Walt Whitman, our great gay poet?

This article surveys the critical debates around Walt Whitman's "Calamus" cluster, arguing that a "queer" reading of Whitman--one that does not see him as, for example, a closeted homosexual who censored his work for fear of being "outed"--is both historically accurate and politically efficacious. While previous efforts to reclaim Whitman as "our great gay poet" are understandable--particularly given critical readings of Whitman that denied the homoeroticism of his poems--today, a reading of Whitman as homosexual threatens to simplify our understanding of the history of homosexuality and to blunt the power of Whitman's poetry to continue to "queer" normative understandings of sex and gender identity categories and their relationship to politics.

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of tomato elicits unexpected flower phenotypes with similar gene expression profiles.

Background: Genetic transformation mediated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens is known to cause unexpected phenotypes. Mutations of a specific set of homeotic genes can result in altered floral structure.

Methodology/principal Findings: Previously we identified two genes (LeTGA1 and SOLly GLB1) induced by nutrient availability in tomato.

Effects of muscle pump on rotary blood pumps in dynamic exercise: a computer simulation study.

Computer simulation is an important tool to study the interaction between rotary blood pumps (RBPs) and human circulatory system. This interaction is critical for the development of reliable physiological control systems of long-term RBPs. This paper presents a numerical model of the human circulatory system, which innovatively takes the muscle pump into account in dynamic exercise.

Ab initio study of substituent effects in the interactions of dimethyl ether with aromatic rings.

Ab initio calculations have been used to investigate the interaction energies of dimers of dimethyl ether with benzene, hexafluorobenzene, and several monosubstituted benzenes. The potential energy curves were explored at the MP2/aug-cc-pVDZ level for two basic configurations of the dimers, one in which the oxygen atom of the dimethyl ether was pointed towards the aromatic ring and the other in which the oxygen atom was pointed away from the aromatic ring. Once the optimum intermolecular distances between the dimethyl and the aromatic ring had been determined for each of the dimers in both configurations at the MP2/aug-cc-pVDZ level, single point energy calculations were performed at the MP2/aug-cc-pVTZ level.

Some effects of reputation on alliance formation.

Using an experimental approach with 108 MBA students, effects of reputation on the quantity and quality of offers from other players to enter a transaction as well as a player's behavior toward protection against a partner's defection were tested. A purely cooperative strategy generated more and better offers but behavior nearly as consistently reliable was no better rewarded than a pure defection strategy. Also, players with work experience tended to mistrust even strong reputation signals.

Canadian and American sex therapists' perceptions of normal and abnormal ejaculatory latencies: how long should intercourse last?

Introduction: Lay public perceptions about how long intercourse should last are discrepant from objective data on ejaculatory latencies. This may be problematic as the subjective interpretation of latency is a factor related to perceived distress with length of intercourse.

Aim: Quantify the opinion of expert sex therapists as to what are "adequate,""desirable,""too short," and "too long" intravaginal ejaculatory latencies.

Matrix isolation infrared observation of HxSi(N2)y (x = 0, 1, 2 and y = 1, 2) transient species using a 121-nm vacuum ultraviolet photolysis source.

Vacuum ultraviolet photolysis (121.6 nm) of silane in a nitrogen matrix at 12 K leads to the observation of several transient species, which have been characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Four transient species containing silicon and nitrogen have been observed (SiN2, Si(N2)2, HSiN2, and H2SiN2), and one transient species containing only silicon and hydrogen has been observed.

Theoretical Characterization of a Tridentate Photochromic Pt(II) Complex Using Density Functional Theory Methods.

Density functional theory methods have been used to characterize a tridentate photochromic Pt(II) complex [Pt(AAA)Cl], its acetonitrile complex [Pt(AAA)Cl·CH3CN], and the transition state in the complexation reaction. B3LYP/6-31G* (effective core potential for Pt) optimized geometries of Pt(AAA)Cl and Pt(AAA)Cl·CH3CN are found to be in reasonably good agreement with most of the applicable parameters for the available experimental crystal structures of Pt(AAA)Cl and a Pt(AAA)Cl-triphenylphoshine complex, with the exception of one of the dihedral angles, the deviation of which is determined to be due to a steric cis versus trans effect. Vibrational frequencies are calculated for Pt(AAA)Cl and cis-Pt(AAA)Cl·CH3CN, and the predicted shift in the benzaldehyde carbonyl frequency is found to be in line with that observed experimentally.

The One-Minute Preceptor: a five-step tool to improve clinical teaching skills.

The One-Minute Preceptor (OMP) is a teaching tool that has been used successfully for over 10 years in family practice residency programs. It was designed to enhance the teaching skills of physicians involved in the clinical education of new residents. This article describes the five steps of the OMP and how it was taught to a group of nurse preceptors and reports their evaluations of the impact that this education had on their ability to instruct and offer feedback to the novice nurse.

Susceptibility of zebra fish Danio rerio to infection by Flavobacterium columnare and F. johnsoniae.

Flavobacterium columnare is a serious pathogen in a wide range of fish species. F. johnsoniae is an opportunistic pathogen of certain fish.

Experimental evidence for molecular chaos in granular gases.

We present measurements showing the presence and the absence of molecular chaos in a two-layer vertically vibrated granular media where a plate drives a horizontal layer of massive grains, which, in turn, drives a second horizontal layer of lighter grains above the first. In the first layer driven by the plate, the velocities are spatially correlated. In the second layer, we find uncorrelated velocities consistent with the presence of molecular chaos.

Doctors' service orientation in public, private, and foreign hospitals.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to propose a doctors' service orientation (DSO) scale and uses it to compare the services received in public, private and foreign hospitals in a developing country from the patient's perspective.

Design/methodology/approach: The scale was derived from the service quality literature and qualitative research. A questionnaire was designed next.

Stick-and-diffuse and caged diffusion: a comparison of two models of synaptic vesicle dynamics.

Two models were recently proposed to enable us to understand the dynamics of synaptic vesicles in hippocampal neurons. In the caged diffusion model, the vesicles diffuse in small circular cages located randomly in the bouton, while in the stick-and-diffuse model the vesicles bind and release from a cellular cytomatrix. In this article, we obtain analytic expressions for the fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) autocorrelation function for the two models and test their predictions against our earlier FCS measurements of the vesicle dynamics.

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension and transverse sinus stenosis: a modelling study.

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is a syndrome of unknown etiology characterized by elevated intracranial pressure (ICP). Although a stenosis of the transverse sinus has been observed in many IIH patients, the role this feature plays in IIH is in dispute. In this paper, a lumped-parameter model is developed for the purpose of analytically investigating the elevated pressures associated with IIH and a collapsible transverse sinus.

Theoretical study of the benzene excimer using time-dependent density functional theory.

A theoretical characterization of the potential energy surfaces of the singlet benzene excimer states derived from the B2u monomer excited state has been performed using time-dependent density functional theory. The excited-state potential energy surfaces were initially characterized by computations along the parallel and perpendicular intermolecular translational coordinates. These calculations predict that the lowest excited state for parallel translation is bound with a minimum at 3.

Antenna impedance matching with neural networks.

Impedance matching between transmission lines and antennas is an important and fundamental concept in electromagnetic theory. One definition of antenna impedance is the resistance and reactance seen at the antenna terminals or the ratio of electric to magnetic fields at the input. The primary intent of this paper is real-time compensation for changes in the driving point impedance of an antenna due to frequency deviations.

Cyclization of Rouse chains at long- and short-time scales.

We have investigated cyclization of a Rouse chain at long and short times by a Langevin dynamics simulation method. We measure St, the fraction of nonreacted chains, for polymerizations ranging from Z=5 to Z=800 and capture distances ranging from a=0.1b to a=8b where b is the bond length.

Modeling steady-state intracranial pressures in supine, head-down tilt and microgravity conditions.

Introduction: The effects of microgravity are often simulated by head-down tilt (HDT). While data exist for intracranial pressure (ICP) during short-term HDT, no corresponding data exist for long-term exposure to HDT or microgravity. A mathematical model was developed to predict these unknown long-term responses.

Theory of hydrogen-related metastability in disordered silicon.

Density functional electronic structure calculations are employed to examine hydrogen for a variety of configurations in silicon. A novel complex is found for hydrogen in amorphous silicon. The complex involves the breaking of a weak silicon bond to form two Si-H bonds with both hydrogens in between the original silicon atoms.

Looking for planetary moons in the spectra of distant Jupiters.

More than 100 nearby stars are known to have at least one Jupiter-sized planet. Whether any of these giant gaseous planets has moons is unknown, but here we suggest a possible way of detecting Earth-sized moons with future technology. The planned Terrestrial Planet Finder observatory, for example, will be able to detect objects comparable in size to Earth.

VIZ: the visualization assessment and training web site.

The VIZ Website (http://viz.bd.psu.

COR V2: teaching observational research with multimedia courseware.

Courseware for Observational Research (COR Version 2) is an interactive multimedia program designed to teach the foundation of the scientific method: systematic observation. COR uses digital video with interactive coding to teach basic concepts, such as creating precise operational definitions; using frequency, interval, and duration coding; developing sampling strategies; and analyzing and interpreting data. Through lessons, a case study, and laboratory exercises, it gradually scaffolds students from teacher-directed learning into self-directed learning.

Possibilities for the detection of microbial life on extrasolar planets.

We consider possibilities for the remote detection of microbial life on extrasolar planets. The Darwin/Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) telescope concepts for observations of terrestrial planets focus on indirect searches for life through the detection of atmospheric gases related to life processes. Direct detection of extraterrestrial life may also be possible through well-designed searches for microbial life forms.