cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Canine Lumbar Spinal Internal Fixation Techniques A Comparative Biomechanical Study

The stability (flexural rigidity) and strength of five canine spinal internal fixation techniques were quantitated and compared to each other and to the rigidity and strength of the intact spine. The techniques were applied to isolated canine lumbar spines (L2–L5) on which a complete spinal injury was surgically simulated at L3–L4. The spine-implant preparations were subjected to four-point bending and tested once to failure in flexion. The bending moment vs. L3–L4 angular deformation curves were recorded; rigidity and load sustained at failure (10° angular deformation) were compared. The combination of dorsal spinous process plate and dorsolateral vertebral body plate was the most rigid and most strong of the techniques tested. The dorsolateral vertebral body plate was the most rigid and most strong of the individual techniques, followed by the dorsal spinous process plate and the polymethylmethacrylate-pin technique. Vertebral body crosspins provided the least strength and stability of any of the techniques tested.
Folk psychological and phenomenological accounts of social perception

Theory theory and simulation theory share the assumption that mental states are unobservable, such that mental state attribution requires an extra psychological step beyond perception. Phenomenologists deny this, contending that we can directly perceive people's mental states. Here I evaluate objections to theory theory and simulation theory as accounts of everyday social perception offered by Dan Zahavi and Shaun Gallagher. I agree that their phenomenological claims have bite at the personal level, distinguishing direct social perception from conscious theorizing and simulation. Their appeals to phenomenology and other arguments do not, however, rule out theory theory or simulation theory as accounts of the sub-personal processes underlying social perception. While I here remain uncommitted about the plausibility of sub-personal theorizing and simulation, I argue that phenomenologists must do more in order to reject these accounts.
Pressure measurements during injection of corticosteroids.

Corticosteroid injection into the orbit, eyelid and larynx is a common treatment for inflammation and neoplasm. Complications include embolisation into the ocular circulation resulting in permanent loss of vision. The overall aim of the reported research is to develop an injection cannula and monitoring system which can prevent inadvertent embolisation into the ocular circulation during injection of corticosteroids. To that end, a special cannula was designed that allows simultaneous estimation of pressure at the tip of the cannula and flow rate during injection. The cannula was tested with backpressures corresponding to physiological ranges of 0 to 125 mmHg and injection flow rates of 3 to 11 cm3 min−1. The estimated pressure at the tip of the cannula during injection of corticosteroids was compared with direct pressure measurements. The results show that the mean estimated pressure is linearly related to the mean measured pressure with a slope of 0.99 and correlation coefficient of 0.99. Statistical analyses show that with standard error of estimate (SEE) of 2.14 mmHg, the estimated pressure is well within the 95% prediction interval limits of the measured values. The estimation of pressure from the cannula and monitoring system was accurate and warrants further testing in animal models.
Effect of dietary acid and calcium on 25‐hydroxyvitamin D metabolism by chick kidney

Studies of the effects of acidosis and dietary calcium on 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25OHD3) metabolism were conducted utilizing assays of mitochondrial 1-hydroxylase and 24-hydroxylase activity following 96 hours of acid loading. The results showed decreased 1-hydroxylase (206 +/- 6 vs. 132 +/- 22 fmol min-1 mg/mitochondrial protein-1, p less than 0.01), augmented 24-hydroxylase (48 +/- 14 vs. 180 +/- 30 fmol min-1 mg-1, p less than 0.001) and increments in plasma calcium and phosphate following acidosis. High calcium diet also increased 24-hydroxylase activity (48 +/- 14 vs. 160 +/- 24 fmol min-1 mg-1, p less than 0.001) and plasma calcium, but decreased plasma phosphate. The extramitochondrial concentrations of calcium, potassium, and phosphate which maximally stimulated the hydroxylases in vitro were not altered by the in vivo dietary perturbations. The increments in 1-hydroxylase and 24-hydroxylase resulting from the presence of calcium, potassium, or phosphate in optimal concentrations (10(-5) M, 100 mM, and 100 mM, respectively) were changed by both acid loading and high calcium diet, decreasing in the case of 1-hydroxylase and increasing in that of 24-hydroxylase. The data indicate that the suppression of 1-hydroxylase and augmentation of 24-hydroxylase following these dietary perturbations may depend on both changed total enzyme capacity and altered enzyme sensitivity to extramitochondrial ions and are consistent with mediation by calcium of the effects of acidosis.
Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator–associated ATP Release Is Controlled by a Chloride Sensor

The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is a chloride channel that is defective in cystic fibrosis, and has also been closely associated with ATP permeability in cells. Using a Xenopus oocyte cRNA expression system, we have evaluated the molecular mechanisms that control CFTR-modulated ATP release. CFTR-modulated ATP release was dependent on both cAMP activation and a gradient change in the extracellular chloride concentration. Activation of ATP release occurred within a narrow concentration range of external Cl− that was similar to that reported in airway surface fluid. Mutagenesis of CFTR demonstrated that Cl− conductance and ATP release regulatory properties could be dissociated to different regions of the CFTR protein. Despite the lack of a need for Cl− conductance through CFTR to modulate ATP release, alterations in channel pore residues R347 and R334 caused changes in the relative ability of different halides to activate ATP efflux (wtCFTR, Cl >> Br; R347P, Cl >> Br; R347E, Br >> Cl; R334W, Cl = Br). We hypothesize that residues R347 and R334 may contribute a Cl− binding site within the CFTR channel pore that is necessary for activation of ATP efflux in response to increases of extracellular Cl−. In summary, these findings suggest a novel chloride sensor mechanism by which CFTR is capable of responding to changes in the extracellular chloride concentration by modulating the activity of an unidentified ATP efflux pathway. This pathway may play an important role in maintaining fluid and electrolyte balance in the airway through purinergic regulation of epithelial cells. Insight into these molecular mechanisms enhances our understanding of pathogenesis in the cystic fibrosis lung.
Systemic naloxone increases the incidence of motion sickness in the cat.

Abstract Subcutaneous injections of naloxone in a total dose of 0.4 mg or greater one hour before a swing stimulus increased the frequency of motion sickness symptoms and shortened the latency to retching and vomiting.
Culture Wars? Insights from Ethnographies of Two Protestant Seminaries

La post-modernite a favorise les visions religieuses et morales competitives dans la societe americaine. Les AA. presentent des etudes de cas, fondees sur des recherches ethnographiques menees sur une periode de trois ans, concernant la culture de deux ecoles theologiques americaines, l'une protestante liberale, l'autre conservatrice. Dans ces ecoles, les questions de verite et d'autorite interpretative sont articulees et negociees de maniere fortement distincte. Puisque ces institutions eduquent les elites religieuses, ces cas offrent des apercus importants d'une dynamique culturelle plus large
The paradox of the dead donor rule: increasing death on the waiting list.

James Bernat has been a leading advocate of donation after brain death (DBD) (Bernat 2014) and donation after circulatory death (DCD) (Bernat et al. 2010), as well as an eminent scholar regarding t...
An evaluation of the expression, subcellular localization, and function of rab4 in the exocrine pancreas.

Abstract The small GTP-binding protein, rab4, is involved in recycling of transferrin receptors and translocation of GLUT4. Recent studies suggest that rab4 controls regulated exocytosis in the exocrine pancreas. We conducted the present study to further investigate the role of rab4 in the exocrine pancreas. We found that the exocrine pancreas expresses two rab4 immunoanalogs, one of ∼28 kDa identified previously in neonatal glands, and one of ∼24 kDa which is similar to rab4 characterized in other systems. The latter species was mostly membrane-anchored and localized to endosome-like structures in a supranuclear region that was immunopositive for the transferrin receptor. The ∼24-kDa rab4 form also localized to the apical plasmamembrane, and this immunofluorescence increased greatly in tissue challenged with a secretagogue. We propose that the ∼24-kDa rab4 species is involved in compensatory membrane retrieval following regulated exocytosis, and that rab4-positive endocytic vesicles move through a supranuclear recycling compartment.
Clq and C4 Detection on Bacterial Plaque Organisms

The bacteria in dental plaque collected from periodontal pockets in patients with chronic periodontitis (Case Type III) showed a coating of Clq and C4 on their cell wall surfaces. This was demonstrated by light and electron microscopy of plaque bacteria treated with specific antibodies to human Clq and C4 and reacted with peroxidase antiperoxidase.
Relation between electrocardiography and echocardiography for left ventricular mass in mild systemic hypertension (results from Treatment of Mild Hypertension Study).

Abstract Clinical recognition of hypertensive cardiac involvement depends primarily on use of noninvasive methods. The performance of 8 electrocardiographs (ECG) criteria sets were compared with an echocardiographic standard in the Treatment of Mild Hypertension Study. Electrocardiograms were computer processed to define the following ECG criteria sets: (1) Casale/Devereux, (2) Cornell product, (3) Cornell voltage, (4) 12-lead voltage product, (5) sum of 12-lead voltage, (6) Rautaharju, (7) Sokolow-Lyon, and (8) Romhilt-Estes. Echocardiographic left ventricular (LV) mass index was calculated by using the Penn convention on a biracial population of 834 men and women. Correlations between ECG and echocardiographic LV mass index were modest (
Alpha sympathomimetic treatment of autonomic insufficiency with orthostatic hypotension

PURPOSE In this double-blind study, the authors compared the safety and efficacy of the investigational oral agent midodrine, a specific alpha 1-sympathomimetic agent, with ephedrine, a nonspecific alpha- and beta-adrenergic receptor agonist. Eight patients (4 men and 4 women) with refractory orthostatic hypotension resulting from autonomic failure were studied. This study was based on the notion that neurogenic orthostatic hypotension results from attenuation of adrenergic nerve traffic and not from alpha-adrenergic receptor dysfunction. Although arteriolar vasoconstrictors seem to be appropriate therapeutic agents, their success has been limited, and the search for an ideal drug is ongoing. METHODS The authors employed a blocked, double-blind, randomized crossover design. The single-blind placebo run-in period was 2 days. The double-blind titration period with either midodrine or ephedrine was 3 to 5 days; the titration end point was to increase standing systolic blood pressure to > or = 80 mm Hg and to maintain a supine pressure below 180/100 mm Hg. The maintenance period was 3 to 5 days. A 4-day placebo washout period was interposed at the crossover point. RESULTS The ability to stand improved in patients treated with midodrine but not with ephedrine. Midodrine significantly increased both systolic (P 0.05). Midodrine treatment improved the frequency of the ability to stand as compared with ephedrine, and was associated with a significantly higher incidence of standing systolic pressures > 80 mm Hg than was placebo (P < 0.001). Both midodrine and ephedrine significantly increased supine systolic and diastolic blood pressures over placebo (P < 0.001, P < 0.01, P < 0.01, P < 0.01, respectively), but were not significantly different from each other. Ephedrine significantly increased (P < 0.05) the pulse rate as compared with placebo and midodrine, whereas midodrine produced a statistically significant (P < 0.05) but clinically minimal decrease in pulse rate compared with placebo. Neither drug affected clinical laboratory variables. CONCLUSIONS Midodrine safely and effectively improved orthostatic hypotension caused by autonomic failure. Our data suggest that the ability to stand is improved better by midodrine than by ephedrine.
Data-Aided Noise Reduction for Long-Range Fading Prediction in Adaptive Modulation Systems

The long-range prediction (LRP) of fading signals enables adaptive transmission methods for rapidly varying mobile radio channels encountered in vehicular communications, but its performance is severely degraded by the additive noise and interference. A data-aided noise reduction (DANR) method is proposed to enhance the accuracy of fading prediction and to improve the spectral efficiency of adaptive modulation systems enabled by the LRP. The DANR includes an adaptive pilot transmission mechanism, robust noise reduction (NR), and decision-directed channel estimation. Due to improved prediction accuracy and low pilot rates, the DANR results in higher spectral efficiency than previously proposed NR techniques, which rely on oversampled pilots. It is also demonstrated that DANR-aided LRP increases the coding gain of adaptive trellis-coded modulation (ATCM). Finally, for low-to-medium signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) values, we show that LRP-enabled adaptive modulation performs better for realistic reflector configurations than for the conventional Jakes model (JM) data set.
The influence of grain and tlin boundaries in fatigue cracking

Abstract The cracks resulting from fatigue of about 106 clcles life lere examined in an easl cross-slip material, copper, and a difficult cross-slip material, brass. Grain sile las varied in each material. luantitative observations on stage I cracks sholed that although most cracking las transgranular, the amounts of intergranular and near-tlin boundarl cracking lere important in discriminating betleen the models available in the literature for crack-boundarl interactions. These models, termed the slip band impingement and the accommodation slip models, lere made to lield predictions testable lith the results of this lork. These results included the effects of slip mode and grain sile on amount of cracking and on the fraction of intergranular cracking. Agreement las best lith the accommodation slip model. These results lere also compared lith results on the record for slip mode changes due to alloling, stress level, testing freluencl and temperature. This comparison pointed up the importance of grain sile in the relative amounts of intergranular cracking.
PERIODIZACIONES Y CAMBIO DE LENGUAJE: MONSIVÁIS ANTE LA CRÍTICA CULTURAL DEL NEOLIBERALISMO

TEXTOS HIBRIDOS Vol. 1, No. 1 (julio 2011) PERIODIZACIONES Y CAMBIO DE LENGUAJE: MONSIVAIS ANTE LA CRITICA CULTURAL DEL NEOLIBERALISMO Ignacio Corona The Ohio State University …o no entiendo lo que esta pasando o ya paso lo que estaba entendiendo. Carlos Monsivais EN un ensayo sobre la critica cultural del discurso nacionalista, quien esto escribe afirmaba que “el deceso de un autor con alto grado de reconocimiento publico tiende a suscitar una tacita periodizacion que equivale, poco mas o menos, al cierre de un capitulo en la vida cultural de una comunidad o de un pais” (Corona, “?Civitas sobre genus? s.p.) Agregaba que “tal relacion metonimica no ha faltado en el caso del sensible fallecimiento del escritor Carlos Monsivais”. En efecto, “muchas de las notas difundidas por la prensa han sugerido ese sutil vinculo entre ciclo vital y cultural con que se alimentan las historiografias literarias. Mas alla de la estrategia interpretativa de darle sentido al acontecimiento en cuestion, tal relacion forma parte tambien del trabajo de duelo colectivo” (s.p.) De manera por demas anecdotica, esta consideracion de “lo epocal” afloro en un panel sobre literatura mexicana en el que se discutia el impacto del neoliberalismo en un reciente congreso academico. Traigo este incidente a colacion porque su reflexion puede tambien inscribirse en la tarea colectiva de examinar la obra monsivaita en su dimension social tanto como cultural y literaria. Dada la relevancia de dicha obra, su analisis permitira examinar las transformaciones de la esfera cultural en el contexto mexicano y, en cierta medida, en el latinoamericano en general. George Yudice ha argumentado que, en la era global, la cultura se ha instrumentalizado hasta convertirse en una especie de recurso sometido a una racionalidad economica o ecologica: “[t]he notion of culture as a resource entails its management, a view that was not characteristic of either high culture or everyday culture in the anthropological sense. And to further complicate matters, culture as a resource circulates globally, with ever increasing velocity” (4). Dicha comprension de lo cultural trastoca, sustancialmente, los conceptos politizados y tensionados de “cultura nacional” y “cultura popular” en el ambito de la sociedad de consumo, con los que Monsivais trabajo a lo largo de varias decadas. Es mas que probable que las
Perforation of the tricuspid valve caused by an implanted device lead.

An 89-year-old man had a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVI) in 2009. He subsequently developed complete heart block and required permanent pacemaker insertion. He recently presented to Cardiology Clinic complaining of worsening dyspnoea and bilateral ankle oedema. On examination he had evidence of right heart failure with an irregularly irregular heart beat; his jugular …
Poetic Culture: Contemporary American Poetry between Community and Institution

Much of the recent debate concerning the state of contemporary American poetry results in the question: What contribution does contemporary American poetry make to contemporary American culture? In his book, Beach attempts to answer this by analyzing issues such as poetry's loss of audience, the "anthology wars" of the 1950s and early 1960s, the academic and institutional orientation of current poetry, the Poetry Slam scene, and the efforts to framework that is fundamental to an understanding of the poetic medium and makes a compelling case for poetry and its continued vitality.
Enhanced functions of vascular and bladder cells on poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid polymers with nanostructured surfaces

Polymers currently utilized for tissue engineering applications do not possess surfaces with nanostructured features. However, the tissue that the polymers will replace is composed of proteins that have nanometer dimensions. Undoubtedly, in situ, cells are accustomed to interacting with surface roughness values in the nanometer regime due to the presence of such proteins in natural tissue. Therefore, the objective of this paper was to design, synthesize and evaluate (using in vitro cellular models) poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) with nanostructured surface features to serve as the next generation of more efficient tissue engineered materials. For this purpose, nanostructured PLGA was created by treating conventional PLGA with various concentrations of NaOH for select periods of time. To eliminate surface chemistry changes created though the etching process, PLGA was cast from silastic molds of NaOH-treated nanostructured PLGA. Results provided the first evidence of increased numbers of vascular cells (specifically, endothelial and aortic smooth muscle cells) and bladder smooth muscle cells on nanostructured compared with conventional PLGA substrates. For this reason, the present results suggest, for the first time, that PLGA should incorporate a high degree of nanostructured surface roughness to enhance tissue regeneration for vascular and bladder applications.
Relationships of the Galapagos flora

Joseph Dalton Hooker's pioneer 1847 paper on Galapagos plants and their relationships is a classic in the field of phytogeography. It was the first study of its kind to be published, comparing the islands' flora with island and continental floras elsewhere, hypothesizing on the dispersal mechanisms of the plants, and pointing out anomalies in the inter-island distributions of the native species. These are still three of the primary concerns of contemporary phytogeographers, and the present paper contrasts Hooker's findings with those of today. Despite the accumulation of a large amount of data since his time, many of Hooker's conclusions regarding Galapagos phytogeography remain valid.
Propagation effects on interference in wireless communication services

As a result of the congestion of the frequency spectrum, the geostationary orbit, and soon to be also low earth orbits, and the related widespread use of frequency sharing, consideration of interference has assumed an important role in earth-station siting and other aspects of telecommunication system design. Interference may arise between terrestrial systems, between terrestrial and space systems, and between space systems. Attention is given here to interference involving space systems, whether between space systems or between space and terrestrial systems. Space-system earth stations, which commonly transmit high power and have sensitive receivers, may cause interference to terrestrial systems when transmitting and may be interfered with by terrestrial systems when receiving. In addition, one earth station may interfere with another. Also, earth stations may receive interfering, unwanted transmissions, as well as wanted signals, from satellites. Likewise satellites may receive interfering transmissions from other than the intended earth station, and terrestrial systems may receive interference from space stations.
Resolution rate of isolated low-grade hydronephrosis diagnosed within the first year of life

Objective Diagnosis of low-grade hydronephrosis often occurs prenatally, during evaluation after urinary tract infection (UTI), or imaging for non-urologic reasons within the first year of life. Its significance in terms of resolution, need for antibiotic prophylaxis, or progression to surgery remains uncertain. We hypothesized that isolated low-grade hydronephrosis in this population frequently resolves, UTIs are infrequent, and progression to surgical intervention is minimal.
Complex Genetics Control Natural Variation in Arabidopsis thaliana Resistance to Botrytis cinerea

The genetic architecture of plant defense against microbial pathogens may be influenced by pathogen lifestyle. While plant interactions with biotrophic pathogens are frequently controlled by the action of large-effect resistance genes that follow classic Mendelian inheritance, our study suggests that plant defense against the necrotrophic pathogen Botrytis cinerea is primarily quantitative and genetically complex. Few studies of quantitative resistance to necrotrophic pathogens have used large plant mapping populations to dissect the genetic structure of resistance. Using a large structured mapping population of Arabidopsis thaliana, we identified quantitative trait loci influencing plant response to B. cinerea, measured as expansion of necrotic lesions on leaves and accumulation of the antimicrobial compound camalexin. Testing multiple B. cinerea isolates, we identified 23 separate QTL in this population, ranging in isolate-specificity from being identified with a single isolate to controlling resistance against all isolates tested. We identified a set of QTL controlling accumulation of camalexin in response to pathogen infection that largely colocalized with lesion QTL. The identified resistance QTL appear to function in epistatic networks involving three or more loci. Detection of multilocus connections suggests that natural variation in specific signaling or response networks may control A. thaliana–B. cinerea interaction in this population.
Delegating network security with more information

Network security is gravitating towards more centralized control. Strong centralization places a heavy burden on the administrator who has to manage complex security policies and be able to adapt to users' requests. To be able to cope, the administrator needs to delegate some control back to end-hosts and users, a capability that is missing in today's networks. Delegation makes administrators less of a bottleneck when policy needs to be modified and allows network administration to follow organizational lines. To enable delegation, we propose ident++ - a simple protocol to request additional information from end-hosts and networks on the path of a flow. ident++ allows users and end-hosts to participate in network security enforcement by providing information that the administrator might not have or rules to be enforced on their behalf. In this paper we describe ident++ and how it provides delegation and enables flexible and powerful policies.
Validity of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale in arthritis populations.

Abstract Using data from 3 studies of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, we examined the extent to which responses to items in the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) are influenced by aspects of the disease process other than depression. Our findings suggested that 4 CES-D items (i.e., "I felt that everything I did was an effort," "I felt hopeful about the future," "My sleep was restless," and "I could not get going") may be influenced by aspects of the disease process and, thus, are not necessarily indicative of depression among persons with arthritis. The impact that these items have on the interpretation of CES-D scores was assessed in relation to 2 research issues: estimation of the prevalence and severity of depression in arthritis populations and identification of the determinants of depression among individuals with arthritis. Our results suggest that the original CES-D may overestimate the prevalence and severity of depression among patients with arthritis. The magnitude of this bias is modest, however. The results also suggest that in studies designed to identify the determinants of depression among individuals with arthritis, inclusion of the 4 items identified is unlikely to have any effect on study findings.
New multivalued functional decomposition algorithms based on MDDs

This paper presents two new functional decomposition partitioning algorithms that use multivalued decision diagrams (MDDs). MDDs are an exceptionally good representation for generalized decomposition because they are canonical and they can represent very large functions. Algorithms developed in this paper are for Boolean/multivalued input and output, completely/incompletely specified functions with application to logic synthesis, machine learning, data mining and knowledge discovery in databases. We compare the run-times and decision diagram sizes of our algorithms to existing decomposition partitioning algorithms based on decision diagrams. The comparisons show that our algorithms are faster and do not result in exponential diagram sizes when decomposing functions with small bound sets.
Kawasaki-Like Syndromes Associated with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection

Kawasaki disease is an acute febrile vasculitic syndrome of early childhood. It is very rarely seen in adults. Among the adult patients with Kawasaki disease who have been described, a disproportionate number are infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This suggests that the immunocompromised state may predispose individuals to this syndrome. We report our experience with 2 HIV-positive patients who presented with Kawasaki-like syndromes and review the published literature on HIV-positive patients with similar syndromes.
Effects of high current pulses on integrated circuit metallization reliability

Transient heat flow analysis using two-dimensional finite-element method has been used to calculate the temperature rise of aluminum lines on passivated and unpassivated silicon substrates. The results are used to predict the effect of self-heating on the electromigration lifetime of aluminum interconnects under pulse current stressing. A model has been developed to incorporate damage relaxation and self-heating effects on electromigration. It is shown that self-heating is expected to produce less than 20% error in typical accelerated testing conditions provided the peak current density (J/sub p/) is less than 4*10/sup 6/ A/cm/sup 2/. Design rules based on keeping the average current density (J/sub av/) constant are acceptable provided that duty factor is larger than 1% for all frequencies above 1 MHz. >
The implementation of a cardiovascular school health promotion program: utilization and impact of a school health advisory committee: the Heart Smart program

A multidisciplinary school health advisory committee was developed to enhance acceptance and support for a total elementary school cardiovascular health promotion program (Heart Smart). Composed of teachers, school lunch personnel, physical educators and parents, this coalition served as a liaison between the school and project investigators, providing feedback on program acceptability. As an environmental support mechanism to the Heart Smart intervention, the group was additionally charged with designing and implementing adjunct health promotion activities within the school. The interactive nature of this committee, coupled with self-directed goal setting, provides a school model for institutionalizing health promotion, providing school personnel and parents with program ownership, and reinforcing school commitment to heart health. The theoretical and organizational framework used in implementing a health advisory committee is described.
An algorithm for the retrieval of albedo from space using semiempirical BRDF models

Spectral albedo may be derived from atmospherically corrected, cloud-cleared multiangular reflectance observations through the inversion of a bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) model and angular integration. This paper outlines an algorithm suitable for this task that makes use of kernel-based BRDF models. Intrinsic land surface albedos are derived, which may be used to derive actual albedo by taking into account the prevailing distribution of diffuse skylight. Spectral-to-broadband conversion is achieved using band-dependent weighting factors. The validation of a suitable BRDF model, the semiempirical Ross-Li (reciprocal RossThick-LiSparse) model and its performance under conditions of sparse angular sampling and noisy reflectances are discussed, showing that the retrievals obtained are generally reliable. The solar-zenith angle dependence of albedo may be parameterized by a simple polynomial that makes it unnecessary for the user to be familiar with the underlying BRDF model. The algorithm given is that used for the production of a BRDF/albedo standard data product from NASA's EOS-MODIS sensor, for which an at-launch status is provided. Finally, the algorithm is demonstrated on combined AVHRR and GOES observations acquired over New England, from which solar zenith angle-dependent albedo maps with a nominal spatial resolution of 1 km are derived in the visible band. The algorithm presented may be employed to derive albedo from space-based multiangular measurements and also serves as a guide for the use of the MODIS BRDF/albedo product.
REAL OPTIONS AND PUBLIC SECTOR CAPITAL PROJECT DECISION- MAKING

Capital budgeting decisions are among the most important decisions that a public financial manager makes. The traditional methodology for determining whether or not such an investment should be made is known as the discounted cash flow method. This method, unfortunately, does not capture efficiently the benefits of flexibility that often accompany capital budgeting decisions. This paper discusses the concept of real options and how the public sector managers can employ this relatively new technique to better value their capital budgeting opportunities. We argue, both through financial theory and through examples, that employing real option modeling in public sector capital decision-making will improve the efficacy of capital budgeting decisions.
Abstract WP183: Heart Rate Variability Is Associated With Stroke, Independent Of Traditional Cardiovascular Risk Factors

Introduction: U.S. Hispanics show higher burden of stroke compared to non-Hispanic whites. Stroke-related disparities may be driven by differences in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. Subclinical measures of CVD such as Heart Rate Variability (HRV) are highly sensitive and strong predictors of CVD events. Yet, the majority of work is limited to clinical settings. We assessed the hypothesis that reduced HRV is associated with higher prevalence of stroke in community-dwelling older Mexican Americans from the Sacramento Area Latino Study on Aging and that this association persists above and beyond traditional CVD risk factors. Methods: SALSA is a prospective cohort study with 7 annual visits. In a subsample of 869 participants, we assessed HRV at either visit 5 or 6 using the ANS2000 which is an ECG monitor and respiration pacer. Several R waves are detected in a deep breath cycle resulting in the estimation of Regular R bar, a measure of HRV. R bar was analyzed in quartiles (Q1 to Q4= low to high HRV). We ascertained stroke based on self-report of a physician diagnosis, hospitalization, and death based on ICD-10 codes I60 to I69. We used logistic regression models to estimate the associations between quartiles of HRV and the odds of having had a first-ever stroke at any time during the study. We reported prevalence odds ratios (OR) and 95%CI. Results: A total of 124 first-ever strokes occurred across the study period. The odds of a stroke was 109% higher in Quartile 1 HRV (OR=2.09; 95%CI=1.13; 3.90), 65% higher in Quartile 2 (OR=1.65; 95%CI=0.88; 3.10), and 1% higher in Quartile 3 (OR=1.01; 95%CI=0.52; 1.99), as compared to Quartile 4, adjusted for age, sex, income, smoking, alcohol consumption, diabetes, systolic blood pressure, beta blocker and dementia status. Conclusion: Our results suggest that reduced HRV is associated with ever having a stroke, above and beyond traditional CVD risk factors.
A Fifty-State Survey of the Cost of Family Fragmentation

Government support in America is an emergent trend largely observable in broken households, creating a nation of welfare families that are fragmented and relying on state and federal financial assistance. The cost of family fragmentation was first studied and published in 2008, finding that family breakdown had cost American taxpayers $112 billion a year, documenting for the first time the enormous expense of divorce and unwed childbearing.Family fragmentation occurs when individuals experience domestic breakdown caused by divorce, or non-marital child bearing. The 2008 Report’s calculations suggested that “to the extent that the decline of marriage increases the number of children and adults eligible for and in need of government services, costs to taxpayers will grow.” These calculations were based on differences in poverty rates by household types which reveal that those headed by a single female have relatively high poverty rates, leading to higher spending on welfare, health care, criminal justice and education. Though already a well-documented fact that family fragmentation is harmful to children, the 2008 Report brought to light that reducing the costs of family fragmentation "is a legitimate concern of government, policymakers and legislators." Now nearly five years later we set out to discover if that research was heeded in some way by various states. This article provides a more recent snapshot of the costs of family fragmentation on a state-by-state basis through examining states’ efforts to correct the rising costs of family fragmentation. It reviews basic family welfare costs and legislative and public policy initiatives directed at reducing family fragmentation by state. Utilizing the same measurements and indicators originally used to compile the 2008 Report, and not being economists, we endeavor to report the facts and any observable difference law and policy has (or has not) made in these past five years. The article begins with an explanation in Part I of the research included in this study, giving descriptors and indicators for each expense category calculated. Part II offers an overview of various available federal, state and private sector family strengthening initiatives. The raw information by state is then examined in Part III, providing some straightforward analysis of this raw data. Findings are not necessarily prescriptive, but seek to highlight the basic policies that states are using to strengthen families that can result in decreased family fragmentation costs. This brief survey cannot make direct connections, but is offered as a catalyst for states to appropriately alter policies toward family strengthening policy. The great expense to states of family fragmentation, whether from divorce or unwed childbearing, reveal that broken families are not simply about providing more federal funding or protecting individual privacy choices, but are a matter of authentic concern for researchers, taxpayers, legislatures, and government officials.
Analyses of single crystal diamond substrates grown in a pocket substrate holder via MPACVD

Abstract High quality single crystal diamond (SCD) substrates are required for several different important current applications. Microwave Plasma Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition (MPACVD) is a convenient deposition method for high quality substrates. It is hence imperative to synthesize and analyze substrates grown via different CVD techniques. This paper describes the quality of single crystal diamond substrates which have been grown via one such deposition strategy, which is in a “pocket substrate holder” design. The growth process in such a holder helps in depositing substrates which have almost no polycrystalline diamond (PCD) rim growth. The exact pocket holder growth process at high pressures (240 Torr) and high microwave power densities (~ 500 W/cm 3 ) has been discussed in a previous publication [1]. The SCD CVD substrates were analyzed with different characterization techniques. By synthesizing diamond substrates in a pocket holder, the lack of any/almost any PCD rim helped in reducing the amount of stress in the crystals. To study the electronic quality of the substrates, etching experiments were conducted to determine the etch pit density. Nomarski images confirm that the number of etch pits at the edges is higher than at the center of the etched surface thereby implying the feasibility of this simpler method of reducing the etch pit density. The pocket holder process thus not only reduces the PCD rim but also reduces the substrate etch pit density and hence shows good promise of delivering high quality substrates.
Systematic Studies on Magnetron-Sputtered Indium Nitride

Extensive and systematic studies on reactive magnetron sputtering of InN thin films are summarized. The films have been deposited onto several types of substrates, with variations in such process parameters as deposition temperature, partial pressures of reactive and inert gases, sputtering power and gas flows. These films have been characterized by measuring their electrical, optical, structural and morphological properties. It has been shown that epitaxial growth of InN occurs on the basal plane of single-crystal (00.1) sapphire and (001) mica substrates and on the (111) face of cubic substrates such as silicon and zirconia. p]Two principal problems currently limit the usefulness of thin films of InN. First, although epitaxy can be attained with the proper choice of substrate type and deposition temperature, the resulting film is an agglomerate of epitaxial grains — not a single crystal. Second, all magnetron sputtered InN films prepared to date have low mobility and high carrier concentration (likely due to nitrogen vacancies). In an attempt to address these problems, experiments on the growth and characterization of sputtered InN films have been carried out and are discussed here with particular emphasis on seeded heteroepitaxial growth and the effects of film deposition temperature. p]For example, it was found early that the growth of InN on the bare surface of several crystalline substrates at growth temperatures near 350°C results in a morphological transition that causes a degradation of semiconducting properties. The predeposition of an AIN seed layer inhibits this morphological transition and stabilizes a relatively high mobility state, but a still too high carrier concentration obtains. Further progress critically depends on optimizing the seeded heteroepitaxial growth technique in conjunction with the achievement of InN films with lower density of nitrogen vacancies.
The Use of Disruptive Tactics in Protest as a Trade-Off: The Role of Social Movement Claims

In protest, activists sometimes turn to disruptive and violent tactics to meet their goals. Doing so, however, can also undermine support for their claims. We argue that how protestors weigh this trade-off depends on their targets and the extent to which their claims appeal to diverse constituencies, which then factors greatly into their choice of protest tactics. We complement past work that suggests that forces of professionalization and counterpressure alter activists’ tendency to use violent and disruptive tactics. With data on over 23,000 protest events in the United States between 1960 and 1995, we find that protest events characterized by broadly resonating claims are more likely to employ tactics that are disruptive but nonviolent. By contrast, events espousing narrower claims are more likely to employ disruptive tactics that are also violent. Moreover, when governmental entities are targeted, protests are less likely to witness the use of both violent and nonviolent disruptive tactics. We discuss the implications of our results for social movement theory and the dynamics of collective violence.
Mean and Instantaneous Flow Properties for an Object Exiting a Cavity

The highly complex interaction of a store and the free shear layer as the store exits a cavity and enters a supersonic flow field is the subject of this experimental investigation. The AFIT blowdown wind tunnel facility is used to generate a Mach 1. 8 freestream which flows over a rectangular cavity. Fast -response pressure tra nsducers positioned flush to the floor of the cavity are utilized to characterize the fluctuating pressure field . A simulated store was secured to a rod extending through the floor of the cavity. This simulated store was set at stationary for a number of t ests. For other experiments, it was pneumatically driven through the free shear layer. The effect of the store position on the dynamic pressure are documented by the above mentioned pressure transducers . High speed Schlieren photography, taken at frame rat es up to 1 6,000 frames per second is used to visualize the interaction of Kelvin -Helmholtz (K -H) spanwise vortices, which emanate from the leading edge of the cavity, with time - dependent shock and expansion waves generated by the cavity in real -time . In a similar fashion, the interaction of a moving simulated store with the K -H vortices was also captured.
Electoral Systems and the Legislative Representation of Muslim Ethnic Minority Women in the West, 2000–2010

Despite growing interest from practitioners, politicians and the media, the political representation of Muslim ethnic minority women in the West has received scant scholarly attention. I address this gap with new data on the representation of Muslim ethnic minority women and men in 20 national legislatures from 2000 to 2010. Results reveal that Muslim ethnic minority women are increasingly elected in countries with proportional representation (PR) electoral systems, whereas Muslim ethnic minority men have been elected across a range of electoral systems. The benefits of PR electoral systems to ‘women’ apply to ethnic minority women from Muslim backgrounds.
Teaching Ventilation System Evaluation to Poultry Students

Abstract A demonstration fan unit and electrical power consumption test panel to aid in teaching the fundamentals of proper fan operation, selection, and maintenance are described. The unit can be used to teach the effects of proper maintenance on fan performance, the advantages of high efficiency motors in providing ventilation at decreased electrical consumption, and use of instrumentation that could be used for conducting similar comparisons in poultry houses.
Disorders of DNA Repair and Metabolism

This chapter will focus on those inherited conditions that are associated with a deficiency in one of the many DNA repair pathways ( Table 42-1 ). These pathways are generally classified by either the type of DNA lesion that is repaired, e.g. mismatch repair, or the type of enzymatic activity that is encoded by the genes, e.g. nucleotide excision repair. Clinical signs are often first manifest in early childhood due to the absence of gene function in all somatic cells. Syndromes that result from mutations in genes that encode DNA repair enzymes or DNA damage checkpoint genes can be associated with increased sensitivity to normal environmental exposures, e.g. ultraviolet light, and/or to DNA damage associated with treatment of cancers, e.g. radiation therapy. Thus, diagnosis of these disorders is crucial to minimize toxicity and secondary cancer risk. Initially it was thought that the repair pathways for different types of DNA damage were enzymatically distinct; however, as biochemical techniques improved in resolution it has become clear that many repair proteins participate in multiple different pathways. Thus, although we continue to utilize these classifications, we will try in this chapter to highlight where the overlaps between pathways and disorders occur.
Reproduction and optical analysis of Morpho-inspired polymeric nanostructures

The brilliant blue coloration of the Morpho rhetenor butterfly originates from complex nanostructures found on the surface of its wings. The Morpho butterfly exhibits strong short-wavelength reflection and a unique two-lobe optical signature in the incident (θ) and reflected () angular space. Here, we report the large-area fabrication of a Morpho-like structure and its reproduction in perfluoropolyether. Reflection comparisons of periodic and quasi-random 'polymer butterfly' nanostructures show similar normal-incidence spectra but differ in the angular θ– dependence. The periodic sample shows strong specular reflection and simple diffraction. However, the quasi-random sample produces a two-lobe angular reflection pattern with minimal specular refection, approximating the real butterfly's optical behavior. Finite-difference time-domain simulations confirm that this pattern results from the quasi-random periodicity and highlights the significance of the inherent randomness in the Morpho's photonic structure.
Survey of inoculation rates of left-behind children in Wuji County of Shijiazhuang

Objective To investigate interventional effect on the inoculation rates of the left-behind children in Wuji County before and after the intervention, to provide scientific basis for establishing countermeasure. Methods Before and after intervention, the inoculation rates of the left-behind children, and the related awareness rate of guardians were surveyed by professionals. The related data were recorded in Excel 2003, and statistical analysis was operated by SPSS17.0. According to χ2test, if P was below 0.05, the difference was statistically significant. Results For immunization vaccine, primary immunization coverage were 77.21% and95.72%, booster immunization coverage were 60.30% and 93.83%, the related awareness rate of guardians were 42.05% and93.86%, there were significant differences between the two groups before and after intervention(χ2=750.515, 431.945, 2 220.742,P0.05). Conclusion The coverage of left-behind children and the related awareness rate of guardians increase significantly after intervention, which shows that the measures are feasible.