cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The parent-provider relationship: does race/ethnicity concordance or discordance influence parent reports of the receipt of high quality basic pediatric preventive services?

Recent research among adults suggests that having a provider of the same race/ethnicity may enhance the quality of health care above and beyond just having any regular source of care. It is not known whether such relationships exist in pediatric care. The purpose of this study is to identify the distribution and methods by which families have a race/ethnicity concordant provider of well-child care and examine whether differences exist in the receipt of basic preventive services (BPS) and familycentered care (FCC) among those with concordant, discordant, and no regular providers. Analyses are stratified by geography to assess whether urban versus nonurban setting moderates these differences. This study uses publicly available data from the 2000 National Survey of Early Childbood Health (NSECH), a nationally representative, cross-sectional telephone survey of parents of children ages 4–35 months (n=1,996). African Americans and Latinos were more likely than whites to lack a regular provider of well-child care (60.9% and 65.7% vs. 50.6%) and less likely to have a concordant provider (9.8% and 5.7% vs. 38.5%) (P<.0011). African Americans with a regular provider were about three times more likely to establish a concordant relationship in urban versus nonurban settings (32.4% vs. 12.5%, P<.011), No statistically significant differences in BPS or FCC were found by concordance versus discordance for any group, a finding that held regardless of geographic setting. White children with no regular provider received better BPS than those with a discordant provider (e.g., excellent BPS of 37.2% vs. 27.1%, P<..05), but children with no regular provider were more likely than those with either concordant or discordant providers to have lower FCC in one (Latinos, whites) or three domains (African Americans). Despite racial/ethnic differences in the likelihood of having a concordant regular provider of well-child care, no disparities were found in BPS or FCC associated with discordance, even after stratification by urban/nonurban setting. Lacking a regular provider was associated with lower FCC versus having either a concordant or discordant provider, suggesting that efforts to improve these aspects of well-child care might focus less on linking children with a race/ethnicity concordant provider and more on social, cultural, and linguistic factors that impact having any regular provider.
Key Mechanistic Features of Enantioselective C–H Bond Activation Reactions Catalyzed by [(Chiral Mono-N-Protected Amino Acid)–Pd(II)] Complexes

Monoprotected chiral amino acids have recently been established as a class of ligand scaffolds for effecting Pd-catalyzed enantioselective C–H bond activation reactions. However, to elucidate the mechanistic details and controlling factors of these reactions, more comprehensive studies are needed. In this work we report computational investigations into the key mechanistic features of enantioselective C–H bond activation reactions catalyzed by a [chiral (mono-N-protected amino acid)–Pd(II)] complex. Structural analysis points to a C–H insertion intermediate in which the nitrogen atom of the ligand is bound as a neutral σ-donor. The formation of this C–H insertion intermediate could, in principle, proceed via a “direct C–H cleavage” or via “initial N–H bond cleavage followed by C–H cleavage”. The computational studies presented herein show that the pathway initiated by N–H bond cleavage is more kinetically favorable. It is shown that the first step of the reaction is the N–H bond cleavage by the coordinate...
Zinc and the ERK Kinases in the Developing Brain

This article reviews evidence in support of the hypothesis that impaired activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK1/2) contributes to the disruptions in neurodevelopment associated with zinc deficiency. These kinases are implicated in major events of brain development, including proliferation of progenitor cells, neuronal migration, differentiation, and apoptotic cell death. In humans, mutations in ERK1/2 genes have been associated with neuro-cardio-facial-cutaneous syndromes. ERK1/2 deficits in mice have revealed impaired neurogenesis, altered cellularity, and behavioral abnormalities. Zinc is an important modulator of ERK1/2 signaling. Conditions of both zinc deficiency and excess affect ERK1/2 phosphorylation in fetal and adult brains. Hypophosphorylation of ERK1/2, associated with decreased zinc availability in cell cultures, is accompanied by decreased proliferation and an arrest of the cell cycle at the G0/G1 phase. Zinc and ERK1/2 have both been shown to modulate neural progenitor cell proliferation and cell death in the brain. Furthermore, behavioral deficits resulting from developmental zinc deficiency are similar to those observed in mice with decreased ERK1/2 signaling. For example, impaired performance on behavioral tests of learning and memory; such as the Morris water maze, fear conditioning, and the radial arm maze; has been reported in both animals exposed to developmental zinc deficiency and transgenic mice with decreased ERK signaling. Future study should clarify the mechanisms through which a dysregulation of ERK1/2 may contribute to altered brain development associated with dietary zinc deficiency and with conditions that limit zinc availability.
Accelerating acculturation through tacit knowledge flows: refining a grounded theory model

Purpose – Intercultural knowledge flows are critical to global enterprise performance, but the impact of knowledge management theory on such intercultural flows remains limited. This paper seeks to address this issue.Design/methodology/approach – The present investigation builds on and partially validates two prior studies: research to integrate institutional theory with knowledge flow theory, which provides a powerful theoretical framework for understanding how tacit knowledge flows across cultures; and recent qualitative research, which has employed this framework to develop a theoretical model of acculturation. The present investigation refines this model by drawing in particular from the mergers and acquisitions literature to characterize both accelerators and decelerators of acculturation.Findings – The paper is able to identify theoretical dimensions to measure acculturative stress, a concept that proves to be useful in terms of validating, refining and simplifying the basic acculturation model.Rese...
Resolution of Lung Abscess Due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa with Oral Ciprofloxacin: Case Report

A case of lung abscess due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa is presented that did not resolve with the use of conventional antipseudomonal antibiotics, including tobramycin with ticarcillin-clavulanate and ceftazidime with gentamicin and ticarcillin-clavulanate. Oral ciprofloxacin was administered for 12 weeks, and the infection was resolved. No resistance occurred, and there was no recurrence of abscess within 18 months following therapy.
Technique for producing heart block in closed-chest dogs without electrical recording.

An instrument and technique have been devised for the production of complete atrioventricular heart block in anesthetized, closed-chest animals. The instrument is inserted into the right atrium via the right external jugular vein. Localization of the atrioventricular node region by the visualization of intracardiac landmarks with fluoroscopy makes electrical recording unnecessary. Discrete injections of a radiopaque necrosing solution produces the heart block. Procedure time is under 30 min with a success rate of 90%.
Unifying trends found for the VNO2N-1 series by the application of hydrostatic pressure.

The application of hydrostatic pressure to V{sub 7}O{sub 13}, V{sub 8}O{sub 15} and (V{sub 0.98}Cr{sub 0.02}){sub 8}O{sub 15} leads to the formation of pressure-temperature phase diagrams for each of these materials. Analysis of these diagrams allows unifying trends, not apparent at atmospheric pressure, to emerge. Examination of these trends and the nature of the low-temperature antiferromagnetic ground state will be presented.
Biosynthesis of ribonucleic and polyadenylic acid in tobacco leaf homogenates.

Abstract 1. The capacity of various sub-cellular fractions of tobacco leaf tissue to synthesize RNA has been determined. Of the five fractions examined, only those which sedimented at 600 × g and at 8000 × g showed activity. No significant incorporation of [ 14 C]ATP was catalyzed by the 18 000 × g, 100 000 × g or the particulate-free supernatant fluid. 2. The active fractions form a heteropolymer in the presence of the four ribonucleoside triphosphates. Heteropolymer formation is inhibited by ribonuclease, deoxyribonuclease, and actinomycin-D during short incubation periods, but this inhibitory effect is lost to a variable extent on prolonged incubation. 3. The active fractions can also form polyadenylate when CTP, UTP and GTP are omitted from the reaction mixture. Polyadenylate synthesis is not sensitive to the action of ribonuclease, deoxyribonuclease or actinomycin-D. The system lacks the capacity to form a homopolymer with labeled [ 14 C]CTP, [ 14 C]UTP or [ 14 C]GTP. 4. The products have been purified by extraction with phenol, followed by ethanol precipitation, washing several times with 70 % ethanol containing 1 % NaCl and finally subjected to exhaustive dialysis. The enzymatically synthesized heteropolymer and homopolymer have been characterized by nearest neighbor frequency studies. Alkaline hydrolysis of heteropolymer yielded four autoradiographic spots corresponding to CMP, GMP, AMP and UMP. The homopolymer, on the other hand, gave only one prominent autoradiographic spot which matched with AMP.
The Skewboid Method: A Simple and Effective Approach to Pareto Relaxation and Filtering

The concept of Pareto optimality is the default method for pruning a large set of candidate solutions in a multi-objective problem to a manageable, balanced, and rational set of solutions. While the Pareto optimality approach is simple and sound, it may select too many or too few solutions for the decision-maker’s needs or the needs of optimization process (e.g. the number of survivors selected in a population-based optimization). This inability to achieve a target number of solutions to keep has caused a number of researchers to devise methods to either remove some of the non-dominated solutions via Pareto filtering or to retain some dominated solutions via Pareto relaxation. Both filtering and relaxation methods tend to introduce many new adjustment parameters that a decision-maker (DM) must specify.In the presented Skewboid method, only a single parameter is defined for both relaxing the Pareto optimality condition (values between −1 and 0) and filtering more solutions from the Pareto optimal set (values between 0 and 1). This parameter can be correlated with a desired number of solutions so that this number of solutions is input instead of an unintuitive adjustment parameter. A mathematically sound derivation of the Skewboid method is presented followed by illustrative examples of its use. The paper concludes with a discussion of the method in comparison to similar methods in the literature.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
TiO2-photocatalyzed transformation of the recalcitrant X-ray contrast agent diatrizoate

Abstract Iodinated X-ray contrast media (ICM) are biologically recalcitrant chemicals that are often detected in wastewater-impacted environments at higher concentrations than other pharmaceutical micropollutants of concern. Diatrizoate is an anionic ICM that is especially resistant to conventional wastewater and drinking water treatment processes. This study examined the aqueous photocatalytic treatment of diatrizoate using nanophase titanium dioxide (TiO2). Experiments demonstrated that diatrizoate can be degraded in aqueous TiO2 suspensions illuminated with ultraviolet-A (UVA) light. In oxic solutions, diatrizoate degraded principally via oxidation by adsorbed hydroxyl radicals ( OH), releasing iodine substituents stoichiometrically, but causing little mineralization of organic carbon and nitrogen. Introduction of OH scavengers significantly slowed the rate of photocatalytic degradation. At circumneutral pH, diatrizoate was oxidized much more slowly than iopromide, a nonionic ICM, in part because of unfavorable electrostatic interactions with the negatively charged TiO2 surface; increased rates of oxidation observed at lower pH conditions can be attributed to more favorable diatrizoate-TiO2 sorptive interactions. Experiments also demonstrated that diatrizoate was degraded at appreciable rates in anoxic solutions, and reductive dehalogenation products are identified by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. The higher selectivity of reductive processes suggests a promising strategy for targeted treatment of recalcitrant ICM in organic-rich matrices like wastewater effluent.
Renal histopathological changes in the goldfish (Carassius auratus) after sublethal exposure to hexachlorobutadiene

Abstract Hexachlorobutadiene (HCBD), a chlorinated hydrocarbon, is an acute renal toxicant in mammals. Goldfish (Carassius auratus) were given a single i.p. injection of a sublethal dose (500 mg/kg) of HCBD and sampled daily for one week. No damage was observed by light microscopy 6 h post injection. At 24 h, however, cytoplasmic vacuolation and necrosis occurred in the renal tubules. This damage was localized to the epithelium of the second (P2) and third (P3) segments of the proximal tubule. The damage persisted for seven days. By the sixth day the first segment (P1) of the proximal tubule had small cytoplasmic vacuoles. The ratio of kidney to body weight was significantly greater in the treated fish on the fourth day. Gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), a histochemical marker of proximal tubule brush border in mammals, was demonstrated in the goldfish kidney. Intense staining was noted only in P2 and P3. GGT staining was also present in the lumen of the damaged, vacuolated tubules of HCBD-treated fish.
Semicontinuous limits of nets of continuous functions

In this paper we present a topology on the space of real-valued functions defined on a functionally Hausdorff space \(X\) that is finer than the topology of pointwise convergence and for which (1) the closure of the set of continuous functions \(\mathcal{C }(X)\) is the set of upper semicontinuous functions on \(X\), and (2) the pointwise convergence of a net in \(\mathcal{C }(X)\) to an upper semicontinuous limit automatically ensures convergence in this finer topology.
Estimating the urban bias of surface shelter temperatures using upper-air and satellite data. Part 2: Estimation of the urban bias

A methodology is presented for estimating the urban bias of surface shelter temperatures due to the effect of the urban heat island. Multiple regression techniques were used to predict surface shelter temperatures based on the time period 1986-89 using upper-air data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) to represent the background climate, site-specific data to represent the local landscape, and satellite-derived data -- the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) nighttime brightness data -- to represent the urban and rural landscape. Local NDVI and DMSP values were calculated for each station using the mean NDVI and DMSP values from a 3 km x 3 km area centered over the given station. Regional NDVI and DMSP values were calculated to represent a typical rural value for each station using the mean NDVI and DMSP values from a 1 deg x 1 deg latitude-longitude area in which the given station was located. Models for the United States were then developed for monthly maximum, mean, and minimum temperatures using data from over 1000 stations in the U.S. Cooperative (COOP) Network and for monthly mean temperatures with data from over 1150 stations in the Global Historical Climate Network (GHCN). Local biases, or the differences between the model predictions using the observed NDVI and DMSP values, and the predictions using the background regional values were calculated and compared with the results of other research. The local or urban bias of U.S. temperatures, as derived from all U.S. stations (urban and rural) used in the models, averaged near 0.40 C for monthly minimum temperatures, near 0.25 C for monthly mean temperatures, and near 0.10 C for monthly maximum temperatures. The biases of monthly minimum temperatures for individual stations ranged from near -1.1 C for rural stations to 2.4 C for stations from the largest urban areas. The results of this study indicate minimal problems for global application once global NDVI and DMSP data become available.
Autosomal recessive hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia: Dental manifestations

Abstract Hypodontia, together with other characteristics similar in each of three sisters, established a diagnosis of anhidrotic ectodermal dysplasia. The clinical features of the patients are described, and the oral and dental manifestations are presented. The parents were found to be free of all the aberrant conditions described in the proband.
Wearable computers as a virtual environment interface for people with visual impairment

People who are totally blind or who have vevere visual impairments (e.g. less than 20/200 acuity, central macular scotomas, or advanced diabetic retinopathy) ‘see’ the environment in a fashion that may be completely foreign to those who operate in a very visual fashion. For this population, the visual complexity of the environment is not a concern. What is of concern are salient features found within the environment that relate to their ability to navigate successfully in, and/or interact with, the environment as needed. Toward the purpose of representing these salient features in comprehensive form, investigators at the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Research and Development Center are employing wearable computer technology to develop a virtual environment interface. The long-range goal is to create a simplistic virtual representation of the environment that includes only features related to the current navigational task and/or interactive needs of the person. In a completed study, the use of digital infrared transmitters as ‘beacons’ representing salient features of the environment was explored. The purpose of a current study now in progress is to evaluate and compare various user interface structures that were suggested by subjects during the preliminary study. The problem of interest in the current study is street-crossing; however, the results of this research should be applicable to many other problems, including identifying and locating building entrances, and identifying, locating and interacting with electronic devices such as information kiosks, automated teller machines, and self-serve point-of-sale terminals. The long-range result desired is a wearable computer with which one can easily identify and interact with a wide variety of devices in the environment via one familiar, easy-to-use interface.
Insulin-like Activity in Goat Serum

Partially purified, non-immunoassayable insulin-like activity (NI-ILA) was obtained from goat serum by resin adsorption and elution. When NI-ILA was assayed by an in vivo rat assay, it stimulated glucose-14C uptake into diaphragm glycogen, and epididymal total fat and glycogen. Goat serum and NI-ILA chromatographed on a Sephadex column (G-100) demonstrated: The molecular weight of immunoreactive insulin (IRI) in goat serum was 12,000 with a minor peak at 24,000; NI-ILA was found to have a molecular weight range of 30,000 to 50,000. Glucose administration iv (0.5 g/kgbody weight) led to an increase in IRI; NI-ILA tended to decrease, returning to preinfusion levels within 90 min after glucose administration. Compared to goat NI-ILA alone, incubation of goat NI-ILA with anti-insulin antiserum inhibited 14C uptake into rat diaphragm glycogen, adipose tissue glycogen and adipose tissue total fat. Our studies of insulin-like activity suggest the presence of 2 forms of insulin-like activity in goat serum: an imm...
A bijection between intervals in the Fibonacci posets

Abstract For each word w in the Fibonacci lattices Fib (r) and Z(r) we partition the interval [ 0 ,w] in Fib (r) into subposets called r -Boolean posets. In the case r=1 those subposets are isomorphic to Boolean algebras. We also partition the interval [ 0 ,w] in Z(r) into certain spanning trees of the r -Boolean posets. A bijection between those intervals is given in which each r -Boolean poset in Fib (r) corresponds to a spanning tree in Z(r) .
Self and observer predictions of memory performance in a brain-damaged sample

The present study examined the ability of 23 brain-damaged patients and outside observers (i.e., close friends or relatives) to predict the patients' performance on standard clinical tests of memory. Several tests of verbal and nonverbal memory were specifically described in a questionnaire and subjects were asked to estimate upcoming performance. Individual subject factors were correlated with overall prediction accuracy and specific predictions were correlated with memory performance across each test. Individual differences, including memory ability, did not significantly influence the findings consistent with the view that memory and metamemory reflect independent variables. Although correlations obtained from the outside observers overall were higher and more often statistically significant, both patients and observers often made comparable predictions of the patients' task performance suggesting brain-damaged patients have some ability to make accurate self-assessments.
Supply shocks and menu costs

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how firms respond to adverse supply shocks.Design/methodology/approach – This paper examines a supply shock within the framework of Mankiw's Menu Cost Model.Findings – The analysis in this paper illustrates that the type of adverse shock is important. An immediate increase in the money supply may work well in response to a negative aggregate demand shock, but be counter‐productive in response to a negative supply shock. This paper finds that output will decrease when the Federal Reserve increases the money supply in response to an adverse supply shock.Practical implications – The implication is that when the Federal Reserve first spots a negative supply shock (such as an increase in oil prices), it should not immediately respond with an increase in the money supply. Doing so might cause a recession.Originality/value – When there is a negative supply shock, conventional wisdom holds that an increase in money supply can offset the decrease in output that wou...
Per-pack price reductions available from different cigarette purchasing strategies: United States, 2009-2010.

Objective Following cigarette excise tax increases, smokers may use cigarette price minimization strategies to continue their usual cigarette consumption rather than reducing consumption or quitting. This reduces the public health benefits of the tax increase. This paper estimates the price reductions for a wide-range of strategies, compensating for overlapping strategies.
Comparison of the utility of preoperative versus postoperative B-type natriuretic peptide for predicting hospital length of stay and mortality after primary coronary artery bypass grafting.

Background: Preoperative B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is known to predict adverse outcomes after cardiac surgery. The value of postoperative BNP for predicting adverse outcomes is less well delineated. The authors hypothesized that peak postoperative plasma BNP (measured postoperative days 1-5) predicts hospital length of stay (HLOS) and mortality in patients undergoing primary coronary artery bypass grafting, even after adjusting for preoperative BNP and perioperative clinical risk factors. Methods: This study is a prospective longitudinal study of 1,183 patients undergoing primary coronary artery bypass grafting surgery. Mortality was defined as all-cause death within 5 yr after surgery. Cox proportional hazards analyses were conducted to separately evaluate the associations between peak postoperative BNP and HLOS and mortality. Multivariable adjustments were made for patient demographics, preoperative BNP concentration, and clinical risk factors. BNP measurements were log 10 transformed before analysis. Results: One hundred fifteen deaths (9.7%) occurred in the cohort (mean follow-up = 4.3 yr, range = 2.38-5.0 yr). After multivariable adjustment for preoperative BNP and clinical covariates, peak postoperative BNP predicted HLOS (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.002-1.64, P = 0.049) but not mortality (HR = 1.62, CI = 0.71-3.68, P = 0.25), whereas preoperative BNP independently predicted HLOS (HR = 1.09, CI = 1.01-1.18, P = 0.03) and approached being an independent predictor of mortality (HR = 1.36, CI = 0.96-1.94, P = 0.08). When preoperative and peak postoperative BNP were separately adjusted for within the clinical multivariable models, each independently predicted HLOS (preoperative BNP HR = 1.13, CI = 1.05-1.21, P = 0.0007; peak postoperative BNP HR = 1.44, CI = 1.15-1.81, P = 0.001) and mortality (preoperative BNP HR = 1.50, CI = 1.09-2.07, P = 0.01; peak postoperative BNP HR = 2.29, CI = 1.11-4.73, P = 0.02). Conclusions: Preoperative BNP may be better than peak postoperative BNP for predicting HLOS and longer term mortality after primary coronary artery bypass grafting surgery.
Calvin as Analogical Theologian

In his oft-cited article, ‘God Was Accommodating Himself to Human Capacity’, Ford Lewis Battles makes the following claim:It may be that we have succumbed to the temptation of putting the concept of accommodation too much at the center of Calvin's thought and of trying to organize everything around this notion. Yet, if this be a faithful interpretation, accommodation would seem (even when Calvin does not explicitly advert to it) his fundamental way of explaining how the secret, hidden God reveals himself to us.
Plasmonic near-field probes: a comparison of the campanile geometry with other sharp tips.

Efficient conversion of photonic to plasmonic energy is important for nano-optical applications, particularly imaging and spectroscopy. Recently a new generation of photonic/plasmonic transducers, the ‘campanile’ probes, has been developed that overcomes many shortcomings of previous near-field probes by efficiently merging broadband field enhancement with bidirectional coupling of far- to near-field electromagnetic modes. In this work we compare the properties of the campanile structure with those of current NSOM tips using finite element simulations. Field confinement, enhancement, and polarization near the apex of the probe are evaluated relative to local fields created by conical tapered tips in vacuum and in tip-substrate gap mode. We show that the campanile design has similar field enhancement and bandwidth capabilities as those of ultra-sharp metallized tips, but without the substrate and sample restrictions inherent in the tip-surface gap mode operation often required by those tips. In addition, we show for the first time that this campanile probe structure also significantly enhances the radiative rate of any dipole emitter located near the probe apex, quantifying the enhanced decay rate and demonstrating that over 90% of the light radiated by the emitter is “captured” by this probe. This is equivalent to collecting the light from a solid angle of ~3.6 pi. These advantages are crucial for performing techniques such as Raman and IR spectroscopy, white-light nano-ellipsometry and ultrafast pump-probe studies at the nanoscale.
AERIAL VIDEOGRAMMETRY FROM A TETHERED AIRSHIP TO ASSESS MANATEE LIFE‐STAGE STRUCTURE

Aerial videogrammetry from an airship tethered to a boat was used to assess the life-stage structure of manatees in the Blue Waters area of the Homosassa River on the west coast of central Florida. Individual frames of videos were loaded onto a computer and lengths of manatees measured using graphics software. All images of manatees were measured independently by three observers. Measurements were transformed to total manatee lengths by calculating the ratio between the measurements of a reference object of known length and the measurement of the manatee. Length estimates were highly variable but were unbiased with respect to observer. Results of an analysis of variance suggested that the hypothesis that lengths differed among days and among observers should not be rejected. Life-stage structures were represented in three schemes. One scheme-which included four life stages: dependent calves, juveniles, animals in tramsition between juvenile and adult, and adults-was included to provide the most information without sacrificing confidence in the life-stage distribution. Overall, the video system was effective at capturing images of manatees for life-stage characterization and, with improvements in image resolution, could become a valuable tool for photo-identification in sight-resight experiments.
Threshold and slope efficiency of Nd0.5La0.5Al3(BO3)4 ceramic random laser: effect of the pumped spot size

Abstract We have experimentally found that in a random laser based on Nd 0.5 La 0.5 Al 3 (BO 3 ) 4 scattering ceramic, the threshold pumping density decreases and the output slope efficiency increases with the increase of the diameter of the pumped spot. The experimental behavior is explained in terms of random photon's walk in an amplifying medium.
Forgotten classics: E.T. Grether’s (1966) Marketing and Public Policy

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to revisit a forgotten classic in the marketing literature to provide a historical review of ET Grether’s 1966 book, Marketing and Public Policy. Design/methodology/approach – The approach combines a literature review with historical reflection by placing Grether’s work in historical context. Findings – Marketing and Public Policy offered a framework for examining and evaluating marketing practices and public policy responses based on Grether’s mastery of a number of disciplines and his extensive research into public policy issues. His ideas are relevant to today’s world, especially in light of technological developments and shifts in our moral compass since the 1960s. Originality/value – ET Grether was a two-time recipient of the American Marketing Association’s Paul D. Converse Award, Editor of the Journal of Marketing, President of the American Marketing Association and author of more than 100 articles and books. This is the first attempt to review what is argua...
Over-expression of HAP3b enhances primary root elongation in Arabidopsis.

Abstract HAPs, similar to Heme Activator Proteins (HAP) or nuclear factor-Y (NF–Y) in yeast and animals, play versatile roles in plant growth, development, and responses to environmental cues. HAP3b in Arabidopsis is a member in the HAP3 gene family and is involved in regulating flowering time through the long-day photoperiod pathway (Cai et al., 2007, Plant Physiol 145: 98–105). In this study, we report that overexpression of HAP3b enhances primary root elongation. Detailed analysis showed that HAP3b-overexpression did not affect the length of the root elongation zone and the cell length profiles in the elongation zone. Kinematic analysis indicated that root cells in HAP3b-overexpressors elongate faster than the cells in wild-type roots. Using GUS as a reporter gene, we showed that HAP3b is specifically expressed in the tip region of the root, where cell division and elongation occur. Our results provide evidence to support a role of HAP3b in regulation of root growth.
Using laser-driven flyer plates to study the shock initiation of nanoenergetic materials

A tabletop system has been developed to launch aluminium laser-driven flyer plates at speeds of up to 4 km/s. The flyers were used to initiate nanoenergetic reactive materials including aluminium/iron oxide and aluminium/molybdenum oxide thermites produced by arrested reactive milling. The flyer flight and impact was characterized by photon Doppler velocimetry and the initiation process by time-resolved emission spectroscopy. Impact initiation thresholds were determined for 50 μm thick flyer plates producing 10 ns shocks. The intensities, delays and durations of the emission bursts, and the effects of nanostructure and microstructure on them were used to investigate fundamental mechanisms of impact initiation.
Embracing connectedness: insights from the IBM 2012 CEO study

Purpose – This article seeks to highlight some of the findings of the 2012 IBM CEO Study, Leading through Connection, based on interviews with CEOs and public sector leaders in every part of the world.Design/methodology/approach – The study was designed to determine how technology is fundamentally changing how stakeholders engage.Findings – A major finding was that CEOs are focusing on how recent advances in technology allow companies to re‐imagine connections among people – customers, employees, partners and investors.Research limitations/implications – Between September 2011 and January 2012, IBM met face to face with 1,709 CEOs and senior public sector leaders in 64 countries and 18 industries.Practical implications – CEOs are reevaluating how they engage partners. Boundaries between organizations are becoming more porous. Interactions span more functions and are more continuous.Originality/value – The study points to two conclusions. These are, first, empowering employees through values. For CEOs, org...
State interests, military power and international commerce: Some cross‐national evidence

This article argues that the military power and commerce of states moves together in peacetime, and that the nature of this relationship is bound up with peacetime patterns of conflict. After constructing an essentially realist argument for such a relationship, and attempting to present the various ways in which military power and commerce interact, I estimate several cross‐sectional regressions with data from a number of countries. The regressions provide some support for a relationship between military spending and trade, but the connections between military spending and protectionism are not well supported.
Polarization of the nightglow: Line versus continuum

Abstract A comparison is made of polarimetric observations of the nightglow in narrow bands at 5080 A and at 5577 A. The results indicate that the polarized component of the 5577 A airglow line emission is, for large areas of the sky, brighter than that of the nightglow continuum at 5080 A. It is suggested that broad-band measurements can lead to overestimates of the polarization of the zodiacal light.
Reversed colles fracture: Closed reduction

Abstract A case of possible obstructive pancreatitis is reported, which recovered after surgical intervention.
Disc electrophoresis of plasma proteins in intergeneric hybrids of chicken, turkey, pheasant, and quail.

Abstract 1. 1. Mobility of plasma albumins in our turkey, quail and pheasant stocks appear to be similar, but that of the chicken albumin appears to be greater. 2. 2. Hybrids of the chicken × pheasant and chicken × quail have two bands in the albumin region of the blood plasma, and those of the turkey × pheasant and pheasant × quail have only one band. 3. 3. Results with mixtures of parental plasmas are the same as those obtained with the hybrids.
Low-volume, high-sensitivity assay for cadmium in blood and urine using conventional atomic absorption spectrophotometry

An assay for cadmium in whole blood and urine using deuterium background-correction electrothermal atomic absorption spectroscopy (D(2)-ETAAS) was developed. Cadmium (in a 1- to 2-ml sample) was bound to 15 mg anion-exchange resin, interfering ions were removed in a 2-ml Bio-Spin column, and cadmium was extracted into 100 microl 1M nitric acid for analysis. Cadmium in the sample extract was concentrated 7-fold for blood and 10-fold for urine over the starting material. These steps produced cadmium atomic absorption traces with high signal to background ratios and allowed analysis against aqueous standards. At approximately 0.1 ng Cd/ml, mean intra- and interassay coefficients of variation were 11-12%. Cadmium recovery for 0.1 to 0.6 ng added cadmium was 107+/-4% for blood and 94+/-4% for urine (mean+/-SE, n=3). The mean detection limit (mean + 3 x SD of blank) was 0.008 ng/ml for blood and 0.003 ng/ml for urine. Samples from "unexposed" animals including humans ranged from 0.051+/-0.000 to 0.229+/-0.035 ng/ml. Values were approximately 10-fold lower than those obtained by the method of Stoeppler and Brandt using Zeeman background-correction ETAAS. This new high-sensitivity, low-volume assay will be useful for epidemiological studies, even those involving children, and will provide a means to help determine the contribution of cadmium to disease incidence in the general population.
Some Aspects of French Railway War Finance

Provisions of the agreements of 1883, 309. — Distinction between statutory interest and dividends, 311. — Terms of state's guaranty of earnings, 312. — Results for the Eastern, P. & 0., and Southern companies up to 1914, 316. — Results since 1914, 319. — Results for the Northern and P. L. M. companies up to 1914, 321. — Results for the same companies since 1914, 321. — Measures of relief suggested for the Eastern and Northern lines, 324. — Proposal for advance of rates on all roads, 327.
Patient-Treatment Matching in Substance Abuse: Drug Addiction Severity

Abstract In this study, a mixed group of 60 substance-dependent patients were randomly assigned to 12 weeks of treatment in either a high-structure, behaviorally oriented (HSB) or a low-structure, facilitative (LSF) individual counseling style. We tested the hypothesis that patients with a more severe pretreatment drug problem will realize greater treatment benefit in HSB counseling, while those with a less severe problem will benefit more in the LSF approach. Six counselors provided the treatments in a counterbalanced design that controlled for possible differences in counselor effectiveness. Treatment benefit comparisons with respect to the counselors’ posttreatment ratings, the number of counseling sessions attended, reduction in problem severity, and substance use during treatment were consistently in the hypothesized direction. These findings provide at least partial support for the notion that treatment benefit for substance abuse patients can be improved through appropriate patient-treatment matching on the basis of addiction severity. Published by Elsevier Science Inc.
The Statistical Properties of Competitive Districts: What the Central Limit Theorem Can Teach Us about Election Reform

indicate that the most commonly per ceived problem with U.S. elections at the moment is that they are rarely competi tive. This absence of competition has prompted recent proposals in several states, most prominently in California and Ohio, to reform the redistricting pro cess to increase the frequency of compet itive elections. These propositions failed, but that is unlikely the end of such at tempts. The reason for these proposals is obvious. Political education in the U.S. indoctrinates us at a young age to believe that competition is good. In economics, market competition provides social ben efits, and, by analogy, political competi tion must provide similar benefits. This argument is frequently made explicitly, such as by Schumpeter (1942), and it has its roots as far back as the often-assigned Federalist Papers #10 and #51. Of
Separating desired image and signal invariant components from extraneous variations

Images and signals can be characterized by representations invariant to time shifts, spatial shifts, frequency shifts, and scale changes as the situation dictates. Advances in time-frequency analysis and scale transform techniques have made this possible. The next step is to distinguish between invariant forms representing different classes of image or signal. Unfortunately, additional factors such as noise contamination and `style' differences complicate this. A ready example is found in text, where letters and words may vary in size and position within the image segment being examined. Examples of complicating variations include font used, corruption during fax transmission, and printer characteristics. The solution advanced in this paper is to cast the desired invariants into separate subspaces for each extraneous factor or group of factors. The first goal is to have minimal overlap between these subspaces and the second goal is to be able to identify each subspace accurately. Concepts borrowed from high-resolution spectral analysis, but adapted uniquely to this problem have been found to be useful in this context. Once the pertinent subspace is identified, the recognition of a particular invariant form within this subspace is relatively simple using well-known singular value decomposition techniques.
Does Perceptual-Motor Performance Enhance Perception of Patterned Art Music?

The purpose of this study was to compare children's ability to perceive form in patterned art music after listening to music under one of two conditions: map-reading versus perceptual-motor performance. Twenty-nine upper-elementary children from a private school in a midwestem city in America participated in the study, with 15 children in the map-reading group and 14 in the perceptual-motor group. Map-reading children scored a mean of 6.80 (SD = 2.96) out of a possible 12 points on the Form Perception test; children from the perceptual-motor performance condition scored a mean of 9.93 (SD = 1.54). A Mann-Whitney test on Form Perception scores by group yielded U = 175.5, p < .01. Children in the perceptual-motor group, who mirrored the teacher in performance of kinesthetic analogues while listening to patterned art music and who assembled a visual listening map, were significantly better at perception of the form in patterned art music. A regression of Form Perception scores on Age (y = − 5.01 + 0.10x) was...
Effect of fiber architecture on flexural characteristics and fracture of fiber-reinforced dental composites.

Abstract Objective The aim of this study was to compare and elucidate the differences in damage mechanisms and response of fiber-reinforced dental resin composites based on three different brands under flexural loading. The types of reinforcement consisted of a unidirectional E-glass prepreg (Splint-It from Jeneric/Petron Inc.), an ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene fiber based biaxial braid (Connect, Kerr) and an ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene fiber based leno-weave (Ribbond). Methods Three different commercially available fiber reinforcing systems were used to fabricate rectangular bars, with the fiber reinforcement close to the tensile face, which were tested in flexure with an emphasis on studying damage mechanisms and response. Eight specimens ( n = 8) of each type were tested. Overall energy capacity as well as flexural strength and modulus were determined and results compared in light of the different abilities of the architectures used. Results Under flexural loading unreinforced and unidirectional prepreg reinforced dental composites failed in a brittle fashion, whereas the braid and leno-weave reinforced materials underwent significant deformation without rupture. The braid reinforced specimens showed the highest peak load. The addition of the unidirectional to the matrix resulted in an average strain of 0.06 mm/mm which is 50% greater than the capacity of the unreinforced matrix, whereas the addition of the braid and leno-weave resulted in increases of 119 and 126%, respectively, emphasizing the higher capacity of both the UHM polyethylene fibers and the architectures to hold together without rupture under flexural loading. The addition of the fiber reinforcement substantially increases the level of strain energy in the specimens with the maximum being attained in the braid reinforced specimens with a 433% increase in energy absorption capability above the unreinforced case. The minimum scatter and highest consistency in response is seen in the leno-weave reinforced specimens due to the details of the architecture which restrict fabric shearing and movement during placement. Significance It is crucial that the appropriate selection of fiber architectures be made not just from a perspective of highest strength, but overall damage tolerance and energy absorption. Differences in weaves and architectures can result in substantially different performance and appropriate selection can mitigate premature and catastrophic failure. The study provides details of materials level response characteristics which are useful in selection of the fiber reinforcement based on specifics of application.
The Tap42-Protein Phosphatase Type 2A Catalytic Subunit Complex Is Required for Cell Cycle-Dependent Distribution of Actin in Yeast

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the Tor proteins mediate a wide spectrum of growth-related cellular processes in response to nutrients. The pleiotropic role of the Tor proteins is mediated, at least in part, by type 2A protein phosphatases (PP2A) and 2A-like protein phosphatases. Tor-mediated signaling activity promotes the interaction of phosphatase-interacting protein Tap42 with PP2A and 2A-like protein phosphatases. The distinct complexes formed between Tap42 and different phosphatases mediate various cellular events and modulate phosphorylation levels of many downstream factors in the Tor pathway in a Tor-dependent and rapamycin-sensitive manner. In this study, we demonstrate that the interaction between Tap42 and the catalytic subunits of PP2A (PP2Ac) is required for cell cycle-dependent distribution of actin. We show that mutations in PP2Ac and Tap42 that perturb the interaction cause random distribution of actin during the cell cycle and that overexpression of the Rho2 GTPase suppresses the actin defects associated with the mutants. Our findings suggest that the Tap42-PP2Ac complex regulates the actin cytoskeleton via a Rho GTPase-dependent mechanism. In addition, we provide evidence that PP2A activity plays a negative role in controlling the actin cytoskeleton and, possibly, in regulation of the G2/M transition of the cell cycle.
An overview of tobacco measures

In this panel session I will be making an introductory presentation, after which we will hear from Tim McAfee and Jodi Jessen. After all of the presenters have been heard from, we will address “questions for the future”. In my talk I would like to review: (a) the value of performance measurement and the different ways in which performance measurement can serve our purposes; (b) the different tobacco measures that have been developed or proposed, including those proposed by the Center for the Advancement of Health, those being used in the Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS), and those proposed by the Foundation for Accountability (FACCT); (c) results of the HEDIS tobacco measure in the 1996 reporting set; and (d) problems or potential problems with the HEDIS measures. Performance measures can help us monitor change over time for an individual health plan. They can help us observe differences across health plans and disparities within health plans—for example, between commercial members and Medicaid or Medicare members. Performance measurement allows us to identify providers with the best and worst performance—at the level of the clinic and the level of individual providers. And finally it permits us to assess the effectiveness of interventions. Once we have decided that we want to measure performance, the question is, how do we do it? As the cartoon in figure 1 shows, we have to determine whether we are making any impact. We have to decide which measures to use. Which measures should we use for these howling wolves? Should it be how high the moon rises in the evening sky, or how brightly the moon shines, or how much the stars are flickering? Those are the kinds of questions that we struggle to answer when we try to address tobacco in managed care. Figure 1 Are …