cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
E-Assess: A Web-Based Tool for Coordinating and Managing Program Assessment (Abstract Only)

This poster describes the operation and implementation of the E-Assess web-based program assessment tool. The E-Assess tool provides a centralized management system for generalized program assessment and has been used to support ABET program assessment within the CS/IS department at Coastal Carolina University for the past two years. This system defines multiple roles for several different assessment activities -- allowing individual faculty to operate independently, yet still providing an always up-to-date view of the process to assessment coordinators. Coordinators provide mappings between overall program objectives and specific measurement points across the curriculum. At the conclusion of a class, the instructor enters the assessment measures specific to the course. When all course data has been added, the E-Assess system automatically compiles the overall assessment data into summary reports that are used to evaluate program progress and to inform the continuous improvement process.
Effect of NO2 concentration on product yields of the gas-phase NO3 radical-initiated reaction of ethyl- and dimethyl-naphthalenes.

Alkylnaphthalenes are minor constituents of vehicle fuels and are emitted into the atmosphere in vehicle exhaust and other sources of incomplete combustion. In the lower atmosphere, alkylnaphthalen...
Why are some people more knowledgeable than others? A longitudinal study of knowledge acquisition.

The purpose of this study was to investigate correlates of knowledge acquisition within a real-world domain-basketball. The study employed a longitudinal design and involved two sessions, with approximately 2.5 months between sessions. Session 1 occurred near the beginning of the men’s college basketball season, and Session 2 occurred after the season. There was an indirect effect of interest in basketball on new basketball knowledge, via exposure to domain-relevant information. In addition, prior basketball knowledge had a strong effect on new basketball knowledge distinct from an influence through basketball exposure. This finding suggests that prior knowledge may provide a framework into which new knowledge can be integrated. By contrast, there was no effect of fluid intelligence on new basketball knowledge. Although somewhat surprising given evidence that this aspect of intelligence may play a role in the acquisition of certain types of knowledge, this finding accords with the view that knowledge is a major determinant of various aspects of cognitive functioning, including learning.
Pulpal response to a glass-ionomer cement in primates

A glass-ionomcr cement suitable for use as a dental restorative material was developed by Wilson and Kent’ ? in 1971. This cement combines the favorable properties of other cements such as silicates and polycarboxylatcs. This cement is currently being used as (1) a restorative material for Class III and IV cavities and eroded cervical lesions. (2) a pit and fissure sealant, and (3) a luting agent. Some of the advantages of glass-ionomcr cement arc notable, particularly its bonding ability to enamel, dentin, tinned gold, and tinned oxidized platinum.” Classionomcn have favorable translucency characteristics and appear to bc more mistant to intraoral solubility than other cements used for luting purposes.’ Glass-ionomcrs come as a powder-liquid material. The powder is composed of a glass, SiO:, and A&O,. The liquid is an aqueous solution of polyacrylic acid. Upon mixing, the liquid erodes the glass-powder surface, thus releasing metal ions of AP-, Ca?*, and Na’ from the powder by hydrogen ions associated with the carboxyl radical of the polyacrylic acid. These cations, either simple or as fluoride complexes, migrate into the aqueous phase of the cement paste where metallic salt bridges arc formed between the long chains of charged polycarboxylatc ions, crosslinking them and causing the aqueous phase to gel, which marks the initial set of the cement. The setting reaction is completed after 24 hours. It was the purpose of this study to evaluate the histologic response of a glass-ionomcr cement to the pulps of primates.
A Model for Laser Hole Drilling in Metals

A direct computer simulation technique is developed to analyze quantitatively the influence of the fluid flow and heat transfer in the transient development of a laser drilled hole in a turbine airfoil material, where the material removal is effected by vaporization and melt ejection. The coupled conduction heat transfer in the solid and the advection-diffusion heat transfer in the liquid metal, the fluid dynamics of melt expulsion and the tracking of solid?liquid and liquid?vapor interfaces have been mathematically modeled for the 2D axisymmetric case. The donor?acceptor cell method using the volume of fluid approach is used to solve the complex problem and a versatile numerical code has been developed. It takes into account all thermophysical properties including latent heat of vaporization, gravity, and surface tension driving forces. The novelty of this model is to treat the melted pool surface as a deformable free surface. The impressed pressure and temperature on the melt surface is provided by an 1D gas dynamics model whose vaporization kinetics are also discussed. The model is used to simulate drilling for a number of spatially and temporally varying laser intensity profiles. It is found that resolidification of melt (recast formation) occurred throughout the pulse interval and had significant effect on the developing hole geometry, while the effect of vaporization material removal on the hole geometry is found to be small. Comparison of the simulated results indicates the material removed per joule of energy absorbed appears to be inversely proportional to the square root of the peak beam intensity and the drilling rate appears to be proportional to the square root of the surface pressure.
Cytochrome c Oxidase Deficiency in Human Posterior Cricoarytenoid Muscle

Summary Background Mitochondrial alterations occur in skeletal muscle fibers throughout the normal aging process, resulting from increased accumulation of reactive oxide species (ROS). These result in respiratory chain abnormalities, which decrease the oxidative capacity of muscle fibers, leading to decreased contractile force, sarcopenia, or fiber necrosis. Intrinsic laryngeal muscles are a cranial muscle group that possesses some distinctive genotypic, phenotypic, and physiologic properties. Their susceptibility to mitochondrial alterations resulting from biological processes that increase levels of oxidative stress may be one of these distinctive characteristics. Objectives The incidence of cytochrome c oxidase (COX) deficiency (COX – ) was determined in human posterior cricoarytenoid (PCA) muscle when compared with the human thyrohyoid (TH) muscle, an extrinsic laryngeal muscle that served as "control" muscle. Ten PCA and 10 TH muscles were harvested postlaryngectomy from 10 subjects ranging in age from 55 to 86 years. Differences in COX − were compared within and between muscle types using tissue section staining and standard morphometric analysis. Results and Conclusions COX − fibers were identified in both the PCA and TH muscles. The PCA muscle had 10 times as may affected fibers as the TH muscle, with significant differences in COX − found between muscle type and fiber type ( P =0.003). Almost all of this effect was the result of elevated levels of COX − in type I fibers from the PCA muscle ( P =0.002) that showed a strong positive correlation with increased age. These results suggest that increased mitochondrial alterations may occur in the PCA muscle during normal aging.
Independence of Multiple Verdicts by Jurors and Juries1

An assumption underlying the common practice of permitting a juror to serve on more than one jury is that jurors can and will reach multiple verdicts independently. Two studies were carried out to examine this assumption. The first experiment had mock jurors consider several cases in succession. Subjects exhibited a clear contrast effect on the strength of evidence; those subjects who initially saw strong prosecution cases were less likely to convict in a moderate test case than those who had initially seen wcak prosecution cases. In the second study, the contrast hypothesis was tested for actual juries' verdicts through archival analyses. The results of this field study paralleled those obtained in the experimental study. The discussion focused upon alternative theoretical explanations for these results, implications for trial practice, and the strengths and weak-nesses of the methodologies applied in these studies.
Speckle Holography: a Noninvasive Technique for Imaging Nerve Activity

Results are presented for a novel optical imaging technology capable of distinguishing between resting and active states of a crayfish ventral nerve based on imaging of the action potential-induced swelling of the nerve's axons.
Enhanced Expression of Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase in Murine Macrophages and Glomerular Mesangial Cells by Elevated Glucose Levels: Possible Mediation via Protein Kinase C

Increased blood flow and vascular permeability of early diabetes have been associated with increased nitric oxide formation in diabetic rats, but the specific nitric oxide synthase responsible is unknown. We examined the modulation of the induction and activity of the inducible NOS isoform by high glucose concentration in a murine macrophage cell line, RAW 264.7, and murine glomerular mesangial cells. Culturing both cell types in high glucose concentration led to significant increases in nitrite production and the mRNA encoding iNOS upon stimulation with LPS plus interferon-gamma, as compared with normal glucose concentration. High glucose also modestly enhanced LPS/IFN-gamma-induced stimulation of the iNOS promoter in transient transfection experiments in mesangial cells. Protein kinase C activation led to enhanced mRNA expression of iNOS, and inhibitors of protein kinase C blocked nitrite accumulation in mesangial cells. These findings suggest that high glucose in combination with stimulation by LPS plus IFN-gamma enhances iNOS expression, and protein kinase C activation may be playing a role in this enhancement.
Strong variation of the phase lag in the vicinity of autoionizing resonances

We have observed the phase lag in the sinusoidal variation of the asymmetric photoelectron angular distributions into two ionization channels of atomic barium using an $\ensuremath{\omega}\text{\ensuremath{-}}2\ensuremath{\omega}$ excitation scheme. We excite atomic barium from the $6s6p\text{ }{^{1}P}_{1}$ intermediate state electron to an energy between the $5{d}_{3∕2}ϵ$ and the $5{d}_{5∕2}ϵ$ thresholds with concurrent one-photon and two-photon interactions. The left-right asymmetry of the photoelectron angular distributions for the two energy-resolved product states, $6{s}_{1∕2}ϵ$ and $5{d}_{3∕2}ϵ$, show sinusoidal modulation as a function of the relative phase of the $\ensuremath{\omega}\text{\ensuremath{-}}2\ensuremath{\omega}$ fields. The phase difference between these signals, or phase lag, varies rapidly with the laser frequency when the interaction is nearly resonant with autoionizing resonances in the continuum. An exceptionally large phase lag variation of over $2\ensuremath{\pi}$ was measured.
Insulation Temperature Standards for Industrial-Control Coils

FOR many years, American Standard C19 (Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. issue of 1938 and National Electrical Manufacturers' Association industrial-control standards publication 40–59, April 1940) for industrial-control apparatus has specified an allowable temperature rise for industrial-control coils with class-A insulation of 85 degrees centigrade by resistance. Although this is 25 degrees centigrade higher than the value of 60 degrees centigrade rise by resistance established for rotating machinery with class-A insulation, service experience with control coils has been thoroughly satisfactory. It is estimated from field experience that not more than five per cent of all coil failures have been caused by temperature, despite the frequent use of above-normal voltages. The author believes, therefore, that the present control standard has proved to be conservative with respect to temperature-rise limits.
Radionuclide ventriculography in severely underweight anorexia nervosa patients before and during refeeding therapy.

Abstract Congestive heart failure is a well-recognized complication of refeeding therapy in underweight patients with anorexia nervosa but there are few data describing cardiac function during the critical refeeding period. This prospective study examined left ventricular function with conventional electrocardiographic-gated radionuclide ventriculography (RVG) in severely underweight anorexia nervosa patients both before and during refeeding therapy. Eight patients underwent rest and exercise RVG at admission and after regaining approximately 5% to 10% of their ideal body weight. With the admission study serving as a control, the left ventricular ejection fraction and regional wall motion analysis were analyzed before and after refeeding and weight gain. Resting left ventricular ejection fractions were not significantly different between the first and second RVGs (64 ± 11% vs. 62 ± 8%, respectively; P > .05). Likewise, the left ventricular ejection fraction with maximal exercise did not significantly differ when comparing the first or the second RVG (74 ± 10% vs. 72 ± 8%, P > .05). During the baseline RVG, the left ventricular ejection fraction increased from 64 ± 11% (rest) to 74 ± 10% (maximal exercise) ( P P = .003). However, the left ventricular exercise ejection fraction in the second RVG in one patient increased only by one absolute percentage point. Four of the eight patients had regional wall motion abnormalities detected during resting and/or exercise RVG. Abnormal cardiac function occurs in asymptomatic patients with anorexia nervosa undergoing refeeding therapy.
Advice for Those Wanting to Publish Quantitative Research

This essay presents practical guidelines for those who want to publish quantitative research. It is guided by my experiences as a researcher whose publications in peer-reviewed journals have relied primarily on quantitative data analysis, feedback from reviewers over the years, and feedback I give to others in my capacity as a member of editorial boards and reviewer of manuscripts for several professional journals. This essay also draws on Pyrczak (1999) and is guided by the constraints of page limitations often imposed by journal policy. It proceeds with general guidelines and presents specific guidelines for the major components of research articles: title, abstract, introduction, literature review, method (subjects, instrumentation or measures, design, statistical procedures), results (narrative, tables, figures), discussion, and implications.
Behavior and Analysis of Deep Sub-micron Integrated Circuits Including Self and Mutual Inductances

Here a set of Elmore-like closed form solutions to analyze the behavior of integrated circuits in the presence of self and mutual inductances is presented. These expressions have linear complexity with the number of elements in the interconnect network, and Elmore delay accuracy characteristics. Besides the use of these expressions in evaluating signal characteristics, the simplicity of the solutions allows an intuitive understanding of the behavior of integrated circuits in the presence of self and mutual inductances together with capacitive coupling. Three problems are analyzed based on these solutions. First, a simple figure of merit to determine the importance of inductance in a bus is introduced. Second, the problem of shielding inductive coupling is investigated analytically. It is shown that inserting ground lines is not very effective in reducing inductive coupling compared to the differential signaling technique. Finally, the delay uncertainty due to different line-switching patterns is investigated. It is shown that inductive coupling reduces the delay variation (switching window width). With these applications of the delay model the opposite impacts of capacitive and inductive coupling in different signal switching patterns are illustrated with reference to the work of Kahng, Muddu, and Sarto.
Effect of Environmental Estrogens on IL-1β Promoter Activity in a Macrophage Cell Line

Environmental estrogens or estrogen disrupters have recently received a great deal of attention because of their potential health impact on reproductive tissues. Few, if any, studies have been made on the impact of these compounds on the immune system. We sought to determine the activities of various environmental estrogens on the modulation of the interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) gene in a model monocytic cell line, hER + IL-1beta-CAT+. This cell line stably transfected with the human estrogen receptor, and an IL-1beta promoter construct fused to the CAT reporter gene allows us to monitor the effect of estrogenic compounds on IL-1beta promoter activity. 17beta-estradiol (E2) markedly enhanced lipopolysaccharide- (LPS) induced IL-1beta promoter-driven CAT activity in a dose-dependent manner. The mycotoxins alpha-zearalenol and zearalenone both exhibited full agonist activity, but at lower potencies, with EC50 values of 1.8 and 54 nM, respectively, compared with E2 at 0.5 nM. In addition, genistein was a very low-potency agonist, having an EC50 of 1.5 microM. Similar to the E2 response, the slope factors for alpha-zearalenol, zearalenone, and genistein were close to 3.0, suggesting positive cooperativity in the estrogenic response. The activity of the mycotoxins appeared to be mediated through the estrogen receptor, since both the antiestrogens H1285 and ICI 182,780 effectively inhibited their agonist activity in a dose-dependent manner. Representative environmental estrogenic compounds both from plant and industrial sources were also tested. Unlike the mycoestrogens, none of the compounds, with the exception of genistein, synergized with LPS to enhance IL-1beta promoter activity. When tested for antiestrogenic activity, the industrial compound 4-octylphenol was able to antagonize the response to E2; however, the response was three orders of magnitude less potent than H 1285. Naringenin, a plant flavonoid, showed little or no ability to antagonize the response to E2. Overall, the results show that some environmental estrogens that display agonist activity in reproductive tissue also have an effect on IL-1 gene expression in hemopoietic-derived tissue.
THE FLAVONOID CHEMISTRY OF GLANDULARIA BIPINNATIFIDA (VERBENACEAE) AND ALLIED SPECIES

Eight taxa in Verbena have been taxonomically difficult (B. bipinnatifida, V. bipinnatifida var. latilobata, V. Wrightii, V. ciliata, V. ciliata var. longidentata, V. ciliata var. pubera, V. ambrosifolia, and V. ambrosifolia f. eglandulosa). The taxonomic difficulties have been suggested to be the result of widespread hybridization. A flavonoid study of the populations belonging to these eight taxa, combined with a morphological survey resulted in the recognition of four taxa, Glandularia bipinnatifida var. bipinnatifida, G. bipinnatifida var. brevispicata, G. Wrightii, and G. chiricahensis. Hybridization is not responsible for widespread variation in this group.
More Is Less: Signal Processing and the Data Deluge

The data deluge is changing the operating environment of many sensing systems from data-poor to data-rich--so data-rich that we are in jeopardy of being overwhelmed. Managing and exploiting the data deluge require a reinvention of sensor system design and signal processing theory. The potential pay-offs are huge, as the resulting sensor systems will enable radically new information technologies and powerful new tools for scientific discovery.
Experimental analysis of magnetorheological dampers when subjected to impact and shock loading

Abstract The vast majority of the investigations for controllable magnetorheological (MR) dampers have focused on their low velocity and low frequency applications. The extensive work in this area has led to a good understanding of MR fluid properties at low velocities and frequencies. Many of the issues pertaining to MR damper behavior in impact and shock applications are relatively unknown. This study provides an experimental analysis of magnetorheological dampers when they are subjected to impact and shock loading. To this end, a drop-tower is developed to apply impulse loads to the dampers. The drop-tower design uses a guided drop-mass, which is released from variable heights to achieve different impact energies. The nominal drop-mass is 55 lb and additional weight may be added to reach a maximum of 500 lb. The nominal drop-mass of 55 lb is used throughout this study. Five drop-heights are investigated: 12, 24, 48, 72 and 96 in., corresponding to impact velocities of 86, 127, 182, 224 and 260 in./s, respectively. Two MR damper configurations are tested, a damper with a single-stage, double-ended piston and a mono-tube damper with a two-stage piston. The results indicate that the two damper configurations exhibit different force–displacement characteristics during impulse loading. For the single-stage, double-ended damper, the peak force occurs close to the beginning of the impact. Conversely, the two-stage, mono-tube damper does not reach the peak force until after the nitrogen accumulator bottoms out. To verify this behavior, a theoretical model of the accumulator is derived and compared to the experimental data. Additionally, the results show that at large impact velocities, the peak force does not depend on the current supplied to the damper, as is commonly the case at low velocities. This phenomenon is hypothesized to be the result of the fluid inertia preventing the fluid from accelerating fast enough to accommodate the rapid piston displacement. Thus, the peak force is primarily attributed to fluid compression, rather than the flow resistance (“valving”) associated with the fluid passing through the MR valve.
Patterns of parental care in two cricetid rodents, Onychomys torridus and Peromyscus leucopus

Abstract Daily observations were made of the maternal and paternal behaviour of Onychomys torridus and Peromyscus leucopus in laboratory cages. In both species, the females spent more time in the nest area with the young and groomed the young more frequently than their male partners, but the males played a surprisingly active role in nest attendance. Paternal nest attendance was more frequent in O. torridus males than in P. leucopus males. Onychomys males were also more active in grooming the young than Peromyscus males. These species-specific patterns of parental care are discussed in relation to the behavioural and ecological characteristics of Onychomys and Peromyscus.
TACE-dependent EGF receptor activation in angiotensin-II-induced kidney disease

Angiotensin II (Ang II) has been implicated in the development of cardiovascular disorders and chronic kidney disease (CKD). Ang II causes renal lesions through the activation of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α-converting enzyme (TACE, also called a disintegrin and a metalloproteinase domain 17) and the release of transforming growth factor (TGF)-α, which binds to and activates the epidermal growth factor receptor. Renal lesions such as glomerulosclerosis, tubular atrophy, fibrosis, mononuclear cell infiltration and proteinuria following chronic Ang II infusion are substantially reduced in mice lacking TGF-α and those given a specific TACE inhibitor. These findings indicate that the selective inhibition of renal TACE could have therapeutic potential in the treatment of CKD.
Quantization of setup uncertainties in 3-D dose calculations

Random setup errors can lead to erroneous prediction of the dose distribution calculated for a patient using a static computed tomography(CT) model. Multiple recomputations of the dose distribution covering the range of expected patient positions provides a way to estimate a course of treatment. However, due to the statistical nature of the setup uncertainties, many courses of treatment must be simulated to calculate a distribution of average dose values delivered to a patient. Thus, direct simulation methods can be time consuming and may be impractical for routine clinical treatment planning applications. Methods have been proposed to efficiently calculate the distribution of average dose values via a convolution of the dose distribution (calculated on a static CT model) with a probability distribution function (generally Gaussian) that describes the nature of the uncertainty. In this paper, we extend the convolution-based calculation to calculate the standard deviation of potential outcomes σ D (x,y,z) about the distribution of average dose values, and we characterize the statistical significance of this quantity using the central limit theorem. For an example treatment plan based on a treatment protocol in use at our institution, we found that there is a 68% probability that the actual dose delivered to any point (x,y,z) will be within 3% of the average dose value at that point. The standard deviation also yields confidence limits on the dose distribution, and these may be used to evaluate treatment plan stability.
Single-molecule spectroscopy in oxygen-depleted polymer films

Abstract Single-molecule spectroscopy of the prototypical dye, DiI, has been investigated in rigorously de-oxygenated polymer films. The extraordinarily high signal-to-noise data demonstrate that the intrinsic T 1 → S0 intersystem crossing kinetics of DiI are simple-first-order with little temporal or molecule-to-molecule fluctuations. The results verify that O2 collisions are the major factor responsible for fluctuations of the intersystem crossing rate in non-degassed and partially degassed polymer films. In addition to the intrinsic DiI intersystem kinetics, rare fluctuations are observed in the intersystem crossing rate, which are ascribed to residual impurities and/or to low quantum yield photochemical processes of DiI.
Symmetry-breaking patterns in pseudoreal and real gauge theories☆

Abstract I use the techniques of Vafa and Witten to show that in a large class of strongly-interacting gauge theories with pseudoreal or real fermion representations, SU(2 N ) flavor symmetries are spontaneously broken to Sp(2 N ) or SO(2 N ) respectively.
Educating Professionals to Understand Religious Sponsorship of Long Term Care Facilities

Religous sponsorship of long term care facilities is common and often taken for granted. Often professionals and/or elderly consumers do not have a working knowledge of what religous affiliation means for retirement communities and/or nursing homes. This paper develops a teaching model for presenting the implications of religous sponsorship.
Ion/ion reactions of MALDI-derived peptide ions: increased sequence coverage via covalent and electrostatic modification upon charge inversion.

Atmospheric pressure matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (AP-MALDI)-derived tryptic peptide ions have been subjected to ion/ion reactions with doubly deprotonated 4-formyl-1,3-benzenedisulf...
Indirect classification approaches: a comparative study in network intrusion detection

The application of data mining and machine learning techniques to the network intrusion detection domain has recently gained importance. This paper presents a set of indirect classification techniques for addressing the multi-category classification problem in network intrusion detection. In contrast to indirect classification techniques, direct classification techniques generally extend associated binary classifiers to handle multi-category classification problems. An indirect classification technique decomposes the original multi-category problem into multiple binary classification problems based on some criteria. We investigate the one vs. one and one vs. rest approaches for building the binary classifiers, the results of which are then merged using a combining strategy. Three different combining strategies are investigated in our study, and they are Hamming decoding, loss-based decoding, and soft-max function. Consequently, we evaluate six different indirect classification techniques in our study. To our knowledge, there are no existing works that evaluate as many indirect classification techniques. The six indirect classification approaches are investigated and relatively evaluated in the context of DARPA KDD 1999 offline intrusion detection project. Our empirical evaluation indicated that among the binarisation techniques, the one vs. one technique yielded generally better results; while among the combining strategies, the loss-based decoding and Hamming-decoding techniques yielded better results than the soft-max function. This study demonstrates the usefulness of the indirect classification approach for network intrusion detection.
Pteroylglutamic acid, ascorbic acid, and injectable liver extract on dietary glycine toxicity in the rat.

SummaryWeanling albino rats were fed a standard purified diet, and a similar diet containing 10% glycine replacing an equal amount of sucrose. Groups of rats were given j the glycine-containing diet supplemented respectively with PGA, injectable liver extract, PGA plus liver extract, and ascorbic acid. The growth of rats receiving the high glycine diet was greatly reduced as compared to the control group. Supplementation of the high glycine diet with PGA and with PGA plus liver extract resulted in a marked improvement in growth rate; liver extract alone was less effective; and ascorbic acid did not significantly improve rate of growht of rats receiving the 10% glycine diet. Rats receiving the high glycine diet did not develop a marked leucopenia when compared with control rats; however, supplementation of this diet with PGA resulted in an increased white count while supplementation with liver extract and with liver extract pluw PGA resulted in an increased white count in male rats but was without effect i...
The discipline as disciplinary normalization: Networks of research∗

Abstract This study explores how ordinary disciplinary practices and values in contemporary political science normalize the behavior and thinking of most political scientists. By pushing beyond the ideal image of scientific activity in the philosophy of social science and into some of the empirical realities of professional behavior, this reexamination argues that the dictates of a sign‐value economy in research and publication set the personal agendas for many political scientists. In turn, this game of proper publication placement and grant‐getting undermines the possibilities for realizing other goals in political science, such as improved civic education and greater political participation.
Temporal and Spatial Differences in Life History Parameters of Black Sea Bass in the Southeastern United States

Abstract During 1978–1998, 80,558 black sea bass Centropristis striata were caught with blackfish and chevron traps off eastern Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina at depths ranging from 9 to 55 m. Black sea bass were found to live for at least 10 years, but most were ages 1–5. There were latitudinal differences in the size at age, significantly larger size at age occurring in the southern segment (31°20′N to 32°40′N) than in the northern segment (32°41′N to 34°00′N). Males were found in all size-classes and age-classes and were most frequently encountered at sizes greater than 220 mm standard length (SL) and greater than age 4 in the southern segment and at sizes greater than 240 mm SL and greater than age 5 in the northern segment. Sexual transition and maturity of females occurred at smaller sizes and younger ages in the southern segment than in the northern segment. Probit analysis indicated that between 1978–1982 and 1987–1998 the size at 50% maturity (L 50) for females fell from 137...
Cryopreserved homografts in the pulmonary position: Determinants of durability

Abstract Background . The cryopreserved homograft has emerged as the pulmonary conduit of choice for the repair of many congenital heart defects. It is also used for pulmonary valve replacement in the Ross procedure. Because of a wide range of patient ages and diagnoses, the risk of homograft failure may vary. Methods . We reviewed 185 consecutive pulmonary position implants performed between September 1985 and January 1999. We examined three age groups: patients less than 1 year of age (n = 53), patients 1 to 10 years of age (n = 46), and patients more than 10 years of age (n = 86). Results . Five-year Kaplan-Meier homograft survival was 25%, 61%, and 81% for the groups, respectively ( p p p p = 0.84). Survival of aortic and pulmonary homografts in patients less than 10 years of age was not different ( p = 0.35). Ross procedure implants appear to have optimal survival (94%) at 5 years. Non-Ross implants in patients more than 10 years of age have 76% 5-year Kaplan-Meier survival, which is not different from Ross patients ( p = 0.33). Conclusions . Small homografts have limited durability. Aortic homografts perform as well as pulmonary homografts in young patients. Once patients receive an "adult-size" homograft, at approximately 10 years of age, risk for implant failure approximates that of patients undergoing the Ross procedure. Transcatheter interventions, when indicated, may prolong homograft life.
Unusual urethral diverticulum lined by colonic epithelium with Paneth cell metaplasia

Diverticulum of the female urethra has an incidence of 1.4% to 4.7%. It is generally agreed that the majority of these are acquired lesions. There is, however, evidence that some are of congenital origin. Documented cases of diverticula with colon-type tissue are rare. A case of urethral diverticulum with colonic epithelium and features of Paneth cell metaplasia is presented. Causes, symptoms, diagnostic methods, and treatment are discussed.
A Practical Synthesis of (±)-Elaeocarpidine

Abstract The Elueocarpus densiflorus indole alkaloid (±)-elaeocarpidine (1) is synthesized in five steps and 31% yield from the commercially available materials 2-(2-bromoethyl)-1,3-dioxolane, ethyl 4-brmobutyrate, and tryptamine hydrochloride (7). The key step is a diisobutylaluminum hydride reductive cyclization of amine lactam 8 to give 1 in 86% yield.
Proportional counter windows for the Bragg crystal spectrometer on AXAF

A Bragg Crystal Spectrometer (BCS) using a gas flow proportional counter as its primary detector is among the instruments under development for AXAF. The BCS will employ windows of 1-micron-thick polyimide coated on both sides with 200 A of Al; this window composition, while X-ray transmitting, will leak gas at a lower rate than the polypropylene film-based windows formerly employed. Accounts are given of the results obtained with additional innovative X-ray window materials currently under development, including diamond and Si-enriched Si3N4.
Shape classification of malignant lymphomas and leukemia by morphological watersheds and ARMA modeling

A new algorithm that can be used to automatically recognize and classify malignant lymphomas and lukemia is proposed in this paper. The algorithm utilizes the morphological watershed to extract boundaries of cells from their grey-level images. It generates a sequence of Euclidean distances by selecting pixels in clockwise direction on the boundary of the cell and calculating the Euclidean distances of the selected pixels from the centroid of the cell. A feature vector associated with each cell is then obtained by applying the auto-regressive moving-average (ARMA) model to the generated sequence of Euclidean distances. The clustering measure J3=trace{inverse(Sw -1 )Sm} involving the within (Sw) and mixed (Sm) class-scattering matrices is computed for both cell classes to provide an insight into the extent to which different cell classes in the training data are separated. Our test results suggest that the algorithm is highly accurate for the development of an interactive, computer-assisted diagnosis (CAD) tool.
Circumglobal Teleconnections, the Jet Stream Waveguide, and the North Atlantic Oscillation

Abstract Monthly and seasonally averaged upper-tropospheric Northern Hemisphere winter fields are examined to determine whether the waveguiding effect of the time-averaged tropospheric jets on low-frequency disturbances that is predicted by theory does affect the behavior of these disturbances. It is found that, indeed, disturbances in the vicinity of the mean jets, particularly the jet that stretches across South Asia, are fundamentally different from those that reside in regions where the mean winds have weaker meridional gradients, like the mid-Pacific. Patterns of variability in the jets tend to be smaller scale and to consist of zonally oriented chains of anomalies while variability in the mid-Pacific is composed of patterns with distinct meridional orientation. Because they are meridionally trapped and zonally elongated, patterns associated with the jet stream waveguide connect activity at points that are much farther apart than do patterns in other regions of the globe. Within the South Asian waveg...
Continuous rearing of the aster leafhopper, Macrosteles fascifrons, on a chemically defined diet

Abstract A holidic diet for feeding the aster leafhopper, Macrosteles fascifrons , was formulated. The amino acids, B-vitamins, and sucrose are less concentrated than in aphid diets. Cholesterol, at 5 mg/ml, is required for the last ecdysis. Although leafhoppers reared on this diet have poorer survival and shorter life span than those reared on plants, they produce more progeny. Leafhoppers reared on this diet have completed the ninth generation and the culture is still thriving.
Modeling of fingerlike functionally graded microstructure piezoelectric actuator

The mechanical behavior of a cylindrical, finger-like shaped, piezoelectric actuator with Functionally Graded Microstructure (FGM) was modeled by our analytical model and FEM. Different layers or lamina of different piezoelectric volume fraction in a polymer matrix were stacked to create FGM. Although the bimorph plate exhibit reasonably high out-of-plane displacement, induced stress field remains very high limiting its long life use. FGM piezoelectric plates have been developed to increase the out-of-plane displacement while reducing the stresses where the electro-elastic properties are graded through the plate thickness. Finger-like shape piezo actuators are developed where the properties are graded in the radial direction. FGM piezoelectric type actuator showed promising results in that the deflections to any direction can be obtained by manipulating the magnitude and direction of the applied electric field. Analytical modeling in computing the deflection of the finger-like actuator and stress field induced in each lamina was developed and compared to FEM modeling. The theory of cylindrical FGM is based on lamination theory in which the coordinate system is changed from the rectangular to cylindrical one and from infinite to finite plate.
Weighted Polynomial Inequalities with Doubling Weights on a Quasismooth Arc

We establish Lp,1≤p<∞ Markov–Bernstein-type inequalities for algebraic polynomials considered on a quasismooth (in the sense of Lavrentiev) arc in the complex plane.
Linear-time Algorithms for Pairwise Statistical Problems

Several key computational bottlenecks in machine learning involve pairwise distance computations, including all-nearest-neighbors (finding the nearest neigh-bor(s) for each point, e.g. in manifold learning) and kernel summations (e.g. in kernel density estimation or kernel machines). We consider the general, bichromatic case for these problems, in addition to the scientific problem of N-body simulation. In this paper we show for the first time O(N) worst case runtimes for practical algorithms for these problems based on the cover tree data structure [1].
Practical Camera Auto Calibration using Semidefinite Programming

We describe a novel approach to the camera auto calibration problem. The uncalibrated camera is first moved in a static scene and feature points are matched across frames to obtain the feature tracks. Mismatches in these tracks are identified by computing the fundamental matrices between adjacent frames. The inlier feature tracks are then used to obtain a projective structure and motion of the camera using iterative perspective factorization scheme. The novelty of our approach lies in the application of semidefinite programming for recovering the camera focal lengths and the principal point. Semidefinite programming was used in our earlier work [1] to recover focal lengths under the assumption of known principal points. In this paper, we relax the constraint of known principal point and do an exhaustive search for the principal points. Moreover, we describe an end-to-end system for auto calibration and present experimental results to evaluate our approach.
Optical rotatory dispersion studies—CIV

Abstract The low-temperature circular dichroism behavior of various cyclic and alicyclic systems containing the methyl xanthato-, N,N-diethyl-N′-acylthioureyl-, N-phthalimido-, nitrito- and dithio-carbalkoxy- chromophores is discussed. Rotational strength (R0T) values are reported where possible and changes in this parameter upon variation of the temperature are interpreted, where relevant, in terms of the degree of steric inhibition to free rotation about the various bonds connected to the asymmetric center bearing (or nearest to) the chromophore moiety.
New Divisible Load Distribution Methods using Pipelined Communication Techniques on Tree and Pyramid Networks

A divisible load can be arbitrarily divided into independent small load fractions which are assigned to processors in a parallel or distributed computing system for simultaneous processing. The theory and techniques of divisible load distribution have a wide range of aerospace applications, including satellite signal and image processing, radar and infrared tracking, target identification and searching, and data reporting and aggregation and processing in wireless sensor networks. We make new progress on divisible load distribution on tree and pyramid networks. We revisit the classic method for divisible load distribution on partitionable static interconnection networks (including complete tree and pyramid networks) and derive a closed-form expression of the parallel time and speedup. We propose two new methods which employ pipelined communication techniques to distribute divisible loads on tree and pyramid networks. We derive closed-form expressions of the parallel time and speedup for both methods and show that the asymptotic speedup of both methods is bβ+1 for a complete b-ary tree network and 4β+1 for a pyramid network, where β is the ratio of the time for computing a unit load to the time for communicating a unit load. The technique of pipelined communications leads to improved performance of divisible load distribution on tree and pyramid networks. Compared with the classic method, the asymptotic speedup of our new methods is 100% faster on a complete binary tree network and 33% faster on a pyramid network for large β.
Quantitative trait loci associated with longevity of lettuce seeds under conventional and controlled deterioration storage conditions

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) seeds have poor shelf life and exhibit thermoinhibition (fail to germinate) above ∼25°C. Seed priming (controlled hydration followed by drying) alleviates thermoinhibition by increasing the maximum germination temperature, but reduces lettuce seed longevity. Controlled deterioration (CD) or accelerated ageing storage conditions (i.e. elevated temperature and relative humidity) are used to study seed longevity and to predict potential seed lifetimes under conventional storage conditions. Seeds produced in 2002 and 2006 of a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from a cross between L. sativa cv. Salinas×L. serriola accession UC96US23 were utilized to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with seed longevity under CD and conventional storage conditions. Multiple longevity-associated QTLs were identified under both conventional and CD storage conditions for control (non-primed) and primed seeds. However, seed longevity was poorly correlated between the two storage conditions, suggesting that deterioration processes under CD conditions are not predictive of ageing in conventional storage conditions. Additionally, the same QTLs were not identified when RIL populations were grown in different years, indicating that lettuce seed longevity is strongly affected by production environment. Nonetheless, a major QTL on chromosome 4 [Seed longevity 4.1 (Slg4.1)] was responsible for almost 23% of the phenotypic variation in viability of the conventionally stored control seeds of the 2006 RIL population, with improved longevity conferred by the Salinas allele. QTL analyses may enable identification of mechanisms responsible for the sensitivity of primed seeds to CD conditions and breeding for improved seed longevity.
Attribution of modeled atmospheric sulfate and SO 2 in the Northern Hemisphere for June–July 1997

Anthropogenic sulfate aerosol is a major contributor to shortwave radiative forcing of climate change by direct light scattering and by perturbing cloud properties and to local concentrations of atmospheric particulate matter. Here we analyze results from previously published calculations with an Eulerian transport model for atmospheric sulfur species in the Northern Hemisphere in June–July, 1997 to quantify the absolute and relative contributions of specific source regions (North America, Europe, and Asia) and SO 2 -to-sulfate conversion mechanisms (gas-phase, aqueous-phase and primary sulfate) to sulfate and SO 2 column burdens as a function of location and time. Although material emitted within a given region dominates the sulfate and SO 2 column burden in that region, examination of time series at specific locations shows that material imported from outside can make a substantial and occasionally dominant contribution. Frequently the major fraction of these exogenous contributions to the sulfate column burden was present aloft, thus minimally impacting air quality at the surface, but contributing substantially to the burden and, by implication, to radiative forcing and diminution of surface irradiance. Although the dominant sulfate formation pathway in the domain as a whole is aqueous-phase reaction in clouds (62%), in regions with minimum opportunity for aqueous-phase reaction gas-phase oxidation is dominant, albeit with considerable temporal variability depending on meteorological conditions. These calculations highlight the importance of transoceanic transport of sulfate, especially at the western margins of continents under the influence of predominantly westerly transport winds.
Foraging behavior can influence dispersal of marine organisms

It has become increasingly apparent that widely varying behaviors of organisms (e.g., ontogenetic depth preference, selective tidal stream transport, position maintenance) can significantly influence dispersal and connectivity between nearby populations. However, more common day-to-day behaviors, such as foraging, are often assumed to have little effect on dispersal at larger scales (tens to thousands of kilometers). In this review, we (1) place foraging within the context of current knowledge on behaviors that influence dispersal and transport, (2) provide evidence for foraging behavior as a driving mechanism of distributions, and (3) present a meta-analysis of dispersal distances estimated for three dispersal hypotheses (passive, swimming directly against currents, and foraging behavior) from 59 studies that document oceanographic conditions and in situ organism distributions. Results of the analyses reveal that when foraging and aggregative behaviors are considered, dispersal distances for larvae and zooplankton could be hundreds of kilometers less than many current dispersal estimates. Reduced transport because of foraging implies that individual populations might be more isolated than currently accepted. These findings suggest that fine-scale organism behaviors should be considered in models aimed to improve conservation efforts.