cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Adaptive Routing Algorithm for Offshore Oil Spill Wireless Sensor Networks

Development of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) can serve many civil and military applications where information gathering, processing and monitoring is required. Design of efficient routing protocol is very critical in WSN. In many applications, network structure is unknown and even unpredictable in some situations. Nodes are deployed in a geographical area randomly without considering the location factor. Hence a dynamic routing strategy is needed to overcome these issues to render efficient flow of information.
The Chemistry and Energy of Life

The Federal Reserve Bank is the central bank of the United States. It does not conduct commercial banking activities; rather, the Federal Reserve role consists of maintaining stable economic growth. The Federal Reserve originated from the Owen-Glass1 bill introduced in both houses of Congress and became law in December 1913. From its inception, the Federal Reserve was assigned three key purposes: (a) to provide an elastic supply of currency; (b) to provide a means to discount commercial credits; and (c) to supervise and regulate the nation's banks. Later on, as a result of changes in our modern economy and needs, the Federal Reserve has been assigned to provide full employment as well. The US Federal Reserve System and its Federal Reserve Board is the most powerful central bank in the world.2
Pyrolysis of tomato harvest waste as a function of temperature and duration: Characteristics, production energy, and carbon dioxide emission in field conditions.

Abstract This study aimed to determine the physicochemical properties and production energy of biochars obtained from tomato harvest waste as a function of temperature and duration (holding time), and the influence of biochars on soil CO2 emission in the field condition. Pyrolysis was conducted in a 50 L-reactor with an electrical heating system. With a rise in pyrolysis temperature and holding time, pH, carbon, ash and fixed carbon contents, and energy consumption per unit mass of biochar increased, while volatiles content, and biochar yield decreased. The nitrogen content of biochars decreased with the increased holding time under the same temperature. Soil CO2 emission rose and declined with biochars produced at low and high temperatures, respectively, when mixed with the soil. The difference between the lowest (at 500 °C with the holding times of 240 min) and highest biochars-related soil CO2 emissions (at 300 °C with the holding times of 40 min) was 38.6 %. The pyrolysis temperature of 500 °C regardless of holding time appeared to reduce the energy consumption due to the biochar production, and soil respiration.
Non-Newtonian Viscosities and the Equation of Motion

A review is presented of the current status of non- Newtonian fluid mechanics. Emphasis is placed on attempts to formulate rheological equations of state which are mathematically acceptable. A number of exact and approximate solutions to the equation of non-Newtonian motion are listed. Difficulties as well as possibilities which are associated with future progress in non-Newtonian fluid mechanics are cited.
Analysis of Oxygen-Pnictogen Bonding with Full Bond Path Topological Analysis of the Electron Density.

A variety of methods are available to investigate the bonding in inorganic compounds. In contrast to wavefunction-based analyses, topological analysis of the electron density affords the advantage of analyzing a physical observable: the electron density. Classical topological analyses of bonding interactions within the atoms in molecules framework typically involve location of a bond path between two atoms and evaluation of a range of real-space functions at the (3, -1) critical point in the electron density that exists on that bond path. We show here that counter-intuitive trends are obtained from the analysis of the electron density (ρ), the Laplacian (∇2ρ), and ellipticity (e) at the O-E (3, -1) critical points in the coupled-cluster singles doubles electron densities of a series of compounds featuring a range of oxygen-pnictogen bond types: EO+, HEO, H2EOH, H3EOH+, and H3EO (where E = N, P, As, Sb, or Bi). If, instead, these real-space functions are evaluated along the length of the bond path, the discrepancies in the trends are resolved. We show that robust results are also obtained using electron densities from less computationally demanding density functional theory calculations. The increased computational efficiency allowed us to also investigate organic derivatives of these oxygen-pnictogen-bonded compounds and observe that the trends hold in these instances as well. We anticipate that these results will be of use to inorganic chemists engaged in the synthesis and evaluation of novel bonding interactions, particularly those involving heavy main-group elements.
Multi-objective model for supplier selection and order allocation problem with fuzzy parameters

Abstract Disasters, such as Coronavirus pandemic and Japan’s earthquake and tsunami, negatively hits firms and markets. It may drastically increase market demand for some products, or decrease suppliers’ ability to supply them at right quantity, quality and time. This uncertainty can be modeled with the fuzzy set theory that is less data-demanding than the probability theory. When a supplier selection problem (SSP) is formulated by fuzzy mathematical programming technique, we have to address two issues: (1) fuzzy constraints, due to the uncertainty in demand and supply capacity, and (2) fuzzy coefficients, due to the uncertainty in defective and late delivery rates, etc. In this study, we develop a fuzzy multi-objective model for a SSP to address these two issues. We first develop a weighted additive function to transform the fuzzy multi-objective model to a fuzzy single-objective model that can effectively consider the decision makers’ preferences. Then, a resolution method is applied to solve the single-objective model with fuzzy parameters.
Threat economies and armed conservation in northeastern Central African Republic

Abstract This article, based on ethnographic and archival research in the northeastern parklands of the Central African Republic (CAR), explores the area’s history of armed conservation. Critical scholarly accounts of armed conservation practices and projects often starkly contrast the people involved in them: there are agents of the state, or state-like actors, who seek to dominate, territorialize, and discipline, often using violence to do so, and there are local populations who are dispossessed of their lands and resources without compensation and forced into new kinds of poverty, despite rhetoric and practices meant to inculcate “local participation”. The case presented here forces us to re-think these accounts. Rather than pursuing authority in the sense of expanding control over other people, people in northeastern CAR (whether putatively in favor of or opposed to conservation) are working to create and maintain access to the status of an income. To do so they engage in practices of threatening and hiding. While the means to use physical force are not equally shared, capacities to threaten and hide are widely held, and organizational and other hierarchies are unstable, making it difficult to describe any of this as a matter of domination and resistance. Expanding on literature that examines processes of green militarization (Lunstrum, 2014), the article focuses on the interactional dynamics of armed conservation to show that threats are as important as acts of physical violence, and that hiding—whether in the bush or plain sight—is critical to understanding armed conservation in an area where the state is largely seen as absent.
Baring the Iron Hand: Discipline in the Union Army – By Steven J. Ramold

At the outbreak of the American Civil War, the United States Army numbered only 13,000 to 16,000 regulars. During the next four years, that force mushroomed in size, with an estimated 2,100,000 men...
Engineering Escherichia coli for co-production of acetaldehyde and hydrogen from glucose

vi CHAPTER 1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1 I. Importance of returning to renewable resources 1 II. Processing biorenewable resources into fuels and chemicals 5 III. Review of important chemicals produced by recombinant Escherichia coli through metabolic engineering 6 CHAPTER 2. CO-PRODUCTION OF ACETALDEHYDE AND HYDROGEN FROM GLUCOSE FERMENTATION BY ESCHERICHIA COLI 29 Introduction 29 Materials and methods 33 Results 45 Discussion 74 Conclusion 80 CHAPTER 3. FUTURE WORK 82
Teaching Family Policy Through a Policy Practice Framework

This article reports on the development of an innovative family policy practice course for direct practice students that emphasizes experiential learning to develop policy practice skills. The course uses a policy practice framework to understand the creation and implementation of major family legislation. A semester-long project provides students with opportunities to develop skills in advocacy, policy development, and planning by working for social change in the community. The article discusses examples of projects that have been implemented by students, discusses challenges to teaching experiential methods for skill building, and provides critical evaluation of the projects and their relevance for macro practice research.
Sensory Nervous Systems

This chapter discusses the anatomy and basic physiology of the neural pathways between sensory organs and the cerebral cortices, emphasizing the similarities and the differences of the anatomy and the physiology of the different sensory systems. This also includes the processing of sensory information in the nervous system in general, again emphasizing similarities and differences among the five senses. The complexity of the CNS is overwhelming, compared to any manmade structure, with regard to the number of elements (neurons) and the number of connections among neurons. The exact number of neurons in the human brain is unknown, but it has been estimated to be on the order of 100 billion neurons. Many individual neurons receive 1000 or more inputs. The total number of connections has been estimated to be on the order of 100 trillion. The brain consists of many seemingly independent parts that are assigned different functions; however, there are ample interconnections among different parts of the brain that make possible many forms of interactions among these parts. As the understanding of the function of the CNS progresses, the distinction among the functions of different parts of the brain becomes more and more diffuse.
The Continuing Challenge of Artifacts in the EEG

ABSTRACT.From the very inception of EEG, the distinction between artifactual and cerebral electrical activity has been crucial. Dealing with artifacts effectively is an essential function of the EEG technologist and continues to be challenging. This review includes examples of common artifacts in unfamiliar guises, uncommon artifacts with identifiable characteristics, and some newer artifacts engendered by changing technology.
Hepatotoxicity after 3′-hydroxyacetanilide administration to buthionine sulfoximine pretreated mice

The administration of 3'-hydroxyacetanilide, a regioisomer of acetaminophen, to mice failed to produce hepatotoxicity even after the administration of diethyl maleate. In contrast, hepatotoxicity did occur when 3'-hydroxyacetanilide was administered to buthionine sulfoximine pretreated mice. Although the administration of 3'-hydroxyacetanilide in conjunction with either diethyl maleate or buthionine sulfoximine depleted total hepatic glutathione, only the combined buthionine sulfoximine-3'-hydroxyacetanilide treatment decreased hepatic mitochondrial glutathione concentrations to below 20% of control values. In addition, pretreatment with buthionine sulfoximine increased the amount of 3'-hydroxyacetanilide bound to mitochondrial proteins. These results, in conjunction without previous results on the involvement of mitochondrial damage in the pathogenesis of hepatotoxicity caused by acetaminophen, suggest a probable relationship between mitochondrial damage caused by the buthionine sulfoximine-3'-hydroxyacetanilide treatment and hepatotoxicity caused by this treatment.
Mechanical properties of some fibre reinforced polymer composites after implantation as fracture fixation plates

Abstract Continuous fibre reinforced composite bone plates made from graphite/polysulphoneand glass/epoxy laminates were implanted for 16 weeks on osteotomized canine femurs and for 12 months on intact femurs. After sacrifice, the plates were removed and tested in four point bending for stiffness and strength. There were no significant differences in properties between control and implanted plates in the 16 week study. Both the glass/epoxy and the graphite/polysulphone systems showed deterioration after implantation for 12 months.
Benefit of computed tomography enterography in Crohn's disease: effects on patient management and physician level of confidence.

Background: Computed tomographic enterography (CTE) has been shown to have a high sensitivity and specificity for active small bowel inflammation. There are only sparse data on the effect of CTE results on Crohn's disease (CD) patient care. Methods: We prospectively assessed 273 patients with established or suspected CD undergoing a clinically indicated CTE. Providers were asked to complete pre- and postimaging questionnaires regarding proposed clinical management plans and physician level of confidence (LOC) for the presence or absence of active small bowel disease, fistula(s), abscess(es), or stricturing disease. Correlative clinical, serologic, and histologic data were recorded. Following revelation of CTE results, providers were questioned if CTE altered their management plans, and whether LOC changes were due to CTE findings (on a 5-point scale). Results: CTE altered management plans in 139 cases (51%). CTE changed management in 70 (48%) of those with established disease, prompting medication changes in 35 (24%). Management changes were made post-CTE in 69 (54%) of those with suspected CD, predominantly due to excluding CD (36%). CTE-perceived changes in management were independent of clinical, serologic, and histologic findings (P < 0.0001). Clinically meaningful LOC changes (2 or more points) were observed in 212 (78%). Conclusions: CTE is a clinically useful examination, altering management plans in nearly half of patients with CD, while increasing physician LOC for the detection of small bowel inflammation and penetrating disease. These findings further support the use of CTE in CD management algorithms. (Inflamm Bowel Dis 2011;)
Umbilical hernias in turkeys.

Abstract Umbilical hernias were found as a flock problem in four-week-old White torn turkeys. No etiological factor could be determined.
Genioglossal inspiratory activation: central respiratory vs mechanoreceptive influences.

Upper airway dilator muscles are phasically activated during respiration. We assessed the interaction between central respiratory drive and local (mechanoreceptive) influences upon genioglossal (GG) activity throughout inspiration. GGEMG and airway mechanics were measured in 16 awake subjects during baseline spontaneous breathing, increased central respiratory drive (inspiratory resistive loading; IRL), and decreased respiratory drive (hypocapnic negative pressure ventilation), both prior to and following dense upper airway topical anesthesia. Negative epiglottic pressure (Pepi) was significantly correlated with GGEMG across inspiration (i.e. within breaths). Both passive ventilation and IRL led to significant decreases in the sensitivity of the relationship between GGEMG and Pepi (slope GGEMG vs Pepi), but yielded no change in the relationship (correlation) between GGEMG and Pepi. During negative pressure ventilation, pharyngeal resistance increased modestly, but significantly. Anesthesia in all conditions led to decrements in phasic GGEMG, increases in pharyngeal resistance, and decrease in the relationship between Pepi and GGEMG. We conclude that both central output to the GG and local reflex mediated activation are important in maintaining upper airway patency.
Diagnostic accuracy of exercise thallium-201 single-photon emission computed tomography in patients with left bundle branch block

Recent reports have proposed that abnormal apical or anterior wall perfusion with exercise thallium-201 imaging may increase diagnostic accuracy for disease of the left anterior descending artery in patients with left bundle branch block (LBBB). To evaluate these suggestions, 83 patients with LBBB who underwent thallium-201 single-photon emission computed tomography and coronary angiography within an interval of 3 months were retrospectively reviewed. There were 59 men and 24 women aged 33 to 84 years (mean 65). Myocardial perfusion to the apex, anterior wall and anterior septum were scored qualitatively by consensus of 2 experienced observers and by quantitative analysis in comparison with a normal data base. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of perfusion defects in these segments were then expressed according to angiographic findings. Significant stenosis of vessels within the left anterior descending artery territory was present in 38 patients. By receiver-operator characteristic analysis, a fixed or reversible defect within the apex by the qualitative method was the best criterion for coronary artery disease. However, although highly sensitive (79 and 85% by the qualitative and quantitative methods, respectively), an apical defect was neither specific (38 and 16%, respectively), nor accurate (57 and 46%, respectively). Perfusion abnormalities in the anterior wall and septum were also of limited diagnostic accuracy. Thus, modified interpretative criteria in patients with LBBB are not clinically useful in the assessment of left anterior descending artery disease.
Manipulating Self-Assembly with Achiral Molecules: An STM Study of Chiral Segregation by Achiral Adsorbates

The self-assembly of a mixture of hexadecanoic acid with racemic (R)/(S)-2-bromohexadecanoic acid has been investigated using scanning tunneling microscopy. When this mixture is physisorbed onto th...
Analysts' utilization of historical earnings information

This study examines whether security analysts (in)efficiently utilize the information contained in past series of annual and quarterly earnings in producing earnings forecasts. To do so, it investigates whether equal-weighted combinations of security analysts' forecasts with forecasts from statistical models based on historical earnings are superior, both in terms of being a better surrogate for the market's expectations of earnings and of accuracy, to forecasts from either one of these two sources. The empirical findings indicate that, although analysts' forecasts are superior to forecasts from statistical models, performance can be improved—both in terms of accuracy and also of being a better surrogate for market earnings expectations—by combining analysts' forecasts with forecasts from statistical models based on past quarterly earnings. Improvements in proxying for market earnings expectations were obtained even when analysts' forecasts made in June of the forecast year were used in the combinations. An implication of these findings is that investors can improve their investment decisions by using an average of the mean analysts' forecasts and the forecast produced by a time-series model of quarterly earnings in their investment decisions.
Ehrlichiosis: A cause of bone marrow hypoplasia in humans

Infection with Ehrlichia canis should be suspected in patients with fever, headache, malaise, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, and a history of recent exposure to ticks. The cytopenia is caused by bone marrow hypoplasia which may be severe. The disease may be confused with spotless Rocky Mountain spotted fever but can be differentiated from this infection serologically with acute and convalescent sea. In humans, recovery has occurred with and without antibiotic therapy. However, prompt antibiotic therapy is advised prior to serologic studies, especially in immunocompromised individuals, splenectomized persons, and patients with AIDS-who may develop a more overwhelming rickettsial infection.
Recognition memory and the medial temporal lobe: a new perspective

Recognition memory is widely viewed as consisting of two components, recollection and familiarity, which have been proposed to be dependent on the hippocampus and the adjacent perirhinal cortex, respectively. Here, we propose an alternative perspective: we suggest that the methods traditionally used to separate recollection from familiarity instead separate strong memories from weak memories. A review of work with humans, monkeys and rodents finds evidence for familiarity signals (as well as recollection signals) in the hippocampus and recollection signals (as well as familiarity signals) in the perirhinal cortex. We also indicate ways in which the functions of the medial temporal lobe structures are different, and suggest that these structures work together in a cooperative and complementary way.
Preventing Teacher Failure: Six Keys to Success in Moving beyond the "Sink or Swim" Mentality

One controversial aspect of No Child Left Behind is the highly qualified provision. The 2001 act required that teachers of core academic subjects be highly qualified by 2006 or school districts would lose federal funding. Virginia districts are still scrambling to hire qualified teachers. Although the federal government has modified the 2006 deadline, two forces compete, the national legislation versus the reality that there are too few well-prepared teachers. Traditional teacher education programs are not producing enough candidates to remedy the shortage; quick licensure pathways are not adequately addressing the problem either. One university's solution is collaboration with surrounding school districts. The authors provide six tested recommendations to help colleges of education prepare successful, long-term educators, enabling school districts to fill vacancies with qualified teachers.
Intracortical AF64A: memory impairments and recovery from cholinergic hypofunction.

Abstract The long-term effects of intracortical AF64A (ethylcholine mustard aziridinium ion) treatment on presynaptic cortical cholinergic markers and cognitive function in the rat were investigated. Two 1.0 μl infusions of AF64A (1 nmole/μl) or vehicle were placed bilaterally into the fronto-parietal cortex. At 3 weeks postinfusion, AF64A-treated animals were found to be deficient in passive avoidance memory retention. During weeks 4 through 10, AF64A-treated animals were markedly deficient in the extinction (memory) phase, but not the acquisition (learning) phase of 2-way active avoidance behavior. Cortical acetylcholine synthesis and high-affinity choline uptake were significantly decreased in AF64A-treated animals at 24 hours, 3 weeks, and 10 weeks following infusion. At 6 months after AF64A treatment, however, cortical cholinergic markers were not reduced compared to controls. These data indicate that memory deficits are observed during a period of cortical cholinergic hypofunction induced by cortical AF64A infusions and that a recovery from such hypofunction occurs by 6 months after these infusions.
Knowledge and attitude on screening mammography among low-literate, low-income women

BACKGROUND Low-income women utilize screening mammography less frequently, present at more advanced stages of disease, and have higher breast cancer mortality rates than women with higher incomes. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of reading ability to the knowledge and attitudes that low-income women have regarding screening mammography. METHODS A convenience sample of 445 women were interviewed for this study. These women, age 40 years and older, had not had a mammogram in the past year. They were waiting to see a doctor in one of two outpatient clinics at Louisiana State University Medical Center in Shreveport when they were interviewed. A structured questionnaire assessed mammography knowledge and attitudes. Each patient's reading ability was assessed with the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM). RESULTS The women interviewed had a mean age of 56 years. Sixty-nine percent were African American, and 97% lived in households with annual incomes of less than $20,000. On the average, the highest grade completed in school was tenth grade. The average reading level was fourth to sixth grade, with 76% reading below a 9th-grade level. Lower reading ability correlated significantly with less mammography knowledge (P < 0.0001). A lack of accurate information about mammography was prevalent among low-level readers. Thirty-nine percent of women reading at or below a third-grade level did not know why women are given mammograms, compared with 12% of those reading at or above a ninth-grade level. Cost was a great concern in general, but cost concerns did not vary by reading level; 41% of all participants were very concerned about cost. CONCLUSIONS Limited literacy skills and lack of knowledge about screening mammography may contribute considerably to the underutilization of screening mammograms in low-income women. Screening for reading level may identify a subset of low-income patients who could benefit from specialized education. These results could help guide effective educational interventions and better provider-patient communication about screening mammography for low-literate, low-income women. Cancer 1996;78:1912-20.
Analysis of ratings on trust inference in open environments

Ratings (also known as recommendations) provide an efficient and effective way to build trust relationship in the human society, by making use of the information from others rather than exclusively relying on one's own direct observations. However, it is uncertain that whether the rating can play the same positive effect in the open computing environment because of differences between the computing world and human society. We envisage that there are two kinds of uncertainties: the uncertainty resulting from rating aggregation algorithms and the uncertainty resulting from other algorithm-independent design factors, which are coined as algorithm uncertainty and factor uncertainty in this paper. The algorithm uncertainty is related to such a problem: are the complex aggregating algorithms necessary? The factor uncertainty refers to how the performance of ratings is affected by all kinds of factors, including trust model design related factors and trust model design independent factors. In this paper, we take an initial step to answer these two uncertainties. First, we study the effect of all factors based on a simple averaging rating algorithm in terms of several proposed performance metrics. Then we compare different rating aggregation algorithms in the same context and platform, focusing on several relevant metrics. The simulation results show that ratings are not always as helpful as what we expected, especially when the system is facing malicious raters and highly dynamic peer behaviors. In certain circumstances, the simple average aggregation algorithm performs better than the complex ones, especially when there are considerable number of bad raters in the system. Considering the system dynamics, the cost of the algorithm design, and the system overhead, we argue that it is not worth putting too much energy on the design of complex rating aggregation schemes for trust inference in open computing environments.
Quantum recurrence from a semiclassical resummation

The semiclassical expression for the momentum autocorrelation function of a particle in a one-dimensional box is analyzed. The classical autocorrelation function is shown to be the first term of the semiclassical series. Systematical inclusion of all the terms restores quantum recurrence of the momentum autocorrelation function.
BOND RETURNS, DISCRETE STOCHASTIC PROCESSES, AND DURATION

A particular duration measure may correspond to many different stochastic processes that generate fluctuations in the term structure of interest rates. There does not exist a one-to-one correspondence between the duration measure and an underlying stochastic process. In particular, durations derived from disequilibrium processes also correspond to equilibrium processes. Furthermore, it is shown that multi-factor discrete models of bond returns may also correspond to multi-duration models of bond returns.
Correlation of Optical Observations of Earth-Orbiting Objects and Initial Orbit Determination

For optical observations of Earth-orbiting objects, multiple observationsmust be combined to determine the orbit of the observed object.Whether two arbitrary tracks are of the same object, however, is generally unknown a priori, and solving this problem with traditional approaches requires iterative procedures that do not guarantee convergence. This paper proposes a technique of correlating multiple optical observations using highly constrained probability distributions in Poincare orbit element space. These distributions are divided into subregions, each of which are mapped linearly, to reduce computational burden, but without significantly losing accuracy. A proof-ofconcept implementation, in which simulated observations were processed, performed well. The technique proposed serves as a solution technique for initial orbit determination given two precise optical observation tracks.
Effect of phosphotyrosyl-IRS-1 level and insulin receptor tyrosine kinase activity on insulin-stimulated phosphatidylinositol 3, MAP, and S6 kinase activities.

The role of tyrosine phosphorylation of the insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS-1) was studied utilizing parental CHO cells or CHO cells that overexpress IRS-1, the insulin receptor, or both IRS-1 and the insulin receptor. Insulin stimulation of these four cell lines led to progressive levels of IRS-1 tyrosine phosphorylation of one, two, four, and tenfold. Maximal insulin-stimulated IRS-1 associated Ptdlns 3′-kinase activit in these cells was 1-, 1.5-, 3-, and 3-fold, while insulin sensitivity, as determined by ED50, was 1-, 2.5-, 10-, and 10-fold. Both sensitivity and maximal response paralleled the increased level of phosphotyrosyl-IRS-1; however, the increased level of phosphotyrosyl-IRS-1 seen in CHO/IR/IRS-1 cells did not further increase these responses. Likewise, maximal insulin-stimulated MAP kinase activity in these cell lines increased in parallel with IRS-1 tyrosine phosphorylation except in the CHO/IR/IRS-1 cell lines with activity levels of one-, five-, nine-, and ninefold. However, insulin sensitivity of the MAP and S6 kinases and maximal insulin-stimulated S6 kinase activity was not changed by a twofold increase in phosphotyrosyl-IRS-1, but an increase was observed with insulin-stimulated receptor autophosphorylation and kinase activity in CHO/IR cells which led to a tenfold increase in insulin receptor autophosphorylation and a fourfold increase in IRS-1 tyrosine phosphorylation. Thus, these three kinase activities may be differentially coupled to the activation of the insulin receptor kinase activity via IRS-1 and other possible cellular substrates. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Impact of High Herbivore Densities on Introduced Smooth Cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora, Invading San Francisco Bay, California

Spartina alterniflora, smooth cordgrass, invading San Francisco Bay, California (USA), is attacked by high densities of a plant hopper, Prokelisia marginata, and a mirid bug, Trigonotylus uhleri. Both herbivores are sap-feeders. We investigated the impact of these herbivores on S. alterniflora's growth rate, vegetative spread, and seed production by manipulating herbivore densities in the field and in a greenhouse. Herbivore densities in the field peaked in early fall, with P. marginata averaging more than 300 individuals per mature culm of S. alterniflora (about 100,000 per m2) and T. uhleri densities exceeding 10 per culm (about 3,000 per m2). Field reductions of herbivore densities by approximately 70% with insecticidal soap did not result in greater vegetative growth rates or lateral spread of plants; plants grew vigorously with the highest densities of insects. In the greenhouse study, conducted with seedlings, herbivory significantly reduced plant mass and tiller number in some but not all replicate herbivory treatments. In both field and greenhouse, there were significant differences between some clones' growth rates independent of herbivory. Inflorescence production in the field was not affected by reduced-herbivory treatments. Seed set was low under conditions of both natural and reduced herbivory, averaging 0.4%. Despite densities of P. marginata and T. uhleri that are much higher than typically observed in areas where S. alterniflora is native, herbivory by these particular insects appears to have little impact and in unlikely to limit S. alterniflora’s spread through San Francisco Bay. *** DIRECT SUPPORT *** A01BY070 00009
Association between vitamin D receptor polymorphism and type 2 diabetes or metabolic syndrome in community-dwelling older adults: The Rancho Bernardo Study☆

Vitamin D receptor (VDR) polymorphism influences susceptibility to type 1 diabetes, but the association with type 2 diabetes is not clear. We investigated the association between VDR polymorphism and type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome in a community-based study of unrelated older adults without known diabetes. Oral glucose tolerance test (75 g), plasma glucose and insulin measurement, homeostasis model assessment (HOMA), and VDR genotyping were performed. The distributions of genotype frequencies of ApaI, BsmI, and TaqI polymorphism did not differ between persons with and without diabetes, but the frequency of aa genotype of ApaI polymorphism was marginally higher in persons with type 2 diabetes (P = .058). Fasting plasma glucose (P [lt ] .05) and prevalence of glucose intolerance (P [lt ] .05) were significantly higher in nondiabetic persons with aa genotype compared with those with AA genotype. The bb genotype of BsmI polymorphism was associated with insulin resistance as assessed by HOMA after adjustment for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), and calcium and vitamin D use in persons without diabetes (P [lt ] .05). Our research suggests that ApaI polymorphism may be associated with glucose intolerance independent of defective insulin secretion and BsmI polymorphism with insulin resistance in a nondiabetic Caucasian population.
The Negative Two's Complement Number System

The two's complement fractional fixed-point number system is widely used to implement digital signal processing on VLSI chips. It has a range of values from ?1 to one least significant bit below +1. Either the multiplication of ?1 ? ?1 or taking the absolute value of ?1 produces a result (+1) that cannot be represented. A new system, the negative two's complement number system, is described here that has a range of one least significant bit above ?1 to +1 which eliminates the problem. This paper presents the new number system and describes algorithms for the basic arithmetic operations.
Cefsulodin kinetics in renal impairment

Cefsulodin kinetics were determined after a 500-mg dose to normal subjects and patients with varying degrees of renal insufficiency, including those requiring hemodialysis. Elimination kinetics were described by a two-compartment model. Steady-state volume of distribution was 0.26 l/kg regardless of renal function. When glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was more than 80 ml/min, elimination half-life (t½) was 1.9 hr, total body clearance (ClT) was 2.01 ml/kg/min, and renal clearance (ClR) was 1.09 ml/kg /min. When GFR ranged from 79 to 53 ml/min, t½ was 2.9 hr, ClT was 1.17 ml/kg/min, and ClR was 0.65 ml/kg/min. In subjects with moderate renal failure in whom GFR was 32 to 22 ml/min, t½ was 5.7 hr, ClT was 0.66 ml/kg/min, and ClR was 0.26 ml/kg/min. In anuric patients t½ was 13.0 hr and ClT was 0.19 ml/kg/min or 9.5% of ClT in normal subjects. There was a linear relationship between ClT and GFR such that ClT = 0.19 + 0.017 GFR (r = 0.95). During hemodialysis the average plasma flow was 122 ml/min, dialyzer plasma clearance was 50.9 mllmin, plasma drug concentration was reduced by 60%, and t½ fell to 2.1 hr. After dialysis the elimination rate appeared to return to that in nondialysis studies. Therefore, renal failure reduces the ClT of cefsulodin. In hemodialysis patients the maintenance dose of cefsulodin should be reduced to 10% of normal and 60% of the dose should be given after hemodialysis. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (1982) 31, 602–608; doi:10.1038/clpt.1982.84
Adaptation in the long-wavelength pathways.

Abstract We describe and test predictions of a model of long-wavelength test sensitivity upon large, uniform backgrounds. The model explains changes in sensitivity in the red-green detection pathways strictly based upon losses of sensitivity in the receptors. We derive the prediction that field mixture data for field-mixtures of μ 1 (fixed) and an addend, μ 2 , must follow the same shape on different intensities of the fixed background, μ 1 . This prediction is not in good agreement with the measurements.
Potentiation of renal tumorigenicity by cyclosporine A in streptozotocin diabetic rats

Male Wistar rats with streptozotocin induced diabetes were treated every third day with 10 mg/kg (13 rats) of cyclosporine A (CyA) for 20 weeks. At sacrifice, 7 of 13 rats (53.8%) demonstrated renal tumors. By contrast, only 2 of 16 streptozotocin diabetic rats (12.5%) without CyA demonstrated renal tumors. No tumors were noted in 10 non-diabetic control rats. These studies suggest that CyA potentiates renal tumorigenicity in streptozotocin diabetic rats.
Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring: technique and application in the study of cardiac dysfunction and congestive heart failure

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring has become a widely used method of blood pressure and heart rate evaluation in the free-living subject. Recently, ambulatory monitoring has become covered by Medicare for the evaluation of "white-coat" hypertension. Although the technique provides only intermittent readings throughout the 24-hour period, average blood pressures obtained in this way correlate well with a variety of hypertensive disease processes and are also a better prognostic marker for future cardiovascular events than office blood pressure. Ambulatory blood pressure averages also correlate well with indices of diastolic dysfunction. In patients with congestive cardiac failure and systolic dysfunction, ambulatory monitoring suggests an impaired circadian blood pressure profile with high nocturnal blood pressure. Further research is needed on the relationship between ambulatory blood pressure and cardiac dysfunction, as well as the impact of observed circadian blood pressure changes on outcome. (c)2001 CHF, Inc.
‘Melting ice’ I at 77 K and 10 kbar: a new method of making amorphous solids

Amorphous solids are made mainly by cooling the liquid below the glass transition without crystallizing it, a method used since before recorded history1, and by depositing the vapour onto a cold plate2, as well as by several other methods3,4. We report here a new way—by ‘melting’ a solid by pressure below the glass transition of the liquid—and apply it to making a new kind of amorphous ice. Thus, ice I has been transformed to an amorphous phase, as determined by X-ray diffraction, by pressurizing it at 77 K to its extrapolated melting point of 10 kbar. At the melting point, the fluid is well below its glass transition. On heating at a rate of ∼2.6 K min−1 at zero pressure it transforms at ∼117 K to a second amorphous phase with a heat evolution of 42±∼8 J g−1 and at ∼152 K further transforms to ice I with a heat evolution of 92±∼15 J g−1. In one sample, ice Ic was formed and in another, existing crystals of ice Ih grew from the amorphous phase. Heating below the 117 K transition causes irreversible changes in the diffraction pattern, and a continuous range of amorphous phases can be made. Similar transformations will probably occur in all solids whose melting point decreases with increasing pressure if they can be cooled sufficiently for a transformation to a crystalline solid to be too slow.
Trends and characteristics of animal-vehicle collisions in the United States

INTRODUCTION: Since 1990, fatal animal-vehicle collisions (AVCs) in the United States have more than doubled. This paper examines annual AVC trends in the United States over a 19-year period, seasonal and diurnal patterns of AVC risk, the geographic distribution of crash risk by state, and the association between posted speed limit and AVC crash risk in darkness. METHOD: AVCs were compiled from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and the General Estimates System (GES) for the years 1990-2008 to examine annual crash trends for fatal and nonfatal crashes. Seasonal trends for fatal AVCs were examined with the aggregated FARS dataset; seasonal trends for fatal and nonfatal AVCs were also examined by aggregating four years of Michigan crash data. State-by-state distributions of fatal AVCs were also described with the aggregated FARS dataset. Finally, the relationship between posted speed limit and the odds that a fatal or nonfatal AVC occurred in darkness were examined with logistic regressions using the aggregated FARS and Michigan datasets. RESULTS: Between 1990 and 2008, fatal AVCs increased by 104% and by 1.3 crashes per trillion vehicle miles travelled per year. Although not all AVCs involve deer, daily and seasonal AVC crash trends follow the general activity pattern of deer populations, consistent with prior reports. The odds that a fatal AVC occurred in darkness were also found to increase by 2.3% for each mile-per-hour increase in speed; a similar, albeit smaller, effect was also observed in the aggregated Michigan dataset, among nonfatal crashes. CONCLUSION: AVCs represent a small but increasing share of crashes in the United States. Seasonal and daily variation in the pattern of AVCs seem to follow variation in deer exposure and ambient light level. Finally, the relative risk that a fatal and nonfatal AVC occurred in darkness is influenced by posted speed limit, suggesting that a driver's limited forward vision at night plays a role in AVCs, as it does in pedestrian collisions. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: The association between speed limit and crash risk in darkness suggests that AVC risk might be reduced with countermeasures that improve a driver's forward view of the road. Language: en
A Functional Approach to Identifying Yeast Homologs of Genes from Other Species

Abstract In a variety of organisms, studies of cell physiology and structure have identified proteins for which genetic analysis would improve understanding. Because genetic tools are not readily available for some systems, one approach to facilitating such analysis is to identify a homolog of the structural gene in yeast. A method for cloning functional yeast homologs of genes identified in other species is presented here. The heterologous gene of interest is expressed from a yeast plasmid, and then yeast mutants that depend upon the plasmid for survival are identified. A colony color assay greatly facilitates this process: the desired mutants produce solid red colonies in a sea of red/white sectored colonies. The requirements for successful application of this method are stringent: the yeast homolog must exist, it must be essential, and it must be fully complemented by the heterologous gene. When these criteria are met, this method allows rapid analysis of protein function using the techniques of yeast genetics.
New assignment algorithms for data association

This paper presents an overview of new classes of algorithms for the algorithm concepts for the solution of combinatorial optimization problems arising in data association. These algorithms are based on extensions of Bertsekas' auction algorithm. The paper includes experimental results using these algorithms and a modification of the algorithm of Jonker and Volgenant on 2-dimensional measurement-track data association problems in the presence of false alarms, missed detections, sensor bias noise, and sensor measurement noise. The results indicate that some of the new algorithms are very efficient for the solution of these data association problems.
Further indication of lowered activity of ivermectin on immature small strongyles in the intestinal lumen of horses on a farm in Central Kentucky.

Critical tests were performed in 2011 in four weanling horses (L-1, L-2, L-29, and L-30) treated with ivermectin paste at 200 μg/kg. They were born in 2011 and raised together on a farm (MC) in Central Kentucky. The horses had not been treated previously with an antiparasitic drug. However, ivermectin had been administered repeatedly to the horse herd for several years and strongyle eggs per gram of feces (EPGs) returned sooner posttreatment than after initial usage. Critical tests in a recent previous study in this horse herd indicated that the reason for the early return of strongyle EPGs after ivermectin treatment probably was because of lowered drug activity on immature (L4) small strongyles in the lumen of the large intestine. Therefore, the life cycle was shortened. The main purpose of the present study was to obtain further data on the activity of ivermectin on small strongyle immature stages, in addition to adults, in the intestinal lumen. Twelve species of small strongyles were present. Combined data for immature and adult small strongyles for the four ivermectin-treated horses demonstrated efficacy of 68 to 83 %. Removal of adults was 100 % for all four horses, and on immatures, it ranged from 0 to 16 %. Efficacy on immature small strongyles was even lower than in the previous study. This supported the earlier finding of apparent reduced time for maturation of the parasites because of incomplete elimination of immature small strongyles in the intestinal lumen of horses after ivermectin treatment. Data on five other helminth species were recorded.
Direct and indirect antigen presentation lead to deletion of donor-specific T cells after in utero hematopoietic cell transplantation in mice

In utero hematopoietic cell transplantation (IUHCTx) is a promising method to induce donor-specific tolerance but the mechanisms of antigen presentation that educate host T cells and the relative importance of deletion vs regulation in this setting are unknown. We studied the roles of direct and indirect antigen presentation (mediated by donor- and host-derived antigen-presenting cells [APCs], respectively) in a mouse model of IUHCTx. We found that IUHCTx leads to precocious maturation of neonatal host dendritic cells (DCs) and that there is early differentiation of donor-derived DCs, even after transplantation of a stem cell source without mature APCs. We next performed allogeneic IUHCTx into donor-specific T-cell receptor transgenic mice and confirmed that both direct and indirect antigen presentation lead to clonal deletion of effector T cells in chimeras. Deletion did not persist when chimerism was lost. Importantly, although the percentage of regulatory T cells (Tregs) after IUHCTx increased, there was no expansion in Treg numbers. In wild-type mice, there was a similar deletion of effector cells without expansion of donor-specific Tregs. Thus, tolerance induction after IUHCTx depends on both direct and indirect antigen presentation and is secondary to thymic deletion, without de novo Treg induction.
Collection development of Hispanic American materials

Highlights the lack of comprehensive collections of Hispanic materials in the USA. Discusses how and why this situation should be remedied. Suggests suitable bibliographies as a starting point for collection building. Describes the assessment of a Hispanic American collection at the University of California, Irvine.
H-Y antigen and immunity: a means for controlling the secondary sex ratio?

C57BL/6J female mice were splenectomized and then sensitized to the H-Y antigen by means of grafts of H-Y incompatible skin and injections of spleen cells from syngeneic males. When subsequently mated to syngeneic males the secondary sex ratio of progeny born was significantly greater than that of controls. However, the effect was manifest only among the progeny of later litters (i.e., 3, 4, 5) suggesting that repeated exposure to the H-Y antigen during the course of pregnancy was essential to bring about demonstrable immunoregulatory changes.