cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An Update on Hardening: A Qualitative Review.

Introduction This review examines the evidence for the hardening hypothesis; that is, the prevalence of (1) becoming a former smoker is decreasing over time due to (2) decreased quit attempts, or (3) decreased success on a given quit attempt. Methods PubMed, EMBASE, PsychINFO, trial registries, and other databases were searched for population-based surveys that reported whether one of the aforementioned three outcomes decreased over time. Results None of the 26 studies found that conversion from current to former smoking, number of quit attempts, or success on a given quit attempt decreased over time and several found these increased over time. These results appeared to be similar across survey dates, duration of time examined, number of data points, data source, outcome definitions, and nationality. Conclusions These results convincingly indicate hardening is not occurring in the general population of smokers. On the other hand, the prevalence of smoking is declining less among older and women smokers, and smokers with low education, low income, psychological problems, alcohol or drug abuse, medical problems, and greater nicotine dependence, than among those without these characteristics, presumably due to less quitting. Why this has not lead to decreased success in stopping smoking in the general population is unclear. Implications Some have argued that a greater emphasis on harm reduction and more intensive or dependence-based treatments are needed because remaining smokers are those who are less likely to stop with current methods. This review finds no or little evidence for this assumption. Psychosocial factors, such as low education and psychiatric problems, predict less ability to quit and appear to becoming more prevalent among smokers. Why this is not leading to decreased quitting in the general population is an anomaly that may be worth trying to understand.
Modeling optical manipulation using the field-kinetic and canonical formulations of electrodynamics

The Abraham-Minkowski controversy is theoretical debate originating at the beginning of the 20th century regarding the electrodynamics of moving media. The controversy has become synonymous with a debate over photon momentum in materials, and has implications in optical micromanipulation, which impacts scientific discovery and technology development in chemistry, physics, biology, material engineering, photonics, and medicine. An important, recent advance in the field of electrodynamics identifies a kinetic momentum as the momentum of the fields responsible for center of mass translations and a canonical momentum related to the coupled field and material system. We review the identification of the two subsystems, and show that neither the Abraham nor the Minkowski formulations are physically valid representations of electrodynamics. The Abraham tensor, like the Einstein-Laub tensor, does not represent a valid stress-energy-momentum (SEM) tensor because it is not frame invariance, which is a tenant of relativity. The Minkowski tensor does satisfy relativistic principles, but it violates the principle of causality. In this correspondence, we present the field-kinetic subsystem of macroscopic electrodynamics, which represents the mass-free contributions to the global SEM tensor. We demonstrate that the relation to microscopic electrodynamics by comparing the field-kinetic macroscopic force density with the microscopic force density via a limiting procedure with increasingly small dipoles representation of matter. We also derive the material response contribution to the SEM tensor in causal media demonstrating the canonical momentum of electrodynamics. Through analytical examples, we show how practical optical manipulation experiments are modeled using both the field-kinetic and canonical SEM tensors in electrodynamics.
The Humming Box: AI-powered Tangible Music Toy for Children

Music education benefits children's mental and intellectual development in early childhood. Guided by child-centered design principles, we propose the Humming Box,an AI-powered tangible music toy for 4-6-year-old children. The main goal of our project is to blend traditional hand crank music boxes with software-based music manipulation and create new possibilities for children to create and remix music manually. Our paper presents findings from 3 design sprints; each demonstrating playtest results and new design iterations. The user evaluation of our final design suggests that multimodal musical creation leads to increased engagement. We also discuss how the modular design of our toys functional components encourages creative expression and cooperative play.
The salpeter slope of the IMF explained

If we accept a paradigm that star formation is a self-similar, hierarchical process, then the Salpeter slope of the IMF for high-mass stars can be simply and elegantly explained as follows. If the intrinsic IMF at the smallest scales follows a simple –2 power-law slope, then the steepening to the –2.35 Salpeter value results when the most massive stars cannot form in the lowest-mass clumps of a cluster. It is stressed that this steepening must occur if clusters form hierarchically from clumps, and the lowest-mass clumps can form stars. This model is consistent with a variety of observations as well as theoretical simulations.
Timely and Provocative: Religion as critique: Islamic critical thinking from Mecca to the marketplace, by Irfan Ahmad, Chapel Hill, NC, USA, University of North Carolina Press, 2017, 270 pp., $29.95 (hardback), ISBN-10: 1469635097

Ahmad’s book comes at a moment when a concerted effort is being made, on many fronts but especially from a right-wing, populist direction, to render ‘Islam’ synonymous with the inability to think c...
Adornando el cuerpo femenino: objetos de moda y género en "La de Bringas" (1884) de Benito Pérez Galdós

espanolThis essay explores the sociocultural relevance acquired by women’s clothing objects in Benito Perez Galdos’s La de Bringas (1884). The garments depicted in the novel constitute a discursive space to critically approach the complex relationship women established with modernity. Through her interaction with fashion objects, protagonist Rosalia de Bringas forges a modern identity, transcending domestic boundaries marked by the patriarchal structure, beyond the conventional image of the “angel of the home”. Likewise, this article addresses the importance of urban spaces that, like the Sobrino Hermanos store depicted in La de Bringas, favored women’s entry into the public sphere in the second half of the nineteenth century. espanolEl presente articulo explora la relevancia sociocultural que adquieren los objetos de vestir femeninos en La de Bringas (1884) de Benito Perez Galdos. Las prendas en la novela conforman un espacio discursivo a partir del cual es posible aproximarse desde una lente critica a la compleja relacion que la mujer establecio con el proyecto decimononico de la modernidad. A traves de su interaccion con articulos de moda, la protagonista Rosalia de Bringas forja una identidad moderna, evadiendose de los limites domesticos marcados por la estructura patriarcal y rebasando el arraigado modelo de "angel del hogar". Asimismo, este articulo analiza la emergencia de espacios urbanos que, como el comercio Sobrino Hermanos retratado en La de Bringas, favorecieron el ingreso de la mujer en la esfera publica de la segunda mitad del XIX.
Motivations and Methods for Replication in Geography: Working with Data Streams

The article begins with a historical account of Hudson’s rural settlement theory and the various attempts to replicate Hudson’s research. Harvey’s exhortation “by our theories you shall know us” is...
Effectiveness of Nutrient Management on Water Quality Improvement: A Synthesis on Nitrate-Nitrogen Loss from Subsurface Drainage

Highlights Fertilizer rate was found to be the most important factor controlling flow-weighted nitrate-N concentrations. Organic fertilizer may significantly increase nitrate-N losses, but N content of manures can be variable. We did not find significant differences in nitrate-N export among fertilizer application methods or timing. Split fertilization reduced nitrate-N export at lower fertilizer rates ( Fertilizer N recommendations need re-evaluation to consider both environmental and economic effects. Abstract. Nutrient management, as described in NRCS Code 590, has been intensively investigated, with research largely focused on crop yields and water quality. Yet, due to complex processes and mechanisms in nutrient cycling (especially the nitrogen (N) cycle), there are many challenges in evaluating the effectiveness of nutrient management practices across site conditions. We therefore synthesized data from peer-reviewed publications on subsurface-drained agricultural fields in the Midwest U.S. with corn yield and drainage nitrate-N (NO3-N) export data published from 1980 to 2019. Through literature screening and data extraction from 43 publications, we obtained 577 site-years of data with detailed information on fertilization, corn yields, precipitation, drainage volume, and drainage NO3-N load/concentration or both. In addition, we estimated flow-weighted NO3-N concentrations ([NO3-N]) in drainage for those site-years where only load and volume were reported. Furthermore, we conducted a cost analysis using synthesized and surveyed corn yield data to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of different nutrient management plans. Results from the synthesis showed that N fertilizer rate was strongly positively correlated with corn yields, NO3-N loads, and flow-weighted [NO3-N]. Reducing N fertilizer rates can effectively mitigate NO3-N losses from agricultural fields; however, our cost analysis showed negative economic returns for continuous corn production at lower N rates. In addition, organic fertilizers significantly boosted corn yields and NO3-N losses compared to inorganic fertilizers at comparable rates; however, accurate quantification of plant-available N in organic fertilizers is necessary to guide appropriate nutrient management plans because the nutrient content may be highly variable. In terms of fertilizer application methods, we did not find significant differences in NO3-N export in drainage discharge. Lastly, impact of fertilization timing on NO3-N export varied depending on other factors such as fertilizer rate, source, and weather. According to these results, we suggest that further efforts are still required to produce effective local nutrient management plans. Furthermore, government agencies such as USDA-NRCS need to work with other agencies such as USEPA to address the potential economic losses due to implementation of lower fertilizer rates for water quality improvement.
Effects of zoledronic acid on osteonecrosis and acute lymphoblastic leukemia treatment efficacy in preclinical models.

BACKGROUND Osteonecrosis is a devastating side effect of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) therapy. Associations between bone density loss and osteonecrosis have sparked interest in using bisphosphonates to reduce this complication. PROCEDURE We assessed the impact of zoledronic acid (ZA) on the development of osteonecrosis in murine models when used either throughout therapy (continuous administration) or late in therapy after vascular lesions have developed but before osteonecrosis has occurred. Effects on bone density were measured using microcomputed tomography (μCT)-assessed tibial cortical thickness, while osteonecrosis was assessed histologically in the distal femur. Effects on antileukemic efficacy of chemotherapy were evaluated in both immunocompetent/syngeneic and patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models. RESULTS Continuous administration of ZA with chemotherapy prevented chemotherapy-associated bone loss (p < .001) and reduced osteonecrosis (p = .048). Late initiation of ZA diminished bone loss (p < .001) but had no impact on the development of osteonecrosis (p = .93). In the immunocompetent murine ALL model, mice treated with ZA and chemotherapy succumbed to leukemia sooner than mice treated with chemotherapy alone (p = .046). Analysis using PDX showed a nonsignificant decrease in survival with ZA (p = .17). CONCLUSION Our data indicate ZA may prevent osteonecrosis if begun with chemotherapy but showed no benefit when administered later in therapy. However, ZA may also reduce the antileukemic efficacy of chemotherapy.
Comparison of Functional Connectivity in the Prefrontal Cortex during a Simple and an Emotional Go/No-Go Task in Female versus Male Groups: An fNIRS Study.

Inhibitory control is a cognitive process to suppress prepotent behavioral responses to stimuli. This study aimed to investigate prefrontal functional connectivity during a behavioral inhibition task and its correlation with the subject’s performance. Additionally, we identified connections that are specific to the Go/No-Go task. The experiment was performed on 42 normal, healthy adults who underwent a vanilla baseline and a simple and emotional Go/No-Go task. Cerebral hemodynamic responses were measured in the prefrontal cortex using a 16-channel near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) device. Functional connectivity was calculated from NIRS signals and correlated to the Go/No-Go performance. Strong connectivity was found in both the tasks in the right hemisphere, inter-hemispherically, and the left medial prefrontal cortex. Better performance (fewer errors, faster response) is associated with stronger prefrontal connectivity during the simple Go/No-Go in both sexes and the emotional Go/No-Go connectivity in males. However, females express a lower emotional Go/No-Go connectivity while performing better on the task. This study reports a complete prefrontal network during a simple and emotional Go/No-Go and its correlation with the subject’s performance in females and males. The results can be applied to examine behavioral inhibitory control deficits in population with neurodevelopmental disorders.
CD38-Mediated Inhibition of Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase in Macrophages Prevents Endotoxemic Lung Injury.

TLR4 signaling via endotoxemia in macrophages promotes macrophage transition to the inflammatory phenotype through NLRP3 inflammasome activation. This transition event has the potential to trigger ...
Sonopermeation to deliver topotecan using lipid-prodrugs, liposomes, and microbubbles

Sonopermeation using microbubbles is an emerging extracorporeal drug delivery technique for impenetrable tumors. Utilizing the sonopermeation effect while enhancing the bioavailability of clinical chemotherapeutics using nanoparticle strategies is a potentially powerful combination. Clinically available topotecan, a chemotherapeutic, has limited bioavailability and therapeutic efficacy, which is attributed to poor solubility, rapid clearance, and inactivation under physiologic conditions. To overcome this, topotecan has been conjugated with phospholipids converting it into a lipid-prodrug (2T-T) for use in lipid-based carriers, such as liposomes, for sonopermeation. In this presentation, we present the characterization results of topotecan lipid-prodrug liposomes, preliminary in vitro efficacy in several neuroblastoma cell lines, and in vivo proof-of-concept in neuroblastoma xenograft tumors. Lipid-prodrug characterization demonstrates stable, high-drug loading liposomes are attainable while maintaining cytotoxicity. Liposome formulations, analyzed using ultraviolet-visible spectrometry and dynamic light scattering, indicate peak incorporation limits are attained for 100 nm extruded 60 mol. % 2T-T liposomes with no change in size over a 2 month period. In vivo xenograft neuroblastoma studies co-injected with lipid-prodrug liposomes (40 mol% 2T-T, 10 mg/kg) and microbubbles, for sonopermeation, were performed to determine the extent of 2T-T delivery with sonoporation over liposomal delivery alone at 24 hours post-treatment.
Litigating Intelligence: IQ Tests, Special Education and Social Science in the Courtroom

Background of the Lawsuits The Names Plaintiffs Genes, Socioeconomic Status, Family Background, and Culture The Nature of Intelligence Mild and Educable Mental Retardation Are the IQ Tests Racially and Culturally Biased? The Role of the Government Effects of These Cases Policy Implications of These Cases The Adversary System as a Way of Finding Facts Summing Up
Mechanism of the negative inotropic effect of adenosine in guinea pig atrial myocytes

The ionic basis of the negative inotropic effect of adenosine on guinea pig atrial myocytes was studied. Membrane potentials and currents were measured using a whole cell patch-clamp technique. The contractility was assessed by video quantitation of cell twitch amplitude. Adenosine shortened action potential duration [measured at 90% repolarization (APD90)] and decreased twitch amplitude in a concentration-dependent manner. The maximal effects of adenosine (100 microM) were to reduce APD90 from 102 +/- 14 to 34 +/- 8 ms (n = 11) and twitch amplitude from 4.3 +/- 0.9 to 1.5 +/- 0.4 microns (n = 8). The concentration of adenosine that caused one-half of the maximal reductions of twitch amplitude and of APD90 was 0.6 microM. Reductions in APD90 and in twitch amplitude were parallel and highly correlated (r = 0.98). Decreases in twitch amplitude by adenosine could be mimicked by application of voltage-clamp pulses with durations similar to the durations of action potentials in the presence of adenosine. Clamp pulse could reverse adenosine-induced but not cadmium chloride-induced decreases in twitch amplitude. Adenosine activated the inwardly rectifying K+ current (IK,Ado), but did not significantly decrease the L-type Ca2+ current (ICa,L). Adenosine reduced the effects of BAY K 8644 on APD90 and twitch amplitude but did not attenuate the BAY K-induced increase in ICa,L. The effects of adenosine on APD90 and twitch amplitude could be reversed after activation of IK,Ado was inhibited by intracellular application of cesium and tetraethylammonium chloride.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Inclusive Cartographic Design: Overcoming Ocular-Centric Cartographies

Based on the idea that maps are products that are designed for human use, this chapter advocates for redefining the map user and map use audience. Specifically, we argue for the inclusion or at least the discussion of principles of Universal Design and Design for All in the map design and production process. The chapter identifies three key constructs within cartographic communication models: the map, the map user, and knowledge transformation. A brief discussion of the development and principles of both Universal Design (in the United States) and Design for All (in the European Union) is provided. The underlying principles of those movements are then applied to the key constructs of the generalized cartographic communication models. This chapter does not offer explicit design guidelines for achieving inclusiveness in cartography. Rather, it acknowledges that including, exploring, and achieving inclusive design will be challenging. But, as a communication discipline with over 2000 years of history, cartography is well poised to embrace this challenge.
Female Headship, Marital Status and Material Well-Being

The potentially conflicting observations that members of female-headed households in Latin America tend to be especially poorly off but that one does not need to live in a female-headed household to face utter poverty can be reconciled in part by considering household structure in terms of female headship and marital status. We illustrate this point using a microfile of the 1985 Colombia census of housing and population, focussing on mothers aged 15-59. While headship effects the material well-being of single, separated/divorced, and widowed mothers, mothers in a consensual union tend to be badly off materially even when they do not head their own household. Considering mothers outside consensual unions, formally married non-head mothers tend to be materially better off than non-married head mothers but not as well off as non-married non-head mothers. A country-wide analysis is refined by examining subregions, the idea being to investigate the issue in areas with potentially different marriage structures.
Oceanography: Moon, tides and climate

The view that much of the energy of ocean tides is dissipated in deep water, rather than in shallow coastal seas, now finds observational support. Curiously, the results bear upon our understanding of climate change.
CaMn2Al10: Itinerant Mn magnetism on the verge of magnetic order

Convincing experimental data show that CaMn${}_{2}$Al${}_{10}$ presents itinerant Mn-magnetism on the cusp of ferromagnetic order, opening up a new material to explore the relationship between quantum criticality and possible exotic ground states.
The Supreme Court Forecasting Project: Legal and Political Science Approaches to Predicting Supreme Court Decisionmaking

This Essay reports the results of an interdisciplinary project comparing political science and legal approaches to forecasting Supreme Court decisions. For every argued case during the 2002 Term, we obtained predictions of the outcome prior to oral argument using two methods—one a statistical model that relies on general case characteristics, and the other a set of independent predictions by legal specialists. The basic result is that the statistical model did better than the legal experts in forecasting the outcomes of the Term’s cases: The model predicted 75% of the Court’s affirm/reverse results correctly, while the experts collectively got 59.1% right. These results are notable, given that the statistical model disregards information about the specific law or facts of the cases. The model’s relative success was due in large part to its ability to predict more accurately the important votes of the moderate Justices (Kennedy and O’Connor) at the center of the current Court. The legal experts, by contrast, did best at predicting the votes of the more ideologically extreme Justices, but had difficulty predicting the centrist Justices. The relative success of the two methods also varied by issue area, with the statistical model doing particularly well in forecasting “economic activity” cases, while the experts did comparatively better in the “judicial power” cases. In addition to reporting the results in detail, the Essay explains the differing methods
Genomic Database Applications in DISCO

A genome map is an ordering of a set of clones according to their believed position on a DNA string. Simple heuristics for genome map assembly based on single restriction enzyme with complete digestion data can lead to inaccuracies and ambiguities. This paper presents a method that adds additional constraint checking to the assembly process. An automaton is presented that for any genome map produces a refined genome map where both the clones and the restriction fragments in each clone are ordered satisfying natural constraints called step constraints. Any genome map that cannot be refined is highly likely to be inaccurate and can be eliminated as a possibility.
A Technology-Scalable Architecture for Fast Clocks and High ILP

CMOS technology scaling poses challenges in designing dynamically scheduled cores that can sustain both high instruction-level parallelism and aggressive clock frequencies. In this paper, we present a new architecture that maps compiler-scheduled blocks onto a two-dimensional grid of ALUs. For the mapped window of execution, instructions execute in a dataflow-like manner, with each ALU forwarding its result along short wires to the consumers of the result. We describe our studies of program behavior and a preliminary evaluation that show that this architecture has the potential for both high clock speeds and high ILP, and may offer the best of both the VLIW and dynamic superscalar architectures.
Politics, Prisons, and Law Enforcement: An Examination of the Emergence of “Law and Order” Politics in Texas

This article examines the rise of "law and order" politics in Texas, providing an in‐depth archival case study of changes in prison policy in a Southern state during the pivotal period when many U.S. states turned to mass incarceration. It brings attention to the important role an insurgent Republican governor and law enforcement officials played in shaping crime policy. Law enforcement's role is considered within a broader examination of political strategy during a period of intense socioeconomic volatility. The findings suggest that within particular political contexts, especially those with low levels of political participation, law enforcement agents might play a key role in shaping punishment.
Q-learning: a tutorial and extensions

In the past decade, research in neurocomputing has been divided into two relatively well-defined tracks: one track dealing with cognition and the other with behavior. Cognition deals with organizing, classifying and recognizing sensory stimuli. Behavior is more dynamic, involving sequences of actions and changing interactions with an external environment. The mathematical techniques that apply to these areas, at least from the point of neurocomputing, appear to have been quite separate as well. The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of some recent powerful mathematical results in behavioral neurocomputing, specifically the concept of Q-learning due to C. Watkins, and some new extensions. Finally, we propose ways in which the mathematics of cognition and the mathematics of behavior can move closer to build more unified systems of information processing and action.
Effect of Phenytoin on the Clinical Pharmacokinetics of Amiodarone

Five healthy male volunteers were given oral amiodarone hydrochloride, 200 mg per day for 6 1/2 weeks, to determine its effects on the pharmacokinetics of both intravenous and oral phenytoin. Predose amiodarone and N-desethylamiodarone serum concentrations were obtained weekly during weeks 2-6. Amiodarone serum concentrations (ASC) increased during weeks 2-4 and then decreased sharply during weeks 5-6 when oral phenytoin, 2-4 mg/kg/day, was co-administered. In addition, N-desethylamiodarone serum concentrations (DEASC) exceeded corresponding ASC during weeks 5-6 whereas during weeks 2-4, DEASC were less than ASC. Because of the long elimination half-life for amiodarone previously reported in healthy volunteers after single doses of amiodarone and the frequent administration of amiodarone associated with this half-life, a modified equation for a continuous infusion was used to describe each subject's ASC versus time data. Pre-phenytoin ASC were fitted to an appropriate function to predict ASC during weeks 5-6 assuming no interaction. Observed versus predicted ASC were compared for weeks 5 and 6. Observed ASC during weeks 5 and 6 were (mean +/- SD) 0.25 +/- 0.09 micrograms/mL and 0.19 +/- 0.07 micrograms/mL, respectively. Corresponding predicted ASC were 0.36 +/- 0.12 micrograms/mL (P = .011) and 0.38 +/- 0.13 micrograms/mL (P = .004). These represented percent differences of 32.2 +/- 12.5% and 49.3 +/- 5.6% for weeks 5 and 6, respectively. Assuming there were no changes in the bioavailability of amiodarone during continuous administration, these findings strongly suggest induction of amiodarone metabolism by phenytoin. The clinical significance of this interaction remains to be determined.
Growth of p-type ZnTe and n-type CdSe films on GaAs(001) by pulsed laser ablation

Abstract Thin films of p-type ZnTe and n-type CdSe were deposited on (001) and 2°-miscut GaAs wafers by ArF (193 nm) pulsed laser ablation of stoichiometric ZnTe and CdSe targets through several ambient gas compositions and total pressures. Films were grown both with the substrate facing the plume ( φ =0°) and with the substrate rotated by an angle, φ >0°. Substrates were affixed to the heater using conventional indium bonding and an indium-free method. Hall effect measurements were performed to determine the influence of target-to-substrate separation ( D TS ), substrate temperature, gas composition and total pressure, substrate orientation ( φ ), bonding method, and substrate miscut on the carrier concentration and mobility. NH 3 was found to be largely ineffective for p-type doping of ZnTe under the conditions explored and especially when compared to the wide range of resistivities achievable by employing nitrogen. In one instance, however, a free-hole concentration of 2×10 18 cm −3 ( μ ≈3 cm 2 /V·s) was achieved by depositing at a large distance ( D TS =17.5 cm) and low temperature (200°C) in 20 mTorr of NH 3 . The Hall effect data for CdSe were found to cluster into two distinct regimes, one with mobilities ≤0.3 cm 2 /V·s and carrier concentrations ≥3×10 20 cm −3 , the other with mobilities ≥30 cm 2 /V·s and carrier concentrations ≤4×10 18 cm −3 . Examination of X-ray diffraction data coupled with reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) measurements, observations of the films' surfaces, and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) profiling, indicated that no single-growth parameter was responsible for the observed bimodal behavior.
Evolutionary Processes in Low-Mass Binary Systems

We consider the evolution of certain low-mass binaries, incorporating models of (a) internal evolution, (b) tidal friction, (c) dynamo activity driven by an elementary α, Ω dynamo, (d) stellar wind driven by the activity, and (e) magnetic braking as a consequence of wind and poloidal dynamo-generated magnetic field. In some circumstances the stellar wind is found to remove mass on a nuclear timescale, as is necessary to explain some observed systems.
Fischer−Tropsch Synthesis: An In-Situ TPR-EXAFS/XANES Investigation of the Influence of Group I Alkali Promoters on the Local Atomic and Electronic Structure of Carburized Iron/Silica Catalysts

The promoting impact of alkali metals (i.e., Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs) on the carburization rate of Fe in Fe/Si catalysts was investigated by X-ray absorption spectroscopy. A multisample holder was used, allowing nearly simultaneous examination of the catalysts during activation in a CO/He mixture. With the white line intensity and shape as a fingerprint for oxidation state, TPR/XANES analysis enabled us to measure the relative composition of the different compounds as a function of the carburization time, temperature, and atomic number of the group 1 promoter. At the same time, TPR/EXAFS provided information on the changes in local atomic structure that accompanied the oxidation state changes. The rate of carburization increased in the following order: unpromoted < Li < Na < K = Rb = Cs. After 10 h of treatment the samples containing K, Rb, and Cs were completely carburized, and residual quantities of iron oxides were detected in both unpromoted and Li-promoted samples. The EXAFS spectra after carburization cou...
Reflective inquiry and pre-service teachers’ conceptions of content area literacies

The authors report on the results of a reflective inquiry project implemented during the first five weeks of a 15-week course on content literacy methods for secondary pre-service teachers. The goal of the project was to disrupt taken for granted and commonplace assumptions about literacy processes, particularly in relationship to professional and ethical responsibilities to educate all students. A description and analysis of Literacy History Project (LHP) components provides the basis for addressing the resistance teacher candidates often express with respect to the relevancy of the content literacy methods course for their own practice as future middle and high school teachers. Through a reflective examination of their prior experiences and present day practices, the authors found that pre-service teachers participating in the LHP gained insights into their own literate identities, made connections between their literate practices and the those of adolescent literacy learners, and demonstrated more comp...
The role of posture in adaptation to visual rearrangement.

Abstract Displacement of the visual world by means of prismatic spectacles leads to errors in both auditory and visual localization. During the course of adaptation to the visual rearrangement the auditory and visual errors diminish. Concomitant changes occur in the relations of the eyes and head to the trunk. When adaptation is complete a subject considers his head to be aligned with his trunk when it is actually deviated in the same direction and by the amount of the visual displacement. These postural changes are an important component of the compensation for visual rearrangement that occurs in adaptation situations permitting free movement of the entire body.
Price-Quality Correlations for Packaged Food Products

Prior investigations have indicated that relationships between price and product quality are considerably weaker for non-durables than for durables. Among non-durables, packaged food products frequently have exhibited the poorest correspondence between price and quality. This study, utilizing data from Consumers Union, analyzes the relationships between price and a measure of product quality for 679 brands in forty packaged food product classes over a fifteen year period. The study generally confirms earlier preliminary conclusions that the correlation between quality and price for packaged food products is near zero. In addition, the findings indicate that convenience foods, particularly frozen foods, display the poorest correspondence between price and product quality with more than 43 percent of all frozen food product classes exhibiting negative relationships between price and product quality. Some possible explanations for these findings and their implications for public policy are advanced.
Induced Magnetic Anisotropy of Sputter NiFe Thin Films on Thin Tantalum Nitride Underlayer

The structure and properties of sputter NiFe thin film deposited on both thermal oxide and thin tantalum nitride have been studied. The magnetic anisotropy field HK increases to 8.2 Oe when the NiFe film was deposited on a thin tantalum nitride underlayer. Anisotropic stress was found on the sample film with tantalum nitride underlayer. Results of X-ray diffraction show that a thin tantalum nitride underlayer appears to promote a preferred crystalline orientation formation of the NiFe film. The induced magnetic anisotropy is attributed to the formation of the preferred crystalline orientation and the induced anisotropic magnetoelastic energy which is associated with the anisotropic stress of the sample film.
Localized bullous pemphigoid: a commonly delayed diagnosis

Localized bullous pemphigoid is a rare clinical variant of bullous pemphigoid. We report three cases of localized bullous pemphigoid in which the diagnosis was delayed because the presentation simulated other local vesicular or bullous diseases. Localized bullous pemphigoid differs from the generalized form by its more benign course. Early diagnosis will help avoid unnecessary and costly treatment for unrelated conditions.
Public Organizations as Principals in an Era of New Governance: Evidence from the U.S. Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program

This paper provides an empirical analysis of a policy tool characteristic of the New Governance, the U.S. Low Income Housing Tax Credit. The program provides a financial incentive through the federal tax code for private-sector developers to construct or substantially rehabilitate rental housing for low-income households. Implementation is devolved upon the states, and each state housing credit agency has wide discretion in how it structures the competition for this subsidy. Further, private-sector developers who participate have substantial authority and discretion in the implementation process. Thus, policy implementation involves managing a classic principal-agent relationship. Results indicate that the degree of political hierarchy exercised over the public organizations responsible for managing implementation activities is very important. In addition, the professional orientation of governing board members was critical. Those states performing better had boards with stronger representation by those w...
America’s Creativity in Scienceand Technology: Past and Future

America’s patent rate (per 100,000 population) rose steeply to 34 from 1820‐1885, hovered between 28‐36 for the next 40 years then started its plunge to the present 18. This article examines the numerous possible causes often found in the literature ‐ expenditures on R&D, poor patent protection, high fees and pendency delays, decline in education in sciences and engineering, etc. While there is some evidence to support each of these, none is as important as the decline in our immigrants from Europe. Projections of possible improvements in our creativity and innovation in sciences and technology are bound in the characteristics of our present and future immigrant streams, and these are not expected to replace the role played by our previous immigrant streams.
Selenium in onions grown in media amended with coal fly ashes collected with differing efficiencies

A study was conducted to learn if the extent of selenium uptake by onions grown on coal fly ash-amended growth media would be influenced by the particle size distribution of the fly ash. Two fly ashes having differing percentages of finely sized particles were used as plant growth amendments at percentages in the media to yield equal concentrations of selenium. Selenium concentrations in the harvested onion bulbs were found to be independent of fly ash particle size distribution.
The hydrology of Lake Bosumtwi, a climate-sensitive lake in Ghana, West Africa

Abstract Lake Bosumtwi, lying in a million-year-old meteor crater, is hydrologically closed in spite of the wet, humid climate in this part of Ghana. To understand this geographical enigma, a water-balance model that describes both the historical lake-level record and the full range of lake levels observed in terrace deposits around the lake was developed. The water-balance model shows that the reception of rainfall by and evaporation from the lake surface are the dominant constituents of the water balance. Prior to 1969, the average rainfall of 1550 mm year −1 was generally equal to lake evaporation, and the average annual rise of 30 cm year −1 was produced mostly by runoff from the small watershed around the lake. Since 1969, with a decreased rainfall of 1380 mm year −1 , the combination of rainfall and runoff has nearly equaled lake evaporation, resulting in a nearly steady lake level. Long-term simulations show that stochastic climatic variations very similar to those observed in this century could produce the full range of lake levels observed in terrace deposits. The low salinity of about 1‰ suggests that dissolved solutes were removed by lake overflow in the recent geological past.
Response to Letter to the Editor from Dr. Guilford

1. Richie JP et al (2015) Randomized controlled trial of oral glutathione supplementation on body stores of glutathione. Eur J Nutr 54:251–263 2. Morris D et al (2013) Glutathione supplementation improves macrophage functions in HIV. J Interf Cytokine Res Off J Int Soc Interf Cytokine Res 33:270–279 3. Kariya C et al (2007) A role for CFTR in the elevation of glutathione levels in the lung by oral glutathione administration. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 292:L1590–L1597 4. Bachhawat AK et al (2013) Glutathione transporters. Biochim Biophys Acta 1830:3154–3164 5. Kovacs-Nolan J et al (2014) In Vitro and ex vivo uptake of glutathione (GSH) across the intestinal epithelium and fate of oral GSH after in vivo supplementation. J Agric Food Chem 62:9499–9506 Dear Dr. Rowland,
Treatment with anti-vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 monoclonal antibody induces long-term murine cardiac allograft acceptance.

Daily in vivo treatment of murine H-2d --> H-2b cardiac allograft recipients with 400 micrograms/day i.p. of M/K-2, a mAb to the endothelial adhesion molecule VCAM-1, resulted in prolongation of graft survival. The surviving allografts showed little of the histologic changes observed in acutely rejecting control allografts. When antibody treatment was discontinued after 20 days, grafts continued to function for at least 40 more days. This was approximately 30 days after mAb was no longer detectable by ELISA in the circulation, or by immunoperoxidase staining at the graft site. The most notable feature of grafts that survived 60 days was the presence of mild interstitial fibrosis. Endothelial reactivity was minimal with the mAbs MECA-32 and M/K-2, which have been used in previous studies to visualize the extensive endothelial inflammation that develops during untreated acute rejection. There was a mild cellular infiltrate containing T cells, but few macrophages. However, infiltrating T cells appeared to be inactive in that IL-2R+ cells were immunohistologically undetectable and mRNA for IL-2, IL-4, or IFN-gamma was undetectable by polymerase chain reaction. In general, the immunologic conditions in these long-term grafts differed from those seen in normal cardiac tissue, cardiac isografts, or cardiac allografts. These data demonstrate that M/K-2 mAb can suppress cardiac allograft rejection and induce long-term graft acceptance. This graft survival appears to be associated with the development of a unique state of immunity at the graft site.
Almost poised basic hypergeometric series

Given a basic hypergeometric series with numerator parametersa1,a2, ...,ar and denominator parametersb2, ...,br, we say it isalmost poised ifbi, =a1qδ,iai,δi = 0, 1 or 2, for 2 ≤i ≤r. Identities are given for almost poised series withr = 3 andr = 5 when a1, =q−2n.
The Impact of Global Warming on Marine Boundary Layer Clouds over the Eastern Pacific—A Regional Model Study

Abstract Cloud simulations and cloud–climate feedbacks in the tropical and subtropical eastern Pacific region in 16 state-of-the-art coupled global climate models (GCMs) and in the International Pacific Research Center (IPRC) Regional Atmospheric Model (iRAM) are examined. The authors find that the simulation of the present-day mean cloud climatology for this region in the GCMs is very poor and that the cloud–climate feedbacks vary widely among the GCMs. By contrast, iRAM simulates mean clouds and interannual cloud variations that are quite similar to those observed in this region. The model also simulates well the observed relationship between lower-tropospheric stability (LTS) and low-level cloud amount. To investigate cloud–climate feedbacks in iRAM, several global warming scenarios were run with boundary conditions appropriate for late twenty-first-century conditions. All the global warming cases simulated with iRAM show a distinct reduction in low-level cloud amount, particularly in the stratocumulus...
Abstract 1300: Vascular endothelial growth inhibitor (VEGI; TNFSF15) inhibits bone marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cell incorporation into Lewis Lung cancer (LLC) tumors

Bone marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) have been shown to be a critical component of supporting tumor neovascularization. We have shown in a variety of cancer and angiogenesis models that recombinant vascular endothelial growth inhibitor (VEGI; TNFSF15) inhibits angiogenesis and tumor growth via specific elimination of mature endothelial cells (EC) in established tumor vasculature. We report here that VEGI treatment leads to a significantly decreased population of EPC in tumors. We transplanted whole bone marrow from green fluorescent protein (GFP) transgenic mice into C57BL/6 recipient mice. The mice were then inoculated with Lewis Lung cancer (LLC) cells and treated with VEGI or vehicle. In the tumors of the VEGI-treated group, we saw both a significant inhibition of tumor growth and decreased density of CD31+ vasculature compared to vehicle treated mice. Flow cytometric analysis of the peripheral blood of tumor bearing mice revealed an initial increase of EPCs derived from the bone marrow (GFP+Flk1+) prior to the timeframe when EPCs are incorporated into the tumor. After this timeframe, the EPC in peripheral blood decreased markedly. Monitoring for EPC by GFP+CD31+ immunostaining, we found that the number of EPC in VEGI treated tumors notably decreased compared to that of the untreated group. EPC incorporation into the tumor vasculature of VEGI-treated mice was also less than that in the untreated group. TUNEL staining of the tumor sections showed a large extent of apoptosis overall in VEGI-treated tumors. These findings indicate that VEGI plays an important role in modulating bone marrow-derived EPC incorporation into LLC carcinomas, resulting in the inhibition of EPC supported tumor vasculogenesis and tumor growth. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1300.
Assessment of the risk of salmonellosis from internally contaminated shell eggs following initial storage at 18 °C (65 °F), compared with 7 °C (45 °F).

Abstract In the U.S., chicken-breeder farms that supply hatcheries typically store and transport eggs intended for broiler production at a temperature of 18.3 °C (65 °F). However, in case of surplus, some of these eggs may be diverted to human consumption. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's ‘Egg Safety Final Rule,’ shell eggs intended for human consumption are required to be held or transported at or below 7.2 °C (45 °F) ambient temperature beginning 36 h after time of lay. We adapted a risk assessment model developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety Inspection Service, to quantify human exposure to Salmonella Enteritidis and the risk of human salmonellosis if eggs are held and transported at 18.3 °C for up to 5.5 days after time of lay, as has been observed when hatchery eggs are diverted to human consumption, rather than held and transported at 7.2 °C within 36 h after time of lay. Storage at 18.3 °C leads to considerable bacterial growth in internally contaminated eggs. The model predicted that more than 10% of internally contaminated eggs would remain contaminated after in-shell pasteurization resulting in a 5-log 10 reduction, and that some bacteria would survive after home-cooking. The model predicted that, alternatively, eggs stored at 7.2 °C after lay would have limited bacterial growth prior to pasteurization, and Salmonella would be very unlikely to be present after pasteurization. The predicted risk of salmonellosis from the consumption of eggs held and transported at 18.3 °C and subsequently diverted to human consumption is 25 times higher than the risk when eggs are held and transported at 7.2 °C.
Capacitance Studies of Metastable States in Light-Soaked, Quench-Cooled, and Bias-Annealed N-Type Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon

We have investigated the metastable states produced in n-type a-Si:H samples by 3 kinds of treatments: light soaking followed by partial annealing, fast (quench) cooling, and bias-annealing. We employed voltage pulse photocapacitance to examine the deep defect state distribution, ND, and drive level capacitance profiling to determine the occupied conduction bandtail states NBT. Our results indicate that: (1) Although the most heavily doped films exhibit a larger increase in ND with light soaking than the corresponding decrease in NBT (consistent with some proposed defect creation reactions), in more lightly doped films we observe significant changes in NBT for much smaller corresponding differences in ND; (2) for quench cooling we observe increases by factors of up to over 2 in NBT without any measurable changes in ND for all samples; and (3) we observe increased NBT in bias annealed samples with no changes in ND. All of these results are inconsistent with a purely silicon bond breaking mechanism for metastable defect creation. We consider a significant contribution from a dopant activation mechanism which does not involve changes in ND).