cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Retained Hawthorn Fragment in a Child's Foot Complicated by Infection: Diagnosis and Excision Aided by Localization with Ultrasound

Puncture wounds in children are very common and often result in foreign body retention. Organic materials in the form of plant thorns present problems in identification and localization because they are not visualized with plain radiographs. A case of a 10-year-old girl with a small piece of retained hawthorn is presented. Correct diagnosis and treatment were delayed because of misinterpretation of magnetic resonance image studies. Ultrasound ultimately located the foreign body, and assisted in its excision. Plant thorns may be toxic and produce an intense local inflammatory response. In the case described in this article, deep infection caused by Enterobacter cloacae and Pantoea agglomerans was associated with the retained thorn. The small size of the foreign body, misinterpretation of diagnostic images, and the deep infection highlight the challenges that can be encountered by physicians managing puncture wounds in children.
Quantifying the Efficiency of N-Phenyl-D-mannosamine to Metabolically Engineer Sialic Acid on Cancer Cell Surface

A convenient method was developed for the quantification of sialic acids expressed by cells and used to analyze the efficiency of N-phenylacetyl-D-mannosamine (ManNPhAc) to metabolically glycoengineer SKMEL-28 cancer cells. For this purpose, ManNPhAc-cultured cells were treated with 2M acetic acid to release sialic acids, and the products were treated with 1,2-diamino-4,5-methylenedioxybenzene to form the corresponding derivatives that had strong UV absorptions. The reaction mixture was then applied to HPLC-UV analysis to determine the amounts and the ratios of natural sialic acid and its unnatural analog. It was confirmed that after incubation with ManNPhAc, the SKMEL-28 cell was effectively glycoengineered to express a significant amount of unnatural sialic acid.
Production of "hot" excited-state atoms in collisionally aided radiative transitions

Collisionally aided radiative excitation of atoms using a laser detuned to the blue is shown to lead to heating of the external degrees of freedom. The velocity distribution of the excited atoms is studied experimentally and compared with theoretical predictions.
Planar grating wavelength demultiplexer

A reflection grating wavelength demultiplexer fabricated on planar silica-on-silicon is investigated for use both as a multi-channel demultiplexer and as part of a fast single- wavelength selector device. Design and characterization of a preliminary grating device which resolves 128 channels with 0.85 nm channel spacing are presented in this paper.
Node elimination in linear active circuits

A method is described for the elimination of nodes in a linear circuit containing dependent and independent sources. The connection between this operation and a cycle of Gaussian elimination in the nodal analysis of the circuit is also established. The node-elimination process uses an extension of Versfeld's method the identification with the Gaussian cycle is based on Calahan's work.
Superoxide dismutase 1 protects retinal cells from oxidative damage.

Bolstering the endogenous oxidative damage defense system is a good strategy for development of treatments to combat neurodegenerative diseases in which oxidative damage plays a role. A first step in such treatment development is to determine the role of various components of the defense system in cells that degenerate. In this study, we sought to determine the role of superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) in two models of oxidative damage-induced retinal degeneration. In one model, paraquat is injected into the vitreous cavity and then enters retinal cells and generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) that cause progressive retinal damage. Assessment of retinal function with serial electroretinograms (ERGs) showed that sod1−/− mice were much more sensitive than sod1+/+ mice to the damaging effects of paraquat, while sod1+/− mice showed intermediate sensitivity. Compared to sod1+/+ mice, sod1−/− mice showed greater paraquat-induced oxidative damage and apoptosis. In the second model, mice were exposed to hyperoxia for several weeks, and sod1−/− mice showed significantly greater reductions in ERG amplitudes than sod1+/+ mice. In both of these models, transgenic mice carrying a sod1 transgene driven by a β-actin promoter showed less oxidative stress-induced reduction in ERG amplitudes. These data demonstrate that SOD1 protects retinal cells against paraquat- and hyperoxia-induced oxidative damage and suggest that overexpression of SOD1 should be considered as one component of ocular gene therapy to prevent oxidative damage-induced retinal degeneration. J. Cell. Physiol. 208: 516–526, 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Aqueous-phase synthesis of PAA in PVDF membrane pores for nanoparticle synthesis and dichlorobiphenyl degradation

This paper deals with bimetallic (Fe/Pd) nanoparticle synthesis inside the membrane pores and application for catalytic dechlorination of toxic organic compounds form aqueous streams. Membranes have been used as platforms for nanoparticle synthesis in order to reduce the agglomeration, encountered in solution phase synthesis which leads to a dramatic loss of reactivity. The membrane support, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) was modified by in situ polymerization of acrylic acid in aqueous phase. Subsequent steps included ion exchange with Fe(2+), reduction to Fe(0) with sodium borohydride and Pd deposition. Various techniques, such as STEM, EDX, FTIR and permeability measurements, were used for membrane characterization and showed that bimetallic (Fe/Pd) nanoparticles with an average size of 20-30 nm have been incorporated inside of the PAA-coated membrane pores. The Fe/Pd-modified membranes showed a high reactivity toward a model compound, 2, 2'-dichlorobyphenyl and a strong dependence of degradation on Pd (hydrogenation catalyst) content. The use of convective flow substantially reduces the degradation time: 43% conversion of dichlorobiphenyl to biphenyl can be achieved in less than 40 s residence time. Another important aspect is the ability to regenerate and reuse the Fe/Pd bimetallic systems by washing with a solution of sodium borohydride, because the iron becomes inactivated (corroded) as the dechlorination reaction proceeds.
Use of recreation majors as research subjects: Differences between majors and nonmajors on leisure‐related variables

Abstract A study was conducted to examine whether college undergraduates majoring in recreation would be unbiased subjects for leisure research studies. It was hypothesized that recreation majors (n = 762) would be significantly more positive than nonrecreation majors (n = 363) in their self‐reports of leisure‐related attitudes and behavior. Five dependent variables (leisure boredom, intrinsic leisure motivation, leisure ethic, leisure satisfaction, and leisure participation) were included in multivariate and univariate analyses of variance. Gender was added as a second independent variable to clarify any Gender x Major interaction. Results show that majors and nonmajors differed in the hypothesized manner on leisure boredom, motivation, and ethic. No significant differences were found for satisfaction or participation. This finding held true for both men and women. Findings partially support the proposed hypothesis and suggest that researchers should identify and account for differences attributable to m...
Does Personal Intelligence Exist? Evidence From a New Ability-Based Measure

Personal intelligence has been defined as the ability to reason about personality and personality-relevant information and to use that information to guide one's actions and more generally, one's life. We constructed an initial version of an ability-based measure to test whether personal intelligence can be measured and whether it exists as a unitary intelligence. In 3 studies (N = 241, 308, and 385), we administered this Test of Personal Intelligence (TOPI), composed of 4 sections, to undergraduates along with criterion measures. Results suggested that a personal intelligence can be measured, that it might exist as a unified area of mental abilities, and that it represents psychological qualities that have intriguing predictive aspects.
TH-D-201B-08: An Anthropomorphic Software Breast Phantom for Tomosynthesis Simulation: Power Spectrum Analysis of Phantom Reconstructions

Purpose: To validate an anthropomorphic software breast phantom for simulation studies by analyzing breast structure in projection and reconstructed images.Method and Materials: Twenty computer breast phantoms were generated: ten 450 ml phantoms with 40% glandular tissue compressed to 5‐cm thickness and ten 1500 ml phantoms with 20% glandular tissue compressed to 7.5‐cm thickness. Monoenergetic ray tracing was done to create synthetic projection view images and maximum likelihood expectation maximization (MLEM) with 8 iterations was used to reconstruct the images. Regions of interest (ROIs) were extracted and the squared modulus 2D FFT was taken to obtain periodograms for each ROI. The radial average of each periodogram was taken and the power‐law exponent of this approximated 1D power spectrum is β a description of the amount of structure in the ROI. This was repeated for both projection view images and reconstructed slices and the average β was calculated for each projection view and for each reconstructed slice. Results: For these twenty phantoms we found that in the reconstructed images were lower than the values in the projection view images. For the 450 ml phantoms was measured to be 3.09 (σ = 0.25) in the projection and 2.82 (0.48) in the reconstruction. For the 1500 ml phantoms was measured to be 2.86 (0.43) in the projection and 2.73 (0.66) in the reconstruction. Published data show that decreases from 3.06 to 2.87 in clinical tomosynthesisimages.Conclusion: We found that the changes in between projection views and tomosynthesisreconstructed slices are comparable for the anthropomorphic phantom and clinical breast images. This supports the fact that this phantom can provide realistic breast texture. Conflict of Interest: Research sponsored by Hologic Inc. and Dexela Ltd.
Towards biophysical validation of constraint modeling for rigidity analysis of proteins

Proteins are dynamic molecules, and understanding how they flex and bend provides fundamental insights to their functions. Methods such as molecular dynamics are computationally expensive, and can simulate protein motions on limited timescales. Rigidity analysis is an alternative method, in which a protein structure is analyzed to infer which portions of the molecule are flexible. To perform rigidity analysis, a model is first constructed in which various inter-atomic stabilizing interactions are modeled according to their strength. No detailed study has been conducted as to what is the most plausible, chemically validated modeling scheme. All previous implementations have relied on heuristics, which allowed for extracting relevant observations but only for a very limited set of proteins. We used our recently released KINARI-Web server for protein rigidity analysis to systematically vary how stabilizing interactions are modeled. Computational experiments that vary how hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions are modeled to test which of them gives rigidity results that best correlate with experimental data has not been performed until this study. We collected a dataset of 159 Protein Data Bank files representing the wild-type and 158 variants of Lysozyme from bacteriophage T4, for which we retrieved experimentally derived stability data from the literature. We present here a systematic study seeking a possible correlation between some rigidity parameters and this experimental data. In particular, we compare rigidity results obtained from several methods for modeling interatomic interactions.
Sperm diaphorase: genetic polymorphism of a sperm-specific enzyme in man

Human sperm contains en enzyme with diaphorase activity that appears to be unique to sperm. Electrophoretic analysis of the diaphorase activity in sperm of different individuals reveals three phenotypic patterns. This polymorphism can be explained in terms of two alleles segregating at an autosomal locus; the allele frequencies have been determined to be 0.71 and 0.29. This appears to be the first reported example of a sperm-specific genetic polymorphism in man; its existence raises a number of genetic and biochemical questions.
Structure and dynamics of Pin1 during catalysis by NMR

The link between internal enzyme motions and catalysis is poorly understood. Correlated motions in the microsecond-to-millisecond timescale may be critical for enzyme function. We have characterized the backbone dynamics of the peptidylprolyl isomerase (Pin1) catalytic domain in the free state and during catalysis. Pin1 is a prolyl isomerase of the parvulin family and specifically catalyzes the isomerization of phosphorylated Ser/Thr-Pro peptide bonds. Pin1 has been shown to be essential for cell-cycle progression and to interact with the neuronal tau protein inhibiting its aggregation into fibrillar tangles as found in Alzheimer's disease. (15)N relaxation dispersion measurements performed on Pin1 during catalysis reveal conformational exchange processes in the microsecond timescale. A subset of active site residues undergo kinetically similar exchange processes even in the absence of a substrate, suggesting that this area is already "primed" for catalysis. Furthermore, structural data of the turning-over enzyme were obtained through inter- and intramolecular nuclear Overhauser enhancements. This analysis together with a characterization of the substrate concentration dependence of the conformational exchange allowed the distinguishing of regions of the enzyme active site that are affected primarily by substrate binding versus substrate isomerization. Together these data suggest a model for the reaction trajectory of Pin1 catalysis.
Intraarterial lidocaine for pain control after uterine artery embolization for leiomyomata.

PURPOSE To evaluate the effectiveness of intraarterial lidocaine in controlling pain after uterine artery embolization (UAE). MATERIALS AND METHODS In this double-blind prospective study, patients undergoing UAE received preservative-free 1% lidocaine or saline solution (control) in the uterine arteries before embolization. Postprocedural pain was managed with patient-controlled intravenous morphine. Attempted doses, number of doses received, total morphine dose, and maximum pain numeric rating scale (NRS) score during the postprocedural hospitalization were recorded and compared. Three-month follow-up magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and symptomatic questionnaires were collected and compared. RESULTS Ten patients received lidocaine and eight patients received placebo. Moderate to severe vasospasm was noted in seven patients after lidocaine injection, whereas no vasospasm was noted in the placebo group ( P = .004). Patients in the lidocaine group had lower NRS pain scores than those in the placebo group ( P = .012), whereas there was no difference in morphine requirement between treated patients and control subjects. The study was terminated after 18 patients were treated as a result of unexpected vasospasm. CONCLUSIONS Intraarterial 1% lidocaine is associated with moderate to severe vasospasm. Lidocaine significantly lowers subjective pain, but there is no difference in analgesic requirements. The routine use of intraarterial lidocaine is not recommended for pain control until the long-term effects of vasospasm on outcome is known.
An essay on conceptualization of issues in empirical accounting research

Empirical research in accounting has lately focused much on sophisticated statistical methodology and econometrics and relatively less on conceptualization of the issues concerned. This essay is written to highlight the conceptualization of the issues as an important ingredient of empirical research in accounting. I present two methods of conceptualization – the single-entity approach and the game theoretic approach. I give several examples in accounting research to explain the conceptualization process. I hope that this essay will fill a much needed void in the research process in accounting and restore the balance between conceptualization and methodology.
Effects of potassium levels over the range occurring in host plants on the growth of an insect herbivore (Manduca sexto)

Third instar tobacco hornworms (Manduca sexta L.: Sphingidae) on low dietary potassium had a lower relative growth rate than individuals on diets with potassium concentrations reflecting those in host-plants, due to decreased consumption rate, lower efficiencies of conversion of ingested and digested food (ECI and ECD), and a prolonged growth/feeding phase. Furthermore, these larvae, when placed on a diet with a moderate potassium concentration through the fourth stadium, ended up being smaller due to lower ECI and less biomass gained, and had a prolonged growth phase, which suggest an irreversible cost of the previous low potassium diet. Third instar hornworms on high potassium diets had lower ECI and ECD, and they had a prolonged growth phase. These individuals, when placed on a moderate potassium diet in the fourth stadium, gained less biomass, than those previously offered hostplant-like-potassium diets. Body potassium concentrations (% dw) at the end of the third stadium were similar among treatment groups. With increasing potassium concentrations in the diet, utilization efficiencies of potassium decreased and potassium concentrations in the frass increased. Correspondingly, water content (% fw) of the newly-molted fourth instar larvae declined with increasing potassium, indicating a passive loss of water during potassium excretion. Low and high dietary potassium reduced survivorship of third instar larvae; fourth instar caterpillars previously fed the low potassium diet also had poor survivorship. We conclude that, within the normal range of potassium concentrations in the hostplants, caterpillar performance is largely unaffected by potassium concentration, but that potassium-poor and potassium-rich diets, such as those hornworms may sometimes experience, can reduce growth and survivorship.
A tool for rapid post-hurricane urban tree debris estimates using high resolution aerial imagery

Abstract Coastal communities in the southeast United States have regularly experienced severe hurricane impacts. To better facilitate recovery efforts in these communities following natural disasters, state and federal agencies must respond quickly with information regarding the extent and severity of hurricane damage and the amount of tree debris volume. A tool was developed to detect downed trees and debris volume to better aid disaster response efforts and tree debris removal. The tool estimates downed tree debris volume in hurricane affected urban areas using a Leica Airborne Digital Sensor (ADS40) and very high resolution digital images. The tool employs a Sobel edge detection algorithm combined with spectral information based on color filtering using 15 different statistical combinations of spectral bands. The algorithm identified downed tree edges based on contrasts between tree stems, grass, and asphalt and color filtering was then used to establish threshold values. Colors outside these threshold values were replaced and excluded from the detection processes. Results were overlaid and an “edge line” was placed where lines or edges from longer consecutive segments and color values within the threshold were met. Where two lines were paired within a very short distance in the scene a polygon was drawn automatically and, in doing so, downed tree stems were detected. Tree stem diameter–volume bulking factors were used to estimate post-hurricane tree debris volumes. Images following Hurricane Ivan in 2005 and Hurricane Ike in 2008 were used to assess the error of the tool by comparing downed tree counts and subsequent debris volume estimates with post-hurricane photo-interpreted downed tree counts and actual field measured estimates of downed tree debris volume. The errors associated with the use of the tool and potential applications are also presented.
Copper interconnect technology for the 22 nm node

On-chip copper interconnects have gained wide acceptance in the microelectronics industry due to improved resistivity and reliability compared to Al interconnects [1]. Initially, copper interconnects were only used for high performance logic circuits. However, Cu interconnects are now used in a wide variety of integrated circuits, including dynamic random access memories (DRAM) [2], RF circuits [3], and CMOS image sensors [4]. Copper interconnects will continue to be used for the 32 and 22nm technology nodes. However, there are many challenges with implementation of Cu interconnects at these nodes, including increased resistivity, integration with porous low-k materials, and reliability. In addition, for RF circuits, integration of passive devices is required. In this paper, each of these topics is addressed.
Biochemical distinction between hyperuricosuric calcium urolithiasis and gouty diathesis.

Abstract Objectives To determine whether the biochemical presentation and urinary physicochemical environment of patients with hyperuricosuria presenting with calcium stones (hyperuricosuric calcium urolithiasis [HUCU]) differs from those of patients with gouty diathesis (GD) or idiopathic uric acid urolithiasis. Methods A total of 122 patients with HUCU and 68 patients with GD were identified from our “stone registry” of patients who underwent a full ambulatory evaluation. All patients with HUCU had urinary uric acid greater than 800 mg/day in men and greater than 750 mg/day in women and presented with calcium stones. Those with GD had pure uric acid stones or mixed uric acid-calcium stones and did not have secondary causes of uric acid urolithiasis. Data derived from the fasting serum and 24-hour urine samples collected on a random diet and on a diet restricted in calcium, sodium, and oxalate were compared between the two groups. Results Compared with patients with HUCU, those with GD had significantly higher serum uric acid and lower urinary uric acid and pH levels (mean value 5.38 and 5.35 on random and restricted diets versus 6.09 and 6.14, respectively). The fractional excretion of urate and the discriminant score of the relationship between urinary pH and the fractional excretion of urate were significantly lower in those with GD than in those with HUCU. Patients with HUCU displayed a greater urinary saturation of sodium urate and calcium oxalate compared with those with GD, and those with GD had a higher urinary content of undissociated uric acid and lower urinary saturation of brushite (calcium phosphate). Conclusions Patients with HUCU presented with normal urinary pH and hyperuricosuria, accompanied sometimes by hypercalciuria, which produced increased urinary saturation of sodium urate and calcium oxalate. In contrast, those with GD had a low fractional excretion of urate (that contributed to hyperuricemia) and low urinary pH (that led to increased amount of undissociated uric acid). The varying biochemical and physicochemical presentations of the two conditions can be ascribed to overindulgence with purine-rich foods in those with HUCU and underlying primary gout in those with GD.
Private Manners, Public Roles: Recognizing Different Standards for Public Board Service

This essay argues that local public officials need greater awareness of the difference between appropriate private conduct and appropriate public conduct, with implications for ethics in public office and public perceptions of leaders and government. Contrasting private manners with public officials’ obligations in dealing with conflict and with critics, a case is made for adopting different standards for public service. Local public officials, to be effective, must approach their public roles with an appreciation of how different those roles are from their roles in private life.
Efficient LBM Visual Simulation on Face-Centered Cubic Lattices

The Lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) for visual simulation of fluid flow generally employs cubic Cartesian (CC) lattices such as the D3Q13 and D3Q19 lattices for the particle transport. However, the CC lattices lead to suboptimal representation of the simulation space. We introduce the face-centered cubic (FCC) lattice, fD3Q13, for LBM simulations. Compared to the CC lattices, the fD3Q13 lattice creates a more isotropic sampling of the simulation domain and its single lattice speed (i.e., link length) simplifies the computations and data storage. Furthermore, the fD3Q13 lattice can be decomposed into two independent interleaved lattices, one of which can be discarded, which doubles the simulation speed. The resulting LBM simulation can be efficiently mapped to the GPU, further increasing the computational performance. We show the numerical advantages of the FCC lattice on channeled flow in 2D and the flow-past-a-sphere benchmark in 3D. In both cases, the comparison is against the corresponding CC lattices using the analytical solutions for the systems as well as velocity field visualizations. We also demonstrate the performance advantages of the fD3Q13 lattice for interactive simulation and rendering of hot smoke in an urban environment using thermal LBM.
ENHANCEMENT OR INHIBITION OF INSULIN SIGNALING BY INSULIN RECEPTOR SUBSTRATE 1 IS CELL CONTEXT DEPENDENT

Insulin treatment of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells expressing high levels of the insulin receptor (CHO/IR cells) activates both c-fos serum response element and activator protein 1 (AP-1) reporter genes approximately 10-fold. In contrast, parental CHO cells display only two- to threefold insulin stimulation of reporter gene activity. Transient transfection of parental CHO cells with an insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1) expression plasmid enhanced insulin downstream signaling in a biphasic manner, whereas IRS1 transfection of CHO/IR cells inhibited insulin signaling in a dose-dependent fashion. Further, expression of Grb2 in parental CHO cells had no effect on insulin signaling, whereas Grb2 increased insulin activation of reporter gene expression in CHO/IR cells. These data suggest that the expression levels of various effector molecules can either enhance or inhibit insulin downstream signaling events. To assess the relative effects of various insulin receptor, IRS1, and Grb2 levels on insulin signaling, parental CHO cells were transiently transfected with various combinations of expression plasmids encoding these proteins. Although expression of IRS1 resulted in a biphasic increase of insulin signaling in parental CHO cells, coexpression of IRS1 with the insulin receptor resulted in inhibition of signaling. This inhibition of insulin signaling directly correlated with an increased association of Grb2 with IRS1 and a concomitant sequestration of Grb2 away from Shc. Consistent with the Shc-Grb2 pathway as the major route for insulin-stimulated c-Fos and AP-1 transcriptional activation, the IRS1-mediated inhibition was reversed by transfection with an expression plasmid for Grb2. These data demonstrate that the extent of insulin-stimulated downstream signaling was dependent not only on the levels of individual signaling molecules but also on the formation of multiprotein complexes with specific stoichiometries.
The Spectrographic Analysis of Ferro-Silicon

A method has been devised for the spectrographic analysis of materials consisting of two or more principal components. One of the components is selected as a reference element. The ratios of the concentrations of the various component elements to the concentrations of the reference element in a set of standard samples are computed. These concentration ratios are plotted against spectral line intensity ratios to form the working curves. Having determined the intensity ratios for an unknown sample, its composition is readily computed from a set of simple equations.Complete details of the application of the method to the analysis of ferro-silicon are given. Use of this method eliminates the necessity for adding a standardizing material to the sample or making approximations to correct for reference element dilution.
Internal–external reflection sum-frequency generation spectroscopy at an interface

A new optical configuration is described for sum-frequency generation spectroscopy in which the two fundamental beams approach the interface from different phases. In this geometry one beam approaches the interface at its critical angle in the denser medium, while the other beam approaches the interface in external reflection from the rarer phase. The proposed configuration permits the signal enhancement obtained with total internal reflection sum-frequency generation to be applied to interfaces for which the denser medium is nontransparent in the infrared spectral region. Calculations predict the optimal incident angles for the externally reflecting infrared beam and the internally reflecting visible beam for a series of polarization combinations. Experimental measurements of the sum-frequency intensity as a function of the visible-beam incident angle are presented and compared with the calculated angular dependence. Resulting sum-frequency spectra obtained with a LiNbO3 optical parametric oscillator nanosecond system are shown for a surfactant system at the D2O–air interface.
Fundamental Marketing Equation: An Ex Post Facto Analysis of a Corporate Marketing Performance

A new pedagogical tool in training students to be an effective marketing decision-maker, the fundamental marketing equation approach describes a firm's marketing performance as a function of its marketing mix, competition, and exogenous factors. The approach requires exhaustive identification and a systematic analysis of causal variables.
An electron spin resonance investigation of amine models for the protein–methylglyoxal interaction

The dicarbonyl methylglyoxal reacts with the lysine residues of proteins to give brown colored products with a small oxygen-dependent free radical content. Electron spin resonance (ESR) experiments employing ethylene diamine as a model for protein lysine residues are reported. The prevention of imine formation between methylglyoxal and the amine models either by pretreatment of methylglyoxal with glutathione or by methylation of the amine led to brightly colored reaction products and a much higher radical content. From an analysis of the ESR spectra it is clear that the reactions between methylglyoxal and the simple model amines developed far beyond those in the protein-methylglyoxal systems. It is proposed that this difference is accounted for by the enormous steric effects of the proteins. The relevance of the observations to the “browning” reaction in foods is briefly discussed.
"Self rather seedy": climate and colonial pathography in Conrad's African fiction.

Upon first arriving in the Congo, Marlow, the narrator of Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, discovers that the steamship meant to be his mode of travel is disabled. After obtaining the necessary tools and repair ing it, he sets off on his journey to retrieve Kurtz. Marlow finds the climate oppressive: “Going up that river . . . The air was warm, thick, heavy, sluggish. There was no joy in the brilliance of sunshine.” 1 As the steamship nears Kurtz’s camp, Marlow is advised by the manager to set anchor for one last night before proceeding up the final part of the river. The crew spends the night onboard and awakens at dawn, a scene which Marlow describes in a short passage rife with climatic imagery: When the sun rose there was a white fog, very warm and clammy, and more blinding than the night. It did not shift or drive; it was just there, standing all round you like something solid. At eight or nine, perhaps, it lifted as a shutter lifts. We had a glimpse of the towering multitude of trees, of the immense matted jungle, with the blazing little ball of the sun hanging over it—all perfectly still—and then the white shutter came down again, smoothly, as if gliding into greased grooves. (67-68) In Conrad in the Nineteenth Century, Ian Watt links the “persistent image” of “mist or haze” in Conrad’s work to his impressionistic writing style. As evidence, Watt cites Conrad’s warning that “Marlow’s tale will be not centered on, but surrounded by, its meaning; and this meaning will be only as fitfully and tenuously visible as a hitherto unnoticed presence of dust particles and water vapour.” 2 Watt also argues that Conrad presents the world around his narrators filtered
Model-Based Agents

Agent-based control with software agents encapsulating model-based inference engines is described. This system is then used as a baseline for an exploration of the utility of distributed, agent-based control. This exploration includes a discussion on the importance of information in control, including how agent scoping and agent topologies are driven by information theoretic models.
Tamias umbrinus (Rodentia: Sciuridae)

Abstract: Tamias umbrinus Allen, 1890, a medium-sized chipmunk commonly called the Uinta chipmunk, is 1 of about 25 species of extant chipmunks. It is distributed in the western United States from southern Montana south to Arizona and from Colorado west to eastern California. T. umbrinus prefers montane and subalpine coniferous forest at elevations between 1,417 and 3,660 m. The species is listed as “Least Concern” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources; although the distribution is fragmented, the species is common locally and the distribution includes protected areas.
Error propagation in machine vision

Machine vision systems that perform inspection tasks must be capable of making measurements. A vision system measures an image to determine a measurement of the object being viewed. The image measurement depends on several factors, including sensing, image processing, and feature extraction. We consider the error that can occur in measuring the distance between two corner points of the 2D image. We analyze the propagation of the uncertainty in edge point position to the 2D measurements made by the vision system, from 2D curve extraction, through point determination, to measurement. We extend earlier work on the relationship between random perturbation of edge point position and variance of the least squares estimate of line parameters and analyze the relationship between the variance of 2D points.
Mosquito species richness, composition, and abundance along habitat-climate-elevation gradients in the northern Colorado Front Range.

We exploited elevation gradients (1,500-2,400 m) ranging from plains to montane areas along the Poudre River and Big Thompson River in the northern Colorado Front Range to determine how mosquito species richness, composition, and abundance change along natural habitat-climate-elevation gradients. Mosquito collections in 26 sites in 2006 by using CO2-baited CDC light traps yielded a total of 7,136 identifiable mosquitoes of 27 species. Commonly collected species included Aedes vexans (Meigen) (n = 4,722), Culex tarsalis Coquillett (n = 825), Ochlerotatus increpitus (Dyar) (n = 546), Ochlerotatus trivittatus (Coquillett) (n = 303), Aedes cinereus Meigen (n = 280), Ochlerotatus melanimon (Dyar) (n = 146), Ochlerotatus dorsalis (Meigen) (n = 67), Culiseta inornata (Williston) (n = 52), Ochlerotatus pullatus (Coquillett) (n = 38), Ochlerotatus spencerii idahoensis (Theobald) (n = 37), and Culex pipiens L. (n = 29). Species richness was highest in plains habitats at elevations below 1,600 m. Numerous species were found exclusively or predominantly at low elevations below 1,700 m [Anopheles earlei Vargas, Anophelesfreeborni Aitken, Coquilletidia perturbans (Walker), Culex erythrothorax (Dyar), Cx. pipiens, Culex territans Walker, Oc. dorsalis, Ochlerotatus hendersoni (Cockerell), Oc. melanimon, and Oc. trivittatus], whereas others occurred predominantly at high elevations above 2,300 m [Ae. cinereus, Culiseta incidens (Thomson), Culiseta morsitans (Theoblad), Ochlerotatus cataphylla (Dyar), Ochlerotatus intrudens (Dyar), Oc. pullatus, and Ochlerotatus punctor (Kirby)]. Ae. vexans and Cx. tarsalis were abundant in the plains ( 19.5 degrees C), occurred at low abundances in foothills and low montane areas (1,610-1,730 m; 18.0-19.5 degrees C), and they were collected only sporadically in montane areas above 1,750 m (mean June-August temperature < 17.5 degrees C). These findings suggest that future climate warming may lead to shifts in distribution patterns of West Nile virus vectors (e.g., Cx. tarsalis) toward higher elevations in Colorado.
Convex Hull Peeling

Given a set of n points in the plane, a method is described for constructing a nested sequence of m < n/2 convex polygons based on the points. If the points are a random sample, it is shown that the convex sets share some of the distributional properties of one-dimensional order statistics. An algorithm which requires 0(n3) time and 0(n2) space is described for constructing the sequence of convex sets.
Radical Tweak: Relocating the Power to Assign Sex from Enforcer of Differentiation to Facilitator of Inclusiveness: Revising the Legal Response to Intersexuality

Male? Female? Simply, starkly, the law mandates an answer on each child's Birth Certificate. The need to meet this requirement marks the point at which the perfect healthy child the parents see becomes the medical anomaly and problem the physicians see as in need of correction before the birth can be registered appropriately. With that forced assignment, law tags each of us with a sexual identity and renders the intersexed invisible. In the process, the law removes its own power to serve as a source of solutions to injustices it can neither recognize nor remedy. Law operates as an obstacle to change through nearly invisible mechanisms such as using sex identification on birth certificates and drivers licenses, with no flexibility in the categories male and female, and limited-to-no ability to define one's own sexual identity in conformity with its actual nature. We are all legally subject to having a sexual identity assigned by someone else's best guess within a few moments or days of birth. This paper proposes to cure that lack of imagination by suggesting a small, but sensible, change in our legal record-keeping. We will collect data on sex with a method that incorporates biological reality with shared and deeply held assumptions about sex identity. The change will also bring visibility to the realities of the intersexual experience. That change can provide a foundation for other legal changes recognizing, protecting and facilitating inclusiveness for intersexuals. The simple change this paper recommends is thus not only easily accomplished, but one that a legitimate and moral system should move to implement immediately.
Ice, Climate, and Sea Level; Do We Know What is Happening?

Sea level is currently rising at about 2 mm a−1 (Peltier and Tushingham, 1989; Trupin and Wahr, 1991; Douglas, 1991). The cause of this rise has been analyzed by several authors (e.g., Thorarinsson, 1940; Gomitz et al, 1982; Barnett, 1983; NRC, 1985; Robin, 1986; Warrick and Oerlemans, 1990, Meier, 1990a). However, estimates of the individual components do not, in general, add up the observed sea-level rise. Yet the scientific community is being asked to make predictions about future sea-level rise, and predictions are being made, e.g., Revelle (1983), Hoffman et al (1983), Hughes (1987), Hutter et al (1989), Oerlemans (1989), Meier (1990b), Warrick and Oerlemans (1990), Budd and Simmonds (1991), and Schneider (1992). How confident can these predictions be, given our incomplete knowledge of the present condition?
Isolating the roles of different forcing agents in global stratospheric temperature changes using model integrations with incrementally added single forcings.

Satellite instruments show a cooling of global stratospheric temperatures over the whole data record (1979–2014). This cooling is not linear and includes two descending steps in the early 1980s and mid-1990s. The 1979–1995 period is characterized by increasing concentrations of ozone-depleting substances (ODSs) and by the two major volcanic eruptions of El Chichon (1982) and Mount Pinatubo (1991). The 1995–present period is characterized by decreasing ODS concentrations and by the absence of major volcanic eruptions. Greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations increase over the whole time period. In order to isolate the roles of different forcing agents in the global stratospheric temperature changes, we performed a set of simulations using the NASA Goddard Earth Observing System Chemistry-Climate Model with prescribed sea surface temperatures. We find that in our model simulations the cooling of the stratosphere from 1979 to present is mostly driven by changes in GHG concentrations in the middle and upper stratosphere and by GHG and ODS changes in the lower stratosphere. While the cooling trend caused by increasing GHGs is roughly constant over the satellite era, changing ODS concentrations cause a significant stratospheric cooling only up to the mid-1990s, when they start to decrease because of the implementation of the Montreal Protocol. Sporadic volcanic events and the solar cycle have a distinct signature in the time series of stratospheric temperature anomalies but do not play a statistically significant role in the long-term trends from 1979 to 2014. Several factors combine to produce the step-like behavior in the stratospheric temperatures: in the lower stratosphere, the flattening starting in the mid-1990s is due to the decrease in ozone-depleting substances; Mount Pinatubo and the solar cycle cause the abrupt steps through the aerosol-associated warming and the volcanically induced ozone depletion. In the middle and upper stratosphere, changes in solar irradiance are largely responsible for the step-like behavior of global temperature anomalies, together with volcanically induced ozone depletion and water vapor increases in the post-Pinatubo years.
The Imagined Audience on Social Network Sites

When people construct and share posts on social network sites like Facebook and Twitter, whom do they imagine as their audience? How do users describe this imagined audience? Do they have a sub-audience in mind (e.g., “friends who like reality television”)? Do they share more broadly and abstractly (e.g., “the public”)? Do such imaginings fluctuate each time a person posts? Using a mixed-methods approach involving a 2-month-long diary study of 119 diverse American adults and their 1,200 social network site posts, supplemented with follow-up interviews (N = 30), this study explores the imagined audience on social network sites. The findings reveal that even though users often interacted with large diverse audiences as they posted, they coped by envisioning either very broad abstract imagined audiences or more targeted specific imagined audiences composed of personal ties, professional ties, communal ties, and/or phantasmal ties. When people had target imagined audiences in mind, they were most often homoge...
Influence of journalists’ personal characteristics on non-temporal news coverage

This study compared two reporters at the New York Times, who had the same news assignment, to examine whether personal backgrounds and interests of the journalists had an impact on the news content...
Achinstein on Semantic Relevance

(1973). Achinstein on Semantic Relevance. Canadian Journal of Philosophy: Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 77-87.
Morphology and paleoecology of the Devonian rostroconch genus Bigalea

The genus Bigalea is a representative of the extinct molluscan class Rostroconchia. Examination of specimens of Bigalea yangi from the Gravel Point Formation of the Middle Devonian Traverse Group of Michigan provides new evidence of life orientation, feeding mechanism, and function of the two hoods. Epifaunal encrustation, stability, and functional morphology based on molluscan affinities, support a life orientation of Bigalea either with the anterior portion of the ventral commissure lying on the substrate or with the narrow anterior gape attached to the substrate. Orientation with the commissure lying on the substrate appears to be most consistent with feeding mode and shell structure. Internal denticulate ridges and plates suggest that Bigalea was a sluggish epifaunal or shallow infaunal deposit feeder. The function of the two hoods characteristic of Bigalea can be related to mode of life and orientation. The outer hood is apparently an adaptation to life on a muddy substrate, providing support for the posterior portion of the shell. Other conocardioids living on firm substrates lack the outer hood. The enlarged inner hood is necessary to prevent waste products from accumulating on the outer hood or around the posterior rostrum. The proposed life orientation of Bigalea differs from previous interpretations of conocardioids. The orientation and function of the two hoods of Bigalea provide evidence of adaptation of conocardioids to life on a muddy substrate.
Using Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation to Enhance Creative Cognition: Interactions between Task, Polarity, and Stimulation Site.

Creative cognition is frequently described as involving two primary processes, idea generation and idea selection. A growing body of research has used transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to examine the neural mechanisms implicated in each of these processes. This literature has yielded a diverse set of findings that vary depending on the location and type (anodal, cathodal, or both) of electrical stimulation employed, as well as the task’s reliance on idea generation or idea selection. As a result, understanding the interactions between stimulation site, polarity, and task demands is required to evaluate the potential of tDCS to enhance creative performance. Here, we review tDCS designs that have elicited reliable and dissociable enhancements for creative cognition. Cathodal stimulation over the left inferior frontotemporal cortex has been associated with improvements on tasks that rely primarily on idea generation, whereas anodal tDCS over left DLPFC and frontopolar cortex has been shown to augment performance on tasks that impose high demands on creative idea selection. These results highlight the functional selectivity of tDCS for different components of creative thinking and confirm the dissociable contributions of left dorsal and inferior lateral frontotemporal cortex for different creativity tasks. We discuss promising avenues for future research that can advance our understanding of the effectiveness of tDCS as a method to enhance creative cognition.
Egeria: a framework for automatic synthesis of HPC advising tools through multi-layered natural language processing

Achieving high performance on modern systems is challenging. Even with a detailed profile from a performance tool, writing or refactoring a program to remove its performance issues is still a daunting task for application programmers: it demands lots of program optimization expertise that is often system specific.Vendors often provide some detailed optimization guides to assist programmers in the process. However, these guides are frequently hundreds of pages long, making it difficult for application programmers to master and memorize all the rules and guidelines and properly apply them to a specific problem instance.In this work, we develop a framework named Egeria to alleviate the difficulty. Through Egeria, one can easily construct an advising tool for a certain high performance computing (HPC) domain (e.g., GPU programming) by providing Egeria with a optimization guide or other related documents for the target domain. An advising tool produced by Egeria provides a concise list of essential rules automatically extracted from the documents. At the same time, the advising tool serves as a question-answer agent that can interactively offers suggestions for specific optimization questions. Egeria is made possible through a distinctive multi-layered design that leverages natural language processing techniques and extends them with knowledge of HPC domains and how to extract information relevant to code optimization Experiments on CUDA, OpenCL, and Xeon Phi programming guides demonstrate, both qualitatively and quantitatively, the usefulness of Egeria for HPC.