cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
First-order intrinsic autoregressions and the de Wijs process

SUMMARY We discuss intrinsic autoregressions for a first-order neighbourhood on a two dimensional rectangular lattice and give an exact formula for the variogram that extends known results to the asymmetric case. We obtain a corresponding asymptotic expansion that is more accurate and more general than previous ones and use this to derive the de Wijs variogram under appropriate averaging, a result that can be interpreted as a two dimensional spatial analogue of Brownian motion obtained as the limit of a random walk in one dimension. This provides a bridge between geostatistics, where the de Wijs process was once the most popular formulation, and Markov random fields, and also explains why statistical analysis using intrinsic autoregressions is usually robust to changes of scale. We briefly describe corresponding calculations in the frequency domain, including limiting results for higher-order autoregressions. The paper closes with some practical considerations, including applications to irregularly-spaced data.
Remedial lesions of the mitral and aortic valves

D the amazing and very rapid development, during the past few years, of closed as well as open surgical technic for the correction of congenital and acquired lesions of the heart, stenotic and regurgitant lesions of the aortic valve and regurgitant lesions of the mitral valve still present problems in complete cure which remain unsolved . Suggested surgical approaches for these lesions are numerous, but few of these operations can he routinely employed as practical methods of treatment . Periodic re-evaluation of surgical operations for any disorder in any part of the body is always desirable if one wishes to obtain the best resultswith the least amount of risk . With this thought in mind, we have reviewed our own personal experiences with disorders of the mitral and aortic valves and present our impressions about what constitute, at least at the present time, working practical operations which can and should be suggested in the management of mitral and aortic stenosis and insufficiency .
Transport of heat by spin waves in Fe 95 Si 5

The thermal and electrical conductivities of the alloy ${\mathrm{Fe}}_{95}$${\mathrm{Si}}_{5}$ have been measured between 1.5 and 4 K, in fixed magnetic fields of value 0, 0.22, and 5.5 T. The thermal conductivity decreases with increasing field above saturation, indicating a contribution of spin waves. This contribution reaches 8% at 4 K. The lifetime of thermal spin waves varies as ${T}^{\ensuremath{-}1.2}$, in approximate agreement with theoretical predictions for magnon-electron scattering.
Payout Policies and Closed-end Fund Discounts: Signaling, Agency Costs, and the Role of Institutional Investors

The adoption of a Managed Distribution Policy or Plan (MDP) by closed-end funds appears effective in dramatically reducing, even eliminating, fund discounts. We investigate two possible explanations: the signaling explanation proposed in the literature, that the MDP serves as a positive signal of future fund performance, and an alternative explanation based on agency costs. Our results indicate that signaling is, at best, only part of the explanation and that the evidence is generally more consistent with the agency cost hypothesis. For funds adopting aggressive payout targets of 10% (median target) and above, discounts tend to disappear, though there is no discernible improvement in NAV performance. Consistent with the agency cost hypothesis, it is often pressure from institutions/large shareholders that leads to the adoption of aggressive payout policies. Moreover, aggressive MDPs are associated with a decrease in fund size and managerial fees. Suggestive of their activist role in MDP adoptions and/or informed trading, institutions - especially ones that are Value oriented - tend to build up their holdings in a fund prior to the adoption of an aggressive MDP, and liquidate their positions once the price rises.
The Effect of Pituitary Extract Upon the Absorption of Glucose and Iodide

ConclusionsSubcutaneous injections of Liquor Pituitarii in the white rat decreased the rate of absorption of glucose and of iodide from the gastrointestinal tract.
An improved ordering policy for continuous review inventory systems with arbitrary inter-demand time distributions

In this paper, we revisit the optimality of (s,S) policies in continuous review inventory models where demand forms a renewal process. We explain why when orders are placed at demand epochs, (s,S) policies are not optimal in general, and propose a simple but practical ordering policy by introducing a delay in order placement as a policy parameter. Under our proposed policy, the operating characteristics of such systems can be evaluated using the existing results in the literature. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of our policy, we restrict our analysis to a special class of inventory systems where demand follows a counting process, fixed ordering costs are negligible and leadtimes are constant. We derive expressions for the operating characteristics of such systems under our policy and present insights on the behavior of the policy parameters which minimize the average total cost rate under our policy. Using these results, we develop an efficient heuristic for computing the policy parameters. Finally, we investigate the effectiveness of our policy in comparison to policies which place orders only at demand epochs. The results of our numerical experiment indicate that our policy can result in a significant savings.
Stress protein synthesis induced by cadmium-cysteine in rat kidney☆

Abstract Biomarkers are important tools which enable toxicologists to reliably predict and detect exposures to xenobiotics and resultant cell injury, ultimately improving risk assessments. Since the de novo synthesis of stress proteins can be detected early after exposure to some agents, analysis of toxicant-induced changes in gene expression, i.e. alterations in patterns of protein synthesis, may be useful to develop as biomarkers of exposure and toxicity. We are utilizing various xenobiotics as tools to study stress protein synthesis in target organs in order to evaluate the target tissue-specificity of this response. Previous data from this laboratory have demonstrated that induction of stress proteins in rat liver, but not kidney, after acute exposure to CdCl2 precedes hepatotoxicity. Since kidney is a target tissue after chronic Cd exposure, it was of interest to examine stress protein synthesis in this tissue. However, dose-limiting hepatotoxicity precluded this evaluation. Cd complexed with molecules such as cysteine (cys) or metallothionein has been used in acute dosing regimens as a tool in order to study the nephrotoxicity of Cd. Therefore, this study was undertaken in order to evaluate Cd-induced stress protein synthesis in an important tissue known to be injured after chronic exposure, i.e. kidney. Specific objectives included comparing stress protein synthesis in rat kidney and liver after acute exposure to Cd-cys and CdCl2, determining the Cd threshold concentration for renal stress protein synthesis and assessing the relationship between stress protein synthesis and nephropathy. Male rats were exposed to equivalent doses of Cd as CdCl2 or Cd-cysteine (molar ratio Cd:cys=1:15). Kidney Cd concentrations increased 5-fold after a.v. injection of Cd-cys compared to CdCl2, mimicking Cd distribution following chronic exposure. After exposure to Cd, tissue slices were incubated with 35S-methionine. Slices were subsequently homogenized and centrifuged, and the 16 000 g supernatants were subjected to SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Proteins which had incorporated 35S-methionine were detected by autoradiography. De novo synthesis of 70, 90 and 110 kDa proteins was enhanced in liver, but not in kidney, 4 h after injection of 2 mg Cd/kg as CdCl2. In contrast, dose-related increases in synthesis of these proteins were observed in kidney 4 h after injection of 1 and 2 mg Cd/kg as Cd-cys, but not at lower dosages. In addition, synthesis of a 68 kDa kidney protein was inhibited at 2 mg Cd/kg as Cd-cys, The threshold for Cd-induced stress protein synthesis was shown to be between 4 and 8 μg Cd/g tissue. These alterations in protein synthesis in kidney occured at tissue Cd concentrations lower than those which resulted in renal injury, as assessed by histopathology and PAH uptake into renal slices. Thus, altered patterns of protein synthesis may serve as markers of cell injury or indicators of cellular stress in target organs.
Optimal-order approximation by mixed three-directional spline elements

This paper is concerned with a study of approximation order and construction of locally supported elements for the space S14(Δ) of C1 quartic pp (piecewise polynomial) functions on a triangulation Δ of a connected polygonal domain Ω in R2. It is well known that, when Δ is a three-directional mesh Δ(1), the order of approximation of S14(Δ(1)) is only 4, not 5. Though a local Clough-Tocher refinement procedure of an arbitrary triangulation Δ yields the optimal (fifth) order of approximation from the space S14(Δ) (see [1]), it needs more data points in addition to the vertex set of the triangulation Δ. In this paper, we will introduce a particular mixed three-directional mesh Δ(3) and construct so-called mixed three-directional elements. We prove that the space S14(Δ(3)) achieves its optimal-order of approximation by constructing an interpolation scheme using mixed three-directional elements.
A dual-detector optical heterodyne receiver for local oscillator noise suppression

The performance of a dual-detector optical heterodyne receiver was analyzed and compared with the performance of a conventional single-detector heterodyne receiver. The dual-detector receiver is found to offer two main advantages over the single-detector receiver-1) increased performance in the presence of local oscillator intensity fluctuations that might severely degrade single-detector receiver performance, and 2) decreased local oscillator power requirements. These two advantages are particularly important in a communication system which uses semiconductor laser diodes as local oscillators. Such lasers suffer from intrinsic wide-band intensity fluctuations and can also impose strict power constraints on receiver design. Based on the analysis, suggestions for the optimal design of a dual-detector heterodyne receiver are made. Also, several experiments were performed to demonstrate the improved performance of the dual-detector receiver-both for unguided- and guided-wave receivers.
A General Chemistry Laboratory Course Designed for Student Discussion

We report a study of the general chemistry laboratory course at one university over four years. We found that when taught as a traditional laboratory course, lab experiences do not encourage students to deepen their understanding of chemical concepts. Although the lab instructor emphasized that the lab experiences were designed to enhance understanding of chemistry, both survey and interview data show that students instead feel that the lab is primarily useful in learning laboratory procedures. As a result of these studies, the laboratory course was reconfigured to include weekly, separately scheduled times for teaching assistant-moderated student discussion of concepts, analysis of data, and reflection on the laboratory. With the inclusion of required discussion, students did report that the lab was a place for learning chemistry and visualizing the chemical phenomena discussed in class.
The infrared spectrum of SiF4

Abstract The infrared spectra of normal (Si 28 ) and isotopically enriched (Si 29 and Si 30 ) SiF 4 were observed from 300 to 2100 cm −1 on a grating instrument operating in a vacuum. A band not previously reported for Si 28 F 4 was found at 1803·0 cm −1 and assigned as ν 3 + 2ν 4 . The assignments of the Si 28 F 4 band at 777·8 and 1063·1 cm −1 were corrected from ν 3 - ν 2 and ν 2 + 2ν 4 to 2ν 4 and ν 1 + ν 2 , respectively. The anharmonicities associated with the vibrations are small; the quadratic potential constant were calculated easily, and are listed in the report. The Urey—Bradley force constants also were computed and were found to be theoretically unsuitable.
Subsolidus reduction of lunar spinels.

Discussion of evidence that some lunar basalts must have exceeded the lower limit of crystallization oxygen fugacity (fO2) by several orders of magnitude. The evidence is based primarily on the decomposition of Cr-Al-ulvospinel, and is further supported in one case by the decomposition of olivine. The data suggest that some rocks have undergone intense nonequilibrium subsolidus reduction. The reduction phenomenon is widespread, and is considered to have developed either during initial deuteric cooling or as a result of a postcrystallization reduction event.
Cloning and characterization of a new silver-stainable protein SSP29, a member of the LRR family.

Silver-stainable proteins (SSPs) are aspartic acid-rich nuclear proteins which are silver stained under very specific conditions. Using a degenerate oligodeoxynucleotide probe which codes for acidic amino acid residues, a cDNA for a new SSP, referred to as SSP29, has been isolated. The cDNA-derived amino acid sequence shows SSP29 has a molecular mass of 29 kDa, leucine-rich repeats (LRR) near the NH2-terminal region and acidic clusters at the COOH-terminal portion, indicating that SSP29 is also a member of the LRR subfamily of acidic proteins which have been shown to be involved in antigen-mediated cellular responses, leukemogenesis and differentiation. SSP29 can be stained by Ag-NOR staining. SSP29 is expressed in all human tissues and cell lines tested, localized to nucleoplasm and translocated partially to the nucleoli after heat shock. Its interaction with RNA polymerase I suggests that SSP29 may participate in signal transduction that directs nucleolar activities by regulating ribosomal RNA biosynthesis.
Observations of mechanisms for selected dye carriers using Rutherford backscattering spectrometry

The mechanisms of two dye carriers, anthranilic acid and salicylic acid have been investigated by observing their effects on the surface wettability of polyester film, dye uptake, and dye distribution within the film. Wettability, dye uptake and the distribution of the dye within the film were studied, the latter using Rutherford backscattering spectrometry. Both acids function as dye carriers for polyester by similar mechanisms. Anthranilic acid was found to increase the surface wettability of the film to a greater extent than did the salicylic acid, while the latter was found to give greater dye uptake and a more uniform distribution of dye. These differences have been attributed to the differences in molecular interactions between film, dye and dyebath.
Equivalency of Lightning Return-Stroke Models Employing Lumped and Distributed Current Sources

We show that any engineering return-stroke model can be expressed, using an appropriate continuity equation, in terms of either lumped or distributed current sources with the resultant longitudinal-current distribution along the channel being the same. This property can be viewed as the duality of engineering models. The conversion alters the actual-corona current (if any) of the model. For lumped-source (LS) models the actual-corona current is unipolar and directed radially out of the channel core, while for distributed-source (DS) models it is unipolar and directed into the channel core. For LS models converted to DS models and for the Diendorfer-Uman (DU) model converted to the equivalent LS model, the corona current is the sum of the negated actual-corona current (if any) and a fictitious-corona current, the latter being bipolar. For the transmission-line (TL) model (no longitudinal current attenuation with height) expressed in terms of DSs, there is only a fictitious bipolar corona current component. Conversion of the traveling-current source (TCS) and Bruce-Golde (BG) models to equivalent LS models involves replacement of the actual, unipolar corona current with a fictitious one, the latter current being bipolar near the channel base and unipolar at higher altitudes
Minnesota's comprehensive statewide smokefree law: short-term effects on young adults.

Background Young adults have the highest rate of smoking among any age group. Purpose The purpose of this study is to assess the short-term effects of Minnesota's comprehensive statewide smokefree law on young adult smoking perceptions and behavior. Methods Telephone surveys were conducted before and up to 18 months after Minnesota's statewide smokefree law went into effect on October 1, 2007 (data analyzed 2010–2011). Participants included young adults from a population-based cohort in Minnesota ( n =1458) and from five other upper Midwest states that serve as a comparison ( n =248). Differences in perceptions and smoking behavior were examined between Minnesota participants who lived with and without a local smokefree law prior to Minnesota's statewide law, and participants who lived in the comparison states. Results The majority of youth in Minnesota were aware of the smoking restrictions in restaurants and bars following the law. After implementation of the law, Minnesota participants who previously lived without a local law (versus comparison) were more likely to perceive fewer adult and peer smokers and less likely to report leaving social events early because it was too smoky. No changes in smoking behaviors were observed before and after the law. Minnesota participants, however, who lived without a prior law (versus participants with a prior law) were more likely to attribute a quit attempt after the law to smoking restrictions in restaurant and bars. Conclusions Results suggest that Minnesota's law has changed perceptions of the tobacco environment. Longer-term follow-up may be needed to observe changes in smoking behavior.
Improving Diagnosis and Management of Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency in Primary Care: Translating Knowledge into Action

Alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency is an established genetic risk factor for pulmonary disease and may lead to severe emphysema. Despite accessible, inexpensive, and straightforward testing procedures, the disorder is still widely undiagnosed due mainly to a lack of awareness among the medical community. AAT deficiency often results in the development of non-specific respiratory symptoms that can be confused with those of other non-hereditary chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or asthma. However, there are published guidelines that provide detailed recommendations on patient testing. Early diagnosis of AAT deficiency is fundamental to improve patient outcomes; it allows preventive measures to be taken, such as smoking cessation, and allows monitoring and initiation of appropriate therapy while lung function is still relatively preserved. Diagnosis should not solely be the domain of the specialist pulmonologist; testing can be easily initiated in the primary care setting. The establishment of process maps and diagnosis algorithms, as suggested in this review, should encourage appropriate suspicion, testing, and follow-up of AAT deficiency in the patient's primary care medical home setting. Primary care physicians have a key role in increasing the awareness, diagnosis, and effective management of this disorder.
Self-Locating Belief and the Sleeping Beauty Problem

The Sleeping Beauty problem:1 Some researchers are going to put you to sleep. During the two days that your sleep will last, they will briefly wake you up either once or twice, depending on the toss of a fair coin (Heads: once; Tails: twice). After each waking, they will put you to back to sleep with a drug that makes you forget that waking.2 When you are first awakened, to what degree ought you believe that the outcome of the coin toss is Heads? 1So named by Robert Stalnaker (who first learned of examples of this kind in unpublished work by Arnold Zuboff). This problem appears as Example 5 of Piccione 1997, which motivates two distinct answers but suspends judgment as to which answer is correct (1997:12–14). Aumann 1997 uses a fair lottery approach to analyse a similar problem. Adapted to the Sleeping Beauty problem, that analysis yields the same answer as the one I will defend in section 2. However, unlike the argument in Aumann 1997, my argument does not depend on betting considerations. 2The precise effect of the drug is to reset your belief-state to what it was just before you were put to sleep at the beginning of the experiment. If the existence of such a drug seems fanciful, note that it is possible to pose the problem without it — all that matters is that the person put to sleep believes that the setup is as I have described it.
Emerging LDL therapies: Using human genetics to discover new therapeutic targets for plasma lipids

Abstract In humans, genetic variation occurs through different types of alleles that vary in frequency and severity of effect. Mendelian mutations, such as those in the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor ( LDLR ) that result in familial hypercholesterolemia, are rare and have powerful phenotypic effects. Conversely, alleles that are common in the population (such that homozygotes for the minor allele are present even in modest sample sizes) typically have very modest phenotypic effects. In the middle of the spectrum are "Goldilocks" alleles such as mutations in the gene for proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 ( PCSK9 ). Loss-of-function mutations in PCSK9 result in significantly decreased LDL-cholesterol levels and a disproportionately large reduction in coronary heart disease risk by reducing the exposure to LDL-cholesterol throughout life. Several agents to inhibit PCSK9 are currently in development, demonstrating the potential utility of translating genetics into clinical therapeutics. To date, most investigations aimed at identifying the genes responsible for hypercholesterolemia have used linkage analysis, which requires samples collected from multiple families with defects in the same gene, or common variant analysis which requires thousands of samples from the population. However, case studies have shown that with advances in whole genome sequencing or exome sequencing (targeted exome capture), the process of discovering causal genetic mutations can be significantly streamlined. Astute clinical observation of individual patients and their families with atypical lipid profiles, followed by sequencing of the affected individual, has the potential to lead to important findings regarding the genetic mutations that cause lipid abnormalities.
Nondestructive in chip multi-layer weak pattern real time detection — Hsin-Ming Hou

The quality of patterns printed on wafer may be attributed to factors such as process window control, pattern fidelity, overlay performance, and metrology. Each of these factors play an important role in making the process more effective by ensuring that certain design- and process-specific parameters are kept within acceptable variation. Since chip size and pattern density are increasing accordingly, in-line real time catching the in-chip weak patterns/defects per million opportunities (WP-DPMO) plays more and more significant role for product yield with high density memory.
Metacarpophalangeal joint hyperextension and the treatment of thumb basilar joint arthritis.

HUMB BASILAR OR carpometacarpal arthritis is a common and often debilitating condition seen in more than half of women aged over 71 years. 1 It manifests as pain localized to the base of the thumb, as well as global hand dysfunction including weak grip and pinch, and inability to grasp large objects. 2 Eaton and Glickel 3 described the radiographic severity of basilar joint arthritis, and these stages are often used to dictate treatment. Several interventions have been described, including volar ligament reconstruction, trapeziometacarpal arthrodesis, trapeziectomy alone, trapeziectomy with ligament reconstruction, and arthroplasty. 4– 9 Despite this, comparatively little has been described about how to manage the accompanying hyperextension deformity of the metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint that often exists. Failure to recognize and treat this deformity may lead to suboptimal results. 2 Patients with basilar joint arthritis develop radial adduction and flexion of the first metacarpal with narrowing of the first webspace. The anterior oblique (or volar beak) ligament becomes increasingly attenuated with subsequent dorsoradial subluxation of the metacarpal on the trapezium. 2,10 This leads to a relative
On the role of context and prosody in the interpretation of 'okay'

We examine the effect of contextual and acoustic cues in the disambiguation of three discourse-pragmatic functions of the word okay. Results of a perception study show that contextual cues are stronger predictors of discourse function than acoustic cues. However, acoustic features capturing the pitch excursion at the right edge of okay feature prominently in disambiguation, whether other contextual cues are present or not.
Interface chemistry in LSM-YSZ composite SOFC cathodes

Abstract (La,Sr)MnO3–3YSZ interface chemistry in air-annealed and operated SOFC cathodes has been studied by high spatial resolution TEM/EELS. Major changes in Mn L2,3 and O K ELNES were observed. A mixture of manganese 3+/4+ is found in the LSM bulk phase. In contact with LSM, zirconia forms a solid solution with dissolved lanthanum and manganese. Manganese is always divalent in this solid solution. After processing and annealing in air, the (La,Sr)MnO3–3YSZ interface shows no ELNES features that distinguish from the adjacent bulk phases. After single cell SOFC operation in air/hydrogen, a strong enrichment of Mn2+ at the cathode interfaces is found with Mn–O interfacial bond contributions. Due to the high Mn2+ level at the interface, the local oxygen vacancy concentration in zirconia at the interface is increased and the electron transfer for the oxygen incorporation in the electrolyte is made easier. Thus, in the operating composite cathode, oxygen incorporation from the gas into the electrolyte is promoted by a Mn2+ enrichment at the triple phase boundaries. Cathodic polarization in the operating single cell is the cause for the Mn2+ enrichment. Interface point defect modeling is used to evaluate interface defect concentrations at LSM/YSZ interfaces. Mn4+ interfacial clusters are the dominant interface defects at very high oxygen partial pressure, while the concentration of Mn2+ interfacial defects increases with decreasing oxygen chemical potential or under polarization. This finding is in agreement with the experimental ELNES results. Model and experiments suggest that cathodic oxygen exchange is promoted under oxygen deficient conditions.
Minimum Competency Standards Set by Three Divergent Groups of Raters Using Three Judgmental Procedures: Implications for Validity.

The Ebel, Nedelsky, and Angoff approaches to standard setting were utilized to determine cut-off scores on the Missouri College English Test for admission to teacher education at a large university by three groups that, themselves, were at different levels with regard to the competencies being measured. Even though significantly different cut-off scores resulted with the use of the different methods, more nearly comparable standards were achieved through a modification in the expected success proportions used with the Ebel method than through employment of the Nedelsky or Angoff procedures. Further, similar standards were set by the groups combining all three methods. Implications for validity are discussed.
Timing of futility analyses for ‘proof of concept’ trials

'Proof of concept' (PoC) trials often are carried out to determine if a treatment is biologically active or inactive. If the predictive probability of rejecting a null hypothesis of no treatment effect on completion of the trial calculated using information accumulated before trial completion is sufficiently low, then the trial could be terminated and resources redirected more productively. If the predictive probability is high, some time might be gained by proceeding with further steps in drug development without affecting the course of the PoC trial in any way. We describe how the interim evaluation timing affects the ability to reach a decision to stop or continue as a function of various assumptions about the true parameters and about the interim outcomes. An important practical finding is that there is no point to carrying out an evaluation before accumulating about 40 per cent of the planned observations. Consequently, if trial costs are mostly at startup or for recruitment of subjects for extended periods of observation, it is unlikely that much benefit will be realized by considering the possibility of early termination for futility except possibly for administrative efficiencies with respect to resource and staff allocation.
Experimentation with different thermodynamic cycles used for pKa calculations on carboxylic acids using complete basis set and Gaussian‐n models combined with CPCM continuum solvation methods

Complete basis set and Gaussian-n methods were combined with Barone and Cossi's implementation of the polarizable conductor model (CPCM) continuum solvation methods to calculate pKa values for six carboxylic acids. Four different thermodynamic cycles were considered in this work. An experimental value of −264.61 kcal/mol for the free energy of solvation of H+, ΔGs(H+), was combined with a value for Ggas(H+) of −6.28 kcal/mol, to calculate pKa values with cycle 1. The complete basis set gas-phase methods used to calculate gas-phase free energies are very accurate, with mean unsigned errors of 0.3 kcal/mol and standard deviations of 0.4 kcal/mol. The CPCM solvation calculations used to calculate condensed-phase free energies are slightly less accurate than the gas-phase models, and the best method has a mean unsigned error and standard deviation of 0.4 and 0.5 kcal/mol, respectively. Thermodynamic cycles that include an explicit water in the cycle are not accurate when the free energy of solvation of a water molecule is used, but appear to become accurate when the experimental free energy of vaporization of water is used. This apparent improvement is an artifact of the standard state used in the calculation. Geometry relaxation in solution does not improve the results when using these later cycles. The use of cycle 1 and the complete basis set models combined with the CPCM solvation methods yielded pKa values accurate to less than half a pKa unit. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2001
The DIRC detector at the SLAC B-factory PEP-II: operational experience and performance for physics application

Abstract The D irc , a novel type of Cherenkov ring imaging device, is the primary hadronic particle identification system for the B a B ar detector at the asymmetric B-factory, P ep -II at SLAC. It is based on total internal reflection and uses long, rectangular bars made from synthetic fused silica as Cherenkov radiators and light guides. B a B ar began taking data with colliding beams in late spring 1999. This paper describes the performance of the D irc during the first 2.5 years of operation.
The Hierarchy of Estates in Land and Naboth's Vineyard:

According to 1 Kgs 21.1–16, following Naboth's refusal to sell Ahab his vineyard, Jezebel arranged for the execution of Naboth on false charges, paving the way for Ahab to take possession of Naboth's land. Commentators have long puzzled over the legal basis of this land transaction. Some posit that Ahab was a distant relative of Naboth entitled to redeem ancestral property following Naboth's death, others that Ahab held the royal right to seize land at will. The narrative, however, supports neither reading. This article proposes that Ahab's acquisition of Naboth's vineyard is better understood in light of anthropologist Max Gluckman's work on the hierarchy of estates in land. This study traces the relevance of Gluckman's thesis to several ancient Near Eastern land transaction texts and to 1 Kgs 21.1–16. Naboth was publicly shown to have failed in his duty to honor those with administrative rights in land. He thus forfeited his rights to that land and his vineyard reverted to the king.
Hypothalamic Fetal Programming of Energy Homeostasis

Prenatal nutritional conditions exert fetal programming effects on offspring predisposing them to altered energy homeostasis later in life. Human epidemiological studies show that prenatal undernutrition or overnutrition increases the risk for developing obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus in adulthood and, as such, bolster the Developmental Origins of Health and Diseases (DOHaD) hypothesis. Many animal models have confirmed that suboptimal maternal nutritional conditions are associated with altered birthweight and abnormal postnatal metabolic status. The mechanisms behind fetal programming, however, are poorly understood. The hypothalamus is critical in long-term regulation of body weight and energy homeostasis and has been proposed as a target site of fetal programming. This chapter presents evidence that changes in hypothalamic gene expression and neuronal connections underlie fetal programming observed after exposure to abnormal prenatal nutritional conditions.
Pobreza en el capitalismo ¿Por qué persiste en la actualidad?

The purpose of this paper is to provide elements to reflect on the way poverty is nowadays conceptualized and on its causing factors. This paper discusses that a classic-neoclassical frame of reference cannot explain the persistence or increase of poverty in today's developed countries. This article suggests that through a Marxist historic-descriptive and theoretical-logical method it may be possible to gain understanding about poverty in capitalism and its current evolution.
Hemodynamics of Hypertension in Chronic End-Stage Renal Disease

This study was undertaken to define the hemodynamic changes in hypertension of chronic end-stage renal disease. Mean cardiac index in 75 uremic patients was higher (P < 0.001) than that of 42 normal volunteers while stroke index was not different from normals. The higher cardiac indices of uremic patients were accounted for by increased heart rates. Despite the significantly higher blood pressure in the uremics, their mean total peripheral resistance index was not different from that of normals. The total group of 75 patients included 52 hypertensive and 23 normotensive uremics. Cardiac index, heart rate, and stroke index were the same in 52 hypertensive and 23 normotensive uremics while mean total peripheral resistance index of hypertensive uremics was higher (P < 0.001) than normotensive uremics. Therefore, the hypertension in end-stage renal disease is sustained by a high total peripheral resistance. Bilateral nephrectomy in 12 hypertensive uremics resulted in no changes in cardiac index; a consistent ...
The african health profession regulatory collaborative for nurses and midwives.

More than thirty-five sub-Saharan African countries have severe health workforce shortages. Many also struggle with a mismatch between the knowledge and competencies of health professionals and the needs of the populations they serve. Addressing these workforce challenges requires collaboration among health and education stakeholders and reform of health worker regulations. Health professional regulatory bodies, such as nursing and midwifery councils, have the mandate to reform regulations yet often do not have the resources or expertise to do so. In 2011, the United States of America Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began a four-year initiative to increase the collaboration among national stakeholders and help strengthen the capacity of health professional regulatory bodies to reform national regulatory frameworks. The initiative is called the African Health Regulatory Collaborative for Nurses and Midwives. This article describes the African Health Regulatory Collaborative for Nurses and Midwives and discusses its importance in implementing and sustaining national, regional, and global workforce initiatives. The African Health Profession Regulatory Collaborative for Nurses and Midwives convenes leaders responsible for regulation from 14 countries in East, Central and Southern Africa. It provides a high profile, south-to-south collaboration to assist countries in implementing joint approaches to problems affecting the health workforce. Implemented in partnership with Emory University, the Commonwealth Secretariat, and the East, Central and Southern African College of Nursing, this initiative also supports four to five countries per year in implementing locally-designed regulation improvement projects. Over time, the African Health Regulatory Collaborative for Nurses and Midwives will help to increase the regulatory capacity of health professional organizations and ultimately improve regulation and professional standards in this region of Africa. The African Health Regulatory Collaborative for Nurses and Midwives will measure the progress of country projects and conduct an annual evaluation of the initiative’s regional impact, thereby contributing to the global evidence base of health workforce interventions. The African Health Regulatory Collaborative for Nurses and Midwives is designed to address priority needs in health workforce development and improve regulation of the health workforce. This model may assist others countries and regions facing similar workforce challenges.
Dual-frequency interferometric SAR observations of a tropical rain-forest

Repeat-pass, interferometric, radar observations of tropical rain-forest collected by the Shuttle Imaging Radar C (SIR-C) in the state of Rondonia, Brazil, reveal signal coherence is destroyed at C-band (5.6-cm) in the forest, whereas L-band (24-cm) radar signals remain strongly coherent over the entire landscape. At L-band, the rms difference in inferred topographic height between the forest and adjacent clearings is 5 m, equivalent to the height noise. Atmospheric delays are large, however, forming kilometer-sized anomalies with a 1.2-cm rms one way. Radar interferometric studies of the humid tropics must therefore be conducted at long radar wavelengths, with kilometric baselines or with two antennas operating simultaneously.
Entropy considerations in monomolecular cracking of alkanes on acidic zeolites

Compensation between adsorption entropies and enthalpies results in less than a two-fold variation in adsorption equilibrium constants for C3–C6 alkanes at temperatures relevant for monomolecular cracking; the size-independent activation energy for CC bond activation in C3–C6 alkanes indicates that the marked increase in monomolecular cracking turnover rates observed with alkane chain size reflects a concurrent increase in activation entropies. Thermodynamic treatments for non-ideal systems rigorously describe confinement effects within zeolite channels and show that pre-exponential factors depend on solvation effects of the zeolite-host environment through variations in the thermodynamic activity of the zeolitic proton. Observed differences in rates and selectivities of monomolecular alkane activation with zeolite structure, after normalization to intrazeolitic concentrations, reflect differences in intrinsic rate constants.
Comparison of DNA damage responses following equimutagenic doses of UVA and UVB: A less effective cell cycle arrest with UVA may render UVA-induced pyrimidine dimers more mutagenic than UVB-induced ones

Mechanisms of UVA-mutagenesis remain a matter of debate. Earlier described higher rates of mutation formation per pyrimidine dimer with UVA than with UVB and other evidence suggested that a non-pyrimidine dimer-type of DNA damage contributes more to UVA- than to UVB-mutagenesis. However, more recently published data on the spectra of UVA-induced mutations in primary human skin cells and in mice suggest that pyrimidine dimers are the most common type of DNA damage-inducing mutations not only with UVB, but also with UVA. As this rebuts a prominent role of non-dimer type of DNA damage in UVA-mutagenesis, we hypothesized that the higher mutation rate at UVA-induced pyrimidine dimers, as compared to UVB-induced ones, is caused by differences in the way UVA- and UVB-exposed cells process DNA damage. Therefore, we here compared cell cycle regulation, DNA repair, and apoptosis in primary human fibroblasts following UVB- and UVA-irradiation, using the same physiologic and roughly equimutagenic doses (100–300 J m−2 UVB, 100–300 kJ m−2 UVA) we have used previously for mutagenesis experiments with the same type of cells. ELISAs for the detection of pyrimidine dimers confirmed that much fewer dimers were formed with these doses of UVA, as compared to UVB. We found that cell cycle arrests (intra-S, G1/S, G2/M), mediated at least in part by activation of p53 and p95, are much more prominent and long-lasting with UVB than with UVA. In contrast, no prominent differences were found between UVA and UVB for other anti-mutagenic cellular responses (DNA repair, apoptosis). Our data suggest that less effective anti-mutagenic cellular responses, in particular different and shorter-lived cell cycle arrests, render pyrimidine dimers induced by UVA more mutagenic than pyrimidine dimers induced by UVB.
Strengthening the case for saproxylic arthropod conservation: a call for ecosystem services research

While research on the ecosystem services provided by biodiversity is becoming widely embraced as an important tool in conservation, the services provided by saproxylic arthropods - an especially diverse and threatened assem- blage dependent on dead or dying wood - remain unmeasured. 2. A conceptual model depicting the reciprocal relationships between dead wood and saproxylic arthropod biodiversity, wildfires, climate change, forest productivity and pest outbreaks is presented. This model suggests that the eco- logical influence of saproxylic arthropods may extend far beyond their effects on wood decay. 3. Several predictions arising from this view are briefly summarised with the hope of stimulating research that may ultimately help strengthen the argument for saproxylic arthropod conservation.
Efficient ohmic boundary conditions for the Monte Carlo simulation of electron transport

The development of macroscopic transport models, accurate for studying hot-electron transport in semiconductors, involves a direct consideration of higher-moment terms. All hydrodynamic transport models (HTM's), derived from moments of the Boltzmann transport equation, require the introduction of closure relations to terminate the resulting infinite set of macroscopic equations. These closure relations are used as analytical approximations to distributional-dependent integral coefficients. The most popular theoretical approach employed for the construction and evaluation of these higher-moment transport-parameter closures is the Monte Carlo (MC) method. Since the MC method is computationally intensive, the discovery and implementation of efficient MC modeling techniques (either numerical or physical) is of significant value. This paper reports on a relationship between device boundary conditions and the convergence range of higher-moment terms in time-independent MC simulations. Specifically, a set of ohmic BC's which offer computational advantages is presented. This particular mathematical approach, which allows for two degrees of freedom, is shown to be more efficient in generating the full electron distribution function than conventional BC methods (i.e., strictly equilibrium-based). >
Toward a Theoretic Synthesis in Sociology

(1968). Toward a Theoretic Synthesis in Sociology. The Sociological Quarterly: Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 440-478.
An Analysis of Federal Initiatives to Prepare Regular Educators to Serve Students with Disabilities: Deans' Grants, REGI, and Beyond:

This article describes federal initiatives to support preparation of regular educators to serve students with disabilities through the eras of mainstreaming, the Regular Education Initiative, inclusion, and, currently, promoting access to the general education curriculum. Trends in the number of personnel preparation projects that support preparation of regular educators are analyzed. Current OSEP policies are discussed in terms of their potential impact on efforts to prepare regular educators to serve students with disabilities.
Properties of multivariable root loci

Various properties of multivariable root loci are analyzed from a frequency domain point of view by using the technique of Newton polygons, and some generalizations of the SISO root locus rules to the multivariable case are pointed out. The behavior of the angles of arrival and departure is related to the Smith-MacMillan form of G(s) and explicit equations for these angles are obtained. After specializing to first order and a restricted class of higher order poles and zeros, some simple equations for these angles that are direct generalizations of the SISO equations are found. The unusual behavior of root loci on the real axis at branch points is studied. The SISO root locus rules for break-in and break-out points are shown to generalize directly to the multivariable case. Some methods for computing both types of points are presented.
5-HT-induced colonic contractions: enteric locus of action and receptor subtypes

The role of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), its enteric locus of action, and the receptor subtypes involved in the stimulation of in vivo phasic contractions in the colon were investigated by close intra-arterial infusions in conscious dogs. The contractile response to 5-HT was blocked completely by prior close intra-arterial infusion of atropine and reduced significantly by prior close intra-arterial infusions of tetrodotoxin and hexamethonium. The contractile response was, however, enhanced by the inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) synthase by a prior close intra-arterial infusion of N omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester. Prior close intra-arterial infusions of 5-HT1A/5-HT1B, 5-HT2A, 5-HT2C, and 5-HT4 receptor antagonists had no significant effect on the contractile response to 5-HT. By contrast, 5-HT3 receptor antagonist significantly and dose dependently inhibited the contractile response to 5-HT. We conclude that the in vivo phasic contractile response to 5-HT in the colon is mediated mainly by 5-HT3 receptors located on pre- and postsynaptic cholinergic enteric neurons. 5-HT receptors may also be localized on nonadrenergic, noncholinergic inhibitory motoneurons that use NO as a neurotransmitter.