cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Protection of French workers operating in Japan, AREVA’s experience

In the framework of assistance for Japan, the ACTIFLORAD project for liquid waste decontamination mobilized over 200 AREVA collaborators and 47 people who led their mission in the damaged site. Led between May 18th and July 6th, 2011, the French mission aimed at supervising the ACTIFLORAD process building and assisting Japanese teams in performing it. The post-accidental situation and emergency led to setting up a radiation protection organization in agreement with French regulation as well as integrated into the Japanese organization. This text establishes a testimony of the everyday life of the mission and its preliminary preparation.
Effect of low dimensionality on the parameters of high Tc superconductors

Abstract A method of determining the values of main parameters such as the effective mass, the Fermi energy, and the coherence length for the new high Tc superconductors is developed. The method is based on specific heat data. The new Tc materials are low dimensional systems and this feature plays a crucial role in the analysis. The parameters are calculated for La2−xSrxCuO4, x⋍0.2 . Particularly interesting is the small value of the Fermi energy.
Exploring the behavior of hospital composite performance measures: an example from coronary artery bypass surgery.

Background— Composite scores that combine several performance measures into a single ranking are becoming the accepted metric for assessing hospital performance. In particular, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration (HQID) project bases financial rewards and penalties on these scores. Although the HQID composite calculation is straightforward and easily understood, its method of combining process and outcome measures has not been validated. Methods and Results— Using data on 530 hospitals from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons National Cardiac Database, we replicated the HQID methodology with 6 nationally endorsed performance measures (5 process measures plus survival) for coronary artery bypass surgery. Composite scores were essentially determined by process measure performance alone; the survival component explained only 4% of the composite score’s total variance. This result persisted even when the survival component was allowed a 5-fold greater weighting i...
Thyroid Status and the Depressed Elderly

Although many studies have been devoted to linking thyroid status and depression, the results have been conflicting. This review concerns types of depression and suggests a paradigm that could encompass the role of the thyroid in aging and depression. Also discussed are thyroid function and its modification in the treatment of depression. Special precautions should be taken with the use of tricyclic antidepressants and with the enhanced cardiotoxic effects when combined with certain thyroid factors in the treatment of depression alone in the elderly.
A Policy for Investment in Biomedical Research

Given a continuation of the current approach toward the managing and funding of research across the spectrum of disciplines basic to health, the country is headed for stultification and possible social disaster. Health care delivery should be considered as a science-based social industry and managed accordingly. Stability and adequate relation of the research effort to the industry's output should be sought. The establishment of a trust fund, derived as a percentage of health revenues, and of a public commission or a board of directors to provide expert advice on its expenditures are suggested.
Formation of singularities for a class of nonlinear, hyperbolically degenerate initial-boundary value problems

Abstract We examine a class of initial-boundary value problems of vector-valued solutions defined over a bounded domain in R n. The presence of degeneracy in this class leads to loss of hyperbolicity at the null solution which gives rise to breakdown on the boundary of the domain when Dirichlet boundary conditions are imposed. Although the equations are set in an arbitrary number of spatial dimensions, it is possible to predict a maximal interval of existence for C1-solutions in this setting. A simple application to one-dimensional elasticity is also shown.
Fiber Optics For High Speed Computer Input/Output Channels

In a mainframe computing system, the transfer of data between the processor/memory and the input/output/storage subsystems is done on the I/O channel links. With the demands for computing power increasing at above 40% per year, there is an ever increasing demand for more channel links and more performance on the link. Recent enhancements of the channel protocols make it possible to push the data transfer rate to the hardware limit due to the skew of bits on the parallel lines of the current link. The serialization of the interface with a fiber optic implementation would offer the potential of even more performance from the I/O Channel. For fiber optics to be attractive, the components must offer performance in the hundreds of Mbits/sec, with high reliability (less than 10-12 BER), low power consumption, small packaging profile, and low cost. To date, such components are not commercially available. At IBM Research, a 200 Mbit/sec, 1 km prototype serial subsystem has been built with emphasis on the development of attractive electro-optic components. Laser packaging was done using a Si chip as the substrate for both laser and fiber. A single chip, high sensitivity receiver was built with a digital IBM logic gate array chip. A monolithic dual laser chip and package were developed to enhance the availability of the transmitter. This talk will discuss the features of these developments and the possibilities for fiber optics in a large computer system.© (1982) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Stress and Coping Among HIV-Positive Barebackers

HIV-positive MSM may report high-risk behaviors—including drug use and intentional unprotected anal sex—as a means of coping. We recruited a diverse sample of HIV-positive men (n = 66) at gay community events. One third of these men self-identified as barebackers. Barebackers were more likely to report drug use and sex under the influence of drugs (i.e., PnP). Beyond this, those who identified as barebackers also tended to report greater stigma, gay-related stress, self-blame-related coping, and substance abuse coping. Providers must attend to issues of stress and coping to engage men who may not respond to traditional risk reduction efforts.
An image feature-based approach to automatically find images for application to clinical decision support

Abstract The illustrations in biomedical publications often provide useful information in aiding clinicians' decisions when full text searching is performed to find evidence in support of a clinical decision. In this research, image analysis and classification techniques are explored to automatically extract information for differentiating specific modalities to characterize illustrations in biomedical publications, which may assist in the evidence finding process. Global, histogram-based, and texture image illustration features were compared to basis function luminance histogram correlation features for modality-based discrimination over a set of 742 manually annotated images by modality (radiological, photo, etc.) selected from the 2004–2005 issues of the British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery . Using a mean shifting supervised clustering technique, automatic modality-based discrimination results as high as 95.57% were obtained using the basis function features. These results compared favorably to other feature categories examined. The experimental results show that image-based features, particularly correlation-based features, can provide useful modality discrimination information.
Effects of ipsapirone on plasma cortisol and body temperature in major depression.

Major depressed patients have been reported to exhibit significantly attenuated cortisol and hypothermic responses to ipsapirone, a serotonin (5-HT)- 1A partial agonist, compared to normal controls. This study further investigated the cortisol and temperature responses to ipsapirone (0.5 mg/kg orally) and placebo in 20 normal volunteers and 12 major depressed patients. Both plasma cortisol and temperature were measured every 30 min before ipsapirone or placebo administration until 180 min post administration. Ipsapirone administration produced a significant increase in plasma cortisol levels as well as hypothermia. Major depressed patients showed significantly blunted ipsapirone-induced cortisol responses compared to normal controls. No significant differences in ipsapirone-induced hypothermic responses were found between major depressed patients and normal controls.
Phylogenetics of the marine sculpins (Teleostei: Cottidae) of the North American Pacific Coast.

Abstract With 92 species along the North American Pacific Coast, marine sculpins represent the most species-rich radiation of fishes in this region. I used the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene and the nuclear ribosomal S7 intron for 99 species (76 North American, 19 Asian, and four North Atlantic) to produce the most complete phylogenetic hypothesis yet generated for this assemblage. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses produced highly similar tree topologies. While many previously proposed groupings based on morphology are recovered, the molecular data suggest that a number of genera are para- or polyphyletic. However, this analysis supports the monophyly of one large clade that is found exclusively along the North American Pacific Coast (Chitonotous–Ruscarius–Artedius–Orthonopius–Clinocottus–Leiocottus–Oligocottus). Some sibling species have disjunct ranges, suggesting allopatric speciation. However, many other sibling species have largely overlapping ranges, and repeated habitat shifts appear to have facilitated diversification.
Response to treatment of functional vomiting: can it be predicted?

Purpose: Prokinetic drugs (Metoclopramide Domperidone) and tricyclic antidepressants are frequently used to treat functional vomiting. However, it has been difficult to identify in advance which patients will be most likely to benefit from treatment with prokinetic or antidepressant drugs. The purpose of this study is to prospectively evaluate the demographic clinical and physiologic variables associated with potential response to specific drug treatment of functional vomiting.
Expression of aggression toward the physically handicapped.

With the exception of some inferences that can be drawn from previous literature, little is known about the expression of aggression toward the physically disabled. In this study, Ss ostensibly delivered electric shock to confederate “shock recipients” who played the role of both physically normal and physically handicapped individuals. Male “shock administrators” aggressed more than females in general. Male administrators delivered more shock toward disabled than to normal recipients while female administrators delivered more shock to normal than to disabled recipients. Female administrators delivered more shock to males than females while male administrators delivered more shock to females than males. Alternative methodologies to investigate these variables were presented.
A novel algorithm for automated counting of stained cells on thick tissue sections

Design-based (unbiased) stereology provides an accurate, precise, and efficient method to quantify morphological parameters of biological microstructures, such as the total number of three-dimensional (3D) objects (cells) in stained tissue sections. The current requirement for extensive user interaction with commercially available computerized stereology systems limits the throughput of data collection. To increase the efficiency of this process, an algorithm was developed to automate data collection from stained objects in thick, transparent tissue sections. We present a novel approach to extract, count and classify stained objects of interest in 3D by linking them through a z-stack of images. Skeletonization and erosion are used to further segment the under segmented (overlapping) cells resulting from the extraction of out of focus cells in conjunction with in focus cells. Finally, 3D shape features, computed from the re-linked cells, are used for final classification of counted objects into “cells” and “not-cells”. We achieve a classification accuracy of 85% using SVM in a leave one-out experiment. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithm to count cells in 3D from thick, transparent tissue sections.
Design of supersonic combustors based on pressure-area fields

A family of one-dimensional heat addition processes having a pressure-area relationship pAele-1=constant is studied. Equations are develeped for real and ideal gases and simplified relationships are obtained for the latter including the determination of the value of ∈ for the most efficient process and for the conditions at the entropy limit. The important combustor variables are found for a particular supersonic combustion ramjet operating on a selected trajectory, and the effect of combustor optimization on engine specific impulse is given. This analysis is used to evaluate the results of a hydrogen air combustion experiment made in a 1.58° half-angle conical combustor 24 in. in length at an inlet Mach number of 1.95. It is concluded that to increase the combustion efficiency from the experimentally observed 71% to 100% and at the same time sustain the minimum entropy rise, a contoured combustor having approximately 4.5 in. of additional length coupled with an 11% reduction in exit radius would be required.
Essentially Molecular Metal Complexes Anchored to Zeolite β: Synthesis and Characterization of Rhodium Complexes and Ruthenium Complexes Prepared from Rh(acac)(η2-C2H4)2 and cis-Ru(acac)2(η2-C2H4)2

Mononuclear complexes of rhodium and of ruthenium, Rh(acac)(η2-C2H4)2 and cis-Ru(acac)2(η2-C2H4)2 (acac = C5H7O2−), were used as precursors to synthesize metal complexes bonded to zeolite β. Infrared (IR) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectra show that the species formed from Rh(acac)(η2-C2H4)2 was Rh(η2-C2H4)2+, which was bonded to the zeolite at aluminum sites via two Rh−O bonds. Reaction of this supported rhodium complex with CO gave the supported rhodium gem-dicarbonyl Rh(CO)2+, which was characterized by two νCO bands in the IR spectrum, at 2048 and 2115 cm−1, that were sharp (fwhm of 2115-cm−1 band = 5 cm−1), indicating a high degree of uniformity of the supported species. Nearly the same result was observed (Liang, A. et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2009, 131, 8460) for the isostructural rhodium complex supported on dealuminated HY zeolite, which was characterized by frequencies of the νCO bands that were 4 and 2 cm−1, respectively, greater than those characterizing the zeolite β-su...
Preparation, properties, and reactivity of carbonylrhodium(I) complexes of di(2-pyrazolylaryl)amido-pincer ligands

Abstract A series of six carbonylrhodium(I) complexes of three new and three previously reported di(2-3R-pyrazolyl)-p-Z/X-aryl)amido pincer ligands, (RZX)Rh(CO), (R is the substituent at the 3-pyrazolyl position proximal to the metal; Z and X are the aryl substituents para- to the arylamido nitrogen) were prepared. The metal complexes were studied to assess how their properties and reactivities can be tuned by varying the groups along the ligand periphery and how they compared to other known carbonylrhodium(I) pincer derivatives. This study was facilitated by the discovery of a new CuI-catalyzed coupling reaction between 2-(pyrazolyl)-4-X-anilines (X = Me or CF3) and 2-bromoaryl-1H-pyrazoles that allow the fabrication of pincer ligands with two different aryl arms. The NNN-pincer scaffolds provide an electron-rich environment for the carbonylrhodium(I) fragment as indicated by carbonyl stretching frequencies that occur in the range of 1948–1968 cm−1. As such, the oxidative addition (OA) reactions with iodomethane proceed instantaneously to form trans-(NNN-pincer)Rh(Me)(CO)(I) in room temperature acetone solution. The OA reactions with iodoethane proceeded at a convenient rate in acetone near 45 °C which allowed detailed kinetic studies. The relative order of reactivity was found to be (CF3CF3)Rh(CO)
20nm VIA BEOL patterning challenges

Higher density on 20nm logic chips require tighter pitches to be implemented not only at critical metal layers, but at BEOL critical VIA layers as well. Smaller pitches on critical via are no longer achievable through the conventional positive tone development (PTD) process. Instead, negative tone development (NTD) is considered, evaluated, and integrated as an alternative, along with the double patterning (DP) method. Additionally, preliminary results on NTD+DP patterning challenges, including patterning verification, are presented in this paper.
Comparison of early conceptus mobility between mares and jennies.

Abstract The caracteristics of early intrauterine mobility of the conceptus were compared between ponies (n = 9) and donkeys (n = 9). The extensive mobility of the early conceptus, previously reported for ponies and horses, was found in donkeys as well. There were no significant differences between donkeys and ponies in the characteristics or patterns of mobility. However, the mean day of fixation was approximately one day later (P
Indocyanine-green videoangiography of drusen as a possible predictive indicator of exudative maculopathy

Abstract Objective Recent studies have shown that indocyanine-green videoangiography (ICG-V) is useful to image occult choroidal neovascularization. The authors studied the ICG-V findings in fellow drusen eyes of patients with unilateral exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The authors also studied the occurrence of exudative changes to determine whether ICG-V is useful in predicting future exudative changes in these eyes with only drusen. Design Cohort study. Participants The authors studied 432 consecutive patients diagnosed with unilateral exudative AMD in whom the fellow eye had only drusen by clinical fundus examination and fluorescein angiography. All of these eyes had ICG-V performed. Follow-up data were obtained in all eyes with abnormal indocyanine-green (ICG) angiograms and randomly sampled ICG angiograms of normal eyes. Main outcome measures The initial ICG findings were classified as showing normal or abnormal hyper- 2 -fluorescence. Abnormal hyperfluorescence eyes were subdivided into focal spots (focal areas of hyperfluorescence 1 disc area). The development of exudative changes in eyes with normal and abnormal hyperfluorescence was compared. Results Of the 432 fellow eyes, 386 (89%) eyes with drusen had a normal ICG-V study, whereas 46 (10 focal spots and 36 plaques) (11%) eyes had an abnormal ICG-V. Exudative changes occurred in 6 (10%) of 58 normal ICG eyes and 9 (24%) of 38 eyes with abnormal ICG findings during a mean follow-up period of 21.7 months. The difference between drusen eyes with normal ICG angiograms and those with plaques on ICG-V regarding future exudative changes (10% vs. 27%, respectively) was statistically significant ( P = 0.038). Conclusions Abnormal ICG findings were found in 11% of eyes with clinically and fluorescein angiographically nonsuspicious drusen. The subgroup of patients with plaques on ICG-V had a higher chance of having exudative changes develop. Indocyanine-green videoangiography may be a predictive indicator of future exudative changes in eyes with drusen. A much larger prospective study seems justified.
Thermodynamics of carbon in austenite and Fe-Mo austenite

A Cahn Electrobalance has been used to determine directly and very accurately the carbon content of iron, iron-0.48 wt pct molybdenum and iron-1.16 wt pct molybdenum specimens which were equilibrated with a series of methane-hydrogen gas mixtures of constant composition. The equilibria investigated involved the austenite phases of the alloys at 783, 813 and 848‡C. The experimental results permit direct calculation of the activities of carbon in the samples, relative to graphite as unity, and of the enthalpy and entropy of solution of carbon. The results are compared with the experimental measurements of a number of other investigators. The results are in excellent agreement with those of Smith and Schenck and Kaiser for the Fe-C system at 800‡C, and indicate -HC/M values of 9700 ± 500 cal/mole for pure Fe, 10,030 ± 500 cal/mole for an Fe-0.48 wt pct Mo alloy, and 10,150 ± 500 cal/mole for an Fe-1.16 wt pct Mo alloy. The effect of molybdenum in austenite is to decrease the activity coefficient of carbon in austenite.
Very Large Area Scintillation Counters for Hadron Calorimetry

Very large area scintillation counters have been developed for use in a neutrino experiment at Fermilab. These counters are used to measure the energy and position of hadronic cascades. In order to do this economically, we have developed a technique utilizing "wave-shifter" bars for gathering scintillation light from each of these counters into a small number of photomultiplier tubes. A low cost acrylic plastic scintillator (5' × 5' × 1.5") and larger (10' × 10' × 1") acrylic tanks filled with liquid scintillator are being viewed with wavelength-shifting bars.
932-88 Tumor Necrosis Faetor-α Impairs β-Adrenergic Responsiveness in Conscious Dogs

Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) plays a role in the pathophysiology of myocardial depression observed in septic shock and myocarditis. Limited responsiveness to inotropic therapy in these pathological states may be related to cytokine mediated disruption of adrenergic signal transduction. In cultured myocytes, TNFα reversibly inhibits isoproterenol mediated increases in both contractility and intracellular cAMP accumulation via interference with β-adrenergic receptor coupling to adenylate cyclase. Whether TNFα alters myocardial responsiveness to exogenous υβ-adrenergic stimulation in the intact animal has yet to be determined. Accordingly, we evaluated the effects of dobutamine (Dob) in 9 conscious dogs, chronically instrumented with 3 sets of diameter gauges and LV manometers, treated with a 1 hour infusion of TNFα (40 μg/kg). Mw, the slope of the relation between stroke-work and enddiastolic volume, was determined before and after brief infusions of Dob (4/μg/kg/min) at multiple times after TNFα. TNFα produced a reduction in baseline contractile performance beginning 4 hours and extending to 25 hours after initiation of infusion. The percentage increase of Mw induced by Dob dropped from 34 ± 7% pre-TN Fα to a nadir of 15 ± 5% 3 hours post-TNFα, an effect which persisted but then dissipated. Similar results were found when end-systolic elastance and dP/dtmaxwere evaluated. We concludethat TNFα impairs myocardial responsiveness to fi-adrenergic stimulation in the intact animal, an effect separate from its primary myocardial depressant properties.
Effects of cocaine and cocaine metabolites on mouse developmentin vitro.

Abstract The use of cocaine use has been associated with adverse developmental effects in humans, and cocaine administration produces developmental toxicity in animal models. However, whether the adverse effects produced during organogenesis are due directly to the effects of cocaine or its metabolites remains to be established. This study was therefore undertaken to compare the morphological effects of cocaine and its metabolites, ecgonine, benzoylecgonine (BE) and ecgonine methyl ester (EME) in whole embryo culture (WEC) using early somite stage ICR mice. Cocaine produced a concentration-dependent induction of defects including effects on craniofacial development such as neural tube closure defects (NTDs). Concentrations of cocaine of 51.4 μ m or more produced dysmorphogenesis and 100% of the embryos exhibited NTDs at 441 μ m . EME also induced defects at concentrations of 400 μ m or above. Neither ecgonine nor BE altered embryogenesis at concentrations of 2000 μ m or less. The incidence of cocaine-induced NTDs was dependent on the length of exposure to cocaine. At 294 μ m , exposures of 3 hr or more were required to alter development when evaluated at the end of a 24-hr culture period. Lower cocaine concentrations required longer exposure periods (6 or 12 hr) to produce dysmorphogenesis. The incidence of NTDs appears to follow the area under the concentration time curve and is not solely dependent on the peak cocaine concentration in the medium. Exposure of conceptuses to a combination of cocaine and EME produced a high incidence of NTDs. These results suggest that the concentration of cocaine or EME required to induce NTDs in vitro is higher than the teratogenic concentration in vivo . Additionally, the time required for high concentrations of cocaine to induce NTDs is longer than the serum half-life of cocaine reported in vivo following a single administration. Thus, NTDs produced by cocaine administration appear not to be due solely to the effect of cocaine or its metabolites on the conceptus but may involve effects on extraembryonic and/or maternal tissues as well.
Development of a Self-Management Behaviors Questionnaire for Cystic Fibrosis

Study objectives This study reports on the reliability and initial validation of a new measure, the Self-Management Questionnaire for Cystic Fibrosis (SMQ-CF), that assesses self-management behaviors used by cystic fibrosis (CF) caregivers. Monitoring and treatment behaviors for respiratory disease, malabsorption and nutrition are included. Design: The study is divided into a pilot phase for development, reliability analysis and content validation and a construct validation phase to examine the relation between SMQ-CF, patient age, and disease status. It was hypothesized that self-management behavior increases as disease severity increases and that caregivers report less self-management behavior as a child matures. Setting: Subjects were recruited from three large urban CF Centers. Participants: Primary caregivers of CF children aged 0-18 years with mild to severe disease were surveyed. Measurements and Results: The SMQ-CF is a 46-item written questionnaire using 5-point response scales. Internal consiste...
1013-112 Is the INR an Adequate Corrective Factor for the Range of Thromboplastins Utilized in North America?

For a given intensity of anticoagulant therapy the Prothrombin Time Ratio (PTR) shows wide variability when measured with different thromboplastin reagents due to differing sensitivities of the commercially available thromboplastins as reflected in differences in the International Sensitivity Index (ISI) values for each reagent. The International Normalized Ratio (INR) is used to correct for this variation. We investigated the variability of INR obtained with 11 different thromboplastins from 4 different manufacturers using a single venipuncture sample from each of 49 unselected patients. The ISI values of the thromboplastins ranged from 1.0 to 2.81 and all analyses were performed on a MLA 700 instrument. Results For any individual thromboplastin the coefficient of variation (CV) was very low–1.6 to 4.6%. However, when comparing INR values from all 11 thromboplastins the CV was 19%, which was a significant improvement over the CV for PTR of 29%, (p l 0.005) but still high enough to allow for clinically significant differences as demonstrated by the following confidence ranges: INR 95% Confidence Range CV lower limit upper limit 1.6 1.2 2.0 13% 2.4 1.7 3.1 15% 3.7 2.0 5.3 23% 4.7 2.2 7.3 27% The CV and the standard deviation were directly related to the INR with higher variability at higher levels of anticoagulant intensity. Conclusion While the INR offers a significant reduction in variance as compared to the PTR, it is suboptimal for the range of thromboplastins available in North America, and can result in clinically significant variation when comparing INR results between institutions utilizing different thromboplastins, especially at higher intensities of anticoagulation.
Aspects of D-leucine and D-lysine metabolism in maize and ryegrass seedlings.

Maize and ryegrass seedlings (2.5 weeks old), the roots of which were dipped into 10-3M 14C-carboxyl-labeled D-leucine and 14C-e-labeled D-lysine, readyly absorbed and converted or conjugated within 34 hr some 75–90% of the labeled compound supplied. The metabolic intermediates and products were generally similar for both maize and ryegrass. Radioactive intermediates from the carboxyllabeled D-leucine were L-leucine, N-malonyl-D-leucine (provisionally identified), and α-ketoisocaproic acid. Intermediates from e-labeled D-lysine were numerous, with greater amounts and numbers detected in roots than in tops. Pipecolic acid was a major intermediate particularly in shoot tissue.
Words of chronic pain.

An analysis of the language of pain complaints, employing categories of descriptors, was used to determine if chronic pain of either psychiatric of organic origin might be depicted in terms specific for the disease. The complaints of 128 patients with chronic pain were studied for characteristic patterns. Patients with pain of organic etiology used sensory-thermal (e.g., hot, burning) words more frequently than those with pain of psychiatric origin. Female patients with pain attributed to anxiety used sensor-temporal words (e.g., throbbing) more frequently than those with other psychiatric diagnoses. There was also a statistically significant preponderance of pain on the left when the groups of patients with physical and psychological illness were combined.
Who should do role outcome research on advanced practice nurses

Who should perform role outcomes research of APNs? The short answer is "nurses". The published research examining the outcomes of APNs ranges from studies conducted autonomously by master's prepared CNSs and NPs for the purposes of intemal QI/QA to large funded studies conducted by multidisciplinary teams led by nurse researchers. Small studies are beneficial and are not to be discouraged; however, publication of such endeavors, particularly in journals of professions other than nursing, should be undertaken with caution. Frequently such studies are underpowered with a sample not large enough to detect the effect. Studies that seek significant funding are large in scope and frequently longitudinal, with the objective of generalizability across the profession and publication in multidisciplinary refereed research journals, and should be led by doctorally prepared nurse researchers. Other aspects of study design determine the makeup of the remainder of the research team. A multidisciplinary team is recommended for accuracy, breadth, depth, rigor, and scientific robustness.
Nucleotide and Amino Acid Sequence Analysis of the Rotavirus Nonstructural RNA-Binding Protein NS35

NS35, a basic protein encoded by gene 8 of SA11 rotavirus, possesses RNA-binding activity and is essential for genome replication. To identify conserved regions in the NS35 gene and its protein product, we determined the nucleotide sequences of the NS35 gene for the mammalian and avian rotaviruses Wa, DS1, SA11 (Patton and Ramig strains), NCDV, and Ty-1 and compared them and their deduced amino acid sequences to those reported for SA11 (Both strain), OSU, and UK. The results indicated that the NS35 genes of the mammalian rotaviruses are 1058-1059 bases in length and encode proteins of 317 amino acids that exhibit high levels of sequence conservation (> or = 83%). The NS35 gene of the turkey rotavirus Ty-1 differed from those of the mammalian rotaviruses with respect to size of the predicted protein (315 amino acids) and of the gene (1042 bases). NS35 of Ty-1 exhibited a relatively low degree of amino acid homology (52-57%) with NS35 of the mammalian viruses. Phylogenetic analysis of the NS35 gene indicated that avian (TY-1) and mammalian rotaviruses are distantly related. Comparison of the predicted sequences of NS35 showed that all possessed a conserved basic domain of 37 amino acids at residues 205-241 that may serve as the RNA-binding domain. Electrophoretic examination showed that NS35 contains a disulfide bond probably located in the amino-terminal half of the protein. Comparison of NS35 genes at the nucleotide level revealed two regions of extensive conservation, (i) a 75-base (b) sequence that includes the 35-base 5'-noncoding region and the first 30 bases of the open reading frame for NS35, and (ii) a 28-b sequence in the 3'-noncoding region of the gene. Secondary structure predictions for the NS35 mRNA suggest that the 75-base sequence can fold to produce a stem double-loop structure. Such a structure may serve as a packaging signal for the assortment of NS35 mRNA into replicase particles.
Effect of water flux on solute velocity and dispersion

A systematic analysis of the effect of displacement length, soil texture, and steady state water flux (q) on solute transport was performed on saturated repacked loam and sandy loam soil columns to identify the simplest possible description that was consistent with the observations across all of the breakthrough curves (BTCs) for each data set. All 39 BTCs obtained from loam and 21 from sandy loam soils, with column lengths of 10, 20, and 30 cm, and a two-order magnitude variation in measured pore water velocity (ν m ), were fitted simultaneously and global estimates of parameters [dispersivity (λ) and molecular diffusion coefficient (D 0 )] were obtained. We showed that a two-parameter global dispersion relationship (D = λν m + D 0 , where D is the apparent diffusion coefficient) accurately represents the spreading process for all 39 loam soil BTCs (r 2 > 0.99), whereas a single global parameter (D = λν m ) was all that was required for the sandy soil (r 2 > 0.98). The globally fitted λ was independent of displacement length and ν m . D remained independent of ν m in the lower velocity ranges; however, a linear relationship between ν m and fitted D was obtained for ν m > 0.1 cm h -1 . The results of this study illustrated the importance of molecular diffusion. In addition, we identified a nonlinear relationship between ν m and average solute velocity (ν s ), which suggested that the anion exclusion volume decreased with increasing ν m .
Reexamining Kautilya and Machiavelli Flexibility and the Problem of Legitimacy in Brahmanical and Secular Realism

Since the rediscovery of the ancient Indian political thinker Kautilya and his Arthaśāstra in the early twentieth century, scholars have argued for similarities between his political thinking and Machiavelli’s, especially on the topic of realism. Employing a new analytic approach to reexamine their political thought, I locate unidentified tensions and overlaps between Machiavelli’s secular ethic, which pulls towards autonomous standards, and Kautilya’s political-theological ethic, which follows traditional brahmanical beliefs. In the first part of the essay, I challenge existing interpretations of Kautilya’s thought and clarify a coherent political theology in the Arthaśāstra. The second part critically assesses their realist positions using the concepts of flexibility and legitimacy. While I explain how the Machiavellian position poses justifiable objections to the apparent repression and self-defeating nature of brahmanical realism, I also argue that the Kautilyan position raises important questions con...
Screencast Tutorials Enhance Student Learning of Statistics

Although the use of computer-assisted instruction has rapidly increased, there is little empirical research evaluating these technologies, specifically within the context of teaching statistics. Th...
The design of interactive simulations

We propose a methodology for developing simulations in the interactive mode. Rather than use an iconic model for doing so, we show how the use of systems theory representation enhances the interaction. This not only facilitates debugging, but is of fundamental assistance in the model development itself. Although recent advances in the realistic portrayal of systems has made great advances, the systems representation has been neglected in considering interaction. Our hope is that our observations will lead to more research in this area.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN TRIAL COURT ELECTIONS: Possibilities for Accentuating the Positive and Eliminating the Negative

A large part of the debate over state judicial selection has focused upon the lack of voter interest in and knowledge about judicial elections. This study investigates voter participation in the contested nonpartisan elections for California Superior Court judge from 1958–1978. Focusing upon the variations among and within the state's counties, the analysis attempts to assess the contributions of sociological, environmental, and institutional variables to the level of participation. An exploration of the policy implications of the findings suggests, among other things, that judicial elections in large metropolitan areas might well be abandoned and replaced with some system of gubernatorial appointment and reappointment of judges.
Allocation of searching time within the soybean canopy by parasitoids attacking the green cloverworm

We examined the searching behavior of a guild of primary parasitoids which attack the green cloverworm,Plathypena scabra (Fabricius), as well as that of an associated hyperparasitoid. We hypothesized that self-superparasitism is an important constraint on the foraging behavior of primary parasitoids, and therefore these parasitoids should avoid portions of the soybean canopy where parasitized caterpillars accumulate. Conversely, we hypothesized that the hyperparasitoid preferentially searches parts of the canopy where parasitized caterpillars accumulate. In a greenhouse experiment, we found that exposure to parasitoids [eitherCotesia marginiventris (Cresson) orDiolcogaster facetosa Ashmead] resulted in the accumulation of caterpillars lower in the canopy. In a field experiment, we measured the amount of time parasitoids spent searching in each of three strata (upper, middle, bottom) of the soybean canopy. Leaf area in each stratum was used to calculate expected values for search effort. The time spent searching each of the strata was proportional to leaf area for all primary parasitoids, exceptD. facetosa, which spent significantly more time searching the top stratum of plants than predicted by leaf area in that stratum. The hyperparasitoidMesochorus discitergus (Say) tended to search the bottom stratum of the canopy. Thus only one of the three primary parasitoids appears to search in a manner that would reduce its rate of encounter with previously parasitized green cloverworms. The hyperparasitoid searching pattern may increase its probability of encountering parasitized caterpillars, thereby increasing its foraging success.
Use of Hammerstein Models in Identification of Nonlinear Systems

The utility of the Hammerstein model, which is composed of a static nonlinear element in series with a linear dynamic part, was investigated to represent the dynamics of nonlinear chemical processes. Different methods to identify the parameters of Hammerstein models were tested. The methods were applied to the identification of simulated distillation columns and to an experimental heat exchanger process. The results show that the dynamics of such processes can be better represented by Hammerstein-type models than by linear models.
Wide-field infrared explorer

We have proposed to build the Wide Field Infrared Explorer (WIRE), capable of detecting typical starburst galaxies at a redshift of 0.5, ultraluminous infrared galaxies beyond a redshift of 2, and luminous protogalaxies beyond a redshift of 5. This instrument will survey about 100 deg2 of high Galactic latitude sky at 12 and 25 micrometers , in passbands where 20% of the luminosity from local starbursts is radiated. WIRE will measure the 12 - 25 micrometers color of the starburst galaxies, which is a powerful statistical luminosity indicator. The distribution of starburst galaxy 12 - 25 micrometers colors as a function of flux density will reveal their evolutionary history and perhaps the presence of protogalaxies at high redshifts. During its four-month mission lifetime, WIRE will gather important data on starburst galaxies and amass a catalog exceeding the size of the IRAS Point Source Catalog. WIRE is specifically designed to detect the maximum number of high-redshift starburst galaxies using an extremely small and simple instrument. The 28 cm aperture Cassegrain telescope has no moving parts and a wide 34 X 34 arcminute field of view.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Two Patterns of Industrial Administration

Although everyone agrees that administrative personnel are essential for a bureaucratic organization, the effect of organizational size in determining the proportion of personnel who perform administrative tasks is in doubt. From a variety of organizational settings, positive, negative, and nonexistent relationships between organizational size and relative size of the administrative component have been reported, leaving the question for organizations in general largely unanswered. Nevertheless, when a distinction is made between studies of industrial and non-industrial organizations, on the one hand, and between managerial and clerical personnel within industrial organizations, on the other, certain hypotheses are suggested.
The role of spatial abilities and age in performance in an auditory computer navigation task

Age-related differences in spatial ability have been suggested as a mediator of age-related differences in computer-based task performance. However, the vast majority of tasks studied have primarily used a visual display (e.g., graphical user interfaces). In the current study, the relationship between spatial ability and performance in a non-visual computer-based navigation task was examined in a sample of 196 participants ranging in age from 18 to 91. Participants called into a simulated interactive voice response system and carried out a variety of transactions. They also completed measures of attention, working memory, and spatial abilities. The results showed that age-related differences in spatial ability predicted a significant amount of variance in performance in the non-visual computer task, even after controlling for other abilities. Understanding the abilities that influence performance with technology may provide insight into the source of age-related performance differences in the successful use of technology.
HSF1 regulation of β-catenin in mammary cancer cells through control of HuR/elavL1 expression

There is now compelling evidence to indicate a place for heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) in mammary carcinogenesis, tumour progression and metastasis. Here we have investigated a role for HSF1 in regulating the expression of the stem cell renewal factor β-catenin in immortalized human mammary epithelial and carcinoma cells. We found HSF1 to be involved in regulating the translation of β-catenin, by investigating effects of gain and loss of HSF1 on this protein. Interestingly, although HSF1 is a potent transcription factor, it was not directly involved in regulating levels of β-catenin mRNA. Instead, our data suggest a complex role in translational regulation. HSF1 was shown to regulate levels of the RNA-binding protein HuR that controlled β-catenin translation. An extra complexity was added to this scenario when it was shown that the long non-coding RNA molecule lincRNA-p21, known to be involved in β-catenin mRNA (CTNNB1) translational regulation, was controlled by HSF1 repression. We have shown previously that HSF1 was positively regulated through phosphorylation by mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) kinase on a key residue, serine 326, essential for transcriptional activity. In this study, we found that mTOR knockdown not only decreased HSF1-S326 phosphorylation in mammary cells, but also decreased β-catenin expression through a mechanism requiring HuR. Our data point to a complex role for HSF1 in the regulation of HuR and β-catenin expression that may be significant in mammary carcinogenesis.
Mice Transgenic for CD4-Specific Human CD4, CCR5 and Cyclin T1 Expression: A New Model for Investigating HIV-1 Transmission and Treatment Efficacy

Mice cannot be used to evaluate HIV-1 therapeutics and vaccines because they are not infectible by HIV-1 due to structural differences between several human and mouse proteins required for HIV-1 entry and replication including CD4, CCR5 and cyclin T1. We overcame this limitation by constructing mice with CD4 enhancer/promoter-regulated human CD4, CCR5 and cyclin T1 genes integrated as tightly linked transgenes (hCD4/R5/cT1 mice) promoting their efficient co-transmission and enabling the murine CD4-expressing cells to support HIV-1 entry and Tat-mediated LTR transcription. All of the hCD4/R5/cT1 mice developed disseminated infection of tissues that included the spleen, small intestine, lymph nodes and lungs after intravenous injection with an HIV-1 infectious molecular clone (HIV-IMC) expressing Renilla reniformis luciferase (LucR). Furthermore, localized infection of cervical-vaginal mucosal leukocytes developed after intravaginal inoculation of hCD4/R5/cT1 mice with the LucR-expressing HIV-IMC. hCD4/R5/cT1 mice reproducibly developed in vivo infection after inoculation with LucR-expressing HIV-IMC which could be bioluminescently quantified and visualized with a high sensitivity and specificity which enabled them to be used to evaluate the efficacy of HIV-1 therapeutics. Treatment with highly active anti-retroviral therapy or one dose of VRC01, a broadly neutralizing anti-HIV-1 antibody, almost completed inhibited acute systemic HIV-1 infection of the hCD4/R5/cT1 mice. hCD4/R5/cT1 mice could also be used to evaluate the capacity of therapies delivered by gene therapy to inhibit in vivo HIV infection. VRC01 secreted in vivo by primary B cells transduced with a VRC01-encoding lentivirus transplanted into hCD4/R5/cT1 mice markedly inhibited infection after intravenous challenge with LucR-expressing HIV-IMC. The reproducible infection of CD4/R5/cT1 mice with LucR-expressing HIV-IMC after intravenous or mucosal inoculation combined with the availability of LucR-expressing HIV-IMC expressing transmitted/founder and clade A/E and C Envs will provide researchers with a highly accessible pre-clinical in vivo HIV-1-infection model to study HIV-1 acquisition, treatment, and prevention.
Is Epilepsy a Preventable Disorder? New Evidence from Animal Models:

Epilepsy accounts for 0.5% of the global burden of disease, and primary prevention of epilepsy represents one of the three 2007 NINDS Epilepsy Research Benchmarks. In the past decade, efforts to understand and intervene in the process of epileptogenesis have yielded fruitful preventative strategies in animal models.This article reviews the current understanding of epileptogenesis, introduces the concept of a “critical period” for epileptogenesis, and examines strategies for epilepsy prevention in animal models of both acquired and genetic epilepsies. We discuss specific animal models, which may yield important insights into epilepsy prevention including kindling, poststatus epilepticus, prolonged febrile seizures, traumatic brain injury, hypoxia, the tuberous sclerosis mouse model, and the WAG/Rij rat model of primary generalized epilepsy. Hopefully, further investigation of antiepileptogenesis in animal models will soon enable human therapeutic trials to be initiated, leading to long-term epilepsy preven...