cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Review of Controlled Excitation of Non-linear Wave-Particle Interactions in the Magnetosphere

Controlled experiments involving injection of 0.5 Hz – 8 kHz electromagnetic waves into the Earth’s magnetosphere have played an important role in discovering and elucidating wave-particle interactions in near-Earth space. Due to the significant engineering challenges of efficiently radiating in the ELF/VLF: 300 Hz – 30 kHz band, few experiments have been able to provide sustained transmissions of sufficient power to excite observable effects for scientific studies. Two noteworthy facilities that were successful in generating a large database of pioneering and repeatable observations were the Siple Station Transmitter in Antarctica and the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) facility in Alaska. Both facilities were able to excite Doppler shifted cyclotron resonance interactions leading to linear and nonlinear wave amplification, triggering of free running emissions, and pitch angle scattering of energetic electrons. Amplified and triggered waves were primarily observed on the ground in the geomagnetic conjugate region after traversal of the magnetosphere along geomagnetic field aligned propagation paths or in the vicinity of the transmitter following two traversals of the magnetosphere. In several cases, spacecraft observations of the amplified and triggered signals were also made. The observations show the amplifying wave particle interaction to be dynamically sensitive to specific frequency and also specific frequency-time format of the transmitted wave. Transmission of multiple coherent waves closely spaced in frequency showed that the wave particle interaction requires a minimum level of coherency to enter the nonlinear regime. Theory and numerical simulations point to cyclotron resonance with counter streaming particles in the 10-100 keV range as the dominant process. A key feature of the nonlinear interaction is the phase-trapping of resonant particles by the wave that is believed to drive non-linear wave amplification and the triggering of free-running emissions. Observations and modeling of controlled wave injections have important implications for naturally occurring whistler mode emissions of hiss and chorus and the broader phenomena of radiation belt dynamics. A review of observational, theoretical, and numerical results is presented and suggestions for future studies are made.
90Y-NM600 targeted radionuclide therapy induces immunologic memory in syngeneic models of T-cell Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

Finding improved therapeutic strategies against T-cell Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL) remains an unmet clinical need. We implemented a theranostic approach employing a tumor-targeting alkylphosphocholine (NM600) radiolabeled with 86Y for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging and 90Y for targeted radionuclide therapy (TRT) of T-cell NHL. PET imaging and biodistribution performed in mouse models of T-cell NHL showed in vivo selective tumor uptake and retention of 86Y-NM600. An initial toxicity assessment examining complete blood counts, blood chemistry, and histopathology of major organs established 90Y-NM600 safety. Mice bearing T-cell NHL tumors treated with 90Y-NM600 experienced tumor growth inhibition, extended survival, and a high degree of cure with immune memory toward tumor reestablishment. 90Y-NM600 treatment was also effective against disseminated tumors, improving survival and cure rates. Finally, we observed a key role for the adaptive immune system in potentiating a durable anti-tumor response to TRT, especially in the presence of microscopic disease. Hernandez et al. show the effectiveness of 90Y for targeted radionucleotide therapy of T-cell Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL). This study suggests that delivering radiation to all NHL disease sites elicits minimal toxicity and induces a memory T-cell response, inviting combination therapies with immune activating agents.
Large-Scale Three-Dimensional Simulation of Dendritic Solidification Using Lattice Boltzmann Method

A parallel three-dimensional (3D) lattice Boltzmann (LB)-cellular automaton (CA) model is developed to simulate dendritic growth during solidification of metallic binary alloys. The LB method was used to solve the transport equations and a CA algorithm was employed to capture the solid/liquid interface. The model is capable of simulating the evolution of solidification microstructures containing thousands of dendrites in a macroscale domain with approximately 36 billion grid points. The simulation results for columnar dendrite growth in a 1-mm3 region are presented. The parallel model shows a great scale-up performance on up to 40,000 computing cores and an excellent speed-up performance on up to 1000 cores. The model presented in this article helps to pave the way for direct numerical simulation of solidification microstructures in large macroscale domains as the technique can be efficiently implemented on massively parallel supercomputers.
The Impact of College Outreach on High Schoolers’ College Choices – Results From Over 1,000 Natural Experiments

We estimate the impact of one of the largest college-to-student outreach efforts in the nation, the College Board's Student Search Service. In an oversubscribed “order”, colleges receive contact in...
Auroral Radio Emissions Simulation and Processing for AERO CubeSat Mission

Auroral Emission Radio Observer (AERO) is a NASA H-TIDeS-funded 3U CubeSat mission with the main objective of observing Earth's radio aurora. AERO will conduct a three-month mission in polar orbit to measure the direction of arrival, frequency spectra, and occurrence rates of radio frequency emissions from Earth's aurora. AERO will also advance the technology readiness level (TRL) of its vector sensor payload. The vector sensor (VS) has six mutually orthogonal loop and dipole antennas that detect all six electromagnetic wave components. VS technology allows for direction of arrival calculations of signal sources with a single antenna in a compact space. To facilitate testing and performance studies of the VS payload, we have created an end-to-end simulation of the AERO data collection system that is designed to simulate and process synthetic voltage data from the VS. The VS simulator includes the following elements: modelling the spacecraft orbit, simulating auroral signals, and implementing real-time signal processing. A precise prediction of spacecraft orbit is created using AGI's Systems Tool Kit (STK), constrained to altitudes of 450 to 550 km and a noon/midnight polar orbit with a target local time of midnight. This model is used to generate the position of the spacecraft at a given time in the mission life. Simulated auroral radio point signals with various polarizations, intensities, and frequency spectra are used to simulate four major types of auroral radio emissions: Auroral Kilometric Radiation, Medium Frequency Burst, Auroral Hiss, and Auroral Roar. Stationary, grouped, and banded point sources are all explored as possible emission types. In addition to the spacecraft location and orientation, these point sources are superimposed with expected ambient radio noise and then split into a six-channel VS simulator which produces voltage time series data. The voltage signals are then put through a signal processing chain implemented on a field programmable gate array (FPGA). Implementing the FPGA results in a prototyped system that receives data in real-time as it is passing through the auroral zone which is simulated from the VS simulator. It executes signal processing calculations in parallel at the same moment that data is coming in from the VS. The AERO CubeSat's anticipated launch date is January 2022 and will perform the first localizations of Earth's auroral emissions. Ultimately, this end-to-end simulator will allow for the testing of advanced signal processing algorithms for the VS and assist in data analysis for the AERO CubeSat mission.
Deep Submodular Networks for Extractive Data Summarization

Deep Models are increasingly becoming prevalent in summarization problems (e.g. document, video and images) due to their ability to learn complex feature interactions and representations. However, they do not model characteristics such as diversity, representation, and coverage, which are also very important for summarization tasks. On the other hand, submodular functions naturally model these characteristics because of their diminishing returns property. Most approaches for modelling and learning submodular functions rely on very simple models, such as weighted mixtures of submodular functions. Unfortunately, these models only learn the relative importance of the different submodular functions (such as diversity, representation or importance), but cannot learn more complex feature representations, which are often required for state-of-the-art performance. We propose Deep Submodular Networks (DSN), an end-to-end learning framework that facilitates the learning of more complex features and richer functions, crafted for better modelling of all aspects of summarization. The DSN framework can be used to learn features appropriate for summarization from scratch. We demonstrate the utility of DSNs on both generic and query focused image-collection summarization, and show significant improvement over the state-of-the-art. In particular, we show that DSNs outperform simple mixture models using off the shelf features. Secondly, we also show that just using four submodular functions in a DSN with end-to-end learning performs comparably to the state-of-the-art mixture model with a hand-crafted set of 594 components and outperforms other methods for image collection summarization.
Hebbian learning with elasticity explains how the spontaneous motor tempo affects music performance synchronization

Music has a tempo (or frequency of the underlying beat) that musicians maintain throughout a performance. Musicians maintain this musical tempo on their own or paced by a metronome. Behavioral studies have found that each musician shows a spontaneous rate of movement, called spontaneous motor tempo (SMT), which can be measured when a musician spontaneously plays a simple melody. Data shows that a musician9s SMT systematically influences how actions align with the musical tempo. In this study we present a model that captures this phenomenon. To develop our model, we review the results from three musical performance settings that have been previously published: (1) solo musical performance with a pacing metronome tempo that is different from the SMT, (2) solo musical performance without a metronome at a spontaneous tempo that is faster or slower than the SMT, and (3) duet musical performance between musician pairs with matching and mismatching SMTs. In the first setting, the asynchrony between the pacing metronome and the musician9s tempo grew as a function of the difference between the metronome tempo and the musician9s SMT. In the second setting, musicians drifted away from the initial spontaneous tempo toward the SMT. And in the third setting, the absolute asynchronies between performing musicians were smaller if their SMTs matched compared to when they did not. Based on these previous observations, we hypothesize that, while musicians can perform musical actions at a tempo different from their SMT, the SMT constantly acts as a pulling force. We developed a model to test our hypothesis. The model is an oscillatory dynamical system with Hebbian and elastic tempo learning that simulates music performance. We simulate an individual9s SMT with the dynamical system9s natural frequency. Hebbian learning lets the system9s frequency adapt to match the stimulus frequency. The pulling force is simulated with an elasticity term that pulls the learned frequency toward the system9s natural frequency. We used this model to simulate the three music performance settings, replicating behavioral results. Our model also lets us make predictions of musician9s performance not yet tested. The present study offers a dynamical explanation of how an individual9s SMT affects adaptive synchronization in realistic musical performance.
Changes in Magnetic Resonance Imaging Using the Prostate Cancer Radiologic Estimation of Change in Sequential Evaluation Criteria to Detect Prostate Cancer Progression for Men on Active Surveillance

Abstract Background The ability of serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to capture pathologic progression during active surveillance (AS) remains in question. Objective To determine whether changes in MRI are associated with pathologic progression for patients on AS. Design, setting, and participants From July 2007 through January 2020, we identified all patients evaluated for AS at our institution. Following confirmatory biopsy, a total of 391 patients who underwent surveillance MRI and biopsy at least once were identified (median follow-up of 35.6 mo, interquartile range 19.7–60.6). Outcome measurements and statistical analysis All MRI intervals were scored using the “Prostate Cancer Radiologic Estimation of Change in Sequential Evaluation” (PRECISE) criteria, with PRECISE scores =4 considered a positive change in MRI. A generalized estimating equation–based logistic regression analysis was conducted for all intervals with a PRECISE score of Results and limitations A total of 621 MRI intervals were scored by PRECISE and validated by biopsy. The negative predictive value of stable MRI (PRECISE score Conclusions In patients with GG1 disease and stable MRI (PRECISE score Patient summary For patients with low-risk prostate cancer on active surveillance, the risk of progressing to grade group 3 disease is low with a stable magnetic resonance image (MRI) after 2?yr. Having higher prostate-specific antigen density increases the risk of progression, despite having a stable MRI.
Back-propagation neural network model to predict visibility at a road link-level

Abstract Fog and rain influence the ability of the drivers to see other vehicles, pedestrians, bicyclists, and fixed objects, and, hence, increase the likelihood of getting involved in a crash on a road. Resource constraints limit installing weather monitoring sensors at regular intervals (for example, every 1, 2, 3, or 4 km) on a road. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to develop a feed-forward back-propagation neural network (BPNN) model to predict fog / low visibility condition, and, apply at a road link-level. Five years of meteorological data were collected from 238 weather monitoring stations in and around North Carolina to develop and validate the BPNN visibility model. The predicted visibility using meteorological data was compared with visibility from the weather monitoring sensor installed at five geographically distributed locations in North Carolina. The BPNN visibility model has better visibility prediction capability during a normal foggy condition when compared to visibility during thick/dense fog condition.
An Approach on Biomarkers for Carcinoma Meningitis in Solid Tumors

Carcinomatous meningitis (CM), also known as neoplastic meningitis or leptomeningeal metastasis, refers to the invasion of meninges protecting the brain and spinal cord by tumor cells. It should be distinguished from brain metastasis where there is an infiltration of brain parenchyma by metastatic cells. With improved overall survival in a majority of cancers with advances in cancer management, more cases of CM are being diagnosed lately. Cancer cells from the primary source can migrate to the meninges through various ways: vertebral and paravertebral metastasis (breast and lung cancers), perineural spaces (gastrointestinal cancers), arteries from parenchymal metastasis, and rarely by direct invasion (primary central nervous system tumors). Patients often present with non-specific symptoms, like a headache and altered mental status, or focal neurological signs, depending on the area of the central nervous system involved. Due to poor prognosis and limited success in treating it, early detection is key. Diagnosis in suspected cases by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cytology (identifying malignant cells) and/or imaging has limited success. In this review, we discuss the need for using various biomarkers in CSF to increase the probability of a diagnosis of CM in solid tumors. Biomarkers can also help in predicting the disease burden, response to treatment, and in detecting the recurrence. We also discuss utilizing Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), Rare cell capture technology (RCCT) and circulating tumor DNA (CtDNA) in identifying malignant cells in CSF for diagnosing CM. However, the definitive role of these modalities in combination needs further validation in larger cohorts.
Disruptive) innovations and rival firm outcomes

We show empirically that disruptive innovations significantly reduce rival firm growth and value in concentrated industries, consistent with the creative destruction hypothesis. Because these innovations make existing technologies obsolete, corporate investments and the amount of external financing to fund these investments also decrease. Disruptive innovations curb market power, thereby CEO compensation and CEO power also decline in affected firms. Overall, we show that disruptive innovation is a fierce force that intensifies competition, disciplines managers of rival firms, and strengthens business dynamism in the USA.
Civil Society, NGOs, and Governance

This chapter focuses on the aspects which are considered to be connecting participation and proliferation of NGOs into global governance. There exists a historical and social process related to the emergence of new governance. When the bureaucratic hierarchies and the centralized state dissolved, neoliberal economic reforms aimed to reconfigure governance. Neoliberal reforms and social democratic governments often turned to the NGOs to revive a third-sector vis-a-vis the state and the market both in the developed and developing states. Many governments and governmental agencies developed civil society building and NGO support policies. New-Marxist and realist approaches assessed civil society and participation discourses often in terms of an instrumentalist standpoint. They argue that civil society discourse served, thus was instrumental, to the interests of capitalist logic or a class, or to the interests of powerful states. A decentered approach draws on governmentality and differs from instrumental criticisms. It does not discard the observations of other critical research. Rather, it locates civil society discourse within the interplay of governmental rationalities and technologies of power. The main argument of a decentered approach is civil society discourse is connected to political rationalities and technologies of power that make the state possible.
Acute Compartment Syndrome After Isolated Soleus Tear in an Elderly Recreational Athlete.

Case A 62-year-old man without significant medical history (no anticoagulation) presented to the emergency department with intense leg pain following a short track race, during which he felt a pop in his calf. His physical exam was highly concerning for acute compartment syndrome (ACS) despite the lack of a typical mechanism or fracture. Compartment pressures were measured and found to be significantly elevated. He underwent compartment releases revealing a medial soleus tear with 400-500 cc hematoma. Conclusion The case presents a patient with ACS after a soleus muscle tear. Prompt recognition and fasciotomy led to a good clinical outcome. Physicians should recognize that not only gastrocnemius tears can lead to compartment syndrome.
Exercise Ventricular Reserve Among Women With a History of Peripartum Cardiomyopathy

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is associated with highly variable clinical outcomes. Small series suggest postpartum variation in exercise capacity and ventricular reserve. We describe limitations in exercise capacity and/or ventricular reserve in asymptomatic women who had recovered from PPCM and underwent a detailed physiologic assessment by cardiopulmonary exercise testing. (Level of Difficulty: Intermediate.).
Clinical Scenario: Bladder Preservation

Multi-modality bladder preservation with maximal transurethral resection of the bladder tumor (TURBT) followed by definitive chemoradiation is becoming increasingly popular and an attractive option to radical cystectomy for treatment of muscle invasive bladder cancer. Ideal candidates are patients with unifocal, T2 disease undergoing maximal TURBT with no gross residual, patients with tumors <5 cm, and patients with good bladder function. Bladder preservation treatment is well-tolerated, offers similar survival outcomes to radical cystectomy (5y OS 40–60 %), and approximately two-thirds of patients are cured 5 years after treatment. Studies have demonstrated that the majority of patients undergoing bladder preservation are satisfied with their quality of life with minimal urinary distress.
Class Distinctions: Leveraging Class-Level Features to Predict Student Retention Performance

This paper describes our experiments and analysis of utilizing class-level features to predict student performance for retention tests. There are two aspects that make this paper interesting. First, instead of focusing on short-team performance, we investigated student performance after a delay of at least 7 days. Second, we explored several class-level features that can be captured in intelligent tutoring systems (ITS), and we showed that some of them have encouraging predictive power. With the help of class-level features, the prediction result indicated an improvement from an R² of 0.183 with a normal feature set to an R² value of 0.224.
Triggering the 1987 stock market crash

Abstract We present evidence that a tax bill containing antitakeover provisions proposed by the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee on October 13, 1987 and approved by the Committee on October 15 was the fundamental economic event causing the greater than 10% decline in the stock market on October 14–16, which arguably triggered the October 19 crash. The bill, which eventually passed without most of the antitakeover provisions, would have limited the deductibility of interest on debt incurred to finance corporate takeovers, leveraged buyouts and recapitalizations, and imposed other restrictions on hostile takeovers.
Where the Boys Are: Cinemas of Masculinity and Youth

As films rely more frequently on youthful and teenage images as a means to tell their stories, it becomes increasingly necessary to place these representations under a critical lens. Murray Pomeran...
Vaporization-assisted degradation of high temperature combustion catalysts

Vaporization and transport can lead to serious thermal deactivation of catalysts during high-temperature combustion, partial oxidation, and steam reforming of light hydrocarbon fuels. These environments, with high concentrations of steam and in some cases excess oxygen at high temperatures and high pressures, represent perhaps the most severe conditions that catalysts must endure. While the evaporation of atomic metal and polyatomic metal oxide gaseous species has been generally understood, the volatilization of hydroxides and oxyhydroxides under these conditions has not been fully appreciated. This paper reviews vaporization thermochemistry and the influence of vapor transport on thermal degradation processes of supported metal and metaloxide catalysts.
Contributions of hyphae and hypha-co-regulated genes to Candida albicans virulence.

Summary The fascinating ability of Candida albicans to undergo dramatic changes in cellular morphology has invited speculation that this plasticity in form contributes to the virulence of the organism. Molecular genetic analyses have confirmed this hypothesis and further demonstrated that genes that govern cellular morphology are co-regulated with genes encoding conventional virulence factors such as proteases and adhesins. The transcriptional regulatory networks of C. albicans thus ensure that hyphae are produced concomitantly with virulence factors, resulting in cells that are adapted for invading the tissues of an immunocompromised host. Hyphae are able to exert mechanical force, aiding penetration of epithelial surfaces, and hyphae damage endothelial cells, aiding escape of C. albicans from the host bloodstream into deeper tissue. Hyphal morphogenesis is thus an integral part of the overall virulence strategy of C. albicans.
The Electrocardiogram in Acute Myocardial Infarction Ian P. Clements. 260 pp. New York, NY: Futura Publishing Company, Inc; 1998. $65.00. ISBN 0-87993-693-2.

As a cardiology fellow 2 decades ago, I was told by an otherwise highly prescient mentor that by century’s end, the ECG would end up in the archival display cases at the Smithsonian as an honored but outmoded bedside clinical test. Word of the demise of the 12-lead ECG, however, has proved premature. Indeed, at the close of the millennium, this inexpensive and versatile test has been reinvigorated, perhaps most importantly by the advent of thrombolysis and acute angioplasty in the treatment of myocardial infarction (MI). The success of these remarkable interventions relies on the accurate diagnosis of …
Comparison of parenteral nutrition and enteral feeding with pectin in experimental colitis in the rat

The effect of a pectin-supplemented enteral diet on experimental colitis was compared with parenteral nutrition and with a pectin-free enteral diet. Forty-five rats had feeding catheters placed into either the stomach (IG, n = 31) or the superior vena cava (IV, n = 14) and then received acetic acid (colitis) or saline (control) enemas. After the enema, all rats received the same diet, either IG or IV, for 6 d except for 15 rats (IGP, 9 colitis and 6 controls), which had 1% pectin added to the diet. At the end of the feeding period the IGP group had significantly less colonic inflammation and/or necrosis than either IV (p less than 0.03) or IG (p less than 0.04) groups. Nitrogen balance, serum albumin, total iron-binding capacity and body weight did not differ significantly among dietary regimens. Thus, the degree of bowel injury in experimental colitis was decreased when animals were fed a pectin-supplemented enteral diet and this effect was independent of nutritional status.
Estimating determinants of dentist productivity: new evidence

Objective: Productivity (output per unit of input) is a major driver of dental service capacity. This study uses 2006-2007 data to update available knowledge on dentist productivity. Methods: In 2006-2007, the authors surveyed 1,604 Oregon general dentists regarding hours worked, practice size, payment and patient mix, prices, dentist visits, and dentist characteristics. Effects of practice inputs and other independent variables on productivity were estimated by multiple regression and path analysis. Results: The survey response rate was 55.2 percent. Dentists responding to the productivity-related questions were similar to dentists in the overall sampling frame and nationwide. Visits per week are significantly positively related to dentist hours worked, number of assistants, hygienists, and number of operatories. Dentist ownership status, years of experience, and percentage of Medicaid patients are significantly positively related to practice output. The contributions of dentist chairside time and assistants to additional output are smaller for owners, but the number of additional dentist visits enabled by more hygienists is larger for owners. Conclusion: As in earlier studies of dental productivity, the key determinant of dentist output is the dentist's own chairside time. The incremental contributions of dentist time, auxiliaries, and operatories to production of dentist visits have not changed substantially over the past three decades. Future studies should focus on ultimate measures of output – oral health – and should develop more precise measures of the practice's actual utilization of auxiliaries and their skill and use of technology.
On the consistency of instantaneous rigid motion estimation

Instantaneous camera motion estimation is an important research topic in computer vision. Although in theory more than five points uniquely determine the solution in an ideal situation, in practice one can usually obtain better estimates by using more image velocity measurements because of the noise present in the velocity measurements. However, the usefulness of using a large number of observations has never been analyzed in detail. In this paper, we formulate this problem in the statistical estimation framework. We show that under certain noise models, consistency of motion estimation can be established: that is, arbitrarily accurate estimates of motion parameters are possible with more and more observations. This claim does not simply follow from the general consistency result for maximum likelihood estimates. Some experiments will be provided to verify our theory. Our analysis and experiments also indicate that many previously proposed algorithms are inconsistent under even very simple noise models.
Carbohydrate administration during a day of sustained aerobic activity improves vigilance, as assessed by a novel ambulatory monitoring device, and mood.

Background: The brain requires a continuous supply of glucose to function adequately. During aerobic exercise, peripheral glucose requirements increase and carbohydrate supplementation improves physical performance. The brain's utilization of glucose also increases during aerobic exercise. However, the effects of energy supplementation on cognitive function during sustained aerobic exercise are not well characterized. Objective: The effects of energy supplementation, as liquid carbohydrate, on cognitive function during sustained aerobic activity were examined. Design: A double-blind, placebo-controlled, between-subjects design was used. Young, healthy men (n = 143) were randomly assigned to I of 3 treatment groups. The groups received either a 6% (by vol) carbohydrate (35.1 kJ/kg), 12% (by vol) carbohydrate (70.2 kJ/kg), or placebo beverage in 6 isovolumic doses, and all groups consumed 2 meals (3200 kJ). Over the 10-h study, the subjects performed physically demanding tasks including a 19.3-km road march and two 4.8-km runs, interspersed with rest and other activities. Wrist-worn vigilance monitors, which emitted auditory stimuli (20/h) to which the subjects responded as rapidly as possible, and a standardized self-report mood questionnaire were used to assess cognitive function. Results: Vigilance consistently improved with supplemental carbohydrates in a dose-related manner; the 12% carbohydrate group performed the best and the placebo group the worst (P < 0.001). Mood-questionnaire results corroborated the results from the monitors; the subjects who received carbohydrates reported less confusion (P = 0.040) and greater vigor (P = 0.025) than did those who received the placebo. Conclusions: Supplemental carbohydrate beverages enhance vigilance and mood during sustained physical activity and interspersed rest. In addition, ambulatory monitoring devices can continuously assess the effects of nutritional factors on cognition as individuals conduct their daily activities or participate in experiments.
Task Specialization and Odor Effects on Proboscis Extension Conditioning in Bumblebees ( Bombus huntii )

Workers in a social insect colony have distinct experiences that may affect their performance in a learning task. In this study using free-foraging and flight-cage bumblebee Bombus huntii colonies, the strength of olfactory proboscis extension conditioning (PEC) was affected by a bee’s task specialization as a nurse or forager and the stimulus odor. Nurses (n = 26) learned to respond to the odors 1-hexanol and lavender, but foragers (n = 25) had inhibited conditioning to both odors. More nurses (73 %) than foragers (48 %) had at least one conditioned response (CR), and nurses displayed significantly more CRs than foragers. As expected, a pseudoconditioned control group (n = 9) showed very few CRs. Among bees that were given a second day of trials, nurses—but not foragers—showed modest improvement. Such strong inhibition of PEC has not been described in honeybee or bumblebee foragers. The stimulus odor also affected conditioning strength in nurses. Lavender, a familiar odor, elicited earlier and more CRs than 1-hexanol. We propose that learning floral odors in the context of foraging may inhibit PEC in bumblebee foragers, whereas exposure to odors in the honey stores may prime subsequent learning in nurses.
Mutations in the putative pore-forming segment favor short-lived wild-type Kir2.1 pore conformations.

We have characterized single and double mutations in the M1-M2 segment of an inwardly rectifying K + channel, Kir2.1, using the cell-attached configuration of the patch-clamp technique. These mutations generated novel N-glycosylation sites at positions 128, 140, 143, and 147. Previously, we showed that these mutants were glycosylated, functional, and at the cell surface, which indicated that the putative pore-forming segment, including the invariant G(Y/F)G sequence of K + channels, was extracellular [Schwalbe, R. A., Rudin, A., Xia, S.-L., and Wingo, C. S. (2002) J. Biol. Chem. 277, 24382-24389]. In this study, three conductance states, corresponding to the main open state and two subconductance states, were identified in WT Kir2.1 channels expressed in infected Sf9 cells. Kir2.1 channels with mutations in the M1-M2 linker had at least one distinguishable conductance state of WT channels. In addition, these mutations altered the transitions, duration, and frequency of the defined populations of permeating and nonpermeating states. Of note, S128N had permeation rates similar to those of WT Kir2.1, but the total duration of the lower subconductance state was 3-5 times longer. Mutations in the signature sequence, 1143N/Y145T, produced channels with permeation rates similar to those of the main open state and lower subconductance state of WT Kir2.1; however, the frequencies of these states were substantially different. These results demonstrate a novel functional role of the M1-M2 segment in regulating the transitions of the Kir2. I channel and therefore suggest that this segment is a critical structural determinant in adjustments of pore conformations. Additionally, our results indicate that these mutants are correctly folded and thus further substantiate that the M1-M2 segment, including the G(Y/F)G sequence, is topologically extracellular.
Sustaining Open Space Benefits in the Northeast: An Evaluation of the Conservation Reserve Program

Abstract A conceptual model is developed to analyze agricultural landowners' decisions to continue agricultural use, participate in conservation programs, or sell land. The model serves as the framework for an econometric study of participation in the Conservation Reserve Program by Northeastern landowners. Results identify significant differences in enrollment between metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties in the region, and indicate that the Conservation Reserve Program is relatively unimportant to agricultural landowners in metropolitan counties. Also, the results indicate that if open space benefits are desired in metropolitan counties, alternative policies (e.g., purchase of development rights, zoning legislation) may be required.
Halloysite nanotube reinforced biodegradable nanocomposites using noncrosslinked and malonic acid crosslinked polyvinyl alcohol

Halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) based thin membrane-like fully biodegradable nanocomposites were produced by blending individualized HNT dispersion with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). Stable individualized HNT dispersion was obtained using several separation techniques, sequentially, prior to blending with PVA. PVA was crosslinked using malonic acid (MA) as crosslinker and phosphoric acid as catalyst, to increase the mechanical and thermal properties of HNT–PVA nanocomposites. Crosslinking was also intended to make PVA water-insoluble and hence more useful in commercial applications. Examination of the composites indicated that HNTs were uniformly dispersed in both PVA as well as crosslinked PVA. Excellent mechanical properties of the HNT–PVA nanocomposites were achieved. These nanocomposites are intended to be composted at the end of their life rather than ending up in landfills as most of today's traditional petroleum based non-biodegradable plastics. POLYM. COMPOS., 2013. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers
Tax Policy and Innovation

Tax policy should be formulated with recognition of its effects on research and development and innovation. Many changes in tax policy designed to stimulate innovation have been proposed in recent years. Some of these changes were embodied in the 1981 tax bill. Basic economic analysis and rudimentary statistics enable economists to make some useful statements about the effects of recent and proposed tax changes but, because practically no studies have been conducted in this area, there is little or no dependable information concerning the quantitative impact of particular changes of this sort on the rate of innovation.
Marangoni instability in non-isothermal first order gas—liquid reactions—evaluations of Cl2—toluene and CO2—sodium hydroxide systems

Abstract A necessary condition for surface tension driven interfacial convection in non-isothermal gas—liquid reaction processes is that the interface be at a higher temperature than the adjacent liquid. In many important practical applications the interface is, however, hotter than the liquid, unless the liquid looses heat to the gas. The magnitude of the dimensionless quantity Biot number, (Bi), is a measure of the rate of this heat transfer. Its critical value Bicrit is defined as that value which makes the temperature gradient at the interface vanishes. Thus when Bi ⪢ Bicrit the temperature gradient at the interface is positive. It is assumed here that Bicrit constitutes a lower bound of the Biot number below which Marangoni type instability is not possible. Bicrit is evaluated here from the governing unperturbed state equations. This analysis is presented for liquids of both finite and infinite depths. For system conditions which result in a positive temperature gradient at the gas—liquid interface, the results for critical Marangoni number are obtained using small perturbation analysis. Stationary neutral stability curves for chlorine—toluene systems and the relation between independent system parameters and the critical Marangoni number are outlined. The critical Marangoni number shows a curious U-type relation with Biot number. Practical significance of the stability results to the chlorine—toluene system is discussed.
Computer aided operability analysis via interactive graphics

Abstract A comprehensive computer-aided design methodology utilizing the highly interactive capabilities between a graphics computer and the user is described. The program, CHESOPS, enables a flexible simulation of any arbitrary chemical process by synthesizing the process design about several steady state values and extending the analysis to the effects of design changes on process operability. In this way the process may be visualized within a dynamic environment from which interactive control system design and dynamic simulation takes place. The highly flexible nature of the program enables efficient and comprehensive investigation of alternative designs, control structures, and optimal operating conditions.
How Bad Can it Get? Bounding Worst Case Endemic Heterogeneous Mixing Models of HIV/AIDS

Simple models of HIV transmission assume random (proportionate) mixing among subpopulations with differing sexual activity rates, while more complex models assume some form of nonrandom heterogeneous mixing. Since the modeled number of persons infected with HIV does depend upon the specific mixing assumptions employed, it is natural to consider the maximum number of infections that could occur under any feasible mixing pattern. Such worst case results are of special interest to decision makers who must prospectively evaluate the consequences of planned public health interventions. This paper derives upper bounds for the maximum number of infected persons possible under endemic steady state conditions within the workings of a heterogeneous mixing model of HIV transmission. We present two examples that utilize this bound for a range of parameter values reasonably descriptive of HIV/AIDS. These examples, summarized in Figures 4 and 5, show that the worst case number of infected persons in the endemic steady state can be well within 10% of the number of infected persons that would result from random mixing.
Molecular targets versus models for new antiepileptic drug discovery.

Animal models have played a key role in the discovery and characterization of all marketed antiepileptic drugs (AED). The conventional wisdom is that the standard animal screening models are becoming obsolete because they fail to identify compounds that act in mechanistically new ways and as a result do not offer therapeutic advantages over presently available agents. In fact, far from only detecting me-too drugs, the models often uncover compounds with distinctive profiles of activity in various types of epilepsy and in addition have unexpected efficacy in non-epilepsy conditions, such as neuropathic pain, bipolar disorder, and migraine. Moreover, the animal models—because they are unbiased with respect to mechanism—provide an opportunity to uncover drugs that act in new ways and through new targets, such as α2δ and SV2A. In vitro testing is not likely to replace screening in animal models because in vitro systems cannot model the specific pharmacodynamic actions required for seizure protection, and do not assess bioavailability and brain accessibility.
Renal contribution to overall metabolism of drugs III: Metabolism of p-aminobenzoic acid

The metabolic processes involved in the conversion of q-aminobenzoic acid to p-acetamidobenzoic acid, p-aminohippuric acid, and p-acetamidohippuric acid in the rabbit were reanalyzed. The contribution made by the kidney to the overall metabolism was estimated from analysis of clearance data.
The distribution and abundance of soil nematodes in East African savannas

Nematodes were sampled from sites under and between tree canopies in Tsavo National Park, Kenya. We tested the hypothesis that more nematodes would be present in the generally moister soil, under the canopy, with a larger biomass of green grass prevailing for many months of the year. We found that microbivorous nematodes comprised the bulk of the populations, approximately 90% of the total. Bacterivores were more numerous (approximately 3×105 on average) versus fungivores (approximately 5×104 on average) per m2, to 10 cm depth. All four trophic groups (plant parasites and omnivore/predators in addition to the microbivore groups mentioned above) were significantly higher under acacia than baobab in a drier site, but not significantly different under the two tree species in a wetter site. Only bacterivores were significantly different with respect to distance from the tree, with higher numbers associated with the higher microbial biomasses under the tree canopies. These higher microbial biomasses were reflected in 2.5 times more potentially mineralizable N under the tree canopies at the drier site. We suggest that belowground detrital and microbivorous food webs in savannas may be similar to those in temperate grasslands. Further proof of this idea awaits more extensive research.
Laboratory study of the effects of sidewall treatment, source directivity and temperature on the interior noise of a light aircraft fuselage

This paper describes a laboratory study of add-on {coustic treatments for a twin-engine, propeller-driven aircraft fuselage. The sound source was a pneumatic-driver, with attached horn to simulate propeller noise distribution, powered by a white noise signal. Treatments included a double-wall, production-line treatment and various fiberglass and lead-vinyl treatments. Insertion losses, space-averaged across six interior microphone positions, were used to evaluate the treatments. In addition, the effects of sound source angle and ambient temperature on interior sound pressure level are presented. The sound source angle is shown to have a significant effect on one-third octave band localized sound pressure level. While changes in ambient temperature are shown to have little effect on one-third octave band localized sound pressure level, the change in narrowband localized sound pressure level may be dramatic.
Revisiting Predictions of War Duration

We reexamine the fit of Bennett and Stam's 1996 model of war duration, correcting errors in the reported estimates of prediction accuracy.We discuss how to assess fit in the absence of standard or widely accepted measures of fit in duration models. We introduce a proportional reduction in error measure for duration models and report new estimates of model fit from the Bennett and Stam model.The model does significantly reduce prediction error relative to a naive model.
Feasibility of Using Precast Concrete Panels to Expedite Construction of Portland Cement Concrete Pavements

As the number of vehicles on America's roadways continues to grow at an unprecedented rate, pavements continue to deteriorate faster and require replacement. In urban and densely populated areas, however, pavement construction can cause traffic delays, thereby increasing user costs. A method for expediting pavement construction to reduce traffic delays and user costs is therefore needed. A feasible method for expediting construction of portland cement concrete pavements through the use of precast concrete panels is described. The main advantage of precast concrete panels is that they can be set in place and assembled quickly, allowing traffic back onto the pavement almost immediately. This allows pavement construction to be carried out in overnight or weekend operations, when traffic volumes are low, resulting in tremendous savings in user costs. The concept presented for precast concrete pavement should have the same, if not better, durability as conventional cast-in-place concrete pavements currently being constructed. Also, by incorporating prestressing, it is demonstrated that equivalent load repetitions and design life can be achieved with a significant reduction in pavement thickness over conventional pavements. Although the initial construction costs may be higher for precast pavements, the savings in user costs far outweigh any additional construction costs.
ASTM standards for ski binding performance: environmental testing of releasable ski bindings

This research involves the generation of standards for release bindings used in downhill or "Alpine" skiing. The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) is currently working on voluntary consensus standards for the manufacture of skiing equipment. One aspect under investigation is the effect of specific environments (vibration, contamination and corrosion) on the stability of the functional release characteristics of bindings. The results of the current research indicate that vibration tests affect bindings that have threaded fasteners without any locking provision. The dust and dirt tests affect bindings that rely on a moving boot-binding interface more than those that don't. The salt-fog exposure affected all metallic surfaces. Cast aluminum surfaces were more affected than forged, rolled or drawn surfaces. Stainless steel was relatively unaffected. Bearing surface deterioration was the major factor. Some interaction with boot-binding interfaces did occur. Limits are suggested that differentiate between high and low quality bindings. Language: en