cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
FISCHER-TROPSCH SYNTHESIS: DEACTIVATION OF NOBLE METAL PROMOTED CO/AL2O3 CATALYSTS

Abstract Fresh and used, unpromoted and noble metal-promoted 15% Co/Al 2 O 3 catalysts were analyzed by XANES and EXAFS to provide insight into catalyst deactivation. XANES analysis of the catalysts gave evidence of oxidation of a fraction of the cobalt clusters by water produced during the reaction. Comparison of XANES derivative spectra to those of reference materials, as well as linear combination fitting with the reference data, suggest that some form of cobalt aluminate species was formed. Because bulk oxidation of cobalt by water is not permitted thermodynamically under normal Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) conditions, it is concluded that the smaller clusters interacting with the support deviate from bulk-like cobalt metal behavior and these may undergo oxidation in the presence of water. However, in addition to the evidence for reoxidation, EXAFS indicated that significant cobalt cluster growth took place during the initial deactivation period. Promotion with Ru or Pt allowed for the reduction of cobalt species interacting with the support, yielding a greater number of active sites and, therefore, a higher initial catalyst activity on a per gram catalyst basis. However, these additional smaller cobalt clusters that were reduced in the presence of the noble metal promoter, deviated more from bulk-like cobalt, and were therefore, more unstable and susceptible to both sintering and reoxidation processes. The latter process was likely in part due to the higher water partial pressures produced from the enhanced activity. The rate of deactivation was therefore faster for these promoted catalysts.
Role of β-Catenin and TCF/LEF Family Members in Transcriptional Activity of HIV in Astrocytes

The Wnt/β-catenin pathway is involved in diverse cell functions governing development and disease. β-Catenin, a central mediator of this pathway, binds to members of the TCF/LEF family of transcription factors to modulate hundreds of genes. Active Wnt/β-catenin/TCF-4 signaling plays a significant role in repression of HIV-1 replication in multiple cell targets, including astrocytes. To determine the mechanism by which active β-catenin/TCF-4 leads to inhibition of HIV replication, we knocked down β-catenin or TCF/LEF members in primary astrocytes and astrocytomas transiently transfected with an HIV long terminal repeat (LTR)-luciferase reporter that contained an integrated copy of the HIV LTR-luciferase construct. Knockdown of either β-catenin or TCF-4 induced LTR activity by 2- to 3-fold under both the episomal and integrated conditions. This knockdown also increased presence of serine 2-phosphorylated RNA polymerase II (Pol II) on the HIV LTR as well as enhanced its processivity. Knockdown of β-catenin/TCF-4 also impacted tethering of other transcription factors on the HIV promoter. Specifically, knockdown of TCF-4 enhanced binding of C/EBPβ, C/EBPδ, and NF-κB to the HIV LTR, while β-catenin knockdown increased binding of C/EBPβ and C/EBPδ but had no effect on NF-κB. Approximately 150 genes in astrocytes were impacted by β-catenin knockdown, including genes involved in inflammation/immunity, uptake/transport, vesicular transport/exocytosis, apoptosis/cellular stress, and cytoskeleton/trafficking. These findings indicate that modulation of the β-catenin/TCF-4 axis impacts the basal level of HIV transcription in astrocytes, which may drive low level/persistent HIV in astrocytes that can contribute to ongoing neuroinflammation, and this axis also has profound effects on astrocyte biology.
Rheological changes associated with setting of cement paste

Abstract A method is described in which the yield stress of portland cement paste is determined from its creep/recovery behavior measured using a constant stress rheometer. As long as the applied stress does not exceed the yield stress, yield stress can be determined as a function of time on a single specimen without breaking down the microstructure. The early hydration is seen to strengthen the interparticle bonding within the flocculated structure, hence increasing the yield stress. Time evolution of the measured yield stress shows two regions, the first in which the yield stress increases slowly, and the second in which the yield stress increases rapidly. These correlate with the induction period and the acceleratory period, and the transition to a rapid increase in yield stress corresponds to the initial setting time. Reducing the water:cement ratio caused this initial setting time to be reduced.
Noise margins for Josephson logic and memory devices

Noise which can produce erroneous transitions in Josephson logic devices can be treated in terms of the familiar model for thermal activation of a particle over a potential barrier. Noise curves are calculated which represent the effective threshold curves for a given transition rate; this approach can be applied to the mode-to-mode (superconducting) transitions as well as to the mode-to-voltage state switching. The analysis will be illustrated with the example of a three-junction current injection device. The practical consequences for design of Josephson logic circuits will be indicated.
Upstaging based solely on positive peritoneal washing does not affect outcome in endometrial cancer.

Surgical staging of endometrial carcinoma includes the collection of peritoneal washings in the abdomen and pelvis. A positive finding upstages patients to International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage IIIA. However, the prognostic significance of such an upstaging, and thus the justification for the routine performance of this procedure, is unclear. This 5-year retrospective study was conducted to determine the frequency and prognostic significance of upstaging of endometrial carcinoma based solely on positive washings. The cohort for the study was collected by review of pathology reports of all washings that were performed prior to hysterectomies for suspected endometrial carcinomas over a 5-year period (01/1995–12/1999). Cases with positive cytology were selected if there was no grossly apparent intraperitoneal disease, no histologic evidence of extra-uterine tumor and the cases would otherwise have been considered stage I or II (case group). An age-matched control group was selected of stage I and II patients with the same histologic subtypes and negative washings (n=19). Of 220 endometrial carcinomas, peritoneal washing cytology was abnormal in 19 (8.6%) and was solely responsible for upstaging only 10 patients (4.5% of all cases, eight—endometrioid, one–serous, one–mixed; nine stage IA or IB and one stage IIB). Adjuvant therapy was administered in 90% of the case group and 74% of the control group. After a median follow-up of 51 months (case group) and 63 months (control group), we found only a single patient with progression of disease (recurrence, metastases or death) in the control group. It is concluded that abnormal cytology without other evidence of extrauterine disease leads to upstaging of a minority of endometrial carcinoma patients (4.5%), but does not appear to affect their overall outcome. Although this is a small single site study, it raises questions about the value of this procedure in patients with endometrial cancer.
Exploring voting behavior on American Indian legislation in the United States Congress

Abstract Using roll call data from 1970 to 2000, this study explores the impacts of partisanship, regionalism, and Indian constituency on congressional pro-Indian voting in the U.S. House and Senate. This study incorporates and tests a new measure of constituency by accounting for the presence of a federally recognized tribe within congressional districts. The presence of an Indian nation has a positive effect on the voting behavior of elected officials concerning American Indian legislation, with a significant relationship observed between pro-Indian voting and congressional districts with Indian tribes. The results also suggest a strong partisan influence on the likelihood of voting with the pro-Indian position in both the House and the Senate, but with notable differences between the two chambers. Finally, partisan voting on Indian legislation intensified from the 1970s to the late 1990s, which led to more contentious voting patterns on Indian affairs in the legislative branch over time.
Shares and utilities based power consolidation in virtualized server environments

Virtualization technologies like VMware and Xen provide features to specify the minimum and maximum amount of resources that can be allocated to a virtual machine (VM) and a shares based mechanism for the hypervisor to distribute spare resources among contending VMs. However much of the existing work on VM placement and power consolidation in data centers fails to take advantage of these features. One of our experiments on a real testbed shows that leveraging such features can improve the overall utility of the data center by 47% or even higher. Motivated by these, we present a novel suite of techniques for placement and power consolidation of VMs in data centers taking advantage of the min-max and shares features inherent in virtualization technologies. Our techniques provide a smooth mechanism for power-performance tradeoffs in modern data centers running heterogeneous applications, wherein the amount of resources allocated to a VM can be adjusted based on available resources, power costs, and application utilities. We evaluate our techniques on a range of large synthetic data center setups and a small real data center testbed comprising of VMware ESX servers. Our experiments confirm the end-to-end validity of our approach and demonstrate that our final candidate algorithm, PowerExpandMinMax, consistently yields the best overall utility across a broad spectrum of inputs - varying VM sizes and utilities, varying server capacities and varying power costs - thus providing a practical solution for administrators.
Air cargo services and the electronics industry in Southeast Asia

Air cargo services are among the most important producer services for manufacturers with internationalized production networks. In the context of supply chain management strategies, such services allow firms to respond more effectively to competitive forces in global markets. Our research aims to relate to and deepen the theoretical literature on advanced producer services and global production networks by examining the demand for air cargo services in the electronics industry in Southeast Asia, an industry and a region in which air cargo services are particularly significant. Using an air cargo intensity index for each of over 120 firms from Singapore, Penang, Kuala Lumpur, and Manila, we show that the diversity of air cargo usage is related to several aspects of firm structure and operation. Our research suggests that product type, internationalization, localization, product cycle (obsolescence), and other factors such as a firm’s material management strategy are especially critical. New directions for research that will build upon these findings are noted.
Hypophysectomy blocks the weight gain and obesity produced by goldthioglucose lesions

In an evaluation of the possible role of the pituitary in the weight gain and obesity produced by goldthioglucose (GTG), C57BL/6J mice that had been injected with GTG (0.8 mg/g body wt) at 30 days of age were hypophysectomized by a parapharyngeal method. Hypophysectomy arrested the characteristic increases in body weight and fat deposition but did not eliminate the obesity established during the interval between GTG treatment and surgery. In fact, the obesity established prior to pituitary removal was chronically maintained and even reestablished by hypophysectomized GTG mice after a period of food restriction that had returned their body weights to control levels. Thus, the hypophyseal hormones apparently have a necessary role in the development of GTG obesity in the mouse, but they are not essential for the maintenance or reestablishment of such obesity. Thus, too, a comparison of these results with the well-documented lack of effect of hypophysectomy on the obesity produced by electrolytic lesions of the ventromedial hypothalamus of the rat suggests that GTG-induced obesity and electrolytic lesion-induced obesity may have different etiologies or depend on different pathways for their expressions.
Preschool Teachers' Theoretical and Pedagogical Stances on the Language and Literacy Development of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children: Implications for Teacher Preparation and In-Service Programs

This study was an investigation into three preschool teachers' theoretical and pedagogical stances on the language and literacy development of deaf and hard-of-hearing children. Transcripts from formal, audiotaped interviews provided the primary data source for the investigation of the teachers' theoretical orientations toward language and literacy learning. The primary data sources used in examining the teachers' instructional practices were videotape recordings, handwritten field notes, and photographs of the teachers and their students participating in classroom language and literacy events over a six-month period. Data were analyzed inductively using the procedures and techniques related to grounded theory analysis. Results of the study indicated that the teachers held differing theories and that these theories influenced the teachers' instruction in significant ways. The study highlights the growth in one teacher's perspectives and the resulting changes in her classroom practice.
Application of Wood Drying Simulation Models in Commercial Lumber Manufacturing

Drying models are created both to develop a better understanding of the governing heat and mass transfer phenomena and to assist drying practitioners in achieving commercial goals. This article is a review of the application of wood drying and kiln simulation models to commercial lumber drying challenges. Examples from the literature are briefly reviewed and four selected applications in commercial lumber manufacturing are described. They include development of equalization schedules, assessment of green lumber sorting, development of alternative drying schedules, and assessment of fan reversal frequency and timing.
Impact of testimonial evidence as a function of witness characteristics

Eighty undergraduate males and females participated in a 2 by 2 factorial design to investigate the impact of a witness’s testimony on a simulated juror’s decision task as a function of the likableness of the witness. It was hypothesized that: (1) ratings of the defendant’s guilt would be influenced by the characteristics of the witnesses, that is, the testimony of a likable witness would have more impact than the testimony of a dislikable witness; and (2) ratings of a witness’s credibility would be similarly affected-a likable witness would be believed more than a dislikable witness. Results indicated support for the hypotheses. An additional unexpected finding was that the credibility ratings of the witnesses were also affected by the opposing witness’s description. The results were mainly discussed in terms of a reinforcement model of evaluative responses, although some limitations were pointed out.
Incidence and risk factors for symptomatic patent ductus arteriosus among inborn very-low-birth-weight infants

The incidence of symptomatic patent ductus arteriosus (sPDA) in very-low-birth-weight infants has been reported almost exclusively from referral centers. Moreover, the incidence has varied considerably. We prospectively evaluated the incidence and risk factors of sPDA in a totally inborn population of infants < 1500 g birth weight (n = 120) receiving conservative fluid management and examined the role of echocardiography in predicting sPDA before clinical signs are evident. The incidence of sPDA was relatively low (16%) and the age at onset was relatively late (mean ± S.E. = 14.7 ± 3.0 days) when compared to prior reports. Echocardiographic changes preceded physical and radiographic findings of sPDA. Fluid volume within the range administered to our infants was unrelated to the occurrence of sPDA. However, risk factors identifiable within 24 h of birth were defined: obstetric estimate of gestational age, race, mean fluid volume intake in the initial 24 h, and early treatment with volume expanders. From these risk factors, 79% of infants with sPDA and 79% without sPDA could be predicted by stepwise discriminant function analyses. These findings may be employed in studies needed to assess the benefit of early surgical or pharmacologic therapy for infants at highest risk for sPDA.
Karyotypes and sex determination in some dermanyssid mites (Acarina: Mesostigmata).

The number, gross morphology, and size of the chromosomes were determined for 3 species of dermanyssid mites. Early embryonic somatic tissue was studied using the aceto-orecin or aceto-carmine squash technique. Dermanyssits gallinae (De Geer), the chicken mite, had a haploid number of 3 and a diploid number of 6 chromosomes. The 2 isobrachial chromosomes were approximately 7.0 and 6.8μ and the heterobrachial one was about 5.4μ long. One secondary constriction was observed and it was situated on the short arm of the heterobrachial chromosome. The 2 macronyssine species had smaller, but a greater number of chromosomes than did D. gallinae. Ornithonyssus sylviarum (Canestrini & Fanzago), the northern fowl mite, had haploid and diploid numbers, respectively, of 9 and 18 cephalobrachial (or diffusecentric) chromosomes and these were 1.0 and 1.8μ long. The tropical rat mite, Ornithonyssus bacoti (Hirst), had haploid and diploid chromosome numbers of 8 and i6, respectively, and the chromosomes were 1.9 to 3.7μ long. Seven of these appeared to be cephalobrachial (or diffusecentric), whereas the eighth appeared isobrachial (or diffusecentric) and was approximately twice the length of the shortest chromosome. It is not certain that the 2 macronyssine species have monocentric chromosomes since no centromeres were seen, therefore the designations of cephalo- and isobrachial chromosomes are made tentatively in O. sylviarum and O. bacoti . Close agreement between the results of rearing experiments and of chromosome analyses of eggs indicated that sex determination in the 3 species was of the haplo-diploid type. Virgin females, in the 2 macronyssine species, laid only haploid eggs and produced male offspring only. Virgin female D. gallinae did not oviposit. Mated females of all 3 species laid haploid and diploid eggs in a 1:1 ratio and produced progeny of both sexes. It was suggested that D. gallinae and the macronyssine species might not be confamilial.
Malignant astrocytomas: a system disease.

JAMA A Network Model of a Cooperative Genetic Landscape in Brain Tumors Markus Bredel, MD, PhD; Denise M. Scholtens, PhD; Griffith R. Harsh, MD; Claudia Bredel, PhD; James P. Chandler, MD; Jaclyn J. Renfrow, MA; Ajay K. Yadav, PhD; Hannes Vogel, MD, PhD; Adrienne C. Scheck, PhD; Robert Tibshirani, PhD; Branimir I. Sikic, MD Context: Gliomas, particularly glioblastomas, are among the deadliest of human tumors. Gliomas emerge through the accumulation of recurrent chromosomal alterations, some of which target yet-to-be-discovered cancer genes. A persistent question concerns the biological basis for the coselection of these alterations during gliomagenesis. Objectives: To describe a network model of a cooperative genetic landscape in gliomas and to evaluate its clinical relevance. Design, Setting, and Patients: Multidimensional genomic profiles and clinical profiles of 501 patients with gliomas (45 tumors in an initial discovery set collected between 2001 and 2004 and 456 tumors in validation sets made public between 2006 and 2008) from multiple academic centers in the United States and The Cancer Genome Atlas Pilot Project (TCGA). Main Outcome Measures: Identification of genes with coincident genetic alterations, correlated gene dosage and gene expression, and multiple functional interactions; association between those genes and patient survival. Results: Gliomas select for a nonrandom genetic landscape—a consistent pattern of chromosomal alterations—that involves altered regions (“territories”) on chromosomes 1p, 7, 8q, 9p, 10, 12q, 13q, 19q, 20, and 22q (false-discovery rate-correctedP Conclusions: The alteration of multiple networking genes by recurrent chromosomal aberrations in gliomas deregulates critical signaling pathways through multiple, cooperative mechanisms. These mutations, which are likely due to nonrandom selection of a distinct genetic landscape during gliomagenesis, are associated with patient prognosis. JAMA. 2009;302(3):261-275..
Fourier-optics approach to the symplectic group

The n-dimensional symplectic group is discussed and classified in terms of operators for the first time to my knowledge. The symplectic embedding theorem is proved by using Kronecker block multiplication. In addition, the fundamental relation of Fourier optics is proved. It follows that all operator relations have been proved for Fourier optics. In combination with a previous result, the decomposition theorem for nonsingular matrices [ J. Math. Phys.12, 1772 ( 1971)], which is extended here somewhat, it follows that Fourier optics (excluding the phase-conjugate operator) is isomorphic to the symplectic group, the group of linear canonical transforms, and the group of first-order systems. This implies that every mathematical result concerning the symplectic group can be understood simply as a property of ideal cylindrical lenses under the paraxial approximation.
Object oriented random number generators

Abstract An object oriented variate generator class was developed using the Prime Modulus Multiplicative Congruential Generator (PMMCG). The class provides the 18 most popular distributions and should prove useful to the simulationist.
Sensitive DC Ground Fault Relays for Coal Mines

Recent US Bureau of Mines sponsored research aimed at virtually eliminating electrocutions on dc utilization circuits has resulted in an effective dc circuit protection device, called a sensitive ground fault relay (GFR). This relay can detect and act to interrupt small deadly ground currents that can trigger ventricular fibrillation in humans while ignoring spurious power system signals. Initially relay performance criteria were established to ensure reliability for mine duty as well as effectiveness for shock prevention. Mineworthy prototypes, consisting of a saturable-transformer current sensor and an electronic relay, were constructed. They complied with the performance standards in laboratory tests.
A new reconfigurable meander line antenna

In this paper we present a new reconfigurable meander line antenna. The antenna is a non uniform meander line with five turns. A p-i-n diode is used as a switch to connect and disconnect parts of this antenna, allowing it to tune its operating frequencies between 4G LTE and other wireless communication applications. The position of the p-i-n diode is optimized to achieve tuning between various wireless communications applications of interest to mobile devices. The antenna with its compact size is designed, built and measured where analogy is found between the measured and calculated data.
Anabolic steroids: A review of the literature

The use of anabolic steroids by athletes is controversial. On the one hand, many athletes believe that steroids improve athletic performance and thus provide an advantage to those who use them. On the other hand, the medical and scientific communities believe that inadequate scientific data exist to support the claim that anabolic steroids can improve athletic performance while overwhelming scientific data demonstrate their deleterious effects. Therefore, a large information and credibility gap concerning anabolic steroids exists between the athletes and the medical and scientific communities. We believe that this gap can be closed if both groups are better informed about anabolic steroids. We provide a detailed review of the literature on anabolic steroids that provides to the reader the information needed to make an informed decision on the relative risks and benefits of anabolic steroids to the athlete.
Quantifying and Improving DNSSEC Availability

The Domain Name System (DNS) is a foundational component of today's Internet for mapping Internet names to addresses. With the DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC) DNS responses can be cryptographically verified to prevent malicious tampering. The protocol complexity and administrative overhead associated with DNSSEC can significantly impact the potential for name resolution failure. We present metrics for assessing the quality of a DNSSEC deployment, based on its potential for resolution failure in the presence of DNSSEC misconfiguration. We introduce a metric to analyze the administrative complexity of a DNS configuration, which contributes to its failure potential. We then discuss a technique which uses soft anchoring to increase robustness in spite of misconfigurations. We analyze a representative set of production signed DNS zones and determine that 28% of the validation failures we encountered would be mitigated by the soft anchoring technique we propose.
Neural correlates of the effects of morphological family frequency and family size: an MEG study

Schreuder and Baayen (Schreuder. R., & Baayen, R. H. (1997). How complex simplex words can be. Journal of Memory and Language 37, 118– 139) report that lexical decision times to nouns are not sensitive to the cumulative frequency of the noun’s morphological derivatives in its “morphological family”, even though such a cumulative frequency effect is obtained in the domain of inflection. Under a decomposition view of derivational morphology, this constitutes a puzzling exception to the robust finding that lexical frequency is one of the major determinants of behavioral response latencies. If morphologically complex words are decomposed, each occurrence of a member of a noun’s morphological family should add to its root-frequency. We investigated the effects of morphological family frequency on the magnetoencephalographic response component M350, which shows sensitivity to factors affecting early stages of lexical processing, including lexical frequency. We hypothesized that high morphological family frequency should have a facilitory effect on the M350, even though no such effect can be seen in response time, presumably due to competition among possible root– affix combinations. Contrary to this hypothesis, we found that high family frequency elicits an M350 inhibition, suggesting that competition among morphological family members occurs at the M350. The result is significant, since there is evidence that competition among phonologically similar words occurs after, not at, the M350. Thus, our results suggest that competition within a morphological family precedes competition within a phonological similarity neighborhood. q 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Parrotfish abundance and selective corallivory on a Belizean coral reef

Parrotfish are important members of coral reef communities because they consume macroalgae that would otherwise outcompete reef-building corals for space. However, some Caribbean parrotfish species also feed directly on live corals, and thus have the potential to negatively impact coral fitness and survival. This study investigates selective grazing by parrotfish on particular coral species, differences in grazing incidence among reef habitats and intraspecific discrimination among colonies of several coral species. We also investigate spatial and temporal patterns of parrotfish species abundance across habitats on the Belize barrier reef, and examine correlations between parrotfish abundance and grazing intensity across reef habitats. We found that members of the Montastraea annularis species complex, major builders of Caribbean reefs, were preferred targets of parrotfish grazing across all reef habitats, while M. cavernosa, Agaricia agaricites, Diploria strigosa, Porites astreoides and Porites porites were not preferred; Siderastrea siderea was preferentially grazed only in the spur and groove habitats. Parrotfish grazing preferences varied across habitats; M. annularis was grazed most often in shallow habitats, whereas M. franksi was consumed more at depth. Although it was not possible to directly observe parrotfish grazing on corals, we did find a positive correlation between Sparisoma aurofrenatum abundance and M. franksi grazing incidence across habitats. Finally, when we compared our results to parrotfish abundances measured by a previous study, we found that Sparisoma viride and Sp. aurofrenatum, two species known to be corallivorous, had increased abundances between 1982 and 2004. In light of escalating threats on Caribbean reef corals, it would be important for future studies to evaluate the impact of parrotfish corallivory on coral survival.
Recent journal articles

SPECTRUM - February, 1974 - "Microprogrammed Hardware Speeds Fortran Subroutines for Minicomputer," - Copywright by Spectrum, New York, New York, 10017.
Fixed Character States and the Optimization of Molecular Sequence Data

A method is proposed to optimize molecular sequence data that does not employ multiple sequence alignment. This method treats entire homologous contiguous stretches of sequence data as individual characters. This sequence is treated as the homologous unit employed in phylogeny reconstruction. The sets of specific sequences exhibited by the terminal taxa constitute the character states. The number of states is then less than or equal to the number of unique sequences (or homologous fragments) exhibited by the data. A matrix of transformation costs is created to relate the states to one another. The cells of this matrix are defined as the minimum transformation cost between each pair of states based on insertion–deletion and base substitution costs. The diagnosis of a topology then follows existing dynamic programming techniques, with the number of states greatly expanded. Since the possible sequences reconstructed at nodes are limited to those exhibited by the terminals, cladograms constructed in this way may be longer than those of other methods in that they require a greater number of weighted evolutionary events. Example data, the effects of missing data, restricted ancestors, and putative long-branch attraction are discussed.
Attenuated-total-reflection spectral linewidth: Analysis of surface-polariton dispersion relations and damping rates

The dispersion relation for surface polaritons is investigated with real wave vector and complex frequency. The numerical solutions obtained for the complex frequencies are used to account for the widths of calculated attenuated-total-reflection lines in the limit of low coupling between the prism and the sample. The case of surface optic-phonon modes in GaP and GaAs is treated, as well as the case of coupled surface-plasmon optic-phonon modes in InSb. Calculated and experimental linewidths are compared for GaAs and InSb. The anomalously large linewidths found for InSb are discussed.
Nurses and Technology: Maintaining a Balance Between Intervention and Nurturing for Childbearing Women

Invasive and noninvasive medical technology are employed frequently in the health care of women, particularly childbearing women, often without any demonstrable benefit. Nurses are in a position to be advocates for their childbearing patients and to define and implement a realistic balance between supportive or facilitative caring and technical interventions.
Giant Volume Change of Active Gels under Continuous Flow

While living systems have developed highly efficient ways to convert chemical energy (e.g., ATP hydrolysis) to mechanical motion (e.g., movement of muscle), it remains a challenge to build muscle-like biomimetic systems to generate mechanical force directly from chemical reactions. Here we show that a continuous flow of reactant solution leads to by far the largest volume change to date in autonomous active gels driven by the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction. These results demonstrate that microfluidics offers a useful and facile experimental approach to optimize the conditions (e.g., fabrication methods, counterions, flow rates, concentrations of reagents) for chemomechanical transduction in active materials. This work thus provides much needed insights and methods for the development of chemomechanically active systems based on combining soft materials and microfluidic systems.
Estrogen Receptor Reduces CYP1A1 Induction in Cultured Human Endometrial Cells

Abstract 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) exerts its toxic action via the aryl hydrocarbon (Ah) receptor, which induces a battery of xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes, including the cytochrome P450 isozyme, CYP1A1. TCDD-induced 7-ethoxycoumarin-O-deethylase activity was reduced 75% in cultured human endometrial ECC-1 cells exposed to various concentrations of 17β-estradiol for up to 72 h, with a half-maximal effective concentration (EC50) of 0.9 nm. Reduced enzyme activity was correlated with decreased CYP1A1 mRNA levels, and transcription. Exposure to TCDD plus 17β-estradiol also reduced CYP1A1 activity in MCF-7 breast cancer cells but not in Hep-3B human liver cells or HuE primary human keratinocytes, suggesting that the effect was specific to estrogen-regulated cells. Estrogen receptor antagonists 4-hydroxytamoxifen and 7α-[9-(4,4,5,5,5-pentafluoro-pentylsulfinyl)nonyl]estra-1,3,5(10)-triene3, 17β-diol restored TCDD-induced CYP1A1 transcription, steady-state mRNA levels, and enzymatic activity in ECC-1 cells. Gel mobility shift assay showed that 17β-estradiol had little effect on Ah receptor binding to its DNA-responsive element. 17β-Estradiol did not alter the induction of another Ah receptor-regulated gene,CYP1B1, suggesting that altered Ah receptor binding to DNA does not mediate reduced CYP1A1 transcription. Transfecting ECC-1 cells with a general transcription factor involved in CYP1A1 induction, nuclear factor-1, reversed 17β-estradiol antagonism of dioxin induced-CYP1A1. The data suggest that 17β-estradiol reduced CYP1A1 expression at the transcriptional level by squelching available nuclear factor-1, a transcription factor that interacts with both Ah and estrogen receptors.
Diode ideality factor for surface recombination current in AlGaAs/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistors

n-p-n AlGaAs/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistors of various emitter areas have been fabricated to examine the diode ideality factor for surface recombination. These transistors are fabricated with and without exposed extrinsic base surfaces. Comparison of the measured results indicates that the base surface recombination current increases exponentially with the base-emitter voltage with an ideality factor which is closer to 1 than 2(1 >
Successful Treatment of Hepatitis C in Renal Transplant Recipients With Direct‐Acting Antiviral Agents

The direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) constitute an emerging group of small molecule inhibitors that effectively treat hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, a common comorbidity in end-stage renal disease patients. To date, there are no data to guide use of these agents in kidney transplant patients. The authors collected data from 20 consecutive kidney recipients treated with interferon-free treatment regimens for HCV at their center: 88% were infected with genotype 1; 50% had biopsy-proved advanced hepatic fibrosis on their most recent liver biopsy preceding treatment (Metavir stage 3 fibrosis [F3] or F4); and 60% had failed treatment pretransplantation with interferon-based therapy. DAA treatment was initiated a median of 888 days after renal transplantation. All patients cleared the virus while on therapy, and 100% have achieved a sustained virologic response at 12 weeks after completion of DAA therapy. The most commonly used regimen was sofosbuvir 400 mg daily in combination with simeprevir 150 mg daily. However, four different treatment approaches were used, with comparable results. The DAAs were well tolerated, and less than half of patients required calcineurin inhibitor dose adjustment during treatment. Eradication of HCV infection with DAAs is feasible after kidney transplantation with few treatment-related side effects.
Emotional Intelligence as a Predictor of Resident Well-Being

Background There is increasing recognition that physician wellness is critical; it not only benefits the provider, but also influences quality and patient care outcomes. Despite this, resident physicians suffer from a high rate of burnout and personal distress. Individuals with higher emotional intelligence (EI) are thought to perceive, process, and regulate emotions more effectively, which can lead to enhanced well-being and less emotional disturbance. This study sought to understand the relationship between EI and wellness among surgical residents. Study Design Residents in a single general surgery residency program were surveyed on a voluntary basis. Emotional intelligence was measured using the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form. Resident wellness was assessed with the Dupuy Psychological General Well-Being Index, Maslach Burnout Inventory, and Beck Depression Inventory-Short Form. Emotional intelligence and wellness parameters were correlated using Pearson coefficients. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify factors predictive of well-being. Results Seventy-three residents participated in the survey (response rate 63%). Emotional intelligence scores correlated positively with psychological well-being ( r = 0.74; p r = −0.69, p r = −0.69; p r = −0.59; p Conclusions Emotional intelligence is a strong predictor of resident well-being. Prospectively measuring EI can identify those who are most likely to thrive in surgical residency. Interventions to increase EI can be effective at optimizing the wellness of residents.
Effects of cycloheximide on pancreatic endonuclease activity, apoptosis, and severity of acute pancreatitis

The factors that determine the severity of acute pancreatitis are unknown, but a close inverse correlation between that severity and the extent of acinar cell apoptosis that follows the triggering signal has been previously noted [A. M. Kaiser, A. K. Saluja, A. Sengupta, M. Saluja, and M. L. Steer. Am. J. Physiol. 269 (Cell Physiol. 38): C1295-C1304, 1995]. In the present studies, we have evaluated internucleosomal DNA fragmentation and apoptosis within the pancreas and the effects of inhibiting protein synthesis by cycloheximide (CHX) on these phenomena as well as on the severity of pancreatitis. We report the constitutive presence of a Ca(2+)- and Mg(2+)-dependent endonuclease activity within pancreatic nuclei that is dependent on continued protein synthesis. Furthermore, we have found that CHX administration reduces the extent of apoptosis but significantly worsens the severity of pancreatitis that follows ligation of the rat common bile-pancreatic duct. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that apoptosis is a teleologically beneficial response to acinar cell injury during acute pancreatitis.
In There a Lawyer in the (White) House?: Portraying Lawyers on The West Wing

Ever since "L.A. Law" burst triumphantly onto the small screen in 1986 and the "Law & Order" franchise was born four years later, shows featuring lawyers have become a staple of American prime time network television. Sadly, many of the shows in which lawyers were or are the central characters -- "Ally McBeal," "The Practice," "Boston Legal," "Shark," "Damages," and, most recently, "Raising the Bar," to name a few -- have depicted lawyers as caricatures who appear to be wholly unfamiliar with (and fairly unconcerned about) legal ethics and to view the law as a game to be won or a puzzle to be solved -- sometimes coincidentally for their client's benefit, but mostly for personal satisfaction. Standing in stark contrast to these cynical, self-indulgent, melodrama-prone, pomo-lawyers are those we meet from the White House Counsel's office of fictional President Jed Bartlet during the historic seven-year run of "The West Wing." While several of the show's more central characters -- Chief of Staff Leo McGarry, Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman, Communications Director Toby Ziegler, and Deputy Communications Director Sam Seaborn -- had law degrees, and some had substantial private-practice experience before entering politics, we saw them as policy advisors and political operatives. By contrast, the White House Counsel's office lawyers generally offered advice about matters of law, rather than policy or politics. As such, they are free to check their personal politics -- two of the lawyers featured during the series (Ainsley Hayes and Joe Quincy) were Republicans in a Democractic White House and a third (Lionel Tribbey) was substantially more liberal than the president on a number of issues -- at the door, to serve the president and his senior advisers and to represent the Office of the President.
Attack Advertising in State Supreme Courts: Evaluating the Conditional Effects of Ballot Type

This project evaluates whether televised attack advertising has detrimental effects on the electoral performance of state supreme court justices seeking reelection. I examine this question by estimating theoretically specified models of vote shares that include all televised messages for incumbents and challengers in 76 partisan and nonpartisan elections in nineteen states from 2002 through 2006. I also rely on CMAG advertising data and campaign finance measures to disentangle the effects of advertising from campaign spending. Results show that attacks have deleterious effects on the incumbency advantage but only in nonpartisan elections. In this regard, the preference for nonpartisan elections among many reform advocates has rendered some concerns about the pernicious effects of negativity into self-fulfilling prophecies. More broadly, these findings demonstrate the powerful force of institutional arrangements in shaping democratic politics and highlight striking similarities between state supreme court elections and elections to other important offices in the United States.
Possible unintended consequences of a focus on performance: insights over time from the research association of practices network.

BACKGROUND: New pay-for-performance initiatives and quality improvement efforts over the last decade have focused on evidenced-based process measures of quality of care. The effect on preventive service delivery (PSD) measures and patient satisfaction is not well described. The goals of this study were to describe PSD and patient satisfaction trends over the past decade. METHODS: We evaluated delivery of US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)-recommended clinical preventive services and patient satisfaction in 3 studies conducted in the same health care market in 1995, 2000, and 2006, respectively, using previously validated measures. Trends in these 2 factors were compared using data from cross-sectional samples of 4454, 3462, and 1240 patients seen at 84, 80, and 31 participating primary care practices, respectively. RESULTS: In the 3 time periods, patients' rate of being up to date on USPSTF-recommended preventive services increased from 29% to 33% to 38%. Similar trends were observed in subscores for counseling, screening, and immunization services. However, patient satisfaction decreased to a clinically meaningful extent from 4.26 in 1995 to 3.93 in 2006 (range = 1-5). CONCLUSIONS: Quality improvement efforts focused on evidence-based recommendations appear to be working as intended, but with the possible unintended consequence of reduced patient satisfaction.
Modeling of fatigue crack induced nonlinear ultrasonics using a highly parallelized explicit local interaction simulation approach

This paper presents a parallelized modeling technique for the efficient simulation of nonlinear ultrasonics introduced by the wave interaction with fatigue cracks. The elastodynamic wave equations with contact effects are formulated using an explicit Local Interaction Simulation Approach (LISA). The LISA formulation is extended to capture the contact-impact phenomena during the wave damage interaction based on the penalty method. A Coulomb friction model is integrated into the computation procedure to capture the stick-slip contact shear motion. The LISA procedure is coded using the Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA), which enables the highly parallelized supercomputing on powerful graphic cards. Both the explicit contact formulation and the parallel feature facilitates LISA’s superb computational efficiency over the conventional finite element method (FEM). The theoretical formulations based on the penalty method is introduced and a guideline for the proper choice of the contact stiffness is given. The convergence behavior of the solution under various contact stiffness values is examined. A numerical benchmark problem is used to investigate the new LISA formulation and results are compared with a conventional contact finite element solution. Various nonlinear ultrasonic phenomena are successfully captured using this contact LISA formulation, including the generation of nonlinear higher harmonic responses. Nonlinear mode conversion of guided waves at fatigue cracks is also studied.
School Reform in the New South: The Woman's Association for the Betterment of Public School Houses in North Carolina, 1902–1919

"Revolutionize the state!" With that injunction, Charles D. McIver opened his address before a gathering of young women on the evening of March 20, 1902. His audience was receptive, but it was hardly a revolutionary cadre. McIver, president of the North Carolina Normal and Industrial College for Women at Greensboro, was speaking to two hundred juniors and seniors whom he had called together to discuss means of upgrading the state's white public schools. The revolution he envisioned was the industrial transformation of North Carolina. He implored his listeners to pursue that goal by improving the physical condition of schools with the same energy they devoted to keeping their homes and churches "neat and attractive." If such "housekeeping" seems tame as a revolutionary act, it nonetheless inspired the students. After President McIver's speech, they founded the Woman's Association for the Betterment of Public School Houses (WABPS) and urged the press to spread word of their organization across the state. The association flourished in subsequent years as a major voice in the crusade for New South industrialism and as a primary channel for white women's participation in public affairs. 1 The WABPS won wide acclaim and support from the outset. The Raleigh News and Observer greeted its creation as "an event of deep satisfaction," while editors of the Biblical Recorder and the Progressive Farmer offered to promote the group's work. With that assistance the association quickly enlisted thousands of women in programs designed to make schools more attractive, sanitary, and comfortable. By 1905 those programs had proved so successful that teachers attending the Summer School of the South at Knoxville, Tennessee, decided to implement them on a regional basis. The educators
Talking Happiness, Security, and Counterinsurgency with Laleh Khalili

Talking happiness, security, and counterinsurgency with Laleh Khalili. Steven W. Thrasher looks to a security expert’s insights to consider protest, politics, and policing.