cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
GAIN: A graphical method to automatically analyze individual neurite outgrowth

Abstract Background Neurite outgrowth is a metric widely used to assess the success of in vitro neural stem cell differentiation or neuron reprogramming protocols and to evaluate high-content screening assays for neural regenerative drug discovery. However, neurite measurements are tedious to perform manually, and there is a paucity of freely available, fully automated software to determine neurite measurements and neuron counting. To provide such a tool to the neurobiology, stem cell, cell engineering, and neuroregenerative communities, we developed an algorithm for performing high-throughput neurite analysis in immunofluorescent images. New method Given an input of paired neuronal nuclear and cytoskeletal microscopy images, the GAIN algorithm calculates neurite length statistics linked to individual cells or clusters of cells. It also provides an estimate of the number of nuclei in clusters of overlapping cells, thereby increasing the accuracy of neurite length statistics for higher confluency cultures. GAIN combines image processing for neuronal cell bodies and neurites with an algorithm for resolving neurite junctions. Results GAIN produces a table of neurite lengths from cell body to neurite tip per cell cluster in an image along with a count of cells per cluster. Comparison with existing methods GAIN’s performance compares favorably with the popular ImageJ plugin NeuriteTracer for counting neurons, and provides the added benefit of assigning neurites to their respective cell bodies. Conclusions In summary, GAIN provides a new tool to improve the robust assessment of neural cells by image-based analysis.
Sexual Harassment in Radiology.

Abstract Purpose To gauge the prevalence of sexual harassment (SH) and to understand the issues regarding its disclosure among radiologists. Methods A questionnaire on ethics and SH was sent by e-mail to 1,569 radiologists and radiology trainees in an institutional database maintained for continuing medical education purposes on three separate occasions between September 17 and October 31, 2016. The link to the survey was also posted on social media sites via the authors' divisional and institutional accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Aunt Minnie, as well as on ACR and RSNA web blogs. Results Overall, 9.75% (39 of 400) respondents stated they had suffered SH, with more female (22 of 90 = 24.4%) than male victims (11 of 249 = 4.4%) ( P P P = .03), and American medical school graduates (119 of 220 = 54.1%) were less likely than graduates from outside the United States (37 of 48 = 77.1%). Of 401 respondents to questions on SH, 28.7% (n = 115), including more women (38 of 91 = 41.8%) than men (61 of 249 = 24.5%) ( P = .002), said they had witnessed SH. Conclusions By percentage responding, female radiologists are more frequently victims and witnesses of sexual harassment but are less likely to report such cases. Steps need to be taken to eliminate a culture that leads radiologists to tolerate SH without addressing it.
Toward Contingency in Scaffolding Reading Comprehension: Next Steps for Research

Although much research exists on scaffolding in reading instruction, confusion about the construct persists. In this commentary inspired by a recent article in Reading Research Quarterly, we argue for the importance of contingency—that is, responsiveness to student thinking—in reading comprehension scaffolding. We begin by defining two sometimes nebulous constructs: scaffolding and comprehension. We then argue that the dynamic, contextual, and affective nature of comprehension calls for a focus on contingency in scaffolding interactions because the requisite assumptions of preplanned scaffolding can obscure students’ emergent comprehension. To focus on contingency, three implications for research follow. First, research designs could separate interactional scaffolding from planned scaffolding so as to directly investigate the construct. Second, collaboratively analyzing video data of scaffolding interactions is an effective tool for teacher educators and researchers. Finally, researchers should consider refining, building on, or comparing their findings with existing frameworks to illuminate both the transferable and the idiosyncratic dimensions of contingent scaffolding. This could also include studying students’ discursive moves in addition to teachers’ utterances, which might offer a new lens on how teachers adjust scaffolds in moment-to-moment interactions. These implications lay a foundation for a research agenda that goes beyond assumptions about students built into planned scaffolding and tackles the challenges of contingent comprehension scaffolding.
The Discoverability of Award-Winning Undergraduate Research in History: Implications for Academic Libraries

ABSTRACTMaking scholarly information visible to web search engines is an ongoing challenge, and undergraduate research is no exception. Using a sample of award-winning undergraduate history papers and journals, the authors searched Google, Google Scholar, Microsoft Academic, and the authors' institutional repository to gauge the difficulty of locating these works. Given that many of these works were not easily found, results suggest that libraries and their institutions could be doing more to increase the discoverability of undergraduate research. Based on the success stories observed in this study, we offer strategies to libraries and librarians for increasing the visibility of undergraduate student research.
A Song of Pressure and Flow, or There and Back Again.

It has been more than 2 decades since fractional flow reserve (FFR) was introduced, and it now plays a central role in guidelines for stable coronary artery disease [(1,2)][1]. FFR is calculated as the ratio of the pressure distal to a stenosis to the pressure proximal to a stenosis during hyperemia
Behavioral Economics and Free Market Solutions: The Case of Airline Security

In most of the legal literature, how descriptive questions are answered often determine what normative suggestions an author makes. Rational choice theories are usually associated with free market policy recommendations, while partisans of the behavioral law and economics approach tend to advocate more paternalistic measures. This Article turns this traditional framework on its head, arguing that occasionally a behaviorist orientation can recommend the adoption of laissez-faire policies. The issue of airline security is used to demonstrate the point. People overestimate the risks of flying and terrorism, and empirical works suggests that government has gone too far in trying to protect consumers from themselves. This paper suggests that airline security be privatized or at least heavily deregulated, and invites further research into non-paternalistic implications of behavioral law and economics.
Malignant Melanoma: Positron Emission Tomography

Publisher Summary Malignant melanomas are tumors derived from melanocyte cells which are present within the epidermis layer of the skin. Their function is to produce melanin, the pigment that gives skin its color. As a consequence, melanomas are often black or brown in appearance. It is one of the most aggressive forms of skin cancer. Early detection of melanoma is essential unless the primary tumor is excised, typically through surgery, as patient prognosis is poor. Improvement in patient prognosis is due to earlier detection of both primary and secondary tumor sites in part due to positron emission tomography (PET) imaging and improved treatment protocols. The physiological location of PET radionuclides can be determined due to the formation of two 511 keV gamma rays produced from the annihilation reaction between a positron emitted from the nucleus of a PET radioisotope and an electron. For PET imaging to be successful, the characteristics of the pharmaceutical and radionuclide used must be compatible to allow suitable time for significant localization in target tissue along with clearance from the circulation and normal tissue, generating suitable contrast between target and non-target tissue. The most commonly used compound for diagnosing and staging of cancer via PET is 2-deoxy-2-18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG). Tumor uptake of FDG is not due to binding to any specific antigen present on the cell surface or newly formed vasculature, but rather to the fact that cancerous cells are metabolically more active than surrounding tissue.
Occurrence of Dipturus teevani, a Deep-Water Skate in North Carolina

Abstract Trawling in 1,900 m deep Atlantic ocean waters in 1985 produced a long-nosed diamond- shaped skate. Examination of its meristic and morphological features revealed it was Dipturus teevani. Capture in the north Atlantic extends its depth range from 732 m to 1,900 m and its distributional range north of Cape Lookout 100 km to east of Cape Hatteras.
Identity cards and identity conflicts: a cross-national analysis of national ID cards and the lessons for Afghanistan

It has almost been a decade since the e-ID card project was initiated in Afghanistan in 2009. A number of bills have been drafted, debated, and even adopted and then amended. However, until very re...
Impact of secondary health conditions on social role participation for a long-term physical disability cohort

For people living with long-term physical disability (LTPD) social participation may involve managing physical impairments and secondary health conditions (SHCs) that are not due to the pathophysio...
Chutneyed Poetics: Reading Diaspora and Sundar Popo’s Chutney Lyrics as Indo-Caribbean Postcolonial Literature

It is my intent for these new readings of Sundar Popo’s song lyrics to not only challenge modern epistemic violence perpetrated against the deemed frivolity of Chutney (as a genre’s) lyrics, but also to utilize the original texts to understand these songs as an essential postcolonial Indo-Caribbean literature. Since the archive of Caribbean literature includes predominantly English, Spanish, French, and various nation languages, I posit the inclusion of Caribbean Hindi as a neglected archive is worth exploring given its rich significations as literature. I engage chutney music, a form of popular music, as poetry to illustrate the construction of Indo-Caribbean identity through the linguistic and poetic features of its lyrics as a cultural production that are created by the syncretisms of the Caribbean. This paper is written in four sections: 1. A Chutneyed Diaspora, 2. Methods and Approach, 3. Chutney Translation and Analysis: Bends Towards Meaning and 4. Diaspora as Chutney. The first section provides a historical stage for the emergence of Chutney music, concentrating on an introduction to the trends of its study by contemporary ethnomusicologists. The second section introduces my own approach to the study of oral traditions as literature and my engagement with my subjective postcolonial positioning as an individual of Indo-Caribbean origin. The third section is a close reading, a deeper look into meaning conveyed by these earlier dismissed lyrics. It attempts to illustrate an ethos thriving in Sunder Popo’s generation of cultural syncretism and linguistic identity. The last section endeavors to conclude this study by positing that Indian-ness itself, its tropes and culturalisms, becomes a type of Chutney by virtue of its syncretic nature. Moreover, it serves as an indication that these transformations of folk music are not cultural remnants, but rather a new expression of Indo-Caribbean identity.
Ensemble-based flood vulnerability assessment for probable maximum flood in a changing environment

Abstract The magnitude and frequency of hydro-meteorological extremes are expected to increase in a changing environment in ways that threaten the security of US energy-water assets. These include probable maximum precipitation (PMP) and probable maximum flood (PMF), which are used as hydraulic design standards for highly sensitive infrastructures such as nuclear power plants and main dams. To assess the flood vulnerability due to PMP/PMF, an integrated high-resolution process-based hydro-meteorologic modeling framework was used to develop ensemble-based probabilistic flood maps based on best-available historic observations and future climate projections. A graphics processing unit–accelerated 2-dimensional hydrodynamic model was used to simulate the surface inundation areas corresponding to a total of 120 PMF hydrographs. These ensemble-based PMF maps were compared with flood maps obtained from the conventional deterministic PMP/PMF approach, revealing added information about conditional probability of flooding. Further, a relative sensitivity test was conducted to explore the effects of various factors in the framework, such as meteorological forcings, antecedent hydrologic conditions, reservoir storage, and flood model input resolution and parameters. The proposed framework better illustrates the uncertainties associated with model inputs, parameterization, and hydro-meteorological factors, allowing more informed decision-making for future emergency preparation.
The uplift effect of bottom plate of aboveground storage tanks subjected to wind loading

Abstract Because aboveground storage tanks are usually empty during construction, inspection and repair periods, they are more vulnerable to buckling due to wind loading than they are in use filled with liquid product. The uplift effect of the bottom plate of empty storage tanks due to wind pressure is investigated in this work. The buckling behavior of two sets of tanks were studied using finite element analysis (FEA): (1) tanks with bottom plate modeled directly in the analysis and (2) tanks without bottom plate but suitable boundary conditions applied in the analysis. Linear bifurcation analysis (LBA) and geometrically nonlinear analysis including imperfections (GNIA) are performed to obtain the deformation shapes and buckling capacities of tanks. The soil supporting the with-bottom tanks were modeled using nonlinear compression only springs connected to each node of the bottom plate. The buckling modes and the results from GNIA show that when a bottom is included into a tank FEA simulation, instead of fixed, the buckling pressure load will be substantially reduced for slender tanks having height to diameter ratio greater than 1/3. However, the broad tanks having height to diameter ratio less than 1/3 experience relatively small reduction in buckling load.
Interval Reachability Analysis using Second-Order Sensitivity

Abstract We propose a new approach to compute an interval over-approximation of the finite time reachable set for a large class of nonlinear systems. This approach relies on the notions of sensitivity matrices, which are the partial derivatives representing the variations of the system trajectories in response to variations of the initial states. Using interval arithmetics, we first over-approximate the possible values of the second-order sensitivity at the final time of the reachability problem. Then we exploit these bounds and the evaluation of the first-order sensitivity matrices at a few sampled initial states to obtain an over-approximation of the first-order sensitivity, which is in turn used to over-approximate the reachable set of the initial system. Unlike existing methods relying only on the first-order sensitivity matrix, this new approach provides guaranteed over-approximations of the first-order sensitivity and can also provide such over-approximations with an arbitrary precision by increasing the number of samples.
Pearls & Oy-sters: Primary angiitis of the CNS presenting with recurrent intracranial hemorrhage

Primary angiitis of the CNS (PACNS) is a rare small or medium vessel vasculitis confined to the CNS.
A Curious Case of Blastomyces Osteomyelitis.

Blastomycosis is an uncommon disease caused by the dimorphic fungus, Blastomyces dermatitidis, often found in endemic regions of Midwestern America. It can be found in forested, sandy soils, decaying vegetation, rotting wood near water sources, and even in bird feces. Most commonly, blastomycosis manifests as a pulmonary infection presenting as pneumonia, or in severe cases, respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Dissemination to the bone is less common but osteomyelitis of the lower thoracic and lumbar spine, ribs, skull, and long bones have been most frequently reported. Disseminated infection to the genitourinary system commonly manifests as prostatitis or epididymo-orchitis in men and as an endometrial infection or tubo-ovarian abscess in women. In the nervous system, blastomycosis can manifest as meningitis or with a cranial abscess. Having a high degree of clinical suspicion and obtaining a detailed medical and social history is important for making a diagnosis. Culturing a specimen will provide a definitive diagnosis. Sputum or tissue specimens stained in 10% potassium hydroxide under microscopy will reveal the classic appearance of B. dermatitidis (broad-based budding with a double-contoured cell wall). In mild to moderate disease without dissemination, itraconazole is the treatment of choice. In severe, life-threatening cases, patients with CNS involvement or in immunocompromised individuals, amphotericin B is the preferred initial drug of choice. We present an interesting case of a 42-year-old African-American male with no significant past medical history who was admitted initially for suspicion of cellulitis/septic arthritis and was started on broad-spectrum antibiotics. However, he was eventually found to have Blastomyces osteomyelitis.
Application of long-interval paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation to motion-sensitive visual cortex does not lead to changes in motion discrimination.

Abstract The perception of visual motion is dependent on a set of occipitotemporal regions that are readily accessible to neuromodulation. The current study tested if paired-pulse Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (ppTMS) could modulate motion perception by stimulating the occipital cortex as participants viewed near-threshold motion dot stimuli. In this sham-controlled study, fifteen subjects completed two sessions. On the first visit, resting motor threshold (RMT) was assessed, and participants performed an adaptive direction discrimination task to determine individual motion sensitivity. During the second visit, subjects performed the task with three difficulty levels as TMS pulses were delivered 150 and 50 ms prior to motion stimulus onset at 120% RMT, under the logic that the cumulative inhibitory effect of these pulses would alter motion sensitivity. ppTMS was delivered at one of two locations: 3 cm dorsal and 5 cm lateral to inion (scalp-based coordinate), or at the site of peak activation for “motion” according to the NeuroSynth fMRI database (meta-analytic coordinate). Sham stimulation was delivered on one-third of trials by tilting the coil 90°. Analyses showed no significant active-versus-sham effects of ppTMS when stimulation was delivered to the meta-analytic (p = 0.15) or scalp-based coordinates (p = 0.17), which were separated by 29 mm on average. Active-versus-sham stimulation differences did not interact with either stimulation location (p = 0.12) or difficulty (p = 0.33). These findings fail to support the hypothesis that long-interval ppTMS recruits inhibitory processes in motion-sensitive cortex but must be considered within the limited parameters used in this design.
The Champagne Region

This summary of the Champagne region in France includes information about the terrior, climate, history, varietals, and more that make Champagne the heart of the sparkling wine industry.
DiffRNN: Differential Verification of Recurrent Neural Networks

Recurrent neural networks (RNNs) such as Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) networks have become popular in a variety of applications such as image processing, data classification, speech recognition, and as controllers in autonomous systems. In practical settings, there is often a need to deploy such RNNs on resource-constrained platforms such as mobile phones or embedded devices. As the memory footprint and energy consumption of such components become a bottleneck, there is interest in compressing and optimizing such networks using a range of heuristic techniques. However, these techniques do not guarantee the safety of the optimized network, e.g., against adversarial inputs, or equivalence of the optimized and original networks. To address this problem, we propose DIFFRNN, the first differential verification method for RNNs to certify the equivalence of two structurally similar neural networks. Existing work on differential verification for ReLUbased feed-forward neural networks does not apply to RNNs where nonlinear activation functions such as Sigmoid and Tanh cannot be avoided. RNNs also pose unique challenges such as handling sequential inputs, complex feedback structures, and interactions between the gates and states. In DIFFRNN, we overcome these challenges by bounding nonlinear activation functions with linear constraints and then solving constrained optimization problems to compute tight bounding boxes on nonlinear surfaces in a high-dimensional space. The soundness of these bounding boxes is then proved using the dReal SMT solver. We demonstrate the practical efficacy of our technique on a variety of benchmarks and show that DIFFRNN outperforms state-of-the-art RNN verification tools such as POPQORN.
Dose Fractionation of Moxifloxacin for Treatment of Tuberculosis: Impact of Dosing Interval and Elimination Half-Life on Microbial Kill and Resistance Suppression.

The repurposed agent moxifloxacin has become an important addition to the physician's armamentarium for the therapy of Mycobacterium tuberculosis When a drug is administered, we need to have metrics for success. As for most antimicrobial chemotherapy, we contend that for Mycobacterium tuberculosis therapy, these metrics should be a decline in the susceptible bacterial burden and the suppression of amplification of less-susceptible populations. To achieve optimal outcomes relative to these metrics, a dose and schedule of administration need to be chosen. For large populations of patients, there are true between-patient differences in important pharmacokinetic parameters. These distributions of parameter values may have an impact on these metrics, depending on what measure of drug exposure drives the metrics. To optimize dose and schedule choice of moxifloxacin, we performed a dose fractionation experiment in the hollow fiber infection model. We examined 12-, 24-, and 48-h dosing intervals with doses of 200, 400, and 800 mg for each interval, respectively. Within each interval, we had an arm where half-lives of 12, 8, and 4 h were simulated. We attempted to keep the average concentration (Cavg) or area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) constant across arms. We found that susceptible bacterial load decline was linked to Cavg, as we had indicated previously. Resistance suppression, a nonmonotonic function, had minimum concentration (Cmin) as the linked index. The 48-h interval with the 4-h half-life had the largest less-susceptible population. Balancing bacterial kill, resistance suppression, toxicity (linked to peak concentration [Cpeak]), and adherence, we conclude that the dose of 400 mg daily is optimal for moxifloxacin.
Parent Experiences And Considerations When Facing Tracheostomy Decisions For A Critically Ill Child

Background: A pediatric tracheostomy decision can be challenging for clinicians and parents, especially when outcomes are uncertain and prognosis is guarded. Though shared decision-making is recommended for such preference-sensitive decisions, a better understanding of parents’ needs and values is crucial to minimize decisional regret. Objective: To characterize parents’ experiences and considerations during tracheostomy decision making for their critically ill child. Methods: Twelve semi-structured interviews of parents who recently faced a tracheostomy decision for their critically ill …
Validation of the American Joint Committee on Cancer Eighth Edition Staging of Patients With Metastatic Cutaneous Melanoma Treated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors.

Importance Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have transformed the survival of patients with metastatic melanoma. Patient prognosis is reflected by the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system; however, it is unknown whether the metastatic (M) stage categories for cutaneous melanoma remain informative of prognosis in patients who have received ICIs. Objectives To evaluate the outcomes of patients with metastatic cutaneous melanoma based on the M stage category from the AJCC eighth edition and to determine whether these designations continue to inform the prognosis of patients who have received ICIs. Design, Setting, and Participants This cohort study included patients with metastatic cutaneous melanoma who were treated between August 2006 and August 2019 at the University of Michigan. The estimated median follow-up time was 35.5 months. Patient data were collected via the electronic medical record system. Critical findings were externally validated in a multicenter nationwide cohort of patients treated within the Veterans Affairs health care system. Data analysis was conducted from February 2020 to January 2021. Exposures All patients were treated with dual-agent concurrent ipilimumab and nivolumab followed by maintenance nivolumab or single-agent ipilimumab, nivolumab, or pembrolizumab therapy. Patients were staged using the AJCC eighth edition. Main Outcomes and Measures Univariable and multivariable analyses were used to assess the prognostic value of predefined clinicopathologic baseline factors on survival. Results In a discovery cohort of 357 patients (mean [SD] age, 62.6 [14.2] years; 254 [71.1%] men) with metastatic cutaneous melanoma treated with ICIs, the M category in the AJCC eighth edition showed limited prognostic stratification by both univariable and multivariable analyses. The presence of liver metastases and elevated levels of serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) offered superior prognostic separation compared with the M category (liver metastases: hazard ratio, 2.22; 95% CI, 1.48-3.33; P < .001; elevated serum LDH: hazard ratio, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.16-2.58; P = .007). An updated staging system based on these factors was externally validated in a cohort of 652 patients (mean [SD] age, 67.9 [11.6] years; 630 [96.6%] men), with patients without liver metastases or elevated LDH levels having the longest survival (median overall survival, 30.7 months). Conclusions and Relevance This study found that the AJCC eighth edition M category was poorly reflective of prognosis in patients receiving ICIs. Future staging systems could consider emphasizing the presence of liver metastases and elevated LDH levels. Additional studies are needed to confirm the importance of these and other prognostic biomarkers.
SkeletonVR: Educating Human Anatomy Through An Interactive Puzzle Assembly

This paper proposes SkeletonVR, a VR puzzle assembly application, to facilitate the education of the human skeletal system. With the use of motion-tracked controllers, the application allows users to grab and assemble bones within the virtual environment to learn about the location and orientation of the different bones within a human skeleton while also educating them on the names of the bones being interacted with. We aim to bring a new experience to users by providing an interactive and immersive environment that makes learning more intriguing while also providing different difficulty modes to keep users engaged and challenged. We further discuss students’ feedback in a VR class to identify the limitations of our approach and evaluate its usefulness. While aiming at human anatomy, our interactive puzzle assembly application can be extended to other research and application domains such as chemical compound structure assembly and structure-based drug design.
Optical lattice gas heating simulation under application of intrapulse frequency chirping

Direct simulation Monte Carlo was used to investigate the interaction between molecular nitrogen, argon, and methane, initially at 300 K and 0.8 atm, and frequency-chirped, pulsed optical lattices. The simulated optical lattice parameters are consistent with published optical lattice-based experiments to ensure that pulse energies and durations do not exceed optical breakdown (ionization) thresholds. In an effort to maximize optical lattice gas heating, laser pulses were chirped to produce lattice velocities which more effectively facilitate energy deposition throughout the pulse duration. The maximum end pulse translational temperature obtained in nitrogen, argon, and methane was 763, 715, and 1018 K, respectively.
The "New Approach to Corystospermales" and the Antarctic Fossil Record: A Critique

Resumen. LA “NUEVA PROPUESTA PARA EL ORDEN CORYSTOSPERMALES” Y EL REGISTRO FOSIL EN LA ANTARTIDA: UNA CRITICA. El orden Corystospermales, reconocido grupo de pteridospermas mesozoicas, ha sido profusamente estudiado durante los ultimos setenta anos. Sin embargo, varias teorias sobre la evolucion de las corystospermas han sido propuestas sin considerar ni la metodologia filogenetica establecida ni el registro fosil del grupo en Antartida. En este trabajo nos remitimos a la “Nueva propuesta para el orden Corystospermales” publicado por Artabe y Brea, quienes establecen una filogenia para las corystospermas basada principalmente en una teoria restringida a la anatomia anomala de la madera en el grupo, y atribuyendoles una relacion con las Cycadales y con las Medullosales. Estas autoras asimismo cuestionan la evidencia relacionada con la conexion de organos vegetativos y reproductivos a ramas de las corystospermas. Sobre la base de una reconsideracion del registro fosil para Antartida, confirmamos la evidencia de una hoja de Dicroidium en conexion a ramas que tambien portan braquiblastos. Las cupulas de Umkomasia nacen en braquiblastos identicos. Tambien enfatizamos que las maderas-morfotaxa de Antartida atribuidas a las corystospermas, incluyendo Jeffersonioxylon y Kykloxylon, indican que el crecimiento secundario anomalo no es necesariamente un caracter basico para las corystospermas. Concluimos que para un mayor entendimiento de las corystospermas, se debera considerar toda la evidencia fosil relevante, y no anticipar filogenias basadas en fosiles unicos provenientes de una sola region. Abstract. Much is now known about the Mesozoic pteridosperm order Corystospermales based on over seventy years of research. However, several concepts of corystosperm evolution have been proposed that avoid well-established phylogenetic methodology and arbitrarily discount evidence of the group from Antarctica. Here, we focus on the “New approach to Corystospermales” published by Artabe and Brea, which establishes a phylogeny for corystosperms based mainly on a restricted concept of anomalous wood anatomy in this group, and assumed relationships with cycads and medullosan pteridosperms. These authors also question evidence regarding attached corystospermalean organs from Antarctica. Based on a reconsideration of the Antarctic record, we reaffirm the evidence for a Dicroidium leaf in attachment to branches that also bear distinctive short shoots. Umkomasia cupulate organs occur on identical attached short shoots. We also emphasize that wood morphotaxa attributed to the corystosperms from Antarctica, including Jeffersonioxylon and Kykloxylon, indicate that anomalous secondary growth is not necessarily basic to the corystosperms. We conclude that a greater understanding of the corystosperms will require a consideration of all relevant evidence, and will not be advanced by single organ phylogenies based on fossils from one region.
FIRST PLACE AWARD, STUDENT PAPER COMPETITION.: Faith, Hope OR Charity: A Look at Church Sermons and Social Class

This paper reports a content analysis of church sermons in terms of social class distinctions in the memberships of two Southern Baptist churches. The major finding is that there is a relationship between social class and sermon content. The data for this analysis were obtained by the transcription of forty Sunday morning sermons. The results are interpreted as suggesting that lower class church members search for consolation while upper class congregations search for justification for and continuation of their elevated social status.
Alterations of transcription during heat shock of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Abstract The pattern of polyadenylated RNA of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae changes dramatically upon heat shock. By in vitro translation, we have demonstrated that a 2.9-kilobase heat shock RNA encodes the Mr = 90,000 yeast heat shock protein. Heat shock-responsive genes have been isolated by differential plaque filter hybridization of a recombinant library of yeast DNA inserted in the vector lambda Charon 4. The putative yeast gene products of a number of these recombinants molecules has been determined by in vitro translation of hybrid-selected RNA. We have used one of these hybrid phages (lambda Yhsil) to demonstrate that the heat shock-induced alteration in the level of the 2.9-kilobase polyadenylated RNA which encodes the Mr = 90,000 yeast heat shock protein is regulated at the level of transcription.
Trading Strategies to Exploit Blog and News Sentiment

We use quantitative media (blogs, and news as a comparison) data generated by a large-scale natural language processing (NLP) text analysis system to perform a comprehensive and comparative study on how company related news variables anticipates or reflects the company's stock trading volumes and financial returns. Building on our findings, we give a sentiment-based market-neutral trading strategy which gives consistently favorable returns with low volatility over a long period. Our results are significant in confirming the performance of general blog and news sentiment analysis methods over broad domains and sources. Moreover, several remarkable differences between news and blogs are also identified.
From Monte Carlo Integration to Quantum Chromo Dynamics (an introduction)

In these lectures we provide a short introduction to the Monte Carlo integration method and its applications. We show how the origin of ultraviolet divergences if Field Theories is in the undefined formal product of distributions and how one can define the Path Integral in terms of regularized distributions in order to cancel these divergences. This technique provides the only non perturbative regularization procedure of continuum Field Theories and, at the same time, provides a practical method to compute correlation (Green) functions (using Monte Carlo integration for the regularized path integrals). We then apply these tools to formulate QCD on a lattice. Some of the examples are accompanied by complete computer programs.
Acceptance of 2% Ultra-Pasteurized Milk by Consumers, 6 to 11 Years Old

The objective of this study was to determine the degree of liking of ultra-pasteurized (UP) milk by 6 to 11 year olds. For comparative purposes, 2% UP milks were evaluated along with 2% conventionally pasteurized high temperature short time (HTST) and 2% ultra high temperature (UHT) milks. A seven-point facial hedonic scale with Peryam & Kroll verbal descriptors for affective testing with children was used with the 6 year olds. For the older children, a seven-point hedonic scale with Peryam & Kroll verbal descriptors was used. The mean degree of liking of UP milk was rated as slightly below "good." HTST milk was liked slightly more than the UHT milk, which was liked slightly more than the UP milk. How the children felt about milk, in general, significantly affected how much they liked the test milks, with, all milks being influenced equally.
The role of norepinephrine in the function of the area postrema. II. In vitro incubation and stimulated release of tritiated norepinephrine.

Abstract The area postrema has been maintained in vitro up to 6 h with a retention of structural characteristics of viable tissue. A norepinephrine pool has been labeled with [ 3 H]NE in vitro . A series of release experiments have revealed that 56 m M K + evokes a stimulated release of [ 3 H]NE. This release is calcium dependent and is abolished by reserpine pretreatment. This response is considered to represent an effect upon storage granules which is initiated by depolarization of the cell membrane of the nerve terminals. Only veratridine, among a group of depolarizing agents also used in this study, appears to stimulate significant release of [ 3 H]NE. Veratridine 1 × 10 −5 M evokes a calcium dependent release which is abolished by reserpine and is considered to represent a vesicular response. However, this differs from the release due to 56m M K + since there is no initial maximal velocity of [ 3 H]NE release. Moreover, the veratridine response is blocked by tetrodotoxin, whereas, the K + effect is not affected by this compound. Thus, veratridine had been considered to affect a vesicular pool inaccessible to K + .
Public Finance in Planning Education and Practice

Planners have significant influence on the fiscal landscape of communities through the day-to-day decisions they make and the plans they implement. To better understand how our educational system addresses fiscal issues in the training of planners, the author surveyed planning instructors from across the United States and Canada and analyzed a series of public finance course syllabi. This article presents the results of this analysis and contrasts the planning instructor survey results with the results of a national survey focused on practicing planners. In this second survey, planners were asked to provide their perspectives on the importance of public finance to effective planning. Taken together, the survey results provide an interesting picture of the significance of public finance to planning academics and practitioners. This research is intended to assist planning programs in evaluating their curricula for attention to public finance and the needs of the planning profession.
Modeling and characterization of contact-edge roughness for minimizing design and manufacturing variations in 32-nm node standard cell

Despite intensive attention on line-edge roughness (LER), contact-edge roughness (CER) has been relatively less studied. Contact patterning is one of the critical steps in a state-of-the-art lithography process; meanwhile, the design rule shrinking leads to larger CER in contact holes. Since source/drain (S/D) contact resistance depend on contact area and shape, larger CER results in significant change in a device current. In this paper, we first propose a CER model based on power spectral density function which is a function of RMS edge roughness, correlation length, and fractal dimension. Then, we present a comprehensive contact extraction methodology for analyzing process-induced CER effects on circuit performance. In our new contact extraction model, we first dissect the contact with a same distance, and then calculate the effective resistance considering both the shape weighting factor and the distance weighting factor for stress induced CMOS cells. Using the results of CER, we analyze the impact of CER variation on the S/D contact resistance and the device saturation current. Results show that when the rms value of CER is 10nm, the S/D contact resistance and the device saturation current can vary by as much as 57.8% and 2.1%, respectively.
RNA metabolism of murine leukemia virus: Size analysis of nuclear pulse-labeled virus-specific RNA

Abstract A system for excess DNA hybridization of Moloney murine leukemia virus (M-MuLV)-specific RNA from infected mouse cells with M-MuLV cDNA immobilized on nitrocellulose filters was developed. In the presence of unlabeled heterologous rabbit liver RNA, 0.3–0.5% of labeled, infected cell nuclear RNA bound to the filters, while 0.05% or less of nuclear RNA from uninfected cells bound. Sedimentation analysis of pulse-labeled nuclear RNA was performed, and hybridization across sucrose gradients indicated that the major pulse-labeled, virus-specific RNA was 38S, similar or identical in sedimentation to the virion subunit RNA. A minor component of pulse-labeled, virus-specific RNA larger than 38S was detected (40–60S), but kinetic experiments indicated that it was not an obligate precursor to 38S virus-specific RNA. Simultaneous analysis of steady state and pulse-labeled, virus-specific nuclear RNA across sucrose gradients indicated that the 38S virus-specific RNA was not detectably different from the steady state "35S" nuclear RNA previously identified. More detailed resolution on agarose gels also showed no difference. Thus the primary transcript of M-MuLV-specific RNA appears to be 38S, the same size as stable cellular virus-specific RNA, and no evidence for a higher molecular weight precursor was found.
Prenatal hydrocolpos in a male

Authors report on a case of prenatal diagnosis of hydrocolpos in a genetically male subject. Postnatal sonography and endoscopy confirmed the presence of a urogenital sinus and a vaginal cavity. Despite these findings, karyotype unexpectedly revealed a 46 XY, SRY positive, male subject. Even in the presence of an established diagnosis of fetal hydrocolpos, caution should be taken before conveying information to the parents about the fetal sex. Fetal karyotyping needs to be obtained whenever possible.
Source altitude for experiments to simulate space-to-earth laser propagation.

The bias in scintillation measurements caused by the proximity of a spherical-wave source to the turbulence region of the atmosphere is predicted, and the laser-source altitude required for meaningful experiments simulating space-to-earth laser propagation is estimated. It is concluded that the source should be located at two or more times the maximum altitude of the tropopause to ensure that all measurements are not biased by more than 25%. Thus the vehicle used for experiments of this type should be capable of reaching a minimum altitude of 32 km.
Measurement of heat and vapor transfer coefficients at the soil surface beneath a maize canopy using source plates

In order to further the understanding of energy and moisture transfer in canopy air space and thus canopy microclimate, it is of vital importance to accurately describe heat and mass transfer rates at the soil surface. The objective of this study was to develop a technique for independent measurement of soil heat and water vapor transfer coefficients at the soil surface beneath a plant canopy. Heat and vapor source plates were installed level with the soil surface to provide areas of known and controllable temperature and/or vapor pressure. Sensible heat flux density was determined from an energy budget analysis while evaporation from wetted felt fabric on one plate's surface was used to determine the source plate's latent heat flux density. Temperature and vapor pressure measurements at and 10 mm above the source plate surfaces were used to calculate interfacial heat and mass transfer coefficients. Measured heat and vapor transfer coefficients (hh and hv, respectively) ranged from 2 to 30 mm s−1 over wind speeds from 0.05 to 2.8 m s−1 measured 0.03 m above the plate surface. Log-profile estimates of surface transfer coefficients when the soil was bare or the canopy < 0.3 m tall, were comparable with calculated bulk soil surface and source plate transfer coefficients at moderate wind speeds but were much higher than the source plate values at wind speeds greater than approximately 1.0 m s−1.
Receiver optimization for 40 Gbit/s optical fiber systems with polarization mode dispersion

We show that the performance of on-off-keyed 40 Gbit/s optical fiber systems whose optical and electrical receiver filter bandwidths are optimized for polarization-mode dispersion is equivalent to the performance of the same systems in which the receiver filters are optimized for operation in the absence of PMD. We also observed an increase in the sensitivity of the performance with respect to variations in the receiver filter bandwidths in the return-to-zero format in systems with PMD when compared with PMD-free operation.
The Composition and Mechanism of Formation of Gastric Acid Secretion

ONNE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PROBLEMS confronting the clinical physiologist today is how the stomach makes its hydrochloric acid. Nowhere else in the body does a physiological fluid regularly attain a pH less than 3.0, let alone a value between 0.8 and 0.9 of a pH unit. Formation of such a solution requires the liberation of a strong acid, at concentration of about 0.17 N. This process has always fascinated me because of the simplicity of the chemical entity involved, but my interest in the problem derives from utilitarian clinical considerations as well. Some fifteen years ago, Dr. Alvarez of the Mayo Clinic said that the unequivocal cure of gastrointestinal ulceration awaits a medical procedure based on the complete elimination of acid formation in the stomach, and in order to attain this it is necessary that
Injury to the oral mucous membranes caused by the common houseplant, dieffenbachia. A review

The common houseplant, dieffenbachia, causes painful edematous swelling of the oral mucous membranes when chewed. This property, which is well known to the staffs of poison control centers, can be dangerous to the unwary or to victims of practical jokes. The microscopic features of the injury are those of acute inflammation, but the nature of the plant's toxicity remains controversial. The numerous needles (raphides) of calcium oxalate, which are contained in specialized cells (idioblasts) in the plant, and proteases have both been implicated. When stimulated, the idioblasts fire the raphides with some force for a distance of two to three cell lengths. One possibility is that the local toxicity of dieffenbachia may be caused by a combination of this mechanical release of the raphides, which results in traumatic injury, and the effects of a chemical toxin carried on their surfaces and in their grooves.
Phase Transition in SU(5) Lattice Gauge Theory

Monte Carlo evidence is presented for a first-order phase transition in pure SU(5) lattice gauge theory with Wilson's action in four space-time dimensions. Although less clear, a similar transition is strongly suggested already with SU(4).
Wind and Ocean Power Generators

We give an overview of wind and ocean power generation methods. Wind generation is now an established large global business while ocean generation is still in the prototype stage of development. The most important parameter for commercial acceptance of these technologies is the levelized cost of electricity produced by them. We discuss areas necessary for further cost improvement of wind generation. We further discuss the types of electrical generators used in these applications.