cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Removal of added nitrate in the single, binary, and ternary systems of cotton burr compost, zerovalent iron, and sediment: Implications for groundwater nitrate remediation using permeable reactive barriers

Abstract Recent research has shown that carbonaceous solid materials and zerovalent iron (Fe 0 ) may potentially be used as media in permeable reactive barriers (PRBs) to degrade groundwater nitrate via heterotrophic denitrification in the solid carbon system, and via abiotic reduction and autotrophic denitrification in the Fe 0 system. Questions arise as whether the more expensive Fe 0 is more effective than the less expensive carbonaceous solid materials for groundwater nitrate remediation, and whether there is any synergistic effect of mixing the two different types of materials. We carried out batch tests to study the nature and rates of removal of added nitrate in the suspensions of single, binary, and ternary systems of cotton burr compost, Peerless Fe 0 , and a sediment low in organic carbon. Cotton burr compost acted as both organic carbon source and supporting material for the growth of indigenous denitrifiers. Batch tests showed that cotton burr compost alone removed added nitrate at a greater rate than did Peerless Fe 0 alone on an equal mass basis with a pseudo-first-order rate constant k = 0.0830 ± 0.0031 h −1 for cotton burr compost and a k = 0.00223 ± 0.00022 h −1 for Peerless Fe 0 ; cotton burr compost also removed added nitrate at a faster rate than did cotton burr compost mixed with Peerless Fe 0 and/or the sediment. Furthermore, there was no substantial accumulation of ammonium ions in the cotton burr compost system, in contrast to the systems containing Peerless Fe 0 in which ammonium ions persisted as major products of nitrate reduction. It is concluded that cotton burr compost alone may be used as an excellent denitrification medium in a PRB for groundwater nitrate removal. Further study is needed to evaluate performance of its field applications.
Animal Cognition: Time Flies When Chimps Are Having Fun

Chimpanzees, like children, actively distract themselves to cope with waiting for a desired but delayed reward. Self-control may thus be a capacity we share with our nonhuman primate relatives.
Secondary osteoporosis and the risk of vertebral deformities in women

Abstract Among an age-stratified sample of 942 Rochester, MN women, the overall prevalence of any vertebral deformity, as assessed by radiographic morphometry, was 21.3 per 100. The prevalence increased with age and, after adjusting for age, vertebral deformities were independently associated with height, weight, a history of distal forearm or hip fractures, and anticoagulant use. Altogether, 73% of the women with a vertebral deformity and 66% of controls had one or more of the conditions that have been linked with secondary osteoporosis, which in aggregate were associated with an age-adjusted 1.2-fold (95% CI 0.8–1.7) increase in risk that was not statistically significant. The prevalence of severe vertebral deformities was 11.7 per 100 women and the prevalence of very severe deformities was 5.7 per 100. There was a stronger relationship of age and most other risk factors with severe vertebral deformities than with isolated mild deformities, suggesting that a subset of mild deformities may not represent actual vertebral fractures. The metabolic disorders linked with secondary osteoporosis were associated with little increase in the risk of severe vertebral deformities, taken together, or of mild deformities. However, in aggregate these conditions were associated with a 2.3-fold increase (95% 1.1–4.8) in very severe vertebral deformities, which points to a role for rapid cancellous bone loss among women with the worst spinal osteoporosis.
Gold-platinum nanoparticles: alloying and phase segregation

The ability to control nanoscale alloying and phase segregation properties is important for the exploration of multimetallic nanoparticles for the design of advanced functional materials and catalysts. This report highlights recent insights into the nanoscale phase properties of gold-platinum (AuPt) nanoparticles, which serves as an example to shine a light on the importance of changes in physical and chemical properties in which nanoscale multimetallic materials may differ from their bulk counterparts. In contrast to the wide miscibility gap well known for the bulk gold-platinum system, the bimetallic nanoparticles have been demonstrated to exist in phases ranging from alloy, partial alloy, to phase segregation depending on the preparation conditions, the bimetallic composition, and the supporting materials. For AuPt nanoparticles supported on carbon materials, the nanoscale alloying or phase segregation is shown to be controllable by thermal treatment temperatures, which is not only evidenced by detailed analysis of the phase and surface properties, but also supported by theoretical modeling based on thermodynamic and density function theory. The understanding of the nanoscale phase properties can be correlated with the electrocatalytic activities for fuel cell reactions such as methanol oxidation reaction and oxygen reduction reaction. Implications of the new insights to designing and nanoengineering the phase properties of multimetallic nanoparticles and catalysts are also briefly discussed.
Variation in postoperative complication rates after high-risk surgery in the United States.

Objective. Our goal was to characterize variation in complication rates across hospitals with differing volumes for select high-risk operations in the United States. Methods. Data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample for 1996 and 1997 were analyzed for 3 high-risk operations: esophagectomy (n = 1,226), pancreatectomy (n = 4,789), and intact abdominal aortic aneurysm repair (n = 11,863). Complications evaluated included aspiration, cardiac complications, infection, pneumonia, pulmonary failure, renal failure, septicemia, and others. The risk of complications was calculated by hospital volume deciles, as well as for high-volume hospitals (HVH) and low-volume hospitals (LVH) defined by median hospital volume. Results. Rates of any postoperative complication varied nearly 2-fold across hospital volume groups. The proportion of patients across hospital deciles having at least one complication ranged from 30% to 51 % for esophageal resection, 6% to 12% for pancreatic resection, and 9% to 18% for abdominal aortic aneurysm repair. HVH had lower rates of one or more complications after pancreatic resection (OR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.57 to 0.83; P = .002), esophageal resection (OR, 0.68; 95 % CI, 0.52 to 0.90; P = .008), and intact abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair (OR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.59 to 0.76; P <.001). Patients with one or more complications after pancreatic resection had a mortality of 18.8% versus only 5.2% for those without complications (P <.001). Esophageal resection mortality was 16.9% for patients with at least one complication and 2.5% for those without complications (P <.001) and AAA repair mortality was 10.4 % for patients with at least one complication and 2.9% for those without complications (P <.001). Conclusions. High-risk operations have a decreased rate of postoperative complications when performed at HVH. Variation in complication rates may contribute to the volume-outcome relationship and provide a focus for quality improvement at LVH.
WITHDRAWN: Toward a New Macrohistory: An extension to Sardar's ‘postnormal times’

WITHDRAWN: This article has been withdrawn at the request of the author(s) and/or editor. The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause. DOI Number: 10.1016/j.jmarsys.2010.04.005 The full Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal can be found at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy
‘The Rulers now on Earth’: Locke's Two Treatises and the Revolution of 1688

When we believed that Locke had written Two treatises of government to justify the Glorious Revolution, we could say a great deal about his purposes in relation to the events of 1688–89. The book served to interpret those events, to disclose their underlying meaning; philosophy and action were joined in such a manner that both gained lustre from the link. But, now we have generally accepted the view that Locke actually wrote Two treatises in the partisan heat of the Exclusion debate, and we have stopped saying very much of anything about the book's relation to William III and the events of the year in which Locke anonymously published it.
Central projections of auditory-nerve fibers of differing spontaneous rate. I. Anteroventral cochlear nucleus.

Auditory nerve fibers have been subdivided into three functional groups (Liberman, M.C. [1978] J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 63:442-455) differing in acoustic sensitivity and spontaneous discharge rate (SR). Using intracellular injection of horseradish peroxidase, the present study analyzes the projections of these three neuronal subclasses to the various subdivisions of the anteroventral cochlear nucleus (AVCN) and to the different cell types found therein. The average number of swellings and number of cells contacted decreased from low- to medium- to high-SR groups. However, these differences in terminal elaboration were not evenly distributed throughout the AVCN. The small cell cap was almost exclusively innervated by low- and medium-SR fibers, i.e., those with the highest acoustic thresholds. Within anterior AVCN, spherical-cell innervation was seen from all SR groups, whereas almost all multipolar cell innervation was from low- and medium-SR fibers. In the posterior AVCN, multipolar-cell innervation was equally likely from all SR groups, whereas globular cells were preferentially contacted by high-SR fibers. These SR-based trends in cochlear nucleus innervation help explain some of the known physiological properties of cell-types in each subdivision. They also suggest that additional physiological study of the small cell cap may be key in elucidating the functional significance of the low-SR population.
Reciprocity failure in novolak/diazoquinone photoresist with 364-nm exposure

Intensity-independent photobleaching (reciprocity failure) was observed when a film of novolak/diazoquinone photoresist was exposed at 364 and 351 nm in the intensity range 1 to 400 mW/cm/sup 2/. It was found that a dark reaction can be observed for short times after turning off the light during a bleach. It is postulated that these effects are a result of the absorbance of the intermediate ketene, which may decay on the same time scale as the exposure time and hence introduce a nonphotochemical time-dependent bleaching that couples with the photochemical bleaching to give reciprocity failure. The magnitude of the reciprocity failure is sufficient to have a significant detrimental effect on resolution and process control. Thus it is important not only to reduce the absorbance of the final product but also that of the intermediates. >
The influence of acoustics on speech production: a noise-induced stress phenomenon known as the Lombard reflex

Abstract Recently, a number of researchers reported quantitative results about the acoustic changes between normal and Lombard speech. These results highlighted that the nature of the Lombard reflex is highly speaker-dependent. In this paper, after briefly discussing the influence of acoustics on speech production, we summarize some important characteristics of the Lombard reflex. Then, we review some experimental results showing how the Lombard reflex varies with the speaker gender, the language, and the environment (type of noise). Finally, we briefly discuss the use of relational features as a way to reduce the influence of the Lombard reflex on automatic speech recognizers.
The metropolitan new york registry & cfrbcs. Unique resources for breast cancer research.

Abstract PURPOSE: The goal of the Metropolitan NY Registry, and five other international collaborating sites of the Cooperative Family Registry for Breast Cancer Studies [CFRBCS], has been the development of a comprehensive resource for interdisciplinary genetic epidemiology studies addressing breast cancer risk and prognostic factors. METHODS: Family recruitment has been conducted in clinical and community settings by a multidisciplinary team of collaborators affiliated at six major metropolitan NY medical centers. Families meeting one of the following criteria were invited to join: a male with breast cancer; a female with breast or ovarian cancer diagnosed at age ⩽45; a female with breast and ovarian cancer; or two or more first and second degree relatives diagnosed at any ages. Participants are asked to complete an epidemiology questionnaire, dietary history form, extensive family history, and donate biospecimens including blood and urine. Pathology reports and tissue samples are obtained for breast and ovarian cancer cases; pathology reports are requested to confirm the history of other cancers. RESULTS: Of the 1102 families (3,252 participants), 28 males and 1,304 females had been treated for breast cancer. More than 2,400 blood samples are banked and >3,000 epidemiology questionnaires completed. Ethnic/racial data indicates 14% are of African American or Hispanic heritage and 509 families (46%) are of Ashkenazi descent. One or more DNA samples from 400 Ashkenazi families have been tested for the three BRCA1/2 founder mutations. Of 331 Ashkenazi participants with a history of breast and/or ovarian cancer, 19% were found to be mutation carriers. Thirty-six (7 men/29 women) mutation carriers are free of cancer. CONCLUSIONS: The families participating in the NY Registry reflect a spectrum of breast cancer risk. The extensive NY and CFRBCS databases and banked biospecimens provide a unique resource for multidisciplinary genetic epidemiologic studies that may identify avenues for prevention.
Clearing the AIR about the use of self‐reported gains in institutional research

Correlations between self-reported learning gains and direct, longitudinal measures that ostensibly correspond in content area are generally inadequate. This chapter clarifies that self-reported measures of learning are more properly used and interpreted as evidence of students' perceived learning and affective outcomes. In this context, the authors supply evidence that social desirability bias in such self-assessments does not constitute a significant concern. Recommendations for use of self-reported gains in research and institutional assessment are discussed.
Crystal growth precursors of YBa2Cu3O7−x predicted from crystal habits by use of moments of momentum

Abstract Moments of momentum (MoM) calculations using chemical species expected to exist in the melts from which crystals of YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7− x grow predict some of the same crystal habits as found by the periodic bond chain method. Since momentum methods utilize solution species and their distributions, the results provide insight as to species in the melt that are potential precursors to actual crystal growth. Whether copper (II) oxide is present as a square planar or square pyramidal complex in the melt affects the crystal habit with the latter complex suppressing the appearance of {010} faces.
ENANTIOSELECTIVE SYNTHESIS OF AN UNNATURAL BIPYRIDYL AMINO ACID AND ITS INCORPORATION INTO A PEPTIDE

Abstract The synthesis of a bipyridyl amino acid, 2-amino-3-(4′-methyl-2,2′-bipyridin-4-yl) propanoic acid, is described. A short three step synthesis from commercially available 4,4′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridine provides the amino acid in 65% enantiomeric excess (ee). An enzyme-mediated chiral resolution increases the ee to 95% in two additional steps. The amino acid was incorporated into a 22 amino acid peptide composed predominantly of alanine. The peptide was found to be 88% α-helical in aqueous solution at 1°C by circular dichroism (CD) spectropolarimetry, indicating a high helical propensity for this amino acid. This amino acid can provide a means to incorporate a metal into structure-forming peptides.
Observing depth-averaged and surficial currents across the North Pacific

An experimental hydrographic cruise which combined horizontal electromagnetic profiling with currents estimated from the ship's set to produce high-resolution horizontal profiles of both surficial and depth-averaged oceanic flows is described. This experimental approach produced two independent data sets containing information about surface-layer currents directed across the track of the towing vessel. Combining these two data sets from the North Pacific section showed that depth-averaged meridional flows were weak everywhere across the subpolar gyre. Intercomparison with simultaneous measurements of geostrophic surface current showed that summertime surface flows were not only mostly baroclinic, but predominantly ageostrophic, exhibiting typical amplitudes of 0.25 ms/sup -1/ and wavelengths of hundreds of kilometers. >
Neurotoxicity in long-term survivors of small cell lung cancer

Chronic central nervous system neurotoxicity was studied in 38 long-term survivors (greater than or equal to 3 years) of small cell lung cancer who were treated at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute at Houston between 1971 and 1980. All but one patient received combination chemotherapy with or without chest irradiation. Twenty-four patients received whole brain irradiation (Group I), 22 for "elective" and two for therapeutic purposes, while 14 did not (Group II). Abnormalities in computed tomographic (CT) scans of the brain were more frequently observed in Group I than in Group II (70% vs. 0%, p less than 0.01). Clinical central nervous system neurotoxicity developed in three patients in Group I, while none developed in patients in Group II (p less than 0.05). Patients who received methotrexate and procarbazine after whole brain irradiation were at a higher risk for clinical central nervous system neurotoxicity (p less than 0.05), and for development of periventricular white matter changes in CT brain scans (p less than 0.05) than were patients in Group II. Impaired methylation of the myelin sheath is proposed as a possible underlying pathogenic mechanism.
Towards a better understanding of the effects of education: a review and re-evaluation

From a review and analysis of 16 studies and 1 survey, 2 integrative models were developed of the complex relationships between education and key behavioural outcomes. Findings are that education exerts direct, interaction and relational impacts that create significant tradeoffs, especially in organizations pursuing innovation-based competitive advantage. Practical implications concern the need to balance benefits that accrue to organizations and economies from investments in workforce education with the corresponding individual costs. Organizational policies and programmes that relate to recruitment, retention and rewards as well as education policy that reflects local context and requirements must be created that translate larger, strategic goals into desired behavioural outcomes.
Mechanical procedure for proof construction via closed terms in typed l calculus

In this paper is presented an algorithm for constructing natural deduction proofs in the propositional intuitionistic and classical logics according to the analogy relating intuitionistic propositional formulas and natural deduction proofs, respectively, to types and terms of simple type theory. Proofs are constructed as closed terms in the simple typed λ calculus. The soundness and completeness of this method are proved.
Person-to-Person Spread of the MERS Coronavirus — An Evolving Picture

Approximately 1 year ago, a novel coronavirus, the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), was first identified in the Journal as the causative agent of a lethal pneumonia in several patients in the Middle East.1 As of July 10, 2013, a total of 80 cases have been identified in the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates), Europe (United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Germany), and North Africa (Tunisia), with a case fatality rate of 56%. Since this coronavirus is a close relative of the virus that caused the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), a short-lived but . . .
Supporting Siblings of Children with Cancer: A Need for Family–School Partnerships

When a child has a chronic illness, it is readily apparent that the family and school must enter into a partnership to assure that the educational needs of the child are being met. A family–school partnership, however, may also be important to address the needs of siblings of children with chronic illness. Siblings of children with diseases such as cancer are often highly distressed and may experience decrements in academic achievement within 2 years of diagnosis. Teachers and classroom peers may be a valuable source of support to these children. This manuscript documents the mental health needs of siblings of children with cancer, describes their perceptions regarding amount of social support received and importance of social support across home and school sources, and reveals important associations between social support and more positive emotional, behavioral, and academic functioning. These findings suggest that family–school partnerships may be valuable to address the mental health needs of siblings of children with cancer.
Clinical and genetic issues in dilated cardiomyopathy: A review for genetics professionals

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), usually diagnosed as idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDC), has been shown to have a familial basis in 20–35% of cases. Genetic studies in familial dilated cardiomyopathy (FDC) have shown dramatic locus heterogeneity with mutations identified in >30 mostly autosomal genes showing primarily dominant transmission. Most mutations are private missense, nonsense or short insertion/deletions. Marked allelic heterogeneity is the rule. Although to date most DCM genetics fits into a Mendelian rare variant disease paradigm, this paradigm may be incomplete with only 30–35% of FDC genetic cause identified. Despite this incomplete knowledge, we predict that DCM genetics will become increasingly relevant for genetics and cardiovascular professionals. This is because DCM causes heart failure, a national epidemic, with considerable morbidity and mortality. The fact that early, even pre-symptomatic intervention can prevent or ameliorate DCM, coupled with more cost-effective genetic testing, will drive further progress in the field. Ongoing questions include: whether sporadic (IDC) disease has a genetic basis, and if so, how it differs from familial disease; which gene-specific or genetic pathways are most relevant; and whether other genetic mechanisms (e.g., DNA structural variants, epigenetics, mitochondrial mutations and others) are operative in DCM. We suggest that such new knowledge will lead to novel approaches to the prevention and treatment of DCM.
Control of a forward-swept-wing configuration dominated by flight dynamic/aeroelastic interactions

An active control system concept for an aeroelastic wind tunnel model of a statically unstable forward-sweptwing configuration with wing-mounted stores is developed to provide acceptable longitudinal flying qualities while maintaining adequate flutter speed margin. On forward-swept-wing configurations, the inherent aeroelastic wing divergence tendency causes strong flight dynamic/aeroelastic interactions that, in certain cases, can produce a dynamic instability known as body-freedom flutter. The carriage of wing-mounted stores is shown to severely aggravate this problem. The control system developed combines a canard-based stability augmentation system with an active divergence/flutter suppression system that relies on wing-mounted sensors and a trailing-edge device (flaperon). Synergism between these two systems is exploited to obtain the flying qualities and flutter speed objectives.
Academic Dishonesty: Are Business Students Different From Other College Students?

In this article, the authors investigated academic dishonesty and how business students stand on the issue as compared with other college students. They found in their study that nonbusiness students are more likely to cheat than are business students. In general, students who are members of Greek social organizations, undergraduates, male, and have low self-esteem typically engage in higher levels of academic dishonesty. Only employment and innovativeness had an overall significant influence on academic dishonesty.
SOME GROWTH CURVES OF BARLEY KERNELS.

In the years 1915 to 1920, Harlan, Anthony, and Pope conducted an extensive series of kernel studies, mostly at Aberdeen, Idaho. In these studies the daily growth was determined by weighiing individual kernels from spikes of a definite age. The dry weights were obtained for the kernels from the same spikes. These results have been published in part only.2 In the present paper the writers have made use of both published and unpublished material. It was thought that a series of fitted curves might present a trend of growth in a light sufficiently different from that of the previous treatlnents to justify its presentation.
Verifying predictions of the L13 crystal structure in Cd-Pt and Pd-Pt by exhaustive enumeration

In 2001, S. M\"uller and A. Zunger [Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 165502 (2001)] predicted a never-before-observed crystal structure in Ag-Pd. Recently, Curtarolo predicted the same structure to be stable in Pt-Cd and Pt-Pd [S. Curtarolo et al., CALPHAD: Comput. Coupling Phase Diagrams Thermochem. 29, 163 (2005)]. The predicted structure is unique in several ways. Though never seen in any other face-centered-cubic-based intermetallic binary compound or ordered alloy, it is relatively simple---it contains only four atoms per unit cell. Furthermore, the structure is the only one of this small size, except the $L{1}_{2}$ structure, that cannot be characterized as a simple stacking of layers where each layer contains only one kind of atom. We construct a first-principles-based Hamiltonian and search it for the thermodynamically stable (lowest energy) structures. Using a (practically) exhaustive enumeration of about three million of the most likely candidate structures, we find that this new structure, designated $L{1}_{3}$, is indeed a ground state in both Cd-Pt and Pd-Pt. Experimental efforts to validate the predictions are underway.
WE-C-AUD-02: Calculating Electron-Beam Central-Axis Depth Doses Using the Final Aperture Superposition Technique (FAST)

Purpose: To quickly calculate central‐axis depth doses for arbitrarily‐shaped electron inserts using precalculated differential dose data. Method and Materials:Monte Carlo simulation (EGS4) is used to obtain phase space distributions in a plane upstream from the insert. From these distributions, central‐axis dose in a water phantom is calculated for a) an open configuration with no insert in the applicator and b) a fully shielded configuration with a completely solid insert. Differential dose datasets are created by tagging the location of particles as they pass through the insert and scoring contributions to the dose from different regions. For arbitrarily‐shaped inserts, the Final Aperture Superposition Technique (FAST) code adds open and shielded contributions given an outline of the insert opening. Differential dose datasets are calculated for a range of energies (6–21 MeV), applicator sizes (10–25 cm), and source‐to‐surface distances (100–110 cm). FAST calculations are compared with full Monte Carlo simulation through the insert using the same initial phase space distributions. Results: FAST depth doses are similar to the full simulation but tend to be slightly lower in dose, particularly for higher energy beams. This “collimator effect” is due to the inability of FAST to score dose from particles that escape the shield through the edges of the insert opening. An average collimator effect curve has been defined using a linear fit to the average difference between full simulation and FAST for a 2 cm diameter opening and a fully open applicator. Using this curve to correct the FAST doses results in mean residual errors and standard deviations in these errors of less than a percent. Conclusion: With a minor correction for the collimator effect, the FAST program can accurately calculate central‐axis doses for a large range of treatment parameters.
BURNOUT AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO TEACHERS' SOMATIC COMPLAINTS AND ILLNESSES

This study was designed to estimate the relationship between teachers' somatic complaints and illnesses and their self-reported job-related stresses. 79% of the secondary Catholic school teachers i...
Visualizing data with bounded uncertainty

Visualization is a powerful way to facilitate data analysis, but it is crucial that visualization systems explicitly convey the presence, nature, and degree of uncertainty to users. Otherwise, there is a danger that data will be falsely interpreted, potentially leading to inaccurate conclusions. A common method for denoting uncertainty is to use error bars or similar techniques designed to convey the degree of statistical uncertainty. While uncertainty can often be modeled statistically, a second form of uncertainty, bounded uncertainty, can also arise that has very different properties than statistical uncertainty. Error bars should not be used for bounded uncertainty because they do not convey the correct properties, so a different technique should be used instead. We describe a technique for conveying bounded uncertainty in visualizations and show how it can be applied systematically to common displays of abstract charts and graphs. Interestingly, it is not always possible to show the exact degree of uncertainty, and in some cases it can only be displayed approximately.
Discrepancies Between Mother and Adolescent Perceptions of Diabetes-Related Decision-Making Autonomy and Their Relationship to Diabetes-Related Conflict and Adherence to Treatment

Objective To document the relationship between discrepancies in mother and adolescent perceptions of diabetes-related decision-making autonomy, diabetes-related conflict, and regimen adherence. Methods The sample was composed of 82 mother-adolescent dyads. Measures included adolescent and mother reports of diabetes-related decision-making autonomy, diabetes-related conflict, and regimen adherence. Nurses' reports of adherence and number of glucose tests performed each day were also obtained. Results Discrepancies between mother and adolescent perceptions of decision-making autonomy were related to greater maternal report of diabetes-related conflict. In particular, when adolescents reported that they were more in charge of decisions than reported by their mothers, mothers reported more conflict. Discrepancies between mother and adolescent perceptions of decision-making autonomy were not related to regimen adherence. Conclusions The findings suggest that discrepancies between mother and adolescent perceptions of diabetes-related decision-making autonomy may be a potentially important area for intervention.
Intramedullary schwann cell development following x‐irradiation of mid‐thoracic and lumbosacral spinal cord levels in immature rats

Intramedullary Schwann cells have been observed following x-irradiation of lumbosacral spinal cords in immature rats. The present investigation was designed to determine whether or not the development of intramedullary Schwann cells within the spinal cord could be influenced by the portion of the spinal cord exposed to radiation. Three groups of rats were irradiated when three days of age. In one group the irradiated zone was limited to a 5 mm length of mid-thoracic spinal cord (T only), in another group the irradiation was limited to a 5 mm length of lumbosacral spinal cord (L only), and in a third group 5 mm lengths of both mid-thoracic and lumbosacral spinal cord (T/L) were irradiated. All of these animals received a single exposure to 4000 R of soft x-rays (HVL 0.16 mm Al). Sham-irradiated littermates served as control animals. Groups of rats were killed at intervals from 9 through 60 days following irradiation, and the spinal cords were prepared for light microscopic examination. Schwann cells appeared in the lateral portion of the lumbosacral dorsal funiculi of L only and T/L irradiated spinal cords as early as 9 days post-irradiation. By 19 days post-irradiation Schwann cells occupied the lateral, medial, and deep medial portions of the dorsal funiculi in the lumbosacral areas. By 25 days post-irradiation Schwann cells were also observed in the dorsal gray horns. In contrast, Schwann cells were not observed in the midthoracic regions of T only and T/L irradiated rats until 11 days post-irradiation. The accumulation of these cells was not extensive, and, in general, the Schwann cells were confined to the lateral portion of the dorsal funiculi in all animals. These findings indicate that intramedullary Schwann cell development is influenced by the region of spinal cord irradiated in immature rats.
Pharmacokinetics of 5-Fluorouracil Administered Orally, by Rapid Intravenous and by Slow Infusion

Pharmacokinetic studies of 5-fluorouracil (5-FUra) were performed on 18 patients divided into three groups: seven patients were given 5-FUra i.v. by rapid injection; five patients received the drug p.o.; and six patients were treated by continuous i.v. infusion for 96 hr. The results showed rapid i.v. injection to be manifested by high early levels of drug achieved both in plasma and bone marrow with a rapid fall afterwards. Administration of 5-FUra p.o. gave rise to erratic plasma values due to greater variability in absorption, whereas 96-hr i.v. infusions showed constant levels of the drug in plasma and significantly (50- to 1000-fold) less 5-FUra in bone marrow. The main difference observed between rapid injection and slow infusion in the kinetics of the drug was the very high level of 5-FUra reached by rapid injection in plasma and bone marrow, which was of short duration (min) when compared to the low sustained levels observed during infusion. This route-dependent pharmacokinetic profile is consistent with the reported absence of myelosuppression in prolonged infusion and may be related to the resultant lower levels of 5-FUra achieved in bone marrow.
Conformational flexibility of σ70 in anti‐terminator loading

In promoter DNA, the preferred distance of the -10 and -35 elements for interacting with RNA polymerase-bound sigma(70) is 17 bp. However, the Devi et al. paper in this issue of Molecular Microbiology demonstrates that when the C-terminal domain of sigma(70), including the 3.2 linker, is not attached to the core enzyme, distances between 0 and 3 bp can be accommodated. This attests to the great flexibility of the 3.2 linker. The particularly stable complex with the 2 bp separation may lend itself to structural studies of an early elongation complex containing sigma(70).
Self Compaction or Expansion in Combustion Synthesis of Porous Materials

Abstract-We propose a mathematical model for the combustion of porous deformable condensed materials, which we use to describe the deformation of the high temperature products, induced by the pressure difference of the gas outside and inside the sample, in the absence of any external forces. The deformation occurs as a result of pore compaction (expansion), resulting in a more (less) dense product material. To describe the evolution of porosity we derive an equation which allows us to define a characteristic time ofdeformation fJ. If td is sufficiently smaller than the characteristic time of combustion t, the deformation process is sufficiently fast to compensate for pressure gradients. so that pressure is equalized almost instantaneously, and filtration is suppressed. If td > tr deformation occurs solely in the product, and does not affect the propagation velocity. We determine various characteristics of a uniformly propagating combustion wave, and the materials produced by it, such as the propagation ve...
Thermal noise in the hot electron regime in FET's

Klaassen has given two different formulas for the thermal noise in the conducting channel of FETs in the hot electron regime. It is shown that the first published formula is formally correct. A discussion is given of the equivalent noise temperature of the hot electrons.
Adverse Effects of Opioid Agonists and Agonist-Antagonists in Anaesthesia

The traditional view of opioids held that the individual opioid agonists shared the same mechanism of action, differing only in their potency and pharmacokinetic properties. However, recent advances in opioid receptor pharmacology have made this view obsolete. Distinguishing features of the synthetic opioid agonists are related, at least in part, to variation in affinity and intrinsic efficacy at multiple opioid receptors. Respiratory depression is the opioid adverse effect most feared by an aesthesiologists. Specific κ-receptor agonists produce analgesia with little or no respiratory depression. There are a number of commercially available κ-receptor partial agonist drugs, the so-called agonist-antagonist or nalorphine-like opioids, which appear to have a limited effect on breathing. Within the series of fentanyl analogues there are differences in behaviour towards particular opioid receptors and there is evidence for subtle differences in respiratory depressant effects. Pethidine (meperidine) causes histamine release and myocardial depression, while the fentanyl analogues do not. Pethidine has atropine-like effects on heart rate, while fentanyl analogues reduce heart rate by a vagomimetic action. Severe bradycardia or even asystole is possible with fentanyl analogues, especially in conjunction with the vagal stimulating effects of laryngoscopy. Fentanyl analogues often produce minor reductions in blood pressure, and occasionally severe hypotension by centrally mediated reduction in systemic vascular resistance. Muscle rigidity and myoclonic movement occurs frequently during induction of anaesthesia with larger doses of opioids. Fentanyl and alfentanil have been reported to produce localised temporal lobe electrical seizure activity in patients with complex partial epilepsy. There are probably fewer biliary effects with agonist-antagonist opioids than the agonist opioids. The mechanism of adverse effects after spinal administration is distinctly different for morphine, which is very water soluble, compared with more lipid-soluble opioids. The systemic absorption of morphine after intrathecal or epidural administration is very slow, resulting in long duration of analgesia and low plasma concentrations, while lipid-soluble opioids are rapidly absorbed into the circulation and redistributed to the brain. The serotonin syndrome may result from coadministration of pethidine, dextromethorphan, pentazocine or tramadol with monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) or selective serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). There are clinically important interactions between opioids and hypnosedatives, resulting in synergistic effects on sedation, breathing and blood pressure.
Remarks on computing the H 2 norm of incompressible fluids using descriptor state-space formulation

This paper utilizes descriptor state-space formulation for computation of energy amplification in incompressible channel flows. The dynamics of velocity and pressure fluctuations in these flows are described by a system of partial differential-algebraic equations. Typically, the evolution model is obtained by projecting the velocity fluctuations on a divergence-free subspace which eliminates pressure from the equations. This procedure results into a standard state-space representation and the problem of quantifying receptivity of velocity fluctuations to stochastic exogenous disturbances is solved using well-known H2 formalism. In this paper, however, it is shown how energy amplification can be computed directly from the original system of the linearized Navier-Stokes and continuity equations. This approach avoids the need for finding the evolution model which is advantageous in many applications.
Development of student creative skills: A quest for successful science education

Abstract: Twelve middle school teachers taught one section of science in a Science‐Technology‐Society (STS) context and another in a more traditional manner organized around typical concepts of science. Because science is concerned with exploring and questioning, trying to explain, and devising tests for such explanations, there is an obvious tie to Creative Problem Solving. Students (314 in twelve class settings) who experienced science as concepts to be considered were compared to students (326 in twelve class settings) who experienced science by considering contemporary issues and student generated questions. Pre‐ and posttest measures were taken on the quantity and uniqueness of student generated questions, possible causes, and predicted consequences for a discrepant presented event. Students in the STS classes consistently showed greater growth in terms of (a) total number of questions generated; (b) number of unique questions; (c) total number of causes suggested; (d) uniqueness of the causes sugges...
Predictors of health-promoting lifestyles in persons with disabilities

Persons with disabilities have been largely overlooked in investigations of health and health behaviors. The primary purpose of this descriptive correlational study was to examine the usefulness of Pender's (1987) Health Promotion Model in explaining the occurrence of health-promoting behaviors among adults with disabilities. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to analyze questionnaire responses from a sample of 117 adults with disabilities. Adults with disabilities were more likely to engage in a health-promoting lifestyle if they had higher specific self-efficacy for health behaviors, higher general self-efficacy, a wellness-oriented definition of health, required less mechanical assistance, and were female. Findings from this study suggest that interventions aimed at enhancing health promotion behaviors among persons with disabilities would be strengthened by addressing perceived ability to master situations, particularly the ability to successfully carry out health-promoting behaviors.
Structure-Activity Relationships of Bacillus cereus and Bacillus anthracis Dihydrofolate Reductase: toward the Identification of New Potent Drug Leads

New and improved therapeutics are needed for Bacillus anthracis , the etiological agent of anthrax. To date, antimicrobial agents have not been developed against the well-validated target dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR). In order to address whether DHFR inhibitors could have potential use as clinical agents against Bacillus , 27 compounds were screened against this enzyme from Bacillus cereus , which is identical to the enzyme from B. anthracis at the active site. Several 2,4-diamino-5-deazapteridine compounds exhibit submicromolar 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC 50 s). Four of the inhibitors displaying potency in vitro were tested in vivo and showed a marked growth inhibition of B. cereus ; the most potent of these has MIC 50 and minimum bactericidal concentrations at which 50% are killed of 1.6 μg/ml and 0.09 μg/ml, respectively. In order to illustrate structure-activity relationships for the classes of inhibitors tested, each of the 27 inhibitors was docked into homology models of the B. cereus and B. anthracis DHFR proteins, allowing the development of a rationale for the inhibition profiles. A combination of favorable interactions with the diaminopyrimidine and substituted phenyl rings explains the low IC 50 values of potent inhibitors; steric interactions explain higher IC 50 values. These experiments show that DHFR is a reasonable antimicrobial target for Bacillus anthracis and that there is a class of inhibitors that possess sufficient potency and antibacterial activity to suggest further development.
Predictors of diabetes mellitus and abnormal blood glucose in patients receiving opioid maintenance treatment.

Background Buprenorphine is a partial opioid agonist and may have less impact on the risk of developing diabetes mellitus (DM) compared to full opioid agonists like methadone. Methods We conducted an observational retrospective study to investigate the predictable factors for impaired glucose tolerance and predisposition to DM in two groups of opiate addicts receiving long-term methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) [n = 58] or buprenorphine maintenance treatment (BMT) [n = 61]. Results In our cohort, being African American, hepatitis C positive status, elevated AST, and ALT, and being on methadone were significantly correlated to being diagnosed with DM. Among all those factors, being on methadone was most significantly related to being diagnosed with DM (χ2 = 3.9888, p-value = .0458). The BMI was the only factor that was significantly correlated to having abnormal A1c level (χ2 = 6.4229, p-value = .0113). Conclusions Buprenorphine may be less likely to contribute to the development of DM than methadone. More research is needed to understand the link between opioids and DM. (Am J Addict 2013;22:411–416)
Welfare Policy and Economic Development: A Comparative Historical Perspective*

Over a century ago the American economist Henry C. Carey wrote that the masters of slaves “feel that they consult their own interests in feeding, clothing, and lodging them well, because wealth increases faster than population, and their labor becomes daily more valuable.” The change in the wealth/labor ratio which Carey noted is a fundamental aspect of economic growth. Carey saw its consequences in terms of the better care bestowed upon the slave by his master, but with appropriate modifications the same consequences apply to the free worker in a maturing industrial society.
Computer-aided electrical design of power processing systems

A computer-based approach to power supply design is presented and illustrated with a high-power forward converter example. The approach demonstrates a highly effective method of using computers to achieve design optimization while reducing design time and cost. A system-level simulation tool, based on generalized averaged models, is also presented and its use is illustrated with hardware measurements. >
Binary Quantization of Signal Amplitudes: Effect for Radar Angular Accuracy

An investigation made by P. Swerling [4] determining the limits that receiver noise imposes upon the accuracy with which the angular position of a target may be estimated by a pulsed search radar, is extended to determine additional accuracy limitations imposed by the quantization of signal strengths prior to angle estimation. This analysis follows that of Swerling in form. The results are presented in graphs. For many cases of practical interest, the additional limitation in accuracy may be neglected.
The electromagnetic interference shielding of polypyrrole impregnated conducting polymer composites

A lightweight conducting polymer composite was prepared by the incorporation of conducting polypyrrole in the pores of a host polymer to form a conductive network. The inclusion of polypyrrole in a porous cross-linked polystyrene host polymer, prepared by the concentrated emulsion polymerization method, was carried out by imbibing the host polymer with a pyrrole solution (or oxidant solution), partially drying the saturated host polymer, and imbibing it again with the oxidant solution (or pyrrole solution) for 2 h. The conductivity of the polymer composite is as high as 0.5 S/cm and the shielding effectiveness of the composite reaches 26 dB in the frequency range from 1.0 to 2.0 GHz.