cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Elite culture, popular culture and the politics of hegemony

In a recent issue of the Journal of Popular Culture, Ray B. Browne (editor of that journal and Chairman of the Popular Culture Department of Bowling Green State University) made an impassioned plea for the educational uti l i ty-and, hence, the academic respectability--of popular culture studies. 1 Such an argument needs to be made, he, and others, imply, because an entrenched and inflexible old guard-the conservative custodians of 'high culture' or, rather, and more precisely, in an academic setting, the humanities and the artswrefuse to take such studies seriously. 'Popular culture', such critics tell us, is naught but escapist and highly conventionalised entertainment and, more importantly, lacking in aesthetic merit. But Browne, in making his case, maintains that 'Popular culture is the practical--pragmatic--Humanities ' and as such can serve as a means of preparing and introducing otherwise uninterested students to the humanities. Still, the critics remain unconvinced and popular culture studies continue to struggle on, the poor step-sister of more respectable 'academic' studies. This impasse, another student of popular culture suggests, is, in large measure, due to the failure of those who study popular culture 'to develop a systematic and intellectually convincing argument about the cultural and aesthetic function of [their] own subject-matter, and, with very few exceptions, [they have] thus not been able to offer an interpretive practice that could be of interest to the humanities in general'. 2 As a consequence, popular culture studies remain on the periphery of academia. As Winfred Fluck has written:
Energy Price, Environmental Policy, and Technological Bias

This paper investigates input biasing characteristics of technology , environmental compliance, and changing energy prices. In particular we wish to investigate whether input biases of technology and environmental compliance are induced by changes in relative fuel prices , or whether there are price induced technology and environmental compliance biases. Using a two-stage optimization, we estimate a truncated third-order translog model by its associated ( second order) cost share equations. The model uses two-digit SIC data panel for the period 19741991. We find evidence of significant fuel-saving technological bias, while environmental compliance has been significantly fossil fuel using. The results indicate that technology and environmental compliance biases are, in part, induced by changes in relative fuel prices and such induced biases are mainly fuel saving. Finally, our demand elasticity estimates indicate that industrial demand for most fossil fuels and purchased electricity is significantly price inelastic. Policy implications of these results are also briefly discussed.
Evaluation of methods for determining the vertical distribution of hydraulic conductivity

Six borehole methods for determining the vertical distribution of hydraulic conductivity in unconsolidated geologic formations are evaluated. Straddle packer tests are inappropriate if there is a hydraulic path around the packer on the outside of the well screen. Methods based on grain-size analysis fail to incorporate the influence of small-scale structure and packing. Methods based on relationships between electrical and hydraulic conductivity require special conditions and are site- and formation-specific. Borehole effects invalidate methods based on the natural flow of fluid through a well bore. Stoneley wave attenuation methods are not effective in unconsolidated formations. A single-well electrical tracer test is effective, but requires the injection of significant volumes of fluid.
Predicting poor outcome following hepatectomy: analysis of 2313 hepatectomies in the NSQIP database.

Abstract Background For the past two decades multiple series have documented that liver resection has become safer. The purpose of this study was to determine the current status of hepatic resection in the USA by analysing the multi-institutional experience within the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) dataset. Methods Of the 363 897 cases in the 2005–2007 NSQIP Participant Use File, 2313 elective open hepatectomy cases were identified (1344 partial, 230 left, 510 right and 229 extended hepatectomies). A total of 57 perioperative risk factors and 28 postoperative complications were compared. To determine the applicability of NSQIP general risk models to hepatic surgery, the prognostic value of standard multivariate analysis was compared with the NSQIP general surgery aggregate risk indices (expected probability of morbidity [morbprob], expected probability of mortality [mortprob]). Results The median age of patients listed in the database was 60 years; sex distributions were equivalent; 78% were White; 65% of patients had an ASA score of 3 or 4, and the most prevalent co-morbidity was hypertension (46%). A total of 41% of patients had disseminated cancer, 19% of whom had received chemotherapy within 30 days of surgery. The overall 30-day mortality rate was 2.5% (57/2313) and the 30-day major morbidity rate was 19.6% (453/2313). Multivariate analysis identified nine risk factors associated with major morbidity and two risk factors associated with mortality. In contrast, the morbprob and mortprob statistics did not predict outcomes accurately. For those patients who developed major morbidity, the median length of stay was longer (10 vs. 6 days; P = 0.001) and the mortality rate was higher (11.3% vs. 0.3%; P = 0.001). Conclusions Analysis of the NSQIP experience with hepatectomy indicates that the current mortality and major morbidity rate benchmarks are 2.5% and 19.6%, respectively. Poor outcomes were associated with nutritional status, liver function and the extent of hepatectomy. The NSQIP general surgery morbprob and mortprob values were relatively poor predictors of post-hepatectomy observed morbidity, indicating the need for specialty-specific NSQIP modelling.
Listening to Neurotransmitter Transporters

Neurotransmitter transporters thus have properties not imagined just a few years ago. Do any of these properties explain the puzzle posed at the beginning: a ubiquitously expressed molecule forms the target for a class of drugs that produce highly specific behavioral effects? In the opinion of most investigators this selective therapeutic action arises from processes, such as gene activation and synaptic remodeling, that occur during the two or three weeks of treatment required before fluoexetine and similar drugs produce their behavioral effects. It remains possible that the therapeutic processes depend on cell-specific variations in the physiological properties of neurotransmitter transporters reviewed here, or that changes in these physiological properties account at least partially for the therapeutic effect. We suspect, however, that the chief benefit of listening more carefully to neurotransmitter transporters will be an increased appreciation for the synapse as an electrochemical machine, specialized to function on a time scale of milliseconds and a distance scale of micrometers.
The effects of starvation and temperature acclimation on pentose phosphate pathway dehydrogenases in brook trout liver.

Abstract Temperature and starvation were found to be factors which affected the PPP dehydrogenase activities in brook trout liver. Fish acclimated at 5 °C possessed greater levels of G6PD, H6PD, and 6PGD activity than those fish maintained at 10 or 15 °C. This phenomenon was probably associated with increased lipogenesis during cold acclimation. During starvation hepatic G6PD and 6PGD activities decreased, whereas H6PD activity increased slightly. Upon refeeding, the G6PD level gradually increased, but the “overshoot” in enzyme activity reported in mammalian studies was not observed. When both cold acclimation and starvation were studied simultaneously, regulation by temperature was initially the dominant control factor. After 6 wk at 5 °C, there was no difference in specific activities between starved and fed fish. However, fish maintained at 5 °C for longer than 2 mo did show the normal response to starvation and refeeding. Therefore, regulation of the PPP by temperature appears to be a transitory phenomenon and may be associated with temporary metabolic reorganization in the fish.
Cryptosporidium parvum Mixed Genotypes Detected by PCR-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism Analysis

Combinations of 10 Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts, with various ratios of genotype I to genotype II, were isolated and subjected to PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Amplification of both genotypes in these samples ranged from 31 to 74% and yielded no information about the genotype proportions. In addition, since both genotypes were not always detected, amplification of a single genotype is not conclusive evidence that the sample contains only a single genotype.
On the mechanism of high-energy nucleon-nucleus collisions

Abstract Interpretation of existing data concerning nucleon-nucleus interactions in the high energy region (> 10 GeV) is demonstrated to be unsatisfactory when based on the cascade mechanism alone. A model similar to the “tube” mechanism is proposed, and several relationships are derived which fit the experimental data rather well.
Agency theory: choice-based foundations of the parametrized distribution formulation

This paper develops choice-theoretic foundations of the principal’s and the agent’s behaviors underlying the parametrized distribution formulation of agency theory. Both the principal and the agent are expected-utility maximizers and their action-dependent subjective probabilities are defined directly on the outcomes. The results are used to evaluate and interpret the common prior assumption.
Gender Differences in Reactions to the Sexualization of Athletes

Participants rated a series of photographs that depicted well-known male and female athletes in a sexualized fashion or not. In general, sexualized targets were perceived as more attractive but as less competent than non-sexualized targets, and for ratings of competence, sexualization effects were greater for female targets. Sexualization had no effects on women's perceptions of the competence of male targets, whereas for men, sexualization affected their perceptions of the competence of both male and female targets, although the influence of sexualization was stronger for female targets than it was for male targets. These findings suggest that the gender of the target and of the perceiver needs to be considered when evaluating the influences of sexualization. The implications of these findings are discussed within the context of objectification theory, which has focused on the objectification of women by women.
Why HIV/AIDS still matter

In July of this year (2012), I was privileged to attend the International AIDS Conference (IAC) in Washington D.C., USA. This was the first conference to happen in the USA since 1990, and the first...
Penicillin allergy in children: the role of immunological tests in its diagnosis.

Abstract Of 160 hospitalized children who were thought to be allergic to penicillin, only 17 had positive immunologic tests. Of these, 16 had positive skin tests and only 10 had significant titers of hemagglutinating antibodies. Three children had acute, explosive reactions, 4 had accelerated reactions, and 11 had late-onset reactions. In the 143 children with negative immunological tests, the diagnosis of penicillin allergy was often questionable on clinical grounds alone. Whatever the clinical features, negative tests have helped to establish the safety of subsequent penicillin treatment for many of these children.
Telling the truth about stories

Abstract This paper opens with two stories—about the “joking relationship” discovered by anthropologist Radcliffe-Brown Structure and function in primitive society . New York: The Free Press (1965), and an incident in the life of Rousseau—which illustrate that sometimes a story needs to be true, and that the opinion of an outsider can be preferable to that of the insider whose story it is. Recent papers by Carter and Polkinghorne Educational Researcher, 22 (1), 5–12 (1993) and International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 8 (1), 5–23 (1995) are analysed; it is argued that a clear and enticing plot is no indicator of a story's truth, furthermore the need to be true can hold both of “analysis of narratives” and “narrative analysis”.
Probing the transient dark state of substrate binding to GroEL by relaxation-based solution NMR

The mechanism whereby the prototypical chaperonin GroEL performs work on substrate proteins has not yet been fully elucidated, hindered by lack of detailed structural and dynamic information on the bound substrate. Previous investigations have produced conflicting reports on the state of GroEL-bound polypeptides, largely due to the transient and dynamic nature of these complexes. Here, we present a unique approach, based on combined analysis of four complementary relaxation-based NMR experiments, to probe directly the “dark” NMR-invisible state of the model, intrinsically disordered, polypeptide amyloid β (Aβ40) bound to GroEL. The four NMR experiments, lifetime line-broadening, dark-state exchange saturation transfer, relaxation dispersion, and small exchange-induced chemical shifts, are dependent in different ways on the overall exchange rates and populations of the free and bound states of the substrate, as well as on residue-specific dynamics and structure within the bound state as reported by transverse magnetization relaxation rates and backbone chemical shifts, respectively. Global fitting of all the NMR data shows that the complex is transient with a lifetime of <1 ms, that binding involves two predominantly hydrophobic segments corresponding to predicted GroEL consensus binding sequences, and that the structure of the bound polypeptide remains intrinsically and dynamically disordered with minimal changes in secondary structure propensity relative to the free state. Our results establish a unique method to observe NMR-invisible dynamic states of GroEL-bound substrates and to describe at atomic resolution the events between substrate binding and encapsulation that are crucial for understanding the normal and stress-related metabolic function of chaperonins.
Validating the Assessment Metrics for Mobile Health Apps: Preliminary Outcomes from a Pilot Study

In this paper, we validate six assessment metrics (usefulness, effectiveness, veracity, interactivity, customization, and user acceptability) for mobile health apps with 10 healthcare apps and 11 student evaluators. The preliminary results show that all of the six metrics are appropriate for the evaluation of a health app.
Inferring DNA structures from segmentation data

The analysis of DNA structure from restriction enzyme segmentation data has been viewed by molecular geneticists as one of their simpler analysis problems. This paper treats segmentation problems as a case study in the selection between data-driven and model-driven hypothesis formation. The main purpose of this paper is to set forth some useful considerations for selecting a problem solving approach according to the characteristics of a domain. The case study illustrates why an exhaustive model-driven approach, which operates primarily by ruling out all the wrong answers, is a good approach for this domain. A program called GA1 solves segmentation problems using techniques similar to those used in the DENDRAL program.
Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Mechanisms in Atrial Fibrillation

This article examines how to assess the reliability of potential techniques for performing optimization of biventricular pacemakers in patients with atrial fibrillation. It explores the magnitude of improvement that is likely to be obtained with the optimization of biventricular pacing in this clinical setting and discusses the lessons that can be learned with regard to the mechanisms of action of biventricular pacing in the general heart failure population.
Land cover mapping in an agricultural setting using multiseasonal Thematic Mapper data

Abstract A multiseasonal Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) data set consisting of five image dates from a single year was used to characterize agricultural and related land cover in the Willamette River Basin (WRB) of western Oregon. Image registration was accomplished using an automated ground control point selection program. Radiometric normalization was performed using a semiautomated approach based on the identification of no-change pixels in forest, urban, and water classes. Reference data were developed using existing data sets, including low-level 35-mm color slide photographs, 1:24,000 color airphotos, and ancillary geographic information system (GIS) coverages. Preliminary examination of the data structure included plotting of training set temporal trajectories in spectral space with reference to existing crop calendars. A subsequent stratified, unsupervised classification algorithm, in combination with a geoclimatic rule set and regression analysis, was used to label mapped cells. A map of 20 land cover classes was developed. Classes included agricultural crops and orchards, forest and natural cover types, and urban building densities. An accuracy assessment indicated a final map error of only 26%. The map is now being used to model present and future landscapes for the basin.
Remote I/O: fast access to distant storage

As high-speed networks make it easier to use distributed resources, it becomes increasingly common that applications and their data are not colocated. Users have traditionally addressed this problem by manually staging data to and from remote computers. We argue instead for a new remote I/O paradigm in which programs use familiar parallel I/O interfaces to access remote file systems. In addition to simplifying remote execution, remote I/O can improve performance relative to staging by overlapping computation and data transfer or by reducing communication requirements. However, remote I/O also introduces new technical challenges in the areas of portability, performance, and integration with distributed computing systems. We propose techniques designed to address these challenges and describe a remote I/O library called RIO that we have developed to evaluate the effectiveness of these techniques. RIO addresses issues of portability by adopting the quasi-standard MPI-IO interface and by defining a RIO device and RIO server within the ADIO abstract I/O device architecture. It addresses performance issues by providing traditional I/O optimizations such as asynchronous operations and through implementation techniques such as buffering and message forwarding to off load communication overheads. RIO uses the Nexus communication library to obtain access to configuration and security mechanisms provided by the Globus wide area computing tool kit. Microbenchmarks and application experiments demonstrate that our techniques achieve acceptable performance in most situations and can improve turnaround time relative to staging.
Protonation, Tautomerization, and Rotameric Structure of Histidine: A Comprehensive Study by Magic-Angle-Spinning Solid-State NMR

Histidine structure and chemistry lie at the heart of many enzyme active sites, ion channels, and metalloproteins. While solid-state NMR spectroscopy has been used to study histidine chemical shifts, the full pH dependence of the complete panel of (15)N, (13)C, and (1)H chemical shifts and the sensitivity of these chemical shifts to tautomeric structure have not been reported. Here we use magic-angle-spinning solid-state NMR spectroscopy to determine the (15)N, (13)C, and (1)H chemical shifts of histidine from pH 4.5 to 11. Two-dimensional homonuclear and heteronuclear correlation spectra indicate that these chemical shifts depend sensitively on the protonation state and tautomeric structure. The chemical shifts of the rare π tautomer were observed for the first time, at the most basic pH used. Intra- and intermolecular hydrogen bonding between the imidazole nitrogens and the histidine backbone or water was detected, and N-H bond length measurements indicated the strength of the hydrogen bond. We also demonstrate the accurate measurement of the histidine side-chain torsion angles χ(1) and χ(2) through backbone-side chain (13)C-(15)N distances; the resulting torsion angles were within 4° of the crystal structure values. These results provide a comprehensive set of benchmark values for NMR parameters of histidine over a wide pH range and should facilitate the study of functionally important histidines in proteins.
On the Role of the High-Spin State in the Water Exchange Reaction of Hexaaquocobalt(III)

Abstract The potential surface for the 5T2g state of Co(OH2)3+ 6, as estimated from spectroscopic data plus some assumptions from the work of Wilson and Solomon on Co(NH3)3+ 6, has a minimum that falls about 4 kcal mol−1 above the low-spin ground state. The quintet state probably plays a role in the substitutional lability of the aquo ion, as suggested 30 years ago by Taube and coworkers.
Lateralized attentional deficits in drug-free and medicated schizophrenic patients.

Abstract Performance on a cued reaction time (RT) task, theoretically linked to posterior and anterior neuroanatomical systems in the brain (Posner, M. I. et al., Science, 1988, 210, 1627–1631; Archives of General Psychiatry, 1988, 15, 811–821), was used to assess sensory orienting and maintenance of attention. In schizophrenic patients, Posner et al. found a lateralized abnormality in RT (longer RTs to uncued targets in the right visual field than in the left visual field), as did Maruff et al. (Neuropsychologia, 1995, 33, 1205–1223), but Strauss et al. (Journal of Psychiatric Research, 1991, 37, 139–146), among others, did not replicate this effect. However, the subjects in these studies differed in the percentage of schizophrenic patients taking neuroleptic medication at the time of testing and in the chronicity of the illness. In the present study, we used two groups of schizophrenic subjects to control for the use of neuroleptic medication. The lateralized abnormality in RT was observed in the drug-free group of schizophrenic subjects, but not in the group of drug-treated schizophrenic subjects.
Experimental investigation and empirical correlations of thin layer drying characteristics of seedless grapes

Abstract An analytical model for a grapes drying chamber based on the energy balance equations for the drying air and the drying product is presented. The drying constant (k) is determined from the drying experiments of the seedless grapes. The characteristic constants c and n in Henderson’s equation are also obtained using the experimental results. The empirical values of the constants K, n and c are employed for calculating the system thermal performance such as the temperature distribution and drying curves. This work presents two empirical equations for the equilibrium moisture content (Me) and the latent heat of vaporization (L) of the grapes. A test rig has been designed and constructed to obtain the experimental data used to derive the empirical equations. These two formulae are very important to evaluate the drying rate of the grapes at particular conditions and also to calculate the correct values of the latent heat of grapes as a function of the equilibrium moisture content.
Home Economics Research Activities in Colleges and Universities Not Associated with the Land-Grant System.

Administrators of 301 home economics units in institutions not associated with the land-grant system1 were surveyed regarding their 1977 fiscal year research activity. Seventy-four sub mitted data concerning: (1) number of research projects and project equivalents in home economics priority goal categories; (2) personnel engaged in research activity; (3) source and level of funding; and (4) method and amount of sharing of research findings. The involvement was 482 projects, 317 project leaders, 95 scientist years and 208 support staff years. The highest proportion of projects related to home economics research priority Goal II: improve the conditions contributing to man's physiological health and development. Over six million dollars, a sizeable proportion of which came from state and federal departments of education and personal resources of faculty and students, were reported. While average funding per unit, per project, and per project leader did not equal that for researchers of the land-grant system, the average amount available per scientist year is comparable.
Nonnull distributions of some statistics associated with testing for the equality of two covariance matrices

The nonnull distribution of some statistics, used for testing Σ1 = Σ2 are obtained as mixtures of incomplete beta functions as well as mixtures of incomplete gamma functions. The introduction of the convergence factors and certain recurrence relations are useful in the computation of the power of the tests as well as computation of exact percentage points for tests of significance.
Sulfur Fertilization of Smooth Bromegrass in Kansas

Sulfur deficiencies have been identified throughout the central USA with increasing frequency in recent years, yet little work has been reported on S needs of perennial cool-season forage grasses. Field studies were initiated on established smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.) at three sites in eastern Kansas to evaluate the effects of S fertilization on forage production and quality. Sulfur rates (0, 17, 34 kg ha -1 ) and sources (ammonium sulfate and ammonium thiosulfate) were evaluated with a uniform N application of 134 kg ha -1 . Sulfur fertilization generally increased bromegrass forage production. Averaged across situ years, forage yields were increased 700 kg ha -1 annually by S application. The 17 kg S ha -1 rate was sufficient to achieve forage yield increases. Sulfur fertilization had little effect on bromegrass forage protein levels at normal harvest time, but did increase forage S concentrations. Forage protein levels of early-season forage samples were increased by S application. When N/S ratios of the no-S check treatments were 20:1 or greater, forage yields were increased with S application. Anmonium sulfate and ammonium thiosulfate performed equally well as S sources
Cognitive Conceptualism—Where Have All the Affects Gone? Additional Corrections for Barrett et al. (2007)

Barrett et al. (2007) claim that their approach to emotions covers more of the available evidence than does my affective neuroscience approach (Panksepp, 2007b). In fact, the weight of neurological evidence indicates that raw affect, as monitored by many behavioral tasks, is an aspect of the arousal of instinctual-emotional networks. This provides an empirical approach to understanding how primary-process emotional feelings are constituted by neural activities (Panksepp, 2008). There is abundant evidence for the existence of a variety of primal emotions shared across mammalian species that are biologically ingrained tools for living and learning and that may allow higher brain regions to conceptualize what is really important in the world. Barrett et al., misrepresent my views; an accurate depiction of them can be found in this article and in Gallagher (2008). Abundant cross-species evidence of basic affective systems exists to enrich cognitive-conceptual and attributional theories of human emotions.
Social skills and empathy

Abstract One hundred and seventy-one subjects completed the Social Skills Inventory (SSI) and three standardized empathy scales: the Hogan Empathy Scale (Hogan, J. consult. clin. Psychol. 45, 1299–1312, 1969), the Questionnaire Measure of Emotional Empathy (Mehrabian and Epstein, J. Person. 40, 525–543, 1972), and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Davis, JSAS Cat. sel. doc. Psychol. 10, 85, 1980). Subgroups of these subjects also took part in empathy-related tasks. As predicted, there were positive correlations between the empathy measures and empathy indexes derived from the SSI scales. Scores on the various empathy measures also positively related to the empathy tasks. Examination of sex differences indicated that although females score higher on measures of emotional empathy, there were no significant sex differences on measures of cognitive, perspective-taking empathy. In sum, the results indicate that viewing empathy as a combination of basic social skills may be a productive alternative approach for future research on empathy.
REMISSION OF PSORIASIS WITH LOW DIETARY TRYPTOPHAN

Abstract The skin lesions in four cases of long- standing psoriasis cleared strikingly when the patients were placed on a low-tryptophan diet. In three of the four patients the lesions cleared completely.
Self-learning speaker and channel adaptation based on spectral variation source decomposition

Abstract A self-learning speaker and channel adaptation technique based on the separation of speech spectral variation sources is developed for improving speaker-independent continuous speech recognition. Statistical methods are formulated to remove spectral biases at the acoustic level and to adapt parameters of Gaussian mixture densities at the phone unit level. The spectral bias is estimated in two steps using unsupervised maximum likelihood estimation: the probability distributions of the speech spectral features are first assumed uniform for severely mismatched channels, and the spectral bias is then reestimated using Gaussian phone models. Unsupervised sequential phone model adaptation (USPA) is performed via Bayesian estimation from the on-line, bias-removed speech data, and iterative phone model adaptation (IPA) is further performed for dictation applications. The task vocabulary size was 853; the grammar perplexity was 105; the test speech data were collected under mismatched recording conditions with each test set containing 198 sentences. Depending on the speakers and channel conditions, the two-step spectral bias removal yielded relative error reductions (RER) of 3% to 11% compared to the conventional cepstral mean removal; the USPA yielded RER of 12% to 26% after the two-step bias removal; the IPA further yielded RER of 8% to 19% after the USPA.
Ignition response of solid propellants to radiation and conduction

Abstract Experimental measurements were carried out on the ignition response of solid propellants to radiative and to conductive heat transfer. The propellants were composed of ammonium perchlorate and different organic binders. The experimental results were interpreted in terms of a model including exothermic chemical reaction in the condensed phase of the propellant as the trigger for ignition. The heat release rates in the surface-coupled reactions were measured independently. A comparison of the ignition data demonstrated different reponse of the propellants to the two modes of ignition associated with the temperature/time history of the material.
Involvement of the Cyclic AMP‐Responsive Element Binding Protein Gene Transcription Factor in Genetic Preference for Alcohol Drinking Behavior

Background: Cyclic adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate (cAMP)-responsive element binding (CREB) protein is a gene transcription factor that can integrate the signals mediated via the cAMP second messenger cascade at the gene expression level, which then controls neuronal functions. Methods: To examine if the protein kinase A CREB signaling cascade is involved in genetic alcohol drinking preference, different measures of CREB were determined in various brain structures of alcohol-preferring (P) and alcohol-nonpreferring (NP) rats. Results: We show here that CRE-DNA binding activity is significantly decreased in the amygdala but not in the cortex, hippocampus, or striatum of P rats compared with NP rats. The levels of total CREB and phosphorylated CREB protein in the amygdala are significantly lower in P rats compared with NP rats. On the other hand, levels of the α-isoform of the catalytic subunit of protein kinase A protein, and basal as well as cAMP-stimulated protein kinase A activity are similar in the amygdala of both P and NP rats. Conclusions: Because P and NP rats are genetically bred for high and low alcohol drinking behavior, respectively, these results suggest the possibility that decreased expression of CREB protein in the amygdala may be associated with the high alcohol drinking behavior of P rats.
The counseling and consultation component of TIP'S summer residential program

Although more academic summer programs are developing for the gifted population, little attention has been paid to the psychosocial needs and adjustment of gifted students attending such programs. Duke University's Talent Identification Program has developed a strong counseling and consultation component within its Summer Residential Program in an attempt to deal with the normal developmental problems and emotional difficulties experienced by academically gifted adolescents. The personnel who administer this component, the methods they employ, and the presenting problems of students in Duke University's TIP Summer Residential Program are described. Future directions for counseling and consultation are discussed.
Azimuthal dependence of impact scattering in electron energy loss spectroscopy

Abstract The azimuthal dependence of electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) dipole and impact scattering intensity has been measured. Spectra for a saturation coverage of H adsorbed on W(110) exhibit loss peaks due to impact scattering from adsorbate vibrational modes. The intensity of the 160 meV loss peak has been measured as a function of the azimuthal angle between the scattering plane and a mirror plane of the s urface. The angular pattern has strong maxima oriented perpendicular to the rows of atoms on the surface, and has the C2v symmetry of the W(110) surface. This azimuthal dependence is strikingly different from the nearly isotropic angular dependence of dipole scattering from Cl adsorbed on W(110). Selection rules for impact scattering account for the general features of the angular pattern based on asymmetric stretch modes associated with bridge site H atoms. We have shown that the azimuthal dependence of the 36 meV Cl/W(110) dipole scattering loss peak is isotropic and that the 160 meV H/W(110) impact scattering loss peak exhibits a striking azimuthal pattern with C2v symmetry. The symmetry and deep minima suggest that selection rules play a central role in determining the azimuthal pattern. Application of these rules to two orthogonal directions (as in ref. 6) may be misleading, as is clear from Fig. 2, because essential features of the pattern will not be observed. Our analysis of the full pattern has suggested two bridge sites may be occupied at saturation coverage, but has still not resolved certain questions about the H/W(110) system. 1 . Impact scattering selection rules for potential adsorbate sites. The listed directions are the intersections of the planes with the (110) surface for the mirror planes and the scattering planes, and the displacement directions for the adsorbate vibrational modes. Modes are assumed to be strictly parallel to the surface. The long bridge site is between two W atoms along the direction, the short bridge site is between two W atoms along the 111 - > direction, and the distorted bridge site is displaced from the long bridge site along the 110 - > direction (ref. 6) The asterisks (*) denote that the scattering amplitude is zero for all directions in the scattering plane, otherwise it is zero only in the specular direction. The 110 - > mode of the distorted bridge is not covered by the selection rules of ref. 2. SITE LONG BRIDGE SHORT BRIDGE DISTORTED BRIDGE MIRROR PLANES [001], [1 1 - 0] NONE [1 1 - 0] 2-FOLD ABOUT Z YES YES NO PARALLEL MODES [001] [1 1 - 0] [1 1 - 1] [ 1 - 12] [001] [1 1 - 0] DIRECTIONS OF ZERO SCATTERING [001] * [1 1 - 0] [001] * [1 1 - 0] [1 1 - 1] [ 1 - 12] [1 1 - 1] [ 1 - 12] [001] * [1 1 - 0] NA
Growth and mid-infrared laser performance of Er3+: KPb2Cl5

High-quality single crystals of Er3+: KPb2Cl5 have been grown by a novel modification of the Bridgman method. These crystals show excellent laser performance at 4.6 ?m.
Viewpoint: Preparing for Change in Computer Education for Business

Abstract To adequately prepare students to take advantage of the changing world of computing, we must encourage students to become technological innovators and risk takers. This article reviews the characteristics of innovators and early adopters of technologies and suggests challenges and opportunities that anticipated changes in computing offer business educators.
An agent-based reconfigurable system-on-chip architecture for real-time systems

For a real-time system who must adapt to the highly dynamic environments, instead of using a general processor, a reconfigurable multi-core system-on-chip (RMCSoC) architecture is applied in this paper. A unified agent-based hardware/software co-design methodology is proposed to optimize the system performance on this RMCSoC, and a self reconfigurable platform is proposed to enable the FPGA to dynamic reconfigure the hardware at runtime by an embedded processor. Due to the multi-agent implementation, a new communication mechanism between the agents is also presented. This proposed embedded framework is suitable for most real-time applications, such as mobile robots, embedded video systems, and even distributed real-time systems with enhanced communication capability.
Clinical Signs of Infection in Diabetic Foot Ulcers With High Microbial Load

Aims. One proposed method to diagnose diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) for infection is clinical examination. Twelve different signs of infection have been reported. The purpose of this study was to exa...
The Influence of Task Interruption on Individual Decision Making: An Information Overload Perspective

Interruptions are a common aspect of the work environment of most organizations. Yet little is known about how interruptions and their characteristics, such as frequency of occurrence, influence decision-making performance of individuals. Consequently, this paper reports the results of two experiments investigating the influence of interruptions on individual decision making. Interruptions were found to improve decision-making performance on simple tasks and to lower performance on complex tasks. For complex tasks, the frequency of interruptions and the dissimilarity of content between the primary and interruption tasks was found to exacerbate this effect. The implications of these results for future research and practice are discussed.
Carbonate clumped isotope constraints on Silurian ocean temperature and seawater δ^(18)O

Much of what we know about the history of Earth’s climate derives from the chemistry of carbonate minerals in the sedimentary record. The oxygen isotopic compositions (δ^(18)O) of calcitic marine fossils and cements have been widely used as a proxy for past seawater temperatures, but application of this proxy to deep geologic time is complicated by diagenetic alteration and uncertainties in the δ^(18)O of seawater in the past. Carbonate clumped isotope thermometry provides an independent estimate of the temperature of the water from which a calcite phase precipitated, and allows direct calculation of the δ^(18)O of the water. The clumped isotope composition of calcites is also highly sensitive to recrystallization and can help diagnose different modes of diagenetic alteration, enabling evaluation of preservation states and identification of the most pristine materials from within a sample set—critical information for assessing the quality of paleoproxy data generated from carbonates. We measured the clumped isotope composition of a large suite of calcitic fossils (primarily brachiopods and corals), sedimentary grains, and cements from Silurian (ca. 433 Ma) stratigraphic sections on the island of Gotland, Sweden. Substantial variability in clumped isotope temperatures suggests differential preservation with alteration largely tied to rock-buffered diagenesis, complicating the generation of a stratigraphically resolved climate history through these sections. Despite the generally high preservation quality of samples from these sections, micro-scale observations of calcite fabric and trace metal composition using electron backscatter diffraction and electron microprobe analysis suggest that only a subset of relatively pristine samples retain primary clumped isotope signatures. These samples indicate that Silurian tropical oceans were likely warm (33 ± 7 °C) and similar in oxygen isotopic composition to that estimated for a “modern” ice-free world (δ^(18)O_(VSMOW) of −1.1 ± 1.3‰). This result joins the growing body of evidence that suggests the δ^(18)O of Earth’s ocean waters has remained broadly constant through time.
Synthesizing method sequences for high-coverage testing

High-coverage testing is challenging. Modern object-oriented programs present additional challenges for testing. One key difficulty is the generation of proper method sequences to construct desired objects as method parameters. In this paper, we cast the problem as an instance of program synthesis that automatically generates candidate programs to satisfy a user-specified intent. In our setting, candidate programs are method sequences, and desired object states specify an intent. Automatic generation of desired method sequences is difficult due to its large search space---sequences often involve methods from multiple classes and require specific primitive values. This paper introduces a novel approach, called Seeker, to intelligently navigate the large search space. Seeker synergistically combines static and dynamic analyses: (1) dynamic analysis generates method sequences to cover branches; (2) static analysis uses dynamic analysis information for not-covered branches to generate candidate sequences; and (3) dynamic analysis explores and eliminates statically generated sequences. For evaluation, we have implemented Seeker and demonstrate its effectiveness on four subject applications totalling 28K LOC. We show that Seeker achieves higher branch coverage and def-use coverage than existing state-of-the-art approaches. We also show that Seeker detects 34 new defects missed by existing tools.
Reliability of a Diabetic Foot Evaluation

The purpose of this study was to establish the interrater and intrarater reliability of various ankle and foot measures common to a diabetic evaluation. Bilateral biomechanical, sensory, and wound-size measurements were obtained in 31 subjects with diabetes mellitus. Twenty-five subjects were retested by the initial examiner to determine intratester reliability, and all subjects were retested by another examiner to determine intertester reliability. Both examiners participated in an extensive training period prior to the initiation of this study to minimize variability between and within measurers. Intraclass correlation coefficients for interrater and intrarater measurements ranged from .58 to .89 and from .74 to .99, respectively. The results of this study indicate that ankle and foot measurements common to a diabetic evaluation can be taken reliably between testers. We believe extensive examiner training in these clinically relevant measures can improve reliability between testers.
Data movement techniques for the pyramid computer

The pyramid computer was initially proposed for performing high-speed low-level image processing. However, its regular geometry can be adapted naturally to many other problems, providing effective solutions to problems more complex than those previously considered. We illustrate this by presenting pyramid computer solutions to problems involving component labeling, minimal spanning forests, nearest neighbors, transitive closure, articulation points, bridge edges, etc. Central to these algorithms is our collection of data movement techniques which exploit the pyramid’s mix of tree and mesh connections. Our pyramid algorithms are significantly faster than their mesh-connected computer counterparts. For example, given a black/white square picture with n pixels, we can label the connected components in $\theta (n^{{1 / 4}} )$ time, as compared with the $\Omega (n^{{1 / 2}} )$ time required on the mesh-connected computer.
Plane waves in nonlocal micropolar elasticity

Abstract Dispersion relations are obtained for the transverse plane waves in linear, nonlocal micropolar elastic solids. By equating the frequency of the transverse acoustical (TA) branch at the end of the Brillouin zone, the nonlocal attenuation function is determined. The resulting (TA) curve for the frequency versus wave number ω(k) fits well with the result known from the Born-Karman theory of lattice dynamics, in the entire Brillouin zone. By using experimental values of ω at the origin and the end of the Brillouin zone for Mg crystals, the micropolar elastic moduli are determined.
Prince Hal's play as prelude to his invasion of France.

People tend to overcome many of the emotional problems that are a normal part of their childhood. From a developmental psychoanalytic perspective, an important factor that contributes to this salutary outcome is increased acceptance and integration of previously unacceptable aspects of the self that had caused inner tensions and therefore had to be repressed. Certain kinds of childhood and adolescent play facilitate this growth process by presenting unconscious, repressed conflicts to consciousness in ways that permit greater acceptance and integration. I try to show that Shakespeare’s 1 and 2 Henry IV portray how play helps Prince Hal evolve from the madcap adolescent of London’s underworld into King Henry V of England. Although Henry was an effective military leader who won bloody glory in the fields of France, I also argue that his transformation from irresponsible prince to warrior king is not nearly as radical as the rhetoic of the text would suggest. In this reading, the rowdy son is father to the militarist king.
Deriving verb-meaning clusters from syntactic structure

This paper presents a methodology for using the argument structure of sentences, as encoded by the PropBank project, to develop clusters of verbs with similar meaning and usage. These clusters can be favorably compared to the classes developed by the VerbNet project. The most interesting cases are those where the clustering methodology suggests new members for VerbNet classes which will then be associated with the semantic predicates for that class.
Tumors and Mitochondrial Respiration: A Neglected Connection

For decades, tumor cells have been considered defective in mitochondrial respiration due to their dominant glycolytic metabolism. However, a growing body of evidence is now challenging this assumption, and also implying that tumors are metabolically less homogeneous than previously supposed. A small subpopulation of slow-cycling cells endowed with tumorigenic potential and multidrug resistance has been isolated from different tumors. Deep metabolic characterization of these tumorigenic cells revealed their dependency on mitochondrial respiration versus glycolysis, suggesting the existence of a common metabolic program active in slow-cycling cells across different tumors. These findings change our understanding of tumor metabolism and also highlight new vulnerabilities that can be exploited to eradicate cancer cells responsible for tumor relapse.
Evaluation of a Patient with a Positive Family History for Long QT Syndrome

The hereditary long QT syndrome (LQTS) is a genetic channelopathy that is associated with increased propensity for polymorphic ventricular tachyarrhythmias and sudden cardiac death in young individuals with normal cardiac morphology. The diagnosis of this genetic disorder relies on a constellation of electrocardiographic, clinical, and genetic factors. Beta-blockers are the mainstay therapy in LQTS, whereas implantation of a cardioverter defibrillator is generally reserved for secondary prevention or for those who remain symptomatic on beta-blocker therapy. Herein we present a case that demonstrates important diagnostic and management dilemmas among patients who have a positive family history of LQTS.