cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Poverty of children and older adults: Taiwan's case in an international perspective

Using 1999-2001 Luxembourg Income Study data, we examine cross-national patterns of age-specific poverty rates. Relative to 12 Western countries, Taiwan has a moderate child poverty rate but a much higher elderly poverty rate, leading to the largest elder-child poverty gap. We show that Taiwan significantly differs from the other countries in three factors -- social welfare efficiency, market income inequality, and household composition -- and document poverty differences across household type. Relative to other countries, Taiwan has a low rate of single-parent headed households, a high rate of older adults who live with family members, and fairly inefficient social welfare. Standardization and decomposition analyses systematically test effects of these factors across countries. Results indicate that Taiwan's low welfare efficiency makes the largest contribution to both child and elder poverty rates, but has a much more negative effect on elderly poverty. Older adults' higher rates of co-residence with family members has a strong ameliorating impact on elderly poverty. Implications in light of recent demographic and economic trends in Taiwan and similar East Asian countries are discussed.
Models for Silicate Fossils of Organic Materials in the Astrobiological Context

Silicates are abundant on both Earth and Mars, and hold great potential for harboring biosignatures. Biosignatures are signs of past or present life and may be either organic or inorganic in nature. Our most recent work, which we review here, is a survey of how different classes of organic compounds interact with highly basic sodium silicate solution to model the formation of biosignatures in nature. Our work focuses on using IR (infra-red) spectroscopy as a way to determine the mechanisms by which organics are preserved within silicates. Throughout the chapter, we cite relevant studies by others, while still maintaining the focus on the review of our own work. We ultimately summarize how various classes of organics interact with sodium silicate in terms of both physical and spectral properties and describe their astrobiological significance.
Synergistic stabilization of metastable Fe23B6 and γ-Fe in undercooled Fe83B17

Previous investigations of undercooled liquid Fe83B17 near the eutectic composition have found that metastable crystalline phases, such as Fe23B6, can be formed and persist down to ambient temperature even for rather modest cooling rates. Using time-resolved high-energy x-ray diffraction on electrostatically levitated samples of Fe83B17, we demonstrate that the Fe23B6 metastable phase and fcc γ-Fe grow coherently from the undercooled Fe83B17 liquid and effectively suppress the formation of the equilibrium Fe2B + bcc α-Fe phases. The stabilization of γ-Fe offers another opportunity for experimental investigations of magnetism in metastable fcc iron.
Microbial Strain Design for Biochemical Production Using Mixed-integer Programming Techniques

Abstract Metabolic engineering aims to improve biochemical production in a biological system using genetic modifications. To identify these modifications, conventional approaches have focused on local metabolic pathways without considering the global effects on metabolic behavior. Computational approaches using genome-scale models have successfully identified genetic modifications while considering their global effects on metabolism. However, these approaches can take a significant amount of time to find the optimal modifications due to the large size of metabolic networks. In this work, we present mixed-integer programming (MIP) methods and analysis of bounds on dual variables for fast and effective identification of genetic modification strategies. Using the bi-level optimization approach by Kim and Reed, 2010 , we demonstrate how our MIP methods significantly improve performance of strain design algorithms.
Anthropology with Activism: Settling Its Value

This response to Katherine Schultz's Presidential Address to the Council on Anthropology and Education explores the themes of temporality and reflexivity in activist scholarship, with Schultz's research as prime example. The need to take action to address a crisis, juxtaposed to the counter need to take time for scholarly reflection and theorizing, which threads through Schultz's address, inspires considerations of how today's anthropologically oriented research is being reconfigured in relation to space and time.
Resolution enhancement of color video

In this paper, an approach to improve the spatial resolution of color video is presented. Such high resolution images are desired, for example, in video printing. Previous work has shown that the most important step in achieving high quality results is the accuracy of the motion field. It is well known that motion estimation is an ill-posed problem. However, in processing color video, additional information contained in the color channels may be used to improve the accuracy of the motion field over the motion field obtained with the use of only one channel. In turn, this improvement in the motion field will be shown through several experimental results to significantly improve the estimation of a high resolution image sequence from a corresponding observed low resolution sequence.
The Relationship between Attachment Styles and Vicarious Traumatization in Female Trauma Therapists

Abstract This study explores the role of attachment styles in vicarious traumatization in a national sample of 375 female therapists who work with adult outpatient trauma survivors. Participants completed measures of attachment styles and vicarious traumatization. Multiple regression analyses revealed a significant positive relationship between attachment styles and disrupted cognitive schemas as well as a significant positive relationship between attachment styles and symptoms of intrusion, hyperarousal and avoidance in female trauma therapists. The fear-ful-avoidant attachment style was the best predictor of both the cognitive disruptions and symptoms of distress in female trauma therapists. The empirical findings of this study offer important applied clinical implications for female therapists who work with adult trauma survivors.
Preparing psychosocial nurse practitioners for health care delivery

A central task for faculty in programs preparing health care practitioners is to remain timely in educating for the prevailing and future social and health services context. Current considerations in preparing advanced practice psychiatric nurses include the need for greater recognition of comorbidity, concerns about health care access and utilization for vulnerable populations, and changing patterns of practice. In addition, there is a great need to expand the cultural competence and diversity of the population of advanced practice nurses who deliver care to recipients in an increasingly multicultural society. This article describes the educational program developed at the University of Washington to prepare expanded role Psychosocial Nurse Practitioners and sets forth the rationale for major decisions and current directions.
A novel 17 kD heparin-binding growth factor (HBGF-8) in bovine uterus: purification and N-terminal amino acid sequence.

Abstract We have purified to near homogeneity a novel 17 kD growth factor from bovine uterus which we designated heparin-binding growth factor-8 (HBGF-8). The growth factor binds tightly to cation exchange resins and to Heparin-Sepharose and is stable to acetone precipitation and labile in acid. Based upon total activity in acetone extracts of bovine uterus stimulating 3 H-thymidine incorporation into DNA of serum-starved NIH 313 cells, a 6940 fold purification was achieved with an overall yield of HBGF-8 activity of 0.4%, using extraction of acetone powders and chromatographic separations at neutral pH. Approximately 18 μg protein was obtained from 1.2 kg wet weight of tissue. HBGF-8 was clearly separated from 17.5 kD bovine uterus basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) by purification and its N-terminal amino acid sequence analyzed. A polypeptide with a unique 25 N-terminal amino acid sequence was found. HBGF-8 was as active as acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF) and slightly less active than bFGF in the mouse NIH 3T3 fibroblast mitogenic assay system with an intrinsic specific activity of 5000 dpm/ng under standard assay conditions.
Obedience to Authority in a Laboratory Setting: Generalizability and Context Dependency

Social psychologist Stanley Milgram conducted an empirical, laboratory study of obedience to authority. Milgram suggested that his study and findings have applications and implications for the dive...
Supervised methods for detection and segmentation of tissues in clinical lumbar MRI

Lower back pain (LBP) is widely prevalent all over the world and more than 80% of the people suffer from LBP at some point of their lives. Moreover, a shortage of radiologists is the most pressing cause for the need of CAD (computer-aided diagnosis) systems. Automatic localization and labeling of intervertebral discs from lumbar MRI is the first step towards computer-aided diagnosis of lower back ailments. Subsequently, for diagnosis and characterization (quantification and localization) of abnormalities like disc herniation and stenosis, a completely automatic segmentation of intervertebral discs and the dural sac is extremely important. Contribution of this paper towards clinical CAD systems is two-fold. First, we propose a method to automatically detect all visible intervertebral discs in clinical sagittal MRI using heuristics and machine learning techniques. We provide a novel end-to-end framework that outputs a tight bounding box for each disc, instead of simply marking the centroid of discs, as has been the trend in the recent past. Second, we propose a method to simultaneously segment all the tissues (vertebrae, intervertebral disc, dural sac and background) in a lumbar sagittal MRI, using an auto-context approach instead of any explicit shape features or models. Past work tackles the lumbar segmentation problem on a tissue/organ basis, and which tend to perform poorly in clinical scans due to high variability in appearance. We, on the other hand, train a series of robust classifiers (random forests) using image features and sparsely sampled context features, which implicitly represent the shape and configuration of the image. Both these methods have been tested on a huge clinical dataset comprising of 212 cases and show very promising results for both disc detection (98% disc localization accuracy and 2.08mm mean deviation) and sagittal MRI segmentation (dice similarity indices of 0.87 and 0.84 for the dural sac and the inter-vertebral disc, respectively).
Declining estimates of infertility in the United States: 1982-2002.

Objective To determine if the decline in infertility has been uniform across subgroups. Design Periodic data from the National Fertility Survey and the National Survey of Family Growth were used to determine which factors contributed to the decline in 12-month infertility in the United States. Setting National Survey of Family Growth, a periodic US nationally representative study. Patient(s) A nationally representative sample of married women aged 15–44 years, N=15,303 for pooled data across 4 survey years. Intervention(s) None. Main Outcome Measure(s) Estimates of infertility prevalence among married women aged 15–44 years. Result(s) The decline in 12-month infertility in the United States from 8.5% in 1982 and 7.4% in 2002 was significant. This decline was evident in nearly all subgroups of married women. In the multivariate analysis, 12-month infertility was more likely among women who were older and nulliparous, were non-Hispanic black or Hispanic, and did not have a college degree. The decline in 12-month infertility was observed even after controlling for the compositional differences of the population over time. Conclusion(s) Among married women in the United States, there has been a significant decline in 12-month infertility, which cannot be explained by changes in the composition of the population from 1982–2002.
Adult Locus of Control and Mental Ability

Correlations between I-E and Adult Locus of Control scales, and a measure of mental ability, supported the hypothesis that these scales provide alternative measures of feelings of control for adults. Support was also obtained for the hypothesis that an internal control is associated with greater mental ability.
Bronchial Secretion Levels of Amikacin

Amikacin was given to 14 noninfected men as three consecutive intramuscular injections (7.5 mg/kg) at 12-h intervals. Serum and bronchial secretion specimens were obtained at various times during flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy after the final dose. Serum and bronchial secretion concentrations obtained between 1.5 and 2.0 h after the final dose ranged from 17 to 40 μg/ml and 2.3 to 8.4 μg/ml with a mean of 23.7 ± 2.9 and 5.23 ± 1.5 μg/ml, ±1 standard error of the mean, respectively. The highest bronchial secretion concentration in each subject correlated with the highest serum concentration ( r = 0.83, P r = 0.82, P P > 0.5). The mean bronchial secretion concentration of the 15 specimens obtained more than 7 h after the final dose was less than 1.0 μg/ml, with a range from 0.3 to 1.6 μg/ml. It is concluded that amikacin may achieve minimal inhibitory concentrations for many gram-negative bacteria in the bronchial secretions of noninfected patients 1 to 2 h after the final dose. However, levels fall below the reported minimal inhibitory concentrations against negative bacteria 6 to 7 h after the final dose. Furthermore, bronchial secretion levels may never reach the minimal inhibitory concentration against Pseudomonas aeruginosa .
The Dance of the Foci

It is well known that slicing a cone with a plane and then allowing it to rotate through all possible angles of inclination yields the conic sections. What is not well known is what path the foci o...
Cost Effective Coverage Extension in 802.16j Mobile Multihop Relay Networks

WiMAX (IEEE 802.16) has emerged as a promising radio access technology for providing high speed broadband connectivity to subscribers over large geographic regions. New enhancements allow deployments of relay stations (RSs) that can extend the coverage of the base station (BS), increase cell capacity, or both. In this paper, we focus on deploying RSs for the purpose of coverage extension. We propose a simple scheduling scheme for serving the subscriber stations (SSs) in a fair manner and evaluate the performance of WiMAX networks with relays under this scheduling scheme. Through simulation and numerical analysis, we make several fundamental observations about cost-effective coverage in such networks.
Broadband study of the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake

We determined the source characteristics of the Oct. 18, 1989 Loma Prieta, California, earthquake using teleseismic data. The solution from body waves gives a mechanism with dip=70°, rake=138°, and strike=128°, and a seismic moment of 3×10^(26) dyne-cm (M_w=6.9). This solution is similar to those obtained from long-period Rayleigh and Love waves, P_(nL) waves, and first-motion data. The body wave form suggests a depth of about 15 km. The effective duration of the source is 6 sec, which suggests a fault length of 30 km and 15 km for bilateral and unilateral faulting, respectively. Considering the extent of the aftershock area, we used 35 km as an estimate of the total rupture length. The strike-slip and the thrust components of the coseismic slip are 177 and 159 cm, respectively. The large thrust component raises an important question regarding the recurrence pattern. If the Loma Prieta earthquake is a characteristic earthquake with a recurrence interval of about 100 years, the 159 cm displacement implies a long term uplift rate of about 1 cm/year, which appears too large for this region. Three hypotheses for reconciling this apparent conflict are: (1) the geometry of plate motion along the Santa Cruz Mountain segment changes over a time scale of several thousand years so that the coseismic displacement has not accumulated enough to produce high topographic relief; (2) the coseismic sHp direction varies from event to event; (3) the slip plane of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake is different from the major boundary between the Pacific and the North American plates; if this is the case, the Loma Prieta earthquake is a rather rare non-characteristic event. The surface slip of about l m for the 1906 San Francisco earthquake is one of the key data in long-term forecasting. No surface slip was observed for the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, even if the horizontal slip at depth is as large as 1.8 m. This points to a risk of relying too heavily on surface observations for long-term seismic risk analysis.
Policy agendas, party control, and PAC contributions in the American states

In this research we hypothesize that aggregate PAC behavior is conditional in nature. PACs in a specific issue sector donate more to a certain political party's candidates the more that political party controls the legislature. However, the more active the legislature is on a specific set of issues the more people/groups/PACs are mobilized in response to the issue. Thus, a conditional relationship emerges where aggregate PAC donations to a political party are a function of party control, agenda activity, and an interaction of the two. We test this conditional theory using data from the Institute on Money in State Politics database on PAC donations to state legislative candidates divided into issue sectors. Our results provide support for our hypotheses that aggregate PAC donations to a political party's candidates are conditional on the level of agenda activity on the issues that concern the PACs.
Bond fatigue of epoxy coated reinforcing bars

This paper reports the findings of a study concerning bond fatigue of epoxy coated reinforcing bars in comparison to that of normal mill scale bars and blast cleaned bars. There were two principle objectives of the series of fatigue tests. The first was to determine whether the bond-slip performance of epoxy coated reinforcement is significantly different from that of normal mill scale bars and blast cleaned bars when subjected to numerous cycles of loading in a working stress range. The second was to determine whether the static bond strength of epoxy coated reinforcement is significantly different from that of normal mill scale and blast cleaned bars after being subjected to numerous cycles of loading in a working stress range. The test results indicate no detrimental influence of the epoxy coating in relation to bond fatigue. The static bond strength of epoxy coated bars without cyclic loading was found to be slightly less than that of mill scale bars.
Regenerative implants for cardiovascular tissue engineering

A fundamental problem that affects the field of cardiovascular surgery is the paucity of autologous tissue available for surgical reconstructive procedures. Although the best results are obtained when an individual's own tissues are used for surgical repair, this is often not possible as a result of pathology of autologous tissues or lack of a compatible replacement source from the body. The use of prosthetics is a popular solution to overcome shortage of autologous tissue, but implantation of these devices comes with an array of additional problems and complications related to biocompatibility. Transplantation offers another option that is widely used but complicated by problems related to rejection and donor organ scarcity. The field of tissue engineering represents a promising new option for replacement surgical procedures. Throughout the years, intensive interdisciplinary, translational research into cardiovascular regenerative implants has been undertaken in an effort to improve surgical outcome and better quality of life for patients with cardiovascular defects. Vascular, valvular, and heart tissue repair are the focus of these efforts. Implants for these neotissues can be divided into 2 groups: biologic and synthetic. These materials are used to facilitate the delivery of cells or drugs to diseased, damaged, or absent tissue. Furthermore, they can function as a tissue-forming device used to enhance the body's own repair mechanisms. Various preclinical studies and clinical trials using these advances have shown that tissue-engineered materials are a viable option for surgical repair, but require refinement if they are going to reach their clinical potential. With the growth and accomplishments this field has already achieved, meeting those goals in the future should be attainable.
Amy L. Davidson 1958–2013

On 2 April 2013, Amy L. Davidson lost her battle against thyroid cancer. The membrane transport field has lost one of its best biochemists and a superb mechanistic thinker. Amy devoted her career to uncovering the secrets of the maltose transporter, a prototype of a large protein family called ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters.
See the light: can optogenetics restore healthy heartbeats? And, if it can, is it really worth the effort?

Cardiac optogenetics is an exciting new methodology in which light-sensitive ion channels are expressed in heart tissue to enable optical control of bioelectricity. This technology has the potential to open new avenues for safely and effectively treating rhythm disorders in the heart with gentle beams of light. Recently, we developed a comprehensive framework for modeling cardiac optogenetics. Simulations conducted in this platform will provide insights to guide in vitro investigation and steer the development of therapeutic applications – these are the first steps toward clinical translation. In this editorial, we review literature relevant to light-sensitive protein delivery and intracardiac illumination to provide a holistic feasibility assessment for optogenetics-based arrhythmia termination therapy. We then draw on examples from computational work to show that the optical control paradigm has undeniable advantages that cannot be attained with conventional electrotherapy. Hence, we argue that cardiac ...
Spontaneous Intracranial Hypotension: Dilemmas in Diagnosis

Intracranial hypotension is not an uncommon diagnosis after lumbar puncture or neurosurgery. However, spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH) is a poorly understood entity that can present with a wide variety of symptoms/signs ranging from headache to coma. SIH may result from an occult spinal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak. Alternatively, because a CSF leak is not always found, some posit that SIH is caused by venous hypotension that results in increased CSF absorption. The true incidence of SIH is unknown and the diagnosis is frequently missed given the wide range of presenting symptoms and imaging findings that are mistaken for other diagnoses (ie, subdural hematomas, Chiari malformation). Here, based on a comprehensive literature review, we describe the epidemiology, presentation, diagnostic workup and treatment of SIH.
Sensitivity to leptin and susceptibility to seizures of mice lacking neuropeptide Y

NEUROPEPTIDE Y (NPY), a 36-amino-acid transmitter distributed throughout the nervous system1,2, is thought to function as a central stimulator of feeding behaviour1–4. NPY has also been implicated in the modulation of mood5, cerebrocortical excitability6, hypothalamic–pituitary signalling7, cardiovascular physiology1,8 and sympathetic function9,10. However, the biological significance of NPY has been difficult to establish owing to a lack of pharmacological antagonists. We report here that mice deficient for NPY have normal food intake and body weight, and become hyperphagic following food deprivation. Mutant mice decrease their food intake and lose weight, initially to a greater extent than controls, when treated with recombinant leptin. Occasional, mild seizures occur in NPY-deficient mice and mutants are more susceptible to seizures induced by a GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid) antagonist. These results indicate that NPY is not essential for certain feeding responses or leptin actions but is an important modulator of excitability in the central nervous system.
Analysis of laser altimeter waveforms for forested ecosystems of Central Florida

An experimental profiling airborne laser altimeter system developed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center was used to acquire vertical canopy data from several ecosystem types from The Nature Conservancy's Disney Wilderness Preserve, near Kissimmee, Florida. This laser altimeter, besides providing submeter accuracy of tree height, captures a profile of data which relates to the magnitude of reflectivity of the laser pulse as it penetrates different elevations of the forest canopy. This complete time varying amplitude of the return signal of the laser pulse, between the first (i.e., the canopy top) and last (i.e., the ground) returns, yields a waveform which is related to canopy architecture, specifically the nadir-projected vertical distribution of the surface of canopy components (i.e., foliage, twigs, and branches). Selected profile returns from representative covertypes (e.g., pine flatwoods, bayhead, and cypress wetland) were compared with ground truthed forest composition (i.e., species and size class distribution) and structural (i.e., canopy height, canopy closure, crown depth) measures to help understand how these properties contribute to variation in the altimeter waveform.
The impact of pathological gambling on the spouse of the gambler

The present investigation focused on the spouses of compulsive gamblers and attempted to obtain baseline information on their personal characteristics, family backgrounds, as well as information about their awareness of gambling as a behavioral disorder, their reactions to the problems they encountered as a result of living with a compulsive gambler, and how they attempted to cope with those problems. The results indicate that the spouse of the compulsive gambler is affected by significant social, psychological, and economic stresses that can be directly related to the partner's gambling activities. The impact of such stresses can be observed in a variety of dysfunctional coping responses. The participants in this investigation eventually obtained assistance in dealing with their problems from Gam-Anon, the family counterpart of Gamblers Anonymous. But, prior to their contact with Gam-Anon, they sought assistance from members of the medical, religious, financial, legal, and mental health fields. For the most part such individuals were perceived as being unable to assist the survey participants in dealing with their problems. Recent advances in our understanding of the psychological bases of compulsive gambling and its treatement have led to the development of community-based treatment services for the gambler. The results of this investigation point out the need for the provision of services to those affected by the gambler as well.
A historic review of management science research in China

Abstract The development of management science (MS) in China has been a long and dynamic journey involving many unexpected events. Beginning in 1955 and continuing through the present, the revolution roughly consisted of four stages. The first stage (1955–1965) was characterized by large-scale campaigns. Critical path method (CPM) and optimum seeking method swept the country resulting in astonishing economic efficiencies. The Cultural Revolution halted MS during the second stage (1966–1976). The third stage (1977–1992), began when the door to the outside world was officially opened, but half-closed due to Tiananmen Incident later, and re-opened again owing to spirit of Deng Xiaoping's speech in Southern China. The fourth stage (1992–present) has pushed MS into almost every field, accelerating national modernization. The impact of research by many scholars is evidenced through history by examples that include conducting war, building dams, and developing postal service routes.
Alternative HTS coated conductors

Abstract The availability of Bi-2223 high-temperature-superconductor (HTS) powder-in-tube (PIT) tape, with acceptable performance for long lengths, has provided the ability to construct a wide range of HTS electric power components. As a result, there are major worldwide projects in developing HTS electric power components for demonstration in a utility environment. Utility acceptance for superconducting power equipment will depend on several key factors: improved system performance, lower life-cycle costs, higher efficiency versus conventional technology, reliability and maintenance comparable to conventional power equipment, and a competitive installed cost. The latter is impacted by the current high cost of HTS conductors, which must be lowered to costs comparable to conventional Nb–Ti wire, i.e., $2–5/kAm. The present performance and cost of state-of-the-art Bi-2223 HTS tape, although acceptable for prototype construction, is viewed as a major deterrent that may compromise eventual commercialization for most of these electric power devices. The so-called second-generation coated conductor development, with emphasis on conductors employing HTS YBCO films, is viewed as the solution to this performance and cost issue. The potential for the Tl, Hg, and Bi-oxide superconductors for producing an HTS tape as alternatives to Bi-2223 PIT (and YBCO) will be discussed with some recent results on Bi-2212 “coated conductor” development.
Transient heat conduction analysis of 3D solids with fiber inclusions using the boundary element method

A boundary element formulation is presented in this work for transient heat conduction analysis of three-dimensional (3D) fiber-reinforced materials. The cylindrical-shaped fibers in a 3D matrix are idealized by a system of curvilinear line elements with a prescribed diameter. The variations in the temperature and flux fields in the circumferential direction are represented in terms of a trigonometric shape function together with a linear or quadratic variation in the longitudinal direction. This approach significantly reduces the modeling effort and the computing cost. The storage requirement for the convolution integrals is eliminated by adopting an accurate integration-based convolution algorithm for the surface of the hole and the fibers as well as a fast convolution algorithm for the outer boundary recently developed by the present authors. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the accuracy and applicability of the proposed method of analysis of fiber-reinforced materials. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Variable property similarity transform: Application to axisymmetric fluid flow against a heated disk

A variable property stream function is combined with a similarity variable transform to create a new class of variable property similarity transforms. The exact fluid flow solutions that are obtained with the new similarity transforms will be identical to the normally formulated similarity solutions. The utility of the new transforms will be for developing approximate analytical solutions. This is because the reformulation splits the normal transform into a slowly varying temperature functional and the rapidly temperature varying mass density. By assuming the functional is temperature invariant, approximate analytical solutions can be obtained by combining this approximate functional with a mass density profile approximation. The new approximate velocity solutions show the spatial variation behavior one would expect for a system with a temperature gradient present, in contrast to existing approximate methods that are based on average-property approximations. The new approximate analytical solutions, therefore, provide valuable insights into the expected thermal behavior and dependencies of the fluid system that cannot be obtained with exact numerical solutions or existing approximate methods. In addition, the approximate analytical solutions provide a straightforward path to the development of approximate thermal flow stability criteria. To demonstrate the utility of the new transform, the present study applies the new variable property similarity transform to the case of axisymmetric fluid flow against a heated disk.
Topical immunization onto mouse skin using a microemulsion incorporated with an anthrax protective antigen protein-encoding plasmid

The current anthrax vaccine in the U.S., the anthrax vaccine adsorbed, has several serious drawbacks, most notably the very lengthy and complicated dosing schedule. Thus, there is a critical need to develop an alternative anthrax vaccine with a simplified immunization schedule. To address this need, we evaluated the feasibility of topically priming or boosting onto the skin using an anthrax protective antigen (PA) protein-encoding DNA vaccine. To this end, we have shown that topical immunization of mice onto their skin with a perflubron-based microemulsion incorporated with a PA63-encoding plasmid, pGPA, led to significant PA-specific antibody responses, which have anthrax lethal toxin-neutralization activity. Moreover, topical boosting of mice primed with PA protein with the pGPA-incorporated, perflubron-based microemulsion significantly enhanced the anti-PA antibody responses induced. This topical anthrax DNA vaccine has the potential to be combined with a vaccine, such as the current AVA, to produce a simplified and more convenient dosing schedule.
Langmuir–Blodgett films of long-chain amines

Widespread interest has developed in the potentialities of molecular films built up on solids by the Langmuir–Blodgett (L–B) technique of sequential transfer of monomolecular layers from a water surface1,2. For certain purposes, the fatty acid soaps which are the classical, and most extensively studied, constituents of L–B films, may be unusable. For example, it may be desired to incorporate acid-sensitive molecules, or the presence of heavy-metal ions such as barium or cadmium, which are required to produce the most stable soap layers, may be undesirable. These problems may be overcome in some instances by the use of fatty alcohols or esters, but multilayers of these substances are generally less stable (especially with respect to thermal disruption or vaporization) than those of the heavy-metal soaps. I now report methods for the facile formation of L–B layers of long-chain amine salts which offer comparable, as well as complementary, advantages compared with soap films.
U.S. Banking in an Increasingly Integrated and Competitive World Economy

It is almost trite to say that the world has become increasingly integrated commercially since the Second World War. Trade in producer and consumer products has expanded as the costs of transporting goods, services, and information have declined, as consumers’ tastes have expanded to include products made and used in other countries, and as technologies that developed in one country have been adopted worldwide. Banking services have both reflected and led this movement. The services provided by banks in most countries are very similar, and money or access to credit can be transported quickly and cheaply across great distances and national boundaries, particularly when laws and regulations do not impede such movements. Hence, it is not surprising that banking has become increasingly international.1 Indeed, one of the historically important products offered by banks is facilitation of international trade with credit instruments such as acceptances and letters of credit.
Spectral Overlay of Direct-Sequence Spread Spectrum in the Instrument Landing System Glideslope Band

In this paper, we examine the effects of intentional spectral overlay between a directsequence spread spectrum (DS-SS) code-division multiple-access (CDMA) system and the glide slope signal of the Instrument Landing System (ILS) currently employed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The purpose of the overlay system is to enable increased spectral efficiency (higher data throughput), for future potential aeronautical datalink communications, e.g., an “airborne internet.” That is, this overlay would enable simultaneous use of the ILS glideslope band by the current glide slope systems and a new DS-SS CDMA digital communication system. We estimate the performance degradation incurred by both systems for several values of transmit powers, DS-SS bandwidths and data rates, and typical ILS glideslope and CDMA system parameters. Our study uses both analysis and computer simulations. We provide examples that explore both ILS glideslope and CDMA system parameter values appropriate for the successful application of the overlay technique.
Evaluation of various filter membranes for Boyden-type leukocyte migration studies.

Abstract Various types and makes of membranes were assessed for suitability in Boyden-type chemotaxis studies. Pooled exudate neutrophils and macrophages from the rat were used as indicator cells. Sartorius filters were found to be superior to other cellulose ester filters both in efficiency and consistency of cell migration. Variations between and within Sartorius filter lots were small and filter inconsistency could be ruled out as a factor in day-to-day variation in efficiency of cell migration. In our hands, Millipore membranes were unsatisfactory for chemotaxis studies. With the exception of the shortened incubation times, polycarbonate filters did not offer significant advantages over Sartorius filters when the vigorously responding rat exudate cells were tested. The orientation of the cellulose ester filters in the chemotaxis chambers was found to be a critical factor when the lowermost level counting method was used. The observed polarity could not readily be washed out by acid, alkali or ethanol treatment nor by boiling the filters in distilled water and remains unexplained.
Mechanism for the water–gas shift reaction on monofunctional platinum and cause of catalyst deactivation

Abstract The behavior of monofunctional platinum, Pt(1 1 1), for the water–gas shift reaction has been investigated using experimental and theoretical methods. Kinetic and isotopic measurements performed from 525 to 675 K are consistent with an associative mechanism for the water–gas shift reaction in which carbon monoxide is oxidized by a hydroxyl group. The kinetically-relevant step consists of the unimolecular decomposition of an adsorbed carboxylate intermediate. The turnover frequency of Pt(1 1 1) is five times greater than that observed on Cu(1 1 1) under identical conditions (612 K, 26 Torr CO, 10 Torr H 2 O); however, Pt(1 1 1) loses activity over time due to the formation of carbonaceous deposits, a process not observed in similar studies of Cu(1 1 1). Our experimental and theoretical results suggest that CO dissociates via two pathways: the Boudouard reaction and through a COH intermediate. Nucleation of carbon at step-edges and subsequent oligomerization deactivate the catalyst. These results provide insight into the synergistic roles of noble metal clusters and active supports for the water–gas shift reaction.
Dobutamine stress echocardiography: experience in pediatric heart transplant recipients.

Abstract Background: Transplant coronary arteriopathy causes late death and is difficult to detect noninvasively. Dobutamine stress echocardiography is being used for risk stratification in adult recipients at some transplant centers, thus we investigated its role in a pediatric population. Methods We performed 46 stress echo studies (mean age=11.8 years; mean years post transplantation=4.3). An atropine/dobutamine protocol (5–40 mcg/kg/min) was used to attain a predicted target heart rate. Serial echocardiographic images were acquired at baseline and at each increment of dobutamine and recovery, and were digitized online. Data were correlated with endomyocardial biopsy (n = 23), coronary angiography (n = 26) or autopsy ( n = 6). All studies were well tolerated. Results Target heartrate was achieved in 41/46 (89%) studies. The mean heartrate significantly increased from 95 to 169 beats/min and mean systolic blood pressure from 123 to 153 mmHg ( p n = 3), explanted heart ( n = 1) or autopsy ( n = 4). In this group, abnormalities included a new reversible wall motion abnormality ( n = 2), left ventricular cavity dilation with stress ( n = 3), ischemia ( n = 2), increased mitral insufficiency ( n = 1) and marked diastolic dysfunction ( n = 1). A positive study predicted death or graft failure ( p Conclusions Echocardiographic abnormalities during stress correlated with coronary arteriopathy in this small cohort of patients; however, larger multi-center studies are warranted to assess the utility of dobutamine stress echocardiography for risk stratification for coronary disease in pediatric transplant recipients.
Effect of age and osteoarthritis on knee proprioception.

Objective. To test the hypotheses that 1) knee position sense declines with age; 2) patients with osteoarthritis (OA) have worse knee position sense than elderly controls; and 3) knee position sense is correlated with functional status. Methods. The threshold for detection of knee joint displacement was measured in 30 patients with bilateral knee OA (Kellgren/Lawrence grade ⩾2 in both knees), 29 elderly controls (who met clinical and radiographic criteria for exclusion of OA), and 25 young controls. Range of motion, laxity, radiographic severity, and functional status were also assessed. Results. A moderate correlation was found between joint displacement detection threshold and age (r = 0.598 and r = 0.501 for the right knee and the left knee, respectively). The threshold was substantially and significantly different between the OA patients and the elderly controls. Proprioceptive impairment was associated with worse disease-specific functional status. Conclusion. Proprioception declines with age, and is further impaired in elderly patients with knee OA. Poor proprioception may contribute to functional impairment in knee OA.
Cellular expression of bovine herpesvirus 1 gD inhibits cell-to-cell spread of two closely related viruses without blocking their primary infection.

Abstract Alphaherpesviral glycoprotein D (gD) is a critical component of the cell membrane penetration system. Cells that express gD of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1), pseudorabies virus (PRV), or bovine herpesvirus type 1.1 (BHV1.1) resist infection by the homologous virus due to interference with viral entry at the level of penetration. BHV1.1 gD interferes with the distantly related viruses HSV1 and PRV despite only a 30–40% sequence similarity and the complete absence of antigenic cross-reactivity among the three gDs. The six cysteines that form three intrachain disulfide bonds in HSV1 are also present in PRV and BHV1.1 gD, suggesting structural similarities among the gD homologs. Functional similarities were postulated to be responsible for cross-interference. To test this hypothesis, we constructed a BHV1.1 gD-expressing cell line (MDBK gD ) and assessed its resistance to the homologous BHV1.1 and two closely related viruses, BHV1.2 and BHV5. The gDs of these viruses share 98.3% and 86% amino acid identity with BHV1.1 gD and bound monoclonal antibodies directed against all five neutralizing epitopes mapped on BHV1.1 gD. MDBK gD cells were resistant to BHV1.1 but fully susceptible to BHV1.2 and BHV5 infection as measured by plaque numbers and single cycle growth kinetics. However, all three viruses, but not vesicular stomatitis virus, made smaller plaques on MDBK gD cells than on control cells. These data suggest that gD-mediated interference is expressed both at the level of initial infection and at the level of cell-to-cell spread and that these two levels can be distinguished by using closely related viruses.
A HOMOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF HYPERBOLIC GROUPS

A finitely presented group G is hyperbolic iff H(1)1(G,ℝ)=0=(1)2(G, ℝ), where H(1)* (resp. (1)*) denotes the l1-homology (resp. reduced l1-homology). If Γ is a graph, then every l1 1-cycle in Γ with real coefficients can be approximated by 1-cycles of compact support. A 1-relator group G is hyperbolic iff H(1)1(G,ℝ)=0.
Kinetic studies of SF6 plasmas during etching of Si

Mass spectrometric kinetic measurements were performed on a dc plasma during the etching of Si by CF4. The apparatus and procedures used were identical to those developed and used in an earlier study dealing with the Si/SF6 system. The signals representative of CF 3 + , CF 2 + , CF+, F+, SiF 3 + , SiF+, and C2F 5 + were studied in some detail. CF 3 + and CF 2 + transients produced by stepwise changes of the applied voltage were found to be very similar, on a fractional basis. CF+ and C2F 5 + signals showed a close correlation, while the F+ signals indicated a small amount of extra fluorine atoms or ions to be present at relatively high applied voltages. The initial transient rates, following plasma ignition, tended to be slower than those obtained at the higher applied voltages, so the sample surface is somehow etched more rapidly after the first few seconds. In contrast to this, slow signal changes of the sort observed in the Si/SF6 system were absent, so the carbonaceous layers which may form on the Si sample surface appear to adjust rapidly to composition changes in the plasma.
Single-Carbon Chemistry of Acetogenic and Methanogenic Bacteria

Methanogenic and acetogenic bacteria metabolize carbon monoxide, methanol, formate, hydrogen and carbon dioxide gases and, in the case of certain methanogens, acetate, by single-carbon (C1) biochemical mechanisms. Many of these reactions occur while the C1 compounds are linked to pteridine derivatives and tetrapyrrole coenzymes, including corrinoids, which are used to generate, reduce, or carbonylate methyl groups. Several metalloenzymes, including a nickel-containing carbon monoxide dehydrogenase, are used in both catabolic and anabolic oxidoreductase reactions. We propose biochemical models for coupling carbon and electron flow to energy conservation during growth on C1 compounds based on the carbon flow pathways inherent to acetogenic and methanogenic metabolism. Biological catalysts are therefore available which are comparable to those currently in use in the Monsanto process. The potentials and limitations of developing biotechnology based on these organisms or their enzymes and coenzymes are discussed.
Cross talk in surface electromyograms of human hamstring muscles

Signals generated from muscles other than the muscle(s) of interest (cross talk) can confound the interpretation of surface electromyograms (EMGs). In this study, the amount of cross talk in surface EMGs of human hamstring muscles was estimated using a protocol in which the quadriceps femoris was electrically stimulated via the femoral nerve. EMGs were recorded from the vastus lateralis and the medial and lateral hamstring muscle groups. The amplitude of the EMG response of the vastus lateralis to electrical stimulation was adjusted to match that of its maximum voluntary effort (MVE) under isometric conditions. Subsequent power density spectrum analysis showed that the median frequencies of the signals generated by electrical stimulation and MVE were not significantly different. In conventional bipolar recordings, cross talk in lateral hamstring EMGs averaged 17.1% MVE and in medial hamstring EMGs 11.3% MVE (average-rectified values). The double differential technique significantly reduced cross talk to 7.6% MVE for the lateral hamstrings, and to 4.2% MVE for the medial hamstrings. The double differential technique appears to be more selective than the bipolar technique when recording EMGs from muscles with highly active neighbors and thus should be used in such situations. Software simulations of the double differential technique also appear to be more selective than the bipolar technique and may be used when the number of amplifiers available is limited.