cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Into our hoods: where critical performance pedagogy births resistance

AbstractThis study focuses on Pin@y Educational Partnerships (PEP), an Ethnic Studies educational pipeline that the five authors have been part of. PEP is in direct opposition to neoliberalism by providing an educational experience for youth to positively transform themselves and their communities. As part of PEP’s transformative curriculum, we employ Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) and critical performance pedagogy. In contrast to high-stakes testing, traditional texts, and rote activities, the practice of YPAR has become popular among social justice teachers. YPAR emphasizes the ‘acquisition of knowledge on injustice as well as skills for speaking back and organizing for change.’ Similar to education, the stage can also be a tool to reproduce cultural hegemony or can be a forum where actors – both performers and audience members – can imagine, voice, and transform a better world. Like YPAR, critical performance pedagogy utilizes the stage as a place to expose the problems students face and bu...
The Effect of Rating Unfamiliar Items on Angoff Passing Scores.

The Angoff standard setting method relies on content experts to review exam items and make judgments about the performance of the minimally proficient examinee. Unfortunately, at times content expe...
A high-performance charged-particle CMOS image sensor with per-column A/D conversion

A CMOS image sensor for charged-particle imaging, such as for transmission electron microscopy, with per-column 10-bit ADC's, has been designed, fabricated and tested. The 0.25 μm design's parallel data conversion allows up to 390 frames/s operation. The sensor's sensitivity and signal to noise ratio (>17.5, RMS) are sufficiently high that the imaging of individual energetic incident electrons (e.g., 200 keV) is practical. Electron microscope tests have shown that images created by accumulating, processing and superimposing low-flux images of individual incident electrons (“electron-counting mode”) yields superior contrast and resolution to equivalent continuous exposures. To demonstrate this, we measured the modulation transfer function of using electron counting mode which, for example, was found to be more than two times higher at 50 line pairs per mm versus the equivalent standard continuous integration.
Optimal checkpointing of fault tolerant systems subject to correlated failure

Checkpointing is a technique to backup work at periodic intervals so that if computation fails it will not be necessary to restart from the beginning but will instead be able to restart from the latest checkpoint. Performing checkpointing operations requires time. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the tradeoff between the time to perform checkpointing operations and the time saved when computation restarts at a checkpoint. This paper presents a method to model the impact of correlated failures on a system that performs checkpointing. We map the checkpointing process to a state space model and superimpose a correlated life distribution. Examples illustrate that the model identifies the optimal number of checkpoints despite the negative impact of correlation on system reliability.
The local stress state of a running shear band in amorphous solids

In molecular dynamics simulations, the local stress state in the shear band is examined in six different model metallic glasses and one amorphous Si system (also has been perceived as a metallic glass analog) under different loading conditions. For all but the FeP and the amorphous Si systems, the running shear band (RSB) exhibits a liquid-like hydrostatic plus shear stress state. Our results suggest that the liquid feature of a RSB is not due to temperature rise or plastic confinement but due to the disorder driven by flow, which can be offset by strong directionality in bonding, phase segregation, or aging. The knowledge of the liquid-like stress state can be conveniently utilized in experiments to infer the local stress state of the RSB from the global tensile stress for metallic glasses.
Umbrella sampling: A powerful method to sample tails of distributions

We present the umbrella sampling (US) technique and show that it can be used to sample extremely low probability areas of the posterior distribution that may be required in statistical analyses of data. In this approach sampling of the target likelihood is split into sampling of multiple biased likelihoods confined within individual umbrella windows. We show that the US algorithm is efficient and highly parallel and that it can be easily used with other existing MCMC samplers. The method allows the user to capitalize on their intuition and define umbrella windows and increase sampling accuracy along specific directions in the parameter space. Alternatively, one can define umbrella windows using an approach similar to parallel tempering. We provide a public code that implements umbrella sampling as a standalone python package. We present a number of tests illustrating the power of the US method in sampling low probability areas of the posterior and show that this ability allows a considerably more robust sampling of multi-modal distributions compared to the standard sampling methods. We also present an application of the method in a real world example of deriving cosmological constraints using the supernova type Ia data. We show that umbrella sampling can sample the posterior accurately down to the $\approx 15\sigma$ credible region in the $\Omega_{\rm m}-\Omega_\Lambda$ plane, while for the same computational work the affine-invariant MCMC sampling implemented in the {\tt emcee} code samples the posterior reliably only to $\approx 3\sigma$.
Instructional multimedia institutes for mathematics, science and technology educators

This paper describes the intensive two-week summer institutes funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) as part of an Advanced Technological Education project that provides instruction for 40 secondary teachers and college faculty in mathematics, science, and technology. Each participant will attend two consecutive summer institutes, and create a website and a Multimedia Learning Activity for classroom use. Participants received stipends and individual copies of software for screen capture, web development, animation, and digital imaging.
Pathways and Environmental Requirements for Biogenic Gas Production in the Ocean

Gases identified in marine sediments and interstitial waters include O2, CO2, N2, NH3, H2S and CH4. The major portion of these gases appears to be the result of coupled oxidation-reduction reactions carried out by microorganisms oxidizing organic matter. Several groups of bacteria are known to be capable of utilizing specific organic or inorganic molecules as the hydrogen acceptors. The environmental conditions under which these reactions take place determine the types of compounds present and the amount of free energy made available to the organisms.
Interaction of Food Proteins with Starch

Many food products, referred to in this chapter as food systems, are cornposed of protein and starch as their main constituents on a dry weight basis. Some are natural products, such as cereal grains (wheat, corn*), legumes (beans, peas) and tubers (potatoes, yams) which can be cooked and consumed in a minimally processed form. Others are fabricated products, such as bakery products, pasta, snack foods and breakfast cereals which are processed and consumed in a variety of shapes and sizes. Each of these food systems has its own characteristic texture, developed after cooking, which is, in part, due to the interaction between protein and starch. Since texture, along with flavor, are two major attributes of foods, nrotein—starch interactions are of considerable importance.
Efficient Data Analytics Over Cloud

Abstract Many industries, such as telecom, health-care, retail, pharmaceutical, financial services, etc., generate large amounts of data. Such large amount of data needs to be processed quickly for gaining critical business insights. The data warehouses and solutions built around them are unable to provide reasonable response times in handling expanding data volumes. One can either perform analytics on big volume once in days or one can perform transactions on small amounts of data in seconds. With the new requirements, one needs to ensure the real-time or near real-time response for huge amount of data. In this chapter we cover various important aspects of analyzing big data. We start with challenges one needs to overcome for moving data and data management applications. over cloud. For big data we describe two kinds of systems: (1) NoSQL systems for interactive data serving environments; and (2) systems for large scale analytics based on MapReduce paradigm, such as Hadoop, The NoSQL systems are designed to have a simpler key-value-based data model having inbuilt sharding , hence, these work seamlessly in a distributed cloud-based environment. In contrast, one can use Hadoop-based systems to run long running decision support and analytical queries consuming and possible producing bulk data. We illustrate various middleware and applications which can use these technologies to quickly process massive amount of data.
Making Protein Immunoprecipitates

A wide variety of methods used in the study of signal transduction in eukaryotes rely on the ability to precipitate proteins from whole cell extracts. Immunoprecipitation and related methods of affinity purification are routinely used to assess binding partner interactions and enzyme activity in addition to the size of a protein, rates of protein synthesis and turnover, and protein abundance, thus making it a mainstay of a wide variety of protocols. This chapter will provide starting-point methods for immunoprecipitation of proteins under denaturing and nondenaturing conditions and the detection of protein-protein interactions by co-precipitation. The Notes section gives recommendations on how to troubleshoot potential problems that can arise while doing these methodologies.
Q-Link: A general planning architecture for navigation with qualitative relational information

Abstract Qualitative relational maps (QRM) are useful environmental representations for robots that incorporate information about point like and extended landmarks. While several methods for generating QRM exist, no general planning methods for QRM are available. This paper introduces qualitative linking (Q-Link), a general three level planning architecture for use with any type of QRM. Q-Link generates high level plans over ‘links’ in a QRM and uses local planners to execute trajectories to enable a robot to navigate from a start to a goal. Q-Link is adaptable to any robotic platform, and can plan over deterministic information from a QRM or uncertain information from a probabilistic QRM. Path completion guarantees and distance bounds are provided for environments with point landmarks and no occlusions. The performance of Q-Link is tested in simulation and an in vivo study, where path completion is not guaranteed. The simulation studies show that Q-Link is robust to failure in scenarios where a specific landmark density is guaranteed with minimal occlusions (over 97% path completion rate), but sensitive to environments with insufficient landmark density (up to 74% failure rate) . The in vivo studies show that Q-Link is robust to failure in an outdoor navigation scenario for three different environment types that contain point landmarks and extended landmarks (72% path completion rate).
Nonadiabatic Hydrogen Dissociation on Copper Nanoclusters

Copper surfaces exhibit high catalytic selectivity but have poor hydrogen dissociation kinetics; therefore, we consider icosahedral Cu13 nanoclusters to understand how nanoscale structure might improve catalytic prospects. We find that the spin state is a surprisingly important design consideration. Cu13 clusters have large magnetic moments due to finite size and symmetry effects and exhibit magnetization-dependent catalytic behavior. The most favorable transition state for hydrogen dissociation has a lower activation energy than that on single-crystal copper surfaces but requires a magnetization switch from 5 to 3 μB. Without this switch, the activation energy is higher than that on single-crystal surfaces. Weak spin–orbit coupling hinders this switch, decreasing the kinetic rate of hydrogen dissociation by a factor of 16. We consider strategies to facilitate magnetization switches through optical excitations, substitution, charge states, and co-catalysts; these considerations demonstrate how control of ...
Dead Time Compensation for High-flux Depth Imaging

Time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) is a powerful technique for lidar depth imaging, allowing for accurate range measurements from very low light levels. However, single-photon detectors used in TCSPC have a dead time after each photon detection, which blocks registration of subsequent photons arriving within that dead time, causing a distortion of the detection time distribution. The most common approach to avoiding dead time distortion is to optically reduce the photon arrival rate such that with high probability no photons arrive during the dead time. However, this prevents the high photon flux acquisition necessary for real-time applications such as autonomous navigation. In this paper, we propose a dead time compensation method that enables fast data acquisition with dead time-limited detectors. Specifically, we model dead time-affected detection times as a Markov chain, present a simple method for approximating the stationary distribution, and estimate depths using a log-matched filter matched to that distribution. Our method applies to multimodal imaging systems where a standard camera is used in conjunction with lidar to provide information about scene reflectivity. Simulation results for real 3D scenes show that our method reduces the root mean squared error by several orders of magnitude for the same acquisition time.
Habermas with a Whiff of Tear Gas: Nonviolent Campaigns and Deliberation in an Era of Authoritarianism

Authoritarianism is gaining around the world. Statistics show that deliberation shrinks when authoritarianism grows. In the face of authoritarian repression, directly promoting and organizing deliberation is likely to fail. However, Erica Chenoweth and Maria J. Stephan (2011) find that nonviolent campaigns have a strong record of success against authoritarian states. Although nonviolent campaigns are not themselves deliberative or aimed at building deliberative democracy, I argue that some of the reasons that make them successful also stand to benefit public deliberation. Thus the most promising strategy for expanding deliberation in an increasingly authoritarian world is to support nonviolent campaigns and to reinforce strategies of nonviolent confrontation that also yield deliberation. Jurgen Habermas anticipated this argument in his defense of social movements. Revisiting that aspect of Habermas’ thought challenges interpretations that treat him as a theorist of calm, rational discourse.
Lifestyle and sociodemographic risk factors for gastroschisis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Gastroschisis is strongly associated with young maternal age. This association suggests the need for further investigations on non-genetic risk factors. Identifying these risk factors is a public health priority in order to develop prevention strategies aimed at reducing the prevalence and health consequences in offspring. Objective To systematically assess and quantitatively synthesise the available epidemiological studies to evaluate the association between non-genetic risk factors and gastroschisis. Methods Literature from PubMed, EMBASE and Scopus was searched for the period 1990–2018. Epidemiological studies reporting risk estimates between lifestyle and sociodemographic risk factors and gastroschisis were included. Two pairs of reviewers independently extracted information on study characteristics following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses and MOOSE (Meta-analysis Of Oservational Studies in Epidemiology) guidelines. Relative risk (RR) estimates were calculated across the studies and meta-analysis was performed using random-effects model. Results We identified 58 studies. Meta-analyses were conducted on 29 studies. Maternal smoking (RR 1.56, 95% CI 1.40 to 1.74), illicit drug use (RR 2.14, 95% CI 1.48 to 3.07) and alcohol consumption (RR 1.40, 95% CI 1.13 to 1.70) were associated with an increased risk of gastroschisis. A decreased risk among black mothers compared with non-Hispanic white mothers (RR 0.49, 95% CI 0.38 to 0.63) was found. For Hispanic mothers no association was observed. Conclusions Exposure to smoking, illicit drugs and alcohol during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of gastroschisis. A significantly decreased risk for black mothers was observed. Further epidemiological studies to assess the potential role of other environmental factors are strongly recommended. PROSPERO registration number CRD42018104284.
H\"older conditions and $\tau$-spikes for analytic Lipschitz functions

Let $U$ be an open subset of $\mathbb{C}$ with boundary point $x_0$ and let $A_{\alpha}(U)$ be the space of functions analytic on $U$ that belong to lip$\alpha(U)$, the "little Lipschitz class". We consider the condition $S= \displaystyle \sum_{n=1}^{\infty}2^{(t+\lambda+1)n}M_*^{1+\alpha}(A_n \setminus U)< \infty,$ where $t$ is a non-negative integer, $0<\lambda<1$, $M_*^{1+\alpha}$ is the lower $1+\alpha$ dimensional Hausdorff content, and $A_n = \{z: 2^{-n-1}<|z-x_0|<2^{-n}\}$. This is similar to a necessary and sufficient condition for bounded point derivations on $A_{\alpha}(U)$ at $x_0$. We show that $S= \infty$ implies that $x_0$ is a $(t+\lambda)$-spike for $A_{\alpha}(U)$ and that if $S<\infty$ and $U$ satisfies a cone condition, then the $t$-th derivatives of functions in $A_{\alpha}(U)$ satisfy a Holder condition at $x_0$ for a non-tangential approach.
Rest-Site Use and the Apparent Rarity of an Ozark Population of Plains Spotted Skunk (Spilogale putorius interrupta)

Spilogale putorius interrupta (Plains Spotted Skunk) experienced range-wide declines beginning in the 1940s, and knowledge of population persistence and basic habitat requirements of the taxon remains limited. We surveyed for a population of the subspecies in the forested Ozark region of Arkansas. We deployed a dense camera-trap grid (>8000 trap-nights across a 24,611-ha study area) and recorded individuals on 6 occasions at 4 sites; their detection rate was amongst the lowest of all detected species. There were no observed differences between occupied and unoccupied sites. We captured and deployed radio-collars on 2 individuals that were tracked to 12 rest sites. Groundcover was sparse at rest sites, perhaps due to use of rocky outcrops by both individuals.
Self-help and minimal-contact therapies for anxiety disorders: Is human contact necessary for therapeutic efficacy?

Self-help materials, brief therapies, and treatments involving minimal therapist contact have all been proposed as effective and low-cost interventions for anxiety disorders. However, research also suggests that the therapeutic alliance is a central predictor of therapy outcome. Interestingly, amounts of therapist contact within and across "self-help" interventions vary greatly. It is therefore unclear how much therapist contact is necessary for a positive anxiety disorder treatment outcome. The present article reviews the literature on anxiety disorder treatments using self-help, self-administered, and decreased therapist-contact interventions. Treatment studies are grouped together by anxiety diagnosis as well as amount of therapist contact. It is concluded that self-administered treatments are most effective for motivated clients seeking treatment for simple phobias. Predominantly self-help therapies are efficacious for panic disorder and mixed anxiety samples. On the other hand, minimal-contact therapies have demonstrated efficacy for the greatest variety of anxiety diagnoses.
U.S. Population-Based Background Incidence Rates of Medical Conditions for Use in Safety Assessment of COVID-19 Vaccines

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a devastating impact on global health, and has resulted in an unprecedented, international collaborative effort to develop vaccines to control the outbreak, protect human lives, and avoid further social and economic disruption. Mass vaccination campaigns are underway in multiple countries and are expected worldwide once more vaccine becomes available. Some early candidate vaccines use novel platforms, such as mRNA encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles, and relatively new platforms, such as replication-deficient viral vectors. While these new vaccine platforms hold promise, limited safety data in humans are available. Serious health outcomes linked to vaccinations are rare, and some outcomes may occur incidentally in the vaccinated population. Knowledge of background incidence rates of these medical conditions is a critical component of vaccine safety monitoring to aid in the assessment of adverse events temporally associated with vaccination and to put these events into context with what would be expected due to chance alone. A list of 22 potential adverse events of special interest (AESI), including neurologic, autoimmune, and cardiovascular disorders, was compiled by subject matter experts at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The most recently available U.S. background rates for these medical conditions, overall and by age, sex, and race/ethnicity (when available), were sourced from reported statistics (data published by medical panels/ associations or federal government reports), and literature reviews in PubMed. This review provides estimates of background incidence rates for medical conditions that may be monitored or studied as AESI during safety surveillance and research for COVID-19 vaccines and other new vaccines.
Translational Pharmacogenomics: Discovery, Evidence Synthesis and Delivery of Race-Conscious Medicine.

Response to medications, the principal treatment modality for acute and chronic diseases, is highly variable, with 40-70% of patients exhibiting lack of efficacy or adverse drug reactions. With approximately 15-30% of this variability explained by genetic variants, pharmacogenomics has become a valuable tool in our armamentarium for optimizing treatments and is poised to play an increasing role in clinical care. This review presents the progress made towards elucidating genetic underpinnings of drug response including discovery of race/ancestry-specific pharmacogenetic variants and discusses the current evidence and evidence framework for actionability. The review is framed in the context of changing demographics and evolving views related to race and ancestry. Finally, it highlights the vital role played by cohort studies in elucidating genetic differences in drug response across race and ancestry and the informal collaborations that have enabled the field to bridge the "bench to bedside" translational gap.
Withdrawal-Emergent Dyskinesias following Varenicline Therapy

Varenicline (Chantix[R]) is a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor partial agonist used to aid smoking cessation. Adverse psychiatric and behavioral effects of the drug are recognized and national drug monitoring has included reports of tardive dyskinesia, but no cases have been described in the literature. We now report the first two cases of varenicline-related withdrawal emergent dyskinesias.
Steroid hormone-inducible expression of the GLT-1 subtype of high-affinity l-glutamate transporter in human embryonic kidney cells.

Abstract The cDNA encoding the predominant rat brain high-affinity l -glutamate transporter GLT-1 was isolated and subcloned into the pIND expression vector for the establishment of steroid hormone inducible expression in vitro using the ecdysone-inducible mammalian expression system. Steroid hormone-inducible expression was demonstrable in a stable cell line designated HEK/GLT-1. Treatment of HEK/GLT-1 cells with 10 μM ponasterone A for 24 hincreased the maximum velocity (Vmax) of Na+-dependent l -glutamate uptake by greater than 10-fold, as compared with the uninduced cells. Equivalent levels of l -glutamate transport capacity were observed in the uninduced GLT-1 cell line and the host cell line indicating that the expression of GLT-1 was tightly regulated. To confirm that the increased l -glutamate uptake observed in HEK/GLT-1 cells following induction was attributable to the expression of GLT-1, rather than the up-regulation of the endogenously expressed EAAT3 subtype present in the host cells, we evaluated the effects of the selective GLT-1 inhibitors dihydrokainate (DHK) and kainate. Both DHK and kainate produced concentration-dependent inhibition of the l -glutamate uptake into HEK/GLT-1 cells, and the estimated IC50 values were consistent with those described for the cloned GLT-1. These results demonstrate that the expression of GLT-1 can be tightly regulated in vitro using the ecdysone system.
Parental alcohol use disorders and child delinquency: the mediating effects of executive functioning and chronic family stress.

Objective: This study examines the relationship between parental alcohol use disorders (AUDs) and child violent and nonviolent delinquency. It also explores the mediating effects of executive functioning and chronic family stress on the parental AUD/child delinquency relationship. Method: Participants were 816 families with children (414 boys and 402 girls) born between 1981 and 1984 at Mater Misericordiae Mother's Hospital in Brisbane, Australia. Parents and children completed semistructured interviews, questionnaires and neuropsychological tests that assessed parental alcohol use, family psychiatric history, chronic family stress, child delinquency and child executive functioning. Results: Paternal (but not maternal) AUDs predicted child violent and nonviolent delinquency. Executive functioning mediated the relationship between paternal AUDs and violent delinquency, whereas family stress mediated the relationship between paternal AUDs and both violent and nonviolent delinquency. Conclusions: Results support a biosocial conceptualization of the paternal AUD/delinquency relationship. They suggest that paternal AUDs may be associated with child executive functioning and Family stress, which may in turn lead to child delinquency.
Web-based simulation of terahertz and gigahertz electronic devices

The Applied Electrophysics Laboratory at the University of Virginia has developed a web based device simulation environment to accurately model and simulate terahertz and gigahertz electronic devices. This environment allows us to provide the device simulation codes developed over the years to the larger research community. In this paper, we describe the simulation environment and the particular device simulations available.
Facial and auditory affect recognition in senile geriatrics, the normal elderly and young adults

A group of young adults, normal elderly, and senile people were tested for the recognition of facial, auditory and musical affect, as well as nonemotional voice inflections. With respect to the affect recognition tasks, the musical stimuli generated the greatest number of errors and the facial stimuli the fewest. The senile group performed significantly more poorly than the other two groups and the normal elderly made reliably more mistakes than the young adults to affective voice tones and melodies. Also, the normal elderly made more mistakes than the young people to nonemotional voice tones. The senile group responded at chance level to these stimuli. The number of errors to emotional and nonemotional voice tones did not differ within the young and normal elderly groups. However, the senile people responded with significantly greater accuracy to the affective voice inflections. It was concluded that aging is a factor that negatively affects the recognition of tonal inflections, be they vocal or musical....
Reliability of high performance 9xx-nm single emitter laser diodes

This paper presents reliable high power and high brightness 9xx-nm single emitter laser diodes, which have been designed for various multi-emitter fiber-coupled modules. Diode lasers from legend generation have been life-tested with currents up to 14A at heat-sink and junction temperatures of 50°C and 80°C respectively, and have accumulated more than 15,000 hours of life-test duration. In order to further improve reliable operational power and optimize beam quality, new generation devices have been developed. The new devices demonstrated more than 20W CW rollover power without catastrophic optical mirror damage (COMD). Near-field/far-field patterns have also been improved significantly. In addition to step-stress life-tests, a 7-level multi-cell life-test was designed to investigate acceleration factors relative to the operation conditions. Junction temperatures ranging from 60°C to 110°C and current from 14A to 18A were used in this multi-cell life-test. The ongoing multi-cell life-test has accumulated 1.3 million raw device hours and shown very few device failures in up to 7000 hours duration. Such a low failure rate doesn't allow a meaningful estimation of acceleration factors. When nominal acceleration factors are used, multi-cell life-test data supports ~500 FIT, with 90% confidence, at 10W, 33°C/50°C heat-sink/junction temperatures.
The (Homo)Sexual Temptation in Milton's Paradise Regained

Abstract While the sexual temptation of Paradise Regained is tactful, it is also characteristically Miltonic in its daring. Despite its decorous presentation, the temptation is exceedingly bold in that it is not merely a heterosexual temptation but a homosexual one as well. Acknowledgment of the homosexual lure in the brief epic is essential to understanding the dynamics of the celebrated banquet scene and to appreciating the comprehensiveness of Milton's trial of the Son's humanity. Such a recognition also helps place in perspective the alleged misogyny of Paradise Regained, even as it also reveals the complexity of Milton's poetic technique, particularly his ability to work by indirection and implication and to exploit classical and biblical sources. Although Jesus rejects the homosexual temptation (as He does the heterosexual one), He does not condemn homosexuality. Milton's incorporation of a homosexual temptation provides evidence of his sophisticated recognition of the range of fully human sexual re...
On the fibrin forming and geloplastic activities of electrophorosed bovine thrombin preparations.

Abstract Bovine thrombin preparations from two different lots (Parke-Davis) were separated into 30 sections by acrylamide gel electrophoresis. The eluates of these sections were pooled into 8 fractions and their protein contents were determined. The eluates of the 8 fractions were then added to fibrinogen systems with or without the addition of the non-electrophorosed thrombin preparation and determinations of the fibrin time and gelation time were made. This simple method permits the differentiation between fibrin polymerization and gelation. Our findings suggest that the thrombin preparation contains different components besides the thrombin enzyme and that the geloplastic action can be readily recognized from the fibrin forming action of the thrombin preparation. By “fibrin formation” is meant partial proteolysis of fibrinogen with subsequent formation of fibrin fibrils. The thrombin preparation contained also components which have anticoagulant activity both as antithrombin and as antigeloplastin. The thrombin preparation therefore appears to be a composite of substances with different specific activities. In the discussion it was pointed out that what hitherto has been ascribed as enzymatic action of thrombin should not be confused with other activities residing in the same thrombin preparation. Thus the choice of gelation as an endpoint for thrombin assays measures actually the activity of the geloplastic component. Moreover, the role ascribed to thrombin in the activation of factor XIII and the source of factor XIII by the use of plasma concern also the geloplastic component of the thrombin preparation. The difference between fibrin formation formation and gelation is emphasized on theoretical grounds as two different processes of fibrin coagulation, followed by the process of cross-linking due to factor XIII. Our findings, which are not merely of theoretical interest, have wide applications in the treatment and prevention of certain thrombotic conditions, affecting especially the large blood vessels where the gelation of fibrin is of particular significance.
Impact direction from a fall influences the failure load of the proximal femur as much as age-related bone loss

Recent studies have shown that factors related to fall biomechanics may play as important a role in the etiology of hip fracture as age-related bone loss. Motivated by finite element analyses that showed failure of the proximal femur to be sensitive to loading direction, our objective with the current investigation was to determine experimentally if changes in impact direction affect the failure load of the elderly proximal femur. Thirty-three cadaveric femurs were assigned randomly to three groups of 11 and tested at one of three loading angles, 0°, 15°, or 30°, representing a fall on the hip rolled slightly forward, to the side, or rolled slightly backwards, respectively. Femurs were scanned using dualenergy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) to assess bone mineral density (BMD) and tested to failure in a fall loading configuration at a displacement rate of 100 mm/second. Using an analysis of covariance to adjust for total hip BMD, we found that failure load decreased by 24% as the loading angle changed from 0° to 30°. This reduction in failure load is comparable to that associated with about 25 years of age-related bone loss after the age of 65. Therefore, the impact direction associated primarily with a fall is a critical determinant of hip fracture risk that is both independent of bone density and associated with fall biomechanics.
Statins in the last six months of life: a recognizable, life-limiting condition does not decrease their use.

ABSTRACT Background: Some have advocated discontinuing statins in patients with life-limiting conditions. However, the extent of statin use at the end of life has yet to be described and whether statin prescribing may already be influenced by the presence of a recognizable, life-limiting condition is unknown. Objective: To measure the prevalence of statin use during the last 6 months of life and determine if statin prescribing varies according to the presence of a recognizable, life-limiting condition. Design: Matched, case-control trial nested within a retrospective, cohort study. Setting/subjects: From 3031 VISN 11 patients who died in FY2004, we identified 1584 (52%) receiving statins at least 6 months before death. Of those, we identified 337 cases with a recognizable, life-limiting condition and 1247 controls matched on number of comorbidities, age, and socioeconomic status. Analyses: We used survival analysis to test the relationship between days without statins and the presence of a life limiting c...
Test bias in a cognitive test: differential item functioning in the CASI

Assessment of test bias is important to establish the construct validity of tests. Assessment of differential item functioning (DIF) is an important first step in this process. DIF is present when examinees from different groups have differing probabilities of success on an item, after controlling for overall ability level. Here, we present analysis of DIF in the Cognitive Assessment Screening Instrument (CASI) using data from a large cohort study of elderly adults. We developed an ordinal logistic regression modelling technique to assess test items for DIF. Estimates of cognitive ability were obtained in two ways based on responses to CASI items: using traditional CASI scoring according to the original test instructions as well as using item response theory (IRT) scoring. Several demographic characteristics were examined for potential DIF, including ethnicity and gender (entered into the model as dichotomous variables), and years of education and age (entered as continuous variables). We found that a disappointingly large number of items had DIF with respect to at least one of these demographic variables. More items were found to have DIF with traditional CASI scoring than with IRT scoring. This study demonstrates a powerful technique for the evaluation of DIF in psychometric tests. The finding that so many CASI items had DIF suggests that previous findings of differences between groups in cognitive functioning as measured by the CASI may be due to biased test items rather than true differences between groups. The finding that IRT scoring diminished the impact of DIF is discussed. Some preliminary suggestions for how to deal with items found to have DIF in cognitive tests are made. The advantages of the DIF detection techniques we developed are discussed in relation to other techniques for the evaluation of DIF. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Evaluation of intergranular cracks on the ring header cross at Grand Gulf Unit No. 1

Abstract A metallurgical investigation was performed on a sample of cracked ring header cross material from the Grand Gulf Unit No. 1 Nuclear Power Station. The cracks were located in a 6–7 in (15–17·5 cm) width band running circumferentially below the cross to cap weld with a similar band above the cross to discharger pipe weld. The indications were up to 19 mm in length and 6·0 mm in depth. This particular sample was cut from a cross which had not seen actual service but which had been used to qualify the induction heating stress improvement (IHSI) technique for the Grand Gulf units. The base material was SA 182 material manufactured to SA 403-type WP 304 stainless steel. The investigation consisted of visual/dye penetrant examination, chemical analysis, hardness testing, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy. The evaluated cracks were intergranular and initiated on the forging's exterior surface. The grain size of the material was larger than ASTM 00 and no definitive corrosive species were found by Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS). The cracking is considered to be the result of the forging having been overheated/burned during manufacture.
Constitutionalism and Social Spending: Pennsylvania's Old Age Pensions in the 1920s

Rather than studying only what appellate courts do, scholars of law and society have been pointing out that the interpretation of law is an enterprise many engage in—e.g., lawyers, administrative officials, and the lay public, as well as courts. Recent scholarship has broadened the analysis of constitutional law in a way that is not Supreme Court centered. Scholars have focused on constitutionalism as the idea that words written down limit and shape political practice. For example, Michael Kammen's work shows the continuing and repetitive celebrations of the Constitution in American life, celebrations that have taken the federal constitution as “a machine that would go of itself” and as a sacred text, often forgetting how much it has been remade through reinterpretation. This focus on constitutionalism rather than on appellate court decisions leads to a broader understanding of constitutions in a polity, so that scholars analyze rights claims in addition to examining the rights that courts have said people have. This effort emphasizes the meaningful elements of law, since the definition of constitutionalism focuses on what people think they should do, or on what they have a right to do. It leads to scholarship that points out the penetration of legal language, particularly claims of rights, into American culture. With this approach, one reason to analyze elite statements of law is that they state rights in ways that become part of general political consciousness.
Effect of Alkali Saponification, Enzymatic Hydrolysis and Storage Time on the Total Carotenoid Concentration of Costa Rican Crude Palm Oil

Carotenoids from 10 portions of the same sample of crude palm oil were extracted using either enzymatic hydrolysis (Lipase from Candida rugosa) or alkali to determine which method would preserve the greatest level of carotenoids. Also, after each extraction the effect of storage time on carotenoid levels was tested for the extracts obtained right after extraction, at 24 and 48 h after extraction. The carotenoid concentration was estimated using spectrophotometry. Findings showed consistently greater concentrations of carotenoids and a slight decrease over time of 3.5% when enzymatic hydrolysis was performed. This slight decrease is considered to be technically unimportant since these samples exhibited greater concentrations and the change was observed at time 0 but not after 24 and 48 h. Alkali-treated samples stayed stable over time but exhibited lower concentrations of carotenoids. Alkali saponification required a longer time to perform and produced greater losses because of emulsion and soap formation. The difference in concentration by method was not significant as well as the difference in the recovery of an added standard; however, enzymatic hydrolysis is still considered technically and economically advisable as a routine method for the extraction of palm oil carotenoids.
Structure of crystalline actin sheets

Although actin is one of the most abundant proteins found in nature, little detailed information about its molecular structure is available beyond the amino acid sequence. Electron microscopy of negatively stained filaments combined with three-dimensional image reconstruction techniques have revealed the overall size and shape of the actin monomer at 25 A resolution. Higher resolution structural data can be expected from electron microscopy of two-dimensional crystalline arrays and X-ray diffraction analysis of three-dimensional crystals, but only very preliminary results have been reported so far. The original finding by Dos Remedios and Dickens was that skeletal muscle actin forms microcrystals and tubes in the presence of the trivalent lanthanide gadolinium (Gd3+). We have modified and refined their conditions to obtain large crystalline sheets of Acanthamoeba actin and present here a model of the actin monomer in projection to 15 A resolution. We have found that, depending on the ionic strength used, these sheets occur in three different forms: 'cylinders', 'square type' sheets and 'rectangular type' sheets. These different polymorphic forms are built from the same fundamental two-dimensional crystalline actin lattice, which we call the 'basic sheet'. The present concerns the structural analysis of these basic sheets; the crystal polymorphism will be discussed in detail elsewhere (U.A. et al., in preparation). Furthermore, in addition to demonstrating that actin is an elongated globular molecule with a pronounced asymmetric shape in and perpendicular to the plane of the sheet, our results indicate that these crystalline actin sheets might be suitable for three-dimensional structure determination by low-dose electron microscopy of unstained specimens to at least 10 A resolution.
Synthesis of metabolites of 6-fluoro-DOPA

Abstract Key metabolites of 6-fluoro-DOPA have been prepared by side-chain elaboration of 6- fluorovanillin and 6-fluoroveratraldehyde.
Generation of nonequilibrium optical phonons in GaAs and their application in studying intervalley electron-phonon scattering

We present a detailed theoretical and experimental investigation of the generation and detection of nonequilibrium longitudinal-optical (LO) phonons in GaAs by picosecond laser pulses. The nonequilibrium LO phonons are excited by the relaxation of energetic electron and hole pairs created by a tunable and mode-locked dye laser. The photoexcited LO-phonon population, monitored by Raman scattering with the same excitation laser pulses, is measured as a function of the excitation photon energy keeping the laser power constant. The phonon population was found to increase monotonically with photon energy between 1.75 and 1.95 eV. Above 1.95 eV the phonon population became roughly constant until at 2.105 eV the phonon population suddenly decreased by approximately a factor of 2. The experimental results are compared with several theoretical model calculations. We found that a simple parabolic bands model failed to explain the experimental results. Only by using a realistic band structure for GaAs did we achieve quantitative agreement between theory and experiment. In particular, the experimental results turned out to be very sensitive to details of the band structure of GaAs such as nonparabolicity of the ${\ensuremath{\Gamma}}_{1}$ conduction band, warping of the valence bands, and presence of higher-conduction-band minima at zone boundaries. Specifically, the sudden decrease in the LO-phonon population at 2.105 eV is attributed to transfer of energetic electrons from the ${\ensuremath{\Gamma}}_{1}$ valley to the higher-energy minima near the $X$ points. By analyzing this decrease, we were able to determine precisely the values of intervalley electron-phonon deformation potentials.
Intraoperative ultrasound guidance for hysteroscopic retrieval of intrauterine foreign bodies

Retained bony fragments after a therapeutic abortion represent a rare complication of this gynecologic procedure. Management has been previously described to include blind dilatation and curettage, hysterectomy, and in select cases and with variable success, hysteroscopy. We describe a case of retained bones after a second-trimester abortion managed by operative hysteroscopy using a resectoscope and wire loop under intraoperative transabdominal ultrasound guidance.
Prospects For Coherent Lidar Systems And Technology Development

A coherent lidar is a powerful technique for remote measurements of velocity fields, and at middle infrared wavelengths it also has advantages compared with direct-detection lidar in extended range measurement of atmospheric species. These qualities are obtained at the cost of additional complexity and more stringent requirements on the coherence properties of the lasers which are used. An attempt is made to summarize the technological requirements of certain coherent lidar applications and discuss relevant technology development, emphasizing the CO2 and solid-state laser components.
Constitutive equations for elastic-plastic materials at finite strain

Abstract Constitutive equations are suggested for describing the behavior of elastic-plastic materials undergoing large strains. A special kinematical viewpoint is taken, so that the elastic and plastic deformation processes can be considered separately. This separation is also accommodated by a simplified thermodynamical theory of the deformation process. The elastic constitutive equation is written as a rate equation, after examining the interpretation of elastic isotropy in view of the particular kinematical description employed. To describe plastic deformation, a rate equation, which exhibits no dependence on the rate at which previous states have been traversed, is suggested. After the general relations have been put in appropriate form some simplifications based on physical assumptions are considered. The physical assumptions are based on the behavior of metals under large stress, high speed loading, such as in the penetration problem. Under these operating conditions, the thermoelastic effects dominate and plasticity plays a minor role. Consequently, a simple model of plastic deformation usually suffices. The analysis is presented in direct (matrix) notation and is valid for arbitrary stress states.
Hybrid semiLoof element for buckling of thin-walled structures

Abstract A 32-DOF semiLoof plate element is derived by the assumed stress hybrid method for the analysis of buckling and postbuckling of thin-walled structures consisting of non-coplanar composite panels such as channels and square tubes. Example solutions for buckling loads have demonstrated that the stress pattern derived through the use of a balanced assumption of stress and displacements field can yield desirable finite element solutions.