cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Transitional cell carcinoma of the fossa navicularis

We report a case of transitional cell carcinoma of the fossa navicularis in an elderly white male. The patient presented in urinary retention, with a large exophytic mass at the external urethral meatus. Both the pathogenesis and natural history of this highly unusual tumor are unclear. Treatment depends on grade and stage of disease. Transurethral resection and fulguration have been successfully used to treat superficial lesions. Segmental resection and partial penectomy, with or without inguinal lymph node dissection, form the mainstay of treatment for invasive disease. The role of chemotherapy for advanced disease is unknown.
On a semi-grey approximation to non-grey radiative transfer

Abstract A method suggested previously by one of us treating non-grey radiative transfer by a semi-grey approximation is further developed and is extended to arbitrary geometry. The accuracy of the method is tested numerically for three idealized forms of the absorption coefficient. It is concluded that the method should be a useful approximation for many problems.
Perceptual Learning: Cortical Changes When Cats Learn a New Trick

A new study has found that the tuning properties of neurons in the primary visual cortex of cats change as they learn an orientation-discrimination task, casting new light on the neuronal basis of perceptual learning.
Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms and Suicidality Among Heterosexual and Sexual Minority Youth

Sexual minority youth report higher rates of depression and suicidality than do heterosexual youth. Little is known, however, about whether these disparities continue as youth transition into young adulthood. The primary goals of this study were to describe and compare trajectories of adolescent depressive symptoms and suicidality among sexual minority and heterosexual youth, examine differences in depressive symptoms and suicidality trajectories across sexual orientation subgroups, and determine whether there are gender differences in these longitudinal disparities. Four waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health were analyzed using latent curve modeling (N = 12,379; 53 % female). Results showed that the rates of depressive symptoms and suicidality in early adolescence were higher among sexual minority youth than among heterosexual youth, and that these disparities persisted over time as participants transitioned into young adulthood. Consistent with previous cross-sectional studies, the observed longitudinal disparities were largest for females and for bisexually-identified youth. Sexual minority youth may benefit from childhood and early adolescent prevention and intervention programs.
Production of nuclides with 43 ≤ A ≤ 51 in the interaction of 1-28.5 GeV protons with V, Ag, In, Pb, and U targets

The production cross sections of nuclides ranging from /sup 43/Sc to /sup 51/Cr in the interaction of 1--28.5 GeV protons with vanadium, silver, indium, lead, and uranium have been measured. Excitation functions of the weighted average of the measured yields for these targets are shown. Charge dispersion curves have been deduced from the measured results and total isobaric yields evaluated by using a nonlinear least squares program. Starting from the premise that spallation is chiefly responsible for the production of these nuclides from vanadium, the systematic trends thus derived suggest that these nuclides cannot be produced from heavy targets (lead and uranium) by either fission or spallation alone. Our results are not sufficient, however, to distinguish whether these nuclides are produced via some exotic process such as fragmentation or by a combination of more conventional mechanisms. (AIP)
A METHOD FOR MEASUREMENT OF THE EFFECT OF BLOOD PROTEIN CONCENTRATES ON THE BINDING FORCES IN COOKED GROUND BEEF PATTIES

Ground beef with added beef plasma protein concentrate was evaluated mechanically and organoleptically to measure the effect on the binding forces in the cooked meat. The meat patties were cooked, cooled and tested in a constant loading rate, pneumatically operated testing machine with output fed into an X-Y plotter. From the force-deformation curves, the following values were determined: (1) force, stress and deformation at the bioyield point; (2) area under the curve to represent work performed; (3) initial tangent modulus; (4) tangent modulus; and (5) secant modulus. A special holding device was developed to permit tension loading of the patties at a rate of 5 cm/min until rupture of the meat occurred. Treatments consisted of: (1) all meat (control); (2) addition of 1% plasma protein; (3) 2% plasma protein added; (4) addition of 1% plasma protein rehydrated to equivalent moisture content of control; and (5). addition of 2% plasma protein rehydrated to equivalent moisture content of control. Treatments 2, 3, 4 and 5 were significantly higher (P < 0.01) than the control group for force and stress at bioyield and area under the curve. Significant differences (P < 0.05) among treatments were obtained for deformation at bioyield and tangent modulus. Companion samples from the above treatments were evaluated for elasticity and toughness by a taste panel. The sensory panel ratings for toughness were significantly and positively correlated (P < 0.01) with values obtained in the mechanical tests for force at bioyield point, tangent modulus and area under the curve. Sensory evaluations for the elasticity property of the patties were not significantly influenced by the formulation treatments nor was elasticity (sensory panel rating) sigkcantly associated with the mechanical properties considered in the current study.
Quantifying local predictability in phase space

Abstract Both the classical Lyapunov exponents and the quantities from which they are derived, the local divergence rates, characterize the behavior of initially adjacent trajectories in phase space. The exponents are the long-term averages of this divergence, while the local rates quantify the behavior of nearby trajectories as a function of time and phase space position. Thus, given a transient-free initial state, the local divergence rates provide estimates of short-term predictability along the resultant trajectory. We calculate local divergence rates for the chaotic attractor of the three-component Lorenz model, and we investigate both the temporal and phase-spatial variations in predictability. We show quantitatively that predictability varies considerably with time, but that there is phase-spatial organization to the variability. This underlying structure permits identification of regions in phase space of high and low predictability and, in some cases, it permits an estimate of predictability to be assigned to the predictability variable itself.
Similarities, differences, and seasonal patterns in the diets ofEulemur rubriventer andEulemur fulvus rufus in the Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar

I studied the diets of two sympatric species ofEulemur (E. fulvus rufus andE. rubriventer) in the Ranomafana National Part in southeastern Madagascar from July 1988 through August 1989. Both species were highly frugivorous throughout the year and devoted similar amounts of time to feeding daily; the composition of their diets were similar. Three aspects of both lemur species' diets were correlated with seasonal food availability: changes in interspecific dietary overlap, the length of feeding bouts, and the amount of time devoted to feeding daily. Throughout the year neither species had a more diverse or more folivorous diet than its sympatric congener. However, there were several consistent year-round differences between their diets.E. f. rufus initiated more feeding bouts daily that were shorter in duration than those ofE. rubriventer. E. f. rufus also consistently exploited more unripe fruits and mature leaves thanE. rubriventer did throughout the study.E. f. rufus migrated from the study site during a period of fruit scarcity. These dietary patterns are discussed here in regard to feeding patterns observed in other sympatric congeneric primate species, whether these dietary differences can contribute to these two species' ability to coexist, and how differences in diet may be influenced by differences in social structure. I suggest that subtle, consistent differences in diet and seasonal dietary differences are sufficient to allow these two species to coexist.
Expression of the Avian Na,K-ATPase Subunits in Dictyostelium discoideum

This study explored whether Dictyostelium discoideum can be used to express the avian Na,K-ATPase, a heterodimeric membrane protein. Dictyostelium was able to express mRNAs encoding the avian Na,K-ATPase subunits. However, Dictyostelium expressed avian Na,K-ATPase protein when only when a Dictyostelium consensus ribosomal binding sequence, AAAATAAA, was inserted in front of the open reading frames of the α1- and β1-subunit cDNAs and the first eight codons following the start-translation codons were changed to Dictyostelium preferred codons. These modified mRNAs appeared to be much less stable than the forms that were not readily translated. Dictyostelium could express the avian β-subunit alone but only expressed the α1-subunit when the β1-subunit was co-expressed. Subunit assembly occurred in cells expressing both α1- and β1-subunits. The bulk of the exogenously expressed sodium pump subunits remained in an intracellular compartment, presumed to be the endoplasmic reticulum. Dictyostelium exported little or no Na,K-ATPase or free β-subunit to the plasma membrane.
Scaling Effects of Standing Crop Residues on the Wind Profile

Standing senescent stems increase the aerodynamic roughness of the surface, reducing wind energy available for momentum transfer at the soil surface, such as for wind erosion, and also the soil-atmosphere convective exchanges of heat, water vapor, and trace gases. We conducted studies to determine the predictive accuracy of an algorithm derived for plant canopies to scale effects of standing crop residues on the wind profile. We used this algorithm to calculate aerodynamic properties (displacement height and roughness length) of standing crop residues related to the log wind profile equation. We also calculated apparent roughness length from wind profiles measured under neutral stability conditions over stems of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), corn (Zea mays L.), millet (Panicum miliaceum L.), and sunflower (Helianthus animus L.) using calibrated single-needle and cup anemometers. A least-squares fit of roughness length calculated by an algorithm derived for crop canopies indicated a systematic, positive bias when it was applied to standing stems. After adjusting for bias, calculated windspeeds generally were contained in 80% confidence intervals for observations above and within the crop stubble. Predictive root mean square errors (RMSE) within profiles ranged from 0.6 to 4.6% of reference wind speed. The nonlinear forms of the scaling algorithms are consistent with theory and wind tunnel observations, representing an advance over parameterization schemes assuming a linear relation with residue height. This advance warrants evaluation of the adjusted algorithm for simulation of microclimate in the soil-residue-crop canopy regime. Application to momentum transfer problems requires further investigation of drag partitioning.
Single-pass Scalable Subsurface Rendering with Lightcuts

This paper presents a new, scalable, single pass algorithm for computing subsurface scattering using the diffusion approximation. Instead of pre-computing a globally conservative estimate of the surface irradiance like previous two pass methods, the algorithm simultaneously refines hierarchical and adaptive estimates of both the surface irradiance and the subsurface transport. By using an adaptive, top-down refinement method, the algorithm directs computational effort only to simulating those eye-surface-light paths that make significant contributions to the final image. Because the algorithm is driven by image importance, it scales more efficiently than previous methods that have a linear dependence on translucent surface area. We demonstrate that in scenes with many translucent objects and in complex lighting environments, our new algorithm has a significant performance advantage.
Diazotization of a 2-amino-1,3-selenazole

Diazotization of 5-(acetoxyethyl)-2-amino-4-methylselenazole with nitrosoborofluoride in the presence of sodium fluoride in fluoboric acid solution furnishes 5-(acetoxyethyl)-2-fluoro-4-methylselenazole and the corresponding 2-hydroxy compound. Despite low yields, this was the first time that a Sandmeyer-Schiemann reaction has been carried out successfully with 2-aminoselenazoles.
Mapping the air in real-time to visualize the flow of gases and vapors: occupational and environmental applications.

This article describes a new method for measuring and mapping pollutants in air in real-time which can be used for visualizing the flow of gases and vapors in both indoor industrial and outdoor environmental applications. This method uses open-path Fourier Transform Infrared (OP-FTIR) spectrometry and computed tomography for real-time mapping of concentrations of chemicals in air. These maps may be used to evaluate human exposures, source emissions and air dispersion models; thus, this method can be used for both industrial and environmental sampling. It is being developed using computer simulations, and chamber and field studies. Computer simulations used simulated test concentration data to create maps; the original maps of concentrations were compared with the tomographic reconstructed maps. In the chamber studies, tracer gas was released into the chamber and measurements from a tomographic system were compared with point sample measurements taken at the same time. When sulfur hexafluoride was injected...
Construction of multiple-beam optical traps with nanometer-resolution position sensing

We describe the design and construction of two different types of multiple-beam optical tweezers, each equipped with nanometer-resolution position detectors. Multiple optical traps can be created either by splitting a laser beam in two parts, based on its polarization, or time-sharing a single beam among several different locations. The advantages and disadvantages of optical tweezers based on either scheme are discussed, along with details of specific implementations. Various ways to detect microscopic movements of an optically trapped object are presented and compared, including designs that are relatively insensitive to absolute location of a trapped particle within the field of view. Two of many possible applications for such instruments are illustrated: the detection of molecular steps by kinesin motor molecules, and determinations of the stiffness of single microtubules.
Technology Timing of IPOs and Venture Capital Incubation

This paper investigates whether industry technological changes affect the timing of venture capital-backed IPOs. Venture capitalists (VCs) shorten incubation periods and take portfolio companies public when the industry exhibits high levels of technological change. This technology timing of IPOs reflects the VCs’ efforts to raise future capital. In particular, during periods of greater technological change, VCs that conduct IPOs after shorter incubation periods obtain more subsequent funding. However, portfolio companies with shorter incubation periods earn fewer patents, are less likely to survive, and experience worse stock returns after their IPOs. These findings provide new insights into VCs’ strategic exit decisions due to changes in the technological environment, as well as how their decisions affect the post-exit performance of their portfolio companies.
Structure of a Shock Front in Argon

Steady one-dimensional shocks of such strength that one degree of ionization is of importance are considered. The equation of state of argon is computed, equilibrium conditions behind the shock front are evaluated, and a recombination coefficient derived from detailed balancing. It is shown that for a given shock velocity the shock front is flat and nonluminous at first but soon becomes luminous with corresponding change in hydrodynamic variables and degree of ionization, and that the flat portion decreases in width with increasing shock velocity.
The New York State government documents: Their distribution and information retrieval

Abstract This article examines some of the problems involved with the distribution and bibliographic control of New York State government documents as experienced by the Library of the State University of New York at Stony Brook which has been a full depository library for New York state documents since 1965.
Infection Control Resources and Practices in Maryland, 2003

Abstract ISSUE: In January 2003, the Maryland State Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) surveyed, for the first time, all acute-care facilities (ACFs) and long-term-care facilities (LTCFs) in the state to determine the current state of infection control resources and practices in Maryland. PROJECT: A self-administered questionnaire was sent to all 48 ACFs and 248 LTCFs. The questions asked about 1) infection control resources, such as staffing, infection control educational preparation, and administrative support and 2) infection control practices, such as outbreak management, isolation capability, and emergency preparedness. The senior infection control professional (ICP) in the facility completed the questionnaire. RESULTS: The response rates were 85% for ACFs and 44% for LTCFs. Data were analyzed separately for each type of facility. The ICPs in acute care reported 1.2 full-time equivalent positions (FTEs) for each 200 ACF beds, while ICPs in LTCFs reported 0.36 FTEs per 200 LTCF beds. The greatest disparity was noted between ACFs and LTCFs in infection control educational preparation of ICPs. Ninety percent of acute-care ICPs reported taking some type of basic infection control course, while only 3% of long-term-care ICPs reported taking a basic infection control course. LESSONS LEARNED: In this survey of ICPs in Maryland, striking differences were noted between ACFs and LTCFs in the ratio of ICP FTEs to beds and in basic infection control educational preparation for ICPs. DHMH will further assess the impact of these findings on infection control effectiveness and quality of patient care in Maryland.
Perception of Free Will: The Perspective of Incarcerated Adolescent and Adult Offenders

The existence of free will has been both an enduring presumption of Western culture and a subject for debate across disciplines for millennia. However, little empirical evidence exists to support the almost unquestioned assumption that, in general, Westerners endorse the existence of free will. The few studies that measure belief in free will have methodological problems that likely resulted in underestimating the true extent of belief. Recently, Rakos et al. (Behavior and Social Issues 17:20–39, 2008) found a stronger endorsement of free will when demand characteristics were eliminated. The current study builds on this work by sampling incarcerated adolescents and adults, whose freedom to act is externally constrained. Belief in free will as well as attitudes toward punishment, self-esteem, and locus of control were measured. The results indicate that free will is strongly endorsed in Western society even when freedom to act is severely restricted. However, incarcerated adolescents endorsed free will to a slightly lesser extent than their nonincarcerated counterparts from Rakos et al. (Behavior and Social Issues 17:20–39, 2008), while incarcerated and nonincarcerated adults offered equally strong endorsements. The comparable endorsement by adults is consistent with the hypothesis that the belief in agency is an evolutionary adaptation. The small decrease found for incarcerated adolescents may reflect the interaction between developmental factors and the expression of an evolutionary adaptation. Additionally, incarcerated adolescents and adults associated beliefs in free will with viewing punishment as a means of deterrence, rehabilitation, and retribution. Incarcerated adults, but not incarcerated adolescents, associated beliefs in free will with greater self-esteem and with an external locus of control. Finally, though both incarcerated adults and adolescents endorsed free will strongly, the former manifested the belief by emphasizing free agentic choice whereas the latter focused on the personal responsibility that is interwoven with free choice. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of evolutionary, cultural, and developmental factors.
Sexual Outcasts: The Perceived Impact of Body Weight and Gender on Sexuality1

A person's weight may be perceived as an important aspect of his or her sexuality and a significant determinant of his or her interpersonal sexual experiences. However, researchers interested in body weight and sexuality have focused exclusively on sexual disorders found in individuals with eating disorders; consequently, little is known about people's beliefs about weight and sexuality, despite the individual and interpersonal significance of such beliefs. Undergraduates received information about a male or female, obese or normal-weight stimulus person and then evaluated that person along several dimensions related to sexuality. Participants believed that an obese man's sexual experiences would be highly similar to those of a normal-weight man. However, participants viewed an obese woman as less sexually attractive, skilled, warm, and responsive, and perceived her as less likely to experience desire and various sexual behaviors than a normal-weight woman. In addition, participants believed that an obese woman was less sexually attractive, skilled, warm, and responsive than an obese man.
Evaluation of quasi-linear diffusion coefficients for whistler mode waves in a plasma with arbitrary density ratio

[1] Techniques are presented for efficiently evaluating quasi-linear diffusion coefficients for whistler mode waves propagating according to the full cold plasma index of refraction. In particular, the density ratio ωpe/Ωe can be small, which favors energy diffusion. This generalizes an approach, previously used for high-density hiss and electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves, of identifying (and omitting) ranges of wavenormal angle θ that are incompatible with cyclotron resonant frequencies ω occurring between sharp cutoffs of the modeled wave frequency spectrum. This requires a detailed analysis of the maximum and minimum values of the refractive index as a function of ω and θ, as has previously been performed in the high-density approximation. Sample calculations show the effect of low-density ratio on the pitch angle and energy diffusion coefficients modeling the effect of chorus waves on radiation belt electrons. The high-density approximation turns out to be quite robust, especially when the upper frequency cutoff is small compared with Ωe. The techniques greatly reduce the amount of computation needed for a sample calculation, while taking into account all resonant harmonic numbers n up to ±∞.
Balancing resistance and infection tolerance through metabolic means

When fighting an infection, a host must balance microbe clearance with self-damage, and this balance presumably changes dynamically over the course of the infection. Ideally, the host will kill the pathogens early during infection and near the end, focus on repairing any resulting damage to return to its original state (1). The rules governing this balance will change with environmental conditions; for example, the balance might be altered by changes in host nutrition or stress level. The work by Ko et al. (2) identifies a link between metabolism and immunity that has the potential to balance damage vs. clearance while listening to the nutritive status of the host.
A comparison of primary and passaged chondrocytes for use in engineering the temporomandibular joint.

Abstract Objective This study examines the tissue engineering potential of passaged (P3) and primary (P0) articular chondrocytes (ACs) and costal chondrocytes (CCs) from skeletally mature goats for use in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). Design These four cell types were assembled into scaffoldless tissue engineered constructs and cultured for 4 wks. The constructs were then tested for cell, collagen, and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content with biochemical assays, and collagen types I and II with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Constructs were also tested under tension and compression to determine biomechanical properties. Results Both primary and passaged CC constructs had greater GAG/wet weight than AC constructs. Primary AC constructs had significantly less total collagen and contained no collagen type I. AC P3 constructs had the largest collagen I/collagen II ratio, which was also greater in passaged CC constructs relative to primary groups. Primary AC constructs were not mechanically testable, whereas passaged AC and CC constructs had significantly greater tensile properties than primary CC constructs. Conclusions Primary CCs are considerably better than primary ACs and have potential use in tissue engineering when larger quantities of collagen type II are desired. The poor performance of the ACs, in this study, which contradicts the results seen with previous studies using immature bovine ACs, may thus be attributed to the animals’ maturity. However, CC P3 cells appear particularly well suited for tissue engineering fibrocartilage of the TMJ due to the high quantity of collagen and GAG, and tensile and compressive mechanical properties.
Left bundle branch block associated with propoxyphene hydrochloride poisoning

Described is the case of a patient who developed left bundle branch block following acute propoxyphene hydrochloride overdosage. The left bundle branch block was transient and associated with no permanent sequelae. Previously documented cardiac abnormalities, specific narcotic antagonist therapy, and animal studies correlating cardiac toxicity of propoxyphene hydrochloride with its potent local anesthetic action are discussed.
White Clover Response to a Water‐Application Gradient

Periods of drought, common during the summer and fall in the southeastern USA, can be detrimental to growth of the shallow-rooted temperate forage legume, white clover (Trifolium repens L.). Our objective was to determine the growth response (lateral spread, morphology) of white clover to a water-application gradient during the summer and fall on a Marietta fine sandy loam (fine-loamy, siliceous, thermic Fluvaquentic Eutrochrept). From May to October, a line-source irrigation system produced regimes of high, medium, low, and zero water-application across parallel 1.0-m rows of three cultivars and three germplasms transplanted (10 plants row -1 ) into a common bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. var. dactylon) sod the previous fall. Plots were continuously-stocked (5-cm stubble) with cattle (Bos taurus L.). Each month, differences in lateral plant spread among entries were similar regardless of water-application regime. Within each regime, spread declined sharply after June and remained near a minimum (<0.20 m 2 row -1 ) from August until October. Yield and morphology differences among entries in July were similar in each of the water-application regimes as well. By October, however, there were differences in herbage yield, stolon length, and number of stolon apices among entries at the high water-application regime, but not at the medium, low, and zero regimes. The results suggest that either there is no difference in drought tolerance among these cultivars and germplasms, or that white clover drought tolerance does not impact growth in the presence of stresses such as grazing and associated grasses.
Improving the effectiveness of test suite reduction for user-session-based testing of web applications

Context: Test suite reduction is the problem of creating and executing a set of test cases that are smaller in size but equivalent in effectiveness to an original test suite. However, reduced suites can still be large and executing all the tests in a reduced test suite can be time consuming. Objective: We propose ordering the tests in a reduced suite to increase its rate of fault detection. The ordered reduced test suite can be executed in time constrained situations, where, even if test execution is stopped early, the best test cases from the reduced suite will already be executed. Method: In this paper, we present several approaches to order reduced test suites using experimentally verified prioritization criteria for the domain of web applications. We conduct an empirical study with three subject applications and user-session-based test cases to demonstrate how ordered reduced test suites often make a practical contribution. To enable comparison between test suites of different sizes, we develop Mod_APFD_C, a modification of the traditional prioritization effectiveness measure. Results: We find that by ordering the reduced suites, we create test suites that are more effective than unordered reduced suites. In each of our subject applications, there is at least one ordered reduced suite that outperforms the best unordered reduced suite and the best prioritized original suite. Conclusions: Our results show that when a tester does not have enough time to execute the entire reduced suite, executing an ordered reduced suite often improves the rate of fault detection. By coupling the underlying system's characteristics with observations from our study on the criteria that produce the best ordered reduced suites, a tester can order their reduced test suites to obtain increased testing effectiveness.
Effectiveness of a Liaison Program in Meeting Information Needs of College of Pharmacy Faculty

This article describes the creation and implementation of focus groups to evaluate the effectiveness of a health sciences library's liaison program of the College of Pharmacy faculty and to better understand the faculty's information needs in order to design new and improved library services. The liaison services support the teaching and research needs of faculty and students through literature research, classroom teaching, and an extensive library collection of pharmacy literature. Focus group results demonstrated a high level of satisfaction with library liaison services and collections. Opportunities exist for expanded interaction with graduate students and greater marketing of library services to increase faculty awareness of specific library programs.
Acquiring minds want to know: The acquisitions process and collection development of videos and CD-ROMs

Sponsored by the ALCTS Media Resources Committee, this program presented a practical look at selecting, acquiring, and organizing videos and CD-ROM products. Ann Caldwell of Brown University served...
Nonparametric Estimation of Distribution Functions

Using Silverman and Young’s (1987) idea of rescaling a rescaled smoothed empirical distribution function is defined and investigated when the smoothing parameter depends on the data. The rescaled smoothed estimator is shown to be often better than the commonly used ordinary smoothed estimator.
The product of the pilQ gene is essential for the biogenesis of type IV pili in Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

Summary The product of the Neisseria gonorrhoeae omc gene possesses regions homologous to those found in members of a protein superfamily that are associated with the translocation of proteins and DNA-protein complexes across the outer membrane. Amongst its protein homologues, Omc has higher overall homology to PilQ, which is required for type IV pilus expression in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and OrfE, which is required for sequence-specific uptake by Haemophilus influenzae. The function of Omc, however, is unknown and gonococcal omc mutants have not been described. We constructed gonococcal mutants expressing truncated forms of the protein, and found that these mutants are severely defective for both pilus expression and competence for natural transformation. To be consistent with pre-existing pilus gene nomenclature, we have redesignated the gene pflQ instead of omc, and its product, PilQ instead of Omc. The MS11 gene was sequenced and found to differ from the DNA sequence reported for that of another gonococcal strain; these differences were associated with a repeated DNA element, suggesting a genetic basis for structural variation in PilQ. The results also show that PilQ- mutants are distinct from previously described gonococcal pilus-assembly mutants and P. aeruginosa PilQ mutants by virtue of their expression of rare pilus filaments. Taking these data into account, PilQ is proposed to function in the terminal steps of organelle biogenesis by acting as a pilus channel or pore.
Resolving the Archaic‐to‐Modern Transition

1993 The "Eve" Hypothesis: A Genetic Critique and Reanalysis. American Anthropologist 95:51-72. Templeton, A. Rt, K. A. Crandall, and C. F. Sing 1992 A Cladistic Analysis of Phenotypic Associations with Haplotypes Inferred from Restriction Endonuclease Mapping and DNA Sequence Data. III. Cladogram Estimation. Genetics 132:619-633. Templeton, A. R., and C. F. Sing 1993 A Cladistic Analysis of Phenotypic Associations with Haplotypes Inferred from Restriction Endonuclease Mapping. IV. Nested Analyses with Cladogram Uncertainty and Recombination. Genetics 134:659-669. Torroni, A., O. Semino, R. Scozzari, G. Sirugo, G. Spedini, N. Abbas, M. Fellous, and A. S. Santachiara Benerecetti 1990 Y Chromosome DNA Polymorphisms in Human Populations: Differences between Caucasoids and Africans Detected by 49a and 49f Probes. Annals of Human Genetics 54:287-296. Vigilant, L., M. Stoneking, H. Harpending, K. Hawkes, and A. C. Wilson 1991 African Populations and the Evolution of Human Mitochondrial DNA. Science 253:1503-1507. Wills, C. 1992 Human Origins. Nature 356:389390.
The Replication Fork: Understanding the Eukaryotic Replication Machinery and the Challenges to Genome Duplication

Eukaryotic cells must accurately and efficiently duplicate their genomes during each round of the cell cycle. Multiple linear chromosomes, an abundance of regulatory elements, and chromosome packaging are all challenges that the eukaryotic DNA replication machinery must successfully overcome. The replication machinery, the “replisome” complex, is composed of many specialized proteins with functions in supporting replication by DNA polymerases. Efficient replisome progression relies on tight coordination between the various factors of the replisome. Further, replisome progression must occur on less than ideal templates at various genomic loci. Here, we describe the functions of the major replisome components, as well as some of the obstacles to efficient DNA replication that the replisome confronts. Together, this review summarizes current understanding of the vastly complicated task of replicating eukaryotic DNA.
Managing trade-offs in call center agent scheduling: methodology and case study

This paper develops a flexible and tractable scheduling methodology that produces near-optimal call center agent schedules while taking into account the costs associated with customer waiting time, customer abandonment, and call center agents. Our methodology combines integer programming (to find a desirable staffing plan for a given total number of agents) and simulation modeling (to evaluate the weekly costs of a given staffing plan). We describe the advantages of this approach over the traditional scheduling method, and test both methods by building schedules based on actual demand and shift data from an actual call center operated by Expedia.com under a variety of cost scenarios. The new scheduling approach not only out-performs the traditional staffing approach in all scenarios examined, it reduces total weekly costs of the call center's existing agent schedule by 8--25%, depending on the scenario.
Molecular Beam Epitaxy Study of InAs/GaSb Heteroepitaxy on The (111)A and (111)B Orientations

We have investigated the molecular beam epitaxial growth of homoepitaxial InAs and GaSb and InAs/GaSb heterostructures on both the (111)A and (111)B orientations. Our studies have found that high quality GaSb epilayers can be grown on both the (111)A and (111l)B orientations over a wide range of growth temperatures and flux ratios. Reflection high energy electron diffr-action phase diagrams for GaSb [111[ are presented. InAs/GaSb heterostructures, simultaneously grown on (11l)A and (111)B orientations, have been investigated by secondary ion mass spectroscopy depth profiles and double crystal x-ray diffraction. Unintentional incorporation of the ‘second’ group-V element is found to be approximately three times greater in the (111)A orientation than in the (111)B for both species.
Minimum distortion color image retrieval based on Lloyd-clustered Gauss mixtures

We consider image retrieval based on minimum distortion selection of features of color images modelled by Gauss mixtures. The proposed algorithm retrieves the image in a database having minimum distortion when the query image is encoded by a separate Gauss mixture codebook representing each image in the database. We use Gauss mixture vector quantization (GMVQ) for clustering Gauss mixtures, instead of the conventional expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm. Experimental comparison shows that the simpler GMVQ and the EM algorithms have close Gauss mixture parameters with similar convergence speeds. We also provide a new color-interleaving method, reducing the dimension of feature vectors and the size of covariance matrices, thereby reducing computation. This method shows a slightly better retrieval performance than the usual color-interleaving method in HSV color space. Our proposed minimum distortion image retrieval performs better than probabilistic image retrieval.
What Makes Whistle-Blowers Effective? Three Field Studies

Organization members face difficult choices when they encounter situations which they consider illegitimate, immoral, or unlawful, but lack corrective power. They can ‘blow the whistle’ to authorities, but often, their organizations do not change the objectionable practice. Circumstances under which whistle-blowers succeed in terminating perceived wrongdoing have not been studied, so this study tests portions of a preliminary model of effectiveness derived from power theories. Results from three field studies show that whistle-blowers perceive that wrongdoing is more likely to be terminated when: (i) it occurs less frequently, is relatively minor in impact, or has been occurring for a shorter period; and (ii) whistle-blowers have greater power - reflected in the legitimacy of their roles and the support of others. Implications for research and for would-be whistle-blowers, their organizations, and policy makers, are discussed.
Serotonin Potentiates Transforming Growth Factor-beta3 Induced Biomechanical Remodeling in Avian Embryonic Atrioventricular Valves

Embryonic heart valve primordia (cushions) maintain unidirectional blood flow during development despite an increasingly demanding mechanical environment. Recent studies demonstrate that atrioventricular (AV) cushions stiffen over gestation, but the molecular mechanisms of this process are unknown. Transforming growth factor-beta (TGFβ) and serotonin (5-HT) signaling modulate tissue biomechanics of postnatal valves, but less is known of their role in the biomechanical remodeling of embryonic valves. In this study, we demonstrate that exogenous TGFβ3 increases AV cushion biomechanical stiffness and residual stress, but paradoxically reduces matrix compaction. We then show that TGFβ3 induces contractile gene expression (RhoA, aSMA) and extracellular matrix expression (col1α2) in cushion mesenchyme, while simultaneously stimulating a two-fold increase in proliferation. Local compaction increased due to an elevated contractile phenotype, but global compaction appeared reduced due to proliferation and ECM synthesis. Blockade of TGFβ type I receptors via SB431542 inhibited the TGFβ3 effects. We next showed that exogenous 5-HT does not influence cushion stiffness by itself, but synergistically increases cushion stiffness with TGFβ3 co-treatment. 5-HT increased TGFβ3 gene expression and also potentiated TGFβ3 induced gene expression in a dose-dependent manner. Blockade of the 5HT2b receptor, but not 5-HT2a receptor or serotonin transporter (SERT), resulted in complete cessation of TGFβ3 induced mechanical strengthening. Finally, systemic 5-HT administration in ovo induced cushion remodeling related defects, including thinned/atretic AV valves, ventricular septal defects, and outflow rotation defects. Elevated 5-HT in ovo resulted in elevated remodeling gene expression and increased TGFβ signaling activity, supporting our ex-vivo findings. Collectively, these results highlight TGFβ/5-HT signaling as a potent mechanism for control of biomechanical remodeling of AV cushions during development.
Certification of programs for secure information flow

ertification mechanism for verifying the secure flow of information through a program. Because it exploits the properties of a lattice structure among security classes, the procedure is sufficiently simple that it can easily be included in the analysis phase of most existing compilers. Appropriate semantics are presented and proved correct. An important application is the confinement problem: The mechanism can prove that a program cannot cause supposedly nonconfidential results to depend on confidential input data.
Differential Reinforcement in Coaching Tennis Skills

The present study compared the effects of correcting errors in a typical tennis class to selectively ignoring these errors while praising appropriate tennis performance. The effects of this behavioral procedure, differential reinforcement, were assessed using a multiple baseline design across subjects (three junior high students) and three tennis skills: forehand, backhand, and serve. The results demonstrated that differential reinforcement increased performance two to four times over baseline. These results extend the findings on differential reinforcement and suggest this procedure as a method for developing sports skills.
Early-late heterobimetallic Rh-Ti and Rh-Zr complexes via addition of early metal chlorides to mono- and divalent rhodium.

Addition of TiCl4 or ZrCl4 to (PNP)Rh(CH2CHtBu) (1) rapidly gives complexes (PNP)Rh(MCl3)(Cl) (M = Ti, 2; Zr, 3) in 75–77% yield (PNP = (4-Me-2-(iPr2P)–C6H3)2N). Compound 2 can also be synthesized via a reaction of (PNP)RhCl with TiCl3 or of (PNP)TiCl3 with 1/2 [(cod)RhCl]2.
Dark-field microscopy in the assessment of large colon microperfusion and mucosal injury in naturally occurring surgical disease of the equine large colon

Summary Reason for performing study Intraoperative assessment of colonic viability can be challenging and largely subjective. Objective methods are often impractical. Viability is related to re-establishment of colonic perfusion; particularly microvascular perfusion. This study evaluated the utility of dark-field microscopy (DFM) of the colonic serosa as an objective method of assessing microperfusion. Objectives To measure microvascular perfusion indices (MPI) of the pelvic flexure serosa in horses with surgical colonic lesions and correlate these with macroperfusion indices (MaPI) and histomorphometry. Study design Prospective, clinical, case–control study. Methods Control horses and horses with colonic volvulus (LCV), displacement, and/or simple obstruction undergoing surgery had DFM video loops performed on the pelvic flexure. Total vessel density, perfused vessel density, proportion of perfusion vessels and microvascular flow index were calculated from video analysis. Macroperfusion indices (arterial blood pressure and heart rate) were recorded. Histomorphometry was used to determine a mucosal injury score. Differences between lesions for MPI, MaPI and histomorphometry were compared using ANOVA or Kruskal–Wallis statistic. Spearman correlations between MPI with MaPI were performed. Linear regression was used to assess the relationship between MPI and histomorphometry. P<0.05 was significant. Results Horses with LCV had lower perfused vessel density, proportion of microvascular perfusion vessels and flow index than horses with nonstrangulating obstructions and control horses. Macroperfusion indices were not correlated with MPI but MPI were correlated with histomorphometry. Conclusions Dark-field microscopy is achievable in the operating room and can quantify MPI from the colonic serosa in different colonic lesions. Macroperfusion indices were not related with colonic MPI. Microvascular perfusion indices can predict the severity of histopathological change at the pelvic flexure. Derangements of MPI may be more useful indicators of colonic pathology and viability and offer a more objective assessment of intestinal injury than subjective methods. Further study is needed to determine the utility of DFM in predicting survival in horses with LCV.
A New Sherriff in Town: The Barriers of Structural Discrimination Facing Women Leaders

In the current world of organizations, it is no surprise that discrimination exists against women. Many organizations, however, exhibit structural discrimination and little is done to combat this. This is no more evident than within law enforcement organizations. This research focuses on the disparate treatment, as defined by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, as the barrier keeping women becoming Sheriff. Current data show women make up less than one-half of one percent of all sheriffs nationwide. This research suggests women hold leadership competencies that the field of law enforcement is seeking. By more women becoming the top executive of these agencies, the discriminatory landscape within law enforcement agencies will begin to change.
Motivation and nonmajors in computer science: identifying discrete audiences for introductory courses

Traditional introductory computer science (CS) courses have had little success engaging non-computer science majors. At the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, where introductory CS courses are a requirement for CS majors and nonmajors alike, two tailored introductory courses were introduced as an alternative to the traditional course. The results were encouraging: more nonmajors succeeded (completed and passed) in tailored courses than in the traditional course, students expressed fewer negative reactions to the course content, and many reported that they would be interested in taking another tailored CS course. The authors present findings from a pilot study of the three courses and briefly discuss some of the issues surrounding the tailored courses for nonmajors: programming, context, choice of language, and classroom culture.
Synthetic hepcidin causes rapid dose-dependent hypoferremia and is concentrated in ferroportin-containing organs

Hepcidin is the principal iron regulatory hormone and its overproduction contributes to anemia of inflammation (AI). In vitro, hepcidin binds to and induces the degradation of the exclusive iron exporter ferroportin. We explored the effects and distribution of synthetic hepcidin in the mouse. A single intraperitoneal injection of hepcidin caused a rapid fall of serum iron in a dose-dependent manner, with a 50-μg dose resulting in iron levels 80% lower than in control mice. The full effect was seen within only 1 hour, consistent with a blockade of iron export from tissue stores and from macrophages involved in iron recycling. Serum iron remained suppressed for more than 48 hours after injection. Using radiolabeled hepcidin, we demonstrated that the serum concentration of hepcidin at the 50-μg dose was 1.4 μM, consistent with the inhibitory concentration of 50% (IC50) of hepcidin measured in vitro. Radiolabeled hepcidin accumulated in the ferroportin-rich organs, liver, spleen, and proximal duodenum. Our study highlights the central role of the hepcidin-ferroportin interaction in iron homeostasis. The rapid and sustained action of a single dose of hepcidin makes it an appealing agent for the prevention of iron accumulation in hereditary hemochromatosis. (Blood. 2005;106:2196-2199)