cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cognitive Abilities in Childhood and Adolescence

General cognitive ability is associated with important life outcomes such as educational and occupational attainment, social mobility, and even health. The study of the behavioral genetics of cognition has grown dramatically in recent years, including our understanding of the developmental etiologies of cognitive abilities and relations to achievement and later outcomes. The purpose of this first chapter is to provide an overview of the research on the genetics of cognitive abilities in childhood and adolescence. We begin with a brief introduction to the constructs of general and specific cognitive abilities, followed by a discussion of prominent theories of cognitive development, both historical and current. We then discuss state-of-the-art methods in developmental behavioral genetics and their relevance to important issues in child and adolescent cognitive development. Each method is then illustrated by its application to a recent topic in cognitive development. Based on findings from these studies, we conclude that individual differences in cognitive abilities in childhood and adolescence are substantially and increasingly heritable, due primarilly to the combined influence of many genes with relatively small effect. Additional topics include the etiological overlap between cognitive abilities and academic achievement, quantitative and molecular genetic analyses of high and low ability and achievement, and sex differences. Additional research concerning the behavioral genetics of cognition should greatly facilitate future analyses of the interplay between genetic and environmental influences, including genotype-environment correlation and interaction.
Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum prolonged by fossil carbon oxidation

A hallmark of the rapid and massive release of carbon during the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum is the global negative carbon isotope excursion. The delayed recovery of the carbon isotope excursion, however, indicates that CO2 inputs continued well after the initial rapid onset, although there is no consensus about the source of this secondary carbon. Here we suggest this secondary input might have derived partly from the oxidation of remobilized sedimentary fossil carbon. We measured the biomarker indicators of thermal maturation in shelf records from the US Mid-Atlantic coast, constructed biomarker mixing models to constrain the amount of fossil carbon in US Mid-Atlantic and Tanzania coastal records, estimated the fossil carbon accumulation rate in coastal sediments and determined the range of global CO2 release from fossil carbon reservoirs. This work provides evidence for an order of magnitude increase in fossil carbon delivery to the oceans that began ~10–20 kyr after the event onset and demonstrates that the oxidation of remobilized fossil carbon released between 102 and 104 PgC as CO2 during the body of the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum. The estimated mass is sufficient to have sustained the elevated atmospheric CO2 levels required by the prolonged global carbon isotope excursion. Even after considering uncertainties in the sedimentation rates, these results indicate that the enhanced erosion, mobilization and oxidation of ancient sedimentary carbon contributed to the delayed recovery of the climate system for many thousands of years. Delivery of fossil carbon to the oceans strongly increased about 15 kyr after the onset of the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum as a result of oxidation of sedimentary carbon, suggests an analysis of geochemical measurements with a biomarker mixing model.
2018 Update on Pediatric Medical Overuse: A Review

Importance Efforts to combat medical overuse have gained traction in recent years, but success has been intermittent and shortcomings have been recognized. A commitment to a strong evidence base is needed to more broadly engage clinicians and reduce overuse. Observations A structured MEDLINE search and a manual review of tables of contents from selected high-impact journals was performed to identify original research published in 2017 relevant to pediatric overuse. Articles were scored from low to high for 3 categories: quality of methods, magnitude of potential harm, and number of patients potentially harmed. The top-scoring articles presented in this review highlight examples of safe reductions in treatment intensity, including in the setting of cancer, appendicitis, acute respiratory tract infection, and elective anesthesia. This year’s articles also provide cautionary examples of rational interventions adopted without a full understanding of potential harms, including pharmacologic migraine therapies, docosahexaenoic acid supplementation for preterm neonates, tight glycemic control for individuals with critically illness, and prophylactic antibiotics for children with vesicoureteral reflux. Conclusions and Relevance The articles represent high-quality, original research from 2017 that may help mitigate overuse. These works should be fundamental to the maturation of the pediatric overuse field.
What Are The Odds?: The Jesus Seminar’s Quest for Objectivity

In 1985 a group of New Testament scholars, who came to be known as the Jesus Seminar, gathered to vote on the authenticity of the sayings of Jesus. Although the Seminar argued that it followed objective rules of evidence, critics have claimed that it did not. This paper investigates these claims using statistical models to evaluate the Seminar’s own voting records. It finds that although the Seminar’s Fellows did follow widely accepted criteria, they were also influenced by their own assumptions about who Jesus was. In particular, they appear to have assumed that Jesus was a non-apocalyptic enfant terrible who spoke in aphorisms and parables and occasionally uttered things that later embarrassed the early Church.
Visual(ization) Education: Expanding Possibilities of Arts-Based Pedagogy.

visual/'viZH(oo)әl/adj. relating to seeing or sight.visualization/viZH(oo)ә,lī'zāSH(ә)n/ n.The representation of an object, situation, or set of information as an image.In the summer of 2008, I...
Preliminary investigation of visual attention to complex AAC visual scene displays in individuals with and without developmental disabilities.

AbstractVisual scene displays (VSDs) are one type of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) display in which an integrated scene (typically a photograph) presents people engaged in shared...
Molecular recollision interferometry in high harmonic generation.

We use extreme-ultraviolet interferometry to measure the phase of high-order harmonic generation from transiently aligned ${\mathrm{CO}}_{2}$ molecules. We unambiguously observe a reversal in phase of the high-order harmonic emission for higher harmonic orders with a sufficient degree of alignment. This results from molecular-scale quantum interferences between the molecular electronic wave function and the recolliding electron as it recombines with the molecule, and is consistent with a two-center model. Furthermore, using the combined harmonic intensity and phase information, we extract accurate information on the dispersion relation of the returning electron wave packet as a function of harmonic order. This analysis shows evidence of the effect of the molecular potential on the recolliding electron wave.
Incarceration Rates and Incidence of Sexually Transmitted Infections in US Counties, 2011-2016.

Objectives. To examine rates of sexually transmitted infections as a function of jail and prison incarceration rates across US counties for the years 2011 to 2016.Methods. We used data from several...
Dietary modification, penetrance, and the origins of congenital malformation

Molecular genetic diagnostics refers to the branch of clinical medicine dedicated to finding the proximate mutational cause of an abnormality (1). More for practical than theoretical reasons, it generally assumes that a genetic variant is both necessary and sufficient to cause the defect, and hence that there is no need to account for environmental conditions. An article by Cuny et al. (2) in PNAS challenges this view. In syndromes where two or more phenotypes occur together, it is increasingly the case that a handful of known genes are responsible, so sequencing just those genes is sufficient to diagnose the cause. Even in idiopathic congenital abnormalities, for example neuromuscular diseases or craniofacial malformations, targeted panels of several hundred commonly mutated genes may suffice (3). In the next decade, it seems inevitable that whole-genome sequencing will become standard practice, and the conventional wisdom is that, once tens of thousands of cases of each condition have been characterized, we will know precisely which genes lead to which diagnoses. There are, however, a few holes in this paradigm. A major one is that diagnostic yields, namely the proportion of cases solved by gene sequencing, are typically “only” in the range of 30 to 40% (4, 5). With 2 or 3% of people affected by a congenital malformation, this corresponds to thousands of diagnoses every year, and importantly overturns many misdiagnoses and thus changes treatment decisions even for unsolved cases. Another one is diagnostic uncertainty, since the definitions of pathogenic variant, likely pathogenic variant, and variant of unknown significance, depend on levels of evidence that remain in flux despite extensive clinical genetic guidelines (6, 7). We now know that there is extensive variability in how tolerant different genes are to mutations, including frameshifts or premature stop codons that may knock out the protein … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: greg.gibson{at}biology.gatech.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
Measuring risk of missing transfers in public transit systems using high-resolution schedule and real-time bus location data:

The emergence of urban Big Data creates new opportunities for a deeper understanding of transportation within cities, revealing patterns and dynamics that were previously hidden. Public transit age...
Effects of Tuning Intramolecular Proton Acidity on CO2 Reduction by Mn Bipyridyl Species

In order to understand the effect of intramolecular proton acidity on CO2 reduction by Mn bipyridyl species, three fac-Mn(CO)3 bipyridine complexes containing intramolecular phenol groups of varyin...
Presidential Subpoenas during the Burr Trials

Between March and October of 1807, Aaron Burr stood for two treason trials arising from the same set of facts: the first, for a felony charge, and the second, for a misdemeanor charge. Chief Justice John Marshall presided over the proceedings in the Circuit Court for Virginia in Richmond. During this period, Marshall issued seventeen written opinions, and delivered several shorter decisions from the bench, that spanned over two-hundred pages in the reporter. In the end, based on Marshall’s narrow construction of the crimes of treason, the jury acquitted Burr of both the felony and the misdemeanor charges. Marshall’s rulings, however, were not limited to technical aspects of criminal law. In both trials, Aaron Burr asked the court to issue a subpoena duces tecum to President Jefferson. Such a subpoena would have required the witness to appear in court, and bring a specific document. Specifically, Burr wanted Jefferson to produce a letter authored by General Wilkinson, dated October 21, 1806. Burr insisted that this transmission to the President was material to his defense. Moreover, the Defendant demanded that Jefferson produce the original copy of Wilkinson’s letter. The United States Attorney, George Hay, would only offer to provide a redacted copy of the letter, with certain portions excluded. As the deliberations proceeded, Hay would frequently write to the President, who traveled between the White House and Monticello. Jefferson, who took a keen interest in the case, would usually write back immediately. The correspondences between Jefferson and Hay outside of court can shed light on the interactions between Hay and Marshall in court. That is, the government’s positions were based on direct instructions from the President himself. In the felony trial, Marshall ordered that Jefferson was required to submit the original copy of the letter, without redaction. Jefferson did not comply with this order. In the misdemeanor trial, Jefferson would provide a redacted copy of the letter. Because of the lengthy nature of the proceedings — in which Marshall and Jefferson took different positions at different junctures — it is difficult to draw too many broad conclusions from the prosecution as a whole. This essay will walk through each phase of the proceedings, with an eye towards understanding the limits on presidential subpoenas.
Path Signatures on Lie Groups

Path signatures are powerful nonparametric tools for time series analysis, shown to form a universal and characteristic feature map for Euclidean valued time series data. We lift the theory of path signatures to the setting of Lie group valued time series, adapting these tools for time series with underlying geometric constraints. We prove that this generalized path signature is universal and characteristic. To demonstrate universality, we analyze the human action recognition problem in computer vision, using $SO(3)$ representations for the time series, providing comparable performance to other shallow learning approaches, while offering an easily interpretable feature set. We also provide a two-sample hypothesis test for Lie group-valued random walks to illustrate its characteristic property. Finally we provide algorithms and a Julia implementation of these methods.
A constitutive model for sheared dense suspensions of rough particles

In a concentrated suspension, particles come into contact due to the presence of asperities on their surfaces. As a result, the contact forces and interparticle friction become one of the important factors governing the rheology of rigid particle suspensions at high concentrations. We show that a load-dependent friction model can be used to reproduce the experimentally observed shear thickening [ST—continuous and discontinuous (DST)] behavior with an increase in the asperity size. Increasing the particle surface roughness size leads to a decrease in the critical shear rate above which shear-thickening takes place, a reduction in the critical volume fraction for DST and an increase in the viscosity jump across non-shear-thickened to shear-thickened regime. In this paper, we propose a constitutive model to quantify the effect of increasing the roughness size on the rheology of dense ST suspensions as well as on the critical shear rate for ST and the critical volume fraction for DST. We fit this model to our simulation data for stress controlled shear flow of dense rough particle suspensions. Once the fitting is complete, these equations are used to predict exact volume fractions and shear stress values for transitions between three regimes on the shear stress-shear rate flow state diagram for different roughness values. The results of this study can be used to tune the particle surface roughness for manipulating the dense suspension rheology according to different applications.
Campaign Finance Regulation: The Resilence of the American Model

The current term of the United States Supreme Court, which began this past October, is notable for its concentration of cases testing the permissible scope of federal regulation of business. But if this term’s docket reflects the pressure faced by the American economic model – a model marked by lax regulation, faith in private choices and market outcomes, and toleration of large inequalities in results – then this term will likely also mark a reaffirmation of that model in the context of free expression. In September the Court held a rare off-schedule oral argument in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission , a case that may result in significant changes in the constitutional status of American campaign finance law. Citizens United presents the Court’s emerging conservative majority with an opportunity to deregulate corporations’ campaign speech by finding restrictions on that speech to violate the First Amendment. Depending on the breadth of the Court’s holding, Citizens United may well result in the triumph of the American economic model in the context of the political marketplace exactly when that model is coming under severe strain on other fronts.
Deep Convolutional Neural Networks for Displacement Estimation in ARFI Imaging

Ultrasound elasticity imaging in soft tissue with acoustic radiation force requires the estimation of displacements, typically on the order of several microns, from serially acquired raw data A-lines. In this work, we implement a fully convolutional neural network (CNN) for ultrasound displacement estimation. We present a novel method for generating ultrasound training data, in which synthetic 3-D displacement volumes with a combination of randomly seeded ellipsoids are created and used to displace scatterers, from which simulated ultrasonic imaging is performed using Field II. Network performance was tested on these virtual displacement volumes, as well as an experimental ARFI phantom data set and a human in vivo prostate ARFI data set. In the simulated data, the proposed neural network performed comparably to Loupas’s algorithm, a conventional phase-based displacement estimation algorithm; the rms error was $0.62~\mu \text{m}$ for the CNN and 0.73 $\mu \text{m}$ for Loupas. Similarly, in the phantom data, the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of a stiff inclusion was 2.27 for the CNN-estimated image and 2.21 for the Loupas-estimated image. Applying the trained network to in vivo data enabled the visualization of prostate cancer and prostate anatomy. The proposed training method provided 26 000 training cases, which allowed robust network training. The CNN had a computation time that was comparable to Loupas’s algorithm; further refinements to the network architecture may provide an improvement in the computation time. We conclude that deep neural network-based displacement estimation from ultrasonic data is feasible, providing comparable performance with respect to both accuracy and speed compared to current standard time-delay estimation approaches.
Stimulating carrier modulation from electronics using a transverse electromagnetic cell

Intermodulation radar is an established technique for locating electromagnetically-nonlinear junctions. For this type of radar, the probe consists of multiple simultaneous frequencies, usually two tones of equal amplitude. The multiple frequencies illuminate the target, mix with each other, and generate integer sums and differences of the original transmitted tones. This work studies a variation on the intermodulation-radar technique. Some targets, such as AM/FM transmitters, emit radio frequencies without being actively probed; thus, some collections of (powered) nonlinear junctions generate at least one internal tone which might be mixed with an externally-applied probe tone. This internal-external mixing is referred to as “carrier modulation,” where the carrier is associated with the target and its modulation is induced by the transmit probe. This paper documents an experiment conducted using a transverse electromagnetic cell: contactless excitation of carrier modulation from active nonlinear junctions. Data recorded from two radio transmitters indicate that, for this internal-external mixing technique, a reduction in transmit power results in less of a reduction in received power compared to traditional intermodulation radar.
Initiating antiretroviral treatment for newly diagnosed HIV patients in sexual health clinics greatly improves timeliness of viral suppression.

OBJECTIVE The 'JumpstART' program in New York City (NYC) public Sexual Health Clinics (SHC) provides patients newly diagnosed with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) with antiretroviral medication (ART) (1-month supply) on day of diagnosis and active linkage to HIV care (LTC). We examined viral suppression (VS) among patients who did and did not receive JumpstART services. DESIGN Retrospective cohort. METHODS Among newly diagnosed SHC patients (23 November 2016-30 September 2018) who were matched to the NYC HIV surveillance registry to obtain HIV laboratory test results through 30 June 2019, we compared 230 JumpstART and 73 non-JumpstART patients regarding timely LTC (≤30 days), probability of VS (viral load < 200 copies/ml) by 3 months post-diagnosis, and time to and factors associated with achieving VS within the follow-up period. RESULTS Of 303 patients, 76% (230/303) were JumpstART and the remaining were non-JumpstART patients; 36 (11%) had acute HIV infections. LTC ≤30 days was observed for 63% of JumpstART and 73% of non-JumpstART patients. By 3 months post-diagnosis, 83% of JumpstART versus 45% of non-JumpstART patients achieved VS (log-rank, P < .0001). Median times to VS among virally suppressed JumpstART and non-JumpstART patients were 31 (interquartile range [IQR]: 24-51) and 95 days (IQR: 52-153), respectively. For groups with and without timely LTC, JumpstART was associated with viral suppression within 3 months post-diagnosis, after adjusting for age and baseline viral load. CONCLUSIONS Prompt ART initiation among SHC patients, some with acute HIV infections, resulted in markedly shortened intervals to VS. Immediate ART provision and active LTC can be key contributors to improved HIV treatment outcomes and the treatment-as-prevention paradigm, with potential for downstream, population-level benefit.
Covid 19 and its labor demand, migration, and military force structure implications in East Asia

This paper takes a high level look at the potential long term implications of the Covid 19 crisis in East Asia by using the demographic lens to examine three areas: impacts on labor markets, possible mass migration scenarios, and the effect on regional militaries. In the area of labor markets, the paper argues that Covid will compel most East Asian states to find new ways of utilizing their older workers and to increase the flexibility of their labor markets. In the area of mass migration, the paper examines possible scenarios having to do with North Korean state collapse and urban-rural migration trends in China. Finally, in the military sphere, the paper argues that the Covid crisis could significantly affect nuclear weapons security protocols in the region, the manpower and personnel policies of certain militaries, and the frequency, scope, and size of major exercises. © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group on behalf of the Nagasaki University.
Discrete-Event Simulation and Integer Linear Programming for Constraint-Aware Resource Scheduling

This paper presents a method for scheduling resources in complex systems that integrate humans with diverse hardware and software components, and for studying the impact of resource schedules on system characteristics. The method uses discrete-event simulation and integer linear programming, and relies on detailed models of the system’s processes, specifications of the capabilities of the system’s resources, and constraints on the operations of the system and its resources. As a case study, we examine processes involved in the operation of a hospital emergency department, studying the impact staffing policies have on such key quality measures as patient length of stay (LoS), number of handoffs, staff utilization levels, and cost. Our results suggest that physician and nurse utilization levels for clinical tasks of 70% result in a good balance between LoS and cost. Allowing shift lengths to vary and shifts to overlap increases scheduling flexibility. Clinical experts provided face validation of our results. Our approach improves on the state of the art by enabling using detailed resource and constraint specifications effectively to support analysis and decision making about complex processes in domains that currently rely largely on trial and error and other ad hoc methods.
Application of surface-enhanced resonance Raman spectroscopy to chlorophyll and chlorophyll derivatives

Chlorophylls and chlorophyll derivatives are fundamental components of green plants and are directly involved in light trapping and electron transfer during photosynthesis. In Chapters 1-3 surface-enhanced resonance Raman spectroscopy (SERRS) has been employed to obtain Raman vibrational spectra for chlorophyll a, pheophytin a, and chlorophyll b adsorbed on a roughened silver electrode and excited from within the Soret band to the lowest energy transition in the red at 77K. Cooling to liquid nitrogen temperature was found to improve the spectral quality by minimizing sample heating and photooxidation. Most significantly, the fluorescence accompanying red excitation was quenched at the roughened Ag surface at low temperature and this resulted in richly detailed SERRS spectra. Distinctive SERRS spectra were obtained for each excitation wavelength. Selective excitation within the various electronic transitions can thus be utilized to verify assignments of the vibrational modes of the chlorophylls and pheophytin a and to monitor their interactions and photochemical behavior in biomimetic systems and in vivo. Metal electrodes are preferable for SERRS studies of photosynthetic pigments because the electrogenerated species can be created and monitored with minimal sample manipulation and chemical interference. Although the roughened silver electrode provides intense Raman spectra for the neutral vi photosynthetic pigments, its oxidation potential is too low for SERRS studies of electron transfer reactions involving chlorophyll a in vitro and/or in vivo within the light harvesting and reaction center complexes of green plants. Roughened gold provides surface enhancement with red excitation. While this is a narrower spectral enhancement range than for silver, Au can provide information on the RR spectrum coupled to the lowest tt-tt* transitions, about which little is known because of fluorescence problems. In addition, Au has a broader electrochemical range that is well suited for all the photosynthetic pigments. Thus, in Chapter 4 a roughened gold electrode was investigated as a SERRS substrate for chloropyll a, pheophytin a, and chlorophyll b with red excitation at 77K. Distinct spectra of each of the photosynthetic pigments were obtained from the roughened Au electrode demonstrating that it is a viable SERRS substrate. Also, Au provides a means to monitor electron transfer in photosynthetic systems by excitation within the lowest electronic transition.
GFR Estimation Using β-Trace Protein and β2-Microglobulin in CKD

Background β-Trace protein (BTP) and β 2 -microglobulin (B2M) are novel glomerular filtration markers that have stronger associations with adverse outcomes than creatinine. Comparisons of BTP and B2M to creatinine and cystatin C are limited by the absence of rigorously developed glomerular filtration rate (GFR) estimating equations for the novel markers. Study Design Study of diagnostic test accuracy. Setting & Participants Pooled database of 3 populations with chronic kidney disease (CKD) with mean measured GFR of 48mL/min/1.73m 2 (N=3,551; MDRD [Modification of Diet in Renal Disease] Study, AASK [African American Study of Kidney Disease and Hypertension], and CRIC [Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort] Study). Index Tests GFR estimated using creatinine, cystatin C, BTP, or B2M level. Reference Test GFR measured as the urinary clearance of iothalamate. Results For BTP and B2M, coefficients for age, sex, and race were smaller than for creatinine and were similar or smaller than for cystatin C. For B2M, coefficients for sex, age, and race were smaller than for creatinine and were similar (age and race) or smaller (sex) than for cystatin C. The final equations with BTP (BTP, age, and sex) or B2M (B2M alone) were less accurate than either the CKD-EPI (CKD Epidemiology Collaboration) creatinine or cystatin C equations. The combined BTP-B2M equation (BTP and B2M alone) had similar accuracy to the CKD-EPI creatinine or cystatin C equation. The average of the BTP-B2M equation and the CKD-EPI creatinine–cystatin C equation was not more accurate than the CKD-EPI creatinine–cystatin C equation. Limitations No external validation population, study population was restricted to CKD, few participants older than 65 years, or nonblack nonwhite race. Conclusions BTP and B2M are less influenced by age, sex, and race than creatinine and less influenced by race than cystatin C, but provide less accurate GFR estimates than the CKD-EPI creatinine and cystatin C equations. The CKD-EPI BTP and B2M equation provides a methodological advance for their study as filtration markers and in their associations with risk and adverse outcomes, but further study is required before clinical use.
Can Fingerprints Lie?: Re-Weighing Fingerprint Evidence in Criminal Jury Trials

This article discusses fingerprint evidence and its use in criminal jury trials. It is commonly thought that fingerprints "never lie"; however, this article reveals the little known fact that the "science" of fingerprint identification has never been empirically tested or proven to be reliable. It further exposes the seldom-discussed issue of fingerprint misidentification and latent print examiner error. The article explains the importance of fingerprint evidence and its extensive use in all phases of the criminal justice system. Specifically, the article plays out the dramatic courtroom scenario of incriminating fingerprints being found at a crime scene and matching the accused all while the defendant strongly claims innocence. The expert opinion testimony of the latent fingerprint examiner becomes seminal to the case and is often received as powerfully persuasive evidence of guilt - virtually guaranteeing conviction. Notwithstanding the fact that fingerprints are nearly universally accepted as infallible proof of identity in court, defense attorneys are currently urging courts to exclude fingerprint identification evidence from criminal jury trials by arguing that the findings of latent fingerprint examiners are scientifically invalid and legally unreliable. Notwithstanding the nearly universal acceptable of fingerprint evidence, at least one state court in Maryland refused to admit fingerprint evidence at all. This article dissects the defense’s argument for exclusion and explains the larger debate over the correct application of the evidentiary rules for expert witnesses articulated by the United States Supreme Court in Daubert and Kumho Tire. Although the exclusion of fingerprint evidence may sound outlandish, this article illuminates the substance of the argument and why due process requires judges to closely monitor whether the opinions of latent fingerprint examiners are accurate and reliable evidence to be considered by the jury. Further, this article proposes a special jury instruction that would be given in certain criminal cases to guide jurors in weighting the value of the fingerprint evidence.
Localization of chromatophore proteins of Rhodobacter sphaeroides. II. Topography of cytochrome c1 and the Rieske iron-sulfur protein as determined by proteolytic digestion of the outer and luminal membrane surfaces

Proteinase K was used to degrade membrane proteins exposed at the outer (cytoplasmic) and inner (periplasmic) surface of sealed, uniformly oriented chromatophore vesicles of Rhodobacter sphaeroides. Exclusive and controlled digestion of the chromatophore interior was achieved after Ca(2+)-induced fusion with large unilamellar phosphatidylglycerol liposomes containing microencapsulated enzyme. Reaction center subunit H, which served as a marker for the outer surface, was degraded to a slightly smaller product in chromatophores. This protein remained intact after liposome-chromatophore fusion, suggesting that the intermixing of lipid bilayers proceeded without significant leakage of the aqueous vesicle contents. In contrast, while cytochrome c1 was not affected in chromatophores, 70-75% was degraded within 60 min after liposome-chromatophore fusion. These results support an arrangement in which the bulk of this protein, including the mesoheme component and active site residues, faces the periplasmic side of the membrane. Although current functional models for the cytochrome bc1 complex predict that the Rieske iron-sulfur center interacts with cytochrome c1 in the periplasm, the iron-sulfur protein resisted proteolytic attack in the liposome-chromatophore fusion products under conditions that caused extensive degradation of cytochrome c1. Two cleavage products of the iron-sulfur protein were observed after the digestion of chromatophores, suggesting both a heterogeneity in the population of this protein and the exposure of at least part of its molecular mass to the cytoplasm.
Four Suggestions for Improving Environmental Health Policy

The paper focuses on four questions that affect the utilization of environmental health science and research for policy making and regulatory decision making. These questions are meant to be thought provoking though some may appear a bit rhetorical. The four questions (or issues) examined are: 1) When analyzing an environmental health risk from a particular contaminant, shouldn't the complete picture of risks and benefits of the agent be considered? 2) How important is it to have all elements of an environmental health risk assessment grounded in solid science? 3) Does the environmental health sciences community have a responsibility to foster accurate communication of risks, responding to high profile statements that are incomplete or inaccurate? 4) When communicating environmental health risks, should these risks be placed in the context of more commonly experienced risks?
Multilinear differential operators on modular forms

We construct multilinear differential operators on modular forms and prove that they are essentially unique. We also discuss certain homogeneous polynomials associated to such differential operators as well as some related multilinear differential operators that do not produce modular forms.
Investor Overconfidence and Trading Volume

The proposition that investors are overconfident about their valuation and trading skills can explain high observed trading volume. With biased self-attribution, the level of investor overconfidence and thus trading volume varies with past returns. We test the trading volume predictions of formal overconfidence models and find that share turnover is positively related to lagged returns for many months. The relationship holds for both market-wide and individual security turnover, which we interpret as evidence of investor overconfidence and the disposition effect, respectively. Security volume is more responsive to market return shocks than to security return shocks, and both relationships are more pronounced in small-cap stocks and in earlier periods where individual investors hold a greater proportion of shares. (JEL G11, G12) Copyright 2006, Oxford University Press.
On triplexers and their applications to harmonic load-pull

A revealing analysis of triplexer effects on harmonic load-pull measurements is conducted in the context of assessing the ability of the test system to maintain tuning independency between the fundamental and harmonic tuning ports. The type of triplexers studied consist of four port passive devices with one common port and 3 output ports; namely, fundamental, second harmonic and third harmonic tuning ports. It is shown in this work that very good isolation between the harmonic ports and very good rejection at unwanted frequencies between the common and each of the harmonic ports are of prime importance in establishing tuning independency. Influence of non-ideal isolation/rejection and lossiness of the triplexer on harmonic load pull applications will be presented, based on experimental results and analytical simulation of a commercially available load pull system and triplexer from Maury Microwave. For the analytical work, Agilent Technology's Advanced Design System-2002 was used along with a model for the triplexer, based on a signal flow graph analysis. Plots were generated to describe effects of non-ideal isolations, rejection, and loss on tuning independency and achievable max-reflection coefficient at the amplifier output plane. Discussions and simulation results are presented concerning compromise on isolations/rejections specifications for the triplexer to the extent that tuning independency is being maintained. As one example of the types of conclusions this model allows, it was determined that deviations in fundamental reflection coefficient with harmonic tuning are below measurement repeatability for a combined harmonic-to-common port rejection of 59 dB and harmonic-to-fundamental port isolation of 50dB. The experimentally examined triplexer provides performance exceeding these limits, with a margin. The authors believe that this is the first analysis of its kind providing a detailed consideration of non-ideal triplexers as used in harmonic load-pull measurement systems.
Regulation of Nonlinear Dynamical Systems Using Multiple Neural Networks

The paper introduces two new concepts which are found to be effective in the regulation of unknown dynamical systems around desired points in the state space. The first deals with the use of multiple neural networks for the representation of a nonlinear system to overcome the inherent problem of nonuniform distribution of the input data. The second is a successive identification and control procedure which enables the desired region in the state space to be explored in a stable fashion. Both classes of problems addressed are generic in the control of dynamical systems using neural networks and the solutions proposed have wide applications. The paper considers low order dynamical systems in which the control input enters additively. In view of the nonlinear nature of the plant, precise analytic statements can be made at present only for first order systems. However, the concepts are applicable to higher order systems and simulation results are provided for second order systems to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method proposed. Several open questions and directions are discussed towards the end of the paper.
Prices and Progress

It May have been the ingrained pessimism of Bentham and McCulloch that provoked Carlyle to dub economics the dismal science. It surely must have been economists' concern over price theory, which they regarded and still regard as the central core of economics, that made the name stick. Studies of the role of prices in history are no less tedious and technical than price theory, and in hands no more skillful than mine they can be even more dreary. But this is not the worst of my worries. The evidence that I shall sketch supports the pessimistic hypothesis that during certain germinal periods price and wage behavior of the type that is now taking a distressing percentage of real income from all of us who live on our salaries has proved beneficial to society in the long run and that the type of price and wage behavior which would benefit most of us in the short run has had serious disadvantages. Yet I have the inner satisfaction of appearing to be objective in my thinking and fearless in airing my conclusions in a gathering of some of the worst aggrieved.
Carbon source transport, nucleotide levels, and stable RNA synthesis in a mutant strain of Escherichia coli☆

Abstract We have previously described a temperature-sensitive mutant of Escherichia coli , 2S142 (rel − , met − , rns − , ilv − , ts − ) which shows specific inhibition of stable RNA synthesis at 42 °C. This mutation mimics a carbon source downshift in that the decay of guanosine 5′-diphosphate, 3′-diphosphate (ppGpp) is inhibited at the restrictive temperature. In this paper we show that the temperature-sensitive lesion in 2S142 does affect the uptake of glucose or α- d -methylglucopyranoside (αDMG) at 42 °C. However, restoration of glucose or αDMG uptake by the insertion of a constitutive galactose permease gene or further restriction of glucose uptake by insertion of a ptsG mutation into 2S142 have no effect on rRNA synthesis at 42 °C (although ppGpp levels are lowered in both cases). Furthermore, while restriction of uptake at 42 °C varies widely from carbon source to carbon source, severe restriction of rRNA synthesis is observed on all carbon sources tested at 42 °C. Levels of glycolytic intermediates, adenylate energy charge, ATP levels, and cAMP levels are all unaffected at the restrictive temperature. GTP levels decrease at 42 °C in glucose grown cells but that also does not appear to be related to the decrease in rRNA synthesis. These data were interpreted to suggest that the restriction of stable RNA synthesis in 2S142 at 42 °C can not be explained on the basis of decreased uptake and/or metabolism of carbon source. “Phantom spot” levels do decrease in 2S142 at 42 °C. In fact, “phantom spot” is the only putative regulatory molecule which correlates with restriction of rRNA synthesis on all carbon sources tested.
Cystic mesoblastic nephroma.

Abstract Mesoblastic nephroma is the most common solid renal neoplasm in the first few months of life. It has been recognized only recently as a distinct entity, having been classified previously as Wilms tumor. There are relatively few ultrasonic descriptions of this entity in the literature. We present an additional case featuring a large peripheral cystic component with a solid central core demonstrated on ultrasonography. This feature is not specific for mesoblastic nephroma and occurs in cystic Wilms tumor.
Radiative engineering of plasmon lifetimes in embedded nanoantenna arrays

It is generally accepted that the lifetimes of the localized plasmonic excitations are inherently controlled by the type of the metals and the shape of the nanoparticles. However, extended plasmonic lifetimes and enhanced near-fields in nanoparticle arrays can be achieved as a result of collective excitation of plasmons. In this article, we demonstrate significantly longer plasmon lifetimes and stronger near-field enhancements by embedding the nanoantenna arrays into the substrate. Our approach offers a more homogeneous dielectric background allowing stronger diffractive couplings among plasmonic particles leading to strong suppression of the radiative damping. We observe near-field enhancements well beyond than those achievable with isolated nanoparticles. Enhanced fields obtained in these structures could be attractive for biosensing and non-linear photonics applications.
Generation and maintenance of abnormal fluid pressures beneath a ramping thrust sheet: Isotropic permeability experiments

Abstract We have investigated the mechanisms responsible for the evolution of excess pore pressures within and beneath a ramping thrust sheet (i.e. fluid flow, porosity compression, and thermal expansion of water) and the sensitivity of pore pressure to a variety of physical parameters (e.g. permeability, thrust sheet velocity, heat flux). Coupled pore pressure and temperature equations were solved numerically in two dimensions using a generalized hydrostratigraphy of North American thrust belts. Because of the lack of either symmetry or a steady-state in this problem, both deposition and thrust loading stages were simulated. The dominant mechanisms controlling pore pressure evolution were fluid flow and compression of pore space by vertical loading; thermal expansion of the fluids was found to be insignificant in generating excess pore pressures at common thrust loading rates. The results indicate that it is possible to generate high pore pressure to lithostatic pressure ratios (λ) within thrust sheets by depositional loading prior to thrusting. High values of λ are generated and maintained during thrust loading for reasonable assumptions about the conditions thought to have existed in thrust belts. Values of λ were not constant throughout the model. The highest λ values tended to concentrate near the surface of the model and within and below the toe of the thrust sheet. The magnitude and distribution of excess pore pressures and λ values were found to be especially sensitive to variations in permeability. Excess pore pressure generation by compression exceeded pore pressure dissipation by fluid flow for permeabilities less than approximately 10 −16 m 2 ; permeabilities greater than approximately 10 −16 m 2 produced hydrostatic pore pressure gradients. The models demonstrate that permeability inhomogeneity due to lithologic variations may exert a strong control on the magnitude and spatial distribution of excess pore pressures within thrust sheets. In addition, these models indicate that it is unlikely that fluid pressure is high everywhere in a moving thrust sheet.
Clinical Decision Making as an Ethnographic Process

Clinicians are faced with making a variety of decisions, including the selection of appropriate intervention approaches. In this paper, the ethnographer's notion of speech event is used to contrast trainer-oriented intervention strategies with more child-centered or naturalistic approaches. It is argued that the speech event framework provides a means for improving our understanding of the relationship between intervention approaches and actual lesson discourse. Informatian regarding how interventian approaches are manifested in therapy speech events through communication should help clinicians reflect upon their own approaches to intervention, a basic step toward realizing clinical effectiveness.
Nonablative Dermal Remodeling With a 585-nm, 350-μsec, Flashlamp Pulsed Dye Laser: Clinical and Ultrastructural Analysis

BACKGROUND A nonablative 350-μsec, 585-nm, flashlamp pulsed dye laser is currently being used for the treatment of rhytides. OBJECTIVE To analyze both clinical rhytid improvement and electron microscopic evidence of ultrastructural changes after treatment with a nonablative 350-μsec, 585-nm, flashlamp pulsed dye laser. RESULTS At 6 months after two treatments, 40% of the treated subjects noted mild improvement in rhytid appearance. Nontreating physician evaluation revealed some degree of improvement in 50% of the treated subjects. Mild improvement in quality and texture of the skin was also reported by 50% of the subjects. Electron microscopic evaluation showed ultrastructural changes that are consistent with new collagen formation. CONCLUSION Treatment with a nonablative 350-μsec, 585-nm, flashlamp pulsed dye laser can lead to both clinical and electron microscopic evidence of improvement in photo-damaged skin.
Drugs in Schools: Myths and Realities

Between 1996 and 1999, use of licit and illicit drugs among the nation's youths was increasing. Not surprisingly, this has led some to speculate about the extent to which drug use and abuse by youths is related to the recent wave of school violence. This article will first discuss what is meant by drug use in schools, briefly describe the effects of the drugs most frequently used, and go on to examine the statistics about the extent and trends of drug use. In the context of discussing some of the myths about drugs, the author will examine the relationship between drug use or abuse and violence, especially among youths. Finally, the author will offer an explanation of why today's youths are using drugs and what our response to such use might be.
The genetics of antisocial behavior

Overall, the evidence from over 100 twin and adoption studies of antisocial behavior suggests that genetic factors account for about half of the variation in risk. However, behavioral genetic studies of antisocial behavior still tend to produce far-ranging estimates of heritability, suggesting that there may be important moderators of these genetic risk factors. In this review, the results of some recent behavioral genetic studies of antisocial behavior that focus on the following issues are examined: 1) developmental changes in the heritability of antisocial behaviors, 2) developmental subtypes of antisocial behavior disorders, 3) sex differences in the heritability of antisocial behavior, 4) cohort differences in the heritability of antisocial behavior, and 5) the genetics of antisocial behavior comorbidity.