cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Plugin Estimation of Smooth Optimal Transport Maps

We analyze a number of natural estimators for the optimal transport map between two distributions and show that they are minimax optimal. We adopt the plugin approach: our estimators are simply optimal couplings between measures derived from our observations, appropriately extended so that they define functions on $\mathbb{R}^d$. When the underlying map is assumed to be Lipschitz, we show that computing the optimal coupling between the empirical measures, and extending it using linear smoothers, already gives a minimax optimal estimator. When the underlying map enjoys higher regularity, we show that the optimal coupling between appropriate nonparametric density estimates yields faster rates. Our work also provides new bounds on the risk of corresponding plugin estimators for the quadratic Wasserstein distance, and we show how this problem relates to that of estimating optimal transport maps using stability arguments for smooth and strongly convex Brenier potentials. As an application of our results, we derive a central limit theorem for a density plugin estimator of the squared Wasserstein distance, which is centered at its population counterpart when the underlying distributions have sufficiently smooth densities. In contrast to known central limit theorems for empirical estimators, this result easily lends itself to statistical inference for Wasserstein distances.
Racial/Ethnic Residential Segregation and the First Wave of SARS-CoV-2 Infection Rates: A Spatial Analysis of Four U.S. Cities

Previous research has linked racial/ethnic residential segregation to a number of poor health conditions, including infectious disease. Here, we examine how racial/ethnic residential segregation is...
The Social Significance of the School Health Program

(1944). The Social Significance of the School Health Program. The Journal of Health and Physical Education: Vol. 15, No. 8, pp. 423-462.
Constructions of noncommutative instantons on T 4 and K 3

Abstract We generalize the spectral-curve construction of moduli spaces of instantons on T 4 and K 3 to noncommutative geometry. We argue that the spectral-curves should be constructed inside a twisted T 4 or K 3 that is an elliptic fibration without a section. We demonstrate this explicitly for T 4 and to first order in the noncommutativity, for K 3 . Physically, moduli spaces of noncommutative instantons appear as moduli spaces of theories with N =4 supersymmetry in 2+1 D. The spectral curves are related to Seiberg–Witten curves of theories with N =2 in 3+1 D. In particular, we argue that the moduli space of instantons of U(q) Yang–Mills theories on a noncommutative K 3 is equivalent to the Coulomb branch of certain 2+1 D theories with N =4 supersymmetry. The theories are obtained by compactifying the heterotic little-string theory on T 3 with global twists. This extends a previous result for noncommutative instantons on T 4 . We also briefly discuss the instanton equation on generic curved spaces.
Frequency of Migraine Headaches in Patients With Fibromyalgia.

Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate the frequency of migraine headache in a large cohort of patients with fibromyalgia using a brief migraine headache-screening tool. Background Several studies report a high prevalence of fibromyalgia among patients with migraine headaches, but there is a dearth of research evaluating the frequency of migraine headaches in patients with fibromyalgia, despite clinical observations suggesting that migraine headaches are common in patients with fibromyalgia. Design and Methods This was a cross-sectional survey study. Patients (N = 3717) with a previous diagnosis of fibromyalgia who were members of the Mayo Clinic Fibromyalgia Registry were contacted by electronic survey and asked to complete a brief demographic and medical history questionnaire and the validated ID-Migraine screener. Results A total of 1730 patients (46.5%) completed the electronic survey. The majority of participants were white (97.2%), female (92.5%), with a mean age of 56.2 (±13.1) years. Of the respondents, 966 (55.8%) met criteria for migraine headaches. Hypertension (309 [32.3%] vs 294 [40.1%], P = .004), asthma (312 [32.5%] vs 189 [25.9%], P = .011), irritable bowel syndrome (520 [54.6%] vs 348 [47.6], P = .017), chronic fatigue syndrome (486 [50.7%] vs 271 [37.1], P < .0001), depression (634 [66.5%] vs 413 [56.7%], P = .0002), anxiety (415 [43.5%] vs 252 [34.7%], P = .0011), and post-traumatic stress disorder (172 [18.0%] vs 96 [13.2%], P = .006) were all significantly more common in those who met criteria for migraine headaches than those who did not. Conclusion The results of this study suggest that migraine headaches are common in patients with fibromyalgia. Clinicians who care for either population must be aware that these conditions commonly overlap and can significantly increase a patient's cumulative disease burden.
Reactionless robots: novels designs and concept studies

For conventional robots, manipulator motions result in forces and moments on the base to cause undesirable base excitations. The objective of this paper is to systematically analyze the fundamentals of reactionless robots. Based on this analysis, design of two distinct classes of planar robots is proposed. Due to the underlying principle of conservation of angular momentum for these robots, the trajectory planning must satisfy additional constraints, illustrated through computer simulations. Currently, we are fabricating reactionless robots to illustrate the underlying concepts.
Vinylmetalloids : I. Coupling reactions of group IV metalloidal halides with magnesium in tetrahydrofuran☆

Abstract The reaction of vinyl bromide with a mixture of magnesium and either dichlorodimethylsilane or dichlorodiethylgermane in tetrahydrofuran was found to give the corresponding coupled products: 1,1,2,2-tetramethyl-1,2-divinyldisilane (II) and 1,1,2,2-tetraethyl-l,2-divinyldigermane (XI), respectively, in ca. 30% yield. Other vinyl bromides also were investigated. The reaction of dichlorodimethylsilane with vinyl bromide/magnesium appears to proceed via chloro(dimethyl)vinylsilane (III) which was found to react directly with magnesium in THF to give II in 53% yield. It is shown that the reaction of a vinylsilyl halide with magnesium, if carried out in the presence of chlorotrimethylsilane or chlorotriethylgermane, leads to pentamethylvinyldisilane (VI) or triethyl(vinyldimethylsilyl)germane (V) in yields of 67 and 43%, respectively. However, the reaction of III and chlorotrimethylgermane with magnesium in THF gives a 40/60 mixture of trimethyl(vinyldimethylsilyl)germane (VII) and hexamethyldigermane (VIII). Under similar conditions, chlorotrimethylgermane was found to give VIII directly with magnesium in THF in 48% yield while chlorotriethylgermane is inert to Mg. These results are discussed in terms of the formation of metalloidalmagnesium bonds.
A busy-tone based directional MAC protocol for ad hoc networks

In mobile wireless ad hoc networking environments, such as the future combat system (FCS), the shared wireless communication medium is an inherently limited resource and is collision prone. In this paper, we propose to adapt the dual busy tone multiple access (DBTMA) protocol for use with directional antennas, which further increases effective channel capacity. In contrast to other directional antenna based MAC protocols, our protocol, termed DBTMA/DA, is capable of reserving channel capacity in finer grain without relying on extra locationing support. A simulation study is performed to demonstrate the better network performance of DBTMA/DA over DBTMA and the IEEE 802.11a MAC protocols.
Conflicts of Interest and the Future of Medicine: The United States, France, and Japan

As the promise of health care reform in the United States continues to face political and legal hurdles, few questions evoke as heated a debate as those surrounding cost control. Though most stakeholders agree that too many dollars change hands in the U.S. health care economy, politically tenable solutions to the problem have been elusive, as evidenced by the paucity of substantive cost-control measures in the current reform efforts. At the heart of the debate are fundamental tensions between patient choice and societal cost, between autonomous physician decision-making and adherence to clinical guidelines, and between free healthcare markets and government oversight of those markets. This past spring, the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) was introduced in the United States as a key component of the deficit reduction plan and was designed as a neutral body with the authority to cut Medicare spending if the federal health insurance program exceeded certain targets. A predictable backand-forth ensued. Opponents invoked the “rationing” defense, arguing that clinical care would suffer as independent physician decision-making was limited by government intervention, while supporters maintained that Medicare cannot afford to keep paying for health care at its current levels (Pear 2011). Though reform efforts such as the IPAB have focused on payment, critical to this discussion is the contribution of physician behaviors to the cost of care (Krugman 2011). Specifically, while most people assume that physicians are ordering only what is necessary for patients according to their professional ethics, sometimes other factors, including financial incentives, drive their decisions (Grande et al. 2009; Wazana 2000). Some of the more powerful financial incentives in medicine include financial ties to companies (for example, honoraria, consulting fees) and the payment incentives from fee-for-service clinical practice. The existence of these incentives— and the conflicts of interest they create—is the subject of Marc Rodwin’s new book, Conflicts of Interest and the Future of Medicine. In his history-heavy analysis of the growth and symbiosis of medicine and industry in the United States, France, and Japan, Rodwin chronicles the cultural, legal, and institutional factors that have contributed to each country’s current landscape of financial incentives in clinical medicine. Each tells a different story of how organized medicine, professional self-regulation, market competition, and payers affect contemporary physician behavior and provides insight into the relationship between this behavior and health care cost. Bioethical Inquiry (2011) 8:383–386 DOI 10.1007/s11673-011-9326-y
Magical Images in Law

Are the “magic words” used in law a form of misdirection and ritual? Is much of required courtroom behavior simply ritual and incantation? When judges use “magic words” or “magic formulas” in writing opinions, are they engaging in the same behavior? Do the words themselves “mean” anything? Or are they simply a distraction, serving as misdirection, and perhaps because of our insistence on them, denying due process to the clients of those who negligently omit them? Do the wizards behind the curtain manipulate the system in some unfathomable way for their purposes while sending the rest of us on self-serving quests for witches’ broomsticks? To what extent can we compare the use of magic to the practice of law, and make magical analogies to legal practice? To what extent are such comparisons helpful and/or interesting? When parties, jurors, judges, lawyers, witnesses, and onlookers leave the courtroom, are what “magic words” and ritual leave behind more “real” than what is on a magician’s stage? Some magicians, like Penn and Teller, have a particular interest in the legal meaning of the magical act. When Penn Jillette says that the difference between “burning a flag” on the Las Vegas stage and then restoring it is fiction, and that entertainment generally is fiction, he has a point. But the act is still “real.” Penn and Teller “really” make the flag vanish. When Penn discusses the law, and the Supreme Court opinion, that protects the act, he takes us further along a journey into discussion of the comparison between magic and law. Such “burning” and restoring is a magic trick, but it is also real, in the sense that it is speech, just as the real burning of an American flag may also be speech.
Heritage hotels and historic lodging: perspectives on experiential marketing and sustainable culture

Heritage is one of the most pervasive tourism resources in the world. Many destinations use their unique heritage and cultural resources to increase their place-based competitive advantage (Munar &...
Vaporization Behavior of Non-Stoichiometric Refractory Carbide Materials and Direct Observations of the Vapor Phase Using Laser Diagnostics

Transition metal and actinide carbides, such as ZrC or NbC and UC or ThC, exhibit a wide range of stoichiometry. As a consequence, these materials vaporize incongruently. At relatively long times steady state vaporization can be achieved where the relative concentrations of atomic species on the solid surface equals that in the gas phase. The surface composition under these steady state conditions is termed the congruently vaporizing composition, or CVC. Modeling the vaporization or corrosion behavior of this dynamic process is complex and requires an understanding of how the surface composition changes with time and a knowledge of the CVC, which is both temperature and atmosphere dependent. This paper describes the vaporization and corrosion behavior of non-stoichiometric refractory carbide materials and, as an example, will describe a thermokinetic model that characterizes the vaporization behavior of the complex carbide UxZrl-xCy in hydrogen at 2500 to 3200 K. This model demonstrates that the steady state corrosion of UxZrl-xCy is rate limited by the gaseous transport of Zr where the partial pressure of Zr is determined by the CVC.
The Vibrio cholerae mannose-sensitive hemagglutinin is the receptor for a filamentous bacteriophage from V. cholerae O139.

We previously isolated from a 1994 isolate of Vibrio cholerae O139 a filamentous lysogenic bacteriophage, choleraphage 493, which inhibits pre-O139 but not post-O139 El Tor biotype V. cholerae strains in plaque assays. We investigated the role of the mannose-sensitive hemagglutinin (MSHA) type IV pilus as a receptor in phage 493 infection. Spontaneous, Tn5 insertion, and mshA deletion mutants are resistant to 493 infection. Susceptibility is restored by mshA complementation of deletion mutants. Additionally, the 493 phage titer is reduced by adsorption with MSHA-positive strains but not with a ΔmshA1 strain. Monoclonal antibody against MSHA inhibits plaque formation. We conclude that MSHA is the receptor for phage 493. The emergence and decline of O139 in India and Bangladesh are correlated with the susceptibility and resistance of El Tor strains to 493. However, mshA gene sequences of post-O139 strains are identical to those of susceptible pre-O139 isolates, indicating that phage resistance of El Tor is not due to a change in mshA. Classical biotype strains are (with rare exceptions) hemagglutinin negative and resistant to 493 in plaque assays. Nevertheless, they express the mshA pilin gene. They can be infected with 493 and produce low levels of phage DNA, like post-O139 El Tor strains. Resistance to 493 in plaque assays is thus not equivalent to resistance to infection. The ability of filamentous phages, such as 493, to transfer large amounts of DNA provides them, additionally, with the potential for quantum leaps in both identity and pathogenicity, such as the conversion of El Tor to O139.
Design of Multilayer Filters by Successive Approximations

A relaxation method is used to adjust the thicknesses of the films of a multilayer in order to alter its transmission characteristics in a limited spectral region. This method is used to modify the spectral transmission of a short-wavelength pass multilayer and a broad-band dielectric mirror. The computations also furnish information useful in controlling the thicknesses of the layers in the fabrication of a multilayer.
Reliability and performance-based design☆

Structural failures in recent earthquakes and hurricanes have exposed the weakness of current design procedures and shown the need for new concepts and methodologies for building performance evaluation and design. A central issue is proper consideration and treatment of the large uncertainty in the loadings and the complex building behavior in the nonlinear range in the evaluation and design process. A reliability-based framework for design is proposed for this purpose. Performance check of the structures is emphasized at two levels corresponding to incipient damage and incipient collapse. Minimum lifecycle cost criteria are proposed to arrive at optimal target reliability for performance-based design under multiple natural hazards. The issue of the structural redundancy under stochastic loads is also addressed. Effects of structural configuration, ductility capacity, 3-D motions, and uncertainty in demand versus capacity are investigated. A uniform-risk redundancy factor is proposed to ensure uniform reliability for structural systems of different degree of redundancy. The inconsistency of the reliability/redundancy factor in current codes is pointed out.
Human growth hormone expressed in tobacco cells as an arabinogalactan-protein fusion glycoprotein has a prolonged serum life

Therapeutic proteins with molecular weights lower than 40 kDa often have short serum half-lives due to their susceptibility to serum proteases and rapid renal clearance. Chemical derivatization, such as PEGylation, or expression as serum albumin fusions increases molecular mass and overcome these problems but at the expense of decreased bioactivity. Here we applied a new method that yields biologically potent recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) with increased serum half-life when expressed as an arabinogalactan-protein (AGP) in tobacco BY-2 cells. Thus, rhGH was expressed with 10 repeats of the AGP glycomodule Ser-Hyp (SO) at the C-terminus (rhGH-(SO)10). We also expressed rhGH as an AGP-enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) fusion, designated rhGH-(SO)10-EGFP, to assess the cellular distribution of the glycoprotein, which was mainly extracellular. Recombinant hGH-(SO)10 bound the hGH receptor with an affinity similar to that of a rhGH standard, stimulated the same intracellular signaling pathway as hGH, but possessed an in vivo serum half-life more than sixfold that of the hGH control. Furthermore, rhGH-(SO)10 gave a 500 fold greater secreted yield than the non-glycosylated control rhGH that was also targeted for secretion. Detailed analysis of the rhGH-(SO)10 glycans indicated a conserved structure with relatively little microheterogeneity and an average size of 25 monosaccharide residues. These results were consistent with earlier work expressing interferon α2b as an AGP chimera and further demonstrate the feasibility of this approach to the production of long-acting, biologically potent therapeutic proteins by plant cells.
The renormalization of G2

Abstract The renormalization properties of the operator G2 ≡ Gaμv(x)Gμva (x) are investigated in both pure QCD and QCD with massive fermions. The computation of the operator's anomalous dimension is simple in background field gauge. The result can be be expressed, to all orders in perturbation theory, in terms of the anomalous dimensions of the couplings and fields of the theory.
Human follicular fluid and mouse cumulus cells act synergistically to enhance preimplantation mouse Balb/cJ embryo development

Problem The development of preimplantation mammalian embryos in vitro is less than optimal. Follicular fluid and cumulus cells have both been used, independently, to improve preimplantation embryo quality in culture.
Reducing Sediment and Phosphorus in Tributary Waters with Alum and Polyacrylamide

The Salton Sea is the largest inland water body in California, covering an area of 980 km(2). Inflow to the Salton Sea (1.6 km(3) yr(-1)) is predominately nutrient-rich agricultural wastewater, which has led to eutrophication. Because internal phosphorus release from the bottom sediments is comparatively low and external phosphorus loading to the Salton Sea is high, reduction of tributary phosphorus is expected to reduce algal blooms, increase dissolved oxygen, and reduce odors. Removing both dissolved phosphorus and phosphorus-laden sediment from agricultural drainage water (ADW) should decrease eutrophication. Both alum and polyacrylamide (PAM) are commonly used in wastewater treatment to remove phosphorus and sediment and were tested for use in tributary waters. Laboratory jar tests determined PAM effectiveness (2 mg L(-1)) for turbidity reduction as cationic > anionic = nonionic. Although cationic PAM was the most effective at reducing turbidity at higher speeds, there was no observed difference between the neutral and anionic PAMs at velocity gradients of 18 to 45 s(-1). Alum (4 mg L(-1) Al) reduced turbidity in low energy systems (velocity gradients < 10 s(-1)) by 95% and was necessary to reduce soluble phosphorus, which comprises 47 to 100% of the total P concentration in the tributaries. When PAM was added with alum, the anionic PAM became ineffective in aiding flocculation. The nonionic PAM (2 mg L(-1)) + alum (4 mg L(-1) Al) is recommended to reduce suspended solids in higher energy systems and reduce soluble P by 93%.
In situ x-ray absorption fine structure studies of foreign metal ions in nickel hydrous oxide electrodes in alkaline electrolytes

Aspects of the structural and electronic properties of hydrous oxide films of composite (9:1) Ni/Co and (9:1) Ni/Fe, prepared by electrodeposition, have been examined in alkaline electrolytes using in situ X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS). An analysis of the X-ray absorption near the edge structure (XANES) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) for the Co and Fe K-edges of these composite hydrous oxides revealed that, regardless of the oxidation state of nickel sites in the films, the guest metal ions are present as Co[sup 3+] and Fe[sup 3+] and that the cobalt-oxygen distance d(Co-O) = 1.9 [+-] 0.02 [angstrom] and d(Fe-O) = 1.92 [+-] 0.02 [angstrom]. The latter values are in excellent agreement with d(Me-O) (Me = Co or Fe) in CoOOH and [beta]- and [gamma]-FeOOH, respectively, determined by conventional X-ray diffraction. Two clearly defined Me-Ni first coordination shells could be observed in the Fourier transforms (FT) of the K-edge EXAFS of the guest metal recorded at a potential at which both Ni[sup 2+] and Ni[sup 3+] sites are expected to be present. 28 refs., 10 figs., 3 tabs.
Stability and phase transitions of potassium-promoted iron oxide in various gas phase environments

Abstract Potassium-promoted iron oxide dehydrogenation catalysts are the primary catalysts used for producing styrene. In this process, a large amount of steam is used and for economic reasons it is desirable to be able to operate at lower steam/ethylbenzene molar ratios without creating severe short-term deactivation. To address this issue, it is essential to understand how the catalyst deactivates. In this study, the stabilities of α-Fe2O3, K-Fe2O3 (10 wt% K+), KFeO2 (30 wt% K+), and a potassium polyferrite mixed phase (K2Fe10O16/K2Fe22O34) were investigated in different gas phases including H2, CO2, and ethylbenzene. The effect of simultaneous steam addition was also considered. Thermogravimetric analysis and X-ray powder diffraction were used to monitor sample weight variation and phase change, respectively. α-Fe2O3 and K2Fe10O16/K2Fe22O34 were stable in CO2 but not stable in H2. KFeO2 was resistant to H2 but easily decomposed by CO2. K-Fe2O3 was adversely impacted by both H2 and CO2. The results suggest that the reduction of the iron oxide in this system was mainly caused by surface deposited carbon instead of H2. A transformation diagram is proposed for the phase changes of potassium-promoted iron oxide materials in the reaction-relevant gas phase conditions.
Comparison of a Food Frequency Questionnaire To 3–24 Hour Recalls in Young Women

Abstract Food frequency questionnaires (FFQ's) are popular for use in nutrition research because they are less burdensome than other dietary assessment methods. FFQ's are especially suitable for group comparisons because they capture habitual intake over a given period, e.g., a month or a year. They provide reasonable estimates of average energy and nutrient intake. The FFQ can be used as a screening tool to estimate baseline levels of nutrients relevant to eligibility for participation in research. The Diet and Hormone Study (DHS) excluded participants with a total fat intake less than 27.5% kcal/day. DHS is studying the impact of a diet low in total fat and high in fruits, vegetables and fiber on serum hormones and other potential biomarkers of breast cancer risk in women ages 20 to 40. DHS utilized the Block FFQ to determine entry level fat intake. Within 4 to 6 weeks, at baseline, three 24 hour recalls were collected from 168 women and analyzed using the Nutrient Data System (NDS) of the Nutrition Coordinating Center (NCC), University of Minnesota. Differences in the NDS minus FFQ results for energy, absolute fat (gm) and percent fat intake were 116.12±641.14, −3.35±31.04 and −4.32±6.69 respectively. Pearson correlation coefficients were 0.22, 0.27 and 0.50 respectively. In all participants, regardless of age or body mass index, the FFQ overestimated total fat and underestimated energy intake despite relatively high correlations with recalls. The FFQ achieved the purpose of establishing eligibility for DHS but researchers should exercise caution and allow margins for error when determining specific eligibility cut points.
Sodomy, Usury, and The Narrative of Shakespeare’S Sonnets

It seems clear that the men and women of early modern London would have had their attention drawn to the homology between idolatry and commodity fetishism as they engaged in such ordinary activities as going to the theater. The antitheatrical controversy was a good deal more accessible, and its practical implications were much clearer, to ordinary people than was the academic quarrel between scholasticism and empiricism. But the argument over the theaters remained nevertheless a public debate. In this chapter, by contrast, I propose to study the effects of the decline of natural teleology on the private sphere. In his widely influential History of Sexuality, Michel Foucault challenges the “repressive hypothesis” that claims that the seventeenth century inaugurated an age of sexual conservatism: By placing the advent of the age of repression in the seventeenth century, after hundreds of years of open spaces and free expression, one adjusts it to coincide with the development of capitalism: it becomes an integral part of the bourgeois order. … A principle of explanation emerges after the fact: if sex is so rigorously repressed, this is because it is incompatible with a general and intensive work imperative. At a time when labor capacity was being systematically exploited, how could this capacity be allowed to dissipate itself in pleasurable pursuits, except in those—reduced to a minimum—that enabled it to reproduce itself? 3
Heat transfer analysis of a latent heat thermal energy storage system using graphite foam for concentrated solar power

Abstract A latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) system, consisting of a tank filled with a phase-change material and pipes carrying a heat transfer fluid, for a concentrated solar power plant was analyzed. The effect of a relatively new, high thermal conductivity graphite foam was considered in the phase-change material region. An 8-h discharging transient was analyzed for an LHTES system with and without graphite foam. The phase-change front position at the end of the transient was calculated and used to determine the number of heat transfer fluid pipes in the tank. Optimization of the LHTES system was conducted through varying the thermal conductivity of the phase change material/foam combination, the velocity of the heat transfer fluid, and the diameter and wall thickness of the pipes. It is shown that dramatic reductions in number of the pipes can be achieved with the use of the graphite foam in the phase-change material and the turbulent flow.
Position Paper on Therapeutic Drug Monitoring of Antiretroviral Agents

Monitoring drug concentrations in humans to optimize efficacy and reduce toxicity is not a new concept in clinical pharmacology. It has been successfully applied to many different classes of drugs. As a result of considerable concentration and response data, the concept of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) has been expanded to certain antiretroviral compounds. In particular, protease inhibitors and nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors may be viable candidates for TDM, and limited clinical trial data suggest monitoring plasma concentrations of these agents may indeed clinically benefit patients with HIV infection. A primary distinction between TDM of antiretroviral drugs compared with other drugs is that multiple agents are concomitantly used to treat HIV infection. As with all illnesses that require self-administered drug therapy, poor adherence is a major impediment to success. However, in the treatment of HIV infection, inadequate drug concentrations will result in the appearance or evolution ...
Bottom contact organic transistor based on air-stable n-type F15-NTCDI

Organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) are normally studied in one of two configurations- top contact and bottom contact. It has been demonstrated that the bottom contact configuration gives inferior performance to the top contact configuration for many combinations of semiconductors, deposition conditions and material thickness, especially for n-channel materials. This report summarizes work on bottom contact devices based on air-stable n-type F15-NTCDI (F15= bis(pentadecafluorooctyl), NTCDI = naphthalenetetracarboxylic diimide).
Center-region geometry of the Berkeley 88-inch cyclotron†

In order to determine the proper position of the dee edge, ion source, puller, and beam-defining clipper with respect to the magnet center, measurements of the structure of the electric field in the surroundings of the ion source were made with a half-scale model in an electrolytic tank. The acceleration process during the first three revolutions was studied for different geometries and starting phases, by a graphical approximation method for orbit plotting. A more detailed study was then made to determine initial conditions—such as orbit-center distribution, energy spread, axial focusing, and energy bunching—as functions of the center geometry and starting phase. By increasing the particle path length during the first half revolution approximately 20 deg—achieved by azimuthal displacement of the source—good results were obtained. The ion-start location was finally determined so as to bring the beam close to an equilibrium orbit at 10 in. radius. This was done with an orbit code, modified to take account of the increased transit time through the acceleration gap of smaller radii. Some experimental results of changes in the cyclotron beam quality, caused by changes in the ion-starting conditions, are presented.
Ring-Opening Polymerization of Lactides Catalyzed by Natural Amino-Acid Based Zinc Catalysts

A series of chiral NNO-tridentate Schiff base ligands derived from natural amino acids were reacted with zinc(bis-trimethylsilylamide)2 to provide metal complexes which have been fully characterized. One of these derivatives was further reacted with p-fluorophenol to yield a phenoxide complex. X-ray crystallographic studies reveal the zinc Schiff base amide complexes to be monomeric, whereas, the p-fluorophenolate complex was shown to be dimeric with bridging phenoxide ligands. All zinc complexes were shown to be very effective catalysts for the ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of lactides at ambient temperature, producing polymers with controlled and narrow molecular weight distributions. These enantiomerically pure zinc complexes did not show selectivity toward either l- or d-lactide, that is, kd(obsd)/kl(obsd) ≈ 1. However, steric substituents on the Schiff base ligands exhibited moderate to excellent stereocontrol for the ROP of rac-lactide. Heterotactic polylactides were produced from rac-lactide wi...
Stakeholder Partnerships as Collaborative Policymaking: Evaluation Criteria Applied to Watershed Management in California and Washington.

Public policymaking and implementation in the United States are increasingly handled through local, consensus-seeking partnerships involving most affected stakeholders. This paper formalizes the concept of a stakeholder partnership, and proposes techniques for using interviews, surveys, and documents to measure each of six evaluation criteria. Then the criteria are applied to 44 watershed partnerships in California and Washington. The data suggest that each criterion makes a unique contribution to the overall evaluation, and together the criteria reflect a range of partnership goals—both short-term and long-term, substantive and instrumental. Success takes time—frequently about 48 months to achieve major milestones, such as formal agreements and implementation of restoration, education, or monitoring projects. Stakeholders perceive that their partnerships have been most effective at addressing local problems and at addressing serious problems—not just uncontroversial issues, as previously hypothesized. On the other hand, they perceive that partnerships have occasionally aggravated problems involving the economy, regulation, and threats to property rights. © 2002 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.
Academic Advisors' Learning Styles: Establishing a Baseline and Examining Implications

The influence of students' learning styles has been increasingly recognized as an integral component of effective higher education; therefore, application of learning styles to academic advising is equally relevant. As academic advisors address student learning styles in the hope of promoting greater student success, the contribution of advisors' own learning styles has received little attention. In addition to establishing a critical baseline, analyzing the learning style profiles of 30 academic advisors reveals that, although composite advisor learning style scores show substantial congruence with an a priori model, the disparity between any two individual advisor's contrasting styles was as much as 90%, leaving only a 10% learning style compatibility on which to base the advising process. Relative Emphasis: research, practice, theory
Antitumor agents 251: Synthesis, cytotoxic evaluation, and structure–activity relationship studies of phenanthrene-based tylophorine derivatives (PBTs) as a new class of antitumor agents

Abstract Polar phenanthrene-based tylophorine derivatives (PBTs) were designed, synthesized and evaluated as potential antitumor agents. These compounds contain a core phenanthrene structure and can be synthesized efficiently in excellent yield. The newly synthesized PBTs were evaluated for cytotoxic activity against the A549 human cancer cell line. Among them, N-(2,3-methylenedioxy-6-methoxy-phenanthr-9-ylmethyl)- l -2-piperidinemethanol (34) and N-(2,3-methylenedioxy-6-methoxy-phenanthr-9-ylmethyl)-5-aminopentanol (28) showed the highest potency with IC50 values of 0.16 and 0.27 μM, respectively, which are comparable to those of currently used antitumor drugs. A structure–activity relationship (SAR) study was also explored to facilitate the further development of this new compound class.
Prevention of ischemia‐induced cardiac Sudden death by n−3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in dogs

The objective of this study was to obtain functional information associated with the prevention by n−3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) of ischemia-induced fatal cardiac ventricular arrhythmias in the intact, conscious, exercising dog. Thirteen dogs suceptible to ischemia-induced ventricular fibrillation were prepared surgically by ligation of their anterior descending left coronary artery and placement of an inflatable cuff around their left circumflex artery. After 4 wk of recovery, exercise-plus-ischemia tests were performed without and then with an intravenous infusion of an emulsion of free n−3 PUFA just prior to occluding the left circumflex artery while the animals were running on a treadmill. One week later the exercise-plus-ischemia test was repeated but with a control infusion replacing the emulsion of n−3 PUFA. The infusion of the free n−3 PUFA in quantities of 1.0 to 10 g prevented ventricular fibrillation in 10 of the 13 dogs tested (P<0.005), apparently without esterification of the PUFA into membrane phospholipids. The antiarrhythmic effect of the n−3 PUFA was associated with slowing of the heart rate, shortening of the QT-interval (electrical action potential duration), reduction of left ventricular systolic pressure, and prolongation of the electrocardiographic atrial-ventricular conduction time (P-R interval). These effects are comparable with those we have reported in studies with cultured neonatal rat cardiac myocytes.
Electrophysiological Interactions of Ethanol with GABAergic Mechanisms in the Rat Cerebellum in Vivo

Biochemical studies indicate that ethanol (EtOH) will facilitate the activation of the GABAA/CI– channel, and behavioral studies demonstrate that EtOH-induced sedative and incoordinating effects can be potentiated by GABA mimetics and blocked by GABA antagonists. It has been difficult, however, to demonstrate an EtOH-induced potentiation of the depressant electrophysiological effects of locally applied GABA in mammalian brain in vivo. Similarly, in this study, local EtOH applications only infrequently caused potentiations of the depressant effects of microiontophoretically applied GABA on cerebellar Purkinje neurons, and this interaction was modest when present. The predominant interaction of locally applied EtOH was an antagonism of GABA-induced depressions of neuronal activity. However, the GABAA receptor antagonist bicuculline reversibly and apparently competitively blocked the depressant effects of locally applied EtOH on single cerebellar Purkinje neurons. Our data suggest that EtOH potentiation of GABA responses alone is insufficient to account for EtOH-induced depressions of cerebellar Purkinje neurons. However, these data clearly imply that activation of a GABAA receptor is required for the expression of EtOH-induced depressions of neuronal activity in this brain area. It is less clear how lower, nondepressant doses of EtOH interact with GABA mechanisms. We hypothesize that either the GABAA receptor mechanism must be sensitized to the potentiative effects of EtOH through the influences of neuromodulatory and/or hormonal regulation, or that EtOH interacts directly with these regulatory processes.
331. Small Fragment Homologous Replacement (SFHR) Modification of Genomic HPRT Occurs in the Presence of Wild-Type p53 in Lymphoblastoid Cells

Gene therapy has opened the door to new therapeutic interventions for the treatment of genetic diseases. In addition to the standard cDNA-based approaches, alternative gene targeting strategies have been developed. In this study, one of these gene targeting strategies, small fragment homologous replacement (SFHR), has been used to correct a point mutation in exon 3 of the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) gene. This point mutation inactivates HPRT gene and allows the cells to grow in 6-thioguanine (6TG) containing medium, but not in hypoxanthine/ aminopterin/thymidine (HAT) containing medium. The HPRT mutant lymphoblastoid cell line, LT1-1B1 (p53+), was transfected with a 579-bp small DNA fragment (SDF) comprising the mutant exon (exon 3) using the AMAXA Nucleofection/Electroporation system. Several different SDF doses were evaluated. Since the cells contained wild-type p53, it was also possible to determine if p53 inhibited SFHR-mediated modification. Corrected cells were selected in HAT containing medium and further analyzed by PCR and by direct sequencing. Quantitative analysis showed an SFHR correction frequency between 0.1 to 2% in three separate experiments.
ERCP documentation of obstructive jaundice caused by a solitary, centrally located, benign hepatic cyst

Jaundice secondary to benign hepatic cysts, although described, is rare. Initially, jaundice associated with cysts was thought to be due to cysts arising from the extrahepatic bile ducts.! Since 1963, the association of jaundice and benign, non-parasitic hepatic cysts has become better recognized. In 1980, the first cholangiogram-documented case of biliary obstruction by such a cyst was reported, and a few similar case reports have followed. ,4 We report a case with ERCP documentation of biliary obstruction with further retrograde cholangiographic study following percutaneous cyst aspiration, illustrating the mechanical effects of a large cyst on the biliary tree.
Inoculation and Counterexplanation: Debiasing Techniques in the Perseverance of Social Theories

Our social theories are often unresponsive to logical and empirical challenges. Earlier research has demonstrated that the process of creating causal explanations or general scenarios to explain observed events contributes to such unwarranted theory perseverance. An analysis of possible cognitive mechanisms underlying theory perseverance suggests that explanation processes might be used in “debiasing” techniques. It is predicted that theory perseverance would be reduced by inducing subjects to create causal explanations for both possible relationships between two social variables. College student subjects were given two case studies suggestive of either a positive or a negative relationship between preference for risk and success as a firefighter. Some subjects had only to consider the relationship suggested by their case history data. Others were induced to consider both possible relationships. Subjects forced to consider both relationships showed significantly less theory perseverance, supporting the an...
Analysis and digital implementation of jointly adapting echo canceller, transversal equalizer and decision feedback equalizer for the V.32 modem

A jointly adapting echo canceller and equalizer for a V.32 modem are described. The coupled structure is analyzed and a software solution is presented for implementing the structure on a digital signal processor for real-time data throughput. The importance of this software solution in creating the complete modem function in software for the V.32 modem is discussed. >
Locally complete path independent choice functions and their lattices

Abstract The concept of path independence (PI) was first introduced by Arrow [Social Choice and Individual Values, Yale University Press, Hew Haven, 1963] as a defense of his requirement that collective choices be rationalized by a weak ordering. Plott [Econometrica 41 (1973) 1075–1091] highlighted the dynamic aspects of PI implicit in Arrow’s initial discussion. Throughout these investigations, two questions, both initially raised by Plott, remained unanswered. What are the precise mathematical foundations for path independence? How can PI choice functions be constructed? We give complete answers to both these questions for finite domains and provide necessary conditions for infinite domains. We introduce a lattice associated with each PI function. For finite domains these lattices coincide with locally lower distributive or meet-distributive lattices and uniquely characterize PI functions. We also present an algorithm, effective and exhaustive for finite domains, for the construction of PI choice functions and hence for all finite locally lower distributive lattices. For finite domains, a PI function is rationalizable if and only if the lattice is distributive. The lattices associated with PI functions that satisfy the stronger condition of the weak axiom of revealed preference are chains of Boolean algebras and conversely. Those that satisfy the strong axiom of revealed preference are chains and conversely.
CD8 Dimer Usage on αβ and γδ T Lymphocytes from Equine Lymphoid Tissues

Eight murine monoclonal antibodies (mAb) were used to identify the equine CD8 alpha or CD8 beta chains and to define the expression of these chains on lymphocytes from various lymphoid tissues. CD8 alpha was a 39 kDa protein and CD8 beta was a 32 kDa protein. Both chains were expressed on most of the CD8+ T lymphocytes in the peripheral blood, spleen, thymus, mesenteric lymph nodes and ileal intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL), however, in each lymphoid compartment a percentage of lymphocytes expressed only the CD8 alpha chain. The largest percentage of CD8 alpha alpha expressing T lymphocytes was 37.7% of the IELs. Purified T lymphocytes from the ileum expressing CD8 alpha beta co-expressed the alpha beta T cell receptor (TCR). In contrast, purified CD8+ T lymphocytes from the PBMC co-expressed either the alpha beta or gamma delta TCR by RT-PCR. Use of pooled anti-CD8 alpha mAb of the murine IgG2a isotype and rabbit complement resulted in lysis of the entire CD8 expressing population in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). These results indicated that CD8 dimer usage by equine T lymphocytes is similar to other species and that the mAb described can be further used to separate equine CD8+ T lymphocyte subsets from the lymphoid tissues to define their function in protection against viral and other infections.
Efficiency Considerations in Butterfat Differential and Component Pricing of Milk

Producer prices for milk generally reflect only differences in butterfat content as an explicit measure of value. This paper demonstrates that such a pricing system results in inequitable payments to producers. A component pricing approach that includes component values is then suggested.
Capturing electromagnetic fields with femtosecond resolution

Methods to determine the amplitude and phase of ultrashort signals are reviewed. Most of these methods involve a nonlinear process. A new linear method is described that provides complete characterization of recurrent or single shot fs signals.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
“Clickable” Polyglycolides: Tunable Synthons for Thermoresponsive, Degradable Polymers

“Click” chemistry is a powerful method for post-polymerization modification of polymers and other materials. Because of the importance of lactide-based functional polymers in materials and medical applications, we synthesized 3,6-dipropargyl-1,4-dioxane-2,5-dione, an acetylene-functionalized glycolide monomer. Its subsequent polymerization and copolymerization with lactide provided a new polyglycolide homopolymer as well as random and block copolymers that have pendant acetylene groups available for the attachment of chemical functionality using “click” chemistry. A protocol was devised to permit “click” functionalization of polyglycolides with no degradation in molecular weight. As one demonstration of the power of this approach to substituted polyglycolides, we have prepared a family of degradable, thermoresponsive materials that exhibit lower critical solution temperatures (LCST) from room temperature to >60 °C.