recent progress in developing interactive semi-automated image database exploration tools based on pattern recognition and machine learning technology. We first present a completed and successful application that illustrates the basic approach: the SKICAT system used for the reduction and analysis of a 3 terabyte astronomical data set. SKICAT integrates techniques from image processing, data classification, and database management. It represents a system in which machine learning played a powerful and enabling role, and solved a difficult, scientifically significant problem. We then proceed to discuss the general problem of automated image database exploration, the particular aspects of image databases which distinguish them from other databases, and how this impacts the application of off-the-shelf learning algorithms to problems of this nature. A second large image database is used to ground this discussion: Magellan's images of the surface of the planet Venus. The paper concludes with a discussion of current and future challenges.
Evidence on the monophyly of Astragalus (Fabaceae) and its major subgroups based on nuclear ribosomal DNA ITS and chloroplast DNA trnL intron data

Phylogenetic relationships among 115 species representing the legume genus Astragalus and 12 related genera were inferred from an analysis of nucleotide sequence variation in the internal transcribed spacers and 5.8S gene of nuclear ribosomal DNA. For a subset of these taxa, the ITS data were supplemented by sequences from the chloroplast trnL intron. Phylogenies derived from maximum parsimony and neighbor- joining analyses of sequence and insertion/ deletion characters all suggest that the vast majority of Astragalus is monophyletic (with the exception of "outlier" species). All New World Astragalus species with aneuploid chromosome numbers (n = 11-15) form a monophyletic group ("Neo-Astragalus"), which now includes the Mediterranean aneuploid Astragalus echinatus. Other Old World aneuploid species are not closely related to Neo-Astragalus, but rather are found among Old World euploid (n = 8, 16) groups. Similarly, the relatively few North American species with euploid numbers are not the closest relatives to Neo-Astragalus but are dispersed among divergent Old World groups that include both aneuploid and euploid species. The histor- ically allied genus Oxytropis is not nested within Astragalus, but forms a separate clade within the larger "Astragalean" clade. The proposed segregate genera Astracantha (Eurasian) and Orophaca (North American) are clearly nested within Astragalus s. str. South American species of Astragalus are nested within Neo- Astragalus and comprise at least two independently derived clades (along with their close North American relatives), as previously suggested by morphology. Parsimony reconstructions of characters that have been used in the traditional subgeneric taxonomy of the genus were examined and show high levels of homoplasy. Preliminary estimates of the absolute rate of species diversification in Astragalus suggest it may be higher than in some other, often cited, continental or insular adaptive radiations in angiosperms.
Regionalism and Reform A Comparative Perspective on Dutch Urban Politics

Advocates of regional political cooperation find favor with political theorists while encountering widespread rejection by real-world governments. Why do practitioners often fail to follow the refo...
Simulation analysis of two adjacent traffic signals

The traffic delay and signal timing offset of adjacent signalized intersections are studied by stochastic computer simulation. The emphasis is on the effect of turning movements on traffic signal coordination. Coordination synchronizes the flow of traffic through a sequence of signals in order to minimize delays and stops. It's application is traditionally restricted to major thoroughfares where turning movements from side streets are insignificant. This study attempts to show that there are benefits of coordination for some combinations of side street turning traffic and how to obtain the optimal offsets from the simulation model.
Conversions of propylene on CaNaY and NiNaY zeolites

Abstract 1. 1. Studies were made of conversions of propylene on CaNaY and NiNaY zeolites at temperatures ranging from 150 to 350°. It was found that olefins and paraffins (C 2 and C 4 ) are formed as a result of the breakdown of polymer products formed. 2. 2. On increasing temperature to 250°, butylene yield increases by 4–5% wt. on the zeolites studied with a practically constant yield of ethylene. A further increase of temperature has no effect on butylene yield, but increases ethylene yield.
Mechanism of action of Salmonella phage P22 antirepressor.

On the basis of genetic evidence, Botstein et al. (1975) and Levine et al. (1975) proposed that phage P22 specifies an antirepressor which interferes with the synthesis or activity of the P22 c 2 repressor. In this paper, we show that P22 anti-repressor interferes with phage λ cI repressor (which is analogous in function to P22 c 2 repressor), since superinfection of a λ lysogen with P22 results in dis-appearance of λ repressor activity. Antirepressor interferes directly with repressor activity rather than indirectly with repressor synthesis, since antirepressor in crude P22-infected cell extracts inhibits λ repressor activity in vitro . Under our assay conditions, antirepressor action requires pre-incubation of antirepressor with λ repressor before addition of λ DNA, suggesting that antirepressor works by interacting with repressor rather than by interacting with the DNA operators. We can rule out the hypothesis that antirepressor inactivates repressor by covalently modifying or cleaving it, since repressor that has been inactivated by antirepressor can be recovered in active form by treatment with sodium dodecyl sulfate and urea, or by treatment with guanidine. Taken together, these results suggest that antirepressor inactivates repressor by binding non-covalently to it.
Mediated effects of adult males’ perceived confirmation from father on relational partners’ communication apprehension

In previous research, the degree to which men felt confirmed by their fathers significantly predicted their female relational partners’ reluctance about interacting with them. Drawing from the contemporary men's literature and confirmation theory, men's listening style—as determined by female partner's reports—was advanced as a mediator of the confirmation‐partner aprehension relationship. Results of hierarchical regression analyses indicated (1) a direct effect of men's perceived confirmation from father on their listening style, (2) a direct effect of men's listening style on female partners’ discomfort while interacting with them, and (3) direct effects of female partners’ dyadic communication apprehension and men's perceived confirmation apprehension and men's perceived confirmation from father on female partners’ reluctance to communicate with their relational partners. Theoretical implications are discussed.
Mediators of the effects of magnitude of reinforcement

Abstract The characteristics of mediational mechanisms based upon magnitude of reinforcement were investigated using rats. In two experiments, two-choice discriminations were trained in which selections of one lever in one external stimulus and a second lever in another external stimulus were reinforced with food. In the first experiment, it was found that the discrimination was acquired more rapidly when one choice was reinforced with a large number of food pellets and the other with a smaller number of pellets than when other configurations of reinforcement magnitude were provided. In the second experiment, reversal of a two-choice discrimination was found to be facilitated by prior exposure of the animals to the reversed relationships between the external stimuli and magnitudes of reinforcement. These results were consistent with predictions from a stimulus or associative view of anticipatory processes based upon magnitude of reinforcement.
Tectonic history of Sumba Island, Indonesia, since the Late Cretaceous and its rapid escape into the forearc in the Miocene

Abstract The island of Sumba lies within the Sunda-Banda forearc and contains volcanic, plutonic and volcaniclastic rocks that record a history of arc volcanism extending from Late Cretaceous (∼80 Ma or earlier) to Oligocene (∼31 Ma) time. During the Late Cretaceous, Sumba formed part of a Great Indonesian Volcanic Arc system near southeastern Eurasia. Between Late Cretaceous and Early Miocene time, Sumba remained part of that arc system, which ceased to be volcanically active by ∼31 Ma. During the Late Miocene (∼18 Ma), Sumba, as part of the relict arc system, was situated near the present site of Alor and Wetar. At ∼16 Ma, Sumba was torn from the relict arc and began to move at a velocity of ∼50 mm/yr in a west-south-westerly direction. Volcanism along the modern Banda Arc soon followed. By ∼7 Ma, Sumba finally came to rest, after having moved ∼450 km into the forearc. We interpret the rapid motion of Sumba into the forearc as a discrete block to have been a response to the collision between Australia and Indonesia in the area of Timor. The Savu Basin possibly originated as an arc-crestal rift which then opened behind Sumba as the latter moved westward. Over the past 16 My, more than 3 km of sediment have been deposited in the Savu Basin by erosion from the surrounding islands. Sumba stopped moving to the west-south-west at ∼7 Ma after reaching approximately its present location. Since then, the island has ceased to be a discrete tectonic fragment and has behaved as an integral part of the forearc. During the past ∼7 My, compressional tectonics within the forearc has led to elevation of the rocks exposed on Sumba by as much as 4 km.