cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Photolabeling of the adipocyte hexose carrier with an aryl azide derivative of maltose

Abstract A nitrophenyl azide derivative of maltose, N -(4-azido-2-nitrophenyl)-maltosylamine (NAP-maltosylamine), was synthesized as a potential photoaffinity label for the hexose carrier of the rat adipocyte. This derivative inhibited 3- O -methylglucose uptake with a K i of 1.3 mM in the dark, while that of maltose was 10.0 mM. Carbon-14-labeled maltose and NAP-maltosylamine entered adipocytes via the hexose carrier, the latter in a concentrative fashion. Photolysis of NAP-[ 14 C]maltosylamine in the presence of an adipocyte low density microsomal membrane fraction labeled several electrophoretic bands. Among these are a 45 kDa band which showed features expected of the hexose carrier: its labeling was decreased 40% by d - but not l -glucose and pretreatment of intact adipocytes with insulin decreased labeling of the 45 kDa band by 10–40%, as predicted by the translocation theory of insulin-stimulated transport activation. These studies show the suitability of using carbon-1-modified sugar photoaffinity labels as probes for the hexose carrier and possibly of its regulation in rat adipocytes.
Perspectives of service consumers: their multiple roles and challenges

The unique characteristics of services — i.e. intangibility, perishability, inseparability and heterogeneity — add risk, challenge and complexity to the tasks involved in being a service consumer. In response, service consumers assume six important roles, labelled: Targets, Partners, Quasi-Employees, Service Itself, Reporters and Quality Inspectors. The successful implementation of these roles relies heavily upon consumer skills that vary from consumer to consumer. Implications of being a service consumer are discussed and specific recommendations are offered to service consumers.
Air Change Effectiveness Measurements in Two Modern Office Buildings

Local age of air and air change effectiveness were determined in two office buildings using tracer gas techniques to study the applicability of the associated measurement procedures in mechanically ventilated office buildings. Measurement issues examined include the establishment of a uniform tracer gas concentration at the start of the test and the relationship of ventilation system configuration and system operation to the test procedure. Air change effectiveness was determined at locations in the occupied space based on the local age of air at that location and the age of air in the corresponding ventilation system return duct. Values of the air change effectiveness in the occupied space were generally close to one, which is consistent with good mixing of the Ventilation air within the occupied space. Deviations from 1.0, on the order of 10%, did occur, but given the limited experience with these measurement procedures in the field it is not clear whether these deviations are significant. These tests provide data on air change effectiveness to supplement the limited database on mechanically ventilated office buildings in the US. In addition, the experience obtained with the measurement procedures will assist in the development of a standardized approach to measuring air change effectiveness in the field.
On the Propagation of Magneto-Ionic Rays in a Shearing Plasma

Using the geometrical optics approximation, we give the behavior of fast and slow magneto-ionic rays passing through a plasma which possesses a differential shear. Depending upon the orientation of the ambient magnetostatic field with respect to the flow direction, it is shown that the effects of the shear can cause ray paths to propagateupstream ordownstream. The fact that in an homogeneous plasma the slow magneto-ionic wave has a group angle which is oppositely directed to its phase angle causes the slow rays to exhibit properties which are extremely curious relative to those obtaining for the fast rays — which are themselves interesting. We have done these calculations to show that the effects of velocity shear in an otherwise homogeneous plasma lead to interesting ray behaviors which, presumably, bear upon the more general question of magneto-ionic energy transport in inhomogeneous plasmas.
A Simple Innovation in Continuous Casting Mold Technology for Fluid Flow and Surface Standing Waves Control

This paper reports on the development of a novel technique to control standing surface waves and turbulence. The technique uses external refractory shapes in the continuous casting mold to modify fluid flow and control the surface waves. The method is both economical and flexible as compared to contemporary technologies to solve the problem. Two distinct methods are described based on the placement of the shapes in the mold. Type A shapes are placed nearer the free surface and predominantly work by modifying the upper recirculation region. Type B shapes are placed deeper in the mold and work by altering the overall fluid flow pattern. Water modeling was carried out on thick slab caster models to understand the behavior of the surface waves. An optimum design of flow control device and its positioning were developed based on the study. Mathematical modeling using commercial fluid flow codes was also used to supplement the experimental results of the process.
Benign pheochromocytoma associated with elevated excretion of homovanillic acid

The excretion of catecholamine metabolites was determined in nine children prior to and following resection of one or more well-encapsulated, benign pheochromocytomas. One third of these subjects presented with increased excretion of homovanillic acid as well as markedly increased excretion of vanillylmandelic acid and total metanephrines: biochemical evidence opposed to the presence of a benign pheochromocytoma. No significant difference in age, sex, clinical presentation, course, or postoperative biochemical evaluation could be detected between this group and the six remaining subjects. Elevated homovanillic acid excretion, indicative of the presence of a malignant pheochromocytoma in the adult, does not carry this serious prognostic import in childhood. In childhood, elevated homovanillic acid and markedly increased excration of vanillylmandelic acid and total metanephrines, usually associated with neuroblastoma, do not rule out the diagnostic possibility of a benign pheochromocytoma.
Proximal nerve magnetization transfer MRI relates to disability in Charcot-Marie-Tooth diseases.

Objective: The objectives of this study were (1) to develop a novel magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) MRI assay of the proximal sciatic nerve (SN), which is inaccessible via current tools for assessing peripheral nerves, and (2) to evaluate the resulting MTR values as a potential biomarker of myelin content changes in patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) diseases. Methods: MTR was measured in the SN of patients with CMT type 1A (CMT1A, n = 10), CMT type 2A (CMT2A, n = 3), hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies (n = 3), and healthy controls (n = 21). Additional patients without a genetically confirmed subtype (n = 4), but whose family histories and electrophysiologic tests were consistent with CMT, were also included. The relationship between MTR and clinical neuropathy scores was assessed, and the interscan and inter-rater reliability of MTR was estimated. Results: Mean volumetric MTR values were significantly decreased in the SN of patients with CMT1A (33.8 ± 3.3 percent units) and CMT2A (31.5 ± 1.9 percent units) relative to controls (37.2 ± 2.3 percent units). A significant relationship between MTR and disability scores was also detected ( p = 0.01 for genetically confirmed patients only, p = 0.04 for all patients). From interscan and inter-rater reliability analyses, proximal nerve MTR values were repeatable at the slicewise and mean volumetric levels. Conclusions: MTR measurements may be a viable biomarker of proximal nerve pathology in patients with CMT.
Holographic interferometers based on self-developing optical crystals

Holographic interferometry is a well-established diagnostic technique with numerous applications. Spatial distributions of refractive index can be conveniently visualized using this approh. For example, heat transfer from electronic chips, air flow in wind tunnels, and acoustic wave propagation have been investigated by the authors using holographic interferometry. Instead of the conventional holographic film, we use self-developing optical crystals for storage of the holograms. The use of these (photorefractive) materials will, in our opinion, bring about significant improvements in this techno1ogy.
Clock and Light Regulation of the CREB Coactivator CRTC1 in the Suprachiasmatic Circadian Clock

The CREB/CRE transcriptional pathway has been implicated in circadian clock timing and light-evoked clock resetting. To date, much of the work on CREB in circadian physiology has focused on how changes in the phosphorylation state of CREB regulate the timing processes. However, beyond changes in phosphorylation, CREB-dependent transcription can also be regulated by the CREB coactivator CRTC (CREB-regulated transcription coactivator), also known as TORC (transducer of regulated CREB). Here we profiled both the rhythmic and light-evoked regulation of CRTC1 and CRTC2 in the murine suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), the locus of the master mammalian clock. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed rhythmic expression of CRTC1 in the SCN. CRTC1 expression was detected throughout the dorsoventral extent of the SCN in the middle of the subjective day, with limited expression during early night, and late night expression levels intermediate between mid-day and early night levels. In contrast to CRTC1, robust expression of CRTC2 was detected during both the subjective day and night. During early and late subjective night, a brief light pulse induced strong nuclear accumulation of CRTC1 in the SCN. In contrast with CRTC1, photic stimulation did not affect the subcellular localization of CRTC2 in the SCN. Additionally, reporter gene profiling and chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis indicated that CRTC1 was associated with CREB in the 5' regulatory region of the period1 gene, and that overexpression of CRTC1 leads to a marked upregulation in period1 transcription. Together, these data raise the prospect that CRTC1 plays a role in fundamental aspects of SCN clock timing and entrainment.
Thermodynamics of crystalline linear high polymers. II. The influence of copolymer units on the thermodynamic properties of polyethylene

CO and CHCH3 copolymers with polyethylene have been investigated by means of DTA and X-ray methods. The reproducibility of DTA was investigated for monomeric and polymeric standard compounds and found usable for maximum melting point determinations. The maximum melting point is discussed for copolymers, and an equation is given which corrects the influence of chain folding. CO was found to be a crystallizable defect unit, while CHCH3 causes a noncrystallizable amorphous defect.
Assignment of methyl alcohol submillimeter laser transitions

Several submillimeter laser transitions of methyl alcohol have been assigned by using combination relations.
Water-Soluble Conjugated Polyelectrolytes with Branched Polyionic Side Chains

A new series of conjugated polyelectrolytes (CPE) consisting of an arylene–ethynylene backbone featuring phenyl (Ph), 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole (BTD), or 4,7-bis(2′-thienyl)-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole (TBT) units have been synthesized and characterized. On each polymer repeat unit the CPEs contain two branched ionic side groups each featuring a “triad” of carboxylate (R-CO2–Na+) or ammonium (R-NH3+Cl–) units, giving the polymers six ionic charges per repeat. The photophysical properties of the series of CPEs were investigated in CH3OH and H2O solution by absorption, steady-state fluorescence, and fluorescence lifetime spectroscopy. The different arylene units in the backbone lead to the variation of the HOMO–LUMO gap across the series. The branched, polyionic side chains suppress aggregation of the polymer chains, even in aqueous solution, leading to higher fluorescence quantum yields relative to similar CPEs with linear side chains. UV–vis absorption spectra show that CPEs with anionic branched side chains (R-b...
Teaching With and About Nature of Science, and Science Teacher Knowledge Domains

The ubiquitous goals of helping precollege students develop informed conceptions of nature of science (NOS) and experience inquiry learning environments that progressively approximate authentic scientific practice have been long-standing and central aims of science education reforms around the globe. However, the realization of these goals continues to elude the science education community partly because of a persistent, albeit not empirically supported, coupling of the two goals in the form of ‘teaching about NOS with inquiry’. In this context, the present paper aims, first, to introduce the notions of, and articulate the distinction between, teaching with and about NOS, which will allow for the meaningful coupling of the two desired goals. Second, the paper aims to explicate science teachers’ knowledge domains requisite for effective teaching with and about NOS. The paper argues that research and development efforts dedicated to helping science teachers develop deep, robust, and integrated NOS understandings would have the dual benefits of not only enabling teachers to convey to students images of science and scientific practice that are commensurate with historical, philosophical, sociological, and psychological scholarship (teaching about NOS), but also to structure robust inquiry learning environments that approximate authentic scientific practice, and implement effective pedagogical approaches that share a lot of the characteristics of best science teaching practices (teaching with NOS).
Time accounting in community medicine education.

This paper describes the approach used by the Department of Community Medicine of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in the formulation of personnel time requirements for undergraduate medical education. The results presented reveal that the two required undergraduate courses utilize a total of 5627 hours of faculty and support staff time. Implications of this method are discussed for program budgeting in medical education and the use of various course methods (e.g., lecture, seminar, tutorial).
Changes in the character and location of arterial lesions in mammals and birds in the Philadelphia Zoological Garden.

Improved nutrition for mammals and birds at the Philadelphia Zoological Garden has been followed by continued increases in the frequency of arteriosclerosis and by changes in the character and location of the lesions. During the first decade after diets were improved the large atheromata of the proximal aorta and brachiocephalic arteries of birds were replaced by smaller, more compact lesions, usually of the abdominal aorta. At the same time many species of mammals developed atheromata of the aorta, whereas earlier these lesions had been found chiefly in baboons and monkeys (Cercopithecidae). During the second decade of adequate nutrition, and especially since 1950, arteriosclerosis of the coronary arteries has become relatively common in both mammals and birds. Usually this lesion has developed in the distal, intramural segments of the coronary arteries, as intimal thickening and occlusion. Most frequently it has been associated with myocardial fibrosis, but it also has led to myocardial infarction and s...
Assessment of short-term visual memory in child and adolescent psychiatric inpatients

This study provides normative data on 270 child and adolescent psychiatric inpatients using the Bender Recall technique as a measure of short-term visual memory. In addition, the authors present normative data on another immediate recall technique using the Coding section of the WISC-R. These findings are examined in light of age differences and IQ scores. Detailed instructions for administering the Coding Recall technique are presented.
On the relationship between the phonon anomalies and the AB initio calculated Fermi surfaces of TaC and NbC

Abstract First principles augmented plane wave calculations show that the Fermi surfaces of TaC and NbC contain flat parallel sheets, while that of HfC is relatively “normal”. The phonon anomalies in the former two materials are shown to stem from specific transitions across the Fermi surface.
Diagnostic yield of routine noninvasive cardiovascular testing in low-risk acute chest pain patients.

Contemporary professional society recommendations for patients presenting to the emergency department with acute chest pain and low clinical risk encourage noninvasive testing for coronary artery disease (CAD) before, or shortly after, discharge from the emergency department. Recent reports indicate that a strategy of universal testing has a low diagnostic yield and may not be necessary. We examined data from a prospective cohort of patients who underwent evaluation of acute chest pain in our chest pain evaluation center (CPEC). Patients presenting with normal initial electrocardiogram and cardiac injury markers were eligible for observation and noninvasive testing for CAD in our CPEC. All patients were asked to participate in the prospective registry. The 213 subjects who consented were young, obese, and predominantly women (mean age 43.8 ± 12.5, mean body mass index of 30.8 ± 7, 64.8% women). Prevalence of diabetes was 10.3% (hypertension 37.1%, hyperlipidemia 17.8%, and current tobacco use 23.5%) Exercise treadmill testing was the primary method of evaluation (n = 104, 49%) followed by computed tomography coronary angiography (n = 58, 27%) and myocardial perfusion imaging (n = 20, 9%). Of 203 patients who underwent testing, 11 had abnormal test results, 4 of whom had obstructive CAD based on invasive coronary angiography. The positive predictive value for obstructive CAD after an abnormal test was 45.5%, and the overall diagnostic yield for obstructive CAD was 2.5%. In conclusion, in patients with acute chest pain evaluated in a CPEC, the yield of routine use of noninvasive testing for CAD was minimal and the positive predictive value of an abnormal test was low.
Abstracts of recent doctoral dissertations in computer algebra

Each month we are pleased to present abstracts of recent doctoral dissertations in Computer Algebra and Symbolic Computation. We encourage all recent Ph.D. graduates (and their supervisors), who have defended in the past two years, to submit their abstracts for publication in CCA. Please send abstracts to the CCA editors editors_SIGSAM@acm.org for consideration.
Realistic three-dimensional epithelial tissue phantoms for biomedical optics.

We introduce new realistic three-dimensional tissue phan- toms which can help to understand the optical properties of human epithelium as well as the optical signatures associated with the dys- plasia to carcinoma sequence. The phantoms are based on a step by step multilayer reconstitution of the epithelial tissue using main com- ponents characteristic for the human epithelium. Each consecutive step is aimed to increase the similarity between real tissue and a phan- tom. We began by modeling the stromal layer which predominantly consists of a network of collagen bundles. Phantoms consisting of a collagen matrix alone and in the presence of embedded cervical cells were created. Their morphology and fluorescence properties were studied and were compared with those of cervical epithelium. We show that the phantoms resemble the microstructure and the optical properties of the human epithelial tissue. We also demonstrate that the proposed phantoms provide an opportunity to study changes in opti- cal properties of different tissue components as a result of their inter- actions with each other or exogenous factors. © 2002 Society of Photo-
Fungal endophyte communities reflect environmental structuring across a Hawaiian landscape

We surveyed endophytic fungal communities in leaves of a single tree species (Metrosideros polymorpha) across wide environmental gradients (500–5,500 mm of rain/y; 10–22 °C mean annual temperature) spanning short geographic distances on Mauna Loa Volcano, Hawai’i. Using barcoded amplicon pyrosequencing at 13 sites (10 trees/site; 10 leaves/tree), we found very high levels of diversity within sites (a mean of 551 ± 134 taxonomic units per site). However, among-site diversity contributed even more than did within-site diversity to the overall richness of more than 4,200 taxonomic units observed in M. polymorpha, and this among-site variation in endophyte community composition correlated strongly with temperature and rainfall. These results are consistent with suggestions that foliar endophytic fungi are hyperdiverse. They further suggest that microbial diversity may be even greater than has been assumed and that broad-scale environmental controls such as temperature and rainfall can structure eukaryotic microbial diversity. Appropriately constrained study systems across strong environmental gradients present a useful means to understand the environmental factors that structure the diversity of microbial communities.
Low Rates of African American Participation in Genetic Counseling and Testing for BRCA1/2 Mutations: Racial Disparities or Just a Difference?

Low rates of genetic counseling among African American women have generated concerns about disparities; however, to the extent that women's decisions to accept or decline counseling are consistent with their values, then lower participation may reflect preferences and not disparities. We evaluated the extent to which women were satisfied with their decision about participating in genetic counseling for BRCA1/2 mutations and identified variables that were associated significantly with satisfaction. Prospective study of decision satisfaction with 135 African American women who had a minimum 5% prior probability of having a BRCA1/2 mutation. Decision satisfaction was evaluated one month after women were offered participation in genetic counseling using a structured questionnaire. Women were satisfied with their participation decision; more than 80% reported that their decision was consistent with their family values. However, women who declined pre-test counseling had significantly lower satisfaction scores. Our findings highlight the importance ensuring that racial differences that are due to preferences and values are not misclassified as disparities in order to identify and address the root causes of disparate treatment.
Enhanced Performance of “Flower‐like” Li4Ti5O12 Motifs as Anode Materials for High‐Rate Lithium‐Ion Batteries

“Flower-like” motifs of Li4Ti5O12 were synthesized by using a facile and large-scale hydrothermal process involving unique Ti foil precursors followed by a short, relatively low-temperature calcination in air. Moreover, a detailed time-dependent growth mechanism and a reasonable reaction scheme were proposed to clearly illustrate and highlight the structural evolution and subsequent formation of this material. Specifically, the resulting “flower-like” Li4Ti5O12 microspheres consisting of thin nanosheets provide for an enhanced surface area and a reduced lithium-ion diffusion distance. The high surface areas of the exposed roughened, thin petal-like component nanosheets are beneficial for the interaction of the electrolyte with Li4Ti5O12, which thereby ultimately provides for improved high-rate performance and favorable charge/discharge dynamics. Electrochemical studies of the as-prepared nanostructured Li4Ti5O12 clearly revealed their promising potential as an enhanced anode material for lithium-ion batteries, as they present both excellent rate capabilities (delivering 148, 141, 137, 123, and 60 mAh g−1 under discharge rates of 0.2, 10, 20, 50, and 100 C, at cycles of 50, 55, 60, 65, and 70, respectively) and stable cycling performance (exhibiting a capacity retention of ≈97 % from cycles 10–100, under a discharge rate of 0.2 C, and an impressive capacity retention of ≈87 % by using a more rigorous discharge rate of 20 C from cycles 101–300).
Design and evaluation of a cross-layer adaptation framework for mobile multimedia systems

Mobile multimedia systems must provide application quality of service (QoS) in the presence of dynamically varying and multiple resource constraints (e.g., variations in available CPU time, energy, and bandwidth). Researchers have therefore proposed adaptive systems that can respond to changing resource availability and application demands. All system layers can benefit from adaptation, but fully exploiting these benefits requires a new cross-layer adaptation framework to coordinate the adaptations in the different layers. This paper presents such a framework and its first prototype, called GRACE-1. The framework supports application QoS under CPU and energy constraints via coordinated adaptation in the hardware, OS, and application layers. Specifically, GRACE-1 uses global adaptation to handle large and long-term variations, setting application QoS, CPU allocation, and CPU frequency/voltage to qualitatively new levels. In response to small and temporary variations, it uses local adaptation within each layer. We have implemented the GRACE-1 prototype on a laptop system with an adaptive processor. Our experimental results show that, compared to previous approaches that exploit adaptation in only some of the layers or in an uncoordinated way, GRACE-1 can provide higher overall system utility in several cases.
Anaplasma phagocytophilum induces actin phosphorylation to selectively regulate gene transcription in Ixodes scapularis ticks

Anaplasma phagocytophilum, the agent of human anaplasmosis, persists in ticks and mammals. We show that A. phagocytophilum induces the phosphorylation of actin in an Ixodes ricinus tick cell line and Ixodes scapularis ticks, to alter the ratio of monomeric/filamentous (G/F) actin. A. phagocytophilum–induced actin phosphorylation was dependent on Ixodes p21-activated kinase (IPAK1)–mediated signaling. A. phagocytophilum stimulated IPAK1 activity via the G protein–coupled receptor Gβγ subunits, which mediated phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) activation. Disruption of Ixodes gβγ, pi3k, and pak1 reduced actin phosphorylation and bacterial acquisition by ticks. A. phagocytophilum–induced actin phosphorylation resulted in increased nuclear G actin and phosphorylated actin. The latter, in association with RNA polymerase II (RNAPII), enhanced binding of TATA box–binding protein to RNAPII and selectively promoted expression of salp16, a gene crucial for A. phagocytophilum survival. These data define a mechanism that A. phagocytophilum uses to selectively alter arthropod gene expression for its benefit and suggest new strategies to interfere with the life cycle of this intracellular pathogen, and perhaps other Rickettsia-related microbes of medical importance.
Acute myocardial infarction caused by a myocardial bridge treated with intracoronary stenting.

The clinical significance of myocardial bridges (MBs) is variable, and most patients are asymptomatic. However, angina, myocardial infarction, and sudden death have been reported in association with MBs. Here we describe the use of intracoronary stenting for the treatment of a patient with an anterior myocardial infarction due to an MB. Cathet. Cardiovasc. Diagn. 42:209–212, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Update on Emerging Infections: News from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Abstract Editor's note: This article is part of a regular series on emerging infections from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the EMERGEncy ID NET, an emergency department–based and CDC-collaborative surveillance network. Important infectious disease public health information with relevance to emergency physicians is reported. The goal of this series is to advance knowledge about communicable diseases in emergency medicine and foster cooperation between the front line of clinical medicine and public health agencies.
Constructing a Control Group Using Multivariate Matched Sampling Methods That Incorporate the Propensity Score

Abstract Matched sampling is a method for selecting units from a large reservoir of potential controls to produce a control group of modest size that is similar to a treated group with respect to the distribution of observed covariates. We illustrate the use of multivariate matching methods in an observational study of the effects of prenatal exposure to barbiturates on subsequent psychological development. A key idea is the use of the propensity score as a distinct matching variable.
Implementation and Safety Regulation: Variations in Federal and State Administration Under OSHA

The public policy literature suggests that effective program implementation is less likely if formulation and implementation reside at different levels of government than if they are at the same le...
Survival and Production in Variable Resource Environments

A dynamic energy budget (DEB) model describes the rates at which organisms assimilate and utilize energy from food for maintenance, growth, reproduction and development. We study the dynamic behavior of one particular DEB model, Kooijman’s κ rule model, whose key assumption is that somatic and reproductive tissues are competing for energy. We assume an environment in which the food density fluctuates either periodically or stochastically (pink noise). Both types of fluctuations stimulate growth; the magnitude of the (average) increase in size depends on both the strength and duration of the fluctuations. In a stochastic environment, the risk of mortality due to starvation increases with increasing fluctuation intensity. The mean lifespan is also a function of the model parameter κ characterizing the partitioning of energy between somatic and reproductive tissues. Organisms committing a large fraction of resources to reproduction endure periods of food shortage relatively well. The effects of food fluctuations on reproduction are complex. With stochastic food, reproduction in survivors increases with increasing fluctuation intensities, but lifetime reproduction decreases. Periodic fluctuations may enhance reproduction, depending on the value of κ. Thus, a variable food supply stimulates growth, increases mortality and may enhance reproduction, depending on life history.
BIODIVERSITY MEDIATES PRODUCTIVITY THROUGH DIFFERENT MECHANISMS AT ADJACENT TROPHIC LEVELS

Biodiversity may enhance productivity either because diverse communities more often contain productive species (selection effects) or because they show greater complementarity in resource use. Our understanding of how these effects influence community production comes almost entirely from studies of plants. To test whether previous results apply to higher trophic levels, we first used simulations to derive expected contributions of selection and complementarity to production in competitive assemblages defined by either neutral interactions, dominance, or a trade-off between growth and competitive ability. The three types of simulated assemblages exhibited distinct interaction signatures when diversity effects were partitioned into selection and complementarity components. We then compared these signatures to those of experimental marine communities. Diversity influenced production in fundamentally different ways in assemblages of macroalgae, characterized by growth-competition trade-offs, vs. in herbivores, characterized by dominance. Forecasting the effects of changing biodiversity in multitrophic ecosystems will require recognizing that the mechanism by which diversity influences functioning can vary among trophic levels in the same food web.
Tense, aspect and the passive voice in L1 and L2 academic texts

This study analyses specific written discourse production in which NNSs’ usage of English tenses and voice appears to be dramatically different from that of NSs. The data for the study narrowly focuses on a small number of verb phrase features, such as tenses, aspects and the passive voice, examining how they are presented in writing instruction texts and identifying areas of L2 learning in need of intensive instruction. The main goal of the analysis is to identify the patterns and median frequency rates of L1 and L2 uses of three English tenses (the present, the past and the future), two aspects (the progressive and the perfect), and passive verb structures encountered in a NS and NNS corpus of L1 and L2 academic student academic texts (746 essays/226,054 words). The results of the study demonstrate that even after many years of L2 learning and use, advanced NNS students may have difficulty with the conventionalized uses of tenses, aspects and the passive voice in written academic discourse. The paper al...
Two novel applications of ion exchange fibers : Arsenic removal and chemical-free softening of hard water

Separation processes using ion exchange materials are ubiquitous regarding the selective removal of contaminants of environmental concern. Recently, highly regulated contaminants, such as arsenic, have gained notoriety on account of carcinogenic effects and subsequent promulgation of new drinking water standards by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Other nonregulated compounds such as hardness (e.g., Ca2+, Mg2+), pose a particular concern to avoid scaling in heat-transfer equipment, foulingz in membranes, and high consumption of detergents and sequestering chemicals in cooling and wash water. In general, ion exchange processes used to remove hardness generate concentrated brine or mineral acid as a waste regenerant stream. Residuals management and long-term sustainability issues will continue to be major concerns with these processes. The subject paper reports and discusses the results and attributes of two new separation processes using ion exchange fibers (IX-fibers). The first process involves the selective removal of arsenic using hybridized IX-fibers that contain dispersed hydrated ferric oxide (HFO) nanoparticles. Anion-exchanger-supported HFO particles offered a high arsenic removal capacity; less than 10% of influent arsenic broke through after 30,000 bed volumes. Hybrid fibers were also amenable to efficient regeneration with 2% NaOH and 2% NaCl and capable of simultaneous removal of both arsenic(V) and arsenic(III). The second process involves the environmentally benign removal of hardness. Most importantly, this process uses harvested snowmelt (or rainwater) sparged with carbon dioxide as the regenerant. Consequently, the spent regenerant does not contain a high concentration of aggressive chemicals such as sodium chloride or acid like traditional ion-exchange processes nor does the process produce voluminous sludges as does lime softening. The bulk of carbon dioxide consumed during regeneration remains sequestered in the aqueous phase as alkalinity. For both treatment strategies, IX-fibers form the heart of the process. They are essentially thin cylindrical polymeric strands 10–20 μm in diameter with functional groups residing near to the fiber surface. Low intraparticle diffusional resistance is the underlying reason why calcium loaded weak acid IX-fibers are amenable to efficient regeneration using either snowmelt or rainwater sparged with carbon dioxide. Additionally, for hybrid IX-fibers, enhanced adsorption kinetics may offer the possibility for certain point of use applications, which are unavailable to their resin counterparts. © 2006 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 2006
Stereoelective polymerization of propylene oxide with a chiral aluminium alkoxide initiator

The polymerization of propylene oxide (PO) was studied with an initiator prepared by the reaction of (R)-(−)-3,3-dimethyl-1,2-butanediol (1) with aluminium hydride. When mixed with zinc chloride in a 1:1 mole ratio, the initiator was found to be highly reactive and also stereoelective in the polymerization of PO, preferentially incorporating (R)-(+)-PO into the polymer chain. Analysis of the polymer structure by 13C NMR spectroscopy showed that chlorine, hydroxyl and alkoxy end groups, derived from the initiator, were present. Fractionation of poly(propylene oxide) (PPO) in acetone at −30°Cgave about 10% insoluble PPO, shown to be isotactic by 13C NMR. The soluble, largely atactic fraction contained irregular head-to-head (h,h) and tail-to-tail (t,t) structures. In the absence of coinitiator zinc chloride the PPO product was completely soluble in acetone at −30°Cand contained a greater proportion of irregular h,h and t,t structure.
The determination of the vitamin D metabolites on a single plasma sample: changes during parturition in dairy cows.

Methods have been developed for the precise measurement of the major known vitamin D metabolites in a single sample of cow plasma (~5 ml). The procedure involves initial extraction with methylene chloride-methanol followed by chromatography on Sephadex LH-20. 25-Hydroxyvitamin D2 and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 were determined using high-pressure liquid chromatography and comparing ultraviolet absorption peak height with absorption peak heights of standards. The dihydroxylated metabolites were further purified and resolved by high-pressure liquid chromatography and determined by radioligand binding assays. The assays were employed to measure the total vitamin D metabolite levels in the plasma of paretic and normal dairy cows at parturition. Parturition had no effect on 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in either group of cows (paretic, 37–44 ng/ml; normal, 35–38 ng/ml). However, normal cows did show lower mean 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels at every sampling period with the lowest levels in both groups occurring at 7 days postpartum. Plasma 25, 26-dihydroxyvitamin D was higher in paretic animals prepartum and at parturition (0.7–1.0 ng/ml) when compared to nonparetic animals (0.4–0.45 ng/ml). Similar levels (0.6 ng/ml) were observed in both groups postpartum. Cows developing parturient paresis showed a significant (P < 0.05) elevation of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D at parturition with a maximum level of 350 pg/ml attained at 1 day postpartum compared to prepartum levels of 60 pg/ml. Normal animals also showed a rise in plasma levels of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D with a maximum level of 185 pg/ml observed at 1 day postpartum. Plasma 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D was initially higher in paretic cows (1.9 ng/ml) with a significant (P < 0.05) drop to 1.05 ng/ml occurring at parturition. This level was maintained for 7 days postpartum. The levels of this steroid were maintained at 1.3–1.4 ng/ml in the normal cows throughout the entire sampling period.
Mutational definition of functional domains within the Rev homolog encoded by human endogenous retrovirus K.

Nuclear export of the incompletely spliced mRNAs encoded by several complex retroviruses, including human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), is dependent on a virally encoded adapter protein, termed Rev in HIV-1, that directly binds both to a cis-acting viral RNA target site and to the cellular Crm1 export factor. Human endogenous retrovirus K, a family of ancient endogenous retroviruses that is not related to the exogenous retrovirus HIV-1, was recently shown to also encode a Crm1-dependent nuclear RNA export factor, termed K-Rev. Although HIV-1 Rev and K-Rev display little sequence identity, they share the ability not only to bind to Crm1 and to RNA but also to form homomultimers and shuttle between nucleus and cytoplasm. We have used mutational analysis to identify sequences in the 105-amino-acid K-Rev protein required for each of these distinct biological activities. While mutations in K-Rev that inactivate any one of these properties also blocked K-Rev-dependent nuclear RNA export, several K-Rev mutants were comparable to wild type when assayed for any of these individual activities yet nevertheless defective for RNA export. Although several nonfunctional K-Rev mutants acted as dominant negative inhibitors of K-Rev-, but not HIV-1 Rev-, dependent RNA export, these were not defined by their inability to bind to Crm1, as is seen with HIV-1 Rev. In total, this analysis suggests a functional architecture for K-Rev that is similar to, but distinct from, that described for HIV-1 Rev and raises the possibility that viral RNA export mediated by the ;25 million-year-old K-Rev protein may require an additional cellular cofactor that is not required for HIV-1 Rev function.
Continuous adaptation for high performance throughput computing across distributed clusters

A job proxy is an abstraction for provisioning CPU resources. This paper proposes an adaptive algorithm for allocating job proxies to distributed host clusters with the objective of improving large-scale job ensemble throughput. Specifically, the paper proposes a decision metric for selecting appropriate pending job proxies for migration between host clusters, and a self-synchronizing Paxos-style distributed consensus algorithm for performing the migration of these selected job proxies. The algorithm is further described in the context of a concrete application, the MyCluster system, which implements a framework for submitting, managing and adapting job proxies across distributed high performance computing (HPC) host clusters. To date, the system has been used to provision many hundreds of thousands of CPUs for computational experiments requiring high throughput on HPC infrastructures like the NSF TeraGrid. Experimental evaluation of the proposed algorithm shows significant improvement in user job throughput: an average of 8% in simulation, and 15% in a real-world experiment.
Evaluation of color spaces for edge classification in outdoor scenes

Knowing which edges in an image denote shadow edges and which are due to object boundaries or changes in surface reflectance has important applications in both computer vision and mixed reality. We show that the choice of color space has a significant effect on our ability to differentiate shadow edges from reflectance edges, particularly in sunlit scenes. We have evaluated the performance of 11 color spaces on an input data of more than a hundred colors imaged in a variety of illumination conditions. We quantify the performance of these color spaces using receiver operating characteristic curves, and use the z statistic to find if the difference in performances is statistically significant.
Low rank continuous-space graphical models

Constructing tractable dependent probability distributions over structured continuous random vectors is a central problem in statistics and machine learning. It has proven difficult to find general constructions for models in which ecient exact inference is possible, outside of the classical cases of models with restricted graph structure (chain, tree, etc.) and linear-Gaussian or discrete potentials. In this work we identify a graphical model class in which exact inference can be performed efficiently, owing to a certain “low-rank” structure in the potentials. While we focus on the case of tree graphical models, the lowrank treatment can also be applied for ecient exact inference in certain sparsely-loopy models. We explore this new class of models by applying the resulting inference methods to neural spike rate estimation and motioncapture joint-angle smoothing tasks.
Traumatic Brain Injury: Risk Assessment and Perioperative Management

Traumatic injury is the third leading cause of death in the USA. For traumatic brain injury (TBI), approximately 1.4 million cases are reported in the USA each year, among which roughly 50,000 patients die and 235,000 are hospitalized. For spinal cord injury (SCI), the incidence has remained stable over the past 30 years in North America, ranging between 27 and 47 cases per million, 55% of which are cervical spine (C-spine) injuries – the most common anatomic region for SCI. In a polytrauma patient, TBI or SCI is often involved. Indeed, approximately one-third of the fatalities after multisystem traumatic injury (150,000 deaths) each year is due to fatal head injuries; C-spine injuries occur in 1.5 to 3% of all major trauma patients.
Verbal information retention in alcoholics.

Hospitalized alcoholics recalled lists of random and related words as well as nonalcoholic patients. On seoond trial the alcoholics showed less learning increment than the nonalcoholics, and newly ...
Cultural Management of Dectes texanus (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in Sunflower

Larvae of Dectes texanus LeConte may cause serious losses in sunflower-seed production in the southern Great Plains by their burrowing in and internal girdling of stalks. Planting sunflower before mid-April or after late May at Bushland, Tex., significantly reduced stalk infestation by D. texanus larvae. A single disk or sweep tillage of sunflower stubble in October or January caused up to 73.5 and 39.7% mortality of overwintering larvae, respectively. Overwintering larvae began pupating in late May 1982 and mid-June 1983, with subsequent adult emergence beginning from mid- to late June. Commercial varieties and hybrids of sunflower and their F1 progeny from interspecific crosses with wild Helianthus species did not have acceptable levels of resistance to D. texanus larvae. Perennial species of Helianthus have a high level of resistance against stalk injury by larvae of D. texanus .
Pronunciation and silence probability modeling for ASR.

In this paper we evaluate the WER improvement from modeling pronunciation probabilities and word-specific silence probabilities in speech recognition. We do this in the context of Finite State Transducer (FST)-based decoding, where pronunciation and silence probabilities are encoded in the lexicon (L) transducer. We describe a novel way to model word-dependent silence probabilities, where in addition to modeling the probability of silence following each individual word, we also model the probability of each word appearing after silence. All of these probabilities are estimated from aligned training data, with suitable smoothing. We conduct our experiments on four commonly used automatic speech recognition datasets, namely Wall Street Journal, Switchboard, TED-LIUM, and Librispeech. The improvement from modeling pronunciation and silence probabilities is small but fairly consistent across datasets.
Science and commerce

Science and commerce go hand-in-hand. While space has been somewhat of an exception given the unmanned explorations of the Solar System going forward without obvious commercial benefits, there really were such benefits. Dual-use technologies have worked their magic in both directions. The engineering of the space probes, their cameras and instrumentation, the mini-chemistry labs that landed on numerous extraterrestrial bodies - all of these filtered back to the Earth economy. But in the same vein, developments in materials, microminiaturization of electronics, nanomechanisms, computational power – these technologies allowed for the development of the space probes, the airbags for landing, and the capabilities to explore the Solar System. Science and commerce are symbiotic – it is not science vs. commerce.
Vigabatrin-Associated Visual Field Defects

The prevalence, risk factors, and long-term outcome of vigabatrin-associated visual field defects were examined in 60 adult patients with partial epilepsy treated with vigabatrin for 7 months to 14 years at the University of Kuopio Hospital, Finland.
Recent results from PHOBOS

The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory has delivered the collisions between Au nuclei at the highest center of mass energies achieved in the laboratory to date. PHOBOS is one of four experiments studying the these interactions. In this paper we will briefly describe the PHOBOS experiment, and discuss some of the current physics results obtained at $$\sqrt {s_{NN} } = 56$$ , 130 and 200 GeV: the systematic study of charged particle multiplicity as a function of pseudorapidity and centrality, measurements of antiparticle to particle ratios, and the hadron spectra as function of transverse momentum for both high and low pt.