cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Patterns of feline coronavirus infection and fecal shedding from cats in multiple-cat environments

Objective To determine, by use of a reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test, patterns of fecal shedding of feline coronavirus among cats. Design Prospective observational study. Animals 275 purebred cats from 6 private catteries and 40 specific-pathogen-free (SPF) laboratory-reared cats. Procedure 40 SPF cats were experimentally inoculated with crude fecal extract containing feline enteric coronavirus (FECV). Fecal and plasma samples were collected every 4 days and evaluated by use of RT-PCR and indirect immunofluorescence assays, respectively, to correlate RT-PCR results with fecal infectivity and to determine patterns of FECV shedding and anti-FECV IgG production in acutely infected cats. The 275 cats in private catteries were monitored for 1 year. Fecal and blood samples were collected every 1 to 3 months and assayed by use of RT-PCR and serologic tests to determine patterns of coronavirus shedding and cofactors for high frequency shedding. Results Results of the RT-PCR test in SPF cats were directly correlated with fecal extract infectivity. Overall, 370 of 894 (41%) fecal samples collected from cattery and shelter cats contained infectious levels of coronavirus. Of 121 cats from which multiple samples were collected, 11 never shed virus and 35, 65, and 10, respectively, shed virus with low, moderate, and high frequency. High frequency shedding was associated with age and cattery of origin, but not with sex or concurrent disease. Stress associated with parturition and lactation did not induce shedding in queens. Kittens did not shed coronavirus before they were 10 weeks old, even when nursed by shedding mothers. Clinical implications A large proportion of cats in multiple-cat environments shed coronavirus at any given time, but most undergo cycles of infection and shedding, recovery, and reinfection. Infection is acquired from chronically shedding cats and from infectious cats undergoing transient primary infection. Chronically shedding cats cannot be identified on the basis of antibody titer or signalment, but must be identified on the basis of the results of serial fecal RT-PCR tests.
CDC childhood physical activity strategies fail to show sustained fitness impact in middle school children.

Abstract An increasing number of children are now obese and fail to meet minimum recommendations for physical activity (PA). Schools play a critical role in impacting children's activity behaviors, including PA. Our objective was to assess whether CDC-based school-centered strategies to promote PA increase long-term cardiovascular fitness (CVF) levels in students in schools. A prospective observational trial was conducted in 26 middle schools to implement CDC school-based strategies to increase PA for 3 years. Students had CVF assessed by Fitnessgram (PACER), a 20-meter shuttle run, at the start and end of each school year. A post-study questionnaire was administered to assess each school's strategy adherence. At baseline, 2402 students with a mean age 12.2 ± 1.1 years showed a mean CVF measured by PACER of 33.2 ± 19.0 laps (estimated VO2max 44.3 ± 5.3 ml/kg/min). During the first year, there was a significant increase in the mean PACER score (Δ = 3, 95% CI: 2–4.1 laps, p
FARM 2018 demo summary

This is a summary of the demonstrations presented at the 6th ACM SIGPLAN International Workshop on Functional Art, Music, Modeling and Design (FARM).
Linguistic and ethnic media stereotypes in everyday talk: Humor and identity construction among friends

Abstract This study explores humorous intertextual media references in the audio-recorded everyday talk of a European American friend group. Focusing on stereotypes of ethnically-marked varieties of American English in media references, I analyze talk where white speakers perform African American English appropriated from an Internet meme and “Hollywood Injun English” as portrayed in TV tropes. I also examine post-recording playback interviews in which speakers acknowledge and comment on the problematic source texts and their performances. I illustrate how speakers construct their individual humorous identities and their shared cultural and ethnic identities through the “others” they voice, while simultaneously activating and reinforcing the social stereotypes represented in the media they reference. While these speakers do not immediately critique these stereotypes, in playback interviews they resist the identities formerly performed, with their statements ranging from ambiguous evaluation to deconstruction of the media and the references. This study contributes to understanding how and why speakers invoke media-embedded linguistic and cultural stereotypes for humorous individual and group identity construction, and how humorous media references serve as a site for activating, reinforcing, and deconstructing media stereotypes about linguistic and cultural identities in everyday interaction.
Risk of Mortality in Individuals with Hip Fracture and Traumatic Brain Injury

Objectives To estimate the prevalence of diagnosed traumatic brain injury (TBI) in individuals hospitalized with hip fracture and examine its association with all‐cause mortality. Design Nested cohort study. Setting National sample of Medicare beneficiaries from 2006 to 2010. Participants Beneficiaries aged 65 and older hospitalized with hip fracture. Measurements TBI at the time of hip fracture was defined using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes. The main outcome was all‐cause mortality during follow‐up. Results Prevalence of TBI in individuals with hip fracture was 2.7%. Absolute risk of mortality attributable to TBI in individuals with hip fracture was 15/100 person‐years. TBI was significantly associated with risk of death in multivariable analysis (hazard ratio=1.24, 95% confidence interval=1.14–1.35). Conclusion TBI was associated with greater risk of mortality in individuals with hip fracture. Practitioners should consider evaluating for presence of TBI in this vulnerable population. J Am Geriatr Soc 67:124–127, 2019.
Achieving Visibility: Midlife and Older Women’s Literate Practices on Instagram and Blogs

In order to contribute new knowledge about the digital literacies of midlife and older adults on social media, this study examines the literate practices of a subpopulation of Instagram users: female lifestyle Instagrammers and bloggers who self-identify as being over fifty. Survey results reveal why these women use blogs and Instagram, how they developed digital literacies, and who or what influences their practices. Case studies provide examples of the unique ways three women use Instagram to achieve visibility. Whereas most existing scholarship on visual depictions of age focuses on images that are controlled by other people (e.g., advertisers, community groups), I show how women use digital literacies and the affordances of Instagram and blog platforms to control their self-representations. Through their multimodal performances of identity, the women participate in discourses on aging and gender and pursue their goals of self-expression, inspiration, connection, and promotion.
Difference Solutions of the Shallow-Water Equation

The quasi-linear partial differential equations known as the shallow-water equations describe the flow of water in open channels or over sloping planes (overland flow). Because no analytic solution exists for these equations, finite-difference methods must be used to obtain solutions. Formulation of finite-difference schemes involves consideration of the convergence of the finite-difference solutions to the true solution of the equation. A theoretical examination of the approximation of several difference operators, both implicit and explicit, is presented and the stability of these schemes is examined empirically for flow over a plane with critical depth downstream boundary condition and a zero inflow upstream boundary condition. A finite-difference scheme based on the method of characteristics was found to be satisfactory in many cases. Explicit methods were found to be not suitable for this problem except in some special cases.
Swarmathon: A Swarm Robotics Experiment For Future Space Exploration

A human mission to Mars has been the subject of science fiction, aerospace engineering, and scientific proposals since the 19th century. The plans comprise proposals to land on Mars, eventually settling on and terraforming the planet, while utilizing its moons, Phobos and Deimos. Successful exploration of Mars and its moons requires the location and retrieval of local resources on extraplanetary surfaces. Technologies are needed to find and collect materials such as ice (convertible into liquid water, hydrogen fuel and oxygen to support human life) and rocks, minerals and construction materials to build human shelters. This is referred to as In-situ resource utilization (ISRU). Swarm robotics is an approach to the coordination of multiple robots as a system which consists of large numbers of mostly simple physical robots. It is supposed that a desired collective behavior emerges from the interactions between the robots and interactions of robots with the environment. This technology presents the potential to dramatically improve the ability for robots to efficiently locate, identify and collect resources over large and previously explored territory and further ISRU efforts. In an effort to encourage the study and development of this technology, in 2016, the Swarmathon competition project was created from a cooperative agreement between the NASA Minority University Research and Education Program (MUREP) and the University of New Mexico (UNM) in partnership with the NASA KSC Swamp Works. This annual competition is designed to engage students in developing cooperative robotic algorithms to revolutionize space exploration. This paper describes the ongoing activities and the educational benefits the Swarmathon competition brings to our students at the University of Houston Clear Lake (UHCL) as a continuing participant.
Susceptibility of foodborne pathogens to sanitizers in produce rinse water and potential induction of viable but non-culturable state

Abstract Chemical sanitizers are commonly used for fresh produce washing to reduce potential presence of foodborne pathogens and spoilage bacteria, and to prevent cross-contamination. In this study, we evaluated the susceptibility of foodborne pathogens, including Shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica, and Listeria monocytogenes, to free chlorine (FC) and peracetic acid (PAA) in spinach and romaine lettuce rinsates as simulated leafy green wash water. All inoculated pathogens exhibited notably enhanced tolerance (over 2 log of increased recovery) to FC, but not to PAA, when treated in fresh produce rinsates in comparison to that in sterile water. Both FC and PAA effectively inactivated the inoculated foodborne pathogens, rendering them undetectable after 30 s exposure to 10 mg/L FC or 30 mg/L PAA, by selective plating or non-selective enrichment. However, potentially viable cells for all the inoculated foodborne pathogens were detected by PMA-qPCR, especially in wash water samples treated with PAA at concentrations up to 50 mg/L. While laser confocal microscopy after differential staining suggested significant presence of viable but non-culturable (VBNC) populations in PAA treated wash water samples, resuscitation in vitro of the potential VBNC cells was not achieved. This study provides scientific data to better understand the risks of potential VBNC foodborne pathogens during fresh produce washing.
Case Volumes and Perioperative Coronavirus Disease 2019 Incidence in Neurosurgical Patients During a Pandemic: Experiences at Two Tertiary Care Centers in Washington, DC.

Objective The true incidence of perioperative coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has not been well elucidated in neurosurgical studies. We reviewed the effects of the pandemic on the neurosurgical case volume to study the incidence of COVID-19 in patients undergoing these procedures during the perioperative period and compared the characteristics and outcomes of this group to those of patients without COVID-19. Methods The neurosurgical and neurointerventional procedures at 2 tertiary care centers during the pandemic were reviewed. The case volume, type, and acuity were compared to those during the same period in 2019. The perioperative COVID-19 tests and results were evaluated to obtain the incidence. The baseline characteristics, including a modified Medically Necessary Time Sensitive (mMeNTS) score, and outcome measures were compared between those with and without COVID-19. Results A total of 405 cases were reviewed, and a significant decrease was found in total spine, cervical spine, lumbar spine, and functional/pain cases. No significant differences were found in the number of cranial or neurointerventional cases. Of the 334 patients tested, 18 (5.4%) had tested positive for COVID-19. Five of these patients were diagnosed postoperatively. The mMeNTS score, complications, and case acuity were significantly different between the patients with and without COVID-19. Conclusion A small, but real, risk exists of perioperative COVID-19 in neurosurgical patients, and those patients have tended to have a greater complication rate. Use of the mMeNTS score might play a role in decision making for scheduling elective cases. Further studies are warranted to develop risk stratification and validate the incidence.
Multi-domain unfolding of the Fab fragment of a humanized anti-cocaine mAb characterized by non-reducing SDS-PAGE

Monoclonal antibodies and their fragments are widely used for research and therapy. Fab fragments are useful since they retain antigen binding specificity, but being smaller proteins, are better able to penetrate biological compartments and tumors, and do not induce Fc-dependent immunological system activation. Our laboratory developed an anti-cocaine mAb (named h2E2) for the treatment of cocaine use disorders, which is currently in advanced pre-clinical development. We are also interested in the Fab fragment of this mAb for potential therapy of acute cocaine overdose. Previously, we showed that this mAb and its F(ab')2 and Fab fragments undergo discrete domain unfolding, as detected by non-reducing SDS-PAGE, and that ligand-induced protein thermal stabilization can be quantitated utilizing differential scanning fluorimetry in the absence of SDS. Here, we demonstrate that multiple Fab protein gel bands observed using non-reducing SDS-PAGE in the presence and absence of cocaine and its metabolites can be explained and interpreted based on the differential stabilization of two unfolding domains in the Fab fragment. The variable domain is stabilized by ligands against SDS unfolding, while the constant domain is not. This data and its interpretation are also supported by differential scanning fluorimetry data for the Fab fragment in SDS. It is likely that these non-reducing SDS-PAGE results and the gel band domain unfolding model will be applicable to other small molecule binding antibodies. Thus, non-reducing SDS-PAGE is a widely available and simple method for assessing domain stability and multi-step unfolding of Fab fragments.
System-Level RF Desense Characterization for Mobile Computer Applications

A new system-level RF desense characterization technique is investigated to assess platform noise in mobile computer systems. The technique uses a highly tuned antenna probe that provides 8-dB higher noise detection sensitivity in Wi-Fi band of interest than conventional near-field probe technique. This characterization technique is validated with mobile PC system and demonstrates accurate spatial RFI noise distribution. In addition, the low-RFI regions are identified and show improved Wi-Fi throughput performance. The presented desense characterization technique can be used to improve radio system performance and mitigate potential RFI risk in mobile computer system applications.
Comparative in vitro effectiveness of ceftolozane/tazobactam against pediatric gram-negative drug-resistant isolates.

Ceftolozane/tazobactam (C/T), a cephalosporin/beta-lactamase inhibitor combination, was evaluated in vitro vs. 10 comparators against 299 pediatric extended-spectrum-cephalosporin-resistant or carbapenem-resistant (ESC-R/CR) Gram-negative Enterobacteriaceae from three freestanding pediatric centers. Isolates were from urine or other sterile sites of children and adolescents through 21 years of age. Susceptibilities were assayed by microbroth dilution via custom Sensititre plates (Thermo Fisher Scientific). Susceptibility was determined using the Sensititre Vizion® system (Thermo Fisher Scientific). Susceptibility breakpoint criteria were those of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) for 2017, except for colistin (EUCAST 2019). Overall, 87.5% isolates were C/T susceptible (MIC ≤2 μg/ml; MIC50/90, 0.25/4 μg/ml). Susceptibility to C/T was detected more frequently as compared to all other antimicrobials tested except for colistin (95.4%) and meropenem (97.4%). Percent susceptibility to C/T was high for E. coli (91%) and Klebsiella spp. (73.3%). C/T demonstrated good in-vitro activity and high potency against most beta-lactam resistant pediatric Enterobacteriaceae from three geographically diverse U.S. regions.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease Risk Variants Are Associated with an Increased Risk of Skin Cancer

ABSTRACT Background and Aims Inflammatory bowel disease is associated with an increased risk of skin cancer. The aims of this study were to determine whether genomic variants associated with IBD susceptibility are also associated with skin cancer susceptibility and if such risk is augmented by the use of immune-suppressive therapy. Methods The discovery cohort included participants in the UK Biobank (n=408,381). The validation cohort included participants in the Michigan Genomics Initiative (n=51,405). The primary outcome of interest was skin cancer, sub-grouped into non-melanoma (NMSC) and melanoma skin cancers (MSC). Multivariable logistic regression was performed to identify genomic predictors of skin malignancy. Validated SNPs were evaluated for effect modification by immune-suppressive medication. Results The discovery cohort included 11,079 cases of NMSC and 2,054 cases of MSC. The validation cohort included 7,334 cases of NMSC and 3,304 cases of MSC. Thirty variants were associated with risk of NMSC in the discovery cohort, of which six replicated in the validation cohort [Increased risk: rs7773324-A (DUSP22; IRF4), rs2476601-G (PTPN22), rs1847472-C (BACH2), rs72810983-A (CPEB4); Decreased risk: rs6088765-G (PROCR; MMP24), rs11229555-G (ZFP91-CNTF; GLYAT)]. Twelve variants were associated with risk of MSC in the discovery cohort, of which three replicated in the validation cohort (Increased risk: rs61839660-T (IL2RA); Decreased risk: rs17391694-C (GIPC2; MGC27382), rs6088765-G (PROCR; MMP24)]. No effect modification was observed. Conclusion The results of this study highlight shared genetic susceptibility across IBD and skin cancer, with increased risk of NMSC in those who carry risk variants in IRF4, PTPN22, CPEB4, and BACH2 and increased risk of MSC in those who carry a risk variant in IL2RA.
Regional and Racial Disparities in HIV-Related Kidney Disease

Clinical Background and Epidemiology: Worldwide, an estimated 38 million people are living with HIV infection. The classic kidney disease of HIV infection, commonly known as HIV-associated nephropathy, is a collapsing form of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis that almost exclusively affects individuals of African descent with advanced HIV disease. People living with HIV are also at risk for immune-complex kidney diseases, antiretroviral nephrotoxicity, and kidney disease due to co-infections and comorbidities. Challenges: The burden of HIV-related kidney disease is greatest in traditionally disadvantaged populations in resource-limited settings in sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean and among minority populations in the United States and Europe. Factors contributing to these disparities include a higher prevalence of HIV infection, limited access to optimal antiretroviral therapy, and genetic susceptibility to kidney disease. Treatment and Prevention: Current treatment guidelines recommend the initiation of life-long antiretroviral therapy in all people living with HIV to prevent AIDS and non-AIDS complications, including kidney disease. People living with HIV who progress to end-stage kidney disease despite treatment are candidates for dialysis and kidney transplant, including the possibility of accepting organs from HIV-positive donors in some settings. Although HIV prevention is currently the only definitive solution, expanding access to antiretroviral therapy, dialysis, and kidney transplantation in people living with HIV are important intermediate steps to address the global burden of HIV-related kidney disease.
Approaches to Subjective/Objective Correlations in Flavor

Flavors are combinations of many subjective (sensory) properties, each of which depends in a complex way on the objective compositional characteristics of a product. A systematic approach to the design, control, and modification of flavor requires uncovering the functions that relate the various sensory properties to the analytical parameters, including the composition of headspace vapors. Available low-cost computerized programs are easily and routinely applicable to the search for such complex subjective/objective correlations. Allowances must be made in the data treatment for nonlinear correlations and interactions between the parameters. This approach is illustrated by a study of beer flavor.
Studies of Pulmonary Carcinogenesis in Rodents Following Inhalation of Transuranic Compounds

The influence of radiation dose and its distribution on pulmonary carcinogenesis in rats was examined following inhalation of 238Pu from crushed 238PuO2 microspheres, 238PuO2, 239PuO2, and 244CmO2. A more uneven dose-distribution (e.g., 238PuO2 or 239PuO2) favored squamous carcinoma induction at high doses, while adenocarcinoma induction was more frequent at lower doses or at all doses having a more even dose-distribution in the lung (e.g., 244CmO2). Squamous metaplasia and adenomatosis preceded the development of squamous carcinoma and adenocarcinoma, respectively. Pulmonary hemangiosarcomas were found only after high doses of inhaled 239PuO2. These results suggest an influence of dose and dose-distribution on the type and incidence of pulmonary tumors from inhaled alpha emitters.
Bridging the Big Gap

On Deep History and the Brain . By Daniel Lord Smail . University of California Press, Berkeley, 2008. 286 pp. $21.95, £12.95. ISBN 9780520252899. Paper, $15.95, £9.50. ISBN 9780520258129. Drawing on neuroscience, cultural evolution, and human biology, the author agues for an approach that abandons "prehistory" and unites our recent and deep pasts.
The Affordable Hypothesis: Punitive beliefs, violent beliefs, and race

Abstract This study introduces the Affordable Hypothesis, an idea suggesting that whites can afford to harbor violent beliefs in interpersonal and criminal justice system situations because of their generally vicarious involvement in such violence. Conversely, blacks do not foster violent beliefs (contrary to the black subculture of violence thesis) because their relationship with such violence is substantially more real based on offending and victimization data. Using aggregated GSS data 1972–1996, whites were found to have more violent beliefs than blacks in interpersonal and criminal justice system situations net a variety of controls. Implications from these findings are discussed.
A problem generator to learn expression: evaluation in CSI, and its effectiveness

Introductory Computer Science students often do not clearly understand the concepts of operator precedence and associativity, and make mistakes when they write and evaluate expressions. In order to help them learn these concepts by solving problems, we have developed an applet that generates problems (henceforth called problet) and corrects the learner's answers. In this paper, we will describe the design and implementation of this problet. We conducted a controlled experiment to assess the effectiveness of using the problet. Results indicate that using the problet improved learning by 18%. We will describe our experiment and present its results.
Computational Tools and Resources in Plant Genome Informatics

Though all biologists deal with information, only recently have the computational challenges of systematically collecting, storing, organizing, manipulating, visualizing and analysing large amounts of biological information come to be widely appreciated. The cause of this is the explosive growth of genomics. The term bioinformatics was originally coined for the application of information technology to large volumes of biological, and particularly genomic, data. The field of bioinformatics has come to be intermingled with traditional computational biology and biostatistics, which are strictly concerned not with how to handle the information itself, but rather how to extract biological meaning from it. Thus bioinformatics, in its broad sense, can be seen as providing both the infrastructure and the scientific framework in which biologists take information and use computers to help convert it into knowledge. Despite the relative youth of the field as a recognized discipline, there is an impressive diversity of bioinformatics resources currently available. By necessity, we only focus on a small slice of this diversity here. We pay particular attention to sequence analysis because of its centrality to genomics. Though a wide array of commercial resources exist, some of which are ideally suited to specific tasks, many of the most fundamental and long-lived bioinformatics tools are freely available. For this reason, we primarily describe non-commercial software in this chapter. Many of the databases and analysis tools we describe are hosted by government or academic research centres and can be accessed via user-friendly web interfaces. Keywords: database; software; sequence analysis; homology; alignment; substitution matrix; motif search; phylogenetics; gene expression
Confidence Combination Methods in Multi-expert Systems

In the proposed paper, we investigate the combination of the multi-expert system in which each expert outputs a class label as well as a corresponding confidence measure. We create a special confidence measurement which is common for all experts and use it as a basis for the combination. We develop three combination methods. The first method is theoretically optimal but requires very large representative training data and storage memory for look-up table. It is actually impractical. The second method is suboptimal and reduces greatly the required training data and memory space. The last method is a simplified version of the second and needs the least training data and memory space. All three methods demand no mutual independence of the experts, thus should be useful in many applications.
Time evolution and ergodic properties of harmonic systems

We prove the existence of a time evolution and of a stationary equilibrium measure for the infinite harmonic crystal. The ergodic properties of the system are shown to be related in a simple way to the spectrum of the force matrix; when the spectrum is absolutely continuous, as in the translation invariant crystal, the flow is Bernoulli. The quantum crystal is also discussed.
A Bibliography of the Cabbage Looper, Trichoplusia ni (Hübner) 1800–1969

Selected bibliographies of economically important insects that are dealt with extensively in the literature can be of considerable help to investigators in time saved and prevention of duplicated effort.
The direct scattering problem: Uniqueness and existence for anisotropic media

In this paper, we investigate the problem of the transmission of plane acoustic waves through a penetrable inhomogeneous body with an impenetrable core. Firstly, we discretize the inhomogeneous body via means of a multi-layer, multisubdivision approach. Then, we prove the uniqueness and existence of solutions to this problem. Finally, we conclude with a discussion of potential applications and what remains to be done.
Numerical modeling considerations for an applied nonlinear Schrödinger equation.

A model for nonlinear optical propagation is cast into a split-step numerical framework via a variable stencil-size Crank–Nicolson finite-difference method for the linear step and a choice of two different nonlinear integration schemes for the nonlinear step. The model includes Kerr, Raman scattering, and ionization effects (as well as linear and nonlinear shock, diffraction, and dispersion). We demonstrate the practical importance of numerical effects when interpreting computational studies of high-intensity optical pulse propagation in physical materials. Examples demonstrate the significant error that can arise in discrete, limited precision implementations as one attempts to improve practical operator accuracy through increased operator support size and sampling frequency. We also demonstrate the effect of the method used to obtain the finite-difference operator coefficients defining the equations ultimately used in the discrete model. Smooth, plausible, but incorrect solutions may result from these numerical effects. This implies the necessity of a complete, precise description of all numerical methods when reporting results of computational physics investigations in order to ensure proper interpretation and reproducibility.
Short-lived effects of a visual inducer during egocentric space perception and manual behavior.

A pitched visual inducer has a strong effect on the visually perceived elevation of a target in extrapersonal space, and also on the elevation of the arm when a subject points with an unseen arm to the target’s elevation. The manual effect is a systematic function of hand-to-body distance (Li and Matin Vision Research 45:533–550, 2005): When the arm is fully extended, manual responses to perceptually mislocalized luminous targets are veridical; when the arm is close to the body, gross matching errors occur. In the present experiments, we measured this hand-to-body distance effect during the presence of a pitched visual inducer and after inducer offset, using three values of hand-to-body distance (0, 40, and 70 cm) and two open-loop tasks (pointing to the perceived elevation of a target at true eye level and setting the height of the arm to match the elevation). We also measured manual behavior when subjects were instructed to point horizontally under induction and after inducer offset (no visual target at any time). In all cases, the hand-to-body distance effect disappeared shortly after inducer offset. We suggest that the rapid disappearance of the distance effect is a manifestation of processes in the dorsal visual stream that are involved in updating short-lived representations of the arm in egocentric visual perception and manual behavior.
A thermodynamic property formulation for cyclohexane

A formulation for the thermodynamic properties of cyclohexane is presented. The equation is valid for single-phase and saturation states from the melting line to 700 K at pressures up to 80 MPa. It includes a fundamental equation explicit in reduced Helmholtz energy with independent variables of reduced density and temperature. The functional form and coefficients of the ancillary equations were determined by weighted linear regression analyses of evaluated experimental data. An adaptive regression algorithm was used to determine the final equation. To ensure correct thermodynamic behavior of the Helmholtz energy surface the coefficients of the fundamental equation were determined with multiproperty fitting, Pressure-density-temperature (P-p-T) and isobaric heat capacity (C p -P-T) data were used to develop the fundamental equation, SaturationP-p-T values, calculated from the estimating functions, were used to ensure thermodynamic consistency at the vapor-liquid phase boundary. Separate functions were used for the vapor pressure, saturated liquid density, saturated vapor density. ideal-gas heat capacity. and pressure on the melting curve, Comparisons between experimental data and values calculated using the fundamental equation are given to verify the accuracy of the formulation. The formulation given here may be used to calculate densities within ±0.1 %, heat capacities to within ±2 %. and speed of sound to within ± 1 %, except near the critical point.
Effect of ethanol concentration on rates of ethanol elimination in normal and alcohol-treated rats in vivo.

Abstract Ethanol was infused intravenously to yield in the blood concentrations between 30 and 40 mM (low dose) or 80 and 90 mM (high dose). Duplicate blood samples were taken every 30 min for gas Chromatographie determination of ethanol. Elimination curves for both low and high does of ethanol were linear in normal rats until ethanol concentrations reached values of less than 5 mM. At the low and high doses, average rates of ethanol elimination were 179 ± l and 266 ± 13 μmoles/g/hr respectively. The stimulation of ethanol metabolism due to the high dose did not diminish as the concentration declined. At both doses in both normal and ethanol—pretreated rats, elimination rates were diminished over 80 per cent by prior treatment with 4-methylpyrazole. Pretreatment with aminotriazole produced a 20–25 per cent decrease in the rate at the high dose in normal rats and at both doses in ethanol-pretreated rats, but had no effect at the low dose in normal rats. From these data we conclude that a concentration effect of ethanol on rates of ethanol elimination, which has both an alcohol dehydrogenase—and a catalase-H2O2-dependent component, exists in vivo. Moreover, the adaptive increase in ethanol elimination due to chronic pretreatment with ethanol also involves both components. Pyruvate and ethanol pretreatment stimulated ethanol elimination at the low but not at the high dose of ethanol. It is further concluded that NADH reoxidation is rate-limiting for ethanol utilization at the low dose whereas the activity of alcohol dehydrogenase becomes limiting at the high dose and after pretreatment with ethanol in the fed state in vivo.
Physical and behavioral aspects of middle ear disease in school children

Middle ear disease is today's primary aural health problem in school-age children. Until recently, pediatric health researchers were aware only of the medical consequences that middle ear disease had no children. Except in a few cases of chronic otitis media, the effects of middle ear disease were considered transitory. However, current research on middle ear disease suggests permanent changes in hearing sensitivity, reduced development of the auditory neural network and developmental delays in speech, language and cognitive skills dependent on hearing. This article presents a review of recent studies on the physical and behavioral aspects of middle ear disease and its sequelae in school children.
Efficiency of methanol: water solutions for metribuzin extraction from selected soils

Abstract Extraction efficiency for metribuzin [4‐amino‐6‐(1,1‐dimethyl‐ethy 1)‐3‐(methylthio)‐l,2,4‐triazin‐5(4H)‐one] from soil was evaluated using four solutions of methanol:water at ratios of 1:1, 7:3, 4:1, and 1:0 v/v. Two concentrations of metribuzin (O.216 and 2.44 ug/ g soil, unlabeled and I4C‐metribuzin, respectively) were added to surface and subsurface samples of a Dundee silt loam soil. Although the differences in extraction efficiencies were slight due to differences in methanol:water ratios, the metribuzin recovery varied with soil depth. Less metribuzin was recovered from surface soil extracted with 1:1 and 1:0 methanol:water solutions when compared to 7:3 and 4:1 solutions (80 and 81% vs 89 and 88% recoveries, respectively). About equal quantities, 81 to 85%, were recovered from the subsurface soil. Three extraction shaking times (0.5 h followed by another 0.5 h; 4 h:4 h; and 24 h:24 h) were also evaluated using the 4:1 extractant. No recovery differences were observed between the 0.5 h and...
The histone-like H protein of Escherichia coli is ribosomal protein S3

Abstract We report the purification of four proteins from Escherichia coli that stimulate or inhibit inter- and/or intramolecular recombination promoted by the yeast plasmid-encoded FLP protein. The proteins are identified as the ribosomal proteins S3 (27 kDa), L2 (26 kDa), S4 (24 kDa), and S5 (16 kDa), on the basis of N-terminal sequence analysis. The S3 protein is found to be identical to H protein, an E. coli histone-like protein that is related to histone H2A immunologically and by virtue of amino acid content. The H protein/S3 identity is based on co-migration on polyacrylamide gels, heat stability, amino acid analysis, and effects on FLP-promoted recombination. These results are relevant to current studies on the structure of the E. coli nucleoid. Since the H protein has previously been found associated with the E. coli nucleoid, the results indicate that either (a) some ribosomal proteins serve a dual function in E. coli, or, more likely, (b) ribosomal proteins can and are being mis-identified as nucleoid constituents.
Day-ahead wind speed forecasting using f-ARIMA models

With the integration of wind energy into electricity grids, it is becoming increasingly important to obtain accurate wind speed/power forecasts. Accurate wind speed forecasts are necessary to schedule dispatchable generation and tariffs in the day-ahead electricity market. This paper examines the use of fractional-ARIMA or f-ARIMA models to model, and forecast wind speeds on the day-ahead (24 h) and two-day-ahead (48 h) horizons. The models are applied to wind speed records obtained from four potential wind generation sites in North Dakota. The forecasted wind speeds are used in conjunction with the power curve of an operational (NEG MICON, 750 kW) turbine to obtain corresponding forecasts of wind power production. The forecast errors in wind speed/power are analyzed and compared with the persistence model. Results indicate that significant improvements in forecasting accuracy are obtained with the proposed models compared to the persistence method.
An economic lot‐sizing problem with perishable inventory and economies of scale costs: Approximation solutions and worst case analysis

The costs of many economic activities such as production, purchasing, distribution, and inventory exhibit economies of scale under which the average unit cost decreases as the total volume of the activity increases. In this paper, we consider an economic lot-sizing problem with general economies of scale cost functions. Our model is applicable to both nonperishable and perishable products. For perishable products, the deterioration rate and inventory carrying cost in each period depend on the age of the inventory. Realizing that the problem is NP-hard, we analyze the effectiveness of easily implementable policies. We show that the cost of the best Consecutive-Cover-Ordering (CCO) policy, which can be found in polynomial time, is guaranteed to be no more than (42 5)/7 1.52 times the optimal cost. In addition, if the ordering cost function does not change from period to period, the cost of the best CCO policy is no more than 1.5 times the optimal cost. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 52: 536 -548, 2005.
Modeling and Control of Gate-Controlled Series Capacitor Interfaced With a DFIG-Based Wind Farm

This paper presents application and control of the gate-controlled series capacitor (GCSC) for series compensation and subsynchronous resonance (SSR) damping in doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG)-based wind farms. The GCSC is a new series FACTS device composed of a fixed capacitor in parallel with a pair of antiparallel gate-commuted switches. The study considers a DFIG-based wind farm, which is connected to a series-compensated transmission line whose parameters are derived from the IEEE first benchmark model for computer simulation of the SSR. The small-signal stability analysis of the system is presented, and the eigenvalues of the system are obtained. Using both modal analysis and time-domain simulation, it is shown that the system is potentially unstable due to the SSR mode. Therefore, the wind farm is equipped with a GCSC to solve the instability of the wind farm resulting from the SSR mode, and an SSR damping controller (SSRDC) is designed for this device using residue-based analysis and root locus diagrams. Using residue-based analysis, the optimal input control signal to the SSRDC is identified, which can damp the SSR mode without destabilizing other modes, and using root-locus analysis, the required gain for the SSRDC is determined. MATLAB/Simulink is used as a tool for modeling, design, and time-domain simulations.
Cardiac Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury: Preliminary Study of the Effect of Sarcolemmal Na+/H+ Exchange Blockade in the Isolated Heart in Two Age Groups of Young Rats ♦ 381

Cardiac Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury: Preliminary Study of the Effect of Sarcolemmal Na+/H+ Exchange Blockade in the Isolated Heart in Two Age Groups of Young Rats ♦ 381
Inert pyrolysis of stoker-coal fines

This study provided information on the relative stability of nitrogen-, sulphur-, carbon- and hydrogen-containing species retained in the char during pyrolysis of the stoker fines. The presence of these principal constituents was determined by elemental analyses on the remaining char; this allowed a simple (but effective) means of correlating the loss of sulphur and nitrogen species against a variety of pyrolysis conditions. Inert pyrolysis experiments were performed in a CF-IR Lindberg tube furnace. Furnace temperatures studied ranged from 700 °C to 1300 °C while the residence time ranged from 1 to 40 minutes. The coal fines from typical stoker-sized coal included three size ranges (i.e. d < 0.16, 0.16 < d < 0.28 and 0.28 < d < 0.40 cm). The experimental results indicated the relative stability of the carbon species. Carbon evolution was least affected by an increase in temperature and relatively insensitive to changes in coal rank, although the highest-rank coal evolved the least carbon and the lignite coal evolved the most. Hydrogen evolution was also relatively insensitive to coal rank; however, the extent of evolution was large under all conditions tested and increased significantly with increasing temperature. Carbon evolution clearly approached a fixed, asymptotic value with increasing time and temperature, but hydrogen evolution was almost complete at 1100 °C. Nitrogen and sulphur both exhibited behaviour generally intermediate to that observed for carbon and hydrogen. Sulphur evolution consistently exceeded that of carbon but the dependence on temperature was essentially identical for both species. In contrast, nitrogen evolution at 700 °C was almost identical to that of carbon and relatively insensitive to coal rank. However, nitrogen evolution exhibited a stronger temperature dependence and at 1100 °C it far exceeded the evolution of the carbon species. Particle size was shown to have little influence on the evolution of the various species over the range tested in this study; therefore, the conclusions are relevant to stoker-coal fines in general.
The effect of different amounts of androgen on scent marking in the male Mongolian gerbil*1

Abstract The scent marking response associated with the ventral gland of the Mongolian gerbil declined in frequency following castration, and was restored by testosterone propionate (TP) in proportion to the amount of hormone administered. Subcutaneous injections of 0, 32, 64, 128, and 256 μg of TP in oil were given to 5 groups of 14 castrates once a week 3 days prior to each of 7 weekly behavioral tests. The average marking scores over the last 3 tests were 7.9, 9.3, 10.4, 11.4, and 18.2, respectively, and the corresponding score for sham operated gerbils receiving oil injections without hormone was 14.2. In a second experiment the marking frequency of 28 gonadally intact adults was found to correlate positively ( r = .54) with seminal vesicle weight, a variable which probably reflects androgen titer. The results of the two experiments suggested that individual differences in androgen titer are a cause of individual differences in marking frequency.
Corporate economic performance: Diversification strategy versus market structure

SUMMARY This paper incorporates both diversification strategy and market structure variables in a study of corporate economic performance. A subsample of 128 firms from Rumelt's 1974 study was updated and utilized to investigate the possibility that market structure variables might modelrate or confound the diversification/performance relationship he reported. Study results indicate that performance differences could be demonstrated for some of Rumelt's categories, but, across the range of categories, a hypothesis of performance differences was rejected. As expected, categories associated with distinctly high or distinctly low economic performance were also associated with significant differences in a series of market structure variables. Researchers from several disciplines have sought to identify factors which influence corporate economic performance. Strategic management researchers have sought to relate corporate economic performance to the major direction-setting decisions made by the firm. For a new and growing firm, these decisions frequently relate to the degree and manner in which its product line and served market should be extended. For an older firm which wishes to continue to grow, the key decisions generally relate to the degree and manner in which it should diversify into different businesses (Chandler, 1962; Scott, 1971). Starting from a very different perspective, researchers in industrial organization economics have been guided by a conceptual framework which examines possible relationships among (1) the structure of the industry (or industries) in which the firm operates, (2) the conduct of the firms within that industry, and (3) the level of economic performance both of the individual firms and of their associated industries. This effort has yielded an extensive literature, much of which supports the proposition that firm profits are strongly influenced by the structure of the market or markets in which the firm operates (Scherer, 1970). These two streams of research have developed in large measure independently of each other. It is the purpose of the present research to incorporate both diversification strategy and market structure variables in a study of corporate economic performance.