United States Air Force

We present the impact tests that preceded the most recent operational upgrades to the land surface model used in the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) mesoscale Eta model, whose operational domain includes North America. These improvements consist of changes to the “Noah” land surface model (LSM) physics, most notable in the area of cold season processes. Results indicate improved performance in forecasting low‐level temperature and humidity, with improvements to (or without affecting) the overall performance of the Eta model quantitative precipitation scores and upper air verification statistics. Remaining issues that directly affect the Noah LSM performance in the Eta model include physical parameterizations of radiation and clouds, which affect the amount of available energy at the surface, and stable boundary layer and surface layer processes, which affect surface turbulent heat fluxes and ultimately the surface energy budget.

BACKGROUND: Androgens are involved in the development of prostate cancer. Finasteride, an inhibitor of 5alpha-reductase, inhibits the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, the primary androgen in the prostate, and may reduce the risk of prostate cancer. METHODS: In the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial, we randomly assigned 18,882 men 55 years of age or older with a normal digital rectal examination and a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level of 3.0 ng per milliliter or lower to treatment with finasteride (5 mg per day) or placebo for seven years. Prostate biopsy was recommended if the annual PSA level, adjusted for the effect of finasteride, exceeded 4.0 ng per milliliter or if the digital rectal examination was abnormal. It was anticipated that 60 percent of participants would have prostate cancer diagnosed during the study or would undergo biopsy at the end of the study. The primary end point was the prevalence of prostate cancer during the seven years of the study. RESULTS: Prostate cancer was detected in 803 of the 4368 men in the finasteride group who had data for the final analysis (18.4 percent) and 1147 of the 4692 men in the placebo group who had such data (24.4 percent), for a 24.8 percent reduction in prevalence over the seven-year period (95 percent confidence interval, 18.6 to 30.6 percent; P<0.001). Tumors of Gleason grade 7, 8, 9, or 10 were more common in the finasteride group (280 of 757 tumors [37.0 percent], or 6.4 percent of the 4368 men included in the final analysis) than in the placebo group (237 of 1068 tumors [22.2 percent], P<0.001 for the comparison between groups; or 5.1 percent of the 4692 men included in the final analysis, P=0.005 for the comparison between groups). Sexual side effects were more common in finasteride-treated men, whereas urinary symptoms were more common in men receiving placebo. CONCLUSIONS: Finasteride prevents or delays the appearance of prostate cancer, but this possible benefit and a reduced risk of urinary problems must be weighed against sexual side effects and the increased risk of high-grade prostate cancer.

A real-time reverse transcriptase PCR (RRT-PCR) assay based on the avian influenza virus matrix gene was developed for the rapid detection of type A influenza virus. Additionally, H5 and H7 hemagglutinin subtype-specific probe sets were developed based on North American avian influenza virus sequences. The RRT-PCR assay utilizes a one-step RT-PCR protocol and fluorogenic hydrolysis type probes. The matrix gene RRT-PCR assay has a detection limit of 10 fg or approximately 1,000 copies of target RNA and can detect 0.1 50% egg infective dose of virus. The H5- and H7-specific probe sets each have a detection limit of 100 fg of target RNA or approximately 10(3) to 10(4) gene copies. The sensitivity and specificity of the real-time PCR assay were directly compared with those of the current standard for detection of influenza virus: virus isolation (VI) in embryonated chicken eggs and hemagglutinin subtyping by hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay. The comparison was performed with 1,550 tracheal and cloacal swabs from various avian species and environmental swabs obtained from live-bird markets in New York and New Jersey. Influenza virus-specific RRT-PCR results correlated with VI results for 89% of the samples. The remaining samples were positive with only one detection method. Overall the sensitivity and specificity of the H7- and H5-specific RRT-PCR were similar to those of VI and HI.

Abstract Empirical research has not consistently identified antecedents for predicting post‐acquisition performance. We employ meta‐analytic techniques to empirically assess the impact of the most commonly researched antecedent variables on post‐acquisition performance. We find robust results indicating that, on average and across the most commonly studied variables, acquiring firms' performance does not positively change as a function of their acquisition activity, and is negatively affected to a modest extent. More importantly, our results indicate that unidentified variables may explain significant variance in post‐acquisition performance, suggesting the need for additional theory development and changes to M&amp;A research methods. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Intercorrelations among ratings on 35 personality traits, selected as representative of the personality domain, were obtained for eight samples. These samples differed in length of acquaintanceship from 3 days to more than a year; in kind of acquaintanceship from assessment programs in a military training course to a fraternity house situation; in type of subject from airmen with only a high-school education to male and female undergraduate students to first-year graduate students; and in type of rater from very naive persons to clinical psychologists and psychiatrists with years of experience in the evaluation of personality. Centroid or multiple-group factors were extracted and rotated orthogonally to simple structure. For one study, an independent solution was obtained in which analytic rotations were accomplished on an IBM 650 computer using Kaiser's normal varimax criterion. Five fairly strong and recurrent factors emerged from each analysis, labeled as (a) Surgency, (b) Agreeableness, (c) Dependability, (d) Emotional Stability, and (e) Culture.

We present a novel, self-referencing interferometric technique for measuring the amplitude and the phase of ultrashort optical pulses. The apparatus uses a collinear geometry that requires no moving components. The phase-retrieval procedure is noniterative and rapid and uses only two one-dimensional Fourier transforms. We apply the technique to characterize ultrashort pulses from a mode-locked Ti:sapphire oscillator.

To evaluate transmission dynamics, we exposed 25 bird species to West Nile virus (WNV) by infectious mosquito bite. We monitored viremia titers, clinical outcome, WNV shedding (cloacal and oral), seroconversion, virus persistence in organs, and susceptibility to oral and contact transmission. Passeriform and charadriiform birds were more reservoir competent (a derivation of viremia data) than other species tested. The five most competent species were passerines: Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata), Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula), House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus), American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos), and House Sparrow (Passer domesticus). Death occurred in eight species. Cloacal shedding of WNV was observed in 17 of 24 species, and oral shedding in 12 of 14 species. We observed contact transmission among four species and oral in five species. Persistent WNV infections were found in tissues of 16 surviving birds. Our observations shed light on transmission ecology of WNV and will benefit surveillance and control programs.

A description and summary of the latest edition of the AFGL HITRAN molecular absorption parameters database are presented. This new database combines the information for the seven principal atmospheric absorbers and twenty-one additional molecular species previously contained on the AFGL atmospheric absorption line parameter compilation and on the trace gas compilation. In addition to updating the parameters on earlier editions of the compilation, new parameters have been added to this edition such as the self-broadened halfwidth, the temperature dependence of the air-broadened halfwidth, and the transition probability. The database contains 348043 entries between 0 and 17,900 cm(-1). A FORTRAN program is now furnished to allow rapid access to the molecular transitions and for the creation of customized output. A separate file of molecular cross sections of eleven heavy molecular species, applicable for qualitative simulation of transmission and emission in the atmosphere, has also been provided.

A new dialogue is beginning between students of international law and international relations scholars concerning compliance with international agreements. This article advances some basic propositions to frame that dialogue. First, it proposes that the level of compliance with international agreements in general is inherently unverifiable by empirical procedures. That nations generally comply with their international agreements, on the one hand, or that they violate them whenever it is in their interest to do so, on the other, are not statements of fact or even hypotheses to be tested. Instead, they are competing heuristic assumptions. Some reasons why the background assumption of a propensity to comply is plausible and useful are given. Second, compliance problems very often do not reflect a deliberate decision to violate an international undertaking on the basis of a calculation of advantage. The article proposes a variety of other reasons why states may deviate from treaty obligations and why in many circumstances those reasons are properly accepted by others as justifying apparent departures from treaty norms. Third, the treaty regime as a whole need not and should not be held to a standard of strict compliance but to a level of overall compliance that is "acceptable" in the light of the interests and concerns the treaty is designed to safeguard. How the acceptable level is determined and adjusted is considered.

ABCG2, also known as BCRP, is a high-capacity urate exporter, the dysfunction of which raises gout/hyperuricemia risk. Generally, hyperuricemia has been classified into urate 'overproduction type' and/or 'underexcretion type' based solely on renal urate excretion, without considering an extra-renal pathway. Here we show that decreased extra-renal urate excretion caused by ABCG2 dysfunction is a common mechanism of hyperuricemia. Clinical parameters, including urinary urate excretion, are examined in 644 male outpatients with hyperuricemia. Paradoxically, ABCG2 export dysfunction significantly increases urinary urate excretion and risk ratio of urate overproduction. Abcg2-knockout mice show increased serum uric acid levels and renal urate excretion, and decreased intestinal urate excretion. Together with high ABCG2 expression in extra-renal tissues, our data suggest that the 'overproduction type' in the current concept of hyperuricemia be renamed 'renal overload type', which consists of two subtypes—'extra-renal urate underexcretion' and genuine 'urate overproduction'—providing a new concept valuable for the treatment of hyperuricemia and gout. Hyperuricemia, or gout, is thought to arise either from urate overproduction or from decreased renal excretion of urate. Ichidaet al. show that the extra-renal excretion of urate also has a role in the pathogenesis of hyperuricemia, and propose a new classification for patients with this disease.

Peripheral nerve injuries are common, and there is no easily available formula for successful treatment. Incomplete injuries are most frequent. Seddon classified nerve injuries into three categories: neurapraxia, axonotmesis, and neu-rotmesis. After complete axonal transection, the neuron undergoes a number of degenerative processes, followed by attempts at regeneration. A distal growth cone seeks out connections with the degenerated distal fiber. The current surgical standard is epineurial repair with nylon suture. To span gaps that primary repair cannot bridge without excessive tension, nerve-cable interfascicular autografts are employed. Unfortunately, results of nerve repair to date have been no better than fair, with only 50% of patients regaining useful function. There is much ongoing research regarding pharmacologic agents, immune system modulators, enhancing factors, and entubulation chambers. Clinically applicable developments from these investigations will continue to improve the results of treatment of nerve injuries.

This article explores the possibility of efficacy-performance spirals in individuals, groups, and organizations. Spirals are deviation-amplifying loops in which the positive, cyclic relationship between perceived efficacy and performance builds upon itself. Collective efficacy is defined, and upward and downward spirals are considered. Evidence from multiple levels of analysis is presented, and factors affecting the occurrence, continuation, and stopping of spirals are proposed. In addition, we consider compositional and cross-level effects by proposing factors that will moderate the relationship between spirals at different levels of analysis. Overall, 15 propositions are presented as guidelines for future research.

The principal neutralizing determinant (PND) of human immunodeficiency virus HIV-1 is part of a disulfide bridged loop in the third variable region of the external envelope protein, gp120. Analysis of the amino acid sequences of this domain from 245 different HIV-1 isolates revealed that the PND is less variable than thought originally. Conservation to better than 80 percent of the amino acids in 9 out of 14 positions in the central portion of the PND and the occurrence of particular oligopeptide sequences in a majority of the isolates suggest that there are constraints on PND variability. One constraining influence may be the structural motif (beta strand--type II beta turn--beta strand--alpha helix) predicted for the consensus PND sequence by a neural network approach. Isolates with a PND similar to the commonly investigated human T cell lymphoma virus IIIB (HTLV-IIIB) and LAV-1 (BRU) strains were rare, and only 14 percent of sera from 86 randomly selected HIV-1 seropositive donors contained antibodies that recognized the PND of these virus isolates. In contrast, over 65 percent of these sera reacted with peptides containing more common PND sequences. These results suggest that HIV vaccine immunogens chosen because of their similarity to the consensus PND sequence and structure are likely to induce antibodies that neutralize a majority of HIV-1 isolates.

The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) originated in Wuhan, China in late 2019, and its resulting coronavirus disease, COVID-19, was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. The rapid global spread of COVID-19 represents perhaps the most significant public health emergency in a century. As the pandemic progressed, a continued paucity of evidence on routes of SARS-CoV-2 transmission has resulted in shifting infection prevention and control guidelines between classically-defined airborne and droplet precautions. During the initial isolation of 13 individuals with COVID-19 at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, we collected air and surface samples to examine viral shedding from isolated individuals. We detected viral contamination among all samples, supporting the use of airborne isolation precautions when caring for COVID-19 patients.

of data from myriad heterogeneous distributed network sensors to effectively create cyberspace situational awareness.

Energy levels of Wannier excitons in a quantum-well structure consisting of a single slab of GaAs sandwiched between two semi-infinite layers of ${\mathrm{Ga}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Al}}_{x}\mathrm{As}$ are calculated with the use of a variational approach. Owing to lowering of symmetry along the axis of growth of this quantum-well structure and the presence of energy-band discontinuities at the interfaces, the degeneracy of the valence band of GaAs is removed, leading to two exciton systems, namely, the heavy-hole exciton and the light-hole exciton. The values of the binding energies of the ground state and of a few lowlying excited states of these two exciton systems are calculated as a function of the size of the GaAs quantum well for several values of the heights of the potential barriers and their behavior is discussed. The results thus obtained are also compared with the available experimental data. The reliability of the various approximations made in this calculation is discussed.

The neuropsychological literature on 3-D spatial interactions is integrated using a model of 4 major behavioral realms: (a) peripersonal (visuomotor operations in near-body space), (b) focal extrapersonal (visual search and object recognition), (c) action extrapersonal (orienting in topographically defined space), and (d) ambient extrapersonal (orienting in earth-fixed space). Each is associated with a distinct cortical network: dorsolateral peripersonal, predominantly ventrolateral focal-extrapersonal, predominantly ventromedial action-extrapersonal, and predominantly dorsomedial ambient-extrapersonal systems. Interactions in 3-D space are also regulated neurochemically with dopaminergic and cholinergic excitation associated with extrapersonal activation and noradrenergic and serotonergic excitation associated with peripersonal activation. This model can help explain the 3-D imbalances in prominant neuropsychological disorders.

Circadian rhythms of mammals are timed by an endogenous clock with a period of about 24 hours located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus. Light synchronizes this clock to the external environment by daily adjustments in the phase of the circadian oscillation. The mechanism has been thought to involve the release of excitatory amino acids from retinal afferents to the SCN. Brief treatment of rat SCN in vitro with glutamate (Glu), N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), or nitric oxide (NO) generators produced lightlike phase shifts of circadian rhythms. The SCN exhibited calcium-dependent nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity. Antagonists of NMDA or NOS pathways blocked Glu effects in vitro, and intracerebroventricular injection of a NOS inhibitor in vivo blocked the light-induced resetting of behavioral rhythms. Together, these data indicate that Glu release, NMDA receptor activation, NOS stimulation, and NO production link light activation of the retina to cellular changes within the SCN mediating the phase resetting of the biological clock.

Rayleigh-B\'enard convection is numerically simulated in two and three dimensions using a recently developed two-component lattice Boltzmann equation (LBE) method. The density field of the second component, which evolves according to the advection-diffusion equation of a passive scalar, is used to simulate the temperature field. A body force proportional to the temperature is applied, and the system satisfies the Boussinesq equation except for a slight compressibility. A no-slip, isothermal boundary condition is imposed in the vertical direction, and periodic boundary conditions are used in horizontal directions. The critical Rayleigh number for the onset of the Rayleigh-B\'enard convection agrees with the theoretical prediction. As the Rayleigh number is increased higher, the steady two-dimensional convection rolls become unstable. The wavy instability and aperiodic motion observed, as well as the Nusselt number as a function of the Rayleigh number, are in good agreement with experimental observations and theoretical predictions. The LBE model is found to be efficient, accurate, and numerically stable for the simulation of fluid flows with heat and mass transfer.

The transmural potential difference, short-circuit current, and Na fluxes have been investigated in an in vitro preparation of isolated rabbit ileum. When the tissue is perfused with a physiological buffer, the serosal surface is electrically positive with respect to the mucosal surface and the initial potential difference in the presence of glucose averages 9 mv. Unidirectional and net Na fluxes have been determined under a variety of conditions, and in each instance, most if not all of the simultaneously measured short-circuit current could be attributed to the active transport of Na from mucosa to serosa. Active Na transport is dependent upon the presence of intact aerobic metabolic pathways and is inhibited by low concentrations of ouabain in the serosal medium. A method is described for determining whether a unidirectional ionic flux is the result of passive diffusion alone, in the presence of active transport of that ion in the opposite direction. Using this method we have demonstrated that the serosa-to-mucosa flux of Na may be attributed to passive diffusion with no evidence for the presence of carrier-mediated exchange diffusion or the influence of solvent-drag.