cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Equivalent EPS Wide Latitude Radiography Using A High Contrast, High Resolution Film At Increased Energy

ABSTRACT When selecting energy levels for radiographic NDT, generally the highest possible energy has been used that could provide ample subject contrast, while still maintaining adequate equivalent penetrameter sensitivity (EPS). This enables the widest range of part thickness to be imaged and allows the source time and output to be kept to a minimum. To some extent, the contrast and resolution limitations of the film used always determines the maximum energy that can be used. Through the use of a film with significantly higher contrast and resolution, it can be shown that increased energy levels may be used and still provide adequate sensitivity.
Introduction to Intellectual Property Law and Policy in China

This essay provides an introduction to Intellectual Property Law and Policy in China, a multiple-volume reference set on the Chinese intellectual property system. It discusses how the 90 articles and chapters selected for this reference set have been organized into four broadly defined areas: (1) historical evolution; (2) special topics; (3) interdisciplinary understanding; and (4) possible futures. The essay further explains why these four areas are important to readers who are eager to develop a deeper understanding of the Chinse intellectual property system.
Industry Talk: Serverless Composition of Serverless Functions

In a few short years, the Function-as-a-Service paradigm has revolutionized how we think about distributed event processing. Within seconds, developers can deploy and run event-driven functions in the cloud that scale on demand. CIOs love the high availability and zero administration. CFOs love the fine-grained, pay-as-you-go pricing model.Most FaaS platforms today are biased toward (if not restricted to) simple functions, functions that only run for a short while, use limited CPU and memory, and process relatively small amounts of data. In this talk, we will get a closer look at FaaS platforms (using Apache OpenWhisk as our exemplar) to understand these trade-offs.Functions are not applications. To build compelling FaaS applications we need to compose functions. In this talk, we will compare approaches to function composition both from a developer and from a system's perspective. We will show how composition can dramatically expand the scope of FaaS.
Hurricane risk analysis of the residential structures located in Florida

Florida has distinctively different regions, in terms of population density and hurricane risk. The objective of the article is to understand the characteristics of hurricane loss in different regi...
Bias in the Family: Race and Culture in Custody Disputes

This essay examines the role of racial, ethnic, and cultural bias in custody cases. It analyzes cases where the court explicitly considered the parents’ racial, ethnic, or cultural background and cases where the court did not acknowledge these factors but where it is clear from the court’s opinion that biases influenced its decision. It then briefly describes the literature on implicit bias to demonstrate how biases may influence the assessments of custody evaluators, lawyers, and judges despite best efforts to make fair and impartial decisions. Drawing on studies suggesting that individuals can reduce their implicit biases and their effects on decision making, the essay explores individual strategies and institutional reforms to address bias in custody disputes.
Education and Training: Staff and Facility

It is important to provide appropriate education and training to staff to promote a culture of safety in surgery centers. In this chapter, we will discuss mandatory staff trainings (e.g., Malignant Hyperthermia and fire), as well as recommended trainings to staff. The principles of Crisis Resource Management and various team based approaches can be incorporated into education/training to foster inter-professional teamwork and improve performance. In addition, as a part of team work training, cognitive aids can be utilized to reduce human errors and enhance staff communication.
Current Approaches to Transplantation for FLT3-ITD AML

This review discusses the current standard of care for incorporation of FLT3 TKIs and HCT into the treatment of FLT3-ITD AML. Additionally, this review provides an approach to the patient with relapsed/refractory disease. Over the last decade, the routine use of HCT as consolidative therapy and the development of FLT3 TKIs have significantly improved remission rates and overall survival. The value and challenges of MRD assessment in FLT3 disease are discussed and current mechanisms of relapse are explored, as are the ongoing questions in the field that current clinical trials are seeking to answer. FLT3-ITD mutations are common in acute myeloid leukemia and historically have been associated with a poor prognosis, but with the incorporation of FLT3 TKIs and routine use of allogeneic stem cell transplant as consolidative therapy, outcomes have improved dramatically. Ongoing research seeks to answer how and when to best use current therapies, and how to overcome resistance to FLT3 inhibition.
Magnetic resonance elastography for arterial wall characterization

Abstract Aortic compliance and distensibility reflect overall wall stiffness, an extremely important and fundamental parameter altered in multiple diseases including hypertension, coronary artery disease, aortic aneurysm, and so on. Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is an innovative noninvasive imaging technique used to estimate the stiffness of soft tissues, including those comprising the wall of the aorta. This chapter describes (1) the principle of aortic MRE; (2) the motivation for use of aortic MRE for vascular applications; and (3) the current state-of-the-art in the development of aortic MRE, including the required hardware and MR pulse sequences. Finally, applications of aortic MRE and future potential application in characterizing coronary artery stiffness are also discussed.
The Measurement of Total Delayed-Neutron Yields as a Function of the Energy of the Neutron Inducing Fission

Total delayed-neutron yields from 233U, 235U, 238U, 239Pu, and 242Pu have been measured as a function of the energy of the neutron inducing fission. The measurements extend from 0.1 to 6.5 MeV for ...
Microsoft’s drug dealer: digital disruption and a corporate conversion of informal improvisation

Over the last three decades, technology companies have promoted the “disruptive” potentials of the information age. Brazilian favelas (shantytowns) provide one of the most popular examples used to ...
A Mechanically Flexible Implantable Neural Interface for Computational Imaging and Optogenetic Stimulation over 5.4 × 5.4 mm 2 FoV

The advent of genetically encoded voltage and calcium indicators and optogenetic probes has unlocked unprecedented capabilities, including near-single-action-potential recording and stimulation with cell-type specificity. Optical functional imaging and optogenetics are delegated today primarily to large and expensive microscopes based on free-space optics. Integrating the microscope functionality into an implantable form factor remains an elusive goal. As a first step towards developing such a device, a variety of head-mounted “miniscopes” have been demonstrated [1]. Using conventional lens-based optics, however, these devices consume considerable volume (more than 2cm3) to support field of views (FoVs) of sub-mm 2. To achieve a truly implantable microscope, a more volume-efficient device is necessary that spans a relatively large cortical area while maintaining a minimally-invasive form factor.
Extending the focal distance without sacrificing the spatial resolution using virtual ultrasonic optical waveguides

We present a novel technique to extend the focal length of an external lens without increasing the spot size using virtual optical waveguides ultrasonically sculpted in transparent and turbid media. When used in tandem with an external lens, these non-invasive virtual waveguides can further relay the focused beam of light into the medium without losing the spatial resolution. We will also show how the optical properties of this physical-virtual cascade system can be reconfigured by changing the pattern of ultrasound. This method can find intriguing applications for manipulating the trajectory of light in transparent and turbid media, including biological tissue.
Write Prediction for Persistent Memory Systems

Persistent memories (PMs) provide byte-addressable persistent storage with an access latency close to DRAM. Programs can achieve better performance by directly managing persistent data in PM. Unfortunately, these programs need to explicitly order in which data becomes persistent to PM for recoverability. Such enforced orderings place the write-back latency on the critical path of the execution. On the other hand, PM systems integrate different operations to support security, bandwidth reduction, endurance, etc. These PM-support operations further increase the write latency as they first transform data (e.g., encrypt and compute integrity tree) before persisting it to PM. Prior work proposed to use software hints to pre-execute these operations but can increase programmers' burden. The goal of this work is to mitigate the overhead due to PM-support operations in a software-transparent manner. If we can determine the address and value of a PM write-back ahead of time, it is possible to precompute its PM-support operations and move them off the critical path. We observe that both the address and data of PM write-backs often appear as values in prior store-instructions during the execution. For example, a PM allocator first uses a store-instruction to assign the allocated address to a pointer; later, the follow-up procedure updates that allocated address with new values and performs a write-back to PM. In this example, the value carried by the PM allocator's store-instruction contains the address of the later PM write-backs. Likewise, the data values also often appear in prior store-instructions, e.g., when passing values to a PM update function. Therefore, it is possible to predict the address and data, and precompute the PM-support operations for future write-backs by tracking store-instructions. We propose PMWeaver that learns the correlation between a PM write-back and the associated store-instructions and weaves together the address and data value of a PM write-back from the correlated store-instructions. Our evaluation demonstrates that PMWeaver correctly predicts 81.16% of addresses and 49.90% of data of PM write-backs in ten PM workloads, and yields 1.63× and 1.26× speedup over a no-prediction baseline system by precomputing two types of PM-support operations: a combination of encryption and integrity verification, and deduplication.
Crossing the Format Boundary of Text and Boxes: Towards Unified Vision-Language Modeling

In this paper, we propose UNICORN, a vision-language (VL) model that unifies text generation and bounding box prediction into a single architecture. Specifically, we quantize each box into four discrete box tokens and serialize them as a sequence, which can be integrated with text tokens. We formulate all VL problems as a generation task, where the target sequence consists of the integrated text and box tokens. We then train a transformer encoder-decoder to predict the target in an auto-regressive manner. With such a unified framework and input-output format, UNICORN achieves comparable performance to task-specific state of the art on 7 VL benchmarks, covering the visual grounding, grounded captioning, visual question answering, and image captioning tasks. When trained with multi-task finetuning, UNICORN can approach different VL tasks with a single set of parameters, thus crossing downstream task boundary. We show that having a single model not only saves parameters, but also further boosts the model performance on certain tasks. Finally, UNICORN shows the capability of generalizing to new tasks such as ImageNet object localization.
In vitro evaluation of in vivo brain tumor chemotherapy with 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea.

An in vitro colony formation assay was used to determine the efficacy of in vivo therapy with 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (BCNU) on a rat brain tumor. The fraction of clonogenic cells surviving in vivo therapy was determined by a comparison between the in vitro colony-forming capacity of cells derived from previously treated and untreated tumors. With this intracerebral solid tumor a direct correlation was found between the surviving fraction of cells and animal survival, implying that the in vitro assay system is a reliable test of therapeutic effect. The BCNU dose-response curve was exponential up to a dose of 0.75 times the LD/sub 10/ dose with little additional cell kill noted at higher drug levels. This plateau does not appear to represent a resistant subpopulation of cells, since retreatment of tumors derived from cells surviving an LD/sub 10/ dose were as sensitive to BCNU as those with no prior drug exposure. Instead, it may represent, at least in part, failure of the drug to reach and/or enter cells in all parts of solid tumors. On the average BCNU doses of 0.75 times the LD/sub 10/ dose or greater resulted in slightly more than a 3-log cell kill and doubled the life-span formore » our tumor-bearing animals. The finding that an increase in animal life-span requires at least a 1-log tumor cell kill indicates that survival studies with intracranial tumor models may be insensitive to single courses or many chemotherapeutic agents with modest but significant antitumor activity. (auth)« less
INCOMMENSURATE STRIPE ORDER IN LA2-XSRXNIO4 WITH X=0.225

In recent studies of La{sub 2{minus}{ital x}}Sr{sub {ital x}}NiO{sub 4} it has been suggested that ordering of the dopant-induced holes occurs only commensurately at special values of {ital x}, such as 1/3 and 1/2. Commensurate order of both charge and spin densities has also been found in a crystal with {ital x}=0.20. The present neutron scattering study of an {ital x}=0.225 crystal demonstrates that the spin and charge order can also be incommensurate. In fact, the incommensurability is temperature dependent, as observed previously in La{sub 2}NiO{sub 4.125}, indicating that such behavior is intrinsic to the doped NiO{sub 2} layers and not dependent on ordering of the dopant ions. A careful analysis of the unusual variation of peak widths as a function of momentum transfer perpendicular to the planes shows that the charge- and spin-density modulations are tied to the lattice, with the shift in phase of the charge modulations from one layer to the next equal to exactly one in-plane lattice spacing. A comparison of results for a number of samples shows that the charge and spin ordering temperatures vary linearly with hole concentration, with charge order always occurring at higher temperature, clearly indicating that the ordering is driven bymore » the charge. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society.}« less
Antibodies to nuclear thyroid hormone-binding proteins. Antibody characterization and immunofluorescent localization.

Abstract To further investigate the mechanism by which thyroid hormones regulate target cell function, we have prepared and partially characterized antibodies to highly purified nuclear thyroid hormone-binding proteins (NTBP). NTBPs were prepared from bovine liver nuclear extracts by bio-specific elution from an affinity gel containing immobilized 3,5,3′-triiodo- l -thyronine (T 3 ). Antibodies (Ab) raised to NTBP in BALB/c mice were assayed for Ab-NTBP complex formation on HPLC TSK SW3000 molecular exclusion gels and found to be species-specific and non-cross-reactive with serum thyroid hormone-binding proteins. Most of the antibody activity was directed against two fractions of molecular weight (MW) 89000 and 53000, which were associated with thyroxine (T 4 )-binding activity. The 89000 D T 4 -binding activity was shifted to a higher MW complex when incubated with specific antibody. Indirect immunofluorescence showed antibody activity against discrete, clumped chromatin sites, nuclear envelope and plasma membrane in hepatocytes. Intense fluorescence was also observed in the cells lining the hepatic sinusoids and in the cytoskeleton of bovine aortic endothelial cells in culture. The data suggest that thyroid hormone target cells contain extranuclear loci that share antigenic sites with NTBP and may also represent specific NTBP-like sites of thyroid hormone binding.
A model of return on investment for information systems security

Due to the increased need for connectivity with customers, suppliers, and other third parties, most organizations have to implement security controls, which require certain costs and budgets. The decision making process in adopting suitable security programs and solutions becomes related to the return on security investment (ROSI). This paper proposes a model to quantify ROSI for every organization for security threats
Charged impurity scattering in top-gated graphene nanostructures

We study charged impurity scattering and static screening in a top-gated substrate-supported graphene nanostructure. Our model describes how boundary conditions can be incorporated into scattering, sheds light on the dielectric response of these nanostructures, provides insights into the effect of the top gate on impurity scattering, and predicts that the carrier mobility in such graphene heterostructures decreases with increasing top dielectric thickness and higher carrier density. An increase of up to almost 60$%$ in carrier mobility in ultrathin top-gated graphene is predicted.
From Paraphrase Database to Compositional Paraphrase Model and Back

The Paraphrase Database (PPDB; Ganitkevitch et al., 2013) is an extensive semantic resource, consisting of a list of phrase pairs with (heuristic) confidence estimates. However, it is still unclear how it can best be used, due to the heuristic nature of the confidences and its necessarily incomplete coverage. We propose models to leverage the phrase pairs from the PPDB to build parametric paraphrase models that score paraphrase pairs more accurately than the PPDBâ€™s internal scores while simultaneously improving its coverage. They allow for learning phrase embeddings as well as improved word embeddings. Moreover, we introduce two new, manually annotated datasets to evaluate short-phrase paraphrasing models. Using our paraphrase model trained using PPDB, we achieve state-of-the-art results on standard word and bigram similarity tasks and beat strong baselines on our new short phrase paraphrase tasks.
Lesion enhancement in radio-frequency spoiled gradient-echo imaging: theory, experimental evaluation, and clinical implications.

PURPOSE To investigate the lesser lesion conspicuity after gadolinium contrast infusion with radio-frequency spoiled gradient-echo (SPGR) sequences relative to conventional T1-weighted spin-echo techniques. METHODS The influences of repetition time, echo time, and flip angle on spin-echo and SPGR signal were studied with mathematical modeling of the image signal amplitude for concentrations of gadopentetate dimeglumine solute from 0 to 10 mM. Predictions of signal strength were verified in vitro by imaging of a doped water phantom. The effects of standard (0.1 mmol/kg) and high-dose (0.3 mmol/kg) gadoteridol on spin-echo and SPGR images were also investigated in three patients. RESULTS The measured amplitude of undoped water and the rate of increase of doped water signal with increasing gadopentetate concentration (slope) for spin-echo 600/11/1/90 degrees (repetition time/echo time/excitations/flip angle) and SPGR (600/11/190 degrees) were similar and exceeded those of SPGR (35/5/145 degrees). Greater increases in SPGR doped water signal and its slope were produced by increasing TR than by varying echo-time or flip angle. The subjective lesion conspicuity and measured lesion contrast at 0.3 mmol/kg were greater with spin-echo (600/11/1/90 degrees) than with SPGR (35/5/145 degrees) in all three patients; the measured lesion enhancement was similar for both techniques in two patients and decreased for SPGR in the third patient. CONCLUSIONS The phantom studies suggest that the short repetition time of 35 msec, typically used in clinical SPGR imaging, is largely responsible for a reduced signal amplitude and a diminished rate of increase of signal with increasing gadopentetate concentration, relative to spin-echo. Phantom and clinical studies suggest that the dose of paramagnetic agent required to achieve SPGR lesion conspicuity with short repetition time comparable with spin-echo would have to be higher than the dose in current clinical use.
The effect on dielectric loss of polyethylene caused by acetophenone and cumylalcohol

The effects of acetophenone (AP) and cumylalcohol (CA) on the tan/spl delta/ of low density polyethylene (LDPE) were investigated in detail taking the temperature range of 25 to 100/spl deg/C and electrical stress range of 5 to 40 kV/mm. The tan/spl delta/ of LDPEs to which AP and CA (reagent special grade) and these additives purified by absorbent (activated clay) have been added, was compared with the tan/spl delta/ of LDPE without any additives. The analysis by dividing tan/spl delta/ into the dipole factor tan/spl delta//sub D/ and the conductive factor tan/spl delta//sub c/ (tan/spl delta/-tan/spl delta//sub D/+tan/spl delta//sub C/) showed that the additives (AP, CA) have only very small influence on tan/spl delta//sub D/ above room temperature. On the other hand, since the contribution of tan/spl delta//sub C/ markedly increases in the higher temperature and higher electrical stress region depending so much on whether additives are added or not and whether the additives are purified or not, ionic carriers were estimated as carriers of tan/spl delta//sub C/. Two kinds of carrier source, that is to say, the carriers with small activation energy (/spl sim/9 kcal/mol) and the carriers with large activation energy (/spl sim/18 kcal/mol) were estimated in the tan/spl delta//sub C/ of LDPE with additives. The former carriers (with small activation energy) could be removed by purification of additives, resulting in large reduction of tan/spl delta//sub C/ in the high electrical stress region. However, even after the purification, the latter carriers (with large activation energy) could not be removed sufficiently, showing 2 to 3 times of the carrier concentration as much as LDPE without additives. >
The 5A’s vs 3A’s plus proactive quitline referral in private practice dental offices: preliminary results

Aims: The primary aim of our randomised control trial (RCT) was to evaluate the relative efficacy of two dental office based interventions compared to usual care. One intervention consisted of a combination of dental practitioner advice to quit and proactive telephone counselling (3A’s), and the other arm consisted of a dental practitioner delivered intervention based on the 5A’s of the Clinical Practice Guideline (5A’s). Method: 2177 tobacco using patients were enrolled from 68 dental practices in Mississippi. We collected 3-month outcome data from 76% (n = 1652) of participants. Results: Smokers in the two intervention conditions quit at a higher rate than those in usual care; χ 2 (1, n = 1381) = 3.10, p Conclusion: These results suggest that there are both advantages and disadvantages to the use of quitlines as an adjunct to brief counselling provided by dental practitioners. Patients receiving quitline counselling quit at higher rates than those who did not; however, only a small percentage of patients received counselling from the quitline. Therefore, it appears that dental professionals may be most effective in helping their patients to quit by regularly providing the 5A’s plus proactively referring only those patients who are highly motivated to a quitline for more intensive counselling.
Triaxial Characterization of Minnesota Road Research Project Granular Materials

Six granular materials were used as base and subbase materials in the flexible pavement test sections for the Minnesota Road Research (Mn/ROAD) project. Crushed/fractured particles are not allowed in aggregate classes CL-1Fsp, CL-1Csp, CL-3sp, and CL-4sp. Ten to 15 percent crushed/fractured particles are required for CL-5sp. One hundred percent crushed/ fractured particles are required for CL-6sp. A comprehensive laboratory testing program was established to determine pertinent engineering properties of the granular materials. Rapid shear tests and repeated-load tests were conducted to determine the shear strength parameters (friction angle and cohesion), resilient modulus, rutting potential, stress history effects on shear strength, and moisture susceptibility. The results from the rapid shear tests and permanent deformation tests show that the rutting potential of a granular material can be characterized from rapid shear test at a confining pressure of 15 psi (103.35 kPa). The rutting parameter A was a ...
Regarding thep-norms of radial basis interpolation matrices

A radial basis function approximation has the form whereϕ:Rd→R is some given (usually radially symmetric) function, (yj)1n are real coefficients, and the centers (xj)1n are points inRd. For a wide class of functions ϕ, it is known that the interpolation matrixA=(ϕ(xj−xk))j,k=1n is invertible. Further, several recent papers have provided upper bounds on ||A−1||2, where the points (xj)1n satisfy the condition ||xj−xk||2≥δ,j≠k, for some positive constant δ. In this paper we calculate similar upper bounds on ||A−1||2 forp≥1 which apply when ϕ decays sufficiently quickly andA is symmetric and positive definite. We include an application of this analysis to a preconditioning of the interpolation matrixAn = (ϕ(j−k))j,k=1n when ϕ(x)=(x2+c2)1/2, the Hardy multiquadric. In particular, we show that supn ||An−1||∞ is finite. Furthermore, we find that the bi-infinite symmetric Toeplitz matrix enjoys the remarkable property that ||E−1||p = ||E−1||2 for everyp≥1 when ϕ is a Gaussian. Indeed, we also show that this property persists for any function ϕ which is a tensor product of even, absolutely integrable Polya frequency functions.
Merleau-Ponty and Cartesian skepticism: Exorcising the demon

Reconstruction et evaluation des arguments-cles de Merleau-Ponty contre le scepticisme cartesien. Selon l'A. la philosophie de Merleau-Ponty procure de reelles raisons pour rejeter le scepticisme radical a l'egard de l'experience perceptuelle
Rapid synthesis of 26-hydroxycholesterol from mevalonic acid in the Syrian hamster

Abstract Using isotope-ratio mass spectrometry, newly synthesized 26-hydroxycholesterol and its derivative, 3β-hydroxy-5-cholenoic acid, were detected in the liver and bile of animals within 2 h following intravenous administration of [5-13C]mevalonic acid. The findings indicate that 26-hydroxycholesterol merits further consideration as an in vivo modulator of HMG-CoA reductase activity.
The quorum sensing transcriptional regulator TraR has separate binding sites for DNA and the anti-activator

Quorum sensing represents a mechanism by which bacteria control their genetic behaviors via diffusible signals that reflect their population density. TraR, a quorum sensing transcriptional activator in the Rhizobiaceae family, is regulated negatively by the anti-activator TraM via formation of a TraR-TraM heterocomplex. Prior structural analysis suggests that TraM and DNA bind to TraR in distinct sites. Here we combined isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA) to investigate roles of TraR residues from Rhizobium sp. NGR234 in binding of both TraM and DNA. We found that K213A mutation of TraR(NGR) abolished DNA binding, however, did not alter TraM binding. Mutations of TraM-interfacing TraR(NGR) residues decreased the TraR-TraM interaction, but did not affect the DNA-binding activity of TraR(NGR). Thus, our biochemical studies support the independent binding sites on TraR for TraM and DNA. We also found that point mutations in TraR(NGR) appeared to decrease the TraR-TraM interaction more effectively than those in TraM(NGR), consistent with structural observations that individual TraR(NGR) residues contact with more TraM(NGR) residues than each TraM(NGR) residues with TraR(NGR) residues. Finally, we showed that TraM inhibition on DNA-binding of TraR was driven thermodynamically. We discussed subtle mechanistic differences in TraM anti-activation on TraR activity between homologous systems.
Cross-reactivity of metallothioneins from different origins with rabbit anti-rat hepatic metallothionein antibody

Abstract Rat hepatic Cd-metallothionein was purified and isolated into its two components, metallothionein 1 and 2, by disc electrophoresis. Antibodies to metallothionein 2 were generated in rabbits. The antiserum reacted with the protein and formed a single precipitin band on a double diffusion plate. By ammonium sulfate precipitations, it was found that the antiserum cross-reacted with rat hepatic metallothionein 1. Cross-reactivity of the antiserum was also observed for components of rat renal Cd-metallothionein, rabbit hepatic Cd-metallothionein and human renal metallothionein.
Toxicological evaluation of 6:2 fluorotelomer alcohol

Abstract 6:2 fluorotelomer alcohol (6:2 FTOH; CF 3 [CF 2 ] 5 [CH 2 ] 2 OH, CAS# 647-42-7) was evaluated for acute, genetic, and subchronic toxicity using in vitro and in vivo methods. In rats, 6:2 FTOH was considered to be slightly toxic by the oral (LD 50 = 1750 mg/kg), and dermal (LD 50 > 5000 mg/kg) routes. In rabbits, 6:2 FTOH was not a primary skin or eye irritant, and it did not produce a dermal sensitization response in mice. In a 90-day subchronic study, 6:2 FTOH was administered to rats by oral gavage (0, 5, 25, 125, 250 mg/kg/day). Mortality was observed at 125 and 250 mg/kg/day; deaths occurred after approximately three weeks of dosing and continued sporadically. The NOAEL in the subchronic study was 5 mg/kg/day based on hematology and liver effects. 6:2 FTOH was not mutagenic in the bacterial reverse mutation test or in the mouse lymphoma assay and was not clastogenic in a chromosome aberration assay in human lymphocytes. The hazard classification for human health endpoints of 6:2 FTOH according to the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) is Category 4 for acute oral toxicity based on an LD 50 of 1750 mg/kg. Other acute health endpoints including eye and skin irritation, skin sensitization, as well as genotoxicity, did not meet the criteria for hazard classification. Benchmark Dose Analysis was performed on the most sensitive endpoints from the 90-day oral gavage study and these levels were all above the study NOAEL of 5 mg/kg/day. For risk assessment purposes, the recommended point of departure is the more conservative study NOAEL of 5 mg/kg/day.
Effect of halogens on mercury conversion in SCR catalysts

Abstract The effect of halogen acids HCl, HBr and HI on mercury conversion was studied in a laboratory-scale SCR reactor using simulated flue gases, and is presented here. Two types of commercially available SCR catalysts, Honeycomb and Plate type catalysts, were used in these studies. HBr and HI both had shown much stronger effects on mercury conversion than HCl. Both HBr and HI oxidized more than 85% of the gas phase mercury at a low concentration of 2 ppm. The age of the catalyst and the type of catalyst also have an effect on mercury conversion. A larger extent of mercury oxidation was observed in the presence of a Honeycomb catalyst than with the Plate catalyst.
Nine social indices as functions of population size or density

Population size and density effects on nine social indices were studied using United States statistics in the late 1970s. Personally violent crimes (murder, rape, and robbery) occurred more frequently with increasing population size, whereas the likelihood of nonviolent crimes (burglary, larceny) increased with lower density. The ratio of divorces to marriages decreased as population size increased. Larger populations were associated with motor vehicle theft, whereas denser ones were associated with greater public assistance. Frequency of aggressive assault was unrelated to either environmental variable. The roles of affect and degree of interpersonal involvement were suggested as possible explanations of these findings.
Letter identification in relation to linguistic context and masking conditions

With a two-choice detection procedure, identifiability of signal letters was determined in backgrounds of words, nonword letter strings, or homogeneous noise characters. Under high performance conditions of exposure duration and pre- and postmasks, there was a substantial advantage in identifiability of letters presented alone over letters embedded in words; under low performance conditions there were generally no differences between the two types of context, but some interactive effects appeared involving particular letters with serial position and type of background. No differences were obtained between word and nonword contexts. The disparities between these findings and those reported by Reicher (1969) and Wheeler (1970) may be related to the more complete elimination under the present procedures of effects of redundancy on response selection.
Meaning-Centered Family Therapy: Treatment Elements and Dynamics:

Meaning-centered family therapy is a treatment orientation that pays close attention to both family problems and the meanings and meaning potentials to be found in daily family and marital life. This article reviews the elements and dynamics in meaning-centered family therapy and overviews the practice of creative interaction between the meaning-centered therapist and the marital and family members requesting help. Case material is provided to illustrate the approach.
AATF Inhibits Aberrant Production of Amyloid β Peptide 1-42 by Interacting Directly with Par-4

Aggregation of the neurotoxic amyloid β peptide 1-42 (Aβ-(1-42)) in the brain is considered to be an early event in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Par-4 (prostate apoptosis response-4) is a leucine zipper protein that is pro-apoptotic and associated with neuronal degeneration in AD. Overexpression of Par-4 significantly increased production of Aβ-(1-42) after initiation of apoptotic cascades, indicating factors regulating apoptotic pathways may also affect processing of β-amyloid precursor protein (APP). AATF (apoptosis-antagonizing transcription factor) was recently identified as an interaction partner of DAP-like kinase (Dlk), a member of the DAP (death-associated protein) kinase family. AATF antagonizes apoptosis induced by Par-4, suggesting that AATF might directly or indirectly participate in regulation of Par-4 activity. We now report that AATF colocalizes with Par-4 in both cytoplasmic and nuclear compartments, and it interacts directly and selectively with Par-4 via the leucine zipper domain in neural cells. Par-4 induced an aberrant production and secretion of Aβ in neuroblastoma IMR-32 cells after apoptotic cascades are initiated. Co-expression of AATF completely blocked aberrant production and secretion of Aβ-(1-42) induced by Par-4, and AATF/Par-4 complex formation was essential for the inhibitory effect of AATF on aberrant Aβ secretion. These results indicate that AATF is an endogenous antagonist of Par-4 activity and an effective inhibitor of aberrant Aβ production and secretion under apoptotic conditions.
Paradox and resolution in electrostatics

A closed conducting surface possessing both conduction electrons and muons is hypothesized. A simple and persuasive proof is given, entirely in the framework of classical electrostatics and Newtonian gravity, to show that the region interior to such a surface is shielded from gravity. The resolution of the paradox is explained and a solution is given for the gravitational and electrostatic forces inside a spherical surface of the type hypothesized.
Cyclophosphamide induces bone marrow to yield higher numbers of precursor dendritic cells in vitro capable of functional antigen presentation to T cells in vivo

We have shown recently that cyclophosphamide (CTX) treatment induced a marked increase in the numbers of immature dendritic cells (DCs) in blood, coinciding with enhanced antigen-specific responses of the adoptively transferred CD8+ T cells. Because this DC expansion was preceded by DC proliferation in bone marrow (BM), we tested whether BM post CTX treatment can generate higher numbers of functional DCs. BM was harvested three days after treatment of C57BL/6 mice with PBS or CTX and cultured with GM-CSF/IL-4 in vitro. Compared with control, BM from CTX-treated mice showed faster generation and yielded higher numbers of DCs with superior activation in response to toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists. Vaccination with peptide-pulsed DCs generated from BM from CTX-treated mice induced comparable adjuvant effects to those induced by control DCs. Taken together, post CTX BM harbors higher numbers of DC precursors capable of differentiating into functional DCs, which be targeted to create host microenvironment riches in activated DCs upon treatment with TLR agonists.
A stagnation pressure probe for droplet-laden air flow

It is often of interest in a droplet-laden gas flow to obtain the stagnation pressure of both the gas phase and the mixture. A flow-decelerating probe (TPF), with separate, purged ports for the gas phase and the mixture and with a bleed for accumulating liquid at the closed end, has been developed. Measurements obtained utilizing the TPF in a nearly isothermal air-water droplet mixture flow in a smooth circular pipe under various conditions of flow velocity, pressure, liquid concentration and droplet size are presented and compared with data obtained under identical conditions with a conventional, gas phase stagnation pressure probe (CSP). The data obtained with the CSP and TPF probes are analyzed to determine the applicability of the two probes in relation to the multi-phase characteristics of the flow and the geometry of the probe.
Triterpenoids as molecular indicators of paleoseepage in recent sediments of the Southern California bight

Abstract Petroleum-derived hydrocarbons have been identified in sediments by analysis of the n-alkanes, aromatic hydrocarbons and branched and cyclic components (humps). The detection of low levels of petroleum input to sediments can be ambiguous due to the presence of syngenetic biolipids. Triterpenoids, especially the (17αH, 21βH)-hopanes, have been proposed as sensitive molecular markers of petroleum pollution. Recent sediments from the Southern California Bight to subbottom depths of about 30 cm (pre-anthropogenic) contain lipids of syngenetic origin with major humps of branched and cyclic material and triterpenoids consisting mainly of the (17αH, 21βH)-hopanes ranging from C27 to C35. Extended hopanes (> C31) are found as 1:1 mixtures of the 22R and 22S diastereomers. The 17α(H),18α(H), 21β(H)-28,30-bisnorhopane is the dominant triterpane for most of these sediments and appears to be a potential molecular marker characteristic of the Southern California petroleums. Extended tricyclic diterpanes ranging from C19 to C27 are also present and their structures make them further possible indicators of petroleum. Southern California Bight sediments therefore appear to contain petroleum products from both seepage and anthropogenic activity. Recent sediments from other areas (e.g. Guaymas Basin, Gulf of California; Cook Inlet, Alaska; Eastern Bering Sea; Walvis Bay, Southwest Africa; and Mangrove Lake, Bermuda) contain predominantly (17βH, 21βH)-hopanes and hopenes, indicating recent synthesis and no petroleum pollution.
A glimpse at US consumers’ interest in timesharing

Abstract This research note is based on the 1999 American Recreational Property Survey as solicited by the American Resort Development Association. The major findings of the study indicate that consumer interest in the vacation ownership industry as a viable recreational alternative is moderate at the best. In turn, this indicates that empirical studies must be conducted to ascertain the marketing and non-marketing variables that influence the consumer decision-making process.
EFFECT OF VIEWING BACKGROUND ON TURBIDITY PERCEPTION THRESHOLDS

Colloidal-size synthetic-polymer microspheres of three sizes (0.15, 0.31 and 0.70-µm diameter) were each suspended in liquids of three different colors (clear, tan and dark brown) at a range of concentrations. The samples were presented to panelists in a viewing box. Visual-threshold determinations were made for each of the nine sample sets using the ascending method of limits (AMLs) and bright illumination (1,192 lux) with each of the three viewing backgrounds: black velvet, white cotton and white taffeta. The thresholds were much more similarly expressed as turbidimeter observations than as either weight or number concentration. With the black-velvet background, the thresholds ranged from 0.206 to 2.190 nephelometric turbidity units (NTU). With white cotton and white taffeta, they were considerably higher (P < 0.001), ranging from 1.97 to 41.00 and 2.97 to 34.40 NTU, respectively. This large difference appears to be a matter of contrast – scattered white light is much easier to perceive against a dark background.
Exploring Skills-Based Competencies Through Geriatric Care Management Modules

As educational competencies in gerontology continue to evolve, skills-based competencies (from beginner to expert level) endure as the hallmarks of the field. This study explored the impact of exposure to “active learning” modules for the practice of professional geriatric care management (GCM) on beginning gerontology students and their ability to acquire core knowledge and more advanced skills related to assessment and counseling community-based older adults. Working with a group of “nontraditional” students, many having previous caregiving experience and working with older adults in direct care and allied health care roles, evaluation of these modules show that early exposure to “advanced” professional practice can be an effective approach for introducing higher-level competencies to beginning gerontology students.
The Strategic Implications of China's Rare Earths Policy

Drawing on literature in China studies, strategic theory, and expert interviews, this article analyzes the possibility of "rare earths" being leveraged by the People's Republic of China (PRC) in a crisis. The evidence suggests China's position in the rare earths market could constitute a significant security liability for the United States. It also seems that even if coercion fails to materialize, China's rare earths policies have the potential to intensify security dilemmas in Sino-American relations. This article is available in Journal of Strategic Security: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/jss/vol5/iss3/4 Journal of Strategic Security Volume 5 Issue 3 2012, pp. 1-12 DOI: 10.5038/1944-0472.5.3.1 Journal of Strategic Security (c) 2012 ISSN: 1944-0464 eISSN: 1944-0472 1 The Strategic Implications of China's Rare Earths Policy Shane Bilsborough National Defense University, USA
A Survey of Stakeholder Knowledge, Experience, and Opinions of Advance Directives for Mental Health in Virginia

An innovative Virginia health care law enables competent adults with serious mental illness to plan for treatment during incapacitating crises using an integrated advance directive with no legal distinction between psychiatric or other causes of decisional incapacity. This article reports results of a survey of 460 individuals in five stakeholder groups during the initial period of the law’s implementation. All respondents held favorable views of advance directives for mental health care. Identified barriers to completing and using advance directives varied by group. We conclude that relevant stakeholders support implementation of advance directives for mental health, but level of baseline knowledge and perception of barriers vary. A multi-pronged approach will be needed to achieve successful implementation of advance directives for mental health.
The Mediational Role of Perceived Competence in Psychological Adjustment to Rheumatoid Arthritis1

Chronic illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have been linked to poor psychological adjustment, although individual differences in this relationship have been observed. This study examines the role of perceived competence as a mediator between RA and adjustment. Persons with RA (N= 208) were surveyed three times at 6-month intervals concerning several potential antecedents of adjustment (pain, psychosocial impairment, social support, and control beliefs), self-perceived level of competence, and level of adjustment (life satisfaction and depressive symptomatology). Within each observational period strong evidence was obtained for perceived competence as a mediator of adjustment. Longitudinally (across the year) the data were consistent with a mediational model, but strong evidence establishing mediation was not obtained. Implications of these findings, and the importance of examining the role of perceived competence in adaptation to chronic illness, are discussed.
Kinetics and Mechanism of the Reaction of Cl Atoms with 2-Methyl-1,3-butadiene (Isoprene) at 298 K

The reaction of chlorine atoms with isoprene (2-methyl-1,3-butadiene) may be important in the marine boundary layer. The kinetics and mechanisms of this reaction have been studied at 760 Torr and 298 K using the photolysis of Cl2 as the chlorine atom source. Product studies in air were carried out using 40 m path length FTIR spectrometry. Rate constants were determined in either air or N2 using a relative rate technique and GC-FID to follow the decay of isoprene relative to n-butane. For comparison, the kinetics of the chlorine atom reactions with isoprene-d8, 1,3-butadiene, and 1,3-butadiene-d6 were also studied at 1 atm in air or N2 at 298 K. The rate constant ratios determined with n-butane as the reference compound are as follows: isoprene (2.16 ± 0.17); isoprene-d8 (1.79 ± 0.22), 1,3-butadiene (2.01 ± 0.11); 1,3-butadiene-d6 (1.85 ± 0.10) (±2σ). The corresponding absolute rate constants, based on a value for n-butane of 2.11 ± 0.18 × 10-10 cm3 molecule-1 s-1, are as follows: isoprene (4.6 ± 0.5); i...
Variation in perceptions of treatment and self‐care practices in elderly with osteoarthritis: a comparison between African American and white patients

Objective To compare elderly African American and white patients with osteoarthritis of the knee or hip with respect to their perceptions of the efficacy of traditional and complementary treatments and their self-care practices. Methods An observational, cross-sectional study design using structured questionnaires was employed. Results The sample consisted of 593 patients (44% African American and 56% white). The 2 groups were comparable with respect to age, disease severity or functional status, and comorbidities. African Americans were more likely than whites to report lower educational level and household income. African Americans were also more likely than whites to perceive various traditional and complementary care modalities as efficacious. However, they were less likely than whites to perceive joint replacement therapy as efficacious (odds ratio 0.52, 95% confidence interval 0.28–0.98). African American patients were more likely than white patients to rely on self-care measures for their arthritis. Conclusion African American and white patients with osteoarthritis of the knee or hip differ with respect to their perceptions of traditional and complementary treatments for arthritis and their self-care practices.