cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Using an Allowance Reserve to Manage Uncertain Costs in a Cap-and-Trade Program for Greenhouse Gases

This paper investigates the design and performance of an allowance reserve in the context of a cap-and-trade program for greenhouse gases. We use a Monte Carlo approach in which the parameters of the marginal abatement cost function, and the supply of offsets, are drawn from specified distributions. Our framework focuses on the potential impact of “medium-run shocks” to abatement cost and offset supply, as opposed to either short-run volatility or permanent shifts in the cost curve. Our model suggests that under reasonable (and even fairly conservative) assumptions about abatement cost and offset supply, an allowance reserve broadly similar to recent proposals for US climate legislation can be effective in containing allowance prices. In our core policy scenario, with a trigger price equal to US $32 in 2015, we estimate that the probability of drawing on the allowance reserve is <25% and the probability of requiring more than 7 GT of reserve tons over 20 years is <5%. We also use the model to explore the trade-off among three features of the reserve that are most relevant to policy makers: the total size of the reserve, the trigger price, and the degree of confidence that the reserve will be large enough to limit allowance prices to the target level. Our essential result is that a lower trigger price, or a higher degree of confidence, requires a larger reserve.
Contours of simulated marine dimethyl sulfide distributions under variation in a Gabric mechanism

Abstract Biogeochemical tracer bins and transformations from an established reduced sulfur cycle mechanism were introduced into the oceanic component of the Community Climate System Model. The resulting global dimethyl sulfide simulation framework was then subjected to variation in plant cell precursor content and the kinetic form of removal terms. Chi square type merit minima were computed analytically along a release rate axis over global, low latitude and localized domains. A band of width 60 degrees centered on the equator proved to be the most effective optimization area because it greatly exceeded resolution of the validation data set but avoided fronts where the driver ecodynamics module overpredicts chlorophyll. Loss terms involving bacterial consumption formulated as bimolecular kinetics and photochemical decay sensitized by dissolved organic matter independently provided superior agreement with data by modulating peaks along the equatorial divergence. Factor of ten reductions in the sulfur precursor content of diatoms or small noncalcite secretors respectively flattened and exaggerated the same features, but intermediate compositions were not tested. The parameter suite of constant intracellular sulfur, second order osmotrophy (microbial uptake) and photochemistry set proportional to photosynthetic radiation is recommended and packaged as a startup mechanism. This particular combination optimizes large-scale reduced sulfur fields across well-understood ecosystems while simultaneously maintaining parsimony. Visualizations from the inverse procedure are offered for multiple mechanisms, as mappings of both normalized deviation and concentration. The value of the rate constant for injection from plant and animal material was often determined to be of the order weeks, consistent with emission via grazing or aging/mortality. Refinement of the model will require linkage to the ecological flows associated with cell disruption, accounting of elemental metabolic stresses which in part govern reduced sulfur storage, addition of true microbial ecology, further studies of open ocean sulfur photochemistry and longer duration/more detailed optimization exercises. A stepwise strategy is outlined for moving through this task list. In next-generation experiments it may prove expedient to fix sulfur content ratios within taxonomic classes while varying the maximum cell content.
An information-theoretic protocol compiler

One of the most fundamental goals in cryptography is to design protocols that remain secure when adversarial participants can engage in arbitrary malicious behavior. In 1986, Goldreich, Micali, and Wigderson presented a powerful paradigm for designing such protocols: their approach reduced the task of designing secure protocols to designing protocols that only guarantee security against “honest-but-curious” participants. By making use of zero-knowledge proofs, the GMW paradigm enforces honest behavior without compromising secrecy. Over the past two decades, this approach has been the dominant paradigm for cryptographic protocol design, based on zero-knowledge protocols based on computational hardness assumptions.
Attention allocation and input proportions

Abstract This paper presents an alternative to the standard microeconomic analysis of the effects of a change in relative input prices. Managers are portrayed as struggling to control costs. Because a rise in the price of a given input ‘promotes’ operations intensive in that input in the managerial attention priority list, it induces tighter control of such operations and thus a lower relative utilization of the input. The deterministic model analyzed is akin to stochastic models studied by Radner and Rothschild.
The Adiabatic Lapse Rate in the Venus Atmosphere

Abstract The adiabatic lapse rate is derived for a real gas, and the result applied to the Venus atmosphere, which is assumed to consist of pure CO2. The ratio of the real to the ideal gas adiabatic lapse rate is found to exceed unity at pressures and temperatures currently believed to occur in the lower Venus atmosphere. For a pressure of 100 atm and temperatures of 750, 650 and 550 K, the ratios are 1.03, 1.06 and 1.13, respectively. At 70 atm the ratios are 1.02, 1.05 and 1.10, respectively. The expression g/cp, where g is gravity and cp, the specific heat at constant pressure of a real gas, is inferior to the adiabatic lapse rate of an ideal gas as an approximation to the real gas adiabatic lapse rate. Estimates of Venus surface temperature based on downward adiabatic extrapolation for an ideal gas, or even the quantity g/cp, do not lead to results seriously different from extrapolations based on the real adiabatic lapse rate. However, the real gas adiabatic lapse rate will be necessary for accurate a...
Skin fibroblasts from humans predisposed to colon cancer are not abnormally sensitive to DNA damaging agents

We report here that skin fibroblasts from individuals with hereditary adenomatosis of the colon and rectum (ACR), an autosomal dominant trait, were not abnormally sensitive to x-rays, UV-light or MNNG. ACR cells were also competent in restoring x-rays and UV-light induced damage of SV40 T-antigen expression following infection of these cells by the irradiated virus. We concluded, therefore, that sensitivity to x-rays, UV-light and MNNG can not be used to identify gene-carriers dominantly predisposed to colon cancer.
Resemblances of collateral relatives on cognitive measures as related to g loadings of the measures

Abstract We report on the resemblances of biological uncles and aunts and of biologically unrelated uncles and aunts (the spouses of the biologically related uncles and aunts) with their nephews and nieces and on the resemblances of cousins on the 15 cognitive abilities tests from the Hawaii Family study of Cognition battery. The degree of resemblance of each set of relatives on each of the cognitive tests was correlated with the g (general intelligence) loadings of the tests. The degree of resemblance of cousins on the tests was significantly positively correlated with the g loadings of the tests. The degree of resemblance of biologically related and unrelated uncles and aunts with their nephews and nieces on the tests was positively correlated with the g loadings, but these correlations did not reach statistical significance. The present report supports earlier reports indicating that tests that load higher on g may also be more subject to genetic and shared family environmental influences.
Further evidence of thermostability variation within electrophoretic mobility classes of enzymes.

Two Drosophila melanogaster strains, each heterozygous for “fast” and “slow” alleles at the Adh locus, and each having balanced second chromosomes, were found to differ in the apparent thermostability of the slow allozyme. The two strains were crossed, and F1heterozygotes were separated on the basis of the origin of the slow allele. After electrophoresis, the cellulose acetate strips were treated 1 1/2 min at 35 C. The putatively more sensitive allozyme showed a strikingly greater response to heat. These findings further support the conclusion that electrophoretically cryptic allelic differences exist which are expressed in thermostability differences. Further application of this approach has revealed one similar sensitive slow allozyme and three cases of a relatively resistant fast ADH allozyme in wild-caught flies.
Announcing Focus Collections in Plant Physiology

Plant Physiology has had excellent success in recent years publishing special issues devoted in whole (Special Issues) or part (Focus Issues) to a specific thematic topic of high current interest. To date, we have published 22 of these thematic issues, and their importance and impact are documented
Fascioliasis: A model for pathology based on nitrogen balance in rats infused intraduodenally with proline

Abstract 1. 1. A mechanism involving the release of proline by Fasciola hepatica is proposed to explain the depressed nitrogen retention and weight gain that is observed in infected rats. 2. 2. To test this hypothesis, nitrogen intake and excretion were monitored in uninfected rats infused intraduodenally with proline. Control animals were infused with amino acid mixtures or saline. 3. 3. Rats infused with proline had depressed nitrogen retention comparable to that observed in animals infected with Fasciola.
A 10-GHz film-thickness-mode cavity optomechanical resonator

We report on the advance of chip-scale cavity optomechanical resonators to beyond 10 GHz by exploiting the fundamental acoustic thickness mode of an aluminum nitride micro-disk. By engineering the mechanical anchor to minimize the acoustic loss, a quality factor of 1830 and hence a frequency-quality factor product of 1.9 × 1013 Hz are achieved in ambient air at room temperature. Actuated by strong piezo-electric force, the micro-disk resonator shows an excellent electro-optomechanical transduction efficiency. Our detailed analysis of the electro-optomechanical coupling allows identification and full quantification of various acoustic modes spanning from super-high to X-band microwave frequencies measured in the thin film resonator.
Black holes in higher dimensional space-times

Black hole solutions to Einstein's equations are examined in asymptotically flat N + 1 dimensional space-times. First generalizations of Schwarzschild and Reissner-Nordstrom solutions are examined in a discussion of static black holes in N + 1 dimensions. Then a new family of solutions is found which describe spinning black holes in higher dimensional space-times. In many respects these new solutions are similar to the familiar Kerr and Schwarzschild metrics which are recovered for N = 3. One exceptional case though is that for N ≥ 5, black holes with a fixed mass may have arbitrarily large angular momentum.
Calibration of a combined dielectric probe for soil moisture and porewater salinity measurement in organic and mineral coastal wetland soils

Abstract Accurate measurement of soil moisture ( θ ), bulk electrical conductivity ( σ b ), and porewater electrical conductivity ( σ w ) in the vadose zone is critical for a wide range of environmental monitoring applications. The use of combined dielectric probes allows for the automated collection of high-resolution, long-term data, however variation in probe response to different soil types can lead to unacceptably large measurement errors, especially in soils with high organic content such as those found in wetlands. The objectives of this study were to calibrate and field-test a combined, capacitance-based dielectric probe for three soil series encountered in the floodplain of a southeastern (USA) coastal river where watershed modifications have led to reduced freshwater flow and saltwater intrusion. To calibrate the probe, floodplain soils were categorized into three groups: a low organic content fine sand; a moderately organic, depositional fluvent soil; and a highly organic muck. PVC soil cores were packed at field bulk density, and θ and σ b were measured in the lab over a range of soil moistures (pressure potentials of 0–333 cm H 2 O) and σ w values (0.01–1.0 S/m). Soil dielectric properties measured with the probe were used to test several potential models relating real and imaginary dielectric constants to θ , σ b , and σ w . Soil-specific calibrations improved θ estimation over standard manufacturer calibrations, particularly for the more organic soils. Of all θ – σ b – σ w models tested, the empirical relationship proposed by Vogeler et al. (1996) performed the best (overall R 2 = 0.97 for the three soils), though all models performed well in all soils (0.94 ≤ R 2 ≤ 0.98) and each can be selected for the specific range of σ b expected in the field. Calibrations were successfully tested in the field by comparing in-ground probe estimates of σ w with collocated soil water samples. These calibrations add to the limited published data available for soils of high organic content and support accurate monitoring of the vadose zone in coastal wetlands to inform restoration and management of these valued ecosystems.
Mechanisms of Aberrant Organization of Growth Plates in Conditional Transgenic Mouse Model of Spondyloepiphyseal Dysplasia Associated with the R992C Substitution in Collagen II

Mutations in collagen II, a main structural protein of cartilage, are associated with various forms of spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia (SED), whose main features include aberrations of linear growth. Here, we analyzed the pathomechanisms responsible for growth alterations in transgenic mice with conditional expression of the R992C collagen II mutation. Specifically, we studied the alterations of the growth plates of mutant mice in which chondrocytes lacked their typical columnar arrangement. Our studies demonstrated that chondrocytes expressing the thermolabile R992C mutant collagen II molecules endured endoplasmic reticulum stress, had atypical polarization, and had reduced proliferation. Moreover, we demonstrated aberrant organization and morphology of primary cilia. Analyses of the extracellular collagenous deposits in mice expressing the R992C mutant collagen II molecules indicated their poor formation and distribution. By contrast, transgenic mice expressing wild-type collagen II and mice in which the expression of the transgene encoding the R992C collagen II was switched off were characterized by normal growth, and the morphology of their growth plates was correct. Our study with the use of a conditional mouse SED model not only indicates a direct relation between the observed aberration of skeletal tissues and the presence of mutant collagen II, but also identifies cellular and matrix elements of the pathomechanism of SED.
Intraocular tetrodotoxin in goldfish hinders optic nerve regeneration

Repeated intraocular injection of tetrodotoxin (TTX) was use to produced a maintained block of neural activity in golfish optic axons which were regenerating following a crush of the optic nerve. The recovery of visual function was delayed in the TTX-treated fish, as demonstrated by delays in the return of the startle reaction to sudden illumination, the dorsal light reflex and food pellet localization. A single injection of TTX at the time of optic nerve crush delayed recovery of the startle reaction but not of food localization. There was no loss of ganglion cells in the TTX-treated animals, but the number of regenerated axons detectable by light microscopy was reduced. Also, axonal transport of radioactively labeled protein in some of the regenerating axons showed a deficit at 21–28 days after the lesion, i.e., during innervation of the tectum. Incorporation of labeled amino acid into protein in the retinal ganglion cells was depressed during the same period, but both the transport and incorporation had returned to normal by 36 days after the lesion. These results, together with the results of the accompanying electrophysiological analysis of the effects of TTX58,59, suggest that TTX treatment interferes with two separate events in regeneration, one occurring soon after the nerve lesion and the other during innervation of the tectum. During at least the first of these events the effect of TTX treatment may be to reduce the number or size of the regenerating axon branches. We propose that the TTX effect may be mediated by a reduction in the axonal transport of certain materials, including gangliosides, nucleosides, or proteins specifically involved in regeneration.
Pharmacological identification of inward current evoked by dopamine in rat subthalamic neurons in vitro

Abstract Dopaminergic mechanisms in the subthalamic nucleus (STN) are implicated in the pathophysiology of Parkinson’s disease. Here, electrophysiological responses of STN neurons to dopamine (DA) were investigated by using whole-cell patch-clamp recordings in the rat brain slice preparation. Under current-clamp, DA depolarized membrane potential and increased the frequency of spontaneous action potentials of STN neurons. Under voltage-clamp, DA (3–300 μM) produced a reversible concentration-dependent inward current (IDA; 6–40 pA) with an EC50 of 13 μM. This DA-induced current had a negative slope conductance which reversed at −102 mV. It was partially reduced by barium and by superfusion with an elevated concentration of extracellular K+. Moreover, TTX and glutamate receptor antagonists (CNQX and AP5) did not significantly affect the DA responses, indicating that IDA is not dependent upon afferent synaptic activity in the STN. Quinpirole, a D2 receptor agonist, mimicked the DA action more effectively than did the D1 agonist SKF-38393. The D2 antagonist sulpiride, but not the D1 antagonist SCH-23390, blocked responses induced by DA. Intracellular application of G-protein inhibitor GDP-β-S also suppressed IDA. GTP-γ-S, added to the pipette solution, evoked a sustained inward shift in the absence of DA. These results suggest that DA increases the activity of STN neurons via activation of G-protein-coupled D2-like receptors which reduce a K+ conductance.
Enhanced extended range underwater imaging via structured illumination

In this article, the utility of structured illumination in order to enhance the contrast and subsequent range capability of an underwater imaging system is explored. The proposed method consists of transmitting a short pulse of light in a grid like pattern that consists of multiple, narrow, delta-function like beams. The grid pattern can be arranged in either a one-dimensional line or an area as a two-dimensional pattern. Scanning the pattern in time results in the sequential illumination of the entire scene. The receiving system architecture imposes the exact same, grid-like pattern sensitivity on the reflected light with a simple subsequent superposition of the time-sequenced images. The system can be viewed as a parallel implementation of a Laser Line Scan System where multiple beams are projected and received instead of a single one. The performance enhancement over more conventional systems that project either a sheet or an area of light is compared for a challenging underwater environment via computer simulations. The resulting images are analyzed as a function of the spacing between the projected light beams to characterize contrast and resolution. The results indicate that reasonable gains are obtainable for close spacing between the beams while quite significant gains are predicted for larger ones. Structured illumination systems can therefore collect images more rapidly than systems that scan a single beam; however with concomitant trade-offs in contrast and resolution.
Disentangling Value: Financing Needs, Firm Scope, and Divestitures☆

Abstract This paper presents a rationale for divestiture consistent with one of the reasons frequently cited by divesting firms, namely, that the firm is undervalued and splitting the firm into its component businesses will make it easier for the market to value the components accurately. When firms are undervalued due to unobservability of divisional cash flows, they may resort to divestiture to raise capital while overvalued firms will use external equity. Diversification thus might result in costly future divestiture. Firms trade off this expected cost of diversification against the benefit of higher levels of cheaper internal capital in deciding the scope of the firm. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: D82, G34, L22.
The process of discourse: usages of a Japanese medical term.

Abstract Analysis of the usages of the term “autonomic nervous disorder” among Japanese physicians and patients suggests that medical terms lack essential meanings. Their meanings vary according to speaker, addresse, and context. Autonomic nervous disorder is a term employed to give different perspectives on the origins and treatment of menopausal problems in Japan. Through its changing meanings, it demonstrates aspects of the process of discourse, the shifts language undergoes because it is embedded in power relations. Through discourse, autonomic nervous disorder serves the purposes of both the powerful and the powerless, creating a debate concerning middle-aged women and the control of biomedicine over them. The Japanese case highlights the importance of separate contexts to the process of discourse. Groups with varying degrees of power establish their points of view in contexts of formal respect at one extreme or informal intimacy at the other, thus enabling sharp debate while maintaining surface harmony.
Effects of the GABAB Receptor-Positive Modulators CGP7930 and rac-BHFF in Baclofen- and γ-Hydroxybutyrate-Discriminating Pigeons

In vivo effects of GABAB receptor-positive modulators suggest them to have therapeutic potential to treat central nervous system disorders such as anxiety and drug abuse. Although these effects are thought to be mediated by positive modulation of GABAB receptors, such modulation has been examined primarily in vitro. This study further examined the in vivo properties of the GABAB receptor-positive modulators 2,6-di- tert -butyl-4-(3-hydroxy-2,2-dimethylpropyl) phenol (CGP7930) and ( R , S )-5,7-di- tert -butyl-3-hydroxy-3-trifluoromethyl-3 H -benzofuran-2-one (rac-BHFF). In pigeons discriminating baclofen from saline, γ-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) produced 100% baclofen-appropriate responding, and the GABAB antagonist 3-aminopropyl(dimethoxymethyl) phosphinic acid (CGP35348) blocked the effects of both drugs. CGP7930 and rac-BHFF produced at most 41 and 74% baclofen-appropriate responding, respectively, and enhanced the discriminative stimulus effects of baclofen, but not of GHB. In pigeons discriminating GHB from saline, CGP7930 and rac-BHFF produced at most 1 and 49% GHB-appropriate responding, respectively, and enhanced the effects of baclofen, but not of GHB. Enhancement of the discriminative stimulus effects of baclofen by rac-BHFF and CGP7930 is further evidence of their effectiveness as GABAB receptor-positive modulators in vivo. Furthermore, lack of complete substitution of the positive modulators rac-BHFF and CGP7930 for baclofen and GHB suggests that their discriminative stimulus effects differ from those of GABAB receptor agonists. Finally, together with converging evidence that the GABAB receptor populations mediating the effects of baclofen and GHB are not identical, the present findings suggest that these populations differ in their susceptibility to positive modulatory effects. Such differences could allow for more selective therapeutic targeting of the GABAB system.
Are We Undermedicating Patients With Neuromuscular Scoliosis After Posterior Spinal Fusion

Abstract Study Design Retrospective, matched study of patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) and patients with cerebral palsy (CP) undergoing (PSF). Objectives To compare pain management, through measurement of the amount of narcotic used and pain scores, for patients with neuromuscular (NM) scoliosis undergoing PSF to a cohort of patients with AIS. Summary of Background Data Posterior spinal fusion for children with severe NM scoliosis carries a high risk of complications. Appropriate assessment of pain is crucial; undertreatment of pain leads to anxiety whereas overtreatment can lead to respiratory depression and additional complications. Methods A series of patients with NM scoliosis was matched for age, gender, and weight with a group of patients with AIS. Data collection included age, curve type and magnitude, and instrumentation type and levels fused. The total opioid used (TOU) was determined by summing all narcotics given during the hospital stay and converting them to morphine equivalent units. The data were then analyzed to determine differences in TOU. Results A total of 25 patients with NM scoliosis were included in the study. This group was matched with 25 patients with AIS scoliosis. The TOU for the NM group was 1.2 mg morphine/kg (range, 0.28–4.21 mg morphine/kg) whereas the TOU for the AIS group was 3.52 mg morphine/kg (range, 0.71–15.51 mg morphine/kg) (p Conclusions In this case-control analysis, patients with AIS undergoing PSF received more than twice the amount of narcotic compared with a matched group of patients with NM scoliosis. These data suggest that NM patients' pain may be undertreated compared with AIS patients. More study is indicated to investigate pain assessment and pain control in this vulnerable patient population to improve care.
Observations on the Morphology and Division of Eudiplodinium neglectum Dogiel (Ciliata Entodiniomorpha) from the Stomach of a Moose (Alces americana).

SUMMARY. The material containing the ciliate Eudiplodinium neglectum Dog. from the rumen of a moose was fixed with 4% formalin solution and studied both unstained and after staining with methylene blue or methyl green. This ciliate is closely related to Eudiplodinium neglectum Dog. (1925) formae spectabile Dog. (1925) and impalae Dog. (1925), but differs from them in the presence of a transverse cuticular line. The form of the macronucleus of the investigated ciliates is regularly elongated clavate, the anterior end being wider than the posterior one. The following measurements were obtained from 14 specimens: length 81.3 μ (67.2–112 μ), width 66.2 μ (48.8–84 μ). During division the anterior daughter gets the old skeletal plate and a new one arises de novo in the posterior daughter. The anlage of a new skeletal plate for the posterior daughter was observed in earlier and later telophases, first as an indistinct structure, later as a group of a variable number of granules, more often about 30. This anlage gradually grew into a typical skeletal plate. The anlage of the pharynx in the posterior daughter was seen in later telophases. A part of the distal end of the old skeletal plate (one, two or five rectangular prisms belonging to this organelle) and a part of the distal end of the old oesophagus are possibly cut off during division and dissolved in the protoplasm of the posterior daughter. A crossing of the distal end of the old skeletal plate by the division plane was observed only in those specimens in which this part consisted of one row of the rectangular skeletal prisms and was not found in the specimens with a shaft of the skeletal plate consisting of two rows of polygons. In later division stages a bending of the old skeletal plate takes place. The morphological plasticity of the skeletal plate (loss of the distal part and subsequent bending of this organelle during the division of the ciliate) observed by the present writer and its dynamic reversibility (disappearing during starvation and thickening under satisfactory feeding conditions, reported by Westphal) confirm the assumption that the skeletal lamina functions primarily as a storage organelle. Some cases of destruction and defective development of the old skeletal plate were observed. The presence of fat in some specimens of E. neglectum Dog. is noted.
Exchange-mediated pairing among correlated electrons: Fluctuating-valence limit

Abstract We describe some of the physical implications of the recently proposed real-space pairing mechanism induced by antiferromagnetic interaction of the Kondo type between the strongly hybridized itinerant and localized electrons. An explicit form of the superconducting gap anisotropy is obtained in the mean-field (BCS) approximation. The gap disappears in a discontinuous manner as the localization threshold for the hybridized system is reached.
Radiation Synthesis of Carbon Dioxide in Ice-coated Carbon: Implications for Interstellar Grains and Icy Moons

We report the synthesis of carbon dioxide on an amorphous carbon-13 substrate coated with amorphous water ice from irradiation with 100 keV protons at 20 K and 120 K. The quantitative studies show that the CO{sub 2} is dispersed in the ice; its column density increases with ion fluence to a maximum value (in 10{sup 15} molecules cm{sup -2}) of {approx}1 at 20 K and {approx}3 at 120 K. The initial yield is 0.05 (0.1) CO{sub 2} per incident H{sup +} at 20 (120) K. The CO{sub 2} destruction process, which limits the maximum column density, occurs with an effective cross section of {approx}2.5 (4.1) Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -17} cm{sup 2} at 20 (120) K. We discuss radiation-induced oxidation by reactions of radicals in water with the carbon surface and demonstrate that these reactions can be a significant source of condensed carbon dioxide in interstellar grains and in icy satellites in the outer solar system.
Biogenetic-type synthesis of the indole alkaloids

Abstract A review of the rationale and methodology for the laboratory construction of the major classes of indole alkaloid based on their known or presumed biosynthesis is presented. The experimental results obtained provide analogies for the principal condensation and rearrangement reactions uncovered in biochemical investigations in this field and suggest new incorporation experiments. The prediction and discovery of new classes of alkaloid based on the observed transformations have been made and, in turn, new theories have been developed to explain some of the hitherto unsolved problems of biotransformation and structure in this series. Finally, the suggestion is made that many of the complex structures encountered in the various families may arise through rather unspecific processes, some indeed of a nonenzymic nature.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases' Asthma and Allergic Disease Centers: A personal commentary

This review describes the founding and major goals for the Asthma and Allergic Diseases Centers, a program launched by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in 1971. The program was initiated to develop allergy and immunology programs across the United States. Over the past 35 years, the program has successfully increased the visibility of the subspecialty of allergy and immunology, supported allergy and immunology programs at medical schools across the country, and encouraged interdisciplinary efforts with other subspecialties in medicine.
Saproflorivory: A Diverse Insect Community in Fallen Flowers of Lecythidaceae in French Guiana

We investigated insects associated with flowerfalls from seven tree species belonging to the Brazil nut family (Lecythidaceae) in the lowland rain forest of French Guiana. Freshly fallen androecia were collected from the forest floor and incubated in rearing chambers. Over 1300 insects representing 21 families were collected from the caged flowers, including abundant Diptera and Coleoptera, five moth morphospecies and four species of lycaenid butterflies. These insects fee do n androecia. We also documented the presence of predators and parasitoids, indicating an additional trophic level.
Facile Si–H bond activation and hydrosilylation catalysis mediated by a nickel–borane complex

Metal–borane complexes are emerging as promising systems for study in the context of bifunctional catalysis. Herein we describe diphosphineborane nickel complexes that activate Si–H bonds and catalyze the hydrosilylation of aldehydes. Treatment of [MesDPBPh]Ni (1) ([MesDPBPh] = MesB(o-Ph2PC6H4)2) with organosilanes affords the complexes [MesDPBPh](μ-H)NiE (E = SiH2Ph (3), SiHPh2 (4)). Complex 4 is in solution equilibrium with 1 and the thermodynamic and kinetic parameters of their exchange have been characterized by NMR spectroscopy. Complex 1 is a catalyst for the hydrosilylation of a range of para-substituted benzaldehydes. Mechanistic studies on this reaction via multinuclear NMR spectroscopy are consistent with the intermediacy of a borohydrido-Ni-siloxyalkyl species.
The case for multiply-detected macrodiversity scheme in mobile systems

The multiply-detected macrodiversity (MDM) is based on post-detection combining; i.e., it is a macrodiversity scheme with a number of received signals being detected and a decision algorithm being employed to maximize the probability of correct decision. We compare the performance of the MDM scheme with the traditional S/I-diversity and show the achievable improvement. As a rule of thumb, improvement of two orders of magnitude in the BER is possible for small number of interferers.
Quantitative Liver MRI Combining Phase Contrast Imaging, Elastography, and DWI: Assessment of Reproducibility and Postprandial Effect at 3.0 T

Purpose: To quantify short-term reproducibility (in fasting conditions) and postprandial changes after a meal in portal vein (PV) flow parameters measured with phase contrast (PC) imaging, liver diffusion parameters measured with multiple b value diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and liver stiffness (LS) measured with MR elastography (MRE) in healthy volunteers and patients with liver disease at 3.0 T. Materials and Methods: In this IRB–approved prospective study, 30 subjects (11 healthy volunteers and 19 liver disease patients; 23 males, 7 females; mean age 46.5 y) were enrolled. Imaging included 2D PC imaging, multiple b value DWI and MRE. Subjects were initially scanned twice in fasting state to assess short-term parameter reproducibility, and then scanned 20 min. after a liquid meal. PV flow/velocity, LS, liver true diffusion coefficient (D), pseudodiffusion coefficient (D*), perfusion fraction (PF) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) were measured in fasting and postprandial conditions. Short-term reproducibility was assessed in fasting conditions by measuring coefficients of variation (CV) and Bland-Altman limits of agreement. Differences in MR metrics before and after caloric intake and between healthy volunteers and liver disease patients were assessed. Results: PV flow parameters, D, ADC and LS showed good to excellent short-term reproducibility in fasting state (CV ,16%), while PF and D* showed acceptable and poor reproducibility (CV=20.4% and 51.6%, respectively). PV flow parameters and LS were significantly higher (p,0.04) in postprandial state while liver diffusion parameters showed no significant change (p.0.2). LS was significantly higher in liver disease patients compared to healthy volunteers both in fasting and postprandial conditions (p,0.001). Changes in LS were significantly correlated with changes in PV flow (Spearman rho=0.48, p=0.013). Conclusions: Caloric intake had no/minimal/large impact on diffusion/stiffness/portal vein flow, respectively. PC MRI and MRE but not DWI should be performed in controlled fasting state.
Validating the incontinence symptom severity index: a self-assessment instrument for voiding symptom severity in women.

Purpose: Most voiding symptom self-assessment instruments assess either symptom bother or effect on quality of life. The Incontinence Symptom Severity Index is an instrument for self-assessment of severity of female urinary storage and voiding symptoms, rather than symptom bother or effects of symptoms on quality of life. We assessed the validity of the Incontinence Symptom Severity Index for female voiding symptom self-assessment.Materials and Methods: The Incontinence Symptom Severity Index assesses 8 symptom domains, including emptying, urgency, urge incontinence, nocturia, daytime frequency, stress incontinence, leakage with physical activity and pad use. Three separate cohorts of women with a mean age of 59, 60 and 63 years, respectively, who underwent evaluation for urinary complaints associated with incontinence and vaginal prolapse were analyzed. Internal consistency was assessed via item-total correlations and Cronbach's α. Concurrent validity against the Urogenital Distress Inventory and Pelvic ...
An Existentialist account of the role of humor against oppression

I argue that the overt subjugation in the system of American slavery and its subsequent effects offer a case study for an existentialist analysis of freedom, oppression and humor. Concentrating on the writings and experiences of Fred- erick Douglass and the existentialists Simone De Beauvoir and Lewis Gordon, I investigate how the concepts of "spirit of seriousness", "mystification", and an existentialist reading of "double consciousness" for example, can elucidate the forms of explicit and concealed oppression. I then make the case that subversive humor is an effective means to bring to consciousness the inconsistencies and in- congruities of the serious oppressors. I also illustrate how humor can act as a bul- wark against the rise and persistence of oppression by (non-violently) attacking the absolutist stance on human nature maintained through the use of dominating and "authoritative" language and action. 1
Comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) study of epothilones - tubulin depolymerization inhibitors: Pharmacophore development using 3D QSAR methods

A three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship (3D QSAR) study has been carried out on epothilones based on comparative molecular field analyses (CoMFA) using a large data set of epothilone analogs, which are potent inhibitors of tubulin depolymerization. Microtubules, which are polymers of the α/β-tubulin heterodimer, need to dissociate in order to form the mitotic spindle, a structure required for cell division. A rational pharmacophore searching method using 3D QSAR procedures was carried out and the results for the epothilones are described herein. One-hundred and sixty-six epothilone analogs and their depolymerization inhibition properties with tubulin were used as a training set. Over a thousand molecular field energies were generated and applied to generate the descriptors of QSAR equations. Using a genetic function algorithm (GFA) method, combined with a least square approach, multiple QSAR models were considered during the search for pharmacophore elements. Each GFA run resulted in 100 QSAR models, which were ranked according to their lack of fit (LOF) scores, with a total of 40 GFA runs having been performed. The 40 best QSAR equations from each run had adequate fitted correlation coefficients (R from 0.813 to 0.863) and were of sufficient statistical significance (F value from 7.2 to 10.9). The pharmacophore elements for epothilones were studied by investigating the hit frequency of descriptors (i.e. the sampling probabilities of grid points from the GFA studies) from the set of the 4000 top scoring QSAR equations. By comparing the frequency with which each grid point appeared in the QSAR equations, three candidate regions in the epothilones were proposed to be pharmacophore elements. Two of them are completely compatible with the recent model proposed by Ojima et al. [Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 96 (1999) 4256], however, one is quite different and is necessary to accurately predict the activities of all 166 epothilone molecules used in our training set. Finally, by visualizing the 35 most probable grid points, it was found that changes related to the C6, C7, C8, C12, S20, and C21 atoms of the epothilones were highly correlated to their activity.
Optimal Programming of Implantable Cardiac-Defibrillators

Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) reduce sudden cardiac death risk and improve survival in patients with a history of life-threatening arrhythmia or cardiac arrest (secondary prevention) and in high-risk patients without such a history (primary prevention).1–3 Patients with ICDs, however, may receive unnecessary shocks, which have been associated with proarrhythmia, anxiety, depression, poor quality of life, and possibly increased mortality.4–8 In contrast to drug therapy, in which a limited number of parameters (such as dose) are adjustable, hundreds of programmable parameters affect device therapy delivery. Moreover, selection of nonnominal parameter settings (ie, changing the out-of-the-box factory default settings) reduces morbidity and mortality compared with nominal settings in many clinical situations because of publication and regulatory delays.4,9,10 Thus, optimization of programming to prevent unnecessary shocks is paramount to minimize morbidity and mortality and is dependent on clinician proactivity. Delivery of ICD therapy for rhythms other than ventricular tachycardia (VT) or ventricular fibrillation (VF) is termed inappropriate therapy . It may result from inappropriate detection of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) such as atrial fibrillation (AF) or sinus tachycardia or from oversensing of physiological (eg, T wave) or nonphysiological (eg, lead fracture noise) signals. Inappropriate shocks have been reported in 16% to 18% of ICD recipients and constitute 30% to 50% of all shocks.11–13 Although therapy delivered for a ventricular tachyarrhythmia is considered appropriate, a growing body of evidence has shown that programming antitachycardia pacing (ATP) or delaying shocks to permit nonsustained episodes to terminate significantly reduces the frequency of shock delivery. Koneru et al14 have used the term unnecessary shocks to refer to inappropriate shocks delivered for rhythms other than VT/VF and to include shocks delivered for VT that would have responded to ATP or terminated spontaneously if given time. Optimal programming minimizes unnecessary shocks. A …
Using Workforce’s Physiological Strain Monitoring to Enhance Social Sustainability of Construction

AbstractSustainability is often described in terms of the triple bottom line, which refers to its environmental, economic, and social dimensions. However, the economic and environmental impacts of decisions have been easier to determine than have been the social impacts. One area of social sustainability that is particularly applicable to construction projects is that of construction workforce safety and well-being. This is a critical part of sustainability, and a socially sustainable construction industry needs to consider the safety and well-being of construction workers. However, construction activities are generally physically demanding and performed in harsh environments. Monitoring workers’ physical strain may be an important step toward enhancing the social sustainability of construction. Recently introduced physiological status monitors (PSMs) have overcome the past limitations, allowing physical strain to be monitored without hindering workers’ activities. Three commercially available PSMs have b...
CONSEQUENCES OF DIET CHOICE BY A SMALL GENERALIST HERBIVORE

We examined the energy, nutrient, time, and habitat consequences of diet choice by a generalist herbivore, the hispid cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus) on the Texas coastal prairie. Benefit-cost and linear programming models were developed and used to test several specific hypotheses about diet choice, foraging strategy, and habitat use by cotton rats. Within cotton rat habitat, there were significant differences among both seasons and habitat patches in the abundance and biomass of foods available. Monocot patches typically were higher in standing crops of energy and nutrients than were either dicot or mixed patches. Relative to available biomass and nutrients in dicot foods, this cotton rat habitat was both spatially and temporally heterogeneous and dynamic. Although the abun- dance of dicot foods in a habitat patch did influence costs of foraging time, time costs of cotton rats foraging for suitable foods did not decrease when standing crops of energy and nutrients in these habitats increased. Higher requirements for energy and nutrients needed for lactation by reproductive cotton rats resulted in higher foraging costs than for non- reproductive female rats. A mixed diet incorporating both monocot and dicot foods was nutritionally superior to either a monocot-only diet or a dicot-only diet. A diet of only monocots would meet minimum daily energy requirements and would not exceed either maximum daily digestive capacity or maximum daily foraging time, but it would not meet minimum daily requirements for protein and phosphorus during reproduction. Conversely, a diet of only dicots would meet nutrient requirements for reproduction but would exceed maximum daily foraging time. Mixing of monocot and dicot plant parts in the diet met both net energy and nutritional requirements, and increased foraging time, as compared to a diet of only monocots. Diets of cotton rats foraging to maximize net energy intake each season differed from the observed diets. Likewise, diets of cotton rats foraging to minimize total daily foraging time differed from the observed diets. Thus, we conclude that repro- ductive females of this generalist herbivore neither maximized their energy nor minimized their time, but rather, consumed a mixed diet to balance intake of requisite nutrients. Accordingly, a diet choice that included a mixture of monocot and dicot foods was most efficient when foraging occurred in a habitat having a mixture of monocot and dicot plants. Mixed patches provided higher energy and nutrient benefits to foraging cotton rats than did either monocot or dicot patches. Finally, we observed that reproductive female cotton rats concentrated their activities in mixed-patch habitats.
Transposable elements have contributed to thousands of human proteins

This is a report of many distant but significant protein sequence relationships between human proteins and transposable elements (TEs). The libraries of human repeated sequences contain the DNA sequences of many TEs. These were translated in all reading frames, ignoring stop codons, and were used as amino acid sequence probes to search with blastp for similar sequences in a library of 25,193 human proteins. The probes show regions of significant amino acid sequence similarity to 1,950 different human genes, with an expectation of <10−3. In comparison with previous repeatmasker (Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle) studies, these probes detect many more TE sequences in more human coding sequences with greater length than previous work using DNA sequences. If the criterion is opened, very many matches are found occurring on 4,653 different genes after correction for the number seen with random amino acid sequence probes. The processes that led to these extensive sets of sequence relationships between TEs and coding sequences of human genes have been a major source of variation and novel genes during evolution. This paper lists the number of sequence similarities seen by amino acid sequence comparison, which is surely an underestimate of the actual number of significant relationships. It appears that many of these are the result of past events of duplication of genes or gene regions, rather than a direct result of TE insertion. This report of observable relationships leaves to the future the functional implications as well as the detection of the events of TE insertion.