cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Micro-Sample Cup for Near-Infrared Analysis

Near-Infrared Analyses (NIR) have traditionally been carried out on powdered samples of different agricultural products, such as cereal grains and oilseeds. Commercially available conventional cups require a large amount of sample, typically 5–8 g of powder sample, to obtain chemical information from the spectra. This paper presents a new sample cup that only requires about 350 mg of sample. The spectra obtained with this new sample cup are comparable to spectra taken with the conventional cup. This mechanically simple sample cup was used to obtain the spectra of individual soybeans, small amounts of solid powder and liquid samples, which otherwise would not be easy to access spectroscopically in the NIR. The results obtained showed that this new sample cup is capable of detecting about 100 μg of powdered soybean without any loss of chemical information when the spectra are compared with spectra taken with the conventional open cup. In addition, it provides excellent spectral information on as little as 80 μL of liquid samples.
New bioactive, degradable composite microspheres as tissue engineering substrates.

Novel bioactive, degradable polymer/glass/ceramic composite microspheres were developed using a solid-in-oil-in-water (s/o/w) emulsion solvent removal method. Modified bioactive glass (MBG) powders were encapsulated into the polylactic acid (PLA) matrix. Scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray analyses revealed that the MBG powders were mostly embedded in the polymer matrix, and submicron-size pores were present at the surface. Immersion in simulated physiological fluid (SPF) was used to evaluate the surface reactivity of the microspheres. The polymeric surface was fully transformed into carbonated calcium hydroxyapatite (c-HA) after 3 weeks of immersion. In contrast, PLA microspheres showed no evidence of any calcium phosphate deposition. Ion concentration analyses revealed a decrease in Ca and P concentrations and an increase in Si concentration in the SPF immersed with composite microspheres during the 3-week period. The Ca and P uptake rates decreased after 2 days of incubation. This coincided with the decrease of the Si release rate. These data lend support to the suggestion that the Si released from the MBG powders present in the polymer matrix is involved in the formation of the Ca-P layer. Our results support the concept that these new bioactive, degradable composite microspheres may serve as microcarriers for synthesis of bone and other tissues in vitro and in vivo. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res, 52, 66–76, 2000.
Organic contaminants in Winyah Bay, South Carolina II: Using natural fluorescence to follow atrazine levels and river mixing

The conservative tracers natural humic acid (HA), fluorescence and salinity were used to track the dispersal of the triazine herbicide, atrazine (2-chloro-4-ethylamino-6-isopropylamino-1,3,5-triazine), in Winyah Bay, South Carolina. This estuary receives water from high-HA, low-atrazine coastal plain rivers, a low-HA,' high-atrazine piedmont river and low-HA, low-atrazine seawater. The contribution of each of these water types to a water parcel in this estuary was determined by its salinity and fluorescence signature, river and seawater end-member salinity and fluorescence and mass balance considerations. Fluorescence and salinity explained between 82% and 96% of the variability in atrazine concentrations in the bay, indicating conservative behaviour of atrazine during at least the flushing time of the bay (< 18 days). Water mass volume contributions determined from salinity and fluorescence measurements were also used as a simple method to estimate atrazine in the bay. Atrazine was calculated by multiplying the fraction of each water type present at a point in the estuary by its end-member atrazine concentration. Agreement between calculated and measured atrazine was 46% ± 80% including all data (n = 28). This was improved to 31% ± 24% if one anomalous result was excluded.
Microwave calcination and sintering of barium strontium titanate

Abstract The calcination and sintering behavior of barium strontium titanate was investigated using microwave power absorption. With microwave power, BaCO 3 , SrCO 3 and TiO 2 powders were calcined at 1100°C for 45 min, whereas conventional calcination requires typically more than 5 h at 1150°C. Pressed samples of microwave calcined Ba 0.65 Sr 0.35 TiO 3 were sintered in 30 min at 1350°C using a microwave cavity. The permittivity and loss tangent of the sintered samples were also measured. It is shown that microwave calcination and sintering lead to an improvement in the dielectric properties.
Multidisciplinary Aerospace Design Optimization: Survey of Recent Developments

The increasing complexity of engineering systems has sparked increasing interest in multidisciplinary optimization (MDO). This paper presents a survey of recent publications in the field of aerospace where interest in MDO has been particularly intense. The two main challenges of MDO are computational expense and organizational complexity. Accordingly the survey is focused on various ways different researchers use to deal with these challenges. The survey is organized by a breakdown of MDO into its conceptual components. Accordingly, the survey includes sections on Mathematical Modeling, Design- oriented Analysis, Approximation Concepts, Optimization Procedures, System Sensitivity, and Human Interface. With the authors'' main expertise being in the structures area, the bulk of the references focus on the interaction of the structures discipline with other disciplines. In particular, two sections at the end focus on two such interactions that have recently been pursued with a particular vigor: Simultaneous Optimization of Structures and Aerodynamics, and Simultaneous Optimization of Structures Combined With Active Control.
Contingencies on response rate and resistance to change

Abstract Pigeons' key-pecking was maintained on three-component multiple schedules. In one component a tandem variable-interval fixed-ratio 10 schedule maintained high response rates. In the second component a tandem variable-interval differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate 5-s schedule maintained lower response rates. These components alternated at 15-, 30-, or 45-s intervals with a 15-s period of darkness (blackout) in the chamber. Response-independent food presentations, added during the blackout according to variable-time 15-, 30-, or 150-s schedules, yielded differential resistance to change in the two components. With more frequent response-independent food presentations, responding in the high-rate component was reduced more, that is, was less resistant to change, than that in the low rate component. The effects are more logically attributed to the interaction between the response-independent food delivery in the blackout and prevailing contingencies on responding than to response rates per se. The relation of these data to the study of response-independent reinforcement also is discussed.
Ronsard in the metro: Abdellatif Kechiche and the poetics of space

ABSTRACTIn his first three feature films, La Faute a Voltaire/Blame it on Voltaire (2000), L'Esquive/Games of Love and Chance (2003) and La Graine et le mulet/Couscous (2007), Franco-Tunisian film-maker Abdellatif Kechiche underscores the critical importance of language and space in the daily practices of the communities represented in his films; scenes of everyday life rather than ‘events’ structure the diegesis. This article examines the notion of the quotidian in Kechiche's cinema, an element that is present but unidentified as such in the existing critical literature on La Faute a Voltaire, L'Esquive and La Graine et le mulet. It highlights how space interacts with language creatively and ultimately transforms the way communities are represented. Drawing on theoretical works of Marc Auge and Michel de Certeau, the article suggests that Kechiche testifies to a poetic of a twenty-first-century quotidian that, despite conforming to a tradition of social realism in Maghrebi-French cinema, presents us with...
Extracting scenic routes from VGI data sources

This paper presents a method to extract traversed scenic routes from Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) data sources. We used the footprints of images posted on Panoramio and Flickr, as well as websites where users uploaded tracks of traversed scenic routes. The state of California has been chosen as the test region. We discuss pros and cons of these VGI data sources for this task and describe the necessary steps to extract scenic routes. Measures for attributes of the route and the surrounding scenery can then be obtained for scenic routes and their corresponding fastest routes. This information will be utilized to identify relevant attributes that characterize scenicness. These attributes could in consequence be used as optimization criteria to search for scenic routes in trip planning applications.
Integrating computers into the writing classroom: Some guidelines

As the teaching of composition with word processors increases, so too do the concerns of teachers and program administrators about how this technology affects the attitudes and composing processes of students. We know that most students come into our writing classrooms with plenty of fears already: fear of exposure, fear of disapproval, fear of failure. For a time, at least, computers only make it worse. As students see it, computers generate additional worries for them: learning strange but apparently essential "keystrokes," interpreting cryptic data at the top and bottom of their monitor displays, and--worst of all--losing everything they have written or perhaps even destroying the computer with a couple of ill-advised presses on the Keyboard. It is
GAUGE SYMMETRY IN PHASE SPACE CONSEQUENCES FOR PHYSICS AND SPACE–TIME

Position and momentum enter at the same level of importance in the formulation of classical or quantum mechanics. This is reflected in the invariance of Poisson brackets or quantum commutators under canonical transformations, which I regard as a global symmetry. A gauge symmetry can be defined in phase space (XM, PM) that imposes equivalence of momentum and position for every motion at every instant of the worldline. One of the consequences of this gauge symmetry is a new formulation of physics in space–time. Instead of one time there must be two, while phenomena described by one-time physics in 3+1 dimensions appear as various "shadows" of the same phenomena that occur in 4+2 dimensions with one extra space and one extra time dimensions (more generally, d+2). The 2T-physics formulation leads to a unification of 1T-physics systems not suspected before and there are new correct predictions from 2T-physics that 1T-physics is unable to make on its own systematically. Additional data related to the predictions, that provides information about the properties of the extra 1-space and extra 1-time dimensions, can be gathered by observers stuck in 3+1 dimensions. This is the probe for investigating indirectly the extra 1+1 dimensions which are neither small nor hidden. This 2T formalism that originated in 1998 has been extended in recent years from the worldline to field theory in d+2 dimensions. This includes 2T field theories that yield 1T field theories for the Standard Model and General Relativity as shadows of their counterparts in 4+2 dimensions. Problems of ghosts and causality in a 2T space-time are resolved automatically by the gauge symmetry, while a higher unification of 1T field theories is obtained. In this paper the approach will be described at an elementary worldline level, and the current status of 2T-physics will be summarized.
Effects of phencyclidine on schedule-controlled responding following neurotoxic lesions of the striatum.

Abstract The effects of phencyclidine on an operant task were evaluated prior to and after neurotoxic lesions of the striatum in rats. Subjects were trained to respond on a fixed-interval 90-second schedule for water presentation. The degree to which phencyclidine disrupted responding was first evaluated (dose range 1.0–4.0 mg/kg). The subjects were then divided into three matched groups and received bilateral intraventricular injections of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) (100 μg), kainic acid (0.25 μg), or vehicle delivered stereotaxically. 6-OHDA was used to destroy the presynaptic neurons of the nigro-striatal pathway and kainic acid was employed to destroy the postsynaptic neurons whose cell bodies are located in the striatum. Following recovery, the phencyclidine dose-response curve was repeated in the fixed-interval paradigm. It was observed that 6-OHDA-induced damage resulted in a rightward shift of the dose-response curve indicating tolerance to phencyclidine and caused a significant depletion of striatal dopamine and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Kainic acid-induced damage resulted in a leftward shift in the dose-response curve indicating sensitivity to the schedule-disruptive effects of phencyclidine and produced a significant GABA depletion. The vehicle-treated rats exhibited no shift in their sensitivity to phencyclidine. These observations indicate that the effects of phencyclidine are mediated, at least in part, by striatal dopaminergic neurons.
Nephrogenic adenomas occurring in a patient with simultaneous kidney-pancreas transplant

We present a female patient who developed multiple nephrogenic adenomas of the bladder about 3 years after a simultaneous kidney-pancreas transplant. The patient was initially treated with endoscopic resection but, due to recurrences, she later underwent a conversion of pancreatic drainage from the bladder to the small bowel and has since done well. We believe this to be the first such case reported in the literature.
A hybrid symbolic-numeric approach to exceptional sets of generically zero-dimensional systems

Exceptional sets are the sets where the dimension of the fiber of a map is larger than the generic fiber dimension, which we assume is zero. Such situations naturally arise in kinematics, for example, when designing a mechanism that moves when the generic case is rigid. In 2008, Sommese and Wampler showed that one can use fiber products to promote such sets to become irreducible components. We propose an alternative approach using rank constraints on Macaulay matrices. Symbolic computations are used to construct the proper Macaulay matrices, while numerical computations are used to solve the rank-constraint problem. Various exceptional sets are computed, including exceptional RR dyads, lines on surfaces in C3, and exceptional planar pentads.
Major pathogenic steps in human lupus can be effectively suppressed by nucleosomal histone peptide epitope-induced regulatory immunity

Low-dose tolerance therapy with nucleosomal histone peptide epitopes blocks lupus disease in mouse models, but effect in humans is unknown. Herein, we found that CD4(+)CD25(high)FoxP3(+) or CD4(+)CD45RA(+)FoxP3(low) T-cells, and CD8(+)CD25(+)FoxP3(+) T-cells were all induced durably in PBMCs from inactive lupus patients and healthy subjects by the histone peptide/s themselves, but in active lupus, dexamethasone or hydroxychloroquine unmasked Treg-induction by the peptides. The peptide-induced Treg depended on TGFβ/ALK-5/pSmad 2/3 signaling, and they expressed TGF-β precursor LAP. Lupus patients' sera did not inhibit Treg induction. The peptide epitope-induced T cells markedly suppressed type I IFN related gene expression in lupus PBMC. Finally, the peptide epitopes suppressed pathogenic autoantibody production by PBMC from active lupus patients to baseline levels by additional mechanisms besides Treg induction, and as potently as anti-IL6 antibody. Thus, low-dose histone peptide epitopes block pathogenic autoimmune response in human lupus by multiple mechanisms to restore a stable immunoregulatory state.
The Reverend Dr William Henry Dallinger, F.R.S. (1839-1909)

William Dallinger illustrates a social outsider concerned with the application of science to the physical, intellectual and spiritual health of his homeland, who forced his way into the scientific life of his nation. His path was encouraged by mentors such as William McKenny who steered him into the Methodist ministry, James Drysdale who helped him get established as a scientist and John Tyndall, Thomas Huxley and Charles Darwin who encouraged his scientific efforts and smoothed his way into his nation's highest scientific circles. The shadowy figures of John Wesley and John Ray played a role in affirming the validity of his scientific interests and concerns for science education.
Interaction between corticotropin-releasing factor and nitric oxide in mediating the response of the rat hypothalamus to immune and non-immune stimuli.

Abstract We sought to determine whether nitric oxide (NO) influences the steady-state gene expression of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the rat hypothalamus and conversely, whether CRF alters the activity of PVN neurons containing NO synthase (NOS), the enzyme responsible for NO formation. Adult male rats exposed to a 30-min session of mild electrofootshocks displayed a significant (P l -NAME, an arginine derivative that blocks NOS activity. In contrast, the stimulatory effect of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), injected intracerebroventricularly (i.c.v.) 45 and 15 min earlier, on NGFI-B mRNA and CRF hnRNA levels, was not. The i.c.v. injection of CRF (1 μg) significantly upregulated transcription of the neuronal isoform of NOS in the PVN, while the ability of i.c.v. IL-1β to stimulate this signal was not significantly altered by i.c.v. injection of CRF antagonists. These results indicate that even though CRF acts centrally to increase PVN NOS mRNA concentrations, this peptide is not required for the effect of i.c.v. IL-1β on these transcripts. On the other hand, the ability of shocks to stimulate PVN neuronal activity depends on NO formation. It therefore appears that the functional interactions between NO and CRF-dependent pathways is a function of the type of homeostatic threat to which the organism is exposed.
The Health-Wealth Connection: Racial Differences

This article examines the theoretical connection between health capital and financial capital in an economic life-cycle model, exploring possible explanations for racial differences in capital accumulation behavior. Using data from the Health and Retirement Survey, detailed descriptive analysis and a comparison of regression models for health and financial capital are presented. The results, although preliminary and based on cross-section data, suggest possible racial differences in the connection between health and wealth and deserve further study.
Narrow Technihadron Production at the First Muon Collider

In modern technicolor models, there exist very narrow spin-zero and spin-one neutral technihadrons{emdash}{pi}{sup 0}{sub T} , {rho}{sup 0}{sub T} , and {omega}{sub T} thinsp{emdash}with masses of a few 100thinspthinspGeV. The large coupling of {pi}{sup 0}{sub T} to {mu}{sup +}{mu}{sup {minus}} , the direct coupling of {rho}{sup 0}{sub T} and {omega}{sub T} to the photon and Z{sup 0} , and the superb energy resolution of the First Muon Collider may make it possible to resolve these technihadrons and produce them at extraordinarily large rates. {copyright} {ital 1998} {ital The American Physical Society}
Locality-sensitive dictionary learning for sparse representation based classification

Motivated by image reconstruction, sparse representation based classification (SRC) has been shown to be an effective method for applications like face recognition. In this paper, we propose a locality-sensitive dictionary learning algorithm for SRC, in which the designed dictionary is able to preserve local data structure, resulting in improved image classification. During the dictionary update and sparse coding stages in the proposed algorithm, we provide closed-form solutions and enforce the data locality constraint throughout the learning process. In contrast to previous dictionary learning approaches utilizing sparse representation techniques, which did not (or only partially) take data locality into consideration, our algorithm is able to produce a more representative dictionary and thus achieves better performance. We conduct experiments on databases designed for face and handwritten digit recognition. For such reconstruction-based classification problems, we will confirm that our proposed method results in better or comparable performance as state-of-the-art SRC methods do, while less training time for dictionary learning can be achieved.
Differential Effects of Nitrogen Limitation on Photosynthetic Efficiency of Photosystems I and II in Microalgae.

The effects of nitrogen starvation on photosynthetic efficiency were examined in three unicellular algae by measuring changes in the quantum yield of fluorescence with a pump-and-probe method and thermal efficiency (i.e. the percentage of trapped energy stored photochemically) with a pulsed photoacoustic method together with the inhibitor 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea to distinguish photosystems I and II (PSI and PSII). Measured at 620 nm, maximum thermal efficiency for both photosystems was 32% for the diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii (PSII:PSI ratio of 2:1), 39% for the green alga Dunaliella tertiolecta (PSII:PSI ratio of 1:1), and 29% for the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 (PSII:PSI ratio of 1:2). Nitrogen starvation decreased total thermal efficiency by 56% for T. weissflogii and by 26% for D. tertiolecta but caused no change in Synechococcus. Decreases in the number of active PSII reaction centers (inferred from changes in variable fluorescence) were larger: 86% (T. weissflogii), 65% (D. tertiolecta), and 65% (Synechococcus). The selective inactivation of PSII under nitrogen starvation was confirmed by independent measurements of active PSII using oxygen flash yields and active PSI using P700 reduction. Relatively high thermal efficiencies were measured in all three species in the presence of the PSII inhibitor 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea, suggesting the potential for significant cyclic electron flow around PSI. Fluorescence or photoacoustic data agreed well; in T. weissflogii, the functional cross-sectional area of PSII at 620 nm was estimated to be the same using both methods (approximately 1.8 x 102 A2). The effects of nitrogen starvation occur mainly in PSII and are well represented by variable fluorescence measurements.
Incorporating scientific, ethical and economic considerations into the design of clinical trials in the pharmaceutical industry: a sequential approach

A flexible sequential approach to the design of clinical trials is discussed herein. This approach is based on a “confidence sequence” viewpoint instead of the rigid stopping and terminal decision rules in conventional sequential testing theory. By using an appropriate confidence sequence, one can always ensure a prescribed degree of scientific rigor (confidence) in establishing the drug to be effective. Moreover, one also has the option of terminating the trial early when there is already enough statistical evidence for concluding that the drug is effective, or when the drug shows uniorseen harmful effects, or when the data predict that there is little chance of arriving at a definitive conclusion in favor of the drug by the scheduled end of the trial. We discuss how these and other ethical and economic considerations can be readily incorporated into the stopping criteria of the trial.
Dialysis and Mortality: Does It Matter Where You Live?

A 70-year-old man with diabetic nephropathy and a history of multiple admissions for congestive heart failure is approaching the need for renal replacement therapy. He is struggling with his decision regarding the optimal dialysis modality. He lives alone in rural Washington, 60 miles from the
Using Airborne and Satellite Imagery to Distinguish and Map Black Mangrove Along the South Texas Gulf Coast

Color-infrared (CIR) aerial photography, CIR aerial digital imagery, and high resolution QuickBird multispectral satellite imagery were evaluated for distinguishing and mapping black mangrove mangrove [Avicennia germinans (L.) L.] populations along the lower Texas gulf coast. Accuracy assessments performed on classified maps of photographic and digital images of the same study site had both producer's and user's accuracies of 100% for black mangrove. In an accuracy assessment performed on a classified map of a digital image only of a second study site, black mangrove had a producer's accuracy of 78.6% and a user's accuracy of 100%. In a classification of the satellite image, black mangrove had a producer's accuracy of 100% and a user's accuracy of 85.7%.
Oxides Formed on Titanium by Polishing, Etching, Anodizing, or Thermal Oxidizing

Abstract Photoelectrochemistry (PEC), glancing angle x-ray diffraction (GAXRD), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and potentiodynamic polarization (PDP) in synthetic salt water were uti...
Argumentation, rationality, and psychology of reasoning

This paper explicates an account of argumentative rationality by articulating the common, basic idea of its nature, and then identifying a collection of assumptions inherent in it. Argumentative rationality is then contrasted with dual-process theories of reasoning and rationality prevalent in the psychology of reasoning. It is argued that argumentative rationality properly corresponds only with system-2 reasoning in dual-process theories. This result challenges the prescriptive force of argumentative norms derives if they derive at all from their descriptive accuracy of our cognitive capacities. In response, I propose an activity-based account of reasoning which retains the assumptions of argumentative rationality while recontextualizing the relationship between reasoning as a justificatory activity and the psychological states and processes underlying that activity.
Onset of summer flowering in a 'Sky Island' is driven by monsoon moisture.

Summary •Temperatures for the southwestern USA are predicted to increase in coming decades, especially during the summer season; however, little is known about how summer precipitation patterns may change. We aimed to better understand how nonsucculent plants of a water-limited gradient encompassing xeric desert to mesic mountain-top may respond to changes in summer conditions. •We used a species-rich 26-yr flowering record to determine species’ relationships with precipitation and temperature in months coincident with and previous to flowering. •The onset of summer flowering was strongly influenced by the amount and timing of July precipitation, regardless of elevation or life form, suggesting the critical importance of soil moisture in triggering summer flowering in this region. •Future changes in the timing or consistency of the early monsoon will probably impact directly on the onset of flowering for many species in this region. In addition, a key implication of predicted increasing temperatures is a decrease in available soil moisture. At all elevations, many species may be expected to flower later in the summer under the decreased soil moisture conditions associated with warmer temperatures. However, impacts on summer flowering may be greater at higher elevations, because of the greater sensitivity of mesic plants to water stress.
Quantitative bacteriological examination of urine in children with urinary tract infections.

SUMMARY Quantitative bacteriological examinations have been carried out in 287 urine specimens from 74 girls and 44 boys with urinary tract infection (17 girls and 21 boys below the age of 3 years and 57 girls and 23 boys between 3 and 12 years of age). Clean voided specimens were consistently taken from the boys. Partly clean voided, partly catheterized specimens were taken from the girls. Gram-stained smears from the urine specimens were also examined in the microscope. The investigations show a good correlation between quantitative bacteriological results and clinical findings. The lower limit of 100,000 bacteria per ml from fresh samples of bladder urine as an indication of infection seems to be correct. There is good agreement between the results of the quantitative bacteriological examinations and direct microscopic examination of gram-stained smears of the uncentrifuged urine. This supports the use of direct microscopy in diagnosis of urinary tract infections. In 50 double specimens from 49 girls without infection (the norm), and in 35 double specimens from 33 girls with urinary tract infection a correspondence was found between clean voided and catheter specimens in about 82% of the cases. It may be concluded that clean voided specimens taken lege artis and followed up by quantitative bacteriological examination should yield a reliable diagnostic method. The quantitative method can be used to distinguish between infection and contamination. The investigations indicate a strong tendency for microbes to develop resistance during treatment with chemotherapeutic agents or antibiotics. This emphasizes the importance of repeated bacteriological examinations of patients with urinary tract infection. The importance of obstruction as an etiological factor in urinary tract infection in children is supported.
The peptide growth factor, phytosulfokine, attenuates pattern‐triggered immunity

Summary Pattern-triggered immunity (PTI) is triggered by recognition of elicitors called microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs). Although immune responses may provide good protection of plants from pathogen attack, excessive immune responses have negative impacts on plant growth and development. Thus, a good balance between positive and negative effects on the immune signaling network is important for plant fitness. However, little information is known about the molecular mechanisms that are involved in attenuation of PTI. Here, we describe a growth-promoting peptide hormone, phytosulfokine (PSK), as attenuating PTI signaling in Arabidopsis. This research was motivated by the observation that expression of the PSK Receptor 1 (PSKR1) gene was induced by MAMP treatment. Plants homozygous for pskr1 T-DNA insertions showed enhanced defense gene expression and seedling growth inhibition triggered by MAMPs. The pskr1 plants also showed enhanced PTI against the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae. These results indicate that the PSKR-mediated signaling attenuates immune responses. Tyrosyl protein sulfotransferase (TPST) is an enzyme required for production of the mature sulfated PSK. Like pskr1 mutants, a tpst T-DNA insertion line exhibited enhanced MAMP-triggered seedling growth inhibition, which was suppressed by exogenous application of PSK. Thus, PSK signaling mediated by PSKR1 attenuates PTI but stimulates growth.
Refinement search as a unifying framework for analyzing planning algorithms

Despite the long history of classical planning, there has been very little comparative analysis of the performance tradeoffs offered by the multitude of existing planning algorithms. This is partly due to the many different vocabularies within which planning algorithms are usually expressed. In this paper, I show that refinement search provides a unifying framework within which various planning algorithms can be cast and compared. I will provide refinement search semantics for planning, develop a generalized algorithm for refinement planning, and show that all planners that search in the space of plans are special cases of this algorithm. I will then show that besides its considerable pedagogical merits, the generalized algorithm also ( ) allows us to develop a model for analyzing the search space size, and refinement cost tradeoffs in plan space planning, ( ) facilitates theoretical and empirical analyses of competing planning algorithms and ( ) helps in synthesizing new planning algorithms with more favorable performance tradeoffs. I will end by discussing how the framework can be extended to cover other planning models (e.g. state-space, hierarchical), and richer behavioral constraints.
Human health risk assessment of air emissions from development of unconventional natural gas resources

Abstract Background Technological advances (e.g. directional drilling, hydraulic fracturing), have led to increases in unconventional natural gas development (NGD), raising questions about health impacts. Objectives We estimated health risks for exposures to air emissions from a NGD project in Garfield County, Colorado with the objective of supporting risk prevention recommendations in a health impact assessment (HIA). Methods We used EPA guidance to estimate chronic and subchronic non-cancer hazard indices and cancer risks from exposure to hydrocarbons for two populations: (1) residents living >½ mile from wells and (2) residents living ≤½ mile from wells. Results Residents living ≤½ mile from wells are at greater risk for health effects from NGD than are residents living >½ mile from wells. Subchronic exposures to air pollutants during well completion activities present the greatest potential for health effects. The subchronic non-cancer hazard index (HI) of 5 for residents ≤½ mile from wells was driven primarily by exposure to trimethylbenzenes, xylenes, and aliphatic hydrocarbons. Chronic HIs were 1 and 0.4. for residents ≤½ mile from wells and >½ mile from wells, respectively. Cumulative cancer risks were 10 in a million and 6 in a million for residents living ≤½ mile and >½ mile from wells, respectively, with benzene as the major contributor to the risk. Conclusions Risk assessment can be used in HIAs to direct health risk prevention strategies. Risk management approaches should focus on reducing exposures to emissions during well completions. These preliminary results indicate that health effects resulting from air emissions during unconventional NGD warrant further study. Prospective studies should focus on health effects associated with air pollution.
HIV Prevention Among Women in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Intervening Upon Contexts of Heightened HIV Risk

Women's vulnerability to HIV infection is influenced by contextual factors in the risk environment that operate at multiple levels (i.e., physical, social, economic, policy). We present three case studies that illustrate combination approaches to HIV prevention among women who are at heightened risk for infection, especially sex workers, in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Lessons learned from these case studies are consistent with international literature promoting interventions that combine sexual risk reduction, condom promotion, and improved access to sexually transmitted infection (STI) treatment in the context of structural interventions, including policy change and empowerment of sex workers to reduce their vulnerability to HIV/STIs. We suggest avenues for future research and new intervention targets as well as a more nuanced approach to understanding the structural and social vulnerability of women to HIV infection in these settings.
Integrating hypnosis into a comprehensive smoking cessation intervention: comments on past and present studies.

(2001). Integrating hypnosis into a comprehensive smoking cessation intervention: Comments on past and present studies. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis: Vol. 49, No. 3, pp. 267-271.
Broadband heteronuclear decoupling in the presence of homonuclear dipolar and quadrupolar interactions

A new family of composite decoupling sequences designed for heteronuclear broadband decoupling of spin-l and spin-f in solids and liquid crystals is introduced. The pulse sequences are windowless and perform net rotations in spin space about magic-angle axes. Computer simulations and experimental results are presented to demonstrate their decoupling performance and to discuss their susceptibility toward pulse imperfections. We describe the evaluation of the new sequences, called COMARO (composite magic-angle rotation), and point out some possibilities for further improvements. o 1987 Academic
A Field Theoretical Investigation of Multiple Meson Production. I ---Pion-Nucleon Collisions---

Multiple meson production in pion-nucleon collisions is investigated by field theory. By introducing the interaction time and assuming that the free hamiltonian can be approximately put as a C-number during the calculation of the effect due to the interaction hamiltonian for the interaction time-interval, it is shown that multiple meson prcduction is caused by the pseudoscalar type interaction. Numerical results are obtained for the relative cross sections of n pion prcduction, the angular distribution, the momentum distribution of final nucleons, etc. These results are compared with the experimental dath in Bev and cosmic ray energy regions. The covariant phase space integration is carried out with the saddle point method and its final expression is comparatively simple. The probability distribution of charge states in the statistical theory is derived by an approximate formula instead of the tedious combination of Clebsh- Gordan coefficients. (auth)
Aminopeptidases do not directly degrade tau protein

Background: Tau hyperphosphorylation and aggregation to form intracellular neurofibrillar tangles is prevalent in a number of tauopathies. Thus there is current interest in the mechanisms involved in Tau clearance. It was recently reported that Tau can be degraded by an aminopeptidase known as the puromycin sensitive aminopeptidase (PSA). Until now PSA has been reported to only cleave peptides, with the largest reported substrates having 30-50 amino acids. We have studied this unique PSA cleavage reaction using a number of different PSA preparations. Results: An N-terminally His tagged-PSA was expressed and purified from Sf9 insect cells. Although this PSA preparation cleaved Tau, product analysis with N and C terminal Tau antibodies coupled with mass spectrometry showed an endoproteolytic cleavage atypical for an aminopeptidase. Furthermore, the reaction was not blocked by the general aminopeptidase inhibitor bestatin or the specific PSA inhibitor puromycin. In order to test whether Tau hydrolysis might be caused by a protease contaminant the enzyme was expressed in E. coli as glutathione S-transferase and maltose binding protein fusion proteins or in Sf9 cells as a C-terminally His-tagged protein. After purification to near homogeneity none of these other recombinant forms of PSA cleaved Tau. Further, Tau-cleaving activity and aminopeptidase activities derived from the Sf9 cell expression system were separable by molecular sieve chromatography. When tested in a cellular context we again failed to see a PSA dependent cleavage of Tau. A commercial preparation of a related aminopeptidase, aminopeptidase N, also exhibited Tau cleaving activity, but this activity could also be separated from aminopeptidase activity. Conclusion: It is concluded that PSA does not directly cleave Tau.
On relevance as a measure

Abstract Relevance is defined as a measure of information conveyed by a document relative to a query. It is shown that the relationship between the document and the query, though necessary, is not sufficient to determine relevance.
NARCISSISM AND AGGRESSION: IS INFLATED SELF-ESTEEM RELATED TO AGGRESSIVE DRIVING?

This paper investigates the relationship between aggressive driving behavior and narcissism, hypothesizing that individuals with inflated self-esteem that are challenged by another driver would report higher levels of aggressive driving behavior. For this study, 91 participants completed self-report measures assessing narcissism, self-esteem and aggressive driving behavior. Results showed that specific aspects of narcissism did predict aggressive driving behavior, supporting the theory of threatened egotism. These results suggest that inflated self-esteem may be an important factor in aggressive driving behavior, while low-self-esteem is not.
Effects of Compost on the Chemistry of an Urban Upper Piedmont South Carolina Soil

Composting is an effective method to improve the fertility of degraded soils. However, the potential beneficial effects of composting on the fertility of urban soils have not been reported. This study compared nutrients measured in compost and soil samples collected from a residential urban plot in Clemson, SC. The dominant soil type present was an eroded Cecil sandy loam (fine, kaolinitic, thermic, Typic Kanhapludults), and the collected samples represented the following treatments: compost, garden, front lawn, backyard lawn, and basement (nonvegetated control). Tissues of leaf detritus were also analyzed to establish the nutrient contribution from leaves to soil. Standard soil tests were conducted to characterize soil macronutrients, macrominerals, and micronutrients, as well as soil parameters such as pH and cation exchange capacity (CEC). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the treatment means for each soil parameter and nutrient measured. In all cases, the different treatments had signif...
Obsessive—Compulsive Disorder in Childhood and Adolescence

Although Janet (1903) identified obsessive-compulsive neurosis in children as young as 5 years of age, the disorder has since remained largely unexamined: a mere handful of single case studies or small clinical samples of children diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and little research regarding the clinical presentation or treatment exists. It is only in the past 10 years that OCD has been recognized as a serious psychopathology of childhood and that significant attention has been mounted toward its study. This recent interest has been inspired, in great part, by the finding that a large percentage of adult sufferers of OCD (33–50%) report onset of the disorder prior to age 15 (Beech, 1974), and has been fueled by subsequent studies demonstrating that the prevalence rate of the disorder is significantly higher in children than previously believed.
Curcumin Affects Phase II Disposition of Resveratrol Through Inhibiting Efflux Transporters MRP2 and BCRP.

To evaluate the impact of curcumin on the disposition of resveratrol phase II metabolites in vivo, and explain the observations by performing in vitro studies in transporter-overexpressed cells. Pharmacokinetic studies of resveratrol with and without the co-administration of curcumin were performed in both FVB wild-type and Bcrp1 (−/−) mice. Human UGT1A9-overexpressing HeLa cells and human MRP2-overexpressing MDCK II-UGT1A1 cells were used as in vitro tools to further determine the impact of curcumin as a transporter inhibitor on resveratrol metabolites. We observed higher exposure of resveratrol conjugates in Bcrp1 (−/−) mice compared to wild-type mice. In wild-type mice, curcumin increased the AUC of resveratrol glucuronide by 4-fold compared to the mice treated without curcumin. The plasma levels of resveratrol and its sulfate conjugate also increased moderately. In Bcrp1 (−/−) mice, there was a further increase (6-fold increase) in AUC of resveratrol glucuronide observed when curcumin was co-administered compared to AUC values obtained in wild-type mice without curcumin treatment. In the presence of 50 nM curcumin, the clearance of resveratrol-3-O-glucuronide and resveratrol-3-O-sulfate reduced in both MRP2-overexpressing MDCKII-UGT1A1 cells and Human UGT1A9-overexpressing HeLa cells. These results suggest that curcumin alters the phase II distribution of resveratrol through inhibiting efflux transporters including MRP2 and BCRP.
Reduced-Order Representations of Spatial Correlations

The framework of n-point spatial correlations produces an extremely large number of measures of the microstructure, making their direct use impractical for the process–structure–property linkages sought in most advanced materials development efforts. This chapter discusses the use of data science concepts in arriving at objective low-dimensional measures of the microstructure. In particular, emphasis is placed on principal component analyses of the microstructure representations obtained in the previous chapters. Several case studies are presented to illustrate the central concepts.
The Role of N* (1520) Resonance in Eta Photoproduction in the Light of New Polarization Data *

We examine the η photoproduction from nucleons in the cm energy region around 1530 MeV and study the role of N* (1520) resonance with the help of recently obtained polarized target and photon asymmetry data. We show here that these polarization data, in conjunction with the differential cross-section data, yield model-insensitive constraints on the electrostrong parameters for the excitation and decay of the N* (1520) resonance.
The Dual Mandate of Social Science: Remarks on the Academic Division of Labour *

WHEN Carl A. Dawson, a Canadian of American sociological training, went to McGill University in 1922, he went as a pioneer. He succeeded to the directorship of a school of social work, but the sociological point of view he brought was novel in Canada. Robert M. Maclver had taught at Toronto in the twenties. After he left to continue his work with great distinction in the Graduate Faculty of Political Science at Columbia University, the late Professor E. J. Urwick carried on in somewhat the same mood. It was the mood of the British scholarly liberals in which interest in welfare politics joined with social philosophy. Courses called sociology had certainly been offered in other Canadian universities, usually as a sort of sideline. I do not believe that there had been any formal courses in sociology in the French universities of Canada, but Leon Gerin, Edouard Montpetit, and other French-Canadian scholars had long since studied, and in some measure emulated, the work of Frederic LePlay, that same LePlay whose name lived on more among British sociologists than among those of his own France. I have no doubt Montpetit was familiar with Durkheim, whose work had so great an influence first on American sociologists and, later, on British and American social anthropologists. One should add that during all of this time Marius Barbeau, an anthropologist of British training, was rummaging around for evidence of the nearly lost arts of early French Canada. He had no fixed place in a university. Edward Sapir, also an anthropologist and one who had a great influence on American sociologists and social psychologists, had spent some time in Canada under the same auspices as other Canadian ethnologists-the Bureau of Mines. The sociological mood was not completely wanting in Canada, but sociologists were, to put it mildly, not a group with strong vested interests. In fact, the students of that time were inclined to complain that sociologists assigned them far too many books and articles concerning the States. Professor Dawson warned me, when I joined him in 1927, that my predecessor, also an American, had been given quite a runaround on this point. When it came up in one of my classes, I countered by assigning large doses from English social and housing surveys. When the students complained of that, too, I suggested that we might all get together and create our own research on Canada.