cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Aluminate toxicity as a factor controlling plant growth in bauxite residue

Millions of metric tons of alkaline bauxite residue (red mud), produced annually in aluminum refineries at numerous locations around the world, are stored in large, diked impoundments. Bauxite residue is characterized by high pH (9 to 12), high concentrations of soluble sodium, carbonate and aluminate and low concentrations of the major plant nutrients. Establishment of a functioning ecosystem on these derelict lands requires an understanding of the ecological factors limiting plant growth. A series of organic amendments to bauxite residue was tested in order to increase the growth of Distichlis spicata var. stricta (desert saltgrass), an alkaline-tolerant rhizomatous grass. Sewage sludge-amended residue increased shoot growth more than 10 times than did unamended or nutrient-amended residue. Yield was negatively correlated with shoot Al and Fe concentrations' and positively correlated with shoot N, K, P, Ca and Mg content. A hydroponic culture experiment was used to test the effects of high pH (9.5 and 10.5) and aluminate addition (1.0 mM) on the growth of desert saltgrass. Although elevated pH levels reduced Mn uptake, there was very little reduction in growth. The addition of aluminate, however, reduced shoot weight by 67 and 77% at pH 9.5 and 10.5, respectively. Growth reductions were associated with significant declines in shoot P, N, Mg, Ca and K concentrations. At pH 9.5, reductions in shoot P concentrations were associated with large increases in root Al and P levels. At pH 10.5, however, precipitation of an Al-Mg hydroxycarbonate mineral was associated with a decline in shoot Mg levels. Aluminum toxicity appears to be a major factor controlling plant growth in bauxite residue. Possible Fe toxicity needs to be investigated further. Sewage sludge may reduce the toxicity of bauxite residue by lowering pH, precipitating Al and increasing cation availability via complexation.
Building the S&T Digital Library at the Naval Research Laboratory

AbstractThe Ruth H. Hooker Research Library has been delivering digital information to researchers' desktops at Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) sites across the country for over ten years. This article describes the current and planned efforts at unifying the various journals, databases, reference tools, and linking schemes into a comprehensive and integrated Web-based scientific and technical digital library for the benefit of the NRL and the broader naval research community. Serials Review 2003; 29:76–82.
On the expected size of recursive Datalog queries

We present asymptotically exact expressions for the expected sizes of relations defined by three well-studied Datalog recursions, namely the "transitive closure," "same generation," and "canonical factorable recursion." We consider the size of the fixpoints of the recursively defined relations in the above programs, as well as the size of the fixpoints of the relations defined by the rewritten programs generated by the Magic Sets and Factoring rewriting algorithms in response to selection queries. Our results show that even over relatively sparse base relations, the fixpoints of the recursively defined relations are within a small constant factor of their worst-case size bounds, and that the Magic Sets rewriting algorithm on the average produces relations whose fixpoints are within a small constant factor of the corresponding bounds for the recursion without rewriting. The expected size of the fixpoint of the relations produced by the Factoring algorithm, when it applies, is significantly smaller than the expected size of the fixpoints of the relations produced by Magic Sets. This lends credence to the belief that reducing the arity of the recursive predicate is probably more important than restricting the recursion to relevant tuples.
Social network based security scheme in mobile information-centric network

With the spread of mobile Internet, users have increased opportunities to retrieve content from the content producer via the application in mobile information-centric network. For security consideration, the content data must be encrypted and the content producer must be authenticated. Content data is signed by the producer and delivered to the requester via the public-key cryptography. A Certificate Authority (CA) generally verifies the binding between public-key and the producer identity. However, CA verification is not suitable in a mobile information-centric network where connection to a CA cannot be guaranteed. In this paper, we propose a social network based security scheme to verify the public-key and producer identity binding. The proposed scheme is evaluated on an artificial social network model first and is then validated on a real social network data.
The flash-room method — Drawing training for freshman architectural students

Abstract Thirty-two male freshman architectural students at the Ohio State University were given a one quarter experimental course in drawing using the flash-room methods of drawing and seeing. A second group of 35 male students served as the control group and received the regular architectural drawing course. Both groups participated in 4 test drawings. The test drawings were rated by 4 expert judges for (1) sense of architectural mass, (2) subordination of detail to mass, (3) use of effective plane changes, and (4) general esthetic quality. Significant differences were obtained at greater than the .05 level with the experimental better than the control group. Results are discussed with implications for education of architects and art students.
Fungi found in association with Histoplasma capsulatum in a naturally contaminated site in Clarksburg, Maryland, U.S.A.

A study was made of the mycoflora of soil samples taken from an area known to be contaminated with Histoplasma capsulatum. One hundred-eight fungi were isolated, most of which were Deuteromycetes. No correlation was found between species isolated and the presence or absence of H. capsulatum. The distribution of H. capsulatum at this site was found to be very stable with respect to both its vertical and lateral boundaries.
A similarity solution describing the collision of two planar premixed flames

The problem of the head-on collision of two planar premixed flame fronts is considered using the idealized model of a single step reaction controlled by the deficient species and an Arrhenius reaction law. Density changes are neglected. It is shown that a similarity solution exists if the deficient species and temperature are equidiffusive (Lewis number unity). The similarity solution, derived using activation energy asymptotics, is valid in the intermediate region when the flames are close enough that their pre-heat zones overlap but their reaction zones may be considered to be well separated. A one–dimensional numerical simulation shows good agreement with the analytical solution.
Good to CU.

A powerful arm of the cellular defence against microbial invaders has been characterized. APOBEC3G, a protein that can fight off HIV, works by introducing 'typographical errors' during viral replication.
Role of Ess1 in Growth, Morphogenetic Switching, and RNA Polymerase II Transcription in Candida albicans

Candida albicans is a fungal pathogen that causes potentially fatal infections among immune-compromised individuals. The emergence of drug resistant C. albicans strains makes it important to identify new antifungal drug targets. Among potential targets are enzymes known as peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerases (PPIases) that catalyze isomerization of peptide bonds preceding proline. We are investigating a PPIase called Ess1, which is conserved in all major human pathogenic fungi. Previously, we reported that C. albicans Ess1 is essential for growth and morphogenetic switching. In the present study, we re-evaluated these findings using more rigorous genetic analyses, including the use of additional CaESS1 mutant alleles, distinct marker genes, and the engineering of suitably-matched isogenic control strains. The results confirm that CaEss1 is essential for growth in C. albicans, but show that reduction of CaESS1 gene dosage by half (δ/+) does not interfere with morphogenetic switching. However, further reduction of CaEss1 levels using a conditional allele does reduce morphogenetic switching. We also examine the role of the linker α-helix that distinguishes C. albicans Ess1 from the human Pin1 enzyme, and present results of a genome-wide transcriptome analysis. The latter analysis indicates that CaEss1 has a conserved role in regulation of RNA polymerase II function, and is required for efficient termination of small nucleolar RNAs and repression of cryptic transcription in C. albicans.
The End of Life, The Ends of Life: An Anthropological View

All known human societies have a worldview that deserves to be called religion; all religions must explain death. Anthropologists study the diversity of religious systems, present and past, in order to understand what is common to humanity. Rather than starting from the view of a particular revelation or set of doctrines, the anthropologist tries to step outside his or her own subjective worldview and identify patterns in the evolution of human thinking about the reality of physical death. Are humans the only animals that are conscious of death, or do we share sentiments observable in our closest living relatives, the chimpanzees? At what point in history did the concept of an afterlife, life in some spiritual sense after physical death, appear? Is the religious explanation of life and death a mere reflection of a communal social fact, as the sociologist Emil Durkheim suggested, or a shared psychological trait, as more recent scholars assert? Can and should the modern scientist make a definitive statement about the finality of death and human consciousness?
DNA polymorphism-diet-cofactor-development hypothesis and the gene-teratogen model for schizophrenia and other developmental disorders.

Three problems in identifying genes causing schizophrenia and other developmental disorders may be locus heterogeneity, high disease allele frequency, and unknown mode of inheritance. The DNA polymorphism-diet-cofactor-development (DDCD) hypothesis addresses the first two. The gene-teratogen model addresses the third. The DDCD hypothesis is that schizophrenia results in part from brain abnormality in utero from the aggregate effect of multiple mutations of small effect of genes related to important cofactors (e.g., folate, cobalamin, or pyridoxine) potentiated by maternal dietary deficiency of these cofactors and by pregnancy. The effect results from insufficiency of the cofactors and from resulting effects such as impaired DNA synthesis, immune deficiency, effects on niacin and serotonin metabolism, and teratogens, e.g., hyperhomocysteinemia. The hypothesis addresses all of the unusual features of schizophrenia: e.g., decreased brain gray matter, birth-month effect, geographical differences, socioeconomic predilection, association with obstetrical abnormalities, decreased incidence of rheumatoid arthritis, and association with famine and viral epidemics. In the gene-teratogen model, a teratogenic effect in utero produces a developmental disorder through a teratogenic locus and a modifying or specificity locus, as well as through environmental factors. An example is the major intrauterine effect seen in offspring of phenylketonuric mothers. Thus, the mode of inheritance of genes acting prenatally may in some cases be fundamentally different from that of genes acting postnatally. The model is interesting because it is simple and because teratogenic loci will be difficult to locate by conventional linkage mapping techniques due to misspecification of the affection status of both mother and affected children. A new study design is suggested for identifying teratogenic loci.
A comparison of LSA, wordNet and PMI-IR for predicting user click behavior

A predictive tool to simulate human visual search behavior would help interface designers inform and validate their design. Such a tool would benefit from a semantic component that would help predict search behavior even in the absence of exact textual matches between goal and target. This paper discusses a comparison of three semantic systems-LSA, WordNet and PMI-IR-to evaluate their performance in predicting the link that people would select given an information goal and a webpage. PMI-IR best predicted human performance as observed in a user study.
Aggregate economic shocks and infant mortality: New evidence for middle-income countries

Abstract We provide country-specific estimates of the effect of macroeconomic shocks on infant mortality for a sample of mainly middle-income countries. In most countries, infant mortality appears to be pro-cyclical or acyclical. Only when shocks to GDP are very deep, 15% or larger, are they consistently associated with higher mortality.
Routine HIV Testing among Providers of HIV Care in the United States, 2009

In 2006, CDC recommended HIV screening as part of routine medical care for all persons aged 13-64 years. We examined adherence to the recommendations among a sample of HIV care providers in the US to determine if known providers of HIV care are offering routine HIV testing in outpatient settings. Data were from the CDC's Medical Monitoring Project Provider Survey, administered to physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants from June-September 2009. We assessed bivariate associations between testing behaviors and provider and practice characteristics and used multivariate regression to determine factors associated with offering HIV screening to all patients aged 13-64 years. Sixty percent of providers reported offering HIV screening to all patients 13 to 64 years of age. Being a nurse practitioner (aOR = 5.6, 95% CI = 2.6-11.9) compared to physician, age<39 (aOR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.0-3.5) or 39-49 (aOR = 2.1, 95% CI = 1.4-3.3) compared with ≥50 years, and black race (aOR = 2.6, 95% CI = 1.2-6.0) compared with white race was associated with offering testing to all patients. Providers with low (aOR = 0.2, 95% CI = 0.1-0.3) or medium (aOR = 0.4, 95% CI = 0.2-0.6) HIV-infected patient loads were less likely to offer HIV testing to all patients compared with providers with high patient loads. Many providers of HIV care are still conducting risk-based rather than routine testing. We found that provider profession, age, race, and HIV-infected patient load were associated with offering HIV testing. Health care providers should use patient encounters as an opportunity to offer routine HIV testing to patients as outlined in CDC's revised recommendations for HIV testing in health care settings.
Risk and the Physics of Clinical Prediction

The current paradigm of primary prevention in cardiology uses traditional risk factors to estimate future cardiovascular risk. These risk estimates are based on prediction models derived from prospective cohort studies and are incorporated into guideline-based initiation algorithms for commonly used preventive pharmacologic treatments, such as aspirin and statins. However, risk estimates are more accurate for populations of similar patients than they are for any individual patient. It may be hazardous to presume that the point estimate of risk derived from a population model represents the most accurate estimate for a given patient. In this review, we exploit principles derived from physics as a metaphor for the distinction between predictions regarding populations versus patients. We identify the following: (1) predictions of risk are accurate at the level of populations but do not translate directly to patients, (2) perfect accuracy of individual risk estimation is unobtainable even with the addition of multiple novel risk factors, and (3) direct measurement of subclinical disease (screening) affords far greater certainty regarding the personalized treatment of patients, whereas risk estimates often remain uncertain for patients. In conclusion, shifting our focus from prediction of events to detection of disease could improve personalized decision-making and outcomes. We also discuss innovative future strategies for risk estimation and treatment allocation in preventive cardiology.
Social inference skills in learning disabled and nondisabled children

The study examined the performance of 30 learning disabled and 30 nondisabled children in grades 1 through 7 on the Test of Social Inference (TSI). Results indicated that disabled students obtained lower TSI total scores that did nondisabled students: they also performed relatively lower on TSI items requiring more verbal expression. While no difference was found between the groups on the Motor-Free Visual Perception Test (MVPT), the relationship between MVPT and TSI scores was shown to be significant within the disabled group only. Furthermore, this group made more perceptual-type errors on the TSI. Findings are discussed in relation to previous research suggesting a link between visual perception and/or language fluency and social inference skills among learning disabled children.
Growth and water and nitrate uptake patterns of grazed and ungrazed desert shrubs growing over a nitrate contamination plume

Abstract Two native desert shrubs were evaluated for their growth potential and water and nitrogen uptake patterns over a nitrate-contaminated aquifer at a former uranium ore-processing facility in northeastern Arizona. Sarcobatus vermiculatus and Atriplex canescens are obligate and facultative phreatophytes, respectively, that dominate the local desert plant community. The main questions we addressed were: (1) Are these shrubs able to use water or nitrogen from the alluvial aquifer? (2) If so, does grazing interfere with that ability of shrubs? (3) What would be the ideal strategy to take up N from the plume and prevent its expansion and recharge using shrubs? δ18O and δD isotope signatures from water in plant stem samples suggest that both species utilize mainly deep, stored soil water derived from winter rains for transpiration, rather than summer rains or plume water. δ15N enrichment values were similar for leaves of plants growing on and off the plume and for soil and aquifer water samples, but nitrate-N levels in leaf tissues were five times higher in plants growing on the plume compared to off the plume, suggesting they may have derived at least part of their nitrogen from the contamination plume. Total leaf N was also higher for plants growing on the plume. Under present conditions, only about 5% of the area over the plume is vegetated. Plants protected from grazing inside exclosures increased in volume by 2–4-fold over three growing seasons. Transplants of A. canescens, protected from grazing and irrigated over the first summer, established readily and grew into large shrubs after 3 years. On the basis of this study, the shrub community could be increased to as high as 25% cover and could make a significant contribution to controlling recharge if the contaminated site was protected from grazing. The results suggest that deeply rooted desert shrubs can impact the subsoil water and nitrogen balance, and that this balance can be disrupted by land use practices such as overgrazing that degrade the vegetation cover.
Early prediction of median survival among a large AIDS surveillance cohort

For individuals with AIDS, data exist relatively soon after diagnosis to allow estimation of "early" survival quantiles (e.g., the 0.10, 0.15, 0.20 and 0.30 quantiles, etc.). Many years of additional observation must elapse before median survival, a summary measure of survival, can be estimated accurately. In this study, a new approach to predict AIDS median survival is presented and its accuracy tested using AIDS surveillance data. The data consisted of 96,373 individuals who were reported to the HIV/AIDS Reporting System of the California Department of Health Services Office of AIDS as of December 31, 1996. We defined cohorts based on quarter year of diagnosis (e.g., the "931" cohort consists of individuals diagnosed with AIDS in the first quarter of 1993). We used early quantiles (estimated using the Inverse Probability of Censoring Weighted estimator) of the survival distribution to estimate median survival by assuming a linear relationship between the earlier quantiles and median survival. From this model, median survival was predicted for cohorts for which a median could not be estimated empirically from the available data. This prediction was compared with the actual medians observed when using updated survival data reported at least five years later. Using the 0.15 quantile as the predictor and the data available as of December 31, 1996, we were able to predict the median survival of four cohorts (933, 934, 941, and 942) to be 34, 34, 31, and 29 months. Without this approach, there were insufficient data with which to make any estimate of median survival. The actual median survival of these four cohorts (using data as of December 31, 2001) was found to be 32, 40, 46, and 80 months, suggesting that the accuracy for this approach requires a minimum of three years to elapse from diagnosis to the time an accurate prediction can be made. The results of this study suggest that early and accurate prediction of median survival time after AIDS diagnosis may be possible using early quantiles of the survival distribution. The methodology did not seem to work well during a period of significant change in survival as observed with highly active antiretroviral treatment, but results suggest that it may work well in a time of more gradual improvement in survival.
A Description of the Laboratory-Reared Larvae of Cancer Gracilis Dana, 1852 (Decapoda, Brachyura) 1)

[Les larves du crabe Cancer gracilis Dana ont ete elevees en laboratoire a partir des oeufs d'une femelle ovigere capturee dans la baie de San Pedro, Californie. Les stades larvaires comprennent un stade prezoe, cinq stades zoe, et un stade megalope. Dans l'experience, les larves ont ete soumises a une temperature de 17° C et a des salinites variant de 33,5 a 33,6‰, et le jour et la nuit ont ete simules. Il s'est ecoule en moyenne 29 jours de l'eclosion des oeufs jusqu'au stade megalope. Tous les stades larvaires sont decrits et figures., Les larves du crabe Cancer gracilis Dana ont ete elevees en laboratoire a partir des oeufs d'une femelle ovigere capturee dans la baie de San Pedro, Californie. Les stades larvaires comprennent un stade prezoe, cinq stades zoe, et un stade megalope. Dans l'experience, les larves ont ete soumises a une temperature de 17° C et a des salinites variant de 33,5 a 33,6‰, et le jour et la nuit ont ete simules. Il s'est ecoule en moyenne 29 jours de l'eclosion des oeufs jusqu'au stade megalope. Tous les stades larvaires sont decrits et figures.]
State Variation in Gender Disproportionality in Special Education Findings and Recommendations

Gender disproportionality in special education has been apparent for many years, reflected in male-to-female ratios that range from about 1.5:1 to 3.5:1. The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent of disproportionate representation for the disability conditions of learning disability (LD), serious emotional disturbance (SED), and mental retardation (MR) at the state, regional, and national levels. Using data collected by the U.S. Office for Civil Rights, we examined the hypothesis that current variations across states in gender disproportionality should be small, and similar to rates for the nation as a whole. Substantial variations in state rates for students with LD and SED were observed. We also examined the hypothesis that states serving relatively fewer students for a given disability are likely to have greater male overrepresentation. This hypothesis was generally supported for students with LD but not for students with MR or SED. We examined factors related to state policies for studen...
Meaningful learning environment by design: systematic curriculum assessment to enhance sequential linkage of course goals and objectives

The Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering has instituted a course assessment process that allows comprehensive evaluation of course goals and program outcomes from a curriculum-wide perspective. The approach is predicated on use of the American Society of Civil Engineers Body of Knowledge guidelines. The first step in implementing the process involved establishment of common course goals, assessment criterion, and BOK levels for each course offered within the departmental curriculum. A matrix of ASCE criterion and BOK levels are coded with each course goals allowing a comprehensive review of the distribution that is reflective of the curriculum. In addition, sequenced lists of course goal are created for major learning activities within civil engineering. Sequenced course goal lists are useful in ensuring the curriculum provides students with academic instruction, within a progressive context, leading to a cumulative set of technical skills necessary to enter the civil engineering profession or to be prepared for graduate education
Scheduling and mapping of periodic tasks on multi-core embedded systems with energy harvesting

In this paper we propose a low-complexity and effective task mapping, scheduling and power management method for multi-core real-time embedded systems with energy harvesting. The proposed method is based on the concept of task CPU utilization, which is defined as the worst-case task execution time divided by its period. This work mathematically proves that by allocating the new task to the core with the lowest utilization, we can achieve the lowest overall energy dissipation. This method, combined with a new dynamic voltage and frequency selection (DVFS) algorithm with energy harvesting awareness and task slack management (TSM) forms the proposed UTilization Based (UTB) algorithm. With periodical tasks in a multi-core platform, this partitioned scheduling method is optimal for energy dissipation if the proposed utilization-based scheduling and DVFS algorithm is applied on each core. Experimental results show that new algorithm achieves better performance in terms of deadline miss rate in a single-core environment, comparing to the best of existing algorithm. When applied on a multi-core platform, the UTB algorithm achieves better efficiency in utilizing the harvested energy and overflowed energy.
Mechanical, microstructural and solubility properties of pectin/poly(vinyl alcohol) blends

Abstract Citrus pectin was blended and cast into films with poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVOH). PVOH and pectin were miscible in all proportions. Dynamic mechanical analysis revealed that pectin controls exhibited no thermal transitions, whereas PVOH controls exhibited a glass transition temperature (Tg) over a broad temperature range commencing at about 0 °C and ending about 50 °C. A mixture of 49% pectin, 21% PVOH and 30% glycerol exhibited lower storage moduli and more flexibility than comparable mixtures of either pectin/PVOH or pectin/glycerol. Scanning electron microscopy and phase contrast optical microscopy indicated that the mixture was biphasic and a compatible composite either of PVOH in pectin or pectin in PVOH depending on which macromolecule was in excess. Elongation to break measurements revealed that pectin/PVOH films underwent a brittle to ductile transition with increasing PVOH composition. The addition of glycerol to pectin/PVOH films increased ductility significantly when films were relatively brittle. Initial moduli (IM) as a function of composition gave complex curves which exhibited either one or two local maxima depending on such factors as degree of hydrolysis and molar mass of the PVOH in addition to the moisture content of the film. Solubility studies in water revealed that, at 30 and 50 °C, only films with 30% PVOH or less were soluble. At 70 °C, all compositions were soluble but films containing pectin dissolved more rapidly than those without. The solution kinetics of pectin/PVOH films with 30% or less PVOH were approximated with zero-order kinetics and activation energies were about 3–5 kcal mol−1. In general, addition of PVOH to pectin films resulted in films with more PVOH-like properties and addition of pectin to PVOH films resulted in films with more pectin-like properties.
Mothers of Solitude: Childlessness and Intersubjectivity in the Upper Zambezi

SUMMARY Drawing on normative cultural forms and interpersonal encounters, I seek to convey the sense of sadness and devastation associated with childlessness in the Upper Zambezi, and to interpret that sense as a pathology of severed intersubjectivity. I also argue that as irremediable as this pathology might seem, elderly childless women may momentarily revert to personhood through compassion, itself experienced as the restoration of intersubjective ties. The conditions of personhood and nonpersonhood, in addition to being structural and processual, are emotional, performative, and intersubjective as well.
Stress and age at menarche of mothers and daughters.

The hypothesis that psychological stress during early childhood leads to advanced reproductive maturation was assessed using data from the California Childhood Health and Development Study. Regression analyses failed to indicate that bed wetting, nightmares or thumb-sucking at age 5 predict age at menarche, regardless of controls for mother's age at menarche. Among socioeconomic variables suggested as contextual stressors measured at age 9–11 only mother's education was a significant predictor of daughter's age at menarche, though its effect is trivial compared to mother's age at menarche. Path analysis on a subsample of the subjects failed to demonstrate the hypothesised indirect effect of mother's age at menarche on daughter's age at menarche acting through early marriage and marital dissolution. These results cast doubt on the theory that early childhood stress is the key to divergent reproductive strategies among females based on the timing of reproductive maturation.
Simulated performance of analog Viterbi detectors

The reasons for pursuing analog implementations of the Viterbi algorithm for detection are presented. Some of the tradeoffs to be considered in choosing an analog architecture are discussed, and a suitable architecture for investigation is given. Simulation results based on the chosen architecture are presented and clearly show that analog implementations of the maximum likelihood sequence detector are worth pursuing. In addition, the simulation results provide quantitative guidelines for establishing the required specifications of the individual circuit blocks required to construct a Viterbi detector. >
Pleistocene shelf-margin delta: Intradeltaic deformation and sediment bypass, northern Gulf of Mexico

Recent studies of shelf-margin deltas in the Gulf of Mexico lack three-dimensional (3-D) seismic interpretation that allows prediction of lithology distribution, deformation features, and overall reservoir heterogeneity, and only a few 3-D studies of shelf-margin deltas in other parts of the world exist. This paper examines the 3-D geomorphology and internal facies architecture within a sequence-stratigraphic framework of a shelf-margin delta in a salt dome minibasin, within the Gulf of Mexico, offshore Louisiana, using 3-D seismic data. The 3-D data also allow an evaluation of the potential pathways for sediment bypass from delta front to slope and deep-water depositional environments. The delta consists of a series of offlapping sandy clinoforms, interpreted as being associated with a prolonged forced regression and ensuing lowstand of eustatic sea level, related to oxygen isotope stage 6, which lasted for about 45 k.y. The lowstand delta is onlapped by a transgressive mud wedge and is underlain and capped by regionally persistent highstand mudstones. The central part of the delta shows intradeltaic syndepositional growth faults, likely triggered by deposition of heavy delta-front sands over mobile prodeltaic muds, reflecting the river-dominated nature of the delta. A postdepositional shallow-water mass transport complex (MTC), which moved almost perpendicular to the direction of the regional delta progradation, remobilizes the deltaic deposits. The MTC was likely induced by uplift of the adjacent western salt dome. We hypothesize that the high degree of syndepositional and postdepositional deformation is related to the prolonged nature of the eustatic lowstand, as well as the salt tectonics. Tributive submarine slope channels form downdip of the delta front and may also reflect incision during the prolonged eustatic lowstand. The salt tectonics caused focusing of the dispersed delta-front sediments, mostly originating from terminal distributary channels, into the convergent tributive slope-channel system. Although this is an unstable supply-dominated shelf-margin delta, the salt tectonics likely prevented the delta from avulsing once it reached the shelf edge and also caused the focusing of dispersed sediment effectively into a point source for delivery to deep-water systems. This contrasts with less confined high-sediment supply delta systems farther along the coast, which lack linked submarine deposits because they reach the shelf margin before maximum eustatic lowstand and avulse before building significant deep-water systems.
A nonlinear model of a harmonic drive gear transmission

Harmonic drives can exhibit very nonlinear dynamic behavior. In order to capture this behavior, not only must dynamic models include accurate representations of transmission friction, compliance, and kinematic error, but also important features of harmonic-drive gear-tooth geometry and interaction must be understood. In this investigation, experimental observations were used to guide the development of a model to describe harmonic-drive operation. Unlike less detailed representations, this model was able to replicate many of the features observed in actual harmonic-drive dynamic response. Unfortunately, since model parameters can only be derived from careful analysis of experimental dynamic response, it seems unlikely that any comparably sufficient representation can be constructed with parameter values obtained from catalogs or simple experimental observations.
Independent Component Analysis by Entropy Bound Minimization

A novel (differential) entropy estimator is introduced where the maximum entropy bound is used to approximate the entropy given the observations, and is computed using a numerical procedure thus resulting in accurate estimates for the entropy. We show that such an estimator exists for a wide class of measuring functions, and provide a number of design examples to demonstrate its flexible nature. We then derive a novel independent component analysis (ICA) algorithm that uses the entropy estimate thus obtained, ICA by entropy bound minimization (ICA-EBM). The algorithm adopts a line search procedure, and initially uses updates that constrain the demixing matrix to be orthogonal for robust performance. We demonstrate the superior performance of ICA-EBM and its ability to match sources that come from a wide range of distributions using simulated and real-world data.
A pilot study of the use of placental cord blood samples in monitoring for mutational events

Summary A pilot study exploring the examination of placental cord blood samples for mutant proteins with one-dimensional electrophoretic techniques is described. Although technical advances are such that the techniques employed in this study are now partially superceded, the practical problems encountered in this study would be typical of any monitoring program of this type. No mutations altering electrophoretic mobility among a battery of 51 different locus products were encountered in a total of 277 747 locus tests. When these data are combined with similar data from other studies, the mutation rate for electromorphs becomes 0.34 x 10-5/locus/generation.
Indexing and mining free trees

Tree structures are used extensively in domains such as computational biology, pattern recognition, computer networks, and so on. We present an indexing technique for free trees and apply this indexing technique to the problem of mining frequent subtrees. We first define a novel representation, the canonical form, for rooted trees and extend the definition to free trees. We also introduce another concept, the canonical string, as a simpler representation for free trees in their canonical forms. We then apply our tree indexing technique to the frequent subtree mining problem and present FreeTreeMiner, a computationally efficient algorithm that discovers all frequently occurring subtrees in a database of free trees. We study the performance and the scalability of our algorithms through extensive experiments based on both synthetic data and datasets from two real applications: a dataset of chemical compounds and a dataset of Internet multicast trees.
Phase-sensitive optical low-coherence reflectometry for the detection of analyte concentrations

Optical techniques may potentially be used for noninvasive glucose sensing. We investigated the application of phase-sensitive optical low-coherence reflectometry (PS-OLCR) to the measurement of analyte concentrations. The dependence of the PS-OLCR signal on the concentration of various analytes, including aqueous solutions of glucose, calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, sodium chloride, potassium chloride, potassium bicarbonate, urea, bovine serum albumin, and bovine globulin, were determined in clear and turbid media. Obtained results demonstrated (1) a high degree of sensitivity and accuracy of the phase measurements of analyte concentrations with PS-OLCR; (2) a concentration-dependent change in the phase-shift for glucose that is significantly greater than that of other analytes sampled over the same physiological range; and (3) a high submillimolar sensitivity of PS-OLCR for the measurement of glucose concentration. Further exploration of the application of PS-OLCR to the noninvasive, sensitive, and specific monitoring of glucose concentration seems warranted.
Uncovering the roles of oxygen vacancies in cation migration in lithium excess layered oxides

A novel oxygen vacancy assisted transition metal (TM) diffusion mechanism is proposed for the first time to explain the near-surface phase transformation in lithium excess transition metal layered oxides. Oxygen vacancies and TM migration have been observed at nm scale spatial resolution by Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy and Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy. Formation of (dilute) oxygen vacancies and their roles in assisting transition metal ion diffusion were further investigated using first principles calculations. The activation barriers of TM diffusion in the presence of oxygen vacancies are drastically reduced and consistently in a reasonable range for room temperature diffusion.
Does Sleep or Sleep Deprivation Increase Epileptiform Discharges in Pediatric Electroencephalograms

Objective Sleep deprivation before obtaining an electroencephalogram (EEG) is believed both to increase the likelihood of sleep during an EEG and to increase the detection of interictal epileptiform discharges. However, depriving a child of sleep poses a burden on both the parent and the child. The objective of this study was to compare the effects of sleep, standard sleep deprivation, partial sleep deprivation, and no sleep deprivation on the odds of an epileptiform abnormality in outpatient pediatric EEGs. Methods Data were collected from all pediatric EEGs performed at a busy, university-based neurologic practice during two 2-month periods. During the first period, all EEGs were performed as ordered, either standard sleep-deprived (SSD) or non-sleep-deprived (NSD). During the second 2 months, SSD EEGs were performed per routine. However, non-SSD families were instructed to keep their children awake 2 hours later the night before the EEG. Those who complied were classified as partially sleep-deprived (PSD). Patient characteristics across protocols were compared with chi(2) and analysis of variance tests as appropriate. The odds of epileptiform and abnormal findings associated with sleep, NSD, PSD, and SSD EEGs were calculated using logistic regression. Results Of 820 eligible EEGs, sleep occurred in 22% of NSD, 44% of PSD, and 57% of SSD EEGs. The sample size of this study allowed for an 85% power, with alpha of.05, to detect an absolute increased EEG yield of 10%. Neither the presence of sleep (odds ratio [OR]: 0.99; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.69-1.42) nor the use of PSD (OR: 0.90; 95% CI: 0.50-1.62) or SSD (OR: 0.96; 95% CI: 0.63-1.47) protocols increased the odds of epileptiform EEGs. Conclusions Sleep deprivation should not be used routinely to increase the yield of pediatric EEGs.
Thermodynamic and Kinetic Properties of Natural Brines

The physical chemistry of natural brines made up of mostly NaCl has been studied over the years. In this article, the work on the thermodynamics and kinetics of processes in NaCl brines will be examined. The importance of ionic interactions of the processes will be stressed. This will include the pressure–volume–temperature and physical–chemical properties of NaCl and other brine salts from 0 to 6 m, 0 to 200°C, and 0 to 1,000 bar applied pressures. Acid–base, gas–liquid, solid–liquid, and ion–complex formation processes in NaCl are examined. Equations that can be used to estimate the equilibria in NaCl are given. Pitzer models are discussed that can be used to estimate ionic equilibria in brines. The oxidation of Fe(II) and Cu(I) with O2 and H2O2 and the reduction of Cu(II) with H2O2 in NaCl are examined in terms of ionic complexes of metals with OH− and CO3 2−. The oxidation of H2S with O2 and H2O2 is also examined in NaCl media. Equations are given that can be used to estimate the effect of ionic interactions on kinetic processes in NaCl.
Hybrid EM and KF receiver of MIMO OFDM systems in time-varying environments

In this paper, simultaneous channel estimation, carrier frequency offset (CFO) estimation, and data decision are considered for multi-input multi-output (MIMO) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems. It is shown that the expectation maximization (EM) approach is complementary to the Kalman filter (KF) approach where the latter provides poor CFO estimation but good channel estimation and the former provides poor channel estimation but good CFO estimation. A hybrid combination of EM and KF approaches is proposed to take advantages of the strengths and avoid the weaknesses of both approaches. Numerical results have shown the hybrid combination is around 1.2dB better than the non-hybrid approaches (EM or KF) in BER performances. The complexity of the hybrid approach is comparable to the KF approach and is much lower than the EM approach.
snow white , a Zebrafish Model of Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome Type 5

Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome (HPS) is a set of genetically heterogeneous diseases caused by mutations in one of nine known HPS genes. HPS patients display oculocutaneous hypopigmentation and bleeding diathesis and, depending on the disease subtype, pulmonary fibrosis, congenital nystagmus, reduced visual acuity, and platelet aggregation deficiency. Mouse models for all known HPS subtypes have contributed greatly to our understanding of the disease, but many of the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying HPS remain unknown. Here, we characterize ocular defects in the zebrafish (Danio rerio) mutant snow white (snw), which possesses a recessive, missense mutation in hps5 (hps5I76N). Melanosome biogenesis is disrupted in snw/hps5 mutants, resulting in hypopigmentation, a significant decrease in the number, size, and maturity of melanosomes, and the presence of ectopic multi-melanosome clusters throughout the mutant retina and choroid. snw/hps5I76N is the first Hps5 mutation identified within the N-terminal WD40 repeat protein-protein binding domain. Through in vitro coexpression assays, we demonstrate that Hps5I76N retains the ability to bind its protein complex partners, Hps3 and Hps6. Furthermore, while Hps5 and Hps6 stabilize each other's expression, this stabilization is disrupted by Hps5I76N. The snw/hps5I76N mutant provides a valuable resource for structure-function analyses of Hps5 and enables further elucidation of the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying HPS.
The choreography of conceptual development in computer supported instructional environments

A key affordance of computational learning environments is that they can be designed to instantiate specific rules and causal relationships between user inputs and perceptual output. In this sense, designers can attempt to engineer specific trajectories of learners' conceptual development by devising situations they believe will help learners construct a particular concept/scheme. We revisit and elaborate upon Papert's notion of 'body syntonicity' and present a three-parameter model of interaction to describe how the interplay between a learner's prior knowledge, immediate perceptions, and goals embedded into the instructional situation contributes to the emergence of new conceptual schemes. We retrospectively apply this model to prior works and to a current instructional design that combines mathematics learning with physical exercise.
Reciprocal Phosphorylation and Palmitoylation Control Dopamine Transporter Kinetics

The dopamine transporter is a neuronal protein that drives the presynaptic reuptake of dopamine (DA) and is the major determinant of transmitter availability in the brain. Dopamine transporter function is regulated by protein kinase C (PKC) and other signaling pathways through mechanisms that are complex and poorly understood. Here we investigate the role of Ser-7 phosphorylation and Cys-580 palmitoylation in mediating steady-state transport kinetics and PKC-stimulated transport down-regulation. Using both mutational and pharmacological approaches, we demonstrate that these post-translational modifications are reciprocally regulated, leading to transporter populations that display high phosphorylation-low palmitoylation or low phosphorylation-high palmitoylation. The balance between the modifications dictates transport capacity, as conditions that promote high phosphorylation or low palmitoylation reduce transport Vmax and enhance PKC-stimulated down-regulation, whereas conditions that promote low phosphorylation or high palmitoylation increase transport Vmax and suppress PKC-stimulated down-regulation. Transitions between these functional states occur when endocytosis is blocked or undetectable, indicating that the modifications kinetically regulate the velocity of surface transporters. These findings reveal a novel mechanism for control of DA reuptake that may represent a point of dysregulation in DA imbalance disorders.
Disruption of Epithalamic Left–Right Asymmetry Increases Anxiety in Zebrafish

Differences between the left and right sides of the brain are found throughout the animal kingdom, but the consequences of altered neural asymmetry are not well understood. In the zebrafish epithalamus, the parapineal is located on the left side of the brain where it influences development of the adjacent dorsal habenular (dHb) nucleus, causing the left and right dHb to differ in their organization, gene expression, and connectivity. Left-right (L-R) reversal of parapineal position and dHb asymmetry occurs spontaneously in a small percentage of the population, whereas the dHb develop symmetrically following experimental ablation of the parapineal. The habenular region was previously implicated in modulating fear in both mice and zebrafish, but the relevance of its L-R asymmetry is unclear. We now demonstrate that disrupting directionality of the zebrafish epithalamus causes reduced exploratory behavior and increased cortisol levels, indicative of enhanced anxiety. Accordingly, exposure to buspirone, an anxiolytic agent, significantly suppresses atypical behavior. Axonal projections from the parapineal to the dHb are more variable when it is located on the right side of the brain, revealing that L-R reversals do not necessarily represent a neuroanatomical mirror image. The results highlight the importance of directional asymmetry of the epithalamus in the regulation of stress responses in zebrafish.