cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A functional initiator element in the human beta-globin promoter.

Core promoters are defined by the presence of either a TATA box at approximately 30 base pairs upstream of the transcriptional start site (+1) and/or an initiator element centered around the +1 site. The prevalence, function, and significance of the various combinations of core promoter elements are as yet unclear. We describe here the identification and characterization of an initiator element in the TATA-containing human βglobin promoter. Mutagenesis of the β-globin initiator element at positions +2/+3 and +4/+5 abrogates transcription in a heterologous construct. Interestingly, we have found a β-globin initiator binding activity in nuclear extracts whose presence or absence correlates with function of the β-globin initiator. Accordingly, this binding activity may be part of the machinery required for β-globin initiator-dependent transcription. Our analysis further describes a previously uncharacterized β-thalassemia mutation at the +1 site as a mutation that decreases β-globin initiator activity. Finally, consistent with other initiator elements, the β-globin initiator requires a TFIID-containing fraction for in vitro activity. Thus, the human β-globin promoter contains an initiator element whose function, as revealed by a βthalassemia mutation, is of physiological relevance.
Integrating XML and object-based programming for distributed collaboration

Explores some of the new opportunities for distributed collaborative applications that emerge from the use of XML as a data specification language. We present two different approaches: the first one transparently adds asynchronous collaboration to applications whose persistent state is in XML format, while the second one helps build synchronous collaborative applications starting with an XML schema specification. Although the two approaches start with different assumptions, they both lead to the same problem - the need for a generic one-to-one conversion between objects and XML constructs. Using object properties, we define two variants of a conversion scheme for the two approaches.
Structure and dynamics of the interface between a binary hard-sphere crystal of NaCl type and its coexisting binary fluid

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://journals.aps.org/prb/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevB.66.144106.
Hypercoagulability in adolescent girls on oral contraceptives‐global coagulation profile and estrogen receptor polymorphisms

BACKGROUND: Oral contraceptive (OCP) induced changes on coagulation are complex with high inter-individual variability. The precise reason for differences in this variability is unknown. We hypothesized that global assays better delineate these changes and variability in hypercoagulability may be the result of differences in estrogen metabolism and thrombophilia. METHODS: Fifty-two adolescents initiating OCPs were prospectively enrolled; 33 subjects completed the study. Samples were analyzed prior to and after OCPs for procoagulant and anticoagulant factor activities and thrombin generation (TG) +/-thrombomodulin. Participants were genotyped for common thrombophilia and estrogen receptor-alpha (ESR-alpha) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). SNP genotypes were compared to coagulation parameters; TG parameters and differences pre and on OCPs were examined. RESULTS: At baseline a striking finding was elevated FVIII levels. FVL was absent in all and F2 G20210A was present in one participant. The ESR-alpha polymorphism was present in heterozygous state in 59% and homozygous state in 21% participants. There were no differences in VWF levels and FVIII: C after being on OCPs. Protein S levels decreased with OCPs. Sixty percent of participants showed evidence of hypercoagulability on TG testing on OCPs. Higher thrombin peak and endogenous thrombin potential (ETP) were seen on TG after OCPs. With thrombomodulin ETP and thrombin peak did not decrease after OCPs signifying thrombomodulin resistance. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that OCPs induce a state of "variable" hypercoagulability in adolescents predominantly through the protein S pathway. Genetic and non- genetic factors may account for the variable increase in hypercoagulability. Further research is needed to understand this. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Gabor atom density as a measure of seizure complexity

The Gabor atom density (GAD) is a measure of complexity of a signal. It is based on the time-frequency decomposition obtained by the matching pursuit (MP) algorithm. The GAD/MP method was applied to EEG data recorded from intracranial electrodes in patients with intractable complex partial seizures. GAD shows that epileptic seizures, which are reflections of increased neuronal synchrony, are also periods of increased and changing signal complexity. The GAD/MP method is well suited to analyzing these signals from seizures characterized by rapid dynamical changes. The period of organized rhythmic activity exhibits lower complexity than that seen during other phases of the seizure.
A new high-rate differential space-time block coding scheme

A new high-rate differential space-time transmission scheme based on spatial multiplexing of Alamouti-encoded information streams is developed. At the receiver, joint space-time differential interference cancellation and decoding is performed, realizing diversity and rate gains, without requiring channel knowledge or bandwidth expansion. Our focus is on the case of two information streams with two transmit antennas per stream on flat-fading channels for simplicity. However, using previously published techniques, the development readily extends to more than two information streams, to more than two transmit antennas per stream, and to frequency-selective channels.
Classifying Rural and Small Urban Transit Agencies

Rural and small urban transit agencies are classified into peer groups by the hierarchical cluster analysis and data from the Rural National Transit Database. The objective is to provide a basis for the comparison of individual agency performance with peer group performance as well as econometric analysis between and within peer groups. Rural and small urban transit agencies are first assigned to three groups by service provided: demand-response, fixed-route, and demand-response and fixed-route service. A fourth group is created to accommodate the many transit agencies providing demand-response service that did not report vehicle hour data. The four groups are then clustered by using vehicle mile, vehicle hour (when available), and fleet size variables. Operating statistics for each cluster by group are presented. The process for comparing individual agency performance with its respective cluster is described. The Rural National Transit Database demonstrates its usefulness as a consistent, uniform nationa...
Enzymatic patterns during development; an approach to a biochemical definition of immaturity.

I would like to express my gratitude to you, the American Academy of Pediatrics, for selecting me for an E. Mead Johnson Award. I accept the honor with humility because no scientific work is accomplished without inspiration from teachers and other investigators, and without actual participation of many colleagues. I appreciate this opportunity to acknowledge publicly those individuals who have been and are particularly influential in my progress. Dr. Jean Oliver, the man to whom I owe my entry into medicine and pediatrics, with great effort instilled in me an everlasting appreciation for the inseparable relationship between structure and function. Fortunately, I have remained in close contact with Dr. Oliver throughout the years, continually reaping benefits from his advice and influence. I conceived of function as only cellular and molecular until Dr. Henry L. Barnett introduced me to organ function, especially in relation to the young individual. In addition, he fostered in me an interest in the broader aspects of pediatrics, amid since that time has been available constantly for intimate exchange and crystallization of ideas. I am indebted particularly to Dr. S. Z. Levine for leading me into the field of biologic development and insisting that my time be divided between clinical pediatrics and the laboratory. Dr. Levine has always emphasized that ideas, philosophies and problems originating in the ward or clinic can and should be considered in the laboratory.
Power Deposition in a Spherical Model of Man Exposed to 1-20 MHz EM Fields

EN power deposition in a spherical model of man exposed to HF fields may be derived from a simple approximate equation where the absorbed power due to electric field coupling can be calculated separately from that due to magnetic coupling. The latter is an order of magnitude greater for a plane wave.
A study of Ghiselli's hobo syndrome☆

Abstract This study attempts to clarify conceptual and operational inconsistencies in the literature around “Ghiselli's hobo syndrome.” I propose that defining characteristics of hobo syndrome should include both the exhibition of frequent job movement behavior and positive attitudes about such behavior. This definition effectively differentiates the construct from other similar phenomena associated with frequent job movement (e.g., job/career mobility, protean careers). Using latent class cluster analysis of a diverse sample of 944 U.S. workers, it was empirically validated that a small number of individuals resembling the proposed characteristics of hobos did emerge as a distinct group (N = 42), providing person-centered evidence for the construct validity of hobo syndrome. The dispositional roots of hobo syndrome and work-related outcomes were also explored. It was found that individuals with high levels of openness to experience were likely to exhibit hobo syndrome, whereas impulsivity was not related to such tendency. Also, workers who were more likely to be categorized as hobos tended to report less positive views about their current jobs. Based on these findings, implications for research and practice are discussed.
Using thinning as a management tool for gypsy moth: the influence on small mammal abundance

Silvicultural manipulations may be used to reduce forest susceptibility or vulnerability to defoliation by the gypsy moth. The effects of this management strategy on small mammal abundance were determined by pitfall trapping small mammals 1 year before silvicultural thinnings and for 3 years following thinning in a deciduous montane forest. Sorex cinereus (masked shrew) was the most frequently captured small mammal, followed by Peromyscus spp. (white-footed and deermice) and Clethrionomys gapperi (redback vole). We found significant differences between thinned and reference stands in total small mammal and Peromyscus spp. abundance. There were no significant changes in S. cinereus and C. gapperi abundance as a result of thinning. The response of the small mammal community reflects the increased complexity of understory vegetation found on the study site as a result of thinning. Principal components analysis results indicated that both vegetation richness and abundance correspond with thinning treatment and likely indirectly affect small mammal abundance. Increased complexity may improve habitat quality, as well as enhancing invertebrate food supply, thereby influencing small mammals. # 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Long-term serologic follow-up of isolated hepatitis B core antibody in HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected women.

Background. Isolated antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) is a common serologic finding in persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), but the outcome and clinical significance are uncertain. Methods. We performed repeated hepatitis B virus (HBV) serologic tests on women who participated in the Women’s Interagency HIV Study and who had isolated anti-HBc at study entry. Results. Repeated serologic tests were performed for 322 women (282 HIV-infected and 40 HIV-uninfected) at a median of 7.5 years after study entry. Seventy-one percent of women retained isolated anti-HBc serologic status, 20% acquired antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs), and 2% acquired hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). In unadjusted analysis, increasing age, injection drug use, and hepatitis C viremia were negatively associated with acquisition of anti-HBs. For HIV-infected women, predictors of acquisition of anti-HBs were an increase in CD4 cell count and the use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Receipt of drugs with activity against HBV and self-reported HBV vaccination did not predict anti-HBs acquisition. In the multivariable regression model, HAART use remained a significant predictor of anti-HBs acquisition, whereas women with hepatitis C viremia were more likely to retain isolated anti-HBc serologic status. Conclusions. Isolated anti-HBc status remained stable over time for the majority of women, especially women with chronic hepatitis C virus infection. Development of anti-HBs was predicted by HAART use and an increase in CD4 cell count. We conclude that a proportion of HIV-infected women with isolated anti-HBc have prior natural HBV infection with anti-HBs that is at an undetectable level because of immune dysfunction. Isolated anti-HBc in the presence of chronic hepatitis C virus infection may be attributable to a different phenomenon, such as dysfunctional antibody production. The presence of antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) in the absence of both hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs) is a common serologic finding, but the clinical significance is uncertain [1, 2]. Isolated antiHBc could represent active hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in the absence of hepatitis B surface antigen
Causes of variation in wing loading among Drosophila species

We examined influences on wing and body size in 11 species (12 strains) of Drosophila. Six measures of wing length and width were closely correlated with wing area and suggested little variation in wing shape among the species. Among ten species wing loading, an important factor in flight costs and manoeuvrability, increased as body mass increased at a rate consistent with expectations from allometric scaling of wing area and body mass to body length. Intraspecific variation in wing loading showed similar relationships to body mass. Density and temperature during larval development influenced wing loading through general allometric relations of body size and wing area. Temperature during the pupal stage, but not during wing hardening after eclosion, influenced wing area independently of body size. Wing area increased as growth temperature decreased. Individuals reared at cooler temperatures thus compensated for a potential allometric increase in wing loading by differentially enlarging the wing area during pupal development.
Polymorphic mimicry in Papilio dardanus: mosaic dominance, big effects, and origins

The mocker swallowtail, Papilio dardanus, has a female-limited polymorphic mimicry. This polymorphism is controlled by allelic variation at a single locus with at least 11 alleles. Many of the alternative morphs are accurate mimics of different species of distasteful butterflies. Geneticists have long been interested in the mechanism by which a single gene can have such diverse and profound effects on the phenotype and in the process by which these complex phenotypic effects could have evolved. Here we present the results of a morphometric analysis of the pleiotropic effects of the mimicry gene on the array of elements that makes up the overall pattern. We show that the patterns controlled by mimicking alleles are more variable and less internally correlated than those controlled by nonmimicking alleles, suggesting the two are subject to different degrees of selection and mutational variance. Analysis of the pleiotropic dominance of the alleles reveals a consistent pattern of dominance within a coevolved genetic background and a mosaic pattern of dominant and recessive effects (including overdominance) in a heterologous genetic background. The alleles of the mimicry gene have big effects on some pattern elements and small effects on others. When the array of big phenotypic effects of the mimicry gene is applied to the presumptive ancestral color pattern, it produces a reasonable resemblance to distasteful models and suggests the initial steps that may have produced the mimicry as well as the polymorphism.
Stable Critical Gels of a Crystallizing Copolymer of Ethene and 1-Butene

Crystallization of molten polymers involves a liquid−solid transition. In its first stage, the solidification process may be viewed as a physical gelation, which can be monitored with small-amplitude oscillatory shear experiments. A threshold crystallinity, Xcg, is required for the sample to reach the critical gel state (gel point). Samples of a metallocene random copolymer of ethene and 11 mol % 1-butene were quenched from the melt to a crystallization temperature TX and then held at that temperature for isothermal crystallization. The objective was to find the highest value of TX at which the polymer would crystallize only to the threshold crystallinity Xcg∞ and no further. The result would be a stable critical gel at a temperature TX = Tcg∞. We start at large degrees of supercooling where the critical gel is only a transient state which is passed through as the sample solidifies to greater degrees of crystallinity. The gel time increases with temperature, obeying a power law, and can be extrapolated to...
Flexible manufacturing systems: present development and trends

Abstract Implementing Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS) has been motivated by the desire to respond more rapidly to dynamic changes both in demand and in product mix. There have been several successful implementations and the resulting improvements to product flow have been considerable. This paper describes the present development and trends of FMS. First FMS is defined and the motivation for pursuing FMS described. Some example FMS are then described and the implementation rate investigated. The evidence suggests that in spite of a high degree of promise from FMS, the growth rate of FMS implementations is surprisingly low. The major reasons for this —technical, cost and justification problems—are discussed and the main research/development issues arising are described. Finally, the trend in Flexible Manufacturing Systems towards a more gradualist approach, building up from Flexible Manufacturing Cells is also described.
Effect of a Changing Health Care Environment on Social Work Leaders: Obstacles and Opportunities in Hospital Social Work

The health care system is undergoing dramatic change in auspice, structure, and services delivery in response to an emphasis on market-driven, cost-containment strategies. Consequently, many hospital social work directors either have lost some of their administrative responsibilities or have expanded their span of control beyond social work services. This article examines the responses of social work administrators to the breadth of changes occurring throughout their hospitals; the major accomplishments of social work services within their facilities; and the failures, frustrations, and obstacles in the delivery of social work services. As a result of examining the relationship between their actual and anticipated behavior and changes in the hospital and external environment, the authors found that social work leaders in hospitals understand the complexities and challenges of the world around them. Overall, they have exhibited commitment, competence, and confidence in shaping organizational change.
A technical description of the Brilliant Pebbles communications simulator (BPCOMMSIM) capability at the National Test Facility (NTF)

The Brilliant Pebbles communications simulator (BPCOMMSIM) generates end-to-end communications network performance data as a function of the element architecture as well as a multitude of input design and operational parameters. BPCOMMSIM is capable of evaluating various routing strategies and accounts for actual message traffic statistics as a function of threat by using data generated by end-to-end models resident at the National Test Facility (NTF). The author provides a technical description of BPCOMMSIM capabilities with a focus on the communications link calculations. Specifically, the methods used by BPCOMMSIM to quantify the receiver signal-to-noise ratio, the link bit error rate, and the probability of an acceptable message are described, along with needed modifications to the BPCOMMSIM capability that have been identified. >
Readmission incidence and associated factors after a hepatic resection at a major hepato-pancreatico-biliary academic centre

Background Reducing readmission is a key quality improvement target for policymakers. The purpose of the present study was to define incidence and identify factors associated with readmission after a hepatic resection.
Estimated Intelligence and Long-Term Outcomes of Opioid Addicts

This study estimated intellectual functioning based upon a demographic profile (DP) for Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) Full Scale IQ in order to determine its relationship with variables representing initiation, continuation, relapse, and cessation of daily opioid use. The DP Estimated IQs were used to describe a large former opioid addict sample from the 12-year follow-up study of the Drug Abuse Reporting Program (DARP). Results were compared with those from previous studies using meta-analysis. In addition, a correlational analysis was performed. Average DP Estimated IQs for the DARP sample were comparable to mean IQs for both the WAIS-R standardization sample and previous studies. DP Estimated IQ was significantly related to length of addiction career; the higher the estimated IQ, the shorter the career. Other more complex relationships were found for variables used to represent intraindividual factors such as satisfaction with self or family, interpersonal factors such as family or...
An Agent-Based Approach to Study Virtual Learning Communities

This paper focuses on agent-based approach to study the relationship between the individual behavior of participants and the overall development of a virtual community, to help people to better understand the interactive process, forecast and manage the community development. In this paper, we first analyze the strengths of agent-based approach and the features of virtual communities. We argue that agent-based modeling and simulation approach is well suited to study virtual communities. We then build an agent-based model for virtual learning communities (VLCs). Each participant in VLCs is modeled as an agent with cognitive and social characteristics. The interactive activities are decomposed into four modules: registration module, activation module, action module, and adaptation module. A discussion of general observations of the community behaviors and managerial implications is presented based on series of comparative simulations.
Characterization of the noise and correlations in harmonically mode-locked lasers

In a harmonically mode-locked laser multiple optical pulses propagate inside the laser cavity. The noise in different pulses inside the laser cavity is in general correlated. Information regarding the sign and magnitude of the noise correlations is contained in the distribution of the spectral weight among the supermode noise peaks that appear in the pulse energy and timing noise spectral densities. We show that the supermode noise spectrum obtained experimentally by measurement of the photodetector current noise spectral density can be used to determine the correlations in the energy and the timing noise of different pulses in the laser cavity. We also present simple models for the timing noise in harmonically mode-locked lasers that demonstrate the relationship between the noise correlations and the supermode noise peaks. © 2002 Optical Society of America
Comparison between two clinical procedures for bonding fiber posts into a root canal : a microscopic investigation

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of two brushes used as carriers of a primer-adhesive solution as to the formation of resin tags, adhesive lateral branches, and a hybrid layer when used to bond translucent fiber posts. Twenty endodontically treated teeth, extracted for periodontal reasons, were used. The samples were randomly divided into two groups of 10 samples each (Group 1: Microbrush + Scotchbond 1 + Rely X ARC resin cement; Group 2: small plastic brush + Scotchbond 1 + Rely X ARC resin cement). The adhesive system and resin cement were used strictly following manufacturers' instructions. The priming-adhesive solution of the one-bottle system was light-cured before placing the resin cement and the post. Twenty translucent fiber posts were used. After luting procedures, root samples were processed for SEM observations. The adhesive system showed a resin dentin interdiffusion zone (RDIZ), resin tag, and adhesive lateral branch formation. Microscopic examination of restored interfaces of group 1 showed a higher percentage (p < 0.05) of RDIZ than those found in samples of group 2. In group 1 samples, RDIZ morphology was well detectable and uniform in all thirds of the root canals. In group 2, RDIZ was not visible in the apical third. No statistically significant differences were found among the two groups coronally and at the middle third, but the apical third of group 1 showed significantly more resin tag formation than group 2. The characteristic reverse cone shape of resin tags was always noted in the coronal and middle third of the root canals of both groups and in the apical third of group 1. In the apical third of group 2 root canals, the resin tags showed a less uniform morphology and a shorter length than those found in the other observed thirds.
Contrasting Evidence Within and Between Institutions That Provide Treatment in an Observational Study of Alternate Forms of Anesthesia

In a randomized trial, subjects are assigned to treatment or control by the flip of a fair coin. In many nonrandomized or observational studies, subjects find their way to treatment or control in two steps, either or both of which may lead to biased comparisons. By a vague process, perhaps affected by proximity or sociodemographic issues, subjects find their way to institutions that provide treatment. Once at such an institution, a second process, perhaps thoughtful and deliberate, assigns individuals to treatment or control. In the current article, the institutions are hospitals, and the treatment under study is the use of general anesthesia alone versus some use of regional anesthesia during surgery. For a specific operation, the use of regional anesthesia may be typical in one hospital and atypical in another. A new matched design is proposed for studies of this sort, one that creates two types of nonoverlapping matched pairs. Using a new extension of optimal matching with fine balance, pairs of the fi...
Modeling Exchange Rates With Neural Networks

This paper applies the neural network model to forecast bilateral exchange rates between the U.S. and Germany and U.S. and France. The predictions from the neural network model were compared to those based on a standard econometric model. The results suggest that the neural network model may have some advantages when frequent short term forecasts are needed.
Pagan Mythology in Wendell Berry's REMEMBERING

Chapter 1 of Wendell Berry's “Remembering” opens with the recollection of a nightmare. Andy Catlett wakes in a San Francisco hotel room, having dreamed that a giant causeway had been built across t...
Brain lactate and pH dissociation in edema: 1H- and 31P-NMR in collagenase-induced hemorrhage in rats

Brain edema has been shown to increase brain lactate, but the effect on pH is unclear. We used in vivo nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to measure lactate and pH in a region of brain edema. Ninety-five anesthetized rats underwent proton and 31P-NMR spectroscopy with a 7-T 89-mm vertical bore spectrometer, using a surface coil over the edematous regions and distant from a hemorrhage produced by the injection of bacterial collagenase. Brain water content was measured from multiple regions after the NMR measurements in all rats. Lactate was significantly increased 4 h after the hemorrhage and remained elevated for 48 h, but brain pH was unaffected. The increase in lactate correlated (P < 0.01) with the increase in water content in the measured region. We conclude that lactate and pH are dissociated in a region of primarily vasogenic edema.
Mechanisms by which alkynes react with CpCr(CO)3H. Application to radical cyclization.

The reaction of CpCr(CO)3H with activated alkynes in benzene has been examined. The kinetics of these reactions have been studied with various alkynes, along with the stereochemistry with which the alkynes are hydrogenated. The hydrogenation of phenyl acetylene and diphenyl acetylene with CpCr(CO)3H has been shown to occur by a hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) mechanism. The reaction of CpCr(CO)3H with dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate (DMAD) produced hydrogenated products as well as phenyl substitution from reaction with solvent. On the basis of kinetic data, it is thought that the reaction of DMAD may proceed via a single electron transfer (SET) as the rate-determining step. The radical anion of dimethylfumarate was observed by EPR spectroscopy during the course of the reaction, supporting this claim. The aromatic 1,6 eneyne (8) gave cyclized products in 78% yield under catalytic conditions (35 psi H2), presumably by the 5-exo-trig cyclization of the vinyl radical arising from H• transfer. Using a cobaloxime ...
Mammals of the Mexican State of Guerrero, Exclusive of Chiroptera and Rodentia

In a previous issue of this Journal (vol. 38: 1–14), Lukens and Davis published on the 29 species of bats known to occur in Guerrero. The present paper deals with the marsupials, insectivores, lagomorphs, carnivores, edentates and artiodactyls accumulated from that state since 1942 mainly through our summer field studies and the assistance of Joaquin Villanueva. Certain specimens in the Instituto de Biologia (IB), the Biological Surveys Collection (BSC), the U.S. National Museum (USNM), the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology (UMMZ), the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), and the Walla Walla College Museum of Natural History (WW) were examined by Davis during the course of the study. For the privilege of examining these specimens we are grateful to Sr. Bernardo Villa R., Dr. John W. Aldrich, Miss Viola S. Schantz, Dr. David H. Johnson, Dr. W. H. Burt, Mr. George G. Goodwin, and Dr. E. S. Booth. Special acknowledgment is due the officials of the Mexican Direccion General Forestal y de Caza who made our field work possible. Unless otherwise indicated, all specimens examined are in the Texas Cooperative Wildlife Collection. Although special effort was made to acquire specimens of all known kinds of mammals in the state, we failed to collect Spilogale pygmaea Thomas, Felis pardalis nelsoni Goldman, and Sylvilagus insonus (Nelson), each of which seems to be rare in the state. The shrew Cryptotis guerrerensis Jackson is submerged as a synonym of Cryptotis mexicanus goldmani (Merriam); Lutta annectens latidens Allen is considered a synonym of L. a. annectens Major; Spilogale anguistifrons Howell is placed as a subspecies of S. gracilis; Jentinkia sumichrasti latrans is described as new; and Odocoileus acapulcensis (Caton) is removed from the species O. virginianus . New records for Guerrero are Megasorex gigas (Merriam), Mustela frenata leucoparia (Merriam), Lutra a. annectens Major, Felis …
New diesel engines for Volkswagen commercial vehicle applications

After the successful launch of the 2.0-l-4V-TDI engine with four valves per cylinder and common-rail fuel injection in a number of passenger-car applications, its use has now been extended to the commercial- and leisure-vehicle area. In the T5 Multivan model line, this basic engine can supersede the previous four- and fivecylinder engines completely. For the top engine-power categories, an entirely new forced aspiration principle with two-stage control has been developed. In addition to a significant reduction in fuel consumption and com pliance with the stringent EU 5 emission limits, special attention was devoted to a torque characteristic providing ample pulling power.
Combining Statistical Inference and Decisions in Ecology

Statistical decision theory (SDT) is a sub-field of decision theory that formally incorporates statistical investigation into a decision-theoretic framework to account for uncertainties in a decision problem. SDT provides a unifying analysis of three types of information: statistical results from a data set, knowledge of the consequences of potential choices (i.e., loss), and prior beliefs about a system. SDT links the theoretical development of a large body of statistical methods, including point estimation, hypothesis testing, and confidence interval estimation. The theory and application of SDT have mainly been developed and published in the fields of mathematics, statistics, operations research, and other decision sciences, but have had limited exposure in ecology. Thus, we provide an introduction to SDT for ecologists and describe its utility for linking the conventionally separate tasks of statistical investigation and decision making in a single framework. We describe the basic framework of both Bayesian and frequentist SDT, its traditional use in statistics, and discuss its application to decision problems that occur in ecology. We demonstrate SDT with two types of decisions: Bayesian point estimation and an applied management problem of selecting a prescribed fire rotation for managing a grassland bird species. Central to SDT, and decision theory in general, are loss functions. Thus, we also provide basic guidance and references for constructing loss functions for an SDT problem.
Numerical simulations of the rheology of suspensions of rigid spheres at low volume fraction in a viscoelastic fluid under shear

Abstract We present a 3D numerical investigation of the viscometric functions for suspensions in viscoelastic fluids under steady shear including comparisons with theoretical predictions in the dilute regime and experimental results for non-colloidal suspensions in a Boger fluid. The comparison with dilute suspension theoretical predictions resolves a discrepancy in the literature regarding the second normal stress difference calculated using the Landau–Lifshitz averaging procedure versus using the ensemble averaging procedure. We also determine that the particle contribution to the stress in a dilute suspension in viscoelastic fluids shear-thickens in all viscometric material properties and we present the scaling of the viscometric functions with Weissenberg number (Wi). This shear-thickening behavior is fundamentally different from that shown in 2D numerical simulations which are attributed to elongation flow effects between particles. Comparisons with experimental results at volume fraction ϕ = 0.05 , which is the lowest volume fraction available in existing experimental measurements of bulk viscometric functions, highlight the important role of long range hydrodynamic interactions between particles to fully describe the suspension rheology even at low volume fractions. We investigate the effect of hydrodynamic interactions in the flow, vorticity, and gradient directions and show that these interactions can greatly enhance or decrease the viscometric functions as well as change the shear rate dependent behavior of the suspension.
General Education in Modern University System

The purpose of general education is to cultivate sound individuals and citizens in a free society.The mission of university and general education are inherently harmonious and mutually promoting each other.Currently,some problems in the practice of general education are not only rooted in our shallow understanding of the university's mission is not deep enough,but also rooted in the market-oriented university system and its bureaucratic inclination.Therefore,general education reforms based on institutional innovation are urgent for universities in China.
Research on price formation mechanism of international petroleum price

Research and discussion about pricing system of petrol has become a new topic in order to promote the development of our national economy and society.The petroleum price formation mechanism reform is adaptable to petroleum resources existence and is necessary for petroleum industry development.It is critical for the national price to be consistent with the international price and for China's entering WTO.According to the present situation and reasons of our petrol pricing system,the article analyzes the necessity and urgency of the reformation of our petrol pricing system,and also puts forward the reformed measures of our petrol pricing system.
Vegetation type alters water and nitrogen budgets in a controlled, replicated experiment on residential-sized rain gardens planted with prairie, shrub, and turfgrass

Vegetation type alters surface hydrology and nitrogen (N) cycling by partitioning evapotranspiration (ET) and drainage, but has not been fully utilized for this purpose in the design of urban rain gardens. Replicated treatments of three vegetation types (prairie, shrub, and turfgrass) commonly planted in rain gardens, as well as bare soil (control), were evaluated 1 year after establishment in 12, free-drainage bioretention cells designed to specifications for residential rain gardens in the Midwestern United States. Water and N budgets were calculated to assess differences in ET, drainage, soil moisture, and N transport following three stormwater applications in July, August, and October of 2006. Evaporative demand was also estimated as potential or reference ET during the study period using Hamon, Priestley-Taylor, and FAO Penman-Monteith models. Results show that after 1 year of establishment, vegetation type changed the water budgets of rain gardens thus altering their provisioning of ecosystem services via observed tradeoffs between daytime evaporative cooling (ET), stormwater storage, N-load reduction, soil and plant N retention, and groundwater recharge (drainage). Vegetation effects on hydrology and N transport were most significant when evaporative demand was high during the middle of the growing season. Observed changes in ET, drainage, soil moisture, and N transport support the incorporation of different vegetation types into conceptual and numerical models of rain gardens to assess ecological outcomes and tradeoffs at a variety of spatiotemporal scales.
Assessing the potential of polyculture to accelerate algal biofuel production

Abstract To date, the algal biofuel industry has focused on the cultivation of monocultures of highly productive algal strains, but scaling up production remains challenging. Algal monocultures are difficult to maintain because they are easily contaminated by wild algal strains, grazers, and pathogens. In contrast, theory suggests that polycultures (multispecies assemblages) can promote both ecosystem stability and productivity. A greater understanding of species interactions and how communities change with time needs to be developed. Ultimately a predictive model of community interactions is needed to harness the capacity of biodiversity to enhance productivity of algal polycultures at industrial scales. Here we review the agricultural and ecological literature to explore opportunities for increased annual biomass production through the use of algal polycultures. We discuss case studies where algal polycultures have been successfully maintained for industries other than the biofuel industry, as well as the few studies that have compared biomass production of algal polycultures to that of monocultures. Assemblages that include species with complementary traits are of particular promise. These assemblages have the potential to increase crop productivity and stability presumably by utilizing natural resources (e.g. light, nutrients, and water) more efficiently via tighter niche packing. Therefore, algal polycultures show promise for enhancing biomass productivity, enabling sustainable production and reducing overall production costs.
Does the use of arteriovenous loops increase complications rates in posttraumatic microsurgical lower extremity reconstruction?-A matched-pair analysis.

Introduction The use of arteriovenous (AV) loops in microsurgical lower extremity reconstruction is a controversial topic. The objective of the present study was to assess the impact of AV loops on complication rates following microsurgical reconstruction of posttraumatic lower extremity defects. Patients and Methods Patients who underwent free flap coverage of posttraumatic defects in combination with an AV loop (Group 1) were identified and matched for age, body mass index (BMI), tobacco use, defect location, and flap type with patients who underwent reconstruction without vein grafts (Group 2). Outcomes of interest included complication rate and flap loss rate. Results Groups 1 and 2 consisted of 10 patients each with a mean age of 51 years (range, 21–79 years) and 47.3 years (range, 22–69 years), respectively (P = 0.596). No differences were noted regarding flap loss (P = 1.0), intraoperative (P = 0.474) or postoperative complication rate [surgical site infection (P = 1.0), bleeding (P = 1.0), delayed wound healing (P = 0.23), dehiscence (P = 0.58), and osseous non-union (P = 1.0)]. Only one flap loss was noted in Group 1. The only differences were increased operative time (P = 0.03) and increased length of stay (P = 0.009) in Group 1. Conclusion Our results suggest that utilization of vein grafts with creation of AV loops followed by single-stage division and free flap transfer for reconstruction of posttraumatic lower extremity defects achieve reconstructive outcomes similar to those obtained in patients in whom no vein grafts are necessary.
Electronic Medical Record Reporting Enhances Proactive Psychiatric Consultation.

Background Numerous studies have demonstrated that psychiatric and substance use issues in general hospital inpatients result in increased length of stay and associated costs. Additional studies have demonstrated that proactive consultation models in psychiatry can effectively address these problems. Selecting patients for proactive interventions is less well studied. Objective We sought to develop an automated, electronic medical record-based screening tool to select patients who might benefit from proactive psychiatric consultation. Methods An automated daily report was developed using information stored in electronic medical record and billing systems. Discrete data fields populating the report included diagnoses, orders, and nursing care plans. Results Over a 9-month period, the report identified 2177 patients (19% of the total nonpsychiatric adult admissions) as potentially benefitting from proactive psychiatric interventions. Of these, 367 were confirmed as likely to benefit from intervention; 139 (38%) were randomized to the proactive psychiatric consultation group. Of those patients randomized to “treatment as usual,” a subset later required psychiatric consultation, which was requested an average of 4 days after the time they were flagged by the report. Conclusions The use of an electronic medical record-based automated report is feasible to select patients for proactive psychiatric interventions on admission and throughout the hospital stay. Early identification of patients may decrease length of stay and improve patient outcomes.
Employment Relations and Work Structures in the United States

One way to distinguish the work on labor force issues of mainstream neo-orthodox economists from that of sociologists and institutionalist economists is that the former are generally more concerned about production, including the production of wealth and allocative efficiencies under conditions of scarcity, while the latter are more concerned about distribution, including the distribution of wealth and the study of equity, under conditions of scarcity. Neo-orthodox economists, moreover, generally consider markets as givens and governments, with their shifting, seemingly arbitrary and electorally—and ideologically—based powers, as essentially problematic agencies, whereas sociologists and their nearest kin among economists consider institutions, including governmental institutions, as fairly basic to the stability of modern social and economic life, while they consider markets, with their “booms” and “busts,” as essentially problematical. The differences were once so consequential (and heated) that the two groups saw one another, mutually, as “enemy camps”; one view of this intellectual war was expressed in a statement of “victory” for the neo-orthodox mainliners by Professor Fritz Machlup, in his Presidential Address to the American Economic Association (1957) about the (second) “Battle of Princeton”; at the time, all of the key antagonists were members of the Economics Department at Princeton. Dr. Machlup’s nominally opposed general was Professor Richard Lester. Machlup’s address was entitled, “Marginalism, Managerialism and Behaviorism.”
In vitro propagation of Hosta sieboldiana using excised ovaries from immature florets

Ovaries from immature florets were selected as an improved explant source for in vitro cultures of Hosta sieboldiana. Culturing for 30 days on a modified Murashige & Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with thiamine (0.4 mgl-1) and glycine (2.0 mgl-1) induced the highest frequency of callus growth at 5.4 μM NAA and 4.4 μM BA, and the highest frequency of shoot initiation at 0.4 μM BA. The severed basal portion of the ovary was the site of shoot growth. Eliminating phytohormones and adding 80 mgl-1 of AdSO4 significantly enhanced root initiation. Rooted plantlets were established in sterilized vermiculite containing MS mineral salts. A cold treatment (1°C) of 30 days in the dark was necessary to break dormancy of the rooted plantlets.
Fast Gas Chromatography-Surface Acoustic Wave Sensor and Capillary GC-MS for Evaluating Strawberry and Blueberry Maturity

Fast GC-surface acoustic wave, FGC-SAW, analyses were completed in 15 to 20 s but with less chromatographic resolution than a 40 min GC-MS. For strawberry, 19 peaks were observed with the FGC-SAW and 81 peaks with the GC-MS. For blueberry, 18 FGC-SAW peaks versus 40 GC-MS were observed. Although the resolution of fruit volatiles using FGC-SAW was inferior to GC-MS, the ability to distinguish strawberries and blueberries of different maturity stages was similar. Full ripe and over-ripe strawberries were tightly grouped in PCA score plots with both systems. Two blueberry cultivars from two harvest dates at three maturity stages were clustered into separate PCA quadrants using both FGC-SAW and GC-MS data.
A Qualitative Understanding of Drag Reduction by Polymers

The interaction of turbulent flow containing regions of high strain rate and high shear rate with polymer molecules can involve both individual molecules and polymer structures. The results of this interaction lead to suppressions of the small scale motions and to production of some large scale motions that do not contribute to turbulent diffusion. Experimental results are interpreted in terms of the interaction of molecules near the wall and movement of the polymeric large scale structures in the center of pipe flows.