cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
PET imaging of glucose metabolism in a mouse model of temporal lobe epilepsy.

Here we present the first demonstration that 2-deoxy-2[18F]fluoro-D-glucose (18FDG) and micro Positron Emission Tomography (μPET) can be used successfully to monitor regional changes in brain metabolism during acute seizure induction in C57Bl/6 mice. These longitudinal studies show a significant increase in 18FDG uptake in the hippocampus (33.2%) which correlates directly with seizure severity (R2 = 0.86). 18FDG μPET can potentially be used to monitor the development of TLE in mouse models from the acute phase of status epilepticus to the chronic phase of spontaneous recurrent seizures. These studies provide a foundation upon which we can begin to identify genetic contributions to the metabolic signature of TLE in mice, since many transgenics are in the C57Bl/6 background strain. Synapse 59: 119–121, 2006. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Release of tetracycline hydrochloride from electrospun poly(ethylene-co-vinylacetate), poly(lactic acid), and a blend

Abstract Electrospun fiber mats are explored as drug delivery vehicles using tetracycline hydrochloride as a model drug. The mats were made either from poly(lactic acid) (PLA), poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (PEVA), or from a 50:50 blend of the two. The fibers were electrospun from chloroform solutions containing a small amount of methanol to solubilize the drug. The release of the tetracycline hydrochloride from these new drug delivery systems was followed by UV–VIS spectroscopy. Release profiles from the electrospun mats were compared to a commercially available drug delivery system, Actisite® (Alza Corporation, Palo Alto, CA), as well as to cast films of the various formulations.
In the Routine HIV-Testing Era, Primary Care Physicians in Community Health Centers Remain Unaware of HIV-Testing Recommendations

Background:Despite the 2006 US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations for routine HIV testing in health care settings, many persons remain untested.Purpose:To determine ph...
D. Frank Benson, M.D.: Biography and overview of contributions

D. Frank Benson 1928-1996 was a formative figure in behavioural neurology and architect of much of the current knowledge structure of neurobehavioural syndromes. He investigated aphasia, amnesia, agnosia, dementia, frontal lobe syndromes, and neuropsychiatric disturbances. The themes that characterize his work are comprehensive mental status assessment, corroboration of the regional significance of clinical findings through radiologic and anatomic studies, emphasis on understanding the neurobiological basis of a wide range of behavioural syndromes, and a commitment to teaching others.
Distribution and abundance of alfalfa-field nematodes at various spatial scales

Stem nematode disease of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is an economically important issue facing agriculture in the western United States. A better understanding of the ecology of Ditylenchus dipsaci, the nematode that causes stem disease can help to improve survey techniques and management plans for this pathogen. Microhabitats (above- and below-ground), individual fields and regions (river basins) were investigated to determine the importance of scale dependency for D. dipsaci, Aphelenchoides ritzemabosi (an associated plant parasite), and other nematodes inhabiting fields of alfalfa in Colorado, United States. Nematode groups were assayed from microhabitats including aboveground plant, surface litter and soil substrates. At the regional scale of river basins, nematode communities were similar, and D. dispsaci and A. ritzemabosi were prominent members of a diverse community dominated by Panagrolaimus sp., a free-living nematode found mostly in the litter microhabitat in all three fields. At the field scale, a moisture gradient occurred in three of the four sites where the water content of the bulk soil increased with distance from the irrigation source. Certain nematode groups responded positively to this moisture gradient. This may indicate that nematodes are being relocated across the field in irrigation water or that conditions in the tail end of the field are more favorable for reproduction. At the scale of microhabitats, A. ritzemabosi functioned as a generalist by occupying more microhabitats than D. dipsaci, which functioned as a specialist in alfalfa crowns and crown soils. Bulk litter also supported both D. dipsaci and A. ritzemabosi, indicating that this microhabitat could serve as a refuge. Examining nematode distribution and abundance at various spatial scales verified that nematode ecology is scale-dependant, and this may have important implications for monitoring and management in agricultural systems.
Energy-Efficient Rings: A Green Mechanism for Multi-Segment Fiber-Wireless Access Networks

In this paper, we propose a novel green mechanism called Energy-Efficient Ring (EER) for multi-segment Fiber-Wireless (FiWi) access networks. We first utilize clustering scheme to generate clusters each with the shortest distance of fully connected segments in it. Leveraging backtracking method, we then connect segments in each cluster through fiber links and the shortest fiber ring is constructed in each cluster. Finally, we sleep low load segments and forward affected traffic to other active segments on the same fiber ring. Experimental results show that EER significantly reduces the energy consumptions at the slightly additional cost of deploying fiber links.
Probabilistic swarm guidance for collaborative autonomous agents

This paper extends a probabilistic guidance approach for the coordination of swarms of autonomous agents, which contain sub-swarms with different mission objectives. The main idea of probabilistic guidance is to drive the swarm to a prescribed density distribution in the configuration space. Both non-collaborative and collaborative swarm guidance methods are considered. In the non-collaborative case, the probabilistic approach is decentralized and does not require communication between agents. Agents make statistically independent probabilistic decisions based solely on their own state, which ultimately guides the swarm to the desired density distribution. The probabilistic guidance idea is then extended to the collaborative case where there are sub-swarms of agents with different desired distributions. In this case, agents collaborate to decide on a common objective. This introduces collaboration at a higher level of decision making, and makes useful connections with consensus theory for networked agents. Our main result establishes that, under quite general conditions, the collaborative swarm behavior converges to the weighted average of the sub-swarm desired distributions. The formal development of this result now allows us to consider complex swarm behaviors in a mathematically rigorous framework.
SOME RESULTS RELATING TO TEST EQUATING UNDER RELAXED TEST FORM EQUIVALENCE

Educational measurement specialists in undertaking test equating in applied settings have been plagued by the absence of a logically or mathematically compelling rationale for their test equating efforts. Classical test theory and other test theories based on the assumption of identically distributed true scores are tautological in terms of test equating. The present study examined (by means of a Monte Carlo procedure) the effects of four parameters on the accuracy of test equating under a relaxed definition of test form equivalence. The four parameters studied were sample size, test form length, test form reliability, and the correlation between the true scores of the test forms to be equated. Significant interactions involving sample size and the other parameters indicated that smaller samples of observations yielded disproportionately larger errors in test equating for fixed values of the test form parameters. In terms of main effects, sample size emerged as most important in controlling equating error. Taken together, the results suggest that when test equating is carried out on larger samples of observations, errors of equating will tend to be relatively small even though the test forms are not strictly parallel. For arbitrarily small samples, however, errors of equating will tend to be larger regardless of how equivalent the test forms are.
Bottle propping for infant feeding.

The pros and cons of “bottle propping” have been assembled from questionnaires distributed to directors of pediatric teaching services.
Hydraulic jumps in granular material flow

This paper investigates the formation of hydraulic jumps in the open channel flow of dry, cohesionless granular materials. The experimental observations include the identification of several types of jump and several types of downstream flow. The relation between the depth ratio across the jump and the Froude number is similar to that observed in the open channel flow of liquid. However, the ratio h_2/h_1 in the granular material case is larger by a factor of between 1.2 and 1.5 Analysis of this factor indicates that it is caused by a 10 to 20% reduction in the solid fraction below its critical value in the highly sheared supercritical flow upstream of the jump.
Interaction of a finite-duration Alfvén wave with a trans-Alfvénic shock in space plasmas

Abstract The interaction of a finite-duration Alfven wave with a trans-Alfvenic shock wave (TASW) is considered. The Alfven wave consists of two pulses of opposite sign and equal duration, and it is supposed to leave the TASW unchanged after it passes through the shock transition layer. It is shown that, although this does eventually happen, the time required for the shock to recover is much larger than the time of its interaction with the Alfven wave. This means that in reality the shock never comes to a steady state, because during the recovery process it will most likely be hit by another perturbation, which will not allow the shock to evolve to the initial state.
Hydrogen permeation, Si defect generation, and their interaction during CHF/sub 3//O/sub 2/ contact etching

Hydrogen permeation and the simultaneous Si substrate defect generation occurring during contact reactive ion etching utilizing CHF/sub 3/-based chemistries were studied using SiO/sub 2//Si structures. The process-parameter space for the etches consisted of magnetic field intensity and overetch percentage. Characterization was carried out by means of 1 MHz capacitance-voltage and deep-level transient spectroscopy measurements. This characterization establishes for the first time that the presence of permeating hydrogen does not prevent Si defect generation but, instead, acts only to passivate such defects. The characterization also demonstrates that this hydrogen permeation into the Si substrate is enhanced by increasing the magnetic field intensity. >
Observing volcanic ash plumes and ballistics using Doppler radar

When volcanoes erupt, they often emit coarse rocks with ballistic trajectories that fall onto the slopes of the volcano, as well as a plume of fine ash that drifts into the atmosphere. It can be challenging to monitor both simultaneously and discriminate between the two to collect quantitative data, but Valade and Donnadieu have done that with a ground-based Doppler radar, which they used to make measurements of smallscale eruptions at Arenal volcano in Costa Rica. They were able to estimate the mass of the ballistic rocks and the mass of ash particles ejected into the atmosphere. Such studies could be useful for understanding and mitigating the hazards associated with volcanic eruptions. (Geophysical Research Letters, doi:10.1029/2011GL049415, 2011)
Enhancing DNA Microarray Analysis With Pulsed Source-Sink Flows

DNA hybridization on microarrays is enhanced with the use of a pulsed source-sink system, a design that is based on the occurrence of chaotic advection. Experimental results demonstrate increased signal levels in faster times, an increase in signal-to-noise ratios, and a decrease in signal variability.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
The isolation of some basic proline-rich proteins from human parotid saliva.

Abstract A protein preparation corresponding to the core-protein described by Levine, Ellison and Bahl (1973) was isolated. Chromatographed on columns of the cation-exchange adsorbent SP-Sephadex, it comprised a family of proline-rich basic proteins which have similar but not identical amino acid composition and contain little or no carbohydrate.
Population biology of two land snails (Mesomphix spp.): variation among six southern appalachian sites with differing disturbance histories

Ecological and genetic properties of two North American terrestrial gastropods (Mesomphix spp.) were characterized in paired control and previously logged watersheds in two North Carolina forests (Coweeta and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park) of the Southern Appalachian Biosphere Reserve Cluster. Shell growth was greater in the control sites, but density and mortality were largely independent of prior logging history and forest reserve. Based on starch gel electrophoresis data, both species showed their highest levels of genetic diversity in the Coweeta forest, the component of the reserve cluster which had the most extensive and variable history of logging disturbance. M. subplanus also exhibited higher levels of heterozygosity in logged than in control watersheds, and M. andrewsae showed over twice as many rare alleles in disturbed sites as in control sites. F-statistic analysis depicted both excess levels of homozygosity and moderate genetic differentiation among the populations, reflecting the effects of small population size and perhaps drift and inbreeding. Estimated gene flow was relatively low. These results correspond to the recent finding by Bryant et al. (1987) and others on the effects of bottlenecks, and to the contrasting history of habitat instability of the two major study forests.
Theoretical comparison of coupling of a recessed cavity antenna and a conventional loop antenna for fast waves and ion Bernstein waves

A numerical code has been developed to calculate the loading of a cavity loop antenna in threedimensional geometry. The loading of the cavity is calculated for fast wave and ion Bernstein wave coupling and compared with the loading of a conventional loop antenna. For fast waves, the cavity loading increases with increasing edge density, while the conventional loop loading is less sensitive to the edge density but shows a slight decrease of loading because of a steeper density gradient. For ion Bernstein waves, the two types of antenna behave similarly; however, in contrast to the loading for fast waves, the loading for ion Bernstein waves increases with decreased edge density and a steeper density gradient.
THIDIAZURON-INDUCED ADVENTITIOUS SHOOT REGENERATION OF SWEETPOTATO (IPOMOEA BATATAS)

Adventitious shoots of sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas L. Lam.) were produced in vitro using a two-stage culture method. Petiole explants were incubated on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (0.2 mg·liter−1) for 3 d, and transferred to MS medium with thidiazuron (0 to 0.4 mg·liter−1). Shoot regeneration was observed in most explants (78.2%) of genotype PI 318846-3 within 28 days when cultured on thidiazuron at 0.2 mg·liter−1. Histological studies of cultured petiole explants showed meristematic activity within cells of vascular bundles and throughout the ground tissue. Explants isolated from apical leaves exhibited higher shoot regeneration frequency than those isolated from the basal portion of the shoot. Leaf lamina explants exhibited lower frequency of regeneration than petiole explants. In contrast to thidiazuron, the use of zeatin riboside, and kinetin resulted in a lower frequency of shoot regeneration although more sweetpotato genotypes could be regenerated using either of these two cytokinins. The sweetpotato plants regenerated using thidiazuron grew vigorously and rooted easily when transferred to the greenhouse.
On the frictional response of a filamentary brush in contact with a curved workpart

Abstract Filamentary brushes are used widely for both manual and automated deburring and surface finishing operations. However, insufficient information is available to manufacturing engineers concerning guidelines for the selection, use, and anticipated performance of such tools. In this paper, a formulation for the quasi-static, finite displacement mechanics analysis of constrained filament deformation is developed which includes frictional forces generated at the interface of the brush/workpart system. The constrained path along which the filament tip traverses corresponds to a workpart surface having variable curvature. The problem is formulated in terms of curvilinear coordinates, which facilitate the development of a filament-tip “kinematic trace”. The kinematic trace, in turn, provides a rational basis for evaluating the approximate final position for filament/workpart contact. For illustrative purposes, the results for filament force, overall brush force and brush torque are reported in non-dimensional form for several different constant workpart curvatures and friction coefficients. Additionally, discussion is provided concerning the relationship between the friction coefficient used in this study, and the actual filament machining forces that are generated during the material removal process.
Making a huaca Memory and praxis in prehispanic far northern Peru

Recent studies exploring social memory have led to a growing literature on the ‘archaeology of memory’ that examines the ways material culture is deployed to make cultural statements about the past...
Dopamine and octopamine in whole body extracts of the bulb mite.

Using high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection, whole body extracts of the bulb mite,Rhizoglyphus echinopus (Fumouze and Robin), were found to contain the biogenic amines dopamine and octopamine at concentrations of 4.3±0.6 and 2.3±1.4 ng g−1 wet weight, respectively. Adrenaline, noradrenaline, tyramine,N-methyldopamine,N-acetyldopamine, and 5-hydroxytryptamine, if present, were below the limits of detectability. This is the initial demonstration of the presence of octopamine in a mite species.
Exploring the usability of folksonomies in the online art museum community

This paper presents a usability evaluation of the Indianapolis Museum of Art website - as a typical art museum website supporting both tag-based search and user tagging of artwork - in an effort to explore how users access artwork while interacting with the museum online search and retrieval system. The usability study examined the extent of usage of Steve Tagger capabilities (annotation and use of tags in the process of searching/accessing artwork resources) deployed on the website. The usability test results showed that 55% of the users were able to successfully locate information on the website using both traditional searching techniques and folksonomies. However, only 34% of the users were able to successfully locate artwork using tags only. On the other hand, 95% of the participants were able to annotate an object by adding a term or tag to describe the artwork.
What Is the Best Reference RNA? And Other Questions Regarding the Design and Analysis of Two-color Microarray Experiments

The reference design is a practical and popular choice for microarray studies using two-color platforms. In the reference design, the reference RNA uses half of all array resources, leading investigators to ask: What is the best reference RNA? We propose a novel method for evaluating reference RNAs and present the results of an experiment that was specially designed to evaluate three common choices of reference RNA. We found no compelling evidence in favor of any particular reference. In particular, a commercial reference showed no advantage in our data. Our experimental design also enabled a new way to test the effectiveness of pre-processing methods for two-color arrays. Our results favor using intensity normalization and foregoing background subtraction. Finally, we evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of data quality filters, and we propose a new filter that can be applied to any experimental design and does not rely on replicate hybridizations.
The efficiency and versatility of catalytic RNA: implications for an RNA world

Because RNA is chemically and structurally dissimilar from protein, the finding of catalytic activity in RNA was initially surprising. Quantitative measurements of reaction rates show that RNA can be as efficient a catalyst as protein. On the other hand, the potential versatility of RNA to catalyze diverse types of reactions has only begun to be explored. Understanding the efficiency and versatility of RNA as a catalyst helps us evaluate origin-of-life scenarios involving self-replicating RNA, and may explain why RNA catalysis remains important in contemporary cells.
Compactness of isospectral conformal metrics onS 3

Two Riemannian metrics g, g' on a compact manifold are said to be isospectral if their associated Laplacian operator on functions have identical spectrum. It is a well known problem to study the extent to which the spectrum determines the metric. In dimension two, Osgood, Phillips and Sarnak [OPS] studied this question and proved that the set of isospectral metrics on a compact surface form a compact family in the cr topology. In that case there is available a criterion due to Wolpert [W] for compactness of the conformal structures in the Teichmuller space in terms of the determinant of the Laplacian. This reduces the problem to studying the isospectral conformal metrics on a fixed Riemann surface. It turns out that the determinant of the Laplacian played the key role for the compactness questions. In particular when the underlying surface is the two sphere, which is analytically the least transparent case, the compactness question reduces to an inequality of Onofri ([O], [OPS]) which is a sharp version of the Moser-Trudinger inequality on S 2. We are interested in the situation in dimension 3. The well known solution of the Yamabe problem ([A], [S]) says that every conformal class of metrics on a compact Riemannian manifold contains a metric of constant scalar curvature. When (M 3, go) has constant negative scalar curvature, an isospectral set of metrics g = u4go conformal to go is compact in the cr174 topology [BPY]. This result was proved directly using the heat invariants of the metric. The first step was to find a pointwise bound 0< cl- u-< c2 and a bound 1tu112.2 <-c3 where ci depend only on the heat invariants of g. The higher order derivative bounds required for cr174 compactness is a consequence of this bound for u and the calculation for the coefficients for the terms involving the highest order derivatives of u in the asymptotic ak of the heat kernel for g due to Gilkey ([G]). In this paper we study the situation when M is the standard three sphere ( $3, go). As in the case of the two sphere, the conformal group G complicates the analysis.
Clinical Correlates of Secondary Meningitis in HIV-Infected Adults

Background: Neurologic complaints are common in adults infected with the human immunodeficiency virus, but little is known about which clinical features are associated with secondary causes of meningitis. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study of adults infected with the human immunodeficiency virus who received a diagnostic lumbar puncture (LP) in the infectious disease clinic, emergency department, and inpatient wards of the Deaconess Hospital, Boston, Mass, from 1989 through 1992 to determine which clinical features available at the time of LP are correlated with definite or probable secondary meningitis. Results: Of the 491 LPs, 90% were performed in whites, 93% in men, and 11% in injection drug users. Cerebrospinal fluid test results revealed secondary meningitis in 39 (7.9%) of 491 LPs performed on 322 individuals. Cryptococcal meningitis was the predominant type (27 cases); no bacterial or tuberculous meningitis was found. In multivariate analyses, a history of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 4.3; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.5 to 12.5), a history of herpes simplex virus infection (OR, 2.5; 95% CI, 1.2 to 5.0), nausea and/ or vomiting (OR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.03 to 4.0), headache in a person with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (OR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.03 to 4.4), and cranial nerve abnormalities (OR, 5.1; 95% CI, 1.8 to 14.1) were positive correlates of opportunistic meningitis; current fluconazole use (OR, 0.3; 95% CI, 0.1 to 0.8) conferred a lower risk. Conclusion: In similar clinical settings, physicians and their human immunodeficiency virus—infected patients should consider these features when assessing the risk of secondary meningitis and the necessity for immediate LP. (Arch Intern Med. 1995;155:2231-2237)
Increasing the number of tandem estrogen response elements increases the estrogenic activity of a tamoxifen analogue.

Abstract There have been several reports of women who have tumor relapse while on tamoxifen therapy, followed by tumor regression after tamoxifen withdrawal. In such apparently tamoxifen-stimulated tumors, there is likely a genetic change which increases the estrogenicity of tamoxifen. In this study, we determine if increasing the number of estrogen response elements (EREs) in the promotor region of a reporter gene can alter the agonistic activity of fixed-ring 4-hydroxytamoxifen. We show that increasing the number of EREs in the promotor region increases the transcriptional response of the reporter plasmid to estradiol. We also find that while fixed-ring 4-hydroxytamoxifen is unable to stimulate transcription when one ERE is present, transcriptional activation can occur with multiple EREs. These results demonstrate that ERE amplification could explain the agonistic properties of tamoxifen, and suggests a novel mechanism to explain tamoxifen-stimulated breast cancer growth.
A phase II trial of interferon-alpha and toremifene in advanced renal cell cancer patients.

Treatment options for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma are limited. Interferon-alpha has an overall response rate of 10–15% in phase II and III clinical trials and is considered a standard option for patients. Though the anti-estrogen toremifene has shown only modest single agent activity in renal cell carcinoma, evidence for synergy of anti-estrogens with interferon-alpha exists in renal cell and other cancers. Therefore, a phase II trial was undertaken to test the combination of interferon-alpha and toremifene in advanced renal cell carcinoma. Thirteen patients with measurable metastatic or unresectable local disease were treated with interferon-alpha at a dose of 5 million units/m2 three times a week and daily oral toremifene at 300 mg daily in divided doses. Patients were treated for 12 weeks and then restaged. Clinical response was the primary endpoint of the trial. Four patients (31%) had evidence of stable disease at 12 weeks, while the remaining nine patients (69%) progressed on treat...
Stabilization of Clay Soils with Nontraditional Additives

A laboratory experiment was conducted to evaluate the stabilization of low- and high-plasticity clay soils with nontraditional chemical or liquid stabilizers. Clay soil specimens were mixed with various stabilization products and compacted using a gyratory compaction machine to approximate ASTM D1557 moisture—density compaction. Each specimen was subjected to wet and dry testing following a 28-day cure. Twelve nontraditional stabilizers were evaluated, including an acid, enzymes, a lignosulfonate, a petroleum emulsion, polymers, and a tree resin. Additional specimens were stabilized with Type I portland cement and hydrated lime for comparison with traditional stabilizers under the same mixing, compaction, and curing conditions. Analysis of the test data consisted of determining the average strength, in terms of unconfined compressive strength, of three replicate specimens of each mixture. The average strength of the three replicates of each additive was compared with the average strength results of the re...
Plant Growth Regulators: Backgrounds and Uses in Plant Production

Plant growth regulators are widely used in modern agriculture, horticulture and viticulture. “True” plant growth regulators interfere directly with the plant’s hormonal status. They are represented by plant hormones or their synthetic analogs, by inhibitors of hormone biosynthesis or translocation and by hormone receptor blockers. “Atypical” plant growth regulators act by displaying a local and/or transient phytotoxic effect. Approximately 40 active ingredients are in use, applied either as a single component or as combinations. Many plant developmental processes can be actively regulated in cultivated plants, for example, acceleration or delay of seed germination, dormancy breaking in woody perennials, stimulation or reduction of shoot elongation, induction of flowering and fruiting, reduction or increase of fruit set, acceleration or delay of senescence processes including fruit ripening and defoliation. The achieved benefits range from facilitating crop management to increasing and securing yield and quality of the harvested produce and improving its storage and shelf life. Systematic use of plant growth regulators started in the 1930s. Current global annual sales are in the range of US$ 1.2 billion.
Compositional properties of coexisting orthopyroxene and spinel in some Antarctic diogenites: Implications for thermal history

— We analyzed the compositional profiles of coexisting orthopyroxenes and spinels in six diogenite samples from the Antarctic meteorite collection and used the data to constrain their thermal histories. The closure temperatures of Fe2+-Mg exchange between spinel and orthopyroxene in these samples vary between ∼630 and 830 °C. However, those in other diogenite samples, for which the compositional data are available in the literature, extend up to ∼1125 °C. This wide range of closure temperatures suggests repeated excavation of the diogenites from their original sites over a long time interval during cooling. The orthopyroxene grains were found to be homogeneous in composition while two of the relatively large spinel grains in the samples Elephant Moraine (EET) 87530 and Thiel Mountains (TIL) 82410 showed compositional zoning near the rim. Modeling of the spinel zoning in TIL 82410 suggests that it developed during cooling under a regolith or ejecta blanket, possibly at a depth of ∼80–120 m, and that the spinel composition was homogeneous at ∼900 °C. A nonlinear cooling model in which the cooling rate is given by ηT(K)2, with η = 5.8 times 10−3 K−1Ma−1, leads to simulated retrograde zoning profile in spinel which match the observed profile in TIL 82410 very well.
Modeling quantum computing in Haskell

The paper develops a model of quantum computing from the perspective of functional programming. The model explains the fundamental ideas of quantum computing at a level of abstraction that is familiar to functional programmers. The model also illustrates some of the inherent difficulties in interpreting quantum mechanics and highlights the differences between quantum computing and traditional (functional or otherwise) computing models.
A Generalized Energy Balance Climate Model with Parameterized Dynamics and Diabatic Heating

Energy balance models have proven useful in understanding mechanisms and feedbacks in the climate system. An original global energy balance model is presented here. The model is solved numerically for equilibrium climate states defined by zonal average temperature as a function of latitude for both a surface and an atmospheric layer. The effects of radiative, latent, and sensible heating are parameterized. The model includes a variable lapse rate and parameterizations of the major dynamical mechanisms responsible for meridional heat transport: the Hadley cell, midlatitude baroclinic eddies, and ocean circulation. The model reproduces both the mean variation of temperature with latitude and the global average heat budget within the uncertainty of observations. The utility of the model is demonstrated through examination of various climate feedbacks. One important feedback is the effect of the lapse rate on climate. When the planet warms as a result of an increase in the solar constant, the lapse rate acts as a negative feedback, effectively enhancing the longwave emission efficiency of the atmosphere. The lapse rate is also responsible for an increase in global average temperature when the meridional heat transport effectiveness is increased. The water vapor feedback enhances temperature changes, while the latent and sensible heating feedback reduces surface temperature changes.
Transatlantic Roundtable on High–skilled Migration and Sending Countries Issues

Globalization and the advent of the knowledge economy have created a new context where there is a greater demand for the highly skilled, especially in the information technology (IT) industry. High–skilled migration has become increasingly more complex, even if in recent years the term “brain drain” has become a generic reference to “high–skilled migration” of all types. It has also become clear that brain mobility does not automatically translate into “brain drain”, and that impacts vary by the types of skills held by migrants. The meeting demonstrated that while much is known about high–skilled migration and its effects on source countries, there is also a great deal yet to be learned in a dynamic environment. Many participants deplored the lack of reliable data, which makes it difficult to know what is really going on and to establish appropriate policies. Clearly, there are an array of policies that can offset possible adverse effects of skilled mobility and even leverage the flow into positive outcomes for source countries. A key element is improvement of the population’s general level of education. Low levels of skills keep average labour productivity and wages low and therefore retard development. Long–term strategies to promote economic growth are needed to enable developing countries to retain and draw back their highly skilled and address the negative effects of the brain drain. Migrants themselves can play an important role through their remittances, diaspora networks, and own willingness to return – at least temporarily — to share their skills and contribute to economic progress. Finally, destination countries can facilitate the process through policies that promote circulation of highly skilled migrants.
Low-energy neutral-atom imaging

Energetic neutral atom (ENA) and low energy neutral atom (LENA) imaging of space plasmas are emerging new technologies which promise to revolutionize the way we view and understand large scale space plasma phenomena and dynamics. ENAs and LENAs are produced in the magnetosphere by charge exchange between energetic and plasma ions and cold geocoronal neutrals. While imaging techniques have been previously developed for observing ENAs with energies above several tens of keV, most of the ions found in the terrestrial magnetosphere have lower energies. We recently suggested that LENAs could be imaged by first converting the neutrals to ions and then electrostatically analyzing them to reject the UV background. In this paper we extend this work to examine in detail the sensor elements needed to make an LENA imager. These elements are 1) a biased collimator to remove the ambient plasma ions and electrons and set the azimuthal field-of-view; 2) a charge modifier to convert a portion of the incident LENAs to ions; 3) an electrostatic analyzer to reject UV light and set the energy passband; and 4) a coincidence position detector to measure converted LENAs while rejecting noise and penetrating radiation; all are flight proven technologies. We also examine the issue of LENA imager sensitivity and describe ways of optimizing sensitivity in the various sensor components. Finally, we demonstrate how these general considerations are implemented by describing one relatively straighiforward design based on a hemispherical electrostatic analyzer
Scavenging of Alzheimer's amyloid beta-protein by microglia in culture.

Deposits of amyloid P-protein (AP) form the cores of the pathological plaques which characterize Alzheimer’s disease. The mechanism of formation of the deposits is unknown; one possibility is failure of a clearance mechanism that would normally remove the protein from brain parenchyma. This study has investigated the capacity of the central nervous system (CNS) phagocytes, microglia cells, to clear exogenous AP,,, from their environment. Cultured microglia from adult rat CNS have a high capacity to remove AP from serum-free medium, shown by immunoblotting experiments. AP from incubation medium was attached to the cell surface and could be identified by immunocytochemistry at the light or electron microscopic (EM) level; by EM, AP also appeared in phagosome-like intracellular vesicles. Light microscopic immunocytochemistry combined with computer-assisted image analysis showed that cells accumulated AP within 24 hr. from culture medium containing from 1 to 20 pg/ml AP. Microglial accumulation of AP was substantially reduced in the presence of fetal bovine serum. Addition of the protease inhibitor leupeptin to incubation medium with serum resulted in accumulation of AP in a membrane-bound intracellular compartment, but not at the cell surface. The increase in intracellular accumulation in the presence of the protease inhibitor indicates a microglial capacity for intracellular degradation of AP in the absence of inhibition. The change from predominantly cell-surface accumulation in serum-free medium to predominantly intracellular accumulation with serum may be explained by the presence in serum of carrier proteins that complex with AP and target it to cell surface receptors capable of stimulating endocytosis. Microglia were also cultured on unfixed cryostat sections of human brain tissue containing Alzheimer’s plaques. Very little AP from the tissue was accumulated by the cells, although cultured microglia were found in direct contact with anti-AP immunopositive plaques. Possibly AP in tissue sections was complexed
It's all about the teacher-student relationship

THERE HAVE BEEN a number of events and innovations that have been projected to diminish the importance of (or completely replace) the teacher in the learning process. Despite information transfer advances (such as written language, the printing press, image capture, voice capture, and the internet), teachers remain critical to the formal educational process. So why do we, as teachers, still exist? The formal education process is no longer about information, and successful teachers have come to realize this. The innovations described above all relate to the information component of the learning process. The ability of learners to access information has increased to the point of absurdity. The role of the teacher now is to help learners effectively identify and evaluate information sources, but this alone does not justify our continued presence in the educational process. The formal educational process is not only about the learning environment. If high-quality design, approach, and execution were enough, all of the preschool children in the United States would be bilingual, reading, and doing arithmetic as a result of Sesame Street. The environment can facilitate learning, but highly effective instruction also occurs in many challenging environments. There is a marked advantage to have remained at the same school for 28 yr. In looking at the rise and fall of courses in both effectiveness and student regard, I am struck by the huge impact of the teacher or, in a team-taught course, the course director. While learning is self-directed, it is the teacher that is accountable for the learning: accountable to the students, to the program, and to themselves. The analogy of “teacher as coach” has been used in the sense of “a guide.” I prefer to emphasize a more aggressive side of coaching, an authority who prepares, trains, observes, evaluates, and corrects. This role parallels the learning cycle described by Kolb, but while the learner is at the center of the Kolb cycle, the coach is impacting each transition but from the outside. Courses flourish when the student-teacher relationship is reciprocal and includes “joint ownership” of the course. We use an external examination (the National Board of Medical Examiners Physiology Subject Examination) as a comprehen
Observations and larval descriptions of fleas (Siphonaptera: Ceratophyllidae, Ctenophthalmidae, Ishnopsyllidae) of the southern flying squirrel, little brown bat, and Brazilian free-tailed bat (Mammalia: Rodentia, Chiroptera).

Abstract Larvae of the four fleas infesting nests of the southern flying squirrel, Glaucomys volans volans (L.) [Conorhinopsylla stanfordi Stewart, Epitedia faceta (Rothschild), Opisodasys pseudarctomys (Baker), and Orchopeas howardi (Baker)], and of the bat fleas Myodopsylla insignis (Rothschild) and Sternopsylla distincta texana (C. Fox), associated with the bats Myotis lucifugus (Le Conte) and Tadarida brasiliensis (I. Geof. St. Hilaire), respectively, are described. C. stanfordi has the second posterior-row seta on abdominal segments 1–5 at most one fourth the length of the first and third setae, but it is unique among the Leptopsyllini with five short setae in abdominal segment 9 anterior row. E. faceta has the straight line of anterior-row setae 2–5 on abdominal segment 1, which is diagnostic for Phalacropsyllini. O. howardi and O. pseudarctomys have three anterior-row setae on the anal comb, three ventrolatera1 setae on the anal segment (abdominal segment 10), and a narrow mandible with five or mor...
Yield estimation from spectral amplitudes of direct P and P coda recorded by the wake island deep ocean hydrophone array

Abstract Spectral amplitudes of direct P and P coda between 0.5 and 6 Hz have been measured for 14 Eastern Kazakh test explosions using 8 hydrophones of the Wake Island Array, and a new model for these data has been developed to estimate relative yields of those explosions. Each log spectral amplitude is considered to be the sum of four parameters and an error term. Three parameters are frequency-dependent and represent: (1) the average Eastern Kazakh spectrum at the Wake Island Array; (2) the spectral shape characteristics unique to each event; and (3) the station or hydrophone corrections. The fourth parameter represents relative yield. A total of 346 parameters, including the 14 relative yields, were needed to model all 901 spectral amplitudes that were measured, and first-order linear regression techniques were used to invert the data for these parameters. Standard deviations of the computed relative yields are very small, averaging only 0.015 m b units. Deviations between the relative yields and their corresponding relative NEIS body-wave magnitudes, however, are larger, averaging 0.14 m b units. This difference is interpreted to be an indicator of the level of inhomogeneity in the worldwide pattern of energy radiated from Eastern Kazakh tests. There is evidence that this pattern can be correlated with the precise epicentral location of each explosion within the test site and is due to focusing and defocusing near the source. It is proposed that the yield of a large explosion might be disguised by siting the explosion at a location that selectively defocuses energy towards continents where most seismic stations are located. The precision with which a relative yield is determined from the data of any single hydrophone averages 0.035 m b units. Thus, the model appears to provide a very stable measure of yield. Errors associated with frequencies greater than 2 Hz are only slightly greater than errors associated with frequencies less than 2 Hz, verifying the utility of using the higher frequencies observed in direct P and P coda to estimate yield.
A user-centered model for designing consumer mobile health (mHealth) applications (apps)

Display Omitted The ISR framework allows for the incorporation feedback in the mobile app development process.This study supports the use of the ISR framework as a useful model to guide the design of mHealth apps.User-centered methodologies have been singularly applied in technology development.The holistic approach incorporates distinct user-centered design methods that are iteratively applied. BackgroundMobile technologies are a useful platform for the delivery of health behavior interventions. Yet little work has been done to create a rigorous and standardized process for the design of mobile health (mHealth) apps. This project sought to explore the use of the Information Systems Research (ISR) framework as guide for the design of mHealth apps. MethodsOur work was guided by the ISR framework which is comprised of 3 cycles: Relevance, Rigor and Design. In the Relevance cycle, we conducted 5 focus groups with 33 targeted end-users. In the Rigor cycle, we performed a review to identify technology-based interventions for meeting the health prevention needs of our target population. In the Design Cycle, we employed usability evaluation methods to iteratively develop and refine mock-ups for a mHealth app. ResultsThrough an iterative process, we identified barriers and facilitators to the use of mHealth technology for HIV prevention for high-risk MSM, developed 'use cases' and identified relevant functional content and features for inclusion in a design document to guide future app development. Findings from our work support the use of the ISR framework as a guide for designing future mHealth apps. DiscussionResults from this work provide detailed descriptions of the user-centered design and system development and have heuristic value for those venturing into the area of technology-based intervention work. Findings from this study support the use of the ISR framework as a guide for future mHealth app development. ConclusionUse of the ISR framework is a potentially useful approach for the design of a mobile app that incorporates end-users' design preferences.
PREVALENCE AND EFFECT OF RESTRICTIVE LUNG DISEASE IN PATIENTS WITH REPAIRED TETROLOGY OF FALLOT (TOF)

Patients with Tetrology of Fallot (TOF) may have decreased exercise capacity (XC) and abnormal lung function, although the relationship between the two is unclear. We sought to determine the association, if any, between restrictive lung disease (RLD) and XC in patients with repaired TOF. This was a
PERFORMANCE OF THERMAL PLUME IN SOLAR THERMAL-ELECTRIC PROPULSION SYSTEM

A solar thermal-electric propulsion (STEP) system which combined thermal and electric thrusters in a tandem arrangement has been installed for demonstrating a new rocket engine with medium ranges of specific impulse and thrust. The STEP system consists of a solar thermal and a magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thrusters. In the thermal channel, the propellant gas is heated up to 2000 K by an argon arc-lamp solar simulator. Without the DC power on the MPD electrodes, the system merely produces a thermal plume of argon gas. An insitu technique, Pilot tube method, is used to measure the total and static pressure of the core flow of the plume in steady-state operation in order to characterize and benchmark so that any increment of thrust and specific impulse resulted from the MPD acceleration can be determined later. The data are compared with the results of CET93 computer code developed at NASA Lewis Research Center (LeRC). An increase of the total pressure, therefor the thrust was found in preliminary run with the MPD accelerator.
Subpicosecond switching in a current injected GaAs/AlGaAs multiple-quantum-well nonlinear directional coupler

The nonlinear optical properties of active semiconductor waveguides are of great interest both in terms of physics and possible applications1 to high-speed devices, such as light modulators and nonlinear directional couplers (NLDCs). Previously, a good deal of effort has been made to reduce the recovery time and the absorption loss of the NLDC. Recent studies of semiconductor-laser diodes showed a large optical nonlinearity with very short recovery time at the transparency point of the active medium.2 This paper reports an ultrafast and low energy switching behavior in a current injected GaAs/AlGaAs MQW strip-loaded NLDC operated similarly.