cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Antileukotriene therapy by reducing tau phosphorylation improves synaptic integrity and cognition of P301S transgenic mice.

The 5-lipoxygenase (5LO) is a source of inflammatory leukotrienes and is upregulated in Alzheimer's disease and related tauopathies. However, whether it directly modulates tau phosphorylation and the development of its typical neuropathology in the absence of Aβ or is a secondary event during the course of the disease pathogenesis remains to be fully elucidated. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect that pharmacologic blockade of this inflammatory pathway has on the phenotype of a transgenic mouse model of tauopathy, the P301S mice. Starting at 3 months of age, P301S mice were randomized to receive zileuton, a specific 5LO blocker, for 7 months; then, its effect on their behavioral deficits and neuropathology was assessed. Inhibition of leukotrienes formation was associated with a reduction in tau phosphorylation and an amelioration of memory and learning as well as synaptic integrity, which were secondary to a downregulation of the cdk5 kinase pathway. Our results demonstrate that the 5LO enzyme is a key player in modulating tau phosphorylation and pathology and that blockade of its enzymatic activity represents a desirable disease-modifying therapeutic approach for tauopathy.
The Impacts of Sexual Arousal and Its Suppression on Executive Functioning

Suppression of certain types of reflexive emotional responses is thought to temporarily deplete executive functions (EF), as evidenced by poorer performance on measures of EF, but does not deplete other, lower-order cognitive processes. This study examined whether similar decrements in performance on EF tests would occur following suppression of sexual arousal. A sample of 44 male college students underwent baseline cognitive assessment (EF and lower-order cognitive processes), followed by experimental manipulation consisting of exposure to sexually explicit audiovisual stimuli. Sexual arousal was monitored using penile plethysmography. In this study, 21 participants were assigned to a suppression condition and were instructed to suppress sexual arousal during the video, while 23 were assigned to an arousal condition and were instructed to allow themselves to become aroused. Following experimental manipulation, cognition was reassessed. Unexpectedly, results showed EF decrements in the arousal group but not in the suppression group. As expected, only EF was affected by experimental manipulation, with no group differences in lower-order cognitive processes. Thus, the findings suggest that sexual arousal is associated with temporary decrements in EF performance, at least among young, primarily White, male college students. The results contribute to understanding why sexually charged situations are sometimes associated with poor decisions or unsafe/reckless sexual practices.
Recovery from stress: an experimental examination of focused attention meditation in novices

Identifying strategies that aid in recovery from stress may benefit cardiovascular health. Ninety-nine undergraduate meditation novices were randomly assigned to meditate, listen to an audio book, or sit quietly after a standardized stressor. During recovery, meditators' heart rate variability and skin conductance levels returned to baseline, whereas only heart rate variability returned to baseline for the audio book and control groups. Positive and negative affect were no different than baseline following meditation, whereas, both audio book and control groups had lower positive affect and higher negative affect following the intervention. Findings suggest that the sympathetic nervous system is uniquely affected by meditation, and novices may benefit emotionally from meditating after a stressor. Further research is needed to determine meditation's utility in recovering from stress.
Development of TCal: a mobile spectrophotometric calibration unit for astronomical imaging systems

We describe TCal, a mobile spectrophotometric calibration system that will be used to characterize the throughput as a function of wavelength of imaging systems at observatories around the world. TCal measurements will enhance the science return from follow-up observations of imaging surveys such as LSST (Large Synoptic Survey Telescope) and DES (Dark Energy Survey) by placing all tested imaging systems on a common photometric baseline. TCal uses a 1 nm bandpass tunable light source to measure the instrumental response function of imaging systems from 300 nm to 1100 nm, including the telescope, optics, filters, windows, and the detector. The system is comprised of a monochromator-based light source illuminating a dome flat field screen monitored by calibrated photodiodes, which allows determination of the telescope throughput as a function of wavelength. This calibration will be performed at 1-8m telescopes that expect to devote time towards survey follow-up. Performing the calibration on these telescopes will reduce systematic errors due to small differences in bandpass, making follow-up efforts more precise and accurate.
Cognitive and Aesthetic Functionality in Trademark Law

This article explores trademark law’s controversial and confusing aesthetic functionality doctrine, a doctrine that has been largely unexamined in the legal literature. The article argues that the most convincing cases for aesthetic functionality aren’t really about aesthetics, but concern cognitive and psychological responses in consumers that come from evolution or acculturation. At the same time, much of the instability of aesthetic functionality case law comes from the doctrine being an unrecognized battleground in the shift from trademarks being purely indicators of source to trademarks being valuable intangibles in and of themselves. Based on these observations, the Article proposes that aesthetic functionality makes the most sense – and would be a more stable, helpful doctrinal tool in trademark law – if it is limited to situations in which the consumer preference at issue comes from cognitive, perceptual, or aesthetic biases that are widespread among consumers before the trademark owner began its own marketing efforts. The Article explores how this insight lines up with most of the aesthetic functionality case law and prevents the doctrine from being used to undermine modern marketing, branding, and trademark realities.
Deciding on Optimal Approach for Ventral Hernia Repair: Laparoscopic or Open.

Background The decision to perform laparoscopic or open ventral hernia repair (VHR) is multifactorial. This study evaluates the impact of operative approach, BMI, and hernia size on outcomes after VHR. Study Design The International Hernia Mesh Registry was queried for VHR (2007-2017). A predictive algorithm was constructed, factoring the impact of BMI, hernia size, age, sex, diabetes, and operative approach on outcomes. Results Of the 1,906 VHRs, 58.8% were performed open, patient mean age was 54.9 ± 13.5 years, BMI was 31.2 ± 6.8 kg/m2, and defect area was 44.8 ± 88.1 cm2. Patients undergoing open VHRs were more likely to have an infection develop (3.1% vs 0.3%; p Conclusions Ideal outcomes are dependent on both patient and operative factors. Open repair in thin patients with large defects should be considered due to reduced complications and improved quality of life. Laparoscopic repair in obese patients and recurrent hernias can decrease the associated risk of infection.
Abstract 026: Early Life Exposure to Green Areas and Diabetes Risk, an Assessment From Infancy to Early Teens

Background: Increasing empirical evidence suggests that exposure to nature (natural vegetation, or “greenness”) influences health. Studies have shown that greenness is related to lower diabetes ris...
Retrospect of the Marketing Strategies and Services in a Chinese Pharmaceutical Company

The study was conducted to determine the effective marketing strategies in terms of promotion, product, pricing and place, and services in terms of availability, reliability, responsiveness, completeness and professionalism rendered of a Pharmaceutical Company in China as perceived by the two groups of respondents, employees and customers/clients. The four marketing strategies obtained a very effective descriptive rating by the employee and client-respondents. Among the four marketing strategies, Pricing gained an effective rating from employee-respondents and Place has a significant difference in the perceptions of the two groups of respondents. In terms of services rendered a very effective descriptive ratings were given by the employee-respondents; whereas, client-respondents only obtained an effective descriptive rating. Among the five services rendered, only professionalism was perceived as very effective and was tagged as no significant difference by the two groups of respondents. High relationship between the marketing strategies and services rendered by the Pharmaceutical Company to its clients in the obtained r value of 0.74 which means that the marketing strategies of employees directly affect the clients’ services. At 0.05 Alpha, it was concluded that if the marketing strategies of the employees improved, so as their services to the clients. It is recommended that a successful pharmaceutical company must build customer knowledge competence through improvement of the current processes that include customer data acquisition and data interpretation.
School stakeholders do not “just leave their religious beliefs at home”: An exploratory study of school psychologists’ professional experiences

Psychology scholars developed sixteen religious/spiritual practice competencies to guide psychologists’ professional endeavors. Though school psychology is a relatively unique subfield of practice,...
Security-Constrained Optimal Power Flow Solved With a Hybrid Multiswarm Particle Swarm Optimizer

This paper presents a hybrid multiswarm particle swarm optimization (HMPSO) algorithm to solve the security-constrained optimal power flow (SCOPF) problem, which aims to minimize the predefined cost while taking both system capacity requirement and operating security constraints into account. The HMPSO is based on the comprehensive learning (CL) strategy and is hybridized with the simulated annealing (SA) algorithm. The swarm population is divided into multiple subpopulations. One of the subpopulations is assigned for exploitation and the rest subpopulations are responsible for exploration. The CL strategy is used to create the exemplars for all subpopulations. By combining with the SA, the HMPSO builds an asymmetrical bidirectional transmission channel to exchange information between the explorative subpopulations and the exploitative subpopulation, which can enhance both the exploration and exploitation. Numerical results demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed HMPSO over three reference PSO algorithms in the literature.
Harnessing Population Pedigree Data and Machine Learning Methods to Identify Patterns of Familial Bladder Cancer Risk.

Background: Relatives of patients with bladder cancer have been shown to be at increased risk for kidney, lung, thyroid, and cervical cancer after correcting for smoking-related behaviors that may concentrate in some families. We demonstrate a novel approach to simultaneously assess risks for multiple cancers to identify distinct multicancer configurations (multiple different cancer types that cluster in relatives) surrounding patients with familial bladder cancer. Methods: This study takes advantage of a unique population-level data resource, the Utah Population Database (UPDB), containing vast genealogy and statewide cancer data. Familial risk is measured using standardized incidence risk (SIR) ratios that account for sex, age, birth cohort, and person-years of the pedigree members. Results: We identify 1,023 families with a significantly higher bladder cancer rate than population controls (familial bladder cancer). Familial SIRs are then calculated across 25 cancer types, and a weighted Gower distance with K-medoids clustering is used to identify familial multicancer configurations (FMC). We found five FMCs, each exhibiting a different pattern of cancer aggregation. Of the 25 cancer types studied, kidney and prostate cancers were most commonly enriched in the familial bladder cancer clusters. Laryngeal, lung, stomach, acute lymphocytic leukemia, Hodgkin disease, soft-tissue carcinoma, esophageal, breast, lung, uterine, thyroid, and melanoma cancers were the other cancer types with increased incidence in familial bladder cancer families. Conclusions: This study identified five familial bladder cancer FMCs showing unique risk patterns for cancers of other organs, suggesting phenotypic heterogeneity familial bladder cancer. Impact: FMC configurations could permit better definitions of cancer phenotypes (subtypes or multicancer) for gene discovery and environmental risk factor studies.
Development of a Rigorously Designed Procedural Checklist for Assessment of Emergency Medicine Resident Performance of Temporary Transvenous Cardiac Pacing.

Objectives Temporary transvenous cardiac pacing (TVP) is a potentially lifesaving intervention included in the list of essential core procedures for emergency medicine (EM) training; however, opportunities to perform TVP during residency cannot be guaranteed. EM graduates report feeling subjectively underprepared for this procedure, but objective performance data are lacking. Checklist-based simulated assessment is an increasing focus of competency-based medical education, particularly for invasive procedures like TVP. The objectives of this paper were as follows: first, to enlist a multidisciplinary team of experts to create an assessment tool for TVP using best practices in checklist development; second, to determine the reliability of checklist scoring; and third, to assess EM residents' baseline ability to perform TVP using a dedicated task trainer. Methods This study was conducted at a single 4-year EM residency. A panel of emergency physicians and cardiologists designed a TVP checklist using a modified Delphi approach. After consensus was achieved on a final checklist, EM residents were assessed using a dedicated TVP task trainer. Inter-rater reliability was determined using Cohen's kappa coefficient. Resident performance was determined by number of correctly performed checklist items. Results The expert panel achieved consensus on a 30-item checklist after three rounds of revisions. The Cohen's kappa coefficient for the overall checklist score was 0.87, with individual checklist items ranging from 0.63 to 1.00. In total, 58 residents were assessed with a mean score of 13.5 of 30 checklist items. Scores increased with each year of training. Conclusions This study details the rigorous development of a TVP checklist designed by a multidisciplinary team of experts. Checklist scores demonstrated strong inter-rater reliability. The overall poor performance of this cohort suggests the current approach to TVP training does not provide sufficient preparation for EM residents. Competency-based techniques, such as simulation-based mastery learning, should be explored.
The durability of minimally invasive lumbar decompression procedure in patients with symptomatic lumbar spinal stenosis: Long-term follow-up.

Background Minimally invasive lumbar decompression (mild® ) has been shown to be safe and effective for the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis patients with hypertrophic ligamentum flavum as a contributing factor. This study examines the long-term durability of the mild procedure through 5-year follow-up. Pain relief and opioid medications utilization during 12-month follow-up were also assessed. Methods All patients diagnosed with lumbar spinal stenosis secondary to ligamentum flavum hypertrophy who underwent mild from 2010 through 2015 at the Cleveland Clinic Department of Pain Management were included in this retrospective longitudinal observational cohort study. The primary outcome measure was the incidence of open lumbar decompression surgery at the same level(s) as the mild intervention during 5-year follow-up. Secondary outcome measures were the change in pain levels using the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) and opioid medications utilization using Morphine Milligram Equivalent (MME) dose per day from baseline to 3, 6 and 12 months post-mild procedure. Post-procedural complications (minor or major) were also collected. Results Seventy-five patients received mild during the protocol-defined time period and were included in the study. Only 9 out of 75 patients required lumbar surgical decompression during the 5-year follow-up period. Subjects experienced statistically significant pain relief and reduction of opioid medications utilization at 3, 6 and 12 months compared to baseline. Conclusion Based on our analysis, the mild procedure is durable over 5 years and may allow elderly patients with symptomatic lumbar spinal stenosis to avoid lumbar decompression surgery while providing significant symptomatic relief.
Identifying Core Outcome Sets in COVID-19 Clinical Trials Using ClinicalTrials.gov

Introduction of core outcome sets (COS) facilitates evidence synthesis, transparency in outcome reporting, and standardization in clinical research. However, development of COS may be a time consuming and expensive process. Publicly available repositories, such as ClinicalTrials.gov (CTG), provide access to a vast collection of clinical trial characteristics including primary and secondary outcomes, which can be analyzed using a comprehensive set of tools. With growing number of COVID-19 clinical trials, COS development may provide crucial means to standardize, aggregate, share, and analyze diverse research results in a harmonized way. This study was aimed at initial assessment of utility of CTG analytics for identifying COVID-19 COS. At the time of this study, January, 2021, we analyzed 120 ongoing NIH-funded COVID-19 clinical trials initiated in 2020 to inform COVID-19 COS development by evaluating and ranking clinical trial outcomes based on their structured representation in CTG. Using this approach, COS comprised of 25 major clinical outcomes has been identified with mortality, mental health status, and COVID-19 antibodies at the top of the list. We concluded that CTG analytics can be instrumental for COVID-19 COS development and that further analysis is warranted including broader number of international trials combined with more granular approach and ontology-driven pipelines for outcome extraction and curation.
The impact of regionality and hospital status on mortality associated with non-accidental trauma.

Abstract Introduction Non-accidental trauma (NAT) affects 2 per 100,000 children annually in the US and may go unrecognized. The aim of this study to quantify the burden of NAT and to evaluate regional variations in mortality. Methods The Kids Inpatient Database (2000–2012) was queried for pediatric patients presenting with a diagnosis of NAT. Data was obtained on demographic, clinical and hospital-level characteristics. Primary outcome measure was mortality. Multivariable logistic regression models for age, sex, race/ethnicity, insurance status, income quartile, hospital volume, region (Northeast, South, West and Midwest), teaching status, and injury severity scores. Results NAT represented 1.92% (n = 15,999) of all trauma patients. Mortality rates were 3.98% for patients presenting with NAT. African American children had a higher likelihood of mortality compared to White children (OR[95%CI]:1.35[1.03–1.79]), however, this effect was not statistically significant for patients being treated at designated children's hospitals (OR[95%CI]:1.23(0.78–1.95) and urban facilities (OR[95%CI]:1.30[0.99–1.72]). Statistically significant regional variations in mortality, lost significance for patients treated at designated children's hospitals (p > 0.05). Conclusion NAT has devastating consequences and is associated with a high mortality rate. Treatment at designated children's hospitals results in the loss of variation in mortality, resulting in diminished disparities and improved outcomes. These findings align with current trends towards the “regionalization of pediatric health care” and reflects the value of regional transfer centers that are.
Necessitarian propositions

The eternalist holds that all propositions specify the needed time information, and so are eternally true if true at all. The necessitarian holds the parallel view for worlds: she holds that all propositions specify the needed world information, and so are necessarily true if true at all. I will argue that the considerations for both views run parallel: the necessitarian can mimic the whole case for eternalism.
Spinful Photonic Higher Order Topological Insulators in the Presence of Spin Orbit Coupling

Four spinful photonic C 6 photonic higher-order topological insulators are investigated. We show that two are robust to spin-orbit coupling while two are not. We derive a new invariant to predict this effect on corner states.
Blended versus Face-to-Face: Evidence from a Graduate Corporate Finance Class.

The author compared students' perceptions of prelecture videos replacing face-to-face (F2F) classes in blended and F2F graduate corporate finance classes. Using 176 anonymous survey responses from ...
What proportion of LI-RADS 5 observations reported in clinical practice do not meet LI-RADS 5 criteria?

Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS, LR) category 5 (definite hepatocellular carcinoma [HCC]) is assigned based on combinations of major imaging features (MFs): size, arterial-phase hyperenhancement (APHE), washout (WO), enhancing capsule, and threshold growth. The criteria were simplified in v2018 compared to v2017. The goal of this study is to assess the proportion of LR-5 observations reported in clinical practice with LI-RADS v2017 or v2018 that did not meet LR-5 criteria based on reported MFs. All MR and CT reports using a standardized LI-RADS template between April 2017 and September 2020 were identified retrospectively. For each reported LR-5 observation, size, MFs, and LI-RADS version (v2017 or v2018) were extracted. Reported MFs were used to determine whether LR-5 criteria were met using the applied version of LI-RADS. The data was summarized descriptively. Three hundred eight observations in 234 patients (67.6% male, mean age 66.2 years) were reported as LR-5, including 136 (44.2%) with v2017 and 172 (55.8%) with v2018. 8/136 (6%) v2017 LR-5 observations and 6/172 (3%) v2018 LR-5 observations did not meet LR-5 criteria. Of 8 incorrectly categorized v2017 observations, 3 (43%) lacked APHE, 1 (14%) was a 16-mm new observation with APHE only, and 4 (43%) were 10–19 mm with APHE and WO. Of the 6 incorrectly categorized v2018 observations, 5 (83%) lacked APHE and 1 (17%) was < 10 mm. Depending on the LI-RADS version, 3–6% of LR-5 observations reported in clinical practice do not meet LR-5 criteria based on reported MFs. Key Points • Depending on the LI-RADS version, 3–6% of LR-5 observations in clinical practice do not meet LR-5 criteria based on reported major imaging features. • Assigning LR-5 category to observations without nonrim arterial-phase hyperenhancement was the most common error.
Validations of the Subdividing Method

As described in the previous chapter, the volume of examinees, number of raters, and examinee- and task- to-rater assignment determined the amounts and patterns of missing data and thus influence the estimation of measurement errors. How does each of these factors impact the precision of individual variance components (measurement errors for scoring performance-based assessments)? How can one use the subdividing method to alleviate the potential inaccuracy and imprecision caused by unbalanced data? Which variance components are influenced by the increase in sample size, and which variance components are influenced by the expansion of rater pool size? These questions are central to this chapter.
Key issues in interactive problem solving: an empirical investigation on users attitude

This paper explores the interaction between human and artificial problem solvers when interacting with an Intelligent Scheduling System. An experimental study is presented aimed at investigating the users’ attitude towards two alternative strategies for solving scheduling problems: automated and interactive. According to an automated strategy the responsibility of solving the problem is delegated to the artificial solver, while according to an interactive strategy human and automated solvers cooperate to achieve a problem solution. Previous observations of end-users’ reactions to problem solving systems have shown that users are often skeptical toward artificial solver performance and prefer to keep the control of the problem solving process. The current study aims at understanding the role played by both the users’ expertise and the difficulty of the problem in choosing one of the two strategies. Results show that user expertise and task difficulty interact in influencing this choice. A second aspect explored in the paper concerns the context in which the end-users rely on explanations to understand the solving process. Explanations are in fact expected to play an important role when artificial systems are used for cooperative and interactive problem solving. Results support the hypothesis that explanation services are more often called into play in case of problem solving failures.
Ruthenium(II), Tris(1,10‐phenanthroline‐κN1,κN10)‐, (OC‐6‐11)‐

[207802-45-7] C36H24N6RuCl2 (MW 712.59 anhydrous) InChI = 1S/3C12H8N2.2ClH.Ru/c3*1-3-9-5-6-10-4-2-8-14-12(10)11(9)13-7-1;;;/h3*1-8H;2*1H;/q;;;;;+2/p-2 InChIKey = UWXWBVKIJZGXQL-UHFFFAOYSA-L (visible light-absorbing photocatalyst used for single-electron transfer reactions)1 Alternative Names: [Ru(phen)3]Cl2, ruthenium-tris(1,10-phenanthroline), tris(1,10-phenanthroline)ruthenium(II) chloride, dichlorotris(1,10-phenanthroline)ruthenium(II). Physical Data: λmax = 447 nm,2, 3 redox potentials1 (vs. saturated calomel electrode (SCE), as 0 V in CH3CN); −0.87 V (RuIII/RuII*), +1.26 V (RuIII/RuII), +0.82 V (RuII*/RuI), and −1.36 V (RuII/RuI). Solubility: soluble in H2O, CH3CN, CH2Cl2, CH3OH, CH3CH2OH. Form Supplied in: [Ru(phen)3]Cl2 is a red to dark red or red-orange crystalline powder. The hydrate is commercially available from Sigma-Aldrich. Preparative Methods: the complex can be prepared from Ru(DMSO)4Cl2 and 1,10-phenanthroline,4 or alternatively can be obtained directly from RuCl3, 1,10-phenanthroline, and NaPO2H2 in 0.1 N aqueous HCl.5 Purification: recrystallized from distilled water. Handling, Storage, and Precautions: the catalyst should be stored in the dark under an inert atmosphere.
Journalism and the Novel: Truth and Fiction, 1700-2000

Introduction 1. Journalism and the rise of fiction, 1700-1875: Daniel Defoe to George Eliot 2. Literary realism and the fictions of the industrialized press, 1850-1915: Mark Twain to Theodore Dreiser 3. Reporters-turned-novelists and the making of contemporary journalistic fiction, 1890-today: Rudyard Kipling to Joan Didion 4. The taint of journalistic literature and the stigma of the ink-stained wretch: Joel Chandler Harris to Dorothy Parker and beyond Epilogue: the future of journalistic fiction and the legacy of the journalist-literary figures Appendix: the major journalist-literary figures: their writings and positions in journalism.
The Discrepancy Method: Randomness and Complexity

This book tells the story of the discrepancy method in a few short independent vignettes. It is a varied tale which includes such topics as communication complexity, pseudo-randomness, rapidly mixing Markov chains, points on the sphere and modular forms, derandomization, convex hulls, Voronoi diagrams, linear programming and extensions, geometric sampling, VC-dimension theory minimum spanning trees, linear circuit complexity, and multidimensonal searching.
Motivation and Classroom Learning

This chapter provides a comprehensive review of individual motivation and emotional factors related to school performance and classroom factors that are predictive of student motivation and achievement in critical academic domains. Studies are reviewed that demonstrate how expectancy components (i.e., control beliefs, self-efficacy beliefs); value components (i.e., goal orientation, task value, and utility); and affective components (i.e., anxiety and other emotions) relate to student cognition and classroom learning. The importance of motivational components in facilitating and constraining cognition, learning, and other important schooling outcomes is presented. Future research directions proposed include analyses of the developmental progressions and linkages between motivation and cognition and investigations of how current classroom reforms may moderate relationships between motivation and cognition. Keywords: attributions; control theory; expectancies; motivation; self-determination; self-efficacy
Yellow fever vaccine-associated viscerotropic disease.

ABSTRACTYellow fever is a mosquito-transmitted hemorrhagic viral disease that is endemic to tropical regions in South America and Africa. It remains a significant health concern for deploying military personnel, accordingly vaccination is frequently performed on troops. Although the vaccine is generally administered with only minor complications, rare severe complications are also reported. Herein, we report a mild case of yellow fever vaccine-associated viscerotropic disease 4 days after administration of the vaccine. The various complications of the vaccine and their pathogenesis are also reviewed.
Phase stabilities and surface morphologies of (Ti1−xZrx)Si2 thin films on Si(100)

The effects of zirconium content on the phase stabilities and the surface morphologies of Ti–Zr alloy disilicide thin films were examined. The (Ti1−xZrx)Si2 thin films were grown by codeposition of Ti and Zr alloys (200 A) onto Si(100) surfaces in ultrahigh vacuum and followed by in situ thermal annealing at temperatures between 650 and 1000 °C. The structural properties of films were studied by in situ Raman scattering experiments and ex situ x‐ray diffraction experiments. The (Ti1−xZrx)Si2 films with low Zr contents (x<0.1) initially form a base‐centered orthorhombic structure (C49 phase) and transform to a face‐centered orthorhombic structure (C54 phase) at higher temperatures. The C49‐to‐C54 phase transition temperature increases with increasing Zr content. When the Zr content, x, is higher than 0.1, the C49 phase is stable in the temperature range of 700–1000 °C, and the C49‐to‐C54 phase transition is not observed. We propose that increasing the Zr content in the alloy silicide films results in a dec...
Leaders’ risk propensity and age as determinants of organizational growth in the not‐for‐profit‐sector

States that there is little research into leaders of not‐for‐profit organizations, particularly in the private, religious sector. Attempts to discover if there is a relationship between organizational growth and a leader’s age and risk propensity and whether organizations are more likely to grow when they have leaders that are relatively young risk takers. Uses a sample of Southern Baptist Churches in Arkansas, USA, to investigate the theory. Concludes that risk propensity has a bigger impact than age.
Period-m motions and bifurcation trees in a periodically forced, van der Pol-Duffing oscillator

Analytical period-m motions and bifurcation trees in a periodically forced, van der Pol-Duffing oscillator are obtained through the Fourier series, and the corresponding stability and bifurcation of such period-m motions are discussed. To verify the approximate, analytical solutions of period-m motions on the bifurcation trees, numerical simulations are carried out, and the numerical results are compared with analytical solutions. The harmonic amplitude distributions are presented to show the significance of harmonic terms in the finite Fourier series of the analytical periodic solutions. The bifurcation trees of period-m motion to chaos via period-doubling are individually embedded in the quasi-periodic and chaotic motions without period-doubling.
The incidence of symmetric tilt grain boundaries in polycrystalline thin films of gold

Polycrystalline thin films have attracted increased research attention in recent times, due to their importance in semiconductor, magnetic, magneto-optic and other applications. These films are often found to exhibit a strong fiber texture with one of the low index directions, , , perpendicular to the film plane. The grain boundaries in such polycrystalline films are usually perpendicular to the film surface implying a tilt character, i.e., the rotation axis is parallel to the grain boundary plane, and also parallel to the common film normal. According to Neumann`s principle, a symmetric boundary should represent an extremum -- either a minimum or a maximum -- of the interfacial energy with respect to changes of boundary plane, and Wolf has shown by computer simulation that symmetric tilt boundaries often correspond to energy minima. If symmetric tilt boundaries generally have lower energy than other boundaries, one might expect a larger than random proportion of all the boundaries to be of this type. In this paper, the authors report a preliminary determination of the proportion of grain boundaries (in the immediate vicinity of triple junctions) that have a symmetric tilt character in polycrystalline gold thin films, prepared by thermal evaporation and subsequent annealing.
Design and Performance of a Mesocosm Chamber for Trichloroethylene Evaporation Study

A mesocosm system was designed to study evaporation kinetics and transport of TCE in flowing surface water. The airtight unit, with a total internal volume of 52.01 × 10−2 m3, was fabricated with glass and Teflon material, and was provided with 8.53 m long channel to simulate water flow in an open channel. The peristaltic pumps, connected to the inlet and the outlet of the mesocosm, provided a constant water flow through the channels. The experimental studies were conducted at two different velocities, 9.42 × 10−3 and 4.71 × 10–3 m/s, respectively. For both the velocities, a tracer (NaBr) test confirmed uniform water flow in the channels. The total length and the length between the sampling ports were found sufficient to record gradual decrease in TCE concentrations along the direction of the flow in the channels. The volatilization coefficient for TCE was found to be 0.49 and 1.07 h−1 for the experiments conducted at lower and higher water velocities, respectively. The TCE evaporation half life (t 1/2) and the corresponding evaporation half distance (d 1/2) were 1.41 h and 23.98 m for lower velocity, and 0.65 h and 21.96 m for higher velocity, respectively.
Two dust populations of particle fragments in the striated tail of Comet MRKOS 1957 V

The striated tail of Comet Mrkos 1957 V is investigated. The formation and motions of the striae are described by the same particle-fragmentation model that has been successfully applied to Comet West. Two new kinds of striae are discovered, one made of absorbing particles and the other of essentially nonabsorbing ones. The grains appear to range in size from 0.1 and 0.3 micron. Tentative evidence is found for an excess of dielectric particles with radii near 0.1 micron, whereas among absorbing grains such sizes are relatively scarce. These results illustrate a high degree of sensitivity of the brightness variation along a stria to the particle size distribution. The regular spacing of the bursts of parent particles suggests that all the striae originated in three emission areas on the comet's nucleus rotating with a period of 19.7 hr. The apparent pairing of striae in the tail is a by-product of the existence of more than one discrete source on the nucleus surface and of the different lifetimes of the parent particles.
The Origin and Spread of Riding in the Near East and Central Asia

IN THE minds of most people, both laymen and scholars, riding and horses are inseparable. Riding means horseback riding with such consistency that, when travelers or ethnographers describe peoples using other beasts as mounts, we are apt to consider it a "field expedient" forced on unfortunate people who cannot obtain horses. This thinking has led to a common assumption that riding was developed by man when and where the horse was first domesticated, probably in Central Asia in the 2nd millennium B.C. There is, however, a certain amount of evidence which suggests that the horse was not the first animal to be ridden regularly. The natural characteristics of the horse make it unlikely that this animal was tamed and ridden by people who had not ridden before. In addition, there is archeological evidence which indicates that other animals were ridden before the horse was domesticated. The evidence now available suggests a new theory of the origin of horseback riding. It appears likely that riding, like driving, began in or near Mesopotamia, with the ox being the first animal used for both of these techniques and the onager the second. Because the onager, wild ass, and wild horse are naturally small animals, their use as mounts was limited and riding was for a long period a secondary or occasional activity. As the techniques of domestication and agriculture spread into the less fertile areas of Central Asia, it seems likely that the horse, found there in a state of nature, was used to replace the onager. The superiority of the horse as a chariot puller led to its introduction into the Near East. Horseback riding as a regular and important technique was developed when the size of domestic horses was increased through selective breeding. Before exploring the archeological evidence, the significant points of size, temperament, and control should be clarified.2 Of all of the common domestic animals the horse is probably the most temperamental and nervous. An animal of "flight" rather than "fight," the horse has relatively keen eyesight, good hearing, and an exceptional sense of smell.3 Its reaction to even a suggestion of danger is flight, and it accepts as a suggestion anything strange or unusual. When trapped by man or attacked by carnivores the horse can become extremely dangerous-kicking, bucking, striking with its forefeet, and biting. Even thoroughly domestic breeds raised in near-human luxury on modern stud farms present a dangerous situation when trainers first attempt to mount yearlings or two year olds.4 Compared to the phlegmatic and stubborn donkey, the horse is incomparably more difficult
Effect of CP-20,961, an interferon inducer, on upper respiratory tract infections due to rhinovirus type 21 in volunteers.

Topically administered CP-20,961 is known to stimulate nasal interferon. Studies in volunteers given the drug prior to challenge with rhinovirus have yielded both fairly good results and only fair or poor results. This study was undertaken in an attempt to settle the differences between the results of these trials and to evaluate the possible effectiveness of CP-20,961 when given after virus challenge. Sixty volunteers were randomly divided into four groups. One group received placebo, the second received the drug on the day before and the day of challenge, the third was given the drug for two days beginning 24 hr after challenge, and the fourth received the drug for two days beginning 48 hr after challenge. The average number and severity of symptoms in the group that received CP-20,961 prior to challenge were about half of those in the control group. There was no decrease, however, in the number and
A simple multichromophore design for energy transfer in distyrylbenzenes with pyrene pendants.

A set of Don → Acc ← Don multichromophores was synthesized based on a simple design with two pyrene donors (absorbing antennae) connected to a bis-1,4-(3,4,5-trimethoxystyryl)benzene core acceptor using various flexible, nonconjugated tethers. Excitation of the pyrene donors at 276 nm in solution yields near exclusive emission from the core chromophore at 445−450 nm, with energy transfer efficiencies up to 92%, far better than achieved with simple mixtures. The simple tethering design imposes a high “local” concentration of the pyrene near the acceptor core unit that is maintained even at very low multichromophore concentrations. Solvent effects on absorption and emission spectra are very small, except in cases where a π-conjugating O−CO moiety of the tethering group is directly attached to the core chromophore, rather than being placed in the middle of the tether. Energy transfer in the systems is effective due to good donor−acceptor energy matching. The optimal energy transfer efficiency was achieved us...
Magnetic Field Visualization in Applications to Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Stimulation of Tissues

Electromagnetic field visualization is important in multidisciplinary research on the molecular basis of therapeutic effects of pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF). We have compared classic PEMF representations by two-dimensional field lines and field magnitude contour plots with a field representation using three-dimensional field isosurfaces. Field simulations were performed for a clinically approved Spinal-Stim® Lite system (Orthofix Inc., McKinney, TX). The relatively simple coil system geometry and the predominantly dielectric properties of the surrounding medium (air and human connective tissue) allowed us to develop analytical expressions for the field. The field model was validated by comparison with experimentally measured field values, and with values calculated using a commercial finite-element analysis software package. Two-dimensional field representations by field lines and field contour plots were less intuitive than three-dimensional field isosurface representations to members of the group without an engineering background. Field isosurfaces, represented as three-dimensional solids, allowed for direct visualization of PEMF targeting of individual organs (lumbar spine), the extent of the therapeutic field value, and the directional field characteristics. The dynamic characteristic of the field was well illustrated by a sequence of field isosurfaces corresponding to the evolution with time of the electric current waveform (sawtooth) powering the coils. The isosurface representation of the field can be extended to any three-dimensional coil system geometry using plotting capabilities of current computer algebra software packages. © 2003 Biomedical Engineering Society.
Retention of specific protein kinase C isozymes following chronic phorbol ester treatment in BC3H-1 myocytes

Abstract Since insulin effects on glucose transport persist in phorbol ester “desensitized” or “down-regulated” BC3H-1 myocytes, we reexamined the evidence for protein kinase C (PKC) depletion. After 24 hrs of 5 μM 12-0-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate (TPA) treatment, PKC -directed histone phosphorylation and acute TPA effects on glucose transport were lost, but PKC-dependent vinculin phosphorylation was still evident. Hydroxylapatite (HAP) chromatography revealed loss of a type III, but not a type II, PKC-dependent vinculin phosphorylation. Immunoblots of cytosolic preparations of PKC-“depleted” myocytes confirmed the retention of PKC. Our findings indicate that TPA “down-regulated” BC3H-1 myocytes contain immunoreactive and functionally active PKC. The latter may explain the continued effectiveness of both insulin and diacylglycerol (DiC8) for stimulating glucose transport in “down-regulated” cells.
Methodological issues in modeling absence: A comparison of least squares and Tobit analyses.

Comparaison d'une analyse de regression des moindres carres et d'une analyse Tobit pour la modelisation de l'absenteisme au travail. Les avantages methodologiques de l'analyse Tobit pour des distributions tronquees sont enoncees et les implications pour les recherches futures sont discutees
Electric-field induced ion-leveraged metal–insulator transition in conducting polymer-based field effect devices☆

Abstract The field effect devices prepared completely from conducting polymers, especially poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(styrene sulfonic acid) (PEDOT/PSS), were studied. Normally in a conductive “on” state, the transistor-like device has a transition to a substantially less conductive “off” state at an applied positive gate voltage, typically ∼15–25 V. The current ratio I off / I on can exceed 10 −4 at room temperature. We have found that the field effect is strongly temperature dependent and is substantially reduced upon decreasing the temperature by only a 10 °C. This loss of current reduction upon application of a gate voltage is not due to the temperature dependence of the electrical conductivity of polymers of which the devices are made. The temperature dependence of the dc conductivity of the PEDOT/PSS follows the variable range hopping law both before and after application of the gate voltage, though with an increased activation energy, T 0 . We suggest that the conducting polymer is near the metal–insulator transition and that the field effect in the device is related to the electric field modulating this transition in the region underneath the gate electrode. The transition is controlled and leveraged by ion motion. The time dynamics of the current with the gate modulation strongly supports our conjecture. We demonstrate the generality of the phenomena by presenting similar results for devices fabricated from the conducting polypyrrole doped with Cl.
An Effective Correction Methodology for Interference of Stress-Induced Leakage Current in TDDB Evaluation of High- $k$ Dielectrics

A simple and effective correction methodology for interference of stress-induced leakage current (SILC) in time-dependent-dielectric-breakdown (TDDB) evaluation of high-k dielectrics is reported. Unlike the violation of weakest link failure property found in conventional TDDB evaluation with SILC interference, we have demonstrated that time-to-failure distributions obtained with this new methodology restores this universal property. Excellent results in terms of improved time to failure and Weibull slope were obtained, thus providing a realistic TDDB projection. The algorithm of this methodology is easy to implement and can be used in daily TDDB evaluation.
A 4-channel 20-to300 Mpixel/s analog front-end with sampled thermal noise below kT/C for digital SLR cameras

We present a 4-channel analog front-end (AFE) designed specifically for multichannel sensors used in digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras. Multichannel sensors have been adopted as a solution to the increasing requirements for higher throughput in imaging systems. Single-channel AFEs have been published [1–4]; however, there are drawbacks to using multiple discrete single-channel AFEs in a multichannel system. For example, column readout patterns are particularly sensitive to mismatch between AFE channels. Also, DSLR cameras support many different frame capture modes and read-out patterns, requiring clock rates from below 10MS/s to over 70MS/s, and previous AFEs have not been designed to operate over such a wide range. This paper describes several design techniques developed for the DSLR application, including adaptive power scaling, an integrated reference buffer, and a low-noise sampling technique with sampled thermal noise below kT/C.