cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Determination of Dominant Biogeochemical Processes in a Contaminated Aquifer‐Wetland System Using Multivariate Statistical Analysis

Determining the processes governing aqueous bingeochemistry in a wetland hydrologically linked to an underlying contaminated aquifer is challenging due to the complex exchange between the systems and their distinct responses to changes in precipitation, recharge and biological activities. To evaluate temporal and spatial processes in the wetland-aquifer system, water samples were collected using cm-scale multi-chambered passive diffusion samplers (peepers) to span the wetland-aquifer interface over a period of 3 yr. Samples were analyzed for major rations and anions, methane, and a suite of organic acids resulting in a large dataset of over 8000 points, which was evaluated using multivariate statistics. Principal component analysis (PCA) was chosen with the purpose of exploring the sources of variation in the dataset to expose related variables and provide insight into the biogeochemical processes that control the water chemistry of the system. Factor scores computed from PCA were mapped by dare and depth. Patterns observed suggest that (i) fermentation is the process controlling the greatest variability in the dataset and it peaks in May; (ii): iron and sulfate reduction were the dominant terminal electron-accepting processes in the system and were associated with fermentation but had more complex seasonal variability than fermentation; (iii) methanogenesis was also important and associated with bacterial utilization of minerals as a sttarce of electron acceptors: "(e.g,, barite BaSO,); arid (iv) 0 seasonal hydrological patterns (wet and dry periods) control the availability ofelectron acceptors through the reoxidation of reducediron-sulfur species enhancing iron and sulfate reduction.
Prolonged QTc interval and sudden cardiac death in older adults.

With considerable interest I read the recent study by Straus et al. ([1][1]) reporting QTc prolongation (>450 ms in men, and >470 ms in women) as an independent predictor of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in the large population-based Rotterdam study cohort of older adults (aged ≥55 years). Although
BMI CyberWorkstation: A cyberinfrastructure for collaborative experimental research on Brain-Machine Interfaces

This paper describes the design and implementation of an improved version (2.0) of a computational cyberinfrastructure for neuroscience research, called CyberWorkstation (CW). CW can provide to neurophysiology laboratories the following: (1) data storage for large volumes of neural signals, experimental parameters and computational results, (2) integration of necessary experimental equipment, powerful computational resources and robust software mechanisms that enable users to conduct online and offline BMI experiments, (3) a Web-based interface that permits users to conveniently setup, monitor and review their experiments and collaborate with others in analyzing and developing their research findings. The capabilities of the CW in enabling collaborative BMI research are demonstrated using forward models based on neural networks that predict positions of an agent in 2D movement control.
Who Gets “Kicked Out” of the Exam Room? Factors Associated With Patients Declining Medical Student Participation

Background: Research on patients' decision to have medical students participate in clinical care has been examined predominantly from the patients' perspective rather than the students' perspective. Purpose: This study investigated 3rd-year medical students' experiences with and perceptions of patients declining medical student participation in clinical care and identified factors associated with this decision. Methods: Third-year medical students (n = 103) completed a survey assessing demographic background, experiences with patients declining medical student participation in clinical care, preceptors' approach to obtaining patient consent for student participation, and ratings of preceptors' clinical education skills. Results: Fifty-nine percent, 22%, and 25% of students encountered patients declining student involvement in care (3 times or more) based on student's training status, student's gender, and in the context of a gynecological/urological exam, respectively. Patient consent obtained by clinic s...
Ageing of human cartilage.

IN a recent study of human costal cartilage, the isolation of kerato-sulphate in addition to chondroitin sulphate was reported in two cases of Marfan's syndrome and in two young adults free of skeletal abnormalities1. In earlier work on hyaline mammalian cartilage, including that of new-born infants, no keratosulphate fraction had been encountered2. Moreover, rib cartilage of the new-born yielded only chondroitin-4-sulphate (A), while in the adult the fraction was predominantly chondroitin-6-sulphate (C)3. These findings, as well as the demonstration of a shift from D-galactosamine to glucosamine with increasing age in epiphyseal human cartilage4, suggested a study of the distribution of chondroitin sulphate and keratosulphate in rib cartilage of various age-groups.
Solid methane on Triton and Pluto: 3- to 4-μm spectrophotometry

Methane has been identified in the Pluto/Charon system on the basis of absorption features in the reflectance spectrum at 1.5 and 2.3 microns; attention is presently given to observations of a 3.25 micron-centered deep absorption feature in Triton and Pluto/Charon system reflectance spectra. This absorption may indicate the presence of solid methane, constituting either the dominant surface species or a mixture with a highly transparent substance, such as N2 frost.
Decoding the genomic tree of life

Genomes hold within them the record of the evolution of life on Earth. But genome fusions and horizontal gene transfer (HGT) seem to have obscured sufficiently the gene sequence record such that it is difficult to reconstruct the phylogenetic tree of life. HGT among prokaryotes is not random, however. Some genes (informational genes) are more difficult to transfer than others (operational genes). Furthermore, environmental, metabolic, and genetic differences among organisms restrict HGT, so that prokaryotes preferentially share genes with other prokaryotes having properties in common, including genome size, genome G+C composition, carbon utilization, oxygen utilization/sensitivity, and temperature optima, further complicating attempts to reconstruct the tree of life. A new method of phylogenetic reconstruction based on gene presence and absence, called conditioned reconstruction, has improved our prospects for reconstructing prokaryotic evolution. It is also able to detect past genome fusions, such as the fusion that appears to have created the first eukaryote. This genome fusion between a deep branching eubacterium, possibly an ancestor of the cyanobacterium and a proteobacterium, with an archaeal eocyte (crenarchaea), appears to be the result of an early symbiosis. Given new tools and new genes from relevant organisms, it should soon be possible to test current and future fusion theories for the origin of eukaryotes and to discover the general outlines of the prokaryotic tree of life.
Comparative genomic analysis of the clade B serpin cluster at human chromosome 18q21: amplification within the mouse squamous cell carcinoma antigen gene locus

The human clade B serpins neutralize serine or cysteine proteinases and reside predominantly within the intracellular compartment. Genomic analysis shows that the 13 human clade B serpins map to either 6p25 (n = 3) or 18q21 (n = 10). Similarly, the mouse clade B serpins map to syntenic loci at 13A3.2 and 1D, respectively. The mouse clade B cluster at 13A3.2 shows a marked expansion in the number of serpin genes (n = 15). The purpose of this study was to determine whether a similar expansion occurred at 1D. Using STS-content mapping, comparative genomic DNA sequence analysis, and cDNA cloning, we found that the mouse clade B cluster at 1D showed nearly complete conservation of gene number, order, and orientation relative to those of 18q21. The only exception was the squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCCA) locus. The human SCCA locus contains two genes, SERPINB3 (SCCA1) and SERPINB4 (SCCA2), whereas the mouse locus contains four serpins and three pseudogenes. Based on phylogenetic analysis and predicted amino acid sequences, amplification of the mouse SCCA locus occurred after rodents and primates diverged and was associated with some diversification of proteinase inhibitory activity relative to that of humans.
Nonparametric Item Response Function Estimation for Assessing Parametric Model Fit

Methods are developed that investigate the fit of parametric item response models by comparing them to models fitted under nonparametric assumptions. The approach is primarily graphical, but is mad...
Prevention of intraoperative wound contamination with chlorhexidine shower and scrub

In a prospective, controlled, clinical trial, we found that preoperative showering and scrubbing with 4% chlorhexidine gluconate was more effective than povidone-iodine or triclocarban medicated soap in reducing skin colonization at the site of surgical incision. Mean log colony counts of the incision site were one half to one log lower for patients who showered with chlorhexidine compared to those who showered with the other regimens. No growth was observed on 43% of the post shower skin cultures from patients in the chlorhexidine group compared with 16% of the cultures from patients who had povidone-iodine showers and 5% of those from patients who used medicated soap and water. The frequency of positive intraoperative wound cultures was 4% with chlorhexidine, 9% with povidone-iodine and 14% with medicated soap and water. This study demonstrates that chlorhexidine gluconate is a more effective skin disinfectant than either povidone-iodine or triclocarban soap and water and that its use is associated with lower rates of intraoperative wound contamination.
Ethics and disclosure: An analysis of conflicting duties

Abstract The ethics of many professionals, including accountants, have come under increasing scrutiny and have been frequently challenged. In the case of accountants an area of concern is fairness of disclosure. Frequently referred to as “the expectations gap”, there seems to be a difference in perception on the part of the public and accounting professionals as to what constitutes fair disclosure. This paper is an attempt to clarify the ethical duties of the accountants in the area of disclosure. It is shown that accountants sometimes have a genuine conflict between duties to comply with professional rules and duties to disclose information in the public interest. The conflict is analysed by bringing to bear the extensive research on conflicting ethical duties from the philosophy literature. Four criteria used in the philosophy literature are applied in an attempt to resolve the conflict. The results of that analysis indicate that, at least sometimes, accountants are ethically compelled to violate rules requiring compliance with GAAP and/or maintenance of client confidentiality. The circumstances under which disclosure is ethically compelled relate to the certainty of outcomes and consequences of not disclosing. This paper is not a prescription for practicing accountants, but is forwarded in the hope of enlightening policy makers to the ethical dimension of disclosure issues in practice. As it stands, professional rules in accounting do not necessarily support ethical behaviour on the part of accountants in regard to disclosure.
Upper airway cmompression after arthroscopy of the tempormomandibular joint

. An unusual cmomplication is presented following a tempormomandibular arthroscopy carried out under general anaesthesia. Severe cervicofacial oedema occurred immediately after surgery which required prolonged endotracheal intubation. Retrospective analysis revealed a massive fluid escape in the surrounding tissues leading to laryngeal oedema.
Steel Marketing in Japan

Domestic marketing of steel products by Japanese stell firms is a subjet little‐known to non‐Japanese analysts. This article examines the practices of steel sales, distribution and price determination in Japan since the early 1970s. Reference is made primarily to the practices of integrated steel firms which account for about three‐fourths of Japanese steel output and to the category of carbon steel products which constitutes about 85 per cent of that output.
The chloroplast ATP synthase: structural changes during catalysis.

This article summarizes some of the evidence for the existence of light-driven structural changes in thee andγ subunits of the chlorplast ATP synthase. Formation of a transmembrane proton gradient results in: (1) a change in the position of thee subunit such that it becomes exposed to polyclonal antibodies and to reagents which selectively modifyeLys109; (2) enhanced solvent accessibility of several sulfhydryl residues on theγ subunit; and (3) release/ exchange of tightly bound ADP from the enzyme. These and related experimental observations can, at least partially, be explained in terms of two different bound conformational states of thee subunit. Evidence for structural changes in the enzyme which are driven by light or nucleotide binding is discussed with special reference to the popular rotational model for catalysis.
Adaptive noise cancellation to suppress electrocardiography artifacts during real-time interventional MRI

Purpose: To develop a system for artifact suppression in electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings obtained during interventional real-time magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Materials and Methods: We characterized ECG artifacts due to radiofrequency pulses and gradient switching during MRI in terms of frequency content. A combination of analog filters and digital least mean squares adaptive filters were used to filter the ECG during in vivo experiments and the results were compared with those obtained with simple low-pass filtering. The system performance was evaluated in terms of artifact suppression and ability to identify arrhythmias during real-time MRI. Results: Analog filters were able to suppress artifacts from high-frequency radiofrequency pulses and gradient switching. The remaining pulse artifacts caused by intermittent preparation sequences or spoiler gradients required adaptive filtering because their bandwidth overlapped with that of the ECG. Using analog and adaptive filtering, a mean improvement of 38 dB (n = 11, peak QRS signal to pulse artifact noise) was achieved. This filtering system was successful in removing pulse artifacts that obscured arrhythmias such as premature ventricular complexes and complete atrioventricular block. Conclusion: We have developed an online ECG monitoring system employing digital adaptive filters that enables the identification of cardiac arrhythmias during real-time MRI-guided interventions. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2011;33:1184–1193. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Holographic theories of electroweak symmetry breaking without a Higgs boson

LBNL-54212 UCB-PTH-03/36 arXiv:hep-ph/0312247 v2 30 Dec 2003 Holographic Theories of Electroweak Symmetry Breaking without a Higgs Boson Gustavo Burdman a and Yasunori Nomura a,b a Theoretical Physics Group, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 b Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 Abstract Recently, realistic theories of electroweak symmetry breaking have been constructed in which the electroweak symmetry is broken by boundary conditions imposed at a boundary of higher dimensional spacetime. These theories have equivalent 4D dual descriptions, in which the electroweak symmetry is dynamically broken by non-trivial infrared dynamics of some gauge interaction, whose gauge coupling g and size N satisfy g 2 N > 16π 2 . Such theories allow one to calculate electroweak radiative corrections, including the oblique pa- rameters S, T and U , as long as g 2 N/16π 2 and N are suﬃciently larger than unity. We study how the duality between the 4D and 5D theories manifests itself in the computation of various physical quantities. In particular, we calculate the electroweak oblique parameters in a warped 5D theory where the electroweak symmetry is broken by boundary conditions at the infrared brane. We show that the value of S obtained in the minimal theory exceeds the experimental bound if the theory is in a weakly coupled regime. This requires either an extension of the minimal model or departure from weak coupling. A particularly inter- esting scenario is obtained if the gauge couplings in the 5D theory take the largest possible values – the value suggested by naive dimensional analysis. We argue that such a theory can provide a potentially consistent picture for dynamical electroweak symmetry break- ing: corrections to the electroweak observables are suﬃciently small while realistic fermion masses are obtained without conﬂicting with bounds from ﬂavor violation. The theory contains only the standard model quarks, leptons and gauge bosons below ≃ 2 TeV, except for a possible light scalar associated with the radius of the extra dimension. At ≃ 2 TeV increasingly broad string resonances appear. An analysis of top-quark phenomenology and ﬂavor violation is also presented, which is applicable to both the weakly-coupled and strongly-coupled cases.
Dual enhancement of photocathode sensitivity in the near infrared.

Near IR sensitivity enhancement by external field assisted photoemission from semitransparent photocathode
Inhibition of endothelial/smooth muscle cell contact loss by the investigational angiopoietin-2 antibody MEDI3617

A tumor's dependence on angiogenesis for survival and growth has led to the advancement of a variety of blood vessel directed anticancer treatment strategies. Overexpression of angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) in tumor vasculature and its crucial role in angiogenesis, i.e. the destabilization of endothelial/peri-endothelial cell interactions, now raises the possibility of additional novel anti-angiogenic therapeutics. The present study utilized a co-culture sphere model to (i) demonstrate the destabilizing effect of Ang-2 on endothelial/smooth muscle cell contact and (ii) evaluate the impact of the investigational Ang-2 antibody MEDI3617 on endothelial/smooth muscle cell dissociation. Real time imaging of spheres showed both exogenous Ang-2 and PMA induced endogenous Ang-2 secretion resulted in sphere destabilization (loss of endothelial cells from smooth muscle cell core). The presence of MEDI3617 inhibited this process. To assess the anti-angiogenic potential of MEDI3617 in vivo, nude mice were injected intradermally with human renal cell carcinoma cells (Caki-1, Caki-2) and the number of blood vessels induced over a 3 day period was scored. MEDI3617 (2, 10, 20 mg/kg) significantly reduced the initiation of blood vessels for both tumor models at all doses investigated. These data indicate that MEDI3617 treatment significantly impairs the initiation of angiogenesis by inhibiting the Ang-2 mediated disruption of endothelial/muscle cell interaction associated with blood vessel destabilization and thereby reduces tumor cell induced angiogenesis. The results support the notion that targeting the angiopoietin/Tie2 axis may offer novel anti-angiogenic strategies for cancer treatment.
Escherichia coli RNA Polymerase Recognition of a σ70-Dependent Promoter Requiring a −35 DNA Element and an Extended −10 TGn Motif

Escherichia coli sigma70-dependent promoters have typically been characterized as either -10/-35 promoters, which have good matches to both the canonical -10 and the -35 sequences or as extended -10 promoters (TGn/-10 promoters), which have the TGn motif and an excellent match to the -10 consensus sequence. We report here an investigation of a promoter, P(minor), that has a nearly perfect match to the -35 sequence and has the TGn motif. However, P(minor) contains an extremely poor sigma70 -10 element. We demonstrate that P(minor) is active both in vivo and in vitro and that mutations in either the -35 or the TGn motif eliminate its activity. Mutation of the TGn motif can be compensated for by mutations that make the -10 element more canonical, thus converting the -35/TGn promoter to a -35/-10 promoter. Potassium permanganate footprinting on the nontemplate and template strands indicates that when polymerase is in a stable (open) complex with P(minor), the DNA is single stranded from positions -11 to +4. We also demonstrate that transcription from P(minor) incorporates nontemplated ribonucleoside triphosphates at the 5' end of the P(minor) transcript, which results in an anomalous assignment for the start site when primer extension analysis is used. P(minor) represents one of the few -35/TGn promoters that have been characterized and serves as a model for investigating functional differences between these promoters and the better-characterized -10/-35 and extended -10 promoters used by E. coli RNA polymerase.
A Lyapunov Approach to Control Design for Grid-Connected Inverters

This paper develops a Lyapunov approach to control design for grid connected inverter. The control objective is to track a reference current which is proportional to the fundamental harmonic of the grid voltage. By using the internal model principle, the grid voltage and the reference current are described as the outputs of an autonomous linear oscillatory system. A state space description for the whole system is obtained by combining the state of the inverter circuit and that of the oscillatory system for the grid voltage. Based on the state space description, a Lyapunov approach is developed to design a state-feedback controller for tracking a reference current with minimal tracking error. The Lyapunov approach ensures internal stability and makes efficient use of the structural information, such as the total harmonic distortion (THD) of the grid voltage, and the magnitude/phase of the reference current. The effectiveness of the Lyapunov approach is validated via SimPower simulation. A real circuit is built using microcontroller ezDSP28335, the output current obtained is in phase with the grid voltage and has small THD, as we expected. DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/telkomnika.v12i5.5362
Are endoscopic changes predictive of histologic esophagitis in children

Controversy exists regarding the value of gross mucosal changes of the esophagus at the time of endoscopy in predicting histologic esophagitis. Accordingly, we reviewed the records of 279 pediatric patients who underwent both an upper endoscopy and simultaneous grasp esophageal biopsy. Of those patients with no gross mucosal abnormalities, 30% had evidence of esophagitis on biopsy. Similarly, there was a poor association between the presence of endoscopic findings and histologic esophagitis. We conclude that gross esophageal mucosal changes are poor predictors of histologic esophagitis and that endoscopic evaluation alone is inadequate for children and adolescents in whom esophagitis is suspected. Esophageal biopsies should be obtained in all such patients, even when no gross mucosal abnormalities are found.
Uses and benefits of journal writing

Adult educators should consider the benefits of journal writing in terms of their own learning and professional development.
Development of plasma integrated AFM nano manufacturing workcell

As a very important material processing technology, plasma processing is able to modify sample surface through etching, deposition, activation, functionalization, polymerization, etc. However, the general plasma processing reacts on a large area of sample surface. Hence a mask is needed for selectively treating the sample surface. In this paper, a plasma integrated atomic force microscopic (AFM) nano manufacturing workcell has been developed, which consists of a micro plasma source and an integrated AFM nanomanipulation system. The miniature microwave plasma discharge applicator is able to create a miniature plasma stream with a diameter ranges from 2 millimeters down to micrometers. Hence the micro plasma will be able to locally treat a sample surface and has the potential to eliminate the requirement of masks. With the integrated AFM system, the sample surface is able to be inspected and further modified at nanoscale in the same chamber after machined by the micro plasma. The system design and implementation are presented in the paper. Experiments have been carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of the system by locally etching a silicon substrate surface using the micro plasma source.
Effects of Rotation and Blade Incidence on Properties of Turbomachinery Rotor Wake

An experimental investigation of the effects of the speed of rotation on a turbomachinery rotor blade wake was conducted using a fan rotor in incompressible flow. Measurements were made at two different rotational speeds (1753 and 1010 rpm) with the same blade incidence angle. The blade incidence angle was also varied to discern the effect of blade loading. A three-sensor hot-wire probe mounted in a stationary frame of reference was used for the measurements made at several radial and axial stations in the near- and far-wake regions. The three-dimensional mean velocity and turbulence profiles, the wake defect, wake decay rate, turbulence intensities, and turbulence stresses are appreciably altered when the speed of rotation and the blade loading are changed. The wake defect is reduced and the radial velocity increased when the rotation speed is increased.
Comparison of Chlorine, Bromine, and Iodine as Disinfectants for Swimming Pool Water

Studies on the germicidal activity of chlorine, bromine, and iodine were made by use of the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists official first action method for determining effectiveness of swimming pool water disinfectants. In this procedure, 0.3 ppm of available chlorine as chlorine gas has activity equivalent to 0.6 ppm of available chlorine in the buffered sodium hypochlorite control when Escherichia coli is used as the test organism. With Streptococcus faecalis as the test organism, 0.45 ppm of available chlorine as gaseous chlorine gives activity equivalent to the control. Liquid bromine at 1.0 ppm is as effective as the 0.6 ppm of available chlorine hypochlorite control with E. coli as the test organism, but 2.0 ppm of liquid bromine is necessary to provide activity equivalent to the 0.6 ppm of available chlorine control when S. faecalis is employed. With iodine as metallic iodine, 2.0 ppm is necessary to provide a result equivalent to the 0.6 ppm of available chlorine control with both E. coli and S. faecalis. In the various systems tested, gaseous chlorine was the most active form of available chlorine; liquid bromine provided the most active form of bromine, and metallic iodine provided the most active form of iodine.
Strained Premixed Laminar Flames with Two Reaction Zones

Abstract The method of activation energy asymptotics (AEA) is used to study the structure and extinction characteristics of premixed laminar flames in two counterflowing reactant streams such that a layer of products is bounded by two reaction zones. The analysis includes the influences of realistic density variations and of large rates of strain. Account is taken of Lewis numbers different from unity and of different temperatures in the two reactant streams. It is found that abrupt extinction occurs either upon merging of the two reaction zones or prior to merging depending on the Lewis number and on the temperature difference of the two streams. In the adiabatic case Lewis numbers suitably greater than unity, i.e., greater than a critical value, are found to be needed for extinction to occur prior to merging. The critical Lewis number decreases as the temperature difference increases such that at suitably large differences extinction prior to merging occurs for Lewis numbers less than unity. Density non...
Robust Estimation of Inverse Probability Weights for Marginal Structural Models

Marginal structural models (MSMs) are becoming increasingly popular as a tool for causal inference from longitudinal data. Unlike standard regression models, MSMs can adjust for time-dependent observed confounders while avoiding the bias due to the direct adjustment for covariates affected by the treatment. Despite their theoretical appeal, a main practical difficulty of MSMs is the required estimation of inverse probability weights. Previous studies have found that MSMs can be highly sensitive to misspecification of treatment assignment model even when the number of time periods is moderate. To address this problem, we generalize the covariate balancing propensity score (CBPS) methodology of Imai and Ratkovic to longitudinal analysis settings. The CBPS estimates the inverse probability weights such that the resulting covariate balance is improved. Unlike the standard approach, the proposed methodology incorporates all covariate balancing conditions across multiple time periods. Since the number of these ...
Anthropogenic and climatic influences on the eutrophication of large estuarine ecosystems

We examined the effects of anthropogenic and climatic perturbations on nutrient-phytoplankton interactions and eutrophication in the waters of the largest estuarine systems in the U.S.A., the Chesapeake Bay (CB), Maryland/ Virginia, and the Neuse River Estuary/Pamlico Sound (NRE/PS) system, North Carolina. Both systems have experienced large post-World War II increases in nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) loading, and nutrient reductions have been initiated to alleviate symptoms of eutrophication. However, ecosystem-level effects of these nutrient reductions are strongly affected by hydrologic variability, including severe droughts and a recent increase in Atlantic hurricane activity. Phytoplankton community responses to these hydrologic perturbations, including storm surges and floods, were examined and when possible, compared for these systems. In both systems, the resulting variability in water residence time strongly influenced seasonal and longer-term patterns of phytoplankton biomass and community composition. Fast-growing diatoms were favored during years of high discharge and short residence time in CB, whereas this effect was not observed during high discharge conditions in the longer residence time NRE/ PS. In the NRE/PS, all phytoplankton groups except summer cyanobacterial populations showed decreased abundance during elevated flow years when compared to low flow years. Although hurricanes affected the CB less frequently than the NRE/PS, they nonetheless influenced floral composition in both systems. Seasonally, hydrologic perturbations, including droughts, floods, and storm-related deep mixing events, overwhelmed nutrient controls on floral composition. This underscores the difficulty in predicting seasonal and longer-term phytoplankton production and compositional responses to nutrient input reductions aimed at controlling eutrophication of large estuarine ecosystems.
Neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors serve as sensitive targets that mediate beta-amyloid neurotoxicity.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of brain dementia characterized by the accumulation of β-amyloid peptides (Aβ) and loss of forebrain cholinergic neurons. Aβ accumulation and aggregation are thought to contribute to cholinergic neuronal degeneration, in turn causing learning and memory deficits, but the specific targets that mediate Aβ neurotoxicity remain elusive. Recently, accumulating lines of evidence have demonstrated that Aβ directly modulates the function of neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), which leads to the new hypothesis that neuronal nAChRs may serve as important targets that mediate Aβ neurotoxicity. In this review, we summarize current studies performed in our laboratory and in others to address the question of how Aβ modulates neuronal nAChRs, especially nAChR subunit function.
Building a Web-based installation guide using VRML

The paper introduces the reader to the Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML). The author explores the potential for using VRML to show users how to connect a PC to a home entertainment center.
Learning from labeled features using generalized expectation criteria

It is difficult to apply machine learning to new domains because often we lack labeled problem instances. In this paper, we provide a solution to this problem that leverages domain knowledge in the form of affinities between input features and classes. For example, in a baseball vs. hockey text classification problem, even without any labeled data, we know that the presence of the word puck is a strong indicator of hockey. We refer to this type of domain knowledge as a labeled feature. In this paper, we propose a method for training discriminative probabilistic models with labeled features and unlabeled instances. Unlike previous approaches that use labeled features to create labeled pseudo-instances, we use labeled features directly to constrain the model's predictions on unlabeled instances. We express these soft constraints using generalized expectation (GE) criteria --- terms in a parameter estimation objective function that express preferences on values of a model expectation. In this paper we train multinomial logistic regression models using GE criteria, but the method we develop is applicable to other discriminative probabilistic models. The complete objective function also includes a Gaussian prior on parameters, which encourages generalization by spreading parameter weight to unlabeled features. Experimental results on text classification data sets show that this method outperforms heuristic approaches to training classifiers with labeled features. Experiments with human annotators show that it is more beneficial to spend limited annotation time labeling features rather than labeling instances. For example, after only one minute of labeling features, we can achieve 80% accuracy on the ibm vs. mac text classification problem using GE-FL, whereas ten minutes labeling documents results in an accuracy of only 77%
In vivo histopathologic comparison of the acute injury following treatment with five fractional ablative laser devices

Background: Both erbium (Er:YAG) and carbon dioxide (CO2) devices are commonly-used, efficient laser systems for aggressive skin resurfacing procedures. The devices each have different adjustable parameters (density, spot size, number of pulses, pattern, etc) and utilize variable energy capabilities to tailor individual treatments depending on the skin pathology and goals of treatment. Overall, the consensus has been that multiple-pass erbium treatments needed for efficacious wrinkle reduction had similar downtime and comorbidity to the traditional CO2 treatments. Unfortunately, there were limited data comparing the histological differences and changes throughout the wound-healing process over time between the two treatment methods. Objectives: The authors compare the difference in injury following treatment with five novel fractional ablative laser systems in vivo. Differences in damage pattern, treatment depth, and degree of surrounding cellular injury following treatment with each device at common clinical settings are evaluated in a side-by-side histopathologic comparison. Methods: Prior to planned excisional surgery, the panni of 20 abdominoplasty patients were treated with five novel ablative fractional carbon dioxide or Er:YAG laser systems at various clinical parameters, in accordance with the manufacturers’ treatment guidelines. After tissue removal two to four hours later, the skin was biopsied and processed for histopathologic evaluation. Specimens were stained with hematoxylin and eosin, along with a terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay, to highlight the degree of irreversible cellular injury. Results: The acute damage profile differed between the fractional Er:YAG and CO2 devices with respect to depth of penetration and extension of coagulation surrounding the microcolumns. The damage pattern was dependent on the parameters set with each device (eg, fluence, pulses, density, pulse width). The TUNEL-stained sections demonstrated more collateral cellular injury surrounding the ablated columns with the CO2 devices than with the Er:YAG systems. Conclusions: Following treatment with the fractional Er:YAG and CO2 devices, deep tissue injury with various coagulative and ablative properties was observed, and it was confirmed that carbon dioxide and erbium devices result in different patterns of injury. As such, each may be better suited for different clinical situations. It is important for practitioners to understand the limitations of a specific device, as well as the tissue injury following a given treatment pattern or protocol, to appropriately tailor their treatment algorithm for a given patient. This extensive histopathologic evaluation of the acute characterization of injury across devices is helpful in clarifying the differences/similarities in laser-tissue interaction following treatment in an in vivo human model.
Science review: Key inflammatory and stress pathways in critical illness - The central role of the Toll-like receptors

A pure reductionist approach can sometimes be used to solve an exceptionally complicated biologic problem, and sepsis is nothing if not complicated. A serious infection promptly leads to changes in many aspects of host physiology, including alterations in circulation, metabolism, renal, hepatic, and neuroendocrine function; all of these changes happen at once, and each influences one another. It is difficult to tease apart a problem of this sort, if only because the systems affected are so profoundly interactive. The key to understanding sepsis, insofar as we do understand it at present, was found in the use of genetic tools to study the very earliest events that take place at the interface of the pathogen and the host. The continued application of both forward and reverse genetic methods, in both mammals and insects, is steadily revealing the central biochemical events that occur during infection.
The Ongoing Debate of and Direction for Future Research about the Impact of the 150- Hour Education Requirement on the Supply of Certified Public Accountants

ABSTRACT: In this paper we reflect on two streams of research on CPA examination candidacy and accounting enrollments that include studies by Allen and Woodland (2006), Gramling and Rosman (2009), and Allen and Woodland (2012). In our response to the more recent Allen and Woodland (2012) article, we observe that the literature is split on causes for declines in accounting enrollments and CPA exam candidacy. The reversal of both of these declines in a relatively short period provides further evidence to question whether the 150-hour education requirement was actually the cause of decreases in accounting enrollments and CPA exam candidacy. With the adoption of 150-hour requirement in virtually all jurisdictions, we recommend that research refocus the questions to address how to structure the additional education to maximize the benefits of the increased education to the public, academe, students, and the profession. The continuing need for research into the content and the implications of the 150-hour requi...
Quality of Building Extraction from IKONOS Imagery

Now to ensure the quality of automatic extraction of buildings from aerial and space imagery is not comprehensively understood. Dedicated efforts are needed in examining both the theoretical and practical aspects of the problem. This paper first presents a review of building extraction research activities, with the focus on quality-related issues. Also addressed is recent progress in the use of high-resolution satellite images. As a theoretical study, a set of five quality measures of the extracted buildings is proposed that considers all possible types of errors and describes the accuracy of building extraction relative to the ground truth. To achieve a reliable and precision result, a step-by-step quality control strategy is implemented in a classification-guided building extraction procedure. Unreliable results are identified based on the proposed quality index and excluded from further processing. Empirical results using IKONOS images are presented to demonstrate the proposed quality measures and quality control strategy.
Differences in College Major Choice by Citizenship Status

Studies about college majors largely ignore non-citizen or immigrant populations. Using the administrative data from two public universities in Texas, the author examine students’ major choices by citizen status. In the context of legislation providing in-state tuition access for undocumented students (H.B. 1403, effective 2001), the author tests the effects of the policy on students’ choices of major. Foreign-born populations have a higher propensity to select majors in Science, Engineering and Math (SEM) and a lower propensity to enroll in social sciences than citizens. Domestic students exhibit variable propensities to opt for SEMs, depending on their race. There is evidence of behavioral changes pre— to post—H.B. 1403, with foreign-born populations shifting away from high-return majors.
Association Between Visuospatial Ability and Vestibular Function in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging.

Numerous lines of evidence— epidemiological, physiological, histopathological— have shown that vestibular function declines with age.1–4 The vestibular system is known for its role in maintaining balance and postural control, and several studies have noted associations between vestibular loss and balance impairment and falls in older individuals.5–7 Increasing evidence demonstrates important connections between the vestibular system and various domains of cognitive function, most notably visuospatial ability, but also memory, executive function, and attention.8–11 Studies in animals and individuals with unilateral or bilateral vestibular loss suggest that the vestibular system provides critical information about spatial orientation, spatial memory, and spatial navigation.10–13 Visuospatial ability deteriorates with age. Studies have shown that older individuals have greater difficulty with navigation in real-world and virtual environments. Older adults make more errors in returning to their starting locations and have greater difficulty remembering locations of previously observed targets.14–17 In addition, perception of subjective visual vertical also appears to degrade with age, with greater deviations from true vertical observed in healthy older than younger adults.18 It is unknown whether vestibular loss associated with age plays a role in the degradation of these critical spatial cognitive functions in elderly adults. This link may be important to establish, given that declines in spatial orientation and navigation may mediate the association between age-related vestibular loss and falls. The current study used data from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) to evaluate the cross-sectional association between vestibular function and selected domains of cognitive function, including visuospatial ability, memory, executive function, and attention. The function of the saccule, the vestibular end organ responsible for measuring changes in spatial orientation with respect to gravity, was specifically considered. Based on the existing literature, it was hypothesized that vestibular function would have the strongest association with visuospatial ability. A series of structural equation models was developed to evaluate the extent to which vestibular function may mediate age-related changes in cognition. These analyses offer insight into the mechanisms by which peripheral vestibular sensitivity may be associated with specific cognitive functions and may inform future research on preventive and treatment strategies for age-related cognitive decline.
Comparison of solid phase extraction with salting-out solvent extraction for preconcentration of nitroaromatic and nitramine explosives from water

Abstract Residues of high explosives are a significant pollution problem at U.S. military facilities. Because TNT, RDX and HMX, as well as several manufacturing impurities and environmental transformation products, are mobile in the soil and have caused groundwater pollution, there is an increasing demand for low-concentration analysis of these compounds in water from installation boundary wells. Because RDX and HMX are polar, conventional liquid-liquid extraction with nonpolar solvents yields poor recovery. Two techniques have been reported that appear to offer improved recovery and adequate preconcentration: solid phase extraction (SPE) and salting-out solvent extraction (SOE). This paper compares resin based cartridge-SPE, membrane-SPE, and SOE using fortified reagent grade water samples and a set of 58 groundwater samples from an explosives-contaminated military facility. The three methods were comparable with respect to low-concentration detection capability, which ranged from 0.05 to 0.30 μg/l. Percent recoveries generally exceeded 80%, except for HMX and RDX by membrane-SPE. Interferences were found in extracts from half of the groundwater samples preconcentrated using the two SPE procedures, but were not found in any of the extracts from the SOE. These interferences were traced to matrix interaction of the polymeric resins with low-pH groundwater containing high levels of dissolved solids.
Microbial Community Stratification Linked to Utilization of Carbohydrates and Phosphorus Limitation in a Boreal Peatland at Marcell Experimental Forest, Minnesota, USA

This study investigated the abundance, distribution, and composition of microbial communities at the watershed scale in a boreal peatland within the Marcell Experimental Forest (MEF), Minnesota, USA. Through a close coupling of next-generation sequencing, biogeochemistry, and advanced analytical chemistry, a biogeochemical hot spot was revealed in the mesotelm (30- to 50-cm depth) as a pronounced shift in microbial community composition in parallel with elevated peat decomposition. The relative abundance ofAcidobacteria and theSyntrophobacteraceae, including known hydrocarbon-utilizing genera, was positively correlated with carbohydrate and organic acid content, showing a maximum in the mesotelm. The abundance of Archaea(primarily crenarchaeal groups 1.1c and 1.3) increased with depth, reaching up to 60% of total small-subunit (SSU) rRNA gene sequences in the deep peat below the 75-cm depth. Stable isotope geochemistry and potential rates of methane production paralleled vertical changes in methanogen community composition to indicate a predominance of acetoclastic methanogenesis mediated by theMethanosarcinales in the mesotelm, while hydrogen-utilizing methanogens predominated in the deeper catotelm. RNA-derived pyrosequence libraries corroborated DNA sequence data to indicate that the above-mentioned microbial groups are metabolically active in the mid-depth zone. Fungi showed a maximum in rRNA gene abundance above the 30-cm depth, which comprised only an average of 0.1% of total bacterial and archaeal rRNA gene abundance, indicating prokaryotic dominance. Ratios of C to P enzyme activities approached 0.5 at the acrotelm and catotelm, indicating phosphorus limitation. In contrast, P limitation pressure appeared to be relieved in the mesotelm, likely due to P solubilization by microbial production of organic acids and C-P lyases. Based on path analysis and the modeling of community spatial turnover, we hypothesize that P limitation outweighs N limitation at MEF, and microbial communities are structured by the dominant shrub, Chamaedaphne calyculata, which may act as a carbon source for major consumers in the peatland.
Insulation Testing of Electric Windings

THE paper describes a new method for the testing of insulation of windings, the advantages of which are adequate stressing of turn and conductor insulation and certain detection of defects. The new tester consists of a repeating-type surge generator, cathode-ray oscillograph, and synchronously driven switching equipment. The surge generator provides a succession of voltage waves of controlled shape adjusted to give the necessary turn and conductor insulation stresses. The cathode-ray oscillograph is timed to give a stationary image of the repeating surge on the screen. By virtue of the special method of surge application and oscillograph connection, the waves on the screen indicate turn or conductor-insulation defects quickly and certainly.