cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Reduction of nickel oxide by carbon: III. Kinetic studies of the interaction between nickel oxide and natural graphite

Abstract The rate of interaction of equi-molar micron-sized particles of NiO with plate-like particles of natural graphite has been studied between 900 and 1000 °C in both a closed system and in vacuo . Both CO and CO 2 are primary products of the reaction. In both a closed system and in vacuo , reaction proceeds essentially to complete reduction of NiO. Reduction in vacuo is more rapid than in a closed system. Reduction of NiO in vacuo is described by first order plots, with the increase in rate constant values with temperature having an activation energy of 75 kcal mol −1 .
The complexity of many faces in arrangements of lines of segments

We show that the total number of edges of m faces of an arrangement of n lines in the plane is O(m2/3-dn2/3+2d + n), for any d > 0. The proof takes an algorithmic approach, that is, we describe an algorithm for the calculation of these m faces and derive the upper bound from the analysis of the algorithm. The algorithm uses randomization and, with high probability, its time complexity is within a log2n factor of the above bound. If instead of lines we have an arrangement of n line segments, then the maximum number of edges of m faces is Ogr;(m2/3-dn2/3+2d + na(n)logm), for any d > 0, where a(n) is the functional inverse of Ackermann's function. We give a (randomized) algorithm that produces these faces and, with high probability, takes time that is within a log2n factor of the combinatorial bound.
Patterns and distribution of isolated calf deep vein thrombosis

Abstract Purpose: In the search for calf deep vein thrombosis (DVT) with color-flow duplex scanning (CFDS), most vascular laboratories investigate only the posterior tibial and peroneal veins. Few laboratories assess the soleal and gastrocnemial veins. This study was designed to determine the patterns and distribution of isolated calf DVT, including the soleal and gastrocnemial veins. Methods: In the last 3 years, 5250 patients (mean age, 66 ± 15 years; range, 22 to 93 years) were referred to the vascular laboratory for clinical suspicion of DVT and underwent examination with CFDS. All superficial and deep named veins, excluding the anterior tibial from groin to ankle, were imaged. Of the deep veins in the calf, the peroneal, the posterior tibial, the gastrocnemial, and the soleal veins were examined throughout their length. Results: DVT was detected in 14% of the patients. Isolated calf DVT was detected in 282 limbs of 251 patients (4.8%). No significant difference was noted for the sex (114 men vs 137 women; P = .15) or the limb preference (145 left vs 137 right; P = .5). The peroneal veins were most frequently involved, with 115 limbs (41%) affected. The soleal veins were involved in 109 limbs (39%), followed by the posterior tibial in 105 limbs (37%) and the gastrocnemial in 79 limbs (29%). Thrombus in the soleal vein alone was found in 57 limbs (20%), in the gastrocnemial in 48 limbs (17%), in the peroneal in 41 limbs (15%), and in the posterior tibial vein in 35 limbs (12%). Thrombus confined to a single or paired vein was found in 181 limbs (64%). Thrombus involving two different veins (27%) was the second most frequent pattern, and thrombus in three (7%) or four (1.4%) different veins was less prevalent. Isolated thrombosis in veins not routinely investigated was found in 113 limbs (40%; soleal, n=57; gastrocnemial, n=48; soleal + gastrocnemial, n=8). Multifocal origin of thrombosis, defined as thrombi in two different veins that do not anatomically communicate, was identified in 63 limbs (22%). Conclusion: Forty percent of the patients with acute isolated calf DVT would be judged to have normal CFDS examination results if the muscular veins in the calf were not imaged. Multifocal origin of thrombosis was found in 22% of the involved limbs. The prevalence of thrombosis in any calf vein either alone or in combination is comparable. Accordingly, the soleal and gastrocnemial veins should be examined routinely. (J Vasc Surg 1999;30:787-93.)
“Good enough” pointing in pervasive computing

Opportunities are growing to engage in highly coordinated activities for multiple users with multiple screens. A great deal of research has explored how to support deictic reference in computer-mediated conversation, leading to what appears to be a general consensus among system builders in favor of a multi-mouse approach. While the multi-mouse provides an application-independent, context-free deictic reference solution, not only is it typically more costly to build, but also the usability of the tool regressively deteriorates as the number of users gets larger. Alternatives to the multi-mouse are application-specific, context-laden pointing mechanisms. Different research showed that the context-specific pointing conveys more information than a mere arrow. Yet, the context-free, multi-mouse pointing mechanism is generally taken as the panacean deixis solution in the groupware. Moreover, there have not been enough studies investigating tailorability or appropriatability of those different approaches. The needs for theories about when people profit from different kinds of support for pointing are current and large. We studied groups engaged in a highly coordinated, co-located task. We studied groups of three and used systems in which deictic reference could be achieved by a number of mechanisms. Our analysis shows that people chose pointing techniques that minimized the effort of communication; however, as the reference task became more complex, they employed more complex tools. Explicit support for pointing is desirable to support complex reference tasks, but not all pointing mechanisms match all cases. Different tools entail different deictic behaviors.
Interrater Reliability of a Video-Based Fixed Interval Sampling Method to Assess Hand Force and Wrist Posture

Interrater reliability was assessed for a video-based, quantitative exposure assessment method for estimation of hand forces and wrist postures for a short duty-cycle job. Six raters analyzed a 25-second video of a worker packing a case and rated bilateral hand forces and wrist postures at ¼-second intervals. Consistency was analyzed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Interrater reliability was high for hand forces (left: ICC=0.78; right: ICC=0.77), moderate for wrist flexion/extension (left: ICC=0.61; right: ICC=0.59), and poor for wrist deviation (left: ICC=0.15; right: ICC=0.34). For one subtask repeated six times per cycle, force variation was inadequate for ICC calculation, but ICCs were similar for wrist postures (mean ICC=0.55 for flexion/extension, mean ICC=0.39 for deviation). Results indicate raters were consistent in estimating hand forces. Discrepancies in estimating wrist postures were consistent with existing literature. ICCs work well in situations with more variability (i.e. ...
Selecting the kernel type for a web-based adaptive image retrieval systems (AIRS)

The goal of this paper is to investigate the selection of the kernel for a Web-based AIRS. Using the Kernel Perceptron learning method, several kernels having polynomial and Gaussian Radial Basis Function (RBF) like forms (6 polynomials and 6 RBFs) are applied to general images represented by color histograms in RGB and HSV color spaces. Experimental results on these collections show that performance varies significantly between different kernel types and that choosing an appropriate kernel is important.
Design of a bolometer for total-energy measurement of the linear coherent light source pulsed X-ray laser

Abstract We are developing a cryogenic bolometer to measure the total energy of the linear coherent light source (LCLS) free electron X-ray laser to be built at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. The laser will produce ultrabright X-ray pulses in the energy range between 0.8 and 8 keV with ∼10 12 photons per ∼200 fs pulse at a repeat interval of 8 ms, and will be accompanied by a halo of spontaneous undulator radiation. The bolometer is designed to determine the total energy of each laser pulse to within (1− x ) Sr x MnO 3 sensor array at the metal–insulator transition, where the composition x is adjusted to produce the desired transition temperature. We discuss design considerations and material choices, and present numerical simulations of the thermal response.
Habituation of a“blocked” stimulus during Pavlovian conditioning

A CER study with rats demonstrated that a series of CS-US pairings, during the compound phase of a “blocking” procedure, may leave the CS with tendencies that are less response suppressive than when the CS is experimentally novel. The results are discussed in the context of prior studies that have reported a loss of CS associability under similar conditions and in relationship to theories of habituation and learned irrelevance.
Irradiation of Choroidal Melanoma With Iodine 125 Ophthalmic Plaque

• Radioactive iodine 125 is a low-energy γ isotope with physical characteristics suitable for irradiation of intraocular tumors. Metal ophthalmic applicators have been designed to shield vital ocular structures while allowing irradiation of the tumor. We compared the radiation effects of iodine 125 and cobalt 60. The Greene melanoma was transplanted into the suprachoroidal space of rabbits. The tumor then grew as an intraocular mass, was irradiated, and was followed up for two months before enucleation. Histopathologic examination defined the extent of the radiation damage to the tumor and other ocular structures from the iodine 125 and from the cobalt 60. The eye irradiated with iodine 125 suffered minimal radiation damage, whereas the tumor was sterilized. The eye irradiated with cobalt 60 showed substantial radiation damage, and the melanoma was incompletely treated. Our results support the use of iodine 125 in treating intraocular tumors. More research is needed as to optimum total dose and dose rate.
Three Sources of Data on Commuting: Problems and Possibilities

Abstract Our 1960 population census will procure the first nationwide data on place of work and method of travel to work. In view of the widespread theoretical and practical interest in commuting, serious consideration must be given to the types of research for which these new data will be appropriate, and to alternative sources of information. This paper compares and contrasts census data on commuting with the information derivable from traffic studies and management records. It illustrates their uses and weighs the relative merits of the three sources for different types of study, and shows that each source has a relatively unique research utility.
Improving Timing Offset Estimation by Alias Sampling

In a previous paper, we reported an algorithm that can be used to accurately measure sampling timing errors in a data acquisition system that encounters nonuniform sampling. In this paper, we first study the sensitivity of the algorithm to input frequency inaccuracy. We then investigate the dependency of the accuracy of the algorithm on the number of effective bits in an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter. It is observed that, if the initial timing error is "reasonably large," then the residual timing error decreases by one order of magnitude for each increase in the number of effective bits by four. Finally, we propose the use of "alias sampling" to "magnify" the timing error so that the algorithm's sensitivity is greatly improved and can be used to estimate a much smaller timing offset with only a modest number of effective bits in the A/D converter.
RNA interference screen to identify pathways that enhance or reduce nonviral gene transfer during lipofection

Some barriers to DNA lipofection are well characterized; however, there is as yet no method of finding unknown pathways that impact the process. A druggable genome small-interfering RNA (siRNA) screen against 5,520 genes was tested for its effect on lipofection of human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs). We found 130 gene targets which, when silenced by pooled siRNAs (three siRNAs per gene), resulted in enhanced luminescence after lipofection (86 gene targets showed reduced expression). In confirmation tests with single siRNAs, 18 of the 130 hits showed enhanced lipofection with two or more individual siRNAs in the absence of cytotoxicity. Of these confirmed gene targets, we identified five leading candidates, two of which are isoforms of the regulatory subunit of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A). The best candidate siRNA targeted the PPP2R2C gene and produced a 65% increase in luminescence from lipofection, with a quantitative PCR–validated knockdown of ∼76%. Flow cytometric analysis confirmed that the silencing of the PPP2R2C gene resulted in an improvement of 10% in transfection efficiency, thereby demonstrating an increase in the number of transfected cells. These results show that an RNA interference (RNAi) high-throughput screen (HTS) can be applied to nonviral gene transfer. We have also demonstrated that siRNAs can be co-delivered with lipofected DNA to increase the transfection efficiency in vitro.
Demonstration of Broadband Wavelength Conversion at 40 Gb/s in Silicon Waveguides

We present ultra-broadband wavelength conversion in silicon photonic waveguides at a data rate of 40 Gb/s. The dispersion-engineered device demonstrates a conversion bandwidth spanning the entire S-, C-, and L-bands of the ITU grid. Using a continuous-wave C-band pump, an input signal of wavelength 1513.7 nm is up-converted across nearly 50 nm at a data rate of 40 Gb/s, and bit-error-rate measurements are performed on the converted signal.
High Affinity Ligand Binding by Integrins Does Not Involve Head Separation

Conformational change in the integrin extracellular domain is required for high affinity ligand binding and is also involved in post-ligand binding cellular signaling. Although there is evidence to the contrary, electron microscopic studies showing that ligand binding triggers alpha- and beta-subunit dissociation in the integrin headpiece have gained popularity and support the hypothesis that head separation activates integrins. To test directly the head separation hypothesis, we enforced head association by introducing disulfide bonds across the interface between the alpha-subunit beta-propeller domain and the beta-subunit I-like domain. Basal and activation-dependent ligand binding by alpha(IIb)beta(3) and alpha(V)beta(3) was unaffected. The covalent linkage prevented dissociation of alpha(IIb)beta(3) into its subunits on EDTA-treated cells. Whereas EDTA dissociated wild type alpha(IIb)beta(3) on the cell surface, a ligand-mimetic Arg-Gly-Asp peptide did not, as judged by binding of complex-specific antibodies. Finally, a high affinity ligand-mimetic compound stabilized noncovalent association between alpha(IIb) and beta(3) headpiece fragments in the presence of SDS, indicating that ligand binding actually stabilized subunit association at the head, as opposed to the suggested subunit separation. The mechanisms of conformational regulation of integrin function should therefore be considered in the context of the associated alphabeta headpiece.
An impulse integrator for Langevin dynamics

The best simple method for Newtonian molecular dynamics is indisputably the leapfrog Stormer-Verlet method. The appropriate generalization to simple Langevin dynamics is unclear. An analysis is presented comparing an ‘impulse method’ (kick; fluctuate; kick), the 1982 method of van Gunsteren and Berendsen, and the Brunger-Brooks-Karplus (BBK) method. It is shown how the impulse method and the van Gunsteren-Berendsen methods can be implemented as efficiently as the BBK method. Other considerations suggest that the impulse method is the best basic method for simple Langevin dynamics, with the van Gunsteren-Berendsen method a close contender.
Monitoring an Arizona Ponderosa Pine Restoration: Sampling Efficiency and Multivariate Analysis of Understory Vegetation

As monitoring plans for the restoration of Pinus ponderosa forests in the southwestern United States evolve toward examining multifactor ecosystem responses to ecological restoration, designing efficient sampling procedures for understory vegetation will become increasingly important. The objective of this study was to compare understory composition and diversity among thin/burn and control treatments in a P. ponderosa restoration, while simultaneously examining the effects of sampling design and multivariate analyses on which conclusions were based. Using multi-response permutation procedures (MRPP), we tested the null hypothesis of no difference in understory species composition among treatments using different data matrices (e.g., frequency and cover) for two different sampling methods. Treatment differences were subtle and were detected by an intensive 50, 1-m 2 subplot sampling method for all data matrices but were not detected by a less intensive point-intercept sampling method for any matrix. Sampling methods examined in this study controlled results of multivariate analyses more than the data matrices used to summarize data generated by a sampling method. We partitioned data into plant life form and native/exotic species categories for MRPP, and this partitioning isolated plant groups most responsible for treatment differences. We also examined the effects of number of 1-m 2 subplots sampled on mean-speciesrichness/m 2 estimates and found that estimates based on 10subplots and based on 50subplots were highly correlated (r 50.99). Species–area curves indicated that the 50, 1-m 2 subplot sampling method detected the common species of sites but failed to detect the majority of rare species. Additional sampling-design studies are needed to develop single sampling designs that produce multifactor data on plant composition, diversity, and spatial patterns amenable to multivariate analyses as part of monitoring plans of vegetation responses to ecological restoration.
Radioembolization as a Salvage Therapy for Heavily Pretreated Patients With Colorectal Cancer Liver Metastases: Factors That Affect Outcomes

Abstract Background In this study we assessed the efficacy and factors that affect outcomes of radioembolization (RE) using yttrium-90 resin microspheres in patients with unresectable and chemorefractory colorectal cancer liver metastases (CLM). Patients and Methods After an institutional review board waiver of approval, a review of a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act-registered, prospectively created and maintained database was performed. Data on patient demographic and disease characteristics, RE treatment parameters, and additional treatments were evaluated for significance in predicting overall survival (OS) and liver progression-free survival (LPFS). Complications were evaluated according to the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for adverse events. Results From September 2009 to September 2013, 53 patients underwent RE at a median of 35 months after CLM diagnosis. Median OS was 12.7 months. Multivariate analysis showed that carcinoembryonic antigen levels at the time of RE ≥ 90 ng/mL (P = .004) and microscopic lymphovascular invasion of the primary (P = .002) were independent predictors of decreased OS. Median LPFS was 4.7 months. At 4 to 8 and 12 to 16 weeks after RE, most patients (80% and 61%, respectively) according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) had stable disease; additional evaluation using PET Response Criteria in Solid Tumors (PERCIST) led to reclassification in 77% of these cases (response or progression). No deaths were noted within the first 30 days. Within the first 90 days after RE, 4 patients (8%) developed liver failure and 5 patients (9%) died, all with evidence of disease progression. Conclusion RE in the salvage setting was well-tolerated, and permitted the administration of additional therapies and led to a median OS of 12.7 months. Evaluation using PERCIST was more likely than RECIST to document response or progression compared with the baseline assessment before RE.
Investigations of optical limiting mechanisms in carbon particle suspensions and fullerene solutions

Liquid suspensions of carbon act as optical limiters in the presence of high-intensity Q-switched laser pulses. The optical limiting is a result of optical breakdown, which is initiated by absorption in the small carbon particles. We measured the total energy scattered during the breakdown process and the angular distribution of the scattered light as a function of input energy. We also compared the relative scattered energy created during limiting in the carbon suspensions with that generated in solutions of fullerenes in toluene. The ratio of scattered to absorbed energy is different for the suspensions from that for the fullerene solutions, indicating that different mechanisms dominate the limiting processes in the two media.
Low Serum Concentrations of 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D in Human Magnesium Deficiency

The effect of magnesium deficiency on vitamin D metabolism was assessed in 23 hypocalcemic magnesium-deficient patients by measuring the serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25-(OH2D] before, during, and after 5-13 days of parenteral magnesium therapy. Magnesium therapy raised mean basal serum magnesium [1.0 ± 0.1 (mean ± SEM) mg/dl] and calcium levels (7.2 ± 0.2 mg/dl) into the normal range (2.2 ± 0.1 and 9.3 ± 0.1 mg/dl, respectively; P < 0.001). The mean serum 25OHD concentration was in the low normal range (13.2 ± 1.5 ng/ml) before magnesium administration and did not significantly change after this therapy (14.8 ± 1.5 ng/ml). Sixteen of the 23 patients had low serum 1,25-(OH)2D levels (<30 pg/ml). After magnesium therapy, only 5 of the patients had a rise in the serum 1,25-(OH)2D concentration into or above the normal range despite elevated levels of serum immunoreactive PTH. An additional normocalcemic hypomagnesemic patient (had low 1,25-(OH)2D)levels w...
High-Nuclearity Metal-Cyanide Clusters: Assembly of a Cr8Ni6(CN)24 Cage with a Face-Centered Cubic Geometry

The synthesis of high-nuclearity metal-cyanide clusters presents a possible means of controlling magnetic properties in the design of new single-molecule magnets. Previous work employed tridentate blocking ligands in directing the assembly of a cubic [(tacn)8Co8(CN)12]12+ (tacn = 1,4,7-triazacyclononane) cluster; an improved crystal structure now confirms the lack of a guest water molecule inside the cluster cage. The ability to generate larger clusters by using a blocking ligand on only one of the mononuclear reaction components is demonstrated with the synthesis of a fourteen-metal [(Me3tacn)8Cr8Ni6(CN)24]12+ cluster. The geometry of this cluster consists of a cube of eight Me3tacn-ligated CrIII ions connected via bridging cyanide ligands to six square-planar NiII ions situated just above the center of each cube face. Surprisingly, no guest species are evident within the 284 A3 cavity defined by the rigid metal-cyanide cage. Assembly of the cluster in boiling aqueous solution involves a linkage isomeriz...
George W. Bush's Federal Aid Legacy

Most presidents since 1933 upon taking office have unveiled plans that subsequently defined or redefined the fiscal relationships between the national government and state and local governments. The New Deal that was fashioned by FDR and the Democratic majority in Congress resulted in an explosion of new federal grant-in-aid programs, and by the end of the Great Depression, billions of dollars were being transferred from the national government to the states and their local governments on an annual basis. However, it must be understood that Franklin Roosevelt and his fellow Democrats in Congress probably did not intend to reshape intergovernmental fiscal relations as much as they sought to provide relief to the economic misery that enveloped the country during this period, and they concluded that the national government was the only government that was up to this Herculean challenge. Unlike Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower did come into office with a federalism vision and a determination to methodically sort out functional and fiscal responsibilities in our federal system. To assist in this endeavor, Eisenhower called for the establishment of the Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (better known as the Kestnbaum Commission) in 1953. Later, Eisenhower was able to capitalize on the visibility and political attention created by the Commission's report to persuade Congress to establish the former U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental as a means to direct "concerted attention to interlevel relationships" (Benton 2006). However, perhaps the greatest attention given to federalism issues, occurred during the Nixon and Reagan administrations. Upon assuming the presidency in 1969, Richard Nixon unveiled what he called his New Federalism, in which he promised to return responsibility for the implementation of many federally funded programs to the states and their local governments via a series of block grants with few "strings" attached, while also providing them with a new and almost unrestricted type of federal funding-revenue sharing. And, in spite of the fact that Democrats controlled Congress during Nixon's presidency, the Congress agreed with most of his proposals (Conlan 1988). Ronald Reagan, seeking ways to balance
Importance of Candida–bacterial polymicrobial biofilms in disease

Candida albicans is the most prevalent human fungal pathogen, with an ability to inhabit diverse host niches and cause disease in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised individuals. C. albicans also readily forms biofilms on indwelling medical devices and mucosal tissues, which serve as an infectious reservoir that is difficult to eradicate, and can lead to lethal systemic infections. Biofilm formation occurs within a complex milieu of host factors and other members of the human microbiota. Polymicrobial interactions will probably dictate the cellular and biochemical composition of the biofilm, as well as influence clinically relevant outcomes, such as drug and host resistance and virulence. In this manuscript, we review C. albicans infections in the context of in vivo polymicrobial biofilms and implications for pathogenesis.
Optimal sensor activation in controlled discrete event systems

The problem of sensor activation in a controlled discrete event system is considered. Sensors are assumed to be costly and can be turned on/off during the operation of the system. The agent activates sensors as needed in order to observe the trajectories of the system and correctly implement the given feedback control law. Different policies of sensor activation can be used by the agent. A policy is said to be minimal if any strictly less activation prevents the correct implementation of the control law. A systematic formulation of the sensor activation problem is obtained and a solution procedure is proposed. An algorithm that computes minimal sensor activation policies is presented. The algorithm is of polynomial complexity in both the number of states and the number of events in the system.
HUMAN INFLUENCE ON CALIFORNIA FIRE REGIMES

Periodic wildfire maintains the integrity and species composition of many ecosystems, including the mediterranean-climate shrublands of California. However, human activities alter natural fire regimes, which can lead to cascading ecological effects. Increased human ignitions at the wildland-urban interface (WUI) have recently gained attention, but fire activity and risk are typically estimated using only biophysical variables. Our goal was to determine how humans influence fire in California and to examine whether this influence was linear, by relating contemporary (2000) and historic (1960-2000) fire data to both human and biophysical variables. Data for the human variables included fine-resolution maps of the WUI produced using housing density and land cover data. Interface WUI, where development abuts wildland vegetation, was differentiated from intermix WUI, where development intermingles with wildland vegetation. Additional explanatory variables included distance to WUI, population density, road density, vegetation type, and ecoregion. All data were summarized at the county level and analyzed using bivariate and multiple regression methods. We found highly significant relationships between humans and fire on the contemporary landscape, and our models explained fire frequency (R 2 ¼ 0.72) better than area burned (R 2 ¼ 0.50). Population density, intermix WUI, and distance to WUI explained the most variability in fire frequency, suggesting that the spatial pattern of development may be an important variable to consider when estimating fire risk. We found nonlinear effects such that fire frequency and area burned were highest at intermediate levels of human activity, but declined beyond certain thresholds. Human activities also explained change in fire frequency and area burned (1960- 2000), but our models had greater explanatory power during the years 1960-1980, when there was more dramatic change in fire frequency. Understanding wildfire as a function of the spatial arrangement of ignitions and fuels on the landscape, in addition to nonlinear relationships, will be important to fire managers and conservation planners because fire risk may be related to specific levels of housing density that can be accounted for in land use planning. With more fires occurring in close proximity to human infrastructure, there may also be devastating ecological impacts if development continues to grow farther into wildland vegetation.
Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 and the Calculus of Mortality After Myocardial Infarction

There are numerous clinical factors that have been identified that are associated with an adverse outcome after acute myocardial infarction (MI). These factors include female gender, the presence of severe left ventricular dysfunction or congestive heart failure, a history of diabetes mellitus, age >70 years, infarct location (anterior versus inferior), and patency of the infarct-related artery. In this issue of Circulation , Collet and colleagues1 describe a previously unrecognized relationship between acute increases in plasma levels of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) in patients hospitalized with acute ST-elevation MI and risk of mortality during a 1-month period. See p 391 PAI-1 is the primary circulating inhibitor of tissue-type plasminogen activator and the urokinase-type plasminogen activator in plasma. Elevated plasma PAI-1 levels have been shown to be a predictor of recurrent MI2 and have been identified as an independent predictor of cardiovascular risk.3 When one considers …
Issues and Constituencies in the Progressive Era: House Roll Call Voting on the Nineteenth Amendment, 1913-1919

This paper examines House roll call voting patterns on the Nineteenth Amendment in the context of Progressive Era legislation, particularly Prohibition, immigration, black civil rights, labor, and military preparedness. Though historical accounts often have linked woman suffrage with arguments of "expediency" rather than "rights," this analysis finds roll call voting patterns on suffrage associated with social justice and civil rights rather than with status consistency issues, such as Prohibition and immigration. In addition, it is established that partisan and regional voting patterns on woman suffrage are not as explanatory as are state-level constituency influences: the dramatic increase in House support for the Nineteenth Amendment from 1915 to 1919 is best understood as a result of the corresponding increase in the number of members representing states with state-level woman suffrage. This finding points to the importance of linkages between state and national legislatures in the Progressive Era as ...
Low-Cost Microstrip-Line-Based Ferrite Phase Shifter Design for Phased Array Antenna Applications

High-gain, electronically scanned phased array antennas are commonly used for radar and communications applications. These systems often require thousands of radiating elements, thousands of phase shifters, and hence, reduction in cost, size, and weight of the phase shifters are important goals in reducing the cost of the overall system. This letter presents a new ferrite phase shifter design based on microstrip-line technology that provides reduction in cost, size, and weight as compared to typical ferrite (analog) phase shifters. The design is based on the use of three microstrip lines arranged and fed with phase differences so as to produce circular polarization in the ferrite region. The proposed ferrite phase shifter was designed and simulated at 3 GHz to achieve a phase shift of approximately 360deg in less than an effective wavelength. A prototype was designed and fabricated to provide optimal circular polarization in the ferrite region and measured results show 309deg of phase shift in a wavelength, thus fulfilling the requirements. It is also shown that after calibrating measured values to account for the ratio between the applied external Ampere/turn values to the internally applied H-field value used in the high-frequency structure simulator (HFSS), good agreement may be seen between the simulation and experimental results. Based on this successful initial development, suggestions are made for further design improvements including reducing the number of turns in the biasing coil and minimizing the required input power
Enzyme activities in agricultural soils fumigated with methyl bromide alternatives

Pre-plant fumigation of agricultural soils with a combination of methyl bromide (MeBr) and chloropicrin (CP) to control nematodes, soil-borne pathogens and weeds has been a common practice in strawberry (Fragaria X ananassa Duchesne) production since the 1960s. MeBr will be phased out by 2005, but little is known about the impacts of alternative fumigants on soil microbial processes. We investigated the response of microbial biomass and enzyme activities in soils fumigated over two years with MeBr+CP and the alternatives propargyl bromide (PrBr), InLine, Midas and CP. Results were compared to control soils, which were not fumigated for the last 4-5 years for Watsonville and Oxnard, respectively, but had a 10 year history of MeBr+CP fumigation (history soils). Soil samples (0-15 cm) were taken from two sites in the coastal areas of California, USA, in Watsonville and Oxnard, at peak strawberry production after two years of repeated application. In addition to the soil enzymes, the activities of purified reference enzymes of beta-glucosidase, acid phosphatase and arylsulfatase were assayed before and after fumigation with MeBr+CP and alternative biocides. At the Oxnard site, microbial respiration significantly decreased in soils fumigated with MeBr+ CP (P=0.036), while microbial biomass C and N showed no response to fumigation at both sites. These results may indicate that fumigation promotes the growth of resistant species or that soil microorganisms had recovered at the time of sampling. Repeated soil fumigation with MeBr+CP significantly decreased the activities of P-glucosidase and acid phosphatase at the Watsonville site, and dehydrogenase activity at the Oxnard site. Although, enzyme activities in soils fumigated with PrBr, InLine, Midas and CP were lower compared to the control soil, effects were, in general, not significant. Fumigation with MeBr+ CP and alternatives reduced the activities of purified reference enzymes by 13, 76 and 28% for acid phosphatase, beta-glucosidase and arylsulfatase, respectively. Mean enzyme protein concentrations in fumigated agricultural soils were 2.93, 0.105, and 2.95 mg protein kg(-1) soil for acid phosphatase, beta-glucosidase and arylsulfatase, respectively, all lower than in control soils. Organic matter turnover and nutrient cycling, and thus, the long-term productivity of agricultural soils seem unaffected in soils repeatedly fumigated with PrBr, InLine, Midas and CP. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Incentives Matter: Assessing Biofuel Policies in the South

As a result of the increase in the real cost of fossil fuel-based energy in recent years, federal and state governments have taken a more active role in energy policy by creating incentives to develop alternative sources of energy, including biofuels. However, policymakers often become focused on the specific type of energy and not the energy services consumers ultimately value. The lack of recognition of energy as a commodity results in policies that ignore the characteristics of the associated markets: easy entry and exit, no barriers to entry, and sensitivity to changes in supply and demand. Consequently, energy industries may fail to arise because entrepreneurs must be able to account for all costs and earn—at a minimum—a competitive return on the investment. This article evaluates the options available to policymakers related to biofuels, which are of particular concern to the South, and includes an assessment of the knowledge base on which policy decisions are made.
THE USE OF MICE IN TESTS OF IMMUNITY AGAINST YELLOW FEVER

1. A method of testing sera for protective power against yellow fever is described and designated as the intraperitoneal protection test in mice. 2. The test consists essentially of the inoculation of mice intra-peritoneally with yellow fever virus, fixed for mice, together with the serum to be tested, and the simultaneous injection of starch solution into the brain to localize the virus. If the serum lacks protective power the mice die of yellow fever encephalitis. 3. The test is highly sensitive. Consequently it is useful in epidemiological studies to determine whether individuals have ever had yellow fever and in tests to find whether vaccinated persons or animals have in reality been immunized. 4. When mice were given large intraperitoneal injections of yellow fever virus fixed for mice, the virus could be recovered from the blood for 4 days although encephalitis did not occur. If the brain was mildly injured at the time of the intraperitoneal injection, the symptoms of yellow fever encephalitis appeared 6 days later, but the virus was then absent from the blood. 5. Strains of white mice vary greatly in their susceptibility to yellow fever.
Subcutaneous versus intramuscular depot methoxyprogesterone acetate: a comparative review

Depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA; Depo-Provera) is a highly effective and convenient contraceptive method that has been used worldwide for many decades. Recently, a new lower dose of DMPA, administered as a subcutaneous injection, has been approved for use in the USA as a contraceptive and a treatment for pain associated with endometriosis. The newer formulation has a similar efficacy to the older version and, more importantly, has fewer side effects, with improved user tolerability. Similar to the intramuscular DMPA injection (Depo-Provera intramuscular or contraceptive injection), the subcutaneous injection provides effective contraceptive and pain-management therapy for endometriosis, with a 3-monthly injectable protocol for women who seek long-term and reversible contraception without the need for a daily pill or a more frequent dosing regimen.
Phytoplankton growth, grazing and production balances in the HNLC equatorial Pacific

Abstract We investigate the hypothesis that phytoplankton growth and grazing processes are strongly balanced in high-nutrient low-chlorophyll (HNLC) waters of the equatorial Pacific using euphotic-zone estimates of rates and biomass determined for 30 stations during EB04 (December 2004) and EB05 (September 2005). As predicted by the balance hypothesis, depth-averaged instantaneous rates of phytoplankton growth and grazing losses to micro- and mesozooplankton show a net growth difference of zero. Contemporaneous estimates of phytoplankton biomass and specific rates from flow cytometry, microscopy and taxon-specific accessory pigments allow determination of constrained production-consumption trophic balances for the phytoplankton community as a whole and for major component populations. The magnitude of growth-based production (867 mg C m −2 d −1 ) is consistent with measured 14 C primary production, given methodological differences. 70% of production is utilized by protistan herbivores within the microbial community; 30% is consumed by mesozooplankton. Among picophytoplankton ( Prochlorococcus , Synechococcus and small eukaryotes), representing 40% of community biomass and 27% of daily biomass growth, microzooplankton consume almost all production. Among groups of larger eukaryote taxa, including diatoms but dominated by dinoflagellate biomass, micro-grazers consume 51–62% of production, with the remainder available to mesozooplankton. Some leakage from the balance is expected as export of sinking phytoplankton cells and aggregates, but is constrained to no more than a few percent of daily production from alternate determinations of mesozooplankton grazing. The demonstrated balance of growth and grazing processes in the equatorial Pacific is inconsistent with recent claims from inverse models that a large flux associated with ungrazed picophytoplankton production dominates euphotic zone carbon export in the region.
Biochemical Studies on the Mechanism of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Reverse Transcriptase Resistance to 1-(β-d-Dioxolane)Thymine Triphosphate

A large panel of drug-resistant mutants of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 reverse transcriptase (RT) was used to study the mechanisms of resistance to 1-(β-d-dioxolane)thymine triphosphate (DOT-TP) and other nucleotide analogs. RT containing thymidine analog-associated mutations (TAM) or RT with a T69S-SG insertion in combination with TAM removed 3′-azido-3′-deoxythymidine-5′-monophosphate or tenofovir more efficiently than DOT-monophosphate from chain-terminated DNA primer/template through ATP-mediated pyrophosphorolysis. For non-ATP-dependent discrimination toward DOT-TP, high levels of resistance were found for RT bearing the Q151M mutation with family mutations, while RT bearing only the M184V or the Y115F mutation conferred no resistance to DOT-TP. A lower degree of resistance to DOT-TP than to tenofovir diphosphate or carbovir-TP was found for RT containing the K65R mutation. In the present studies, 1-(β-d-dioxolane)guanine triphosphate, another nucleotide with a dioxolane sugar moiety, showed a resistance profile similar to that of DOT-TP. The results suggest that DOT, compared with other approved nucleoside analogs, is overall more resilient to mutations such as TAM, M184V, and K65R, which are commonly found in viruses derived from subjects failing multinucleoside therapy.
Ranking-based clustering of heterogeneous information networks with star network schema

A heterogeneous information network is an information networkcomposed of multiple types of objects. Clustering on such a network may lead to better understanding of both hidden structures of the network and the individual role played by every object in each cluster. However, although clustering on homogeneous networks has been studied over decades, clustering on heterogeneous networks has not been addressed until recently.A recent study proposed a new algorithm, RankClus, for clustering on bi-typed heterogeneous networks. However, a real-world network may consist of more than two types, and the interactions among multi-typed objects play a key role at disclosing the rich semantics that a network carries. In this paper, we study clustering of multi-typed heterogeneous networks with a star network schema and propose a novel algorithm, NetClus, that utilizes links across multityped objects to generate high-quality net-clusters. An iterative enhancement method is developed that leads to effective ranking-based clustering in such heterogeneous networks. Our experiments on DBLP data show that NetClus generates more accurate clustering results than the baseline topic model algorithm PLSA and the recently proposed algorithm, RankClus. Further, NetClus generates informative clusters, presenting good ranking and cluster membership information for each attribute object in each net-cluster.
Neurophysiologic Effect of GWAS Derived Schizophrenia and Bipolar Risk Variants

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified multiple single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as disease associated variants for schizophrenia (SCZ), bipolar disorder (BPD), or both. Although these results are statistically robust, the functional effects of these variants and their role in the pathophysiology of SCZ or BPD remain unclear. Dissecting the effects of risk genes on distinct domains of brain function can provide important biological insights into the mechanisms by which these genes may confer illness risk. This study used quantitative event related potentials to characterize the neurophysiological effects of well-documented GWAS-derived SCZ/BPD susceptibility variants in order to map gene effects onto important domains of brain function. We genotyped 199 patients with DSM-IV diagnoses of SCZ or BPD and 74 healthy control subjects for 19 risk SNPs derived from previous GWAS findings and tested their association with five neurophysiologic traits (P3 amplitude, P3 latency, N1 amplitude, P2 amplitude, and P50 sensory gating responses) known to be abnormal in psychosis. The TCF4 SNP rs17512836 risk allele showed a significant association with reduced auditory P3 amplitude (P =0.00016) after correction for multiple testing. The same allele was also associated with delayed P3 latency (P =0.005). Our results suggest that a SCZ risk variant in TCF4 is associated with neurophysiologic traits thought to index attention and working memory abnormalities in psychotic disorders. These findings suggest a mechanism by which TCF4 may contribute to the neurobiological basis of psychotic illness.
Multithreaded Synchronous Data Flow Simulation

This paper introduces an efficient multithreaded synchronous dataflow (SDF) scheduler that can significantly reduce the running time of multi-rate SDF simulations on multiprocessor machines with only a slight increase of memory usage over standard cluster loop scheduler. Experiments run on a dual processor machine achieve on average approximately 146% increase in performance with less than 2.4% increase in memory usage. There is an average of 2/spl times/ speedup with a quad processor machine.
Aerosol retrieval over land from AVHRR data-application for atmospheric correction

Correction of Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) imagery for the aerosol effect requires retrieval of the aerosol loading from the images. Two retrieval algorithms that were previously developed for Landsat are modified for the AVHRR. The methods determine the aerosol optical thickness over land surfaces from AVHRR band one data independently of ancillary information. The first method retrieves aerosols based on the atmospheric effect on the path radiance. This method requires the surface reflectance to be 0.02+or-0.01, which is found over forests in the red channel. Two techniques are used to screen an AVHRR scene for pixels that have this low reflectance. The qualifying requirements for these techniques are discussed, and the method is demonstrated to retrieve aerosol optical thicknesses to approximately +or-0.1. The second method uses the change in contrast for several scenes to determine the change in the optical thickness between the scenes. A reference scene allows absolute determination. The method has an rms error of approximately 0.1. >