cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Classification of bimodal English and Spanish language passages by infants

Abstract This research was undertaken to assess whether 5-month-old infants could discriminate and classify audible and visible, English and Spanish speech passages on the basis of language membership. Forty-eight infants were tested in an infant-control visual habituation procedure. They were habituated to a video display of a woman reciting one of two passages in either English or Spanish. Variables such as speaker identity, meter, number of syllables, affect, facial motion, and speed and intensity of speech were controlled across the English and Spanish versions of each passage. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of three discrimination test conditions: (a) a no-change control, (b) a new passage presented in the old language, or (c) a new passage presented in the new language. It was expected that if infants were capable of classifying passages on the basis of language membership, they would show significant recovery to the new passage when it was presented in the new language, relative to the performance of control subjects, but would generalize habituation across passages of the old language. Results confirmed these expectations. A second experiment identical to the first except for the presentation of silent visual displays demonstrated that classification of languages was not based on visual information for speech. Rather, the auditory information was necessary for classification. These findings are discussed in the context of an invariant-detection view of perceptual development.
Topical Review Article: Pharmacologic Management of Neonatal Cerebral Ischemia and Hemorrhage: Old and New Directions

New developments in pharmacologic management of cerebral ischemia and hemorrhage are reviewed. A number of agents with diverse modes of action have now been shown to be neuroprotective in adult and neonatal animal models when administered either before or after a hypoxic-ischemic insult. As experience improves with these agents in hypoxic-ischemic injury and periventricular-intraventricular hemorrhage in human neonates, there is reason to be optimistic that effective neuroprotective strategies will soon be clinically available. (J Child Neurol 1993;8:7-18) .
Changes in Behavioral Ratings of Depressed Children Treated with Imipramine

This paper presents the results of an open clinical trial of imipramine treatment of children meeting research criteria for depression. Significant differences between predrug and imipramine treatment on systematically collected observations employing a standardized, reliable instrument were found, particularly in the areas of conceptual dysfunction, incongruous behavior, lethargy/dejection, perceptual dysfunction, and the total score. The individual behavioral responses from high dose imipramine treatment and their significance for future study are discussed.
Cylinder-Slider Parallel Manipulators for Singularity-Free Path Generation

A challenge for cylinder-slider parallel manipulators is their limited workspace and singularity-free path generation. In this paper, the linkage feasibility conditions are derived based on the elimination of dead point position within the workspace. The workspace is generated using the curve-enveloping theory. The singularity-free path generation capability is analyzed. The performance index contours within the workspace are produced using the condition number of the manipulator Jacobian matrix. This paper shows that five-bar cylinder-slider parallel manipulators can be used as effective singularity-free path generators if properly designed. The results of this paper provide a useful map for designing this type of parallel manipulator.© 2011 ASME
SEC3P IS INVOLVED IN SECRETION AND MORPHOGENESIS IN SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE

Abstract Two new temperature-sensitive alleles of SEC3, 1 of 10 late-acting SEC genes required for targeting or fusion of post-Golgi secretory vesicles to the plasma membrane in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, were isolated in a screen for temperature-sensitive secretory mutants that are synthetically lethal with sec4-8. The new sec3 alleles affect early as well as late stages of secretion. Cloning and sequencing of the SEC3 gene revealed that it is identical to profilin synthetic lethal 1 (PSL1). The SEC3 gene is not essential because cells depleted of Sec3p are viable although slow growing and temperature sensitive. All of the sec3 alleles genetically interact with a profilin mutation, pfy1-111. The SEC3 gene in high copy suppresses pfy1-111 and sec5-24 and causes synthetic growth defects with ypt1, sec8-9, sec10-2, and sec15-1. Actin structure is only perturbed in conditions of chronic loss of Sec3p function, implying that Sec3p does not directly regulate actin. All alleles of sec3 cause bud site selection defects in homozygous diploids, as do sec4-8 and sec9-4. This suggests that SEC gene products are involved in determining the bud site and is consistent with a role for Sec3p in determining the correct site of exocytosis.
Clinical measurement of rate of reading and discourse in young adults

Abstract The present study investigated discourse (connected speech) rates and utterance rates in a group of normal-speaking subjects. Sample sizes of about 100 words (140 syllables), 120 words (165 syllables), and 112 words (143 syllables) were found to be sufficient to obtain valid estimation of rate of reading, talking, and describing, respectively. The slow speakers in the group had rates of 174–186 words per minute (WPM) or 241–259 syllables per minute (SPM), 136–144 WPM (183–204 SPM), 133–147 WPM (171–181 SPM) during reading, talking, and picture description, respectively. These rates may be appropriate guidelines for rate control therapies of stuttering. If individual utterances rather than connected speech are used for rate control, 3.35–3.67 words per second (WPS) or 4.54–5.07 syllables per second (SPS), 2.28–3.09 WPS (3.36–4.19 SPS), 2.61–3.12 WPS (3.27–3.96 SPS), falling between the 25th and 50th percentile values, appear to be suitable for reading, talking, and picture description tasks respectively. In the present study, the rates of reading and discourse (talking about self and picture description) were comparable whether measured in WPM or SPM and in males and females.
Energy balance in the solar transition region. I - Hydrostatic thermal models with ambipolar diffusion

The energy balance in the lower transition region is analyzed by constructing theoretical models which satisfy the energy balance constraint. The energy balance is achieved by balancing the radiative losses and the energy flowing downward from the corona. This energy flow is mainly in two forms: conductive heat flow and hydrogen ionization energy flow due to ambipolar diffusion. Hydrostatic equilibrium is assumed, and, in a first calculation, local mechanical heating and Joule heating are ignored. In a second model, some mechanical heating compatible with chromospheric energy-balance calculations is introduced. The models are computed for a partial non-LTE approach in which radiation departs strongly from LTE but particles depart from Maxwellian distributions only to first order. The results, which apply to cases where the magnetic field is either absent, or uniform and vertical, are compared with the observed Lyman lines and continuum from the average quiet sun. The approximate agreement suggests that this type of model can roughly explain the observed intensities in a physically meaningful way, assuming only a few free parameters specified as chromospheric boundary conditions.
Are breast cancer navigation programs cost-effective? Evidence from the Chicago Cancer Navigation Project.

Abstract Objectives One of the aims of the Chicago Cancer Navigation Project (CCNP) is to reduce the interval of time between abnormal breast cancer screening and definitive diagnosis in patients who are navigated as compared to usual care. In this article, we investigate the extent to which total costs of breast cancer navigation can be offset by survival benefits and savings in lifetime breast cancer-attributable costs. Methods Data sources for the cost-effectiveness analysis include data from published literature, secondary data from the NCI's Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program, and primary data from the CCNP. Results If women enrolled in CCNP receive breast cancer diagnosis earlier by 6 months as compared to usual care, then navigation is borderline cost-effective for $95,625 per life-year saved. Results from sensitivity analyses suggest that the cost-effectiveness of navigation is sensitive to: the interval of time between screening and diagnosis, percent increase in number of women who receive cancer diagnosis and treatment, women's age, and the positive predictive value of a mammogram. Conclusions In planning cost-effective navigation programs, special considerations should be made regarding the characteristics of the disease, program participants, and the initial screening test that determines program eligibility.
Color memory and color constancy

Color constancy is the perceived stability of the color of objects despite changes in the light illuminating them. An object’s color is considered constant if the current perceived color is judged to be in accord with the remembered one. Thus the accuracy and precision of color memory are fundamental to understanding this classic problem. Two hypotheses of color memory are tested here: (1) the photoreceptor hypothesis, which states that the color recalled from memory reproduces the light absorbed by each type of cone and (2) the surface-reflectance hypothesis, which states that the color recalled from memory is based on an inferred spectral reflectance of a surface that does not depend on the spectral distribution of the illuminant. In the experiments a test color is surrounded by either (i) a complex pattern composed of several colored patches or (ii) a uniform “gray” field at the chromaticity of the illuminant. In a control condition the test color is presented on a dark background. Long-term memory of the test color is measured in a production task begun 10 min after the end of the learning phase. In general, the results with a complex surround are consistent with the surface-reflectance hypothesis but not with the photoreceptor hypothesis. Color memory with the “gray” surround, on the other hand, shows a much stronger effect of the illuminant used during learning. These results are consistent with computational models of color constancy that require three or more chromaticities in view.
The metabolism of nicotine-1′-oxide in excised Nicotiana glutinosa leaves

Abstract Aqueous solutions of nicotine-1′-oxide- 14 C and nicotine- 14 C were absorbed through the stems of excised Nicotiana glutinosa leaves. After varying metabolic periods, the alkaloids were reisolated from the excised leaves and separated by TLC. The 14 C content of the regions of the chromatographs corresponding to nicotine and nornicotine were determined by liquid scintillation counting. It was found that nicotine-1′-oxide was converted into both nicotine and nornicotine by the mature N. glutinosa leaf. The extent of the conversion of nicotine-1′-oxide to nornicotine approximated the extent of the conversion of nicotine to nornicotine. However, it was found that nicotine was converted faster than nicotine-1′-oxide to nornicotine, and that nicotine-1′-oxide was converted to nicotine faster than it was converted to nornicotine. In young N. glutinosa leaves it was found that little nicotine-1′-oxide was converted to nornicotine, while the conversion of nicotine-1′-oxide to nicotine was still observed. The increased conversion of nicotine-1′-oxide to nornicotine that was observed as the plants matured could be directly correlated with the increased ability of the maturing N. glutinosa leaves to convert nicotine to nornicotine. The experimental results are readily explained by proposing that the N. glutinosa leaves catalyze a reduction of nicotine-1′-oxide to nicotine and that the observed conversion of nicotine-1′-oxide to nornicotine occurs only via the nicotine so produced. It is concluded, therefore, that nicotine-1′-oxide is not an intermediate in the conversion of nicotine to nornicotine in alkaloid containing N. glutinosa leaves.
Health in the medical and other learned professions.

Abstract An evaluation of the health of males aged 20–64 in the medical, legal, teaching, and clerical professions in 6 countries is attempted on the basis of official statistics and study findings over the past century, using standardized mortality ratio as an index. Consistent differences in mortality are exhibited, from low among teachers and clergymen to high among lawyers and physicians. This is particularly true for such causes as coronary heart disease, suicide, and vascular lesions of the central nervous system. There is some evidence of mortality or morbidity differentials between generalists and specialists, or between specialists in the medical and perhaps in other professions. Among males in the learned professions and those in the general population, mortality excess for coronary heart disease and accidents accounted substantially for a higher total mortality for American groups than for British. However, for tuberculosis, cancer of the lung and bronchus, and influenza and pneumonia, mortality levels are in a reversed position and, hence, narrowed the mortality differential of all combined causes between the two countries. For the specific causes mentioned above, mortality excess for one country over another occurs in most cases for both old and particularly young age groups. The lower mortality for physicians in Denmark compared to the United States or Britain is attributed to greatly lowered death rates for coronary heart disease and accidents in young or old age groups. The findings are interpreted with the aid of a suggested conceptual scheme. Several areas of future research are discussed.
Identification of mesospheric heavy ion ledge

Abstract For the first time a ground based technique, i.e. incoherent scatter observation of the mesospheric spectra has been utilized in identifying the ‘transition height’ of simple molecular ions to complex cluster ions around 80–90 km in the D-region. This transition height also matches with the electron density ledge. A substantial diurnal variation of this height is observed. The transition height varies by about 10km during the course of a day, the lowest being 80 km, near noon. There is also a strong likelihood that both the neutral temperature and effective positive ion mass vary during the course of a day.
Concept empiricism, content, and compositionality

Concepts are the constituents of thoughts. Therefore, concepts are vital to any theory of cognition. However, despite their widely accepted importance, there is little consensus about the nature and origin of concepts. Thanks to the work of Lawrence Barsalou, Jesse Prinz and others concept empiricism has been gaining momentum within the philosophy and psychology literature. Concept empiricism maintains that all concepts are copies, or combinations of copies, of perceptual representations—that is, all concepts are couched in the codes of perceptual representation systems. It is widely agreed that any satisfactory theory of concepts must account for how concepts semantically compose (the compositionality requirement) and explain how their intentional content is determined (the content determination requirement). In this paper, I argue that concept empiricism has serious problems satisfying these two requirements. Therefore, although stored perceptual representations may facilitate some traditionally conceptual tasks, concepts should not be identified with copies of perceptual representations.
Testing phylogenetic hypotheses of the subgenera of the freshwater crayfish genus Cambarus (Decapoda: Cambaridae).

Background: The genus Cambarus is one of three most species rich crayfish genera in the Northern Hemisphere. The genus has its center of diversity in the Southern Appalachians of the United States and has been divided into 12 subgenera. Using Cambarus we test the correspondence of subgeneric designations based on morphology used in traditional crayfish taxonomy to the underlying evolutionary history for these crayfish. We further test for significant correlation and explanatory power of geographic distance, taxonomic model, and a habitat model to estimated phylogenetic distance with multiple variable regression. Methodology/Principal Findings: We use three mitochondrial and one nuclear gene regions to estimate the phylogenetic relationships for species within the genus Cambarus and test evolutionary hypotheses of relationships and associated morphological and biogeographical hypotheses. Our resulting phylogeny indicates that the genus Cambarus is polyphyletic, however we fail to reject the monophyly of Cambarus with a topology test. The majority of the Cambarus subgenera are rejected as monophyletic, suggesting the morphological characters used to define those taxa are subject to convergent evolution. While we found incongruence between taxonomy and estimated phylogenetic relationships, a multiple model regression analysis indicates that taxonomy had more explanatory power of genetic relationships than either habitat or geographic distance. Conclusions: We find convergent evolution has impacted the morphological features used to delimit Cambarus subgenera. Studies of the crayfish genus Orconectes have shown gonopod morphology used to delimit subgenera is also affected by convergent evolution. This suggests that morphological diagnoses based on traditional crayfish taxonomy might be confounded by convergent evolution across the cambarids and has little utility in diagnosing relationships or defining natural groups. We further suggest that convergent morphological evolution appears to be a common occurrence in invertebrates suggesting the need for careful phylogenetically based interpretations of morphological evolution in invertebrate systematics.
EXPLORING MATHEMATICS OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM THROUGH THE FIELD TRIP ASSIGNMENT

ABSTRACT This article describes the Field Trip Assignment, which was developed for a mathematics modeling course for prospective teachers. The objective of the assignment was to motivate students to make connections between mathematics and real-life phenomena while considering how to make those connections explicit to their future students. For the Field Trip Assignment, students designed a field trip that would be suitable for middle and high school mathematics courses. In groups of three, students chose a site, developed a project based on the site, conducted a test-run of the field trip, and shared their experiences with their peers. Through this assignment, students not only explored the applications of mathematics in various authentic settings, but also, as future teachers, they were exposed to the complexities of planning field trips. As part of the assignment, students posted their completed projects on Blackboard so that their peers could use them as resources when planning field trips for their f...
What is new in exercise in pregnancy? Best articles from the past year.

This month we focus on current research in exercise in pregnancy. Dr. Blanchette discusses four recent publications, and each is concluded with a “bottom line” that is the take-home message. The complete reference for each can be found in Box 1 on this page, along with direct links to the abstracts.
Gender, Personality, and Prejudice: The Display of Authoritarianism and Social Dominance in Interviews with College Men and Women ☆

Abstract One hundred fifty-five men and 256 women were assessed on authoritarianism, social dominance, and other personality traits. Authoritarianism showed few correlations with personality measures; however, social dominance correlated with disagreeableness, coldness, vindictiveness, and aggressiveness for all participants and with masculine interests for men. Ninety-three questionnaire participants (47 men and 46 women) were interviewed and rated on various personality traits. Both authoritarianism and social dominance were highly judgable from interviews. Authoritarian individuals, especially men, were judged to be defensive, maladjusted, and prejudiced. Socially dominant individuals, especially women, were judged to be disagreeable, cold, and prejudiced. Authoritarianism correlated particularly strongly with negative attitudes toward homosexuality, and social dominance with the endorsement of gender inequality. Results are discussed in terms of two kinds of dispositional prejudice.
The Intersection of Medical Debt and Predatory Lending Among Hispanics

This pilot study explored the link between predatory lending and health care debt among Hispanics. Research shows that links exist between health care costs, debt, poverty, and race (Draught & Silva, 2003; Zeldin & Rukavina, 2007). Prior to this study there was no research on the intersection between medical debt and predatory lending although there was reason to believe this link exists (Seifert, 2004). Our results confirm this link and we propose means to break it.
Interconnect reliability assurance for circuits with billions of transistors

The small number of atoms involved in a 20nm conductor makes the conductor susceptible to the local variation in stress, grain structure and surrounding dielectric consistency. This leads to a larger variation in the performance of each metal line or via. At the same time, we increase the number of metal lines on a chip. The results is a complex failure distribution that will require design mitigation to accomplish the goals set for the product.
Some principles and applications of adaptive mathematical morphology for range imagery

We explore the application of adaptive (i.e., data-dependent) mathematical morphology techniques to range imagery, i.e., the use of structuring elements that automatically adjust to the gray-scale values in a range image to deal with (e.g., extract or eliminate) features of known physical sizes.
PERCEIVED QUALITY AND CITATION RATES OF EDUCATION JOURNALS

Citation rates have been shown to be positively related to the scholarly stature of individuals, academic departments, and scientific journals in a number of academic disciplines. The results of this study show a much weaker relationship between the citation rates and perceived quality of education journals than reported in studies of other disciplines. However, this overall finding masks wide variation in the relationship for specific education specialty areas and between “core” and “allied” education journals. The implications of these findings for subsequent research on the complex process of knowledge diffusion and utilization are discussed.
Altered fatty acid composition of serum phospholipids in protein-malnourished Nigerian children

Abstract The fatty acid composition of the total phospholipid fraction of serum obtained from 11 controls and 10 protein-energy malnourished (PEM) children in Benin City, Nigeria were determined by gas-liquid chromatography. Comparisons of the fatty acid patterns revealed that the severely malnourished children were not deficient in arachidonic acid or the essential fatty acids, linoleic [C18:2n-6] and α-linolenic [C18:3n-3]. However, the serum phospholipids of the PEM children contained twice as much oleic acid [C18:1n-9] (p n -9 (p n -6 (dihomo-γ-linolenic acid) and C20:5 n -3(eicosapentaenoic acid) were significantly lower in the serum phospholipids of the malnourished children compared to the controls (p
A consideration of invertebrate central pattern generators as computational data bases

Abstract The essential features of real neural networks are discussed with respect to their usefulness for connectionist modeling. These features are broken down into cellular and synaptic properties and related to a form of neural circuit known as central pattern generators. The gastric and pyloric rhythm of the lobster stomatogastric system are presented as possible computational data bases for modeling studies.
Globalization, rigidities and national specialization: a dynamic analysis

Abstract The paper extends the ‘dynamic’ economic geography technique to analyze the evolution of national specialization as trade costs decrease. As agglomeration economies arise, due to the decrease of trade costs, countries could benefit from specializing in one sector. Nevertheless, the sector of specialization, as well as the speed of relocation of factors towards this sector, depends crucially on the costs of relocating factors and on comparative advantages. Labor market rigidities and comparative advantages contribute to lock a country in its current specialization pattern slowing relocation of factors. The model is consistent with some stylized facts on specialization and labor market rigidities in OECD countries.
A biogeochemical comparison of Lakes Superior and Malawi and the limnological consequences of an endless summer

Abstract Fundamental differences between tropical and temperate Great Lakes are the continuously high temperature throughout the water column in tropical lakes and high rates of annual photosynthesis possible under continuously high solar irradiance. These aspects not only lead to permanent stratification and hypolimnetic anoxia in the deepest tropical lakes, but also they have consequences for oxygen concentrations throughout the water column and can dramatically affect the biogeochemical cycles of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus. Denitrification and enhanced regeneration of phosphorus from metal oxides cause low nitrogen:phosphorus ratios in the deep waters of tropical lakes and create a nitrogen deficit when deep waters mix into surface waters which is met through N-fixation. Comparison of the whole lake nutrient budgets of Lake Superior and Lake Malawi demonstrate the effects of the preferential regeneration of phosphorus in Lake Malawi and loss of nitrogen. In the upper 200 m of permanently stratified Lake Malawi, nitrogen has a residence time of 2 years while in dimictic Lake Superior the nitrogen residence time is over 50 years. This disparity in the residence time indicates that nitrogen is poorly recycled to the mixed layer of Malawi. The physical climate of tropical great lakes affects nutrient biogeochemical cycles differently and imposes biogeochemical characteristics different from temperate lakes on the water quality. In particular, tropical lakes have low nitrogen to phosphorus ratios and chronic, anoxia which will lead to rapid proliferation of nitrogen fixing filamentous cyanobacteria when nutrient loading increases. The chronic hypoxia of tropical lakes will also enhance release of phosphorus bound to metal oxides and allow soil erosion to induce eutrophication in tropical lakes.
Charge-coupled device imaging spectroscopy of Mars. 1. Instrumentation and data reduction/analysis procedures

This paper describes the collection, reduction, and analysis of 0.4–1.0 μm Mars imaging spectroscopy data obtained during the 1988 and 1990 oppositions from Mauna Kea Observatory and provides a general outline for the acquisition and analysis of similar imaging spectroscopy data sets. The U.H. 2.24-m Wide Field Grism CCD Spectrograph was used to collect 13 three-dimensional image cubes covering 90% of the planet south of 50°N in the 0.4–0.8 μm region (λ/Δλ=245 at 0.6 μm) and covering 55% of the planet south of 50°N in the 0.5–1.0 μm region (λ/Δλ=293 at 0.75 μm). Spectra extracted from these image cubes reveal the detailed character of the martian near-UV to visible spectrum. Images at red wavelengths reveal the “classical” albedo markings at 100–500 km spatial resolution while images at blue wavelengths show little surface feature contrast and are dominated by condensate clouds/hazes and polar ice. Many of the data acquisition, reduction, and analysis steps discussed here are new or unique to imaging spectroscopy data sets. These techniques exploit the information contained within the spatial domain of data such as these, thus allowing more traditional point-spectral analysis techniques to be expanded into an imaging format.
ViewpointYour students are your legacy

This Viewpoint boils down into a few magazine pages what I've learned in my 32 years of mentoring Ph.D. students.
Structural Requirements for in Vivo Myosin I Function in Aspergillus nidulans

We have investigated the minimal requirements of the tail region for myosin I function in vivo using the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans. The CL3 strain (McGoldrick, C. A., Gruver, C., and May, G. S. (1995) J. Cell Biol. 128, 577-587) was transformed with a variety of myoA constructs containing mutations in the IQ, TH-1-like, SH3, and proline-rich domains by frameshift or in-frame deletions of the tail domains. The resulting strains contained wild type myoA driven by the alcA promoter and a mutant myoA driven by its endogenous promoter. This strategy allowed for selective expression of the wild type and/or mutant form of MYOA by the choice of growth medium. Proper septation and hyphal branching were found to be dependent on the interaction of the IQ motifs with calmodulin, as well as, the presence of its proline-rich domain. Additionally, a single proline-rich motif was sufficient for nearly wild type MYOA function. Most surprisingly, the SH3 domain was not essential for MYOA function. These studies expand our previous knowledge of the function of MYOA to include roles in hyphal morphogenesis, septal wall formation, and cell polarity, laying the groundwork for more detailed investigations on the function of the various tail domains in MYOA.
Multifunctional Dendrimer-Modified Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes: Synthesis, Characterization, and In Vitro Cancer Cell Targeting and Imaging

Carbon nanotubes hold great promise for their use as a platform in nanomedicine, especially in drug delivery, medical imaging, and cancer targeting and therapeutics. Herein, we present a facile approach to modifying carbon nanotubes with multifunctional poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers for cancer cell targeting and imaging. In this approach, fluorescein isothiocyanate (FI)- and folic acid (FA)-modified amine-terminated generation 5 (G5) PAMAM dendrimers (G5·NH2-FI-FA) were covalently linked to acid-treated multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), followed by acetylation of the remaining primary amine groups of the dendrimers. The resulting MWCNT/G5.NHAc-FI-FA composites are water-dispersible, stable, and biocompatible. In vitro flow cytometry and confocal microscopy data show that the formed MWCNT/G5·NHAc-FI-FA composites can specifically target to cancer cells overexpressing high-affinity folic acid receptors. The results of this study suggest that, through modification with multifunctional dendrimers, ...
The Relative Bargaining Strengths of the Developing Countries

"A particular aspect of economic stability to which special attention must be given is the stabilization of world raw material prices .... The unfortunate consequences of large fluctuations in these prices have been particularly evident in the past few years. ... While the need for avoiding excessive fluctuations will be readily recognized, there is no easy solution that is equally applicable to all commodities" (Organization for European Economic Cooperation, pp. 26-27). This description of the commodity problem could have been written in 1974, but in fact it was written more than two decades ago. The lack of progress since then in dealing with commodity prices-both to reduce the amplitude of fluctuations and to maintain or increase their prices relative to those of manufactured goods-has been a frequent source of friction between the industrialized and the developing countries. Efforts to manage commodity prices through international cooperation have not been lacking but, in general, these have not been very successful. The world economic situation and the actions of groups of commodity-producing countries have heightened the awareness of raw material producers and consumers alike to the possibilities of supply management. Speculation about the chances for success of such actions obviously must be larded liberally with humility derived from the knowledge that a mere three years ago it was held with certitude that a collective effort to raise oil prices was impossible. Nonetheless, it is worthwhile to set out the interrelationships bearing on the access to, and the prices of, primary commodities so that there will be a framework for discussion of alternative scenarios. The unilateral increase of oil prices, the general commodity price boom of 1972-74, and the concern with the possible depletion of the world's resources is sometimes seen as the beginning of a major shift in power relationships between the industrialized and developing countries. Fred Bergsten called attention to the interaction of these factors as early as the summer of 1973 and recently has expanded on this theme.
Effect of Slope and Headpond on Passage of American Shad and Blueback Herring through Simple Denil and Deepened Alaska Steeppass Fishways

Abstract Passage and transit time of adult upstream-migrant American shad Alosa sapidissima and blueback herring A. aestivalis were investigated in standard Denil and Alaska steeppass fishways with variable slope and headpond under semicontrolled conditions. Percent of American shad passed per unit time (percent passage) increased with temperature, while time required to ascend from the fishway entrance to the exit (transit time) decreased with increasing temperature for both species. Increasing fishway slope decreased percent passage of American shad, regardless of fishway type. Higher fishway slope decreased percent passage of blueback herring in the steeppass fishway only. Low headpond enhanced percent passage of American shad in the Denil fishway, but decreased percent passage of American shad in the steeppass fishway. Headpond level had no effect on percent passage of blueback herring in either fishway. Because headpond level in the steeppass fishway affected percent passage of American shad but not ...
Multi-purpose digital test core utilizing programmable logic

A general-purpose, reconfigurable logic circuit, including an FPGA and a standard USB communications port, is introduced to implement many of the functions of traditional automated test equipment (ATE). An optional port to local memory is included for applications requiring extensive test vector storage. The test core provides a substantial number of programmable I/Os for testing other circuits. It may be used either to enhance the capabilities of ATE or to provide autonomous testing within large systems or arrays of components. Based upon limitations of current BIST and ATE, the need for the digital test core is described. The test core concept is introduced, and a specific circuit design is presented. This design is first evaluated independently and is then embedded into two example applications, including: (1) a high speed transmitter/receiver, and (2) a continuity checker for high-density flip-chips.
Robust group key agreement using short broadcasts

A group key agreement protocol (GKA) allows a set of players to establish a shared secret key which can be used to secure a subsequent communication. Several efficient constant-round GKA's have been proposed. However, their performance degrades if some players fail during protocol execution. This is a problem in practice, e.g. for mobile nodes communicating over wireless media, which can loose connectivity during the protocol execution. Current constant-round GKA protocols are either efficient and non-robust or robust but not efficient: Assuming a reliable broadcast communication medium, the standard encryption-based group key agreement protocol can be robust against arbitrary number of node faults, but the size of the messages broadcast by every player is proportional to the number of players. In contrast, non-robust group key agreement can be achieved with each player broadcasting just constant-sized messages.We propose a novel 2-round group key agreement protocol which tolerates up to T node failures using O(T)-sized messages, for any T. To exemplify the usefulness of this flexible trade-off between message size and fault tolerance, we show that the new protocol implies a fully-robust group key agreement with O(log n)-sized messages and expected round complexity close to 2, assuming random node faults. The proposed protocol is secure under the (standard) Decisional Square Diffie-Hellman assumption.
Patterns of feeding behaviour in adult male riodinid butterflies and their relationship to morphology and ecology

Abstract Adult butterflies are known to visit a wide variety of food substrates, but, with the exception of flower visitation, little is known about what substances are being sought or what determines substrate choice. This is especially true for the Riodinidae, a large family ( c. 1300 spp.) of almost exclusively Neotropical butterflies. We present adult male feeding records for 124 species in 41 genera of Riodinidae (out of a total of 441 species in 85 genera collected in the study), based on ten months sampling in Ecuador. Records of food substrates visited in this study include flowers, damp sand or mud («puddling») and rotting carrion. Rotting carrion placed in traps was the most frequently recorded food source in terms of numbers of individuals and taxa, attracting 89 species from 32 genera. A correlation is found between food substrate choice and morphology, specifically wing area to thoracic volume ratio (WA:TV ratio). Our data suggest the possible existence of two adaptive syndromes whose species have significantly different mean WA:TV ratios and differing suites of accompanying ecological traits, with lower ratios being significantly correlated with species that were recorded feeding. Among species recorded feeding, carrion feeders and puddlers have significantly lower mean WA:TV ratios than flower nectarers, and carrion feeders have a lower mean WA:TV ratio than species not recorded on this food source, a correlation that is significant across all tribes and within some tribes (Riodinini and Saratoni). We reanalyse previously published data on flight and morphology for species in other butterfly and moth families and show that the ratio of wing area to thoracic mass is significantly negatively correlated with flight speed and oxygen consumption (a direct indicator of metabolic rate). We suggest that adult male riodinids may puddle and feed at rotting carrion to supplement nutrient stores from larval feeding, not only to increase reproductive success, but also to provide the necessary nutrients to maintain high metabolic rates during rapid flight.
Mind wandering and education: from the classroom to online learning

In recent years, cognitive and educational psychologists have become interested in applying principles of cognitive psychology to education. Here, we discuss the importance of understanding the nature and occurrence of mind wandering in the context of classroom and online lectures. In reviewing the relevant literature, we begin by considering early studies that provide important clues about student attentiveness via dependent measures such as physical markers of inattention, note taking, and retention. We then provide a broad overview of studies that have directly measured mind wandering in the classroom and online learning environments. Finally, we conclude by discussing interventions that might be effective at curbing the occurrence of mind wandering in educational settings, and consider various avenues of future research that we believe can shed light on this well-known but little studied phenomenon.
Barriers to the Introduction of New Medical Diagnostic Tests

Driven by rapid developments in sequencing technologies, proteomics and other progresses in biological sciences, new diagnostic tests are expected to play a growing role in medicine as well as in tailoring medical treatments to specific patients. The road of a test from bench top to patient is a difficult and incremental process. This report examines the barriers that exist to the introduction of new diagnostic investigations into routine medical practice. These barriers are manifold and include the burden of proof in establishing the scientific validity and clinical usefulness of a new test; regulatory hurdles; issues surrounding costs, coverage, and ensuring appropriate compensation for the work that goes into the development and delivery of a new test; a preference amongst physicians for traditional diagnostic methods that are often less formal and require a higher degree of expert analysis and interpretation; and resistance to more broad-based genetic testing by the general public, including ethical concerns about the possibility of genetics-based discrimination.
ATPRG: an automatic test program generator using HDL-A for fault diagnosis of analog/mixed-signal integrated circuits

HDL-A is an analog version of the Hardware Description Language which is suitable for structural and behavioral descriptions and simulations of digital, analog, and mixed-signal circuits and systems. This paper presents an automatic test program generator (ATPRG) for fault diagnosis of analog/mixed-signal integrated circuits. The ATPRG is developed under the Mentor Graphics Design system environment, where the units under test (UUT's) are modeled in HDL-A and simulated by Accusim, and AMPLE (Advanced Multi-Purpose Language) in Mentor Graphics Design system environment is used to define and execute the generation process automatically. To increase the reliability and quality, the generated test programs will be verified and validated. A verification process checks if the test programs are generated correctly and if the generated test programs can effectively locate fault(s). The test programs are validated by emulating the UUT's. The actual test can be run in a fully automatic mode, or interactively.
Evolution of definitions of response, progression-free survival and event-free survival in front-line studies of chronic myeloid leukemia

Standardized definitions of response and outcome are useful to evaluate study data, facilitate treatment guideline adherence and aid clinical decision-making. Although definitions of response in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) have been standardized, definitions of disease progression have not been standardized, despite widespread adoption of the term to reflect development of advanced disease. This article reviews definitions of response and disease progression used for progression-free survival and event-free survival in key CML studies and implications for interpreting patient response. It is proposed that adherence to definitions of progression from the European LeukmiaNet may aid future research and therapeutic decision-making.
Coordination middleware supporting rapid deployment of ad hoc mobile systems

This paper addresses the design and implementation of thin coordination veneers for use in the development of applications over ad hoc wireless networks. A coordination veneer is defined as an adaptation layer that customizes a general-purpose coordination middleware to a particular domain with minimal development effort. This technique allows developers to build highly-tailored coordination models while leveraging established models and middleware. We present three such veneers, the coordination models they embody, and the manner in which they were implemented The LIME middleware, which supplies tuple space based coordination in the ad hoc environment, serves as the implementation base for our veneers. These veneers cover diverse areas in ad hoc mobility: service discovery and provision, event registration and distribution, and secure tuple space access.
Mortality rate of vasopressor-dependent septic shock from 1997 through 2006

Recently introduced interventions including early goal-directed therapy (EGDT) improve the mortality of severe sepsis/septic shock. We undertook this study to describe the trend in the mortality rate of vasopressor-dependent septic shock over a 10 year-period.
Brining Procedures to Produce Uniform Salt Content in Fish

Inhibition of outgrowth and toxin production by Clostridium botulinum type E in smoked fish homogenates has been demonstrated at 3% water phase salt. Having the required salt content on a product that would not be too salty requires a uniform salt distribution throughout the fish. A two-stage brining procedure was developed that resulted in minimal differences in water phase salt contents between the thin and thick sections of a fish. The first stage involved soaking in 10% NaCl for 15 hr, using a fish to brine ratio of approximately 1 lb to IL. A second stage soak in 2% NaCl for 24–48 hr depending on the size of the fish leached out excessive salt in the thin sections of the fish while leaving the salt iinside the thick sections. Analysis of samples from four different areas on the smoked fish brined using the two stage procedure revealed a uniform salt content.
A sublinear-time randomized approximation scheme for the robinson-foulds metric

The Robinson-Foulds (RF) metric is the measure most widely used in comparing phylogenetic trees; it can be computed in linear time using Day's algorithm. When faced with the need to compare large numbers of large trees, however, even linear time becomes prohibitive. We present a randomized approximation scheme that provides, with high probability, a (1+e) approximation of the true RF metric for all pairs of trees in a given collection. Our approach is to use a sublinear-space embedding of the trees, combined with an application of the Johnson-Lindenstrauss lemma to approximate vector norms very rapidly. We discuss the consequences of various parameter choices (in the embedding and in the approximation requirements). We also implemented our algorithm as a Java class that can easily be combined with popular packages such as Mesquite; in consequence, we present experimental results illustrating the precision and running-time tradeoffs as well as demonstrating the speed of our approach.
Frankfurters Made From Mechanically Deboned Poultry Meat (MDPM) 1. Effect of Chopping Time

Abstract In order to evaluate the effect of chopping time independently from end temperatures on frankfurters made from mechanically deboned poultry meat (MDPM), chopping times varying from one and one-half minutes to over 15 minutes were obtained by adjusting the starting temperature of the material. MDPM from backs and necks of fryers deboned by three machines was evaluated. An end temperature of 12° C. was used throughout. Shear values, heating loss, cooked stability, viscosity of the emulsions, visual observations and taste panel were used for evaluation. Chopping times were found to have little effect on the results of the objective tests or on the taste panel evaluations. Stability and shear values, however, showed that there were differences in the frankfurters made from the MDPM from the three machines. Taste panel results showed that frankfurters made from MDPM from machine A were more acceptable than those from machine B.
Interaction between FIP200 and ATG16L1 distinguishes ULK1 complex-dependent and -independent autophagy.

A biochemical approach is used to understand how the ULK1 complex integrates signals from ATG proteins during autophagy. The interaction between ULK1-associated protein FIP200 and ATG16L1 of the ATG5 complex is revealed. This interaction is important for autophagy induced by amino acid starvation but not by glucose deprivation.
Estimating the evolution of human life history traits in age-structured populations

I propose a method that estimates the selection response of all vital rates in an age-structured population. I assume that vital rates are determined by the additive genetic contributions of many loci. The method uses all relatedness information in the sample to inform its estimates of genetic parameters, via an MCMC Bayesian framework. One can use the results to estimate the selection response of any life history trait that is a function of the vital rates, including the age at first reproduction, total lifetime fertility, survival to adulthood, and others. This method closely ties the empirical analysis of life history evolution to dynamically complete models of natural selection, and therefore enjoys some theoretical advantages over other methods. I demonstrate the method on a simulated model of evolution with two age classes. Finally I discuss how the method can be extended to more complicated cases.