cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Biocrusts benefit from plant removal.

Premise of the study Productivity in drylands may depend on the sensitivity of interactions between plants and biocrusts. Given future climate variability, it is essential to understand how interactions may be context-dependent with precipitation regime. Furthermore, little is known about the additional interactions of these producers with the belowground biota (e.g., roots, fungi, microarthropods). We evaluated the effect of removal (such as could occur following disturbance) and net interaction of plants and biocrusts and additionally manipulated the abiotic and biotic context. Methods We established field mesocosms containing grass (Bouteloua gracilis) and surrounding biocrusts, then clipped the plant or heat-sterilized the biocrust to simulate the loss of dryland producers. To test for context-dependency on the precipitation pattern, we imposed a large, infrequent or small, frequent precipitation regime. A mesh barrier was used to impede belowground connections that may couple the dynamics of producers. Productivity was assessed by plant biomass and biocrust chlorophyll content. Key results Biocrusts increased chlorophyll content more when plants were removed than when they were present in the first year, but only in the small, frequent precipitation regime. In contrast, plant growth slightly declined with biocrust removal. Plant biomass and biocrust chlorophyll content were negatively correlated in the second year, suggesting net competition. Belowground connectivity weakly promoted overall biocrust relative productivity, but was generally weakly detrimental to plant relative productivity. Conclusions Altered precipitation patterns can amplify positive effects of plant removal on biocrust producers. Furthermore, we discovered that belowground networks contributed to dryland productivity by promoting biocrust performance.
Cilium structure, assembly, and disassembly regulated by the cytoskeleton

The cilium, once considered a vestigial structure, is a conserved, microtubule-based organelle critical for transducing extracellular chemical and mechanical signals that control cell polarity, differentiation, and proliferation. The cilium undergoes cycles of assembly and disassembly that are controlled by complex inter-relationships with the cytoskeleton. Microtubules form the core of the cilium, the axoneme, and are regulated by post-translational modifications, associated proteins, and microtubule dynamics. Although actin and septin cytoskeletons are not major components of the axoneme, they also regulate cilium organization and assembly state. Here, we discuss recent advances on how these different cytoskeletal systems­ affect cilium function, structure, and organization.
High Density and Performance Multiplication for FPGA

Arithmetic based applications are one of the most common use cases for modern FPGAs. Currently, machine learning is emerging as the fastest growth area for FPG As, renewing an interest in low precision multiplication. There is now a new focus on multiplication in the soft fabric - very high-density systems, consisting of many thousands of operations, are the current norm. In this paper we introduce multiplier regularization, which restructures common multiplier algorithms into smaller, and more efficient architectures. The multiplier structure is parameterizable, and results are given for a continuous range of input sizes, although the algorithm is most efficient for small input precisions. The multiplier is particularly effective for typical machine learning inferencing uses, and the presented cores can be used for dot products required for these applications. Although the examples presented here are optimized for Intel Stratix 10 devices, the concept of regularized arithmetic structures are applicable to generic FPGA LUT architectures. Results are compared to Intel Megafunction IP as well as contrasted with normalized representations of recently published results for Xilinx devices. We report a 10% to 35% smaller area, and a more significant latency reduction, in the range of 25% to 50%, for typical inferencing use cases.
Exploring Movement and Direction in Aesthetics

Exploring movement and direction in both the human perception and experience of aesthetics and in the human process of creating beauty, this chapter artfully also expands the scope of inquiry by emphasizing the emotion of being moved. Recurring searches for universal beauty are explored as well as the arguments that such universal beauty exists.
Correction to: The Retrovirus Capsid Core

In the original publication, the names of the second and third authors were incorrectly published.
Complex Photophysical Behaviors Affect Single Conjugated Molecule Optical Anisotropy Measurements

Polarization modulation depth (M) measurements have been widely used as a technique to report on transition dipole alignment and thus molecular conformation of single conjugated polymers and aggregates. Such extrapolation of conformation from these measurements, however, is complicated by the fact that photophysical processes (which themselves are coupled to conformation) may influence M values. Here, we show that the presence of intensity-dependent partial photoluminescence quenching can suppress M values, with this suppression more prominent in molecules with highly aligned transition dipoles. We show that these findings on M values are a direct consequence of behaviors of fluorescence intensity maxima and minima as a function of excitation polarization in poly[2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene] single molecules, as supported by a simulation that reproduces the experimental results. Our findings show that interpreting M values of molecules with complex photophysics should be done with ...
Memory Function and Cell Phone Microwave Exposure in Youngsters [Health Matters]

Cell phones, especially smartphones, have become such a popular phenomenon that marketing cell phones to youngsters is no longer the forbidden practice it once was. As a result of the increase of cell phone use among youngsters, France and other countries have banned the use of such phones in primary, junior, and middle schools, both inside classrooms and even outside on school playgrounds [1], [2].
Influence of Extracellular Polymeric Substances on the Adsorption of Cadmium onto Three Bacterial Species

In this study, we measured the effect of EPS on Cd and proton adsorption behaviors by measuring the extent of adsorption onto biomass with and without the EPS removed via a cation exchange resin. W...
Earliest Evidence of Preclinical Diabetic Retinopathy Revealed Using Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Perfused Capillary Density.

Purpose To compare perfused capillary density (PCD) in diabetic patients and healthy controls using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). Methods Forty controls, 36 diabetic subjects without clinical retinopathy (NoDR), 38 with nonproliferative retinopathy (NPDR), and 38 with proliferative retinopathy (PDR) were imaged using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. A 3 × 3-mm full-thickness parafoveal OCTA scan was obtained from each participant. Following manual delineation of the foveal avascular zone (FAZ), FAZ area, perimeter, and acircularity index were determined. Seven consecutive equidistant 200-μm-wide annular segments were drawn at increasing eccentricities from the FAZ margin. Annular PCD (%) was defined as perfused capillary area divided by the corresponding annulus area after subtraction of noncapillary blood vessel areas. Nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis testing with Bonferroni correction was performed in pairwise comparisons of group PCD values. Results The NoDR group demonstrated consistently higher PCD compared to the control group in all 7 annuli, reaching statistical significance (36.6% ± 3.30% vs 33.6% ± 3.98%, P = .034) at the innermost annulus (FAZ margin to 200 μm out). The NPDR and PDR groups demonstrated progressively decreasing PCD. Differences in FAZ metrics between the NoDR and control groups did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions Relative to healthy controls, increased PCD values in the NoDR group likely represent an autoregulatory response to increased metabolic demand, while the decrease in PCD that follows in NPDR and PDR results largely from an incremental loss of capillary segments. These findings, consistent with previous studies, demonstrate the potential of OCTA as a clinical tool for earlier objective detection of preclinical diabetic retinopathy. NOTE: Publication of this article is sponsored by the American Ophthalmological Society.
Basic need satisfaction in the parental relationship offsets millennials' worries about the transition to college.

Students’ worries about transitioning to college are correlated with long-term reduced psychological well-being, so we investigated how psychological need satisfaction might mitigate millennials’ w...
Post genome-wide gene-environment interaction study: The effect of genetically driven insulin resistance on breast cancer risk using Mendelian randomization.

Author(s): Jung, Su Yon; Mancuso, Nicholas; Papp, Jeanette; Sobel, Eric; Zhang, Zuo-Feng | Abstract: PurposeThe role of insulin resistance (IR) in developing postmenopausal breast cancer has not been thoroughly resolved and may be confounded by lifestyle factors such as obesity. We examined whether genetically determined IR is causally associated with breast cancer risk.MethodsWe conducted Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses using individual-level data from our previous meta-analysis of a genome-wide association study (GWAS) (n = 11,109 non-Hispanic white postmenopausal women). Four single-nucleotide polymorphisms were associated with fasting glucose (FG), 2 with fasting insulin (FI), and 6 with homeostatic model assessment-IR (HOMA-IR) but were not associated with obesity. We used this GWAS to employ hazard ratios (HRs) for breast cancer risk by adjusting for potential confounding factors.ResultsNo direct association was observed between comprising 12 IR genetic instruments and breast cancer risk (HR = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.76-1.14). In phenotype-specific analysis, genetically elevated FG was associated with reduced risk for breast cancer (main contributor of this MR-effect estimate: G6PC2 rs13431652; HR = 0.59, 95% CI: 0.35-0.99). Genetically driven FI and HOMA-IR were not significantly associated. Stratification analyses by body mass index, exercise, and dietary fat intake with combined phenotypes showed that genetically elevated IR was associated with greater breast cancer risk in overall obesity and inactive subgroups (single contributor: MTRR/LOC729506 rs13188458; HR = 2.21, 95% CI: 1.03-4.75).ConclusionsWe found complex evidence for causal association between IR and risk of breast cancer, which may support the potential value of intervention trials to lower IR and reduce breast cancer risk.
Design of Modular Auxiliary Gate Driver Power Supply for Medium Voltage Converter System

Auxiliary Power supplies are necessary for powering the gate drivers and controller circuits used in converter operation. Designing auxiliary power supplies for generating very low voltage output (up to 20V) from medium voltage DC input (6kV to 10kV) is technically challenging. Currently, lot of research is being carried out in implementing grid level medium voltage converters using 6.5kV to 10kV SiC MOSFETs. Fast switching speed of SiC devices induces common mode noise into the gate driver system. Apart from generating a DC output for gate drivers, the power supplies also need to provide the necessary isolation and common mode current protection resulting from fast switching. This paper discusses a novel power supply topology to generate an isolated low Voltage output from a high voltage input up to 2kV. A scheme has been proposed to achieve low DC output from Medium Voltage input (6kV to 10kV) by series input and parallel output connection of auxiliary power supply modules. Theoretical analysis of proposed topology has been formulated and hardware implementation has been done to verify operation of the topology.
Complete Genome Sequences of Two Avilamycin-Resistant Enterococcus faecium Strains Isolated from Chicken in the United States.

ABSTRACT Avilamycin-resistant Enterococcus spp. have never been reported in the United States. Here, we report the complete genome sequences of two avilamycin-resistant (Avir) Enterococcus faecium strains isolated from a retail chicken and a cecal sample from a young chicken. Both isolates are multidrug resistant (MDR) and carry emtA on MDR plasmids.
Assessing Risk for Mortality in Trauma: The Value of Admission Hemoglobin A1c.

BackgroundRecent efforts have been made to identify admission characteristics of trauma patients that are associated with increased risk of mortality. Contemporary literature has established an inc...
Effectiveness trial of a selective dissonance-based eating disorder prevention program with female college students: Effects at 2- and 3-year follow-up

Abstract Objective An efficacy trial found that a dissonance-based prevention program reduced risk factors, eating disorder symptoms, and future eating disorder onset, but smaller effects emerged when high school clinicians recruited students and delivered the program under real-world conditions in an effectiveness trial. The current report describes results at 2- and 3-year follow-up from an effectiveness trial that tested whether a new enhanced dissonance version of this program produced larger effects when college clinicians recruit students and deliver the intervention using improved train and supervision procedures. Method Young women from eight universities ( N = 408, M age = 21.6, SD = 5.64) were randomized to the prevention program or an educational brochure control condition. Results Dissonance participants showed greater decreases in risk factors, eating disorder symptoms, and psychosocial impairment by 3-year follow-up than controls, but not healthcare utilization, BMI, or eating disorder onset. Conclusions This novel multisite effectiveness trial found that the enhanced dissonance intervention and improved training and supervision procedures produced an average effect size at 3-year follow-up that was 290% and 160% larger than effects observed in the high school effectiveness trial and efficacy trial respectively. Yet, the lack of eating disorder onset effects may imply that factors beyond pursuit of the thin ideal now contribute to eating disorder onset.
Copper-Catalyzed Regio- and Diastereoselective Additions of Boron-Stabilized Carbanions to Heteroarenium Salts: Synthesis of Azaheterocycles Containing Contiguous Stereocenters

Nucleophilic addition of diborylalkyl reagents to N-alkyl or N-acylpyridinium and related heteroarenium salts has been developed as a key step for the synthesis of nonaromatic nitrogen heterocycles...
El cine y las derivas bergsonianas en el pensamiento de María Zambrano

Duracion, memoria e imagen constituyen tres derivas del pensamiento bergsoniano presentes en la filosofia de Maria Zambrano. Estas derivas proponen un itinerario, a partir del problema del tiempo, que permite establecer algunos de los elementos constitutivos de la reflexion que realiza la filosofa acerca de la relacion entre pensamiento y vida, ademas de exponer desde el cine —neorrealismo italiano— la necesidad y urgencia de una reforma del entendimiento, que no busca el dominio de la realidad
Attention explains the transition to unlimited associative learning better than consciousness

This commentary focuses on the importance of attention skills in the development of universal associative learning (UAL), and it explains why the centrality of attention in UAL presents a considerable difficulty for the UAL approach. Attentional abilities are not just developmentally related to UAL but are in fact explanatory (or even constitutive) of UAL. The main problem is that all the types of attention involved in UAL can be dissociated from consciousness. This means that while attention skills for UAL might be necessary for consciousness, they are not sufficient because they can all occur unconsciously. Thus, the possibility that UAL capacities might not be sufficient for consciousness cannot be eliminated, thereby challenging the key claim of the UAL approach.
Targeted Liposomal Chemotherapies to Treat Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs) are highly aggressive and recurrent. Standard cytotoxic chemotherapies are currently the main treatment options, but their clinical efficacies are limited and patients usually suffer from severe side effects. The goal of this study was to develop and evaluate targeted liposomes-delivered combined chemotherapies to treat TNBCs. Specifically, the IC50 values of the microtubule polymerization inhibitor mertansine (DM1), mitotic spindle assembly defecting taxane (paclitaxel, PTX), DNA synthesis inhibitor gemcitabine (GC), and DNA damage inducer doxorubicin (AC) were tested in both TNBC MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468 cells. Then we constructed the anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) monoclonal antibody (mAb) tagged liposomes and confirmed its TNBC cell surface binding using flow cytometry, internalization with confocal laser scanning microscopy, and TNBC xenograft targeting in NSG female mice using In Vivo Imaging System. The safe dosage of anti-EGFR liposomal chemotherapies, i.e., <20% body weight change, was identified. Finally, the in vivo anti-tumor efficacy studies in TNBC cell line-derived xenograft and patient-derived xenograft models revealed that the targeted delivery of chemotherapies (mertansine and gemcitabine) can effectively inhibit tumor growth. This study demonstrated that the targeted liposomes enable the new formulations of combined therapies that improve anti-TNBC efficacy.
Molecular Genetic Improvement of Wheat

Cereal grains like wheat, rice and maize were most likely amongst the first plants domesticated by prehistoric man, and ever since have exerted a dominant influence on the development of the human civilization. Even today they constitute the most important group of food plants by virtue of providing more than 50% of all food consumed by man in addition to being the principal source of calories and protein in the human diet. The yield as well as the quality of cereal crops have been greatly improved during the past several decades by the traditional methods of breeding and selection. Significant further improvement of cereal crops is, however, limited by the time consuming and labor intensive nature of plant breeding methods, the restricted gene pool, and most importantly by the severe natural barriers to hybridization with even closely related species. It is in this context that the novel methods of plant cell and molecular biology, which permit the introduction of selected and defined plant as well as bacterial, viral and other genes of interest into plants, offer new opportunities for supplementing as well as complementing plant breeding and selection for the improvement of crop plants.
Pedestrianism and the struggle for the Sir John Astley belt, 1878-1879.

Abstract During the eighth decade of the nineteenth century, the American sporting scene was enriched by a series of five fabulous international pedestrian races. Sir John Astley, the English sporting baron, inaugurated the transatlantic six-day and six-night marathon races. These quintuple struggles roused nationalistic pride and sporting blood on two continents, were witnessed by tens of thousands, and resulted in feats of unprecedented human endurance.
Proceedings of the 2008 ACM SIGMETRICS international conference on Measurement and modeling of computer systems

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to SIGMETRICS 2008. Performance modeling and measurement are critical in the design and development of information technologies, ranging from computer systems to computer networks and the World Wide Web. Over the past decades we have seen an increasing influence of the modeling and measurement work in various disciplines in computer science. As a result, our community has been growing with broader application backgrounds and technical interests. This year's conference program is particularly exciting, with a number of new features. For the first time, the main conference has grown to a program of three full days with 36 papers. Also for the first time, we have a demo competition and a student thesis panel. In addition, there are three keynotes given by illustrious scholars from academia, Francois Baccelli (member of the French Academy of Sciences); from a funding agency, Jeannette Wing (Assistant Director of the Computer and Information Science and Engineering Directorate of the National Science Foundation); and from industry, Harrick Vin (Vice President of Research and Development at Tata Consultancy Services). Also new this year is a panel on Performance Analysis in the Real World, where all the panelists come from industrial production environments and will provide an industrial perspective of performance modeling and analysis. The conference program is further augmented with stimulating tutorials and workshops. This year, there are nine excellent tutorials on topics ranging from analysis and control techniques to performance engineering methodology and network economics. The MAthematical performance Modeling and Analysis (MAMA) workshop continues its success with its 10th edition in 2008. The Workshop on Hot Topics in METRICS (HotMetrics) will be inaugurated immediately after the main conference, in parallel with the third International Workshop on Feedback Control Implementation and Design in Computing Systems and Networks (FeBID). These tutorials and workshops complement the main conference and significantly enhance SIGMETRICS 2008.
TREAD CONTRIBUTION TO TIRE ROLLING LOSS

Tires built from compounds with equal storage moduli but different loss moduli for tread and body were subjected to designed tests on both roadwheel and twin rolls. The results allowed computation of the tread contribution to the total rolling loss, at various loads and pressures. On twin rolls, the relative tread contribution was much higher than it was on the roadwheel (typically, 60% vs 30%). On both machines, the loss contribution of the tread depended strongly on its loss modulus and on tire load; the effect of inflation pressure was small.
Does the photon have an elementary magnetostatic flux density?: (II) A phasor description of photon fields

Abstract Recently a new, fundamental, magnetostatic vector BΠ associated with photon fields was defined. It is claimed to affect Hamiltonian operators as any magnetostatic field does, and to be proportional to the angular momentum in the field. In this paper, we show: (A) in common with phasor products, the new vector is not static but cycles at twice the field frequency; (B) the vector is a fortuitous one. Its integral measures linear momentum in circularly polarized fields, and is zero in linearly polarized ones. Since angular momentum is proportional to linear momentum in circularly polarized fields and zero in linearly polarized ones, the surface integral of bΠ can be interpreted as a measure of angular momentum in a photon beam.
Strategies to Prepare Middle School and High School Students for College and Career Readiness

Abstract Trends among adolescents continue to be discouraging in terms of career and college readiness based on National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) achievement reports and high school graduation rate data. In response, this article presents five goals and eight strategies we have engaged in during a seven-year research study focused on building college and career readiness among adolescents. During our final year of helping students build college and career readiness, we found associated improvements in their academic-related perceptions, beliefs, and strategies; positive personal achievement and goal orientation; rising perceptions of college; improving trends in academic performance; and stronger perseverance in high school when compared to a control group. Because the students in this study have not completed their high school senior year, we do not have data that predict their college acceptance or career readiness.
Be Stars in the Ultraviolet Spectral Classification System

Rountree and Sonneborn (1991) developed a system for the classification of ultraviolet B-star spectra, using MK standards drawn from the optical region. The observational material consisted of high-dispersion spectra obtained with the Short Wavelength Prime (SWP) camera on the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) spacecraft. The classification criteria were based exclusively on photospheric absorption lines, primarily lines of C III, Si II, and Si III. The stellar wind lines of Si IV, C IV, and N V were not used in the classification.
C incorporation and segregation during Si1−yCy/Si(001) gas-source molecular beam epitaxy from Si2H6 and CH3SiH3

Abstract We have used in situ D 2 temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) to probe C incorporation and surface segregation kinetics, as well as hydrogen desorption pathways, during Si 1− y C y (0 0 1) gas-source molecular beam epitaxy from Si 2 H 6 /CH 3 SiH 3 mixtures at temperatures T s between 500 and 650 °C. Parallel D 2 TPD results from C-adsorbed Si(0 0 1) wafers exposed to varying CH 3 SiH 3 doses serve as reference data. Si 1− y C y (0 0 1) layer spectra consist of three peaks: first-order β 1 at 515 °C and second-order β 2 at 405 °C, due to D 2 desorption from Si monodeuteride and dideuteride phases, as well as a new second-order C-induced γ 1 peak at 480 °C. C-adsorbed Si(0 0 1) samples with very high CH 3 SiH 3 exposures yielded a higher-temperature TPD feature, corresponding to D 2 desorption from surface C atoms, which was never observed in Si 1− y C y (0 0 1) layer spectra. The Si 1− y C y (0 0 1) γ 1 peak arises due to desorption from Si monodeuteride species with C backbonds. γ 1 occurs at a lower temperature than β 1 reflecting the lower D–Si * bond strength, where Si * represents surface Si atoms bonded to second-layer C atoms, as a result of charge transfer from dangling bonds. The total integrated monohydride (β 1 +γ 1 ) intensity, and hence the dangling bond density, remains constant with y indicating that C does not deactivate surface dangling bonds as it segregates to the second-layer during Si 1− y C y (0 0 1) growth. Si * coverages increase with y at constant T s and with T s at constant y . The positive T s -dependence shows that C segregation is kinetically limited at T s ⩽650 °C. D 2 desorption activation energies from β 1 , γ 1 and β 2 sites are 2.52, 2.22 and 1.88 eV.
Identifying the Ptilopody (Feathered Shank) Loci of the Chicken

A series of crosses was made involving lightly-, and heavily-, and non-feather-shanked chickens in an attempt to clear up the confusion in the literature concerning the inheritance of feathered shanks in chickens. The Langshan and Brahma breeds were both shown to possess the same single shank-feathering locus, but because of their differences in phenotype and penetrance in the genetic crosses it was suggested that they possessed different alleles at this locus. This locus was designated as Pti-1, with Pti-1L being the Langshan allele and Pti-1B the Brahma allele. The Brahma allele was shown to be dominant over the Langshan allele. Both the Sultan and Cochin breeds were shown to possess two shank-feathering loci, and the data suggested that one of the loci in the Sultan contained the Pti-1L allele. It is hypothesized that the comparable allele in the Cochin breed was Pti-1B. It is proposed that the second locus in both of these breeds is similar, and the symbol Pti-2 is suggested.
The Effects of Paternal Behavior on Offspring Aggression and Hormones in the Biparental California Mouse

Series of experiments with Peromyscus combined with studies from other species reveal interesting effects of parental behavior on aggression. Both paternal pup retrievals and some aspect(s) of maternal separation (MS) appear to influence aggression of offspring. Paternal retrievals, however, may have a unique effect on offspring aggression that function in part through changes to the arginine vasopressin neurochemical system associated with the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. In comparison, MS and paternal huddling and grooming may function through the paraventricular nucleus as a result of stress, although effects on aggression appear to vary depending on species. The effects of paternal behavior were not uniform such that pup retrievals, but not huddling and grooming appeared to influence aggression. Thus, paternal effects on aggression may operate through mechanisms different than those traditionally associated with stress. This is also supported by preliminary data indicating a change in testosterone levels of pups in response to paternal retrievals. Despite the lack of an effect of changes in paternal huddling and grooming of offspring on aggression, it is possible that paternal separation in California mice may cause changes in aggression similar to those of MS in either rats or house mice. A careful comparison of aspects of aggression that are influenced by paternal retrievals vs. parental separation could be very illuminating in that one might predict different outcomes for different types of aggression.
Evaluation of Iron Deficiency Using Reticulocyte Indices in Dogs Enrolled in a Blood Donor Program.

Background People donating blood more than twice annually are at risk of developing iron deficiency. Little is known about the iron status of dogs enrolled in blood donor programs. Hypothesis Dogs donating blood ≥6 times annually will show evidence of iron deficiency based on their reticulocyte indices. Animals Thirteen dogs enrolled in a blood donor program donating ≥6 times over the preceding 12 months and 20 healthy nondonor control dogs. Methods Prospective observational study. Mature red blood cell (RBC) indices, reticulocyte indices, serum iron, serum ferritin, and total iron-binding capacity (TIBC) were compared between groups. Results Packed cell volume (median 47%, range 40–52%, P < .01), hematocrit (median 46.4%, range 40.3–52.5%, P < .01), and reticulocyte count (median 16,000/μL, range 9,000–38,000/μL, P < .01) were significantly lower in the blood donor dogs. No statistically significant differences were noted in the mature RBC indices between groups. Both reticulocyte mean corpuscular volume (median 88.8 fL, range 83.4–95.5 fL, P = .03) and reticulocyte hemoglobin content (median 24.6 pg, range 23.1–26.6 pg, P < .01) were significantly lower in the blood donor group. Serum iron and ferritin were similar between groups; however, TIBC was significantly higher in the control group (median 403 μg/dL, range 225–493 μg/dL, P = .02). Conclusions The findings in dogs donating ≥6 times annually suggest the presence of iron-deficient erythropoiesis in this population.
Preliminary note upon the cell lamination of the cerebral cortex of echidna, with an enumeration of the fibres in the cranial nerves

Material .—The following notes are based on the study of the brain of an Echidna which died in the gardens of the Zoological Society in London. Dr. F. W. Mott, F. R. S., kindly placed the brain in my hands with the suggestion that I should examine the cell lamination of the cortex and should estimate the numbers of fibres in the cranial nerves. For this and for his advice and help during the investigation I wish here to express my gratitude.
The research data alliance: Implementing the technology, practice and connections of a data infrastructure

Editor's Summary With research in demand for innumerable applications to society's challenges, the Research Data Alliance (RDA) was formed to create and implement a unified data infrastructure. Established in March 2013, the alliance is directed toward establishing a framework to serve social and technical research needs at the local and global levels. The RDA brings together a community of stakeholders to guide the organization as it evolves and align participants' diverse perspectives, striving for consensus, harmonization and an open community. Its structure features organizational and technical advisory boards, interest groups, shorter term working groups and an elected council to steer the alliance. With 700 members representing the academic, public and private sectors across 44 countries, the RDA seeks support from researchers, data managers, funding agencies and governments to promote the strategic and effective use of research data.
A follow-up of a Title IV-E program's graduates' retention rates in a public child welfare agency.

Abstract Objective: Examine retention rates of a Title IV-E program's graduates in a public child welfare agency. Method:The sample consisted of all workers (N = 266) hired between June 1994 and June 1997. Subjects were followed until 12/31/99 in order to ascertain employment status. Data for study were abstracted from agency personnel files. Findings:Title IV-E trained social workers had longer periods of tenure than non-IV-E trained employees (p < .057). Other predictors that were significant or approaching significance included Spanish speaking (p < .007), having an MSW (p < .0245), being rehired by the agency (p < .052), and being promoted to social from Income Maintenance (p < .061). Conclusions:The retention finding is encouraging because it may mean child welfare agencies may improve their human capital through programs like IV-E. Recruiting Spanish speaking social workers or upgrading existing workers' language skills may increase retention in child welfare. Promoting from within coupled with upgr...
Differential regulation of catalytic and non-catalytictrkB messenger RNAs in the rat hippocampus following seizures induced by systemic administration of kainate

Abstract Ribonuclease protection analysis and quantitative in situ hybridization histochemistry were used to investigate the coordination and regional expression of catalytic and non-catalytic trk B messenger RNAs in the adult rat hippocampus following systemic kainate-induced seizures. Changes in trk B expression were compared with the messenger RNA expression of its neurotrophic ligands, brain-derived neurotrophic factor and neurotrophin-3. Trk B messenger RNA expression was increased in the dentate granule cells at 1–4 h following the onset of seizures, and returned to control levels 16–24 h thereafter. In addition, seizures also induced expression of trk B messenger RNA in putative non-neuronal cells at four to seven days in the molecular layer of the dentate gyrus and the stratum lacunosum moleculare of the CA1 region. Hybridization with probes specific for the non-catalytic trk B receptor and the catalytic trk B receptor revealed that the increases at four and seven days in the molecular layers of the hippocampus reflected an up-regulation of only the non-catalytic form of the receptor. Furthermore, the neuronal increases observed 1–4 h were due to an up-regulation of both trk B TK− and trk B TK+ messenger RNAs. It was established that systemic administration of kainate increased brain-derived neurotrophic factor messenger RNA levels in the pyramidal and granule cell regions of the hippocampus 1–4 h following the onset of behaviorally manifested seizure activity. Early changes in neuronal expression of trk B TK− and trk B TK+ messenger RNA paralleled changes in brain-derived neurotrophic factor messenger RNA in the dentate granule cell and CA1 pyramidal cell layers, but not in the CA3 subregion. These data suggest that concomitant regulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and its cognate receptor may play a role in the selective vulnerability of hippocampal subregions to kainate-induced neuropathology. Furthermore, these data suggest a dual function for trk B receptor expression in the hippocampus following kainate-induced seizures, possibly related to both the plastic and degenerative consequences of seizure induction by kainate.
Irradiance measurement errors due to the assumption of a Lambertian reference panel

A technique is presented for determining the error in diurnal irradiance measurements that results from the non-Lambertian behavior of a reference panel under various irradiance conditions. Spectral biconical reflectance factors of a spray-painted barium sulfate panel, along with simulated sky radiance data for clear and hazy skies at six solar zenith angles, were used to calculate the estimated panel irradiances and true irradiances for a nadir-looking sensor in two wavelength bands. The inherent errors in total spectral irradiance (0.68 microns) for a clear sky were 0.60, 6.0, 13.0, and 27.0% for solar zenith angles of 0, 45, 60, and 75 deg, respectively. The technique can be used to characterize the error of a specific panel used in field measurements, and thus eliminate any ambiguity of the effects of the type, preparation, and aging of the paint.
Impact of preoperative renal dysfunction in patients undergoing off-pump versus on-pump coronary artery bypass.

Background The impact of the degree of renal dysfunction (RD) in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) ranging from normal to dialysis-dependence is not well defined. Methods A retrospective review of 14,199 patients undergoing isolated, primary CABG from January 1996 to May 2009 at Emory Healthcare was performed. The estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was estimated by the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease formula: mild RD (eGFR 60 to 90 mL/min/1.73 m 2 ), moderate RD (eGFR 30 to 59), severe RD (eGFR Results A total of 8,086 patients (57.0%) underwent off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) while 6,113 (43.0%) underwent on-pump CAB. Preoperative RD was common: Normal eGFR (n = 3,503/14,199 [24.7%]); mild RD (7,236/14199 [51.0%]); moderate RD (2,860/14,199 [20.1%]); severe RD (283/14,199 [2.0%]); and preoperative dialysis (317/14,199 [2.2%]). Moderate to severe RD or preoperative dialysis was associated with worse adjusted in-hospital mortality: mild RD (odds ratio [OR] 1.42; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.93 to 2.16; p = not significant); moderate RD (OR 3.55; 95% CI 2.32 to 5.43; p p p Conclusions Preoperative RD is common in the CABG population and is associated with diminished long-term survival. Improved early outcomes in patients with RD undergoing OPCAB diminished with worsening RD.
Effects of ether anesthesia and surface-induced hypothermia on regional blood flow.

Abstract Regional blood flow and distribution of cardiac output (CO) were evaluated by the radioactive microsphere technique in seven rhesus monkeys prior to anesthesia, following the induction of deep ether anesthesia and throughout the cooling course during surface-induced hypothermia to temperatures of 20° C. As given, deep ether anesthesia alone significantly decreased OC 10 per cent to 15 per cent and output fraction (Qt) was decreased to the carcass, increased to the slanchnic circulation (although not statistically significant), and unchanged to other organs, while total vascular (TVR) and organ resistances were reduced. With the addition of cooling, CO progressively decreased. Individual organ Qt's, however, did not change from anesthetized parallel to the reduction of CO as cooling progressed. TVR and organ vascular resistances increased to levels in excess of 150 per cent of anesthetized precooling values, apparently as the result of viscosity rather than vascular changes.
Polarized γ source based on Compton backscattering in a laser cavity

We propose a novel gamma source suitable for generating a polarized positron beam for the next generation of electron-positron colliders, such as the International Linear Collider (ILC), and the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC). This 30-MeV polarized gamma source is based on Compton scattering inside a picosecond ${\mathrm{CO}}_{2}$ laser cavity generated from electron bunches produced by a 4-GeV linac. We identified and experimentally verified the optimum conditions for obtaining at least one gamma photon per electron. After multiplication at several consecutive interaction points, the circularly polarized gamma rays are stopped on a target, thereby creating copious numbers of polarized positrons. We address the practicality of having an intracavity Compton-polarized positron source as the injector for these new colliders.
Drug screening in Scn1a zebrafish mutant identifies clemizole as a potential Dravet syndrome treatment

Dravet syndrome is a catastrophic pediatric epilepsy with severe intellectual disability, impaired social development and persistent drug-resistant seizures. One of its primary monogenic causes are mutations in Nav1.1 (SCN1A), a voltage-gated sodium channel. Here we characterize zebrafish Nav1.1 (scn1Lab) mutants originally identified in a chemical mutagenesis screen. Mutants exhibit spontaneous abnormal electrographic activity, hyperactivity and convulsive behaviours. Although scn1Lab expression is reduced, microarray analysis is remarkable for the small fraction of differentially expressed genes (~3%) and lack of compensatory expression changes in other scn subunits. Ketogenic diet, diazepam, valproate, potassium bromide and stiripentol attenuate mutant seizure activity; seven other antiepileptic drugs have no effect. A phenotype-based screen of 320 compounds identifies a US Food and Drug Administration-approved compound (clemizole) that inhibits convulsive behaviours and electrographic seizures. This approach represents a new direction in modelling pediatric epilepsy and could be used to identify novel therapeutics for any monogenic epilepsy disorder.
Current issues and a ‘wish list’ for conjoint analysis

Conjoint analysis is one of the most celebrated tools in Marketing, and its widespread use (not just widespread publication history) has been one of the greatest success stories in Marketing/Business of the academic and practitioner interface. In this article, I provide a wish-list, of sorts, summarizing current cutting-edge research that is trying to fill some holes, and other issues that I ‘wish’ were trying to be filled. By literally using a list-like statement, current answer, and wish-list format for this article, I hope to provide guidance to both academics and practitioners as to the areas for future important conjoint research. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A halothane surge phenomenon during paediatric mask induction using the Tec 4 vaporizer in the Ohmeda Modulus II Plus Anaesthesia System

Summary A prospective study of 30 paediatric patients who received a halothane inhalational induction revealed that in all 30 a brief halothane surge, i.e. an anaesthetic gas concentration greater than dialled on the vaporizer, occurred with the opening of the Tec 4 vaporizer (Ohmeda Tec 4 continuous flow vaporizer, Fluothane) dial setting to 0.25%. The surges were of brief (< 30 s) duration but ranged up to peak concentrations of 3% with a mean of 1.7% (± 0.8 SD). Measurements were made on the Ohmeda RGM 5250 respiratory gas monitor. While two of the children were crying throughout the induction and were not included in the totals, 11 (39%) of the remaining children were noted to withdraw from the mask when halothane was begun despite the use of sweet-flavoured (e.g. strawberry) scent application. Although no physiologic parameters were changed as a result, the effect on parents present during induction and the alteration of a calm, pleasant induction into one with a crying, uncooperative child make this factor pertinent to the paediatric anaesthetist.
SCRAM: A scoring and ranking system for persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic substances for the North American Great Lakes

The Chemical Scoring and Ranking Assessment Model (SCRAM) has been described in Parts I–III of this series (Snyder et al., 1999a; 1999b; 1999c). SCRAM is a chemical scoring and ranking (CSR) system that scores chemicals on the basis of bioaccumulation potential, environmental persistence, and toxicity. Part IV describes various tests and descriptions of the performance of this system. A group of 21 representative chemicals was chosen and scored to test the system. For those chemicals, the percentages of the scores associated with fate-related properties and associated with data uncertainty were determined. The scoring of four of these chemicals is described in greater detail, and the suitability of the scores is discussed. An analysis of the sensitivity of the system to incomplete data sets is presented. And finally, the discriminatory power of the system is described.
Respondent Behavior in Magnitude Estimation

Abstract Some researchers argue that data obtained using magnitude estimation have metric properties superior to those of data obtained using traditional survey items. The analysis in this article examines evidence relevant to the assumptions that respondents can express ratios using numbers, can locate an internal continuum, and can use the standard stimulus effectively. The data are answers to 5 practice items designed to teach magnitude estimation using line lengths and up to 18 items about stress experienced in caring for a sick person. The five practice items provide evidence of respondents' ability to give numeric estimates: 28% gave at least one answer that falls outside fairly tolerant boundaries that define a reasonable answer. Other results indicate that respondents do not improve with practice, that accuracy on the practice items does not predict good performance on magnitude estimates of a subjective property, and that respondents for whom the standard stress stimulus was hypothetical were mor...
Modelling of plane strain interfacial fracture in incompressible materials

Abstract Numerical modelling of a photoelastic experiment is discussed. The experiment examined incompressible materials under plane strain conditions, which results in a simplified analysis owing to a vanishing of the bimaterial parameter. The photoelastic experiment used the stress freezing method to determine near tip stresses in interfacial cracks in bimaterial specimens. Different crack orientations were used to produce different mode mixities. Photoelastic fringe patterns were analyzed to determine the magnitude and phase angle of the complex stress intensity factor. These experiments were modeled using a finite element analysis to determine the field variables near the tips of the interfacial cracks. Magnitudes of the complex stress intensity factors are found from J integral values, derived using the domain integral approach, and the phase angles are determined using extrapolation of the bond line traction data to r =0. The results show that this approach is a useful way to characterize completely the complex stress intensity factor in incompressible linear elastic bimaterial combinations under plane strain conditions.
Volume matching with application in medical treatment planning

Brachytherapy is an advanced cancer treatment method. The computation of the treatment plan is a difficult problem. One possible approach to get close to real time treatment planning is to reuse existing treatment plans. In this paper we address the problem of matching an input object (tumor) against a repository of model objects associated with known treatment plans such that the overlap volume is maximized. We refer to the matching of objects based on maximum overlap as volume matching.
Apodization with specified over-all transmittance.

The Rayleigh limit of resolution for a rotationally symmetric optical system is the radius of the central bright disk of the diffraction pattern formed by that system for a point object on its axis. The over-all transmittance of the system can also be calculated if the diffraction pattern is known. In this paper, we shall determine the diffraction pattern with the maximum possible central irradiance in the class of diffraction patterns all of which have the same Rayleigh limit, specified in advance at a value less than that for the standard Airy-type objective, and the same over-all transmittance, similarly specified in advance.