cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cohesive properties and electronic structure of Heusler L21-phase compounds Ni2XAl (X=Ti, V, Zr, Nb, Hf, and Ta).

The ternary (Heusler) L${2}_{1}$-phase compounds ${\mathrm{Ni}}_{2}$XAl (group-IVA or -VA element X=Ti, V, Zr, Nb, Hf, and Ta) have been found to greatly increase the high-temperature creep strength of NiAl. We report here the cohesive properties and electronic structures of these potential high-temperature structural materials in both the Heusler L${2}_{1}$ and the B2 phases determined by means of the all-electron total-energy self-consistent linear muffin-tin orbital method based on the local-density approximation. Our results show that the calculated equilibrium lattice constants of the L${2}_{1}$-structure compounds are in very good agreement with experiment. For ${\mathrm{Ni}}_{2}$TiAl and ${\mathrm{Ni}}_{2}$VAl, the lattice constants are found to match that of NiAl (mismatch is 1.7% and 1.0%, respectively). But for the other four compounds, the mismatch is found to be larger (3.6--5.6%). The difference of the lattice constants in the B2 and the L${2}_{1}$ structures, however, is very small (less than 1%). The formation energy is found to be consistently in favor of the L${2}_{1}$ phase. The Ni d and X d hybridization contributes the most to the cohesion of these compounds whose stability is also made certain by the well-separated filled bonding and empty antibonding states in the density of states. The density of states of the B2 phase is quite similar to that of L${2}_{1}$, but distinctions exist due to their structural differences. The rigid-band approximation is found to work well for these compounds.
P170 Changes in the epidemiology of lung cancer in a hospital in London, UK between 2000 and 2012

Background Changes in the epidemiology of lung cancer could have important implications for treatment and prognosis. International studies have suggested adiminishing gap between the incidence of lung cancer in men and women and an increasing proportion of adenocarcinomas. 1 We examined our own cohort of patients from a teaching hospital in south London UK to see whether these observations could be replicated. Methods All patients with suspected intra-thoracic malignancy were logged in a bespoke database. Relevant parameters were recorded. Data items were defined according to the specifications of the Lucada dataset. Stage was coalesced into “Early” (1–2a), “locally advanced” (3a, 3b) and advanced (4). Analysis was restricted to the major cell types squamous cell, adenocarcinoma, small cell and probable lung cancer unknown histology, first seen between January 1st 2000 and January 1st 2012. We analysed age, sex, histological cell type, stage and performance status by epoch. The results were tabulated and examined visually and using the chi-square test. Age was examined using one-way Anova. We used SPSS for MAC V19. Results One thousand three hundred and fifty patients met the entry criteria. Variables were distributed as follows; 839 men (62%), median age 71 years (inter quartile range 61–78), squamous cell 474 (35%), adenocarcinoma 404(30%), small cell (12%), probable cancer unconfirmed histologically 307(23%). early stage 234 (17%), locally advanced 366 (27%), advanced 620 (46%), not staged 130 (10%). Performance status 0–262 (19%), 1–38829(%), 2–290 (21%), 3–213 (16%), 4–111 (8%), not staged 86 (6%). The proportion of patients with squamous cell carcinoma decreased from 47% to 24% and the proportion with adenocarcinoma increased from 21% to 45% (p Discussion There have been dramatic changes in the epidemiology of lung cancer in our hospital over a 12 year period. The significance of these changes for treatment and prognosis should be explored. Devesa SS, Bray F, Vizcaino AP, Parkin DM. International lung cancer trends by histologic type: Male: Female differences diminishing and adenocarcinoma rates rising. International Journal of Cancer 2005; 117(2):294–99.
Deep sequencing of ribosomal footprints for studying genome-wide mRNA translation in plants

Ribosome footprinting measures mRNA translation via deep sequencing of ribosome-protected mRNA fragments (footprints). Ribosome footprinting has been successfully applied to various model systems, including yeast, human, mouse, and worm; and it has been demonstrated that the technology is capable to produce global translation measurements with up to a single-codon resolution. Here we present our first experiences with a footprinting experiment that probes ethylene-induced translational changes in the reference plant Arabidopsis thaliana. The goal of our project is to develop genomic tools for the qualitative and quantitative characterization of the plant translatome. We hope ribosome footprinting will allow researchers to correlate precisely mRNA features with translation efficiency, and open the way to investigate globally the mechanism of protein synthesis and its regulation at an unprecedented level of detail.
The Effect of Earlier or Automatic Collision Notification on Traffic Mortality by Survival Analysis

Objective: This article explores the effects of earlier emergency medical services (EMS) or automatic collision notification (ACN) and EMS arrival on passenger/driver survivability within the short time frame following traffic crashes. Methods: Survival analysis techniques are used extensively in this study, because traffic crash and EMS data are closely associated with time. The Kaplan-Meier estimator and life curves are applied to compare the survival rates between 2 or more conditions (e.g., earlier verus late EMS notification); The Weibull model with 3 parameters is used to predict mortality over time; furthermore, the Cox proportional hazard model explores multiple risk factors related to traffic mortality. Results: Based on Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data from 2005 to 2009, Kaplan-Meier life curves clearly showed the benefits associated with earlier notifications (approximately 1.84% fatality reduction within a time frame of 6 h after a crash) and earlier arrivals, and the Weibull mod...
Humoral mechanisms in prostate cancer:: A role for FSH

The natural history of prostate cancer has long been related to the male hormone testosterone, and treatment has focused on depletion of this androgen to slow or prevent growth of prostate cancer tissue. It has become clear recently, however, that more than androgens influence the progression of prostate cancer, with recent interest focusing on the gonadotropin, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). Research of the last decade has found that FSH is produced in and FSH receptors are expressed in the prostate. Investigators have found as well that production of FSH is altered in prostate cancer: FSH levels are increased and receptor production raised in the cancerous prostate. It also has been shown that there are endogenous compounds such as prostatic inhibin peptin that can modulate FSH levels. All of these findings are outlined in this paper, and suggest that FSH may affect the pathogenesis and progression of prostate cancer and that altering FSH production may prove to be an active therapeutic maneuver.
"Super" reactive power for the power system through SuperVAr/spl trade/ high temperature superconductor dynamic synchronous condensers

American Superconductor's (AMSC) high temperature superconductor (HTS) SuperVAr/spl trade/ dynamic synchronous condensers have a small foot print, are readily transportable, and are expected to be a very economic option for providing peak and dynamic reactive compensation to a power system. SuperVAr machines are also inherently stable to close in faults, and can provide up to twice its nominal rating for about one minute (peak rating) during depressed voltage events. Last, but not least, SuperVAr machines use less than half of the energy of a conventional synchronous condenser and about the same amount of energy as a modern flexible AC transmission system (FACTS) device consumes. It is expected to be highly reliable. The first SuperVAr machine is being operated at a TVA substation serving an arc furnace where it is being tested for its' ability to handle flicker. This location will also expose the machine to a large number of transients providing an excellent accelerated age test of the device.
Arming Military Justice, Volume I: The Origins of the United States Court of Military Appeals, 1775-1950

Why must military justice be different from civilian justice? How different should it be? And to what extent should it be influenced or administered by civilian participants? These are the broad topics addressed by Jonathan Lurie's comprehensive history of the development of appellate review of military justice in the United States. Predating federal district courts by more than a decade, the courtsmartial established by the Continental Congress in 1776 were among the first tribunals authorized by the United States. Lurie tells the story of how Congress finally created a civilian appellate court, the Court of Military Appeals, to sit at the top of his military justice system. Why it chose to do so in 1950, with the enactment of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, rather than at an earlier date, is a central theme of his book. Drawing from original sources never before utilized in such a work, Lurie focuses on the political dynamics of the major reforms of military justice that followed World War I and World War II. Other background chapters, however, discuss several earlier episodes that demonstrate thension between civil and military justice. One involved the irascible Andrew Jackson and the legal problems resulting from his enforcement of martial law in New Orleans; a second, the court martial and execution at sea of three Navy crewmen, among whom was the son of the then Secretary of War! A companion volume will treat the legal history of the Court of Military Appeals from 1951 to approximately 1980.
Bit rate distribution analysis for motion estimation in H.264

This paper analyzes bit rate distribution of full search and fast block matching motion estimation algorithms in H.264. It shows that a well-designed fast block matching algorithm not only can speed up motion estimation process, but can also improve rate-distortion performance. This is in contrast to the common belief that full search always yields optimal rate-distortion performance, in comparison to all fast BMAs.
The yeast ubiquitin protease, Ubp3p, promotes protein stability.

Stu1p is a microtubule-associated protein required for spindle assembly. In this article we show that the temperature-sensitive stu1-5 allele is synthetically lethal in combination with ubp3, gim1-gim5 , and kem1 mutations. The primary focus of this article is on the stu1-5 ubp3 interaction. Ubp3 is a deubiquitination enzyme and a member of a large family of cysteine proteases that cleave ubiquitin moieties from protein substrates. UBP3 is the only one of 16 UBP genes in yeast whose loss is synthetically lethal with stu1-5 . Stu1p levels in stu1-5 cells are several-fold lower than the levels in wild-type cells and the stu1-5 temperature sensitivity can be rescued by additional copies of stu1-5 . These results indicate that the primary effect of the stu1-5 mutation is to make the protein less stable. The levels of Stu1p are even lower in ubp3 Δ stu1-5 cells, suggesting that Ubp3p plays a role in promoting protein stability. We also found that ubp3 Δ produces growth defects in combination with mutations in other genes that decrease protein stability. Overall, these data support the idea that Ubp3p has a general role in the reversal of protein ubiquitination.
How contrast affects stereoacuity.

Stereoacuity and its dependence on contrast were measured at four spatial frequencies separated by 1 octave steps. Using a method of adjustment, observers adjusted the retinal disparity of an aperiodic narrow-band stimulus until it appeared in the depth plane defined by two flanking reference lines. Variations in contrast affected stereoacuity (the standard deviation of ten depth settings), with better performance observed at higher contrasts. Data were fit with straight lines (on a log–log plot), indicating a power-law dependence on contrast; the slope was steeper at lower spatial frequencies. These findings are consistent with the idea that disparity is computed from the responses of size-tuned mechanisms characterized by nonlinear contrast transfer functions. In a second experiment, the effects of interocular differences in contrast on stereoacuity were studied for two conditions. In the first condition, one eye always viewed a high-contrast target while the other eye viewed targets of successively low...
Immunotherapy for Epstein-Barr Virus-Related Lymphomas

Latent EBV infection is associated with several malignancies, including EBV post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders (LPD), Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphomas, nasopharyngeal carcinoma and Burkitt lymphoma. The range of expression of latent EBV antigens varies in these tumors, which influences how susceptible the tumors are to immunotherapeutic approaches. Tumors expressing type III latency, such as in LPD, express the widest array of EBV antigens making them the most susceptible to immunotherapy. Treatment strategies for EBV-related tumors include restoring normal cellular immunity by adoptive immunotherapy with EBV-specific T cells and targeting the malignant B cells with monoclonal antibodies. We review the current immunotherapies and future studies aimed at targeting EBV antigen expression in these tumors.
On the capacity of packet reservation multiple access with capture in personal communication systems

A new Markovian model is developed to analyze the packet reservation multiple access (PRMA) protocol over Rician fading channels with lognormal shadowing. The packet dropping probability and the voice user capacity are defined as the performance measures. A new formula is derived to evaluate the dropping probability in the fading environment. The analytical results from our new formula show close agreement with those from computer simulations. The capture effect on the PRMA system performance is also studied. We found that, with capture, the user capacity will be improved and the service quality will degrade gracefully when the number of active users in the system increases. Using the dropping probability as the criterion, we also determine the optimal permission probability in a microcellular environment.
Mosaicism, Modules, and the Evolution of Birds: Results from a Bayesian Approach to the Study of Morphological Evolution Using Discrete Character Data

The study of morphological evolution after the inferred origin of active flight homologous with that in Aves has historically been characterized by an emphasis on anatomically disjunct, mosaic patterns of change. Relatively few prior studies have used discrete morphological character data in a phylogenetic context to quantitatively investigate morphological evolution or mosaic evolution in particular. One such previously employed method, which used summed unambiguously optimized synapomorphies, has been the basis for proposing disassociated and sequential "modernizing" or "fine-tuning" of pectoral and then pelvic locomotor systems after the origin of flight ("pectoral early-pelvic late" hypothesis). We use one of the most inclusive phylogenetic data sets of basal birds to investigate properties of this method and to consider the application of a Bayesian phylogenetic approach. Bayes factor and statistical comparisons of branch length estimates were used to evaluate support for a mosaic pattern of character change and the specific pectoral early-pelvic late hypothesis. Partitions were defined a priori based on anatomical subregion (e.g., pelvic, pectoral) and were based on those hypothesized using the summed synapomorphy approach. We compare 80 models all implementing the Mk model for morphological data but varying in the number of anatomical subregion partitions, the models for among-partition rate variation and among-character rate variation, as well as the branch length prior. Statistical analysis reveals that partitioning data by anatomical subregion, independently estimating branch lengths for partitioned data, and use of shared or per partition gamma-shaped among-character rate distribution significantly increases estimated model likelihoods. Simulation studies reveal that partitioned models where characters are randomly assigned perform significantly worse than both the observed model and the single-partition equal-rate model, suggesting that only partitioning by anatomical subregion increases model performance. The preference for models with partitions defined a priori by anatomical subregion is consistent with a disjunctive pattern of character change for the data set investigated and may have implications for parameterization of Bayesian analyses of morphological data more generally. Statistical tests of differences in estimated branch lengths from the pectoral and pelvic partitions do not support the specific pectoral early-pelvic late hypothesis proposed from the summed synapomorphy approach; however, results suggest limited support for some pectoral branch lengths being significantly longer only early at/after the origin of flight. (Bayesian analyses; birds; flight; fossils; morphological data; mosaic evolution; quantitative methods.)
A randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effect of incorporating peanuts into an American Diabetes Association meal plan on the nutrient profile of the total diet and cardiometabolic parameters of adults with type 2 diabetes

Background According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), the nutritional goals for patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) are to achieve an optimal nutrient intake to achieve normoglycemia and a cardioprotective lipid profile. Peanuts are nutrient dense foods that contain high levels of monounsaturated fat (MUFA) and are a natural source of arginine, fiber, phytosterols, resveritrol, niacin, folate, vitamin E and magnesium, which have the potential for improving blood lipids and glycemic control. This study sought to evaluate the effect of a peanut enriched ADA meal plan on the nutrient profile of the total diet and cardiometabolic parameters in adults with T2D.
Utility function-based patient prioritisation in the emergency department

With the increased awareness of productivity problems in healthcare operations, many researchers have proposed the implementation of tools and methods developed in other fields to benefit healthcare delivery. Accordingly, we present in this paper an exploratory work using a hypothetical example of a decision-making methodology, the multi-attribute utility analysis, to healthcare. The hypothetical sample problem presented involves patient prioritisation in an Emergency Department (ED), where several patients require immediate attention and they all have the same acuity level. Utility theory is selected for this application to appropriately account for the uncertainty in the decision problem. [Submitted 01 March 2008; Revised 05 September 2008; Revised 02 February 2009; Accepted 07 February 2009]
Proteasome Inhibition As a Novel Therapeutic Target in Human Cancer

The 26S proteasome is a large intracellular adenosine 5'-triphosphate-dependent protease that identifies and degrades proteins tagged for destruction by the ubiquitin system. The orderly degradation of cellular proteins is critical for normal cell cycling and function, and inhibition of the proteasome pathway results in cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis. Dysregulation of this enzymatic system may also play a role in tumor progression, drug resistance, and altered immune surveillance, making the proteasome an appropriate and novel therapeutic target in cancer. Bortezomib (formerly known as PS-341) is the first proteasome inhibitor to enter clinical practice. It is a boronic aid dipeptide that binds directly with and inhibits the enzymatic complex. Bortezomib has recently shown significant preclinical and clinical activity in several cancers, confirming the therapeutic value of proteasome inhibition in human malignancy. It was approved in 2003 for the treatment of advanced multiple myeloma (MM), with approximately one third of patients with relapsed and refractory MM showing significant clinical benefit in a large clinical trial. Its mechanism of action is partly mediated through nuclear factor-kappa B inhibition, resulting in apoptosis, decreased angiogenic cytokine expression, and inhibition of tumor cell adhesion to stroma. Additional mechanisms include c-Jun N-terminal kinase activation and effects on growth factor expression. Several clinical trials are currently ongoing in MM as well as several other malignancies. This article discusses proteasome inhibition as a novel therapeutic target in cancer and focuses on the development, mechanism of action, and current clinical experience with bortezomib.
Towards a Theory of Mathematical Argument

In this paper, I assume, perhaps controversially, that translation into a language of formal logic is not the method by which mathematicians assess mathematical reasoning. Instead, I argue that the actual practice of analyzing, evaluating and critiquing mathematical reasoning resembles, and perhaps equates with, the practice of informal logic or argumentation theory. It doesn’t matter whether the reasoning is a full-fledged mathematical proof or merely some non-deductive mathematical justification: in either case, the methodology of assessment overlaps to a large extent with argument assessment in non-mathematical contexts. I demonstrate this claim by considering the assessment of axiomatic or deductive proofs, probabilistic evidence, computer-aided proofs, and the acceptance of axioms. I also consider Jody Azzouni’s ‘derivation indicator’ view of proofs because it places derivations—which may be thought to invoke formal logic—at the center of mathematical justificatory practice. However, when the notion of ‘derivation’ at work in Azzouni’s view is clarified, it is seen to accord with, rather than to count against, the informal logical view I support. Finally, I pose several open questions for the development of a theory of mathematical argument.
Targeting ApoB as a therapeutic approach forthe treatment of dyslipidemia: the potential role of mipomersen

Clinical studies demonstrate that lowering LDL-C is associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. As such, LDL-C recommendations have been lowered over the last several years to keep in line with new clinical data. The currently available lipid-lowering modalities are insufficient to reach those goals for a small but significant percentage of the population. New lipid-lowering therapies that target a different pathway would therefore be of great utility in reaching these goals in high-risk individuals with severe hypercholesterolemia. Targeting efflux of lipids from the liver is an alluring pharmacological objective. Pharmacological inhibition of microsomal triglyceride transfer protein is highly efficacious at lowering LDL-C, but is associated with significant steatosis and fat malabsorption. Knockdown of ApoB, the protein required to produce VLDLs and LDLs, by antisense oligonucleotides is another approach for blocking the efflux of lipids from the liver. Studies in animal models and human...
Effect of Extrusion Cooking on in Vitro Protein Digestibility of Sorghum

Extrusion variables including moisture (15 and 2.5%), temperature (50°, 125° and 200°C) and screw speed (50, 125 and 200 rpm) of two low tannin sorghum varieties extruded with 0, 2 and 4% calcium hydroxide were studied. Protein digestibility was determined by in vitro pepsin assay. Extrusion improved digestibility from 45.9 to 74.6% and 43.9 to 68.2% for the two varieties, respectively. Temperature was the key extrusion variable that influenced digestibility. Screw speed and moisture did not have significant effects. Alteration of pH before extrusion further improved digestibility.
Differential diagnosis of normal pressure hydrocephalus by MRI mean diffusivity histogram analysis.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Accurate diagnosis of normal pressure hydrocephalus is challenging because the clinical symptoms and radiographic appearance of NPH often overlap those of other conditions, including age-related neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases. We hypothesized that radiologic differences between NPH and AD/PD can be characterized by a robust and objective MR imaging DTI technique that does not require intersubject image registration or operator-defined regions of interest, thus avoiding many pitfalls common in DTI methods. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We collected 3T DTI data from 15 patients with probable NPH and 25 controls with AD, PD, or dementia with Lewy bodies. We developed a parametric model for the shape of intracranial mean diffusivity histograms that separates brain and ventricular components from a third component composed mostly of partial volume voxels. To accurately fit the shape of the third component, we constructed a parametric function named the generalized Voss-Dyke function. We then examined the use of the fitting parameters for the differential diagnosis of NPH from AD, PD, and DLB. RESULTS: Using parameters for the MD histogram shape, we distinguished clinically probable NPH from the 3 other disorders with 86% sensitivity and 96% specificity. The technique yielded 86% sensitivity and 88% specificity when differentiating NPH from AD only. CONCLUSIONS: An adequate parametric model for the shape of intracranial MD histograms can distinguish NPH from AD, PD, or DLB with high sensitivity and specificity.
Nonlinearity and noise at the rod - rod bipolar cell synapse

In the retina, rod bipolar (RBP) cells synapse with many rods, and suppression of rod outer segment and synaptic noise is necessary for their detection of rod single-photon responses (SPRs). Depending on the rods' signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), the suppression mechanism will likely eliminate some SPRs as well, resulting in decreased quantum efficiency. We examined this synapse in rabbit, where 100 rods converge onto each RBP. Suction electrode recordings showed that rabbit rod SPRs were difficult to distinguish from noise (independent SNR estimates were 2.3 and 2.8). Nonlinear transmission from rods to RBPs improved response detection (SNR = 8.7), but a large portion of the rod SPRs was discarded. For the dimmest flashes, the loss approached 90%. Despite the high rejection ratio, noise of two distinct types was apparent in the RBP traces: low-amplitude rumblings and discrete events that resembled the SPR. The SPR-like event frequency suggests that they result from thermal isomerizations of rhodopsin, which occurred at the rate 0.033/s/rod. The presence of low-amplitude noise is explained by a sigmoidal input-output relationship at the rod-RBP synapse and the input of noisy rods. The rabbit rod SNR and RBP quantum efficiency are the lowest yet reported, suggesting that the quantum efficiency of the rod-RBP synapse may depend on the SNR in rods. These results point to the possibility that fewer photoisomerizations are discarded for species such as primate, which has a higher rod SNR.
Using Light Attenuation to Estimate Leafy Spurge Impacts on Forage Production

Rangelandmanagersoftenmustdecidewhethertosuppressdicotyledonousweedpopulationswithexpensiveandtime-consuming management strategies. Often, the underlying goal of weed suppression efforts is to increase production of native forage plants. Many managers suppress weeds only when they feel the unwanted plants are substantially impacting their forage base. Currently, intuition and guesswork are used to determine whether weed impacts are severe enough to warrant action. We believe scientific impact assessments could bemore effective than these casual approaches todecision making. Scientific approaches will necessitate data on weed abundances because the severity of a weed’s impact is highly correlated with its abundance. The need for weed abundance data poses major obstacles because gathering these data with readily available techniques is time consuming. Most managers cannot or will not spend a lot of time gathering vegetation data. In this paper, we explore a rapidly measured index (,2 minutes per sample location) that is highly correlated with weed (i.e., leafy spurge Euphorbia esula L.) abundance per unit area. This index is based on the light attenuation leafy spurge causes. After measuring light attenuation in plots planted to leafy spurge and grasses, we developed a probabilistic model that predicts leafy spurge impacts on forage production. Data from experiments where herbicides suppressed leafy spurge provided an opportunity to evaluate prediction accuracy of the model. In each case herbicide experiment data fell within the range of values (i.e., credibility intervals) the model predicted, even though the model development experiments were separated from the herbicide experiments by several hundred kilometers in space and 4 years in time. Therefore, we conclude that the model successfully accounts for spatial and temporal variation. We believe light attenuation could help natural resource managers quickly quantify some kinds of weed impacts.
Limits of the 'Mini-Mental State' as a screening test for dementia and delirium among hospital patients

With a psychiatrist's standardized clinical diagnosis as the criterion, the 'Mini-Mental State' Examination (MMSE) was 87% sensitive and 82% specific in detecting dementia and delirium among hospital patients on a general medical ward. The false positive ratio was 39% and the false negative ratio was 5%. All false positives had less than 9 years of education; many were 60 years of age or older. Performance on specific MMSE items was related to education or age. These findings confirm the MMSE's value as a screen instrument for dementia and delirium when later, more intensive diagnostic enquiry is possible; they reinforce earlier suggestions that the MMSE alone cannot yield a diagnosis for these conditions.
Predator occupancy rates in a thinned ponderosa pine forest, Arizona: A pilot study

Throughout northern Arizona, USA, forest thinning in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests has become a common practice to reduce the threat of stand-replacing wildfire and to increase plant and animal diversity across the landscape. To determine how thinning affects predator occurrence, we assessed relationships between predator occupancy and the density of small mammals (prey) across a range of tree stocking levels (basal area of 10–65 m2/ha). Predators were detected using 2 techniques: baited track plates and motion-sensitive cameras. We sampled 33 sites for 2 weeks each in order to detect presence of predators, and estimated occupancy using occupancy models and multimodel inference. We modeled occupancy rates for gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), coyote (Canis latrans), and raccoon (Procyon lotor). Our results suggest that thinning may have a positive influence on gray fox and coyote abundance, but a negative influence on raccoon abundance. However, our inability to develop strong models that predicted predator occupancy indicates that higher sample sizes and more habitat covariates are needed. Our simulations indicated that, given our occupancy and detection rates, a sample size of 75 sites would allow us to better model occupancy covariates. Overall, we found that predator occupancy can be assessed at large spatial scales using occupancy approaches, particularly using motion-sensitive cameras, which were the most time- and cost-efficient of the methods we analyzed. © 2012 The Wildlife Society.
Preliminary normative data on the Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form (GDS-SF) in a young adult sample.

As part of a larger cognitive neuropsychological study, a total of 559 consecutive undergraduates aged 17-30 years completed the shortened form (15 Yes/No items) of the self-report Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form (GDS-SF). Approximately 22 individuals (or 4% of the total) obtained a GDS score that was indicative of "probable" depression (i.e., a score of 6 or higher, up to 15). Small but highly significant correlations (all p's < .01) were obtained between GDS-SF and age, education, and self-rated health. Fifty-one additional undergraduates from the same population were given the GDS-SF and the Beck Depression Inventory together, and the resulting correlation coefficient between these two scores was r = .84 (p < .01), thereby establishing concurrent validity of GDS-SF performance with another well-validated and reliable measure of depression in this age group.
ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF CATALASE FROM PAPAYA

A catalase (I.U.B.1.11.1.6) in papaya was extracted, purified and characterized. The enzyme had a pH optimum of 6.1 and was stable when refrigerated or frozen. The enzyme was inactivated by acidification to pH 3.5. Heat inactivation of papaya catalase was biphasic at 55°C and 60°C, and monophasic at 65°C. Kinetics of both phases were first order. The activation energies for the thermal inactivation of the two phases were 85.9 Kcal/mole and 97.0 Kcal/mole. The apparent molecular weight of the enzyme as determined by gel filtration was 160,000. The unsuitability of papaya catalase as a biochemical indicator for heat inactivation is discussed.
An experimental study on liquid radioactive waste treatment process using inorganic ion exchanger

Abstract Using commercial inorganic, organic sorbents and activated carbons, the treatment of low level liquid radwaste in nuclear power plant was studied. The batch, column and pilot tests were performed using simulants and actual liquid radwaste. The tests were focused on the removal capacity of the sorbents under sodium ion concentration since the liquid radwaste commonly contains a large amount of sodium ion which may affect the removal capacity of ion exchangers. The target ions to remove with sorbents were radionuclides such as Co‐58, Co‐60, Cs‐134, and Cs‐137 which are the major species in the liquid radwaste. The fundamental experiments showed that the inorganic sorbents and activated carbons have a better efficiency under sodium ion concentration for a cesium removal than a cobalt removal, whereas the organic resin is better for the cobalt removal. A new process for liquid radioactive waste treatment was proposed here based upon the experimental results. That is composed of a filter, activated ca...
Reverse Sunshine in the Digital Wild Frontier: Protecting Individual Privacy Against Public Records Requests for Government Databases

In the present Digital Age, the American government engages in mass collection of information about individuals. The databases, with their layers of metadata, that contain this information are then potentially subject to public disclosure pursuant to State and Federal Sunshine laws. In essence, what is occurring is a Reverse Sunshine effect, in which the lives of private individuals can be made more transparent than government action. North Carolina is the latest of a small number of states addressing the daunting question whether a single public records request may require production of a copy of an entire government database, potentially containing massive collections of individual information. While the North Carolina Supreme Court, like its sister states, managed to avoid directly answering the question, the specter of drastically increased commercial and individual access to government databases warrants caution. Until governmental agencies are better able to properly maintain and comply with public records requests for mass digital information, the risk of unwarranted disclosure of private information is great and the existing individual remedies and protections slight. Thus, it is timely to consider pragmatic and legislative solutions to more effective and tailored compliance with public records requests in the Digital Age, to empower individuals to enforce their right to privacy and to gain lawful access to public records.
Tervel: A unification of descriptor-based techniques for non-blocking programming

The development of non-blocking code is difficult; developers must ensure the progress of an operation on shared memory despite conflicting operations. Managing this shared memory in a non-blocking fashion is even more problematic. The non-blocking property guarantees that progress is made toward the desired operation in a finite amount of time. We present a framework that implements memory reclamation and progress assurance for code that follows the semantics of our framework. This reduces the effort required to implement non-blocking, and more specifically wait-free, algorithms. We also present a library that demonstrates the ease with which wait-free algorithms can be implemented using our framework.
Ethnohistory: A Better Way to Write Indian History

ent theoretical and methodological orientations, with the predictable result that the Indian emerged as two different individuals. "There are two Indians of history," recently mused an eminent anthropologist: "one is the Indian of ethnology; the other, the Indian of recent history. The first is the Indian of cultural elements: the snowshoe, puberty ceremonies, kinship organization, and the potlatch. The second is the Indian of the mines, the encomiendas, the missions, and the fur trade."' For the anthropologist - the ethnologist and his intellectual kinsman, the archaeologist - American Indian history begins some forty thousand years ago when the Paleolithic ancestors of the modem Indian wandered across the Bering land bridge (Beringia) into Alaska and filtered down into the rest of the continent, Mesoamerica, and South America. In the ensuing millennia their heirs fashioned cultures and societies uniquely adapted to a range of ecological possibilities coupled with varying degrees of outside influence. It is these internal and external social-cultural arrangements and adjustments that the anthropologist makes the object of his investigation. Moreover, the anthropologist brings to the study of American Indians a staggering time depth against which the past four hundred years seems but a drop in the bucket, albeit a momentous one.
Lacunar strokes: current concepts.

Lacunar strokes result from occlusion of penetrating arteries in the deeper, subcortical parts of the cerebrum and brain stem. Approximately 19 percent of all strokes are of the lacunar variety with lacunar strokes representing the most common cerebrovascular complication of chronic hypertension. Four major clinical syndromes are pure motor hemiparesis, pure sensory stroke, ataxic hemiparesis, and the dysarthria-clumsy hand syndrome. The advent of computed tomography (CT) has allowed the antemortem study of lacunar disease and has shed new light on the pathogenesis and clinical course of lacunar strokes. Recently, it has been demonstrated that lacunar strokes may be embolic or hemorrhagic in causation, are not invariably associated with hypertension, and may be larger and associated with neurological manifestations that do not conform to the classic patterns. In most instances, however, recognition of the characteristic clinical presentation and confirmation of the diagnosis with noninvasive studies spare many patients unnecessary risks associated with anticoagulation, arteriography, or vascular surgery.
Failure of Histamine and “Gastrin”to Provoke Gastric Secretion in Monkeys with Anacidity

Summary and Conclusions1. Six out of 12 Rhesus monkeys failed to secrete free acid in their gastric juice 45 to 60 minutes after subcutaneous injections of 0.5 mg. histamine while 5 out of 12 failed to respond to 1.0 cc. of a preparation of “gastrin”. 2. Three out of 12 monkeys were refractory to 1.0 mg. of histamine and to 2.0 cc. of the “gastrin”preparation. 3. The “gastrin extracts”of hog's pyloric mucosa did not contain a substance capable of stimu-lating acid gastric secretion other than histamine, both in the normal and anacid monkeys. 4. None of the 12 monkeys secreted free acid in the gastric juice in response to 7% alcohol or to a meal of farina gruel and boiled potatoes.
Distributional sensitivity for uncertainty quantification

In this work we consider a general notion of distributional sensitivity, which measures the variation in solutions of a given physical/mathematical system with respect to the variation of probability distribution of the inputs. This is distinctively different from the classical sensitivity analysis, which studies the changes of solutions with respect to the values of the inputs. The general idea is measurement of sensitivity of outputs with respect to probability distributions, which is a well-studied concept in related disciplines. We adapt these ideas to present a quantitative framework in the context of uncertainty quantification for measuring such a kind of sensitivity and a set of efficient algorithms to approximate the distributional sensitivity numerically. A remarkable feature of the algorithms is that they do not incur additional computational effort in addition to a one-time stochastic solver. Therefore, an accurate stochastic computation with respect to a prior input distribution is needed only once, and the ensuing distributional sensitivity computation for different input distributions is a post-processing step. We prove that an accurate numericalmodel leads to accurate calculations of this sensitivity, which applies not just to slowly-converging Monte-Carlo estimates, but also to exponentially convergent spectral approximations. We provide computational examples to demonstrate the ease of applicability and verify the convergence claims.
Fluorescent single-walled carbon nanotube aerogels in surfactant-free environments.

A general challenge in generating functional materials from nanoscale components is integrating them into useful composites that retain or enhance their properties of interest. Development of single walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) materials for optoelectronics and sensing has been especially challenging in that SWNT optical and electronic properties are highly sensitive to environmental interactions, which can be particularly severe in composite matrices. Percolation of SWNTs into aqueous silica gels shows promise as an important route for exploiting their properties, but retention of the aqueous and surfactant environment still impacts and limits optical response, while also limiting the range of conditions in which these materials may be applied. Here, we present for the first time an innovative approach to obtain highly fluorescent solution-free SWNT-silica aerogels, which provides access to novel photophysical properties. Strongly blue-shifted spectral features, revelation of new diameter-dependent gas-...
Azotemic Anemia: A Brief Review

Azotemic anemia is a normocytic normo-chromic anemia which has its roots in defective utilization of iron and chronic failure of the bone marrow. It is secondarily aggravated by a hemolytic process and at times may be made more severe by bleeding. Treatment is nonspecific, largely supportive, and directed primarily toward the underlying renal disease. Rather rapid strides have been made in the past few years in understanding the pathogenesis, but each new truth raises more questions and much remains to be done.
Fat metabolism in higher plants. XIV. Factors affecting the synthesis of oleic acid by particulate preparations from avocado mesocarp.

Numerous investigations have led to the point at which refined enzyme systems may be used to study the biosynthesis of saturated fatty acids (2, 3). The biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids has not been so thoroughly elucidated. Formation of unsaturated fatty acids has been observed experimentally in viva (4-9) and in vitro (10, 11) but several of these studies showed that incorporated radioactivity was distributed in the fatty acids in proportions quite different from the naturally occurring fatty acid composition. Whenever differences were found, the proportion of unsaturated fatty acids was low. Early experiments with slices, homogenates, and cell-free preparations from avocado mesocarp produced variable amounts of oleic and saturated fatty acid. It was, therefore, not feasible to compare the avocado system with that in a strain of Saccharomyces ceretisiae, which converted saturated fatty acids to unsaturated fatty acids by reactions requiring reduced triphosphopyridine nucleotide and oxygen (11). This report described conditions under which oleic acid is the principal acid formed from acetate by particulate preparations from avocado mesocarp. It is shown that oxygen is an absolute requirement for oleate biosynthesis in avocado.
Molecular Alternatives to Indicator and Pathogen Detection: Real-time PCR

Microbial quality of water is a prime public health concern in today's world. To protect public health, the World Health Organization and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have established microbial pollution indicator standards and recommended routine monitoring of water for both total and fecal coliforms (Dufour, 1984, U.S. EPA 1986,1994, WHO 1993). However, the adequacy of current water quality standards to indicate the presence or absence of human pathogens is still questionable. For example, human viruses are more resistant to sewage treatment processes and environmental conditions than bacterial indicators and therefore may pose a substantial threat. It is now recognized that the absence, or a low concentration, of indicator organisms in water may not adequately reflect the absence of human viruses. In our previous study of southern California coastal waters, we found over 30% of coastal waters tested contained human viruses, and the presence of these viruses did not correlate with an elevated level of bacterial indicators (Jiang et al. 2000). The goal of this research is to develop and validate a molecular method for rapid and specific detection of microbial contaminants including human viruses and bacterial indicators in treated sewage effluents and receiving waters. This title belongs to WERF Research Report Series ISBN: 9781843397359 (Print) ISBN: 9781780404486 (eBook)
The Study of Poyang Lake Typical Wetland Plants Use in Sewage Treatment

A number of wetland plants can be used in constructed wetlands among wetland plants of Poyang Lake,so the capability of typical wetland plants of Poyang Lake treating sewage was studied in this paper.Experiment results showed that typical wetland plants had a good removal on ammonia nitrogen,total phosphorus,total nitrogen and COD,which would offer scientific basis for the application of Poyang Lake wetland plants in constructed wetland.
Shooter position estimation with muzzle blast and shockwave measurements from separate locations

There are two acoustical events associated with small arms fire: the muzzle blast (created by bullets being expelled from the barrel of the weapon), and the shockwave (created by bullets which exceed the speed of sound). Assuming the ballistics of a round are known, the times and directions of arrival of the acoustic events furnish sufficient information to determine the origin of the shot. Existing methods tacitly assume that it is a single sensor which makes measurements of the times and direction of arrival. If the sensor is located past the point where the bullet goes transonic or if the sensor is far off the axis of the shot line a single sensor localization become highly inaccurate due to the ill-conditioning of the localization problem. In this paper, a more general approach is taken which allows for localizations from measurements made at separate locations. There are considerable advantages to this approach, the most noteworthy of which is the improvement in localization accuracy due to the improvement in the conditioning of the problem. Additional benefits include: the potential to locate in cases where a single sensor has insufficient information, furnishing high quality initialization to data fusion algorithms, and the potential to identify the round from a set of possible rounds.