cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Fine structure on flat surfaces of quasicrystalline Al-Pd-Mn

We have analyzed the fine structure revealed by scanning tunneling microscopy for a flat (within 0.8 Aa) fivefold surface of i-Al-Pd-Mn. Even though features in the image appear to be arranged randomly, self-similar features are separated by distinct distances. The distribution of such distances is compatible with the separations between pseudo-Mackay icosahedra tangent to the topmost layer, and with separations between other cluster-based units. We propose that the fine structure is due to electronic structure imposed by the clusters. (c) 1999 The American Physical Society.
The Central Asian muftiate in occupied Afghanistan, 1979–87

Known by the Russian acronym SADUM, the muftiate responsible for overseeing mosques in the five Soviet Central Asian republics conducted pro-Soviet public diplomacy in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan after the invasion of December 1979. SADUM's engagement with pro-Soviet ulama in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan marks a departure from the character of its extensive propaganda and relationship-building activities elsewhere in the Muslim and developing worlds. The Central Asian Islamic scholars staffing SADUM sought to assist the Soviet Party-state in establishing and consolidating a cadre of Afghan ulama who could achieve legitimacy in the eyes of Afghanistan's overwhelmingly Muslim population while maintaining political support for the Communist-oriented People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan.
Electrical Resistivity of Chromium–Gold Alloys between 77 and 700 K

Electrical resistivity is measured as a function of temperature of binary chromium alloys containing 0.27, 0.54, and 0.60 at% gold. Gold decreases the Neel temperature linearly at a rate of 32 K/at% gold. Such a decrease is contrary to the predictions of conventional models for the antiferromagnetism in dilute chromium alloys, but can be explained if the excess nuclear charge on gold impurities is totally screened by the band electrons. Total screening also is consistent with the observed temperature variation of resistivity well above the transition temperature if, as seems reasonable, the scattering of electrons from gold impurities reduces the electronic density of states of the alloy at the Fermi energy. Der elektrische Widerstand von binaren Chromlegierungen mit 0,27; 0,54 und 0,60 At% Gold wird als Funktion der Temperatur gemessen. Gold verringert die Neeltemperatur linear mit einer Rate von 32 K/At% Gold. Ein derartiger Abfall befindet sich im Gegensatz zu den Vorhersagen der ublichen Modelle fur Antiferromagnetismus in verdunnten Chromlegierungen, last sich jedoch erklaren, wenn die uberschussige Kernladung an den Goldstorstellen vollstindig durch die Bandelektronen abgeschirmt wird. Vollige Abschirmung ist auch mit der beobachteten Temperaturanderung des Widerstands oberhalb der Ubergangstemperatur konsistent, wenn, was vernunftig scheint, die Streuung von Elektronen an Goldstorstellen die elektronische Zustandsdichte der Legierungen bei der Fermienergie reduziert.
Smoking during pregnancy is associated with alterations in markers of endothelial function

Abstract Objective Alterations in endothelial function may explain the reduced risk of preeclampsia that is associated with smoking. We hypothesized that markers of endothelial function increase over pregnancy but decrease with smoking. Study design Plasma samples were obtained throughout pregnancy from 63 primiparous women with normal pregnancies. The samples were assayed for cellular fibronectin, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, and intracellular adhesion molecule-1. Smoking status was determined by urinary cotinine concentrations. Results Mean cellular fibronectin concentrations were different by time ( P P =.01); the lowest concentrations were found in smokers. In contrast, intracellular adhesion molecule-1 was different by smoking status ( P =.046); the highest concentrations were found in smokers. Vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 was different over time ( P Conclusion Smoking during pregnancy is associated with reduced cellular fibronectin and increased intracellular adhesion molecule-1. These differences may be the result of different aspects of endothelial function or the source of the marker. The explanation for reduced preeclampsia in smokers remains elusive.
Inhibition of endogenous VEGF impedes revascularization and astroglial proliferation: roles for VEGF in brain repair

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is upregulated following injury to the CNS. Our previous work has shown that exogenous application of VEGF promotes angiogenesis, blood-brain barrier permeability, and astroglial mitogenicity in the traumatized brain. To develop a model that could link endogenously secreted VEGF to brain tissue repair, a specific neutralizing antibody to VEGF was infused by osmotic minipump directly into the neocortex and striatum for up to 1 week. Tissues adjacent to the infusion/wound site were analyzed for specific vascular and astroglial protein markers and proliferation, necrosis/apoptosis (via TUNEL staining), VEGF, the VEGF receptors flt-1 and flk-1, and bFGF expression using immunohistochemistry and semi-quantitative RT-PCR. Neutralization of native VEGF caused significant decreases in angiogenic activity, astroglial proliferation, and nestin immunoexpression, while vascular and astroglial degeneration was substantially increased, resulting in much larger wound cavities when compared to controls. The hindrance of brain tissue repair occurred despite an increase in bFGF expression at the wound sites. VEGF appears to be an integral factor in CNS wound healing that is essential for vascular endothelial proliferation and survival and may also be necessary for astroglial proliferation and maintenance during the repair of brain injury.
Chemically sensitive parallel analysis of combinatorial catalyst libraries

Abstract This study demonstrates how Fourier transform infrared imaging (FTIR) can be employed as a powerful spectroscopic tool for the parallel investigation of multiple member heterogeneous catalyst systems. FTIR imaging combines the chemical specificity and high sensitivity of infrared spectroscopy with the ability to rapidly analyze multiple samples simultaneously. A new implementation, using a rapid-scan FTIR spectrometer instead of a step-scan FTIR spectrometer, allows much improved data collection times without sacrificing data quality. Using CO adsorption and CO oxidation as model systems, it was established that FTIR imaging is very well suited to high-throughput parallel analysis of adsorbates and reaction products from supported catalyst libraries.
Influence of drought on competition between selected Rhizobium meliloti strains and naturalized soil rhizobia in alfalfa

Drought is an important environmental factor that can affect rhizobial competition and N2 fixation. Three alfalfa (Medicago sativa L. and M. falcata L.) accessions were grown in pots containing soil from an irrigated (Soil 1) and a dryland (Soil 2) alfalfa field in northern Utah, USA. Mutants of three strains of Rhizobium meliloti Dang. from Pakistan (UL 136, UL 210, and UL 222) and a commercial rhizobial strain 102F51a were developed with various levels of resistance to streptomycin. Seeds inoculated with these individual streptomycin-resistant mutants were sown in the two soils containing naturalized rhizobial populations. Soils in the pots were maintained at −0.03, −0.5, and −1.0 MPa. After 10 weeks, plants were harvested and nodule isolates were cultured on agar medium with and without streptomycin to determine nodule occupancy (proportion of the nodules occupied by introduced rhizobial strains). Number of nodules, nodule occupancy, total plant dry weight, and shoot N were higher for Soil 1 than Soil 2. Number of nodules, plant dry weight, and shoot N decreased as drought increased from −0.03 to −1.0 MPa in the three alfalfa accessions. Rhizobial strains UL 136 and UL 222 were competitive with naturalized alfalfa rhizobia and were effective at symbiotic N2 fixation under drought. These results suggest that nodulation, growth, and N2 fixation in alfalfa can be improved by inoculation with competitive and drought-tolerant rhizobia and may be one economically feasible way to increase alfalfa production in water-limited environments.
The threat of genes: A comment on Evan Charney's "Genes and Ideologies"

In his essay, “Genes and Ideologies,” Evan Charney wrangles with the question of the role of genes in the formation of political attitudes via a critique of Alford, Funk, and Hibbing’s 2005 American Political Science Review article. Although critical evaluations are necessary, his essay falls short of what is required of a scientific critique on both empirical and theoretical grounds. We offer a comment on his essay and further contend that it is naive to proceed on the assumption that a barrier exists between the biological and social sciences, such that the biological sciences have nothing to offer the social sciences. If we look beyond our discipline’s current theoretical models we may find a more thorough, and not just competing, explanation of political behavior.
A comparison of the rate constants for intersystem crossing via S1(π,π*) T(π,π*) and S1(n,π*) T(π,π*) paths

Abstract The rate constants for S1 T intersystem crossing have been determined for rigid glass solutions of phenanthrene and 9,10-diazaphenanthrene at the temperature of boiling nitrogen. For phenanthrene intersystem crossing path is S1(π,π*) T(π,π*) where kisc was found to be (4.8 ± 1) × 106 sec−1. For 9,10-diazaphenanthrene the path is S1(n,π*) T(π,π*) and kisc was found to be less than 1.5 × 107 sec−1. These results are compared with theoretical predictions.
Understanding the role of energy consumption in human development through the use of saturation phenomena

A correlation is presented between the UN human development index and per capita energy consumption for 120 nations. A strong relationship between index values and energy consumption is observed for the majority of the world. Additionally, a distinct secondary trend emerges from the dataset, representing heavy energy exporters such as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and some Former Soviet Union nations, among others. The preliminary observation is made that these two trends closely resemble saturation curves, exhibited by a variety of natural phenomena. For the primary trend, three regions are isolated: a steep rise in human development relative to energy consumption for energy-poor nations; a moderate rise for transitioning nations; and essentially no rise in human development for energy-advantaged nations, consuming large amounts of modern energy. These correlations suggest that tremendous gains in human development are possible for the world's poorest, with small incremental access to energy.
Instabilities and the formation of bubbles in fluidized beds

As is well known, most gas-fluidized beds of solid particles bubble; that is, they are traversed by rising regions containing few particles. Most liquid-fluidized beds, on the other hand, do not. The aim of the present paper is to investigate whether this distinction can be accounted for by certain equations of motion which have commonly been used to describe both types of bed. For the particular case of a bed of 200 μm diameter glass beads fluidized by air at ambient conditions it is demonstrated, by direct numerical integration, that small perturbations of the uniform bed grow into structures resembling the bubbles observed in practice. When analogous computations are performed for a water-fluidized bed of 1 mm diameter glass beads, using the same equations, with parameters modified only to account for the greater density and viscosity of water and to secure the same bed expansion at minimum fluidization, it is found that bubble-like structures cannot be grown. The reasons for this difference in behaviour are discussed.
Uveal IgG distribution: regulation by electrostatic interactions.

The differential distribution of albumin and IgG within various intraocular tissues suggests that charge rather than serum concentration plays an important role in regulating the distribution of certain molecules within the eye. The presence of anionic sites within the uveal tract indirectly regulates the localization and binding of cationic IgG by electrostatic interactions. Our studies indicate that circulating cationic IgG antibodies of pI 9.0–10.0 readily traverse the fenestrated capillaries in the ciliary body /processes and choriocapillaris and bind within vessel walls and stromal anionic regions and Bruch's membrane. Since there is normally no IgG produced within the non-inflamed, quiescent eye, this regulatory mechanism is potentially important in mediating immunologic protection within the uvea.
Carlos Pellegrini and the Crisis of the Argentine Elites, 1880-1916:

Preface Political Disputes and Socioeconomic Change, 1870-1886 Juarez Celman and the 1890 Revolt Pelligrini's Fiscal and Economic Policies Conflict in the Countryside Diplomacy and National Politics Emergence as Independent Statesman, 1893-1906 Success and Failure of Elite Rule Bibliography Index
Strength and related properties of elastomeric block copolymers

Stress-strain curves of single-phase noncrystallizable elastomers over extended ranges of temperature and extension rate are considered qualitatively along with phenomenological and mechanistic aspects of fracture. Data are presented to show that single-phase noncrystallizable elastomers lack toughness except when segmental mobility is sufficiently low so that viscoelastic processes near the tip of a slowly growing crack effectively retard its growth. Highly effective strengthening mechanisms are imparted by plastic domains which result from phase separation in elastomeric block copolymers and from strain-induced crystallization in certain elastomers. The stiffness, tensile strength, and extensibility of a poly(urea-urethane) and three polyurethane elastomers over a broad temperature range are discussed in terms of the type, size, and concentration of the domain-forming segments. These elastomers, and particularly their true stress-at-break, are compared with other block copolymers and with polyurethane elastomers devoid of plastic domains.
Change in Goal Ratings as a Mediating Variable Between Self-efficacy and Physical Activity in Older Men

Background Few studies have examined the associations between exercise self-efficacy, goals, and physical activity over time.
Studies of rigid poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) compounds. I. Morphological characteristics of poly(vinyl chloride)/chlorinated polyethylene (PVC/CPE) blends

Chlorinated polyethylene (CPE) is a commonly used impact modifier of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC). The major goal of this research was to understand the fundamental morphological aspects of PVC/CPE blends. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to image the surface structure of these blends, and both transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning-transmission electron microscopy (S-TEM) were used to image the morphological boundaries of the blends. TEM imaging distinguishes the boundaries between PVC and CPE more clearly or better than does S-TEM, but it is time-consuming. However, some CPE particles are not observed in TEM because of inefficient staining. S-TEM imaging is much faster and does not depend on staining for the imaging of the CPE phase. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Asset reuse and service science: The delicate balance

The need to increase efficiency and productivity is driving an increase in the creation of service assets, which embody the essence of service functionality and can be used across engagements. This move towards reusable service assets reduces some of the cost of service solution design, is less labor-intensive, and reduces the need for particular service professionals. However, service and the study of service innovation called Service Science, is inherently people-based. People, interactions, and relationships are at the core of the discipline and technology plays a pivotal role in supporting these entities. The tension between the emphasis on people, which implies customization and differentiation, and service asset reuse, which implies standardization and commoditization, may pose a problem for the service industry in the long term. Replacing the people component in the production equation with service assets may significantly reduce the drivers for the field of Service Science to continue in the future. This paper presents a cautionary tale of reusable service assets, where the balance between the knowledge and skills embodied in the asset and the utility of having expertise embodied in people is examined. Suggestions for bridging this divide and easing the tension are discussed.
Adverse Reactions to Trimethoprim/Sulfamethoxazole in AIDS

OBJECTIVE:To report the case of a woman with AIDS who developed tremor, acute pancreatitis, and elevated serum creatinine levels while receiving trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMX).CASE SUMMARY:A 37-year-old Puerto Rican woman with AIDS, HIV nephropathy, and a recent history of disseminated histoplasmosis presented with fever, nonproductive cough, pancytopenia, and elevated transaminase and alkaline phosphatase levels. Serum creatinine was near her baseline level of 2.9 mg/dL. Treatment was started with amphotericin B lipid complex for histoplasmosis and intravenous TMP/SMX for presumed Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. Two days later, the patient developed a high-frequency tremor and severe abdominal pain, and serum creatinine increased to 5.6 mg/dL. TMP/SMX was discontinued, after which the patient's symptoms resolved within 72 hours and serum creatinine returned to baseline levels.DISCUSSION:A high incidence of adverse reactions to TMP/SMX has been reported among HIV-infected persons. Toxic sulfameth...
Forecasting Demand for Electric Power

We are developing a forecaster for daily extremes of demand for electric power encountered in the service area of a large midwestern utility and using this application as a testbed for approaches to input dimension reduction and decomposition of network training. Projection pursuit regression representations and the ability of algorithms like SIR to quickly find reasonable weighting vectors enable us to confront the vexing architecture selection problem by reducing high-dimensional gradient searchs to fitting single-input single-output (SISO) subnets. We introduce dimension reduction algorithms, to select features or relevant subsets of a set of many variables, based on minimizing an index of level-set dispersions (closely related to a projection index and to SIR), and combine them with backfitting to implement a neural network version of projection pursuit. The performance achieved by our approach, when trained on 1989, 1990 data and tested on 1991 data, is comparable to that achieved in our earlier study of backpropagation trained networks.
On Necessary Pumping Pressures for Industrial Process-Driven Particle-Laden Fluid Flows

Due to increasing demands for faster and faster manufacturing of new complex materials, such as casting of particulate composites, the determination of pumping pressures needed for particle-laden fluids through channels is critical. In particular, the increase in viscosity as a function of the particle volume fraction can lead to system malfunction, due to an inability to deliver necessary pressures to pump the more viscous fluid through the system. This paper studies the pressure gradient needed to maintain a given flow rate, explicitly as a function of the volume fraction of particles present in the fluid. It is also crucial to control voids in the casted products, which can be traced to air-entrainment, spurious internal reactions, dewetting, etc., which can be traced to high Reynolds numbers. Accordingly, an expression for the resulting Reynolds number as a function of the particle volume fraction and flow rate is also developed. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the practical use of the derived relations to characterize the necessary pumping pressures for process-driven, particle-laden fluid flows.
Role of spinal GABAA receptors in pudendal inhibition of nociceptive and nonnociceptive bladder reflexes in cats

Picrotoxin, an antagonist for γ-aminobutyric acid receptor subtype A (GABAA), was used to investigate the role of GABAA receptors in nociceptive and nonnociceptive reflex bladder activities and pud...
A functional CD40 receptor is expressed in pancreatic beta cells

Aims/hypothesis Despite differences in function and embryonic origin, pancreatic islet cells and neurons express proteins belonging to the tumour necrosis factor receptor superfamily. While neurons express the CD40 receptor, it is unknown whether islet cells also express it. We investigated CD40 expression in human and mouse pancreatic islets as well as in NIT-1 insulinoma cells.
Monomer sequence determination of carbohydrates using fast-atom bombardment mass spectrometry of periodate-oxidized acetate ester derivatives☆

A derivatization method, adapted from that of Angel et al. (ref. 10), for sequencing sugar residues in partially degraded poly- and oligo-saccharides using positive-ion f.a.b.-m.s. is described. Derivative selection provides sequence information by directing fragmentation exclusively to both sides of glycosidic oxygen atoms and, in the case of opened rings, between glycosidic carbon and ring oxygen atoms. Polysaccharides or oligosaccharides are subjected to sequential periodate oxidation, borodeuteride reduction, and acetylation. The derivatized polysaccharides are then subjected to partial degradation, acetylation, and high-performance liquid chromatography (h.p.l.c.) purification. F.a.b.-m.s. data obtained on model compounds, using 3-nitrobenzyl alcohol as matrix for f.a.b.-m.s., demonstrated direction of fragmentation to both sides of the glycosidic oxygen atom in unoxidized residues, and to both sides of the acetal oxygen atoms in oxidized residues. Oligosaccharide linkage and sequence may thus be determined by observing fragmentation from both the reducing and non-reducing ends of the molecule. Two Salmonella lipopolysaccharides, derivatized by this procedure, were partially hydrolyzed and then acetylated. Analysis of the h.p.l.c.-purified oligosaccharide derivatives by f.a.b.-m.s. demonstrated the applicability of the technique for sequencing nmol quantities of branched structures.
A new integrated first-year core curriculum in engineering, mathematics, and science: a proposal

The development of a first-year curriculum in engineering, mathematics, and science using a formal problem-solving methodology is considered. The objective for the first-year curriculum is presented and the present solution to the problem is examined. An alternative solution is also explored. The alternative approach first decomposes the curriculum into generic concepts and then focuses the expertise and energies of disciplines to illuminate the capacity of each generic concept to observe, describe, predict, and interact with the physical world. Generic concepts which have been identified in the first-year curriculum include data acquisition and analysis, problem-solving techniques, functional relationships, equilibrium, rate of change, force, work and energy, and momentum. The resulting new core curriculum builds on concepts which naturally span the disciplines of mathematics, computer science, chemistry, physics, graphics, and engineering design through classroom instruction, laboratory experiments, and extended projects, all designed to enable the students to build a stronger conceptual foundation for their future engineering education. >
Linear-time rule induction

The recent emergence of data mining as a major application of machine learning has led to increased interest in fast rule induction algorithms. These are able to efficiently process large numbers of examples, under the constraint of still achieving good accuracy. If e is the number of examples, many rule learners have O(e4) asymptotic time complexity in noisy domains, and C4.5RULES has been empirically observed to sometimes require O(e3). Recent advances have brought this bound down to O(elog2 e), while maintaining accuracy at the level of C4.5RULES's. In this paper we present CWS, a new algorithm with guaranteed O(e) complexity, and verify that it outperforms C4.5RULES and CN2 in time, accuracy and output size on two large datasets. For example, on NASA's space shuttle database, running time is reduced from over a month (for C4.5RULES) to a few hours, with a slight gain in accuracy. CWS is based on interleaving the induction of all the rules and evaluating performance globally instead of locally (i.e., it uses a "conquering without separating" strategy as opposed to a "separate and conquer" one). Its bias is appropriate to domains where the underlying concept is simple and the data is plentiful but noisy.
Sulfur amino acid requirement and cystine replacement value of broiler chicks during the period three to six weeks posthatching

Three experiments were conducted with commercial broiler chicks to determine the SAA requirement during the growth period 3 to 6 wk posthatching. A 20% CP corn-peanut meal basal diet (3,200 kcal ME(n)/kg) was analyzed to contain 0.23% Met and 0.28% cystine. True digestibility assessment in cecectomized cockerels revealed that Met and cystine in the basal diet were 81 and 75% digestible, respectively. Therefore, the basal diet contained 0.19% digestible Met and 0.21% digestible cystine. When fully fortified with DL-Met, growth rate and feed efficiency of chicks fed the corn-peanut meal diet were equal to that of chicks fed a 20% CP Met-fortified corn-soybean meal diet. In the SAA requirement assay, Ross x Hubbard male chicks were fed graded increments of DL-Met (0.03%) and L-cystine (0.03%) to achieve digestible SAA concentrations of 0.40, 0.46, 0.52, 0.58, 0.64, and 0.70%. Weight gain and feed efficiency responded quadratically (P < 0.01) to increasing doses of SAA. The estimated requirement for maximal feed efficiency was higher than that for maximal weight gain. Both visual appraisal and curve fitting procedures suggested a requirement of close to 0.61% digestible SAA. When extrapolated to a corn-soybean meal diet where SAA true digestibility is 87.5%, the total SAA requirement calculates to be 0.70% of the diet. However, because commercial corn-soybean meal diets typically contain supplemental Met, which is only 81% efficient (wt:wt) in furnishing cystine, the estimated total SAA requirement for chicks fed 20% CP Met-fortified corn-soybean meal diets with 3,200 kcal of ME/kg would probably approximately 0.72% of the diet. A DL-Met vs L-cystine supplementation assay suggested that digestible cystine can supply no more than 52% of the total requirement for digestible SAA of chicks during the 3- to 6-wk growth period.
Studies of Glucagon Secretion in Pancreatectomized Patients

Intravenous arginine infusions were performed in two totally pancreatectomized patients and two age/sex-matched normal subjects. Plasma glucagon concentrations did not increase in the pancreatectomized patients, whereas a four- to sixfold rise of the glucagon levels following arginine administration was seen in the control subjects. Measurements of plasma glucagon-like im-munoreactivity revealed no difference between normal and pancreatectomized subjects. The data suggest the absence of a significant number of normally functioning alpha cells in extrapancreatic sites.
On the Bethe-Sommerfeld conjecture for higher-order elliptic operators

We consider the elliptic operator P(D)+V in ℝ d , d≥2 where P(D) is a constant coefficient elliptic pseudo-differential operator of order 2l with a homogeneous convex symbol P(ξ), and V is a real periodic function in L ∞(ℝ d ). We show that the number of gaps in the spectrum of P(D)+V is finite if 4l>d+1. If in addition, V is smooth and the convex hypersurface {ξℝ d :P(ξ)=1} has positive Gaussian curvature everywhere, then the number of gaps in the spectrum of P(D)+V is finite, provided 8l>d+3 and 9≥d≥2, or 4l>d−3 and d≥10.
Genome Sequence of a Chromium-Reducing Strain, Bacillus cereus S612.

We report here the genome sequence of an effective chromium-reducing bacterium,Bacillus cereusstrain S612. We found that the size of the draft genome sequence is approximately 5.4 Mb, with a G+C content of 35%, and it is predicted to contain 5,450 protein-coding genes.
Framing Gender, Education and Empowerment

Discourse about gender and education is dominated by policy relating to girls' education globally that seeks to improve the situation of girls in low-income countries, increase educational opportunities, and positively influence international development. This perspective, while well intended, continues to rely on several shortcomings - namely, a conflation of the notions of sex and gender, prioritizing educational access over quality of the educational experience, and relying on under-theorized concepts such as empowerment. In general, scholarship has insufficiently addressed the relationship of sociocultural, political and economic contextual dynamics as they relate to the educational experience. This special issue includes a range of contextualized case studies of gender and education with the goal of breaking through these shortcomings, to reveal the story under and beyond the statistics and deepen our theoretical understanding. This introductory article presents an overview of the articles included h...
Factors Associated with HIV Testing among African American Female Adolescents in Juvenile Detention Centers.

Little is known about sexual and psychosocial factors associated with HIV testing among detained African American female adolescents—an understudied group at risk for HIV. 188 detained African American female adolescents completed assessments on HIV testing, sexual risk behaviors, and psychosocial factors. Unprotected vaginal sex, history of STI-positivity or pregnancy, higher STI knowledge, and lower partner availability were associated with a higher likelihood of ever being tested for HIV. HIV testing is the gateway to important services for high-risk HIV-positive and HIV-negative adolescents. More research is needed to address barriers and to inform programmatic changes to increase testing among youth.
Seizing Opportunities: The Moderating Role of Managerial Characteristics on the Relationship between Opportunity-Seeking and Innovation Efficacy in Small Businesses

We draw from regulatory focus theory to examine the relationship between a focus on opportunities through strategic orientation and entrepreneurial culture and managerial reports of innovation effi...
Serotonergic Systems in the Pathophysiology of Ethanol Dependence: Relevance to Clinical Alcoholism

Alcoholism is a progressive brain disorder that is marked by increased sensitivity to the positive and negative reinforcing properties of ethanol, compulsive and habitual use despite negative consequences, and chronic relapse to alcohol drinking despite repeated attempts to reduce intake or abstain from alcohol. Emerging evidence from preclinical and clinical studies implicates serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) systems in the pathophysiology of alcohol dependence, suggesting that drugs targeting 5-HT systems may have utility in the treatment of alcohol use disorders. In this Review, we discuss the role of 5-HT systems in alcohol dependence with a focus on 5-HT interactions with neural circuits that govern all three stages of the addiction cycle. We attempt to clarify how 5-HT influences circuit function at these different stages with the goal of identifying neural targets for pharmacological treatment of this debilitating disorder.
Five new species and key for Australian Epyris Westwood (Hymenoptera, Bethylidae).

Epyris Westwood, 1832 is the largest genus within Bethylidae, but few species are known from Australia, with only two species described. Following trips undertaken by the author to sort material from the Canadian National Collections, Queensland Museum, and Australian National Insect Collection, the number of described species is expanded to seven with the addition of E. loisae Tribull , sp. nov., E. herschae Tribull , sp. nov., E. carpenteri Tribull , sp. nov., E. azevedoi Tribull , sp. nov., and E. fulgeocauda Tribull, sp. nov. Descriptions and illustrations of each new species are provided, as well as a key to the known Australian Epyris species.
Seismic activity and topography of the sea floor off southern California

ABSTRACT The positions of submarine epicenters of seismic shocks occurring during a twelve and one-quarter year period were plotted on a bathymetric chart of the area off southern California. The data show: (1) that the sea floor is active seismically, and (2) that the seismic activity and the topography are related. It appears that the major topographic features are of tectonic origin and that the forces which brought them about are still active.
Current best estimates of planet populations

Exoplanets are revolutionizing planetary science by enabling statistical studies of a large number of planets. Empirical measurements of planet occurrence rates inform our understanding of the ubiquity and efficiency of planet formation, while the identification of sub-populations and trends in the distribution of observed exoplanet properties provides insights into the formation and evolution processes that are sculpting distant Solar Systems. In this paper, we review the current best estimates of planet populations. We focus in particular on η⊕, the occurrence rate of habitable zone rocky planets, since this factor strongly influences the design of future space based exoplanet direct detection missions.
The response of the growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor I axis to medical castration in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome

Objective To assess the impact of ovarian hormone deprivation on serum concentrations of GH and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Design Growth hormone and IGF-I levels were measured before, during, and at the end of a 6-month period of treatment with leuprolide acetate (LA) depot. Normal cycling and ovariectomized women served as controls. Setting The Clinical Research Center of Northwestern University Medical School. Patients Six women with PCOS, seven normal cycling women, and six ovariectomized women. Interventions The PCOS and normal cycling subjects were treated with six consecutive monthly injections of LA depot 3.75mg IM. Main Outcome Measures Circulating concentrations of GH and IGF-I. Results After 3months of treatment, GH levels decreased modestly in the PCOS group; however, these changes were not significant. No further decline was observed at 6months. Growth hormone levels were unaffected in the normal cycling group. Levels of IGF-I remained unchanged in both groups. Mean baseline levels of both GH and IGF-I in the ovariectomized group were lower than those of the normal cycling and PCOS groups at all time points, but not significantly so. Conclusions Medical castration fails to significantly alter serum GH and IGF-I levels in either normal cycling or women with PCOS. These data indicate that GH secretion is not modulated by hormones of ovarian origin in either group, at least over the period of time studied.
Family Presence During Resuscitation: Impact of Online Learning on Nurses' Perception and Self-confidence.

Background Family presence during resuscitation (FPDR) is supported by patients and their family members. Nurses, however, including critical care nurses who frequently implement resuscitative care, have mixed views. Objectives To determine the impact of online learning on critical care nurses' perception of and self-confidence with FPDR. Methods A 2-group, random assignment, pretest and posttest quasi-experimental study was conducted with critical care nurses recruited nationally. An online learning module on FPDR was developed and administered to the intervention group. Perceptions and self-confidence for FPDR were measured by using the Family Presence Risk- Benefit Scale (FPR-BS) and the Family Presence Self-confidence Scale (FPS-CS). Two-factor, mixed-model factorial analysis of variance was used to compare mean scores. Results A total of 74 critical care nurses participated in the study. Mean FPR-BS and FPS-CS scores were significantly greater in the intervention group than in the control group. For the intervention group, mean scores on the FPR-BS increased from 3.63 to 4.07 (P .99). Conclusions Online learning is a feasible and effective method for educating large numbers of critical care nurses about FPDR. Online learning can improve perceptions and self-confidence related to FPDR, which may promote more widespread adoption of FPDR into practice.
Long Distance Agreement and Restructuring

Agreement in Hindi/Urdu may optionally hold between the matrix verb and the object of a matrix infinitive. Bhatt 2005 reduces this optionality to Restructuring, the option of lacking a PRO subject in the infinitive. PRO in Hindi is subject to a lexical case condition, which should be obviated if PRO were missing in the restructured case with LDA. But sentences are ungrammatical both with and without LDA. I argue that PRO is always present, in both the LDA and default agreement cases. Restructuring is not an option for LDA matrix verbs in this language.
A seismic event counter for active volcanoes

Changes in the numerical frequency of microearthquakes have been observed at various active volcanoes. Identification of these periods of change can be made with a short-period, vertical seismometer driving a simple tally register counting circuit. A fully portable prototype model tested at various active volcanoes provided rapid estimations of the occurrence of microearthquakes. On Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii, the numerical results correlate very well with counts made from conventional seismograms. The device is no substitute for continuous seismic records, but provides a very simple method of monitoring changes in local seismicity which can then be evaluated by more sophisticated equipment.
Chapter 7 – Naming in Normal Aging and Dementia of the Alzheimer's Type

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on age-related difficulties that are faced by people in remembering names of a particular entity. Elderly people often complain of inability to remember names of people, places, and things. One of the numerous cognitive impairments that are demonstrated by individuals with dementia of the Alzheimer's type (AD) is a disturbance in naming. The chapter explores the phenomenon of age-related difficulties in finding the right word at the right time. The chapter documents changes in the ability to retrieve words linked to processes of normal aging, and it examines how these naming problems affect everyday communication. It also examines the observed language behaviors in the context of contemporary models of naming and attempts to analyze psycholinguistic aspects of naming in normal aging. Focus is laid on the changes in naming ability associated with AD. In particular, it discusses research implicating a disturbance of semantic memory as the underlying mechanism of the naming impairment in subjects with AD. The chapter also focuses on investigations of naming in AD with respect to naming errors, response to cues and consistency of naming responses. The relationship between dementia severity and naming disturbance in AD is also discussed.
Evaluation of R-F Noise Measurements for Diode Reliability Improvement by the Elimination of Weak Units

ASTUDY of the noise characteristics of a general purpose silicon diode (type 1 N645) was made to determine whether excessive r-f noise is correlated with high failure rates. The selection of the abnormally high noise diodes was made by monitoring the noise level across the diode as it was excited with an a-c voltage within the diode maximum ratings. Mechanical stress in the form of impacts within the rated value was applied simultaneously to aggravate structural imperfections. Noise measurements at 25 mc were used for the recognition of weaknesses and early failure. The forward and reverse characteristics were obtained for the diodes exhibiting high r-f noise. These were compared with the characteristics of diodes exhibiting normal r-f noise. In the forward direction, no difference was obtained; in the reverse biased condition, the average leakage current of all the noisy diodes was considerably higher than the average of the quiet group. In addition it was noted that the r-f noise level of the diodes was almost inversely proportional to the avalanche breakdown voltage. The diodes were also tested for 1/f noise; 35% of the r-f noisy diodes also exhibited high 1/f noise, whereas only 1.2% of the diodes having normal r-f noise exhibited high I/f noise. The noise spectrum taken on a number of the silicon diodes indicates that the 1/f noise extends into the megacycle region.
Earth tides as a triggering mechanism for earthquakes

abstract Since earth tides represent the largest short-period oscillatory strains in the earth, a test has been made to see if any correlation exists between the times of occurrence of earthquakes in Southern California and the tidal potential. Two tests have been made, one of them a cross-correlation. On either basis, a statistically significant sample of earthquake events gives a correlation with the tidal potential that is of the same magnitude as a random sample.
Macromolecularly "Caged" Carbon Nanoparticles for Intracellular Trafficking via Switchable Photoluminescence.

Reversible switching of photoluminescence (PL) of carbon nanoparticles (CNP) can be achieved with counterionic macromolecular caging and decaging at the nanoscale. A negatively charged uncoated, “bare” CNP with high luminescence loses its PL when positively charged macromolecules are wrapped around its surface. Prepared caged carbons could regain their emission only through interaction with anionic surfactant molecules, representing anionic amphiphiles of endocytic membranes. This process could be verified by gel electrophoresis, spectroscopically and in vitro confocal imaging studies. Results indicated for the first time that luminescence switchable CNPs can be synthesized for efficient intracellular tracking. This study further supports the origin of photoluminescence in CNP as a surface phenomenon correlated a function of characteristic charged macromolecules.
LESSONS FROM CORPORATIZATION AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE REFORM IN RUSSIA AND CHINA

This paper, a presentation to the Vietnamese authorities in Hanoi in October 2001 at the "International Conference on Corporate Governance Development in Vietnam", compares the history of enterprise policy reforms in Russia and China. While Russia's privatization program was more rapid than that of other EE/CEE/CIS countries, China has embarked on a slower path of corporatization in the context of a "socialist market economy". Russia's mass privatization program (MPP) created over 41 million private Russian shareholders via direct shareholdings in individual firms or in voucher investment funds, and 70% of the 76,000 privatizations under the MPP were sales of majority shares mostly to workers and other "insiders" (MEBOs). Mass privatization was conducted quickly despite nascent institutional reforms-in corporate governance, competition policy, accounting, and capital markets-to "lock in" transition to a private enterprise-based economy. But the subsequent loans-for-shares program, in which the government gave controlling shares in the largest/most attractive firms as collateral to financial industrial groups (FIGs) in exchange for loans to budget, lacked transparency and raised serious concerns about equity, concentration of market power, and weak corporate governance incentives. Today, perhaps the key policy issue confronting the Russian authorities is the weak extent of inter-enterprise competition: many incumbent firms exercise market power based on vertical and horizontal structural dominance and new business start-ups face significant economic and policy barriers to entry. In China, the SOE sector has been the Achilles heel of the country's otherwise remarkable economic performance over past two decades. Since 1978, innovative, if often administrative, institutional reforms have begun to achieve Chinese goal of "separating government from businesses." Privatization and corporatization of SOEs is occurring, mostly involving small and medium sized firms. Decentralization has engendered discretion to localities. But the Chinese State still maintains ownership/control of key enterprises. Under the "socialist market economy" government agencies attempt to carry out shareholder functions typically performed by private owners in a market economy. For largest businesses, creation of holding groups the main form of restructuring. There is real progress in some areas, but portions of the strategy are contradictory, producing unanticipated distortions and resource drains, spilling over to financial and social sectors, jeopardizing core elements of the overall economic reform program. The paper concludes by drawing several key lessons from the Russian and Chinese experiences, designed to facilitate progress in Vietnam's own program of "equitization".
Smart urban planning using Big Data analytics to contend with the interoperability in Internet of Things

Abstract The recent growth and expansion in the field of Internet of Things (IoT) is providing a great business prospective in the direction of the new era of smart urban. The insight of the smart urban is extensively preferred, as it improves the excellence of life of citizens, connecting several regulations, that is, smart transportation, smart parking, smart environment, smart healthcare, and so forth. Continuous intensification of the multifaceted urban set-up is extensively challenged by real-time processing of data and smart decision capabilities. Consequently, in this paper, we propose a smart city architecture which is based on Big Data analytics. The proposed scheme is comprised of three modules: (1) data acquisition and aggregation module collects varied and diverse data interrelated to city services, (2) data computation and processing module performs normalization, filtration, processing and data analysis, and (3) application and decision module formulates decisions and initiates events. The proposed architecture is a generic solution for the smart urban planning and variety of datasets is analyzed to validate this architecture. In addition, we tested reliable datasets on Hadoop server to verify the threshold limit value (TLV) and the investigation demonstrates that the proposed scheme offer valuable imminent into the community development systems to get better the existing smart urban architecture. Moreover, the efficiency of proposed architecture in terms of throughput is also shown.
A Pareto Framework for Data Analytics on Heterogeneous Systems: Implications for Green Energy Usage and Performance

Distributed algorithms for data analytics partition their input data across many machines for parallel execution. At scale, it is likely that some machines will perform worse than others because they are slower, power constrained or dependent on undesirable, dirty energy sources. It is challenging to balance analytics workloads across heterogeneous machines because the algorithms are sensitive to statistical skew in data partitions. A skewed partition can slow down the whole workload or degrade the quality of results. Sizing partitions in proportion to each machine's performance may introduce or further exacerbate skew. In this paper, we propose a scheme that controls the statistical distribution of each partition and sizes partitions according to the heterogeneity of the computing environment. We model heterogeneity as a multi-objective optimization, with the objectives being functions for execution time and dirty energy consumption. We use stratification to control skew. Experiments show that our computational heterogeneity-aware (Het-Aware) partitioning strategy speeds up running time by up to 51% over the stratified partitioning scheme baseline. We also have a heterogeneity and energy aware (Het-Energy-Aware) partitioning scheme which is slower than the Het-Aware solution but can lower the dirty energy footprint by up to 26%. For some analytic tasks, there is also a significant qualitative benefit when using such partitioning strategies.