cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Is There a Link Between Exchange Rate Pass-Through and the Monetary Regime: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America

This paper investigates the relationship between the monetary regime: pegged, currency board, dollarization, and the exchange rate pass-through for a sample consisting of 15 Sub-Saharan Africa countries and 12 Latin American countries. The research findings about pass-through rates will shed light on the feasibility of a monetary union for Sub-Saharan Africa. The inclusion of the latter country group was deemed desirable to explore pass-through behavior in several monetary regime options not often used in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Microvascular joint transplantation with epiphyseal growth

The successful free microvascular transplantation to the hand of a second metatarsal phalangeal joint with associated epiphyses is described, with follow-up data 2 1/2 years later indicating epiphyseal growth.
Comparison of measurements of refractive errors between the hand-held Retinomax and on-table autorefractors in cyclopleged and noncyclopleged children.

Abstract Purpose To compare the measurement of refractive errors (sphere, cylinder, and axis) between the hand-held Retinomax and on-table Topcon autorefractors in cyclopleged and noncyclopleged young children. The average bias and measurement agreement were assessed. Design Observational cross-sectional study. Methods The study included 114 cyclopleged and 156 noncyclopleged young children. The mean difference between the two methods and the 95% limits of agreement were calculated to evaluate the average bias. Two types of analyses were conducted to assess the degree of agreement. First, the proportion of the absolute mean differences was presented in different ranges (≤0.25, 0.25–0.5, 0.5–0.75, 0.75–1.0, and >1.0 diopters for sphere and cylinder; 0–10, 11–20 and >20 degrees for axis). Second, the paired t test was conducted to evaluate the consistency of two types of measurements. Results The data by the Retinomax had mild bias (0.59 diopters) toward a lower sphere data under noncycloplegia but no bias under cycloplegia. For cylinder and axis, there was either no bias or clinically acceptable bias (0.02–0.13 diopters for cylinder and 2–7 degrees for axis) regardless of cycloplegia. Besides the sphere data under noncycloplegia, in general 90% of the mean differences of sphere and cylinder were within 0.5 diopters. More than 97% of the difference in axis under cycloplegia and 68% under noncycloplegia were within 20 degrees. After adjusting for mild bias, the paired t test showed very consistent results. Conclusions The data by the Retinomax were consistent with those by the Topcon. The Retinomax is a useful instrument to screen refractive errors in young children.
Mechanisms of Cardiac and Renal Dysfunction in Patients Dying of Sepsis

Rationale: The mechanistic basis for cardiac and renal dysfunction in sepsis is unknown. In particular, the degree and type of cell death is undefined.Objectives: To evaluate the degree of sepsis-induced cardiomyocyte and renal tubular cell injury and death.Methods: Light and electron microscopy and immunohistochemical staining for markers of cellular injury and stress, including connexin-43 and kidney-injury-molecule-1 (Kim-1), were used in this study.Measurements and Main Results: Rapid postmortem cardiac and renal harvest was performed in 44 septic patients. Control hearts were obtained from 12 transplant and 13 brain-dead patients. Control kidneys were obtained from 20 trauma patients and eight patients with cancer. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated low levels of apoptotic cardiomyocytes (<1–2 cells per thousand) in septic and control subjects and revealed redistribution of connexin-43 to lateral membranes in sepsis (P < 0.020). Electron microscopy showed hydropic mitochondria only in septic specimens...
Ability of nonperturbative density-functional theories to stabilize arbitrary solids.

The effects of solid structure and interatomic potential are investigated for density-functional theories based on the definition of a weighted or effective density for approximating the solid phase in terms of the uniform liquid. The introduction of solidlike structure to the modified-weighted-density-approximation (MWDA) theory of Denton and Ashcroft [Phys. Rev. A 39, 4701 (1989)] leads to loss of existence of the weighted density for a system of hard spheres. This behavior is more pronounced for loose crystalline structures, such as the diamond lattice. By contrast, the generalized-effective-liquid-approximation theory (GELA) of Lutsko and Baus [Phys. Rev. A 41, 6647 (1990)] always predicts single-valued weighted densities in the cases studied here. The thermodynamic mapping, which is the core of both of the MWDA and GELA approximations, is ineffective for Lennard-Jones fluids, according to a criterion for the relative stability of the solid phase evaluated using liquid-state information.
NIRS Measurement of the Pulsatile Component of Cerebral Blood Flow and Volume from the Arterial Oscillations

We present a method to noninvasively measure changes in pulsate cerebral blood flow (pCBF) and volume (pCBV) based on the shape of the heart beat pulse. We present preliminary data obtained from piglets.
The Interrelationships of Psychological Testing, Psychologists' Recommendations, and Police Departments' Recruitment Decisions:

The application of a battery of psychological tests intends to “weed out” police applicants who are deemed mentally and psychologically unfit in terms of abnormality of personality traits and defic...
Genetic Polymorphism of C'3(β1c-Globuiin) in Human Serum

Genetic polymorphism of the third component of human complement and its breakdown products has been detected in human serum by high-voltage starch-gel electrophoresis. Six phenotypes were observed in a study of 113 randomly chosen Caucasians. Their inheritance is controlled by four codominant alleles at an autosomal locus. The gene frequencies in this study were C31, 0.21; C32, 0.77; C33, ∼0.01; and C34, ∼0.004.
Admissible slopes for monotone and convex interpolation

In many applications, interpolation of experimental data exhibiting some geometric property such as nonnegativity, monotonicity or convexity is unacceptable unless the interpolant reflects these characteristics. This paper identifies admissible slopes at data points of variousC 1 interpolants which ensure a desirable shape. We discuss this question, in turn for the following function classes commonly used for shape preserving interpolations: monotone polynomials,C 1 monotone piecewise polynomials, convex polynomials, parametric cubic curves and rational functions.
SU-FF-T-138: Time Optimal Delivery of Intensity Modulated Arc Therapy

Purpose: Delivery of arc therapy can be achieved with multiple solutions for speed of gantry rotation, beam dose rate variation in time and with various speed trajectories of MLC leaves. The goal is to find the most time efficient realization of the arc delivery provided all constraints of the delivery system are satisfied. Methods: The starting point for our considerations is that the specific plan of treatment has been derived for arc radiation therapy. The parameters of the plan that have to be kept unchanged during delivery to preserve the integrity of the plan include file defining apertures of MLC as function of gantry angle and file defining beam intensity (MU) as function of gantry angle. The other point of our considerations exemplifies limitations of delivery systems for arc therapies. These constraints include gantry angle angular speed limit, beam dose rate limit and MLC leaf speed limits. Provided above invariants and limitations are satisfied there exist multiple solutions for arc therapy delivery. We derive formula for such determination of gantry rotation speed, beam dose rate variation and MLC leaf speeds during delivery that lead to minimal time of arc delivery of a given plan. Results: We investigate example of arc therapy comparing delivery performed under Varian delivery algorithm and our time‐optimized delivery. We first solve the optimization problem, define delivery files. We simulate deliveries based on parameters derived from standard algorithms and from our solutions. In our preliminary study we find that both deliveries provide identical dose distributions and observe our algorithm leads to 10–15% decrease in delivery time. Conclusions: Investigation of minimal delivery time arc therapy demonstrates that this provides a viable option for arc therapy implemented with clinical TPS and linear accelerators. Simulation study shows that minimal delivery time arc RT improves treatment efficiency without compromising dosimetric integrity.
Flow of polarized Fermi gases through narrow channels.

The flow of a polarized Fermi gas through channels from one cell to another can be used to study its transport properties. If the mean free path $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ in the gas is smaller than the radius $r$ of a channel, the time constant for the filling of an empty chamber can yield the viscosity of the gas in both the Boltzmann and degenerate cases. If $\ensuremath{\lambda}gr$ and the gas is degenerate, a novel effect is predicted: Because the Fermi velocities of the two spin species are different, the polarization in the second cell will initially have a value greater than the equilibrium value in the first cell.
Separation Anxiety: A Factor in the Object Relations of Schizophrenic Patients

SEPARATION anxiety refers to the signal of danger and reaction of distress upon isolation or separation from a needed person. This concept has been used mainly to describe the reactions of children upon separation from their mothers, as in the writings of Spitz, Bowlby, Benjamin,14,4,2and others. However, separation anxiety is by no means limited to Child-mother relationships, but may be observed in a variety of other contexts. In this paper I wish to focus upon its significance in the object relations of schizophrenic patients. At first glance many schizophrenic persons might be assumed to be relatively devoid of this type of anxiety. They are withdrawn, selfabsorbed, and narcissistic, with little apparent interest in object relations. However, this facade of indifference to others frequently conceals and defends against deep and pervasive anxiety of which separation anxiety is a large part. It is a major
Visual Kin Recognition in Nonhuman Primates: (Pan troglodytes and Macaca mulatta): Inbreeding Avoidance or Male Distinctiveness?

Faces provide important information about identity, age, and even kinship. A previous study in chimpanzees reported greater similarity between the faces of mothers and sons compared with mothers and daughters, or unrelated individuals. This was interpreted as an inbreeding avoidance mechanism where females, the dispersing gender, should avoid mating with any male that resembles their mother. Alternatively, male faces may be more distinctive than female faces, biasing attention toward males. To test these hypotheses, chimpanzees and rhesus monkeys matched conspecifics’ faces of unfamiliar mothers and fathers with their sons and daughters. Results showed no evidence of male distinctiveness, rather a cross-gender effect was found: chimpanzees were better matching moms with sons and fathers with daughters. Rhesus monkeys, however, showed an overwhelming bias toward male-distinctiveness. They were faster to learn male faces, performed better on father– offspring and parent–son trials, and were best matching fathers with sons. This suggests that for the rhesus monkey, inbreeding avoidance involves something other than facial phenotypic matching but that among chimpanzees, the visual recognition of facial similarities may play an important role.
Gay men's safer sex behavior: An integration of three models

This cross-sectional study explored gay men's sexual risk behavior from the perspective of three popular conceptual models, the health belief model, the theory of reasoned action, and social cognitive theory. Data were collected from sexually active gay men via anonymous questionnaire containing questions about sexual behavior and items related to the constructs comprising the three models. Using structural equation modeling techniques (LISREL 8), self-reported condom use was examined from the perspective of each theory. The results suggested that a substantial part of the variance in unprotected anal intercourse could be explained by conceptually analogous constructs common to these models. These constructs referred to the cognitive-affective reactions toward condoms and to the social context of using condoms. An additional variable unique to social cognitive theory, self-efficacy, added to the explained variance in the criterion above and beyond the variables that were common to the models. Relevant variables from the three theories were integrated into an expanded self-efficacy model.
Counterflow in rotating superfluid helium

We have observed a variety of effects involving thermal counterflow in rotating superfluid helium. In particular, the temperature and chemical potential gradients associated with the motion of vortex lines have been measured. The two-fluid equations for helium in rotation have been solved for channel flow in a channel of finite height and the results are compared with our data. Interesting effects associated with the onset of turbulence and with the onset of vortex line depinning are discussed.
FAIRIO: An Algorithm for Differentiated I/O Performance

Providing differentiated service in a consolidated storage environment is a challenging task. To address this problem, we introduce FAIRIO, a cycle-based I/O scheduling algorithm that provides differentiated service to workloads concurrently accessing a consolidated RAID storage system. FAIRIO enforces proportional sharing of I/O service through fair scheduling of disk time. During each cycle of the algorithm, I/O requests are scheduled according to workload weights and disk-time utilization history. Experiments, which were driven by the I/O request streams of real and synthetic I/O benchmarks and run on a modified version of DiskSim, provide evidence of FAIRIO's effectiveness and demonstrate that fair scheduling of disk time is key to achieving differentiated service. In particular, the experimental results show that, for a broad range of workload request types, sizes, and access characteristics, the algorithm provides differentiated storage throughput that is within 10% of being perfectly proportional to workload weights, and, it achieves this with little or no degradation of aggregate throughput. The core design concepts of FAIRIO, including service-time allocation and history-driven compensation, potentially can be used to design I/O scheduling algorithms that provide workloads with differentiated service in storage systems comprised of RAIDs, multiple RAIDs, SANs, and hypervisors for Clouds.
From the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Guidelines for the use of antimicrobial agents in neutropenic patients with unexplained fever.

This is one in a series of reports by the Infectious Diseases Society of America to address issues in antimicrobial therapy. The neutropenic patient who becomes febrile has a >60 % likelihood of being infected. If the neutrophil count is <100 cells/1l, ,v20% or more of febrile episodes will have an associated bacteremia [1, 2]. These are caused principally by aerobic gram-negative bacilli (especially Escherichia coli, Kiebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and gram-positive cocci (in particular, coagulase-negative staphytococci, a-hemolytic streptococci, and Staphylococcus aureus) [3] (table 1). Fungi are common causes of secondary infections among neutropenic patients who have received courses of broad-spectrum antibiotics. Such patients are particularly difficult to evaluate because the factors that have rendered them granulocytopenic have resulted in an impaired inflammatory response. Therefore, the signs of inflammation are muted, requiring special consideration during historytaking and physical examination. It is notable that relatively few sites are affected and the cause of these infections is limited
Theoretical study of one-dimensional chains of metal atoms in nanotubes

Using first-principles total-energy pseudopotential calculations, we have studied the properties of chains of potassium and aluminum in nanotubes. For BN tubes, there is little interaction between the metal chains and the tubes, and the conductivity of these tubes is through carriers located at the inner part of the tube. In contrast, for small radius carbon nanotubes, there are two types of interactions: charge-transfer (dominant for alkali atoms) leading to strong ionic cohesion, and hybridization (for multivalent metal atoms) resulting in a smaller cohesion. For Al-atomic chains in carbon tubes, we show that both effects contribute. Electronic properties related to these confined atomic chains of metal are analyzed. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.
A Geometric Programming Model for Optimal Allocation of Stream Dissolved Oxygen

A nonlinear model is developed for allocating treatment requirements along a stream so as to meet stream dissolved oxygen standards at each point in the stream while minimizing the total annual cost of all discharging activities. An application of the model to several reaches of the Upper Hudson River is considered, and some alternative pollution abatement policies are analyzed.
Current Results from the Texas A&M Electron Beam Ion Source

The electron beam ion source (EBIS) at Texas A&M University has been constructed and is currently undergoing tests on the injection and transmission of the electron beam through the solenoid. Results of computer simulation of the electron beam are presented, as well as measurements of electron beam profiles using a pinhole beam analyzer.
Kinetics and Mechanism of Alkyl Transfer from Organocobalt(III) to Nickel(I): Implications for the Synthesis of Acetyl Coenzyme A by CO Dehydrogenase

Reaction of CH3Co(dmgBF2)2L (dmgBF2 = (difluoroboryl)dimethylglyoximato); L = py, PEt3) with 2 equiv of [Ni(tmc)]OTf (tmc = 1,4,8,11-tetramethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane; OTf- = CF3SO3-) gave Co(dmgBF2)2py-, [Ni(tmc)]OTf2, and [Ni(tmc)CH3]OTf in 80% yield. The overall transformation provides the first model for the transfer of a CH3 group from methylcobalamin to the Ni-containing enzyme carbon monoxide dehydrogenase during acetyl coenzyme A synthesis. RRSS−[Ni(tmc)CH3](BAr‘4) (BAr‘4- = B(3,5-(CF3)2C6H3)4-) has been characterized by X-ray diffraction. The products and 1CH3Co(dmgBF2)2L:2[Ni(tmc)]OTf stoichiometry of the reaction are consistent with a three-step mechanism initiated by electron transfer from [Ni(tmc)]OTf to CH3Co(dmgBF2)2L. The second step is rapid CH3−Co- bond homolysis yielding Co(dmgBF2)2L- and CH3•; then the CH3 radical is captured by the second equivalent of [Ni(tmc)]OTf, yielding [Ni(tmc)CH3]OTf. Radical clock experiments have corroborated the production of free radicals. React...
A new model for olfactory placode development.

The peripheral nervous system of vertebrate animals arises primarily from the interaction of cranial neural crest and sensory placodes. Placodes are described as thickenings of ectoderm that arise thr
Macrocycle complexation chemistry 34. Polyethylene glycol and glycolate complexes of Th4+. Preparation and structural characterization of [ThCl3(pentaethylene glycol)]Cl·CH3CN and the (Th4+)4 cluster, [Th4Cl8(O)(tetraethylene glycolate)3]·3CH3CN

Abstract The reaction of pentaethylene glycol with ThCl4 in 3/1 CH3CN/CH3OH produced [ThCl3(EO5)]Cl·CH3CN upon slow evaporation. The same reaction with tetraethylene glycol exhibits reduced ThCl4 solubility. The only isolable product, a (Th4+)4 cluster, is the result of ionization of the glycol and incorporation of oxide impurities, [Th4Cl8(O)(EO42−)3]·3CH3CN. Both products were crystallographically characterized. [ThCl3(EO5)]Cl·CH3CN is monoclinic, Pc with (at 22 °C) a=8.857(2), b=12.364(4), c=9.685(2) A, β=92.75(2)°, U=1059 A3, Dcalc=2.05 g cm−3 for Z=2 formula units, and R=0.031 for 1624 independent observed (Fo⩾5σ(Fo)) reflections. [Th4Cl8(O)(EO42−)3]·3CH3CN is triclinic, P 1 with (at 22 °C) a=12.277(3), b=12.404(3), c=18.738(4) A, α=73.01(2), β=77.71(2), γ=75.49(2)°, U=2611.7 A3, Dcalc=2.45 g cm−3 for Z=2 formula units, and R=0.040 for 5849 observed reflections. In the EO5 complex, the glycol wraps the metal ion with all six donor atoms coordinated to thorium. There are only three tight ion pairs with the fourth chloride anion accepting hydrogen bonds from the two alcoholic oxygen atoms. There are four Th4+ ions in the glycolate cluster bridged by a μ4-oxide. Each of the three tetraethylene glycolate ligands wraps one Th atom and bridges it (via the terminal alkoxide) to two other Th atoms in the cluster. There are two bridging and six terminal chloride anions. The four thorium atoms are crystallographically unique, however, there are only three different Th environments.
Toward a Characterization of Adaptive Systems: A Framework for Researchers and System Designers

Objective:This article presents a systematic framework characterizing adaptive systems.Background:Adaptive systems are those that can appropriately modify their behavior to fit the current context....
Almost periodic Szegő cocycles with uniformly positive Lyapunov exponents

We exhibit examples of almost periodic Verblunsky coefficients for which Herman's subharmonicity argument applies and yields the result that the associated Lyapunov exponents are uniformly bounded away from zero. As an immediate consequence of this result, we obtain examples of almost periodic Verblunsky coefficients for which the associated probability measure on the unit circle is pure point.
MO-F-211-07: Quantifying Magnetic Susceptibility of Veneous Blood by the Complex Sum Method in MRI

Purpose: Changes of venous blood oxygenation level leads to direct changes in the magnetic susceptibility of veins. The oxygenation level reflects the physiological state of a given vein. Therefore, susceptibility quantification of veins has been a strong interest in MRI. Here we will demonstrate a general approach to extracting magnetic susceptibilities of veins at arbitrary orientations from only two or three echoes of a standard 3D gradient echo sequence. Methods: The complex sum method is used. The complex MR signal of each voxel is added around a long cylindrical object of interest. Previous work has accurately quantified effective magnetic moments of given cylindrical objects. If an object has no MR signal, its volume and susceptibility can be further determined by the spin echo approach. On the other hand, when an object of interest (e.g., vein) has an MR signal, the susceptibility of the object and its volume may be uniquely solved using this method. Images acquired with two different echo times in a typical gradient echo sequence are sufficient to quantify the magnetic susceptibility and volume of veins. Several small isolated human cerebral veins were measured at TE=11.6 ms and 19.2 ms in 4.0T. Due to low signal to noise ratio, images at TE=19.2 ms were Bilateral filtered, to preserve the edge but reduce noise. The uncertainties of magnetic susceptibilities were quantified by the error propagation method. Results: The measuredsusceptibility of veins at two different echo times agrees with the value in the textbook (0.40 ppm) within the uncertainty. The volumes of venous vessels, the spin density inside and outside these vessels are also obtained. Conclusions: The in‐vivo measurements demonstrate our method can be used to quantify the magnetic susceptibility of a given narrow and long cylindrical object in human imaging.
Actin Depolymerization Is Developmentally Regulated in Rat Type II Cells Exposed to Terbutaline

The type II alveolar epithelial cell synthesizes and secretes pulmonary surfactant. Terbutaline enhances phospholipid release from adult and fetal type II cells. Our hypothesis is that the actin network of microfilaments regulates the secretory activity of the type II cell. To examine the developmental regulation of the changes in actin subfractions associated with secretory activity, cultures of type II cells derived from adult and 19-d fetal rat lung were incubated with or without 10 μM terbutaline for 1, 30, and 60 min. Dose-response effects of terbutaline were examined in adult type II cells. Effects of phorbol ester were also examined. Globular (G-actin) and filamentous (F-actin) fractions were extracted from the cells and analyzed separately. Specified cellular equivalent volumes of each subfraction were analyzed by Western blotting, visualized by a color reaction, and quantified by densitometry. There was a decrease in the cytoskeletal F-actin pool along with an increase in the G-actin fraction within 1 min in adult type II cells exposed to terbutaline, indicating that depolymerization of F-actin occurs. Values returned to control levels by 60 min. In contrast, the decrease in F-actin, with a concomitant increase in G-actin, was maximal at 60 min in fetal cells exposed to terbutaline. There was a dose-dependent increase in actin depolymerization with maximal effects at 10 μM terbutaline. Phorbol ester also caused an increase in actin depolymerization. Depolymerization of the actin microfilament network may regulate transport and exocytosis of lamellar bodies in type II cells. We speculate that there is an early secretory mechanism that involves depolymerization of actin microfilaments and a late, actin-independent secretory mechanism present in adult type II cells. The timing of the response of the actin-dependent pathway is developmentally regulated. This may explain the developmental differences in the secretion of surfactant that we have previously shown.
Interobserver and Intraobserver Variability in Measurement of Non–Small-Cell Carcinoma Lung Lesions: Implications for Assessment of Tumor Response

Purpose: Response of solid malignancies to therapy is usually determined by serial measurements of tumor size. The purpose of our study was to assess the consistency of measurements performed by readers evaluating lung tumors. Materials and Methods: The study group was composed of 33 patients with lung tumors more than 1.5 cm. Bidimensional (BD) and unidimensional (UD) measurements were performed on computed tomography (CT) scans according to the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria and the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST), respectively. Measurements were performed independently by five thoracic radiologists using printed film and were repeated after 5 to 7 days. Inter- and intraobserver measurement variations were estimated through statistical modeling. Results: There were 40 tumors with an average size of 1.8 to 8.0 cm (mean, 4.1 cm). Analysis of variance showed a significant difference (P < .05) among readers and among the measured nodules for UD and BD measurements. Interobser...
Cochlear-Implant High Pulse Rate and Narrow Electrode Configuration Impair Transmission of Temporal Information to the Auditory Cortex

In the most commonly used cochlear prosthesis systems, temporal features of sound are signaled by amplitude modulation of constant-rate pulse trains. Several convincing arguments predict that speech reception should be optimized by use of pulse rates ≳2,000 pulses per second (pps) and by use of intracochlear electrode configurations that produce restricted current spread (e.g., bipolar rather than monopolar configurations). Neither of those predictions has been borne out in consistent improvements in speech reception. Neurons in the auditory cortex of anesthetized guinea pigs phase lock to the envelope of sine-modulated electric pulse trains presented through a cochlear implant. The present study used that animal model to quantify the effects of carrier pulse rate, electrode configuration, current level, and modulator wave shape on transmission of temporal information from a cochlear implant to the auditory cortex. Modulation sensitivity was computed using a signal-detection analysis of cortical phase-locking vector strengths. Increasing carrier pulse rate in 1-octave steps from 254 to 4,069 pps resulted in systematic decreases in sensitivity. Comparison of sine- versus square-wave modulator waveforms demonstrated that some, but not all, of the loss of modulation sensitivity at high pulse rates was a result of the decreasing size of pulse-to-pulse current steps at the higher rates. Use of a narrow bipolar electrode configuration, compared with the monopolar configuration, produced a marked decrease in modulation sensitivity. Results from this animal model suggest explanations for the failure of high pulse rates and/or bipolar electrode configurations to produce hoped-for improvements in speech reception.
ENERGY LEVELS AND SPECTRAL LINES OF SINGLY IONIZED MANGANESE (Mn II)

This compilation revises the previously recommended list of energy levels of singly ionized manganese (Mn II) and provides a comprehensive list of observed spectral lines and transition probabilities in this spectrum. The new level optimization takes into account critically assessed uncertainties of measured wavelengths and includes about a hundred high-precision wavelengths determined by laser spectroscopy and Fourier transform techniques. Uncertainties of 63% of energy levels and 74% of Ritz wavelengths are reduced by a factor of three on average.
The rate of hepatitis C virus infection initiation in vitro is directly related to particle density

To gain a more complete understanding of hepatitis C virus (HCV) entry, we initially assessed the rate at which HCV initiates productive attachment/infection in vitro and discovered it to be slower than most viruses. Since HCV, including cell culture-derived HCV (HCVcc), exhibits a broad-density profile (1.01-1.16 g/ml), we hypothesized that the varying densities of the HCVcc particles present in the inoculum may be responsible for this prolonged entry phenotype. To test this hypothesis, we show that during infection, particles of high density disappeared from the viral inoculum sooner and initiated productive infection faster than virions of low density. Moreover, we could alter the rate of attachment/infection initiation by increasing or decreasing the density of the cell culture medium. Together, these findings demonstrate that the relationship between the density of HCVcc and the density of the extracellular milieu can significantly impact the rate at which HCVcc productively interacts with target cells in vitro.
All Done with the Best of Intentions: One Kentucky High School after Six Years of State Portfolio Tests.

Abstract This article examines the response of one high school to three of the explicit aims of the Kentucky writing portfolio assessment as these aims are described in the Kentucky Writing Portfolio Teacher's Handbook . In revealing some of the intended and unintended consequences of the state's attempt to use the assessment to shape school writing programs, to encourage classroom portfolio pedagogies, and to improve student writing, this case study suggests limitations to the presumed validity of the assessment. It also raises questions about the wisdom of using portfolios as accountability tests to drive classroom reform.
Health services in Papua New Guinea

The government of Papua New Guinea has been committed since independence to providing primary health care to its entire population through a government-operated national health system. In spite of geographic, cultural, and linguistic barriers, most people have access to primary health services and major indicators of the health of the population have improved. However, deficiencies in the provision of preventive services exist and common infectious diseases, particularly malaria, are still the main causes of morbidity and mortality. Economic realities dictate that improvements in health status in the immediate future will have to come through improved productivity and quality of services rather than expansion of the health care system.
Locus of High-Temperature Superconductivity

Cuprate-planes are not necessary and essential for high-temperature superconductivity: doped Sr2YRuO6 superconducts fully at 23 K in its SrO layers once the Ru stops librating (the material begins superconducting at ≈ 49K). GdSr2Cu2RuO8 superconducts near 45 K in its SrO layers, not in its cuprate-planes. By examining the charge transfer, we find that Tc increases with the number of layers n and with pressure p in the HgBa2Can-1CunO2n+2 compounds, as does the charge in the BaO layers (and not the charge in the cuprate-planes), indicating that the superconductivity is in the BaO layers. Four superconductors, including PrBa2Cu3O7, were successfully predicted to superconduct not in their cuprate-planes, but in their BaO or SrO layers. The original claims that the superconductivity resides primarily in the cuprate-planes are invalid.
Interpreting patterns of brain activation in human fear conditioning with an attentional-associative learning model.

J. E. Dunsmoor, P. A. Bandettini, and D. C. Knight (2007) conducted a neuroimaging study of human fear conditioning and analyzed brain activity under various pairing rates between a conditioned and an unconditioned stimulus. Computer simulations with an attentional-associative model introduced by N. A. Schmajuk, Y. W. Lam, and J. A. Gray (1996) show that activity in the amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex is well described by a variable representing the prediction of the unconditioned stimulus, whereas activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and insula is well captured by a variable coding the attentional-modulated representation of conditioned stimuli. In addition, the model explains how those variables control behavior and provides a clear framework in which those variables play important roles in the description of numerous classical conditioning paradigms. Also, the model offers a number of predictions related to stimulus novelty for future neuroimaging studies of associative learning.
Carburization of type 304 stainless steel in liquid sodium

Abstract Microhardness scans across test specimens were used as a suitable metallurgical technique for determining quantitatively the carburization potential of molten sodium in contact with type 304 stainless steel. The advantage of using hardness data in this manner is that it could be used as a method of analysis of carburization specimens when chemical analyses are not feasible. Results indicated that microhardness values at temperatures of 565, 605, and 650°C could be fitted to curves correlating the hardness to carbon content of liquid sodium. It was found that carbonaceous compounds intentionally mixed in liquid sodium gave a carbon source which produced carburization in the stainless steel test specimens. The capsule methods used for providing and controlling a molten sodium environment for the stainless steel test specimens indicated a need for further study in the use of various capsule-liner materials which are inert to carburization.
An application of parallel Monte Carlo modeling for real-time disease surveillance

The global health, threatened by emerging infectious diseases, pandemic influenza, and biological warfare, is becoming increasingly dependent on the rapid acquisition, processing, integration and interpretation of massive amounts of data. In response to these pressing needs, new information infrastructures are needed to support active, real time surveillance. Detection algorithms may have a high computational cost in both the time and space domains. High performance computing platforms may be the best approach for efficiently computing these algorithms. Unfortunately, these platforms are unavailable to many health care agencies. Our work focuses on efficient parallelization of outbreak detection algorithms within the context of cloud computing as a high throughput computing platform. Cloud computing is investigated as an approach to meet real time constraints and reduce or eliminate costs associated with real time disease surveillance systems.
Adoption of the Bow in Prehistoric North America

Current ecologicalarchaeology,as often practiced, is too closed a system. The realization that introduced external factors may playa role in cultural change as potently as localizedmechanisms demands increasedattention to analytical boundaries and matters of scale.This article questions the utility and effectiveness of localized adaptive explanations for large-scalehistorical processesand, as an illustration, considers the prehistoric distribution of the bow in North America from a continental perspective.Criteria used to determine the presence of the bow mthe archaeologicalrecord are briefly reviewedand a north to south chronological . distribution·for the initial adoption of .thebow ispresented. Inthe popular stereotype, the bow and arrow is closely linked to the Native Americans, yet the archaeological evidence reveals a surprisingly shallow time depth for an implement that, in the historic period, was distributed from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the Arctic to Tierra del Fuego. The bow in North America presents an interesting problem for examining the cultural implications of the distribution of a technical innovation through tinle and space. Although. the bow has been the subject of extensive ethnographic . descriptions and technical studies (Mason, 1893; Pope~ 1923; Rogers, 1940; Hamilton, 1982), little effort has been made to evaluate its prehistoric development or cultural significance.'· The role of technology in culture change has long been a major concern of anthropology. Diverse considerations of this fundamentaliy human attribute have centered on the pivotal question of technology as stimulus and consequence (Childe, 1936; White, 1949; Boserup, 1965; Hayden, 1981).
Temperature, Salinity, Nutrients, and the Covariation of Bacterial Production and Chlorophyll-a in Estuarine Ecosystems

Abstract The National Estuarine Research Reserve System represents a diverse collection of ecosystems among which environmental conditions differ dramatically, making it inherently difficult to determine the extent to which patterns and properties identified in one estuary are transferable to those of any other. The primary objective of our study was to develop a multivariate classification framework for comparison of these estuaries and identify the primary sources of environmental variability in each. Using a 4-year dataset from the National Estuarine Research Reserve System-Wide Monitoring Program, combined with principal components analysis, we identified distinct patterns among 21 reserves that allowed grouping based on the primary factors shaping physicochemical variability. Salinity and temperature were the primary factors shaping variability in the reserves, an observation that was corroborated by similar multivariate analysis of data from 33 published studies of non–National Estuarine Research Re...
GEOTROPIC ORIENTATION IN ARTHROPODS : II. TETRAOPES.

The creeping of the beetle Tetraopes tetraopthalmus during negatively geotropic orientation shows the angles of orientation (theta) on a surface inclined at alpha degrees to the horizontal to be proportional to sin alpha. The direction of orientation easily suffers temporary reversal to positive as result of handling. Mechanical stability during upward progression should be just possible when K(1)cot alpha = K(2)sin theta + K(3)cos theta, the weight of the body being supported on the tripod formed by the legs on either side and by the posterior tip of the abdomen. Lack of this stability produces tensions on the legs through (1) the bilaterally distributed pull of the body mass on the legs, and (2) the torque on the legs due to the weight of the abdomen. The downward gravitational displacement of the tip of the abdomen causes K(2) and K(3) in the preceding formula to be functions of alpha. These relations have been tested in detail by shifting the location of the center of gravity, by attaching additional masses anteriorly and posteriorly, and by decreasing the total load through amputation of the abdomen; the latter operation changes the conditions for stability. Different formulae are thus obtained (cf. earlier papers) for the orientation of animals in which the mechanics of progression and the method of support of the body weight on an inclined surface are not the same. This demonstrates in a direct way that the respective empirical equations cannot be regarded as accidents. The results are in essence the same as that already obtained with young mammals. The diversity of equations required for the physically unlike cases merely strengthens the conception of geotropic orientation as limited by the tensions applied to the musculature of the body (caterpillars, slugs) or of appendages (beetles, and certain other forms) when the body is supported upon an inclined surface, since equations respectively pertaining to the several instances, and satisfactorily describing the observations, are deduced on this basis.
Irradiation assisted stress corrosion cracking of controlled purity 304L stainless steels

Abstract The effect of chromium, phosphorus, silicon and sulfur on the stress corrosion cracking of 304L stainless steel in CERT tests in high purity water or argon at 288°C following irradiation with 3.4 MeV protons at 400°C to 1 dpa, has been investigated using ultrahigh purity alloys (UHP) with controlled impurity additions. Grain boundary segregation of phosphorus or silicon due to proton irradiation was quantified using both Auger electron spectroscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy, and the alloys with impurity element additions were observed to have greater grain boundary chromium depletion and nickel enrichment than the UHP alloy. The UHP alloy suffered severe cracking in CERT tests in water. Less cracking was found after CERT test of irradiated UHP+Por UHP+Si alloys, despite greater chromium depletion. This suggests a mitigating effect of phosphorus and silicon at grain boundaries. No cracking was found in argon tests, eliminating a purely mechanical embrittlement mechanism, but not eliminating a contribution from radiation hardening. Implanted hydrogen was not a factor in the intergranular cracking found.
ANNUAL VARIATION IN POPULATION ESTIMATORS FOR A SOUTHERN POPULATION OF AMBYSTOMA MACULATUM

For six breeding seasons (1997–2002), we conducted an intensive mark-recapture study on a breeding population of the spotted salamander, Ambystoma maculatum, near the southern edge of their range in east-central Alabama. A drift fence completely encircling an ephemeral pond was used to capture all adult salamanders migrating into or out of the pond, and passive integrated transponders were used to provide individual identification. The Jolly-Seber method of population estimation was used to estimate three population parameters (size, gains, and survivorship); population growth rate was also estimated. Gains varied annually, ranging from 24 ± 16 to 101 ± 24, and population growth rate was low (r = 0.18 ± 0.188), suggesting inconsistent recruitment. Consistent with life history parameters of long-lived, late-maturing species, survivorship (range 0.629 ± 0.064 to 0.699 ± 0.08) and breeding population sizes (range 189 ± 24 to 260 ± 16) remained essentially constant. The demographics for A. maculatum provided ...
Reverse Thrust Performance of a Variable-Pitch Fan Engine at Forward Velocity

A variable-pitch fan engine was tested in the Ames 40 x 80 ft wind tunnel to determine the effect of forward velocity and crosswind on reverse-thrus t peformance. Two flight-type inlet configurations were tested, and a flared fan nozzle was installed as an inlet for reverse-thrust operation. Steady-state reverse-thrust performance was obtained up to 54 m/s (105 knots). An abrupt decrease in reverse thrust occurred at about 30 m/s (60 knots). Reverse thrust was established following forward-to-reverse thrust transients both statically and with forward velocities up to 30 m/s.
The complete larval development of Pagurus lanuginosus De Haan, 1849 (Decapoda, Anomura, Paguridae) reared in the laboratory, with emphasis on the post-larval stage.

The complete larval development of Pagurus lanuginosus is described and illustrated including the first description of the post-larval stage. Specimens were reared in the laboratory at 15°C and 33.5–35.02 PSU. Newly hatched larvae passed through a short prezoeal stage (10 minutes to 2 hours), four zoeal stages (6, 6, 6, 8 days), and one megalopal stage (10 days). We compared the morphological features of each larval stage with those of the preceding two descriptions on the same species, and found many differences in morphology and the duration between zoeal stages. We concluded that significant diagnostic characters separating this species from other congeners in Japanese waters include the presence of two pairs of yellowish chromatophores on the carapace in the zoeal stages, a translucent body flecked with red chromatophores, and two pairs of red chromatophores on the carapace in the megalopal stage.
Genome-wide association scans for secondary traits using case-control samples

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) require considerable investment, so researchers often study multiple traits collected on the same set of subjects to maximize return. However, many GWAS have adopted a case-control design; improperly accounting for case-control ascertainment can lead to biased estimates of association between markers and secondary traits. We show that under the null hypothesis of no marker-secondary trait association, naive analyses that ignore ascertainment or stratify on case-control status have proper Type I error rates except when both the marker and secondary trait are independently associated with disease risk. Under the alternative hypothesis, these methods are unbiased when the secondary trait is not associated with disease risk. We also show that inverse-probability-of-sampling-weighted (IPW) regression provides unbiased estimates of marker-secondary trait association. We use simulation to quantify the Type I error, power and bias of naive and IPW methods. IPW regression has appropriate Type I error in all situations we consider, but has lower power than naive analyses. The bias for naive analyses is small provided the marker is independent of disease risk. Considering the majority of tested markers in a GWAS are not associated with disease risk, naive analyses provide valid tests of and nearly unbiased estimates of marker-secondary trait association. Care must be taken when there is evidence that both the secondary trait and tested marker are associated with the primary disease, a situation we illustrate using an analysis of the relationship between a marker in FGFR2 and mammographic density in a breast cancer case-control sample.
A New Latent Failure Mechanism for Schottky Barrier Diodes with Al-Cu-Si Metallurgy

The defect responsible for anomalous leakage current in Al-Cu-Si metallized Schottky barrier diodes has been found. The defect is designated the "CuAl2/Si defect." A new latent failure mechanism associated with CuAl2/Si defects and inherent Schottky instability is modelled. Its ramification for Schottky reliability has been established. The nature of the defect, its formation, and leakage mechanism are given.